Andy knew immediately that he wasn't in his own bed. The sheets were soft, for starters. He stretched and frowned, wondering why he'd taken a risk to fall asleep with a client before remembering the alley, the pain, and the beautiful man who said it was okay. He sat up with a start, blue eyes wide as he scanned the room.

A pair of booted feet hit the floor, rushing over to the bedside. "Hey. Hey now, you're okay. Remember me?" Ashley gave him a gentle smile, leaning over him. "Andy?"

The younger vampire nodded, relieved in a way he couldn't examine yet. "Ashley." His hand smoothed over the luxurious bedding as he took in the room. "Where did you take me? What happened? Weren't there others with you? Where are they? Am I going through withdrawal?"

Ashley sat on the edge of the mattress, carefully not crowding Andy. "My home. You passed out. Yes and they are probably at the door, waiting for me to let them in. Or at least CC will be. And no, you're not."

"CC? And if I'm not, what the fuck happened to me?" Andy dug his fingers into his hair, relieved that the headache at least seemed to have subsided. "I need a smoke."

The bedroom door creaked open, a shorter pale man entering. "Hey! Ask first," Ashley reprimanded. He huffed as he got to his feet, leaning back against the dresser as the others filed in.

Andy gave each man a once-over. The shortest one, with pale blue eyes, simply rolled his eyes at Ashley, making himself comfortable in the chair he had previously occupied. The next one through the door, with hair looking like he could never be assed with it in his life, stood protectively behind the chair, arms crossed over his chest. The last one, skinnier than even Ashley which Andy would have thought impossible, took up space next to Ashley, his skin only a shade lighter than Ashley's as he leaned into him with a devious grin. Each had pitch black hair and dressed in various shades of black. "Are you in a gang? Because I'm not interested. If this is initiation..." His words died off once he remembered he was sitting on a bed and what initiation might entail. "No. No, no, no. No."

The one in the chair raised his hand, placating him. "Easy. We aren't a gang, not officially, and there's no initiation." Andy squirmed under those eyes. "You've already been initiated in a way. I'm Jinxx."

The man behind him nodded once. "Jake."

"CC. Hey, how are ya? Good? Ash has the best room. Best bed anyways." He waggled his brows at Ashley, who didn't notice, gaze still locked on Andy.

He didn't know what to make of CC's comment or how bubbly he seemed to be. No matter how many times his eyes flicked around the room, he was always drawn back to Ashley. "How long was I out?"

"All day," Ashley answered. "Your body needed it. You'll find it's hard to do much more than sleep during the daylight at first."

Andy started to feel like they were watching him a little too closely, backing up against the pillows, eying them suspiciously. "Why? What happened to me?"

Three dark heads turned to Jinxx, a fourth following as Andy looked at him, while Jinxx merely looked back at Ashley, inclining his head. Ashley grimaced, clearly not appreciating whatever decision had been made. Andy waited, eyes on Ashley's.

"Fuck. Andy, we're not a gang. We're vampires. That's what happened to you. You transitioned."

---

Andy stared blankly at him for a moment before tipping his head back and laughing. "Funny. Real funny. No one's ever tried that one on me before. You guys all into Halloween and being goth and looking like an 80s metal band?" He wiped at his eyes, still chuckling as he looked around the room.

One by one, they each smiled at him, canines abnormally long and finely pointed. Jinxx's were the longest and Andy shuddered at the way his eyes seemed to glow in the artificial light. "Fuck. I'm not... My teeth aren't..." He traced his tongue over his teeth in reassurance.

Jake didn't say a word, simply biting down on his own thumb with one sharp tooth and letting the blood well up on his skin. It wasn't much. Barely a drop. Yet Andy was suddenly starving, eyes locked on his hand as though it was prey to track, too distracted by the scent to take much notice of the way his jaw ached.

"Andy." Ashley called his attention over, stepping aside so that Andy could see himself reflected in the mirror behind him. His eyes didn't glow, like Jinxx's, but a pair of dagger-sharp teeth greeted him when he opened his mouth to reply to Ashley. Any words, even expletives, died on his tongue, studying his reflection.

The silence was finally broken by CC. "Aww, what cute widdle baby teeth!" His observation was rewarded by a swift elbow to the ribs from Ashley. "Ow, motherfucker!"

