Dustin showed us the way to the junkyard and I have to say it's probably the safest place to lure Dart in. There's no one around for miles and we can use the cars to trap it inside. And it's an open field with a few cars here and there but not enough for Dart to use as an escape route. Steve and I were dumping the last remaining meat from the bucket.
"Do you hear anything?" Steve whispered as I looked around the area.
I shook my head. "Nothing Demongorgon sounding but..." I began as I tilted my head. "I hear a bike. Lucas must be here."
Right on cue, we heard, "I said medium-well!"
Steve and I stood up as Lucas waved at us. My brows furrowed when I saw the familiar red-head. "Max?" I called out.
"Bela?" she called back. She walked over to me. "They dragged you into this, too?"
I nodded. "Yeah." I crossed my arms and looked at Lucas, but the question is still for Max. "And why exactly did Lucas bring you here for?"
"He wanted to show me this Demogorgon but I think it's shit. And thanks a lot."
I gave her a confused look when I noticed that small snap in her voice. "What for?"
"I don't know what happened between you and Billy, but he's been making my life even more of a living hell than before."
"And why do you assume something happened between me and Billy?"
"Because he came home and kept muttering something about you being a bitch." Oh, did he now?
"Wow, what an asshole," Dustin said before giving Lucas a look. "Lucas, can I talk to you? Alone?"
Lucas looked confused but went with Dustin behind one of the cars. Good. This gives me more time to talk to Max.
I sighed. "Listen, Max."
"You don't need to sugarcoat it. I know you and Billy slept together," she said before having this annoyed look on her face. "Since the idiot told me."
"I'm going to kill him," I muttered as Steve fake gagged. I shooed him away. "Can you go somewhere else?"
"Anywhere is better than hearing his," Steve said before giving me and Max some privacy.
I bit my lip before looking at the redhead. "Max, whatever Billy told you isn't going to happen again." I went toward the bus and decided to move some car door pieces around it to create some sort of barrier, which Max decided to help.
"Which part? You sleeping with him or him going to your house?"
"Both. If Billy wants to be a scumbag then I'm done with him. Any time I see something redeemable about him, he goes and screws it up with that mouth of his."
"Because that's how Billy is. He's been a pain in my ass since our parents got married but on random days, he hasn't been getting under my skin."
"Well, yeah, he's probably had one too many beers to care."
Max shook her head. "They're all whenever he sees you."
I scoffed. "Yeah, right. Billy doesn't care about anything or anyone besides he, himself, and abs." I jammed a door right into the ground. "And now he wants to be an even bigger bitch because he thought I slept with Steve."
"You mean the guy with the weird hair over?" she motioned to Steve, who grabbed a chair before heading over to Dustin and Lucas. "Yeah, he's definitely not your type." She let out an annoyed breath. "Billy, you fucking moron."
"My thoughts exactly."
"Well, I really can't stand him but...I think you should talk to him." She smirked at me. "It technically is your fault Billy's being an even bigger douchebag right now."
"I'm not talking to him, end of discussion."
I went to talk away but Max grabbed my arm. "Come on, Bels, please. Billy has always been an ass. And since we've moved here...he's been angry all the time. But there are days where he's happier and they're usually after he sees you."
When I looked at Max, she was pouting at me. "You think giving me a puppy dog look is going to work?"
"Yes because you love me."
"I've only met you once and we didn't talk."
"Please, Bela."
I sighed. "Fine."
She smiled. "Thank you!"
"All right, asshole! God!" we heard Dustin yell at Steve while Lucas shouted, "Ok! Stupid."
Max pointed at them. "Are they always like that?"
"Yeah, but you'll learn to love them."
》》》》
We continued setting traps for Dart. Max and I kept talking and were getting to know one another better. I mean, I've seen her with Billy a few times and if what she told me is true then Billy must have told her stories about me.
"Out of curiosity," I started as we rolled some discarded empty oil barrels. "What has Billy been saying about me?"
