Chapter 32: An Unexpected Aid

A day had passed since he had collapsed in his and Espen’s room. The boy wouldn’t tell him the details of what happened afterwards, but even he couldn’t hide the hand that was thickly wrapped in gauze and bandages.

Lucan’s memory was muddled, but he knew he was responsible for Espen’s wound. And there was one thing he remembered very clearly - their kiss.

After that, everything else faded and mixed together into a pool of broken thoughts shielded by dense fog. His blood capsules arrived, and everything seemed to return to normal. Almost.

Lucan knocked twice on the door in front of him and waited. A few seconds later Leland appeared. He met Lucan’s eyes with an equal coldness.

“What do you want?”

Lucan glared at him. “Can I come in?”

Leland pursed his lips and after a moment of hesitation, opened the door wide enough to let Lucan pass.

Leland followed and shut the door behind them while Lucan admired the room. It was located in a different building than the one he and Espen shared and had a slightly different design, but the same upper-class feel was there. He noticed a large cello case that lay propped against Leland’s side of the bed.

“Where’s Camien?” Lucan asked. Leland stiffened.

“He’s Kestrel’s room mate, not mine,” he answered and sat back down at his desk.

Lucan took notice of the clothes lay on the floor along with pieces of torn paper and textbooks. He didn’t know for sure, but it looked like a fight of some kind had taken place. The room wasn’t in a state that was fit to be called Leland’s.

“I know that,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips. “But he was just here, wasn’t he?” He leaned in to peer at Leland’s face to see if he was blushing, and to his surprise, a faint rosy colour tinted the boy’s pale cheeks.

Leland said nothing and stared at his computer screen. Lucan leaned against the wall, with his arms crossed. After a while, he spoke. “You were right. About Roy, that is.”

Leland turned to look at him and smiled, looking smug. He adjusted his glasses before speaking.

“Of course.”

A corner of Lucan’s mouth twitched. He felt like slapping Leland’s smile off his face.

“So who is he?”

Lucan shrugged. “A distant relative. Shouldn’t you already know the details?”

“I do, but they’re probably false, like yours,” Leland countered smartly. Lucan snorted. The bespectacled teen turned back to his laptop and began typing.

“So why is he here?” Leland spoke to the screen. Lucan shrugged. “I don’t know.” He didn’t feel like discussing Roy. That wasn’t the purpose of his visit.

“I need a favour,” Lucan said simply. He decided to jump straight to the point. That was how it worked with Leland - nothing unnecessary was needed.

Leland stopped what he was doing and turned to give his guest a curious look. “A favour?" he parroted. “From me?” Lucan locked his jaws together. He hated to ask something of such a brat, but he had no choice.

“Were you with Espen when I collapsed?” He could be wrong, but something told him he wasn’t. Espen couldn’t have bandaged himself up so neatly with just one hand, and there had been another boy’s foot prints in the room.

“Possibly,” Leland mumbled.

“Tell me, Leland,” Lucan said slowly. “What happened?”

For once, Lucan though he saw a flicker of emotion caress Leland’s face. It surprised him how… young he looked, so different from the adult-like way in which he had always carried himself. He could see that his request troubled him, and that could only mean one thing.

“Espen told me not to tell you.”

“Was I the one that injured his hand?” Lucan pressed. Leland frowned and bit his lip.

“No.”

It was Lucan’s turn to frown.

“He did it himself.”

Lucan stared at Leland, speechless. Everything fell together, almost too perfectly.

“Actually,” Leland said in a strange voice, almost grudgingly. His expression became almost sheepish. “It’s partially my fault.”

“Your fault?”

“Before, I told him that he was your weakness.”

Lucan raised a hand to his temples. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Because he was troubled by the fact that you wouldn’t... be intimate with him anymore.”

“I have my reasons,” Lucan put in and added quietly, “and it’s none of your business.”

“I’m well aware of that fact, but he’s my friend. He doesn’t seem to care about your reasons, either,” said Leland.

Lucan spoke to the wall. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“I’ve seen your bad side, Lucan. You’re a monster, but you’re the worst kind.”

“What do you mean?” Lucan’s eyes narrowed.

Leland snorted and shook his head. “You’re such a coward.”

Lucan snapped, and in an instant he held Leland by his collar so that the shorter boy’s feet almost left the ground. Leland struggled to breathe, but somehow managed to smile up at the vampire.

“I’ve already heard that from him, I don’t need it from you,” Lucan hissed and let go of Leland. No, I shouldn’t let myself get carried away. This is not the way...

“Espen is the type of person who needs to be loved, to be accepted by other people. If he doesn’t get that, he’s prone to do something stupid,” Leland said darkly, rubbing his neck. “Either that, or he’ll bury it deep inside of him.”

“I know that,” Lucan grumbled. Leland sounded like he could read Espen like a book, like he could read anyone.

“I don’t think you do,” Leland said snidely, “Or you do, but you get blinded by your own foolishness.”

Lucan clenched his teeth together. He didn’t know what to say to fight back, so he just stood there, feeling even more stupid because of the fact that he was being lectured to like a five-year-old. Although he hated to admit it, Leland’s words were all true. He couldn’t just idle and let things be – he wasn’t satisfied with his situation at the moment. He was the outside force that came and intruded upon Espen and his life, and he would be the one to fix this.

He turned towards the door. “Buy me some time.”

“Buy you some time…?” Leland raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting Lucan to have a comeback, much less be given an order.

“Tomorrow afternoon in the second floor music room. Make sure Roy doesn’t know where we are.” With that, Lucan left, leaving Leland staring after him.

“…Really,” Leland said shaking his head, and speaking to his computer screen. “I should be taking care of my own problems first.”

