feels like i can't come home [steve]

[Deleted]

It was the last day of May, and Cecelia was out of the hospital for the first time since she was turned into a vampire. Dusk had come and gone, which meant that it was dark outside. London wasn't much good at showing stars thanks to all the light pollution, but Cece knew that they were out there, somewhere, and she regretted that she wasn't able to be outside searching for her astronomy location, as had been her plan for her weeks since school had ended. Cecelia knew that registering herself at the blood bank was important now that she was out of the hospital and they wouldn't be providing her with her meals, but it still felt rather tedious. The attendant had given her a stack of papers that was the equivalent of about half a forest, detailing everything from her name, age, and date of birth to the date she had been turned and the circumstances surrounding it. Cecelia had written a short sentence on that subject, since she didn't see why that was necessary to give her what she needed. Some of the other questions felt equally invasive, even though Cece knew they weren't meant to be - there was one about whether or not she had a significant other who was willing to give blood and Cecelia almost walked out right then and there. The idea of Grey being a meal was just wrong. Cecelia was still only halfway through the packet of papers when more people began filtering in, presumably to get their rations for the night. Cecelia ducked her head, trying to cover her face from passersby, as she continued to write.

@steve

[Deleted]

@cecelia

The paperwork for the blood bank was absolutely ridiculous. The amount of questions asked, the time it spent checking off the marks that he was born half-vampire instead of turned, and the constant threat of paper cuts setting off hungry glares from everyone in the building had Steve working quickly and efficiently. He had already been there once before, right when the family had moved. His mother, being the wonderful woman she was and a full vampire, had to be registered immediately. As for him and Nora? It didn’t really matter all that much. They weren’t a threat when it came to chomping on human’s necks all willy-nilly the second they got hungry. All they required was a monthly dosage of blood – no more, no less. Steve preferred the notion of having it less often. Unfortunately, the last time he tried to skip out on it, it felt like his body was ripping itself apart. If that was what a full vamp went through daily if they didn’t eat, then he was perfectly content with sucking it up and dealing with his monthly allotment.

But today was more paperwork because the blood bank had botched something up and apparently didn’t have him on file anymore. Thankfully he had snagged the letter from the mailman before his mother could see it. That had saved everyone at the blood bank from a massive headache. She was great, but having her children wronged like that would have brought on something fierce. Mentioning it casually to his sister later that evening, Steve popped out of their new house and brought the letter with him. Having that with him would hopefully move it along faster, instead of dealing with whomever was at the front desk when he arrived. All he needed to do was get his papers signed, get his blood, and get out.

Strolling into the building right as the sun was setting definitely had a different feeling from when he had last been there. This time there were other people – other vampires – wandering around and getting whatever it was they needed. Coming during the day obviously meant that only the ones ready to brave a nasty sunburn and whatnot would be there. Trying to keep his goal in mind, Steve headed towards the counter, and quickly explained his problem and passed the letter over to the employee there. Tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited for them to return, he snuck a glance at the person standing next to him. She was filling out paperwork as well. From the size of the stack, it looked like it was the same one his family had gone through a few weeks earlier. “New to this too?” he asked her casually. “Hopefully they don’t mess yours up like they did with mine. Such a drag having to come back and do it over again.”

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Cecelia was distracted from her stack of paperwork by a voice, and she whipped her head around, still a little jumpy about anything vampire-related thanks to the fact that she had been warned that she might face prejudice for her new condition. She still tried to keep her head mostly covered by a curtain of hair, but she felt rather silly with her hair drawn over her eyes in the way it was, and she sighed before tucking her hair behind her ears again so she could look the boy straight in the eyes. After realizing that the boy standing next to her was turning in paperwork of his own to the blood bank, and was thus most likely also a vampire, Cecelia allowed herself to relax enough to process his words. He asked if she was new to this, and Cecelia nodded stiffly. “I was turned last month.” She explained quietly, wishing that she had said that before she had tucked her hair away from her face. She hoped that that answer would suffice, because she would rather not elaborate on the circumstances of her changing. The boy didn’t look as pale as she would expect of a full vampire, so Cecelia begin piecing together the puzzle. He probably meant new as in new to the area, not being new to being a vampire – assuming she was correct and he was a half-vampire who was born that way. Cecelia sighed at her own stupidity, but it was too late to call back her words.

