LAILA
WHAT.THE.HELL.WAS.THAT.
These were the words that were ringing over and over in my head as Fabian was speeding home. I didn’t even bother to tell him to slow down. I needed the speed, the rush it brought. My breath was coming fast. I gripped my purse until my knuckles turned white. And then I started processing.
Yes, the party had been weird. But what had shocked me was Gabriel himself. You could see it in his eyes – how comfortable he was in that atmosphere, seeming more like a perverted royal pain-in-the-ass than ever. And then that rage, that vicious smile he was addressing me and Fabian, the way he touched me... I swear, I start shivering only when I think of it.
The phrase was never more true to me. And in all this, who had been my knight in shining shoes? The dazzling Fabian. I not only feel he stood by me, but that he also rescued me. I just can’t shake the feeling that there was something completely unrelated to Gabriel’s words that was going to happen. Because in those brief minutes we were all standing in his room I had been terrified. But that couldn’t be right.
I risked a quick glance at Fabian as I was opening my door. There was something in the way he held himself – his posture was different. It was almost a battle stance.
“I’m sorry you had to see that” he said in a husky voice, one I’d never heard before. “If it’s of any help, I had no idea he was like that.” I thought I saw a flash of fear in those misty eyes.
“Well, for once, it’s not your fault things went bad.” Who’s to say I’d lose my sense of humor even when in shock?
The corners of his mouth wavered a bit. For the first time since I moved in, I forgot all about the creepy sensation his presence gave me and saw what I think is the real Fabian. Not the one who always avoids having contact with other people at college, but the one who is deeply ironic and yet at the same time, charming in a dark and mysterious way.
“It’s getting late. You should go inside.”
“Yeah.” I twisted the door knob and went into the apartment, feeling ever so slightly dazed by the fact that only one wall separated us. A paper thin wall, I mused and for a second I froze. He lived there. He had been living there before I came here. He had annoyed me from the very beginning. So, why did it bother me now?
But thoughts of the crazy night at Gabriel’s party wielded back in and I forgot all about that unanswered question. I remembered the two men saying something about people being hypnotized. When nobody had answered me when I’d asked about it, I had thought my imagination was playing tricks on me. But as I was unzipping my leather boots, my mind clear of anything, I realized I hadn’t imagined it. Fabian’s statement was ringing crystal clear in my mind.
the 19th of October, 2010
FABIAN
I decided to skip class today. It’s not like I haven’t majored in literature six times by now. But the reason I did it for is not this. I needed to think some more.
And in order to think I needed to be away from a certain girl and a certain vampire.
Yesterday, Gabriel acted like his usual pretend-to-be-a-rock-star self. No word about our little altercation. The girls from the party were all normal now and resumed their daily routine of tailing Gabriel everywhere.
Laila on the other hand had mostly avoided him. But she was very careful not to make too much of a show of it. Every time the giggling sounds announced his presence, she would graciously go somewhere else.
As I entered the library, I felt a wave of relief at its sight. It was completely empty expect for the old lady at the counter.
I went way in the back of it and started walking between endless bookshelves.
I suspected what theory Gabriel had tested. He had been fairly obvious about it. He’d wanted to see if I would protect Laila or I’d just surrender her to the sharks. But all that show just for that?
My fingers traced the dusty old books in the Horror section. The dust lifted and I stopped with my hand on a Stephen King novel. I wasn’t actually paying any attention to it. My newest question, that shone in my mind even brighter that the other, was even more surprising than the turn of events at Gabriel’s party. Why hadn’t I left Laila to Gabriel? It’s none of my business what he does to the humans.
I was brought out of my trance when my fingers no longer felt the roughness of the book’s cover.
From the other side of the bookshelf, a pair of green eyes was peering at me. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought they were the knowing eyes of a vampire who’d been walking this earth for centuries.
But instead, they wrinkled at the ends. Laila was smiling.
“Do you always take books other people have already had their hands on?” I asked her quietly.
“Hello to you too. And no, I only want this book.” She waved it in front of me and I caught the title. Salem’s Lot.
“Vampires?” I almost chocked from trying not to laugh. And then she was out of my sight, hiding behind the books. After a half a minute of waiting, she was in front of me with a defiant look on her heart-shaped face.
“For your information, it happens to be a great book.”
“Oh, so you’ve read it already?” I chuckled.
“You... you jerk!” she punched me in arm. The fact that I didn’t seem baffled in the slightest seemed to unnerve her even more.
“I thought you were all about fashion magazines.”
“That doesn’t mean I am as shallow as an empty shell!” She threw the words in my face. “And fashion is a form of art and expression! Not that you’d know anything about it.”
“Hell, no.” I whispered.
“What?”
“I was just saying how lucky you are the librarian is as deaf as a bat. All the unnecessary shouting...” I grinned at her bewildered expression. But the anger faded away and her face was perfectly quiet as she said:
“How did Gabriel hypnotize those girls?”
