My Guardian Vampire

'Did he just say that... again?' I thought as suspicion began to quickly bloom in my head, growing and spreading like a super-weed. He stood up straight, looking right at me, his features menacing. For a second I thought he was going to attack me too, but his look softened, and he hung his head.

"Ali, I-" he began, not looking at me, but I cut him off.

By punching him in the face.

He fell back, more out of surprise than anything else. I was no Xena, of course; it hurt like holy hell. I wasn't naturally to prone to fighting, but it just felt appropriate. I helped Rob up, Rob looking at me with large, amazed, and slightly horrified eyes.

"I’m not anybody's," I said, turning around, taking Robs hand as I lead him away, ignoring the painful twinge that strung through my hand as I flexed it. I saw his car and stopped by it.

"Sorry Rob, but you better go before he decides to come back and kick my butt," I said, laughing. He rubbed his cheek, chuckling with me. I saw Gerard standing now a few yards away from us.

"It's okay Ali, I know it's not your fault," he said, slightly glaring in Gerard's direction. "I'll see you later then?" he hazarded, looking back at me hopefully, making my heart skip a beat once again.
At this rate, I would be dead soon.

I felt his cheek where he had been hit, causing him to wince. I leaned up and kissed his hurt cheek gingerly. Rob grinned and got in the car, driving off.

I smiled as I watched him leave, but suddenly tensed.

Rob had just left me alone with Gerard.

...

DAMNIT!

Gerard must have seen my horrified face, because he smiled at me, looking at me as if I was some kind of prey. He began to slowly walk towards me, staring at me intently, his pace even and measured. Fear seeped into my veins as I panicked, slowly backing away from him. I suddenly spotted my salvation, but forced myself to not think of it so no emotions would betray my face.

I walked over to his bike, stopped, and got on, the key all ready dangling in the ignition--mine for the taking. I smiled at Gerard as I started it up, my expression triumphant. But then, he scared the shit out of me.

He smiled back.

Then I just went for it, apparently surprising Gerard once again--his face was priceless. Though I was by no means seasoned, I had been on a dirt bike enough times to make my escape.

Once I went off, I quickly got the hang of it--not nearly anything like the dirtbike, but close enough when coupled with my fear leading the way. It was stupid, so incredibly stupid. I made sure I went slow, taking the less-used roads.

Once I got near my house, I began to slow, but decided to just pass it instead. I continued down the road, totally freezing from a lack of helmet, nearly blind from a lack of eyewear. I made it down to the point, stopping at the Point House, parking it on the lawn. Mikey came out of the door, but froze once he saw me getting off the bike. I smiled at him, dismounting and shivering.

"W-w-what’s up?" I said, teeth chattering and trying to smile. Mikey looked concerned for a moment.

"Hold on," he said, turning around. He quickly came out with a blanket, and tossed it to me from the porch. I caught it, wraping it around myself.

"Th-thanks," I said, and an awkward moment hit the elephant in the room had landed on our heads. I realized I had no way of getting home, and could tell Mikey wasn’t sure if he should let me into the house or not.

'What exactly did they not want me to see?' This thought let the suspicion tree in my head to now bloom flowers.

"Umm..." Mikey faltered, clearly the charmer. I rolled my eyes, sighing, knowing that this conversation wouldn’t get very far. I decided to help the guy out.

"How'd I get the bike?" I suggested, knowing what he wanted to ask. "I stole it." I grinned expansively, no longer shivering. Just saying this out loud made me laugh, exhilarated that I had just done something as crazy as that, not really knowing what has gotten into me.

"Oh, cool," he said, smiling slightly. Still awkward. "I'd run, if I were you," he said simply, starting to walk off. I stared at him confused.

"From what?" He went inside, silencing any further questions. I stared after him, wondering what he was talking about.

Gerard suddenly came from the other side of the porch, not seeing me at first. 'How the everloving god did he get here?' He looked wet, cold, and paler if possible.

Oh. And pissed.

I tried to not move, praying to anyone that maybe he wouldn't see me if I didn't move. His head suddenly shot up, hate in eyes.

Damn...

