Page 18 of Inhuman Natures #1

DJ

Shaun scuffed a toe against the rug. “I, uh…”

“Shaun, are you about to tell us that you Edward Cullen’d us?” DJ was aware that the tone of his voice might have slipped into screech territory, but he didn’t care.

“You did not just turn Edward Cullen into a verb,” Shaun said flatly.

“Wait, is Twilight like a meme for vampires?”

“Pretty sure it’s a meme for humans too,” Shaun said, avoiding the actual question.

“You’ve seen the movies, though?”

Shaun moved his head in a manner that left DJ unsure whether the action had been meant as a nod or a shake.

“Shaun…” he said, drawing his name out. “Were you, like, into Twilight?” The guilty expression on Shaun’s face told him he’d stumbled upon the motherlode. “You weren’t just into Twilight…you were a full-on Twihard, weren’t you?”

Shaun buried his face in his hands.

Rake coughed to get DJ’s attention. “What’s a Twihard?”

“Die-hard Twilight fan, obviously,” DJ said, having no patience at that moment for Rake’s lack of knowledge about anything outside of his own niche interests.

“Obviously,” Rake echoed with a sigh.

DJ went over to where Shaun stood, placing a hand on his nape and rubbing gentle circles into his exposed skin. “I’m not judging, by the way. The movies were fun, and the mum and dad vampires were hot.”

Shaun mumbled something into his hands.

“What was that?” DJ asked, trying desperately to stop himself from laughing. He didn’t quite succeed.

“I was obsessed with Edward,” Shaun said, removing his hands from his face. “It was… Well, it was how I ended up getting recreated as a vampire.”

“You manifested it?”

“Kinda? I was active on Twilight fanfiction sites and I got talking to Lawrence on a related forum.”

“Oh. Oh, god.” DJ wasn’t laughing anymore.

“Yeah,” Shaun said with a shake of his head.

“Be careful what you wish for, kids. That creepy dude you met online who claims he’s a vampire who wants to take your virginity and make you his immortal slave?

He might actually be a vampire who wants to take your virginity and make you his immortal slave. ”

Rake’s muttered, “Fuck,” rather eloquently summed up DJ’s own sentiment.

“The worst part, though?” Shaun said. “After seeing New Moon, I became Team Jacob.”

Rake looked blankly at Shaun, but DJ let out a giggle that edged on manic. Shaun’s ability to have even the slightest levity surprised him.

“It’s so cringe,” Shaun complained .

“At least you don’t sparkle in the sun.” DJ paused. “Wait, you don’t sparkle in the sun, do you?”

“Nope. The sun will, however, turn me into a pile of ashes. You can imagine how disappointed I was to discover I was still going to have to buy body glitter any time I wanted to shine.” Shaun punctuated his point by throwing some half-hearted jazz hands.

DJ snorted. This version of Shaun differed from the one they’d been meeting at the club. He hadn’t expected the snark. Part of him suspected Shaun was masking his true feelings with humour, however. He seemed far too bright for someone who’d suffered so much.

“I have no idea what either of you are talking about,” Rake said, running his hands through his hair. The static he generated had so much of it standing on end that DJ went to flatten it down for him.

“You don’t need to know, babe. Just that Lawrence is an asshole who preys on—” DJ broke off, looking at Shaun in horror. “Teenagers, right? What age were you when he...?” His stomach roiled. He’d thought Shaun looked too young to be at the club.

Shaun gave him a flat-lipped smile. “I was eighteen. Just. He recreated me on my birthday. Worst. Present. Ever,” he added in a monotone.

“Christ.” DJ could barely get his head around it.

“Wait, so what age are you now?” Rake asked.

“My early thirties.”

For some reason, that made DJ laugh again. He knew his emotions were all over the place, but it was so odd for a guy who looked like he could be picked up from Twinks-R-Us to be older than them. Bad enough that he and Rake felt ancient these days whenever they went out to a bar.

“Rake and I are twenty-six,” DJ said, working it through in his head. “Even though I know you’re a vampire, it doesn’t seem right. You look—” DJ broke off, not wanting to offend Shaun.

“As if I might pass for a student?”

Both DJ and Rake’s features twisted into twin expressions of horror. “This is so fucked up,” DJ breathed.

Shaun spread his hands out. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure some of Lawrence’s other creations were younger than me.”

“Why on earth would that make us feel better ?” Rake exclaimed.

Shaun grimaced. “I don’t know! Ugh. I’m not used to talking to people about this. Or talking to anyone at all apart from Lawrence. It’s not as if he let me have any friends.”

DJ burst into tears. Then he started laughing. And then he was sobbing uncontrollably as every emotion he’d experienced in the short time since he’d been woken up Far Too Early crashed down on him all at once.

