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Noah clutches at his head, wincing as he stares at his window, the curtains blocking the glass.
He breathes deeply but a headache and stomachache isn't something you can just breathe through, Arya.
Noah blows out a harsh exhale as he falls back against his bed, ignoring the tea and soup left by his Am’ma and his best friend, Owen.
Tearing a tired, pained squinting, eye open, he glances at his electric clock, a stupid little knitted wizard hat sitting atop it (courtesy of Eva’s grandma).
12:31 PM.
Alejandra scans the room and huffs, crossing his arms, “Hm? No Noah today?”
“What? Sad you won't be able to tease your little boyfriend today?” Heather snarks as she slides into her own seat beside Alejandro, slipping her bag to her left.
“Not my boyfriend,” Alejandro mutters, still eyeing the door despite the bell having already run and the little train of last-minute students having already taken their seats.
But he thinks, in the back of his mind, in time with Heather’s snickering mutter, “Yet.”
“When’re you gonna ask the guy out?” Heather murmurs as their teacher begins her lecture.
“When you stop talking during class.” Alejandro murmurs back as he jots down a few quick notes. And when I win valedictorian. A decision made when he first realized his feelings for the bookworm (during a fight of theirs, but that is not important!) — the two have been battling for position, award, exam scores since they’ve met.
And valedictorian is their final battle, so after that, Alejandro can put aside the rivalry and finally confess.
(Or that's what he hopes to do, anyway.)
A part of him is focused on the teacher, but another part is wondering why Noah hadn't come in today.
The other boy never misses a day; the only time Alejandro has heard of is last year when he was sick — and even then, the boy had come in apparently and was forced to go home mid-day.
(All information was in fact gleaned from Owen; but that butter donkey is Noah’s best friend, and therefore a fountain of Noah knowledge — Alejandro only knows what he needs to know! Like his birthday, his likes, his dislikes, his dog’s name, his—)
“Pay attention!” Heather hisses in his ear, and Alejandro startles, only then noticing his nonsensical notes, “I need to copy your notes later!”
“And you can't do it yourself?” Alejandro snarks back quietly, though he does in fact begin taking his notes properly.
“Who gives you the latest updates on Noah?”
Alejandro bites his lip, shoulders hunching slightly.
“Exactly.” Heather straightens up as she discreetly takes her phone out and begins texting.
..And okay, she isn't wrong. Alejandro can't stomach talking to Owen for too long, so.. he gained most of his other knowledge on Noah from Heather, Queen Bee, herself.
And current knowledge.
But whatever.
Noah curls in on himself, gasping quietly as his stomach practically collapses in on itself.
And it is hunger — he feels so hungry, like he hasn't eaten in years.
But when he had tried to eat Owen’s soup, cold as it was, he had thrown up immediately after.
It tasted.. terrible. But Owen’s food isn't— His chubby buddy’s soups are to die for.
So it must be him. Something is wrong with him.
(The non stop gagging after that small sip is proof enough.)
But his family had already left ages ago, after Noah had assured them he would be fine.
Stupid past Noah.
Current Noah hisses as another stab of pain runs through his stomach, his teeth aching so terribly he wants to die.
“..Fuck.”
Tears begin to blur his vision (or had they already been there? Noah has had his eyes screwed shut since the first round of stomach pangs) and he whimpers as his teeth—
Noah throws himself up, one hand flying to his mouth as the other curls around his stomach in pain.
My teeth..?
Wobbly. His teeth feel..
Wobbly. Like they're going to fall out.
Noah trembles as he scoots himself to the edge of his bed, legs weak and arms trembling horribly.
He pushes himself to his legs and makes the awkward wobble to the bathroom, leaning against whatever surface is available as he does.
But as he moves, his vision swims and the pains in his stomach worsen exponentially.
He has to choke back thick saliva as it tries to come up, nearly crumbling to his knees as all parts of his body refuse to work, refuse to cooperate.
But he makes it.
And when he looks into the mirror, his heart drops and he falls against the door.
“Nothing?”
Heather scoffs, “Well, Lindsay couldn't get an answer, and apparently his little group of crazies had nothing to say.” She shrugs, “I sent Courtney a text but she hasn't gotten back to me.”
Alejandro hums and Heather rolls her eyes.
“He's probably just sick or something. Calm down, lover boy.”
“I am calm.” Alejandro lies, tapping his boots to a rapid rhythm. Noah has had to be forced home when he was sick. Could it be so bad he couldn't even stand?
“I can see it in your eyes, mama bear.” Heather snarks with a smirk, “Couldn't be more worried than Owen.”
She points to a distraught Owen, who eats his food sadly — a rarity that actually disturbs him.
Alejandro hasn't seen that dumb oaf express much other than happiness or impatience.
Heather snickers, “Drama queens. I bet you he's just sick and his mom actually forced him to stay for once.”
