Teddy Santoro

@teddysantoro

Destiny finished her shift a little earlier than she expected. After putting her apron in her locker, she went to the ladies room to freshen up. Finger combing her hair and touching up her lipstick, she looked as good as she could after working an eight-hour shift in a coffee shop.

She couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of Teddy coming back to walk her home. Telling him he was her favorite customer was true, but not the whole truth. She’d had her eye on him since the first day he walked into the coffee shop. She just never imagined that he’d be interested in her, too.

Once she finished primping, she gave her mouth a spritz of breath spray and walked through the cafe and out the front door to wait for Teddy to arrive. Leaning against the wall of the building, she looked up when she heard approaching footsteps. A smile from ear to ear graced her gorgeous face as she saw him approach. “Hey, you,” she said by way of greeting.

The shift at the motel hadn’t even started, so he had managed to get back to his apartment, get some sleep...okay that’s a lie. He had tried to sleep but found it near impossible as he both worried and felt excitement for taking Destiny home. It’s just a fucking walk, dude. Calm your shit. He hated his inner voice, but it was right.

With not being able to sleep he found himself jumping in the shower, putting on his clothes, and trying (unsuccessfully) to find some cologne. He settled instead for a little extra deodorant, and then waited for a reasonable time for him to leave to get there on time...Without seeming too eager. By the time he left his place he had a fifteen minute walk ahead of him, so he left with two minuted extra to spare. 

It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t exactly warm either. Doing up his sweater but keeping his leather jacket undone, Teddy made his way to the cafe and couldn’t help but smile back at what he saw in front of him. “Hey.” Smooth, bro. He wanted to roll his eyes at himself, but kept it in check, and then “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.” Was he late? He didn’t think he was late. “How was work?” Stupid useless question, but he didn’t know what else to say.

Marlowe let out a sharp huff of air, her fingernails digging into her crossed arms. She finally tore her eyes away from him to start pacing in the motel’s dingy lobby, now at least sure she had really found him and wasn’t just willing the vision of him in front of her into existence. “You know what? I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you think abandoning me is what’s best for me. I also don’t understand why you and everyone else I’m supposed to listen to are under the impression that you’re cursed, when bad shit just happens.” She May have been a witch, but she didn’t, couldn’t believe her brother was cursed. Everyone was just a little more aware of all the terrible things because it coincided with his magic. There wasn’t any actual proof it meant something.

The moisture was still threatening to spill over, stinging the corners of her eyes, but it was easier to hide in her pacing. “There are always people around, but those people aren’t you.” She sighed, trying to keep her breath steady. “There has to be something I can do. Some way to convince you that I’m not in any more danger around you than I am when I’m not.” She still couldn’t quite process how he was putting this all on himself, and how he could manage to keep going with all that weighing on him.

She stopped her movements, fixing him with a sharp—if slightly teary-eyed—glare. “And what if something does? What will you do if something still happens to me when you’ve kept your stupid careful distance? Or what if something happens to you, and I don’t find out for god knows how long? Do you really want me to live with that,” she hurled his words back at him.

“Ya, I get it. Shit does happen sometimes. Let’s just call a spade a fucking spade though, how many times does it have to happen because of me?” that was just the truth of the matter, it didn’t matter how much someone wanted to sugarcoat it. He.was.bad.news. And the sooner Marlowe came to realize that, the sooner her life would be better.

This wasn’t a place he wanted her to be in...That he wanted her to see him in. The piece of shit motel that he didn’t understand why The Council kept it open, but here they were. Don’t cry, Lowe, don’t cry. He willed his thoughts a reality, nearly a chant in his mind because if he were honest he knew to see her visibly upset may very well aid in being his undoing. All he wanted was his old life back, his family, his coven, but now he was just the outcast. The boy surrounded by death and demons and he didn’t know what he could do about it. A blessing and a curse they called it and he just wanted to blessings. So far he’d yet to experience any. 

