Serum

-Fourteen-

Nearing dawn, Conner was finally sated, which made me happy, as I was eager to get out of the sunlight. It still baffled me that I couldn’t walk out into the sunlight without shades, and my eyes would hurt at the very idea of attempting it as I used to. When we reached the church, I dropped into a pew right inside the door without preamble. Having done most of the work, I was exhausted, and fell quickly asleep, heart-rate and breathing steady. I heard Conner walk to the front of the building and then back towards me again, something soft dropped across me and when I breathed in, Conner’s scent rooted itself deeply in my head and lungs. I recognized this must be one of the blankets he had let me borrow the day before. Softly I sighed, things had changed so much from my life before, and yet, I was still too much of a coward to say anything to Conner.

Evening arrived all too soon, with Conner gently trying to wake me. I heard him approach, but hoped that if I just lay still and ignored him he would leave me be. He shook me a few times, then leaned over to murmured my name. I barely moved, intent on getting a few more hours of sleep, but Conner wasn’t having it.

“Adrian!” He shouted.

“ALL RIGHT!” I yelled back. I think I surprised him as much as I did myself. Grumpily, I sat up. I was in a foul mood that I couldn’t explain even to myself.

“C’mon I figured we’d go shopping like you asked the other day. Or whenever, it feels like ages ago.” Conner offered, holding out a hand to help me up.  I stared at it blankly, not willing to forget my ugly temper just yet. Meeting his eyes again, I gave him a curt nod, and went behind my curtain to change. He watched me go with a bemused expression on his face, and waited patiently for me to finish. I admit I was a little peeved that he was already ready and waiting for me.

On the way out the door, Conner grabbed my hand and began swinging it as we walked. I was so shocked I nearly withdrew, but his gentle touch calmed my raw nerves. If I was being honest, it did more than that. It thrilled me in a strange way that he reached for me, even though I was being snippy, and as he turned to grin at me, I had a hard time not imagining this becoming our daily life.

“I hope you don’t mind walking.” Conner resumed talking “It’s a bit hard for us to explain at the DMV why we look nearly the same year after year, especially in an area this small. A few people, like Lana, forge their license, but we try to keep that as low as possible so we’re not caught out doing it. So for the rest of us it’s walk, or hitch a ride.” He laughed lightly. “Or break the law by driving illegally. But, that’s also not a good thing if you’re caught. How do you explain birth records and identity when you..sorta don’t have one? Or at least, not a real one that will hold up to excessive scrutiny.” I twitched. I had never really thought of it, but I could imagine how difficult that could make life for vampires. I suddenly had a new respect for Conner, trying to imagine doing anything in today’s world without three or more forms of identification was crazy.

“Beyond that, in my current state, I don’t think it would be wise to try to bum a ride, even from Lana.” Conner mused. So we continued walking. I wasn’t sure I knew what he meant. Was he still in need of feeding? Was there something else? I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye, but he didn’t elaborate.

The distance wasn’t too far, but would have exhausted a human. I snuck another glance at Conner, but he seemed to be doing ok, which further confused me. Me, however..upon nearing the store, the sounds of multiple sources of blood rushing through veins beat against each other, vying for my attention. I stopped mid-step, momentarily overwhelmed. I mentally panicked, and then remembered to adjust my hearing, trying to concentrate on everything but the sound. Conner seemed to sense why I had stopped.

“It can be difficult at first to tone it all out, so if you start to get confused or anxious just let me know.” Conner told me quietly. I braced myself and took a deep breath.

“Ok, let’s go. If I don’t do this soon, then it’ll take me even longer to adjust.” Stiffly, I walked through the open doors.

Sounds, scents, colors and even slight tastes that I could catch on the air assaulted me. Never had anything been so vibrant before. I froze, taking it all in. There was so much. The smell of the deli food being prepared, fresh baked items available for sale, the scent of popcorn somewhere in the distance, someone walked by wearing perfume, the garish colors or products and clothing. I could taste the food on the air. And some of the people. 

For a moment, I considered bolting, but then Conner squeezed my hand as if to give me comfort.

“Are you ok?” He asked. “We can always leave...Try again another day..” The offer was sweet, and roused me from sensory overload.

“All I can say,” I answered with a small grin “Is that I’m glad I’m not hungry.” Conner’s expression was quizzical, but he couldn’t help but laugh. We headed towards the clothes department of the store. I had never liked shopping, in fact I absolutely hated it, considering it more of a chore or burden than something to enjoy. So I automatically headed straight for what I wanted, grabbed a few shirts in the size I thought would best fit me now, and began hunting for pants. Conner gave me a start when I happened to turn around and he had wrapped a fuzzy scarf around his head like a turban.

“The fortune teller is in.” He intoned seriously. In helpless giggles, I threw a matching vest at him. When I returned from trying on a few pairs of jeans he had found a pair of woman’s sweats and had his entire ensemble on over his street clothes, staring critically at himself in the mirror provided in the aisle. He looked like something from a cheap carnival fortune telling machine, where you absolutely know the thing has no fortune telling skills whatsoever, but you wanna try it out anyway. I collapsed helplessly against a clothes rack, laughing.

“I don’t know, I think it’s still missing something.” He remarked turning around. People browsing through the racks were stopping to stare at him, but I was laughing so hard I didn’t care.

“Well, if you’re going to shop, you might as well have some fun with it.” Conner stated simply, and continued scavenging for more articles to match his carnival attire.

Instead of finding more clothing for himself, however, he discovered quite a bit of clothing that he said flattered me, and I actually thought was attractive. This time he accompanied me to the dressing rooms, and each time I changed into something new, I came out and spun around for him to see. At the bottom of the pile of clothing I discovered Conner had thrown in a black well-fitting long sleeved shirt. It tied up the front and the sleeves fit my arms perfectly, just flowering open at the hands. It was gorgeous, and went beautifully with a mid-calf skirt and pair of leather boots Conner had also picked out. I donned the entire set and walked out to show it off. Conner wolf-whistled, which got us promptly kicked out of the dressing rooms, but that was probably more my fault when I tried to shush him with a hand over his mouth and we ended up overbalancing and falling into the booth. Even I had to admit, it did look like we were up to no good.

“You should buy more clothing like that last set.” Conner recommended. “I mean, that shirt for instance would go with anything..” His compliment made me feel like blushing, and started another hunt for clothing that I only half-heartedly protested. Before I realized it, I was actually enjoying myself.