Title: Mental Sparkles and a Dog Named Wolf

Author: Starhawk (StarAndrea)

Chapter Rating: T

Summary: Wacky Jungle Fury/Twilight/AU fusion. RJ, co-leader of the local Pai Zhua coven, accidentally hires a psyvamp who's just moved to town. Casey picks RJ as his next victim even before he realizes how much mental energy the coven and its leaders can focus. Though he plans to enjoy the psychic disturbance that RJ's tailspin will cause, he finds himself more amused with the little Pai Zhua clan than annoyed by them.

Mental Sparkles and a Dog Named Wolf

by Starhawk

Preamble

Robert James had never given much thought to how he would die. At least, not until his newest employee turned out to be an adrenaline junkie who liked to hear his boss scream. Then he had thought, rather humorously, that perhaps he would find himself the victim of a malfunctioning rollercoaster, an extreme sporting accident, or perhaps sung to death by some sort of karaoke mob.

That was before he realized he was addicted to a psychic vampire who fed off of other people's excitement. Before he learned that certain levels of stress hormones actually could kill. Before life without a daily infusion of happily extraverted manipulation started to seem so pale and cold that he didn't know why he'd want to go any other way.

Before he fell in love with Casey Rhodes.

1) Components of a Vector

"I was just wondering if there's any way I could switch lunch periods." Casey flashed his most charming grin at the guidance counselor, shifting his backpack over his shoulder as he pretended to lean on the desk. "I was really trying to work it so I'd have at least one familiar face in the cafeteria, you know?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in Physics right now?" The guidance counselor looked up from her computer, but the fact that she knew that meant she must have his schedule up on her screen. Score.

"Yeah," Casey admitted, "but I could switch for Astronomy instead, right?" He tried to sound as apologetic as he could when he added, "I've already taken Physics."

She paused at that before she could protest, and he was careful not to smile. Good students could get away with anything. "Well," she said after a moment, looking back at the screen. "I'm sorry you ended up in Physics again; the computer should have seen that in your transcript."

"Well, weird things happen when you transfer," Casey said. "It might have been listed as something else. AP Physics, maybe."

That did it. "I'm sure we can fit you into the Astronomy class," the guidance counselor told him. "Why don't you take first lunch now, and go to the planetarium for fourth period. It's in building six. I'll let the teacher know to expect you."

"Great!" Casey drummed his hands on her desk, flipping her a thumbs-up as he turned away. "Thanks, Mrs. P!" And everyone said the "OB" in OB High stood for "obnoxious." They seemed very helpful to him.

Kevin was waiting for him in the hall outside, holding up the wall with a glare that said, wanna make something of it? to every passerby. No one did. Except Casey, who flung an arm over his shoulder and messed up his hair before Kevin could shove him off and duck away.

"First lunch!" Casey crowed, laughing at his expression. "Here we come!"

"You're so disgusting," Kevin muttered. "Everyone just does whatever you tell them, don't they."

"Pretty much," Casey agreed cheerfully.

The cafeteria was loud and raucous, the rain keeping everyone inside--or at least, holding them there once they arrived, if they hadn't been lucky enough to have class in the main building. Casey scanned the crowd, catching sight of Penelope from 3D Design--no--Doug and Amber from Calculus--no--and Alicia from French--maybe. She was the one Kevin was least likely to alienate with defensive snark.

Casey didn't even bother to ask him as they ambled through the lunch line. Kevin would veto anyone he pointed out and they would end up sitting alone somewhere, which would be okay if they hadn't agreed to act like totally straight buddies at the new school. If he wasn't going to get any petting, then he wanted actual conversation.

Kevin followed reluctantly as Casey swung into a seat beside Alicia, grinning when she looked up and waving at her friend across the table. "Hey," he said nonchalantly. "Mind if we join you? We don't know many people yet, and it's nice to see a friendly face."

"Sure, yeah." Alicia waved the spoon from her fruit cup in their direction. "Marcus, Casey. He's in my French class. I don't know his friend."

"Kevin," Casey offered, since he wasn't sure Kevin would. "He's from the city too. Wanted to get away from the traffic. How long have you guys gone to school here?"

"Which city?" Alicia wanted to know.

"San Jose," Casey said. She didn't even pretend to make small talk, and he couldn't decide yet whether that was cool or really annoying. He'd better be careful about jokes around her: "traffic" hadn't meant cars, and Kevin was glaring at him.

