A Step Back In Time - Chicago 1958 (NC-17)

[meli]

Meli adjusted his black zoot suit jacket, and then his blood red tie over the black silk shirt. His black wavy hair was greased back and down although it was hard to see underneath his black fedora. While he himself could blend into the population of criminals, by clothes, looks and actions; Jake was a farmboy and best left to the backwoods. Meli had only been changed two years earlier, and as they said, with age comes wisdom, and he was still new enough to need to feed every week. It was difficult figuring out how to control the hunger. It was interesting enough that during the day when he was asleep, he wouldn't succumb to the agonizing pain of sunlight, or any other weakness of his when Jake was in control. In fact the only thing that could kill Jake before Meli would be able to step in, was the mans only allergy. Peanuts. It made for a very interesting situation.
It was December 19th 1958. The fire at Our Lady of the Angels over on the west side had burst into flames only a few weeks earlier, killing a total of 92 pupils and 3 nuns. Another Hundred were seriously injured. Richard Daley was the Mayor of Chicago, Dwight Eisenhower was President, and most importantly, Gangs of all kinds ran the streets in almost every city. Oh and the Cubs had Sammy taylor on the team and were kickin' ass. However Meli didn't care much for baseball, he was busy from dusk till dawn. Jake however would watch any sport that came on, although, even at 22 he favored cartoons over sports.
Glancing around at the crowd in the bar, his lip curled to what some would call a smirk and others would call a sneer. People for the most part disgusted him. They always had and in his new state of being they were worse in his mind. Tonight he had chosen to just remain around the hotel he lived in. The Shoreland Hotel, where rich and powerful played their games and the poor stared up at the bright lights in wonder.
Jimmy Hoffa had picked up residency in this same hotel a few years earlier, and last year became president of the Teamsters. Everyone had suspicions about him and his "Friends" but for people like Meli, that man was a fine distraction, and since they stayed in the same hotel, no one even noticed Meli's night time life.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Gabrielle dusted off her black halter dress, it looked like the same exact one Marilyn Monroe wore, but of course, not the classic white, as she pulled out her ponytail, letting her long hair flow over her shoulders as she walked down the dark streets of Chicago. She looked like someone who belonged in Hollywood or something.

After being a vampire for eighteen years, Gabrielle's confidence of walking around freely has grown. Yes, she still missed being human and living in Russia. But, she loved the freedom of America, especially Chicago. And she had to admit, she loved going to Wrigley Field. Sometimes, though, it was clear she didn't exactly fit in with the rest. Only because the way she looked. And that was because, not to gloat, she did look more beautiful then most humans. A great advantage of being a vampire.

As she walked down the street, just looking around, Gabrielle spotted The Shoreland Hotel. A small grin etched itself on her face. She knew the place well. It was always filled with criminals, not that she really cared, she was around them all the time when she was a kid. But, that's what Gabrielle liked about it, odd, yes, but she didn't care.

As she checked herself, Gabrielle crossed the street, her heels making a slight clicking noise. She entered the hotel, her grin getting wider at all the people there. Lucky for her, only some turned to look at her as she walked over to the bar, taking a seat. Telling the bartender what drink she wanted, she turned in her seat and continued to look around the place.

((OOC: Hope you don't mind I joined this^^))

[meli]

(OOC: Not at all, I forgot to say it was open on the heading ^.^)

Meli accepted a cigar from the bartender and took the lighter out of the wooden box as well. He cut the tip, stuck it between his teeth then lit the end and took a long inhale. This place was expensive. Carried the finest of everything. And Meli Loved it. Jake lived on the north side a few minutes away from here, but meli couldn't stand always living in a dump just because the kid got homesick.
So, nights like tonight, he took his own personal money that he was able to rack up during his midnight escapades, and went and got him the best of something. Food, drinks, women. Anything that his heart desired. He let go of the smoke, then lazily took another draw from it before turning to look around the room.
The piano player swept his fingers across the keys, never missing a single note. Not that it would have been good for him if he had. There were a lot of people with guns in this place. Even he had one tucked in a shoulder holster under his jacket. He leaned his elbow onto the bar top as he watched a dame enter. Smoking hot. He smiled to himself as she came towards the bar. She wouldn't be there for him, but maybe he could convince her to, grab a bite to eat.
As she came closer, he reached out with a sense any vampire had, one to touch the life force of another, just to sense, warm blood, human, dead and so on. When his touched hers though, the void caused him to flinch. He covered it but taking another draw off his cigar.
A Vampire. Not that he had any reason to talk, but, what was a vampire doing here? As he was, no one would be able to sense the part of himself that was Jake, the kid was in a deep slumber, tucked far away in the back of Meli's mind. For all senses of an undead to know, he was a vampire. A human would think he was human, since his coloring wasn't as pale as most vampires, and his dark brown eyes had the pupils that most undead lost, he passed along quite nicely.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Just as Gabrielle was about to take a sip of her drink, she held the glass mid way as a shiver ran down her spine. But, it wasn't one for being cold. She felt something. Or someone. Setting her glass down, her eyes scanned around the bar. She made sure to not look like she was looking for anyone in particular.

