Taking chances (Heavenly, Garrett)

[Lovely]

August 11, 2007
7:30pm

Lee wasn't sure what she was doing, she'd avoided her boyfriend since their date a week ago and had not really enjoyed that night, calling it off early and going home. For reasons she couldn't explain, she'd been thinking about the man she'd met at the pool, Garrett. What was it about him that had her so.. attracted? Sure he was very good looking, but the attraction wasn't one based on looks.. at least not looks alone. It was like she was being pulled by some force beyond her control to him, like something deep down was drawn to him. She couldn't figure it out or why she wasn't calling the nice guy she'd been dating for a month or so, or why she was sitting in this little 'egg and coffee' place, waiting for someone she didn't know would even show up. She sighed softly, concentrating on running her finger around the wet rim of her coffee mug. She was dressed less nice girl tonight, her black leather jacket tossed over the back of the booth seat and one leg up with her boot heel on the edge of the bench, one arm curled around her knee.

"Evenin' Abby, ladies..." The voice was deep, gentle and teasing calling out to the cook and the servers from a dark-haired man entering in snake-skin boots and dark rust-colored leather. Even for the late hour, his eyes were covered in sunglasses that stayed in place as he glanced around the fluorescent and neon-lit room. His scanning stopped abruptly, apparently looking her way and the glasses were slowly peeled away while the smile grew. He chuckled as he walked over to her booth. "Hack... hey, you made it," he said, perfectly pleased to find her here and alone. Without a thought he reached over the booth to offer a friendly kiss on the cheek like she was an old friend - hard not to when she smelled so nice.

She heard his voice and her finger went still on the cup, she glanced up as he glanced around and she admired his choices when fully dressed. It looked good on him and definitely didn't scream goodie-good. Her boyfriend was a nice guy, so very nice and.. boring. She pulled her eyes away, trying very hard not to watch him walk over. The kiss to her cheek was another surprise and she had to say she liked it, though her gaze was questioning as he pulled away. She was smiling a little, hearing him call her Hack.. it was strange how pleasing it was to have him call her anything. "Hi." It took a moment and she shrugged. "Yeah.. I found it alright.."

"You got good directions," he winked and sat down opposite her, reaching to the end of the table for a sugar packet to keep his fingers busy on something until his cup arrived a moment later. He smiled briefly for the server and turned back to the closed world of their little booth, pouring in the sugar and sipping without bothering with a spoon. "So... you're here," he smiled again, brightly, amazed it seemed, that she'd have come at all. "Missed you at the Y. No adult swim tonight?"

She was watching his every move, nearly fascinated by his hands as he played with the sugar packet, after a moment she looked up to his face with a smile. To give herself an opportunity to regain some 'footing' so to speak, she took a sip from her mug. She twirled a red-brown curl on one of her long fingers and shrugged. "I told you I prefer outdoor swims.. I don't like the smell of the chlorine..I have.. sensitive sinuses."

He was sure she did. Garrett nodded, looking down into his cup as the motion slowly mixed the sugar. "It's something I forced myself to do, to be honest. I don't smell things right for hours. That's why I never go until after work. Don't know if that makes any sense or not. Hungry? You don't mind if...?" He pointed to the little menu card he pulled off the tall clip, not that he really needed to look at it for long. It just helped with choices.

"Yeck.. not me.. give me the river or pond or lake anyday.." She shook her head as he motioned to the menu, she didn't mind at all. "Oh go ahead.. I..I'm kind of starving.. but I couldn't eat earlier.." She was starting to ramble again and as she looked over at him, she smiled a little, she wanted to know about him. "Do you live in town?"

"Yup, have to. Work requirement," he sighed. He'd imposed that on himself actually, but it made his job easier having a central point to work from. "If you're starving now, you eat now. My treat, okay? Don't worry about it. Have whatever... you... want," he said, pausing as he looked over the choices one last time before giving her the card to look over. "Good stuff on the menu, too," he teased.

"Oh.." She seemed almost sad when he said he had to live in town for his work. Lee took the menu card from him but quickly propped it up where he'd picked it up from. "It wasn't paying the bill that kept me from eating." He was easy to talk to, and she found herself being more herself than she was able to be with anyone other than her family. "I was... nervous."

"Not about this," he chuckled a little, amazed still that she'd be nervous about anything. "It's eggs, Hack. Who's scared of a little egg? Whip them suckers right up and have a nice sunny plate of breakfast, anytime you want. Oh... unless you meant me? I'm nothing to be afraid of, especially since I like you."

