(A/N): It's my Birthday! Yay! We're back in 1966, with Jerremyah, Lisbet and Evie, but this time, from Evie's PoV. I uh... I suffered greatly for eating three slices of chocolate cake yesterday. This chapter is somewhere between 6,000 and 6,300 words (the separate word counter I use says 6,011, as did the ff document editor when I first uploaded it, but when I saved it, exited and came back in, without making any changes, it said 6,300, so I'm really not sure).

Trigger Warning (sort of):

Bi Erasure? Basically, Evie doesn't know that Bisexuality is an option, and as such, is a bit dismissive of things, which results in a little bit of like... almost internal homophobia? It's pretty light, and only in her head, and not meant negatively (by her, or by me).

Evie

January 15th, 1966

Well, this day had taken a strange turn, to say the least.

The day- or, well, the afternoon, anyway- had started pretty normally, with my best friend, Hettie, trying to convince me to go out dancing with her and the other members of our friend group. It was always the same story- Hettie talked it up throughout the week, trying to get me excited, and then when the weekend came, all of our friends showed up at my house. Well, mine and Vi's house.

I rarely ever went out with them- I worked way too hard during the week, to spend my off time waiting in line for a club that might not even let us in. Just to spend all night on my feet, dancing or otherwise, overpaying for drinks and getting hit on by desperate creeps. I was more than happy to let my friends use my home as a launching point for their nights out, and help nurse hangovers the day after, though.

On top of being too tired to deal with the normal problems of clubbing, it was also something I largely avoided because of Hettie's choice to try to set me up with someone at every opportunity- which is why I wasn't all that surprised when Hettie took it upon herself to introduce me to Jerremyah.

Jerremyah... God, that man was tasty... and when it had seemed like he might be interested in me... I could barely believe it. As it turns out, I shouldn't have. When he led me over to Lisbet... Lord, my heart dropped.

When I had met her at the bar, I couldn't say that I hadn't noticed something was off with her- she was beautiful, gorgeous even, but just... ever so slightly unsettling. I knew what it was now- she wasn't human. She was a vampire, as she had told me- and wasn't that some bad horror flick tomfoolery?- when explaining to me what she meant when she had called him her 'soulmate'.

I was also surprised that she had seemed interested in me- but she was just interested in me, not... interested, in me. She just wanted my blood, and resorted to throwing her mate at me in order to draw me to her- something Jerremyah seemed all too happy to agree to.

Before it had been revealed that he was Lisbet's 'boyfriend'- from what she had told me afterwards, 'mate' seemed the more appropriate term, but I wasn't quite sure whether it was something I was allowed to use- before he had dropped the act, yes, he looked a little rough around the edges, but he seemed rather sweet. Misunderstood, maybe? He seemed earnest. And then, the act dropped. He was a little more pointed, a little less polished, like he wasn't trying to make me feel as comfortable as he had been, before. I- honestly, I liked this Jerremyah better.

He had teased me before I let him lead me back to his table- to Lisbet- saying that he doesn't bite, without permission. Now, I knew that that hadn't been as much of a joke as I had thought. After we joined Lisbet, however, he teased a lot more- and I found I rather liked being teased. I mean, Hettie teased me all the time, but that was different. Lisbet was doing her best to make me feel comfortable, like it was just another Saturday for them, and not a once in a lifetime encounter with a supernatural entity that wanted to drink my blood.

And when they drank from me... I could almost delude myself into thinking that it wasn't just that. When she pushed me against his body, trapping me between both of them- not that I didn't want to be there- and trapping Jerremyah between my body and the bathroom stall, and I felt him- all of him, against all of me, made me feel like less like a meal, and more like... like a partner. A- er- well. Not a business partner, I'll just say that.

I barely saw the men that attacked- the barest glimpse of something, someone, before the world spun, and went dark. When my vision came back, we were elsewhere- Lisbet and Jerremyah's house, apparently- and I was bleeding. Not just from my neck, but from my arm, now, too.

