by Aidan Wayne
Darren wanted to argue, he did, especially since Vlad had almost choked to death on some spiced blood because no one had ever told him it was a bad idea. But Vlad was sitting hunched over again, sad and afraid, in the middle of Tabby’s kitchen floor. Darren figured it wasn’t his place to try to argue a point.
“Okay,” he said instead, because what else could he say? “I mean, I’m still worried about you, but I get that. I got it.” He let out a breath. “Come on. We’ve got to let the internet know about the myth of the myth of garlic.”
“We do?” Vlad asked, latching on to the subject change.
“Oh yeah.” Darren stood up, offering Vlad a hand. “I can see the threads now. ‘Garlic thing patently untrue. Almost choked to death. F-minus, would not recommend. Two vampire fangs way down.’”
Vlad took the hand-up and tried for a smile. But when he thought Darren wasn’t looking, he frowned hard down at the floor. Darren tried to pretend it was because of the spilled blood everywhere.
Blood that Darren was going to be cleaning up, because there was no way he was letting Vlad anywhere near it.
TRUE TO his word, Darren gave Vlad his cell number before leaving that day. Vlad didn’t have a phone of his own so it wasn’t like they could text each other or anything, but Vlad seemed happy to have it. And this way, Darren figured, Vlad could get ahold of him if he wanted to. And vice versa too, since it wasn’t like Vlad was going anywhere.
They didn’t make plans to see each other for the rest of the week. Darren was busy for most of it, needing to either work on papers, study, or get in self-practice time.
“Normally I’d be doing it with my dad,” he had explained, “but it’s technically still the tail end of tax season. He’s gonna have, like, no free time until June.”
“Your father, what does he do?”
“He and my mom are accountants,” Darren said. “They run a firm together. That’s how they met; he basically ran away from the fae to go to math school. I’m not even kidding. I’ll get them to tell you the whole story next time you come over. It’s hilarious.”
Vlad didn’t comment on the “next time you come over” part, but he smiled tentatively and nodded, which Darren counted as a win.
Regardless, Saturday found Darren and Trisha hunched over textbooks in Darren’s living room, quizzing each other on magichem.
“Main three factors that will affect a brewing potion besides the ingredients?”
“Time of day you started, heat, and the stirring implement,” Trisha answered immediately. “Chemical formula for fire in a jar?”
“Um, two parts venom, one part wasp sting, one part oak leaf, in that order.”
“What kind of venom?”
Darren winced. “Snake?”
Trisha shook her head. “Spider.”
“Ugh, I knew that.”
“I’m sure you’ll know it on the test,” Trisha said consolingly. “You’ve gotten almost all my questions right.”
“At least it’ll be one test I do okay on,” Darren sighed.
“Math still giving you trouble?”
“And the physics.” He groaned. “My parents are accountants. My dad literally ran away from faerie land for math school! How am I so bad at numbers!”
“You’ll get it,” Trisha said. “We’ve still got some time till finals. We’ve been going over magichem for a while. Do you want to switch to math? I’m not as good as Beth, but—”
“You’re still way better than me,” Darren said adamantly. “Yes, please. I got a C on my last math test, and I’m pretty sure my dad wanted to cry. I don’t know what’ll happen if I do lousy on the final. And they know I’ve been working my butt off studying, which I’m pretty sure is the only reason I’m not under house arrest right now.”
He was halfway through his first problem when his cell rang. “Hang on a sec, sorry,” he told Trisha, getting it out and checking who was calling. “Tabby’s house,” he said. “Sorry, I should—”
Trisha nodded and waved him off.
“Hello?”
“Darren? It is, um, Vlad.”
“Oh, hey!” He flashed a grin at Trisha and mouthed, Vlad. Trisha grinned back at him. “How’re things going?”
“Not—not badly,” Vlad said. “Um. I had some… news.”
“Yeah? Shoot.”
Vlad cleared his throat. “I-I told Tabitha about what happened. With the—on Wednesday. And we decided that it probably would be for the best if we searched for someone who was willing to come in and tutor me. A vampire,” he added unnecessarily. “We have to do it very carefully, so I do not know how long it will take, but I just wanted you to know. That I was looking.”
