Bloody Fashion

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Kyle cursed himself as the girl in his arms started twisting violently, trying to get away from him. How could he have been so stupid? He'd forgotten his damn sunglasses.

"Maybel...-" Kyle pleaded in the gentlest voice he could possibly manage. She shook her head vigorously, pressing her small hands against his iron chest, pushing him away. Kyle held onto her firmly, barely even noticing her meager attempts to separate herself from him.

"Get away from me, you monster!" Maybel cried, pounding furiously at his shoulders. Kyle nearly let go... nearly. That stung, it really did. Kyle hated that word and everything asssociated with it. He wasn't a monster... was he?

"Maybel, sweetheart , please...-" Kyle pleaded. By this time, Maybel was straining toward the door, crying for help... for Ryan. Kyle almost grimaced in disgust. Ryan was the real one she should be afraid of.

As if on cue, the bathroom door banged open and there stood Ryan, looking incredibly pissed off due to the noise. He observed the seen in front of him. There was Maybel, crying hysterically as she tried to pry herself away from Kyle. If her screams hadn't been so annoying, Ryan would have smirked at the fact that her sad excuse of coverage, a flimsy towel, was slowly slipping due to her erratic movements.

Maybel reached out desperately to Ryan, begging him to come save her... from the beast. Kyle, himself, looked beside himself with shame. He was caught between letting the poor girl go and keeping her locked in his arms.

"Kyle," Ryan said calmly. "Let go."

Kyle hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to. He wanted to hold her until she relaxed and then explain everything to her. He didn't want her to think he was a monster, a beast.

"Kyle," Ryan growled warningly. "I will not tell you again."

Kyle turned to his friend. Ryan stared Kyle down, not flinching at the solid red of his pupils. The demonic solid red. "Now," Ryan hissed.

Kyle reluctantly released his grip from Maybel's arms, allowing her worn out body to crumple to the floor in a heap of sobs. Kyle turned to Ryan, who just shook his head. Maybel was slowly inching her way to the wall at the otherside of the bathroom. She stared fearfully at Kyle's back that was now facing her.

Ryan glanced over to the little girl and sighed, giving her a gentle smile. He opened his arms out to her. "Come here, darling," Ryan beckoned kindly.

Maybel raised herself slowly to her feet, this time calculating whether or not she should go to him. Just minutes ago, she'd sought Kyle's embrace for comfort, and look how that ended. Regardless, nothing seemed dangerous about Ryan. He looked open and caring, standing there with his arms wide open.

Maybel made her way over to him, pressing her back against the wall, when she passed Kyle. She wanted to put as much space as possible between them.

Ryan reached out to her and pulled her flush up against him. He stroked her hair comfortingly, murmuring soft words to her as she buried her face in his chest. Kyle watched the two with a look of longing. He didn't know whether he wanted to cry or start punching himself in the face. Of course, it was impossible for... beasts like him to cry. So, he'd settle for the latter.

Ryan glanced up at his friend, giving him a silent warning not to make a scene by beating himself up. Already the two were in a predicament now that Kyle had pretty much exposed his secret. Ryan didn't want Maybel to know anything yet, and this certainly needed an explanation.

"It's okay," Ryan whispered into her ear. "You don't think his eyes are pretty?" He questioned. Kyle glared at Ryan. Was he trying to taunt her?

Maybel looked up at Ryan, the tears still running down her cheeks. Gently, with his index finger, Ryan wiped them away. When Maybel looked up at Kyle timidly, Ryan brought his finger up to his lips, tasting her tears on his tongue. They were delicious. She was delicious. If only he could take what he really wanted from her. But, not yet.

Soon.

Kyle stood unmoving as Maybel stared at him with a blank expression. He didn't want to make any movements to frighten the girl. He wanted to let her become accustomed to the sight of him, to the real him.

Maybel took in his small black pupils, framed completely by a solid, unnatural red. There was no hint of any other color. No blue. No green, brown hazel... all red. Maybel knew this wasn't natural. Living in an orphanage didn't mean she'd lived under a rock her whole life.

