Peter wasn't surprised when he came upstairs and found the vampire lounging in one of his chairs like he owned the place; he and Charley were like a packaged deal these days. What surprised him was the movie said man held in his hands; Jaws, the movie he'd been nicknamed after by Charley and himself through the boys old friend Ed. Jerry sat there, head resting on his hand looking over it like it caused him physical pain to touch it. That made Peter chuckle.
"You know it's not poisonous." He almost yelled as he stalked his way to the mini bar. Jerry followed Peter with his eyes glaring at him intensely before sitting upright in his seat and tossing the movie onto a nearby stand.
"Fuck anymore of your female compatriots lately Peter?" Jerry growled even though his face showed a calm expression that made Peter freeze a bit at the intensity in his voice.
"Very fucking funny, Jaws." Peter shot back knowing Jerry was taking a stab at his former relation with the late Ginger. "Just remember whose house this is yeah?" Jerry snorted.
"Not much of a house, more like a museum or a torture chamber." Jerry noted all the crosses around the place before he reached over the table in front of him and plucked the remote off the surface. "Or maybe I'm just being paranoid." He smirked as he pressed a button and Peter's panic room opened up. Peter watched the vampire move and narrowed his eyes at the subtle remark behind his paranoia comment. He really didn't know why he put up with the man that killed his parents sometimes. Maybe just for Charley's sake? Yeah that was probably it, sometimes.
"Hilarious Jerry, you're fucking hilarious." Peter grabbed a glass full of ice and his bottle of midori and made his way to his favourite chair, plopping himself down opposite the smiling vampire. "Hey, get rid of the look or get the fuck out of my house."
"Kicking me out already? I must be getting better at this." Jerry chuckled darkly feeling rather amused by this. Peter turned his head but kept his gaze on Jerry. Taking a swig of his drink he finally decided he'd inquire about Charley.
"So where's the little prick? You didn't eat him already did you Fang?" He poked. Jerry narrowed his eyes dangerously before he sat up a bit more and pretended to pull out a book and flip through its pages.
"You know Peter. I think... I think there was a rule about that." Jerry looked at his hand like he was reading the pages now. "Ah. Say's right here Charley's feeding guideline states, and I'm quoting here, 'Jerry is not allowed to kill or turn anyone he, his friends or his family cares about'" He clapped his hands in a mockery of slamming the book shut. "Guess that means eating them to." The look on Peter's face made the vampire smile. "Seems Charley would fall into the 'anyone my family and friends cares for' category."
"Least you were listening..." Peter finally said after a moment of silence. "You still haven't answered my question though, vampire." Jerry leaned back, never once losing his grin.
"Outside." He said coolly.
"Oh yeah? Doing what exactly?" Peter asked settling into his chair a bit more now that the vampire had shifted the look in his eyes to something less unnerving.
"Reasoning with Amy." Was Jerry's reply. Peter furrowed his brow at this.
"What'd you do now?" He asked accusingly, but his only response was Jerry pointing to the entrance as Charley and Amy came in halfway through their argument.
"I told you I don't like spending so much time with him." Amy hissed. Charley looked like a kicked puppy and quickly glanced at his feet before speaking.
"Amy come on, this is the first time you've seen him in almost three months. I mean, you didn't have to come here if you really hate the idea of watching a movie with him around that much but, it's not like I didn't tell you he was gonna be here when I called you." He replied. It was obvious the topic of the conversation was about the vampire smirking at them from his chair.
"You didn't say he'd still be here when I arrived." Amy leered. When Charley said nothing Amy turned to leave.
"Amy. Amy wait, please." Charley chased after her. "Why can't you just put up with him for at least an hour!" Charley pleaded. Amy whipped around furiously at this.
"Charley, he scares me." She snapped.
"Jerry scares everyone, he's a vampire it's what he does!"
"I'm not everyone!" Charley stepped back briefly when Amy's voice rose. "The fact that Jerry scares me should be more important to you than this." Again Charley said nothing. "He kidnapped me Charley, remember?"
"Yes I remember. I also remember making a deal with him when I came to get you, Amy." Charley paused and looked her in the eye. "He's not going to do anything to you, I made sure of that." He glanced at the smiling vampire snickering to himself in his seat then to Peter glaring daggers at said man from his spot. "Besides that, we're in Peter's house." Amy shifted her weight to one foot and crossed her arms as she looked Charley up and down.
"So?" She said.
"So?" Charley repeated. "You really think Pete's gonna let Jerry get away with anything while he's here? And just look at all the weapons around here Amy. You could defend yourself with any of them." Charley paused. "And do you really think I would let Jerry do anything to you?" Amy didn't respond, instead choosing to fix her eyes on the floor beside her. "Amy I've been having a really crappy day and, it would mean so much to me if you could just put up with Jerry for one night. Just for one night, please that's all I'm asking..." He begged.
