Voltage

(JossxOC); One-shot

T for language

Disclaimer: I don't not own Stephanie Brewer's creations (a fact that I rue), and it is only Remi that I may claim as original.

A/N: So I wanted to write this full out Vlad/OC/Joss love triangle tale, and it occurred to me that I have a HORRIBLE time writing chaptered stories. I absolutely hate putting anything on hiatus from lack of ideas, so I decided on this solution: I'll post this as a one-shot, and let the reviewers decide is I should expand this or leave it as is. IT UP TO YOU GUYS!

Oh, and this was named for one of my favorite MGMT songs. I feel like the title suited the mood of the story.

Dedication: To VeganZombie, only because she dedicated one of the chapters of her FAB story Something Yet To Learn (Big Time Rush, LoganxOC) to me. My heart was very happy that day. I don't know if she even reads CoVT (rotflmaoltmgmt).

Joss sat in one of the trees surrounding the clearing, waiting for Vlad to appear. He knew Vlad probably wouldn't be alone; Vikas and Otis would be training the young vampire for the umpteenth night in a row. Besides, the training sessions didn't always occur in the clearing, but Joss didn't want to risk an opportunity.

Out the corner of his eye there was a movement among the stoic trees. When a singular shadow appeared, Joss thought he hit the jackpot.

Jackpot.

His fingers slid against the holster on his hip and his body was tensed to jump from his hiding spot until he saw the face of the figure who walked out. The face that didn't belong to Vladimir Tod.

It belonged to Remi Dent, the girl who he met back in freshman year. She pretty much looked the same like she did then, except her hair now seemed to don more artificial jet black streaks then ever. And of course, when puberty finally caught up to her in the tenth grade (of course Joss wasn't around when she began to blossom), it treated her well in the curvaceous category (but she was still relatively height challenged.

What's she doing here? he wondered, a puzzled look crossing his features. It was almost one in the morning and yet she looked to be taking a casual stroll. Her strides were relaxed and slightly bouncing, and Joss deducted that she was unconsciously walking to the beat of the song currently playing on her MP3 device. That suspicion was confirmed when she began mouthing words, probably assuming she was alone and therefore unwatched.

As if she had a sudden lack of inhibition, those words were paired with Remi's voice. "…believe, believe in me. Believe, believe that life can change, that you're not stuck in vain." She stopped walking then, dancing a bit and getting both loud and theatrical. "We're not the same, we're different… Tonight! Tonight, tonight. Tonight… Tonight, so right…"

Joss was a bit captivated. She was quite the singer, on top of already being witty, smart, and undeniably attractive. He found himself smiling, impressed with the depth this girl was showing this year.

He almost didn't see a second person wearing all black emerge from where Remi had came. But the moment he did notice, two things occurred to him:

One- Remi definitely wasn't alone.

Two- Or safe.

The person was staring at her back like a hunter on a holiday in Bull's-eye Land. He began gaining on her (which wasn't hard to do with a distracted, stationary target), but stopped a few yards away. He sniffed the air, turned his head upward, and made eye contact with the well-camouflaged Joss. He first glared, then smiled menacingly.

His fangs gleamed for a moment in the darkness before he ran towards the sitting duck known as Remi. At vampiric speed.

Joss jumped down, landing harshly on his feet, but he ignored the stinging pain. He knew he wouldn't be able to catch the vampire in time, so instead he opted for throwing his stake.

He had just pulled the improvised projectile out and had it poised and aimed when something bizarre happened. Something that, if he weren't there at that moment, Joss would've called anybody who it to be true a delusional liar.

Light. Brighter than the sun at its summer peak, and yet it felt cool as it spread about and filled the area. Joss shielded his face with his free arm, but blindly threw the stake with what he knew was precision.

He heard the vampire hiss and scream, but waited until that tell-tale chill disappeared. He didn't have to wait long- the original warmth of the night returned after a few seconds, and the screaming ended. Cautiously, Joss removed his arm, and was immediately bewildered at the sight of the still standing creature. He started storming forward, ready to fight, when his eyes finally readjusted to the darkness.

He stopped approaching when he saw the perfectly circular hole in its chest. And the glow right beyond that hole.

A moment or two passed, the corpse collapsed, and Joss figured out where the glow was coming from.

Remi's left hand.

While the other held the stake, as if she caught it.

Joss's gaze wandered upward, drawn almost magnetically to her hair, which now bore a color shades upon shades lighter than platinum blonde. It seemed to have a life of its own, whipping about her head windlessly. And then he found her eyes.

Her eyes, whose irises were whiter than any Christmas Bing Crosby could dream of.

As if he imagined all of it, her hair and eyes faded back to their coordinated deep chocolate selves as she stepped carelessly on top of the dead body on the ground. Now eye level with Joss, she handed him the stake. "Assuming this is yours, Slack Jaw?"

He hadn't even realized his mouth was open until she tapped his chin with the silver top. He shut his lips quickly and muttered a, "Thanks," as he accepted the wooden weapon.

