Change of Fate

[Lexi Stone]

It was the sound of that stupid alarm clock that could kill Lex in her own bed. She glanced at the clock, and shook her head moaning. 10:30 am. Lex popped her eyes open again, taking one more glance at that clock. She was late. Letting out a cryish-scream, Lexi bursted out of bed running around her room trying to find clothes that will suit her. A pair of tight blue jeans with a brown belt, her shirt a brownish tie-dye with hues of gray, green, black,and a hint of tan. In big bold there laid a peace sign on it. She loved the shirt, it just seem fitting for the things that happened to this screwed up world. Over it was a light brown jacket that was already starting to shrink from washing it several times, yet again she loved it. Her long hair was brushed, the bag of several books was thrown over her shoulder and out she ran. Down one flight of stairs and throwing the entrance door open so wide she almost hit a few people.

Looking both ways to think, Lex bolted to the right noticing a bus up ahead. Her running tried to go faster, just as the bus was starting to pull. "Wait! WAIT!" But it was too late, the bus slid in traffic without her. Sighing heavily, Lex stayed still hoping the bus would just appear out of thin air for her, just for her. "Like that will happen. Guess I'm not going to the Peace Corp." Lex said, already feeling her eyes swell and burn.

Turning to the side, she looked at the first thing that was there. Coffee. Maybe coffee will cheer her up. Sulking inside, she bought a large but decided to sit outside to enjoy the sun. No the coffee didn't carry her tears away, but it was good to wake up to something that taste like burnt chalk today. Slowly, looked through her several books she carried with her, and yet surprised her back didn't break. Slowly pulling one after the other, she placed them out on the table. And yet the last thing she carried was a booklet to the Peace Corp. Instinctively her eyes swell up again, letting one tear slip down her cheek. She knew she stayed up a little too late reading, 'The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration of Science' but she knew there was still 8 hours she had for sleep. Frowning, a smile cracked on her sad face. Maybe not. Between, the 4 books she dove herself into, the piano playing she did after dinner, and a few artworks before reading she laughed silently. How boring could she be.

Her books still laid on the table each one crying to be read more. A book of helping someone after leaving the war, A vampire romance novel, The Seven Mysteries of Life, and a comical Manga. Taking a deep breath she shuffled her books but her Mysterious book back in her pack. Grabbed her coffee then left, already opening her book to stuff her nose in it. Leaving the Peace Corp booklet on the table she sat...

[Adrian Bloodan]

((AHHH!!! OMG!! POSTING! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!! *falls over* ... *ahem* Right. Apologies in advance for my rustiness. *grin*))

Once again, Adrian was finding himself struggling with sleep. His mind, as ever, just wouldn't stop. It was pacing in his head like a tiger in a cage, disallowing him from finding what little peace sleep could afford him. Not only that, but he was restless. His body was just as disinterested in relaxing as his mind.

Sighing and rolling onto his back to stare at the darkened ceiling, he sent his senses questing through the house. Perhaps one of his brothers would be awake still. For some reason, he was finding himself far more keen on company than on his usual method for relaxing. The solitude of the library just didn't seem like it would be enough this morning.

Alas, the others appeared to be asleep. Apart from Terris, who was nowhere to be found. Not that this was unusual for his neurotic brother. Ah, well... He supposed the library would have to do.

With barely a thought, Adrian transported himself to the library. As he stood in front of one of his favorite sections - the one on philosophy - he found himself frowning, his eyes unwilling to focus for more than the briefest moments on any of the titles. It didn't help that he'd read every last one of these cover to cover.

As he looked around, he frowned. He'd read every book in the library at least twice over, hadn't he? Perhaps he was overdue to go and acquire some more...

A small smile stole over his face at this thought. Perhaps a trip to a book store would do him good. Not only would he be surrounded by one of his favorite things, but it would offer him the chance to play at being human for a little while... While he didn't miss his human life, sometimes it helped him to relax when he could simply pretend that he didn't have centuries worth of memories weighing him down. Not to mention their recent troubles...

Adrian grimaced, transporting himself back to his room briefly and changing into some fresh clothing. His outfit for the day made him chuckle. It involved comfortably fitting faded blue jeans with a plain black belt, and a deep blue button up shirt over a black T-shirt that made him chuckle. It simply said "Live as if you would die tomorrow, learn as if you would live forever. - Ghandi"across the chest. To this he added a pair of grey converse, then shrugged on a charcoal grey trench coat.

For a brief moment, he paused in front of the mirror and stared at his incredibly faint reflection. Unlike his brothers, he could still be seen, albeit barely. He gave the ghostly image in the mirror a wry smirk. How much longer would it last now that he embracing what he was more fully? Granted, he would never be like his brothers... But it had always been just a matter of time before his reflection would disappear entirely.

Running a hand through his sandy brown hair, he made sure it wasn't standing at too odd of an angle, then held out his hand. A pair of sunglasses appeared in it. With a thought, he appeared in an alley a few blocks up from the book store. From here, he fully intended to spend his time in the city acting as a human would.

As he walked into the book store, he glanced at his watch. It was nine in the morning. He would allow himself to play human until no later than one. then he would have to return to his normal unlife, not to mention his attempts to find out more about their newfound enemies.

Adrian spent close to an hour and a half in the book store, gathering together a large pile of books on varying topics. A few were works of literature. One or two were even about vampires, as he had an insatiable curiosity for just what these silly mortal writers would cook up for them next. Mostly, though, he was carrying around books on science and philosophy, with a few works of poetry tossed into the mix. All in all, he was carrying close to fifty books. And studiously ignoring the curious glances the other customers were giving him.

