Fractured Fairytales: Little Red Riding Hood

[Crystal Deboir]

Crystal dallied in her room, packing slowly as she paused to watch television every few folds. She had eventually given up and sat down on her bed, glued to America's Next Top Model, her suitcase open and clothing sprawled out all over her comforter. A tap at her door broke her concentration and she looked up, calling for whoever it was to come in. Her mother poked her head in the doorway, and then moved the rest of the way into the room, becoming absorbed in the television herself for a moment.

  "What's up?" Crystal prompted, sitting down cross-legged on her bed to start putting clothing neatly into the small suitcase she had opened up on her giant puffy comforter. She looked almost like a little girl among all the fabric and pillows, with her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a bun and her warm-up suit on. Laundry meant no fashionable loungewear, so her Ramsa High colours would have to do for the moment.

  "Are you sure you're going to be okay leaving so late? I know Rowen's father said the cabin is only a few hours north, but I still worry about you two," she confessed, crossing her arms.

  "Mo-om, like I have never driven a long distance before? Besides, I went with Summer this summer and we all left at night then, too," Crystal argued, that tone in her voice. She so did not need her mom stressing her out right now. "I've like slept all day, which is why I'm packing now when Rowen is supposed to be here in like thirty minutes. It isn't my fault you and dad wanted me in town last night for that stupid lame dinner he had or we'd have left at like six this morning," she informed her.

  "Besides, he can drive if I get tired. It isn't like we don't go up there like four times a year," she added, smoothing her suitcase as she shut it. She'd already packed all her toiletries and everything, the clothing was the last step. Thank GOD she'd already made sure that the Avalanche was packed and ready to go.

  "I know, and you know we trust Rowen. I just worry, is all. His father told me I was asking too many questions," she said with a laugh. She kissed Crystal on the head. "I'm going to bed. Do me a favour and call us when you get there, okay dear?" she said. She left Crystal's room, and about ten minutes later called up to tell her that Rowen was there.

  Crystal had changed into her jeans, furry boots, and a fashionable v-neck white sweater with layered pink and white tanks underneath. Her colours were pink and white - it was her "thing". Her prom dress had been themed the same; Summer had thought it was adorable. Of course, Summer's dress was a slinky cheetah-print thing that had every eye glued to her in the room until Seth eventually started trouble about it. But hey, that was high school. Crystal was so glad to be out.

  "Come in!" she called as there was a thump on her door. "I'm almost ready!" She wrapped a pink scarf around her neck and grabbed her white jacket and pink gloves, quickly shoving them into the pockets. "You're just in time to carry this down the stairs," Crystal said with a bright smile to Rowen, pointing at her suitcase. She ran a brush through her blonde hair and then snagged her hot pink iPod and twirled her keys on her finger.

  "Ready for snowboarding and no adult supervision for a full five days?" she asked him.

[Rowen Ayers]

Rowen wasn't nearly as slow about the packing as Crystal had been, and he sure as hell got plenty of sleep before the trip.  Frankly, he was planning on having to pick up Crystal's slack wherever she dropped the ball, because she was a princess.  That's how princesses were, and he knew from experience.  He was pretty consistently surrounded by them, with Laura having been the only exception.  Since everyone back home knew how that went, it was princesses, and he didn't complain nearly as much as he could have if he was quite as spoiled as everyone said.  He wasn't, so he didn't.  Most of it was for show, like when he finished flirting ever so slightly with Mrs. Deboir, just to tend to her ladylike insecurities (which she'd displayed so strongly) and reassure her that he'd never let anything happen to her daughter, and saw that Crystal had given up on the idea of carrying her own luggage.

Great.  He'd probably be driving within the hour, too.

He huffed, rolling his eyes for a good show, and tested the weight of the suitcase.  "I'm ready for the mountains and the lack of parents, but I don't know if I'm ready to be your bellhop, Ms. Deboir," he told her, putting his cheesiest French accent on her last name.  "Holy hell!  What did you PACK in this thing, your entire bathroom?"

