I Hope They Taste of Me Forever

Those weeks after Pete and I got together must have been the happiest times of my life that I could remember. It was nice, having a ‘relationship’. If that’s even what it could be called. It’s nice knowing that someone cares about you. It’s nice knowing that someone thinks about you almost all the time. It’s nice knowing that someone thinks you’re beautiful. It’s just nice.

And as much as I hate to admit it, it did take its toll on me. I toned down the bitchiness (for the most part), and perhaps a little more soft-spoken. I guess that was probably good for me.

My horrifying nightmares, my nightmares that made me overheat and feel sick, were no longer what drew Pete to my bedside. Rather, he was already there with me, holding me, and he scared the nightmares away. My eyes were bluer than ever, and everything was blissfully perfect. Eerily perfect, actually. I knew that it couldn’t last forever, but in a way that made me appreciate the moments even more.

We still fought a lot, but that was more for the novelty of angry sex. Surprisingly, we actually managed to keep the PDA to a minimum. Every now and then someone would accidentally walk in at the wrong time, but what can you expect living with five boys who misunderstand the concept of a closed door?

The most pressing matter on my mind would have had to have been Hunter. When Pete and I first got together he seemed far less than thrilled, but I put that down to the fact that I’d sort of been ignoring him and all of a sudden he found out that I’d been spending most of my time twisting tongues with who was supposedly my least favorite, if not most despised being that I knew. I guess I could understand why he was a bit pissed off.

I spoke to him to apologize and make things right. It seemed to have worked perfectly, because any previous signs of annoyance had been wiped clean. It was kind of creepy, actually, how quickly his attitude had done a 180. But who was I to complain? I made sure to make more time for Hunter. We began to speak more again, and he was rapidly becoming my best friend. I mean, it’s difficult to have just one best friend when you live with such a tight-knit group, but for us it somehow seemed to work. I think it had something to do with the fact that we were the new ones. Sure, I wasn’t so new anymore, but compared to the others I was. They were there for the start of it. Pete, Patrick, Joe and Andy had known each other years before I came along. Hunter was the same as me. Somehow, I suppose we kind of bonded over that.

Anyway, no matter how much I go into the logistics of it, nothing’s going to change. Hunter and I were close, and that’s that. Pete wasn’t entirely happy about it; he still didn’t trust Hunter completely. But he knew that Hunter made me happy, so that maintained his tolerance. Hunter’s ankle was taking longer to heal than Patrick had anticipated, and he still couldn’t come hunting with us. It pissed him off to no end, but it left a satisfied smirk on Pete’s lips. I didn’t bother saying anything to either of them. It wouldn’t change anything.

“You ready?”

I turned around, tucking a stake into one of the belt loops on my black jeans. I gave Pete a small smile, and he returned it softly as he walked to join me in the training room. I wore a white tank top and a black jacket, the hood lined with faux fur. My long blonde hair was in a high ponytail, hanging pin straight down my back, and my fringe was pinned back out of my face. I’d used make-up to give my eyes a smoky effect; unusual as it was, hunting was probably the closest I was ever going to get to a night out on the town. Maybe one day I’d be normal, but that day wasn’t now. So I thought I’d make the most of it, live it up while I can.

“Yep,” I told him as I slid a silver dagger into the sheath Patrick had sewn on the inside of one of the black boots I was wearing. I’d been trying to improve my hunting skills. Specifically, hunting in heels. If punks can do it, why can’t I? Besides, I knew Pete was looking out for me now.

I felt his cold fingertips touch my waist, and I turned around in his hold to face him. I placed my arms on his shoulders, and noticed his smirk.

“I quite like this look you have going for you, you know?” he said, before I got the chance to ask. “It’s very… dominatrix.”

I laughed and nudged him away, but he caught me again.

“That’s a compliment, Princess,” he mumbled closely to my lips.

“Still haven’t let go of the nickname?” I sighed, but in all honesty I didn’t mind so much anymore. He probably knew that too.

“Nope.”

I made some sort of vague acknowledging sound before leaning in to kiss him. It was sweet, lips only, and only lasted a few seconds before it was interrupted by Joe coughing, standing somewhat awkwardly at the door we’d forgotten to close.

