To speak of love would leave a bitter taste.
To offer more than lust would be a waste.
There is beauty in using hands to see.

Adestria - Defy the Stars

Around eleven the Clan was gathered in the front room, everyone except Nevaeh at least, she was still getting ready apparently. I originally had on dark jeans and a jacket and felt quite comfortable, but Kael had clicked his tongue at me in the 'disapproving-grandmother' way of his and rifled through my closet.

Eventually, he pulled out a short black skirt I only wore on Halloween and flung it at me before stuffing his face back into the void. He reemerged with a corset from a waitressing stint at a less-than-reputable bar. At last, Kael returned from my closet a third time with black heeled ankle boots and laid everything on the bed with care worthy of a display window. It looked like a gothic hooker's uniform.

"Hot," he said with a smirk.

"You would think this is hot. I, however, think it looks like it belongs to a troubled girl whose father never hugged her - or maybe hugged her too much." I replied seriously, hoping he wouldn't push the outfit.

He merely stood there, waiting for me to try it on.

He and I had become close in the past weeks. I needed someone and he had seemed happy to fill in the roles of friend, tutor, brother, and mentor. He would probably never know how much I appreciated his companionship, but I did. Even if I still felt empty. Even if I kept him at arm's length deep down, he was still there for me, always open and trusting. I knew I'd probably never tell him, but he held so much respect in my mind because of the man he was. He was truly good, though he didn't look it.

He was decked out in dark jeans, his signature combat boots, a grey tank under a leather jacket, and various spikes coming from his ears and lips and nose and eyebrows. I swear he had more piercings every day, and maybe he did. His hair was crazy as always, and his tank showed off more of his tattoos. I figured I wouldn't stand out too much no matter what I decided to wear.

Once I had laced up as much of the 'shirt' as I could on my own, I let Kael finish and stood back for his assessment. He whistled and cat-called until we were both laughing. The happy buzz had quickly staled as we waited in the living room for Nevaeh though.

James was standing by the door, leaning on the frame as he waited patiently. He had been there since I came down the stairs. His eyes took me in quickly, flicking down and then back up once, before he looked away, avoiding my direction ever since. He was doing his still-statue thing, where he was perfectly, inhumanly still. I ignored him ignoring me, even though it was difficult. He had on black slacks and a black button-up. Dark colors suited him very well.

Finally, Nevaeh came clicking down the stairs, close to eleven-thirty, in a short black dress and sky-high heels. She gave James a little smile as she walked towards him, he returned the smile and I felt my insides run cold. There had been something in that smile, in the way she had looked at him as she descended the stairs, like she was taking in her prom date, or her next meal.

"You look nice, sleepy-head." She purred at him as she tucked a wisp of his hair behind his ear and slipped past out the door. I caught the slight tensing of his shoulders at the contact, his brow furrowing momentarily, but then he loosened and followed her out swiftly.

I gave Kael a confused look which he returned for a split-second before it was gone and he shrugged, following his brother and pair.

When we got to the car James climbed into the back with Nevaeh, and Kael and I sat up front. I heard Nevaeh say something to James and him reply in a low voice, too quiet for me to hear, she let out a breathy laugh as if he had said the most hilarious thing. I rolled my eyes in the front passenger seat. Kael ignored the backseat's actions and instead asked James to grab the duffle from the back. I heard metal clink before James handed two bars up to Kael, who tucked them into the hidden loops at his side.

The rods looked like they probably extended with a flick of the wrist, almost like a police baton. Nevaeh grabbed her whip next, wrapping it around her ankle, making it look like a shiny coil of jewelry instead of the deadly weapon it really was. I saw James pull two metal stakes out of the bag, almost like knives, but smoother with a more rounded handle, practically just sharpened bars. He stuck them in similar loops at his hips, hidden on the inside of his dress pants before gazing out the window.

Kael cleared his throat and nodded in my direction. James ignored the hint.

