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In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is -- so damn sick of this gig.
Who decided she'd be the chosen one anyway? It's not like it was hereditary. Then again, slayers weren't really known to have children. Whatever. She doesn't want to go down that line of thinking.
Skye sighs heavily and continues walking down the darkened street, twirling her stake in her hand. The streetlights are dim, casting odd shadows along the sidewalk. One might even think she was being followed.
She comes across a rock and kicks it out into the darkness. The rock immediately comes bouncing back out and she stops mid step, holding the stake in her hand a little tighter. She knows who it is before he even steps out of the shadows.
"What do you want, Ward? Why are you always following me?" she narrows her eyes as a figure steps out beneath a street lamp. He stands in front of her in a stupid black henley with stupid fitted jeans and a stupid cocksure grin on his stupid face. She likes this stupid outfit. Not that she pays attention or anything.
Really. She wasn't.
Just. Whatever, okay?
"I'm just out enjoying an evening stroll, getting ready for dinner. You?" He flashes his million-watt smile at her and she wants to punch him in the face. Punch. Yes. Not anything else.
"Oh, little old me?" Skye feigns innocence and bats her eyelashes at Ward.
Then immediately flings the stake at him while pushing a button on her bracelet. A small, wooden dart comes flying at Ward, but of course, somehow, he sees it coming.
He immediately appears behind her, and Skye jumps and flips, putting a ten-foot distance between them.
"Nothing much. Just trying to, you know, kill you," Skye continues. She hates this little choreographed dance they always manage to do, but she doesn't know what to do about it, either. It's not like she doesn't want to kill him. She most definitely tries. Every time. She knows he, oddly, never actively tries to kill her. It's like a cat, slowly batting at its food, waiting to become bored with it.
"I'm impressed. I almost didn't see that dart coming. Send Fitz my regards," Ward says and even half bows in derision. "I'd like to point out that the last slayer managed to be smaller than you. She didn't last a month after being called. You're going on, what, six months? That's gotta be a record, right?"
"You really need to get a day job and stop following me around. Get it? Get it?" Skye laughs and slaps her knee. "I need to remember to tell Fitz and Jemma later. That was a good one." She pretends to wipe a tear from her eye before she continues talking. "But no, really, stop following me. What's your deal, anyway? Not enough Netflix to watch?" She folds her arms and cocks her hip to one side.
Ward idly shrugs. "You amuse me. You're not like any of the previous slayers. They're all serious business. And here you are," he gestures in her general direction, "all... pixie-like and nonchalant. How are your parents, by the way?"
Skye rolls her eyes and sighs exaggeratedly. "God, why do you always have to bring them up."
He tilts his head while surveying her. "Because you get that cute little look on your face."
Skye wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Ugh. Gross." She immediately spins on her heels and starts walking away from him. It's better than imagining him with his shirt off. 'Cause come on. No. Wrong. Stop. Just stop.
"What, no goodbye?" he calls out to her.
"Why bother. You're just going to randomly appear on my way back home anyway. Go have a drink or something." Skye waves her hand in the air in dismissal, not bothering to glance back at him. "I'm sure you have something delicious stashed in your fridge." She makes a gagging face that he can't see.
"Right. Since they chipped me like a dog. Again, thank Fitz for me."
She shrugs and continues walking, not caring if he sees or follows. Sometimes she wonders if Fitz could make a chip for her. Please shock if picturing hot vampire naked. She's pretty sure Fitz would fall dead to the floor with that request.
The rest of her walk is met with crickets and trees rustling. Good night in her book. She gets to The Playground without bumping into Ward again. As she weaves her way inside, the beat of the music thrums loudly through her veins. She wishes she could just throw all her responsibilities out the window and dance freely with these other idiots who end up as vampire snacks.
She finds Fitz and Jemma in the back of The Playground. Fitz is managing to ignore everything surrounding him as he furiously pushes buttons on his tablet. Jemma stands over her shoulder, murmuring quietly next to him.
"Didn't work," Skye says as she unclips the bracelet form her wrist and drops it off on the table in front of them. "He still managed to dodge it."
Fitz pauses and picks up the bracelet, examining it. "Pity. I'll have to continue testing the speed at which--"
"Oh, but Fitz, what if you added bio-tracking to--"
"Oh, and then we could add it to--"
"Yes, but how close would she--"
"Do you think Ward would--"
"Guys!" Skye yells as she snaps her fingers in front of them. "I'm right here!"
"Right," Jemma says.
"Sorry," Fitz finishes. "Is the chip still working?" he asks.
Skye shrugs. "He didn't try to attack me, but that doesn't mean it's working."
Just as Fitz tucks the bracelet into his bag, a figure appears behind him and Jemma.
"Hey guys!" Ward calls out as he slings his arms around Fitz and Jemma, hugging them close to his body. "How are we all doing?"
"You followed me here," Skye grinds out as she glares at Ward.
