Demons

Chapter Seven

The moment that Brian had left Claudia and Donatella's home, he broke into a run. And he didn't stop until he reached Zacky's house. He didn't know how long he'd been running for, and the strong July sun was beating down on him, causing every pore of his body to sweat.

Once Brian reached Zacky's house he almost collapsed outside the front door, his throat raw and his hair dripping with sweat. His legs ached and his head was spinning, mostly with thoughts of what the witches had told him. He was a werewolf, he'd killed people, Zacky was a vampire, he had to kill Zacky... It was slowly driving him mad, but he couldn't shake the thoughts from his restless brain.

'Zacky!' Brian rasped, pounding mercilessly on the front door of his best friend's house. He knew that he wouldn't get in trouble, because Zacky's parents would be at work by now. 'Zack, open up!'

After a moment, the door opened an inch or two, and Brian was able to make out the pale face of Zacky Baker, who stood a few inches away from the door.

'What do you want, Brian?' Zacky croaked, his voice low and hoarse. His eyes were lowered to the floor slightly and he seemed to shy away from the slightly-ajar door.

'Can I come in?' Brian gasped, still trying to recover his breath from his rather long run. Zacky shook his head slightly, grimacing almost.

'No Brian, go away,' he hissed, stepping away from the door even further and going to shut it in Brian's face. Brian quickly slid his hand between the door and its frame, making Zacky stop. 'Brian,' Zacky warned, his tone weary.

'Please can I come in, Zack?' Brian almost begged, and Zacky let out a low, almost silent growl to himself.

'No, Brian, I'm telling you to leave,' Zacky snarled, and Brian glared.

'Zacky, all I want to do is talk, I... I have something to tell you,' Brian said in a hushed voice, drawing closer to the door in an attempt to get closer to Zacky. Zack sighed impatiently.

'Then tell me,' he rasped, clearing his throat after he spoke. He seemed to be getting further away from the door each second, being overly careful not to go near the sliver of sunlight that was being cast into the hallway where he stood.

'Zack, I can't tell you out here... We seriously need to talk.' There was a pause, before Zacky huffed and responded.

'You're not coming in, Brian. It's really not a good idea.' His voice was less angry now, only more serious. Brian sighed, laying his hand flat on the door that separated them.

'Zacky, I know what you are,' he said softly, his eyes meeting with Zacky's. Zacky froze, his tainted heart missing a beat. 'But you don't know what I am and it's essentail that we talk about it.' Zacky continued to stare at Brian, before he nodded slightly and yanked the door open, at the same time retreating as far down the hall as he could go, avoiding the sunlight as it flooded into the house. Brian raised an eyebrow, following Zack inside.

'Close the fucking door,' Zacky growled, and Brian quickly slammed it shut, startled by the urgency in Zack's voice. The sunlight was immediately shut out, the hallway darkening significantly. Brian scanned the hall and then saw Zacky halfway up the stairs, shaking ever so slightly. Brian slowly approached him, confused.

'Zack...?'

'Sorry, Bri, it's just that I...' He stopped, his eyes glazing over and his nostrils flaring for a fraction of a second as Brian flicked his hair, the intoxicating scent that hung off of him drifting up the stairs and into Zacky's sinuses, causing him to stiffen up. Brian realized and then he remembered why he was here.

'Can I come closer?' Brian asked hesitantly, and Zacky nodded slowly, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He wasn't thirsty and he wanted to remain that way. Brian edged closer to Zack and within seconds they were about a foot apart. Brian looked deep into Zacky's eyes and sighed, reaching out to touch the younger boy's hand. Zacky flinched, before reminding himself that nothing was going to happen and that Brian was only here to talk.

'I know what you are,' Brian whispered, keeping his eyes locked on Zacky's. 'And... I understand. It's hard for me to accept it and come to terms with what's happened to me as well but Zack, I understand, okay?'

'Does this mean you don't hate me? You know, for what I did to you...' Zacky's voice was quite now, timid.

'No, Zack, I never hated you, I was just confused... But I have a problem too.'

'Oh, god,' Zacky mumbled, starting to panic. He didn't know what exactly he was panicking over but he could tell by Brian's tone of voice that his news wasn't good.

'It... It's going to affect us both, not just me,' Brian said slowly, as if he were thinking of the right words to use. 'You're a... You're what you are. And, well, I'm a w-w-w-werewolf,' Brian stuttered, and Zacky felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.

'You're kidding,' he groaned, slamming his face into the palms of his hands. 'I knew this was going to happen, I could sense it, I could fucking sense it!'

'Zack-'

'Brian, this is a massive fucking problem!' Zacky cried, his face contorting in emotional pain. 'Bri, we... We can't be near each other, not anymore.' Brian frowned.

'What? Why?'

'We were made to destroy eachother!' Zacky whispered, tears starting to prick at the corners of his eyes. 'Vampires and werewolves, they don't just exist together, Brian! We're enemies now!'

'Zacky, I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about!' Brian said, and Zacky sighed angrily through his teeth.

'How could you not know any of this!? Brian, werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies. It's bound in our blood, it's our nature to hate each other. We can't change that. And that's why we have to stay away from each other because, if not, we'll end up killing each other.'

Brian felt his knees growing weak, as he remembered what the witches had told him. But he didn't want to face the truth, he couldn't just let this go so easily.

'But, Zack, we're best friends,' Brian whispered, laying a hand on Zacky's porcelain cheek. 'We don't hate each other, do we?' Zacky sniffled, placing his own hand on top of Brian's before pushing brian's hand away.

'Things will change, Brian, the more time we spend around each other. We will change. We're not just people now, we're fucking monsters! Monsters that just don't like each other's company.'

'It doesn't have to be like that, Zack!' Brian cried, placing his palms on either side of his friend's face. He could feel his true feelings for Zacky resurfacing and he knew that it was only a matter of time before they came spewing out of his mouth. 'We can change the legends, the folklore, the stories. Who said that any of that shit is actually true? It's just a bunch of old wives' tales and-'

'But we're real,' Zacky murmured, looking up into Brian's eyes. 'I'm a vampire and you're a werewolf. I didn't believe in such things before, Brian. But since this started...' He turned his head slightly and leaned on Brian's right hand, sighing deeply in despair. 'I don't know what's true and what's not. All I know is that, throughout history, vampires and werewolves have never survived if they lived within a square freaking mile of each other.'

'Zacky... I don't want things to change,' Brian mumbled, a stray tear rolling down his cheek as he pictured life without Zacky at his side. It just wouldn't work. 'I need you, Zack, you've always been here for me and I don't know where the fuck I'd be without you.' Zacky shook his head, fastening his fingers around Brian's wrists and pulling his friend's hands away from his face.

'Brian, have you not been listening to me at all? We. Will. Change. Do you understand!?'

'Zack...'

'No. I don't want to hear it. I'll talk to you when you've managed to get it into your thick head that we cannot be friends anymore. Now leave.' His expression was cold, but in his eyes there were tears and slivers of agony. Brian sniffled, his tears breaking their barriers and flowing smoothly down his tanned cheeks.

'Zacky, I-'

'Leave, dammit,' Zacky whispered, standing up and shoving Brian down the hall and towards the door and opening it, being careful not to stand in the way of the sunlight. He pushed Brian hard by the shoulder and he tripped out onto the front step of the house.

'Zacky wait, I-' The door was slammed shut in his face, just as Brian began to admit to Zacky the one thing that he'd been scared to admit for all the time they'd known each other. '-Love you.'