It was heavy, but it wasn't nearly as heavy as he'd expected.  He hefted it without much of a problem, but it wasn't any fun without teasing her.  He was definitely thinking that she'd packed too much, especially since he'd managed to stuff five days' worth of clothes, his toothbrush, deodorant and some shower stuff into a single duffel bag, and the rest was his snowboarding gear.  He was betting there was a hairdryer in there.  Actually, he pressed on a part that looked like it might BE the hairdryer, suspicious already, and decided.  Definitely thought it was the hairdryer.

"Did you pack a hairdryer?"

[Crystal Deboir]

 "Yes," Crystal said indignantly. "I can't let my hair air dry, it looks stupid. I don't know why I'm worried about how I look when it's just you three, but I guess I just like to look my best as often as I can help it," she said with a shrug. No, Crystal really didn't offer super-deep reasons as to the things she did, and she was okay with that. She narrowed her eyes at him when he made like he was going to drop her suitcase down the stairs, though. "Okay, it isn't that heavy. Most of that is layering stuff, anyways. And pajamas. Remember last year when the heat went out for like a day and we all sat in that giant sleeping-bag tent thing and were miserable and Summer and I only had like shorts and tank-tops for pajamas? Yeah, not this year," she affirmed.

  When they got into the garage, she helped him load the rest of his junk into the Avalanche, and then climbed into the driver's seat. As she backed it out of the driveway, she looked at the clock. Little blue LED dots made twelve-oh-seven. "Okay, I'm going to stop and get gas at the Seven Eleven right before the interstate, and we can pick up whatever coffee or Mountain Dew or candy that we want there. I'm so not even close to being tired, but I don't want to chance it," she explained, taking off down the road.

  It didn't take long for them to reach the gas station, anyways. Crystal was nothing if not effective when she drove. As she hopped out, she nodded to Rowen. "You want to go inside and give the guy the money and get soda and junk? I want a Starbucks vanilla frappuccino thing, it's by the milk," she said, holding out a fifty dollar bill to him. When he went inside, Crystal waited patiently for the gas pump to activate, and then began filling the tank. The large GM SUT was over half-full, but it was still about twenty dollars just to top it off.

  As she filled, she couldn't help but notice a newer black Ford F-150 at another gas pump with super dark tint on the windows. She couldn't see in them at all, and there wasn't anyone filling it up. She glanced back to the gas station and saw Rowen inside in line with all of his goodies, and didn't really notice anyone there that could have owned it either? Maybe it was the gas station attendant's truck and he'd parked it there so people would have to use a pump closer to the store? She didn't know. Weird.

[Rowen Ayers]

Okay, so he really didn't get the 'omg, can't let it AIR DRY' issue, since he didn't do anything special with his, but whatever.  He never claimed to understand all the beauty products, and it would probably be weird if he did, anyway.  Scratch that, not probably.  It would be.

"So, you brought twice as many pajamas, just in case the power goes out?  You know, I was all for the cuddling under blankets for body heat business," he told her with a grin, though it was empty flirting.  He liked Crystal, but she was way too high maintenance for him to want her like that.  All he could see was his mom and how insane she could be, and he wasn't going there for awhile. 

At least she helped him load the car, since it took a lot less time that way, and she was opting to drive first.  He still figured he'd be driving before the end of the night, but he'd enjoy it while it lasted.  Maybe he'd be wrong.  It WAS her car, and some people were funny about that.  He agreed easily to her plan for the gas station, not at all minding with she sent him inside to get goodies and pay for the gas.  The snacks were one of the better parts of road trips, even if he wished there'd been more of them in the car, instead of just him and Crystal.  Why hadn't they all ridden together? 

Right, probably because Summer and Seth would have driven everyone else nuts once they started bickering in the close quarters of a vehicle. 

"You got it."  Into the gas station he went, offering the F-150 a brief glance as he passed it.  It didn't look like it was sitting there for a reason, but it must have been.  Maybe the owners were inside the building?  Regardless, it was a nice vehicle, if just a little intimidating. 

