"Shadow Passion" chapter Five
Title: Shadow Passion
Author: 616hasgotaname
Fandom: Music/VAM
Summery: Companion piece to “Kiss”. AU. Two people brought together by an undying love that defies the ages. One, a vampire with a bizarre need for camaraderie, the other a human ostracized from an unforgiving mortal world. Separately, they are powerless and lonely. Together they are unstoppable.
Disclaimer: I DO OWN VILLE AND BAM! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! *cough* Yeah, they own themselves. This never happened (der), so don’t sue.
Rating: R to NC-17
Link to "Kiss" and previous chapters behind the cut.
Chapter Five
Bam waited. He waited for two days before deciding that the man he met in the alley was just some freak that he wasn’t likely to run into again. However happy he seemed, though, there was a slight disappointment that the man never came. By the sunrise of the third evening, Bam was convinced that it had all been a dream. He sat by his window, a plush chair pushed up to the sill for optimum viewing pleasure, and peered out over his front lawn. As the sun crept up over the neighboring houses, he let out a frustrated sigh and climbed into bed.
His dreams that night were plagued with nightmares. Nightmares full of sex and blood and passion. Nightmares that had him waking up in a cold sweat nearly fifteen hours later.
As Bam gingerly climbed out of bed, he was shocked to find that he had slept the whole day away. A quick glance out the window told him that the sun was ready to hide for the night, nestled away somewhere in China. Running a hand through his tangled hair, he unwrapped himself from the blankets and let them pool on the floor beneath him. He really didn’t want to get up, but his limbs were sore from spending too much time on his back.
Just before he pushed himself from the plush bed, a knock sounded on his door.
“Bam, sweetheart, are you okay in there?” his mother asked through the door. She knew better than to barge in on her son when the door was closed.
Clearing his parched throat, Bam called, “Yeah Ape, I’m fine. I’m just feeling a little under the weather.”
“Alright, you must be starved though. There’s some rigatoni in the microwave if you want me to heat that up for you…” She trailed off, knowing that her message was sent. Bam replied with a rehearsed ‘sure’ and listened as his mother took off down the hall. With a groan he finally pulled himself from the safety of his bed.
Something was different about his room, though. He couldn’t quite place a finger on what was wrong, it just seemed as if something was…off. Shuffling across the carpet, he inspected his stack of CDs and his closet, but found that everything was intact. Out of a whim he looked under his bed, swiftly shoving the sheets out of his way and searching for the small chest that was always there. And that’s when he discovered what was wrong.
The chest was missing.
“What the fuck?” Bam growled, violently slamming his fist into the carpet floor. He roughly began pushing stray items out from beneath his bed, searching almost desperately for the missing item. When he came up empty handed a feeling of loss washed over him. “Where the hell is it?”
Moving aside an old pair of boxers, his eyes fell on a fresh piece of paper. It was manila colored and unfamiliar, something that definitely wasn’t there the night before. Gingerly picking up the small note, his eyes scanned over the writing scribbled across-the same delicate handwriting from the letter that should have been in his missing chest.
Bammi,
I said I would come to collect what is rightfully mine.
Best of wishes,
Ville Valo.
It was short and simple, but Bam got the point instantly. Without thinking he crumbled up the small note and tossed it across the room, only scowling more when it missed the trash bin.
“That sick fucker was in my room!” He shouted, earning a yelp of surprise from his mother downstairs. Kicking a decent sized hole into his wall, he pulled on his hair and yelled, “Mother fucker!”
*--===--===<><><><><><><><><><>-===--===--*
“So the dude just came in and stole your shit?”
Bam was seated at the kitchen table, a reheated plate of rigatoni steaming in front of him. To his right Jess sat with his own serving, his third of the night.
“That’s what I said, Jess,” Bam answered around a mouthful of noodles and pasta sauce.
“Damn, that sucks,” He nodded as he took another bite. “What did he take?”
Bam shoved another forkful into his mouth as a diversion tactic. He didn’t want to give too much away. “Nothing important.”
