"Baby, it's me. Hope I didn't interrupt anything, I know this is when you usually like to practice. I got your message earlier, but we've been out shopping and I figured I'd call when I knew you'd be able to talk. I talked to Morgan about what's all going on, and she kind of figured you were getting weird, her boyfriend gets the same way when they're apart for more than a week," AJ explained, trying to smile, anything to think about what might happen when she got home.
"So what are your plans? Would it bother you if I said I wanted you home soon? I really do miss you, love. Our room's much too quiet and there's something about not watching you flit about the house doing daily chores that has me doing double takes everytime the house creaks."
She giggled.
"Well, tomorrow Morgan and I were going to go get brunch at a local café out here, and then she suggested we go to the spa or something, maybe get a hotel room downtown and just enjoy the nightlife a bit, probably for a couple of nights. I'd be home right after, I promise. Two more nights, and then I'll be back in your arms, mon chere."
"That's good to hear, I do hope you've had fun, family ties are important, cherish them while you have them, when you get to be my age everyone you love is gone, that is, of course, you turn them. It's safe to say the only person I'll ever really need will be home soon."
'Safe to say the only person you'll ever really need is a lying cheating literal bitch at times that's slept with your mortal enemy, but that's besides the point.' The voice in the back of her head chided, but she ignored it.
"So yeah, I'll be home in two more nights. Don't go insane, okay? I love you, always."
"Love you more. Goodnight, doll."
"Goodnight."
Hanging up, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as one of the lines from an old All Time Low song rang through her head.
'I've never told a lie, and that makes me a liar."
"Are you okay? You just seem a li-" Seb had started to ask, walking into the bedroom before she grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her, kissing him, trying to keep from smiling because it made kissing hard when your face didn't want to stop smiling.
"I'm perfectly fine, hun. Tomorrow morning we're getting breakfast – I just need a lot of caffeine and then I'll be fine to go back home."
"Is that really your drug of choice in most situations, caffeine?"
"Have you not seen my tumblr? And no, it's not," she replied, jumping up on the bed, kneading at the pillows, almost wishing she could transform again to see exactly how crazy they could really get.
"Not when I've got you here, anyways." She smiled, putting a crooked finger to her lips, biting it just slightly, looking up at him from under her thick lashes, knowing the exact effect it would have, not expecting him to shake his head and grin.
"Not tonight, Adeline. Come on, knock it off. You've given me enough of a workout lately."
She huffed, laying down, "Well, this is new. You're the only guy that's ever been able to resist that. Ever."
He climbed in beside her and she turned around to face him, automatically scooting closer into him, sighing.
"Alright fine, I'll be good. But only 'cuz I'm leaving tomorrow. And I mean…this isn't going to be like Spring break, right? When we all just had to forget about you guys for things to go back to normal? You won't…you won't forget about me, will you?"
He froze, time seemed to rewind. Come to think of it, Amelia had sort of said the exact same thing about forgetting two days before she and the others left Chicago.
"No, of course not. After all the trouble we just got ourselves into?"
She pouted, looking at him with glassy hazel eyes, it looked like she was going to start crying.
"So this is just a game. I'm sorry I blew up at you earlier over William, I just…I really don't want you to die because I'm the stupid shallow self absorbed bitch."
"You're not a stupid shallow self absorbed bitch, Adeline."
"I haven't thought about William once since I've been here, except for how I'm going to die when I get home. I'm shallow enough that I pretty much totally took advantage of you when you were grieving over your ex-girlfriend and my best friend, and literally I'm a bitch because I grow a tail and ears when I get too emotional. Stop trying to argue, Sebastien, it's invalid."
"I'm not arguing, I'm just outright telling you it's not true."
She blinked, giving him one of those stupid little half smiles before she kissed him.
"And this is why you're different, why you're better for me. The fact you didn't just go on a little tirade about exactly why I shouldn't be downtalking and labelling myself, just asking to get into a tête à tête over one of my insecure comments, it's nice. You just disagreed and left me to think about it."
He reached a hand up to run it through her hair, his other arm pulling the comforter over them.
"Now, what you should be thinking about is sleep, love."
Her eyes widened.
"You realize you just said-"
He smiled, leaning in to kiss her nose, "And I meant it, too."
In the morning, when she finally managed to get up, she got dressed and double checked all of her stuff, making she sure had everything and would be ready to go home. She pretty much was, just not emotionally. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd had more fun the last three days than the past year.
"So, breakfast. I'm not super hungry, well -" yawning as she walked out into the living room, throwing one of those 'looks' at Seb, "For food anyways, but I could go for coffee and some sort of bakery stuff, muffins or scones sound really good."
"We should do a junk food run and just load up on that stuff, the bakeries are always open and have the freshest stuff in the morning, not to mention that's when the coffee's strongest." David said, already wondering how much he could stuff his face before he'd get yelled at.
"Actaully I was just talking about Seb and I going, seeing as I'm leaving today, but that's cool, I'm sure we could all go," AJ replied, looking at everyone, realizing when she'd said she was leaving Pierre's face broke into a huge grin.
"And why are you all smiling, huh?"
"It'll be quiet...and I'll be rich."
"Okay, first part - we are not that bad! And rich, what the hell do you mean, rich?"
David laughed as AJ walked over and set herself down ontop of Sebm who only shrugged and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder.
