You're Joking Right? Who:Skylar and Nic Where: The festival When: Evening
Skylar was all but scowling as the sun went down, packing up his things. He’d sold almost everything, but that hadn’t fixed his mood. He was still upset about whatever the hell had gone on with Clementine. She let some vampire dude drink her blood? How fucking weird was that. There were clubs for those sorts in LA and they were weird as fuck no matter how hot the chicks were. And then, then, Clementine got upset with him for not being amused that some other dude biting her was awesome.
Frustrated, Sklyar slammed his fist against the table in his booth, shaking the plant sitting on it. “Probably means you like her, Ace,” he said, to himself, though the voice wasn’t quite right. “Yeah, well, I don’t. She’s just strange,” he answered, voice back to his normal cadence. “Hey now,” Nic said as he walked up towards Skylar’s booth just in time to see him pound down on the table. “What’s going on?” Skylar looked upset, or angry, but not his usual cheery self. Nic thought he knew him well enough to ask what was up, and maybe lend an ear if that would help any.
Skylar blinked a few times at being spoken too, not sure if the voice was real at first. Then Nic came into focus and he settled himself down, backing away from the table and tucking his hands into his pockets. “Just, weird.” That wasn’t much of an answer, but it was the best one that came to mind in the moment.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of weird around here lately,” Nic said, pretty sure that Skylar hadn’t really answered him. “Let me help you finish packing up and you can tell me about it.” Nic wasn’t sure he wanted to share his own brand of weird, since it involved his boyfriend becoming way more demanding and possibly a werewolf, but he’d listen if that helped.
Skylar nodded, motioning towards the potted plants that Nic could grab, while he grabbed his locked box of pot and money and a couple of other things. “Clementine and I got in a fight, I think,” he said shaking his head. “I’m not even sure why she got so mad at me. Or what the hell was up, but she was talking about this freak of a dude and how awesome he was and it just got under my skin.”
Nic knew the name, though he’d never met the girl. He knew she was Zania’s new roommate and that she was a bit of a hippie, according to his cousin, which seemed like a good fit for Zania and Skylar. “Is this some guy she’s into?” he asked, picking up a potted plant in each arm.
“I hope not,” Skylar said shaking his head. “Because he’s some sort of freak. She thinks he’s a vampire.” His tone said just how ridiculous he thought that was. But unlike some of the others, Skylar had seen the underground clubs in LA with people who thought they were vampires in them. They were a strange subculture, one he knew to avoid. Because people who thought they were monsters were nuts. No two ways around it.
“What makes her think that?” Nic asked, glancing over at Skylar as they headed towards the greenhouse. This was really going in a direction he hadn’t expected. Skylar was the one person he knew that didn’t have some weird supernatural shit going on. He’d kind of liked it that way. But apparently it was starting to get to him, too.
“He bit her.” Skylar sounded appalled and disgusted. “And maybe he told her too, but just..fucking weird.” He shook his head. “And then she got mad at me because I got mad about that.”
Nic sighed, trying to decide what the best plan of action was here. He could let Skylar go on, thinking Clementine was crazy, or he could clue Skylar in on one of the newer dangers of living in the dome. The later seemed more sensible, even if he wasn’t thrilled about sounding crazy himself. “So, what if I told you she might be right.”
Skylar’s eyes rolled towards Nic as they walked back towards his greenhouse. “Right about what? Being pissed at me? I’d say no.”
“About the vampires,” Nic said, being sure to keep his voice down. He didn’t like talking about this out in the open, especially now that some people had super-sonic hearing.
Skylar slowed his steps, looking at Nic. “I say we shut down whatever the hell that is, like, now. Those people are weird.”
“No, you’re not getting it,” Nic said, shaking his head. “I mean, you know how there are zombies? And we didn’t believe in them until they were real? Now there are vampires.” And probably werewolves, but he figured he should go one step at a time with Skylar.
“I’m still not sure I believe the zombies.” Yes, he’d seen them. He’d killed a few and ran over a few with his car, but he was still almost sure it was one giant bad dream. “Like...Tom Cruise vampires?”
