A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you're enjoying it. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 2: Take On Me
The memories of her friends had flooded back once she had gotten home from the concert and she spent most of the night trying not to cry. Thankfully, she lived alone. Unfortunately, it made the next day almost unbearable. She was exhausted.
The weather suited her mood. It rained, clearing out the boardwalk and making the store quieter than usual. New donations were in the ancient washing machine and there was a pop station playing on the radio. She missed her phone or even an old iPod. Something where she could choose the music instead of being forced to listen to whatever played.
Darcy read through the paper. She was planning her future investments or trying to at least. Her knowledge of pop culture had to come in useful somehow. Especially since she couldn't exactly do a lot with the whole lack of identity. She needed to fix that. How hard could it be? It wasn't like it was computerized in her time. If anything, it should be easier to steal an identity now.
Besides, there had to be a benefit to time travelling, if only to balance out the emotional trauma and if there wasn't, she was going to make one herself. With force if necessary.
"How's my favourite employee?" A voice called out from the front of the store. She glanced up. The rain was still pouring and the man shook out his hair before he moved further into the store. Sampson was a certified, unapologetic hippy and the owner of the place. He had a wide smile, long hair and usually smelt like pot.
"I'm your only employee," she said dryly.
"Don't we have a ghost too?" he asked, humouring her theory. She wasn't entirely sure if the pot had affected his brain, but he was generally easygoing and subsequently great to work for.
"If you don't pay it, it's not an employee," she pointed the pen she had been absentmindedly chewing on at him. She glanced down at his sandaled feet and scrunched up her nose. "When are you going to buy shoes?"
He laughed. "That's why I hired you! That sense of humour."
"Gee," she drawled. "And here I thought it was because of my charming personality."
He laughed again. Sampson had hired her as soon as he saw her. He told her that she looked like she was going to bring the world to its knees and he wanted to see it. In reality, she had just been harassed by some punks on the street and had been pissed off when she walked into the store.
"Right on, Darce. How we doing with the bread?"
Sometimes, it felt like she was getting pulled in different directions. The slang that Sampson brought from the Seventies, the current slang of the Eighties and the stuff she knew from her time did not mesh well. Experience was a confusing teacher at this rate.
"Alright," she said. "Sold a fair bit yesterday but the rain's keeping things chill." It was a little alarming how she was already adapting it into her own speech.
"Cool beans," Sampson said.
It just reminded her of that comedy she had seen...which wouldn't be out for years. Were the actors even born yet? She wasn't. She tried to shake the thought out of her head.
"Heavy news time, Darce." She looked at him carefully. Heavy wasn't good with Sampson. "I'm gonna hire someone new."
She reared back. "You're firing me?"
"No way! Just getting more help. On the lowdown, you can go blow this place off sometimes, go boogie or whatever you do. She ain't gonna be as stylin' as you, Darce. No worries." It took her a second to translate what he said. He was hiring someone new so she got more time off.
"No one is," she muttered. "Alright, but you gotta warn me if you're cutting my hours. I need to make rent."
"Would I stiff ya?"
She gave him a look, raising an eyebrow and trying to silently tell him that she wasn't fooled.
He just laughed. "You're a cool cat, Darce. Ya dig?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." It wasn't like she could change his mind. The man owned the place.
"Far out." He looked around the store and nodded to himself. "I'm gonna split. You cool?"
"Yeah, I got it under control."
He grinned and headed back to the entrance. "Later foxy mama!" He gave a wave and left. Had it been anyone else, she would have protested the pet name, but she knew Sampson only meant it as a compliment.
The store remained empty. She put the new stock out after it had dried and been priced. She was tempted to close early. The sun hadn't set though, even though she couldn't actually see it. If the rain didn't let up, she was going to hit the video store and find a movie to watch. Possibly Labyrinth, if it had been made yet. She had never needed to keep track of when things were released.
There was a sound at the door and she looked up to see a large, older man walk in. He looked angry. She supposed the rain didn't agree with everyone. She leaned against the counter as he came closer. He didn't browse, didn't pick anything up, but just came right up to her.
"You're the girl, eh?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm a girl." His eyes raked over her and she scowled automatically. She was dressed more conservatively today in tight black jeans that she had been certain she saw a guy drop off and a white band shirt. The only thing that stood out was her hair which was pulled back in a high ponytail with a pin curl in the front. Even that wasn't too shocking in this town.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her hair.
"Look," she cut in, breaking whatever thought process he had going on. "If you're not here to buy anything, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She wasn't usually this surly, but she had a tendency to reflect the attitudes she was faced with. His staring also set her on edge and after the night she had, she wasn't up for dealing with it.
His hand shot out, grabbing her arm and yanking it towards him.
