CHAPTER SEVEN: REPLACING IMPRESSIONS
Caden rushed into her apartment, breath sped up and heart racing from her sprint home. She slammed the door behind her, locking both locks for no reason, and leaned against the door, breathing heavily. She swallowed hard, brushing her thick brown hair back out of her face.
'Oh god, oh god, I did not just do that it did not just happen, oh god... what the hell am I saying? I'm an atheist!' Caden thought frantically, unable to think straight. 'Okay, don't panic. That didn't just happen. Oh, ew, he had blood breath!'
Caden made a mad dash for the bathroom, and fumbled around for her toothpaste and toothbrush. She hastily and messily smeared some toothpaste over the bristles and began brushing her teeth frantically, spitting every so often. After about six spits, she finally choked down some mouthwash, forgetting to swish and spit, she swallowed.
"Gaah!" Caden groaned, and started spitting out the residue frantically into her sink. Unable to get the sharp taste out of her mouth, she ran the water in the sink, cupping her hands, drinking, swishing, spitting and repeating until her mouth cooled off.
A sick feeling accompanied her stomach, not just from the mouthwash, but from the fact that she had
"Kissed an evil mortal enemy vampire. Gaah!" Caden bashed her head against the wall, then clutched her forehead. "Ow. God, I'm so fucked up right now..."
She left her bathroom, clutching her aching head and moaning.
"Ugh. Mortal. Enemy. Evil. Vampire. With cold skin, and sharp pointy teeth, and whose breath tastes like cigarette smoke and blood. Human blood. And I made out with him for practically twenty minutes." She sank onto her bed miserably. "Stupid pervy vampire. I'm gonna stake that little fucker."
Caden lay for a minute. 'He was such a good kisser, though. And that tongue of his really knew what he was doing. Bet it knows what its doing elsewhere too... Stop. Dirty. Ew. No. More. Thinking. Of. Evil. Gross. Vamire. In. Really. Hot. Black leather pants...' Caden smiled a little, playing over a slight instant replay in her mind of the way he walked, with that cocky grin spreading across his face with that evil, dark look in his eye...
Caden jumped at the sudden sound of her ringing phone. 'Who would be calling me? I don't know anybody cept Wes and Garron. And why would they call at this hour. Oh. Danger afoot.'
"Hello?" Caden asked irritably into the receiver.
"Um, hi. Is Caden there?" A small female voice asked.
"This is Caden. Who the hell is this?"
"Um, hi, Caden. This is Willow Rosenberg? I go to school with you. And we--"
"Yeah, I remember. Why are you calling now?"
"Well, I figured that it wouldn't be all that bad to call you now. Seeing as Xander and I were walking home and saw you sprinting out of Restfield Cemetary? You looked upset. I just wanted to ask if you were okay and everything."
'Fuck! Someone saw me? Oh, wait, he didn't see THAT. I guess I'm okay.'
"I guess I'm okay." Caden replied, trying her best to maintain her cool.
"Oh. Okay. Um, anyway. I also wanted to ask if you're sure about that not needing help thing. Because Xander and I would be happy to sort of put our bad past week aside and start fresh. I mean, if that's okay with you. We don't even have to be friends if you don't want. We just like to help out. I'm good with the researching bits, and Xander gets good donughts and makes these really nice witty remarks that lighten the mood..."
'They're offering to help. Me. And be my friends. When was the last time I had friends? Close to never. And I know Wesley and Garron would hate me bringing them into this.'
"I'd like that, thanks Willow."
"Oh. Sure. Are you sure you're okay, Caden? You sound really upset? Kinda jumpy? I mean, if you want me to just like, hang up, let me know. I'm okay with the hanging up. Or if you want to hang up, feel free. But if you want to talk..."
"I'm okay. Just had a bad encounter with Angelus."
"Oh." Willow's voice softened. "Are you okay? Do you need me to come over or something? Or wanna meet somewhere? Like the Bronze? It's still pretty early, only ten thirty, and on a Saturday they're open till about two."
"What's the Bronze?"
"Oh, you don't know about the Bronze? It's this club we like to hang out in. It's pretty cool. Lots of vamp attacks, so you could slay if you wanted to, or not. I mean, they've got a good band playing tonight. Oz's friend's band. Though they might be done by the time we get there. I don't know. We don't have to... I'm sorry. I'm babbling. I do that sometimes. Babble."
