Lacey held my hand as I moved around the living room, preparing everything to set it all on fire. She gave me a sigh, "Are you sure you want to burn everything?"

"Look, they wouldn't let me tear my dad to pieces, I want to burn his body and everything he cared about." I said as I gave her hand a tight squeeze.

As we packed my things up Silas mentioned we were vampires. Lacey believed it immediately, unlike me, who still is sort of doubtful about it all even though my wrist was completely broken and healed itself within half of an hour. I guess my mind just doesn't want to believe it. I looked over at Lacey as I pulled a cigarette from the pack of cigarettes on the side table, "Would you be willing to change and come with us? Silas is a dick, but we will always be together."

Lacey gave me a sad smile and pulled me into a hug, "I don't want to be a vampire and they both said if I stayed human, I could be captured and tortured by other vampires if I went with you. I don't want anything like that to happen. They could use me to get you and torture you. I'm fine with having a long distance friendship."

We pulled out of the hug and I sighed. I still didn't want to leave her. I heard Silas clear his throat, being annoyed we were taking too long. Silas had placed my dad's body on the chair, a half empty beer in his lap with one hand on it and his other hand hanging off the edge of the armrest. I picked up the lighter from the side table and lit the cigarette before leaning down and setting the flame onto the dirty, green plaid button up shirt he was wearing and waited until it caught on fire. When it started to burn I moved the flame to the sleeve of his shirt then down onto his old pants. Silas put his lighter to the old curtains until they went up in flames. I set the lighter back on the side table as I set the burning cigarette in between my dad's fingers, then gently knocking it out of his hand with my pinky finger and onto the carpet. The place was quickly starting to go up in flames.

Laz grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house as Silas pushed Lacey out of the house. As soon as we stepped outside into the night air, Laz turned to Lacey and put his hands on the sides of her face. Her expression went blank for a moment, like she was in a daze, before she pulled away from him and leaned down to pick up her bicycle. She stood upright and looked at me with a smile, "I'm going to miss you so much! Don't forget to call and write me!"

I nodded, "I will write you letters every day."

With that answer she climbed onto her bicycle and started pedaling in the direction of her house. She only lived a few streets over from me and we have always been within walking distance of each other. It was going to be strange to not always have her near me. I watched her form vanish into the distance as I heard the rumbling of the car engine coming to life. Laz took my hand in his and pulled me in the direction of the car. He opened the passenger door for me so I could climb into the back seat. When I was in the car, he set the seat upright and sat down, closing the passenger door. Silas started to speed away and I couldn't help myself from turning around to look at my old house as flames were starting to show in the windows.

A weight seemed to lift from my body as I watched my house go up in flames, my father's dead body in it. I felt calm. This was something I needed to happen. I didn't know how badly I needed it until now. I guess I have always needed my dad out of my life. I should have tried to find my mom when I was younger. My life would have been different, and probably better if I did find her. But I always thought she left us both, not just my dad.

"I know a tracker if you want to find your mom." Laz said from the front seat.

"I can see why Silas gets annoyed with you getting in his head." I replied as I turned back around to face the front of the car.

Laz gave a small chuckle, "It just sort of happens. A lot of the time I can't tell if someone is actually talking to me or just thinking."

"That's just what he says." Silas said as he focused on driving with one hand on the steering wheel. I rolled my eyes. I didn't want Silas to butt in with his side of things.

Lazzareth stuck his hand back behind the seat to reach for me. I raised my hand and grabbed his, giving it a little squeeze. "How do you get powers, like mind reading and time travel?"

"They just come to you naturally. Or you can practice enough until you figure out how to work it." Laz said as he rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Can you do anything magic, Silas?" I asked.

I saw Silas nod his head slightly, "I can teleport."

"Moving fast isn't much of a magic trick you douche." I said as I folded my arms across my chest like he could see me. Silas gave a little chuckle before turning his head to glance at me before putting his eyes back on the road, "Teleportation isn't moving fast. I can physically disappear and reappear in another location that's not even near here."

I rolled my eyes and looked out of the window beside Laz, "I don't believe you."

"Do you need me to prove it? How did Laz prove he could time travel to you?" Silas asked.

I pulled my hand from Lazzareth's. He didn't prove to me he actually could time travel. Was I just so desperate at going back to how things were that I believed him? Is it because I trust him that I believe him? When I didn't say anything to Silas he took a deep breath, "Lazzareth never proved to you he could actually time travel, did he?"

"No." I whispered.

Time travel is just as impossible as teleportation. They are just playing with me, aren't they? I can't trust either of them. I need to get away from them. I could feel my anger rising up and I wanted nothing more than to get away from them. My only option to get out of this car is to bust out the back window. I turned around and pulled my legs up into the seat before kicking the back windshield. Laz was in the backseat with me holding my legs in an instant.

"Don't fucking touch me." I growled at him. Wow. I didn't mean for it to come out like that, I just meant to yell at him. Laz stared at me, his blue eyes and his face emotionless, "Calm down, Veronica."

