#michaele

You were sitting on a bench, watching the roller coaster for what felt like the hundredth time. You’ve been on it more than a dozen times yourself, but it wasn’t as fun when you were alone. Still, you were watching the teenagers with their best friends, the people on dates, the family of three that sat with their kid in between them. All of the experiences that you so rarely get to have, or don’t get at all.  

The smell of foods was overpowering, but right now, the smell of pizza was the strongest. Someone sat down on the bench next to you and was holding out a paper plate with a large, greasy slice of cheese pizza on it. 

“Last night was crazy but I do remember you said I could thank you with this,” Michael said, making sure that the plate didn’t collapse under the weight of the food. You chuckled in surprise as you took it, taking a large bite. You chewed on it happily, pizza being your favorite food. 

“You didn’t actually have to do this,” you said, after swallowing. “I was only half-joking. I do appreciate it though.”  

Michael shrugged; his shoulders covered in a leather jacket despite the summer sun shining down upon us. It made his skin seemed to glow - this was a man that was meant for the day, not to wallow in the night. “I don’t mind.” 

You leaned back against the bench, nibbling on the pizza, watching more people walk on by. Nobody really paid attention to you. It was one of the curses that you had to live with. You could be anything in the world - except the center of attention.  

“Can we talk about last night?” Michael asked after a couple of moments silence. It was your turn to shrug. 

“What’s there to talk about? You fell for their honeypot, you were going to either be drained or turned into a vampire, and I came along and decided to be a good guy for once. It’s pretty plain and simple, Mikey.” 

“So, you know my name, what’s yours?” Michael said, crossing his arms. “And a lot more than that happened.” 

You told him your name, even held out your hand to shake his. He reluctantly took it, a crooked smile on his face. “And okay, maybe I oversimplified it. But it’s better to think of it as simple. Once you start looking in too deep, your human mind might just explode.” 

“I don’t know if I can help it,” Michael admitted, letting of your hand. You raised it once more to wipe some pizza sauce off of your face. “I saw you - fly. With wings.” 

“Yeah, that’s typically how things fly,” you said, your sarcastic nature escaping through your mouth before you could filter it through your brain. “Sorry. That was rude. But yeah, that’s one of the many wonderful things that a freak like me can do. Wings, fangs, horns, extra limbs, fur, feathers, you name it, I can produce it. It’s a wonder I haven’t been grabbed for a carnival show yet. Eh - if I ever need the extra cash, I guess.”  

“But how -” he said, but you shook your head. 

“There is now how. There just is. I just exist. The way that cats and ostriches and platypuses do. And vampires, which is why you should be a lot more careful dude. Didn’t you see my warning on the back of the giant Welcome to Santa Carla sign? I tried to make it stand out in red.” 

“Murder Capital of the world?” He said, recollection brightening up his eyes. “That was you?” 

“Yeah,” You nodded. “Ain’t it a work of art? Anyway, it’s true if you look into it - I just couldn’t write Danger: Vampires because no one would believe it.”  

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Michael said. His eyebrows were furrowed though, like he was thinking of something. “So how dangerous is it here? Because we left everything, we can’t move again.” 

You hummed, crossing your arms and leaned back. “Well - I do actually really hate those vampire guys. Mostly, Paul isn’t so bad when he’s not being an ass. But - I can be a bodyguard or something? For a price.” 

“We don’t have any money,” Michael said. “We can’t pay you.” 

“That’s alright, I don’t have much need for money,” You answered back to him. That wasn’t exactly true but - there was something else that you wanted more. That the idea of it made your heart start to beat faster in your chest. You took a deep breath before venturing forth. “I just wanna ... hang out, I guess.” 

“Hang out?” Michael asked, his eyebrows raising as he glanced over at you. “Like we’re friends?” 

“Yeah,” You shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “If that’s cool. It doesn’t have to be all the time but ... maybe go on the roller coaster once in a while or we can walk the boardwalk. Something like that.” 

