Movie Night

[Black Philip]

Jake placed a supportive hand on Rachel's shoulder as she coughed out her laugh. He felt a little guilty for making her cough that much, but she seemed fine ultimately. He agreed to her game, and wondered what would constitute kooky. He'd keep an eye out, and figured vampire senses might help him.

Jake liked video games, even though he rarely played them. There was just always something to do, and even when he had time off it was mostly feeding, fucking, dancing, partying, or more practical things like reading, or training. His limited time in the sun had given him a few extra hours, but he didn't waste them with games. Rachel's suggestion to go to the arcade was welcome.

"Sure, but can we also look for Mortal Kombat? I hear that's the one to play in an arcade!"

He gave her his arm, and with one more final look at the night, he led them inside. It wasn't difficult to find the arcade, Jake bobbing and weaving through the various moving people. They took an escalator to the second floor and found a huge, flashing neon sign.

ARCADE

"This seems the place, Jake said, hearing a million beeps, bops and whooshes coming from the other side of the glass doors. He opened it for her, bowing in mock chivalry, "ladies first."

[The Cedar Witch]

Oh, okay, so he knew arcade games - probably better than she did.  For whatever reason, that surprised her.  Probably because Damien didn't know much - well, did she even know that was true?  Not like they talked about that kind of thing since it wasn't relevant to their day-to-day lives.  Huh.  A little thoughtful pout edged into her expression as she finished the cigarette and crushed it under her shoe. 

"Yeah, let's play that one first," pout quickly chased away by a bright smile, she enthusiastically linked her arm through his. 

While they went through the mall, she gazed about as though she'd never been in one before.  It had been too long, and never this one obviously.  Would she ever be able to come to a place like this with Quinn?  The passing thought darkened her expression for a second before she shoved it out of her mind.

She was supposed to be having fun, after all.

When he opened the door for her she giggled cutely and headed inside.  It was noisier than she'd anticipated and she took a minute to get her bearings.  Being home-bound made these experiences more intense, which felt a little foolish and she did her best to appear unaffected.  The Arcade was surprisingly crowded - which maybe shouldn't have been a surprise for her.  As she drifted forward, her eyes moved around the room, scanning the machine titles until she found what they were looking for. 

"Ooh!"  Grabbing Jake's hand she pulled him toward one of the newly-vacated Mortal Kombat machines.

[Black Philip]

Jake stifled Rachel's enthusiasm a tad, pointing to the machine that gave tokens for money. Jake slipped in a ten, and a pile of gold spewed forth from the machine. He counted roughly, and handed Rachel what looked like half of the loot. The Mortal Kombat machine was still vacant, and Jake and Rachel each slid a token into the slot and pressed start. The old motion capture acting made the game feel real, despite it's surreal premise. Jake picked Kano, the Aussie guy with the knives. Rachel picked Raiden, saying something about bringing the thunder. Jake giggled and waited for the match to load.

Once they were fighting, Jake focused in on crushing his date. Rachel seemed to favor all the low kicks and uppercuts, ignoring regular combos and basically fighting defensively. Jake approached the match like a real attack, attempting to land a reasonable series of blows. He was frustrated how effective Rachel's strategy was, and found it as annoying as it was practical. Eventually, he figured out how to break her traps, and finished her off.

"Ughhhh thank god," he said, looking like he'd just finished an orgasm, the release of tension being comparable. "What did you think?"

[The Cedar Witch]

"Uh, I dunno.  You seemed like you knew what you were doing, I was just mashing buttons."  She laughed, eyes twinkling, "It was fun though!"  Her hand went into her pocket to jingle the satisfying amount of coin there as she glanced around.  A large group of loud teens entering drew her attention to the front.  Shit, this was a really busy night here.  Deliberately she broke away from watching them congregate at the token machine and looked to see what else would catch her eye. 

She hadn't seen it before, but there was a photo booth at the front of the arcade just off to the side of the entrance.  Stepping away from Mortal Kombat for the next pair waiting, she nudged Jake and pointed it out to him.  "Before we leave," she said solemnly to let him know that she wasn't about to forget.  Photo booth pictures with Jake McCloud were absolutely going on her refrigerator. 

