Make me a sinner

The steady drum from the rain came down like a curtain of grey filled the air. It was only the bass from the music pouring out the open door from the Siren’s Club that broke the silence that the rain had promised for those that dared to enter. One could almost think that it was early October and not into the late dates of June, the summer months. But those that had hoped for anything different clearly didn’t know that rain in these parts was more common than the beautiful shining down creating uncomfortable heat for those creatures that didn’t fare well under those circumstances.
Now. Kennedy didn’t have anything against any kind of weather. If it was too warm, she could cool her own sweat. And when it rained like it did today. Well, there was a reason why she stepped inside the club without so much as seeming wet.
The minute she stepped in; a smile formed over her lips. Joyful and so filled with happiness that it could almost be infectious to the right people. Most people would scry away from overfilled bars, there was little to no room, and people almost fought to get to the bar and get their drinks, but Kennedy; well, she had never waited for anything in her life. And as if she was Moses, she parted the sea of people and walked straight up to the bar. Her hands drummed against the hard surface and she quickly caught the eyes of one of the males standing behind the bar, probably pressured by all fronts. “If it's not too much trouble, I’m dying for a good beer, any recommendations?” she said with her signature smile (A Carpet Pile that could brighten any day, as Landon would say it) forming over her lips before her teeth grabbed her bottom lip.

“Oh, I like you” she didn’t hold back; Kennedy never held anything back. For all she knew, this would be her last day of freedom; cherishing every day as it was the last wasn’t lost on her.
She hummed, and her index finger drummed thoughtfully against her lip. “You know what, I’m feeling adventures, I would like to try the Toppling Goliath, and then I might come back for the other one later”, she hummed, her smile became a little shyer–her teeth gnawing at the inside of her cheek. She knew bartenders had that flair over them; the more you knew how to flirt, the easier it was to get the good tips. She had seen Victoria do it all the time over the last past few years, even more so after she had come back. But she was pretty sure it was to see if she got a reaction from one of their new fearless leaders.
She then realised that she needed to pay for it, but as she reached for her wallet, she noticed something on her shoe; lifting it, she pulled off a fifty-pound note from the sole. “Well, would you look at that? How about I buy you one as well?” she said, using the note as a fan against her face for a moment before flicking her hand so the note landed between her index and middle finger, handing him the money.

“I would never back down from a competition”, she mused because she didn’t; her entire childhood had been about fighting for her life, and if anything, she had learned that nothing was granted; everything was taken. One way or another. Which usually also ended her in all sorts of trouble.
“You really–“, now she didn’t manage to tell him that he could just drink it later when he was off work or something like that–but who knew when that would be? So, she just gave him a thankful smile, bouncing after him as he showed her to an empty table; just her luck, huh? A packed place, he managed to find her where he could sit down. Dark and cosy too.
Her brows lifted in a cheeky expression as she leaned forward, close enough that she didn’t have to raise her voice to speak over the music. “Afraid what your co-workers would say? Huh? I thought it was common for bartenders to drink on the job, at least at the Serpents they tend to drown a shot for every customer,” she laughed before moving so she could sit down; “but I don’t mind it, just gives me an edge on the competition you spoke about” she mused before lifting the glass to her lips and took a sip.
“Oh wow, this really is good – Dangerously so”, she exclaimed before she took another sip, a small moustache from the light foam on the top of her beer.

“Oooh,” that was all she managed to say before he silenced her stream of words that normally left her, especially when she found herself in the company of new people. Her way of making sure that people were wasting her time was giving her the craziest version of herself, and if they liked it–then they were at least worth coming back for. But the caress of his thumb gliding over her lips made her stum, the light tint of red forming over her freckled cheeks before a laugh left her. “What if I was saving that for later?” lifting her brow before wiggling them around.
“But seriously though, don’t worry, I know Anastasia, or well, at least enough that I can just tell her that I wanted to see how the new guy was doing” she leaned a little closer, lifting her finger and gently boobing him against his nose. “So, does the new guy have a name? Unless you want me to give you a silly nickname–“ she leaned a little away, taking a sip once more. “I could do that, but I would seriously advise against it,” she chuckled, giving him a fair warning.

