Dr Makovsky stood behind the see-through screen, his expression bored as he watched a lab assistant infuse his serum into a screaming girl. He looked as he always had: his white hair and moustache giving him an eerie Einstein look. He wore a crisp waistcoat under a starched-white lab coat and his hands were deep in its pockets.
“Nothing as feral as I would like” He said. His voice rose above the screams of the girl and the assistant looked up.
“Should we give them more doses, then?” The assistant asked.
“Yes.” He replied and turned to another doctor beside him “Two shots would do, yes Axel?”
Axel gave a small jump, like he was startled from deep thoughts. “Yes? Yes, doctor.” He murmured and turned to the screen, flinching as the screams of the girl permeated the room.
“You look ready to drop dead.” The doctor noted, patting Axel on the shoulder “Why don’t you take a break?”
Axel’s eyes moved to the hand on his shoulder, then up at Dr Makovsky’s face. Their eyes locked and the doctor’s lips lifted in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You deserve it, don’t you? For all the hardwork.”
“I-Yes.” Axel swallowed hard, certain the doctor knew more than he was letting on. He moved away from the screen and towards the door, his heart in his throat.
Dr Makovsky turned to the screen and felt for the little remote control in his pockets, wondering why his wolf hadn’t called or shown up. As if on cue, the remote vibrated one, twice, thrice, and the doctor raised the remote to his lips.
“Yes?” He asked.
“I’m keeping an eye on them. There’s nothing to worry about.” A voice on the other end of the call replied.
“Good.” The doctor turned away from the see-through screen and the screams coming from behind it. He leaned against the screen, a hand in his pocket and his legs crossed at the ankles.
“There’s someone among your scientists who might be in liaison with them too. Giving them information, telling them about your plans.”
“Yes.” Dr Makovsky murmured, his moustache bristling “I might have an idea who that is.”
“And one more thing,” the voice added.
“What’s that?” He stood up straight and gripped the device harder.
“I checked, doctor. It’s confirmed.” The voice informed. “The girl? Mike Sommers’ daughter? She’s a werewolf too.”
☆
“First rule of Vampire movies,” Eric declared. He sat propped up against a pile of pillows at the foot of the sofa, a bag of potato chips in one hand and the TV remote in the other. He was wearing a black I ♡ NY T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans “Never ever be a broke vampire”
“I know,” Lauren said, taking a potato chip waving it at him “For some reason they never work, and yet have a lot of money to throw around. I mean look at Alice’s car!” She gestured at the flickering TV.
Eric snorted “If I could live forever and didn’t have any money, I might as well just thrust a stake into my heart and be done with it.”
The climactic scene where Bella jumps into Edward’s arms appears on the screen, but the climax was lost on them as they’d watched the scene several times. Lauren stared at her bag of chips and said “We could watch New Moon.”
“Or we could talk about that guy that keeps appearing wherever you are.” Eric muttered “Who’s he?”
“He’s-” Lauren started “Nobody.” She sighed. Aidan had disappeared from her life as quickly as he came: She hadn’t heard from him for days after their kiss. In the days after he’d fled from her window she’d felt confusion, then worry and finally a silent anger at his disappearance.
“He’s been around you too often for him to be nobody.” Eric frowned “He looks dangerous, and I don’t trust boys like that, especially around you.”
Boys who could make your heart stop from one kiss, Lauren thought and moodily put a chip in her mouth, her thoughts wandering dangerously to that night with Aidan in her bed.
A knock jolted her from those thoughts and she raised her head curiously. “Are you expecting someone?” She asked.
“No, that’s strange.” Eric murmured “I’ll get it.” He stood up and headed to the door, cursing under his breath as he struggled with the doorknob.
On the front staircase stood Aidan, his black hair and dark clothes giving him the look of a depressed raven. He glanced briefly at Eric, and craned his head to look into the room. “Is Lauren here?” He asked.
“Why?” Eric asked dangerously “Who’s asking?”
“Aidan, nice to meet you.” Aidan replied without sparing him another glance. He caught sight of Lauren before the TV and tried to get inside the house, but was stopped by Eric’s outstretched arm. Lauren got up and walked to the door. She touched Eric’s shoulder “It’s okay, Eric.”
Eric glowered at the other boy and moved aside for Lauren, planting himself devotedly at the door. Lauren raised her eyebrows pointedly at him and he reluctantly went in, closing the door behind him.
“Your friend’s a very pesky pest.” Aidan noted.
Lauren tried very much to maintain her frown, inspite of the relief she felt from finding him alive and well. She folded her arms and glowered “Where the heck have you been?”
“Why?” He quipped “Were you worried? Maybe after our, ah, escapade, you got worried that I was off with someone else?”
“You ran off without a word.” She retorted. “You shouldn’t have kissed me like that in the first place.”
He had been leaning against the door frame; now he stood up straight. “How should I have kissed you? Is there another way you like it?”
“No.” Her face was tinged with an embarrassing blush and her big brown eyes danced, looking at anything else but his face “I just don’t want to be kissed by you.”
“Ouch.” Aidan squeezed his chest mockingly.
“Why did you run away?” Lauren asked.
The mocking expression disappeared and his hand flew to his throat and the ring of reddish flesh there. “Nothing,” he said. “I guess the kiss unnerved me as much as I’m sure it did you.”
Lauren frowned but said nothing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Aidan was different. He was still as cocky and sarcastic as ever, but since that night and their kiss, he seemed more vulnerable too. Less likely to drop a sarcastic comment. Was it their talk about his father that changed him?
“Hey,” he said, snapping her out of her reverie “Wanna see something?”
“What?” She asked, raising her brow curiously.
“You’ll see. Come on.” He whispered, then grabbed her hand and leapt off the front staircase and into the street.