We Have the Moon
Hey guys, sorry I disappeared off the face of the Earth for a while. Iâve been pretty depressed and unmotivated because, well *gestures vaguely to everything.* Hereâs the second installment of my human-monster romance stories. Weâre going full Gothic Lesbian Vampire Love today. I hope yâall enjoy. I canât think of any content warnings off the top of my head, this is pretty tame honestly, but if thereâs anything I should add let me know! Read under the cut. Â
 Plink.
 It was a light tap, subtle as the wind itself. Nobody shouldâve woken up. But Alice did. Subtle, tinkling reverberations made her ears perk up.
 Plink.
She lifted her head. Though only the pale moon offered light, she had no trouble seeing. Her eyes were built for picking apart shadows. The room was empty.
 Plink.
âAlice!â
Oh. Oh no. Why was she here? Alice scurried to the window. It was covered in a frosty sheen broken up by a few persistent stones. Cracking it open enough for one eye to peek around, Alice spotted a familiar figure standing outside.
Melody. In a prom dress.
It was silver, sleeveless, and dripping with rhinestones. Sheâd woven matching ribbons into her box braids. âAlice, come down.â
âGo home, Mel. You know you shouldnât be here.â
âYeah, and?â Melody asked, indignant.
âPlease go home. You must be cold.â
âGuess Iâll just be cold till you get your ass down here. And put on something cute.â
 Alice narrowed her eye. âYouâre not going away, are you?â
âNegative.â
She sighed. Melody was stubborn enough to freeze until she came down. Might as well keep her from getting frostbite. Alice hurried to slip into a pair of black leggings, a button-up top, and her dadâs leather jacket. Dressed, she opened the window fully and crawled down the side of her house.
Alice wasnât the beautiful type of vampire. Her skin wasnât pure white marble; it was pale corpse flesh, showcasing a network of black veins pulsing underneath. Her limbs werenât perfectly sculpted; they were spidery and knotted and all her joints protruded into bulbs of tendon and bone. And her face did not showcase a haunting beauty, but a ghoulish caricature of something that mightâve been human, once, if you squinted a little. If she were a full vampire, Alice was sure her friend would run home, leaving only a trail of piss and tears behind. But her horror was diluted by the glow of her momâs humanity, so Melody stayed waiting for her.
âHappy?â Alice asked.
âYes,â Melody replied, grabbing her arm. âNow come on. Iâm freezing.â
Melodyâs hand, even kissed by the winter wind, was so warm. Aliceâs half-beating heart sped up to a human pace.
The two of them ran through the woods separating Aliceâs house from the rest of the town. There was no snow, but a low fog hung over the roots of the trees, whipped up by their legs and soft laughter.
âWhere are you taking me?â
âWhere do you think?â Melody said.
Oh. Alice wouldâve blushed if sheâd had the heat for it. The graveyard. Melody always waited for her there, always where the moon was brightest. Never afraid. Ready to play with death. To flirt with it. To dance with it. To go to prom with it.
âI thought your parents said theyâd cut off your college fund if you saw me again,â Alice said.
âThey did. And if we donât do this tonight, they will.â
âAnd what is this, exactly?â
âYouâll see.â
Christ. Always so damn cryptic. As much as Alice was annoyed by it, she had to admit the spark of mystery was welcome. The heartbeat of her life had slowed to a comatose lull since Melody left for college. It had just her and her parents eking out a quiet existence where they wouldnât be bothered by the townsfolk. The shadows may have been safe, but they werenât nearly as interesting as humans thought they were.
They arrived at the graveyard. The headstones they grew up around were glistening with ice droplets. In the center was an abandoned, rotting church which towered over the graves. They always sat in its shadow on the hotter nights. The memory of a lingering kiss danced on Aliceâs tongue as they made their way up the mossy steps. The front door was held shut by several wood planks haphazardly nailed over it.
