It's Just a Bad Night (Justin)

[Cheyenne Deniau]

Cheyenne was just sick of the nagging. She had been shadowing her cousin, the housecleaner for the vampire, and in her infinite gracefulness, The teen had managed to absolutely wreck her visit over there. The vampire that they’d been cleaning for was named Mykhailo di Caspari, and apparently Mykhailo had difficulties keeping his hands in his pockets. One moment, Cheyenne was making a bed, and the next, Mr. Di Caspari had his hands on Cheyennes’ waist. At first, Cheyenne had minded her manners and asked him to stop, politely. When Mr. Di Caspari trailed after her and called her a spoil-sport, Cheyenne had curtly demanded that he leave her be. Then, he tried to grab at the teen again, and the vampire received a the sole of a flat-soled shoe to his porcelain, perverted face.

Indignantly, Cheyenne dismissed herself, went downstairs and changed out of the uniform that she’d been loaned for the occasion and back into street clothes. She didn’t care how old someone was or what race they were, you didn’t go about grabbing women like that, particularly minors.

“Disgusting perverted old fart,” Cheyenne grumbled, adjusting her bag, “Dirty lecherous old man. Thinks that just ‘cuz he looks eternally young that he can go around grabbing girls all willy-nilly.”

Like clockwork, when Cheyenne was only ten minutes from Mr. di Caspari’s house, her cell phone hummed. The girl fished into her pocket, and surveyed the screen. It was from her house phone. Oh crap. She flipped the phone open and hesitantly held it to her ear.

“Hey,” she said briefly.

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me,” her mother cut in with annoyance, “What the hell were you thinking?! You hit Mr. di Caspari with a shoe[/1], Cheyenne? Really?”

“Mr. di Caspari was groping me,” Cheyenne snapped, “Isn’t that, like, some sort of sexual harassment, Mom? Shouldn’t you be chewing him out?”

“Mr. di Caspari has worked with her family for a very long time,” Mrs. Deniau sighed.

“Which makes it even worse!” Cheyenne interjected, “He could have been groping Great-Grandma Joanne or something! And guess what? Three generations later, he’s still groping people. Mom, it’s just gross. I won’t stand for it.”

A brief argument unfolded over the moral technicalities of the ordeal, but after a span of five or maybe ten minutes of arguing through the receiver, Cheyenne finally announced, “I’m not coming home tonight. Obviously if the family’s reputation holds precedence over the well-being of an individual, it isn’t safe for that individual to sleep in her own bed. ‘nigh Mom.”

Cheyenne hung-up the phone, and shut it off right away. She was in a familiar part of town, and wasn’t too frightened. But, it was late, it would be good to find a place to crash. She turned over places to crash, places where a vampire or a werewolf would happen across her and bother her. Somewhere normal. With another human who wasn’t at all involved with supernatural nonsense.

Her mind immediately went to Justin. He was close to the family, a colleague that had been in school with Cheyenne’s sister. And, now that the two of them were all grown up, they’d gone different ways. Justin was a cop, and Cheyenne’s family took up a renewed interest in the guy. Mostly to use him as intel on what the law enforcement was up to. Not that Justin knew this. Cheyenne, however, just liked him as a person. He was a decent guy, and had even given her a key, should she ever be in the neighborhood and wanted to drop by.

Cheyenne allowed her feet to carry her down the familiar path towards Justin’s apartment, before she was finally at the front door. She paused there, and knocked. Sure, Cheyenne had a key, but she scarcely used it. Just her luck, she’d drop by when Justin had a girl over, or something. That’d be embarrassing.

“Justin, you in?” Cheyenne called out, “It’s Shy.”

[Justin Taylor]

Justin had been home for around an hour, he had cooked some dinner and left it in the oven as he hopped in the shower, after a long day in the office bed was the only thing he longed for more than a shower. He had just finished washing up when he heard the knock at the door, instinctively he moved for his gun, even at home he could never quite be certain who was going to interrupt him. The paranoia was part of being a cop, when he had first joined up he assumed that he would get used to suspecting every little noise and fearing the worst, he had assumed wrong. Of course that wasn't to say that it hadn't came in useful every now and again, hell it had saved his life a few times and after all it was better to be alive and paranoid than dead and normal. That was what he told himself at least, of course that didn't matter for the moment. He wrapped a towel around his waist to protect his modesty and moved towards the living room with his glock clasped in his hand.

