.Gerard's POV.
Oh god. Oh no. What the hell am I going to do?
This was the only thought I could manage, repeating it in my head until it wore a track down in my neural pathways.
After escaping Mikey's room, I had made it to a small patch of woods behind the street across from the house, where I knew I was out of sight.
It didn't really matter though. After about 4 minutes of trying to calm down and prepare for a fight, I realized that I wasn't being followed.
Mikey. I concluded. They're using him as bait.
It was smarter, really. Just the kind of ploy I'd expect from them. We both knew I wasn't going to leave him, so why not make me play on the home turf, literally?
It occurred to me then just how grim this situation looked. I was way outgunned, in manpower and in literal weaponry. All I had was the handgun Mikey had given me. I mean, sure I had supernatural strength on my side, but the stress of everything that had happened in combination with the fact that I hadn't eaten in a good while meant that it was dwindling quickly.
After a quick assessment of my physical state, I decided I would have to eat if I was going to stand any chance at saving Mikey. I knew they wouldn't hesitate to let him die if it meant catching me, so I had to act fast.
In my pacing, I'd strayed a couple of houses down, and I was now on the opposite side of a fence that marked the separation of the wooded area and Lindsey Ballato's backyard.
Lindsey Ballato was (obviously) my neighbor, and in the same grade as me at school. I didn't know her well, but anyone could pick out her signature jet black pigtails and blood red lipstick anywhere. While we weren't friends by any means, I had always sort of admired her, what with her take-no-shit attitude and reputation as sort of a badass. She'd never been one to gossip about me either, which I was grateful for.
That was going to make this a bit more uncomfortable.
I could hear the steady thumping of a bass coming from the open window on the second level, and I figured that must be her.
There was a tree in the yard, and I figured I could scale it relatively easily and climb through the window.
I hopped the fence, and made sure I wasn't visible through the bottom level windows before making my way up the base of the trunk. In the state I was in, it was a little tougher exerting myself than it usually was. I huffed and groaned and cursed under my breath the whole way up, already anticipating the abrasions that would soon pop up from getting snagged on the branches.
Finally, I reached a branch level to the window. I peaked in, and I could see her standing on the opposite side of the room, back turned to me, nodding rhythmically to the timing of the song she was practicing.
Time was running out for Mikey, so I was going to have to be quick about this. I wouldn't take a lot, for times sake and because I had nothing against Lindsey, and I truthfully felt bad about what I had to do.
I steeled myself, thinking of the danger Mikey was in and my promise to come back for him, and quietly began to slip in the windowsill.
One foot in, then the other, landing on soft maroon carpeting. I arched my back so as to pull the rest of my body through, and I was then standing in Lindsey Ballato's room. I cracked a smile at the irony of me, of all people, sneaking into a girls room.
My focus back on the task at hand, I took one silent step towards her.
Suddenly, she stiffened, and in a split second, Lindsey's back was bent to a seemingly impossible angle, her upside down eyes staring up at me with a look strangely devoid of surprise. She hadn't even stopped playing, her fingers still moving perfectly in rhythm as she blinked at me.
Oh shit. Oh no. "I-uh... H-hi Lindsey! I stuttered out, shock still surely evident on my face. "I can... uh... explain? You see, I um, needed some help with m-my homework for... chemistry! And I didn't have your phone number and I saw the window and... and I..." I trailed off. I was so fucked. She was going to call the cops and that was going to be it for me.
I waited with bated breath for her to start screaming or cursing or possibly assaulting me with her bass. Instead, she finished whatever song she was playing, and stood back up to face me.
I was positive I looked like a deer in headlights as she calmly laid her bass on its stand, put her hands on her hips, and searched my face intently. Finally, she spoke.
"You could have just knocked, you know."
I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Well, I'm, I would have, it's just that-" she laughed, a warm and friendly sound, and waved her hand in dismissal. "It's alright. You kind of have a reputation for doing your own thing. No harm done." She said, as she moved to sit on a fluffy black chair beside her desk. "I don't, however, appreciate being lied to." She remarked. My eyes grew wide again, this time in confusion. "What do you mean?" I questioned.
