Lance was happy it was a dark and rainy day. It meant he could freely wander about without a care in the world! He enjoyed sitting by the window in history class, getting to look out it, a luxury he typically never gets. Even better, the weather is predicted to be as it is all day.

Lance normally stayed home doing most of his schoolwork online. It was usually fairly sunny and it would be too risky. In the direct sunlight, his skin would bubble and boil grotesquely.

His eyes drifted to the boy sitting in front of him. Keith Kogane. Seldom does Lance get to see him but he looks forward to it every time.

Keith probably doesn't even know his name, yet, that won't stop Lance from day dreaming about different scenarios involving something amazing and romantic happening. Possibly something out of an old cheesy movie.

Today's fantasy was a gas leak emergency and the school needing to be evacuated. Because everyone was accounted for and the day was basically already over everyone was allowed to leave. Keith of course approaches him and asked him if he wanted to go on a date but he'd be shirtless for some reason and...

"Lance do you know who this man is?" The teacher asked causing him to jump.

"Oh, uh, yeah, Robert McGee." He answered. The teacher gave him a kind, approving, look. Lance was well known for knowing basically everything in US history. The reason that no one knew: its because he lived through all of it.

Lance could technically age, but only if he wants to. And once he ages, he can't go back. He's been a 17 year old since the 19th century.

Life has in some way, become a joke to him now. He plays games, flirts, and all around acts like a teenager. The ability to turn into a bat was a fun perk in all of this as well.

His family in some way kind of adopted him. He has to create records and being labeled an orphan was a whole other issue. His real family died long ago of course. His actual birthday was July 28, 1734.

A time when woman wore big dresses and men wore tights and long coats. Wigs were common and everyone minded their manners. Almost everyone, Lance was a devious child. One night, he stayed out later than his mom said he could and he payed the price. A tall thin fellow with a sunken face approached him. Of course Lance wasn't worried but the man grabbed him by the back of his collar and bit his forearm when he put his arms up in defense.

Lance is stuck wearing long sleeves forever now. Forever. He's stuck living to see everyone he knows and loves die. Sure he could let himself grow old and die but that was crazy! He'd basically be killing himself and who is content with that? Besides, he's scared of dying alone with no friends or family, no one special in his life. He has his family but he's worried they don't really see him as a McClain. One of them. They are aware of his big secret but in a way they pretend it's not true. They ignore it and it's not a topic up for discussion.

"Keith, who did Lincoln run against in the election of 1860?" The teacher asked.

"Um, Douglas?" He answered unsure.

"Yes, and?" The teacher persisted.

He frantically looked at his notes before looking back up, "I don't know."

"Lance?"

Lance sighed, "Douglas, Bell, and Breckinridge." He look at Keith sympathetically even though he couldn't see his face.

"Right! Lincoln won because the democrats split the v..." the bell rang and the students all began packing up to leave making the teacher sigh in annoyance.

Lance grabbed his things as quick as he could holding books in a mess trying to leave the same time as Keith. He watched as the mullet head started walking out the door and Lance hurriedly tried to catch up. "Keith wait up!"

Keith turned around and caught sight of who was calling for him. His stomach did a flip but he covered it up well behind an eye roll.

"I, um, wanted to ask if you needed a tutor." Lance offered.

"For US history? You don't even show up for school." Keith said skeptically.

"So what? I know the material, I can help." Lance frowned.

"What makes you think I need help? Just because I couldn't answer one question in class you assume I'm struggling?" Keith folded his arms.

"Do you want my help or not?" Lance asked a little annoyed.

"How much?" Keith sighed a little embarrassed.

"It won't cost anything." Lance fumbled with his hands anxiously.

"No charge? Seriously, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything." Lance repeated.

"Then, no thank you." Keith began to walk away.

Lance panicked and grabbed his bag stopping him before quickly releasing it worried how he would react. "Wait, how about a favor?"

Keith turned around cautiously. "A... favor?" He asked confused.

