Maddy woke up to the sound of the front door slamming. He suppressed a moan as he sat up.

“Are you ready for an awesome night!?” Bill dropped his backpack by the door and headed for the kitchen. "My father and brothers say hello, by the way. I told them you were sleeping over, I hope that's okay."

“Fine by me,” He replied with a yawn. His mouth felt dry and his back felt sore from falling asleep wrong.

“Ah, don’t tell me, I woke you up too?” Bill grimaced.

“It’s alright,” He said, wiping the sleep off his eyes. The room was a lot darker now and the only light came from the TV still playing old cartoons. He added, “I smell pizza.”

“You smell correctly,” Bill joked. “And it looks like Douggie sent you back with some gifts.”

“Help yourself,” Maddy said, standing up and walking over to the kitchen. Bill handed him a couple of slices of pizza on a plate and a beer.

Bill picked up two controllers from under the TV. “You want to watch something or play Zombies?”

Maddy tilted his head. “Zombies?”

Bill grinned boyishly and tossed him a controller. “Good answer. We’ll watch something once Taiyo gets back."

It was no surprise that Maddy was terrible at the game. Dee only ever wanted to play Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing. So it left him very useless when he found out the zombies in this game did not want to trade eggs for milk or check out his house and instead tried to eat him.

Bill never made him feel bad for his inability to brutally murder. He had a way of making him feel useful even when he walked into walls or literal herds of the undead. Bill even kept the game on normal difficulty- even when Maddy insisted it was alright to switch to easy mode- which gave him the tiniest shred of hope that he was a normal-level player. And for the first time in a long, he just let the time slip by.

It was nearly nine when Bill finally turned off the game. Maddy blinked, looking at the clock on the TV and then back at Bill.

“Are you surprised at the time?” Bill grinned. "I can play for hours with my little sister Georgina, too"

“A little,” He chuckled softly. “What do you want to do now?”

“Taiyo should be back any minute."Bill pointed out. "I can hear his car out front.”

“You can?” He turned his head toward the door.

“You can’t?” Bill quirked his head. “I was thinking, we'll wait for him and put on a film.”

Maddy instinctively sniffed the air. It was the only part of him that still worked normally. He could smell Bill, his usual scent of sandalwood and pine overshadowed by the sweet and tangy taste of iron. He pursed his lips. It wasn’t just human blood he was craving. He could also smell the stench of sweat, scotch, and ash coming from the front door.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Shit, I was supposed to shower.” Maddy stood up in a panic.

Before he could do anything about it, Taiyo walked through the door and slammed it shut behind him. Maddy jumped at the sound and looked over his shoulder.

“You were supposed to shower,” Taiyo said scrunching up his nose.

“You’re the one who looks like they need a shower.” Bill cut in, “Where did you go? Boxing tonight?”

Taiyo nodded. “He showers first. I’ll pick the movie.”

He looked over at Bill who just shrugged.

When he rejoined the others, with wet hair and fresh clothes, he could feel his stomach drop as he looked at the title screen on the TV and BLOODLINE was written crudely in front of what looked like a normal American home.

“What? Not a fan of horror movies?” Taiyo smirked as he passed Maddy and walked up the stairs to the bathroom.

“Not exactly,” Maddy said curling and uncurling his hands. It didn’t help that he watched a man die yesterday. He looked over at Bill sitting on the couch with pleading eyes. He hoped Bill could change Taiyo’s mind.

Realization struck in his eyes, he sat up from the couch, “Hastings! I am so sorry! I just thought- I mean- you seemed perfectly fine killing zombies earlier…”

“That was different.” Maddy stammered. “Those were cartoons.”

“We could watch something more lighthearted.” He offered.

Maddy dropped his gaze feeling his cheeks grow warm. They were nice enough to let him stay in their house, he shouldn’t be making a fuss. He looked up at Bill once more, “That’s okay. We can watch it.”

“Wow! You’re brave! My mother always says the best way to get over something is by going through it.” Bill gestured for him to sit next to him on the couch, “Come on, you can snuggle into the blankets if you get scared.”

“I’m not baby,” Maddy scrunched his nose and sat down.

Bill leaned in close with a cheeky grin planted on his face and Maddy tried to ignore the scent of Bill’s excitement running through his blood, as he said, “You’re probably going to shit yourself.”

Those words were enough for Maddy to pick up a bottle of vodka from the bag of booze on the table in front of him. He opened the cap and took a large swig before shivering from the taste. He didn’t usually drink. He saw what it had done to Darren, but he was out of blood capsules and they were sitting on his bed which meant he couldn’t eat or sleep his hunger away. So the next best thing was to try and suppress it with alcohol.

Taiyo eventually came down the stairs and joined the pair on the couch. Maddy could honestly say the movie wasn’t that bad, but that would quickly change forty minutes later when the main characters were dropping dead faster than flies. His stomach churned and regret washed over his face.

Unlike Bill who had somehow managed to fall asleep, he’d been wired from downing a significant amount of vodka, and the difference between what was the movie and reality was quickly blurring. Bill switched from leaning his head on Taiyo’s shoulder to his and it wasn’t even his blood that made Maddy shift in his seat, but Taiyo’s glare from the other side of the couch.

He tried to drown out the awkwardness with more alcohol, only things got worse when he let out a hiccup. Taiyo’s glare turned quizzical and a raspy Bill said, “Shh… Maddy’s stomach I’m trying to sleep.”

After another hiccup, Bill abandoned him completely and leaned against Taiyo once more. As he turned back to the screen, he watched a girl lose her head and decided that was enough death for one evening.

He jumped up and felt the alcohol rush through his body. It made him waver as he walked toward the kitchen. “One day,” He mumbled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “One day I’ll be able to sit down and watch a horror film with friends. Just not today.”