* * *

Leland sighed and glanced at his watch. It was five minutes to 4 o’clock. Espen sat across from him in the library, hovering over his economics textbook.

It would be easy to lure Espen into Lucan’s trap, or whatever the vampire had in mind, but he still felt uncomfortable about helping him. After all, he was his enemy, generally speaking, and he shouldn’t even be in this school in the first place. But now, ironically enough, it wasn’t Lucan, but one of his relatives that was causing the trouble. As if on cue, Roy’s loud laughter echoed from behind one of the shelves. He despised that vampire’s presence even more than Lucan’s, if that was possible.

But moreover, he couldn’t help but intervene and help Espen. He could tell that the brunette was utterly lost without Lucan. The past few days, Espen avoided the subject and just followed him around during meal times and free periods, like a lost soul.

This was between Espen and Lucan, and there was nothing he could do but to give them a good push in the right direction.

Sighing, Leland reached into his bag, and swore.

“What’s wrong?” Espen perked up.

“My theory notes are missing,” Leland said, faking dismay with ease. It was a good thing that he played the cello, albeit few people knew. He wasn’t sure if Lucan knew, but it just played in perfectly with his plans.

“Where are they?”

“I think I left them in the music room on the second floor,” Leland said, absently mindedly checking his watch. “And I have a computers club meeting in five minutes.”

“Want me to go get them?” Espen suggested, eager for something to do. He found that he couldn’t concentrate – all this thoughts kept on leading back to Lucan.

“Are you sure?” This was far too easy, Leland thought.

“Yeah, I’ll deliver them to your meeting room,” Espen said, getting out of his seat. “Room 215B, right?” Leland nodded, and Espen was on his way. Sometimes he’s just far too gullible. Leland sighed. Now that Espen was on his way, his gaze landed on Roy, whose eyes seemed to follow Espen as he left the area. He didn’t do anything, but Leland made sure the vampire didn’t leave his sight.

* * *

Espen made his way up the stairs quickly. He was unfamiliar with the music rooms, but as he neared its entrance, he suddenly remembered: it was where Lucan had first kissed him. It made him warm just thinking about it and he gripped the golden door handle tightly. It was where everything started.

To his surprise, the very subject of his thoughts was sitting patiently by the piano again, as if waiting for his arrival. This must be a joke…

“Lucan?” Espen said, his voice sounding strangely close. “What are you doing here?” He felt nervous as he let the door close quietly behind him.

“Waiting for you,” Lucan said, his face blank and his voice void of any feeling.

“Why?” Espen asked. When Lucan gave no reply and turned to stare at the piano keys, he quickly thought of the reason why he was here. Music notes. He searched the room for something that may resemble Leland’s notes, but found nothing.

“What are you looking for?” Lucan asked, his eyes following Espen’s every movement.

“Leland said he forgot his theory notes here, so I said I’d get them for him,” Espen explained, lifting up the cushions on a nearby couch.

Lucan chuckled. Leland. “They’re not here.”

Espen paused and spun around. “What do you mean?” He had a feeling something strange was going on.

“It was a lie,” Lucan said simply. “Come here.”

Epsne narrowed his eyes. He went to the piano and sat beside Lucan, purposely brushing his thigh against the taller male’s go get a reaction, but nothing happened.

Lucan turned to look at him, and warm brown eyes met icy blue ones. Espen found himself lost at once in his gaze and gently reached up to touch his lover’s cheek. Lucan stayed very still, his eyes half-lidded, and waited. Slowly, Espen inched closer, almost feeling an unstable heat come between them, drawing him closer. He could see the chalky surface of Lucan’s lips, could make out each perfect eyelash that lined his upper lid.

It was awkward, yet natural. Espen leaned in, and their lips touched. It was continuation of before, to prove to himself that it wasn’t a dream after all, that it really happened. It was like a tiny spark that ignited larger ones as Espen increased the pressure. His mouth longed to taste Lucan’s, yet the vampire gripped his shoulder firmly, and pushed him back.

“Not this again,” Espen said through clenched teeth, driving a fist into Lucan’s chest, but not having the affect he wanted.

“I don’t know what to do,” Lucan said softly, and Espen's heart ached.

He wanted to ask, but he knew what was troubling him. Time and time again, he needed Lucan to realize that he was in on this battle as well. If he didn’t know what to do, how could he? They were alone in this together, ironic as it seemed.

“Should we run?” Lucan went on, closing his eyes and holding Espen close, threading his fingers through the boy’s chestnut hair. “Should I go home?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Espen said softly, closing his eyes as he rested against Lucan. “Just don’t leave me.”

The boy’s voice and his heat seemed to diffuse into him. He had his fill of blood today, so the boy’s sweet scent was calming, and melted away his anxiousness. For now, the world could crumble and he wouldn’t even know.

“Stop running away,” Espen murmured. “Or at least take me with you. Even you need protection too, sometimes.”

Lucan nodded. “I won’t.”

“I’m yours; you can hurt me,” Espen said, feeling his face burn as he mumbled into Lucan’s neck. “I’m yours to hurt… I don’t care.”

Espen pulled away and pressed his mouth against Lucan’s lips harder, gripping the back of his head. He sucked on Lucan’s soft lips gently and slipped his tongue into the wetness beyond – a bold move that he hoped would let Lucan know that what they were doing now was nowhere near enough for him to be satisfied. He moaned as Lucan finally responded, and with an equal eagerness. Espen withdrew for air, and a trail of spit formed between their moist lips. His heart was pumping bold, quick beats, radiating heat throughout his body.

“Lucan, I’m think I’m hard.”

He looked down to see his erection pushing against the tight confines of his uniform pants. His eyes met Lucan’s again. Without breaking eye contact, Espen reached for Lucan’s hand and guided it to his crotch.

“Touch me.”