"Not that we really talk and all but I have heard him tell his buddies on the phone how you were hot and how he almost cracked you." That fucking bitch. "He mostly tells his friends how you are a bitch but that makes the chase a lot better. But, whenever he would talk about you he had this weird stupid smile on his face. And it creeped me out when he still had it after he got off the phone before heading out...which I'm assuming is your place."
Wow, now I don't know if want to talk to him or not. Either he's going to be the nice Billy or the big prick who'll say stupid shit.
It was nightfall and we all hid inside the bus. Steve sat next to me with his bat up while Lucas was outside with binoculars looking for...whatever this Demogorgon is. I kept the lookout for any sound that was not human.
"You hear anything?" Steve asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"You don't really believe in this, do you?" Max asked me.
"Without a doubt," I answered honestly. I mean, I'm a vampire. Anything's possible. "Steve isn't a good liar anyway."
"Not true," he said before he took out a lighter and kept flipping it on and then off.
Max directed her next question to him. "So you really fought one of these things before?" Steve nodded. "And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?"
"Shit. Don't be an idiot, ok?" Dustin snapped. "It wasn't a bear."
"Dustin, don't be rude," I scolded him. That is no way to talk to a...girl. Wait, that talk he had with me and Steve earlier is it about Max? "Be glad I believed you."
"That's the difference. You believe us, she doesn't. So why is she even here?" He glared at her. "Just go home."
Aw, so Dustin does have a crush on Max. So cute. But, Steve, I'm going to kick your ass later for telling Dustin to be an ass.
Max rolled her eyes before getting up. "Geesh. Someone's cranky," she said before heading toward the escape ladder. "Past your bedtime?"
With one more dirty look toward Dustin, she headed out. Steve gave Dustin a thumbs up before saying, "That's good. Just show her you don't care."
I punched his arm. "That's not showing you don't care, that's you being a complete ass," I scolded. I looked at Dustin. "Dustin, once we find Dart, you apologize to Max."
Steve groaned. "Come on, don't be his babysitter. It's embarrassing."
"Yet, who's connecting more to her than him?" I used my pointer finger before moving it around the empty bus just so I could have it pointed at me. "Oh, that's right. Me!"
"Except I don't care," Dustin said with a bit of sadness in his voice. Steve didn't notice and ended up winking at Dustin, which weirded me out a lot. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop."
I nodded in agreement. "Yes, please stop."
Steve scoffed at me. "You weren't saying that to Hargrove."
I rolled my eyes. "Bite me."
"I'm pretty sure he did that." Steve shivered. "You might need to get a rabies shot."
Another sigh came out of my mouth as I ran my hand through my hair. "Yeah...my track record with guys isn't all that great."
"At least you didn't date a psycho killer or anything."
I let out a light chuckle. "True." I looked toward Dustin, who was looking outside the window. "You guys are just friends with one."
"Well, I actually would be surprised if you weren't," Steve admitted. "Being alive for so long with that -" He made sure Dustin wasn't paying attention before he gave a pointed look my way "- addiction. I just hope I never meet your brother again. Now he's a definition of a psycho killer."
At that Dustin snapped his head toward us. "Wait, when did you meet Bela's brother?"
"Uh..." Steve and I trailed off.
"Parent-teacher conference," I lied off that bat. "I had to call Damon because Mrs. Kowolski wanted to talk about my 'behavior.'"
"Right, and I just so happened to run into him," Steve added.
Dustin tsked. "Cut the bullshit. You guys are dating and he was giving you an ultimatum, didn't he?"
I started laughing while Steve's mouth dropped with his arms up in a what the hell kind of motion. "We're not dating. How many times do we have to tell you that? She's having an enemy with benefits thing going on with Max's brother."
Dustin scrunched his nose in disgust. "That asswipe who tried to run us over?"
"It was one drunk night," I defended myself.
