devo’s
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(group member since Nov 26, 2018)
Five years in Warwick and he was never asked not once to the ball. Partly because he simply never felt the need to go -- it was not something on his immediate to-do-list, he was too busy trying not to sink his fangs into anything that breathed. Now that he feels ready, it was nice to actually be invited somewhere by someone who wasn't terrified of him. He chuckled to himself, before rubbing his mouth -- trying to wipe the smile off his face. His stoic and nonchalant facade was breaking, and it was worrying.
"A date to the ball?" He pretended to think about that for a moment, playing with the napkins absentmindedly, humming to himself before looking back at her expectant face. Seeing her so eager for a response only made him burst out in laughter. "Sure. I'll go with you." Casper leaned back in his seat and put his hands behind his head. "When I'm done with you, you're going to forget you even became a," looking around to make sure no one heard him "vampire."
Saying it made it all the more real. They were vampires, bloodthirsty and dangerous. Yet, sitting in a completely normal coffee shop amongst completely normal people, it didn't feel that weird anymore.
Salem took it upon herself to turn up the radio, just a tad — enough to hear the lyrics of some random overplayed commercial pop song that was playing on 84.5 FM. Mumble singing the lyrics to herself she watched trees and buildings whiz past focused more on what was happening outside rather than inside. Inside sat Lorenzo Calderon with his incredibly sharp jawline, toned muscles that were hidden underneath his jacket and his side glances, which burned holes through her. She was grateful that he accepted her response if he pushed any further Salem would've run out of further excuses to pull out of her ass. Not looking back at him, especially when the car paused at red lights was the safest option, because she wouldn't know how to handle it if they met eye contact.
But when he brought up the pizza she couldn't resist raising a single eyebrow in amusement at him. He's inviting her somewhere? Not the other way around? And it didn't even feel too forced, it was like he wanted her there not out of obligation to Liz (well she wouldn't be there anyway), but because he liked her company. Well, she liked his company too. He couldn't know that she thought that, however. She had to keep it cool and casual. Leave him wanting more. That's what she read in a Teen Vogue magazine anyways.
"You're inviting me to your house? A little forward if you ask me." She teased chuckling to herself while playing with the lid of her half-empty coffee cup. Looking at his face, she turned away again biting her lip to keep herself from grinning. "I'm just teasing," Salem assured him before he could say something back at her "I'd love to hang out with you guys, plus if I don't beat Jack in Wii Sports at least one time I might go criminally insane." She joked while being entirely truthfully. Seriously, that kid is good. Wimbledon good even.
"You're very welcome, monkey." She said turning around and reaching over to tickle Sam. He giggled in return with a mouthful of blueberries and muffin. God, he was cute.
"Thank God, my list is so long I swear I'm going to buy at least one item from the entire store." Pretending to be hurt she pouted at his comment, even though he was entirely right. She did have a car, and she did have an extensive amount of time on her hands, but for gods sake she's a teenager. Netflix was way more important than doing anything else. That's what parents are for, well if she still had them. It was a shame really, how incredibly lazy Salem was but at the same time she was here now, wasn't she? Lorenzo gave her an excuse to crawl out of the Netflix deep dive she was in, which was more helpful than he would ever understand.
"Hey! Don't attack me! I've been busy, plus," Salem added looking at her driver with a half smile "It's way more fun with you. And Sam." She added, making sure Sam got the recognition he deserves. Even though he was far more interested in the muffin she bought than anything that she was saying. Which was fine, he was too young to be attentive anyways.
Finally, they arrived at the grocery store, which was a big relief because it was getting too stuffy in that car (mainly because of her nervousness and extremely silent heavy breathing.) Welcoming the cold air she opened the door grinning at the sky that was a beautiful clear blue. A perfect day to restock her fridge.
(view spoiler)
Looking at the hints of the smile spreading on her face made him breathe a little bit easier. He technically caused her to cry, so seeing her wipe her eyes and sit up a little bit straighter caused the tightness in his chest and throat to melt away. He wouldn't bring up her changing again unless Vee brought it up herself. No more tears, no more fear. Casper was here to help, like a comedically ironic antihero.
Leaning forward on the table, leveling his eye contact with her, he nodded. "Of course I will help you Vee." He started. "I honestly have no life besides my night shift at the hospital anyway." If he could assist at least one vampire wreak less havoc in the town of Warwick the better he could sleep at night. Well, technically not sleep but you get the point. "You don't owe me anything. Trust me, we will get you better."
