Pete Dawner

Well, if Dwayne isn't gonna take that opportunity to mess around with the head vampire's precious store a little, who would he be? The blonde strolls through the door, whistling a tune that the regulars of the boardwalk would recognize as the boys' most popular song. Given that the store is open into the late evening hours, most of the other patrons are adults, gazing at the horror sections or anything that might spark a night-dweller's interests.

He thinks he's just gonna move a few tapes around into the wrong sections, maybe knock over a cutout or two, steal someone's name tag...

But all those ideas immediately get thrown out the window when Dwayne catches sight of the person manning the checkout.

Striking red hair, a pair of slightly too big glasses that make his eyes pop like little opals. A gentle smile, surrounded by pale skin and freckles.

If Dwayne's heart still worked, it would be absolutely bursting right now.

Shit. Shit! He hasn't felt like this in....god, a decade? Why has he suddenly forgotten how to talk to people? He knows his face is turning red and he's panicking. How can a guy be so cute??

He needs to move--

CRASH.

Perfect. He takes one step forward and an entire shelf of tapes collapses on top of him. Now Dwayne is standing there, looking like an idiot, with the unnamed employee's eyes right on him.

"Gee, uh..." he stutters, shaky with embarrassment and something else. "Shit. Sorry, let me...uh...let me try to pick these up..."

( @rocknrollercoastin )

No one knew it, but Pete was incredibly nervous.

The burden of this new responsibility and expectation weight on his shoulders. Max had left him in charge for the night. Pete saw the man as a good friend; a guiding light. He couldn’t mess this up.

He was helping a young woman check out, giving her his blinding smile and boyish, nerdy charm when he heard the crash. He turned to see a boy with big hair and piercing eyes standing next to the scene of the crime. The best way to describe him was scruffy, like a stray dog.

He knew this guy. He was one of the ones Max warned him about. The bassist for the rock band that played until godless hours of the night. Max said he was dangerous; unruly, but he didn’t look it right now. He looked sheepish.

Shit, he’s staring and not doing anything about the mess he’s made on the floor. Sure, he came in here with the intention of making a mess, but not for this one to clean up! Especially not now!

“Just…” he tries. He can’t just stand here and do nothing while…he leans down to glance at the boy’s nametag…while Pete picks up the tapes he dropped. “Shit, jus’ tell me where they go. Gimme a job. I can’t just let you clean up my mess.”

His voice lacks its usual playful tone, the one he maintains almost always when interacting with both humans and other members of his species. Instead, his voice is pitchy and shaky, which is not good for someone who sings nightly.

God, he’s so embarrassed. Normally, Dwayne is the most agile of his brothers. His smaller stature and quick speed makes it easy for him to maneuver around if he needs, but one look at Pete and suddenly his motor skills have been thrown out the window.

Pete, who’s sighing as he lazily stacks tapes. He seems so unfulfilled with life.

Dwayne thinks he’s fascinating.

Aaaand…he’s staring again. Goddamnit!!

He let out a soft breath through his nose. “Well, if you could help get the shelf back to normal. It might be a little heavy.”

Of his brothers, Dwayne considers himself the most media-obsessed of the bunch. In fact, from time to time he claims himself to be an amateur cinephile. So when the ginger boy brings up the movie trope, Dwayne can’t help but let out a please chuckle.

“Maybe we’re secretly bein’ filmed,” he jokes, his voice still a bit breathy from his falling embarrassment. “Year and a half goes by and you n’ I are suddenly movie stars.”

He leans down and picks up a couple of the fallen tapes. Not putting them anywhere, just holding them so Pete has less to work with.

He offers the boy his iconic toothy grin, hoping to hide away any remaining flustered embarrassment he may have.

He shook his head, trying to rid the picture of what the boy might look like under the jacket out of his mind. The rockstar laughed at his joke. It Pete’s mind that was high praise.

“That’s not how I imagined I would get my name out but neon lights are neon lights.” He began to put the tapes back on the shelf, organizing them by lead actors last name. “Sometimes people rather look for a figurehead than a plot” was Max’s reasoning.

Harrison Ford. Where was Indiana Jones? Pete shuffled through his tapes then noticed the blonde holding it. Dwayne.

His playfulness vanishes again, briefly when Pete’s hand reaches up towards Dwayne to grab one of the tapes from his stack. His nonworking heart flutters and he wonders what would’ve happened if Pete’s hand made contact with his.

And when Pete says he doesn’t see Dwayne as there ‘big bad’, that actually catches him off guard. More often than not the blonde vampire was assumed to be dangerous and unlikeable at first glance by anyone, human or otherwise.

Shit, he’s lost in thought again. Pete asked him something.

“Uhhh, hold on, lemme…” he trails off, fumbling with the tapes in his arms. Dwayne knows Star Wars pretty well; it’d be an embarrassment for him to not recognize it in this pile. “Ah! There we go.”

He pulls the tape with the iconic futuristic logo text on the side and holds it out to the redhead.

“Lead actor. That’s subjective in my eyes. Think the ‘lead’ is just whoever ya wanna watch the most, yeah?”

He noticed Dwayne’s eyes on him. Pete took the tape, purposely letting his finger glide against Dwayne’s. He was cold to the touch. He shivered slightly.

“Sure, bud.”

The smirk on her face is absolutely unmistakable. Out of everything else that this employee could be worried about, it was the standee that sent him over the edge?

( @lightningbolted )

Only a few more weeks.

That’s the thought that replayed through Pete’s head as he began to close up shop. He closed the metal gate behind him, locking it and tossing the key into his pocket. He carried a copy of Never ending story with him. He hadn’t seen it but has heard great things about it.

He set off, passing the dwindling number of people still up at this hour. People were strange here. He met glassy eyes and wicked smirks. He walked faster, trying to get to his car.

A hand pulling him to the side. The was flung down in an ally. A man he’s never seen before towered over him, teeth sharp and glinting. He had a knife.

𝕱or whatever reason fate decided on David hadn’t been far away from the alley that night.

He’d seen Pete get pushed around, begging and pleading with his soon to be killer if nobody intervened. For a boy as weak-willed and straight laced as him it must’ve been hard to stand his ground and fight back-By comparison to the vampire out looking for a meal he didn’t seem to have what it takes to live on his own…

It had been foolish at all for someone like Pete to be out when his kind were most likely to prowl and dwell. He could’ve asked what Max was thinking if he thought the old man had been thinking at all or even cared enough about the ginger to not give him a night shift. Max hadn’t given him the night shift when he was alive either-just another way the two weren’t there same.

A whistle filled the air around them, a call from someone-as a nearby light outside the alley began to flicker violently. David was standing far enough out of dodge but close to the scene-his back pressed to the wall as his fingers played with a tuft of hair framing his face, looking more bored than anything while Pete was suffering.

