Night on the Town (NJ)

[Maira]

More than a little agrivated and in more than a little bit of pain, Ali glared at the kitchen floor. The floor was covered in water, her blood and glass shards and she was still in nothing more than one of Troy's old tank tops and her panties. Grumbling, she grabbed a dish towel and knelt down to sop up some of the water so that she wouldn't make a bigger mess than she already had.

She'd barely made a dent in cleaning up the water and glass when strong hands lifted her up off the floor like she weighed nothing. Giving a squeak of protest she smacked at the hands that had grabbed her about the waist. Before she could do anything more than start to squirm she found herself sitting on the cold tiled kitchen counter. She nearly hopped off but then James told her to stay put. She was rather glad he did actually because her feet were throbbing from their cuts.

"James, I can clean up the mess," she said grumpily as she watched her brother's friend and room mate pick up where she left off with the cleaning. When he just told her to tell him what the hell was going on, ignoring her completely, Ali just glared at him. First the bastard wakes her up, then he goes around manhandling her, and then he demands to be told what's going on. Right. "Treat a girl a little nicer every now and then and she might be willing to tell you things James," she finally grumbled out in reply.

She watched him for another few moments as he cleaned in silence. When he finally stood to throw away the bigger glass shards a look of worry had cemented itself in her features. Chase had been up there for a while now and she was curious what was going on. She was just staring at the stairs, waiting for either boy guys to come down, or to have Chase tell her to come up. Something... Anything...

With a sigh, she finally looked at James and answered him in a rather lost tone, "I don't even know if I should tell you but I'm worried. Chase, the guy I let in, he's a vampire and he bit Troy last night. It was an accident. He gave us his number so that if Troy had any problems this morning we could call him....that's why his room was so warm. He's a Keahi, least I think that's how you say it, and they've got fire magic or something and I guess Troy's isn't working right. I don't know, I have no idea." Tears in her eyes now, from worry over her brother not the pain in her feet, Ali whimpered, "I just want him to be okay."

[Demeter]

After dumping the shards of glass into the trash can, James opened up the cabniet beneath the sink and stuck his head in it. There was a first aid kit in there, somewhere. After finding the white box, James returned to Ali, tried not to think about what she was wearing and crouched down. "I'll treat you nicer, Ali, when you are not bleeding on the kitchen floor."

He peered at her feet and then looked up at her. "This is probably going to hurt. It looks as if there is a couple of glass bits in your feet." James stood up, rifled through the first aid kit and came up with a pair of tweezers. He knelt back down and started to remove the shards. After doing that, Troy washed the cuts out and bandaged them.

It wan't until he'd cleaned up that mess that he looked up at Ali and spoke. "Troy was bitten by a vampire last night, is now a vampire himself and having issues with his newly given power-type things. Okay, that explains seeing some guy attached to him last night." James patted Ali on her thigh and didn't think about just how that thigh had felt against his hand. "I'm sure he is going to be okay, just grouchy for a while."

[Shinigami]

Chase blinked as Troy sat up on the edge of his bed, looking as though he were waiting. He was surprised he was able with how hot he was at the moment. He took both of Troy's hands, giving them a light tug. "Come on. Lets get you into the bathroom." He waited until he was standing upright and lead him slowly across the hall and into the cool tiled bathroom. He had Troy sit on the floor and lean against the tile. "Sit tight here for me. I'm going down stairs to get ice, and I'll only be a minute. The tile will help cool you a bit, but not enough."

Chase backed out fo the bathroom, watching Troy to make sure he stayed put before jogging down the stairs, still barefoot. He had almost forgotten to cool off his own skin after dealing with Troy, but the sizzling from the wooden stairs brought it to his attention. He was a normal temperature by the time he got to the kitchen. He was just in time to hear a man, a roommate no doubt, comforting Ali. He also noticed how little Ali had on at the moment, and vaguely wondered how the hell he had missed that when he came in, but then remembered that he had been in near panick when he got there.

He shook his head at Ali, and eyebrow raised, but he cleared his throat before entering the kitchen. He winced as he caught a piece of glass, grumbling. "I need ice. As much as I can get. His skin is way too hot too cool down in it's own, especially for the first time. I've gotta dump him in an ice bath." He frowned. He knew it must have sounded good to Troy when he had mentioned it, being that he was so hot, but he knew Troy would not be happy when he got out. He wrinkled his nose lightly. "And your kitchen smells like blood. Shit. We can't let Troy down here until it's cleaned up."