[Crystal Deboir]

  When Rowen had made the comment about cuddling with Crystal, she merely rolled her eyes at him. Rowen was attractive, yes, but he was more or less a brother to her. They'd hung out as long as he'd lived in the area, and she felt kind of protective over him. Summer was the same way, which was good, because Seth probably would not have been happy about Rowen trying to date his sister. Summer liked a little bit of an 'older' crowd anyways.

  "That's weird," she muttered as they pulled out. "So, anything new going on in your life?" she asked, flipping her hair back and smiling to Rowen. She stole a cherry Twizzler from the pack he'd opened and wedged upright in the center console, and then handed him her iPod. "I put a bunch of stuff on there - so there's Britney Spears somewhere, but also Attack Attack, Li'l John, and even some trance stuff Seth sent me. I made the mix with you in mind," she said with a laugh.

  "Six hours is going to be a long freaking time," she said offhand as she hit the interstate. The temperature outside said forty-two, but as they would get closer to the cabin, it was sure to drop. She was secretly glad Rowen came with her; Crystal hated being alone during winter. It made her feel... vulnerable.

[Rowen Ayers]

Yeah, it was definitely good that they were all on the same page where dating was concerned, especially since Seth just happened to not only be a shapeshifter, but a cheetah.  If Rowen had shown any interest in Summer, Seth would have lost it, and they all knew it.  Thankfully, Rowen didn't want to be romantic with either her or Crystal, so they were fine.  Seth seemed to feel the same way about Crystal that Rowen did, and that just made it easier.  They could all bicker and treat each other like friends and almost-siblings (except in the case of Summer and Seth), and the weekend would be more fun because of it.  As long as other guys didn't try to pick up 'their' girls, anyway.  Naturally, Seth had a constant eye out for Summer, but he and Rowen had both taken to keeping loser guys away from both girls while they were out.  It sucked for Summer and Crystal (or so the girls claimed, which was dumb), but it meant that they didn't get picked up by assholes.  Rowen, being one and having been raised among them himself, had a great eye for the asshole type.  It was like radar, and he'd have sworn that Seth could just smell it on the other guys.  Between the two of them?  Yep.

He gave her a curious 'hmm?' when she said that something was weird, following her eyes to the truck and then shrugging.  He dismissed it within seconds of pulling out of the gas station in favor of opening up a bag of Twizzlers and setting them up between the two of them, then hitting up her iPod.  "With me in mind?  Dude, Britney?  I'm hurt, Crystal, right here," he told her, pounding a fist against his chest, right over his heart.  "Cracks me up that kid listens to trance.  You ever actually ripped through his iPod?  Weirdest mix I've ever seen.  He has old blues, jazz, metal and then shit like this."

Of course, working in the Mojo Lounge would explain the blues and jazz, but Rowen didn't really go in there much.  Place creeped him out.  "Anything new, huh?" he repeated, having finally settled on some Attack Attack song that he recognized, put the thing on shuffle and left it alone.  "Saw a girl I used to know back in Cali in one of my classes.  She'd pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth, so it was really surprising.  Everything else seems peachy, though.  Mom's got a new boyfriend that has her temporarily ecstatic and I'm pretty sure Dad and Corrin have settled into domestic bliss.  Calm before the storm all around, I'm positive."

That was just how the last few years had been.  He wasn't cynical.

[Crystal Deboir]

"Man, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Crystal observed, adjusting the volume so they could talk at a comfortable level with some background music. She refused to shout over her own speakers. "Corrin is nice - enough, anyways. I mean, she's not an axe murder," she offered, ever the optimist. "Anyways, more about girl in class. Which class? And why do people from California move to here, anyways? Ramsa is like the armpit of the Earth. I mean, my parents did it and I still haven't forgiven them."

  Narkisa rolled her eyes, adjusting her seat in the pick-up truck. She looked over at her companion who toyed with a gadget. "How long before that thing starts to pick up?" she asked, pushing brown hair aside to crane her neck and see what he was doing. He had a laptop out and was tacking away at the keyboard - it wasn't long before a little signal popped up, moving slowly across a large atlas of the area.