“No,” Nic said with a little smile. “I don’t know how to describe it. They blend in with normal people because they used to be normal people. You might even know one.” He had no idea how many were out there, so there was always a chance.
Skylar opened his mouth once, then again, making a face. “You’re joking right?” he asked, not sure he believed that. Of course, it made him dislike the guy even more, but he wasn’t going to say that just yet.
“I know one,” Nic said, then shrugged. “I wouldn’t believe it either, but once you’ve seen it, it’s hard not to.” Zania’s lack of reflection had been the most convincing, especially when she added in her fangs.
The face on Skylar’s features didn’t fade. “Who?” he asked. “They’re just going around biting people? Or asking if they can or whatever?”
“I’m not totally sure I should tell you, but no, the ones I know aren’t,” Nic said, pushing open the door to the greenhouse. “In fact, one of the ones I know has been mostly drinking from blood bags.” He couldn’t speak for Mannix, though.
Skylar let out a breath loudly and shook his head. “This is ridiculous. She said it was awesome. And her eyes got all dreamy. That’s just...not cool.” He set his things down inside the greenhouse and pushed up to sit on one of the tables.
“Let me play devil’s advocate here for a second,” Nic said, setting down one of the plants. “Is it not cool because she liked it? Or is it not cool because you like her and some other guy is nibbling on her neck?”
"It's not," Skylar started, sounding shocked that Nic would even suggest it. "I'm not...I mean we are, but it's not...I'm..." He ran out of possible sentence starts and made a frustrated noise. "No." Which didn't really answer the either/or question.
Nic turned to Skylar, brow raised and one hand on his hip. “Try that again because that wasn’t really an answer.” Which Nic didn’t mind, but thought that Skylar should really think through because it might be important.
“It was too an answer,” Skylar said as if he was five and then kicked his feet trying to figure out how to answer Nic’s question better than his answer he’d already given. “I don’t know, it’s not a real thing. We spent the night together the other night.”
“So maybe you like her,” Nic shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal. Maybe you were being protective or maybe just a little bit jealous. For whatever reason, she didn’t take well to it. But maybe the best thing to do is talk to her about it.” Once he’d cooled off a bit, of course.
Skylar kept kicking his feet. “I don’t think it’s like that. We’re just friends. Or we were. She got really upset. I mean...why is me not being cool with that so wrong?”
“It’s not,” Nic said. “It’s just different perspective. Plus, you didn’t know about the vampires, so she was probably coming off sounding crazy. And even then, if you came around with a vampire bite, I still might worry.”
That left Skylar staring at Nic. “We’re still talking about the vampires like they’re real?” he said.
“Yes,” Nic said, rubbing a hand over his face. “Would it help if you met one? Would that make it more believable?”
Skylar’s mouth was wide open as he stared at Nic. “You know one?” he asked, amazed and having already forgot what Nic had already said. “You can’t be serious.”
“I do,” Nic said with a sigh. “Not the one that bit Clementine, since you said that was a guy. But another one. That she probably knows about too, since she knows they exist.”
“I don’t...this is…this is really weird.” Clementine knew more than one freak who thought they were a vampire. “A real vampire?”
“Yeah,” Nic said, then leaned back against one of the greenhouse tables, crossing his arms over his chest. “Remember when people were dying from bat bites? Well, some people didn’t die, and those that didn’t are now vampires.”
Skylar let out a breath, looking over at Nic. “That...that happened? That’s...really weird.” Weirder than the zombies even. “Are you sure they aren’t just freaky people?”
“One hundred percent,” Nic said with a little laugh. “They’re quiet about it for obvious reasons. People would freak out. Some have been a problem, but I know others have been working to stay normal. Or as normal as they can be.” While drinking blood. That would never be normal, but Zania was still Zania every other time.
Skylar wasn’t on board yet. “Maybe I should meet one.” Maybe that would help. Maybe not. He honestly wasn’t sure.
“If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself?” Nic asked, a touch annoyed at Clementine for telling Skylar, since that obviously didn’t go over well. It wasn’t something you could just blurt out without repercussions.
“If I tell anyone else they’ll think I’m more crazy than I already am.” Which Skylar meant completely as he looked at Nic.