"Which made you realize you love that dickhead," Steve argued.
"Says the bullshit -"
I was cut off when we heard this loud growling from a distance. Dustin, Steve, and I got up and quickly went over to the windows.
"You see him?" Steve asked me.
I shook my head. "No, the fog isn't really helping either."
"Lucas, what's going on?!" Dustin shouted.
"Hold on!" Lucas responded. My ears perked up when I heard another growl. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock! Te - Ten o'clock!"
Ok, since Dart's here, I can quickly grab him. I hurried out toward the entrance of the bus before taking a step outside.
"Bela, get back here," Dustin told me. The fog cleared up a bit and I spotted this big dog-looking thing circling around the pile of meat.
"Steve, get ready," I said before slowly making my way over.
"Bela, what are you doing?" Lucas whispered.
I held my hand up behind me without removing my gaze from Dart. "Shhh. He's not taking the bait. I need to get closer."
"Why isn't he taking the bait?" Dustin asked.
"Maybe he's sick of cow," Steve responded.
Dart kept making a chittering noise as I crept closer. I heard footsteps behind and turned to see Steve with his bat up. My eyes widened before I motioned for him to get back on the bus. He shook his head before pointing at the kids, who were looking at us. I pointed at Steve and mouthed human before pointing at myself and mouthed vampire. Then I pointed at the bus and mouthed get your sorry ass over there. If Dart goes ballistic and attacks it'll be better if he attacks me. I can heal fast, Steve can't.
I'm not leaving, Steve mouthed.
Now, I wanna punch him for being this stupid. I rolled my eyes in annoyance before motioning him to stand behind me. He nodded before holding his bat up. We crept toward Dart and Steve whistled at him.
"He's not a dog," I whispered.
Steve ignored me. "Come on, buddy."
Ok, if we're trying to catch something, we don't make a noise to notify them of our presence. And Steve decided it was a good idea to keep whistling.
"Come on, I bet we taste good," Steve continued. "Dinner time. Humans taste better than cats, I promise."
"I'll even vouch for that," I admitted.
"Oh, like you've eaten cats."
"You're talking to the vampire that's on a bunny diet." My eyes widened once the fog cleared up and I finally got a good look at Dart. "That's no bunny." I heard another low growl coming from our backside. My head snapped toward the direction as another Demogorgon climbed on top of the car. "Steve, how fast can you run?"
"Why?" he wondered.
The Demogorgon's mouth opened. "Dart brought some friends."
My head snapped at 5 o'clock when I heard another growl. We were completely surrounded by these Demogorgons.
"You guys. Abort! Abort!" Dustin yelled as he held the door open.
I don't know which one is Dart but all the Demogorgons started charging at us. "Steve, run!" I shouted as I pushed him toward the bus.
He grabbed my wrist and dragged me with him. There was a loud growl and I looked to see one of the Demogorgons near. I yanked my wrist away before running toward the creature and punching it away.
"Bela, what are you doing?!" Lucas shouted. "Run!"
"Bela!" Dustin yelled.
"Come on!" Max screamed.
One jumped on top of me before I felt its teeth sink into my shoulder. I let out a grunt before grabbing it and tossing the fucker off. Looking up, one was just above my head but I grabbed its ankle and snapped it in half. It shrieked before it clawed my back. The Demogorgon went to strike again but Steve came over and whacked it off with the bat.
"Let's go. Let's go!" he rushed out.
I shook my head. "No, you gotta get them out of here. I'll distract them."
"How?" His eyes widened as veins began surrounding my eyes. "No. That's crazy, they're gonna find out -"
"I know," I cut him off. "And it's ok. I'll create a diversion while you guys run. I'll be right behind you, ok? Tell them I'll explain everything." I pushed Steve away. "Now, go!"
Steve quickly rushed over and wrapped one arm around me. "Stay safe," he said before running.
