Balance Beam

I stared at my orange and green lava lamp that was located across the room on my dresser. For the past couple days I’ve barricaded myself inside my apartment. I’ve denied all visitors, didn’t answer any calls, and refused to text anyone back. I would stare at random objects, such as my lava lamp or teacup, or I would pace constantly. I’ve been thinking of how I can get this interview for Bram without revealing that I am a vampire. Why did I care so much about him knowing?

A loud knock came to my front door, but I didn’t move at all. In the past few days, a couple people have tried stopping by. This knock was different, however. Much more powerful, determined even.

“Giselle open up! I know you’re in there,” Janis yelled.

Hearing her voice was enough to break my concentration. I groaned as I looked away and rubbed my eyes. I was still pissed off that Janis had completely threw me under the bus the other night, metaphorically of course. She knows I did not want to really get that interview for Bram if I wasn’t able to keep my secret. I sighed loudly, pushing myself off my bed and walking towards the door. Janis would not give up until sunrise and I did not have the patience to listen to her all night.

I unlocked the door quickly and snatched it open, surprising her. “What do you want?” I asked icily. Janis broke eye contact for a second before looking at me and sighing.

“Oh come on, Giselle. Are you going to let some silly human come in between us?” she whispered. I rolled my eyes as I watched her smile. It’s so not about him.

“You are seriously naïve if you think this is about him,” I shook my head. “You had no right to volunteer me to do this,” I growled.

Janis rolled her eyes and pushed past me. She took off her coat, slinging it on my recliner. I sighed heavily and shut the door. It was going to be hell getting her to leave now that she was in my apartment. I followed my best friend to the kitchen, where she had began making tea.

“I figured we could talk in here, unless you want your neighbor to know why you’re mad at me,” she trailed off, pulling two teacups from the cabinet. A growl ruptured from my throat and she laughed. I was not in the mood for her fucking jokes.

“Cut the shit Janis,” I said through gritted teeth. “Why are you here?”

She eyed me up and down, leaning against the counter. “No one has heard from you in three days. Can a girl get worried? Sheesh,” she grumbled, throwing her arms up dramatically and shaking her head.

“I’ve been thinking about how to get this interview,” I said avoiding eye contact with her. I was still mad at her and didn’t want her to think everything was fine between us.

“Can I ask you a serious question without you getting mad?” she asked as I took a seat at the island. I waved her off.

“I’m already mad, so no.”

Her lips briefly turned up into a smirk, but then she turned serious quickly. “Are you ashamed of who you are? You shouldn’t be. Yeah we’re vampires and we drink blood, but we’re really no different than humans, Gi. It’s personality that matters.”

I sighed heavily, looking down at my hands. I really need to polish my nails again. “I’m not ashamed of who I am,” I finally said. But even I couldn’t argue that it sounded like I was trying to convince myself more than her.

Janis nodded, like she understood the problem. “Giselle, you truly are a beautiful person. I’ve never met anyone so kind and considerate of others. You’re not a monster or anything of the like,” she shook her head. “I think you should just be honest with him. You‘ll probably be happy to get that weight off your shoulders.”

The tea kettle went off and Janis took it off the stove. I watched her silently as she filled our teacups. What is the worst that could happen if I was honest? Bram could decide to never see or talk to me again, or he would tell our landlord and I’d have to move. But I could just move in with Janis and Summer, so the second one wouldn’t count in my best friend’s eyes.

Janis sat my cup in front of me and I thanked her. She smiled softly, sitting next to me and taking a sip of her tea. “I feel like we’re in this together because we’re both rather fond of these humans. I talked to Quinn the other night,-”

“You talked to Quinn?” I interrupted. “How?”

Janis chuckled and drank some more of her tea. “We exchanged numbers,” she smiled. “He even told me of how important this interview is. So, I talked to Aroldo last night.”

“You what?!” I nearly spilled my hot beverage. Janis furrowed her eye brows at me.

“That human sure does have an affect on you,” she shook her head and lit a cigarette. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, I just asked him if he would ever do an interview since other vampire bar owners have. I think you’re going to like what he said,” she grinned.

“So tell me,” I leaned towards her. Perhaps this would be easier than I thought.

“He said he’s been giving it some thought, which is the complete opposite of what I thought he was going to say. Now you just have to come to the bar with me tonight, mingle a little bit, and mention it to him. I know you’ll be able to trust him, Gi.”

I thought it over as we finished our tea. I could always run away if it doesn’t work my way. I nodded at my best friend. “Okay, I’ll do it. I need to get ready though,” I said as I glimpsed down at my attire. I have been wearing these baggy pajamas for the past two days. Needless to say, I look a fucking sight.

Janis looked me over as well and nodded as she tried to hold in a laugh. “Okay, I don’t want him to put two and two together, you know how paranoid and smart them old vamps are,” she rolled her eyes and put her cup in the sink. “I’ll just head over there and you can show up whenever you’re ready, like we’re meeting there. Cool?”

I nodded my head, putting my empty teacup in the sink. “Give me an hour and I’ll be there. Oh, Janis?”

“Hm?” she asked as she slipped into her jacket.

“Thanks for the talk,” I smiled softly. She grinned back at me, nodding.