[Maira]

Ali tried to take comfort from James's words but it wasn't working all that well. When somebody cleared their throat from just outside the kitchen, Ali turned. Seeing Chase, she hopped off the counter, her feet forgotten until she landed on them, and then swayed a bit with the sudden pain shooting up her legs.

Placing a steadying hand on the counter for a moment she then walked over to the freezer as Chase spoke to dig out whatever ice she could find. When he made the comment about the kitchen smelling like blood she happened to have a chunk of ice in her hands and she threw it at him. "The kitchen wouldn't smell like blood if you hadn't scared me half to death pounding on the door like that Chase. My feet got cut up rather nicely when I dropped the coffee pot I was trying to get started." She was still grumpy even though she'd been up for a while. She knew she should be nicer to Chase as he was in as close to a panic as she figured he ever got but she wasn't exactly dealing well with the morning's events either.

Sighing, Ali finally said a little nicer, "They don't have much ice, I can run out and get some though. The gas station on the corner has one of those big ice machines I'm sure we can get all we need from there. " As she spoke, Ali shut the freezer and made her way over to her pile of clothes by the couch, walking on the balls of her feet to keep from hurting them too much more than they already were.

As she waited for Troy to answer, Ali leaned up against the back of the couch and pulled on her jeans, flinching when the legs brushed against the bandages on her feet. Once she had managed the jeans, Ali grabbed up her black tube top and pulled it on over the tank top she'd worn for pajamas. Once her tube top was situated she wiggled out of the tank top and tossed it on the couch. "So," she asked trying to keep the worry out of her tone, "You want me to get the ice?"

[Shinigami]

Chase dodged the ice and hissed at it as it flew past him, breaking against the wall behind him. He was never fond of ice, and very rarely drank things cold, so it was never really needed. He glared lightly at Ali for the flying ice cube. It dissipated however when Ali explained the blood smell in the kitchen. He winced a bit, knowing he had been a bit crazy when he arrived.

Chase sighed when he heard there wasn't much ice. He had to get Troy cooled off as soon as possible, so he couldn't wait too long. "I'll take whatever is there to start off with, but cold water won't be enough." He gave a bit of a puppy dog look at Ali."Could you please get ice? I can't leave, seeing as I'm the only one that can touch him without getting burned."

Chase tip toed over to the fridge, avoiding the glass as much as possible. -He- didn't want to smell like blood when we went back up stairs after all. He pulled open the freezer door and peered in, seeing one tray of ice, and that was already almost half gone. He wrinkled his nose. It would have to do until Ali could get more ice. He pulled out the tray and shut the freezer door, tip toeing back out of the kitchen before heading for the stairs. "I have to get back to him, before anyone else stumbles across him in the bathroom." The house was big enough for more roommates than just Troy and the one that had comforted Ali after all.

[Maira]

Once Chase asked her to get the ice, Ali tip-toed her way to the door and stared at her shoes. If she couldn't even walk on her feet normally how in the world was she supposed to put her shoes on? Today was a day she wished she'd worn flip-flops to the club the night before.

As that thought crossed through her mind, another one slipped in right behind it: steal one of the boys' pairs of flip-flops! Crouching down, she dug through the pile of shoes by the door, just looking for any sign of a sandal. Surely one of the guys had left a pair out here recently. After all, its not like they ever cleaned or put anything away!

After only minimal digging, Ali came away with a matching pair of flip-flops. Slipping them on, she grabbed her wallet from where it had dropped out of her pocket and then asked Chase, "How many bags do you need?" She knew if it were more than two that he'd need, she'd need help carrying them all back. If that were the case she'd just drag James.

[Shinigami]

Chase turned as he heard Ali ask about how much ice was needed. He grumbled to himself, trying to figure out what would be a good number. "Well, three of four should do for now, just to make him cool enough to touch, then I can ease him down from there on his own. I honestly didn't think he'd have this much power so soon."

