40. Anastasis

Seven loved her dad. Loved him so, so much. Didn’t know what she’d do without him. He was always there for her—

Was there to take her with him on trips, to familiarize her with the streets of the city she lived in—

Was there to comfort her when said streets became a little too much (allowing a tear to fall as she watched protesters passionately call out for their cause. “Why is the world so unfair, daddy?”)—

Was there to give her affectionate kisses she’d pretend to be embarrassed by—

Was there to experience new things together, to try out foods neither knew, to teach her that life was one big sequence of experiments and that she should never shy away from them (forcibly suppressing the gags their newest experimental food was bringing up in him as he did).

Her mom was there for her too, sometimes.

When she was, they’d have some really good times together.

She’d have the wildest experience with Mom, and loved how she never backed away from any challenge or shielded her from any of the city’s more… aggravating experiences.

She just wished Mom wouldn’t get cranky so often. It made Seven feel awkward, and not good. She would try to cheer her up, but she was never really receptive to that and so Seven would only end up feeling badly.

She just wished Mom was there a bit more too—like how Dad was. Whenever these thoughts crossed her mind, she’d always end up reaching the same conclusion: at least she had Dad.

She really loved her dad. He wouldn’t tell her to toughen up when she didn’t dare go to the bathroom alone. He’d always stand guard and she could always trust him to be right outside guarding her. Protecting her.

Her big hero.

---

When Tori finally got back to James, he didn’t know what he saw at first. Could barely manage to form his lips into the positions required to get any word across them.

“Wow… you look…. wow.”

It was all he could come up with.

Forming her lips into a smile, Tori, still from a distance, leaned in closer to him.

“You like it?” she said, striking a pose as her smile turned more haughty.

She loved her new look – absolutely loved it. Had been wanting to instill some changes to her appearance for a long, long time now. Her old look… god, she had constantly felt like someone’s embarrassing mother, trying to fool others into thinking she were still young and cool. But this….

Ironically, despite her changing herself almost to unrecognition – which was something she had needed to do, anyway, adhering to her desperate desire for a fresh start – she felt more in touch with herself than she had for a long time. She finally felt like herself again.

It was James’ turn to curve his lips into a seductive grin. “Of course I do. You look… I mean…” he forcibly scraped his throat. “…Who wouldn’t?”

If he were completely honest, he could barely recognize her. Of course he knew better than to tell her that – he had learned to keep anything that might, in the most indirect way, be taken by Tori as an insult to himself. But… wow. James’ mind was still blank. He sure wasn’t expecting this. If he were even more honest…. he wasn’t sure how he felt about it either. But he knew even better to keep that only for himself to hear.

Tori’s smile grew. James decided to get up and enveloped her into an embrace. It didn’t really matter if he liked her new look or would have preferred her old one; he had still waited way, way, way too long to finally feel her again, and he wasn’t going to waste any time now that he could.

“So you like it?”

James wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he could hear the slightest hint of insecurity in her voice.

“I’ll always like you.”

He finally went in for the kiss he had been wanting to give ever since she came back.

“You did change a lot,” he couldn’t help but tell her after their first of what he knew (or, well, hoped) would be many rounds of sex.

She looked at him. He could tell from the slight pursing of her lips that she hadn’t liked his observation much.

“Really just the lips,” she told him. “The rest is all just my natural beauty finally shown in a better light.” Her tone was lighthearted, but her lips were still pursed.

“I liked your curls,” he said.

She shrugged. “I was due for a new look.”

“I mean, you didn’t immediately have to change everything about yourself….”

“It’s my body, my decision, James,” she cut him off. The lighthearted tone had gone.

“Fine, fine,” he told her, showing her his hands to signal his backing off. “You just do you.”

“Oh, I will.”

The smile she was now sporting was more devious than anything.

***

Over the course of the next few days, Tori was starting to find herself feeling bored. Sure, she’d had a lot of fun getting re-acquainted with James…

…Terrorizing Forgotten Hollow…

…And, well, you know, all that vampire-y jazz.

But, fuck, James was such a recluse. Tori hated it. She wanted to go out again. To be among people, instill either love or terror in them… anything, as long as she were somewhere that wasn’t her home at every hour of every day. She hadn’t entirely changed her look here for nothing. She wanted for people to see her again, to shoot her their appreciative glances…

When she’d first told James this – deciding to start up slow and suggest they go visit that barn that had been turned into a nightclub right here, in Forgotten Hollow – he wasn’t very enthusiastic about the idea.

