Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"Well, I guess some people enjoy it," she mused, although stamp collecting wasn't something she'd do herself. "Yeah, of course I do. I like baking stuff, it's kind of therapeutic. I like to read, mostly classic stuff. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book," she admitted, thinking over it in her head. She could see Oliver as Mr. Darcy. "But what about you? What do you do when you're not helping young women out on cases?" She asked, a teasing smile on her face.

--

Brayden was fast asleep, dead to the world as he laid beside Callie on the couch. He didn't even hear the doorbell ring. The pizza delivery guy was late, as usual, although when Callie answered the door, he looked confused. He'd been to this residence before, but he'd never seen Callie looking so..unlike anyone he'd ever seen. "Uh, hi," he said, nervous for some reason. "Pizza delivery for Brayden?"

@ Miley Cyrus;

Throughout his lifetime, he had picked up on quite a few types of hobbies. Reading had been one of them among other oddities. Scott F. Fitzgerald had been one of his close friends throughout the ages, and Oliver clearly remembered the odd fellow. "Avid reader like yourself, and I suppose I like having a drink in a bar every now and then." Oliver responded when he returned back to his seat. It was not often when he had days off from the office, but he did like enjoying his immortality. "I'm sure that my life is not quite as exciting as yours is though, Emily." He added on with a slight hint of a smile.

--

Callie furrowed her eyebrows as she watched herself tilt her head slightly to the right. It was as if she was confused as to what the guy was even saying. Turning, her body completely ignored the pizza and retreated back towards the kitchen. "Uh. I'll go grab the money." Callie told the pizza guy, holding up her pointer finger. She followed her body into the kitchen where the money sat on the counter and attempted to pick it up, but her hand went completely through the countertop. "Some weird dream." She mumbled to herself while her body went straight for the knife set near the sink. Callie glanced over to tell her body to pick up the money when her eyes widened, not knowing what to do. She had never planned out the emergency plan when something like this happened.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Emily smiled as he spoke, nodding her head. So he wasn't just life smart, he was also book smart. "That's cool. I like dancing too," she added, looking up as she thought. "When I was a little girl, I was really into ballet. When I got to play the Swan Queen in Swan Lake it was one of the best days of my life." She laughed, shaking her head as she remembered her younger self, small with a large bun on her head and a half white, half black costume on with a tiara. "Oh, you're just being modest," she said with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure you're quite interesting underneath your tough policeman exterior," she joked, sitting up and tilting her head. "What made you want to take this job, if you don't mind my asking?

--

The pizza man looked around, his nerves not at ease when Callie simply walked away from him. He assumed she was going to get some money, but the more he stood there, the antsier he became. His eyes landed on a raven that had landed near him. Its beady eyes were locked on him and it made him gulp. He saw another join it, then another and another, until the front yard was covered in them. He slowly backed away from them before he started running, determined to get to his car, money long since forgotten. As he ran into the street, a car slammed into him, sending pizza flying everywhere. The birds were cawing as they flew away, as if singing a song.

@ Miley Cyrus;

He could not help but crack a small smile as he attempted to imagine her younger self dancing about the stage. It was quite adorable to say the least. "Why did you stop? If that is not too personal." Oliver questioned, finding her little stories amusing. It had been a while since he had a lively conversation with someone. Most of the time he spoke to another human, it was about a case or needing to pass on information. "There is nothing interesting here other than a policeman, Emily." He insisted since he did not want her digging further. If he accidentally slipped, things would only go downhill. "I felt like I had a moral obligation to protect the people of this city." Oliver honestly replied, remembering the string of his past ill deeds. It was something that would help clean up the remaining parts of his conscience.

--

As soon as she grabbed the knife, she paused hearing the sound of the man's body getting crushed by the car. A small smirk crept up onto her face as if it were satisfying. Callie did not understand what had stopped her from taking the knife and watched as she moved back out towards the living room where Brayden slept. At this point, she was afraid that she would even hurt him since she was so unpredictable. This dream was starting to turn into a nightmare for Callie, but, no matter how much she called out to her boyfriend, nothing happened. He did not move or even twitch. Callie tried to pinch herself or tell herself that it was dream, but nothing was going to wake her up. Her body slowly moved towards Brayden but only settled back into her original position in slumber.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"No, it's okay. My dad got really sick, and his treatments were expensive. The older I got, the more my dance lessons costed, so I told my mom I didn't want to dance anymore so she could concentrate more on paying his treatments on time and making sure he was comfortable," she explained, her fingers tapping against her knee. "I never stopped dancing though. I still practiced the routines. Even now, I always kind of hoped I'd be able to pick it up again." Emily nodded, thinking about her ballet shoes, thrown in the back of her closet. "You should've seen it, I was the tiniest girl there and I still flew across the stage like a little fairy." She laughed, remembering how serious she was, despite being so young and fragile.

