all around me

OPEN

When she started her job at Cavern Club, Sage had not expected to be working for a vampire. Maybe that meant she was oblivious. Justice was the one that had interviewed her, after all. If she was a more observant person, maybe she would have realized it then and there. She didn’t know what that would have changed. It wasn’t as if she was a judgmental person, and she didn’t look down on magical creatures the way that some people did. She knew that plenty of people treated beings like they were less than witches or wizards--like vampires, like werewolves, and veela… but she had never been like that. Sage just still didn’t necessarily know if she would have taken the job at Cavern Club if she had known he was a vampire right off of the bat. She was glad that she had obviously, but her first instinct would have been to avoid that kind of situation. But she had written off her nerves as first meeting and interview jitters and hadn’t realized that it had anything to do with him being a vampire and she certainly hadn’t realized that it was his charm that was making her so flustered.

Sage wasn’t really used to people being interested in her. She didn’t honestly date all that much and that was fine with her. She was busy with work anyhow--astronomy didn’t pay the bills, so she’d always had to go above and beyond to try to make ends meet. At least until she had gotten the bartending gig, but now she had two jobs to juggle. But still. Even before that, she wasn’t used to anyone really showing interest in her. Or if they did, then she just never noticed. She was pretty sure that it was the former, though. Her mother did always say that she would never catch anyone’s attention unless she put in a little bit of effort. She just didn’t like spending time doing her makeup and her hair or worrying about her clothes just to impress somebody. It just wasn’t… something that she thought was all that important. The only time that she dressed up these days was when she had a shift at the club, because she knew that Justice liked it better when she dressed… better than she had been before. And being called into his office or the stockroom nearly every time she wore a skirt or a dress had come to really be… expected.

It was odd that it was just the new normal for her. She was… well she wasn’t dating a vampire. They weren’t dating. But she was shagging a vampire, and he was drinking from her whenever he wanted to. That would have been a prospect that absolutely terrified her but there was just something about Justice that made her want to. She wanted to please him, it was really just that simple. Today had been a long day, though. It had been absolutely exhausting. She couldn’t quite explain why--she thought that she might have missed taking a blood replenishing potion, which would likely explain it. Regardless, when she’d left Cavern Club after her shift, she had thought that some fresh air would wake her up. She thought that she’d just walk home and that she would be just fine, but she hadn’t made it very far at all before she’d determined that she just didn’t… quite feel like walking all the way home. She nearly thought that she was too exhausted to even find an alley to apparate home from.

So instead, she’d headed into the first hotel that she saw. It was a little pricy for her--she knew that. She’d probably regret it in the morning when she was a hundred pounds short on her bills, but she could pick up a shift to make up for it. There was luckily a room available, and she thanked the woman as she handed her a key. Sage knew that she should probably just go upstairs and crash, but the hotel bar caught her eye instead. She didn’t know if she wanted to drink, but she at least thought that she should get something to eat. There was a good chance that it had to do with why she was so tired anyway. It wasn’t difficult to find a seat, and she slid into it and then ordered a water from the bartender while she grabbed a menu.

She was far away from home and she didn’t really know any one. Getting to know people meant that she was going to have to get out of the house. After all she had met a few people already, but that was work. She had been there two months already and she had only really gone to work and done her shopping. Her apartment was small and sparce but it was what she could afford. Daniel had sent over her furniture and she had promised to pay him back. That was why she had taken then second job to pay him back. The Quibbler was a lot more relaxed and fun than any other job that she had had in her life. She had a lot of fun with them, and she even was able to bring Kiddy with her to work.

She worried about the poor dear she was getting up in age and had a hard time seeing. She stuck in Marty’s little office with her, laying in her lap while she wrote on on her lap when she wasn’t using the typewriter. She loved the big fat baby and she wouldn’t trade her for anything. Her mother often said that Marty was replacing her loneliness for people with cats but personally she didn’t care. Cats didn’t judge her for dancing around the house half naked when her song came on, or for eating cookie dough instead of baking it. They didn’t make her feel bad for crying herself to sleep for thinking about Ted, the cut out that her mother had sent her.

He had chosen her best friend over her. Had run away with her best friend on her wedding day. She tried to pretend that it was okay, but she hadn’t been the same and it had been two years. She tried to pretend that it hadn’t affected her, but there were always times when it was harder. She was going to work at Hogwarts. She didn’t need people seeing her and putting things together. She didn’t need to be seen drinking by anyone who might get her into trouble. At least that was how things worked at home.

Steppint into the play she pushed her blonde hair behind her shoulder and found a spot, one of the last open ones and smiled at a woman who was seated nearby. Ordering a Gin and Tonic she asked for a menu and crossed her legs. ”Is the food any good here?” She asked turning her head to the woman. ”I’ve never been here.”

