Can't Break the Habit [open]

[Anouk Gallant]

It was 2am, and Anouk couldn't sleep.

Although she was tired, she wasn't cranky or prone to a bad mood. No, instead she was hyper-active, like a child on red cordial. It's what lack of sleep does to Anouk. If she's normally loud and uncaring of what others think, when she's had no sleep she's ten times worse.

And the habit that she could not break? That would be her nocturnalism. For two years she'd been bound to the night-time hours. Of course, if she'd wanted to, she could have stayed away during the day. But there was no point. As soon as the sun had climbed into the sky she was stuck indoors. So she slept. And now she could not revert back to a normal sleeping pattern.

Recently, Anouk had undergone a new change. In a state of frenzy she'd tried to drain the blood of a Werewolf; the Werewolf 'virus' had overwhelmed that of the vampire, and Anouk found that her life was, yet again, turned on its head. But she was enjoying being able to go out into the sun again. It was why she was so tired. She refused to sleep when there was daylight to enjoy, and the rain had finally cleared. She could enjoy it in its full glory.

She supposed, sooner or later, the sun would lose its appeal again and she could happily live her life as a nocturnal creature and sleep the day away.

She was also able to consume human food again, and enjoy the effects of drinks and alcohol. At this point in time she's walking down a busy strip of Ravenblack city; there are liquor stores, 24/7 convenience stores, nightclubs, kebab shops and fast food shops that stay open to sate the drunken revellers.

Anouk's apartment was nearby. She liked to be in the thick of things, even though she had a welcome room at Eoghan's estate.

She stepped into a little convenience store; she got a wary look from the guy behind the glassed-in counter. So she should--she was wearing a singlet, pink striped pyjama pants and fluffy ugg boots. The night was slightly chilly outside, too, and yet she wore no jacket. Since the change, she found that instead of sporting marble-like cold skin, she was like her own personal heater.

The back of her head, unbeknownst to Anouk, was a mess of scraggly hair. Her head had been resting upon a pillow, and though she'd smoothed all the strands of hair that she could see, she'd forgotten the hair at the back.

It didn't matter to Anouk, however. She flashed the clerk a bright smile before sauntering toward the sweets aisle. She'd decided she'd set her mattress up in front of the television and watch some dvds. But she couldn't do so without nibbling on something (since she was able to eat, now, she couldn't seem to stop).

Now... to decide what to get. Anouk let loose a deceptive yawn as she took her time to decide, much to the clerk's dismay.

[Jason Hartigan III]

He couldn’t decide.

Jason had been standing inside the convenience store for a good thirty minutes comparing the back labels of oil. Castrol and Valvoline were the exact same product, but the only thing he could tell the difference on was the marketability of both brands. Castrol was significantly better for his engine’s performance as it claimed because of the synthetic mixture. As Jason lifted the Castrol bottle an little higher than the Valvoline, as he felt he was getting ready to make a decision. He didn’t enjoy spending eight dollars on a bottle but at the rate he had been traveling in his 1977 Mustang, he needed something that wouldn’t go hard on the engine.

With a significant sigh, Jason finally placed down the Valvoline bottle back on the shelf for favor of the Castrol. Gripping the bottle in his hand, he slowly maneuvered down the rest of the aisle, looking at each item separately. If there was something else he needed before he got back on the road, now would be the time to purchase it. Jason had stopped once already around ten just fifty or so miles outside the city to check the interstate map. He had been on the right on course up until he made the wrong left turn and somehow ended up in RB.

He thought at 2 am, he would have been the only patron awake at this hour, standing in a convenience store. Looking up from what he had been doing, he noticed a rather oddly dressed woman enter inside. He stifled a chuckle at her pajamas before dropping his gaze. He didn’t want to be caught staring but just from how she presented herself tonight, he was intrigued. Picking up more anti-freeze alongside his already chosen oil product, he left the confines of the automotives section for something else. Jason wandered past the human foods section into the sweets section where the woman had entered.

“Milky way or 3 Musketeers.” Jason commented, before coming to a complete stop a few feet away from her. As he inclined his head to gaze at her, he offered a small smile which he hoped would suppress the awkward situation. Random people didn’t talk to each other in convenience stores. “Those two are the best if you have the sweet tooth.”

[Anouk Gallant]

Anouk was aware of the other customer. She was aware that, as she made a slow amble down the aisle, he too was ambling closer to her. Strangers passed each other by all the time in these kinds of situations—usually without a word, though sometimes with a friendly smile or a nod to the head. Thus, she was not expecting that he should address her, but even so she was quite ready for it.

