Vanilla Lace

Bill ran towards the shop as the rain pelted down harder with every passing second. Analiese followed him closely. She felt an unwelcoming presence about it, but entered it anyway. She didn't want to say no to Bill, neither did she went to get drenched.

There was a weird sound when Bill entered, like that of a cackling witch. Bill looked around and watched as Analiese came in right after. There was no one in the shop, not even the shopkeeper. It looked like it was Halloween everyday in this place. It was dark, brooding, and it housed the weirdest artifacts ever besides really interesting clothing.

"It's so dark, it's like vampires live here," Bill said randomly. And then he flushed, embarrassed. "I mean," he said, looking at his friend nervously. "Vampires of myth, of course. Not real ones." And he gave an uneasy laugh. Analiese grinned with a closed mouth.

The place was cold, but not as cold as outside. Analiese knew there was someone here, but there was no one in sight. Bill, on the other hand, was more involved by the things around him. He laid his eyes upon some wonderful clothing; dozens of kinds of chain jewelry, leather jackets and vests, heavy boots and one-of-a-kind jeans. To him, it was like heaven.

"Check this out!" Bill exclaimed albeit tired, pressing his palm onto a bed of blunt nails on one side, and he flipped it over to show it to Analiese. It showed the embossed imprint of his palm. Analiese raised both eyebrows in amusement, answering merely with a smile.

Bill sighed, remembering again her responses were limited. "I wish you could talk," he said, flattening the metal nails again. The girl wished just the same. Bill held it up firmly in both hands. "Now, you try," he said, mustering a smile. Analiese, though shy, put her hand up and pressed it in, creating her handprint. For a moment, both were in a world of their own.

"Welcome to The Eclectic Attic," a voice from nowhere said in a very sinister voice, despite it being projected via a radio-like system. Bill almost dropped the object as Analiese jumped back. There was a slight adjustment and the voice came on again. "Welcome."

"It sure is eclectic," Bill snorted when he saw a guy come out from behind the counter that was hidden behind other strange things. The shopkeeper had back-long hair that was tied back in a ponytail. His face was pale and he had bloody red contacts, Bill thought. "Hey," he said, smiling awkwardly. Analiese looked on and smiled as well.

The shopkeeper, who seemed no more than twenty-five, nodded before turning around and acting all mysterious. Bill perked an eyebrow before Analiese decided to take a shot with words since there was no one else in the room. "Weird," she mumbled merely audibly. Bill looked at her, amused.

"We have everything you'll never need," the person said, turning around slowly, trying to be as menacing as possible. "Unless you're something other than human." He snarled, revealing something all too familiar. Bill's eyes widened, unnerved and petrified. It wasn't the nose bridge piercing that caught his attention.

Analiese could feel her gut being toyed with, and she felt queasy for a split second. He couldn't be a vampire, could he? Still, she dared not to make a sound nor reveal her own set of canines.

"Wow," Bill mumbled under his breath, thunderstruck. His jaw dropped slightly while he shook his head, trying to find words to say. "Wait," he said suddenly, narrowing his gaze. "Are those real?"

The man simpered, a hand placed on the counter covered with worn out black metal band stickers and such. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you," he said sternly. And he flicked his tongue over the canines. They were different from Analiese's, but they were still vampire fangs, undoubtedly.

Analiese frowned, wondering what this man's story was. She tried to probe into his mind, and was as successful as it was when she tried to read any passerby's. Still, she kept her lips sealed. Maybe he was toying with her mind, creating an entirely fake mind. He could be a very high vampire.

Bill glanced at Analiese, noting her perturbed expression. He didn't dare to telepath with her, for fear that the man would have been for serious. He glanced at the vampiric person. "I've got a lot of time, sir," Bill said. Well, Bill considered that he could be a vampire. One, this guy was slender and tall. Two, he was very pale. Three...he had fangs. The contacts, Bill was convinced, was fake.

"It's been long since I interested someone with my historical story," the man laughed. "And, oh, call me Vlad." He gave a forbidding sort of smile, something very intimidating. Analiese and Bill swore this was one weird character, vampire or not.

"Vlad," Bill swallowed, taking a step closer. Analiese instinctively held out her hands to hold Bill back. She looked at him and shook his head, giving a tiny frown. Bill patted her hands and stayed with her. His eyes returned to Vlad. "So," Bill said. "What's your story?"

Vlad smiled small, sighing before wetting his lips. "I was born in Salzburg to two nomads who left me when I was ten, and I led a very pathetic life before seeking salvation in some private club. I entered a seance there, and it turned out that I had been bitten on the neck by a vampire somehow. I fear light, but I am not unable to go under it. I just don't like it."

