hot_guitarist (hot_guitarist) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-10-23 07:53:00 |
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Current location: | Avarice |
Current mood: | happy |
Entry tags: | jack delany, place: la, ~louise thompson |
Acting Impulsively
Who: Jack and Louise
Where: Avarice
When: Wednesday Night, Oct. 14
Jack felt a little odd being here, the night before a big show. Still, he couldn't help himself. He had been drawn to the club like a moth to a flame. He was so excited about performing that he felt that he was about to burst. It was finally and really happening for him. He had spent his twenties trying to make it before deciding that it was OK to be well known local band. It made him enough money, so why fight it. This, though, this was a completely different thing.
He was sitting at a table not far from the stage. Of course, no one was on it tonight, since there was a DJ booth that someone was spinning records in. He sipped at a beer while he marveled at the true fact that this could finally be 'it.' The real deal, the big one, the thing that he had worked for so long for.
What kind of...person...would she be if she didn't know what was going on with Jack right now? The big things, at least. She was an observant type - not quite what she'd call a guardian, but watchful. Hell, she'd spent years watching from afar. She practically had it down to an art form.
So the fact that Louise had shown up at Avarice tonight of all nights was hardly a coincidence. No, it wasn't his big night, but she had no intentions of being here tomorrow. It wasn't because she wouldn't have gotten a thrill out of seeing him in his element; she could still appreciate that. It was only because...it had the potential to cause too much conflict, and that wasn't what he deserved.
Without a word, she dropped gracefully down into the seat next to him and crossed her legs as she folded her hands demurely in her lap. She'd fed earlier and had a faint bloom of color in her cheeks that made her look a little more...human. She even flashed him a brief smile, showing that her spirits were high - well, as high as they could be. "I don't have to be a fortune teller to know what's on your mind tonight."
Jack had figured that she'd find him eventually. She seemed to have gotten pretty good at that lately. She knew what was going on with him, and, since she was smart, could put together where, more than likely, he would be tonight. He turned to look at her and caught her smile, returning one himself. "No, I'm sure anyone who knows me would know what's on my mind tonight," he said back to her.
He turned and looked back at the stage for a moment. "This is really it, Louise," he said to her. "I think this is really, finally it."
Her own gaze was thoughtful as she looked to the currently empty stage. "And you're getting to enjoy it before you're old and gray." Teasing him? Maybe a little. What had her in such a good mood, anyway? Or was it even good...so much as it was...playful? She was dressed down in a pair of slim-fitting jeans and an intricate black silk blouse that seemed to be pieced together with thin satin ribbons and, when she moved, flashed just a hint of the pale, flawless skin beneath.
"You did it, though, Jack." She turned back to him, tilting her head slightly as she eyed him appraisingly. "I think you're right. I think this is it."
"Ha, ha," he said back to her when she joked that he'd even get to enjoy it before he was old and gray. "I do feel lucky for that. Not sure if I want to pull a Rolling Stones before this is over with." He did not want to be still touring when he was that old. That was actually sort of sad, in his eyes. "Thank fucking god this might be it. Not sure how much longer I could have held out for it."
"Long enough. You're not a quitter. Besides, you still sound really good. Better, actually. And you're finally getting everything you wanted. So enjoy it." She laughed slightly. "No time like the present, right?"
"The present's all I've got," Jack pointed out to her. Not everyone was going to live forever like her, and Jack tried to not live in his past too much. Also, he wasn't much of a future planner, so, really, the present WAS all he had.
"It's all any of us really have," Louise said thoughtfully. Not even her kind of immortality came with a guarantee. A long time ago, she'd been the type of girl to have dreams and aspirations. Hopes. Goals. That had all changed along the way - which was funny, because now she had all the time she might want or need in order to accomplish everything she'd ever wanted to do. It just wasn't the same without...well, it just wasn't the same. "I'm happy for you, Jack. Really."
"Thank you," he said, turning back to her again. "So, how have you been doing lately?" While she certainly knew all that he had been doing lately, his only way of knowing anything about her was to actually ask her about it.
"You know. Same old, same old. Death, destruction, mayhem." She almost smiled at that. "That's a joke, by the way." Yeah. It was probably sad that she had to clarify that. "I've been considering putting down a few more...permanent...roots. If I stick around, I really need something to do." She'd never been good at boredom, even in life.
"LA is one of the greatest cities in the world, Louise," Jack said to her, secretly glad that she was thinking of staying. "I'm sure you'll find something that you can do and enjoy."
LA had its bright spots, she could admit that. Then again, maybe she was just biased because of WHO was here, not WHAT. After all, that was the main reason she always returned. "I'm sure I will. In the meantime, I've been on my very best behavior."
