The Crow and the Falcon. (Two)
It was pouring with rain outside, so the cafeteria was more packed than usual. Jessamyn and Michael Webber were quick to order the group of cheerleaders off of their usual table with cold green stares, in stereo. The group quickly moved on and the twins slipped into their seats. Mike probed at a pile of toxic green slush on his plate dubiously.
"If I eat this, I'm gonna mutate into something nasty." He complained.
"You already have. Eat up. Mom's got a meeting tonight. I'm not sticking around at home to be subject to Kate's cooking." His sister grinned.
Mike grimaced, and forked a mouthful of the goo into his mouth. Jess was glad she didn't have to eat it today. Instead she took a big bite out of the apple she'd bought, making sure it crunched loudly.
"Rub it in, why don't you." He moaned.
"Rub-a-dub-dub." She replied, reaching over and rubbing his nose gently.
"Thanks." He said, sourly. "You know, if you hadn't had that chocolate bar in music, you'd be eating this too."
"I know. That's why I ate it."
"You're gonna screw up your diet."
"No I'm not. I included the chocolate bar in today's calculations. I'll be fine."
"Fine? What's wrong?" the blue-headed figure slipped in beside Mike.
"Hi Cookie. Nothing's wrong." Jess greeted her friend.
"Jess is abusing her body again with the vile substance known as chocolate."
"And?" Cookie replied, "What's new?"
Jess snickered. "Ha. You should have known better than to attempt recruiting Redditch High's resident chocolate fiend into your cause. Besides, I caught you eating those Mars Bars last week, so don't go preaching to me."
"Yeah, Mike. Hypocrisy is one of the worst sins I know." Cookie smirked at him.
"What's this? Attack Mike week or something? Geesh. I'm only saying it because I care."
"I know." Jess relented, reaching over and ruffling his hair affectionately.
"So where're Zia and the Techno Freak?" Cookie asked.
"Zia's getting some extra coaching for Chemistry, and as far as I know, Adam is hiding out in a cubicle in the bathroom hacking into the school files." Mike informed her.
"That's unusually tame for him. What's he doing in school files?"
"Reducing Mrs Barclay's pay check."
"Uh, why?" She asked, opening her lunch box.
"She flunked him in art. He refused to draw a live study of a naked forty year old woman." Jess snorted. "He wants his revenge."
"Oh the maturity of my brother astounds me." Cookie replied flatly and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I thought he left a little note last time in their files telling them how to improve them."
"This is school. They're not gonna cough up the funds to secure their files like the Pentagon." Mike commented, pushing his plate away. "Ugh. I can't eat anymore of this."
Cookie dumped her box in front of him, and started on the school meal that he'd left. "It's not that bad." She said, munching contentedly. "Quite nice, really." Mike stuck his tongue out and made gagging noises.
"You're sick, Cookie." Jess grimaced. "So, we gonna go to the movies tonight?"
"Sorry. Can't make it. Mom's got some ritual thing going on tonight, and me and Adam have been roped into cleaning the house for visitors." Cookie grumbled.
"Why are you complaining? I thought you were in on most of that hocus pocus stuff?"
"I am. But the house isn't being cleaned for ritual purposes - mom's going to a friend's for that. We got stuck cleaning because our snotty cousins are coming for the weekend."
"Oh no." Mike closed his eyes in despair. "Not Bruce and Lydia. /Why/?"
Cookie shrugged. "Who knows. They're just coming for a visit, so mom says. I suppose they have their real reasons tucked away somewhere in their twisted minds."
"They are /not/ hanging round with us this time. I mean it. They even /try/ and come near me, I'm kicking them into the next state." Jess was adamant. She distinctly remembered the last time they had visited. Cookie's mother had made them entertain the pair for the week, and it had not been pleasant. They'd followed them around, complaining endlessly about how bored they were, how inferior things were to back home. They were, in Jess's opinion, the biggest snobs in the world. They also gave her the creeps.
"Don't worry. Mom says they can entertain themselves this time. Anyway, it's only for the weekend. They'll probably stick at home."
"And pigs might fly." Mike muttered. "If there's a chance of causing problems for us, Lydia and Bruce will jump at it...hey, what's wrong, Cooks?" He trailed off. Cookie was frowning at something behind him.
"Nothing. Just a guy staring at me."
Jess followed her friend's gaze. "You mean Damon Salvatore?"
"That his name?"
"Yeah. He's kinda cute."
"He's kinda weird. In a psychotic sort of way. You can see it in his eyes. And there's this feeling I have about him, like he's hiding something."
The twins looked troubled. "Can't you be more specific?" Jess asked.
"Not yet." She replied distractedly as she rose from the table. "Save my seat, wouldya." Jess and Mike stared after her as she wound her way through the lunch crowd towards Damon Salvatore's table.
"I hate it when she doesn't explain." Mike complained.
"Give her time. She'll tell us eventually." She picked up Cookie's discarded fork and spooned some of the green gunk into her mouth, and grimaced. "You're right." She said, placing the fork gingerly back on the plate. "This stuff /is/ lethal."
~*~
"I think it's gonna work out fine here." Stefan remarked, taking a sip of mineral water. "Large town, large school, easy to hide what we are." He frowned at his brother's lack of attention. "Virgins galore that I can rip pretty little throats from." He added, annoyed.
"Yeah. Great." Damon replied vacantly.
"You aren't even listening, are you? You got your eyes on this evening's meal or something?" He asked disgustedly. "What is she? Blonde? Brunette? Tall, short?"
"Tall, feisty, blue headed, and definitely not dinner." Damon stated, turning to face his brother. "Probe her." He said, pointing. "Tell me what you sense."