"I think that's quite noble of you," she admitted, looking over at him and nodding. "The city needs more guys like you, who have a handle on things." Emily truly felt like he did. She was never the kind of girl to look down on law enforcement, and in her eyes, he was quite admirable.
--

When Brayden woke up, it was to his phone ringing. His head was throbbing, as if he'd been hit over the head with something. The end credits of the movie was still playing and by looking at the clock on the wall, he knew he'd been asleep for a while. Grunting, he stood up, rubbing his forehead and temples as he wandered over to the bathroom. He took out a bottle of pills with shaky hands, taking two, before he put them back in the cabinet. When he leaned over to wash his face, he felt like someone was behind him. He turned quickly, but sighed when he saw no one there. He heard his phone ringing again and swore, turning off the water and walking quickly back to the living room. He smiled a bit when he saw Callie still fast asleep. He grabbed his phone, answering it before he held it up to his ear, speaking gruffly. "What?" His eyes immediately widened and he snapped to attention. "You saw what on the news?"

@ Miley Cyrus;

"I am very sorry to hear that." Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "I am glad to hear that you preserved though and continued to dance. There are many people who would have given up on their passion, and that is something that I find admirable about you." Oliver added on while deciding to take a break from the investigation. It had been a straight forty-eight hours that he had been working on the case. They had found a prime suspect as well as the usual hangout spots. The only thing to do now was to actually arrest this man. It had been a while since he was able to have a friendly conversation with a human. Most of the time, he spoke to others solely for cases. He leaned back in his chair slightly, noting the spark in Emily's eyes when she spoke of dance. "I am sure you did." He chuckled a little, wishing that he had a passion like that.

Oliver believed that his reason for joining the police department had to be more selfish than anything else and did not understand Emily's logic. "There are men who have been through a traumatic experience and have ended up here to atone for that. I think those are the men who should be placed on the pedestal. They are the true heroes."

--

Hearing Brayden's voice off in the distance, Callie woke up to find that she was in the place where her nightmare had ended. She let out a shaky breath, looking down at her hands. It was even harder to decipher whether this was reality or a fake illusion. Sitting up on the couch, she paused one moment to turn off the television then stood up to find out where Brayden was. She passed by the front entrance to find that it was slightly ajar. Callie had been so sure that she closed it the previous night, but she had left it open in her dream. A shiver passed through her spine while she closed the door, continuing on her journey to find Brayden. She had to make sure that he was alright, especially after having an experience like this. Eventually, she found him inside of the bathroom with a distressed look on his face. "Brayden?" She called out to him while placing a hand onto his shoulder.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

"I don't know, I mean, dancing is the only thing that really makes sense to me." Emily shrugged, glancing over at him. "When I'm dancing, it's like nothing else really matters. It's kind of how I just...get away from everything." She paused for a moment, a blush filling her cheeks at his compliment. A smile filled her face as she tucked her mostly dry hair behind her ear.

"You are right about that, Oliver, but there's nothing wrong with wanting redemption. Some people wouldn't have bothered. They would've thought they were too far gone, or simply not cared. But you decided to try and right your wrongs. And I think that, above all, is something to be admired. You're an important person, Oliver, don't forget that." Emily nodded firmly, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, her green eyes focused on him.

--

Brayden jumped when Callie touched his shoulder, nearly dropping his phone in the process. "Oh, hey Callie. When did you wake up?" He tilted his head at her, biting his lip as he ran his fingers through his hair, hanging up his phone. He debated telling her the news before he decided to come right out with it. Carefully, he said, "I don't think we'll be ordering pizza for a while." He laughed nervously, grabbing her arm and leading her to the window. When he pulled back the curtain, he showed her the medley of police, ambulance and news trucks aligning their street. "Apparently a delivery guy got hit by a car," he explained, shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his hair once more. "Jesus. Poor guy didn't even know what hit him."

@ Miley Cyrus;

"That is something that no one can take away from you. Make sure that you remember how dancing makes you feel, Emily." He suggested, remembering how his passions were not even given the chance. Oliver was caught off-guard by her next statement, expecting a completely different response. All he could do was give a small nod, unable to counter it. It was odd to think of himself as an important person. Glancing over at the time, he saw that it was nearing about the time that they should get some dinner. "How about we get you out of this office for some dinner?" He asked while holding out his hand for her to take. There was a specific place that he wanted to take her. Ever since she spoke of dancing, there was only one place where they could go. "You will be safe as long as you are with me. I promise." Oliver reassured her, continuing to hold his outstretched hand.