LAILA
He was staring at me with such intensity I thought he was going to make a hole in my skull. At first, I wanted to laugh at him because I’d finally caught him at a loss for words. But I knew then that I’d asked the right question.
“I don’t know...” Fabian started, but I never let him finish.
“Don’t even think about giving me the whole I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about crap!”
“Laila...”
“Yes?” I said expectantly.
“This is neither the time nor place to talk about this.” His hand seemed to rebel against my demanding tone as well, ruffling his hair over and over.
“I think it’s the perfect time since we bumped into each other like this. And no one can hear us, you said yourself that the old lady can’t hear...”
“But we didn’t bump into each other coincidentally, did we?” He was leaning over me as he whispered the words. “Are you a stalker, Laila?” The irony was back. But I wouldn’t be fooled by this.
“You don’t a have a very good strategy when it comes to dodging questions. It will take more than that to make me change the subject.” I could see how much he hated me for being so stubborn. But he knew something and I was determined to find out what it was. “Tell me.” I leaned closer and he backed away. I wasn’t expecting that.
“I cannot tell you. This is not something of your concern and you’re better off not knowing, trust me.”
“I’ll be de judge of that, Fabian.” I tried to search his face for some reaction, but he had shut all his emotions down. I was left gazing into an expressionless mask. A beautiful carved mask, nevertheless.
“Come on. How bad can it be? It’s not like he’s a supernatural being.” I was babbling while playing with the cover of my book. He wasn’t going to tell me. I was sure of it.
“And what if he was one?”
My head lifted up to his instantly. What had he just said? Had I heard right? But the question was there, floating in the air between us, almost tangible. And then, he suddenly pushed me against the bookshelf. A few books fell and I just couldn’t find my voice.
“I said, what if he was one?” He whispered in my ear. He was so close our bodies were almost touching. I wished I could find a way to shove him away, but my brain only focused on what he said. “What if I were to tell you that I’m one too?”
I felt like a bird trapped in a cage. His hands were on either side of me and his face was all I could see. My heart was pounding like it wanted to burst out of my chest. I knew he was telling me the truth. Not because it was so incredibly plausible, that’s for sure. But I knew because I could feel it deep down at the core of my soul. And that truth brought the dreaded feeling back – the sensation Fabian always caused me. And now that I thought about it, Gabriel did too.
“What are you?” It was barely a whisper, but he heard it.
“Why, your friendly next-door vampire, of course.”
The thudding sound of a book falling could be heard from the Horror section. Stephen King had caught the right monster this time.
FABIAN
To say I’d been stupid to tell Laila the truth was an understatement.
No, she didn’t pass out or start screaming as I expected her to. Her reaction was even worse. She’s interested.
We’re walking down Lipscani Alley which is packed full and she’s beaming at me with an unspoken curiosity. I can sense the fear underneath as well, but for some reason she’s got it under control. Damn it, she’s supposed to be scared of me! I mean, she’s read Salem’s Lot – and the vampire king is quite frightening there.
God, if you’re out there somewhere, and if you receive requests from any vampires at all, please tell me I’m not stuck with this one!
“So you can hypnotize people too?” she asked casually.
“No, only the old ones can.”
“Oh. How old are you?”
A large group was passing us by.
“We can’t talk about this here. Come.”
I noted with a strange sense of uneasiness that she didn’t bother to ask where we were going.
Humans are stupid, so full of trusting instincts.
“Let me see. So none of the classical myths are true?” Laila was pacing in my apartment.
“No.” I had given up trying to convince her it was better for her to just forget or pretend she didn’t know but naturally she didn’t listen. I thought about threatening her with Gabriel erasing her memory, but first of all, I didn’t know if he was capable of doing it and second of all – I wasn’t going to ask him for any favors.
“I can see how sunlight has no effect whatsoever. Oh, but do you ever get a tan?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Would you give it a break already?”
“But how about... what you eat” She met my eyes while saying this and was obviously uncomfortable.
“I told you, none of the vampire stereotypes are true. We drink blood, but don’t go out hunting for victims. The blood bank is much more convenient. It’s like going to a free bar with only four drinks available.” I paused and when I saw she was opening her mouth again I went on, “we are stronger that the average Joe and can sense human feelings, but that’s it. No compelling gaze, no deadly attractiveness and no turning into bats.”
“Are you sure about the last one?”
“What? Turning into bats? Laila, this is stupid – “
“No, the other one. What I mean is that both you and Gabriel are the most attractive guys I’ve ever seen, so that one isn’t really true.” I could feel the blood rising to her face even without looking. “But anyway, I have one more. Do you have fangs?”
“Yes.” I felt relieved that her question wasn’t about whether we were vulnerable to garlic.
“Show me.” That left me blinking for a moment.
“What do you think I am? A vampire at the Zoo?”
“I didn’t say that, I’m just curious.”
“Well, curiosity killed the cat. That’s enough for one day, go to your own apartment.”
Reluctantly, she headed for the door and stopped in front of it.
“I’m no ordinary cat. I just thought you should know that.”
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