Chris stood by the doorway, watching Max and Sophie pour over old books from Uncle Gustav's bookcase and shook his head. He'd never really understand why there were so into this vampire hunting business. To him it was kind of like a fad, in that as soon as he was back home in the good ol' U S of A he'd go back to his favorite pastime, the pursuit of hot babes, and leave this...thing...back where it belonged. In the "old country".
He looked up as Max hopped about in his chair, chirping about something he found and motioning for Sophie to look. Chris had hoped that Sophie would respond to him the way he did to her, an for a while it looked as though she had. But lately she connected more with Max than with him. They had more in common then she did with Chris, so she eventually ended up hanging around Max more. Imagine. Losing a babe to your ten-year old brother. What would the guys think? Chris closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose at the thought.
He was an outsider to this world of the undead. Sure, he tried to help when he could, but in reality he just couldn't reconcile himself to the thought that there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of vampires out there in the world, interacting with humanity. In spite of all that had happened thus far, he just couldn't believe that in the scientific and computer age of the 90's, the boogeyman's come out of the closet and in step with the modern world.
A scene popped into Chris' head unsolicited. A man pulls up to a fast food window menu/order screen and orders. Yeah, I'd like the cheeseburger combo meal -- hold the onions, heavy pickles. *And what would you like to drink with that, sir?" the attendant asks through the voicebox. Blood, please. B-negative if you have it. "Would you like to biggie size it for a few francs more, sir? You get a free IV bag for the road. It hangs securely on the clothes hook in your car.* Yes, please. And extra napkins, too, in case it spatters when I bite into it. *The cheeseburger or the IV bag?* Either.
Chris put a hand to his mouth to stifle the laughter that crept into his throat. Sophie and Max looked up at him in annoyance. "Is something funny?" Max asked. Chris shook his head, the smile still on his face. "Then why are you laughing?" Sophie's turn. Chris shrugged his shoulders, but the look on Sophie's face wiped the smile clean off. She and Max turned their attentions back to the book without acknowledging Chris, but he didn't wait around, either. It had gotten icy up there.
He went downstairs and plopped down onto the sofa. Geez. Getting kicked out of your room by your ten-year old brother, who was busy with _your_ babe. What would the guys think? Chris closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose again. He was getting uncomfortable with the situation here.
Uncle Gustav walked through the living room from the kitchen, engrossed in something he was reading. He passed Chris and paused. "Is something wrong, Chris?" he asked.
"Nah, I'm just trying to keep a migraine from coming on. I'm OK, Uncle Gustav." Gustav nodded.
"Good. You look a little bored there. Don't have anything to do?" Chris shook his head.
"Actually, I've been thinking." Gustav nodded and walked away. As he neared the door, a chuckle escaped. "Yeah, right, thinking's gotta hurt when you're not used to it, right?" Chris muttered after Gustav quickly exited the room.
He leaned back into the sofa and rested his head on the armrest. Europe was a bust so far. OK, so there were vampires running around. OK, so it turned out tht one branch of his family tree consisted of famous vampire hunters, one of which blew the lid off of Dracula. OK, so Dracula himself is after him and his little brother. Really, though, other than that, there was what? Nothing. Zero. Scratch. Bust.
Chris draped an arm over his closed eyes. He had a hard time hating Lucard, he had to admit. Lucard was really a cool guy. He listened to modern music as well as classical. Chris couldn't fairly hold the classical stuff against him 'cause in all honesty it was probably what was in when he was his age. Chris smiled. From Beethoven to Young MC. What a leap!
Plus, Lucard was a snazzy dresser. What Chris wouldn't give to go through his closet. Besides the tux, he'd seen him in other ensembles, and each was better than the last. And Lucard's hair was always perfect - without a mirror, no less. Plus, no flakes. Always very important. Almost as important as the cardinal rule: "Never let 'em see you sweat" was "Never let 'em see that you flake". Breath kept in check - a testament to the strength of Binaca. _And_ Lucard always got the chick. Any chick. Cripes, he even got his mother eating out of his hand that one time. Plus he's such a smooth talker he doesn't have much trouble getting guys to do what he wanted, either. An admirable trait.
