"And then I told him, 'you can't put your fangs there!'"
The small gathering of chittery students chittered and chirped at Dr. Barrow's story, more interested in the man than the words he was saying. A sexy posh accent will do that for you, and Dr. James Barrow had known for years that saying even basic words had Americans and Canadians dropping their pants or skirts respectively. The crowd of about five or six students he had huddled around him had all been early arrivals and all had already signed up for his Friday night class. He saw it as his duty to the Academy to be in demand, and to make every student know his name. Even if he wasn't teaching them he might be counseling them, and the first step to an effective counseling relationship was building rapport.
He was dressed to impress. He wore brown khakis and loafers with a navy button up shirt and tweed suit jacket. He looked like a stereotypical college professor, with his oversized, black framed glasses and slicked back hair only adding to the scholarly feel. He looked too young for the current outfit, the soul of an older man coming through a young man's body. His nails were painted with clear polish to reflect the lights and he smelled faintly of cigarettes. Once the students were properly buttered he bid them goodbye, one female student in particular looking quite despondent that the good doctor was leaving. He weaved through the growing room of people, and his eyes landed on a few of the more notable inhabitants.
First he saw Ben Samson, his employer and recent fellow trial witness. The sight dropped him an image. Ben's arms and legs were all being pulled in different directions. One appendage was held by Kerr, another by Jake McCloud. A youth he didn't recognize pulled another, and the last one was pulled by Lazarus, the ancient from the trial. Dr. Barrow wondered if the vision was as literal as it looked, or if some greater turmoil existed inside the young vampire. He waved the Queen's wave at Ben, hoping to catch his attention so pleasantries could be exchanged. He saw one other interesting chap, another instructor. He was blind and yet saw more than most. He was like something out of a Greek tragedy, the blind prophet on the top of the mountain. Dr. Barrow could understand wisdom mixed with disability.
He worked his way towards Ben, feeling like the host was his primary responsibility, however, he saw the mic turn on, and so he stopped a few feet from his employer. He didn't like standing alone, and so moved to stand near the blind prophet.
Jake and Murphy were in the line of cars working their way up the driveway. The vampire wore a black sweater, slacks and a belt. He wasn't sure as to the dress code for such an occasion, and neither wanted to look shabby or overdressed. His hair was neatly parted to the left, his heavy bang swoop obscuring his eye. His nails were painted black as he sometimes did, and he had one hand holding Murphy's. Since the night they'd spoken about trying to date they'd seen each other a few times. Jake had wanted to take it a little slow, as they'd started on rocky foundations, and had demons still yet to face in their future, literally and metaphorically. Despite his intent, he was falling fast for the delightful human. The feeling of ease Murphy brought out in him had only grown, and everyone at the White Rabbit was talking about what a good mood he'd been in since Murphy started seeing him.
He was nervous for tonight. He hadn't seen Ben since the night at the former chambers and the younger vampire's last comment had been some ridiculous fart about not putting Jake's name on anything. He promised himself that he'd behave, and this was a test to see if he and Ben could be bigger people for Murphy's sake. He was willing to try, but hoped their period of chatter would be brief. He was curious to see the building and meet some of the teachers. He also wanted to support Sam's class, and had even singed up to take it. Jake was here as an anonymous donor and a student. Murphy was here as a friend to Ben he assumed. He wondered if his future boyfriend would take classes as well. It might be fun to do something like that together. The one area of their growing connection that concerned him, other than all the Ben nonsense, was that they didn't have enough in common, and so he was hoping to pick a few things they could work on together or enjoy together. He also hoped Murphy would pick some activities too. He looked at the handsome man he shared a car with and leaned in, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Excited," he asked, his own nervousness apparent from his tone of voice.