"Yeah." Lance nodded really wanting to tutor him.

"Like what?"

Lance nervously thought for a moment. "Hang out with me."

"Hang out with you?" Keith was a little shocked but it was an amazing deal. He gets to be tutored by the boy and spend time with him? It didn't seem real.

Keith of course thought he was cute. A tall tanned skinned boy with blue eyes, how could anyone not find him cute. Lance was basically the talk of the school; a cute boy only goes to school on dark rainy and snowy days, he's unbelievably smart and barely leaves his home. People give him nicknames like vampire or Edward, making fun.

What Keith personally liked was how Lance dressed. It looks like he jumped right out of the 90's with large oddly colored sweaters, shirts layered underneath, and baggy rolled up whitewash jeans. His shirts were almost always tucked in and jean jackets were common. Keith loved it.

(Imagining Lance wearing this makes me really happy.)

"So?" Lance asked snapping him back into reality.

"Fine." Keith said as if he was reluctant to do it.

"Great, let's go." Lance started walking off already.

Keith watched him for a moment, the boy was unbelievable. He rolled his eyes following with a small smile.

They left the school walking down the street. It was fairly silent between them until Lance took a sharp turn into a coffee shop pulling Keith along.

Lance sat down at a small table with two chairs across from each other. He grabbed the chair and moved it next to his and patted it.

Keith couldn't hide a small smile as he rolled his eyes and sat down swinging his bag to his feet. "Alright, lets start from the beginning of 'merica... right after we get some coffee!"

"Oh, I didn't bring money." Keith waved it off.

"That's alright, what'd ya want?" Lance stood up.

"No that's okay..."

"I feel like someone would assume you take your coffee black but in reality you add a lot of cream and sugar. Am I right?" Lance eyed him carefully.

Keith stared at him for a moment trying to collect his thoughts. "I mean, I guess, but..."

"Great!" Lance pulled him up and dragged him to the register.

"Hey Lance! Wow, it's so weird to see you during the day you vampire." Allura laughed. She worked there for quite some time and recognized Lance as a regular, "Also good to see you actually brought a friend."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Lance gave her a playful glare.

They both ordered and Allura went through the transaction. "You guys are actually the cutest friends ever, you're so... contrasting? Lance you're like light, and bright and you're... darker colors and so emo!" She spoke handing them their coffees.

Lance couldn't help but let out a few laughs. "What?" The two both asked. Lance of course couldn't come out and say 'oh it's because I'm actually what people call a creature of the night'.

"I, nothing," Lance let out another chuckle, "I may have gave you a belied impression of me."

"Belied?" Allura repeated in a confused tone.

Lance did tend to use words not typically popular in this era. He couldn't help it, he learned and lived around them and therefore he slipped up letting his vocabulary show. It takes practice to adapt to current language.

"What does that mean?" Keith asked.

"Um, we should get back to studying. This is US history we're covering, not old English." Lance thanked Allura and sat down.

Keith sat down next to him and pulled out the work. After a few hours of studying Keith found that Lance was very different than what he expected.

His first impression was that Lance was mysterious and bold. But the more they talked, he realized Lance was just an awkward, flirtatious, goofball. There's more to him than that of course. Keith liked getting small tastes of his personality and beliefs; his likes, his dislikes; his interests! (I applaud anyone who gets that reference)

"Alright, and the most important thing to remember, is that Andrew Jackson is a dick. I can't tell you how bad I just wanted to walk over there and bite his head off." Lance vented.

"You're talking like you were there for it." Keith laughed brushing it off. Now that he thought about it, Lance told these stories like he experienced them firsthand; an interesting habit.

"Oh yeah, sorry." But he hadn't let go of this annoyance over Andrew Jackson. "That guy stunk by the way, granted we all stunk, a warm bath was rare."

Keith laughed at his remark but his eyes wandered outside. "Oh wow, the weather is clearing up."

"What?" Lances heart sunk to his feet as he looked outside to see light was pushing past as a cloud moved.

