Ludub

Haha! I did think this was for JT's benefit!.

Haha! I like to research my stories too. My search history is seriously weird! Looking forward to the next chapter x

Uh oh!!! looks like Kyle's not doing so well! Is he in kidney failure?! hope someone finds him soon! I'll have a think for the one shots and get back to you

I still think Phoebe's being very very silly... as is Kyle... liked the chat between all the Braxtons and Ricky teasing Heath. Hope Nate can figure things out soon!

Fantastic chapter! Ruby and Nicole was interesting. I can imagine Nicole acting on pure impulse like that, and Ruby having that reaction (given her reaction to Charlie's short foray into homosexuality). Nice to get a little information on Roman too (glad to know he's out). Enjoyed the chat between Nicole and Alf (and his acceptance of her relationship with Ruby). Absolutely loved that little scene between Josh and Phoebe, and Kyle being pleased for them. I never would have put Josh with Phoebe in a million years but I love them together in this Interesting that she said 'I love you', I don't think that's something that Phoebe found all that easy in the past. Just love them! Ruby's apology to Indi was very funny, as was Billie's annoyance at the hotness of VJ's female friends (she might want to move him away from SB if that's a problem for her, there's obviously some sort of passport control on the way into the bay that stops unattractive people from getting in! ) Xavier and Mink is also a really interesting development. Looking forward to more!

I think I might be just as surprised by Matt and Chris' announcement! i might have spat my cornflakes out too! Have they figured out where they're getting the baby from? The high fiving is very funny! Sounds like the bay is suffering one hell of a hangover! But maybe there's worse to come if pumpkin juice has the effect that Irene seems to think it will! Looking forward to the next chapter x

Love this! It would be very frustrating being around a town full of people p!ssed as farts! Being around drunk people when you're sober is never fun! Even if she's the one causing this inebriation. Brody, my brother who keeps to himself in the backyard, lol! Loved Tori's list of questions. 'Do you feel the need to kiss me?' Lol! Alf and Irene are like a couple of little lovebirds, just circling round each other, how cute is that? Matt and Chris as a couple?! Surely that's just too much quipping for one town to handle? Haha! Can't wait for the next one .

