A thought crossed my mind.
"Hey Sabrina!?" I called from the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor that she had just gone up and I started up the stairs. "Yes Hawke?" I heard her say. She was at the top of the steps looking down at me. She really was quite beautiful, it wasn't just the way she looked, her grace or her skin or near flawless complexion. She had a confidence to her that was unshakable and I could feel it. She gave me a strange look when I didn't say anything immediately.
"Uh... Do you mind if I head home just for a little bit? I've got some explaining to do at home. Would it be ok if I told Jack that we are dating?" I asked and I could feel my face redden at saying that last part, probably because I never really dated anyone before her. Sabrina smiled at me.
"Of course you can. It doesn't have to be a big secret," she explained to me.
"Thank you," I responded, and she told me to wait as she left my sight. She came back shortly and handed me the keys to the rental suv in the driveway. I felt my heart start to beat quicker the closer I was to her but dismissed the feeling quickly and thanked her.
"Back here by 8?" She asked and I noticed it was nearly 7:15pm.
"Sure thing," I said before heading out the front door, getting in the beige SUV and driving to my house. I was getting better at navigating to Jack's house. I didn't have to go to the school first to get my bearings this time.
I pulled up to the sidewalk next to the house behind my own car. It was a small house, 3 small bedrooms, two bathroom, two stories with the second story consisting of Jack's bedroom and one of the bathrooms. I was crashing on the couch, living out of a couple suitcases of belongings. Not that I had not gotten used to it by now.
Jack's parents were probably the nicest people I had ever stayed with which was pretty sad since they weren't my foster family. They even gotten me the car I drove soon after I moved in with the condition that I was expected to drive Jack where he wanted but it was a small price to pay. It worked out fine for Jack's mother Eleanor Kos and his father Waylaid Kos. They were off the hook for driving him, and they had someone they could trust to be sober behind the wheel.
Jack had a problem with thinking he could drive while drunk and had totaled his parents car and nearly killed himself one night during sophomore year. Luckily for him all they did was revoked his drivers license and placed him on probation until he was 21.
I took a breath stepping out of the rental SUV and locked it up with a couple presses of the lock button. The house itself didn't look amazing, the blue paint was cracked, splits appearing in the wood but the walls were surrounded by a foot on any one side by flowerbeds. I wasn't much of a flower guy, but they were all sorts of shapes, heights and colors when they were in bloom. As it was most of the flowerbeds were empty of anything but weeds. Not surprising since we were in the throes of winter with it being early December.
I knocked on the door and opened it, stepping in I called "I'm here!"
"You're home late John," I heard Elenor call from the Kitchen/dining room area down the hallway. Both dinning room and kitchen were small and I stopped walking down the hallway when I got to the entrance to make sure I wasn't going to be in the way. Elenor looked like she was finishing cleaning and putting the dishes away by the looks of it.
Elenor... I did not actually know much about her. She was mid to late 30s had straight black hair, rounded facial features that betrayed someone of Latino decent recently in her family and kind green eyes. If I had to guess she was around 5ft 6 inches high and between 150 and 160 lbs. Jack had taken much after his father with mostly Pacific Islander features, blocky sort of face, naturally tanned skin and a predisposition to a toned body, but he did inherited his mothers green eyes compared to his father's brown.
I had determined not long after meeting her that if my mother had been like Elenor I would have considered myself lucky. She had done a great job in making me feel welcome to their house. I felt bad for jot providing any rent but neither of Jack's parents had mentioned anything of the sort before. So I did some yard work, some house chores and generally tried to be helpful.
"Hello John. You missed dinner but there are some leftovers in the 'frig," she said turning her head and nodding to me before turning back to the dishes.
"Thank you but... I ate already..." I said quietly.
"Oh?" She asked and turned to me after putting the last of the dishes away.
"Yeah..." I trailed awkwardly. I don't know why if felt weird to tell Elenor I had a girlfriend but... it was. Was I worried about what Elenor thought even if she wasn't my mom? Maybe?
"Your girlfriend already making you dinner? I heard Jack ask me and in a flash I whirled around on him and punched him in the shoulder.
"Ass!" I hissed. He just laughed.
"Oh? You have a girlfriend John? Is she nice? Cute? What's her name?" Elenor asked and continued to ask questions and I gave Jack a withering look who just smiled and turned around and headed upstairs.
"See you in a few," he said to me as he walked away.
After 15 minutes of interrogation by one of the nicest person I knew I was able to excuse myself and headed up to Jack's room. It was actually easy not to say anything about Sabrina's... Condition? Infection? No one asks and it's easy to avoid any questions that might even come close. I noticed something strange at school too. The murders were being... not forgotten but... Put in the background maybe? There was just so much other noise going on in the media and everywhere that it was becoming just that, noise.
My footsteps rang a hollow thud up the stairs and I knocked on Jack's unadorned bedroom door at the top of the stairs.
"Come on in Hawke," I heard Jack call from his room. I opened up the door and walked in closing it behind me when I saw Jack in a pair of skinny jeans, shirtless standing in front of his closet with an unusual look on his face, thoughtful.
"What are you doing?" I asked and walked across the beige carpeted floor to Jack's bed and sat on the edge if the bed.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking for a decent shirt to wear," he answered, annoyed, and probably not just at my question.
