All the Devils are Here

Teenage Dream

Fallon

These are what my days look like now. I sleep during the days; sometimes even past noon. I take runs sometimes or walks around the city. I go into work by 8 pm to get my make-up done and change into something from the locker at work. The in flow of customers doesn't stop until at least 3 am. By this point, I’m beyond exhausted and I can’t wait to go home. Sometimes Trinity and some of the girls invite me out, I’ve said yes more times than I would have expected myself to and now I feel like we’re….friends. We don’t talk about anything personal. Honestly, sometimes we don’t talk about anything but the happenings at White Rabbit. Harmless gossip. And I hear things I don’t want to hear like - Sam and Willow have some kind of s****l relationship, like Sam and his friends belong to some elite club or something and they all have rich parents. I even heard that no one has met the owner of White Rabbit - Zula Blake. Pretty mysterious.

Ever since Sam and I shared a kiss after we left Asher’s party, we haven’t seen each other but, I did call him on the new number he gave me. And he called back. The first night, we talked on the phone for about an hour, and then the next night, he called again. It’s funny, I don’t know how to navigate this situation because my only relationship experience is with Rainer and that was super dysfunctional. This calling thing has only been going on for a week and all we talk about is abstract things and sometimes I run some of the gossips I hear by him but, I never talk about the ones about him. Like I never ask him about whatever is going on between him and Willow. She was pretty cozy with Asher at his party so I have to assume that whatever is between them can’t be that serious. Not that I care. I don’t. The idea of drama is just exciting because I assume that’s part of what normal adulthood is about.

I get paid daily here and also some tips come in because apparently ‘I have pretty eyes. In less than a month, I know I would be able to move out of the current motel I’m at and get a proper apartment. It’s all so exciting. I can’t even remember what my life was like 2 months ago. Because I’ve been working through the nights and sleeping very lightly during the day, I haven’t even been having that many nightmares. It’s true that I may be sleep deprived but, at least, I’m not screaming in my sleep.

I still can’t believe that my parents haven't tried to find me since I left. I guess I was wrong about them and how controlling my father can be. Or maybe they are thinking like Rainer and they think this is only a phase and I’d be back in a few months. They’d be very wrong if that’s what they think. I like my life here. Do I miss the compound and the competitive energy in the air? Yes, I do. But I make up for that by training in my room and taking runs to get my adrenaline fix. I occasionally have a craving to shoot or cut something or beat someone up but, that is understandable. I used to do that every day. Maybe I’d look for a karate class to join or a boxing gym. As long as I’m not truly hurting anyone.

And asides from my encounter with those thugs…..who were brutally murdered by a werewolf right in front of me, I haven’t encountered any other danger here. The hard part is that there is no one to talk to about things like this. I can’t just start asking randomly about werewolves and as expected, the news doesn’t even talk about things like this. Because there are bodies in the council whose job is exclusively to clean up messes and cover-up for the supernatural happenings. You’d never hear that a pack of werewolves murdered a group of hunters instead it’d be - “A group of five were involved in a tragic fire accident that left their remains unidentifiable” or something similar. People go missing, fires happen, people leave town but, it’s never werewolves or hunters or sentinels. Because you only know if you know.

Maybe it’s true that ignorance is bliss because I see the way people carry on with their lives here not knowing what is happening and not being responsible for preventing a supernatural war and it is so relieving. Sam said I look happier and that’s because for once in a long time, I’m not carrying these responsibilities on my shoulders. It’s almost like a dissertation for a hunter to decide not to hunt werewolves anymore and to just carry on unbothered but, this is the path that I’ve chosen. For now. The rest of the hunters are very capable of keeping the city safe. They don’t need me.

It’s around that time when the customers slow down and I know soon I’m going to be leaving. That’s when I see Asher approach from the stairs and behind him is Sam and Lex; another friend of theirs who I met through Trinity and Dothan.