“Looks like you could use some help, Pete?” He mocked, voice sweet but his gaze icier than winter as he tilted his head to the side robotically.

The man who attacked him seemed afraid. Did David have more power than he let on or did they know each other?

𝖂hereas the culprit involved was acting fearful, David was at ease…unafraid and almost uninterested-His eyes on his fingertips instead of on Pete’s delirious form.

The vampire let out a cold laugh, grinning ear to ear like he was the one in control of the situation he wasn’t even really all that involved in, his composure never wavering…

“Aw,” He pouted before drawing out the next word slow with deliberation. “Buttt I only just arrived.” The blonde’s face scrunched up, ultimately ending right back where he was-beaming in spite of the circumstances. “And to think I came all this way just to save you…” David clicked his tongue and started turning back away on his heels, a lazy salute given before pausing long enough to let Pete beg him if he was going to.

It was better than nothing.

What was he thinking? It’s David of all people!

“Please. If you can save me, then do it.” Pete sputtered. Blood fell from his nose and ran down his lips, coating his mouth in a sickly copper taste. He spat it out, curling in on himself. He was going to die here.

Pete Dawned. Died at 18. A prick tried and failed to save his life.

𝕯avid’s grin only widened, like a deal with the devil made by Pete agreeing to be saved.

With a flick of his wrist the nearby light had went out all together, leaving the scene in the dark.

For a moment all that was heard was the blonde’s laughter growing closer

and closer…

Until…

When the dim light far away came back up there was an unmistakable slash across the man in the alley’s throat made by David’s sharpened nails-the knife in his hand from before clattering to the ground as he slunk away-if he was one of them he’d be fine…Just needed a little time to heal.

The vampire stood above the ginger, the hem of his coat billowing out from beneath him.

His gaze remained cold; he could do anything he wanted to Pete now with nobody intervening-

“Shouldn’t that suffice you?” His words pierced through the violence, his boot placed firmly on the knife in case the boy was foolish enough to try and grab it to defend himself if he had the strength.

The red head could hear David’s own breath near him. The ends of his coat licked at Pete’s ankles.

David hated Pete. Pete hated David. David knew that. David could do anything he wanted to him.

𝕺f all the things Pete could’ve done to try and get away, kicking David in the leg with the intention of crawling away unseen wasn’t a smart call by any means. But, one of desperation instead.

The vampire’s body snapped around, moving in a jerky and jittery motion…Unnaturally fast and smooth for someone so supposedly “human.”

But, he always was one to play with his food…Make ‘em feel things beyond the suffering of ending it quick. Their fear almost as delicious to him as the blood itself-especially when he deemed it they deserved it like the red head begging for a kind of mercy to be saved.

He tilted his head and stuck his thumb up and out to lick away some of the blood staining his hands, making a pleased humming sound as he did so to really rub it in to the boy. “Still not afraid of me, are you, Pete?” He spat wickedly-a reminder of what had once been someone brave enough to say that to his face unaware. “Don’t see anyone else here coming to save you, golden boy-Not your boss or friends…”

“I don’t want to die!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry if I hurt you. Just let me go, let me live!” He braced, not believing David had any good left in him; no willingness to help Pete.

𝕯avid could smell it all so palpably…The blood pooling inside of Pete’s mouth-already enough for him to choke on it if he’s not careful. “Weren’t very sorry before your power got taken away, Pete…”

He sing-songed every word he spoke-like a nursery rhyme only he knew the words to, ever basking in sadism as he grinned so toothy it might as well be considered baring his teeth and claws like a rabid animal ready to pounce.

“What do you have to offer me besides begging and pleading…” He pouted, tilting his head from side to side in pretend moping before grabbing the boy who’d just been trying to crawl away and ran his sharpened fingernail in a jagged line down the side of his throat-his foot no longer on the knife like it had been before.

“So much for Max wanting us to be friends, right? But, you’ve got no guns left to bear in your holster-nothing to bargain for, no one to save you. There’s only one way out and it’s through me…You chose the wrong movie to be a part of, boy.”

Something glinted on the floor. It was just in reach.

𝖂hatever Pete’s intentions were, it worked…David’s grip loosened just enough for him to try to go on to wipe the blood out of his own eyes-resisting any and all temptations he had to digest more of it, as delicious as that would’ve been to a creature as hungry as him. Right now? All he could focus on was how enraged he was by the act…

A rage only worsened when the knife was plunged righttttt there into his shoulder.

The vampire let out a hiss like a cat would, taking a few steps back and moving away on his feet from the gingery boy in action, keeping his way out of the alley blocked still.

He panted for a moment, looking at the knife then his gaze turned back to Pete’s-Feral, angry…With as much nonchalance he had left in him he pulled the knife out of his own shoulder, shoving it inside his coat pocket now soaked with his blood flowing down in between ragged breaths-Only had so much time left in the night before the wound would start healing up in front of him.

David clapped slowly and sarcastically, chuckling even as his back’s position remained bent and askew. “You must feel so proud of yourself, boy.” He smirked. “You got me…You really did. Impressive…Now! What are you gonna do livin’ on bought time? Nothing’s different than it was before…A gash in me doesn’t change the wounds in you that run deeper than that…”

“You’re sick.” Pete growled, staggering backwards. His back hit a wall. He felt around for anything. His fingers met air.

“Why save me just to kill me?”

He touched something wet. An old food tray from the restaurant next door that had been thrown out. It was filled with rain water.

𝕴n truth, the question Pete was asking was more than a fair one to have-Why would he have bothered so much when the boy dying by the hands of another killer was not only convenient but beneficial to him? Meant he didn’t have to take any kind of responsibility for what he did when Max would ask where he’d gone off to…

David could be just as possessive to the ones he hated as the ones he loved. It wasn’t allowed to be anyone else but him who got the final blow on the redhead-a way to end his own suffering at the hands of the boy who hated him so evenly-who’d set out to replace him without knowing he even existed at all.

It just wasn’t fair at all now, was it? Pete was everything and he was nothing both at once-The soon to be “hero” of the story. He got to leave this place, go to school, make friends, see the sun-garner Max’s approval and love in life-All the things he would’ve wanted but said he didn’t-now he couldn’t have them because life was fair to him but not to the vampire.

Maybe he was “sick”-or, just a jealous type unable to let go of a grudge from decades prior…Aware of his place as the villain to Pete’s “golden boy” hero even if he never saw himself that way. Perception was reality and theirs never would be the same in that way. He’d played the game of survival and won out at the high cost of living…

“Because I was once like you…”

But, this war as hopeless and unwinnable as it was wasn’t his to fight-it started long before Pete knew there was a battlefield to be stepping on.

“It didn’t work out for me.”

He shook his head…A quiet admission before Pete flung the food tray over at him…Upon impact with the tray he stumbled back again, his back hitting the opposite wall to the one the other boy faced, smoke engulfing the burned up parts of his revealed skin.

