Matchsticks

[dantesque]

Who: Emil and Adam
Where: a club called the Matchsticks in LA
When: Saturday, after this postAfter they got off the bus, Emil lead the way to the club in question. Saturday night and the place was bustling with activity - lively, the bouncer at the door carefully checking ids and slapping wristbands on those who were old enough to drink

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[fatallyxxflawed]

As they made their way into the club, Adam was thoroughly impressed with what he saw. Much better than The Bronze or Willy's. And not full of demons or teeny boppers. It even reminded him a lot of the establishments he frequented back home in New York City. God he missed that town. Taking a seat across from Emil, Adam nodded, his lips curled into a satisfied and calm smile as he nodded to the other. "Oh yeah, definitely worth it"

A waitress immediately approached their table to take their drink order, giving both men a very flirtatious smile. "What can I get you boys" her voice high pitched and irritating to Ada as someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard.

Adam growled low, snarling from the sound, but the music was loud enough it wouldn't have been heard by mortal ears. "I'll have a Jack and Coke" He ordered, and lit a cigarette he'd pulled from his inside jacket pocket.

[dantesque]

"Just the Coke for me," Emil said. He wasn't much of a drinker.

He settled back into his chair. "I'd forgotten how much I like this place," he said. He'd lost so much of himself in the pursuit of his degree and the ideals that went along with it. "I'm glad you like it too."

The band played on, a little slide guitar and instrumental bridge, then the singer came back in.

And they say when you finally lose your love,
it's gone but you never forget.
Well, my cup it runneth over with dyin' dreams and losing bets

And if every man's an island and you just don't look back,
oh, the stories they say we'll tell.
Well, I tell too many stories, so I guess it's just as well...

[fatallyxxflawed]

The waitress bounded off, the ponytail she wore at the crown of her head swaying back and forth with her gate.

Adam took a long draw off his cigarette and blew out the smoke as he settled back in his chair, eyes skimming over the place. He eventually settled on watching the band play. They weren't the best he'd ever heard but certainly weren't the worst either. One could tell they were still new and unpolished but would probably hit a break sooner or later.

After the song ended, Adam peered over at Emil, perking a brow. "You don't get out much do you?" He smirked, butting out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table.

[dantesque]

"Not much," Emil admitted. "Not these days..."

He settled his head on his hands, semi-entranced with the music. "Between the change in me, and getting kicked out of grad school - it's just been a rough couple of years."

The singer leaned in to the microphone like he was whispering a secret.

Oh, keep that bad news to yourself, yeah save it for somebody else.
Yeah, baby, I do believe I'll never see your face again.

Oh baby, I got something to tell you.
These awful people don't know me as well as you do.
I'll save my good side for you...

[fatallyxxflawed]

"Well, you should just accept your fate, really. I learned that a long time ago. If I hadn't, I'd have probably went insane for sure."

FINALLY, the waitress returned with their drinks, setting each in front of the guys. Adam was already deciding in his mind that this girl was getting no tip.

[dantesque]

"Thank you," Emil said politely as he took his drink.

"I should, I know. I'm coming to terms with it, really..."

More or less. "Some days are better than others. And I'm taking a trip soon, out to the desert. Sort of a vision quest."

He sipped the coke.

And on the last night of summer I got you alone
we talked until dawn and then I walked you home.

And I said baby, there's someone out there for you
and maybe he's saved his best side for you...

Emil clapped for the band when their song was over, having genuinely enjoyed it.

[fatallyxxflawed]

Adam clapped along as well when the music died down. He even placed his thumb and finger in his mouth and blew hard, letting out an ear piercing whistle then went back to clapping.

Adam then grabbed his drink and tossed back nearly half of it in one swallow. "You sure you don't want something besides coke?" He asked Emil.

[dantesque]

Emil jumped slightly from the sharpness of the sound- his hearing was particularly sensitive to high pitched noises.

"I'm good. One of us has to be sober enough to find the bus station after all."

He sipped his Coke.

