Well I know, but I still believe in ignorance Who: Elaine and Layla Where: L'Attique --> Elaine's home When: Closing time
If Elaine stared any harder at her cellphone then she was pretty sure she would magically turn into a fire elemental and it would burst into flames. If that happened then she would just have to go to the store and get a new one - which meant a new cellphone and a new number that she would have to text to everyone. Except for Derrick. Derrick was never going to have her number again unless one of her parents gave it to him and she would so not put it past her mother at this point. All that she seemed to care about these days was whether or not her children were in a relationship that was going somewhere, and currently she was zoned in on Elaine because she was the only single one. An absolute sin because she had gotten a marriage proposal from a successful young man with promise. Who smells like blood and is possibly turning criminally insane or was always that way and I just looked the other way because he was right there at the totally right - wrong? - time. Elaine made a noise of disgust and shoved her phone off the counter.
"I did that on purpose," she informed anyone who might be listening or watching, be it Layla or Moonshine, and she waited a few minutes before she leaned down and picked it back up. As she had claimed, she had not texted Derrick back and she was not going to. She should just delete his number, but then how would she know if he called so she could avoid him? She had an awful habit of always answering if it was the right area code and like hell she remembered what his number was. So he stayed in and so did the deeply disturbing texts that made her skin crawl. 'Sleep well'. Sleep well. Elaine had already suspected that her inability to sleep right with those insanely out of character dreams was caused by Derrick since she knew he had those weird abilities relating to the dream world. Having him say 'sleep well' instead of 'good-bye' or some other creepy plea just confirmed it. And made her never, ever want to close her eyes again. Ever. She would rather go sit inside a room with no windows and not fly for a month than close her eyes anytime in the next few days. She had seen the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and knew that sleep was necessary eventually, but she could go a few days without it and maybe then Derrick would lose interest and focus on something other than her. A new girl or hobby or whatever it was that he did with blood. Elaine did not know what it was, but that smell...
Elaine flicked through the last few texts again and chewed on her lip. It was going on closing time, which meant leaving. Derrick knew where she worked and she would not put it past him to be creepy enough to be waiting somewhere to say in person what he had in the texts. That he was ready to take her back after her refusal to marry him. Elaine was a were and she knew that she was physically stronger than Derrick and able to take him, but why did he smell like blood? The obvious answer was that blood witchcraft that she had heard about, but what could he do with it? Elaine hardly understood elementals, much less witches, and could not fathom what they could do with their powers. I feel about ten again. She was twisting her bracelet like she had always done when she was a kid, for one, and for two that was how old she had been the last time she had genuinely been afraid of something. She had fallen out of a tree, broken her arm and Natalisa had not been there. Now... this was not a broken arm, it was just freaking out over a recent ex-boyfriend who was exhibiting stalker tendencies. Leaning out over the counter, she glanced over towards her boss. "Hey Layla. Got any plans for right after work? Because I think I need a ride home from someone who gets magic." She tossed her phone back and forth a few times before shrugging and extending it out, the screen on the thread of texts from Derrick. "I mean... I could fly? But..." What if he was there anyhow?