Then Chase paused. How the hell was little Ali suppose to carry three to four bags of ice back? He glanced at the stairs, then to Ali and then back. He growled to himself lightly before his eyes found the roommate that had been with Ali. He sighed, his look pleading. "Could you help her? I don't think she should carry four bags of ice back, especially with her feet, and I.." He glanced to the stairs and back again. He had already mentioned he couldn't leave Troy alone. He smiled, not really waiting for an answer. Ali was pushy, for what he'd seen so far, and if that didn't work he was sure she could charm the roommate into helping anyway. "Thanks a lot!"

Chase hurried up the stairs, worried over the warmth still coming from the direction of the bathroom. He climbed two stairs at a time and hurried to the bathroom, pausing a moment at the door before, kneeling down. "Hey, Troy. You doing okay so far?" He heated his skin again, to match Troy's, before placing his hand on Troy's shoulder. They were a bit chilled from the ice, which he set down to avoid melting too soon. "Come on over here and I'll start filling the tub with cold water." He held out his hands to help Troy up, hoping to guild him to the edge of the tub.

[Demeter]

James blinked as he stared out of the kitchen doorway. Ali was changing in the middle of the living room. Did the woman have no sense of modesty? James glanced at the back of the vampire and sighed. Where did he leave his keys again? "Ali, wait up. I'll drive you down to the gas station."

After finding his keys though why they were under the kitchen table he had no idea, James followed Ali out the door, unlocked his car and headed down to corner gas station. He idled in the parking lot waiting for Ali.

***

Troy's head was still a little fuzzy but he knew that voice. He leaned towards Chase's hand and whimpered when the hand was move away. That hand had felt nice. Troy, still not feeling up to standing with out assistance, flopped forward and crawled towards Chase. Once he crossed the few inches seperatraing them, he grabbed Chase's hand and pulled himself up. He sat himself down on the edge of the tub and sighed. He was so going back to bed later.

[Shinigami]

Chase lead Troy to the tub, tapping the tray of ice along with his foot as he was reluctant to let go of one of Troy's hands. He got him settled on the edge of the tub, but didn't think he was quite steady enough to balance himself on the edge, so Chase sat next to him after grabbing the tray of ice. It was already melting from the heat in the room, so he'd have to hurry if it was to be of any use.

Chase slipped an arm around Troy, leaning him up against his side as he reached to turn the cold water nob as far as it would go. He hissed at a few drops that splashed up at him, but dumped what was left of the ice into the tub and pushed the tray out of the way. He couldn't put Troy in until it had filled at least half way, or the heat would just make it all evaporate, so he cooled his one hand, soaking it under the water, wincing as it splashed against the heat higher up on his arm. He then placed his hand on Troy's cheek, but only for a moment as the water evaporated quickly, leaving his cool hand to get burned if he wasn't quick enough.

He did this a few times, getting a little sizzle at one point, yanking his hand back at the slight burn. Chase settled for just flicking the water on Troy after that, shivering as the cold water dripped down his arm. He eyed the tub and saw that it was now filling quickly, just over half full now, so he readied himself to help Troy in, standing to give him more room. "Okay, the water is about full now, so why don't you try getting in. Just put your feet in at first and we'll go from there."

[Maira]

With James on her heels, Ali minced her way down the front steps to his car. The drive to the gas station was quick and silent though whether it was from both of them being lost in their own thoughts or both still be half asleep Ali had no idea. Probably a little of both. Once James had the car parked, Ali climbed out and ran on the balls of her feet inside, nearly tripping because the flip flops she was wearing were too big.

Once inside she glared at the line at the register. Why today, at this time of the morning, did there have to be a line? After only a moment of standing there waiting impatiently did she realize everybody was buying lottery tickets for the current $100 million jackpot. "Are you kidding me?" she grumbled as she glared at each customer on their way out.

When she finally reached the counter, Ali dropped four dollars in change on the counter and told the clerk she just needed ice from the cooler outside. The man running the register grunted and shoed her out of the way of lotto ticket buying customers. Apparently her measly $4 wasn't worth his time when people were spending $50 on lottery tickets...

Back outside, Ali gestured to James to help her get the four bags of ice out of the big metal cooler. Grabbing one in each hand, she made her way to the back end of the car to the trunk James had popped open before getting out of the car. With a soft 'oof' Ali deposited each of her bags of ice in the trunk, glaring as she noticed one bag had spilled a couple pieces.

