A/N: Me again! Hope you liked that last chapter... This one takes place on the same day, only later, when Sheila goes into town to meet Kate.
I made a HUGE booboo in chapters 5 and 11. I had to change a word or two in them because I mistakenly called Sheila an incubus (male sex demon) and not a succubus (female sex demon). So basically I just changed the incubus word to succubus. No big deal!
CHAPTER 12:
The Volunteer Vampire
"So, what are you going to wear?" Sheila asked. A sweet Sunday breeze swept passed the two girls. Sheila pulled her jacket tighter around herself, her skirt fluttering around her legs.
Kate shrugged, adjusting her pageboy hat. "I don't really know... A dress..."
Sheila put a hand over her mouth in mock surprise. "No... Is that what you're supposed to wear to a dance?"
Kate playfully smacked her friend's arm. "Don't make fun..." She stuck out her bottom lip.
Sheila laughed, throwing an arm over Kate's shoulders. "I'm just kidding."
They were walking down the main street in town, trying to find a quaint little dress shop so they could purchase their gowns for the back to school dance. The fact that the nearest mall was nearly an hour away and the dance was happening in less than two weeks didn't help the constant stress that Sheila felt.
"I still don't see why we have to wear such nice dresses. It's not even prom..."
"God, Sheila, you say that like it's such a horrible thing. Besides, your wearing a skirt right now and with those killer legs, I wouldn't complain."
Sheila stopped walking, half listening to her friend's ramblings, her face now pressed against a shabby looking store front window. "Hey... let's check out this place..."
Kate looked at her, then studied the dilapidated, red door of the shop. " I don't know... It looks kind of-"
"What? Are you scared?" Sheila poked her friend, teasing.
Kate shook her head. "No!" She grabbed Sheila's arm and practically dragged her into the shop.
"Ow! You're pinching my arm skin..." Sheila jerked her arm away from Kate, but before she could reprimand her friend, she glanced around the shop in complete awe.
Compared to department stores you find at malls, this shop was minuscule, but the atmosphere was warm and inviting. Several candles were lit on the various display tables and the light melody of Beethoven wafted in from some unseen back room.
"Wow..." Kate walked over to a display, touching the fabric of several dresses as she passed by. "These are incredible... Sheila, come here... take a look at this dress."
Sheila made to walk over there, but stopped when someone touched her arm.
"May I help you?"
Both girls jumped in surprise. Sheila turned towards the voice and saw a decrepit woman standing behind her, her somewhat ghastly figure a dramatic contrast to that of the cheery shop. Despite her withering face and greying hair, the woman's eyes were bright blue as they observed the two girls. She smiled, her teeth yellow and missing as she quietly shifted an earring tree between her hands, the soft tinkling of her bangle bracelets echoing in the silence.
Sheila forced herself to stop staring and shook her head. "No, we're just looking..."
"How come I've never noticed this place before?" Kate asked while pulling a bluish-green dress off a rack.
The woman smiled. "My store is new. Just moved here a couple of months ago... After my husband passed away." She looked at the two girls. "Well, if you need anything just tell me. My name's Camilla."
Sheila nodded, watching as the lady disappeared behind a beaded curtain. "Okay, thank you." She looked at Kate, an eyebrow quirked, and put a gloved hand to her chest, letting out a deep breath. "She scared the poop out of me..." She whispered, her giggles mingling with Kate's.
"Come on,-" Kate said, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. "-let's get out of here before that creepy, old lady comes back..."
Sheila mouth dropped open in amusement. "Wait a second..." She grabbed Kate's hand and pulled it away from the scarf, the material falling loosely to her friend's chest. "Ms. Kate Tunney, is that-?" She squinted her eyes at the small purplish blotch on Kate's neck. Her eyes widened. "It is!" She pointed at it, giggling.
A blush spreading to Kate's face as she quickly tried to cover the hickey with her hand, but the damage was already done. "It's nothing!"
Sheila scoffed, pushing open the shop's door, the bell overhead ringing a soft good-bye as they exited. She poked her friend playfully in the arm as they headed a couple of stores down to Mr. Randal's Grocery. "You don't even curl your hair... Can't use that excuse..."
Kate looked at her, dropping her hand, defeated, and frowned. "Does it look that bad?"
Sheila thought for a moment, rubbing her gloved hands together in a feeble attempt to warm them. "No." She answered, honestly. "It doesn't. Besides, your skin color hides it really well."
"Gee, thanks." Kate rolled her eyes. "It must look horrible." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I wanted to tell Pogue to stop but..."
Sheila smiled. "But it felt too good, huh?"
"Yes..." Kate sighed. "Does the fact that I liked it make me a slut?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Sheila threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "At least you did that with your long time boyfriend and not some complete stranger like most the girls around here do. You're not a slut, Kate. And it's not wrong to like what your body is feeling." She smiled, shrugging. "It's natural... Everybody does it, they just don't talk about it."