--

Callie quickly pulled her hand away, dropping it down towards her side. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Biting her lip softly, she gave a small shrug in response since she was unable to remember. Callie crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her arms to ward off the cold. "What do you mean?" She swallowed hard, completely unprepared to hear the rest. It had not dawned on her that, that dream had be real in any sort of way. Stepping toward the curtain, she stood on her tippy-toes to look outside of the window to see the flashing sirens. "Oh my god." Callie felt the wave of nausea all over again, stepping away from the window. She placed a hand over her mouth, holding back anything she could. Closing her eyes for a moment, she flashed back to her dream where she saw the same delivery boy facing her other self. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way that her dream had predicted anything.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

His words resonated in her heart and she knew they were spoken from a place deep inside of him. She wondered what happened in his past, what made him the way he was. She made a mental note to remember to ask another time. She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before she let it out. "I will." She smiled, her thoughts clouded for a moment as she looked down, her hair falling in her face. It was a long time since she'd talked to anyone about anything this important to her, and even longer since they'd actually taken an interest in it. At his question, she looked up at him, her eyebrows raised. Slowly, she nodded, a smile growing on her face as she stood up, taking his outstretched hand in her much smaller one. "Okay, let's go. I trust you."

--

"Don't look anymore," Brayden murmured once he heard her shocked gasp and took in the expression on her face, immediately shutting the curtain and taking Callie in his arms. He had mistook her shock and disgust for fear instead of what it was. He pulled her close, his head resting on top of hers, rubbing her back up and down gently. "It's okay, love. They're gonna be out of here soon. The guy who was driving stuck behind, so once they're done questioning him and cleaning up the street we won't have to see them anymore," he assured her in a quiet tone, not even giving it a second thought to what exactly had happened. "Come on, let's go to the room, you can lie down for a little bit. Do you want a pill or something? I took some earlier," he admitted, leading her by her hand to the bedroom. "It should help you to get some sleep easier."

@ Miley Cyrus;

Taking her out of the precinct, Oliver escorted her to his car and opened the door for her to get in. He stepped into the driver's seat and went on his way downtown. There was one specific place known for its music and open dance floor. Luckily, it was not far from the police station either, and, from what he heard, it apparently served amazing food as well. Oliver pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, glancing over at Emily. He had forgotten what it was like to have this sort of excitement with a person, wondering what expression they would have to the surprise. "If you don't like the place, we could always go somewhere else." He reminded her, offering his arm when he reached her door. Oliver took her inside of the restaurant, viewing the gorgeous dance floor when stepping inside. It was the main feature of the place where classical music playing the background and showcased the couples dancing just a few feet away.

--

She buried her face into his chest as guilt began to eat away at her. Had this been her fault? Every possibility started to work through her mind as she wrapped her arms around him. Callie could not shake the feeling that this hit would not have happened if it had not been for her. There was nothing that she could have said to explain herself or make her feel better. "No pills. I'll just.. relax." She immediately denied the medicine, too afraid to even think about sleeping. If she fell asleep again, would someone else die because of her? Callie sat down on the bed and eventually made her way underneath the covers. Giving a sigh, she reached out for Brayden to join her. All she wanted was someone to make sure that she would not fall asleep; that this would actually be reality.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Emily smiled when he escorted her to his car, a true gentleman as always. Once they were settled, the two drove off. She looked around the streets anxiously, wondering where he might be taking her. Oliver was always somewhat of an enigma to her, so with him she never knew fully what to expect out of him. Either way, she figured he knew best and trusted his judgement. She wasn't in a part of the city that she was familiar with, so she couldn't even guess what kind of place it might be. Her fingers were tapping against her knee, jittery with excitement when she looked back at him. "I'm sure it will be fine," she assured him as they walked up to the restaurant. Once they were inside, her green eyes lit up as she eyed the dancing couples and listened to the soft music playing. "It's beautiful," she whispered, giving his arm a squeeze. It was a better surprise than anything else she would have thought of.

