An American Haunting (Diana and Sebastian)

[Sebastian Marlin]

Sebastian rubbed at his eyes as he kept a careful watch on the passing pavement under the bright headlights. The scenery was shrouded in darkness, with only vague hints of shrubs and trees teasing the edges of the long patch of light ahead, whizzing by at speed. The only illumination in the truck was the dash board meters and the stereo softly playing hard rock music to keep him awake. The hum of the diesel was soothing, comforting, and a couple times he had to snap his head back to keep from getting hypnotized. He pulled the capped styrofoam cup of stale coffee to his lips, and frowned when he remembered he'd finished it 50 miles ago. He was forced to look at the time when he put the cup back in the holder, and frowns again.

Diana: **The steady hum of the trucks engine had lulled her into sleep an hour ago, and grateful to Sebastion for driving, she had happily given into the temptation of catching a few Z’s. Now she yawned and lifted her head which had been resting on his muscular upper arm and shoulder. Blinking, she looked around quickly to regain her bearings and yawned again, stretching her neck as she slid back over into her seat. Reaching for her own empty coffee cup, she examined it with a sigh and looked to Sebastion. ~Any chance we could stop soon for a coffee?~ she yawned again, mid sentence. ~You must be exhausted.. want me to drive?~*

Sebastian smiled at her with tired eyes when she woke up. "No, it's fine. There should be a motel coming up soon, I saw the sign a few miles back." He nodded to the road as a billboard came into view for the Starlight Motel with a cheesy moon-man caricature dancing in a tux sped by. "I think we both need to get some sleep. We'll start fresh in the morning." He straightened up in his seat, trying to hold a proper posture to keep himself awake better as he blinked his eyes repeatedly.

Diana: *She nodded and rolled her eyes as the sign for the motel slipped past. Reaching over to fiddle with the dial of the radio, she found the opening strains of “Highway to Hell” and turned the volume up, before turning to grin at Sebastion. It had become their song of sorts, being the first song she had heard on the radio when she had decided to give up her life of being a kindergarten teacher and adopt his job of being a hunter. She hadn't had her first case yet, but so far the road trip part of the gig was something she could definitely get used to. The long hours on the road had given her plenty of opportunity to talk to Seb in an attempt to get to know each other. Thinking of it now though, she realised that he had mainly remained annoyingly enigmatic and had allowed her to babble almost non-stop about herself in the process. Looking over at the handsome man beside her, she felt butterflies take flight at the thought of their first night out of the truck together. Twisting her hands in her lap, she tapped her foot in time to the music, yawning again as she watched the scenery slip past.*

Sebastian glanced at the radio as she turned the dial, then grinned back at her. "Funny how we always seem to find that one." Spend enough time on the road, and you'll notice all the rock stations play the same music over and over. After a few more minutes the motel sprang up ahead of them, glowing softly in the darkness. He sighed as he slowed the humvee down and made the turn, finally coming to a stop at the office. "We're here!" he yawned. With a final sputter, the engine halted and he turned off the lights. He cracked his back, and opened the door with a creak. Once out, he stretched and pressed his fists into his back. Above, the sign glowed with bright blue neon and a nice, inviting red "Vacancy". He turned and looked through the cab at her, "I'll get us a room, and park the truck there, so you can wait here."

Diana: *She nodded as he told her he would go and grab them a room. Once he had gone, she pulled a tube of lip gloss out of her pocket and applied it expertly without the need of a mirror. Recapping the tube, she slipped it back into the pocket of her tight jeans, before reaching into the back for her army green duffel bag. Pulling it onto her lap, she fished out the small bottle of perfume and spritzed herself lightly with it before zipping her bag shut. Yawning again, she realised that the anticipation of the night ahead was going to be an inadequate replacement for the coffee she so desperately needed. Winding down the window, she popped her head out and looked up, gazing in wonder as she always did when she stared at the night sky. Propping her head on her hands, she sat there gazing up at the star strewn sky, gulping in the fresh air until Sebastion returned to the truck.*

Sebastian returned shortly, and jingled the key at her, "Got us a room!" He climbed back into the truck and pulled it into reverse, then drove down the lot to the far end of the building. At this point it still hadn't struck him he'd only gotten the one room, with one bed, and one kitchen...and one bathroom... That is, until he parked the truck and pulled up his own duffel bag and stared at hers in her lap. "Er...I guess I'll get the couch, or the floor." He reached into the back and pulled out a sleeping bag, as if that was the end of the matter, and hopped out of the truck.