They are not coming from the ground floor but, from upstairs. I wonder when they went up because I never saw them come in. Maybe they took the elevator. I watch the three of them walk in and the rumors of them belonging to some rich boy club doesn’t make much sense. They look like they’ve been through some tough stuff in life. That darkness I see in Sam’s eyes; they all have it. I’ve seen it before. A thought runs through my mind but, I dismiss it.

The three of them head towards my counter casually. Sam opts for his usual black clothes but, Asher and Lex are dressed more fashionably in a denim jacket and chinos and a sleek grey coat over dress pants respectively. Lex has an impeccable style I must say. Sam looks like the black sheep in his typical black jacket, black pants, black T-shirt, black boots combo.

“Hello, boys, what will you be having?”, I say chipperly but, a little flirtatiously just like Danny has drilled me to. I try not to give Sam any special attention but, there’s a slight smirk on his face and my eyes keep darting back to him. It's like we have this little secret and we're trying to play it cool in front of everyone else.

“A beer, please”, Asher says as he takes his seat. I nod and look to Lex;

“Anything with rum is good for me”, he says then Asher’s phone rings and he steps away leaving Lex, Sam, and me.

Sam hasn’t told me what he’d be drinking yet so I ask again;

“What will you be having?”,

“What I want is not on the menu”, he says cooly without looking away from me.

“Maybe you should consider drinking somewhere else then”,

“Oh, what I want is here. Just not on the menu”, the devilish glint is back in his eyes and reminds me of Sam from my first night here not, Sam from Asher’s party. I like both Sam’s. I didn’t notice that we were in a staring competition until Lex cracks his throat and reminds me of his order.

“Oh s**t, sorry”, I leave Sam and make Lex a drink. He pays and also tips generously as he speaks;

“So what’s the deal here? Are you two-”, he wiggles his brows and makes some funny hand movements. Sam seems to hold a laugh but I only scoff and say;

“Oh please”, I say it teasingly but, Lex cackles and starts hackling Sam. I get it now. He must be the clown of the group. Asher is the serious one, Dothan is obviously the whipped one that’s always with his girl, Sam is the jerk and Lex is the clown.

“What’s with all the googly eyes then huh Hera?”, Lex isn’t buying my dismisiveness. It’s hard to deny chemistry even though Sam and I really aren’t hooking up.

“What googly eyes?”, I feign ignorance;

“I see you looking at my boy like he’s made out of candy or some s**t”, he cracks himself up with that one as Asher walks back towards us.

“Did you know these two are f*****g?’, Lex says and I swear I blush so hard it’s like I’m a teenager again. I feel like I’m in a freaking teenage dream.

Quiet Asher actually has something to say to this - “You know the night this asshole ditched me with Parker? He was with her.”, what night? I don't even remember what he's talking about but, I laugh anyway.

“She’s right here, guys. Have some respect”, Sam interjects but, it’s clear this is a very light hearted conversation and they’re used to calling eachother out like this.

I hand Asher his beer; “For the record - we’re not f*****g”,

“Yet”, Lex says and bursts into laughter.

“You’re a f*****g i***t”, Sam says but, he laughs a little too. Then he mouths ‘sorry’ to me and, I give him a little smile letting him know it's all good.

“See you guys later, I gotta go drag Dothan from Trinity’s -”,

“Don’t say it”, I warn. I know what he’s about to say. He raises his hands in surrender and says; “I was gonna say Trinity’s warm arms. Get your head out of the gutter Hera”, he jokes and leaves.

“I have to go too.”, Sam says without any further explanation. Asher has migrated away from my counter and towards Rick’s counter. They seem to be having a serious conversation. I guess they’re friends too. It seems everybody knows everybody here.

“You look good by the way. Not sure if I said it yet”, he says as he gets up to leave;

“What did you want? That wasn’t on the menu”, I ask;

The side of his lips lift up slightly as he leans in a little closer and says;

“You know it’s you”, his eyes trail down to my lips before he leans away.

“I’d call you”, he says and walks away leaving me with what I assume is butterflies in my stomach.