“Okay,” Nic said, biting on his lip for a second before moving forward. “My cousin Zania is a vampire. She lives with Clementine. Go talk to her and she’ll prove it to you, but tell her I sent you or she might freak out.”
Skylar’s mouth opened into an ‘O’ shape. “With the...hair?” he wasn’t sure how else to explain Zania, though she had said Nic was her cousin. “What?” he looked so confused, though the glaring, ‘hey Zania works night shifts’ clicked into place, but it still didn’t quite fix everything. “I can’t...holy shit.”
“The dreadlocks?” Nic grinned. “Yeah, that’d be her. Have you met her then?” It wouldn’t surprise him, seeing as how Clementine was the one Skylar was having issues with, but he had to ask. It would help if they’d met previously.
“Mmhmm,” Skylar confirmed. “She woke us up on the couch. Then we talked about some guy she’s into and you and Doctor Sexy.” He watched his friend, not sure what else to say. “This is fucking weird.”
“What’d you say about me and Micah?” Nic asked, getting off track. “And who’s Zan into?” He obviously needed to catch up with her. He was missing things now that they didn’t live together.
Skylar tried to think about that. “That you had a boyfriend and you’ve been busy. She’s into some guy...Mouse...no...Mickey like the mouse. Apparently he doesn’t like her enough or back or something.”
“How would you know if I’ve been busy with my boyfriend?” Nic asked with half a laugh. Had he told Skylar anything? He didn’t quite remember. “Yeah, I’ve met Mickey. I don’t really know what she sees in him. I think she’s wasting her time.”
“You haven’t been hanging out with me. What other excuse could you have?” Skylar raised his eyebrow, daring Nic to challenge that. “Yeah? I mean, he’s kind of an idiot for not being into the girl that’s into him, but what did you think?
Nic narrowed his eyes, but didn’t argue. He had been spending a lot of time with Micah lately, but he couldn’t help it. He liked the guy. “She hasn’t walked me through the whole situation, but I just didn’t think they were a good match based on the little time I spent with him. But then I was just giving him a ride home, so what do I know?”
“Probably more than I do.” Skylar shrugged his shoulders and ran his hands through his hair. “I feel like the world just got twisted sideways.”
“I’m not trying to skew your world view,” Nic said. “I just think you should know that your girl isn’t making shit up. Would it’ve been better if I kept my mouth shut?”
“She’s not my girl,” Skylar said shaking his head. He watched Nic for a moment, looking confused and finally shaking his head. “No. I mean...it’s good to know it’s not some freak who’s got his hands on her.”
“Sorry. Your friend,” Nic said, clarifying. “I’d suggest just talking to her again. Your head might be more clear now that you know what she’s talking about.” He knew he’d have been thrown if something threw out the vampire card with no warning.
“I’m still not sure why she got so damn upset,” Skylar said shaking his head. “She just...I don’t even know.”
“Did something else happen? Something maybe you’re not thinking of?” Nic asked. He could understand Clementine getting frustrated, but this sounded like more than that.
Skylar shook his head, not thinking of anything beyond getting upset about some vampire guy hurting her until something else flashed. “Uhhh Kenzie.”
“Who’s Kenzie?” Nic asked, not sure he followed.
“She’s...Kenzie. She likes me apparently.” Which also included kissing him, though how Skylar was supposed to explain that to Nic without it sounding weirder than it was, Skylar wasn’t so sure. “She was at the booth before Clementine. And kissed me goodbye.” Which wasn’t really a thing, because they weren’t a thing any more than he and Clementine were.
“Um, that might explain why Clementine is upset,” Nic said, feeling like that was a huge part of the story. “You might not be into her, but she could very well be into you. In which case, you were annoyed that she’d been bitten by a freak and she was annoyed that you were kissing someone else. That possible?”
Skylar looked as if he was considering it, then shrugged. “Maybe. It just seems silly.” Probably because it was, but fighting with Clementine made him feel bad. She was too nice to fight with.