Once all four bags were in the trunk, Ali and James both got back in the car and headed back to the house. As soon as the car was parked, Ali jumped out of the car and grabbed her two bags of ice out of the trunk and hurried inside. Kicking off her borrowed flip flops Ali scampered upstairs as quickly as she could. As she made her way down the hallway she was able to still feel some heat coming from the bathroom but it was nothing like what had been coming from Troy's bedroom. Knocking on the door, she said softly, "Chase, we're back and I have two bags. James is bringing up the other two." Just as she said that she heard James shut the front door downstairs.

When the still frazzled looking vampire opened the bathroom door and snagged the two bags of ice out of her hands Ali looked imploringly at him. "He is going to be okay isn't he?" she asked softly so Troy wouldn't hear her. Before Chase could answer her, her cell phone which had spent the night in her jeans pocket gave off the little musical ring that meant Grace was calling her. Her face blanched at how loud the ring seemed in the still quiet house and she ran off down the hall to answer it so the noise wouldn't bother Troy.

[Shinigami]

Chase hadn't realized he had closed the door to the bathroom until someone knocked on the door. He was reluctant to leave Troy, but he was already in the tub of cold water, so he was fine for a second. He opened the door and saw Ali standing there with two bags of ice. He smiled lightlly and grabbed the bags tossing one next to the tub and opening the other. His skin was cooled to normal now to keep the cold water from bothering him too much and to help gage when Troy was safe to get out of the tub.

Chase had left the door open, not really thinking the cuts on Ali's feet would draw Troy's attention while he was being distracted by an ice bath. He started to dump the ice in, emptying the bag. Chase heard Ali speak, glancing back at her and smiling. "He'll be fine once he cools off. Then it's just a matter of teaching him how to keep it under control, which is just as easy as it is difficult." He moved on to open and dump the second bag in, the heat starting to slowly but surely die down under the assault of the ice, though he didn't think the two bags would be quite enough. "You said there were two more, right? We'll really only need one more to cool him off, but the fourth should help keep him cool until he can come around."

[Demeter]

James peered around the stranger in the bathroom as he dropped off the other two bags of ice to get a look at Troy. He knew everything was under control but the guy had been his best friend for years and he just had to make sure he was still alive. After assuring himself that Troy was still drawing breath, James backed away from the bathroom and headed for his own room. Troy had woken him up after only a few hours of sleep and he wanted to go back to bed and not move till noon.

As he moved past Ali towards his room, James caught sight of the large and ugly bruise ringing her arm. He grabbed the same arm just below the bruise, raised an eyebrow at the girl and dragged her into his room. He'd seen her in the clubs, dancing with other woman, but had never said a thing. Now though, he was going to say something but it would be somewhere else as he didn't know if Troy knew or not. Even though the guy was out of it, he tended to hear the things he didn't need to know about when like that.

James closed his door, leaned against it and patiently waited for Ali to finish up her phone call.

***

Oh, but that felt good. Troy sighed as he lowered himself deeper in the tub filled with ice. He didn't give a damn if he was till clothed it felt good to be cool after feeling as though his body was burning up from the inside out. As more ice was piled around him, reasonable thought started to drift back to him. Of course, the only thing he actively thought about was how to keep cool. He just burrowed deepered into the ice until everything from his chin down was hidden from view.

[Maira]

"Hey Grace!" Ali answered cheerfully as she flipped open her cell phone. She wasn't sure why she should be cheerful this morning, especially after Grace had treated her the night before, but if she didn't answer that way she was sure Grace would suspect all sorts of bad things. She'd barely had time to get out her answering greeting when a nearly hysterical voice on the other end sobbingly apologized for the night before. Grace kept repeating her apology and it seemed no matter how many times Ali told the other woman she was fine, Grace's voice kept that sobbing pathetic tone.

Ali had turned her back to the bathroom, subconciously hoping that action would muffle her phone conversation from Troy, and so she didn't see when James reached the top of the stairs let alone when he approached her. When she felt a hand clamp around her bruised arm, she gave a squeak of surprise followed by, "Damnit James, let go I'm on the phone." Then she was hauled into his bedroom where he then shut the door and stood in front of it so she couldn't leave.

