Bench

[Clairice-Sarah]

The worst thing about sleeping with her was the obligatory time-spending thing. Girls liked that. In fact, with the exception of one night stands, Telfer figured all girls had this needy trait. So they sat on a bench at the harbour just after his shift, where Telfer soon realized she would never be the adventurous type and let him take her for a go in his favourite corners. However, as winter crept up, his shift didn't change and darkness came sooner rather than later, so having Angel meet him here helped anchor him to reality. For the most part.

The bus didn't come for another half hour yet, so they sat out by the harbour waiting. She mentioned something earlier about her father jacking her truck and he couldn't drive in the dark mornings or evenings.

Add winter to the list of things he hated.

Angel sported a new piercing under her eye. He resisted the urge to touch it, but in a strange, sick way, it fascinated him how this unsure, queasy kid sat through the pain of a piercing.

She’s not a kid, he reminded himself, and you’re not old. Eighteen and twenty-two were perfectly acceptable. Besides...the demon in her blood offset the demon in his. Telfer couldn’t complain.

“Anyway, my composition prof hated the painting, but I still pulled off a B-plus.”

“You already know my opinion about teachers,” he said, drifting back into the conversation, “So do something to upset them more.”

Angel pursed her lips. “I don’t think that’s really a good idea either, though. I’m going to need good recommendations to get into a bigger school.” She glanced to his hands, buried in his jacket pockets. Telfer didn’t notice, pulling them out only to light a cigarette.

“You really should kick that habit.”

“Listen babe.” Telfer put an arm around her, only because he wanted her attention. “I’ve had every other vice taken away before you came along.” How much longer did she want him to do this for? He dropped his arm to her waist.

“You should skip out on going home tonight,” he told her, taking a long and suggestive drag on his cigarette. “It’s been almost a week, I’m going f*cking crazy.”

Angel looked up as he tightened his hold. “I’ll try.”

He shook his head and bent down to kiss her, holding his cigarette away. It didn’t ever take more than that. “Tell your mother you’re studying. Be a rebel for me.”

Angel wrinkled her nose at the ash-tray taste but didn’t pull away, instead leaning upward to make the height difference easier. She noticed this was all he ever wanted to talk about, but countered that with, a) her hot almost-boyfriend? and b) all guys were like this, right? She told herself they were. He didn’t mind the scars or the tattoo – he had enough metal, scars, and ink of his own.

At the end of it, it was just easier to be with him than deal with the cut-and-paint compulsion alone.

((ooc: edited...a lot. Because I'm silly and forget things that are important.))

[scribblerrigby]

Malcolm adored the winter season. The days were cloudier, the weather was terrible, and night came sooner rather than later. It was perfect for a restless vampire, and it helped him retain that semblance of normality that he desperately wanted to keep in his life. Or, rather, his undeath.

He’d been wandering along the breakwaters and staying out of everyone’s way. It had been his routine as of late, whenever he didn’t have class. Occasionally, he’d catch up with Loretta at the lighthouse. More often, he would meet someone, find a secluded spot, and discreetly grab a snack, before leaving them staring glassy-eyed, wondering what happened to them and how they had gotten in that spot in the first place. For most of the time, though, he would just walk around the city. When it was a cloudy day and he could come out earlier than usual, he’d casually hang around, watching things, enjoying the moment. It was a treat to just be around in the daytime, these days.

Tonight, he’d been drinking, a little. He’d fed on inebriated people before, and kind of liked the effect. Besides, he’d never pass up opportunities to mix and create his own drinks in life – why would his death be any different?

Jeff would probably wonder what happened to his Smirnoff, though. Fin had bought his own gin and rum. The Dr. Pepper was a nice touch, too. Most of the content of his thermos was thankfully blood, fresh from Marlene’s. And ice. He drank a little from his thermos, and grimaced - Blood and ice was a terrible idea. He shook the cubes to the back of the thermos, took another swig of his watery drink, and kept walking.

He smelled Angel’s blood before he saw her, and recoiled at the realization. Aw, sh!t, why does this keep happening?

He figured it was because he had tasted it before, but still – it threw him, and in a way that had made him completely uncomfortable.

You’re not smelling her. That’s freaking weird. You’re meeting her. Just saying hi. And stuff.

The prospect of hanging out with Angel trumped any weird self-loathing that had been brewing in his mind, though. She had a weird, gory and surreal sensibility about things that was always fascinating, and hanging out with her had usually guaranteed a horror movie or two.