"No, it's cool. We could meet there. Where is it?"
Caden walked into the Bronze, looking around. There was a DJ up onstage, the band had already gone. People sat around the bar, at tables, some dancing on the dance floor, some just socializing. All the people, practically, jammed into one tiny, lame club. The song that was playing wasn't any good, and it was filled with all sorts of lame people from Sunnydale High. She looked out of place, just as she did at school, only a little bit less so, due to the dimmer pinkish lighting. She had changed from patrol into some black flares with two chains crossing over in back and a wallet chain attached to the belt loop, where a studded silver and black belt was slung. A black wife beater stretched across her torso, showing a little bit of space between the bottom of her low rise jeans and the small tank. She wore her usual jewlery of chains, rings, cuffs, black rubber bracelets and varied earrings in her triple pierced lobe and her cartilage. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and a light black thumbhole thermal sweater finished off the outfit, with black combat boots on her feet. She saw Willow waving at her, sitting at a table in a secluded looking corner by a stairway up to a catwalk. She nodded at her acknowledgement, and went over, sitting down softly in the chair next to Willow's. Willow smiled at her brightly, but tilted her head at Caden's expressionless face.
"Hey, Willow." Caden said.
"Hi. Wow, you look beat. Not in a bad way. A good, all black colored, nice beat." Willow chirped. "What's up?"
"Ceiling. What's that drink you got there?"
"Oh, it's a Coke."
"Juiced?" Caden asked hopefully. At Willow's puzzled expression, she finished, "Never mind."
"So, this fight with Angel, it got bad, huh?" A quick flash of Angelus moving forward to grab her and pull her into a kiss whizzed through Caden's mind.
"Two and a half hours of running through thick woods, punching, knife deals, bad finish of a fight equals uh huh. Yeah. Not good."
"I'm sorry. You're okay, right?"
"Got a coupla stab wounds, but I'm okay. Already healin." She assured at Willow's concerned look. 'Why is she so concerned anyway?' Caden thought to herself.
"Angelus didn't do anything else to get you that worked up?" Willow asked.
"N-no. Just said some stuff." Caden replied, taking a sip of Willow's coke. 'Tastes kinda bland without the alcohol,' Caden thought to herself.
"He said stuff to you? Like what?"
'God, does she ever stop asking questions?' Caden wondered.
"Just battle talk. When I brought out the knife he shut up." Caden covered. Angelus had shut up when she'd brought out the knife... he hadn't exactly said too many memorable lines that night. Just, "come on, Slayer, that all you got?" and the like. And he'd moaned a few times, growled when they'd kissed...
Caden snapped back into her right mind. Why was he getting under her skin like that?
"Oh. Is anything else bothering you?"
'Yeah, your persistent questions,' Caden wanted to reply. She didn't.
"No. I just hate... I hate being the one who runs off after a battle. Makes me feel incomplete." She didn't even have to lie that time. It had bothered her. Though she'd just run away from the vampire, not the fight.
"Oh, well, you just became the Slayer like, two weeks ago. You'll get the hang of it."
"I've been fighting demons since I was eleven."
"Oh. Well, in that case..."
Willow and Caden had a fairly normal evening, until Willow had to go home at about midnight. Caden had asked if she needed to walk with Willow back to her house, but Willow said she could handle it. Caden tossed her her stake all the same. Willow had smiled, and they had parted their separate ways. Caden was walking the long way home, she was in no rush.
She was walking across the street in an area a little outside of what was called downtown Sunnydale, when she thought she heard a noise from a neighboring alley. She looked in that direction, listening closer, until the loud honk of a car horn made her jump and dash out of the way. The SUV pulled to a halt and Caden's breathing returned to normal as she muttered,
"Holy shit. Crazy ass driver."
The very crazy ass driver got out of their car and rushed over to her. Caden recognized her as Joyce Summers, the woman from the gallery that she'd seen her first night in town.
"Are you all right?" Joyce asked breathlessly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Miss Summers. I'm sorry, I was distracted."
"It's all right. You gave me quite a fright. You just came out of nowhere."
"I know, I'm sorry. Have a good night." Caden started to turn, but the woman called her back.
"Has everything been okay here?" Joyce asked, noticing the girl's troubled aura. 'What am I, wearing a billboard that says 'COUNSEL ME!'' Caden wondered.