Glaring at her brother's friend, Ali told Grace grumpily, "Look Grace, Troy's friend is staring at me funny, I gotta go. Come pick me up in half an hour okay?" There was a short pause on Ali's end then, "Yes, I'm over at Troy's, I crashed on his couch." Another pause then, "Yeah, see you in a bit," and she flipped her phone closed and continued to glare at James.

Completely at a loss for just why on earth James would haul her into his bedroom and barricade her in it with him Ali continued to glare at him in silence. When neither of them said anything after a minute or two, Ali finally snapped out, "What? Am I in trouble for something? What did I do to you? If anybody should be staring at me that scoldingly it should be my brother not you and he doesn't even have a reason." Her temper was up and she couldn't help being grumpy. The day had already been a disaster and something told her it wasn't going to get any better anytime soon.

[Shinigami]

Chase blinked at Ali when she answered the phone, hearing her say Grace, who he remembered as the girl who gave her the bruise. He shook his head and tuned it out. Ali wasn't his sister, or even a good friend really, so he had no right interfering. He went about making sure the first two bags of ice were emptied into the tub, smiling a bit as he watched Troy slide down until just above his chin was out of the water. The water was close to the top of the tub by that point, and he had just turned off the cold water tap. The rest was up to the ice, which Troy didn't seem to be minding at the moment.

Chase smiled gratefully as he saw James appear with the other two bags, taking them off his hands and almost immediately emptying one into the tub. He left the fourth one sitting off to the side for the moment, letting Troy get used to the fresh ice and cool off a bit. The room was already considerably cooler, which meant the ice was helping a lot. Chase was crouched infront of the tub with his arms crossed on the edge and his chin resting on his arms. It seemed like Troy was more himself. "Hey, how are you holding up?" The question was quiet, almost guilty.

Chase heard Ali raise her voice and tilted his head so he could see the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He saw James hauling Ali off, hand on her bruised arm. He frowned, hoping he had been aware enough to know it was there and avoid it. He had still heard some of the mumbling on the cellphone as he had more sensitive hearing than most humans, but it wasn't very clear and he had only managed to pick out a few words here and there. He hoped Grace had been apologizing, but it seemed the call was going to get cut short, and once Ali was out of hearing range his full attention was back on Troy.

[Demeter]

James pushed himself away fromhis door and pointed at the bruise. "Where'd you get that? I'm just curious, Ali, because I'm not as dense as Troy. I'm also out on the dance floor more then then him and I've seen you, Ali." James crossed the room, pulled out his liberated from the kitchen table desk chair and sat backwards in it. "So, where'd you get it and do I need to raise hell to get an answer out of you?"

James waited for Ali to answer. "I don't mean to be a pest, but you are almost my little sister and I feel a certain protectiveness about you. If I need to pound some guy into the ground, I will. If it calls for me pounding some girl into the ground, I'll get my cousins to do it." While waiting, James grumbled about why he shouldn't be having images of a half-dressed Ali running rampent through his mind if she was almost his little sister.

***

Troy opened his eyes and stared at Chase. "If I knew that neither of us planned this, I'd kill you. I don't mean to be unfriendly or anything but that is really an unpleasant way of waking up in the morning." Troy sat up a little, shivering slightly when his chilled skin came into contact with the air. He again glanced over at Chase, smiling slightly at the man leaning against the tub. "Exactly how long do I have to stay here and have I pissed anyone off since I tossed something at the wall between mine and James' room?"

Troy slid back down in the water and tilted his head back against the ledge of the tub, just to keep the water out of his mouth when he talked.

[Maira]

Ali gawked at James's sudden outburst in response to her own snappishness. He was just being protective? Since when did James give a damn? She'd always just been another one of the boys growing up and he had never once shown any interest in her, protective or otherwise. He'd always had his eyes on Anna, hers and Troy's older sister. Always ran to her rescue if somebody was bullying her (which was incredibly rare) or if she hurt herself. Then, when they got older, he'd dated her. From what Troy told her, James had actually proposed to Anna too but the snob had turned him down.

