Bad Blood
I ran a hand along the wall, marveling at its textures and patterns.
How had I never noticed them before? They’d obviously always been there; I doubt anyone took the time to redo Mateo’s walls overnight.
And then there were the colors on my pajamas.
I poked the knee of my pants, watching the shades move with the fabric.
There was lavender mixed with a deep purple, royal purple, and the teensiest trace of blue.
To the human eye, it was one simple shade of purple.
But to my new eyes, a million different shades were within the one.
“Good morning, Ari!” I turned to smile.
“How’d you do that?” She propped up to peer around, then groggily reached for her glasses.
“Do what?” I went back to poking Mateo’s stuff. The wooden dresser had almost as many patterns and textures as the wall.
“Know I was awake.”
“Oh, that. Your breathing changed. It’s not as mellow when you wake up. Have you ever noticed?”
“How could I? I can’t tell what it’s like when I’m asleep.” She climbed out of the spacious bed and set to work making it.
“This purple has like fifteen different shades in one. And the yellow mixed in with the green is noticeable. But only enough to make it lighter. You can barely tell, though—”
“What are you talking about?”
“My pajamas.” I pointed to the characters of my favorite cartoon, which were scattered along the pants. “The colors are insane. There are probably hundreds in here. So many new shades.”
“I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.” She straightened up after smoothing the last section of comforter.
“Is it? I can’t tell. It all looks the same to me.”
“I need light.” She crossed the room and turned on a light.
“Agh, I’m melting!” I threw an arm over my face to shield it from the blaring light.
“You’re being such a vampire right now.” She giggled and turned the light off. I sighed in relief, then cried out when she turned it back on.
“Stop it.” I had the light off before I even decided to move.
“I don’t know what happened.” I stared between my current location and where I’d just been, then down to my feet.
Apparently, I was fast enough to basically teleport now.
I ‘teleported’ back to grab our bag. “Let’s get ready.
I’m excited to see how everything works now.
” I flung the door open and led the way to the bathroom.
“How long have you been awake?” Ari reached for the light as we entered, but my hand shot out to catch hers. “What?”
“That hurts my eyes.” I shut the door, leaving us in full darkness. Much better. ”It’s okay, I can still see.”
“Well, I can’t. I can’t even tell which toothbrush is mine.”
“Magenta for you,” I held hers out, “and purple for me.” I used my vampire eyesight to give us both toothpaste and take in our surroundings while we brushed.
Everything was so clear now. It was hard to describe.
Almost crisp? I finished and rinsed my mouth, then froze.
I ran my tongue across my teeth. This was new.
“Ari, look! I have fangs.” I smiled wide and pointed, but she only squinted.
“I can’t see anything,” she finally said. “I’m turning on the light.” I groaned and covered my face as blinding light filled the room. “Lemme see.” She tried to pry my hands down, but I shook my head. “Stop being a baby and move your hands. You’re not gonna die.”
“Fine.” I dropped my arms to glare, but it faltered when her jaw dropped. “What’s wrong?”
“You.” She poked my face, like she was checking to see if it was real. “Not wrong. Just… different. Your eyes. And your cheeks are so… and your lips.” She spun me to face the mirror.
“Oh shit, I can’t see myself!” I shouted, leaning so close I nearly hit the glass. I cautiously touched it. My reflection was nowhere to be found.
“You have to see your reflection. Hold on.” Ari rushed from the room and returned with phone in hand. She opened the camera and held the screen to my face.
“Whoa,” I breathed, moving back to see better. I moved close again, then stopped somewhere in the middle. I could see perfectly, I was just having a hard time believing what was there.
My eyes had changed colors overnight. My whole life people had gone on about my ‘shocking’ blue eyes that were supposedly as vibrant as a sunlit, tropical ocean.
But now the vibrant color had gone to a rich, almost impossible shade of cobalt blue.
They were gorgeous. I’d never been too attached to the shocking blue. This cobalt was perfect.
“Look at the rest of you,” Ari said.
I stopped staring at my eyes to examine my face as a whole.
She was right: everything was different, but in such a subtle way it was hard to pinpoint how.
My lips were an alluring shade, like I’d found the perfect lipstick without wearing any lipstick at all.
My cheeks had a natural flush that stood out well against my glowing complexion, my eyelashes were fuller and longer than before, and my hair was a glossy, silky smooth.
Even the black and purple ombre had become richer shades.
“I feel like a model.”
