7llin' in the Dream

Camera Free [Part 2]:  Uh-Oh!

Chapter Eighteen

-

  There were three reasons why Chenle needed to apologize to Jeno.
  One:  Jeno deserved to be apologized to because he hadn't done anything wrong.  Two:  They were a group who'd be together for as long as the unforeseen future held and they had to work out their problems so they could coexist peacefully.  And third, the most important:  Chenle absolutely wouldn't let Jisung win.  If Jisung revealed his truth to Renjun and he didn't reveal his truth to Jeno, then Jisung would never let him live it down.  He'd forever be the coward of the two.
  He found Jeno in a lounge chair by the pool.  It didn't matter if a vampire wore headphones while listening to music.  They could still hear you if you even breathed in the room next to the one they were in.  The temptation to attempt to sneak up on him had him making fists and gritting his teeth to resist.  It just wouldn't be appropriate given the situation and even though he normally went out of his way to be a pain, Chenle believed in common decency.
  May as well just say it.  Chenle wet his lips and said, "Jeno, are you awake?"  He also had his shades on and that weird no chest movement, vampire doesn't need to breathe thing, so it was hard to tell.  He didn't twitch, so a few seconds later after Chenle had continuously stared at him, his voice made him flinch.
  "I'm awake, Chenle," he said.  "What do you want?"
  Oh, confrontational?  So he was feeling at least a bit of anger.  Understandable.
  Chenle rubbed his chest and blew out a breath.  "I just..."  Man, his voice had come out... hesitant?  He didn't like that.  "I wanted... to..."
  He in air and blew it out again.  His chest hurt more and it was getting harder to breathe.  Last night came back in flashes.  Pain in his lungs, coughing, blood, the sound of Jeno leaving, him crying, Renjun trying to comfort him even as he was mean to him too.  His eyes stung.
  Fangs, pain, blood, black eyes.
  The world felt unreal as he wrestled against his mind for control.  Jeno spoke to him carefully, putting his hands on his shoulder.  His mind yelled for him to push him away.  Pain, danger, pain, danger, it screamed.  He gripped his wrists and squeezed.
  "Just breathe deep," Jeno said and he nodded.
  "I hate this," he said.  "I wished I could be one of those people who wanted their mommies in a time like this."
  Jeno snorted and asked, "But you don't?"
  "Absolutely not.  She'd probably give me something weird to eat and make me stay in bed all day."
  "I think most moms would do that," Jeno said, smiling.
  The humor was helping.  The world felt solid and he felt grounded in it.  Only the edges were fuzzy.  He breathed in through his nose and let it out slowly.  "My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest, but I feel better."
  "Do you need some water," Jeno asked.
  He scanned his body for signs of thirst and nodded.  "I think that'll help.  Yeah."
  "There you two are," Mark said behind him.
  Chenle let go of Jeno's wrists and turned.  He tried to reply but words failed him.  One rule if you didn't want Mother Mark to come out:  Don't make him worry.  And not replying and just staring like an idiot could make him worry.
  "What's up," Jeno said.  Right.  He was here too.
  Mark pointed to the top floor and said, "We're creating a grocery list before we go shopping.  Come upstairs and add what you want.  That way everyone gets what they want and we're less likely to forget anything."
  Well, it looked like the talk with Jeno would have to wait.  It would happen though, because he refused to lose against Jisung for the biggest coward award.  Well, that... and Jeno deserved an apology.

-

  Renjun rubbed his temples.  Watching Jaemin being Jaemin and making it so that Jeno, another vampire- not Jisung, stayed home with Chenle, had been painful.  Since Jaemin, Mark, and Haechan had left, he'd decided to tell him the truth about Chenle's transition.  Regardless that he'd told Jaemin he'd wait, he needed to know.  The last place he'd seen him had been playing basketball with Chenle.
  Did they ever get tired of throwing that stupid ball?  Apparently yes, because they weren't at the goal thing.  He sighed and dialed his number.  He blinked because he thought he heard two rings.  He looked left and right, focusing on the sound.
  It wasn't near him, but it was outside.  A human wouldn't be able to hear a phone ringing from this distance.  "Where are you, Jeno," he snapped.
  He found his phone by a lounge chair at the pool.  Intuition had him dialing Chenle's number and walking through the house listening for it.  Nothing.  They weren't inside or outside, which meant they'd most likely left the grounds... together.

