(Untitled)

[signia]

I was incredibly nervous. I paced around the dressing room at the back of this club I was supposed to perform in, hoping to God my hair looked alright, having been styled without a reflection. It's a hard thing to do

Comments

[signia]

Perhaps this is why he had brought me over here. He must've needed some sort of good reason to try to convince me to come back to this place.

I don't know why he couldn't have just flat out asked me to sing, instead of the whole 'You need atonement? Well then come back and sing,' angle, but whatever. It was an odd tactic, if that's what his deal was. But I didn't care one way or the other. He was offering me a gig and I wasn't about to say no.

"I'll do it," I told him, a coy smile creeping across my face.

This was definately one of the nicer places in town to be working. I mean, I'd been in a lot of clubs and bars (not as the main attraction, however), but this one was pretty classy.

And for once I wouldn't be working for some big sloppy sleazeball, either. I hated those types. Thank god Lorne was well a well dressed, cleancut demon with an honest face and charming smile.

Wasn't half bad looking, either. Not bad for the green-skinned and slightly mysterious type.

I smiled to myself at that thought. I suddenly found I was somewhat captivated by him.

[lornegreen]

"Excellent," I told her. "I'll talk to my co-owner about it and see when we can book you in. I'm thinking Friday nights."

I reached inside my blazer and took out out a small notepad, pulled the pencil out of the spiral binding, and jotted down a note or two.

When I looked back up at her, I noticed her aura was pulsating with a warm colour, which was rare for a vampire. Well, those without souls anyway.

She was smiling at me.

I flushed slightly, and looked back down at my notepad, trying to look casual.

"Does that sounds good to you?" I asked her.

[signia]

Friday nights were probably going to be the busiest night, and here I was, being asked to headline. I was pretty stoked about the whole idea, to be honest.

I was smiling at Lorne as he jotted down his notes, and when he looked up at me, I don't think he expected to see such a warm smile.

You know, it's funny. At this point in my life, I really didn't feel any hate in my heart. Which is weird being a souless vampire who is supposed to be hellbent on death and bloodlust. So I just couldn't help but smile, especially at this demon wearing a violet paisley shirt with a blue suit.

"Sounds fantastic," I said enthusiastically. I took another sip of my martini and smiled at him again.

My expression changed to a thoughtful one. "I don't necesarily have to sing oldtime songs, do I?" I asked him. "I mean, I can sing other stuff too. Unless of course you're keen on it, then that's cool."

[lornegreen]

I put my notebook away and smiled at Nia. "I do enjoy the occasional old song," I told her. "But my favorite songs are the ones that make you want to get up and shake it."

What the hell was I saying? I wish I had the drive inside to get up and dance. These days, the last thing I felt like doing was dancing, mainly because I had nothing to feel good about. But no wait, now I had this beautiful girl agreeing to sing for me at my club once a week. Maybe that was something good to get up and dance about.

"I obviously wasn't around in the days of swing and jazz," I went on. "But I did use to have quite the extensive record collection."

I really did miss those records. I regret leaving them behind when I left LA, but they were only posessions... I was lucky to get away with my life.

[signia]

I idly tapped the side of my martini glass and smiled at him. "So you like more upbeat stuff, huh?" I asked him. "Probably stuff from the decade you were born in, I find that's usually the case."

I playfully smiled at him. "So, let me guess, the seventies, right?"

[lornegreen]

I gave her a half smile. "I wasn't born here," I said. "I've only been here for a little under a decade now. There was no music in my home dimension."

I finished my drink and handed my empty glass to a waitress as she walked by.

"If you can ever imagine such a place," I told her. "Pretty bleak. I obviously wasn't meant to be there. Everytime I sang, I was scorned, damned, and even my own mother threatened to kill me if I ever did it again."

I sighed and shook my head.

Bloody Pylea. That dimension was a world of hurt.

[signia]

"Oh," I said, slightly embarassed. "I'm sorry. That's really sad."

I was sympathetic to him, because I grew up in a family of musicians. My father played the trombone and my mother was a singer as well. Each of my siblings played an instrument. Music was encouraged in my family.

But him, singing? It didn't occur to me that this lover of music could have a talent of his own. I wondered, because if he used the song to read people, could he sing himself? He didn't strike me as the musical type.

"So, you sing too then?" I asked him. "Will I get to hear you belt out a tune every now and then?"

I suddenly wanted to hear him sing.

[lornegreen]

I sighed deeply and looked down at the table. "It's been awhile," I told her. "Maybe you'll hear me sing one day, Kitten, but not tonight. My heart isn't in it anymore."

I clenched my teeth and thought about my last song. It was the day I walked away from Angel for good. Ugh.

Damnit, the conversation was steering itself into murky waters again. Nia wanted to know things I wasn't about to tell her.
But she was looking at me expectantly. I really wondered whether or not I could trust her. And I wouldn't know until she sang again.

[signia]

I smiled at him and my mind suddenly wandered off in thought. There was definately more to this demon than meets the eye.

His heart wasn't in the song anymore, he was the scourge of his home dimension, and he 'used' to have an extensive record collection. He doesn't sing here, and no one knows he's empathic. People seem to be afraid of him, yet he's completely harmless.

It just didn't add up. I got the feeling he was hiding from something, or he ran from something. Who leaves their record collection behind?

There must've been some kind of great trauma he lived through in order to leave everything behind and come to a place where no one he works with knows anything about him.

It was all so strange, I couldn't figure it out. But now that I had a job here, it gave me plenty opportunity to try and figure him out. It's not like I had anything better to do with my time, anyway.

I suddenly wondered why I even cared. I guess I kind of found him intriguing. I've never met a demon who was so much like a man, yet was so far from one. He was an anomaly, and the curiosities behind him compelled me to know more.

[lornegreen]

I was about to change the subject, when one of my waitresses approached me.

"Sir," she told me, meekly. "You're needed in the office. Message from the boss. Er, the other boss."

She walked away, and I turned to look at Nia with an apologetic expression. I really didn't want to leave her, despite the fact I was having a hard time avoiding certain conversation topics.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I have to go."

I smiled at her. "So next Friday? You'll be here?" Or maybe I'll even see you again before that?"

[signia]

I smiled back at him. "Sure thing," I said. "It was nice to talk to you, Lorne."

He excused himself, and I watched him walk away. After he disappeared into the back of the club, I gathered my things and went home for the evening, smiling to myself.