3.2--Being Followed

Corrigan and Cedric spend the next three nights bar-hopping.  Harper is often the one pushing them out of the house in order to have some solitude.

When Cedric brings up the fact that Corrigan's love life has been utterly abysmal, Corrigan scoffs in response. He'd much rather have some drinks with his best friend than go on a date with someone he barely knows.

However, one lost drunken game of darts later and Corrigan has been forced to enter the dating scene unwillingly... with the added bonus of a makeover at Cedric's insistence. 

Harper enjoys her time alone and watches shitty romance movies, in order to convince herself that she will never get as carried away as the "idiots" on screen.

The following Saturday, Cedric forces Corrigan to adhere to their bet and takes him to the local Salon for a makeover.


Corrigan looks into the mirror incredulously. "Ced... I look like the member of a boy-band."


"No. You look stylish. Or at the very least, style conscious."

Corrigan does a typical boy-band pose in the mirror, before sighing. "Nope; definitely look like a washed up pop star."

Cedric laughs, pulling his friend away from the mirror before he psyches himself out of their plans for that night. "Okay, so the game plan is we are going to that new dance club on the other side of town and you are going to ask at least one girl out, take her on a date on a designated day... and then you can go back to being the reclusive person that you are. Deal?"


"I don't know about this Ced. I'm not good with... uh, conversation and such.  Can't I just give you ten dollars and we can call it a day?"


"No way.  You are seeing this through, man.  Look at it this way, you get it over with tonight and then never have to worry about me nagging you again."


Corrigan smirks. "That certainly shines a different light on the situation. All right then, deal."

Back at home, Harper decides to get out of the house for a bit.  She visits her usual haunts, feigning ignorance of the boy that has been following her since she started school.

She is convinced that if she ignores him, he'll go away...

...that turns out to be wishful thinking.  She had seen this mystery boy milling around at their school, but had never talked to him;  mostly because she loathes almost everyone there.  However, recently he had been following her around town; always just a little bit behind her so he wouldn't arouse suspicion.  As soon as she showed an active interest in him, he would disappear for a few hours only to reappear at a later location that Harper had moved to in the hope of losing him.


"This is getting ridiculous." Harper mumbles to herself.

Harper returns home, deciding that she would rather be alone in her house than stalked by a strange boy; while Cedric takes Corrigan to the decided upon club.  The club is dead, that is until she walks in.


She is different, seductive, beautiful, alluring... and Corrigan feels entranced by her.

Cedric, on the other hand, views something else.  She is too beautiful  and far too interested in Corrigan for Cedric to be comfortable. 


"Who is that woman?" Cedric asks the bartender.


The bartender shrugs nonchalantly. "No idea.  Must be a new in town. Another drink?"


Cedric shakes his head, watching the woman intently.  There is something about her that isn't natural, he just can't quite place what it is.

Corrigan feels a sudden confidence boost, and begins dancing with her completely unaware of Cedric's worried gaze.


"What's your name?" He yells over the music.


The woman smiles. "Mmm... what is yours?"


"Corrigan.  Corrigan Dennis."


As soon as he says his name, the woman perks up. "Dennis, you say? Well my name is Vittoria Rillough and I'm new here.  Perhaps, you can show me around sometime."


Corrigan nods enthusiastically. "I would love to."


"I bet. Are you busy tomorrow night Corrigan Dennis?"

"I am now." Corrigan purrs.


Vittoria smiles sweetly and then gets his number, stating that she doesn't have a phone number yet (having just moved in yesterday), and then leaves so quickly Corrigan isn't entirely sure if she is real or a figment of his imagination.  All he knows is, Vittoria is the one for him and he would do anything for her to feel the same.

When Cedric and Corrigan return home, they gather at the table with Harper.


"I have a stalker." Harper begins.


"I have a girlfriend." Corrigan adds.


Cedric chokes on his food. "Wow... this conversation went from creepy to incredibly creepy in a matter of seconds. Corrigan, don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit?  You barely know her."


"Know who?" Harper asks, intrigued.


"Vittoria." Just the way Corrigan says her name makes Harper gag and Cedric cringe.

As soon as the opportunity arises, Cedric pulls Harper into his room, hoping to use this small window of time to his advantage.