"Ow!" Her stomach dug into the counter and his grip tightened as she tried to pull away. "What the fuck! Let go!"
He pulled out a flask from an inside pocket of his jacket and used his teeth to open it. He poured something on her and she flinched automatically. He stared at the liquid which she realized was water, before looking at her in surprise. His grip tightened slightly.
It was probably going to bruise. She'd call the cops but she didn't think they'd be of much use. She wasn't even sure there were cops around considering all the missing people here. She didn't intend to join them. She let go of her wrist and swung, catching him by surprise as her knuckles hit his cheek. He let go fast, glaring at her.
She pulled back her arm, massaging it carefully as she glowered at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Thought you were something else," he said. He screwed the cap back on the flask, looking unconcerned as though they hadn't just assaulted each other.
"Like what?" she snarled. He looked at her carefully and she glared back. "Vampire."
She snorted in disbelief. Of course, she'd get the crazy customers. As if she didn't have enough to deal with.
"There's a lot of missing people in this area," he said slowly. "Got reports about a girl who spoke and dressed weird. Classic moves for a new vamp, but the holy water didn't work. Unless you're something else…" he looked at her suspiciously.
"Yeah, a mermaid," she deadpanned. "Can't you tell by the hair?" She stood up straight, unimpressed with this whole encounter. "I don't know what you've been taking, but people go missing all the time. We get a lot of runaways in this town. It's no surprise that people turn here to look for them, or if they leave and go home realizing they made a mistake."
His eyes hardened. "You think you know shit? The supernatural is out there, girl. You keep ignoring it and you're gonna end up dead like the rest of them."
"Get the fuck out of my store," she demanded. That sounded like a threat. Easy to blame things on the supernatural instead of the terrible humans that existed. This was the 80s. Everything was lacklustre in terms of safety.
He shook his head and left, throwing a final dark look over his shoulder before he disappeared back into the rain.
Vampires? She scoffed to herself. Though, there was something to that idea that made her uneasy. She was quick enough to believe that the store was haunted, hell, she had travelled through time. Anything was possible. Were vampires really that much more of a stretch?
She sat down and rubbed her wrist again. She could still feel his hand on her. His words kept playing in her mind. A teacher once told her that every myth had a grain of truth in it. Was it possible?
Frankie hadn't shown up. They didn't know each other well but she wasn't the type to leave someone hanging. At least, not as far as Darcy knew. It was a bit of a stretch to believe that vampires had eaten her...though it would explain the number of missing people. Had to be easier to be a vampire in a tourist town than anywhere else. Especially one that drew in runaways. Guilt flared up at the reminder that she had left Frankie and she shoved it down.
God damn it.
She closed the store. It was still raining and the boardwalk was mostly empty. There were a few stragglers. Even those who didn't really have a place to go knew where to hide from the rain. It reminded her of her first couple of days, trying to figure out what happened and where she could go.
She opened an umbrella, shoved her free hand in her pocket and tried to pick up the pace towards the video store. She usually went in an hour after they opened when they finished restocking the returns. It was the best way to get a decent selection if she didn't want to fight for a copy of whatever caught her eye.
Speaking of which, she slowed her pace as she saw the man who assaulted her in the comic shop. Her eyes narrowed and she headed towards him automatically as she watched him lecture the kids who worked there.
They were barely even teens, younger than Clark if she had to guess, and they had already been given a shit deal with their parents from what she saw. The man had hurt her. The least she could do was make sure it didn't happen to these kids...and if she happened to ruin whatever plan he had, all the better.
"Best way to kill a vampire is a stake!" He hit one of the comic stands and the kids jumped. "Right through the heart!"
"Oh my god," she called out as she closed her umbrella, irritated already. "Is this what you do all day? Harass people?"
All three of them turned to face her. The kids were a little wide-eyed, almost as if she broke their enrapture, while the man was glaring at her.
"And really, a stake?" she twisted her voice to sound more like her sister used to whenever she spoke to her. "If vampires were real, you want to get that close? A molotov cocktail would work better. Or UV light. Or hell, even napalm."
The man moved away from the children and stormed towards her. "You're making light of something you know nothing about, little lady."
"Sure, beasts of the night, turn in bats and drink your blood, right? Next thing you'll tell me is that mermaids are real. Oh wait, you already accused me of being one, didn't you?"
"I thought you were a vampire."
"Except I have a tan." She looked around him at the kids that were standing there, watching the whole thing. "Strangers don't always have the best ideas, kids."
"Vampires are real," the man snarled.
"So should I expect Superman to drop by as well? Stop fucking trying to scare people and get a job." He moved close enough that she could spit on him if she felt like it. She was a little tempted.
"I hope you get eaten."
"Only in a fun way," she smirked. "I always insist on being eaten. Ladies first, y'know?"
