Changing Places, Old Faces [Jesse Fforde/Invite]

[Ishaq (DELETED 4744)]

****. Yes.

"A gentlemen's club in the ******* mall? Now that's pretty ballsy as ****. I applaud you," He praised, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was all he could do to contain his excitement. A real gentlemen's club? Ishaq knew his night would eventually go up because there was no way it can go any further south than it already had. But if thought Jesse and Katya were eye candy, he couldn't imagine what the ladies in the club looked like. After all, Katya made a point to emphasize how her club was top notch. Even if she had left the statement out, he wouldn't have cared. Beautiful people got his blood boiling. He couldn't contain himself and at times, he was sad he couldn't be with every beautiful person who happened to cross his path. And this club had a great liquor selection.

The young vampire looked down at this appearance, scrunching up his face in displeasure. ****, why couldn't he have been dressed better for the occasion? Or better yet, what the **** did that fight have to happen? He wouldn't have had to worry about not looking the part for her gentlemen's club.

He was so focused on his own excitement, he didn't even notice Jesse had started off in the direction of the club. Not at first, but once his steps started to off in the general direction, his curiosity peaked. And when it peaked, words had an uncanny way of just coming out. Unannounced and quite unfiltered.

"Jesse, how the **** do you know how to get to this club? ****, have you been here before? And you've never thought to take me or anything?" He threw up his hands, even though he was sure the other wouldn't see him. He was walking behind him, timing his pace with Katya of course. Ishaq shook his head, snorting back a laugh. There was so much more to life outside of the underground metal scene, he couldn't believe it. Not that he didn't love his scene. It was his scene after all; his home. The scene was his true home and he couldn't keep himself away from it even if he tried. And damn, did he every try. Yet, life as a vampire was proving to be not too bad after all. If it meant he could experience all the beautiful people he wanted, then hell yeah, he was going to be all for it.

His attentions soon focused on the woman beside him, grinning slyly. "How do you know this jackass? And I mean that in the most friendliest way possible," he tilted his chin toward Jesse.

[Jesse Fforde]

Jesse shoves his hands into his pockets and doesn’t even glance over his shoulder as he leads the way to the club. He knows the way, and when he gets there he’s going to test whether he can just walk through the front doors without having to wait in line. Though he supposes that as soon as the bouncers catch a glimpse of Yekaterina, they’ll not blink an eye at letting the two accompanying, scraggly men past with her. Unless Yekaterina has plans to let them all in through a back door – which might make more sense. Best to see when they get there.

From memory, the mall – and the club within – isn’t too far away. Just down the road, where the slummier suburb will merge into something a little more upmarket, and the dilapidated and downtrodden buildings will morph into more upbeat commercial shops; a suburb that exudes money and prosperity, the windows already advertising Christmas. A bit too early, in Jesse’s opinion, but there’s not much to be done about it. These holidays have always been the epitome of commercialism. It’s just a way of life.

Jesse snorts as Ishaq voices his questions; one first at Jesse, and then one at Yekaterina. Jesse slips in to answer the first question before Yekaterina can answer hers. The two kind of go hand in hand.

“I’ve been there before but I’ve only really seen the inside of the office,” he says. A simple, innocent statement that might mean nothing if it weren’t for his sly grin and the continued arch of his brow. Grey might be in the picture now, but she wasn’t always, and Jesse doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with sharing or talking about his past conquests, especially if they’re the kind he could be proud of. This whole relationship thing is still quite new to him, and anyway – even if Grey were to find out, even if she would be unhappy hearing about the past women he’s had, in offices or outside of them, he’d likely just have a wrench thrown at him. And he quite likes what follows said wrench-throwing.

He turns back to the path ahead – assuming it’ll only take five to ten minutes to walk to the club – and allows Yekaterina to explain.

[Yekaterina Ostrovsky]

The questions from Ishaq, as much as the responding snort from Jesse, had a grin forming upon the tall blonde's cool lips. A genuine one, because to her surprise, she was already finding the company, well... enjoyable. It was a rare thing, but then, she supposed, the man in question had a knack for drawing in interesting, amusing people. That she had seen with her own eyes so far, that was.

Until that sly grin and brow arch that all smug males would get when discussing conquests. Pfft. He was as much a conquest of hers as she was of his, so she supposed all was good and equal in that particular conversation. "Well. At least its a very comfortable office," she conceded with a smirk gracing her features by now. She kept her pace with Ishaq's, letting Jesse lead the way. "I met Jesse back before he was turned. He inked my first tattoo, and my second. Possibly, even, someday my third," she said, aiming the statement at the male ahead of them with a laugh. "But since then, I suppose you could say he's grown into a friend." She winked, her thoughts drifting back to the conversation - terse and tense as it was at moments - from earlier in the night.

