Homecoming Admirer - 1. Chapter 1

The politically correct term is Demon born, but mostly we call them what they are. Vampires. No, not the undead, inhuman creatures of the night you’ve probably read about or seen on TV. You know, seducing virgins and leaving dead hookers in alleys. They are not demons inhabiting a dead human body, drinking blood to keep it animated. They are not inherently evil, though most I’ve met are pretty conceited and often total douche bags. Vampires, as we know now, are the product of a demon and human mating. They are not demons themselves, though they do have some demon blood, but mostly human. Yes, they are faster and stronger than most humans, but this to do with a denser muscle mass and a faster cell regeneration ability. They do, however, need to drink small amounts of human blood because of some science stuff that has to do with the way their cells regenerate, hemoglobin and some mythical magic voodoo that we don’t quite understand.

Okay, so here is the story: A long, long time ago Demons shared this plane of existence with humans.Apparently, they were already here when we evolved and were the top of the intelligent species chain. At some point, we evolved past accepting them as the top dog and decided to tell them to bug off. They got mad, and started using force to control us. We got mad as well, and in retaliation found a way to banish them to some crappy sub-plane. Voila, no more demons. Although, , then we were left with a problem. Not all vampires and humans hated each other. In fact, some of them had had children. They were known as Halflings, or the demon born. We tried to control them, to keep them under our thumb. Eventually, it came to the point where they started hiding their true nature, hiding for freedom. Humans assumed that the demon blood bred out of our gene pool and that we were truly free from them. However, you see, demon blood is very strong. It cannot be bred out. They just became very good at hiding their true self. And so, humans forgot about their existence. That was until about 20 years ago, when some demon born kid ended up in a human hospital, and all hell broke loose. Eventually, the Demon Born High Council came forward and helped humans transition from no way in hell is this possible, to acceptance.

My Aunt, Thalia River, is one of the city representatives for humans on the Co-operative Council for Human Demon-born Relations. Which means that she works with the Vampire High Council representatives and other humans to ensure that we don’t kill each other. It also means, since she is the one who raised me, I have been around the Demon Born my whole life. I know all the facts and myths. I’ve read all the books. I’ve met the good and the bad. I also know the Vampire Council is still keeping secrets from the human population, because they believe (and I agree) that we're still not really ready for the truth.

The best thing about the way I grew up is that I was as immersed in the vampire society as you could possibly be, without actually being a vampire. The summer that I turned 10, my Aunt’s closest friend, Talen, who is a big wig on the Vampire High Council, became the sole guardian of his cousin’s kids, Shay and Kiernan. Although Kiernan was two years older than Shay and I, the three of us became inseparable. For three years we were the musketeers, peas in a pod, and any other metaphor you can use to say the best of friends. Then Kiernan got sick.

It was totally expected and a normal part of a young Demon Born’s life. Once they hit puberty their body begins ‘the change’. The demon blood begins to take over, changing their very cells from Human, to Vampire. Until this time, even Demon Born are completely human; however, not everyone survives the change. Sometimes, the human body rejects the changes that it’s going through, and just gives up. The change usually lasts about 3 or 4 months, and you can tell within 2 if they are going to make it. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. People that were sure to die, end up pulling through at the last minute. Then there are people who everyone is confident will survive that end up going to sleep near the end of their change and not waking up. After four months, they moved him into the council’s equivalent of a long-term care facility. Then, after six, they told us he wouldn’t make it. There was no improvement. His cells were dying and the regeneration wasn’t happening quickly enough. His body was rejecting all forms of nourishment, and he had no hunger for blood. He might have been hanging on, but it was time to say goodbye. Shay was devastated. He was the only real family she had left. As for me, I refused to believe it. Kiernan was the strongest boy I knew, he always stood up for me when the older boys would bully me about my size. So I did something that was completely forbidden by all Human and Vampire protocol. I, a human, snuck in to see him- unsupervised. Vampires are most dangerous while they are changing. The hunger for blood becomes all-consuming because they need it to complete the cell regeneration. It’s a survival instinct; one Kiernan apparently didn’t have. So, in the middle of the night, I snuck into his room and crawled into the bed next to him, and told him he was absolutely, under no circumstances, allowed to die. He laughed, then coughed, and then we snuggled up and waited for the reaper to find him. Seeing him in that bed, weak and sick, was the scariest thing I had ever seen; but I stayed. As much as I dreaded waking to find him dead, I dreaded him having to die alone more. At some point in the night, we fell asleep, when the sun rose and woke me, I saw he had made it through another night. I smiled thinking maybe there really was hope. Maybe, he would okay. And that’s when he attacked me. His instincts had finally kicked in, and half asleep with his face against my throat he finally felt the pull of blood.