“That’s good, I guess. But maybe we should get some better locks or something,” Jess shuddered. “It’s creepy to think that some random guy was in your room, dude. He could’ve like…raped you or some shit.”
“Yeah, right,” Bam scoffed, suddenly not as hungry anymore. Putting his plate in the sink, he threw some salutation over his shoulder at Jess before heading for the stairs.
“You goin’ to bed already? You just got up!” Jess called with a laugh. Flipping him off, Bam continued up the stairs-making sure to make as much noise as possible.
Once behind his locked door, a door he used to think he was safe behind, Bam collapsed to the floor and once more began searching for the chest. Maybe he put it somewhere else by mistake. Maybe he pushed it under a pile of clothes. Maybe that note was some kind of sick joke. But no matter how many places he decided to look, he knew it was gone. That man…that creature had been in his room. He’d gone through Bam’s things. He’d taken his chest.
With a groan Bam fell back onto his bed, letting the mattress settle before he let out a loud growl. “I’ll find you, Ville Valo. You won’t get away with this.”
“Are you so sure about that, dear boy?” The same, annoyingly accented voice whispered in his head.
“God, shut the fuck up!” Bam shouted angrily, unaware that he had said the words aloud. He heard Jess throw a heavy boot at his door in passing, an international sign for him to keep his mouth shut. “Dammit, Jess!”
Jess’s laughter could be heard all the way to his room.
Scrunching up his nose in anger, Bam glanced over at his window. He wasn’t surprised to find that the sun was already setting. As he watched the sun creep behind the last line of houses, coating the world in inky darkness, his mind began to wander to the strange man called Ville Valo.
Who was that guy? He was like no other man Bam had ever met. He was charismatic, dark, elusive; he couldn’t be human. The pallor of skin was like nothing Bam had ever laid eyes upon, it was as if the man had never seen the light of day. His eyes were the clearest color green and rimmed in darkness, his fingers long and boney. The thing that struck Bam the most, however, was how cold the man’s touch was. It was unnatural.
A shudder passed through Bam as he remembered the feeling of those cold hands upon his flesh. Goosebumps prickled up on his arms and the hair stood up on the back of his hand. As deviant as the touch was, he felt himself craving for it.
Bam jumped suddenly as his cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He hated that feeling; it always made him think he was peeing his pants. Groping for the small plastic device, he flipped it open just in time to miss the call. It was a number he didn’t recognize. Contemplating whether or not he should call whoever it was back, he shrugged and pressed the TALK button.
One ring. After one ring Bam noticed the distinct feeling of butterflies in the pit of his stomach. What if it was him? Two rings. The feeling turned to a churning that made him sick. Three rings. The phone clicked and a familiar voice piped up.
“Bam! Hey what’s up, dude? I just called you.” Bam let out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding. It was that Ryan kid from school.
“How the hell did you get this number?” he asked, suddenly feeling more confident in himself.
“Oh,” there was a pause, as if he felt ashamed for calling him. “Well, I got it from your brother after the show. I hope it’s not a big deal…”
“No, it’s cool,” Bam rolled his eyes.
“Sweet. Well I was just calling to see if you wanted to do anything tonight.” He sounded so hopeful, and Bam had to laugh. Checking the clock beside his bed, he realized that he really didn’t have any plans. What harm could a night out do?
“Yeah, I’m free. What do you have in mind?”
“Some friends of mine are having a little house party tonight. Usually I don’t go to these things, but there’s free beer. You in?”
“Free beer? Well if that’s the case, then definitely!” the false laughter in his voice was enough to make Bam gag. But it helped; it made it that much easier to forget the crazy things that had been going on lately.
“Awesome! What’s your address? I’ll swing by and pick you up in about an hour.”
Bam quickly spat out his address and they shared their goodbyes. As he flipped the small phone closed he began to wonder if he had made the right decision. He wasn’t the type to hang out with people…period. He liked sticking to himself. Having other people around always leads to trouble, and that was something he could really do without right now. But the decision was made, and Dunn would be there in less than sixty minutes.
