A Reason To Stay {THE LITTLE VAMPIRE) RUDONY [COMPLETED]

Chapter 6

The next week passed by in a single flash. Tony sped through his school day, getting through all his homework before he even left the building. He arrived at work early every afternoon, so his manager would let him end his shift earlier. Driving home in Rookery’s truck was difficult, Tony growing unable to remain patient with the sputtering thing, anxious to get home in time to meet Rudolph at his bedroom window.

The two had tried to think of ways to go to the party with the blond human going unnoticed. Tony didn’t want to dye his hair, so that was off the table, but they were discussing trying to cover his face, or just outright telling the clan about Rudolph’s mortal friend. If Rudolph’s father found out, he said he wouldn’t take it well. His father, the leader of the vampire clan, was very against human contact. He hated them as much as humans supposedly hated vampires.

One night the next week though, as Tony was finishing up his closing shift at the grocery store, he watched the sliding doors open but he didn’t see someone walk through. Figuring it was only a neighborhood cat that set off the doors, the blond went back to shelving cans of soup. Then, he felt a cool presence behind him. Tony whipped around to come face to face with Rudolph. He yelped, flinching so hard the cans he held in his hands slipped out, dropping to the floor with dull metal clangs.

“God, don’t scare me like that!” Tony said, punching the vampire on the arm.

“Ow… sorry,” he muttered, rubbing it. “I thought you’d be pleased to see me.”

“Of course I am!” he said, looking at the pouting vampire. The blond teenager bent down to begin picking up the now dented cans. “Just not when you come up behind me while I’m working, bro.”

The vampire sighed at the odd modern term, but crouched to help Tony. “Well, dude, I just wanted to visit as soon as I could, because I’ve just had an idea,” he stopped talking quickly and leaned in close to Tony. “Is there anyone else in here?” he whispered.

“No… uh, why?”

“Oh!” the vampire flushed a bit, looking down at the ground. “W- well… my father doesn’t really- he forbids the vampires in our clan to have any contact with humans. I guess I made… an exception,” he looked up at Tony slyly through heavy lashes, smirking. “But I decided you were one human too alluring to only see once. So now I’m just going to avoid all other humans. That way, I won’t feel too guilty about disobeying my father. If he thinks you are a vampire, then he won’t think I am meeting with humans.

“So! Now we need to make you look like a vampire!” he cried enthusiastically, clapping his hands together. 

“And how exactly are you going to do that?” Tony unloaded the armful of cans onto the nearby shelf, then turned to the grinning vampire.

“It dawned on me just this evening. Does this store have a cosmetics section?” the blond’s jaw dropped, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“You- you’re gonna put makeup on me?” he barked a little too loudly. Rudolph placed his hands on his hips.

“Do you want to go to that party looking like a full-out human?”

“Well- no, but-”

“So is there any makeup in this place?” Tony stood silent, his mouth still gaping. “Well? Do I need to go and search for myself?”

“Fine! You can put makeup on me then! It’s in the next aisle over.”

Rudolph beamed at Tony, flying over the shelves. Tony sighed, walking around to where the vampire was already picking up an assortment of pallets. The blond teenager peeked over his shoulder, growing more and more concerned when Rudolph appeared to decide on certain eyeshadow pallets, lipsticks, and foundations. It terrified Tony, thinking of so many ways the makeup could wear off in just a way that all the vampires would know for sure that he was a mortal. But he trusted Rudolph, he wouldn’t take him to the party like that just to get him found out.