December 31, 2019
Damian sat mild mannered on the black diane sofa, his demeanor relaxed. The only thing off-putting was how he hasn’t blinked once since he sat down. Across from him sat a woman in her early twenties. She wore a mock neck cut out bodycon black dress, her blonde hair was curled with a few accessories added, and lastly she wore black six inch heels. Her amethyst eyes gazed back at him with determination. She sat on a separate, yet very same brand of couch. Her assistant walked back in the room and whispered in her ear. She grins, then the assistant grabs something from his chest pocket and gently places it in front of Damian. It was a small burner iphone. It was modified, that much he could tell.
Damian raises his brow then, “what are you proposing?” He picks up the small device. Turning it over in his hands.
“My father has connections with an advertising agency. With our help, you can get to higher fame than other actors,” She replies, looking at him expectantly. “All you have to do is accept my terms.”
Damian leans back, intrigued. “What are these terms?”
“Get into a fake relationship with me.”
Damian raises an eyebrow, “Why? How would that benefit you in the slightest?”
“I haven’t even finished talking,” She stares pointedly at him, “Now. What I need from you is your status.” She flippantly waves a hand towards him, “you have many eyes on you and that’s exactly what I need. Get into a relationship with me and I will need you to wear all of the brands I will be putting out.”
Damian huffs, ‘“And I’ll also gain more fans just by being associated with you.” Is also the part she’s not saying.’ He gives her a wry smile.
“That’s all?” He thinks about it for a minute. He looks at all the luxuries that decorated the room he was in. Her living room was wide and open. Most of her furniture was custom made and the rest were priced in the thousands. He noted how much she prided herself in her social status and brands. He chuckles, “Let me add something for you then, once we end this relationship. I promise I won’t come for you, but you must never come back for me. Deal?”
She laughs then, “Deal.”
—----
August 31, 202X
“We have no reports on where Ms. Glinda is and her whereabouts, as of now we are declaring her missing. This superstar we all know and lov-” Click. Damian throws the television remote down onto the couch.
“How long is this kid going to take? She’s already five minutes late.” He thinks to himself out loud. A horn honks in the distance, catching Damian’s attention. He turns and looks outside his windows. “Oh my god, what the fuck is that?”
Lio drives up into Damian's long driveway that's connected to his mansion. Her ‘98 Toyota Camry looks like a stain next to his house. She shivers in her seat as Damian comes out with his suitcase. His eyes go wide once he spots her.
"What the hell is that?" He points at her car. His face looked like a mix of disgust and intrigue at the same time. Lio snorted at the gremlin’s expression. She looked down at him, seeing as he was about a foot shorter than her.
“That’s,” she gestures to the Toyota Camry. “My car, now get in.”
“Why don’t you buy a newer model?” He asks as she grabs his suitcase and shoves it into the trunk of her car. Her patience was being tested today. She could not deal with him at the moment and she hated every minute of it.
“I’m not as rich as you, I’m so sorry my peasant ass can’t buy a new car for you to ride in, your majesty,” she retorts. Her head is pounding, she pinches her temple.
Damian sits in the back of her car, she looks back to check on him. He’s quiet,’ good.’ She turns back around and shivers once again, her breathing becomes slightly ragged and her hands start to shake.
“You’re unwell.” Damian observes.
“Thanks I know, genius.” She bites back. Damian hums, thinking.
Gently, the shorter man moves closer to Lio. He rests his hands upon her shoulder. Then, suddenly, he pulls the sleeve off from her wrist. Exposing her pale skin to the sun lit area of the car.
“AAAAagh!” A searing fire tore its way and spread across her wrist down to her arm as she screamed and writhed in her seat. Just as quickly, Lio pulls her sleeves down. She winces and whines. Damian watched her, his eyes making note of the way her fangs protrude outwards from under her face mask and how her wrist had gone up in literal flames. He smiles.
“Ah, I see. You’re just like me then.” A monster.
