Midnight Shoppin'

[Tindel Grey]

Shooting up out of the bed, Tindel looked around her darkened bedroom. Panic coursed through her veins as she tried to regroup and wake completely from this nightmare. Damp bangs matted against her forehead, brushing the aside, she breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. Leaning over, she flipped on the bedside lamp. As light flooded the small room, Tindel tired to recall the dream, something about her parents, but she was not sure. The memory vanished just as quickly as it had come about. Peeling herself from the tangle of bedspreads, a quick shower was what she needed.Emerging from the shower, she ran a towel through her hair. Moving to the dark wood dresser, Tindel peered into the mirror. Shaking her head, she glanced down at the few trinkets that littered the top of the dresser. Before picking up her brush, she ran her finger tips over the tarnished mirror that had once belonged to her mother. Biting down on her lip, she shook her head and proceeded to brush her hair. Placing the brush back onto her dresser, she pulled open one the drawers and removed a small lock box, opening it Tindel removed some cash from the box. Times when she felt like this, a new book was always her cure. She had spotted a small book store and she hoped she could find something good.

Stepping out into the cooling night, the heat from the day was still slightly there but a small breeze was picking up. Making her way down to the street that was lined with store, Tindel skirted around a drunkard who apparently wanted to make himself a fixture of the concrete. Spotting the small book store, she slipped in.

As the weathered door pushed forward, a tinkling sounded that alerted the owner that someone was there. Walking along the shelves, she inhaled the scent of old and new books. Pulling a few titles from the shelves she fingered through them. Satisfied with her selections, Tindel paid out and pushed back through the front door.

[Vaughn Logan]

Vaughn quickly stepped out of his two-story home and jumped in his Jeep Wrangler. Music blasted through the stereo system. As he zipped away down the suburbs he pulled his sunglasses that dangled off of the rear-view mirror. Luckily traffic was moving, and he didn't have to halt much or wait for people to cross the street. Even though he was the Commander of the Hunters, he enjoyed acting like a normal civilian when he could. Such as going on dates, catching movies with friends, or even picking up a good book. Right now he wasn't a hunter, right now he was Vaughn Logan, University Professor.

A breeze flew through his brown hair, and the sun was shining. It's hard to sometimes admire the atmosphere and take it all in for what it was. He had been so busy lately with looking after the Compound, he had almost forgotten how to be human. It seems irony has a crude sense of humor. Perhaps Vaugn would go to his favorite bistro and mingle with the owner Jackie. She was nice enough, and not bad to look at either. From time to time he would take her out, and even get discounts. But he had been so busy; he hadn't had the time to talk to her.

He pulled his Jeep into the bistro and stepped inside. A bell above the door rang as he entered, and low and behold no one other than Jackie popped her head up from behind the counter and gave a really welcoming smile.

"Hey" she said loudly. In a few short moments she made her way to the door and gave Vaughn a large and embracing hug.

Vaughn wasn't much of a hugger or touchy-feely person. But he hugged her back to be friendly enough. "How how you been?"

"Been doing really well, lots of business, lots of stuff happening. How about you? How's the Uni?"

Vaughn looked at the ground for a moment and then back up at her, releasing a wide smile that branched off across his face. "It’s going really well. Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie or go out to dinner tonight. I know it's really sudden but--"

"Actually I can't go tonight Vaugh." Jackie looked to the ground and then at her hand, fiddling with a ring on her finger before looking back up at Vaughn without making much eye contact. "I'm actually..engaged now."

"Oh..well that's wonderful. I hope the best for you."

"Yeah well..thanks. Do you want the usual?"

"Yeah, you think I could have that to go?"

"Sure thing." Jackie then moved behind the counter in a hurry, shuffling through and hastily putting his order together.

Vaughn moved up to the counter and leaned on it, "So how long have you been dating Mr. Right?" He asked, trying to make eye contact with her.

"It just felt right. I don't think you can put a time on something that's meant to be."

