Cara Clark (armani_maneater) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-06-24 11:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-05, 2009-06-06 |
Chase the Morning
Who: Spence, Jane, and Cara
Where: at Anywhere But Here
When: Early Evening
Two social calls in as many nights. Cara was becoming a regular social butterfly, she reflected with wry amusement. Of course, Spence was hardly a date. If anything, he was more like a colleague -- and with all colleagues, sometimes, the pair just had to go out for a drink. The upcoming movie, it seemed to Cara, was one such event: she wanted to talk to someone like Spence, someone who had known about vampires before the Light of May and who had a reasonably good head on his shoulders. She wanted to know if she was the only one who thought that the world -- and Hollywood, specifically -- was going to hell. Cara wore the same outfit she had worn most of the day, consisting of a black business suit. The cut was feminine. Beneath her skirt, her shapely legs were visible, further emphasized by a pair of black three-inch heels. The jacket was customized to mold against her form. A soft blue blouse with pearl buttons completed the look. For Spence, whom she had known long enough to know he would see the bruise anyway, she didn't bother to try and hide the black eye. Only now was it beginning to fade, although it stubbornly remained a visible stain against her ivory skin. "You'll like Spence," she explained to her bodyguard, also a new accessory since the last time she and Spence had had a drink.
Complaining wasn't an option with all the social calls Cara seemed to have going on. At least, Jane thought, she wasn't enclosed within four walls all damn day. At least she got to walk around, exercise her legs and observational skills. Today she had decided to do a spin on the boring business suit made of stretchy fabric, and was wearing a top with a little more color under the jacket. By more color, of course it means teal. Baby steps. Still, Jane didn't think she looked all that bad, she could be wearing an expensive tracksuit instead of a business suit, easily, and be looking like glorified white trash. Except she wasn't exactly white.
Jane had no idea who this Spence guy was, Cara hadn't bothered explaining thoroughly, but it wasn't any of Jane's business anyway. She just needed to be there in case someone decided to trigger a bar brawl. Or break a bottle over Cara's head. Now that would be unexpected. Looking at Cara with a curious smirk, Jane raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? He a vampire too, like your charming last date?"
"No," Cara said with a smirk that died on her lips. She blinked once, twice, and then... "...Wait, what date?" She spoke as though there may have been multiple dates which Jane could be referring to. There had been, of course, only one date -- Jonas -- but there was just no way... "You can't mean Jonas..." Because that date had gone too well -- and he had been such a gentleman -- and, oh, that didn't bode well, did it?
Spence walked into the bar, thankful that it was at a time where he didn't actually have to work there. He could have a drink without worrying that management would see, and he could relax without having to concern himself with irritating drunkards. He caught sight of her, with another woman, and walked over to sit down to her, eyebrow raised in curiosity. "You brought a friend," he said simply, his tone not revealing whether or not he was pleased with the situation.
Instead of responding either way, and because apparently she was feeling sassy tonight, Jane chose to give a throaty laugh in Cara's direction instead. And then, she shrugged, just in time to see some good looking dude walking in and towards them. Observant, too, apparently. Jane stopped laughing, swallowed once, scratched her shoulder blade distractedly and gave the man a neutral smile. Friend? Yeah, sure. If you liked to think so. Of course introductions were not her place, so she would let Cara take care of that - if the woman was able to speak after the sort-of shock she'd gotten into at the realization that she'd been almost crushing on a gentlemanly vampire.
Cara was beginning to wonder if she wasn't a vampire magnet. First Sebastian, then Colin, and now Jonas? At least he didn't seem completely insane or homocidal like Colin did. "How did--" she began to ask, wondering how Jane had noticed and she had not. Spence arrived, then, and Cara quickly decided to shelve her sudden incompatibility with Jonas. That was better left for when she was alone at home anyway, where she could pour out her frustration to her journal. "Spence," she greeted with a slight smile and a gesture for him to sit. "This is Jane, my bodyguard. A direct result of this." Here, she gestured to the purple bruise around her eye. "Jane, Spence." It was like a club.
Spence's eyebrow quirked as he shifted his gaze away from Cara to Jane. He let out a low whistle before grinning and leaning back in his chair. "Bodyguard... interesting. Nice to meet you, Jane." He looked away from her and back to Cara. He imagined most women would want big, bulking bodyguards with dicks. But to each their own. His gaze landed upon her bruised eye. "What kind of shit did you get into?"
