"It's really a shame," Soule says. "They were getting along so well, now they won't even talk to each other."

"That's because in a certain way, they're too much alike," Eugene replies. "Neither one knows when to shut it and stop being an arse."

Heli tunes them out, pulling his blankets tighter around his shoulders. He's curled up in the chair by the fire. The passing days have grown colder and colder, and he hasn't been able to sleep. Somewhere between consciousness and death, he dreams. Long smoke-like tendrils pull him through dark doorways and into deep coffins. Each time no matter how much he struggles, in the end it's the same. He jolts up, fully awake, unrested and irritable.

He's being unfair to Jakah, he knows. He should be overjoyed that they're back together and he's trying his best to hide his unsettled mood. Jakah doesn't make any indication that he's bothered, but Heli can tell he chooses his words carefully when speaking to him. At least Soule likes him enough to keep him entertained, even though the lot of them spend most of the recent evenings firmly planted in front of the telly.

"Why's it feel so heavy in here?" Taho walks into the living room.

"It's that one over there," says Eugene, nodding in Heli's direction. "And the other one up there." He points up to the ceiling.

Heli can hear a subtle banging of drum beats. Viken's actually being quiet with his music, most likely so no one goes up to bother him. He's only left his room to eat lately, drowning out all knocks on his door by raising the volume of his music louder and louder. Even deep into the night they can hear the wailing of an electric guitar.

"Open your mouth." Taho is standing over Heli.

"Why?"

Taho shoves a glass thermometer between his lips.

"What are you-" The thermometer falls into his hand as he speaks.

"I'm taking notes, put it back in. I didn't realise vampires were so sensitive to the cold."

Heli plants the thermometer back in his mouth. Taho raises his wrist to check his watch.

"We're not usually," Jakah says. "No one cared about having heat in the castle until it was literally freezing."

"Then why's he practically in our fireplace?" Taho says.

"There are a lot of things about him that are kinda weird."

"Somehow that makes a lot of sense."

After a couple minutes, Taho takes back the thermometer.

"Hm."

"What is it?" Heli asks.

Taho shrugs. "Just slightly more than room temperature."

A thud from upstairs makes all of them jump. Heli would go check on Viken, but he already knows any attempt will be met with a slammed door. If Viken even opens it for him at all. The television plays a laugh track over the nightly comedy program, but the forced laughter just makes the mood in the room worse.

"I've had it," Eugene claps his hands together. "Enough is enough. Let's go dancing." He whips the blankets off Heli. "You wanted to know about disco, after all."

"I did?" Heli asks.

"That was during the garlic incident," Taho reminds him.

Jakah looks from Heli to Taho. "What happened with garlic?"

"In hindsight, it was pretty hilarious," Soule says.

"Tell me!"

"I want to dress up, come on." Eugene grabs Heli's arm and pulls him up the stairs, leaving the blanket cocoon strewn across the floor.

"I don't want to change," Heli protests.

Eugene shakes his head. "How do I put it…let's just say you dress your age. I mean your actual age, not the age you look."

Heli assumes this means Eugene wants to doll him up in bright colours. This assumption is confirmed when Eugene tosses a shirt embroidered with gold thread in his direction.

"Try this on." Eugene leaves and Heli can hear him knocking on a door just down the hall.

"What?" Viken yells over his music.

"We're going out, get dressed. In something nice."

Viken groans and slams the door.

"This is what I mean," Eugene says when he reappears, casting a glance over Heli's current ensemble. "Undo a button or two."

Heli's hand goes to his collar, but Eugene beats him to it and opens the top couple of buttons. He stops when he sees the silver locket.

"Take that off, it's not the mood I'm after."

"No," Heli says. "I'm not taking it off."

"Just for the night?"

"No, never."

"Okay," Eugene pauses. "We're going to need a different colour then. Different colour, different mood. Is that real silver? I thought vampires were hurt by silver."

"It doesn't bother me," Heli shrugs.