Teddy moved from behind the desk and took a seat on the sofa in the lounge where she paced. He watched her, hoping her nearness to him wouldn’t make her trip, fall, and break her neck because of him. “You deserve the longest of lives, Marlowe.” He placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of him, had he been anything but Wiccan then he would have perhaps looked like he was praying to God and not the energy around him. “You can’t have that if I’m around. If something happened to you when you’re not with me then it’s unlikely, I’ll take the chance of something random than something certain if you tangle your life with mine.” His eyes closed as he breathed in deeply, he could feel his energy flowing through him and beginning to pool in his palms as they heated. His magic was doing this on his own, his emotions causing it to surge to the surface. With increased magic, meant his powers amplified. The necromancer began to hear heavy chattering as if every dead person who had ever passed in a 10 mile radius from the beginning of time was trying to get his attention all at once. His eyes burned as he tried to tamper it down, to pretend it wasn’t happening. His hands slowly moved to his ears as if that would help block out the sounds. Shut the fuck up.

She could feel a blush color her cheeks when he nodded at her. He’s so handsome, she thought to herself. It had been awhile since met someone that she was attracted to the way she was to him. She didn’t understand the draw, but decided to just let it be. It felt good and she didn’t want to fight it, if she were being honest with herself. Could he be interested in me, too, she wondered. After all he was coming back to walk her home and she was his favorite barista. 

Was she imagining things or did he falter a bit when she mentioned the coven house. Had the color drained from his face? She couldn’t be certain, but it seemed he became suddenly uncomfortable. “Okay,” she said with a smile and soft nod. “I’ll see you after ten. Thanks, Teddy. I really appreciate it,” she said as she casually reached forward and touched his hand softly. Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Oh...Ok.” He nodded when she agreed to see him at ten. The stupid nervousness inside of him made him reply stupidly and he instantly hated himself. It was difficult to pretend she didn’t affect him the way she did, but here he was trying. “Don’t mention it.” He smiled, tried to be less awkward and was just about to leave when she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. The feeling of her breath against his skin, it was enough to raise the skin on his arms in the best of ways, and he wanted to lean into it just to enjoy the sensation.

He didn’t though, instead he nodded, cleared his throat, and then offered her a smile. “Me too.” He was ready to crumble, but he knew he had to grow a pair and act otherwise. Teddy grabbed his drink that was only half finished, then left the cafe. He nearly pulled on a push door but caught it before he did and then left. The cool air hitting his face helped snap him out of it. “Shit.” He said to himself aloud. How the fuck am I supposed to go to a coven house? That he wondered internally, but he figured he’d worry about that later.

teddysantoro‌:

“Batman cartoon” He clarified, defending his stance. “Nothing beats it, especially not Marvel.” He wasn’t going to get into that war, so he just smiled and gave her a playful wink. It probably didn’t look great, he wasn’t overly smooth, and he may have looked more like he was having a seizure than anything else. “I’m sorry your work is shit.” He commented as they bonded on them both hating the places they had to stay for more than 40 hours a week. While she drank her coffee, Teddy did the same. It was good and he needed it so bad. “That would be fun.” He admitted, not dreading talking to the woman anymore now that she wasn’t so angry. “S’all good. Honest, it was my fault. Don’t worry about it.” he meant it, and didn’t want her to dwell over it. “I never mind a drink, if I’m ever not working.” He joked, raising his brow as he moved towards the door. “Maybe we’ll bump into each other again.”

  DC vs. Marvel. Classic argument, but she let it go, too, following his lead, and giving him a playful nudge at his wink. “Well, I won’t hold that against you,” she teased. 

“Nah, the work isn’t shit. It’s the work situation. I’m not sure it’s going to work for me much longer. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do if I leave there. The boss is a real shit and I’m sick of him coming on to me. But what I can I do? I guess looking like this,” she made a playful “look this over” gesture with her hand, “just screams ‘hit on me’,” she laughed. She didn’t really think that about herself, even though some did tell her she was beautiful. She just never knew if they were being honest or just wanted in her pants.

