SWNOVELXO Chapter 21: 21
He made the return trip resting and half asleep, he arrived home, took a shower, changed into clothes suitable for his age and went out partying in Barcelona.
Pablo had just left the apartment door when he received a message from Laia.
"The neighbors have told my parents about yesterday's party. They have punished me for the weekend without going out*Emogi*Sad face*Sad face*Face with tears*. Ana is coming to eat a pitsa with me and she will see you in Plaza Real afterwards. See you on Monday.*Emogi*Kiss*Heart*Kiss*"
The vampire didn't know why but he felt a little disappointed, he had wanted to end the night of that first day with his friend. Shit what was he thinking, he was a cold being with millennia behind him, he couldn't let himself be carried away by sentimentality.
While he was heading to the subway stop to take the line towards the France station, the Vampire reviewed his options. Laia was out of the question. Her parents had grounded her for the neighbors' complaints. Angela didn't think she would take it well to insist so soon. She had made it clear that she intended to keep it casual by leaving so soon. Gisela? Well, it was a possibility to try to play with in case of emergency. It's true that she was interested in getting into the gothic environment to follow her vision, but it was early and she didn't know her well enough. Also, with his jeans and t-shirt, Pablo wasn't wearing the kind of clothes that were worn in the more alternative environments of Barcelona. She doubted that they would let him into any of the heavy clubs in the Marina area or even Undeath or similar clubs in the Sans neighborhood. Well, she would only call her if she couldn't find an alternative.
Another option was Ana or one of her friends. That girl wasn't from her high school, she was a friend of Laia's from school, and she usually brought an extra friend with her. They were a little older than Pablo and his friends, and most of the time they ended up laughing at them and at the fact that they were not of legal age. No, Ana was a good girl, but she didn't really have a good opinion of the rest, although for her purposes this mattered little.
By the time she left the house it was seven in the evening. She sent a message to her friends, she was going to see some shops around the terminal and that way they could have a drink later. Well, it wouldn't be bad to be somewhat sociable and go out with the boys. Having friends wasn't important to Pablo, but corrupting humans was, and many times friendship was a form of uncontrollable influence in the long term.
He sent them a message and they decided to meet in one of the trendy bars next to the Borne market, it was a Basque tavern, a good place to have a beer and some tapas.
When Pablo entered the Basque tavern Marc was alone at the bar, he was arguing with the waiter, despite being a repeat visitor and being a few months older than Pablo himself he still had the body and face of a youngster, so the waiter wanted to see his card before serving him a beer.
For any eighteen-year-old that was a serious offense, however when Draken arrived and greeted him the problem was over, Pablo just made a gesture and the waiter himself served him a beer without asking him or anything.
"You're a lucky bastard, if I had your body and your face I would already be the king of Barcelona"
"Bah... don't worry, we will soon reign, and if I am the king I can name you prime minister, something will fall on you, right?"
"Who is going to be prime minister of where?"
"Damn, Oriol, I thought you had fallen asleep, you got drunk almost as much as Pablo"
"Don't talk to me, I'm still hungover. Hey, you, get me a beer!"
Oriol, unlike Marc, seemed older; to avoid being asked for his ID, he had grown a ridiculous goatee months ago, between that and his taste for well-dressed shirts and a fairly decent physique, he could pass himself off as a twenty-year-old boy. Although the truth is that he was the youngest of the three, he had only turned seventeen two months ago.
The beer arrived quickly, much to the suffering and ridicule of poor Marc. The three began to talk about this and that, until Marc, the one who had remained the most sober of the three, looked at Draken attentively; the boy's attitude and shyness really seemed to have disappeared, he even seemed to have more confidence and sparkle in his eyes.
"You have fucked!"
Marc said this pointing at him with his finger. Oriol, more cautious, kept quiet but looked Pablo up and down.
"Don't fuck with me, Laia raped you last night, you know she's been after you since she met you, I've already told you that."
Pablo recalculated on the fly, it wasn't that he didn't want to tell his sexual adventure with his friend, it was that in those environments everything could end up being known and it was better that they didn't find out from him. Women didn't like to be the talk of the town unless they were the ones telling their exploits.
"No, it wasn't Laia..."
Oriol seemed disappointed but Marc understood Pablo's words immediately. Telling them the story of Gisela was too fanciful, they would call him a liar, so there was only one experience left to tell.
"Wait, wait, you didn't say you didn't fuck, you said it wasn't Laia. Come on man, don't make us suffer and tell us who finally deflowered you."
"The waitress..."
Marc looked surprised but Oriol began to pat his knee effusively.
"I already said that the Colombian looked at you with greedy eyes, tell me, what are her tits like? Do she have cookie nipples like I told you?"
"Yes, but don't shout because the whole bar is watching us."
The beers flowed while Pablo told his supposed friends about his recent sexual exploits with Angela. He omitted certain details of some sexual practices, but deep down he told them the truth, that he dared to invite them taking advantage of the fact that his parents would not be there, that they danced and that he fucked him like a cowgirl.
The boys followed the local custom in the Basque tavern. The pinchos or tapas were counted by the number and type of toothpick, the local art was to hide some without being noticed. Although it was clear to the waiters that the drinks were not real, the problem was proving it.
Once they had settled in, they went to the Plaza Real. This square had gone through many changes, among them after being a depressed area in the eighties it had flourished again, and now had several clubs for different ages, from Karma, where thirty-year-olds went to, to Arinbau, the club where young people who had just turned eighteen went.
The truth is that they didn't look at the cards much, the only one they asked for it was poor Marc. The rest of the group couldn't help but laugh at the boy. Night had already spread across Barcelona in that dark, nocturnal environment Pablo or the entity he was now felt much more comfortable than in the sunlight. The night was the territory of vampires and those who walked in the shadows.
Despite all the false myths, many were true, there had been so much contact with vampires that it was impossible for certain things not to pass into the collective imagination. Although they didn't burn with contact with the sun, it was true that in just a few seconds the skin plagued by parasites of a vampire would begin to turn red and have blisters as if they had a sunburn after spending many days on the beach, but this could be moderated with clothing, and now in this age with a lot of sun protection. But what the vampires disliked most was the bright light that damaged and dried out their sensitive eyes.
But at last Pablo could feel in top form. Although he had been surprised at how little the sun had affected that body, which was theoretically more infected with parasites than even the oldest vampire, it was as if by dint of being dormant for so many years and growing in that body they had become accustomed to it and acquired a certain resistance, he would have to discover what other surprises this new and strange body had in store for him.