A/N: Hi guys! Been a long time coming . I can't believe it's been like 11/12 years since 'If I Die By Sunrise'. In honor of its birthday which just passed (woo!) wow where does the time go? I wanted to bring the boys back around for a new Fright Night fic.

When I wrote IIDBS I was 18 and about to graduate high school, now I'm about to graduate college and I'm on track for my Master's so it's been a crazy ass, but good past few years.

As in If I Die By Sunrise tradition, I had to stick to my roots and make it a First Person POV (shout out 18 year old cringe me) but I am overall satisfied with how this oneshot turned out. It really has no connection to If I Die By Sunrise and fair warnings: this is a bit steamier, a bit darker, and Charley is a lot more...off kilter in this one, but mostly bc he's been through it.

Warnings: mentions of minor character deaths, implied underage/age unspecified, lemon (do we even still call it lemon?)

Please enjoy. :3

Come quickly and come alone.

Sharp, simple, and straight to the point, deadly like the blade of a knife, a razor's edge, or more accurately…the fangs of the vampire who stole my life. Great. Quickly, he says, as if I'd wish for this to take any longer.

Though, to be honest, I couldn't tell you what exactly I was heading for. But knowing Jerry, tonight promised to be, well, promising.

I would give you the long version, but unfortunately the most we have time for today, folks, is a quick recap. I am very tired. Turns out you don't get much sleep when you're hunting a vampire. Who knew? And I don't have much left to my name except for the shirt on my back, the houses of the people I've lost, and the only person I have left who is, unfortunately, all I have left.

Of course, my life wasn't always like this. You see, not so long ago, I had a mom, I had a girlfriend, I had a best friend, I had neighbors, and then, a certain neighbor, Jerry moved in.

It's not a pretty story.

Yeah…

So, moving on…ahh, so like all malicious, bloodthirsty sadists, Jerry gave me a choice between which of my friends I'd like to save. What can I say? He's a real standup guy.

Slaughtered everyone I loved like it was nothing and in the end reduced it down to a choice of two human lives, as if it were merely a game to him, which I suppose to a 300-year-old vampire like Jerry, it is just a game. Wasting human lives for sport, a pastime. It was tremendously sick, making me choose, but what can I say? That's Jerry. A ton of fun.

And the fun doesn't end there, apparently. Jerry has one more request of me, he didn't specify, he only asked me to meet up with him. Which is why I find myself now about to join the vampire who took away everyone I ever loved and left me with one person left. And alone, I go, with no backup, to a nightclub right below the penthouse where I watched said vampire slaughter an innocent man who was only trying to help me and in no way deserved to die.

But it's alright, folks, because he gave me a choice…some choice.

I know what you're thinking, and I've thought it too, surely there are other ways to save someone than risking my life to follow a lion into the lion's den…but Jerry wouldn't let me buy time to think up some. He's demonstrated that he's impatient, clearly. I'm not stupid, I know at any moment, he can decide to go after Ed and me and it's game over.

I don't really know why I'm still here or why I'm still going, but I do know I just…I won't let him win. I can't. But I also know how easily, like a dice throw, my odds are of losing.

It's the only reason I'm hurrying. I'm no hero. I think we've already established that. I couldn't save my mother or my girlfriend or anyone I loved or cared about, and when I had to choose between two human lives, I let someone die, like a coward.

There's no getting even with Jerry. There's no leverage, I'm not sure if he hates me. I'm not sure why he did this. But I do know one thing, he's a man of his word and if he ever says he's coming for the last one, he's coming for the last one. I'm not going to even pretend to kid myself that I know what I am up against, but do know this, I want to save Ed. I have to try.

It's kind of blasphemous that right above us, in the penthouse, Peter's…god…his…body, I can't even think…it makes me so sick. The same body Jerry carelessly left there as a warning for me, rests with nothing but a white sheet over it because that was the best I could do in terms of a proper burial. At least for now.

I tried to hide Ed before I left. It wasn't…easy, I swear Jerry gave me such little preparation time on purpose. I almost reconsidered leaving Ed alone, but I figured it would be better than risking Jerry's return.

