BOYS OF THE NIGHT - CHAPTER 11



Brian sat at the kitchen table in their beach-front Orlando
condominium, chewing what was left of his ragged nails and cuticles
nervously. The bright Florida sun was setting on the waves,
casting its last glorious rays over the colorful horizon. The tide
was up and the moon hung back in the west (the sun sets in the
east, right?) reluctantly waiting her turn to reign over the night
sky. The day was fast approaching an end, and Nick still wasn't
home yet.
"Where is he?" Brian asked out loud to himself, wishing his
best friend was there with him. He sighed sadly and stared out the
windows at the sea. He sniffed the air, smelling a familiar scent
behind him. Cool Waters. It was too faint for a human to detect,
but it was there. And where Cool Waters was, so was Howie.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him, Bri. Have you been up
all day?" Howie asked, not surprising his friend. Brian turned in
the cast iron chair to face him. Howie's eyes were still heavy
with sleep, and he was yawning groggily. He was bare to his
muscular waist, his silk boxers the only thing he was wearing. Brian wearily noticed the shallow wounds that ran down his chest from someone's nails. I guess he's still into the violent shit, he thought. Trying to pry his eyes from the gashes, he continued.
"Yeah, I was. AJ and Kev went out before dusk. Clubbing
I guess," Brian said quietly, sensing that Howie would have asked
about them next. The Brujah silently sat down in a chair opposite
Brian and looked out over at the beach below their beautiful house.
He smiled reassuringly at the Nosferatu.
"Listen Rok, he'll come back. Always does. He wants to be on
his own. Identity crisis, ya know? All new vampires go through
it. For his sake, don't worry, okay?" he asked of Brian.
"It's not really him I'm worried about, D. You couldn't
understand if you tried..."


AJ stumbled through the crowd of dancing vampires,
occasionally smiling and saying one of his signature phrases, like,
"Hey Baby. Long time, no see," or, "Waz up, Sexy. How's my chick
been?" But for the most part, he was dancing, not talking, whether it was with himself, a guy, or a girl. Tonight, he and Kevin decided to get out and have fun. Away from the fame, away from screaming teenage
humans.
AJ settled himself in the middle of the dancefloor and began
to salsa seductively with a short-haired brunette Gangrel who
looked about 20.
Kevin slowly made his way over to his mate and joined in
behind her. He laughed, acknowledging AJ's thrusting hips.
"Is that how you hook all your pre-teens?"
AJ smiled back over the girl's head and growled playfully, "Of
course, Kev. What about you?"
Kevin laughed again, this time throwing his head back, and
followed AJ's lead.

They all danced together until about 3 in the morning and
would have kept going, save for the fact that the place was being
overrun with Brujahs. Kevin slipped away from his little group to
get a drink at the bar.
He watched as AJ continued to dance with the girl and noticed
that among the new onslaught of Brujahs, the entirety of NSYNC was
there. He glared - they were their main competition in the music
business. They were virtually carbon-copies of his group. His
fangs involuntarily unsheathed themselves in defense. His body
tensed and his heart rate quickened dangerously.
He picked up immediately just from watching, that the leader
was Justin. The youngest, but not necessarily the weakest, held
his head high, nose in the air haughtily. Justin stared down the
others, superiorly - keeping them in rank.
Kevin grimaced as they slowly made their way, unintentionally,
closer to AJ. Suddenly, Justin bumped shoulders with the
Backstreet Boy.
"Fucking Gangrel Trash! Get the hell outta my way!" he
snarled offensively in his best Ghetto accent. The others growled
back too, willing to back up their boss.
AJ stopped dancing and slowly removed his sunglasses. He
turned around, preparing to become face-to-face with NSYNC.
"You wanna say that again?" he asked calmly. All the other
vampires dancing near them stilled and backed up, knowing how
violent AJ could get. AJ got mere inches from Justin's unwavering
face.
"Oh, here it comes . . .," Kevin said to no one in particular. He looked around for a quick escape route. He had faith in AJ's street fighting skills, but five guys that were bigger than him would be one helluva challenge. Even for Kevin himself.
Kevin set down his drink and pushed through the herds of
dancers. He took the steps that led up to the drinking platform down two at a time and pushed a couple out of the way as he proceeded to back up his mate. He stopped to hide in a group that'd formed near the fight.
He stood in a nearby huddle of onlookers, smiling. They really
had no clue what they were getting into, starting a fight with his
AJ. But everyone else knew Bone's terrifying temper all too well.
"Did I stutter? I said - " Justin began but was cut off by
AJ's rough hand at his throat, choking him, hard.
"No, you didn't stutter, and neither did I. You're not black,
so don't try to be. Listen, you little carpet-munching, gay-boy,
wanna-be-a-homie whore, I wouldn't even think of wasting my
precious time beating down your fake-blonde ass, so get outta MY
way. Just walk out of here with all your little anal-buddies
and stay clear of the Backstreet Boys. Understood, Timberlake?" AJ sneered, pulling Justin closer to his face, sensing his fear. He smiled slyly as he watched the younger vampire writhe in his grasp, gasping for air. He unclenched his fist and let the struggling Brujah go, dropping him to the floor. With that, he turned on his heels and started to walk away.
Kevin snickered and watched as the NSYNCer pushed himself up
with the help of another bandmember. To his surprise, Justin bared
his fangs at AJ's back, with the rest of his friends doing the
same.
"AJ!!!"
Bone, annoyed by him, turned his head. "What, skank?"
"You wanna fight, bitch? Cuz you got one now..."