Scarred

Chapter 2: Friends and Friday Night

Maria smiled sheepishly at the waitress, "Thank you. Honestly I don't usually stalk like this, but I just... I don't know"

"Don't worry about it, and let me know if I can do anything to help. My name's Grace if you need to track me down," Grace smiled and winked again before bouncing off to help another table.

"Okay, after that, I think you need to do something already," Lucienne quietly told her friend. "What if you invite him to our table so he doesn't have to eat alone?"

Maria stared at her friend a moment before a steely resolve came into her eye. Taking a deep breath she got up and approached Jason engaging him quickly in conversation. Lucienne watched the two carefully, trying to gauge his reaction. After a few exchanged words Maria smiled brightly and he slipped her a piece of paper.

Lucienne gave a teasing smile when her friend came back to their table, noting that Jason seemed to watch her from the corner of his eye, though his attention was still focused out the window. "Someone just got a phone number, didn't she?"

Maria's olive toned skin flushed giving Lucienne all the answer she needed. She smiled big at her friend asking, "So when are you two going out?"

********

Lucienne grinned and applauded as Maria finished up her song and stepped down from the stage. After successfully getting Jason's phone number, Maria had been so excited that she decided tonight was officially karaoke night. Lucienne was so thrilled her friend actually wanted to sing that she'd agreed immediately.

Maria had an amazing voice, but she didn't share it very often since singing reminded her of her ex-boyfriend, Kyle. She smiled and high fived Maria as soon as she got back to their table, "You were awesome!" she exclaimed just before she heard the KJ calling her name up to sing.

Maria laughingly shoved her toward the stage, "Your turn, Luce! Knock 'em dead!"

Lucienne took several deep breaths while she made her way up. Though she loved music, her ability to sing was limited. Fortunately she also knew how to pick songs that her husky, somewhat rough voice could pull off. She'd picked Janis Joplin's version of Summertime, one she'd never thought would work for her, till one night many years ago when she'd actually taken Maria's dare to let her pick the song.

Of course it might have helped that I was just tipsy enough not care if I failed, but not so much that I sounded like a drunk idiot, she thought to herself with a smile.

She got up to the mic and started to move with the sultry guitar opening, not minding the long intro on this particular song. When the moment came, she lost herself in the music and let the notes flow out, not smoothly, but with her characteristic coarse voice, using it to give a bit of extra grittiness.

********

Michael stood in the shadows on the street, watching Hayes enter the small building housing the apartment of one of his five mistresses. He sneered in contempt, The man has absolutely no self-control. He wouldn't have lasted long in our world, even without pissing me off. His Maker was a nitwit.

The soft growl echoing off the pavement broke Michael out of his thoughts, shocking him when the glances of his men told him the sound originated from his own throat. Speaking of self-control... he berated himself before moving down the street, knowing his people would maintain their watch until he was ready to act.

I'd better feed or I will end up giving him a swifter end than he deserves, Michael thought to himself. Though it is the loss of control that is of larger import here. I have allowed too much room for unthinking anger, and it is time to take the reins back in hand.

He quickened his steps down the dark streets, heading to a vampire owned club willing humans frequented. While he typically preferred a greater challenge than offered by the humans that frequented such clubs, his temper was much too uncertain and boring was a safer option at this moment. He was passing by a small dive bar, when he suddenly paused, hearing a voice through the walls that captured his attention in ways no one had in centuries.

He didn't know the song, but as rough as the voice was, it matched the feel of the music. Whoever the singer is, they chose well. His eyebrows rose in surprise suddenly realizing he wasn't certain if the singer was male or female, and that was a rare occurrence indeed. Intrigued, he let his feet carry him inside, keeping to a shadowed corner while he observed the singer.

The woman was interesting, moving her tall, curvy body sinuously and with a natural grace when the strains of the guitar took over the song. Really it was a rather long musical break, but he wasn't bored as he would have expected. Instead his curiosity only grew, his attention caught by wisps of her honey hair falling from their pins as she danced on the stage.

I wonder what her eyes look like, he thought to himself, she seems totally lost in the music. Suddenly he desperately desired for her to come out of music's spell long enough for her to meet his gaze. As if reading his mind, he suddenly found himself captured by her steel grey stare.

She's exquisite, he thought, and his fangs descended. His reason abruptly returned and seconds later he left the place as if the devil himself were after him.

********

Lucienne was completely caught up in the guitar strains, letting her body move however it wanted on the stage. She'd long ago discovered that she did much better if she didn't think about what she was doing and just let herself feel the music.

Normally nothing touched her when she was in that state, but tonight, something was different. There was something or someone else that had entered music's kingdom with her, and she opened her eyes, finding herself immediately trapped by a pair of golden orbs.

Wow... She thought she'd seen gold eyes before, but she realized they were pale shadows of the real thing. The warm metal captured her like a moth to a flame. Or maybe more like a dragon to its hoard, she thought, feeling herself melting into a puddle under his scrutiny.

Yeah, that's a 'he' even if I can't see anything but a hat and those glorious eyes. There's so much masculinity radiating off him, I'm almost surprised there aren't puddles of it on the floor.

Her body responded, heating under his gaze and wanting to get closer to him. She was so lost she almost stepped off the stage before he suddenly disappeared, the corner now filled only with shadows as if he'd never been.

Her confused mind suddenly snapped back to the music as the guitar shifted, letting her know the final verse was about to hit. She threw herself back into the song, finishing to applause and the knowledge that her dreams were going to be haunted by gold tonight.