"So, why ya out so late, Cali?" she questioned, watching him refill his holster. "Still hung up on that West Coast time zone?"

Joss's eyes widened for a moment, and he babbled and stuttered, looking for a desperate cover for his true intent of that evening. Then he shut up and furrowed his brow. "I think you have to answer a few of my questions first, before my interrogation starts."

Remi rolled her (certainly brown again) eyes and sighed with a small smile. "But what on Earth do you ever wanna know about little old me?" The false British accent she decided to adopt right then was nothing but a failed distraction technique. Even if Joss found it cute.

"What was all of that?" He gestured at her when he said "all of that", acknowledging that he'd never bore witness to anything quite like it before.

"My rendition of the Smashing Pumpkins," said Remi innocently, folding her hands behind her back. She looked at the ground and started kicking invisible pebbles around. "If I'd known others were about, I would've never started singing aloud all American Idol style." She peered at him through her lashes with a coy grin. "D'ya like?"

He wouldn't let her weasel her way out. "What did I say about questions?" His mouth settled into a hard line.

She frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Gee, Dad. Maybe you're not getting a new tie this Father's Day." When Joss didn't laugh, she muttered, "Tough crowd."

She sidestepped, tired of using the body as a pedestal. Joss was now at least three inches taller, and she was wearing elevated sneakers. He followed her with his gaze, afraid to let her out of his sight.

"Well," she started, finally dropping the English dialect, "I have insomnia. Bad. And I usually take nightly walks to tucker myself out. Most of them go off without a hitch." She huffed. "And sometimes sucker fuckers like this ruin perfectly good nights and interrupt the best parts of someone's favorite song!" She had kicked the deceased on the word "interrupt" and Joss involuntarily flinched. She shrugged apologetically.

"I take these trips for my health," she continued, "Wouldn't make much sense to die. So I killed him. The end." She smiled widely, then threw her arms in the air in a celebratory manner. "Tada!"

Joss made up his mind about something right then.

She's nuts.

She suddenly cocked her eyebrow, as if she heard the remark. "You're making a face." Her arms fell dejectedly to her sides as she started to whine. "You thought my singing was terrible."

Joss tried remaining calm, although he had half a mind to get belligerent with Remi. But honestly, did she really think her musical talent was the most peculiar thing he'd seen of her tonight (or ever, for that matter)? "Tell me about the light."

Instead of answering she turned her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest despite the pleasant weather. The reaction made Joss ponder if she was internally plagued with that frostiness. She held her head up towards the sky, looking at nothing in particular. She pulled the headphones out of her ears and stuffed them in her front jean pocket. "We blindly accepted that stars twinkle," she spoke with a soft, infinite sadness, "And long after many of them had died, their remains continue to amaze the masses to this day. But with the simple believers come the skeptics and the investigators, those who search and scour and inevitably destroy to get even a solitary fact."

Without turning around, she addressed him in her monologue. "Who are you, Joss- naïve friend or doubtful enemy to the stars?"

He was at a mental blockade, unable to figure out what she was truly asking, nor how to respond. On one hand, he didn't want to be anybody's enemy, but how could one be a friend to a cosmic object? Unless she was implying that she was a living star, which only continued to prove this theory of her insanity.

Almost an entire minute had went by before she pulled him out of his reverie with a gentle, "Joss?" As quiet as her voice was, it cut through the stillness of the night and made Joss jump. Or maybe it was how demanding it seemed, despite its meek volume.

He pushed the odd thoughts away and responded, "I don't know."

She whipped around, the ends of her hair barely sweeping his collarbone, but the motion still caused a minute tremor through his body. "I think you can do better than that." She locked eyes with him in a fierce manner that defied him to repeat his answer.

He reviewed his options for a brief moment. Then said, "Neither."

Remi had a blank expression, but Joss swore he could hear little gears and cogs whirring in her mind. She was at a complete pause before wondering out loud, "What does that mean?"

"It means what it means," he replied with a smirk, glad he gained the upper hand in the conversation. "How does one develop any sort of relationship with something they can never touch? At best I can covet them, want what they have, or despise them for existing. But I can't interact with them. It's impossible."

She stole her stare to the forest floor and didn't speak for a while. At first it appeared she was digesting his words, possibly forming a rebuttal full of wisdom and maybe even anger at him for misconstruing her question.

Instead she shook her head, let out a short giggle, and they were making eye contact again. She reached out her hand to him, and Joss surprised himself with how quickly he grabbed for it. She smiled wider and said, "You are going to walk me home, so I can teach you a lesson."

Joss was utterly confused and the pair had only accomplished a few steps when he finally asked "What question?"

Remi continued to walk but turned her head to look at him. When he gazed back, he witnessed her eyes flash from brown to white to brown again. His own eyes widened and she had another grin, rather smug, on her face.

"That the impossible is possible tonight."

Thanks for reading. Reviews are NOICE.