Even before Cara being interrupted, Jane was getting ready to shrug and tell her they'd talk about it later. But that wasn't necessary. Jane nodded in Spence's direction, smirking, but didn't feel the need to speak. Was it really that interesting? She'd ask why, if she gave a damn. As usual, though, she did not. At this point Jane was just wondering whether or not she was allowed to have at least one beer, being on the job and all. Then again, apparently she was permanently on the job these days, and she could use a beer from time to time.
"I'm sure you've heard about the vampire vigilante..." Cara sipped her own drink with a slight, thoughtful frown. "Guess who played the role of the damsel in distress." It wasn't a far stretch, and, from her tone, Cara sounded nonetoopleased with the fact either. "Sebastian has decided I'll get myself killed without her. He seems to think that I've managed this long on my own is pure luck." She rolled her eyes. "What about you? Anything new?"
"Absolutely nothing," Spence said, lifting his hand to signal the bartender for his usual. "Things have been kind of quiet..." Personally and professionally, but he was reluctant to talk to Cara with that girl there. "I met this vampire... she was eight years old. Ava... do you know of her?"
It was so nice to be talked about like furniture. Her, she, the chick, the bodyguard, Thirdy McWheel...Did they honestly think this was where she'd like to be in the evening, listening to people she didn't know nor cared to? Sure, Cara was pissed that the boss didn't think she could survive in this harsh environment without some muscle - and being thought of as muscle kind of pleased Jane - but this wasn't her fault. Needing to work for a living was just a normal occurrence. She just never thought Cara went on so many goddamn dates; or maybe Jane just wasn't used to it. After all, she hadn't been on a date since she was about 18, and the last encounter of the sort she'd had started at a diner and ended at a grocery store, was not a date, and involved parking lot motorcycle rough sex. Which wasn't that bad at all. Simply not a date.
Tilting her head to the side, Jane wondered if this Spence guy was holding back because of her presence. Well, tough; they could talk online or on the phone later and inform each other of all their sordid affairs. She didn't give a damn. What she gave a damn about, however, was what Spence mentioned next: A child vampire. An eternal eight year old. "Now that's a drag..." She mumbled. She'd seen Interview with the Vampire.
A frown pulled heavily at Cara's lips. She glanced at Jane, then nodded her agreement. "What kind of a sicko would do that to a little girl?" she wondered. Lately, it seemed, she was seeing more and more of the dark side of vampirism... Of course, she'd always known it was there, but she had lived in a comfortable world of fairy tales and princes. To be face to face with it... "That's just...sad." And she wasn't sheltered enough to think it was a lovely dream: vampirism, for all its perks, had never been something Cara had been interested in.
"She flew." Spence smirked a bit before he took the drink that had been handed to him. "Believe me, if you ever meet her? Don't comment on how old she looks." He took a sip and turned back to Jane. "So you're a bodyguard. You get paid well for that?" He was still having a hard time believing this chick could actually defend Cara, but maybe she was Buffy in disguise.
Hell, for all Jane had heard of in her entire life turning a child into a vampire wasn't by far the worst thing an adult had ever done to a child. And that was just depressing. Then again being eight forever must not be exactly a walk in the park either. Jane nodded in agreement with Cara's statement, before she looked at Spence with a raised eyebrow. She flew. An eight year old flying vampire. Sounded exhausting.
When he addressed her Jane gave him a look that showed little more than contempt, and smirked slightly. "Haven't been paid yet, but it looks that way." It would be amusing if it wasn't annoying how he hadn't said a word to that effect but Jane was still quite sure he doubted her suitability for the job. She'd be happy to tear him apart if he needed some sort of physical proof. God, she was easy. And not in the usual sense.
"I'd say she's getting along," Cara said, settling back in her chair and making herself at home. "And we seem to be getting along so far." That was something -- Cara honestly hadn't thought they would get along at all. "I'm not killing you with boredom or anything yet, am I?" To say that this whole bodyguard thing wasn't awkward would be a lie.
Spence returned Jane's smirk with one of his own which he then hid behind his glass as he took a sip. Yes, Spence was of the mind that bodyguards needed to be men. Unless she was a powerful witch or something, he didn't think she would be able to hold her own against stronger men, least of all protect Cara.
