Chapter Text
Patrick was laying on the couch watching tv. He and his roommate just moved in a few days ago, since the last city was full of violent people, who were against supernaturals living in town with them. They moved to a city with a side of town that was safer for supernaturals to live in.
“You done yet Frank?” Patrick yelled at his roommate. The smell of herbs in the kitchen was getting a little overwhelming.
“Give me a second Patty! You act like it’s easy making these things!” Frank yelled back.
Patrick groaned and moved a little on the couch. He could never find comfort on the couch while still having his fins. He ended up sitting against the armrest so the fins on his back weren’t crushed and kept watching tv. It was hard enough dragging yourself to the living room because your witch roommate couldn’t prepack the potions that would keep you in human form. He could have used his swivel chair, but that would have been a lot harder than dragging himself across the floor. Patrick was starving too, cause Frank didn’t think to actually get him something to eat first, and Patrick was not going to drag himself to the kitchen, especially when the floor was probably covered in liquified bat eyes or whatever he uses.
“Just be happy I managed to get the ingredients in a moving van without the people assuming I murdered people for these or that the herbs were drugs!” Frank yelled
“We both know you keep your drugs with the herbs!”
“Cause some of them are useful in potion making! I’ll make you cereal before I give you the potion geeze.” Frank says. Frank could always tell when hunger was getting in with Patrick’s usual annoyance with him. Eventually, Frank came out with the vile and a bowl of cereal for Patrick.
“Thank you Frank.” Patrick says.
“Oh, by the way, I was looking for a new therapy group online. There’s this one run by a witch, and it seems like it might be good. We both know damn well we need it.” Frank says as he gives Patrick the bowl and vile.
Patrick shuttered a little remembering what it was like being stuck with the hunter. Patrick was kept in an aquarium that was barely big enough for him to move around in, and Frank was chained to the wall and constantly blindfolded so he couldn’t try to hex the hunter. There was a vampire named Nicole, a were named Tara who wasn’t there long enough for Patrick to find out what she was, and a mute Fae who was kept in a jar. None of them were fed often. Patrick was there for a 8 months, the Fae was there for 6 months, and Tara was there for only 2 weeks before they were all saved. Frank and Nicole had been there for about a year. By the time they were saved Frank was nearly blind, all of them were malnourished, and Nicole had nearly gone psychotic. After they were out, the Fae and Tara’s families reunited with them and took them back to their homes. Nicole got back in contact with her sister and moved back in with her, while Frank’s old roommate had died in a car crash only 3 months earlier. Frank and Patrick bought an apartment together, since Patrick’s family didn’t want to endanger him again since he was found in their house by the hunter, and Frank needed someone to take care of him while his vision recovered. There was a witch who lived next door who originally made Patrick the potions and taught Frank how to once he had recovered. They had to move a year after all of this. The therapy groups were made for supernaturals like them, kept in cages or chained up like animals. They saw the Fae and Tara at the therapy group they went to before they moved. A lot of the reason Frank only let Patrick call him by his real name was because of the trauma from being trapped in the man’s “trophy room”, cause the man knew Frank’s name and constantly called him by that.
“Yeah, it’d be a good thing to try, we can always change groups if we don’t like it.” Patrick says and downs the vile.
“Yeah, we’ll have to turn in online forms to join, then we can start showing up on Saturday nights.” Frank says.
“Yeah. Ugh, this tastes like mayonnaise without the texture..” Patrick says and starts eating his cereal.
“Well, I needed something to replace the whipped cream.” Frank says
“Seriously? Why is whipped cream even in it?” Patrick asks
“I need something for the, uh…” Frank says
“You just like putting something random in that won’t affect the potions don’t you?” Patrick asks.
“They affect the potions! It’s flavor.” Frank says.
“Whatever, you’re weird Frank.” Patrick says.
“When the potion takes effect, go change, we got a city to check out.” Frank says.
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Pete woke up at 11 am. He rarely woke up during the day, but he had gone to sleep early after he promised the two young bloods that he’d take them to the coffee shop, since they had started selling coffee for vampires. Pete got out of his bed. Wow he sleeps in a bed! He’s not a savage. And it’s not like the apartment room he shared with 7 other vampires had windows for them to worry about.
Pete looked over at Justin, his roommate, who was sleeping in his own bed. Justin and Pete were turned around the same time 7 years ago. They ended up in this underground vampire ring where groupies would allow themselves to be fed on by the vampires. Neither of them liked the place, and after a police raid before the act of 2015, they ended up escaping with their other 4 roommates, Mary, Lucas, Nora, and Billie Joe. The oldest one out of them all was Mary, who was almost a hundred, while Lucas was in his 80s, Nora and Billie Joe in their 40s, Pete was in his late 30s, Justin in his early 30s, and the young bloods had both turned 30 recently. All of them looked to be in their 20s or early 30s, except Lucas, who was turned at 43, and Nora, who was turned when she was 15. After the raid, the group had to resort to either stealing from the blood bank, finding groupies, or in the worst case scenario, attacking random people on the streets. That’s why when the Act of 2015 made it legal for vampires to buy blood from specified blood banks, it was a lot easier for the group.
Pete left the room, passing Nora, who had passed out on the couch. She would play games even after the sun came up, so rarely slept in her bed. Pete went to the youngbloods’ room. He went over to the girl.
“Wakie Wakie Regina.” Pete said, shaking her a little. She opened her eyes after a little bit and sat up.
“Ugh, 11 already?” She says.
