I don't like where this is going

For @Eden <3

"He didn't seem to like me," she sighed, leaning over the dining room table in Kareema's nice apartment. "All he did was hand me a bunch of old files, and I've read through them! They tell me nothing about my mother or who my father might be." It wasn't that she wasn't grateful to Kareema, she had helped her most of the way when the vampyre had found out who she was. Sitting back up straight she imitated the stern vampyre's expression as he flipped through the files in the cabinet, "oh and then there was the lycan who looked at me like he had never seen a vampyre before," it had made her feel rather uncomfortable. Shaking her head she leaned back in the chair, not really able to sit much still.
"I have secured a meeting with him at his office, but I don't want to sit in some stinking office building ... I wish I could see my mother's belongings or at least a decent picture of her; You tell me all the time how much like her I look," she argued.

"But I don't want to interfere, i couldn't imagine the pain it might be for him to speak to his sister's unknown daughter after the loss of said sister," she argued in a soft voice. She wasn't here to cause harm, she just wanted to understand why she had been given up for adoption in the first place. Perhaps some answers or inklings as to why and how. Taking a deep breath, she placed her palms on the table, looking at Kareema. She could smell the blood, but she wasn't quite at the point of hunger.
The notion her biological father might be dead as well made her nod, "but then I would at least know," she argued. Groaning softly she got up from her seat. Everything was such a mess, nothing was going as she had hoped. Of course this frustration was a given, but it was the fact that nobody seemed to want to acknowledge her. Not the Parish institution, not even it seemed her own supposed uncle. At least Kareema seemed to believe her fully.
That was when she felt her phone vibrate, looking at the mail that popped up her eyes widened. Reading it through rather fast she rolled her eyes. "He demands a DNA test before our meeting," she said, showing the official mail sent from the Parish Estate.

Josette had to scoff, re-reading the message before Kareema suggested going out. Sighing to herself she put her phone down, looking at the vampyress before her. She was her guardian angel in all of this, seemingly the one person she could rely on in all of this mess. "You have a point," she said, flashing her dashing smile as she moved over to wrap her arms around Kareema from behind. The Acton family had been very kind to her in all of this, and while she couldn't quite understand why or how she had come to be so lucky, she wasn't questioning it either. "I think I'll need a nice pants suit, one that says I mean business," she smiled, kissing the woman's dark cheek before leaning away. She went to go grab her bag before they headed out.

Kareema had come to be someone that Josette almost relied on at this point. She felt attached. And it wasn't really a feeling she had had before. At first the vampyress' beauty had been almost too intimidating,
even for a fellow vampyre, but soon enough she had learnt of the kind heart beneath it all.
They headed in to town, and as they were perusing the shops she spotted someone she felt she recognised, pulling Kareema to a side to discreetly point him out. "There, that's the lycan," she whispered, looking as he was walking around with another elder gentleman. But it wasn't Eden, that was for sure. No this guy had grey streaks in his hair and looked much older. "I didn't get his name, but he looked quite scared when I showed up ... Do you think he might've known my mother?" She asked.

Romeo. That name was peculiar. And Lucius as well. She looked at the gentlemen, chuckling softly as Kareema lovingly pulled hair out of her face. "It's so nice to see your face in normal color," she told the young lycan who clearly looked a little surprised, turning her head she looked at the elder lycan. "Pardon me, I seem to have met your son before," she said in a polite voice. She was pretty much perfect in her stance and poise. She seemed almost royal and yet she clearly wasn't.
"Oh, now I know, Trevino," she smiled, nodding as she clearly showed some respect to the elder lycan. "Kareema has told me much about you, I must say I'm not well versed in the business world, but the Trevino firm seem to have made It's way to my mind regardless," she said, looking from Lucius to Romeo. Why was the young lycan so silent? Was he perhaps mute? Either way, she wouldn't judge him. "It's nice to finally have a name to that handsome face," she said politely, smiling almost innocently.

The lycan was not a fan of being stopped and of all places on a busy street like High Street. However he put on a polite smile, that only seemed to become a little more bleak as he saw who Kareema was with. That girl. He remained silent, letting his uncle do the talking until he heard how she referred to his uncle as his father. He didn't object to it, letting his uncle do the talking as it wasn't him who was spoken to. Then she complimented his face, or he thought she did. "I'm so sorry, I guess I was a bit shy when I saw you," that was putting it lightly, he had felt his soul leave his body for a good minute.

