Chapter 5

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Writers note:
Thank you all so much for getting this far, the whole story started out so badly, but I am finally pulling this all together and I am proud of it. Please leave reviews and tell me what you think! I would love to have outside input on my story, I am open to criticism.

Thanks for your time, and enjoy chapter 5!!
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Passion parked in front of Echo's apartment complex, and he chuckled at the coincidence. He whisked Ly off her feet and carried her to the complex, his face lit more gloriously than ever. His eyes glowed with renewed strength and vigor, but his smile seemed to amplify his charm and Ly couldn't take her eyes from him. He followed Passion and Jessey through the staircase down to a large red door and followed them inside. Once inside, he released the cream colored girl and she skipped happily into the large apartment. He kicked off his shoes and followed them in to the den.
Jessey was curled on Passion, who draped herself across the blue and white striped couch. Ly sat on a nearly identical couch across from them and motioned for Echo to sit beside her. Without hesitation, he took his place and Ly leaned back against his muscular chest. She let out a soothing sigh that seemed to melt from his rigid posture and he had merged with the couch as Passion had.
“So what do you guys want to do now?” Jessey asked, trying to be a good host.
Ly smiled and tilted her head to look at Echo. He realized that they were all staring at him while he had lost himself in thought induced by the comfortable couch. He looked over to Passion  and back down at Ly.
“I don't know,” he thought, “I am fine with whatever you guys would like to do.”
Passion muttered in Jessey's ear with a melodic rhythm that sounded like a lullaby for her love. The two rose and rummaged through a cabinet full of old VHS tapes and several DVD boxes. Passion and Jessey shouted out titles, and the remaining two shot down nearly every title until they heard a name that neither had heard. Jessey described it as the best vampire love story ever written, and ranted in a blur of words and excited sounds for what seemed like hours over the book and the brilliance that it had become in the movie. The words poured from her like a faucet on full blast and when she was done, Echo wasn't even sure what she had said.
Jessey popped the DVD into the player, and a beautiful menu screen appeared on the television. It was so simple, yet so full of beauty and symbolism. Two hands in black and white, so pale that they seemed to be made of paper held a beautiful red apple. Passion repositioned herself in the couch and let out a sigh.
Jessey asked Echo to help her, and he followed her down to a wooden closet at the end of the narrow hallway. She opened it and turned to him quickly, shooting him a very powerful glance. Her eyes had pierced his heart, and had paralyzed him where he stood.
“Now I know you have become an apprentice of my love, and that is fine, I have no problem with that.” She paused, drawing in a deep breath and continuing, “But Ly has taken a liking to you, and I don't want anyone to hurt her the way she has been hurt in the past. I am going to tell you now, if you hurt her, if you cause her anywhere near the pain that bastard caused her, I will have Passion hold you down and I will kill you myself. Got it?”
“I wont hurt her, she is so very important to me right now, I owe her my life.”
Jessey stretched her arm to reach some blankets on the top levels of the closet and turned handing one to him.
“That may be true, but that doesn't make you any less a threat. She is like a daughter to me, and I will not let her suffer so horribly again.”
“Okay, I will try my best..”
“You better.”
The two returned to their respective couches and started the movie. Ly curled up against Echo. While he covered them in a blanket, Passion started the DVD. From the start, the movie followed a girl in high school, she had moved from sunny Phoenix to live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Forest surrounded the town as far as the camera could see as it panned over the area. Everything below was green forest and the sky above was gray clouds that extended as far as the forest. This girl was on her way to the old high school to her first day, the new kid in town. She was so alone until she made a few acquaintances, and from there the story took off. From the first day at lunch, she saw a table of god looking beautiful kids that were all a family. She knew they were different, and they were, they were vampires. She had become infatuated with one of them, and eventually, he reveals himself to her. Echo was looking hard at the screen, but his mind was thousands of miles away, the movie only served as a guide for his thoughts. The vampire this girl had fallen for said that his 'family' moved to this area because the clouds blotted out the sun. Echo began to wonder about everything he had learned alone about vampires. He had seen several older vampires and they were all as beautiful as the movie depicted.