"Have you?" he asked, smiling at her. "I've actually been doing pretty well myself lately." Of course, he had barely looked at another woman since Louise had come back into his life. It hadn't been a thought out thing, but just something that had happened. Maybe he really was growing up. Scary thought.
She laughed, as if somehow his train of thought was written across his face...or maybe she was just inferring. "How's Meredith? I've...heard a few things. Just rumors. Is she doing well?"
"She's doing OK, actually," Jack answered her. "She's seeing some guy that I've only met once, but I'm sort of relieved that she's not with the owner of this club, anymore." He couldn't help it. Mere was still his kid, after all. "What have you heard?"
"Just...that she did something really good when it came to that fight a while back. Whatever the case, I'm glad she's doing well." She hadn't expected talking to Meredith, seeing her, to come easily and if nothing else, Louise was patient. Meredith would come to her when she was ready, if she was ever ready. Until then, she'd be here.
"I think she did," Jack answered. "She came back different, but it was a good different." He wondered if that really made sense. It might to Louise. She might understand those sorts of things better than he did.
She nodded, somehow understanding. Well, if what she'd heard was actually true. A soul. That was the rumor. That kind of thing could really mess a vampire up, but she didn't think Meredith had been one long enough to do anything TOO dastardly. Even so, she wasn't like most vampires, even before. From what she'd seen and heard. "You're handling all of this remarkably well, you know."
"It's either handle it well or go insane," he commented. "I would rather not go insane, considering that my own life is finally pulling together for the first time in a very long time."
Her lips quirked in another grin. "You're actually sounding a little mature there, Jack. Did I miss the memo on Hell freezing over?" Sliding back in her seat, she stood up and held her hand out to him, the question there in her dark gaze. But she decided it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and ask. "Dance with me?"
"If you missed it, then so did I," he said with a slight grin. He stood up and took her hand. "I think I'd love to."
Somehow, she always seemed to fit perfectly within his arms. Maybe it was just her imagination - or wishful thinking. Now that he knew the truth, it was so much harder for her to stay away, to keep her distance. She didn't want to. Was she obsessing over him? Some might have said so, might have said that it was easy for her kind to fixate on a favorite pet - or in acquiring such - because life itself was so fleeting and temporary in comparison to their existence. She knew that wasn't what this was about. That didn't make it any safer for either one of them, however.
Jack probably even knew more than most why it was a bad idea to get attached to someone that was a vampire. He kept telling himself that, despite what she looked like, she wasn't the same girl that he had lost all those years ago. Yet, as he held her in his arms as they danced, he kept forgetting that. Dangerous stuff. He didn't give a damn how dangerous it was, though. He knew, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.
Not for the first time, Louise wished she really could do something like read minds. Looking up at Jack, she wanted to know what it was he thought of all of this - or if he'd been able to make any kind of sense of it at all. She couldn't say she had, but she couldn't fight the way it felt to be close to him, either. His skin was warm, almost hot, to the touch as her fingertips idly caressed his neck as she draped her arms over his shoulders. She could feel his pulse, strong and steady, but for once it wasn't blood she was thinking about.
Louise looked relatively happy right now. About as happy as he ever saw her these days, anyway. He felt her fingertips brushing his neck. He rubbed his thumb in a circular motion at the small of her back where his hands where. "So, what do you like to do now?" he asked her. He hated to admit it but he hadn't been the one watching the other all these years. He didn't really know much about her anymore.
Inhaling a soft breath at his touch, she didn't let it out for quite a while as she contemplated his question. What did she LIKE to do? Good question. Her existence wasn't one that she'd have called...enjoyable. It was more practical than anything. She'd been a smart girl, once upon a time. Her parents had had high hopes that she would graduate at the top of her class and continue on to an Ivy League school. Her father had been a lawyer, her mother a doctor. They'd expected only the best of her. And then she'd fallen in love with the wrong kind of guy, let him knock her up, and they were done with her. She'd never told him, but those years living with him and his parents, before and after she'd had Meredith, had been the happiest, the most liberating, years of her life. Without them, she'd had little reason not to revert back to her former self. Well, not that she'd become a doctor or a lawyer, but she'd eventually been able to put her considerable talents to good use. That was the thing, though. When she hadn't been watching Jack and Meredith from afar, she'd been working. She had nice things because of it, but she didn't take any particular enjoyment from them. The most "fun" she could say she ever indulged was a really good chase every now and then...but that would probably have been the demon in her speaking. Finally, she exhaled. "I like seeing you. Being able to talk to you. I...missed it."
"I missed being able to see and talk to you as well." He had been a fairly bad human being without her. Of course, he had thought that she had merely left. Either went back to her parents or just left altogether. He didn't even call her parents. They would have hung up on him one way or another, if she was there or not. No point in trying that. They had hated him with a passion. Of course, they missed out on a lovely granddaughter and her growing up, but their loss, not hers. Still, Louise had been what made him feel complete all those years ago.
