Characters of a Minor Sort (jesschars) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-12-04 20:18:00 |
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Current mood: | jubilant |
Silly Girl, Vampires Aren't for Kids!
Who: Jamie and Luke
Where: On their way home from another date
When: Backdated to Friday, Nov. 27th
Jamie was so happy right now that, if she wasn't in front of a boy and knew how embarrassing it would be, she would be humming a cheerful tune right now. Of course, that would be hideously embarrassing. Instead, she just walked with him while wearing a smile on her face. Was it sad that, until Luke came along, that she had never really been on a true date? Yeah, kind of. She hoped that, with Luke, she'd be making up for lost time. Unlucky for her, though, was that her watcher, Willow, didn't know that Slayers had to be taught to hone in an their Slayer abilities. The poor girl had no idea what sort of shock that she was in for tonight. What she was thinking about was her happiness, and the slight nagging feeling that, if this really was going to go anywhere, she was going to have to tell him shortly enough that yes, she knew that the supernatural existed and, yes, she was a Slayer.
Luke was blissfully immune to things like teen angst and those sickly sweet puppy love emotions. He really had no idea how Damon did this all the time. It was ridiculous. He had to keep reminding himself of the prize. Luckily, having her next to him was a tantalizing reminder. Having to sit through a romantic comedy, however? It was a wonder he hadn't excused himself to go kill something. Being out in the night air was just what he needed. Were they really holding hands? It was almost enough to be an embarrassment. If anyone he knew saw him.... Well, no, he'd take care of that quickly if it happened. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the blonde, Luke weighed his options. Was it too soon to take her into his confidence? Would she jump to conclusions, or did he have her right where he wanted her? "How's the writing?" Luke asked as he slipped his arm around and rested his hand on her hip. "Had any good ideas lately?"
"It's going pretty good, actually." She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him what she was writing about, though. She was writing about a girl who suddenly had a handsome and intriguing stranger roll into her life. Using real life as an inspiration for writing? No, not Jamie as all! She just wasn't sure what it was going to turn into, though. Maybe he would be a werewolf. It wasn't like she was told that werewolves were totally bad, right? Not as far as she knew. "I think I'm coming up with a few good ideas lately."
Luke was blissfully immune to things like teen angst and those sickly sweet puppy love emotions. He really had no idea how Damon did this all the time. It was ridiculous. He had to keep reminding himself of the prize. Luckily, having her next to him was a tantalizing reminder. Having to sit through a romantic comedy, however? It was a wonder he hadn't excused himself to go kill something. Being out in the night air was just what he needed. Were they really holding hands? It was almost enough to be an embarrassment. If anyone he knew saw him.... Well, no, he'd take care of that quickly if it happened. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes at the blonde, Luke weighed his options. Was it too soon to take her into his confidence? Would she jump to conclusions, or did he have her right where he wanted her? "How's the writing?" Luke asked as he slipped his arm around and rested his hand on her hip. "Had any good ideas lately?"
"It's going pretty good, actually." She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him what she was writing about, though. She was writing about a girl who suddenly had a handsome and intriguing stranger roll into her life. Using real life as an inspiration for writing? No, not Jamie as all! She just wasn't sure what it was going to turn into, though. Maybe he would be a werewolf. It wasn't like she was told that werewolves were totally bad, right? Not as far as she knew. "I think I'm coming up with a few good ideas lately."
"Any you want to share?" Luke asked, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I'm a pretty good sounding board. Or so I've been told." as they reached the corner of the block, he looked both ways down the street - thoroughly unnecessary, but it went with the facade - and then guided her across the street toward the darkened park. It was closed, but since when had that ever stopped anyone from doing anything? "Been thinking more about the things that go bump in the night?"
"Actually, I have," she admitted to him. "When a dark stranger starts asking you questions, it's hard not to." He wasn't really a stranger, anymore, but there was still so much that she didn't know about him right now. Then again, they were just getting to know one another, so they sort of were still strangers, weren't they?