--

He held her tighter as she buried her face into his chest, sighing softly. Brayden again misunderstood her, but did his best to comfort her nonetheless. He liked holding her anyways, he enjoyed the cuddly side of her, and getting to be the protective boyfriend always made him feel good. He liked to think that he'd be able to protect her from anything, no matter what. He'd just have to be strong enough for the both of them. "Okay, that's fine. You relax all you need to," he agreed, looking down at Callie, his eyebrows knit with concern. "What's wrong, babe? You're looking kind of pale. Do you feel alright?" He brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

@ Miley Cyrus;

"Table for two, please." He requested to the hostess, allowing her to escort them to the table. Of course, he pulled out her chair for her before attending to his own. "I'm glad that you like it. I had been wanting to come here, but I never had a person to share the experience with." Oliver smiled while starting to look through the menu that was placed onto the table. He would have to come up with some sort of excuse to not eat, but it was well worth it. The joy that she was feeling was enough for him. "And I am paying for dinner tonight." He added on since he wanted to make it clear before hand. Turning his head, their table had a clear view of the dance floor where the couples were currently waltzing about. It seemed as though they were practically floating across the ballroom.

--

Unable to come out with her troubles, she merely gave a shake of the head. How could she tell him that some crazy dream turned out to a reality? "I just had a rough night. Some bad dreams kept me up." She vaguely explained to him, looking away slightly. Callie was always a horrible liar, which made her one of the most trustworthy people. It usually worked to her advantage except for now. "Every time I close my eyes.. I'm scared." She admitted while pulling the blanket closer to her body. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw the lady with a grin on her face, enjoying her sorrow. Callie's eyes widened, but, when she blinked, the woman was already long gone.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

She smiled when he pulled her chair out for her, taking a seat across from him at the table. It felt like something out of a fairytale. "Well, I'm glad you decided to bring me here for the experience. It looks amazing," she replied, looking over at him from her side of the table. And it really did. She was beaming with approval. "Oliver, you don't have to," she objected, before she followed his eyes to the dance floor, letting out a whimsical sigh. The couples looked incredible, practically floating around each other. It made her foot twitch.

--

Brayden looked at Callie carefully as she spoke. For some reason, he felt like she was holding back something from him, which only confused him. Why wouldn't she tell him the whole truth? Nonetheless, he held her close and kissed the top of her head. "Shh," he soothed her, his voice quiet. "It's just a dream. It's not real. This is real, you and me lying here together. Nothing else is real, it's just something in your head. You're probably still freaked about the hospital thing," he guessed before rationalizing. "But it's not real. You just have an overactive imagination, babe. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."

@ Miley Cyrus;

Oliver glanced over to look at Emily across the table, recognizing that same look from before. It was obvious that she wanted to take a chance to get out onto the dance floor. A small smile appeared on his face as he stood up and moved over to her side of the table, holding out his hand. "Emily, would you care for a dance?" He questioned with the same smile. Oliver could no longer take the look on her face that was practically ready to leap out of the chair.

--

Listening to Brayden tell her everything she wanted to hear, she gave a small sigh. Callie wanted to believe everything that he was saying to her, but something about her situation felt off. "I.. I had a dream about the delivery boy's death." She started off, unable to hold it in any longer. With him saying all those sweet words, she could not lie to him; it was one of her weaknesses. "It was like I was a third party just watching the whole scenario. You were asleep so.. so I watched myself get up and the pizza came. I watched myself answer the doorbell, and the delivery boy was pretty freaked. He knew something was wrong. There was something wrong with me.. I watched myself go to the kitchen and reached out for one of the knives, but then I stopped. I heard the sound from something outside, and then I went back to you. It's crazy, but it felt so real, Brayden. I am telling you the truth." She explained, waiting for him to tell her that she was crazy. Maybe she was, but she could not even tell anymore.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Emily was humming softly along with the music playing around her, lightly tapping her foot to the music. She didn't even notice Oliver stand up until he was right in front of her and his kind gesture made her smile. "I'd love to," she agreed gently, standing up and taking his hand, allowing him to whisk her away onto the dance floor. She let his hand fall to her slender waist, her hand resting on his shoulder, the other captured between his. Emily smiled when they began waltzing themselves, joining the other couples in floating about the dance floor.

--

Brayden's eyebrows furrowed more and more as Callie spoke. The things she was saying sounded, well, crazy. But he knew his girlfriend and one thing she wasn't was crazy. "Well, maybe you had a premonition," he reasoned, trying to take this seriously. "My grandma claimed to be a psychic when she was alive and she was a good lady, so if she believed in that stuff then I guess I could too." Although the more he talked about it, the crazier it sounded. "I don't think you had anything to do with it, I think that's just how you saw your vision."