More than a little stunned by James's concern, Ali got her temper under control and smiled sweetly at her brother's friend. "James, I'm fine. The bruise was an accident, Grace didn't mean to hurt me. I had run off to find out what had happened to Troy, right after Chase had bitten him, and was apparently white as a sheet. Grace had her arm around me, gripping my arm with her hand when Chase finally came out of the bathroom and she was demanding he tell her what happened because she was worried about me. I don't really remember much of that part, i think i was in shock. All I know is that at one point she was squeezing my arm and it started to hurt and then she was running out of the club." At a loss for what else he might want to know to get that 'I'm gonna kill somebody' look out of his eyes, Ali just shrugged.

"Look, I promise, I'm okay. Grace doesn't believe me either and I don't think her seeing the bruise would be a good idea, do you have a sweater I can borrow? My jacket got left at her house..." Ali was rambling now and starting to panic a bit herself. She hadn't really realized just how bad the bruise was until James questioned her about it. As she looked at it now she flinched with remembered pain from the night before. The bruise was dark and there was a deffinate outline of fingers. Grace really shouldn't see that....

[Shinigami]

Chase smiled a bit as Troy spoke, still feeling guilty about the whole thing and a bit more so after seeing what Troy had to go through this morning. He had never had an instance like that in his life, but Chase was taught very strictly how to use his powers by his father when he just barely old enough to have them. Nikolas had as well, remembering when he asked his brother why their father was so hard on him.

During his thoughts Chase was watching Troy, his hearing automatically picking up and logging what he said, but chose not to reply to the first part as there was still a bit of guilt lingering. He noticed the shiver when Troy moved around in the tub, which was a good sign, and smiled when he heard Troy ask when he could get out and who he pissed off this morning. "Well, I think James was more concerned for you than angry at you, and Ali was certainly nervous and concerned, but you haven't stirred up anyone else. And as for your restriction to the tub.." He lifted his head before reached out to settle the back of his hand against Troy's cheek, hesitantly at first, as he checked his temperature. It felt like he was still a little warm for a Keahi, but it didn't burn. "You seem to be good. You're still a bit warm, but fever warm, not hot enough to burn. You can cool off the rest of the way by yourself for a bit of practice."

Chase leaned away from the tub a bit to gain more leverage to aid in standing up. Once he was on his feet he grimised at the state of his clothes. His pants were soaked up to the knees from water that had sloshed out of the tub and onto the floor and there were wet spots all over the front and sides of his shirt for the same reason. And he was cold. Chase had been to worried to register the chill of the ice and the fact that the water soaking through his clothes was frigid, but now the cold was all too noticeable.

He pushed it out of his mind and offered Troy a hand to help him out of the tub, scanning the room for a towel knowing Troy would be cold now. Once he got Troy back to as close to normal as possible he'd worry about himself, and if he had to he was sure he'd be able to borrow some of Troy's clothes, even if they'd be a bit long on him. And if not he could just change at home, which lead his thoughts to: 'Home? Gershom. Darien. Shit.' He still hadn't explained a damn thing to either of them.

[Demeter]

Troy shivered as his iced-down body was exposed to the air in the bathroom. He, thinking ahead, latched a hand onto the waistband of his waterlogged boxers and, with the help of Chase, climbed out of the tub. He pointed to the built-in cabniet behind the toilet. "Towels are in there."

After he was wrapped in two towels, Troy made his way out of the bathroom and back into his room. He left the door open for Chase but he was more intent of finding dry clothing. He took advantage of the towel wrapped around his hips and changed his boxers for a dry and clean pair before going back to his bed and sat down. He looked up at Chase and sighed. "So, now what do I do?"

***

James got up from his chair and crossed over to laundry basket piled high with clean clothing. He'd washed it the other night but he hadn't yet managed to fold it. He rooted through the items until he came across a university hooded pullover. James tossed the article of clothing over to Ali. "Anything happens, give me a call. I don't think Troy is going anywhere for a while."

[Shinigami]

Chase quickly stepped back, averting his gaze to allow Troy a little modesty and hurried to pull out a few towels. He tossed two to Troy, knowing he would want to cover up and keep warm, as he was fresh out of an ice bath. He let Troy head back to his room and change into dry clothes while he rung out the bottoms of his jeans and ran the towel over them and his feet so he didn't track water through the upstairs. He tossed the towel in the hamper and walked over to Troy's room.