Unless Gerard closed his eyes, I didn’t think there would much of a chance of escaping, as he was blocking the exit to the street.

Double Damn...

He walked up to me slowly, the porch light glinting off his face. I shut my eyes as I prepared for some a hit, or slap-- any kind of hurt.

"I'm... sorry," was all that happened. I opened my eyes slowly, wondering if I had missed something.

"What-what did you just say?" I asked. Gerard clenched his mouth, gritting his teeth.

"I-- I said I was sorry," he said, and I could tell that this was not something he did often. He had his eyes closed and his face turned away from me, shadowed from the tiny light allowing us to see, as if he was trying to hide his expression in the darkness. "I shouldn't have been acting possessive. I apologize. When I saw you with him, I just got... Scared he might hurt you, I guess. There is no excuse for how I acted." This looked painful for him, but I had to continue.

"You're not going to hit me?" I asked, and he looked at me questioningly, clearly not the answer he expected.

"Why would I hit you?" he asked, searching my expression.

"Oh, well, its nothing," I said, feeling embarrassed. I quickly tried to brush it off. "I mean, I did hit you though... And I mean right in the face, like BAM!"

"All right, I get it, you kicked my butt back there. A once in a lifetime thing, I assure you," he said smiling, though I could tell he was troubled. An awkward silence settled over us, neither of us having any idea of what to say. I was not sure if I had forgiven him, though he said he was sorry--and he must have been to actually admit it and it cause him that much pain-- but I didn't know if a sorry was good enough at this point. He was so unstable, too mysterious: good for a movie character, but not something I needed in this real life, too harsh and cruel, where there weren't always happy endings, and things didn't fit in and make sense. There was one time with Gerard... The dock, that made him seem human, normal and kind; but there was so much of a hard and thick exterior, I didn't know where in his body could a core be left.

It seemed strange to me that he was so young, yet seemed to have so many walls already built around him-

And then I realized... That I had only known Gerard for a few days, and honestly knew nothing about him. These were all such deep assumptions I was making in my mind for someone I had known such a short time.

I knew I had been presuming way too much.

And I also had to wonder... How did we fall in this position so quickly? There was barely a relationship there, and something inside of me was already ending it. I shook my head, unable to focus on a clear decision.

"Gerard..." I said, and hearing my sad tone, his face began to look slightly pained. Not meaning to upset him, I took his hand, hoping that this was the best pathway to take. His hand was cold, though he did not shiver. I traced my thumb across the back of hand, studying it in thought carefully. "Tell me about yourself..."

We set ourselves up in one of the bedrooms of the attic, and Gerard was currently explaining to me how the single window in the room was broken.

"Well, see, it all started when Frank and Ray started to attempt to learn how to juggle their guitars..." Gerard said, leading me into a long story of verbal fighting, then sword fighting (with their guitars as swords), and Frank trying to do a flying drop maneuver which ended up with Frank's guitar going through the window. Gerard promised me they'd pay for it, but now instead of the window was several large boards covering the window, with towels duct taped on top of it, which I assumed was to stop any draft.

We ended talking for hours, though only about the small things at first, moving onto heavier subjects. I had ignored the urge to ask the really burning questions I've had over these past few days, letting the suspicion tree stay alive and well inside my head, blooming especially fast when I noticed Gerard sidestepping around certain questions-- such as ones about his family. I let them pass for now, though I knew his hesitation would be planting new seeds.

Though the window was fully covered, I was eventually aware of the sun rising, as the little clock by the bed eventually beamed 6:00. By that time I was exhausted. Gerard and I discussed shortly what my parents would doing-- probably wondering where I was, but I didn't really care at that point. Being in a normal setting, just being able to sit and talk and talk and talk, was such a good feeling to me. It was so different, so strange to hold this kind of conversation. It felt... right. Like every idea and experience shared, despite not being always the same as his, was always appreciated, even when challenged. We ended up laying next to each other, and while he have me my space, every small brush or touch set my heart into warm, electrified stutters. I didn't know him well enough for it to mean anything, but I knew the feeling I had all that night...

I wanted to hold onto it forever.