Death is Simply Change With a Bad Haircut

[Black Philip]

Bryant Mitchell was twenty-two years old. He looked in a mirror in the men's restroom at The White Rabbit and examined his eyes. They were dark; covered in eye liner and fake lashes. They were still grey, with a touch of gold in the center. Nothing had changed in that respect. His hair was still short and brown, and still styled up into a fohawk, his skin was still smooth and peach. He still went to the gym four days a week and ate right and so he looked as good as he'd ever looked since he started going. He really looked exactly the same as he'd always looked. However, he felt different; like the picture of Dorian Gray, only young in appearance, but truly old and decrepit in a painting.

Bryant didn't know what had changed in him. His life was much the same as always. He went to school, worked part time at a coffee shop, volunteered for the homeless, engaged in being a bite junkie, and shagged two our three vamps a week. All of this was standard for young Bryant, but as he looked into his eyes he saw mental wrinkles, filled with deadness and hopelessness. He turned the water on and washed his hands, turning his gaze from the emptiness of his eyes to his hands and painted black nails. The nails, the eye makeup and the leather harness he wore was all a part of Lisa-Joe Hampton's goth S&M party hosted by some online cruising site for gay men. Bryant didn't think such a party would interest the every alluring Lisa-Joe, but he also knew she'd just bought out her partner Jake McCloud and money was tight. Bryant dried his hands and headed out of the bathroom onto the dimly lit second floor dance area.

The club was filed with artificial fog and strobe lights. The music was a mix of electronica and ska, with just a touch of metal. Bryant tolerated the beats, but sighed, being a top forty boy himself. He went to the bar on the far wall and turned facing out. He watched the people dancing, well fucking with there clothes on was a more accurate description. Bryant didn't mind. Sometimes that was him, although he only did it with vampires. Mortal men held very little appeal to him anymore. Even most vampires had lost there luster. Most things in Bryant's life had lost any sort of enjoyability at all. Still, Bryant needed to get sucked and Risk was running him ragged these days. The White Rabbit was always a good alternative feeding ground, as vamps found less willing donors, and Bryant loved the scene. Plus, Lisa-Joe Hampton had taken a liking to Bryant, and let him have a drink or two on the house on most nights.

Bryant looked for a vampire and found only female ones. They didn't do it for him, no matter how hard he tried. Bryant was a queer through and through and even a vampire bite had to have a penis. His leather pants and boots stuck to his otherwise bare skin and his harness was a size to small for his upper body. Bryant rolled his eyes at the thought that something might chaff. Just as Bryant was about to give up and go change into something a little less dungeon, he recognized a familiar face. A vampire, blonde and tall with a handsome face stood leering against the wall near the stairs down to the first floor. Bryant was unsure if he recognized him, but the boy knew he had the right vampire. He crossed the room with a mild, closed-mouth smile on his lips. It was strange but seeing Scott made Bryant happy, which was something that was hard to do when you felt dead inside.

When he was sure Scott was close enough to hear Bryant said, "Hey, do you remember me?"   

[CowboyBlonde]

Scott turned the key to his black Lamborghini Diablo and took off through the gates of Dante’s Inferno.  With a shift and a slam to the gas, Scott was cruising down the open road, headed for the city.  Tonight was like a lot of other nights.  Conner was ignoring him.  It seemed like every waking hour Conner was hung up in his laboratory working on something.  Scott had rejoined the night shift of the police force months ago, just to keep himself occupied; there were only so many hours he could spend on the couch watching TV.  But tonight was his night off and he needed something fresh.  Jake had mentioned not too long ago that a woman Scott had never met had bought out his share of The White Rabbit club.  Some one by the name of Lisa-jay or Joe, something redneck like that.  Scott wasn’t sure what kind of club this was but he was willing to try anything.

Scott parked his car across the street from the club.  The streets were surprisingly bare for 1 AM on a Friday night.  Scott stepped onto the cobblestone street and took in the building.  It sported a peculiar neon sign with a rabbit and a hawk.  Two large bouncers stood at the front door, which seemed as if it were ready to burst open, spraying the streets with the loud beat of the music.  Scott took a breath and crossed the street, looking both ways first, though no cars were in sight.  He was wearing brown workers boots that made a thud with every step.  Covering his bottom half was a pair of dark wash boot cut jeans that were a little loose around the leg.  Up top he wore a short-sleeved black polo with some sort of emblem on the left peck. 

