Sounds of a busy bar filled my ears like dead echoes that would only linger around to tell me I was still in the land of the living.
"So why don't you like Heero," Duo asked.
I sighed. There were many times I wish I could tell Duo that about vampires and that I was one. Of course If I did I would get a *long* lecture from Zechs:
("Hilde humans out number us sixteen to one. We need to keep a low profile. To tell Duo that we are vampires would be the same as driving a stake into your heart. We must keep our presence a secret Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Yack. Yack. Yack. ")
I shrugged, "There's just something about him that's not right and I don't mean his fashion sense!"
Duo chuckled lightly.
"I mean only someone who's very messed up in the head or a freak would wear a tank top and spandex," I continued.
"Well, everybody's a freak in their own way," Duo took a sip of his coffee.
"Yourself included." I grinned at him.
He arched a playful eyebrow as his grin transmogrified into a delighted smirk. Aw, shit. Don't do that Duo!
I could already feel that embarrassing tint pink spreading across my cheeks. See what you made me do, Duo? I dropped my gaze back to my coffee like it'd make my blush any less obvious.
Way to go, Hilde.
Real smooth.
"What kind of name is Heero anyway?" Oh that's great, I'm embarrassing myself and I'm poking fun at the non-present loon that could dash me to smithereens. I should just shut up now.
I looked up just in time to catch the last fading trace of his smile as it was cleared away to make way for his now blank and emotionless mask. A rather disturbing expression to see on a guy like Duo, might I add.
"What kind of a name is Duo?" He murmured, his lips barely moving apart. "Names aren't important to people like us, Hilde."
I saw a flicker of sadness race through is eyes before his mask slid back into place.
I winced.
Damn.
I had never heard the whole of Duo's past, just that he was an orphan who had been raised in a church. At least until the church had burned down in a fire that swept through it killing everyone but himself.
That much of his past was probably true.
Duo hid a lot for all of his cheery open nature.
He had a lot of secrets he wouldn't share with anyone.
I could always get Relena to reach into his mind and tell me every little detail of his past, but I didn't want to do that. I hoped Duo would tell me it when we got closer.
Duo must have seen the chastened expression on my face. He reached over and gave my hand a squeeze a heartwarming grin on his face.
I couldn't resist. That grin of his was contagious. I grinned back at him.
This was a perfect Kodak moment: Duo holding my hand and smiling at me. I wished I had a camera to take a picture.
Unfortunately I didn't have a camera.
So instead I wished for time to stop and let this moment go on forever.
Unfortunately this was denied me too.
Relena chose that exact moment to walk into the bar.
"Hey Hilde! Hey Duo!" She waved making her way toward us.
Duo let go of my hand the second Relena made her presence known to the world.
I turned in my seat to glare at her as she sat down next to me.
She had ruined a perfect moment between me and Duo. It might have been accidental (though I was starting to doubt that). But do you have *any* idea how few and far between moments like these *are*!?
God I wanted to kill her. (But of course if I did I would be neck deep in shit with Zechs.) Still that didn't mean I couldn't maim her a *little*
Relena must have read my thoughts.
Sorry Hilde. She thought sent me.
Her mental voice sounded sincere with no trace of the usual whine Relena had in her voice.
My annoyance began to melt away.
It's OK. I sent back.
She smiled at me.
The waitress came over and asked for her order. She ordered coffee with little cream and *no* sugar. I could barely restrain a gag.
I didn't like coffee too much. I would drink it, but very rarely. Soda would supply the caffeine I needed that you very much. The only way I would drink coffee was if it was drowned with cream and had a mountain of sugar in it to mask the bitter aftertaste.
Duo would drink coffee anyway even *without* sugar.
God I don't know how he did it he must have taste buds of steel.
The waitress came back with Relena's coffee. She thanked the waitress and took a sip of it sighing with contentment.
I had to close my eyes to keep from throwing up.
God some people are unreal.
I opened my eyes to see Zechs walk in followed by Noin.
We waved to them and they came over to sit with us. Noin was wearing a violet shirt that said in hot pink "GIRLS KICK A$$." She was wearing hip hugging low cut jeans that showed a bit of her stomach.
Noin had an amazing figure and the chick barely worked out. I didn't have a bad figure either but Noin *easily* beat me in the abs department.