"Since it's nice out, did you want to hold up the other end of the bargain?" Keith asked thinking they could find something fun to do with what was left of their Friday afternoon.

"No, sorry, I can't." Lance quickly stood up distractedly. "I have to go, sorry, bye!" He dashed out the door and walked around back behind the building. He transformed into a bat and attempted to fly where the clouds still covered. He could feel his skin already burning, but just in sight was his window. He made a clear shot opening it and falling in getting tangled in the curtains. He patted himself down as smoke rose after transforming back.

What a mess. It wasn't too long before the sun quickly set and he was free to leave. And that's what he did.

He was fresh and clean. He took a shower and put on new clothes so he didn't smell like roasting vampire.

He was walking down the dark street and saw the coffee shop Keith and him were at. He decided to go inside.

He strolled up to the counter and leaned on it. "Hey! Where'd you run off to? Your friend looked disappointed."

"I had an emergency." Lance didn't lie.

"Oh, well, you just missed him. He stayed a while after to do some studying." She said but Lance was already out the door.

He looked both directions and could smell Keith's blood far down the street. Lance booked it after him. "Keith!" He yelled.

The boy turned around to see Lance running. When he finally reached him, he wasn't gasping for air which was a surprise. "Lance?"

"I'm sorry about earlier!" Lance quickly blurted.

"For what? Suddenly taking off with no explanation?" Keith raised an eyebrow. "Here's your back pack by the way. You left it."

"Oh, thanks. I really am sorry. Did you still want to hang out?" Lance asked.

"Right now? It's eight at night." Keith said but curiosity got the better of him. "But I do have my end of the bargain. What did you have in mind?"

Lance smiled widely and grabbed his hand dragging him off. Keith couldn't help but be interested in the boy. His odd style, goofy personality, he's a mess, and always acts like he's hiding something. Yet, his eyes are full of wonder and sparkle even in the dark streets of the city. He's only ever seen Lance on dark and gloomy days, he seems to carry a light with him, no, a feeling. It gives him chills making his chest feel tight and head fuzzy. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." Lance smiled with his hands in his pockets.

"Are you allergic to the sun or something?"

"Uh, sure." Lance shrugged.

Keith was about to say something about his questionable response but Lance pulled him to an old fashioned movie theatre.

"This place has been up for a while. I remember when it first opened. I brought a date and I accidentally tripped down the stairs in the dark." Lance laughed over the embarrassing memory.

Keith laughed along, "Very funny," he pointed at a small plaque, "but this place has been open for 78 years."

"Right." Lance looked away for a moment quietly and then smiled. "They're playing Dracula tonight!"

"Which one?" Keith turned to look at the poster.

"The one from 1941." Lance walked to the booth.

Keith crinkled his nose, "How do you remember all these dates?"

Lance shrugged, "Time, age, none of it really matters."

"Oh, geez, is this the part when you tell me you're like 26?" Keith joked.

"Ha, ha, try 285." Lance laughed walking to the booth to buy tickets.

Keith stood and pretended to be looking at all the vintage movie posters. Lance was definitely odd. He thought about all the odd things he's said but decided to brush it off.

"Ready?" Lance popped up next to him causing his heart to jump out of his chest. He was holding up two tickets with a grin.

"Uh Yeah." He smiled brushing off the odd incident again.

They watched the movie happily. Lance had bought them popcorn and they shared it enjoying the film. The movie theatre was empty and when it ended they laughed talking about the cheesy parts as they walked out he door.

They were about to leave but an older gentleman in most likely his late 60's approached them. "Lance! It's good to see you!"

"Albert! It's been years!" Lance smiled widely and pulled the man into a hug.

"Yeah, about 50 years. You don't look a day over 18!" The man gave a tired laugh.

Keith watched quietly and he felt his stomach twist. It wasn't just Lance saying these things anymore, it was other people confirming it now.

"Well I hope you enjoyed the movie! On your way out you should stop and see the gallery. We found some old photos and decided to put em' up. There's a few'v you in there too." The man clapped a hand on his shoulder before leaving.

