A Drudge's Dedication, A Vampire's Fear

A Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Story

A VladxHenry Story

Talking thinking or on a phone Narration

Author's Notes: So I don't own The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Heather Brewer does, but that doesn't mean I can't write a Fanfic about it! So I love this pairing, but I've only recently read all four books so forgive me if there's any OOC-ness. I just had to write this because of my favor towards VladxHenry, plus the fact that I haven't read any good fics on it as of late *sigh* - I know, right! Finally, this is Yaoi as in boyxboy, so if ya don't like, DON'T READ. Otherwise, thanks for reading.

Vlad sat in his booth, shoulder's slumped, his eyes gazing longingly at a couple across the room. He swirled his straw in his milkshake, not actually hungry thanks to the recent four bags of blood he had remembered to pick up from home. Across from him, Henry sat back against the booth, a frown on his lips as he watched his friend and master – thanks to the vampiric ability to create a kind of slave (drudge) with one non-lethal bite – sulk, like he has been for weeks. It was the middle of their summer vacation, but all Vlad had done was sulk and brood over his ex-girlfriend, Meredith. And even though Henry understood the young vampire's mood, he knew that he needed to perk up and move on… besides, even though he'd never admit it, it hurt him to see the boy so upset.

"Vlad, come on you've been stirring that milkshake around for more than thirty minutes! It looks more like brown soup than a milkshake!" The blond cried, leaning over the table to look his friend in the eye.

"Hmm?" Vlad muttered in reply, his obsidian eyes starring back lifelessly.

"Vlad, seriously… you're sca- I mean, I just want you to be happy. You need to move on from Meredith and trust what you was right," Henry continued, his eyes glistening over with concern before he quickly blinked it away.

Vlad looked up and smiled apologetically if somewhat forced.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to be so… depressing," The brunette sighed, looking back down at his lap.

Henry bit his lip; obviously his little intervention did little more than make the situation worse.

"Yeah, you've really been sucking the life out summer," The blond replied, grinning at his little joke.

Vlad laughed, rolling his eyes at the extremely hackneyed pun. He could always count on his best friend to lighten the mood and make him laugh. He smiled as he looked up at the blond boy who always seemed to know what was wrong. He wondered if it was the fact that Henry was his drudge, or maybe it was just because the blond was so awesome… everyone at Bathory High really thought so. Henry was the most popular guy he knew, he was smart, great at sports and he was the one of the only people he trusted with his secret. He watched as his friend turned around to talk to a girl from their class. And awesome with girls, of course, why wouldn't he be? He could drive, his entire family was extremely cool, he had awesome hair… beautiful eyes… god he was ho- whoa! What the hell was that! He shook his head clean of the thoughts. What the hell was he doing? Henry was his best friend, for god's sake! And he was a guy! A really hot… and thinking back, delicious guy. His mouth watered with the memory. Vlad sighed as he dropped his head into his hands. It's gotta be this thing with Meredith, it's screwed him up. Yeah, that's it.

"Vlad? You okay?" Henry asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"O-oh! Yeah, I'm fine, sorry… just a little preoccupied," The half-vampire answered with a reassuring smile. "Umm, how about a little telepathy and mind control practice?"

Henry grinned, a sparkle of mischievousness in his blue eyes. Vlad struggled not to melt or let his face shine the red it so desperately wanted to.

"Let's do it," The blond said quickly, as if he thought his friend might back out.

The next thing Vlad knew, the he was out of the booth, running down the street and away from the flickering 'Eat' sign, blushing lightly as Henry pulled him by the hand. After about an hour of practice, and lots of laughs, the two started back towards home, parting in front of Vlad's place.

"See ya tomorrow, Henry," Vlad said waving as he started up his steps, content with his feelings now that they'd calmed.

"Yeah, maybe we can get it some more practice," His drudge replied winking as he his face broke out in another heart-melting grin.

