Vamps Behaving Badly

Chapter 2.

Laddie had turned out a lot better-looking than Paul had wanted him to be. Paul would have cheerfully separated Laddie’s head from his neck a long time ago if Star wasn’t so besotted by the brat she’d found living on the streets and taken pity upon. But it wasn’t just Star who adored him. Dwayne doted on him as well, frequently taking him for rides on the back of his bike, hanging out with the kid, telling him stories, playing basketball with him. Dwayne was the one who taught Laddie how to smoke a joint and surf and ride a motorcycle. Dwayne was the one who got Laddie some brand new wheels from the bike shop when he got too big to sit on the back of Dwayne’s ride. Dwayne was the one who guided Laddie through the process of making his first kill of some dumpster-rifling bum and even gave the kid his bear tooth earring to mark the occasion. The earring which Dwayne also pierced through Laddie’s ear, amid cries telling him to be careful coming from Star, who wanted to do it herself, believing she would be gentler. However, Dwayne had been nothing but careful as he iced Laddie’s lobe until it was numb and quickly punched the needle through before threading the significant piece of jewellery into the new hole with its silver hook. Laddie never took that earring out. All of these things bothered Paul. He resented Laddie.

Because Paul and Dwayne had a thing going on. They were lovers. They fucked. Quite regularly. In fact, they could almost be classified as boyfriends if it didn’t sound so sissy to them. Anyone who mentioned the B word around them - that person got smacked upside the head. Whatever they chose to call themselves, Paul and David’s second-in-command were close.

At first, Paul liked Laddie and thought of him as a little brother but over time his feelings reversed, in accordance with his multiplying insecurity and envy. The thing that niggled at Paul was that he was sure one day Dwayne was going to leave him for Laddie. Paul was not dumb. He had witnessed the way Dwayne stared at Laddie and had done so ever since he was ten and first came to live in the hotel with them. It was only a matter of time before the raven-haired vampire gave in to his not-so-secret desire and claimed the kid for his own, dismissing Paul as if he was nothing more than a short-term diversion. The whole gang knew Dwayne had the hots for Laddie, even Star but provided he kept his hands to himself and didn’t touch the boy, nobody could do or say anything about it. That was before, when Laddie was innocent and little. Now that Laddie was a young man and had reached the age of consent, not one of them, not even Star or David, could stop Dwayne and Laddie from sleeping together if the two of them both wanted to. Frankly, David didn’t care which of the boys fucked, as long as none of them fucked Star. Paul was also sure that the desire Dwayne had for the sixteen year old was not one-sided. He was sure Laddie felt it too. His biggest fear was that Laddie was going to take Dwayne from him. That’s why he hated the kid. He hated him for joining their gang, he hated him for capturing Dwayne’s attention and he hated him for growing up so attractive. That’s why they fought all the time. Paul and Laddie were constantly bickering and at each other’s throats. Laddie, with all the cunning of an adolescent vamp, knew that if he really wanted to piss Paul off, all he had to do was say something about Dwayne, something allusive, something just hinting at what he knew he could do, what he could take from Paul, if he so wanted to. Either that or he called the blond male, “Dwayne’s bitch.” That was last year. Star had to tend to Laddie’s broken nose that night and, shocked with the force of the blow Paul gave him that spun him through the air a whole 360 degrees, Laddie never dared say it again. But he could think it. Deep down, Laddie didn’t want Paul to hate him. Paul was one of his family, like one of his big brothers, and all Laddie wanted was to feel accepted by Paul, the way he’d been accepted by Dwayne, Marko and David. He’d love it if Paul was nice to him for once but Laddie was never on the receiving end of Paul’s nice side. Laddie had never done anything on purpose to incite Paul’s hatred but Paul was a dickweed to him ninety percent of the time so the older vampire deserved whatever nasty thoughts crossed Laddie’s mind or whatever snide comments he could get away with.

On that particular night traipsing along the sand, waves crashing and breaking on the shore, half-moon shining its slivery light on the world, everyone was in a good mood, mostly due to being flushed with the blood of the unwary campers. Marko and Dwayne were in front, followed by Star and Laddie. Paul trailed behind them, not in as good a mood as the rest, doing entirely too much thinking and resenting of the kid strolling before him. Dwayne was usually the one who kept quiet but over the last few years Paul had claimed the broody boy title from his dark-eyed friend and, maintaining the equilibrium of the group, Marko had become the joker.

“No way, dude, I’m not throwing this jacket out,” Marko argued, hands in the pockets of the patchwork monstrosity. “I like it. It’s cool.”

“It’s NOT cool,” Dwayne remarked mockingly. “It’s so not cool it’s not funny. It’s got ribbons and threads and shit hanging off it everywhere. It’s falling apart. It’s an eyesore. Either you throw it out or I’ll tear it off you myself and do it.”