  "Shiny," she mused. "I love tracking devices. Good thing ol' Kiyo springs for the fancy toys. I wonder how long Raphael is going to tolerate having me on loan like this. I bet he's hitting him with a wicked fee," she said with a laugh. Thomas would never understand the way Narkisa joked about her 'situation', but she imagined it probably made him a lot less likely to be creeped out by it if she did make jokes. Besides, he didn't need to know her history, just that she was doing a fine job thus far.

  She didn't seem to act very "pet-like" either, which was a plus.

[Rowen Ayers]

"Oh, you know it," he told her happily, just to be contrary.  Ray of sunshine?  Him?  Ha!  That didn't work all that well in his realm of reality, not with how everything had been the past few years.  It wasn't like he was one of those depressed kids or anything.  So not his style.  Still, everyone has issues.

He couldn't have told her why people moved from California to Ramsa, since it hadn't really been his choice, but his father had decided on New York and he wasn't complaining.  The alternative had been staying in California with his mom, which hadn't been something he'd wanted to do.  The older he got, the more he 'disagreed' with some of the things she did.  Even so, she was his mom, so he'd rather just not be there to have it grate on him.  That was something else in favor of New York.  Distance made the heart grow fonder.  "Corrin's nice, you're right, but still."  It still wasn't his mom, and she was still a lot younger than his father.  He didn't like it, even if he didn't really dislike her.

"Girl in class, right.  Her name's Laura, she's in my French class.  I haven't really decided to chat with her since then, so I don't know why she moved here.  Maybe it's the charming weather," he remarked dryly.  He missed Sunny California.

Now, Thomas got the reputation for being nothing more than a ruffian for good reason.  He was blunt, aggressive and didn't really care how much collateral damage was inflicted in the process of getting the job done.  That did not, however, mean that he couldn't handle the delicate instruments.  He actually wasn't bad with them, when the situation called for it, and Kiyoshi didn't seem to mind offering up the cash for the fun toys.

"Should be annnnnny minute now, luv," he told her, only slightly distracted by what he was doing.  Sure enough, the signal popped up within another moment, moving along the screen to show them where they were headed.  "Yahtzee.  Makes it almost seem unfair, yeah?"

Almost.  He was still grinning when he said it, glancing up from the keyboard and tilting to give her a better view.  This was really going to be far too easy.  He actually hoped it wouldn't be, but he doubted it.  "How long depends on how much our nancypants employer is willing to pay for it, I'd say," he offered, which meant they were in absolute agreement.  Wicked fee, for sure.  He wouldn't have minded having her around more often, but he wasn't putting up with Raphael's insanity.  He didn't want to be anywhere near that vampire for any longer than he had to be.  That was a fucked up situation, so it was good of her to make jokes about it.  Any jokes that Thomas made would be for show.

[Narkisa]

Thomas was only seeing Narkisa three days out of the cage - if he went three weeks out of the cage, he'd have sorely reconsidered his curiosity as to how her temperament would stand the test of time. She was still a bloodbond, not something that was common public knowledge, but added length away from Raphael would make her literally ill. Pity, that. She was a fine wolf, and a better practitioner of dastardly deeds - when she wanted to be.

  Right now her amber eyes were set ahead on the road as they pulled out of the gas station. "We can keep a steady pace, give them the night. No doubt when they get in, the other two young kits will want to run right out into the wintry wonderland for some quality board time. These two will drag behind them and have a miserable time, and then they'll sleep as solid as rocks."

  She shifted her weight in the seat, crooking one knee with the heel of her foot rested on the cushion itself while the other rested atop the dash. "The tricky part is going to be knocking the other two out. I don't think I'm interested in chasing two rowdy cats half 'round the side of the mountain, which is precisely what we'll do. The girl is especially stupid, just like her daddy made her, but the instinct to survive will drive her. The boy... " she trailed off and fluttered a hand.

  "All I know is, it's going to be a bitch bringing them in alive. Glad I stopped in and picked this up from the Lady o' the House," she said, holding up a small case that contained two loaded syringes and a bottle of a dark, maple-coloured liquid with just as much viscosity. "Seems even Verity is interested to see what He-and-She Spot are like in chains." She laughed to herself. Seemed to Narkisa that canines were about to prove, once again, their superiority.

