Chapter Text
Part I
Michael spent several minutes cleaning and shoddily bandaging the hand Nanook had bitten; shoddily because his mind was a million miles away. “My own brother, a goddamn shit-sucking vampire.” Sam’s words replayed in his head over and over. Was he? Could he be?
David would know. David would explain it all away.
Michael stood up from the chair he’d settled into and went upstairs to knock on Sam’s door, calling his baby brother’s name as he did.
“Don’t eat me, Mike! I’m basically a good kid!”
“I’m not gonna eat you, Sammy. But I need to go, and I need you to not tell mom about any of this.”
The door opened a crack and Sammy looked out at him, eyes wide and mistrustful. Michael offered a small smile, hoping to ease his brother’s nerves.
“I need to go find answers. Think you can keep this quiet while I do?”
Those eyes narrowed and Michael knew he had to sweeten the deal.
“You keep this quiet and I’ll take you to that comic shop and get you whatever you want.”
Hook, line, and sink. The door opened a crack wider and Michael could see he’d made the right offer. Sammy began to nod, eyes darting to his ever-growing comic collection. He quickly snapped his serious expression back into place, locking his gaze back onto Michael. He offered a small nod in agreement.
“Alright. But only for now. And I’m calling in backup tomorrow if you haven’t figured it out by then.”
“Alright, sure,” Michael agreed, though he didn’t want to know what “backup” entailed. Sam shut the door and Michael hurried down the stairs, sending up a silent prayer that mom would be home late and wouldn’t look in on him. He didn’t need her bugging Sam with questions tonight—the kid wasn’t a great liar in the best of times, let alone with something like this. Michael slipped out the front door and jogged to his bike before throwing a leg over.
“Michael…” His name floated on the wind like a siren call, summoning him to the hotel.
“David,” he breathed in reply, “I’m coming.” He turned the key in the ignition and revved his bike once before tearing off into the night, worries fading away like the swirling cloud of dust in his wake.
Michael raced the wind all the way to the hotel, riding full throttle as David called again and again, drawing him in like a fly to honey. He pulled up to the hotel and turned off his bike, the sound of his name resonant in his ears against the backdrop of crashing waves. Michael didn’t walk so much as he flew down into the depths of the hotel, feet hardly touching the ground as he skimmed lightly down the stairs and into the dark. He never faltered, never fumbled, as he raced down those final steps and into the dimly lit room ensconced within the crumbling remains of the once-great establishment.
“David,” Michael called quietly. The blonde turned to face him, a smile curling his lips.
Michael’s keen hearing caught the subtle shift of his boots in the dust as the man took a half step closer, arms extended before him, palms up, before spreading out before him in a welcoming gesture. “You came,” replied the monster, for that was what he was. Those hungry eyes and the icy pallor of his stone-cold flesh confirmed what Michael hadn’t dared to suspect. Had somehow always known. David lowered his arms.
“Where are the others?” Michael asked, glancing around the ruined entryway. It was silent, and he knew they were alone.
“Hunting.”
The game was up, the guise abandoned. David smiled lazily, eyes dark and full of desire. His eyes shuttered, the slow blink of a satiated predator. “But that’s not your real question, is it?”
A shiver raced down Michael’s spine and he wasn’t sure what emotion accompanied it.
“What are you? What–” he began but paused, swallowing hard. He felt numb and high and like nothing at all was real. It was a dream, he could almost believe. “What am I?”
David’s smile widened and Michael felt very much like an animal in a trap. David’s trap. This wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real. Was much too real.
David extended one hand towards Michael and crooked a finger. Like a moth to a flame, Michael couldn’t have resisted the lure if he’d tried. At least, that was what he told himself. He wasn’t in control. None of this was right but it wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real.
David placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed, guiding Michael gently down. Michael’s knees hit the dusty linoleum while his eyes stayed locked on David’s, waiting for the answer. He was lost, staring up into David’s warm, sea-blue eyes. He swallowed hard at the position he suddenly realized he was in, and the way that David was looking down at him. But the man—no, the monster, brought his other hand to the hand currently resting on Michael’s shoulder. One long nail pressed into his wrist and as a drop of deep crimson blood welled to the surface David held his bloody wrist in front of Michael.