"You're going to walk right into their trap and die screaming."
"Only if you join me. Then at least I'd die happy."
He didn't have anything to say to that. He stormed past her, knocking her shoulder with his. She swung her umbrella at the back of his knee hard. He sent her another dark look before he left. She turned to the kids.
"You guys okay?"
"Yeah," the dark-haired one said.
"Why wouldn't we be?" the other asked. Their voices were still high enough to sound like kids.
She lifted up her arm that was starting to bruise. "Because I had a run-in with that guy earlier and he nearly broke my arm because he thinks vampires are real."
"How do you know they're not?"
"Are Archie and his friends real? Superman? Werewolves?" She raised her eyebrows at that. "Don't believe everything you read or hear. Unless you do your own research and fact check, you can't trust that people are telling the truth. Just try to enjoy being kids," she glanced at their parents who looked like they were passed out. She couldn't stop her look of disgust. "As much as you can. And stay away from crazy people!" She turned and left, satisfied at least that she thwarted whatever plans the man had.
She needed a cigarette. She was trying to cut down on her smoking but the man had left her agitated. Unfortunately, there was a distinct lack of them on her. It had seemed like a great idea to not restock when she had last run out, but hindsight was a bitch.
The rain slowed down to a drizzle and the fog was rising around the boardwalk. People were starting to emerge from their seclusion. Darcy was headed for the nearest store. The original plans of getting a video for the night were long forgotten. There were more important things.
She kept her umbrella above her as she walked.
There was a roar of engines somewhere behind her. It wasn't uncommon. She generally tried to keep off the boardwalk for the most part, especially at night. The gangs liked to fight and the ones that drove motorcycles had a tendency to drive through the crowds. It was one way to keep the tourists from getting too overwhelming, but she didn't want to deal with needing to jump out of the way or having to constantly look over her shoulder.
The noise got louder and she stopped walking. Let them go around her. The motorcycle moved in front of her and turned, blocking her way. She looked at the man on top of it. The blond mullet from the other night was staring at her again.
"Can I help you?" She raised her eyebrows. His gaze roamed over her slowly and she felt herself scowl in response. Thank god she had an umbrella. "Unless you're going to offer me a smoke, get out of my way."
He smirked, but reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack. He offered her one and as soon as she took it, he had a lighter lit. She looked at him carefully, unsure how he managed it that quickly before she shook her head and broke eye contact. She leaned in and lit the cigarette. She inhaled slowly before pulling back and exhaling. She felt herself finally starting to calm down.
"Well?" she asked, taking another drag.
"Well what?" he replied. She was going to need another cigarette if the rest of this conversation was going to be like that.
"What do you want?"
"Can't a friend say hi?"
"Friend?" she frowned. "I don't even know your name. We're not friends."
"Aren't we, Darcy?" he dragged out her name slightly.
"Congratulations," she said. "You know mine. Just like half the people who live here and come into the store. Now if you don't mind, some of us have places to be." She motioned for him to move over. "Thanks for the smoke, but get out of the way."
His smirk widened slightly and she felt like baring her teeth again. What was it with this guy?
"Look, I've already had a shit day. Don't make it worse just because you can." She pointed towards him, cigarette balanced between two fingers. He glanced down and his gaze suddenly hardened.
"Who did it?"
"Did what?" she asked, taking another drag.
He looked pointedly at her wrist before pulling out a cigarette for himself. His eyes met hers. "Who hurt you?"
The world faded slightly around them. Who touched you? She felt the question echo around her.
"Some guy," she felt herself answer without meaning to.
"Who?" he pressed. This didn't make sense. She felt almost like she was high. It had been a long time since she last was. Who touched you? The question echoed again.
"A- shit!" She dropped the cigarette and shook out her hand. She had touched the end of it by accident. The sound of the boardwalk came rushing back. She stuck her finger in her mouth, trying to soothe the pain. The smoke was lost to the ground and she mourned the loss of nicotine. She needed to refill her own stash. "It was some asshole," she said. "Thinks there's vampires running around." She couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes before she finally moved and walked around the bike.
She heard him start it up again and ignored him trailing beside her as she walked. Weren't motorcycles supposed to go fast so they didn't tip over?
"Vampires?" he asked, sounding way more amused than she was. "Really?"
"Mmhmm," she sounded. People were watching them as he followed beside her. "I guess it was holy water he poured on me. He suggested I was something else when nothing happened. I told him I was a mermaid." They finally reached the store. She turned to look at him. "You can leave now. Goodbye. I'd say it was a pleasure but we both know it wasn't."
She turned and headed inside, ignoring whatever he might have said. She bought a new pack of cigarettes and a coke. He was gone when she left the store.
[tbc]