Hola people haven't been here in a while and for some reason my return is a valentines day fic. in march. probably the next one will be christmas... anyway i don't own the night world! and jez and morgead are 15 and 16 here fyi
also thank you to the people who reviewed you guys are so sweet it makes me smile (clara don't laugh at me)
Valentine's Day Present
Nervously, Morgead stood outside the jewellers, gazing uncertainly at the display in the store's window. He tilted his head, and the red stone glimmered from the display.
Tentively, Morgead inched closer to the window, looking more intently at the beautiful necklace. It was a thick strip of black, small enough to cling to the wearer's neck, with a crimson coloured stone no larger than a nickle studding the center.
The colour of the stone reminded Morgead of Jez, of course. Of her fiery hair shimmering in the sun, throwing light off of the finest of strands and making her hair seem alive.
An uninvited image formed in his mind, one of Jez's slender neck, creamy white and fair, adorned with the beautiful gem before him. Gulping, Morgead 's mind wandered, unbidden, and he imagined what it would be like if he just tilted back her chin a little more; and maybe – just maybe – if he could nuzzle the soft skin of her neck, perhaps give it a little nibble . . .
Practically salivating, Morgead imagined drinking Jez's blood. Thick; rich; powerful. With a light moan, Morgead gave himself a mental shake.
Drinking Jez's blood had always been one of his deepest desires; but it just wouldn't happen. Not like he wanted anyway. Vampires didn't take each other's blood regularly – and certainly not in a romantic manner. Sure, he'd tasted Jez's tantalizingly sweet blood before; that was the ritual for a change of leaders in the gang, after all. Blood in, blood out. But he'd always kept it curt. It had to be done, or else he was sure he'd lose control and never stop.
Turning briskly away from the store's window, Morgead cursed himself for letting his mind float away on him like that. Not only was he hot and uncomfortable now, and not to mention considerably irritable, he had better things to do than daydream about Jezebel.
With one last sidelong glance at the necklace, Morgead strolled away gloomily, staring at his feet and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
He'd never be able to afford that necklace anyway, no matter how beautiful Jez would look in it.
What would she even say if he were to buy it for her? Thanks for the rock; what does it do? And surely if he explained it, Jez would only laugh. She'd scorn him. Why would you buy me something so useless Morgead? You must be even more stupid than I thought!
Coming to a crosswalk, Morgead stopped and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. The business woman standing next to him glanced over suspiciously.
But maybe Jez would like it. She liked pretty things, he knew she did! Jez had even told him! She liked things that sparkled in the light; he knew things like that piqued her interest and made her eyes light up.
The light had changed, and Morgead was half way across the intersection when a sudden burst of confidence struck him. Without thinking twice, he spun on his heel and marched back the way he'd come, heading straight back the jewellery store. A sedan lurched to a stop mere feet from the cross walk and laid on the horn. Morgead glared at the driver from under his hair as he walked briskly past the car with the driver's muffled profanities following him all the way back to the sidewalk.
"Vermin," Morgead hissed under his breath.
When he reached the store once more, Morgead pushed through the door brusquely and made his way towards the counter. Several heads turned his way, and the fat security guard lounging in the corner of the small store straightened up warily, making Morgead scowl.
Shuffling up to the glass counter, Morgead rubbed his neck absently as the elderly clerk smiled tersely and asked, "Why, hello. Can I help you?"
Morgead opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden surge of insecurity stuck him down. Taking a step towards the door, Morgead muttered, "Uh, no. Maybe just . . . never mind."
While Morgead turned for the door, the clerk called after him. "Are you sure? There's not something you had your eye on? Perhaps for a lady?"
Morgead probably would have kept on walking – ignored the man and ran down the street to escape his embarrassment – but the twinkling of the necklace seemed to intensify as he neared the door.
Hesitantly, Morgead let his hand rest limply on the door handle. Peering over his shoulder, he mumbled, "Well, maybe there's something."
"Wonderful," the clerk clapped his hands together and beckoned Morgead nearer. "Come here then and I'll see what I can do, hmm?"
Grudgingly, Morgead sulked back to the counter.
"Awfully red, isn't he?" the security guard chuckled gruffly.
The three clerks as well as the couple looking at engagement rings laughed along with him, and Morgead glared at the ground.
As if he wasn't already aware of how much he was blushing. Morgead shook his head to let more of his hair fall in front of his face like a shield.
Why was he doing this? It was humiliating. Here he was in a store full of humans who were all poking fun at him, just so he could buy some stupid necklace for Jez. She probably wouldn't even like or want the damn thing!