@ Miley Cyrus;

Oliver placed a hand against her waist, gently holding her hand in his own. As soon as they stepped onto the dance floor, they started to move along to the rhythm with the rest of the couples. Many of the spectators adored the atmosphere filling the room as the couples danced about. Looking down into Emily's green eyes, he immediately found that same spark he had back inside of the office. He led her throughout the song, throwing in a few spins here and there. Soon, they had danced through six or seven songs without even realizing it.

--

Looking into his ocean blue eyes, she could see that there was an ounce of doubt mixed in there. Callie did not blame him in the least for his thoughts. It was completely crazy. If it had been the reversed situation, Callie had no idea what she would have said. "M-Maybe, I don't know. All I know is that I'm really freaked out, and I don't want to have another premonition or whatever it was." She admitted, just wanting to move on from it already. Offering a small smile, she reached up to place a gentle kiss against his cheek. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better though, Babe." Callie did really appreciate the effort even though she was convinced that Brayden thought she was completely crazy.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Emily easily moved around the dance floor with Oliver as her partner. They easily went through seven dances, of which she moved in to rest her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed but she was still smiling, a perfect dance partner for the relaxed investigator. At least she knew now what made him less tense. The atmosphere sent a warm feeling throughout her body and she felt completely at ease, moreso than any of these past few days.

--

Brayden was still thinking it over, even as Callie explained herself to him. He just couldn't fathom how any of those things could've rationally happened. All he knew was that from now on, he'd be watching her a little bit more. He didn't want to think about what would've happened if the pizza boy stayed and let her get her knife.

@ Miley Cyrus;

After the song ended, they announced that the music would resume shortly. "We can dance later, but we should order some food for now." He suggested while taking her hand and walking off of the dance floor. It had taken a pretty huge chunk of his energy to refrain himself from even taking the smallest bite from her. When he escorted her back to her seat, Oliver excused himself to go to the bathroom. Some of the vampires came here to dine, because the restaurant would store the blood from the animals it killed for the dishes. It made money off of the side selling it to other vampires who did not want to feed on humans. He decided that this would be his best bet for getting some dinner without making things suspicious. Oliver went towards the back of the kitchen, waving a fifty dollar bill. "One bag. And you do understand what I mean." He told the sous chef that come out from the back.

--

Eventually, Callie had drifted off into a sleep without even realizing it, consumed by her own fatigue. Her hand was clutching onto Brayden's shirt, refusing to let go, while her head was still tucked underneath his chin. It was evident that she was still clearly afraid of what might happen in her sleep.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

Emily nodded in agreement as he led her back to their table. She felt more energetic than she had before. It felt like she'd never stopped dancing in the first place. They had danced for quite some time so she didn't mind taking a break, though. While he excused himself to the bathroom, she slowly shuffled through the menu, trying to figure out what exactly she wanted.

The chef pocketed the money, shoving it into his apron, before he shouted to some of the orderlies standing around. He took out a bag from the refrigerator, setting it on a tray before bringing it to Oliver. "This doe was killed fresh this morning," he assured Oliver, handing over his food.

--

Brayden was cuddled up against Callie, fast asleep himself. The pills he'd taken worked on him and he was now knocked out, his head resting on the pillows. His arm was still loosely around Callie's waist, in an attempt to protect her from herself.

@ Miley Cyrus;

Oliver leaned against the wall while waiting for the chef to return with his order. At this point, it did not even matter what animal it had come from for his thirst had grown great. "Thank you." The police officer gave a small nod towards the other while grabbing the bag of blood off of the tray to place into his pocket. He moved over towards the bathroom, entering inside one of the stalls. Oliver listened to his surroundings to make sure that no one else had been inside before taking out the bag. Despite his thirst, he reminded himself to be neat when he drank, not wanting to get any on his suit. Opening the ziplocked bag, Oliver tipped his head back to down the contents of the bag. He finished it within minutes and exhaled a sigh of relief as he brought his head back upright. That had been a close call for Oliver. Exiting the stall, Oliver tossed the emptied bag into the trash can and hid them beneath the numerous paper towels. His eyes moved over to the mirror to adjust himself before he turned to leave the bathroom. "Sorry, I did not mean to take long." He excused while sitting down across from Emily with a smile.

--

Once again, Callie found herself in another one of her so-called dreams. The third person view was back with her viewing herself in the bed with Brayden. She wanted to reach out to run her hand through his soft hair, admiring how vulnerable he looked asleep. Stepping closer, she reached out to touch him but found a pair of eyes staring back at her. Callie automatically gasped at the sudden fright, taking a step back away from herself on the bed. A slow smirk grew on her own lips as the person possessing her body reached out to touch Brayden. "H-Hey. What do you think you're doing?" She called out to herself, not liking this situation.