“You know what we are,” he said, voice low and deep in his chest.
Michael brought his hands up to grip David’s wrist as he stared at the welling blood, transfixed.
“Drink, and embrace it.”
Michael licked his lips, leaning towards the offered crimson well like a penitent seeking salvation. At the last minute he blinked, pulling back he shook his head, half in rejection of what was offered and half at the pain that lanced through his skull at the loss of proximity to the blood. Faster than he could see, could even think, David’s hand wrapped around Michael’s throat as he hauled him to his feet. Michael blinked as he found himself nose to nose with the blond who snarled, eyes blazing with disdain.
“I offer you the world and you toss it back in my face?
“You’re a monster!” Michael managed to reply. David laughed, a short scornful noise that made Michael’s stomach turn.
“Because I kill?” David released Michael, who staggered at the sudden lack of support. “Grow up, Michael. People are born and they die. I just expedite the process. I’m not a monster because I kill.” David offered a wry smile now, lips twisting in a mockery of his previous compassion. “I’m a monster because I enjoy it.
Michael snarled, catching both of them off guard, before advancing on David. “I’m not like you,” he said coldly. “I’m not a killer.” He spat the words like venom at the blond, open hostility burning between them.
David arched a brow, wry smile morphing into an expression of surprise. At what part of what he’d said, Michael could only guess. Didn’t particularly want to guess.
“We all said that, once.” David’s expression grew dark and he advanced on Michael, driving into his proximity until Michael found himself nose to nose with the blond. The scent of blood, leather, and cigarettes flooded him and Michael found himself sucking in a breath.
“You’re one of us, Michael Emerson. You just don’t know it yet.”
With that, David vanished into the dark. Michael turned to look for David but the room was jarringly empty.
“David!” He called into the night.
Silence was the only reply.
David was right about one thing: he knew now what he was. How the hell was he supposed to deal with this? With any of this? He was supposed to be finding answers and salvation but instead he was getting tangled up in David and finding only more questions. Michael pressed his back to a pillar and slid down, his head hitting his knees as a sob escaped him. Alone in the dark, Michael grieved . He didn’t want this. Didn’t want to give up his family and his future. How could he? Just like in every other town he’d lived in, trouble had sniffed him out with a nose like a bloodhound. He’d stumbled into another disaster, only this time he wasn’t sure there was a way out.
“We’ve all been where you are.”
Michael looked up and saw Dwayne picking his way across the ruined floor. Michael opened his mouth but Dwayne cut him off.
“Before you ask, David didn’t send me.”
Michael shut his mouth.
Dwayne sat down beside Michael with a sigh, head falling back against the pillar. Michael looked at him, at the messy black hair and smooth skin that may once have been tanned. “He’s pretty serious, huh? I remember when he turned me.”
“I called him a monster.” The words slipped out before Michael could stop them. He bit his tongue but Dwayne only barked out a laugh.
“He seems that way sometimes, doesn’t he?”
Dwayne turned to look at him. The brunette was handsome, with dark smoldering eyes behind long, black lashes. He smiled, a lopsided grin that made Michael breathe a little easier.
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
Michael looked at him for a long moment, taking in the lazy grin and punk demeanor. Dwayne was just as much of a monster as David. It was hard to see either of them as such.
“How can you kill people?”
Dwayne laughed, head tipping back and lips parting to reveal a flash of fang. The noise filled the room with a warmth that Michael hadn’t realized was missing. Dwayne’s gaze finally slid back to him as his laugh died down to a chuckle.
“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just so weird to think of it like that.”
“How do you think of it?”
Dwayne grinned again, the smiles coming as light and easy as spring rain.
“I don’t.” His expression finally dipped into something more serious. “But really. I remember being where you are. Saying what you’re saying. There are bad people out there, Michael. We’re among them. The difference is that we usually prey on worse people. Sometimes people get caught in the crossfire, but to be human is to die. That’s the hard truth of it.”
Michael reeled at the implication. At the thought of his family beneath those gleaming fangs. Their disappointment in what he was becoming. To be human is to die…
Dwayne pulled a joint from his jacket pocket and lit it.
