Author's note . . .
Ok, this one is kinda short, but I wanted to get something worth reading posted. I'm trying to keep up with posting at least once a week.
As always, I'd love to know what you think, and I'm always open to suggestions . . .
It had been a shitty day. It started off with Darren wanting to go look at houses, instead of apartments. She was nervous about actually buying a place, but she went along with it. He and Damon had been talking about fixer-upper houses, the long term investment potential, and all that.
They'd spent the day bouncing all over the city. Alexandra figured they'd get something small. It was just the two of them. So two bedrooms, that way when they had guests, the guests would have a place to sleep.
Darren had something else in mind. He was looking at four and five bedroom houses, with yards. In nice neighborhoods.
Places like Alexandra had never lived in before.
She didn't understand why they had to get someplace so big. They'd be here a few years at the most, that was it. He wanted someplace where they could entertain, have guests for a while. They argued. They yelled, they screamed. He'd said they didn't need to live like they were scrambling out of the gutter. She'd said they didn't have to live like uppity snobs. He'd said she had to put some effort into adjusting to their new life together.
That had been it. She'd picked up a shoe, and chucked it at his head. He dodged, it slammed into the wall, leaving a dent.
He'd stormed out, announcing he was going out to cool off. Damon had gone with him, directing him to his favorite bar. Just a few hours to relax, calm down he'd said.
Alexandra had calmed down pretty fast, and was set on spending the afternoon beating herself up over the fight, until Elena talked her into going shopping.
So now Alexandra found herself sorting through racks of lingerie. It didn't help that she didn't know exactly what she was looking for. Obviously, it had to be sexy, but she was in a store for lingerie, so that was covered. She didn't want to just get some bra and panty set that matched – that was so every day and average.
Elena held up a bustier that was black lace and boning, with cups that gave the breast line a lift, but that was it, there technically wasn't a cup, her breasts would just hang over.
Alexandra shook her head.
A few minutes later Elena held up a vinyl body suit with cut outs in strategic places.
"Who wears that?" Alexandra said shaking her head, and frowning, "I mean . . . I'd sweat to death in that!"
Elena laughed, "I actually have something similar . . ."
Alexandra closed her eye, and ran a hand through her hair, which only made the out of control curling layers go everywhere. Why had she even bothered trying to tame them?
"Ah . . . of course you do . . . is there an outfit out of this store that you don't have?"
Elena shrugged, smiling, her tone of voice teasing, "Anything in flannel . . . so if no vinyl – this little head zip up mask is out too?"
Alexandra rolled her eyes, "Yeah, anything involving a hood over my head, and zippers blocking my ability to breathe – totally out."
Elena giggled, and strolled away with the vinyl outfit.
Alexandra stood back, and looked around. There was a cute teddy that was screaming orange tulle with little pumpkins and turkey's all over it – but that was too themed for thanksgiving next week –and the pumpkins turkeys did look wrong, the more she thought about it – and it was an orange she couldn't wear.
Elena came back then with another teddy. Dark emerald green, full but low cups, the shiny material was diaphanous, so he'd be able to see right through it, which did make it interesting. It was trimmed with Satin and had a matching thong panty that sported a tiny bow for the middle of the front panel. There was even a matching emerald green satin robe.
"Now that could work . . ."
Alexandra took the outfit, and they started back towards the dressing rooms.
"There are some matching satin covered handcuffs," Elena commented, "Just so you know."
Alexandra stopped, and looked at her, and then glanced around, "I don't think they'd hold."
Elena laughed, "Of course they wouldn't . . . it's a visual thing."
"I think I'll pass on the handcuffs," Alexandra said, laughing, "Me buying slinky nighties is already out the norm for us."
Alexandra disappeared into the change room
Elena leaned on the door, "so . . . what did you wear before?"
"I was never home waiting for him," Alexandra said from behind the door, "and I was miss practical – which is how this fight started – me being too practical."
Elena heard the sounds of cloths rustling around for a few minutes.
