Nick and Lynnette's Apartment

[Nick]

There was nothing quite like coming home after a rough day at the office, save for coming home to a fresh bag of Gummi bears and rock music. The music was never loud enough to warrant noise complaints, but the volume was high enough to make Nick think of open country roads, without another car in sight, blasting the radio with the top of his gleaming silver convertible back. He had spent a lot of nights traveling back roads with the music blaring and the wind whipping around him. It was one of his favorite things to do, and, as he tossed a red bear into the air and caught it easily, he made a note to take some time soon to go cruising down some empty back roads.

Standing in the center of his living room, his shoes, tie and navy suit jacket discarded on or near the sofa, Nick chewed thoughtfully on the candy. Normally, he would have changed, but the suit pants and white dress shirt were comfortable enough for the time being.

What to do, what to do? He rocked back and forth on his heels, contemplating his options as he continued to eat the multi-colored candies one by one, his clear hazel eyes roaming around the room. Something would come to him given enough time and when it did, he would be raring to go.

[Nick]

Nick's eyes lit up as something came to mind and he went about getting ready. Putting the package of candy onto the table, he practically sprinted to the bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of faded blue jeans with a rip in the left knee, a dark blue T-shirt, his favorite pair of hiking boots that he kept just for occasions such as this and a brown bomber jacket. A quick glance in the mirror on the wall and he was ready to go. Driving around LA may not have been as good as a drive through the countryside, but it was certainly good enough on such short notice. Besides, there were clubs everywhere and he was thinking that he could do with something a bit more substantial to eat than Gummi bears. Maybe a burger.

Heading back to the living room, he snatched up his keys and another handful of candy before heading out, locking his apartment door behind him and making a beeline for his carefully cared for silver convertible, chewing on Gummi bears the whole way.

Continued at: Dave's Burgers

[Nick]

Continued from: The Onyx; Club Exterior and Alleys

Nick moved into the apartment slowly, closing and locking the door behind him. Not bothering to turn on a light, he moved towards the bedroom, shedding his jacket on the way, letting it fall to the floor in the living room. He would pick it up later. Right now, he needed to shower and get the blood off him. Even though the wounds had stopped bleeding for the most part, he needed to get it off him.

I bet I screwed up the car's upholstery, Nick thought, making it to the bedroom. In the darkness, he gathered what he needed, ditching his shoes in the floor before heading to the bathroom. Entering, he left the light off, dropping everything onto the counter. Taking off the pendant, he put it aside on the counter and began to remove the ruined clothing, which would have to be tossed out. Every move pained him and the water wasn't going to be pleasant, but he could handle it.

[Nick]

Nick put a rush on the shower, hissing and swearing as the pounding water stung his injuries. Only when he was finally dried off and dressed in a pair of black sweatpants, his almost constantly present pendant back around his neck, did he turn on the bathroom light. Blinking in the brightness, he started rummaging through his first aid supplies. "Scary that I have so much of this crap..." Nick muttered to himself, shifting through things until he found what he was looking for.

He dressed his wounds, having to twist his upper body as much as he could and make use of the large mirror above the sink in order to make sure he managed to get ointment on all of those on his back. Once he was finally bandaged up, he shut off the light and left the bathroom, heading for the living room. He had left the radio on when he had left earlier and now shut it off. He was in no mood for music. Once that was done, he moved into the kitchen, the tiles cool on his barefeet.

Pulling open the refrigerator, he scanned its contents and spotted what he wanted in the light that issued from the appliance. There were still three bottles of beer left. Pulling one out, he shut the door, plunging the kitchen back into comfortable darkness. Opening the drink, he tossed the cap on the counter to be dealt with at a later time and headed back to the living room, where he collapsed on the sofa and took a long drink before pulling open the heavy drapes that covered the window behind his chosen spot. He settled himself against the arm of the sofa, careful of his wounds, and looked out the window, a frown on his face as he brooded.

