Mercy's All That You Need

A yawn fell from Mercedes' lips as she opened her bedroom door, staggering through a head rush before she had to clutch the door frame so she didn't fall. She shook her head at herself, and wished she could get used to things. A week had passed since her change had begun, and change is what certainly had gone on. Instead of waiting for everyone else to wake up, Mercy was sleeping in, even by vampire standards. It was past ten PM and the sun had set hours ago, but her nocturnal senses seemed not to have been aware of that fact.

She wasn't aware of much, really.

While Mercy may not have been feeling too sick, with the exception of the scattered headache as Matt predicted, she wasn't exactly feeling better. All she'd done was sleep, but it was as if she wasn't getting any actual rest from it.

Tonight, though, she promised herself would be different. She was going to get up with everyone else like she'd been looking forward to. Having gotten straight into the shower upon waking up, she at least looked like she hadn't spent the last week in bed.

Waking up past sunset was what really threw her off. Her body seemed to be partially adapting to it, but her mind certainly had not. She was used to getting up at the crack of dawn with her mother, after all.

If anything, her neck was healing up nicely. It was stupid to hope it wouldn't leave a scar, but it didn't look like it would be a huge one. And thankfully, she hadn't lost her appetite.

She was in the mood for some breakfast, and her human side refused to get go of how odd it was to be eating breakfast at such an hour. The walk through the hallway and to the kitchen was a mundane one, given her obvious fatigued state, and she wasn't exactly paying attention to where she was going. When Mercy rounded the corner from the foyer—intent on heading straight for the fridge—she almost knocked someone down, and was surprised when she didn't lose her own balance.

Still, the person held her arms as if he was trying to steady her, and he hadn't almost fallen due to her lack of attention. From what contact she had with his skin, she could tell he wasn't a vampire from his warm temperature, much the same of her own.

Mercedes was almost expecting it to somehow be the vampire that Brian had beheaded, though, or even worse... Gary. Instead, she was met with a pair of friendly dark green eyes. She stared at the boy and took in his mousy brown hair and unassuming stature. He wasn't much taller than herself, likely shorter than Johnny by an inch or two, and he wasn't much older than her either. In fact, he looked to be the same age.

Her attention was partially focused on Syn, however, who could just barely be seen through the dining room, arms crossed as he leaned on the wall by the sliding doors that led out to the deck.

It was a weird situation, to say the least. Not only did she not know who this guy was or why he was there, but the girls all stood gathered around the island, with a boy almost identical to the one in front of her.

Twins, they were twins. Mercy was sure then that she'd never seen nor met them before, as she would have remembered them for sure. Suddenly she wasn't so hungry anymore, or rather her need to eat was temporarily forgotten, and as she sensed a situation she wasn't going to be too comfortable in.

Choosing to ignore the slightly disappointed look that crossed the features of the guy in front of her, she peered around him to get a look at the girls and shot them a questioning look. He didn't introduce himself, and she wasn't about to either. She figured he was just as shy as she was.

“Mercedes,” Leana said with her usual wide grin. She sounded almost panicked, as if she could sense Mercy was about to turn tail and run back to her room. “You're awake! These guys have been waiting to meet you. This is David,” She pointed toward the boy standing next to Lacey. “And the dude you almost knocked over is Danny.”

The last time she met someone there, it ended up being a vampire who seemed scary enough, and someone even her brother was scared of. Mercy clasped her hands together and retreated a little, so she wasn't so close to the boy anymore. It wasn't intentional and she wasn't holding anything against him, but after thinking about that incident, she didn't really want to be close to someone she didn't know.

Why would everyone want me to meet these two? Of course Mercedes wouldn't ask such a question aloud, and instead mumbled out a “Nice to meet you,” while shifting her eyes to stare at her wrung-together hands. Her timidity certainly hadn't changed.

“Likewise,” Danny said in reply, his voice softer than she would have imagined.

“Daniel and David are half-vampires like you, Mercy.” Val finally spoke up, catching Mercedes' gaze with comforting eyes.

Shocked, Mercy looked between the two boys, unbelieving but hopeful. It was one thing to hope there were other half- blooded vampires out there, but to actually meet not only one, but two?

Not even she was that optimistic.

They both seemed nervous when that was brought up, but Danny nodded in agreement to Val's statement. An abrupt grin spread across Mercy's features, and she pulled him into a hug. After hearing that he somehow felt like family to her, and therefore so keen on being timorous anymore. From her peripheral vision, she couldn't help but notice Syn's scoff when she pulled away from Danny.

Too happy to worry about Brian's hostile actions, she ignored him for the time being. “David's found his mate, but Danny hasn't.”

Heated flooded her cheeks as she came to understand exactly why they were visiting her, and then she realized why Danny had looked so disappointed a moment ago. They were there to see if he and Mercedes connected on a higher level, and sadly, she hadn't felt anything romantic toward him. The hug had just been a whim, and part of Mercy's friendly nature when she chose to open up. She noticed him staring at the bandage still covering her neck, and let out a soft sigh through her embarrassment.

From the look on his face, he hadn't felt anything either. David, who seemed to be the more outgoing of the two, turned toward his twin expectantly. “It's not her, is it?”

Danny just shook his head in reply. The girls slumped forward at the letdown, their shoulders bowed. It would have been comical, seeing them all do this almost in unison, but the moment was much too disheartening. Another chance to find her mate and it hadn't worked.

Brian took this as his cue, and stalked into the kitchen with the same look of hostility he'd been wearing earlier. His arms still crossed and a glare set in his chocolate brown eyes, now was not a moment for Synyster Gates to be messed with. “I could have told you that, though,” He began in a know-it-all tone. “Before you came all the way out here.”

“Shut up, Gates,” Lacey warned, speaking up for the first time all night.