"I did dress up as a vampire on Halloween – the first Halloween we know each other, before I knew anything about . . . him . . . I can only imagine what went through his head then."
Elena laughed, "Oh god! That must have been a moment!"
"I'm sure," Alexandra said, "it was a cute outfit. I did the sexy vampire thing, cheap costume, he liked it obviously, but I would love to know what was going on in his head when he first saw it."
More rustling around, and Alexandra came out fully dressed a moment later.
"OK, this will work," Alexandra said, "I hope . . . he was pretty pissed when he left."
Elena checked her text messages, "they're getting good and drunk at one of Damon's favorite bars. They'll be gone for a while."
Alexandra rolled her eyes, "This might be wasted on tonight, or tomorrow morning."
"You know, there's no reason for us to stay home," Elena announced as they walked towards the register, "I'm thinking a girls night out . . ."
They'd decided to go dancing. They'd gone home, dressed up and glammed it up, and took a cab to a nightclub that Elena said she went to with some of her girlfriends from college every now and then. The cab pulled up, and Elena looped her arm through Alexandra's, and they walked right up to the bouncer, bypassing the line.
"Martin!" Elena called out greeting him, "I'm back! This is my friend Alexandra!"
Martin looked like he was 7 foot tall, and had a steady diet of steroids to go with hard core workouts. But when he saw Elena, he smiled.
"Elena Salvatore!" Martin said, the stoic expression suddenly gone, replaced by a big smile and obvious delight, "Where you been?"
"Mid-terms," Elena shrugged, "You know how it is – is it busy tonight?"
Martin snorted, "When isn't it busy in there? Alexandra, it's good to meet you. Welcome to the Tropicana."
He stepped to the side, unhooking the velvet rope.
Elena paused as she passed by him, pecked a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you Martin!"
A round of jeers and comments came from the crowd waiting to get in, but Elena ignored them.
Alexandra glanced over her shoulder, "I thought for sure we'd have to wait in that line forever or compel our way in faster."
"Martin is taking classes at the same college I go to," Elena said, "Otherwise, we'd be using compulsion. We could be in that line for an hour."
It had a large dance floor, laser lights moving around in random patterns, a strobe light going off, and a steady stream of dance music pulsing through the speakers.
They headed over to the bar first, compelled two girls into giving up their spot, and started on a round of drinks.
"So is this a regular haunt for you?" Alexandra asked, "You go to college, you go out dancing with the girls, you and Damon go out clubbing, you do the charity circuit sometimes too . . . how do you keep up?"
"So the partying stays mostly to the weekends," Elena said, "And you'll probably discover that along with the heightened senses, it's easier to learn and retain information, which makes going to college fun actually."
"So are you working towards a degree to work in field?"
Elena shook her head, "No . . . not really. I studied literature for about 10 years, then I didn't study anything for a while, and now I'm interested in archeology and anthropology. Our next move, or the one after that, I want to go someplace where I can get work on a dig or a site and get my hands in the dirt."
Alexandra smiled, "You really love it, don't you?"
"It's fascinating! To be able to see how history plays out, how cultures change and develop – and we'll have a unique perspective since we're going to live long enough to see it."
Alexandra nodded, sipped her drink, "I was going to get my microbiology degree – go to work for a biotech in Seattle, go back and work on my masters degree part time, get into drug research."
Elena smiled, "So what is stopping you?"
"C'mon! We have to move like every five to eight years!" Alexandra said, "I could finish my degree here, but I can't stay Alexandra Kitsen for too long or use my credentials when I don't age."
"So when you change your name, you create set of credentials," Elena said, "you'll have the knowledge to back it up. And while you'll physically stay the same you can do things to age yourself, like change the way you dress, the way you style your hair, the way you do your makeup. It's never really a bad thing for women to look young for her age."
The bar tender came by, and they ordered another round of drinks.