“What are you doing, Pete?” He tried to force a grin even as tears pricked from his eyes. “There’s no use. You can’t fight me forever…Gonna go run off and tell Max and the cops allll about your encounter with the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red?”

He sauntered back over to Pete in charred up, twitching agony just to scratch his cheek up in retaliation, leaving a gash in its wake. “A mark to remember me by, gorgeous.” David kept flexing his hand, head and shoulder jittering and juddering away.

David was a monster.

“Max wouldn’t believe me if I told him.” Even terrified, Pete had to make a point. “He told me you were harmless; just trying to put up a front. I see what you are. You’re a monster.”

He gasped at David as claws severed skin. His whole face was a blood bath. He felt sick. All the fight was leaving him.

𝕯avid scoffed a little at the concept alone, that he was a type of monster and Max wasn’t…Both of them carried the same afflictions even if they carried themselves differently about it.

He wasn’t any better than the boy he sired and made, but he knew Pete would believe whatever came easiest to a more innocent mind like his.

“Harmless? Now isn’t that something of an accusation.” The man had lied-he knew he did. Of all the words in the world to describe the blonde “harmless” likely wouldn’t come into the conversation at all unless you were someone he held close which he didn’t with neither Pete or Max really at the given moment-it wasn’t a little known fact by any means that the eldest of the four boys was the most easy to provoke-less friendly nor genuine in his affability. What else is new? Max lying to a boy who relied on him for safety and warmth in a cold place like this-

“And you really believed him when he said that?” It wasn’t a judgmental question as much as it sounded like one. But, instead it was a test-to see how blinding Pete’s loyalty to his boss really was. If he really trusted Max as much as he did when he was alive in spite of all the newfound evidence of his lies…A path that only lead to his own damnation and what he was now.

David took another step closer to the boy, the burns starting to heal up all on their own and the blood draining out of his shoulder had long stopped-like the attack hadn’t done any real damage to him.

His eyebrows furrowed as the redhead began to pray for his own life. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” He repeated in a lazy drawl, not taking the act of prayer all that seriously. He’d heard it all before after all. “Come on…Tell me if anyone is praying for you right now, the way you are for god…” He took one last step towards him, closing up all the space between them at last.

There was no God. No god would let this happen to him. No god would let a monster sing his praise.

Tears cleaned lines through the blood. Salt burned his wounds.

“𝕶indness doesn’t always equal the best of genuine intentions.” David grinned.

He wasn’t surprised the redhead chose to stand by the older man in glasses-in spite of all he’d done the boy was oblivious to…Even if he found it disappointing. Would’ve been worrying to him if he had any care left to give for Pete’s well-being which he didn’t…As long as Max didn’t start fancying keeping him like he had with his first sired.

“Catch more flies with honey than with vinegar after all…Men like Max know that best. Wouldn’t trust him if I were you. But, we both know you’ll pick him over me any day…he’s got you trained well, boy.”

David seemed almost confused by the final confession-as abrupt as it was. In a way, it wasn’t a hard thing to see how the redhead could be a jealous kind for a guy like him…For-a lot of the living David might as well have the dream. Walking the world with confidence, ease, and a precision...A family who fought for him, never let him down-a home to call his own, playing music like he always wanted to, a stomach full more often than empty…But the thing he wanted most right now was the one thing Pete had he didn’t. Would’ve been more maddening if he wasn’t on the edge of it already.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” His smile grew sweeter, so sickeningly saccharine it could’ve rotted your teeth out…His voice never raising or wavering even as the boy’s did. “Because I’m in need of a little entertainment and enthusiasm and you provide that in spades. You’re so beautiful when you suffer-just a cute little mouse for me to have my own way with…”

The red head noticed David’s momentary pause. Did Pete say something right? Wrong? The moment was too short. David was playing with him. Maybe he would leave Pete to bleed out.

Pete rarely took breaks. He found them unnecessary. He enjoyed his job. It was fun interacting with people and talking about movies. That was his special interest, movies.

He leaned back against the wall, trying to regulate his breathing. Everything was loud out here, but it was better than what happened inside. Pete put his head between his legs and tried to breathe. He needed to breathe.

Tags:

He’d been planning to hit up some of the stores along the pier when he saw Pete huddled outside, heard him struggling to breathe. Michael’s brow knits in concern. He recognized this kind of short breathing; he’d dealt with it himself before.

“I- I’m- well I’m not fine.” He exhaled, putting the palms of his hands on his eyes. “And yeah, it’s Pete.”

( @lightningbolted )

Pete rarely took breaks. He found them unnecessary. He enjoyed his job. It was fun interacting with people and talking about movies. That was his special interest, movies.

He leaned back against the wall, trying to regulate his breathing. Everything was loud out here, but it was better than what happened inside. Pete put his head between his legs and tried to breathe. He needed to breathe.

Tags:

Only a few more weeks.

That’s the thought that replayed through Pete’s head as he began to close up shop. He closed the metal gate behind him, locking it and tossing the key into his pocket. He carried a copy of Never ending story with him. He hadn’t seen it but has heard great things about it.

He set off, passing the dwindling number of people still up at this hour. People were strange here. He met glassy eyes and wicked smirks. He walked faster, trying to get to his car.

A hand pulling him to the side. The was flung down in an ally. A man he’s never seen before towered over him, teeth sharp and glinting. He had a knife.

𝕱or whatever reason fate decided on David hadn’t been far away from the alley that night.

He’d seen Pete get pushed around, begging and pleading with his soon to be killer if nobody intervened. For a boy as weak-willed and straight laced as him it must’ve been hard to stand his ground and fight back-By comparison to the vampire out looking for a meal he didn’t seem to have what it takes to live on his own…

It had been foolish at all for someone like Pete to be out when his kind were most likely to prowl and dwell. He could’ve asked what Max was thinking if he thought the old man had been thinking at all or even cared enough about the ginger to not give him a night shift. Max hadn’t given him the night shift when he was alive either-just another way the two weren’t there same.

A whistle filled the air around them, a call from someone-as a nearby light outside the alley began to flicker violently. David was standing far enough out of dodge but close to the scene-his back pressed to the wall as his fingers played with a tuft of hair framing his face, looking more bored than anything while Pete was suffering.

“Looks like you could use some help, Pete?” He mocked, voice sweet but his gaze icier than winter as he tilted his head to the side robotically.

The man who attacked him seemed afraid. Did David have more power than he let on or did they know each other?

𝖂hereas the culprit involved was acting fearful, David was at ease…unafraid and almost uninterested-His eyes on his fingertips instead of on Pete’s delirious form.

The vampire let out a cold laugh, grinning ear to ear like he was the one in control of the situation he wasn’t even really all that involved in, his composure never wavering…

“Aw,” He pouted before drawing out the next word slow with deliberation. “Buttt I only just arrived.” The blonde’s face scrunched up, ultimately ending right back where he was-beaming in spite of the circumstances. “And to think I came all this way just to save you…” David clicked his tongue and started turning back away on his heels, a lazy salute given before pausing long enough to let Pete beg him if he was going to.