"I am calm. I just need to be away from both of you." I said as I tried to pull my legs from Lazzareth's grip but he was holding them tightly and had to give up when I couldn't make them budge.

I moved my eyes onto Laz's blue ones and glared at him. "Veronica, I know you're pissed, but I need you to calm down."

"I can't trust either of you. You're both manipulating me. I want to be away from you." I said.

"Break her neck. That's at least thirty minutes of her not being annoying." Silas said from the driver's seat.

I need to be away from them and I need Silas to drop dead. Is there actually a way vampires can die? I've watched Laz heal before my eyes as well as feeling my own body heal itself. Can he heal from having his head chopped off of his body?

That is one way a vampire can die, but I will not let you kill Silas. If you will calm down, I can prove to you I can time travel.

"Don't read my mind." I said.

Laz gave me a small smile, "I can either read your mind and try to calm you down, or control your mind and force you to calm down."

"I thought you didn't want to control me?" I retorted.

"I don't, but if you're planning on trying to kill one of us, I will control you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He will only control me if I try to kill one of them? Rude. He needs to not control me at all, no matter what I do. This is why I just sleep around and don't commit to any one person. They always expect me to be loyal to them and to do certain things. I can't be forced to be in a box. Laz looked out the back windshield, "I don't want you to be in a box, Veronica. I want you to be who you are. That's what a real relationship is. I don't expect you to do anything other than be with me."

"How can I be with someone when I feel like I can't trust them because I feel like they are manipulating me?"

Laz looked back at me and let go of my legs, "I wouldn't want to manipulate you if I wanted to date you. Would I have let any of that happen back there if I wanted to manipulate you?"

I shrugged and turned back around, "How would I know?"

Laz grabbed my hand, "Tell me a date. Do you want to go back to anything?"

"The time when we met." I replied. Sure, my dad is dead and I am free from that ass, but I'm with two vampires that I cannot trust. Laz shook his head, "Do you want to watch how we acted with each other on that night because that's the only thing we can do. I won't let you stop yourself from meeting me."

"Fine." I snapped.

I felt a strange tingle go through my body. Was this from changing? Is my body still dying or whatever? The inside of the car blurred and in an instant a dark room was taking over my blurry vision as well as loud noise. When everything came into focus, I realized we were standing at the back of The Masque, The Alley Cats were playing Nightmare City on the stage. I didn't think The Alley Cats were playing two nights in a row, but I could be mistaken. Laz pulled on my hand to get my attention. I turned my head to look at him and he pointed to the side wall. I followed his finger to see him leaning against the wall, his focus on the band. The stage lighting made my bleached blonde hair pop a little as I was trying my best to get Lazzareth's attention.

I looked at Laz beside me, "Is that really us?"

Laz nodded, "Yes. That is us last night. You drop your beer in a few seconds and it spills all over me. I turn to yell at you and that is when I stop ignoring you."

I looked over at us. Laz was looking at the band and completely ignoring me as I was dancing, horribly, beside him. I watched as I lost my balance and not only fell into Laz, dropped my can of beer on him. He pushed me off of him and looked at me as I started to fall to the other side and he grabbed my arm to stop me. I looked at him and he pushed my hair out of my face. I could see him smile at me before asking if I was alright.

"That look you're giving me is kind of cute." I said loudly.

Laz chuckled as he leaned his head down to my ear, "That's exactly what I was thinking as I was looking at you."

I elbowed him in the side, "You think I'm kind of cute?"

"No, I think you're absolutely gorgeous, but I can't let you know that or you will hold it against me. So do you believe I can time travel or not?" Laz asked as he pulled me into his side.

I looked up at him, "I guess I believe you, even though you could be in my head doing all of this and not actually traveling through time."

I felt the tingling feeling go through my body again as my vision went blurry. Were we doing it again? The travelling thing? I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with the blurred vision. Laz let my hand go and I could feel him moving so I opened my eyes to see him climbing to the front seat of the car again. Silas turned to look at me as Laz sat down, "You're so quiet."

"Watch where you're driving and mind your own business." I snapped at Silas.

That was a nice moment with just Laz and I. We were together. I didn't have to think about Silas. I remembered seeing the way he looked at me for the first time, how his eyes lit up, and couldn't help myself from smiling. Maybe Laz is someone I could actually date. I'm stuck with him for a while, so why not give it a go.

"Laz?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, Veronica?" He replied.

I leaned up to the middle console so I could look at Laz. He turned his head and looked at me in return. I looked down at his lap and took his hand into mine, "Would you want to, like, date me or whatever?"

Laz held my hand tightly as he softly gave a chuckle, "Are you asking me to go on a date? You don't have to ask me. Of course I'll go on a date."

I smiled as I looked up at him, a warm eruption in my chest. Laz was smiling at me. He leaned in and gave me a kiss before gently pushing me to the back of the car, "Sit back. I don't want you getting too hurt if Silas wrecks my car."