Her attention was pulled again to some particularly loud sounds in the opposite direction.  Music and rhythmic stomping.

"Okay," she grinned, whirling back to her vampire date.  "DDR?"  There was a small gathering around what seemed to be a pair of skilled players, and there was no telling when the machine would be free.  "Unless you wanna pick the next thing?"  Rachel was giddy and bouncy, riding off the energy from their video-game fight.

[Black Philip]

Jake also saw the entrance of the loud group of teens, some of them being old enough for Jake to have a little snack. The hunger was never far, and while he wouldn't dare leave Rachel alone, he couldn't help but hungrily stare at one boy, the sweet look of his pale flesh calling to the hunter. Thankfully, Rachel drew his attention to the photo booth. She was recommending something called DDR, and Jake was inclined to try it. However, he figured he might get called back to work at any time. Such was the life of a district leader.

"Let's get our photos now," he suggested, tone calm and easy. "That way we won't have to rush later and can leave the arcade whenever we're bored."

Jake helped move them through the crowd, the sweet smells of human blood mixed in with popcorn, sweat, wires and soda pop. It was overwhelming still, although he could now sort  out small differences and origins. They reached the booth in short order, and Jake pulled back the purple, glossy curtain and moved them inside. It was cramped, even for two people. Jake could only imagine a whole group trying to squeeze in.

"So... what do we do," Jake asked, inserting a five dollar bill into the machine. "Just pose, or should we be funny?"

[The Cedar Witch]

"Good idea," she breathed, nodding.  As they went through the crowd she felt a rustling at the back of her head like someone had blown some air into her hair.  But when she whipped around to give whoever it was a talking to - fuckin' teenagers - there was no one there that was in the right position that could've done it.  Weird, but there were more exciting things to pay attention to.

Once they were in the booth, she cozied right up to the District Leader. 

"Hm,"  She paused throughfully, zoning out as she stared at the screen.  "Well, there's four on the strip so maybe two nice, two silly?"  she glanced at him for agreeance and smiled when he nodded.  "Okay, these have a tendency to go really fast so - shit."  The countdown that had been going since they inserted the money had a couple of seconds left - which meant there was no time to pick a frame so they were stuck with whatever it automatically selected. 

"Nice first - ready?"  Hurridly, she straightened her posture to give a professional cute smile directly at where she thought the camera would be.  The countdown for each photo was five seconds, thankfully, so she had a minute to figure out where to stare so that she was looking the right way.  The next shot they gave their best sultry stares that Rachel only barely held for the camera to capture before she dissolved into a fit of giggles.  That only lent itself nicely for their third photo, where Jake made a face so unexpected and wildly different than anything she'd ever seen him make before - his silliness increasing her laughing fit so much that she couldn't focus on posing.  Who knows what would print out for that one.  The last shot she put her every last effort into making the silliest face, which earned her A Look from Jake just before the camera flashed. 

It was going to be perfect, and she leaned her head against his shoulder as the photos printed, heart thudding as she regained her composure.  "I can't fukin' breathe," she grinned.

[Black Philip]

Jake felt himself let go, and the anger, suspicion and glumness which followed him normally was replaced by something care free, easy, and silly, as Rachel observed. He felt like a kid, and while he'd never admit it to the likes of Zoheret, Zeus or Ben, he liked feeling like a kid sometimes. He wondered what it would be like to grow up in this era, and to have a normal mortal life. It had a certain appeal, or at least Rachel in this current moment made it seem so. Her powerlessness at the hands of Laurent was not present in this booth. It was as if they both left their baggage at the door.

Jake would likely hate mortality in reality, but it was fun to play the part in the meantime. He leaned in to the four positions, really mastering the smoldering look, and making the silliest face he'd made in... well possibly ever! He supposed as a baby he might have contorted his features in an uglier, funnier way, but there wasn't one he could remember. Rachel seemed to enjoy it, her giggling forcing a ridiculous sounding laugh out of him. Rachel's own silly face was a far stretch from her normal beauty, and so Jake looked at her with shock and a slacked jaw in the last. It was perfect.