âHelp me open this, would you, baby?â
Yes, she could, happily. The door, and the boards, caved like paper when Alice kicked them in. No invitation necessary.
Like vampiric beauty, it was also a myth that God held vampires at bay. That implied that vampires werenât of God. It also implied that the Christian God was the only Holy Spirit around. That was the biggest myth of all.
It was oddly lovely inside. Pews draped in cobwebs decorated the otherwise barren space. The altar at the front was defaced with graffiti, mostly of pentagrams drawn by misinformed teenagers, highlighted by the stained-glass window throwing muted rainbows across the floor.
âOkay, weâre here. Now what are we doing?â
Melody looked towards the altar. A crystalized breath fell from her soft lips. âGetting married.â
ââŚHuh?â Alice felt her heart speed up even more. It was uncomfortable. How did humans deal with this?
Melody looked to Alice and squeezed her hand. The shifting browns of catsâ eye swam in her irises. âMarry me, Alice.â
âB-but this isnât⌠I thought maybeâŚâ she scratched her neck.
âThat Iâd meet someone?â
âYeah.â
âWhy would I do that?â
Alice took her other hand. âBecause theyâre human, Mel. Because you could have a normal life. Because, I donât know, you could grow old together and stuff.â
Melody made an audible snoring sound.
âIâm serious.â
âSo am I. That shitâs boring.â
âBut your parentsââ
âWill have to get the fuck over it. I chose you.â
âThatâs a choice I could never understand.â
âBut Iâm making it anyways,â Melody said. âYou in or not?â
Alice bit her lip. Her fang poked into the skin, and a stream of black blood ran down her chin. She had no doubts that Melody was serious. And looking into her eyes, Alice also had no doubts that Melody loved her. Humans couldnât hide their feelings well even if when they tried. It was kind of cute, really. Their little twitches, jittery hands, hushed curses, even their breathingâ it always gave away the truth. Melodyâs truth was stark, longing gazes, reaching lips, and a racing heart.
âThis isnât exactly an official ceremony,â Alice said. âWe donât have a priest or a wedding license or anything.â
Melody offered a shrug. âThat can come later. Once Iâm on my own. For now,â she pointed towards the large circular window above the altar, where the full moon shone, âwe have the moon. Sheâll be our officiant.â
Alice considered this. The moon. It followed them through their every night. Even when they were apart, even when they couldnât talk to each other, the moon would know. That was all that mattered. âThe moon it is.â
âGreat, I already bought rings. Come on.â
      The excited, giggling brides ran to the altar and took places opposite of each other. Melody pulled two rings out of her bra. One had a large red gem and one had a blue gem, both oval, a little like class rings.
âI hope these werenât too expensive.â
âNah, got them from Walmart. We can get real ones for the real wedding.â
âThink your parents will suspect?â
Melody waved her hand flippantly. âThey know I like a lot of jewelry. One more ring wonât set off their alarms if it doesnât look like a wedding ring. Stop worrying.â
âYouâve been planning this a while?â
She lowered her head. âSince they forced us to break up.â
Alice held Melodyâs cheek and stroked it. They had tried to be sneaky, but people in this town never mind their own business. As soon as they found out Melody was going to prom with the local abomination, all hell broke loose. A lot of screaming. Even more crying. They never even got to go to prom. âIâm sorry, baby.â
Melody looked up to Alice. âDoesnât matter now. Hold out your hand.â
Alice did. âNo vows?â
âI think we both know what Iâm agreeing to.â Melody slid the red ring over Aliceâs finger. Alice slid the blue ring over Melodyâs. âTill the end, love.â
âTill the end.â
Their lips met, hot upon cold, life upon death. The kiss was long and lingering. Alice knew it would be their last for a long time. Maybe months, maybe years. It all depended on how often Melody could sneak visits during her breaks. Alice could wait. Once Melody was on her own, they would get their real wedding. After that they had eternity waiting ahead.
Until then, they had the moon. She would know, and that was all that mattered.












