Chapter Fifteen- Back With The Vampires

“Hello?” Josh called out as the three of them entered the familiar penthouse. There was no response. Josh placed me back on the ground gently, then turned to Ryan.
“I guess no one’s here-” He started but suddenly stopped as I was picked up and pulled into a huge hug from Brendon and Spencer. John and Ryan entered the room quite elegantly. Ryan laughed as he gazed upon the scene, how ever John simply shook his head, glaring at me.
“You caused way too much trouble than you should have” John snarled. I raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, John. Didn’t realize you were the alpha vamp.” I muttered. John’s eyes narrowed further.
“I’m not the alpha vamp. Ryan is” He growled. I nodded.
“I know. Which is why I chose to insult you. Because you’re always insulting me and everyone around you. I get that you get upset a lot, but that’s no excuse.” I stated. John started towards me, but the two vampires currently hugging me turned to him, their eyes turning their vampiric as they stared up at him innocently, yet with a fierce monstrosity brimming them. John gritted his teeth, letting a low growl out of his throat. Ryan simply stared at me nervously. There was a sudden clicking as I looked upwards towards the mercenaries that were still there. Josh smirked, cocking his gun and aiming it at John’s head.
“Hey. Fucker. Don’t try anything on her. This gun is loaded with anti-vampire shit. Don’t make me blow your brains out onto the wall and make a pretty little picture with the debris.” He snarled, the grin still plastered on his face as his eyes narrowed. John hissed and spun around, ducking under the gun. I stood back up as Josh smirked, his eyes turning white as he suddenly vanished. The other Ryan, the wolf one, stepped forward and grabbed his throat. He held John tightly.
“Please don’t piss off my friend. He gets violent and I really don’t want to clean your blood stains out of the carpet.” He growled, taunting John as he dropped him. John snarled at him, turning around. Josh suddenly gripped his feet, pulling him towards the ground. John swung at him angrily, but Josh was gone again. He reappeared in the ceiling, hanging upside down. He grinned widely, his vampire fangs glistening in the dim light. John snarled, swiping at him, but Josh dropped to the ground, sinking into the floor and reappearing behind him. John turned around, striking Josh across the face. Josh paused for a moment, then turned back to John, his face twisted into an almost psychotic grin as he dissolved into the ground as Ryan stepped forward towards John. Ryan Ross suddenly stepped forward, holding up one hand.
“John acts out of anger. He needs to calm down. Please unhand him. And Josh, don’t shoot at him from inside the wall.” He stated, glancing over at the wall. Josh sighed as he walked back out, shoving the gun back in his belt. His eyes remained their vampiric white as he glanced at me his mouth still twisted into a smile. He walked over to Ryan, his eyes still on me. He looked over a Ryan after a bit, placing a hand on his hip.
“So. So, so, so, so. So. My job here is done, correct? Feel free to call anytime you need us again.” He said calmly. Ryan nodded.
“Yes. Here’s your pay. Have a good evening, mercenary.” He said calmly, placing a wad of cash into his hand. Josh smirked, shoving it into his pocket and turning around. He and the other Ryan began to walk to the door calmly, Josh smacking my ass before continuing onward. I froze, my face reddening as he continued onward as if everything was fine. I looked over at Ryan, but he was already back with the others. As soon as Josh was gone, John headed back to his bedroom. But moments before he did, He turned around, glancing at me.
“Taylor. I would like to speak to you at three o’clock p.m. sharp. If you are not there, then I’ll be even more displeased with you.” He growled. I nodded slowly, yet still confused. Why did John want to see me? And why at three o’clock? That was in an hour… what did he need an hour to prep for? I shook my head calmly, glancing to the others. Spencer and Brendon smiled, picking me up suddenly.
“Yay! Taya’s back!” Spencer chirped. Brendon wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in a hug.
“Our little daughter’s back!” He cried as he spun me around. I laughed happily. It felt good to be loved this much. Brendon put me back down, gripping my hands.
“Oh my god! We started planning for Christmas and New Years! Do you want to have a party this year?” He asked. I shrugged.
“Are you having one?” I asked. Spencer nodded.
“Yeah. The Vampire and Were-wolf clans around here like to get together on New Years and before Christmas to ‘discuss’ things. Really, its an excuse for us to celebrate a human holiday… so it’s an excuse for us to feel normal again in other words.” Spencer explained. I stared at the two confused
“Oh, but what about Gerard and his clan?” I asked. Brendon shook his head.
“Don’t worry. We’ve already told Gerard about how Frankie took you without permission and he’s working on an appropriate punishment for him. So they’ll be there.” Brendon stated. Spencer nodded.