It was at least a little bit surprising that Cara had nice words to say about her, but in a good sense. Nodding in her direction with a smile, Jane sighed heavily at Spence's smirk, rolling her eyes. Cara had herself one of those men. How great. Not wanting to risk starting the bar brawl herself if in a few minutes he said something less than pleasant instead of just thinking it - oh, she was sure of it - Jane decided to ignore him and just tough this evening out.
"Oh, come on!" Cara declared with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "I thought you two would get along! You're both...all violent and good at the violence thing. Shouldn't you be comparing stories to see whose balls are bigger or something?" Here at the bar, with Spence, Cara could relax as she never could around Sebastian or her professional duties. Such phrases would likely never be heard outside these walls.
"I'm not violent!" Spence protested, feigning mock hurt before a grin formed on his lips. She was probably right. , but then again he wasn't a 'bodyguard'. He was a hunter, and to Spence, there was a massive difference. He looked back at Jane with a cock of his eyebrow. "Just how big are your balls?"
Jane knew Cara meant well, but all she accomplished was make Jane think she was now being passed off as a man. And however violent she was - never unprovoked - she didn't do the gender bending well. Especially when nature had been more than generous. "Good, yeah, never unprovoked. Mostly." She said, because apart from the man thing Jane was quite amused at Cara's outburst. At what Spence said, well, she couldn't vouch for it either way. He didn't look violent. He looked more like the impossibly cocky type. Of course she had to snicker at his question. "Oh..." She looked up to the ceiling with a smirk. "Hang on. Is this when I tell you how many people I've killed, or should I just tell you I'll show you some time and leave you hangin'?" Jane was only mostly kidding.
Cara chuckled. See, she had friends Jane could appreciate. She hoped. Rising to her feet, she said, "I'm topping myself off. Anyone else ready for another round?" Another round for Spence or the first for Jane. "Want anything?" she added to her bodyguard for clarification, just in case the woman might think she was excluded in the offer.
Spence set his drink on the table, leaning forward casually as he smiled at Jane. "Maybe you can tell me both. I think I'd enjoy either one, actually." Who would have thought he'd get into a pissing contest with a female? He looked at Cara. "I'm fine, thanks." He didn't let women pay for his alcohol, no matter who they were.
Appreciate wouldn't exactly be the word Jane would use, but poor Cara hadn't noticed, apparently. With a nod and a small smile, Jane decided since she was offering, the bodyguard might as well get some. "Yeah, get me a beer? Thanks." Now back to the amusing dude smiling at her. And what he said made her actually chuckle. "You do realize the failure in your logic, there, right? If I give it all up now, I can't leave you hangin', now can I?" You would think a cocky man's man would at least think before speaking. Even in a pissing contest. No, especially in a pissing contest.
With an amused glance -- perhaps a part of Cara really was the white trash Cara had worked so hard to escape. With a nod, she spun on her heel and walked towards the bar, heels clicking against the floorboards with steady, confident clicks.
He watched Cara walk away, admiring her form for a second before he turned back to Jane. "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to give anything up. Maybe just a little taste," Spence suggested with a smirk. "Somehow I doubt all you've got to offer is a body count." And if so, he was going to be extremely disappointed. Jane may be a 'bodyguard', but she was still a woman, and women liked to keep all sorts of interesting tidbits to themselves.
Jane responded at first with low laughter. She was either going to end up liking this man, or hating his guts. And just in case, Jane would put her money on the latter. Leaning forward on the table, she smirked. "Alright first? Calling me patronizing terms of endearment don't make you any more of a man. Second? Seeing as everybody and their dog now talks about this, let's just say this: I was a hunter long before I was a bodyguard." And yes, it was all she had to offer. That, and the fact that she murdered a man in cold blood at the ripe age of seventeen, but that was mostly technically self defense. Mostly. With a side of hate.
"Scolding me on using a term of endearment doesn't make you anymore of a feminist either, it just makes you sound stuck up," Spence countered, his grin still playing at his lips. "And what makes you think I care about your occupation? If you're getting paid handsomely for following Cara around and making sure she gets from point A to point B in one piece? Who am I to judge? It's not the worst job in the world, I'm sure." Spence leaned back in his chair and picked up his drink again. "More power to you, sweet... oops. Sorry. Jane."
Cara returned then, setting one beer in front of Jane with a soft click of glass against the wooden table-top and one in front of her place. She glanced from one to the other, smiling with pleasant amusement at the pair. After all, neither looked upset -- that was probably a good indication they wouldn't kill each other. "Who's winning?"