“Ugh, people. I hate them.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Tori still managed to lure him with, though. And she thought they had a lot of fun –

It’s too bad James didn’t agree.

So there Tori was, all ready to terrorize the world in her new, beautiful, resurrected form – and yet still stuck at home because her antisocial vampire boyfriend was too much of a loser to be around people.

She hated it.

Bored out of her mind, the only thing left for her to do was to annoy the hell out of James.

“Alright, I’ll let you sleep…. as soon as you’ve gone out with me.”

“I went out with you the other night, didn’ I?” James muttered. “And I hated it.”

Tori shot him an unimpressed look. “I mean really go out.”

“Ugh.”

Their Forgotten Hollow hunts were getting duller and duller – their supposed “hunts” way too easy for Tori’s liking.

Until finally, after the 46346th time Tori asked, James decided to give in. He wasn’t sure he could stand another moment dealing with such a cranky Tori – it sure wasn’t doing his self-esteem any good.

***

Finally, Tori thought, her lips forming into a smirk as they walked into San Myshuno’s fancy, elitist Stargazer Lounge.

She’d show James what being a big, bad vampire really meant.

And show it she did.

When she saw a young man sitting at the bar, seemingly quite undisturbed by the chaos around him, Tori’s curiosity peaked and she walked up to him, flattering smile all set in place.

“You…” she started. Made sure her voice had its sugary sweetness despite her words. “…are either really, really brave or really, really stupid.”

The man looked at her, lopsided grin on his face. He shrugged carelessly. “Probably a bit of both.”

She went to sit down beside him. “What’s your name?”

“Beejay Salas.”

“So, Beejay Salas…. you’re not afraid of the big, bad vampire?”

Another shrug. “I’ve met one before. He was crazy for me.”

Tori only now noticed the slur in his voice. Was slightly disappointed by the realization that at least part of his bravery could probably be ascribed to his inebriety.

“I fancy myself a…. a snake charmer of vampires, if you will. A vampire charmer.”

God, he was drunk. Tori’s grin faltered the faintest bit.

“That so? So where’s that vampire of yours now?”

“Well… the only reason he dumped me was because he’s a… a… a pussy. Said he couldn’t bear the thought of me growing old while he stays young. Told me he’d do us both a fa–” a hiccup interrupted his speech “–favor by leaving now, while he still could. Such a wussy, innit?”

“Yeah…” Tori said, thoughtful. Then her grin returned at full force. “So what if you never had to grow old? What if you… became just like him?”

“He said his mom and dad told him he shouldn’t be turning any humans. Wussy.”

“Well, in that case… why don’t I just do it for him?”

Beejay’s lopsided grin grew. He shook his head in contemplation. “Well… my mom might not li–“

She left him no time to answer before she lunged at him.

***

After that one night, Tori had been sure she would’ve convinced James that leaving Forgotten Hollow really could be fun. She had been so sure he couldn’t wait to do it again. Unfortunately for her, that was not the case. Instead, he told her he was going to need “a night…. or four” of rest before he felt even slightly up to something similar again.

“You didn’t like it?” Tori asked. There was a whine in her tone.

“I didn’t hate it,” was the only response she’d gotten.

And so here she was, more than a week later. Once again bored out of her mind.

Ugh.

However…

It was a few nights when Tori had to admit that Forgotten Hollow may not be so bad after all. Spotting a vampire she hadn’t seen around before stroll by, Tori’s gaze immediately turned to him. He was the first vampire she had seen that wasn’t James and yet still sported a skintone equally as ghastly and ashen.

She’d asked him about it once – James, that was. She’d asked him if it was some sort of old-vampire-feature, the ashen skin. Something modern vampires had managed to evade through evolution.

He had simply shrugged. “That’s what centuries of eternal darkness will do to a person.”

Centuries of darkness. Shamelessly following the vampire with her eyes as he strutted by – so relaxed, so seemingly at ease in this town… acting as though it were his home… his town – Tori found herself lost in thought. This vamp might be old, like James. He might be powerful, like James.

And she knew she should feel threatened if anything, if he really could rival James… but instead, all she felt was a rush of warmth. Things might just get a whole lot more exciting, she smirked to herself.

After all, her assortment of big, bad vampires to wreak havoc with had just gotten a whole lot bigger.