“Roman”, she let his name roll over her tongue; now, it was very few knew her real name or the name her parents had given her. “Kennedy”, she pointed toward herself as if she wanted to ensure that he understood that it was her name.
But then he did something that made her eyes widen; what on earth was he playing at? But as he turned around, and she could hear how the foam crackled on his upper lip, she couldn’t help herself, and a peal of joyful laughter left her.
“Aren’t you a flirt” she hummed, leaning in as if she was going to kiss it away. Instead, her fingers very gently grabbed his cheeks, her thumb on his right cheek and the rest of her fingers on his left. “It would be very tempting, but where is the fun in giving after so quickly?” she lifted her brow before the thumb glided over the foam, her body leaned back all the while she put the thumb into her mouth and licked it off. “I might like a competition, but don’t make it too easy for me”, she chuckled, winking at him, as she moved her arm so it rested on the back of the chair he was sitting on.

Her index finger circled around in the air as he scoffed in contempt, which only told her that she had done the right thing; what was the fun in giving in when he was so willing to give it to her? Not that she didn’t find him attractive, she did; very much so.
But she had always loved the chase, loved to see just how far she could push someone before they pushed back–how they would react.
“Oh, but I am, but that doesn’t mean that I will give in that easily – I don’t like being just another number” she raised her brows as a smirk blossomed over her full lips. When he turned his head, her finger reached and hooked right under his chin, confident enough to make a bet? Now he couldn’t know just how lucky she was; “I am, and very intrigued to hear what you have in mind”, she said, letting her hand fall and rest against her knee, moving it entirely away from the position it had been in before.

She wanted to argue against the fact that she hadn’t meant it like that. But she waited as it seemed like he was thinking things over, so she let him–she then took her beer instead and took a few small sips.
Then he spoke, who could hold out the longest, now that could mean a lot of things; but as she had said before, she liked a challenge and rarely lost. Well, that wasn’t true; there were a lot of ways to lose, even if you were winning. She had learned that the hard way. There had been times when she had thought her powers to be more a curse than a blessing. But that wasn’t something she wanted to ponder about at this moment; she would much rather see what was in store for her when one and a half hours had come and gone.
“Deal” she lifted her hand to shake his, seal the deal as it were. As she felt his hand in hers, she pulled him a little closer, leaning in, almost as if she was going to kiss him, her lips stopping just a few millimetres from his. “And I didn’t call you slutty, but I’ve always believed that the drum roll, the act before doing what the heart and body desire is far more interesting to explore if done correctly, of course”, she hummed, feeling his hot breath mix with hers before she let her lips move to his ear which she gently kissed with the tip of her nose.
“Better let you get back to work” she abruptly moved back, wiggling her brows; she was really going to enjoy this.

A bark of laughter left her; oh, she really liked him. Maybe it was his personality that resonated something in her, a feeling she quickly squashed down so it wouldn’t fester. Besides, she didn’t believe in those that spoke about falling in love the first time you met someone. And yet she had done so with Cyrus, hopelessly, annoyingly in love. Once again, she was reminded that even though she was the embodiment of luck, she was still one of the unluckiest persons she knew.
Letting him go was harder than she had expected. Not that it showed on her face as she winked and saluted him, making an unsaid promise that she wouldn’t drink too much.
She sat there for what felt like hours, but she was pretty sure it had only been ten minutes after he had stepped behind the bar and started to serve the other patrons of the bar that she became bored.
She drowned her beer and started looking for something to do with her time while waiting. Kennedy ended up being approached by a couple of guys; around fifteen minutes after meeting them, they were attracting quite a crowd as she had found her butterfly knife that swung around in her fingers in a beautiful dance; a game unfolded, where you put your hand on the surface of something, the fingers spread, and the knife was supposed to hit between said fingers as fast as one dared. Just before the one and a half hour had come and gone, she had stacked a nice little bundle of pound notes beside her. The guys finally called it quits; one had blood dried from his little finger and down the palm of his hand; luckily, they had all been vampires, which meant they healed quickly.
Gathering the money, she got up and walked back to the bar, seeing if Roman was still interested in this little game he had proposed.

She wiggled her brows and shimmed her body a little “What, them?” she looked toward the guys, despite that they looked all right; they had all been incredibly dull regarding banter. There was nothing more unflattering than people who weren’t interesting to listen to, either their voice or how they phrased themselves. Maybe that was why Roman had such luck; even though his English was excellent, there was an edge to it, something different, foreign even. Her face looked back and clicked her tongue; “Nah, man, those were total zhū tóu” pig heads. Her teeth grabbed her bottom lip, just as she had done when she had approached him; “so, since you’re off and everything, do you want to find someplace quieter, where you can hold a conversation, or are you more in a” she spun around with a laugh “dancing mood?” was she slightly crazy? Well, yes, ordinary people bored her, so why would she be anything but; “or if you’re feeling adventures, I know a place where it said that there is a treasure hidden, but that would mean getting out of clothes rather quickly and wet” the expression forming over her face clearly told a story of how she enjoyed this, her lips and nose twitching and her eyes almost sparkling (which some would say would be the light). Still, for a day that had been so incredibly dull, he had been able to lift her out of her small slump.

