VII
And it was awkward. Well, it wasn't that bad, but the atmosphere in the car was a little tense. And of course, it couldn't be blamed. Driving the car was a neatly groomed Ellis, with perfect hair and posture, while a little scoundrel sat beside her on the shotgun seat, covered in blood and grime while slouching horribly.
As Ellis started the engine of her little cherry-red car, she considered starting a conversation. But in the end, she dismissed the thought quickly. The conversation would probably end in a lot of swearing, anger, and her lovely little car being smashed on the side of the road. Much safer to play a bit of music to ease the silence.
Ellis connected her phone to the car's speakers, tapping the shuffle button. Immediately, "Good Time" by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen floated from the speakers, so cheerful.
"Where's your home?" Ellis asked, as they headed out onto the road.
"Just keep going straight. It's near the edge of town, and you'll know it when you see it," Dreyon answered shortly.
"All right," Ellis said quietly.
There was another moment of silence.
"Can you change the music?" Dreyon said. "I don't like this song. It's so…"
"So…?" Ellis prompted.
"It's so… happy." Dreyon gritted out.
"Hm… I see." Ellis said. A smile began to form on her lips. "Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, it's always a good time… Whoa-oh-oh-oh…"
Dreyon's fist clenched. A hand reached for her phone…
"Wait! I'm changing the song, I like my phone, so please don't kill it yet!" Ellis yelped, snatching the phone away and practically smashing the forward button in her haste. Ellis couldn't see him, but she was nearly a hundred percent sure that the brat had a smug little smile on his stinking face.
The rest of the ride proceeded in silence. And Ellis thanked the heavens that the rest of the songs were much less cheerful. After all, who could argue with the sadness and depression of Halsey's 'Control'?
Soon, they entered an impressively long driveway, and Ellis knew that she had entered the richer sector of the town. Every tree and bush, and every single freaking blade of grass was manicured to perfection. The paint on the night-black asphalt was so bright and clean it was like staring straight into a flashlight.
But nothing. Absolutely nothing could be compared to the mansion.
When Ellis was still at least a few hundred meters away, her jaw was already hitting the steering wheel in shock. Never in her wildest dreams and imaginations would she expect such luxury to ever exist in this world.
The mansion was modern, with a hint of Victorian or Gothic, and it rose up to four stories high. From her point of view, she could see a room on one side made completely of glass. Pillars supported suspended rooms, creating open hallways. An arch welcomed her into the spacey driveway, where a mermaid fountain spewed sparkling water. Ellis pulled up on one side near the neatly trimmed lawn.
"Come on," Dreyon said, getting out of the car. "Just leave your car here."
Numbly, Ellis followed him out. It still felt so surreal, like it was a dream, and she would wake up at any second.
The interior was equally as beautiful as the outside. A chandelier hung from a crystal ceiling; a winding staircase led to another section of the house that was most likely just as elegant, if not more. The floor was made of smooth marble, polished until Ellis could see her reflection on it. Inside, there was a small Japanese rock garden surrounded by the open hallways, and the gentle noise of trickling water and clinking seemed to be the only sounds in the mansion.
A neatly groomed man was standing before them. Like everything else, the man also looked like someone that had leapt out of a fairy tale book. He was incredibly tall and thin, wearing a neatly pressed tuxedo and crisp white gloves. His black hair was slicked back, and a surprisingly elegant French moustache was perched above his mouth.
However, his expression of horror killed the perfectness of it all.
"Young master!" the man gasped.
"Ellis, this is Richard, our butler." Dreyon said.
"Young master!" Richard said again, his voice distraught.
"What is it?" Dreyon growled.
Richard whirled from the room, reappearing with a mop and pail. Even from the distance, Ellis could smell the stinging scent of bleach.
"Young master, what have you done?" Richard said, his voice now filled with panic. "She is a Shadowlock!"
Dreyon paused. Then, his eyes widened.
"Shit!" Dreyon hissed.
"What is it?" Ellis demanded. Richard suddenly appeared in front of her and thrust the mop into her hands.
"You know his father's the leader of the Nightwalkers, right?" Richard said.
"Wh…" Ellis started.
"Yeah, my father's going to be home in any second. And I… I must have been… I should never have brought you here!" Dreyon growled. "I was too drunk to notice. With your stench all over the manor and road, my father's going to sniff you out and trust me, it isn't going to be pretty."
"You heard him," Richard agreed. He whirled back with something that looked like the world's largest perfume spray bottle. "Mop the places you've stepped on. Dreyon and I will clear the driveway."
With that, Richard and Dreyon pretty much flew out of the house, leaving Ellis standing there in the ridiculously big hall and holding a mop.
"Yeah, that's fun." Ellis said. For a moment, she felt like laughing. The giggles were bubbling up her throat. It was getting ridiculous. And she had no idea why.
Ellis held her breath. She tried to hold herself together. She really did. And in the end, she thought she did a good job. She mopped the entire hall before leaning the mop against the door and heading to the car. She started the engine and drove home, trusting that the bleach should cover her scent.
And when she stumbled home, she burst out laughing.
Then, it hit her. She suddenly knew why everything was so funny.
Dreyon took her to his home. Dreyon blamed himself for something that was probably her fault, since she was the one who offered to drive him. Dreyon cleaned up after her mess, and endangered himself to his father's wrath in order to keep her safe.
Because Dreyon, the cold, unfeeling, proud boy… actually cared.
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If he had to be absolutely, completely truthful, he would've admitted that he had cared. He didn't want Ellis to get killed because she had nicely offered to drive him home. However, despite being about a century and half years old, Dreyon was trapped in the body and mind of a teenager, so naturally, he's not very truthful.
He just doesn't want his father to find out he was hanging out with a Shadowlock vampire- their biggest rival- and not just that, he was basically saved by one. He just wants to save his own skin; it's not about Ellis at all. Really.
That was what he kept telling and convincing himself as he scrubbed the floors and sprayed bleach and set up air fresheners around the places Ellis had been to. But for some reasons, it just felt very, very wrong.
The sun was setting quickly. He would be back soon.
And just as the clock struck seven, Dreyon's sharp ears picked up the sound of a car entering the driveway, and the door's silent creak as Richard pushed it open to welcome home the leader of one of the two biggest rival vampire clans in America.
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Dinner was awkward, needless to say. As the butler places the main course in front of his father, Dreyon could hear him asking Richard about the strong smell of bleach in the hallways. Richard replied with a quick excuse of a wild animal doing its business in the hallways and running rampant, and surprisingly, he bought it. Dreyon relaxed.
However, the older man then turned to Dreyon after briefly thanking Richard for the meal, and asked him stiffly, "Where were you the past few nights, son?"
The last word sounded more intimidating than intimate, and Dreyon stiffened once more.
When he answered however, his voice was in his usual emotionless drawl. "Well, we had a huge Science project, and I'm paired up with Sam, so I spent a night over at his."
The air was tense, but Dreyon forced on his mask of indifference.
"Sam?"
"Yeah, Sam. You know, like the guy I've been hanging out-," Dreyon waved a hand dismissively, "Oh, whatever. He's just my classmate, a human."
"I see." His father's reply was curt.
Dreyon nodded, then proceeded to take a sip of fresh blood from his cup to moisten his dry lips.
Sorry Sam, Dreyon inwardly apologized, Wish I didn't get you into any trouble…
Speaking of Sam… Dreyon's best friend hadn't seemed to have come to school recently. He forced himself to relax. Sam may be human, but he's strong. There's nothing to worry about.
Sam wouldn't hide anything from him.