Rent's Due

Oct. 27th, 2013 08:49 pm
maddy_ricks: (ugly bedspread)
[personal profile] maddy_ricks in [community profile] birthright_rpg
When she finished a shift waiting tables at Cool Beans but it was too early to go home, Maddy sometimes curled up on a couch and read a used book. Those days generally corresponded to that time of the month when her landlord was hanging around looking for rent money, and she didn’t quite have it. Today, she was curled up with a copy of Stephen King’s novel Pet Sematary. She had slipped her shoes off and tucked her feet under herself. Her toes flexed in a pair of socks with black cats on them, and her fingers sifted through the ends of her hair.

“Hey Malcolm, bring me another coffee,” she called.

“Get it yourself,” grumbled her coworker, who was drying a load of dishes and stacking them on a shelf.

“I’m not working.” She flipped to the end of a chapter and skimmed a page.

“Are you paying?”

“No.”

“Then get it yourself.”

Maddy sighed and dragged herself off the couch. The novel, which she set upside down on the fat, upholstered arm, slipped to the floor and lost her page. She crammed her feet half in her shoes and stumbled to the counter, where she dangled her empty cup by the handle. “Meet me halfway.”

He scowled and took the mug.

on 2013-10-28 02:37 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Default)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
The streaks in Theresa's hair were a bright blue, standing out against the regular dark-brown shade. The stylist had told her she looked fabulous, but for thirty dollars she'd damned well better look fabulous. She'd even given a decent tip, but he'd deserved that for not commenting about the lack of a reflection in the mirror.

The vampire was loitering just outside of Cool Beans, picking imaginary lint off of her matador jacket and wondering if she was being weird. She'd thought about waiting until the place was closing, but that would have been too stalkery. The plate glass window of the coffee shop was freshly washed, the lack of smudges and fingerprints making the interior look even more brightly lit. It was just past dark.

She finally pushed the door open, listened to the merry jingling of the bell as she stepped inside. The smell of brewing coffee competed with the odor of old floor wax. Theresa saw Maddy passing off a cup to a cranky-looking dude, touched her hair self-consciously.

"Maddy, hey."

on 2013-10-29 01:12 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Hoodie)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Just a double espresso, thanks."

She should probably put a buck or two in the tip jar too. Cranky Pants looked like he'd just discovered his boxers were in a knot. Theresa folded her arms on the countertop, inhaling the scent of strong coffee and separating the sound of one heartbeat from another. If they brewed it right, she'd actually be able to taste it.

"What's up with you tonight? How's the coffee-slinging business?"

on 2013-10-29 03:07 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Car Ride)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
The vampire picked up the small cup and saucer, then trailed after Maddy to take a seat on the sofa. The book was still on the floor, and she looked at the title as she took that first sip of the espresso. Good, the flavor of it actually translated on her muted taste buds.

"I saw you guys on stage the other night," she said. She would forgo mentioning what else she'd been up to, because she was embarrassed by her backsliding and didn't want to talk about it. "You had a really good set."

on 2013-10-29 11:58 pm (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Shadows)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"I tried to get backstage after your set, but some idiot spilled a cup of beer all over me. I didn't want you to think less of me because I smelled like a brewery."

Theresa said it with a slight smile, but it was partially true. She was taking baby steps towards adapting her unlifestyle, but those steps were tiny and hesitant. Sometimes the truth really was worse than a lie.

"I did talk to Mike, the manager, about the job booking gigs. Is he always that grumpy?"

on 2013-10-30 09:57 pm (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Black and White)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
Theresa giggled semi-girlishly, tucked one streak of blue behind her ear. "Then next time I come around I'll make sure to soak up the aroma of eau de Budweiser so you'll feel at home."

She took another drink of her beverage, settled on a fresh topic of conversation. "So what's new with you besides rocking out?"

on 2013-10-31 01:55 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Serious)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Like you wouldn't believe."

Halloween on the Boulevard had always been an occasion, with the drag queens and trannies making a mini-parade of it in their best feather boas and rhinestone-studded tiaras. The previous year, Theresa had dressed up as Magenta. She'd almost talked Dane into being Frank N. Furter, but when he turned out to not have the legs for fishnets he settled on Riff Raff instead. The memory of it made the vampire smile wistfully.

"I had to miss Gore Fest because I caught some kind of weird bug. Hopefully there'll be some kind of public event for Halloween." This one without an elevator for her to get trapped in.

on 2013-10-31 03:07 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Slouch)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Haunted houses can be pretty cool, just as long as they don't try to add vampires. They never get it right."

Whoops.

Theresa tried to cover for the verbal slip by adding, "I mean, horror's a pretty broad genre, and there's always crappy interpretations of the classics. Your book-writing friend probably knows that for a fact."

on 2013-10-31 09:43 pm (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Smirk)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Heh."

