Don't Mean a Thing To Me Who: K-lee and Noah Where: K-lee's hotel room When: Later evening
K-lee was tired and frustrated after her appointment to model for Whisper. She should have let the vampire bite her. Damnit why did she have to be afraid of pain? Everything would've been easier if she could've just sucked it up... but no, she'd said no and run away with her tail tucked between her legs like the coward that she was. Malo hadn't said a word to her the whole drive back to the Inn and when they got there he bolted, not even bothering to come inside with her. That was great, now her familiar was pissed at her for the first time ever. Excellent day.
Reaching her door, K-lee slid the card and walked in, hoping for some peace and quiet. Those hopes were shattered when she realized that her cousin was actually there. Goddamnit why did I invite him to stay again? Oh, right, dad threatened me. While K-lee wasn't actually afraid of her father, sure that her mother could take care of him, she did try to respect him in certain things. Like this. Even if she was seriously starting to get annoyed with Noah. Not because of anything he was doing so much as just the fact that, well, she was herself and she didn't always play nicely with others. Very rarely did in fact. "I see you're still here," K-lee remarked as she stepped out of her heels, leaning against the doorway that separated the living room area of her suite.
It wasn't his decision to stay with K-Lee, he'd been more or less forced to come to this small, incredibly boring place and stay with her. Noah wasn't happy, but he'd gotten a job and was steadily saving up money to get his own apartment. Even if it was a room with 6 other dudes, he was determined to be gone as soon as possible. In a rare day off he'd spent his morning at the gym, the afternoon exploring Scarlet Oak and the adjoining Ann Arbor while simultaneously trying to find a place to live. It seemed impossible to find a place and it only made him more angry at the fact that he was even here.
Laying stretched out on the couch he barely looked up as K-lee walked in. Noah liked to keep his contact with her to a minimum, she was abrasive more often than not and just because they were related didn't mean he had to like her, but they were staying in close quarters. Getting mad at each other seemed like a bad idea. "Why wouldn't I be? You're always such a joy to be around." he said sarcastically, his voice slow and lazy. Noah didn't have the energy to care enough that she hated having him here, not right now. He'd spent a good 4 hours in the gym today and the rest walking around this Podunk town.
"You're just jealous because I had the pretty girl here the other night," K-lee threw at him as she walked past and into the bathroom, leaving the door open because she didn't feel like closing it. All she was doing was applying lotion after all. Summer wasn't as bad as winter but still, her skin had to be perfect. "Come on, cousin, if you'd just admit that I'm better at getting them than you then I'd take pity and help you out." She smirked at her reflection, hoping that he could see it. Getting a rise out of anyone was delightful but managing to do it to someone she was related to was even better, especially since he was older than her and prided himself on being such a ladies' man. Had to kill the pride just a little bit. Though really... what else could be expected of her? Everyone in the family knew that she was the worst of them and it still amazed her that Noah had shown up to stay with her. An angry badger's den might have been a better choice. K-lee knew she wouldn't have been able to stand living with someone like her.
He laughed, because it sounded ridiculous even to him. "Yeah, Kay, I'm real jealous." Noah had enough tact to not bring a girl back to his cousins, but if she thought it was because he couldn't? Fuck that. He'd prove her wrong, he'd bring in a girl every night if it meant wiping the grin off her face. "Really? If you'd like I can go out and get one right now. Your kind aren't exactly hard to persuade," He shifted and sighed, for Noah, it was more or less like shooting fish in a barrel. Easier, even, to attract a woman. All he had to do was walk into a place, look around, make some eye contact and he could almost guarantee he'd walk out with a pretty girl. With a few choices words he could seal the deal in under an hour. There was no choice for him, it was either stay with K-Lee or on the street and there was no fucking way he'd do that. Noah's father had given him the ultimatum, stay in Scarlet Oak with K-Lee or get cut off and kicked out of his dad's place. His painting had suffered since he stopped using and he wasn't bringing in any money. So it was off to Scarlet Oak, to live with his bitch of a cousin.
