Key To My Heart – Chapter Twenty-one – First Date

Raven POV

At half six I started to head out. Before I got t' the door Slasher came over. "Where you goin' kid?"

"I've got a date," I said. 'E raised 'is eyebrows.

"That was fast. Name?"

"Dawn." He laughed.

"A vampire goin' out with a chick named Dawn. Jesus Christ. It is a chick right?"

"Course it is!"

He nodded. "Just checkin'. Tits?"

"Kinda small, but cute. Look firm."

"Cool. So, about this Dawn chick. What's the plan? Wine her, dine her, fuck her then drain her?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. 'Aven't decided yet. Sommat about 'er…"

Slasher groaned. "Oh God, not this again."

"Wot?"

"Remember the last two times you got personal with humans? Christ boy, haven't you learned your lesson?"

"Well y' know wot they say, third times the charm. An' yeah, Sarah, that went to shit, but Jasmine turned out okay."

"So you wanna sire the girl?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Glazzior's not gonna like this."

"I don't give a shit. Look, maybe it's jus' this place, but she's different. Dunno what it is, but its there."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn ya."

He walked off. I opened the door and started walkin'. I though about what 'e said. Does 'ave a point. But wot I said is true. There's sommat about 'er. I dunno, maybe its jus' this place. Hellmouth's weird. I feel a little different. I dunno, maybe it's just 'cos she's from 'ere. Wonder if a human can 'ave 'Ellmouth in their blood? That could be why I'm attracted to 'er. I man, yeah, not bad on th' eyes, but she's just different. That place, wot's it called? The Bronze, that's it. Soon as I bumped into 'er, I knew she was different. Vampire senses an' all. Now I know what I 'ad planned. Tell 'er a bit about me, lure 'er outside an' then kill 'er, but then that bitch stared on about me mum an' dad. But then I saw 'er again. Sweet talked that girl, took 'er to that alley, an' drained 'er. Soon as I'd finished along she comes with those lads. Bloody wankers, can't fight fer shit. And then I walked 'er home. Lucky for 'er I'd just fed. Can't believe she saw that girl's blood on me. Suppose it's lucky I'd just killed 'er thought, over wise when she'd grabbed me 'and it would have been ice cold.

I reached Dawn's 'ouse. Really is a nice place. About three times bigger that where I lived before Glazzor turned me. Glazzior…better not think about 'im right now. Too many weird feelin's. I went up th' path an' knocked on 'er door. A redhead opened it. Not a bad body. I took a sniff. Old smell of sex on 'er…with a woman! Bloody 'ell. I wonder if…naw, she asked me out. Then again, Dawn could be bi. But she smelt like a virgin.

"Hi," the red'ead said with a smile.

I smiled back. "'Ello."

"Hey, I'm Willow. Dawn's just getting ready."

I nodded. "Okay."

"You're Mathew right? Dawn told me all about you."

I was surprised. "Oh…um, right." Mathew? Oh boy, this is gunna feel weird. Nobody's called me Mathew in ages, except the people I plan t' kill. "So um, you Dawn's sister?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm a friend of her sister's. I actually live here."

"Oh. Sounds nice."

"Yeah, it is." So, is it Dawn's sister this bird's shaggin'? "Oh, I forgot, please come in." Willow said. "Sorry, that was rude of me not to invite you sooner."

I stepped into th' house. "No problem love."

"Please, sit down," Willow said. She walked into th' livin' room. I followed.

"Thanks."

"So, Dawn said she met you with some friends at the Bronze."

"Yeah. Cool place. Live bands an' what not."

"Uh huh. I used to hang out a lot there back in high school. That's where I met Buffy, Dawn's sister."

"Oh, right." Buffy? The fuck kinda names Buffy? Geez, was her mum on crack when she named her? Sounds like a bloody porn star. Actually, that old bloke that owns Playboy, isn't one of 'is seven girlfriends called Buffy?

"Can I get you anything? Coke, or maybe some tea? I mean, I'm not saying you'll like tea just because you're English or anything, and I'm sorry if it seems that way, I mean I was just offering, and…"

"Tea'll be fine," I said.