Jinxx's tone was even as he explained. "They may get longer as you age. Some do, some don't and some that do deliberately file theirs down to look younger." Only through many years of practice did Jinxx not cut his eyes to Ashley at this statement. "As you can gather, I am the oldest. CC, who is still learning to hold his tongue, the youngest." CC snorted a little at that. "You must have questions."

Andy blinked at him several times. Not only were vampires real, but he was one? "Fuck yeah, I have questions." He pointed to the mirror. "I can see myself. I thought vampires had no reflection. What about garlic? I love garlic bread. Will it kill me now? What about sunlight? I mean, I'm pretty nocturnal already, but will I die? How old are you exactly? What the hell kinda name is Jinxx? Do you drink blood? Do I have to drink blood now? What about-"

Jake, who had begun chuckling quietly to himself earlier on, was now laughing fully at all the questions. "And we thought CC was bad!" CC just flipped him off, even though he was grinning.

"No, C was like a hyperactive toddler who we'd sugared up and turned loose at Disneyland," Ashley teased, smiling fondly at the other vampire.

"Wonderful. Now will someone answer my fucking questions?"

After the earlier deferral from Jinxx, Ashley took the lead. "A lot of the myths are wrong. Not all of them, but a lot. It's a way to keep ourselves safe and undetected. You can see your reflection and you can eat garlic if you want. The sun, yeah, sadly that one's true. There have been tales that some of us can withstand it in small doses, but I've never seen it." He hesitated. "It's usually the preferred suicide method. One last sunrise and it's over. It's poetic when the eldest ones do it. When the ones who can't adjust or don't know any better do it..." He left the statement unfinished, his heart aching that Andy might take that route if he couldn't accept his new life. "And you've already had blood. Twice at least. To transition and last night when we found you."

Andy almost expected it to turn his stomach, the thought of deliberately swallowing blood, yet it didn't. Last night was still hazy and he couldn't remember much beyond Ashley's first smile. "What else do I need to know?"

Four dark heads turned to Ashley this time. "Who died and elected me ring leader?!" Ashley groaned and smoothed the ends of his hair over his shoulder. "Fine, fine. You need blood to survive, but you can eat other food. The four of us live together, but there are plenty of others who are solitary. You don't have to kill someone when you feed. I haven't killed anyone for food in... at least twenty years. Long life. Not immortal but after a thousand years or so, it feels like it. You'll still age, like Jinxx said, but incredibly slowly. Given how young you are, you could grow into one of the oldest vampires if you don't get killed. It'll be awhile before we know what your powers are. You-"

Andy raised his hand like he was in grade school, interrupting. "Powers? What powers? Can I fly?"

CC snickered. "I asked the same thing! Only I actually tried it."

Jake shushed him so Ashley could continue. "Powers are like talents or skills. It's more supernatural in nature than say being able to paint or sing. This does not leave this room, understand?" He waited for Andy to nod before continuing. "Jinxx is a Mystic. It's why his eyes go all crazy. It means he's talented in magic and learned in the occult. Oh, and he can start fires with his hands." Jinxx nodded, not offering to demonstrate even when Andy almost wiggled in excitement to see it.

"Jake is a Mourner. I don't actually know what he does, but the way it was explained to me before I knew Jake was that a Mourner helps our kind crossover into a final death. He won't say more than that, so don't bother asking."

Jake smiled kindly at Andy. "No one really wants to hear the details."

"This human-sized labrador here," Ashley said, gesturing at CC, "is a Destroyer. He's got the one name that probably doesn't need an explanation. When he uses his power, shit goes down. Literally."

CC's eyes glinted mischievously. "Wanna see?" His hand formed a fist, holding it out to the wall.

Ashley and Jake answered simultaneously. "No!" Ashley reached over to hold CC's wrist back. "We've repaired enough fucking drywall just this month, you ass. Plus you don't have your gloves on." CC just grinned proudly though he did put his hand down.

"And what are you?" Andy tipped his head to Ashley, curious, finding he was much more interested in what Ashley's powers would be than Jinxx's fire-starting, CC's destruction, and whatever the fuck Jake did. He was even more curious to know about Ashley than he was over his own potential powers.

For the first time since he'd started talking, Ashley hesitated, looking uncomfortable. CC jumped right in, throwing an arm around the shorter vamp's shoulders.

