How Not To Be A Vampire

Eight

Elliot's P.O.V.

"So what's your deal?" I say out loud as I grab a pack of black and orange party streamers off the shelf.

There's a pause of silence before a throat is cleared. "Are you talking to me?" Luke asks and I nod my head without removing my eyes from the different decorations in front of me.

"What do you mean, 'what's my deal'?" he almost scoffs. I grab a bag of black and purple balloons before turning my attention to him.

"I mean, why are you such a dick all the time?" I stare blankly at him, tossing the items in my hands into the cart. His icy eyes bore into mine before he looks away quickly.

"Why are you such a bitch all the time?" he mutters quietly but thanks to my vampire hearing I heard every word clearly.

"I'm only a bitch to people who put the people I care about in danger, your turn." I shoot back, crossing my arms over my chest. He stares at a pack of party hats sitting on the aisle, completely ignoring me.

"Oh come on," I groan. "you're telling me you're not dying to open up a little to someone?" I push him and he shakes his head.

"You can't die if you're already dead." he says in a monotone and my eyebrows raise slightly.

Sheesh this guy has problems.

"That's deep."

"Why do you care so much anyway?" he looks away from the party hats to glare at me.

"Oh, I don't. Not at all, actually." I admit. "I was just curious as to why you're so uptight all the damn time."

"I am not uptight."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Are to."

"Are not!" he yells a little too loud and I let out a low whistle.

"Haha, okay buddy." I hold my hands up in defense before grabbing some Halloween themed confetti that's shaped like little pumpkins, bats, and spiders.

A silence falls over us and I move on down the aisle, Luke following slowly behind me with the cart. I stop walking and apparently Luke doesn't notice because he runs into me with the cart and I swear to god it feels like I just took a razor scooter to the ankle.

"Ow!" I trip forward from the impact, reaching down and grabbing the back of my ankle as the throbbing pain starts to subside. "The fuck?!" I gesture my hand out and he shrugs.

"Sorry." he mumbles but its obvious he's not sorry.

"Whatever." I snap and I toss the confetti into the cart. I turn onto the next aisle, Luke still following me but this time when I stop walking he stops before he hits me.

I pick up a pack of black paper plates and a pack of orange ones, looking between the two to figure out which I want most. Both are Halloween colors but the longer I stare the more I realize there's going to be a lot of orange and black items, so I put both back and decide to get purple plates, along with some plastic silverware.

"I was murdered." a voice breaks my thoughts and I glance around me to find the voice, my eyes landing on Luke who's staring right at me.

"Um... okay?" I slowly set the plates and silverware in the cart.

"They knew. They knew I couldn't swim and they still pushed me in." he speaks in a raspy voice and I notice the glossy look over his eyes.

Even though he's looking directly at me, I know he's looking through me, looking somewhere else.

"Why did they push you in?" I ask, taking a few steps towards him so I'm standing beside him and he's no longer staring at me, but at the empty aisle ahead. He doesn't make a move to say anything so I reach out and touch his arm.

He flinches and snaps out of whatever trance he was in, his head turning towards me. My hand is still on his arm and we're staring at each other, neither of us knowing what to do.

"Luke," I break the silence, removing my hand from his arm. "did you drown?"

He bites his lip slightly before letting out a deep breath. "Yes."

"I'm sorry..." I trail off. "that must have been.. horrible."

He nods, a single tear falling from his eye that he's quick to wipe away. "It was like no other pain I had ever felt before.." he sighs and then turns the topic on to me. "how did you die?"

I let out a snort of embarrassment. "I, uh... fell out of a tree."

"Are you fucking joking?"

"Nope." I shake my head, holding back a laugh at myself. "My death story isn't as tragic and mysterious as others. I just fell out of a tree and got a severe concussion that resulted me falling into a coma. I guess I died in the coma because when I woke up I was buried six feet under."

"Jesus." Luke mutters and we start walking down the aisle again as we talk.

"Yeah." I nod. "I dug myself out of the ground and found out I was turning into a vampire when I sucked the guy that worked the night grave shift dry."

"So.. your power is digging yourself out of graves?" Luke snorts and I send him a glare.

"No, you asshat."

"Then what can you do?" he challenges me and I roll my eyes at him, my eyes spotting a bouquet of roses at the end of the aisle.

"You see those roses?" I ask and he nods, looking at the roses. "Watch this."

I use my super speed to run down the aisle, grab the roses, and then run back to Luke before anyone sees me. Once I'm standing beside Luke again I rub my fingers over the rose peddles slowly, watching Luke's smug expression turn into amazement as the roses start turning black as they wilt and die.

"Cool." Luke breathes out, now looking at a bouquet of dead, colorless roses.

"Yeah, cool."

a/n: happy birthday best friend  mikeys_cliffoconda