Elsewhere 3: Friend of A Friend

“So …” Andy says, resting her arm on the edge of her dresser, “how … have you been?”

“I’m having a meeting with two people who tried to kill my best friend,” Eva answers from the couch, staring up at her without blinking. “Guess.”

“To be fair. To be fair? I have apologized. And also let her bite me.”

“Purely altruistic, I’m sure.”

“Look, I’m not a … people-person,” Andy sighs, standing up straight. “And that goes double for not-people, and triple for vampires. Jaq saved my life, I know I fucked up, what should I be doing? I’m trying to help you guys out best I can.”

“Possibly? Don’t refer to her as a not-person,” Eva snaps a little bit before closing her eyes, sitting back, and focusing on calming herself down. “Jaq is a person. Just like you. Just like me. She’s not human, that doesn’t mean she’s not, like, a real individual anymore.”

“… I know,” Andy says, moving over to sit in the armchair beside the couch. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“Why do you hate them so much?” Eva asks, tilting her head to the side.

“Because they’re usually psychotic assholes who actively make everything worse so it’s easier to kill people without questions?” Andy’s answer comes out a little more heated than she meant for it to, trying to pull back with middling success as she continues. “Because even the ones who like to think they’re good are usually serial killers at minimum? Because I don’t like being looked at like someone’s lunch instead of a human being?”

“I can believe all that,” Eva counters while keeping her tone level. “That’s not why, though. Level of spite when you talk about them … I know you want me to believe it’s just righteous anger and pragmatism, but I know those things, and I know personal trauma. This … seems personal.”

“You met me A minute ago, okay?!” Andy lashes back. “Yeah, okay, some bad shit happened! And I don’t like talking about, because when I think about it, I’m back there, and it’s happening all over again, and it’s fucking important to me it happens to as few people as possible, but especially myself, especially repeatedly, especially after I killed him!” Her body quivers slightly, trying to hold on to her anger. The emotions behind it she wants to be seen even less, but it’s a hard fight to press down the fear and shame parts entirely.

“Oh, honey,” Eva tells her softly, leaning forward. “I’m sorry, that was … you’re right, we just met, I’m being … Jaq’s important to me. I heard that she got hurt, I wanted to understand why so I could not hate you and this would be easier.”

“Well, there’s a club you can join, I don’t make many friends.” Her voice is more bitter than furious, intensity fading, but lingering regret tinging her voice.

“I don’t, though; hate you. And I was nosy, it’s a bad habit. Jaq doesn’t like to show me the more dangerous parts of her life, especially since this whole Atlee mess started, I just wanted to know … I shouldn’t have prodded.”

“It’s fine,” Andy allows after a few moments of making sure she wasn’t going to cry. She’d be far less likely to accept any apologies if she did, frankly. Weakness wasn’t a luxury she felt she was afforded. “If someone tried to cut someone I love’s head off, I’d … you’re handling it better than I would, ‘kay?”

“She’s the most important person in my life, I get sort of protective. First year we met, I kneed a guy in the stomach at a party for not leaving her alone when she said she was too drunk and needed to leave. Which I got in some trouble for,” Eva smiles, thinking back.

“See, that shit, I understand.”

“I mean, it’s not like with Atlee, but I didn’t want her to go through it alone, you know?” Andy looks at Eva askance at that, confused.

“What about Atlee? Jaq told me she killed her.”

“Oh … I, um … helped,” Eva responds slowly, having expected Jaq to have told the full story. Though part of her is appreciative for leaving out the part where she committed a ****, it would have been nice to not have to explain it. “Jaq was … she was so scared and upset, but she didn’t want to bring her back because she didn’t think making her stronger was a good idea, and neither of us knew THIS was going to happen, so I sort of … snapped Atlee’s neck. So she wouldn’t have done it alone.”

“Fuck.”

“I know, and now all this is happening, and it’s my fault …”

“Nah, none of that shit,” Andy waves off. “It’s bonkers to kill someone for being, you know, a horrible super-bitch, and your first assumption to be ‘well, she’ll come back scarier.’ That almost never happens. By the way, your luck is atrocious.”

“Just a bit.”

“Also, I get it. No one WANTS to be alone, not in the hardcore sense of the word,” she says with a shrug. “I like my space, but it’s been cool having someone I can talk to my job about without lying. And I’m sorry we started this so shitty, because like I said, don’t have many friends.”

“Well.” Eva smiles as she talks. “You gonna’ try to kill Jaq again? Or me?”

“The best I can do is ‘not without a real solid reason,’ but it’s not in my plans.”

“Then count it as two. I can’t hold fucking up with Jaq against you if you aren’t holding fucking up with Atlee against me,” she finishes with a small sigh and tilting her head slightly. Andy can’t help but smile, as well as feel sort of bad. She understands why someone like Jaq would be into her. And why accidentally bonding her was a fucking disaster.

“I’ll take it.” Andy leans forward and extends her hand, which prompts Eva to pop up and give her a tight hug, guilt still swimming from clearly hitting the young vampire hunter’s sore spot earlier. Andy doesn’t return it, but overcomes her shock in short enough order to rest her head on Eva’s shoulder before she sits back down. “Really should have figured you for a hugger, huh?”

“What was supposed to tip you off, just, like, my whole vibe?” Eva teases just before a small creak signals the door opening. Both girls look towards it as it opens, Eva in particular tensing at the arrival of their new “ally.”