Vaughn looked to the back of the bistro and noticed a picture on the wall of them together. He then stood up straight and took out his wallet as Jackie rang up the order. No discount today.

"That'll be ten-fifty," She said as she stared at the cash register.

Vaughn gave her a ten and a five, "You can keep the change."

Jackie printed out a receipt and handed it to him. She didn't say much after that, but simply pushed the brown paper bag forward with Vaughns contents in it.

Vaughn took the bag in his hand and gave her a nod and a smile. "Well, take care of yourself Jackie. I hope for the best." He left before she could reply. Vaughn hopped in his Jeep and placed the bag in the seat next to him. "Well that didn't go as planned", he said to himself. He peered into the bag as he drove and realized Jackie made dinner for two, perhaps on accident. Or perhaps she was hoping Vaughn would find someone else to have dinner with.

It was getting late and the sun was setting. He had been out a lot longer than he thought. It was amazing how fast the days went by. 24 hours my ass, he thought. By the time he made it to the Longacre Square shopping center it was dark. He hoped they would still be open. Vaughn took off his shades and hung them back onto his rearview mirror. There was no use wearing them anymore.

He parked in a tight spot near the bookstore. Maybe the bookstore would have something interesting, or maybe even something that would help out with Lycans and Werewovles. Or maybe he would read Dracula, just for fun. He made a tight corner, not paying attention and ran into a young girl carrying her books. The books tumbled to the floor and flipped open. Suddenly a gust of wind blew, pages in the book flipped around like crazy. Scattered leaves on the brick pathways blew towards there direction. Vaughn bent down to help her pick up her books.

"I'm sorry," He said as he gathered the books in his hands and stood. Vaughn then held them out for her to grab and looked her head to toe. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. You alright?"

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[Tindel Grey]

Tindel could not shake her temperamental mood, ever since the dream she could not quite remember. It was frustrating and it was pissing her off. She knew her mother had been in it. She remembered snap shots of her face. Shaking her head she pulled her self from her daze a split second before some guy pretty much bulldozed her over. As books went flying and her ass hit the pavement, she threw curse words out and looked up at the man sharply. For a good looking guy, he sure as hell was a block head. Tonight was just not her night. Grabbing a few of the books that he guy did not already pick up, she stood up and brushed off her jeans. Taking the offered books from him, she placed them neatly back into her arms. "Even if you were not expecting someone to be around, you should be more careful." Tindel cast a slight glare at him. "As far as the question, I am fine. Anyways, it is okay. No harm done." Erasing her crinkle frown lines from her face, she gave him a slight smile. She was not sure if he was an enemy or not. He was not Lycan, that was for sure, and he was not a vampire. So, that left him a human and that could go either good of bad. "Well, since you have already knocked me over, I might as introduce myself. I'm Tindel."

[Vaughn Logan]

He felt bad knocking the girl over. Vaughn was in such a hurry that common courtesy and common sense was not present in his mind for the moment.It was getting dark, really dark. The bookstore manager walked up to the main doors and locked them as soon as the remaining people walked out. He then flipped the sign over from Open to Closed.

Vaughn had a bit of a disappointed look on his face, but it was no matter. He could always come back another time when he had some free time to kill.

"Listen, since the store just closed I could give you a ride home. The least I could do for knocking you over. It's getting late and with all the crime that's been happening lately it wouldn't sit right with me knowing that you were out on your own. Plus I just got dinner and the owner accidentally gave me dinner for two, so if you're hungry--"

Vaughn rested his hands in his back pockets and looked around. People were pretty much gone by now. It was barren and cold, just the two of them standing there. Grey clouds formed in the skies and a sound of a thunder bolt struck in the distance. He knew it was only a matter of time until it started to rain. And based on how it's been raining the last few days it wouldn't let up for a while. He hoped the woman considered his offer. It didn't hurt having someone to talk to, and it definitely beat eating dinner alone.