*--===--===<><><><><><><><><><>-===--===--*
Ryan Dunn pulled up in the driveway exactly an hour later-not a minute before, not a minute too soon. It was as if he was on some kind of timer. The boy couldn’t do wrong.
As he laid on his horn, honking way more than necessary, Bam sprinted from his home without saying goodbye to his parents. They were used to him leaving at random hours of the night-they wouldn’t mind. He was shocked to find that Ryan drove a black 1971 Dodge Charger. No one his age had a car like that.
“What can I say? I’m a car person,” Dunn smiled as Bam climbed into the car, his shirt riding up slightly on the leather seats. As Dunn shifted the car into drive and peeled out into the street, Bam felt as if he had fially found his niche. This kid definitely knew what he had going for him.
They drove for what seemed like hours-the suburbs of West Chester quickly fading away into the night to reveal a quiet country side. It had been years since Bam had been out this way. The last time was a family apple-picking trip when he was twelve years old. The shift in scenery seemed to bring back the memory like a tidal wave, and Bam instantly regretted it. He didn’t like to think about those times-times when his family was happy together.
They pulled up into the driveway of a massive four-story house, the driveway and neighboring street lined with a countless number of cars. Some of the rides Bam recognized from school, but most he didn’t. As Ryan killed the engine and climbed out, he noticed that Bam remained in his seat.
“What’s wrong, dude?” he asked after a minute, leaning back through the driver’s side window.
Seemingly snapping out of his thoughts, Bam turned to him and offered a weak smile. “Oh, nothing, sorry.” He unfastened his seatbelt and climbed out.
Already he could hear the pounding bass of some nameless rap song blasting from within. There was a scattering of teenagers on the front lawn; each with a red-cup full of what Bam assumed was beer in their hands. As they made their way to the front of the house, Bam became increasingly aware of how awkward he felt. He had never been to a party like this before, and he had never intended to. There were too many people here-too many people that Bam didn’t care to see. As Ryan knocked three times on the front door, Bam stood behind him with his hands stuffed crossly into his pockets.
“Dunn, my man! I didn’t think you were gonna’ show!” A crazy looking kid screamed as he opened the door, quickly embracing Ryan in a bone-crunching hug that nearly lifted him off his feet. As he released the redhead his eyes shifted over to Bam. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Bam, he goes to school with me,” he replied without skipping a beat. Despite the casual conversation, Bam’s heart was racing a mile a minute. He was waiting for something to go wrong. “He’s a real kick ass dude.”
“Awesome! Well, don’t stand there all day! Come inside!” The kid moved away from the door and ushered them into the house.
It was even more packed inside. Teenagers and other young-adults were crammed in every hallway, every room. Ryan and Bam had to push their way through the crowd in order to get to the back of the house, where Ryan said he had some friends waiting for them.
‘If there was better music this place would be like a moshpit,’ Bam thought to himself as he shouldered his way past a particularly big jock.
They reached the back of the house after what seemed like hours, Bam having to stop for a breath once the area around him was relatively calm. Before him four guys sat around a small poker table, cards in their hands and beer by their sides. Dunn took one of the empty seats and motioned for Bam to do the same.
“I’m gonna’ kick all ya’ll fuckers ass’s tonight!” one of the guys yelled in an obviously fake southern accent. His hair was thinning, an odd attribute for someone his age.
“Bam, don’t mind Dico, he’s not all there if you know what I mean,” Dunn laughed and threw a poker chip at the balding man. “The other fuckers here are Novak, Rake, and Raab,” he pointed to each of them as he introduced them. Bam didn’t see the point in remembering their names-he was just here for the beer. “Guys, this is Bam.”
Collectively they raised their glasses in greeting before returning to their game. Bam just sat there dumbfounded, unsure of what was expected of him. When Ryan handed him a foaming glass of beer, he took it gratefully and swallowed half of the cup in one gulp. It helped to calm his nerves a bit, and within minutes he found himself jabbering on with the rest of the boys.
