Fangs and Fur

Chapter 47 - Kevin

A/N: I'M BACK! I had a brief respite from my mountain of homework and responsibilities this weekend, and this was the result.

Thank you for sticking around! :)<3 <3

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November 12th:

Kevin had received one text message from Mitch, several hours ago.

I'll call you, it said. Which must have been a lie, because Kevin had heard nothing from him since.

Okay, it probably wasn't a lie, there had likely been an implied eventually, when I get around to it  tacked on to the end, but Kevin was still worried. For once, it wasn't Mitch he was worried about, not entirely; though his worries did originate from Mitch's disappearance.

The thing that Kevin couldn't quite wrap his head around, despite the fact that he now knew Mitch was alive and okay, was the future. Mitch and Kevin had a small music thing going, a group called The Duo, that hadn't really been noticed but had covered a few songs and played many times in local hangouts with reasonable success. They were going places. Slowly, sure, but they were still going - only Kevin didn't know what would happen anymore.

Kevin had always had a passion for music, a passion his parents hadn't understood when the rest of his siblings took respectable, money-earning paths in life. Mr. and Mrs. Olusola wanted Kevin to go into medicine. They'd always thought he was destined for great things, since he'd earned the highest grades of any of his brothers or sisters. They'd wanted him to be the big one, the kid that they could proudly say spent his days healing others for big bucks. When Kevin told them he wanted to try to break into the world musically, with Mitch (a younger, recent high-school grad), they didn't understand.

At the time Kevin was living in a period of limbo, out of high school and working two part-time jobs to save up for college. He'd turned to music, as a side hobby, and developed his beatboxing and cello skills. He almost had enough, including his scholarship offers, to enroll in Yale when he met Mitch almost by accident. The kid was on the street, singing, an overturned hat by his feet and a small crowd hovering, entranced by his voice. Mitch had been oblivious to it all, eyes closed and head tilted back as he let the music flow out of him.

Right then, Kevin knew he'd found the missing piece to a music career. He'd gotten the kid's contact information that day, and they talked regularly. After half a year of weekly practices and meetings to see if they'd get along, they moved away from their hometown to their current town of residence, bought small but cheap apartments, and started their journey.

Kevin invested his college money into a new cello and a recording contract with a small label. His parents weren't pleased, but they had Kevin's siblings to turn to for a new favorite. Kevin still talked to them, of course he did, but the ice between them thawed only a little over the two years he'd worked with Mitch.

The point was, Mitch had changed Kevin's life. They'd had a direction, a purpose, together. They were supposed to move again soon, to Los Angeles, to try and make it big. Only, now Kevin didn't know if that was going to happen. Kevin didn't even know if Mitch was coming back, or if he was staying with the vampires permanently. There was nothing legal tying the tenor to humanity anymore, now that the investigation was over.

Kevin sighed and shouldered on his coat, grabbing his keys as he walked out the front door. It was nearing 2:00 pm, when his shift at the local library started. For the last few days he'd called in sick due to the search for Mitch, but Kevin realized he needed to actually show up before he was fired. With a whirring mind he strolled down the street and pushed his way into the quiet building, finding his place behind a raised counter and replacing an older woman who smiled at him as she packed up her bag.

Over the past two years he'd worked a few various odd jobs to earn a little spending money between gigs with Mitch. Librarian was his favorite - it reminded him of his days of books and studying. Kevin worked the help desk, a book propped in front of him to read while he waited for questions to field. Here he could sit and withdraw from the world, surrounded by the sounds of whispered words and turning pages.

By four thirty, the library was starting to wind down, ready to close at five. Kevin had just directed a teenager to the graphic novel section when he heard someone whisper, "there he is." Assuming the conversation wasn't intended for him to hear, he turned his attention back to the book on his lap. A moment later, though, someone cleared their throat directly in front of him.

Kevin looked up. "How can I help - " He gasped and stopped.

"Please tell me you know where our son is," Mike Grassi said.

Nel had a death grip on her husband's arm. "Please," she added, with expertly concealed worry.

Kevin sat there dumbly for a while, his mouth open. "Whoa, when did you guys get here? How was your drive?"

"Today," Mike said, at the same time Nel supplied him with a "good, thanks." They both kept staring at him.

Kevin blinked, unsure how to approach this situation. He thought Mitch called his parents to tell them he was all right. In fact, Kevin had gotten a call from Mr. and Mrs. Grassi thanking him for getting the investigation rolling. "Hasn't Mitch called you?" he asked.

"Yes, but we wanted to see him, and he told us he was planning on staying in town to recuperate or something."

"Okay..." Kevin said slowly, trying to find the catch. Mitch had apparently lied about his whereabouts.

"He's not in his apartment, and he won't answer his phone," Nel said, frantically.

That's when it hit Kevin - they didn't know. Mitch hadn't told his parents where he was, and he hadn't told them he was a vampire.

Kevin looked around, saw that one of the checkout librarians was watching him, and held up a finger to his lips to signal quiet, silencing Nel's ramblings. "Tell you guys what. Why don't you head to my apartment, and I'll meet you there in twenty minutes when my shift gets off? We can talk there."

He could tell Mitch's parents wanted to disagree, but they took Kevin's keys and the address and headed off without any fuss. They looked worn with worry and fatigue, and Kevin felt his heart ache just watching them.

As soon as his shift got off, Kevin called Mitch. He wasn't surprised when the call went straight to voicemail.

"Hi, this is Kevin," he recited, walking back down the street to his apartment. "I was just calling to let you know that your parents are here. As in, in my apartment, waiting for me. I thought you told them you were a vampire, but apparently not? Look, I need you to tell me what you want me to do. I'm not comfortable with lying to them but I will if you want me to."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket at the conclusion of his message. The sun was just setting behind the apartment building when he arrived, and he took a deep breath before entering the building and heading up the stairs.

Right outside his door, his pocket buzzed.

tell them for me

please

Kevin sighed and unlocked his door, pushing it open to see the expectant faces of Nel and Mike from where they sat on his sofa.

This was going to be interesting.