“Yeah, remember, we’re heading to the coffee shop, get your hoodie.” Pete said.
Regina rolled her eyes a little. She had only been a vampire for a year and still hated it. When they found her she had just been turned by one of the vampires who runs around trying to get more followers by turning random people. She was lucky she had never had to actually bite someone to drink, which she wouldn’t have wanted to do in the first place.
Regina got out of bed. Pete went over to the other bed and shuck the other vampire sleeping in it.
“Wake up forehead.” Pete said. Regina laughed a little. The youngblood groaned and sat up.
“Seriously I don’t even think Nora knows my actual name because of how many times you people call me that.” He said grumpily.
“She knows Brendon, she just likes calling you forehead. She has the mind of a teenager, she never seemed to have grown up.” Regina says
Brendon had a different story then Regina. He had been a vampire for a year and a half, he was barely considered a youngblood anymore, but since they called him that often enough he just kept going with it. Brendon had been kept locked up by a vampire hunter who found him when he was turned, since the vampires were pushing around his tired body after tuning him. The man kept him for experimentation, which meant starve and abuse him. Billie Joe and Mary had gone after him after he killed a friend of their and injured another. They got him arrested and found Brendon in the basement. He has been out of that place for 7 months, but still has to go to the therapy group as he has a hard time trusting people, and still didn’t like leaving the apartment. Pete assumed Regina somehow talked him into going to the cafe.
“You two have half an hour to get ready. If either of you wake the others, you can kiss me driving you to the cafe goodbye.” Pete said before leaving the room to get ready himself. Thankfully Justin was a heavy sleeper so wouldn’t be bothered by Pete getting ready. Once they were ready they left for the cafe.
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Joe was about an hour into his shift at the cafe. He had been working there for 4 months. And when you’re a werewolf in a cafe, you smell a lot of people, and learn to tell who is what. He had a few werewolves, a werecat who came with the wolves, a clairvoyant who was sitting with a human, a few witches, and a mer today alone. But it was mostly humans, even if this was the side of town with more supernaturals.
“Welcome to the Folie a Deux, may I take your order?” Joe said to a young woman who had just came up to the counter.
“I’d like a Mocha.” She says a bit snottily.
“Would you like a cupcake or sandwich with that?” Joe asks.
“Cupcake. Vanilla, and I don’t want any of those creatures touching my meals.” The woman says. The were group glared at her from their booth while one of the witches facepalmed. There were constantly people coming to the cafe and talking shit on supernaturals. 3 employees, not including Joe were supernaturals, the manager who was a fae, and two of the baristas were witches.
“Ma’am this cafe if full of said “creatures”, so you may want to tone it down. What is your name?” Joe asks, a little offended that she had said that straight to a werewolf’s face.
“Sabrina Ellis.” The woman said. She them grumpily paid and sat at one of the wait to go seats. Joe sighs and tells her order to his coworker.
“I love how people think they can walk in on this side of town like half the people here aren’t supernaturals and talk shit on them.” She says as she starts making the order.
“Yeah. I mean really. We have 4 weres in that booth, a witch in that booth, and a witch and a merman in that one, and that clairvoyant just left.” Joe says.
“And you, mister I can smell what you are.”
“Ha ha Sarah.” Joe says rolling his eyes a little. One of the other baristas finished a different cup and said.
“Order for a Trent Koolaid?”
Half the cafe started laughing while the witch who was sitting in the booth with the mer, came up looking annoyed. He took his drink and sandwich back to the booth where he had been sitting.
“You always mess these up Spencer.” Joe says while Sarah laughs a little.
“What? It’s fun. I’m totally going to write Sabby Ella for that Sabrina girl.” Spencer says. “Surprised a girl named Sabrina is talking shit on supernaturals, she’s probably embarrassed for being a witch.”
Sarah and Joe laugh a little more and continue working. After a little bit, a man walked up to order.
“Hey Joe.” He said. Joe looked up from whatever he was doing.
“Oh, hi Andy.”
Andy was one of the local therapists, and he ran one of the supernatural therapy groups. Joe had been going after being saved from a farm where a woman kept him and 3 other werewolves chained up and treated them like dogs even in human form. Two of them, Essie and Erin had lived a few towns over so went back to live with their mother, while Joe still saw Stella around town and at Andy’s group therapy sessions.
“First time I’ve seen you here.” Joe says.
“I’ve been here once or twice. Didn’t realize you worked at this one.” Andy says.
“Yeah, been working here for 4 months. So, what would you like?” Joe asks.
Andy ordered a drink and sat down at a table. After a minute, Joe smelt vampires coming, and he smiled a little.
The three entered. Joe recognized two of them.
“Hey Brendon!” Joe said as they walked up.
“Hi Joe.” Brendon said smiling and pulling his hood down. Regina and Pete did the same.
“You three here for the new special?” Joe asks.
“Yeah, it was Regina’s idea.” Pete says.
“Alright, any preferences on the blood type?” Joe asks.
“Doesn’t matter.” Regina says.
“Alright. I’ll put the order under your name Pete.” Joe says before giving Sarah the order.
“Alright, thanks.” Pete says. They went over to a table where there were blackout curtains. Joe noticed Brendon watching Sarah after they sat down before Regina said something and he looked at Regina.
“Brendon’s in that therapy group you go to right?” Sarah asks.
“Yeah, been going for longer than me. Pete’s usually the one who drops him off.” Joe says.
“Well, he seems pretty nice.” Sarah says.