♪ Be careful what you eat ♪ (CLOSED)

[Skylar]

I start to wonder if maybe Elliot has a crush on Dillon the way he keeps dragging him back into the conversation. Hadn't I made my feelings about him perfectly clear? Dillon was fine, if you liked that sort, I just didn't. He was every girls fantasy but mine. At least it seemed that way. He could have a different girl every night if he wanted. It was that mix of muscles, music and confidence.
"Please. I could do a hell of a lot better than Dillon. And yes. For your information he does. A never-ending stream of girls. And they're one night stands because - like most men - he's an arse. He doesn't call. If it wasn't for alcohol and as of today, some serious guilt on my part, I wouldn't ever go near him. Not in that way. Musically he's pretty gifted. He's not me. But he's gifted. And if you ever tell him I said that I swear to god Elliot I will deny it. Dillon's ego is big enough already without anyone adding to it."
I elbow Elliot in the side. Not hard. Just a playful nudge. The nudge also hinted that a change in conversation might be good. While I was fine talking about guys in general. I didn't want to waste my night talking about Dillon of all people.
"And let me assure you. If I want something hot. I'll nuke it in the microwave. As good as h- it tastes fresh, I'm not scarring people for it. I'll drink the chemical filled crap from the shops. Just like you showed me. Probably best all round right? If I stick to that? I mean no witnesses. No scarring. No issues."
I shrug. It wasn't the most appealing idea but it had to be better than feeding from people that would, A - be horribly scarred by the encounter and B - remember it was me that did it.
Though to be fair. I don't know about the scarring yet. I'll just watch Dillon. See how it heals. If vampires left serious scars on everyone they fed from the city would be rife with people sporting matching neck wounds they didn't remember sustaining. In my case. Point A probably had more to do with the pain I put the person through. Chewing through skin...not unlike chewing through leather. Or a really tough steak. Yeah. Let's go with steak. I've actually done that one and so can attest to the truth of it.
I loop my arm through Elliot's and lean my head against it for a moment. Not in a clingy, I want your babies kind of way, but in the cuter more innocent, you know you love me way. Which let's face it. He may not. I still had to try and win him over, since aside from saving my life, we were virtual strangers. It was odd to think of him like that though. I peer up at him and give him my best doe eyes. Even if for him the jury was still out on me, I felt like I could trust him. I'd never have rung him otherwise.
"And if you are gonna look for me... For a guy that is... Not that I expect my dad to fix me up on a date or anything, but if you happen to know someone... Make sure they're a little shorter than you. You are so frickin' tall man. I'd need a stepladder or something to kiss someone of your height."
I'm not even teasing with that statement. It's true. there was no way I could ever kiss Ellie against his will. Not unless I like jumped on him or something. I guess I could get creative and sit on the kitchen counter. But that would present an entirely different set of challenges. Even as I think these thoughts, they disappear. Kissing Elliot wasn't on my 'to do' list. Well not that kind of kiss anyways.

[Lancaster]

There were plenty of things about this conversation that had Elliot mystified. Like he was stuck, and didn’t quite know what to say, because either way he wouldn’t be doing himself any favours. Not really. He shook his head, and knew that either way, he was only ever going to be honest. Completely and utterly honest, and sometimes rambling because he had no idea how to speak otherwise. At least Skylar seemed to be able to fill in the silence – she did like to talk a lot. This was a thing that Elliot had already learned. He was keeping his eyes on the path ahead, and only managed to make a weird hey now sound when he glanced down to see those big doe eyes of hers.

“Okay okay. One? I’m not your ‘dad’. Nowhere close. I’m not going to screen your boyfriends or sit on the porch with a shotgun over my lap just waiting for them to make the wrong move. You’re a big girl,” he explained. Yeah, he’d be protective of Skylar, but there were boundaries that he wouldn’t cross. Generally, Elliot had a good opinion of everyone until they proved him otherwise, or gave him reason to doubt. Innocent until proven guilty – but never assumed to be guilty to begin with.

“Two? If I were your Dad there’s no fuckin’ way I’d be even looking to set you up. You’d be wearing a chastity belt and I’d hold the only key,” he said, then chortled. For a moment, his eyes glazed over. His jaw went slack, and the smile briefly disappears. He would never know what he would actually be like as a father. He would never hold a little girl or boy in his lap – he always thought they’d have his eyes. Maybe his black hair. If it was a girl he’d call her his Princess only because she’d remind him of Snow White. They had only ever been brief fantasies. He’d thought it might happen one day, but he’d taken the possibility for granted. And now it was gone.