"Yeah. Fine, thanks for asking." Caden replied coldly, and walked away. She just was not in the mood to talk to the ex-Slayer's mama.
~*~
Angelus did not return to the mansion that night. Instead he waited in the trees outside of Caden's apartment, waiting for her return. He was about ready to go back when he saw her slum casually up the stairs to the building, unlocking the front door with a key. He walked softly behind her, and caught the door with his hand before it could close shut. He stayed in the entryway for a few minutes, waiting for her to be gone, until he climbed the stairs up to her floor. He stopped by her door, and put his ear to it, listening to her movements inside. She had habits, patterns to her bedtime ritual, that he was growing accustomed to.
When he heard her go to bed, he waited for a half an hour, listening to the sound of her steady breathing before he opened the door and entered. He closed it softly behind him, and looked at the sleeping Slayer in her bed. He knelt by her bedside, studying her face.
Her jaw was bruised from a rather hard punch he'd thrown. His cool hands tenderly touched it, wishing it would go away. His hand moved over her soft jaw to touch her lips, remembering how wonderful it had felt to feel them against his own. He licked his lips at the memory, wanting to just jump her right then.
She looked so peaceful, he wanted to wake her, crush his lips against hers, and take her right there. He knew he couldn't. Not until he got her to beg for it. He smiled at the thought of it: her coming after him, kissing him, biting his ear, his neck, whispering dirty phrases into his ear, asking him to do things to her she'd never even dreamed of...
Lightly, he bent down and kissed her lips.
"You'll be mine, Slayer. And I'll anticipate eagerly the day you ask me to take you." He slid slowly from his jacket an envelope, which he put on the pillow beside the one Caden's head rested on. With that, and one last look, Angelus stood, and walked out of her apartment, closing the door behind him.
AN: Okay, this one was a little shorter than usual, but I hope it was okay. I wanted to bring Willow and Xander a little more into the plotline, so I sorta eased Willow into this, trying to put her and one of our protagonists on better terms. more will come with this. also, there will be more of garron, wesley, willow, xander, and spike (possibly dru, lemme know if u want her) so hold ur horses. review.
Caden rushed into her apartment, breath sped up and heart racing from her sprint home. She slammed the door behind her, locking both locks for no reason, and leaned against the door, breathing heavily. She swallowed hard, brushing her thick brown hair back out of her face.
'Oh god, oh god, I did not just do that it did not just happen, oh god... what the hell am I saying? I'm an atheist!' Caden thought frantically, unable to think straight. 'Okay, don't panic. That didn't just happen. Oh, ew, he had blood breath!'
Caden made a mad dash for the bathroom, and fumbled around for her toothpaste and toothbrush. She hastily and messily smeared some toothpaste over the bristles and began brushing her teeth frantically, spitting every so often. After about six spits, she finally choked down some mouthwash, forgetting to swish and spit, she swallowed.
"Gaah!" Caden groaned, and started spitting out the residue frantically into her sink. Unable to get the sharp taste out of her mouth, she ran the water in the sink, cupping her hands, drinking, swishing, spitting and repeating until her mouth cooled off.
A sick feeling accompanied her stomach, not just from the mouthwash, but from the fact that she had
"Kissed an evil mortal enemy vampire. Gaah!" Caden bashed her head against the wall, then clutched her forehead. "Ow. God, I'm so fucked up right now..."
She left her bathroom, clutching her aching head and moaning.
"Ugh. Mortal. Enemy. Evil. Vampire. With cold skin, and sharp pointy teeth, and whose breath tastes like cigarette smoke and blood. Human blood. And I made out with him for practically twenty minutes." She sank onto her bed miserably. "Stupid pervy vampire. I'm gonna stake that little fucker."
Caden lay for a minute. 'He was such a good kisser, though. And that tongue of his really knew what he was doing. Bet it knows what its doing elsewhere too... Stop. Dirty. Ew. No. More. Thinking. Of. Evil. Gross. Vamire. In. Really. Hot. Black leather pants...' Caden smiled a little, playing over a slight instant replay in her mind of the way he walked, with that cocky grin spreading across his face with that evil, dark look in his eye...
Caden jumped at the sudden sound of her ringing phone. 'Who would be calling me? I don't know anybody cept Wes and Garron. And why would they call at this hour. Oh. Danger afoot.'
