Black Door || Reza & Ana
What are thinly veiled threats and bad decisions between friends?
Another errand. Reza did like the ones with the nectar more than the others, though, as it usually meant that he was going to meet some more vamps. Even though they liked to tease him and poke fun, most of them knew Heath and knew better than to mess with Reza. And he still find them interesting, despite the fact that he practically lived with one. He'd even met a nachzehrer the other day who'd actually taken the time to chat with him, telling him stuff that his research and data from scribes didn't tell. Sure, she'd been pretty high at the moment but it had been an interesting experience. He'd never delivered to this address before, which meant new vamps and he couldn't help but be curious. Even though the recent litter of bitemarks over his body, especially the visible ones on his neck and wrists, tended to prompt even more comments from the vampires. Still, it made him feel claimed. Which was kind of nice. Knocking on the apartment door inside a very shabby building, Reza heard the murmur of voices inside. A group. Probably a mix of humans and vampires, hence the few doses of nectar in inside pockets. He shifted, hearing the crowd inside hush and giggle at the knocking.
Ana sprawled over the ratty couch she found herself on that night. Vampires littered the room, one of her new favorites, Keith, was seated comfortably under her legs. He was the only one she actually knew - the other ones were his groupies. Or something. Keith was the oldest of the handful of them. Something of a leader of the pack of them all. Ana breezed in and out of the house to keep up appearances but this was where she preferred to be. Where she felt sane and not judged. "Where's the food?" Someone asked. Cue the knock on the door. Keith turned, smirking over at Ana. "The baby has to pay. It's the rule." Ana rolled her eyes, shoving him away from her, "I'm not a baby," she objected, but got up anyway. Her grin dropped the moment her eyes laid upon the teenager. "Reza," she paused, clearing her throat. Fuck. Fuck. "What are you doing here? Are you--lost?"
Reza usually made a habit of avoiding eye contact with customers, at least for the first few moments, but upon hearing his name, his head snapped up and he met a familiar gaze. "Ana?" Why was she here? Was she the one buying nectar? That seemed highly unlikely, seeing as Ana had a very strict moral code regarding the whole vampire thing, which Reza had witnessed first hand. But still, here she was, and he knew this was the right address. "No, I'm, uh..." The drug dealer? What if Ana told someone? Everything would go to hell if he got a group of people on his back trying to convince him that he was 'making a huge mistake' and all that crap. His eyebrows furrowed desperately at Ana, brain still trying to wrap itself around the situation, when another vampire appeared behind Ana; a handsome, smirking male vamp. "If you're going to chat up the delivery boy, at least do it inside the apartment," the guy joked and Reza found himself being ushered into the apartment, the door shutting behind him. His eyes stayed on Ana, still wondering what she was doing in this crowd.
Ana shifted uncomfortably, every sense sharp as a tac. Reza. This stupid little boy was going to fuck up all of her plans. “Pay the guy already, will you?” Keith eyed Reza and the group in the house was already starting to swarm towards the living room. The fun stuff was here and it was drawing them like moths to a flame. Ana still had no idea what was supposed to happen—all Keith told her was that this was going to be the best trip of her life. And she’d try anything once, right? Grinning wide, she turned, whispering something into Keith’s ear. He smiled brightly and rounded the rest of the group. The snacks were waiting for them in the basement—willing participants they’d brought home from Danse Macabre, a few from Teeth. There were always a few chomping at the bits to be vampire food, some sort of fetish. Ana dug into her pockets, pulling out her wallet as the rest of the group started to empty out. “This is a joke, right?” She whispered once the group had all but vanished.
Reza shifted, eyes averting to the ground, feeling about as uncomfortable as Ana looked. She clearly hadn't expected to see him here, obviously, and he felt like he was walking in on some big secret. Ana was whispering something to the handsome vampire and Reza felt a strong sense of deja vu, reliving that night at the tattoo parlor. Great. Hopefully he could just take the money and bail. Even though he was really curious about Ana's involvement in all of this. Reza breathed a little easier as the crowd dispersed, but then Ana pulled out her wallet. "Not on my part," he muttered, pulling out the bag of syringes from inside his jacket, feeling embarrassment crawling through his whole body. The secret was out and the Ana he'd known previously was sure to rat him out to someone. If word got to his father... Reza wouldn't mind the anger his dad would feel but it would be very hard to keep going with him interfering. "You're, y'know... part of this?" he asked quietly, looking at the bag in his hand. This seemed so unlike Ana but then again, the Ana that had shunned him and slept with a stranger seemed like a completely different person as well. There definitely was something off with her...
