KISSED BY FIRE

“He a vampire too then?” She obviously was, and this was a vampire club (God forbid vampires have anything so ordinary as a bar or, even worse, a pub), so it stood to reason. “So how come you’re not scared of him? You got something on him, or do you just fool him with the whole innocent blonde thing?”

He merely chuckled, “Resisting change and becoming a stereotype just equals the information that people pass of as legend, and so cliche. Plus, masochism is so overrated.”

Ezra chuckled softly. “Thank you,” he said, taking a sip. “I’m down to drink anything except beer – I learned my lesson with beer in college, now I’m never going there ever again.”

“I must say, I am shocked.” Amelia said after a moment of silence. The blonde had finally moved her head to look at the woman who sat next to her. “The way he reacted when I told him of our argument, was not how I anticipated. Then again, he isn’t the same Caleb I knew, so.” She gave a small shrug, before returning her gaze to her glace. She finished her drink quickly, before waving to the bartender. 

After Amelia had ordered herself and Rose another drink, she let her finger trace the rim of her empty glass lightly. “So you are here drowning your sorrows because of your small fight? Please.” The blonde rolled her eyes at the thought, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “He worships the ground you walk on. I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about him leaving you. ” Her tone had no trace of malice or jealousy that it once held. She would never admit it out loud, but she was happy for Caleb and Rose.  

      Rose felt like this conversation had nowhere to go ---the pair had it out, and there was likely nothing else to be said between them. Yet, she didn’t find herself changing seats, or leaving the bar, and she definitely took note that Amelia hadn’t done so either. For now, at least, they were being civil. Caleb would be pleased. 

It wasn’t often that Kara took the night shift to patrol, not since that one fateful full moon. As much as she made it look like she had it all under control, there was still a thread of anxiety that weaved its way through her veins when night fell and the streets got quiet. She was over it - she told herself she was over it. For the most part, she was over it. 

She walked down the street at a slow pace, keeping an eye out for anyone out at this late hour. When she picked up the sound of someone’s movement from the treeline she hesitated, a hand falling to the weapon at her side out of instinct as her eyes fell upon the redhead. Before she could question what she was doing Kara’s eyes fell on the splatter of blood across the front of her blouse, and her senses went on high alert. 

“What’s going on out here?” 

      A wolf. A cop wolf, no less ---great. Just her luck, it seemed, to have someone fall within the two categories she had a horrible history with, the two types of people who always seemed most out to get her. For the wolves, it wasn’t necessarily their fault. They had been created to keep her species in check, and they had engaged in wars that spanned centuries until peace was called for. Officers of the law were usually just doing their jobs, but she’d had a few run-ins with power hungry assholes who gave her trouble for no good reason. If she was honest with herself, she couldn’t fault this woman for being either. So she’d play nice, until she had a reason not to. 

      “Nothing at all, officer.” Rose’s tone was soft, placating, the kind of voice she used when she compelled someone. Of course, she didn’t dare try such a thing with this stranger, especially not in Hollow Grove, but her voice dripped with something calm and icy. “I’m just on my way home.” She felt no need to explain the blood on her shirt, and it was easy enough to forget about now that her hunger was sated. She’d take the route of least explanation, secretive by nature, and see how much --or little-- information would satisfy the woman.

Belle was off to school and he was alone at his house and while this would normally have not been something Stefan even noticed, now it was glaringly obvious. It seems he was only losing people one by one, be it for whatever reason, and now it had been Maria’s turn and she had been taken from him permanently. He sat at the couch staring into nothing thinking about how alone he really was when the persistent knocking interrupted his depressing thoughts of why he was forced to live when she was gone. He knew himself, he would be on full self-destruct mode had Belle not been part of his life. His little girl was the only reason he was forcing himself to hold it together. “Hey.” he said once he opened the door and saw Rosaline, he wasn’t surprised to see her looking distressed. He knew he had freaked her out before, giving her that goodbye, telling her how he might never come back. “Come in. How are you?” he asked her as though nothing had changed when in reality, everything had. 