Not because she’d been preparing, but because it was Anouk’s general personality; she liked talking to strangers.

And her mouth had opened to reply to him almost immediately—she would have picked a Milky Way, any day! For that was what she assumed he’d asked... which she preferred. It never crossed her mind that it was an odd question for one stranger to ask another. But he hadn’t ask any kind of question, as it soon became obvious. He was advising her as to what she should choose. And his words did immediately draw her eye to the chocolates in question.

Her brows furrowed as she considered them; it was a hard choice, to be sure. If one was a fly on the wall watching this interaction, they’d find it amusing—that she should assume such a serious air when it was only candy to be considered.

Oh, but that depends, doesn’t it? It depends on whether you’re a chocolate person... or a sugar person. She said, gesturing toward the other side of the aisle where the Skittles and the Chico Babies neatly hung. Anouk herself wasn’t partial to either. It depended on her mood. But it had been so long since she’d consumed either chocolate or sugared candy that she was in no particular mood for any. Why she even dithering, she didn’t know. She should have just picked one of every thing that struck her fancy.

But I’m to assume you’re a chocolate person, hmm? And if you had to choose between a Milky Way or a 3 Musketeer, which would you choose? She inquired. She was genuinely curious, and his response may very well help her to decide. Her mouth was already watering at the thought of a Milky Way...

She was also far too trusting of her own strength. Even as a human she’d never been too wary of strangers. Sure, she’d had her fair share of creeps, but they’d never deterred her optimistic nature. And besides, this man didn’t look like he should be distrusted. When she glanced up and caught his eye, she was immediately reminded of a puppy dog. She didn’t know why, but it was definitely appealing.

[Jason Hartigan III]

His gaze wandered to the part of the aisle where she had gestured, gazing over the Skittles, Swedish Fish and other sugary treats. A smirk crossed over his lips as he rose his free hand to reach behind his neck and scratch it. Personally, Jason had never been fond of those since none of them offered any kind of value to him. He knew a little bit about how chocolate was manufactured, while it amazed him at how much time and effort was spent making it. Though he could bore her with the details for hours on end, he refrained from doing so.

“Well, that is very true. But I guess you could kill two birds with one stone and get one of each.” Jason pointed out. When she inquired about his personal preferences, the smirk turned into a large grin. Dropping his hand from the back of his neck, he reached forward to where the chocolates sat. Running her finger along the price tags, he stopped at the Milky Way bars and picked out one. “I’m definitely a chocolate fan. And as much as I like both of them--this one seems like the best choice out of both.”

Jason was never usually this responsive to another person after the hospital accident in Southern California. Before the memory could replay in his mind, he snapped back into the real world to a real woman. Pulling a tighter grip on the Castrol oil and anti-freeze, he shifted them so that his arm was cradling both bottles. For a moment, he glanced back at his 1977 Mustang Cobra to see if it was still parked outside. The last thing he wanted was his only mode of transportation back to the garage to be stolen.

“I hope that helps your decision.” Jason handed her the chocolate bar he had picked out. “I think I saved you the time I wasted comparing two kinds of oil but its hard when both are the exact same thing. I guess the only thing that does make Castrol better is the synthetic mixture--sorry I’m rambling on.”

He usually didn’t strike up conversations this easily with people but she didn’t look like the women he was used to at UCLA. They were made up and in a bad way that it showed. Fake hair, nails and breasts were not complimentary on any woman, no matter how much she could pull off. Jason preferred the natural beauty--and from the looks of it, this woman he was talking to, was not fake. “I’m Jason, by the way.”

[Anouk Gallant]

As if he’d read her mind, the guy promptly repeated what Anouk had just been thinking; she could, indeed, just get one of each. She could eat them simultaneously, even, if she still couldn’t decide once she’d got home and was camped comfortably in front of her television. Still, he proved to be a helpful stranger. Anouk watched eagerly as his fingers trailed across the different chocolate varieties and finally landed on the Milky Way.

Anouk grinned, then, and reached forward to take the chocolate from his hand. She’d have been indecisive anyhow, had she had to choose even between the Milky Way and the other one—the other one she had never heard of before. In Australia, that kind of candy wasn’t available. Milky Way, however, was familiar to her. It was the kind of chocolate she’d commonly eaten as a child.

”It helps a great deal, thank you.” she said, before glancing toward the oil he’d referred to. Oil was probably something Anouk should have known about. Her father was a mechanic. He’d always fiddled with old, beaten up cars in the garage. And though she had sometimes kept him company, she’d never taken any interest in what he was doing. Anouk didn’t even own a car, so she was completely ignorant about them.