K-lee rolled her eyes, annoyed by the laugh. She snapped the lid off her lotion bottle, applying enough to cover her arms and began to rub it in. Please, in a competition not only would she have a girl quicker, hers would be prettier. Or didn't she have three currently dangling on her line, two possibly loving her while the third was... well, she wasn't sure what she could classify Brenna as other than "a hell of a lot of fun". She hated that he called her Kay too, a reference back to when she had just gone by Kayla. Ugh, her family really needed to get with the times. Hadn't they picked up a fashion magazine lately? "Because I can't do the same thing." K-lee hopped up onto the counter as she started applying to her legs, looking at Noah. "In case you haven't noticed, Noah, I'm the model. I could anyone anytime and anywhere that I wanted. Woman or man." She snapped her fingers. It was really as easy as that. "Don't think you can really make the same claim seeing as how it'd what's the phrase... ruin your masculinity." If he still had any of that left after being forced by his father to move to Scarlet Oak and live with her. That still tickled K-lee more than she was going to admit. At the current moment.
It was kind of cute of K-Lee to think that she could get a girl that was prettier, just because she herself happened to be 'pretty'. The problem with that though was that not every girl, despite what K-Lee might think, had lesbian tendencies and there were far more girls who would go pick him over her. Prettier ones too. Noah had been more or less picking girls up for 25 years, he knew how to get the prettiest ones and how quickest to do it. He knew it bothered her, he could actually remember when she'd proclaimed to everyone to refer to her as K-Lee instead of Kayla. Of course he'd never done it, instead kept calling her Kay or Kayla, just out of spite. There were a few girls he'd met while working at the Mudhouse, all of them gorgeous and all of them willing to let him into their bedrooms. He rolled his eyes at her, it was endearing how she was trying to emasculate him and failing at it. Noah had no problems with his masculinity, he'd wear pink and admit when another man was good looking. "The model who hasn't worked since, when again? I can't remember..." he said with an overly thoughtful look. "Please, Kayla, if I wanted a man, I'm sure I could get one too. You really think I'm that uncomfortable in my own sexuality? I like women, I know that. I don't need to prove it by being homophobic."
Wait, wait, wait wait. The topic of women and men went right out the window and wasn't coming back because Noah had just went there and there was over the line. The lotion was back in the basket and she was in the doorway, glaring at Noah because he'd just insulted her livelihood, brought up the taboo topic of her modeling career not being as good as before. "That's because of this goddamned Light of May and you know it," she hissed. Even his calling her Kayla could be overlooked if he just hadn't brought that up. K-lee's career had been hitting it's peak and everything had been perfect until that disaster. Being called out on cursing other models and practically banned from everything... her fingers clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms until it hurt and she let them go. "Fuck you, Noah, I'm working for N & C now, just came back from an exclusive shoot with Whisper Charlton herself. If you know who that is." One of the biggest lines in the world, leaps and bounds above Victoria's Secret. It still stung that she'd needed to call in a favor just to work though, that she'd been all but chased right out of California. "At least I make enough money on my own to live where I want without having to ask my daddy to pay for me. I'm not the one living with my younger cousin either."
Noah knew that it was bad idea to bring up the modelling thing, but he couldn't help it, he loved getting under her skin and it wasn't exactly hard to do. "No one forced you to use magic on them, fuck, a little discretion would have been nice," he threw back casually. Very little ever got Noah worked up, he was a relatively calm guy and was able to keep his temper in check. Especially when he was dealing with his younger and often childish cousin who had the ability to throw one hell of a tantrum. That was a little surprising, that a company as well known as N&C would hire K-Lee, considering how her name had been so thoroughly dragged through the mud a month earlier. Noah sighed and pulled himself up so he was leaning against the arm rest of the couch, his legs still stretched out in front of him. "Not all of us can be as successful as you are, Kay." Noah said in an annoyingly calm and slightly condescending voice. The fact that he lived off his dad and was living with his cousin didn't bother, Noah. He'd had a rough time, drugs do that do you. It was over though and he was ready to push on with life.
"I'm a witch, why wouldn't I use magic to get what I want and deserve?" That was just ridiculous and she had been discreet... they'd just known that she was the one who did it. They'd also been frightened to say anything until the Light of May and new laws. Her absolute need to be the best had gotten in the way too. At the very least no one had been able to prove that she'd killed those girls and no one would be saying anything bad about her anymore after all those people came down sick for refusing to hire her. Noah, however, was infuriating her right then. Using those irritating names that her family always did and just lazing there, not even bothered by anything she said. He was supposed to get annoyed. Where was the fun if he stayed all calm like that? "I hate you, I just think that you need to know that and the only reason that I haven't done something really awful to you like I want to is because my dad'd get mad and then my mom would get upset with me and you? Are so not worth making my mom mad." People thought that K-lee was a bitch, well, they hadn't met the woman who taught her everything she knew. Noah had though. "Maybe if you hadn't gone and fried your brains on the drugs you'd be better off. Guess we'll never know that though, will we?"