"That's because I am, honey." She wasn't going to touch on the feminist thing. If having self-respect was being a feminist, then a feminist she was, and proudly so. This guy, however, seemed to be just an asshole. Throw her hands up in the air, Jane rolled her eyes. Typical. "Hey, you asked." And no, it wasn't, but Jane wasn't going to gush about how wonderful it was either. Especially because wonderful was probably not the word. She snickered at Spence's very intentional slip-up. "Jackass." She muttered under her breath, which meant that because of the noise, nobody had heard her.
"Thanks." She told Cara when she came back, snickering again at the question. "The Devil." She joked with a shrug.
Spence snickered in Jane's direction as he took another drink. He wondered if Cara would be able to have a drink with him another night without the 'bodyguard'. "I'd say it was a draw," Spence remarked, grinning at Cara. "But thank god you're back. It could have gotten bloody."
Cara snickered good-naturedly. "You know, you really should feel sorry for her, Spence. After she's done babysitting me here, we need to go buy muffins." Yes, a ten PM muffin run. Jane would be thrilled. "It's the new law: I don't go anywhere unless she's with me. Just another perk of working for Sebastian Van Cleve." Oh, be still her heart.
This time Jane actually laughed, albeit not in a loud overly excited way. At the mention of muffins, Jane gave them both a grin of fake excitement and shrugged. "Muffins. At least it ain't crack." She joked, and took a swig of her beer. At Cara's next remark Jane snickered. "You know I'd say I'm sorry, but the paycheck won't let me." It was a pretty shitty job sometimes, following someone around. Hell, even Jane would probably choke a bitch if she had someone follow her around 24/7. But it was a very big step up from being a waitress and she was nothing if not grateful.
Spence cocked an eyebrow. When was the last time he ate a muffin? "Muffins? You need a bodyguard to buy muffins? You really think someone's out to get you, or Van Cleve just doesn't think you're competent enough to survive on your own."
Cara grinned at Jane, nodding in understanding. She was just doing her job -- and Cara could respect that. "I'm going to go on pretending I'm a valuable asset he doesn't want to lose," she said with a chuckle. Part of her thought that it was true -- she just was that valuable. "But, really, I think he just wanted an excuse to hire another woman to keep around."
"One never knows what lurks in the shadows of the Muffin Place." Jane joked in Spence's direction. Snickering at Cara, she shrugged. "You know I think it's all that rolled into one." Not that she had spend much time thinking about it. Or any. What Cara added, that made Jane actually chuckle. "I don't think so. It's not like I'm around him much at all."
He smirked at Jane before shaking his head at Cara. "Doesn't seem like you're protesting the arrangement too much. Not many women I know who would be pleased that their boss - or whatever he is - wants a bodyguard to follow you are, no matter how good looking they might be."
"Just wait," Cara promised. "When filming starts, we'll be stuck with each other." Filming had traditionally always been a hectic time...but, that, of course, was before the Light of May. She lifted her eyes to Spence with a grin. "Not many people you know work for Sebastian. What am I going to do, protest?" Yeah, right. "And what do you mean 'or whatever he is?'"
"Nothing unsavory," Spence assured her. He wasn't all that big a fan of Sebastian Van Cleve. But then again, he wasn't a big fan of most 'actors'.
Cara scoffed at his reassurances. "If you're suggesting what it sounds like you're suggesting, I'll kick your ass, Spence." While in reality her attempt would be utterly miserable, you would never know it from her smug expression. She looked utterly confident that she could do it.
Jane snickered, shaking her head. "Heh, and for a minute there everybody was worried about me kicking his ass. It's just never who you're think it's gonna be, is it?" She joked. Truth be told Jane suspected Cara would like Sebastian to be her 'something unsavory' but she wouldn't talk about it, much less with some guy there with them, much less when it was absolutely none of her business.
Spence snickered. "You never have to wonder if I'm worried about you kicking my ass," he told Jane. He wasn't afraid of a woman, no matter how strong she might be. "All I meant was, it seems convenient that a guy like Van Cleve would have a woman like you be his assistant. Personally I think you're too good for the creep, but that's just my opinion."
Cara had to laugh at that. "He's not a complete creep!" He could be noble sometimes. That was what she liked about him. "And he pays me very well for keeping his calendar, so I have no complaints." As for the unsavory part...it wasn't as though he hadn't offered. "And that's all I do for him, Spence," she added, warning. She didn't want anyone thinking she was just another of Sebastian's playthings.
