Reflections

SOMETHING SPECIAL
FLASHBACK: 1700s, England somewhere
Lillian Frazier sat in a dark alley sobbing. Her dearly beloved Charles publicly humiliated her in front of all of her friends. He had spoiled her expensive gown and left her for another girl. She had run out of the party in a mad rush. Not a very good thing for a young defenseless girl to do.
"Shouldn't such pretty girl like yourself be at a party right now? You are dressed as though you were to be going to one right this moment." Lily looked up and saw herself gazing into the eyes of a mysterious, but wonderfully handsome young man. His face was chiseled and perfect. If he stood perfectly still anyone could mistake him for a statue. He tilted his head questioningly and she answered acidly, " I was at one. But I'm not now, am I?" The young man nodded with a smile and replied, " My name is Ryan. What's yours?"
"Lilian."
"Pretty name. Fits a pretty girl such as yourself. But I prefer Lily."
"Thank you. But preferences don’t really matter because I don’t know you. " Lily turned away from him nervously. Ryan sighed and sat down next to her.
"You don’t look like a day over 20, sweetheart. You shouldn’t be so sad and alone, you poor little thing.” In the silence his perfect face suddenly brightened as if a fine idea sprang into his mind.
“Would you like an answer to all of these troubles that are hurting you? The solution that will make all of the pains go away?" He asked her seriously, his dark eyes wide with question and interest. She turned and looked at him suspiciously, but sniffled and nodded.
"Good. Now, I can help you, but this will hurt a bit, so sit very still and I will take care of you from now on. Alright?" He didn’t take the time for her to nod, taking her chin gently in his hand and tilted her head away, exposing her smooth, pale neck. Ryan sank his fangs into her soft flesh and life as Lily Frazier knew it stopped. Or rather, life had just begun.
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PRESENT DAY MICHIGAN
Lily sat in her dark apartment waiting for the stupid sun to go down. Night would hopefully come soon and the party would begin. Literally. Her, Ryan, and Lydia were planning on crashing a party that was being held at the local university. And being out of the fun for so long made Lily yearn for blood.
" Wonder if Ryan'll be at his place tonight?" She pondered, getting very, very, bored. I should have stayed with him last night, she thought, at least he has a working TV.
" I need to steal that from him sometime." Lily told herself slyly, picturing the male vampire's face when he saw his precious TV missing.
"Steal what from who? Ryan's what?" An unexpected voice echoed, bouncing around the sparsely decorated room.
"Hey Lyd! What's up? Did you use the tunnels? I didn't think they were connected to your place."
" That's a stupid question, yeah I used the tunnels! I had to run in the sun for a little bit, but I had my handy dandy blankie to keep me from sizzling up."
Lydia lifted up the blanket with a smile and hopped effortlessly over a large plush couch to sit next to her long time pal. They sat quietly for a while until Lily stood up and gazed out of the thin slits in the closed and covered windows at the orangey light of the setting sun, her green eyes dazed. Lydia shook her head and grabbed Lily's arm, breaking her trance.
" You shouldn't like the sun Lil', it's not for us."
"I know Lyd', but I'm so ready to go to that party! I haven't been able to get out for ever!"
Lydia grinned her agreement and changed the subject.
" So what's this about Ryan's TV? Do you even have cable? Wait, backtrack, do you even have electricity?"
"Sure I do, I just need to get someone to hook it up for me."
"And that someone wouldn't just happen to be Ryan himself would it?"
Lily looked at Lydia with a surprised smile.
"What?! No way! He's just the only …guy vampire I know... that… knows how to hook up a TV, no other reason."
Lydia didn't look convinced.
"What, you don't believe me?"
"Ummm, let me think about that for a second. No, I don't believe you."
Lily shrugged and replied, " Well, he is a little cutie, but I don't like him like that. We're just friends." ‘We’ve already been through that before…’ She thought to herself.
"Yeah Uh-huh, sure. Whatever, it doesn't matter right now, it's party time!"
They smiled and took the short walk to the university, cutting through the cemetery.
