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

Three weeks had passed, and William was now certain of his feelings. He had woken early every night (usually from dreams about her) so he could watch her from the window, and every night Ryan would be there first, leaving as soon as William walked into the room. They no longer spoke when they saw each other then. Ryan would see him and leave wordlessly, and it was their unspoken agreement to talk to no one about it. Not even each other. William was no longer interested in whatever it was that Ryan got up early for. All he cared about was her. He had never felt anything like this before, and he was positive that this was it. That she was the one he’d been waiting for. He also knew, deep down, what it would come to in the end. He would either have to change her, or let her go. His feelings had become so strong now, that he didn’t know if he was even capable of letting her go. After countless discussions with himself, he had made up his mind, but it never seemed like the right night to do it. He had also reached the probable conclusion that it would never seem like the right night, and he couldn’t just wait forever. He might have forever, but she didn’t, bringing it all back to the deed in question. Besides that, he was sure that if he waited too long, she was bound to find herself someone that would make William’s life (or lack thereof) much more difficult.

He dressed himself in the most average human-like clothes he had; no need to attract any unwanted attention. After fixing his hair and adjusting the collar of the white plaid shirt he wore, he slipped away quietly from the dandy mansion. He had told Ryan to keep all the other dandies in the mansion that night until he returned, but he purposely avoided the fact that they could possibly expect a new vampire by dawn. He hadn’t felt this nervous in a long time.

One; because he usually didn’t have anything to be nervous of. He was the leader of a renowned vampire clan! Others feared him.

Two; because he knew that Bella probably wouldn’t like him at all for a while after he changed her. Not in the entirety he wanted her to, anyway.

'What if she never does?' He couldn’t help but think to himself. This was a rational fear for a human. The fear of rejection. For a vampire, though, especially one of his status, it was disturbing that she could control him so easily, without even knowing it.

As William entered the city, he glanced swiftly up at his home, and he could have sworn he saw Ryan at the window once again, but then again, his eyes could have just been playing tricks on him.

***

Ryan’s eyes were once again fixated on Anna. It had been exactly a month since the first day he saw her, but the fascination had not died. If anything, it had grown stronger, but he still didn’t know what it meant. He had no real desire to drink her blood, although he was sure it would be the sweetest blood he’d ever come across. However, it was not bloodlust that haunted his dreams at night. It was not entirely a physical desire either, of that he was sure… Okay, so maybe it played a part, but he knew it was more than that. After watching – he refused to think of it as stalking – her for so long, he was pretty confident that she didn’t have a boyfriend. Neither did Bella, as far as he could tell, but Lara’s boyfriend seemed to be named Andy. He seemed to be a good guy, and he seemed somewhat familiar in Ryan’s mind, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Ryan watched the four gathered in a club. Lara was dancing with Andy, but Anna and Bella were sitting and talking, drinks in hand. Ryan watched in a trance as Anna stood up and walked over to the bar to get more drinks. He immediately felt another rush of jealousy as the guy behind the bar began to talk to her and her to him. The fact that he was under direct orders not to leave the mansion was pretty much the only thing standing between him and smashing the champagne glass over the guy’s head.

'Why do I feel this way?' he thought to himself. 'As long as she’s happy, I’ll be happy too.'

As much as he had tried to convince himself of this, and he had tried many times, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted to be the one to make her happy. That’s ridiculous. He told himself. You’re a vampire. She’s a human. There’s only one way to make it work, and you know you could never do that to her. He had thought about it a lot. That he could be happy with her if he changed her. But there was no guarantee of that. There was no guarantee that she’d be truly happy if he changed her. He’d had enough nightmares of watching the life leave her eyes, to let him know that he could never take it from her.

Relief washed over him as he watched Anna make her way back to Bella, who was now talking to some guy. Wait a second… that ‘some guy’ looked awfully familiar… William Beckett?!

***

Using all his charm to its full potential, William slid onto the seat next to Bella. She looked up at him with big, green, innocent eyes through her long eyelashes.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

“Hello,” he answered smoothly, extending a hand. “William Beckett.”

“Bella Moore,” she put her hand in his, gaining confidence.

“Bella,” he repeated, raising her fingers to his lips before letting go of her hand. She blushed a deep red and looked away quickly.

“I’ve never seen you around here before,” she said quietly. He chuckled, seeming quite comfortable with himself, although inside he was a bundle of nerves.

“Yeah. I don’t come into the city that much.”

“Oh, really? Why not?”

William was saved from answering by Bella’s friend, Anna, returning with drinks for the two of them. She slid Bella’s drink to her across the table, and then looked awkwardly into the new guy’s brown eyes. Handsome as he was, Anna was intimidated by him.

