Wrong Place Wrong Time

[FaithWynters]

Ian had to fight the urge to laugh at her question. Yes, they had been doing a lot with blood. They had been feeding, but it was normal. He had been moving and going and fighting for almost a day straight. She had lost a lot of blood. It was a natural reaction. It was the reason that they had drank. Their bodies were trying to heal themselves and this was the easiest way for them to do so. He was thinking much clearer now, that he was certain.


He just kept that stupid smile on his lips as she refused his offer. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was afraid of some ill effect that would never come or the fact that she still hated him and wanted nothing to do with him. He kept his lazy stance in the doorway.


“You realized it’s been over a day since you disappeared? She’s already called the police, Charlotte. They’re probably looking for me right now because they think I’ve kidnapped you myself and taken you somewhere.” He laughed quietly at the thought of the police trying to catch him. All Shelly had was a first name and a face to go off of. That was probably enough. Maybe it was a good idea for her to go home, but then would Shelly insist on her going to the hospital. “That’ll be more hours in an interrogation room telling a story that you don’t actually know” He pulled his arms out in front of him, the joints in his back gave a pleasing pops.


“Besides, I mean going to get liquor and drinking. Really takes the edge off.” He smirks, leaning in the room slightly. “Maybe you can just tell Shelly you had a fling at my place?” He couldn’t help the wink. He was acting much more nonchalant about all of this than he probably expected himself to be. “We did it early into the morning so we slept all day or something” He wasn’t looking at her anymore. His eyes had made their mark somewhere off in the never ending distance, thinking up little tales in his mind. If she insisted on going back she had to have some sort of cover story.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte hadn't known how long she'd been missing from her apartment. If she'd been gone for over a day like Ian said then Shelly had already come home from work to see her room probably torn to shreds. She'd also accidentally called Shelly when she had tried to call the police which meant there was a chance that she heard something over the phone if she did answer.


His sudden devil-may-care attitude pissed her off. She didn't even realized she had pressed her hand so hard on the mirror that it crackled and shattered under the pressure. She jerked her bloody hand back with a small hiss of pain and clenched her fist closed.


"You're horrible. One moment you don't seem to care about anything. The next your miserable. Now you're laughing and joking. How is any of this amusing?"


She wanted to slap him so hard right now but she stayed where she was. She wasn't usually this violent or this unstable emotionally. She wanted this emotional roller-coaster over and done with. She didn't know if drinking herself into a stupor would help make her forget or make her more angry at Ian. She felt completely alone even with Ian standing right there in the doorway.


"You're not a monster because you feed off people. You're a monster because you don't give a shit. You laugh while others are in pain."


She was done. She didn't want to be in the house or anywhere near Ian. So in an instant she had thrown herself out of the bathroom window. She'd already learned she healed relatively fast what was a few more shards in her flesh? She had to pull a rather large shard out of her shoulder but the rest were just small cuts and slices.


She was somewhat familiar with the neighbor so she knew the general direction of her apartment complex. She took off running. She didn't care if she looked like some horror movie victim fleeing for her life. She'd get to her apartment and hope no one was there and that no one would notice her presence. She ran as fast as she could even with her wound stinging in protest. She wasn't sure how long it had taken her to reach her apartment but when she got there it was relatively inactive.


The door had police tape covering it indicating that her roommate had indeed called the police. Charlotte carefully opened the door and entered as quietly as she could. They'd destroyed the apartment. Everything was a mess and strewn all over the place. She walked to her room where the door had been broken down so easily as if it had been made of paper. The writing in blood on the wall made her shudder. One for the smell of blood and the other was because of who was responsible for writing it there.


She had originally intending to grab what she could and leave. But the familiarity drew her in and broke her down. She curled up on her bed and hugged her pillow to her chest and finally broke down like a little girl and cried.

 

[FaithWynters]

She did not find him amusing. Did he really expect her to take his new change in mood in stride? God, he was just screwing up all across the board. He flinched when he heard the sound of glass breaking inside the bathroom. He glanced up but quickly moved his vision away. Nope. She wasn’t enjoying the jokes.


He could smell her blood again, but he was not tempted anymore. He was just trying to figure out what he was doing. He didn’t know what the hell was expected from him. He kept silent. She was angry, that was more than obvious. He wasn’t going to test her anger anymore by trying to explain himself. Nothing was amusing. Ian wanted just to tell her that, but he bit his tongue. It wasn’t worth possibly getting the shit kicked out of him by Charlotte. He was sure by how easily she had just broken the mirror that she could kill him.


He had to admit that he did have a few choice words that he had to fight hard to keep within himself as she ranted at him. She had been angry the whole time they had known each other. There was not one time where she wasn’t calling him a liar (granted he was one) or just taking everything to heart. It was beginning to become unbearable. Maybe if she just relaxed a little bit things wouldn’t be so bad.


The only thing he can do when she jumps is cringe. Really? He lets out a groan. Did she really have to break his window? This was a home. There was a door for a reason. He doesn’t try to stop her, he just stands there in silence. She was such a drama queen. In this case, he had to admit that was the pot calling the kettle black, but still. She jumped. Out of the Window.