Diana: *When he returned, she kept her head out of the window, hanging there like a dog might, as she watched the stars dance in time with the moving truck. Once they had pulled up to the room, she pulled her head in and smoothed down her blonde curls as Sebastion mumbled something about the couch or the floor. She arched a slender blonde brow and asked ~Huh?~ but he was already out of the cab with a sleeping bag and his duffel bag in hand. As the penny dropped she mouthed ~Oh…~ before opening her own door. Climbing out of the truck, Dianna winced at her sore muscles, cramped from being in the cab of the truck for so long. She stretched her long jean-clad legs before placing her boots on the bitumen beside the truck and hoisted the duffel bag over one aching shoulder. Slamming the door shut, she caught a glimpse of herself in the side mirror, and ran a finger through her tangled blonde curls. The light blue cashmere sweater she wore had seen better days but it was comfortable and clung to her curves in all the right places. She stood beside the truck, suddenly feeling awkward and unsure about how to proceed. Turning to look to Sebastion, she moved to follow him to the front door.*

Sebastian yawned as he unlocked the door, opening it to reveal the shabby motel room. No glitz and glamor here. He looked back at her as he led her inside. "What's the matter? You look...weirded out by something." He shut the door behind her and dropped his bags on the floor with a loud thud. It was only then he unbuttoned his leather jacket and pulled his 9mm Baretta from his shoulder holster and set it on the table by the door with a quiet thunk. He threw the jacket over the chair and stared at the mediocre couch that sat in front of the old TV set. The room smelled of cleaner and dirty bath water, and a padded full size bed lay across the room from them, complete with a quarter-fed Magic Fingers machine. The walls were thin enough they could hear the TV from the room next door playing reruns of some late night comedy show. He lifted the curtain of the window by the door before locking the deadbolt and sliding the chain across.

Diana: *She followed him in the door, her eyes scanning the interior of the room. It was nice enough she supposed for a cheap motel. Everything seemed to be in working order and her eyes lit up at sight of another door which hopefully led to a bathroom. She shivered in anticipation at the thought of a hot shower. For now though, her sapphire blue eyes found the large bed in the middle of the room and she felt her cheeks burn hot as she realised it was the only bed in the room. Sebastion noticed her discomfort and asked if she was alright. ~Uh yeah.. just tired I guess… ~ Taking in the sight of the sleeping bag, and the fact that Sebastion seemed to be unloading on the couch, Diana walked slowly over to the bed and put her duffel bag down on it. ~So.. um.. there is one bed? I.. er.. I guess we could always share?~ she looked away quickly, grateful for her tangle of blonde curls to hide her crimson cheeks.*

Sebastian looked up at her, "Share it?" He hadn't thought of that. "It's kinda small, though, don'tchya think?" He blinked and stared at the bed, taking in a deep breath. "I mean, I suppose... It's not like I've never shared a bed before..." He trailed off, and realized that train of thought could land him in trouble. He hastily added, "I usually only need to get one room, but if you like, I could get another?" Brilliant save. He grinned, trying to look helpful. It took him a moment, and strolled across the room, waving a hand, "No, nevermind, forget I said all that. If you want to share the bed, that's totally fine with me, I mean, it's better than fine, it'd be great!" He floundered in his words like a fish out of water, flopping on the shore and gasping desperately. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the room again.

[Diana Herme]

*She was thoroughly confused. One minute he was saying the bed was too small, and then he was offering to get another room. She opened her mouth to say that no, this room was fine, when he was babbling on about how great it would be to share the bed. She shrugged, giggling nervously and hating herself for it. They had spent almost a week together now, shared the odd kiss here and there and a rare holding of hands when the mood had taken him, but for the most part their burgeoning relationship had been purely platonic. Despite her obvious attraction for him, she was glad they were taking things slow as this whole thing had been a rather huge life change for her. Still, she had definitely hitched her star to his wagon whatever the hell that meant, and she supposed she had better get used to sharing a bed with him.


