9. Suppressed emotions

With the fact that it was only Thursday, the pub wasn't too crowded as they entered. The few in there were either students from the university, chatting away about their latest coursework, or older men, discussing the upcoming football game. None of them barely shot the newcomers a glance, something that they were both quite thankful for.
Mitchell had never liked when people looked at him for too long. To him, it had always felt as if they could read him, as if they could see everything he had done during his long life and judged him for it. He hated that it could make him feel so small and vulnerable.

That was one of the reasons as to why he didn't fully want to let himself too close to Katie. He could not stand her looking at him with those judging eyes if he ever harmed her in any way, or did something wrong around her. He knew that with those strange feelings that had been brewing inside him since he had first seen her, it was probably unwise of him to go out with her like this, but it was already too late to regret it. He had to go through it and do his best to stay in control of his demons.

While Katie ordered them pints of beers, Mitchell found a table in a corner, as far away from everyone else as possible. He preferred it that way, as it would spare them strange looks if something went wrong, something he was always prepared for. To be a vampire in a world of humans always required him to be.

Shrugging off his coat, he then leaned back in his chair, fingers nervously playing with the rings on his fingers. He could not fully understand why he was nervous. He knew how to control himself, how to keep himself calm, and there was no one in the room who seemed interesting enough to keep an eye on. He had no reason to be nervous, other than what Katie would want to talk about. He had seen in her eyes the same morning that she was still not sure about what had happened during their talk the night before, and how she was to handle the situation. She obviously didn't know what to think.

"There we are." The young woman smiled towards him as she seated herself opposite from him and set down the two pints, rubbing her hands together to warm them after the cold of the liquid. "I should have worn gloves while carrying these." Katie laughed gently, her eyes turning to his face as she pulled her own glass a little closer. "They are absolutely freezing."

"Remind me to get the next round, then. The cold rarely bother me." Mitchell's eyes met hers, a gentle smile coming to his lips as he spoke. He enjoyed that she was already looking a lot more cheerful than before, and seemed able to relax a lot more now than when he had met her outside their house.

"You do remember promising just one drink, right?" Raising an eyebrow, Katie took a sip from her glass, before continuing. "Besides, I am not a very big drinker, which means I doubt I will be able to stomach more than this. Otherwise I will be hungover tomorrow and it's not like that will do my position at work any better." A frown creased her brow, and her eyes fixed themselves on the golden liquid in her glass, alerting Mitchell that something was not right. So many things seemed to be happening to the woman he cared about and it worried him. He knew the deaths of her friends and the attack of the other vampire had shocked her, and he didn't want anything else to come and break her down further. To him, who had lived for so long and carried so many supernatural abilities, she already seemed to frail and he almost feared that another breakdown would make her disappear in full. Make her a fleeting ghost like Annie.

Stretching his hand across the table, he gently gripped hers and ran his thumb over her knuckles, as if in a way to comfort her.

"I doubt there is anything I can do, but you know that I want to know if anything's wrong. What is up with your job?" He had so much more he wanted to ask, but he decided to stop there. She was already upset about so many things and that felt like the simplest way to begin.

"Seeing as I'm quite young yet, I haven't really been fully hired. I only finished university earlier this year, and was put on a substitute post for a few months to get some experience. Now, however, they have found someone much more experienced and I believe they want me gone." The things she spoke about, were things she rarely spoke about to anyone. She always called herself a teacher when she, in fact, just helped out with teaching to earn money for living. That was why she only taught the younger children, and helped them develop their skills in reading and writing before they moved up. Being a writer herself, that was what she was good at and what she was comfortable with sharing with others.

But it had been obvious from the moment she started out that she wasn't going to be allowed to stick around. The school needed proper teachers who could teach more than reading and writing, and therefore they were always going to replace her if they found someone better. That had been clear from the moment she had started, but it was not until now that she was actually being replaced that she realised she would actually lose her job.

"I'm sure you will find something else soon. You're young, you have time." Mitchell hated himself for what he said, knowing very well that those words had been awful to him when he had heard the same before his transformation. He had always disliked it whenever his father had said that to him whenever he had wondered about what to do with his life.

"Mum said the same when I told her, but that does not fully help." Katie pulled her hand out of his grip and instead lifted her glass to her lips, finishing the subject with beer. It was obvious to Mitchell that she was not eager to continue speaking of it, so he decided to let it slip. For this time.

"I met the man who tried to attack me today." Katie brought up the subject as they were on their way back home, heading through the darkness like shadows in their dark coats. "You know, the one who came to the school?" She was still getting the shivers from thinking about it all. She had barely been able to focus well in class during the past days due to the uneasiness she had felt whenever she was in the room.

