fangednconfused (fangednconfused) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-09-29 19:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | derek mitchell, penny norton, ronnie milam |
Anything For a Friend
Who: Ronnie, Derek, Penny
What: S.O.S.
Where: Las Vegas, Apartment
When: Night After Terror in the McDonald's
Ratings/Warnings: Reference to violence
shitshitshitshit
To say he was frazzled would be an understatement.
Ronnie had experienced a lot of things in his life. He understood that humanity as they knew it consisted of more than anyone else really knew. Vampires, were cougars, zombie animals.
What he had witnessed at McDonald’s took the cake on the level of insane things that one person should have to endure. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to shake the aroma of rotten flesh and frying oil, to unsee the things he witnessed and was ultimately helpless to stop. He was scared. More afraid than he ever had been in his whole life and because he knew it was unfair to try to latch on to Mikey right now he did the next best thing. Clothes went haphazardly into an overnight bag. His toothbrush bounced around somewhere in that cloth mixture.
And then he was gone from Searchlight and on his way to Vegas. It felt good to be careening down the highway toward the city of neon lights. He could only hope, pray, that the things he was leaving in a flurry of dust and tail lights weren’t there, too.
Ronnie didn’t realize he was crying. Not at first. The tears started when he passed the city limit sign and didn’t stop until he was well into Vegas staring up at the bright lights of the casinos.
Finally he reached the destination intended. He hadn’t even thought about calling to see if this was okay, his mind was all over the place. Ronnie plucked his bag up from the passenger seat and all but ran at full speed into the apartment building. It took too long in the elevator. His foot tapped the floor of the car. Before the doors even had a chance to slip open all the way Ronnie burst out. Heavy, quick steps carried him to Derek’s door and the pounding that came after was desperate. He was still coasting on the coattails of adrenaline and didn’t yet feel the weight of exhaustion that would bear down upon him once he was safely inside the apartment.
Derek had been sprawled across the couch, music blaring from a Bluetooth speaker as he scrolled idly through his phone. The cuts and scratches he had sustained in the zombie brawl with Brian had already begun the healing process. When the pounding against the front door sounded, the vampire sat up and paused the song that had been playing.
Crossing the room, he checked the peephole before opening the door. “Hey!” Then he got a good look at Ronnie’s face and pulled his friend inside. “You okay?” His own expression turned to one of concern.
Relief. That was the only feeling he could comprehend and explain in the multitude of a tidal wave crashing around inside himself. “Hey,” he sighed, moving into the apartment. “I dunno, man. There’s a lot of shit going on right now and I had to find someplace safe to stay until it’s done.” He knew he was barging in, uninvited, but friends did that once in a while. If Derek wanted to send him packing, Ronnie knew he could find a hotel somewhere and be fine, too.
“Sorry for the sudden notice, I hope this is cool.”
His bag went down by the door and then Ronnie leaned backward against it. “I saw these crazy creature things, dude. And I think my whole life flashed before my eyes. I’ve seen crazy shit before, but nothing like this. I don’t even know how I made it out of there alive.” Human resourcefulness, maybe. Or the idea he still had stuff to live for. Whatever it was that kept him going, he was glad for it.
Thankfully he remembered to text Mikey with updates. He didn’t want to put anyone in any more stress than there already was and not checking in would do that.
“Oh, shit. I should have checked in with you.” Derek felt terrible. He had been so caught up in fighting one of the creatures, he didn’t think about his friend who lived in Searchlight that was pretty much defenseless. He gently ushered Ronnie over to the couch. “I saw one, too. Brian and I beheaded it.”
He rubbed the back of his hair wearily. “And of course it’s okay that you’re here. Is there anything that I can get you?”
“It’s fine, man. Really. There wasn’t much time to text. I tried.” Looking back at the communications, he’d accidentally sent half a text to Mikey during a situation and hadn’t given it a second thought until recently. Without hesitation he moved toward the couch with Derek’s guidance, settling down into the soft cushion.
“I put a cleaver onto one, shot another one, stabbed a few,” he said. His face paled and he looked sick, again.
Hands would go to his knees and then he leaned over, closing his eyes for a second. “I’m good. I’m good,” he murmured, assuring his friend he had no plans to be sick or anything.
“Jesus, Ronnie.”
Derek settled next to the other man, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He tried not to think of the grim alternative, what could have happened to Ronnie. “Were you the only one there?”
He shook his head still leaned over, dark curls flying around. “Nah, Celeste, and some woman named Annie. When I got there a civilian was hiding out, got her to safety, and then all hell started breaking loose.”
A deep breath and Ronnie made himself sit up. He looks over at his friend. “It’s like fighting a bull with a toothpick.” A demonic, strong bull with human hands and bat wings.
The whole thing felt like some cheesy horror movie, except he’d lived it. “Thank God mama isn’t alive to see this.”
Derek’s eyes widened at this revelation. “Wait, Celeste and Annie? Are they okay?” It might not have been the same Annie, he realized immediately after asking. The vampire took out his phone and fired off two texts to each of them.
“What about Mikey? He lives in Searchlight, too, right?” He was starting to feel like a dick for being so flippant in the text chain that Brian had started.
His expression flattened for a moment as he thought back to everything that happened the evening before last. “Yeah, they’re fine. Annie got bitten and Celeste got a paw thing to the face and it knocked her out but we all survived.” Somehow.
At mention of Mikey, Ronnie nodded. “Yeah, we texted a bit back and forth. He needs to stay with his family and he felt like coming here was the best move for me right now.” Keep out from underfoot and one less thing to worry about.
“I’m sorry you went through that,” Derek told his friend. “It sounds like it was really intense.” The vampire frowned. Everything could have been so much worse. He hadn’t stopped to think how or why this had happened. He had taken to accepting everything weird at face value. He had forgotten what it must have been like for humans like Ronnie to experience these situations.
“You were brave to fight these things,” he assured the chef. “Brian and I had a hell of a time with the one we killed, and we’re...you know. Really strong. The fact that you stabbed and shot them is pretty badass, dude.”
He wished he could’ve done more. The choice between walking Wanda to her car and make sure she was safe or staying to protect Annie and Celeste had been challenging. But he was only one person. Helping everyone, while ideal, wasn’t realistic. “Thanks man. It all happened so quickly. Like I’m still sort of reeling, you know?” He’d probably have nightmares for weeks.
From out of the kitchen Penny wandered. She’d been listening in on the conversation, gauging the events as Ronnie told them. Moving up to the pair on the couch, she knelt down and held out a mug of hot chocolate to Ronnie.
“Oh man, thanks, Penny.” Ronnie took the cup from her, finding comfort in the liquid. He didn’t know if he felt badass but he smiled anyway. “Yeah, I guess it was!” He laughed a bit.
Penny moved to stand up and wandered back into the kitchen.
Derek smiled at Penny and her sweet, kind gesture. It was little things like that, that solidified how much he cared about her. “Well, you can stay here for as long as you want,” he told Ronnie. “Actually…” The wheels began turning in his head as he stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Pen, didn’t you say the apartment next to us was available?”
From the kitchen, the siren paused in her preparation of the kettle for tea. She couldn’t help the twist of a smirk on her face. The plan was set into motion - of course the apartment next door was available. The family had suddenly up and moved. “Yes, if I remember correctly,” she called out, over her shoulder, then went back to her task.
Ronnie took a careful sip from the hot chocolate, setting it down on the coffee table. “The one next door, huh?” Mikey would have to be considered in this, though he doubted the cougar would care primarily because he would be living next door not only to a good friend but also to two people who could keep an eye on him.
But that meant being further away from work, further away from the cemetery, further away from Mikey. Did he want to be that far for a bit more security? His conversation from their walk solidified that Mikey was okay with the relocation to Vegas but was that what he wanted. Right now anything seemed better than Searchlight because he was scared. There was also that thing with the stranger who threatened him not being able to go to the tiny town. What if they ran into each other, here? What if nobody could get there to help if things escalated?
The tiny man sighed, rubbed at his eyes with warm fingers and tried his best to think rationally.
“You would make an awesome neighbor,” Derek pointed out to Ronnie, while also shooting Penny a grin, completely unaware of her machinations. He noticed his friend’s weary movements and went into the bedroom, grabbing sheets, pillows, and a blanket. He set them in a neat pile on the chair next to the couch.
“We can have a movie night,” he said. “Help you kinda zone out from what happened. I can make popcorn,” the vampire offered.
“Thanks, man,” Ronnie breathed. He couldn’t help but smile at the cheerfulness, even if the exhaustion settled into his bones began to peel through. A moment would be taken to ease out of his shoes. He pushed them aside with a foot causing one to tip over onto its side spilling the laces in a haphazard way.
“Movie night sounds fantastic.” Anything to distract him from the outlines of the monsters. “And you make the best popcorn.”
