Blood and Love

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Aaron's Story V—The Confession

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"Dude, I'm ordering pizza. What do you want?" Sean shouted from the kitchen. Comfortably seated on the sofa, watching a random Dracula movie (How ironic life is!) in the living room, I replied loudly.

"The usual one would be great."

I heard him speaking our regular order into the kitchen landline and making his way to the living room. Jumping onto the sofa, he sat facing me, eyebrow raised with the familiar smile of I-have-a-question.

I had an inkling of what was coming and continued staring at the screen ignoring him hard. Finally, when he realized I wasn't going to initiate the conversation he blurted.

"So, what's the deal with you and Dan?"

Without taking my eyes off the screen where a Dracula clad in flowing black robes was floating towards a sleeping woman, I grunted.

"There's no deal there. Don't get ideas. Now can I watch the movie in peace?"

Without warning he grabbed the cushion whereupon I was resting my head and yanked it away. Annoyed I turned to him frowning, only to find him grinning with puppy-eyes. I rolled my eyes, mute the TV and turned to face him.

"Okay! What do you wanna know?"

Grinning widely, he shoots. "What's up between you and Dan? Is something hot happening?"

Smiling slightly I answered in the negative. "He doesn't say anything and I ain't gonna presume stuff and tread on an unknown path."

Sean let out a heavy sigh, and fell back against the sofa, resting. "You guys are impossible. Seriously, can't you work out a simple thing? Even the blind can see you guys care about each other. But no, you both dung-heads have to be hard nuts! Don't you love him?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I dunno Sean. I like him. But, at this point I can't really say that I love him. I will not hurry into this till he shows some sign."

Sean shrugged. "Whatever you want. Just don't delay to the point of no recovery."

A few minutes of silence established itself. Amanda had gone to a college re-union and was to be back late. I was supposed to meet Jacob, but plans had changed. So, now it was just Sean and me, spending quality brother-time.

"What do you think is up with Stefan these days?" Sean shot a question out of the blue.

"Huh?" I started. Dragging myself out of my fantasy world, I turned to Sean. "What makes you ask that?"

Sean thought for a while, sighing and then answered. "I dunno man. He has been dodging my calls for a week now. And doesn't talk much in college. Since, the night Evan and I came together, Stefan has been a bit distant. This worries me. On the Halloween night, Evan had said something about Stefan having a crush on me. Do you think that's possible?"

I ruminated over whatever I had heard. "That's a likely situation. I mean Stefan and you have been best friends for like forever. So, there may be a chance he developed something for you. It's natural dude. If I had been in his place, I'd keep myself away from the person, since I'd not want to ruin his happiness. If I couldn't have him, that doesn't mean I shouldn't let him have his happiness. But, then this is just a hypothesis. Perhaps, you should speak with him sometime. Confront him off-guard. That way he'll be vulnerable for you to know what he feels."

Sean looked at me with a mixture of amusement and appreciation. "What are you? Dr. Phil?"

I winked at him. "Nay. Been there, done that."

We were laughing heartily when Sean's cell started ringing. By the brightened looks on his face, I guessed it was Evan calling.

"Hey honey. Wassup?"

I winked at him, making a pout and mouthing "Awwww!He misses you!"

Sean threw a cushion at me which I dodged when the door-bell rang.

"Go get the pizza! Yeah honey, so as I was saying when can I expect some company in the solitary hours of the night?"

Laughing and dodging another pillow I headed towards the door. I could hear Sean talking loudly in the living room as I made my way to the front door. The doorbell rang again. Harder this time. I guessed the pizza-delivery guy was in great hurry.

"Coming!" Hollering at him I reached out and opened the door to see a man in his late twenties. Dressed in the pizza hut attire, carrying two pizza boxes, he had a mean air about him. He didn't seem a very appealing character as he frowned at me. He seemed anaemic by his paleness and had sharp eyes which seemed as cold as ice.

In a voice which seemed as cold as steel he spoke slowly. "Your pizzas, sir."

I grabbed the boxes and asked him to wait for me to bring the money. I headed to the kitchen, kept the pizzas, grabbed some dollars from my wallet and headed to the front door. The guy still stood there. Arms crossed at his chest staring sharply at me. That guy seemed really creepy. As I proceeded towards him the landline rang. I hurried to receive it.

