One Night

By Allanasha Ke Kiri

Warning: story contains homosexual themes, though nothing too serious. Don't flame me, it fit the scene.

The music washed over him, beating at his eardrums, but he didn't care. He was currently lost in a sea of people; bodies pressed against him, their heat and sweat mixing with his as they danced. The girl in front of him (not the one he'd started with) wound her arms around his neck and ground against him. He pulled her closer, letting the music take him away. It never mattered who his partner was in here. It wasn't about knowing them; it was about release.

This was the only time during the week that he got it; that he allowed himself to just let go. This was the day he just didn't care. All the pressures on him disappeared while he was in this mess of people, most not caring who their partner was as long as they were allowed to dance. He was one of them. Even without a partner, he danced; not that he stayed single for long. At least not in here.

No one recognized him here. Why would they? He was nothing like he normally was. He wore a black half shirt, allowing his abdomen to show through and a pair of tight jeans. A friend had given him a pair of leather pants as a joke (probably figuring he'd never use them), but he didn't quite have the courage to wear them. Maybe someday.

Somewhere through the song, the girl disappeared, only to be replaced with someone else. No … two someone's. There was a blond in front of him, a brunette behind him, squeezing him between them. Lance had no choice but to allow himself to be swept further away. Not that he fought it much.

Cairo leaned against the bar, his eyes scanning the tangle of flesh on the dance floor. His tongue appeared for a moment, gently running its way over his bottom lip as he surveyed the humans. This was the best place to hunt, but one had to be careful how often they did it. Too many, and people would begin to get wary of the club, they would stop coming, and then they'd have to find another hunting ground.

He could feel his hunger growing as his eyes shifted over the unsuspecting humans. He'd have to feed soon. Well, he could always continue his watch after. He did so enjoy watching them enjoy themselves. It was only right that they had one pleasant evening before they were fed from. At least, that had always been Cairo's belief.

Pushing himself off of the bar, he silently made his way into the crowd. A few people instinctively moved away from them. They were the safe ones, the only humans that had a built in alarm, telling them to stay away, without even knowing it was doing it.

Cairo made his way through the mob, gracefully avoiding stray limbs. Occasionally, he would stop and dance with this human or another, loving the feel of their warm skin, and the sound of their heart pounding in their chests. He didn't stay with any partner for long, always moving on within moments. Cairo wasn't looking for a partner, he was looking for a victim.

If she'd have been able to pale, she would have the instant he walked in; the instant any of them walked in. They were all the same; she knew that. She'd seen it often since she'd been … Layla shook the thought from her head, her eyes carefully on the man, the only one currently visible. No, he wasn't a man, not anymore. Maybe at one point, but not anymore. He was a monster, just like the one who'd …

Again, she shook her head, eyes narrowing at the vampire at the bar. She just wished there was something she could do. But there wasn't. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't do anything to help the victims. She was dead, and the dead weren't able to do anything.

Well, ghosts weren't, she amended, with another narrowed look at the vampire. He wasn't the only one here. She'd seen others already. And two had already taken their victims away from those on the dance floor. They probably wouldn't be drained near the club. It was too risky. They'd taken them away first.

That's what hers had done.

A panic entered her as she saw the vampire stand and make his way into the people dancing. Layla gnawed at her bottom lip, quickly losing sight of the vampire. It didn't matter much, she supposed, but she liked to see who was being taken, remember them, and know who it was that had killed them. She would imagine the family they would have. Try to think about whether they would be sad their child was gone, or whether they wouldn't care. She couldn't imagine that though, a parent not caring that their child was gone.

She remembered every person that was taken, their faces if not their names. There had been many over the years, but she remembered them all. Even when the vampires didn't come, she didn't enjoy her nights here. She was thinking about their victims, making sure one person never forgot them.

Lance didn't so much as jump when an arm appeared over his shoulder and draped over his chest, pulling him back against a hard body. He knew it was a male, but he didn't care. He'd danced with guys before. The guy pressed against him, feeling cool. He'd probably just started then. Lance raised an arm, placing his hand up around the guy's neck as he moved against him, never once glancing behind him to see who it was. He didn't care. The arm pulled back, only to wrap around his chest once more, this time around his body instead of over his shoulder. It was more comfortable for both of them.

A girl appeared before him, another brunette. She put a hand on his chest, followed by the rest of her body against his. It pressed him closer against the man behind him, but it didn't matter. He was cool, which was a nice relief to my overheated body.

Lance's arm, which wasn't twisted around the guy's neck, reached out, snagging the girl's waist. He loved this, being sandwiched between two warm bodies (or semi-warm as the case currently was). Behind him, the guy's other hand trailed down his side, causing him to shiver slightly as it brushed over his bare skin.

The girl, still pressed against him, sank down before him, her hands running down his chest, before standing once again, never once losing contact with him.

Cairo couldn't help the frown on his lips as he stared at the girl. As she rose once more, his hazel eyes caught her blue ones.

Leave.

Her eyes blurred a moment before she grinned at the boy in his arms and left to find another partner. The boy didn't seem to care, good. He bent down, inhaling the human's scent, feeling practically intoxicated. The boy's head fell away to the side as they continued to dance together, and Cairo felt a smirk play on his lips. Yes, this one was perfect.

They continued to dance for several more songs before the boy started to pull away from him, obviously tired. Instead of letting him leave, Cairo snagged his arm and led him from the tangle of people. The boy obediently followed, allowing him to lead him to the bar, where the two sat.

Neither of them spoke, except for the boy to order a coke. Well, that was great; drunks always tasted off, they weren't as fresh. Some said they were stale.