It was better than nothing.

What was he thinking? It’s David of all people!

“Please. If you can save me, then do it.” Pete sputtered. Blood fell from his nose and ran down his lips, coating his mouth in a sickly copper taste. He spat it out, curling in on himself. He was going to die here.

Pete Dawned. Died at 18. A prick tried and failed to save his life.

𝕯avid’s grin only widened, like a deal with the devil made by Pete agreeing to be saved.

With a flick of his wrist the nearby light had went out all together, leaving the scene in the dark.

For a moment all that was heard was the blonde’s laughter growing closer

and closer…

Until…

When the dim light far away came back up there was an unmistakable slash across the man in the alley’s throat made by David’s sharpened nails-the knife in his hand from before clattering to the ground as he slunk away-if he was one of them he’d be fine…Just needed a little time to heal.

The vampire stood above the ginger, the hem of his coat billowing out from beneath him.

His gaze remained cold; he could do anything he wanted to Pete now with nobody intervening-

“Shouldn’t that suffice you?” His words pierced through the violence, his boot placed firmly on the knife in case the boy was foolish enough to try and grab it to defend himself if he had the strength.

The red head could hear David’s own breath near him. The ends of his coat licked at Pete’s ankles.

David hated Pete. Pete hated David. David knew that. David could do anything he wanted to him.

𝕺f all the things Pete could’ve done to try and get away, kicking David in the leg with the intention of crawling away unseen wasn’t a smart call by any means. But, one of desperation instead.

The vampire’s body snapped around, moving in a jerky and jittery motion…Unnaturally fast and smooth for someone so supposedly “human.”

But, he always was one to play with his food…Make ‘em feel things beyond the suffering of ending it quick. Their fear almost as delicious to him as the blood itself-especially when he deemed it they deserved it like the red head begging for a kind of mercy to be saved.

He tilted his head and stuck his thumb up and out to lick away some of the blood staining his hands, making a pleased humming sound as he did so to really rub it in to the boy. “Still not afraid of me, are you, Pete?” He spat wickedly-a reminder of what had once been someone brave enough to say that to his face unaware. “Don’t see anyone else here coming to save you, golden boy-Not your boss or friends…”

“I don’t want to die!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry if I hurt you. Just let me go, let me live!” He braced, not believing David had any good left in him; no willingness to help Pete.

𝕯avid could smell it all so palpably…The blood pooling inside of Pete’s mouth-already enough for him to choke on it if he’s not careful. “Weren’t very sorry before your power got taken away, Pete…”

He sing-songed every word he spoke-like a nursery rhyme only he knew the words to, ever basking in sadism as he grinned so toothy it might as well be considered baring his teeth and claws like a rabid animal ready to pounce.

“What do you have to offer me besides begging and pleading…” He pouted, tilting his head from side to side in pretend moping before grabbing the boy who’d just been trying to crawl away and ran his sharpened fingernail in a jagged line down the side of his throat-his foot no longer on the knife like it had been before.

“So much for Max wanting us to be friends, right? But, you’ve got no guns left to bear in your holster-nothing to bargain for, no one to save you. There’s only one way out and it’s through me…You chose the wrong movie to be a part of, boy.”

Something glinted on the floor. It was just in reach.

𝖂hatever Pete’s intentions were, it worked…David’s grip loosened just enough for him to try to go on to wipe the blood out of his own eyes-resisting any and all temptations he had to digest more of it, as delicious as that would’ve been to a creature as hungry as him. Right now? All he could focus on was how enraged he was by the act…

A rage only worsened when the knife was plunged righttttt there into his shoulder.

The vampire let out a hiss like a cat would, taking a few steps back and moving away on his feet from the gingery boy in action, keeping his way out of the alley blocked still.

He panted for a moment, looking at the knife then his gaze turned back to Pete’s-Feral, angry…With as much nonchalance he had left in him he pulled the knife out of his own shoulder, shoving it inside his coat pocket now soaked with his blood flowing down in between ragged breaths-Only had so much time left in the night before the wound would start healing up in front of him.

David clapped slowly and sarcastically, chuckling even as his back’s position remained bent and askew. “You must feel so proud of yourself, boy.” He smirked. “You got me…You really did. Impressive…Now! What are you gonna do livin’ on bought time? Nothing’s different than it was before…A gash in me doesn’t change the wounds in you that run deeper than that…”

“You’re sick.” Pete growled, staggering backwards. His back hit a wall. He felt around for anything. His fingers met air.

“Why save me just to kill me?”

He touched something wet. An old food tray from the restaurant next door that had been thrown out. It was filled with rain water.

𝕴n truth, the question Pete was asking was more than a fair one to have-Why would he have bothered so much when the boy dying by the hands of another killer was not only convenient but beneficial to him? Meant he didn’t have to take any kind of responsibility for what he did when Max would ask where he’d gone off to…

David could be just as possessive to the ones he hated as the ones he loved. It wasn’t allowed to be anyone else but him who got the final blow on the redhead-a way to end his own suffering at the hands of the boy who hated him so evenly-who’d set out to replace him without knowing he even existed at all.

It just wasn’t fair at all now, was it? Pete was everything and he was nothing both at once-The soon to be “hero” of the story. He got to leave this place, go to school, make friends, see the sun-garner Max’s approval and love in life-All the things he would’ve wanted but said he didn’t-now he couldn’t have them because life was fair to him but not to the vampire.

Maybe he was “sick”-or, just a jealous type unable to let go of a grudge from decades prior…Aware of his place as the villain to Pete’s “golden boy” hero even if he never saw himself that way. Perception was reality and theirs never would be the same in that way. He’d played the game of survival and won out at the high cost of living…

“Because I was once like you…”

But, this war as hopeless and unwinnable as it was wasn’t his to fight-it started long before Pete knew there was a battlefield to be stepping on.

“It didn’t work out for me.”

He shook his head…A quiet admission before Pete flung the food tray over at him…Upon impact with the tray he stumbled back again, his back hitting the opposite wall to the one the other boy faced, smoke engulfing the burned up parts of his revealed skin.

“What are you doing, Pete?” He tried to force a grin even as tears pricked from his eyes. “There’s no use. You can’t fight me forever…Gonna go run off and tell Max and the cops allll about your encounter with the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red?”

He sauntered back over to Pete in charred up, twitching agony just to scratch his cheek up in retaliation, leaving a gash in its wake. “A mark to remember me by, gorgeous.” David kept flexing his hand, head and shoulder jittering and juddering away.

David was a monster.

“Max wouldn’t believe me if I told him.” Even terrified, Pete had to make a point. “He told me you were harmless; just trying to put up a front. I see what you are. You’re a monster.”

