Glances- Original Writing
I don't write that often anymore, which is a shame. About a week ago I decided to just sit down, type, and see what happened. This piece is about my original characters (save for the vampire Benji who belongs to dinolich).
Visual refs of the characters:
Nemo (brown-haired kid--drawn by dinolich; Dwayne is there also)- DDR Round 1 Page 7
Dwayne (blue-haired elf/vampire; more recent drawing than the comic page example)- Group Shot
Benji (tall black-haired vampire; drawn by dinolich)- Character Lineup
And unfortunately, I have no recent drawing of Tangerine. She and Benji were recently turned from anthros into humans, so just imagine an orange-haired freckly vampire chick.
Without further ado, here's the short story (a bit out of context, but I tried to make it easy for anyone to figure out what's going on).
(PG-13 for some language)
--
Nemo knew that he didn’t know everything. How could he? He didn’t claim to be the smartest guy around, but there were a few things he knew for certain: how to manage his restaurant, that he couldn’t sing for shit and that Dwayne had a huge crush on him.
The thing that bugged him about that last piece of certain knowledge was the relationship that Dwayne had with Benji. It wasn’t that Nemo was jealous; he’d much rather Dwayne move his attentions to someone other than himself-it wasn’t like Nemo reciprocated them or anything. Benji had a long-term girlfriend, though. Tangerine was surprisingly sweet (for a vampire chick) and Nemo truly wished them happiness together.
It wasn’t like he had any proof of Dwayne’s feelings towards Benji either. He’d only seen brief glances that Dwayne threw Benji’s way, ones that lasted a split-second and that Benji completely missed but that Nemo definitely saw. Or thought he saw. He really wasn’t sure.
Nemo didn’t know the whole story either. He had heard that Dwayne lived somewhere far (was it far north?) and that Benji had run into him there. He had also heard that at that time, Dwayne was mortal and Benji was the one who… “blooded” him; Nemo was pretty sure that was the right term for turning another into a vampire. The strangest thing he had heard by far was that Dwayne had asked to be turned. Why would someone ask for something like that? Real life wasn’t a Twilight novel; Nemo knew the life of a vampire wasn’t a very glamorous one.
The whole thing also had him wondering if a vampire felt a strong bond towards the one who turned them. Was that why Nemo saw what he thought he saw? Those glances, gone almost as quickly as they had appeared…
--
That night after closing, Nemo was busy sweeping up, a chore that most found mundane but that he enjoyed. He knew as the manager, he really didn’t have to do menial tasks like sweeping anymore, but he still wanted to. It was his restaurant and, by God, there wouldn’t be a patch of dust on the floor while he was around.
Over at the bar, Dwayne was hanging out with Benji and Tangerine. It was a typical evening routine-there wasn’t really anything else to do at that time of night in Dullsville. Nemo slowly swept their way, ready to join in the conversation if engaged but quite content to just continue sweeping otherwise. Every now and then he’d glance in their direction.
He saw Dwayne happily chatting away with them, his posture completely relaxed. They were talking about some film that they had seen recently and which actor or actress appealed to them most. And then Nemo saw it.
Benji turned to Tangerine, assuring her that no mortal actress could ever appeal to him more than she did. Dwayne visibly straightened, his posture going from relaxed to completely rigid. His eyes got such a look of pure longing that it almost hurt Nemo to look at them. As Benji leaned in to kiss Tangerine, Dwayne turned away from them, now making eye contact with Nemo. It was then Nemo realized that he had completely stopped sweeping and had just been standing there observing Dwayne. Nemo saw Dwayne pale as he realized that he had been watched. Wait, pale? Could vampires even pale? Nemo wasn’t sure about that. What he was sure about, what he knew, was that he had not imagined the look Dwayne gave Benji.
Dwayne, looking stricken, turned away from Nemo and was now facing the door. He looked incredibly tensed, as though his body was in “fight or flight” mode. Nemo knew Dwayne wouldn’t hurt a hair on his head, so it just came down to when the elf was going to make his exit. It came sooner than expected when Benji asked Dwayne if he was alright.