She flashed me an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I kind of have this thing where I babble."

She got up an' went into the kitchen. I watched her go. Wonder what exactly Dawn told 'er? Probably left out exactly how we'd run into each other the second time. An' speakin' of which, I think I 'ear a door openin'. Sure enough, Dawn came down the stairs. "Hey," she said.

I smiled at 'er. "Hey. You look fantastic."

She blushed. "Thanks." Truthfully, she did look good. Nice purple top an' dark blue jeans. Both very tight. Also a black denim jacket. Nice. Lot more fashion sense than me anyway. Course, that's not 'ard. Bloody monkey could dress better than me.

"You look good too."

I looked down. Black t-shirt with a silver dragon on it and black jeans. I used t' wear more colours when I was human. Sommat about bein' a vampire, you don't usually feel like dressin' in bright clothes. "Cheers." I looked up. "Was just talkin' to Willow. Seems nice."

"Yeah, she is. She didn't say anything embarrassing did she?"

"Nah, not really. Babbled a bit."

"Yeah, she does that."

"Did I hear my name?" Willow came in wi' my tea.

"Just sayin' we'd met, that's all." She passed me the tea. "Ta love." I sipped it. Willow sat down. "So, Dawn tells me you've only just moved here."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Have you ever been here before?"

"Y' mean Sunnydale or America?"

"Uh, both I guess."

"Nope. This is me first time abroad."

"Abroad? Oh, well you're from another country, so I guess to you this is abroad."

"Um, yeah. Right."

"Uh, Ra-Mathew, shouldn't we be going now?" Dawn said quickly. Think the poor girl's worried 'bout bein' embarrassed. Aw, cute.

"Yeah, we'd best be off." I got up an' headed t' the door. Dawn an' Willow followed. I stepped out th' door an' turned around. Dawn came out, an' quickly hugged Willow.

"We won't be gone to long," she said.

I put me arm around 'er shoulders. "Yeah, I'll bring 'er back in a few years." Dawn rolled 'er eyes an' shoved me away. I laughed.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you Mathew," Willow said.

"Yeah, you to duck. Thanks fer the tea."

"No problem. Um, Dawn, when are you coming back?"

"Um, eleven?" She looked at me.

I shrugged. "'Ow would I know? I don't even know where we're goin'."

"Oh, right." She looked at Willow. "Eleven?"

"Yeah, okay, but not one minute after young lady."

"Willow! Fine, not one minute after eleven."

"Okay, well, have a nice time you two."

"Bye Willow!" Dawn said, dragging me off.

"See ya pet." And off we went. Why'd y' tell Willow me names Mathew?"

"Well, like you said, Raven's kinda weird."

"Right. So, where exactly are we goin'?"

"Oh, I thought we'd hit the mall, catch a movie or something."

"The what?"

"The mall."

"Wot's a mall?"

She stopped dead in 'er tracks. "You don't know what a mall is?"

"Err, no." She burst out laughin'. I waited a few seconds. A few more seconds. Okay, this is getting bloody ridicules. "Dawn?" Oh God, there's tears in 'er eyes. Okay, all those American movies. Explosions, guns, spaceships, White House, ghosts, hidden societies, government conspiracies, aliens…no mall. Shit. An' she's still laughing. "DAWN!" She shut up. Finally.

"S-sorry. Don't you have malls in England?"

"I dunno. Might 'ave a different name. Let's just go."

"Fine, fine."

So eventually we got there. "Oh, so this is a mall."

"Yeah." She sniggered. "So, do you have them over there?"

"Yeah, we do. Meadow 'All, Victoria Centre, Broadmarsh…we just don't usually call 'em, y'know, malls."

"Right." I get the feelin' she was trying not to laugh…again. So we went in, found the cinema and got a movie guide. "Okay, so we've got a choice between a cartoon, an action, or a vampire movie."

"Vampire." Dawn gave me a look that was a little worried. "If vampires scare ya, we'll see another one."

