"Saved your life." Ben nods, a knowing sparkle in his eyes. I don't trust that sparkle. Not one bit. But nevertheless, I plaster a tentative smile on my face. I'd never be an Emmy award winning actress, but it couldn't have been that bad...because he smiled and pulled me into a bear hug. He was impossible to forget. It was his eyes that were unforgettable. They were like the sun, bright yellow, with little bits of equally cheery colors. They weren't windows to his soul, they were black holes that sucked you in. He was brimming with charm. He didn't even have to try, he didn't even to speak to make an impression. His hair was a unique reddish color, almost purple. He was a walking color palette with personality. Wily and flamboyant, he was ultimately strange and appealing, in his own way. "What are we eating?" I ask as he lets go of me, "I think spaghetti. I'll have to check with Ron. He's the real cook around here, I don't know how the guy does it." Okay. The population here was slightly bigger than I thought, "How many people are in the...um, clan?" "Uh...I'd say around twenty, give or take a few. Some are nomads who go around doing whatever the hell they please. And why not? It's their second life." "I wonder...how do Purebloods happen?" "They're like demons. Or as close as you can get to them. They're fairly rare. It's like you and me, but they're all born with an innate ability to put people under hypnotic suggestion. There are half breeds, but they're practically nonexistent. There's a very, very small chance that a Pureblood and a Reborn can conceive. Halflings tend to go insane and kill themselves, anyways. They always have some crazy ability to see into people's lives, their pasts, their secrets, and hear their thoughts. We're probably late to dinner." "Probably." We make no move to exit. "You seem different, somehow." Ben says, sounding puzzled, "How so?" "I don't know, you're...quieter...and paler..." Paler is saying a lot for a redhead. "More fragile-looking. Like you're made of porcelain." I shrug, and look at him. He didn't look pale or weak. Maybe it was just girls. Remembering Chase, this is definitely not the case. Though he's already close, he steps forward. I step back. "I remember when I met you." "I remember too." It had been a hard day at school. I'd been running on reserve power all day, till Darren picked me up and took me to a bar. "You look like you need it." He smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling. We'd been dating for about two weeks, and at that point, I'd fallen for him, hard. "I really do." I sigh as I pull my incredibly tight ponytail out. Darren says he likes my hair down. As we sit, Ben meanders over, greeting Darren in his overly jovial way. He was a blast of energy that I needed. He was also too friendly. A couple drinks later, it was his arm around me. Darren's eyebrow went so high you couldn't see it through his fairly messy hair that I loved so much, but he said nothing, just ordered more tequila than he ought to. Too many drinks to count later, the world is blurry. Darren has turned belligerent towards the bartender. My face is in Ben's chest. I can still remember his spicy scent. It was Ben who calmed Darren down, and Ben who drove me home. Sometimes my brain liked to think it was Darren, but it was Ben. It was always Ben. "Thanks, for that." I mutter. He smiles his scorching smile, a smile that was so easily lovable. "Where have you guys been?" Darren sounds thoroughly annoyed, and his unbearably sad eyes anchor me down. Has Darren always looked so terribly sad? Or have I just noticed? Or maybe he was just sad compared to Ben. "Just talking." Ben shrugs, and Darren's eyes narrow, "We'll I'm starving, you two can have your romantic buildup time later, when we're not waiting for you." He says, sounding entirely too mad. I look at Ben and that sparkle and my distrust are back. "At a later date." He looks at me, and then walks out, Darren behind him. He stalks out of the door, reminding me again of a sullen teenager. I walk beside him, though, he doesn't seem to want to acknowledge me. "Darren." No response. "You look like a grumpy little kid." I get a snort and a sideways, insolent glance. "What's got you all riled up?" Again, no response. "What's wrong?" I try again, "Lots and lots of things." He replies as we've reached the immense set of stairs. "Is there no elevator?" "There's an elevator, but unless you want to take a fifty foot fall, I don't think we'll go there." Ben responds. Darren now resembles a tired old man. His shoulders slump, and his eternal, but recently noticed, sad eyes sadder still. I know he's trying not to react to what he saw with me and Ben. I also know he's jealous. "Oh yes, I'm green with envy." Darren says, sarcasm dripping from his voice, but I know. I know him better than he thinks. "You really don't. You don't know anything." He whispers in my ear as we reach the bottom of the steps. "You think I love you, but I don't. You think I want you, but I don't. I honestly couldn't care less about you. I help because you're a part of my clan." He's practically hissing in my ear. I shiver, and walk faster, because all I want to do is get away from that awful whispering.
