The Vampire and The Idiot

That Girl

Something was wrong.

His instincts told him there was something his friend is hiding from him. He didn't know what it is but he was sure that Adriano is not telling him everything that he needed to know.

"You're lying," Mariano spoke; his voice was filled with contempt.

They had been sitting in the living room for over an hour now. Adriano had to fill him in on the events that occurred when he was unconscious. Mariano hated himself for succumbing to his creator's demand, he knew that he was powerless to him yet he convinced himself that he could fight it that time.

Luciano's power is strong. It isn't something that he could fight single handed, he needed to be strong to be able to resist the pull of the bond that he had with his creator. He was foolish to think that he could resist the pull, it took him all his strength and energy to do so but Luciano was older and stronger than him. Mariano hasn't even fed since he got Thalia, he found it difficult to feed when she was around. He didn't know why but he never had the urge to feed even though his hunger was prominent with her around him.

Adriano leaned back on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. He had a stoic expression but Mariano could see behind his friend's mask, "I'm not lying Mariano. I did all I could to get you out of there and still you accuse me of such horrid things."

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend you. I want you to know I am grateful for what you did. You saved me from my foolishness and if it weren't for my mistake, you and the others won't be hurt."

Adriano quirked his eyebrow and nod his head gracefully – accepting his friends apology. "It's alright Mariano. You and the boys are like my brothers, I would do anything for you boys - you know that."

Mariano gave Adriano a smile but it didn't reach his eyes, Adriano could see really well that there is still something lingering in the back of his friend's mind and he had an idea of what it is. Adriano was irked by the idea of his brothers risking their lives to defend such an idiotic girl with a background of violence. At least that's what he thought, based on the actions of Thalia earlier; he pretty much summed up the idea that the girl was violent and had always been psychotic.

"What's wrong brother?" Adriano still asked, but his tone suggests that he knows exactly why.

"Nothing."

"I know that look, Mariano. You can't always hide what you feel, you know. Me and the guys are here for you whenever you need anything."

Mariano placed his elbows on his thighs, his hands rubbing his nape. "I'm just worried," He replied, trying not to sound desperate in front of Adriano. He still feels cautious about letting his worries show, he wasn't the type of person who shares everything with the world, he was always quiet and reserved and his friends hated him for it.

"Let me guess..." Adriano drawled a bored expression on his face.

"You're worried about the girl...again."

Mariano lifted his eyes to meet Adriano's, his eyes were bright and it was filled with worry. Adriano saw right through his friend's mask, he was surprised to see such a raw emotion on Mariano. The man in front of him showed a side that neither he nor his friends had seen before. Mariano usually hides his emotions very well, in fact, he was so good at it that they didn't even know if something was wrong with him. Now, the man in front of him was as clear as water flowing through a river.

His cerulean eyes were bright, his face was hard and his attention was elsewhere. Adriano knew that Mariano cared deeply for the girl that he just met three days ago. This baffled him; Adriano didn't understand what it is about that girl that got his friends right in the palm of her hands.

'She was a stranger for f**k's sake,' Adriano hissed in his mind.

"What is it with you and that girl? Wasn't she supposed to be a strange girl that you're supposed to kidnap and surrender? Why fight for the girl so suddenly? What is it about her that made you all lose your damn minds?" Adriano snapped, feeling his irritation grow stronger, turning it to anger.

Mariano looked up to Adriano who is now flaming with anger. His hands clutched the arms of the leather couch, his sharp claws piercing the exterior. His fiery hair was covered in flames as it covered his head like a halo, whilst his eyes were glowing as his dragon's eyes appeared. His face was red, and his lips were in a snarl.

Mariano frowned in confusion as he watched his friend lose control because of anger, "Adriano calm yourself, I can't believe you're losing your temper over a girl." Mariano reprimanded his friend but his voice wasn't hard like Adriano expected it to be.

"Calm myself? Excuse me but that girl brought nothing but trouble and disaster! Because of her, Luciano came out of hiding and is now chasing after us! We had already escaped! We were free Mariano! But you have to take this job from him when you know you could've come to us for help!" Adriano bellowed, he also stood up from the couch as he spoke.

Mariano took a deep sigh, calming himself. The last thing that he wanted was to fight Adriano, he was already tired of everything and he was still weak from fighting Luciano's command. "Adriano there are things that you would never understand. I don't want to fight over this; I will give you an explanation at the right time, just not...now."

Adriano growled, his patience was getting thin. "This is not some game that you play Mariano! There are some lives at stake here! An innocent girl's life is at stake because of your foolish act! You should've denied him but you accepted his request! All for what, Mariano? What do you want?"

Mariano could feel his control slowly slipping away, but he fought through it. Bottling the raging anger that the inner beast in him, wanting to unleash. He didn't like being questioned but he knew his friend was right; everyone's life is at stake – including his.

Mariano stood up from the couch, his fist was clenched, and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. His teeth ground against each other, his anger and irritation were mixing and he knew he needed to calm Adriano before he could hurt him further by letting his anger take over.

"I will give you an explanation soon but not now, I give you my word. Not until I found Thalia safe and well. Now calm down because you know what will happen if we both lost ourselves to our anger. You're better than that Adriano. Control yourself."

Adriano gritted his teeth; his beast was retreating – for now. The fire around him was burning down slowly and his claws and fangs were retracting back. His eyes, however, was still glowing in bright orange but his pupils were in a normal circle again. Mariano closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling himself calm down also.

They heard a clearing of a throat that was not from either of them; they shared questioning glances and looked at the direction of the new people with them.

"Well...This was unexpected."