Lisbet had been confused, and pulled away from me, and it was only after Jerremyah staggered away from us, his big body twisting as he stumbled to the side, that I- and Lisbet- had seen the wooden stake protruding from his back.

She had been distraught- of course she had- but she had also been furious. Furious that he had spun us- I hadn't even seen it happen, or noticed when we arrived in their home, that we were facing a different way- how was I supposed to know? Furious that he had chosen to take the stake himself, rather than let her, wrapped in the leather motorcycle jacket, take the hit.

He explained his reasoning, that Lisbet was shorter- and smaller in general- than he was, and if she had been the one hit, it had been aimed directly at her heart. Whether it would have been able to pierce the thick leather remained to be seen, but judging by the way they reacted... a wooden stake to the heart was a death sentence. At least that fit with the stories...

The mind control Lisbet used on me was... trippy. Her face had changed- paling, with her eyes darkening, her pupil overtaking her iris. I had seen just the barest hint of fangs- I had brushed it off, until they had mentioned biting me. Hadn't exactly been able to wave it away, then. She had told me she needed me to stay calm, and immediately, I was calm. No matter what she- they- said, I kept my cool, something I doubted I would've been able to do, if she hadn't done so.

It had worn off, when we traveled back to their home- as if by magic. After pulling the stake from Jerremyah's back- the fact that he had insisted on her tending to me first was surprisingly touching, but she hadn't listened- she had done some work healing me, both with the venom from her fangs, and spells from her magic wand.

I didn't know how to feel about that. Magic was real? Well, I suppose it wasn't all that shocking, considering that I was in the presence of two vampires.

When I asked them what they were going to do with me, Jerremyah had said he might know someone who could help- and then, he had moved over to the fireplace. Before I even had time to be confused, Lisbet placed a hand on his chest- flat against where his heart was- where the stake would have come out, if it hadn't missed.

"Um, babe?" His entire being softened, his head turning so he could focus his full attention on her. It was clearer with Jerremyah, than it was with Lisbet, that their relationship ran deeper than just being in love with each other. That there was something more- that vampires could develop some different, unique sort of connection, and Lisbet and Jerremyah were proof of it. "Maybe you should let me-" He shook his head.

"It'll go over better if it comes from me, you know that. You can contact Grey, after, if you want." Lisbet blinked.

"I thought- Oh." Who was this 'Grey'... and why was he the first person Lisbet thought Jerremyah would contact for help, if clearly that wasn't who he was planning to ask? Jerremyah placed his hand over hers, on his chest.

"It would take too long. He'd have to take several floos, and that's if he can even get away." Flu's? ...No, I'm sure I wasn't hearing that right. Lisbet seemed a bit put out by this. "I know she isn't the most... personable, but... Nuria will help, I'm sure of it." Nuria? Who was Nuria?

Lisbet hesitated for a second, before she leaned in close to press a kiss to his cheek. It wasn't a quick peck- no. This kiss was slow- impassioned. If they had had the time, and privacy- although, maybe privacy wasn't quite as necessary as most people would find it- I'm sure she would have kissed him more deeply, and on the lips. After she pulled her lips from his cheek, she pulled her hand from his chest, and moved past him, towards me.

"Stick close- you might learn a thing or two." She said as she passed me- then, she stopped. "Oh, and... maybe try and play up the whole... doe eyed, innocent thing. She'll be able to see you on the return call, and maybe the fact that you're easy on the eyes will sway her a bit." She- she thought I was easy on the eyes? "That doesn't seem like something Nuria would allow to manipulate her, but... what do you think, Jer?" Slowly, Jerremyah was lowering himself to his knees in front of the hearth, and when he got there, he shrugged with some difficulty.

"She's more your type than mine, but yes, very pretty." I- what? Jerremyah thought I was pretty! But... more of Lisbet's type? Did that mean...?

"I meant," She said, rolling her eyes without much heat. "Whether you thought Nuria would think so." He paused, then his head swiveled around- under his discerning gaze, I fidgeted.