Ten minutes into the drive Kael turned his screamed music down, which he had turned up after multiple attempts to get the car talking had failed, and told James to 'suck it up and give her a weapon'. I smiled at the tone he had used, like he was the parent of the car telling a brother to give his sister her toy back. Nevaeh was the one that answered though.

"Why? We aren't going to use these anyway, we won't have to fight tonight. The blood-suckers won't let us get hurt while we're their guests. Besides, she still isn't fully trained." Nev said with a pout at the end.

Kael glared at her in the rear-view mirror before answering slowly, like she was dumb.

"Well, if we have weapons, she should too. It doesn't matter that we probably won't need them, if we have them, then she should. And don't call them blood-suckers, they won't like that. And I believe she has done just fine when it comes to combat training, so just worry about having fun tonight, not preventing Jordan from having a little of her own. We could all use a night out." He ended nicely, but the message was still clear.

The edge of a dagger appeared a centimeter from my right cheek as James handed one up. I grabbed the blade, since he was holding the handle, and yanked it away.

"Careful, don't want to hurt yourself. They can smell blood." James said in a teasing tone, the mean undercurrent making it almost sound like a threat.

"Thanks for the tip," I said quietly as I stared out the window.

Kael made a crude hand motion I didn't quite see to the backseat before returning it to the steering wheel. I looked down at my outfit before glancing at Kael with a questioning look.

"Yeaah," he said without looking. "I don't really know where you can put that, didn't think that far ahead...I just can't believe I got you to actually wear it." He said with a sidelong look and a chuckle.

"I can't believe I even own this," I grumbled to myself, suddenly feeling a little tricked.

"Give it here." James' hand appeared at my cheek again and I obediently handed the knife to him, blade first like he had done to me. A second later two heavy black bits of cloth fell into my lap from the backseat.

"Better?" James' smooth voice floated through the car. I had to tense my back to stop the shiver that was attempting to run down it.

Kael glanced over and nodded.

"Those will work, they're basically brass knuckles, just lighter, thinner and they don't look so suspicious. Plus I bet a ton of chicks wear lil' black gloves here as some kind of statement piece." He chuckled again at his explanation.

I pulled them on and they did look like an alt accessory; fingerless black gloves with shiny metal zipper teeth gleaming on the outer sides. I could feel the metal plates hidden in the fabric at my knuckles, curving around to circle my hands, but Kael was right, they were thinner and practically impossible to notice in comparison to traditional brass knuckles.

"Perfect. Let's hope more than that outfit packs a punch." He said with a comic beat on the steering wheel before muttering something about how he cracks himself up and snickering for a minute or two. He seemed in much too good a mood.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up to a street near the wharf in the city's nightlife heart. Kael found somewhere semi-legal for us to park and started walking in the direction that loud bass could be heard emanating. I started to follow when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was warm, James' kind of warm.

I turned to see him standing behind me, he had a small dagger, just about as long as a pen and not terribly much wider in his hand. He muttered a word and the edges seemed to melt slightly, making them dull. He leaned forward, keeping his eyes on my face, thankfully. I was about to take the little knife from him to get him out of my personal space when he reached forward and set it in my corset, between my breasts, and slid it down so it was hidden. He had a hard smile pulling at one side of his lips, arrogant as usual.

He kept his hand on the top of the knife, holding it with two fingers as his hand lingered. I hid my true emotions from my face and instead looked shyly up at him through my lashes as I smiled. His eyes skipped over my face for a moment, as if looking for a clue, before I raised my chin and parted my lips slightly. The mean smile on his face solidified, a sneer now.

When he looked to be a second from pulling his hand back, upset that his plan to anger me had fully backfired, I grabbed his wrist and pressed his open hand against my chest. Sure enough, he glanced to my hand on his, his eyes a fraction wider than they had been to start. Just as I planned, that one moment was all I needed. I breathed Geburael's name for strength as I put all the force I could into shooting my free fist into James' gut. I timed it as he was just beginning to exhale, letting his own actions help my cause, like Kael had taught me. We were standing so close, and he was caught so off guard, he had no chance of deflecting it, let alone blocking it. He probably didn't even see it coming until I made contact.