Chase slowed his approach, not wanting to burst in if Troy was still changing. Normally, with any other interest he would jokingly, but he wouldn't have had the not so little problem of having -turned- them. As he got to the door Chase noticed it was open and he leaned against the door frame, crossing his ankles. Troy was clothed, at least in boxers, and sitting on his bed.

Chase leaned his head against the door frame as Troy spoke. He smiled lightly before replying. "You relax. You're powers are mainly emotion based. The calmer you are, the cooler you are, though you can heat up your skin, and other things touching you if your not angry or otherwise worked up." Chase pushed away from the door and walked up to Troy, placing the back of his hand on Troy's forehead. "Your still a little warm for a Keahi. Try cooling yourself off. Remember: Relax."

[Maira]

Ali watched quietly as James got up from the chair and started rummaging through his laundry basket. He hadn't grumbled or griped at her about her explination, he had just gotten up and pulled a sweatshirt out of his laundry for her. Who was this guy? He looked like James, sounded like James, and though she would swear to everybody she knew she didn't pay attention to such details where her brother's friends were concerned, he smelled like James.

When he tossed her his sweatshirt, Ali was only a little dissappointed that the shirt was clean. She rather liked the smell of his soap or deoderant or whatever made him smell the way he did. As it was though, the shirt smelled like dryer sheets. Giving James a grateful smile Ali gave him a quick hug after she had pulled the sweatshirt on. "Thank you James," she said softly before she turned and left his bedroom.

Ali wanted to go check on Troy but the sight of Chase leaning in the doorway looking in told her all she really needed to know, he was doing better. If he wasn't he'd still be in the bathroom submerged in icy water. Smiling at the vampire's back Ali made her way slowly downstairs. Her feet were feeling better, thanks to James's doctoring, but they were still very tender.

Once she was downstairs, Ali pulled out her cell phone to look at the clock on it. Grace would be here in 15 minutes. As if that was all the signal her stomach needed, it gave a soft protest of hunger. Being more than at home in her brother's house, Ali headed for the kitchen and made herself some toast.

Toast in hand, she found her shoes in the pile she grabbed them up and went out onto the front porch to wait for Grace. It was still a bit cool, the sun hadn't really started to warm the air yet, and so when she curled up on the porch swing, Ali tucked her knees up into James's sweater. He wasn't a big guy, but she was tiny so she was swimming in his sweater.

Grace pulled up right as Ali finished her toast. Wanting to keep the chance of any possible confrontations to a minimum, Ali made her way down the steps to the driveway before Grace had even turned off the engine. The other girl cocked her head to one side curiously as Ali approached, likely because she was carrying her shoes instead of wearing them, Ali just smiled at her reassuringly.

When she got in the car, Grace was still looking at her strangely until she spotted the bandages on Ali's feet. When she did her eyes flew wide and Ali could tell she was getting ready to launch a million questions. To stall her, Ali kissed her soundly and then said matter of factly, "I dropped the coffee pot this morning when somebody started pounding on the front door." Grace nodded her understanding and then backed out of the driveway.

As Ali lived all the way across town from Troy's place, the girls had a half hour ride. The first few minutes were spent in silence and then Grace broke it with, "I'm so sorry Ali, I really didn't meant to hurt you last night or run out like that."

Ali just turned a playful glare on her girlfriend and answered, "If you don't stop apologizing I'm going to get out and walk home." With the condition of her feet both girls knew her threat was an idle one and they both laughed. For the rest of the ride they chatted about innocent every day things like work and their friend's love lives. Gossip had always been a cure for rough spots in their relationship and today was no different.

*****

Shoes still in hand, Ali shut the front door to her home behind herself and Grace. The girls were about to head upstairs when a stern voice ordered from the livingroom, "Alison, get in here right this instant!" Both girls flinched but Ali did her mother demanded, Grace right on her heels.

Upon entering the livingroom, Ali was greeted with the sight of not only her very annoyed looking mother but her very pissed off looking father and an incredibly smug looking Anna. Anna's face lit up even more when she saw Grace standing behind her little sister and then she promptly left the room. The tension in the livingroom was oozing off of her parents and all Ali wanted to do was crawl back in bed.