"Oh! Um... maybe?" What a vote of confidence! "I don't know if I've seen enough of her previous partners to pass an opinion on what her type is. She certainly was never interested in me, but, y'know... I wasn't her type in... other ways." 'Other ways'? Seeing my confusion, Lisbet huffed out a laugh.

"He means the fact that he's a 'he'." Oh. Oh. And- And they were okay with that? Lisbet had said that I was 'easy on the eyes', and Jerremyah had said that I was more Lisbet's type than his, maybe... maybe... No. She was with Jerremyah, clearly that was where her attractions lay.

"It's worth a shot. I mean, she'll help either way, I'm sure, but it's a lot better for me if she's eager- well, as eager as Nuria ever is." Jerremyah said, and Lisbet shrugged- once again moving past me, and disappearing into one of the rooms down the hall. "Come closer." For the barest second, I hesitated- not because I was scared to be near him, but because I thought maybe he was talking to Lisbet. But, seeing his eyes still on me, I made my way closer. As I got just a few feet away, the corner of his lips quirked up. "C'mere- I won't bite. Although, you didn't seem to mind it when I did." I flushed, and stepped even closer, just a foot or two behind him, and just off to the side.

"Lou was right- you're trouble." Now, he grinned.

"Is that the one that didn't like my tats?" He heard that? Now, his grin turned into a smirk. "Or the one that liked my arse, and said that you, 'eyed tattooed blokes like you'd like to trace them with your tongue'?" Oh god! Even through my groan, I heard him chuckle.

"...Damn you, Hettie, and your loose lips!" His laugh got a little louder, before he winced, and his laughter died down, as he was clearly still feeling the after effects of having had a wooden stake fired into his back.

"Och, ow..." Slowly, hesitantly, I reached out, and put my hand on his shoulder- the one that wasn't stained with his own blood. His eyes darted down to look at it, like I had surprised him.

"Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?" Now, it was his turn to hesitate.

"Normally, after an injury, a vampire would drink blood to heal, but that isn't the best idea for me and my... control issues. Your blood is still in my system, so I'm healing quicker than I usually would, as it is. Still... the pain doesn't bother me, because it's better that I'm the one feeling it." 'Better me than you?' I leaned in closer to him, and he eyed me wearily.

"Would you really give your life for hers?" Jerremyah tilted his head at me, and glanced pointedly down the hall, in the direction Lisbet had disappeared. I knew that she could almost certainly hear me- I didn't care. I needed to know.

"Of course I would. Without her, there is no life- why would I ever want to live in a world without her in it?" There was a clatter from the room down the hall- it sounded like a drawer slamming shut, or something like that. Clearly, Lisbet wasn't happy about all of Jerremyah's self sacrifice talk. Seeing my frown, he shrugged. "She's not so happy with me about that- she thinks that we shouldn't die unless we go together, but... that's not exactly realistic." No... No, it wasn't...

"I can understand that. It must be painful for her to hear you talk about dying, when she must feel much the same way you do. Like life may not be worth living, without you." His eyebrows furrowed, and turned away from me, dropping his gaze to the empty hearth.

"Mhm." It was quiet- noncommittal. Like he didn't disagree that she most likely felt that way, but ultimately, it wasn't as important as keeping her alive. I'd let Lisbet handle that later- and I was sure she would.

"So, you're sure this Nuria will help us?" Jerremyah blinked, and turned back to meet my gaze.

"I- yes. I mean, most likely. She hasn't said no to me yet." That didn't instill much confidence. "I should-" He gestured towards the fireplace.

"Oh, I- Okay. Go ahead." He flashed me a quick, rather lackluster smile, and turned back to the fireplace. As he put his hand on the small urn beside the hearth, Lisbet came bustling back into the room, and Jerremyah's eyes swung to her, like they were drawn to her- almost magnetized.

"Wait- first, we can get cleaned up." I noticed that the blood on her hand and forearm was gone, and she was carrying a bowl of water with a rag draped over the edge, and in her other hand, looked to be a cream colored, knit jumper.