"You're in this life now," Elena said, "The best we can do is enjoy the benefits, make the best of it. Maybe we can give back a little by helping unearth some history, donating to charity, volunteering, or in your case create some medication that will save someone's life. The worst thing we can do is not live or not do something worthwhile with it. Plenty of us do that. You don't have to give up the life you wanted to have. You just have to make some adjustments."
Elena downed her drink, and then nodded towards Alexandra's, "knock it back Alex, its' time to dance!"
It was something about the way he was stalking the woman through the club that got her attention. He wasn't just following someone he knew. He wasn't just following a pretty girl, there was something predatory about it.
Alexandra glanced over at Elena, and realized she'd seen it too.
Without even needing to talk about it, they both started moving through the crowd.
It was as if some other hunting instinct took over. Alexandra's senses were honed in on her target. She saw every move he made, the way he walked, the way he carried himself, she saw his muscles in his neck and back ripple as he flexed his arms and cracked his knuckles. Yeah, she thought, he was looking forward to whatever he was planning.
The fool didn't even look around, to see if anyone was watching him. So he either wasn't afraid of getting caught, he didn't think anyone would do anything, or he was stupid.
The woman he was stalking glanced over her shoulder, saw him, and quickened her pace. She had that haunted look, the one Alexandra had seen on her mother's face god only knew how many times.
The way this woman was dressed she was a more upscale, but she still had the gaunt look to her, that screamed she made a choice between food and something else, and something else was winning out.
Alexandra got closer, moving as fast as she dared and not give away the fact that she wasn't human.
No track marks on the woman, so she wasn't shooting up with something. Smoking it maybe, but who knew?
The man gestured for her to go ahead of him, and they slipped into a back hallway.
Alexandra drew up short, and without looking she knew Elena was right next to her.
They'd listen, see what was playing out even though Alexandra was pretty sure she knew what was happening.
"I got 400," the woman said, "I know it's not enough, but it's still early! I'll keep working!"
He laughed, the sound evil.
"You had plenty of time to make twice that!" he bit out, "Where is it?! I know you're holding out you little bitch!"
The sound of flesh cracking against flesh echoed out. He'd hit her - hard from the sound of it.
Alexandra snapped. She leapt from her hiding place, rounding the corner and slammed the pimp into the wall. The drywall cracked with the impact, dust hung in the air for a moment.
"What the fuck!" He swore, "You're fucking dead bitch! I'll kill you!"
Alexandra laughed, "Too late asshole!"
She lunged, tearing into his neck. Her fangs tore into him, tearing flesh, muscle and tendon like it was butter. Blood spurted into her mouth and she took a long deep drink and then shoved him away.
He let out a guttural howl, and she slammed him back into the wall again, dazing him. Then she grabbed his chin, caught his gaze.
"Shut up asshole!" she snapped, "You don't get to speak!"
Alexandra's head whipped around, looking for Elena.
Elena was crouching next to the woman the pimp had hit.
"She's ok," Elena said, "We need do something with that you know."
"Want a drink before I'm done? He's not bad - not great, but not bad."
Elena nodded, and stood up. She stood up, and when the pimp started to struggle, she slammed him back against the wall, and pressed her mouth to the gaping wound Alexandra created. She drew in few mouthfuls.
She heard the sound of breaking glass, and whipped around, ready to defend herself.
But it was Alexandra. She had grabbed a beer bottle out of the garbage, busted it against the wall.
"What are you doing with that?"
"Forensic counter-measures," Alexandra said, a smug smile on her face, "Someone followed this piece of garbage and carved him up, imagine that?"
Elena stepped back, and Alexandra shoved the broken beer bottle with its razor sharp edges into the wound and twisted.
The pimp flinched, and then Alexandra snapped his neck and let him crumble right there on the floor.
Then she turned on the young hooker.
She shrank away, clearly in shock, unable to believe what she'd seen.
Alexandra grabbed her chin, "Look right at me."
She did it, her eyes wide with fear.