Dwayne turned quickly in Benji’s direction saying, “Perfectly! I was just thinking of stepping out for some fresh air for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”
The cheerfulness in Dwayne’s voice sounded so fake to Nemo’s ears that he nearly cringed. Benji, who didn’t seem to notice the forced cheer, shrugged as Dwayne left through the exit and turned back to his girlfriend. As they continued to make-out, Nemo made a vague gesture in their direction that he was heading outside too, which ended up being completely ignored by the enamored vampire couple.
As soon as Nemo left the building, he headed towards the side of it where the dumpsters were. It was easy to get to the roof from standing on top of them, and he was sure that he’d find Dwayne up there.
“Dwayne?” he called out once he was on top of a dumpster. “You up there?”
Just as he expected, a dark-haired head appeared over the side. “Oh, hey Nemo,” Dwayne said, looking a tad nervous. The vampire’s expression flickered for a second, until sliding into a smile. “Come on up!” Despite the pleasant smile on Dwayne’s face, Nemo thought his eyes looked rather sad.
Dwayne extended a hand down from the roof and Nemo grabbed it with only the slightest hesitation. He felt wrong about accepting things from Dwayne sometimes, as though he were encouraging his feelings. Nemo didn’t want to lead anyone on. Dwayne was still his friend, though, and he felt like the vampire probably needed company right now.
Dwayne grinned at him, that certain sadness still lurking in the depths of his eyes.
“I knew I’d find you up here,” Nemo said, sitting down next to him.
“What can I say, the stars look pretty great tonight,” Dwayne replied, leaning back on his elbows as he gazed up.
It was true. This time of night, when Dullsville’s late businesses were shutting down and only the streetlights remained, the evening sky shone bright.
“You probably had an even better view up north”, Nemo said, mimicking Dwayne’s position, leaning back to join him.
Dwayne started but quickly recovered. “I didn’t star gaze much back then…”
An awkward silence descended on the two of them as they continued to look at the stars, a sort of tension buzzing in the air around them.
“We both know why I came up here. What I saw before…” Nemo said quietly. He was close enough to Dwayne that he could feel how much the vampire elf tensed up.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dwayne whispered.
“Dwayne, you can talk to me…” Nemo started to say when he was cut off.
“Look, just forget about whatever you thought you saw.” Dwayne was sitting up straight now, not looking at Nemo. “It’s not important.”
“Dwayne-“
The elf swung around to face Nemo. “It doesn’t matter.” His expression was filled with rage.
Nemo knew Dwayne wouldn’t hurt him, no matter what Nemo said to him, but he still trembled slightly at the reality that he was sitting next to an extremely dangerous vampire.
Dwayne’s anger left almost as quickly as it came, his shoulders drooping as his face crumbled. Nemo almost gasped aloud at the pain on his friend’s face.
“It doesn’t matter. Can we please not talk about this?” Dwayne’s voice trembled, sounding broken, like he was holding back a sob.
“Okay. Okay…” Nemo said quietly. He extended a hand towards Dwayne’s shoulder, debating whether or not he should. He watched as Dwayne continued to shiver slightly, looking away from Nemo again, and his mind was made up as he closed the distance and touched the elf.
The shoulder tensed even more under his hand for a second and then slowly relaxed. He felt Dwayne lean into the touch somewhat.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you. I know you’re only trying to help,” Dwayne said, his eyes still averted.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to pry. If you want to tell me anything, you will.” Nemo squeezed Dwayne’s shoulder lightly before letting go and settling back on his elbows.
“Thanks.” Dwayne was looking at him again, his eyes still a little pained but earnest. Nemo felt the vampire relax more as he leaned back to join him in star gazing.
Nemo sighed softly as he stared at the night sky. He now knew for sure that something was up with Dwayne in regards to Benji. Nemo also knew that he cared for Dwayne a lot and that was okay. He also knew that he was looking up at the Big Dipper. Or… maybe it was the little one? He wasn’t sure about that actually.
