A/N: yay! this one is 3, 167 words, people! Read and review! Love you all!

My Second Life Sucks

CHAPTER TEN

We were just heading out of the lot when something blurry flashed about a metre in front of us. I immediately stopped and stared wide-eyed at the man who started it all.

The bastard.

Damien was breathing heavily in front of us, his eyes a bit glazed like he had run from somewhere far away, and took a step forward.

I snapped out of my stupor and hit the gas with enough force to shove the pedal though the car floor. Jack looked over at me like I was insane as I picked up just enough speed and moved my legs with a dramatic effort and slammed the brake. I skid across the pavement but I was close enough that I hit Damien with the right amount of force to send him flying back a few steps.

“What the fuck?!” Jack yelled as he tried to lunge forward and see if Damien was okay. Except that the seat belt he had recently strapped himself in pulled him back into his chair with a distinct 'Oof'.

“Oh, he's fine. I'm surprised you didn't notice he's a vampire,” I said nonchantly.

“Oh, I did. I'm not retarded. I was just checking to see if you knocked him out,” he replied just as nonchantly.

“Right.”

Then Jack unbuckled himself and got out of the car. He walked over to Damien, only to be kicked to the ground as Damien's leg came swinging behind his knees.

I bursted out laughing as Jack started to attack Damien. Served him right.

And boys will be boys, I supposed.

I leaned back into my seat for the show as Jack got a right hook in the face. He punched Damien right back and broke his nose. Blood spurted onto Damien's face but he paused to crack it back into place and resumed their cat fight. I rolled down my window as their tumbling began to get a bit too graphic for my viewing pleasure.

“Guys! GUYS!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. This caught their attention briefly as they simultaneously looked at me to see who was making all the racket. And then once they realized it was only me, they proceeded to beat themselves senseless.

I had no idea what they were even fighting about, because really, they wouldn't accomplish anything. Adding onto the universal saying 'violence never solves anything', they healed the wounds they inflicted on each other just as fast as they made them! Either way, I had had enough of it.

I growled under my breath as I abandoned my car and stomped over to their rolling figures. They weren't even fighting like a vampire and hunter. It was ridiculous!

I assumed Jack didn't actually want to kill Damien because he hadn't pulled out any of his hunter toys—yet—and Damien didn't look mad enough to do anything stupid. But then again, stupidity seemed to run as commonly as the blood through his body.

“Stop it right now!” I stomped my foot angrily on the ground in front of them.

They didn't even blink.

“Fine! I'm not going to help either of you with your problems!”

They both let go of each other at alarming speed.

Hmm... at least now I knew their sore spot.

I cleared my throat before speaking normally, “Get into my car, Jack.”

Jack glared at me and I sent an equally—if not more—vicious one back. He mumbled something incomprehensible and glowered towards my car. I waited until I heard my car door slam before turning around and watching Jack's intense glare towards the two of us through the front window.

I rolled my eyes at his childish behaviour and relocated my glare towards Damien. He was now hovering above me with his usual cocky smirk plastered onto his face.

I took a deliberate step back.

“What do you want?”

“I still need your help.”

“Fat chance of that ever happening now, Andrews.” I spat out his last name with distain.

His cocky smirk faded and a sorrowful expression replaced it. He looked down at me with pleading eyes.

“Please. We're both stuck in this together whether we want it or not. Why not help each other out in the process?” He rose an eyebrow as if daring me to argue against his reasoning.

Unfortunately, it made sense.

Plus, the more help I had with the murder case, the faster it would get solved, and the faster I would have everyone out of my life.

My heart fluttered with joy at this fact. At least, I thought it was joy.

But my expression stayed the same. If not worse.

“I already have help.” I crossed my arms and stuck my head away from him.

I had already decided that I was going to let him help me, but for all that he had put me through and what he was going to, I felt obligated to make him squirm a little.

Jack would make a perfect pawn.

Sorry, Jack.

“Him?” Damien said disgustedly.

“Yes, him. Jack happens to be very helpful,” I chirped.

“With what? He's a hunter, for Christ sake!”

“He is good at a lot of... things,” I shot back, hinting at a double meaning.

I mean, it wouldn't be my fault if he interpreted my sentence as something else. Right?

Right.

Damien's eyes got dark and he took a menacing step forwards that would make a weaker person turn on his heel and run.

I, however, was not that smart.

“Oh, really?” he said in a low voice.

“Uh...” My eyes skidded to the right and then to the left.

Damn.

“Yes?” I mumbled hesitantly under my breath. I wanted to hold my ground, but it was getting harder with every second. Damien's presence was defying all logic and common sense. It was like he had this gravitational pull on me while I wanted to go cower in a corner.

He grinned—and as if calling me on my bluff—he leaned in until his face was hovering just above mine.

I got lost in his dark soulful brown eyes with so many emotions running through them, it was all I could do to keep from crumpling at his feet. I hardly noticed as my arms dropped to my sides, and I unconsciously licked my lips (they were dry—I swear!). His eyes flickered down to my mouth before he gazed back into my eyes with such intensity, it was like he was peering into my very soul.