[Lovely]

She sighed and looked down at her mug, playing with the handle. "Now you're making fun of me.." She said it softly, her jaw setting a little and her shoulders squaring. ".. and for the record, I wasn't scared... There's a difference between nervous and scared. I'm not scared of you." She shook her head and looked back up at him. "I met you by chance and don't know anything about you really. But I have been thinking about you, for a week.. I came here to meet you.. and I don't understand why I feel this way.. I'm not scared.. I'm confused."

"No, you're not scared, I believe you," he said gently this time, taking a sip from his cup that brought his gaze up again. "I can tell you why you're confused, but I'm not sure you don't already have that answer. Why not tell me a little more about you and your mom, Lee. You know where I work, where I relax... how about you?"

She looked uncomfortable for a minute and shifted on her side of the booth, pulling the spoon off the table and into her fingers to fidget with. "I don't know where you work.. I think you relax at the Y but .. " She looked down at her fingers, how she grasped the silverware so tightly. "My mother is dead.. so is my father if you wondered."

"You know... I do relax at the Y, I work for the city, I watch out for the safety of others.. consider it 'enforcement', and I live in town," he offered. "And on weekends, I wear a red cape. No really... I do."

She nodded, still holding onto the d**n spoon. Fair was fair, her mother had taught her. "I... don't work, at the moment. I used to be a CNA.. I was taking classes.. My parents were murdered about a year ago. I sort of quit.. everything after that. I moved here two months ago, I live in a run down house on a dead end side road that's not even paved, the only house on the road is mine, one my parents bought a year before I was born. We moved, but they kept the house, sitting empty.. I haven't unpacked or fixed anything really.. I'm dating a guy who is nice as heck but completely bores me.. because that's what I'm supposed to do, who I'm supposed to be.. I don't relax.. I came to a diner to meet a guy I don't know because when I met him and spent fifteen minutes with him.. I felt like I could breathe for the first time... and I still don't know why he makes me feel like that. But I told him my real name and I'm sitting here telling him things.. I don't talk about." She swallowed and let out a gentle breath. "Why do you wear a red cape on the weekends?"

"Story hour at the library. I volunteer and it helps with easing the kids into it," he chuckled a little at how it sounded though. He put his cup down. "I'm sorry about your parents. It sounds a bit all too familiar, though. Empty houses and big scary shadows in them. That's mostly why I do what I do."

She looked at him with a smile that made her eyes sparkle. "I bet you look terrific in that red cape." She let go of the spoon and flexed her fingers to relax them after the tight grip. "So you're a nice guy too... but you're not boring.. " Her eyes traced over his face and she shook her head a little. "The shadows don't scare me... the emptiness does. It would be a pretty nice place if I fixed it up.. but I can't even bring myself to pull the covers off the furniture or wash away 20 plus years of dust off the floor."

"Sounds like you need to ask that boyfriend for a little help, or someone who you don't even really need to ask. What time can I stop by?"

She shook her head again. "I can't ask him.. he doesn't even know where I live.. he wouldn't understand.." She looked down at the table and traced a random shape with her finger. "You can't go there either.. there are things.. you wouldn't understand.. things I don't want anyone to see.. or know.."

Garrett frowned and took a pen out of his jacket to scribble something down on a napkin, placing his hand over it as their server came up for their order. His sounded like a series of bells and whistles that would have the cook throwing knives before she'd get all the substitutions and add-ons tossed together. The server appeared familiar enough she didn't even write it all down. Her pen was ready for Heavenly's order though if she was still hungry.

"Nothing.. thank you." She gave a small smile to the server and shook her head, she was hungry but still didn't want to eat anything. Even though she seemed upset and maybe a little withdrawn, she'd paid attention to what he'd ordered, curious about his selections.

[Lovely]

Once the server was off with his order, he lifted his hand and continued to make a few lines then turned the picture around for her to see. "It's what Elvis would've ordered," he explained about his food and its level of detail. He gave another grin and showed her the picture closer... a picture of a dog or wolf. "Not the best draw-er out there, but it works. Still think you don't want me to go? I think I might just understand."

She gave a half smile at his explanation about his order and shook her head a bit, giving him a second look like she might have thought he was a little crazy. When she looked down at his drawing, she stopped breathing for a minute. He couldn't.. then he spoke again and her brow crinkled as she ran her fingers over the drawing. She was scared now.. what if he was like the man, the hunter who had killed her parents and tried to kill her? He said he kept others safe and... "I don't think I know what you mean.. I.. I don't have a dog.."

"Maybe you might need one to keep an eye on your place? Don't start being afraid now, Lee. You've had enough of that in your life. Like I said, your story sounds too familiar and I'd like to know more. Something a little personal to me, too." Garrett pulled out a lighter and singed the picture out into a smear of ash and ink. "I think you know exactly what I mean," he said, looking up with the brief flash of strange light in his eyes again to prove his point.