“Vlad, that’s great,” Darren said as earnestly as he could. “I could do without another Wednesday incident forever.”
“Me too,” Vlad said, voice wry. “Anyway, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to tell you that.”
“Thank you for telling me. And look, I’d be all for celebrating this news with you or something. I’m just studying with Trish right now.”
“Oh. I’m sorry I interrupted.”
“No big deal,” Darren said quickly. “Trish doesn’t mind. She was probably about to brain me with my math textbook anyway.” And, before Vlad could get spooked, Darren shot a significant look at Trisha and added, “Here, she can tell you herself. Lemme put you on speakerphone.”
“Darren,” Vlad said, clearly alarmed. “Wait, I can’t—”
“And here’s Trish!” Darren said.
“Hi, Vlad,” Trisha said brightly.
“H-hello,” Vlad said. “It is nice to meet you, Trisha. Darren has told me many good things about you.”
“Nice to meet you too!” Trisha said. “Even if it’s over the phone. And it’s true, I didn’t mind the interruption. I’m okay at math, but Darren’s lousy.”
“I would deny that, but sadly it is so true it hurts,” Darren said. “I’m never going to live to see junior year.”
“Darren is also kind of dramatic,” Trisha told Vlad, who actually chuckled.
“I have learned this too,” he said. “But I do not want to keep you from studying. Maybe we could talk more later.”
“That would be wonderful! For a last hurrah before crunch time, I’m having a party on—” Darren waved his hands frantically. It was fantastic he was willing to meet Trisha, but probably a party would be too much. Trish, bless her, immediately switched channels. “I mean, maybe you could come over the next time I’m here?” Good job, Trisha. Then, if Vlad felt uncomfortable, he could always bolt. “If you’re free. I’m sure Darren could figure something out.”
“That would be nice. Thank you,” Vlad said. “It was good to meet you, Trisha. Goodbye.”
“Bye!”
“Bye, Vlad.” Darren stared at his phone for a sec before shoving it into his pocket. “That went well,” he said, trying not to be surprised.
“He sounded perfectly fine,” Trisha said. “Really fine, actually. I love his accent. And he seems nice.”
“You hush about his accent. You have a boyfriend,” Darren said. “And he is nice. It’ll be good when you meet him. He needs to meet more people, so actually you’re perfect.”
“Hmm?”
“You know,” Darren said, wiggling his fingers. “You know everyone. So you’ll meet Vlad, instantly peg who he’d get along with, set up some playdates, and boom! He’s a social vampire.”
“You sound like you kinda want to get rid of him,” Trisha said.
Darren flailed back. “No way! I like him a lot! But he can’t hang out with just me. You need more than one friend.”
“Not everyone is an extrovert, Darren,” Trisha reminded him, eyebrow raised.
“Yeah but. Vlad’s really smart. He knows like four languages and studies on his own time for fun. I just think it’d be good if he met someone with interests like that, on top of me. So he can talk about fancy historical literature or whatever, if he wants to.”
�
�If you say so,” Trisha said, sounding doubtful. “I’ll talk to Vlad about it when I meet him. Now….” She pointed at Darren’s half-finished problem. “Enough stalling. Let’s get back to work.”
THE NEXT week passed in a flurry of classes, tests, research papers, and nature-alteration practice. Since Darren was going to be a junior next year, all of his hands-on magic classes were testing his potential and possible ability for the self-study tracks the school offered. Those were more interesting than, say, physics, for instance, but they left Darren exhausted, his magic stretched kind of thin. When Friday finally rolled around, Darren was so worn out that he actually begged off Trisha’s party. She’d been understanding, thankfully, probably because Darren looked so awful, so it was with a free conscience that Darren got home that afternoon, kicked off his shoes, ran upstairs, and just face-planted in bed, studying be damned.