Seeing Lorenzo in drivers side of the car instead of her red headed best friend was so unfamiliar to her. Elizabeth has been gone for a couple days, completely MIA from social media (she didn’t even post her regular status updates, which was seriously odd). Salem wondered where Liz was, and what she was up to. Thursday argument not the most pleasant one but in Salem’s head it wasn’t that bad. Then again, she wasn’t part of the family she knew that — so it definitely wasn’t her place to try to interject into the lives of the Asher-Calderon’s. She’s just going to leave Liz be, there was no way she would come back to the house if Salem nagged her to.
“Hey kiddo!” Salem chirped turning around to look at Sam, smiling. He smiled back and offered a little wave, which was normal for a shy kid his age. Sam knew Salem — they all did. It was hard not to, she was in their house literally every Saturday. Salem couldn’t even count the amount of times she’s beaten the boys in Mario Kart or lost to Jack in Wii Tennis. She’s a familiar friendly face to Sam, and even if she was closest to the only girl in the house, she could still hang out with the others just as easily. “Of course I got them Lorenzo,” She started rolling her eyes “I also brought a muffin for Sam it’s in the bottom of the bag, I wasn’t sure what he’d like so I just got blueberry. Everyone loves a classic, right?”
It would be awkward if she told him she wanted to hang out with him based on the sole reason that she was in love with him. Salem would never too bold as to let him actually know about her infatuation, no she had to keep it cool — not let him into the deepest parts of her mind where she’s just picturing them together, no that could never ever happen. So she cleared her throat and simply said “We both needed to run errands, we both were free, why not y’know?” She offered him another grin before turning away to look out the window.
Hearing his next statement caused Salem to swallow hard. Why didn’t she have any friends? Maybe it's the mere fact that she’s felt so off since her car parked behind Pete’s Bagel shop the first time she came to Warwick. Salem’s not herself anymore, she’s a supernatural being that she originally thought was just a fictional character that popped up on Halloween. She could picture it now: flying around on a broomstick with a pointy black hat and robes — I mean she already has a black cat, why not bring out the cauldron and the positions? That was one reason. Another reason could simply be because, hey, she just wasn’t a friend making type of person. Even in her previous high school she would mainly keep to herself. It was just easier that way, teenage girls were catty and Salem just wanted to save herself the headache. Liz was the one who approached her after all, she saw that Salem was heading out of AP Calculus and suddenly asked her to be tutored. If it was the other way around Salem wouldn’t even be here, for she wouldn’t have had to guts to befriend Elizabeth in the first place. But, Salem gave Lorenzo the most normal answer possible.
“I just,” She paused to take a steaming hot sip of coffee “I guess it’s just easier to maintain as little social relationships as possible. Less to juggle.” She shrugged, thinking that answer was acceptable to him. Acceptable enough so that he wouldn’t push the topic further. “So I don’t know about you,” She started as they started to drive. “But I have to go grocery shopping. I’ve been barely surviving off oatmeal and Lucky Charms for the past two weeks.” She’s exaggerating of course, but the shopping list on her notes app surely was extensive.
Childish. What Nasir expected. But before he could protest, the man (Emmet was it) was already strolling out the door, leaving behind a disgruntled Charlie and a more slightly ticked off Nasir. Sighing quite loudly he turned back around to her, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “I’m sorry that asshole keeps trying to mess with you.” He said sheepishly. Why was he apologizing? He didnt do anything to her, besides the whole coffee incident. But it seems like he had to. This was the most puzzling thing.
He gratefully took thesecondcup of coffee from her hands and thanked her again. When it finally seemed like they had the time to sit and actually talk, which Nasir wanted to do — Charlie suddenly rushed out the door.
Here we go again.
Watching her take back ownership of her bike he watched Emmet stalk off like a 5th grader who just got a stern talking to from his mother. “So, does that mean you’re about to leave me?” He joked, giving her a halfassed smile, crossing his arms.
The moment Salem hit send to the last text she flopped back into her pillows, covering her blushing face with a blanket. God what has gotten into her the past couple of days? She’s been so, so forward and open it’s just so unlike her to act like that. What is Lorenzo doing to her head? Hearing the familiar chirp from her iPhone only made her sink further into her bed. He probably said no, he had to have — there is nothing else he could’ve said. Why hang out with her? She was not a major character in his life, why would he drop everything to do the stupid errands she needed to get done? Yet she did grab her phone to quickly scan the message.
