Everett Castle's Story

Everett held the phone up between his shoulder and ear, reaching into his pocket to take out his pack of Marlboro's and a lighter. "So, how long do you think the lesson will be?"

He smirked, wide and painfully as his bottom lip split and a small droplet of blood dribbled onto his chin." Shit..." he mumbled, pushing his sleeve up to dab the blood."Shouldn't be too long babe, the kid barely even realizes I'm there she's so into the music.He figured he could probably swing getting out of it earlier if he gave the kid a few extra sheets to practice. Swoop in, give the kid a few new pieces to play, and then get to be with his girl. If he could get a couple more smokes in through the day, it would be the picture of perfection for him. He carefully lit the end of his smoke, putting it between his lips and inhaling in the sweet nicotine.

"But yeah, I'm completely up for some smores and snuggling but you know I'd never force you into anything." He didn't like being in charge nearly as much as he enjoyed her being in control. She was fiery, passionate, and completely adorable. Breaking from his thought, the corner of his eye caught sight of his next pupils house and he knew he'd have to hang up soon. "Listen babe, I'm at the house already . How about I swing by Starbucks and pick you up something before we head to the bonfire, alright?"He stopped walking, pressing the phone tighter to his face as if that would bring them closer together. "I love you, and I'll see you in a bit."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and promptly clicked the small red "end" button . Sliding it back into his pocket, he continued towards the large yellow house and knocked on the door with his bare knuckles. A white cloud of his moist breath burst from his mouth, dissapearing as quickly as it came when a pint sized blonde little girl opened the door.

"Heya Natalie."

She raised an eyebrow and peered down at her white and pink Hello Kitty watch. "You're almost three minutes late, I've been waiting." He rolled his eyes and walked past the girl, closing the door behind him.

He didn't relish the thought of telling Sonya that he was probably going to be late. Really later.

"HOW ABOUT EVERYONE IN THIS TOWN LEARN TO FREAKING DRIVE."

He was late. Already thirty minutes late because the brat had decided that today of all days she wanted to learn the beginnings of Carmens La Habanera. He was now tapping his fingers impatiently on his steering wheel of his black Toyota Tundra , as several teenagers [clearly new drivers], turned without putting on their turn signals. Instead of staying behind them, he held onto the recently purchased mocha frappe, contained in the trademark Starbucks plastic cup, firmly in it's holder while he pushed down on the gas. Leaving them in his dust gave him small satisfaction, but it didn't change his lateness.

Finally, forty five minutes after he was supposed to be at Sonya's work originally, his usual parking spot unfilled outside of his girlfriends work. He put the truck into park once he managed to get the spot and slid his seat back into a comfortable position. He picked up his phone out of the passenger side seat and decided to text her.

"Sorry I was late babe, I really did think the kid would let me go early. I'm outside whenever you're ready to go."

He put the phone down, resting it in his lap while he ran his fingers through his beard. He contemplated whether he actually did want to go to the bonfire or not. He had plenty of friends, but there were going to be people Sonya didn't like very much there and he knew that drama would eventually ensue. Besides, the only reason he even agreed to going was for the snuggling..and smores. Kisses and chocolate were the only thing keeping him from spending another night watching the Sci-fi channel and killing off the remainder of his brain cells.

"Well if he fucks with you, him and I are going to have a problem. I don't care if he's freaking Dracula he's not going to mess with you." On the outside he projected a certain confidence that usually swelled when he was around Sonya, but on the inside he regretted his brash words. He had watched enough horror movies to know that messing with a vampire would likely end up getting you killed. Except in Twilight where they sparkled, but he seriously doubted Nathan did.

As he pulled into the lot where the bonfire was set to take place, Nathan yanked the keys out of his truck and sighed. Now that they were finally here his insides started grumbling nervously.

"Before we go and mingle with everyone, let me at least have another smoke. Not sure I can keep the pep in my step without one." He turned to Sonya, waiting for either a frown or a look that would allow him to step out and get in a final smoke before the loud music and fire began.

Cigarettes never seemed to last long enough for Everett. A few seconds of pleasure followed by regret after realizing he was probably going to be addicted to nicotine for the rest of his life. "Oh well. Not like I was planning on becoming an Olympic athlete or anything. Sayonara lungs!" He gave a salute to the air before flicking the butt of his smoke onto the ground and grinding it with the heel of his Nike's.

Everett turned and watched as his girlfriend took off in the direction of her house. Since he didn't want to be accused of laziness he set took a few hidden keggers of beer from the back his truck (with some superior effort on his part) and placed them under a blanket at least ten feet away from where the fire would be. Drinking as well as smoking was not something his girlfriend was fond of, but almost every teenager in these parts had a hankering for a cold beer once in awhile.

