#vamipres

BEEP BEEP BEEP

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut a little tighter. All I wanted was to rip my stupid alarm clock out of the wall and smash it into a thousand tiny pieces. And then maybe to go back to sleep. But I didn't have that option.

I had a shift at the hospital to get to, and with more than one doctor out due to their own illness, we couldn't afford to lose anybody else right now.

I dragged myself out of bed like a zombie, going through my morning routine as fast and efficiently as possible. I downed a Red Bull on my way to the car, then cracked open another one for the drive.

I was tired, but no more tired than I'd been during my residency. I could do this.

I strode through the doors, coat on and ready to get to work, only to find a surprisingly familiar face just ahead of me at the nurse's station. Carlisle Cullen, my good friend and fellow doctor, turned to go do whatever he needed to do next before I could get to him. But he'd been here when I left, almost seven hours ago now. He didn't even look that tired, but when I started doing the math in my head of how long he must've stayed on shift, I wasn't entirely sure how he was still standing, let alone functioning as a competent doctor.

"Hey, Mason," I said, still watching Carlisle move down the hall as I came to a stop at the nurse's station. "Has Cullen gone home since I did?"

I turned to Mason just in time to see him shake his head.

"I don't know how he's doing it, honestly. But he's as competent, eloquent, and composed as ever."

"How long has he been here?"

"...I don't actually know."

"Geeze. Okay, thanks Mase."

"Sure thing."

I headed away from the nurse's station in the direction I'd seen Carlisle go. Out of everybody, he was one of the people who seemed to be more on top of taking care of himself. But if he'd actually been here as long as I thought he probably had, then whether or not he looked tired or was showing symptoms of exhaustion, I needed to check on him. ASAP.

I caught up to him coming out of a patient's room, looking ready to head to another case like he hadn't been working potentially illegal hours back to back.

"Carlisle!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me with one eyebrow raised. He frowned as soon as he registered I'd been the one to call his name, quickly closing the distance between us with a worried look on his face.

"What are you doing back here so soon?" he asked, without so much as a hello first. "You can't have gotten more than four hours of sleep. You need more than that, especially before coming back to work at this job."

"Me?" I demanded, unable to keep to a normal volume. "Carlisle, I went home and got some sleep over the past six hours. You started your shift yesterday, just after me, and as far as I can tell, you haven't been home since!"

Carlisle's expression shuttered, the way it always did when I tried to connect with him on anything outside of our close relationship at the hospital. He took a half step back from me, giving me a completely unconvincing smile.

"I'm perfectly fine, I promise you. I got a bit of rest in the on-call room without going all the way home."

"Carlisle-"

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm alright. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my next patient-"

"No way." I grabbed his arm as Carlisle tried to turn away from me. He stopped short, mostly out of surprise, as he turned back to me. I just kept staring him down with the stern look I reserved for patients refusing to do something they needed to do for their own health. "You're not going anywhere, Carlisle. I don't believe you about getting rest in the on-call room, and I'm legitimately worried for your health and your safety as a doctor. As a peer and a friend, I am not going to just let this go."

Carlisle's eyes scanned my face, but I didn't budge an inch. If we were seriously doing a staring contest, I wasn't about to lose.

After a few long moments, Carlisle finally relaxed his posture and sighed.

"...Alright. Alright, I suppose we... might need to have this conversation anyway."

I frowned, but didn't protest as Carlisle pulled me along with him to one of our larger supply closets. I just followed him inside and gave him a curious look when he closed the door behind us.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to believe," he started, his voice calm and even but also deadly serious. I raised an eyebrow.

"If it has anything to do with some crazy concoction of five hour energies and black coffee-"

"No. It's... different than that."

I frowned, but didn't interrupt again. Carlisle seemed legitimately stressed about whatever he was about to share. So, I just waited, letting him say it in his own time and trying to be as open and supportive as possible. Still, nothing could've prepared me for what he eventually managed to say.

"...I'm a vampire. I don't drink human blood, and I also don't need sleep. I usually try to keep to a... more human schedule, mostly to avoid people asking questions. But we're very short-staffed, and people need help. So... I'm here anyway."