“Anytime. Wear something that shows a lot of cleavage so he can’t resist,” she giggled as she butted out her cigarette. I shook my head at her, holding back a grin.

“You ain’t left yet?” I teased. She blew me a kiss and then left.

I made my way to the bathroom, turning on the water to hot. I showered quickly and wrapped myself in a towel, before walking to my bedroom. I had no idea what to wear tonight. It’s been cold lately and I had a lot more summer clothes than winter ones. Guess this gives me a reason to go shopping, especially if I plan on staying here through the winter. Which as of right now, I am. But it could all change tonight.

Grabbing my hairbrush off my dresser, I began brushing my long, red hair. My closet door was wide open, revealing the endless amount of clothes I had. Browsing from one end to the other, I looked it over twice. My hand grabbed a pair of light denim jeans with multiple patches and a v-neck purple Jimi Hendrix t-shirt. After I dried myself off, I threw on a matching bra and panty set before throwing on the rest of my outfit.

Once I was done brushing my hair, I went back to my bathroom. It was a last-minute decision to throw on some make up. It wasn’t anything too fancy, just some eyeliner, a little bit of eye shadow, and mascara. After that, I quickly brushed my teeth before searching my room for my matching purple flats. Finally after ten minutes of looking, I slipped into them and grabbed my purse and a jacket before leaving my apartment.

Since I was limited with time, I ran up to the rooftop. Because of my speed, no one saw me as I did so. I jumped across a few roofs before jumping into a dark alley. Now that I was already half-way to Veneratio’s, I began walking on the sidewalk with humans. After a couple more blocks, I made a right then a left and made my way inside.

As usual, Orbit Veneratio was standing behind the hostess podium, greeting people and checking identifications. Some people she smiled at and talked to, others she glared at and rushed them along. As I stood in line, she cursed loudly about people needing to “calm the fuck down so” she could “help everyone get in faster. She was such a bitch. Orbit’s eyes snapped up and landed on me. For once, her expression was blank.

“Giselle!” she waved me forward. “You got your I.D, right?” I nodded I walked towards her. She placed her hand on my back and guided me past her. “Enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you,” I smiled before entering the bar.

My eyes scoped the room for Janis. I spotted her at the bar where she was normally at. She was talking to some guy and her sister, Summer, was tending the VIP room tonight. I put a smile on my face and joined my best friend at the bar. She wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

“Hey Giselle, this is Henry,” she said before flagging down the bartender. I offered the male vampire a smile and he nodded at me. The bartender walked over and asked what we wanted. Janis ordered another Heineken while Henry ordered a apple martini.

“I’ll have a few shots of Jack,” I smiled as I took off my jacket.

The three of us sat there and talked for a couple hours while we drank. The more Henry drank, the easier it was to see how sweet he was on Janis. He began telling her his life story. He was about thirty years older than she was and did not see the identity of his maker.

Even though we were completing the “mingle” part of the mission, I still focused on why we were really here tonight. Soon Aroldo came up from his office and began talking to some randoms in the crowd. I kept my eye on him as he made his rounds. A few times his own eyes met my own. I cleared my throat quietly and Janis dragged Henry to the dance floor, leaving me alone at the bar. I ordered a couple more shots.

“Miss Giovanni,” he purred from behind me. I turned around and smiled at him, offering the stool next to me. He took it gracefully and ordered a shot with blood mixed in. “How are you this evening?”

I took a shot and grinned at him, shrugging. “I’m doing fine, thanks. How about yourself?” I peered around the bar. “Quite busy tonight.”

Aroldo just shrugged and gulped his shots. He ordered more. “Yeah, nice turnout tonight. But I’m okay,” he looked over his shoulder and nodded his head towards Janis and Henry. They were both grinding against each other. “It appears your friend has an admirer.”

I chuckled and nodded. “She always has one everywhere we go,” I rolled my eyes and took another shot. I needed to get him away from everyone in order to ask him about the interview.

Aroldo tilted his head. “And you don’t? I would imagine so with your beauty,” he smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. I smiled back at him, feeling my cheeks grow hot. He was a rich, respectable, hot vampire and he just complimented me.

“That’s rather kind of you, Mr. Veneratio,-” I began, but he cut me off.

“Please call me, Aroldo.”

He ordered another round and I smiled at him. Now I understood what Janis meant when she said he was drooling over me. He was making it so obvious that he was coming onto me. Did he not care that his wife was just outside the door and at any given time could walk in or be told? Obviously not.

“Thank you Aroldo,” I cleared my throat. The bartender sat our drinks in front of us. I quickly drank mine, wiping the corner of my mouth when I was finished. When I looked over at Aroldo, he was staring back at me.

“Is there something on your mind, Giselle?” he asked. I looked down at my leg and saw his hand was placed on my thigh. I gulped. How far would this guy go? Better yet, how far would I let him?

I leaned towards his ear so I could whisper it to him. He turned his head so my lips were almost grazing his earlobe. “I need you to do me a favor,” I said.

“I’m listening,” he mumbled before sipping his drink.

“My neighbor at the Chelsea, he’s a journalist. It would mean so much to me if you ever decided to do a interview with the press, if you would consider giving him the first interview. But he doesn‘t know I‘m a vampire yet, so I‘d like it kept that way though,” I whispered. He nodded slowly after finishing his drink.

“Only on one condition.”