Vlad grinned back, though not for the same reason… at least, he was pretty sure. The brunette walked inside as fast as he could without seeming strange, crumpling into the couch as his legs gave out under the weight of his thoughts.

"Rough day?" Nelly asked as she came up behind him.

"N-no! No, just… a little tiring, that's all," He replied, jumping at her words.

She raised her eyebrow as she looked at him dismissing it as he ignored her curiosity. The teen sighed, grabbing a bag of blood as he headed upstairs, ready for a good night's sleep. Hopefully that would clear his head.

Meanwhile, Henry's own eyebrow's furrowed as he thought back to his best friend's behavior. Vlad always acted a little strange, hell he was a vampire! But… today there was something a little off. Like he was holding something back… not telling him something. He sighed as he ran a hand through the blond mop on his head and looked up at the house in front of him. He started off, stopping only as he heard a soft rusting from behind him. The blond turned, just stifling a gasp as he noticed a man standing on the side of the house. Squinting, Henry immediately knew that he was a vampire, and not one that he knew. He ran for a line of bushes, as silently as he could, creeping closer to hear what the man was saying to himself.

"Kill the kid he says, it'll be easy he says, a piece of cake he says! Yeah right, this kid hasn't been alone for more than two seconds all day and now he's inside a house with other people…" The vampire muttered, sighing again. "I suppose I'll just have to kill everyone in the house."

Henry blanched, his eyes widening as his mind raced. Kill! He was going to kill Vlad! And Nelly too! He looked back and forth and cursed silently that he couldn't talk to Vlad telepathically. The vampire started towards the back, obviously headed for the back door. There wasn't time to go get help! He needed to do something now! Without thinking Henry leapt from the bushes, jumping on the vampires back and holding on for dear life. The vampire jumped, started by the attack, squirming and running around as he tried to get Henry off of his back. The assassin clawed at the teen on his back, leaving deep gashes in the skin, but the blond held on. Unfortunately after a few minutes the vampire hooked his arm around Henry's and literally through him off, and right into a light post down the street. Henry groaned as he slid down the pole, the impact had cracked a few ribs at least and he felt like throwing up, but he couldn't stop yet. He stood coughing up blood as the vampire appeared in front of him a second later, his hand around Henry's throat.

"What are you doing?" It spat.

"S-saving… m-my… f-friend," Henry croaked back, barely managing to stay conscious as he reached up stuck his finger into the unsuspecting vampire's eye.

"AAAAGH!" It screamed, dropping Henry with a thud as it reached up to nurse it's wound. "You'll pay for that!"

The vampire glared down at him, stomping on the teen's leg until it cracked underneath his weight. Henry screamed, black creeping around the edge of his vision as he saw the vampire lift him to its mouth with a snarl. He passed out, hoping that he'd at least done enough to alert Vlad to the assassin.

The vampire's fangs grew as he watched the soft vein in his soon-to-be-victim's neck pulsate with blood. He leaned down, surprise and fear filling his features as he felt himself stop suddenly.

"Let go of the boy," A voice growled.

He did so, quickly, dropping Henry for a second time on the stone-cold pavement. The voice growled again, but before he could even turn to face his new opponent his vision went back and his ears filled with blood. Otis threw down the limp vampire as he looked at his nephew's drudge as he lay on the ground, chest shuddering with each breath. The older vampire sighed sadly as he lifted the human into his arms, already starting towards the hospital.

1:30 am… who the hell was calling this late? Vlad groaned as he rolled over, grabbing for the phone, sleepily.

"Hello?" Vlad muttered.

Vlad…

The half-vampire sat up, rubbing his eyes of the sleep.

"Otis? What is it? What's wrong?" He asked hurriedly, but his uncle said nothing. "Otis!"

It's… it's Henry.

Vlad paled.

"Henry? What happened? Is he alright? Where are you?" Vlad asked anxiously, his eyes and heart full of fear.

I'm… we're at the hospital.

"The hospital! What happened!" Vlad practically shouted into the receiver.