The moment passed, and Elliot shook his head. He cleared his throat, and tried his best to dislodge the heaviness from his heart.

“But hey! We tall men are challenges. Don’t you like a challenge?” he asked, grinning, as if he’d never had a heavy thought. The café was around the corner, and just down the street. It wouldn’t take them much longer to get there.

[Skylar]

I laugh at him when he says he's not my dad because I definitely feel otherwise. Though technically he'd be mum - maybe - since he was the one that birthed me into this dark new world of magic and mayhem. I grin at that thought. Elliot in a dress. He'd be one scary looking chick. I mean forget the height and the lanky body, he had stubble. I mean I'm sure there are some circles that would love that mingling of the genders, but this sure as **** wasn't one of them. For some reason I had a difficult job budging the image of him in some ghastly floral number, sitting in a rocking chair hillbilly style, a shotgun resting on one knee as he looks out into the distance.
Then my thoughts shift and I can see him fitting me for that damn belt, all metallic and medieval like. I'm pretty sure him getting that close to my nether regions is a thought violation. Had I been drinking anything while he was talking I'd of probably choked on it. That or spat it all back up. As it was I just couldn't help but laugh. Elliot was kind of silly. Good silly. Not bad silly.
"Oh I love a challenge," I purr as I stroke the arm I'm hanging off of. "But you daddy dearest are a challenge I could do without."
I'm not sure if he realised what he said to me or not. I mean we did this banter thing, it was all innocent like but he almost sounded disappointed by the thought that I might give up on him solely based on his height.
"As for the dad thing... Suck it up. And I'm drawing the line at a chastity belt. You can be the cool dad. You know... The kind that actually makes an effort to get to know the boyfriend before threatening to end him if he hurts his little girl."
I can't keep a straight face as I say any of it. It's a silly thought. Well mostly. I'd probably like him to be somewhere in between truth be told. I mean, he's my sire or whatever, so he should at least show an interest. A little concern for me and my feelings wouldn't be a bad thing. Sure. If he really was all gung-ho things were gonna get weird between us but I'd rather have a father figure that gives a **** than one that's totally disinterested.
I think on the irony of that thought for a moment, as I did actually have an overbearing family and I'd pretty much cut them out of my life. I wasn't asking for that kind of relationship with Ellie. Not when I had a choice in the matter. I wanted to know him. Wanted him to know me. I wanted him to care about where I was and what I was doing. Care. Not worry. There's a big difference there. I wanted him to be the positive influence in my life that I'd probably been missing for a while. Someone I could look up to and trust. Someone that would respect my right to make my own decision and fall flat on my face and still be there to help pick me up. Hopefully without the 'I told you so' attitude.
"So long as you don't try and set me too many rules to follow, I'm sure we'll get on fine."
It probably sounds like a random thought as I say it aloud. I mean Elliot has no idea what's been going through my head. All he knows is that I want to call him dad. Or did. I'm not so sure it's a desire as it was just simply the most appropriate word I could come up with in that sentence. I mean Elliot is something to me, even if I haven't quite worked out what it is yet.
"In the interest of full disclosure you should definitely know I'm no good with boundaries. I mean sure. There are some rules that shouldn't be broken. Thou shalt not kill and all that but seriously, some rules are just stupid. But you'll figure me out soon enough."
I look up at him, my eyes smiling at him as much as my lips.
"I'm not that difficult to understand."

[Lancaster]

Elliot admired Skylar’s energy. The way she talked, always so enthusiastic. Always so hyper. He found it hard to keep up. But it was a welcome reprieve. There were so many people he knew who could be overly serious – himself included. If anything, Skylar was a blessing. Maybe she’d lighten him up a little. Allow him to laugh, which he did now.

“I’ve already said I’m not anyone’s Dad,” he said, the previous sadness banished from his system like silt at the bottom of a creek – to move on, to eddy and flow. It’ll come back, at some point, but right here and right now he was happy to let it go. There was no point on holding on to these things for too long.

“Honestly, woman. What rules do you think I’m gonna lay down? You need be home before 2am, yeah? And any man who wants to take you on a date has to come and ask my permission first. You can’t wear any dresses or skirts or… shorts that reach above the knee. You will dress like a nun. Am I missing anything?” he asked. He was obviously kidding. He snorted, and hip-checked the small blonde at his side.

He blinked, then, because he really did started to think about it. Rules. As if he were some kind of leader who would hand out rules and expect others to follow them. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

“I don’t think I’m too hard to understand, either. I kind of… live spontaneously. That’s my philosophy. Kind of,” he said with a cringe. Once can’t be too spontaneous when the owner of four different businesses. There’s got to be some routine. But maybe that was why he wasn’t so good at being anyone’s leader, or play-acting as ‘Daddy Dearest’.