“Oh-ho, so Nudie Novak thinks he can beat me, eh?” Bam laughed at the suddenly naked Brandon Novak, waving the back of his cards across the table mockingly.
“Of course I can beat you, dear Bam-Bam,” he said casually. “For I am the king of all card games.”
“We’ll just have to see about that.” Bam glanced at his cards, before rearranging them and slapping them down on the table confidently. The gang stared at his royal flush with wide eyes, Novak scratching the back of his neck nervously.
“Okay, so maybe you did win,” he put down his cards and revealed that he really had no hand at all. “But you gotta’ admit, I have a pretty sweet poker face.”
“That’s because everyone’s eyes are on your junk!” Bam laughed and swept the pile of money toward him. The other boys around him groaned and threw their cards in, calling it a night.
“Well Bam, you do play a good game,” Rake commented with a nod. “We should definitely get together and do this again sometime.”
“Yeah, defiantly!” Raab piped in.
Bam smiled at them, sorting through the bills before him. “Yeah, that would be sweet. Dunn has my number, so just get it from him the next time you want to do something.”
“Oh come on! You’re gonna’ let this loser into our gang?” Novak whined, his arms wrapped around his naked torso and a frown on his face.
“You’re just pissed because you lost,” Dunn laughed, poking him in the arm lightly. Novak’s only response was to chuckle and jump up from the table-quickly moving from a game of poker to trying to pick up whatever chicks he could in his drunken, naked state.
As the rest of the boys split off to do…whatever the hell it was they had to do, Bam and Dunn stayed behind and shared a beer. Halfway through the tapped cup, Bam got a sharp tingle down his spine. The distinct feeling of eyes boring holes in the back of head returned, and he had the discrete sensation that he knew who those eyes belonged to. But what was he doing at a High School house party?
Handing the cup to Ryan, he pushed himself from the table and stood up. “Hey, where’s the bathroom?”
He really didn’t need to go, but he needed an excuse to wander off on his own. Dunn smiled up at him and pointed to the hallway to their left. Nodding in that direction, Bam thanked his friend and walked away.
Bam felt the eyes follow him as he made his way down the hallway, once more having to push through the throng of teenagers. As he reached the end of the hallway and ducked into the room on the right, he was surprised to find that he was in a spare bedroom. He was even more surprised to find that the bed was empty. Shrugging his shoulders, he quietly closed the door behind him and searched out an in-suite bathroom-at least that way he would have an excuse for where he wandered off to.
When he came up empty handed, Bam sat down on the bed and placed his head in his hands. The room was beginning to sway slightly from the alcohol, and Bam had to fight the urge to vomit. As he tried to concentrate on the crisscross pattern that his shoelaces made, he failed to notice the bedroom door open before silently closing again. It wasn’t until the bed dipped down slightly that he realized he wasn’t alone in the room.
Bam’s head shot up immediately when he realized the change in atmosphere. Beside him, Ville sat on the bed, his legs crossed in a feminine manner. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before Bam finally spoke up.
“I got your note,” he scowled, suddenly enraged with the man sitting next to him.
Ville only smiled and leaned back on the bed, a position in which he was propped up by his forearms and nothing more. Bam found himself staring at the lithe creature before him and wondering what he looked like beneath the layers of dark clothing. Shaking the thought from his head, he stood up swiftly and pointed an accusing finger at Ville.
“You were in my room!” Bam shouted. “You took my chest!”
“Your chest?” There was no anger in his voice, only a slightly sarcastic pitch in volume giving away any hint of emotion. “I do believe it was my chest in the first place.”
Bam traced his memory for any sign that what the man was saying could be true. ‘The handwriting on the note is shockingly similar to that in the letter,’ he thought to himself.
“Of course it is, because it was written by the same person.” Ville smiled as Bam’s eyes grew huge in horror.
“H-How did you do that?” Ville raised an eyebrow and Bam continued. “How did you know what I was thinking? I know that I didn’t just say that aloud…”
Ville only smirked and tossed his head back, rolling his neck around and relaxing the muscles there. “I can do a lot of things, Bammi.”
