Life Is A Rollercoaster (Vincent)

[Mylène]

The Boardwalk. From afar Mylène could feel the intricately woven carpet of different emotions hovering above it, reaching her sensitive receptors and making her feel giddy and excited. Mylène loved such sites, where people gathered to have fun and experience adrenaline shocks of various kinds. As a vampire, she fed from blood, but as an empath, it often felt like she fed from overboarding emotions. She just thrived on them, like a flower turned its face always towards the sun.

She had only been in this lovely little town for a short while and already the Boardwalk with its caroussels and rollercoasters, its turning wheels and auto-scooters had become her favourite place. The site was only shut down for a few hours, and so it was the perfect place to spend an evening, simply watching the exciting humans, taking part in their feelings, or secretly feeding from them in a dark alley between two vending booths. She knew it was a risky affair, but sometimes she just couldn’t help herself, had forgotten the time and when she realized she was hungry, she was downright famished. And when Mylène was famished she was not a very patient girl.

Her feet had directed her towards where the crowd was thickest almost without her doing, and for a while the vampire simply roamed the place idly, merging with the crowd. Tonight she was not dressed to stand that much out, wearing a dark green large tunic over a fawn brown skirt, a similarly brown leather belt showing her dainty waist. A skimpy black leather jacket was slung over her shoulders, large modern earrings dangled from her lobes and she also wore a set of oversize bracelets, clattering with every movement of her right arm. Her favourite shoes, all star chucks of course, completed the outfit. Personally, she didn’t like the eighties fashion in particular, it all looked so big and shapeless, and the women wore far too much colorful makeup. In the time when Mylène had been born, only whores would have even thought to go out on the street like that. She dearly hoped that the new decade would get some sends into the trendsetters’ heads. She liked it classical but simple, then again she also loved the rocker outfit, and you could not go wrong with a leather jacket in those times.

After a while of idle cruising, the rollercoaster caught her attention. ‘Why not?!’ she thought with an inward grin. No one on earth could you gather more adrenaline than on a rollercoaster, and tonight she was particularly hungry for all those exulting emotions. So she got in line and bought a ticket, already looking forward to the dizzying drops in her stomach and the wind rushing through her hair. When the cart came she lissomly climbed into it and smiled at the person fate had positioned next to her, a young man.

[Vincent Darby]

It was a cool night. A nice breeze was coming in from the ocean and the night smelled like salt air. Vincent's favorite thing about Santa Carla was the ocean air. It really cleared out his sinuses. He sang better, he breathed better, all around it was a more pleasant air quality than he was used to.

Vincent whistled as he walked around the Boardwalk amusement park. Music was playing from various rides and games, different tunes mixing together to form a discordant melody. He bought a cotton candy from a booth and shoved pink wads of it in his mouth as he walked.

He was wearing a simple black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off over faded jeans and high-top sneakers. His platinum blond hair was gelled and spiked. He had a few rings on his fingers and a variety of bracelets. It was a tame look compared to some of his fashion choices.

After several minutes of walking around and people watching, Vincent tossed his cotton candy stick in a trash can. He was licking his fingers as he approached the roller coaster. He studied it, considering, then walked over to the ticket booth to buy a book of tickets. By the time he got to the head of the line for the roller coaster he'd watched it go around several times and he was brimming with excitement. He handed his tickets over and nearly sprinted to the cart. He slid into a seat and drummed on the side of it with his fingers.

He glanced up when someone else slid into the cart beside him, a teenage girl. He smiled at her and waved.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked.

[Mylène]

No question of it, the man beside her was excited. You didn’t even need to be an empath for that, it was all in his body language, the drumming fingers, the cheerful voice in which he addressed her. And sure as hell her friendly smile had encouraged him to a conversation, she thought with an inward grin, trying to see herself through his eyes. A harmless teenage girl, buzzing with excitement and yearning for the adrenaline of a rollercoaster ride. And for now she didn’t even have the desire to be anything more to him than that, she loved her undercover life nearly as much as her vampire life, even though sometimes she would have liked to look older to not get carded for a drink thrice a week. Even though she could not see herself in the mirror she knew she looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, although her human age had been eighteen when she had been turned.