“Smoke some of this. It’ll do you some good.”
Michael gratefully accepted, plucking the joint from between Dwayne’s fingers and pressing the end between his lips. With a small burst of light and smoke Dwayne lit the joint before tucking the lighter back into his pocket. Just as Dwayne promised, the joint absolutely did some good. A haze began to creep over Michael’s senses and the world slowly began to make sense again. For now, he was a lamb amongst lions and the lions had simply decided he was a lion too. He’d go home in the morning and figure out how to live among lambs.
Paul and Marko entered the hotel then with a whoop and the sound of crashing bottles. Glass skittered across the floor and Paul came to rest in front of Michael and Dwayne, looking down at them with his brows furrowed.
“You staying for the party?” He held up two full handles of a liquor Michael couldn’t identify in the dark. Marko extended a hand to Dwayne, helping the larger vampire to his feet. Michael nodded and Paul broke into a grin, eyes flashing with light and energy. He set one of the bottles down and reached down to help Michael up. Michael accepted the hand without a second thought, and suddenly found himself appreciating the simplicity of the time spent with these new brothers. The laughter from dusk until dawn and the roar of their bikes as they tore across the beach. They weren’t killers. Not tonight.
Tomorrow. He’d worry about his humanity tomorrow. As he slipped further into the slow, heavy torpor of the weed he grinned. Paul pulled him to his feet and retrieved the bottle, handing one to Michael.
“Drink up!”
And so he did.
It was hours before David returned, sweeping in like a thunderstorm. Marko and Paul were crossed out of their minds, laughing at leaping shadows. One glance from David, however, and the duo’s smiles died. David’s cold, calculating eyes slid to Michael. Surveyed him, inch by inch.
“Dwayne. Why don’t you help Michael get home?”
The punishment was clear. Disagree with David, with becoming a Lost Boy, and he couldn’t partake of their secrets. Michael wondered absently where Star and Laddie were sent away to during these kinds of things. Then again… Michael glanced around and realized he hadn’t seen either one all night. Had they been out with David? Anger spiked through him at the thought.
“Now, Michael,” David snapped.
Emboldened by weed and liquor, Michael opened his mouth to snarl a reply when Dwayne gripped him by the arm hard enough to bruise. Michael glanced at Dwayne in irritation before looking back at David, who was all but leering at him. Michael grit his teeth before forcing a smile, refusing to break David’s gaze.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” he said before turning and leaving the hotel. Paul and Marko’s laughter followed him out, and he wasn’t sure whether they were laughing at him or with him. He wasn’t sure he cared.
“Shut up!” He heard David hiss. Michael grinned, realizing that he did care. They were laughing with him. Not that what he’d said was particularly funny or clever, but standing up to David and then turning his back on the man? There was something inexplicably entertaining about that .
He heard Dwayne fall into step behind him, ever the obedient one. Michael laughed to himself as he made his way up the steps (had there always been this many?). He made his way to the top and turned to make a joke to Dwayne only to swallow his smile at coming face to face with David. The blond’s jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed dangerously.
“I’d watch your tongue if I were you, Michael.”
“Why’s that?” The words came out almost breathlessly as his gaze dropped to the bloody red stain of David’s mouth. The scent of blood carried across the small distance and he immediately snapped his gaze up to meet David’s eyes. The bastard was smirking at him.
“I’m helping you. You’d know that if you’d just suck it up and join us.”
Michael snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. Helpful’s the firs’ word I’d use to describe you.” Was he slurring? He straightened his spine and lifted his chin, forcing himself to breathe slowly and evenly. In and out. In and out. David tilted his head, mouth turning down in a frown.
“I’m taking you home.”
Without another word David retrieved the keys from the pocket of Michael’s jacket and turned towards his bike. He started it up before Michael could open his mouth to retort. If he was immortal, what did it matter? But David turned and fixed him with a glare so frigid that he shut his mouth just as fast. David wasn’t asking.
Like a scolded child, Michael got on the bike behind David without protest. It wasn’t really meant for two people, meaning that Michael was pressed in close to David and had only the man in front of him to hold onto for support. He grimaced, thinking of a thousand things he’d rather be doing than clinging to the vampire. David revved the bike, snapping Michael from his reverie and causing his grip to unintentionally tighten. Michael swore under his breath as he felt more than heard David’s laughter before they tore off into the night.