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There you go, people. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.
Author: 616hasgotaname
Fandom: Music/VAM
Summery: Companion piece to “Kiss”. AU. Two people brought together by an undying love that defies the ages. One, a vampire with a bizarre need for camaraderie, the other a human ostracized from an unforgiving mortal world. Separately, they are powerless and lonely. Together they are unstoppable.
Disclaimer: I DO OWN VILLE AND BAM! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! *cough* Yeah, they own themselves. This never happened (der), so don’t sue.
Rating: R to NC-17
Link to "Kiss" and previous chapters behind the cut.
Chapter Five
Bam waited. He waited for two days before deciding that the man he met in the alley was just some freak that he wasn’t likely to run into again. However happy he seemed, though, there was a slight disappointment that the man never came. By the sunrise of the third evening, Bam was convinced that it had all been a dream. He sat by his window, a plush chair pushed up to the sill for optimum viewing pleasure, and peered out over his front lawn. As the sun crept up over the neighboring houses, he let out a frustrated sigh and climbed into bed.
His dreams that night were plagued with nightmares. Nightmares full of sex and blood and passion. Nightmares that had him waking up in a cold sweat nearly fifteen hours later.
As Bam gingerly climbed out of bed, he was shocked to find that he had slept the whole day away. A quick glance out the window told him that the sun was ready to hide for the night, nestled away somewhere in China. Running a hand through his tangled hair, he unwrapped himself from the blankets and let them pool on the floor beneath him. He really didn’t want to get up, but his limbs were sore from spending too much time on his back.
Just before he pushed himself from the plush bed, a knock sounded on his door.
“Bam, sweetheart, are you okay in there?” his mother asked through the door. She knew better than to barge in on her son when the door was closed.
Clearing his parched throat, Bam called, “Yeah Ape, I’m fine. I’m just feeling a little under the weather.”
“Alright, you must be starved though. There’s some rigatoni in the microwave if you want me to heat that up for you…” She trailed off, knowing that her message was sent. Bam replied with a rehearsed ‘sure’ and listened as his mother took off down the hall. With a groan he finally pulled himself from the safety of his bed.
Something was different about his room, though. He couldn’t quite place a finger on what was wrong, it just seemed as if something was…off. Shuffling across the carpet, he inspected his stack of CDs and his closet, but found that everything was intact. Out of a whim he looked under his bed, swiftly shoving the sheets out of his way and searching for the small chest that was always there. And that’s when he discovered what was wrong.
The chest was missing.
“What the fuck?” Bam growled, violently slamming his fist into the carpet floor. He roughly began pushing stray items out from beneath his bed, searching almost desperately for the missing item. When he came up empty handed a feeling of loss washed over him. “Where the hell is it?”
Moving aside an old pair of boxers, his eyes fell on a fresh piece of paper. It was manila colored and unfamiliar, something that definitely wasn’t there the night before. Gingerly picking up the small note, his eyes scanned over the writing scribbled across-the same delicate handwriting from the letter that should have been in his missing chest.
Bammi,
I said I would come to collect what is rightfully mine.
Best of wishes,
Ville Valo.
It was short and simple, but Bam got the point instantly. Without thinking he crumbled up the small note and tossed it across the room, only scowling more when it missed the trash bin.
“That sick fucker was in my room!” He shouted, earning a yelp of surprise from his mother downstairs. Kicking a decent sized hole into his wall, he pulled on his hair and yelled, “Mother fucker!”
*--===--===<><><><><><><><><><>-===--===--*
“So the dude just came in and stole your shit?”
Bam was seated at the kitchen table, a reheated plate of rigatoni steaming in front of him. To his right Jess sat with his own serving, his third of the night.
“That’s what I said, Jess,” Bam answered around a mouthful of noodles and pasta sauce.
“Damn, that sucks,” He nodded as he took another bite. “What did he take?”
Bam shoved another forkful into his mouth as a diversion tactic. He didn’t want to give too much away. “Nothing important.”
