?

Jonny didn't really care. He had his own realms of interest, and was happy there. He loved to imagine what it would be like to be a blood drinker. Sebastian could tell such tales of daring do. Jonny whispered into Seb's ear, ''Will you make me like you are?'' Seb laughed, and whispered as well, ''Maybe someday. You might want to think about it a while. You know our limitations as well as our strengths. Think about it!''

Jonny did think about it, often. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to be like his friends. As the last months of high school slowly passed, his desire grew. Seb was flattered, but still cautioned Jon to think about it when ever he was approached with the subject.

Jonny loved napping with Sebby, and was pleased Seb liked it, too. Occasionally, Jonny would claw at Seb, playfully demanding. Seb would take Jon's hand and lay it flat, and say, ''Not now!'' But as the months passed, his impatience grew to a fever point, until he thought he could stand it no longer.

''Please!'' Jonny begged. Seb would just say, ''Sh-h-h-h!'' Finally, school was finished and all that remained was the graduation ceremony. Jonny clawed at Sebby once more, ''You know what I want for graduation, don't you? You do know!''

Seb looked into Jonny's brown eyes, and whispered solemnly, ''Yes, I know.'' And he kissed Jonny on the lips, feeling Jon's heart begin to pound. ''I know,'' he whispered once more. ''If you are sure, if you are very, very sure . . .'' Jonny smiled with the hope that he was at last being taken seriously, ''Yes, I'm sure!'' He replied breathlessly.

Seb then gently laid Jonny back and tenderly bared and kissed his neck. He began the slow process of siphoning the human blood out of him. Jonny laid in rapt wonder until he fell unconscious. When he woke to the new blood entering him, he gasped. He burned all over with a fierce intensity. But he dare not say anything. He'd begged so long, he dare not complain about any aspect.

Finally, an orgasmic sense of triumph filled him, the summit for which he'd been seeking so long. He looked at the spent Sebby, with a victorious look, and then fell asleep himself. He dreamt of space ships, and small blue men, and ancient vessels in ancient Egypt, hot like his own desert. He dreamed of the stars. He dreamed of the moon. And finally, he just slept, dreamless, curled up in Sebby's arms.

When he awoke, he was hungry. He knew what to do, and tip toed out to the farm, grateful the cows were accessible in the shade. Jonny drank and drank. He found himself amazingly thirsty. He wondered if he drank too much, as the cow looked woozy, and fell over. He knew he had drank too much. Maybe he should have sought a lesson. He'd never seen that happen. He brought food and water to the poor cow.

Then he snuck back in beside Sebby, hoping the cow would be alright. Tonight was graduation night, and he hoped everything would be perfect. Everyone would be attending, and he felt so proud. A sick or dead cow would ruin everything. He got up to finish his feed with two mugs of refreshing water. Water tasted better than it ever had before. Then he found himself drawn to the bathroom. He didn't feel well. He still burned all over. His body wasn't taking the changes easily.

But as he resettled himself beside Sebby, he wasn't about to say a word. Maybe he'd feel better after some more sleep.

Night time came, and everything had the deep sense of unreality. He put his new brown suit on, which looked so nice with his auburn hair. An ivory covered shirt was paired with a rust colored tie. Gwen, who had analyzed everyone's color 'season', had informed him he was an 'autumn', and that the muted warm tones of fall looked best on him. She was a 'spring', feeling best in warm, clear tones.

Everyone smiled at this eccentricity of hers. If it made her feel better, what was the harm? Still, Jonny liked his new suit, and he liked the odd contrast his long mane of hair made with it. He did tye it back with a fastener, as the fashion of the seasoned Highlander, for a more tailored appearance.

Finally, he had reached the dusty field, on which graduation ceremonies would be held. It was still twilight, and he swore he felt a slight burning for a few minutes until the sun fully retreated. The smell of dust was intense, he noticed, as he sat with the other robed graduates. The odors of the many humans were diverse and potent. Jon could pick each unique human's scent out and single it out for separate focusing.

The mystery of the 'see too much' eyes was at last revealed. Jonny looked to the bleachers, which were rapidly filling up with people. He scanned left and right, looking for his family. Yes, the details were clear enough. He could see midway up the bleachers, in the center, Gwen sitting between Michael and Sebastian. Goldie sat to Michael's right, and Sonya was at Goldie's right. Livia was at Sebastian's left. Amazing, it was, for he could even see the tiny buttons on Michael's and Sebastian's shirts. And he knew they were able to see him clearly, as well, and were smiling and waving to him. He waved back.

Once the audience was fully assembled, the speaker got up. His voice boomed when he grabbed the microphone. It sent off vibrations which echoed through out Jon's entire body.

All his senses seemed confused, alarming, resounding, reverberating, and toyed with his mind uncomfortably. What was going on? Did all blood drinkers feel these things? He'd had no idea to look at them. They had not told him, and he could not have imagined it even if they had.

Finally, he settled down to listen to the speaker. He spoke of hopes for the future, which set off a reverie, ''What will be my future? I will stay with my family, I expect. But of the centuries, what of them? Wars will come and go, principalities will rise and fall, and I shall be witness to it all?'' The reality of Jonathan's new nature was just beginning to sink into him.