"Hello?" Caden asked irritably into the receiver.
"Um, hi. Is Caden there?" A small female voice asked.
"This is Caden. Who the hell is this?"
"Um, hi, Caden. This is Willow Rosenberg? I go to school with you. And we--"
"Yeah, I remember. Why are you calling now?"
"Well, I figured that it wouldn't be all that bad to call you now. Seeing as Xander and I were walking home and saw you sprinting out of Restfield Cemetary? You looked upset. I just wanted to ask if you were okay and everything."
'Fuck! Someone saw me? Oh, wait, he didn't see THAT. I guess I'm okay.'
"I guess I'm okay." Caden replied, trying her best to maintain her cool.
"Oh. Okay. Um, anyway. I also wanted to ask if you're sure about that not needing help thing. Because Xander and I would be happy to sort of put our bad past week aside and start fresh. I mean, if that's okay with you. We don't even have to be friends if you don't want. We just like to help out. I'm good with the researching bits, and Xander gets good donughts and makes these really nice witty remarks that lighten the mood..."
'They're offering to help. Me. And be my friends. When was the last time I had friends? Close to never. And I know Wesley and Garron would hate me bringing them into this.'
"I'd like that, thanks Willow."
"Oh. Sure. Are you sure you're okay, Caden? You sound really upset? Kinda jumpy? I mean, if you want me to just like, hang up, let me know. I'm okay with the hanging up. Or if you want to hang up, feel free. But if you want to talk..."
"I'm okay. Just had a bad encounter with Angelus."
"Oh." Willow's voice softened. "Are you okay? Do you need me to come over or something? Or wanna meet somewhere? Like the Bronze? It's still pretty early, only ten thirty, and on a Saturday they're open till about two."
"What's the Bronze?"
"Oh, you don't know about the Bronze? It's this club we like to hang out in. It's pretty cool. Lots of vamp attacks, so you could slay if you wanted to, or not. I mean, they've got a good band playing tonight. Oz's friend's band. Though they might be done by the time we get there. I don't know. We don't have to... I'm sorry. I'm babbling. I do that sometimes. Babble."
"No, it's cool. We could meet there. Where is it?"
Caden walked into the Bronze, looking around. There was a DJ up onstage, the band had already gone. People sat around the bar, at tables, some dancing on the dance floor, some just socializing. All the people, practically, jammed into one tiny, lame club. The song that was playing wasn't any good, and it was filled with all sorts of lame people from Sunnydale High. She looked out of place, just as she did at school, only a little bit less so, due to the dimmer pinkish lighting. She had changed from patrol into some black flares with two chains crossing over in back and a wallet chain attached to the belt loop, where a studded silver and black belt was slung. A black wife beater stretched across her torso, showing a little bit of space between the bottom of her low rise jeans and the small tank. She wore her usual jewlery of chains, rings, cuffs, black rubber bracelets and varied earrings in her triple pierced lobe and her cartilage. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and a light black thumbhole thermal sweater finished off the outfit, with black combat boots on her feet. She saw Willow waving at her, sitting at a table in a secluded looking corner by a stairway up to a catwalk. She nodded at her acknowledgement, and went over, sitting down softly in the chair next to Willow's. Willow smiled at her brightly, but tilted her head at Caden's expressionless face.
"Hey, Willow." Caden said.
"Hi. Wow, you look beat. Not in a bad way. A good, all black colored, nice beat." Willow chirped. "What's up?"
"Ceiling. What's that drink you got there?"
"Oh, it's a Coke."
"Juiced?" Caden asked hopefully. At Willow's puzzled expression, she finished, "Never mind."
"So, this fight with Angel, it got bad, huh?" A quick flash of Angelus moving forward to grab her and pull her into a kiss whizzed through Caden's mind.
"Two and a half hours of running through thick woods, punching, knife deals, bad finish of a fight equals uh huh. Yeah. Not good."
"I'm sorry. You're okay, right?"
"Got a coupla stab wounds, but I'm okay. Already healin." She assured at Willow's concerned look. 'Why is she so concerned anyway?' Caden thought to herself.
"Angelus didn't do anything else to get you that worked up?" Willow asked.