~Well.. it’s not as if we haven’t slept together already..~ she laughed, trying to sound casual, but then became quickly mortified at her words. ~Errr… I mean… we have slept… um.. in the truck… together.. well.. I’ve slept while you drove and vice versa.. so I guess it wasn’t together in a sense of … together..~ she gave him a lopsided grin before turning her attention back to her duffel bag, allowing her blonde curls to fall in her face to hide her embarrassment.

Praying for the floor to open up and swallow her but not surprised when it didn’t she used a shaking hand to unzip her bag and rummaged around in the bottom of the left side. Taking hold of the bottles of shampoo and conditioner she pulled them out the bag and held them to her chest like she had just won a major prize. Clutching them for a moment, she closed her eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.


~I never thought I would get to have a hot shower again! You… do think this place has hot water right?!~ she asked, opening her eyes.

While she waited for his answer, she rummaged around in her bag until she found her overnight bag. It was packed in typical Diana style – fully organised in little compartments containing her toothbrush, toothpaste and other necessary toiletries. Her fingers brushed against something silky and she looked down into the depths of her bag to see her choice of pyjamas. There was a pair of pale pink fleecy pj bottoms complete with a pink tank top and cardigan, folded neatly next to a pair of what she liked to call her “Grandpa stripey flannelette PJ’s” and an assortment of frilly, lacy and girly camisoles and pantie combinations. Deciding that it definitely was not time yet for the girly items, but not cold enough for her Grandpa PJ’s, she chose the pink set and placed them on top of her overnight bag, and then put her duffel bag on the floor under the bed. Smoothing out the bedspread, she finally looked up at him.

~Look, the bed is easily big enough for the both of us. I don’t mind sharing.. but it’s up to you. I’m dying for a shower though, so is it okay if I use the bathroom first? I promise I won’t take all of the hot water.~ she grinned at him as she picked up the overnight bag and pjs, waiting for his answer.*

[Sebastian Marlin]

Sebastian's eyes almost bugged out of his head when she said they'd slept together. But she was right, in a way. He quickly turned his back to hide the distinctly bright red shade of his face, and sat on the bed heavily to fiddle with his boots. Why was he so awkward with this woman?! 'Play it cool, man, play it cool, don't let it get you -- you have work to do,' he thought to himself.

"Oh, yeah, hot water...sure, don't see why not. Should be normal." He couldn't believe she'd ask that, but he supposed some motels really were seedy like that. "Help yourself, I'll go in later." He slid his boots off finally, then glanced over his shoulder at her sleeping attire selection. He blinked, and grimaced. "Ah...word of warning, I sleep in my boxers. That's it." Better get things straight now.

Diana: She nodded, her blonde curls bobbing around her head at the slightly over emphatic nodding when he told her to go and help herself. She arched a brow when he said he would go in later, and wondered for a split second if she should suggest he join her, but almost as soon as that thought occurred to her, he mentioned that he slept in his boxers. Only. She gulped and said ~Uh yeah.. sure.. no probs Bob.. Well.. ~ she left the sentence hanging in the air before she turned on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom. Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, the presence of her normal shampoo and conditioner as well as her favourite raspberry soap made her shower its usual fruity smelling and slightly sensual experience. Soon she was dry and in her pink PJ ensemble with a towel wrapped around her head. Emerging back into the room with a distinctly raspberry and coconut scent wafting in with her, Diana smiled at Sebastian. ~The water is heaven.. you HAVE to have a shower..oh and I only saw three roaches.. so I guess that means this is a 3 star place?~ she threw her head down, and started towelling off her hair as she walked towards Sebastian on the bed.

Sebastian had stripped down to his boxers and set everything he needed out by now, and was laying on the covers of the bed watching the TV, remote in hand. The TV has been playing some static-filled channel until she stepped out, and he flipped it to the nature channel. Then the news. Oh look, there's a sports game! He looked over at her, and took a moment to breath in the scent and study her PJ's. "Oh, yeah, only three roaches? That's definitely three stars, heh heh." He rolled off the bed and picked up a satchel of things, and was about to pass her as he went to the bathroom, then paused next to her. He sniffed her shoulder, and blinked quizzically, "Is that...raspberry?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Diana: She raised her head, toweling her hair but stopped mid motion as her eyes caught sight of him clad in nothing but a pair of boxers. Soon he was walking towards her in all his boxer-clad goodness and she blinked herself as he stopped and sniffed her shoulder. ~Ummm yes.. I have raspberry soap.. if you want to use it.. its in the shower..~She giggled at the thought of him in a red soapy haze of bubbles as she looked at him. For a moment she wondered if he was going to kiss her as the thought definitely crossed her mind. But nerves got the better of her and she just offered a nervous giggle before carrying on to the bed. She fished her hairdryer out of her bag and began to dry her hair while he took his shower. The realization that she would soon be lying beside him filled her with butterflies and she found her hands shaking as she brushed and dried her hair.