"So now I'm a dark stranger?" That managed to pull a laugh from him. "Not sure whether to be honored that I've inspired you or offended that you make me sound so...threatening." He paused for a second before adding in a tone that was nothing but sincere, "I'm not, you know. Threatening, that is."
"You should be honored. All dark strangers are considered handsome, you know," she teased him playfully. "And I'm not afraid of anything when I'm around you." Not that she feared much, anyway. Maybe she relied of the fact that she had a Slayer's strength too much, but it did give her a comfort not afforded to most.
"Good." That seemed to please him and he let his hand fall away from her hip, only to take her hand as he led them toward the swings. It was the middle of the night and there were no lights other than the silvery glow of the moon that filtered through the trees, which begged the question how he could see where they were going so well. And that was why he didn't rush them along, but walked slowly, as if he were trying to find his way. "I get it, you know. You think I'm hot." He was grinning again. "So what character are you going to base off of me? I hope I at least make the cut for leading man material."
"Well, I certainly wouldn't have you die in the opening scene," she joked. "That just wouldn't be fair, now, would it?" Then again, when was anything in a novel fair to a main character. "I certainly think that you can handle being a leading man in a novel, or even a series of novels, if it works out properly."
Oh, she was just making it too damn easy, wasn't she? "What about outside your books?" Luke asked, his voice lowering, his footsteps slowing. There was a pregnant pause before he turned to her. "Do you still think I could hack it as a leading man in the real world?" Softly, he reached up and brushed her hair back from her face, his fingertips lingering on her skin as he traced the curve of her jaw.
She might be embarrassed if she knew just how easy she was making this for him. If only he realized just how inexperienced she really was in all of this. "I think you could," she said to him, blushing a tad as he ran his fingertips across her face. She noticed the coldness of his hand, but brushed it aside as a byproduct of the nights getting colder as well. Really, she kept explaining a lot away.
Yes, she did indeed keep doing that. He'd expected her to start asking questions much sooner than now. Of course, the more she trusted him, the more he felt this could go exactly as he hoped. He merely had to time it right and something told him she was close. "You're not like other girls, Jamie." Taking a step back, he slipped his hands into his pockets and inhaled deeply...as if there was nothing better than the crisp, fresh air. In actuality, she was just goddamn mouthwatering right now. He wanted to savor it. "I like that about you."
"Really?" Jamie asked him. She didn't see what was so special about her. In LA, for example, she was pretty, but there were girls out there that were so much more attractive than her. Also, the girl was just by nature shy. The fact that she was out with a guy? Pretty amazing on it's own. "What's so great about me?"
"Fishing for a compliment?" he teased. A few seconds of quiet passed between them before he continued. "You're not superficial. There are actual thoughts going on in that head of yours and...they may be a little fantastic...but that's what makes you unique. How many other girls really go around dreaming up stories about the supernatural?"
"Probably more than you'd realize," she said to him. If only he knew the amount of girls who ran around fighting evil or whatever. He might actually be impressed. It didn't even occur to her to think about fishing for a compliment, though. Just not how she operated. "You seem pretty interested in the supernatural. Is there something that you're not telling me?" It was asked in a playful manner, but she actually was a little curious.
Luke laughed, though it was a light, completely non-serious sound. "What? Like I'm actually a vampire? Maybe a werewolf? Or some tortured - yet mad - scientist who likes to dabble in reanimating corpses?" He made it all sound so ridiculous. "What if I said yeah?" he asked. "Would you believe me?"
"OK, maybe not the mad scientist, just because I'm not sure if reanimating dead body parts actually works, but who knows?" Jamie asked with a shrug of her shoulders. "I've heard of weirder, you know."
Have you?" He nodded toward the empty swings and took a few steps toward them. "Like what? And what do you mean you're not SURE if reanimating dead body parts actually works? Does that mean you ARE sure about the existence of vampires and werewolves?"