I smirked before my whole face began to change. Veins surrounded my eyes as my fangs came out. I turned around as the whole group of Demogorgons growled at me. "Yoohoo, Dart, it's dinner time."
The Demogorgons attacked together. Rushing over, I grabbed one before snapping its neck. Another ran over and I shoved my hand through its chest before yanking it out. When the Demogorgon dropped, I brought my foot up and stomped its head/flower/resident evil zombie-looking head in. Soon, there was screaming. Turning around, I found more Demogorgons attacking the bus. I rushed right over and yanked one away from the door before kicking it away.
"Bela!" Max screamed before I felt something collide with my back.
I gasped when I felt a hand shove its way through my chest, barely missing my heart, and pulled it out. I turned around just as the Demogorgon's mouth was about to bite my head off. My hands grabbed the creature by the mouth and tried to push back but more started to surround me. They each decided to take a swipe at me. I could feel its cold claws cutting my skin open.
"Bela!" Lucas yelled.
"Why did you leave her, Steve!?" Dustin shouted.
The metallic taste of my own blood began filling my mouth. Ugh, I'm not strong as I used to be. But I can't let Steve and the kids die. I grit my teeth together and did my best to ignore the pain as I began pulling the Demogorgon's mouth apart. One rushed over and bit right into my forearm, making me scream.
"Bela!" Steve cried.
One managed to shove its talons into my chest again and grabbed my heart. My eyes widened as I looked down. The Demogorgon began pulling on it. I could feel my heart about to be yanked out until the Demogorgon stopped. I wasn't sure what was going on. All of the creatures' heads snapped toward the night sky. They slowly began crawling off me and began running away. The Demogorgon released my heart, leaving me breathless, and followed its friends. I looked up as they ran into the woods. My wounds were slowly healing but I feel myself losing consciousness. The bus door opened and Steve ran toward my side.
"Shit, Bela," he said as he tried to lift me up.
"I'm fine," I said tiredly.
"Fine? We just saw you getting ripped open!" Lucas pointed out. "How are you not dead?"
Max nodded. "Yeah, that is not normal," her voice shook.
"We'll explain everything later," Steve said. He looked at my wounds. "Why aren't you healing?"
"Cause she can't heal. She's been ripped open, shithead!" Dustin said. "Bela, please don't die."
Steve pulled his sleeve up. "Bels, here."
I shook my head. "No."
He furrowed his brows. "No? What do you mean no?
"I can't, ok? I promised Stefan -"
I don't want to. I can't. I've been drinking only from animals as a way of saying sorry to Stefan. He's going to hate me if I decide to drink from the vein again.
"Would you forget about the stupid bunny diet? I'm not going to let you die, so shut up and drink." Steve looked around before grabbing his bat. Using the nail end of one, he slit his wrist before holding it over my mouth. "Please, Bela, drink. What are you so afraid of?"
I closed my eyes as I tried to get the sweet aroma of his blood out of my nose. "If I drink from you...I might not stop."
"I don't care."
Opening my eyes, I could see Steve giving me an encouraging nod. I felt my eyes begin to change again as I sunk my fangs into his wrist.
"Holy shit!" Dustin shouted.
My tastebuds were dancing. Steve's blood felt so good going down my throat. My grip on his wrist tightened as I greedily fed from him. Steve lifted me up and cradled me toward his chest. I can't believe he did this for me. He didn't have to offer me his blood yet he still chose to even when he knew the risk.
I want to drink more. The ripper in me wants to rip Steve's jugular out and drink him dry but I can't do that to him. I can't kill my best friend. I won't kill my best friend.
Letting out a huge breath of satisfaction, I pulled away from Steve. "Thank you," I whispered.
"Anytime," Steve said.
"You guys, what the hell was that?" Max asked. "What the hell did we just see?"
Steve and I looked at each other. He gave me a little nod showing that it was probably the right time to give them the news.
"I have...something to tell you guys."
》》》》
A/N: They know now!