"Ash is a Deviant! It's the most awesome thing!" Ashley hissed at him, baring his fangs, but CC continued. "He can seduce anyone. Man, woman, human, vamp, doesn't matter. He lays this voice on them and they will do whatever they can to please him. Comes in real handy picking up chicks."

Andy's blue eyes were wide while Jake and Jinxx studiously looked anywhere other than at Ashley and CC. "There's a story, a real old one, that once two Deviants got into a duel, but rather than fighting or shooting each other, they used their powers. It was a huge deal. People came from all over to watch! Kinda like Woodstock. And they traded innuendos and teased and this went on for hours. Hours! By the end of it, the people watching them were too busy having an orgy to know who won." He grinned. "Course by then I think they were too busy fucking to care." He pulled Ash closer, shaking him a bit. "That's your history, man! Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah, CC. Awesome," Ashley repeated, voice devoid of any inflection. Andy's eyes slid from CC to Ashley, staring, unable to speak. To his credit, Ashley didn't flinch, meeting his gaze. A voice that makes someone do anything... Andy swallowed thickly. Ashley's voice telling him to feed... Fuckin' shit.

The younger vampire looked away first. "Sounds great. Real handy when you want to force someone to do something." He saw Ashley start out of the corner of his eye, but kept going. "So what am I then? Am I like one of you?"

Jinxx cleared his throat. "As Ashley said, we may not know for awhile yet. Powers manifest in different ways. We'll just have to watch you and see."

"Great. Awesome." He refused to look back at Ashley. "I think... I think I wanna lay down for a bit, if that's okay."

CC pouted, but it was Jake who spoke up. "Sure thing, kid. Come on, guys. Let's give him some space." The others filed out behind him, Ashley lingering in the doorway. Andy refused to look at him.

"I had to save you. I had to do whatever I could to get you to feed. I hope one day you understand that." With that, he left, closing the door softly behind him.

---

CC slung his arm around Ashley's shoulders, tugging him closer. "C'mon, man. I didn't get my drink on last night. I wanna go out!" The lanky vampire was already dressed for it in his combat boots, skinny black jeans, and death metal band tee. His ever present gloves were tucked into his back pocket. "First round's on me."

Ashley chuckled, his best friend instantly lifting his mood after Andy's accusation. He ducked his head out from under his arm. "I don't know. We can't just leave Andy here in the house. What if he gets hungry? Or decides to try to find wherever home was for him?"

Jinxx looked over at the two of them, marking his page in his ever-present book. "Jake and I will stay. You two need to get out." Jake nodded from his position on the floor at Jinxx's feet. "We'll stay here and watch the kid."

"See?! Built-in babysitters!" CC bounced on his toes. "Get your hat and let's go!"

The shorter vampire gave Jake and Jinxx and questioning look and then sighed good-naturedly. "Alright, okay. Meet you outside in five." CC let out a shout and practically ran for the door. "You're sure you'll be okay with Andy?"

"Yeah, of course." Jake waved him off. "Go have fun and keep your boy out of too much trouble."

Ten minutes later, because he had to do his hair and CC could kiss his ass with his perfect hair, Ashley and CC walked down the street, debating where to spend the evening. Ash had already vetoed the strip clubs, keeping his eyes lowered under the brim of his cowboy hat, thankful when CC didn't press.

"Purple Moose? Monkey Barrel? Salty Dog's? And why are all the bars around here named after fucking animals?!" CC threw his arms in the air. "Like we live in a fucking zoo!"

The other vampire laughed easily. "Full of drunken animals. Let's just hit Salty's. They play better music anyways."

CC poked his arm playfully. "They play that country shit you like. But! The beer's cold and the women are hot. Salty's it is!"

"Not my fault you have no taste. What is that shirt you have on even? Is that music?" Ashley teased. "Now this," he said, gesturing to his own shirt featuring Johnny Cash flipping off the camera. "This is music."

A huff came in reply, black combat boots falling into step with his cowboy boots. "At least my jeans have more fabric than holes!"

"Fashion! I don't expect you to understand." Ashley grinned as he opened the door to the bar, nodding at the bouncer. Being loyal customers had perks and before too long, they were tucked into a corner of the bar, working on their beers. CC scanned the floor for any possible single ladies, but Ash just seemed to find the bottle label fascinating.