Really, he should have been paying more attention to how many he was getting. A normal human, particularly of his build, would never be able to carry so many books so easily. Carefully, he made a show if making it look more difficult as he carried them up to the counter.

Affecting an embarrassed grin, he paid for his books and helped the man put them into tote bags before stepping outside. Looking around surreptitiously for a moment, Adrian held out his hand. One of the books of poetry was in his hand immediately and the books that had been on top of it shifted.

So maybe he wouldn't be behaving entirely human. Some habits were simply too useful to break.

Glancing up, he saw a coffee shop and smiled. After he went in to buy himself a latte, he debated for a moment over whether he wanted to sit and read there or explore the city...

His body's need for motion won out over the lazy atmosphere of the cafe. Dangling the heavy totes off of either arm, he began to wander up the street. In one hand, he carried his coffee. In the other, the open book of poetry. His eyes moved hungrily over the pages, absorbing every word like a sponge.

He was so caught up in his reading that, though he'd been able to avoid so much as brushing anyone up to this point, he wasn't able to move far enough over before his shoulder crashed against that of a young woman. Startled, he jumped to the side, only his vampiric reflexes keeping him from dropping his coffee and book. Somewhat belatedly, he realized that he should be being more believable. A split second later than he should have, he dropped the book and one of the totes, spilling books across the sidewalk.

"Excuse me, miss. Sorry about that." He said hurriedly, not having to fake his embarrassment as he stooped to pick up his books, setting his coffee on the ground, not even sparing her a glance yet in his bashfulness. Really, how could he be so careless as to crash into someone like that? Sure, he was playing human, but this had to be a new low for him.

((I'm not sure I'm happy with that ending, but oh well. YAY ADRIAN!))

[Lexi Stone]

((Okay so give me a break, this might be short. I'm still trying to get used to sweet and innocent. pfft. I'm used to hardcore and headstrong! XD!))


Each page felt like she was feeding her thirst to learn more. Not that she had done it already last night, but the reading seemed to distract her mind from her longing to go to the Peace Corp to help people there. Maybe even meet people who had a common ground what she viewed? Maybe not, but it was still worth wanting to visit. At any rate, Lexi knew it would be another year or so to even try again. The admissions had already taken just a year to get through, and several months to get a call back. For now, Lexi would just save up money just in case she wanted to fly home to visit family or something.

It seemed she was just so wrapped up with her reading, that she never even saw the by passer. For a split second, her eyes flickered up just as she hit this man in the shoulder. Her bag hit the ground while her own book flew out of her hand. Some divine Gods up there, gave her a break...when her coffee exploded from her lid, it had missed her clothing, only burning her hand a little. She was so preoccupied with her coffee that she caught a tote of books hit the ground. "I'm so sorry, I should of watched where I was going." Lexi aplogized, quickly going into her bag, to pull out a hanky to wipe her burnt hand. Eh, first degree, no big.

Bending down, Lexi set her coffee on the other side of them, helping the man pick up his books. As she was helping him, she couldn't help but to glance at some of the covers before setting them inside. "I have to say, These are really great books you have." She told him without looking up at him.

Taking a deep breath, Lexi pulled her pack closer to her, noticing her three books slipped out of the pouch. Frowning, she slid them back in slowly. Picking up her coffee, She smiled at the man, "I'm sorry. I hope you have a good day." She bid him, starting to walk in the direction she was going, but then paused. Turning her heel, Lexi went back into her pack, her Mysteries of Life book not there. "Sir!" She called, taking one last huge gulp of her coffee before just discarding it, to catch up with him.

Embarrassed now, Lexi halted her running, to the side of the man. "I'm sorry to bother you. I think I had threw my book in your tote by mistake. I hope its not a bother, but could you look? It's called, 'The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration of Science'" She asked, suddenly chew on her lip, feeling just weird rambling off the title alone. Really, Lexi needed to get her life in order, and find something more thrilling in her boring life. Even if that meant finding those coffee nights with a bunch of strangers to meet new people. Lexi didn't have many friends, shit...she had trouble keeping her own life in order, how could she give advice to others like her? Easy, slip away..Blinking. Lexi tried a smile, but it only came has a nervous grin. Fail.

[Adrian Bloodan]

Adrian shook his head with an embarrassed smirk as she apologized for running into him. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't paying attention, either." He said, glancing up at her briefly and giving her a small, unnoticed smile. "Thanks. I'm looking forward to reading them." As soon as his books were back, Adrian grabbed his coffee and stood up, being careful to make it look like it took at least a small amount of effort.

Before he could say anything more, the girl was on her way. Adrian shrugged and watched her go for a brief second, bemused. Clearly, she was off in her own thoughts as much as he was.

As he began to walk again, he pulled his book of poetry back out and easily flipped back to his page, taking a sip of his coffee as he resumed reading. With his quick mind, he'd devoured three full poems before he heard the girl's voice coming from behind him.

Blinking a little in confusion, he lowered his book and turned around, looking at her curiously as she approached him. At the title of the book, he perked up visibly. "That's a fantastic book." He said, grinning at her briefly before tucking his poetry book in his coat pocket and turning to the tote, reminding himself just in time that he should actually look for it instead of just calling it to the top. "I've read it three times, myself."

After a moment of rummaging, he produced it with a very slight flourish. "Your book, madame." He said, giving her a friendly smile. "And don't worry about it. I wouldn't have come out today if I didn't want to be bothered." He admitted, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's always refreshing to encounter someone besides my brothers." He added, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Communication with them leaves something to be desired. Besides." He grinned. "I'd hate to run off with someone else's book."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Adrian was aware that he was rambling. Somehow, though, he couldn't bring himself to really care. He'd been craving conversation, after all, and it wasn't often that he met someone with such interesting taste in literature.