Eugene settles on a white shirt and navy blue jacket for Heli, and a violet ensemble for himself. He doesn't stop at the outfits. After dressing he starts brushing Heli's hair, pulling it back out of his face. Finally, he dusts both of them with glitter and brushes a bit of rouge across Heli's cheeks.

"You almost look alive." He steps back to admire his work. "It'll be dark so I'm not too worried about the rest. Gonna have to keep an eye on you though so no one else tries to take you home."

"This seems rather showy."

"That's the point." He digs around the wardrobe for a moment and emerges with a pair of white platform shoes. "I won't make you wear anything like these, don't worry."

Jakah is waiting for Heli by the door. Heli is surprised to see he's also changed out of his t-shirt.

"You like it? Whatever it is we're about to do?" Heli asks.

"Not particularly. But the people at these things are willing to try anything." He gives Heli a grin that's wide enough to show off his fangs and steps outside.

"Your friend," Soule says from behind. "He's cute but a little scary."

They've all cleaned up nicely by the time they pile into the van. Even Viken who's sporting a plaid suit jacket over his white button down and has tied back his hair.

"So glad you decided to join us, Viken," Eugene smiles into the rearview mirror. "Now we're going to have a good time, right? No spoiling it."

"Eugene," Heli says. "You still haven't told me what disco is."

Eugene laughs. "It's music. Good dance music."

"Disco sucks," says Viken.

"Don't let him fool you," Eugene says. "He loves dancing, otherwise he wouldn't have come."

Viken sinks into the seat, his arms folded across his chest. Avys taps on Heli's shoulder.

"There are a couple things you should know first though," he says.

"Ah! Right," Soule turns around from the passenger seat. "Don't take anything anyone offers you."

"No matter what kind of biscuit they say it is," Avys adds.

He's apprised of more rules and tips as Eugene drives them into the brightly lit city. Stay away from the basement. Don't touch the columns. Don't worry too much if they get separated, because everyone's just there to dance with everyone else.

They're standing in a queue under a flashing marquee, heading towards the glass doors when Taho suddenly stops.

"Eugene, they don't exactly have photo ID."

"Obviously, considering they can't even take photos."

"How are they-"

"Don't worry about," Jakah takes Heli's arm. "We'll meet you inside."

Jakah gives them a little wave as they walk towards the growing queue with confused looks on their faces.

"You haven't been showing them much of your abilities, have you?" Jakah asks. "Maybe that's for the best."

Heli nods. "Next time the door opens then?"

"Let's go!"

They rematerialise in a dark corner of the entry room, stifling their laughter as the patrons for whom the door opened pass by, completely unaware.

"Easy," Jakah says. He eyes the short hall, which ends in another set of glass doors. Coloured lights flash through them, accompanied by a muffled but steady banging bass beat. He licks his bottom lip. "I'll find you when I'm ready." He's gone in a wisp of black smoke.

"Wait-" Heli starts, but Eugene and the rest are making their way through the entrance.

"Didn't Jakah come in?" Avys asks.

"He did, he went ahead already."

"Why?"

"I don't think we want to know," Soule interrupts.

They make their way to the second set of doors. When Eugene opens one, the sound is immense. Disco is definitely very different from Viken's rock music. The beats are steady like a heartbeat, the bass smooth. The room is packed with dancers, swaying and spinning to the music. Lights flash from the walls, and more strobing lamps hang from the ceiling.

Heli had thought Eugene's outfit choices had been showy, but it's nothing compared to some of the other disco-goers. One woman walks by in a dress covered with sparkling crystals. She steps onto the dance floor and takes a spot with a man sporting a bright red suit. While some people are dressed outlandishly, others appear to have lost their shirts as they weave through the other dancers without any sign of caring.

The air is thick with sweat and beating hearts. People brush his shoulders as they pass, some intentionally, leaving warm trails on his back where their hands graze by. The dancing is nothing like he's ever seen. There appears to be no organisation, no sequence to the steps. Partners are unnecessary, or easily swapped with no regard to gender.

Despite the unifying power of the music, all he sees is chaos. No restraint, no worries, no inhibitions. Just a crackling energy inviting him to go ahead, take anything.