“I have to come back every night anyways.” She said quietly. One of the perks of being a vampire (which was not a perk at all) was having to feed on blood every night, so Cecelia was going to be spending a lot of her time at the blood bank. She was going to need to find something to do in the wait time, rather than wasting her life just staring at the opposite wall. Talking to people was all well and good, but some other vampires were a little… eccentric, and it still made Cecelia uncomfortable. “I hope I don’t have to do all of this over again.” She said, her voice finally returning to a somewhat normal volume at the comment, which wasn’t directly related to her vampirism. It was a lot of paperwork, and repeating it would be annoying.

@steve

[Deleted]

@cecelia

Steve’s innocent question had been more of the kind where he assumed the girl, or woman, it was hard to tell with vampires since they didn’t age as much (his own mother still looking like she wasn’t a day over thirty), was also new to the area like his family was. He didn’t expect her to say that she had just been turned. That was something he hadn’t experienced before. The vampires that his mother brought around from time to time were old blood; the kind that moved into the northern most tips of Canada because they didn’t want to be disturbed. Then again, everyone that went up that far north was trying to escape from civilization. Regardless, only a few times had he actually met someone that had just been turned. “No kidding?” The process was rather gruesome, obviously he was born the way he was, but his mother had gone through it as well and had always advised him and Nora against associating the ones that turned for money. Unfortunately those existed.

He scribbled out his signature on a few of the papers while he listened to the girl explain that she had to come back every night. He was lucky in the sense that he only needed her daily amount once a month. Blood wasn’t exactly the best tasting thing in the world. “They’ve treated me well so far, and I’ve only had to come a few times,” he looked back down at his papers. “Except to do this again. This goof up is all on them.” Finishing off the rest of the marked areas, Steve pushed the papers further across the counter towards the employee on the other side before turning to face the girl again. “Steve,” he said extending his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you…”

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The boy next to her asked if she was kidding, and for a moment, Cecelia was baffled. Was that the sort of thing that people normally kidded about? She realized, a little belatedly, that the question was probably meant as a rhetorical, and not actually a statement of disbelief in her story. “No kidding.” She said anyways, her voice a little flatter than Steve’s. Woops – Cecelia hadn’t meant to make her lack of amusement as her tone probably did. Oh well. Cecelia figured she was allowed to be a little bitter, considering her psychopath sister had acted from the beyond the grave to put one last twist in her already topsy-turvy life.

The boy said that the bank had treated him well so far, though he had only had to come a few times, probably because he was a half-vampire. He said that the goof he was coming to right now was all on the blood blank, and Cecelia nodded to him to show she was following along with the story, though she didn’t know what to say other than that it was too bad that the bank had messed up. The boy introduced himself as Steve, and Cecelia offered a closed-lipped smile. “Cecelia.” She returned, taking his hand. Oh, if her parents could see her now, associating with half-breeds, as they would call them. Then again, they probably would already be comatose since her boyfriend was a half-blood. Cecelia found herself getting a sort of perverse joy out of her parents’ imaginary discomfort. “What’s your story?” Cecelia decided to ask, hoping that getting the boy talking would keep him distracted from questioning her.