Ian doesn’t even bother cleaning up the glass from the mirror either. Now that he thought about it—she broke that too! Another groan and he turned on his heel and walked back toward the bedroom. If she wanted to run the streets like some kind of wild animal then let her. If she wanted to go home and get caught by the cops and questioned he would let her. She would be back when she got thirsty and couldn’t figure out how to feed without killing someone…Or she would kill someone. Then she would be up a creek. Maybe he just wouldn’t help her. Maybe she could just fend for herself. He was doing his best not to just fall apart—he was doing his best to help her—but she obviously knew everything she needed to know.


The claws of anger were pulling at him, trying to bring him closer. Fine. Let her. Ian fell headfirst onto the soft bed. The sheets smelled and were stained of blood. A quiet groan escaped his lips. He picked himself up and began pulling the sheets away. More housework. Great.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte was tired after crying for about an hour. Her neighbors were probably freaked out if they heard her. She didn't want to left her bed. She wanted to close her eyes and when they opened everything would return to normal; pre-Ian. She was regretting jumping out of the window now for a variety of reasons. Firstly she wanted to make a mental note to herself that she could claim temporary insanity due to a post traumatic stress disorder thanks to nearly dying and waking up a vampire by the person who was basically the entire reason she'd been tortured. Also, Ian had been in the doorway and wasn't sure she could have pushed him out of the way to leave.


She sniffled and sat up on her bed while still clinging to her pillow. She'd made a bloody mess of her bed but what did it even matter. She hated to admit that Ian had a point about the police. She'd put his phone away and Shelly had been the one to tell Ian where they had lived. Shelly probably blamed herself for Charlotte going missing.


She got up off the bed and gently placed the pillow on top of the mess of sheets. She hoped they hadn't raided the liquor cabinet where Shelly stashed her booze. It turned out they hadn't really done much more than make a mess so there were quite a few options for her to choose from. She ended up grabbing the bottle of rum. She used her fingers to peel off the waxy coat over the cork that kept the liquid inside its glass container. She took a swig from the mouth of the bottle once she removed the corked and cringed from its potency.


She took the bottle back into her bedroom and took another sip as she looked over the ruined remains. She set the bottle down in the middle of the floor before going to her tiny excuse of a desk and pulling out some paper and a pen that had been inside of the single drawer. She wrote a note to Shelly. This was probably a terrible idea but she didn't want Shelly feeling like this had been all her fault. Even if Ian hadn't come to her house that night they probably still would have shown up and done the exact same thing.


She didn't write down anything detailed. She simply said she had been kidnapped and hurt a bit by some friends of the guys from the laundromat. She lied in the note stating she'd managed to escape and get back to the apartment but that she felt that the police wouldn't be able to protect her. She did mention Ian in this note to try and clear him of being a possible suspect stating that he had been taken along with her. She would mail this to the bar with Shelly's name on it since she didn't know where she was currently.


Her nightstand table had been knocked over though the drawer had remained shut. She pulled it open and retrieved Ian's phone. She turned it on and looked at the messages that had caused him to race out of her apartment. She looked at the contact's name.


"Farrah."


She turned the phone back off deciding to take it with her instead of leaving it in the apartment. She wasn't sure what else she could do now that she was alone. Thankfully Ian hadn't followed her or she probably would have become completely unhinged again. He just kept pushing her buttons left and right. This was a talent that only he seemed to have. She hated liars. Sure everyone lied but there was a line that some people went over when they lied.


She drank from the bottle once again. She was scared of being left all alone even if she would never admit that. That was what her life was going towards right now. She could either pack her things and live as some vagrant and figure out this whole vampire thing herself or she could drag her ass back to Ian's home and be constantly ready to punch him in the face for being fake all the time. The idea of punching him did have its perks.


Another sip.


She packed a few basic things. She grabbed her toiletries from the bathroom which had been left completely untouched. She also grabbed whatever clothing she could fit into her small sports pack. Her laptop hadn't survived the assault and was currently in pieces all over the floor. However her iPod had managed to escape onto the safety of her bed. The last thing she grabbed was her pillow. It probably would look strange walking around with a pillow but she didn't care. Once she managed to find a pair of socks and shoes she left the apartment with her things. The pack strap rested on her shoulder, the pillow was tucked under her arm which also had the hand that held the bottle of rum. She had shoved Ian's phone into the bag as well and didn't even bother trying to find hers. She shoved the note for Shelly into the complex drop box and left the building.


She made her way back to Ian's. It shouldn't been to hard to get back to that neighborhood and find the only house with a broken window. Wgen she finally did arrive and used her foot to knock on the door. She was also pretty much done with the rum bottle. There were perhaps a few sips left and she was feeling the affects of the alcohol in her system.

 

[FaithWynters]

I call her Firefly 'Cause, oh, my—she radiates moon glow. Wants none of that noon glow. She starts to glitter when the sun goes down 'Bout eight PM, its mayhem. She switches those brights up lights up and gives me a call: Take me to the Fireflies ball.


Ian couldn’t help but hum quietly to the music that now rang out from the stereo system that was set up in the room. He couldn’t boast window rattling bass like some of the people that drove up and down the street had, but he was content with what he had. This music didn’t need the bass. It just needed to be loud enough to drown out any thoughts he might be having.