The blonde Toreador stepped to the bouncers who were blocking the door.  Scott was a big guy, standing at 6’ 1” and 210 pounds, but these bouncers were huge.  They stood there dressed in all black with their arms crossed and gave Scott a once over.  “Is there like, a password or something fellas?”  Scott said shrugging his shoulders.  The bouncers didn’t respond.  They just simply moved aside so Scott could get through.  “Thanks boys.”  Scott said, giving one of them a pat on the shoulder. 

This place wasn’t exactly what Scott was expecting.  Burley men occupied the bar and it’s surrounding areas.  Large hairy men, with handle bar mustaches eyed Scott as he walked through.  He felt like all eyes were on him, possibly because he was the only one there not wearing any leather.  Scott eyed a stairwell in the corner of the room leading up where bright flashing lights were erupting. Maybe that’ll be a better crowd. Scott thought, though he wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for..

Before stepping his way up he felt a slap on his ass.  Scott turned around quickly to find a very overweight man wearing nothing but ass-less chaps, licking his lips.  Scott grabbed him by the neck with fierce speed and showed his fangs. “Listen fat boy, touch me like that again, I’ll make sure I smash the bones in that hand to dust!”  The fat man unleashed his fangs as well giving Scott a mean hiss.  Scott let go, not wanting to cause drama on this night that was meant to be relaxing.  “Have a nice night.” Scott said flashing a cheeky smile.

Scott reached the second floor and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, observing the room.  It was a much more eye-pleasing crowd.  The music was louder and the lights were crazier, accompanied with a sea of fog.  Out of the corner of his eye he could see someone approaching him.  To Scott’s surprise, the guy started talking to him.  Scott gave him the once over. By what he was wearing, Scott came to the conclusion that this was obviously some sort of S&M bar.  He didn’t know Jake was into that sort of thing. 

Scott cocked his head at the man’s question.  He didn’t recognize him at first, what with the eyelashes and dark make-up.  He looked very different from the last time they had seen each other.  Scott remembered him as the weasel of a human who tried to get away from Conner the night he started doing experiments in his lab.  All the guy did was complain and ask questions.  He was annoying.  Scott didn’t stay too long that night, he figured Conner knew what he was doing and didn’t need his help.  Scott was curious though, as to why this guy would approach him with such ease.  “Ah, yes, I remember you.” Scott expressed, pointing a finger at him.  “I told you Conner would let you go.”  Scott chuckled to himself and turned his gaze back to the sea of cramped, dancing bodies.

[Black Philip]

Scott was reluctant. Bryant could tell. For some strange reason Bryant could read emotions better than most people with his condition. He was beginning to think he'd been misdiagnosed. Scott was delicious looking as the first time Bryant had seen him. Bryant tried to hide his enthusiasm as Scott said he remembered him. However, a swift mention of Conner's name was more than enough to flatten his smile. That psychopath with fangs had kidnapped Bryant, and forced him to do all kinds of experiments. Scott had been there at the beginning but had left when Conner stopped talking to him. Bryant had made a mental note of Conner's iciness towards his lover.

"Oh yeah, he let me go alright," Bryant said with sarcasm. "He's a peach that one."

Bryant closed some distance so they could hear each other better, making sure to flash his neck in the process. "How is your boyfriend?  Is he here tonight? I'd love to say hi."

He said it with his best actor voice that if Scott was dumb he'd buy it as sincere, and even if he was smart Bryant was sure he would not be confident enough in the fuckery taking place to call him on it.   

[CowboyBlonde]

Bryant moved closer and Scott shifted his weight, feeling a bit uncomfortable.  Scott could hear him perfectly fine from where he was but Bryant still raised his voice.  Scott wasn’t sure what this guy wanted.  The blonde kept his mind on the pistol tucked into the back of his jeans, just incase Bryant tried anything funny. What is he trying to pull?  Scott answered his question, looking back and forth between him and the bar.  “Uh no…he’s…” ignoring me. “…Working tonight.”  Conner would never want to come here anyway.  This sort of place wasn’t his scene, not that it was Scott’s either but Conner would turn his nose up to this place and to even give it a try.  ‘The music is too loud’ he’d say.  Scott’s mind couldn’t help but wonder back to that night that Bryant was held hostage in Conner’s lab.  He had almost shot Bryant’s head off because he thought he was trying to break in, but Conner surprised him, not being far behind.  Scott wondered what it was that happened after he got bored and left Conner alone with the human.  Scott didn’t bother asking him when he felt him slip into bed that morning.