"This girl that your Uncle is currently infatuated with, well... I don't like her."


"You say this after reprimanding Corrigan for forming an opinion of Vittoria without fully knowing her? That's a bit hypocritical."


Cedric shakes his head vehemently. "No. Trust me on this.  She's not... normal.  I mean, neither is Corrigan but this is different.  You should have seen the way she was looking at him."


"Okay... so what do you want to do about it? Break them up?"

Cedric sighs, rubbing the back of his neck in concentration. "No.  I guess I'm just asking you to help me watch over him.  I have a bad feeling about her, but I don't want to ruin this if it turns out I'm wrong."


Harper smiles sarcastically. "You probably are wrong, but I'll help you anyway.  I don't trust people very often, so you might be asking the wrong person. Just FYI."


"Well I hope you trust me."


The mild dejection in his voice makes Harper blush. "Of course I do."


The Umbria Residence

Meanwhile, a similar conversation is taking place just down the street from Harper's apartment.


"You are absolutely sure it is her Meladonna?"

Meladonna nods gravely in response. "Yes, Uther. I'm positive."

"We cannot let her get too close.  If we allow leniency, she will take the first opportunity to strike and we will be unprepared."

Uther clasps his hands together tightly, ushering silence from the others. "I applaud your enthusiasm Viktor, but we must tread lightly.  If she suspects anything, she will strike in desperation leaving us just as unprepared. No.  For now, we watch.  We cannot risk instigating a fight around Harper or Corrigan."


Meladonna places her hand on Viktor's shoulder, calming him. "Uther is right, my love. Simply lashing out would be far too risky and would compromise our mission. And what about Lord Vincent?" she asks, turning her attention back to Uther, "He will want to know of our plans as he is surely aware she is here by now."


"Yes, I suppose so.  That responsibility will fall to you, Meladonna.  Make sure the correspondence is both short and discreet.  Vittoria will be watching us; we must act as if we are ignorant of her presence."

Dellayna, the quietest of their clan, interrupts. "And the girl and her Uncle, what of them?"


Uther sighs heavily. "I was hoping to keep them in the dark, but these recent events force my hand.  It's time Harper and I had a talk."

Before Viktor can interrupt again, Uther raises his hand sternly to hush him. "I know what you are thinking, good friend, and if the situation were different; I would agree.  But this concerns Harper and Corrigan directly and they deserve to know. For the time being, I want everyone on their guard.  Vittoria has a plan and we need to know what it is before it's too late."
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So I thought instead of coming up with a new plot, why not just re-work the one I already had planned before the Dennis Legacy went kaboom?  I had originally intended it to be much more Olive-centric; it technically still can be as I have Olive saved in my bin, but I decided to make a few changes and have Harper as my leading lady (ya' know, being the heir and all probably helps).  The next Chapter will certainly clear some things up; particularly the connection I am attempting to make.


A quick explanation of the Umbria family.  I created them long ago for a vampire challenge that I never went through with and decided to actually use them.  Viktor and Meladonna are the "parents;" Uther is the "son;" and Dellayna is the youngest.  Apparently Viktor and Meladonna are expecting a child soon, but I'm not sure if I'll let them keep it as it kind of ruins their back-story. *sigh* SP can eff up my plans sometimes.  I'll also delve more into Uther's (and the rest of the Umbria's) past as the chapters go on.
And yes, Uther is named after King Arthur's father. I'm such a nerd. 


For the Cedric fans...
>>Here's the song you should be playing during this very short montage.<<


*Be forewarned: He's not as muscly as he looks in his shirt, but he's working on it.  

He's sure workin' hard, ain't he? *dirty/terrible pun*

He's lookin' at you.

UPDATES!

--Cedric is at level 4 Handiness and Athletics and officially a level 4 Firefighter (they promote pretty quickly in this field... I was surprised).

--Corrigan is at level 2 Logic; since they don't have a computer (I can't grab/select/place objects when in build/buy atm) he has to get his butt down to the central park waaaaayyyy across town and I've been far too lazy to keep leveling him. *shrug* Poor Snuffle.  He is also at level 2 within the Business Career (Filing Clerk).

Chapter 3 is up next... in case you can't count. ; )