Hideous (Andley)

Creature

Ashley occasionally glanced over at Andy, a sense of worry in his gaze.

They were currently back at home. Andy was sat on the couch with Ashley's laptop, being that Andy's hadn't been used in nearly a year and was currently going through many, many updates.
"Whatcha doing?" Ashley asked curiously, but really hoping to just get a few words out of him. He hadn't spoken since they got home.

Andy glanced up at him. "Research." He replied and then looked back to the laptop, the glow of the screen casting a bit of a shadow upon his face.
Ashley sighed. "Andy... It's nearly 2 in the morning. Please, can we just go to bed?"
"You can go." Andy mumbled. "I'm gonna stay up."
Ashley frowned. "Seriously? A few hours won't kill you, Andy."

Andy stopped his scrolling and his gaze became unfocused as his mind raced. No, Ashley was right. It wouldn't kill him to sleep. But who knows what might happen in that time... It might kill Ashley.

"I'm not tired. Go to bed, Ashley. I'll be fine." Andy sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes.

"Will you, though?" Ashley cocked a brow. "You haven't slept in a real bed in so long, and you're denying the first chance you get? What happened, Andy. Tell me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what happened when you were breaking out. Something must have happened. You're acting so strange-"
"Oh, are you gonna lock me up because of it, again?" Andy sneered. Ashley was a bit taken aback by the retort and stood up from his spot in the arm chair.

"Fine." Ashley put his hands up. "Whatever. Be secretive. I'm going to bed." He muttered and left the living room. Andy rolled his eyes and looked back to the laptop screen.

He stayed up all night, and sleep was the furthest from his mind the whole time. In fact, Andy didn't feel tired at all. He felt more lively and energized than ever, but, again, that was unnerving to him. There was a large chance of that being connected to what had happened earlier that night with the security guard...

Andy read through articles upon articles on the history of vampirism, and even looked into some less common myths. He was mostly doing it in hopes to understand what was happening to him...
"What the hell is this?" Andy muttered after clicking on a webpage link, observing the dark royal purple background. The title of the page read 'VAMPIRE KINGS.' Possibly the lamest title, but who was Andy to judge, really.

Andy scrolled through, reading about some of the 'earliest vampires.' There was a name, however, that stuck out to him for some reason.

"Contrary to popular belief, vampires are not, in fact, dead, nor undead. They are, however, all part of various branches of one blood line- the royal bloodline. Peter Bernhart, a part of the German noble class in the 15th Century, was the first of this long line of royal blood... The last known of the royal bloodline was Sabrina Abrams in the turn of the 20th Century. No known vampires have been observed since then... It's believed that the vampiric gene in the bloodline became dormant for reasons unknown..." Andy muttered aloud to himself as he scrolled through the page. He rubbed his eyes. Why were those names so familiar? Most likely because they were technically ancestors of Andy, but why was he only now recognizing them? This was really confusing...
The next thing Andy did was open a new tab and type in the search bar 'progression of vampirism and how to stop it.' He wasn't expecting much, but apparently loads of people were interested in writing about it, so there were tons of sites popping up as well. Andy finally found something that sounded semi-reliable and began to read that aloud to himself as well.

"If you believe yourself to have become a newly awakened vampire, there are some key points you should know... It starts slow and steady, with slight behavioral and habit changes, then you begin to look pale, perhaps even weak, but you feel stronger... more confident..." Andy's eyes narrowed as he read. So far... this was hitting the nail on the head. "The final stages hit after you taste your first drop of blood... Holy shit." Andy scrolled down to continue reading. "It happens fast, and you don't know what's happening until after the fact, but once you succumb to the urges, that is the final step in the transformation into a full vampire. It is not known how to alter this, or how to reverse it..." He mumbled quietly, the fear in his gut twisting and turning, his heart pounding. Was this all true? Was Andy submitting to blood-thirst?

"Interesting. Now how does that help us take down the sucker that's starting all of this?"

Andy startled and looked up to see Ashley standing at the other end of the couch.

"Ashley? I thought you went to bed." He sighed, quickly exiting out of the tabs.
Ashley cocked a brow. "I did. 8 hours ago. It's 10 a.m., Andy."
Andy looked at the small digital clock in the bottom corner of the laptop and bit his lip. "Right... Sorry, I guess I got so sucked in to all of this I didn't realize."

Ashley sighed heavily and went back into the kitchen. "It's whatever. Any leads?" He asked over his shoulder as he rinsed out his coffee mug.
"No, not really... but we should start by going to that bar." Andy closed the lid of the laptop and got up, going to the bedroom. He smiled sadly at the familiar scent of Ashley's cologne filling his senses. It was a warm and comforting scent.

Andy found his way to the closet, smiling more when he saw all of his clothes were untouched. He pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a black pull-over hoodie.

"This place has been so empty without you here..."
Andy turned to the source of the voice, smiling fondly as Ashley put both arms around him.
"Has it really?" Andy murmured, returning the gentle hug.
Ashley closed his eyes, planting a kiss on his temple. "It really has."

Andy peered at him from behind his hair and pecked his lips. Ashley opened his eyes again, and before Andy could respond, he kissed him gently. The kiss lingered on, and the two moved their mouths together perfectly in sync; their lips fit together like the perfect pieces to a puzzle.

The sudden itching in the back of Andy's throat set alarms off in his head. Andy tried to ignore it, but once he realized what it was, he pulled back instantly and ran to the bathroom.

Ashley's eyes widened and he turned to follow him. "Andy? What's wrong?" He worried, but Andy had already locked the door.

"N-Nothing! I just feel a bit sick, that's all." Andy cringed and gripped the edges of the sink as he felt himself be overwhelmed by the urge to bite, the urge to kill.

"Unlock the door, I'll-"
"No- I'll be out in- in a few minutes. Wait for me in the car." Andy kept his voice level as his teeth regained their sharp edges.

Ashley sighed and reluctantly left.

When he was gone, Andy pulled up his hoodie sleeve quickly and sunk his sharpened fangs into his forearm, his own blood beginning to fill his mouth. He couldn't help but moan a little bit at the warmth tickling his tongue and his throat, satisfying his urge. But for how long?

He finally pulled back and looked in the mirror. Part of him was disgusted, the other part of him was horrified. Was this what he was destined to become forever? He heard the car horn suddenly and grimaced, washing his hands and his face. When he grabbed some bandage to wrap around his arm, he saw that the wound had completely and totally closed up.
"That's fucking weird..." Andy muttered and put the roll of bandage back in the cabinet. He brushed his teeth to eliminate any evidence of blood and then ran out to the car to join Ashley.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ashley frowned.
"Yeah. It's just been a while since I've had real food, y'know? I guess my stomach wasn't used to it." Andy shrugged. "I'm good now."
Ashley nodded slowly.
"If you insist..." He sighed and began to drive.

A/N: wuh-oh