Chapter Text
How such a big city could have such a poorly lit place was a question that didn't spend much time in the mind of the girl who was leaning against one of the walls. The crimson red tone of the blood tried to dye the black fabric of the clothes she wore. At this point, she wasn't so sure how much it had stained. The white hair messed up in a way that wasn't so easy to explain made the situation even more evident of how out of control it had become.
The girl kept her hand pressed against her painful abdomen, her posture curved due to the pain was not difficult to notice. That dimly lit alley seemed to be everything she needed at that moment. No questions, no one to ask what a girl like her would be doing in a place like that, dressed elegantly in very expensive clothes stained by the blood that insisted on coming out of a cut in her abdomen.
Blood... That was the problem. It was always the problem. Something as stupid as blood was the reason for that unbearable hunger she felt. And also the cause of that injury hurting so much. The wound reeking of vervain marked her white skin, like a painful black lightning that she tried hard to hide.
And hiding was what she did best. Since she was a child, that girl was used to being someone’s shame. Being a vampire of impure blood, renegade part of one of the most powerful families in the country, it was also not so simple to feel included among beings that part of her considered just food. But she was tired. Tired of always feeling controlled by something or someone. The path to get there hadn't been easy at all, always having to prove herself as part of a family that she didn't want to be, but was necessary to achieve something more important. In a world where a lot of things were controlled by vampires, she couldn't waste an opportunity like that.
The girl sighed and then laughed quietly. She was so used to pretending around people that she had even forgotten that she didn't need to breathe. Worrying about body expression was one of the first things she had learned and, even though she was alone, she couldn't stop pretending.
The hunger at that moment was greater than she could contain, so much so that she wasn't even able to control her own instincts. Her tongue touched the sharp teeth and the characteristic crimson iris shined in that alley. An unsuspecting person passing by would be enough to solve the problem and end the pain. The warm blood was capable of mitigating the effects of the vervain and allowing her body to regenerate.
But a door opened. The warm light coming from that place made the white-haired girl close her eyes. She heard someone come out the door, apparently carrying a trash bag, from the sound it made as it fell to the floor.
“Fuck, are you okay?” The female voice of someone who apparently wasn't much older than her. Great, more chances of being naive. Judging by the accent and tone of voice, she had no idea what was going on in the underworld of that busy city. An easier kill...
“I’ve never been better...” She couldn’t avoid the sarcastic tone, it was a defense she was very used to using. The girl opened her eyes slowly, to make sure her irises had returned to their usual cool blue color. The world no longer seemed to burn, so it was safe to look into the other girl's eyes. She felt the other girl touch her gently, supporting her.
If her heart could beat, it would be racing at that moment. The sincere cinnamon eyes made her feel ashamed for a few seconds before she was thinking about how easy it would be to end that life. Someone who offered her help without thinking twice. Even though the existence of vampires was not something that was so popularly known, it was no longer a secret like it used to be. No matter how much the media, encouraged by the government, tried to hide it as much as possible, rumors spread quickly.
And yet that girl was helping her.
“You’re too funny for someone who looks really close to dying.” The blue-haired girl pulled her towards the light. It took her a while to understand that it was a kind of storage, surrounded by disposable products like coffee cups and, speaking of coffee, the environment had a very strong smell of that drink. The girl helped her sit on a small bench near the wall. “I'm going to call an ambulance, that seems to be deep. Was it a robbery or something?”
"No! Don’t call anyone, please.” She held the other girl's hand. “That would be very bad if people I know at work find out about this. It was superficial, I’ll be fine.” A bad excuse, but it was all she could think of at that moment.
“Come on, girl... look at how much blood there is on your clothes, that must need stitches...” She narrowed her eyes, looking at the white-haired girl.
“Please... I would lose my job.” She insisted on lying, it was the best she could do at that delicate moment. If the girl insisted, she would have to act, but she really didn’t want to kill her.
“Okay... let me see what I can do.” The blue-haired girl sighed. “You can call me Neon. I saw a survival tv show a while ago, I hope it’s of some use now.”
“Jett.” The white-haired girl smiled. “It seems perfect to me. There’s nothing more realistic than getting injured in a forest.”
“You’re not wrong.” Neon smiled and went to a room next to the storage room, returning with a white towel and a small basin of water. “Getting it clean must be good, right?”
"I think so." Jett pushed aside her blazer and lifted her social shirt. Again she found herself sighing. Being a vampire of impure blood at that moment was coming in quite handy. Her body had managed to regenerate part of the wound, not being as ugly as it was a few moments ago.
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem that bad…” Neon said a little surprised. Considering the amount of blood on her clothes, the wound should have been much larger. She decided not to think about it too much and placed the wet fabric on the wound, which made the other girl close her eyes tightly. “It must be hurting a lot, I’m sorry...”
“Relax, Sparky… I can handle it.” Jett laughed when the other girl frowned at the nickname. "Your hair. It's spiked, it looks like it's been shocked. I liked."
“Hoy...” Neon pressed the wound harder than she should have, making Jett whine in pain. “It doesn’t look like you can handle it that well...” She smiled victoriously.