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Ryan waited impatiently for the girls to arrive outside of the slowly filling frat house. He had wanted to see Lily before they went inside, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Where are they?" he asked himself, leaning towards a window to look at the clock hanging on a wall inside on the house’s creamy white wall. 7:30. He sighed and lit another cigarette.
"Hey, you waited for us? How nice! You're a real gentleman Ryan! " Lydia called energetically over a group of teenagers talking by the door. They all looked at her strangely but received a threatening warning glare from Lily, silencing them immediately.
"Yeah I waited, but don't expect it too often." Ryan retorted, smiling. Lily grinned and glanced hungrily at the door.
"Can we go in?" She asked, her eyes gleaming.
"Yeah Mr. Boss- Man, can we go in?" Lydia asked sarcastically before strolling inside. Ryan looked at Lily with a crooked smile.
"After you." He bent down in a low exaggerated bow and Lily laughed warmly.
"Thanks, let's go in or do you want to wait out here and smoke a few more packs?" She asked and walked in without him. Ryan straightened quickly, his cheeks slightly flushed, and followed her in.
"What a bitch." He chuckled to himself.
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Inside the house Lydia scoped the main room. Besides Lily, Ryan, and herself, there were 3 other vamps looking for a meal. Two were females and they seemed to have already picked out their dinner. The male on the other hand was standing in a corner watching the party intently. An hour later, Lydia smiled to herself and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder before confidently walking towards him.
"Hey you, why isn't a good-looking guy like you with a date?"
"I don't know, maybe I had my eye out on you."
"What's your name? Mine's Lydia."
"Jake. Lydia's a pretty name. It fits you." Lydia rolled her eyes. Ryan used the same line on her before he bit her.
"How nice! Thanks." Lydia leaned into him flirtatiously and whispered in his ear, " How 'bout we go outside, it's not very private in here."
"Sure then, let's go outside." Jake wrapped his arm around her waist and the two went outside, each caught up in their own little games.
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Lily watched Lydia walk out with the pretty male vampire and wondered what she was up to.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. She's a big girl." Lily told herself as she walked over to Ryan, who was leaning casually against a wall, scoping out the room with hungry eyes.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing, just watching. Did you see Lyd walk out with Jake? What's she doing?"
"Jake? oh, that guy, yeah I saw them but I don't know what she's up to. Maybe she's going to mess with this guy’s head. Truthfully I don't have a clue. But if you could, can you keep an eye on her? I’m a little worried. Thanks babe." Ryan smiled at her innocently and looked on at the door. Lily always had a place in Ryan's heart, but it wasn't as big and warm as Lydia's. It seemed like never would be. And he never seemed to have a damn clue. Or at least that’s what it seemed.
"Well, I can see that I’m not wanted here so I'll talk to you later." She bade Ryan goodbye tartly and stalked away. Ryan was the only reason she came to the darn thing anyways. She didn't wait for him to follow as she started running.
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Lydia waited for Jake to make his move and turn vampy but he didn't.
'I guess I was wrong about this guy' she thought and made up an excuse to go back into the party.
"What?! But I thought we clicked! Come on Lyd'! Please!?" He begged, grabbing her arm viciously to bring her back.
"Don't touch me." She snarled, turning vamp angrily. Jake saw her sharp fangs and screamed.
"What are you!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Your worst nightmare." She said maliciously before she dug her fangs into his neck.
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Ryan waited a moment in confusion before tearing after Lily.
"Women." He grumbled as he ran through the cemetery, jumping and leaping over tombstones and shrubbery, almost knocking down the groundskeeper. He wondered why she snapped like she did. When he reached her apartment, he yanked the key out of his pocket and fumbled with it, finally stabbing it into the lock. He yelled in joy and shoved the door open, bashing it against the wall, denting the drywall slightly.