She was sitting on a bench with a guy whose piercings put her own metal to shame.

Malcolm was fairly sure he knew of him back in high school. A tactless girlfriend or two might have brought him up in passing. He’d never met the guy for more than a few moments, and he’d never really cared for rumors, but the gist was -If you’ve slept with him, you’ve slept with half the school.

Looking at him now, everything about the guy screamed “skeeze,” from the cigarette, leather bomber jacket, and the attitude, to the way he was holding her waist. She looked so tiny next to him.

Well, there’s one rumor proved true, he thought grimly.

You don’t know that.

They kissed. Yes, you do.

Fuc k it.

He waved. “Hey, Angel!”

[Clairice-Sarah]

Her first reaction was to jerk upright, as if she'd been in the middle of doing something wrong, and she bit her lip while searching for the face that matched the voice. Then, recognizing the vampire, her deer-in-headlights expression transformed to a smile and she waved in return. "Malcolm! Hey!"

"Who is he?" Telfer asked, expression icing over something dull.

"A friend of mine," she replied, as if the question were ridiculous. "Haven't I mentioned him before?"

"...maybe." Not that he listened much...

He has red hair, Telfer noted as the other young man came closer, Nothing good comes out of that. His eye twitched some, and were he alone, he'd have let it. Instead he held onto Angeline more possessively and took a stressed drag on his cigarette. Not that he particularly cared but likely, she wouldn't want to stick around if he ripped her friend in two. On instinct, of course.

"Hey," she repeated again when he was closer. "How have you been?" She almost wanted to say she hadn't seen him in a while - but he was a vampire, and she could still be out during the day - and stopped herself before she could. "I don’t think...” She looked between Telfer and Malcolm, suddenly feeling awkward. Angel stopped speaking for a moment. “Don’t think you’ve met—”

“Name’s Telfer,” the demon interjected, dropping the cigarette butt. He crushed it beneath his boot and offered his hand to Malcolm, only to test the other’s grip. “Angel’s boyfriend.” Telfer had nothing he liked about the title, but he liked lines and fences and this Red needed to know she was Telfer’s cure, his girl. Even if he despised the responsibility, this was the first window he’d been given in years and he’d fight to keep it.

Angel lit up some – just a little, her smile grew by just a bit, less tired and a little more sincere. “Are you headed up to the Hook? You don’t usually go there.”

[scribblerrigby]

“Hey, yeahhh…I’ve been great, Angel!” he grinned genuinely, though he was quick to notice the disdainful glare from Bomber Jacket Guy. It was a little disquieting, and it threw him off. “Been hanging around. Swimming. Fixing people. Running away from stuff. Eating well-”

The man pulled Angel closer to himself - away from Fin - and looked at him oddly. With disgust - hate, even. It was startling, and a little scary.

Angel. With HIM. Why?

He tried to continue. “The usual, you know. How about you? How’s the art going? I’ve missed seeing you around, lately…”

Where did THIS guy even come from?

The man, who introduced himself as Telfer, languidly dropped and crushed the cigarette, and offered his hand. Malcolm took it, stonily.

It would have been so easy to rip it right off. It would take one twist of his wrist. The douchebag would be screaming and making a glorious mess - and Fin would be right there to clean it up. He barely suppressed a greedy smile. Such thoughts usually disgusted and scared him, and this was no different…not really… but he didn’t mind dwelling on it a little longer than usual. Not at all.

Though if Angel liked this guy enough to be…you know… then it wouldn’t have been fair, anyway.

The two of them. Together. Probably naked, doing…things. WITH HIM. Why this guy? Clearly a skeeze. Doing things WITH HIM.

He settled for the handshake.

>“Angel’s Boyfriend.”

“Really.” Thinly veiled scorn dripped from his voice. “Haven’t heard about that. Nice meeting you.”

Something about the way Telfer said it, and the way he held her bothered Fin. He wasn’t exactly a stranger to insincerity, himself. But this was clearly not a one night stand, and there was something weirdly impersonal about it - like they were kids, and Telfer was the kid with the shiny new bike, afraid the second he'd turn his back, Fin would come snatching it up.

F ucking weird analogy there, buddy. Not helping. Godammit, why is this such a big deal? You’re overreacting. Stay cool.

Thankfully, it was easier to do that once Angel jumped back in. He smiled again, mostly relieved.