Amy gave it some thought then sighed. "OK, but only because you mean more to me than my issue with Jerry." She caved. "And I get to decided what we're eating tonight."
"Fair enough." Charley replied, a happy smile spreading across his face as she hugged him. "Thank you." He muttered in her ear as they walked into the living room earning a smile from the girl.
"You could always throw more holy water in my face if that'll make you feel better Amy." Jerry interrupted, ruining the moment. Amy's smile faded and she cast an evil look at the vampire.
"I'm feeling like Chinese tonight so, I'm going to look at the menu." She said flatly. Charley nodded and watched as she walked off before grabbing the nearest object, a cushion, and tossing it at Jerry.
"God would, you stop!?" He growled. "I'd actually like her to stay for more than five minutes this time!" Jerry, having dodged the cushion, slowly grabbed it and looked at Charley like he had suddenly sprouted three heads.
"She hasn't left yet, Charley." He said darkly, daring him to throw the next cushion in his hands at him with his eyes. He may actually have to pin him to the couch for that one next time.
"Yet? Jerry I don't want her to leave at all!" Charley argued, waving the other cushion in his hand around out of frustration. "Look if she can put up with you for the night, you can put up with her." He tossed the cushion down onto the couch. "Be nice, please, or I'll have your invitations revoked entirely."
"Should I add this to my repertoire of Charley's rules then?" The vampire purred in a tone he knew would just piss Charley off even more. But before the boy could say anything else Amy stepped in and changed the subject.
"Hey Charley what would you prefer more, sweet and sour pork or egg rolls?" She chimed from the chair furthest from Jerry.
"Uh, I don't know. You pick." Charley replied still looking at the bloodsucker. Jerry simply shook his head at the boy.
"Just don't make it vegan." He snorted. That earned him a death glare from Amy and a pleading look from Charley.
"Jerry please!" The teenager begged. "Stop."
"Sure." Came the vampires reply but the boy wasn't convinced, so he tried again. "OK." Jerry repeated in a more convincing tone of voice and picked up the movie lying beside him again.
"Thank you." Charley huffed and snatched the movie from Jerry's hands. "You opened it already?"
"Just to see what was on the disc." Jerry smirked.
"You better not have scratched it Fang, this was the last copy they had." Jerry's smirk just widened at Charley's words.
"Oi, if you're all done with the lovers quarrels I'd like to order some fucking food now. I'm starving!" Peter suddenly shouted at no one in particular, but the look on his face was playful making Charley laugh.
"Yeah yeah were done Pete. Amy's in charge of what we're eating tonight so if you want something specific you're gonna have to take it up with her." The boy nodded towards his girlfriend who was already writing down what was to be ordered.
"Are we all deciding or just your lovely girlfriend?" Peter needlessly inquired with a grin.
"You can pick whatever you want Peter. The only one with no say in what he's eating tonight if he stays is Jerry." Amy spoke up never once taking her eyes from the menu. The air in the room rumbled with the vibrations of Jerry's deep growl but only Charley and Peter were paying enough attention to hear it.
"Hey Chuck." Peter started. "Hand me that pillow there." He pointed to the cushion Charley had thrown on the couch a few moments ago. Skeptically the boy grabbed it and handed it to his friend only to jump back in surprise when Peter sat up, set his glass of midori down and whipped the thing as hard as he could at Jerry. "Oi, prick! Enough with the growls or the invitation is null."
"Uh Pete, I don't think that was a good idea." Charley said as the vampire slowly turned his head to pierce his black orbs through Peter's skull.
"So the fuck what?" Peter retorted leaning back with a triumphant grin. "This is my house and I'll do whatever the fuck I like. Cushion tossing and all." He finished. "Now then, you gonna put that movie on or what Chuck?" Charley sighed knowing that at some point in the night Jerry was going to make him pay for that. The vampire had just narrowly missed being hit square in the side of his head and the look he wore now said he was ready to blow a gasket and rip someone's throat out.
"He's gonna get you for that before he leaves, you know that right?" He said as he pulled the disc from its case and placed it in the DVD player while keeping a close eye on Jerry who had yet to take his eyes off Peter.
"He can try." Peter replied indignantly. "But I can't be held responsible for any accidental staking that happens if he tries to sneak up on me after I've had a few cocktails."
"Who says he'd sneak up on you?" Charley joked with a grin.
"Don't be cheeky yea little prick." Peter couldn't help but laugh afterwards.
The night continued on like that for the remainder of their visit with Peter. Amy would occasionally voice her displeasure with Jerry and Peter and Charley would banter back and forth about everything they could. They all seemed to be genuinely enjoying the night, at least that's what Charley hoped was going on but the vampire made him wonder about it.