They headed to the exit when they caught sight of the gallery.

Keith chuckled. "Hey look, this is that wall that guy was telling you about." Keith said walking over to look.

"Um, I don't know Keith, it's getting late, we should go." Lance rubbed the back of his neck.

"What? He said you're in a few. I want to see," Keith continued to search. His eyes froze on a picture of the familiar boy. It was black and white and fuzzy, an antique photo. Even with the low quality, he could identify that face anywhere. It was Lance.

He was sitting on the curb outside the, probably same, movie theatre. His hair was pushed back with dark trousers held up with a belt and had a white shirt half tucked in loosely. He had a jacket swung over his shoulder and held a cola in a glass bottle.

Keith's breath stopped. His eyes glanced in the direction of Lance who was looking at him nervously. "I can explain?"

Keith took off running hysterically. 'What the shit?' He thought sprinting like his life depended on it. He made it out to the street and looked back behind him to see if he was being followed. That's when he ran into something, knocking him on his butt. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that." Lance said holding his hand out to help him up.

Keith pushed himself back staring at Lances hand untrusting.

Lance sighed, "I don't bite. At least not people."

Keith continued to stare at him confused. "What are you?"

"Oh, I'm a vampire." Lance said casually.

"Of course you are." Keith huffed grabbing Lances still outstretched hand.

"So no more running? No screaming and grabbing a stake?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Not now at least. I'm tired." Keith huffed pulling himself up with Lances aid.

"Well, that's a start." Lance ran his hand through his hair, anxiety bubbled in his stomach. "You don't think I'm weird do you?"

"Lance, you were weird long before the vampire thing." Keith said still catching his breath.

"You do believe me, don't you?" Lance asked.

"Of course I do." Keith stood up straight despite his still heavy breathing. His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Geez," Lance grabbed Keith by his hood yanking him out of sight into an ally way.

"Hey! Let go!" Keith snapped as he was being pulled along.

Lance jerked his hood and let it go. Keith stumbled but caught himself and he glared fixing his jacket.

"What? Are you gonna suck my blood?" Keith teased.

"I already told you, I don't bite people." Lance ran a hand through his hair again and Keith watched quietly. The tall boy looked around nervously before his gaze landed back on the obsidian black haired boy in front of him.

Keith watched skeptically and he was about to make a sarcastic comment before Lance disappeared. It seemed to be in the blink of an eye. Here one moment, gone the next.

However, Lance wasn't gone. Keith's eyes slowly wandered down. A bat sat on the asphalt before him. It had a long dog like snout and big eyes.
(Bats are so cute. They're my favorite! If you get the time, look up videos of them eating fruit. Trust me, it'll make your day.)

Keith's heartbeat began to speed up and he took a few steps back. He blinked and Lance was Lance again. His long legs and everything.

"Please don't freak out." Lance looked up at him worriedly.

"Me? Freak out? Pssh." Keith laughed nervously. "I'm completely calm." His voice cracked.

"Good because I'm getting hungry and..." Lance began and Keith's eyes widened and he began backing up. "See? It changed everything." Lance folded his arms looking away annoyed.

"Sorry," Keith let out a breath, "its not everyday you meet a vampire."

"Nah, I get it, a lot of vampires are bad."

"But you aren't like that," Keith looked at him unsure, "right?"

"I've never drank human blood ever. I swear." Lance defended.

"Okay..." Keith said calmly before his eyes snapped open wide, "Wait, how many vampires are there?"

"Oh, um, not many nowadays. When I was turned probably in the thousands. Enough to be known." He shrugged. "Now... I'd say a hundred; maybe less."

"And when exactly were you turned?" Keith's eyes narrowed.

"Well," Lance thought for a moment, "I was born in 1734..., I was six when I was bitten...-1740."

Keith looked pale. He sat down on the curb trying to process it all.

"Heh, Keith... you're okay right?" Lance spoke nervously, wringing his hands. "Look, I don't want to scare you." Lance sat next to him anxiously.