I made sure to quadruple lock Ed's room door behind me, it was once the room Peter swore was the most vampire proof…it's kind of hard to believe that when Ginger's cooling corpse is laying right there on the bed, a grim reminder of the unneighborly guest who made himself right at home, uninvited. Vampire-proof couldn't keep him out. Lack of an invitation couldn't keep him out. At this point I'm starting to think nothing can.

As I passed Peter's body, I closed my eyes, immediately seeing his and the fear within them as Jerry turned on him, feral and deadly. It was an image one can never forget. As I hopped into the elevator and let the doors close, I promised myself that no matter what, I would make Jerry pay for this. Somehow.

There'd been no time to give myself a quick onceover in the mirrors, I had used that time to fuss over Ed and whisper protection prayers to his mostly out of it form before I left, but catching a glimpse of myself in the glare of the elevator doors now, it made me flinch. I didn't look like myself which was to be expected given what I'd gone through, but still. I looked…unrecognizable…not just like someone who had witnessed unimaginable horrors, but a horror himself, my eyes were sunken in, my hair was thin and stringy and there was no telling when was the last time I had eaten or slept, not that I even knew.

Either way, this wasn't a friendly, cheerful reunion between pals. I'm sure Jerry wouldn't care that I hadn't dressed up. I still had caked up blood on my clothes, both from Peter and Ed, who Jerry had knocked out but didn't kill and bruises from all the times I had tried to stop him and failed. Blood from all my unsuccessful attempts… I'm sure if Ed were fully conscious right now, he'd be properly disappointed to know that I was the only thing standing between him and the same fate as Peter and Ginger and my mom and–and

Oh god what am I doing? This is hopeless.

Ding!

I'd been so lost in my self-deprecation that when pink, green, yellow, and purple strobe lights accompanied by loud music filled the car to signify I'd finally arrived at the floor of the club it took me a minute to step off, stunned as I was to fully collect myself. It was like a dream, or maybe this is the lack of sleep talking, but I was beginning to regret being a socially awkward nerd for most of my life, for a moment the colors and the music and the lights kind of felt…like I was in a whole different world. A world where people were moving and dancing oddly and the music was way too loud and it smelled a lot like Sativa.

Did I die? Was this heaven?

"I'm going to need to see some ID, kid." It seemed like all too soon reality was ready to pull me back down to earth. The bouncer did not look pleased and, rightfully, a little sketched out to see some blood covered kid walking into a club. Panicking, I backed up, already leaving when I felt a pair of cool hands wrap around my waist pulling me close to them while someone's gruff voice spoke above my head. "He's with me." And if I thought reality was ready to pull me back down to earth, as always there was my active nightmare, Jerry ready to pull me down to Hell.

I barely had time to look up, frozen as I was, standing stock still, my wide eyes blinking up at the bouncer's expression sure mine matched the same shock and confusion. I was too stunned to speak, but Jerry spoke for me, pulling me even closer in our sort of backwards hug as if we were engaging in some long awaited greeting. He tilted my chin up in an outward and deliberate display of possession, meant to come off as affectionate, I assumed, before leaning down to kiss me.

On instinct my fingers curled into a fist, and I lifted my hand, ready to punch the daylights out of him, and yet at the same time my stomach roiled, ready to hurl, from the fact that this monster was touching me with those same villainous claws. But if I thought I was quick, of course, Jerry was quicker…he captured my wrist almost as soon as I raised it, and only deepened the kiss.

"Mmm, now, now, my mate," he hummed in between kisses, "don't be so eager, we're still in public, save some for later," he purred, and I was sure I was actually going to lose my non-existent dinner all over the floor. He kissed me a final time, making it linger, before he, finally, pulled away. His triumphant smile made my stomach sink like a stone. "So I take it you got my message?" he stage-whispered in my ear.