“That’s good, I guess. But maybe we should get some better locks or something,” Jess shuddered. “It’s creepy to think that some random guy was in your room, dude. He could’ve like…raped you or some shit.”
“Yeah, right,” Bam scoffed, suddenly not as hungry anymore. Putting his plate in the sink, he threw some salutation over his shoulder at Jess before heading for the stairs.
“You goin’ to bed already? You just got up!” Jess called with a laugh. Flipping him off, Bam continued up the stairs-making sure to make as much noise as possible.
Once behind his locked door, a door he used to think he was safe behind, Bam collapsed to the floor and once more began searching for the chest. Maybe he put it somewhere else by mistake. Maybe he pushed it under a pile of clothes. Maybe that note was some kind of sick joke. But no matter how many places he decided to look, he knew it was gone. That man…that creature had been in his room. He’d gone through Bam’s things. He’d taken his chest.
With a groan Bam fell back onto his bed, letting the mattress settle before he let out a loud growl. “I’ll find you, Ville Valo. You won’t get away with this.”
“Are you so sure about that, dear boy?” The same, annoyingly accented voice whispered in his head.
“God, shut the fuck up!” Bam shouted angrily, unaware that he had said the words aloud. He heard Jess throw a heavy boot at his door in passing, an international sign for him to keep his mouth shut. “Dammit, Jess!”
Jess’s laughter could be heard all the way to his room.
Scrunching up his nose in anger, Bam glanced over at his window. He wasn’t surprised to find that the sun was already setting. As he watched the sun creep behind the last line of houses, coating the world in inky darkness, his mind began to wander to the strange man called Ville Valo.
Who was that guy? He was like no other man Bam had ever met. He was charismatic, dark, elusive; he couldn’t be human. The pallor of skin was like nothing Bam had ever laid eyes upon, it was as if the man had never seen the light of day. His eyes were the clearest color green and rimmed in darkness, his fingers long and boney. The thing that struck Bam the most, however, was how cold the man’s touch was. It was unnatural.
A shudder passed through Bam as he remembered the feeling of those cold hands upon his flesh. Goosebumps prickled up on his arms and the hair stood up on the back of his hand. As deviant as the touch was, he felt himself craving for it.
Bam jumped suddenly as his cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He hated that feeling; it always made him think he was peeing his pants. Groping for the small plastic device, he flipped it open just in time to miss the call. It was a number he didn’t recognize. Contemplating whether or not he should call whoever it was back, he shrugged and pressed the TALK button.
One ring. After one ring Bam noticed the distinct feeling of butterflies in the pit of his stomach. What if it was him? Two rings. The feeling turned to a churning that made him sick. Three rings. The phone clicked and a familiar voice piped up.
“Bam! Hey what’s up, dude? I just called you.” Bam let out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding. It was that Ryan kid from school.
“How the hell did you get this number?” he asked, suddenly feeling more confident in himself.
“Oh,” there was a pause, as if he felt ashamed for calling him. “Well, I got it from your brother after the show. I hope it’s not a big deal…”
“No, it’s cool,” Bam rolled his eyes.
“Sweet. Well I was just calling to see if you wanted to do anything tonight.” He sounded so hopeful, and Bam had to laugh. Checking the clock beside his bed, he realized that he really didn’t have any plans. What harm could a night out do?
“Yeah, I’m free. What do you have in mind?”
“Some friends of mine are having a little house party tonight. Usually I don’t go to these things, but there’s free beer. You in?”
“Free beer? Well if that’s the case, then definitely!” the false laughter in his voice was enough to make Bam gag. But it helped; it made it that much easier to forget the crazy things that had been going on lately.
“Awesome! What’s your address? I’ll swing by and pick you up in about an hour.”
Bam quickly spat out his address and they shared their goodbyes. As he flipped the small phone closed he began to wonder if he had made the right decision. He wasn’t the type to hang out with people…period. He liked sticking to himself. Having other people around always leads to trouble, and that was something he could really do without right now. But the decision was made, and Dunn would be there in less than sixty minutes.
