(A/N): Hey Guys! This chapter was inspired by the song My World by Sick Puppies. It's a little bit dark, so beware.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.
Trigger Warnings: Self Harm. You don't see someone hurt themselves, but you do see the aftermath, which is described in some detail. Human blood, from the source.
Leo
For whatever reason, I couldn't sleep that night- my mind wouldn't stop whirling. The others had fallen asleep ages ago, their deep, steady breaths the only sound I could hear- Well... almost the only sound. At first, I didn't know what it was that I was honing in on; focusing on- then, I realised. I jumped out of bed as quickly and as quietly as I could- so, faster than the human eye could see and silently- and raced out of the dorm room, through the common room and out the portrait hole. I listened again, not even having to pause to focus on it, to figure out who it was- before I realised that it was familiar, and a hollow ache rang through my chest.
When I took a deep breath in, I had to exhale quickly, nearly knocked off of my feet with the power of the scent; I set off running again, worried and more than a little curious. Within a few seconds I arrived just behind them, and as I reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, I murmured, "Brooke...?" She jolted, spinning around at the sound of my voice, and I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks- and the blood running from her wrist.
"Leo!" She exclaimed in shock, before following my gaze to the blood trickling slowly down her arm. "Oh, this? This is..." She trailed off for a second, looking panicked. "I tripped," She finished lamely, and I stared at her, barely keeping my instincts in check.
Just kill her, that wild voice howled from the darkest parts of mind. No one will know it was you. I shook it off, taking her forearm in my hand and gently turning her, pulling her closer so I could get a better look at it. "You didn't trip." She stood completely motionless for a second before shaking her head, tears starting to well again. "You did this to yourself." It wasn't a question; I already knew the answer, having seen it firsthand- well, secondhand, I guess- via my blood sensor. I released her arm and bent down, carefully picking up the razor from the cold stone floor and slipping it into my pocket before straightening to look her dead in the eye. "Why?" Her gaze shot to the floor, then gradually making its way back up to my face.
"Why not?" Both of my eyebrows flew up, and I may have growled a little from the frustration a sentiment like that inspired.
"'Why not?' Brooke, what the hell could be so wrong that you'd want to hurt yourself like this?!"
She stared at me for a second, looking slightly surprised. "Everything. I mean, just look at me." She gestured to her body, and I scanned her, still remaining perplexed.
"What about it?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm hideous." I let out a shocked laugh, shaking my head instinctively.
"You? Brooke, you're half-veela- you're in like, the top two prettiest girls I've ever seen!" She smirked slightly, sadly, knowing exactly who the other person I was talking about was.
"I'm a horrid person," She said with a sniffle, and I immediately knew I wasn't getting anywhere with this- not tonight, anyway.
She moved to sit back down on the floor where she'd been before, but I grabbed her arm- the uninjured one- and pulled her up short. "Maybe we should get that patched up?" I suggested, gesturing to the gash in her flesh- almost as pale as mine- and her eyes widened almost comically.
"I can't go to Madam Pomfrey with this!" Of course she couldn't- it could never be that easy, could it?
"Fine then, hang on tight." She looked utterly perplexed but not even a little frightened as I scooped her up into my arms, and after taking a single breath I took off again, the slight weight of her not slowing me down at all. Within a few seconds I was outside the Room of Requirement, and another second later, we were inside. The room was smaller than the usual library I used with Remus and Elaine, more cosy, and there was a small table in the center with medical supplies stacked neatly on it, and two chairs right beside it. On the far wall were two vents to the outside world, much like the ones Elaine had created when I'd been struggling with James being injured in this same room, back in first year- to minimise the chance of me being overwhelmed by the scent of blood already filling the room, and attacking her. "Welcome, Brooke, to the Room of Requirement."
She gaped slightly, and I set her down carefully in one of the two chairs before scanning the supplies. I leaned over her and took her forearm in hand again as I met her eye, then dipped a cloth in a bowl of clean water. "This may hurt a little." She nodded, visibly bracing herself before I began to dab the wet cloth over her wrist.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" I winced, not enjoying hurting her even if my vampire side sat in the back of my mind keenly interested in every little pained noise she made. "Isn't there any other way you can do this?" She whined, squirming, and I paused for a second to glance up at her. "What?" She asked, her eyes wide with curiosity as she suddenly went still.
"There- there isn't another way." She grabbed the cloth from my hand and tossed it back onto the table- sending water sloshing across the surface as she hit the bowl instead of the wood.
"Whatever it is, I don't care- just do it." My eyebrows creased together and I pulled away from her, only to have her follow me. "Leo. Do it."
My eyelids fluttered for a second, before I shook my head. "I shouldn't have brought it up..." She rolled her eyes, impatient.
"What is it?" I froze for a second.
"Something Shari taught me over the summer..." She raised an eyebrow, curious. "Vampire venom has healing properties..."