With a wide grin she raised a hand in greeting and replied: “Excellent, man, like totally!”, inwardly groaning at the strange youth slang that was the eighties. Gone was the elegant and refined speech of the former years where you needed three carefully worded sentences to express your feelings if you even expressed them at all. The modern time might be more forward, but mankind was losing close to one third of their treasury of words rapidly. But such were not the times to ponder over something so sophisticated. She was far more concerned with the person sitting beside her. If she was to spend a few minutes trapped beside someone who could be anything from harmless to downright dangerous, she better found out as much about him as she possibly could. Might be paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

From under lowered eyelids she shot him a quick sideward glance, taking in his stylish hair, but otherwise very leisure appearance. He could certainly pull it off, without a doubt! Taking in a deep breath she recognized the sweet odor of cotton candy coming from his lips and had to suppress a smile. The big boy apparently. No, from what she gathered until now she could have had it worse with her rollercoaster companion. And it was a good thing Mylène had never been shy, so sparking up a conversation on her part would not be a problem.
“Ready for the ride?” she asked with a mischievous grin. “Gotta say I love rollercoasters! By the way, I’m Mylène.” Forward perhaps, telling her name right away to a total stranger, but that was her.

[Vincent Darby]

The girl seemed excited for a ride, and Vincent guessed she wasn't a rollercoaster rookie. That was a relief. He didn't want to ride with some chick who was going to spend the whole trip crying into her t-shirt and trying not to puke.

"Ready for the ride?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm pumped," he said.

He smiled broadly. Vincent was no stranger to roller coasters, and he was always up for an adrenaline rush. What better way to do it than by flying through the air in a cart with a stranger?

"Gotta say I love rollercoasters! By the way, I’m Mylène."

"Good to know. I'm Vince."

He glanced over his shoulder as two people settled into the seat behind them - a man and a woman, probably a couple. Vincent bounced his knees in anticipation, waiting for the ride to start.

[Mylène]

Even though he was not talking much, Mylène for now took a real liking to the stranger, that sort of liking that didn’t necessarily need to blossom into a deeper acquaintance, but of that sort that simply made you feel comfortable to be with for the time being. Her warning instincts set no bells ringing, so he wasn’t some crazy hunter either – rare as they were, Mylène had had the bad luck to escape from two just by a hairs breath a couple of years ago – probably just your everyday guy from the block. He was still a little hard to read, but that didn’t necessarily mean he had any touch of magic. Deciding to put all worry aside, she concentrated on the facts and not on the ‘what if’s. A pleasant fact was for sure he seemed at ease with rollercoasters.

“Good thing!”, she replied with a cheeky smirk. “Cause my last ride was slightly blemished by a guy who suddenly developed a fit of vertigo and also had a hearty meal beforehand…” Her face puckered up in disgust even in rememberance, but she quickly dismissed the displeasing picture of the past. “So, do that and I think I have to kill you”, she finished with a sugar-sweet smile and thought inwardly: If only you knew how close that gets to the truth my friend. I might not be your usual killer machine, but puke in my hair makes me testy, to say in the least…

She returned the true smile when he gave his name as well, putting it away in the vast storage of names that had accumulated over time. Only time would tell if it was worthy of remembering, or if she would forget it as soon as she left the cart. “Nice to meet you Vince”, she chimed in right with the rattling movement with which she cart suddenly sprung to life. “Alright, heeeere we go!”
Excitement rushed through Mylène’s veins like a surge as she was pushed against the back of her seat when the cart began its steep rise towards the first summit. This was the part she liked most, apart from the actual drops of course that always sent a invigorating lurch through her guts. “Oh and just so you know”, she added after brief consideration. “Don’t expect any piercing screams from me, I’m past that age though I might not look it.”

[Vincent Darby]

Most guys Vincent's age didn't ride roller coasters with teenage girls without being labeled creeps. But, he didn't mind. As long as she wasn't a total spaz everything would be fine. He laughed as she revealed her last experience with a roller coaster.

"Yeesh. That's a ride nobody wants," he agreed.

Fortunately, he'd never had a terrible experience with a roller coaster. He found them thrilling and exciting. The crazier the better. He chuckled when Mylène jokingly threatened to kill him if he puked on her.

"I'm more worried about YOU than me," he said.

After they exchanged pleasantries, the cart began to move and Vincent gripped the safety bar loosely, assuming the typical roller coaster position. His heart started pumping a little harder as the anticipation of the ride ahead mounted.

"Oh and just so you know," Mylène said, "Don’t expect any piercing screams from me, I’m past that age though I might not look it."

Vincent laughed. Everybody talked a big game before things got rough.

"Yeah, we'll see," he said.

