Stan's eyes fluttered open from a small light source in his dark room. He yawned and stretched.
"Good morning."
Stan jumped slightly and turned to find Kyle sitting in his chair, scrolling on his phone.
Stan sat up groggily. "Hey, dude. What time is it?"
"It's four in the morning. You've been asleep for a good five hours." Kyle answered, not looking away from his phone.
"Oh sweet. Where'd you get a phone from?" Stan asked as he scratched his scalp. His clothes from the previous day stuck uncomfortably against his skin.
"I ran to my home around midnight. There were a couple of vampires there, but I snuck in. I grabbed it and ran back here." Kyle explained.
"Pretty risky." Stan mumbled.
"Yeah well, it'll be riskier to not answer my mom's phone calls." Kyle responded.
Stan laid back down on his bed. "I didn't even know I fell asleep.."
"You were pretty tired. You kept on wanting to chat but you passed out pretty quickly. I don't blame you though. It's been a rough night for both of us."
"Of course I'd wake up early on the weekend. Do you mind if I go back to sleep?" Stan asked.
"No, dude. Is it alright if I go downstairs and get breakfast? I'm starving." Kyle asked.
"It depends.. what do you eat for breakfast?" Stan asked, a little nervous.
Kyle chuckled. "Well, if you were actually paying attention last night instead of nodding off, I told you that I eat regular food too. My whole diet isn't completely blood, I just get essential nutrients from it."
"Oh. Help yourself, then." Stan said and rolled over, instantly falling asleep.
Kyle got up from the chair and opened the door quietly. He spent some time wandering around the Marshes' cozy home and backyard, getting acclimated to his new surroundings.
Kyle instantly recognized the street the house was located, and knew this was a place no vampire would ever set foot due to the increased population in this neighborhood in fear of being seen.
He went downstairs and entered the kitchen. He flipped on the light and studied the layout.
Kyle had learned a lot about hospitality from his overbearing mother. He figured he might as well make something for Stan to say thank you. He opened the fridge and scrounged around for something to cook with.
"I haven't cooked breakfast in years... I wonder what Stan would eat. Hmm.. eggs? Ike likes his eggs scrambled... I'll just do them that way. What goes with eggs... oh bacon. I don't eat bacon, but I guess his family does. It's normally fried I think... Should I do some extra for his sister?" Kyle's overactive brain rambled on while he gathered the items he needed.
His mind wandered back to all the cooking shows he watched with his mom. Eggs and bacon were extremely simple; there was no way he could mess it up, he told himself.
He found two pans in the upper cabinets and turned on the stovetop. He prepped the first pan with butter, and the second with butter and oil. He went through the motions: cracking the eggs, pouring them into the pan along with salt and pepper, waiting for the second pan to sizzle before cooking the bacon, and watching both of them carefully so they didn't burn.
Kyle felt extremely proud once the breakfast was done. He was so proud, he almost didn't see the figure in the doorway.
"Hello?" A female's voice caused him to turn around suddenly. Kyle assumed this was Shelley. She was dressed in a work uniform, and was very well put together unlike her brother. Her brows were furrowed and she was giving Kyle an intimidating look.
"Oh, hi! You must be Shelley." Kyle beamed, giving his friendliest smile.
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I am. You must be the vampire from last night."
"...sort of.. my name's Kyle." He turned around back to his cooking. "Can you show me where the plates are? I made breakfast." He asked.
"They're in the top shelf next to the pantry." Shelley said. She stepped further into the kitchen and watched him as he went and grabbed what he was looking for.
"Can I ask why you made breakfast? At five in the morning?" She asked.
"I was already up, so I figured I could make something for you and your brother for letting me stay here." Kyle explained, putting the food on a plate.
"You're staying here?" Shelley asked loudly. "Never mind, don't explain. I've got to get to work, just let me eat."
Kyle handed her the food along with a fork. She stared at the food, and Kyle thought she wasn't going to eat it. She eventually took a bite of eggs.
"Oh! Thats actually really good. I didn't know vampires knew how to cook." Shelley said, shoving more bites into her mouth.