”Well, Jason, it seems you did finally make a decision, though. Castrol sounds like a good choice to me, though I’m hardly an expert.” She said, cheerfully. She wasn’t about to pretend to be anything that she wasn’t. What was the point? And while she spoke she picked out yet another Milky Way, along with a Mars Bar and, from the other side of the aisle, a packet of Snakes and some Skittles (the sour kind). Feeling like she’d covered all her bases, she cradled the candy in her arms and shifted somewhat toward the fridges. She needed some coke. Lots and lots of coke.

”I’m Anouk. I’ve turned into a bit of an insomniac, I think.” She said—a belated explanation for her state of dress and behaviour.

And she was not entirely daft, either. She’d been a vampire for quite a while, and even as a Werewolf she was prone to a higher set of senses; this Jason had little to no body heat, a weak or completely non-existent heartbeat, and an overall aura that just screamed ‘vampire’. Suffice to say, his own sleeping pattern would not be normal according to the average human, either. He probably did not find it odd that she should be awake at this time of night.

But he may very well find it odd that she chose to dress in pyjamas. So she explained, anyway.

[Jason Hartigan III]

“I’m glad I could help.” Jason smirked.

“It took me quite some time actually. As, I said before I might have been standing there the whole night comparing the two.” He shrugged his shoulders as he started to inch towards the direction of the counter. As much as he wanted to stay here chattering away with a beautiful woman, there were things at the garage to be done. His vehicle wasn’t going to fix itself as much as he would have cherished that idea. Looking towards the woman again, she was holding more chocolate than he had picked out. With a grin, he perked an eyebrow towards the display, he wished he could still enjoy something so simple.

“Pleasure Anouk. Interesting name, its uncommon.” He commented on the rarity of her name. It wasn’t a funny sounding name but he was certain that he had never heard of something so exotic. “Its not bad, I like it.” He added on.

“Well, it seems we have that in common as well. I have been up all night trying to get my Cobra running before I move onto my next project that’s parked in the garage.” Jason nodded when he looked down at her attire. He wasn’t surprised to see a woman walking around in pajamas since it had been the attire of choice at UCLA. Most college freshman stayed in pajamas while attending class, it was more comfortable and if it was the only class, there was no point of getting dressed up for one thing.

“Well if you want, when you’re done paying for those, you can look at my car?” Jason gestured by shrugging his shoulders again before moving out of her line of view to where she could see it parked outside. “Maybe if I’m lucky, you’ll let me drive you home?” It may have been forward, but at this point, he had nothing to lose.

[Anouk Gallant]

Anouk overtook Jason on the way to the counter. The guy amused her; not in a bad way, but in an oddly delirious insomniac way. Was he talking a lot, or was it just her? She was amused, too, that he should have made that comment about her name. It was something people often said when she offered them her name. And it was something to laugh at, too—the name sounded somewhat French and upper class if she thought about it out of context. But her life, her family, had never been upper class. Maybe giving their daughter such an odd name was a sign of their aspirations? She’d never really asked.

As she plonked the items down on the counter and pushed them toward the clerk, she did what most store clerks probably found severely frustrating—she ignored him. The young man who’d befriended her in the lolly aisle was far more fascinating.

“Oh, I should consider myself so lucky, hey?” She said, referring to Jason’s vague offer of giving her a lift home. She didn’t need one, really. Home wasn’t very far. But she didn’t have to tell him that just yet. Although she did feel odd doing anything vaguely social dressed as she was. She hadn’t come out expecting to make any new acquaintances.

“One question, though...how are you going to give me a lift if you can’t get the car running?” She asked; he’d said he’d bought the oil in order to get the ‘Cobra’ running. Men and their cars... she never really did understand the fascination. And if it wasn’t running already, should he really be giving strange girls hope for a lift in it? It was adorable, too, that he should ask whether she wanted to see his car, as if it would be a selling point. Really, she couldn’t care less about what kind of car a man drove—she thought of Eoghan and his fancy car, and how she’d seen it as an ego trip. But, Jason was adorable in his own kind of way, too, and he was male—she could forgive him his car obsession, at least while she was still getting to know him.

The clerk had swiftly swiped the items onto the register and Anouk handed over the correct change; the clerk put her items in a plastic bag, and Anouk finally gave him a thank-you smile.

[Jason Hartigan III]

Jason followed her to the counter.