It is as if becoming a vampire makes you beautiful, he thought, I know I have seen it in myself, even in the early years, I could see the differences in the mirror. I no longer looked like the man in the photographs and portraits, but a slice of perfection.
Passion looked over at him, and he realized that he was thinking very loudly, he chuckled a little bit. Sometimes he forgot that thinking too hard made your thoughts audible to those who were telepathic. He relaxed a little and tried to think more 'quietly.'
Because he had grown without a sire, his knowledge was limited to what he had tested and the limited contact he had with the vampire society in Europe. He knew that the sunlight was the largest enemy of the vampire, but Echo questioned how powerful it really was. Movies would have him believe that the sun could kill a vampire, yet his experiences had told him otherwise.
From what he could tell, the strength of a vampire could be classified based on 3 factors: their sire, unique traits gained through being turned, and the amount of vampire blood consumed. The last was still a theory of his, and he had not been able to test it. Some vampires were burned by the sun while others only seemed to become weak or tired. The ancients he had seen in the vampire society in Europe were hardly hurt, if they were hurt at all. This puzzled him to no end, why could some vampires blend in as if they were human, while others were plagued by the light. Echo was one of the lucky ones, he could stand in the light with only minimal pain and weakness, but nothing that would make him stand out if he were in the presence of humans.
He was brought back to the movie from his dream-like flow of thoughts when Ly clenched his jacket and hid her face in his chest. The movie had come to its climax. The main character had been tricked by an evil vampire that aimed to kill her. She had been tricked into coming alone to an abandoned building without her vampire lover to protect her. His fangs were on full display and he snarled, lunging at her. He did not go for the kill at first, this was supposed to be a long and drawn out death. He broke one leg, crunching it under his foot, and then the other. The movie was so realistic, Echo felt as if he were watching a real vampire hunting his pray. After the second leg was broken, the girl didn't shriek in pain when he threw her into a glass wall. The wounds had sent her into shock, and nothing he could do would outweigh the amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins, but this did not sooth her panicked breaths. She flailed her arms as her eyes shot around wildly trying to follow his movements. He lunged at her in what seemed like slow motion to the girl, this was it, and she looked to the entrance of the building, hoping for her savior to come. He was coming at her with the intent to kill this time, and his fangs were leading his body. His fangs were caught in the palm of her flailing hand, and she yelped out, and her lover burst through the door.
Echo sighed, the vampire boy killed the vile creature who attacked his love, he was as terrified as Ly was, not from fear but from the memory of his brutal attack of his love. The memory was playing itself in the form of this movie, where he was the vile one, killing his lover, and he wished there was a hero to stop him. His body went numb, the memory was letting up and he could feel the pressure being lifted. The trauma was over, and he was in the company of his three friends.
He smiled when the word streamed through the thoughts in his head 'friends.' From the beginning of his vampire life, he had been alienated from everyone else because he had killed his sire. His actions had not been the first time an event like this had happened but his was significant because of the status of his sire. At the time, he had no idea that she had been so important to the society, that she was some sort of leader. Through all the time he had known her prior to the incident, she had never spoken of the society, nor had she told him of her importance. He had only learned this after he had been discovered on that fateful night. Apparently, two vampires had been hunting rabbits in the woods, and they discovered his blood-soaked ordeal, and brought him to the society, where his reputation was born.
The credits scrolled up the screen and Echo looked over to see Jessey asleep on Passion's chest. Passion grabbed the remote, trying not to wake her love and turned off  the TV. She pulled some of the blanket over herself and cuddled with Jessey.
“Night Echo.” She whispered to him.
“Night” He replied, getting up to leave for his lonely apartment when Ly grabbed his wrist.
“Can't you stay here tonight?” her eyes penetrating the darkness straight into his heart.