Vlad pulled down his collar and showed a faint scar, slightly unlike Bill's. Bill and Analiese listened and watched with much interest. It was convincing. Analiese, for once, was relieved there was one here like her. One thing, though; she wondered why Vlad was so open about being a vampire. It would have been reported a long time ago, wouldn't it?

"Then...why are you being so public about it?" Bill asked, a small frown on his temple. There was loud clap of thunder, and he jumped a bit. "Aren't you afraid you'd get caught?" Analiese bit on her lip slightly, straining to hear Vlad's answer.

The man laughed heartily before shaking his head. "Afraid?" He snorted, tonguing his canines. "My brothers will help me." Before Bill could comprehend, Vlad leaned in without warning, pushing himself over the counter. "Anyways, enough about me. Why's your friend so quiet?" His red eyes stared at Analiese deeply, and she could feel herself drain.

"She's...she's a..." Bill struggled with his words. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to say it. His eyes went to Analiese, but the girl was glaring at Vlad. She held his neck and pushed him back without a word. It was a strange moment, but everyone complied and no one retorted. Vlad was back behind the counter like a normal salesperson.

"She's a what?" Vlad asked, an eyebrow raised quizzically. He saw that the two teenagers were skeptical of him, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, what hasn't a 576-year-old man like me seen?" He took a pack of candy from the side and opened it, biting off the head of something gray which resembled a rat. Bill merely winced.

Analiese grew dubious, but she decided it would be okay to share her truth. "I'm this," she said, leaving her lips normal and slightly parted, like it normally would be if she spoke and ended her sentence. Bill took a deep breath and held it, awaiting Vlad's answer.

Vlad, much to their contrary, grinned. "We must be long lost siblings!" He piped up, and he started to gush. "Oh, do you happen to live here? I would hire you if you wanted to work here. I guess not, hearing your accents." And he pointed to Bill. "You must definitely be German, right? And why don't you have those vampire teeth, too?"

Analiese's eyes grew circle, amused by Vlad. Bill stared sideways at his companion before looking at Vlad. "I, uh... I am not a full vampire...I guess?" He glanced at Analiese. He was thinking this was way too much. A vampire working off a corner of a street in Salzburg, and some crazy researchers are trying to hunt down the clan? What are the odds of Vlad's survival?

Vlad gave a laugh. "God," he muttered under his breath. "You kids are the best customers, ever!" He slammed the counter with his hand. "Even though you've yet to buy something. Go on! I'm giving you a discount on your purchase today. Go knock yourself out!"

"Okay...thanks?" Bill frowned though a smile was still on his lips. Vlad was chuckling and Analiese tried once more to read his thoughts. After a bit of silence, she took a deep gasp and stared straight at Vlad. Bill could feel that Analiese had just felt something, but he didn't know what. "What happened?" He asked. Vlad's face returned to a stoic one.

"You're lying," she stared at Vlad. "You're a liar!" She shook her head and covered her mouth, realizing she shouldn't say a single word at all. Vlad looked confused for a split second while Bill held an arm of Analiese's.

"What are you talking about?" Bill asked, puzzled. He tried to see if she was talking to him telepathically, but she wasn't. Analiese was too freaked out to try and do that, possibly.

Analise clenched her fists, her blue-green eyes growing darker and intimidating the poseur vampire Vlad. "You're not a vampire," she muttered, slightly confused herself. "You're not a vampire," she repeated, shaking her head. Bill's eyes enlarged slightly.

"Why?" Vlad asked. "Of course, I am!" He laughed awkwardly. "I drink my girlfriend's blood once a month," he said, picking up a little kit from under the display, showing it to them. "If you do that on your boyfriend, you should do it the right way. Use this. It's reliable, if you've never done this before. This makes you a true vampire."

"What?" Analiese frowned. She was too confused herself to be trying to read minds. Bill was as disoriented as he stared at the self-blood withdrawal kit Vlad offered.

"What's your name?" He asked Bill, tapping the sealed pack on the table.

"Bill," the recipient answered shakily. This was a bit weird. So was Vlad lying or not? What about his teeth?

"Bill, right," Vlad nodded. "And your girlfriend?"

"Ana," Bill answered. He wasn't going to give the full first name. There would be countless Anas in the whole of Austria, so it was alright, he figured. Strangely, he ignored the bit about her being his girlfriend. It only made the both of them seem stronger, so that Vlad wouldn't hurt her, hopefully, whatever was going to happen.

"Bill and Ana," Vlad smiled. "Very convincing! You two just made my whole week."

Analiese stared at Vlad's canines. "Are they fake?" She asked, ignoring whatever that was said in between the two guys. "Are your teeth fake?"