Instead of leaving the sheets in the hamper, he had decided that he would just throw the his clothes in the washing machine. He didn’t want the smell of blood attracting some sort of bug into the house. So, the washing machine was on downstairs, washing away all the blood and the evidence. Now, he was fixing the bed up with an almost identical set of sheets, enjoying the jazz that had been on shuffle since he had begun the task.


The jazz was soothing. Many called it an acquired taste that many didn’t have anymore, but he had loved it from the beginning. Sometimes Farrah forgot where his roots were. She would come in to him playing old Ellington or a Smack Henderson arrangement and ask him why he was listening to such dirty music. He smiled at the thought. He always teased her about reading Austen and Dickens when they were originally published. Sometimes they would dance alone together in the darkness, just enjoying each other’s company for the long hours until night. Secretly she loved the music, but would never dream of telling Ian that.


Smack Smack Smack The pillows were flat now with a few good hits on the bed. Now, he had nothing more really to worry about. He would leave the bathroom for later when he had more gumption. Now, he just let himself fall into the freshly made bed. A quiet groan escaped his lips as he stretched himself out, quiet little pops sent a wave of pleasure through his body. It was always more comfortable when he could stretch out like this. He pushed his arms underneath the cold pillow, smothering his face and returning it to darkness.


He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep with the stereo on in the room and the washing machine making periodic buzzing noises to inform him of the change in cycles. He also didn’t hear the sounds at the door as he closed his eyes and allowed his body to further rest.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte heard some music from inside of the house and maybe a washing machine. However after a long moment there was no answer at the door. She didn't know if Ian was that pissed at her for breaking his window and was ignoring her, if he couldn't here her, or if he had left the house. She disliked people who banged loudly on doors so she simply tried knocking once again rather than risk probably breaking his door down. She honestly hadn't expected to have gone through that window so easily earlier or break the window.


She did have his cell phone but didn't want to use it to call his house. That might freak him out because he might not have even remembered he had dropped it at her apartment. She sighed as she stood there awkwardly at the door slowly starting to lose her nerve about coming back to this house. However she didn't really have anywhere else to go and she was worried that if she did find Shelly she'd be dragged to a hospital. The first thing they would notice there was the fact that she no longer had a heartbeat.


There was still no answer at the door. Those guys knew where Ian lived didn't they? What if there were more of them lurking around and maybe already came back here trying to find Ian. She experimentally tried the handle of the door only to find it locked. She knocked more firmly this time but still not to the point of desperate banging.


"Ian?"


She called out his name just loud enough to maybe be heard over the noise in the house but not loud enough to make the neighbors worry she was some burglar. Besides what burglar stood at the door knocking while holding a rum bottle and a pillow?

 

[FaithWynters]

He had been lying in the bed for well over twenty minutes before he heard the buzzer go off the indicated that the clothes were finished washing. He still hadn't been able to go to sleep with the music ringing in his ears, but it achieved the goal. He was no longer thinking about the girl or the broken window or the future. He was living in the music and closing his eyes to the real world. He wasn't as depressed as he should have been. He wasn't particularly following the five steps to grieving that he had heard Farrah mention one time when she had two dogs and one of them died. He was sad one moment and trying to forget the next. He was a ball of string that had been tossed around too many times.


He pulled his shirtless body out of the bed, walking towards the door. He left the music on, for he could probably hear it downstairs, closing the door behind him. He walked silently into the bathroom, grabbing the empty hamper and walking it with him down the stairs.He hummed quietly to himself the melody that was playing in the empty room as he walked toward the back room. The soft carpet soothed his bare feet until he made it to the cold tiles of the kitchen. The light in the back room was on, and he smiled as he walked into the light. It felt good to actually be doing things and getting the house cleaned up and the chores done. He walked to the dryer, pulling open the white metal door.


He scooped the clothes out of the cylinder, letting their warmth wrap around him. The scent of detergent overwhelmed his senses. It felt good and he sighed as he dropped them lazily back into the hamper. A few more seconds and the wet clothes were being taken out of the washing machine and into the dryer. He wouldn't be done with these clothes for at least forty-five minutes.The song had changed over by the time he picked up the hamper and made his way through the kitchen. He was humming quietly when he heard something outside. Had someone just...called his name? He looked toward the door--he had stopped about ten feet away. Another knock came from the door. There were very few people in this town that knew of him--that knew his name and knew where he lived. He walked slowly towards the door, taking the time to look through the peep hole before sighing. He knew he knew that voice. It was Charlotte. He rested the hamper on his hip as he reached forward, turning the locks on the door. Was he really about to accept her back into his home. He smirked quietly, pulling the door open about a foot.


"Well I see you decided to try the door this time. It's an amazing invention, isn't it?" The smirk that had been on his lips only moments before was now gone. He was giving her that 'I'm not amused--you're in trouble' face that one's mother might give them; he knew that his mama shot him that look quite a few times. He held the doorknob with his hand, leaning his weight forward just enough to be able to push the door back on her if she wanted to get in. "What do you want, Charlotte?" If she could act angry all the time then he had the right to do the same.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte had been just about to leave when the locks on the door clicked and the door opened. Whatever she had planned to say had sputtered to nonsense in her head when she noticed he was shirtless. She gave herself a mental slap and stood there tensely outside of the threshold of his house. When he had asked her that sarcastic question she knew she deserved it a bit. However the look he was trying to give her didn't really give her some childish guilt but rather annoyance.


