Long Live. // Luke Hemmings 5SOS (Vampire)

Chapter 16 - Solace

It was unusual for Luke to feel his heart racing inside of his chest; at most times, it felt like it barely moved at all. But when the door flew open as if somebody had rushed into the room, a gust of abrupt wind following suite, his adrenaline kicked in. He was on his feet in an instant, quick enough that Rosemary certainly wouldn't even have seen him move if she'd have been awake.

He ended up in front of the door, prepared to take on any figure who may have entered so suddenly... there was, however, no such intruder. Instead, Luke stood in the empty doorway, face to face with nothing but darkness with the faint feeling of electricity escaping the air. Then, he could suddenly smell a familiar scent... like iron, with a hint of strange sweetness.

Luke moved through the dark room like a flicker of light, quickly bringing himself to Rosemary's bedside where he stood over her and allowed his eyes to adjust until he could see her face... and the source of that scent which he'd instinctively followed. Beneath her nose was a slowly growing trickle of blood. His eyes widened, his feet taking a hasty step backwards in panic as he processed - as well as he could - what was going on. He saw, in her sleeping state, Rosemarys eyebrows stitched together in a distressed expression...

In spite of his concern for her well-being, Luke could feel his veins burning at the thought of that blood. He didn't want to want it, not then, not from her... but his reddening eyes and watering mouth betrayed him. He licked his lips, feeling the growing sharpness of his fangs against his tongue and shaking his head to himself with a deep, unstable breath; he turned away quickly, squeezing his eyes shut and raking his fingers through his messy hair.

His jaw clenched as he fought against the hunger, trying his best to simply will the feeling away. You're in control, Luke. You don't want it. You care about her. Something... is wrong. Something is wrong.

His eyebrows furrowed at his thoughts, and his eyes opened - returned to their regular state. As soon as they opened, he heard a gasp from behind him and once again turned; there was Rosemary, sat upright in her bed, chest heaving and eyes wide as she stared out into the faint moonlight at the end of her bed. Her hand was raised in front of her, reaching out, but it soon closed into a clenched fist before she pulled it back towards herself. A sharp breath escaped her lips as she brought her hand to her face and felt the crimson liquid that had crept onto her top lip. She was yet to acknowledge, or even notice, Luke standing there.

"Rosemary...?" His voice was somewhat gruff when he finally spoke; it made her jump, and he immediately felt guilty for taking her off guard. Quickly, she turned to face him, her eyes once again widening as she clamped her hand over where her nose had bled. She looked away and shook her head to herself.

"Jesus." She huffed, voice muffled through her hand and raspy from sleeping, then began to push herself out of her bed.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked with genuine concern, keeping his focus on Rosemarys wellbeing rather than her extremely distracting blood.

"Just- I just have a nosebleed." She sighed, still avoiding his eyes as she walked towards the door, tilting her head backwards slightly. "Don't worry- I'll be just a sec." And with that, she'd casually left the room, leaving Luke alone in his own confusion.

What Rosemary didn't know was that Luke would still be able to hear her in the bathroom down the hall. That is, if he chose to... which he did. And he heard the faucet begin to run, along with Rosemarys shaky, frustrated voice whispering "fuck, fuck, fuck, not again... Not again..." ...Even after the water had stopped running, it took a few more minutes until she chose to return to her bedroom. By then, Lukes heart had returned to a steady pace - but his mind still raced. He sat down on the end of her bed right before Rosemary entered the room again.