"Just where have you been all night young lady?" Asked her mother at the same time that her father glowered at Grace and stated flatly, "You were seen kissing Grace last night Ali." Ali's face drained of all color and she started to shake. How had her father found out? Then her mother's question registered and she sputtered out, "I was staying at Troy's last night Mom, I slept on his couch."

Behind Ali, Grace just stood staring dumbfounded. She'd seen the look of triumph cross Anna's face at the sight of her and she -had- seen a few of the older girl's friends at the club last night so she had a pretty good inkling of just how Ali's father had gotten the news.

Her hands clenched in her lap, knuckles turning white, Ali's mother answered, "At Troy's? Really? We were informed that you always go home with Grace on Friday nights. You yourself told us you girls typically have sleepovers after you go out. What you didn't tell us-"

"What you didn't tell us," Ali's father interrupted, "Was just what kind of sleepovers these were Ali. How long have you been sleeping with Grace?"

"No dear, we don't need to know that." Ali's mom said to her husband who's face was now turning a nice shade of scarlet. "All we need to know is what we've been told. She's dating a girl, end of story." The icy glare that got turned on Ali now would have been enough to kill, the words that came next from her parents, almost in unision, nearly did.

"Get out."

It was as icy as the look her mother gave her and ten times more hurtful. All Ali could manage to squeak out was, "What?"

"We said," growled her father, "Get out. That means pack your things and get out of our house. No lesbian is a daughter of ours."

Ali gawked at her parents. Had she just been disowned? What? Finally a few words found their way to the forefront of her racing mind and she blurted, "I was staying with Troy last night, not Grace! What are you talking about?" She really was very confused.

Her mother gave a derisive snort, "You expect us to actually believe that Ali? That you slept at Troy's when its Grace the one bringing you home and not your brother or James?"

After that Ali's mother turned her gaze from her daughter and glared at Grace who was just as pale and scared. "Your parents have been informed as well Grace and they are expecting you home immediately so you better go. And as much as I loved you being Alison's friend, I'm sorry to say you too are no longer welcome in this house. I hope life treats you well dear." Her piece said, Ali's mother got up from the livingroom and walked primly into the kitchen like she had not just disowned her youngest daughter.

Ali's father stood up from his place on the couch and still glaring at her, growled at Ali, "You should be out of our house by the end of the day. Whatever you don't take with you will be take to the dump tomorrow." He nodded once to her, then once to Grace and turned to follow his wife out into the kitchen.

Ali stood staring at the kitchen door for one long moment before a scream of pain and rage tore out of her chest and she threw her shoes at one of her mother's collections of priceless antique vases, shattering every single one of them. Grabbing up the cordless phone Ali bolted up the stairs, only getting halfway before falling because she hurt her feet, then she stumbled the rest of the way up to her bedroom and slammed the door.

*****

Grace listened and watched in horror as both she and Ali were dismissed. Grace just from their house, Ali from any life she had ever known. When Ali snapped and threw her shoes and then bolted upstairs without saying goodbye or anything Grace just stood there blinking, rather bewildered. Her parents knew too? Shit. Turning her back on Ali's parents, who were now running out of the livingroom to see what the shattering had been, Grace slipped back out the front door and left.

*****

Ali had locked her bedroom door and had immediately called Troy. She'd bawled to him that their mom and dad had kicked her out, that she had to pack all her stuff and be out by the end of the day. That they didn't believe she'd slept on his couch the night before just because Grace had brought her home.

She'd begged and pleaded if she could live with him as she had nowhere else to go and she had cried when he'd said yes. She'd then begged if he'd get James and Dylan to help with moving her stuff otherwise it was all going to the dump. As Troy had a truck, and Dylan and James both only had cars, she really only needed them for the heavy lifting and the few fragile things she didn't want getting broken in Troy's truck could go in their cars.

Finally, with everything sorted out, Ali whimpered softly, "Thank you Troy." She'd reached to hit the talk button when she remembered one minor detail and she scrambled to say before her brother hung up, "Can you bring boxes?" She knew he had some left over from the three guys moving into their house so it wouldn't be a problem. Only when Troy had grumbled an affirmative did Ali finally hang up the phone, collapse onto her bed in a heap, and bawl.