After a moment, her eyes stopped on one man. And might she add, a very good looking one. But, there was something different about him. A smile crept on her face as she immediately figured out what. He wasn't human, he was a vampire. Something she wasn't expecting. Usually vampires didn't hang out at places like this. Or at least the ones shes met. They usually prefered to hide or keep to themselves. But, Gabrielle was happy to see another vampire here.

Getting up from her seat, bringing her drink with her, she walked over to the guy. Hopefully he didn't mind company.

"Is this seat taken?"

She asked the man, smiling sweetly at him as she indicated the empty seat next to him. She wanted to get to know him.

[meli]

Meli had turned his eyes back to the rest of the room after finding out the woman's identity, taking time to think. In his short time as what he was, he had really only ever met a handful of the creatures, and as far as he could tell, they weren't any better than a rabid dog. The hiding and being ashamed of what they were. He could only shake his head in disgust at them. At least this woman looked like she enjoyed her life. Or death, however you wanted to look at it.
When he looked back towards the bar where the woman had been sitting, he was mildly surprised to find her almost right beside his table. The reaction showed on him by slightly widening eyes, and leaning back in his chair, his cigar still gripped between his teeth. He looked her over, being somewhat arrogant and crude about it. Arching his eyebrow at her request, he lifted a leather shoe to the chair and pushed it out beside her for her to sit. Women didn't just come up to a man for no reason. And for one to come up to him, otherworldly type woman or not. Women and him never really had a full conversation. "It tis now." He plucked the cigar from his lips, but not before he took an inhale, and leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows against the edge, his head turning to look when the music stopped.
The piano player got up and moved away, for what Meli guessed was his break. Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and the like began to play out over the room coming from a jukebox somewhere out of sight. Meli grunted at that and eyed the piano for a moment, wondering if he could play or if he'd get in trouble. Then he looked back to the woman across from him and lifted a brow again. Taking a draw from the cigar, he tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. What if she could sing? He shook his head slightly, clearing the thought away, then cleared his throat and waved for a waiter.
"Doll." He said with a hand on his fedora tipping it to her. "Looks like another of our mushroom people surface." Thanks to the show 77 Sunset Strip, more specifically Edd Brynes the actor who played 'Kookie' on the show, more and more people chose the night to live in which was the deffinition of 'Mushroom people - People who come out at night to play. It was amazing how humans wrote stories of vampires, and called them fiction, or called the person crazy if they really believed in it. He absolutely loved it.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Gabrielle gave a light sigh as she polished off her drink. Getting to know this man might not be as easy as she thought it would be. But, she shouldn't be shocked. She had noticed before vampires around here didn't get along with others very well. Or, they didn't care to meet others like themselves.

She turned her head slightly to notice he was looking at the piano. Slightly raising an eyebrow, she turned her attention to the piano to notice the player had left. Turning back to the man, she smiled slightly, but not as sweetly as before.

"If you want to go play...you should. I don't see any harm in you trying."

Folding her hands on the table, she shrugged. She then raised an eyebrow at his mushroom people comment. Yes, Gabrielle had heard about the show, but she had never seen it. But, she knew what it meant. She just didn't think much people used that expression to describe vampires.

"Never heard someone use that expression to describe "us" before."

She said, just now noticing her Russian accent was easy to notice, emphasizing on the word us, clearly meaning vampires. And the more she thought about the comment, the more it sounded perfect to describe vampires.

[meli]

Meli turned his head back to the woman with a raised eyebrow. Go play? It only took him a moment to realize what she was talking about, and then he shrugged and set his cigar down into an astray. "No harm, no foul, right?" He flashed a smile of white straight teeth at her, then rose and walked over to the piano. Three years earlier, Marlin Brando had sung a song in the movie Guys and Dolls, and for some reason, it was the only song he could seem to think of, aside from what the piano player had just played.
Opening his jacket, he sat down on the bench and let the coat hang over the backside. Either side got a faint flash of his guns, tucked neatly away in his shoulder holster. A warning that even if he sucked playing piano, they could get out the real hook to take him off stage instead of this gun infested place.
He swept his fingers along the keys from left to right and then after having tested them all, he started slow, and then went into the song Luck Be A Lady. He played it through without messing up and wondered if it was things like this that he should 'thank' his parents for. They had made him study hard for this kind of thing. He smiled maliciously for a moment then covered it with a plain smile and finished the song.
He bowed his head slightly to the small applause, and then let his fingers strike the keys again and he played Fly Me to The Moon, or In Other Words as it was still called. This was better than the other one, and he did silently thank his memory for being able to store all this more often than not useless information. As he played, he stroked the ivory keys, knowing he was playing with fire while touching this, but lacked a care and even chuckled as he pounded out the song.
He did it well considering the fact that the song was better with other instruments and a voice, but the music that came from the piano sounded as good as the man who had played before. Most probably wouldn't have even noticed a difference. He turned his head slightly to look under the brim of his hat at the woman who had joined his table. He wasn't sure what he should, or even would say to her when he got back to the table. Turning his head back around to look at the keys, he frowned slightly but let the thought go and let the sound of the piano fill his ears.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Two words kept continuously making their way into Gabrielle's thoughts: Simply Amazing. She couldn't believe how great this man played the piano. And it probably showed clearly on her facial features that she was very impressed. But, she probably wasn't the only one thinking this. The guy was very good, who wouldn't like him?