And then there was the money. Alexander was stinkin' rich. All that money to spend any way he wanted. And if he was into rap (and hip hop, and some ska, Chris remembered with a grin) then he was most assuredly into Nintendo. He probably had the classic arcade versions somewhere in that damp castle of his.
He wanted to be like Alexander. To be in the prime of his life for all eternity. To do what he wanted when he wanted. OK, so there was the blood factor, but he'd get over it. He was a progressive thinker. He realized that humans were to vampires what cows were to humans, but to a lesser extent (how many vampires could feed off of a human as opposed to how many humans can feed off of a cow?). If he could eat beef with a clear conscience, he could surely drink blood. He would adapt.
And then there was the whole good vs evil deal going on. Gustav, he, and the others were the good guys. Lucard the bad guy. Klaus, Nosferatu, et al the bad guys. Now, Chris didn't believe in judging people - just what would he have to say about his own mother, who often forsook her children in pursuit of business? But he didn't think Alexander was really all that evil. It kinda boiled down to the nature vs. nurture argument that his class studied last year. If he recalled, Vlad Tepes was a fair ruler, if only a bit extreme. All right, a whole lotta extreme. Vlad believed in the "eye for an eye" justice system, which was a good system. But once he became a vampire, he became "evil". Alexander, doing what he does best, was simply maximizing his potential, which in human terms was a bad thing since the nature of a vampire was very dark. That "evil" temperament comes along with the condition, so in reality, it wasn't Alexander's fault that he was the way he was.
Sophie became a vampire and became "evil" in the process. His mother wanted to turn him and his brother into vampires when she was one. So it was a side effect to the eternity game, not necessarily something that was pre-existing. How else to explain Klaus?
OK, gonzo would be one good word. But with his background, he must have been raised along the "straight and narrow path" . He couldn't see Gustav teaching him any other way.
Chris grimaced when he thought of Klaus. He had gone through the hidden photo albums he'd stumbled across when Gustav and Sophie were away and saw all of the old pictures. It explained why Gustav was always hesitant to kill Klaus. And the underlying sadness that clung to Gustav like a blanket. But it did make sense, why Dracula would take Klaus. It simply was a shame that Klaus couldn't overcome the dark side to help his father instead of trying to kill him.
He didn't think Gustav knew that he knew. And Chris was positive that Max and Sophie were clueless. Which was fine by him. Some things were better left alone.
Footsteps from above broke him from his reverie. It was just thoughts. He had no intention of becoming a vampire. It was stupid. He'd shake them from his memory.
Max and Sophie bounced down the stairs just as Gustav emerged from the other wing of the house. "You guys in the mood for some ice cream?" he asked.
"Yeah! Let's go to Frau Madeline's. They make it like in Philly!" Max exclaimed. Sophie beamed. And they all looked to Chris.
"Yeah, let's get some. I'm hungry for something sweet. " he said.
"All that thinking has left you with quite an appetite, Chris?" Gustav asked good-humorly.
"Yep," Chris replied.
"What?! You thinking!" Max exclaimed to Sophie's amusement. "Your head must hurt like it was hit with a jackhammer!"
"Actually, I found myself fighting off a migraine twice. "
"Ha ha! What were _you_ thinking about, Chris? Babes in spandex or 'one piece bikinis for the almost complete tan'?" Sophie teased.
"Or rock 'n' roll? It couldn't be about vampires or anything serious. No way at all," Max continued.
"Hmmm. . . I don't see Chris spending his time contemplating various angles to the never-ending struggle against vampires, I'm afraid. Let alone the vampire condition. Am I right, Chris?" Gustav asked.
"As rain, Uncle Gustav. Am I that transparent?"
"Like crystal, bro, like crystal. " Max said.
Chris gave him a playful shove out of the house. He'd let them think what they will. It wouldn't do for him to blow his cool and start "sharing" his thoughts and feelings like he was on Oprah or something. What would the guys think?