Later, they told me that it was amazing that he hadn’t killed me. It was a miracle that he managed to pull himself away and call for help, and then wait on the other side of the room with his face buried in his arms until the help arrived. They told me I had been reckless and foolish, that I had no idea the kind of damage I could have done. I told them that I couldn’t let him die alone. However, at some point through all the scoldings and looks of disapproval, Talen pulled me close with tears in his eyes and whispered so low even the sensitive ears of the other vampires couldn’t have caught it, “Thank you Nicholas. You gave him the will to live.”

The next two months were the worst. Although he was doing better, his change was proceeding rapidly now and I was forbidden to see him. My blood had awakened his hunger and they were unsure how he would respond should he smell it again. Shay would come by every day with updates. Health wise he was doing great, emotionally though,he was a wreck. He would yell and fight with everyone. He would rage and beg. He needed to see me, he would tell them, he had to make sure I was okay. At one point, he assumed that he had killed me and no one was telling him. He ended up trashing the room. As heartbreaking as it was to hear, I couldn't help but laugh at the image of a usually mature 12-year-old Kiernan trashing his room in a colossal hissy fit.

Finally, they relented. His change was complete, and he grew stronger and seemed to have control over himself (although they tell me he wasn’t particularly pleasant). They made our reunion as awkward as possible. We started at opposite ends of a long hallway with a number of vampire doctors between us and walked slowly towards each other. Every few steps, they would make us stop so that they could try to gauge his temper. He never took his eyes off me and gave me a sarcastic smirk every time they made him stop to test his blood pressure and vital signs. Every time they asked him how he was feeling, if he was hungry, he would tell them to bugger off and rolled his eyes. Finally, we met in the middle and they took a few steps back. We both hesitated for a minute then he reached for me and I quickly stepped into his waiting arms. “Forgive me little Nikki?” he whispered into my hair.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I respond.Then, as he held me close, I knew he would never cause me harm, and nothing would ever come between us again.

+X+

As the years went on, Kiernan and I remained thick as thieves. We still spent loads of time with Shay, but teenage girls had their own interests. By the time I joined my friend in highschool, people had learned the hard way not to mess with me. Some guys still snickered and made snide comments about my small skinny frame and my soft features and my complete lack of skill when it came to most things athletic, but it was kept to a minimum by the fear of retribution by my demon born protector. Kiernan had always been the older brother and protective of Shay and me, but ever since he bit me, it had multiplied. Any slight against me, no matter how small or petty, had been met with a vicious rebuke. By the time I was in 10th grade, my reputation as Kiernan's Pet and blood donor was full-blown, rumors about the true nature of our relationship had been accepted as fact. It didn't matter that no one had proof, aside from Kiernan's tactile and protective behavior. It didn't help that he never seemed to date. Oh he had lots of offers, his guardian was practically King of vampires and he was smart, kind and totally gorgeous; he was a catch that’s for sure. However, he turned down each one. He was always kind about it too, even though he would complain about how annoying they were when we alone. I told him if he wasn't so nice about it, maybe they would stop asking. When I asked why he was always turning them down, he admitted he was waiting for someone special. I never allowed myself to hope. You see, Kiernan wasn't just my best friend, he was everything I wanted. He was strong and kind. He wasn't an Einstein, but he wasn't stupid either. He could always bring a smile to my face and wasn't afraid to be silly. Kiernan was comfortable in his skin. Confident without being arrogant. And just clueless enough for for me to hide my feelings from him. Not to mention., he was also completely straight. At least I was pretty sure he was straight. He had been so supportive when I came out, I was sure if he was the same way he would have told me. I'd seen him check out girls, heard him talk them up with his friends. Any other high school senior who had never had a date would be accused of being a closet case, but Kiernan got away with it.