"Jeff offered the person that could make you go home before tomorrow night $50, and looks like Pierre won because he's the last person you talked to, 'cuz he had to tell you William called and that's probably why you're going home."
"Really? Well then. Good for you, why don't we all go for breakfast and then you can pay?"
The entire room was quiet until Jeff started a slow clap.
"She got you there, man. And it's a good idea, of course, that's if the two of you don't mind."
This time it was Pierre that giggled, "Yeah, but you two are like a thing now, and if you go public-"
"I can turn and murder and paparrazi we run into, it's Canda, hopefully they're not as persistent as the ones in LA. And I'm gonna pretend you weren't just trying to make a twiight reference out of that, hun. It's not going to work, 'cuz this Bella's chosen Jacob over Edward."
AJ turned to look at Seb, who sighed, "Did you really just-"
She smiled, fangs visable, leaning up to kiss him soundly, only breaking apart when Chuck clered his throat to make the decision for everyone.
"Well, come on, I guess we're all going!"
"But where?"
David and Pierre looked at each other.
"Corner Bakery. Sweets, caffeine and sugar."
"Caffeine and sugar? COUNT ME IN!" And, being the klutz she was, AJ went to try to get up as fast as she could, but of course tripped over the coffee table leg.
Before she actually had time to hit anything, Sebastien had picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder, almost as though she was a small child, one arm around her waist keeping her steady.
"HEY?! You can put me DOWN! Please?" she tried, playfully hitting his back, anything trying to get him to let go.
"You just implied you being like Bella and yet instead of a papercut you go and trip over a coffee table. You're lucky you're not in Chicago, those nomads and the punks could get you before you even made it home to your front door."
"Okay, now you guys are making fun of this," she added dejectedly.
"Just stating facts, given we might have a war coming up anyways – William is sort of like Aro in a way, if you think about it." David stated.
"And the Volturi don't give second chances." Even Chuck's chimed in at this point.
AJ looks around the group, and she can't help but smile.
"Is there something you guys aren't telling me? You all seem to know a lot about that damn series…as bad as it is."
"Helps to make people get the right idea about vampires – anything not in those movies is valid. For the wolves, however, it's a completely different story." And now Seb's in this.
"GUYS. Forget about Twilight! Can. We. Just. Go. GET. FOOD?"
"Alright, alright, geez, we're going."
When the group found the closest Corner Bakery Cafe, AJ had took off at the sight of plates full of brownies, scones and cookies in the window, David not far behind her.
"You sure this was a good idea?" Jeff asked, watching the two race inside, everyone else taking their time.
"As long as Pierre pays like she suggested, it's cool." Seb replied, before reaching for the door to hold it open for the others, "Why'd you say that anyways?"
"What, the money thing? Come on - you don't think this whole thing is a little bit messed up? I get you both miss Amelia, but having AJ stay here as long as she can? When William clearly doesn't know where she is or who she's with? I'm more worried about her than I am you, I just want to make sure she's not playing you because she's in one of those moods."
"One of those moods? Where was this conversation when Chuck and David were double teaming me when you guys found out I turned her, hey?"
"I just said don't underestimate anything. And what I'm trying to say now is that statistically, the first three years of a marriage are straight lust anyways. I mean, they've only been married for four years now, right? Chances are, she could just be getting bored, and the whole thing with Amelia just gave her a reason to come here in the first place."
"Hate to beat you to the punchline, but we ended up having a conversation about that exact thing already, and everything's worked out fine, so-"
"Just trying to look out for you, girls are tricky. Speaking of which, you sure sheshould be having caffeine? It's as bad as alcohol with the right people."
By the time all the guys got drinks and assorted food, Pierre was half-heartedly sulking.
"Oh cheer up! Your $50 bought us all breakfast, here, you want some?" AJ asked, waving half of a cheesecake brownie in the earthbender's face, which he gladly took.
"I'm really happy you guys let me stay over, Pierre I kinda know I gatecrashed your place, but…" she broke off into a lopsided grin, turning to look at Seb.
"I told William I'd be home tomorrow night. That leaves tonight yet, can I-"
"It's fine, atleast we're not bugging the rest of the guys."
After that the conversation turned to music and upcoming plans, after that sports of all things. Before long everyone had finished, and with several goodbyes it was decided AJ was just going to chill at Seb's until the next afternoon, when she'd finally go home.
Stepping into Sebastien's apartment, she gasped at how much it reminded her of the one she and William had lived in after TAI broke up and until just before the zombie crisis had hit.
"It's so…nice. And, like, cozy. Perfect for a guy like you," she added offhand, climbing up onto the countertop to sit beside the sink, the way she used to do at her old house when she was still in high school.
"You really have a thing for sitting in weird places, don't you? I mean, even in your sleep, you lay weird. All twisted and making it impossible for me to move."
She smiled, grabbing for the cookie jar right next to her, surprised to find it was actually full.
"Awh, that bugs you? I should've warned you, I'm a cuddler…"
"I've learned. So, tonight, it's up to you. I know you're probably bored to death of videogames, and I do have a few guitars here, or we could watch a few movies-"
"Scary ones that have jump scares and stupid endings so I'm clinging to you and hiding half the movie only to complain about it when it's over? Count me in!"
And with that, both were perfectly content with the night's plans, knowing movies always meant more than just watching the screen.
