Hawthorne: Pitiful, longing vampire

*This is the origin of a character from my “Dark stories to read whenever and wherever” folder. This character is the vampire from the second tale in my story “Dark stories to read whenever and wherever”. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum “My character designs <33". Enjoy!

Introduction

Hawthorne cared for Katarina like a daughter of his own. For years, his affection was genuine.

But that was before the curse had fallen upon him. That was before he became a monster of the night.

That was before it all.

Chapter One

Hawthorne rubbed at his neck as he walked up the steps to Katarina’s house, the pain stinging violently. He woke up with a red rash, he did not know where it came from.

But he was her teacher. He couldn’t call in sick, not even for an illness. Her parents wouldn’t allow him to teach her if he ever rested.

So on Hawthorne went, even with the bothersome rash.

Chapter Two

“Hawthorne, you’re here! Splendid! I’ve got the piano all set, do you want to start now? Or would you like a snack?” Katarina asked.

Her mother and father had left early in the morning, so it was only him and her for the time being. He was more present in her life than her parents and sometimes, he forgot that she had parents. But no, they were still alive, or else he wouldn’t be around at all.

As always, she asked him if he wanted something to eat, but instead of accepting, he shook his head.

“Let’s just get to the music.” He said, hoping not to sound as tired as he felt. Hawthorne’s head felt like it was too heavy to stay upright on his neck.

Chapter Three

AT THE PIANO

Hawthorne watched as Katarina played the piano, the soft and sweet melody flowing through the whole room.

There was an urge buried deep within him, an urge rising from the inside. Something was telling Hawthorne to lean over, to steal the life out of Katarina…

Chapter Four

Hawthorne leaned over and bit into her neck. Her blood flowed through his veins, sustaining him, nurturing him.

Oh, but her screams. Her screams were so high, so helpless, like his when he saw the teeth bared in the moonlight…

Chapter Five

FLASHBACK

A shadow loomed next to Hawthorne’s bed. He could only see its silhouette, the moonlight from his window didn’t do much.

The shadow inched closer and closer, gaining on him. Hawthorne tried to move, but he couldn’t. He was completely paralyzed, everything stiff except for his mouth.

Bright white teeth gleamed in a malicious grin. A shrill scream shrieked in the room.

Chapter Six

Katarina lay on the ground, blood spewing from her neck. She didn’t move an inch, she appeared to not be breathing.

But Hawthorne knew better. When he looked at her, he saw a slight movement in her chest.

She was alive.

Chapter Seven

“What’s going on? Why do I feel so…so strange? What happened?” Katarina asked.

Her eyes were tired, her voice sounded raspy, but he couldn’t let her rest. He had to tell her the truth as soon as possible.

Hawthorne took a deep breath. It wouldn’t be easy.

Chapter Eight

Hawthorne grinned at Katarina, so that she would see the truth.

Her eyes filled with the terror of a child, she bit her bottom lip. Blood dripped from the bite, dotting the carpeted floor.

“We’re vampires?” She asked reluctantly.

Chapter Nine

“Yes, we are. The both of us are vampires, we need to suck blood to survive. That’s what we are.” Hawthorne said.

Katarina glared at Hawthorne and ran off, as though he were to blame for her vampiric state.

“Don’t run from me! We can work together!” Hawthorne called out, chasing after her.

He couldn’t lose her, he couldn’t be alone.

Chapter Ten

There was a shadow following Hawthorne. No, it wasn’t his own. It was in the walls, it crept behind his shadow.

It seemed to be like that of a woman, and with each step that Hawthorne took, she seemed to become more solid.

More real.

Chapter Eleven

She wasn’t a shadow anymore. She was Lana, the pale, blue-eyed, ghostlike woman who turned him the other night.

“Why would you try to stop her? She’s a monster, leave her be.” Lana said in her velvety, melodic voice.

Lana was Hawthorne’s friend, before she bit him.

They were strangers since then.

Chapter Twelve

“She doesn’t deserve this life. She doesn’t deserve to be living as a vampire…”

Lana put a finger over Hawthorne’s mouth. He moved it away, but she put it back.

“It’s not about “deserving” it, it’s about earning it. She earned it because she’s a good student, you earned it because I love you. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Lana said.

Hawthorne sighed, wishing that he could believe her, but her eyes had a hint of red, the sign of a demon deep inside.