*--===--===<><><><><><><><><><>-===--===--*
Ryan Dunn pulled up in the driveway exactly an hour later-not a minute before, not a minute too soon. It was as if he was on some kind of timer. The boy couldn’t do wrong.
As he laid on his horn, honking way more than necessary, Bam sprinted from his home without saying goodbye to his parents. They were used to him leaving at random hours of the night-they wouldn’t mind. He was shocked to find that Ryan drove a black 1971 Dodge Charger. No one his age had a car like that.
“What can I say? I’m a car person,” Dunn smiled as Bam climbed into the car, his shirt riding up slightly on the leather seats. As Dunn shifted the car into drive and peeled out into the street, Bam felt as if he had fially found his niche. This kid definitely knew what he had going for him.
They drove for what seemed like hours-the suburbs of West Chester quickly fading away into the night to reveal a quiet country side. It had been years since Bam had been out this way. The last time was a family apple-picking trip when he was twelve years old. The shift in scenery seemed to bring back the memory like a tidal wave, and Bam instantly regretted it. He didn’t like to think about those times-times when his family was happy together.
They pulled up into the driveway of a massive four-story house, the driveway and neighboring street lined with a countless number of cars. Some of the rides Bam recognized from school, but most he didn’t. As Ryan killed the engine and climbed out, he noticed that Bam remained in his seat.
“What’s wrong, dude?” he asked after a minute, leaning back through the driver’s side window.
Seemingly snapping out of his thoughts, Bam turned to him and offered a weak smile. “Oh, nothing, sorry.” He unfastened his seatbelt and climbed out.
Already he could hear the pounding bass of some nameless rap song blasting from within. There was a scattering of teenagers on the front lawn; each with a red-cup full of what Bam assumed was beer in their hands. As they made their way to the front of the house, Bam became increasingly aware of how awkward he felt. He had never been to a party like this before, and he had never intended to. There were too many people here-too many people that Bam didn’t care to see. As Ryan knocked three times on the front door, Bam stood behind him with his hands stuffed crossly into his pockets.
“Dunn, my man! I didn’t think you were gonna’ show!” A crazy looking kid screamed as he opened the door, quickly embracing Ryan in a bone-crunching hug that nearly lifted him off his feet. As he released the redhead his eyes shifted over to Bam. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Bam, he goes to school with me,” he replied without skipping a beat. Despite the casual conversation, Bam’s heart was racing a mile a minute. He was waiting for something to go wrong. “He’s a real kick ass dude.”
“Awesome! Well, don’t stand there all day! Come inside!” The kid moved away from the door and ushered them into the house.
It was even more packed inside. Teenagers and other young-adults were crammed in every hallway, every room. Ryan and Bam had to push their way through the crowd in order to get to the back of the house, where Ryan said he had some friends waiting for them.
‘If there was better music this place would be like a moshpit,’ Bam thought to himself as he shouldered his way past a particularly big jock.
They reached the back of the house after what seemed like hours, Bam having to stop for a breath once the area around him was relatively calm. Before him four guys sat around a small poker table, cards in their hands and beer by their sides. Dunn took one of the empty seats and motioned for Bam to do the same.
“I’m gonna’ kick all ya’ll fuckers ass’s tonight!” one of the guys yelled in an obviously fake southern accent. His hair was thinning, an odd attribute for someone his age.
“Bam, don’t mind Dico, he’s not all there if you know what I mean,” Dunn laughed and threw a poker chip at the balding man. “The other fuckers here are Novak, Rake, and Raab,” he pointed to each of them as he introduced them. Bam didn’t see the point in remembering their names-he was just here for the beer. “Guys, this is Bam.”
Collectively they raised their glasses in greeting before returning to their game. Bam just sat there dumbfounded, unsure of what was expected of him. When Ryan handed him a foaming glass of beer, he took it gratefully and swallowed half of the cup in one gulp. It helped to calm his nerves a bit, and within minutes he found himself jabbering on with the rest of the boys.
