He wasn't sure how he'd never noticed Rick before; after all, the tall, dark-haired boy with a nose-ring and a giant tattoo of what looked like a dragon-horse hybrid plastered over his forearm was kind of tough to ignore. But Elliot had pretty much given up on connecting with his classmates, and they him, so when Rick unceremoniously dumped his books on the desk where he was sitting, Elliot was more than a little surprised.
"Hey," Rick said, grinning, and stuck out one beefy hand. "Name's Rick. Don't think we've met before."
Elliot cautiously returned the handshake. "Elliot," he said.
"Oh, oh yeah, I know your name, don't worry," Rick said with a rueful smile. "You're, uh, kind of well known around here."
Elliot glared mutinously and looked away. "Well, yeah, if you're here to just rub it in, you can get lost."
Rick put up his hands. "Hey, I didn't say I agreed with them, did I?" Elliot looked at him again through the corner of his eye, and Rick's face looked so open, so honest, that he couldn't help but believe. A little. "This is just - it's a crazy place, y'know? Kind of hard to hold on to a sense of perspective when everybody around you is behaving like they've got into some herd-mind thing. I have to admit, it could be refreshing to know someone who doesn't think this whole shindig is the greatest thing ever, yeah?"
Elliot allowed himself a smile. "Yeah. It could be."
-
He quickly discovered that Rick was nothing like the others; he couldn't care less if he didn't excel in his classes, and unlike Elliot, made sure that people knew that he didn't care. He would lounge in the back bench of the classroom and take gleeful delight in telling the increasingly-annoyed professors that he had no idea about what they were asking him, and that he didn't give a shit that he did.
More than anything, Rick was utterly unawed by the adult vampyres or the things that they claimed they did, leave alone the Dark Daughters and the other student cliques.
Elliot asked him about it one night, as they hovered around the dinner buffet table. "You do realise they're brainwashing us, don't you?" Rick said, raising his eyebrows. "All this stuff about Nyx, and these rituals, and the constant emphasis on how great vampyres are - it's all just propaganda, man. They're trying to convince themselves of being something they're not - like they're god's greatest gift to the world, except they're just, like, two steps above being blood-drinking child-snatching monsters."
"But --" Elliot frowned. "You - we... are going to end up like - like them, one day, aren't we?"
Rick stopped shovelling potato salad onto his plate, his smile abruptly fading. "I know," he said. "I guess - we just, we'll have to make the most of what we have right now, yeah?"
-
They were in Sociology class, playing rummy under the table when it happened.
Elliot didn't ever remember being happier since reaching the House of Night; he still wanted his family and his old life back, and the craving was like a physical ache in his chest, but being with Rick was so much fun, he was beginning to think he might be finally able to adjust to this life. He and Rick were becoming notorious for their carefree attitude to the dictates of vampyre life - there were quite a few mutters of how could Nyx allow this - and sometimes, when fooling around with Rick, Elliot could allow himself to think: maybe I can do this. Maybe I can be different. Maybe -- maybe I can get something good out of this.
Then, it happened.
It started off innocently enough, with Rick sniffing and coughing into his sleeve, Elliot telling him off for getting snot and germs all over the cards. Then the coughing began to get more intense; as Elliot watched, horrified, Rick dropped the cards, hugging himself, leaning forward as he heaved for a breath. The teacher was by them instantly, pushing Elliot away and bringing Rick to his feet even as he gave an almighty shudder and began coughing up blood.
The teacher waved off a very curious class and Elliot's increasingly desperate entreaties as a stretcher was brought in, and Rick was wheeled away.
Later that night, Elliot learnt that Rick had died not long after.
He'd never felt quite as alone as he did that moment.
Elliot's Story - 3/?
"Hey," Rick said, grinning, and stuck out one beefy hand. "Name's Rick. Don't think we've met before."
Elliot cautiously returned the handshake. "Elliot," he said.
"Oh, oh yeah, I know your name, don't worry," Rick said with a rueful smile. "You're, uh, kind of well known around here."
Elliot glared mutinously and looked away. "Well, yeah, if you're here to just rub it in, you can get lost."
Rick put up his hands. "Hey, I didn't say I agreed with them, did I?" Elliot looked at him again through the corner of his eye, and Rick's face looked so open, so honest, that he couldn't help but believe. A little. "This is just - it's a crazy place, y'know? Kind of hard to hold on to a sense of perspective when everybody around you is behaving like they've got into some herd-mind thing. I have to admit, it could be refreshing to know someone who doesn't think this whole shindig is the greatest thing ever, yeah?"
Elliot allowed himself a smile. "Yeah. It could be."
-
He quickly discovered that Rick was nothing like the others; he couldn't care less if he didn't excel in his classes, and unlike Elliot, made sure that people knew that he didn't care. He would lounge in the back bench of the classroom and take gleeful delight in telling the increasingly-annoyed professors that he had no idea about what they were asking him, and that he didn't give a shit that he did.
More than anything, Rick was utterly unawed by the adult vampyres or the things that they claimed they did, leave alone the Dark Daughters and the other student cliques.
Elliot asked him about it one night, as they hovered around the dinner buffet table. "You do realise they're brainwashing us, don't you?" Rick said, raising his eyebrows. "All this stuff about Nyx, and these rituals, and the constant emphasis on how great vampyres are - it's all just propaganda, man. They're trying to convince themselves of being something they're not - like they're god's greatest gift to the world, except they're just, like, two steps above being blood-drinking child-snatching monsters."
"But --" Elliot frowned. "You - we... are going to end up like - like them, one day, aren't we?"
Rick stopped shovelling potato salad onto his plate, his smile abruptly fading. "I know," he said. "I guess - we just, we'll have to make the most of what we have right now, yeah?"
-
They were in Sociology class, playing rummy under the table when it happened.
Elliot didn't ever remember being happier since reaching the House of Night; he still wanted his family and his old life back, and the craving was like a physical ache in his chest, but being with Rick was so much fun, he was beginning to think he might be finally able to adjust to this life. He and Rick were becoming notorious for their carefree attitude to the dictates of vampyre life - there were quite a few mutters of how could Nyx allow this - and sometimes, when fooling around with Rick, Elliot could allow himself to think: maybe I can do this. Maybe I can be different. Maybe -- maybe I can get something good out of this.
Then, it happened.
It started off innocently enough, with Rick sniffing and coughing into his sleeve, Elliot telling him off for getting snot and germs all over the cards. Then the coughing began to get more intense; as Elliot watched, horrified, Rick dropped the cards, hugging himself, leaning forward as he heaved for a breath. The teacher was by them instantly, pushing Elliot away and bringing Rick to his feet even as he gave an almighty shudder and began coughing up blood.
The teacher waved off a very curious class and Elliot's increasingly desperate entreaties as a stretcher was brought in, and Rick was wheeled away.
Later that night, Elliot learnt that Rick had died not long after.
He'd never felt quite as alone as he did that moment.
-