Nic bit his lip, not sure that ‘silly’ was the word Skylar should be using. To him it was fine, but if Clementine liked him, then she probably didn’t think it was silly. “Hey Sky? When was the last time you were in a relationship with someone?”
Skylar raised an eyebrow at the question, clearly not understanding the relevance. “Not sure. Before things got weird. Maybe before LA. Why?”
“Before things got serious, if you saw her kissing someone else, how do you think you’d react?” Nic wasn’t sure this would apply at all, but he was trying to understand how Skylar’s mind worked. To him, this seemed pretty straight forward, but there could always be more to it, since he wasn’t there.
“Probably wouldn’t be getting too serious,” Skylar said with a shrug. “I’m not really a serious kind of guy. That’s more your speed. You remember you’re supposed to be places and people’s names. I only remember what’s in here.” He gestured around himself to the greenhouse.
Nic sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this. “I think you most likely hurt her feelings because she saw you kissing someone else, even if she said she doesn’t have feelings for you, but you’re really going to have to talk to her to find out.”
Skylar was going to protest, but found himself not sure where to start. What Nic was saying probably did make sense. It made more sense at least than Clementine losing her mind. “I guess I do have to talk to her.”
“That’s what I’d suggest,” Nic said, his hands sliding into his pockets. “Otherwise you’re just going to run yourself in circles trying to figure it out.”
“I hate circles.” Which was ironic considering most of Skylar’s thoughts were circular. “How’s Doctor Sexy?”
“His name’s Micah,” Nic said with a smile. “And he’s good. Got attacked by a wolf, but he’s healing up pretty well.” Now would be the perfect time to tell Skylar about werewolves, but Nic wasn’t one hundred percent sure on that one. Plus, he thought Skylar had probably had enough for one day.
“Ouch,” Skylar said about the wolf attack. That was no good. “And I mostly remember that he has a name, but Doctor Sexy is way more fun. It even makes you smile because it’s accurate or something.”
“You should meet him sometime,” Nic smiled. He had no idea what Micah would make of Skylar or vice versa, but he felt like Skylar should at least know what Micah looked like if he was going to keep calling him that.
Skylar nodded. “I should, but you seem determined to keep him to yourself.” He was clearly teasing, smiling with his words.
Nic rolled his eyes, but continued to smile. “That’s not it at all. I’ve just been busy lately. Maybe if you’d gotten yourself attacked, you’d have met him, but let’s be glad you’ll meet him under better circumstances.”
“I don’t want to get attacked. I heard those things, stalking around outside. Not. Okay. That was why I slept at Clementine’s the other night. I was already over that way and it seemed safer.” Skylar shivered a little. “What have you been busy with?”
“Saving people from wolves,” Nic said. That was the rewarding part of his job, where he got the chance to save lives. It had become even more exciting when he got to kill wolves in the process. He just hoped Micah wouldn’t be out there doing the same thing come the next full moon.
“Ohh.” Skylar let that click in his head. “Right.” He supposed he was looking for a different answer than that one.
Nic had also been busy with Micah, though not always in the way that Skylar might have been imagining. Things were good, but they were also confusing as of late. “Well, I should get going for now. Catch you later this week? Maybe for a drink?”
Skylar nodded, hating that his friend was going, but not saying anything about it. “Drink sounds good. I have...no plans that I remember.”
“Maybe tomorrow? The day after?” Nic asked, hoping that one of those times worked. He wanted a chance to hang out with Skylar, but was also worried about whatever was going on with Micah. And he needed Skylar to figure out the vampire thing before he told him about the werewolves. Things had just gotten too crazy as of late and those that didn’t know needed to be caught up.
“Like I said, nothing I remember.” Which didn’t rule anything out, but at the same time, Skylar knew himself well enough to not commit to something without getting closer to that moment. “Just let me know.”
“Okay,” Nic smiled, heading back towards the door. “I’ll give you a call. In the meantime, go talk to Clementine. And maybe Zania, if you want that cleared up. I’ll see you soon.”
Skylar just nodded. That was a lot of people to talk to and he was likely going to forget to do it. Hopefully he wouldn’t forget about Clementine, but the other one, the redhead, he might forget her. “See yah,” he called after Nic with a wave.