The homecoming dance was just around the corner, and everyone had their eyes and ears on Kiernan. He was a shoe-in for King, and everyone was sure he would finally choose a Queen. He brushed off my inquiries when I asked who he was going to ask as his date, but the rumor was he had his eye on someone. Shay, being the only one who I've told about my feelings, tried to be encouraging. She kept telling me that if I asked him to be my date he would say yes. And he probably would. He was too kind and selfless to reject me and make me go alone. I knew he loved me, out of all the friends he had, no one knew him like I did. He confided in me and searched me out when he was upset. He shared things with me that he told to no one else. We talked about everything, you know,except crushes. Every now and then, he'd ask if I had my eye on anyone. When I told him no, he let it drop. He accepted it easily when I said that although lots of guys at school were cute, none of them caught my eye that way.

+X+

Monday before the big day and the school was buzzing with excitement. Posters and banners advertising the dance after the big game were everywhere and tickets were now on sale. Three girls had already been disappointed by rejection from him. We walked into school after lunch with our usual crew, which was Kiernan, myself, and what we would call his inner circle. Four of his most trusted friends (besides me), who were all demon born like him. Their families all worked with the council and held major influence within both human and demon born society. I call them his friends, but I suppose they were mine too. Getting along with me was imperative to being close to Kiernan, but it’s not like I would have hung out with them without Kiernan. Kiernan had his hand on the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in the hair on my nape. It really wasn't surprising people thought I was his boy toy.

"Isn't that your locker Nikki?" Kiernan's grip tightened on my neck momentarily as his body went tense. It was only a blink of an eye before he was his calm self again. I understood his trepidation. Last time there was a crowd around my locker someone had defaced it with some very homophobic graffiti. I pretty much only used his since then. As we approached the crowd parted like the red sea. Nervous eyes followed us and it put me on edge. Kiernan's hand slid down my spine and rested on my hip as he allowed me to approach first. My palms were sweating and my mouth felt dry. He squeezed my hip in encouragement. He would stand behind me no matter what.

It was worse than anything I could have imagined. Taped to the font of my locked was a large blood-red rose. I froze, knowing it was a mistake or a sick joke. No one had ever looked twice at me. Not even innocent flirting.

"Looks like someone has himself a secret admirer." Kiernan's soft, low voice whispering in my ear made me shiver.

"Don't be stupid Kiernan; it's probably a mistake."

"Why would you say that? You would be a catch, any guy would be lucky to catch your eye." He almost sounded sincere.

"Come on, Kiernan. Let it go."

"Fine. But at least keep the flower, it's pretty." He gripped the stem between his thumb and forefinger rubbing it softly on his lip as he leaned on the locker. He flashed me a smile as he held it out to me. I tried to keep my fingers from shaking as I reached out to take it from him. I tried to tell my heart he wasn't giving it to me, just handing it to me, but it kept racing away in my chest. He smirked and my face burned. Of course he could hear my heart racing and my breath hitching. I took the rose from him and smelled it. It was pretty nice. Kiernan laughed softly, and threw his arm around my shoulder.

"Relax Little Nikki." He pulled me against his side and pressed his lips to my temple. "Keep hyperventilating like that and you'll pass out, then I'll have to give you moth to moth." My heart skipped a beat and he laughed again, low but loud. This man was going to be the death of me. I don’t know how he hadn’t figured it out yet. Or maybe he had and was just ignoring it because he didn’t feel the same. My heart stuttered and my cheeks burned. He would smell the blood rushing into them

“As much as I love the scent of blood pooling in your cheeks, you really do need to calm down before you pass out. It’s just a secret admirer.”

“It’s a prank Kier. It has to be.”

“Why does it have to be?”

“Even if someone had a thing for me, which I find highly improbable, they would be way too afraid of you to approach me.”

“Me? What do I have to do with anything?”

“Oh, come on, Kier. You know what they say about us.”

“No, what do they say? Tell me?”

“That I’m... you know… your ...pet.”

He laughed, the loud deep full bellied kind of laugh, “Okay, yes, maybe I have heard that before.”