He seemed to be looking right through you. Those piercing blue eyes that made you feel like you were being put on trial here. Rather than shy away from it, you doubled down, straightening your back, thrusting your chin up into the air. “Do we have a deal?” 

“Sure,” Michael said, surprising you with a small chuckle as he held his hand out to you. “We have a deal.” 

You took his hand enthusiastically, pumping it up and down. “Great. Wanna ride the roller coaster now?” 

You met the Emersons, and though the grandfather seemed to be a bit wary of you, his mother and brother were fantastic. Michael had surprised you by inviting you over for dinner with them, and you had been ... well, fairly nervous. You never lived in a family environment so you weren’t entirely sure how to act, but there was food, so of course you were going to be there.  

Lucy Emerson was the motherliest woman that you had ever met in your life. She welcomed you in, said that she was glad to finally meet the y/n that Michael had been talking about and spending time with. She wanted to get to know you, have a chat, but Michael was quick to pull you away. 

“She doesn’t know about your... you know,” he said. “No one does.” 

“I figured,” you said. “That’s cool. I wasn’t going to go all pig-snout at the dinner table. Unless there’s truffles,” you said, adding on a joke, making the corner of his mouth go up into a grin. 

“Can you do that? Just turn your nose into a snout?” 

“Wanna see?” 

“Maybe later,” he said, looking around. “My brother is around here somewhere; he’d freak out over something like that.” 

You nodded, and put on a grin. “If he ever gets on your nerves, I can always fly into his window as a pig-headed owl and scare the shit out of him.” 

“I’ll remember that,” Michael said with a chuckle.  

When you met Sam, you had to admit, he was one of the more interesting people that you’ve ever met. From the loud printed shirts to the obnoxious little laugh and the feathered hair. You weren’t put off by it, you thought that he was one of the coolest people you’ve ever seen. 

“So why do you hang out with my loser of a brother?” Sam asked over the dinner table. Michael turned his head to glare at him. Lucy immediately scolded at him. But you had a big grin on your face. This was the sibling rivalry you heard so much about. It was actually hilarious to witness. “Inquiring minds wants to know.” 

You pretended to take a microphone from him, which was actually the salt shaker. Michael rolled his eyes but looked amused at you nonetheless.  

“I think it’s the hair,” you said. “There’s something so magical about how bouncy it is.” 

“He uses Farrah Fawcett hairspray,” Sam said with a grin. Your jaw dropped and you looked over to Michael who did look a little ashamed. He ran his fingers through his hair, just further proving Sam’s point because it went right back to the same position it had been in before. 

“No way. Farrah Fawcett?” You said, knowing you were going to keep this information close to your heart forever. “Oh, that is amazing.” 

Michael shot you the finger and you grinned even more. You weren’t ever going to let that go. 

Later that night, after you had ‘left’, Michael climbed up onto the roof to sit with you. You had been perched there as a crow, watching over the house as the sun went down. No vampire activity yet, no one had come by the house. The Boys were staying away, which was no small miracle. They, especially David, were extremely petty, so you were remaining on your guard. 

“Lots of stars out here,” Michael noted, looking upwards. “You don’t see this many in Phoenix.” 

You turned back into your human self and stretched out, laying on the slight slant. “No?” You asked. “Guess that’s a thing that happens in cities. I wouldn’t know, though.” 

“How long have you lived in Santa Carla?” He asked, curiously. You had to stop to think about it for a moment, looking up towards the moon. With these clear summer skies, it was easy to see it, easy to count the stars.  

“A really long time,” You finally said, unable to pinpoint the exact year. “Just - like it here, you know? Even with everything that goes on with the Fang-Bangers. I like the shops, and the rides, and the games. The beach too, I tried surfing before but it’s way more fun to do it as a dolphin. There’s always somethin’ in Santa Carla.” 

“A dolphin?” He asked with a grin, shaking his head. “Of course. What’s your favorite animal to turn into? And what does it feel like?” 

