.you taught me to look in your eyes

[-poe]

despite being locked up in a looney bin, despite her forced medications and despite the fact that she would probably never 'talk' to her 'boyfriend,' poe was surprisingly happy. and despite the nauseating aromas coming from the cafeteria, the timid brunette thought she might actually eat something. yes, everything was going well. she hadn't even been bothered by lucy had been silent, and poe's thoughts didn't even stray to her other half. her mind was supposedly occupied by xander, xander, xander. perhaps that was why poe didn't notice notice right away when lucy made a forceful push to the front of her mind.

they froze mid-step, locked in a silent struggle for control. she had been so content, so blissfully unaware that she wasn't prepared to hold back the mighty forces of the second Lucy Aldridge. after all, lucy was her strong, aggressive side. her edgy, pushy, sexy side. poe clutched at her side as if there was some sort of pain there, and she tilted sideways until she was against the wall of the hallway. she twitched some and her eyes closed, as if it were some sort of seizure, but soon went rigid again. and then, there was calm.

with a sigh, lucy opened her eyes. a confident smirk spread of her lips and she straightened up to stand on her own two feet. gently, she shook herself as if waking from a long sleep. there was an aura of confidence spread about her that poe had never possessed. the blue eyes that were once soft, understanding and kind were now sharp and manipulating. they cast about one way, and then the other, and finally rested on xander. the handsome young man that was supposed to belong to poe and poe alone.

like that mattered. her smirk grew wider as she looked him up and down, as if seeing right through his clothes. she almost could. in the back of lucy's mind, poe sobbed. she kicked, she screamed, but lucy was in complete control. she felt her nicer half's pain, but ignored it. she didn't care in the slightest. in fact, she thought icily, you should thank me. we'll finally see what an animal your wolf-boy really is. and lucy was wholly confidant that she would. finally, she started toward him, walking in a way the poe never would.. or even could.

her steps were saucy, seductive, and wild. with one hand she flicked her hair over her shoulder, revealing the skin on her shoulder. vaguely lucy wondered why poe had never opted for something more covered up, but she was glad about it. she stopped inches from xander's scraggly face, and said nothing. nothing about the episode she had just gone through. all she did was hold his gaze.

[.xander;;]

food food food food food food food. food was so close. food. foooood. that currently nonexistent tail would be wagging so hard right now. one would think that in accordance with his naturally shy personality, xander would also be a timid eater, but that was not so. xander loved food. mostly he loved flesh, but other foods were acceptable. well, perhaps what they served here should not be categorized as "food." we shall use the term "sustenance" instead. the point is, they were about two seconds from turning into the cafeteria for the foosustenance...

...when poe stopped mid gait. xander, head tilted as usual when he was curious, watched her clutch her side and lean over. he could not see her face but sensed that something was amiss, and cautiously moved around her to see what was going on. just as her face came into his view, she straightened up with a smile on her face. maybe he was just imagining things.

was he imagining the way she was looking at him? totally convinced by her gaze, he self-consciously looked himself over to make sure he was still dressed. he didn't recall stripping, and it turned out he was right. so why did he feel so naked? and so helpless? he couldn't even move under that gaze. he didn't even feel challenged when her eyes locked with his. he could swear he had seen that look somewhere before, but that didn't matter anymore because of how real it was now. entranced and stupefied, the brunet tried unsuccessfully to swallow the lump that had materialized in his throat.

as if that was not bad enough, poe began towards him. xander's tired eyes were fully open as he watched the way she moved, completely forgetting that she was just his friend. his nostrils flared as he swore that he could see through her clothes just as easily. god, he'd hit that in a second; forget the disorder, forget the relationship, forget the past. fuck it all, and fuck that hot bitch. damn, why hadn't she done this before? if his mouth was open, he'd have been drooling.

now she was just inches from his face. would she see the cold sweat that he had broken into in anxiety? would she catch the desire in his eyes, the urgency in his breath? would she notice if she pressed her body against his just how perfectly her plan was working?


would stan have nightmares? oh yes.

[-poe]

the corners of her lips twitched upward, in a sort of half-smile. she radiated confidence, and as such she didn't give a damn whether stan was there or not when she ran her hand up xander's arm, letting it rest eventually on his shoulder. but she had a notion, a guess, that xander wouldn't want to be the submissive one in this encounter. her smile and eyes seemed to change in barely noticeable ways, but it ended up conveying weakness in power. weakness, but not in a bad way. to be complete, lucy needed him. her blue eyes, so similar but so different from poe's, pleading with him silently. take me, they whispered.

her fingers, which had been resting on his shoulder, trailed softly down his chest. they pressed barely hard enough to make him feel in through his shirt. how could it be that someone like poe, so timid and innocent, had this monster hidden underneath her, waiting to surface. was it any wonder she had gotten mixed up with someone like her ex-husband? was it any wonder that in highschool, she had been labeled as the village bicycle? hardly.

she stopped her fingers, just above the line of his pants. her blue eyes left his for a moment, to look down at where her hand rested. when lucy looked back up, she give him a look. it's your move. tilting her head to the side, lucy bit her lip gently. she wanted him so much, but her self-control was incredible. she doubted that xander could say as much. screw the asylum, screw stan, a guy was a guy. and lucy was all woman.