Yes, she had seen plenty of piano players in her life so far. And some of them were quite talented. But, something about how this man played caught Gabrielle's attention. She just wasn't sure what it was though.

Her attention was kept mostly on how smoothly his fingers hit the keys. But, she also had some of her attention on his facial expressions. Just to see if she might be able to tell what he was thinking since she couldn't read his thoughts. This would of been the perfect time to have that ability too for Gabrielle could barely read his face. The only thing she saw was the smile that seemed to have some spark in it, but it quickly disappeared and turned into a plain one. She cursed herself for not catching it in time. But, what could she do now?

Gabrielle sighed as she let the the thought slip her mind so she could continue watching him play. She wanted to make sure not to miss anything.

[meli]

Meli finished his song and rose from the bench even as the Pianist came back. He nodded slightly to the man as he stepped down from the stage, but the man grabbed his arm as he passed by.
"Don't ever touch my things again."
Turning to look at the man he frowned then glanced back at the piano then again at the man. "Fine." He coughed into his free hand and then used it to pry away the other mans hand smearing his silva on his skin. The Pianist wiped his hand on a cloth as Meli walked back to the table. He smirked to himself knowing the man would be hospitalized by the morning. It was the gift he had been given in replacement of the usual vampire strengths. Small ducts just above his fangs secreted poison that was deadly when exposed to blood, and when a small amount was applied to human skin it would only send someone to the hospital. It was enough for Meli, he wasn't completely bloodthirsty after all.
Sitting down at the table again, he picked up the cigar and re lit it. "Well. That was fun." he flashed her another smile and took a draw from his cuban. "My name's Meli, and unless you want me to keep calling you 'Doll' I suggest you tell me yours Doll." He gave a slight shrug and holding his cigar between his teeth, he did up his jacket then took the cigar from his mouth to let it rest on the lip of the ashtray.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Why were humans, especially males, also so tempermental about others touching their things? All the guy did was play some music, nothing big. But, Gabrielle decided to not think about it, people were always going to be like that, well at least human. So she just shook her head slightly as she looked back at the man, who she know knew his name was Meli with a small smile.

"Sure looked like you were enjoying yourself. And I'm Gabrielle, but if you want, you can call me Gabie."

She told him, her smile widening slightly in a friendly manner. She didn't usually let people call her Gabie, but she was in a...cheerful mood tonight, so she'd let it go this time.

[meli]

Nodding with a smile he removed his fedora and set it brim up on a spare chair, revealing his slicked back, wavy black hair. Turning his dark brown gaze back to her he smiled again and tapped the ashtray to get the ashes off the tip and lifted up the cigar. "Very well then, Miss Gabie it is." As the waiter came over, he asked for another round of the same drinks for both of them.
"So Miss Gabie, if I may ask, what brings you to the Shoreland Hotel? Not many of our kind come here ever since it got the...reputation of disreputable customers." Chuckling softly to himself at the understatement, he finished his scotch and set the glass down, it's ice cubes clinking around.
He reached up to scratch his neck as he half listened to the sound of the piano and while he waited for her response. As he thought about something though, he realized that no matter what he did, or thought, at the back of his mind rested that searching feeling, the one that helped him hunt, or know who was around him. And it kept touching on the emptiness before him, the essence of someone who should be six feet underneath the earth.
His gaze kept going back to her even though he tried to look everywhere, it kept coming back to her, and that essence. Other than his make, he never tried to have a full conversation, believing them all to be like him, but so far, she was already better by the fact that she was someplace in public without a maniacal look of hunger in her eyes. Maybe all weren't as bad as most of the ones he seemed to meet.

[Gabrielle Helio]

"Well, I was just walking around before, but because of this place's reputation, I thought I'd check it out."