"What's the occasion? Normally you just throw whatever you want on at the time," I could almost feel his eyes roll from halfway across the room. I noticed his hair was slightly damp and the room was warmer than normal and now that I was taking things in, I could hear the fan on in the bathroom.
"A shower outside your normal time and looking for good clothes. Now I know something is up," I teased him. He turned to me before walking up to me, his chest out, glowering down at me and I just raised an eyebrow at him. He was a couple inches taller than me, even if I was standing up, his tanned skin, athletic build and couple abs made him look intimidating. And to some ladies (and guys of a certain persuasion) it could be irresistible and at least for the ladies, he took full advantage of his 'assets'.
I didn't back down though. I was still sitting on the bed but despite Jack's confidence every time we did fight, which was rare. It always ended in a stalemate and both of us being weary of the fight. Eventually Jack backed down with a sigh.
"Have I ever mentioned how annoyingly observant you are?" Jack asked me.
"You may have mentioned it a couple times," I said with a smile, knowing it was closer to a hundred.
"Well you are," Jack told me before turning back to the closet.
I took a moment to think before taking a shot in the dark.
"I'm not the only one with a girlfriend am I?" I asked suspiciously narrowing my eyes at him. Jack didn't so much as blink or said anything, 'bingo'.
"She would be number... five this year right?" I asked, Jack sighed.
"I don't need your judgment Hawke," he told me. My opinion of his relationship and dating habits were well-known between us. Jack was a player, floated wherever his pants directed him for as long as his whim dictated. He had garnered a certain reputation at school.
I didn't say anything and a silence grew like it normally did in these situations. We both sighed at the same time and Jack turned to me, and we both chuckled.
"I'm sorry Jack. You live your life however you wish, even if I do not approve. You would not be yourself if you did not," I apologized. Jack nodded. He wasn't one to admit to being often wrong, especially when the other person has already apologized.
"It's ok John," He said turning back to his closet before pulling out a wrinkled white buttoned and collar shirt.
"Classic," I commented. Jack nodded as he put the shirt on.
"So how long have you and Sabrina been dating?" Jack asked, annoyance in his voice. Unlike him, me having a girlfriend was a special occasion. Probably because for as long as I've known Jack I have never had a girlfriend. Sabrina was actually my first girlfriend. I wondered to myself what having a vampire as a first girlfriend said about me, probably nothing good.
"Just a couple days but I had not seen her since we agreed to date," I answered him, and he was quiet for a little but didn't ask any follow up questions about that before asking.
"She a good cook? Since she made you dinner and all?" Jack asked.
"Yeah... Yeah she is..." I trailed remembering the spaghetti and stir fry from before they were perfect and I could still recall the taste as well as the conversations during dinner. I noticed Jack was quiet for a while as he gathered his stuff, wallet, phone, house keys, that kind of stuff and laid it out on the desk in his room and recognized the ritual as an indication that he was going out tonight.
"You could do worse," Jack commented after a few seconds. I had not expected that. It was a compliment for Jack.
"Thank you?" I asked with an unsure smile.
"Well she isn't exactly in the 'cool' crowd, but she is smoking hot, smart, can apparently cook and since your with her, probably nice. And I doubt you would be with her if she wasn't and I doubt she could pull the wool over on you unless she was one of the best actresses in the world with how you notice fucking everything," Jack explained to me and to my surprise I was a little angry with his description of her and not because he was wrong... jack must have noticed because he laughed.
"Don't worry. She isn't exactly my type," he said after stifling his laughter.
"Not your type? She's hot, walks on two legs and is female. Not your type?" I asked with a little more venom than I expected, causing Jack to laugh again, this time louder and jarring making my ears hurt.
"Yes she is hot and female and pale is a nice bonus but something puts me on guard around her, and she is probably into some freaky-kinky things and that is not really my style," Jack explained. I was silent for a moment in thought, before I laughed a bit under my breath. emYeah if you count blood-drinking as freaky and kinky/em I thought to myself and I started to lose myself as an image of Sabrina biting me in a pleasant way flashed in my mind and threatened to overwhelm my senses. I shook my head to clear it and calmed myself down.
I was definitely going to have to deal with those mind-melting thoughts. Convince myself that Sabrina biting me was not nearly as hot as I obviously thought it would be but now wasn't the time.
I looked up and saw Jack standing before me looking at me strangely before winking at me.
"With that reaction I'm going to assume I'm right in the freaky-kinky regard," he said.
I waited a few minutes before asking.
"Do you need a ride anywhere tonight?" I asked him.
"Nah, I've got a ride to and from where I'm going," Jack told me.
"I'm going to be home late or not at all," I told Jack, who turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I almost never went out.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Some party in a warehouse. Sabrina has had a rough few days and I'm guessing she wanted my help to unwind," I told Jack. He was silent for a moment and I could've sworn I saw a smile on his lips before he turned to me and his face was normal.
"Have a good time and don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said with a smile. I rolled my eyes and threw a pillow in his face. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do. I headed down the stairs to tell Elenor what I had told Jack.
Her response was less snarky and more motherly but warned me not to do anything 'untoward' which was code for don't get too frisky on their first date. I wasn't planning on anything like that and told her as such. I wasn't the 'hook up' type, it wasn't my style. Just as I thought that the image of Sabrina flashed in my mind and i banished it quickly, emdamn hormones/em i thought before heading out of the house and back to Sabrina's house./pre