You smiled, appreciating the question. You didn’t get to talk about this all too often. “A whale,” you said. “Or a dragon. The bigger the better, right? It feels so ... powerful being something like that. And as for how it feels like...” You tapped your chin, thinking about it as you let your lower legs dangle off of the house, your left sneaker almost sliding off. “You know when you finally get to stand up after sitting in a hard chair for a while? And you have like - a really good stretch? That’s almost what it feels like. Staying in this human body feels constricting. It’s only as something else that I feel free.” 

Michael was looking at you, his eyes somewhat hidden now by his heavy brow-bone and bushy eyebrows. “That sounds ... like shit,” He admitted. You laughed lightly, finding his word choice amusing. 

“Yeah, well, what are you gonna do, right?” You said, shrugging. “There’s a lot worse things than to be than me.” 

He smiled slightly again, moving his face away from your view as he shook his head. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met,” he said, a touch of awe in his voice. 

“I don’t know whether to thank you or to be-” 

Your words were cut off by his soft lips touching yours, the taste of mint toothpaste mixed with a honey-flavored Chapstick. You were caught totally off-guard. You weren’t sure what to do so you did what you always did, and kept talking.  

“- mad at you for -” 

You weren’t pushing him away, which Michael took as a sign. He wasn’t making anything more passionate than before, the kisses on your lips were light. A breeze.  

“- I’m weird I now but different has many meanings-” 

He finally backed off after that, chuckling to himself. “Yeah, I’m starting to understand that.” 

“Then why would you do that to me?” You asked, brushing your fingertips against your bottom lip. It didn’t feel the same as his lips. Why did you suddenly feel so warm? 

“Seemed like a good idea,” he said, shrugging in the same way you did when you tried to fake nonchalance. “You’ve never been kissed before, have you?” 

You looked around the grounds, feeling a little awkward at the question. “I got licked by a cat a couple of times. And dogs. Are those considered to be kisses?” 

He laughed again which didn’t make you feel all that much better. Actually, you started to feel like you were being mocked. You glared at him, your eyes nearly turning red with intimidation. He put his hands up to try to calm you down. 

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, I’m sorry,” he said, looking sheepish. “You’re just - really cute.” 

“Did I turn into a bunny or something without realizing it?” You asked, sitting up and looked over your shoulder to see if you suddenly had a puffy tail. Nope. All clear.  

He laughed again and you nudged him slightly in the ribs, starting to feel that embarrassment coming to the surface once more.  

“I like you,” he said, running his thumb over his bottom lip as he calmed down his laughter. “And I like that you’re not like anyone else.” 

“Oh,” you said, your eyebrows furrowing. “So, you kissed me because of that?” 

“We humans are simple creatures,” He joked, which did bring a little smile out of you. 

“Yeah, I noticed that. But you’re not all bad. Y’all did create pizza after all.” 

“You and your pizza,” He teased, nudging you with his elbow. “It’s your favorite thing, isn’t it? How am I supposed to compete?” 

“You’re trying to become my favorite thing?” You asked. And despite yourself, you couldn’t help but find that to be adorable. The sheepish grin on his face, the way that he was looking at you. You might look like a teenager, but you were also a slave to the same sort of hormones at times. “What’s so bad about being my second favorite thing?” 

“Nothing, I’m just competitive,” he said, sighing. “Well, as long as number one isn’t another person...” 

Sunny, beautiful, Santa Carla, most people wouldn’t believe that a place so pretty, and shining, and popular held a dark secret. And this was your attempt to warn them without completely breaking the treaty that you had with the vampire coven that took over the nights. 

The lines were straight. You were practised in this. You were responsible for half of the graffiti in town, whether it was doing moustaches on billboards of beautiful models, or just doodling something random on a brick wall, no surface was safe from you and your paint. You took a couple of steps back, admiring your handiwork in the light of day. It would be impossible to see in the dark, you knew that, so those vampires were unlikely to ever notice the warning that you put out to those that were driving through. You just hoped some of them would think to take a peek in the rear view mirror once in a while. 