“It’s because I don’t trust the ‘popcorn’ setting on the microwave,” Derek responded, tapping his temple knowingly. “You gotta do it by ear.” He drifted into the kitchen, opening cabinets until he found where he had stashed the bagged snack. The vampire removed the crinkly cellophane and stuck the package in the microwave.
To Penny, he said, “You can hang with us, you know. You don’t have to hide out in here or the bedroom.”
Penny smiled.
Her hand went to the kettle on the stove. “I’ll come hang out in a little bit,” she promised. She wanted tea and she needed to check on her fish. There wouldn’t be any complaining about Ronnie being there. While she didn’t know the closeness of a friendship bond like that, she did understand the importance of the human in Derek’s life.
She had an idea float into her mind but bit her lip instead and turned her focus to the kettle.
“Okay.” He leaned in to plant a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek as the kernels began audibly popping in the microwave. Derek went to the fridge to pull out two cold sodas and set them on the counter, then removed a large bowl from one of the cabinets as he waited for the popcorn to finish. Once done, he brought it out carefully with pincered fingers, steam escaping from the opening before pouring the snack into the bowl.
Derek artfully juggled the drinks and the popcorn as he returned to the living room, setting the items down on the coffee table before grabbing the remote control. “What do you feel like tonight? Probably not zombie movies.” He grinned, not being able to resist the gentle ribbing.
Ronnie closed his eyes while he waited. The aroma of popcorn smelled delightful and familiar. He did his best not to think about the popping sound of that thing in the oil fryer and made his eyes open. He took out his phone and fired a quick text to Mikey about the apartment and that they’d chat when it was safe. Then he set the phone aside and took up the now lukewarm hot chocolate, drinking that.
When Derek came back the mug went aside and he reached over to help with the contents of the tray. “Leave the juggling to me, Kay?” A laugh and then Ronnie made a face. “No zombie movies ever. And I’m good on horror for the rest of my life. How about something with action or something funny.” Even for the sake of background noise. He didn’t think he could stay awake for an entire film anyway.
“You’ve got it,” Derek assured, flipping through the offerings on Netflix before settling on a buddy comedy, which seemed fitting. He settled back against the couch, grabbing a handful of popcorn. “Hey, just think, if you moved in next door, we could do this all the time.” The vampire nudged Ronnie’s knee with his foot.
That was a plus, for sure. And he would never worry about the neighbors next door, or if anyone was lurking around his place. There were still so many pros and cons but he was beginning to consider it in a more positive way. “You’d get tired of it,” he laughed. “Cause I’d be here all the time and poor Penny would kick me out.”
Penny wandered in with her tea, quietly crawling into the chair by the couch. She folded her legs beneath herself. “I wouldn’t.” It was a promise but her face only noted mischief.
Ronnie laughed, taking some of the popcorn. “Vegas wasn’t so bad the first time around.”
Derek smiled broadly at Penny. He grabbed one of the sodas and popped the metal tab, the drink fizzing audibly as he took a long sip. “I’m not going to push you,” he told Ronnie, “but I will strongly encourage you.”
As much as he wanted to throw caution to the wind and be impulsive, he’d promised to let Mikey in on the decision making process. In the middle of a zombie apocalypse did not seem like a good time to go stirring up the drama cauldron or try to get a solid commitment on an important decision like that. “I’ll get with Mikey and let you guys know for sure.”
Penny lifted her eyebrows but said nothing as she sipped from her tea.
Another handful of popcorn and Ronnie tucked himself into the corner of the couch. Without realizing it, he conked out and was snoring a few moments later.
Derek stood up slowly and quietly, gently lifting Ronnie’s head to slide the pillow underneath it. He then grabbed the blanket and spread it out over his sleeping form. He crossed the room to be closer to Penny, leaning in and whispering to her. “He’s a pretty deep sleeper,” he informed the siren. “He’ll be out like a light until morning.” The vampire’s face lit up. “He’ll probably make breakfast.”
Penny watched her husband move, taking care to see that the human was comfortable. “I hope so,” she murmured with a grin. “I hear his cooking is good.” A sip from her tea and she relaxed a bit in the chair.
She then looked up at Derek. “I can take the first watch.” Just in case he woke up in the middle of the day with questions, nightmares, someone needed to be there.
“It’s okay,” he told her, running his fingers through her hair. “I don’t need to sleep that much.” Derek shrugged, smiling. “But you’re sweet to offer.”
Leaning into his touch she nodded. “Okay, but if you need to switch, just tell me.” Penny smiled and pressed her mouth against Derek’s before getting up. She turned and took her tea into the bedroom, ready to find a bit of relaxation for herself.