“I mean. I will end anyone who hurts you but I won’t make a big fuss out of it before it happens. Innocent until proven guilty, and all that,” he explained. “But… I really don’t think I have any rules. What makes you think I have any rules?” he asked, genuinely curious. What had he done or said to make Skylar believe that he was some grumpy old man who’d get angry about the slightest misstep?

[Skylar]

When Elliot starts reeling off the typical dad rules I can't help but laugh. In fact I laugh so hard I'm almost crying. It would be funny if he tried to pull that crap on his twenty-eight year old progeny, because I don't know a teenager in the world that wouldn't rebel against that, let alone someone who is almost in their thirties. As much as he's joking though, I can kind of see Elliot playing the role of the strict dad.
I squeeze his arm when he says he'd end anyone that would hurt me. That too was a typical dad response and one I didn't mind, as it was nice to know Elliot cared about me. I wouldn't give him a reason to have to do that though. If I could help it. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt on account of me, least of all Elliot.
"Don't worry me getting hurt Elliot. I'm a big girl. Besides, the guys are pretty protective of me. Dillon and that. They won't let anyone **** with me when we go out. Drives their girls nuts at times, but I'm no threat to any of them and they tend to realise that eventually."
It’s true too. To the guys I was like a sister. They were oddly protective of me and because I’m single more often than not, the girls do tend to worry about me when they first come into our circle. They tend to relax though once they see I’ve got no interest in any of them. Well, all but Dillon’s girls. They tend to get a bit antsy around me once they find out he and I have been together off and on for years. Not that I class it that way. I mean it’s more like a series of drunken one night stands. Friends with benefits. I guess that sums it up a better.
I'm not really sure what rules I expect him to have outside of the vampiric ones like being careful and stuff. Okay. So maybe I did expect a few dad ones. I'm still not entirely sure how a sire-childe relationship differs from that of a father-daughter one.
"And I'll be fucked if I know what you're rules are. Most people have them. I probably have some myself truth be told."
I have to think about that though. Do I have rules? If I do I'm not sure what they are. Maybe don't touch my guitar without permission. That might be it though. I'm pretty good with everything else. I mean yeah. No players. No home wrecking. But those are relationship things. I'm not sure they're really relevant to what we're talking about.
I shrug to myself.
"Don't touch my guitar without permission. That's probably about it. I have a few personal rules for like dating and stuff but you probably don't need to know those. Right?"
I look up at him and smile again before I go back to looking where I'm going and half leaning my head on Elliot's arm. It feels right being with Elliot. Like I’d known him for years. I think I feel that way because he’s so easy to get along with, as am I. We’re alike in some ways so it makes time with him… comfortable.

[Lancaster]

The conversation confounded Elliot. Skylar listed some of her own rules, and he had to blink down at her. They were personal rules, rather than anything that might be listed in a classroom or as part of some kind of cult.

“If it’s those kinds of rules,” Elliot said, re-shuffling his thoughts, “Then I suppose that question is a little easier to answer,” he said, laughing to himself. He had assumed she meant rules in regards to her – things that he would want her to do (or not do) which he wouldn’t exactly preach. People were their own units. They could be told what was safe and what was not, they could be told what the laws are, and it was their choice whether they wanted to stray outside of them or not. They were free to make their own mistakes, and thus learn from them.

“Personal rules that I, as a person, like to follow? The ones that I don’t expect you to follow…” he said, and then stopped to think about it. “Think before acting. Try to see something from all perspectives before jumping to conclusions. Words before violence. Appreciate the good things in life rather than dwelling on the bad…” he shrugged. Those were the main philosophies that he liked to follow, as much as he could. The latter could sometimes be hard. Every night was a struggle, sometimes, though it helped to wake up beside the woman he loved. The one who reminded him that although things had changed, it wasn’t all for the worse.

It felt kind of strange to have Skylar holding his arm like she was; even Pi didn’t walk with Elliot that way, at the best of times, but then they’d fallen into the kind of relationship where they didn’t show much affection in public. They wore their professional masks while in public, not wanting to ostracise others by overt displays of desire. In the bedroom, or when alone, it was another story. But, not being the kind of man to care one iota about personal space, Elliot left Skylar be.

By this time they had the reached the café – the destination that Elliot had in mind. The lights were warm inside; the bell dinged upon their arrival, and Elliot ushered Skylar in before him. They let a cold blast of air into the establishment with them, but it was soon banished by the warmth of the heated interior.