Michael clung to David for dear life as the vampire rode with his usual recklessness. As drunk and high as Michael was, the landscape whipped by in a blur as the entirety of his world was consumed by the feeling of clinging to David. The hard lines of the man were all cold and unyielding muscle, allowing Michael to grip hard and easily.
All at once he became aware of the scent of blood. The red stain on David’s mouth was fresh, and carried with it the sweet sanguine promise of saccharine satisfaction. Michael’s horror and disgust melted away in the face of desire, the scent overwhelming him in its promise.
“Michael,” David snarled. Michael realized his nails were digging into David’s jacket and tried to relax. David laughed, and Michael realized how close to home he was. Shit. He couldn’t be around his family like this. They were asleep, but just the thought of their presence was enough to make his throat burn with thirst.
“David,” Michael hated how desperate he sounded but he swallowed it down. David slowed their pace, allowing Michael to speak. Michael fought against his bloodlust, hating the monster in him that howled for him to lick the blood from David’s icy flesh. He was no better than an animal. He leaned his mouth closer to David’s ear to ensure the elder vampire heard him.
“I can’t be around my family like this.” Michael said, voice thick with hunger.
David didn’t respond, and for a second he was afraid the man would set him on them to prove a point. Dread sluiced through him like ice water until David pulled over. Michael hopped off the bike and let David set the kickstand before getting off, himself. He turned the bike off but left the keys in the ignition.
“Well, well, well. Seems that you’re pretty quick to be one of us when you’re hungry, eh Michael?”
It took everything in Michael not to retort, but that wouldn’t help him right now.
“Please, David.”
The blond looked at Michael with an expression he couldn’t place before giving a small nod. In the waning light of the moon his skin looked like alabaster, his peroxide blond hair all but glowing silver. David’s lips curled into that familiar devilish smirk.
“Alright. You want to feel better?”
“Please.”
“How bad?”
The question caught Michael off-guard and he considered for a moment before nodding.
“Whatever it takes not to hurt them.”
David grinned, blue eyes glittering. The run-down stretch of highway was nothing but desert hills without a soul in sight, and so it was right there that David stepped close to Michael, puncturing his wrist once more and offering it to Michael.
“Drink. It’ll take the worst of the hunger away.”
“Will I be…”
“No.” David seemed to intuit what Michael was asking. “You need to consume human blood to turn fully. You’re still just a halfling, like Star.”
That was all the reassurance Michael needed. With the scent driving him wild and his hunger given reckless abandon by the drink and drugs, he accepted the offered wrist and pressed his mouth to the wound. From the first taste he was lost.
Michael groaned in ecstasy as blood poured into his mouth, coating his tongue in a rich metallic tang that set him on fire. He gripped David’s wrist tightly, chasing that flavor and coaxing it from the vein. He was vaguely aware of David groaning but the noise floated in without any weight or importance. The only thing that mattered was the blood. If only it were warmer…
A hand gripped his shoulder, tugging him from his prey. Michael whined, whined , in protest at the loss.
“Michael,” David growled. A hand closed around his throat and suddenly Michael was meeting his gaze, chest heaving and eyes dark with something unplaceable. “That’s enough.”
The two men stood, chests heaving with breath they shouldn’t have needed as Michael stared at David with eyes gold with desire. Michael’s eyes dropped to the blood staining David’s mouth and he only just refrained from pouncing and licking the other man’s mouth clean. A shiver raced down his spine as David licked his lips, almost as if sensing Michael’s intent. David let go of Michael, hands lowering to his sides.
“Feeling better?” David’s voice was sin. The deep growl of his voice was unlike anything Michael had heard from the man and he realized that David was just as affected as he was.
“Yeah. I ah. I think I can get myself home from here.”
David gave a predatory smile, inclining his head in a polite deferral as if to say ‘whatever you wish’. Michael stepped back, hurrying onto his bike. David didn’t move, and as Michael turned the keys in the ignition he took a shaky breath and glanced back at David only to find that he was gone. As if it were all a dream.