Heli had thought he had control over his impulses, but the writhing mass in front of them is just hot bodies full of food. He looks up at the lights to clear his head, but the stabbing in his chest only reinforces the fact there's one thing primarily on his mind.

Eugene pulls his arm for him to follow onto the dance floor, but Heli shakes his head and steps back.

"Are you okay?" Eugene mouths.

"I-" He knows Eugene won't be able to hear, but at that moment a whole line of people push between them, and Eugene and the others disappear in the crowd.

He makes his way to the outer edges of the room, ducking around one of the Roman-style columns standing around the room. Rounded booths covered in plush white leather line the walls, the people sitting at them retreating into the deep shadows as he passes. Heli spots a door that several people are walking in and out of. Stepping through it, he finds himself on an outdoor terrace space. Between the plant boxes full of dried, dead flowers are wooden benches. He finds one that's unoccupied and a good distance from everyone else, and takes a seat. The music is still audible through the walls, but people are laughing and holding low conversation. He leans onto the edge of the nearest plant box, willing his mind to quiet so the pain will cease.

"Alright there?"

Heli looks up into the face of a young man. He's wearing a jacket with nothing underneath but a silk tie, shorts and a concerned expression.

"Yes, I'm fine."

The man smiles. "Right on."

Heli nods and goes back to leaning with his head in his hand, but the man continues.

"Bit cold out here, innit? What do you say we go inside, I'll buy you a drink."

"I don't drink…whatever that is."

The man is holding a glass full of an orangish red liquid, topped with slices of citrus and cherries. Heli glances from the glass to the pulsing vein in the man's neck.

Big mistake. His fists clench as he does his utmost to remain seated upright.

"How about a dance then?"

"I only know the waltz."

The man laughs. "That's funny. Are you sure you're alright?"

Heli slides forward until his head is down to his elbow, which is still perched on the edge of the plant box. His left side feels like it is on fire and he's trying not to scream.

"I wouldn't get involved with this bloke," a voice says behind him. "He'll rip your heart out and eat it."

Viken climbs over the back of the bench and rests an arm on Heli's back.

"I'm not afraid of a little heartbreak," the man says.

"I meant literally."

Viken doesn't move his arm, even after the man has walked off. He stares as the man turns to take a couple backward glances at them.

"Viken," Heli groans. "Don't touch me."

"Why? Ashamed to be seen with me? Too much of a freak for you?"

Heli turns, pushing his arm off, and slams Viken into the back of the bench. He hadn't meant to push him so hard, and Viken's eyes are wide.

"You know why," Heli glares. His voice is shaking. He can feel Viken's nervous pulse and imagines the taste of fresh, hot blood. His vision darkens and he loses his balance completely, collapsing into Viken's chest. His fist clenches the fabric of his shirt, but he can't stop the searing through his heart.

"You're so warm," he gasps. "You're so warm and I want it. I want every last drop of blood from your body, and I can't stop these thoughts no matter how much it hurts."

Viken is silent as Heli's blood thirst wanes into embarrassment. He sits up as the ache slowly ebbs away. It's fine if Viken just walks away, and it's fine if they never speak again. Even better if they don't actually, since Viken had been right to fear him from the beginning. Heli shouldn't be around him if he can't stop thinking about his blood.

But minutes pass and Viken doesn't leave.

"You know," he says. "I didn't think you'd be a flirt, but I'm glad I followed you. Every person you walked past stared at you."

"Probably because I look ill."

"No you- actually, Eugene did make you look a bit feverish. But that's not it."

"It's the atmosphere. I can't be around this many people."

"You seemed to be holding it together well enough at the carnival and everywhere else so far."

"That's different," Heli says. "They weren't…doing whatever that is." He nods towards the wall of the discotheque.

"Too much temptation, huh?"

"I need restraint."

"That's just the environment you're used to. But it's not the Victorian era anymore." Boemgyu wraps a hand around Heli's wrist. "You're going to have to get used to it if you want to exist in this world."