Okay... so I'm a bit nervous about this chapter, so at this stage, you probably know what that means.... I really hope this isn't too dark for you... WARNING: VERY ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT (You have been warned!!!) Chapter 10 Saturday night in the drug den... ‘Please don’t kill me!’ she pleaded silently, giving pained little moans as he held her close, with his teeth buried deeply in her flesh. He could hear those words repeating over and over, resounding in his head like the chorus to a song. ‘Please don’t kill me... just don’t kill me!’ she begged again and again. Her blood was coursing over his tongue, hot and salty, and more delicious than anything he had ever tasted before. No human food had ever come close to this! But more than the blood, it was the feeling of their two hearts as they beat now in unison. That ferocious thump of her panicked heart, fighting her decision to give herself to him, and telling her to run. His heart was beating just as fast and keeping rhythm with hers. He felt so alive! So excited! Nothing had ever felt so right! The connection was overwhelming, almost like taking possession of her mind and body. He felt that he knew this girl in a way that he had never known anyone else. She was giving herself to him so completely. All of her! Her whole life was flashing through his mind. Faces and places from all stages of her life! She hadn’t been lucky. That was clear. She’d been used and abused, practically from birth. No wonder she’d ended up here! ‘My heart is slowing.... don’t you hear that?’ she said to him, again letting the words just float through his mind, ‘You need to stop!’ ‘Stop?!’ he thought, refusing to let go, ‘I can’t stop now! I can’t!’ He began to drink faster, tearing at the flesh of her throat more viciously. He was overtaken by an urge like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Nothing could have made him release her. Nothing!!! All he could think was that he wanted to know her. The real ‘her’. All of her. He wanted to devour her! ‘Stop!’ He heard a voice say inside his head, ‘Stop! You’re killing her!’ He gave what was almost like the growl a dog would give when it was guarding a bone. ‘She’s mine!’ he replied to the voice inside his head, ‘She belongs to me!’ With that he drank that bit faster. Suddenly, he could feel the pain of her body. The pain of her heart. It was like he was killing himself. In a sudden flash, he was on the floor, growling and snarling, and scratching at the body on top of him. There was a hand around his throat pinning him to the floor! “You do what you’re told!” growled a voice that was clearly not human, “I made you and I can kill you too!” He started crushing his throat in a way that was meant to warn. He couldn’t make him let go though. It was like fighting with a statue made of flesh covered stone. ‘Morten?!’ he asked silently, as he gazed up in fear at the vampire face above him. He remembered him only too well from the night before, but he hadn’t known his name then. That pearlescent white skin, the glowing eyes, those sharp teeth. Did he look like that too, he wondered? Is that what he’d become?! He was lying limp now, just staring up at the terrifying blonde man who was holding him down. ‘Are you Morten?’ he asked again. “I am your maker” snarled the blonde man, “I am Morten Christiansen.... and when I tell you to do something, you do it!” The man stared into his eyes a little longer, and tightened the grip on his neck until he was really squirming. It was clear that he wanted to make sure that he knew he really meant it. “Do you understand?” he asked him. ‘You’re my maker, you’re my maker!’ gasped Brody’s internal voice, ‘I do what you tell me!’ With that, he allowed him to pull his hands away. “Good boy!” he said, smiling and giving him a little pat on the cheek. He sat up and helped him to sit up too. “But... but you brought me here?” stammered Brody, “You gave her to me?” The girl was curled in a heap on the floor, her eyes hanging half open, her mouth lolling. She looked dead. “Not to kill her” said Morten, as he leaned over and softly stroked the cheek of the lifeless girl on the ground, “She’s one of my best girls... tragic, beautiful... Never boring...” “Did I... Did I kill her?!” gasped Brody, looking at her blue complexion with horror and disgust. He couldn’t believe himself capable of such a thing! “Is she dead?!” he asked. “Not yet... no” he replied, hoisting the young girl’s body up onto his shoulder in an effortless fireman’s lift. “There’s a doctor at the hospital who knows the score... Maybe, if I get her there now...?” “You’re going to save her?!” asked Brody, looking decidedly surprised, “You’re going to let her live?!” “Business is business” he said, as he made to disappear out into the night, “You stay here... I’ll be back...” Brody gave a little nod and wrapped his arms around his chest. What had he just done?! He’d nearly killed some poor girl?! He’d nearly become a murderer?! How had this happened?! He wasn’t a killer! He didn’t even like killing spiders in the house. How had he ended up here, with some poor girl’s blood warming his stomach?! How had he become this monster?! Why had Morten chosen him?! Back to Friday night.... Morten stood on the outside looking in. It seemed like he’d spent an eternity doing just that. Watching as humanity carried on without him, as they wilfully partook in the simple joys that he had been denied now for over 300 years. How many times had he watched, hiding in the shadows like some kind of supernatural peeping Tom? How many times had he watched as they licked and sucked and fondled, and did things that looked downright painful! How much did he wish that he could feel what they felt, even just once? Sometimes he just watched from the side-lines, while other times he actively directed the show, using their bodies like puppets to realise his own fantasies? How many times had he put himself in the body of some young thing, looking through their eyes, and tried to imagine what they were feeling? Both male and female. Both entering, and being entered. Why was he so obsessed with this simple animal act, he wondered? What was it about sex that captured his attention so much? Was it simply that he had never had the chance to do it himself? That of all the things that were taken from him when he’d been ‘made’, that was the thing that had hurt the most? That he’d been a virgin? That his human life had been cut short before he’d had the opportunity to experience that most basic of animal acts?! Was that why he kept doing this?! Was that why he kept torturing himself with something he would never fully understand? Was that why he couldn’t leave it alone, like an itch that needed to be scratched? He watched through the window as the young bearded chef allowed himself to be pushed down on the bed. It was clear that he’d never done this before and that he was frightened. He wondered what was going on inside that head of his. He could plant ideas, and he could see through their eyes sometimes, but he couldn’t read minds. The private thoughts of his victims remained just that, private... At least until that special moment. That moment of union. That moment when two became one, and he got to feel the thunderous pleasure of a beating heart again. His own had stopped beating at the tender age of seventeen. 328 years ago and counting... He would sink his teeth into the neck of some young and vibrant man or woman and marvel at that wondrous sensation. That thump thump thump of a terrified heart. A heart fighting for survival, pumping blood at an enormous rate, in the futile hope of escape... He would see all their thoughts then, all their wishes and desires, all the things that they kept hidden deep inside themselves. Even their worst fears. He would watch their lives like a picture show, with flashes of faces and places, and feel their physical memories as though they were his own. Experiencing both the pleasure and the pain... It was the closest that he ever got to being human. He tried to hold it for as long as possible, revelling in this most intimate of connections... Thump, thump, thump! He absorbed their lives with each ferocious heartbeat... And then the slowing... that gradual thump...thump..........thump of a heart that couldn’t keep up anymore... that had no more blood to pump. And then the terrible silence. He hated that part! It always made him feel a little sad. To take a thing so beautiful, so full of life... and extinguish it. But needs were needs and he couldn’t resist the urge. ‘You want this’ he said to the young bearded man, ‘You want to try this... to see how it feels...’ He planted that thought in his head over and over, as though it was his own voice, his own thought. ‘You won’t know for sure unless you try.’ He could see the young man’s body relax a little but there was clearly an internal conflict raging in his mind. ‘His hands feel good on your skin’ he told him again, ‘You feel close to this man, you don’t know why but you do... You want to make him happy’. He smiled a little when he saw the chef reciprocate a little, clumsily moving his hands up and down the other man’s back. He’d accepted the suggestion to some extent and was improvising of his own accord. Humans were so easy to manipulate. All it took was a suggestion here, a suggestion there... Their minds and feelings were malleable, especially when drugs and alcohol were involved. They were so very vulnerable! He gave a little chuckle as things moved on at a rapid pace. The restaurant reviewer had flipped the young chef over and was getting him into position. The discomfort and fear on the young man’s face was plain to see, but more than anything else, he looked embarrassed. ‘Just focus on the ‘good’ sensations’ he told him, ‘This man wants to make you feel good. He doesn’t want to hurt you... This is what people do... This is what everyone does...’ He saw him give in a little. Like a conscious throwing of a switch. As though he’d said to himself ‘this is happening whether you like it or not!’ He scrunched up his face and closed his eyes as the restaurant reviewer moved in from behind. It was obvious that it hurt. And then ‘it’ was happening! That thing that he so desperately wanted to experience himself but couldn’t. How he envied them right now! Especially him! He couldn’t help giving a little giggle of excitement. ‘It’ was happening, just like he’d planned! Sometimes this mind manipulation failed at the last moment and the natural instincts of his prey would kick in. They’d scramble kicking and growling across the room in an effort to get away, or beat the other person senseless, while cursing themselves for their own strange behaviour. Sometimes they’d even blame the other party, insisting that they must have been drugged. Understandable really, since he often revelled in taking his prey so far out of their comfort zone that they couldn’t think otherwise. Thoroughly heterosexual men and women would suddenly find themselves engaged in homosexual acts, or vice versa! It was like they’d suddenly ‘come to’ and realise what was happening. Then they’d put the brakes on and everything would come to a screeching halt. He’d find himself shut out all of a sudden. Unable to influence them at all, as though a wall had gone up. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, he found himself being uncharacteristically cruel. He would give them a particularly painful death, taking pleasure in their suffering instead, and drawing it out over hours and hours. He didn’t like it when his playthings fought back. He didn’t deal well with disappointment... But not this time. He’d chosen well this time! He’d come across him completely by accident but something about this handsome young chef had caught his attention. There was a vulnerability there, a suffering, an inner conflict... He’d seen it immediately when he’d spilt his drink on him. He’d watched him all night after that and begun planting suggestions... pushing him towards the restaurant reviewer who was so plainly flirting with him. ‘Why don’t you have another bottle of wine?’ he’d suggested, planting the idea in his head as though it was his own, ‘It’ll make you more relaxed!’ Watching him now through the window, he was sure that he was glad of that wine, and the glass of whiskey he’d suggested on their arrival. He was probably even more glad of the pill that he’d had the reviewer slip inside his glass when he wasn’t looking. For some reason, he didn’t want to hurt this one. He cared about this one... Maybe it was because he’d been so easily manipulated, so easily led? Maybe it was that he’d submitted himself so beautifully, allowing himself to be plundered, and given himself without complaint? Or maybe it was just those haunted eyes of his? Whatever it was, he couldn’t take his own eyes off him! There were two men in that room, grunting and groaning, but for him, in this moment, there was only one. Only one that mattered! He tried to put himself inside the young man’s body, to see through the young man’s eyes... to imagine what he was feeling. He wanted so much to understand. To know him. Was he falling in love?! Was that even possible?! Or was it simply that he wanted to be him? The young man winced, noticeably tensing his body as the restaurant reviewer picked up the pace. ‘Go with it!’ he told him, actively manipulating his body through the power of suggestion, ‘It feels good!’ The tortured confusion on the chef’s face was more than he’d hoped for. He wanted to be inside that body, kneeling there with that young virile man behind him, feeling all that there was to feel... He wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything... He felt a shift as he began to see through those eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that had captured his attention so... He could see himself, a tall blonde Norwegian figure standing there, just watching through the window. He could see the hands of the chef, as though they were his own, white knuckled as they gripped the sheets below him. He could see the sweat trickling down the arms and the trembling of the body. But what good was this if he couldn’t feel anything?! Suddenly, he was back outside the glass again, and the chef was looking at him. His eyes were open and he was staring right at him... or he seemed to be? Those piercing blue eyes! So full of pain and confusion... and anger! Was he looking at him? Could he see him?! Did he know that he was there?! He felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights. No human had ever made him feel this way... The restaurant reviewer was still giving it his all, but the chef was staring fixedly at the window. It felt like he was staring right into his eyes, right into his soul, if he had one. It was a pleading look. He was asking for this to be over. It was clear that he wasn’t enjoying it at all. There were tears slowly rolling down his cheeks. Then he heard it! ‘Stop!’ Just one word, but loud and clear! Had he just planted that word in his head?! No one had ever done that before! ‘Stop what?’ he asked him, feeling pretty sure that he would get no reply. ‘Make it stop!’ he pleaded again. He stared at the chef as his body rocked forward, over and over, rhythmically, and he twisted his hands in the bedsheets. Had he really spoken to him?! Or had he just imagined it? ‘Stop what?’ he asked again. ‘**** you, Brody!’ hissed the young chef as he stared at his own reflection in the glass, ‘This is your own fault... Why are you doing this?! How ****ing stupid are you?!’ He stared at the young bearded man, thoroughly dumbfounded. Was he hearing his internal thought process?! Was he reading his mind?! ‘I don’t want this! I don’t want this!’ said the chef, still staring directly into his eyes, ‘Why am I doing this?! What the **** is wrong with me?! This is awful! …Oh, God, please make it stop!’ It was clear that he wasn’t talking to anyone but himself... but this was delicious! He’d never heard the thoughts of his victims before. Never heard their internal voices! For the first time in over 300 years he felt a real connection to one of his victims. A real connection to a living breathing human being... He didn’t know why. It wasn’t like the others hadn’t cried. It wasn’t like they’d never begged for it to stop. But there was something different about this one... No one had ever put themselves in his head before. No one had ever looked at him like this. He didn’t want to hurt him. In a strange way, he almost wanted to protect him! ‘It’s okay’ he said to him, ‘It’ll be over soon’. He continued to listen as the young man switched back and forth between self-loathing, and berating himself for not enjoying what he saw as a natural part of human life, and his own genuine feelings of disgust. He kept trying to tell himself that he should be enjoying it. That he wasn’t ‘normal’ if he didn’t! Even without his help, there was so much confusion in the young man’s head! He couldn’t stop listening. He was transfixed! How could someone with every opportunity to have sex hate it so much?! He’d spent 328 years envying humans that ability. This was the first one that seemed to find the whole concept repugnant. He explored the young chef’s memories and wondered at the sense of revulsion that every sexual exploit seemed to hold for him. The pure torture of having to pretend to enjoy something so physically revolting to him that it almost made him vomit. This latest experience was just the latest in a string of extremely unpleasant rendezvous. He had basically been doing to himself what he’d been doing to his victims for centuries. Forcing them to have sex when it went against every natural instinct that they had. He’d been ‘raping’ himself, in effect! It was fascinating! “Awww****!” shouted the young restaurant reviewer, as he collapsed, panting on top of the chef. Two breathless sweaty bodies lay there still locked together for what seemed like a very long time. Eventually the one on top, rolled onto his back and gave a little laugh. “For a first-timer, you were pretty ****ing amazing!” he said. He leaned over and tried to turn the chef towards him for a kiss but he wouldn’t let him. He kept his head turned away. Those blue eyes continued to stare out the window “Hey, you okay?” asked the restaurant reviewer, turning onto his side to look at him. “Yeah... I’m just tired” said the chef, rolling over so he had his back to him. He was quiet now, as though dazed and shocked. “Yeah, me too” said the man, now spooning behind him, “It’s late... we should go to sleep” He watched through the window as the restaurant reviewer tied a knot in the used condom and then leaned over the young chef to throw it on the floor. He used it as an opportunity to put his arms around him. ‘Oh God!’ groaned the chef, as he allowed himself to be manhandled again, ‘What the **** just happened?! What are you doing, Brody?! What are you doing?!’ As he watched him through the window, and stared into those teary eyes of his, he began to wonder what to do. He couldn’t bear the thought of killing him. A mind that strange... that interesting... He couldn’t extinguish it. But that left him with a problem, because he couldn’t deny himself either. He needed to know what tonight had felt like. What it felt like to be him. A person who truly hated sex?! He needed to understand. The only way he could do that would be to feed on him, and the true melding of minds only came after the point of no return. It would mean draining him to the point of death... There was only one other option open to him, but he needed time to think. He could only do it once. It was a precious gift, and not one to be given lightly. He had to choose carefully. Was this the one he really wanted? Was he the right one? Why now? Why him? After 300 years?! He turned and walked away. He needed to feed on someone else first. Making decisions on an empty stomach was never a good idea...

