CHAPTER 2: You're here, magnificent.
Not even two steps into the hangout spot, Faith's got that tingly feeling in her bones and not the naughty kind.
She grabs Fred's arm, stopping her in place.
"Vampire." Faith mutters in disgust. "Huh. There might be a reason for this trip after all."
"Here?" Fred replies looking around. "It's daylight."
"Makes things interesting, doesn't it?" Faith retorts, pulling her towards the bar.
Fred sits down warily next to her.
"Relax." Faith orders. "You're safe. That's why I'm here, remember?"
Things are going to be okay, Fred says to herself to build confidence. Just because a vampire can walk around during the day, it doesn't make him different than any other vampire. Suddenly, she feels foolish for being afraid, she's been through a hell of a lot more, with that thought in mind- she immediately calms down.
"So… how do we do this exactly?" Fred asks trying to understand how the Slayer operates.
"Me, I'm thinking we get a drink and sit tight for the gossip to come rolling in." Faith replies, signaling the bartender to come down their way. "Small town and all, so let's just not start asking people about vampires."
"Okay." Fred replies evenly. Be cool, you are cool, she thinks.
Matt Donovan had noticed the two brunettes at the bar the minute they had walked in. Come on- he's lived in Mystic Falls his entire life, needless to say - he always knows when someone is an outsider.
After taking their drink orders, he has to ask the pressing question. "Where are you guys from?"
"Around." Faith answers.
"Los Angeles." Fred adds more specifically.
"Los Angeles. Really?" Matt looks impressed. He's never been out to the west coast. He's never been anywhere, really. "That's cool."
"Real cool." Faith replies sarcastically.
"Hey, so where's a good place to stay for a night or two?" Fred asks sweetly.
"Uh, well." Matt thinks and scratches the back of his neck. "You don't have many options that are in town. I'd say try Mrs. Flowers."
"Mrs. Flowers?" Faith scoffs at the name. Total book club town, she knew it!
"It's the Bed & Breakfast off the highway." Matt elaborates.
"That sounds great… thanks for your help." Fred replies with a coy smile.
Before Matt gets the chance to ask the unlikely tourists what they're doing in town, he gets called down to the other end of the bar by the resident 'bad boy' - Damon Salvatore.
Damon looks annoyed after waiting and asks for his regular bourbon on the rocks. He's getting pretty sick of waiting for Alaric to show up and it's been worse without a drink in hand.
Faith's curious eyes land on the ridiculously hot guy with raven locks and pale skin who's wearing all black. She inspects him closer and suddenly comes to the conclusion that he's likely the vampire that she's sensing in the room, just by appearances of course. He looks better than your average mortal, vampires always do. Faith quickly tells Fred to hold on for a second, so she can get a 'read' on him.
However before Faith reaches his side, Alaric gets to him first. Alaric pats Damon on the back as he greets him. The guys are meeting for their routine happy hour. Faith continues walking closer to Damon and she smiles smugly because he's giving off major waves of badness. He's definitely the vampire in the room. Trying to look more covert for no particular reason, Faith finds the bathroom and goes in for a few minutes, before returning to an anxious Fred's side.
"He's the one." Faith informs her, nodding at the vampire that's wearing a black leather jacket.
"Him?" Fred asks raising a brow seeing the wicked smirk on his face. "Is the other one too?"
"No, he's human."
"A vampire with a human friend."
"Like that's never been done before." Faith cracks with a knowing look. "Maybe he's like Angel."
"I thought Angel was the only vampire with a soul." Fred states confused.
"Evil or not. I bet we'll get along just fine…" Faith declares with conviction, her eyes firmly leering at him. "Let's do this."
"Do what - exactly?" Fred asks, eyes going wide. "I'd much prefer if we had a plan." She whispers. "Plans are good things."
"I'm more of a doer." Faith replies still walking with fierce determination toward their target. "Just follow my lead."
"Hey, I'm Faith." She introduces herself confidently and seductively, walking up to the guys. "This is Fred. We're new in town."
"That you are." Damon replies dryly, while shamelessly checking out her leather pants. He automatically knows that she's not the usual sort this town brings in. "Damon Salvatore."
"As in the Salvatore boarding house?" Fred perks up remembering a fact in her research prior to their trip.
"Yep." He answers in the same dry tone.
"Damon doesn't really do guests anymore." Alaric states with a firm expression. He knows exactly how unwelcoming his friend can be at times, well, most of the time about humans in the boarding house. "I'm Ric, by the way."
"Oh, no, we don't want to sleep with you, I mean- stay with you." Fred stammers in front of the men. Damn, she'll never forgive herself for that ludicrous mental slip. "Are you by any chance, uh, related to Zach Salvatore?"
"Who are you again?" Damon asks suspiciously. Generally it isn't a good thing when people ask about someone he killed, a descendant or not.
"I'm a researcher." Fred answers quickly.
"Really into that war…." Faith adds hoping Fred's awkwardness hasn't already blown their cover. It's obvious the science nerd doesn't have much street recon experience.
"The Civil War." Fred corrects, repositioning her glasses.
"Right." Damon and Faith reply at the same time. Their intense eyes lock for a second before Fred continues to babble on. "I was supposed to find Zach, 'cause he has some diaries that I wanted to copy."
"I would be happy to help you with anything you need. I'm a history teacher at the local high school." Alaric states with a smile.
"That sounds like fun, only boring." Faith rolls her eyes at his enthusiasm.
Damon chuckled a little at her natural sass. He happens to like girls with sass. "I take it you're not also a researcher."
"Fuck, no." Faith exclaims in protest, then adds a wink. "I'm something else entirely."
Of course with two academic minds in the room, Fred and Alaric begin chatting about civil war trivia. She tries her best to keep up with him, he's a lot better than her at this type of stuff. Sure, she's a certified genius, but the Liberal Arts were never listed in her curriculum requirements.
Meanwhile Faith and Damon share a strange yet silent conversation of sorts. They are sizing each other up, getting a feel for one another so to speak, but for completely different reasons.
"Kinda had my fill of the whole school thing." Faith states bored. "So is this guy Zach around? Your pops or whatever?"
"Uncle." Damon confirms emotionlessly. "He's out of town."
"I'm sure you could help Fred out." Alaric turns with a pleading look, the kind that says he's on his way to getting laid so don't mess it up.
Damon scowls in annoyance, he doesn't want strangers reading through those diaries. He's protective about his family's history for a reason. Those are personal.
"Sorry to put you on the spot. I don't mean to impose, really." Fred interjects effectively breaking the tension filled silence.
Alaric glares at Damon for not helping the seemingly harmless girl and then begins to tell stories about Mayor Lockwood and their family's plantation site.
Damon quickly downs the last of his drink realizing that the strangers are likely going to get pretty nosy in the coming days. What a pain, he mutters under his breath. "Looks like we might run into each other later. Now if you excuse me, I actually have prior engagements for this evening."
After a quick goodbye and an exchange of extra passive aggressiveness between the guys, Faith and Fred are left with only Alaric to entertain them.
"So Fred's a pretty unique name." Alaric coos. "Are your parents the eccentric types?"
Really happy that some of you are reading this story. I really appreciate it. :) Be Good & Review!