As if sensing Morgead's discomfort, the old clerk leaned across the counter and smiled. "Come on now, he was only teasing. The name's Mark."
Narrowing his eyes slightly at the ground, Morgead decided he might as well just go for it. Morgead glanced quickly at the rest of the humans in the store. Satisfied that none of them were paying him any more attention, he told the man his name.
"Well then, Morgead, was there something specific you were after?"
Morgead scraped his knuckled across his forehead to clear the hair that had settled there and huffed, "The necklace on display in the window. I wanted to – well I was wondering how much it is."
Making his way around the counter, the clerk reached for a ring of clinking keys dangling from his belt and told Morgead, "Just tell me which one it is, and we'll have a look."
"The black and red one."
Sliding back a locked panel of glass, the clerk reached in and pulled out the necklace Morgead was so hung up on. As soon as he turned around with it, Morgead's heart thumped harder and his palms began to sweat. Taking a quick breath, Morgead listened as the man explained, "Since it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, most things are on sale."
Valentine's Day? Tomorrow? Yeah, that's right. Maybe this was an even worse idea than he thought . . .
"It looks like this has been marked right down to . . ." Morgead held his breath in anticipation for the price. "eighty eight dollars and change."
Morgead's shoulders slumped as he released his breath. He wasn't sure how he felt though; happy or apprehensive that the price was decently affordable.
Admittedly, Morgead had hoped a little that the piece would be too expensive for him to afford, that would mean he would have a valid reason not to buy it. And since he wasn't interested in robbing the place, that would have been the end of it.
But for such a beautiful necklace, the price was disappointingly affordable.
Scraping a hand down his face and sighing heavily, Morgead cursed Valentine's Day sales.
"Fine. Can you hold it for me? I need to run home and get . . . money," Morgead trailed off ambiguously, wondering if he had enough to spare.
With a curious glance, Mark the clerk nodded and brought the necklace back up to the counter.
Morgead stood for a moment staring at the necklace before he stalked for the door, wondering how he would even explain his reasoning for wanting to buy Jez a necklace; and on Valentine's Day, no less! Jez would think he's lost it. One too many whacks to the head, she'd say.
Before he reached the exit, the clerk called, "Would you like me to gift wrap this for you?"
"Sure, why the hell not," Morgead muttered, ducking through the door and striding off through town towards where he'd left his bike.
Idly, he wondered if he should bother warning the clerk that he probably wasn't coming back.
Kicking in his front door with unnecessary force, Morgead dragged himself over the threshold and collapsed on his futon.
Stupid Jez. Stupid Valentine's Day. Stupid me.
Why did Morgead even want to buy her the damn thing anyway? He certainly didn't want to go giving her a Valentine's Day gift like some pathetic, moony eyed vermin. He just . . . wanted to give a good friend something that he thought would look somewhat . . . beautiful on her.
Groaning, Morgead flipped over and glared at his sagging ceiling.
"She'd only laugh at you, you know," he muttered to himself. "You know that." He sat up and frowned at the kitchen. "She wouldn't even wear it. She'd think it was stupid."
But, if she did like it . . . Morgead could imagine the dazzling smile she'd give him, the twinkle in her brilliant eyes as she offered it to him to put around her neck. The silkiness of her skin as he brushed her hair away from her neck.
Morgead paced towards the kitchen sink and crouched in front of the little cabinet doors. Swinging them open, he began digging through the mess of pipes and stale water and cleaning supplies that did nothing but collect dust until his fingers brushed the familiar smooth surface of a jar.
Pulling it out, Morgead eyed the wad of bills and spare change resting at the bottom. Sighing, Morgead scooped up the bills and shook his head at himself.
"Stupid idiot," he grumbled and jogged out of his building, hoping that his front door had actually shut behind him this time.
I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
"Ah, good, you made it back in time." The clerk's eyes crinkled as he smiled at Morgead. "We were just about to close up."
Damn. So close.
Morgead rubbed his eyes and nodded absently while he waited for the man to pull out whatever they needed so he could get out of there before he chickened out.
"Cash or credit?"
Ruefully, Morgead tugged his money out from his pocket and handed it over. He watched the clerk's fingers flick though the bills and his mouth move as he counted. When he was done, he peered up at Morgead from his stooped position and frowned.
"You're a little short, my boy."
Morgead winced at his tone, but miraculously, he resisted the urge to free the man's innards from their fleshy prison.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes and said, "How much?"
He was at one of those high points in his internal battle where he wasn't going to take no for an answer on the matter. He would buy the damn necklace for Jez; and she would damn well love it.