"I'm not a vampire, I'm a half vampire." Kyle explained.
"What's the difference?" Shelley mumbled. Kyle went over to the pantry and found a granola bar that he could eat.
"So.. Stan told me you go to the community college, correct?" Kyle asked, trying to make small talk.
"Yeah." She responded.
"What are you majoring in?"
Shelley took another bite. "Nursing."
"Oh, wow. Nursing's pretty tedious, isn't it?"
"Yeah.. but it'll be worth it later. I'm working at the the rehab center, so if anything happens you should call there." She explained.
"Of course."
Shelley finished her last bite of food and placed her fork down on the plate.
"Tell you what, Kyle. If you make breakfast like that every morning, you have my permission to stay. Got it?" Shelley explained.
"Of course!" Kyle exclaimed, happy to receive acceptance.
Shelley walked over to the fridge and grabbed out an energy drink. "I'm going to work. I'll be home around eleven pm. Don't let Stan do anything stupid again."
Kyle nodded and watched her exit the house.
He looked out the window and noticed the faint, orange rays of morning light hovering in the sky. He gladly walked to the window and admired the colors. He couldn't see the sun yet, but he knew once he did he had to shut the curtains quickly.
He watched as the sky turned from orange, to pink, to purple, and then a light blue outlined the bright ball of sunlight.
"Something smells amazing.." Stan said, stretching as he walked into the kitchen.
"I made eggs and bacon." Kyle explained as he finally shut the curtains, blocking the harmful rays from reaching him. "You can have the rest, me and Shelley have already eaten." He sat down at the table.
"You can cook too? Dude, can you be my best friend?" Stan asked jokingly and quickly grabbed a nearby plate Kyle had set out and packed the remaining food into it.
Kyle laughed. "Sorry dude. Two people already have that title in my life."
"Are you sure you can't make room for one more? Please?" Stan begged, sitting down at the table after grabbing a drink from the fridge.
"Let me think about it." Kyle said with a grin.
He watched humorously as Stan stuffed his face with the food. "Gosh, this might be better than Mom's." He said with a mouthful.
"Gosh, you eat like an animal." Kyle joked. He sniffed the air. "You smell like one too."
"So sorry I couldn't shower last night. I was busy entertaining a certain vampiric guest." Stan joked back. He pulled off his beanie, revealing his absolute mess of hair.
"Jeez, dude. When's the last time you washed your hair?" Kyle said, staring at the other's greasy, poorly bleached locks.
"A couple days ago? Is it really that bad?" Stan asked, gobbling down his last few bites of food.
"It is awful." Kyle said and stood up from his chair. "We're about to go fix that. Come on."
He marched up back to Stan's room with Stan following close behind. He flipped on the light to the messy bathroom.
"Dude. You also need to clean." Kyle said. "Show me what you use to wash your hair."
Stan reached for the only bottle in his shower, and Kyle gasped at the sight of it. "Three in one? Are you kidding me dude? This isn't even color safe!"
"Whoa, calm down! I didn't even know color safe shit was a thing." Stan exclaimed, puzzled by Kyle's outburst.
"Stan, everyone knows after you get your hair dyed, you use color safe hair products to preserve and protect the color! Every salon tells you this!"
"Oh, I didn't go to a salon. I dyed it myself."
"... well that explains soooo much." Kyle took a deep breath. "Is there any good hair products you can use in this house?"
"Yeah, I think Shelley still has some. She used to have highlights, I'll be right back." Stan said and ran out of the bathroom.
Kyle groaned in defeat and began to slightly move piles of clothes and wet towels into one corner of the bathroom with his foot. "How on earth can someone be so dirty?" He thought.
"I'm back! Ta-da! Color safe shampoo and conditioner!" Stan announced and held out the products excitedly.
Kyle smiled and took them. "Great. I'll also re-bleach your hair for you if you want. Your roots are bothering me."
The two bent down at the base of the bathtub and Stan turned on the water. "I actually like having dark roots, thank you very much." Stan said and looked at Kyle. "Can you do the rest though?" He asked innocently.
Kyle snickered and grabbed the shampoo bottle. "Fine. Get your hair wet."