Visual refs of the characters:
Nemo (brown-haired kid--drawn by dinolich; Dwayne is there also)- DDR Round 1 Page 7
Dwayne (blue-haired elf/vampire; more recent drawing than the comic page example)- Group Shot
Benji (tall black-haired vampire; drawn by dinolich)- Character Lineup
And unfortunately, I have no recent drawing of Tangerine. She and Benji were recently turned from anthros into humans, so just imagine an orange-haired freckly vampire chick.
Without further ado, here's the short story (a bit out of context, but I tried to make it easy for anyone to figure out what's going on).
(PG-13 for some language)
--
Nemo knew that he didn’t know everything. How could he? He didn’t claim to be the smartest guy around, but there were a few things he knew for certain: how to manage his restaurant, that he couldn’t sing for shit and that Dwayne had a huge crush on him.
The thing that bugged him about that last piece of certain knowledge was the relationship that Dwayne had with Benji. It wasn’t that Nemo was jealous; he’d much rather Dwayne move his attentions to someone other than himself-it wasn’t like Nemo reciprocated them or anything. Benji had a long-term girlfriend, though. Tangerine was surprisingly sweet (for a vampire chick) and Nemo truly wished them happiness together.
It wasn’t like he had any proof of Dwayne’s feelings towards Benji either. He’d only seen brief glances that Dwayne threw Benji’s way, ones that lasted a split-second and that Benji completely missed but that Nemo definitely saw. Or thought he saw. He really wasn’t sure.
Nemo didn’t know the whole story either. He had heard that Dwayne lived somewhere far (was it far north?) and that Benji had run into him there. He had also heard that at that time, Dwayne was mortal and Benji was the one who… “blooded” him; Nemo was pretty sure that was the right term for turning another into a vampire. The strangest thing he had heard by far was that Dwayne had asked to be turned. Why would someone ask for something like that? Real life wasn’t a Twilight novel; Nemo knew the life of a vampire wasn’t a very glamorous one.
The whole thing also had him wondering if a vampire felt a strong bond towards the one who turned them. Was that why Nemo saw what he thought he saw? Those glances, gone almost as quickly as they had appeared…
--
That night after closing, Nemo was busy sweeping up, a chore that most found mundane but that he enjoyed. He knew as the manager, he really didn’t have to do menial tasks like sweeping anymore, but he still wanted to. It was his restaurant and, by God, there wouldn’t be a patch of dust on the floor while he was around.
Over at the bar, Dwayne was hanging out with Benji and Tangerine. It was a typical evening routine-there wasn’t really anything else to do at that time of night in Dullsville. Nemo slowly swept their way, ready to join in the conversation if engaged but quite content to just continue sweeping otherwise. Every now and then he’d glance in their direction.
He saw Dwayne happily chatting away with them, his posture completely relaxed. They were talking about some film that they had seen recently and which actor or actress appealed to them most. And then Nemo saw it.
Benji turned to Tangerine, assuring her that no mortal actress could ever appeal to him more than she did. Dwayne visibly straightened, his posture going from relaxed to completely rigid. His eyes got such a look of pure longing that it almost hurt Nemo to look at them. As Benji leaned in to kiss Tangerine, Dwayne turned away from them, now making eye contact with Nemo. It was then Nemo realized that he had completely stopped sweeping and had just been standing there observing Dwayne. Nemo saw Dwayne pale as he realized that he had been watched. Wait, pale? Could vampires even pale? Nemo wasn’t sure about that. What he was sure about, what he knew, was that he had not imagined the look Dwayne gave Benji.
Dwayne, looking stricken, turned away from Nemo and was now facing the door. He looked incredibly tensed, as though his body was in “fight or flight” mode. Nemo knew Dwayne wouldn’t hurt a hair on his head, so it just came down to when the elf was going to make his exit. It came sooner than expected when Benji asked Dwayne if he was alright.