I heard a rib snap and James jerked forward a little, a strangled gasp leaving his throat, followed by a series of quiet half-coughs. It was the most satisfying sound I had ever heard come from his lips. I had finally been able to hurt him. He wasn't invincible, it just required a little planning and a well-executed attack. I smiled as I brushed past him, his face practically hitting my mostly-exposed chest from the way he was bent over.

Kael and Nev had stopped a few feet ahead when they noticed we weren't with them and Kael now had a large grin on his face as I approached, nodding his head approvingly. Nevaeh merely sneered.

"Gloves work," I said casually as I passed.

When we reached the doors of the nightclub, Kael was still talking about how I had caught James off foot, and how much he had appreciated the sight. I just smiled at his compliments. I actually felt a little guilty now. I could have just slapped his hand away or acted like I really didn't care. I was supposed to be ignoring him, not letting him see just how much he could get under my skin, that was just more power he had over me, and he already had enough whether he knew it or not. But it certainly had felt good, and now I had an Angel's name running through my veins. It was intoxicating.

The club was in an old cathedral, renovated on the inside but still keeping its traditional charm on the out. It looked like a scene from a horror film. I smiled at the thought as I walked in through the large carved wooden doors. The bouncer didn't ask for money, he just looked at me, smiled, and opened the door. Nevaeh got in too. Kael and James had to pay. Kael, ever the jokester, batted his eyes at the bouncer and shimmied a little before shelling out some cash and walking in after us. James hung his head in mock shame as he followed his brother.

James seemed to be walking normally, so I assumed he had used a name to lessen the pinch of his broken rib. I supposed that was for the best. I glanced around the dimly lit club, greeted by the sight of deep red curtains and blacked-out windows with a sea of sweaty, writhing, dark-clad people in its center. It certainly looked like somewhere one would find Vampyres.

As soon as we were near the main floor a girl with bright green hair and neon blue contact lenses smirked at Kael as she passed, swinging her hips to the music in her torn rainbow tutu. He watched her go, grabbed two drinks off the closest tray, and followed.

"Kael! What the hell? Really?" Nev yelled over the music at him, annoyance painted on her pretty features.

"Wha? The message said we should enjoy ourselves before they meet with us...who am I to disagree, that's rude Nevvie-poo." Kael only half-turned to answer before continuing after the green-haired girl.

Nev stuck her lips out in a pout and turned to where James had been a moment earlier, but he was already halfway to the bar and either didn't hear her call his name or ignored her. She acted surprisingly calm though, suspiciously so. I had been expecting a tantrum, but instead, she just flipped her long, sheet of sleek hair over her shoulder and looked out at the crowd. She licked her lips once before giving a small smile to some unseen patron. Within seconds there was a man, an extremely handsome man, at her side, apparently the object her smile had been for. He half-bowed and put his hand out like you see in old movies, Nev placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her onto the floor.

Perfect. I hadn't even been inside for sixty seconds and I was already awkwardly standing alone halfway down the steps to the main floor dressed like Satan's teenage daughter. God damned perfect.

I stepped down onto the dance floor and tried to scan the walls, seeing if there was somewhere I could stand out of the way, try to blend in, try to disappear. But just about every inch of the place was filled with bodies; people kissing or doing something else somewhat similar, grinding against the wall, dancing in tight knots, leaning in an attempt to look nonchalant, or just standing in groups talking and drinking.

I gave up on finding an inconspicuous spot and instead wove my way between people to one of the bars, making sure it wasn't the one James had headed to upon our arrival. Almost as soon as I reached the polished wood bar that looked like it might have been made out of old pews, the bartender set a drink in front of me. He ignored the few other patrons trying to give their orders and instead leaned over the bar a little, pushing the glass towards me.