It’s a yes? What the fuck?
Maybe she’s been living in an alternate universe since Thursday. I mean it’s entirely possible knowing Warwick, there was too many freaks of nature to ever rule out anything. No, that can’t be true. There must be a reason. Maybe he actually did enjoy her company in the slightest? That mere thought made Salem chuckle to herself as she flipped over and shut off her laptop, which was blaring the third episode of AHS: Coven (pretty ironic, to say the least). She needed to get ready, fix her hair, find her lipgloss and — oh! coffee and sandwiches! That one was a must. She did promise.
Stepping over her sleeping cat, who liked to pretend she didn’t exist, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door, her first stop the coffee shop down her street and the second one was Pete’s bagels, which not only had the best bagels in Warwick, but was the place Salem first came to when she realized that she simply couldn’t leave. So call it sentimental, but everytime she comes in, she feels all warm inside. After making her orders and saying her thank you’s and goodbye’s she made her way back home.
She unlocked her front door with her keys, noting that it’s been 25 minutes since he last texted her. Does that mean he’s almost on his way? Shit, is he on her street right now? Stopping by a mirror on her path to the bathroom she looked at the mess staring back at her. Hair in a sloppy bun, mismatched sweats hanging limp off her petite frame, she was not presentable. Throwing her phone onto her single couch she dashed into the bathroom and shut the door loud enough for her cat to jump up in surprise and meow in protest. Whoops.
What can you even do to fix what she looked like? Scanning her hamper for clean clothes she found a pretty presentable sweatshirt and a pair of leggings that didn’t have something cheesy and obnoxious like Pink or Victoria’s Secret written down the sides. Brushing her teeth quickly she gurgled two more cups of mouthwash than usual (last nights Thai food didn’t do much for her stomach or her breath). Then she heard a honk. Then two.
Shit, this guy is punctual!
Salem didn’t even have time to do her hair, or even the slightest bit of makeup. This was super embarrassing. Taking her phone that was still buzzing from the missed call and grabbing the brown paper bag and coffee cups she rushed to the door in a huff. “I’m going out B, don’t miss me too much!” She called out to her pet, who only stalked off into her bedroom, probably happy that Salem wasn’t there to pester him. She emerged from her apartment with her halfassed bun and a bright smile. Hopefully that was enough. “Hey, stranger, brought everything as promised.” She said, unlocking the passenger side of the car door and slipping in.
Oh God I look terrible. She thought
SALEM
trust me i won’t.
liz is like, my only friend (is that bad?)
ur the only one i have. please?
i’ll buy you coffee?
caffeinated coffee?
caffeinated coffee and a breakfast sandwich? you can’t say no to that.
SALEM
it may seem like i have time but trust me i’m freaking out
it would be mutually beneficial if we both were to run thru sum errands. coulda be fun ya know?
if ur up to it ofc, don’t wanna kidnap u or anything
Watching the tears stream down her cheeks made Casper feel terrible. Really really terrible. Kicking himself in his head for even bringing the situation up he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "Really I should have never asked." He murmured looking down at Vee, her cheeks damp and her head ducked down low. A selfish part of himself was grateful that he didn't live in the situation, for he didn't know how he would be able to handle it.
"It does getting better I mean," He gestured back at him with a half smile, hoping to perk her up even in the slightest. "Look at me, I'm the spitting image of coping." And in reality, he was. When was the last time he fed? Too long. And still, the pulsing heartbeats and blood coursing through every single human that walked through the coffee shop did not faze him in the slightest. In his mind, they weren't even there. He could wait until his night shift tonight to get his fill, that's what he has been doing since he's adapted. And he knew that that's something Vee could do as well.
"All it takes is a little guidance, that's all." He said, gazing down at her.
SALEM
ik ik she’s still mad i’m guessing
ikr? i have shit to do too and i’m here watching netflix
so much for being productive
(view spoiler)
SALEM
*gasp*! lorenzo calderon actually listening to advice? feels like we’re in the twilight zone
i wouldn’t worry she’s always aloof like that
try to get ur mind off it, im sure u have tons of stuff to busy urself w/