Fuck. He was so screwed.
Sam didn’t wake him up until the crack of noon the next day, and for that Michael was grateful.
“What do you want?” Michael spoke through his exhaustion, the colossal hangover slowly setting in.
“Are you a full-fledged vampire or a half-vampire? The Frog brothers need to know.”
“What?”
“Are you–”
“I heard you, nerd. Fu-” Michael bit off the swear, grinding his teeth. “I haven’t killed anyone.”
“Okay. You’re not a full vampire until you make your first kill.” Sam lowered his voice and he realized that his brother was talking on the phone. This must be what backup meant.
“Do you know who the head vampire is?”
An image of David sprang into his mind unbidden. David as he was with blood on his wrist, chest heaving and pupils blown wide with-
“No, I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t know,” Sam spoke hurriedly into the phone. “Yeah, I guess we can just kill all of them.”
That got Michael’s attention. He sat up and grabbed sunglasses from his bedside table. He put them on and scowled at his brother. Sam was wearing a garlic necklace and a bathrobe, and Michael didn’t have the heart to tell him that garlic wasn’t repelling him in the slightest. It might work on a full vampire, but certainly not on him.
“Sammy, you are not going to be killing anyone. Let me find out who the head vampire is and go from there. And stop talking about this on the phone.”
Sam held up a finger, looking between Michael and the phone. “Mhm. He has been more moody than usual.”
“God dammit Sam, get off the phone!”
Michael got all the way out of bed as Sam ran out of the room.
“I gotta go, bye!”
Sam put the phone back on the receiver and turned to face Michael, holding his fingers up in a makeshift cross. Michael rolled his eyes before realizing that Sam couldn’t see his eyes behind his glasses.
“Who’re you talking to?”
Sam looked around as though searching for someone to pin it on.
"The truth, Sammy."
His shoulders slumped in defeat as he let out a heavy sigh.
"Look Mike, they're these brothers from the comic book shop. Their names are Edgar and Allan and they tried to warn me about this vampire stuff before any of this started.”
Michael ran a hand through his hair, trying not to allow his frustration with Sammy to show. Comic book nerds? Michael doubted they'd be much help. And if they were trying to kill David…
Could he kill David if that's what it came to? If it was kill David or be a Lost Boy forever, could Michael do it? He thought about David, looking down at him with those blue eyes glittering with… it had been lust in those ocean-blue eyes. Michael's mouth went dry as he thought about the moments they'd shared. The time they'd spent together and the way that he found himself drawn to the monster of a man. If David was the head vampire… well. He'd have to kill him, and he'd do his best.
"Mi-ike," Sam called, stretching his name into two syllables. It sounded like he'd been saying it for a while.
"What?" Michael snapped.
"We should go to the boardwalk. We can talk to the Frog brothers, you can buy me comics, and we can be home by sundown."
Michael did remember something about buying Sam comics.
"Yeah, alright. Get out of here so I can get dressed" Michael shooed Sam out of the room and did just that, sticking with the t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans look he'd been favoring lately. He left his room and heard his mom downstairs, singing while she cooked.
For a moment Michael couldn't help but smile. His mom was a terrible singer and it had been years since he'd heard her sing so much. Divorcing his father seemed to have really made her happy. His happy moment vanished into smoke at the thought of how losing him would break her heart. All parents had to let their kids go, right? There were worse things than being a vampire, he thought. Not that he was considering it.
He walked down the stairs and she grinned at him over her shoulder.
"Oh, Michael. I had a great date the other night. I'd really like you to stay in tonight so you can meet Max. He's coming by for dinner!"
Michael tried not to grimace. It's not that he wasn't happy for her, but he had things to do.
"Another time, mom. I'm busy tonight."
Her face fell at that but she nodded that she understood. A part of Michael wanted right then and there to come clean but he bit his tongue. He had bigger problems than his mom's feelings.
Sam raced down the stairs, ready and eager to head into town.
"Mom, I'm taking Sam out for a bit. We'll be back later."
She nodded and he and Sam walked out the front door. He didn't let himself look back.