"Hi," he added, pleased that someone else seemed to be joining them. "What's up! I'm Casey; this is Kevin. Alicia saved us from having to eat alone our first day at a new school."

The girl gave Alicia a look, but Alicia just shrugged. "Saleki," the girl said, sitting down next to Marcus. "Everyone calls me Sal."

"Do you seriously have to meet every person in this school?" Kevin was eyeing him across the table. "If you don't know everyone's name by the end of the day, are you going to follow them home and introduce yourself to their parents?"

"Only if there's dinner involved," Casey said with an unrepentant grin. "Who got the corner table?"

Marcus didn't look, but Alicia and Sal did. "The private school kids," Alicia said briefly. "They're transfers too. New at the beginning of the semester."

"Not Fran," Sal said.

Alicia, who had already gone back to her lunch, glanced over at the corner again. "Fran hooked up with the blonde one the first week of school," she amended. "Dominic. Don't get in his way. Lily's the one with long hair; don't waste your time. That's her boy Theo there next to her."

"From private school?" Casey repeated, studying them carefully. They drew the eye. And anyone who drew the eye could also draw attention. He liked attention.

Alicia shrugged. "That's what they say."

She was deliberately not looking at them anymore. Sal had turned away too, and even Marcus, who'd barely looked up since Casey sat down, was somehow not-looking at them now. Casey perked up. People were weirded out by the private school transfers. Which meant that he could probably bond with them over their outsider status, or bond with everyone else over his inability to bond with outsiders. Win-win.

"I'm gonna go introduce myself," he declared, standing up. "Save my seat."

"Yeah, he always does this," he heard Kevin say as he walked away. "No, I don't know why." Casey knew the comment was meant for him as much as for any of them, and he grinned to himself. Kevin knew perfectly well why.

"Hi," he said, stopping in front of the corner table. "I'm new here, so I figured I'd introduce myself. I'm Casey."

It wouldn't have worked for anyone but him--and even he had a moment of doubt when the short one Alicia had labeled "Theo" glared up at him. Dominic and Fran just looked sort of confused, though, and Lily actually smiled back at him. "Hi," she said cheerily. "I'm Lily. Want to sit with us?"

"Lily," Theo said, with obvious exasperation.

"Thanks!" Casey slid into the seat next to her. On a scale of hard to easy, she was easy plus. "I heard you're kind of new here yourself."

"This is our first semester," Lily agreed. "We used to go to a private school on the other side of town. There's so many people here; I wouldn't have even known you were new if you hadn't said."

"I would," the one Alicia had called Fran offered. "I mean, because I didn't. Go to the private school. I've always gone to school here. Well, not here at the high school, but here in Ocean Bluff. Um--" She laughed nervously. "This part of Ocean Bluff, I mean."

"Hi," Casey said, grinning over at her. She was excitable. He liked her. "Maybe you can give me some advice, then. I'm looking for a job, so... if you know any place that's hiring."

"Ooh, actually, JKP's looking for another night person!" Fran blurted out.

"JKP?" Casey repeated. He watched with interest as everyone at the table exchanged glances and Fran looked suddenly worried.

"Should I not have said that?" Fran asked, glancing at Dominic.

"No, that's a great idea," Lily said firmly. "You should definitely stop by. I mean, if you like pizza. JKP is Jungle Karma Pizza."

"You work there?" Casey asked.

Another round of glances.

"They all do," Dominic said, flashing him an easy smile that said more about what it didn't reveal than what it did. "The owner takes in a lot of strays."

"We're not strays," Theo snapped. It was the first time he'd spoken since reprimanding Lily, and Casey eyed him with some amusement. It was always the little ones that turned out to be the real tough guys.

"Well, I'm pretty stray," Casey said, smirking at him. "You think I could come by after school?" He and Kevin had already agreed it would be better if they looked for separate work. They were less conspicuous when they weren't together.

"Absolutely," Lily said. She seemed to have taken spokesperson duties back from Fran. "I'm working this afternoon; you can come with me if you want."

"Great!" Any place that served food had potential, and if these guys all worked there it also had a mystery to be uncovered. What made them all stray? Why did Fran think she wasn't supposed to say anything?

"I'll meet you in out front at 2:30," Casey said with a smile.