He laughed as Stan plunged his head into the water pooled in the bottom of the tub. Stan lifted his soaking head up and shook it around, causing Kyle to shout in surprise.
"Dude! I said get your hair wet, not me you dork!" Kyle said and continued laughing.
He popped open the cap to the bottle and squeezed some out, emulsifying the product in between his hands.
Kyle's almond-shaped nails felt amazing to Stan as they scrubbed the shampoo into his scalp. He really didn't like to wash his hair, but he loved it if someone else was doing it.
Kyle made sure every strand of Stan's hair was completely cleaned before washing the bubbles off of his hands. "Don't move, okay?"
Stan felt warm water rush over his head, rinsing out the foam. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as water rushed down his face. After a couple more rinses, he felt a towel begin to rub against the back of his head.
"Alright, Aquaman. Sit up. I need to dry your hair before I put this conditioner in." Kyle said.
Stan sat up and continued grinning as Kyle rubbed his hair in circles all over.
"Here you go." Kyle said and massaged the conditioner into the ends of his hair. Stan knew it was time for a haircut. He and Kenny had been growing out their hair for a couple of months now, but Stan's hair fell out a couple of times from leaving bleach in for too long. Stan's hair went just past his ears, while Kenny's dirty blonde hair down to his shoulders.
"This feels so good, man." Stan sighed, then chuckled softly. "I've known you for less than a day and we're already doing bestie-type shit."
"Well I like you better than most people and I'm supposed to be staying here until my parents get back, so we might as well get close." Kyle said. "Now let the conditioner sit. Where's your hair bleach?"
"Under the sink." Stan answered.
Kyle scooted over to the two cabinet doors under the sink and snorted again. "Hair bleach kit, a razor, a couple of dead bugs, and some condoms. Nice, dude." He said while grabbing the box dye.
"There's bugs??" Stan exclaimed and Kyle laughed.
"No, I'm just scaring you. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were some."
Kyle set the box out on the sink. "I'll go find some tinfoil and a bowl for this stuff. You stay here."
"Yeah, I'll sit here and...marinate." Stan said, unable to think of the right word and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
Kyle burst out laughing and doubled over. "Dude, that is not the right word! That sounded awful!"
Stan couldn't stop himself from staring at his face. The look of pure joy and amusement was plastered on his face. If he wasn't cute-looking before, he definitely was now. Stan felt his face heat up, and butterflies swarmed in his stomach.
Kyle's laughter continued downstairs as Stan sat on the floor of his dirty bathroom, trying to comprehend the familiar, sickeningly-sweet feeling he only ever got from looking at Wendy.
Stan couldn't stop running his fingers through his fresh, clean hair. It didn't just feel good, it looked good as well. Instead of laying flat on his head, his hair fluffed up.
"I can't thank you enough, Kyle. How'd you get so good with hair?" Stan asked as he laid down on his bed.
Kyle followed and sat on the edge. "Do you see my hair?" He asked, pointing to his shiny red curls. "Do you think they look this good naturally? I've spent hundreds on hair products. It used to be an absolute nightmare when I was a kid. By the time I was a preteen, I had enough. I spent hours learning how to take care of my rats nest until I finally got it to a stage where it was manageable and it looked good." Kyle looked at Stan. "I'm glad I can share my knowledge."
Kyle sighed. "I need some different clothes. I don't know why I didn't change at my house last night."
"You can just wear some of mine. I don't care." Stan said, looking up from the bed.
"You sure?"
"Sure, dude. Pick out anything."
Kyle walked over to the closet and scanned through the clothes. "You don't wear anything other than black, blue, or brown, do you?"
"Not really.." Stan mumbled. Wendy had berated him a year ago about the same issue. The conversation arose back in his head and how it led to another breakup. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Not at all. It's your... palette. It suits you to be honest." Kyle explained and grabbed out a cerulean polyester long-sleeved shirt. "Do you have any sports shorts? Like basketball shorts?" He asked.