“Oh-ho, so Nudie Novak thinks he can beat me, eh?” Bam laughed at the suddenly naked Brandon Novak, waving the back of his cards across the table mockingly.
“Of course I can beat you, dear Bam-Bam,” he said casually. “For I am the king of all card games.”
“We’ll just have to see about that.” Bam glanced at his cards, before rearranging them and slapping them down on the table confidently. The gang stared at his royal flush with wide eyes, Novak scratching the back of his neck nervously.
“Okay, so maybe you did win,” he put down his cards and revealed that he really had no hand at all. “But you gotta’ admit, I have a pretty sweet poker face.”
“That’s because everyone’s eyes are on your junk!” Bam laughed and swept the pile of money toward him. The other boys around him groaned and threw their cards in, calling it a night.
“Well Bam, you do play a good game,” Rake commented with a nod. “We should definitely get together and do this again sometime.”
“Yeah, defiantly!” Raab piped in.
Bam smiled at them, sorting through the bills before him. “Yeah, that would be sweet. Dunn has my number, so just get it from him the next time you want to do something.”
“Oh come on! You’re gonna’ let this loser into our gang?” Novak whined, his arms wrapped around his naked torso and a frown on his face.
“You’re just pissed because you lost,” Dunn laughed, poking him in the arm lightly. Novak’s only response was to chuckle and jump up from the table-quickly moving from a game of poker to trying to pick up whatever chicks he could in his drunken, naked state.
As the rest of the boys split off to do…whatever the hell it was they had to do, Bam and Dunn stayed behind and shared a beer. Halfway through the tapped cup, Bam got a sharp tingle down his spine. The distinct feeling of eyes boring holes in the back of head returned, and he had the discrete sensation that he knew who those eyes belonged to. But what was he doing at a High School house party?
Handing the cup to Ryan, he pushed himself from the table and stood up. “Hey, where’s the bathroom?”
He really didn’t need to go, but he needed an excuse to wander off on his own. Dunn smiled up at him and pointed to the hallway to their left. Nodding in that direction, Bam thanked his friend and walked away.
Bam felt the eyes follow him as he made his way down the hallway, once more having to push through the throng of teenagers. As he reached the end of the hallway and ducked into the room on the right, he was surprised to find that he was in a spare bedroom. He was even more surprised to find that the bed was empty. Shrugging his shoulders, he quietly closed the door behind him and searched out an in-suite bathroom-at least that way he would have an excuse for where he wandered off to.
When he came up empty handed, Bam sat down on the bed and placed his head in his hands. The room was beginning to sway slightly from the alcohol, and Bam had to fight the urge to vomit. As he tried to concentrate on the crisscross pattern that his shoelaces made, he failed to notice the bedroom door open before silently closing again. It wasn’t until the bed dipped down slightly that he realized he wasn’t alone in the room.
Bam’s head shot up immediately when he realized the change in atmosphere. Beside him, Ville sat on the bed, his legs crossed in a feminine manner. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before Bam finally spoke up.
“I got your note,” he scowled, suddenly enraged with the man sitting next to him.
Ville only smiled and leaned back on the bed, a position in which he was propped up by his forearms and nothing more. Bam found himself staring at the lithe creature before him and wondering what he looked like beneath the layers of dark clothing. Shaking the thought from his head, he stood up swiftly and pointed an accusing finger at Ville.
“You were in my room!” Bam shouted. “You took my chest!”
“Your chest?” There was no anger in his voice, only a slightly sarcastic pitch in volume giving away any hint of emotion. “I do believe it was my chest in the first place.”
Bam traced his memory for any sign that what the man was saying could be true. ‘The handwriting on the note is shockingly similar to that in the letter,’ he thought to himself.
“Of course it is, because it was written by the same person.” Ville smiled as Bam’s eyes grew huge in horror.
“H-How did you do that?” Ville raised an eyebrow and Bam continued. “How did you know what I was thinking? I know that I didn’t just say that aloud…”
Ville only smirked and tossed his head back, rolling his neck around and relaxing the muscles there. “I can do a lot of things, Bammi.”
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There you go, people. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.