"Hey stranger," said a familiar voice. I glanced up and smiled.

"Ajax, I didn't know you worked here," I replied as casually as I could to my most recent ex. The ex I hadn't actually broken up with, not officially anyway. I had just stopped talking to him, stopped responding to his calls. He had been fun for a while, he had a thing for violence, violence and blood, that had kept me coming back for close to two months, possibly my longest 'relationship' ever, but then he started to care too much and it annoyed me. Made me feel trapped. But in that moment, I was happy to see him.

I wanted a familiar face, I wanted someone I could at least pretend I was close to, someone to distract me from feeling awkward in this room filled with people who connected to others on some normal level. Though I used the word 'normal' loosely in this setting.

I hadn't seen Ajax for over six months and something about him seemed unusual, decidedly unusual.

"You look good, different...what have you been up to?" I asked, slightly suspicious.

Something about him had my skin tingling. I could feel my Shift roll in my mind, the first time it had acted without me consciously calling it since that night in the alley. Something just felt strange about him.

"Become a Vampyre or something?" I said seriously, wondering if he would take it as a joke or not.

He knew I was weird, but this statement was out there at least a little bit, even for me. Maybe he would just think I was joking since he now worked here and most of the patrons looked like they probably idolized the not-so-mythical beings.

"Yeah, totally, wanna see my fangs." He teased back, a dark glint in his eyes.

I looked him in the eyes for a moment longer before his thoughts flowed into my mind, as easy as opening a door. Completely Human minds felt different to me now that I had spent so much time, and so much practice with my Gift, on the minds of only partial Humans. His thoughts felt lighter like they were less real, translucent almost.

He wasn't a Vampyre, not yet, he was only a pet, slowly becoming one, being fed off of by his masters, but not enough to kill him, not enough to bring him back as one of them either, not yet at least.

"You don't have them yet. How much longer until your masters give you immortality?" I replied just as seriously as before.

At this, he gave me a confused look as he bit on the insides of his cheek. He didn't look close to replying so I continued.

"You aren't the only one who's changed. There is a lot more in the world than I knew about when...when we knew each other."

Now, Ajax rubbed his hand over his mouth, pulling at his chin before dropping the towel he had over his shoulder onto the counter.

"Want to get out of here? I have some new tricks that you might like."

He spoke with a certain look in his eyes, the look that used to make me drop what I was doing and go anywhere he wanted, do anything he wanted, that used to make my insides quiver. His eyes dropped to see my outfit and his eyebrows rose.

"You do mean you know about Under and Overworld things, not like....streetwalker things, right, babe?" He teased.

I slapped his chest lightly, biting my lip, remembering how heavenly hellish my nights with him had been. He might have been my favorite.

"I would love to get reacquainted with this new you, but I'm actually here on...business. I have to meet, well, my new friends and I have to meet someone in a little while."

I wasn't sure what all he knew of the real world that lay all around us, and I didn't want to say too much.

"Fair enough. Can I have a dance at least? You look...delicious." He spoke around a wolfish smile.

"I would like that," I answered flirtatiously, sipping at the drink he had placed before me at the beginning of our conversation.

"This is good, thank you."

He smiled a little wider before answering.

"It'll knock you on your ass, but don't worry, I'll gladly catch it." He winked at me before beginning to make his way around the counter to me. He waved at a woman with a shaved head in all leather and she took over his post at the bar without question.

"I handle my liquor a little better now," I said as I finished it, hoping I wasn't bluffing. Kael had mentioned alcohol's effects would be lessened the longer I was with the Clan, the stronger my blood became due to my proximity to others, and I secretly hoped he hadn't been joking.

Ajax wound an arm around me and led me towards the mass of people dancing before us, ignoring my comment.

He pulled me into him as soon as we were in the crowd. He felt strong, solid, just like I remembered. He was tall and broad, with dark brown hair that curled around his ears, eyes to match, deep faultless skin, and the jawline of a billboard model. His face was handsome in an overly-masculine way, but his long-lashed eyes often had a devious look in them I found irresistible. A full sleeve of tattoos and a few more in choice locations on his body accented his burly physique.

All the little details I remembered about him, he seemed to remember about me too. He remembered my favorite spots and exactly what to do to have me melting into him. Hell, he felt good. I had been so focused on so much lately, mainly James, that I hadn't even realized how frustrated I was, how much tension I felt. But dancing close to Ajax, feeling his hands in my hair and at the nape of my neck, the small of my back, pulling my hips into his, I realized I had been missing it, physical contact, any contact, and missing it bad.

Ajax tugged back on my hair, raising my face to his, his lips just inches from mine.

"I don't know what you are, but I can feel the difference in you, it doesn't matter to me though. You're still beautiful, you always have been."

He breathed the words down at me, and I felt the familiar push and pull I always did when one of my men said something sweet. The pull of wanting to be close to them, to anyone really, of feeling warmed by their words, and then the push of wanting to run away, wanting to not get trapped by them, bored by them, tied to them. No one had ever felt truly right with me...except James.

As if my mind conjured him, I suddenly saw James out of the corner of my eye, dancing with a petite blonde, a confident little smile at the corners of his lips as he stared down at her rubbing against him, like he found her efforts funny. A moment later she pulled his face down to hers and he was lost behind her white-blonde hair. They turned slightly so I had a clear view of them just as she dragged her teeth down his lip, biting as she pulled away.

The smile was back on his lips, though his eyes were closed, but just before she went back for another bout, James' eyes opened and locked with mine. He looked directly at me before his smile grew into his cocky, lopsided grin, his eyes mocking me, and then he was kissing the girl too, no longer passively letting her kiss him. He was in control, his hands on her face, her neck, her hips.

I pulled my eyes away and tried to refocus on my own dance partner. He was still looking down at me, expectantly, a naive smile on his face. His innocence almost hurt.

"Thank you. You're just as handsome now as the day I met you too." I said with a small smile. "Do you remember that? The first time I saw you?" I whispered seductively up at him.

I knew he did, and I knew the reaction my words would cause. His smile curved up and I saw a look of lust come into his eyes as he relived the memory.

We had been drunk and I had been lonely. Within ten minutes of meeting each other, we were feverishly intertwined in an alley. We had barely made it to his place before we couldn't wait any longer. He had been good too, rough enough to be fun, not enough to make the pain overpower the pleasure. It had been a good, long night.

Immediately one of his strong hands was gripping the back of my neck, bringing my mouth to his, his other pulling my body against him tighter. He ran one hand down from my neck over my chest and then wrapped it around my waist as we kissed. It was a deep kiss, hungry. He had never been one for subtlety. I returned the gesture, trying to push thoughts of James from my mind, trying to focus on how amazing Ajax's hands felt, how warm his mouth was.

He ran a hand down my back and I let out a little whimper. I loved backrubs and he knew it. I laced my fingers behind his neck and enjoyed the connection for a couple more seconds, just tasting him and letting him run his hands over me. His kisses were aggressive and powerful, at times his hands tangled in my hair almost hurt, the way he held me almost crushing, but that's why I had kept him so long, there was never a dull moment when he was feeling passionate, and he had never treated me like I was fragile. He moved down to my neck at some point and bit, lightly at first but when I dug my nails into his back he bit down harder. I let out an appreciative moan before our lips met again.

"I love it when I can hear you," he said breathlessly in between our kisses. "I love to make you moan...I love to make you scream."

He tightened his grip on me again and bit down on my lip. I moaned against his mouth as I tasted blood. My head felt light with the deep drumming notes of the music, the bright flashes of colored light streaking through the dim room, the heat from the people. It was overwhelming, entrancing. But then the music changed to a heavier rock and I pulled away, just an inch, just for a moment, just in time to see the woman that had taken over Ajax's bar walking over to us. I stepped back as she stopped before us.

"Honey, I'm off in ten, mind taking your post again? If your girl needs someone to keep her warm though, I'd oblige." She said with a sly smile at me.

"Last I checked, she prefers my kind." Ajax joked back. "Give me one more minute and I'll come take over." The woman nodded before gliding back to the bar.

"Will you answer if I call? I know you're probably...busy now with your...whatever it is you've found, or become, but I would like to see you again if you feel the same." He looked down at me like I was a true angel.

Without meaning to I glanced around, to see if James was still dancing near us. He wasn't. I felt terrible that Ajax probably thought, or hoped, that this had meant something. But he was just a body, and that's exactly what I wanted. Maybe he would be alright with that though, after all, he was on the edge of immortality, maybe I wasn't so special to him anymore. But then I looked back at him, into his eyes that were practically dripping with adoration and I knew it would be impossible for him to keep things casual, merely physical.

"I am busy lately, with all the changes and...projects. Call sometime and I promise that if I can, I will pick up. I really enjoyed seeing you tonight, I've missed this."

I said the words in such a way that I wasn't technically lying. I was busy lately, extremely so, and I would pick up if I wasn't doing anything else, I just made a mental note to not carry my phone with me for a while, and I had missed this, this meaning his body against mine, not necessarily the person his body housed. I wished I could spend the night with him, but I didn't think that was a good idea, just dancing with him already had him smelling of love, and all I could offer was short-lived lust.

He reached forward and wiped a bead of blood from my lip before sucking it off his finger and smiling slightly.

"Sorry if I was a little rough...I've missed you too." His words sounded like a purr and they made my insides heat. God, I wished I could spend the night with him, with anyone. James' face came into my mind but I pushed it away.

I muttered a blood name as I licked my lips, stopping the bleeding and watching Ajax's face take on a look of surprise.

"Nephilim. I should have known you were an Angel, albeit a dark one. You're here to see Master Jevin then? I heard he was having guests with similar ancestry, I just didn't think it would be you. I'll call sometime...pick up, I hear sex is better without humanity, and it looks like we've both recently lost ours, or at least will soon." He said the last words wistfully before giving me one last longing, lustful look and turning back to his now abandoned bar.

My head was still spinning with desire as I turned away, I had never felt so...I wasn't sure of the correct word, but it burned, like a hunger, a craving, a thirst. It physically hurt and it made my breath come with some difficulty. I had never felt so...lascivious? Horny? It was ridiculous, I felt like a hormone-riddled teenager all over again, but worse. Maybe strengthening my blood by being with the Clan had other side effects Kael hadn't mentioned, like heightened desires.

I was shaken from my thoughts as a hand groped up my skirt, a sweaty paw squeezing my ass, I spun around to see the culprit but it wasn't necessary. James was somehow already standing at my side, his hand gripping the wrist of a big orange and blue-haired man. James had his jaw set and I saw the muscles standing out in his arm as he slowly crushed the man's.

"No touching," he ground out between his teeth in a voice that begged for a fight.

I saw a look of pain cross the man's face as James tightened his grip before releasing it and throwing his arm back at him. The creep quickly recovered from the momentary hurt and raised his chin daftly.

"I don't know pretty-boy, I think she liked it." The man said with a disgusting grin. "Didn't you, you little slut?"

He turned his body toward me once more, smirking down at me like the side-show freak he was. And then he was gone and I was staring at James' back. He had slid in front of me, putting himself between the man and myself once again. The greasy giant didn't seem to appreciate James' continued interference and sneered at him as if James was simply an annoying fly. I couldn't see James' face, but he must have given his signature arrogant smile because the colorful-haired oaf's face changed from a sneer to a snarl and he pulled his arm back as if to punch James.

I saw it coming, James must have too, but he just stood there. He didn't even make a move to block, let alone get a hit in first. I knew it would only require one to knock the stupid giant out. Instead, the creep's fist made solid contact and the noise somehow cut above the booming music. James turned his face with the blow, letting his head whip around from the force, but besides that, he didn't change his stance at all. He just slowly turned his head back to the man and cracked his neck once.

"Ooh. Ouch." He said flatly, completely devoid of emotion which only made it seem all the more mocking.

The man's eyes flitted around the club for a moment, looking at James with confusion, then at the onlookers we had gathered, then at me, just visible behind James' shoulders, then back to the crowd. Finally, he shrugged and began to turn.

"Crazy-ass druggies," he muttered under his breath as he walked away, the crowd parting for him. James turned around to face me. I met him with a glare.

"What the hell was that?" I asked in an accusatory tone.

"I don't hurt Humans...not unless they're evil. He wasn't evil, just stupid, drunk, and...tempted." He replied in a bored voice as he looked me up and down disinterestedly once more.

"Not that, I don't care what you do in your spare time. I mean stepping in like that. I could have handled it, easily, and you know that. I'm completely capable of taking care of myself. I don't need rescuing and I don't need you."

The words came out as little more than a hiss, but everything about James was pissing me off and the strange emotions I was feeling mixed with the memory of him kissing the frosty blonde...I just wanted to punch him. Instead, I turned and stalked away.

As I twisted between the tightly packed bodies to put distance between myself and James, I glanced back. He was still standing there, his arms at his sides, his head tilted back, staring up at the ceiling. I could almost feel his thoughts even without my Gift, his stance said as much. It seemed to plead with the heavens. Why me?

I smiled as I wove between more people, losing view of him. At least I seemed to be as frustrating to him as he was to me.

» ✦ «

No one else probably saw, I knew Kael hadn't since he was tongue-tied to some Human bitch in the corner, sucking face and letting her gyrate suggestively on him. Gross. I rolled my eyes, not that anyone saw. My evening's entertainment had run off to get me another overly mixed cocktail, probably hoping to become the luckiest man in the club and leave with me. However unfruitful his errand would be for him, it had given me time to watch the little soap opera that unfolded in front of me.

Jordan with the handsome bartender, James with the pretty blonde. Jordan kissing her boy to get back at James for kissing his girl. Jordan taking her leave from her little friend, James quickly ditching his to follow. Jordan getting grabbed, James stepping in...how very chivalrous and cliché and dull.

It was interesting though, in a small way. James and Jordan's entire evening had revolved around the other, though neither of them would ever openly admit it, or maybe even realize it, but that didn't make it any less true. Every move either of them had made had been at least in part due to the other.

It was uncanny how they acted as if tethered to one another. Even the smallest movements. Sometimes Jordan's stance would shift according to where James was, sometimes even when I didn't think she consciously knew where he was. It was like they were connected by some invisible thread. The thread was straining though, and neither of them seemed to want the connection.

The only good coming from the little play I had witnessed on the floor was the fact that it meant they were lonely. And though I could care less about our new baby Darkling's disgustingly Human emotions, it was reassuring to know that James truly was missing the warm touch of a companion.

Loneliness was a weakness, a vulnerability, and one that played into my hands perfectly. If there was one emotion I was miraculous at exploiting in men, besides lust, it was loneliness, and James seemed to be brimming with both. This might actually turn out to be easy. I smiled to myself as my evening's caller rejoined me with fresh drinks.

Okay, so maybe sometimes the lyrics ARE literal, but my god, this is a good song. I have loved it ever since my friend introduced me to the band wayyy back when (thanks, Squirrel). And they are fantastic live, though...they've broken up now ㅠㅠ

But my, my, things are heating up! And Neveah looks like she has something up her sleeve...don't make me regret creating you!

T