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A High to Die For
As I headed back to my car, I saw the Mystic Arts club still doing whatever it was that they do. New Orleans was quickly becoming a much more interesting city than I had realized and I was eager to find my place in it.
Finally getting inside the car, I dialed Mr. Lafont's number and waited for him to pick up.
"Miss Michaels." He sounded cheerful. "How did the rest of the tour go?"
"It went well," I said. "Extremely well, actually. I've decided to apply for Tulane's BFA in Studio Art program."
"Excellent choice!" He exclaimed. "I'm glad I could help you out with that. Is there anything else you need assistance with?"
"Yes," I said. "I wanted to know how I can receive mail without using my address. A more secure location."
"As you know, regular mail is delivered to the boxes in your apartment building and we accept larger packages for our residents here at the leasing office. However, if you want something more secure than that, you would need a P.O. Box," he said.
"I knew it, could you help me get that set up? I need it ASAP for college information."
"I certainly can." I could hear him typing through the phone. "How soon is ASAP?"
"Like yesterday." I bit my lip hoping to whoever was up there in the sky that I wasn't being so pushy, but I needed everything done like now.
"Very well, consider it done. If you stop by the leasing office tomorrow morning, I'll have the keys ready for you."
"Thank you, Mr. Lafont!" I exclaimed. "When can I start having things sent there?"
"I actually have been inputing your application since we've been on the phone. I put a rush order on it so everything should be fully functional as of this time tomorrow. Once I get a box number and official address for it, I will email you."
"Awesome, thanks again," I said before hanging up the phone.
Now to get back to this apartment and start on that application.
"Hey Care," my mom said answering my call. "How's everything going?"
"Amazing mom!" My fingers flew across the keyboard of my new MacBook in vampire speed. Yes, I compelled myself into a few of new appliances before heading back to my apartment. Hey, don't judge. "I'm putting the finishing touches on my updated personal statement."
"You chose a school already?" She asked. "Remember, don't tell me anything that can be used to find you."
"I got it, mom and yes, I found a school. I'm applying to a renowned Bachelor of Fine Arts program."
"You're sticking with drama?" I could hear the cringe in her voice.
"No," I said cringing myself, not really ready for her reaction. "I'm going to major in studio art."
"Aww honey, you're getting back to your middle school roots! I'm happy you're going in that direction. Not that drama wasn't a good one, but since you'll be living for quite a while it's certainly a way for you to leave your mark on this world. There are so many things you can do with art. You can create, curate, and much more," she said. "I'm so proud of you."
A ping went off on my computer letting me know that I had an email.
"What was that?" She asked.
"That was my landlord giving me the info for my new P.O. Box."
"Oh good, give me a complete list of what documents you'll need for me to send. I have a lot done already but I need a new middle name," she said. "I've been leaving the space blank because I forgot to ask this morning."
"Hmm, I haven't even given it much thought." I scratched my chin.
"How about Care Renée Michaels?" She asked.
"That's perfect mom, thank you. I'll send the info in confidential mode through email, so have your cellphone nearby and follow the instructions when prompted."
"You got it, sweetheart..." She trailed off. I could hear typing on her typing on her own computer.
"What time should I expect everything to be here?"
"Tomorrow night at the latest," she said. "Dr. Fell agreed to overnight the package for me and it'll be addressed to 'Miss Michaels'. Putting your shortened first name on there just wouldn't have been smart."
"You're absolutely right."
By the time I got off the phone with mom, I had finished everything on my end for the application.
Checking the time on my phone, it read 7pm.
I couldn't be left to my own devices, lest my emotions send me into a bout of depression. So I decided to see what Angelique was talking about earlier.
"Hello?" The girl asked answering my call on the second ring.
"Hi, Angelique? This is Care," I said tentatively. "I'd like to take you up on your offer."
"I already knew you would but great! I'll text you where to meet me. Oh, and dress sexy. We're gonna party all night long."
"Not a problem," I said with a laugh.