Despite the revulsion bubbling through me, I was able to school my face into something calm and neutral, aware of his dark gaze on me, always studying my face with that predatory curiosity. Like a hunter. I only hoped my expression didn't betray my nerves. "Yes…I-I did." I cleared my throat, aiming to sound more adult.

"Good." He nodded at the bouncer, handing him a bill I couldn't quite make out in the light which the burly man accepted gratefully, letting us past the velvet rope with no further issues. It was hard not to glare a little mournfully at the man who did nothing but watch as Jerry escorted me further through the club, his saliva still fresh on my tongue.

Jerry's hand was solid and sure behind my back but it was hard not to think about the atrocities those same hands had committed, hard to relax and breathe easy knowing that I was in the company of the man who killed everyone I had ever loved and was gearing up to finish the last person, but still I knew I had to make a decent attempt. And yet I was completely unable to process what I had just witnessed.

"I don't get it," I said, trying to slow my breathing down which was only growing more and more rapid the further we headed into the literal sensory overload of a nightclub. Boy, had I been missing out on my youth.

Jerry, however, was confident as he strut beside me looking right at home. "What do you mean?" he asked, leaning in far too close for my comfort.

I tried to whisper so the other club-goers would not be alarmed at our conversation. "You could have just killed him. It's not like you ever cared about an invitation before."

"Why Charley," he gasped in mock surprise, regarding me with false disapproval. "Shame on you, are you saying you're okay with my killing now?" The smirk on his face was playful as if he were enjoying his own joke, as if discussing whether or not this innocent man's life would be included in this mass murderer's vicious tally could even be called a joke. At my horrified expression, Jerry's grin only grew bigger, but I, of course, was not laughing or smiling with him. He honestly made my blood run cold.

"O-of course I'm not saying that!"

Jerry's smile did not fade. "You might want to keep your voice down, bub."

"You know what I mean," I tried again, a little softer now since he's right, I had been way too loud. I was beginning to attract the very attention I'd been hoping to avoid. But anyone who had been alerted by my shout quickly turned their attention back to the music now, to my relief. Most of them probably too drunk or high out of their mind to care about a couple of strangers. "You could have just killed him, easily. What's with the greasing of palms?"

This time Jerry laughed out loud, as if it had been my turn to tell a joke and my joke was funnier. "Oh lighten up, Charley! Kill someone? Is that what you think of me?" As if it was so far-fetched a concept to accuse him of. It wasn't made any better that his absurd remark was punctuated by a flash of his menacing teeth, in the dark of the club he looked more like a shark than a person. Every inch a killer. I shuddered.

Unbothered and graceful as ever, Jerry pulled me to the dancefloor then, curling my body into his. There were eyes on us, and it took me a moment to realize some were glaring with envy…at me? But it made sense…I suppose. It was impossible for me to forget what he was…that sometimes I forgot that to the outside world, Jerry was just a regular guy. Hard for me to imagine that to the outside world, someone would actually hope he'd take them back to his place…

And…I was going to be sick again.

The music thumping through the speakers was starting to give me a headache. "Shh, relax, Charley, let go," Jerry hummed in my ear. These songs were nothing like teh ones I ever danced to in my life, which wasn't saying much since I didn't dance, but I pretended that for a moment, I was someone else, somewhere else, but knowing that Jerry was right there in front of me was making it incredibly difficult.

His larger body shielded mine almost completely, as if he was protecting me from the other dancer's gazes, but all I wanted to do was panic at the fact that this serial killer demon monster was touching me.

"If you play your cards right, you know," he was saying, purring softly against the shell of my ear, breath tickling me while his body rubbed against mine in ways I did not want, but was sending my mind into a tailspin. It was so dizzying, I could barely hear him over my pulse racing and my blood pumping furiously through my veins. I was freaking out so bad I almost didn't catch his last part. Almost. "No one has to die tonight."

"W-what?" I stopped moving immediately, my pause was so abrupt that if Jerry had actually been human, he'd have stumbled right there on the dancefloor, but instead he didn't even miss a step.