He was already approaching the door before he heard her voice, he realised instantly who it was before she announced herself. He set the pistol on a shelf, there was no need for it at the moment, Shy wasn't exactly a threat. "You have a key, use it for once." He almost laughed he had given her a key almost a year ago, he knew how dangerous the streets could be in the city. He had went to school with her older sister and although they were friends at the time he had lost touch with her but somehow kept in contact with Shy. Truth be told he saw Shy as a little sister, and acted as such around her, whilst he was very protective of her he teased her relentlessly. "Are you going to come in or do you fancy cleaning the hall way for me?" He moved towards the door to his room, waiting on her entering. He took his pistol with him in order to lock it away in his cabinet as he got changed.

He wasn't exactly planning on going out again so he threw on a plain grey T shirt and a pair of New York Nick's basketball shorts and flip flops on his feet. He was in chill out mode, he was off work the next day and had no plans although Shy's surprise visit could change that. He hoped that she was ok and that her visit was nothing more than her missing him or being in the area, despite the teasing he really did care for her. "So to what do I owe the honour? I love having you here Shy and I mean, you're obviously crushing on me but is there another reason? Perhaps I should have stood around in my towel and let you do the twitter or whatever you kids do." He couldn't help but chuckle a little as he smirked and walked out into the living room, eyeing her to ensure there was no sign of physical damage. The slightest sign of damage would have sent him into a tail spin and led to him threatening to arrest or beat the crap out of whoever did it to her. Of course the threat would be just that in her eyes until he caught the guy when she wasn't around. Once he was certain that she was ok physically anyway, he walked towards the kitchen.

"I assume you're hungry, just so happens I've made a batch of lasagne and garlic bread if you're interested." He slid on a pair of Kermit the frog oven mitts and lifted the lasagne and garlic bread from the oven. As soon as the dishes hit the counter the house was filled with the aroma of fresh herbs and spices. "Hmm let's see what beverages we have off the kiddies menu today" as he rummaged through his fridge, which for a man who lived alone was very well stocked.

[Cheyenne Deniau]

Justin lightly, teasingly scolded the girl from within, and he did not answer the door. Cheyenne chuckled under her breath, fishing into her pocket for her key that he’d given her. She slid the key into the lock, and felt it click into place. She turned it, pushed the door open, and pulled her key back out, locking the door behind her. Justins’ footsteps had padded elsewhere into the apartment, so Cheyenne strolled along absently, kicking off her shoes. She wasn’t going anywhere soon, so there was no point of keeping her shoes on. She even discarded her backpack on top of her shoes, and tucked her phone and key inside. Justin’s place was a second home to her, and the only second home that her mother approved of. Her mother was convinced that Cheyenne was an absolute delinquent, contrary to how things truly were.

The crack about cleaning the hall made her cringe slight. After Mr. di Caspari’s stunt today, Cheyenne wouldn’t be cleaning anyones’ abodes any time soon. She swallowed that protest and waited for Justin to reappear. He exited from his bedroom in relatively casual dress, which made Cheyenne feel a lot less under-dressed. This evening’s ensemble entailed a few tank tops, pale-colored skinny jeans, red slide-on shoes and a loose-fitting cardigan. She still fussed with her disheveled hair, however, as the young man meandered back in casually.

Cheyenne chuckled as the off-duty cop gave her more grief, after inquiring what had brought her to his humble abode. Cheyenne rubbed her head shyly, giving a mild smile. She couldn’t very well tell him the truth of it all. That she’d hit a vampire with her shoe, and now she was refusing to go home as the result. His line about crushing on him and the states following earned a chuckle.

“Do the twitter?” Cheyenne echoed, equally as confused as Justin. What on Earth was the “twitter”?

“I was just around, figured I’d drop by.” Cheyenne corrected him. Though her stocking-clad feet begged to differ. People who were just dropping by didn’t kick off their shoes and leave their bag at the door. Justin surveyed her, before announcing that he had food and strolling into the kitchen. Cheyenne followed eagerly, her stomach yowling as lasagna and garlic bread were drawn forth from the oven. She leaned against the counter, her gaze following Justin towards the fridge. Why couldn’t her house be like Justin’s house? Why couldn’t she be normal and boring?

“Would it be… an, uh… imposition if I crashed on your couch tonight?” Cheyenne inquired, fussing with the sleeve of her cardigan. She kept her gaze bashfully pointed towards her hands, biting her lip.

“I kinda had a spat with my mom,” Cheyenne mumbled. About hitting perverted vampires with shoes, Cheyenne wanted to sputter, but kept it brief instead, "I don't feel like going back home tonight."

Justin was a cop, and an essential brother to her. And conscientious, to boot. He wouldn't kick Cheyenne out. Where else would she go, if he did? Lasagna sounded unbelievably good, as did garlic bread and some normal, human company. Even if Justin couldn't let her stick around.