“It can be fixed Lil’.” He called softly, chuckling at himself. In that moment he became quiet, shy, and more human than ever before. He straightened his wind blown clothes self consciously and walked inside, looking everywhere for the female vampire. He found her not long after. She was facing the window, staring out at the full moon. Ryan smiled and walked close to her, sliding his arms around her comfortingly. She relaxed for a split second under his backward embrace, but suddenly remembered that she was mad at him and tensed once more. Ryan sighed and moved his hands to her shoulders, spinning her around and stopping her with both hands on her cheeks, ready to clutch and hold for a long time. The whole process took less than 2 seconds. They stared at each other in silence until Ryan finally spoke.
“What’s wrong Lily?” He asked, frowning somewhat scoldingly, as if it was her fault that he was a complicated mess. If that made her angry, she didn’t show it. Lily’s face softened and she leaned towards his face tenderly, her lips forming a secret smile. Ryan smiled back and leaned in as well, happy to be on her good side.
“If you’re that stupid sweetie, figure it out by yourself.” She tensed even more and snapped her fangs, startling the male vampire. He loosened his grip on her face and she sprang, shoving him into a wall and running out of the door, grabbing a duffel bag that Ryan didn’t notice when he came in. He was shocked, all he could do was stare at the door and hope that nothing would go wrong when he went after Lily. The note on the floor would go undetected.
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FLASHBACK 1970s, New York
Ryan strutted into the Bronx, his arm wrapped around Lydia Wagner with a glow in his eyes. Lily was wrapped up in her own vampy fun herself, and Lydia was just the right date for a time like this. They planned on getting a quick bite before getting hammered at the Bronx, but hey, what's the difference in getting drunk before or after dinner? Ryan sat Lydia in a chair and went to go get the drinks.
"Don't worry babe, I'll be back in no time, just sit back and relax. Better yet, pick out some dinner." Lydia rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically, " Sure and you'll be back with Lily too? She's the perfect girl to end such an awesome date like this, isn't she?"
"No, she's not as important to me as you are babe, don't stress out."
He turned and jogged happily over to the bar, completely clueless of Lily's presence in the club.
"He's dead meat." She growled, magenta eyes narrowed.
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"GOD! What's wrong with you?!" Jake yelled, throwing Lydia off of him. Lydia sat on the ground looking up at him, confused and befuddled, her blue eyes wide.
"Yeah, I figured you were a vampire long before you came over to me. Did you actually think I was completely stupid?!" Jake retorted, turning vamp. Lydia sighed and hopped to her feet, ready to go home. She turned around and started walking away, totally blowing off the young vampire.
"You aren't going ANYWHERE unless I say so." Jake grabbed her and whirled her around, holding her tightly in his arms. By then Lydia was getting mad. She wriggled one arm free and grabbed Jake's arm, snapping it like a twig. He collapsed to the ground, screaming,
"AHHHHHH OH MY GOD!!!!! YOU BROKE MY ARM!!!!!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
"Hey, maybe it was that I don't like idiots grabbing me. That's what I was thinking. Do you want me to show you again with your other arm? Or are you going to let me go?" Jake shuddered and replied hurriedly," I'll let you go, I'll let you go!" Lydia grinned and before walking away, kicked him in the face with her jet-black high-heeled stilettos.
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TWO WEEKS LATER
Lily was long gone, her apartment barren and collecting a thin layer of dust. Ryan knew that it was entirely his fault, but all he could do was light one of his many cigarettes, and smoke it slowly, almost sadly. He scoped the room with dark restless eyes, catching sight of a black shape on the floor. He dropped his cigarette quickly and ran across the front room, his feet barely touching the ground. The object disappeared off of the empty floor and was in Ryan’s hands in less than a second. He sniffed it longingly, hoping to catch a bit of Lily’s scent, but he soon came to realize that it was his own shirt, left behind and forgotten in the corner.
To his own surprise, Ryan felt a tear run down his cheek, dropping to the floor with a small, barely audible, thump. It had taken him two weeks to realize that, for the first time in over 100 years, that he was alone. His best friend was gone, with only memories to remember her by. She promised that she wouldn’t leave him last time, and she always kept her promises. Always. The crumpled shirt fell out of his hands and he turned away, the only sound in the suffocating tomb of a room was the distinct click of a lighter.