The Lost Vampire

The Lost Vampire: Chapter Five

**Unedited**

(Special shout-out to kakoly_haque thanks for the support)

Robyn dragged a very reluctant Jack away from the bar counter, his pitiful pleas fell on deaf ears as she began to twirl him around the dance floor, occasionally colliding with other dancers. But what else can be expected when you combine having very little coordination and too much alcohol. But it was all for a good cause. Jack had called early this morning first to scold me about not telling him about it being Robyn's birthday. It was her choice to not tell anyone or make a big deal out of it, which I understood perfectly. I never once celebrated my birthday but I suppose that was largely due to the fact that I don't know when my actual birthday is which makes it easier to overlook any celebrations or lack thereof. Yet, despite my lack of experience hosting birthday parties and Jack's weak arguments as to why we should throw a party for her, I agreed to do so.

The obvious choice of venue was Riddles, nothing too big just a few regulars from the bar who Robyn knows and likes. And being Wednesday, a usually slow night, it wouldn't be crowded, which meant we could focus more on the celebrating. However we seriously underestimated the amount of friends Robyn made in the eight weeks she lived in Rosemead and so by ten o'clock the bar was packed with not only invited guests but their friends and their friends' friends. Once they heard "open bar" news had spread like wildfire.

I watched as Jack spun Robyn to into the arms of Claude, a gas station clerk who had the biggest crush on Robyn, before she could think twice about running away he had her do-si-doing. Looking at how happy everyone was especially Robyn, the pure glee radiating off everyone in the room, made it all worthwhile. If I could never celebrate my birthday at the very least I can enjoy the celebrations of friend. Most vampires choose to celebrate the day they turned but for me that wasn't a day to celebrate either. I attended birthdays of others though vampire and humans alike and sure I usually enjoyed myself my heart was never full in it. Gerard wasn't big on celebrating either, a simple dinner or we would go into the city, visit the theatre. One year we received an invitation to Paris from a friend of Gerard. This was the only year we really did something special for his birthday. And though it wasn't my first time to the opera it was my first visit to Paris, at least from the life I remembered, which made that year's celebration spectacular. I somehow felt happy and freer that I'd ever felt since learning what I was. That was the last birthday I spent with Gerard, after that I realised there was so much to see in the world and it would do me a lot better to go see more of it.

Tonight was different, perhaps it was because it was a party for someone I cared for, someone who I considered family and the added weight of that person being human, well it reminded me how precious life can be and that small victories, like surviving another trip around the sun, should be celebrated. Sometimes I think it's completely irrational how far and how close Robyn and I have become in such a short time. But as she keeps telling me, "it was just our time, our time to stop running from life but embrace and enjoy it", and though my overall progress can be as slow and painful to watch, as watching grass grow, I was changing and for the better.

'

'Having some trouble there Jack,' I chuckled as his out of breath state collapsed on the counter.

'I'm twenty-five anymore I gotta keep my strength up for other things,' he winked making me laugh, 'This party is getting crazier by the minute maybe it's time we reconsidered the open bar,' he suggested for the third time tonight.

'Stop worrying its fine, I told you I've got this covered,' assuring him once more as I handed him two beers, 'Just go enjoy yourself,' I made a slight gesture with my head his eyes automatically tracing the movement, 'Mrs Dunlop has been eyeing you the whole night why don't you go over and say hello put that saved up energy to good use.'