-

  Mark covered his blushing face as best he could with sunglasses on, as his idiot boyfriend cackled.  "Haechan, shut up.  That's private."
  "Oh, come on, Mark-uh-lee, he doesn't mind," Haechan said.  "I mean... he has two boyfriends."
  Jaemin the blinker before making a turn.  "No," he said.  "He's right.  Keep it in your pants."
  Mark squeaked and said, "That's not-"  He laughed in embarrassment.  "What we did last night is our business.  I should've stayed at home."  He pushed a laughing Haechan away from him and covered his face again.
  "Just leave me alone, you menace."
  A phone vibrated, distracting Haechan, who closed his mouth, a second away from having made another stupidly embarrassing comment.  He held a hand between the driver and passenger seat and Jaemin passed him his phone.  Mark watched him read a text message before he read it out loud.
  "Jeno left his phone at the house.  He and Chenle are not here or on the ground.  AND Chenle won't answer his own phone."  He quirked his head.  "Just thought I should let you guys know."
  "I'm going to keep calling Chenle and walk the grounds.  I'll get Jisung to go with me.  Maybe he'll be able to sniff them out or something.  Renjun."
  NCT Dream had long since learned to make group decisions, so instead of demanding they turn around from paranoia, Mark asked, "Should we go back to the house and help look for them?"
  Haechan stared at the phone a moment longer and then looked at him.  "There's... not really a reason. 
 Renjunnie will let us know if we need to come back.  Jaemin?"
  Jaemin didn't say anything for about five seconds.
  "You okay," Mark asked.
  He air in through his nose and said on the exhale, "He's right."  And that's all he said.
  "Okay," Mark said.  "They couldn't have got too far.  We just left-  Oh wait.  Vampires-  Vampire and one... Chenle."  He sighed.  "I'm an idiot."
  "I'll second that," Haechan said.
  Mark opened his mouth to protest, but Haechan unbuckled his seat belt and leaned between the seats.  "Jaemin, pull the car over.  There's a shoulder right there.  The traffic is low.  It's okay."
  "What-"  Mark looked around and back at them.  "What's happening?"  He looked at Haechan's hand as it patted his leg to shush him.  His confusion continued as Jaemin parked under an overpass and got out of the car.
  He went to the other side and... knelt down?
  The sound of another door opening made him snap his head around.  "Haechan?"  Haechan got out.  "What... is going on," he demanded.  He shivered and his temples pounded.
  He massaged them as he scooted to the open door.  He stepped out and peeked around the door.  Jaemin was leaning against the passenger tire and Haechan-  "Are you guys... kissing?"  He tilted his head.
  No... that didn't make sense.
  But their faces were touching and-  "Is that blood?"  Blood was on their faces?  He quirked his head, hating that he knew it made him look like a puppy... and promptly got his back in the car and closed the door.  He pushed the lockdown button and hunkered in his seat.
  Not like a locked door could stop a hungry vampire, but it made it easier to lie to himself.
  Jaemin had never lost control but there was always a first time for everything.  He blinked rapidly.  "But Haechan's a vampire," he whispered.  "His blood won't help."  His heart thumped so hard he felt a little sick and he had begun to feel clammy and shaky.
  "Ugh.  What... is going on?"  He looked out the passenger window.  Well, he tried to.  The passenger headrest was in the way.  A car went by them and Haechan stood up.
  He followed him as he came around to his side.  His lips had little holes in them and stains where blood had been.  "Don't even come around here," Mark said.  "Whatever it is the answer's no."
  Haechan tapped on his window and said, "Mark, come on.  He needs help."  He looked in Jaemin's direction and blew out a breath.  "He needs your help."
  "He needs my blood," Mark said.  "Absolutely not.  I'm not a built-in meal.  I'm not a meat sack.  Forget it.  We can go back to the house and get Renjun to feed him."
  "As much as I want to recreate a Titanic scene right now with the whole handprint on the window, this is no time for jokes," Haechan said.  "Jaemin needs blood and- crap.  This is exactly why we need to do this now."
  Mark sat up and looked around.  A car had slowed down and Haechan had covered his mouth.
  "Mark," Haechan snapped.
  "Okay okay," he said unlocking the doors.  "I'll get rid of them.  Then we'll talk about this..."  He looked in Jaemin's direction.  "...blood thing."
  "Fine," Haechan said.  "I'm going to tell him you're going to help him."
  "What?  Haechan."
  "I'm just kidding.  Just get rid of them."  He went back to Jaemin's side.
  The car was just an elderly lady asking if they needed any help.  He quickly assured her that they didn't.  "My friend just needed to get out from behind the wheel for a minute.  It's a thing.  We're going to switch with him so..."
  He grinned, trying not to be awkward.  She may have been a little suspicious of them, but he didn't have it in him to tell a white lie for him to hate himself for later.  She thankfully left without a fuss.
  "Mark," Haechan called.  "Hurry before someone else comes."
  The shakiness came back.  "What do you want from me, Haechan?  He can't bite me."
  "I... can bite you," he said standing up.  "Just like you were going to let me do last night, and then I can feed it to him."
  Which meant him letting Jaemin take it out of his mouth.  Like a mother bird.  Gross.  Weird.  He swallowed to keep from speaking the hateful word.  He needed to work on that.
  "And..."  More grossness.  "I can heal from... drops... of... your... b... b-blood.  Ugh.  Sorry."
  Haechan nodded.  "Yeah.  I know it's gross and I'm sorry.  And I'm sorry that any of this is happening, but it is and I'm just sorry.  I don't want to hurt you or make you afraid-"
  "I know," he said quickly putting his hands on his shoulders.  "Here, let me get in the car and you can do it quickly."
  "Actually... I might have to do it a few times until he gets enough."
  Mark's eyes widened.  "What?"
  He shrugged.
  He looked around incredulously, then back.  He blew out a harsh breath.  "Fine," he said weakly.  "You better be glad I love you.  You too."
  He spoke the last part to Jaemin... who looked like he really needed blood.  His eyes were dilated and unfocused, and his face had gone abnormally pale.  His fingers kneaded the asphalt restlessly beneath him.  "Jesus, what's wrong-  What happened to him," Mark asked.

