Going to SHOW? Unlikely, but you're at least present.

People pass around you as you wait across the street from Tella’s. Some of the others like you that you’ve clocked since your change could do amazing things, masquerade as real people, even interact with them physically without the human being any the wiser … well, not until it was too late. You didn’t have that particular knack. The best you could do was go unseen, people’s eyes glazing over you subconsciously while they adjusted their paths around you without breaking stride. It was convenient for travel, but it took too much focus to do when you were actually hunting. Though that doesn’t stop you from noting a few people passing you by who hum with the familiar energy of brutal unpleasantness, lack of empathy, and dark, horrible, cruel secrets. Something for later.

Your eyes snap up when you see a van pull up, absolutely packed with people. It makes sense as a group from work, which you confirm in short order when the third person to get out is Alex. She seems comfortable with her co-workers, though reserved. Certainly more than when you talked to her. She’s wearing what looks like a white coat with a blue button-up of some kind underneath it, though she’s still in jeans. Actually, all of them are, and none clean, skin-fitting types, either. Outdoor work?

You smile to yourself watching her stop at the door. She glances around, and it becomes apparent she’s looking for any sign of you. Not that she knows what you look like. The hint of disappointment on her face is equal parts encouraging and regrettable, but appearing now seems spectacularly unwise. Not that you’d feel any real threat from anything present, mind. Still, moving would be a pain in the ass. You’re sure something CAN kill you, you just don’t know what and wouldn’t want to wait for someone with the know-how to show you.

The half-smile she gives as she joins her co-workers reads as sincere. They seem happy with her choice, a few even looking familiar with the place. She really does have a captivating smile, whether it’s one of those big, flirty grins she’s shown you in the videos or the quiet, demure one she has now. And even with loose-fitting jeans, you can tell you can practically bounce a quarter off her ass. Not that it’d be a deal breaker (I mean, would anything at this point?), but it certainly didn’t hurt.

Your pocket buzzes, and you note someone passing you stops and glances for a moment, checks their phone, then moves on. It’s an unwelcome discovery that your veil doesn’t cover up the phone’s noise, but it makes you grateful you silenced it before heading out anyway. At least no one else noticed. And no one seems to notice its physical presence, either, when you lift it up and check your texts.

Alex: Hey, we’re at Tella’s.

Alex: Just wanted to let you know!

Alex: They seem to like it, so thanks for that.

It’s hard to know how to respond here. You don’t feel great about just watching her across the street, even if seeing her in-person makes you stir in a way not even her suggestive messages did. There’s a “creepy trench coat guy,” vibe it puts off, even if no one can see it. And you WERE that guy in high school. Besides, the suit jacket you’re fond of now isn’t A TON better, but it completed the look. Just … it was a look for scaring people, looking out-of-place and eerie. Wearing it watching a woman you were fond of felt suddenly very strange.

But what are you supposed to do? You don’t WANT to leave. This is the closest you’ve come to having a social interaction in-person that didn’t end with you eating the other guy in a long time. The thought of giving that up is agonizing. Going home would be safer. Maybe you could follow one of the people you’d noted before still in your field of vision and stock up. Your freezer was running low, after all. Nothing leapt out at you, but you had to eat. When you tried not to just after the change, the results were … volatile.

At least none of the people around Alex were giving you any indication of hidden malevolence. You’re not entirely sure what you’d do if they did. Even as you reason that you’d probably just kill them, doing it right after meeting Alex would almost definitely put her on to the fact you’re a murderer. Even if you had to flee the city entirely, at least you had the phone. If she decided you were too disturbing or violent or unnatural for her, you wouldn’t even have that.