Dwayne turned quickly in Benji’s direction saying, “Perfectly! I was just thinking of stepping out for some fresh air for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”
The cheerfulness in Dwayne’s voice sounded so fake to Nemo’s ears that he nearly cringed. Benji, who didn’t seem to notice the forced cheer, shrugged as Dwayne left through the exit and turned back to his girlfriend. As they continued to make-out, Nemo made a vague gesture in their direction that he was heading outside too, which ended up being completely ignored by the enamored vampire couple.
As soon as Nemo left the building, he headed towards the side of it where the dumpsters were. It was easy to get to the roof from standing on top of them, and he was sure that he’d find Dwayne up there.
“Dwayne?” he called out once he was on top of a dumpster. “You up there?”
Just as he expected, a dark-haired head appeared over the side. “Oh, hey Nemo,” Dwayne said, looking a tad nervous. The vampire’s expression flickered for a second, until sliding into a smile. “Come on up!” Despite the pleasant smile on Dwayne’s face, Nemo thought his eyes looked rather sad.
Dwayne extended a hand down from the roof and Nemo grabbed it with only the slightest hesitation. He felt wrong about accepting things from Dwayne sometimes, as though he were encouraging his feelings. Nemo didn’t want to lead anyone on. Dwayne was still his friend, though, and he felt like the vampire probably needed company right now.
Dwayne grinned at him, that certain sadness still lurking in the depths of his eyes.
“I knew I’d find you up here,” Nemo said, sitting down next to him.
“What can I say, the stars look pretty great tonight,” Dwayne replied, leaning back on his elbows as he gazed up.
It was true. This time of night, when Dullsville’s late businesses were shutting down and only the streetlights remained, the evening sky shone bright.
“You probably had an even better view up north”, Nemo said, mimicking Dwayne’s position, leaning back to join him.
Dwayne started but quickly recovered. “I didn’t star gaze much back then…”
An awkward silence descended on the two of them as they continued to look at the stars, a sort of tension buzzing in the air around them.
“We both know why I came up here. What I saw before…” Nemo said quietly. He was close enough to Dwayne that he could feel how much the vampire elf tensed up.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dwayne whispered.
“Dwayne, you can talk to me…” Nemo started to say when he was cut off.
“Look, just forget about whatever you thought you saw.” Dwayne was sitting up straight now, not looking at Nemo. “It’s not important.”
“Dwayne-“
The elf swung around to face Nemo. “It doesn’t matter.” His expression was filled with rage.
Nemo knew Dwayne wouldn’t hurt him, no matter what Nemo said to him, but he still trembled slightly at the reality that he was sitting next to an extremely dangerous vampire.
Dwayne’s anger left almost as quickly as it came, his shoulders drooping as his face crumbled. Nemo almost gasped aloud at the pain on his friend’s face.
“It doesn’t matter. Can we please not talk about this?” Dwayne’s voice trembled, sounding broken, like he was holding back a sob.
“Okay. Okay…” Nemo said quietly. He extended a hand towards Dwayne’s shoulder, debating whether or not he should. He watched as Dwayne continued to shiver slightly, looking away from Nemo again, and his mind was made up as he closed the distance and touched the elf.
The shoulder tensed even more under his hand for a second and then slowly relaxed. He felt Dwayne lean into the touch somewhat.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you. I know you’re only trying to help,” Dwayne said, his eyes still averted.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to pry. If you want to tell me anything, you will.” Nemo squeezed Dwayne’s shoulder lightly before letting go and settling back on his elbows.
“Thanks.” Dwayne was looking at him again, his eyes still a little pained but earnest. Nemo felt the vampire relax more as he leaned back to join him in star gazing.
Nemo sighed softly as he stared at the night sky. He now knew for sure that something was up with Dwayne in regards to Benji. Nemo also knew that he cared for Dwayne a lot and that was okay. He also knew that he was looking up at the Big Dipper. Or… maybe it was the little one? He wasn’t sure about that actually.