8. Friends

Genre: Paranormal romance, drama
Type: Series
Characters: Leigh, Eloise, Krisis, J.D.
Prompt:008. Friends
Word Count: 1110+
Warning: none (I've been a good girl)
Rating:  M- (coarse language, sexual situations, nudity. Applies to the whole series)
Summary: Friends have uncomfortable, but telling conversations.
008. Friends 

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Bridgeport, present day
A few days after Leigh took the job...

“This baby is a dream!” Leigh squealed as she negotiated her friend’s Ferrari through Bridgeport. It was Friday night and the streets were busy. No doubt the clubs will be hopping too. She slammed her foot hard on the brakes when Eloise screamed suddenly, shouting at her to look out.

“Hey, I wouldn’t have skipped the light you know!” She retorted. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the traffic light to change. As soon as it turned green, she hit the accelerator paddle hard and sped off again, as if demons were chasing after them.

“Can you slow down? What’s going on?” Eloise asked. They were best friends since Grade 3, and she knew her well. Maybe a little too well!

“It’s your job, isn’t it?” Eloise asked as they entered the club’s lobby. Leigh pressed the elevator button to the 18^th floor. Within seconds the lift came to life, and they could hear it snaking its way down, making a few stops along the way.

“No, of course not!” She shook her head. It was a lot of things. The job was on her mind, but it was Devon she was worried about the most. Since his breakup from Tamsyn, he was a little despondent.

“Did you hear what I said?” Eloise’s irritated cry stopped her train of thought.

“How’s Devon taking the breakup from the shrew?” Her friend repeated the question she’d obviously missed earlier. The shrew was their nickname for Tamsyn.

Before she could say what was on her mind, a scrawny-looking man entered the lobby and joined them near the lift, carefully eyeing Eloise.

“Hey Sugar-Smacks, can I buy you a drink when we get up there?” The man asked boldly.

“No! Not now, not ever!” Eloise hissed when she caught the lascivious look in his eyes. She shuddered visibly, and made sure to put some distance between them.

Leigh watched the exchange with mild amusement, but her light mood was short-lived. The elevator doors burst open, and a long stream of people flooded out. She held her breath, her stomach twisting in knots. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when it became apparent Krisis wasn’t part of the club leavers. Everywhere she went now, especially at night clubs, she worried about bumping into him.

“So, Krisis?” Eloise got straight to the point after a few rounds of drinks. By then, her tongue was nice and loose, all her inhibitions gone.

“What about him?” Leigh shot back coolly, pretending to be unfazed by the mere mention of the man.

“What’s he like?”

“I barely know him. We had a crazy first time encounter, and that’s it!” Not really true since she’d done thorough research on him.

It was amazing how much dirt one can find on the internet. She’d gotten quite a few hits on him, and the band, Krisis Infinity. They were the ‘hot’ band in Bridgeport at the moment. There were also a few articles about him and Laura Greene, detailing some of their very public spats.

Laura Greene, in addition to being a mental case, had quite a temper too, very much like Tamsyn in fact, picking her battles in the most inappropriate places sometimes. Though in her case, her condition, the ION syndrome, could be blamed for it.

“Rumor is he’s gone back to his roots,” Eloise remarked, and watched her friend’s reaction carefully.

“Roots? I don’t know what you mean!”

“You know, hasn’t dated a human since Laura Greene. Apparently he’s sworn off our kind,” Eloise continued, smiling inwardly when Leigh’s face fell a little. “He’s dating that vampire doctor, I keep forgetting her name. She has long blonde hair; startling green eyes…She’s always on Plasma Talk, that medical show on Vampire TV!”

“Yeah, I know who you mean!” Leigh brushed her off. The blond with green eyes was Dr. Jacqueline Steinberg…Her name also came up in her search for Krisis on the net.

To an untrained eye, Leigh was still the picture of calm, but Eloise had seen it, that brief, disappointed look. Her friend was obviously more into Krisis than she cared to admit.

“Well good for him. He should stick to his kind anyway!” Leigh turned away, trying to hide her annoyance. She didn’t even know why she was pissed off suddenly.

“So you wouldn’t date him if he was into you? You wouldn’t date a vampire?”

“Goodness no! I don’t think vampires truly love humans; to them we’re just walking plasma fruit!” Leigh replied, remembering a similar question Michaela had asked her just last week.

“If you say so.” Eloise stirred her drink contemplatively…

On the other side of town, after their three hour performance at Eugi’s, another couple was having a similar conversation.

“Since Ashleigh started tutoring Michaela you’ve been awfully scarce. What’s going on? You don’t come around anymore? You’re afraid of her aren’t you?” J.D. teased, hoping it would bring a smile on his friend’s scowling face. Krisis barely glanced at him as he grunted something inaudible.

“What’s that?” J.D. asked.

“Nothing. I’ve just been busy that’s all.” It was a blatant lie; he was avoiding his sister’s place. It’s a good thing he had his own house.

“With what?” his friend pressed on.

“What’s with the Spanish inquisition? I’ll swing by soon if it will put an end to your questions,” Krisis growled and increased his pace. His friend’s nosiness was starting to get to him. But if he was honest, Leigh was the real reason for his dark mood.

“She’s a nice girl. You should get to know her sometime,” J.D. suggested, matching his long strides.

 “I can’t bear to look at her, man. Every time I see her, and I’ve seen her lots of times since our first meeting, I think it’s Laura all over again. I saw her leaving the grocery store the other day and I followed her, convinced she’d end up in Laura’s apartment, convinced it was her!” Krisis explained. And he artfully left out the bits about his sexy dreams. She still haunted him in his sleep…

“I didn’t realize. I thought you were over Laura. It’s been ten years!”

“I am over her. It’s just that seeing Ashleigh again…It brought back memories and not all of them are good. You knew Laura man, and how difficult she could be. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. I’ll swing by later, okay?” He lied as he got in his car. He wouldn’t swing by….Not for a long time at least. Not until this crazy, burning need he had for his niece’s teacher was under control.