"What do you mean?" I repeated, unable to fully process what I thought, and hoped I'd heard correctly. It sounded too good an offer to be true. "Are you saying you'll spare him? And what do you mean by tonight? You promised me Peter would be the last one."

He pulled me in closer again suddenly, placing cool kisses along my throat with his chilled lips. "And he would be," he promised me. "But first, you tell me why you chose to keep Ed alive and not Peter."

"What?" I asked, desperate now, because I did not like where this was going. "Jerry, what does this have to do with…"

"Answer me," he commanded. "Or I break my promise and he dies."

"Please don't."

"Then tell me, why did you save Ed's life and not Peter's." His voice was losing its calm, the benign sultry tone was slowly being replaced by something more sinister. "Why him?"

"He's my best friend." It was a feeble excuse, I know.

But Jerry, of course, persisted, gyrating his hips against mine as a more raunchier song started playing around us. "You were more eager to save him than your girlfriend, why is that?"

I did not like any of this. "Please, Jerry. What does it matter to you?"

"You tell me and he lives, it's that simple. Why not just bite, kid?" But there was something about his voice that didn't seem…like it was going to be that simple.

"I already told you," I huffed, fully exasperated now, "he's my best 's it."

"Okay fine." Jerry flashed me a surrendering grin, conceding that the argument was over. Until he spoke again and his next words made me wish I had been deaf. "You said you'd do anything to save your friend's life, right?"

The way he said the word 'friend' made it sound like an expletive.

"Right, but Jerry…" I hissed as he trailed cold fingers across my arm, leaving goosebumps and the hairs to stand on end.

"Do you want to save his life or not?" he asked me impatiently.

I glared up at him, frantic. He began to pull me towards the back now, to a secluded spot where there were fewer people. My heart was beating furiously in my chest. I was praying that this was only a joke. That he was joking. Doing whatever he could to frighten me so my blood smelled better or something. "Not like this, Jerry."

From the feeling of his lips that were once again back on my skin, it seemed like he was pouting. "But I thought you cared about him?" The words were meant to come out mocking but I could sense that same malicious undertone lurking beneath.

He was right. I had to try. I turned around then, I knew Jerry would hurt him tonight if I didn't. So with all the courage of trying to save the last person I had left in the world and the delirium of sleep deprivation fueling me, I kissed the last person I'd ever wish to have my lips touch.

It was a whirlwind then. It all happened so fast. My back was flush against the club wall with Jerry above me, instantly spreading my legs and more incentive for me to hate myself later.

Kissing the man who put me through hell all for his own entertainment was a new kind of traumatic experience. All I could think of was Ed. I was doing this for Ed. But was hard to stay focused though with Jerry in my ear. "So eager for me, huh?" "My dirty slut" I wished he'd just hurry up and get on with it. It was difficult to fight the instinct to find the nearest object to trache him, when he had wrapped his cold hand around me. Watching him stroke me to full hardness while divesting me of my pants, and admiring my half naked form while I pretended to be just as if not more flattered by the attention and not disgusted with myself for what I was about to do would be new nightmare fuel for me for years to come.

Jerry only half shielded me from the eyes of our fellow club-goers, I imagined he wanted them to see, and maybe if this were any other place or time or circumstance that maybe I'd have been more shy, maybe in a time long ago, I might even have been offended at the thought of getting fucked silly in the back of a club, but now the only concern on my mind was how much longer did I have to do this until I could be with Ed again and never again have to worry about Jerry terrorizing us. The adrenaline finally beginning to kick in was a welcome comfort to a night I had anticipated was only going to be filled with horror.

He was more gentle than I thought he would be, eagerly watching my facial expressions as he added a digit, careful to make sure he wasn't hurting me. It was the first time I really looked at him that night, if only to avoid looking below deck. His eyes were so dark it made me flinch, I'd seen his face so many times in my nightmares where I was forced to relive the final moments of my happy life right before he stole it all that it completely erased the point of sleep. And now those eyes seemed even more inescapable as they peered down at me in hunger.

Jerry was saying something else, but I had begun to tune him out, attempting, and failing, to dissociate. His hands were too cold, his body, it was all so cold there was no way to block him out completely.

