11. Pariah

There were… well, there were many types of children. If Fenne were asked to categorize herself, she would call herself a social butterfly – she’d heard her teachers call her that as they chided her for her talkativeness in class, and she liked the sound of it.

Making friends, fitting in… it had never been difficult for her.

Lawson Leblanc… Lawson never used to be one of those friends. In fact, she couldn’t stand him. There was something about him that she didn’t like; and she was pretty sure it was his face. He just looked so…

Punchable. That was it. She’d heard people use that word to describe her father… and felt it very much applied to Lawson too.

He looked punchable.

But for some reason, Fenne’s less-than-hidden aversion to him did nothing to daunt Lawson. For some reason, wherever she looked, she always saw him around. Wherever she looked, in a playground full with kids, she’d somehow always find him.

She couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she stopped happening to find him and started to actively look for him – because somewhere along the way, that’s what started to happen.

And then, somewhere even further along the way, they somehow started to hang out.

She would tell him stories – when he asked where she was from, she would tease and point up to the sky above them.

Eventually, she started to bring him home with her, too. They would spend hours on Fenne’s swing set, swinging until they were both nauseous.

The more they started hanging out together, the happier Fenne felt. There was something about him… that now, she was finding herself starting to love.

Maybe it was the fact that he always managed to make her feel like a queen.

She wasn’t sure what it was. What she did know, was that she liked him.

***

Emil was another type. He didn’t have all the friends Fenne did; he had never really felt like he fit in the way Fenne had.

Instead, he spent most of his time on his own… and it did get lonely, sometimes.

So when he finally made a friend in a boy named Maxen Reese, for a moment, there, he couldn’t be any happier.

Then Emil found out that Maxen was a vampire… and the happiness went immediately. He couldn’t help but remember Tika’s words, warning him not to associate with vampires.

“They can’t be trusted.”

“They’re inherently evil, Emil. All they want is to drink your blood. That’s their instinct is to drink human blood.”

Those stories, they had always managed to properly frighten Emil… and so ultimately, even though him and Maxen got along so well – and Maxen was the only friend he’d ever really had – he still distanced himself from him.

He had to walk away.

Maxen, he didn’t understand. Of course he didn’t; Emil didn’t blame him.

“You’re just prejudiced is what you are!” he called after him; and Emil struggled to ignore him, feeling tears prickling in his eyes.

***

Without any friends to keep him company, Emil couldn’t really help but turn to his father. Even after those mean words he’d said to him, he couldn’t really help himself.

He just wished Fenne understood, but she didn’t. When she found him one morning wearing the alien visage his father had urged them they wear, she scoffed at him.

“God, you’re so fucking impressionable, Emil” – he winced at her cussing – “It’s pathetic.”

It only made him feel closer to their father. He needed someone to love him – if that made him “impressionable,” so be it. He couldn’t help it that he wasn’t as strong as Fenne.

Altogether, Emil wasn’t doing great. And it didn’t take much to see it; he had never been good at hiding his emotions.

It was Fenne who noticed Emil’s sadness before Tika did, and approached him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick to you… sometimes…” Fenne started.

“No, you’re right. I deserve it.”

“No you don’t,” Fenne said, shocked that he would think so. “You really don’t.” She tried her hardest to comfort him, even though the whole feelings and comfort thing had never really been her thing. “I mean, Maxen… he’s a loser anyway. You can have better than him. You’re really nice… way nicer than me… you can have all the friends in the world!”

“Then why don’t I have any?”

***

Seeing her brother with her father, it no longer made Fenne as frustrated as it used to. She got it, now. She knew that he couldn’t see their father the way she did. And that was okay. If anything, she was happy that her brother still felt their father’s love. She could no longer even pretend that she did.

***

Even if he sometimes struggled to show it, Tika really did love his children. He loved them, no matter how loud they were.

No matter how difficult they could be to please.

Why couldn’t the bicycle stand up by itself? It was two tired!

*Silence.*

No matter how obstinate they may be.

And no matter how tired they made him.

But when Nancy sat them down and told him that, barely a year after Calder, she was pregnant again, he was silent.

His eyes squinted warily.

Oh, boy.

***

Tori Hoyt, ex-vampire, wished she could say she was doing great, but she couldn’t. She wished she could say that she had managed to adapt to her new human lifestyle and would no longer have it any other way, but she hadn’t.

Sure, she had enjoyed watching her children grow up. She enjoyed catching up with them, too.