[Nick]

Nick's beer ran empty far too quickly for his liking, but rather than get up and get another, he put the empty bottle on the glass topped coffee table and shifted, careful of the bites and scratches as he leaned back against the arm of the sofa. He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. It was still early enough that he felt like he needed to be out on the town, but he had had his ego very severely bruised and he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go out againt or not. Oh, he certainly wasn't going to take to hiding in his apartment like a scared little punk, but as much as moving hurt at the moment, he thought staying in for the rest of the night was probably his best bet. Unless I run out out of beer.

[Nick]

Deciding that he really did want another beer right then, Nick got up carefully and picked up the empty bottle before making his way to the kitchen. Putting the bottle in the trash, he pulled open the refrigerator and took another beer.

"Glad I don't have anything to be working on right now," he muttered to himself, pushing the door shut and wincing a little as he straightened up again. "It'd seriously suck if I had to do something for work."

He twisted off the cap and had it join the empty bottle in the garbage before making his way back to the living room and settling down again. Full moon is close. I bet it's going to be a fiasco that night. It usually is.

[Nick]

Tapping his fingers against the bottle he held, a soft frown on his face as he thought about the upcoming full moon. Ever since he started as a reporter, he had tried to get put on any werewolf articles, mostly because that gave him the opportunity to edit things as need be in order to keep their existance a secret. He had felt guilty about doing that at first, but these days it was second nature and the guilt had long since abated. That, however, did not mean that he covered up the truth lightly.

[Nick]

Only one more beer in there, he thought to himself, tilting his head slightly to the side as he looked out the window. After I finish that one off I'm either going to have to call it a night or go get more. Both options were equally distasteful, so he would decide what to do once the third bottle was empty. Since the one he currently had was still half full, the thought of running out of beer wasn't exactly the thing he was worried most about.

Actually, at the moment, he wasn't really all that worried about anything. He saw no reason to have any worries at the moment. Certainly, he was in pain, but that was nothing to actually worry over and there was no way he was going to worry about the vampire or her werewolf. They weren't going to keep indoors. He smirked to himself. It would take a lot more than getting his butt kicked in an alley to keep Nick Sherwood locked in his apartment.

[Nick]

Nick was taking a drink of beer when a scent caught his attention. Lowering the bottle and swallowing, he concentrated a bit. He was used to the scents of the building- humans, vampires and werewolves all had apartments there- but this was a scent he hadn't smelled before. Seems like there's a newcomer to the building, he thought. That or a visitor.

Curious, he quickly drained the bottle of beer and got up, heading for the bedroom. Nick was naturally curious and, like earlier, it could get him in trouble, but that had never stopped him before. Deciding that he could just add a T-shirt and sneakers to the black sweatpants and be decent enough- he wasn't out to impress anyone- he entered the bedroom and pulled open a dresser drawer, pulling out the first T-shirt he found, a white one, and a pair of socks.

He put on the shirt on carefully, a flicker of pain flashing across his face as he pulled it on, before sitting on the bed and putting on the socks. Grabbing up his scuffed white sneakers from their spot by the bed, he pulled them on before leaving the room again, slipping his knife into his right pocket and picking up his keys before pulling the scarab pendant from beneath the shirt. Running a hand through his hair quickly, he left the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Continued in: The Hallway

[Nick]

Nick rummaged through his refrigerator, looking for anything that grabbed his attention even the slightest bit. Never did remember to go get more beer. Damn. Shrugging, more comfortable with the movement now that his injuries had healed up, he grabbed a soda and kicked the door closed. Popping the soda open, he headed for the living room, stopping long enough to turn the radio up and glancing out the window at the rising moon. It had been a long time since the moon had actually done more than make him a little more restless than normal. Then again, that could always be the massive amount of caffeine he tended to consume on the full moon. He wasn’t sure why that was, but it always seemed to be the case.