-

  Haechan opened the passenger side door and put Jaemin in it like he weighed nothing.  Mark's eyes widened when he realized what he was about to do next.  "Haechan," he yelled.  He scooted to his side just as the seat dropped back.  Jaemin growled-  He actually growled at Haechan.
  At least he hoped it had been at him.  The last thing he needed was to be for realz attacked by a vampire and killed on the side of the highway.   His heartbeat sped up and he pushed himself as close to the door as he could get.
  "I can't feed from you and feed him blood right on the street," Haechan said.  "That's just asking to be caught.  Have you learned nothing over the years of living with us?"
  "It makes sense," he said, trying to sound calm.  Vampires could sense fear like your average person, but being a predator species meant that they could pounce on it- him in an instant if their instincts were heightened like Jaemin's was right now.  It wasn't like he couldn't hear his heartbeat anyway.  "Can we just get this over with?"
  Haechan closed the door, then moved in a blur.  Mark nearly fell out of the car as he opened his door.  He looked a little annoyed as he glimpsed him from a nearly upside-down angle.  He only knew that because glimpsing him from odd angles had always been a thing.   Haechan had always been unpredictable.  Mark looked at Jaemin then Haechan and said, "You didn't think this one through did you?"
  He sighed and said, "I thought about it.  I knew this would happen.  I knew I'd end up having to stop you from falling on your head at some point in time too."
  "Oh, whatever," Mark said.  "Push me back up.  Let's get this over with."
  "You should let me in the middle.  I need to feed him your blood too, remember?"
  He cringed.  "Right."  They switched places and Haechan explained to Jaemin what they were about to do.  Mark couldn't tell whether he understood or not.  His eyes were still unfocused, but he kept them in their general direction.
  He closed the door and took calming breaths.  Short inhales, long exhales, repeat.  Repeat some more.  This was going to hurt.  Inhale, one, two, three.  Teeth were actually going to break through his skin.  They were going to cut... him- his flesh.  His neck- shoulder?
  Exhale, one, two, three, four, five, six.
  Maybe the expectation of it was making it worse.  He had been ready for it the other night, but that had been intimate between just him and Haechan and he had known he'd take care of him then.  The trust remained, but now Jaemin was out of it and the whole thing was weird.  And remembering that night-
  "Mark..."
  Why did he have to fall for a vampire of all people?  Why did he have to fall for Haechan of all people?  He swore that he got off on torturing him sometimes.  Not just him, but other people too... while not actually getting off.
  "Mark?  Honestly, are you zoned out too," Haechan demanded.
  Mark blinked a few times.  "Huh?"  He had to shake his head to see his full face.  His eyes were creased in bemusement.  Speaking of amused- of course, he was.
  "Is someone stopping," he said.  He peered around him and Mark looked out the window.  A car had slowed down but sped up as soon as he turned his head.  "We need to hurry up and do this," Haechan said.  "Take off your shirt."
  Mark shrank against the door.  "No," he said.
  "Mark," Haechan said in a way you'd say to someone being unreasonable.
  Mark took a slow breath and said, "I'm in the back seat of the car, we're pulled over on the side of the highway, people could stop at any time.  I don't want to take my shirt off."
  "Mark," Haechan repeated in that same way.
  "I'm not being unreasonable," he snapped.
  "You're going to get blood on your shirt."
  He glared at him.  "I don't want people to see me without a shirt on."
  "Fine.  I'll just let them see you like a pig who's been stuck for Thanksgiving."
  "Fine."
  Jaemin let out a sound that could only be described as a vampire sound.  It resembled a cat's angry growl and a dog's worried yip.  It gave Mark goosebumps.  "Is he angry with us?"