“..I hope you're right, chica.”
“Of course I am.”
Noah doubles over in pain as tears streak down his cheeks, now his nose, and nearly falls right then and there as his tooth (his, his tooth?) comes loose. Scarily loose.
He cautiously prods at it with his tongue and nearly vomits when it—
He cries as he spits it out, the little white part of him hitting the tiled floor with little noises that get covered up by his shrieks.
Blood pours from his mouth briefly before a whole different train of pain hits him full force. Noah doubles over and tries not to lose his mind as his hand moves to cover his mouth, the different mix of saliva, blood, and snot making him just want to die—
“I hope our little buddy is okay.”
Owen nibbles on his cookie sadly, looking at Eva with sad eyes. The girl only rolls her eyes with crossed arms.
“I’m sure he's fine.” Eva nods reassuringly, “Little guy is a lot tougher than he looks.”
“Skin is too.” Izzy interjects absentmindedly, leaning back with only one hand clutching the bench to keep her on her seat. Her feet tap Eva and Owen’s knees rapidly as her legs move around without abandon. “No-No has tough skin!”
Eva snorts, “Sure does.”
“Noah really does, huh?” Owen smiles before wilting again, “But he gets sick really easily..”
“Didn't you give him your special sick remedy?” Eva huffs, “I swear that helped my little sister almost immediately — no way is Noah going to stay sick for long.”
“Maybe,” Owen mopes still, and Eva sighs as she slumps over slightly, “but I felt his forehead when I was there — y’know like all moms do? — and his skin was so cold..”
“And clammy!”
Eva and Owen look at Izzy and the ginger immediately perks up.
“I saw him during my free period earlier!”
“Saw him?”
“Yeah! His window was unlocked and—”
“That's kinda concerning.”
Izzy bulldozes over Gwen’s sudden interjection, while Eva nods in greeting and Owen waves.
“—I swung through, like in that one movie! Tarzan! No-No’s sister showed it to me ‘cause she said I reminded her of—”
“Izzy.”
Izzy grabs the table and hoists herself up, crouching on the bench and nodding.
“Right, right! So anyway, I swung in and— Awe man, poor No-No! Totally down in the dumps! Curled up like a roly-poly! Sweating absolute buckets!”
Gwen’s face twists in concern, “He's out sick? He never stays home while sick.”
“It should be a good thing though, right?” Owen’s eyes water as no one says anything, “..Right?”
“Uh.. yes?” Gwen tries, cringing as she does.
Eva purses her lips but nods firmly, “Yeah. Maybe his mom or sister finally got his ass to stay.”
“It’d ruin No-No’s perfect attendance thingy though!” Izzy exclaims as she curls an orange curl around each of her pointer fingers, only two lonely ones straying from the hair claw keeping the rest of her mane back. She pulls down on them as she straightens up, nearly standing from her crouch, “It must be bad!”
“No kidding,” Gwen frowns pensively, “you know how much he hates losing to Alejandro.”
“Little buddy’s rivalry with Al! You’re right!” Owen gasps, “What if he's all alone?!”
Eva narrows her eyes, “If it was that bad, someone would notice.”
“But his whole family is all really busy.” Gwen protests, “Also you know how Noah is.”
“Tasty!” “Stubborn.” “Little buddy!”
Izzy smiles wide as she answers, Eva slamming the table with her fist, and Owen wailing in despair.
Gwen grimaces, “Well one of ‘em is right.”
“We should go over when school’s over,” Eva frowns, “and make sure he isn't dead.”
“Dead?!”
“Exaggerating,” Gwen calms as Izzy whips her head to the side, similar to an alert dog, “like a hyperbole, Owen.”
“Right..” Owen slumps over and Izzy jumps off the bench, running off to who-knows-where. Gwen and Eva share a sigh and Owen frowns down at the crumbs of his cookie.
Noah screams as his gums burn.
He cries and cries but nothing stops the— the teeth? fangs? from sprouting in his old canines’ place.
He had managed to drag himself up earlier, and he had looked in his mirror.
Two little fangs sprouted from where two of his teeth had fallen.
And still, now, they continue growing, and Noah can only hold his jaw carefully with a shaking hand while his other hand presses against his stomach.
It feels like there's just a void there, a stupid stupidly painful void that he can't ignore. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts—
Noah gags, and the thick spit mixes with more of his tears and his blood. He notices blood coming from his mouth as well and wonders if it's new of just left over from earlier.
Earlier. When he lost his tooth. When his tooth came loose, loose, loose, it fell it fell—
He feels like fainting, both out of pain and fear, but the thought of falling unconscious while unsure of what is happening to him makes him.. Makes him—
(Scared.
He is scared.)
Alejandro feels like throttling someone.