She stared at me for a long second before her eyes widened in realisation. "Do it," She said, thrusting her wrist- still leaking small amounts of blood- into my face.
"Brooke..." I trailed off, unable to tear my eyes away from the enticing red liquid in front of my eyes, and she shook it again, making the blood drip slightly faster.
"Do. It." I took a deep breath, praying to whatever God may exist- and actually care about the prayers of half-vampires- that I didn't lose control. Didn't lose it any more than I already had, considering that I was already giving in to her demands. To this utterly foolish- and almost certainly dangerous- idea. I grasped her hand tightly and used it to pull her closer to me, my other arm slipping around her waist instinctively- so she couldn't run away, the vampire part of my brain informed me- and my head moved of its own accord until. Until.
My tongue pressed flat against the wound, and the taste of her blood exploded in my mouth- tangy, and oh so delicious. I could feel her heartbeat speed up and I could hear her blood rushing through her veins, and the second I managed to pull back, eyes still squeezed shut, something else met my lips. Hers. I was shocked but still managed to press back against her lips lightly, the arm that was wrapped around her waist drawing her closer and my other hand releasing hers to find the nape of her neck in order to tangle itself in her hair. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and I took in a breath through my nose, unintentionally managing to catch a deep inhale of- I twisted my face away from hers, burying it in the side of her neck. I tried to resist it as the urge rose, cresting like a tidal wave, or maybe an avalanche- something equally deadly and disastrous- but I slipped into Sensory Alert anyway, and my lengthened, sharpened teeth found her neck. The razor sharp tips scratched at the skin there, drawing a small amount of blood.
"Leo!" She cried out, and I tried to stop myself, but I was fighting a losing battle- one that the vampire part of my brain was trying to convince me was futile, and probably always had been. Her arms slipped from around my neck and her hands a place on my chest, where she braced herself against me and pushed hard- as hard as she could, I suspect, which actually managed to send me back slightly. It wasn't a lot- barely enough for the length of our bodies not to be touching anymore- but it gave me the incentive to keep moving back, and I stood pressed against the far wall a split second later due to vampire speed, staring at her with eyes I knew were still darkened from my unwelcome stint in Sensory Alert.
"I tried to warn you..." I whispered, and she just gaped at me, little droplets of blood starting to crawl down the side of her neck. "I'm sorry." I glanced at her wrist, which was only a faint scar now.
"And I didn't listen..." She murmured, watching me intently, taking in my new appearance- oddly enough, she didn't seem nearly as horrified by the way I looked as I felt every time I had to see it.
"I'm so sorry..." I told her, forcing myself out of Sensory Alert and refusing to so much as look at her anytime soon. After about a minute, she started for the door- and I thought to myself, 'This is it. She's leaving, and she never wants to see you again. She knows what you really are now- a feral monster, who can't control himself- and she hates you for it, just like-' but then she paused. She turned around, only a few feet from me now, and I fought the urge to grab her, kill her, drink her.
She moved forward again, and I pushed myself further back against the wall as she rested a hand against the side of my neck. "This..." I stared at her as she did the same to me. "This is for helping me." Then, she pressed her lips against mine again, and warmth spread through my body as we connected for a few very pleasant seconds. Until, that is, she pulled away- not even glancing back as she reached the door, nor when it closed behind her. I slid to the floor with a sigh, conflicted as to how to feel about things. On the one hand, at least if the kiss was anything to go by, she might be open to seeing me again... on the other hand, I had almost bitten her, and she'd seen me at my most monstrous...
"Fuck."
(A/N): Hehehehe, Leo's first non-accidental kiss...
This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 30/12/22 - Added the trigger warning and fixed up some grammatical errors
This chapter has had edits made to it on 22/2/24 - Formatting, and reconfiguring sentences so they make a bit more sense. Added the vents to the Room of Requirement, and Leo's vampire side being interested in the pained noises Brooke makes. Added Leo's insecure thoughts, and the bit at the very end where he's conflicted about whether Brooke will truly want to see him again.
Also, for anyone who might be curious or confused, Brooke's self-harm is related to her feeling inadequate in comparison to her mother. Aleysia was (in Brooke's eyes, and sort of objectively) far prettier, so Brooke feels like she's sort of failing to fill her mother's shadow. She says, 'I'm a horrid person' both because she feels awful for feeling that way about her mother (because she knows her mother loved her very much and would be absolutely devastated that her daughter feels that way) and because she also just thinks she's a bad person in general- bad friend, not very smart, etc etc. It's all just common teenage insecurities, compounded by losing a parent so young, and some stuff added by the veela genes.
Also also, I chose to have Leo refer to himself as specifically a feral monster, because not only can it mean 'resembling or characteristic of a wild animal', and Leo is kind of wild when he's out of control like that, but because it can also mean 'in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication', which, if you think about it... him 'escaping' (aka being kicked out of) his childhood home is sort of like an animal escaping captivity.