Night's Omen

"Right," she responded dryly. Chloe was always supposed to "run away" whenever something happened. When was she ever going to be allowed to stand up for herself? Well, given the way she'd handled the Luke thing, just taking off sure hadn't been showing people she could deal with things. She mentally chided herself, but she was only sorry because she hadn't hurt him more. Chloe was a freak for pain, but she knew she had to be careful in the Hollow. Ash was a magical Whatzit and he'd know what she was doing the moment she did it.

"Well, I guess I should go back out there," she said. She reached out and punched Anthony lightly in the abdomen, fist hitting rock hard muscle. "Thanks for lookin' out for me. Maybe the next time I'll just let you maul his face off," she said with a sly smile, focusing her bright blue eyes up at him mischievously.

  "Oh yeah, we still on for later?" she asked, as though it had just occurred to her. "I know you don't get off later so I was going to hang around. I was going to rent lame movies and make a game out of them with liquor, but I realized you don't get drunk? So I figured I'd wait and we'd hit the Redbox. Unless you have a better idea?"

As far as Anthony was concerned?  She was allowed to stand up for herself when she had claws and teeth, which he wasn't letting happen, so that was out.  Even if she did, he'd still want to protect her because he didn't think that she should ever have to protect herself.  He was old-fashioned like that.  He didn't know about her abilities, that she could really hurt someone as well as heal, and even then, he probably would have tried to keep her from having to do anything like that.  It was just the way he was, and it wasn't likely to change.  He wouldn't have been freaked out or hated her for it, though.  She hadn't freaked out finding out he was a wolf, so it would be stupid for him to.

He faked the give when she punched him in the stomach, the blow being light and not at all hurting, but he was a good sport about things like that.  "Letting me maul people is always a good plan," he returned with a grin, mostly because they both knew it wasn't.  Letting Anthony go buck-wild on someone never turned out well, because he had a hell of a temper when you got him started.  It was satisfying, though. 

He was actually set to go back to work, planning on yelling at Darren to get back behind the bar once Chloe was back on the floor, when she asked about their plans later.  He hadn't even actually made plans, she had, but who was he to argue when a cute blonde forces him into a corner and won't let him pass until he agrees to watch movies with her alone in her apartment?  Even knowing that he was going to behave himself, because his Dad and Ash would kill him if he upset her, not to mention his mom, that was a damn tempting offer.  "Redbox sounds cool, unless there's something specific you want to see, and then I'm okay with whatever.  As long as it's not something chick-flicky," he pointed out, giving her what passed for a fake stern look from him.  He didn't really do 'stern'.  He did 'pissed'.

"I could probably grab some of whatever that shit from the Mojo Lounge is.  That stuff totally annihilates me every time, but I doubt you want that.  I can NOT go anywhere once I have some of that.  Ask Darren, he and I got destroyed last time and he ended up sleeping under his kitchen table.  I can't remember how he got there," he explained, grinning just at the thought.  He'd had enough sense to crash on the couch.  "Honestly, your call.  I'll do whatever."

Being a shifter made it really easy to be one of those people that just didn't care if there was drinking involved.  He could chill and make fun of movies sober, if she wanted to drink.  Wouldn't bother him.

 The amount of trouble Anthony would have been in if Chloe suddenly woke up one day as a tawny and cream coloured Kimball wolf would be... unspeakable. Dave had probably already given him the talk, the "I know you like this girl, son, because you'd have to be gay and blind [you aren't gay, are ya boy?] (No, dad - and the angry noise that would follow) Well I'm just sayin' whatever you two do is fine and dandy but I swear to god, son, if you ever change that girl without a long talk between your mother, myself, the girl (he always called her "the girl") and Ash then I will make you gay (How would you make me gay, dad?) I don't even know because I know I'll never have to worry about it, because I sure didn't raise you to be stupid." Chloe's head would have spun if she'd know that the only time she'd be allowed to defend herself is if she were furry and clawed, though, mostly because while she thought secretly that Anthony's second form was beautiful (she said "cool" because "beautiful" would have sent Dave off on another gay spree) she didn't think she'd much like to have to deal with more on her own plate than was already there.

  That and she didn't really relish the idea of the FURSPLOSION, or however it was they changed. She'd never seen it, but she had some strange notions of how it went down, however far-fetched they were.

  Chloe smiled a little more as Anthony fake-moved at her light punch. She knew that she could hit that boy with everything she had, physically, and she'd probably just hurt herself. Some part of her, the part that she ignored, had always wanted to just see how much pain he could have taken, especially since he was a shifter, but Chloe felt guilty even thinking about that, and chided herself every time a wandering idea as such with ANY of her friends ever drifted into her conscious agenda of thought. She'd never in a million years let Anthony see what she could do, and though a vast reason was because she was sure he'd find her too freaky for his liking (given some of the girls she'd seen hit on him and have him utterly laugh at) but the other part, a tiny part, was afraid that if he knew that she could freakin' crucio people, she'd lose her "breakable, needs to be protected and snuggled" sort of appeal, and she did not want that at all.