"Actually..." Jerremyah said, and Lisbet paused. "I'll clean my face, but... if Evie and I look obviously injured, it might garner more sympathy from Nuria. If not... I mean, Minsi's the caring type." Lisbet snorted- who was Minsi?

"If you say so, Stud." Jerremyah seemed delighted by this pet name, and Lisbet came over to us. She knelt down on his other side, and dipped the rag into the bowl. "Come here, you... big lug." His smile now was small, but much more sincere, and he brought his face closer happily, within her reach.

"Do your worst." Lisbet reached up, and started working on wiping the blood off from around his lips, and where it had dripped down his chin and throat. She left the blood from where she had dug her claws into him, as much as she could, and dropped the rag back into the bowl.

"There. All better." Jerremyah got that look on his face- the one that said he was about to start teasing again.

"Just as devilishly handsome as always?" Lisbet rolled her eyes- rather fondly- and leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. Being so close, I heard him make a small, quiet, 'hmm' noise- he sounded pleased.

"If not more so. Right, Evie?" I- what? What- what was I supposed to say to that? I... I guess the best option is to tell the truth.

"I- yes. I mean, I don't know your 'always', but when I met you- yeah. H-handsome." Lisbet's expression was fondly exasperated, as Jerremyah once again looked delighted.

"Careful, dear. Your head's not going to fit in the fireplace." Why would-? Oh, I'm not going to ask, at this point.

"Maybe we should expand it. I mean, it's only a matter of time before we need to, anyway." Lisbet was clearly trying to hide her amusement, but failing miserably. Jerremyah was smiling down at her, like she was his whole word- his whole universe- and I had no doubts that that was true.

"Contact your sire- I'll change out the water, so I can do Evie when I get back." Do Evie? ...Oh! She meant cleaning me up, not... Right, of course not! That would be... well, it wasn't going to happen, anyhow. Wait... what's a sire? Sire, like a father, or sire like royalty? 'Your' sire implied the former, but... Jerremyah was supposed to be contacting Nuria, right? And they had called her a 'her', so she couldn't be Jerremyah's father... right?

"Um... what's a sire?" His gaze snapped to me, rather than continuing to follow Lisbet out of the room, and his eyes widened slightly, before returning to normal- like I had once again surprised him.

"Oh! A sire is what vampires call the person who turned them into a vampire. Nuria turned me, so, she's my sire." So, the 'father' thing wasn't far off. A vampire's sire was a parent of sorts- or at least a creator.

"And who's Lisbet's sire?" He beamed at me, and the brightness of it nearly blinded me. I had a feeling I knew, now.

"That'd be me!" He was so proud of it, it made a laugh bubble out from between my lips.

"Of course you did." But... "But what about your... 'control issues'? Weren't you worried about it?" His expression sobered, and when his smile returned, it was a little more strained.

"Yeah. It scared the hell out of me, and... I wouldn't have done it, if she hadn't insisted- and I definitely wouldn't have done it if I hadn't had help. Grey... he's the reason Lisbet and I are together. The reason... the reason Lisbet is still alive, two hundred and fifty or so years after she would have died, if she had stayed human." Lord, even hearing that they've been together three hundred and nine years, it was... surreal, to know that they were so old, when at most, both of them looked only two or three years older than me.

"And this Grey... he's a friend of yours?" Jerremyah perked up, once again.

"Our best friend. He's stood by us through thick and thin, and he's saved both of our lives so many time I've lost count- not to mention his invaluable help in turning her, and thus enabling our relationship to begin at all." I hesitated.

"So... you and Lisbet weren't together, when you turned her?" His face twisted, and he shrugged.

"We were... closer than a man and woman maybe should have been, in those days, without courting. Still, I... I knew if we started something, it was going to be serious, and... I was unwilling to start something without both of us being ready for that. No, we didn't make it official until a few months after I turned her." ...Hmm.

