The Heart Of Paramour Mansion

Chapter Seven: Vampires Will Never Hurt You "Someone Buy Me Roses"

CHAPTER SEVEN

Morning came much too quickly, bringing everyone a warm feeling of satisfaction from the events of the previous night. Helena on the other hand was feeling annoyed and anxious for the night to once again come.

Her day was spent mostly locked in her room, calling her mother and explaining over the course of many hours why she hadn't been home in two days. Mrs. Layne never was protective over her only child, but the absence was unacceptable. After hours of pleading diplomatically, Helena was allowed to stay at Paramour Mansion with her friends until school began again at the end of break days (under the excuse that a nice man named Mr. P(ony) was supervising them at all times) with one condition: she had to visit every two, which meant she had to come as soon as tomorrow blossomed on the horizon.

Running free from her room, she nodded politely to Jenny and Johnny who were setting up a radio system with Show Pony and raced to the piano room. She collapsed against the inside of the musty smelling wooden door and whimpered in the darkness, wondering why her teeth felt like they were being pulled out.

Surely I can't be getting cavities! She thought. God knows I'm a freak about brushing my teeth...at least ten times a day!

Groaning, she forced herself to sit up and lean against the door in a more comfortable position. After beginning to yawn but stopping as pain flashed through her jaw, she stood up and decided to take her mind off of things by finding Gerard.

"Looking for someone?" A voice drawled from behind her. Arms followed the smooth words and wrapped around her waist gently.

Immediately relieved, Helena smiled as much as possible and whispered "Oh, yes."

She could sense him grinning from behind her, his breath tickling the back of her neck as he nipped the sensitive skin there, making her shiver.

Turning her around, he kept his alluring smile and spoke, "You okay?"

She shrugged. "I have a really weird toothache but..." Helena blushed, thankful for the shadows, "Now that you're here I'm absolutely wonderful."

Gerard's grin turned sly and he put a finger under her chin lightly. "I bet I can make you feel better."

Helena figured out what was going on just as his lips touched hers, a slight metallic taste seeping onto her tongue. The aching in her teeth began to fade as he pulled away shyly.

Tilting her head away, she stared at the ground. "That felt nice."

"Did it?" he asked, concerned, "There was nothing weird about it?"

"No..." Helena began warily. She tilted her head and looked at him. "Should there have been? I mean...I...I think I love you, Gerard."

He smiled slowly. "I love you too, Halo. But I need to tell you something that will scare you before you find it out for yourself."

"What is it, my love?"

"You..." He took a deep breath and coughed as if fighting a sob. "Your teeth. The pain you're feeling. You know it's not normal. Helena...look, look at me, into my eyes."

She did, completely trusting the ghost-man before her.

"Vampires, my Lady of Sorrows, will never, ever hurt you."

"What do you mean?" she whispered hoarsely.

Moments passed slowly as she realized what he was hinting at.

"You can't mean...am I really...no, no. No! Why?"

She collapsed, sobbing, into his arms and he wept soundlessly for her, knowing that she would never have a real life in the outside world.

PART TWO: Disenchanted "But Where Did You Run To, And Where Did You Hide?"

"Mikey, dude, calm down." Frank shouted across the courtyard, headphones around his neck and a guitar pick still in his hand, "What the hell are you up to?"

"I'm going to find her!" Mikey shouted back, "Scarlet!"

The air was colder than usual for early November, and snow swirled around the young man as he ran out of Paramour Mansion and the tall iron gates. "Scarlet!" he yelled again, this time into the frigid, white air. "Please come back!"

He carried on like this for a mile, tears making his eyes burn with cold. Finally the storm calmed enough that he could see where he was going, and he realized that he was in the small town of Monroeville. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to continue searching for her in the state he was in.

Mikey made a small effort to look presentable before entering a small hotel called Bella Muerte and renting a room.

"Sorry sir, we only have one room left." The hotel manager said politely. "Third floor, room eight."

"That's fine, it doesn't matter." He answered monotonously, all emotions drained from his mind. He took the key. "Thanks."

"Have a pleasant stay!"

"As if," He muttered, forcing himself to move up the stairs.

When he got to his small room, he clumsily unlocked the door and flung himself on the bed wearily. Rolling onto his back, he scanned his surroundings. Next to the open door was a dresser with a mirror hanging above it. The reflective glass looked black because there was little light streaming in from the window above the bed, which was on the other side of the room. Morning was quickly approaching as Mikey accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all. Standing up, he approached the dresser and put his hands on it, leaning heavily, staring into the mirror. A line from Gerard's extensive lyric notebooks snuck into his mind.

"Can you say, my eyes are shining bright, cause I'm out here on the other side, of a jet black hotel mirror..." He paused, choking on the irony of the song as his thoughts drifted to Scarlet. "And I'm so weak. Is it hard understanding, I'm incomplete..."

From the next room, a girl pressed her ear against the wall to listen to his heart-filled singing. "Mikey," she whispered, breaking into a sob, "I'm sorry."

"Scarlet...?" He began, almost in disbelief.

"Y-yes?" She replied softly and timidly.

Without responding, he raced out of his room and to the one next to his, not even bothering to slip on his shoes or a jacket. Scrunching up his eyes before the door to Scarlet's hotel room, his hands shook, but he managed to knock twice.

Her sweet voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Did you need something?"

"Yes." He said bravely, bracing himself for rejection. "Scarlet, I'm sorry. I love you. I don't know why—yes, actually, I do. I was a fool. I let my emotions take over the fact that I know my brother would never do something like that to me. And you're not a bad person. I shouldn't have exploded at you."

"It was a bit more than exploding." Scarlet muttered, opening the door a crack. "Come in...Mikey...I forgive you."

She managed to smile at him, touching his shoulder, which made him flinch, then blush.

"Under one condition." The young lady continued.

"Anything for you."

"Sing."

He frowned. "Sing?"

"Yes," Scarlet whispered. "Sing for me. Your voice is even better than your brother's. It's thoughtful, desperate. Please sing."

Mikey hesitated, not expecting the praise or the request. "Wh-what should I sing?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "Something new, like a song for an album that you haven't published yet. Something no one has sung before."

"I..." he smiled slightly at her, "I know just the one."