"You know, this isn't as much fun when my wing man isn't flying."

Ashley rolled his eyes. "You are my wing man and you know it." He kept his hat pulled down low, not wanting to risk bringing his buddy down but unable to stay quiet. "What do you think about the newbie?"

A curious look crossed CC's face, turning fully back around to face Ash. "Andy? He's alright. Well, he'll be alright once he gets his legs under him. Looked like a damn baby deer when we brought him home." Ashley snorted at the apt comparison. "Once he finds his power, I imagine he'll probably want to move on."

Ash coughed, choking on his beer. "Maybe he should stay. You know how dangerous it is right now. And he's just a kid. We could protect him. We probably should."

"Yeah, if he wants." CC shrugged, distracted by a brunette at the bar. "Hey! Hey." He kicked Ashley under the table, earning him a glare. "Let's go see if she has a friend."

"Nah, man. I'm not in the mood tonight." Blunt black polished nails pulled the label off his bottle. "You go ahead."

CC gaped at his boy. "Are you sick?! Are you seriously turning down the chance for booty?! The Deviant doesn't want to fuck?!" Ashley hissed at the mention of his power. "What if... what if she's your bonded?! How about that? Never gonna find her sitting here like a lump!"

Ashley felt almost sick under his hat, wishing he'd started with something stronger than beer. He trusted CC with absolutely everything, but he couldn't put voice to the words banging around in his head now. Bonded. Oh, his soul knew, even if he couldn't admit it to himself yet. He swallowed. "Doubt it. There's never been a bonded Deviant in our history. Probably a good reason for that."

"There's never been a recorded bonded Deviant. Doesn't mean it didn't happen," the other vampire countered.

He shrugged, brushing his flat-ironed hair back over his shoulder. "We're sluts. Who would want to commit themselves to that? Not only have I fucked just about everything in sight, but I can't stop. And you heard Andy. How is what I do any different than rape?"

CC reached across the small table and clasped his friend's wrist. "I have never seen you force anyone to do something they didn't want to do or wasn't necessary for them. Maybe some Deviants have, alright, but not you. Kid would have died if you hadn't gotten him to feed. You saved him. He's talking out his ass right now because he's scared. Don't let it get to you. As for the fucking..." He sighed, letting go of him. "You think I like being a Destroyer?"

Brown eyes peeked up from under his hat. "Well, yeah. You love it. Even though you're filthy afterwards."

He chuckled. "Okay, okay. Most times I do love it. It's just so much fun. But, dude, I destroy things. I don't get to make people happy. You do. Never seen you leave anyone yet who wasn't wearing one hell of a smile after."

"And how's a mate supposed to handle that? First time I don't come home at dawn? Next time my-," he held up his fingers and made air-quotes, "'services' are needed? What's that gonna do to him? Or her?" His heart was pounding, hoping he'd covered his slip quickly enough.

"If they love you, they'll deal. That's what bondeds do." He looked wistfully at the woman he'd spotted earlier. "Or so I hear, but someone is cock-blocking me with his emo ass."

"Fine," Ashley said, getting to his feet. "I'm empty anyway." CC hopped up to his side like an eager puppy. "If nothing else, you'll shut up for awhile."

---

An hour later, Ash had his back leaning against the bar top, perched on a barstool. A leggy blonde was draped across his chest, giggling as he tied a black bandana around her throat. "There you go, baby doll." She tried to straighten to kiss him, swaying when he dodged and gave her his cheek. He steadied her easily and checked her coloring. She looked okay. It was probably a combination of too much alcohol and the blood loss. He adjusted the bandana to make sure his bite mark was covered. She'd be okay, maybe more hungover than usual tomorrow with a sore neck, but okay. Ashley swatted at her bum. "Go on, scoot."

CC still had his arm around the brunette he'd picked out earlier, grinning like a loon. Ash rolled his eyes. Who had given him a microphone? The other vampire was freestyling over the PA system, most patrons ignoring him, but he didn't care as he basked in the attention of the girl. She, like the blonde, now sported a dark bandana around her throat, though she seemed in better shape. Sex would do that to you, Ash figured.