He woke up an hour later feeling an itch under his skin and a frankly unreasonable crackle of energy humming in his bones for how much he’d used in his nature-affinity class that day and how tired he was still. But that was spring, and it wasn’t like he could do anything about it.
Darren sighed and resolutely pulled out his physics notes. If he was going to be awake, he was going to get something out of it. He was going to learn this stuff if it killed him.
Two hours later, and all Darren knew was that he was probably going to do horribly on this test. “Come on, brain,” he muttered, scratching over a calculation for the third time, trying to get it. “Is a B average really so much to ask for?” When his cell phone rang, desperate for distraction, he leaped to answer it, even though he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Darren?”
“Vlad! Hey! Is this a new number?”
“Tabitha got me a cell phone,” Vlad said. “Since I’ve been going out more and… meeting people. She thought it was a good idea.”
“Absolutely,” Darren said. “I’ll save it as you, then. And we can text now! That’ll be cool. Anyway, what’s up?”
“I, ah. Wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“Yeah? Okay, and it would be…?”
“I’ve, um, been wanting to do something nice for Tabitha,” Vlad said. “For taking me in. And she’s away until tomorrow on business, so I wanted to try to make her a cake?” Darren’s eyebrows shot up as a grin threatened to overtake his face. That was adorable. “But I’ve never baked before,” Vlad continued, unaware of Darren’s reaction, “and also I can’t taste any of it and I think I’m doing it wrong. Are you busy?”
Darren glanced down at his notes. The ones he was utterly failing at understanding. “Do you know anything about physics?”
“What? Yes. I’m technically two years ahead of you in school, you know.”
“Can you physics in English?”
“As opposed to Ukrainian?”
“No, as opposed to physics gobbledygook.”
“Darren.” Vlad sounded exasperated. “What does that have to do with baking?”
“It’s an even trade,” Darren said. “I’ve got another pre-final test coming up. I help you with cake, you help me with studying.”
“Deal.”
“And I get to eat the extra cake batter and frosting.”
Vlad snorted. “Fine.”
“Awesome. I’ll be over in ten.”
“I AM happy to help you study, you know,” Vlad said when he opened the door to let Darren in. “You don’t have to negotiate for it.”
“I know,” Darren said, following Vlad into the kitchen. “You’re great. But I wasn’t gonna get out of the house otherwise. Mom’s been keeping me inside this week on pain of death, to make sure I’ve been getting my school stuff done. This is the worst season to make me pay attention to numbers, so of course it’s finals time. The only reason she let me go at all is because she likes you and thinks you’re adorable and responsible and will probably actually make me study and maybe even retain a thing.”
Vlad turned to stare at him. “Your mother thinks I’m adorable?”
“Well, when she met you that one time, she called you a ‘nice young man’ the moment you left and then gushed all over to her friend on the phone and then to my dad at dinner, so yeah, pretty much. I think the only reason she hasn’t been at me to invite you over again is because even with finals a month away, they happen in the season I’m guaranteed to be all over the place, so I need to study now.”
Vlad paused, like he didn’t know what to do with this information. “I see,” he eventually said. “I am glad she likes me, in any case. What is wrong with the season?”
“Huh?”
“You said this was the worst season for numbers,” Vlad said patiently, used to having to repeat himself around Darren by now. “Why?”
“Oh,” Darren said, waving a hand. “Spring. Season’s changing, plants are growing, weather’s changing, new life happening—it’s all like… there. Stuff I keep noticing. It was worse when I was younger, because I couldn’t control it, but it’s kinda gotten bad again this year. Dunno why.” He absently rubbed at his arms. “Anyway! Cake. I was promised cake.”
“The cake is for Tabitha,” Vlad sniffed. “You get scraps.”
“It all tastes like cake,” Darren said. “I’m good. So what do you have so far?”
“I was trying to make the frosting first,” Vlad said. “Since it looked easier.”
“Okay. Protip, making the frosting is a good thing to do while the cake is in the oven, but sure, whatever. We can start with frosting this time. Where is it?”
Vlad sighed and took a bowl off the counter and held it out to Darren. Darren looked down at it.
