Give Me Envy, Give Me Malice, Give Me Your Attention

Anna’s dreams were haunted. Every day as she slept she’d replay the night William hit her, tossing and turning as the blankets twisted around her. She'd re-examine the bruises, re-live the fury in his eyes, re-endure the blows, but worst of all she’d re-live the kisses. Those awful, sweet kisses that she despised, for they made her feel complete. They made her icy form feel warm, they made her feel worthwhile, even though she knew he didn’t mean a fraction of it. She knew he just used them for her torture afterwards, knowing that she wouldn’t get it again.

She didn’t want it, but she did.

Every night when she woke, she’d make her bed and expel any evidence of her rough sleep. She’d get dressed, throw back her curtains, and go to meet the others. No one would need to know.

Everything had changed. Beckett had disappeared. No one knew where he’d gone, but all the Dandies in the mansion knew that it had something to do with Anna. Chiz, Travis, and Ryan weren’t hiding their friendship with her anymore. They made her join them at the ‘dining table’, where numbers of other vampires watched her with different expressions in their eyes. Most of them kept their distance. They were afraid. If she could change William Beckett, the strongest vampire of all, then what could she do to them? Some of them just hated her for being such a pain. It was like being the new kid at school, and everyone’s watching you, judging you, because they didn’t know you and you seemed different. Some were curious of her, or more of the company she kept. There were some other Dandies, however, who attempted to be friendly.

A young vampire, frozen at the age of nineteen, with bright eyes and a large smile had given her (to Ryan’s distaste at its romanticism) a flower. Anna thanked him and spoke to him a little, long enough to discover that his name was Adam, but he requested that she call him by his nickname ‘Sisky’. He made her smile and she thought he was sweet, but the others warned her to be careful; he, like Chiz, was one of the minds that Beckett could read.

Travis, Chiz, Ryan and Bella stuck by her side constantly, not willing to risk letting her be alone in amongst so many vampires with heated views on the matter of her existence. They had all become quite a tight-knit group. Chiz and Travis seemed to be there for support and her comic relief. They were always making jokes and tryingand failing miserably to make her feel comfortable. She knew it couldn’t work. Ever since she’d been turned, she’d been the outcast. She didn’t know if she’d be able to change enough. Bella seemed to be constantly defending her. She was pretty much the queen of them all, because they all knew that displeasing her was the same as indirectly displeasing Beckett. And no one displeases William Beckett. Therefore, the other Dandies had to do whatever she said. Whenever anyone looked at Anna strangely or said anything about her, Bella would notice and growl defensively, making them cower in fear. She was quite powerful in her own right.

And Ryan. Well, Ryan was there for her. Things weren’t exactly the same as they had been. How could they? They had been confronted by the very thing that was keeping them apart. Even when they kissed, it was like there was some sort of invisible barrier there. They didn’t acknowledge it with words, only with sad eyes. It was awful. She wanted so much to love him the way he loved her, but she couldn’t. No matter how many times she put words to it, true love was an emotion she’d never be able to feel now. Ryan had stopped using the word around her. It just created tension that wasn’t necessary. Anna had stopped letting him sleep in her bed. She didn’t want him to see her as the mess she was when no one else was around, when the recurring nightmares made her sick. But he suspected as much, just didn’t tell her. And he most certainly didn’t tell her that he watched through the floor as she fought to stop herself from screaming and fidgeted constantly in her sleep.

It hurt him too much to admit.

Brendon Urie had been shocked to say the least when he learnt of Ryan’s relationship with Anna. Even if he hadn’t seen them together around the mansion, Ryan’s resistance in his mind had crumbled now. Brendon was skeptical towards Anna. They had never spoken, but he watched her from a distance. He felt strange watching her with Ryan. Ryan was his best friend, but Brendon was one of William’s more loyal followers. For the first time he felt like he was being forced to choose sides. And Bella. Brendon had spoken to Bella on various occasions, knowing he was one of the few people she was permitted to talk to. He was one of the only friends she’d had. Seeing her so happy was kind of different, because she had been quite depressed whenever he talked to her. Usually he was the one who tried to put the smile on her face, but now she already had it, and he didn’t know what to say to her anymore.

Things had changed so fast.

And the question plaguing everyone’s minds; where was William Beckett?
He seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. He quite possibly had. What was he going to make of the changes? What was he going to do?
Everyone was just awaiting his return, awaiting the answers. And they had no idea how long they’d be waiting.

Secretly, Ryan had been staying true to his word, although Anna had probably forgotten it in light of recent events. He had been making calls, figuring things out, trying to find a way for Anna to stop drinking blood. If it repulsed her that much and dampened what little self-esteem she clung onto, then he’d find a way to fix it. He didn’t realize as he got notes from an old friend that they were on to something more important.

“…Holy water?” he questioned into the phone receiver, just to make sure he’d heard right.

“Holy water,” the voice on the other end confirmed. “Now I’ve warned you, apparently it doesn’t exactly taste a treat.”

“I know,” Ryan muttered. “But it’s worth a try, right?”

“I guess… I wouldn’t know.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. You’re just a human,” Ryan joked.

“Hey!”

“And by that I meant that you’re the smartest human I know.”

“That’s more like it.”

“I’m serious. Thank you so much for this.”

“It’s no problem Ry. But do you mind if I ask, why the sudden change in heart? You knew what you were getting yourself into when you let him change you.”

“It’s not for me,” Ryan sighed.

“Oh? Who for?”

Ryan rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what reaction to expect.

“Ever heard of Arianna Thorn?”

The other person didn’t speak for a minute, but then seemed to find his voice.

“You’ve fallen for her haven’t you?”

“Maybe…” Ryan mumbled, but soon the voice on the other end of the line was replaced by a deeper, throatier one. A vampire’s one.

“So, Ryan Ross has fallen for the troublemaker?”

“She’s not a troublemaker,” he defended. “Not on purpose, anyway.”

“So what’s she like?” the other vampire asked. “Travie said she’s a looker.”

“She’s beautiful, but I can’t explain why I like her so much. I first saw her when she was human, before this whole mess happened.”

“But you don’t just like her a lot, do you? You’ve liked a lot of girls before. She’s different.”

“Yeah. I love her. And she can’t love me back.”

The depressing truth sank in. It felt like a small relief to talk to someone about it. Someone who wouldn’t be biased, someone unaffected by Anna’s presence. Someone who’s not a Dandy.

“Why not?” the voice asked.

“What do you mean why not?! You know why. Beckett bit her.”

“Oh…”

There were a few seconds of silence as the other vampire thought.

“You know, that’s an interesting concept…”

“What? Unrequited love?”

“No. The vampire venom affecting emotions. Maybe… maybe we should look into it.”

“Huh?”

“Well, why don’t we try and find a way to fix it.”

Ryan remained silent for a moment, but shook the hope out of his head before it could get comfortable.

“That’s impossible. There’s no way around it.”

“That’s what everyone thought about drinking blood,” the other vampire said quietly. There were long moments of silence.

“Are you serious?” Ryan’s voice shook. He couldn’t stop the hope from crawling into his head now. 'We might be able to free her…'

“I’m dead serious,” the vampire laughed at his oh-so-original pun. “Bring her here. It might take a while, but we might be able to do something.”

“I will,” Ryan said, happiness coating his tone.

“Hey Ry?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t get too hopeful. We’ll try our absolute best, but there are no guarantees.”

“I know.”

“Okay. See you when I see you.”

“Bye. And Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”