[Skylar]

Elliot opens the door and I walk in ahead of him. I'd been here before, but then I'd been pretty much everywhere in this city at least once. Or at least it felt that way at times. We're all creatures of habit and like to stick to our own stomping grounds but when you run with a diverse crowd like I do and like to go with the flow, you tend to end up in places you've never been before on an almost weekly basis.
"Any rules really."
He's listed a number of his own personal codes of conduct. Thinking before you act sounds simple but I've always had a bit of trouble with that one myself. I mean I can think before I act, weigh up the options but I usually then just ignore my own advice - even if it's completely well thought out and logical - and just go with my gut. That's probably how I wind up in some pretty funky situations. The words before violence one I could get behind. I was a lover, not a fighter. Not to mention I'm a talker too, but then again, aren't most women?
"I mean if you have any rules you expect me to obey you should probably tell me now. I mean, I can’t exactly go flouting the rules if I don’t know what they are now can I?"
I flash him a big genuine smile and wink at him, practically walking backwards so I can gauge his reaction as I head in the direction of a place to sit.
I settle myself down at a table near the window and pick up the little menu to peruse it. I'm not sure why I'm bothering though, these sorts of places all seem to sell the same kind of thing. I knew before my fingers even touched the card that I'd be deciding between a hot chocolate and a coffee. The coffee was only really an option as a person of my age shouldn't be drinking hot chocolate in public. Not if they actually wanted people to see them as an adult. I shrug to myself and plump for the hot chocolate. Elliot knew what he was getting with me and I really fancied the taste of a sugary chocolate drink drowning in whipped cream, because what was a hot chocolate without whipped cream. If I was lucky they'd add marshmallows too. I shrug as I realise I really don't act my age.
I offer the card to Ellie.
"I know what I'm having. You?"
I try to figure out what he wants before he orders. I mean Ellie's a fun guy but he's also a bit uptight. I consider tea as an option but then rule it out as that seems a little bland even for him. A regular coffee maybe? Or a coffee with a twist. He strikes me as the kind of person that would order a cappuccino with cinnamon or something.

[Lancaster]

Elliot rolled his eyes. He felt like they’d been on this conversation for an age – rules. She kept asking about them, and he had none. He seriously had none. So he didn’t answer the question this time around, because he felt like he had already answered it. And he had no idea what else she wanted from him – which was the reaction she got, as she walked backwards – an arched brow and a shake of the head, as if to say what more can I say? From what Elliot knew, Skylar wasn’t a teenager. She wasn’t young, and by now should probably be out of her rebellious stages. He figured now, she wasn’t really looking for an answer. She was just pushing his buttons about the whole father thing. So he just rolled his eyes and didn’t give in.

What Elliot really wanted was something with alcohol in it. He was craving something with a kick to it. But, there weren’t only beverages in this establishment, but cakes too. He headed over to the cabinet where the cakes were kept and leaned over, the hair falling over his eyes. At least he could have this. At least he could still taste and digest and pretend like he was human; if only Skylar would stop going on about this ‘father’ business he could pretend that she was nothing more than just a friend. Someone he’d met on the road that he thought was fun and optimistic – the kind of people he’d always surrounded himself with. He rubbed at his lips, and then grinned, straightening up and pointing the devilishly delicious thing that had immediately caught his eye.

“A piece of the Death by Chocolate,” he told the girl behind the counter; she was slim, in that waifish kind of way, with her hair all pulled back in a messy bun. She looked bored, like she hated the world. Elliot smiled at her – a bright smile that touched his eyes. “Please,” he said with a slight bow. It worked. Perhaps this girl suffered customers who did not like to say please. But Elliot, with his manners, had just made her night. At least, she smiled, too, and seemed that tiny bit happier to retrieve the things that he ordered.

He also ordered a Flat White, and the Hot Chocolate that Skylar shouted back to him, after Elliot had first shouted across the café to ask her what she wanted. The girl told him that she would bring it all out to him – asked if he wanted the cake warmed up, and whether he wanted ice-cream, too. He said yes to both, before he returned to the table with Skylar.

Yes, he would pretend. He would tell her about the places he’d been, and the things that he had done. He’d tell her about his home in Brisbane, and his mother who made the best Banana cake in the world, and his half-brother who he rarely saw, but who also took after their father – tall and dark haired with blue eyes. Maybe even a deeper voice. He didn’t want to talk about being a vampire, or what vampires did or didn’t do. For the rest of the night, he really only wanted to talk about nonsense. And if Skylar needed to know anything else, the lessons could continue the next night.