Of course she was that nearsighted to think that just because she was in possession of the power, meant she could use it freely. Noah learned early on that using your powers too much or too often was a really bad fucking idea. He decided to leave her question unanswered, because he had the perfect retort, but it wouldn't be conducive to his, you know, staying alive or uninjured. It didn't bother him, the words she threw at him that were supposed to hurt or anger, Noah had done worse to himself and didn't let anyone get to him anymore. Clutching his chest, he made a pained face. "Ooh, ouch! You don't love me?" he said, still looking hurt. "I think I'll live." All pretence was dropped and he returned his gaze to the tv, his voice a lazy drawl. Her threats, he knew, were real but he also knew she wouldn't act on them, not in a million years and all he did was smile at her smugly. Sure, K-Lee was a bitch but her mother was something else entirely. Bitch didn't even really cover it but she also knew the meaning of discretion when it came to human life and magic. "Hey, that almost hurt now." he said, pointing a finger at her. The tone of his voice still no where near angry or hurt.
K-lee could have learned to control her urges early on... but that demonic blood, it encouraged her to use them whenever she wanted to get what she wanted and after so long it wasn't hard to see that the girl was indeed addicted to her magic. Just stopping or keeping it under wraps was probably impossible even if she did want to. And K-lee? Didn't even want to try going down that road. Too much fun was had the way she played. "Oh you'll live?" she drawled, reaching for a hairbrush to pull through her hair. "Damn, and I was hoping that if you died of heartbreak at least then I wouldn't have to worry about you anymore." Or get blamed for it and face the wrath of her parents. A grown woman she may have been but so far as she knew no one was grown up enough to face her mother and not get scarred for it.
Damn, she only got 'almost hurt'. It wasn't that easy to remember that Noah didn't respond to verbal jibes the way most people she knew did. Too bad because she had some good ones. "Guess I'll have to try harder to make sure the next one does hurt. You know, there are a few artists in town. Maybe you should go visit one and see if they can stir up your creative juices. I hear there's even a blind dude, saw one of his paintings and I've got to say that it's better than anything I've ever seen you do." She shrugged, a smile on her face as she finished with her hair and moved on to brushing her teeth.
Although he was good about being discreet, Noah was just as addicted to his own powers and it wasn't surprising really. He had an addictive personality and could get hooked on something with ease, that much should have been obvious. Raising an eyebrow he slowly shifted his gaze to her and smiled. "I'm impressed, that was actually a passable insult. I didn't realize you worried about me though, how sweet." Another smug smile as he returned his gaze to the television. Noah was having a lot more fun than he thought he would, bothering K-Lee, perhaps it was because he'd spent the day looking for a place to live. Away from her. That was enough to cheer anyone up, he thought anyway.
With a sigh he rolled his eyes, she wanted him to get mad and it was getting old, fast. "Wow, really? Hm, maybe you could find someone to help you with your insults," Noah looked concerned, trying to get to her as much as he could. "You're seriously lacking, little cousin." As much as she could play this game, Noah could always be better. He had a good 6 years on her and was far better at insulting people as a result. All she really had were death threats and spells, which were formidable but she needed a few more years to get under Noah's skin at least. "Unlike you, Kayla, what I do takes skill and I'm sure this blind artist is good but I know I have talent." Another curling, sweet smile in her direction.
An insinuation that modeling didn't take skill. Right, like that one didn't get tossed K-lee's way every other day. Her brother had overused that one by the time she was six months in. Because she didn't have to work to keep her body looking like this or perfecting her expressions to keep the designers and photographers pleased... right, bullshit. He sat around and did what he wanted, painted whatever piece of junk came to mind. Because to K-lee art wasn't all that impressive and half the time it didn't make sense. Ooooh good for that person who had painted a bunch of different colored lines all over the place. Who cared? "Sorry Noah, guess I just haven't had as much time to loaf around and leech of others to build up my witty comebacks," K-lee drawled as she finished in the bathroom and flicked the light off. "Keep working on those though, sure they'll get you a job and place to live anytime now. Have a good night." She flipped him off on her way into her own room, closing the door firmly and latching the bolt.