"A little under ten dollars, I'm afraid."
Quickly, Morgead's mind ran through possibilities. He could make Pierce or Val give him ten bucks, no questions asked and no refunds given. He could jump a human outside and take the money as well as a little snack. Or he could influence the man in front of him to let it slide, which might be a tad difficult with the other people present in the store with them.
Just as Morgead was about the make a decision, the clerk asked, "Is it for your girlfriend?"
Startled, Morgead blurted, "No! I mean – " he cleared his throat and tugged at his jaw. "we're not together. She's just a friend."
"You don't say," the clerk mused.
Morgead didn't like the way that the man was watching him now, like he knew something about Morgead's life. Seeing the knowing sympathy in his eyes made Morgead's blood boil.
"Tell you what, Morgead," The clerk reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill from his own wallet. "I'll spot you the difference – just this once. You pay me back when you can," By the look in his eyes, Morgead could tell that he didn't think that he'd be getting any reimbursement from Morgead. "Just don't tell anyone about this, yeah?"
After several moments of Morgead sucking up his pride, he muttered, "Yeah."
There he'd done it. Despite all reason, Morgead had bought Jez a Valentine's Day gift. Yup, he would admit it now; that's what it was. It was a nearly one hundred dollar ruby necklace that he was going to give to her. Funny, Morgead hadn't thought vampires could be insane.
On his way back to his apartment, Morgead – between cursing himself and cursing Jez – decided that he'd pay the clerk back soon. Very soon.
He hated being dirt poor all the time. It was something he was actually fairly sensitive about at times; times like when people had to compensate for his lack of cash or whenever people felt bad for him. He didn't want anyone's pity.
Should he give it to her today? It was Valentine's Day after all. Maybe he should wait . . .
Why did he want to do this again?
Morgead was sitting out front of Jez's school waiting for the bell to ring or for Jez to come trudging out of the doors – whichever came first.
He was absentmindedly fingering the naked necklace in his pocket and once again waging a war within himself of whether he should go through with giving the necklace to Jez or not. He'd already taken it out of the little gift box he had gotten it in. There was no need to make it look any more like a present.
Though he'd decided earlier that day that he would give it to her as soon as they met up – all smooth and casual like – now he was second guessing himself. Sure, he could always tell her, Hey, I picked this up today. It was on sale; I figured you might like it.
But so many things could go wrong. She could ask where he'd gotten it. She could ask how much it was. She could hate it!
That was the thing that Morgead most feared. That Jez would hate the necklace and laugh at him.
Morgead, have you no brains? How could I ever like something so utterly hideous?
Growling, Morgead wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and sat back more comfortably in his seat.
Morgead, whatever you're spazzing about, would you calm the fuck down? I can feel you from in here!
Morgead jolted and flicked his eyes to the school. He was fairly sure that that had been the real Jez in his head this time. And that meant she could feel his anxiousness. Gulping, Morgead prayed she hadn't seen why he was a nervous wreck.
Without bothering to reply, Morgead decided he'd give the necklace to her later. Also, not to think any more about it.
Finally, the end of day bell chimed, and soon after students began flooding out of all the doors. Jez was one of the first ones out, and she jogged over to Morgead with a sour look on her face.
"God, I hate Valentine's Day!"
Morgead glanced sidelong at her as she climbed onto the bike behind him and asked, "Is it that bad?"
"Yes! Everyone is just so – ugh! And people are so kissy and annoying! Giving out stupid little chocolates and trinkets and – do you know how many frigging cards I got today? A bunch of idiots decided they would bring Valentine's Day cards for people and handed them out in different classes."
The necklace in Morgead's pocket burned against his leg as Jez continued to rant about how horrible Valentine's Day was. He could practically feel the bit of courage he'd somehow scrounged up being torn right out of him with the wind as they whipped down the road towards Jez's house.
Maybe . . . maybe he shouldn't give Jez the necklace . . .
"So, what did you do yesterday anyway, I didn't see you."
"Slept mostly."
Jez nodded and sunk farther into her pillows. From his position leaning on the window ledge, Morgead watched Jez apprehensively for a moment. She seemed tired. Should he try and give her the necklace now? She might be too exhausted to yell and hit him.
Sensing Morgead watching her, Jez popped open one eye and cocked a brow. "Can I help you?"
Shifting quickly on the sill, Morgead leaned forward and asked, "What kinds of crap did you get today that you were so wound up?"
"I told you," Jez frowned and shut her eyes again. "Cards and chocolate, mostly. Pink and red, pink and red, pink and red. Everything had hearts. I swear I've seen so much of it today I will puke if I see anything red or hearty ever again."