It was a bit unnerving to see what hold he could have on me, and I was slightly grateful and dejected in the same instant that he moved his head to my ear.

“Bet I'm better,” he whispered with his voice spewing lust, and then he nipped the bottom of my ear where Jack had done the same not too long ago.

He pulled back with a satisfied look on his face and drifted off towards my car. Leaving me behind as a simmering blob of mush on the concrete.

Huh.

That was...interesting.

I scraped myself off of the side of the road and rotated very slowly to face my car, floating over to it with wobbly knees.

As I slid myself into the driver's seat, I buckled myself in and sat silently, staring distantly out onto the road.

“What the fuck was that, bloodsucker?” Jack directed to Damien.

“Just a little persuasion,” he shrugged with a smirk.

“Persuasion my ass! What did you say to her? She's like a fucking lump now!” Jack waved his hand at my immobility.

“No she's not,” Damien argued.

Except I think I was going to go with Jack on this one. Sadly.

“Fuck,” Jack sighed. “You can't even get through to her. She's in her own little happy world.”

Damien smirked again and leaned forward until his head was on the side of my headrest.

“Fangs?”

I blinked once. Twice.

“Hello?” Jack waved his hand in front of my face and I jumped.

“Wha-?”

“Thought we lost you there, Fangs,” Damien answered from behind me.

“Right.”

Jack raised his eyebrows at Damien and me. His initial scowl was replaced with an amused expression.

“Fangs?” Jack smirked.

At this, I scowled and glared over at both of them.

“Stupid nickname. Don't you dare repeat it.” I stuck a menacing finger in his face.

“Sure, sure.” He nodded his head and leaned back to the front. “It's lame anyways.”

Damien made a motion to strangle Jack but I caught him by sticking my arm between the front and back seat.

“Don't,” I threatened.

Damien smiled innocently and leaned back into his chair.

All of a sudden, Yuri materialized out of nowhere.

“Holy shit!” I shouted.

“What? What?” Both of the boys said simultaneously, while twisting around in their seats to see what I had shouted out for.

“Uh...” I glanced at both of them and then back to Yuri. I hadn't even realized he was gone! How pathetic is that?

“Hello, dear! Sorry for the inconvenience. I had to leave you with my son for a moment while I went to grab this boy.” He looked over at Damien.

So that's how he found me.

Damn that Yuri. Just making things more complicated than they need to be. Must be his life philosophy or something.

“What'd you do that for?” I wailed.

I mean, honestly. Damien was not something I needed to deal with. Especially with Jack in the wings.

“What do you mean, what? You just yelled out about nothing!” Damien hollered behind me.

Oops. Forgot about the whole only-I-see-dead-people factor. Well, at least Jack thinks I'm a schizo. My story is covered for him. Damien, however, knows that I am not.

This could get difficult.

“Um...I forgot...to bring tampons?”

If there is one subject boys will not build upon for conversation, it's 'the time of the month'. In all my eighteen years of experience, they all avoided it like the plague.

Even vampires and hunters. They're still guys, after all.

“Didn't need to know that.” Damien looked a bit grossed out. Jack nodded his head in agreement. I rolled my eyes and raised an eyebrow at Yuri for him to answer.

“I saw you two fighting by my body and I thought he would know how to help. He is, after all, a vampire like yourself, no?”

I looked over to Damien and he looked over to me.

“I didn't, Fangs. Really. Keep those comments to yourself.”

“You asked.” I turned back to face the front. “Keep going,” I said to Yuri.

I was hoping he would get the message that I couldn't talk to him face-to-face and would keep explaining himself.

“Well, as a vampire, he has connections to the VA that Jack doesn't. Not that you don't too, but he knows where it is. I don't because they never let me into their home base. I always met up with them at Lux.”

Lux was a bar full of drunk, horny college students looking for a good time. Not somewhere I'd willingly go. If he was ever expecting me to go meet some connection of his, he had another thing coming.

“You might want to try turning the key,” Jack advised.

I realized I had been staring out the window with a slightly frustrated and mostly peeved look on my face.

“Okay,” I drawled as an reply to both Holt's. After I revved the engine, I drove out of the lot and turned on some music to keep Jack and Damien from fighting or trying to talk to me.

“I think I got him here very efficiently, too.” I could practically feel Yuri grinning behind me.

“How could you do this to me?” I sang the lyrics to the song being projected through my stereo, belting out 'how' as my actual question to Yuri.

Jack looked over at me like I had sprouted antenna's.

I faithfully ignored him.

“I can't actually talk to him, but I can come into contact with inanimate objects if I concentrate hard enough. So I wrote a note saying where you were on a post-it and stuck it to his forehead.”

I couldn't help myself. The image that Yuri had described was absolutely priceless and I burst out laughing.

“Jesus Christ! Are you fucking bipolar?” Jack shouted in annoyance.

I smiled widely and clamped my lips together, wiping away the tears from my eyes with my free hand. I returned to concentrate on my driving, but I snorted again when the image of a confused Damien with a bright green post-it note stuck on his forehead popped into my head.

“It was quite amusing, dear. But that is why he is here. I thought you could use the extra help.”