A few other cars and trucks pulled in, including Everett's friend Chris ; typical skater kid with a habit of smoking weed or being high the majority of the time. "Hey man, where's your girlfriend at?" Everett bumped fists with him before replaying. " At her house. Should be getting this thing started any minute though."

Chris rubbed his hands together and give a loud "whoop". "Alright! Time to hit on drunk girls who make the wrong choices." Ev rolled his eyes and punched the kid in the shoulder with enough force to push him back, but not enough to form a bruise. "Yeah, because they have to be drunk to even look at you. "

Nathan let Gemma pull him along towards Sonya's house as he thought of a well worded way to express his feelings towards their hostess for the night. Despite how little affection the werewolf held for either of them, Gemma was convinced they were friends and that meant being polite if only at the bare minimal. "Yes, it's not a very pleasant odor. Sort of like wet hair but worst. On the other hand, I expect I smell like cold death warmed over. It's a sort of natural defense we have against one another, I suppose." He took several long strides forward as he caught up with his beloved, following her stride step for step by her side as he continued. "Not very helpful and makes situations like ours a bit... difficult. But that doesn't really matter. I have my own beautiful rose here to give me comfort." He leaned over and planted a kiss atop her head, a sly smile crossing his lips as he pulled back just as they reached the front door. The smile died the moment he saw who was there to greet them.

They had been beaten to the front door by Cordelia and her boyfriend Dominic, the very bizarre demon who'd made his way into town years back. Their relationship was hard to describe and personally Nathan couldn't find anything he really liked about the man. He was vain, rude, stubborn and prone to violent outbursts. Oh and did he just love to try and mess with Nathan and try to get an expression out of him like a tourist messing with stony faced queen's guard in England. And then there was Everett and Sonya. The man was alright, a bit rough but at least seeming to try and be nice. Sonya, on the other hand, was quite the ice queen when it came to himself and Gemma. When she wasn't shooting poison loaded glares in their direction, she was putting on the poor guise of being their happy and polite 'friend'. As hard as Nathan tried to justify some pleasant point about her, the smell lingering in the air distracted him and simply gave him another reason to dislike her.

Nathan kept his cold, empty eyes locked on their hostess as they entered her home, his fingers tightening about Gemma's ever so slightly after they crossed the threshold. The stench that lingered in the air felt even heavier as they entered the wolf's den itself. Of course there was no avoiding it in her own home. She would have touched and sat on everything, leaving behind the clinging smell. Even though he knew she was without others of her kind at the moment, it still made him feel as if he was surrounded by the beasts. It wasn't a comforting feel. He didn't say anything as he simply watched Sonya go about with treating her guests. He didn't even blink as he waited for one crack in her little innocent and happy act. It didn't take long. She was keeping her eye on him just as he was doing for her. Good. That meant the grounding was even for the time being.

Even though the tension between everyone was intense, they all used to be good friends. She knew opinions had changed of her for dating a vampire, but Gemma was alright with that, and she smiled at Nathan as he described the unpleasant odors he was forced to breathe in. But after his kiss rested upon her forehead and her hand squeezed his icy digits encouragingly, she smiled softly at him and sniffed softly against his jacket with a bright beam. "All I can smell is your lovely cologne. I am sure if anything more, you smell like frozen roses." She offered him a kiss on the cheek, rubbing his hand with her thumb as she turned towards the door and narrowed her eyes slightly to see Dominic and Cordelia standing there, Cordelia's friendly smile and wave only making Gemma relax slightly. She hadn't a problem with Cordelia; it was Dominic she didn't like.

As they entered inside the house, Gemma noticed it was dim, like how she and Nathan were forced to be in whenever daylight came around and it made her feel a bit better as she continued to hold onto Nathan's hand and felt his pressure increase. She understood he was uncomfortable, and her stomach seemed to churn at the fact that she had dragged him here, and she suddenly started to feel guilty as she noticed Sonya watching Nathan with strict, icy eyes and the judgmental stare over her own physique and expression. That made her feel a bit more defensive, and she continued to flick her head around with a growing tension in her muscles as her shoulder pressed into Nathan's side. She was starting to wonder why Sonya continued to remain in contact with her, but then... she remembered. She was more friends with Everett then anyone in this entire group. Everett had been her friend for a while, and never seemed to judge her the way everyone else had turned to face her. That's one of the strongest reasons she was here. And it made her feel... better.

"I don't mind leaving early." Gemma whispered into Nathan's ear softly, so softly no one could hear it but him as her gentle voice was able to go down so low to almost just lip movements and she smiled at him, clinging around his arm while her eyes flicked around carefully. "So, Sonya." She said in a more curt manner then anything, struggling to try and remain at a softer tone. "When's the fire supposed to start?"