Subject 208

Chapter 18~ Beat of My Heart

{Pete's POV}

      Patrick lunged at me, and me, unable to move away due to terror, cried out in shock as he jumped on me, throwing me to the floor. "Patrick, no! Stop!" Ryan shouted, rushing towards us. Vaughn rushed forward at inhuman speed, throwing Ryan to the ground. Brendon ran forward to help, but Vaughn simply shoved him away. Brendon flew back into the wall, sliding to the floor, dazed. 

     Patrick smiled as he pinned me down, licking his lips hungrily. "Patrick, listen to me! It's Pete! This isn't you. I know you don't want to do this! Snap out of it!" I pleaded. He opened his mouth, revealing his fangs completely, as he leaned in towards my neck. "No, Patrick! Stop! Please!" I begged, trying to wriggle away and get him off of me. He wouldn't budge, and he got closer and closer to my throat. I closed my eyes, waiting for it to happen, knowing that I couldn't stop him.

     Just as Patrick was mere inches from my throat, the weight off of me disappeared. I looked up to see Patrick a few feet away on the floor, somebody standing over him. Slowly, I stood up, and looked at the person. "Dad?" 

     My father turned to me as he lifted Patrick to his knees, gripping tightly onto the back of his jacket, a stake in one hand. "I told you, Peter! I told you he was dangerous, and here you are, sneaking him out of the lab and letting him live with you? What is the matter with you?! He could have killed you!" he shouted. Patrick glared up at him through his burning, yellow eyes, growling rabidly at him. 

     "Dad, no! He's controlling him! Patrick would never hurt me! Please, just trust me!" I begged, gesturing to Vaughn. My dad looked over at Vaughn, confusion and shock written all over his face. 

     "Who is that?!" my dad asked. I explained to him quickly everything that Vaughn had told us earlier. When I finished, my father looked just as confused as before. 

     "Please, dad, you have to believe me. Patrick is so nice, and sweet. He wouldn't hurt anybody, especially not me! Vaughn has been manipulating him for years! He tied me up earlier, and set Patrick on me. It wasn't Patrick's fault! Please, don't hurt him!" I argued, feeling tears form in my eyes. My dad looked between me and Patrick, clearly torn as to what he should do. "Please, Dad!" I cried. 

     Finally, my dad threw away the stake, keeping his grip on Patrick. "How do we stop it? How do we get him back?" he wondered. I looked over to Vaughn, who was preoccupied with Ryan and Brendon, who were currently fighting for their lives against the monster. 

     "L-Let me. Let me talk to him." I said, stepping a bit closer. 

     "Be careful, Peter." dad warned. I nodded, kneeling in front of Patrick, a few inches between us. He looked at me murderously, snarling like an animal. 

     "Patrick...Patrick, please. It's me, Pete. Please, snap out of this. I miss you, 'Trick. Come back to me." I said. For a moment, I could sense some hesitation in his movements. "Yeah, that's it. Come back, Patrick! Come on!" I pushed, feeling him coming back. He froze, looking into my eyes in confusion. "Come on, 'Trick! You can do this! Fight him!" I said, placing my hands on his shoulders. 

     He threw them off roughly, his head down and his breathing heavy. "P-Pete..." he gasped. 

     "Yeah, Patrick. Yeah, it's me. Come on, you can do this! Focus!" I pushed. He looked up into my eyes. His were flashing between yellow and their normal shade of blue. "Yeah, that's it, 'Trick. Come on!" I encouraged. His eyes stopped, frozen on the yellow color. He growled at me, before lunging. I cried out as I was thrown to the floor, once again with him on top of me. He leaned in closer, and I unintentionally closed my eyes in fear. Suddenly, a pair of lips pressed themselves to mine. I opened my eyes and noticed Patrick kissing me. I kissed back, smiling into it as he opened his eyes and I looked into the deep, blue orbs. 

     "You're back." I sighed as he pulled away. 

     "Yeah, I am. Thank you." he said, smiling. 

     "It was nothing!" I said, laughing. Patrick rolled his eyes, laughing as well. We rose to our feet, and my dad came over. Patrick turned, noticed him, and his eyes almost immediately widened in fear. 

     "Hello, I'm Peter's father. Nice to meet you, Patrick, right?" he said, holding a hand out. Patrick flinched away from the hand, finding his way to my side. 

     "It's okay, 'Trick. He's not going to hurt you. I explained everything." I explained. Slowly, Patrick pulled away from my side, approaching my dad. After a moment, he reached out, taking my dad's hand and shaking it gently. Patrick, once realizing that my father truly was not going to hurt him, smiled. We were distracted from our moment by Brendon calling out to us. We looked over and noticed that Vaughn was holding Ryan up in the air by his throat. Ryan gasped for breath as his airways were cut off. Brendon tried to pull Vaughn off of him, but the vampire kept pushing him away. Finally, Vaughn got fed up, and shoved Brendon away as hard as possible. He smacked his head off of the stone floor, and passed out. 

     "Brendon!" Patrick cried, running over to him, before running up the stairs and returning. Brendon was no longer with him. "I put him on the couch." he explained as I gave him a questioning look. Patrick then raced over to Vaughn, attempting himself to pull him off of Ryan, who was beginning to lose consciousness. Vaughn shoved him away. However, Patrick managed to stay on his feet. 

     "'Trick!" I shouted, taking the stake from my dad. Patrick looked up at me as I tossed the stake. He caught it, and turned to Vaughn, who was facing away from him, his focus now on an unconscious Ryan's throat. His fangs appeared, and his eyes glowed bright red. 

     With his arm raised, Patrick charged forward. He grabbed Vaughn by the shoulder, turned him around, and swiftly drove the stake through the vampire's heart. Vaughn gasped, his eyes widening in shock. His grip on Ryan weakened, and he dropped him to the floor. Patrick looked Vaughn in the eye, giving him a smile of victory before driving the stake further into his chest.

     Vaughn's knees gave out, and he dropped to the floor. Patrick jumped back in surprise as his body suddenly burst into flames, starting from the hole in his chest and spreading down the rest of him, until the flames consumed him. Finally, the fire died down, and all that was left of Vaughn was a small pile of ashes on the floor. 

     "'Trick! You did it!" I cheered, looking up from the ash pile. Patrick's expression was now one of exhaustion, and I could tell he was not steady on his feet. I rushed forward, catching him as he collapsed, his eyes closing immediately. I tried to shake him awake, but he remained unconscious. 

     Tears fell from my eyes, as I shakily lowered my face to his, and pressed my lips to his, kissing him gently. My dad placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. Sniffling, I leaned my head against Patrick's chest, listening to the soothing beat of his heart.

Hey! Well, that's that! Vaughn's finally dead! This isn't the last chapter. I think the next one will be the last one, though. So check it out when I get it posted to see what happens!

If you liked this chapter, a vote/comment would be greatly appreciated! 

As always, thank you all for reading, and thanks for all of the votes and comments. I've been getting spammed all morning for people voting on this story, which I REALLY love, so thank you all! See you next chapter! :)