"You're done turning tricks. You're going to take the money from his pockets, you're going to leave here, and you're going to go home and pack a bag, and get on the first buss out of town. When you came back here you found him like this. You didn't see anyone come or go and you're done doing drugs, and you're done turning tricks. Now go get all his money, and run."
Alexandra stood up, stepped back, running her tongue around her mouth, licking up the last traces of blood.
She turned, and looked at Elena who was just wiping the last trace of blood off her own lips.
"Time to get out of here, we can't compel a whole club," Elena said.
Alexandra nodded.
They were on the street, several blocks away before either one of them spoke.
"The only thing he had going for him was warm and fresh," Elena commented, "Other than that, he didn't taste that great."
Alexandra rolled her shoulders, "I'm kinda buzzing – what do you think he had in him?"
Elena blinked, sighed, trying to figure out what it was she tasted, what she felt.
"Cocaine," Elena said, "Gotta be cocaine . . . it won't last long."
Alexandra nodded, and glanced over her shoulder, "I should probably feel bad . . . but I just don't. He was going to beat the hell out of that girl, he was turning her out."
"You're not going to get an argument from me," Elena said, "Home?"
They'd gone about six blocks, and Alexandra looked around. They could stay out all night, find another club. Or she could go home, send Darren a text message that she knew would get his attention.
"Home," Alexandra said, "I've got an idea."
They were both drunk. Not on their faces, stupid drunk, but definitely beyond buzzed. Darren had been drinking whiskey all night, because the tequila this bar stocked quite frankly sucked. If they were going to make this place a regular haunt, Darren was going to have to compel the owner to stock his favorite brand.
"Elena was gun shy about EVERYTHING at first," Damon said, "Everything, but I loved her. I still love her, I'll always love her. I think I love her more now though . . . she'd found that nice balance between good girl and predator."
Darren snorted, "Do you realize what you said? How can you have a balance between good girl and predator?"
Damon thought about the very proper, high society glamorous dress she'd warn the night of the charity ball, and then the way she'd literally half dragged him – literally half dragged him into their bedroom that night. She'd had on a leather corset underneath the dress.
"Have you met my wife? Adorable little brunette, big doe eye'?" Damon asked, teasing his friend, "totally rules my entire world . . ."
"Yeah, I've seen her rule your entire world," Darren said, "I was there when she made you call Stephen and Katherine and invite them for the holidays."
Damon nodded, sipped his drink, "Family is important – the family you make . . . eternity is a damn long time."
Darren's phone chimed, and he glanced down at it. A tiny picture flashed across his screen, it was from Alex. As frustrated as he was, he still was going to check it.
He'd expected a text asking him when he was coming home, something like they'd talk about it.
Instead, there was a picture. She was on her knee's her legs spread just enough to be very suggestive, as if the outfit wasn't enough. She dressed in nothing but a green teddy, with bra cups that barely held her, the skirt same to a few inches above a very small, low riding pair of panties, and the whole damn outfit was see through. She also had his bottle of tequila in her hand, her red hair all in disarray as if she'd already been rolling around in bed.
The below the picture said I'm drunk, horny, and about to start pouring your tequila all over myself. Come home and take care of this.
"Jesus," Darren said, and he looked at the bartender, "We need to tab out."
Damon looked over, only catching a brief glimpse.
Darren shoved his phone into his pocket, "Seriously? That's my girlfriend!"
Damon's phone chimed a moment later.
Damon looked at it, he grinned that smug smirk, "Elena's taking pictures too – which means they're probably taking pictures of each other. Which means that they are both drunk, home alone, and half naked."
Darren shook his head, "Not cool dude, seriously."
Damon smirked, "Actually, this could be very cool."
Darren rolled his eyes, "Sick bastard."
"Elena would kill me in all honesty," Damon said, "But I still get to dream that one day . . ."
As always, I'd love to know what you think, if you liked it, hated it, and I love suggestions. Comments get me through hard weeks of studying and clinicals, and spurs on the creative juices.
Hope you enjoyed!