Jill Mastrano Dragomir (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} surpriseroyal) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} valarlogs,@ 2017-03-20 13:05:00 |
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WHERE: Coffee shop
WHEN: March 20
WHAT: Bonding over dogs and vampires. You know, the uje.
RATING: PG
STATUS: log; completed
| Jill had gone into hiding when she’d woken up one day with fangs, coming out only to go to school and hang out with Alak, but eventually she got tired of staring at the walls of her bedroom. She had to get out! She had to do something fun, something that didn’t have to do with drinking blood or hiding from royal assassins, or anything that was her crazy life right now. She shoved her laptop, where she’d been lost in a Youtube spiral, away from her, and then after a moment she picked up her phone and texted someone guaranteed to bring her fun. Hey, she texted Bubbles. You busy right now? *** Bubbles had been getting out a lot more than she usually was, but that was mostly due to the new puppy. Lulu was the cutest thing that had ever happened to her life. She was so happy with her puppy. So when she got the text, Bubbles perked up. It had been a while since Jill had messaged her. She'd been wondering what had happened to her. She remembered seeing something about the sun, but nothing really explaining that. Hey!!!!!!! :), she replied back. Nope. Just got off work and let Lulu out. What's up? *** Nothiiiiiiiiing, came Jill's reply. And in case the sheer depths of her cabin fever hadn't been communicated, she added, So so SO bored. Hang out? *** Bubbles smiled at her phone before replying, YES! Omg, I have so much to tell you. Most importantly, I have a dog and she is THE CUTEST! But there was the matter of where to meet now. So where did you want to hang out? *** Grounds for coffee half an hour? Jill typed back. She was already sliding off her bed as she did so, energized by the thought of actually getting out and doing something that wasn’t studying or hiding or moping. And if anyone was going to be able to lift her spirits, it was the ever-bubbly Bubbles. Especially if she had a new dog! And bring pics! *** Bubbles smiled at her phone before sending back. I will see you there! And I have so many pics! She had far too many pictures of Lulu. But she was pretty sure that was normal for people with pets. She carefully got up from her seat and pulled shoes on and a jacket. If she was going to get there on time, she was definitely going to have to move quickly. *** Bring the dog!!!!! came Jill’s last text before she, too, applied herself to getting ready. It wasn’t too difficult: it was just a matter of changing and swiping on some lip gloss before telling her security detail what was up. They got her there with ten minutes to spare, even with OC traffic, and Jill bought herself a mocha while she waited for her friend. *** Lulu was put into the car (her first car ride ever!) and Bubbles made her way there. She wasn’t sure if this place let dogs in, but she was pretty sure that they could always just get drinks and then go if she had to. She brought a little bowl to put water out for her if she couldn’t take her in. Luckily they didn’t really seem to mind so much and Bubbles told Lulu to be quiet so that she wouldn’t get in trouble. It seemed a little difficult to get a puppy to be quiet, but she had a feeling that Lulu would at least try her best to be good. She smiled when she saw Jill and waved, bringing Lulu over to the table. “Can you watch her a second while I get my drink?” *** “Yes!” Jill said. She’d greeted Bubbles with a hug, and then immediately went to lavish her attention on Lulu. Her own drink was forgotten on the table as she vigorously rubbed the puppy’s head. “Oh yes, you’re a good dog, aren’t you? Such a good puppy!” *** Bubbles came back with her drink, smiling a little as Lulu tried to jump into Jill’s lap. “She really likes attention. She gets so much of it. She’s staying with my boyfriend and his two roommates.” She reached down and pet Lulu, laughing at the noises she made. “She says she likes you.” Which was a positive response from Lulu. Then again, Bubbles was hard pressed to find someone that Lulu didn’t like. “If you’re not careful, she’ll probably steal your lap.” *** “I think she already has,” Jill said, though she didn’t mind it at all. Lulu was cute and energetic, and she didn’t mind Jill. With all the vampire stuff going on, Jill had been half-afraid that animals would start going nuts on her. When Lulu made another attempt