"Well the family resemblance is striking!" Josette complemented them in a polite voice, not minding being corrected and it seemed that the elder lycan didn't mind correcting her either. Josette interlocked her arm with Kareema's, leaning her head against her shoulder as she looked at the young lycan while the elder of the two vampyres spoke of stealing away said lycan. "It is, I'm still fairly new to the town as well - would be nice to have someone to get lost with," she chuckled, agreeing that Romeo should come with them. Lucius clearly didn't seem to object and Josette smiled at him, "thank you sir, that is very kind," she told him. The fact that he even let the young lycan decide was surprising, but it also sounded like he was hoping that Romeo would go.

Gods, he didn't like how easy it was for Kareema to schmooze his uncle. And that young vampyress didn't make it easy for him. Those blue green eyes reminded him so much of Eden, but her face was just Loralei. He wondered shortly if Josette had just as fierce nails to scratch him up with. "When it is an invitation from Miss Acton herself, how am I able to decline?" He chuckled politely, agreeing to join them. He looked at his uncle with a slight smile, "duty calls, it seems," he said politely, bidding his uncle a nice lunch before joining up with Kareema and Josette. "Where to?" He said, being perfect in every single way. Josette giggled softly, letting go of Kareema's arm only to grab around his. He looked down at her, seeing her smile up at him with such an innocent smile. Did she know how she made his skin crawl? He smiled in return, and for that moment it might seem like a spark was made between two teenagers.

Josette chuckled at Kareema's remark, "are you getting ideas again, miss matchmaker?" she teased her, but looked up at Romeo with a reassuring smile. He was quite agreeable, his features very pleasant to look at indeed. She wondered how many suitors might be standing in line to get a bite of such a handsome man. "I am afraid I am not very knowledgeable about the stores here in High Street, miss, but I feel as if I am accompanied by two rather experienced women," he said, polite and charming as ever. He could feel the vampyress' eyes on her, and he looked down at her. He smiled politely before moving his eyes away, looking ahead as he felt more like a hostage than anything else.
As Romeo and Kareema conversed, she remained quiet, looking around as they passed windows with beautiful set ups. Autumn hadn't only arrived in the trees outside it seemed, as they saw plenty of those orange and yellow colors in display. "There it is," she said all of a sudden, stopping and thereby making the lycan stop as well. In the window was a rather fabulous pants suit, elegantly cut and she just knew the colors would flatter her pale complexion. Romeo hummed, nodding as he considered it, "want to head inside?" he asked, and they did.
The good thing about stores in High Street was the staff inside was always very professionel. Letting the patrons decide what they wanted to look at without pestering them. Letting go of Romeo, Josette walked over to the pants suit that had been on display in the window, and it gave the lycan some time to speak one-on-one with Kareema. "Who is she?" he asked, he wanted the honest answer, "is she truly some Parish heir?"

"She does," he had to agree. She looked the part too well, but so many things still didn't make sense to him, "are you perhaps taking a liking to her because she reminds you of Mr. Parish?" It was a rather blunt question, but they could talk more freely that Josette was perusing the store. All they had to do was nod in agreeance with the clothes she picked out. "I heard that you were once to marry him," why he was talking now he wasn't sure, but he seemed to miss a few pieces of the puzzle. He was bright, sure, but the possibilities in this case were endless.
"But what if she isn't? Wouldn't it be a cruel fate either way?" he sighed, knowing too much about the Parish family as it were. This young vampyress couldn't possibly want what he had experienced of cruelty within a family. He looked at Kareema with calm eyes, he did like her, maybe even respected her a bit after all the trouble she had gone through, but he still needed some help with clearing everything up.