@steve

[Deleted]

@cecelia

He had definitely made that exchange awkward. Everything that he knew as normal was brand new for this girl when it concerned vampirism. Sure, he would never truly understand what being a full vampire was like, but he was sure that he knew enough to sympathize with what she was going through currently. It was his duty as a half-representative of their kind. There were plenty of decent vampires out there but an equal amount of nasty ones existed. Same as humans, just more noticeable because there were less of their kind. “Well, I can’t say any of this will get easier as time goes on because I don’t know if it will,” he started, trying to be a tad more serious about this. “But you’re in good hands here from what I can tell.” Except for when they screwed up paperwork. That part he didn’t like about the blood bank. The caveat being that there were other vampires around here that she could associate with if she needed it. They couldn’t all be born full vampires, so he was sure a few would be able to help her adjust to the new life she was stepping into.

“Nice to meet you, Cecelia,” Steve smiled as she shook his hand. Most people probably would have been creeped out by her pale-white skin and red eyes; those were so natural to him that it actually felt more welcoming talking to her than any of the other young witches and wizards he had met so far. Funny how being associated through a normally taboo concept could do that. Cecelia asked him what his story was, and Steve took a deep breath before diving into it. “Family just moved here from Canada for work reasons. My mother, she’s the vampire in the family, has a nice position at the ‘department for the regulation and control of magical creatures’,” Steve said, moving his index finger to each word in the name of the department. It was a mouthful, and trying to remember it all past the regulation bit was still tough to do. “So the parents packed myself and my sister up, and brought us over here to go to school at that Hogwarts place. Something seems ironic about being a vampire and having to live in a castle. Maybe that’s just me.” He hated to admit it, but he was excited to lay claim to the school. All those new people to talk to and inject himself into their lives – they didn’t know what was coming.

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Cecelia tried for a smile when Steve said that he wished he could say that everything would get easier over time, but her stomach felt sour at the thought of none of this ever getting easier, so she was sure she appeared more like she was grimacing. That was probably an equally appropriate answer to what he was saying about her life possibly being difficult forever, so Cecelia wasn’t horribly concerned with how her facial expression came off. It was easier to make a genuine half-smile when Steve mentioned that she was in good hands at the blood bank. She definitely agreed with that; the people at the blood bank were kind, and they were perhaps the best so far (of people who weren’t Grey or her family) at reminding her that her life was going on after her turning. They weren’t repulsed by vampires or their feeding schedules, because it was their job, and that was a welcome comfort to Cece.

“And you as well.” Cecelia said automatically when Steve said it was nice to meet her. There were some things from her time as a pureblood princess that she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to shake, and the automatic polite responses to most things were one of them. Her question about what his story was seemed to be well-received, and Cece listened, interested, when Steve explained that he and his family had moved from Canada for work. Cecelia noted the name of the department Steve’s mother was working was the same department that Susan had begun her internship underneath. Susan had been concerned about the representation of vampires in legislation, but maybe having a vampire within the department would be more helpful for that than anything that Cece could do. “Hogwarts is a wonderful school.” Cecelia assured Steve. “I liked it better than Beauxbatons, in the end.” Part of that was pure sentimentality – Cecelia had met her best friends, and Grey, at Hogwarts – but Cecelia also found it easier to breathe at Hogwarts, in a way she couldn’t quite explain in words. Steve mentioned there was irony in a vampire being in a castle, and Cece shrugged. “The beds aren’t coffins.” She offered. That would help reduce some of the stereotypes about castle-dwelling vampires, at least.

@steve

[Deleted]

@cecelia

Cecelia’s attempt at a smile almost had him laughing, but he knew better than that. She was probably self-conscious of the fangs still – something he and Nora wouldn’t have to worry about because of their half-human blood. That was one of the things that had always intrigued him about the transformation. Humans deciding to damn themselves into that lifestyle (because if he was to be completely honest, he didn’t understand why anyone would do that without external factors making them do it) would come out as full vampires, whereas he only got part of it. The fact that genetics played little to no roll in it all was fascinating. Obviously if his deadbeat of a father had been a creature of the night too, then he would be fanging out with all the other vampire kids on a daily basis, but that wasn’t the case. Instead of saying anything about her smile, he returned with his own. Hopefully that would show her that she was going to be fine here.