Well, that was nice and awkward. Change the subject. "Mike actually did say that he was going to give me a trial run at the club. I have six weeks to prove myself, try and bring in more business and book even more cool bands."

on 2013-10-31 11:55 pm (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Tousled)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"I meant..." Jesus, that was adorable. "What I said was not what I meant. You guys rock. Maybe you can get a record deal if the club gets more well known."

Theresa took another drink of espresso, noting that the little cup was getting close to empty. If she asked for a refill, would Malcolm get pissy? She could at least offer to pay this time. She needed new shoes.

"You wanna do something sometime? After Halloween, I mean. We could catch a movie, maybe grab a burger." And I'll try not to think about how easy it'd be to pin you down and take a bite out of your throat.

on 2013-11-01 01:41 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (You Okay?)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"I;m gonna check out a couple of local record stores first," Theresa answered, because her brain had already been spinning plans to make this work. She could be business-minded when she felt like it, that and motivated. "The only people who know music better than DJs is folks who have to set up in-store gigs."

She also might swing by WNLV, see if anyone there knew about decent local music. There could be some stuff going on at the campus of UNLV too. She didn't know if she didn't look.

If nothing else, this would keep her off the streets, and off her back.

"What do you like on your pizza?" she asked Maddy. "You don't have, like, any weird allergies or anything, do you?"

on 2013-11-03 03:28 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Default)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Sure, one could say that."

Theresa drained her cup, held it by the little handle. Caffeine didn't affect her one way or the other anymore, so another espresso wouldn't hurt her. "Gimme one second," she told Maddy, then levered her weight off of the couch and made her way over to the counter. Malcolm squinted at her suspiciously, but when she dragged out her wallet his brow smoothed out.

She brought back the newly-full cup, sat back down. "So. A favor. Anything specific?"

on 2013-11-06 12:11 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Hoodie)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
Theresa actually laughed, a sound filled with good humor. The scent of the espresso wafted up to her nose.

"And Scout's honor, I believe you," she told Maddy as she took a sip from her fresh cup. "The a-holes of the world should not always get to the front of the line. Or line-up. You know what I mean."

on 2013-11-06 01:54 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Serious)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
Was she approaching a possible friendship under false pretenses? Rhiannon had said that she usually didn't make the attempt with people because there was to much to explain, and Theresa wasn't a big fan of unnecessary bullshit. It didn't help that every time Maddy tilted her head in a certain way her neck looked really biteable. If that was significant, she wasn't ready to examine it yet.

"When does this place shut down for the night?" she asked the mortal. "You gonna be okay getting home by yourself? If you think Vegas is a pit in the daytime, it's really dangerous at night."

on 2013-11-06 03:06 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (You Okay?)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to...um."

Uncharacteristically abashed, the vampire looked down into the thick dark liquid that filled her cup, played with the ends of her streaked hair. "I know self-defense stuff," she said after a short silence. "I know I don't look dangerous, but usually two people are more likely to avoid bad situations than one."

Fuck, she wasn't angling for a bite, was she? Yeah, Maddy looked pretty edible, but she wasn't usually in the habit of being actually friendly with her dinner. Nothing would sour the mood faster than for the mortal brunette to see her other face. It was severely unlikely that Maddy would be as accepting - or as fucked up - as Holly.

"But I totally respect the fact that you can take care of yourself."
Edited on 2013-11-06 03:08 am (UTC)

on 2013-11-07 04:13 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Black and White)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
"Nothing as formal as karate, but I do know some street fighting," Theresa replied. "A punch to the throat or a kick to the balls can disable a mugger pretty good, even if they are a foot taller than you are."

She play-flexed her slender arms, offered Maddy a smile. "I'm probably gonna get some flyers printed up for the club," she added. "If I take a few over to the campus, that should help with word of mouth. When I was still in California, UCLA had some bands who played shows in local places. Maybe it's the same here."

on 2013-11-07 02:50 pm (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Dressy)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
Before Theresa could control it, her eyes flashed a molten yellow as she took in the way Maddy's neck arched as she ducked her head towards her shoes. She lifted the cup of espresso to her mouth and drank it down in several quick gulps while she roped in the demon. It would be the party foul to end all party fouls if the human caught her staring at her jugular vein.

"So if you give me your number, I can call you at some point about that movie," she said once she felt she could maintain her poise. "I haven't gotten a phone installed yet, but there's a booth just around the corner from where I live. Then we can split a pizza."
Edited on 2013-11-07 02:51 pm (UTC)

on 2013-11-08 12:36 am (UTC)
tiny_dancer81: (Wary)
Posted by [personal profile] tiny_dancer81
Theresa plucked the napkin from Maddy's fingers, glanced at the number, then tucked the little object into her pocket. She needed to get the hell out of here. Suddenly, she really wanted a nibble.

The vampire levered her weight off of the couch, slapped her pockets. "So. I'll call you in a few days, as soon as I get some more of my shit together. Have a good night."

Profile

Birthright

May 2014

S M T W T F S
    12 3
4 5 6 78 9 10
1112 1314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 14th, 2025 01:29 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios