I shut the door to my house quickly, flicking the light switch downwards. The lamps lining the corridor flared to life, and I swept upstairs with Gaxthe following me eagerly. "Nothing tonight my boy," I called to him, shedding clothes as I half walked half ran towards the shower. I stepped in, pulling the door closed behind me with a thud as I turned the water on, not adding any cold. The scalding droplets stung as they washed over me, but I merely closed my eyes and began scrubbing furiously at my skin and hair. I emerged pink and raw, the cool air stinging my unclothed body. I tenderly shrugged on a soft cotton bathrobe, stepping into my room, before stopping with a small shriek. A body was strung up in the middle of the room by it's neck, and Gaxthe was licking it's foot cautiously. I leapt forward, shooing him away before regarding the body with wary interest. "More blood on my carpet. Thank you, you stupid bastards, for ruining a perfectly good rug. "
I fetched a knife from the kitchen, reaching up and hacking through the rope unelegantly, before beginning to drag it downstairs. When I finally got it to the bottom, I simply threw it into the cellar, feeling slightly revolted by the smell. Gaxthe sat quietly at the door, which is odd, because he usually ran around yapping and snapping at totally irrelevent things. "What's wrong, boy?" I asked, blinking at a bang from the lounge. I snatched up a knife, striding in with an annoyed sigh, only to find nobody there. As I turned to leave, a smear of black on the frame of the...open...window caught my eye. Weird. I was sure that I'd left it closed. And what the hell was the black? Eh. Probably just...Actually, I had no explanation for what it might be. Shrugging, I left the room, walking quietly back upstairs to go get ready for work tomorrow. Ew. I so don't feel like it.
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THE NEW ONE'S P.O.V:
This one was faster than the last. She hadn't found me yet, but I'm fantastic at hiding, so I didn't blame her. Clumsy of me to leave the black on the window, but my hair needed redying anyway. As I slid slowly from my hiding place, a psychotic giggle slipped free of me. Another one to have joined my fun little game, and I was so happy that she would co-operate. They will always. ALWAYS. Co-operate. Because I always need to win. If I don't win, then there's no game. Because if they try to win, they will die. I smiled to myself, hissing at her dog as I crawled along the floor when it barked at me. Pesky creatures, dogs. They don't co-operate. I could hear her humming upstairs, and shook my head. Happiness. A stupid emotion. God forbid I ever let anything so awful come across my mind as hapiness. Delight though...That's a different, because delight comes from many things. For young, juicy children, it's sweet things like ice-cream and lollipops. For women, it's perfume and chocolate and getting other people to do tasks for them. For me, it's blood. Blood, and the feeling of stringy, chewy muscles tearing in my mouth when I eat whilst the red liquid runs in small rivulets over and down my chin. I shivered with delicious anticipation of my next meal, before sliding out the window soundlessly and scampering away. When I straightened and stepped out onto the street with a smile, I was normal again. Civil. Human.
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BACK TO HER P.O.V:
Gaxthe was being SO noisy. The poor dog must have still been hungry. Humming happily I tried to get my mind off the sounds from downstairs, but it just wouldn't work. Making an annoyed "ggght" noise, I began pulling on my clothes, realising I'd been sauntering about the house with little more than a bathrobe that was partially hanging open. I decided to treat myself to a non hearty lunch, and walked downstairs to fetch my purse. I realised the smears of black lead from the window up - and apparently down- the stairs, before disappearing out the kitchen window.
"What...The actual...Fu-GAXTHE I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T FRACKING START CLEANING YOUR BLOODY PAWS I WILL CUT THEM OFF."
The dog stared at me innocently, almost appearing to be frowning. Rolling my eyes I stormed out the door, slamming it just for the sake of hearing the loud bang. I jumped into my car, put the key in the ignition, twisted, and....Nothing but a dull revving sound. Swearing frustratedly I kicked open the door, shoving my hands into my armpits and beginning to stomp out across the icy street. Bloody cold for that time of year, I noted dully. I blinked, thinking that I'd heard footsteps, but upon throwing a casual glance over my shoulder, I saw that there was nobody there. Beginning to walk slightly faster, I started humming loudly and obnoxiously, my hair bouncing against the nape of my neck annoyingly. Then I started to sing, for the sake of making noise.