Henry was attacked by a vampire… or… maybe attacked one. I'm not sure, but he's here. He's okay, nothing life threatening… but… well have Nelly drive you down, okay?

Vlad couldn't say anything. A vampire? Henry got into a fight with a vampire? If Otis hadn't found him… if he hadn't been there, Vlad was sure he'd be dead. What was Henry thinking! How could he fight a vampire!

Vlad? Are you alright?

"Y-yeah… I… we'll be right there," Vlad muttered, his voice monotone and devoid of emotion.

The teen hung up the phone and stood, slipping on a shirt as he dragged his feet into Nelly's room.

"Nelly? Nelly? Wake up," He said, his eyes still wide with shock.

"Hmm… V-vlad? Vlad what's wrong?" She asked, noticing the look on her adoptive son's face.

"We need to go to the hospital."

"The hospital? Why? Are you alright?" Nelly asked, her eyes scanning him for any injuries.

"It's Henry," Vlad replied, staring at her… or through her.

"Henry? What happened? Why is he-" Nelly began, her head swimming with questions.

"Please. The hospital… Otis will tell you when we get there," Vlad whispered, his voice straining to even be audible.

"Okay."

Nelly hurried to get dressed and rushed down to the car with Vlad following lifelessly behind her. The drive was silent, the air dense with sadness and uncertainty. Finally, the car stopped and Vlad, still robotic in his actions, unbuckled from his seat, closing the car door behind him with out a word. The two entered the hospital and quickly found Henry's room. Vlad got there first, but… made no move to open the door, waiting until his guardian had arrived to let her do it. The door swung open to a room full of people, Henry's Mom and Dad, his brother Greg, Otis and a young nurse who stood checking a few machines beside the bed that took up most of the little room. Otis stood to greet them as the McMillan's eyes flashed towards him and then back down at the bed. Vlad turned slowly, his eyes widening further at the sight. Henry lay on the bed, his leg in a cast that stopped at the ankle, suspended up in a harness. His entire chest was covered in bandages and Vlad could smell the sweet sent of Henry's blood, but form where, he didn't want to know. Otis took a step towards them and placed a reassuring hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"What happened?" Nelly asked quietly, her eyes almost as wide as Vlad's.

"He was… hit by a car. I found him lying in the street," Otis muttered, his eyes flashing to the McMillans before focusing back on Nelly.

"Oh."

Vlad took a tentative step towards the bed, and then a few more after that. He stopped at the bedside, watching as his friend's chest rose and fell. His face shifted to a surprised look as he felt a tear roll down his cheek, as if he'd no idea why that'd happened. Henry's Mom looked up at him sympathetically, before being drawn back down to her sleeping son.

"I'm sorry," Vlad whispered as he stared down at the unconscious figure.

"This wasn't your fault, Vlad," Mrs. McMillan said quickly, turning to smile at him. "The only person whose at fault is the person… w-who h-hit Henry and then left him t-there to… die!"

At that, Mrs. McMillan burst into tears, taking refuge against her husband as Greg turned, a concerned look on his face.

"I think we're going to go home. We'll be back tomorrow," Mr. McMillan said, still consoling his wife.

"Of course," Otis replied. "We'll join you. Vlad?"

But the raven-haired teen said nothing and his ever-observant uncle and guardian took the hint.

"We'll be back in the morning… if you're going to stay, don't try coming home by yourself, alright?" Nelly told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Vlad nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Henry's face. Nelly leaned down and kissed his forehead walking out of the room as the McMillan's followed, patting the young half-vampire on the back as they went.

"Vlad… will you be okay here by yourself?" Otis asked, his voice buzzing in Vlad's skull.

Vlad nodded, struggling to say anything at all. "W-what… what really happened?"

"Vlad, we don't have to talk about that now, I'll tell you what I believe happened tomor-" Otis replied, stopping as he felt a familiar tugging on his memories.