I thought it might be! I didn't remember the dinner invite though, so I thought there might have been more than one scene. Interesting how she's found herself with another man who was abused as a child. (Another damaged soul) Kane and Aden have more in common than they think (although Aden probably wouldn't forgive Kane for what happened with Dani, even if she has). Really enjoying these new pairings, although there does indeed seem to be some cosmic force putting former Summer Bay residents together, haha!

Okay, once again, really interesting pairings! Loved all the Kirsty /Aden flashbacks. I think they'd probably work quite well as a couple, and I don't really know why but there's a scene that stayed in my head where Ollie was running away from Kirsty (I think it was bathtime?) and Aden caught him. Think he might have called him a little monkey? I remember thinking it was a nice flash forward to future 'daddy Aden'. Lovely that he and Ollie developed a good relationship. I also can't see him and Kane getting on well! Lol! Loved the chat between him and 'Miss Fletcher'. I'm as surprised as Sally is that she had such a heart to heart with him, although Aden was actually pretty good at those even when he was young. It's a very nice scene. When you said that Angelo was with Dani, I wondered what happened Nicole (since you didn't put her with Aden). Interesting. Why not eh? I could see them being lesbians. Liked Miles and Leah too. He really did get screwed over an awful lot. I'm glad you have him a happy 'ending', although obviously it's not over yet. Again, fabulous chapter! (Sorry for the delay in replying, I'm on holiday in Italy at the moment! )

Wow! Just wow! Okay, give me a minute.... So much to take in! I loved this chapter. Like, loved loved loved this chapter . I don't even really know where to start. Like I said before, I'm finding it hard to keep up with all your pairings, and I'm really surprised by your choice to bring back characters you dislike so much, but it's really interesting and I'm hanging off your every word. I like the idea of Aden and Kirsty together although it's quite a surprise. Loved the conversation between Alf and Sally, and the fact that Miles (one of my all-time favourite characters) is back! How can anyone not love Miles?! Not sure about him and Gypsy though, but hey, who knows... Really looking forward to seeing who else turns up!

Understand that completely There are some characters that I care about a lot, (so only I'm allowed to be cruel to them ) As I said, not quite sure why Brax drew the short straw in this story. (It's normally Ash) I think I just thought it was all a bit too neat and tidy if everyone made it out alive, but I also didn't want to kill him... and I really didn't want to write a scene with Brax in some basement somewhere being used by Mick Harris So, this is where we ended up... There are lots of great stories in here! You should have a dig around

Aww, sorry... My mum read this story too, and she wasn't pleased with my ending either. She wanted to know what happened. I quite liked the idea that you have to decide for yourself but I guess it was maybe a little unsatisfying that you don't know for certain? The thing is, people do just go missing, and no-one ever finds out what happened to them. Not sure why I decided to do that to Brax (I don't dislike him at all! I wouldn't want that to happen to him) I may end up writing a sequel at some point to resolve it... who knows? Maybe... Thanks for reading!

Well, this is the thing! How would you react if your brother told you he was a vampire?! Pembie - Haha! You have to do it completely deadpan though, and make it a very serious confession type conversation, lol! 'Mum, dad... This is hard for me to say...' Glad you're both enjoying it! x Thanks Kristen!

Haha! Thanks! I'd kill for some ice cream right now, lol!

Well, not everything... Thanks Jarlie, glad you're enjoying it!

