LOVER TO LOVER ━ AHS Hotel

FIFTEEN

"Your girlfriend," she repeated, "I like it."

He released a breath of relief, which caused her to chuckle. Lifting a hand to his chest, Percy felt his heart practically jump out. It pounded so hard against his ribcage that he was getting goosebumps. "Now that," he replied, "had to be one the scariest things I've ever done."

The sunlight beat down on them, causing the migraine to thump against her temples, but when she looked at Percy, she realized it was bearable. Nothing else mattered when he existed. Hadley cocked her head to the side, catching him for a split second as he almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. He sent her an embarrassed expression before she said, "Scarier than seeing me kill that guy on Halloween?"

Percy met her eyes, lips curling as he shook his head. "Having a vampire girlfriend is just full of surprises, but you'll never scare me."

"Ha!" She choked out, trying her best to stifle the laugh. "You keep thinking that –"

She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, feet planted on the sidewalk, as if she was stuck there with quicksand. Percy squeezed her hand, a silent act to urge her to keep walking, but not even his touch could pull her from her trance. Her stare was rigid and strict. Percy pursed his lips, not understanding her blank expression, until he finally lifted his eyes to the scene before them.

It was his face. A picture of him slapped on a ripped, yellow flyer, nailed to an old telephone pole.

MISSING: PERCY MICHAEL ISAACS. LAST SEEN BY PARENTS WHEN HE LEFT FOR A TRIP TO LOS ANGELES IN AUGUST. AGE: 21. HEIGHT: 5'11". WEIGHT: 172 LBS. IF YOU SPOT HIM, PLEASE CONTACT THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT.

"Percy," Hadley whispered, tugging on the sleeve of his jean jacket. Her eyes glanced over to him, but his remained on the poster, and she had to pull him back from walking over to it. "Percy, let's go."

He jabbed a finger in the direction of the flyer, watching the corners flap in the wind. His brow creased. "That's ..." He paused, soaking in the image of his senior year school portrait. "That's my face. I'm a missing person."

"Hey, hey," she cooed, bringing her hands to his cheeks and forcing him to face her. He blinked quickly and broke out of his anxious thoughts, pulling Hadley close by the small of her back. Her fingers scorched him as they caressed his blushing flesh. "You're okay. It's going to be okay."

"It is?" He sucked in a loud sob, refusing to tear up in front of her. Percy didn't even understand why he was crying in the first place. Maybe it was because he was finally facing the reality in front of him. "Hadley, I just ... I can't –"

A squad of cop cars zoomed past them, blowing their hair in different directions. The two held onto each other tighter as the cars blared their sirens, hardly glancing in Percy's direction, as if he wasn't a missing person. Hadley head almost spun three-sixty, and she turned to look all the way past the big intersection, where the city met the suburbs. The squadron skidded to a stop in front of the old Marva Jones Middle School, which almost looked like a dot from how far it was from them, but Hadley saw it clear as day.

Parents waited on the sidelines of the school as police stormed the building. Hadley arched a brow, hiding Percy behind her when she narrowed her eyes to get a better look. News reporters swarmed the scene. Percy placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? What do you see?" He asked.

Minutes later, the police returned with a large group of children. Each child was covered in blood, almost head to toe, while their faces held a mask of horror. As Hadley narrowed in on the scene, she realized that these kids were hardly scared at all. In fact, one of them – specifically, the brunette boy in the front – looked excited, like the blood dripping from his chin wasn't there. Hadley inhaled deeply, catching all the various scents around her, but one in particular caught her off guard, causing her to step back.