"Hey Amanda. Oh! You won't be coming back tonight?"

"Can I have my money?" He shot at me.

Still on the phone, I beckoned him to come in and take it. However, he just stood at the door looking at me. I guessed he had not understood my expression.

"Dude, come in and take this. Yeah, so I'll lock the doors and get to the kitchen stuff. Anything else?"

He stepped in when I asked him to and took the money from my hands. However, he stood there looking at me. Still on the phone, I frowned and cast a questioning glance at him.

Without another word, he turned and departed, closing the door behind him.

*****

"That was awesome!" Sean exclaimed reclining on the sofa. I finished the remaining pizza and started gathering the crumbs, cleaning the sofa. Amanda would freak out if she found crumbs in the living rooms. Picking up the boxes, I headed to the kitchen to chuck them.

"Dude, get me a glass of water while you're at it." Sean called after me.

"Yes, your highness." With a wide sarcastic smile I exited.

Chucking the boxes in the trash, I reached out for a glass. As I made my way to the fridge I remembered the incident that had happened here. A slight smile at the weird point of our kissing, followed by disdain at the exchange of some not so lovely words during the encounter; as I reminisced that night. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle. Placing the glass on the table, I started filling it. But, my thoughts were wandering. Now, I was remembering our first encounter. The way he had fought to save me, his strong arms as he supported me to the house, the intensity in his looks whenever he set eyes on me, everything had transported me into my realm of fantasy; leaving me clueless of my surrounding.

"AARON!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream brought me crashing to the earth. Sean had shouted out from the living room. The bottle fell from my hands, knocking the glass of the table, which made its way to the tiled floor and shattered into a million pieces. But, I was already on my way to the living room. The scream had been followed by the sound of breaking china. My heart was banging in my chest as I entered the living room. The sight my eyes met rooted me to the spot. Transfixed and astounded I tried to make sense of the situation. There was no blood or gory sight before me. There stood Stefan before me, dressed in some stupid robes, holding a crappy hideous monster mask while Sean was on the floor glaring at him.

Letting out a heavy sigh of relief I dropped into a chair shaking my head. Stefan, still laughing, turned towards me.

"The look on his face is priceless!"

Sean got up and stomped towards the sofa. Throwing himself into it he scorned. "What are you, twelve?"

"Really Stefan, you almost gave me a heart attack. And that vase you guys broke; Amanda's gonna be pissed." I smiled.

"Come on guys! It's been ages since I've done this. The good old days!" With a wide grin of contentment and reminiscence he settled next to Sean and put an arm around his shoulder. Sean threw his arm away and moved to the far corner of the sofa.

Insistent that Stefan is, he moved closer to Sean and pulled him into a close hug. After a bit of struggle, Sean finally let go of his annoyance and snuggled with him, laughing. I smiled at their childish acts; they really were best friends after all these years.

"Another time, and you'll be dead, Stefan!" Sean playfully warned him.

"I'd love to die at your hands." Stefan smiled flirtatiously.

"Jeez! That's so cheesy!" I frowned shaking my head while they burst into laughter yet again.

"Anyway, how come you're here after avoiding me for a week now?" Sean questioned turning to face Stefan.

A slightly uneasy expression replaced the beaming one as the handsome face gave every sign of withholding something he had long wanted to say. Sean raised his eyebrows expecting an answer while Stefan shifted uncomfortably in the sofa. The temperature in the room seemed to have fallen several degrees. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of awkward silence Stefan got off the sofa, went down on one knee and faced Sean.

"I...I don't know how to say this. But....but I cannot keep this to myself anymore. Sean, I don't know when this happened; or how this happened. I mean all these years we've been best friends and very close. But, what I feel for you now is something very different from what I could ever imagine feeling for you. I know this is wrong as you're with Evan and I cannot ask you for this. I tried distancing myself from you but I failed to do that too. Sean," he looked deep into Sean's eyes and after a heavy breath spoke the words that were to affect our existence forever, "I love you."

*****

Daniel's Story V

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Flicking another page of the magazine I looked up at Evan. Something was up with him. An hour ago he had been calm and in bliss after having chatted quite animatedly with Sean. But, something was bugging him now as he paced the living room fervently. I had tried to concentrate on the magazine but the continuous pacing and 'subtle' hints of seeking a conversation were getting to me now. Chucking the magazine aside I spoke.