[.xander;;]

everywhere she touched was set on fire, or electrically shocked, or pricked with a thousand needles. even through his clothes, his skin could feel hers. he might as well have been as bare as he felt. lucy was good at what she did, and it was no surprise that she had earned such a title. “werewolf” or not, xander was still a man and completely susceptible to the tempts of a normal human woman--or not so normal. for a few seconds, he was not aware of anything besides the two of them. the asylum, stan, the previous prospect of food; none of it mattered. what mattered now was “poe’s” hand, which had conveniently stopped in the place it would drive the brunet the craziest the fastest. his hand shot towards hers, expecting to help her with the button and zipper not too far from it.

unfortunately, he found that stan did, indeed, matter. before xander’s hand could reach lucy’s, stan had closed his strong hand on the boy’s arm. the patient whipped his head around to give the guard a look torn between pleading and demand. in that instant, stan decided that it was time to go, or at least ease the tension that had built up between xander and “poe.” he pulled the young man away from the woman and rested his eyes on her, taking more time to analyze her appearance than xander had.

“lucy,” he said gruffly, recalling her real name, “are you feeling alright?”

innocent little xander stared dumbly at her.

[-poe]

a moment of fury fled across lucy's eyes as stan pulled away her prey. do you offer a tiger meat, and then snatch it away from her nose? the anger of that tiger roared inside lucy, and somewhere poe cowered. to unleash the beast was one thing, but to make it angry was very different. this look of absolute and certain death usually intimidated most, but she knew stan would not be impressed. livid or not, he was 40 times stronger than she, and in any physical attack, she would surely be bested.

so the fleeting rage departed, and in her dark corner, poe relaxed a little bit. but lucy was in charge of her eyes, her hands, her lips.. poe's relaxation ended, and in the back of lucy's mind, she burst into tears. what a cruel world it would be if lucy's lips reached xander's before poe? death would be a better fate.

lucy nodded at stan, a sickly sweet expression written across her face. "just fine, sir." came her oh-so respectful response. the tiger had morphed into a kitten, so adorable, so precious. "i guess i just stepped over the line. we're such good friends, xander and i, see? i only wanted to hug him." another nod of reassurance followed this speech, which was coated in sugar and dipped in honey. she took a tiny step closer to xander, and met his eyes for a second. in that second, all her passionate wildfires returned to her eyes, a silent signal that this wasn't over.

she would have her prey yet, oh yes.

[.xander;;]

xander felt like a child being scolded and restrained by his mother. naturally, stan was much more manly than the universal idea of a mother. and stan was not a woman in the first place, meaning it would probably not be very rude to punch him square in the face... but xander would never do that. he already knew stan could beat him into a pulp if he wanted to, and anyway, he had no intentions of ever hurting someone who cared for him. apparently, though, he had no problem in growling at stan..? oh wait, that was his stomach again.

it was times like this that stan liked xander's risk status. yes, it pained the stone-faced man to see xander locked up like an animal and occasionally tossed into a straitjacket. but he had to admit, high risk had its perks. as xander's guards, stan and dan were usually permitted to whatever files they thought were necessary in doing their job--keeping xander in check and making sure those around him would not hinder their efforts. xander and aldridge had only met a couple of times, but stan was well aware of xander's interest in the woman, be it friendship or more. he figured they would be seeing a lot more of each other, which was why he had been permitted to view some of her files. something that stood out then was her pet peeve regarding her name. just as xander despised being called caleb, poe despised being called lucy. when she was called lucy without fault, it meant something was wrong with her.

something that stood out now was her reaction to that name. it was just fine with her.

"i think," the guard said sternly, unfooled by the woman's innocent act, "it's in your best interest to see xander some other time."

the young man was still entranced by those icy hot eyes, just aching to disappear somewhere with that woman and do what they needed to do... but he was quickly pushed away again, into the cafeteria. xander stared back at lucy as stan forced him closer to the lines, eventually turning away completely when the guard hit him lightly on the head.

unlike the human, the wolf could not be tricked. it knew that there was a beast inside the raven just as it was inside the boy... and how outraged it secretly was that another being thought it could stalk him. two could play it that game, the wolf thought. every time the human saw this woman, the wolf hated her more. she thought she could outplay the trickster, did she? wait until the guards were not looking. xander might then have her soul, but the wolf would have her flesh.