A moment later, the memories of the incident were flowing through his mind, and at the same time, through Vlad's. The elder-vampire clamped his mind shut, but not before his nephew could see Henry lying on the ground, maimed and contorted, covered in blood. Otis's eyes narrowed and he was about to snap at the teen, stopping only as Vlad crumpled into a nearby chair, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"T-this… this is all my f-fault! Henry I'm s-so sorry! So s-sorry!" The teen cried, burying his head in the blond's chest.

Otis's eyes softened instantly as the elder vampire stepped towards his nephew, placing a hand on the teen's head. He left only moments later, sighing once more, his eyes shining with concern for the two teens.

Five days. Five days Vlad sat faithfully by his equally faithful drudge, waiting for the blond to awaken. The McMillan stayed most of the time as well, only leaving during the nights, while Vlad stayed. Nelly and Otis joined them frequently, brining blood for Vlad and a distraction for the McMillans.

"Vlad, you really need to come home. Just for tonight, how about it?" Nelly asked, concern shinning in her eyes.

"No, I think I'll stay here again. He… well he might wake up tonight," Vlad replied, smiling softly as he looked up at her.

Nelly sighed as Otis walked up to try his hand.

"Come on Vlad, you don't need to wait here until he wakes up. I'm sure Henry would understand you getting some rest," Otis assured him.

"Y-yeah… I know, but… I just want to be here when he wakes up," The raven-haired teen replied, turning to his uncle.

Otis shook his head, knowing there was no point in continuing. He headed back to Nelly, walking with her as they headed to the car. Vlad's shoulder's slumped as soon as they left the room. After the first day, the young vampire had seen how concerned Nelly and Otis had been over his behavior and had tried his hardest to look alright when they were there, but… truthfully, he wasn't sure if he was alright. As many times as Nelly and Otis and even the McMillans had told him that none of this was his fault, Vlad knew otherwise. If he hadn't made Henry his drudge, if he hadn't told the blond about him being a vampire, if Henry hadn't had to walk him home for fear of a vampire attack… if Henry didn't know Vlad, he would have been safe. Vlad sighed as his eyes weaved their way up to the sleeping teen's face. His obsidian orbs scanned the tan face, remembering all the times Henry had been there for him.

"Henry… please, just wake up… I… just want to see your beautiful eyes again. I just want to read peoples minds with you and hang out at school and play Race to Armageddon 2! I even want to hear those stupid cheesy vampire puns of yours. Henry, please wake up, please!" The half-vampire cried, taking the sun-kissed hand into his own pale one.

Vlad sighed when his friend didn't stir. He guessed that only happened in cheesy romance movies. Squeezing lightly, the pale face teen reached up with his other hand, running it through the blond mop on his head. How did he never notice how silky the blond's hair was? Or how his chest moved so softly when he breathed that you can barely even see it? Why did… why did he never notice before? He lo- Vlad's eyes widened as Henry's suddenly fluttered open. The sky blue eyes scanned the room with confusion as if he didn't remember. The blue orbs stopped and looked down at the wiring that connected him to the medical equipment in the side of the room. Finally, the orbs moved to Vlad who sat, eyes widened with relief and fear at Henry's reaction.

"Where… where am I?" The blond asked quietly.

"The hospital… don't… do you remember why?" Vlad replied.

"N-no… wait, yeah. The vampire… I… who saved me?" Henry continued.

"Otis."

"Oh."

"How long have I been out?"

"Five days."

"Five? Whoa."

An awkward silence filled the air as the two teens were at a loss for words.

"Did I at least help Otis kill the vampire?" Henry asked, a tiny grin gracing his face.

Vlad's eyes burned, the purple shimmering around the back orbs.

"HELP HIM! HENRY THAT VAMPIRE ALMOST KILLED YOU! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING! WHY WOULD YOU TRY TO FIGHT A VAMPIRE! YOU HAD TO KNOW YOU COULD KILL IT!" The half-vampire snarled, his eyes still purple with anger.