"You smell lovely, Simmons," Ward grins as he closes his eyes and breathes deeply. "Oh, strawberry scented. Hey, you notice that, Fitz? I know how you like strawberries." He gives Fitz a tight squeeze.
"That is wholly unnecessary, Ward," Fitz mutters.
Ward flashes a smile as he leans conspiratorially close to Fitz's ear. "I'm sure she tastes like strawberries, too."
Before anyone can react, Ward's hunched over, grabbing his head in pain, cursing loudly.
"Chip still works," Simmons pants out as she clutches her chest. They need to stop counting on the chip. One day, Ward will figure out how to get it out.
"C'mon, let's get out of here," Skye says and ushers Fitz and Jemma out. It doesn't take long before Ward is right behind them again, following them home.
"Whose house we going to first? Is there a slumber party?" Ward starts clapping his hands excitedly.
"Why. Why do you torment us so," Skye groans out. "Can you, like, get a life or something?"
Ward shrugs even though no one is looking at him. "Can't really do that if I'm already dead."
"I can help with you staying dead," Skye says and turns her head to grin at him.
Before Ward can respond, something lunges out of the trees and knocks Jemma to the ground. Skye immediately turns and grabs the thing, picks it up, and tosses it into the middle of the street. Whatever it is, it starts skittering back towards them on all fours, talons scraping across the ground. Its face is triangular with pointed ears, eyes round and sunken in, black and empty. Its mouth is open, teeth pointed with a tongue almost serpent-like. It comes lunging at Ward who crouches down and grabs onto the appendages, falling backwards onto the ground and flinging the thing back into the trees.
It comes back for another attack, but Skye is ready. She jumps into the air before the thing reaches them and lands on top of it. She quickly pushes the ring on her finger and a poison dart shoots out, hitting the thing on the arm. It starts flailing and screeching, tossing Skye off its back. Skye lands on the ground in a crouch, ready for it to come back around.
It never does. It skitters across the street into the dark and it immediately goes silent. Skye runs over and looks, but can't find a body or any trace of it.
"What the hell was that?" Fitz sputters as Skye walks back to the group
Fitz helps Jemma up, but she kneels back on the ground, waving her hand at Fitz in a gesture that explains she's fine. She starts examining the drop of blood that fell when Skye sent out the poison dart. She reaches into her bag and produces a q-tip and Petri dish. Sometimes Skye wonders if they learn how to make Mary Poppins bags in their classes while she's off writing essays no one cares about. Jemma collects a sample and puts it back in her bag. "I'll look at it tomorrow in the lab."
Skye looks up at Ward. "Do you know what that was?"
Ward shakes his head. "No. I'd definitely remember whatever that is."
"Do you think it has anything to do with Hydra?"
Ward gives her an incredulous look. "And how would I find that out? I'm lucky they haven't killed me yet, what with you guys chipping me. I told you, last I heard they were trying to raise this octopus demon thing."
"You mean Cthulhu?" Skye asks.
It's Ward's turn now to roll his eyes. "Yeah. Sure. Cthulhu."
"We live on the Hellmouth. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it literally was Cthulhu."
"Yeah. That's great. I'd also like to point out it attacked me, so I had nothing to do with it."
"You could've planned that."
"Why the hell would I have planned that."
"You want us dead."
"I never said that."
"You're a vampire, Ward, you don't need to say anything."
Fitz and Jemma watch the two of them volley back and forth as they walk closer and closer together as they argue.
"I should just kill you," Skye glares. She's right in front of his face. Ward knows there's no hatred behind her wards. He grabs her hand and pulls her closer to him. "Then do it." He places her palm on his unbeating heart and stares at her. Skye's breathing quickens as she tries to grapple with the logical side of her brain screaming do it, kill him, he's a vampire, you'll all be better off and the other side that she ignores constantly kiss him, kiss him, nobutreally kiss him, what does he look like under that shirt. Her hand subconsciously tightens on his henley.
A throat clearing breaks the moment and Skye's head snaps up. Jemma is blinking rapidly at her. What the hell do you think you're doing? her eyes ask. Skye shakes her head and unclenches her hand, placing them back at her sides, and takes a step back.
She punches Ward square in the face and turns on her heels, beckoning her friends to follow. Ward flexes his jaw and laughs loudly. "See you tomorrow, sweetheart," he calls out.
Ugh. Asshole. Clouding her thoughts.
"Stop following me!" she yells out one last time.
"I'll let you know if I can find out anything about that thing."
Skye flicks Ward off without turning around. She can hear Ward laughing behind them as they head home.
Great. Even the sound of his laughter is attractive.
Just. Nope. Nope nope nope.
Nope.
"Nope what?" Jemma asks.
Crap. How much did she say out loud?
"Nothing. It's nothing." Jemma narrows her eyes at her as Fitz starts rambling.
Crap. Jemma totally knows what's going on.
Her parents are going to kill her if they find out.
Crap.