"Didn't say anything about the rest of it," Jamie pointed out. "Not sure if electricity would actually work, and, besides, the original Frankenstein novel never went into just what he did." Girl was a book nerd. Deal with it. "How about girls picked by destiny to fight the 'evil oncoming darkness' all alone?" She actually used finger quotations, too. Really, if you heard it from the outside, it sounded silly.
"I'd say...it sounds like someone's been reading a lot of girl power comic books." Sitting down on one of the swings, he kept his hands in his pockets, his shoes scuffing the dirt before he looked back up at her. "And what exactly is the 'evil oncoming darkness'?" Of course he'd had to use her phrase.
"You know? No one's even explained that to me very well," Jamie admitted to him. Letting on a little more than she had intended right away, but whatever. "I know, it sounds like something from a bad movie. One girl in all the world to save humanity. Except it's not one girl, it's like, dozens. More than they can find. And humanity sometimes even isn't that worth saving. Hell, some of the girls aren't worth saving sometimes."
Luke was quiet as he looked up at her from his seat, his blue eyes searching her face as if to judge the veracity of what she was saying. He was slow to speak. "Alright. Is that something you've come up with for your books...or is there something you're trying to tell me?" He didn't give her the chance to respond before he looked away and cleared his throat. "Did you ever think that maybe...the things that go bump in the night...are nothing at all how you imagined them?"
"If it was something I made up for a book, I'd ask to be smacked for thinking up something so silly," Jamie said to him. "No, apparently, and technically, I'm supposed to keep this a secret, but it seems that everyone knows, anyway, I'm supposed to be what's called a Vampire Slayer. I'm still sort of putting together just what that is, though." She looked at him for a moment. "And, well, I've already been told once that not everything was as I perceived. Would it really be that shocking to happen again? No, not really. Why?"
"A vampire Slayer?" he echoed, his gaze returning to her, skepticism written across his face. Or was it something more like...guilt? Guilt wasn't something he felt...faking it was harder than he'd expected. Well, faking it sincerely. He stood up and took a few steps away from her. "So everything you talk about...it's all something you believe in?"
"Well, one jumped me and tried to attack me before I even realized what I was, so yeah, I believe in it," Jamie said to him. "It's honestly pure luck that I survived more than anything else." She looked at him for a moment. "What about you? What do you think of all this?"
"You were attacked...by a vampire?" As if the thought were...unbelievable. Who would ever dare try to harm someone as pure and innocent...? Oh, right. he had to bite back a grin. "That's...." Pausing, he sighed and raked a hand through his hair. There was something dark about his expression, as if he were waging some kind of internal battle with himself. "I think...I like you. More than I probably should."
"Yeah, I was attacked. I think someone sniffed out what I was before the 'people in charge' figured it out," she said with a slight laugh. She turned around and looked back at him. "Why do you say that?" A few things were finally adding up in her head: cold hands, only seeing him at night, seemingly found her out of nowhere...crap.
"Because in the long run...we're probably not the kind of people...who should be around each other." He was going to have to start wearing a WWDD bracelet. What Would Damon Do? "You asked me what I believe in. Truth is, I don't know anymore. I'm not like most guys." Well, at least that part was true.
"Maybe, maybe not," Jamie said quickly. "You're really not like anyone I've ever met." That much was certainly true. If she knew what was going through his mind right now, she might be more upset. Of course, she was getting more upset by the second as it was.
"Jamie...." He reached toward her...but then dropped his hand. "You want me to say it." It wasn't a question, but there was a hint of sad resignation in his tone. "Okay. I'm a vampire. I guess I'm...something you hunt. I've heard about vampire Slayers. So what do we do now?" He tried to smile as he faced her, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He really didn't look like much more than a frat boy. But the truth was out there for both of them now. Or...well...as much of the truth as he was willing to reveal.