Ana shook her head, feigning a semblance of shame. She had to look remorseful. Like she was caught with her fingers in the cookie jar and she felt oh so bad about it. She paused, gripping the wallet in her hand for a moment, shaking her head before she let her hand drop to her side. “Listen, I—“ A hand went up to the back of her neck, eyes ripe with uncertainty, feet shifting again. “I’m not part of this. Not really. I don’t—“ A shrug. Pity party time. “I’ve had a really, really bad time of it lately. A good friend of mine died and some other personal stuff that’s been really weighing on me. I just needed to be around people who weren’t going to judge me. Who I didn’t have to be so… ‘good’ around. Here I don’t have to pretend.” Her eyes softened, glancing at Reza, gaze sopping with embarrassment. “Please don’t tell anybody. I won’t—if you won’t.”
Ana suddenly looked even guiltier than before, although Reza doubted she felt as guilty as he did. But then she explained everything and he felt his heart ache for his friend (were they still friends? It didn't really feel like it at the time) and his grip on the bag tightened. "I wouldn't have judged you either," he muttered, but he was still worried. He wanted to talk about Ana to someone, see if anyone else felt she was a bit off. Not that he himself was hanging around with a much different crowd but he didn't really want Ana down the same path. Which was weird, seeing as she was so much older but whatever. And then came the thinly veiled threat. I won't tell if you won't. Would she really tell on him? Maybe to the police? He hadn't even thought of that possibility until now. His eyebrows furrowed, worry filling him. "I won't," he said slowly, skeptically, feeling slightly wary of her. Not to mention the fact that she seemed less than worried that he was standing her selling her illegal nectar. But he couldn't tell anyone now, could he? "Uhm, here's the nectar, anyway." Someone shouted Ana's name from further inside the apartment, people calling for the nectar. There were more voices than before, most likely the humans they planned on injecting with nectar. Reza had never tried it, only dabbling in the smooth, feel good drugs Heath sometimes snuck his way when it was just the two of them at the apartment.
Ana watched Reza’s reaction carefully, dissecting every frown and line. He believed her. Uncertain, that was to be expected, but he seemed like he was concerned. Good. Concern led to guilt, which led to keep his damn mouth shut. Ana passed off the cash, a little extra as a tip, and grabbed the baggie cautiously. An eyebrow raised in his direction and she gestured towards the bag in her hand. “I’ve actually never done this before.” A small smile touched the corner of her lips, but her guilt made it drop just as fast. “Is it as good as they say it is?”
Reza pocketed the cash, watching Ana regarding the bag. This whole situation felt surreal. He matched her smile with a slightly forced one, shrugging as a response. "Don't know. Never tried it. Heath says it's good stuff, so..." He shrugged once again, fidgeting. The whole needle-drugs stuff kinda unnerved him. He had no trouble selling it or even with Heath doing whatever the hell he did but Reza hadn't felt the need to try any of the harder stuff. "You know... enjoy?" He couldn't help his gaze from drifting back towards the back room. Where had they even found those people? People like him, basically...
Ana paused, glancing back at the sounds of the laughter and impatient hollering coming from the other room. She was actually a little surprised—the kid was a vampire fanatic, apparently sold the stuff now, and he’d never tried it? This would predictably be the point where he left, she went back to the vampire goons in the back, and they both hopefully kept each other’s respective secrets. From the look on Reza’s face, she knew it wasn’t enough. Ana wanted insurances. And Reza loved vampires. “I—you can say no but, uh… did you want to… come back with us? For a little bit?” Another soft, warm smile. A gentle nudge on his shoulder. “I’ll make sure no one bothers you. I promise.”
Reza was surprised by the unexpected offer. Moments ago, Ana had looked like she wanred nothing more than to get him out of here but now she was tentatively asking him to stay. "I don't know..." he murmured but she gave him a small nudge on the shoulder and a familiar feeling of friendship bubbled up. The feeling of the same Ana that had saved his ass and invited him to a party and just genereally made him feel kinda happy. He couldn't say no to her soft smile. "Just for a little bit. Heath will wonder where I am if I stay too long," he excused, which was the truth. He didn't like Reza running around with cash on his person. And so he followed Ana into the slightly darker room, his eyes roaming past spaced out gazes as well as blood red eyes. People cheered at the sight of the nectar in Ana's hand and Reza stayed by her side, feeling secure next to her like he once had.