>"Are you headed up to the Hook? You don't usually go there."

Oh, Angel, I'm gonna' need a few drinks after this.

“Nah, I was just wandering around…looking for something to do. I could be going that way, though! You…um,” He glanced at Telfer again. “You want to come?”

[Clairice-Sarah]

((ooc: *is a terrible, terrible person*))

She smiled as he said he was eating well. “Good to know.” Angeline shrugged in response to his questions. “I’ve been alright. Lots of drawing,” and she gave her wrist a half wave, “A couple of big projects. Telfer’s roommate has a lot of parties so I’ve been there a lot on the weekend.”

Telfer watched their interaction like a dog waiting for some small critter to encroach on his turf. Inside jokes? And he knew about her...demon thing? As he shook Malcolm’s hand, gripping hard, he leaned back out of Angel’s sight and gave the red-headed boy a smirk, challenging him to act on the tone on his voice.

Telfer let go. He felt his eye twitch again and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. The streetlamps barely provided enough light for him to keep attached to reality and his other hand remained attached to Angel.

I need another cigarette. In the middle of pulling the box from his pocket, Malcolm invited them to join him at the Hook. He resisted the urge to snort.

--“Nah, I was just wandering around…looking for something to do. I could be going that way, though! You…um,” He glanced at Telfer again. “You want to come?”

Looking for something to do...not my girl, that’s for sure.

Angel turned to him. “Why don’t we? Malcolm’s in evening classes so I don’t get to see him much. You’re fine for a while right?”

Telfer stared back at her without expression. “Yeah, maybe for an hour.” Sure, he wanted to comment, Let’s take me in the dark to a place full of people. But this grew now into either manning up and seeing where Malcolm would push the boundaries, or bowing out.

He stood fished the cigarettes out of his pocket, ignoring Angel’s frown as he flicked his zippo and buried his hand in his pocket. To his chagrin Angel chose to walk between them and he regretted letting go of her. He switched holding his cigarette to his other hand. His eyes fell to the sidewalk. Telfer supposed he could pull out the flashlight if the urge to rip through the closest living thing overwhelmed him. But his ego came first and he’d drive himself through the entire pack of smokes and his sanity to prove he had no handicaps.

“You’re still in pre-med, right?” Angel asked him. “That’s probably been study-heavy? When finals are done we should do a movie night. I bought a couple of obscure ones out of Korea last week.”

Telfer ground his teeth. She smiled.

“They don’t look quite as bad as Naked Blood though. Probably closer to The Ring and stuff like that. Oh! I almost wanted to paint those nurses from Silent Hill but then...” She sighed. “I figured that would be a really bad idea. That’s not something I want to animate. So I drew them in pencil instead.”

[scribblerrigby]

(OOC -Two weeks later: I’m worse! I know how I want this to turn out eventually, but I’m getting stuck trying to get there…)

Malcolm decided to demonstrate his maturity to Telfer by raising his eyebrows and quickly smirking back.

Fine. You play that game. See if I care.

Dismemberment was seeming like a better idea all the time.

Wait, calm down. It’s Angel, he told himself. And she’s taken. This shouldn’t be a big deal. Don’t make it into one.

He nodded in response to Telfer’s timetable. “An hour’s cool. We could just grab a few drinks, catch up. That kind of stuff.”

“You’re still in pre-med, right?” Angel asked him. “That’s probably been study-heavy? When finals are done we should do a movie night. I bought a couple of obscure ones out of Korea last week.”

“Yeah, I'm still at it. School’s been pretty bad. Especially when everything only happens in the evening classes. Hard to keep up with everything and still have some sort of life…”

Malcolm slowed to walk beside Angel, matching her step. He almost took her hand and wrist, but thought better of it. He wanted to clean it up, lick it, fix it up. It had to suck, having the thing you love doing destroy you.

Not unlike you with your doctor fixation, buddy. How long can you stare at and mess around with blood and stuff before downing your patient like a Slurpee?

Hopefully neither of them noticed.

He laughed. “I’m always up for a movie night! The freakier, the better - but I don’t think anything gets as bad as Naked Blood, though! I’m gonna’ say - that one made me a little queasy. NOT a lot - just a little. Had to be the sound effects. It was awesome! And…can I see that drawing?” Angel's drawings always impressed him. They were usually monsters and zombies and things that he generally loved. He'd even been toying with the idea of asking and paying her to design a tattoo for him.