He gasped at David as claws severed skin. His whole face was a blood bath. He felt sick. All the fight was leaving him.

𝕯avid scoffed a little at the concept alone, that he was a type of monster and Max wasn’t…Both of them carried the same afflictions even if they carried themselves differently about it.

He wasn’t any better than the boy he sired and made, but he knew Pete would believe whatever came easiest to a more innocent mind like his.

“Harmless? Now isn’t that something of an accusation.” The man had lied-he knew he did. Of all the words in the world to describe the blonde “harmless” likely wouldn’t come into the conversation at all unless you were someone he held close which he didn’t with neither Pete or Max really at the given moment-it wasn’t a little known fact by any means that the eldest of the four boys was the most easy to provoke-less friendly nor genuine in his affability. What else is new? Max lying to a boy who relied on him for safety and warmth in a cold place like this-

“And you really believed him when he said that?” It wasn’t a judgmental question as much as it sounded like one. But, instead it was a test-to see how blinding Pete’s loyalty to his boss really was. If he really trusted Max as much as he did when he was alive in spite of all the newfound evidence of his lies…A path that only lead to his own damnation and what he was now.

David took another step closer to the boy, the burns starting to heal up all on their own and the blood draining out of his shoulder had long stopped-like the attack hadn’t done any real damage to him.

His eyebrows furrowed as the redhead began to pray for his own life. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” He repeated in a lazy drawl, not taking the act of prayer all that seriously. He’d heard it all before after all. “Come on…Tell me if anyone is praying for you right now, the way you are for god…” He took one last step towards him, closing up all the space between them at last.

There was no God. No god would let this happen to him. No god would let a monster sing his praise.

Tears cleaned lines through the blood. Salt burned his wounds.

Only a few more weeks.

That’s the thought that replayed through Pete’s head as he began to close up shop. He closed the metal gate behind him, locking it and tossing the key into his pocket. He carried a copy of Never ending story with him. He hadn’t seen it but has heard great things about it.

He set off, passing the dwindling number of people still up at this hour. People were strange here. He met glassy eyes and wicked smirks. He walked faster, trying to get to his car.

A hand pulling him to the side. The was flung down in an ally. A man he’s never seen before towered over him, teeth sharp and glinting. He had a knife.

𝕱or whatever reason fate decided on David hadn’t been far away from the alley that night.

He’d seen Pete get pushed around, begging and pleading with his soon to be killer if nobody intervened. For a boy as weak-willed and straight laced as him it must’ve been hard to stand his ground and fight back-By comparison to the vampire out looking for a meal he didn’t seem to have what it takes to live on his own…

It had been foolish at all for someone like Pete to be out when his kind were most likely to prowl and dwell. He could’ve asked what Max was thinking if he thought the old man had been thinking at all or even cared enough about the ginger to not give him a night shift. Max hadn’t given him the night shift when he was alive either-just another way the two weren’t there same.

A whistle filled the air around them, a call from someone-as a nearby light outside the alley began to flicker violently. David was standing far enough out of dodge but close to the scene-his back pressed to the wall as his fingers played with a tuft of hair framing his face, looking more bored than anything while Pete was suffering.

“Looks like you could use some help, Pete?” He mocked, voice sweet but his gaze icier than winter as he tilted his head to the side robotically.

The man who attacked him seemed afraid. Did David have more power than he let on or did they know each other?

𝖂hereas the culprit involved was acting fearful, David was at ease…unafraid and almost uninterested-His eyes on his fingertips instead of on Pete’s delirious form.

The vampire let out a cold laugh, grinning ear to ear like he was the one in control of the situation he wasn’t even really all that involved in, his composure never wavering…

“Aw,” He pouted before drawing out the next word slow with deliberation. “Buttt I only just arrived.” The blonde’s face scrunched up, ultimately ending right back where he was-beaming in spite of the circumstances. “And to think I came all this way just to save you…” David clicked his tongue and started turning back away on his heels, a lazy salute given before pausing long enough to let Pete beg him if he was going to.

It was better than nothing.

What was he thinking? It’s David of all people!

“Please. If you can save me, then do it.” Pete sputtered. Blood fell from his nose and ran down his lips, coating his mouth in a sickly copper taste. He spat it out, curling in on himself. He was going to die here.

Pete Dawned. Died at 18. A prick tried and failed to save his life.

𝕯avid’s grin only widened, like a deal with the devil made by Pete agreeing to be saved.

With a flick of his wrist the nearby light had went out all together, leaving the scene in the dark.

For a moment all that was heard was the blonde’s laughter growing closer

and closer…

Until…

When the dim light far away came back up there was an unmistakable slash across the man in the alley’s throat made by David’s sharpened nails-the knife in his hand from before clattering to the ground as he slunk away-if he was one of them he’d be fine…Just needed a little time to heal.

The vampire stood above the ginger, the hem of his coat billowing out from beneath him.

His gaze remained cold; he could do anything he wanted to Pete now with nobody intervening-

“Shouldn’t that suffice you?” His words pierced through the violence, his boot placed firmly on the knife in case the boy was foolish enough to try and grab it to defend himself if he had the strength.

The red head could hear David’s own breath near him. The ends of his coat licked at Pete’s ankles.

David hated Pete. Pete hated David. David knew that. David could do anything he wanted to him.

𝕺f all the things Pete could’ve done to try and get away, kicking David in the leg with the intention of crawling away unseen wasn’t a smart call by any means. But, one of desperation instead.

The vampire’s body snapped around, moving in a jerky and jittery motion…Unnaturally fast and smooth for someone so supposedly “human.”

But, he always was one to play with his food…Make ‘em feel things beyond the suffering of ending it quick. Their fear almost as delicious to him as the blood itself-especially when he deemed it they deserved it like the red head begging for a kind of mercy to be saved.

He tilted his head and stuck his thumb up and out to lick away some of the blood staining his hands, making a pleased humming sound as he did so to really rub it in to the boy. “Still not afraid of me, are you, Pete?” He spat wickedly-a reminder of what had once been someone brave enough to say that to his face unaware. “Don’t see anyone else here coming to save you, golden boy-Not your boss or friends…”

“I don’t want to die!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry if I hurt you. Just let me go, let me live!” He braced, not believing David had any good left in him; no willingness to help Pete.

𝕯avid could smell it all so palpably…The blood pooling inside of Pete’s mouth-already enough for him to choke on it if he’s not careful. “Weren’t very sorry before your power got taken away, Pete…”

He sing-songed every word he spoke-like a nursery rhyme only he knew the words to, ever basking in sadism as he grinned so toothy it might as well be considered baring his teeth and claws like a rabid animal ready to pounce.

“What do you have to offer me besides begging and pleading…” He pouted, tilting his head from side to side in pretend moping before grabbing the boy who’d just been trying to crawl away and ran his sharpened fingernail in a jagged line down the side of his throat-his foot no longer on the knife like it had been before.