"Yeah." Stan said and hopped up from his head to his dresser. He opened the drawers and pulled out some plain black shorts that he knew were clean. "Here you go du-"
Stan froze at the sight of Kyle pulling his black, blood stained shirt off to reveal his slender body. Stan couldn't help but stare at his pale skin. Kyle wasn't as muscular as he was, but he was definitely toned. He pulled on the shirt from Stan and tugged at the bottom on it.
"H-Here you go." Stan forced out and tried everything to not let his face turn tomato red. He handed to shorts to Kyle, who smiled.
"Thanks, can you run around please? I don't like people looking at my ass." Kyle asked. Stan promptly turned around and then blushed.
Kyle quickly changed out of his pants into the comfortable shorts. "Alright, I'm done."
Stan breathed heavily and went back to his bed to lie down. He admired Kyle in his clothes. They were slightly oversized on him, not as much as they were on Wendy, but they still looked great nonetheless.
Stan wasn't so sure before, but he definitely knew now: Kyle was hot. Especially in his clothes.
"Hey, Kyle?" Stan asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Wassup?"
"Can I ask a few more questions?"
"About what?"
"I don't know, dude. I just want to know more about you."
Kyle snickered. "Am I really that interesting?"
"Absolutely!"
"Alright, dude. What do you want to know?"
"What's your family like?"
Kyle sighed. "We're a pretty normal Jewish family for, well, half vampires I guess. As you know, my dad is a lawyer and has worked on most of the cases in this county. As for his powers, he's three times anything me and my brother are."
Kyle leaned back till he was side by side with Stan. The other boy turned over and listened with interest on his face.
"The more a vampire ages, the more powerful they get. I not saying my dad is old, but... just saying he's fought in both world wars."
"Dang, that's awesome."
"He has the typical super strength and senses. He is resistant to the sun, but he can't have garlic. He has these cool fangs, like, they're twice the size of mine. His bat form is super cool too; he's a ginormous Golden-Crowned flying fox, and his wingspan is like five feet. He also has a pretty strong hypnotic power, and I promise he's never used it to win a case before."
Stan laughed at the last part.
"He met my mom in New Jersey back in the 1980's. According to my mom, it was like love at first sight. She left everything behind to marry him and eventually become a half vampire herself. As you know, she is very active in the community and can pretty much make friends with anyone. She doesn't have the astounding strength that we boys have, but she certainly makes up for it with her senses and intuition. I swear, she knows a lie before me or my brother can even think of it in our head. She also can eat garlic, so me and her go out to Italian restaurants every now and then."
"Oh, so you like Italian food?" Stan asked, taking mental notes.
"I freaking love Italian, man." Kyle responded.
"Me and my mom are the only ones in our house who don't have hypnosis, and that of course leaves my younger brother, Ike. Like me, he can't go in sunlight so he spends his days and nights playing video games. He even started his own YouTube account two years ago."
"So he's a professional gamer, huh?"
"He really is. He started streaming not too long ago and has been gaining some popularity. He sometimes makes me play games with him, and I don't really mind of they're relaxed games like Minecraft. His senses aren't that developed yet, but his hypnosis definitely is. Can you imagine going to tell your brother that Dad told him to go do the dishes, only to wake up thirty minutes later standing in the kitchen doing the dishes he was supposed to do? I love him and all, but sometimes I want to strangle him to undeath."
"Sounds rough." Stan said and laughed again.
They laid down in silence for a minute or two.
"So, can you tell me how people turn into half vampires? I mean, how can you be alive but dead at the same time?" Stan asked.
Kyle sighed. "It's a bit of a mouthful. I can't try to explain it the best I can."
"First of all, vampires are not dead and alive at the same time. They are just simply dead. Vampirism is a virus that affects the cells of the body, causing them to transform into a reanimated state that is considered inhuman. The virus causes hyper mobility, increased night vision with the downside of light sensitivity, decrease of blood flow throughout the body, heart failure, all the powers I mentioned earlier and or course, sharpened enamel on the canines and a thirst for blood." Kyle paused. "A myth about vampires is that we can't see our reflection, which was true back a long time ago. Mirrors back them were backed with silver, a pure metal, which we cannot interact with. Nowadays they are made with aluminum, which is why we can see ourselves."