You sat down on one of the wooden planks that held the foundation up. You weren’t the only one hanging around there, since it was next to the beach, but no one was giving you any trouble. You leaned against another plank, watching the cars stream on through. Families coming for a vacation on the boardwalk, mostly. The town got pretty dead in the winter, when the temperatures turned frostier and the rides were shut down. That was your favourite time of year. Less people to judge you, to see you free yourself with your shape shifting abilities. Summers were tough. 

You saw a dog sticking its head out of a red and white station wagon. A husky. Your heart leaped at seeing the adorable dog, its tongue waving in the wind as the owners drove on by, a red U-Haul wagon attached to the back. New townies? With all of the missing, there were a lot of homes opening up, so it made sense, unfortunately. You managed to catch the dog’s eye and shape-shifted your head to match the dog’s, making it let out a sharp bark. You shook your head quickly, making it go back to your normal face, grinning after it.  

You had no idea at the time just how often you would be seeing that dog. 

The boardwalk was your favorite place to go at night. It was usually a flood of new faces, with people coming in to stay for a couple of days and then leaving, never to be seen again. It was easy to slip in among them, to feel like you two were just one of those faces. It made you feel less lonely that way. It was almost ... nice. 

The breeze was flowing through your hair as you made your way among the crowds. You could smell the different greasy foods at the plethora of stalls and you were trying to figure out what to have as your dinner tonight when you heard the sound of a familiar voice, one that made you feel as if you had just swallowed a coconut whole. 

Star. 

She had been a good friend to you once. When she first made her way here to Santa Carla, she saw your colourful hair and thought that you were just the coolest person in the world. You hadn’t told her about your powers, since you were sure that she would reject like everyone before you had, but you let her into your life as your friend nonetheless. You would roam the boardwalk together, ride the rides, share giant slices of pizza. The way that you both would scream as you rode the roller coaster - it had been some of your best memories in recent times. 

Until she met the vampires.  

The ‘boyfriend’ syndrome as you called it. 

She changed. She started blowing you off to go and spend time with the four boys and their motorcycles, clinging onto David the way that she used to cling onto your hand when riding the Zipper. Your hangouts went from nearly every night to once a week, to once a month, to being nonexistent. She smelt like them now. You didn’t need to be a dog to pick up on that. 

Your eyes settled upon her, watching her mane of curly brown hair as she walked with a boy. Not one of the vampires, this one had brown hair and Dwayne was the only one with dark hair. Much darker than this boys’. Your eyes narrowed and you decided, fuck minding your own business, you needed to investigate what she was doing with this boy. Feeding the vampires? Trying to bring another one into David’s little cult? Either way, it wasn’t a good sign. 

Speaking to her wasn’t going to do anything. You’ve tried that before. And you didn’t know this boy so you probably would just look absolutely insane if you tried to warn him off - which normally you were alright with, but you didn’t want your crazy to make him move closer to Star and to David. You didn’t want to be the reason this guy died. 

“Damnit,” You sighed, looking around to make sure that no one was watching you, and you turned into a vampire bat, wings flapping through the sky, keeping you aloft. The things that you did for a humanity that didn’t even appreciate you.  

You screeched as you flew through the sky, garnering attention from those that were around. There were some shrieks from teenage girls, from some ladies, and a couple of guys reached up towards the sky to try to bat you off. But you had one destination in mind and you were not going to be swayed from it. You went right towards the brown curls of the boy that Star was working with, your wings brushing against his face. Star screamed, as the boy tried to slap you away, and he succeeded, thwapping you right into Star’s mess of frizzy hair. Now you were really stuck, not just pretending to be. 

Star’s screams were giving you a headache as you tried to untangle yourself, pulling at her hair at the same time. You were tempted to just change into something else - a hummingbird, a squirrel, anything, but there was too much heat on you right now. Then to your surprise, you felt a softer hand take hold of you and manage to get you out and you realized that it was this boy. He had slapped you and now he was taking care of you. You hadn’t been expecting that. 

As he let you go, you lingered in the air in front of him for a moment, hovering, wings flapping, your beady little dark eyes looking straight into his bright blue ones. And as best as you could, you shook your head, your little bat head, as he stood there, frozen, staring at you. 