Maybe a party is exactly what I need right now.287Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5xdO9eUZY
Getting ready took no time at all when going at vampire speed. I rolled up to the spot where Angelique told me to meet her. I was rocking my blonde locks in a crimped half up half down style with an all black jumpsuit that clung to my body in all the right places. It plunged deeply in the front exposing my cleavage and mirrored the effect in the back. The wide and low swoop exposed my tattoo-less back, which I'll have to fix very soon, with silver chains holding it together with the long sleeves. A silver anklet glittered on my left ankle accenting the metal flecks in the clear open-toed heels I wore.
Swiping on a few coats of lip gloss on my lips, I was ready to go. I got out the car and locked it.
"Care!"
I looked up to see Angelique waving me over. She looked stunning! I looked around to see more people dressed similarly. I'm definitely going to have to go shopping for some more party clothes to compete with these people.
"Glad you could make it," she said giving me a hug.
"Thanks for inviting me. I've been meaning to ask you, who does your nails?? They look awesome, I don't think I could get mine to look like that seeing as they don't grow anymore."
"Girl, these aren't real." She flipped her hands over and showed her own long nails under the fake ones. "Mystic Falls must be a really small town if you don't know about acrylics."
I nodded.
"Oh we'll have to change that ASAP. But for now," she took me to a small corner where no humans could see us out in the middle of the street. "What would you like your nails to look like?"
"No idea really. Give me what you have without the designs."
She waved her hand over both of mine and a second later they were done. Very long, nude, and a skinny shape. I had no idea what the style name was called.
"That's awesome! They look amazing. Oooh, I'm liking this length."
"Glad you like them and they're extra long. I'll take you where I get mine done tomorrow so you can try it out for real. Now come on," she said. "It's time to party."
We walked into a large compound. It was tricked out for the night, fully stocked bar, food, anything you could think of... and there were vampires everywhere. Witches freely performed magic and humans didn't scream while being fed on, it was quite possibly every supernatural creature's dream.
I was kind of jealous.
Back home, I had to restrain my urges to feed on people. I had to use blood bags to survive. I almost bit Tyler's head off when he was feeding on humans, but that was because he was doing it sloppily. He would've gotten caught and that would've given the council ammunition to hunt us a lot sooner than they did.
Tyler... Nope, nope. No more crying.
Anyway, like I said. I had to depend solely on blood bags in Mystic Falls and I had to feed alone. Stefan was a ripper so I didn't want to make him uncomfortable by having him in the same room with human blood. I didn't care too much for Damon, given our abusive history, so I wouldn't be feeding with him either. Bonnie and Matt hated vampires, of course they wouldn't show it in front of me, but it was obvious. I know Bonnie resented me in the beginning. My first kill was someone she was fond of. I'm surprised she doesn't hate me now actually.
But, I should be able to adapt to feeding from people without killing them. Mystic Falls definitely wasn't the place to do that, but maybe the Crescent City is.
As I looked around the party, no one was afraid. It looked like fun and I should be able to enjoy being a vampire in all aspects and not be hindered by something I couldn't change about myself. Hell, I wouldn't even want to change that about myself.
Tonight, was all about living like a proper vampire.
"Well if it isn't Rebekah Mikaelson," a voice as smooth as butter said.
I whirled around to see a handsome man with caramel skin.
"I'm sorry, you've got me confused with someone else. My name is Care."
"Ahh, my apologies. My name is Marcel," he said. "Welcome to the Abattoir."
"I'll catch you later, Care." I looked just in time to see Angelique swept into the arms of another vampire who she called Kol.
Kol?? I know that's not who I think it is...
"Very nice to meet you, Marcel." I saw someone feed directly to my left. "You feed so publicly."
"Well, here in New Orleans, I run this place. As a whole, supernatural creatures are hunted and repressed. Now, we can do whatever we want which includes feeding on the willing."
"Interesting. So, you don't get caught?" I asked. "And everybody in here wants to be fed on?"
"It's not as unheard of as you think. We give the humans here a choice. They can either choose to be fed on or choose to forget what they know. Consent is very important around here. It's why the human locals look the other way, leaving us free to be ourselves under the cover of night of course." He gave me a slick smile. "Go on, take your pick."
I'm in a new city, where no one knows me. Maybe I really can take advantage of this place and all it has to offer.
Heading over to the bar, an interesting man immediately caught my eye.
"Hi."
He slowly turned to me. "Well, hello there."
"Wanna dance?" I asked luring him onto the dance floor.