Sheila held open the door as they entered the grocery store, quickly heading to the snack food aisle.
"And what about you?" Kate casually asked, picking up a pack of cookies, sniffing them, then placing them in her cart.
The question took Sheila by surprise. "Me?" She threw various kinds of chips into the quickly growing food pile. "What about me?"
"Like... How do you stand... experience wise...?"
"Honestly?" Kate nodded. "I've never even kissed a boy..." Sheila looked at Kate for a long moment, trying to gauge her next reaction, a fleeting slice of anger passing through her as Kate started laughing.
"You can't be serious!" Kate looked at Sheila and saw a frown wrinkling her friend's forehead. Her laughter died away. "Oh my God, you are serious." Her chocolate face melted in compassion. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just thought with the way you carry yourself and the guys drooling every time you walk into a room..." Kate shrugged. "I figured you had more experience..."
"What are you talking about? The way I carry myself?"
Kate sighed. "Oh, don't kid yourself, honey. You know what I'm talking about."
Sheila shook her head, her eyebrows raised. "Enlighten me, oh great one."
"Your presence." She paused, looking at Sheila, who looked right back, confused. "Your aura." Another pause, more confusion. "That certain something." She gestured wildly around Sheila's body as if she could physically touch it. "Whatever you want to call it, you have it. Girls can't help but envy you and when guys look at you all they see is-" Kate snapped her fingers. "-sex. And lots of it, too. Tongues wag and claws come out. I've seen it, I swear."
'Well, hell, I knew that, but if she can feel it too, I can only imagine what the boys must go through...' Sheila snickered. "I don't care what people think, you know that."
Kate nodded. "I know. I'm just letting you in on an outsider's perspective."
"Well, thanks. I guess." She picked up a bottle of concealer and placed it into the cart.
"Who's that for? You don't wear make-up..." Kate picked it up and peered at it, curiously.
"It's for you." Sheila grinned. "I'm sick of your hickey looking at me." She caught the toilet paper roll Kate had launched at her, laughing.
Kate pointed at her, placing the concealer back on the shelf. "That's messed up, Sheila."
"What?! At least you have a boyfriend, I can't even get a stranger to suck on my neck!" She set the toilet paper on a random can display, running into someone as she took a step backward around the corner (Not that she had a choice... Kate was coming at her FAST with the cart, a look of determination on her beautiful face.).
The person placed their hands on her shoulders, halting her stumble.
"Are you taking any volunteers?"
Sheila turned, her face twisting in annoyance as she recognized the velvety voice. "You again?!"
Chase smiled. "Me... Again..."
"Chase, hi!"
Sheila whipped around to glare at her friend, who was waving at Chase, as she leaned down to grab a copy of the local paper. "You know him?!"
Kate shrugged, the newspaper ruffling as she flipped to the entertainment section. "Yeah, he was in my first group as I was doing campus tours a couple of days ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Kate looked at her, eyebrow arched. "Uh, sorry..." She closed the paper for a moment and gestured between Chase and Sheila. "Chase, this is my roommate and hickey-free friend, Sheila. Sheila, this is Chase, single and eager to suck on your neck."
Chase and Sheila blushed.
Sheila turned back to him, tucking her hair behind her ear, and removed her mittens, stuffing them into her jacket pockets. "Hi..." She peered at him, her face flushed with embarrassment, as he took her hand and raised it to his lips. Her mouth parted in a tiny gasp as his lips brushed a light kiss over her knuckles.
"Finally, a name to go with such a lovely face..." 'Little peach, you have such soft skin... How I'd give anything to find out what it tastes like...'
Sheila pulled her hand roughly from his grasp. "Yes, well, some people-" She threw a glare at Kate who was pretending to read the newspaper although it was clear that she was listening intently to their conversation. "-obviously don't know the secrets among friends rule." She saw Kate shrug and growled in frustration.
Chase looked at her, hurt scrunching his features. "Is it really that horrible that I know your name?"
Sheila sighed, then shook her head. "No." She moved passed him into the next aisle, picking up random boxes as she went, the rusty squeak of Kate's cart following closely behind. "I just like a good mystery, that's all..."
"You mean a game."
Sheila stopped, squinting thoughtfully at Chase, then smiled. "That too..."
Chase stepped up behind her, placing a hand on the shelf in front of her face, but she didn't turn around. He leaned in, his breath fluttering across her cheek. "Do you do it to intentionally hurt people?" He pulled back a bit to watch her profile. "Or maybe yourself?"
She sidestepped him, a vicious grin plastered on her face. "Is that what you make of me?"
Chase shrugged. "Why not?"