[fatallyxxflawed]

Adam laughed again, moving in his chair to lean forward on the table, his elbows supporting him.His eyes were locked on Emil. Just as he was about to argue with him on the remaining sober, a tall leggy woman approached the pair.

She had hair down to her ass that looked like red silk ironed straight. Make-up was placed on perfectly so that it looked like she was wearing none at all. And the skimpy black dress she wore clung to and dangled off all the right places.

"Would you like to dance?" She asked Emil, her eyes flickering from Emil to Adam and back again, as if she were looking to Adam for permission as well.

[dantesque]

Emil, wary of beautiful women coming over to speak to him (the last time had resulted in him being kidnapped, after all) shook his head.

"No," he said politely. "I don't dance. But thank you for asking."

An opportunity lost, if she really only wanted to dance, but a safety precaution that seemed necessary. He glanced towards Adam, to see what he thought of this situation.

[fatallyxxflawed]

The woman seemed to grow very irritated that Emil had turned her down. Perhaps she was not use to it. With a very subtle whiff of the air, Adam could tell this one was a vampire, just as he was and was more than likely wanting more than just a dance from his new found friend.

What was it about Emil that seemed to attract trouble? Adam studied him a moment as they stared back and forth at each other and figured it was his all too innocent look. At first glance, one would never think that he was indeed a monster in his own right.

"Oh I get it" the woman said with a nasty snap to her voice. "You're here with him" At the word 'him', she thumbed over towards Adam. Adam heard the remark and only rolled his eyes. The woman's face turned sour. At that point, she realized then that Adam was like her...a night crawling blood sucker.

[dantesque]

"What if I am?" Emil said. "That's no reason to be offended." Ever the pacifist, he tried to calm the situation.

The woman only seemed to grow more agitated by his attempts though. "And what if I take you from him?" she asked, the threat evident despite the purr she tried to put in her her voice to belay it. "What then?"

Emil hadn't entirely caught on to the woman's less than human state - but he did shift to edge himself closer to Adam and further away from the woman, hoping she'd take the hint.

[fatallyxxflawed]

Adam stood and grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her as close to himself as he could without touching. A threatening growl trickled from his throat and the green eyed vampire snarled. "Then you'll have to dance with me. And I really don't think that is something you want to do. I don't play nice"

It shocked even Adam that he was sticking up for Emil. But hell, he was probably the closest thing to a friend he'd ever had.

The female kindred growled back, opening her mouth to bear fangs at Adam.

[dantesque]

Emil scrambled to his feet when the growling started, ready to back Adam up if he was needed.

He still preferred not to fight, however - especially not in a club he wanted to return to someday.

"Can we at least take it outside, if we have to fight?" Emil requested. "This is a nice place, full of nice people who don't need to be involved in this..."

[fatallyxxflawed]

Adam squeezed his fingers tighter around the woman's arm, digging his fingers into the flesh of the underarm until he could feel the skin sinking under the nails. The woman hissed and jerked free of Adam, though she caused four scratches to herself where he held onto her.

In a flash, she had hold of Emil's arm and was soon dragging him away from the table, heading for the front door. Adam was in pursuit in no time at all. The vampire was sure Emil was going to reconsider his friendship with him after this.

[dantesque]

Emil allowed himself be drug out of the club, because outside was where he wanted to go, anyhow. He struggled just enough that the woman believed she was dealing with ordinary prey.

She had a smug look of satisfaction, like a child who'd just stolen a playmate's toy. She didn't notice that said toy palmed a beer bottle from a table they passed on the way to the door. She didn't notice that he was conserving his strength for the right moment.

Emil could hear Adam not far behind as the woman drug him out of the door and into the alley nearby. "And now you're my tasty little snack..."

"I'm nobody's snack," Emil said, and brought his free arm around with all the strength she hadn't realized he had until it was too late. He smashed the beer bottle straight into her face then pulled free of her arm while she was dealing with the shock of the sudden attack.

"Bitch," he added, to finish his previous sentiment, and backed up to a defensible position by Adam.