Michael had to admit, the Frog brothers were not the most impressive people he'd ever met but they did seem to know their stuff. They were vampire fanatics, to say the least. Alan, the younger one, hadn’t stopped scowling at him since they'd arrived.
"You're sure you have no idea who the head vampire is?"
Michael nodded.
"Yeah. They keep that under wraps."
"What about mom's new boyfriend?" Sam pitched in. "I've only ever seen him at night and he was guarded by his psycho dog during the day. Mom's having him over for dinner tonight, we could scope him out then."
The Frog brothers nodded, contemplative. Michael hardly listened to their reply, thinking instead about David.
"What do you think, Mike?" Sam pulled him back out of his thoughts as he was forced to pretend he knew what was being said.
"Yeah, you should scope him out. I'll see if the others will tell me anything."
Sam seemed to want to say something but instead just nodded. Michael offered him what he hoped was a reassuring smile in return for his willingness to go with what he'd said.
The sun was sinking towards the horizon, slowly inching its way towards the time Michael and the Lost Boys were meant for.
"Let's go home, Sammy."
"But Mike-"
"You know as well as I do that this town isn't safe at night."
Sam looked like he wanted to protest but didn't, instead glowering. He kept it up for most of the ride home, and several times Michael nearly told him to call off the dinner plan. Michael knew who the head vampire was; the words burned at the tip of his tongue and yet they did not—could not come out. He had to talk to David first.
Just after sundown he began to hear the call. Once again, his name filtered in amidst the breath of the wind. It was 7:40, and he had to hurry if he wanted to make it out before he got sucked into mom's boyfriend drama. He was happy for her, but he really had bigger problems.
He threw on his leather jacket and hurried down the stairs, straightening the sleeves as he walked towards the door. He opened it just as a gangly looking man raised his hand to knock. The man gave him a confused look before straightening up and smiling warmly.
"You must be Michael! I'm Max." The man was all forehead, with hair that looked mostly unravaged by time despite the grays poking through here and there. He wore glasses and a suit jacket that looked like it had seen better days. This bumbling creature was certainly mom's type, especially with his wide smile and admittedly impressive height.
"Hello, Max," Michael drawled. He wanted to cut this short but he didn't want Max to think they were on good terms. Neutral footing was the best he'd get.
"You're the man of the house, and I won't come in until you invite me." Max spoke with the confidence of a man speaking to a child. He clutched the flowers he was holding more tightly, and Michael fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sam thought this guy was the head vampire? What a joke.
"Then you're invited," he replied, hurrying out past Max as the man smiled again and made his way inside. Michael rushed to his bike, quickly getting the keys into the ignition and sighing in relief as the bike roared to life. He was free.
He threw a leg over the bike and memories of last night surged to the forefront. Thirst burned along Michael's throat and he bit his lip, fighting to quell the urge. He took off into the night, racing away from the people he loved and towards those who loved him.
"We need to have a little chat, Michael," said David by way of greeting when Michael arrived. He was lounging languidly in his wheelchair throne, slouched down and appearing utterly at ease. Marko stood to his left, smiling nervously, while Paul and Dwayne stood to his right. This time even Star and Laddie were present, off to the side.
"It concerns your mother."
That got his attention.
"What about my mother?"
David smiled. "My sire has taken an interest in her. Wants to turn our little group into a cozy little family. He thinks your mom would be the perfect mother for our little gang. Problem is, we’re not looking for a family."
The words rolled around in his head as he reeled at the news. Who the hell was this guy that he knew Michael's mom? Sammy's words from earlier played again like a record on a loop.
"It's Max, isn't it?"
David looked taken aback for a moment before nodding. He sat up, leaning forward somewhat in his seat.
"You want a real decision? To decide whether you want to be one of us or whether you want to run home to mommy? Here it is: you help us kill my sire, you're human again. So are Laddie and Star. You get your human freedom and we get ours. We'll even let you live. Or, you join us and be young forever. Be one of us forever."
Here it was: his way out. All he had to do was kill Max and he was human again. That's what he wanted, wasn't it?
Yes, he told himself. Promised himself. Happiness looked like humanity, and here it was, presented to him on a platter. He could save his family and regain his humanity in one fell swoop.
He had everything he wanted, didn't he?