Stefan stretched out tentatively with his mind, gently examining hers. Powerful. "She's psychic." He muttered, probing further. Abruptly, he was shut out, but not before he caught a wave of anger and irritation being sent his way. "And she's pissed. She sensed I was in there." He sighed.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Well done, little brother. You should learn to be more careful."
"Hey, I /was/ careful. My Powers aren't /that/ weak."
"Well, no matter. She felt it, she's pissed..."
"And she's making her way over here." Stefan interrupted.
"What?" Damon turned quickly. "Oh, this should be fun." He smiled to himself and settled back into his seat. Stefan rolled his eyes. *Idiot*, he thought to himself, *he tempts trouble on purpose*.
"Well hello, pretty lady." Damon greeted Cookie as she stormed up to them. "What's the reason for being blessed with your delightful company?"
Cookie leaned over the table, glaring at him. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, I don't know /what/ you are...yet, but stay the hell out of my mind, you hear?" She hissed.
Damon arched an inquiring brow at her, playing innocent. "I'm sorry, your mind?"
"You know /exactly/ what I'm talking about. If you do it again, I'm gonna cause you a whole heap of trouble. I mean it." She turned to leave. "And that goes for you, too." She told Stefan as she stalked off.
"Well done, Damon. Well done." Stefan clapped slowly. "You've been here a week, and already you're making enemies."
"Oh shut up. It wasn't /me/ that was probing her mind, anyway." His tone was nonchalant, but Stefan thought he could sense a little disquiet growing beneath his brother's cool exterior.
~*~
Adam Tate sat in a cramped toilet cubicle with his Lap-top perched on his knee. The old /'Out of Order'/ sign hanging from the door ensured some degree of privacy. He'd already done what he set out to do, and was now casually browsing through the files of the new students. He arched a brow two particular files caught his eye. Or rather the lack of them. Salvatore, Damon and Salvatore, Stefan. Waiting for records from Robert E. Lee. *Out of town?* he thought. *Neat. New blood in the lifeless old place*. The bell for class rang, and Adam grinned as he decided to cut. He wanted to know more about these new students. After pacifying his paranoia by making sure the cubicle was securely locked, he set about hacking into the files of Robert E. Lee.
And found...nothing. Nothing on Damon, and little on Stefan. Instead of disappointment, he was intrigued. /Real/ strangers. /Interesting/ people. He shut down his computer. Things were looking up for Adam. He glanced at his watch. 1.17. *Might as well leave early*, he thought, slipping out of the bathroom and into the hallway. Of course, Cookie would kill him for skipping again, but she wouldn't rat on him. Especially if he got most of the cleaning done before she got home. He stopped off briefly at his locker to retrieve his books, then sneaked out of the building and home. To find the door unlocked, and his worst nightmare sitting in the front room on one of the couches.
Cold grey eyes stared at him from under short cropped blonde hair. "Well, hello." The voice was as cold as the gaze.
Adam groaned inwardly. "Bruce." He nodded to his cousin. "You're here early."
"We switched to an earlier flight."
"Shouldn't you be in school?" Asked Lydia, brushing her hair from her face. Her own grey eyes were calculating. "We could cause you /a lot/ of trouble if we told." She added meaningfully.
Adam sighed and threw his belongings on the couch. "You could, but I don't give a shit." He flashed a smile at her. "I mean, it's not as if I really /need/ to go to school, being a genius and all. Unlike /some/ people." He felt a stab of satisfaction as Lydia visibly bristled. She was a year older than he was and had come out with below average grades when she left school.
"But if we told your mother..."
Adam cut her off. "Yeah, yeah. I'd get grounded - again, have to endure the lectures - again. I'm used to it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. You know which rooms you're staying in, and since you were so /gracious/ to come early, you can make your own beds." With that he stormed into the kitchen, grinding his teeth, and dreading the trouble that Bruce and his older sister were likely to cause.
~*~
Jess caught up with Damon after her Math lesson that afternoon standing beneath a sprawling oak tree in the car park. "Hi." She greeted him as she approached.
He looked at her a little warily before replying. "Hi back."
"I don't bite, you know." She laughed. "You gonna introduce me to your friend?"
"Hmm? Oh. This is my brother, Stefan. Stefan, Jessamyn Webber."
"Just Jess." She said as she shook his hand, a little surprised at the coolness of his skin.
"Hello, Just Jess." He grinned.
"Did you want something?" Damon asked pointedly.
"Uh, yeah. I saw Cookie get mad at you in the cafeteria. I was wondering if everything was okay?" She said, flashing him an odd look.
"Yes. Thanks." He paused a moment. "You know her?"
"Oh yeah. She's my best friend. One of them, anyway."
"Is she always like that."
"What? Assertive? Outspoken? Oh yeah. Biggest mouth in the school. They tried to get her on the Debate team once, and she had a few choice words to say about /that/, too." She grinned. "What did you do?"
"I think we got off on the wrong foot, somehow. Let's just say I found her very...interesting. She took it the wrong way."
Jess's mouth formed an O shape, and she widened her eyes in understanding. "Hey, I'm sure the damage is easily repaired. Cookie's a really forgiving person. Look, tomorrow is Saturday. We're not doing anything. Why don't you both come to my place? We can crash in front of the television, or we could show you around this boring town."
Damon glanced at Stefan. "Well..." He began.
"Aw, c'mon. It'll be fun, and you can get to know some people." She pleaded.
Stefan smiled a little, and made the decision for his brother. "Sure. We'll come."
"Great. Ah, lemme give you the address and phone number." She said, fumbling through her bag. Stefan produced a pen and held it under her nose. "Thanks. Got any paper? My Notebook is trapped."
"Just write it on my hand." He said, holding it out.
"Okay." She said, handing the pen back. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah." Damon replied as she started walking away. "Tomorrow."