Whatever It Takes {Two | Alaric Saltzman}

Black Hole Sun

"Bea..."

She didn't look up from her laptop, not even as he leaned against the doorframe and turned on the office light. "Sorry, Ric."

"It's almost three in the morning. Come to bed."

The click of the keys filled the silence before she said, "I have to turn this in tomorrow."

"You're working yourself to death."

"I'm already dead."

He let out half a laugh. "Yeah, me too."

"Well, good news..." She used her vampire speed to make the last of her edits. "I'm done."

When they fell into bed, he moved on top of her. "Look, this is one of the countless reasons why I love you, because you give yourself over to everything you do."

"But?"

"But nothing." His lips found hers. "I just wish you'd give yourself a break."

She pulled him closer, finding the feeling that she desperately needed. "I went to that party and all it did was add to the long list of problems that I'm already trying to solve."

"Well, good news..." He kissed her again, softer than the time before, and that was how she knew he had seen the look on her face and heard the way her voice barely sounded like it should have. "I'm here."

Liv was twirling her pen on her seat's desk, and even though Alaric was mid-lecture and the hall was full, she lifted her hand and used her powers to keep it going.

Abigail grabbed the pen, hissing, "Are you crazy?"

"Hm, yes, I think so." She raised her eyebrows at her. "Chill."

"It's an occult studies class, people believe in this stuff."

"Hate to break it to you," Liv whispered, "but there are only a handful of people in this class who do, even less who don't have a choice, and the rest of them are here because they heard the professor was hot."

She met Alaric's eyes as his words came out in a fast way, one that was holding back a laugh. "And he is, isn't he?"

Liv scoffed. "I'm so not commenting on that."

"Are you going tonight? Bonfire, corn maze, beer, football players..."

"Did Tyler ask you to ask me that?"

She looked back to her. "Would you answer if he did?"

"Once again, not commenting on that."

"And all of that brings us to the supernatural origins of tonight's homecoming celebration. Now, by a show of hands, who knows the story?" Abigail's attention was pulled forward by the words, making her the only one in the room with her hand in the air. "That's what I thought. Abigail, would you come up here and tell us the story, please?"

Liv all but rose to her feet as she walked to the front of the classroom, showing her support as if she was at a football game rather than a lecture.

"Thank you, Liv," Abigail chuckled. "Homecoming is a tradition that welcomes former students back to our campus and community, but there is only one visitor who is said to come back year after year for a different reason: Lady Whitmore.

"Her husband Nathan Whitmore was horribly disfigured throughout countless Civil War battles, but survived all of them just so he could get home to the woman he loved. When he finally got to his farm, he found her in bed with his brother, and did what any sane man would do: he murdered his brother in cold blood and then chased the love of his life out into the cornfields.