[Mylène]

"I'm more worried about YOU than me,"
Mylène raised her brows and mocked to be offended, though she had all but expected such a reaction. She knew she didn’t look much of a fighter or a threat, and she often enough used that to her advantage. So she couldn’t really expect him to take any of her words seriously. Let him think she was joking and let him play the big boy all he wanted, it was only a minor blemish to her ego.
“Oh, is that so?” she asked looking at him innocently. “Well that’s a bet I would gladly hold, Vince. But I don’t think this is the time or the place to start a brawl, just imagine what they would think of us”, she joked, pointing over her shoulder at the couple behind them. The woman was now nervously clutching the man’s hands who seemed content to play her saviour. Mylène couldn’t help rolling her eyes quickly. It was not like she didn’t play the damsel in distress sometimes as well to get what she wanted, but in all honesty, she found it pathetic!

The impact of the climb tugged at her guts and Mylène gripped the handle as well, preparing for the first drop. Vince’s heartbeat was thumping faster, as he was so close to her she could easily distinguish the sound from all the noise around them. For a moment it made her mouth go dry before she got a grip on herself again. Faster heartbeat meant a faster circulation of blood, low rising of the body temperature and everything. It worked on her hunter instincts, because the line between excitement and fear was a thin one to draw indeed, and like all beasts of prey, fear was most invigorating to her. But Mylène was no rookie in this business and as she had spent most of her afterlife amongst humans and had not shied away from the world like some of her kind did, she knew well how to control herself if the circumstances demanded control.

To make things even easier, Vince’s comment proved enough of a distraction to pry her mind from her animal instincts anyway. "Yeah, we'll see,", he said and a certain kind of condescendence was clear in his voice. A scowl flickered quickly over the girl’s face, but then she merely grinned sassily. “Another bet to hold, shall we make it official?” she asked and raised her right hand from the safety bar, offering it for a shake.
Too late she realised that she now had drawn a firm line that would keep her from savoring the ride to an extent she usually did. The first drop now was only seconds away, and out of habit she opened up her mind a little bit, so when the cart suddenly dropped its nose forward and sped downwards, Mylène experienced the dizzying surge of near-fall not only from her own point of view but magnified by at least three times: She participated in the emotions of those experiencing the ride with her – a dangerous thing to do, especially if you forbade yourself to shout out with glee at the pure ectasy of the moment.

[Vincent Darby]

Mylène quipped about not wanting to start a brawl on the roller coaster. Vincent laughed and shook his head, assuming she wasn't serious. He wasn't going to fight a sixteen-year-old girl for any reason, let alone something as silly as proving who had the stronger stomach.

Vincent glanced over his shoulder at the couple behind them when Mylène pointed them out. He chuckled, turning back to the track ahead. When Mylène assured him she wouldn't be screaming he was doubtful. He muttered a cocky "we'll see."

"Another bet to hold, shall we make it official?"

Vincent looked over to see Mylène do her best to extend a hand in her current position. Vincent grinned and shook her hand.

"Alright, but if you scream you owe me a Slushie."

He retracted his hand quickly and gripped the safety bar just as the cart rounded the top of the drop. His heart thudded in his chest with anticipation. When the cart dropped he felt his stomach leap up to his throat. The rush of air all around him was exhilarating combined with the feeling of weightlessness. The cart climbed over a smaller hill and dropped before taking a sharp curve to the left, slamming Vince and Mylène into one side of the cart.

"WHOOOOO HOOOOO!"

Vince let out an exclamation of delight, turning briefly to grin at Mylène as he heard the woman behind them screaming like a banshee.

[Mylène]

Mylène rolled her eyes. Oh indeed, wasn’t he just the cocky one?! She had heard his muttered remark alright, and slowly it was getting to her. Why was she always judged for her looks?! Now she thought about it it was more of a curse than a blessing most of the time; being treated like a child, getting carded every other day, the list was practically endless! But then again she was smart enough to know it might be a bad idea to get all worked up now. Worked up vampires were never a happy company to be around… they started growing fangs accidently and got a VERY piercing look in their eyes. Already she could feel the slight tickling inside her gums that marked the growing of her fangs, but she forced it back down by a sheer act of pure will, momentarily lost to her surroundings with that internal struggle.

