I Swear He's a Vampire!

A Rough Start (Part 1)

Ted hadn't been able to sleep at all that night. The most he did was stare at the ceiling and wonder why he was still so thirsty. And what those jars were. Why was he so drawn to them? Why couldn't he stop thinking about him? What was that terrible feeling in the back of his throat? So many questions, not a single answer.
Naturally, he'd gone over to Chris' place once his dad had left for work. He never did tell him what his work was, but that was no concern of Ted's.
Now he sat on the couch next to his friend, and that little pest Aiden was nowhere to be seen. That was good. He was having enough trouble as it was.
Chris blabbered on and on about some weird conspiracy that dogs were secretly trying to eliminate all cats from existence and how they had to take them out first.
As much as he wanted to listen to that mess, he couldn't properly focus. His mind kept going back to whatever was in those jars. His mouth felt unbearably dry and his throat burned violently. Something was wrong. Was he sick?
Chris was staring at him now. "Are you okay?"
Ted blinked, trying to shake himself from his daze. "Yeah, yeah. Just thinking."
Chris frowned. "Are you sure? You don't look too good."
Ted nodded. Did he really look that bad? "Yes Chris, I'm fine. Why, is there something wrong with the way I look today?" He raised an eyebrow.
Chris immediately shook his head frantically. "Oh, oh no! That's not what I meant! It's just..."
"Just what?"
"You just look extra pale today is all. And you've got darker circles under your eyes. And you keep loosing focus! TED!"
Ted snapped to attention, staring at his friend in confusion. "What?"
"You did it again! You were staring at... something. My turtleneck? Is that what you're so wrapped up in? It hasn't changed since the last time you were here."
Ted was shocked, but nodded. How long had he been staring? "Sorry, sorry. Just a little tired." Another lie. He seemed to need to do that a lot recently, not that he exactly wanted to.
"Are you sure? You're not sick or something, are you? Cause you look sick and you're acting all weird." Chris gave him a concerned look. The worry in his usually bright eyes tugged at Ted's heart, though he didn't know why.
"Yeah. I'm fine, I swear."
Chris gave him a look and stood up. "I'm gonna get a snack. Want something? Watermelon juice? Ice cream?"
Ted bit his lip slightly. Well, he was pretty thirsty. "Uh... Yeah. Yeah that would be great. Thanks."
Chris flashed his signature grin and walked out the room. He turned the corner and Ted could nearly swear he heard him muttering something under his breath. He clearly heard his name, but then again, he had been doing weird things all day. What's a little auditory hallucination on top of it all?
He sprawled out on the couch and waited for his friend to return, trying to fund something, anything, that might distract him from the relentless burning in his throat. Maybe he shouldn't have come here. Maybe he was contagious.
Just then, a familiar voice let out a high pitched scream. Ted jolted up and jumped off the couch. That was Chris's voice. He was in some kind of trouble.