“Then why did you make me say it?”

“Because, you’re blushing again and I really do love that smell.”

“You ass!”

He laughed again when i hit him in the stomach and pulled away to stalk down the sidewalk.

The rest of the day I was the talk of the school. Everyone wanted to know who gave it to me, was there a note? Was Kernan pissed someone was trying to steal his toy? The general consensus seemed to be someone was playing a prank on me.

+X+

To my great dismay, Tuesday wasn't any better because first thing in the morning, there on my locker, was another flower. This time it was a deep purple calla lily, and it had a note wrapped to the stem.

"Perhaps this will run more to your tastes."

Kiernan and our friends laughed as I stood frozen. Someone was working really hard to embarrass me. This time it was our friend Marc who tried to console me,

"Someone is trying pretty hard to get your attention. It's that tight ass you have."

The boys laughed at my wide-eyed shock, Kiernan smacked the back of his head, and told him not to be crude, but he winked at me and the corners of his mouth tilted up. I smiled too.

+X+

On Wednesday after school, Kiernan was stretched out on my bed as I added the newest addition to my growing collection in the vase on my desk. Today it had been a yellow sunflower with a note reading "your smile is my sunshine".

"So any idea who it could be?"

"No one outside our circle even talks to me unless they have to."

"Lots of people have tried to talk to you this week."

"They just want to know who's sending them. A few people even accused me of sending them to myself to get attention."

Kiernan sat up quickly, "Who said that?"

"Relax Kier, it's no big deal."

"Come lay down with me." I crawled on the bed and into his waiting arms. With my head on his shoulder he raked his fingers through my hair. "Who would you want it to be?"

"I don't know Kiernan, I never thought about it."

"Think about it now."

For one heartbeat I thought about telling him the truth. I scrapped that idea right away. If he knew how I felt everything would change. He wouldn't turn his back on me, he wasn't that kind of guy. But maybe he would think twice about pulling me into his arms. He would hesitate to crawl into bed with me when he didn't feel like driving home. He would try so hard not to hurt me with rejection or leading me on he would end up breaking my heart. No, I could never tell him.

"Honestly Kiernan, I have no idea. "

“Then why is your heart racing?”

I didn’t have an answer for that.

"Why don't you ever talk to me about this kind of thing. Is it because you're gay? Do you think it will make me uncomfortable?"

"It's not like you talk to me about girls."

"There’s nothing to talk about. I told you none of the girls at school catch my attention like that. It takes someone really special to catch my eye."

"Well, you won't accept that answer from me."

Kiernan sighed heavily and stood. "Maybe, I just don't want that to be your answer."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Forget about it. I'm going to head out." His voice was strained and his face tight. Was he mad at me for not having a crush on someone? Maybe he wanted me to find someone so I'd leave him alone. Maybe I had been wrong all along about our friendship. Maybe he felt he owes me for saving his life and that's why he was always there. If I had a boyfriend I wouldn't need him to take care of me. My chest felt tight and my eyes burned. He did seem overly happy about this secret admirer thing, excited maybe to finally be rid of my clinging.

"Kiernan?" He could hear the strain in my voice and the racing of my heartbeat.

He lurched away from the door and pulled me against him, "Hey now, calm down little bit. I just want you to be happy, you know? You're my best friend and I love you. Sometimes you just seem so sad, so lonely. I just want you to be happy. Huh? Calm down sweetness."

"I'm sorry I'm so clingy."

"Oh, no no no, don't you apologize for that. I love hanging out with you, and your great to cuddle. I just want you to be happy."

"I’m not unhappy."

Kiernan chuckled, "Then no worries little Nikki. We good?"

"Yea Kier, we’re good."

"Look I have to go, have some stuff to do. Gotta feed. I’ll see you in the morning?"

"Okay." Kiernan pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.

"Sleep well."

"You too."

+X+

Thursday was the last day before the big game that would be followed by the big dance. It was also the last day of voting for the Sr. King and Queen and the last day of ticket sales. The pep club was putting together the last touches for tomorrow's pep rally and all eyes were on the last of the eligibles looking for dates. Mainly my Kiernan. Rumor was, he approached the president of the pep club and bought two tickets this morning before she even made it to her locker so he could skip the line at lunch. He wouldn’t t tell her who, if anyone, he was asking.