Ben is more welcoming. His brow furrows as he looks back at Darren. "He looks incredibly pissed." He muses. Thanks for the observation, Captain Obvious. Darren blinks, and looks at me, a glimmer of amusement mingling with his anger. Oh yes, he's mad, but not that mad. We reach the ballroom, which has a couple tables scattered around. Twenty people. It doesn't feel like much. I feel incredibly awkward, with all of them staring at me. They weren't even accusatory, they were just calculating. They were sizing me up. They were also all fairly attractive people, which I found odd. Perhaps dying made them come back with less imperfections. As I ponder several of them nod their heads. I blush, realizing they can hear my thoughts, and automatically, my mind travels to a certain person, sleeping beside me, simply because he was right behind me, breathing down my neck. The females who were nodding turn pink, and the males cough awkwardly. Darren is, again, flushed behind me, his eyes warning me to stop thinking as we reach the table with Chase and Dimitri and his friends. "You're very cute, when you're asleep Darren." A girl says absently. "My name is Abbey, by the way. Built like a stallion, this one." She waggles her eyebrows at Darren, who turns redder. I mentally shoo them all out, and they take the hint. At the head of the table, the intimidating, dark, powerful man sits. Darren, unlike Ben, knows my fear, and takes my hand. I sigh and sag into him, and it seems his earlier anger has melted away. I listen to his heartbeat as we sit, together but apart, us and that man. "As you know, we have a new blood." He booms, his voice echoing. He has total control over everything as his eyes sweep over the congregation of people. They all nod, even Ed and Bella. Even I nod. "Welcome our new sister in sin, Karen Fae Washington." I cringe at my name. I've always disliked it, Karen and Fae had never gone together. Washington was too long. A chorus of hellos and welcomes surface as the man launches into a speech of epic proportions. After his speech, the blessed food arrives. I eat my pasta with one hand. The other still holding Darren's hand. I think this makes up for his previous anger. Maybe. His words stung, stung terribly. But I ignored it, preferring to listen to the banter taking place at the table. Eddy's unrequited love for Bella apparent. She was completely and totally oblivious. Dimitri was not so obvious with his affection. After everyone was served, the servers themselves and a man in a ridiculous looking chef's hat serve themselves. The man in the chef's hat is obviously Ron. His hair is as red as mine, and his eyes are a murky blue. He looks to be middle aged, and very well groomed. The servers are two fairly young men, about the twins' age, one with a large nose, and the other with long, messy hair and an asinine grin. The boy with the large nose is named Richard, and the other boy is named Stuart. Richard is fairly quiet, while Stuart can be heard across the room. They both hover around Ron, who converses with another attractive person, a female one. I try to make a mental note of the people I've met, eight, to be exact. Counting Ben and Darren, I already knew half the people. The rest were fairly young, probably people who weren't meant to go so soon. Darren is in his element. People, he was extremely good with people. I watch him be charming. Both him and Ben were overwhelming. I sensed something had changed between them, a quick, almost imperceptible change. Darren was a little bit less joking with his threats, Ben was ten times as friendly towards everyone, except Darren. I hoped I hadn't caused some sort of strife, but I continued to hold Darren's hand the whole time.
My hope for peace was banished as looks varying from minor dislike to jealousy shooting around my head. These two were complete idiots. After about a week or so of living in the hotel, I'd gotten fed up. Fed up with this, fed up with the people, fed up with life, and god knows fed up with Darren and Ben trying to compete. I'm quite sure it wasn't even about me at that point, more so that they were both terribly competitive. My favorite company had to be Dimitri. He shared my annoyance toward their stupidity. Dimitri was annoyed by everything. Except Chase, of course. He was gentler with her than anyone else. "Let's go get some coffee." "Uh..." I don't feel like it. My mind says as I stretch out of my comfortable position. He and I are in the lobby, alone. It's early, early morning. Most of our cohorts find odd jobs to do, jobs you don't want to know about, Ron tells me when I ask. Those who don't spend their days partying or hunting or looking for potion ingredients. Darren has a new target and Ben is out looking for newt eyes or something like that. I'm just glad they left me out of it. "Come on." Dimitri has a desperate look in his eye, he wants to tell me something. "Okay." I grumble as I reluctantly put my bare feet on the cold wooden floor. Ten minutes later, we're in Dimitri's car. His, in contrast to Darren's, is almost brand new. "Old, rich families." He states rather blandly as I gawk at it. It had to be at least eight thousand dollars, if not more. It's some sort of German car, the seats are terribly comfortable and maroon suits him. Maroon definitely suits Dimitri, I note, as I watch him drive, ever so carefully. His light brown eyes are focused completely on the rode, and his knuckles are white as he grips the steering wheel. "A penny for your thoughts?" He looks at me, excited, all of a sudden, "Things are going into motion, Fae. Things are finally fucking happening." He breathes, his eyes terribly bright, and then turns his attention to the rode. "If things work out...very, very good events." He pushes a little on the gas. I watch him with concern, thinking I'm about to die.
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