“So much for Max wanting us to be friends, right? But, you’ve got no guns left to bear in your holster-nothing to bargain for, no one to save you. There’s only one way out and it’s through me…You chose the wrong movie to be a part of, boy.”

Something glinted on the floor. It was just in reach.

𝖂hatever Pete’s intentions were, it worked…David’s grip loosened just enough for him to try to go on to wipe the blood out of his own eyes-resisting any and all temptations he had to digest more of it, as delicious as that would’ve been to a creature as hungry as him. Right now? All he could focus on was how enraged he was by the act…

A rage only worsened when the knife was plunged righttttt there into his shoulder.

The vampire let out a hiss like a cat would, taking a few steps back and moving away on his feet from the gingery boy in action, keeping his way out of the alley blocked still.

He panted for a moment, looking at the knife then his gaze turned back to Pete’s-Feral, angry…With as much nonchalance he had left in him he pulled the knife out of his own shoulder, shoving it inside his coat pocket now soaked with his blood flowing down in between ragged breaths-Only had so much time left in the night before the wound would start healing up in front of him.

David clapped slowly and sarcastically, chuckling even as his back’s position remained bent and askew. “You must feel so proud of yourself, boy.” He smirked. “You got me…You really did. Impressive…Now! What are you gonna do livin’ on bought time? Nothing’s different than it was before…A gash in me doesn’t change the wounds in you that run deeper than that…”

“You’re sick.” Pete growled, staggering backwards. His back hit a wall. He felt around for anything. His fingers met air.

“Why save me just to kill me?”

He touched something wet. An old food tray from the restaurant next door that had been thrown out. It was filled with rain water.

𝕴n truth, the question Pete was asking was more than a fair one to have-Why would he have bothered so much when the boy dying by the hands of another killer was not only convenient but beneficial to him? Meant he didn’t have to take any kind of responsibility for what he did when Max would ask where he’d gone off to…

David could be just as possessive to the ones he hated as the ones he loved. It wasn’t allowed to be anyone else but him who got the final blow on the redhead-a way to end his own suffering at the hands of the boy who hated him so evenly-who’d set out to replace him without knowing he even existed at all.

It just wasn’t fair at all now, was it? Pete was everything and he was nothing both at once-The soon to be “hero” of the story. He got to leave this place, go to school, make friends, see the sun-garner Max’s approval and love in life-All the things he would’ve wanted but said he didn’t-now he couldn’t have them because life was fair to him but not to the vampire.

Maybe he was “sick”-or, just a jealous type unable to let go of a grudge from decades prior…Aware of his place as the villain to Pete’s “golden boy” hero even if he never saw himself that way. Perception was reality and theirs never would be the same in that way. He’d played the game of survival and won out at the high cost of living…

“Because I was once like you…”

But, this war as hopeless and unwinnable as it was wasn’t his to fight-it started long before Pete knew there was a battlefield to be stepping on.

“It didn’t work out for me.”

He shook his head…A quiet admission before Pete flung the food tray over at him…Upon impact with the tray he stumbled back again, his back hitting the opposite wall to the one the other boy faced, smoke engulfing the burned up parts of his revealed skin.

“What are you doing, Pete?” He tried to force a grin even as tears pricked from his eyes. “There’s no use. You can’t fight me forever…Gonna go run off and tell Max and the cops allll about your encounter with the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red?”

He sauntered back over to Pete in charred up, twitching agony just to scratch his cheek up in retaliation, leaving a gash in its wake. “A mark to remember me by, gorgeous.” David kept flexing his hand, head and shoulder jittering and juddering away.

David was a monster.

“Max wouldn’t believe me if I told him.” Even terrified, Pete had to make a point. “He told me you were harmless; just trying to put up a front. I see what you are. You’re a monster.”

He gasped at David as claws severed skin. His whole face was a blood bath. He felt sick. All the fight was leaving him.

Only a few more weeks.

That’s the thought that replayed through Pete’s head as he began to close up shop. He closed the metal gate behind him, locking it and tossing the key into his pocket. He carried a copy of Never ending story with him. He hadn’t seen it but has heard great things about it.

He set off, passing the dwindling number of people still up at this hour. People were strange here. He met glassy eyes and wicked smirks. He walked faster, trying to get to his car.

A hand pulling him to the side. The was flung down in an ally. A man he’s never seen before towered over him, teeth sharp and glinting. He had a knife.

𝕱or whatever reason fate decided on David hadn’t been far away from the alley that night.

He’d seen Pete get pushed around, begging and pleading with his soon to be killer if nobody intervened. For a boy as weak-willed and straight laced as him it must’ve been hard to stand his ground and fight back-By comparison to the vampire out looking for a meal he didn’t seem to have what it takes to live on his own…

It had been foolish at all for someone like Pete to be out when his kind were most likely to prowl and dwell. He could’ve asked what Max was thinking if he thought the old man had been thinking at all or even cared enough about the ginger to not give him a night shift. Max hadn’t given him the night shift when he was alive either-just another way the two weren’t there same.

A whistle filled the air around them, a call from someone-as a nearby light outside the alley began to flicker violently. David was standing far enough out of dodge but close to the scene-his back pressed to the wall as his fingers played with a tuft of hair framing his face, looking more bored than anything while Pete was suffering.

“Looks like you could use some help, Pete?” He mocked, voice sweet but his gaze icier than winter as he tilted his head to the side robotically.

The man who attacked him seemed afraid. Did David have more power than he let on or did they know each other?

𝖂hereas the culprit involved was acting fearful, David was at ease…unafraid and almost uninterested-His eyes on his fingertips instead of on Pete’s delirious form.

The vampire let out a cold laugh, grinning ear to ear like he was the one in control of the situation he wasn’t even really all that involved in, his composure never wavering…

“Aw,” He pouted before drawing out the next word slow with deliberation. “Buttt I only just arrived.” The blonde’s face scrunched up, ultimately ending right back where he was-beaming in spite of the circumstances. “And to think I came all this way just to save you…” David clicked his tongue and started turning back away on his heels, a lazy salute given before pausing long enough to let Pete beg him if he was going to.

It was better than nothing.

What was he thinking? It’s David of all people!

“Please. If you can save me, then do it.” Pete sputtered. Blood fell from his nose and ran down his lips, coating his mouth in a sickly copper taste. He spat it out, curling in on himself. He was going to die here.

Pete Dawned. Died at 18. A prick tried and failed to save his life.

𝕯avid’s grin only widened, like a deal with the devil made by Pete agreeing to be saved.

With a flick of his wrist the nearby light had went out all together, leaving the scene in the dark.

