"The Dark Stranger" © VeGirl 2014

After having spent several days in hideout in Vincent's house where day and night has blurred together with our strange sleeping habits, we are all feeling trapped. I am basically climbing walls.

"But we have tested that spell several times now; you can go out in the sun," Esme sighs and waves her hand in a clear 'come hither' motion. "Trust me!"

"I have spent my entire life not trusting anyone, it is a hard habit to break Momba, especially when the outcome is death."

"What's with the Momba?" I ask again, annoyed that they have never answered.

Esme glare at me while Damian smirks. "Google it," she snap and walks away.

I roll my eyes. "How long do we have to keep hiding in here?" I ask Vincent who joins me in the shade of the afternoon sun on his patio. The swing buckles a little under his added weight and swings softly.

"I expect an answer from the others, but have heard nothing," he sighs. "I start to think that I am the only one capable of getting the truth out."

I sigh as well. "What are our theories?"

"Well... Aoleon is clearly in cahoots with somebody, possibly some kind of witch or warlock."

"So, we need to find out who that is?" Damian is suddenly showing interest in this. "Do you know another witch than Esme?"

Vincent sighs. "No." Suddenly there is a light in his eyes and his brows rise. "But I know somebody who might do." He starts to talk about the man in that dodgy store where we bought a wand for Esme.

"But he spoke Enochian... doesn't that indicate that he's an angel rather than a witch?"

"I said he might know a witch."

Oh yes, he actually did say that. I must pay more attention. I sigh. But wasn't he suspicious of me from the start? I tried to recall that memory, but so much had happened since then, that made it hard to separate anything into clues.

Vincent snickers and Damian looks annoyed. "What is it?" he demands to know.

I look surprised up at them.

"Her mind is working overtime."

Damian frowns. "So you read minds as well? Isn't that a little... Edward Cullen?" His tone is more than a little tart.

"You've seen that?"

"We have to check out anything that might blow our cover and everything seems to be about vampires lately." He purses his lips. "Sparkling," he snorts and leave us.

The smile lingers on my face for a while. "They seem to get along." I'm referring to our new dynamic duo; Esmeralda and Damian.

"Get along?" Vincent has his brows raised and his face sparkle with mischief. "They're like rabbits, constantly in the horizontal tango," he snickers.

"I heard that," Damian shouts from inside the house; making Vincent and I snicker.

My phone chimes and I slide it out of my pocket to find my friend's name in the display. "Eddie!" I yelp. "Are you okay?"

Laughter sift through my phone. "I think I better ask you; you're the one that's been on some trip with lover-boy for a week now."

I had forgotten work, would that reason due? "Yeah, we decided to stay another week. I kind of forgot to ask my boss."

"Well... business has been slow so," Eddie informs educative. "I just wanted to check on you about your cousin; she's been moping around for a while, barely speaking about that Damon-guy."

"You mean Damian?"

"Yeah, he apparently left and she's been moping around, haven't she said anything about it?" 

I fight a guilty grunt away. "I haven't heard much from her. I guess she didn't want to disturb our vacation."

"Well... I think you should call her."

"Of course. Thank you for calling me."

"Good," Eddie sigh relieved. "And take your time with lover-boy; when you get back, I'll have you working around the clock," she jokes.

I chuckle with her. "You're so bossy!" I feign a complaint.

"I'm your boss, that's why," she snickers.

We hang up and I announce that I better go check on Layla. 

"I'll go with you." Damian has suddenly popped his head out the door. "If I'm the guy she's moping about, I better fix this."

I furrow my brows, but he has a point. "I just need to head to the little girl's room first."

He raises his brows. "Okay..." His face has lit up with an incredulous smile again.

I press my brows in a different manner. "Vampires don't need to pee?" I mutter under my breath as I walk behind him to take care of business.

I notice him looking suspiciously at the sun as we walk the short distance to my house. "She's a strong witch," I comment and he snaps out of it.

"Yeah apparently," he sighs and flashes one of his charming smiles. "I just didn't really believe in witches before."

His smile is contagious. "I feel the same about vampires," I snicker and open my front door. "Honey, I'm home," I call out and hear a rustling sound from the lounge.

"Sam?" Layla comes rushing out with a hopeful smile, but halts when she sees Damian. "You."

"Hi honey...?" It just feels wrong when it slips through his lips. "I heard you missed me." Swiftly he steps forward and slide his arms around her.

She blinks startled. "Where've you been?" I can see tears start to well up in her eyes.

"I've been busy."

"Couldn't you have called?" Her tone is accusative in a squeaky and clingy way that I've never heard her before.

Damian grabs her chin and looks deeply into her eyes. "You don't want me anymore, you've never been into dark mysterious guys and you will go back to your home town and find a blond guy to settle down with."

I stand there gaping as Damian recites a new life for my cousin in a bland and mechanical tone if voice.

"What are you doing?" Layla says and shimmy out of his arms. "Can't you get that it is over between us?" Her face is suddenly annoyed instead of sad.

I just stand there with my mouth hanging open and staring at her.

"I can't believe that I fell for you in the first place?" She frowns. "I must have been out if my mind." She makes a face.

"But baby...?" He looks like he can't believe that she broke up with him; another Oscar-worthy performance.

"Just go," she snaps and point to the door.

He turns to me and the sad, mistreated expression changes into a glib smile when he is out of her sight. My gaping mouth falls even wider and I press my brows together. He turns towards Layla and pierce her eyes once more. "You will stop looking at those silly vampire-movies. Vampires aren't real," he says and walks out if there.

