My Vampire Bromance

Chapter 10: Let Me Brush Your Hair!

The whole week Victor insisted upon showing up at my work until I finally let him know yesterday evening that I had tonight off. There was no school on Fridays and if I didn't work, there was no reason for me to go there. Mostly I planned to hang out around the house all day and get some course reading done. Finals were coming and the stress that went with them was damn near unbearable. I sat most of the day staring at the words in my world literature textbook trying to memorize lines and phrases from it.

After five hours of attempting to study. I finally gave up when I realized that my mind was constantly wandering back to Victor wrapping his arm around me as we strode through the campus at night. I honestly didn't understand his affinity towards touching me. I also didn't understand why it made me feel so weird.

While the first two days with Victor had been awkward, the rest of the week had me thinking about things I shouldn't have. I asked Victor way too many questions about how old he was, where he was from, what it was like to be a vampire. To my surprise he answered everything. He was born in 1639 in what is now modern-day Czechoslovakia. In the year 1671, he was made into a vampire by a woman who had desperately wanted him. When he revealed to her that he was just not the right fit for her, she had gone mad and leapt into the sunlight.

"Of course, it didn't work," Victor said, striding beside me as the rain pelted down one night. "When it didn't, she went to another one of her kind to put her out of her misery. I have been alone ever since."

I nodded, wondering what he meant by "not my type." It seemed by the way Victor looked at me that he indeed had a type. I just didn't know if I was willing to admit that I might just be it.

Every day that I spoke to him on our walk home made it easier for me to get used to him. Some nights Victor fed before he showed up as a cat in my backpack at work. Other nights, I noticed, he left my bed in the middle of the evening, only to come back as mist through the crack in my window. Then, he would crawl into bed, sometimes as himself, but most often as the little cat. I would pretend to be asleep when he did this, only resting after hours of feeling him watching me through those glass-like eyes of his.

Each morning this week I had woken up next to Victor. He looked like he was either comfortably dozing or dead with his little paws up in the air as the sun glinted off his fur. Oh, to be a vampire who can shapeshift on a whim. Honestly, it's not fair that he can look so cute.

I set down my book and looked upstairs. It was a little past three o'clock. I had hours yet before he woke up. I decided that for I would make coffee and eat early. I had finally started to eat well again for the first time in a long time.

Around six o'clock, after the sun had set, I heard Victor rustling upstairs. There was a slight grumbling as I heard him pad from my room into the bathroom. The shower turned on, the pipes creaking above my head. I wondered if I would ever get used to him being in my house.

When Victor came down, I was surprised to see him dressed up, though I shouldn't have been. It was Friday, and every Friday I had seen him at the bar down by the campus. I observed his slightly damp hair, which he had pulled back into a low ponytail.

Victor looked down at me, standing slightly over me as he leaned down for a second, before sitting down next to me. The green embroidery of his collared shirt was bright against his pale skin. The ink of his pants juxtaposing against it well.

"Where are you going tonight?" I asked him, shifting over slightly to give him more room. Victor took this gesture as an excuse to move closer to me, rather to give me more space.

"We are going out," he said, smiling at me.

I swallowed hard. "Why?"

Victor looked up, seeming to think for a moment before he answered, "To try and up your game. Tonight, I will teach you the art of getting a girl!"

I gulped, "I don't really think that's a good idea." My eyes flicked back and forth between Victor's.

"Whatever do you mean? It's a great idea!" he exclaimed. Victor gasped my hands in his. "I will teach you how to attract a woman to you tonight."

I shook my head no, "Honestly Victor, I really have to study for class." I looked down at my book, trying to find a way out of looking at him.

"Nonsense!" Victor cried. "Going out is much more fun! Not to mention, you've been studying all week! You need some time off in order for your mind to rest and all that information to set in!" He released his hands from mine and poked me between the eyes. I caught his hand in mine.

"I don't think so," I said, trying to remain calm.

"Oh, but I do," Victor said. "Now stand up! We've got to fix that hair of yours."

I became instantly embarrassed as he said this, shrinking down until I was almost completely engulfed by the couch cushions.

"You can't put off the inevitable," Victor said, grabbing me around my shoulders to pick me up off the couch. I struggled against him.

"No. Really. My hair is fine."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not!" Victor yelled at me. "Phillip Kosier, get off that couch so I can brush your hair!" I opened my mouth to try and fight him. "No. No! Do not argue with me! Your hair is an absolute nightmare! No one on earth would want to run their hands through that rat's nest! Why, I got my claws stuck in it last night for crying out loud!"

I stopped struggling against him when he said this. Too shocked at the realization that he had gotten stuck in my hair. "How'd you do that?" I asked, wide eyed.

Victor dropped his hands from under my shoulders, "I was just doing that thing cat's do when they want to cozy up to someone warm and my claws got stuck in your hair! Never mind the details!" he yelled. "Now get up off of that couch Phillip and let me brush it!"

I decided not to tempt fate any longer as I looked at the dark haired, handsome vampire in front of me. "Alright," I said weakly.

"Thank you," Victor replied, sounding exasperated.

I honestly felt like I was going to die.