Just a Sip

Armand didn't speak much after he scared me half to death with his 'plan' business. I sat and watched him close shop, which he did insanely fast. When he was done, he came up to me grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. 

"Let's go for a walk." he said locking up and taking me out the back door. 

"Why should I go with you?" I asked him nervously. He chuckled opening the door to outside. 

"Because you trust me." I laughed so hard I think I spat all over his face.

"No way. I don't even know you. You say you're a fucking vampire and can enter my dreams by drugging me." Once I got past the fact that this guy was scary as shit, I realized that this whole scenario was ludacris. Really? A coffee slinging vampire? HA! the night was thick and calm and the parking lot was empty as we crossed it.

"Then you must not trust yourself. I'm in your dreams, therefore, I AM a part of YOU!" I stopped staring at him incredulously.

"You really are a wackjob aren't you?" I said. He rolled his eyes and let go of my wrist, we were off the parking lot now. The shade of the trees from the moonlight covered his face and I instantly recognized him from my dreams, but I didn't admit it.

"I'm fucking crazy. I'm nuts!" he said walking backwards. "I can give you proof though." he said raising a finger. I shrugged rubbing my arm. I really didn't need any proof he was really something, but I wanted to see what he could do.

"well I'm giving you proof even though you believe me and I can DO a lot believe me." he said standing by a wide oak tree. 

"YOU READ MY THOUGHTS!" I accused jabbing a finger at him. He grinned putting one foot up the tree.

"Nuh Uh-Uh." he teased putting another foot on it and walking up. Wait hold on...walking up? I almost fainted as I watched Armand scale the tree as if he were walking on the ground. He was at a complete vertical angle. I looked around to see if anyone could see what I was seeing. But we were alone.

"Can't blame this on Cris Angel can you?" he said now sitting on a flat twig that protruded from a bigger branch. I shook my head slowly.

"Why me?" I asked whispering. He laid on the twig that would have snapped under a normal humans weight.

"Why not?" he joked yawning and beckoning for me to come closer. I walked over, blowing his way in a sudden breeze. It felt like a dream for a second, so I pinched my wrist and OW yes it was indeed reality. I came closer and he extended his hand to me. A bit frightened, I realized that I did actually have trust for him deep within me. But where did it come from? I took his hand and he gently pulled me up beside him.
"believe it or not, you have a power that not many in this world have." 

I pulled my hair from the ponytail it was in and avoided his gaze.

"Those dreams you have, they're...exceptional. I had been looking for the perfect dreamer for centuries. I just happened to be scanning the Internet for blogs containing just what I wanted. And yours was delicious." Armand said luxuriously leaning against the bark of the tree. I was ready to rip my hair out. "So I tracked you down, got a job at a tea place, which fit the criteria of my search anyway and waited for you to come to me."

"FOR WHAT???" I hollered. Armand rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The whole reason I took up the tea job was to create more dreamers in the world. Cause when you're dreaming I can do whatever I want to you." I crossed my arms.

"Not cool. And tea is supposed to help you in the conquest?" I said trying to find a way to climb down the tree without him seeing, but I felt a tug on my shirt and I was sitting right where I was again.

"It worked with you didn't it?" He said. "But then again, you come from a long line of..." he trailed off, his eyes going glassy in the moonlight as he thought. I froze.

"Of what?" I asked. He hopped from the tree landing neatly on his feet. 

"Nevermind. There's plenty of time for explanations. I'm hungry, and bored. So I'll catch you later." I basically exploded.

"WHAT??!?? All of this and then you just LEAVE ME??" I fumed stalking him. He turned and faced me, his fangs now out.

"Unless you want me feeding off you, which I CAN'T, then I suggest you get in your little car, drive home, and wait. Because I'm not done with you yet. Don't you worry." he said, his eyes now a cavernous black. I nodded and watched as he ran off so fast he was blurred in the landscape. I shook. There were so many questions unanswered. So many open ends. But all I could do was go home, because the night frightens me when I'm alone in it.
•     •     •
     I sat at home, the blinds drawn. For some reason, knowing about Armand being after me made me feel a teeny bit better. At least it wasn't Rodriguo coming after me to to finish what he started. 

After a parentless dinner alone, I curled up on the sofa and cranked up the volume on Underworld Evolution. I had to dig it up from the dredges of my goth days box in the crawl space under the stairs. I wanted to compare the characters of this movie to real life vampires.

I had no doubt in my mind that Armand was of the supernatural, but did he wield bullets with pure silver? Or wear black leather? I shuddered imagining and buried myself deeper into the couch.

The garage door opened causing me to jump up. My parents walked in, laughing about something they had just been talking about. My heart rate slowed as they looked at me in surprise.

"Miu! What are you doing here all huddled up in the dark?" my dad asked loosening his tie and helping my mother take off her navy blue sweater. I hugged myself sitting on the couch again.

