My Guardian Vampire

After the last wave of sadness had hit me, the waters receded. I waited a few minutes for my eyes to heal before turning the now cold water off. I went to the mirror, studying the reflection that was as crappy looking as the broken and dirty mirror itself. I rubbed my eyes slowly, trying to rub out the tiredness and redness from crying. It may have been cliché, but I couldn’t seem to recognize the person staring back at me. It hadn’t been that long—was this what insanity did to you? I felt like an alien had switched bodies with me, some doppelgänger that had switched places with me in the night. Taking in a deep breath, my chest feeling heavy, I backed away from the mirror. I just needed some time to breathe...

I pulled on my clothes, desperately wanting new ones—they were getting grody, and I had no idea where a laundry machine was, or if they even had one here. I walked into the main room, it was silent. I checked the other rooms.

Ditto. Squat.

I shrugged it off, figuring they had gone out to... yeah. Eat.

Hoping he wouldn’t mind too much, I borrowed some of Billie’s clothes (Mike’s were way too long for me, and Tré’s, well… I was going to guess they weren’t that clean either). Feeling a little bit better, albeit a little odd constantly carry Billie’s scent, I decided to search around outside the place, hoping to find a thrift store or something to get my own clothes. It wasn't too late out, and there had to be at least some place open. I walked outside with a half-working flashlight, my hoodie, the cell Billie had slipped in before, and the few bucks I had left.

I walked a long ways, though I barely noticed it, as I was so used to walking everywhere in my town. I stuck to walking straight unless I was forced to walking right and left, mentally writing down the directions in my head. I eventually found a couple of stores, and though most were closed, I eventually found a store that was open. There was a girl sitting at the counter, shoulders slumped as she read a crumpled magazine and blasted music through her headphones. She was definitely a punk, piercing decorating her face and her hair in gigantic multicolored liberty spikes.

I liked her already.

I didn't figure I would bother her; let her continue in her own world. I walked over to a random shelf and after much searching found something I actually liked that was in my price limit. I put the stuff on the desk, and she finally took notice of me.

"Hi," I smiled meekly. She looked at me surprised at first, but then smiled.

"Hey, I wondered when I would be seeing you..." she said, her odd accent bouncing around the empty store, accompanied by the short burst of rings as she rang up my items. Then she paused. "Hey Tonya! I told ya it would be less than a week!" I looked at her confused. She saw my expression and laughed. "Ali, right? The missing girl." She smirked at me.

'Oh, Frick on a brick with a stick.'

"Oh my god... Are you gonna..." I said, my world crashing down around me. She laughed again at my face, the color probably gone.

"Nah chicka I wouldn't do that, don't ya worry 'bout it. They all end up here at one time or another. What's ya new name?"

"New name?" I asked, relief coursing through me. She nodded, looking at me like the idiot I was.

"Yeah, don't tell me ya've been goin through the streets callin' yaself Ali..."
I blushed slightly. "No...I told the police once my name was Lilly Green, but it was my friend that took me in that called me Green first..."

"So you're Green then, huh?" she said, looking me up and down. I was once again confused, and slightly afraid.

"Yeah... Why, do you know Billie Joe?" She looked at me strangely.

"Billie Joe? You're with that jerk? I thought you were with little ol' Tré there. He ain't a saint, but he's no Billie Joe. No, it was Tré that mentioned ya..." She then seemed to study me more directly, her eyes glancing at my clothes. “It looks like you’re ‘with’ Billie quite a lot, though…” she teased, a wide, unhidden smirk crossing her face. I looked down, confused for a moment before flushing deeply.

“What? Nonono! I just had to borrow some clothes, I swear!” I tugged at the shirt as if it would somehow demonstrate what I meant, but she just laughed, waving her hand at me.

“No worries, love, just teasin’,” she grinned.

'Probably should have figured Tré would be friends with someone like her...' I thought, not meaning it in a bad way. I respected that kind of rebellious crazy side that some people have, and there is certainly no one crazier than Tré.

She suddenly smiled widely, and I caught a damn good glimpse of the teeth underneath, the florescent light giving them a shiny tint.

"You're a vampire too?" I asked, and she nodded, still smiling.

"'Course I am. Ya ain't gonna find many people on this side of the shit hole that aren't. You're a pretty big exception around here."

I gulped, and I noticed her eyes flicker to my throat.

'Eep.'

She studied me for a moment, placing her hand against her slender waist and a finger to her lips thoughtfully.

"I think you should change your hair if you're going to be out all the time..." she said. I immediately looked to her liberty spikes. I liked them and all...
But no thanks.

She laughed once she realized where I was looking at.

"No, nothin’ like that. Ya can think about it for a while; Tonya is really a great hairdresser. C'mon, let’s see how those clothes fit," she said, and I was suddenly being dragged off. I was shoved into a bathroom with my clothes, and sighing, without a choice, I put them on. Black jeans and a beat up t-shirt—straight out of the cheapest bargain special they had. Nothing special at all.

They agreed.