Ana grinned like a wildcat as she led Reza into he room. Wow. That was… so easy. People really loved her, huh? Even in the face of imminent danger and completely stupid decisions. She was 2-2 this week. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, she ushered him into the room. “Is that the delivery kid?” Someone asked. Ana nodded, ruffling his hair. “He’s a friend of mine. Reza, this is the gang. Gang, this is Reza. He’s sticking around for the party.” Ana’s eyes lit up as she tossed the baggie over to Keith - she didn’t know what the hell to do with it. He busied the rest of them up as they prepared their human blood bags. The place was relatively nice, actually. Roomy. A few people were in the master bedroom with them, a few others out in another room just down the hall. Ana settled onto a twin sized mattress, covered with sheets and a blanket off to the far side of the room, pulling Reza down with her. “Don’t worry. You’re all mine,” she joked, nudging him again as Keith moved towards them. He raised an eyebrow at the kid but didn’t question it, only nodding in Reza’s direction. “Arm out.” Ana grinned, wider than before as her excitement began to build. She patted his knee gently, letting her concern dribble out appropriately. “Are you sure about this?”
Reza couldn't help but shy away from the skeptical voices. Despite the confidence boost he'd gained from quitting school and joining Heath's little gang, he found his usual awkwardness quiet easy to slip back into as soon as he was away from his newest vampire pal. At least he had another vampire friend here that would take care of him... right? Things were escalating quickly; too quickly, Reza realized as he took a seat next to Ana and his mind wrapped around what he'd agreed to. Coming in meant that he was trying nectar. Here. With Ana. The atmosphere was strange, slightly suffocating, and already he could hear quiet moans of pleasure from pairs elsewhere in the room, taking their first sip of nectar infused blood. "Arm out." Reza blinked at the vampire, wondering if he could bail now. Dark eyes moved from the syringe to a slightly older guy in the other corner of the room with an even older vampire attached to his neck. His face portrayed pure bliss and Reza recalled just how fondly Heath spoke of nectar. Called it one of the best trips, said it was almost better for the human taking the injection. So far, Reza had enjoyed what Heath had sort of gotten him hooked on; the tiny dozes of weed and that weird supernatural drug called litmus which made him feel slightly tingly and just happy. Both of those were mild. And didn't involve sticking a needle in his arm. He startled at the sudden touch to his knee, wide eyes turning to Ana. She looked calm, excited even, doing little to calm Reza. But he knew that whatever was in that syringe would calm him. And maybe Heath would be pleased if Reza could offer him to go on a nectar trip with him... He nodded at Ana.
Moving quickly before he could change his mind, Reza shrugged off his jacket, holding out his bite-mark littered arm. Ana's friend shrugged, grabbing Reza's forearm and twisting it upwards. Reza's eyes never left the needle as it plunged into the skin of the crook of his arm. The puncture made him regret his decision immediately but before he could ask the other vampire to kindly remove the syringe, he pushed the plunger. The effect felt instantaneous. Letting out a single, shuddering breath, Reza blinked slowly, hearing a garbled version of the words 'enjoy' floating through his mind and in a way, before his eyes. Staring at the far wall, he slumped back against something; something that was moving. Craning his neck, he watched Ana's face except it was... more vibrant. Pretty. And she looked happy. Ecstatic, even. Or maybe that was just because he felt happy. And why he was smiling; a big, careless grin which morphed into an expression of awe as he once again blinked and colors and shapes traveled before his eyes and he couldn't even remember that he'd thought this was a bad idea to begin with.
Ana was doubled over in laughter at the giant smile on Reza’s face. In an instant, his serious, confused expression melted into euphoric bliss. Ana glanced up for a moment at Keith, “I just… bite him and that’s it?” She asked, already grabbing Reza’s arm, her fingers tracing along the scars. Huh. Those were new. Not a shocking revelation, though. Reza was obsessed. The look on his face was intoxicating, for lack of a better word, and at Keith’s instructions, her teeth bared and she bit down on his forearm. It only took a few moments as the liquid slid down her throat before the effects took hold. Hard and fast. The world became brighter, happier, and she was on her back on the mattress next to him before she realized what way was up. The room was moving, lights and colors flashed before her eyes, and all she could do was enjoy the show, forgetting completely about the bleeding boy beside her.