Marko raised his brows, backing off. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Dwayne quirked his lips. There was kohl smudged around his eyes to make them appear more mysterious and sexy. “Watch me, shortie,” he said and made a grab for the diminutive curly-haired vampire who ducked out of reach. Marko yelped and started sprinting up the beach, sand spraying out from under his boots.

“Suck my donkey dick, Dwayne!” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Oh, that jacket is history, motherfucker!” Dwayne shouted and ran after him, black hair streaming in the breeze, clearly enjoying the pursuit. With a graceful dive, he tackled Marko and brought him down in the sand, ripping the bright, colourful patchwork off the smaller male who was shouting and cussing and wrestling against him. Sitting on Marko’s back to hold him down, Dwayne held up his trophy and swung it around his head, emitting a loud war cry of triumph. Star chucked at the guys horsing around. She felt like she had four brothers, even though none of the boys was related to her by birth. Only by David’s blood were they all related. But that was enough. Star didn’t have much of a family when she was mortal. Her mom tried to kill her and her dad wished she was never born so she ran away to Santa Carla and David had discovered her sleeping on the beach. David and all the other boys made her feel at home for the very first time. When she found runaway Laddie on the streets, she wanted him to have that same security of family and that’s why she begged David to let her keep him. Against the idea at first, David gave in and grew to love the urchin as did all the other members of the pack. Except for one.

As Dwayne galloped to the edge of the shoreline and hurled the jacket far into the dark, seething water while Marko howled in protest, Laddie was talking. A lot. He was babbling about how he and Dwayne were going to go to a Beastie Boys concert soon in the city and how awesome it was going to be and how they were going to stay in a proper, real unburied hotel with room service and everything while Star nodded and let him talk. The boy was a chatterbox, especially after he’d fed and could be tiresome sometimes but he was a sweet kid. Star was a little concerned about Dwayne and Laddie sharing a hotel room without her being there to keep an eye on them but she supposed that she had to let Laddie go sooner or later. He wasn’t a snot-nosed child anymore; she had to keep reminding herself that. Laddie was now a fully-developed vampire and he could take care of himself. If the Native American did something Laddie didn’t like, he could easily defend himself with his teeth and nails. Somehow, Star thought Laddie wouldn’t put up a fight anyway. He’d probably welcome Dwayne’s advances. Laddie just worshipped Dwayne, like a puppy worships its master. She sighed, thinking that kids grow up way too fast these days. Unaware of Star’s concerns, Laddie proudly demonstrated his knowledge of the rap songs he was going to hear in person and began repeating the lyrics, swear words and all, again while Star just nodded and smiled and hoped that his blood-rush would wear off soon and he’d be quieter.

“Yes, I got more bounce then the fuckin’ bump; And then you want to know why; Because I’m motherfuckin’ truckin’; I'm in the pocket just like Grady Tate; Got supplies of beats so you don’t have to wait; ‘Cause I'm the master blaster drinking up the Shasta; My voice sounds sweet ‘cause it has to-”

Tired of his incessant rambling, Paul said from behind them in a bored voice, “Laddie, shut up would you? Nobody cares.”

Laddie turned and stuck his tongue out at Paul. “Why should I shut up? You’re just pissed ‘cause you’re not coming with us,” he said flippantly. “You’re just pissed ‘cause Dwayne likes me more than you.”

Star cringed at his insensitivity. She felt bad for Paul. It must about kill him knowing that Dwayne had eyes for another male that wasn’t him. Paul stiffened, blind rage in his eyes.

“Right, that’s it! You’re fucking dead!” he cried, swooping on Laddie like an eagle before the younger boy even knew what was going on. A low growl rumbling in his chest, Paul slammed Laddie down on the packed sand, holding him there with the fingers of both hands wrapped around the kid’s throat. Paul’s vampy visage appeared, his slate-coloured eyes turning incandescent amber and his snake-like teeth extending to maximum length. His long blond hair hung down, almost touching Laddie’s face.

“Yeah, bring it on, dude.” Laddie looked up on him and stifled laughter, obviously not taking the threat seriously. Star had seen this scenario many times, whenever Laddie pushed Paul too far. Paul always let Laddie go in the end, muttering that it would be beneath him to kill someone with only half a brain. However, this time he didn’t let go. He breathed furiously through his nose, his jaw clenched, his fingers tightening unremittingly until Laddie started to look slightly alarmed and uttered a strangled sound. Dwayne and Marko had come flocking over to see what was going on and just stood there watching, the sunken jacket becoming a memory from the 80’s, right where it should stay. Dwayne didn’t interfere even though his lover was throttling the youngest member of the gang. Laddie could handle himself. This wasn’t Dwayne’s battle. It wasn’t Marko’s either. But it sure made for interesting viewing.

“C’mon man, leggo,” Laddie gasped. Paul just squeezed tighter until his nails dug into Laddie’s skin and blood started to seep down the sides of his neck. Dwayne unconsciously licked his lips.

“Paul, stop it,” Star said worriedly, going up and laying her hand on Paul’s bicep which was rigid and unyielding as a rock. “You scared him, okay? Mission accomplished.”