Don't snap. Don't snap. He's the only person who can help you right now.





She drained the the rum bottle's content for courage and as a way to delay what she was going to have to say. She was probably going to become an alcoholic at this rate.


"Look, the whole window thing was a bit insane. I can admit that. But it was either the window or trying to body slam you out of the way. As far as what I want? Irrelevant pretty much since what I want is impossible. However I," she really hated having to say this, "need you help."


She inhaled deeply and then exhaled. That had been pretty difficult for her. She hated asking people for help. One of her many flaws really; this one fell under stubbornness. She wasn't sure what to expect from him. It could be that as far as he was concerned he'd saved her life and didn't owe her anything. She hadn't been one to keep score of the whole 'I-saved-you-so-you-owe-me' thing.

 

[FaithWynters]

It took a lot for him to not say anything about the empty rum bottle.He had asked her if she wanted to go out for a drink. Instead, she runs off and ends up drinking. Maybe he had wanted to drink? Besides, how old was this girl anyway. She said she had been in college, but still...She looked young. He pushed the idea out of his mind. She was obviously old enough to drink because she had been drinking in the bar the night of their second meeting. He decided it was best to not bring up the bottle in her hand.It was very obvious that she was keeping things inside of her too. He could be civil--as much as he didn't want to be--and at least not start a fight about the simple things that seemed to bring tension between them.


Charlotte had been talking, but he had hardly been listening. He was too lost in thought to really have heard every word she spoke. Ian had gotten the jist of it and the old vampire had to fight himself not to laugh at her. She was naïve and this inexperience was amusing. He had been afraid before that she might get too angry and kill him out of some natural instinct that was within her. She didn't understand how strong she was in an addition to her invulnerability.He debated possibly letting her find out on her own in the real world that she could break a man's nose anytime she wished. He thought about making her find out that when she punched a human in the stomach while he was trying to mug her that she actually caused his stomach to burst open. She could kill people. She was actually strong enough now, while she had newborn blood running through her to kill vampires. Ian wasn't going to tell her that though. She could rough him up a bit.


The smile slowly began to tug at the corners of his lips. He wanted to smile. It wasn't particularly out of happiness that he was going to have help this...ungrateful girl, but out of the satisfaction that now ran through waves in his body. She needed him. Oh how he knew that it burned her ass to tell him that she needed him. A very satisfied smirk now lightened up his features.


"Fine" The word was simple; the smile was gone. "First lesson:" He watched her a moment, shifting the hamper on his hip so he had a better grip before tossing it off to the side. He did not feel like letting the clean clothes fall onto the floor once she figured out what she was supposed to do. Since she had been too afraid to get him out of the way earlier (for the record: he would have moved had she asked) and decided to break his window, he knew very well what she would be learning. "You're not getting into this house unless you get me out of the way." The smirk that had disappeared had now returned. She needed to learn how strong she was and realize that she was much more powerful than she thought she was. "If you need my help then I'll help you, but you're going to have to work for it."

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte was trying to maintain control over herself. Telling him that she needed him made her feel a variety of emotions inside that weren't exactly pleasant and many were confusing. She also had an urge to kick his shin because she assumed that he was enjoying the fact that she needed his help way too much. This is why she hated asking for help or saying that she needed someone. They viewed it as having a power over you and every single time they would abuse that power.


His terms for helping her made her quirk a brow to indicate that she didn't think he was serious. He wanted her to shove her way into his home? He was mad at her for breaking his window but it was fine to barge into his house? He was way too confusing. She stood there for a moment wondering if many he had been joking. Or perhaps because he wanted her to beg him to let her in since she couldn't possibly get past him.


She sighed as she set her things down. They would probably hinder her attempts. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. She decided that she could try and squeeze past him on one side and get in the house that way. She wasn't sure how well that would work but it was worth a shot.


So she stared at him directly in his eyes for a long moment. She then tried to rush past his left side and into the house.

 

[FaithWynters]

He probably shouldn’t have expected any less from her than what happened. He was watching her in the silence that had pursued after he had told her how she was going to get his help. They probably shouldn’t have been messing around seeing as there were still a lot of things they had to do pertaining to her old life, but Ian felt that this was just as important as anything else they did.


She did the most logical thing to her. She tried to pull his attention away from what they were doing. She had gotten fairly close by just running inside, but he had positioned himself holding the door and keeping close guard on the small space between him and the doorframe.


“No Ma’am” He couldn’t help the hearty laugh as he pulled an arm around her waist, holding her body pressed against him for a moment. The smirk was back, and he couldn't help turning her slightly, and leaning down so that they were face to face--eye to eye. Then, after a moment of their eyes being locked he pushed her back outside of the home. She wasn’t just going to be able to run around him; he wasn’t that stupid. She would have to get physical with him. She would have to show him exactly how strong she was. He watched her, glancing behind her in the darkness. If anyone had seen the movement, the probably would have been pretty confused at what they were doing.


“I’ll give you a hint.” He tilted his head slightly, thrusting a hand through the thick curls on his head. “You may not look like it, but you’re a lot stronger than I am right now, Charlotte.” He shifted the weight on his feet trying to get into more defensible stance yet trying to make it not so noticeable what he was doing.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte had figured he'd be able to prevent her from getting in so easily. She had hoped that maybe she'd get lucky and perhaps he'd somehow screw up and she'd get in. If she had actually managed to do just that she totally would have stuck her tongue out at him in victory. It was childish and she knew it but damn it he would have deserved it! Or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself.