For a moment all that was heard was the blonde’s laughter growing closer

and closer…

Until…

When the dim light far away came back up there was an unmistakable slash across the man in the alley’s throat made by David’s sharpened nails-the knife in his hand from before clattering to the ground as he slunk away-if he was one of them he’d be fine…Just needed a little time to heal.

The vampire stood above the ginger, the hem of his coat billowing out from beneath him.

His gaze remained cold; he could do anything he wanted to Pete now with nobody intervening-

“Shouldn’t that suffice you?” His words pierced through the violence, his boot placed firmly on the knife in case the boy was foolish enough to try and grab it to defend himself if he had the strength.

The red head could hear David’s own breath near him. The ends of his coat licked at Pete’s ankles.

David hated Pete. Pete hated David. David knew that. David could do anything he wanted to him.

𝕺f all the things Pete could’ve done to try and get away, kicking David in the leg with the intention of crawling away unseen wasn’t a smart call by any means. But, one of desperation instead.

The vampire’s body snapped around, moving in a jerky and jittery motion…Unnaturally fast and smooth for someone so supposedly “human.”

But, he always was one to play with his food…Make ‘em feel things beyond the suffering of ending it quick. Their fear almost as delicious to him as the blood itself-especially when he deemed it they deserved it like the red head begging for a kind of mercy to be saved.

He tilted his head and stuck his thumb up and out to lick away some of the blood staining his hands, making a pleased humming sound as he did so to really rub it in to the boy. “Still not afraid of me, are you, Pete?” He spat wickedly-a reminder of what had once been someone brave enough to say that to his face unaware. “Don’t see anyone else here coming to save you, golden boy-Not your boss or friends…”

“I don’t want to die!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry if I hurt you. Just let me go, let me live!” He braced, not believing David had any good left in him; no willingness to help Pete.

𝕯avid could smell it all so palpably…The blood pooling inside of Pete’s mouth-already enough for him to choke on it if he’s not careful. “Weren’t very sorry before your power got taken away, Pete…”

He sing-songed every word he spoke-like a nursery rhyme only he knew the words to, ever basking in sadism as he grinned so toothy it might as well be considered baring his teeth and claws like a rabid animal ready to pounce.

“What do you have to offer me besides begging and pleading…” He pouted, tilting his head from side to side in pretend moping before grabbing the boy who’d just been trying to crawl away and ran his sharpened fingernail in a jagged line down the side of his throat-his foot no longer on the knife like it had been before.

“So much for Max wanting us to be friends, right? But, you’ve got no guns left to bear in your holster-nothing to bargain for, no one to save you. There’s only one way out and it’s through me…You chose the wrong movie to be a part of, boy.”

Something glinted on the floor. It was just in reach.

𝖂hatever Pete’s intentions were, it worked…David’s grip loosened just enough for him to try to go on to wipe the blood out of his own eyes-resisting any and all temptations he had to digest more of it, as delicious as that would’ve been to a creature as hungry as him. Right now? All he could focus on was how enraged he was by the act…

A rage only worsened when the knife was plunged righttttt there into his shoulder.

The vampire let out a hiss like a cat would, taking a few steps back and moving away on his feet from the gingery boy in action, keeping his way out of the alley blocked still.

He panted for a moment, looking at the knife then his gaze turned back to Pete’s-Feral, angry…With as much nonchalance he had left in him he pulled the knife out of his own shoulder, shoving it inside his coat pocket now soaked with his blood flowing down in between ragged breaths-Only had so much time left in the night before the wound would start healing up in front of him.

David clapped slowly and sarcastically, chuckling even as his back’s position remained bent and askew. “You must feel so proud of yourself, boy.” He smirked. “You got me…You really did. Impressive…Now! What are you gonna do livin’ on bought time? Nothing’s different than it was before…A gash in me doesn’t change the wounds in you that run deeper than that…”

“You’re sick.” Pete growled, staggering backwards. His back hit a wall. He felt around for anything. His fingers met air.

“Why save me just to kill me?”

He touched something wet. An old food tray from the restaurant next door that had been thrown out. It was filled with rain water.

Only a few more weeks.

That’s the thought that replayed through Pete’s head as he began to close up shop. He closed the metal gate behind him, locking it and tossing the key into his pocket. He carried a copy of Never ending story with him. He hadn’t seen it but has heard great things about it.

He set off, passing the dwindling number of people still up at this hour. People were strange here. He met glassy eyes and wicked smirks. He walked faster, trying to get to his car.

A hand pulling him to the side. The was flung down in an ally. A man he’s never seen before towered over him, teeth sharp and glinting. He had a knife.

𝕱or whatever reason fate decided on David hadn’t been far away from the alley that night.

He’d seen Pete get pushed around, begging and pleading with his soon to be killer if nobody intervened. For a boy as weak-willed and straight laced as him it must’ve been hard to stand his ground and fight back-By comparison to the vampire out looking for a meal he didn’t seem to have what it takes to live on his own…

It had been foolish at all for someone like Pete to be out when his kind were most likely to prowl and dwell. He could’ve asked what Max was thinking if he thought the old man had been thinking at all or even cared enough about the ginger to not give him a night shift. Max hadn’t given him the night shift when he was alive either-just another way the two weren’t there same.

A whistle filled the air around them, a call from someone-as a nearby light outside the alley began to flicker violently. David was standing far enough out of dodge but close to the scene-his back pressed to the wall as his fingers played with a tuft of hair framing his face, looking more bored than anything while Pete was suffering.

“Looks like you could use some help, Pete?” He mocked, voice sweet but his gaze icier than winter as he tilted his head to the side robotically.

The man who attacked him seemed afraid. Did David have more power than he let on or did they know each other?

𝖂hereas the culprit involved was acting fearful, David was at ease…unafraid and almost uninterested-His eyes on his fingertips instead of on Pete’s delirious form.

The vampire let out a cold laugh, grinning ear to ear like he was the one in control of the situation he wasn’t even really all that involved in, his composure never wavering…

“Aw,” He pouted before drawing out the next word slow with deliberation. “Buttt I only just arrived.” The blonde’s face scrunched up, ultimately ending right back where he was-beaming in spite of the circumstances. “And to think I came all this way just to save you…” David clicked his tongue and started turning back away on his heels, a lazy salute given before pausing long enough to let Pete beg him if he was going to.

It was better than nothing.

What was he thinking? It’s David of all people!

“Please. If you can save me, then do it.” Pete sputtered. Blood fell from his nose and ran down his lips, coating his mouth in a sickly copper taste. He spat it out, curling in on himself. He was going to die here.

Pete Dawned. Died at 18. A prick tried and failed to save his life.

𝕯avid’s grin only widened, like a deal with the devil made by Pete agreeing to be saved.

With a flick of his wrist the nearby light had went out all together, leaving the scene in the dark.

For a moment all that was heard was the blonde’s laughter growing closer

and closer…

Until…

When the dim light far away came back up there was an unmistakable slash across the man in the alley’s throat made by David’s sharpened nails-the knife in his hand from before clattering to the ground as he slunk away-if he was one of them he’d be fine…Just needed a little time to heal.