After the ceremonies, he was relieved, and surprised to find everyone around him deliriously chatty. A beautiful blonde haired woman came up to him, and announced herself, ''Remember me? I'm Susan from junior high! You used to be such a nerd, and now you're so tall and handsome!'' Jonathan blushed as he took her hand. He smiled nervously, aware that he must hide his fang teeth.

''A bunch of us are going to the San Diego beach tomorrow. Do you want to join us?'' Jonathan blushed again as he explained, ''I'd love to, but the sun, I am allergic to the sun, so I can't.'' Susan of the glowing perfect skin and figure laughed, and gasped, ''SUN allergies? That's serious! Well, you could at least go for pizza with us tonight!''

Jonathan did agree to this. He'd get around the eating issue somehow. He was amazed, for it was the first time anyone had invited him to anything. He couldn't say no. He managed to catch Michael as they were leaving and let him know the plans.

There were four of them clustered around the table in the Italian restaurant. Jonathan observed the brilliance of the red and white checked table cloth. He looked at his new friends, two women, and one man, and found himself awkward and shy. He sensed they wanted conversation from him, but he knew not what to say. He blushed nervously and felt his stomach rumble.

The big flat slab of pizza arrived and was placed between them all. The odors from it were intense. He took a small piece to look sociable. Curiousity got the better of him, and he took a small bite. ''This isn't as I remembered!'' Jon thought as he inconspicuously spit the piece into a napkin. A very stringest acid sensation burned his tongue, then an awful pungent poison . . , ''Garlic! Ooh, I'm so sick.'' He took a swallow of water, but it did not help.

He ran to the bathroom, where he gargled and gargled, trying to get the traces of that awful poison off his tongue and mouth. He almost threw up. But finally his stomach settled, and his tongue stopped burning. He returned to the table of his friends, feeling defeated.

His distress was obvious. One of his friends, a sandy haired young man with a muscular frame, laughed at him. Susan glared at Tommy, and spat, ''Don't make fun of Jonny. He can't help it he has so many allergies!'' But Tommy laughed anyway, ''Ah Jonny-boy, still the pitiful nerd, aren't you?''

Jonathan just blushed and nodded, as he simply replied, ''Yes, I guess.'' He drank lots and lots of water the rest of the evening. He kept the waitress running with his demands for refills. Soon, the conversation shifted away from him, and he was just glad to sit back and listen.

As their dinner drew to a close, a poignant feeling filled Jonny. He couldn't put a clear definition on it, but it was intense. Then the four of them entered the car. Jonny took the seat behind the passenger. Susan sat to his left, Tommy drove, and the other woman, named Teresa, was in front of him.

Tommy's driving made Jonny nervous. He kept turning his head to look at his friends, when he should have kept his eye on the road. Jonny was the first to see to see a car from the oncoming lane swirve directly into them. Even had Tommy been paying attention, there was no where to which he could have escaped.

The impact was forceful and loud. Jonathan was knocked breathless as the car was flipped before they were crushed within it. Tommy and Teresa died immediately, while Susan remained conscious. She was pinned worse than Jonny was. He could see that as soon as she was released, she would die.

Susan knew, too, that she was a goner. She looked at Jonathan, and spoke painfully, ''I'm gonna die. I know it. But YOU will live, Jonathan. YOU will live. You will remember me, won't you? The only immortality I will have is if you will remember me!''

Jonathan looked over at her and tried to smile, ''Yes, I will remember you! I will always remember your kindness to me. I will remember you!'' He did not mention that he felt his body repairing itself. But somehow, Susan knew it. She held on to consciousness until the very last minute, when the car was pulled away from them. Just before it was pulled, she gasped once more, ''Remember me! I love you!'' Jon said quickly, ''I will remember you. I love you!''

Once they were released, Jonathan looked over to her, as she released her spirit. He had to keep his focus. He had to get out of there and get to a phone. He couldn't let anyone examine him. He limped up, amidst a paramedic's protests. ''I have to get to a phone,'' he insisted as he limped away, body still healing itself.

He found one up the street a ways, and called home. Michael got there as quickly as possible. Jonathan just sat on a bus bench as he waited for Michael. He was still shocked nearly speechless when Michael at last pulled up, and he slipped into the front seat.

Later, once safely home and recovered, he picked up his fencing sword and went to work on his fencing dummy. He gave it blow after blow, never pausing. He almost destroyed the dummy, and began to curse, ''I hate you, Death. I hate you. You destroy everything that is beautiful. You destroyed my mother. You destroyed my father. You destroyed my granny. You destroyed my friend Susan. But you won't destroy ME, you . . . YOU DESTROYER! I hate you!'' He slashed and slashed and slashed at the dummy.

Finally, he fell over in a lump beside the dummy and began sobbing. He sobbed and sobbed and sobbed without ceasing. Finally, he was spent of grief, and he let Michael lead him back inside the cool house. Everyone welcomed him with open hugging arms.

Finally, he let Sebastian lead him to the back bedroom. He lay exhausted as Sebby kissed him tenderly. A new realization hit him, ''If you hadn't have, if you waited just one more day, if . . . I would have been dead like them!'' And he sobbed some more. Sebby just continued kissing him, grateful he'd given into Jonny's pleading.

But tears fell from Sebby's eyes, onto Jonny's newly transformed skin, as he continued the kissing. They finished in a hard embrace. The immensity of all that had happened to Jonathan overwhelmed him. He just let it, as he clung tightly to Sebastian.

Go to Chapter 25, Comfort
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