Scott came back to reality and realized Bryant was still standing there staring at him, holding his head in an awkward position.  Scott noticed the bite marks on his neck.  Scott rolled his eyes; this guy’s a bite junkie.  Suddenly he realized why Bryant approached him.  But until he said it straight out, Scott would give him the benefit of the doubt.  “Plus, you might want to stay away from him.  He might try kidnapping you again.”  Scott shouted this time so he could be heard over the screaming music.

[Black Philip]

Bryant's face made an ugly frown. Scott was not interested. He stood normally and turned out facing the crowd. Scott was not dressed for the evening, and Bryant guessed that he'd wandered in here by some kind of chance. Still, the human wasn't doing anything else, and decided to keep up a dialogue with Scott.

"Yes, well I wouldn't want that," Bryant said with disinterest. If Scott wasn't hungry then Bryant wasn't interested. 

"So what brings you here to the leather party," Bryant asked, trying to feign interest as he looked for a new source of pleasure. His posture was much less eager, his mood much more relaxed. He kept his gaze fixed on the crowd, hoping to catch someones eye.

[CowboyBlonde]

Party?  Scott figured out that leather was just the theme of the night. So I guess Jake really isn’t into that kind of thing.  Scott stood there for a second, thinking how to answer Bryant’s question.  “I needed a night out I guess.  And I didn’t know it was a leather party.  A friend of mine told me about this place so I figured I would check it out.”  Scott thought of Conner and how he would much rather be here with him.  He wasn’t sure where the distance was coming from between them.  Perhaps Conner was losing interest?  Maybe he was getting too bored with Scott? Regardless, the blonde vampire still had a strong love for his partner, which would never change.  Maybe if I bring this guy back to his lab, Conner will finally pay attention to me. Scott thought. No. That would be wrong, I’m sure he put this guy through enough.

Scott looked to Bryant now to distract himself from his dueling thoughts.  He couldn’t help but glance at the bite marks on his neck.  The thirst hit him like a brick wall.  Though he was confused as to why.  For months Scott had been drinking blood from packets he had stored in his refrigerator.  Having friends in high places, he was never out of stock.  It was hard to remember the last time he fed on an actual human. Oh yeah.  Scott thought. I have no self-control. Scott scratched the stubble on his face; trying to remember the last few times he fed on a human.  Conner was always there with him, making sure he stopped before killing the person.  Scott shook his head free of the thought.  He couldn’t do that tonight; it was too risky.  Still, the burn crept up his throat.  He was thirsty.   But this guy was a junkie; this is what he wanted.  Scott was a man of the law, he couldn’t fuel the fire of someone’s addiction.

Scott cleared his throat, “What’re you doing here?”

[Black Philip]

Bryant cocked an eyebrow. He caught Scott's eyes on his neck. Things were going better than he thought. Bryant kept his body language uninterested. He made eye contact with another male vampire; a tall African American with a gorgeous body and piercing brown eyes. If Scott wanted a drink he'd have to fight for it. Bryant barley heard Scott's question. You know why I'm here Bryant thought. The residual fang marks told all that needed to be told. Still, Scott was asking, and the other vampire was currently scoping out his competition.

"Like is this my scene," he asked indicating the makeup and clothes. "No, I'm here because I drink for free and the vampires aren't as stuck up as they are at Risk."

He didn't hide the fact he was looking for a bite. What was the point of that? Bryant had very little shame anymore and honestly didn't care who knew it. He undid the straps of the harness and slid it off, dropping it to the floor in front of his feet. "This things chafes like a bitch," Bryant explained. He let it sit there and turned his gaze back to the crowd.   

