Old Habits

Conor: dandelion girl

Conor

Jackson pulled into the drive as we were all sitting on the porch debating if we should let Mike cut my hair. I sat quietly, knowing that my hair grew so fast they could shave it all and I'd still be fine in a couple weeks. Still, I was a little relieved when Jackson distracted us. He frowned as he got out of the car, hissing a little when he stepped into a patch of sunlight.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Stefa's hair was much shorter now. It had grown some since I had seen her in Chicago, but we couldn't get the back of her head free of matting without cutting some of it. So now she had an asymmetrical bob with Tish wielding the scissors. It looked pretty good.

"Stefa needed a haircut," Tish responded. "And then we got a little carried away. Don't you think Conor could rock a mohawk?

"What? No, he'd look like a teenage kid. Come help me with these groceries your boyfriend made me buy."

"Made you," I scoffed, but rose from my seat, gathering far more bags than I would have thought we would need. I had expected him to buy some vegetables and some hamburger meat, not half the grocery store.

We staggered into the cabin and I set the bags on the table. Tish began to organize things; flour, sugar, eggs, milk. Spices. Meat and vegetables.

"How long do you think we're staying?" Tish demanded.

"I have no idea how much you needed; I just got help and bought what she told me," Jackson said. "And I didn't know what was here. I figured we needed enough for a week and if we didn't eat it, we didn't eat it. And by we, I mean you. And I know that Stefa usually stress bakes so I got the supplies for cupcakes," Jackson continued. "Because Lacy says the worst part about being a vampire is not getting to eat Stefa's cakes anymore."

"Thank you," Stefa said. She stepped around Mike to help Tish put some of the baking ingredients away. I took a step back; the kitchen wasn't quite large enough for three people.

"Hear from anyone?" Mike inquired.

Jackson shrugged. "Home is fine. Canada is boring. Couldn't reach Lacy, but I'm not shocked. I am surprised anyone has cell service in Montana."

"We can call the landline," I offered. "We need to call Mel at any rate."

"After we make cupcakes; I want cupcakes," Tish cut in.

It was good to see Stefa in the kitchen; she seemed more at ease. Tish had to help her open the bags and steady the bowls, and Tish promised I could make dinner once the cupcakes were in the oven. I nodded, stepping back out onto the porch to see if we had missed anything that needed to go back into the house.

"Conor, can I talk to you?" Jackson said in a tone so quiet I thought that perhaps I had imagined it. He nodded towards the car.

Curious, I followed, hoping that Jackson wasn't trying to start a fight. Once the car doors were shut, he sighed.

"Something is very very wrong," he said. "Everyone I called has gone underground. No one is giving me any updates. The only people I could reach were was my clan, and they are in Canada, which might as well be underground. But no one is taking my calls? Something is up."

"We can't do anything but get Stefa somewhere quiet and get us home," I told him. "What does it matter what other vampires are doing?"

"Because Helen was given free reign to murder a whole clan right off the planet," he said. And that others helped? Nothing Stefa did warrants that reaction. You killed one vampire. Stefa only took her territory back. Why is everyone acting like we're prepping world war three out there?"