If she wasn't in a booth she would have pushed her chair back, but instead she held the edge of the table and watched him, she couldn't help being afraid. Though the moment of fear was fading and turning to curiosity, she watched him burn the picture and saw the light in his eyes. Her head shook as if she didn't know how to believe it. "How.. You.. you're..?" Her voice was soft, her head tipping to the side slightly as she slowly leaned forward -toward him.

"Pleased to meet you, Hack," he repeated from the night they'd met. "I couldn't place it at first. The chlorine, like I said, but now... I'm convinced that yes... I'm very pleased to meet you. And I still mean everything I said. I mean, you're sitting down now, but I'd still catch you."

"You might have to.." She barely whispered, the room went a little spinny and she tried to take a deep breath, grabbing the edge of the table again to try to keep herself steady so the wave would pass.

"No, just breathe easy, slow, close your eyes a minute. I'm gonna ask the nice young lady to bring you some toast and some o.j. I'm not the one you need to be afraid of, but I want to help you find the one you should."

She did like he told, without giving him the sass she would have if she hadn't felt like the bottom dropped out from under her. Lee closed her eyes and took slow breaths, letting everything settle before she opened her eyes again. "Who should I be afraid of?"

"Someone like the one who did the same thing to my family," he said vaguely as the plate he ordered was dropped off, sizzling and steaming, nearly dripping over the edges in its heaps. He held the girl back long enough to ask for the small side order for Hack and waited until she scurried off again. "I think we should talk about the rest once I get my tools out of the trunk and start helping you fix up your place."

"I wasn't there." She told him softly after the girl had left the table again. "I was away with friends from school.. camping for a week.. If I had been there.. maybe.. They never hurt anyone.. " She looked down and closed her eyes against the bite of tears, once she'd fought them back she continued. "He killed them because of what something else made them.. he knew and he didn't care.. just because they were what that were."

Garrett nodded and whispered, "What we are... and let's be honest. I can use your help as much as I think you can use mine. Take that however you want," he said, offering the thought to wander in her mind freely as he watched her carefully.

Her head tipped to the other side and her eyes questioned him, her expression telling him she probably had endless questions for him and about him. "I really don't know how to take any of this. I've never met anyone like me.. like us.. before." She kept her voice low and it was soft in the way she spoke now. "I don't know how I could help you... you're so.. oh my.. this is why you smell ... so... d**n good?"

[Lovely]

His grin went crooked and he tried not to laugh. "I guess you could say that. How you can help me is to let me know when it was, whatever you found, anything that was left behind. While we're working on that... there might be a little something else you might be able to help me with." His eyebrow raised a little, suggestive, teasing, trying not to tell her just how nice her own scent was. It wasn't something he could really enjoy here in the booth, especially when he was hungry and the bacon was still warm under his nose.

Her smile faded and she closed her eyes again. "You mean when.. they died?" She wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head gently. "You don't have to... concern yourself with... he's.. " How did she tell him, how did she say.. somehow despite feeling so lost she felt like she could trust him. "He knew.. us.. who knows how long he was watching, but he knew I wasn't home, he knew that they wouldn't hurt him.. that he could just walk in and.. he knew where I was, after he took care of them he tracked me down while I was off hiking by myself away from my group.. " Garrett might realize now that her fear wasn't all of others, she was scared of herself.

"But you're here now," he nodded, finishing the story for her, he hoped. "Then you're story ended better than mine. My family's hunter may have been the same one, but I doubt it. Up to you, if you want to come along for the ride. I think you know just what it feels like to get something you've wanted for a long time... just how sweet it smells... and tastes." He scooped a fork into his food and started to eat hurriedly. After this, there was still work to do.

She was stunned, shocked watching him dig into his plate as if it was nothing, he didn't tell her what she'd done was wrong. "You.. " She bit her lower lip and played with a small scrap of burnt napkin. ".. don't think I'm awful.. for what I did?"

He paused in mid fork-full, looking up with a brief flash of guilt and confusion. "Was I supposed to?" He shook his head. "No, I don't think you're awful. I think it's great. One less thing to teach you." He went on with his food.

Her eyebrow arched up and she let out a small gasped breath. "Oh." She watched him go on with his food, he was a mystery, a wonder to her. "I.. guess this means I have a lot to learn.. besides that one thing.." Her smile flashed, small and brief, as if he didn't have her head spinning before all this was revealed between them. "I was born like this.. my parents weren't.. they didn't know.. couldn't really teach me. They tried, did the best they could, but you can only do so much when you don't know yourself."