She was in front of him now, his back to the shelf, and stepped closer to him, her hand snaking out to reach inside his jacket and smooth the wrinkles on the front of his shirt. Chase gasped, causing her smile to grow.
"Because I've experienced hurt and I would never cause emotional harm to anyone..." She thumped a button on his shirt. "...at least not on purpose..." Her hand swept upward, her pointer finger tracing the outline of the brand name written in cursive on his Polo. "I don't do it to hurt people, Chase..." Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she leaned ever closer to him, her lips brushing his ear.
Chase closed his eyes as he felt her hand drop from his chest and she brushed her knuckles knowingly across the front of his khakis where his erection was displayed, throbbing and ready.
Chase's eyelids snapped open and he looked at her, taken aback. 'What is she doing?' His hazel green eyes flicked over to Kate, who was standing a few feet away, newspaper held in front of her, unaware of her friend fondling him in the middle of a grocery store. He scanned the aisles around them.
No one in sight.
They were alone.
Chase gulped, turning his attention back to Sheila, who was looking intently at him, magic skidding across the surface of her brilliant golden eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows. 'Golden? I thought her eyes were blue...' His eyes widened in realization. 'The succubus...' He opened his mouth to protest, but it was quickly replaced with a moan as she turned her wrist slightly to the right, palming his cock, and rubbed her thumb in slow circles on the tip.
"Then why?" He asked, his voice gruff and unsteady.
Sheila smiled against his ear, flicking out the tip of her tongue to lick his ear lobe. "This..." She gave his cock a slight squeeze and Chase clenched his hands into fists, fighting for control. "This I do for fun..." She released his member and reached behind his head, grabbing a small, pink box from the shelf.
He caught her wrist in his hand and growled. "Why do you keep doing that?"
She wrenched her arm from his grasp. "If you wanted the last box, all you had to do was say so." She opened his palm and placed the box in his hand.
He blinked at her and she blinked back, her eyes going from bright gold to their original deep blue. She turned on her heel, walking over to Kate, and peered curiously at the paper.
Chase shook his head. 'She doesn't even remember... This can't be good...' He drummed his fingers on his chin. '...Or could it...' He smirked, glancing at the little box in his hand and dropped it almost immediately.
It was a box of tampons.
He looked up and saw Sheila peering over the top of the paper, the corners of her eyes crinkled in a smile. He couldn't help but join in, kicking the pink box across the aisle to her.
She daintily bent down in her skirt and picked it up, mouthing a silent 'Thanks' to him.
Chase nodded his head. "No problem."
Kate snapped the paper and expertly folded it in half, the interlude that just happened between the other two teenagers definitely going unnoticed by her. "Ooh!" She squealed, pointing to a small section in the middle of the page. "The new Brad Pitt movie is out!" She latched onto Sheila's arm, causing the other girl to wince. "Sheila, you have to come and see it with me!"
Sheila wrestled her arm from the fanatic's death grip and rubbed it. "I don't know, Kate." She let a deep, sarcastic breath and rolled her eyes. "Another Brad Pitt movie where he walks around without a shirt on the whole time and kicking ass with hot sweat sliding off his abs..." She paused and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head. "I don't think I can sit through it..."
She tried to keep a straight face, she really did, but Kate put on the puppy dog pout and Sheila couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh no?" Kate scoffed. "A jumbo tub of popcorn, some snow caps, and an extra large root beer and you will soon be singing a different tune, cutie." She playfully spanked Sheila's butt.
Sheila covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh God, you do know what I like..."
Kate giggled. "That's right, baby."
"Oh shoot." Sheila smacked an open palm to her forehead. "I can't. I just remembered I have to get my uniform fitted today."
Kate's face fell. "Aww... That sucks. I don't want to go by myself."
"I'll go." Chase chirped in.
Kate smiled. "Okay." She looked at Sheila. "Maybe afterwards we can meet up and get some ice cream or something."
Sheila nodded. "Sounds great." She pulled her gloves out of her pockets and slipped them on her hands. "You good here?" She gestured to the cart.
"Yeah. I'll be fine."
"Okay. Call me when the movie's done. And Kate?" Sheila tapped the side of her neck, then pointed at Kate, grinning evilly, knowing her friend would get the joke. "You play nice..."
Kate waved her off, laughing to hide the embarrassment. "Go! Just go!"
"And Chase?" Chase looked at Sheila, watching as her eyes flashed to gold. "Always a pleasure..." She winked, her eyes turning back to normal, smiling shyly as she exited the grocery store.
A/N: Hmm... Interesting developments... Looks like the succubus is trying to find, uh, release... Sorry there was no Caleb/Sheila fluff but it's going to happen maybe in the next chapter or the one after that. shrugs Whatever I feel like... grin Please keep reading and review!!!