He looked at her, his voice was gone, not by his own will, nor from lack of a response, he was engulfed in the sensations in his heart. He tried to communicate with her, though he said nothing, and didn't move, she released him and she understood.
“Thank you, I just don't want to be alone tonight.”
“Its fine.” he positioned himself on the couch and she curled up with him.
She giggled, “Don't be so stiff, you feel so nervous, just relax, what am I gonna do? Kill you?”
He smirked, and kissed her forehead, closing his eyes. She placed her head on his chest and the two drifted off to dreamland.
* * *
Echo woke up with the face of his tiny friend staring back at him. He flinched, and Ly laughed a little. She poked his cheek, and he was completely confused.
“Morning! It sure took you long enough to get up. I should have let Jessey and Passion play their prank on you. We joked about slipping me out carefully and having you wake up with Passion in your arms.” She laughed so loud it rang through the whole apartment.
“That would've been one hell of a way to wake up. Say, why haven't you gotten up yet if you've been awake so long?”
“You were sleeping, and I didn't want to leave you here.”
“You don't have to wait around for me.”
“No, its no big deal. My blood pressure is really low, it would've been a mistake to try and get up too fast.”
“Oh. . . I guess thats my fault.”
“If I didn't want you to drink my blood, I wouldn't have let you, so don't blame yourself.”
He looked around, noticing that the other two weren't there, “Where did they go?”
“They're fixing breakfast in the kitchen, want some?”
“I don't need food.”
“Doesn't mean you cant enjoy Kitten's cooking.”
“Kitten?”
“Its Jessey's pet name 'cuz she acts like a kitten!”
“Oh. . .” He got up from the sofa, lifting her with him.
She giggled and looked up at him, “ You don't have to carry me everywhere prince charming. I got along fine before you came around.”
“Sorry.”
“Its okay, hee hee.” She smiled, skipping off in the direction of the kitchen.
He followed her to find Passion standing behind Jessey, whispering while Jessey tried to fry some bacon. Jessey was sporting the same smile she had been in the car the night before and Echo could tell, these two were a perfect pair. Jessey glanced at Echo, muttering something to Passion. She took her eyes from Jessey to see him and went back to toying with her some more.
Echo felt like he had entered some sort of alternate dimension, Jessey and Passion looked nothing like a vampire and a human. They were lovers, and they were equal, no differences between them. Throughout his existence human and vampire, Echo had always seen such a great divide. Vampires should keep to their kind, unless feeding, and humans should do the same, unless they're looking for a fight or death. But here, these concepts had no meaning, life was solely self and partner gratification. It was a dream-filled world, where all your problems could fade away. He sat at the shiny table, next to Ly, clasping her hand in his. Though his pessimism was making it difficult, he wanted desperately to live in the world Jessey and Passion resided.
Ly waved her hand in front of his face, bringing him back to reality and served him a plate of french toast. He stared vacantly at it, thinking of how big a waste it was on him. Passion was watching him, and whispered in Jessey's ear again. Echo was still lost in thought, only slightly closer to reality at the moment, when a trigger word caught his attention. He heard Passion say “blood.” His attention latched on to her instantly, and she walked to the fridge, pulling out a large container of a dark liquid.
She looked at him, and laughed, “You want some? It's no good cold but if you give me a few minutes, I can microwave it. It gets so warm, its better than a fresh meal.”
He nodded, not letting the opportunity slip by, and Ly's hand clenched his. He turned to see that she had fallen victim to her nerves again. Using his thumb, he stroked the back of her hand, and raised it to his lips. Kiss. She relaxed a little, and he smiled weakly.
“Wont you give kitten's food a try?”
Jessey turned, and Echo felt as if he had to eat her cooking now. He cut the toast into neat little squares and picked one up, eating it slowly. He had never had a taste for food once he had been turned, and rarely did he find anything that didn't make him want to immediately want to spit, but this was different. This was. . . delicious! He tore into another square, and another and another, he was stealing slice after slice of the never ending stack until his mug of blood was sitting beside his plate.