“Uh, are you guys ready to leave yet?” he asked. Pete and I had a speedy conversation in our minds that he probably lost a bet with the others in order to be the one to come up and get us.

“Yep,” I said, pulling away from Pete’s chest ad taking his hand instead. “Let’s go.”

***

“Nice one, Elle!” Pete shouted at me and I grinned, blowing into the dust of the hood vamp I’d just vanquished for dramatic effect.

“Thanks.”

I tossed him a smile as the vampire he was fighting growled furiously before Pete whipped out a stake and finished him off so blindingly quickly I barely registered it until half a minute later.

“Uh, a little help over here, guys!” Patrick called.

Pete, Andy and I all made it over to him at the same time to smash bottles of holy water over the two vampires trying to bite their way out of the net he’d caught them in. They disappeared soon enough, and the four of us made our way over to help Joe out with the last of them.

“I totally could have done it by myself, guys,” Joe sniffed indignantly, wiping a bleeding cut on his forehead with his sleeve.

“Sure you could, Joe,” I chuckled, patting him on the shoulder as I walked past him into Pete’s outstretched arm.

“Watching you fight vampires like that never gets old,” Pete grinned, his voice husky and low. “It’s very sexy.”

“Oh really?” I inquired flirtatiously.

He captured my lips in his once again, and I kissed back with equal enthusiasm. I think he’d actually started to try and get his shirt ripped in combat…

“I think I liked it better when they were enemies,” Andy sighed, looking away from us.

“Well well well…”

The cold, unexpected voice tore our lips apart faster than any amount of annoyance and disgust ever could. The group of us looked up towards the sound of the voice, eyes wide and undeniably startled. Atop the plain concrete roof of a short building, no more than three storeys high, stood the most villainous of them all, the one I’d almost forgotten about; William fucking Beckett.

“What do we have here?”

Beckett cackled viciously before graciously jumping from the top of the building and landing smoothly on top of a dodgy blue car. He cocked his hip to the side and rested his hand on it, still grinning down at us.

“Mr. Wentz and Miss Williams, together? Not fighting? Tell me, Mr. Trohman, are they actually together or just fuck buddies?”

Joe gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything, which only made Beckett throw his head back and laugh more. As he did, three more Dandies materialized at his side, falling equally as gracefully from the building. I recognized two of them straight away. There was Carden, the one wearing beige who had been my official handler the night Beckett had kidnapped me, so long ago. There was also Brendon, who was specifically looking anywhere but at me and Pete. I felt a pang of guilt; he was the nicest of the Dandies (well, sometimes), and I forgot he had emotional involvement in any matter concerning me. The last Dandy, however, I didn’t recognize, although it didn’t take much guesswork on my part to figure out who she was.

The first thing to be said about her was she was astoundingly beautiful. She was shorter than Beckett, but then again who wasn’t, and she had a perfect figure; curves in all the right places. Her white porcelain skin was flawless, and her eyes were perfectly surrounded in kohl, much like mine. Her lips were full and tinted a dark mauve color, clearly enticing, and they formed a gentle smirk that not even Beckett could master for all its delicacy. Her hair was brown with a subtle reddish tinge, a side fringe, and the ends were pin straight falling past her chest to around the small of her back. She was dressed in a flowing, silvery dress, leaving her back bare and tying at the nape of her neck. Blue and green jewels adorned her wrist and ears, and a stunning large diamond sat on her ring finger. A turquoise heart pendant lay in the v-neck of her dress that plunged just a tad too far down, adding to her aura of temptation.

She was the epitome of perfection, and I had no trouble believing the story Pete had once told me of how Beckett had stopped at nothing to make her his.

Beckett must have noticed me staring, because his laughter ceased and a more charming expression molded his features and he began to speak once again.

“Oh I do apologize. Where are my manners? For your benefit, Miss Williams, this is my lovely bride, Lena.” he began, and I couldn’t help but notice what a drastic understatement his adjective ‘lovely’ was. “My love, this is Elle Williams; the hunter’s sister.”

Lena’s smirk-smile stretched just a little in recognition, and she silkily jumped from the car to the ground before us. She began to walk towards me, and I tensed. None of the guys had lifted their weapons. This either meant that as males, they were even less immune to her beauty than I was, or they didn’t see her as an immediate threat. It was difficult to tell which. She stopped about a foot in front of me, and I felt Pete’s arms tighten around my waist from behind.