"What was that," is the first thing going through my lips.

"Finally I got rid of him, I can't believe that he couldn't take no for an answer? Stalker," she called over her shoulder through the closed door.

I am glued to the spot, mimicking a goldfish with my mouth opening and closing while no sound comes through.

"I'm out of here," Layla snap and storms past me in the hallway. "I can't stay here anymore!"

Wow, this is better that any soap-opera, I think; or perhaps way worse. I grab the handle of the door and push it open to find Damian leaning on the railing with a cigarette. "What the hell was that," I accuse hissing as I step outside again.

"I don't do tears very well." He shrugs his shoulders defensively.

"Don't do tears well?" I snap. "I've been bawling my eyes out in your company," I accuse him.

"Yeah, but that's not been about me." He is suddenly on the offense again. "And I did cheer her up, didn't I?"

I take a deep calming breath, willing my brows to stop making deep wrinkles in my forehead to no avail. "People are not puppets! They do not exist for your amusement," I snarl.

"Sure they do," he smirks.

I ground my teeth and desperately search for something to say. "Esme!" I call out in the dusk. "Snap him in there before I claw his eyes out," I yell and he simply evaporates.

"Stupid vampire," I snarl while I walk inside to help my cousin pack. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I've been mooching on you for far too long." Layla smiles and put her arms around my neck. "And I need to get away from that weird guy." She glares out the window towards Vincent's house.

"You do know that Damian don't live with Vincent do you?"

She turns and glares at me with her lips pursed. "Yeah but he keeps popping up there like some..."

I raise my brows inquisitive.

"...creep," she press out and turn towards her suitcase. "I better get out if here." She grabs the handle and huffs as it turns out to be too heavy for her. She clenches her jaws determined not to show her weakness and hauls it along while I grab the remaining bags and follow her down the stairs.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." She hugs me when all her stuff is packed in her trunk. "I was worried there for a while."

"Don't worry about me; I'm immortal." I wink and smile at her frowning face.

"You have definitely watched too much tv, honey."

I laugh. "Yeah that must be it."

* * *

A couple of days pass without any threat or solution. "I'm losing my mind if I have to keep cooped up in this house." I whine as I wrap my arms around him. "I have to get out!"

Vincent smiles patiently. "Yeah, let's get out."

"Really?" I ask relieved, feeling like a kid going to a party. "Can we just get out of here?"

He chuckle. "Yeah, I start to feel like a prisoner myself." He takes my hand and we walk out to his car before anyone can stop us. Not that either Damian or Esme would notice from his quarter in Vincent's basement.

We feel like teenagers playing hooky from class when we take his car down town in the middle of the afternoon. The mall is definitely not crowded as we walk there hand in hand snickering, finally free from our prison.

Suddenly a couple of well-known figures show up before us.

"Peter... Noel?"

My ex and his friend close in reluctantly and who can blame them? "Sam?" Peter says doubtful. "I haven't seen you since..."

"Exactly!" I say and offer my hand for him to shake before he gets a stupid idea to kiss my cheek. I notice the curious looks both guys cast on the dark stranger by my side. "Noel," is my way of greeting the guy who is openly ogling Vincent. "This is Vin'." I motion for them to say hi.

"Vincent; her husband." He proffers a hand to the two guys whose mouths have fallen open in surprise.

"You got married?" Peter's tone of voice was icy.

"Long story," I mutter.

"Long marriage," Vincent smiles. "She and I were married all the time while the two of you were going out."

I turn and glare at him and notice in the corner of my eyes how Noel has narrowed his eyes suspiciously towards Vincent. Well, he seems to have been suspicious at me this whole time anyway.

"We were both quite surprised when that annulment had never gone through," Vincent platters on and to an unknown he seem unaware of the tension. "Lucky you two never tried to get married, that might have been a tough surprise that you already were." Provocative of him he smiles at Peter whose eyes also are narrowed now.

I slide an arm around Vincent and he puts his arm around my shoulders. There is a bad feeling I can't really identify.

"Liz always said you weren't to be trusted." Noel has a frown on as he glares at us.

"What?" I blink surprised. "What did I ever do to her?"

"You could have mentioned that you've been married." Peter looks unforgiving.

"Are."

I turn and glare at Vincent who looks smug. 'Would you just let me handle this?' I send through our secret channel but he keeps the smug grin.

'You fucked him, and you're mine!'

I turn towards Peter and Noel again before I say something I can't explain. "How are you then?" I realize that is the wrong question as soon as it is out in the open and they glare at me.

That is the moment that Noel's girlfriend, Liz comes walking towards us and the second our eyes meet she stops abruptly with wide eyes. My body tingles alarmingly. "Liz," I call her and notice how she glues on a sympathetic smile; a feign one.

"Sam? It's been too long."

"Yeah, I hope you're taking care of the boys." My voice is strained and has a way too high pitch. My panic is clear for anybody to hear. "So they won't get stuck in front of every game." I laugh a bit like a shriek while my body tingles unpleasantly. What is going on?

"I think we better get going." I look startled up at Vincent who still is smiling but looks at his watch. "We have an appointment with Doctor Powell, remember?"

"Yeah, right." I feign up a smile. "It was nice to see you all."

"You too," they obviously lie and we walk off.

'What the hell was that?'

'Something was wrong'

'What?'

"I have no idea!"

.