“Sorry. I, uh…” she began.

“No, that’s okay,” William interrupted, extending his hand once again. “William Beckett, but you two can call me Bill.”

He raised her hand to his lips, but got quite a different reaction to Bella’s. He looked up into Anna’s eyes, but all he saw was fear and curiosity. He hoped with all his un-beating heart that she didn’t know about his… uh… living… situation, and the fact that he sort of didn’t have one.

Hours passed, as they talked and drunk. Anna felt a lot like the third wheel, sitting there feeling rather lonely as Bill got along so well with Bella. They tried so hard to get her to join in their conversation, but there was something sinister about this Bill character that she just couldn’t put her finger on. Lara joined them after bidding farewell to Andy, who left before he could see Bill, which Bill had made sure of, but she didn’t seem to feel the awkwardness and nervousness that seemed to occupy every cell in Anna’s body. Something wasn’t right.

Bill and Bella seemed to drink much more than usual and were quite drunk by the time the four of them left the club. They all began to wander the city, Anna being the only one still hesitant towards their situation. Bill eventually led them into a deserted alley, his focus entirely on Bella. Anna and Lara stood back, averting their eyes as Bill kissed Bella. When the kiss didn’t end as soon as they had expected, Lara threw Anna an awkward glance, clearly asking if they should leave. With her mind, Anna told Lara that she refused to leave Bella alone in this dark, dingy, clichéd alley with a man they had only just met.

They looked back at them again, Bills lips now lingering on Bella’s neck. Anna stared wide-eyed, frozen in horrible shock, as two of Bill’s teeth began to grow longer and sharper. By the time she realized what was going on, Bill had already bitten into her best friend’s skin, and rich red blood was beginning to trickle down her neck.

“No! Stop!” Lara screamed, clawing at the vampire’s arm.

He turned to look at her, his eyes now ruby red in colour. Clearly, he had forgotten about the two spectators.

'This makes things a bit more difficult,' he thought, the alcohol still affecting his brain. 'Oh well. I guess I don’t have much of a choice now…'

He grasped Lara’s wrist and held it in his inhumanly strong grip, bringing his lips closer and closer to her neck.

***

Ryan watched in horror from the large window at the dandy mansion. William Beckett never lost control. He was the responsible leader, so deeply trusted by all the other dandies, and so respected by vampires all over the world, yet here he was, drinking not only what he needed to survive, but trying to take the life of three innocents. Ryan’s eyes stayed glued on Anna the entire time.

'Why?' he thought. 'Why did she have to get caught up in all this?'

He watched, captivated, as Anna kicked Bill in the face. Bill stumbled backwards and collapsed, temporarily unconscious. Anna helped Lara to her feet, telling her to run.

“Why aren’t you coming?” Lara asked, exasperated.

“I’m not letting him have her.” Anna whispered fiercely, tears streaking her face.

“If you’re not going, I’m not going either.” Lara insisted.

William was getting to his feet now, rage burning in his red eyes. He was clearly intoxicated too, making the rage worse, but also making it more difficult for him to regain balance and coordination.

“Please go.” Anna whispered. “Please. I can’t die knowing that both of my best friends are gone.”

“You don’t have to do this alone. What sort of a friend would I be if I left you both to die? What sort of a life would I have without you guys?”

“You have Andy. You love him. I’ve got nothing but you to lose anymore, and you would be fulfilling my dying wish by running now.”

They looked each other in the eye, and they both knew what to do. Mentally saying their goodbyes, Anna pushed Lara away to let her run. Lara ran as fast as she could, which was pretty fast considering how slim she was, occasionally throwing unnecessarily guilty glances over her shoulder at the best friends that she had left behind.

Anna ran over Bella and knelt beside her unconscious body. Her neck was now bleeding heavily from two puncture marks.

“Bella…” she whispered, tears clouding her vision.

Before she knew it, Bill had thrown her against the brick wall, and she was slumped on the floor, suffering the pain of a head wound. She lay there, helpless, as William leaned down beside her, and felt the insufferable pain of two fangs sinking into her neck.

Ryan’s tear stained cheeks only got worse as he watched Anna’s blood flow freely from her neck. This was rare. It took something really unique to make a vampire cry. He stared, horrified and disgusted as Bill began to drink from the two girls. He saw Bill’s normal self resurface, leaping away from the two bodies not entirely drained of blood yet. Ryan fled from the window as he watched, in complete despair, the shine of life leave Anna’s eyes that had plagued his dreams for weeks.