Giving him a nod at him taking responsibility for the run in earlier, she didn’t press they issue. Truth was, they probably both weren’t watching where they were going. “Well, we could avoid bumping into each other, and just plan to meet up, ya know? I wouldn’t mind hanging out with ya,” she said with another playful nudge. “And before I go, Teddy, one more thing,” she pointed to the girl behind the counter, “seriously, ask…her…out.” She tipped her cup to him, gave him a wink and began her walk back to the office.

teddysantoro‌:

“The species could be anything. The vampire one is pretty obvious.” Teddy knew that it probably wouldn’t do much, his report, even though it wasn’t an official one. He had to try, the vampire was more for the rest of the spirit that she had taken, but the other…Well the other was more personal. It hit home mostly because it was happening at his place of work, the place he spent more time at than he did his own home. 

Everyone kept calling it an overdose…Everyone…But it wasn’t. Teddy knew this, he knew this because he could see the spirit, but he didn’t have a clue as to what was actually happening. The most he could think of was that some species as doing something…Causing some effect that looked like an overdose, because every single one of the people who had died lately, hadn’t checked in alone, but the coincidence was that the other party was always “On their way” or “in the car” it just didn’t add up.

The sheriff was writing stuff down as he spoke about it, Teddy wondered if he would actually follow up on it or not. “It’s not” Teddy clarified, his voice having a little more force behind it than other times, as he was sure this wasn’t it but that’s what they kept saying. “It has to be more than that. I know it’s more than that.” The necromancer rubbed a hand down his face as he thought about it all. “Everyone keeps saying it, but it’s not true.” He needed this guy to understand that, to take this seriously, the spirits were getting restless and that was never a good thing. 

“I…I uh…I guess we’re good.” He was going to turn and leave the place now, but he stopped half way and ran his hand through his hair, taking a breath to steady himself. “I know you’re probably going to just brush this off as nothing, but the spirits aren’t happy, they’re pissed, and they know this wasn’t an accident.” He spoke more than he normally did, so he found himself nearly out of breath at it. “I’ll go now, but I can’t stop them for long if it keeps happening and I’m warning you because you’re supposed to protect everyone.” The words were full of foreboding, but it was true. Teddy locked eyes with him for a moment and then turned to leave.

“I…I uh…I guess we’re good.” He was going to turn and leave the place now, but he stopped half way and ran his hand through his hair, taking a breath to steady himself. “I know you’re probably going to just brush this off as nothing, but the spirits aren’t happy, they’re pissed, and they know this wasn’t an accident.” He spoke more than he normally did, so he found himself nearly out of breath at it. “I’ll go now, but I can’t stop them for long if it keeps happening and I’m warning you because you’re supposed to protect everyone.” The words were full of foreboding, but it was true. Teddy locked eyes with him for a moment and then turned to leave. —————————

Most of the vampires in the town were smart and knew how to lay low and how to take the lives of humans without alerting too many people, Wolfe liked those kind of vampires. He wasn’t fond of the ones that felt they can do anything, anywhere. And he especially wasn’t a fan of the ones that left bodies just laying around for anyone to find, especially when the ones finding the bodies is a necromancer. Because that meant that Wolfe had to deal with these bodies, because they always came to him to handle it. And yeah he knew he was the sheriff and all, but still.

And if the shifter was being honest, he wished they’d tear that damn motel down.  It was a cesspool of bad shit and he knew the witch in front of him was a worker there, because he had seen the young man there a few times when he went out there, but really. The younger man could get a job someplace else and the motel could just be burnt to the ground.  People were dying left and right at the hotel, and while Wolfe didn’t give a shit about the humans, he knew there were supernatural creatures that were dying there too, creatures that should know better.