Okay, so here we go! The next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! WARNING: ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT! Chapter 9 Monday evening… “Justin?!” exclaimed Brody, as he staggered a little backwards, “What the…?!” He’d just come out of his room with the intention of apologising but Justin had come bowling towards him and nearly knocked him off his feet. “I’ve been so worried!” said Justin, throwing his arms around him and holding him in a tight embrace. “Uhhh… Justin?” said Brody as he tried to pull away, “I’m okay… You don’t have to worry so much.” “I tried to wake you earlier” said Justin, refusing to let go, “But you were dead to the world… You wouldn’t wake up at all!” “I was tired” sighed Brody, “I got in late…” He’d come home just before sunrise and snuck in through his window. He was pretty sure that he hadn’t woken anyone. “Yeah… I know” said Justin, “I waited up for you.” “You shouldn’t have done that” said Brody, “I’m not 12 years old!” He tried to pull away again but Justin was having none of it. He was holding him tight and hugging him as though his life depended on it. He wanted him to let go, but he didn’t want to hurt him either. He knew that he could easily free himself if he really wanted to, but it was much harder to judge his own strength now. With very little effort he could probably break one of Justin’s arms, and he really didn’t want that! “I love you” said Justin, stroking the hair on the back of his head, “I want you to know that… We all love you… and we want you to… to tell us the truth about what happened on Friday.” Brody glanced at Tori. She was standing there watching this strange and overly-affectionate scene. He wondered if it looked as weird and uncomfortable as it felt. When had Justin become this ‘huggy’? “We do” she said, with a teary look to her eyes, “We both love you…” She was looking at him with such a sad expression on her face. He felt terrible! “You don’t have to be ashamed” said Justin. He gave a little sigh and buried his face in his brother’s neck. Just for a moment he allowed himself to breathe in his human scent. He could hear his heart beating in his chest and the whoosh of his tasty red blood through his veins. It was taking everything he had not to sink his teeth into that juicy artery right there in his neck. It was pulsing right in front of him, and almost crying out to him, with each beat of his human heart. ‘Bite me, bite me, bite me…” it repeated incessantly, just like that guy’s had last night. How could he explain to his family that he’d become a vampire? That the marks on his neck weren’t from a Taser gun, but from the fangs of a three-hundred-year-old vampire?! How could he tell them that his human life had come to an end two nights ago? That he’d spent last night hunting, and that he’d drunk the blood of a young runaway down by the pier? Not enough to kill him, but enough to quell his thirst. How could he tell them that this body of his was already dying and that his heart would cease to beat when he made his first kill? How could he tell them all of that?! What would they think of him then? Their brother, the Vampire?! The cold-blooded killer?! Where would their unconditional love be then?! “You don’t have to lie about it” continued Justin, pulling back from the hug and gazing at him with tears in his eyes, “Come on, Brodes? …Tori looked at your chart today… She shouldn’t have, but she did… You have to tell us so we can help you!” Tori just nodded at him. She looked a little shame-faced. He looked back and forth between them and began to weigh up his options. He could lie to them, and let them think that he’d been raped, but that would mean making a statement to the police and playing the part of the sexual assault victim. He’d have to see it through… And he’d have to try and pass as human. That was becoming harder and harder as time went on and he knew that it wasn’t really a possibility… Not when he couldn’t eat or drink! Being a chef was going to be pretty difficult now! The alternative was to throw caution to the wind, and come clean. Just tell them the truth, and nothing but the truth, and see how they reacted? Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as he thought? “Please?! Brody?!” pleaded Tori, with those big blue eyes of hers, “We just want to support you…” He thought about it for a moment or two more before speaking. “Okay…” he sighed eventually. Maybe it was time to bite the bullet? How long could he really keep it a secret from them anyway?! The truth would always come out… He stepped away, wanting to put as much distance between himself and Justin as he could. He just smelt so good to him! Like the scent of barbecued meat wafting on the air when you’re really hungry, it was driving him insane! He sat down on one of the armchairs and motioned for Justin to take a seat beside Tori. “Ummm…” he began, rubbing at his neck in a nervous sort of way “I don’t know where to start...” He didn’t know how he was going to put it into words. “Can you try to… to tell us what happened on Friday?” asked Tori. She was giving him a look that said her heart was breaking. He couldn’t help feeling bad for worrying her so much. He’d miss this. Having a family that cared about him so much! Feeling like he belonged… But the time had come! He couldn’t hide it from them anymore. He knew that he couldn’t hold out much longer… “Friday?” he sighed, wondering at how long ago it felt! So much had changed since then! He wasn’t even the same person anymore. He wasn’t even human! “Just start at the beginning” suggested Justin, “What happened after you left the restaurant?” "You left with that restaurant reviewer, didn’t you?” Tori prompted him. “Kris” he confirmed, giving a little snort, before looking away. He was embarrassed. What had happened between the two of them had been incredibly confusing! While it hadn’t been 100% unpleasant, or nearly as painful as he’d thought it might be, he’d found the whole experience beyond mortifying! Kneeling on the bed, with Kris just grunting away behind him, like two dogs going at it in the park?! He couldn’t understand why he’d done it. The whole time it had been happening, he’d been lost in his own confused thoughts. Desperately trying to convince himself, and his lover, that he was into it. That he actually wanted to do this thing… He’d started making the noises that he thought were probably appropriate, faking them, and doing his best to stifle the ones that weren’t. It hurt! It hurt a lot! It probably hurt more than it should have, because every muscle in his body was tense, and Kris telling him to ‘relax’ every couple of seconds definitely hadn’t helped! The whole thing just seemed so sordid! So basic and animalistic! Body fluids and horrible squelchy sounds and smells… He didn’t know how people did that stuff and then just went about their daily lives?! How did they not die of embarrassment?! How were they not as ashamed of themselves as he was?! He felt bad for the women that he’d slept with in the past, not that there were very many of them. But being on the receiving end was definitely much more unpleasant than being the one in the driving seat. Allowing someone inside your body was a seriously weird thing to do. Like letting someone else pick your nose for you! It was disgusting! When he thought about it now, he couldn’t help cringing. “Yeah, Kris!” said Justin, feeling a little frustrated by his brother's evasiveness, “It was him, wasn’t it?!” He didn’t believe what he’d said in the restaurant last night. Maybe having to admit it in front of all those people had just been too much for him?! Maybe he was just too ashamed?! If he hadn’t been raped, why would the hospital say that there were signs of sexual assault?! “It wasn’t Kris” said Brody, “I told you that already… Kris didn’t rape me… Something happened on Friday… but it isn’t what you guys think.” "So… you're saying it was someone else?" asked Tori. She could see the look of surprise on Justin’s face. He’d been so sure that it was Kris, and he’d been sure that Brody was just covering for him. "It..." he said, looking down at the floor again. He was trying not to look at Tori's throat. She was wearing a blouse for work with the collar unbuttoned and her long slender neck was very much on view. He could hear and smell her blood pulsing through her veins. It was maddening! "It wasn’t what you think…” he continued, “I mean… it… it… it wasn’t rape!” “You mean…” asked Tori, glancing at Justin in a surprised sort of way, “You’re saying it was consensual?!” "With Kris…” he said, giving a little shrug, “Yeah, it was… consensual, I guess...” He couldn’t look Justin in the eye. He felt embarrassed. “But that’s not the… the thing that happened…” he said. He had his arms wrapped around his chest and one of his legs was jittering up and down in a nervous sort of way. He was hungry, and having two sources of juicy juicy blood around him was making it hard for him to concentrate. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd have to give in and kill someone. Much as the idea of it horrified him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out forever. The urge was getting stronger the longer he sat here! He just hoped it wouldn’t be one of them! “The thing?” asked Justin, sitting forward in his seat. He didn’t understand this at all! “It happened…” he began, staring down at the floor again and taking a deep breath. There was an overwhelming scent of human blood filling the room and Justin’s was particularly pungent. He wanted to sink his teeth into that vein right there in the side of his neck! Oh, how we wanted to do that right now! He wasn’t even looking at it, but it was there, pulsating only a short distance away. He couldn’t take his mind off it! "What happened...” he began again, a little shakily, “It… It happened after..." "After what?" asked Tori, glancing at Justin in an ‘I’m not sure I want to know!’ kind of way. "I left him there...” he said, staring straight ahead of him as though he was watching it play out in front of him again, “I left Kris... at the hotel... after we…" He rolled his eyes when he saw them give each other a rather pointed look. They obviously thought that he was gay! He couldn’t blame them for thinking that. After all, he had just slept with a man. The evidence did suggest it. They couldn’t know how conflicted he was about all of this. How confused! For them, you were either one thing or the other, but what if you were neither?! What if you really just didn’t like sex?! What if you just weren’t attracted to anyone?! …And worse than that, what if none of that mattered now because you were essentially dead?! What then?! "I just... I just walked him home" he explained, with an embarrassed little shrug, "We had a few drinks in his room... And then… some things happened…” He gave an exasperated laugh. “But… after that…” he said, “Afterwards… I went to the beach for a while... to… to clear my head." “To clear your head?!” asked Justin. “Yeah…” he admitted, “I just needed some space.” Justin glanced at Tori again. This didn’t make sense. Was it a lovers’ quarrel?! “I just…” said Brody, with an exasperated sigh, “I needed to get my head straight…” He rolled his eyes when he saw Justin give a little smirk. Given the context, he’d obviously found the use of the word ‘straight’ amusing! He could be so immature sometimes! Brody gave a little sigh before continuing. “So… so, I went down to the water and I was in there… and…” "Then what?" asked Justin. He ran his fingers through his hair and blew out a big breath. Talking about this wasn’t easy. He wanted to just blurt out what had really happened! To be able to talk to them about it. But how do you say ‘I got attacked by a vampire, and now I am one!’ They’d never understand! “Brodes?” asked Tori, trying to get him talking again. He gave a little sigh and tried to smile at her. “I felt someone... a presence… someone standing behind me…” he said, staring into the distance, “You know when you can just sense that someone’s there?” Tori nodded at him. “Go on” she coaxed gently. "They came up behind me...” he said, shaking a little as he spoke. “And I was scared… I thought maybe it was Kris… I thought maybe he hadn’t got the message…” “But it wasn’t Kris?” asked Tori. “No” he said, giving her a pained grimace, “When I turned around… It was… it was someone else… and he was just staring at me… and… and then it… it happened!” “Jesus!” exclaimed Justin, imagining some stranger just pouncing on him! A violent rape scene flashed through his mind, savage and cruel, like something you’d see in a movie. Somehow it seemed much worse than the date rape scenario that he’d imagined earlier. “I couldn’t do anything to stop it!” he said, wiping at the few tears that had started rolling down his cheeks, “I couldn’t do anything!” He trembled at the memory of being bitten. The moment that those fangs had pierced his flesh! The thump of his own heartbeat as he felt his blood being drained. That terrible pulling sensation! He remembered it all… and then the darkness. He’d known that he was going to die… “Oh God!” exclaimed Tori, reaching for his hand and gasping when she felt how cold it was. Her flesh burned with a heat that his no longer did, as though to emphasise the river of yummy blood inside her. He could see the concern on her face, but all he could think was how tasty those blood-filled fingers of hers looked right now. He wanted to bite them! 'You can't eat your own sister' he told himself silently, ‘You can’t eat Tori!’ “Sweetheart!” cried Tori, rubbing his hand between both of hers to try and warm it up. “I’m so sorry!” she said. She was looking at him with concern. His hands were just so cold! All sorts of diagnoses were running through her head. All around him now was the deafening din of human heartbeats. They were calling out to him, with a thump thump thump that seemed to say 'eat me!', and which he was finding it harder and harder to ignore. He could almost taste their blood in the air! That sweet metallic scent of iron and salt! He wanted it! Couldn't he just have a little sip? Just a little one?! Maybe Justin wouldn’t mind?! ‘No!’ he said to himself, ‘That’s ridiculous! Of course, he’ll mind! No-one wants to be fed on!’ He pulled his hand away from Tori and covered his face with it. He didn’t want to be this monster! He wanted his humanity back! Even being sexually assaulted might have been better than this! It would have been a human problem at least. Something to get counselling for, and which his family might have been able to support him through. No-one could help him with what was really troubling him! He was alone in this! “What… what did he do?” asked Tori, giving him that same heartbroken look. “He… He uhhh…” he said, looking down at the floor and taking a deep breath. “He… He bit me!” he blurted out finally! There! He’d said it! The cat was out of the bag now! There was no turning back! Now they’d know what he was! Now they’d know the awful truth! “He bit you?!” exclaimed Tori. “Yeah…” he said, craning his neck to let them see the bitemark, “He bit me… and …and he drank my blood.” “He drank your blood?” repeated Tori, giving Justin a worried glance. It was clear from her tone that she’d just recategorized him from ‘rape-victim’, to ‘crazy person’ within two seconds. Now she was worried about his mental health! He’d obviously lost it! “Yeah…” he said, picking up on her tone of disbelief, “He… He was a vampire… and he fed on me and…” “A vampire?” repeated Justin, giving him a look of pity, “A vampire…?” “Yes!” he snapped, “A vampire! He fed on me, and then he let me drink his blood …And now… now I’m one too!” “You’re a vampire?” asked Tori, furrowing her brows at him, “A real blood drinking vampire?” She was really worried now! It wasn’t unknown for patients that had suffered serious trauma to invent alternative realities as a coping strategy. Maybe his mind just couldn’t cope with the fact that he’d been raped and had created this vampire fantasy instead?! It was sad, but it was likely that he really believed it. Justin glanced at Tori and she gave him a ‘play along with it’ look of warning. “Wow! Mate!” he said in the most patronising tone possible, “That’s uh… that’s pretty amazing… A vampire, huh?” “Yes!” he snapped at him. He could see that they weren’t taking him seriously. “I’m a vampire… but I don’t want to be…” he said, “He just did it to me… against my will!” “He made you a vampire against your will?” repeated Tori, in a tone that said ‘if you just listen to the words that you’re saying, you’ll see how ludicrous this is!’ It was a tone that she often adopted when dealing with mentally ill patients. She’d noticed the use of the words ‘against my will’. Those were important here. He was obviously talking about the rape in terms that his sub-conscious was more comfortable with. Replacing ‘rape’ with a vampire scenario. She was already mentally filling in forms to have him admitted to the psych ward, and figuring out which specialist would be best placed to deal with him. “He did it against your will?’ she reiterated. “Will you stop repeating everything I say…” he complained, “…and actually listen to what I’m trying to tell you?! …You wanted to know what happened… Well, I’m telling you!” He felt a little ridiculous. He could certainly see why they might not believe him. After all, he hadn’t believed it himself at first! “But… Brodes?” said Justin, in a pitying sort of way, “Vampires don’t exist… you know that!” Tori shot him a disapproving glance, but looked back to Brody to see what his reaction was. Brody just gave a frustrated little huff and sunk back in his arm chair. What was the point?! Neither of them really wanted to listen! Neither were willing to see what was staring them right in the face. ‘No such thing as vampires?!’ he said to himself, ‘I could show them right now?!…’ Part of him wanted to ‘vamp out’ on them and reveal himself as the monster that he now was, but another part wasn’t ready to upset them like that. Letting them see his fangs, and claws, and glowing white eyes would frighten them out of their skins. He didn’t want to do that to them! Especially when he didn’t have anywhere else to go. What would he do if they just threw him out?! What would he do without them?! He wasn’t ready to lose them just yet! Maybe this was for the best?! Maybe it would be easier to let them think that he was crazy, than have them know the truth. Maybe he’d get to have a family for that little bit longer? “I didn’t want to talk about this!” he said, trying to get up, but Tori put her hand on his knee, and gave him a pleading sort of look. He looked down at it. He could hear the blood coursing through the veins in her wrist. It was taking every bit of willpower that he had not to pounce on it now and sink his teeth into it. All he could think about was how good it would taste. That salty ‘iron-y’ goodness! He could still taste that guy’s blood from last night if he concentrated hard enough. So hot, and salty, and full of life! The hunger was driving him insane! No human desire had ever been this strong. He couldn’t think about anything else! He couldn’t push it from his mind! “Brodes, please?!” she pleaded, “We need to talk about this properly… we want to help!” “I said that I didn’t want to do this!” he growled, pulling his knee away from her hand and jumping to his feet, “But you just have to keep pushing! Don’t you?!” “Brodes?! Come on?!” said Justin, getting to his feet and holding his hands up in front of him in an attempt to placate him, “Calm down.” “Don’t tell me to calm down!” he roared at him, “You have no idea what this is like for me!” “We’re just trying to help” said Justin, with a sympathetic tilt of the head. How could he really think that he was a vampire?! What on earth had happened to him that night?! Had something simply broken inside his head?! “I can’t do this!” snarled Brody, “I can’t!” With that, he kicked the coffee table over, stomped out of the room, and then slammed his bedroom door. If they wanted crazy, he’d give them crazy! “Well, that went well!” sighed Justin, righting the coffee table before flopping down on the couch beside Tori. “He opened up a little at least” said Tori, leaning her head on his shoulder with a sad little smile, “It’s more than he was doing yesterday… and with a bit of help, we can probably get him past this vampire thing…” “A vampire?!” said Justin, biting his bottom lip as he tried not to laugh, “I wasn’t expecting that!” “A vampire…” repeated Tori, covering her mouth as she started to laugh too, “He thinks he’s a vampire, Justin! …I mean, it’s not funny, but…” “It kinda is!” he snorted. He put his arm around her shoulder and they sat there giggling in a tired and exasperated way. It wasn’t that it was funny exactly, it had just been the last thing that they’d been expecting! Brody the vampire! It just seemed so ridiculous! After a moment when they’d both quietened down a little, he glanced at her in a mischievous way and pulled his lips back to reveal his eye teeth. “I vant to suck your blood!” he said in a Transylvanian accent. “Justin!” squealed Tori, elbowing him in the ribs as she began to really laugh again, “That’s not funny!” “It so is!” he laughed, as he leaned his head against hers and they sat there laughing softly. They were both tired. Inside Brody’s room, he paced back and forth across the floor, holding his hands tightly to his ears. He couldn’t block out the noise. He could hear them from all directions! Justin and Tori in the livingroom, Mason and Raffy out in the garden, and even Buddy sleeping in the kitchen. Heartbeats hammering away there incessantly! Boom bada, boom bada, boom bada… advertising the presence of warm and salty blood within easy reach. He gave a gasp when he felt his eyeteeth suddenly start to shift, growing longer and longer, and pressing against the soft flesh of his lips. ‘Fangs’ he thought, with a heavy sigh, ‘How am I going to explain these if they won’t go away?!’ He glanced at the door to his room. The noise was getting louder! Boom bada, boom bada, boom bada… He needed to feed! He couldn’t wait any longer! He went to the window and slowly pulled back a corner of the curtain. It was nearly dark outside! The sun had finally set! With a sigh of relief, he threw back the curtains, and slid the window open as quietly as he could. He was going hunting! As enticing as his family members were, he couldn’t bring himself to feed on them! He would have to find someone else!