"Do I though?" Only Eugene's spell really keeps him from sinking back into the solitude of some abandoned castle, never to be seen but in nightmares. Wouldn't they all be much better off?

Viken turns so he can place both his hands on Heli's shoulders.

"You have to so we can keep listening to obnoxious music and doing stupid stuff and getting yelled at by Eugene."

"What about Avys and Taho? You have them to be stupid with."

Viken sighs. "That's different, the five of us, we've been together for ages. I can't really explain it, but…you're the first and only friend that the twenty-one year old me has made. The me now, with the things I like and the way I look. You don't make nasty comments about my clothes or music, just genuinely confused ones. Besides, Taho is too smart, I never beat him at board games."

His heartfelt words are delivered with an uncanny calm. Heli wants to point out that Viken's first words upon seeing him were to call out to Eugene to kill him, but Viken's avoiding looking him in the eye, his cheeks tinging red.

"I can understand that," Heli finally says. "Like Jakah has known me literally his entire life."

"It's different, right? Maybe it's better to have people like that though, the ones who will stick with you no matter what. I don't know."

"Were you afraid?"

"Of what?" Viken retorts.

"Jakah."

Viken blinks. "Listen, bringing one vampire home was risky enough. Two? Really feels like we're tempting fate."

"Tempting fate is what you're doing now." Heli glances down at Viken's arms, still perched on his shoulders. "Coming here was tempting fate."

Viken leans closer. "I'm trying to help you. Get used to it."

He's warm, like sitting by the fire, under a blanket. Reframing things this way instead of being a life force he wants to devour does help. It's a comforting thought.

Viken leans back and drops his arms. "I can't believe I'm saying all this lame stuff to you," he groans. "Just forget it."

"You are helping me."

Heli looks over at Viken. His head is tipped back as he gazes up at the night sky. "I do like dancing, if you'll come with me," he says. "You don't have to join, but I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone."

Heli nods and Viken leads him by the arm back inside. It's still loud, and more crowded than before. He glances up at the stage where a woman is singing, her sequined jumpsuit sparkling in the lights, casting little flecks of colour on her dark skin. He zones out, following the music, trying not to think too much about the other people surrounding them.

Fortunately for him, Viken doesn't leave his sight. Viken's dancing is freeform and full of energy. He moves to the beat, free from predetermined steps or formations.

Whatever Viken does, he does it passionately, Heli realises with a slight tinge of envy. What it must be like to say what he wants, to dress how he wants, to live on his own terms no matter who's watching. Whether it was the teachers in the orphanage or Lamia demanding his attention, Heli's never just been purely himself, and now he's not even sure what that means.

When Viken tires of jumping around he gets a drink from the bar and leads Heli over to one of the seats by the walls. The figure of a woman slumped over one of the tables, her cocktail glass knocked to the side, catches Heli's eye. Next to her, Jakah is leaning back in the seat.

Heli grabs his arm. "What did you do?"

Jakah motions to his ear to indicate he can't hear. Dark spots stain his collar and the cuffs of his sleeves, and his face is flushed red. Heli points to the woman and repeats.

"What did you do?"

Jakah shrugs as he stands. The woman raises her head and gives him a lazy wave.

As they slide into the next seat over with Viken, he leans close to Heli's ear. "Nevermind me. The better question is, what have you been doing?"

Heli brushes him away and Jakah gives him another wide grin.

Viken sips his drink and they watch the band perform, and the crowd as they dance. Eventually, last call is announced and Heli spots Eugene weaving through the crowd. Their eyes meet and Eugene jogs over.

"Ready?" he mouths.

Viken down the last of his drink and they meet the others at the glass doors.

"Everyone have a good time?" Eugene says as they settle back into his van. "I see you two made up." He glances back at Heli, who has Jakah wrapped around his right arm, and Viken dozing off on his left shoulder.

"A fine time was had by all," Viken mumbles. "Though you didn't really think through the part where you took two vampires."

Soule looks back from the passenger seat. "Did something happen?"

"A lot of things happened, but everyone made it out alive."

Soule stares as Eugene starts the van and they pull off, leaving the bright lights of the city for the pure lonely darkness of the countryside.