She only got back in time to hear something about a slushie being the price if she should fail. That wasn’t too bad actually. In the end, Vince didn’t mean ill for sure, she had to remind herself of that. He definitely LOOKED twice her age or more and it wasn’t his fault he wasn’t.
“Do I get one in return if I win?” she asked with a grin, then quickly clamped her mouth shut as the excitement was too overwhelming. Remember, Mylène, no screams and better no ‘woots’ as well… he could call you out on that…

When they got both smashed into the side of the cart, she let go a little “Ow” for good measure, though it didn’t hurt all that bad. But then she returned his grin, making up for her lack of exclamation with sparkling eyes as well. “This is definitely a top ten ride!” she exclaimed and momentarily lifted her hand from the bar to give him a thumbs up, but regretted doing so as the cart sped up towards the first loop. Only her lightening-quick reflexes saved her from an at least uncomfortable twist, even though the speed of course was far too great for a passenger to fall out.
The scream of the woman behind them intensified to an almost unbearable pitch, and Mylène shared a weary glance with Vince, muttering “Good thing for her SHE will not owe you a slushie, geeez, my ears!”

[Vincent Darby]

Vincent's pulse was racing as the cart continued along its track, whipping its passengers around like rag dolls. He may have been a grown man in his thirties, but he might as well have been a little boy as he laughed and shouted.

"Do I get one in return if I win?" she asked.

His answer had to wait as they were rammed into the side of the cart. Actually, Vincent was effectively rammed into Mylène, who was rammed into the side of the cart. She didn't seem to mind too much.

"This is definitely a top ten ride!"

His response was a hearty laugh and another whoo-hoo as they were thrown into a loop. He could hear the woman behind them screaming, but he was impressed his own passenger managed to keep quiet. He'd expected her to be screaming by the loop for sure.

"Good thing for her SHE will not owe you a slushie, geeez, my ears!"

Vincent chuckled, though the sound was barely audible even to his own ears over the sound of the carts wheels rushing over the track and the shouts and screams of the rest of the caravan. When the cart slowed for another rise to the top of what would surely be a gut-wrenching drop, Vincent got a chance to reply.

"Tell you what," he said. "If you win, I'll pay for your next ride on whatever you pick.

He looked over at her, slightly out of breath from all the excitement.

[Mylène]

Mylène had to admit that it was long since she last had had so much fun, and for real! However outgoing she was, most of the time she did end up alone somewhere, as her limitation to the night hours also was clear limitation of possibilities. Such rides, such nights, they were mostly spent in anonymity, maybe with a short acquaintance here and there, but it had been truly long since she had shared such a moment with someone that seemed to enjoy it as much as herself, if not even more!
This definitely made him appear high up in her good books, even though she still had difficulties estimating him. But someone loving the adrenaline boost of a roller-coaster ride, someone who apparently could still be a boy while looking around thirty and not seeing it as a blast to his ego simply couldn’t be that bad, right?

On the other hand, it got more and more difficult to keep silent, and so much to her regret, she closed off her ‘sensors’ even more to not get overwhelmed by what was to come: The largest drop yet, that would sent the whole cart screaming – except Mylène, bet was bet, even more as she now had this to look forward to:
"Tell you what," he said. "If you win, I'll pay for your next ride on whatever you pick.
As the rise they were currently on was almost agonizingly slow, Mylène managed to get a reply in edgewise before she had to watch her mouth again.

“Now that is what I call cool!” she answered, giving him one of her most dazzling smiles. “You’re an alright guy, Vince, just have to say!”
Even if she had not been determined before to win this bet, now it was set: She had to win, simple as!
So when the cart dipped its nose forward and sped down an almost vertical drop so fast you could almost believe you had to crash somewhere below as there was NO way this fall could ever be stopped, the vampire clenched her teeth hard and thrust her arms out without a word. She had to do SOMETHING or else she would simply burst! And, free next ride or not, this might just not be worth it… all that mess…

Only having time for a quick, cheeky grin as if to say “told you I wouldn’t!” Mylène had to prepare for the next gut-twisting looping.

[Vincent Darby]

Mylène seemed more than satisfied with the new terms of their bet. As the cart climbed up to the top of the next steep drop, she turned to him with a smile.

“Now that is what I call cool! You’re an alright guy, Vince, just have to say!”

He smiled back.

"Hey, thanks."

He replied quickly before the cart dropped steeply toward the ground. Vince gripped the side of the cart. He felt the wind rushing at him and his stomach tightened in a knot. He was disciplined enough not to cry out this time.