A thought came to him. “Hey, regarding the art, um…thing." He glanced at Telfer. Did he know about it? "So pencils are okay, then? Would that work for something like charcoal, too? What works and what doesn't?”

The trio walked briskly under the darkening skies. Fin chatted cheerfully with Angel, but there was also a simmering, directionless undercurrent of anger that was becoming harder to ignore, the more he thought about the man behind them.

Finally, he decided to address that G-damn elephant in the room.

“So, Angel. Telfer.” It was a somewhat lame attempt to pull Telfer back into the conversation. He'd already slipped up by accidentally shutting him out, earlier. “How long have you guys been together?”

Tact, Malcolm. You have it.

[Clairice-Sarah]

Telfer didn't bother to hide his expression as Angel suggested movie night. Maybe he should start listening to some of the things she said...had she mentioned this kid before? He took a long drag of his cigarette as they talked.

Well, they could talk. He wouldn't bother about that. At the end of the day, Telfer still would be the one getting laid. Getting around his curse. He wondered if Malcolm was one of those too, some kind of demon. Angeline didn't seem bothered that he knew about her freaky power, so maybe he was.

Ginger. What do you expect? he asked himself.

"Naked Blood was gross," she confessed, "I don't know what these two are like...I don't even know how good the subtitles will be, but I've read that the ones filmed in Korea are usually better on the scary than Japan...Japan is a lot more fixated on creepy." She pulled up the zipper of her coat and adjusted the hoodie around her neck. "Yeah, I'll bring my sketchbook the next time I head to the hideout, or wherever."

She looked up to the overcast sky, then back to Malcolm. "Well pencil and charcoal are dry mediums, right? So I think even if I tried mixing blood with them, I'm not sure that it would work...at the same time, that might be like painting without another liquid to dilute it...I don't know yet. I haven't tried though, and I probably won't. That does bring up a problem with clay though." She crossed her arms in thought, moving over as beckoned as Telfer snaked an arm around her shoulders. "I don't want to sculpt anything because my hands would be right in it."

"That'd probably be harder to run over," Telfer interjected, as if she'd been talking to him.

She laughed uneasily. "My truck is starting to show its age, that's for sure...that's why my dad has it tonight. I wanted him to look at the engine ...it's been making a weird sound."

"I'll take a look when he's done." Telfer dropped the cigarette onto the street. "I get parts cheap through work."

Both silenced when Malcolm asked about their relationship. Telfer, to think back to when he first slept with her and Angeline to try and place when she'd considered things official.

"Two months, and a bit?" Angel said, half in question.

"Something like that. Hockey was starting when my roommate threw that party."

Angel gave a nod and turned her own eyes toward the ground; it always seemed a lot less legitimate when he worded it as stemming from that party. It wasn't as if they hadn't known each other before then, but she supposed that the party stood as the only concrete marker of when things started.

He turned his eyes toward Malcolm, one turned black and gold as he did. It twitched and Telfer sensed the monster in him itching to rip the boy apart. So he looked back to the streetlamps and the sidewalk ahead of them. No need for that. He already had Angeline.

"We can cut the walk in half if we cut in behind that building," he said offhandedly, pointing. "The fence between the properties isn't that high or sharp."

"But there aren't lights," Angel replied, biting her lip. "Are you sure?"

"Nothing's going to happen."

[scribblerrigby]

“How about this weekend?” He grinned. “It won’t get in the way too much! It can be our last moment of freedom before finals destroy everyone’s lives! Or maybe…Hideout, and then come back for a movie night when we’ve all had enough?”

Then, Telfer took her away from him.

He frowned as the two debated the start of their relationship. Telfer mentioned something about a party – no surprise, there. Things like that happened at parties. Neither of them seemed to know when it started.

“Hey, wait, you don’t even-,“ He trailed off, noticing Angel’s less than enthusiastic reaction.

It clicked. Clearly, the two were looking for different things. This Telfer guy was using her (he tried to avoid thinking about the specifics), and for some reason or another, Angel was giving.

The thing was, this guy probably didn’t care. He probably knew nothing about her. Did he know what she liked, what she painted, what freaked her out? Did he know that she liked Lovecraft and obscure horror movies? Did he know the color of her eyes? The whole thing was a weird sham. It was the time period of a long-term relationship with the familiar phoniness of a one-night stand.

That’s f ucked up.

Malcolm wanted to give Telfer a piece of his mind. An instinct that was less than human wanted him dead. A low growl barely escaped from his throat. He’d be okay with either option, really.