“Matthew’s sister?” she questioned, her voice musical and melodic. I couldn’t tell whether she was talking to Beckett or me, but he answered anyway.

“Yes. They do make rather odd siblings, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Lena agreed. “They look very different. Their minds are quite opposite, too. Matthew is so angry, so full of rage. She’s not like that.”

She spoke about me as if I wasn’t there, inspecting me with sharp eyes than I could now see were a sparkling emerald green. One of her index fingers stretched out to touch me, sending a cold spark of electricity running through me.

“Don’t touch her,” Pete growled dangerously from behind me.

Lena glanced over at him, and her lips twitched into a small, impish smile. Her long, black-painted nail drew patterns onto my neck, before trailing up to the tip of my chin and pulling away.

“Very emotional, Peter,” she observed, batting her long eyelashes innocently. “You better be careful. Emotions could destroy someone like you.”

I could tell that Pete was seething, but I quickly entwined out fingers and told him with my mind to relax.

“Very true,” Beckett agreed, leaping from the car to the ground as Lena made her way back to him and twisted their limbs together in a way that surely no one else could ever pull off without looking ridiculous.

Carden and Brendon slowly followed, but stood a good meter or two behind their leaders. Carden looked almost bored, emotionless at best, staring off into the brick building behind us. Brendon still refused to look up from the ground, dark brown tufts of hair sticking out from underneath his bowler hat.

“Now, now, Patrick,” Beckett spoke again, looking towards Pat whose hand had jumped to the last stake in his belt. “There’s no need for hostility. I just want to chat.”

“Well what is it then?” Pete asked gruffly, earning another smirk from the demon before us.

“My sources tell me you have another addition to your little crew,” Beckett said casually, inspecting his nails. “Where is he tonight?”

“What sources?” I spat, narrowing my eyes.

Beckett rolled his eyes.

“Very reliable ones. That’s all you need to know. Now do tell me, why is he not with you tonight? I would dearly have liked to meet him.”

No one answered. Beckett frowned and let out a huff of impatience.

“Come on now. I’m being a gentleman and not taking my answers forcefully. Unless you would like me to stick the pins of my mind into yours, you will tell me what I want to know.”

The others still seemed hesitant to answer, but I knew that Beckett wouldn’t be gentle if he decided to invade their minds. I knew from personal experience how masochistic he could be. I didn’t want them to be subjected to that.

“He’s injured,” I said stiffly. “He’s not hunting.”

“Well that’s a shame,” Beckett replied, sounding like he by no means meant what he said. “I was quite looking forward to this encounter.”

There was a moment of quiet, and I somehow found myself looking over at Brendon. He was still unchanging. I looked down at my feet, and Beckett spoke again.

“His name is Hunter, is it not?” he waited and I nodded tersely. “How… congruent.”

There was another period of silence, and Lena leaned up to whisper in Beckett’s ear. He nodded as she pulled away and took her stance upon the car again.

“Well,” Beckett began yet again, the tiniest hint of mockery in his tone. “No matter, tonight was not a complete waste of time. Elle, Peter, you have our best wishes. Every happiness to you both.”

He gave a final smirk, but my attention was drawn immediately to Brendon who lifted his gaze to look at me with an unfathomable expression. His brown eyes seemed to hold sadness, guilt, relief, remorse and about a hundred other emotions all in one look. He gave me one small, sad smile, but within seconds the Dandies had all disappeared.

I shivered in the wind, and even more so when I felt Pete’s cool hand on my cheek.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes piercing mine.

I gulped and nodded.

“Yeah. What about you guys?”

They all gave shrugs, letting me know that apart from being a bit shaken, an effect which any Dandy encounter is sure to have, they were all fine.

“Just making sure you won’t throw anything at me if I try to speak to you tomorrow,” Pete cracked a smile, and I laughed a little.

I looked up, the dark blue shade of sky visible between buildings. For once, I wished I could see the stars. But Chicago pollution disagrees with that.

“Do you think they’re still there?” I asked lowly. “Watching us?”

“Not anymore,” Pete said. “I’d be able to hear some thoughts if they were.”

I nodded and he pulled me in for a hug.

As we all began walking, I couldn’t get my mind off the beautiful vampire and her powerful lover.