"And... would you have started that relationship, if, for whatever reason, she had stayed human?" His expression turned wary, and his gaze darted in the direction Lisbet was currently missing in, before back to me.

"Are you trying to get me in trouble?" I- no? "Look, Lis and I are already probably going to have a long talk about what happened today, and... I don't want to add to that with hypotheticals." Oh... "But... I know there are vampires out there that have had relationships with humans that have lasted their whole lives- the humans life- whether those relationships were romantic or otherwise." Oh. Clearly, he had noticed my- curiosity.

"I- that's nice." That little smirk returned.

"Who know, maybe you'll meet a nice vampire, and settle down." ...Maybe. "This will help you get to know more of us- form a good opinion. Nuria may not be a... 'people person', but Grey... you'll like Grey, and Grey will like you." He paused, and eyed me up and down, his eyes pointedly lingering on my hair. "Maybe a little too much." Um? "He's got his hands full with women at the minute, though." Um?

"He- what?" Jerremyah's smirk turned into a grin, and he reached for the urn again.

"That's good, stay flustered- it suits you." I- what- what was I supposed to say to that?

He removed the lid of the urn, and placed it on the hardwood floor next to it, before reaching inside, and pulling out a scoop, filled with glittery green powder. With his other hand, he pulled his own wand out of a previously unnoticed pocket along the seam on the outer thigh of his jeans. It looked similar to Lisbet's, but maybe a little longer- did all wands look the same?

He pointed the tip of his wand at the fireplace, and said, "Incendio." Flames spilled from the piece of wood, and I launched myself backwards, as the hearth lit. Jerremyah tossed the scoop of powder into the fire, and the flames turned green- a bright emerald, that was honestly fascinating. "Nuria Matan, uh... Old Bank?" The fire flared, as if recognising his command, and then- he lurched forward, and plunged his face into the flames.

I yelped, and launched myself forward, my arms shooting out to try to pull him back, but he was immovable. The flames licked at my hands, and I yelped again on reflex, before I realised... there was no pain. In fact, besides a slight presence, I couldn't feel anything. As I released my grip on him, pulling back, I realised Jerremyah was making noise- was he- was he laughing? Was he laughing, at me?

"Are you- you arse!" This only made him laugh harder. "No warning, you just-" He stopped laughing, and put a hand over my mouth- the bastard!

"Yeah, hi! Can you call me back? We've got an issue here that I could use your help with." Oh. Now, him covering my mouth made sense- his call had connected. There was a pause, where I guessed he was listening to whoever was on the other end- Nuria, I suppose. "Of course it's important- when have I ever bothered you when it wasn't?" There was another pause. "That was one time! Anyway, call me back- you need to see this for yourself." He pulled his head back, out of the fire, and the flames once again became a more normal orange.

He blew out some air, and turned to face me- when he saw his own hand still over my mouth, he appeared almost sheepish, and let me free.

"Sorry. I- I shouldn't have done that. It's just kind of hard to listen to three people at once, especially when your head is disconnected from your body, and transported to a different location." Oh- uh... so that's what was happening?

"It's okay. You... seem like you have your hands full." He started to shrug, before a strong, commanding female voice rose from the fire, as it flared green.

"Jerremyah Yates, the Yates flint and brick, Thetford, Norfolk." Oh, is that where we were? And, Yates? Was that Jerremyah's last name, or... Jerremyah and Lisbet's last name? "You asked me to call you, you prick, so pick up." Jerremyah grinned.

"Accept." A second later, a face appeared in the fire- so, this is what it looked like from the other side? I assumed she was beautiful, but a bit sharp- it was kind of hard to tell though flame-o vision- like a statue that hadn't quite been fully polished. Carved from stone, by some unknown artist, and released into the big wide world, for all to see. "Hey, so, first of all, it's a long story-" She cut him off.

"Why are you covered in blood? Who is she? Why is she covered in blood? Where's Lisbet? Is she- no, you wouldn't be calling me if-" Now, it was Jerremyah's turn to cut her off.