Rake made a strangled noise as he put his arms around DJ’s shoulders, but it was Shaun who asked, “Are you okay?”

DJ had no idea if he was okay. Nothing about this entire situation was okay .

“Rake? What do we do?” Shaun’s question made DJ sob harder. Shaun was the one to have so many horrid things happen to him and, yet, here was DJ making it all about himself.

“Deej is just overwhelmed. Aren’t you, sweetheart?” Rake asked .

DJ nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Shaun said. “Whatever it was that set you off. I’m so sorry.”

DJ looked at Shaun through blurry eyes. “Don’t be s-sorry,” he managed to get out between blubbers.

Shaun was silent for a moment. “Is it because I said I don’t have any friends like some pathetic loner?”

The noise that came out of DJ’s mouth would probably be considered halfway between a wail and a whine. Either way, it was embarrassing enough that he started laughing again. As far as DJ could see through his tears, Shaun looked alarmed at the whole thing.

Rake was stroking his back again. “Shaun, would you be able to pass him the glass of water, please?”

After a millisecond, Shaun stood in front of DJ with a glass.

“Thank you, Shaun,” DJ whispered, taking a few sips of water. “I should be the one apologising, even if it’s quite upsetting to hear about it all. I shouldn’t be making jokes about vampire movies and making fun of your trauma.”

Shaun frowned. “I don’t think I have any trauma,” he declared. “Joke away!”

DJ rubbed at his eyes. It was still Far Too Early to be dealing with this level of avoidance.

Not that DJ wanted Shaun to have any trauma, but that he was sure that after over a decade of abuse, people didn’t walk away without it affecting them.

Vampire or not, DJ was sure that Shaun had gone through more than most people would experience in their lifetimes.

He doubted he and Rake had even scratched the surface.

“I think”—Rake rubbed his shoulder against DJ’s—“that you need some coffee in you. And I need a cup of tea.” Rake steered them towards the sofa, making them both sit.

“Rake, not everything can be solved with hot drinks,” DJ said.

“I think it’s a good start. Um.” Rake hesitated. “You definitely can’t drink tea, can you, Shaun?”

“Can’t digest it, I’m afraid.”

“When’s the last time you… ate? Drank? Whatever the term is.”

Shaun lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “You can use either.”

DJ and Rake waited for Shaun to continue, but he didn’t. “Shaun,” Rake said, voice taking on a more authoritative edge. “Tell me when you last drank.”

Shaun shifted on his feet. “You’re okay with me drinking people’s blood to survive?”

Rake paused. “‘Okay’ might be too strong a word for the moment. But I don’t believe you would ever hurt anyone if you didn’t have to, would you?”

Shaun bit his lip so hard it bled. “I have hurt people. Not because I wanted to. But I took part when Ma— Uh, Lawrence, told me to.”

“What would happen if you refused Lawrence?” Rake asked.

Shaun stayed silent. The blood on his lip bubbled and dripped down his chin. Shaun wiped at it, looking forlornly at his reddened thumb.

“Why aren’t you healing?” DJ asked. “Don’t vampires have mad healing powers?”

Shaun blinked. “I haven’t fed in a few days. Makes the healing process slower. ”

“Do you want to drink from me?” Rake said.

“No,” Shaun replied, far too fast to be believable. For someone who’d kept a secret for so long, he was a terrible liar.

“If it means you’ll heal, I’ll do it. I imagine the Savlon won’t do as good a job as blood, will it?”

Shaun gave Rake a wry smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But I promised you I wouldn’t bite.”

DJ managed a half-hearted snort of laughter, but Rake’s jaw tensed in disapproval.

“It’s one thing to see me flash my fangs and speed around,” Shaun said. “It’s another to have me bite you. I haven’t eaten in a while. It might not go well.”

“In what way?” DJ asked.

“I might not stop.” Shaun stalked away from them to the far end of the room. “I’ve never fed without Lawrence being there.”

“How badly are you hurt?” DJ raked his gaze over Shaun. He saw the damage on his face and forearms, but he must have been hiding more.

“I’m fine,” Shaun said.

“You turned up wounded at our door,” Rake said, one imperious eyebrow raised. “You’re not fine.”

“Logic,” DJ agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest, making it clear he meant business.

Shaun deflated, leaning against the living room wall as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. “I will be fine.”

“Once you drink,” Rake clarified.

“Once I drink.”

“So do it. Feed from me,” Rake said.

Shaun stood in front of them in a blink. DJ reared back at the sudden movement. Rake stared at Shaun for a second before sitting down on the edge of their sofa.

Shaun gripped their coffee table, nails gouging lines into the wood. DJ was glad he’d never tried to keep it nice by using coasters, seeing as the table was now being used as a vampire scratching post.