"W-what are you?" She questioned nervously. Ryan froze and Kyle tensed visibly. Over Maybel's sweet smelling hair, Ryan gave Kyle a death glare, warning him not to answer.

Ryan grabbed Maybel's hand in his, taking her attention away from Kyle. For a strange reason, Kyle was almost sad to have her eyes off of him. Just when he thought she was overcoming her fears, which he wanted. Or maybe, it was because of the desperate longing for someone to really look at him.

"Come on," Ryan murmured. "Let's go get you properly dried off so you can get dressed."

Maybel felt her face grow hot. The way Ryan said that made it seem as if he would be participating. But, before she could question him, Ryan dragged her out of the room. Maybel took one last parting glance at Kyle, taking in how he dejectedly looked at the two as they left. Suddenly, she wasn't afraid of him... she pitied him.

Ryan stopped outside of a room, and kept a firm hold on her as he opened the door. Maybel had to hold in her surprised gasp. The room was beautiful, all black furniture with golden accents. There was a canopy bed, a beautiful view of the forest from the open curtains, and various pictures hanging on the walls.

As Ryan pulled her through the room, she stared around her in awe. It was just so much to take in. She wanted to ask Ryan about the paintings especially. They were all so simple, yet intricately beautiful in their own ways.

"You like it?" Ryan asked proudly, letting go of her hand. Maybel nodded in appreciation.

"It's gorgeous, Master," she said, his title still not sitting well with her. She hated the way it flowed from her lips, the way it tasted on her tongue. It made her feel like she was some sort of possession. But, who was she to defend her case to Ryan? She was grateful for him, and also incredibly shy.

"You have amazing artwork," she said, moving toward a painting that was directly across from his bed. She'd assumed that since Ryan had let go of her hand, she was free to go exploring. Ryan smirked at the painting that she'd chosen to assess first. It was one of his more... erotic pieces.

Maybel was momentarily captivated by it though it made her uncomfortable to admit it. There was a certain horror about the picture. It must've been the way the man cloaked in darkness, crouched down over the woman as she slept. It didn't help that she was naked either. The sheets of her bed, the color of stained crimson, didn't seem to cover her at all. In fact, the details of her nude body were so precise that it made Maybel shudder. Whoever drew this had quite an acute imagination.

Cold arms snaked around Maybel's waist and brought her from her thoughts. Ryan spoke from behind her, his breath hitting her neck. "The predator and his prey," Ryan told her, his voice dripping seduction. "She entices him, that's the reason he must have her. And he does."

Maybel looked back at the picture, Ryan's words ringing in her mind. The way the cloaked man looked the girl was eerie, like a man possessed with lust. It was then, as Maybel really looked at his face, that she noticed the thin trail of red, leading from his thin lips to his chin.

Maybel looked back down at the woman... his prey. The way she was sprawled across the bed was almost lifeless. Her arm hung off the side of the bed, and her head was titled so her neck faced him. She now noticed the two bloody, puncture wounds on her neck. There were so small and easily overlooked, but Maybel saw them now. The crimson color of her blood match that of the sheets splayed on top of her.

Maybel cringed away at the scene. How could such small wounds cause so much blood? She wondered with fascinations.

"I'm sure you've heard of vampires," Ryan said nonchalantly from behind her as if making small talk.

"Well, yes, Master," she replied. Of course she'd heard of them. They were horrible, fearsome creatures... murderers. Sometimes the older kids of the orphanage would tell the younger ones about these blood drinking fiends. If you left your bed at night after lights out, they'd surely come after you.

"She must've been in so much pain," Maybel mumbled sympathetically. From behind her, Ryan chuckled.

"Or maybe not, darling." He gestured at the woman's face. "Look at how her lips are parted as if in bliss, even in death. A vampire feeding from you can be an almost erotic experience. That is, if you're the right person. I'm pretty sure she was."

Maybel looked up at Ryan in disbelief. "Wow, you know so much. It's almost as if you painted it."

Ryan chuckled. "That's because I did," he said proudly. He grabbed her thin wrist and dragged her away from the picture. "Now, come on, I must dry you off and get you dressed."