âSo... youâre a vampire,â you say, watching him carefully, examining every single movement of his body. It seems to move too fast, even when heâs not doing anything, the only slow thing about him his breaths.
âYes,â Johnny answers. His brows are furrowed as he waits for your reaction.
âHmm,â you think out loud, as if youâre debating whether to believe him or not. Eventually, you shrug, âOkay.â
This answer surprises him. âYou donât sound surprised.â
âThatâs because I donât believe you.â Lie.
His eyebrows now raise in understanding before he nods slowly in understanding, âYou-â
âHuh?â His attention is no longer on you, instead looking briefly at the titles of the books on the bookshelves. The faint thrumming of a heavy beat can be heard through the doorway, and you wonder if it bothers him at all.
âProve it. Prove that you're a vampire.â When he doesnât move, you roll your eyes, âWhat? Itâs not like youâre a werewolf who only transforms during a full moon. Come on.â
At this, his gaze snaps to you, and as quickly as his eyes had moved to you, heâs in front on you, leaning over you dangerously, his mouth opened in a half-smile-half-smirk that reveals one of his fangs. Heâs so close you can feel one side of his body pressing you gently into the wall. Itâs so sudden; youâd barely blinked.
Yet, youâd moved just as fast. The second his gaze had met yours, you pulled out a dagger, holding it horizontally in front of your face, so that it now rested against his neck. The blade only just pressed against his skin, not enough to draw blood, but enough to be uncomfortable. As realisation struck, his eyes widened as he looked down at you in shock. âYouâre a hunter?â
âAnd youâre actually a vampire,â you say in wonder, removing your dagger from his throat and using the end to push one side of his mouth upward, revealing his teeth. âAnd a young one, too, by the looks of it. Iâm surprised you havenât tried to kill me yet.â He bats the dagger away.
He lets out a deep breath, âItâs been a struggle. You donât smell of-â
âVampires arenât the only ones who hate the smell of repellent,â you mumble, before pushing him away from you. He only stumbles for a millisecond before straightening.
âHow can you tell that-â
âThat youâve recently turned?â He nods. âYour teeth. Youâve got vampire baby teeth.â You smile to yourself, tossing your dagger up in lazy circles before catching it and sliding it back in its sheath.
âAre... are there more of you?â His eyes are wide now, brows furrowed. Youâve never seen a vampire look even slightly scared before, but Johnny looks weary.
âAre there more of you?â
You nod, as if in agreement. âYou protect your own; Iâll protect mine,â you begin to back away from him, towards the door.
âAnd about- about that kiss-â
âForget about it. You didnât know.â
Youâre already in the doorway, and you hold his gaze for a moment, silently giving him your answer. A moment passes and your gaze flickers to the ground, but then youâre shutting the door and returning to the party downstairs, as if you hadnât just made out with a vampire. As if you hadnât just found out that your town was filled with his kind. As if you hadnât just found out that you'd have to kill them, that it was expected of you. To kill vampires. To kill Johnny.