at her lap, Jill bent down and scooped her up the rest of the way. “There you go,” she cooed. “When did you get her?” Jill was as cheerful as ever, but these days she smiled less - or at least, she didn’t smile quite as readily. And when she did, it was a closed-lipped sort of thing so her fangs wouldn’t show. *** Bubbles smiled as she watched Lulu and Jill together. She didn’t temper her smile because she didn’t have anything to hide. Had she known what was going on with Jill, she might have told her that she didn’t need to worry about it with her. “Stefan found her in the woods! He was out feeding and he saw her. She lost her whole family because of a coyote.” Bubbles’ expression dimmed at that. “But Stefan saved her and brought her back to his house. Then I came over to help take care of her as much as I could. I took her to my work the next morning and they looked her over for me a little more closely.” *** It was a nice story, except Jill had caught onto something Bubbles had just said. Out feeding. That was the kind of thing she'd say. “What was he feeding?” she asked carefully, still stroking Lulu’s soft fur. It was comforting, in that moment, to have that warm, loving ball of energy under her. *** It had taken a long time for Bubbles to stop feeling overly sad about the fact that Stefan fed on animals. She knew it was a silly thing to get upset about when he could be feeding on people and killing them. He wasn’t very good at feeding on human blood. He always got carried away and killed people. Apparently. She was glad she’d never really had to witness it and also glad for the vervain. She didn’t like the concept that she was tasty food. She just wanted to be cute and adorable. “Oh. Um.” She pulled her hair over her shoulder. There was a moment of hesitation before she remembered that Jill was on the network, too. That was where they’d met, after all. “He was feeding himself. He’s...a vampire.” She shrugged slightly. “He feeds on animals. Um. Instead of people.” She looked down at her cup before looking back up. “He gets...ummm...well, it’s messy if he feeds on people. Apparently. I’ve never seen it.” *** Jill’s eyes had gone wide when Bubbles said “vampire” - but not for the usual reasons. “Your boyfriend is a vampire too?” she blurted. And then she sucked in a breath, realizing what she'd just said. “I mean...wow. That's...um.” *** Bubbles’ brow furrowed for a moment. There seemed to be a lot of vampires in the OC. Caroline was one and Lexi. Even Stefan and his brother Damon. But Jill had said too, which meant that she was also a vampire. Or that she knew someone who was a vampire. She guessed that she couldn’t assume that Jill was a vampire, too. “Too? Do you know a vampire or...are you...one?” *** Jill opened her mouth to deny it, but she’d never been a good liar - at least not in lies she hadn’t been drilled on and prepared for. Shamedfacedly, she nodded, and peeled back her lips to show her fangs. “You can’t tell anyone,” she said quickly. “Not your boyfriend, not your friends, not anyone.” It was bad enough that she had to hide her incognito to save her sister’s throne. What would her enemies do if they found out she’d been turned into a vampire? *** Bubbles clasped her hand over her mouth when she saw her fangs. A VAMPIRE! Not that Bubbles minded now. She knew that it didn’t make anyone less of a good person. It just changed things, but Jill seemed to be worried about people knowing about it. “I won’t tell anyone,” she promised, reaching out to touch her friend’s arm. “But it’s really okay. You know? I’m sure you could talk to some of the other vampires around here about it.” She studied Jill for a moment before asking, “Do you also have a daylight ring? So you can get around in the sun? Stefan has one and his brother Damon. I know Lexi can go around in the sun, too.” She hadn’t really paused to consider whether or not there were even more different sorts of vampires. Despite knowing that there were different dreams. *** “Daylight kind of hurts my eyes a bit,” Jill admitted. “And it makes me break out.” Which was why she was wearing a giant floppy hat. If she was allergic to sun, the OC really wasn’t the right place for her to be. “So there are other vampires?” Her voice was small; she’d felt so alone in her plight, even though she knew other people turned into other things too. “Can they get me a ring?” *** That sounded sad. Bubbles was glad that the sun didn’t bother her. Except for sometimes when it was very bright after being inside for a long time. But she didn’t think that was the same sort of thing. “That’s got to be difficult.” But when she asked about the other vampires, Bubbles nodded. “I know at least three. No. four?” She counted on her fingers. Caroline, Lexi, Stefan, and Damon. Did she know any others? “Well, now five!” But she tried to keep her voice quiet in reaction to Jill’s voice. “I don’t know, but I can always ask!” She wasn’t sure how the rings were made, though. So it was hard to say. *** Jill’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Four! Oh my god, I didn't know there were so many! How do they -” She stopped and lowered her voice. “How do they feed? Do they all hunt animals?” *** Bubbles nodded. She’d been a little surprised at first, but she found that mostly she’d gotten used to the idea of people being supernatural. She almost told her that Blossom was dating a werewolf when Jill asked about their feeding habits. “Well, I’m not positive about all of them, but I know some of them drink from blood bags. I’m not sure if any of them drink from people. I just know Stefan shouldn’t drink human blood because he’ll lose control.” Bubbles frowned. “Do you have to feed from people or can you drink from blood bags?” *** “Well, I…” Jill trailed off. She didn't really want to admit to drinking straight from people as well as blood bags. Bubbles was being understanding about everything so far, but every vampire she knew just drank from animals or blood bags. “I get it however I can.” She grimaced. “This is such a weird conversation.” *** Most of the people she knew kept themselves from eating from people for reasons she didn’t question. Stefan, she knew, was the sort of person that would kill someone if he fed from humans. She didn’t want him to be the sort of person that killed people here. She wanted him to be safe and okay. She didn’t want him to feel very guilty. But overall, she’d gotten a lot more used to the idea of vampires drinking from humans. What she didn’t get used to, was the idea of vampires purposefully killing people just because they could. She offered Jill a small smile while Lulu just gave her multiple kisses and excitedly squirmed in her lap. “I guess it’s a little weird, but it’s not too bad. It’s good to have people to talk to about everything. I have to take vervain to keep from getting compelled and it also helps keep my blood from being super appealing to Stefan...or other vampires.” *** Vervain? That was a new word for Jill. Rose, who’d been the one to tell her a lot about this vampire thing, hadn’t mentioned it at all. “I guess so,” Jill said. “I can’t talk to anyone about other than Rose. I think she understands what's been going on with me better than anybody. She didn't say anything about vervain, though. “But don't worry,” she added hastily. “I'm not going to drink from you or anything.” *** Bubbles smiled a little at her. “It’s okay. I didn’t think you would. But I mean...if you needed it, I guess I wouldn’t mind helping. I could donate blood in a bag!” Or something else. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to do that with Stefan, because, as much as she trusted him, she didn’t want to do anything that would make it worse. She was pretty strong, though. So she thought she could handle it, but she wasn’t sure if Stefan could handle it if he hurt her, so she didn’t even try to offer. “Vervain burns vampires. Or at least the sort of vampires that Stefan and the others are. I don’t know if it’s the same for other vampires, though.” *** Jill didn’t think it affected her, because she was still horribly aware of the fresh, warm blood pulsing in Bubbles. She swallowed and looked away. She must be hungrier than she’d thought. She set her drink down, no longer wanting it. “I...should go,” she said, feeling awkward about it. “I’m not really…” she fluttered her fingers. “I get hungry. A lot.” *** Bubbles frowned a little when Jill said she should go. “Well, okay. But if...if you want to hang out again, we can. Whenever you like. Lulu and I are always good for company. And I’m sure Lexi has stuff around the house. Just in case. I could always see if she’d mind sharing.” She gave Jill her best reassuring smile. “And we’re friends no matter what, okay?” *** Jill nodded, pressing her lips together. Bubbles was being extremely understanding and nice, which was wonderful, but Jill still had to come to terms with this vampirism thing herself first, before she could really take Bubbles up on her help. “Thanks,” she said, and reached out to pet Lulu one more time before heading off. She didn’t quite trust herself to hug Bubbles again. |