"Seriously dude, what's wrong? Why are you being a tornado?"

He stopped pacing and turned towards me. "I don't know."

Perplexed and sceptical I questioned," Excuse me? What do you mean?"

"I said I don't know. This weird sense of foreboding is getting to me. I have a strange feeling of something not very good happening. I feel nostalgic and uneasy. I can't place the feelings but it's as if I'm losing something and can't see what."

With this pronouncement he resumed his to and fro motion while I pondered over what he had said. Nothing seemed amiss to me. Everyone was safe and happy. I couldn't think of anything that could go wrong at this juncture.

"I guess you're fears are pointless, Evan. What could possibly be wrong? It's just a false alarm of your intuition. Relax."

My attempt at comforting him didn't do a great job. In fact, his agitation was paramount now as his pacing became faster. Suddenly, he grabbed his coat and declared.

"I'm going to meet Sean. I can't be at peace till I've seen him."

I frowned in astonishment. "What? Really, you're turning into one of those obsessed boyfriends."

"Whatever dude. I have to see him."

With that he went away with his vampire-speed while I sat staring after him. Evan could be very obstinate and obsessed at times. He had to learn to chill and give his 24*7 charged antenna of intuition a rest. However, on second thoughts, there was nothing wrong with checking up if things are wrong. Even the most fool proof plans have been known to fall through due to carelessness. Perhaps, I should check them too.

With this thought crossing my mind, I took out the cell and dialled the number of our only ally in the town. Had it not been for her we wouldn't have got the witch protection on Sean. Thanks to her Sean was still alive and moving and not turned into a vampire. She was quite strong for a young witch and our only hope in keeping the Noctimonstra at bay along with keeping a track of the Sanguinatus.

The familiar voice spoke on the other end of the call. "Hi Daniel, is something wrong? It's eleven in the night and your calls don't really bring pleasant news."

"Hi. Nay. Nothing is wrong but I'd like you to check the charms on Sean and the Geller residence. Are they still intact? Evan's feeling a bit uneasy so I thought if you could check them."

"Ask Evan to take a break! Anyway, I get to know if my charms have been broken but I'll check them, just in case. I'll get back to you later."

"That'd be great. Thanks a ton."

"Mention not. Bye." And the line went dead. Now all I had to do was to wait for her call to confirm everything was fine. Evan shouldn't worry much about this. He really needed a break. Perhaps, a trip to the nearby town could chill him. Sean and he would do well with a break. Plus, I could accompany them for protection. And Aaron would come too. Aaron, the name started a train of thoughts that none could stop. As I stepped into the cloud of thoughts encircling him, my cell rang loudly, ending the just beginning thoughts. A very distressed voice of the witch was speaking.

"Daniel, I don't know what happened. But, the charm I put on the Geller residence to keep Noctimonstra away has been broken. Apparently, a counter-charm that hid the effect from me was performed. The worst part is that the safety charm I put on Sean has been shattered too. Someone is cornering them and will strike soon. You have to go. I'm on my way."

"There's no time to lose. Evan has left to meet Sean. We need to reach there ASAP."

Without another word I rushed out of the house. Evan had been right. A huge danger was looming on the Gellers now.

*****

Sean's Story IX— The tumult

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I sat transfixed and shocked. Stefan's confession had initiated a tumult of paradoxical emotions in me, rendering me numb and incapable of thinking in the process. Aaron sat in the chair across with his mouth slightly open and eyes wide. Stefan was still on his knees looking at me with expectation, love, hope and earnest in his eyes. As time passed, and my numb brain began to make sense of things I tried to voice my tumult.

"I...I don't know what to say to you, Stefan. I mean you love me is just so unbelievable. This...this is so confusing. I don't know how to react to this. Why? Why? And how did this happen?"

I could no longer sit. The storm within me was raging and unnerving me. The flood that had come into my life had messed everything up. I had been forced to reach a bifurcation; to make a choice again; my best friend of all these years versus the love of my life. How could this happen? How could I choose between them?

