Young Writers Society

It was the dead of night and all was still. The church stood ominously at the end of the road, towering far above the lone figure standing in the middle of the road, staring up at it. They ran a hand through wavy hair, tugging lightly on the ends of the strands before walking up to the church. Each step was measured and careful, laced with confidence that only those who existed between pages of a fairytale ever had.

"Ashswag, I swear to-" He choked slightly on the following word, glaring balefully at the entrance to the church, listening to the faint heartbeat and the dark chuckle that reverberated somewhere within. He scowled, pushing the sunglasses further up his nose and moving towards the church with purpose, smoothing down the suit and brushing imaginary dust off of the vibrant scarlet.

A man slid out of the shadowy doorway, purple and black eyes sparkling down at him and Reddoons could see the smirk playing on the blurry figure's mouth. Glossy black hair was plaited into a neat braid that ran down his back, rich purple robes flowing down so the hem barely reached the floor.

"Asshole." He said, dragging a hand down his face and glowering. "I came all the way out here and you're just going to sit there and not even greet your friend?" Ash sighed audibly. What an infuriating bitch. Redd took another step forward, close enough to the iron gates to touch them.

"Oh Reddoons. You know I can't do that." Energy hummed from the gates and church but he could feel the coiling mass of darkness sitting at the core, corrupting the holiness around it. The vampire bit down harshly on his lips, putting a hand on the gate and pushing it open. The iron burned harshly, leaving a welt on his ivory skin but he pushed past the pain, pressing forward.

"What are you trying to do? Everyone knows vampires can't enter holy ground." He could hear the smugness, the faux confidence in that asshole of a priest's voice, but he could also hear the speeding up of his heart, the easily identifiable tang of fear and he smiled back, fanged and mockingly pleasant.

"Oh Ashswag. Since when have I ever listened to the rules?" He stalked closer, teeth bared in a grim smile. Everything burned and smoldered around him and his vision wavered. His insides felt scorched, acid bubbling up and tearing through. His blood boiled, tips of his fingers turning black with ash as the holy grounds tried to burn the darkness in him. He ignored the blistering agony, to the best of his abilities. Every step was a struggle, a burst of white hot flames flickering at his heel and setting nerve endings into flames. It would be worth it, if he could just make it into the church-

Ashswag recoiled away from the sight of his ghastly expression, mouth pulled into a grin that was more grimace than smile, corners stretched tight with pain but it was a grin nonetheless. Smoke fluttered off of him in small coils, curling into the night air and disappearing, leaving only the nauseating smell of burning flesh to linger in the air.

Every atom in his body felt scorched, splitting and pulling apart at the seams but holding on by just the thinnest of threads, desperate to finally sink into the darkness that threatened to consume him. Redd coughed, a rattling, nasty sound that had him reeling forward, blood oozing out of his mouth and dripping onto the nice suit. A shame that was, now he’d have to buy a new one.

“Ashswag~ don’t you want to see me?” He added honey to his voice, making it as sickly sweet as possible as he batted his eyelashes up at the priest who was staring down at him with little emotion.

“I am your greatest creation, afterall. I think I deserve a little attention.” Bitterness coated the words, still in the same syrupy tone as before. “Who would have thought? A well known priest, devoted to the Gods, creating an aberration like me? What was it you called me? A vampire? I would have thought you’d known better.” Reddoons tutted, as if in disapproval, ignoring the way the simple action made his head feel as if it were splitting into two jagged pieces.

He was so close now, close enough that if he wanted to, he could reach out and touch Ashswag. Which he did, grabbing the priest’s collar and tugging him closer, until they were eye to eye, close enough for their noses to be touching. Close enough he could feel Ash’s warm breath on his cheek, to notice the dark flecks in his eyes, marring the otherwise perfect irises.

Redd laughed out of a mixture of pain and delight, taking joy in the way Ash smelled entirely of fear, palms damp with sweat and shaking slightly. The bitter ozone and rose scent he’d always associated with the creator was tainted with the sweet, sweet smell of fear. But Ash just smiled that lazy smile at him, uncaring and confident and the fear ebbed away slightly.

Warm fingers reached up, testing, and Redd let them, curious, as Ash lightly placed his fingertips on his cheeks, purple eyes glittering.

“Have you had enough of your tantrum yet, darling?” The darling was completely unnecessary in Redd’s opinion, mouth curving downwards. He leaned into the touch before letting himself go spineless, the priest catching him with a surprised high-pitched laugh. Soft hands ran through his hair and the pain died down as he was tugged inside, set onto a pew.

“You really did a number upon yourself, idiot. I told you the church ground will burn you, you just had to go and ignore me, hm?” Ashswag spoke in rhetorics, not really caring if he got an answer or not. Reddoons chucked halfheartedly, throwing an arm over his face to block the candlelight that was now being shone in his face.

“And I told you I was a theater kid.” Redd spat out a mouthful of salty, metallic blood. He never enjoyed it when it was his own, secondhand blood. It was too- artificial, for lack of a better term. Ash peered down at him and Reddoons could see his reflection in his eyes, ignoring the knowing smirk that graced the other man’s lips.

“Moron.”

“Asshole.”

“Capitalist.”

“...communist…”