She gave a light shrug of her shoulders as she crossed her leg over her other one and rested her hand on her knee with a small smile. It might of been one of those...odd reasons to come to the Shoreland, but that's how Gabrielle was. She liked to check out places because of their repuation. Even if usually the place had a bad rep.

"If I may ask why you're here at the Shoreland?"

She asked him as she tucked a piece of her loose hair behind her ear, still smiling as she turned her eyes for a moment to look at the piano player. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes off of Meli. She just wasn't sure why though. It was just something about him that Gabrielle couldn't keep her attention away from him. There was something different about him, sadly she just couldn't tell or see what it was.

[meli]

With a shrug he took a draw from his cigar before answering. "A few reasons for that." He glanced around casually then looked back at her with mischief in his eyes. "Not from this town, for one, so I rent a room here about's. Two, the nightlife of the city is almost always here, which is convenient I must say. " He flashed a toothy grin at her. "And thirdly, I feel comfortable with these sharks as opposed to our own kind. These ones are..." He gestured with his hand as he tried to think of the word, his smoke twirling throughout the air. "More blunt, more open, shall we say? I've noticed most of our kind tend to hide in the shadows." He snapped his fingers with an almost astonished look on his face.
"Brave. These ones are brave, were as most of ours lurk together and attack in packs." He smiled and motioned around the room with his smoke trailing along behind. "Here for example. Its magnificent, a place filled with warm humor and company. I adore it here, they're so..." he turned his head to smile as an elderly lady and gentlemen headed upstairs, then he pointed without to much show, to a young man standing at a table glaring at the elderly couples backs. "Interesting. Him, he's her lover, and that girl over there -" he pointed in the other direction to a lady in red sitting at the bar. "-is his, and they all pretend that the other doesn't exist. It's simply hilarious as to the way the so-called Higher Class thinks and acts. I've never understood why they are higher up than others..." His voice trailed off as he shook his head.
"But onto the lesser oddities of conversation Miss Gabie. Have you lived here long, and do you know of any interesting places that I should see while I'm here?" His eyebrow quirked as he took a sip from his glass. He had the kind of personality that came off as distant, in control, and just a little bit on the retentive side. He didn't mean for it to come off that way, he was merely curious about everything, and when he met someone he could talk to, he relished every bit of a conversation because more often than not he had to leave a place after a while, but this was a very big city and maybe he'd be able to hang around for an extra few years.

[Gabrielle Helio]

Nodding her head, she understood what he was talking about. Even though she had been human at one time and thought being one was pretty boring, she probably wouldn't have agreed. But, since she was turned into a vampire, she had to admit, humans were pretty brave and open about things. It was odd seeing them from a different point of view for awhile, but after awhile, she liked seeing what they would do next. Even though it was a bit strange for her since she had forgotten what being human was like.

"I'd have to agree with you fully on that. Our kind...I admit, seem to be a bit, boring at times..."

She said with a slight laugh. She also agreed with the higher class comment. Being apart of one when she was younger showed her a lot of things, but she never understood why her and her family were in upper class. Besides the money, what else made them higher then others? The thought would have to wait another day. Smiling, she thought a moment.

"I've been living here since nineteen forty one..."

Shivering, Gabrielle made a face thinking about how old she really was. It was crazy thinking about it. She barely looked like she was out of her twenties, yet she was only twenty at change. She shook the thought out of her head before she made herself depressed.

"You've probably already been to Wrigley Field since that's usually the first place people go when they come here...Hmm, have you been to the Art Institute? It's really nice and a relaxing place to go. Even the Water Tower is nice to go, too. Especially when you go after hours."

A not so innocent grin etched itself on Gabrielle's face. It was wrong, but it was fun sneaking into places. She might not of looked it or acted like it, but when she wanted to, Gabrielle could be very...mischevous.

[meli]

Meli nodded slowly. He barely remembered the forties. He had been trying to grow up still as he had only been changed a couple of years ago. But he could understand even after this short amount of time what it could be like to never change. In his particular situation he still changed thanks to jake, but it was far more slowly than a human. He couldn't see any change in Jakes appearance, but it hadn't been to long yet.
"Back then i was still running my home streets...I don't miss that I'll tell you." he chuckled thinking of his rundown area. What a childhood that had been. When she mentioned wrigley field he nodded again, then arched a brow. "No, haven't been to the Art Institute yet, but I can believe it. I went to paris just a few months ago and went to the Musee du Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. It was simply amazing. And I'm not sure what the water tower is, but-" He smirked and nodded. "-after hours is the best time, not sure I would want to see it any other way.
Perhaps you should show me this water tower sometime, I'm sure I'd get lost without someone to show me where it is at the least." He gave her an innocent smile, and opened his hands wide with a small shrug that said, hey what can ya do. He knew he was a mere tourist in this city, and the best he could hope for was someone who knew the area that he could stand, or one that could make a good meal afterwards, but that was always the last choice.