Chapter 7

It's been rough, to put it kindly.

Today was yet another day of waking up hungover. In my defense, the options were either to drink until I felt numb or to die from boredom. Boring is not good for many reasons; but the main one is that the less busy I am, the more time I have alone with my thoughts.

No, thank you. I thought as I walked over to the couch to grab the TV remote.

I gave the brandy on the table a longing glance before deciding to sit down and try to distract myself another way. For now. I also needed to try to slow down on the drinking, since technically none of the alcohol was mine. Not that I think Clarence would mind, or even notice, if all of it is finished. Which may happen very soon.

I sighed as I turned on the TV and started browsing through the available channels for something entertaining. Fifteen minutes later, I had been watching an oddly amusing competition where sculptures were made out of food when I heard Dorothy open the front door.

Not soon thereafter, the french doors to the living room opened with Jill and Sydney walking in.

Curious of their presence, I turned off the TV and sat up from my lounging position on the couch. They were the last people I expected to see today, but I was glad for the distraction. And, if I'm being honest with myself, I was glad for the company.

"Well, this is a nice surprise." I told them as they came to stand just inside the living room.

I noticed that Jill was wearing her usual attire, while Sydney was wearing what seemed to be the school uniform. It wasn't necessarily ugly, but it also wasn't too different from what she chose to wear on a regular basis. I suppressed a smile and decided to try to tease her about it. There's just something so satisfactory about getting a reaction from an alchemist.

I decided to take it a step further and purposefully not call her by her first name. Her last name seemed like a logical choice, since I couldn't think of an appropriate nickname on the spot.

"Sage, aren't you guys supposed to have uniforms?"

Huh. She didn't even bat an eye at not being called by her first name.

"This looks like what you usually wear." I finished as casually as possible.

Her eyes twitched the tiniest bit and I could tell she was trying hard not to roll her eyes, but she remained controlled.

"Cute." was her only response in a monotone voice.

However, her body language showed that she was relaxed. Comfortable, even. Not the kind of reaction you'd expect from an alchemist. But then again I had a feeling that she's not like most of them, no matter how hard she tries.

In an attempt to call her out on her bluff, I gave her a ridiculous mock bow worthy of any queen.

"Careful. You almost smiled." I teased. Jill seemed amused.

I decided that I was no longer buzzed enough and needed to get some more brandy, so I walked over to the table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that she rolled her eyes as I walked away. It was hard to keep the triumphant smile off my face.

As I poured myself a generous glass, I asked them if they wanted one. Again, mostly just to get a reaction from Sydney; which I succeed in.

"It's the middle of the afternoon." She said, as if she couldn't believe that anyone would want to drink at any time other than dinner.

"I've got a wicked hangover." I said as a toast.

"This is just the thing to cure it." I finished, before raising the glass to my lips and taking a sip. I'm so glad that Clarence spared no expense when it came to his alcohol.

Jill took a step towards me and made sure she had my full attention before saying we needed to talk.

"What's up, Jailbait?" I asked, finally realizing that they were likely not here for a social visit.

Jill looked at Sydney, who simply looked confused and frustrated, before kindly asking for some privacy.

This can't be good.

Sydney looked annoyed for a few seconds before she hid all emotions and responded. "Sure. I'll just… I'll just go outside again."

I would've made some sort of comment to Sydney about being careful all alone in a vampire's house, had it not been for Jill's uneasy tone.

What now? I asked myself as Sydney left the room and Jill sat next to me on the couch.