He tried to get a glance at the books she carried, but her hand was in the way for any words to really stand out. Vaughn wondered what kind of reading she was into. He had published a few books of his own, but he doubt any of them were his. But there was still a chance that she knew of him because of it. The authors picture in the back of his books didn't look much different then he does now. For all he knew she could have read them--And Vaughn can safely say that if she did, he would be impressed.

In the near distance Vaughn saw mice running across the tall blades of grass, trying to not be seen or caught by any birds that are looking for a quick snack. Being near a mall and lots of nearby restaurants Vaughn knew that mice in the area probably had lots of good eating. But that all ended when a cat darted across the yard and caught the little mouse before he even knew what was going on. Luckily the cat dragged his meal away, relieving him of the sick pleasure of seeing it be devoured first hand.

Along the top of a skyscraper the moon looked like a full growing orange orb of light. Despite some dark clouds in the way Vaughn could tell it was indeed a full moon. And knew that rogue Lycans would be roaming the area, picking off any loners or small groups of people. Considering there were no signs of human life nearby, Vaughn knew that the two of them were not in a safe predicament. Without trying to sound like he was rushing her, he let out a smile. "So, what do you say?"

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[Tindel Grey]

Glancing up at the sky, she noticed the grey clouds rolling in. She loved the rain. There was nothing like curling up with old sweats and a good book with no sound but the rain and thunder outside. That is how she normally spent her nights alone, a good book, sweats, classical music, and a glass of wine. That had been her plan for the rest of the night until the dawning sun got too much for her to bare and he climbed into her bed in her darkened room. "It is not that late for me and I am not overly scared of walking home alone at night. I do it quite often," Tindel said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "But I guess since you are offering, I might as well say yes. I am Tindel by the way. And you are? Or should I just call you bulldozer?" A bit of humor highlighted her voice.

A crack of thunder sounded in the distance and she glanced towards the field, "It definitely looks like it might storm. Weather and temperature have shifted. I love the rain.." she said this last part more for herself than for the man in front of her. Looking back at him she shifted her books. "Well lead the way. Rain will be hitting soon and I do not want to ruin my new books."

She shifted foot to foot and glanced around. She was not afraid of being out and about alone, she had done it plenty of times and she knew how to take care of herself. But hey he was offering food, so who was she to object.

[Vaughn Logan]

Vaughn gave her a smirk and looked up at the sky. Grey clouds were rolling in and another booming sound roared in the sky. The thunder storm was moving closer. He led her towards the parking lot and walked up towards his Jeep. Keys in hand, Vaughn unlocked the Jeep door and it swung open. He grabbed it before it hit her in the head and held it open for her. "Sorry about that..." He said, as he stood next to the door and looked over at her.

After she got in, Vaughn walked around the vehicle, opened up the driver door and hopped in. He backed out of the mall parking lot and zipped away towards home. "So you look familiar, are you student at the University?" Vaughn was trying to be sincere. She did look awfully familiar to him and he didn't know why. He knew she wasn't a Hunter, but she could be something else. It wouldn't be the first time he had been in the company of an immortal. The thought didn't bother him in the slightest.

Due to the late night traffic was scarce so getting home didn't take too long. Vaughn pulled up into the driveway, pressed a button inside his vehicle to open up the garage doors and pulled inside, shutting the garage behind him. Vaughn grabbed the brown bag filled with the food and opened up the door for her again. "I hope you don't mind eating here. I figured we could warm up the food here, plus it's better than eating in my Jeep."

Vaughn gave her a reassuring smile before leading her into his home. It was modern looking. Which typically meant lots of hard wood floors, clean and sleek carpeting and furniture, marble counters, and to top if all off the excessive use of glass.

"Please, please, make yourself at home." He said as he took out the contents of the bag, carefully putting them onto plates and placing them into the microwave one at a time.

Rain poured down hard, and thunder struck close by. Vaughn's windows were soon hazed with the rain, and looked as if they were melting away into nothingness. A loud DING from the microwave snapped Vaughn back into reality and he took them out. Steam rolling off of the top of the plates.

"I hope you're hungry", he said as he walked over towards her with the food.

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