They each got a printing of the pictures. Jake was most pleased with the second, but was sure Rachel would vote for the third or forth. He decided to put them up near his computer. It would be a reminder of better times when he'd likely be dealing with worse ones soon. They exited the booth, and as Rachel stated she couldn't breath, Jake replied, "And I don't breath. Hard to relate."

He saw the DDR thing was free, and so led Rachel over. A group of pros hogged one next to the pair. Jake understood the basic premise, and as Kerr had recently experienced, Jake had excellent rhythm. "Looks like we can dance together," Jake said, pointing to the pair of pads. He guessed they'd dance till the song was over or they made enough mistakes. The "pros" watched them with mild interest.

[The Cedar Witch]

His inability to relate earned him an eye roll and a playful punch in the upper arm.  She was having way too much fun, any hints of apprehension that she had in the beginning of the night completely vanished now.  It was nice to be out with someone that wasn't Damien, doing something that wasn't errands.  Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that she hadn't had many normal nights out with friends in a long time.  The last time was with Quinn, while she had the shitty bodyguard, but there was no more of that now.  Who knew when that would change.

Rachel's smile widened when they reached the machine - and it was free.  She ignored the pros, and stepped onto one of the pads. 

"DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION!"  The voice boomed from the speakers, much louder than was really necessary.  She was just thankful it didn't make her jump.  Once the coins were inserted, the screen flashed DON'T FALL OFF!

"I'll try," Rachel giggled as she went through the menu, selecting VERSUS so they could play against each other.  Once the difficulty options popped up, she paused.  "Haven't played this in so damn long," she muttered, cycling first to LIGHT MODE, then deciding to go with STANDARD as Jake selected whatever he wanted on his side of the screen. 

When the music selection popped up next, she collected her hair into a ponytail and tied it up with the hair tie around her wrist.   "I'll pick this one," she moved the cursor to 99 RED BALLOONS, "It'll be our warm-up."  She flashed a cheeky grin and pressed start. 

The song started quicker than she expected it to, but once it did she focused sharply on it.  She missed half the notes in the beginning, but by the end of the two-minute song she nailed every one of them.  It was clear that she'd played this game before in the past.

"Okay you pick," she was slightly winded, thankful for the fact that she'd chosen sneakers instead of a cuter shoe, and hoping that she'd be able to make it through the next couple of songs without water.  Leaning back against the bright red balance bar she watched to see what Jake would pick.

[Black Philip]

Jake selected HARD, always needing to be the best, and also because he thought of himself as a great dancer. He was not prepared for the exact style of dancing required, or to watch the arrows and flashing lights. He missed many of the early steps, the game even yelling out, "YOU SUCK." Jake's face crossed in petty anger, and he improved within moments. He made up for his earlier performance in much the same way as Rachel. Unlike Rachel, Jake wasn't tired at all, and eagerly awaited the next song. He picked one that he knew, and had danced to at the White Rabbit before. He could match the steps now, while also throwing in some flair.

It was also a song about a guy and a girl dancing together, and so it seemed appropriate. Satisfied, he told Rachel to get ready. Dance to This played through the crude sound system, and soon they were off in a fast footed jostle through the song. Despite it's slow beat, they were required to double the beat, while still looking suave and cool. Jake looked to Rachel, watching her gracefully nail most of the steps. She was feeding off Jake's own fun energy, which included lip syncing the chorus, plenty of hand motions, and regular rotations of his hips.

He wanted to run through the aracde this way, forgetting that the reason they were dancing was the game. He lost himself to it. When the song ended, he noticed a group of girls was waiting patiently. "Ready for something else?"

[The Cedar Witch]

It was a harder song - cute, and she really liked it - but hard to keep up with.  Somehow she managed, though secretly she blamed her struggle on the cigarette she indulged in before they went inside.  That wasn't to say that she lacked any finesse - it was all about having fun, after all.  And she wasn't one to shy away from lip-syncing and hand motions.  To say that she was glad that Jake was dedicated to the art of Fun would be an understatement - he was noticeably more relaxed to her, and that was probably her favorite thing about the entire night so far.