He wrote everything down though and planned on bringing some of his deputies in as soon as the younger male left.  He raised a brow at the witches next words, however and gave him a look as he talked. “Look, kid, sometimes a spade is just a spade. It’s most likely an overdose, overdoses happen all the time, especially at the motel and you know that.”  But as he watched the younger male, he couldn’t help but sigh before saying the next thing. “I’ll look into it though and if there’s more too it, then I’ll be able to see alright? And we’ll go from there.”  Wolfe was pretty sure the younger male didn’t believe him, but the shifter would put some work into it.  

Wolfe nodded his head when the younger male said they were good, and the sheriff kept his eyes locked on the kid as he moved toward the door. Wolfe sighed at the younger male’s words though before nodding his head slowly to what the younger male was saying. “I was going to look into it, and alright, if you say the spirits aren’t happy then I’ll take your word on it because I can’t talk to the dead like that.” He frowned at the younger male and the frown got a little bit deeper at his next words, wondering what the hell the younger male was trying to get at.  He wanted to roll his eyes at the supposed to protect everyone part, because most of this town was corrupt it wasn’t like Wolfe was the only one, instead he just let out a little sigh. “Alright, I’ll do what I can to figure shit out so nothing happens that you can’t stop.” And maybe it sounded like he was placating the kid, but Wolfe wasn’t sure what else he should say.

Marlowe couldn’t help but flinch when he snapped at her. Even as she now had the chance to make it clear what he’s done to her, how he’s made her feel, she could feel the familiar guilt and disappointment wash over her, like it did when she even thought she would upset him. “You can’t,” she tried to deny, but the doubt even managed to creep into her voice. She was sure, deep down, that her brother did care for her, but he sure did a good job of hurting her enough to prove that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t. She shook her head. “You don’t love this, you love hiding from everyone. I just never thought you would ever hide from me.”

She sighed, her eyes rolling up towards the ceiling, trying to blink away the moisture collecting in them. She always cried when she was mad, even when she was mad enough to scream, tear, and destroy—it always came out as crying. And she just wanted this time, this one time, not to end in tears. “Well, I certainly don’t want you to not be a part of my life,” she scoffed, though she had never quite articulated what she was after when she was trying to find him in every dark corner of the town.

“I just… I feel like I don’t have anyone to talk to anymore.” It sounded flimsy when she said it out loud, but it was what she meant. She hoped he would understand, that he was the only one who really understood her, the only one whose judgement she really trusted. “I don’t know,” she shook her head, running her hand through her hair. “I get you don’t want me…here. But can’t I see you sometimes? Text and call you? Anything?”

“You don’t understand.” He tried to go for common sense, for making his point known. It wouldn’t be worth it, she wouldn’t understand - never. If he told her he wanted to stay away for her own safety then she would laugh, she would say he didn’t need to do that...But she didn’t know how much of a curse he was to her. At the end of the day he couldn’t give a fuck about anyone else, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Marlowe. It was bad enough his parents were dead, he didn’t need that fate for her as well. 

The necromancer ignored Emma-Jean as she peaked her head through the wall to eavesdrop on the conversation he was having. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have to deal with her questions late, but then again she knew a fair bit about his life. The necromancer had the gift of a medium, he not only rose the dead but spoke to them, lived with them. It was seen as special, he was seen as someone with much power, but that power only made him dangerous to the ones he loved. “I wish I could be part of your life...” He did, he wanted nothing more than that. “A lot of people would agree that it isn’t a good idea for you to be around me. You should probably listen to them.” He didn’t know exactly what the coven spoke of him, but he doubted it was good things about the cursed boy.