I was too entertained by his antics to really care that he thought I needed the extra help.

“Are you okay, Fangs?” Damien asked warily.

“Yeah, yeah. Just terrific.”

“Is she always like this?” Jack turned slightly to Damien.

“You haven't seen the worst of it,” Damien warned.

“And you have?”

“You ever stolen the girl's underwear?”

Jack grinned and shook his head.

“I wouldn't recommend it.”

“Hey! I'm sitting right here guy's!” I waved a hand absentmindedly between their conversing space. “And you haven't even given it back, you jerk,” I scowled.

Actually, I had forgotten about it once I went dead body surfing during our little hospital adventure. But now, I remembered him never actually acting out his part of the agreement.

Jack laughed as Damien smirked at me through the rear view mirror.

Damn.

They were bonding.

I didn't mind that fact, except that they were bonding at my expense.

I liked it better when they were fighting.

“Shut up,” I growled.

&

“Jackybear!”

A petite woman with short brown hair gelled back and out of her face came bounding out of her bedroom and directed her pathway right towards Jack. She probably had all five feet on Jack's insane six foot three.

That was who was going to help us?

Oh, yes.

All one hundred pounds of her.

“Jack?!” she shouted lividly. She suddenly gave out a war cry scream and began to run quarterback style towards him. I could see the slight flash of surprisement in Jack's eyes before she rammed directly into his stomach. For a split second the force of her hit had us all speechless as she stood there slammed into his stomach and his feet stood planted—if not rooted—to the ground. And then when that split second passed, Jack went flying off the ground and into the nearest wall.

He made a giant dent in the plaster and slid down the wall until he touched the baseboard.

The woman smirked and brushed her hands together before turning to us.

“Hey! I'm Kayla Micheals,” she said without a hint of the anger she had before. I rose an eyebrow over to Jack as she held out her hand.

I think I'm going to like her.

“Valerie Sharp.” I shook her hand and then pointed to Jack. “You need to show me how to do that.”

Kayla broke out into a wide grin and rose an eyebrow at Jack's slumped form.

“I do tutorials.”

She turned to Damien and held out her hand. He looked down at it like it was going to bite him.

What a wimp.

“You must be Damien,” she deadpanned as he didn't take her hand.

“H-how d'you know that?” Damien stuttered looking over at Jack who was now stirring.

“I'm a psychic!” She waggled her fingers in front of his face, and he jumped back a bit.

She turned to me and rolled her eyes.

“Hunter's have stuff they're good at too, you know. We don't all just bash in vampire's brains with oversized clubs. Some of us have more style than that,” she grinned.

“Like what?” I asked curiously.

“Like sleeping in late,” Jack grunted from in front of us.

Kayla automatically shot a glare in his direction. I swear, if looks could kill, Jack would be headed six feet under.

“Like...” She turned back to face me. “Computers. Hacking. Making new toys.”

“You're a hacker?”

“Pretty much. The Hunters need info? I get it. In return, they test out how some of the equipment I make works. Some of it has been known to...explode.”

“Oh.”

Great.

“Jack makes the best tester because if he gets blown up, he heals!”

At this Jack rolled his eyes as he slid up the side of the wall, leaning on it for support.

“Something you take advantage of way too much. It still hurts you know.”

“Details, details.” She waved her hand absentmindedly at him.

“You're such a bitch,” Jack grumbled under his breath.

Me and Damien heard him, but I wasn't sure if Kayla did or was just patently ignoring him.

“So, what do I owe this special visit?”

She looked at Damien, Damien looked at me, and I looked at Jack.

“We need your help.”

“Well I figured that much out, dumbass. What do you need it for?”

“We're... hunting,” Jack hesitated.

“Who?”

“We don't know.”

“Well how am I supposed to get info on 'em?!” Kayla shrieked with annoyance. Honestly, I was expecting her to stomp her foot and start throwing a tantrum if Jack didn't just spit it out soon.

“It's... not important. We just need equipment.”

“No.”

“What?!” Jack roared at her blatant refusal. “You can't just say 'no'!”

“I just did,” Kayla mocked.

“You are.”

“Not.”

“Are!”

“Not!”

“It's for the murderer of the killings around the city!” I blurted out.

Seriously, they acted like a quarreling siblings—immaturity and all. I had to buffer them before they started to tear each other apart. Literally.

“O-oh,” Kayla sputtered. All the anger slid off her face and her footing wavered a bit.

Jack just glared at me and I realized he wasn't telling her for a good reason.

I didn't know what it was... but it must have had to be bad if the headstrong Kayla was looking green in the face.

“Sorry.” I shuffled my feat uneasily.

“N-no. That's fine. Thanks for telling me.”

I thought I saw her eyes gloss over, but whatever remnants were there were quickly blinked back.

Shit.

“Just give me the toys, Kayla.”

“No.” She glanced between each one of us and then smirked mercilessly. “I'm coming with.”

A/N: Dun dun dun! Why is she so...blah about it? What will happen next? Will one of her creations blow up? Action is coming up! (I don't know when...but soon enough. XD)

Thank you to who reviewed the last chapter. I realize I'm shooting these out faster than some people check their email...oh well!