      Her eyes locked onto his for a moment ---there was something different in them, the light gone or at least faded, for now. She didn’t have it in her to chastise him for the casual tone, for acting like he hadn’t called her days prior saying she might have to make sure his little girl would be alright, if he didn’t come home. Of course, she would have done as much, but she’d have had to make sure she was alright herself, too. It all happened in a flash, but despite how fast she moved she was careful not to throw herself into him too hard. She wrapped her arms around him, tight as she dared, and held him there for far longer than she normally would have dared. Rose wasn’t one for physical affection, but this couldn’t be helped. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Olivia was grateful for the small shift in mood, though she knew that Rose had some reservations. Regardless though, she was just glad that her friend was willing to let her in even the smallest bit. “Eh. I figure I could get away with it for another month or two before Logan’s locking me in the bedroom and feeding me through a hole in the door,” she shrugged, accidentally brushing Rose’s hand as she handed over the playpen. In that moment her blood ran cold, heart sinking in her chest at the image she saw, and she jerked her hand away like it was on fire. 

It was silent for a moment, everything else around her fading out. She wasn’t sure if the baby made her powers amplified, or more in control, but she knew what she saw. She didn’t wait for permission from Rose, grabbing her wrist and holding tightly as images flashed through her mind, a grisly future that seemed far more bleak than anything she’d ever seen for Rose. When she dropped Rose’s hand, she stared at the woman for a moment, searching her eyes. “Are you…did something happen between you and Caleb?”

      Olivia’s reaction to their brushing of skin was painfully obvious, though she had a feeling the witch hadn’t made any effort to hide it. When she grabbed for her hand again, Rose made no effort either to pull away ---her friend was no threat, and she’d seen this look on her face before. She was seeing something. The vampire’s mind went a million miles a minute, trying to piece together what the other might be seeing, gauging her heartbeat and her breathing for any sign that, if luck were on her side, it might be something positive. 

      But then she spoke, and those hopes washed away, Rose’s heart sinking to her stomach. After a moment of her hand hanging freely in the air between them, she clutched it to her chest, as if that might stop whatever Liv had to say from coming true. “We had a fight.” Her voice was quiet, but she made a conscious effort to ensure it would be loud enough for human ears to pick up. Then, a little louder, “What? Why? What did you see?”

      Stefan had been gone for long enough to worry Rose even without the distressing phone call about his possible non-return. It seemed as if all of the chaos life had to offer was piling up at once, and this had only made everything that much worse. 2019 was off to one HELL of a start. Suffice it to say, the moment Stefan came back to Hollow Grove, the very first chance she had, Rose had dropped everything to visit him ---if not for his sake, then to at least assure herself that he really had come back. She knocked on his door, impatient as she’d felt in a long time, knuckles rapping fast and loud for longer than was polite. She refrained from ringing the bell as long as she could, which turned out to be as little as ten seconds. It was impossible to tell if he took as long as it felt to answer the door, but by the time he did, she was nearly ready to bust the thing down. 

Interested in her continued bashing of her own boss to a customer, which seemed counter-intuitive, he immediately wanted to know more, which was usually true and often led to bad decisions. “So, if you were a snitch, what would you tell me about this less than humble personage? I wanna be prepared, just in case.”

      Though Lukas wasn’t her boss, if he had said it out loud she wouldn’t have corrected him ---it was easier than explaining the sire situation, she figured. “He’s the devil... old as dirt.” She pondered any other biting adjectives to throw his way. “Selfish. As selfish as they come, I’d say. Not somebody you’d like to be on the bad side of.”

Ezra chuckled as she spoke, nodding as he sank into the chair across the desk from hers. “No, I’m done for the day,” he said. “Dropping the books by was the last thing I had to do, I was just gonna go home after this.” 

      “Well then,” she answered, and poured them both a glass. “Feel free to indulge, if that’s something you do. Otherwise, I’m sure I can handle them both on my own ---it’s just not quite as much fun.”

Olivia searched her friend’s eyes for a moment. She’d never been able to pinpoint it as mad, but she knew something was off from the moment she told Rose about her condition. “Try telling your face that,” Olivia said with a small joking smile. She glanced down at the playpen, hesitating a moment before she shrugged. “Well…yeah. Dragged mostly,” she answered. “How else was I supposed to get it up here?”

      Rose returned the smile, and though it remained small, it was appreciative. “Better?” She bent down and picked up the playpen as if were little more than an empty box, taking it inside and holding the door open for Liv when it was securely sat on the ground again. She nodded for her to come in. “You should have asked me to meet you at your car. You won’t get away with that when you’re any more pregnant than you already are, you know.”

Dani put her hand to her head and sighed loudly. She was annoyed and definitely did not want to go through this fight. Again. After two years it was still the same, except some words changed around. It was getting her energy and it really felt, that it was not needed. “Why is it that you want to protect me from something. You keep warning me about the Clave and what not. But I’m fine. I’m not a kid that’s gonna go to the next bar and just rip off some heads while I feed. For fuck’s sake, I know how to take care of myself and not become some fucked up version of Stefan Salvatore.” She purposely avoided all of Rose’s attempts for attention and prolonged pauses before answers. Taking a sip of her own drink, she placed the glass back down. Danielle was already tired of the repetitiveness of the conversation. All of which felt useless. “You’ve got nothing to work with here, Rose. You’ve literally just seen me after two years. What the fuck do you think you’re judging me on? I think being in this town has made you a little cuckoo.” She waited for the girl to reply and added. “ Stop trying to make me out to be a vamp without humanity. I quite clearly have it on.”

      She wasn’t getting her point across the way she intended, a skill you’d think she’d have perfected after so many years of experience. However, she had a tendency to go in gut-first, brain later. There was no intent to condescend --not conscious anyway-- but she could feel Dani’s defensiveness in response to her own tactless approach. She figured tact wasn’t deserved in this case, given what the younger vampire had done in the past, but if she gave herself a moment to consider it, she knew it ( obviously ) wouldn’t work this way. She sighed in turn, her silence no longer a product of eternal patience that came with such a long life, but of consideration. She didn’t want this to become a scene, not in the middle of a restaurant, and not now. She had enough on her plate ; she didn’t need someone else in town to put each other on mutual shit lists. She swallowed her pride, her knowledge that Dani’s assumptions were just as ill-founded as her own, and pushed her glass aside. “You seem like you’re willing to play nice, so I’ll return the favour, but you know as well as I do that I’ve got very few positive things to work with, here. Just give me a reason to believe what you’re telling me, and I’ll back off.”

“This drink is a hate crime. I feel personally attacked right now.” It tasted expensive, which was the best, and only positive, thing he could say about it. It was the sort of thing club kids drank when they had more money than taste and needed a lot of sugar involved. “So who just assaulted me? I might wanna press charges.”

      She huffed out a laugh, and gave a brief nod of agreement. She’d never had the drink before, but just by the smell of it she could tell it wouldn’t be to her liking. “I’m not a snitch,” she joked, “but if you hang around here long enough, you’ll spot him. He’s not one to play the humble card.”

“Oh please.” Dani wasn’t a fan of confrontation, specifically when it was coated in threats. “Yet again, you are laying your focus on assumptions of me. You did that back then and you’re doing it here.” She scoffed at the redhead in front of her, unamused by the direction the conversation was heading. “What do you actually know of me, Rose? What do you really know about me, that gives you permission to draw conclusions about the way I am?” Her tone wasn’t raised, yet the dislike could be clearly heard in her voice. “I really don’t see how you’re trying to coat, whatever this is, with the Clave. You don’t even know the fuck I’m doing.” Dani laughed, knowing full well Rose wouldn’t have an answer to any of it.

      “Oh, it’s nothing personal.” Another dainty shrug, and when their drinks came, she took a moment to sip at hers, letting the other woman wait. As she set the glass down on the table, her fingers danced over the stem of the glass, letting her eyes meet Danielle’s. “It’s just what they do, Dani. They know what this town is, and if you don’t think they have people waiting for somebody to get kicked out and snatch them up, you’re kidding yourself.” As far as assumptions went, she had learned long ago that they usually held some ground in truth. It was only fair then that her next words came honestly, voice lower than before, words coated with as much sincerity as she’d allow. “I’m only making my judgments based on what you gave me to work with, and from that, I’d say they’re fair. You were a mess back then, and you know it ---it’s fair, of course, given that you were newborn. I’m only hoping you’ve learned something, since then. For your sake, and the sake of everyone else in this town.”

“I’m sorry what?” She asked, arching her brows at the redhead sitting in front of her. “ Hold on a second. Before anything, you come in and disturb my peace only to lay digs at me?” Danielle let out a sarcastic laugh and took the drink in her hand. How dare she even try to assume things, the same way that she had done last time. “What, do you still think you’re better than me? That you know more about my control and what not?” Taking a sip of her drink, she rolled her eyes. “It’s been two years already, but you’re still a fucking control freak, Rose. Maybe you should start living out of your head a little more.” Here they were again, seemed that the two years that they have been apart almost changed nothing. 

      Rose resisted laughing at the other woman’s shock, finding it entirely unfounded given her actions back in New York only a few years prior. Instead, she pressed her lips together, let her brows lift a little in her own form of faux surprise. “Words, words,” she chided, though her voice made it clear she wasn’t particularly bothered by the salt in Danielle’s tone. “Listen,” she began, and straightened up in her seat a little, squaring off her posture with the other vampire. “I don’t need to control you here, if that’s what you think I do, like I did in New York. You’re out of the closet in Hollow Grove.” She shrugged. “But if you behave anywhere close to how you used to, they’ll have you out of here in a flash ---fresh Clave bait, darling.”

“What the fuck is this and why did it just cost me fifteen bucks to drink it?”

      “The Purgatory special.” She quirked a brow at him, smirking. “And the owner’s a criminal, so that explains the cost.”

He was almost startled by the smile, seemingly open and inviting – a contrast from the expression she held before. Even with the years spent perfecting his composure at his fathers request, Jake doubted he would ever be able to do it as accurately as the woman in front of him. Part of him thought to be envious of that, but the reason as to why he had to acquire such a skill quickly followed, leaving him with the question as to why she was so good at it. Not that Jake would let that slip, her authority figure like status already making him feel like he was sixteen again. Which was ironic, considering her following words. Honest and open. He could do that, or, he could at least try.

Shaking her hand formally, he released his grip a moment later and let his hands fall into his lap, past cautions of etiquette presenting themselves prominently in his mind. Perhaps it was just people like her who brought out this side of him, whether she intended it or not. It was a habit he thought he had overcome since kicking his dad out all that time ago, but alas, apparently not. “I’m Jacob – Thorne, Jacob Thorne. It’s nice to meet you, Rose.” That felt weird, using her first name. “I, uh, I wasn’t exactly the ideal student.” How honest was too honest? He shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, debating what to say next. “I dropped out,” he admitted. “Maths? A bust. Social studies? Nope. Science? You get the picture. I’m terrible at all of them. It’s probably maths that’s the worst.”

      Though it was ages ago, Rose’s parents had schooled her in etiquette as best they could for a pair of poor farmers, but none of it had stuck. Besides, practically everything going on here went against what she was raised on ---for starters, she was sat on the wrong side of the desk as far as her parents’ generation would have known. Her poise was not accidental, however, well-practiced over centuries of existing among the wealthy, nobility, and occasionally even royalty. It was hard to let go of that sometimes, especially in situations with strangers or when she sat as a figure of authority. But she’d try. 

      “Likewise, Jacob,” she returned, after he introduced himself. With a nod here and there as he explained his situation, she decided early on that he certainly wasn’t hopeless. Well, no one was unless they didn’t want to improve and that clearly wasn’t the case with him. Hell, it had taken her decades to learn more than basic English skills, and it wasn’t likely she would have had the chance if she hadn’t been turned ---and just look where she was now. “Then we won’t start with maths,” she offered, partly as a well-meant joke and partly because she knew it would only be discouraging. “Is there a subject you enjoy? That doesn’t mean you have to be good at it, but... something that doesn’t bore you half to death, hm?”