More of the vampire au, please? How did the party go?
Itās only when the door is finally thrown open and they are hurled out to crash on the pavement that the fire is knocked out of Newt and it sinks it- way too belatedly, what heās just done.
āAre you okay?ā He sits up and looks at Hermann.
Hermann doesnāt move, this fine clothes torn and starting to darken in the furious rain. Newt rolls over and crawls the few meters two him.Ā āHermann? Iām really sorry.ā
Hermannās face is set, side pressed to the pavement, eyes open and unseeing. He blinks, and Newt isnāt sure if these are tears, or rain.
āI fucked up.ā Newt groans, and rubs his face,Ā āI Ā didnāt mean- okay no, I did mean everything I said, but I should have- thought, you know. Not said that to your dad, for one thing.ā
āNo.ā Hermann says dully.Ā āItās not your fault.ā
He sits up stiffly, looks up into the orange halo of the streetlight.Ā āI knew this was going to happen.ā
Newt blinks,Ā āYou- why didnāt you sayĀ or just- not invite me? Iām so sorry.ā
āIām not.ā Itās a tiny whisper, almost lost under the pouring rain, the occasional swish of slow passing cars.
āHe disowned you.ā Newt manages to say it, it comes out very, very small.
āI think I wanted that.ā Hermann says finally.Ā āThatās why I brought you along, I- I am a coward, I didnāt dare do anything for him to disown me, I let you do it.ā
āWell, yeah,ā Newt rolls his eyes,Ā āHeād have fucking killedĀ you. You should have told me, Iāve have really pissed him off.ā
āNo.ā Hermann gets up stiffly, winces;Ā āWhat you did was perfect. No one not already blinded by hierarchyĀ can see how absurdly he was acting.ā
Newt scrambles to his feet, helps to steady Hermann.Ā āDo you want to go home?ā
Hermann frowns, blinks, water beading on his eyelashes, then gives a strange little smile, a little quirk of the lip.Ā āNo. You mentioned you and your friends have a favourite bar in town- would you like to show it to me?ā
Newt stares- heās been trying to get Hermann there for years.Ā āFuck yeah!ā