"No, it's not that. It's just, um…you like vampires?"

"Yeah, I think they're cool."

"Um, yeah. Raven, just out of curiosity, what would you do if you ever met one?" Not for th' first time, I wondered jus' wot exactly this bird knew. When we'd first met, the way she'd said not to go out at night. Does she know what's in this town?

"Run like hell."

She looked relieved. "Good."

"We can see a different one if y' like." I watched her. She seemed a little uncomfterble.

"No, vampires' fine."

We got the tickets an' went in. It was fun. Scary moments in which we used as an excuse t' touch each other, but I was gettin' uneasy. Crowded cinema, horror movie makin' their pulses go wild, but I though I could 'andle it. An' I did, but then some idiot got 'is throat ripped out. The screen showed a close up of th' blood pourin' out of 'im, an' I felt me face change. I tried t' go human. Couldn't. "Shit!"

"Raven? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just need t' use the toilet. Back in a minute." I all but ran there. Got to the toilet, splashed cold water on me face. I just stayed still for a while, trying to make me face change. All that blood filled wi' fear. Jesus, shouldda chose the cartoon. Someone shouted be'ind me.

"Hurry the fuck up man!" I whirled around an' growled. "Oh, shit. Hey man, no offence, I was just…just…why don't you show up in the mirror?"

I leapt on 'im, pinning 'im to the ground. Bit 'im, an' gulped down adrenalin and fear mixed blood. Yeah, I know, I'm drinkin' someone's blood, killin' 'em, but bloody 'ell, its heaven. Really. So I drain 'im and stand up. Shit. The fuck am I gunna do with the body? I grabbed it an' pushed it through a window, then climbed out after it. Dumpster near by. Handy, that. I searched 'is pockets first. Found a wallet. Bloke's name was Harry Jenkins. Also a hundred an' fifty dollars. Well, not bad. Picked up dear ol' 'Arry Jenkins an' threw in the dumpster, then made my way back inside. Only bin gone about fifteen minutes. Found Dawn easily, thank you seeing in the dark vampire eyes, an' sat down. "Where were you?" She asked.

"Sorry flower. Got a bit lost."

We went back t' watchin' the movie. When most people screamed, I was fightin' not t' laugh, but that's about it. No more face changin'. Film finished an' out we went. "You know, I'm really starting to hate horror films," Dawn said. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish the vampire had got away."

"Yeah, I love 'appy endings," I said without thinkin'.

"Well, I don't know if you'd call that a happy ending, but you know how it's going to turn out. Good guys win, bad guys lose. Boring!"

"Y' want th' bad guys to win?" I asked.

"What? No! I mean, yes, just every now and then in the movies, not in real life of course."

"Course. Right love, four films you godda watch. Interview with the Vampire, Cradle Of Fear, Jeepers Creepers an' The Texas Chainsaw Massaca."

After that we went for pizza, talked, and then I walked 'er 'ome. We got to the door an' she turned around. "I've had a nice time."

"Me too. We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"I'll be at the Bronze t'morrow, round nine. Come by, I'll get y' a few drinks."

"Well, I'll try. No promises though, something might come up."

"Yeah, that's fine. So, hopefully I'll see y' tomorrow."

She smiled at me, then all of a sudden she leaned forward and kissed me, a quick brush of the lips. I just stood there for a second. She smiled again an' went in. I put a finger to where she'd kissed me, grinning like an idiot. Suddenly I felt worried. Could she taste blood? I ran me tongue over me lips. Nothing. Well, no blood. She's there though. I can taste 'er. Hope she makes it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'd better 'ead over t' the cemetery an' see wot those blokes decided. Hope they start a fight.

A/N: Hello everybody, sorry it's been so long. I've got my first ever job, I'm trying to get into collage and get a drivers licence. I'm also trying to seduce this girl I've got my eye on and lose weight, clean up, ect. I really haven't had time to write. So, while I was free for a while, I wrote this as fast as I could. Sorry it's been so long.