[Sebastian Marlin]

Sebastian rattled his satchel and shook his head, "No thanks, I've already got my own things." He disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door behind him as she continued on to the bed. Though no thoughts of kissing her had entered his head, he had found himself a bit nervous when he'd sniffed her hair. The smell, the warmth; they made it all the more real that he was about to share a bed with a woman, and he would be expected to be on his best behavior. That was possibly the worst part of all.

He shut the thoughts out of his mind and proceeded on auto-pilot. His shower only took fifteen minutes, as he was militarily efficient with his grooming. He spent another five minutes brushing his teeth, ignoring the poor condition of the bathroom, and exited moments later in boxers, as promised. He dropped the satchel by the bed, slid under the covers without any ceremony, and rolled to one side facing the nightstand. His body was so tired, he didn't even care about the scratchy bedspread, or the lumpy pillow that smelled vaguely of cigarettes.

Finally, he looked over his shoulder at her. "So, uh, bright and early, right? Go ahead and set the alarm for, let's say....eight o'clock?" He narrowed his eyes to peer at the clock on her nightstand, and grimaced at the ungodly hour. "Make that eleven." He carefully avoided prolonged eye contact. Things were not going to be easy, but the less he thought about it, the less he worried he was. 'Just roll over and go to sleep, solider,' he thought to himself.

He rolled back on his side, facing away from her, mumbling a good night, turned out the light on his nightstand so only hers was left on, and was asleep just as quickly. He remained motionless for the rest of the night, his deep breathing the only sound he made. Though she might not see it easily, he kept a hand tucked under the pillow at all times.

***

The morning came quickly. He was up and dressed before the sun started peeking through the cheap curtains. He clicked and typed away quietly at his laptop on the table by the door, a cup of stale coffee next to it. The little cheap brewer at the sink sat with a half pot now, the coffee so weak it was hardly aromatic.

[Diana Herme]

*Clicking the OFF button on her hairdryer, Diana reached down to unplug it from the socket, subconsciously listening out for the sound of the shower. The water was still running, and Diana busied herself with wrapping the cord around her hairdryer and stashing in back in her bag before she focused on brushing her blonde curls a total of one hundred times exactly. Once it was completely dry and shiny, she slipped her brush back into her overnight bag and placed the bag on the chair beside the bed.

Whistling, she looked around the room for something else to do, slapping her thighs in a nervous rhythm as she bobbed on her feet. Seeing nothing else to do but get into bed, she let out a deep sigh as she turned back the covers and slid between the questionable smelling sheets.

The sound of the water being turned off caused her to hold her breath and she turned her head towards the bathroom door to watch him emerge and walk towards her. The sight of him in his boxers, and the smell of his soap and minty fresh breath caused her toes to curl, and she smiled at him as he climbed into bed beside her. The effort appeared wasted however as he merely rolled onto his side, facing away from her. A frown creased her forehead before he looked over his shoulder towards her and mumbled something about setting the alarm for eleven. She arched a brow at him, again wasting her efforts as he didn’t even look at her before he rolled back over and promptly fell asleep.