He followed me as if in a trance. Placing my hands around his neck, we danced for a little bit as I thought about how I should do this. I was actually kind of nervous.
Vampires need human blood to be at their strongest and feeding is always so messy. When I first fed on that guy I killed, he was terrified of me. I wonder what it would be like to feed when they're not scared. I wonder what it would be like to feed when they're feeling something else...
"Have you ever done drugs?"
"Yes," he answered.
"Which drugs give you the best high?" I asked.
"Definitely shrooms," he said with a nostalgic smile. "Weed is cool and all, but shrooms are way better."
"Would you mind if I fed on you?" I asked timidly.
"It's why I'm here, I get off on this atmosphere."
"Okay," I said. "I want you to think about the time you had the best batch of shrooms you've ever bought. Think about the highest part of the euphoric state it gave you."
He closed his eyes.
"Now, relive it." His mouth went slack.
Running a magically manicured hand along his throat, I could feel the blood rush into the veins below my eyes. My fangs elongated before I sank my teeth into his flesh.
Oh my god. This is amazing.
It's like I'm high too but not at the same time! I cannot believe I've never thought of this before. I wonder what it's like when they're actually high. Oooooh this going to be great.
Listening to my partner's heartbeat, I could hear it slow. Retracting my fangs, I pulled away from him.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"I'm great," he said with a dazed smile.
I smiled right back at him before turning around and placing his hands on my hips as I danced to the music. I was getting caught up in the heady atmosphere of Marcel's party and I didn't even care. I liked it.
Not only was I about to get the chance to attend an amazing university, I was getting the chance to start over as a vampire and do it right. No unnecessary killing, making new supernatural friends. I could get used to it. I could actually do this.
I stepped up to the bar for a human snack. Surprisingly, I was in the mood for a burger and fries.
"So, you're going by Care now?"
Kol.
"So, you're stalking me now?" I retorted.
"Of course not, I used to live here over three hundred years ago aaannnd my girl currently lives here."
I looked at him as understanding registered in my facial expression. "Wow, really? I guess it makes sense."
"Why is that?"
"Marcel mistook me for Rebekah," I said. "Is it safe to assume they had a thing?"
"Oh, they were in love."
"What!?" I almost spilled the cocktail I had been sipping on. "Why the hell would she leave him? I mean, look at him. No offense but your sister is not smart."
He tossed his head back and laughed. Over the next hour, he told me all about the sordid history they had with this city, including what happened with their father. It was really intriguing to hear about the Mikaelson history.
"Well then, I guess it is kind of weird to be in a relationship with your nephew that's not really your nephew at all."
"Indeed," he said.
"I'm sorry about your brother," I suddenly said. "Clearly you all had a difficult life and strained relationships. I'm sorry you couldn't be the family you deserved to be. Despite everything you guys have put us through, no one should've had to live like that."
"Speaking of which, how are you alive?"
"A miracle, I guess." I honestly had no idea how I was alive. "Tyler's dead, so I'm not even sure."
He looked at me.
"I'm telling the truth," I said dejectedly. "I have no idea how I'm alive."
I know he didn't quite believe me but that's all I could really say. That's all I knew.
"Well, let's not dwell on such things. Tell me, how did you end up down here?"
As I ate my food and slapped his hand away from my fries, I told him about my plans for school and why I was run out of town.
I didn't realize it yet, but Kol had indeed become something of a new friend. What can I say? I see the good in people.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?"
I looked over at my other new friend, Angelique, whom I started calling Angel. It was a warm Tuesday afternoon and we were sitting in St. Magnifique Nails getting something called full sets and pedicures. I'm going to get white on my toes for sure and I'll experiment more with the acrylics.
"I was thinking about last night," I said turning my attention to the woman attaching fake nails to my real ones. I learned quite a lot about the process watching Angel get what was called a fill.
"I haven't had that much fun in a while."
"Just wait till you get into those college parties in the fall!" She exclaimed. "You'll be the newbie freshman and I'll be the experienced sophomore showing you the ropes."
I couldn't help but smile.
"But, wait a second. You and Kol Mikaelson??"
"You know him?" She asked.
"Uhh, yeah!" I whisper-yelled. "His family used to terrorize my hometown."