[CowboyBlonde]

Scott nodded his head, agree that the vampires art Risk were stuck up.  A flashback of Scott meeting his maker at Club Zero passed through his mind.  Scott noticed that Bryant was getting restless, eyeing other potential biters.  Scott licked his lips; the thirst was getting the best of him.  The harness made a clunk as it hit the floor.  Scott noticed Bryant’s body but didn’t care.  Never again would he look at another person in a sexual way, not like he looked at Conner.  It was a s if Conner had been sculpted from marble.  Every inch of him screamed pure perfection.  He has the kind of face that stopped Scott dead in his tracks the first time he saw it.  The blonde practically worshiped the ground he walked on, which is why it was so confusing to him that Conner was being standoffish.

Scott needed to focus on the matter at hand. Stop thinking about him.  “Speaking of drinks, where can I get one, I’m starting to get very thirsty.”  Scott was never good at being subtle.  The bite mars on Bryant’s neck were calling his name.  inside, he knew it wasn’t right but the burn was getting to be too much.

[Black Philip]

Bryant smirked. He thought about all the things his mother had told his sister about getting men over the years. "If you play hard to get you'll always get what you want," she'd tell Alex. Bryant always listened to their private mother, daughter conversations, never thinking that they'd apply to him, but that was the beauty of life; it surprised you. He turned to face Scott and realized how young he must be for a vampire. He was clumsy, unsure of his own power. Bryant had been the willing suck buddy of many powerful vampires and those who knew their own superiority had never failed to flaunt it. To them, Bryant was a tool. To Scott, he was at least sort of a person. That was his weakness and Bryant's advantage.

"I'm sure we could work something out," Bryant joked. "After all, what are friends for?" He felt wiered the moment he said it. Friends? What was that? It only affected him a little bit, before his smirk returned and the awkward within him subsided.

"You wanna do this," he asked. He was direct, because subtlety was so last season.

[CowboyBlonde]

Friends?  Scott raised an eyebrow.  Surely they weren’t friends and he thought Bryant knew that from the way his face looked after he spoke the word.  To Scott, Bryant was just some random guy Conner had picked up for experiments.  Never in a thousand years did Scott think they would ever see each other again.  It truly was a small world after all.  Scott was a bit surprised at Bryant’s bluntness.  The blonde stepped into his new acquaintance and whispered to him as if this sort of thing was a big secret.  “What is it exactly that we do? I’ve never done this before.”  Obviously he has fed on a human before but he meant he’s never fed from a bite junkie before, he wasn’t sure if there was some sort of protocol or if there was money involved?  Still something inside of Scott’s cold body was telling him that this was a bad idea.  Conner would disapprove instantly.  Scott quickly wondered what Jake would think as well, guessing of the two, Jake would be the one to have done this before.  Scott also wondered if Conner would know what he was doing, since they were bonded by blood.  Surely Conner could feel Scott’s uncomfortable status.

[Black Philip]

Bryant ventured a guess to himself that Scott was a rather young vampire. He mulled over in his brain how this could be beneficial to him, as vampires were usually the people who set the rules. He laughed a little at Scott's discomfort. He turned and faced him, now ignoring the other vampires entirely. He was happy with Scott for the night.

"For starters relax," Bryant advised. He realized his comment could off come off rude.

"You're nervous," he stated in explanation. "We need to blow this joint. Lisa-Joe doesn't allow live feeding.  You can take me back to your place as long as your boyfriend doesn't make me a lab rat again."

His place was out of the question. It was a dorm, and he never brought vampires back there. He knew the other kids would know that he was a blood junkie, as many other kids were too. He couldn't deal with the stigma of it all.   

[CowboyBlonde]

Yeah Scott relax, who cares what Conner thinks.  Wait? is this considered cheating, no it's not sex, it's feeding.  Bryant suggested that they leave, but his suggested destination wouldn't work.  "No" Scott said.  "My place isn't a good idea, I don't want Conner knowing."  The thought of Conner seeing Bryant again raised a question in Scott's mind.  He might just take him again for more play time if they come across each other. "Come on, I'll drive us somewhere."  It was the only thing Scott could come up with for the moment.  Plus he needed to get away from this music, it was starting to annoy him.  Scott turned his large frame and started down the stairs, glancing behind to make sure Bryant was following.