"I don't know how this happened Sean. I never saw you as more than my best friend. But, lately after you started going out with Evan, and we became distanced I realized how much I was used to your presence around me. I realized how much I missed being the only one you loved the most and loved to hang out with all the time. I missed 'you'. I missed 'us'. Please try to understand me. I know this is wrong, that I'm being selfish; but I can't help it. I love you and cannot live without you. And now that I've realized my true feelings for you, it's become even harder to live without you."

Every word that he was uttering was pushing me to the edge making this confusion even greater. The tumult and chaos in my being was paramount now as he incessantly confessed his love for me. Suddenly, I couldn't understand my feelings anymore. I loved Evan. Yes I did love him. But, somewhere these words had raised new feelings for Stefan. The fact that we had been friends for all these years and that he had a special place in my life was giving these new-found feelings a name I didn't, I couldn't use. A yearning for Stefan had started forming in my heart but Evan's thoughts were still existent. I was confused, torn between both of them. I couldn't live without any of them. I couldn't choose between them. This was not helping. I had to decide between them. I had to lose one. I had to realize my feelings and make the other realize them too. This was not what I had meant my relationships to be. This trio was something I had never imagined in my life.

"What the hell is happening here?"

I froze in my tracks. No. this could not happen. I turned to look at Evan standing at the living room door. He was glaring at Stefan in fury. This was definitely not going well.

"I asked what the hell you think you're trying to do."

I decided to intervene. "Nothing Evan. Stefan is just--"

But, Evan cut across me and directed his furious looks towards Stefan. "Answer me Stefan! What do you think you're doing by coming up to my boyfriend and talking crap when you are aware that he loves me, and that we are together!"

Stefan's temper was also reaching its dangerous level. "Crap?!? I'm not talking crap Evan! I love him and I have to tell him. He should know my feelings. You have no right to decide what he will and will not hear."

"Shut the fuck up! I have every right to intervene if some crackpot fool turns up and decides to ruin our relationship. What kind of a person are you?"

"I'm not ruining anything." Stefan bellowed. "I was simply confessing my feelings. We have been best friends for ten years now. I have a more important place in his life, Evan. You just came a couple of months ago. Sean and I have known each other for years. You are the one who came butting in and ruined everything."

Evan's temper lost restraint. He flew at Stefan and with a swift blow knocked him across the room. He collided with the wall and landed on the floor. Evan's vampire strength was showing itself. I had to stop them. I ran between them and tried to push Evan away from Stefan.

"Don't do this Evan. You cannot hurt him! For my sake, retreat!"

Evan looked at me and stepped back. Stefan got up from the floor, scowling and furious. However, I was ready for him. I swiftly reached him and wiped the trail of blood from his cut lip. I gave him a beseeching look to not retaliate. He looked into my eyes and stayed put while I nursed him. Evan stood in the other corner casting murderous looks at Stefan.

"That's enough, Sean. He'll be fine. I guess it's time for him to leave." Evan ordered.

Stefan ignored him and turned to me. "Sean, please say something. I love you and I need you. Will you leave your best friend? Will you turn your back to our ten years of friendship? Will you turn your back to my love for you? Will you turn your face away from my life? Will you leave me alone on this road?"

A single tear swelled in his eyes and made its way down his cheek. I felt my heart soften and cry for him. I was confused but compelled. I couldn't be with him. I loved Evan. I loved Stefan too. But, somehow we couldn't be together. I couldn't bring myself to say this to him. I couldn't bring myself to snatch the little hope in his eyes. I couldn't stand to see despair and dejection in the eyes that had fuelled my life all these years. But, I had no choice.

"Stefan...I...I don't know how to say this to you..."

The window pane shattered and a dark shadow swiftly flew into the room. All of a sudden I saw Evan crumpling as the dark blur passed by him. I saw a wooden stake in Evan's chest. Blood was gushing out of his chest as he fell to the floor. I screamed in horror and fear. The shadow moved towards Aaron and he was lifted and thrown at the cabinet. He crumpled into a senseless heap on the floor. The shadow stopped and the man materialized. He had been moving with the swift vampire speed and appeared a shadow. Tall man, thick jaw, menacing eyes and a murder etched in every feature of that stony, monstrous face. He walked over to me. Stefan was dumbfounded and shocked but seemed to have gained courage as he jumped between us. The vampire bared his fangs and growled at Stefan who backed a step or two but tried to keep his ground.