She simply shrugged and pulled the two elastic bands out of her hair, shaking her head like a wet dog until the black strands fell in disarray around her face and shoulders. She then swept it all to the side, put it in a messy braid, and used one of the hair ties to keep it in place.
I stared on, totally mystified.
She finished, and looked at me expectantly. "What?" She asked indignantly, after a several seconds of awkward silence. "I don't want to get blood in my hair--it's hard to wash out."
I felt my jaw drop in surprise. What was this girl on?
"Wh- blood? Are you, are you hurt?" I questioned incredulously, seeing as I didn't smell any blood on her. And if anyone would know if she were bleeding right now, it would be me.
She rolled her eyes at me, like I was a small child who'd just asked a stupid question. "Come on, Gerard. Get it together! If you're trying to sneak through my window you must be pretty desperate, and I'm trying to help you out! Quit acting like you were born yesterday and just drink!" She remarked impatiently, angling her head towards her side braid, leaving her pale neck exposed.
I couldn't even string together a coherent sentence. I don't recall ever speaking to Lindsey, let alone divulging my deepest, darkest secret to her. I was so careful at school, and I was certain that no one there paid enough attention to me to take notice of anything abnormal, or... paranormal, rather. So that posed the question of how the hell Lindsey effing Ballato figured it out with no more than a simple glance. The answer to that prompted the question of what exactly she would do with that information, but my brain hadn't quite made that connection yet. I was, frankly, still in shock.
I felt like I had been standing there for hours, with her looking at me like I was having a seizure. Finally, I stuttered out, "You have got to be shitting me." She snorted, but it didn't register with me. "You... You know? How?!"
At this, her eyebrows shot up. "You didn't know I knew? Woops." She scrunched up her nose, as if in thought. "Well, Jamia did tell me that Ray hadn't said anything to you yet, but that was weeks ago! I figured you guys were all buddy-buddy now."
I was totally lost, and starting to panic. "Ray? As in Mikey's boyfriend Ray? How does he know?!"
She sighed impatiently at my question, and tapped her chin in what I could only guess was a mockery of deep thought. "Hmm, I wonder, how does Ray know? It's not like he's a vampire or anything." She countered, her saccharine and heavily sarcastic tone not lost on me. I froze for several beats, connecting the dots in my head. If she... and he... and he knows... then... that would mean... Oh my god.
"RAY TORO IS A VAMPIRE AND HES DATING MY BROTHER?!" I shouted, my brain absolutely short circuiting. Lindsey shot up from her chair, bowled into me, and pinned me down, hand clasped firmly over my mouth. "Are you an idiot?!" She hissed. "There are some of the country's best and most dangerous vampire hunters across the street, that also KNOW HIM. Do you want him to die?! He's been trying to help you, dimwit!" She seethed, cuffing the side of my head with her free hand.
I let out a surprised cry, still muffled from her hand. Once she was certain I was finished shouting, she reluctantly released her hold on my mouth. I glared up at her, baring my teeth. "What did you expect?" I replied hotly. "That's more than a little surprising." She just shook her head, attitude rolling off of her in waves. "Oh put your fangs away you over sized bat, they're not gonna scare me. You think this is my first rodeo?" She said, nodding in the direction of her bass.
I hadn't noticed it before, but now that her bass was resting on it's stand, I could see-- secured in a holster attached to the back-- an ornately decorated stake.
My breath caught at the sight of it, my chest suddenly tightening in panic at the sight. No doubt it was professionally made, and there were only a very select type of people who procured those types of things. Had I escaped two hunters just to walk into another one's house?
"You're- are you a hunter too?" I whispered, suddenly breathless.
Still pinning me down with both her knees on either side of my ribs, she didn't warrant my question with a response, instead she cradled her face in both hands and groaned frustratedly.