“Let’s go, Michael,” Star said, taking hold of his hand and shivered. She looked frightened, more so than you had ever seen her. If she hadn’t abandoned you, you might have felt guilty. But you felt absolutely nothing towards her. And now you had a name to attach to this face - Michael. You flew up into the air and away towards the lights of the rollercoaster to transform into your human form once again, hoping that it worked. Hoping that some supernatural encounter with a bat that was warning him off would be enough to give him second thoughts.  

You headed back their way, walking as casually as you could muster, hands in your pocket, eyes wandering around the scene. Some people were muttering about the bat, how they usually don’t come so close to humans. And then you saw Star, trying to pull Michael towards the motorcycled boys. But he seemed a lot more hesitant. His eyes were towards the sky, looking around for more bats. Had you actually made a difference - did you just save a life? 

Apparently not. 

Michael was brought towards the vampires and they seemed to be having a talk. You hung back, trying to listen in as they had some sort of pissing contest. Over Star, really? The girl could smother you to death in your sleep with those curls of hers. You rolled your eyes - the things that boys will do to try to win over a pretty girl. 

You weren’t jealous, of course. 

Never. 

Michael went to his bike and Star got onto the back of the bleach blonde’s. His hair was basically a halo, glowing brightly against the night, but at least he would be easy to follow. Rather than a bat this time, you chose a peregrine falcon for its speed, cutting through the night sky to follow after the vampires on their motorcycles, trying to think of a plan B. 

They were headed right towards the bluffs, and the cliffs beyond. It was dangerous territory unless one had wings. The vampires knew it well, but Michael - 

Improvising, you turned back into your human self and stood near the cliff’s edge, the fog swimming around you as if you were in a stage production. He managed to catch sight of you just in time to turn his bike, narrowly missing you - and missed falling off of the cliff. 

“What are you playing at, huh?” He asked, hopping off of his bike and walked up to you. He looked pissed, but also concerned. Nervous.  

“Look, we only have a minute before they realize that they didn’t manage to get you to crash after all,” you said, looking around to see if you could see any headlights streaming through the fog. So far, so good. “Those boys - they’re going to either try and kill you or turn you into a vampire. Star is working with them, being little miss Honeypot to bring the food in.”  

He stared at you for a moment and then laughed, shaking his head slightly. “Vampires? You’ve been watching too many movies or something.” 

“Okay, you don’t want to believe they’re vampires, that’s cool,” you said, quickly. “But think about other things right now. You knew Star for all of two minutes before you were ready to fight off a gang of four bikers for her. And there’s the fact that they did try to kill you. Look there.” You pointed towards the edge of the cliff, the waves breaking against the rock many feet below. “Didn’t your parents teach you about stranger danger?” 

Michael ran his fingers through his hair, looking over your shoulder towards the water. To the steep drop down to it, and what that would have meant for him. 

“How did you get here so fast, if you knew all that?” He finally asked.

“If you won’t believe in vampires, you wouldn’t believe me, trust me,” you said, stepping away from the ledge, the feeling of the wind being at your back a bit too much. Unfortunately, that’s when the headlights and the motor of engines came up upon you, four different motorcycles, spread out enough to make you feel surrounded. 

“Hey Animal,” Paul said with a grin on his face. If there was one among them that you could tolerate, it was Paul. He was honestly just a bimbo, and could be entertaining. But just because he called out your nickname didn’t mean that things were all good right now. 

“You always make me sound like the damn muppet,” You called back, making him laugh. You watched David get off of his bike, Star climbing up after him but she hung back. She looked confused, scared, as you were getting involved. She didn’t know that you knew the boys. Knew what they were. 

She called your name, your real name. You ignored it for now, focusing your eyes on David who was moving closer. “I’ve had just about enough of your meddling,” he said.  

“Yeah, well, I’ve had just about enough of you turning my best friend into your little succubus, but it looks like we don’t always get what we want,” You crossed your arms. This was definitely a dangerous situation but your mouth tended to go before your brain could catch up. “You should stick to your Nazi bonfires and your douchebag tourists. This one is off-limits.” 

“Star, what’s going on?” Michael asked, looking to the one person that he thought that he knew. He was looking around at the rest of the boys on their motorcycles - at Paul’s big grin, at Dwayne’s stoic silence with Laddie hiding behind him, at Marco who constantly had a mischievous look on his face.  

“Michael wants to know what’s going on,” David smirked. “Y/N, didn’t you tell him what was going on?” 

“He didn’t believe me,” You admitted. “Though I can’t really blame him for that - you four don’t look cool enough to be vampires.” 

“Oh, come on, that’s just mean,” Paul said with a pout. You shot him one back, your lower lip sticking out exaggeratingly.  

“Sorry Paulie. But you’re no Christopher Lee and you know it.” 

“And what are you then?” David asked, his stare heavy on you. If you were the type to be afraid, you might have felt a shiver going up your spine. As it were, you didn’t let yourself be bullied by anyone. Even if it meant exposing who you are.  

“I think Paul already explained. I’m an animal.” You said with a shrug. “But I’m not a monster. I’ve looked the other way for a long time, but you’re not making more vamps on my watch. Not here, not him.” 

“Michael still wants to know what’s going on,” Marco snickered. You looked over your shoulder to see the confusion on his face, which was turning into frustration. 

“Alright, I’ll tell you what’s really going on, I saved your life,” you told him. “You can buy me pizza on the boardwalk sometime or something as a thank you. Now get on your bike and get out of here. Oh, and don’t go off with strangers, seriously, your mother must be disappointed.” 

“Animal is in a bitchy mood tonight,” Paul whistled. “Maybe they’ll turn into a dragon.” 

“And burn you alive,” You threatened. “I wonder if your vampire body would be able to handle that kind of heat?” 

“I love when you flirt, baby,” Paul winked and you rolled your eyes before taking a couple of steps away from them. Wings unfurled from your back, large and black, replicating the dragon that you had seen in a Disney film once. You continued to step back until you were off of the ledge, your wings flapping, letting you hover.  

“I’ll make sure he gets home safely, and I’ll be keeping an eye on you four,” You threatened towards the vampires, before you reluctantly caught Star’s eye. And it was everything that you feared - but knew - was going to happen. She looked at you with terror in her eyes, that was to be expected. But there was also the repulsion. The realization that you were a monster. 

You tore your eyes away and looked towards Michael who was mumbling to himself, but he got back on his motorcycle. “I don’t know how the fuck you drugged me, but I’m out of here.” 

You rolled your eyes. But better he thinks that he was drugged and gets out of here than sticks around and tries to pick a fight. Paul was the only one who waved you a goodbye, David shot you a glare, Marco and Dwayne just revved up their bikes. Star stayed staring at you for a moment longer, her gaze even heavier than David’s was. You flew up higher to be above the clouds that were guarding the moon and stars tonight, and followed after Michael, keeping good on your word. You made damn sure that the vampires weren’t following. There was bound to be retaliation after you stepped in like that but so far, it didn’t seem to be towards Michael. 

Michael looked up as he got off of his motorcycle in front of an old house. It didn’t look like a ramshackle house though it clearly had the potential to go into that state. You lowered yourself down to land gently on the roof, your feet nearly slipping on the shingles. It wasn’t graceful, but you managed. “Are you real?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowing, looking more like a puppy than before. 

“A real pain in the ass, sure,” You joked, crouching down so you could maintain balance and look down at him. “But yeah. I’m real. Vampires are real. And Star is a bit of a succubus now so - I’d change my taste in women if I were you.” 

“Shit,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is like something out of one of Sam’s comic books.” 

“I tried to be in a comic book once, it didn’t sell well,” You sighed. “Which is absolutely ridiculous because the possibilities are endless.” 

“Right,” he said, slowly, drawling it out. 

“All that matters if you’re safe for the night, so go on in and go to sleep or whatever it is you humans do,” you said with a shrug. “Sweet dreams and all that?”