Taking a drink, he paced across the living room, nodding his head to the music as he went. He had finished up and turned in the articles he had been assigned, but he had his cell phone on him just in case he got the call to go check out a situation. His boss had already learned that he was good at handling the odder situations- it had been that was in every other city he had worked in- so he was usually the only one to get sent out when something seemed strange.

Wonder what Lyn’s up to tonight? Hope it’s something better than what I am. Tilting his head back, he took a long drink from his soda and continued pacing. He didn’t feel like staying home, but he didn’t really know what he wanted to do with the night.

[Lynnette]

Continued from: Lynnette’s Apartment.


Striding down the hall left Lyn’s senses tingling; she could smell vampire on the move, but was in no hurry to encounter one of their kind. She had no particular issue with them as a whole, but generally avoided them, if she could help it. Shaking it off, she headed straight for her destination, only stopping when she was outside his door.

He could probably already smell her — especially given that, when she headed out as she was now, she usually wore the faintest touch of vanilla — but she still hesitated at the door itself, wondering if she would perhaps be intruding or something of the like. And then she realised she wouldn’t know unless she tried, so with that, she lifted a hand, and knocked firmly on the door, saying as if it might reassure him, “Hey, Nick, it’s Lyn.” She could hear the music playing from inside, but had no doubt that he would detect her voice.

[Nick]

Nick had noted the faint scent of vanilla- it was an unusual scent around the complex- but he stopped pacing when he heard Lyn’s knock and voice. He had figured that she was just passing by, but he had to admit that her stopping was actually a very pleasant surprise. Taking a quick drink and letting his eyes scan the area to make sure that it was at least semi-presentable, he nodded in satisfaction. It was much neater than normal. Heading to the door, he pulled it open with a grin. “Hey, Lyn. What brings you around here tonight?”

[Lynnette]

Lyn smiled brightly when he showed himself, and obviously in agreeable spirits. He looked about as ready for a lazy night as she had been, but while she was definitely no empath, she knew restlessness when she saw it, and the fact that he was drinking a caffeine-loaded soda was something of a hint as well. “Well, I was gonna just laze around, but… well, the wolf’s got other ideas.” There was no one else in that particular hall, and she wasn’t worried about any humans overhearing her statement. “If you know what I mean.” She laughed slightly, and inhaled, forming the question in her mind.

“Was wondering if you were as eager to get out of this place as I am.” It wasn’t so much a question, she realised, after saying it aloud, but it was an offer all the same, and one she found herself sincerely hoping he would consider… and maybe accept.

[Nick]

“I know what you mean all too well. I may be an old timer, but the wolf still gets restless. Getting out of here sounds great. Otherwise, I might wear a hole in the carpet, pacing back and forth.” He pulled the door open with the hand that wasn’t holding the soda can and made a movement of ushering her inside. As much as he enjoyed going out, it’d be nice to have someone to go with. “Why don’t you come in and I’ll toss on something semi-decent. At least, maybe a shirt without a stain.” The white T-shirt he was wearing had some odd, purplish stain on the front that he honestly didn’t want to consider the origin of. “It shouldn’t take me too long to change. You want something to drink? All I’ve got is soda. I drank the last of the beer and haven’t gotten around to getting any more yet.”

[Lynnette]

“Well, I wouldn’t have called you an old-timer, but who am I to argue?” She flashed him a brief grin before taking his offer to step into the apartment. It was very much different from her own, obviously, with a definite masculine touch to its furnishing, but she’d been in her fair share of different apartments, and it was hardly uninhabitable. Actually, it was sort of refreshing, after spending the week getting her own to some semblance of liveable.

She’d seen the stain, but was as likely to ponder on its origin as Nick was, probably, so it was out of her mind even as she turned back to him, shaking her head. “I’m good. I can wait until we get into the big wide world for another drink. I just had a beer, so I’m sure I’ll manage.” Again, she smiled, glancing around briefly again. “Nice place.”

Not the most original compliment in the world…