“But you played dirty...” She pouted, which drew a sincere laugh from the blue-haired girl. "You work here?" Jett asked curiously, as the time was too late for any normal shift.
“No, I’m the owner.” Neon said proudly. “I moved here a few months ago, I always wanted to have a coffee shop and... I think I took advantage of the opportunity.” The animated way in which she spoke attracted Jett's attention in a way that the pain caused by the vervain simply disappeared.
"Who are you?" The tall man at the storage door asked in a serious voice. Totally different from Neon, his presence was more aggressive, even dangerous. Instinctively, Jett began to adopt a more defensive posture. His delicate black hair and beautiful lilac eyes didn't alleviate his alarming posture.
“Iso, relax. She got hurt and I’m helping her, that’s all.” Neon arched her eyebrow. “And what happened to you?”
“I just thought it was weird.” His posture hadn't changed at all. Jett was starting to feel really uncomfortable in his presence. “Why don’t you call an ambulance then? As far as I know, you barely know what to do when you twist your ankle.”
“It's superficial, you don't need all that…” Jett said in a lower tone than she would have liked. Any detail was important at that moment. She had already realized that he was not an amateur, any slip up and perhaps she would have to act in a way that she would not like. “I just need some time.”
"Time? Given the amount of blood, you’re going to need some stitches.” He took a step forward.
“Hoy, calm down.” Neon looked at him sternly, which made the boy stop approaching. “Iso, you're not the gentlest creature I know, but relax there. Things are fine here."
"I'm calm." Iso put his hands in his pockets. Jett knew this wasn't just a random gesture. “I see no reason not to go to the hospital.”
Jett couldn't keep up this charade any longer. He knew too much, he seemed to be experienced. The way he didn't look away in any way, she knew he was looking for any sign, any slip that the hunger could reveal. The white-haired girl didn't want to hurt either of them there, especially Neon who was still helping her. But she couldn't fail at that moment. She couldn't let her guard down around anyone, no matter how much it meant hurting innocent people. Jett hated herself for this.
“I finally found you, sis.” That voice that she knew so well came from the direction of the open door, startling everyone present there. No one had noticed his approach, even though they were facing the door. The boy smiled friendly, with his hands in his suit pockets. His eyes glowed bright yellow, similar to the gold of the earrings he wore. “Get involved in trouble again? I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone for more than two minutes in that bar.” He approached Jett, but stopped when he noticed the other boy's gaze. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. You can call me Phoenix. I’m the brother of this airhead here.” He took one of his hands out of his pockets and placed it on Jett's shoulder. The visibly expensive gold rings caught Iso's attention.
“Then you can stop that. You won’t be late and look like a badass.” Jett rolled her eyes. “Sorry for the inconvenience...” Seeing that she intended to get up, Neon walked away. “Maybe I’ll pop in for a cappuccino one of these days.” She smiled at the other girl.
“Maybe I’ll make you a house specialty.” Neon returned the smile in the same way. “Try to stay alive until then, okay?”
“It was a lucky break, okay? Will not happen again." Jett said seriously, but the expression soon softened, returning to a light smile.
“Come here...” Phoenix reached down and put Jett's arm around his shoulders, then brought his hand to her waist to support her. “Thank you for taking care of my little sister.” The boy's eyes never left Iso for a moment.
Even after they left there, Phoenix could feel the aggressive gaze of the boy in the room fixed on them. As soon as they were far enough away, he released the girl, who began to walk normally. They knew each other so well that it didn't take much more than an exchange of glances for her to understand what he was thinking. It also wasn't difficult to understand how much he would complain about her irresponsibility.
"He found out." Jett said quietly, embarrassed. “The negotiations will not be that simple. That old bastard had a dagger with vervain, I let my guard down too much.”
“Did you kill him, sis?” Phoenix asked in a more relaxed tone, he hated the environment of a serious conversation.
“It's... almost like that...” She looked away. “He wasn't sure, I think the vervain was a bet. When he saw... the hunger, he was so scared that it wasn't very difficult to make him run away. The twenty-fourth floor made the work easier.”
“Deservedly so, that old idiot was an asshole. It will be easier to negotiate his part of the company with his heirs, but it will take more time.” He looked at Jett for a few seconds, then smirked. “What about that with the girl?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jett responded quicker than he would have liked. “She just helped me, I tried not to look any more suspicious than a stranger who shows up with a gash on her stomach in an alley.”
“You forget that I’m awesome and I know you very well.” Phoenix lightly punched the girl on the shoulder. “Forget it, okay? That guy with her is a hunter. He stank of vervain.”
"How did you...?" Jett raised an eyebrow. “I was closer to him and I didn’t feel anything.”
“My nose is better than yours, you know that.” He smiled victoriously. She knew he was right. That was one of the disadvantages of being a half-blood. All the senses that an average vampire has were weaker in her case, which made it more difficult to avoid some dangers. “But not only that, I think the vervain coming from you masked his smell.”
"It makes sense." Jett said uncomfortably. “Hey, Phoenix... The coffee shop. I want the movement to increase. Someone might have seen us around here, you know what I mean.”
“It would attract even more attention if employees of the company related to the Von Drogo name started attending, wouldn’t it?”
“I didn’t ask how.” Jett smirked. "Good luck."