Jerry had, with the exception of his few comments and threat to eat the delivery boy when he showed up, been fairly quiet for the most part and his silence only grew when they had started the movie. Charley couldn't help the unease that settled over him when the vampire would cast his sideways glance in their direction and he wondered if maybe he should just tell him to go home if was in a mood, which he was. That much Charley knew for sure.
It wasn't until Jerry reached over and crushed the cushion he'd been holding onto since Charley threw it at him in Peter's face when he got up to get more midori that he saw the vampire had settled down and accepted what was happening. Charley just figured he wasn't used to hanging around people and acting normal instead of like a vampire.
Jerry could smell the uneasiness Charley was feeling coming off him in waves. The fact that it bothered him was annoying, why did he care if his mood made the teenage boy nervous? Sure he was trying to be civil and act like a normal guy when he was around them all and yes this was what the deal entailed but it still annoyed him.
The vampire tried to sort out his situation in his head and all the while he could hear the laughter emanating from the triad beside him as they made their remarks about the movie and how the shark related to him at times, Charley occasionally cheering 'See? Evil was right!' or Peter shouting at him to pay attention if his eyes wandered off the screen for too long.
He stayed quiet for the most part and glanced over at the "tribe" he had now trying to figure out exactly what it was that made him agree to this in the first place. It wasn't until Jerry picked up on Charley's erratic heartbeat every time he looked over that he decided to try and curb his anger, even if only a little bit. With a devious smirk Jerry took the perfect opportunity to practically smother Peter with the cushion in his hand from earlier when he got up for another drink and watched as he stalked off towards the mini bar uttering death threats to him, cursing and threatening to spike Charley's drink if he kept laughing like he was.
It made Jerry growl inwardly when he noticed his mood lift a bit as he made eye contact with the teenage boy. He tried to dismiss it and winked at him still sporting his smirk but when Charley smiled back with that 'I told him so' grin Jerry had to bite back his tongue to keep from snarling at the feeling he had suddenly. Was he actually starting to care about them? No that couldn't be it, it'd only been six months since the truce and he'd done nothing but threaten and attempt to kill them prior to that.
The vampire decided then. Feeling of a tribe or not, he refused to believe he was becoming attached to Charley, Amy or Peter. There was a more reasonable explanation for this he was sure, he just needed to mull over it for a while. After all they were just human and he knew better than to play with his food...
Even after Jerry had almost suffocated him with the pillow as his way of playing around Peter could see the vampire was still in some sort of mood. He was definitely brooding about something over there of that the magician had no doubt and as he poured his drink he began to worry if the bloodsucker was questioning the armistice they came to all those months ago.
Jerry must have sensed his unease to because before Peter knew it he was staring right into the man's darkening eyes the next time he looked up at him. Oh yes, the vampire was DEFINITELY taking issue with the truce tonight. The blood lust was dancing all through his eyes, and it only grew in intensity when Peter tried to place the bottle in his hand back on the counter but missed.
The vampires instincts started to kick in the moment Peter's hand collided with the side of the bottle causing it to smash open against the edge with the force and slice his hand open. Jerry was upon him in mere seconds, even before the cry of pain left Peter's mouth. He had the hunters hand by the wrist and the black bled into his eyes making them appear like deep black voids of darkness. As Peter stared deep into his eyes he somehow managed to muster the courage to speak through his mounting fear.
"Go ahead. Try it; I'll kill yea before you can bleed me..." He said coldly, reaching for the stake in his breast pocket. Jerry merely smiled as he slowly brought Peter's hand up just inches from his mouth.
"Jerry don't!" Charley called from the other side of the room. Again Jerry said nothing. His only movement was an almost painfully slow extension of his tongue and an equally slow dragging of it up across Peter's wound. Just when they all thought the vampire was about to sink his sprouting fangs into the magicians neck Jerry pulled away, slit his own finger and smothered Peter's laceration in his own blood healing his wound, much to Peter's distaste.
"Shame on you." Came Jerry's dark voice. "I have more self control then that." He smirked briefly before releasing Peter's hand and stalking back to his seat making Charley feel a little more at ease when he sat down. At least he wasn't lying, not entirely anyway. It was taking a lot of will power not to jump the hunter right about now. He could feel the need to feed slowly starting to consume him as the iron like taste of Peter's blood coated his tongue.
"Yeah sure JAWS..." Peter really exaggerated Jerry's nickname when he said it which only served to annoy the man even more. "You really are a fucking sociopath, bloody snacker." He viciously wiped the vampires' blood from his hand before following after him. Jerry needed to go home so he could hunt before he did something really stupid.
Like go for more than Peter's hand next time...