"I told you it was a long story. Look, I'll give you a brief outline, but I want to come to you- if that's okay with you." Nuria's face flickered in the flames.

"Of course that's okay- although..." She eyed me, and I straightened, before I remembered that Lisbet had told me to appear sympathetic. I... wasn't sure I knew how to do that. "Will you be staying long? I can... get Minsi to make a bed up." Oh. Clearly, Lisbet and Jerremyah hadn't given her enough credit.

"That-" He glanced at me. "That might be necessary, yes. Thank you, Nuri. And thank Minsi for me too- when she inevitably stops complaining about you volunteering her for it." Nuria's lips curved up, so slightly I almost missed it, through the fire.

"You said- Oh. Hello, Lisbet." Her tone changed as the woman in question walked up behind me, setting the bowl of water on the coffee table, next to the waiting jumper- respectful, but lacking that almost... fond, tone, that she had held when addressing Jerremyah.

"Hello, Nuria. Has Jer introduced you to our Evie, yet?" She gestured to me with the wet rag, and Nuria looked interested, eyeing me keenly.

"Not as of yet, no. My intuition tells me she plays an important role in all this?" I flushed under her attention- and jumped, as Lisbet dragged her wet rag across the blood-sticky skin of my neck.

"I'll let my mate tell you all about it." Jerremyah's delight at her referring to him as her mate, almost overrode his annoyance at being thrown into the line of fire.

"Right, well... This is Evie. Say hi, Evie." Uh?

"H-hi!" I chirped, a little too brightly in my surprise at being put on the spot. "Er, I mean- Hello." I tried again, a little more put together, but it was too late- Nuria already seemed amused by me.

"Jerremyah, Assal, I know you have a sweet tooth, but I think you're taking things a bit too far." He rolled his eyes so hard, his head moved with the force.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Evie was Lisbet's pick anyway- like always." I was? Well, I suppose, she had approached me first. Had... had he been watching that? Listening? He had heard Hettie and Lou talking about him, so it wasn't out of the question.

"Of course she is. I know your type- tall, dark and pretty. And... difficult." She eyed Lisbet, who moved on to cleaning the blood from my arm- where I had been injured upon arriving here, on the inner side of my right arm, near the upper elbow.

"I resent that." She said simply, and the corner of Jerremyah's lips quirked up.

"So, what's the short version?" Nuria asked, and he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Lisbet and I went out for our anniversary-" Nuria let out a hiss.

"Shit. Mins, you were supposed to remind me! Hap- It doesn't matter, I'll explain later." Clearly, she was speaking to Minsi here, on the other end of the connection. "Happy Anniversary, you two." Jerremyah and Lisbet shared a fond look, and she dipped the rag back in the now dirty bowl of water, releasing my newly clean arm.

"Thanks, Nuri." He said.

"We appreciate it." She added, bringing up the freshly moistened cloth to Jerremyah's throat, cleaning his own blood from his skin- blood she had spilt.

The fact that she had gone straight to cleaning the blood from my skin to his, initially freaked me out, before I remembered what Jerremyah had said about my blood healing him. If they drank blood, they must be immune to blood borne diseases, right? ...I really needed to ask more questions- later. If Lisbet was doing it, it was probably okay?

"We were out for our anniversary, at a club in the West End, and Lisbet convinced me to... share a drink, with her." Lisbet made a noise in the back of her throat.

"If I recall correctly, you brought it up, Lover Boy." He had? Clearly, by the way he flushed, what Lisbet had said was true.

"Anyway." Nuria said. "Continue." She was all business, wasn't she?

"Lisbet spotted Evie, and went after her- a tad predictable of her, if you ask me, but- ow!" She smacked the top of his hand, but somehow, given the way I couldn't budge him when I tried to yank him out of the fire, I doubted it actually hurt all that much.

"Evie wasn't playing ball for me, so I sent in the big guns." She glanced back at me, smirking slightly. "My boyfriend." Once again, Jerremyah blushed.