They were drawing closer by the moment to her pride and joy, the place she could almost consider a second home, no matter the goings-on within. It was a reflection of everything she and Lex had poured into the place and that it was thriving was proof enough that they'd done well. And, without even realizing how it had come about, Katya found herself pleased to share it with both of them. She hoped they'd take away at least some of the same appreciation she held for the place.

[Ishaq (DELETED 4744)]

He blinked a few times.

His eyes narrowed at the back of Jesse's head before he shot a glance toward Katya. Then it clicked. "Ohh."

To say he was surprised would be a lie. Again, Katya was a beautiful foreign beauty. He shouldn't be surprised. Jesse would be a liar if he hadn't acknowledge the beauty of the woman. She was quite the appeal. Ishaq couldn't help but to grin. Even if the two weren't very forthcoming, he knew. He could read it in their body language. He definitely picked up on it even with them collaborating their responses. A very comfortable office. "Comfortable office, huh?" the vampire questioned as his eyes wandered around the changing scene. He chuckled softly. There was so much he wanted to say to the pair of them. So much he wanted to ask. But he knew the minute he opened his mouth, it wasn't going to be appropriate and he didn't want to put a damper on the evening because he didn't know how to practice self control for once in his life.

"Before he was turned? What was he like back then?" He only knew Jesse the vampire. Jesse the asshole he made him a vampire because he saw greatness in him. Jesse the man who apparently believed in love now because he was with Grey. Now knowing he slept with Katya before his relationship with Grey made he wonder what other things about the man didn't he know. It made him curious, very curious. And when he was curious, he became extremely nosy. Not that Jesse wouldn't be completely vulnerable with him about his life and such. Ishaq just never asked. Too many times, he had been caught up with the going ons in his own life. Plus, to be completely honest, it couldn't imagine Jesse ever being human. It had been way too easy for him to make the decision to take the young vocalist's life. He remembered vividly; there had been no hesitation.

His eyes widened as the designated venue became closer and closer. Oh, yeah; he was about to erupt with excitement.

His eyes searched over Katya, but it wasn't as if she had a lot of skin being revealed. "Two tattoos of what? And where are they if you don't mind me asking?" He arched his brow, trying to hide the giddiness he felt bubbling beneath his skin. The line near the entrance of the club was already long; he was sure it already wrapped around the side.

[Jesse Fforde]

If it weren’t for the blood, they could have just been three people getting to know each other better. In fact, they were just three people getting to know each other better. Even though Jesse had spent a bit of time with Yekaterina, they hadn’t done a lot of talking. None, on Jesse’s behalf, until tonight – if they were going to be literal. He didn’t know all there was to know about Ishaq, either; and both of the people trailing behind him – good looking, eccentric, grand kind of people in their own right – didn’t know all there was to know about Jesse, either.

The moment itself, if one ignores the blood, is like reaching back to a past existence. When Jesse had those acquaintances that he’d sort of drift between. It had always been like this – with people, but not really with them. Wandering ahead, or to the side, or behind. Listening, but not feeling left out. Prompting, because he liked to watch and to listen. Which is basically what he is doing now.

The tattoos that Yekaterina mentions are ones that he does remember; he glances behind him, a slow tilt of his head and the light glancing from his eyes, brow arched at Yakterina’s comment about having grown into friends. Yeah, he supposes that’s what this is. Friendship. He seems to have a few of those that have lasted quite a while, now. And it is almost completely beyond his own comprehension. Maybe becoming a vampire really does change a person beyond physicality and ability. It brings them closer to other people; a bond, shared through blood, even if the blood is not the same.

He could answer Ishaq’s question on behalf of Yekaterina, about the tattoos, but he doesn’t. He could answer cheekily about how he was back before he was turned, too, but he doesn’t want to interrupt the flow. He’s curious to hear the answer himself – though he’s not sure Yekaterina would have much to say. Because, well, Jesse never did say much.

Instead, he keeps his eyes forward; they are fast approaching the club, and he slows his pace to allow Yekaterina to lead the way into the place.

[Yekaterina Ostrovsky]

That 'Ohh' had the blonde almost outright laughing by that point; she wasn't generally known for possessing any sort of filter, but she also didn't really go out advertising who had taken up (extremely temporary) residence between her sheets. Or on her sofa. Or wherever the fancy struck. And so if the questions ever did begin, the ones that were almost written across Ishaq's handsome face, she would almost definitely answer them. Whether or not that might be to Jesse's chagrin was something she found well worth the risk.