Romeo wasn't sure why but he didn't feel jealousy to what Kareema might feel for Eden or not, but she was a powerful woman in her own regard. She was a threat in many ways, even if she for now seemed rather genuine and sweet. The mention of Eden's preference made him scoff, and he couldn't help but smile a little. So the vampyress could be funny too it seemed. He hummed along, agreeing with the notion about Josette. He wished it too, but that was more for selfish reasons. He didn't like the thought of another Loralei threat.
He watched as Kareema went to join Josette, seeing all the clothes she had already picked out. "You are too kind, Miss Acton, but I would gladly help any which way I can," he said politely. A saleswoman came over, taking the items from Josette and guiding them in to a private changing room. There were room enough for all three. "Perchance I should wait outside," he said politely, but it seemed that Josette insisted, "do not get shy with me, I am perfectly sure you have seen a woman's body before," she chuckled. And with that she started getting undressed. Romeo looked down to the ground in pure respect, not wanting to see any of her body. Because as much as he hated it, he felt attracted to her. In his mind he knew it was because she reminded him of Eden. The pale cold skin, the blue green eyes and the hair color as well.
"Kareema, the zipper, would you?" she asked, getting zipped in to the pants suit before she could get a proper look at herself.

Josette got in to it, spinning at Kareema's urge to let her do so. She stopped and watched as Romeo lifted his gaze to look at her, and he nodded. Though something seemed to bother him as he excused himself for a moment. Josette looked a little horrified. Had she offended him? But she barely had time to worry as the young lycan came back once more, this time holding a pair of stilettos, a belt and a small bag. "I need to see it somewhat complete," he said, and with Josette's permission, he would help her in to the shoes. They fit. Lucky guess. Then on to the belt that he cinched just right and placed the bag in her hand. "Miss Acton," he said, gesturing for her to help with the vampyress' hair. "Half up, half down, business casual I would say," he said.
Once they were finished he took a step away, nodding to himself. Josette looked at herself in the mirror as Kareema secured her hair. She was surprised at how grown up she looked. She didn't look older, but perhaps she looked more mature. More esteemed. "Yes, this is perfection," he smiled, still feeling his hands sting a little from where he had accidentally touched her skin. Josette chuckled, looking at the clothes and her accessories. Then she turned around to look at Romeo before looking at Kareema. "We might need to have him with us more often,' she chuckled.

"How could I ever refuse the invitation if it came from you?" he asked, although there was some truth in it. Kareema excused herself and Josette hummed, seemingly used to the vampyress being so busy. That would leave the two young ones alone for a few minutes, and she expected to take advantage of it. "What were you doing at the Parish Mansion?" - "Going through a contract on my uncle's behalf," Romeo was happy to have that as a cover this time around. Though it would prover harder in the future if this vampyress turned out to be an heir.
Josette smiled, "and what do you think of Mr. Parish?" she asked and Romeo chuckled, leaning back against the wall, just looking at the young vampyre. "He's a fine businessman," he said quite plainly. Gods how he wanted to tell her all about how he and her supposed uncle were fucking one another and that she might as well get lost. "I respect him a great deal," and that was the last thing he would say about Eden Parish. Josette sighed, chuckling as she walked closer, close enough to place a finger under the lycan's chin, lifting his face for her to see. "I can't say that I don't find you attractive, Mr. Trevino," - "Trevino-Altera," he corrected her, and she giggled softly.

Romeo looked to the door as Kareema entered, but Josette didn't move away. Instead she looked down as if she was blushing, though she couldn't without blood in her system, letting go of his chin. "Yes, we might be able to make do," Josette sighed, moving reluctantly away from the lycan to give Kareema a farewell hug. "I promise I'll behave and not do anything you wouldn't have," she jested, giving her a small kiss on the cheek.
After Kareema had left, she decided to buy the entire outfit, but was rather surprised as Romeo stepped in to pay for the whole lot. She thanked him, letting him carry the bag as she interlocked their arms once more before heading out on the streets. It was rather cold out, not that either of them noticed, but Romeo felt so bad about having to be here. He would much rather close his eyes, pretend that a certain other vampyre was by his side, perhaps leaning in to whisper something in his ear. And yet here he was, walking down High Street with this young vampyre instead. Of course it would cause a stir. He met many business partners on the way down the streets, each complimenting them, calling them a couple and it had gotten to a point where Romeo felt stupid for repeating himself every time. So he went along with it, feeling once more like a hostage due to circumstance.