Alright every one. This is a prelude for my character. Since he has been a vampire for awhile I thought I might be able to prelude his "embrace." This will also introduce him. You don't have to do a prelude, but you can if wanted.
Mick Jacobson
Mick yawned as he rubbed the sleeping sand from his eyes.
Clasping his hands together, and stretching them up in the air he blinked at the sun glaring through his window. Standing up, he pushed the curtains shut, and looked around the rest of his tiny studio apartment. Two paces took him from his small futon to the kitchen corner where he began to prepare himself a bowl of cheerios.
Scooping the cereal into his mouth he stared at the blank sheet of canvas clipped to an easel near the window. His mind suddenly began to wander and was hit by a sudden burst of inspiration, some memory from the night before.
Laying his bowl down on the counter, he strode over to the easel, sat down on his stool, and began to mix his acrylic paints on a pallet.
He sat there for several hours, his wrist gliding along the sheet with each brush stroke. After a time he sat back to admire his work. It wasn’t finished, but his wrist was sore, and the sudden burst of motivation had died down. He didn’t quite like the color of the sky, and the clouds had been giving him some trouble. However, the sea of red roses was beautiful, and the one white rose was stunning. So distinguished….as if it had had the life sucked out of it.
Looking over at the clock he jumped up. He’d woken up at noon and it was already five. He was supposed to meet
her at six. Luckily, they were only meeting at the small Italian restaurant three blocks away from his apartment building. He ran past the bowl of soggy cereal into the extraordinary small bathroom. Where he began to shave and shower. It was then that his brain began to function.
Fresh from college, Mick had moved to the Big Apple as an aspiring artist. A few of his pieces had made it to small scattered auctions, but they brought in enough money to pay the rent.
It was at one of these auctions he’d met Marie Johnson, the pale faced beauty, who’d bought on of his pieces. Afterwards he had approached her to discover what she liked about the piece. They soon became good friends, and found themselves eating dinner together ever so often.
Tonight was one of those nights, and he didn’t want to be late. Dressing up rather nicely, he was on his way. He hung his brown trench coat a little tighter around his waist as he saw the streets laden with a thin layer of snow on this February night.
When he got there, she was already sitting at the table. He shook his head. She was never late, and she always had a heads up to what was going on. He approached the table she was at, and settled down in the chair.
“Brr, it’s chilly out there.” He said as he sat down.
“I kind of like it. It’s refreshing” She replied, here eyes soft, and her lips curled into a soft smile.
He laughed.
“Refreshing would be some sunshine. We’d had that white gunk out there for four months now.”
“All the better” She replied.
He shook his head, and chuckled under his breath. Then his stomach grumbled.
“What’s that all about?” She said, with an expression that said she already knew.
“I skipped lunch…and breakfast.” He replied sheepishly.
“Well, the drinks will be here soon. I already ordered you your diet Pepsi.” At that moment a waiter showed up carrying a tray with two drinks on it. Water and Pepsi. He sat them both on the table, and left hurriedly.
“I’ll never know how you do that.” He said as he tipped is glass up and drank some Pepsi.
“Do what?” She said with another knowing look.
“Say things before they happen!” He said with a laugh.
“I’m observant.” She said with a sly smile.
“You know I don’t believe that.”
“Believe what you want”
He laughed. “I’ll figure out some day.” It was at that point to that the waiter returned carrying another tray. On top of it lay a steaming pile of lasagna, and a small salad. The waiter placed both meals in front of their respective owners.
“Oh, and I took the liberty of ordering your meal” She said with a chuckle.
“I’d assumed you’d want the lasagna.”
Mick shook his head. It was actually what he’d planned on getting, but she had beaten him to it.
They ate with smiles, throwing out the occasional piece of banter. Eventually their meals had been finished, and the check had been paid Mick looked out the window. The light snow fall had turned into a blistering snowstorm.
“HONK”
“What is it?” She replied, with a smile.
“You can’t drive home in that?”
“Your place is just around the corner, isn’t it?”
“Just a few blocks, Yeah”
“Why don’t we go there?” Her lips curled in a devilish smile, and opened to reveal her sparkly teeth.
“Well…uhh…yes..yes I suppose so” He stumbled over his words as he was lost in her beauty.
She grabbed him by the hand, and led him out into the snowstorm. She held his hand daintily as she pulled him closer, and closer to his apartment. Time seemed to pace so hazily that before he knew it, he was standing in his own room.
Both their jackets had been hung on the coat hanger, and Marie was at the sink brushing snow out of her hair. He followed suit, and started to shake off the lumps of white. It was then he realized how misshapen and dirty his room was. Quickly, he threw out the bowl of cheerios, and washed it. Then he began to straighten the futons cushions.
Wrestling with the blankets, and cushions he revealed a wooden box.
“What’s that” She said directly behind him.
He jumped, and immediately kicked the box further under the futon.
“Nothing, just old memories.”
“Let’s take a look” She said, the box already in her small pale hands. He made a move to grab it, but then stopped and sighed. The box opened with a click as she undid the latch.
Inside were a myriad of pictures. Smiling, she sat on the futon, and began to sort through them. He sat down next to her, and looked over her shoulder.
“Aww, you’re so cute” She said as she came across a picture of him at the age of three laying on in the folds of a king sized bed.
“A bit bigger bed than you’ve got here.” She said nonchalantly.
“Well I grew up, up in Maine. Living spaces didn’t cost as much.” He said with a chuckle. She flipped through more photos until she came across one of him sitting in the middle of three furry felines.
“Well, what do we have here?”
“Fasa, King, and Jet” He said, his voice wavering. She eyed him suspiciously; he had a tear in one eye.
“What happened?”
“I was young…Left the door open one day. Can we move on?”
“Oh honey.” She said, sounding sincere. She wrapped him in her arms.
“That happened long ago” He said, as he was embraced. His heart jumped, and he felt better…strange.
She began to flip through more photos until she came to one of him standing on the hill side staring into the setting sun. He looked to be around 16.
“Heh, always wanted to be different from the rest of the kids.”
“How is that being different?” She said quizzically.
“Well, you see. It was my 16th birthday party. Bunch of kids there, no one I really knew. As the sun began to set I walked outside. I sat out on the hill for an hour. It was just so appealing, I got lost in the haze of colors.” He said romantically, his eyes back to that wonderful day.
“Kiss me.” She said.
He stared at her, and arched his eyebrows. She reached his arms around his head, and brought his lips to hers. They were cold as stone, but filled him with a warmth he’d never felt. They sat there for several minutes in a tender embraced as they kissed.
Then she began to trace her lips up and down his neck. After a few seconds he felt a small pinch. He was too entwined in her oddly strong arms to jerk back though, and the feeling he felt than was….ecstatic. He felt a rush of pure warmth, his body and his head felt light. The feeling was incredible, but soon his vision got hazy, everything began to slow down. His thoughts, his breathing…..his heartbeat. Then everything stopped.