But the question that came next took her by surprise and she simply glanced at Jesse's progeny for a long moment before she finally replied, a slight shrug lifting elegant shoulders. "Well... much the same as now, I suppose. At least, at first glance and on the surface." She shot a wink at the other male, even if he wasn't necessarily able to see it. "I didn't know him much as a human, except that first tattoo, but I found him witty and personable, and very professional. Because of that, when I wanted the second, he was my first stop." She smiled slightly, recalling her second tattoo and how surprised both had been to learn that they were both amongst the vampires now. It had been one of those little moments, the ones where you know the person sitting across the way from you is one of your kind, cut from the same sort of cloth, regardless of the status of living or undead.

They came closer to the outer doors as Ishaq asked about those tattoos and the blonde raised a brow. Again, it didn't take much to get the woman talking, but she had always heard those sorts of questions were a no-no. Ah, she liked that. A rule breaker. A slow grin crossed her lips. "One is on my lower right hip - 'Padeniye kamen' tochit' - it means 'A drop hollows out a stone.' The other is the Macedonian symbol for 'eternity' which is just between my shoulder blades." She gestured to each as Jesse hung back and she lead them to the front of the line. Another wink, this time for her head of security, Jake, was given and the large male moved quickly to hold the door for her and the two men with her. "We'll be in my office, Jake, if you need me for anything. Could you please send Laney down to take a drinks order?" And, after his nod at her, Jesse - who he surely recognized - and Ishaq and the 'right away, Ms. Ostrovsky,' the Killer lead them straight down the hall and to the plush office in the very back corner of the building.

"When it gets dark in the house and people are distracted, we can probably make our way out there. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable."

[Ishaq (DELETED 4744)]

It was amazing to see a woman in charge. Not that women couldn't be in charge of anything; no, that's not what he was thinking at all. It just amazed him. There was something so electrifying about it. A goofy grin pulled on his lips as he slipped pass the bouncer. A large man, he stood there and Ishaq couldn't help to find him attractive because of his rather large size. He spun around and walked backwards, nodding his head, throwing the man a wink, before making the 'call me' gesture to him. Chuckling to himself, he shoved his hands into his pockets and turned around to continue to follow the pair toward the office.

He wasn't entirely interested in drinking anything else for the evening. He was more interested in going on the main floor. He wanted to be among the people. They were intoxicating to him. He just loved the way people felt. How they smelled. How they look. How they moved. Basically, he loved everything about people: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was anxious to be in their presence. He was curious as to why they had to wait until it was dark to go down among the people. No one knew he was vampire over half the time; he went out among the people often. Oh, well. Ishaq dropped himself into a cushioned seat and gave the office a look over.

He could definitely see why someone would want to have sex in the office. One...it was hot. Two...why not? He hadn't had sex in an office before. He was more of a bathroom kind of guy when it came to sex in public. Or hallways. He had his fair share of adventures in hallways too.

"Nice office," Ishaq commented, folding his arms across his chest, "How long have you been running this place?"

[Jesse Fforde]

If the guard does recognise Jesse, he doesn’t show it. There’s a blank expression on his face that Jesse can’t read, and he wonders if it’s the kind of expression that all bouncers have to wear. Whether it’s what they’re taught in bouncer school. Like in poker. They can’t give away if they think a woman’s attractive, or whether they know someone or not. Because there are plenty of boos and hisses from the line as the scruffy looking Jesse, Ishaq, and Yekaterina are allowed into the club before them. They’ve probably been waiting a very long time, the women in their tall heels, their ankles aching, and the men just wanting to get inside to pick up some tail.

And the bouncers, well, they have to look like they’re not showing bias – or that they are, and that they couldn’t give a ****. They have to exude the don’t **** with me attitude so that everyone in line is too afraid to kick up a fuss about the people getting in without having to wait. The people dressed in jeans. The people who don’t meet the dress code’s standards. Jesse knows exactly why they’re going straight to the office. He and Yekaterina, anyway. Raids are messy things and Jesse would rather not be questioned about the gore covering his clothing.

Jesse is walking behind Ishaq so he can see the wink and the silent proposition that he throws toward the bouncer. Jesse rolls his eyes and winks at the Jake as well – because Jake probably knows him. But Jake of course keeps a stony expression. Jesse wanders into the office behind the others and closes the door. Rather than sit, like Ishaq has, he instead circles the perimeter. He knows this office well. Especially that desk.

Ishaq had made no comment on Yekaterina’s answers to his previous questions. Jesse expected at least a disbelieving scoff to the witty and personable attributes – as they are not ones that Jesse himself agrees with – but none is forthcoming. Instead, Ishaq asks about the club and Jesse continues to circle, peeling off his jacket. At least the shirt underneath isn’t as smattered in blood and gore. Maybe a cloth and some water could get some of it off his face. Maybe he could be made a little more presentable that he is presently. Yeah, he knows exactly why Yekaterina might not want them socialising with the customers. He lays the jacket over the back of one of the chairs before shoving his hands into his pants pockets. Still slowly circling.