"So, with the album release, will you be going on tour any time soon?" she asked...out of curiosity, interest, and maybe just...because she wanted to know something about him that she didn't have to spy on him to find out.
"Yeah, pretty soon, actually," Jack said, beaming at the thought. "One of just California first, then we'll spread out where we can." The record company was pushing for a full country tour soon.
"In other words," she laughed slightly, "I'm sticking around just when you're getting out. Ironic."
"Yeah, but I'll be back," he pointed out. "And you could always see a show while we're still in Cali." Of course, once they were further out, at least when he knew more about it, who knew if she'd get to see shows."
"I probably will. I wouldn't mind getting to actually see you play. You know. In person." As opposed to merely from a distance. "And good luck tomorrow night, as well."
"You could always hang backstage if you don't want to be around huge crowds," he offered. "I'd love to have you there." He smiled. "And thanks."
"Would you?" Why it surprised her to hear him say it, Louise wasn't sure, but sometimes it felt like they were walking on eggshells around each other. She wasn't sure either one of them knew what they were really doing, or where this might lead, and caution wasn't unheard of. "Then...just let me know when and...I'll be there."
"Yeah, I would," he reassured her. "As soon as I actually know some dates and times, you'll be the first to hear about it."
Smiling again, she acted...somewhat impulsively for once. Leaning up closer to him, her lips met his without hesitation. Whatever her mood tonight, and whatever the reason for it, she wasn't feeling very tentative, it seemed. Her fingers slipped into his hair and she pressed closer to him on the dance floor, mindless of the others around them.
He had immediately forgotten about everyone else on the dance floor as soon as she reached up and kissed him. Seemed like she was feeling very bold tonight. He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, and time seemed to stop as he held her in his arms.
If only time COULD stop, rewind, allow them to do things over, right their wrongs. There was no use wishing for such things, but here in the present, anything was possible. Almost anything, at least. desire fueled her kiss and, underneath that, slow and subtle, was something much deeper.
The club was forgotten, along with time itself. He kept kissing her, having to stop himself from pulling her off the dance floor and doing things other than just kissing her. He didn't even know if that would be something that she would want. It was obviously a bad idea if he wanted to keep himself even somewhat safe. Safe made life boring and unfulfilled.
It seemed to be a small eternity before Louise finally pulled away, and only then because she remembered one of them still needed to breathe. Thoughtless as it may have been, her lips grazed his jaw before she trailed a path of soft kisses down his neck, to the base of his throat. Some people might have been a little sensitive about that, given what she was, but on the bright side, she had yet to try to bite him.
Jack had actually forgotten the need to breathe until she pulled away. He tried to not do anything too undignified like gasping for breath. Well, it seemed undignified around a vampire, anyway. When her lips trailed down his neck, he actually felt no need to tense up or panic. If she wanted to try and bite him, well, he had already given her plenty of opportunity, plus any time that she could have jumped him in the last sixteen years or so. He wasn't worried right now.
She seemed to have an unnatural preoccupation with his neck - as if that was a surprise. Still, she was keeping her fangs retracted. The thud of his pulse against her tongue was driving her a little wild, however, which wasn't the norm for her these days. It surprised her a bit...but not enough to stop.
He moaned softly as her lips trailed down his neck. If she kept this up, he was going to go insane. "We might want to move this to another location," he murmured to her, keeping his voice low.
She was slow to pull back, not really wanted to break the connection between them, but when she did, there was a somewhat familiar gleam in her dark eyes. Well, it had been a while. Maybe it wasn't that familiar anymore? Still, there wasn't really mistaking the way she moved closer to him, her hips swaying slowly to the beat of the music as she brushed against him over and over again. "Yeah?" Her teeth caught the curve of her lower lip as she looked up at him. "What do you have in mind?"
He hadn't felt this crazy for anyone in, well, since probably her when they were kids. He had certainly never felt anything akin to the feelings he had with any other woman. He wasn't too sure what his feelings were, if only because his knowledge of them had atrophied over the years, but they were definitely more than he had felt in a very long time. "Getting the hell out of the public eye, for one thing."
Louise couldn't blame him if he still wasn't ready to invite her in. It was...not undoable, but it would require a certain level of trust. "We can go to my apartment, if you're...feeling up to it."
"Mine's closer," he said to her. If this was going to lead to what he assumed it was going to lead to, then it was going to require a bit of trust from him anyway. Why pretend that he didn't trust her by not inviting her in. Besides, his place WAS closer.
She looked up at him questioningly, but she didn't say anything at first. Was she going to argue? No. Not at all. With a little nod, she held his gaze. "Then...what are we waiting for?" She'd spent so much time away from him...they'd spent so much time apart...that, really, if they both wanted this, what WERE they waiting for?