Henry's eyes widened, flinching each time his friend's voice snarled at him. He knew it was a bad idea to try and stop the vampire himself, but why was Vlad so angry? It was like he'd taken Vlad's puppy and beaten it to death, and Vlad didn't have a puppy!

"GOD HENRY… IF OTIS HADN'T COME WHEN HE DID… YOU'D… you'd… you w-wouldn't b-be… y-you'd be d-d-dead. H-henry, you almost d-d-died! A-and… I… I… did you even think about what would happen if you died! How it would effect your family! H-how… how it w-would affect… me… Henry… I l-love you. And… I… I-I don't know… w-what I'd do with out y-you. Henry… I w-was soo scared," Vlad continued, leaning into bed as tears rolled down his porcelain cheeks.

Henry was shocked, his mouth fell open and the thought his eyes might have actually stopped blinking. He couldn't move, or speak or even breath. Vlad wasn't angry… well maybe he was, but right now, he was crying into Henry's lap. He was scared and upset and… and, he just said he loved him. Vlad… loves him? The blond looked down at the crying teen in his lap, smiling fondly at the memories they shared. Henry wondered how long Vlad's felt like this. And… it was weird, he knew he should be disgusted, freaked out, shocked! Well, he was a little shocked, but nothing else, if anything he… well he kinda found it cute. Whoa! Okay, before he gets any weirder, he needed to be sure.

"Vlad… I'm sorry. I guess I didn't really think about it, but… uh, did you just say… that you loved me?" Henry asked, still a little shocked about the idea.

Vlad paled as his eyes found their way to his friends face. Did he? Vlad knew his feelings for the blond were changing, but… love? I guess… yeah, he did… but Henry just looked shocked. Vlad's heart crumbled for the second time, all he could think now is that he hoped this wouldn't change their friendship.

"I… I… I'm sorry, I didn't…" Vlad muttered, moving to stand up.

"N-no… I guess, I mean this is just a giant surprise and… I mean, didn't you love Meredith? But… I… I just… I guess I kinda… I might… I love you too," Henry stammered, his face shining a bright red.

Vlad's heart soared, expanding to the point that he thought it might actually bust out of his chest. Henry… Henry loved him! He was freaked out! He didn't want him to leave! He… he loved him!

A grin graced the young vampires face as he jumped onto the bed, stringing his arms around the blond's neck and pressing their lips together. Vlad couldn't be happier and neither could Henry, well… maybe a little. After all, major injuries didn't just heal themselves in five days.

"Oof! V-vad! O-off, oww! Vlad taaat 'urts!" Henry cried, blushing as he tried to push the vampire off of him.

Vlad pulled himself off of the bed, blushing a brilliant red as he muttered apologies under his breath.

"Haha, ya know Vlad, I never noticed how cute you are when you blush," The blond said, grinning brightly.

Vlad glared, but couldn't stop himself from blushing harder.

Henry laughed harder. "You're like an innocent and vulnerable bunny!"

"Hey! If anyone's completely vulnerable, it's you!" Vlad argued, pointing to his friend's current position.

The raven-haired teen scanned his friend up and down, his eyes resting on the bound foot, suspended from the ceiling.

"Besides, it looks like you're in a pretty ticklish situation yourself," The half-vampire continued, grinning mischievously.

Henry gasped, desperately trying to move his foot wincing from the pain that shot up his broken leg. Vlad smiled faded to a light smirk, but grinned wider again as he walked to his friends foot, dragging his nails up the sole, making Henry erupt into giggles. He continued for another few minutes laughing himself as his new love squirmed and chuckled. Finally the half-vampire stopped, walking back over to the bedside and pecking the still giggling blond on the lips.

"Sorry, it was just too hard to resist," Vlad said, a grin still plastered on his face.

"Yeah, well I don't accept," Henry replied, grinning just as wide.

Vlad pouted half-heartedly, leaning in closer towards his new lover.

"I guess I'll just have to make it up to you," The half-vampire cooed, kissing the blond once again.