Outfit

all around me I am alone, and they are too with you

Thinking back, she didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it. She didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed that her boss was a vampire before she’d invited him over. Well, technically he had invited himself over, but still. For some reason, it hadn’t been something that she’d had even the slightest suspicion about. Either she was very oblivious, or… she was very oblivious. That was really the only option that there was. He didn’t hide it. He didn’t come right out and say it either but he did not necessarily keep it a secret either. She supposed she just didn’t know what to look for when it came to that kind of thing. She didn’t know the signs or what to pay attention to, and it was just something that she hadn’t noticed until he’d been in her house. Not that that was a problem or anything. Sage wasn’t one to discriminate. If anything, it made… everything make more sense. Sure, she was already naturally a bit awkward around men but she had never been so flustered by someone in the entirety of her life. And she knew that she probably shouldn’t be doing what she was doing. It was asking for trouble. She thought that it had the potential to go downhill fast but she didn’t know if she cared all that much. Her life had never been all that exciting and that had been fine with her. She had her astronomy and she had Grus, her cat and the most low-maintenance roommate that she’d ever had. There hadn’t felt like there was anything missing in her life because there hadn’t been. She didn’t think that she’d needed anymore and then she had gotten wrapped up in this situation. It had almost been two months since Justice had first come over to her house, and her innocent worries before then had been hoping that she hadn’t given him the wrong idea in letting him come over. She hadn’t wanted him to think that she was trying to seduce him or be inappropriate or anything like that. She’d had no idea that he was the one with the inappropriate ideas. Now, obviously, she was not so innocent. Now she knew what he wanted when he called her into his office or the stockroom, and he. Had dittany to close up any wounds afterwards. She was surprised how well it worked--there was no proof of any of the vampire’s bites on her where anyone could see. Well, anywhere really. Apart from one bite that she hadn’t let him heal because she just sort of liked that it was there. She didn’t know what that said about her, but since it wasn’t anywhere that anyone could see, she didn’t worry. The last thing that she needed was her mother seeing that and saying something. Of course, she didn’t think that her mother’s first instinct would be to think that she was letting a vampire feed on her. She would be more likely to think that she had finally gotten herself a boyfriend or something like that. But somehow, dealing with that kind of conversation with her mother seemed even worse. Sage knew that she thought that she had her priorities all around. She didn’t care about what her mother and her sister cared about and that clearly meant that there was something wrong with her. She didn’t think that was the case--she just didn’t think that clothes and make-up and having a man in her life was as important as they did. Sage thought that she was doing just fine on her own, and she was safe. She truly believed that Justice wasn’t going to hurt her. He’d had plenty of chances to go too far and kill her. It wasn’t like she would be able to stop him. But he hadn’t. So she thought that she could trust his restraint and know that she was safe. Even if she was maybe just a little bit tired today… not that she would tell him that she might have accidentally forgotten a potion. Sage had to pull herself from her thoughts when she heard a woman speak and glanced over at her. “I… actually haven’t either, I’m sorry. I’ve heard it’s good, if that helps.” This wasn’t a place that she’d ever thought to come before now, so she’d only heard of it just because it wasn’t far from work.

It wasn’t like she had a lot of friends back home. It wasn’t like she had a teeming inbox constantly or men beating down her door to take her home to meet their mother. She was shy and she was quiet. She liked to be at home, she liked to spend time with her cats and read while downing a bottle of wine. Did she want some romance like what was out of her books? Yes. Did she want the fairytale story, and a beautiful wedding to top it all off? Yes. She wanted it all. She wanted it ALL, but she knew that she was in no position to be wanting those kind of things. Hell she didn’t even know anyone to do those things.

She just wanted to do her jobs and love her cats and be happy. That was all, and it was okay, but she knew that with her job, she was going to need to get to know people. For connections, for stories, and for her research. She was excited but she was scared all at the same time, because that was the hardest part of it all, putting herself out there, making sure that she was able to find what she was looking for at the end of the day, making sure that the story was right, and true. That was the most important thing at the end of the day.

”It does, I’ve not heard much of anything about anywhere.” but she hadn’t been in the country for very long. She was foreigner, but she was American and to some people that was even worse. Holding out her hand for the woman. ”Marty Edwards.”

This fire rising
through my being

❧

Sage didn’t think there was anything wrong with spending the night at a hotel. If she was too tired to get all the way home, then what was the harm really? She’d read too many horror stories about splinching to ever risk apparating if she felt like she was too tired or sick or just… anything that could slightly impair her skills at apparating. She’d much rather walk, or Floo, or hail a Muggle cab. But since she’d already started walking, and there were no cabs in sight, she had thought that a hotel was the solution. She could just crash there for the night, and it would probably do her some good sleep close by to work. Hopefully, she would be able to wake up refreshed and feel better in the morning. It seemed like a good idea to her, at least. Sage hadn’t really given herself time to second guess it, deciding to just make an executive decision and go for it.

If they had been booked up or something, she thought that she would have just headed back to Cavern Club. It would have been easier to call a cab from there, or Floo from there. If Justice was still there, maybe she could even see if she could just take a quick nap there for the night. That wasn’t completely absurd, was it? She couldn’t tell. She was just… tired. Forgetting blood replenishing potion had not been the smartest move that she’d ever made. Sage knew that she was… well, new at this whole thing, but she didn’t exactly want to admit to her… boss, to the vampire she was sleeping with… that she had forgotten the potion that he wanted her to take. The potion that prevented something like this from happening. So, she didn’t really want to go back to work and admit to any of that.

Even if she just tried to hail a cab right outside, before he could even see her, she thought that there was a good chance that luck wouldn’t be on her side. She’d likely end up trying to get a cab the second he walked out the door and then he’d see her, and it would maybe turn into her looking like an idiot. Sage knew that it had been a stupid mistake, but it was a stupid mistake she planned on fixing on her own. Even if spending the night in this hotel would set her back… over a hundred pounds, as far as monthly bills went. She just wasn’t going to worry about that yet.

She was going to get some food in her and then go to bed. It sounded like the smartest option at this point. Eating would help too. She definitely couldn’t sleep without eating anything, or she knew what kind of headache she’d be waking up to in the morning. “Sage Alexander. Nice to meet you.” She said, with a smile. The woman’s accent was American, that much she noticed. Figuring there was no harm in being friendly, she spoke again. “Are you… traveling, or?” She didn’t want to assume. Maybe the woman had lived here for years. Accents didn’t just disappear overnight after all.

@ marty

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