Once she was back right where she had started she clenched her fists. This was going to get old very fast. When he told her she was stronger than him she had to resist rolling her eyes. It didn't make any sense to her but why the hell not. If he wanted her to get more physical in getting into his house then she could say he'd been literally asking for it.


She looked him over trying to analyze the situation. She'd never had to shove someone out of the way before. This was strange for her so she had no prior experience to depend on when it came to this. She had always been able to just squeeze by people if she had been blocked. There was a few more minutes of mental discussion with herself till eventually she decided to say, "Fuck it."


She decided to try and push him back and out of the way with all she had. She'd probably be lucky and manage to get him to budge just enough for her to get into the house.

 

[FaithWynters]

Ian watched the emotions flit across her face. He was sure that she was thinking of another way of getting inside that didn’t involve any physical contact. She was a very clever girl—he had no doubt about that—but as he looked around the area he saw no real way of getting into the house without pushing past him. Well.. Pushing him out of the way and going past.


She seemed to be thinking for a long time, emotions that flashed across her face and left again, and the periodic sound of cars driving by were the only indication that time still moved forward. He watched her, waiting for any sudden movements. Then, she curses and he tilts his head, the sly smirk falling naturally into place on his face.


“Oh what? Give up so easily Charlo-“ She doesn’t even let him finish his sentence before she rears back and pushes him as hard as she could. It was probably a mistake to tell her how she had, because the force of her two hands shoving him backwards did not just send him toppling over himself, they sent him practically flying through the air. The only thing that stopped him his head hitting the first step on the staircase. The force of landing on the ground had knocked the breath from his lungs and he took in a sharp breath to replace the empty feeling in his chest. He stifled the groan that threatened to escape his lips. He had gone through much worse, but he was not appreciating the carpet burn across his bare back.


“I told you that you were a lot stronger” It took him a moment of lying on the ground before he rolled himself over on his stomach and picked himself up off of the ground. He pulled his arms up above his head, his back popping in a quiet wave throughout. “Wasn’t that hard was it?” There was a pleased smile on his lips as she slowly started walking back towards her.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte hadn't expect what happened when she shoved him. She had expected a nudge and maybe a stumble to grant her access. Instead she sent Ian back so forcefully he landed all the way to the bottom of the stairs. She stood there a bit flabbergasted for a moment with her hands still in front of her from her push. It took her a moment to remember she needed to be in the house to get his help so she quickly stepped past the threshold of the doorway after she had grabbed her belongings.


She felt bad about shoving him that hard but she really hadn't expected for that to happen at all. She was still trying to wrap her mind around how little effort such a powerful push like that took now. This was probably not a good thing. What she didn't understand was why Ian was smiling about the whole ordeal. She'd just shoved him so hard the wind had been knocked out of him. She wasn't sure if she could trust that smile.


"Are you some sort of masochist?"


She wanted to maintain at least a three foot distance between them now. She wasn't sure if he was going to retaliate even though he'd been the one to tell her to break into his house with him in her path.

 

[FaithWynters]

She didn’t expect the fall. Ian could tell that she wasn’t expecting him to fall back when he picked himself up off the ground and the look on her face was dumbfounded. He chuckled quietly as he took a step forward. She was keeping her distance now, as if the fact that he was smiling freaked her out. Now she spoke and he shook his head. Ian couldn’t help rolling his eyes as he walked back toward the hamper. He noticed that she moved to keep distance between them.


“No. You’re finally starting to realize what type of power you have” He picked up the hamper, replacing it to his hip. “I don’t enjoy the pain—no—that’s only when you’re caught in the moment and the pain can just take you over the edge!” He raised his voice just slightly, the laugh following very soon after. He was kidding. Probably just trying to lighten the mood like always. She was always so serious—so uptight.


“Now, come help me fold this stuff up” He waved for her to follow as he walked toward the couch that rested, facing the television in the alcove on the right side of the stairs. There wasn’t much there, but he would need to go get the rest of the clothes from the dryer in a few minutes and he wanted this done before they were dry.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte nearly threw her pillow at his face as he teased her. She had no idea what to expect when it came to Ian. They basically knew each other's names and appearances and that was pretty much it. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to know more since more than likely once he had helped her transition to this new lifestyle he'd probably tell her to leave.


She followed after him when he told her to help him fold his laundry. It wasn't like there was much else for her to do right now. He was the vampire with the experience and the only person who was probably willing and able to help her in her current situation. So if that meant having to beat him up at his request or folding laundry; what choice did she have?


Before she sat down she pulled Ian's cell phone out of her back pocket and held it out for him.


"I figure you'd like this back. You dropped it when you left my apartment. And - uh - I only got a bit nosy... and wanted to know her name. I only read that."


She felt a bit awkward telling him about invading his privacy. But she really didn't feel like having to act and to lie about the matter. It was a pain to lie really. She'd seen a few friends back in high school get so caught up in lying, that eventually they'd built up a web of lies so large that when it all came apart they ended up dropping out of school.


"I also wrote a note for Shelly saying that I had managed to escape from the guys who broke into the apartment and that you had been taken along with me. I'm not sure if that will clear your name or not but it's better than leaving her feeling like it was all her fault when it wasn't."