"Nooooo Gerard! Do I look like I'm about to stake you? I'm trying to help you, Christ!" She said, cuffing me again. "Ow! Stop!" I snapped. Now that I was no longer afraid of immediate danger from the feisty girl, my sense of urgency was overwhelming. "Look I- get off of me! I don't have time for this! Mikey is dying as we speak and I just need to get to him!"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, her already pale face grew impossibly paler. "Mikey's in trouble?" She whispered, an air of seriousness befalling us. I nodded up at her solemnly. "My parents-- the hunters, you know, shot him, right here." I said, my finger poking her side softly, right beneath her ribs. "But... he's human." She murmured. "Why would they hurt their own kid?"
I sighed miserably. "To get to me. They know what I am, and they know that I'll do whatever I can to save Mikey."
She nodded, brow furrowed. "Okay. Okay. This is not good. We need to get a move on." She said, crawling off of me and moving to sit on her bed. Once she was situated, she patted the spot next to her. "C'mon, we both have things to take care of."
I blinked, unsure. This was so... strange. But I owed it to Mikey to just do what I had to as quick as I could, so I didn't protest.
I got off of the carpeted floor, crossed her room in a couple of steps, and sat down on the bed next to her. She was typing rapidly on her phone, with a deadly serious look on her face.
"I'm, uh... Are you sure about this?" I asked, already feeling awkward. "Yeah Gerard, it's no problem." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been letting Jamia do it for years."
Now that I was seeing her neck up close, I could see faint scars, each a set of two identical dots about two inches apart.
"Jamia...?" I asked, more for the sake of dispersing the awkward tension I still felt. "My best friend. Total badass. Shes homeschooled, so you wouldn't have seen her at school. And evidently you're not too familiar with any of the vampires around here, so I guess you wouldn't know her. She was turned when she was fourteen." She said as if it was the most casual thing in the world.
"Right, sure." I mumbled, not sure what to say. She nodded, smiling softly. "Okay. We really are running out of time." She stated, her tone growing serious once again. "Bottoms up my friend."
I exhaled deeply, again taking in how bizarre this situation was, and leaned toward her. She really must have done this a lot, as she didn't even flinch when I broke the skin, and just proceeded to send off her rapid-fire texts. Given the crazy circumstances and the severity of what I was about to do, I found it much easier to keep my head clear and stay in control. Not that I wasn't confident that Lindsey wouldn't hesitate to knock me on my ass if I overstepped.
After a few moments, I broke away from her and quickly wiped my mouth with my sleeve, already beginning to feel better. She immediately pulled a band-aid out of her jean pocket, and covered the bite marks.
"Right, so you're set then? I would offer you a weapon but all I have is my stake and a bat, and I doubt either would do you much good. You said Mikey is there?" She asked, pointing in the direction of my house. I nodded in response. "Okay. I've updated Ray on the situation and he's on his way from New York as we speak." She spoke succinctly and professionally, as if she were a general preparing her soldiers for battle. I definitely got the sense this was not her first time dealing with conflict of this nature.
I blinked a little dazedly. "T-thank you, Lindsey, for everything." She just waved me off and flashed a crimson smile. "Of course. Any friend of Ray's is a friend of mine. "
As she said this, she stood. "I'm going to get medical supplies for Mikey, so bring him here when you rescue him."
I sighed, thinking about the impossible task ahead of me. "If I rescue him."
She put her hand on my shoulder, radiating confidence. "When, Gerard. When you rescue him." I smiled up at her gratefully, and stood.
She walked down the stairs and to the front door, with me not far behind. Once we made it to the door, there weren't really any words of parting that seemed to do the situation justice. She simply gave me a reassuring nod, and we parted ways.
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woohoo ya girl is back and is already like 2k words into the next chapter, so it should be coming relatively soon! Thank you guys SO CRAZY MUCH FOR 18K READS im actually yellin
so tbh i have a short term goal for this story to tie up immediate plot lines and character stories which isn't too far away (not sure exactly how many chapters) BUT im not sure how far i wanna go into the story in a broader sense, so let me know if you guys have any suggestions/speculations/or anything you'd like to see go down plot-wise!
please please comment and let me know how im doing, what you like, what you dont, and any errors you catch that i missed. i read all of them and love each one.
hopefully ill see you guys again soon!
xoxohannah