“FUCK, WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?” She turns towards him, he sits there acting as if there wasn’t anything wrong. She huffs and leans back to the shaded area of the car, pulling down her sleeve. A large blackened mark now sits upon her wrist. She sucks her frustration through her teeth and glares at the man through her rearview mirror.
"You know, I did wonder why you were not at all threatened by me. Despite knowing what I could do."
"What?"
"I noticed you outside my private dressing room door. How could I not, when your desires spiked the moment I killed the human invading my space." He puts a finger to his chin, "now I know that you're a vampire. I suppose we both won't have to let on airs about each other."
"I-I've never heard of a vampire being able to sense desires," she stutters, wincing at the pain on her wrist.
"Ha! I'm no vampire, kid." He looks at her with a glint in his eye. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, you're smart and you know what? You seem very fun to torment."
"Fuck you." She spits.
"Good, I like challenges like you. Now hurry and drive, peasant." He says the last part with a teasing lilt in his voice and then sits back.
Lio quietly starts the car, her hand shifts and grows unbeknownst to herself. She squeezes the wheel a little too tightly, causing the metal of the wheel to make a scraping and squealing noise. "Ah shit." She thinks aloud.
—
"Where are we? This isn't the studio." Damian speaks up from behind. Lio ignores him. They enter a parking garage and Lio quickly jumps out of the car. She rushes down the street, completely ignoring any and all noise coming from the shorter man. She enters the back alley and sees the blue light coming out from one of the back doors. She opens it with relief.
The shop contains many oddities, for one it held items kept for vampires. Such as bloodstones for more strength and stamina. Silver crosses, if needed to kill other vampires. There were also some antique items in the back sold for nostalgia sake for older vampires like Lio herself.
"TONY, HERE'S YOUR HUNDRED!" Lio shouts as she shoves the door open. She practically throws the money at the human man sitting behind the counter. Tony startles at the sudden intrusion, but relaxes once he realizes it was just Lio.
" 'Ey yo Lio, you gone gave me a heart attack!" He beams, "care 'ta give me a hug?"
Lio shoves him away, "Tony I am shape shifting, please just give me a bag before I start thinking you're my next meal."
"O-oh haha, okay…" He glances at her large grey hands. The tips of her fingers became blackened claws. She removed her face mask and hoodie to show her ears were becoming sharp tips poking out of her head. Her fangs are more apparent.
Lio sweats and shakes as she waits. “Eat, eat, eat” words spoken by no one else in the room, yet they fill the silence. A memory. Lio bites her lips, drawing blood. “Please stop.” She whispers to herself. Tony catches it, glances her way but stops. He turns around.
Tony quickly ducks out the room and in that same moment, Damian walks right in. The shorter man looks around the parlor with disinterest. He comes to a halt next to Lio, his eyes fully trained on her now.
"We're going to be late." Is all he says as he watches Lio struggle with focusing.
Tony pops right back in. "Okay! Here's tha' twenty packets as promised!" Tony sets down the cooler, suddenly taking notice of the smaller man in the small shop. He extends a hand towards Damian. "Oh, well hey there! My nam-"
"I don't care for who you are. I am waiting on my peasant manager here to finish so that we can go." Damian cuts in.
"...Oh…" Tony slowly lowers his hand. Tony leans in close to Lio and whispers. "Is this your employer for your next job? He's a dick!"
Lio was hardly paying attention, her focus completely on sucking down two packets of blood packages, until she could feel her body shift back to normalcy again. "Huh? Uh… yeah." She replies lamely, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She sets down the empty packages and looks up at Tony. “Thanks Tony, you saved me there.”
"Uh-huh well Lio, if there's anything else you need. You know where ‘ta find me!" Tony reassures her. Lio nods graciously. She grabs the handle of the cooler. Then she turns to see Damian examining an antique painting, its frame faded but still very beautifully detailed.
"Let's go diva!" Lio shouts, Damian looks up and nods towards her direction. Tony watches the two walk towards the exit. Damian then looks back at Tony, a smile stretching across his face.
"Wow, that little guy was a little odd," Tony says aloud to himself.