With that she flopped down on the couch next to Ian and held out her hand to be handed something to fold.

 

[FaithWynters]

He didn’t wait for her to come near to start folding the clothes. He had a shirt in his hand, pulling sleeve to sleeve, trying to keep the clothes neat. He had thrown everything in the washer together. Women’s clothes, his clothes, the sheets from his bed upstairs, underwear, and socks. Really, he had everything in the machine. He was very much a ‘fail swoop’ kind of guy. The only think he washed separate were light clothes. He had been lucky and nothing had bled onto anything else yes.


“Don’t particularly need it anymore” He shrugged, taking the phone and dropping it onto the couch. He had friends, yes, but they travelled often like Farrah had. Sometimes they would stop by and stay for a night or two before moving on to business or new feeding grounds. He looked down at the phone for a moment, shaking his head and setting the folded shirt beside him.


There were two types of vampires if you categorized them as Ian did. There were the home base vampires like Ian who usually took their money and bought nice homes in good neighborhoods. They either found a mate or lived in cities large enough for them to remain a nameless face. They kept in a centralized location. Ian liked the concrete feeling of having a home—something he had never felt as a child and that was why he kept at home (and because of Farrah, of course). Then, there were vampires that travelled the country side finding hitch hikers, prostitutes, unfortunates that missed the bus, and anyone they could find to feed from. They usually kept in motels or slept with their victims. It was very simple routine and they got to see a lot of the world and other vampires as they travelled. Sometimes, you found someone like Farrah in the mix. She was somewhere in between a traveler and a home based vampire. She had accepted Ian as his mate and only fed when she was away. She travelled often, worked with one of the few North American vampire councils, and then returned home every so often.


Others always warned Ian that Farrah may have found another mate somewhere across the country and she bounced back and forth, but the pay check kept coming to the house and he loved her. He had to trust her just as she trusted him to only feed when he felt that he needed it. She understood; he understood; they had to trust each other. He didn’t want to think about her possibly being with another, so he would just let it rest with her. He didn’t believe the idea anywhere.


“Here” He smiles to Charlotte, holding out a blouse to her. He wouldn’t give her something embarrassing to fold like underwear. He picked out something else from the basket and folded it. There were only a few more shirts and the sheets from his bed left to fold. “That probably won’t clear my name. Now they either think I’m dead or I’ve kidnapped you. Probably shouldn’t have said my name at all, but it can’t be helped now.” He shrugged putting the shirt on top of the other folded shirt. They were much more civil now than he expected. He leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes, and relaxing his arms into his lap.


“By the way, thanks for the drink” He nodded towards the bottle, crinkling his nose and laughing. “Drunkard.”

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte took the blouse and folded it with expert speed. She had been the only person that ever did the laundry since she was able to. However she wasn't against just tossing it on the bed and curling up under a mass of clean clothes without bothering to fold them either. College life had allowed her to enjoy some messy moments without having to stress about someone nagging for her to clean up.


When he called her a drunkard she stuck her tongue out at him. She wondered if vampires could get hangovers. The easiest thing to do would have been to ask Ian but she didn't. She could learn some things on her own. She didn't want to be dependent on him and she was going to have to probably find some way to ask all the questions that were probably the most important.


"Fine, next time I'll share with you. We'll play drinking games and then you can really poke fun at me. I always lose those."


She was trying to keep the conversation light. She had a task for now. What happened when she was done folding clothes? She leaned over and grabbed something else to fold after placing the blouse to the side. Eventually she was probably going to run out of mind numbing tasks and confront her issues again.


"Soooooooo," she began awkwardly.


"What exactly is true about being a vampire since all I have are really overdone movies. Crosses? How would that work if a vampire was an atheist? Or running water? Because the water in the tub was running but it didn't bother me. Then I guess... garlic, holy water, silver, the sun..."


She began rambling slightly and once she realized she was kind of asking questions like a toddler she snapped her mouth shut. Why couldn't she have been somehow mentally transformed as well? People who became vampires in the movies were all of a sudden sexy and powerful and could do whatever they pleased. Now here was Charlotte being pretty much the same except for the fact she was a vampire.

 

[FaithWynters]

“Yeah well it’s kind of hard for someone to win at a drinking game against someone who’s been doing them since he did them in the speakeasies.” He chuckled quietly, continuing the idle work as he thought back to the time when he had been so careless. He thought that life had just started. In reality, it kind of had, but not in the way he expected. The longer he thought about it, the more he wanted a drink. He shook his head, he usually didn’t drink like this, but the burning in his throat always reminded him of the amazing time when he was still human.


Finally, the sheet was folded. He watched the empty basket for a moment before looking back up to her. She was asking all sorts of questions that he wasn’t sure how he was going to answer. It would have been much easier if he had been able to answer them in stride, but she probably wanted answers.


“Well…” He took a moment to get his thoughts in order. “How about the more important things first, hm?” Ian pulled himself off of the couch, picking up the hamper. The dryer rang out across the house. He smiled; what kind of awesome timing that was! “The sun is probably your biggest problem. Come on” He began walking back towards the kitchen. “The sun will burn you, but not like a burst-into-fire sort of way. In about an hour, you’ll get a sunburn that will blister a few hours after you get back inside. It hurts—worse than any kind of sun burn you’ve had and the whole time you’re in the sun it’s like that, no matter if you’ve been there for a few seconds or the whole hour. While you’re outside it hurts.” He had made it back to the kitchen.