He shook his head, all but ignoring her. “It's rare for a half-blooded vampire to find a mate in the first place, and it's even rarer for it to be another half-vampire.”

Face contorting into anger, David walked over to his brother and stood next to him, almost protectively. “We're going through every possibility, Gates. There's no harm in trying.” He said sourly. Val saw how quickly he was becoming aggravated and closed her eyes, her lips set in a firm line as it looked like she was concentrating on something.

Matt's footsteps echoed in the hallway through the foyer, and Mercedes looked toward Val in astonishment. Had she really just called him? But Matt was sure as hell pissed, and he paid no mind to the twins upon entering the kitchen and focused on Syn, but not before nudging Mercedes over toward the island with the girls.

The rest of the guys stood in the foyer, no doubt wondering if a fight was going to break out. Jimmy looked nonchalant, as if Matt and Brian fought every day (and that was pretty close to being true), but Zacky and Johnny looked concerned for everyone involved.

“Don't you have a job to do, Gates?” Shadows questioned.

“Already finished it,” Syn snapped in reply, instantly becoming angered at Matt's somewhat patronizing question.

Throwing his hands up, Matt smiled sarcastically. “Well great! Looks like you have the night off. So why are you fucking with my little sister?”

Mercy felt a wave of nausea ripple through her midsection, but it wasn't because of the change. It was because she knew a fight was about to go down then for sure. She didn't want her brother or Syn for that matter, to get hurt. And knowing them and their vampire strength, it wouldn't end well for either of them.

Also sensing this, the twins retreated from the kitchen and past the guys. A few seconds later, the front door could be heard being thrown open, and then slammed shut. Mercedes looked down in defeat, having wanted to spend more time with the two. That might have been her only chance to talk to more people like herself, and although she didn't enjoy pointing fingers, their absence was only Syn's doing.

Brian used his stamina to his ability and lurched forward so he was face to face with Matt. He looked like he was holding himself back from just punching Matt in the face. “I do live here, so as far as I'm concerned I can do whatever the fuck I want without having to check in with anybody to see if it's alright.”

“You guys, just calm down here for a second,” Val said halfheartedly in an attempt to calm her mate down. Everyone knew, though, that if Matt wanted a fight, a fight was what he would get.

“I've had it up to fucking here with your attitude, Syn, especially with Mercedes. What happened with Michelle has absolutely fucking nothing to do with Mercy. It was your fault in the first place for being so goddamn careless.”

There it was again. Was Brian really holding something against her? Val had already accused him of it last week at the mall, and here Matt was calling him out on it again. But this time, he mentioned a name. Michelle. It hadn't ever been brought up before.

At the mention of Michelle, and whatever she was to him, Brian hissed and bared his fangs, looking ravenous as he crouched, ready to strike at any moment. As soon as he did so Johnny was next to Mercedes, with Lacey on his other side. Mercy knew from experience Syn could be a loose cannon, and he could lash out at anyone he thought was to blame if he didn't have enough control at that particular moment.

Having never seen Matt show his fangs before, Mercy was shocked and terrified when he mimicked Syn's actions, but soon after doing so Brian was quick to throw the first punch. Matt was even faster, and decked him straight in the face at the same instant. Jimmy and Zacky weren't very concerned about breaking them up, as they knew it would be better to let them fight it out rather than deal with two bitchy men for the rest of the night.

Mercedes grabbed Johnny's arm when she heard the distinct crunch come from Brian, and was sure his nose had been broken. She couldn't just stand there and let them fight. “Aren't you going to do anything?!” She demanded, and shot a pleading look around the room.

No one had time to answer her, as Brian let out a sharp, intense laugh while wiping away some of the blood that had gushed from his nostrils with the back of his hand. He was steadily stumbling backwards, and by then they were in the dining room, nearing the sliding doors by then. “Maybe, Matt. Maybe I was careless. But you sure as hell didn't do anything to stop him, did you?”

What Brian said made Matt halt, however, and he stopped to stare at him blankly. “How many years has it been, Syn,” He calmly stepped toward Brian, and that wasn't a good sign. A calm Matt in such a situation wasn't a good thing. “And you're still holding that shit against me? After all the things I've done for you. I'll fucking kill you,” He seethed, his words shocking Mercy even further.

When Matt threatens you with your life, it's safe to assume you should just run right then.

Syn wasn't that smart. Or he was just too damn stubborn, and didn't even bother to try and move out of the way before Matt lunged, tackling him. If the sliding doors had been shut, they would have easily shattered the glass; they landed on the deck with a crash, and flattening a lawn chair in the process.

It didn't look like a walk in the park for Brian, but they were both on their feet again within seconds. They wrestled each other; landing punches every opportunity they had. Most of them were successful, too, and Mercedes lingered behind the group when everyone hurried out to make sure Matt didn't do well on his threat.

“Matt—Brian—stop it!” Mercy didn't care about what everybody thought was best for them; she didn't want anyone getting hurt. Especially when it had all stemmed from her. Again. She knew better than to get in between them, which would be disastrous. She couldn't reason with them any further than that, because they fell straight into the pool.

Chuckles were heard throughout the group as they did that, and the two came up sputtering. Falling in ended up being a good thing, as it seemed to put an end to their physical fight. But not their verbal.

The water around them turned a pink shade from their blood, and Mercy nearly cried at the sight. “I should have fucking kicked your ass long ago,” Matt spat, not at all concerned about his injuries or Syn's. This time Brian chose the wise route and didn't reply, swimming over to the edge of the pool and heaving himself up.

Without so much as a word to anyone, he walked away. Drenched in water and blooding beginning to pour all over again, he didn't even look back. And while he had completely dashed Mercedes' hopes yet again, she couldn't help but feel bad for him.