"I don't want to hear that cute shit." Silas said as he pulled up to an apartment building.

I bit my lip. I couldn't believe I just asked him that and I couldn't believe he said yes. Silas parked the car and turned the engine off before getting out of the car. Laz opened the passenger door and lifted the seat for me to get out. I climbed out of the back of the car and hugged Laz. Laz smiled and hugged me back, "You've never asked anyone out before, have you?"

I shrugged as I pulled away, "Not in like a relationship way. I've asked many people out, but that's mostly to get in bed with them. I want to actually go to dinner and a movie or some kind of thing like that with you."

"So this would be your first date?"

I shook my head, "No. I had a few dates and a few boyfriends in high school."

"Oh? What are their names?" Laz asked as he pulled me towards the building and closed the car door behind us. Silas started to chuckle beside us, "One thing to know about Lazzareth, he is an insanely jealous person."

I looked up at Laz as we walked up the stairs, "Are you going to kill my ex boyfriends?"

Laz shook his head, "I didn't say that. But erasing you from their memory and then killing them is a good idea."

"Really? You're going to kill my ex-boyfriends?" I asked him.

He chuckled, "Not if you don't want me to. I guess I can control myself for you."

"I mean, you can kill Jack. He was a dick and cheated on me with a cheerleader." I said as we came up on the third level. I followed Silas as he went to a door on the right side and opened it. To be fair, Jack did play sports. I should have seen it coming. I think he only pitied me because Lacey was a cheerleader and I was her odd friend that always tagged along to things. Jack wasn't like the star football player or anything, but he was kind of cute in a jock way.

Silas gave an annoyed grunt, "No, if he cheated on you, you kill him."

Laz pulled me into the apartment as Silas closed the door behind us. I shrugged, "Can I torture him?"

Silas chuckled, "You want to torture someone so bad, I like it. But, no. You can only drain him."

I held back a laugh, "I only wanted to torture my dad. I don't care about anyone else."

I turned to Silas, "So what are you going to do about that body in your bathtub?"

Silas smiled, "I might drop her off of the Empire State Building. Or just leave her somewhere in France."

I rolled my eyes. Does he not even care about her family? Did she have a family like mine who didn't care? Lazzareth pulled me to his room and pushed me down onto the bed before turning around and picking up clothes from his floor, "Silas doesn't like humans. He thinks they are beneath us and should be our slaves."

"Do you think like that?"

Laz shook his head, "Not really. I think we should just do our own thing. Some vampires have formed a type of government recently so we can have rules and not go out doing whatever we want. There is talk about electing a president or something to be the top leader. Silas thinks it's dumb."

I shrugged, "I didn't know there were that many vampires."

"There's a few thousand around. You've encountered more than you know in your lifetime, I can tell you that." Laz folded up clothes before setting them on the bed, "And rogue vampires, like Silas was, are just changing people and leaving them to learn everything themselves. Though Silas isn't a rogue and has his own morals and standards, so he thinks those vampires need to be stopped."

It seemed like Silas had a mutual dislike for everyone.

My head wasn't fully wrapping around this, "So, Silas wants to bring slavery back, but only have humans as slaves, and wants some kind of order, but not much?"

Laz tilted his head, "Something like that. He thinks all Immortals should rule the world. Humans could be slaves, food, toys, whatever an Immortal wants them to be. He also thinks vampires are the top species."

"Aren't all vampires immortal, though?"

Laz nodded as he continued folding clothes, "Yes. I use the term immortal instead of vampire because there are more than just vampires. Demons, angels, werewolves, fairies, mermaids: they all exist."

I stayed silent as Laz separated clothes before pulling out a large black suitcase from his closet. I watched him place clothes into the suitcase as I contemplated all the species he listed. Were they all like how they are described in movies? Demons are horror-like creatures. Wouldn't someone notice something like that?

"Demons actually take a human form. You could have encountered them before, same with fallen angels and werewolves. There's only a certain type of fairy that can blend in with humans, and some have the magic to be able to blend in with humans." Laz said as he read my mind. 

"Wait, what's a fallen angel?" I asked. I had heard about angels from the bible but we never went to church when I was little and I have never actually read the bible, so I don't even know much other than if you're good when you die, you go to Heaven and become and angel. But a fallen angel is something I haven't heard about before.

Laz started to take posters off of his wall and I stood up to help him. It's the least I could do. He helped me pack, I should help him. I turned The Ramones vinyl over and started to replay it, with the volume turned down a little so hopefully Silas wouldn't show his face in here as I pulled posters off the wall.

"Long story short, they are angels that get kicked out of Heaven."

"But if you get kicked out of Heaven, don't you go to Hell or whatever?"

Laz gave a sigh, "No. It's more complicated than that. When people die, they can go to Heaven, Hell, or just nowhere. People that go to Heaven are angels, and people that go to Hell are demons. Demons have free range to come and go through the realm, so they like to roam the Earth to cause chaos. But if an angel does something considered sinful, they get kicked out of Heaven."

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