“So say you’re out for the whole day? Say you’ve decided that you think it’s a good idea to go sun bathing at the beach? After about eight or nine hours, you’ll start to scar and after that your insides bake and you just drop dead.” He pulled the dryer open and began throwing clothes into the hamper. “In short, you’re allowed some leeway, but if you get stupid you’re going to die. If someone ties you up and has you sitting out in the sun for the day then you’re dead.” He was speaking from experience; it was a very painful experience for all parties involved.

 

[Daeus]

She ended up following after him. His house was still fairly unfamiliar to her. Charlotte sighed unhappily about the fact that she'd never be able to enjoy another sunny day. It wasn't that she wasn't a night owl; she was. However she also enjoy lazy warm days where you could just flop down on your back and stare up at the sky. Maybe that desire came from some vitamin deficiency for all she knew.


So two things were real; vampires drank blood and were weak against being out during the day. She hoped she didn't have the ability to change into a swarm of bats or fog. That would just be a little bit too weird for her to handle right now. The way he also described how the sun would affect her didn't sound like a pleasing way to die either. She would have preferred spontaneous combustion rather than being slowly roasted.


"Guess they don't make a strong enough sun lotion for vampires yet," she tried to joke.


At least from what she saw of Ian's house there weren't any coffins. That was something else she found weird about Hollywood vampires. Why did they sleep in the coffin they were buried in? It didn't seem like it would have been comfortable or even practical. Maybe because it was light-tight? She wondered where Ian slept since he obviously had windows which would have let light into his house.

 

[FaithWynters]

"I wish" He laughed quietly, trying to continue with the small talk. She was curious and for once it was calming for someone to be curious. She was taking it much better now. Ian wasn't sure if it was that she had finally accepted that there was no going back or the fact that she was trying really hard to keep her cool. He hoped she had just accepted it because the latter wouldn't keep her calm forever. What happened if it hit her again? Ian didn't care about that right now. He was just happy that the situation had been calm. This normality was welcomed with open arms. He just hoped that it would last.


"If you see, the windows have thick curtains. If you end up staying here a while you'll notice that I pull them back at night sometimes. I like looking outside when I can. Just have to make sure to pull them back when it gets to be morning." The smile was there. It was a sincere smile that was warm and happy. He picked up the hamlet and closed the dryer door. Those were all the clothes that needed to be washed so he didn't have to change anything over or start anything else.


"What else is there?" He absentmindedly walked back into the kitchen, but stopped when he reached the bar. "Oh. So the whole crosses and holy water burning our skin thing? Yeah, that doesn't happen. Religion is a matter of opinion as you brought up before so it’s sort of null and void." He dropped the jumped on the ground and it landed with a 'slap' on the ground.


Ian walked around the island, pressing his body against the stone counter on the opposite side. The cold of the smooth stone made goose bumps rise on his stomach, and across his chest. He opened the cabinet and looked inside.


"You hungry?" Glancing from her to the cabinet he noticed there were quite a few options for dinner. “I am a damn good cook” He smirked, fingering through the different types of pastas, sauces, and assorted goodies that he had stashed away for when his sweet tooth took over. He was purposefully boasting to seem like a cocky ass. It was probably something you would never have someone admit, but he did it to keep the light mood and the banter back and forth. He was very aware that he wasn’t the best, but he knew that she might have a comment. Besides, a hundred years of cooking for yourself and another made you get very good at cooking. Even if they weren’t human and could last without food they still had appetites like a human would have. Hunger pains were just as bad for a vampire as a human.


“I’m thinking…pasta or tacos. Ooh, I make a nice chicken and rice casserole” He laughed quietly at his own joke. He felt very strange saying that. It wasn’t normal for him to ask what someone wanted. Usually, he made whatever because most of the time Farrah didn’t eat.

 

[Daeus]

Charlotte was relieved to know that some of those weaknesses shown in the movies weren't real. She'd also have to remember to keep the curtains drawn if she actually ended up staying here for a period of time. She had returned mostly because she had nowhere else to go. For all she knew Ian had let her in to talk with her and then would ask her to leave at some point.


She continued to follow after him as he went about his tasks. When he headed to the kitchen she wondered if he had some weird stash of blood that he used when he was thirsty. It didn't sound like something that would have been very appealing to a vampire but what the hell did she know. She was slightly surprised when he asked her if she was hungry. Though the comment of him claiming to be a good cook made her give him a skeptical look.


"Vampires still get hungry and eat normal food? That kind of sucks," she commented.


She expected that once your heart had stopped beating that it pretty much meant your body wouldn't be able to even digest food... rather that it would probably rot in their gut. She hoped that it wasn't some common vampire practice to eat food then threw up. If that was the case then count her out on that one.


"I don't really feel hungry," she replied.


It was true though. She hadn't really had any sort of appetite right now. She wasn't sure if that was normal or a side effect of only being a vampire for a short period of time. It was maybe being overpowered by the thirst that was slowly coming back. She didn't understand why she was craving blood again after such a short period of time. However she decided to keep that to herself for now.


