Round Four

End of the Road

I had to laugh when the producer rang to give our last task.
"You make it sound like an order!" I chuckled back, "Oh, any limit on the amount of guests?"
"The more the merrier," came the simple reply.

Good timing with giving our cash back... oh, I get it! Very clever. Haha! Well you guys are in for a shock - you haven't met any of my family yet have you?

So our last task is a party. This will be the ultimate test of all I've learned so far... I'm sure it'll be alright though. I've met some of her friends before already... me? I don't really have any friends to speak of... boy, that sounds pathetic doesn't it? Especially considering the amount of time she spends on the phone to arrange her invites... I can't help but feel a pang of envy.

"How many can we bring?"
"As many as you like," I reply, but hasten to add "Don't go too mad though, I can see there being a lot of people here as it is."
"Oh, I'm sure there'll be room for a few extra siblings," comes the enigmatic remark.
"Erm, Dad..." I begin, "Just how many do I have?"
"More than I'll be able to bring," is his vague answer.
Yikes. Looking about me, I suddenly become thankful the loft is as spacious as it is.

For some reason she's been adamant on making it nighttime, which is just as well since it gives us the rest of the day to prepare for this. I can't help but smile at the odds and ends she brings along though; just a buffet table, extra loudspeakers...
"What, is that it?" I ask curiously. I was expecting her to go crazy with a DJ and who-knows-what-else.
I look back at him with a smile. "We're students," I tell him, "What, you thought I was rolling in it?"
I can't help but give a satisfied smile as she goes back into the lift. However my expression turns to one of dismay as the delivery men help her bring up a large quantity of alcohol.
"Oh trust me, we'll need it," I tell him in no uncertain terms. No I'm not intending for us all to get leathered, although no doubt some of them might. Put it this way, there's a reason I made this for the nighttime.

It arrives sooner than I realise, and my eyes widen at the amount of people pouring out of the lift. I swear there's more green flesh among them too, one of whom I recognise as her father, another as her niece Denise.
"Hey Mum!" I beam as we hug.
"Hey, good to see you again," he replies, "Feels strange seeing you without all that black stuff."
I chuckle dryly. "I'm gonna get this a lot aren't I?!" I muse, before spotting a bewildered looking Eddie out of the corner of my eye. Poor thing's probably out of his depth with so many people about. Clutching Mum's hand I pull him over and introduce them.


So this is Alex... I'm going to be honest here and say he scares me. Mainly because of the sheer size of him, but also there's something very strange about his eyes... Red? I'm sure I can see glimpses of fangs in his mouth too...
"Don't worry, he won't bite," I smile.
I'll take your word for it...
"Hey, relax," he says, "Not all vampires are evil."
I struggle to keep my jaw from dropping. "You mean it's true?!" I blurt out, before checking myself. "Sorry, I..."
"Oh it's alright," he smiles, before continuing. "We don't bite unless we're asked."
"Howdy."
My head turns in the direction of the gentle sounding voice, and am faced with the cutest alien guy I've ever seen. Shaggy black hair, a cheeky grin and... red, almost glowing orbs gazing at me from just above his nose.
"Hello," I reply with a strange look, "Who are you?"
"I'm Johan, but you can call me Joe," he replies, "One of your half-brothers I gather."
"Oh!" I exclaim, breaking into a big grin. "Pleased to meet you!"


This is so exciting! I wonder how many more of them there are... I hope they're all as nice as this guy!

Well, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. Alex seems to be a nice enough man, certainly not the type you'd expect to be with another man. As the party gets under way, I decide to retreat to the dartsboard for a while, before a little voice next to me pipes up.
"Little boring playing by yourself isn't it?"

I smile as I look towards him, before I frown. He's only a young thing...
"Before you ask, yes I'm a vampire."
The speech Emilia gave before flashes by in my mind, and I can't help but ask.
"Are you Evan?"
"Yes," comes the dry reply, "My head got pretty sore that day from the big hint dropping on it."

It's so good to see him getting on with people. It's not even as though they're what you'd call normal people either, there's vampires and all sorts here tonight! Oh, about the alcohol? That's all they can drink, that's why I got so much in.

It must be my night for bumping into half-siblings. This woman with black lipstick approaches me a little while later, looking a lot like Joe. Diana her name is, and Joe's twin. No wonder they look so alike!

I'm surprised to say the least at my chat with Evan. There was only so much small-talk and barely touching on background I could do before trying to coax him into giving adulthood a chance. He became a little withdrawn at that, although it looked like I might have been able to get through to him in the end. Oh I was tactful of course, but I can't just sit by and watch a young lad like him throw away his future.

As the evening draws on, I notice Joe and Dad talking some way from the rest of the crowd. I think nothing of it at first, but as I'm about to turn back to the music swift movement catches my eye. On creeping a little closer to investigate my eyes widen in disbelief...

"Joe!?" I call out in a hushed voice, "What are you doing?"
As his head pulls away, a tongue pokes out to mop up traces of green blood on his lips.
"Dad?"
"He'll be alright," Joe says, "I wasn't going to, or least I would have waited, but he was pretty insistent."
"But why?"
"Different people have different reasons," he says as I help him get Dad to the lift. "I'll have to take him home, sorry about this."
I can only shrug in reply as I watch the doors close.

~~~~~

Well, it's been one hell of a ride. I was even wondering if I'd make it to the show at all, let alone coming this far, but I'm so glad now I did. We've had our ups and downs, but overall I'd say we did well together. He's opened my eyes to the more simple pleasures in life...


... as well as showing me how much better it is to have a good head on your shoulders. It feels so good not having to struggle so much over my coursework.

I have to say, I'm amazed that we've got through to the very end, but it's been an incredible journey. That party last night was an eye-opener if ever there was one; such a wide variety of people in this world, and so much there to teach me more than any episode of Star Wars could, the biggest lesson being that indeed it's real people that can teach the most about life.

Not only has Emilia brought me out of my shell and able to get on better with people, her friends have become mine. Especially one in particular...


I picked up a lot of other phone numbers last night too. Just knowing that all these nice people want to stay in touch is wonderful, a real lift to my confidence. Emilia and I are already looking for another house to spend the rest of our years at University together. It's a shame her last boyfriend couldn't help in the way he'd liked, but then maybe some things are meant to happen.

If I had to do it again, I'd jump at the chance. Eddie's a lovely guy, and people were even saying that last night. I couldn't help but glow with pride watching him with them, and seeing him now he's so much happier. Me too for being able to do stuff - we're forever in each other's debt, and I hope we stay together for a long time to come.