"Watching a movie." I said feeling no safer now that my parents were home. My dad nodded and followed my mom to the stairs.

"Well don't stay up too late! You have school in the morning remember." he chided leaving me alone in the darkness.

"No YOU remember." I said lowering the volume on the TV.

"They haven't realized that you've been on summer vacation for a month now?" I heard a voice ask from the corner, it was followed by a dark laugh and I immediately knew who it was. 

"Armand." I said pausing the movie. "How did you get in my house?" 

"I can do all kinds of things...like play piano...pick locks and glitter in the sunlight." he said jokingly coming over to the couch beside me and sitting. I gave him a look. "Psych, I don't glitter in the sunlight, that Edward Cullen dude is a dick for making you little kids believe all that shit." I moved away from him, but the very familiar smell of him made me want to draw closer. He looked to the TV and back to me.

"These guys are some pretty badass movie Vamps though I have to admit." I was still in my work clothes but still covered the blanket around me tighter as if he could see through my clothes or something.

"Okay, so now that I've eaten and am content enough, I will answer any question that you have."

"What am I?" I asked quickly. He put up a finger. 

"Except that question." I furrowed my brow.

"You call Edward Cullen a dick..." he shrugged laying out on my couch like a cat as if he owned it. 

"No one said I wasn't." 

"Why do you want to control people through their dreams." I asked noticing a little red splotch on his cheek. He saw where my eyes were, reached for his face, wiped up the splotch with his forefinger and brought it to his mouth. 

"Excuse me, it seems as if I got a little carried away with dinner." he said sucking on his finger with flourish and grinning toothily. I grimaced. Why the HELL was I so calm around him?

"I want to control everyone because you humans are so...stressed. I want you to DO whatever the hell you want to DO and stop worrying. I love chaos and money, what a better way to get it by slowly knocking down the dominoes?" he said simply. I stared at him.

"You weird fuck." I said standing up. "Get out of my house." if this was anything like that vampire show True Blood, he would be dragged out of my house because I had rescinded my invite. But he just sat there.

"I saw that show, and my vixen you are MUCH prettier than Sookie Stackhouse. Not to mention you look tastier...vampire tip number one: never drink from an actress, they enjoy it more than you do." I sighed watching him look at me innocently. His eyes trailed to a family portarait over the fireplace. 

"Your parents are very kind people. Clueless...but kind." I eased myself back on the couch and looked at him.

"How do you know my parents?" I asked pulling my knees up to my chin. 

"I'm looking for a place in the area, and I heard your parents are the best agents in town. So I looked them up."

"And surprise...they're my parents." I finished slapping my forehead. He stood up yawning.

"Well I can see I'm causing you much mental anguish so I'm going now. I'll see you tonight in your dreams." he said walking to the sliding deck door. I stood up, a feeling of sadness at seeing him go, I wasn't sure where that came from. He gave me one last look before disappearing into the night.

That night I searched endlessly for sleep. Listening to my iPod, drinking warm milk, and counting sheep only got me a hazy headache. Sitting cross-legged on my bed, my eye fell on the small sample cup of tea that I had left on my desk earlier tonight. I guiltily pushed away the thought of maybe drinking the small droplets that were left.

"You don't know what he did to that stuff." I whispered to myself. But the cup sat and waited. I got up slowly and took it in my hand. Throwing caution to the wind, I downed whatever was left in the cup and fell into dreamland as my back hit the bed.

I was in a forties nightclub. The place was bumpin' as men swung ladies to the music of the live band. I myself was wearing a flappers dress and had a feather in my tightly pincurled hair. The smell of mothballs and cigarette smoke was in the air and I wondered if this was a speakeasy. 

My senses told me to look over to the right and I did. Armand, sharply dressed and coiffed, walked over and smoothed his slicked hair back. My heart jumped just a bit as he nodded his head to a table in the corner.

What the hell was this? Inception or something? I slid into the empty chair across from him and stared blankly at him.

"I had a dream about a flapper when I was 15." I said as a woman in a beaded black dress swiftly put a drink in front of me and walked away. Armand had a gleam in his eye as a cigarette appeared in his mouth.

"I know, I read about it. How does it feel to actually interact within your dream?" he asked blowing smoke rings at me. I waved them away with my red silk glove.

"Pretty...amazing. How can you do all this? Are you like a king vampire or something?" I asked sipping on what tasted like a shirley temple. Funny, that's what I was craving before I went to bed.

"Hardly." he scoffed pushing his glass around the table. "Certain vampires have specific skills endowed to them because of what they had accomplished in their mortal lives."

I raised an eyebrow and snorted. "What did you accomplish? The art of creeping?" he smirked, letting out two buttons on the collar of his shirt.

"The art of seduction by any means." he said taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor. "You and I will make millions off of my dream potions. All you have to say is I do."