“You look like one. I’m so jealous right now, I’m not gonna lie. You’re like one of those ridiculous commercials where the girl rolls out of bed looking amazing and you’re just like, who does that? That doesn’t happen. Except apparently it does for vampires.” Ari took her phone back as I laughed.
“You could join the club, y’know.” I wiggled my eyebrows, trying to be enticing, but she shook her head. “Thanks so much for last night, by the way. I was acting ridiculous. I hate when that happens. It’s so embarrassing. Especially with people around.”
“It’s fine. And completely understandable. I probably would’ve been the same way. Maybe even worse.”
“You’re the best cousin ever.” I threw my arms around her, careful not to be too forceful. I finally understood why Dennis always called us fragile. I felt so powerful now. It was weird.
“I know.” She laughed before pushing me away. “Take a shower so I can take one, too.”
“Watch, I bet I can shower in like two minutes now that I have super speed.” I grinned and stripped before hopping into the shower.
“Please don’t start trying to be a super—”
“Hero!” I gasped in delight. “I’m totally gonna be a superhero now. Wait. No. I’m gonna—”
“You cannot be a super villain.”
“Why not? I have the powers and I’m sexy enough. All I need is an epic costume. I bet there’s one in my closet.” I stopped talking to mentally comb through my wardrobe. There were lots of good options.
“You really did only take a minute,” Ari said as I finished showering and stepped out for a towel. She was brushing her hair now.
“Told you. Super speed. Why’re you doing your hair before you shower?”
“No reason.” Her response came way too fast.
“You’re getting cute for Sean, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“You’re totally fixing yourself in case they barge in again,” I went on, laughing as she made a face in the mirror. “Don’t worry, you look much cuter this time.”
“I know.” She smiled and kept brushing. Even her pajamas were more prepared: a cute set instead of yesterday’s oversized and mismatched combination. “I don’t like him or anything. I just wanna look decent.”
“Sure you don’t.” I knotted my towel to stay up and stood beside her to stare at my lack of reflection. “This is all so weird.” I poked a fang, then gasped when a brilliant idea hit. “I have a genius idea.”
“What now?” she droned. “You better not be planning to make me your sidekick or something, ‘cause I’m not doing it.”
“That’s a great idea, but no. I was gonna ask if I can bite you?”
“Of course not.” She stopped brushing to look at me. “Why would you ask such a stupid question?”
“Because I wanna test my fangs,” I said. It made perfect sense.
“There’s no way in hell I’m letting you bite me. What if you accidentally kill me?”
“I won’t. That would be stupid.”
“You’re stupid.”
“Please?” I pouted, hoping it would change her mind.
“That’s not gonna work.” She turned back to the mirror to continue brushing.
“But it’ll be like a movie. The bathroom is even steamy from my shower. Just pretend it’s dramatic fog that swept in when I waved my cape.” I twirled my arms, acting it out as best I could.
“No. Shut up.”
“Please?”
“I’m gonna leave if you don’t stop begging to bite me. It’s weird. Find something else to test your fangs on.”
“Please, please, please please please—”
“No!” She yanked the door open and ran out.
“Just a little nibble. It won’t even hurt!” I shouted, running after her. “I vant to suck your blood!”
“No means no!” she yelled as I chased her into the living room. She stopped behind the couch and we froze, now engrossed in a stare-down. “I will throw this hairbrush at your face if you don’t leave me alone.”
“You can’t hit me. I have the reflexes of a cat now. You don’t stand a chance.” I struck a pose and narrowed my eyes while she aimed the brush at my head.
“What are you doing?” Dennis walked up from behind me.
“We’re playing a game,” I said happily.
“No, we’re not. She’s trying to bite me.” Ari jerked and almost fell when Sean appeared beside her.
“Are you really?” he asked. Both he and Dennis were on edge now, like they might need to cart me away.
“Not like that.” I waved a hand. I didn’t need them thinking I’d gone crazy. “A little bite. I don’t even wanna drink anything.”
“For the millionth time, no.”
“Just gimme a finger or something?” I dropped my power pose to clasp my hands. “If I take any blood, I promise I’ll give it right back.”
“How would you even do that? I’m not a vampire, but I’m pretty sure that’s not possible.”
“Uh…” I glanced at Dennis, who was watching us with a blank expression. “I’ll figure something out?” I turned back to Ari to see the brush tucked in her crossed arms.
“You’re insane,” she said.
“I know you are, but what am I?” I crossed my arms to imitate hers.
“Insane.”
“I know you are, but what am I?”
“Insane!”
“I know you are, but what am—”
“Fucking insane—”