Chapter 6 - Chapter Six

Kieran yawned, and stretched out his arms. “Why do we have to get up so early this morning?” Kieran grumbled.

“We have to plan so as to be prepared. We should leave as soon as possible. It’s never a good idea to stay in one place for too long. Besides, it was one in the afternoon when I woke you up.”

“One in the afternoon, seven in the morning. What’s the difference?”

Jaxon snorted. “The difference is six hours.”

“Whatever. You go plan, and I’ll go…check if the couch is comfortable enough for a nap.” Kieran stood up, yawning, and headed for the living room.

Jaxon rolled his eyes.

“Go away, man. I was here first,” Jaxon heard Luca moan to Kieran.

“You know, someone really should teach you to respect your elders,” Kieran snapped.

“Too bad they didn’t, huh?” Luca shot back, shifting on the couch.

“What’s your problem? Last night, you kept complaining about sleeping on the couch, now you won’t get out of it.”

“You’re lucky I’m not suing you for making me sleep on the couch,” Luca said, stifling a yawn. “Especially this couch. It’s practically child abuse.”

“Get off the couch!” Kieran complained, dragging Luca by his legs.

“I’m taking Arianne for a walk,” Jaxon told them.

Kieran mumbled a non-committal reply, still trying—trying being the key word—to haul Luca off the couch.

Meanwhile on the street, Ari slipped her hand into Jaxon’s as they walked. “Where are we going?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Can we go have lunch? I’m starving.”

They stopped next to a restaurant that looked decent enough, and Arianne ordered pasta.

“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Ari asked.

Jaxon raised an eyebrow.

She blushed. “Sorry. It’s a question I used to ask you whenever I’m eating and you’re not.”

Jaxon smiled. “It’s okay.” The smile weakened instantly as he thought of something.

“Are you okay? You look…pale.”

“I’m always pale,” Jaxon said.

“You look paler than usual,” Ari argued. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Jaxon sighed. “It’s just that you reminded me I haven’t eaten in…quite a while. I’ve been spending every day with you and didn’t get any time to eat.”

“So…you’re hungry?”

“Starving.”

Ari looked down at her pasta, twirled a bit of it onto her fork and stuck it into her mouth. She swallowed.

Just then, a woman walked past them, tossing her hair as she did so. The smell of her perfume wafted to their table. Jaxon clenched the arms of his seat, fighting the dizziness and trying to rid the thoughts of going after her.

“Ah…you should…go feed now,” Ari said nervously.

“Good idea,” Jaxon managed to choke out before reaching for the door to the restaurant and practically flying out of it.

He came back a few minutes later and sat down in his chair. Arianne was looking at him. “Are you feeling better now?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Who was it?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Was it a girl? A boy? A man? A woman?”

Jaxon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Let’s not do this here.”

“Why? You’re allowed to talk about my food but I’m not allowed to talk about yours?”

Jaxon sighed. “A woman.”

“Where did you put her body?”

Jaxon stared at her. She looked straight into his eyes. “Well?”

Jaxon bit his lower lip. “I have…a gift, a power of some sort. After I finish…feeding, I don’t have to clean up after myself. The body just…disappears.”

“Whoa. Does that happen to all vampires?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen another vampire before.”

“How do you know whether the person you see is a vampire or not?”

“Do we really have to talk about this now?”

“We can talk about it while going back to the flat.”

“Fine,” Jaxon gave up, obviously frustrated. He paid the bill after Ari finished her lunch and they left.

“So? Answer my question,” Ari pushed, slipping her hand into his.

Jaxon sighed. “A vampire is supposed to look…bright, or…more vibrant in colour, if that makes sense to you. You see, I’m sort of…stuck in this world when I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not alive, yet I’m breathing, blinking, talking. So when I look at this world, it’s like…there’s a thin veil in front of me, somehow shielding me from the real world and the colours I see are…not as…vivid as you see them. But if I see a vampire, it’s like he’s on my side of the veil, and I can see him the way you see other people. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah. I find it really interesting, actually.”

He snorted. “Believe me, you’ll get bored of it soon enough.”

“I don’t know about that. Oh, look at that!” Arianne broke free from Jaxon and crouched down. It was a kitten.

“Isn’t it cute?”

“Very. Put it down now, Ari, it might have fleas, or something.”

“But I can’t just leave it here! The poor thing’s homeless! He—no wait, it’s a she—has no where to go! Can we take it with us, pretty please?”

“Ari…”

“Please?” Ari looked pleadingly at him.

Jaxon could feel himself weakening instantly. “I don’t know…”

Arianne, sensing Jaxon had weakened, begged one more time. “Please, Jax? Please?”

Jaxon bit his lower lip and sighed in frustration. “Okay, okay.”

The girl squealed with glee, and hugged him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you!”
“I love you too,” Jaxon said softly, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

“I’m going to name her…Willow.” Arianne said, scooping the kitten up in her arms and scratching its chin.

“Come on, let’s go home. Kieran will be wondering where we are.”

They went back, climbing up the stairs, and knocking on the door.

Kieran opened the door. “Ah, there you are. I was wondering where—Crap! What the hell is that?”

“It’s a kitten, Ki.” Ari said, holding up Willow.

Kieran backed away from the door, tensing.

“What’s the matter, Ki, are you afraid of an innocent kitty?” Ari asked, teasingly.

“No,” Kieran said, through gritted teeth. “I just want to tear its head off.”

Ari’s eyes widened, and she held the kitten protectively against her.

Jaxon exclaimed in comprehension. “Oh no. I’m sorry, Kieran, I should have thought of that.”

Kieran growled. Ari turned to Jaxon. “Why doesn’t Ki like cats?”

“Well, Kieran’s a werewolf, which means, basically, he’s a wolf. That means he’s…sort of related to dogs. And—in case you don’t know—dogs hate cats.” Jaxon explained.

“Oh.”

“Ari, maybe you shouldn’t keep the kitten.”

“No! I can’t just leave it out on the streets.”

Kieran gritted his teeth. “Please, Ari. I can’t live together with that…thing.”

Ari glared at him.

Kieran scowled and slammed the door on his way back to his room.

Ari looked at Jaxon, who sighed and pulled her into a quick hug. “Should I let her go?” She asked.

“I think it’d be best for everyone,” Jaxon said. “It’s going to drive Kieran insane.”

Ari agreed reluctantly, and they went back downstairs to put Willow back on the street.

“Ari?”

“Hmm?”

“We—Kieran and I—were thinking that tonight, maybe you should share a room with Luca.”

Silence. “WHAT??!!”

“Well, there are only two rooms and one couch, and I don’t fancy sharing a bed with Kieran again.” He made a face. “He snores.”

“But—”

“We are not letting Luca sleep on the couch again tonight. That’s no way to treat a guest.”

Arianne gritted her teeth. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know, I think I saw him in the kitchen. But anyway, don’t worry; we’re letting you guys sleep on the bigger bed.”

Ari snorted. “Yeah, that helps,” she muttered as she stomped her way back to the flat, with Jaxon following behind her, looking slightly confused and slightly amused.

Luca came into the living room where Jaxon and Ari were. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jaxon said while Ari glared at Luca wordlessly.

Jaxon nudged her gently.

Ari sighed exasperatedly. “Hi,” she said grudgingly before turning and slamming the door to her room.

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