"So, how often are you supposed to drink blood?" she asked as casually as possible.


She did have many more questions than that but she didn't want to blurt them out like she had before. Questions such as if he had ever killed someone, if you didn't kill your victims how the hell did you keep them from remembering you biting into them; things like that. She'd remember that some vampire character named Barnabas could hypnotize people, was that how they made people forget?


One thing was certain she was going to avoid feeding off of Ian. That situation was been a bit too much and she didn't like the fact that she had lost control over herself like that. Maybe once she started adjusting... things would be easier.

 

[FaithWynters]

"Suit yourself." He pulled a glass jar of spaghetti sauce from the top shelf before closing the cabinet. If she wasn't hungry right now then she could eat later. "If you ever get hungry, there's always food around here" He just thought he should extend the offer out so she knew that she was welcome to whatever she could find. Walking across the kitchen he bent over, pulling two pots from beneath the cabinet. The one that sat in the other had holes in the metal for more easily drained pasta, the other was thick and had a tall walls. He sat the pots in the sink, turning on the water and adjusting it so that it was warm.


"I enjoy eating. Reminds me that some part of me is still human, ya know?" She probably didn't know yet. If she ever grew to be fifty or a hundred years old like he was, she would appreciate these little things. Sometimes being a vampire was so monotonous that something as simple as a change in meals was interesting. That was probably for him and not for other people; he chose the life; he couldn't complain.


He was now at the flat stove that was set into the island. He put the pot on the stove, cut on the heat, and left it for a while. He would return with pasta when it was boiling. He glanced up to her when she spoke again, tilting his head. He was happy to say that he wasn't hungry and that he had gotten over the instinct that had swept over him before. He walked toward the fridge in search of pasta.


"Depends. When you first turn it'll be a little more often, but the older you get the less you're inclined to feed. The problem is, if you feed a lot then you'll have the thirst a lot. So people who just feed for fun usually end up drinking every day. Or they can't find anything and go crazy" He shrugged, the large fridge was open and he pulled ingredients out of it's insides


He now had everything he needed set out and waiting for the water to boil. As he watched the pot it seemed like it would be only a few more minutes before it would begin to bubble up. He began frying up hamburger meat in a pan with some seasonings and cleared a spot on the counter to make the pasta dough. He was being much more efficient than normal. He wasn't sure if that was because he was trying to impress the girl or if it had finally sunk in enough to do it by memory. He had pasta a lot. Then he realized what he was doing and cut off the stove. It would keep the water warm until the pasta was done being made and then he could just turn it back on, wait a minute or so, and then he could just drop them in and wait.


"Why? Are you getting thirsty again?" He didn't wait for a response. He began kneading eggs into the flour that had been mountained up on the counter. "Whenever you get hungry we can go out and I can show you how you find someone to feed on." He smiled at her, trying to make the conversation seem as nonchalant as possible.

 

[Daeus]

She ended up just leaning against one of the kitchen counters. She would have just sat on the counter but this wasn't her house and it would have been rude. That and she wasn't sure she'd manage not to break the counter as well today. Leaning seemed safe because there no strength applied. The way he described the desire to frequently feed sounded like an alcohol or a drug addict. She'd rather not constantly feel that terrible thirst and would go for as long as she could before doing that sort of thing again.


She didn't admit to feeling the slow building of that thirst to him. She'd rather wait as long as possible since she'd recently feed off of Ian. Maybe vampire blood wasn't as satisfying as human blood. The thought made her blanch a bit. If she'd reacted that way about Ian's blood how the hell was she going to be when she actually tried feeding from a human?


"There's a way... not to kill people, right? It's obviously a concern. And if you don't kill them how do you keep them from telling the police you drank their blood?"


She watched him as he made his food. She'd never made her own pasta before so it was something new to watch and maybe even learn. That was how she learned most of her cooking. She'd always failed when it came to following recipes for some strange reason. Just give her a few chances to observe and ask questions and she'd be able to cook something.


She did feel a bit like a home-wrecker right now though. Ian seemed to act as if she was just some new roommate-slash-live-in-student. She really did't get him at all.

 

[FaithWynters]

He tried to quickly knead the dough so that he wouldn’t burn the meat. It was a hard task to juggle, but he someone did it all and listened to her questions. He plopped the dough into a bowl when it was mixed, wrapping it in plastic wrap and walking it back towards the fridge. It would have to sit there for a little bit.


“Well you usually don’t kill the people you feed from if you’ve got some pretty good control, you aren’t that thirsty, or you’ve got a friend to help you out” The fridge closed and he turned around, walking back to where the meat popped on the stove. He pushed it around a little more, adding a can of diced olives. He glanced up, a smirk on his face. “If you make them pass out then they won’t remember. I don’t know why, but they’ll remember say, following you into the alleyway, but then nothing. It’s not like they know you fed off of them and you didn’t...ya know…do them or anything so it’s okay.” He shrugged, leaning back against the counter.


“Not sure if that’s particularly what you wanted to hear, but do you have any more questions?” Once the meat was fully cooked, the dough would be ready to be formed. He pulled a bowl from the cabinet he had been leaning against, setting it down, and pouring all sorts of cheeses and spices inside. This and the hamburger meat would be the filling for the pasta. He hummed quietly to himself as he worked; this was going to be good.