He had no idea how he looked, if either of them could tell that he wanted to rip Telfer’s face off, wrap skeletal hands around the man’s throat, tear it right out - and he didn’t care. Angel didn’t deserve this.

He turned to Telfer, hatred burning in his eyes, when he met the other man's glare.

A murderous, yellow glare.

He recoiled in surprise, just as the other man turned away and looked at the lights. He could only hope it was a trick of the light, but with his luck, it probably wasn’t.

F uck you Bridgeport, he thought. F uck you and your f ucking demons and monsters and crap. As if he didn’t have enough to think about with this douche and Angel, but the start was enough to shock Fin into some sort of reason.

Restraint, man. Restraint in front of Angel, in front of everyone. Not to mention that eviscerating Angel’s boyfriend in front of her probably wasn’t the best of ideas, for a number of reasons.

Telfer pointed out a shortcut. It was quite dark, and out of the way. Malcolm hadn’t even thought about the dark, lately - he had been able to see just fine in darker places for a while, now. He’d been able to take less savory characters by surprise, rather than the other way around.

“Yeah, we’ll all be fine!” he answered. Glib; but there were definitely cracks in his veneer. “Don’t think anyone would try and mess with us, anyway."

In the off chance that someone did, he'd make sure nobody messed with Angel. Maybe he could drag Telfer in it, somehow, and make whatever happened look like an accident.

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

“Lead the way, Don Juan.” The last part was dangerously close to a sneer.

[Clairice-Sarah]

Angel looked between both. She frowned, wondering if the two never should have been introduced. Telfer's talent for upsetting others wasn't news to her. His clutch on her waist grew uncomfortable and she squirmed out of his grasp as they stepped into the alley. She held onto his hand though, worried his curse would activate and she didn't know how else to deal with that.

”Lead the way, Don Juan.”

Telfer didn’t react this time. Angel turned to Malcolm with an unhappy stare – why did he have to be that way?

Conversation died between them.

Telfer stole glances over to Malcolm - he shouldn't have - and he clamped his hand down on Angel once more as the shadows twisted under his gaze. He slowed his breaths intentionally as his heart raced. Paranoia: strange sounds that weren't there and he exhaled a small hiss.

"Are you...?"

Telfer didn't look down to her. "Fine."

Her voice grew smaller. “Okay...”

They approached a plain wire fence separating the properties. For the first time since they’d left the streetlights behind, Telfer let go of Angel to hop the fence first. He wanted to pull out his light and see the state of the fence; he couldn’t distinctly remember the last time he walked this route. But his pride meant more than his self control and after fighting for a foothold for a moment, hauled himself over almost effortlessly.

“That fence is taller than me,” Angel whined as she reached up to put her fingers through the holes. Climbing fences in the light was one thing: chasing monsters down neighbourhood alleys sometimes required that.

“You’re in jeans, right babe?”

“Yeah,” she grunted as she climbed up, blushing angrily when her foot slipped and she had to reposition herself to climb. “This sucks. You suck.”

Telfer smirked. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“...better!” She paused at the top of the fence, looking pathetically between Malcolm and Telfer and sighed to herself, before tossing her bag over. Telfer caught it by the strap and set it down on the cement. When she caught his eyes, and the irises glinted yellow at her, she bit her lip. This definitely had been a bad idea.

“Just jump over like I showed you,” Telfer goaded, holding out one hand.

“Are you going to catch me?” Could he even see her? “Maybe we should just go back to the sidewalk. What if I break something? I can’t see.”

“You’re not going to break anything. Just hurry up.”

“Uhh...” Angel took a breath to calm her nerves and pulled herself over, giving out a scared shriek when she felt the tugging at her clothes. Without a moment’s hesitation she realized her belt-loop had been caught.

“Are you kidding me?” Telfer stared at the small girl suspended on the fence.

“I’m stuck and I hate you! –ahh!” The denim gave way mid-outburst, and Telfer didn’t catch her – not completely, and she felt the impact ring through her ankles through her knees when she hit the pavement. She pushed him off – hurt and irritated – as she reached back to feel the damage done to her clothes.

Just the belt loop...

“Proud of you,” Telfer quipped with a smirk.

“You dropped me,” she said through a frown.

“I’ll kiss it better later.”

Angel didn’t respond this time, collecting her purse and turning away.