Jessey set the plate of bacon on the table and sat next to Passion, and she nearly went into a shrieking fit.
“WHERE DID ALL MY FRENCH TOAST GO?!”
Echo looked up, still shoveling neatly cut square after square into his mouth, not realizing the words she had said, just the high pitched sounds. He slowed to a stop and dropped his fork. Passion had grabbed the last two pieces of toast and put them on her plate. Jessey's eyes darted at her plate, and up at her. Passion pulled the plate behind her arm in protection.
“Oh no, this is mine! You know I like french toast.”
“I didn't get any because this one just ate it all!”
“If you take mine, then I wont have any.” Passion said, her voice coated in 'pity me' inflection. Her persuasive way was fully complete with the addition of her puppy dog look, staring back at Jessey.
“You are such a freaking cheater!”
“I'm cheating?” Passion played.
“Your using that face! You know I cant resist it!”
Echo took the momentary pause to chime in, “Sorry Jess, I haven't had good tasting food in so long, and before I knew it, it was all gone. . .”
“Thats fine, Pash and I will just share the last two slices.” She smirked and Passion looked at her with a devious smile.
She kissed Jessey's lips, “I would love to share.”
Jessey blushed when she realized what she had just said and Passion insinuated. She took Jessey's fork and fed her a piece. They went back and forth for a little before Echo tried to tune out their cuteness before it made him sick.
“Are they always like this?”
“Yea, isn't it great?” Ly said, making a heart shape with her hands to look at the two.
Jessey stopped, and looked at them, giving a vicious glare and hiss. He took her hand and lead her out of the kitchen. He suggested they leave the two alone before something happened. He walked into the living room and guessed, based on his apartment, where the sliding glass door would be. He pulled the blanket that was covering it to one side. He stumbled back, groaning and rubbing his eyes. Apparently the world decided it was going to be a bright sunny day today, and Echo was not prepared. With his eyes mostly shut, he unlatched the door and slid it open, walking out into the grass.
“Its pretty bright out today, c'mon lets go.”
The raven haired girl followed him out, eying him oddly. They took refuge in the shade for a few moments until he had adjusted and he lead her by the hand out into the light. He laced his fingers in hers and started touring her through the area.
“Doesn't that hurt?”
“No, not really. Why?”
“Passion can't be out in the sun long at all. She looks as if she is being burned by invisible flames.”
Echo switched gears and he was back in his inquisitive state again. “Hmm. I've been thinking a lot about the sun recently. Some vampires have an issue with it, while others are fine. I have not had the luxury of a sire to teach me, so everything I know of vampires, I taught myself.”
“Hee, you have that face again.” She poked his cheek.
“Face?”
“I first noticed it last night about half way in the movie, your brows got really low like this,” she tried to imitate his face, “and your face gets really tight and your eyes stare at one spot for a really long time.”
“Oh. . .I donno, I never noticed, I just start thinking, and then I am off in my head until something snaps me back.”
“I don't know how you hold it like that for so long! My forehead hurts already just trying to copy you.”
They chuckled, following the sidewalk to the entrance of the complex and turned around.
“Don't stop, sometimes I go off track, but I would like to hear what you had to say.”
“Oh yea, I forgot. Sometimes when I go on a tangent, I forget to come back. Anyway, when I was in Europe, I ran into a few of the ancients. The noble lords could walk out in the sun like me. The more modern vampires couldn't, they all were affected in one way or another by the sun.”
“Thats really cool that you can go out in daylight and live among humans. Its like your in disguise! You could pretend to be human if you had to.”
“I could, but there is just something about the night that has always drawn me to it. I love the smell of the air, the stars and moon, shadows that are never cast away no matter how bright the street lights. As a vampire, I draw strength from the darkness and the night. I can move so quickly, I feel like my body is lighter than air.”
The two had paced the full length of the sidewalk and had come to the forest end of the parking lot. Echo turned to face her, and she looked at him curiously.
“Care to go for a walk in the woods my lady?”