But all in all, she felt confined. Confined to his mundane, dull human life she never wanted. The whole house, kids, and a white picket fence thing had never appealed to her – it may have a long time ago… back when she was still a naive young woman desperately looking for this fallacy called true love, but those weren’t days she ever wanted to go back to. As a vampire, she had been right in her element. And she was a powerful vampire at that.

And yet here she was, back to just being nothing. She couldn’t stand it.

That’s why, when Calo told her about the little visit he had paid to big bad James Forsythe (she knew better than to believe his gloating about how well they got along), she decided that she could use on said visit herself.

As soon as James saw her on his doorstep, his lips curled into a smile.

“Now there’s a face I wasn’t expecting to see around this godforsaken town anymore,” he smirked.

Tori shot him a cheeky grin and pulled him in for a hug, which he eagerly returned. “I just couldn’t resist you.”

But to Tori’s surprise, as soon as they’d sat down and gotten past their exchange of pleasantries, James bared his teeth. “You,” he started, pointing his finger at her accusingly. “Need to keep in check those children of yours. I don’t appreciate being made a horse’s ass of by some fledgling vampire, Tori. I should’ve tore that little shit’s head off to show these inferiors not to mess with a vamp of my rank… but I couldn’t, because he’s yours. These brats…” he ranted, furious. “Need to learn some respect. You can imagine my disappointment upon finding out you didn’t teach them.”

“Oh come on James,” she said, flashing him a smile. “You know me. Of course I’ll teach my children to respect their elders.”

“Sure. That’s what I thought. Until I had to experience that shitty blondie’s lack of it firsthand,” he sniped.

“Oh I’m sorry baby,” Tori joked. “Did my boy hurt your feelings? I’ll tell him to stop bullying you.”

James didn’t appreciate her response. Bared his fangs to growl at her, then sped off in a flash.

Still not in the least bit intimidated, Tori followed James. When she cleared her voice to attempt another chat, James turned around to face her, hands balled into fists.

“You and that boy of yours, you’re playing with fire,” he snarled through clenched teeth. “I could’ve offed you just now, Tori. I could’ve snapped your neck like a twig, just like I could have your boy’s. My nerve with you is wearing thin. You’re a human now. Be sensible and act like one. No more shitty jokes and defiance against men a thousand years your senior. Run away from the big bad wolf before he forsakes his will and comes for you.”

For one slight moment, Tori was taken aback. But then she remembered that the only thing that had changed between them, was that she was now human. She was still Tori Hoyt – did anything else really matter?

“James,” she started, voice seductively low but also disappointed. “Come on. It’s me. You didn’t really think you could scare me off, did you? I didn’t run away from you way back when… and I won’t run away from you now. In fact…”

A winning smile graced her face as she stepped closer to him. “Running away is the last thing I want right now.”

Tori watched his resolve crumble – just as she had expected. Even without her vampiric strength, she still had the power; her biggest power was one that could never be taken away from her.

And before James knew it, he was left completely at Tori’s mercy. Relishing the feelings Tori arose in him, he gave himself over to her.

When she leaned in to kiss him, though, he couldn’t help but at least try to remind her who was really the strongest one here.

“You sure about that, baby?” he joked. “Wouldn’t want you to cut yourself on my sharp fangs,” he said, baring his teeth one last time.

“Oh shut up,” she said, and kissed him. They both knew that no matter what, between the two of them she’d always be the strongest.

But still, when things got lustier James hesitated – not because he didn’t want her, though…

“Tori,” he started, sighing.

“Shut up, James. Just let it happen.”

“Too much has changed since…” he started.

She didn’t stop. “So just pretend we’re all back in the fifties…” she paused. “…which your sense of fashion suggests you’re still stuck in anyway. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

He scoffed… and gave in.

As soon as she had him, Tori knew to make use of it.

“Lay off Calo.”

“…Fine.”

“Humor him… and side with him.”

James scrunched up his nose, disgusted. “No.”

Tori threw him a look.

“Fine,” he sniped.

And then, finally… “Turn me.”

James looked at her, shocked.

“No.”

She just threw him another look.

“You’ll die. You know that.”

“So what? I’m half-dead already, living this crappy human life. Look at me. I’m getting old.”

“–Honestly, you still look fine to me–”

But Tori cut in. “I am. I’m a fucking grandmother, for fuck’s sake.”

He shrugged. “So am I… apparently.”

But Tori continued to ignore him. “I don’t want to grow old, James. I never wanted to. I am a powerful vampire stuck in this weak, human body I don’t want. Set me free.”

***

A/N: Yes, another Pariah character has made her way back into my story! I just loved her too much not to. Also yes: it was around this time that I was starting to realize I should probably turn down my risky woohoo settings. 😂