Haha! Yes, I was thinking of True Bloods 'glamouring' when I wrote this... although I stopped watching after about series 4 so I don't remember Jess being a master at mind control - that must have come later? Also have no idea about the whole Lady Gaga thing because I don't watch American Horror Story? Well, yeah, he hasn't exactly endeared himself, has he?! Not exactly the ideal end to a one night stand, is it?! Being so scared that you'd rather climb out a window and take a nose dive onto your face, than stay there any longer?! Thanks for reading everyone! I'll probably post the new chapter tonight!

Awww... very sweet and very sad. You had me tearing up there! Loved the little scene between Kyle and Heath. I wish they'd had a closer relationship on the show. Looking forward to the next chapter x

Y'know, I did actually think this. She had a full hysterectomy so she would have had her ovaries removed too (I think), but they could possibly have harvested eggs? Maybe? Not an impossibility And you're right. It's too nice an idea not to do it!

Thanks again all you lovely people for your comments. Really hope you like this chapter! WARNING: VERY ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT! Chapter 8 Sunday night… “You see?!” roared Kris, a he held his arms out to the crowd as though to say ‘I told you so!’. He shook his head in disgust. “I didn’t hurt anyone!” he insisted, “He wanted it…” Mason frowned at Brody. “But… but I thought?!” he stammered, “I thought…” “You thought wrong!” snapped Kris, as he grabbed a napkin off the bar to wipe the blood off his face. He looked quite a mess! “We didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do!” he growled, “…You can’t just go accusing people of **** like that! …You can’t go throwing your weight around, attacking people like that… and saying those kinds of things about people! I could have you for slander as well as assault!” “Brody?!” said Justin, taking a step towards him with his head tilted to one side, “You don’t have to cover for this piece of ****…” He knew that everyone was watching and waiting for Brody’s response but he seemed to be transfixed. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Kris since he’d come in! “You don’t have to be ashamed… It’s not your fault…” You have to tell us if he hurt you…” said Mason. He was looking increasingly worried. What if he had just assaulted an innocent man?! How would that look to his bosses at the hospital?! “You don’t have to lie!” he said, in a tone that sounded a little plaintive. “I’m not” replied Brody, in a distant sort of voice. All he could smell was Kris’ blood. The delicious salty scent was wafting its way towards him, and all he wanted to do was go over there and lick him clean. God, he was hungry right now! That blood smelt amazing! “See?!” shouted Kris, in a triumphant sort of way, “This ****head attacked me for no good reason!” “You’re not lying?” asked Justin, giving him a look of concern. Something about the way that Brody was staring at the other man made him think otherwise. He looked dazed and frightened. Was he simply too scared of him to accuse him in public? Was he covering for him out of fear?! He glanced at the blood covered restaurant reviewer with suspicion. He didn’t like his smug face! “I’m not lying” droned Brody, as though he was a zombie, “Kris didn’t rape me…” Back to Friday night… ‘Oh ****!’ thought Brody, as he lay on his side in the bed, ‘This is horrible! This is so horrible, it’s not even funny! …I need to escape… I need to get out of here right now!’ He was feeling breathless and panicky. It was like he’d only just come to his senses, and found to his horror, that he was lying with his back to a naked sweaty man! As though he’d played no part in it! As though he’d been detached from what was happening earlier, when they’d actually been doing the ‘deed’. Like someone lending their house to a friend, only to return, and find it trashed. He was back now, and he wasn’t one bit happy about what had happened in his absence! Their two bodies were intertwined, in what would commonly be referred to as a spooning position. Their legs were tangled together and the other man’s crotch was pressing up against his buttocks. He squirmed a little, trying to pull away, but Kris stirred and pulled him back in. He was obviously a cuddler… and he was strong! He had his arms around him, holding him tight against him, and his bearded chin nuzzled into the space between his neck and his shoulder. They’d collapsed, exhausted and panting, with Kris on top of him, and just laid there for what seemed like an eternity. He’d been too dazed to even move, or to try to extricate himself. He’d never had a naked man lying on top of him before. He didn’t know what to do! ‘How the **** did this happen?!’ he kept asking himself, as he lay there with aches in very unfamiliar places, ‘Why did I do this?! What the **** was I even thinking?!’ He hadn’t even fought it when Kris had pulled him into this position. He’d been too shocked to register what was happening. Now he felt sticky, and hot, and uncomfortable… and like he might explode if he didn’t get away. They were both covered in sweat from the evening’s exertion and all he could think about was how disgusting the other man’s clammy skin felt against his own. It was like they were stuck together. Like when you sit on a leather seat in shorts and your skin gets stuck to it. ‘I have to leave!’ he thought to himself, ‘I have to get out of here…” He started to pull away from the man sleeping behind him but as soon as he moved he felt him start to pull him back with a little murmured moan. “I have to… to go to the toilet” he said, as he pulled away much more insistently. “Don’t go?!” mumbled Kris, as he held onto him. He didn’t seem to really be awake. He was just ‘aggressively cuddling’ him in his sleep. “I have to!” insisted Brody. With that, he took hold of Kris’ arms and pulled them away from his own body. As he separated himself from Kris’ embrace, he was a little bit sickened at the stickiness of their skin. ‘This is repulsive!’ he thought to himself. As he got out of the bed, he felt an instant sense of relief to be putting some distance between himself and this human radiator! “Mmm… come back to bed?!” moaned Kris, still mumbling in a way that said he was just sleep-talking, “I’m lonely on my own…” Brody shook his head as he began to gather his clothes off the floor of the hotel room. He wanted to shower as soon as he possibly could, and wash his mouth out. The desire to scrub himself from head to toe, both inside and out, was becoming more and more urgent the longer he stayed here. Looking at that naked man in the bed now, and the used condoms on the floor, he felt decidedly nauseous. He’d just had sex with a man. Why had he done that?! What kind of person would sleep with someone the way that he just had?! When they really didn’t want to and had to fake it the whole way through?! Why would someone do that?! In some ways, he felt like a prostitute. He imagined that this was how they felt after the deed was done… used and dirty. But maybe he was worse, because he hadn’t even been paid? At least that would be an excuse! He’d done it for no good reason at all! He tiptoed to the bathroom, trying not to wake the sleeping body in the bed, and shut himself inside. He clicked the lock and threw the clothes on the floor. “**** you!” he whispered to himself in the mirror, as he began to cry. His voice was trembling as tears began to stream down his face and he could barely see his reflection. “How ****ing stupid are you?!” he asked himself. He’d never hated himself more! He cast his mind back to the conversation at the table in the restaurant and tried to understand his thought process. What had he been thinking?! Why had the idea of sleeping with a man suddenly seemed so appealing?! He’d never done anything like this before. Why now?! Had Kris drugged him or something?! It was possible… He thought about the number of times that he’d left his drink unattended, and how many opportunities he would have had to slip something in it. It would have been so easy! Maybe he’d done it again when they’d got back here?! He turned the taps on and began to splash cold water in his face. Looking in the mirror again, he tried to gauge whether he might be high or not. He was definitely a little drunk still, but surely if he’d been drugged, he’d be a lot more out of it than this?! ‘You’re just being paranoid!’ he thought to himself as he picked up a towel and dried his face, ‘Nobody drugged you! You’re just an idiot!’ He was still crying. ‘Okay’ he said, under his breath, ‘Get it together, Brodes! …You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out! …Just get dressed and leave… and do it NOW!’ As he bent down, to pick up his clothes, he was startled by a loud bang on the bathroom door. Kris was outside! “Are you in there?!” he yelled, as he began to batter and batter on it, “Why the **** are you hiding in there?! …You don’t hide from me! You hear?!” He began to kick the base of the door, as though he was trying to kick it open. “Get the **** out here now!” roared Kris, “Get that little ass of yours out here now or I’ll whip you till you bleed!” It didn’t sound like his voice. It was more like he was mimicking the voice of an older man. Brody cowered against the wall and stared at the door in fear. What the hell had just happened?! Was that really Kris out there, and if so, how had he suddenly turned into this violent monster?! “Don’t make me break this door down and come get you, you little ****!” shouted the voice outside. The banging became even more aggressive, and he jumped when he realised that Kris had shoulder-charged the door. Luckily it hadn’t opened! His heart was racing like it never had before. He had to escape! He looked up and saw that there was a window high up above the shower. It was very narrow, but at a glance he was fairly certain that he could squeeze through it. It was the kind of window that didn’t open so he was going to have to break it. The only question was whether there was something heavy enough to break it with. He stared around the small bathroom, looking for a suitable implement, as he tried to drown out the incessant threats and banging from outside the door. “You little prick!” roared Kris, as he started kicking the base of the door again, “I’m gonna make you squeal when I get my hands on you! You little ****! I can hear you in there, crying for your mummy! …You make me sick!” Brody was really beginning to panic. What would he do if the psycho actually managed to get in?! How would he defend himself?! His eyes fell on the lid of the cistern. That was heavy, and if he could lift it high enough and swing it, then it would certainly break the glass! “I’m gonna ****ing kill you!” roared Kris, as he shoulder-charged the door again, rather ineffectively, “I’m gonna strangle you with my two hands!” SMASH! The window was broken. Brody managed to hoist himself up the wall and started to wriggle his way head first out the window. BANG! Kris crashed through the door, just in time to see Brody’s naked feet disappear out through the small rectangular window. It was quite a drop and Brody hit the ground with a terrible thump and smashed his face. “Mmmrrrhmmm!” he cried, as he sat in a heap on the ground outside and stared up at the window. His nose was bleeding and his head hurt. “Oh, Jesus!” came a gasp from inside, but he didn’t seem to be making any effort to follow him out the window. He heard his voice repeating the word ‘****!’ over and over in a quieter sort of way as he retreated out of the bathroom. Was he coming for him?! “Oh, God!” exclaimed Brody. He needed to go! He needed to get up and go as fast he could, before that psycho came to get him! He wobbled to his feet in a dazed sort of way, and pulled on his boxers. “Brody?!” shouted Kris, as he appeared outside in a dressing gown and ran towards him. He looked wide-eyed and bewildered. “Brody?! Please?!” he pleaded holding up his hands in a sort of surrender as Brody backed away in fear. “Stay away from me!” warned Brody. His clothes were still in a heap on the ground, and he was trying to decide whether he should just run in only his pants, or try to gather them before he left. Could he risk stooping for them? “Brody?!” repeated Kris, “I’m so sorry! …I …I sleepwalk sometimes… I didn’t mean to scare you!” “You’re a psycho!” spat Brody, “You were gonna kill me!” His heart was still hammering at an alarming rate. He’d rarely been this frightened. “I wouldn’t have!” said Kris, “I’m sorry… I know I probably said some… some weird stuff… but…” “It’s not okay!” said Brody, wiping at the blood that was now dripping from his nose, “I need to go…” “Okay” said Kris, looking dejected, “I am though… Really sorry…” Brody took a tentative step forward and bent down to pick his clothes up, but he kept his eyes fixed on him the whole time! Just in case he had to make a run for it. “My dad!” blurted Kris, “I dream about my dad…” He looked up at him. Was he trying to make him feel sorry for him?! Really?! After what he’d just done?! “All that shouting? …He used to shout at me like that…” said Kris, with his eyes fixed on the sand below their feet. It was clear that he was very close to tears. “He used to scare me…” he said, his voice trembling a little. “I can’t do this” said Brody, with an exasperated little laugh, “I can’t be your shoulder to cry on… not after that… not after tonight…” “But I…” he started to say, but he saw from the look on Brody’s face that he’d had enough. “Okay” he said, sniffling a little, “Just… please?! Please don’t tell anyone…?!” “Don’t tell anyone?” repeated Brody. He was still a little too stunned to understand what he was asking. “I have a…” said Kris, looking up at him in a shamefaced sort of way, “I have a reputation… a career…” Brody shook his head at him in pity. Was that all he cared about?! A few minutes ago, he’d been trying to kick down a door, and threatening to kill him?! He obviously had bigger problems than some one night stand telling tales about him! “Please?!” he pleaded again. “**** you!” said Brody, before turning and limping away. He could feel Kris’ eyes on him as he made his way across the beach with his clothes bundled in his arms. So much hurt. So much neediness… He just didn’t have the energy for it! Not with everything else that was swirling around his head right now. He had enough to deal with, without adding a ‘boyfriend’ with daddy issues, and a major ego to the mix! He was tired. All he could think was that he wanted to go home and curl up in bed. He wanted to hide under the covers and try to forget the things that had happened tonight. Maybe if he tried really hard, he could wipe it from his memory, and start again tomorrow as though tonight had never taken place?! Maybe? Sunday night continued… “I tried to tell him!” exclaimed Kris, sitting down on one of the stools and dabbing at his injured eyebrow. He showed the bloody tissue to the gathered crowd. “I tried to tell him but he wouldn’t listen! …He’s a ****ing animal!” The crowd had started murmuring and staring at Mason in an accusing sort of way. “****!” sighed Mason, with an exasperated little huff. How much trouble was he going to be in now?! “Look, mate?” he said, taking on a much more apologetic demeanour, “I uh… I’m… I’m sorry… You can understand why… I mean…” Kris shook his head at him. “I don’t want to hear it!” he said, as he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket, “I’m calling the cops!” He looked around the little crowd of people still nosily watching the scene unfold, and pointed at his phone. “You guys are all my witnesses!” he said, “You saw what this guy did to me! You saw!” Brody made a sudden move forward and grabbed the phone out of his hand. “No!” he said, through gritted teeth. “Hey!” exclaimed Kris, trying to get it back, “You can’t do that!” “I think I can!” growled Brody. He pulled in uncomfortably close to him and stared him right in the eye. Being so close to him now, with all that blood on his face and hands, he was practically salivating! He was having to fight the urge to bite him right there and then! ‘I know what you really are!’ he told him silently. He mimicked his father’s voice in his head and said ‘If you don’t come out of there, you little ****, I’m gonna whip your ass till it bleeds!’ Kris’ eyes widened a little, as though he’d heard him. All his bravado was suddenly gone. He was a snivelling little boy whose dad was angry because he’d wet the bed. “I came… I came here to apologise!” he stammered, “For the other night… but… but then… then your psycho brother just attacked me!” “He got it wrong” said Brody, talking deliberately loudly for the benefit of the gathered crowd, “It was just a misunderstanding… You know what that’s like?” He gazed intently into his eyes. An image of a newspaper floated into his head, with the headline ‘Celebrity Food Reviewer Attacks One Night Stand’ emblazoned on the front page. ‘I’ll do it!’ he warned him mentally, ‘You make that call, and hurt my brother, and I’ll do it in a heartbeat!’ “Okay” said Kris, giving a little nod, “Okay… fine.” He sounded panicked. “Good” smiled Brody, “Now go!” He couldn’t bear to be around him or his tasty tasty blood anymore. It was driving him insane. If he didn’t leave now, he was going to have to have a little taste… one way or another. “What about my phone?” asked Kris, glancing in an embarrassed way at the people watching. They were all staring at him with confused expressions. How had this whole thing been shut down so quickly?! And why had he changed his mind so abruptly?! It didn’t make sense! No-one looked more confused than Mason and Justin. “Here” said Brody, handing it back to him, ‘Now **** off!’ He said it with a flash of his ‘vampire’ eyes and couldn’t help chuckling a little when he saw his reaction. Kris staggered backwards, in a sudden panic, and nearly fell over people to get away. They all watched as he scurried out the door. “How?” asked Mason, looking at Brody in surprise, “How did you…?” He looked at Mason and gave a little shrug. “I threatened to tell people something that he really doesn’t want to be made public” “Which is?” asked Justin. He was still worried that he was covering for him. Something about the way his brother was behaving just wasn’t right! Brody gave a little shrug and just walked away. Now that Kris was gone, the overpoweringly strong smell of blood was gone with him. Now he could hear everyone’s heartbeat around him. Calling to him… taunting him… The noise of it was deafening! Any one of them would have made a tasty treat! He wanted them all! “Are you okay?” asked Justin, as he followed him towards the door. “I’m fine!” snapped Brody, as he turned and put his hand on Justin’s chest to stop him in his tracks. “I need some space!” he said, “So, I’m gonna go… and you’re not gonna follow me.” “But I…” said Justin. “You’re not going to follow me!” repeated Brody. He was enjoying this whole mind control thing! Who knew that he would be such a quick learner?! Justin just nodded and took a step back. “Where’s he going?” asked Mason, as they watched him walk out the door. “Who knows?!” sighed Justin, “Who the **** knows?!”

Wow! So much in here! I can understand why Spencer is so hostile towards Evie now, although I think Evie had every right to make that decision. It's not easy. It's lovely that Ricky and Kyle got to have a child together, and that Marilyn did that for them Loved the scene with Hunter and Heath! Hunter's a brave fella to be making out with Darcy where there's even a chance of Heath catching him, very funny! And, oh God, poor Leah! Really enjoying this x

Sad how Kyle immediately jumped to the conclusion that his brothers didn't care about him. Shows how low his self esteem is. I kinda hope phoebe gets caught on her 'secret mission'. He needs to start telling the truth! Looking forward to the next update x

Love the deep and meaningful chats. This is comedy gold.

Don't get your hopes up too much, but I'll do my best