Diana lay beside the man she was slowly falling in love with, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. Perhaps she should have gone for the frilly lacy number after all. Feeling more than a little dejected and extremely disappointed that she hadn’t received at least a kiss goodnight, Diana rolled over so that her back was facing him and reached out to switch off the lamp. Almost as soon as her fingers touched the lamp, an image burned itself into her retina, one of a light switching on to reveal the walls coated in dripping blood. She had a second to read the words “Get Out!” scrawled in blood on the wall beside her, before the image was gone and she was staring open mouthed at the blank wall beside her. Letting out a long shaky breath, she immediately turned over to tell Sebastian but he was already sleeping soundly. Sighing deeply, she bit her bottom lip nervously before she reached a shaky hand out to flick the lamp off quickly, squeezing her eyes shut as pulled the covers up and wrapped her arms around herself. Hugging herself, Diana rolled over, facing Sebastian’s back with her own back to the lamp and offending wall. Although she lay there for a few minutes shaking uncontrollably by what she had just experienced, she surprisingly fell asleep relatively quickly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When she awoke the next morning, a patch of sunlight had found its way to the bed, and Diana’s lips curved into a lazy smile as she enjoyed the feeling of warmth it provided and the luxury of being in a real bed compared to the seat of the Humvee. She reached out absently, searching the bed for Sebastian but found the bed beside her to be empty. Her eyes snapped open quickly with fear of being abandoned here in some seedy motel in the middle of nowhere before she heard him tapping away at the keyboard. Turning her head, she watched him working at his laptop, sipping his coffee. Watching him silently for a few moments, Diana allowed herself to enjoy this moment before beginning the day ahead. Glancing quickly towards the clock on the nightstand she was surprised to see that it was after lunchtime. Her stomach growled and the urge to pee hit her with an almost unpleasant force, but still she lay there quietly watching Sebastian. After a few minutes, she yawned and stretched, wondering if there was any more of that coffee left..*

[Sebastian Marlin]

Sebastian glanced up from his laptop as he saw some movement in the corner of his eye. He smiled at Diana as he spied her watching him. "Morning! Want some off-brand motel coffee? Plenty left in the pot." He picked up his cup and smelled it dramatically, "Mmm, smells like mediocrity!" he grinned.

He put his cup back down and nodded at his computer, "I think I found something. We can talk about it more after you get ready. We'll get some breakfast at the diner down the road. The motel manager said they have the best flapjacks in town!" He laughed derisively, knowing that this town was little more than a spot of spit on the map, so trying to say the only diner in town had the best pancakes was just saying 'we have pancakes.' Realizing she was still in her PJ's, he turned back to his laptop, peeling his eyes from her so she could handle her things without being watched.

[Diana Herme]

*Diana offered him a sleepy smile as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. ~Mmmm… off-brand coffee sounds great…~ She waited for him to bring her a cup but when he stayed seated at the table, she rolled her eyes and threw back the covers. ~Guess I’m getting it myself then..~ she mumbled as she climbed out of bed.


Within a few minutes, she had her own cup of coffee and had padded over to the table where he sat. Upon hearing that he might have found something she arched a brow over the rim of her cup as she drained the cup of lukewarm coffee. ~Something.. eh? Sounds.. interesting..~ she placed the empty cup on the table beside him, yawned and stretched as he mentioned pancakes. Her stomach grumbled again and she grinned at him. ~Pancakes.. yum! I’m starving. ~ She nodded as she looked down at her pyjamas. ~Okay, I’ll go and get dressed then..~ Without thinking she bent over and kissed the top of his head before making her way back to the bed.


Pulling her duffle bag out from under the bed, she put it on the bed and rummaged around until she found the cleanest clothes she could find and her overnight bag. Her eyes betrayed her by quickly scanning the wall beside her bedside lamp and she shivered as she turned and walked towards the bathroom.


After twenty minutes in the bathroom, Diana emerged from the bathroom ready to face the world. She wore a short denim skirt that fell just above her knees, effortlessly showing off her amazingly toned and tanned legs. A plain white V neck T-shirt set off her tan perfectly, while the material clung to her in all the right places. Her blonde curls were tied back in a loose pony tail at the nape of her neck while the only makeup she had used was a slick of lip gloss and a dash of mascara which highlighted her bright blue eyes. Swinging her bag back and forth, she waltzed past Sebastian with the scent of vanilla wafting after her and made her way back to the bed. Finding her pale brown gladiator sandals at the bottom of her bag, Diana pulled out her faded brown leather jacket just in case the weather changed later on and zipped the duffel bag shut.


After another ten minutes, the bed had been remade, sandals had been strapped to her feet and Diana was sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs back and forth as she grinned at Sebastian. ~Ready when you are.. let’s go get some pancakes!~*