When the boy received his coke, he paid the man and drank half of it in one go. Cairo's eyes were stuck on the boy's throat, watching the slight pulse that showed his heart beat. The boy's breathing was starting to settle, and his eyes were on the dance floor. There was a look in his eyes, almost a desperation. Cairo found himself wondering what it was from, why the human would have it.

As soon as he left the crowd of humans, she knew it was over. He'd found his next victim. She was slightly surprised when the vampire led the boy to the bar instead of outside. Usually, they found a victim and left, with nothing else in between. Biting her lip, she glanced at the dancing fools one more time before slowly leaving her hiding place.

Not that she needed one. No one could see her. No one ever had.

She stopped once she reached the duo, sliding onto the stool beside the human boy. Neither of them spoke. Layla wanted to tell the boy that he had to leave, that this wasn't a safe place for him that this man wasn't safe, but she couldn't. She'd tried it several times when she'd first died, but it had never worked. And the harder she tried, the worse she felt.

She watched, with a small amount of hope, as the boy slid off his stool and began to make his way back towards the crowd, only for it to fade as the vampire snagged the boy's arm. Of course he wouldn't let his victim leave.

The boy glanced back with a frown, a spark of anger appearing in his eyes. "Let go," he said. "I want to dance."

"Why are you so desperate to return there?" the vampire asked, actually sounding curious as he tugged the human closer.

The boy's frown deepened as he was pulled between the vampire's legs. "I told you, I want to dance."

"Yes, I heard," his voice was amused. "But why?"

"It's a release," the boy said, finally.

The vampire made an understanding noise.

"I can give you a better one."

"I don't do drugs."

"I wasn't talking about drugs."

The boy's frown turned thoughtful.

The vampire smirked, leaning down as he captured the boy's lips.

Layla wanted to scream, to tell the boy to run. This release wasn't a good thing. In the end, he wouldn't like it. In the end, nobody did. But she couldn't, she could only watch in pained silence as the boy finally responded to the vampire.

He'd never kissed a guy before. He'd kissed a girl once, but this was … different. With the girl, he'd had a semblance of control. He was the one that led the kiss, he ended it. He had no control here, he felt it the moment the guy had touched his cool lips to his own.

Hands gently grabbed his shoulders, keeping him in place, and pulling him closer. His own arms instinctively reached up and wrapped around the man's neck. A moment later, he jerked back with a surprised cry, his hand rising to his lip.

"You bit me!"

"My apologies, my teeth are sharper than most. I assure you, I hadn't meant for them to nick you."

Yet.

Biting a human too soon caused them to run. And he wasn't in the mood for a chase right now. The boy's were narrow and suspicious. Cairo withheld a sigh and gave the human a charming smile.

"I assure you, it wont happen again," he said, pulling the boy back towards him. He nearly smirked when there was no resistance.

"I'm L-"

"No," Cairo told. "This is about release. You don't need to know who your partner is for that."

The boy blinked a small smile pulling his lips. He nodded once.

NO! She wanted to scream it. In fact, she did, but there was no response from either the vampire, or the boy. They couldn't hear her. Layla shook her head, eyes closed. Why had she come over? It was hard enough to know it was going to happen without hearing the words.

Her eyes fell back to the dancing crowd, still oblivious to the danger one of their own was in. Didn't the boy have any friends he came with? … If he did, none of them noticed he was gone.

Lance did nothing to resist the man as he was pulled out of the club. The man pulled him into the alleyway close by and pushed him against the wall. Their lips crashed together. Lance's hands clenched tightly in the man's shirt, wrinkling it, but he didn't care. His lips moved against the strangers in desperation. The man's moved against his in the practically the same manner.

Release. This was a form of release. He liked it, so far, he decided as the man pressed farther against him. One of the man's hands landed on his hip. His other one on his waist. The hand slowly traveled up the bare skin, causing Lance to tremble under it. As the hand felt along the hem of his shirt, the man's lips left his.

Breath on his neck had him tilting his head, letting the man's lips trail along it. His breathing became short and a groan passed his lips as the hand found its way under his top.

The boy was warm. Cairo found himself loving the feel of him. It was almost a shame he was only meant for food.

As he moved to the boy's neck, he had to stop a moment, or else he'd have bitten the boy right there. He didn't want to do that yet. Thankfully, the boy didn't seem to notice his momentary freeze, as his head tilted to the side, giving him more access to his neck.

His kisses were soft and teasing, with an occasional lick to the gentle pulse he would bite into soon enough. Finally, the boy gave a low groan. Cairo smirked and pulled him closer. He'd had enough.

She tried to pull the vampire off of the boy, with no luck. She'd known there wouldn't be. This was why she didn't watch anymore, why she just let them leave. It was much too painful.

A slight whimper passed her lips as the vampire finally bit down. The boy tensed a moment, his hands clenching in the fabric he held. It wasn't horrible, she knew. Quite … enjoyable actually. In fact, as deaths go, there were several more painful ways to go.

She forced herself to watch as the boy became limp in the vampire's arms, his arms tightening around the boy to keep him upright. She watched as the vampire finally withdrew, his tongue darting out to catch the remaining liquid on his lips. She watched as he gently, almost tenderly, laid the boy down.

The vampire backed away, his head tilted as he watched the now dead boy. His expression was soft. She watched as he turned and walked away.

Layla knelt down next to the boy, nonexistent tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

End

Hey, I know I should have been working on my other two stories, unfortunately, my muse is being a bit of a pain. However, I found this lying around my computer and figured someone might like to read it. lol. Let me know what you think.