He watched as she dropped everything she intended to buy and completely ignored the clerk behind the counter. Jason would have been more polite even with company by exchanging a few words with him. That didn’t seem to be his case tonight either since Jason offered no form of an apologetic look. Instead, he watched Anouk made a comment about her being the lucky one. Feeling an embarrassed smile rise over his expression, the heat on the back of his neck started to crawl. “Well, I thought I would have been the lucky one if you accepted.”

When she questioned the mechanical state of his Cobra, he gestured towards the vehicle sitting outside the store. With a smile, he then held up the Castrol that was held in his hand before offering up an explanation. “Oh believe me, its runs decent but she just needed an oil change and I didn’t have what I needed at the shop. I wouldn’t offer a ride if I knew it wasn’t working.”

After Anouk finished paying for her own items, Jason approached the counter and offered up some small time banter. He watched as the clerk brought his total up on the registry before looking at the total. Pulling out his wallet from his pocket, Jason fished for a twenty and then when he found one, pulled it out and handed it to the man. He seemed rather annoyed that he had to break the big bill so Jason could have some smaller bills with him. After receiving his money back, he packed his items into a bag and reunited with his present company. “Sorry, the guy looked bored…”

Jason made no attempt to linger in the store with the bitter clerk but decided to go outside. It may have been a little cold out there but it was nicer than being given a death stare like he received upon coming in. “I mean, you don’t have to accept it, I think I was just trying to get you to stay around longer so I could talk to you more.” He shrugged his shoulders as he reached the door and pushed it open with his back as he faced her. He wasn’t sure if anyone was trying to come in as he was trying to exit. “So what do you say?”

[Anouk Gallant]

Anouk had often been told that she talked a lot—her aunt had described her as a ‘nervous talker’, though Anouk had knocked that description square on the head. She was never nervous. And nor did she believe her talking ever embarrassed her. Usually nervous talkers had a tendency to embarrass themselves. Anouk was rarely ever ashamed with what she said. But she was surprised by Jason. Had she finally met her match? Someone who could talk nearly as much as she could?

Maybe he was nervous. She couldn’t rightly tell. But he was forward enough regardless of whether he was nervous or not. Anouk’s brows arched skyward as he admitted to only wanting to keep her around longer; to think, that he could be attracted to a scruffy looking female clad only in pyjamas.

They’d stepped outside again and Anouk glanced in the direction of home. She thought of what she had waiting for her—an empty apartment, a few DVDs, and crumples sheets upon a mattress on the floor. Nothing exciting. And although her body felt weary, she knew she could push it further. She had nothing to occupy her days with (she should probably look for a job, now that she had the freedom of sunlit hours), so what did it matter if she slept through them?

Anouk smirked and raked her fingers through her hair. She discovered the tangled mess at the back and, slightly horrified, tried to smooth it away.

”Sure. I mean, I hope I can meet your expectations. I bet you assume you could get some pretty interesting conversation out of a girl dressed only in her pyjamas in the middle of the city in the middle of the night?” Anouk said, smirk still steadfast upon her features. She was teasing him in her own round-a-bout way.

That said, Anouk sauntered toward the car and began to circle it, admiring it. The guy seemed overly proud of this possession of his, and Anouk may as well be courteous and act as if she cared, too. There was no point in hurting his pride so early in the acquaintance.

[Jason Hartigan III]

When Jason arrived at where he had parked his beloved vehicle, he opened the front driver’s side door with his free hand. Tossing all the recently purchased items into the backseat, he reached down and pulled the Castrol out. Jason listened to her speak as he popped the hood of the car before coming out from inside. It had taken him a minute to register what she was teasing him about before he offered a wide grin at her jest. Walking over towards the front of the vehicle, he bent down and placed the Castrol on the sidewalk before reaching underneath the hood for the latch. Within a few seconds, Jason placed the hood up and had it supported by the stick.

“You’ve already surpassed them.” He shrugged his shoulders before offering a small smile towards her. “I guess the one time its happening, it has made for some very interesting conversation. Maybe that’s why I’m trying to keep you around a little longer.”

Jason wasn’t sure if he was being too forward or not. His success with women had been good over the past couple of years but it his whole history was maybe two serious girlfriends. One in high school and one in college but both ended up to be nothing more than what it was. School relationships. At the moment, he wasn’t running around looking for a woman to have on his arm because of his current dead-status. This conversation was comfortable for him, there was nothing holding him back from being honest with her. She wasn’t like other people here, and she certainly as hell wasn’t human.

“How long have you been in the city?” Jason questioned, cutting the silence before it could start. Whilst he listened to her, he picked up the oil container and started twisting off the oil cap to pour a little in. He knew it needed a full container, which is why he had only bought one until tomorrow morning when Kilbourne would restock the supplies.