As they passed through the ground floor bar that fat fanger hissed at Scott once more.  Scott flipped him off without looking at him as he passed.  "Bastard put his hands where they didn't belong and got denied.  Does he seriously think he could get someone from doing something like that?"  Scott passed through the threshold to the silence of the streets, it was peaceful, and much less headache inducing.  "keep up the good work fellas." Scott smirked as he passed the bouncers.  Scott flicked out his keys from his pocket and pointed across the street, where his black diablo was parked.  Two beeps followed the press of a button and the doors opened automatically.  "I call this the Bat-Mobile." Scott said before climbing into the drivers seat.  Inside, everything was black leather.  It still had that 'new car' smell. the middle console was lit up with a screen for navigation and a few other lit up buttons.  Scott's police badge hung from the rearview mirror.  "Buckle up kid."  Scott said before buckling himself in and turning the key to unleash the roaring engine.  Scott clicked the car into gear and raced forward.  "I know of an alley that will work just fine down the way here."  What Bryant didn't know was that this was the alley Scott fed on his first human, the first time he lost control and killed an innocent man.

[Black Philip]

The boy sighed as Scott turned and started walking. Bryant picked up his harness and followed suit, keeping a close distance between them. As he walked he caught Lisa-Joe Hampton give a knowing smile his way. She was a good friend. She didn't care at all that Bryant got bites out of her bar, as long as he didn't get bit on the premises.

He exited the bar, and followed Scott to his car. The "bat mobile" struck Bryant as a car meant for a man in a midlife crisis. It was too sleek; to pretty. He kept his mouth shut at the name. He just wanted to get bit and then go to bed. As Scott mentioned an alley, Bryant rolled his eyes subtlety.   

An alley? Bryant thought. How fucking typical.

Vampires loved to feed in alleys, in ditches, in all sorts of horrible places that Bryant found revolting. Still, a bite was sometimes a bite, and if gay men could fuck in city parks, then why couldn't he be feed on in an alley?

[CowboyBlonde]

Scott seemed to have tunnel vision as he drove through the neighborhood, past his maker's apartment as well as the alley he was murdered in.  In some ways he was still haunted by that night.  The thirst was becoming more intense and it was difficult not to take Bryant in the car right then and there.  The beautiful scent of his blood was clouding up the car and Scott practically had to bite his tongue to distract the urge.

Scott pushed the brakes and stopped halfway on the curb between two tall buildings.  The area was darker then where they had just come from.  Not a lot of streetlights worked in this part of town, but Scott’s eyesight was impeccable.  Before they even got out of the car Scott observed two figures in his alley.  “Get out.”  Scott said forcefully, obviously stating that they had arrived.  Scott opened the door and rushed into the alleyway with lightning speed.  To human eyes he would barely be seen. 

He stood behind the two figures.  A man had pressed a woman up against the brick wall of one of the buildings and was slobbering kisses all over her neck and slipping his hands over every inch of her that he could..  Small pleasurable noises were escaping her lips.  Scott reached around the back of his shirt and untucked the silver desert eagle from his waistband that he had been hiding all night.  He pointed it at the back of the man’s head and cocked it.  The noise startled the woman as she let out a quick scream.  The man turned to face Scott, with a surprised look on his face.  “Leave now and I won’t kill you.”  Scott demanded.  Without saying anything the woman collected her handbag from the ground and followed the man running from the dark alley. 

Scott uncocked the gun and he tucked it back into his pants.  Something about him had changed.  The hunger was overflowing inside him to the point where he couldn’t take it any longer.  The last time he remembered feeling this way was the very first time he fed.  Scott released his fangs; he could smell Bryant’s blood from where he stood.  “Come here.” He whispered loud enough for Bryant to hear.

[Black Philip]

Scott's order to get out of the car came off so forceful that Bryant was put off by it. Still, he did what was asked of him. He followed the vampire and saw both the gun and the people run in fear. He saw the hunger in the vampire's eyes; the sharpness of his fangs. He was both wonderful and awful. He was sexy and repugnant. There was something about him that looked primal. Bryant decided he didn't like it. For once, Bryant was truly afraid of a vampire.  His past encounters flashed before him as he took a step back with a blank expression. The vampire in Pisky Memorial Park, William and David from Risk, Orias from Club Zero, Jake from the painted bean. They all had been forceful and mean. However they'd been safe. Even Conner had been safe. Bryant flashed his Risk tattoo and backed away slowly.

"No," Bryant said. "I won't do this. I can't do this." He turned to go, but as he began to cry he knew that this was the last vampire who would ever feed on him. He knew he was going to die.