"It feels so quiet now," Avys says from the back. "I might fall asleep back here."

"I'm not carrying you in," Taho says.

"Isn't this nice?" says Eugene. "Just like a happy little family."

"Bit of a big family, there's seven of us," Taho retorts.

"Shush."

Heli smiles at the visualisation. He's glad they've accepted Jakah so well, even though he didn't come with the same conditions Heli had, and could easily kill them all. Not that he ever would, but they couldn't know that when Heli first declared he was bringing Jakah home. He glances down at Jakah, whose eyes are closed as he chews his bottom lip, still stained with the red of blood. A family though? He wouldn't go that far.

A light from their cottage comes into view. Heli watches Eugene in the driver's seat as he turns into the drive. He taps on the steering wheel to the beat of the music playing softly on the radio. Being the eldest of the five, he does hold some authority. Perhaps he is like a father figure. He's certainly overbearing enough.

"I'm what?" Eugene brings the van to a screeching halt and whips around. "Say that again?"

Jakah and Viken both jerk up at the abrupt motion. Heli just gapes.

"I didn't say anything."

"The hell you didn't. I'm overbearing, was it? I definitely heard your voice."

Heli shakes his head and Soule interjects.

"No one said that, Eugene."

Eugene glares. "What about the rest of you? You heard it, right?"

"No," Taho and Avys agree.

Heli hadn't called Eugene overbearing, but he had been thinking it. Could Eugene read his mind? That didn't make any sense.

Eugene's glare turns into a wide-eyed stare of horror.

"What do you mean you were thinking it?" He turns to Soule.

Soule jumps back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Say something, but not out loud," Eugene instructs.

Soule clearly doesn't understand but he stares back. Eventually Eugene shakes his head.

"What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking, I sure could use a snack before bed," Soule responds.

"It's not me," Eugene turns his attention back to Heli. "It's you, you're doing something."

"I'm really not."

"I think you need to go to bed, Eugene," Viken says. "Sounds like you might have had too much of a good time."

"I'm telling you, I heard him say-"

"For the second time, I didn't say anything."

As soon as they're back inside, he drags Heli up to his bedroom.

"We're both going to be nocturnal today," Viken jokes. "I definitely didn't hear you say anything about Eugene. What did you do to him?"

Heli plops into the bean bag chair and Viken kneels in front of him, scanning his face. "I didn't do anything to him. Okay, I did think he was a bit father-like but I didn't say it."

Viken laughs. "I'm feeling a lot of worry and I know it's not mine. I'm in a good mood. Seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm really not doing anything. At least not on purpose," Heli says.

Viken squints. "Try thinking something."

This is absurd. Heli had just been contemplating the family comparison, and now they're all trying to read his mind.

"This is absolutely mental. I mean, in both a figurative and literal sense." Viken says. "You're not speaking, but I am hearing your voice. Mind reading is not something any of us can do. It's definitely you."

"Stop listening then. I promise, really, seriously that I'm not doing anything. I don't feel any different than usual either."

"I wish I could but it's like, in my head. Can you hear what I'm thinking?"

Heli tries to listen, but his own head is overflowing with troubling thoughts. The grin on Viken's face is fading the longer they look at each other.

"Nevermind, actually, I'm not a fan of the growing sense of dread," Viken says. "You're sure this is how you normally feel?"

"Sorry," Heli mumbles.

Viken shakes his head and reaches into a pile of laundry for his nightclothes. "You didn't take anything at the disco when I wasn't looking, did you? No, hmm. Go wash the glitter off, I don't want it all over my room."

Heli nods, also relieved to step out for a moment. If the others can hear what he's thinking, he's got a big problem. As if watching his mouth wasn't enough, now he has to make sure not to think about Lamia either. He's not sure that's possible. She's on his mind often enough as it is, along with a growing recollection of their time together. And since he doesn't know what he's doing that's allowing the others to hear his thoughts, he has no idea how to stop it either.

With any luck a good day's sleep will clear his head and everything will go back to normal. At least he hopes.