Chapter Thirteen

“I was like you when I first became a vampire. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want it.” Lana said, smiling softly. Well, as softly as she could with her fangs.

“But the vampire who bit me only wanted me to see what it was like, to open my mind out to the other side.” Lana said, lacing her hand with Hawthorne’s. He jerked away, for she was not the Lana he knew in childhood.

“You don’t know who bit you?” Hawthorne asked.

“That’s not the point. The point is to welcome the darkness.” Lana said.

Hawthorne walked off. She didn’t know a single thing about what was she was talking about, her mind was gone.

There was no use in listening to her.

Chapter Fourteen

FLASHBACK

Hawthorne ran throughout his backyard, laughing as he did so. It was his sixth birthday party and everyone from his class was invited. He did not have anywhere he wanted to go, he just wanted to run.

“Hawthorne!” A voice called out.

Hawthorne turned around.

It was the girl from next door, Lana. Lana didn’t go to school, her family didn’t believe in “progression”. They wanted her to stay at home and learn the “skills of a lady”, none of which Hawthorne knew anything about.

“Yes?” Hawthorne asked.

“Can I play?” Lana asked him.

She never went outside, he never saw her play. She must have slipped in over the fence.

“Yes! Come play with me!” Hawthorne called out, waving her over.

Lana smiled and ran towards him.

Why not play a game with a new friend?

Chapter Fifteen

“Katarina? Katarina, come out.” Hawthorne said.

He had run so far that he was in the sprawling green backyard of Katarina’s mansion, which was less of a backyard and more of a forest with weeping willow trees, the kind of trees that flourished in the summer-sprinkled South.

A shadow faltered just behind one of the trees, but quickly darted off.

Hawthorne ran after the shadow.

Chapter Sixteen

“Katarina! Katarina, wait!” Hawthorne called out.

The stench of death was growing stronger. Had she killed already? Why was she running from him? He wasn’t a monster, he was her teacher.

Why didn’t she listen?

Chapter Seventeen

Hawthorne stopped. The stench was glaringly close, right beneath him.

He looked down.

Lying next to his feet was the body of a deer, blood caked with its decaying fur. It leaked from its neck, where two puncture wounds were penetrated.

So Katarina was running from him as though he were the monster? She was the same! He could help her, and she wasn’t listening.

Hawthorne ceased to run, and instead, walked with the sinister stealth of a woodland demon.

Chapter Eighteen

After much walking, he could see her. Standing alone, hugging herself, shivering in dread. Her dress was caked with blood, her hair was slim and slick with sweat.

Hawthorne pounced towards Katarina, but she slipped from his grasp. She was young, she was fast.

He felt Lana’s cold fingers touch his shoulder.

“Don’t mind her, she’ll learn.” Lana whispered.

The cold fingers became gnarly claws as Hawthorne was violently pulled down to the ground.

Chapter Nineteen

Hawthorne woke up staring at a ceiling painted with cherubs, all wearing pink sashes, flying through an incredibly bright blue sky.

He felt chilled, deathly hands stroke his hair. He saw Lana smiling down at him, her white fangs a sharp contrast to her soft, innocent face.

Lana held him close to her, drinking in his scent, his skin.

Hawthorne didn’t protest. He stayed in her grasp, her loving, suffocating arms.

Chapter Twenty

Hawthorne took a walk in the forest, holding Lana’s hand. She would hide when Hawthorne got close to Katarina.

“She’ll listen to you, I’m sure of it.” Lana said. She squeezed his hand comfortingly, and he wondered why he tried running anyway.

It was the day after he turned her, and he had Lana with him to help find her.

They could be vampires together, they could be monsters together.

Even if Katarina didn’t listen, he’d kill her. She didn’t deserve to live if she denied who she was and ignored those that truly cared for her.

Epilogue

Katarina thought that she had killed Hawthorne, but no, Lana brought him back with her blood slipping into his mouth. She had a special kind of devotion to him, a special kind of love that made her blood able to bring him back.

As vampires, they hid in the darkness, playing the piano in daylight and drinking blood by night.

Sometimes, Hawthorne thought of Katarina, burned to the stake for the monster he made her, but then, he remembered that she was never fit for it anyway.

Only Lana and Hawthorne were pure. Everyone else was food to eat away. The small, doll-like children, the withered, wrinkled adults, and Leo and Lulu, two adolescents who made the mistake of asking him for candy on Halloween.

Gosh, but the humans were so pathetic!