  Haechan moved Jaemin's bangs back and said, "No, he's stressed and starving."  He gave Mark a look and Mark sighed.  He took off his shirt and kept it in his lap in case he needed to grab it.  "Thank you, Mark.  Now can you move a little closer to me?  Ideally, lean into me.  Maybe sit in my lap."
  Mark sighed and said, "Could you stop being weird for one minute."
  "I'm not being weird.  I'm being honest.  Just get closer."
  He threw his metaphorical hands up and sat on his lap.  "Happy," he asked.
  Haechan's eyes were wide and he blinked rapidly, like he hadn't expected it.  "Um... ecstatic," he said without emotion.
  Mark felt victorious at ever catching him off guard.
  "I'm going to bite you now."
  Well, that ruined that.  Cold pin-pricks spread over his arms and chest and he shivered.
  Haechan bared his teeth and his stomach sunk at the visual of them growing longer... and sharper.  Not to mention the sick sound it made as they strained through the gums.  "Milk, don't stare at them," Haechan said, the larger teeth making him lisp.
  He fake cried, looked away, and said, "Just bite me and get it over with."  He let him adjust him until he could support him, while he leaned over and bit his right shoulder.  Mark acknowledged the kiss he placed just before he closed his mouth over the juncture between his neck and shoulder.  The teeth were sharp- holy shi-  He squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth as the flesh got pierced.
  Sharp, hot, throbbing pain had him fighting the urge to kick and punch.  Haechan had to do this.  Jaemin needed it and he wasn't in any real danger.  He could do this.  He had to.  When Haechan let go he had a full-body shiver.
  He'd been in so much pain and suddenly he wasn't and quite frankly his body reacted by doing something ridiculous.  He grew hard.  Oh, God, he was going to get bitten again.  Maybe more than once.  He wasn't sure he could take another bite or two or three.
  "Please, God, not two or three bites," he pleaded in his head.  His could go it.  "Sorry, Lord.  I'm so ing sorry.  I'm-"
  Haechan leaned over further, which tilted him and he watched as Jaemin opened his mouth.  Anyone crossing by would think they were kissing, but it was more like a mother bird feeding a baby bird... with blood though.  Yuck.  If Mark hadn't been an emotional, sensational mess, he'd have been grossed out at the way Jaemin the blood from Haechan's mouth.  Then Haechan's cheeks showed evidence of Jaemin's tongue moving in his mouth to get as much blood as possible.
  Why was he behaving like this?
  He squeaked as Haechan moved back.  "Just do it," he said.  "Just bite me again.  Just get it over with.  Don't ask me if I'm okay.  Just do it."
  Haechan looked concerned.  He opened his big mouth and called him by his actual name.
  "No," Mark said.  "Stop calling me by my name.  It's freaking me out.  Call me anything else and just bite me again.  Before I have a heart attack."
  Haechan put a hand on his chest.  "You sound like a frightened animal.  I-"
  Mark huffed.  "I'm just being dramatic.  If I wanted you to stop I'd tell you.  Seriously."  He looked him in the eyes... which were darker than usual because the pupils were dilated.  Which was so creepy.  "Okay?"  And blood had gotten on the corners of his mouth and his bottom lip.  "It's-"
  "Damn," Haechan said.
  "What?"  He looked around and noticed a car had stopped.  They weren't close enough to see them, but it wouldn't be long until someone got out and looked in the window.  "We need to leave, right now."
  Haechan nodded and let him go.  He scooted into the seat and Haechan moved in a blur, right over the middle console and into the driver's seat.  "Hold on Jaemin.  Mark buckle up.  We're out of here."
  Jaemin still needed more blood and Mark was shirtless and bleeding.  There wasn't time to feed him or clean or heal him.
  Haechan stepped on the gas.

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~ Demitria_Teague (Author)

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