Snickering yet again, Jane raised her beer in Spence's direction, with a smirk. "Good to know." It was also good to know she probably could, easily, especially because she had no problems in playing dirty. Nobility was a very good thing for those who could afford it. As for whether their boss was a creep or not, well, Jane didn't have an opinion. He was a hot piece of undead ass, but everybody knew that. And that did not mean he was automatically not a creep, in Jane's books. Or anyone's, if they were smart. It was, however, quite clear to Jane that Sebastian Van Cleve hired attractive women because he could. Because he was good looking, famous, and rich. The latter applying to Jane, she wouldn't have done it for free, but perhaps there were people who might.
"See? Exactly. Pay check pays us enough not to give a damn." If he made any advances, well, they were all grown ups. Either the women accepted, or didn't and could probably sue for harassment. Win/win in Jane's book.
"Guys like him are usually complete creeps," Spence countered dryly. "And hey, if he pays you well, then who cares? Some people are willing to sacrifice for the almighty dollar, aren't they?" He was one of them, definitely. Not that he was happy about it. He downed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass on the table. "So are we getting those muffins, or what?"
Cara grinned at Spence. "Well, aren't you just a gentleman, offering to escort us?" For muffins. "But, I think we'll be okay on our own." The chances of an attack by the muffin man were slim to none, after all. Cara swallowed back the rest of her own beer. "Tell you what. I'll call you sometime next week, okay?" She wasn't in the habit of inviting people over -- but, it was only Spence. They could do the delivery thing and all that, since Cara couldn't cook to save her life.
"Wait a second, guys like him how? Vampire guys or completely full of themselves pretty boys?" She asked the last part of the question trying not to laugh because in her book, that kind of described Spence too. "Depends wholly on the sacrifice..." She commented, taking another swig of her beer. If by sacrifice, in this case, he meant blood or sex...That wasn't going to happen. Jane snickered at Spence's sudden urge to go with them to get muffins, and was glad that at least that they were doing just the two of them. It might prove to be over faster that way.
He snorted and grinned. "Wasn't offering to escort anyone. You've got yourself a bodyguard, Cara. What do you need me for?" He pulled out his wallet to pay for his drink. "But yeah, call me. I'd say ditch the bodyguard next time, but I'm guessing that's not gonna happen for awhile." Spence glanced at Jane, smirking a touch. He wasn't stupid enough to think she wasn't referring to him with the pretty boy comment, but he was willing to let it slide. "All men are creeps, sweetheart." He tossed the bills on the table and stood. "Doesn't matter who they are, or what they look like."
Amen to that. "No one said I needed a bodyguard at home," Cara said musingly. "So, as long as I don't have to cook..." With a light-hearted shrug of her shoulders, Cara tucked her purse under her arm. "We'll work something out." With a grin, she lifted her hand in farewell. They would definitely have to get together again later...and she'd been so certain Jane and Spence would hit it off. Oh, well.
Oh good, at least he wasn't stupid. "Oh, it would be a pleasure." To be ditched, that was. She chuckled at his comment; yeah well, she wasn't so sure things were so black and white. But she was, however, sure Spence also thought all women were bitches, or some stupid thing like that. She waved at him half-heartedly and finished her beer in one sip.
"I'll call you," Spence told Cara before he gave a small salute and headed out of the bar. It would be nicer to be able to talk to Cara without a third ear involved. Especially one like Jane's.
"Well," Cara said, turning to her bodyguard with a slight frown. "I wish I could say I know you'll like some of my friends...but I think you've pretty much met them all." Working for Sebastian, her social circle had become rather limited... "Sorry."
Jane snickered, shaking her head. "I think he's pissed he couldn't make me cry. But it's alright, Cara, I tend to not like people that easily anyway. The vampire guy was nice, at least, so there's that!" She smiled. But if those were all of Cara's friends, she wasn't that much better off than Jane herself. Which reminded her, she should call Tayne one of these days. "So." Jane sighed. "Muffins?"
"Oh, yeah," Cara groaned. Jonas. She hadn't had the chance to finish lamenting over that. That was just her luck -- she meets a nice guy, and he turns out to be dead. "And, yes, muffins. Don't tell anyone how many carbs I eat." Not that it seemed to affect her in the least...