Bad Tastes

[holiday_pirner]

When Holly entered Tracks, the record store was mostly empty, save for a few people milling over some new releases. A Cinderella track was playing over the sound system, and strains of glam metal accompanied the brunette as she wandered over to the cassettes.

As she rifled through the Q's, trying to find a Queen album a friend had recommended, a movement in her periphery caught her eye. A boy, maybe in his mid-teens, was grasping a few tapes in his hand and acting twitchy.

Holly tilted her head, watching him closely. He was too busy looking out for store employees to notice her, until she pointedly cleared her throat. "Are you sure those are the ones you really want? I mean, if you're going to opt for the five finger discount, make it worth your while."

The brunette approached him, ignoring his surprised glare. She grabbed one of the tapes and held it up. "This one isn't too bad, but...is that Quarterflash?" Holly shook her head disapprovingly. "I think someone should call your parents just to warn them of their son's budding horrible taste in music."

He pulled away from her, grabbing the cassettes back. "Do you work here?"

Comments

[brian_campo]

“Are you serious?” He raised his brows.

Jesus. The world was tiny. He took a second to digest this new information. Had he always run in the same circles with supernatural beings and been clueless about it, or was it a side effect of having an ability awakened in himself? Or was there more to it, as he hinted to Valerie… a destiny of meeting the right people at the right time?

Brian scratched behind his ear.

“I’m seeing one,” he said, looking apologetic because it might come off insensitive to a girl whose father had been murdered by a vampire slayer. “She’s not scary. She’s— she’s beautiful.”

[holiday_pirner]

"Well," she said, as tactfully as she could, "I'm sure they're not all bad. I mean, it must be hard. One day you wake up, and these British people are telling you to risk your life for them. For the greater good."

Holly imagined being a teenager and having to deal with an imperious Julianna. "So what does this beautiful slayer think of your special talent?"

[brian_campo]

He gave her a small smile. “She thinks like you do. I should learn to control it.”

Brian got to his feet because his legs were going numb. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and nudged the crate with his shoe. There was a red Bic lighter resting on it, a candle, and a dinner plate that had become an ashtray.

“She said I can use it to protect myself. And you know, I kept thinking, from what? But then I ran into two vampires in the last week, so.” He shook his bangs off his forehead. “The last one was weird. He kept talking about biting low-lifes, like it’s okay as long as the people are jerks. Maybe he was a cop in a former life.”

[holiday_pirner]

Holly shifted in the chair, her ears burning a little at the mention of vampires. Of course, the implication that there was indeed a slayer running around the Las Vegas area was not lost on her.

"Some vampires bite people but don't kill them," the brunette offered. "I sort of know one who does that. She doesn't think it's worth the risk to kill people. She finds, I guess, willing donors."

Changing the subject, Holly continued, "But she's right. You should get a handle on it. Like you said, the more you do it on purpose..."

[brian_campo]

Willing donors? Who would offer up their neck for a bloodsucking monster? There must be cash involved. Brian didn’t say it out loud, but the idea grossed him out. He didn’t even like it when he donated blood to the American Red Cross. But he could see that kind of thing going down in the places where he hung out. He made a mental note to keep his eyes peeled because he was curious.

“Yeah, maybe I will. There’s ah, there’s this magic shop down in Searchlight? I was thinking of stopping by. This girl Echo told me it was authentic.”

[holiday_pirner]

"Oh! I know Echo." And Holly's smile widened, because it was shaping up to be quite a small world.

"So besides recommending music and moving things with your brain, what else do you do?" It would be nice to have a friend in town, especially now that she was looking to settle.

The brunette had an absurd mental image of Brian and his slayer girlfriend on a double date with her and Daniel. Yeah, maybe not.

[brian_campo]

This was the part he dreaded. No matter how busy he felt, it always seemed like a lackluster list of activities when he said it out loud. He needed to pick up a hobby or start feeding the homeless or something.

"I play music," he said. "To tell you the truth, not much else. What about you? Now that you're not working at fake Vivienne Westwood."

[holiday_pirner]

"So you play at this Dive place, then? I'd like to see that." Holly picked at a spot where her tights were pilling. She wondered what the pink-haired manager thought they were up to.

"Well, I..." The brunette trailed off prematurely. What did she do? Discover dead bodies. Hang out with vampires. Mild breaking-and-entering. Stare at the mirror and wonder how she'd look with a bob.

"I see how far I can push things before I become a cautionary tale, I suppose."

[brian_campo]

Brian nodded to her question. “On the weekends.”

He let her remark hang in the air for a minute. He inserted his shoe into a gap in the crate and dragged it closer. The lighter wobbled in the plate. He picked it up and flicked his thumb on the flint. It still had juice. He watched the yellow flame sputter and straighten itself out.

“Do you want to be a cautionary tale?”

[holiday_pirner]

She watched him play with the lighter, trying to figure out why his question seemed to make her insides shift and dance. Taken aback. That was it.

What did she want? It had taken a lot of time and effort to carefully construct a mask of I Don't Care.

"I can't say it's a dream of mine. But I think about stopping and, I don't think I can." Holly bunched her sleeves over her hands. "And I hate not being able to do something, so I just pretend that I won't. Won't is different than can't."

[brian_campo]

“Stop what?” he asked. “Specifically.”

The heat started to burn his finger. He released the button. He wondered if Billie had looked for him out back yet. If push came to shove, she might have to set down her book and ring up a customer. Brian dropped into a crouch and put the lighter back in its customary place. He didn’t like towering over Holly, so he stayed there.

[holiday_pirner]

"Oh, right," she said slowly. "Not privy to my inner monologue. That would be a telepath."

Holly recalled Daniel's assessment of her mental state. "I pretend not to know better. You know, do completely reckless, mental things." This was getting too personal. Weren't people supposed to tell her their deepest, darkest secrets?

"You're turning it around on me!" The brunette stood up and held out his wristwatch. "I'm the perceptive one, remember?"

[brian_campo]

Brian smirked and took the watch. “It’s not a one-way street.” He slapped the band around his wrist and fumbled with the clasp. “Especially when what I told you could land me in an FBI lab for experimentation. What’s the worst I could do to you?” He looked up through a hank of hair. “Scold you to death?” He finished with the watch. The cassettes were still in his pocket. He’d carry them down for her and let Holly take it from there.

[holiday_pirner]

"You don't understand. I let my guard down and confide in you, you'll disappear. And I'll have to start all over with someone else." Holly picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"At any rate, your secret is safe with me. I need a good music connection." The brunette gave Brian a smile.

[brian_campo]

He chuckled but his brow creased in confusion. “What are you talking about, I’m not going anywhere.” Brian climbed over the wall and started down the metal ladder. Each footstep sent a vibration the length of the structure. “At least,” he said, jumping to the ground, “Not on purpose.” He wiped rust off his palms and dug in his pocket for the tapes. He extended them to the descending brunette.

[holiday_pirner]

"It's never on purpose," she muttered, following him. Holly took the tapes. "You know, there's a lot of potential in what you could do. You could rescue kittens from trees. Stop a runaway stroller from rolling into traffic."

The brunette tilted her head, framing Brian's face with her hands. "From this angle, you do resemble a sort of rough-hewn Clark Kent."