  "Well, maybe we'll relax on the drinking, then. Your reminiscence reminds me that while you, my fine furred friend, will not get a hangover, I most certainly will, and I've always been a good girl before but I can't stand to watch someone else get hammered and not try to match them drink for drink. You remember the Halloween party," she added. Did he. It was amazing Chloe survived. The only reason she didn't have alcohol poisoning was because the girl knew to vomit as soon as it started to feel bad, not to try and hold it down like a superstar. She took it like a champ, though, even if she did end up on liquor probation from Ash because he refused to give her some Triste mojo and fix what ailed her to teach her a lesson.

  "I don't do chick flicks, Anthony," she said, matching his stern look with one of her own. If Anthony looked funny doing stern, Chloe looked absolutely ridiculous. Like a ferocious kitten - it just didn't work for her. Nose too button, eyes too blue, hair way, way too blonde. "Have you seen the Hangover yet, speaking of drinking? I actually bought it, we could watch that instead. Or I can snag the bootleg of Avatar Darren has in his car before we leave," she offered. Chloe liked fun movies.

  She was moving towards the door with her last suggestion, only because it was busy and she needed to get back out there and deal with Lucas, if he wasn't already gone. She didn't know what had happened after she'd left, but she intended to ask Darren while she got drinks and go from there. Chloe needed to know whether or not to pain him in the face, and she'd be more than happy to do it. She was vengeful, and the bastard had already given her a taste before when she gave him the head nuke. Now she had the switch flipped ON.

Unspeakable was a damn good word for the trouble that Anthony would be in if Chloe woke up as a wolf, any kind of wolf, because his father would blame him if she was infected by any wolf out there.  It was his job to protect her, and that meant that she remained human.  Of course, he'd have never even thought to bring it up to her, because all he got was that she thought him being a wolf was 'cool'.  If he'd heard 'beautiful', he'd have probably checked to make sure his dad wasn't listening, but thought differently of her opinion.  It wouldn't have meant that it mattered, since Dave and Ash weren't likely to go for it (especially his father; Ash was more thoughtful about things), but Anthony might personally have thought differently.  Either way, he didn't know, and she wasn't telling. 

He was also pretty damn sure that the FURSPLOSION that she was imagining, and he could totally imagine her imagining something other than what it was, was ridiculous and worried her.  She'd never seen him shift, and she'd only actually seen his wolf form once, when he was very literally sniffing around the house for something his mother had misplaced just in time for Chloe to come inside.  She'd knocked, but it had been a brisk sort of tap-then-enter gesture instead of a true knock.  Besides, it wasn't like he'd been trying to hide it.  She'd thrown her hands up and retreated almost like she'd caught him walking around in his underwear, and he really thought she might have dealt with that better.  Thus why he didn't think that 'beautiful' would have been part of her description of the situation.  Obviously, he'd shifted back and made sure she was alright, but she still didn't seem comfortable with it.  Then, there's the fact that ironing knows no bounds.

He turned into a freakin' wolf, and she thought that he'd think that she was too freaky.  The girl was crazy, obviously, and not even for thinking about how good his pain threshold was.  He might have wondered as well, without ever really wanting to try it, just how much he could have taken.  Being a shifter, it would be quite a bit, but finding his limit would involve a breaking point, which wasn't actually a good thing.  That was how people ended up messed up for life.  He wasn't stupid.  It was the kind of thing that he'd have pushed through like a champ for as long as he could because of some feeling that he had to, but he wasn't volunteering. 

"I do," he told her of remembering the Halloween party, face growing a little more serious, and eyes widening.  Better that she didn't try to match his drinks.  He'd worried about her, a LOT, that night.  Her only saving grace would be that Mojo Juice was strong, and if he started drinking it, she probably COULD match his drinks and beat the hell out of him with her number.  He wasn't telling her that, though, because she might actually put it to use.  As fun as getting drunk with her would be, he liked being totally in control of the situation whenever he was around her.  If he wasn't, she could get hurt, and it'd be his fault. 

Not cool, so onto the next suggestion.  "I wanted to see the Hangover, but I missed it while it was in theaters because Dad had me working all the time.  Avatar looks great, too.  Did you see either of them?" he asked, more than willing to go with whichever one she hadn't seen.  He wasn't picky, and though he wasn't telling her, he was more interested in the fact that he was watching it with her.  Briefly, he wondered if Darren would be jealous.

 "Well, Avatar looks kind of neat. I'm not going to pay twenty bucks to see it, I can tell you that," she said, pushing the door open. Nicole had come in early and Darren was back at the bar where he should have been, which gave Chloe opportunity. She pushed the door open wide enough that Anthony could follow her out if he moved quickly, and she went behind the bar.

  "Nothing to do with what I will be talking to you about for the rest of the night - can I get Avatar before you leave?" she asked. She prefaced that shit so that Darren knew he was on her verbal shit list until he told her the deets on what the fuck Luke had said when she'd gone - and why the freak was still there. She noticed that he was just as rude to Nicole, which made her a little smug, but she said nothing about it, just made a kind of "Heh" noise.

  She started loading drinks onto a tray as a random server told her which tables needed what as Darren fixed them, and noticed Tristan was sipping on a beer, courtesy of Mittens, and it looked like he'd actually be able to speak to Ash. That was cool, at least - things were starting to even back out for the night.