I just stared at the wall over Carlisle's shoulder, waiting for my brain to catch up with what he'd told me. I should've probably been freaked out, or at least skeptical. But the more I thought about it, the more it just kind of made sense.

"I know it sounds impossible," Carlisle continued after a few moments of silent processing. "I know it's hard to believe, and if you do believe it, you might not feel especially safe. But I promise, I am telling you the truth. And I swear to you, you're perfectly safe with me."

"That's... Carlisle, that's cool as hell."

I finally stopped staring at the wall and met Carlisle's eyes again. His forehead had a visible worry crease, but I'd started smiling, and I wasn't sure I could stop.

"It's... what?"

"It's cool as hell! You're a vampire! I know I should probably be like, 'prove it', or something, but honestly the vampire thing explains a lot."

"...It does?"

"I mean, yeah. The not-sleeping-and-still-looking-rested thing, sure, but also the fact that I've never seen you drink so much as a tea on shift, let alone coffee or Red Bull. And the speed you move at sometimes when we're in crisis-mode? Not to mention the time I saw you literally sparkling when you came in just before sunset a few weeks ago."

Carlisle frowned. "You saw me sparkling in the sunlight and you didn't say anything?"

I just shrugged. "I figured it was body glitter or something. That didn't seem like your vibe, but who am I to judge? The vampire thing makes way more sense though."

Carlisle huffed a disbelieving laugh, a faint smile staying on his face as he looked at me for a few long seconds.

"So you're not... afraid of me? Going to run screaming from the room, telling everyone?"

"Definitely no, to all of the above," I said, giving Carlisle a much more confident smile. He huffed a little laugh and relaxed again, which was nice to see. After a moment, though, a new thought occurred to me. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. Anything."

"...Is this vampire secret the reason you've never let me get more than two words into asking you on a date?"

Carlisle's eyes widened. "Uh... well... actually, yes. It is."

I couldn't help a little laugh. I closed the distance between us, leaning into Carlisle a little bit, and he gave me a tentative smile in return.

"Listen, Carlisle, if you don't want to go out for whatever reason, that's absolutely fine. I'm happy being friends with you. It's a pretty great deal, potentially better now that I know about the vampire thing. But if you're just trying to do some Anne Rice angst... well, come on, be a better vampire. Help me finish this shift and then let's go grab dinner or something, since you don't need sleep and I'll have a metric fuckton of Red Bull in my system."

Carlisle fully laughed at that, his face lighting up as he leaned back into me, and it made my heart soar. I wonder if he could hear it racing, or if real vampires didn't have that particular power.

"I... would be happy to take you up on that plan," he finally said, still beaming at me. "Although I feel obligated as a doctor to recommend less caffeine consumption."

I just waved him off. "Not all of us are sleepless by nature. I'll do a caffeine cleanse once at least three coworkers come back from being out sick."

Carlisle pursed his lips, although he failed at fighting off a smile.

"I know you well enough to know it's futile to try to remind you of any of the health advice you give to patients every day," he said, his voice light in a way that I absolutely loved to hear. I grinned back at him.

"Correct. You know, it feels really good to be seen."

Carlisle huffed another laugh, leaning into me as we headed for the door of the supply closet together.

"After this conversation, I certainly do know what you mean."

We shared a smile, then stepped back into the hallway together. We still had jobs to do, after all, and people who needed us. But the thought of the long day before me didn't feel so heavy after talking to Carlisle, and with a new depth to our relationship on the horizon ahead.

****************

I smiled as I made my way through the crowd of my drunken peers, two beers in hand. Everyone had gathered for the last bonfire of our last year of high school, and every single one of us was having the time of our lives. It was only right to go all out for a tradition that had carried us through from our freshman years.

A moment later I found my girlfriend, Caroline Forbes, leaning against a tree and chatting with Elena and Matt. I grinned as I reached them, holding out one of the two beers I'd retrieved to Caroline.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I'd need two more," I said, shooting a smile in Matt and Elena's direction as I sidled up next to Caroline.

"That's okay," Elena said, waving me off. "We were just about to go make a trip ourselves."

She shot me and Caroline a meaningful look, then dragged Matt after her and back into the rest of the party. Caroline turned to me with a grin.