  "What's your story, anyways? You don't look like Midnight." She glanced back to him, pretty features misleading in every way as to the killer beneath. She even smiled at him, but it wasn't a friendly thing - it was a passing of expression between two corrupt souls, a habit that one simply adapted through time. Smiling made you seem more 'real'.

"Laura.. no, you never mentioned her. Must be a loser," Crystal said, her words quick. She didn't waste any time passing judgment, and why should she? Rowen didn't mention many people, and most of the population he thought consisted of losers and morons - one or the other, right? And French, well, couldn't be a moron and be in college French.

  "You know what sucks? We're going to get there and the Power-Thirst Twins are going to want to go right out there and play in the fluffy. We're not going to sleep at all tonight slash tomorrow. God, why do they always have so much, like... energy? And yet somehow every time I call Summer, she's like napping. Maybe it's all those power-naps," she mused, eating another Twizzler.

  "Anyways, we can't just listen to music the whole way there. Want to play a game? Like, six degrees of separation or something? Or, we could play the cow game, but it'd sort of have to be day. You know, the cow game? Okay, so that side of the interstate is yours, and this is mine," she said, pointing to their windows. "And if we pass a field with cows, you have to count them - out loud. If we pass a cemetery, they all die. Person who has the most cows when we arrive wins. I know it's kind of lame, but unless you want to talk to me about hair and boys.." she said, shrugging a little.

[Rowen Ayers]

Frankly, Thomas didn't want to know anything about Narkisa's situation with Raphael.  The fact that he knew enough to know how messed up it was happened to be enough for him.  Raphael was a trainer in Midnight who preferred wolves with the occasional dark-colored avian to mix it up, and that meant that Thomas didn't want to play ball.  He hadn't been able to get any further information on Raphael's preferences where his 'possessions' were concerned, so he didn't know if it was just females or not, and he wasn't curious enough to find out that he might be right up the vampire's alley.  Thomas wasn't afraid of much, but he'd rather die than end up in Midnight.  His pride was enough that he'd do the deed himself to keep some vampire with the upper hand from making him theirs.  So far, he liked Narkisa, and another reason he refused to think about her situation with Raphael was because he didn't want to know that she hadn't been proud enough to do what he would be so determined about.

He wasn't technically an alpha, not in the traditional sense, but he, Xander and Kimber had a hell of a pack going.  He wouldn't belong to anyone. 

"You're right, it'll be tricky, but a surprise visit should do the trick.  The human kids won't be trouble," he agreed.  He was all for letting them wear themselves out on the slopes, then busting into their personal space and getting the job done before they even hit their cabin again.  Then, when family came searching, it could look like they disappeared while boarding.  "Unless we kill the humans, we should take them.  They won't get as much as the kittens, but better they all disappear from the mountain."

No witnesses, no bodies.

His story?  When she asked, he glanced her way to see the smile that wasn't really a 'smile', cocking an eyebrow up at her.  "Shouldn't think I look like Midnight, since I'm not.  Guess I'm more of a 'private contractor'," he told her, which was much closer to the truth.  Yes, he worked through Frost, but he took other jobs.  Hell, if Xander or Kimber called and said there was something the pack was needed for, he showed up regardless of the guild (or lack thereof).  He dabbled.

"Yeah," Rowen agreed simply.  He wasn't going to correct Crystal because he was sore over Laura disappearing and then reappearing completely unharmed and seemingly happy.  He'd worried for a long time about what had happened to her, and wasted his time missing her.  Laura was the one who made him think it was stupid to get that attached to someone, but it didn't mean that he didn't happen or that he wouldn't drop everything if he thought she needed him to.  It was a bitch to know, but it was the truth.

Fortunately, Crystal plowed right ahead, which didn't leave him much time to dwell.  He wasn't sure if she picked up his tone and was being a good friend, or if she just didn't care, but it worked.  "I'd believe it's Summer's naps, but hang out with Seth and Dominic sometime.  They both make me feel pretty slow and weak, and from what I can tell, they don't hit up the power naps like Summer does."  He didn't understand it.  Seth was definitely the more energetic of the three of them, but he still wondered what the hell the two of them put in their Wheaties in the morning.  Seth went to school, worked at the Mojo Lounge and still had the energy to run around with the rest of them like a maniac.  Rowen kept up, but he knew that it was harder for him than them.  It was painful for the ego, but he supposed it was good enough that he kept up. 

