The yellow house. Rafael stood in front of it, so many memories he had gathered over the years in that place. And sometimes, he even ended up in the hospital. He never forgot the time they tied bed sheets to their arms and legs and jumped out of the second-floor window, which was where Thomas's room was.
That day, he broke his arm, and Thomas lost two front teeth. When asked why they did it, their answer was that they wanted to glide. He had never seen a doctor laugh so much in his life.
He entered without ringing the doorbell, after all, he had been coming here forever. He soon found Sheila in the kitchen, casually talking on the phone.
"Good morning!"
"Hold on a minute," Sheila said to the person on the call. "You got here fast, Rafael!"
"Yes," he almost said that his mom hadn't left him any choice, but he knew Sheila knew that. "What happened this time?"
"He thinks he's a vampire."
"What?" Rafael felt dizzy, faced with such stupidity.
"Yeah, he woke up with that idea today. He even put a band-aid on his neck, where he says he got bitten. To be honest, some of my makeup is missing."
At that moment, Rafael understood why his mom told him to bring garlic. His head started to throb with anger. This was going to be a long day.
"I'll leave him with you then," Sheila said. "Good luck, and be sensible, both of you!"
Oh, he was definitely going to knock some sense into his friend, even if it was by force. He climbed the stairs to Thomas's room, where the door was slightly ajar, and judging by the darkness inside, it was clear the window was closed. Before he entered, he heard Thomas.
"Who dares to enter my domain of darkness and shadows?"
"Me," Rafael answered, opening the door and finding his friend on the other side of the room, with black-painted lips and eyes, wearing a ridiculous Cars-themed band-aid on his neck. He had even applied foundation to look paler.
"My dear servant," Thomas continued as he made his way to the bed, sitting as pompously as possible.
Rafael had never seen such a dramatic cross-legged pose in his entire life. Next to the bed was a glass with something red in it, and it didn't take long for Rafael to notice several tomato sauce packets hastily hidden under the mattress.
"Surprised?" Thomas asked, a bit of black lipstick smeared on his teeth.
"Quite."
"Understandable, mortal," Thomas said with satisfaction, lifting the glass with his pinky outstretched and barely touching it to his lips. "This morning, my only friend…"
"I probably am."
"I came to a realization," Thomas continued, ignoring the comment. "I've transcended humanity and risen as a prince of darkness."
"Drinking tomato juice?"
"This?" Thomas grinned foolishly, his teeth smeared with black. "It's virgin blood."
"Did you take your own blood, then?"
"A drink... screw you... A perfect drink for a vampire lord."
"You know, Thomas, I've seen many of your crazy ideas, but this one's new." Rafael began walking into the room.
Thomas jumped off the bed in a panic, crashing into the back wall. The glass of juice flew through the air. His chest heaved up and down, his face contorting in a way that looked like he had a stomach ache (but for Thomas, these were "ferocious" expressions).
"Look at the mess you made!" Rafael complained, pointing at the spilled tomato sauce on the floor.
"Are you crazy? Coming near me like that!" Thomas trembled as he touched the band-aid on his neck. "I'm still new at this vampire thing. I can't control my instincts."
Rafael had reached his limit. He walked over to the window and opened it. Thomas immediately started making high-pitched noises, like a cat in heat.
"I'm dying!"
"Don't give me hope! Now take that thing off your neck and go wash your face."
"Dying!!!" Thomas screamed again, throwing himself dramatically around the room.
Grinding his teeth, Rafael remembered the garlic head in his pocket. With all his strength, he threw a clove of garlic straight at his friend's forehead.
"Ow!" Thomas rubbed his now red forehead, staring at the garlic that had fallen to the floor.
"Weird, I thought vampires were supposed to be weak to garlic."
For twenty satisfying seconds, Rafael pelted the self-proclaimed prince of darkness with garlic cloves, making sure to throw them with force. Thomas was no longer pretending to be a vampire, instead cursing Rafael's entire family tree.
When he got close enough, Rafael ripped off the band-aid, and what he saw made his blood run cold.
"You…" The words wouldn't come out. "This is impossible." He couldn't believe it. "It must have been a bruise," he continued in denial, staring at the purple hickey on Thomas's neck.
"I got a hickey," Thomas replied, grinning with a mischievous look. His makeup was melting from the sweat.
Rafael felt his blood pressure drop for a second. But with a steady voice, he asked,
"When? Who?"
"I went to a party last night," Thomas said, seeing his friend's disbelief. "I have other friends, okay!"
"You got invited out of obligation, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Just get on with it, tell me what happened."
"We were playing Truth or Dare, and a goth girl…" Rafael interrupted him suddenly.
"A what?!"
"A goth!"
"Tell me," Rafael said coldly, grabbing his friend by the collar. "How big was her ass?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just say it!"
"It was big!"
Rafael collapsed onto the floor, having lost all strength or faith in humanity. His friend's first hickey had come from a "big-assed" goth girl.
It was then that everything clicked in Rafael's mind—the reason for the call, the whole vampire charade. He looked at Thomas, who smiled back at him with that stupid grin, his teeth still smeared.
"You only called me here to brag!"
"Who? Me? I'd never do that!"
"You know you're a real son of a bitch, right?"
"So aggressive," Thomas laughed, sitting beside his friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I could explain the sensations to a pure soul like you."
Rafael wanted to strangle him.
"But I thought to myself, I won't spoil the surprise for you, my virgin friend."
Rafael had to fight the urge to vomit.
"And this year at school, you'll probably get one from Cecilia."
"What?"
"This year, man, we're in the same class, and I'll be your Cupid!"
"God help me," Rafael thought. But the idea of having his neck bitten by the girl he liked sounded interesting. This was going to be a long year.
"Can you help me clean the floor?" Thomas asked, pointing to the tomato sauce.
"Not a chance."