The entire bar groaned as the lights flickered and came back up. Both CC and Ashley had to hide their eyes, the suddenly bright light like a spike of pain against their sensitive retinas. Pulling his hat down lower, Ashley went to go collect his friend. "Hey, man," he said, patting his shoulder. "Time to saddle up and head home." Both the brunette and fucking CC pouted at him. "Nope, nuh-hunh. You know Jinxx would have kittens if we don't come home. Plus we got the kid to worry about now."

The brunette subtly pulled away at that. "You have a child?"

"No, he's not-" CC's amber eyes glared at Ashley. "He's not really a kid. He's definitely not mine."

"Right, sure." The brunette slid away from him, waving. "I'm not looking for baggage." Ashley just snorted. "Thanks for the bang."

CC watched her going, fists curling at his sides. "One day, I'm going to deck you and I might not feel bad about it." Ashley just held out a beer he'd procured for CC before last call. "Well, alright if you're going to bring apology gifts." CC knocked it back and tossed it into the bin behind the bar. "Ten points!"

"Come on, playboy." The shorter vampire started walking out of the bar, knowing CC would follow. "What were you doing with that microphone? Other than abusing it."

"You need to get with the times! I was rapping. And I am damn good at it." He looped his arm over Ashley's shoulders, the two of them falling into a natural tipsy walk, leaning into each other. "Here, listen."

"No, no, no!" Ashley chuckled, winding his own arm behind his bestie's waist. "Let's sing. I'll even let you pick."

By the time the pair had made it home, they'd sung everything from "Stairway to Heaven" to "All My Exes Live in Texas" - though Ashley had had to teach CC the words to that one. They stood finishing the last few bars between laughter on the front step when Jinxx opened the door, sighing and shaking his head. "You two sound like mating alley cats out here. Get in the fucking house."

"Yes, Mom." CC giggled and half-danced his way inside, Ashley following along behind. "Look! A sofa!" He flung himself face first onto the cushions. "Mm, comfy."

Jinxx gave Ashley a look. "I got him. Go on back to Jake before he wakes up and fusses that you're not there." Jinxx just heaved another long-suffering sigh and headed back upstairs to his bedroom. "C, dude, get up. That couch may be comfy but your bed is even better." He got a shoulder under the other vamp, helping him to his feet. "Look, mind if I crash with you tonight? The kid is in my bed."

"Yay! Sleepover!" CC clung to him as Ashley steered him up to his room. "I love you, man. Oh hey! Bed! Yay!" He practically dove onto his bed, not even bothering with his boots, face buried in his pillows.

"Yeah, love you too." He tugged off CC's boots, his only reward a loud snoring. "Be right back." His room was right down the hall and given the hour, he figured Andy must be asleep. He would sneak in, get his stuff, and come back. He was halfway into the darkened room when his bedside lamp clicked on, the young vampire sitting up on the bed, clearly having been awake. Ashley felt like he had a heart attack. "Shit! Fuck, sorry. Figured you were asleep." His eyes went to the curtained window. "It's almost dawn, man."

Those disconcertingly blue eyes stared at him. "I know. You weren't here."

Ashley had to blink a few times. It felt like the kid was accusing him of something again, something he should feel guilty about, but damn if he could make it out in his inebriated state. "Yeah. CC and I went out. You, uh, you okay?"

Andy nodded, looking at the bed like he was lost. "I'm in your bed."

"Hey, it's okay." This was better. Ashley knew how to answer that. He'd heard it enough after all. "You stay here. I'm going to bunk with CC tonight. Just came in to get a few things and then I'm out of your way." He smiled gamely, continuing on to the bathroom to illustrate. "You'll find it easier to sleep when the sun's up. Your body will do it naturally." He came back out, stopping to grab some clean clothes. "Everyone's home, so shout out if you need anything." He turned to face the kid again and had to resist the urge to drop everything and go hold him. Andy had pulled his knees to his chest, making himself as small as possible and everything in Ashley demanded he go to him. Fuck. FUCK! He forced himself to move to the door and not to the bed. "Well. Good night, Andy." As the door clicked shut behind him, he had to lean back against it, taking deep breaths to simply try to find the strength to walk down the hall.

His ears caught words he doubted Andy knew he could hear, spurring him to get away from the connection trying to pull him back in, that scared deep voice ringing in his head.

"Night, Ashley."

Notes

Thank you to Estella and VeiledWriter for being my beta readers and keeping this alive.

Suggested song for Chapter 2: "The End of Outside" - Duncan Sheik