Right about now, he wished he was driving with Dominic and Seth, even if he and Seth didn't always get along brilliantly.  Hair and boys, or the cow game.  "Uh, Crystal, I don't know how much cow counting we're going to manage in the dark, especially if it starts snowing like the news said it would.  Don't cows, like, hide in stables when it's cold?"

No, he was not an expert in cow habits. 

[Narkisa]

She thought about it for a minute - what he'd said about the humans, and then nodded slowly. "Killing them is an option, but I'm open to the idea of bringing them into Midnight. They'd both fetch decent prices, at least. I know someone who'd adore the girl," she said with a sinister sort of smile. It was no small secret that Stefan preferred blondes, and Crystal had the looks of someone who'd be right up his alley. His methods of training were effective, too.  "Doesn't look like it'd take much to crack her."

"It's too bad we don't have a vampire with us. I know we're capable of it, but they could always just mangle their minds enough that they'd never be able to identify what had happened - or better yet, their memories could be replaced by something else. Something even more fun," she laughed. Fun for Narkisa involved entrails, mostly.

  "Well, I didn't mean it as an insult. Your opinions of Midnight are your own, but your skills are held in high regard. It seems you're the only one of your group that they thought to contact on this job - I don't really think I'm familiar with the rest of them, but with respect to your obvious professional experience nobody looked into them much. We figured you wouldn't be interested in having this job noted in Guild records."

  It was strange that she'd said that, considering most people would figure that their entire lives had been mapped before they'd ever even be thought of for a job, any job at all, where Midnight was concerned. At Verity's request, however, they had been politely ignored. The Triste was smart, and she knew that making a prospective hunter feel threatened made them less likely to return. Verity could burn a bridge, but she had a reputation for being a firm but rather smart mistress. The fact that she herself had no pets or slaves to speak of was always a point of interest. Verity didn't do commands - people came to her willingly. That was how she worked. Narkisa thought she was brilliant, and so did Raphael.

"Okay, no cows," Crystal said with a laugh. She fell silent for a second, tapping her chin with a Twizzler. "Dominic, right. Sorry, I didn't remember him for a second. Well, he's kind of large, so I guess he's hard to forget. I'm surprised he's not coming with you guys, actually - Summer said that he's part of your usual group."

  "Seth seeing anyone these days?" she asked casually, glancing over to Rowen. No, Crystal wasn't interested in him "like that", but she was nosy and she liked to keep up on her gossip. She grinned at Rowen, knowing that he wasn't the type to spill, but she knew with the potential for utter boredom knocking on their proverbial door, he might dish all the same.

  "Man, this drive is going to suck. I understand if you want to pass out. I'm good for at least another two hours, and I can amuse myself counting letters in signs, so feel free. I'll wake you up if I get tired," she promised.

[Thomas Grimm]

If Thomas were to really think about it, he'd refuse to admit but still understand it personally, that he also liked Verity very much.  He didn't really know what it was, but he didn't think it was really anything supernatural.  She was just a good employer.  She had a way about her that managed to let you know that she trusted you to do whatever it was you'd shown up to do, and that she wasn't going to hassle you.  Sometimes, that was impossible to get out of employers, and he had to be especially careful when it came to the guilds.  It wasn't out of the ordinary for hunters to take side-jobs, and Midnight wasn't really off-limits, but it was something of a faux pas.  Thomas just didn't want it to be part of his professional reputation.  He was very cool with nobody knowing what he was up to at any time.

"They're young, attractive and strong.  If we wanted to, we could keep them somewhere just long enough to infect them with something to drive prices up.  Amazing how a little fucking blood makes a difference, yeah?" he asked, offering up a quirky sort of half-smile that managed to be amused despite the fact that they were talking about people's lives.  "I'll be leaving the bloodsuckers outta my business, thank you very much.  Takes the excitement right out."