There was another flower on my locker this morning, this time a blue orchid, probably my favorite so far. The note was longer than the last two a short, beautiful passage from The Chaos of Stars;

And I’d choose you;

in a hundred lifetimes,

in a hundred worlds,

in any version of reality,

I’d find you and

I’d choose you.

It was probably the most beautiful thing I ever read. Kiernan had given me the book last year for Christmas. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, I didn’t want to think it was possible; because if I was wrong… No. As much as I wished, I couldn’t allow myself to hope.

From there, the day progressed as normal, at least until lunch. Usually, Kiernan meets me after class and we go to his locker together. Our friends meet us there and we all go together to the cafeteria. He grabs us some food and I grab drinks and we meet at the same table every day. Today, however, Kiernan was nowhere to be found. In fact, no one was outside my classroom or at the lockers and for the first time in a long time I walked to the cafeteria by myself. My heart started beating; either I was right and he was going to do something very embarrassing, or I was wrong and he was still mad at me about the night before. I hesitated. I was a little ashamed, but I did. Something in the air was making my chest feel tight. I was nervous. And apparently I was such a baby I couldn’t even walk to the cafeteria for lunch by myself. When had I become so dependant on him that I couldn’t even get my food?

As I approached I knew I was right to be nervous, something was going on. There was a large and loud crowd at the door and as I came closer they became really quiet. Then the whispers started, everyone slowly moved out of my way so I could come into the cafeteria. It was probably the most nerve-wracking two minutes of my life; even worse than when I snuck into see Kiernan while he was in the hospital. Oh God, where was Kiernan? I kept my eyes up as I walked through the doors, held myself tight and stiff as I forced myself to move towards our usual table. I nearly shat myself when an arm dropped around my shoulders.

“Where you been kiddo?

“Umm, what?”

“Someone's waiting for you?”

“What?” My heart was racing and my palms were sweating. Marc directed me to the left where our table was in the middle of the café. I glued my eyes to the floor and allowed him to steer me. We stopped and I just stood there, eyes screwed shut. Scared. Sweating and shaking. I should not have been this nervous. Nothing was going to happen to me, Marc wouldn't let anyone prank me, especially this publicly. He wouldn't let someone do that to me. I took a deep breath, then another. My eyes wouldn’t open and I could feel them filling with tears. Marc’s arm had dropped but I could feel him standing near by. I felt one finger caress my cheek before tucking under my chin.

“Look at me Nicholas”

I shook my head. This couldn't be real. There's no way he was standing in front of my right now. But I could hear his laugh, his light chuckle in my ears. He stepped closer and his hand was on my hip and I could feel the familiar warmth of his body. His other hand brushed through my hair. None of the girls at this school caught his eyes like that. He just wanted me to be happy. He didn’t want my answer to be that I didn't like anyone. He was always by my said, caring for me.

“I can’t ask if you’re not looking at me.”

“This can’t be happening.”

“Open your eyes and you’ll see it’s real.”

I took one more deep breath and opened my eyes. And there he was, as beautiful as ever. Eyes shinning, a big dopey grin on his face and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“There you are, hello.”

“Hi.”

“You okay? I haven’t heard your heart race like this in a long time.”

“I can’t breath.”

“Sure you can darling.”

I took a deep breath, then another. Kiernan chuckled again and handed me the flowers.

“Are you ready?”

“No.”

“My dearest Nikki, for as long as I can remember you have been by my side. From the day we met, it’s been you and me taking care of each other and looking out for each other. When I was in the hospital and they told me I wasn’t going to make it you came to me and reminded me what I had to live for. And everyday, for the rest of my life I’m going to do just that. Live, for you.”

“Kier…” As he talked I could feel the tears roll down my cheeks.

“Will you be my date to homecoming?”

“I can't dance.”

“I don't care.”

When I felt his lips on mine, my frozen body snapped to life. I threw my arms around his neck and put everything I had and everything i felt into kissing him back. The cafeteria was full of noise now, cheers and clapping. I guess no one was really surprised, no one but me.

“I love you Nicholas.”

“I love you too Kiernan, I always have.”