Not At All Related
[Lyrics: "Nobody's Side," from the musical "Chess."]
Like a freshman who'd just hit on some high school gossip, Timmy kept picking at it all night.
"So'd you ever figure out who your sire is?"
"Yeah. Recently," Tanner shrugged. "Managed not to punch her in the face."
"Woah, dude," Timmy nodded. "That's really cool."
He winced a little. Not the thought he had at the time. "She thought she was doin' the right thing. Thought she was helping me. Punching her wasn't gonna help."
Revenge is for the weak, he thought. Vampires didn't like hearing it. The truth tended to hurt, like salt in an open wound. A vampire without such an open cut was rare.
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Better learn to go it alone
Recognize you're out on your own
Nobody's on nobody's side
It was a schizophrenic night: no less than four princes, all of them underwhelming in their grandeur. No sign of the threatening faces he'd come to look out for. The most interesting conversation of the night, and the most charming face, both wrapped up in a woman who sat on completely the opposite fence from his politics... and the constant reminder that his own side of things wasn't so comfortable.
Samantha and Timmy were pleasant enough, when Timmy wasn't prying with barely-restrained giddiness. Alex Finn talked all reasonably, as always, but may as well have been wearing his Neo-Con/Foundation armband for all the direction he took on every topic.
At least Cullpepper & Leon were both there. Friendship among the Damned was like horseshoes & hand grenades. One often settled for "close enough."
Never make a promise or plan
Take a little love where you can
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay too long in your bed
Never lose your heart, use your head
Nobody's on nobody's side
There was another demon. It was good to finally be able to hit one of the wretched things back. Cullpepper did most of the heavy lifting, and it took Tanner a couple of bruises to get the hang of going at it with something sixteen feet tall in painful, bloody rain, but in the end he did fine.
Never take a stranger's advice
Never let a friend fool you twice
Nobody's on nobody's side
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Later.
"So you and your sire are cool now?"
"Yeah. Guess. Seems nice enough."
"Who is it?" A direct question. Either he finally worked up the courage, or figured out how to string the words together so as not to invite a dodge.
"Sidney," Tanner finally said.
"Wow, dude!" Timmy blinked, his smile broadening, his suspicions confirmed. "That means we're brothers!"
"We're not." Tanner scowled sharply, looking him straight in the eye. No yelling. No finger-jabbing. Just the truth.
"But if we have the same sire, then--"
"We were infected by the same person. We have the same strain of the same disease. That's as far as it goes."
Johnny and Linda O'Neil only ever had one kid.
Never leave a moment too soon
Never waste a hot afternoon
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay a minute too long
Don't forget the best will go wrong
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never be the first to believe
Never be the last to deceive
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never make a promise or plan
Take a little love when you can
Nobody's on nobody's side
Like a freshman who'd just hit on some high school gossip, Timmy kept picking at it all night.
"So'd you ever figure out who your sire is?"
"Yeah. Recently," Tanner shrugged. "Managed not to punch her in the face."
"Woah, dude," Timmy nodded. "That's really cool."
He winced a little. Not the thought he had at the time. "She thought she was doin' the right thing. Thought she was helping me. Punching her wasn't gonna help."
Revenge is for the weak, he thought. Vampires didn't like hearing it. The truth tended to hurt, like salt in an open wound. A vampire without such an open cut was rare.
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Better learn to go it alone
Recognize you're out on your own
Nobody's on nobody's side
It was a schizophrenic night: no less than four princes, all of them underwhelming in their grandeur. No sign of the threatening faces he'd come to look out for. The most interesting conversation of the night, and the most charming face, both wrapped up in a woman who sat on completely the opposite fence from his politics... and the constant reminder that his own side of things wasn't so comfortable.
Samantha and Timmy were pleasant enough, when Timmy wasn't prying with barely-restrained giddiness. Alex Finn talked all reasonably, as always, but may as well have been wearing his Neo-Con/Foundation armband for all the direction he took on every topic.
At least Cullpepper & Leon were both there. Friendship among the Damned was like horseshoes & hand grenades. One often settled for "close enough."
Never make a promise or plan
Take a little love where you can
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay too long in your bed
Never lose your heart, use your head
Nobody's on nobody's side
There was another demon. It was good to finally be able to hit one of the wretched things back. Cullpepper did most of the heavy lifting, and it took Tanner a couple of bruises to get the hang of going at it with something sixteen feet tall in painful, bloody rain, but in the end he did fine.
Never take a stranger's advice
Never let a friend fool you twice
Nobody's on nobody's side
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Later.
"So you and your sire are cool now?"
"Yeah. Guess. Seems nice enough."
"Who is it?" A direct question. Either he finally worked up the courage, or figured out how to string the words together so as not to invite a dodge.
"Sidney," Tanner finally said.
"Wow, dude!" Timmy blinked, his smile broadening, his suspicions confirmed. "That means we're brothers!"
"We're not." Tanner scowled sharply, looking him straight in the eye. No yelling. No finger-jabbing. Just the truth.
"But if we have the same sire, then--"
"We were infected by the same person. We have the same strain of the same disease. That's as far as it goes."
Johnny and Linda O'Neil only ever had one kid.
Never leave a moment too soon
Never waste a hot afternoon
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay a minute too long
Don't forget the best will go wrong
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never be the first to believe
Never be the last to deceive
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never make a promise or plan
Take a little love when you can
Nobody's on nobody's side