"Over time, some humans have built up an immunity to this virus, and those who are infected with vampirism don't experience all the affects that are supposed to occur. Only half vampires can turn humans into half vampires through a blood transfusion, not a bite. We have adapted to live among humans since we are looked down upon by normal vampires, and most of the time people can't tell the difference. A downside would be moving every thirty years or so, since half vampires stop aging after their 40's." Kyle paused.
"Now, the turning into a bat thing, I can't logically explain. I have no idea why we do it or how we can do it, it just exists for some odd reason. Okay, now that I think I got everything out of the way, is there anything else you want to know?"
"Sure, who are these two best friends you keep mentioning?" Stan asked.
Kyle smiled and stared at the ceiling along with Stan.
"The only two other half vampire teenagers in this town. I'm so lucky to have them. Their names are Tweek and Marjorine. Us three have been raised since birth together, and we've pretty much been inseparable even to this day. We go hunting a lot and spend more time at each other's houses than our own."
"That's really sweet."
"I love them like family. Tweek is like my extremely nervous brother, and Marjorine is like the baby sister I never had. I'm sure they'd love to meet you."
"Mhm." Stan mumbled and nodded. "A-Are you dating anyone?"
Kyle paused at the question, and seemed to get uncomfortable. "No, I'm not at the moment. I've only had one relationship before, and I don't really like to talk about it."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"No, you're good. I'm past all that now. What about you? You got a girlfriend?" Kyle asked.
"Well... no. My girlfriend of three years actually broke up with me two weeks ago."
"Aw man, dude. I'm sorry." Kyle said sympathetically.
"No, it was probably for the better. We were constantly breaking up and getting back together all the time, which I think is what kicked off my depression. I was bummed out at first, but now I realize that I can't keep doing that stuff. I want a healthy, stable relationship." Stan explained.
"Don't we all... you have depression? Is it severe?" Kyle asked.
"It used to be back in sophomore year. I was so angry and sad all the time, I just wanted to end it all, you know? I tried several times, but my best friend Kenny pulled me through and supported me till I was stable enough to be let around pills and bridges again." Stan explained quietly.
"Where was your girlfriend? Surely she helped you through this, right?"
Stan took a deep breath. "She was either busy at cheerleading practice, studying, or hanging out with her friends rather than to console me." He felt shaky as his stomach began to feel sick.
Kyle furrowed his brows.
"And it isn't like she's an awful person, because she isn't. She's always been a sweet and helpful person, and that's why I like her. But, I can't keep doing this. This year has been awful, and my situationship certainly isn't helping. She never wanted to hang out after school, go to games, do the dirty, she just never did anything with me. I don't know if it's a me problem or a her problem."
"Stan, look at me dude." Kyle demanded. Stan hesitantly turned to face Kyle's brilliant green orbs that were filled with sympathy.
"You both obviously have your faults, and you both certainly aren't perfect. I know sometimes it feels like this one person is the most important person in the world to you, but sometimes you and that person aren't really compatible. I know it hurts, but sometimes it's the best thing to just, you know, let them go. Trust me, I know." Kyle explained.
Stan listened carefully as the shaky feeling slowly left his body.
"And, who knows? Once you let this one person go, you may find someone even better." Kyle continued. "Who loves you, and cares for you, and thinks you are perfect just the way you are."
Stan was captivated by his words and his beautiful eyes. It took him a second to snap back into reality.
"Wow, dude. You must have had a lot of time to think about that." He said and laughed nervously.
"I have. It's just a little something my dad told me when I was going through my first breakup. It's helped me through a lot." Kyle explained.
"Your dad sure does know what he's talking about." Stan said and rolled back over. "Sorry for getting so emotional."
"Dude, it's emotion. You shouldn't bottle them up inside, it's bad for you."
Awkward silence once again filled the room.
"You know dude... I think you're one of the smartest people I've ever met." Stan blurted out.
Kyle snickered. "I've been around a lot of smart people my whole life. You'd think I learn a thing or two from it."
Stan felt completely at ease once more.