Boy in the Mist (Vampire BoyxBoy)

Dracula

Despite living a much lower-class life, Raymond's little home in the mausoleum was surprisingly cozy. The two had been talking outside, but Raymond invited Isaac in after sprinkles of rain started to fall on them. Now, it wasn't just sprinkling- every single drop of rain came down so hard it was like it was attacking the ground. Raymond had lit his lantern, and Isaac couldn't feel any more comfortable.
However, as Raymond was trying to light the match, Isaac could see the red marks on his neck again from that angle. They didn't look too bad, but it was the obvious pain he must have felt that Isaac didn't like. The thought of sharp teeth like Raymond's going right through his skin make him feel tense.
"Do you want to talk about your neck?" Isaac asked quietly. Raymond put the lit match up to the lantern, and warm light flooded the back of the mausoleum. Silently, Raymond shook his head.
"All you need to know is that it really hurt," he replied, and Isaac could tell from the look on his face that he was reliving the moment. "Changing really hurt, as well."
"Do the girls get a bite mark like that?" Isaac knew it wasn't right to press the issue, but finding someone who was so interesting and otherworldly awed him.
Raymond bit his lip. "As I've told you, we have control over whether or not the person we bite turns. If they don't turn, the mark is gone within an hour." Raymond stayed crouched where he was, staring at the flame inside the lantern. "How about we talk about something else?"
Isaac nodded. "Right. I'm sorry."
"I get it. Don't worry."
"Did you really mean it last night? When you said you liked James?" Isaac watched Raymond move over to the mattress and sit next to him.
Raymond thought. "I might have been thinking kind of irrationally. I don't know. He's nice, but I was just kind of saying anything to change the topic. I knew I was in danger of being found out. But it happened anyway." He smirked.
     "Yeah. I just..I shared something kind of personal with you then, and if you, y'know, didn't really mean what you said-"
     "I don't mind that you like boys and girls," Raymond said, startling Isaac. "We just never really had people like that in the time I grew up. They weren't public, anyway."
     "They existed," Isaac said. "That I'm confident about."
     "I've been around a lot of girls, and a lot of different types of girls. They're all wonderful, but I've never felt any sort of connection to them. Romantically, I mean."
     "Have you felt romantically for a boy?"
     Raymond paused. "No. Not yet, anyway."
     Isaac smiled. "You know, if we were talking to any other resident of this town about this, we'd be burned at the stake."
     "Oh, goodness," Raymond chuckled. "I hope you don't base all Christians off that."
     "I don't. My mother's a Christian. She's amazing."
     "We're just in a prejudiced area. The best thing you can do is confide in people who are similar to you and who will listen to you."
     "I don't know if I've ever had anybody like that. Not just here, but anywhere. My mom's great, but I feel like she doesn't fully realize what's going on with me."
"What is going on with you?"
Isaac sighed. "I get really personal with people a little too quickly. Like..like I'm doing now." He laughed awkwardly, but Raymond kept a straight, interested face.
"I'm really shy," Isaac continued. "I feel like I'll never be good enough for anybody. Stuff like that."
"You're good enough. You seem very kind."
Isaac paused. "Thanks."
They sat in silence for a second, and Isaac heard another roar of thunder. He was starting to feel really grateful that Raymond had let him inside.
"I was never good enough for my father when I was young," Raymond suddenly said. "He wanted me to be a lawyer or a priest, but I wanted to be an explorer. Just like any other little boy would. He didn't realize it was just a child's imagination, though, and so he hated me deep down.
"Luckily I had my mother, who told me I could be anything. She said Father was just being silly." Raymond gave a shaky smile. "I ended up studying to become a lawyer, though, which made both of my parents really happy."
"What was it like, living in the 1800s?"
"Dirty." Raymond crinkled his nose. "That's one thing I don't miss about it. You probably learned in school about how dirty everyone was."
"Did you read a lot of old books? I love those."
Raymond gasped in delight and scurried over to his bag, pulling out an old, dusty book. He smiled and held it up.
"This one's my favorite," he said, an overjoyed grin on his face. "A copy of Dracula straight from the late 1800s."
"Wow." Isaac raised his eyebrows. "I didn't think you'd like something like Dracula."
"Oh, it's my favorite book," Raymond gushed. "Some things may not be accurate, but it's just so well written. Just like there are good and bad humans, there are good and bad vampires. I don't have to like the Count just because he's a vampire. I can hope for his defeat, considering the horrid things he did."
Isaac noticed the rain starting to lighten up. Raymond put the book back in the bag and stood up, then walked back over to the doorway.
"This place is absolutely beautiful in the rain," he said, almost mystified. He turned back to Isaac and smiled happily, showing off his sharp teeth.
Those teeth weren't so scary anymore now that Isaac had gotten to know Raymond. The poor man was stuck. Forced to do something he didn't want to do, living in a small concrete building with no electricity, heat, air or water, trapped in a shaky, pale body with no heartbeat and not being allowed to feel the sun..Raymond was probably really sad inside, and Isaac wanted to help him. Maybe that would lead to him learning to branch out.
Despite Isaac's assumption, Raymond's grin was sunnier than ever.
"Would you like to go on a walk?"