Two Brothers

The last thing I can remember before I woke up in a stranger's bed was walking home from dance class. My friend Jenna hadn't felt good that day so she'd stayed home, and I'd walked to dance, forgetting that she was my ride home. Since it wasn't even that dark out yet, the time being 7:15, I decided to walk it. I didn't live too far away. One second, though, I'm tightening my grip on my shoulder bag as I reached the stop sign not far from my house and the next... I'm in darkness, opening my eyes to a stranger's room, lying in a bed that isn't mine.

I sat up, feeling a dull, aching pain on the side of my neck. I saw a large mirror across the room, directly in front of the bed. My wide-eyed face stared back at me. I was still dressed, in my workout bra, at least. My dark red hair was a tangled mess. Dried blood caked the side of my neck and face. I winced, making the blood crack and create wrinkles. My hair was glued to my cheek and neck with the dried blood. The dried blood stemmed from two garish holes that had already nearly healed over.

My breathing quickened as I stared at my reflection in the large mirror. There was someone in the bed laying next to me. The body laying next to me rolled over to face me. It was a man, still sleeping. The blankets covering his body twisted and bunched and he shoved them off the top half of his body, revealing a shirtless and well-formed upperbody. His face was peaceful, the hint of a smile on his lips. He looked almost serene, laying there with the knowledge that I could not hurt him while he slept, even if I tried.

I looked back at the mirror, staring at my bloodied neck. He... he must have done this to me, I thought suddenly. I was truly scared now. What would happen if he woke up? What would he do to me?

I decided I didn't want to wait to find out. Gently, trying not to make any noise or movement, I slid the covers off my body and pulled my feet to the side of the bed, the thick blankets dragging at them. I lowered my legs off the bed and flinched as my bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. I tried not to breathe, keeping my eyes on the man's chest, watching it rise and fall. The door was probably only a few feet away but it seemed like it would take an eternity to cross the room.

I took a step towards freedom and my foot fell on a creak. I froze, looking abruptly toward the man still laying on the bed. He stayed motionless, besides the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. I felt my heart pound in my chest as I started to move again.

I reached the door handle, avoiding any more creaks, thank God. I clutched the doorknob, praying fervently that the man in the bed wouldn't wake. Almost shaking, I twisted the knob, ever so slowly. I pulled the door open without a hitch. I glanced back at the bed then. It was empty, the sheets in a rumpled disarray. I felt my heart stop and my stomach drop.

"Morning." The deep, arrogant voice came from behind me. I spun to face my shirtless kidnapper, standing beside the half-open door. He smiled at me, almost with a quirky affection, it seemed. Like a 'I just met you but you amuse me so I think I'll keep you' kinda smile.

My face pinched in terror and I backed away from him, back towards the bed. "No... please, don't." I pleaded. The man stalked toward me steadily, his face set in an amused smirk. I bumped into the lampstand next to the bed, and my hand brushed a lamp.

"Don't do that." He warned, sensing what I was about to do. I gripped the lamp and swing it hard at his head. The lamp collided solidly with his face but the man stayed upright, to my disappointment.

The amused smirk slipped from his face and the man frowned at me. "Don't try that again." I got the feeling then that he'd only let me hit him.

I looked for an escape. He was blocking the door, though there was sliding glass door across the room, past the bed. To make it I would have to leap across the bed and hope I could reach the door and get out before he could catch me.

I glanced at the man, then dropped the lamp, it's bulb shattering as it hit the floor. "Better." He looked at me then, tipping his head to one side. "I knew you'd be smarter than the others." He smirked at me again.

"What are you?" I asked, my mind straying to the still healing wound on my neck.

He just smirked at me. "Come on, not even a guess?" I stayed silent, knowing he would tell me no matter what I said. "I'm a vampire." He said this with complete seriousness. And I believed him.

"And you..." He continued, staring at the blood on my neck. "You are delicious."

"Are you going to kill me?" I wondered if my short life of a mere 17 years would be snuffed out before I could even truly live.

"I could." He seemed serious in his claim, despite the friendly arrogance that surrounded him and again I believed him. I stared at him, remembering how quickly he'd gotten out of the bed and standing behind me without me even knowing it. "I don't think I will, though. For now." He continued. I felt a simmer of hope. Maybe he would let me go, after all. "You're much too interesting to kill right now."

Without meaning to, I took a step backwards, pressing myself against the side of the bed. A stinging pain sprang up my leg and I realized I'd stepped in the glass covering the floor. I bit my lip to keep any involuntary noises in, and I lifted my foot off the floor slightly.

"Here, let me help you with that." His voice carried a certain feeling of menace to it. His whole body turned toward the small trickle of blood dripping from my bare foot, and his blue eyes started to turn a dark red. The vampire crossed the short distance between us and lifted me off my bleeding foot, hoisting me up bridal style. I kept my eyes on his, watching them turn an even darker shade of red as he stared at the blood dripping from my foot to the glass-covered wood floor.