"Oh." Morgead tightened his grip on the necklace in his pocket – he hadn't even realised he'd been fiddling with it again.
"So, anyway, are we doing anything tonight? It's Friday."
"Er, everything will probably be pretty packed, you know."
"Hmm, you're right," Jez frowned but quickly propped herself up on an elbow. "But there'll probably be lots of people out on the streets after dark," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Morgead couldn't help but chuckle despite the knot in his stomach and the lead weight in his pocket.
"Let's do that then," Jez smiled and lay back down. "But first, I need a nap."
Morgead slipped out of the room and slumped downstairs to the couch. He collapsed on it with a huff, sinking deep into the cushions and staring blankly at the wall opposite. From the kitchen table, Jez's uncle glanced over and raised an eyebrow at Morgead.
Seeing as he got no reaction, Bracken sighed, "What's the problem, Morgead?"
Morgead glanced over blearily, but he didn't do anything more than grunt.
With another sigh, Bracken sipped his tea and heaved himself to his feet. Easing down into the armchair beside the couch, he asked again, "What's wrong?"
Grumbling to himself, Morgead dug into his pocket and tossed the necklace at Jez's uncle.
Bracken's reflexes were quick, and he caught the necklace with ease. Gazing down at it in his hand, he frowned at Morgead. "What's this?"
"I bought it for Jez, but . . ." Morgead shrugged.
"I see."
Morgead glanced away as he felt his face heating up. Sure, it was only Bracken, but it was . . . embarrassing . . . to admit what he'd done.
"So, you wanted to give this to her."
"That was the general idea, yes."
Bracken slung the necklace on the table between them and chuckled, "So what's the problem?"
"Seriously?" Morgead scoffed. He shook his head in disgust and muttered, "You're kidding."
"Well," Jez's Uncle Bracken climbed back to his feet and returned to the kitchen. "either give it to her or don't, Morgead."
"Yeah, I know," Morgead spat and glared at the carpet.
He spent the rest of the evening until Jez stumbled downstairs playing out scenarios of how giving her the necklace would play out. Some were nice, most were not. Several included Morgead with wood protruding out of him.
When Jez finally did amble down the stairs, Morgead was fortunate enough to be roused from his sleep on the couch in time to lunge for the table and scramble madly to get the necklace back in his pocket before she could see it.
Coming into the living room, Jez yawned, "What time is it?"
"I don't know. You just woke me."
"Well," Jez vaulted over the couch and lay back with her head on Morgead's lap and her fingers laced behind her head. "we should go out, get some ice cream, and then grab a bite to eat." Jez grinned wickedly, showing her fangs.
Snickering himself, Morgead nodded and stood up, pulling Jez with him.
"Uncle Bracken, we're out! Bye!"
Together, the two of them pushed and shoved each other out the door and roared right into town.
Barging into their usual ice cream parlor, Jez wrinkled her nose at all the young couples present.
"God, it's sickening," she muttered as she and Morgead paid for their ice cream and made their way to their usual booth.
"Yup," Morgead agreed, gripping the necklace in his pocket.
Plunking down on the bench, Jez licked her cookies and cream and prattled on incredulously. "You know what I saw today? I saw some guy in my grade give his girlfriend," Jez sneered the word like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. "a gold and diamond bracelet. Like, really? What would you even do with something like that? It's just a huge waste of money," she huffed and licked a chunk off her ice cream, smearing some of it on her nose in the process.
Mutely, Morgead passed her a napkin.
Jez had basically just told him that she hated the necklace before he'd even given it to her. Great. But really, what had he expected? And she was right. What would she do with it? When was she ever going to wear it? Jez never dressed up. Morgead glanced at her now. Yup, band t-shirt, skinny jeans, and combat boots. A ruby necklace might look a little out of place.
So what was he going to do, return it? No, he couldn't. How embarrassing would that be? Yeah, hi, I was here yesterday to buy this but I was too chicken to give it to the girl I bought it for so here I am! Please give me my money back!
Yeah, right.
"Morgead!"
Morgead jumped and snapped his head back to see an irritated looking Jez.
"What?"
"Would you hurry up and finish that so we can leave?"
"Oh," Morgead frowned as he realized that his ice cream was melting down his hand and out the bottom of his cone, sticking up his fingers. Jez was already done hers. "Right."
Quickly, Morgead slurped down his soupy ice cream and held his cone between his teeth so he could wipe his hands clean.
Walking out of the parlor, Morgead chewed his waffle cone thoughtfully and mumbled around it, "Where are we going?"