“Uh, Vlad? This is not frosting. This is soup.”
“I am aware,” Vlad said, snatching the bowl back, gazing at it. “I followed the instructions, but I don’t know what I did wrong.”
“Well, let’s just dump this and start from the beginning, yeah? What recipe are you using?”
Vlad pointed to an open book on the counter and moved to pour the failed frosting into the sink while Darren read over the recipe.
“Okay, looks simple enough,” Darren said. “You get more butter.” The sugar was already sitting on the counter, next to the stand mixer. Darren measured out a cup and set it down for Vlad, then went to look over the recipe again. A telltale beep and whirring sound had him jerk up to look at Vlad. Who was watching the butter melt in Tabitha’s microwave.
“What are you doing?” Darren asked, scandalized. He dove for the microwave and pulled out the bowl, looking sadly at the partially melted puddle of butter.
“I was… I was melting the butter, so I could mix it with the sugar,” Vlad said, obviously taken aback. “It was in the directions.”
“You don’t melt the butter first! It’s—Vlad, this is why your first try ended up as soup. It’s got to be solid. The sugar tears little tiny holes in the fat of the butter. It’s called ‘creaming’ and that’s how the frosting gets, like, a shape.”
“Oh.” Vlad frowned at the recipe book. “It does not say that.”
This was gonna be a little harder than Darren had thought. “Yeah, it’s… uh, probably something they figured you’d know already.” At Vlad’s scowl, he added, “But it’s totally cool that you don’t! I mean, we all gotta start somewhere, right? Here, look, maybe let’s take a break from the frosting and do it my way, cake first. You called for my expertise, after all.”
“I suppose I did,” Vlad said.
“Okay, you defer to me for baking, I defer to you for physics. Now, come on. We’re gonna make Tabitha the best thank-you cake ever.”
After some stops and starts, they managed to get the cake finished and cooling, the frosting just waiting until it wouldn’t melt off. When Vlad had to chase Darren away from the frosting for the third time, he announced that it was time for studying now.
They spread out Darren’s notes across the kitchen table. It didn’t take very long before Darren was groaning i
n frustration.
“This is actually impossible,” he said, thunking his head down on the table. “I should just give up now and move to the country. I’ll keep bees. I’d be good at that, right?”
“Would you be?” Vlad asked, sounding interested.
Darren sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe? Wishful thinking anyway.” He scowled at his notes. “Why can’t I get this? It seems to make sense to everyone else.”
“Different people have different strengths,” Vlad said. “Physics just is not yours. But you work very hard.”
“And get nowhere,” Darren grumbled.
“That’s not true,” Vlad said reasonably. “It is not your strong suit, but you know enough that you’ll be able to pass your tests. Isn’t that enough?”
“I guess,” Darren said. “But I’d just, you know, I’d like to be good at it. I don’t need to be a genius, but this stuff comes so easily to my parents. Too easily, you know? I can’t ask them for help ’cause they get all disappointed-face at me when I need them to repeat something, like, twelve times.”
Vlad watched him quietly for a few minutes, expression unreadable, before he stood up. “Why don’t we go study outside,” he suggested. “Maybe you’ve just been inside too long.” He quirked his lips. “I know that being cooped up sometimes can get to you.”
Darren shot to his feet before sagging again. “I wish,” he said. “I mean, I’d love to. But that thing about my mom keeping me inside? I mean it. I will be good for absolutely nothing if I go outside right now. Studying will not be a thing that happens, I guarantee it.”
“What if it’s just for a break, then?” Vlad asked. “You’ve been busy all week.”
Darren laughed. “Oh man, my mom was totally wrong. You’re the opposite of helping me be responsible.”
Vlad frowned. “Not taking breaks is just as bad as not studying at all. Maybe the reason you’re not retaining anything right now is you’re too distracted by… spring. So you indulge in some spring, get it out of your system, and then you are okay. Come on.” He offered Darren his hand. “Half an hour, then we’ll come back inside, frost the cake, and I will drill this into your mind. Deal?”