fred’s never been to a vampire bar before. she’s a good girl, she thinks, somewhat ironically. or at least she used to be, before portals and alternate dimensions and taking a job working for angel, who, as cool and good-natured and fred’s-life-saving as he is, is still a vampire. not that fred’s prejudiced or anything, mind you. it’s just a lot over here -- lights, and music, and everything’s vaguely sexual -- fred’s a physicist, not a psychiatrist, but she doesn’t have to be to know that vampire and sex are about as innately linked in the human conscious as, well, sex and anything else, she supposes, but that’s hardly the point.
she’s here on business for angel, of course, and she felt a little better when they walked in together, secure in the knowledge that nobody would be looking at fred when angel’s there. but then angel had gone in for his little vampire business meeting, no-humans-allowed, telling fred to wait outside and not talk to anyone. maybe she’s overwhelmed, maybe she’s bored, but she finds herself taking a seat on something soft and trying to watch the clubgoers without making eye contact. should she have worn a turtleneck? is that offensive in vampire culture, turtleneck-wearing? is it inviting an attack to hide your neck, or is it stupid to show it in the first place? (she really should have asked more questions before she agreed to come, but she was just so eager to see the details of the job.) hours pass, and she’s just halfway through reciting the periodic table to herself, quietly, in alphabetical order, when she hears the comment unmistakably directed at her.
@northfang: THAT’S NOT A BED. YOU’RE LYING ON SOME COATS.
in any other context, it would have been comedic how quickly fred jumps to her feet. “sorry, i... am i in your way? sorry. i’m just, waiting for my boss? he said to wait here. and to not talk to anyone, but ignorin’ vampires seems kinda dangerous, not to mention pretty rude.” and she’s in it now, isn’t she, because she can’t seem to plug up the nervous babble. “i work for angel. do you know him? i mean, you probably do if you work here or, come here a lot. he doesn’t though, which is why it’s my first time. being here, that is. do you? come here a lot, i mean. you don’t have to answer if you don’t wanna.” are you a vampire too, is what she wants to ask, but that’s too much, and fred’s pretty sure she knows the answer anyway, given how goddamned pretty the man before her is.