“No,” the blond snarled. “No, I’m not stopping this time. I’ve had it with him and his smart fucking mouth.”

Laddie was starting to freak; his eyes widened with fear and he began to reflexively claw at Paul’s hands. Feeling increasingly weaker by the second, Laddie was unsuccessful at removing Paul’s choking fingers. The bigger vampire’s nails were firmly embedded in the sides of his neck, thumbs jammed against the carotid arteries, the twin pressure points sapping Laddie’s energy and making his vision turn grey. That move wouldn’t have worked if Laddie didn’t have a heartbeat but their particular breed of vampire did, retaining a lot of their human traits like eating food and breathing. Even if Laddie had managed to prise them off, Paul would have gone for his throat again. By the emotionless, detached look on the blonde’s face, he was going to kill Laddie, he really was. He was that pissed at him. All the clan knew that when Paul got mad, he got frighteningly mad and they had better get the fuck out of his way or suffer the consequences. All of them knew that but Laddie, who deliberately provoked Paul’s ire on a number of occasions, certain that he had the protection of both Dwayne and Star if things went awry. The main reason he got his nose broken that night was because neither Dwayne nor Star were around to stop Paul from hitting him. Laddie was curiously passive for a vampire which was not in his best interest if he wanted to live past his seventeenth birthday. Being a preternatural being of the same blood, he could fight Paul, to the death if he was so inclined, but he wasn’t trying real hard. He never did. He was just lying there, basically letting the older vampire choke him. Loving them both and not wanting to see either of them hurt, Star had to intervene.

“Please. Let him go.”

Paul glanced at Star with his red-ringed neon-yellow eyes, then back at Laddie who was starting to turn white.

“Come on, Paul,” she said softly. “It’s not worth it. Please.”

Paul gazed at Star for a minute, debating what to do, then relaxed his grip, his demonised face changing back into human. He had wanted to keep going until he broke the kid’s neck but he released the brat only because of Star, because Laddie meant so much to her. As Star pulled him away from Laddie, who clutched his injured throat and was panting in relief, Paul looked like he was going to explode with fury. The blond got up, turned away from the rest of the group and strode away stiffly. Marco raced after him exclaiming, “Jesus, Paul! I thought you were really gonna do it this time!”

“You idiot!” Star hissed at Laddie who was licking his own blood from his fingers, the crescent-shaped cuts on his neck coagulating. “You are gonna get yourself killed one day.”

He just looked up at Star with his brown hair falling in his eyes and started to laugh.

“Shit, that was intense,” he wheezed. Dwayne stood next to Star, peering down at Laddie’s supine form.

“You all right, kid?” he asked, a slight crease in his forehead.

“Never better.” Laddie grinned nonchalantly and sat up, brushing sand off himself.

Dwayne shook his head in castigation, muttering, “You two really need to learn to get along. What the fuck did you say to him?”

“Nothin’,” Laddie shrugged. Dwayne thinned his lips, knowing it must have been something about himself for Paul to react so violently. He felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He cared about Paul and he cared about Laddie. He couldn’t choose one over the other. But he didn’t know what to do to smooth things over with the two most important males in his life and to get them to bury the tomahawk and stop fighting. It would be so much easier if Paul would just share the love, like Dwayne did.

Star knelt down and tucked a lock of Laddie’s hair behind his ear. For one so gorgeous, he was extremely scruffy and unlike Dwayne, he didn’t care about his appearance one iota. But he was one of the most striking boys Star and Dwayne had ever seen in their lives. Even sitting there in dirty, ripped jeans, a threadbare grey t-shirt with blood all over it and scuffed sneakers that had seen better days, he was breathtaking. He had the face of an androgynous being, all soft and rounded, with plump pink lips that belonged on a girl and lashes too long for a boy. His lanky body was wide-shouldered and slim-hipped and Star often wondered how his baggy pants, five sizes too big and perpetually showing the elastic band of his underwear, ever stayed up. He had one major flaw for all his beauty: he may have been sixteen but he still had the intellect of a ten year old kid.

“Laddie, darling,” Star murmured. “I love you but you know that part of your brain that tells you when to keep your mouth shut? You don’t have it.”

He stopped grinning and pouted at the female insolently.

“If you ever say that to Paul again, I will join him in kicking your ass, okay?”

“Okay, jeez,” he said rolling his eyes dramatically. “Why does everyone have to be so touchy?”

Dwayne gave him a hand getting up and ruffled his hair affectionately. Yeah, the kid was dumb but he was cute and likeable and that was his redeeming feature. Hopefully, Paul wouldn’t stay mad at him for too long. The three of them caught up to Marko who had managed to cheer Paul up a bit.

Sneakers pounding divots into the sand, Laddie raced ahead of everyone else, yelling, “Last one back to the cave is a loser!”

Race on, the five of them took to the skies, whooping and shouting in joyous abandon, making the flight back to their underground lair.


***

To be continued...IF you want it...