Ending his lengthy speech about moving and the irony of living at Hogwarts for the next two years, Steve waited patiently to see what the girl had to say about the school. He felt a wave of relief go over him as she said it was wonderful, and that it was better than the French school. “That’s good to know. Mom wanted Beauxbatons because we can speak French,” Steve stated, making sure to roll his eyes at it, “but sticking me and my sister in that place would not work out, from what I’ve heard. And then dad wanted Durmstrang because that was where he went.” Luckily their mother wouldn’t let them go there because of how hard-core the curriculum was. If they even got in there to begin with. Having zero magical education from an institution meant they would have to be the best of the best. Last time he looked at his skills as a wizard, they weren’t that up to snuff. “Darn,” Steve chuckled, snapping his fingers. “I was looking forward to a coffin that was actually comfortable. Hard to find one these days.” Those jokes would probably be endless for the first months. Back home there were more vampires than not, so it was easy to go a while without hearing someone make a dig at his blood-sucking brethren.

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Steve said that his mother had wanted him to go to Beauxbatons because he could speak French, and Cecelia raised an eyebrow. Putting Steve and his sister there probably wasn’t the brightest of ideas, she could agree. It would probably be better than Durmstrang – though then again, since Durmstrang had a fascination with the Dark Arts, maybe they would be more lenient towards creatures that were considered dark? Cece still had problems with thinking of herself that way, even though she knew that ‘Dark’ wasn’t a declaration of good or bad, only the way her magic worked. “I can’t say anything about Durmstrang,” other than what she had learned from the delegates that had come, which wasn’t much, “Since I didn’t go there.” Cecelia finished, somewhat lamely. She hadn’t actually said much about Hogwarts or Beauxbatons either, come to think of it – just that the beds at Hogwarts weren’t coffins, which any reasonable person could have assumed in the first place.

“Sorry to disappoint.” Cecelia replied, deadpan, when Steve said that he was looking forward to a comfortable coffin. She wasn’t sure if he was kidding, since there were some vampires who apparently still did sleep in coffins, but it also wasn’t a question that she was going to ask someone that she had just met. “The four poster beds are nice. And they have curtains.” She added. She wasn’t sure how sensitive half-vampires were to sunlight, but in any case it was nice to have a way to keep sunlight from waking you up on weekend mornings – at least, it was if you were a late sleeper. “Has anyone told you about the different Hogwarts houses?” Cecelia asked. Sunlight wouldn’t be an issue if Steve was sorted into Slytherin or Hufflepuff, since both of those common rooms were subterranean anyways.

@steve

[Deleted]

@cecelia

Cecelia admitted that she didn’t know much about Durmstrang, and Steve simply shrugged. He had heard stories from his dad about his time spent there, and from the sound of it, it was cold all the time and the classes were harsh. If school was to only focus solely on studies and without social interactions, then he didn’t want anything to do with it. His life blood, no pun intended, was linked to talking and doing things with other people. Without that, he was nothing. Of course he always had Nora by his side, but it wasn’t like he could rely on her hanging out with him all day, every day. Twins didn’t have to be attached at the hip forever, risking their individuality for the sake of needing a friend. “At least you’ve been to a few schools,” he leveled to her. “We might have had a school, in a sense, but it wasn’t more than an over glorified day care most of the time.” The real question was whether he was going to struggle in school or not. Jumping into an education when he didn’t have much of a formal one to begin with would certainly be interesting.

He wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not when she apologized for there not being coffins, so he opted to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t like a coffin was a necessary part of being a vampire, but it was certainly hilarious to show someone around the house and bring up the bit about sleeping in one. “Thick curtains?” Steve asked. They would need to be if he ever managed to sneak a special lady back to the dorm room. There were probably policies against that in place, but it never hurt to try. Cecelia asked him if he had learned of the Hogwarts houses yet, and he shook his head. That was news to him. “I thought we lived in the castle?” Seemed to defeat the purpose of going to school in a castle if one wasn’t being boarded there as well, didn’t it?