“If he doesn’t, we let him know that we’d be on their hides until they did.” He explained. I nodded slowly.
“I…see. So where’s the Christmas party this year?” I asked. Brendon smirked.
“Now, that’s a surprise. Also, there’s another thing about this event…” He said, looking at the ceiling as a grin spread across Spencer’s face. I looked back and forth between the two vampires.
“What?” I asked. Spencer’s grin spread.
“Well, there’s this thing where instead of doing a secret Santa, we have a secret date Santa… well it doesn’t have a name but that’s the best name for it.” Spencer explained. I cocked my head to one side.
“What is that?” I asked. Brendon and Spencer exchanged glances.
“Well… you see what it is, is a secret Santa only you get a present for your date.” Brendon stated. I nodded.
“Oh, okay, but that seems kind of easy.” I said. Spencer nodded.
“Well, it would be if you weren’t forced to pick a name out of a hat and go with that vampire or were-wolf” He stated. I stared at him, my jaw now dropped down to the floor.
“You’re kidding me. I have to go on some mystery date for your a party?” I asked. Brendon nodded.
“Yep. But don’t worry. You’ll have fun” He stated. I sighed, sitting down on the couch. These vampiric traditions kept getting stranger and more weird by the second. I glanced up at the two.
“So… Will I know the person?” I asked. Brendon shrugged.
“The chances are 50/50. There’s going to be more vampires coming then the ones you know but its also probably only going to be the same amount that you know to those you don’t know. But if you want, we can rig it so that you’ll know someone.” Brendon said calmly. I shook my head.
“No, no. That’s okay Brendon” I said, laughing, “I think I can last one night going to a party with a stranger… what’s the theme by the way?” I asked. Brendon and Spencer exchanged glances.
“Masquerade” Spencer stated. I raised an eyebrow.
“Like, full out gown masquerade?” I asked. Spencer and Brendon nodded.
“Precisely.” Brendon said rather calmly. I sighed. Great. Ballroom gowns… which probably meant ballroom dancing. And there was a little tiny problem with that. I raised my hand nervously. Spencer laughed.
“Yes, Taylor?” He asked, rather jokingly. I nodded.
“Um, say a human doesn’t know how to dance?” I asked. Brendon laughed.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get someone to teach you.” Brendon said calmly, then glanced at the clock, “I think you should head over to John’s bedroom now. I believe he’s expecting you.” 
I too looked up at the clock, noting that it was 2:59. Which meant I had one more minute to get there at ‘3:00’. I nodded, beginning the walk to the end of the hallway. With every step I took, I could feel my heart rising to my throat. I felt sick. What did John want with me. I felt my hand reach up, then knock on the seemingly normal door. It opened calmly as John stood there, nodding at me.
“Come in.” He ordered. I walked forward, my heart rising even higher. I could feel it pulsing through my body as stood before the red eyed vampire. His eyes faded to their human brown as he stared at me. I stepped forward into the bedroom. He sighed, shutting the door behind me. He looked towards me calmly.
“So. I assume the others have talked to you about the masquerade.” He said. I nodded.
“Yeah. Brendon and Spencer did.” I replied calmly. John nodded.
“I’m not going to rig it for you. You’ll go with who ever you get… You know that right?” He asked. I nodded again.
“I know.” I replied. He sighed, slumping down into a chair. He glanced up at me, a hint of nervousness crossing his vision.
“Well, are you prepared for what might happen if you were to get picked by someone in Patrick’s clan?” He asked, staring up at me. I stared back, my face now growing pale. I hadn’t thought of that. John sighed, standing up.
“If you are to get someone in that clan, what will you do?” He asked. I shook my head.
“I-I’ll use my powers?” I asked. John shrugged.
“I suppose that’d work. But you know… Their leader has certain abilities to withstand a talking. So if you try to order him around, it won’t work. However your attacking abilities should work. You do need to learn to control it though.” He explained. I nodded slowly.
“Oh, okay. Is that it?” I asked. John shook his head.
“No. That’s not it. I wanted to ask you about something.” He said calmly, standing back up. My eyes watched him as he began to pace.
“Yes?” I asked calmly. John turned to me suddenly.
“Why were you allowed into Brendon and Spencer’s hearts?” He asked. I shook my head.
“I listened to them. I do that.” I said calmly. John sighed, then looked back at me.
“Well… can you listen to me then?” He asked. I stared at him, shocked. John was finally opening up? I nodded slowly. John nodded.
“Well… it started like this…” He began.