Vlad shook his head, rubbing his face a bit. "Probably had it done at the same dental place as you, Ana," he said. "Why are you guys...freaking out?" The older male was slightly suspicious, though very bemused.

Bill frowned for a while before shaking his head and covering his face, slight chuckles escaping his breath. Analiese, slightly perplexed, wondered how this was possible. "What?" She looked at Bill and Vlad consecutively.

"They do such things," Bill said, half-laughing. "People...people sharpen their—"

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "Is this a joke?" He laughed. "You guys are really good actors," he said, shaking his head. "Pretty much the only ones who have went this far with me. Why did you have to break the role-play, dude? It was so fun!"

Bill glowered slightly before pulling Analiese towards the door with him, as far away as possible from Vlad. "He sharpened his canines!" He said to Analiese, exhilarated. "They do such things, you know? Dentists make your teeth sharper if you want." And Bill slapped his head. "Why didn't I think of that earlier? God." He grinned and shook his head.

Analiese wasn't as amused. "They do such things?" She asked, still in disbelief. It only showed how long she's been living under a rock. Never had she seen a human with vampire-like teeth. "But what about his history? And that he drinks blood?"

"I don't know," Bill frowned. "But you heard it; it's role-play!" He caught Vlad looking over, so he leaned into Analiese's ear. "He's a nutcase, obviously. So you can pretend, like him! Like you've actually did your teeth!"

Analiese shook her head, glaring slightly. "It's not going to be easy," she said. "Not everyone's heard of such things, and only fools like him would want to be a vampire." She sighed. "Does he really drink his girlfriend's blood?"

"Did you mention my girlfriend?" Vlad asked from behind them, obviously eavesdropping. He merely managed to catch that part, so Bill and Analiese were safe.

Bill took Analiese's wrist and guided her back to Vlad. "Of course we knew," Bill laughed, a bit tensed. "We role-play, too, but not that often. How much did you get your teeth done?"

Play along, Bill said to Analiese within their mental states of mind.

"Around eighty-five Euros," Vlad smiled. "What about you?" His eyes were fixated on Analiese.

Analiese was lost for words, but she quickly thought something up. "Almost a hundred?" She bit her lip. For once, she was entirely relieved to find someone just like her, except that he wasn't like her. She could converse with a normal human being who didn't accuse her of being a vampire because he was one...more or less.

Vlad winced. "No wonder yours look more real than mine. Yours are cool," he grinned, nodding. And he looked at Bill. "You'd look nice if you sharpened yours more, Bill," he said. Bill nodded, knowing his canines were a bit sharper than it used to be, but it was still considered normal.

"I'll keep that in mind," Bill smiled awkwardly. Analiese couldn't resist a grin knowing where this was going. It was far too amusing. "Oh," Bill added. "What about drinking your girlfriend's blood?"

"I use this," Vlad picked up the little injection-like thing in a pack, promoting once again. "Six Euros for you," he said. "And since Ana here's more of the vampire, Bill, you should let her drink your blood. It's enlightening, trust me."

Bill flinched. "Enlightening?" He raised an eyebrow. Analiese scowled slightly, staring at the dozens of packs he had under the glass counter. "What do you mean? And doesn't blood taste...weird?" Bill couldn't imagine.

"It tastes like exactly what you want it to taste like. Sweet when you're happy, bitter when you're mad. I pierce this in my girl's arm here—" He pointed to the bend of his arm. "—and wait for the blood to seep out and the pipe goes into a beautiful goblet. I got some there," he said, pointing to a shelf behind.

Bill narrowed his gaze, unamused, but trying not to show. "Interesting," he said, nodding. "Your girlfriend...she lets you do that?"

"Of course!" Vlad smiled. "Blood makes me feel more youthful, really. Sometimes, it gets sexual. It's fun, really."

Analiese twitched, finding Vlad most peculiar. How could humans possibly mimic a centuries-old tradition? It was sort of embarrassing, for some reason. Bill bit back a laugh. "That's true," he agreed on that youthful bit. "For someone who's five-hundred-and-seventy-six-years-old."

"Simple," Vlad smirked. "I'm twenty four. Take that and times two, you get your vampiric age. I learned that from the club. So I say, it's always better to start young," he smiled at the both. "You two are perfect; fair-skinned, lean, bright and eager. Soon, more and more people will be like us. Vampires shall rule the world!"

Analiese found a spontaneous smile creeping across her face, and Bill nodded to whatever Vlad was saying.

"So," Vlad started, smiling. "Not like it's illegal like drugs..." He said, looking at Bill, then Analiese. "Want to try blood?"