The way she looked up to prevent tears, it tore at him, but he tried to keep his composure and not let it visibly affect him even if he wanted to comfort her. “There’s always people around.” He offered her, though he knew that wasn’t what she meant. “I...” He didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t sure what he should or shouldn’t agree to. “Sometimes...Maybe...I don’t know.” He didn’t, he wanted to push her away and bring her close to protect her all at the same time and it made him very confused. This was his baby sister, he was basically born to make sure she was protected, and he knew his actions were hurting her. “What do you want out of it, Marlowe?” He let out a deep breath and braced his hands against the desk. “What if something happens to you? They’ll kill me.” She was the prodigal daughter of the coven left, as he had been the prodigal son an disappointed beyond belief. 

Even before they joined in, the club was already alive with people grinding against each other as the music blasted. It seems like this bar really had everything, between being classy and wild at the same time. Kimberly didn’t party like that usually, her kind of parties were the luxurious once, people wearing suits and long dresses and the place was almost quiet except for the sound of people talking. Here and now, though? She didn’t quite care. She was no longer 20 years old after all.

 As soon as she hits the dance floor it didn’t long for people to want to dance with her, both men and women. Some pulling her closer to them, others happy with her just noticing them but of course Kimberly didn’t forget about the man she just met. “You should learn to relax a bit, darling.” The vampire whispered in his ear. “Not everything is about death.”

It was awkward for Teddy, standing there half dancing and half feeling like a fool. It wasn’t something he partook in, not normally. It was strange. He was a young guy, but he had never lived this kind of life. Before this his community kept him mostly hidden away, the kid with all the powers, the kid who they thought was special in the clan of necromancers. So yes, he had some fun, but it was rare and he would sneak out. 

Now he didn’t have fun because he was always working and he didn’t want to bring death upon anymore people. He had killed enough, he couldn’t be responsible for more. “I...I am relaxed.” He lied and tried to feign being more comfortable. “That’s what you think..” He mummbled under his breath, for him everything was about death, for him death was everywhere. Though Teddy closed his eyes, ran a hand down his face, grabbed another shot of alcohol and tried to just let the night take him where it might as the music pounded.

Wolfe attempted to calm down his assholeness since this kid wasn’t the one he was annoyed at. Obviously he was here for a reason and Wolfe could take this seriously because this was his job as sheriff after all. Sure he  didn’t have the kind of authority that the council did, but he was at least the next step down and usually he did his best. Yeah he wasn’t the cleanest, he had blood on his hands and blood money in his pocket, but when he wanted to, he was damn good at his job.  So he nodded at the younger males words. “Alright, two isn’t too bad and if you’re saying it’s two different species that did this, then that’s not bad. You got any kind of idea as to what the specie was so I know what to look for?”  Most dead bodies he came across usually were because of either a vampire or a werewolf, sometimes even a shifter, but it was rare. So he had a good guess what the young male was going to say, but he still had to ask.

He huffed out a little laugh at the others words before nodding. “Got that shit right, especially when it comes to some of the richest criminals in this town.” Of course Wofle knew he was corrupt too and most of the town knew that as well, but sometimes if you were in a pool with sharks, you needed to be a shark too to survive. At least that’s how the shifter pretty much justified what he did.  He grabbed his pad and quickly wrote down the information the young male was given him, nodding along as he spoke. “Vampire, copy that, and at the cemetery too,” he hummed a little, knowing damn well who probably had done it, the same vampire he had told to be careful and not be noticed. He figured she wouldn’t listen though, most vampire’s didn’t.

He wrote down where the next body was found and he scrunched up his nose a little. He really hated that fucking hotel and he wasn’t shocked that it might be another overdose, he was called over there far too often for that very thing. “Alright, I’ll send someone to the cemetery and I’ll handle whatever went down at the hotel. I’ll see if I can scent anything out that would lead me to believe it wasn’t just another overdose.” Wolfe figured he’d have to shift into one of his animal forms where he had better senses and could track whatever it was. Though honestly the sheriff figured it was just junkies, there was a lot of junkies in this damn down and they all stayed at the Shadowbrooke Motel.