"Here we are, In a room full of strangers
Standing in the dark
Where your eyes couldn't see me
Well, I had to follow you
Though you did not want me to
But that won't stop my lovin' you
I can't stay away-" I blinked, breaking off as another, male voice cut over mine.
"Blamin' it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin' them love songs
Singin' them "straight to the heart" songs
Blamin' it all on the nights on Broadway
Singin' them sweet sounds
To that crazy, crazy town
Now in my place, There are so many others
Standin' in the line, How long will they stand between us
Well, I had to follow you
Though you did not want me to
But that won't stop my lovin' you
I can't stay away..."
I turned, blinking at the man behind me. He had coal black hair, with startling blue eyes- the same eyes I had seen at the club. Deciding to play it cool, I raised an eyebrow, smiling a little. My heart had done a small dance upon seeing him and hearing him. It angered me. "You know Bee Gees?"
"Whoever doesn't is musically uneducated." He smiled charmingly, extending a hand. "Theon Hawshawe. Sorry if I startled you, by the way."
I took his hand, shaking it, before shoving my fingers back into my pockets. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ashley Hollocke." I raised an eyebrow at him. "I would say that you can call me Ash, but I don't know you that well."
"Regrettably that is true." He inclined his head. "Sorry if I'm holding you up - were you going somewhere?"
"I was. Just going to get lunch."
"Well, as an apology for startling you-"
"You didn't-"
"I did. As an apology, Miss Hollocke, please do allow me to buy you lunch."
I smiled slightly, looking at him with a bemused gaze. "Alright," I agreed, snickering as he extended an arm towards me, which I took. We walked to the little coffee shop on the corner called Alluvia, where Theon managed to get us a table near the window. He pulled my chair out for me like a gentleman, which I did a mock curtsey to before sitting.
"So. Do you have a fetish for doing karaoke numbers on streets with strangers, with whom you then proceed to take to coffee shops?" I inquired, taking a sip of my coffee.
He smiled, before nodding. "Though only the pretty ones."
"There are many pretty coffee shops," I said, grinning at him from behind my cup.
Theon laughed, shaking his head. "There are. Though there are few pretty girls to take to see the prettiness of the pretty coffee shops."
"Unless of course the pretty girls have seen the pretty coffee shops before considering that the pretty girls may live just down the road from said pretty coffee shops."
"That is always a possibility, but then the pretty girls seemingly follow the strange men to the pretty coffee shops anyway for the fun of seeing the prettiness of the pretty coffee shops for a second time."
"That's a hell of a lot of pretty," the waitress announced, bringing my croissant and Theon's bagel as she chewed gum noisily.
"It is, but then again, the world needs more pretty," Theon replied, smiling.
She nodded. "Aye. I need a prettier pay check," she grumbled, walking back towards the counter.
"What a lovely person," I exclaimed sarcastically, flapping my hands in an exaggerated gesture of amazement.
"I know. So impressed with life at the moment, isn't she?"
I laughed, dipping the chocolate end of my croissant into my coffee. "I'm going to buy her an expensive handbag for Christmas."
"I think a pair of tweezers and a razor would be more appropriate," Theon said, eyeing her legs with a look of terror. "And possibly a weed wacker."
The waitress' head turned sharply towards us.
"...I think she heard us," he whispered loudly.
"Correction, she heard you."
The waitress picked up a large roll of newspaper.
"You're with me at the moment, that means it's us."
The waitress began walking slowly towards them.
"Nope," I said, grinning at him.
The waitress came closer, hitting the newspaper in her palm as she approached.
Theon threw a 100 Dollar bill onto the table.
The waitress raised the newspaper.
"Aaaand time to go!" Theon yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the exit, the waitress' angry yelling following us as we laughed and ran up the road.We stopped at my house, out of breath and doubled over.
"Do you also do that after every date?" I asked, puffing.
"Nope," he replied, grinning at me. "And you said date."
I froze, blinking. "I...I.."
"Well if that's what it was, I would love to have another date, Miss Hollocke."
"Call me Ash," I said, looking up at him with a small smirk.
"Alright then, Ash. Until next time." He dipped his head, planting a quick kiss on my cheek, before jogging off down the street.
I touched my face in bewilderment, slowly unlocking the door and walking inside, before letting loose a loud scream and punching the wall as fiercly as possible. I sank to the floor, cradling my hand. Love. What a useless emotion.