I made a show of pulling my lips between my teeth, aiming to look appetizing, but feeling ridiculous. I'd never imagined this with anyone, well, no one except…Ed, and for Jerry to be my first, well…the irony was not lost on me. I just wanted this to be over.

He reached around again to stroke me a few more times and I groaned a little. "Thought about this forever, Charley." Jerry's voice was like a roar in my ear, too loud, like thunder. I rocked my ass back. No more talking. Except Jerry wasn't having that apparently. He turned me around again so fast I had whiplash. I was back against the wall, this time with Jerry's cold fingers prodding at my entrance again, and the sensation…was different to say the least. I'd never had anything up there before, and to my dismay the experience wasn't as unpleasant as it should have been. It didn't help that it seemed as if he'd clearly done this before.

He seemed determined to find a particular spot, angling his long digits inside me, curling them just so until he hit a spot that made my toes curl in my shoes. "There we go," he crooned, hitting that spot again and again forcing my dick to stand at attention.

I was moaning then, despite myself.

"Is my mate enjoying himself?" he asked me and he sounded wild, feral,but I was too busy nodding like an eager whore to even process the fact that he used that moniker again.

Jerry seemed incredibly pleased, placing happy kisses along my throat, he released his fingers from my ass, and I knew what this meant. A small voice in the back of my mind warned me that this was going too far, but I didn't care. How long had it been since I got off? I couldn't even remember and it was just me and my hand anyways, since I never went far with Amy and even if I did I imagined it wouldn't have been anything like this. God, I deserve to be struck down for even…

I stood on my tip toes, trying to wave my ass at him and entice him into giving in faster, the revulsion at myself and how deep in this I'd sunk was filling in between the cracks the lust wasn't filling fast enough and I was growing impatient. His still fully clothed dick pressed along my ass and it wasn't helping things.

"He never fucked you did he?"

My eyes shot open then to find Jerry gazing down at me, false sympathy written all over his features. I was so dizzy on the sex high I had no idea that he was even talking much less the sense of mind to comprehend what he was saying. "Huh? W-who?"

"Ed," he said as if it was obvious. "Wasting all this time and you're still untouched."

"Of course he didn't." But my voice came out a lot weaker than I meant it. In the dark now, beneath the flashing lights Jerry remained handsome and lethal as ever, and I felt so small.

It was hard to read the expression in his dark gaze, but he seemed…triumphant though it looked as if he was trying hard to reign in his excitement, his lips twitched in only the barest hint of a smile. "What a fool," he said. "But all the better for me, I guess."

"What do you mean?" I asked him, flinching as he patted me on the ass firmly with his freezing hands. He suddenly restored my pants back to their former glory around my waist and lifted me easily into his arms as if I weighed nothing.

"What good is me making love to you here when I could fuck you right in front of your boyfriend?" Before I could respond to that horrific statement, Jerry was carrying me bridal-style past the elevator doors and out of the club straight to the lobby.

"W-what do you mean?" It was my first and only attempt at trying to gain an explanation from him before we were suddenly moving again, right out the window. Jerry scaled the walls easily, like Spider-Man, the change in gravity didn't bother him. As we headed up to Peter's floor, me in his arms, safe and miraculously still in one piece, I decided I'd save the questions for later.

"You belong with me, Charley," the sadistic vampire, my sworn enemy, announced, as if it were simply a statement of fact too valid to argue and not, in fact, an absurd statement professed by an even more absurd lunatic. It felt like I was having another nightmare, but this time Jerry felt too close, too real, and to my ever growing dismay, he would not stop talking, "It's about time, Ed saw that once and for all. We have to make him see, Charley."

In an act so tender, I'm sure he meant for it to be comforting, but instead it only made my pulse race until I felt like I was going to scream. "You belong to me." And he'd replaced his earlier statement with something even more unsettling. Jerry's eyes gleamed with manic fervor as he tucked me back into his arms, resuming his climb. "We have to make him see. There was a reason I saved him for last."