"You need something...more fitting," the one I guessed as Tonya said. She also had multi-colored hair, a solid rainbow that went from the top of her head to about her waist in the form of pin-straight hair.

"Fitting? This is fitting. This is comfortable. Nice. I don't mean to insult, but I don’t care much about clothes really," I said, shrugging it off. They looked at me skeptically.

"I don't think this is something Billie Joe would exactly go for," Tonya said. I was taken aback for a moment. "What do you think 'bout it Amber?"

‘Oh, it isn’t now?’ I thought, the statement hitting me sharply. ‘That’s what kind of guy he is, huh?’

"Nope, he'd like something with a little more skin..."

"Whatever Billie Joe wants can go up his ass," I said, getting a random flash of anger, my mood still reckless and over the place. They looked surprised, but then Amber smirked.

"So that's it huh? I saw that little fire in ya eyes, now I get it," she said. I cooled down.

'Get what?'

She laughed at my expression.

"Yeah, these 'comfy' clothes will do just fine. We'll give ya some more and setcha on ya way; Billie Joe must have hada' coronary by now."

"Uh… I don't think I have enough money for an entire wardrobe," I blurted, blushing. Tonya laughed at my face this time, a high shrill little laugh that echoed through the hallway.

"Money? Honey, the cash register is just for the stray normal that somehow wanders in here intact. We all take these clothes as our own whenever we need to. Just call it a 'rent,'" she said, winking. I smiled and hugged them and thanked them, them giving me some more clothes we eventually picked out together. I noticed Amber slip in a more revealing outfit but I said nothing, not wanting to spoil the happy mood.

We had been in the upper half of the thrift shop when I had decided to leave, us giggling loudly as we walked down the stairs. Amber was walking down in front of Tonya and me when Amber suddenly stopped at the bottom of the staircase.

"Oh shit, it’s the fuzz!" Amber said, scaring me. But instead of a look of fear, she carried a wide smile on her face. She put her hands behind her back and grinned, facing whoever was down in the bottom shop.

"Hey Billie," she greeted, rocking back and forth on her boots like a little child, her plaid skirt and chains swaying with the motion. Behind her back, her hands waved to us, motioning for us to go back upstairs.

"Hey Amber, I'm looking for someone..."

Tonya and I could barely contain our laughter as we slowly walked back up the staircase. My converse unfortunately hit the backing on the step, creating a loud thump. Amber turned her head, looking at me.

"Oh hey Tonya, guess who's here?" she said, and Tonya flew past me, bounding down the steps.

"Oh hey Billie Joe! What a surprise..." she said, and Amber elbowed her slightly.

"Cut the bull, Tonya, I know she's here. I could hear you three giggling from a mile away.” Amber stepped the ground forcefully, reminding me of some kind of punk-twisted two years old.

"I do not giggle! And you can't have her; we've taken her hostage," she said, and I could see her stick her tongue out at Billie Joe. I could just imagine his pissed off face. I accidentally laughed out loud at the image, grinning embarrassedly.

"Bad hostage!" Amber yelled at me. I laughed again, and descended the stairs.

"Sorry guys, looks like I'm being taken in..." I sighed, and they both pouted.

"Well, make sure ya visit ya mom and mom sometime," Amber said, as before she and Tonya had given themselves the title of "absolute master and mothers" over me. We all hugged and gave each other kisses on the cheeks (which was a little unusual for me) as Billie Joe stood there impatiently. I grabbed my bag and left with Billie Joe, out into the night that seemed to have a usually colder summer air.

'Or maybe it’s just Billie Joe...' I thought as he glared at me before starting off down the street. We walked a fair distance, wordless. Stopping at a crosswalk, the air between us felt electrified—but in a negative way, one thick with tension. Unable to resist, I gave a side glance, wanting to evaluate his expression while it was illuminated in the traffic light. He was staring off in the distance, the red light making his face look quite menacing, his expression foreboding—jaw tightly clenched. Scanning down, I could see fingers curled tightly at his sides, his shoulders tense, straight—oh my, he was pissed. I couldn’t help but give a small reflexive gulp out of fear, my mouth going dry as a flash of my previous experience with a pissed vampire flashed by my eyes. His stare then flashed to me—as if my gulp had been a yell—catching me in the act. Those olive eyes moved up from my throat and stopped at my eyes, giving me an especially pointed glare.

"What? Got an eye problem or something?" I asked, smiling slightly, trying to make light of the situation. He sighed and rubbed his temples, looking unamused.

"Do you know—wait, that's a stupid question. Of course you don't know, you never think about anything. You just always do it. You're so stupid, sometimes I swear to god-"

I stared for a moment, taken aback. Why was he talking like he knew me? "Excuse me? What the fuck is your problem? What the hell did I do wrong this time?"

"What was the problem? Did you even think before going out tonight? Did you know what could have happened to you-" I cut him off again.

"Why do you care so much? I don't!" I yelled and turned around, spreading my hands out and tilting my neck. "Hey you vampires, you wanna come and eat me? Go the fuck right ahead! Dinner time!"

Billie Joe grabbed me from behind, placing a hand over my mouth.