[scribblerrigby]

Angel turned to Malcolm, hurt written all over her face, and he shut up. Yeah. Telfer was a pervert and a skeeze, but he was still Angel’s boyfriend. For some reason. That had been harsh. He did that when he was frustrated – take cheap shots at people. From here on out, for Angel’s sake, he’d keep his instinct for pissiness under control. Really.

Doesn’t matter if he deserves a lot worse. Christgoddammit.

They approached the fence, Telfer leading the way, mood inscrutable, Angel unhappy in his grip, and Malcolm trailing behind with his hands in his pockets. He was depressed. Mad. Mostly mad. Fuming. This was a terrible idea. Was this going to happen every time he wanted to hang with Angel, now? God, he hoped not. He leaned against the wall, and waited for each of them to climb over. So they were probably at a party. Angel couldn’t be anything but a lightweight. It’s too easy drawing conclusions about what happened, he thought. She deserves more. This guy clearly sees her as a walking --

Angel started yelling. Malcolm stopped mentally shoving Telfer into a Cuisinart, peeled himself off of the wall, and spun to face the argument. That ass was goading her on, and she was clearly having trouble climbing the fence, and it was freaking her out.

“He just keeps proving me right,” he growled. “Just keeps proving me right at every G-damn turn!”

Angel screamed and fell; Malcolm vaulted over the fence, without a second thought.

He was by her in an instant, looking her over, hand on her back, the other reflexively unconsciously brushing her hair back – “Aw, Angel, are you all right?” – before turning with a snarl to face Telfer.

“What the HELL, Telfer?! “ The man was wearing on his last remaining nerve. “What the hell was THAT?!” So much for the instinct and control thing. He wasn’t that far away from shrieking. “Hate to sound like the buzzkill, but she could’ve broken something!”

He took a deep breath. Not that it was necessary, but it helped to calm him down, a tiny bit. The words came out stiffly.

“We’re almost there. Bar’s around the corner. It’s better in there. Drinks half off.” It came more naturally when he faced Angel, again.

“Angel, I can see just fine.” Dim light from up ahead reflected off his pupils. The usually blue irises were a faint and sickly shade of red. He offered his hand for her. “I’ll help if you need it, until we’re back on the street.”

[Clairice-Sarah]

"Re-lax," Telfer replied, grinding his teeth. He stepped forward as Malcolm put his hands on Angel. "She's fine...you're not that fragile, are you Ang?"

As if automatically, Angeline frowned at the nickname but echoed Telfer with, "Don't worry about it, I'm okay. Nothing I can't walk off." Yes, bar, bar was good. Angel put up both hands and stepped between the boys. This mess belonged to her, and now she needed to fix it.

"Okay, let's just go."

She paused when Malcolm offered his hand, but didn't fail to notice Telfer's mood flip either. Malcolm's eyes shone that hungry red and surely it couldn't be long until Telfer's responded in bright yellow. Did she ask for this? Was this karma? Who knew they'd get along so poorly...

With an unhappy sigh she ignored both and walked further down the alley, Telfer catching up with his long strides and possessing her once again with his arm. She didn't move closer this time, resisted when he tried to pull her to him. The fingers of her right hand twitched and Angel clenched her fist, burying it in the pocket of her hoodie.

Finally, gloriously, they made it back to the sidewalk and could see the lit windows of The Hook in the distance. Angel relaxed.

The smell of smoked out carpet, beer, and pub food never felt more welcoming as they walked through the doors of the bar. Angel pulled from Telfer to pick a table and not a booth. She felt suffocated between the two and wanted the freedom to walk off to the bathroom for a breather whenever she wanted.

She recognized employees of her father's but they, thank heaven, didn't notice her. Angel slung her purse over the back of the chair before sitting, both hands on her knees. Now that she stopped "walking it off" she could think about the throbbing.

Telfer sat next to her, draping both arms over the back of the chair as they waited for one of the servers to come to their table.

"What are you drinking, babe?"

"Something sugary," Angel replied, eyes on the napkin. She probably had a pencil in her purse...no. No sketching.

"Not vodka?" Telfer looked unimpressed.

"No...nothing hard. My parents won't be happy if I go home drunk."

"Don't go home then." Telfer caught the eye of one of the servers and waved her over, while Angel massaged the pad of her thumb over the mark on her wrist, hoping to push the urge to sketch away.

