Act I | part 2

Ava spent the rest of the night setting up her room. She couldn't rest, neither did she want to. Her head felt heavy, but weirdly enough it was the first time in ages since she felt a glimpse of hope. Every fiber of her body wanted to believe that this was a good decision at the end.

What else was she supposed to do? Spend another week, starving, searching for a place to settle? It's not like she had anywhere to go anyway. The best she was hoping for was finding another low paying job in the net town over. Same as she always did.

After searching around for some towels, she went to take a quick shower. Upon leaving the bathroom, she was greeted with a delightful smell coming from the kitchen.

"I hope you like pancakes." Said Lynn as he flipped one. This time he was wearing a more casual outfit.

"I do. They are my favorite. I haven't eaten one in ages." Ava could barely keep her excitement.

"Tell me about it. When you become a vampire the only thing you can eat is blood. It gets boring after a while."

Although the windows were sealed shut, the girl could tell it was already early morning by the small sun rays creeping through the cracks.

She sat down to enjoy her breakfast, while Lynn was staring at her with a curious look on his face. He was resting his head with one hand while fidgeting on the table with the other. His deep green eyes piercing through her soul, which made her avoid his gaze at any cost. She didn't know what that feeling forming in her stomach was. The only thing she wanted to fill it was more food, but his eyes made her feel uneasy.

"Now, for your end of the deal." He finally said as she took the last bite. His face was calm, but serious. Those simple words sent chills down her spine.

It was expected after all, though she couldn't shake the image of him sinking his teeth deep in her neck. The kind person before her was about to show his monstrous side and she couldn't be less prepared for it. It's not like she hadn't experienced pain even greater than was about to happen. Still, the mental image made her terribly anxious.

She closed her eyes, hoping it will end soon. To her surprise, Lynn had already left the living room. He came back with an IV bag, a pole and a cannula.

"You didn't expect me to bite you directly, did you? It would be awfully unbecoming of me. Plus this way I keep some for later. Pretty convenient considering that our sleep cycles don't match. Don't you think?"

An answer didn't follow. Ava just extended her arm, holding a sigh of relief.

"Your reflection..." she said, looking at the reflective surface of the refrigerator. "I thought vampires didn't have a reflection."

"Well, that as well as other misconceptions about us are complete bullcrap." He snickered, pacing around the room. "Everything that is made of matter reflects photons and therefore is visible in the mirror. Exactly how much do you know about vampires?"

"Not much. I tried my best to avoid trouble. The place I fled from had a night-watch specifically for blood suckers. The sightings of the which were so rare that the residents started a roomer that the watch were just a bunch of conmen, mooching off the taxpayers's money."

"Perhaps there is some truth to that."

"Is it true that you can turn into a bat and other animals." She asked, this time with curiosity in her voice.

"Would be pretty sweet if I could do that, but no. The super strength and speed are true though."

"Can you hypnotize people?"

"Some vampires can. It's not an easy skill to learn."

"May I ask, why do you guys need to drink human blood? Is it any different than the one of an animal?"

Lynn took a short pause to change the bags and for a second the girl thought that he didn't hear the question.

"Oh yes, very different." He removed the cap from the IV bag and took a sip out of it, like it was a Capri-sun. "Vampires shouldn't go on for too long, drinking only animal blood. It deprives them of essential nutrients and it can seriously mess up their heads."

"What does my blood taste like?" It was a question that she didn't seriously mean to ask, but somehow it slipped through her lips.

"Yours tastes sweet. Kinda like strawberry."

Somehow those words formed a smile on her face. Who would have guessed that her first interaction with a vampire would turn out to be so casual. So far, this so-called monster has shown more benevolence than the majority of the people in her life up until now. If it wasn't for the fact that he was nonchalantly drinking her blood in front of her, she could have sworn that he was just a regular person.

After yet another bag was filled, Ava started to feel a little lightheaded, upon which she requested for the needle to be removed. Lynn quickly obliged.

"I think I'll go to bed now. I wasn't able to get any sleep earlier." She stood up, holding the spot where the needle was placed. "You know, for a monster you seem pretty nice."

"I don't know if I should thank you for calling me 'nice', or be offended for suggesting that I am a monster." He said jokingly.

"You certainly don't let that part of you show. If I didn't knew any better, I would say you were just playing pretend." She smiled.

"Is that so?"

That smile shortly turned to terror as the vampire suddenly leaned forward and extended his fangs, creating an evil hissing sound. The white in his eyes grew darker as well as the veins around them, which became see through on his sickly pale face.

"Is that proof enough for you?" He asked coldly.

There was no response, just two shocked brown eyes with pupils dilated enough to make them seem black. He didn't actually mean to scare her. Something in his mind simply told him that it was an appropriate thing to do in the heat of the moment to fool around.

"You should have seen your face." He laughed it off. Then added: "I am sorry... I always forget that not everyone enjoys my crude sense of humor."

"Ah ha ha..." Ava forced out an awkward laugh. Then excused herself to her room. Despite being utterly exhausted, something told her that she wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon.