#nano2016

Kenneth never knew a state of exhaustion before tonight.  Though he did not do anything overly physical in the club, the events that transpired over the few hours were more than he had ever handled in his life.  His entertainment did not come from his involvement in dancing like Tiffany had hoped, rather it was when he had conversations first Tiffany and her husband, her two friends, then with Lilith. Tiffany was the first to congratulate him on his chance encounter.  He said they spoke about mundane things, and that “her brother said they had to head home, but I gave her my number.”  She could not have been happier for him.  She never thought he would actually hold a pleasant conversation with someone like her.  To Kenneth, Lilith was beautiful in his eyes, and her appearance did not put him off ease, it only made him feel more comfortable with people her kind – though he still had yet to know their true nature.

His immediate thoughts upon getting into his apartment were to take off his outfit, flinging them haphazardly into a corner in his room, then change into a dirty pair of sweat pants to feel comfortable in.  He proceeded to his computer, turning it on to his social media page where he caught up on everything his friends and family had posted.  He saw Tiffany's real-time picture updates of their time in the club.  At least, he recognized the moments she took while they were in the booth, the rest of the time as she danced on the main floor was completely new to him, and something he knew he would not have liked to experience. He then saw the last post she made before going to bed:

[Had a great time with my ladies, my man <3, and my dear friend Kenneth Powler.  Hope we can do this again soon.]

He smiled.  To have seen his name used in social media in something other than being linked to an article for an upcoming game was something he had never expected to happen. On that particular post, he wrote a reply.  [Had a great time!  Maybe next time I'll do more of the talking, haha.]

His content mind also decided to turn on his instant messenger, where he immediately was given an invite to turn on his voice chat with Tim.  After chuckling, he clicked okay and was brought to the voice chat screen.

“So I saw you get tagged in that Tiffany's post tonight,” he said.  “I think my little Kenny's growing up to be a real man now.”

Kenneth rolled his eyes.  “Oh shut up, how was the raid tonight?”

“Nah nah, I don't care about the game right now.  You actually went out to socialize, and I want the details.  Did you talk to one of her friends?  Did they sound as hot as they look?  How drunk are you?”

“First off not really drunk, but you should know it takes a lot for me to start slurring.  Second I did talk to them, but we didn't really hit it off.  And finally, well this is actually something she didn't post, but I actually met with someone else at the club.”

He was met with a moment of silence before Tim responded.  “I'm sorry, my headset must not be working properly.  For a second there I thought you said you met someone else?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Tim chuckled.  “Ken, you need to stop pulling my leg here, unless you want to be kicked from the guild, or you have a great story for me.”

Kenneth started from the beginning, detailing everything they spoke about, to when the group went to the dance floor, to when Lilith and her supposed brother approached, and how they spent a better portion of an hour speaking to each other. He mentioned how he handed her his number, and the backward glance she gave him before leaving.  Though he made up the final part, he even began to question if she actually had.  By the end of his tale, Kenneth mentioned how the others returned, and how they got taxis to take them all home.

“My God...” Tim said, sounds of synthetic explosions coming from his end, his games were always so loud behind him.  “I need time to process every bit of that story because I mean...  Not only did you talk to a girl, you talked to a girl in a club, who also happened to be one of those pale skinned people, and  you said she sounded just as nervous as you did?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“And see I always heard they had an air of confidence to them.  Either that brother she was with was putting her through a dare, or she wasn't like anyone else I've seen like that.”

Kenneth frowned.  Tim was right, that anyone who looked like that, at least to their knowledge, had always had a bit of swagger to them to back up whatever they would say.  He had not seen a lot of pale skinned women before, and perhaps her nervousness was an indicator of the sort of shyness such women had, but he could not tell if that was the case.  And that uncertainty left him with another that caused him to think of an important question.

“Do you think she'll phone?” Kenneth asked.

“I couldn't tell you.  I mean it isn't often that you put yourself out there for just anyone.  Hell, I remember when you first joined the guild, it took us a good month running stuff together before you even asked if I had a voice chat, and most guild mates ask after the first week just to easily communicate more difficult fights.  So, if you handed out your number to a girl, and she took it, even if she doesn't know the kind of person you are, she'll probably give it a shot too, especially if she came up to you first and wanted to hit things off.”

Kenneth nodded.  “You're right.”

“And even if I'm not, hell that should give you some confidence boost, right?”

“Ha...  I suppose so.  Anyway, I'm about to hop on my main.  Anything you want to be done?”

It was nearly five in the morning by the time Kenneth decided to log off of his game, Tim had left him twenty minutes prior to going to bed.  He was by himself, only surrounded by the ambiance of the video game's naturally sounding music from his surround sound speakers.  He was not particularly tired, but he knew he should be going to bed to not completely disrupt his sleep cycle.  As he got off of the computer, his phone began to ring.  He was confused, he could not think of anyone who would phone so late at night, and he did not expect Lilith to phone right away either.  He picked up the receiver and spoke.

“Hello?”  

He waited moment.  In the age of digital calling, sometimes there was a delay for connection to go through.  After he thought some time had passed, he tried again.

“Hello...?”

Still no response.  He waited a little longer, but having it being so late, he decided to hang up.  Having cursed his luck for a wrong number that would not even have the courtesy to admit their error, he decided it was not worth his time fretting.  He went to his room, where his bed awaited him, and the subsequent dreams that would accompany.

It was the first time she had ever heard the disconnection dial-tone of a phone before.  The was was hi a high pitch, it was annoying to her, though her annoyance at herself was more apparent than it was to the sound.  She could not believe that she froze before having a moment to say something to him.  When she heard his voice, she froze, not knowing what to say next.  She had never known another mortal before today, and he still intrigued her, for what reason she could not understand.  She thought if she spoke to him alone, she would come to some understanding, but all at once she lost her nerve.  Sighing, she put the phone back down and returned to her room, where she saw Hitomi.

“Where had you run off to?” she asked, smiling at her young pupil.

“I... was walking around the manor as I waited for you to be done speaking with Father.”

“It must have been boring for you. But, at least we have our date for the city to look forward to tomorrow, yes?”

Lilith had nearly forgotten about Hitomi's promise to her.  What she felt earlier was quickly erased with newfound excitement.  “Oh yes!  I had nearly forgotten about that.  I can't wait to see the city again, Hitomi-sensei.”

The older vampiress chuckled, walking up to Lilith and offering her a small hug.  “And I cannot wait to show you my favourite place to go.  For right now though, let us continue your training.  There is still much to show you.”