Her smile widened, and she nodded; “All right, meet you outside” she turned around, her hands up in the air as if she was cheering and then she started walking. There was still his little bet she was wondering about, like–who would cave first, or if they were both too stubborn, both less willing to give up control. But she liked that; the only reason why she wanted to stay in control was when she didn’t know people. After that, well, she had no problem with being part of a gang where she was one of the footmen, which meant she didn’t really have anything to say. She had just been lucky that she could keep her head down when Anthony kicked Jack out and took over as leader. Now they had once again changed leaders within a span of a year. It had been very confusing, and she sometimes wondered if she even wanted to stay. But then she remembered why she loved it, the people that were part of the family that had taken her in when she needed it.
The rain was still coming down; it almost sounded like it was playing a sad tone as it hit the pavement, the glistening of water dripping down from every wall, every surface.
Instead of shielding herself as she had before, she stepped into the open, closing her eyes and tilting her head upwards. The coldness of the sky’s tears licked away the guilt and shame, even if it would just return when she woke in the morning. Always worse in the morning. Because she woke up to another day where those that had been killed because of her didn’t.
When she heard him approach, she turned around, moving her hands over her face and pushing her jet-black hair back.
“Seems like we don’t have to wait to get wet”, she chuckled “you know Lake Serpent?” she smiled. “There is a Hidden Oasis, not that I’ve ever been able to find it, but maybe we’ll be lucky tonight?” she explained.

“What factory did they make you in?” she joked, taking the umbrella and opened it, her eyes quickly drifted up when he asked her something. “No, not at all, Serpents are notoriously known for smoking, at least when they feaster in the Southside of Athena” she smiled, then crocket her head a little “besides, I work with motors, engines, if I’m doing of cancer, it won’t be because you smoked next to me” wrinkles formed around her nose as she smiled, then she let her arm hook around his–“Well my mother always preached about being prepared, so if you don’t mind we can swing by my trailer, get some beers and what not, and then if we don’t find anything, we’ll at least have alcohol!” she laughed, finding it funny he didn’t believe in luck, and here he was, walking beside a woman that was the embodiment of it. It was however refreshing, everything about him was–innocent, even though she had been able to see the darkness linger in his eyes when he had looked into hers.

“I’m prone to have good ideas," she hummed after she started walking, showing him the way he had asked of her. “And yes,” she said, realising she hadn’t answered his first question. Not that he seemed to have anything against her energy level being far more excessive than others.
“I’m a mechanic;” it was better to start with that than saying, ‘well, not really, I just fix the cars for the serpents, and I really like working with machines’. So, her being a mechanic was the easy way to answer his question.
Gnawing on the inside of her cheek, she thought about what she could ask him for a moment. The smoke of his cigarette glided around them before it was pulled away by the wind and rain that almost formed a shield around them and the rest of the world. Not that she minded the silence that spread between them, she was just reminded about how few people you could find where it was comfortable just to be, instead of constantly finding something to talk about.
“So, you say you are from Russia? What did you hope to find when you moved here?” she wondered; many came because of the rumours surrounding the place. Others came because of the need to get away. Then there were those who just ended up here by sheer coincidence; those people had the worst luck. You quickly learned that everything that happened here would tear you to pieces, brick by brick, you would see how the house around you fell apart, and those you loved the most would die. Morbid perhaps, but sadly it was also the truth.

She nodded; the smile that had stayed on her lips ever since she had stepped foot inside of the bar was slowly fading. Not because she was feeling upset with him, but she found some peace in his company, so she didn’t need to keep up a constant appearance of being happy. Or at least she was relaxed enough to let her facial features fall into more neutral folds.
Not that it lasted long, when he asked maybe the most childish question she knew; are we there soon. Or it could be vairy to; are we there yet? Kids in the backseat. Driving down the road in the hot summer months wanting to get there because the drive was getting boring.
“Yeah, I live at the trailer park, five minutes, and we should be there; getting wet?” she turned her head to glance over to his other shoulder.
Now, they were still playing the game, or so she assumed, so when she went to turn her head in the right direction, she let her eyes linger on his face for a few more moments, a soft smirk forming on her plum lips only disrupted by her tongue gliding over them, only then did she let her eyes look back on the road.