[Justin Taylor]

She figured she'd just drop by, clearly something was bothering her but she'd open up when she was ready, she always did. He simply shook his head when he noticed she had already kicked off her shoes, she was clearly here for a while, which he didn't mind, the place got boring when it was too quiet. He lifted a coke and bottled water from the fridge, not knowing which she was in the mood for. He rummaged through his cupboards and lifted out the various bits of cutlery and table wear. The word made him smile, he knew the two of them were going to end up eating in front of the tv like they always did, even though Justin enjoyed cooking, his dining room table and chairs were never used. His promotion had allowed him to get a bigger place and sure enough he filled it with all the things he was supposed to, even if some of them seemed foreign to him and remained almost ornamental in terms of usage. Then she dropped the completely unexpected bombshell that she wanted to stay here for the night, he smiled as he dished out servings onto the plates.

"Crash on my couch? Not a chance shorty, you've got a house of your own and unless your parents have dramatically refurbished, your own room." He lifted his plate and moved towards the couch in question and waved towards her, knowing that she knew to follow once she had lifted her food. "You know full well, there's a spare room with your name on it, up until now I assumed it was yours anyway. Sleep on my couch, not likely I haven't scotch guarded this thing yet and I know you still drool in your sleep." He couldn't help but chuckle after he said it, he would have preferred to remain semi serious in appearance but it was too much to ask, he enjoyed the friendly teasing. He didn't need to hear that she had a spat with her mom, he could feel it in the air, not that it mattered, what teenager didn't bump heads with their parents? He was just pleased that she felt comfortable enough around him to come to his place rather than crashing somewhere dodgy and risking her safety. "You know the house rules, if you're staying here tonight, you're doing the dishes, agreed?"

He knew he'd more than likely end up doing the dishes or at least helping her but it was the toll that he kept threatening to charge her for staying at his place. He slid out his phone and began sending a text message, even though she was fighting with her mother, he still had to let the woman know she was here. He knew from past experience that he would get an ok back from her mother, he just wanted to settle the woman's nerves, he owed as much to Shy's sister. "So what are we feeling tonight, comedy or horror? Ladies choice of course." He began picking at his dinner as he waited for her to respond and make her way from the kitchen . "Of course seeing we don't have any ladies here, I guess it's your turn, so what are you feeling." He wasn't going to press her for any further details about the argument, it wasn't his place and he knew she'd more than likely tell him about it anyway.

[Cheyenne Deniau]

Cheyenne grimaced as Justin began to respond to her. Yes, she had her own home and her room, provided for her by her parents, but she really didn’t want to see her parents right now, and she was relatively certain that they didn’t want to see her. Not after leaving Mr. Di Caspari’s house so hastily. Cheyenne hesitantly dished herself up a few, small servings of food before sliding her plate onto the table countertop. She was in more of a mood for cola this evening, so grabbed the can, and carried the entirety of the meal along with her.

As he continued to speak, however, she became slightly more reassured. He wasn’t going to send her home, just to the spare bedroom. Cheyenne gave a mild smile, but at the comment about drooling in her sleep, a retort leapt up.

“I do not drool in my sleep!” she shrieked with laughter, “Oh, the nerve of you.”

Cheyenne sauntered into the living room and flopped onto the couch, setting her plate and her can of soda onto the table in front of her. Cheyenne than folded her legs up beneath her, and set the plate upon her lap. She teased the lasagna with her fork, before taking a modest bite. In exchange for a bed this evening, she was to do the dishes. More cleaning… Cheyenne mentally groaned.

“Mm’kay,” she murmured, taking another bite of her lasagna. At least she wasn’t cleaning house for a vampire. With Justin, it was more of on her own free-will rather than a business exploration feat for her family. Cheyenne continued to eat quietly, eyeing the cell phone with a mild disdain. He was so diligent, so sooner or later, he’d contact her mother. If not now, then later-on. In a sense, it was a bad thing—Cheyenne didn’t want her mother to know where she was. On the bright side of things, however, her mother would never come to Justin’s house to discuss the family business with her. So what harm could it do if the man texted her? None, really.

Cheyenne continued eating while Justin inquired about movies—horror, or comedy? While Cheyenne though, Justin again jested that since no ladies were present, it was Cheyenne’s call. Cheyenne stuck her tongue out at him crossly, trying not to grin like an idiot. Justin was such a dork. Maybe that’s why she came around him like this, though—it was impossible to stay angry around him.

Cheyenne wasn’t in much of a mood for comedy, but she didn’t want horror if it dealt with vampires or werewolves in anyway.

“What do you have in the way of horror films?” the girl inquired casually.