"So, how are you enjoying our last ever bonfire?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Last ever bonfire feels a little dramatic. Last high school bonfire, sure, but I plan to go out and drink in the woods around a fire far into my twenties."

Caroline shook her head and smacked my arm, but she was still smiling.

"You know what I meant! This is a big moment for us. The end of an era."

"As far as I'm concerned, it's just the start," I said, leaning in a little. "The start of an amazing future with you."

Caroline giggled, a smile as bright and warm as the sun shining in my direction, her eyes crinkling at the corners. My heart leapt a little in my chest.

"A future of drunk fire parties?" she asked, her voice teasing. I just grinned and leaned in further.

"Yes. Drunk fire parties and idiotic activities and just being unreasonably, ridiculously happy, together."

Caroline bit her lip and glance down before looking back at me, a slight blush on her cheeks. Or maybe it was from the cold.

"Do you want to go down and look at the falls with me?"

I beamed. "Absolutely I do."

She took my hand, and I followed after her through the woods, the noise and light of the party fading behind us as we went. I sped up to walk next to Caroline, dropping her hand and linking our arms instead. I leaned into her, and she shot me a little smile.

"You know, I used to want to get a guy down to the falls with me so badly," she said. "I had this perfect plan that just never quite worked out. I've gotta say... I'm glad I'm coming down here with you instead."

I beamed. "It almost killed me to watch you try your moves on Stefan and Matt and every other guy you had a thing for. I never thought... I don't know. If you'd told junior-year me that I would've had a chance with you, I don't think I would've believed it."

"Well, I can tell you right now that I'm much happier to be here with you than if I'd ever had success with any of those guys."

I stopped as we finally reached the falls, an immovable smile plastered on my face. My heart hammered in my chest. I'd been in love with Caroline since the seventh grade, and the fact that we'd been happily dating for the past few months still didn't totally feel real to me.

"What?" she asked, giggling a little as she noticed my stare. I let out a long, happy breath.

"Nothing. Just... happy. Happy to be here with you."

"Me too," she said, moving a little bit closer to me. I mirrored her movements until we were close enough for me to put my arms around her waist, pulling her into me. She smiled, lazily draping her arms around my neck, then leaned in and kissed me.

No matter how many times I got to kiss my girlfriend, I don't think the magical, sparkly feeling in my chest I always got would ever fade. The water of the falls crashed onto the rocks next to us, creating a natural ambiance as I deepened the kiss. I reached up to cup Caroline's cheek as she tangled a hand in my hair, and when we finally pulled apart, I couldn't keep a smile off my face.

"I love you, Care," I said. She blushed, but smiled right back.

"I love you too."

I leaned back in and gave her another soft kiss, then finally pulled away with a sigh.

"We should probably get back," I said. "It is our last bonfire, after all."

"Last bonfire might be a little dramatic," Caroline parroted in a bad imitation of my own voice. She made a face and put her hands on her hips, and I tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Last bonfire of high school, I guess, but-"

"Alright, alright, your impression of me is truly unmatched," I said, holding out a hand to Caroline. She took it, lacing our fingers together, and I swung our hands back and forth as we headed through the woods together. "So tell me, my favorite person on planet earth: what would make our last high school bonfire the best one for you? What would give it a worthy sendoff and celebration for the end of this four year era?"

Caroline pulled me to a stop in the trees just beyond the firelight, the sounds of the party beckoning to us from a little ways away. She turned me to face her, smiling at me as she took my other hand.

"This has already been the perfect night, because I got to spend it with you."

"Aw," I said, leaning in to give Caroline one more quick peck before we headed the rest of the way into the bonfire clearing. "Is it also because your 'do you want to go to the falls with me' master plan finally worked?"

"Maybe. Although, since I was clearly meant to go down there with you at the perfect moment on our last bonfire night... I think it's fair to say my fail-proof plan never actually failed at all. I just wasn't meant to go down there with any of the boys."

I laughed, enjoying the lightness in my heart with the warmth of the fire in front of me and the warmth of Caroline's smile beside me. Maybe she had a point.

"Yeah, Caroline. I think I'd agree that your plan ended up working perfectly."

****************

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