“Gwen says they’re gonna go after school to check on him,” Courtney finishes as they enter their second to last class of the day, “Owen, Izzy, and Eva. Maybe.. Ugh, Duncan and Trent might go too if they catch wind — somehow Duncan has been getting close to Noah..”
Alejandro frowns at the mention of the punk.
“How did those two even meet?”
“Detention.” Courtney crosses her arms, “Noah had to supervise for an hour ‘cause the teacher overseeing had a mini.. date with the bathroom.”
Alejandro hums but can't stop himself from taking quick glances at the clock.
Why? I can't even visit Noah because of all those crazies.
Alejandro frowns, and besides, we’ve only hung out together because of projects — I have no excuse.
Kind of. They’ve become tentative friends. Frenemies? As the year comes to a close, they’ve been less at each other's throats.
Alejandro more so for.. obvious reasons..
“Stop worrying so much, Alejandro.” Courtney pats his shoulder comfortingly, “Noah’s got a great support system. He’ll be fine even if he is debilitatingly sick!”
Alejandro’s frown deepens.
Noah is barely awake when he hears something. Very light, near inaudible, scratches.
Muffled, because they're coming from outside.
Noah staggers to his feet, something drawing him closer to his closed window.
A feeling of familiarity, a scent he knows and craves.
And then Izzy’s face pops up, her green eyes wide and her surprise evident.
“Oh.. it's begun!”
Izzy’s muffled voice barely gets through to him, but when it does, he's quick to unlock the latch and open the window.
Half because she's a familiar face and half because..
Noah grabs a hold of the front of Izzy’s neon green zip-up, hauls her ass inside, and practically snarls in her face, “What the fuck do you mean ‘it’s begun’?”
Izzy’s face holds a complicated look, parts surprised, excited, and.. unreadable.
“Do you know what's—” Noah and Izzy stiffen at the crack in his voice, but he valiantly continues even with Izzy’s wide eyes on him, “—what’s happening to me?”
Izzy doesn't respond and Noah feels the desperation begin to claw at him.
“Please, Izzy, you have to know something.”
Noah doesn't do pleading. However, he also doesn't cry like he did today, doesn't feel as vulnerable and fragile as glass as he did (does), nor does he pray.
..He's already done a lot of things he doesn't do normally, so why not add one more thing?
But Izzy’s face seems to soften, her usual crazy smile and wild-eyed look shifting to something like Noah’s never seen before on her; a sympathetic glint in her eyes and a wry smile that feels eerily real. So present in the moment that is unbelievable when it comes to Izzy.
“..Do you remember Friday?”
Noah frowns, opening his mouth to question her sudden interest in that questionable night, but lets out a pained groan as he doubles over, clutching at his stomach. Hunger for something unknown seems to almost tear open his stomach and he presses his lips together tightly as he tries not to throw up in pain.
A hand on his shoulder grounds him, bringing him back to reality. He belatedly realizes he had actually lowered himself to his knees and he cranes his neck upwards to look at Izzy, who looks troubled.
“I don’t think you’re gonna believe me,” Izzy says quietly, a serious note in her otherwise airy voice, “but you’re gonna have to if you want to get through this alive.”
Noah freezes, eyes widening and a rough shudder traveling through his body, like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on him.
“Wha– What the fuck are you talking—”
“I’ve heard about some newly turned rookies killing themselves to escape the hell of turning,” Izzy shrugs, crouching down to meet his eyes and allowing him to relieve his neck, which now pulses and throbs with a near painful strength. “Not to mention some become feral and rabid, need to be put down. But I doubt you’ll be that sort.”
Noah groans as another painful pang rolls through, and Izzy clicks her tongue.
“Newly turned? Turning?” Noah watches in dread as Izzy and his room begins to distort, warping as tears cling to his eyes. “What are you talking about? You’re not even— even explaining anything!”
“Vampires, No-No!” Izzy says with a sudden wide smile, her eyes widening. Her vibrant green eyes are vivid and nearly glowing. However, what draws Noah’s attention is her teeth.
Her fangs, to be specific.
Like him. She has fangs like him. (Or would it be more accurate to say, he has fangs like her?)
However her fangs are much longer and sharper, looking mightily fatal. His were not too unlike a canine’s. (Is it weird he feels an almost hurt sense of pride?)
“Vamp.. ires?”
“Mhm,” Izzy runs a tongue over her fangs, “all real, y’know.”
Noah’s mouth hangs open and she narrows her eyes, “Think you already know, actually. You still have your old teeth?”
In a daze, he holds up the two teeth he had stashed in his pocket. Izzy claps excitedly.
“Great! You know, I still have my own two teeth! Made it into a necklace.”
Nauseous, Noah squints his eyes, “..You mean those teeth were real?”
“I always said they were, didn’t I?” Izzy raises an eyebrow, her wide smile never leaving.
“I guess so.” Noah grits out, “Why is it always you?”