"No time like now to learn," he said, washing down the last bite with the cold coffee. "First lesson, eating when you're hungry. It solves a lot of potential problems," he winked.

"Haha.. that was funny.. no really it was.." She stuck her tongue out at him and finished off what was left in her coffee mug. "Keep it up and I'm going to eat -you- later!" She teased, setting her mug and the spoon to the end of the table now that she was done with it.

"Maybe it's not your appetite I'm worried about, darlin'," he whispered then wiped his face with the napkin. He tossed it down, covering his empty plate. "Although if you get a little... I dunno.. 'pang' later you tell me."

Her eyebrow arched up and she gave him a look that said she wasn't sure if she should take him seriously or not. "Ah.. okay.. I'll be sure to let you know if I have any 'pangs'.."

"Hack, I'm not sure you get it. Pangs... you know... like when you'd kill anything in your way to get something to satisfy hunger. It could be me, could be some innocent kid. A pang like that is no joke. Some call it a bloodlust... it's a trigger like... like something you don't want to mess with, trust me," he said quietly, following with a wince as he hit the syrupy sugar in the coffee cup.

[Lovely]

Her eyes dropped and she sort of half laughed. "Yeah.. I got it covered.. I think I know exactly what that is.. just didn't know what -it- was." She sighed and grabbed her jacket, pulling it on as she slid from the booth, she dug in her pocket for her wallet to toss a few dollars down for her coffee and the juice he'd ordered her. "Thanks for the coffee.. and all of it.."

"Whaddya mean, thanks? Thanks? That's it? Thanks...? Where are you going? I thought you had questions, things you needed to know about. What happened?" Garret was confused, but he wasn't going to stop her. She didn't smell upset, just.. anxious, scared maybe. "Wait. Let me give you this," he said, digging in his pocket for a scrap or card to write on. He found a card he could part with and scribbled a number on the back of it. "It doesn't go away because you want it to. It only gets worse until you learn how to use it, Heavenly. Don't be scared of it or of yourself. Call me if you need help."

She shook her head, pulling away from the offer of his card. "You're better off to stay away.. you don't want to be around me.. I.. I have to.. get.. back.." She half stumbled away from the table, closing her eyes but not before he'd see the flash in them. She turned and pushed past the server girl with a mumbled apology as she bolted for the door.

"Oh this can't be good." Garrett muttered to himself and slid out of the booth a half breath behind her, peeling out a large bill he dropped in the server's hand on his way past her himself. "Sorry, hon. Extra tip," he apologized, not waiting for his change. "Lee! C'mon darlin'... just a little misunderstanding is all," he hollered after her, making the sudden exit seem his fault. He stopped at the sidewalk, looking along the route for her, more trying to catch her scent which had been growing stronger since he'd arrived. He thought he had it and followed.

She'd ridden her bike to the diner, her most prized possession, she'd given up a full year of school to get it. Long hours at the shop and every penny she could scrape and save went into making it run and shine. At the time she'd been dating a guy who worked at the shop, which is how she ended up with the bike in the first place. Lee skidded to a halt next to the bike and swung her leg over it, skipping the helmet and gloves in favor of getting it started and backing it out of the spot she'd parked it in.

Garrett was fast on his feet but was too far behind her trying to catch up. The scent ended with the fumes of the bike that was backing out of its spot not too far from his own. He ran up to try and block her, but from what he'd seen, she was already out of sorts and probably wouldn't stop to think twice before leaving treads right up and over him. "Lee! Hang on, now. Just a minute... Lee!" He yelled, staying to her side to get her to stop.

He startled her by suddenly running up next to her bike, but she handled it well and balanced the bike while reaching over to grab a fistful of his shirt to pull him up along side her. "I'm right here, you don't have to yell.."

"Why not? Have to make it look good, don't I?" He smiled, speaking only as loud as he knew he needed to for her to hear him over the hum of the bike. "Unless you're going to kiss me so I can say I'm sorry, you might want to let go and I'll follow you, alright?"

Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt a little tighter and her eyes flared softly. "Both." She growled quietly, just before she leaned into kiss him. She let go of his shirt then.

"Nice," he chuckled, licking his lip a little as he reached for his glasses. "I'm right behind you, Hack. Don't even think you can shake me that easy." He was shaken alright, not expecting the heat he felt and tasted in her kiss. Right now he'd follow her just about anywhere. He stepped back to let her back out and got on his own bike, letting her lead.

Her lips curled into a slight grin as she rolled some of the tension out of shoulders while guiding the bike slowly back out of the spot. She didn't look to see if he was behind her when she took off. It wasn't like she was trying to lose him, but she veered down the side streets and short cuts to get her out past the park as fast as she could.