Besides the photo booth.

Sweaty and practically gasping she finished the song, missing fewer notes than last time but otherwise feeling pretty good about her performance.  Now that there was a bit of a crowd gathering around the machine, a bit of self-consciousness began to creep in. 

"Uh, probably some water and a bathroom break."  With a big stretch, she stepped off the pad and gave a friendly smile to the next group up.  She'd spotted a water fountain by some bathrooms earlier, and headed in their direction. 

The water was cold coming out of the tap and she drank enthusiastically as Jake waited off to the side.  She couldn't help the small moan of relief in response to her thirst being quenched.  Water tasted so damn good when you needed it.  "I'll be back in a sec," she called to Jake just before heading through the bathroom door.

The bathroom was empty, surprisingly.  After speedily relieving herself, she made a beeline right for the sink.  Methodically she washed her hands and splashed a little water on her face before pulling the elastic from her hair.  When the flow of water from the automatic sink stopped, something seemed to shift in the air, causing her to freeze.  It felt like someone was right behind her, in one of the stalls, but she knew there was no one there.  Exhaling slowly she trained her ears on the silence, unable to detect anything but the muffled thudding of music and arcade sounds outside. 

It's nothing.  Empty bathrooms are just creepy, especially after watching horror movies. 

Hesitantly she ran her damp fingers through her hair, glancing back up at the mirror.  She jumped - for a split second she thought there was a shadowy figure just off her shoulder, but when she whirled around there was nothing there.  White-hot fear coursed through her for that small moment, and she scolded herself for being so ridiculous.  Why did she have to pick a horror film?  Was she trying to impress Jake or something?  She turned back toward the mirror to give her hair a proper fix and ran her hands under cool water so she could press them against her still-burning cheeks.  The small hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she shuffled over to the air-dryer, and her breath caught in her throat as she rubbed her hands together.  There was a sound beneath the howling of the hand dryer that sounded distinctly like someone taking a slow inhale. 

It's NOTHING.  Stop being such a fucking baby. 

Definity just her creepy imagination combined with the overlapping sounds in the bathroom and outside.  With barely-dried hands and a determination to not turn around to check again (because there wasn't anything there), she pushed the door open in front of her.

[Black Philip]

Jake had been patiently waiting by the bathroom, feeling like he'd be taking the bodyguard part of the night too seriously if he followed her in. Besides, she wasn't a baby, and since he stood guard near the water fountain it wasn't like anyone was going to go in. He found the seductive looking neck from earlier. Jake debated implanting an idea for him to go to the White Rabbit one night, but that was the old Jake. This new Jake didn't just take what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. Such was the price of growth.

Rachel opened the door with more force than she likely intended, and it caused Jake to turn his head quickly in response to the sound. At first he saw only Rachel, and she looked like she was trying to force a smile at him. He looked behind her, wondering what caused her to leave the bathroom with such speed. The black prince saw a dark shadow, black as anything he'd ever seen. He'd only seen this kind of shadow once before, and it was when Zeus invaded his fucking home like some kind of peeping tom.

Was this him now? No, it was way too fucking sloppy for the master of keeping his shit private. Also, it occurred to Jake that it was unlikely that Zeus would be waiting for Rachel in a woman's bathroom. No, this shadow was something else. Rachel saw fangs as Jake flashed them and dreadful eyes in the shadow's direction. It seemed to vanish as soon as Jake met to engage it. Curious.

It was also disturbing, and Jake remembered that Damien theorized Laurent was also a shadow demon. Perhaps he hadn't given up the chase after all. Jake put away his teeth and supernatural eyes and looked at Rachel with a worried pout.

"Did you see something in there," he whispered. "I think it's time we left."

His tone indicated this was not a request.

