Status: Active

Do Bad Things

The Vamp Bar

“We must protect ourselves from the blood-sucking vermin that walk among us,” the Reverend Steve Newland, from the Fellowship of the Sun church, spoke vehemently.

I, Emily Welsley, had had it with this pro-vampire, anti-vampire, fangbanger bullshit. Which is why I immediately shut off the television after hearing those few words from the famous anti-vampire reverend.

Why couldn’t things just be like before? When everyone lived together peacefully, even though they may not have known it. Everything would be so much easier. There would be no constant debate about whether or not it was okay to be a vampire, whether or not it was okay for vampires to have the same rights as everyone else had, or whether it was okay to be what they now call “fangbangers”, people who sleep with vampires and “donate” their blood. But for now, I guess I just have to live with it. Things aren’t going to change anytime soon. Much less, hit the rewind button.

As for experiences with vampires, I hadn’t had many. Of course I’d seen a few at night here and there. But that’s about it. I didn’t know any personally. But since I moved to Shreveport, about two weeks ago, I had seen a lot more vampires than I had in the extremely small town I grew up in in rural southern Louisiana. There had only been one vampire in the area that the townspeople knew of, and he rarely even showed his face in town. In Shreveport, it was a completely different situation. There were vamps everywhere. Even a vampire bar, Fangtasia.

I glanced at the clock. 2:30, it read. Time for me to get ready for work. I work at a local supermarket -- Stop and Shop; a temporary job until I could find something better. I quickly got up, went to my bedroom and put on my work uniform - black slacks, a white t-shirt and a red work apron. I briskly brushed through my hair and put some smoky black eyeliner on, grabbed my keys and purse and headed out the door.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. Nothing out of the ordinary, no distractions. Until two of my co-workers approached me near closing time. I hadn’t really spoken to them much, only about things that pertained to work, nothing else. But this time it seemed as though things other than work were on their mind.

“Hey, Em. Charlene and I were wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us tonight after work,” my blond coworker, Lacy, said.

“Um, hang out where?”

“Well, Charlene and I have been meaning to go out for a while. And we do fancy them vampires. So, we thought we’d go check out that vamp bar, Fangtasia. We thought we’d ask if you wanted to join us. On account of you just moving out here and all, we thought you‘d maybe wanna get out and see the town.”

“Well, that’s nice of you both, but I think I may have to pass. I’m not too into the whole vamp scene. But thanks.”

“Awe, c’mon. Please, Em? I’m sure you’ll like it. And! Drinks are on us,” Charlene said with a wink.

I sighed in contemplation. “I guess… It’d probably be good to get out of the house for a while…”

“Good! Okay, well we’re just gonna run home and get ready. Maybe we could stop by your house after and pick you up? If I remember correctly, you live pretty close to Fangtasia.”

“I do. And that sounds fine. Thanks. I guess I’ll see you a bit later then. I’m gonna get out of here.”

“Alright. Bye, Em,” Charlene said, smiling. Lacy smiled and waved as I left the store.

Well, this ought to be an adventure. Not sure I’ll like it, but whatever. It’s something to do. And Charlene and Lacy seem nice.

As soon as I got home, I changed out of my work clothes. I had never really been one to go to the bars or clubs so I had no idea of what to wear. I looked through my dresser and closet quickly and finally decided on the outfit of a new pair of jeans that hugged me in all the right places, a pretty gray tank top, and a lacy black cardigan. I paired that with my black flats and I was almost ready to go. I then ran into the bathroom, spruced up my makeup and straightened up my hair, which was a little wacky from working all day.

Good thing I’ve never been the kind of girl that takes hours to get ready to go somewhere because just as I was putting the finishing touches on my makeup, a car horn sounded from just outside. I grabbed my bag and keys and headed out to the car.

Charlene and Lacy were in a partying mood. Me, not so much. Sure, it was nice to get out of the house every now and then. But keeping company with vamps didn’t sound that enjoyable to me. Not that I’m against them or anything. They just tend to be so self-centered and egotistical that it’s hard to be around them. Not to mention, they always assume that you are worthless so therefore, they are far more important than any human could be. But that, I just cannot understand. They were human once, right?

Fangtasia was a busy place if I ever saw one. There were people (and vampires) everywhere you looked. It was obvious to point out those who were the die-hard fangbangers for they were always sticking close to one vamp or another. Some of the vampires didn’t seem to mind, after all, I assume that’s what they were paid to do. But others, looked at them as if they were scum on the bottom of their shoe.