"Let's get that fixed up, shall we?" Then, without warning, we were in a kitchen and he was setting me down on the counter beside the sink. He lifted my foot and placed it into the sink, turning on the water. I stared at his face as he rinsed my foot off in the semi-warm water. His eyes were fixed on the blood as it mixed with the water and turned it pink.

"You don't want to drink it?" I asked, my voice quiet.

The vampire pulled his eyes away from the blood to look at me, his gaze questioning and amused. "I've already fed recently." He supplied, to fill the silence, after a moment. I felt my neck, touching the bite wound gently. "Plus, it's your foot. Would you want to drink out of something that's been stepped in?" I shook my head, my hair flipping into my face. I tried to brush it behind my ears but it got caught on the strands of hair stuck to my neck and cheek.

He finished rinsing my foot. "I'm going to take the glass out now. Don't move your foot." I nodded. The vampire stared hard at my foot for a moment, then pulled a small piece of glass from the sole of my foot, quickly. I bit my lip to keep the whimper of pain from escaping, and watched a thin trail of blood run down my foot. He rinsed it off again.

When he finished, he looked at me, his eyes blue again. "Are you afraid?" It seemed like he was only asking me to see what'd I'd say, so I told him the truth.

"Yes."

He stared at me, then handed me a washcloth. "Good." I didn't move at first, then he smirked at me and made a scrubbing motion against his face. "I'd clean it off for you, but I'm not a fan of stale blood." I held the cloth under the running water, and then began to scrub my face clean. The dried blood flaked off onto my shoulder and onto the counter.

"Mmm... On second thought." The cloth was ripped from my fingers and the vampire gripped my neck, his fangs extending slowly. His eyes turned red, growing darker until they were almost black. I wasn't screaming, something in me told me that it would only make it worse. My self-preservation skills at work. My mouth remained closed as the vampire licked my neck, cleaning the wound completely.

When he was finished, he released my neck and wiped his mouth with a clean wash cloth. "You really do taste delicious." He gave me a small smile, then smirked quickly, as if to hide the fact that he could actually smile.

I decided he was giving me a compliment of sorts and nodded. "Thank you." I said automatically, my manners ingrained into me. Thank you, Gran. At least the vampire knows I was raised proper.

The vampire cocked his head to one side and stared at me, his eyes inspecting, a smirk playing on his lips. I became aware suddenly that I was wearing nothing but a pink sports bra and light blue shorts. The vampire in front of me was dressed similarly, clothed only in black pajama pants. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around the room self-consciously. I felt like cotton candy on display at a carnival.

"You don't have to bother with modesty. We've already slept together." I glanced at him quickly, my eyebrows raised as I wondered what he meant. "In the actual 'sleeping' sense." He said, the words sounding like a confession.

"Why?"

He raised an eyebrow and smirked cockily. "Why didn't we do more?" He asked, his voice laced with inuendo.

"Why did you kidnap me?" I said, ignoring his playful attempt to seduce me.

He sighed, and rolled his eyes, leaving my side to lean against an island in the middle of the kitchen. "You were just walking down the sidewalk, all pretty and alone. I was hungry, you were there. End of story." The way he spoke suddenly made me even more afraid. "Plus, I'm a sucker for dancers." He smirked again.

I bit my lip and tried to ignore the second meaning behind his words. "You followed me?" I remembered a feeling of dark realization a moment before losing all memory of the night.

"All the way from dance class to the stop sign a block away from your home." The vampire pushed off the island and moved toward me, slowly, mocking my fear. Mocking anyone who felt fear, just because he could. "And then," he continued, moving closer to where I was perched, still on the counter. "I pursuaded you to come home with me."

"How?" I didn't remember anything past walking home to waking up in bed with this arrogant vampire, who I'd apparently 'slept' with.

"You mean, besides my good looks and charm?" Well, he was good-looking, I'd give him that. But charming? Not so much. I didn't find arrogance to be a charming quality in a man. But then, he wasn't a man, was he?

"I convinced you using my magical vampire powers." He wiggled his fingers at me and raised his eyebrows.

"You can do that?" I wished more than anything that I could remember what he'd done to me.

"Oh, yeah. And more." He smirked, staring at me. He just stared at me then, for the longest time.

"What's your name?" I asked the vampire then, trying to fill the void of silence.

He didn't answer. Instead, he turned to face the wide, open doorway leading out into a hallway and leaned casually against the counter next to me. "Hey, brother. Where have you been?" He said to no one. His voice sounded bored, but I could see that the arrival of this new person excited him. I frowned in confusion at first, seeing no one, then a tall teenage boy about my age or probably older entered the kitchen. He frowned when he saw me perched on the counter.

"Damon. I was looking for you."