[The Cedar Witch]

Something in Jake's expression the second she left the bathroom steered her sharply back toward that white-hot panicked adrenaline she had moments earlier.  Had she not imagined it?  Fuck!  It wasn't enough to stop her stride, and she could tell that he was looking over her shoulder.  Maybe he was just trying to freak her out, like in a silly sort of "Ha-ha we saw a horror movie" kind of way?

At a stiff fast walk she went to him, a stony scowl set in her face.  When he whispered his question she looked at him with wide-eyes.  "What do you mean?" she answered hoarsely.  Maybe he heard her heart rate pick up in there or something?  "I..I think uh, I think I was just freaking myself out in there."  she stuttered, grabbing for his hand, making a move to walk away from the bathrooms. 

"Did you see something?  Just now?"  Her voice strained into a squeak and every bit inside of her hoped that this was just some elaborate joke.

[Black Philip]

Jake contemplated lying to her, and only telling Damien what really happened. It was the protective choice, the kind one. It was also wrong. Rachel deserved to know what Jake had really seen. She deserved the truth. He nodded at her question, letting the newfound seriousness of his face erase any doubt she might have that this was a joke. The loud sounds, allotted smells, and situational darkness was now all terrain hazards.

"We need to move slowly into the more lit areas and then calmly walk out the door," Jake said in a relaxed but serious tone. "I'm going to give you my phone. Text my driver to meet us out front. I want to keep my eyes pealed."

Jake unlocked the phone and placed it in Rachel's hands. He figured it might also help distract her as they moved their way out. Jake was unsure if this was a kidnap attempt, a prank, or some other nonsense, but he decided to treat it as a worst case scenario just in case. He led them to the center of the arcade, and began walking towards the doors.

[The Cedar Witch]

All the color drained from her face as he confirmed her worst fears.  The sound of her pulse thudding against her eardrums threatened to drown out everything else.  Panic clawed at her throat, squeezing at her lungs.

He was going to take her again.  That's what it was. 
That was the thing in the bathroom. 
The breathing down her neck. 
The split-second shadow in the mirror. 

The arcade was busier now, as though they'd just entered the peak hours.  In a daze she held Jake's phone in her trembling hands, nodding at his instruction that registered only peripherally in her mind.  Text the driver.  Text the driver.  Text the driver.  She kept her eyes glued to the phone but her fingers felt sluggish as she moved them across the screen. 

Front
Now

Those were all she could manage, clutching the phone in her sweat-slicked hand.  "Okay," she whispered to indicate that she'd done it.  She looked up now, wildly around at the crowd as if she'd be able to pick Him out in it.  It only made her racing heart quicken.  There was no way she'd be let out of the house now.  Not without Damien, never out of sight.  A large group - what seemed to be a birthday party - came pouring through the doorway just as they were about to leave.  She was aware of people behind them who were also trying to exit, and it took all of her strength not to look around back at them.  Someone pressed against her a bit too close and she flinched away, clambering anxiously to Jake.

It wouldn't be Him.  He wouldn't be so daring, so out in the open...

But she wasn't with Damien now.  Jake was younger, maybe this was the opening that He was waiting for this whole time. 

They made it out the door to the arcade without further incident, but there was still navigating through the mall left to do. 

[Black Philip]

Jake placed his phone back in his pants pocket, eyes never looking at the device during. They were searching for something, or for nothing at all. He had no idea if Laurent was behind them, or had given up already. The uncertainty was unnerving, as was seeing Rachel in distress. When an innocent man bumped up against her, she leaped into Jake's embrace. He angered at the revolting nature of this Laurent, and used the mental image of killing him over and over again to sooth his temper.

Once it was clear that Rachel was done with all people who weren't Jake, the vampire decided to drop all pretense on their exit. He moved her quickly, and made his aura daunting to any humans who might consider approaching. Rachel was made immune to it. She'd had enough fucking with her mind in the arcade. They got out with further incident, a few concerned stares being the worst. Jake assumed people thought he was some controlling boyfriend, and supposed that was as good an explanation as any for his repulsing energy. Once in the car, Jake dropped the power all together, and turned to Rachel. The driver began pulling away as Jake said, "what's going through your head right now?"