He meant it, and not even as an insult to vampires.  He just thought it was way more interesting NOT to have the kind of power that vampires threw around.  It required improvising and general creativity along with your skills.  He liked that.  "This would be one of those jobs that the Guild can keep their noses away from, but I appreciate the good words.  Heard some pretty good things about you, as well, love."

It was good, in his opinion, that they used the time they had before them just trailing their targets to play nice and get to know each other, since they would be going into battle together very shortly.  Not that he thought it'd be much of a fight, but a battle was a battle.  Going in with an untried ally wasn't a good idea.

Rowen hated being easily entertained, but boredom was already setting in.  His usual ability to keep his brain moving on its own was apparently useless in the car, with the prospect of hours of driving ahead of them, and it occurred to him even as she said it that he was going to be spending as much time sleeping as he could.  He was just too hyped up from running around all day and showing up at Crystal's at the moment, though.

Thus, even if he didn't usually go for the gossip, he'd spill just to have something that wasn't himself to talk about.  "I don't know what Dominic is up to.  He said something about an excuse and his mom and something else that I wasn't paying enough attention to at the time, so whatever.  He either didn't want to come, or just had something else going on and didn't explain, so he's out this time.  He said 'raincheck'."

That was that.  Rowen actually really wished Dominic had gone, since he got along better with Dominic than Seth, but he figured they'd be fine when it was for the purpose of boarding.  "You know Seth and I aren't awesome friends, right?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow over at her in the dark vehicle.  "I heard a rumor that he has the hots for a girl we know, but I don't think he's made a move, yet.  She's probably out of his league, anyway.  I hear she's already tried out the 'bad boy' type that Seth is supposed to be, and she wasn't impressed.  Hell, I'm not even interested all that much, and I'd probably stand a better chance, just because of that fact alone."

He didn't know Angela all that well, so he had no way of knowing that she was anything other than a normal college chick, but he knew that one a girl had been burned by a certain kind of guy, she was likely to avoid that 'type' for awhile.  Seth had that working against him.

[Narkisa]

 "Hm, I'd thought of infecting them, too. I wonder if it would be more fun to make them infect eachother by way of madness. Raphael gave me something interesting before I left, and I hadn't really found a good use for it 'til you just reminded me," she says. She pulled something small out of her pocket and held it up. In the beginning, all it appeared to be just a small opaque spray bottle, something like a tiny breath freshener.

  "One spray of this and they'll be clawing their own eyes out with fear," she said, looking at Thomas with a very, very strange glint in her eyes. Somehow, with the help of Victoria, who no doubt was working under the behest of Niall to "Make him something interesting so he didn't skin her", Raphael had literally found a way to bottle his power. Narkisa imagined it was from his adrenal glands, or something similar, since she didn't actually know how it worked, but even the bottle itself in her possession gave her cause to giggle sometimes. She wasn't completely immune to it, but she'd been around Raphael so long that it saturated her, made her oblivious to it.

  Liquid fear, liquid madness.

  "Spray it into the air vents and watch them rip eachother apart," she suggested, brows perked.

  A few miles up the road Crystal was thinking of less sinister thoughts as she turned to Rowen. "Dominic's weird," she said very suddenly, and then looked back to the road. "I don't know why he is, but he is. He's like, so superhero. It makes me want to gag sometimes. I mean, yeah, he's dreamy and whatever, but still. He hams it up, but that kid's as straight as an arrow," she remarked. It came from nowhere, but Rowen would be left to assume Crystal's wisdom was all her own. As usual.

  "I don't know why you and Seth don't get along. I mean, like, you can be in the same room, but I don't get why you aren't better friends. He's not a bad boy, not really, his parents are just assholes," she reminded him. "But then again, there's shit you guys do that I will continue to be happily uninformed on, so maybe I'm all wrong." Really, Crystal thought Rowen was a little bit of a snob when it came to Seth. She liked Seth. She thought that Summer was a sorry standard of normalcy to compare him to, but Summer was pretty much what Crystal was up until a few years ago. She felt a little bad for that, but she wouldn't dare tell Rowen he was being a snob to his face. That would strike an unpleasant and icy silence.