"You don't scare me. I just need a minute to take in the fact that mythical creatures exist." Keith glanced at him.

"Oh." Lance was quiet for a moment. "Um, vampires are it though. I've heard rumors that there is about a handful of werewolves out there, but I doubt it."

"So, you're like more than two hundred years old right?" Keith asked.

"Yes." Lance confirmed.

"Then what the hell are you doing in high school? You could be literally anywhere in the world doing whatever you want."

Lance pondered the question for a moment. "I guess..., I've had enough of the world. I've gotten bored of freedom and rebellion. I guess, in a way, I'm sick of being on my own." Lance sighed. "Besides, you're not halfway around the world." Lance gave a nervous smile.

"Wait, is that why you're so good at history? Ah, oh! That's why you always tell them in first person!" Keith jumped up. "You cheat!" He huffed.

"Wha-?! That's not cheating!" Lance folded his arms and turning up his nose. "It's more like... hands on education."

They both laughed and Keith sat back down. Lance noticed it was a bit closer than they were sitting before. "Isn't this the same curb from the photo of you?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." Lance chuckled.

Keith smiled and pulled out his phone and switching to the camera.

"What're you doing?" Lance asked confused.

"We're taking a new picture, but this time, I'm with you." Keith held up the device and they smiled. With a click, the photo shrunk into the corner of the screen and saved.

"Thank you, Keith." Lance said, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Keith's cheeks burned brightly and went warm under the soft pair of lips. Lance began to pull away, but Keith turned his head to capture them again, pressing their lips together. Keith pulled away and his eyes narrowed.

"What? What's wrong?" Lance asked worried he messed something up.

"You're like 280 years old or something...-" he began.

"285." Lance corrected.

"You're like super old. And immortal, that means you'll live to see the day I die." Keith contemplated the flaws to being in love with a vampire.

"Well, I kind of have a choice to age. I chose to age when I was six and I decided to stop when I turned 17. But, once I age, I can't go back. If I age far enough I could die just like everyone else." Lance explained.

"What about stakes and stuff? Does that kill you?" Keith asked.

"I think that would kill anyone. I'm still vulnerable. I think that misconception came from old vampire hunters. Sometimes they'd use stakes because they thought they're more painful."

"What? They wanted it to hurt?" Keith looked at him surprised.

"Keith, we crave blood. People were scared for understandable reasons. You can't think clearly when you're scared out of your wits that some monster is going to drain your child's blood."

"That's... terrible." Keith pondered. "Did vampire hunters ever catch you?"

"Oh, I had a couple of close calls. Very close calls." Lance smiled at the memories.

"How close?" Keith asked intrigued.

"Try, tied to a tree with a fire at my feet. My pants were on fire by the time I finally broke through the ropes."

Keith chuckled.

"Hm, this one is incredibly embarrassing. I was at a sit down restaurant and I ordered pasta. You see, we need blood and regular food to survive. Well, I didn't know there was a shit ton of garlic in it. It started to burn my tongue so I chugged a bunch of water. Yeah, long story short, there were two vampire hunters just a table away and I managed to convince them I accidentally poured a lot of salt onto the dish." Lance sighed. "I was halfway down the street when I saw the torches and pitchforks and decided it was time to move to the next town."

Keith found it amusing bursting into laughter. "So, what about your teeth? They look normal."

"Oh, right." Lance showed his teeth and let the fangs extend.

"That's..." He began mesmerized, "so cool."

Lance chuckled, "You can't be serious. These things are used to suck blood."

He shrugged. "So," he smiled smugly, "do you have a cape?"

"Ugh, Dracula did us vampires dirty with those stereotypes." Lance sighed. "Oh, and sorry for being so weird and elusive. I didn't want to scare you, but I wound up scaring you anyway."

"Lance, I don't think there's a good way to go about telling someone you're a vampire."

"That's a fair point." He nodded.

Lance walked Keith home that night.