[scribblerrigby]

He sighed, shoved his hands into his pockets with a half-mumbled “Sorry,” and fell into his now-familiar place behind the two. The mood was considerably more tense, though, and he didn’t fail to notice Angel’s hand twitch.

Just shut up. Don’t say anything until we’re in the bar.

Finally, they made it. Angel chose a table, and Malcolm sullenly slid into a chair across from her. The drink menu was a sheet of paper, which was jammed into a little plastic centerpiece. Malcolm picked it up, and began fidgeting with it as the couple started talking about drinks.

Telfer all but suggested that Angel should get smashed and go home with him; Malcolm lost control of the plastic, which popped out and skidded from under his hands. He snatched it back up and began fiddling with it. He was on edge. The setting didn’t make anything better; if anything, the presence of other people – every heartbeat, every raw emotion - got him even more worked up. But he couldn’t show it, definitely couldn’t let on – especially in this public place. He could pretend he hadn’t already been thinking of disembowelment, of fountains of blood.

That’s definitely not a good reaction, he reminded himself. You don’t kill a guy for screwing with your girl.

A girl.
Yeah.
Wait, what?

Malcolm ignored that. It was difficult to concentrate, anyway. He forced a grin, and absently twirled the menu with his hands. “Well… I’m glad we’re here. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving. Not sure what I want more, a drink or the full-blown meal.”

Telfer then coolly tilted his head, and motioned a waitress over to the table. Fin hoped he imagined that leer. F ucking hound.

And Malcolm’s friend Laurie, wearing the standard skinny black outfit and tight jeans, sauntered brightly over to the table.

He wanted to scream.

“Hey there, guys! “ Laurie smiled with professional cheer. “How are you all doing tonight? Can I start you off with anything? Any drinks…” She trailed off and raised an eyebrow as Malcolm turned to look at her with that odd stare; the menu folded and snapped in two.

“Ooookay…maybe I’ll hold off on the drinks with you, Fin…”

“Nah, that’s fine.” He fumbled for his ID, attempting a wink and a grin. “Just give me a second if you can’t deliver on the hot and tasty.” He pulled the paper from the broken plastic and made a show of looking it over.

She made a face and turned toward Telfer to take his order. As she turned, Fin looked up from his paper at the downcast Angel.

“I’m sorry,” he said, again – softer, slightly leaning in. “I just…I’m sorry. Must’ve had a rough day or something.” I’m sorry, Angel, but your boyfriend’s kind of a creep and it's pissing me off a lot more than it should didn’t seem to quite be appropriate, here. He ran his hand anxiously through his hair, and peevishly passed the plastic pieces to Laurie’s outstretched hand. She pocketed them without a glance or a word. “I mean, it's just that…hey-” He sensed the slightly familiar twinge, looked at her hands, and thought back to the walk. “You’re not going to, um…You okay? How long has it been since the last, um…project?” He glanced around the table – nothing but little piles of silverware wrapped tightly in paper napkins. There was his own knife in his pocket, but she didn’t know that. Did she have one on her? Did artists do that?

“151 and Dr. Pepper,” he said when Laurie turned back to them.

[Clairice-Sarah]

"I could go for something to eat," Angel agreed, deciding it better not to shirk off on the carbs before the night concluded. She didn't miss Telfer's stare either and frowned. If he thought she was going with him tonight...it wasn't happening. She spent a lot of time alone, and while usually preferred the company of others, tonight wanted the solitude.

Oh, Malcolm snapped the menu - he was upset with her, wasn't he? Angel barely swallowed back the worry that bubbled in her throat at the thought. Agreeing to hang out tonight had been a bad choice and now she had to live with the two of them hating each other.

"Malibu-pineapple for her," Telfer said, wearing a smirk half directed at the vampire, and half directed at Laurie, "And I'll have whatever's on tap tonight. What do you want to eat, babe? Sure you don't want your usual?"

"Hey, Laurie. Just a side of fries for me, please," Angel added, giving a tired smile to Laurie as she took her ID - the important one - out of her wallet and held it out to her. She didn't acknowledge Telfer's comment about the drink she wanted, taking a slow breath and turning back to her friend.

"Roast beef sandwich," Telfer told Laurie without looking at the menu, "Side of fries."

Angel leaned forward as Malcolm spoke, giving him the same tired and false smile she'd just given to Laurie. "I'm okay. Every couple of weeks I need to...I do paintings for a friend, who is kind of like you. Sorta. It just hurts sometimes." She paused. "But, thanks..." She wanted to apologize for Telfer, but not here, not to set him off and have to deal with people staring at his obnoxious behaviour.

