venom skies

the church garden

i spent the night asking myself 

would the stars in the sky still shine as bright if the skies in your eyes met mine?

'honestly what the fuck' josh hisses to himself as he attempts to pick himself up off the ground, brushing dead leaves off of his jeans before getting up, clutching the cemetery fence for support. it hadn't occurred to him that the gates would be closing early that night and he hadn't bothered to check the time until it was too late and he felt the inevitable presence of nighttime creeping up on him, a hint of chilly air and a wave of dull, dark clouds rolling overhead that threatened to impede josh on his (short but admittedly complex) trek back home. sighing and trying to keep his balance, josh tiptoed along the crumbling ledge that led to the church behind his house. he jumped off as soon as the ground leveled off, the scuffed soles of his boots landing on a small patch of dying flowers.

josh realized, as he began reaching the perimeter of the church, that something was off, a sort of heavy, surreal static presence choking the dull, autumn air and a faint voice ('just the wind i bet' josh thought, attempting to feign bravery despite his racing pulse) echoing through the forest and swallowing any sense of comfort that the grounds of the church around him brought. 

he backed away a little, his thoughts swimming as the sky continued to fade from a dark, smoky silver to a velvety black and his heart raced to the beat of the midnight train against the tracks. 

something was so so off about this,  and yet josh would much rather stay here than go back to the cemetery gates or forward. he never looked forward to going home anyway. there seemed to be something like an electric current pulsing through his numb fingertips and toes, urging him forward into the church garden. he stepped forward, first with a slight sense of caution and then with a little more courage. the current that coursed through him seemed to get a little stronger here, though he couldn't tell if he was just imagining it. his soles brushed against thorn bushes and flower beds as he breathed in the chilly night air and his steps got more and more confident til they were halted by a soft and nearly inaudible growl. josh stopped in his tracks and turned abruptly, feeling the chill sweep over him yet again and this time he couldve sworn he saw something  move-

'what dyou want?' the voice finally spoke, slightly rough yet oddly calm and relaxed, a somewhat high pitched but sleep deprived acoustic tone that made joshs heart race from an emotion far from the fear he knew so well. before josh could answer he was faced by a pair of intense red eyes and a sharp silhoutte of nothing but inky blackness around them. josh could do nothing at this point, his breath was frozen at the tip of his tongue and he couldnt bring himself to speak. the silhoutte tilted its head and came face to face with josh, nearly completely silent aside from the occasional snarl or huff. josh swallowed but somehow felt more interest than fear. after what felt like a lifetime (and a good portion of an afterlife probably) the figure flashed a set of bright white teeth featuring sharp fangs on either side, flicking out its snaky tongue before vanishing in a cloud of smoky dust and, in its place, a boy around 19 or so (who was actually really pretty, as josh noticed), wearing a black button down shirt n jeans, with his dark hair shaved on the sides and messy on top and his tan skin a few shades darker than joshs, his boots scraping against the church windowsill he was perched on. without warning, the boy took a deep breath before speaking.

'yknow,' he said quietly 'im not really one for scaring people but... who are you?

josh nearly choked in response, earning him a harsh glare from the boy.

'i-im josh' he stuttered, trying to avoid eye contact. 

tyler opened his mouth as if to speak again, but instead ran his tongue along his fangs again, looking thoughtful as he observed josh. josh held his breath before the boy gave him a half smirk, no doubt trying to show off his razor sharp, icy white fangs. at this point, josh realized he was probably more of a tease than someone to be afraid of, and relaxed his shoulders a little, breathing a bit easier. 

'well hello there josh, im tyler,' he began, looking up at him with his bright red eyes and yeah, josh was probably attracted to a boy with fangs now. 

'and im not sure if you were wondering or anything, but yes, i am a vampire' tyler finished, smiling again and maybe (there mightve been a chance) josh was attracted to a vampire he just found in the garden of a church. thats not what he expected to happen after wandering a cemetery at night but he didn't make the rules and he definitely didnt have anything against this.