floriography [ stories five ]

vampires will never hurt you || three

[ i love these characterizations too much
also i've been on edge for like two days yeehaw

-lew. ]

——————

Learning how to use the phone is easier than Logan thought it would be. Bailey teaches him the basics in less than ten minutes, and once Logan's texted the guy from last night, he asks to borrow the device for a few minutes.

Obviously, Logan lets him, because technically he's the one borrowing it. Bailey opens up the contact list, scrolling until he finds a contact marked with 'Home'. Then, he takes a deep breath and in a small voice, he asks, "Can you maybe hold my hand while I do this if it isn't too much of a problem for you? I just..."

"I'm here, buddy. Do what you need to," Logan tells him, gently taking his hand. "I've got you."

Bailey looks relieved, hesitating only a moment before pressing the 'call' button and setting it to speakerphone. It rings a few times, but ultimately goes to voicemail, the recorded message playing. "Hi, this is the Starlings! Sorry we missed you, but if you leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as we can."

He hangs up, then hands the phone back to Logan. "I don't think I could've talked even if she would've picked up," he murmurs, wincing as his teeth nick his wrist when he starts chewing on his sleeve. "It was my mama's number."

Logan's smile falls away. For him, Ezra, and Lewis, their families are pretty much unobtainable. But there's the realization that, for Chase and Bailey, their families are still alive, maybe even still looking for them.

He makes his leave then, busying himself with texting the human to get his mind off of things.

——

The family has only been located in this city for a few years. The cycle they operate on is pretty simple. After every new family member (or every few decades), they move, mostly to avoid getting caught, for the kidnapping or the whole not aging thing. The longest they stayed in one city was the move after Lewis, and that lasted thirty years.

Their living quarters are actually somewhat nice, despite being hidden away. Each of them have their own room, as well as a spare bedroom for the few days between a new kid joining and the next move. A central lounge area holds various board games, a piano, and most currently, a television and video game console for Bailey. And after Lewis, they've gotten a kitchen area, because despite no longer having the need for regular food, it helped him adjust. Even getting vampires on a schedule is helpful.

They're separated from their 'parents' by a heavy vault door, although they get let out to feed weekly and they've found a way to sneak out when they want. Their parents check in on them daily, around eight pm, as a way to make sure their little darlings aren't doing anything they're not supposed to.

A typical night for the vampire teens is just hanging around, occasionally playing games and mostly just focusing on their own separate interests.

Ezra spends most of his time in his room, or, as the favorite child, off doing things for or with their parents. Logan plays piano and listens to music, occasionally letting Bailey teach him to play video games. Lewis writes and listens to music, forever wishing he could actually have flowers again. Chase sleeps or hangs out with Bailey. And Bailey just likes drawing and being close with most of his siblings.

Bailey's little family portrait is sort of a combination of all those. In it, Logan and Lewis are sharing headphones to listen to a song together, while Chase is standing on a box to easily throw her arm around Bailey's neck, all looking happy and content. Separated slightly is Ezra and the parent vampires, all drawn with slight smiles that seem a bit weird.

When Bailey hands over the colored drawing, he also gives Logan a smaller piece of paper, and another quick hug before running back to his room. The second paper is a drawing of just Logan, sitting at the piano, wearing one of his comfy sweaters. Sure, there are slight imperfections, a waviness to some lines and places where the ink bled through.

When he flips it over, there's a little note on the back. "Thank you for being the best older sibling I've ever had (and I used to have three older sisters). We're all really really lucky to have you. Love, B." And it's sweet, and it's literally one of the nicest things he's been given in his undead life.

He takes a picture of it with the phone, and sends it off to Harry before hanging it up in his room. He doesn't even have the chance to sit down before Lewis bursts in, a wide smile on his face but tears in his eyes. He puts a page down in front of the other guy, and says, "Did he give you one of these too? I just... I forgot what I looked like and-"

Logan stands up to hug him, feeling his own eyes well up too. He's definitely not one to cry, but hey, this is such a sweet moment, it's hard not to. He glances down at Lewis' picture, where it's him wearing his overalls and surrounded by plants, flowers in his hair. "We'll get some sort of plant that doesn't need sunlight. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

"At this point, I'd tolerate artificial plants, Logan."

——

Chase is the only one who knew about Bailey's secondary drawings beforehand. So when the other two came to see if she'd gotten one, she gestured to the desk in her room.

"Did you really think Bailey got the markers himself? I stole 'em from an art student a couple weeks ago as a birthday present for the little shit." She rolls her eyes, but the slight smile says it all.

Hers depicts Chase very, very similar to the first time they met, ripped jeans and the leather jacket that's currently slung over the back of her chair. Hers has an additional person, a girl dressed in a similar manner with her dark hair in short pigtails.

"Who's this?" Lewis asks curiously, turning to face his sister.

Chase's smile only grows, reaching up to rub the back of her neck. "That's Mo- Maureen, I mean. We were really close right before I met you guys. I... I guess you could say she was my girlfriend. I miss her, but... y'know, even if it is under shitty circumstances, I'm glad I met you dorks."

She seems embarrassed at the confession, a weird thing to see from her. So, Lewis shyly offers, "My best friend Alex was my first kiss, and his father almost caught us."

"Nice to know I'm not the only gay disaster."

————

[ more fun facts about the vampires/ this au:
- an easy way to see if they've fed recently is to puncture their skin. if any blood wells up, they've fed within the past week. if none, then they're in need of blood and often times denying it

- uhhhh i cant think of any more fun facts leave me alone