“Alright kid, thanks for letting me know and I’ll get my people on it ASAP.  Is there anything else you need while you’re here, or are we good?”  He figured once the kid left, he could go out to the motel scene and maybe that would take his mind off his bad mood and the idiot people that worked under him.

“The species could be anything. The vampire one is pretty obvious.” Teddy knew that it probably wouldn’t do much, his report, even though it wasn’t an official one. He had to try, the vampire was more for the rest of the spirit that she had taken, but the other...Well the other was more personal. It hit home mostly because it was happening at his place of work, the place he spent more time at than he did his own home. 

Everyone kept calling it an overdose...Everyone...But it wasn’t. Teddy knew this, he knew this because he could see the spirit, but he didn’t have a clue as to what was actually happening. The most he could think of was that some species as doing something...Causing some effect that looked like an overdose, because every single one of the people who had died lately, hadn’t checked in alone, but the coincidence was that the other party was always “On their way” or “in the car” it just didn’t add up.

The sherif was writing stuff down as he spoke about it, Teddy wondered if he would actually follow up on it or not. “It’s not” Teddy clarified, his voice having a little more force behind it than other times, as he was sure this wasn’t it but that’s what they kept saying. “It has to be more than that. I know it’s more than that.” The necromancer rubbed a hand down his face as he thought about it all. “Everyone keeps saying it, but it’s not true.” He needed this guy to understand that, to take this seriously, the spirits were getting restless and that was never a good thing. 

“I...I uh...I guess we’re good.” He was going to turn and leave the place now, but he stopped half way and ran his hand through his hair, taking a breath to steady himself. “I know you’re probably going to just brush this off as nothing, but the spirits aren’t happy, they’re pissed, and they know this wasn’t an accident.” He spoke more than he normally did, so he found himself nearly out of breath at it. “I’ll go now, but I can’t stop them for long if it keeps happening and I’m warning you because you’re supposed to protect everyone.” The words were full of foreboding, but it was true. Teddy locked eyes with him for a moment and then turned to leave.

“Good, please do keep it in mind. I mean it, Teddy. Everyone needs someone they can talk to.” Recognizing that he didn’t want to burden her with his issues, she added, “And if you can’t talk to anyone, write it out. Get that shit out of your head, Teddy. Write it out and then burn the paper. You’ll feel much better. It will lighten the load, I promise.” She gave him a smile and reached over to lightly touch his hand. “I promise,” she said again.

When he insisted she didn’t have to go to the trouble of having his order ready, she acquiesced. She wasn’t going to make thing uncomfortable for him, but she would do it anyway, just because she wanted to. “Am I,” she asked pleased with his assurance of her being his favorite. “I like that, Teddy,” she added. “I’m glad to hear that you will be able to walk me back to the coven house. It can get a bit spooky even for me, at times.” She didn’t realize that she slipped when she used the word coven and hoped that it wouldn’t spook him, if he was human. Maybe he didn’t even catch it.

“...I will...I promise.” He assured her, but he knew he wouldn’t bother her with such a thing. “Yeah, I play enough with fire.” He joked. “I probably shouldn’t try to get myself burnt.” She wouldn’t know what he meant, but that was ok, he preferred it that way. Necromancy wasn’t the only thing he was good at, fire was a near hand and hand with the former craft. 

When she questioned whether she was really his favourite, he didn’t respond but instead nodded his head once to confirm it. “I’m glad you do.” Was he flirting? He wasn’t sure? Did she know it? Why was he so stupid? He was so wrapped up in his inner thoughts that he nearly missed it when she said coven house. Then he froze, he tried to recover himself and act natural. He wanted to back out of this, but he promised to walk her. Surely if their coven knew anything about him they would try and cast him out, that was normal, he was a curse on everything. “I...” He was trying to get something intelligible out. “I’ll uh...I’ll pick you up after ten then.” He tried to recover, he had promised her, and before he came back he would worry about how to get out of this situation before then.