"N-no. Just said some stuff." Caden replied, taking a sip of Willow's coke. 'Tastes kinda bland without the alcohol,' Caden thought to herself.
"He said stuff to you? Like what?"
'God, does she ever stop asking questions?' Caden wondered.
"Just battle talk. When I brought out the knife he shut up." Caden covered. Angelus had shut up when she'd brought out the knife... he hadn't exactly said too many memorable lines that night. Just, "come on, Slayer, that all you got?" and the like. And he'd moaned a few times, growled when they'd kissed...
Caden snapped back into her right mind. Why was he getting under her skin like that?
"Oh. Is anything else bothering you?"
'Yeah, your persistent questions,' Caden wanted to reply. She didn't.
"No. I just hate... I hate being the one who runs off after a battle. Makes me feel incomplete." She didn't even have to lie that time. It had bothered her. Though she'd just run away from the vampire, not the fight.
"Oh, well, you just became the Slayer like, two weeks ago. You'll get the hang of it."
"I've been fighting demons since I was eleven."
"Oh. Well, in that case..."
Willow and Caden had a fairly normal evening, until Willow had to go home at about midnight. Caden had asked if she needed to walk with Willow back to her house, but Willow said she could handle it. Caden tossed her her stake all the same. Willow had smiled, and they had parted their separate ways. Caden was walking the long way home, she was in no rush.
She was walking across the street in an area a little outside of what was called downtown Sunnydale, when she thought she heard a noise from a neighboring alley. She looked in that direction, listening closer, until the loud honk of a car horn made her jump and dash out of the way. The SUV pulled to a halt and Caden's breathing returned to normal as she muttered,
"Holy shit. Crazy ass driver."
The very crazy ass driver got out of their car and rushed over to her. Caden recognized her as Joyce Summers, the woman from the gallery that she'd seen her first night in town.
"Are you all right?" Joyce asked breathlessly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Miss Summers. I'm sorry, I was distracted."
"It's all right. You gave me quite a fright. You just came out of nowhere."
"I know, I'm sorry. Have a good night." Caden started to turn, but the woman called her back.
"Has everything been okay here?" Joyce asked, noticing the girl's troubled aura. 'What am I, wearing a billboard that says 'COUNSEL ME!'' Caden wondered.
"Yeah. Fine, thanks for asking." Caden replied coldly, and walked away. She just was not in the mood to talk to the ex-Slayer's mama.
~*~
Angelus did not return to the mansion that night. Instead he waited in the trees outside of Caden's apartment, waiting for her return. He was about ready to go back when he saw her slum casually up the stairs to the building, unlocking the front door with a key. He walked softly behind her, and caught the door with his hand before it could close shut. He stayed in the entryway for a few minutes, waiting for her to be gone, until he climbed the stairs up to her floor. He stopped by her door, and put his ear to it, listening to her movements inside. She had habits, patterns to her bedtime ritual, that he was growing accustomed to.
When he heard her go to bed, he waited for a half an hour, listening to the sound of her steady breathing before he opened the door and entered. He closed it softly behind him, and looked at the sleeping Slayer in her bed. He knelt by her bedside, studying her face.
Her jaw was bruised from a rather hard punch he'd thrown. His cool hands tenderly touched it, wishing it would go away. His hand moved over her soft jaw to touch her lips, remembering how wonderful it had felt to feel them against his own. He licked his lips at the memory, wanting to just jump her right then.
She looked so peaceful, he wanted to wake her, crush his lips against hers, and take her right there. He knew he couldn't. Not until he got her to beg for it. He smiled at the thought of it: her coming after him, kissing him, biting his ear, his neck, whispering dirty phrases into his ear, asking him to do things to her she'd never even dreamed of...
Lightly, he bent down and kissed her lips.
"You'll be mine, Slayer. And I'll anticipate eagerly the day you ask me to take you." He slid slowly from his jacket an envelope, which he put on the pillow beside the one Caden's head rested on. With that, and one last look, Angelus stood, and walked out of her apartment, closing the door behind him.
AN: Okay, this one was a little shorter than usual, but I hope it was okay. I wanted to bring Willow and Xander a little more into the plotline, so I sorta eased Willow into this, trying to put her and one of our protagonists on better terms. more will come with this. also, there will be more of garron, wesley, willow, xander, and spike (possibly dru, lemme know if u want her) so hold ur horses. review.