He exchanged another grin with Mylène, giving her a quick thumbs up before they were thrown into a loop. His stomach lurched and the feeling was immediately followed by a jolt of excitement and adrenaline.

"HELL YEAH! WHOO!"

He threw a fist in the air as the cart came out of the loop and turned sharply to take them down a winding corkscrew turn.

[Mylène]

Mylène had always thought herself to be a very friendly person, and ‘normal’ interaction with humans had never been a problem to her, apart from it only happening after sundown of course. But the previous years, she had to admit, had been a little on the loner side, and Santa Carla and the Boardwalk had been one of her first tries to act the normal human teenage girl again. Now she realized it wasn’t even that hard to get back on track and she was glad. Vince surely seemed an amiable company and didn’t make it difficult for her at all. He hadn’t even once given her the odd eye about something she did or said, and that was encouraging. Maybe her charade wasn’t a bad one after all, she still could pose as the up-to-date teenage kid, even after two hundred years.

“Just the truth, you’re—“ she didn’t get to finish the sentence, as the drop demanded all of her attention. Gripping so tight to the edge of the cart she could hear the material creak in protest, Mylène shut herself tightly against other emotions while her own was enough to battle with. A faint smile played still around her tightly pressed lips and a long quiet hiss was all she allowed herself to express.

Relief wasn’t to come her way though, as the next chicane was a cork screw turn, something that sent Mylène’s heart lurching and her stomach twisting. Once again she cursed her fate to ever having agreed to this bet, chaining her to silence when she wanted to scream out with glee like he did.
“If the outcome of the bet wasn’t so tempting, I’d say screeeww iiiit”, she commented after she could trust her voice again at least to some extent. “And I believe the worst is still to come”, she finished, bobbing her head forward to indicate to the last VERY steep rise that would be followed by an equally steep drop.

[Vincent Darby]

Mylène made a small hissing noise as they were sent barreling around the corkscrew turn. She had started to say something, but he hadn’t quite heard it, as he’d gotten caught up in the moment.

“If the outcome of the bet wasn’t so tempting, I’d say screeeww iiiit,” she said. “And I believe the worst is still to come.”

She nodded her head and Vincent looked ahead at the final steep rise.

“Ohhh, I don’t know,” he said, “I’m sure gonna find it hard not to scream like a banshee on that drop.”

He looked at her and chuckled as the cart began its slow ascent. He drummed his fingers on the side with nervous anticipation and his heart was pounding in his chest. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but he felt amped up and excited.

“Hmm. I wonder what flavor Slushie I want…”

He stroked his chin in mock thoughtfulness before smiling and winking at his partner. He really could be a pain in the ass sometimes. Little did he know the true nature of his current company, or he may have been a bit less cocky. But, to him, he was having a fun roller coaster ride with a teenage girl.

[Mylène]

This would be the worst challenge ever, hard work to defy her innermost instincts. Not fear, but excitement, but she could not risk making any sound, the danger of him getting it all wrong was too high. This was a question of pride and honor, stupid maybe, but then all bets were stupid in their own way, and once you had agreed to it, you had to try to win at all costs. Good thing he didn’t know she had something called superhuman self-control at her command.

As the rise had not ended yet Mylène could allow herself to be cocky.
“Oh, indeed, I’d like to hear you scream”, she said – then stopped and thought back on what she had said, suddenly breaking out in an almost hysterical chuckle as she realized how very WRONG that sentence sounded, coming out of a girl’s mouth at that. Burying her mouth in her hand, she pressed out a quick “sorry… didn’t mean that”, while her body was still shaking with laughter.

Her mouth went oh so very dry again, but not with anticipation, more with a haunting feeling of dread. His heartbeat was to blame, so close and so audible, sending signals to her instincts she might be able to defy but definitely not deny. Diable, easy there Mylène, she thought while swallowing dryly, averting her face for a moment as she could feel its expression change into an almost feral mask. He’s not your food, and you’re not a youngling. Get a grip on yourself for heaven’s sake!
“Prat!” she murmured as the content of his cocky remark reached her ears, and after a few seconds she thought it safe enough to look at him again, grinning.

“Juust you wait, if you want a Slushie, you will have to buy it for yourself.” Mylène sounded deadly convinced, and in fact she was. He had no idea that he just had escaped a very painful and shocking experience by a hair’s breadth. Keeping her mouth shut on a horror-drop would be a walk in the park compared to the self-control she had shown just a minute earlier.
The rise had met its end, it was now or never!