It was twilight, and many gooey eyed couples were walking hand in hand down the street on their way to restaurants or movies or who knows what else.
"I vote we stake out an alley and catch a meal. You down?"
Lifting a shoulder submissively, Morgead followed Jez down the sidewalk until she made a sharp right into an alleyway. They both took up casual positions leaning against opposite walls near the mouth of the alley. The rising mood cast pale light through the alley, lighting up Jez's long legs but keeping her top half enveloped in shadows.
Absently, Morgead glanced down at his own moonlight bathed legs and squeezed the necklace in his pocket. Should he give it to her now? Or should he just forget about it. Maybe he could –
Suddenly, Jez snapped her fingers under his nose, and with words chipped short with irritation, huffed, "Morgead, are you listening?"
"Oh, no. What were you saying?"
Sighing heavily, Jez narrowed her eyes at Morgead while he scraped hair from his eyes.
"I asked what we're doing tomorrow? You know, the gang?"
Glancing at the full moon, Morgead shrugged. "Do whatever you want, I don't care."
Jez slanted an incredulous glare at Morgead and snapped, "What is wrong with you tonight?"
"What?"
"You're acting so . . . weird! And why would you let me pick what we do? You're the one in charge!" she accused, jabbing him in the chest.
"God Jez," Morgead huffed and shoved her away from him. "I'm not acting weird. It's in your head."
"No it's not! You're so fidgety and distracted and kind of a pain in the ass right now!"
"What are you talking about?"
Jez pursed her lips and gestured to his hand in his pocket.
"You've been playing around with in your frigging pocket all evening. What, did you get handed a fucking nuke remote and you can't decide if you're gonna press it?"
Fuck. She'd noticed?
Morgead stiffened and slowly retracted his hand from his jeans pocket.
"So are you going to tell me what your god damn issue is, or what?"
Staring down into Jez's eyes as she glowered up at him, Morgead swallowed thickly and deliberated his sanity as he opened his mouth and began to speak.
"Fine. Listen, just, don't freak on me would you?"
Jez growled and waved for him to continue.
Taking a deep breath, Morgead slid his hand back into his pocket and prepared to bring out the necklace. He would tell her he'd bought her something, give it to her, and then be done with it. Easy as that.
Starting to bring out the necklace, Morgead swallowed and chocked out, "I wanted to –" Jez's eyes bored into him, and he thought, Give you something? Tell you something? Profess my undying love for you? But instead, he blurted, "borrow some money. I'm a little short."
Jez's challenging eyes dulled, and she turned away with a dismissive wave, asking, "How much, you leach?"
Morgead let the necklace slip through his fingers and back into his pocket while he mumbled, "Ten bucks."
Jez sighed and handed him a single bill before she strode out of the alley.
Trailing after her, Morgead called out, "What about feeding?"
Morgead caught a glimpse of Jez's face in a darkened store window as she walked away, snapping back over her shoulder, "Do whatever you want, I'm going home."
She looks oddly . . . disappointed, Morgead thought.
He stared after her for another second before he pulled out the necklace. He stared at in his hand for a moment, then glanced after Jez once more.
Could she have . . . ?
Shaking his head, Morgead trudged back to his apartment alone, neglecting to pick up a bite to eat. If he wasn't vampire enough to give a shiny trinket to Jez, what made him vampire enough to drink blood?
The next day, Morgead woke up starving. He needed blood. But oddly enough, the first thing he wanted to do was pay back that human clerk from the jewellers.
He wasn't sure what time the gang would be stopping by – normally they dragged themselves over one by one, Jez showing first, but Morgead had the feeling she wasn't coming today – so he threw on his jacket and headed out.
It was just before one o'clock when he reached the jewellers. Pulling up to the curb, Morgead saw a few people look out at him through the window curiously. Even more looked when he walked into the store. But Mark the clerk looked up from the man he was helping and smiled at Morgead.
Gesturing for the man to give him a moment, the clerk slid down the counter and met Morgead with a chuckle.
"I didn't expect to see you back so soon!"
You mean at all, Morgead thought and rolled his eyes.
He handed the man the bill Jez had given him and tried not to think about the irony of borrowing money from Jez to pay for the gift he had bought and never given to her.
The clerk nodded his thanks, but before Morgead could leave, he grinned and asked, "Did she like it?"
Morgead thought about the necklace, discarded in a pile in a dark corner of his room.
"Yeah," he lied. "She loved it."
welp thanks for reading and sorry if is seemed awkward at all i haven't read or written in a while :/ drop me a review and i'll see you all later :)