"Well, that'll do it."
"I'm over it though," I said. "I was ran out of there anyway annnnd Kol is slightly less annoying than the rest of them."
Angel laughed.
"Did you figure out what shape and length you wanted?" The nail technician asked.
"I'd like to try extra long coffin, please."
"Style?" She asked.
"Pink and white ombré."
"Excellent choice, Care!" Angelique called out over her shoulder as she headed to the big chairs along the wall to get started on her pedicure.
"So Care, you're new in town," the nail tech said.
"Yes, I am."
"What brings you to New Orleans?" She asked.
"College tours, securing my future, and the magic of the Crescent City, of course." I smiled reassuringly to the woman. No one needed to know I was a vampire running away from a small town council of hunters.
"I didn't realize small towns had hunters these days..."
"What?" I immediately started coughing. "I'm sorry?"
"Oh relax," the woman said. "Creatures of the night need to make a living too and the mystery of a new vampire in town is hot gossip."
"Well damn, this city is crawling with the supernatural." I looked around to see other vampires and witches revealing themselves. "I shouldn't even be surprised at this point."
"No you shouldn't," Angelique said walking back over in some designer flip flops. "Your nails are really coming together."
"Now that you know, there's no need to go at the human pace." As the words left the nail tech's mouth, her fingers started to fly at a wicked pace. In less that ten minutes, my nails were done.
In twenty minutes, my pedicure was done.
"Anybody know where I can get some piercings and a tattoo?" I asked generally in the busy salon.
So many answers flew at me all I could do was smile and give my thanks. This was really turning out to be an amazing day. I got the keys to my P.O. Box earlier, just got my nails and feet done, and now I'm going to get a tattoo and body jewelry.
"Come on," Angelique said grabbing my arm. "I'll take you to get your first tattoo."
It was at this time that I was glad I had Angelique and now Kol to hangout with, they kept me busy so that I didn't think about what I was missing back home, i.e. my boyfriend. His death hit me really hard and I was trying to move on for him. I also really missed Bonnie and Elena. We literally had zero time for this kind of stuff back home. Maybe when everything dies down, they can come visit because I'm definitely not going back. There was nothing that could convince me otherwise.
By the time the sun had gone down, I was ready to go party again. I had my hair done, my nails done, and everything.
I went a little risqué with my outfit tonight. I wore a black crop top with spaghetti straps and a matching high-waisted maxi skirt with dangerously high slits on both sides. My nails popped amazingly against the outfit too. It was perfect because I wanted to show off my new tattoo running from the top of my hip on my left side all the way down to my ankle.
To be honest, I'm surprised I survived the session since I passed out... twice. The earrings going all the way up my left ear and my new belly ring didn't hurt as much as that tatt did. It was a vampire piercing and tattoo shop so they had some special way of doing their job.
Clearly it worked because although it didn't take very long, it felt like hours.
It was beyond worth it though! The unalomes twisting into lotus flowers and the Sanskrit symbol for breathe made for a very beautiful design.
My skin glistened in the dim light from the moon that streamed in from the open ceiling in Marcel's compound.
"Welcome back," he said appearing behind me. "I see your style has changed."
"Only a little," I said with a smirk. "But, shh. Don't tell."
"Woahh and you got tatted. Sweet design."
I looked down to admire the amazing artwork gracing my porcelain skin. "Thank you."
"Care to dance?"
I shrugged. "Why not."
He lead me out to the dance floor and placed my hands around his neck.
"So, what brings you to New Orleans?" He asked.
"A much needed change of scenery."
"Tight-lipped I see," he said as we danced to the up-beat music. "I just want to make sure the new blood in this town isn't going to make any trouble for us."
I chuckled. "If I was going to disturb the careful peace you've clearly built here, I would've done it already."
"Unless you're playing the long game," he said in reply.
I laughed openly and shook my head. "Trust me, I have no intention of bringing any trouble to a city I plan to stay in for awhile."
"I know," he said.
"Then what's with the twenty questions?"
"Just wanted to make sure. You can never be too careful." He pulled away from me. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Care."
I did indeed enjoy it. My dance partner from last night was back and surprise, surprise, he was looking for me. Begging me to drink from him.
And who was I to deny such a request?
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