100% Freshie Chapter 22 --PG-13

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librarian_7
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100% Freshie Chapter 22 --PG-13

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Disclaimer: The characters from Moonlight are copyrighted by CBS, and no infringement is intended.
Special note: This work takes place in the world of Moonlight, but your favorite vamps are not the main focus. Sorry about that; try to enjoy the story anyway. You might be surprised.

100% Freshie
Chapter 22

“Tyler, what are we going to do with you?” Danni asked as she climbed into the vampire’s pencil yellow Xterra.

“What do you mean, Danger?” He closed the door he was holding for her and frowned thoughtfully.

“Well—“ She waited for him to move around to the driver’s side, clicking her seat belt and twisting around to sit more comfortably in a position that semi-faced him as he climbed in. “Look, you’re trying to cultivate your vamp cool factor, right?”

Tyler nodded as he started the engine and threw the SUV into gear. He glanced over at her. “Yeah, sure,” he said, and sighed. “I really thought it came with the territory.”

“Not hardly. Have you seen some of the losers at the clubs? I mean, really.” Danni snorted.

Tyler grimaced. “Gee, thanks.”

“That’s my point, Tyler—you’re not one of the losers, but you haven’t built your image properly.” She surveyed him critically. He was handsome, but then again, very few vampires were not, especially the younger ones. It was fairly obvious that sires went for looks, Danni thought, in some cases over brains. Tyler was maybe not as spectacularly handsome as some vamps she’d met, but he wouldn’t be scaring off the freshies, either. It was more his air of blending in, his lack of a certain self-confidence that camouflaged his “dangerous predator” status. And that was fine for moving through the world generally; it might even be a good thing, as a survival characteristic. On the other hand, if he wanted to be taken seriously in vamp circles, he needed to develop more of an aura. She knew he was young, she knew it wasn’t right to compare him to others, but it was almost impossible not to do so. “Mind a little advice? From the freshie point of view?”

“From you, Danger, I don’t mind at all. Go ahead.” He was a little distracted, driving, but he knew she probably had something valuable to say. What his sire would say, if she heard him taking anything but blood from a freshie, he hesitated to think. Then again, his sire wasn’t here, and Danger was always pleasant to listen to…and who knows, might have some good observations.

“For one thing—and I may be shooting myself in the foot here—you’re about to walk into Pulse! with one freshie? Bad move. You expect anyone to take you seriously, you need at least two girls on your arm. I’ve seen the heavy hitters come in with five or six freshies. I mean, look at, well, a vamp like Josef Kostan. He hardly ever goes anywhere without at least two or three of his exclusives,” Danni said.

Tyler shook his head. “That guy’s, like, centuries old, Danger. And rich. I can’t really begin to model myself on him. Not yet.”

Danni gave him a charming little frown. “I’m not saying you need to go that far. But what’s to keep you from picking a girl or two from the buffet line—“

“Danger!”

“Oh, come on, like the freshies don’t know what you vamps call it! Anyway, everyone wins that way. You walk in looking respectable, the extra girl gets in the club. I get—“ Danni edited her statement at the last moment. “I get to look like I’m with a cool vamp. And I am. I just want people to know it.”

Tyler pulled to a smooth stop in the valet parking line outside the club. “You want me to pick out one of those girls—“ he said, indicating the throng of freshies waiting outside, cordoned off behind black velvet ropes, “and take her in with us, maybe bite her tonight instead of you? I’ve got this right?”

Danni straightened around in her seat, getting ready for when they would exit the vehicle. “That’s about right.”

Tyler surprised her a little by sitting still. “So, Danger,” he said, and there was some genuine vampire coldness in his tone, “what if I pick a couple of freshies out of that crowd, and leave you standing on the sidewalk? That make me more of a cool vamp for you? What do you think?”

Danni was a bit taken aback, but she wasn’t about to let Tyler know that. “It’s your choice,” she said levelly. “I’ve got a cell phone and a credit card. I’ll be okay.”

Tyler sighed, looking away. “I didn’t say I was going to do it. Although I’m sure that you—” he broke off, caught by something in the side rearview mirror, “Danger, just out of curiosity, do you know anyone who drives a dirty, dark-colored Jeep Cherokee? Out of state plates?”

Danni frowned. “Not here. Maybe back home. Why?”

The vampire shrugged, still staring in the mirror, then watched as the Cherokee roared by. “I’m not too good at this stuff, but I think it was following us. It doesn’t make any sense, though. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

The little chill Danni felt was probably just a draft, she thought. And they had another unfinished subject at hand. “Tyler, you know I’m only suggesting you—enlarge the party—because it will make you look better.”

He looked at her then, raking one hand roughly through his hair, pulling it back from his unhappy eyes. “I know, Danger,” he said bleakly, “and I’ll think about it. But could you at least pretend to be just a little bit jealous? Just a little bit?”