She could sense Mitchell tensing up as she spoke, as if he was looking for signs that she was hurt, but she calmed him with a gentle touch. "He, for some reason, only wanted to talk. I don't know why that had made him change, but he felt... different. It was as if he was sorry for what he had done. He even told me who that killed my friends." Her voice lowered as her eyes found the deserted house, ghostlike and empty, as they passed by.

"How do you mean, different?" A frown creased Mitchell's brow, and he quickly let his eyes search the street. He didn't like that the other vampire apparently was trying another technique when it came to harming Katie. It made the situation feel even more unsafe.

"I don't know... He was kinder, more timid, and more willing to help. He said he had left those which he had worked for before, and that he no longer wanted to harm me or you." Pushing her hand into her coat pocket to get her keys and let them inside the house, she shot Mitchell a side eyed glance. "I didn't trust him right at that moment, but I feel almost as if I should. He didn't seem as horrible as he did the first time."

"Katie, listen to me." Stopping her from stepping inside by placing a hand on her shoulder, he turned her around so that he could meet her gaze. "Trust me, men like him doesn't change that easily."

"And who are you to say? You don't actually know him." An annoyed look flashed over her face, her hand gripping her keys so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes shot to Mitchell's face, as if trying to find the answer there when he didn't reply, but instead she only found him staring at her in anger, as if she had just insulted him. "Or do you?" Suspiciously, she stepped a little closer, her eyes glued to his in a try to find any trace of an answer.

"No, I don't." His voice was low as he spoke, his eyes darkening as he looked upon her. She stood so close that he, in his anger could only hear the rapid beating of her pulse and the dripping of blood.

Confusion clouded his mind at the thought, and his eyes turned downwards. In her anger, Katie had clenched her fist so tight, the keys had drawn blood from her palm, and it was now dripping softly onto the porch.

Staring upon the steady flow, Mitchell found himself transfixed. The smell of her blood was strong to him, and every part of him strained against his will. He wanted that blood, he wanted it with every fibre of his being.

"Mitchell, don't." The voice came from behind him, taking him by surprise in his dazed state. However, it helped taking his focus off the blood, and that was what he needed.

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" Katie's eyes had found the source of the voice, and her continued anger caused Mitchell to turn, only to find the reason to their previous conversation standing by the foot of the stairs.

"You did, yes, but I knew you would be in need of my help." Dan was sounding cockier than he felt as he spoke, and he was glad neither of them knew how near he had been to slip away from the whole thing. He had watched them pass, heard their conversation, but he had almost left again up until the second he had smelt the blood and seen Mitchell tense up. He had known what was about to happen, and knew that if he stopped it, he might have a larger chance to gain the two people's trust. "And I was glad I was around just now."

"I wasn't in need of your help!" First now had Katie noticed the blood seeping from her hand, but instead of caring about it, she just left it where it was. She was too angry to feel any pain. "We were having a normal conversation!" With an angry sigh, she turned around and stepped in through the door of the house, leaving the two men alone on the porch.

"But you were." Dan's eyes turned to Mitchell's face, knowing that while the other had not yet said anything, he was probably still rather thankful. "No need to thank me, though. I already know how much you hate me. Those broken ribs from when you threw me across the classroom spoke about that well enough." Rubbing his chest, even though the ribs had long since healed, he started to turn away.

"I do want to thank you." There was a slightly embarrassed tone in Mitchell's voice as he spoke, and Dan quickly understood that he was sorry for what he had done, even though he had had all reason to it. "Hadn't you stopped me, I probably would have attacked her, and had I done that, I would never have been able to live with myself. So... thank you..."

"Dan. My name is Dan." A smile grazed the other man's lips, and Mitchell nodded.

"Nice to meet you Dan." He stood hesitantly upon the doorstep for a moment, before he gestured towards the door. "You know, if you need somewhere to sleep... you're welcome to borrow our sofa. At least for tonight."

A chuckle escaped Dan's lips and he shook his head, pushing his hands into the pockets of his coat.

"No thank you, Mitchell. I don't think Katie would appreciate finding me in your house." Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled again. "Besides, I think that if she did, she would probably make sure I actually died. Properly, and not just the way I am dead right now."

"You're probably right." Smiling, Mitchell raised his hand in goodbye. "Very well, have a nice evening." Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him, leaving Dan to contemplate where to go for the night.

A/N: All right, hi again guys. Here we are, more Mysterious Ways and all that. I'm happy to see that people still seem to be reading this thing, even though I'm so bad at updating it. Anyway, I really hope you liked this part! And feel free to leave some reviews of things you might want to see happening, or if there's anything else you want to comment on.
Thanks for reading!