"Am I missing something?" Nuria asked, clearly bemused. "Because I'm pretty sure I vividly remember being at your wedding- all three of them." All three-? Well, I guess it was both of them who had the last name Yates, then.

"It's- It's a joke. A long story, joke." Jerremyah told her.

"Jerremyah convinced Evie to join us-" Well, technically, all he had done was bring me to Lisbet- back, to Lisbet- and she had done the rest. "And he obscured me from sight as I Influenced her. I sent him to clear out the mens room-" Clearly, Nuria wasn't happy about this.

"You did it out in the open?!" Lisbet stared her down, but the wind seemed to have left Jerremyah's sails.

"No one saw. We were careful-" Nuria cut her off with a growl- at least, that's what I assumed that guttural sound was, that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end.

"Not as careful as I taught you to be." Jerremyah's head sunk into his shoulders, like he was trying to hide- he looked like a naughty child who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You can scold us later, Nuria. We made mistakes, and they ended up dragging a civilian into all of this- are you going to help us, or not?" Lisbet said, and Nuria's gaze moved to rest heavily upon me- a few seconds passed, much too slowly for my taste.

"Um... hello, again." Her lips twitched, and I wasn't sure whether they were trying to curve upwards into a smirk, or downwards into a frown. "Uh..." She was still just... staring at me. "I don't know if it's just the glow of the fire, but you're like... really pretty." Lisbet snorted, and I heard Jerremyah make some sort of noise, that sounded like he was choking on his own saliva. Nuria, herself, huffed out a laugh.

"Thank you, Ghalia." What does that mean? "I'm not sure if 'pretty' is quite the right word, but... I'm not going to argue with you." It wasn't?

"Well, what do you prefer? Beautiful? Gorgeous? What about... striking?" Everything was completely silent for a long few seconds, and, suddenly unsure, I glanced in Lisbet and Jerremyah's direction. They were both staring at me- Jerremyah, a little... uncomfortable, maybe a little... nauseated. Not like he was sickened by the thought of me complimenting a woman, but more like he had just walked in on his mother being hit on. He didn't seem angry- in fact, he seemed a little intrigued by the idea, but like he was unhappy that he was intrigued by it. Lisbet, however, looked shocked, but... almost proud?

"You're- a smooth talker, aren't you?" Nuria's pause was barely noticeable, but Lisbet's face lit up. I blinked.

"I- no? I mean, I don't think so? No one's ever called me that before. I just- you were staring at me, so I figured I should say something. And I'm staring at your face, after all- it's not like I have much else to go on, other than your voice. Not- not that your voice isn't lovely as well! Very strong- you make me want to want to take orders, with that voice." Now, it was Jerremyah's turn to snort, and Lisbet buried her face in his chest, in an attempt to conceal her laughter. "I- I'm making it worse, aren't I?" Jerremyah patted the back of Lisbet's head, and shook his own at me.

"No. No, you're doing fantastically." He assured me, but I had a feeling it was just supposed to encourage me to continue to embarrass myself, rather than to reassure me that I wasn't making too much of a fool of myself.

"I- I'm sorry. If I'm making you uncomfortable, or... or annoying you, or something." Nuria's eyebrows furrowed.

"Not at all, Ghalia. Jerremyah- Lisbet- one of you, continue the story, before she makes me blush." There was a sound after this, and I couldn't tell if it was a noise she made, or perhaps the fire, but it sounded suspiciously like, 'Again.'

"We went to the cleared out bathroom, and we both fed from our dear Evie, here." Jerremyah's lack of mentioning his issues with control, made me think that either she didn't know about it, or she knew about it all too well. "As Lisbet was taking her turn with her-" And wasn't that an idea I didn't need in my head- again. "Hunters came in and attacked us. Through my quick reflexes, I disapparated us away before anyone got seriously hurt." But he- oh, never mind, clearly Lisbet's got the outrage covered.

"But-" He cut her off, pulling her face to his chest again.

"We'll see you in about twenty minutes, okay? See you soon!" He told her cheerfully, as Lisbet struggled to get free of his grip on the back of her neck.