Danni reached out impulsively to touch his cheek, laughing softly. “Tyler, honey,” she said, “believe me, that’s not a problem. Have you not figured out that most freshies are batshit crazy with jealousy most of the time? Over any attention shown by any vamp to any other freshie? And it’s ten times worse if it’s someone you know. Of course I’m jealous of you. The same way I’m jealous of Josef’s girls, and the same way they hate me whenever he throws me a crumb. The same way I’m crazy jealous of Emma, and any other girl Will looks twice at. It hurts.

“But on the other hand, freshies—well, most of us—get off on self-sacrifice, too. I mean, we feed you. We just—feed you. So we suck it up, and we accept necessity. And if you think vamps are masters of self-control, look around you. Look at your food.”

Tyler covered her hand against his face, smiling ruefully. “It’s a complicated dynamic, I’ll give you that.”

Danni smiled back at him. “I have no idea what that means. But if you’re saying life is a bitch—for both of us—I think you’re right.” She paused, delicately. “So?”

“I’m considering. And we’re blocking traffic.” Abruptly, but fluidly, he was gone, and just as quickly Danni felt her door opening, the rush of cool night air coming in, and saw Tyler’s hand extend to help her down. As she stepped out of the Xterra, he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “All right, we’ll do it your way. But only because you’re jealous.”

She pushed at him playfully as he snugged an arm around her waist. “You’re hopeless,” she said. “Try and be cool about this, please?”

“Okay, okay,” he replied in a mock growl out of the corner of his mouth. “Now shut up and pretend to be a good, quiet little freshie, will you?”

“Yes, oh my vampire master,” Danni retorted, fluttering her eyelashes at him as they walked over to the girls waiting in line outside the club.

She was rewarded with a choked snicker. “You’re not helping me keep it cool, here,” Tyler said. Still, he managed to rearrange his features into some—he hoped—semblance of distant disdain. The expression he’d seen on older, more experienced vamps.

He would admit, if only to himself, a feeling of rushing power, knowing all he had to do was crook a finger and any of these attractive young women would be all over him. His fangs started to push out at the thought of all that blood, all that beauty at his disposal. Danger was right. He needed to take advantage of this. He scanned the crowd. Twenty-five, thirty women, most of them bitten before, most of them looking for another thrill. Their excitement and desire was written on the night, an almost palpable display.

And yet, after the first intoxication of it rolled over him, he found himself vaguely disgusted. He could have any one—or more—of these women, and their blood would nourish him, but so what? The other night, when he’d drunk so deep, when he’d drunk too deep, from Danger, there had been knowledge in the blood, knowledge of him as more than white teeth and strong arms. He didn’t want to be generic. Not tonight. But he’d promised Danger, and he knew she had a point. He’d have to choose.

Tyler looked again, looked past the flashy, desperate ones pressed against the ropes, trying to get his attention. There was a girl hanging back a little. Her brown hair, almost the same as his own, was long, brushing past her shoulders. She looked almost lost, and very out of place.

He waited for a few moments, until she looked his direction, then beckoned to her. The girl looked around nervously, but others, seeing Tyler’s gesture, pushed her forward. She gave him a nearly terrified look as she approached, and he found it oddly, suddenly arousing.

“Yes?” she said quietly.

Tyler inhaled, trying to separate her scent from all the others. He was convinced she’d never been bitten. She had no visible marks, and she just smelled—virginal, he supposed.

“Do you know what this place is?” he asked. He could also tell Danger was both amused and perplexed. Perhaps she’d expected him to go for flash. He tightened his arm around her waist, hoping she’d take it as a signal to stay silent.

The girl nodded mutely, staring at his face.

He tried again. “Do you know what I am?”

Another nod.

Tyler took a deep breath. “Would you like to come inside with me and Danger? Have a drink or two?”

This time she whispered an answer. “Yes,” she said, “but I’m afraid.”

He glanced involuntarily at Danger, his intention of making a joke dying in his surprise to see her looking at the girl sympathetically.

She reached out to touch the girl’s arm. “Don’t worry,” she said, smiling. “This one’s one of the good guys.”

The girl shifted her gaze to Danni, and nodded. “Okay.”

Tyler unhooked the velvet rope and let her through to join them, dropping his arm around her shoulders. Danger had been right. He felt about six inches taller and much cooler walking in with two girls flanking him, the warmth of their bodies pressed against his on either side. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked as he guided them forward toward the entrance.

“A-annie,” the girl stammered.

“I’m Tyler, Annie,” he told her. “Don’t be afraid.”

On his other side, Danni turned her face against his shoulder to smother a snort of laughter. “All I vant is your blood,” she muttered, as the three of them walked into the club.
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francis
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Re: 100% Freshie Chapter 22 --PG-13

Post by francis »

Danni giving Tyler advice on the perpetual coolness, that’s priceless. But then he gets her back, threatening to leave her behind.
Danni’s observations about jealousy are spot on.
And then Tyler chooses a virgin. He is so sweet. I love his musings why he doesn’t want the other ones.
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