She was wearing black sandals with two inch heels. Little silver bells were on the sandals and chimed softly as she walked over to us.
Her hair was done in twists in the front. I really needed her to teach me how to do that. I could never do it right.
Zechs was wearing a gold tank top streaked with silver like tiger stripes. His hair was in a ponytail and his long platinum blond hair hung down to mid back. Wisps of hair framed his face.
There was no other word to describe Zechs except bishonen. His left ear was pierced twice the top hole had a diamond stud and the bottom had a silver lighting bolt dangling.
Zechs was wearing a pair of very tight light blue jeans. On his feet were a pair of sneakers. Nike, if I didn't miss my guess.
Most of my kiss were psychic vampires. But our powers were each different in their own way.
Me for instance could suck people's life-force out.
Relena could read minds and had some telekinesis.
Noin is a Symbio Psi-vamp.
She's sort of the exact oposite of me. While I drain a persons life-force and can kill. Noin on the other hand feeds off peoples aura's.
She doesn't kill them and if they are sick or dying she can even heal them!
Yep that's Noin miss goody two shoes.
And of course there's Zechs.
You seriously don't want to piss him off. The guys psychic power is he can absorb other powers. Sorta like that Rogue girl in that X-men movie.
Only unlike Rogue who loses that power in a couple hours or even days. Zechs keeps it. And he doesn't even have to touch you to copy your power. He just has to be in the same room with you.
Plus you don't nearly die either.
Cool huh?
One by one more of our friends spilled into Sallys.
Catherine our resident cat burglar. The gal can break into *anything*.
She was followed closely by her brother Trowa.
Its kinda hard for me not to feel nervous around him.
He's an ex-vampire hunter.
It's a long story. To make it short here it is:
Catherine and Trowa were separated when they were little kids.
Trowa was found and taken in by some very nice old people.
When Trowa turned ten a kiss of vampires (Bloodists by the way) attacked the people who had taken Trowa in.
By luck or whatever ya wanna call it Trowa was out of the house when the attack happened. He came back to find the people either dead or dying.
So Trowa became a vampire hunter. He managed to kill the vampires (along with a couple others who got in the way before that) and a few months later he found Catherine and moved in with her.
Trowa's friend Quatre came in a few minutes later.
He's our resident empath/siren.
What that means is he can sense other people's emotions.
That nearly drove him insane by the way and the kid's still kinda weird.
I mean if you can feel *every* single emotion *every* person around you, wouldn't that make you a bit crazy?
And the siren part is he can persuade people to do anything he wants that just by speaking to them.
Now if that isn't freaky I don't know what is.
Now that's about everybody.
Oops I forgot about Sally.
Sally is the owner of the bar (named Sallys hehe)she's a metamorph.
She can transform into *any* animal or thing ya want her too. Lion, tiger, bear (oh my! Hehe couldn't resist).
Yep you name it she can do it.
"Why isn't Meiran here?" I asked.
"She had to go shopping, we're out of milk." Relena replied.
I nodded.
Translation: She's out hunting.
I drained my cup of coffee and got up from my chair. I handed Zechs a few bills to pay for my coffee. Then saying goodbye to everybody I left the bar.
The night was beautiful.
A sickle shaped moon hung in the sky. Stars shone like little gems up in the ink black night. The scent of roses drifted over from a garden as I passed it.
I closed my eyes sighing happily. The night was perfect.
I heard a small commotion from an alley ahead of me that ruined the perfect little moment.
God that seems to be happening to me a lot today.
Curiosity reared its ugly little head. They always say curiosity killed the cat.
Peering around the corner of the alley I saw something I wished I had never seen.
Heero feeding.
In the back of my mind I wondered if Heero was a messy eater on purpose.
I mean the blood was *everywhere*. On the walls, spattering the trashcans nearby and pooling at his feet.
In other words it was quite bloody and gory.
I guess Heero sensed my presence. He lifted his head from the woman's neck.
In the light the blood on his face looked black.
I nearly hurled right then and there. With a grimace I fought down the bile that rose in my throat.
To cap it off Heero licked at the blood around his face.
I felt the blood drain from my face. I began to back away slowly.
With ease he dropped the woman on the hard, filthy alley ground. Her face was turned toward me her eyes staring sightlessly at me, filmed over in death.
I whirled around and began racing away from the alley the sound of Heero's chilling laughter ringing in my ears.