Fated Fangs

Chapter 11: The Nocturnal Life

Eleni's eyes fluttered. There was light in the room, but it didn't feel bright enough to be the sun. It didn't feel like she had slept long, either. Eleni groaned as she tried to wake up her weary limbs and mind. She sensed movement in front of her and jolted up, suddenly very awake. A blanket slid off of her and onto the floor.

Cassandra froze in place with a bowl of popcorn in her hands. She looked so comical, standing there like she had been caught doing something bad, that Eleni couldn't help but laugh. Her laughter seemed to untense Cassandra as she relaxed and chuckled a little with Eleni.

"I'm sorry if I woke you, and for taking so long. It was more difficult than I thought to locate everything." Cassandra said sheepishly.

"Everything?" Eleni asked sleepily. She lazily reached down to grab the blanket that had slipped off of her. It was soft and warm. Cassandra must have put it on her when she fell asleep. Eleni blushed a little at the thought. It was kind of her.

Eleni looked around the room and saw that Cassandra had been busy while she napped. There was a TV set up on a stand that hadn't been there before. The stand was lined with a good-sized selection of DVDs. Eleni stood up from the couch and walked over to look at the movies. Cassandra set the popcorn down on the coffee table and came over to look with her.

"Is anything catching your eye?" She asked eagerly.

"Hmmmm." Eleni looked through the movies. She had seen some of them, but a lot of them were unfamiliar. She hadn't had much time to watch movies before. She had spent so much of her life working and trying to scramble for a better life that movies had felt like a waste of time. She would have nothing but time now. "Have you seen this one?" She asked Cassandra.

"No, but I heard it was good when it first came out. It's one of those superhero movies, but not as cliche as most of them. It is definitely darker." Cassandra answered. She stood up, seeming satisfied that Eleni would be entertained for the time being at least. "I made you some popcorn. There should be enough movies there to keep you busy for a little while, at least." She began to walk towards the door out. "If you need anything else...." She began to say, but she stopped.

Eleni's hand was hanging on to the sleeve of Cassandra's shirt. She hadn't even noticed she had stood up until Cassandra stopped speaking. Eleni let go of Cassandra's sleeve awkwardly, but she didn't move back to the couch. They both stood there for a few awkward moments.

"Do....uh.....do you need anything else, then?" Cassandra asked. She looked confused and kind of cute, with her head tilted to the side.

"I don't, I mean, I...." Eleni didn't know what she wanted. She was so alone and afraid at the moment. Everything in her life had been turned upside down. She really didn't want to be by herself right then. "Could you, maybe, uh, stay? We could watch 'Watchmen' together." She suggested.

Cassandra hesitated. Eleni felt like an i***t. She was probably way too busy to babysit her. There were probably tons of responsibilities on Cassandra's shoulders already without being on human duty.

"Yeah. I'd like that." Cassandra answered at last, surprising Eleni.

Eleni couldn't help it. She blushed again. She was so grateful for at least one vampire who seemed to be kind. Cassandra continued to prove to be a sweet and caring woman. Maybe not all vampires were so bad. If there were more like her, Eleni felt like it wouldn't be such a bad life after all.

Cassandra put the movie in, and they both walked over to the couch together and sat down. Eleni sat down on the far side of the couch from Cassandra. She didn't know why, either. She wanted to be close to Cassandra, but it felt weird. She tried to ignore her own confusion as the movie started.

The opening credits rolled, and the storyline began to take shape. Eleni felt so tired, but she tried to follow the movie as best she could. It was like a superhero movie, but different than anything she had ever watched. They watched the movie mostly in silence. Eleni didn't know what to say to Cassandra, and Cassandra seemed content enough without conversation.

Eleni tried her best not to nod off, but she wasn't used to staying up so late. Cassandra kept offering her popcorn and water whenever she started to get tired, and it helped keep her awake. The movie ended, and they put another one in. The hours passed a little more quickly than if she had been alone, but it was a fight to stay awake every second. The movies started to blur together as Eleni dozed off in between moments.

She jolted awake after having been asleep when she could have sworn she was awake. She felt warm and cozy as she sat up. She had been resting on Cassandra's arm, she realized, much to her own embarrassment. Somehow, throughout the night, the two had moved in closer to the middle of the couch, and Eleni must have dozed off and slumped over towards Cassandra.

"I-I am so sorry." Eleni stammered. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"It's fine. Really. It must be hard trying to change your sleep schedule so suddenly." Cassandra offered. Her smile was warm and genuine.

"Y-yeah. I am so tired. You must not really need sleep, or, do you?" Eleni asked awkwardly.

"We do sleep, but we don't need as much. It just makes the day pass faster, honestly." Cassandea responded. She picked up the water and passed it to Eleni.

"Thanks." Eleni said sheepishly. She took a big gulp of water. It was keeping her awake or as awake as she could get. She looked at Cassandra and felt how genuinely she seemed to care about how she was doing. It felt like they were good friends already. "Thank you for everything. You didn't need to stay with me. I am sure you have better things to do than to babysit the human."

"It's my pleasure. I was human once, too. I didn't really have anyone to ease me through the transition." Cassandra shrugged.

Eleni froze. She didn't know what to say. Cassandra got up and changed the movie. Eleni hadn't even noticed it had ended. Cassandra sat back down and started watching the movie. She had been alone after she had changed into a vampire. That must have been so hard. But she must have made friends, right? She didn't seem too bothered at the moment, but it must have been hard at the time.

Eleni tried to focus on the movie, but between her exhaustion and trying to think of what to talk about with Cassandra, she couldn't focus. No matter what she thought to say or ask, it felt intrusive or annoying.

Just as Eleni was nodding off again, there was knocking on the door. Cassandra stood up quickly and went to answer it while Eleni rubbed her eyes. Cassandra talked in the hall outside of her door for a moment, but Eleni couldn't hear what they were saying. After a moment, Cassandra came back in carrying a tray of food. She gracefully placed it on the table in front of Eleni.

"I'm sorry, Eleni, I have to go. I was hoping to be able to stay longer, but a situation has come up. We ordered some food from a few different places. I hope something is to your liking." Cassandra said apologetically.

There were a few different take out containers and some juice. It was a pretty sweet gesture, considering vampires didn't eat. Eleni was pretty hungry, considering all she had eaten all night was popcorn. She looked up at Cassandra, full of gratitude once again.

"Thank you again, Cassandra. You have been so sweet." Eleni gushed.

"It's no trouble." Cassandra replied. She hesitated by the door. It looked like she wanted to say more, but she just nodded and excused herself.

The door closed, and Eleni was suddenly alone again. Her heart felt hollow and empty. She looked around at the room she was in. It was nice, but none of her belongings were here. It was a fancy prison, but a prison none the less. She had just forgotten she was a prisoner for a while.

Eleni sighed and reached for the take out containers. There was some chinese food, burgers, salads and greek food. Eleni picked at the greek lamb and rice before moving the leftovers to the small fridge in the room. She would at least have proper food to eat in the morning.

She put another movie in and curled up with the blanket Cassandra had covered her with earlier. Her eyes were burning, she was so tired. Eleni allowed her exhaustion to finally take over her. She slipped into the dream world slowly, with Cassandra's gentle smile lingering in her mind before she drifted off for good.