“Let’s find a table,” Charlene said, loud enough to hear over the noisy music and people. I nodded in agreement. Both Lacy and I followed her to a table in the far left corner of the big room. I guess the good thing about going to a vamp bar would be that you don’t have to worry about getting hit on by drunken, creepy guys because they - and drunken, creepy women - were here for the vampires, not humans. Thus, the whole point of a “vamp” bar.

“I’m gonna go get us some drinks,” Lacy said a few seconds after we settled down. “Be right back.”

As I followed Lacy with my eyes all the way to the bar, I realized two things. For one, I was completely overdressed. I glanced over to Charlene and then to Lacy and that only further proved that fact. Both were dressed in skimpy tank tops that showed their midriffs and even skimpier skirts that showed off their thoroughly tanned, long legs thrown together with a pair of super high heels.

But the second thing I noticed was something I enjoyed much more. While watching Lacy, I saw, in the middle of the room, a platform with chairs on it, a very well-built man sitting in the center one. Now he was a treat to the eyes. He was a vampire clearly but, he looked almost human. He was wearing a dark blue, pinstriped suit, the undershirt unbuttoned so you could see his chest. The dark color of the suit emphasized the lack of color of his skin. He was so pale, with light, sandy blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, the hue of the sky on a nice day.

He sat in the chair (more like lounged), rested his head on his hand and simply looked around the room. A light shown down on him, making it seem as though he was just there on display, which he most likely was. He definitely was eye candy. Those broad shoulders were absolutely something to drool over.

“He IS gorgeous,” Charlene said, waking me out of my awe-inspired stupor.

“Is he just there for looks or what?”

Lacy answered my question as she walked up and put the fruity, brightly colored alcoholic beverages on the table in front of us. “Yes, and what good looks he has. He’s starred in a fantasy or two of mine,” she said with a smirk.

“He’s also the owner of this place,” Charlene added.

“I see. And he just sits there all night?” I asked just before taking a sip of my drink.

“For the most part. The majority of the time he’s not even here. But hey, wouldn’t it be nice to just have people ogle and compliment you all night every now and then?”

“Um, sure. I guess so,” I said as I watched some girl approach the platform, looking pathetically aroused. I don’t know what she said, but whatever it was, it was something the mysterious vamp didn’t like all to well. He glanced over at a pair of his undead pals and they came over, grabbed her by the arms, and took her outside.

I decided to stop staring because just as they took the woman out, he glanced in my direction and we made eye contact for a generous amount of time. So, I turned back and took an equally generous gulp of my drink. It was pretty good, not the tastiest drink I’d ever had, but it quenched my thirst.

“So how’re you liking Shreveport, Emily?” Lacy asked, before taking another drink.

“It’s alright. Much better than where I used to live, I suppose. But I haven’t really seen much of it yet.”

“Well, maybe one of us could show you around a day off. If you want, that is,” Charlene proposed as Lacy downed the rest of her drink. She seemed to already be getting a little tipsy.

“Yeah, that sounds--”

“I’ll be right back. Gonna get me another one of these,” Lacy interrupted, pointing to her drink. She quickly walked back over to the bar area.

“That sounds alright, I meant to say.”

“Okay. Sorry ‘bout her. Sometimes she gets a little carried away with her liquor.”

“That’s okay. We all have our faults…” At this point in time, I didn’t have much to say. After all, I hadn’t known these girls very long. But I hadn’t found much that I had in common with either of them. So far, I knew that I liked Charlene better than Lacy. She was just more reasonable, more likeable, friendlier…

I glanced back over to the platform where Mr. Mysterious Vampire was sitting. Only to find out he wasn’t there anymore. He’d probably gone off with some broad he found mildly suitable… Oh well, have fun with that, I thought.

I looked back to the table just as Lacy came back, half her drink already gone. “Mmm…. Some of these vamps are looking really good right about now…” Lacy said looking quite lustful.

“After a few drinks, anything looks good to you, Lace,” Charlene said, not necessarily joking. I looked down at my drink. I began to stir it around with my finger, bored.

“Whatever… I think I’m gonna--” Lacey started, but paused. After a few seconds I noticed how quiet they both had gotten and I looked up at them to see why they had stopped talking. If those two stopped talking, it was a sure sign something was up.

As I looked up at them, I noticed that they were not looking at me but above and behind where I sat. They were both entranced, by something, or someone. Charlene glanced down at me for a second, her eyes bulging, then back up, as if to tell me to look as well. I slowly, cautiously turned around to see what was attracting their attention. And I definitely found out.
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