Telfer watched the exchange between the two, before standing and shoving the chair back. "Going for a smoke," he announced, pocketing both hands as he stepped outside.

Angeline took a deep breath and dropped her shoulders. "Sorry he's been this way," she said finally. "Telfer's not usually this moody. It's just, the weather and the dark, I guess..." She probably should have just gone straight home, and not tested Telfer's limit in the dark. She glanced to the door to make sure he still stood there, and hadn't walked off.

Of course I can't say I'm impressed with how pushy he's being... She sighed again. "Anyway, when we do movie night next, Telfer doesn't need to come. He's not a movie type, anyway."

[scribblerrigby]

Malcolm didn’t fail to notice Angel’s obvious discomfort, and he hoped he was imagining that leer from Telfer. Laurie flashed that stupid, provocative Laurie grin as she made small talk and jotted down each of their orders. She raised her eyebrows at Angel’s card, but then handed it back to her with an I’ll-pretend-I-didn’t-notice-that sort of smile. “All right, I’ll bring your drinks out in a minute!” She trotted away.

Angel leaned towards him and tried to play off the wrist twinge like it was nothing. “Well, if there’s anything I can do about it, let me know,” Malcolm said in a low voice - not buying it, but not arguing, either. He relaxed visibly once Telfer excused himself and Angel tried for a genuine apology.

I don’t WANT him to come to a movie night, anyway, he wanted to say. “I’m hungry,” he complained, unconsciously rubbing the side of his neck, for the lack of a menu to fidget with. Angel mentioned something about Telfer and the dark, and Fin thought back to the street and the alley and the murderous yellow eyes. He wondered how his own eyes looked – probably not much better. It was hard keeping up appearances when he was hungry. Or pissed. It didn’t help that he was both.

“I’m sorry I asked,” he admitted to Angel with an uncomfortable smile, then took a shaky breath, glancing outside in case Telfer would burst back in. What the hell. His next words tumbled out.

“But…I don’t understand how you put up with that. I mean, if I can speak frankly, he’s been kind of a…Kind of asshole-ish all night. Like when we were hopping the fence and stuff…what’s that all about!?”

He paused, and looked down.

”Do you...like being with him?”

[Clairice-Sarah]

"No, not right now...not around this many people. Maybe later, if I really need to paint, I'll call you," she said with a sigh. "I'll probably just try to sleep it off. My dad's fixing my truck right now, so I don't have that to fall back on." Oh she couldn't wait to have the freedom of her own vehicle again.

He complained about hunger and without thinking, Angel slid up the left sleeve of her hoodie and almost started on the bandages, before reality set in and she winced. "Oh...uh...jeez, I'm sorry Malcolm." Did this count as being unfair? She thought it did. She hung her head and put both hands on her lap. "Well uh, if we weren't...here. I have no problem with it." She tried to smile. "I can't decide if it's cool or not that this was my gut reaction."

The next thing out of Malcolm's mouth was totally unexpected and Angel stared at him, shocked, for a long minute before trying to think of how to answer him.

"I, uh...well, I mean..."

"Do you...like being with him?" he asked.

She closed her mouth. Did she? Angel felt tired of defending him. Everyone but Dee thought he was a jerk, and Deana wasn't really a reference. She sighed, biting her lip and playing with the labret.

"Well, um, I..." No. Not really. He isn't very nice. But I was excited, and I...

Telfer's hand on her back snapped her out of the thought, as he slid back into the chair next to her. "You alright?" She didn't look well to him. He glanced to Malcolm, pinning him as the cause, and shot the boy a warning stare before looking around for Laurie and their drinks.

He found her, back turned to them at the bar. Telfer appraised her, thought she seemed familiar...maybe she lived in his building? Who knew. He felt a muscle twitch behind one eye and slowly pulled his stare away from her. That was the problem, with it all. He liked tall - and with legs like THAT - someone that looked really hot bent over his couch. Couldn't do that with Angel...he still felt like he was skirting the lines of dating a kid with her.

"Thanks," Telfer said, wearing his best Casanova smile as Laurie put the drinks down on the table.

Angel, this time, gave him a pointed look. No, maybe they needed to talk about a few things, if she could get his attention focused for more than five seconds. "Seriously, Telfer?"

"What?" he raised his hands innocently.