"Wha-" Jerremyah cut Nuria off.

"Close connection." Immediately, the fire went out- not just returning to a normal orange color, but completely dying. A second after it did, Jerremyah clearly released his hold on Lisbet- catching her at the last second, before she threw herself backwards into the embers of the former fire, trying to free herself. Her hair was all over the place, a messy mop, instead of its normal glossy black sheet, and her face was all rumpled. If her expression wasn't so deadly, I would say it was rather endearing.

"What. The. Fuck, Jer?!" He winced.

"Nuria doesn't need to know." Um...? Clearly, Lisbet was just as unimpressed by this as I was- a lot angrier, though, but I guess that was more than appropriate, especially considering he had nearly smothered her.

"Are you fu-" He cut her off.

"It will just make her worry. If she isn't convinced that the situation is dire enough to want to help Evie, then, as a last resort, we can tell her. But... before that, it isn't necessary." Lisbet tried to protest, but Jerremyah was more serious than I had ever seen him- and I had the feeling he didn't get that way often. "Lis- I'm not giving her any more reasons to retreat- she's already locked in that damn vault half the time, it's almost like she's looking for excuses to pull away from humanity altogether. I refuse to be the reason she pulls away entirely." Lisbet was silent for a minute- she just glared at him, fuming.

"Fine." She ground out. "But you're explaining what all of that was, to Nuria." She rose to her feet, and started to stalk away, before she snatched the jumper from the coffee table, and flung it at him. It hit him in the face, and I had the distinct feeling that he let it happen, to give her some sort of outlet for her rage. "And get changed- the blood on your back, and the hole in your shirt is a dead giveaway." With this, she finished storming off, to wherever she had disappeared to before- their bedroom, and an attached bathroom, I was guessing.

He pulled the jumper away from his face, lowering it to his lap, and, after a second of staring after her, he turned to me and said, rather simply,

"Well. That could have gone better."

(A/N): Evie: 'I'm through with standing in line, to clubs I'll never get in'

Jerremyah: 'It's like the bottom of the ninth, and I'm never gonna win'

Lisbet: 'This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be'

also

Evie: 'You're like, really pretty.'

Nuria: 'Thank you.'

Evie: 'So you agree? You think you're really pretty?'

Translations:

Arabic (Egyptian Dialect)

Assal = Honey (Apparently, it more means that someone is 'incredibly sweet and could be funny in a sweet way', rather than actually Honey, as in the sticky substance. Yes, Nuria sometimes calls Jerremyah 'Honey', basically. I also like the fact that it kind of sounds like she's calling him 'asshole', because Nuria WOULD)

"Jerremyah, Assal, I know you have a sweet tooth, but I think you're taking things a bit too far." - "Jerremyah, Honey, I know you have a sweet tooth, but I think you're taking things a bit too far."

Ghalia = Precious, the feminine form. (It literally means 'expensive', but in the context of being used as a pet name, means 'the Precious One')

"Thank you, Ghalia."- "Thank you, Precious." or "Thank you, Precious One."

"Not at all, Ghalia." - "Not at all, Precious." or "Not at all, Precious One."

I don't speak Arabic, particularly the Egyptian Dialect, nor do I know how to write it, so if I got something wrong, PLEASE let me know (politely, please, I'm doing my best, and mean no harm.)

I apologise for the Nickelback and Mean Girls references. (Not really)

Chapter name is a reference to Through The Looking Glass (Alice In Wonderland), but the meaning's a little warped- I mean, we all have an idea of what's going to happen with Evie at this point, right?

Also, this was not supposed to be the first time Nuria and Minsi are mentioned in the story- I meant to introduce them to you in what was going to be chapter 348, but is now 349. I'll leave that chapter as it is, so you can see what I said in the Author's Note about them (it's not a lot).

The plan for this chapter was supposed to have them contact Nuria, and then Greygorry, and then actually make it to Nuria's, but it was getting way too long.