She sighed. Damn, you meet a guy that you think is OK, and he turns out to be a vampire, the one thing that you're supposed to fight. Well, that just sucks. "Well, it's not like you've attacked me or anything yet," she said. "I was told that vampires were soulless creatures who use the first opportunity to try and kill you and suck your blood. Is that true?"
"You just said it. I haven't tried to kill you OR suck your blood." He shrugged a little sheepishly, trying to keep things as light as possible. Or so it seemed. "I don't know what I believe about souls. I meant what I said that night we met. People...the human race...you're capable of committing atrocious crimes against one another. The fact that you possess a soul whereas I might not...sometimes, I fail to see the difference."
"I'm not even sure if half of what those people told me is correct or just what they want me to think," Jamie said to him with a slight huff. "I don't know what it means to have a soul, if anyone really haves one. People aren't really any better than anything else. That much I agree with."
"All right." He nodded once and drew himself up to his full 6'1" height. "Then answer a question for me." His blue eyes traced the features of her face. "How do you feel when we're together? Do you honestly think I'd hurt you?"
She looked up at him. She was actually kind of tiny, as far as height went. She was only 5'3". "No, I don't think you'd hurt me." How fallible human judgment could truly be. Poor Jamie was making a bad decision now. "I trust you."
He still didn't make a move for her immediately. He'd let her take the first step, if there was one to be taken. "Good. I trust you, too. I'd really prefer it if you didn't try to stake me."
She took a step closer to him. "I don't want to stake you, Luke," she said to him. "I want to be around you." She felt comfortable around him, much more so than anyone who was trying to teach her right now, no offense to Willow. She was new at this as well.
"Yeah?" He noticed the way she took a step closer and smiled inwardly. Outwardly, however, his expression was nothing if not sincere. Slowly, as to not scare her off, he lifted a hand to her face. His touch was cool, that was true, but he traced the curve of her cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear again. "I'm glad. I like being around you."
She looked up at him and smiled. God, she couldn't help but feel relieved. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to be near him. She felt calmer around him than she did around anyone else now. "I like being around you, too," she said to him.
His fingertips lingered just beneath her jaw and in his mind's eye, he could imagine snapping her delicate little neck like a twig. But what would be the fun in that? Closing the distance between them, Luke looked down at her, let his eyes linger on her mouth a little longer than was probably necessary. Tilting her head back gently, he pressed his lips lightly to hers. As far as kisses went, it was almost chaste - far more sweet than anyone would have given him credit for.
And yet, as chaste as it could have been considered, it was her first, so, to Jamie, it was as if fireworks were going off inside of her, making her burst with a flood of emotions that she could barely contain, much less control. She pressed her lips back against his, hearing her own heartbeat thunder in her own head while doing so. She sort of wondered what it must sound like to him, being able to hear all of that going on inside of her.
His fingers moved slowly along her skin, tracing the curve of her neck down to her pulse point. The feel of it throbbing against his fingertips, the sound of it echoing in his ears, was almost too much to resist. But he did. Breaking the kiss, he bowed his forehead against hers and inhaled a steadying breath. "You could be trouble for a guy like me," he grinned sheepishly as he opened his eyes to look at her again. "And on that note, I should probably walk you home."
"And you could be a lot of trouble for someone in my line of work, but you don't see me worried about that, do you?" Jamie asked. If only she realized just how often this happened, it might not feel so...epic and like something written in a romance novel. "Sure, walk me home then." She looked at him and grinned.
As he regarded her, his grin took on that devilish curve and he draped an arm across her shoulders as he steered her back toward the sidewalk. "I'm only trouble if you believe everything you hear." His thumb brushed her shoulder and he squeezed her lightly.
"Well, you should only believe half of what you read and none of what you read," Jamie said. "Or something like that. I know the saying goes something like that. I can't remember." It's what was going to be her motto now, anyway.