The vampire stood above the ginger, the hem of his coat billowing out from beneath him.

His gaze remained cold; he could do anything he wanted to Pete now with nobody intervening-

“Shouldn’t that suffice you?” His words pierced through the violence, his boot placed firmly on the knife in case the boy was foolish enough to try and grab it to defend himself if he had the strength.

The red head could hear David’s own breath near him. The ends of his coat licked at Pete’s ankles.

David hated Pete. Pete hated David. David knew that. David could do anything he wanted to him.

𝕺f all the things Pete could’ve done to try and get away, kicking David in the leg with the intention of crawling away unseen wasn’t a smart call by any means. But, one of desperation instead.

The vampire’s body snapped around, moving in a jerky and jittery motion…Unnaturally fast and smooth for someone so supposedly “human.”

But, he always was one to play with his food…Make ‘em feel things beyond the suffering of ending it quick. Their fear almost as delicious to him as the blood itself-especially when he deemed it they deserved it like the red head begging for a kind of mercy to be saved.

He tilted his head and stuck his thumb up and out to lick away some of the blood staining his hands, making a pleased humming sound as he did so to really rub it in to the boy. “Still not afraid of me, are you, Pete?” He spat wickedly-a reminder of what had once been someone brave enough to say that to his face unaware. “Don’t see anyone else here coming to save you, golden boy-Not your boss or friends…”

“I don’t want to die!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry if I hurt you. Just let me go, let me live!” He braced, not believing David had any good left in him; no willingness to help Pete.

𝕯avid could smell it all so palpably…The blood pooling inside of Pete’s mouth-already enough for him to choke on it if he’s not careful. “Weren’t very sorry before your power got taken away, Pete…”

He sing-songed every word he spoke-like a nursery rhyme only he knew the words to, ever basking in sadism as he grinned so toothy it might as well be considered baring his teeth and claws like a rabid animal ready to pounce.

“What do you have to offer me besides begging and pleading…” He pouted, tilting his head from side to side in pretend moping before grabbing the boy who’d just been trying to crawl away and ran his sharpened fingernail in a jagged line down the side of his throat-his foot no longer on the knife like it had been before.

“So much for Max wanting us to be friends, right? But, you’ve got no guns left to bear in your holster-nothing to bargain for, no one to save you. There’s only one way out and it’s through me…You chose the wrong movie to be a part of, boy.”

Something glinted on the floor. It was just in reach.

₊˚⊹ ㅤa collection of character analysis/headcanon questions to learn more about your character and your partners'! writing/headcanon prompts requested by anonymous. feel free to edit these as you see fit.

Well, if Dwayne isn't gonna take that opportunity to mess around with the head vampire's precious store a little, who would he be? The blonde strolls through the door, whistling a tune that the regulars of the boardwalk would recognize as the boys' most popular song. Given that the store is open into the late evening hours, most of the other patrons are adults, gazing at the horror sections or anything that might spark a night-dweller's interests.

He thinks he's just gonna move a few tapes around into the wrong sections, maybe knock over a cutout or two, steal someone's name tag...

But all those ideas immediately get thrown out the window when Dwayne catches sight of the person manning the checkout.

Striking red hair, a pair of slightly too big glasses that make his eyes pop like little opals. A gentle smile, surrounded by pale skin and freckles.

If Dwayne's heart still worked, it would be absolutely bursting right now.

Shit. Shit! He hasn't felt like this in....god, a decade? Why has he suddenly forgotten how to talk to people? He knows his face is turning red and he's panicking. How can a guy be so cute??

He needs to move--

CRASH.

Perfect. He takes one step forward and an entire shelf of tapes collapses on top of him. Now Dwayne is standing there, looking like an idiot, with the unnamed employee's eyes right on him.

"Gee, uh..." he stutters, shaky with embarrassment and something else. "Shit. Sorry, let me...uh...let me try to pick these up..."

( @rocknrollercoastin )

No one knew it, but Pete was incredibly nervous.

The burden of this new responsibility and expectation weight on his shoulders. Max had left him in charge for the night. Pete saw the man as a good friend; a guiding light. He couldn’t mess this up.

He was helping a young woman check out, giving her his blinding smile and boyish, nerdy charm when he heard the crash. He turned to see a boy with big hair and piercing eyes standing next to the scene of the crime. The best way to describe him was scruffy, like a stray dog.

He knew this guy. He was one of the ones Max warned him about. The bassist for the rock band that played until godless hours of the night. Max said he was dangerous; unruly, but he didn’t look it right now. He looked sheepish.

Shit, he’s staring and not doing anything about the mess he’s made on the floor. Sure, he came in here with the intention of making a mess, but not for this one to clean up! Especially not now!

“Just…” he tries. He can’t just stand here and do nothing while…he leans down to glance at the boy’s nametag…while Pete picks up the tapes he dropped. “Shit, jus’ tell me where they go. Gimme a job. I can’t just let you clean up my mess.”

His voice lacks its usual playful tone, the one he maintains almost always when interacting with both humans and other members of his species. Instead, his voice is pitchy and shaky, which is not good for someone who sings nightly.

God, he’s so embarrassed. Normally, Dwayne is the most agile of his brothers. His smaller stature and quick speed makes it easy for him to maneuver around if he needs, but one look at Pete and suddenly his motor skills have been thrown out the window.

Pete, who’s sighing as he lazily stacks tapes. He seems so unfulfilled with life.

Dwayne thinks he’s fascinating.

Aaaand…he’s staring again. Goddamnit!!

He let out a soft breath through his nose. “Well, if you could help get the shelf back to normal. It might be a little heavy.”

Of his brothers, Dwayne considers himself the most media-obsessed of the bunch. In fact, from time to time he claims himself to be an amateur cinephile. So when the ginger boy brings up the movie trope, Dwayne can’t help but let out a please chuckle.

“Maybe we’re secretly bein’ filmed,” he jokes, his voice still a bit breathy from his falling embarrassment. “Year and a half goes by and you n’ I are suddenly movie stars.”

He leans down and picks up a couple of the fallen tapes. Not putting them anywhere, just holding them so Pete has less to work with.

He offers the boy his iconic toothy grin, hoping to hide away any remaining flustered embarrassment he may have.

He shook his head, trying to rid the picture of what the boy might look like under the jacket out of his mind. The rockstar laughed at his joke. It Pete’s mind that was high praise.

“That’s not how I imagined I would get my name out but neon lights are neon lights.” He began to put the tapes back on the shelf, organizing them by lead actors last name. “Sometimes people rather look for a figurehead than a plot” was Max’s reasoning.

Harrison Ford. Where was Indiana Jones? Pete shuffled through his tapes then noticed the blonde holding it. Dwayne.