Izzy pauses before shrugging, “Life just has its favorites!”
Noah supposes that could be taken two ways. But he doesn’t care enough to interpret it as he feels like killing himself to escape this neverending panging pain.
“Now let’s get moving, you get yourself down through the window and I’ll pack your bag!”
“Bag?” Noah blinks in shock as Izzy’s figure seems to almost teleport from place to place, an after-image following her, “For what?”
“Our adventure, silly!” Izzy giggles, “But don’t worry, by the time we get back, you’ll be able to live just fine with the vampire experience I’m gonna drill into you!”
Noah grimaces with both pain and exasperation. Typical Izzy.
“And my exams? We still have two more months before senior year ends, Izzy! I’m not going to repeat a year.”
Izzy sighs and shakes her head, “Oh No-No, don’t you know the school adores you? Principal McLean will make an exception for you!”
“Will he?” Noah asks snarkily, ever the sharp silver-tongued smartass even with pain trying to tear him apart. “And what about valedictorian? I still need to beat Alejandro. My attendance award is shot, but there's also my graduation—”
Izzy takes a break from her bag stuffing to crouch in front of Noah, clamping her hands down onto his shoulders with a startlingly amount of force.
Her previous wild and wide smile falls once more to the serious setting from before. She pulls Noah in closer and says, “Noah. Right now, we’re dealing with something more important than that. Unless you want to become a hermit with no vampiric control, we have to go now. Don’t worry, I’ll pack all the necessities!”
Towards the end, her smile curls her lips once more. Excitement racks through her frame as she jumps up and basically teleports around the room.
“This is the first time I ever sired anyone! My parents said I’d probably not become a sire for a hundred years but here we are! Or maybe they said they didn’t recommend I sire anyone for a hundred years..”
Noah still has a million questions but he perks up at the sound of familiar voices. They sound so faint however.
Izzy’s rambling abruptly cuts off and he looks around just in time to see Izzy’s head whipping to the side, tilting her head, and then whirling around to speed-walk towards Noah.
“Miscalculated! Time’s up, we have to get going.”
“But—”
“It’s not safe for you to be around other humans.”
Noah frowns, but when he tries to argue, she merely begins pushing him towards his window. He trips and stumbles but eventually makes it to the dresser beneath the windowsill, and he sits with a pained grimace.
Izzy pats his shoulder, “I get that No-No is hurt, but we have to get going.”
“I just don’t—”
“Noah.” Noah’s head snaps up and his heartbeat is in his ears as his wide eyes catch Izzy’s glowing eyes. “Get down there and wait for me.”
A small voice in his head is.. scared as his limbs move without a single thought or want of his own. It is almost like he’s in the backseat of his own body.
However a large part of his mind is empty and only seeking to fulfill the order of his—
What did she say..? A.. A sire?
Noah doesn’t even realize he’s carried out the task until he feels the grass beneath his hands and tickling his ankles. He pants in exhaustion and pain and has to fight to keep himself awake.
Ah, a sire. Stupid vampire cliches..
Another string of questions are entangled into the ball of questions and he squints as voices begin to filter in.
“..think he’ll answer the door?”
“I.. but Noah probabl..”
“.. are his sis..way?”
He’s brought out of his daze by Izzy, her hand shaking his shoulder.
“Let’s get going, yeah?” Izzy smiles again, but Noah can’t focus on her cheery voice or unnatural grip strength.
He can smell..
He.. can smell..
“Whoops, looks like they’re getting too close. You got a pretty sensitive sniffer there, No-No!”
And then suddenly the smell of (flesh, blood, blood pumping beneath plush flesh, blood blood blood, fresh meat, fre—) of that is getting distant. Faint, dull, vague and barely there.
Noah realizes it’s because he’s in Izzy’s arms and she is sprinting away, the packed bag stuffed full of whatever Izzy deemed important bumping and thudding loudly against Izzy’s back.
He can barely make out the structure of his house, its dull and worn blue and white warped by tears in his eyes and pain clouding his concentration.
It grows smaller and less distinct at a frighteningly fast pace. Noah wants to stab his eyes out, and his skin tingles unpleasantly, had been for a while.
“Izz—”
“No-No,” Izzy’s cheery voice rings in his ears, as does the thudding beat of his heart, “I think you should take a nap!”
“Wh—”
His last sight is rather boring. It’s half full of shrubbery of the forest behind their neighborhood and half full of Izzy’s wildly curly orange hair.
He’s sure to have words about that when he wakes up later.
They don’t find Noah.
The idea of him potentially having been sick enough to warrant a medical appointment is brought around, so they continue to wait.
They don’t realize something is wrong until Noah’s sisters get home, confused and concerned. When even his mother doesn’t know his whereabouts, that is when they panic.
But by then, a certain bookworm and nutcase are far from the Mudaliar household.