seas_open | [closed - Caden

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[closed - Caden - blackout]

She's out on the beach when the lights of Siren Cove go out and for a long moment, April only stands there, her toes in the cool sand, a light shawl wrapped around her shoulders, staring back toward the suddenly dark town. It's a bit of a coincidence, she thinks, the town suddenly going dark on Halloween, and she considers returning home to her apartment and trying to call Les before she realizes it's not just that the lights have gone out.

Even the sky is darker. Somehow it's like everything has been turned down and in a town filled with sirens and witches, April can guess it isn't an accident. She's near Caden's place, had been debating stopping by for a visit when the lights had gone out, but now that everything is dark, she's willing to bet he has his hands full dealing with his own place. Trying to find candles or a flashlight, whatever it is people do in a situation like this and so she decides not to bother him.

She should go home, but as she bends to hook her fingers in her shoes, she catches sight of something. A small shadow darts across the beach in front of her, zigzagging across the sand before it suddenly changes directions and charges directly at her. April takes two rapid steps back, shoving her free hand into her bag for her mace, but before she can close her hand around it, her foot catches on a rock and her ankle twists at a painful angle, sending her down to the sand.

"Fuck," she curses, still groping for the mace, but by the time she has it in her hand, whatever had been running toward her is gone. She's alone on the beach. Alone in the dark with a twisted ankle and... no cell reception. Of course.

Caden's house is close, but there's no guarantee he's even home and as April struggles to get herself back on her feet, she can already feel her ankle swelling. She's going to be stuck here all night unless someone finds her.

And it's then she sees another dark, looming figure glide across the sand and hopes someone finds her sooner rather than later.

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It's Halloween, and in the past Caden would usually have spent the night at some fancy party he got sent an invitation to, or handing out candy with his mom if he was able to go home. This year, he's not doing either. And even though it made him feel guilty, he was planning on turning off the lights to keep trick or treaters at bay. He just isn't feeling it this year. Coop will probably be hosting something, so maybe he'll pop over there.

He was restless enough to find himself in the water for a long swim, and he's on the beach wriggling out of his wetsuit when suddenly everything goes dark. The lights in his house are out, and Coop's, and everyone else's. The streetlights are out. The sky is darker and even the moon seems dimmer.

"Okay, that's spooky." He's in his underwear in the sand, lost in the darkness, and he's starting to make his way towards his back deck when he hears a sound, like someone in distress.

He tosses his wetsuit aside and shivers in the cool air, peering in the direction of the sound. "Hello? Is someone out here?"

He takes few steps forward and stops with a bitten off curse when someone passes by right in front of him, sending an icy chill through his body. The dull moon glints off of something (someone?) a few yards in front of him and he pushes past the few to move closer. "Hey, are you okay?"

She hears his familiar voice and she doesn't want to admit it, but the relief that rushes over her is nearly overwhelming. It's been a long time since April has felt afraid of anything, her powers have given her a sense of confidence that's fairly unshakable, but there's something moving out there in the dark, something that's bigger than just a person. Something she's fairly certain she can't sing to and have it leave her alone, so the sound of Caden's voice in the darkness helps her breathe a little easier.

"Caden, it's April," she says, lifting her voice to let it carry toward him. There's still something else out there, but she feels better knowing she's not alone. "The lights went out and I tripped on a rock or something."

Her ankle hurts and she suspects it's already a little swollen, which she hates. Never in her life has she genuinely been a damsel in distress, she's never relied on anyone but herself, and to have to do so now annoys her. Even though she knows Caden will be good about it, it's not something she likes. It makes her feel vulnerable, like her guard is down, and she prefers never letting that happen.

"April?" Caden squints into the foreboding black and rushes for her when he spots her, catching sight of something out of the corner of his eye. She's hurt and he's half-naked in front of her. Again.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." He gestures at his bare chest and laughs a little, reaching out to touch her shoulder reassuringly. Something else rushes past them and Caden swallows hard, sliding a hand under her shoulders and the backs of her knees. "Now, I know you're no damsel, but we need to get inside quick, okay?"

He stands up, picking her up easily and cradling her against his chest as he heads for his house. The moon glints off of the big glass windows of Coop's place, and it lets him know that he's going in the right direction. The deck is rough under his bare feet and he lifts his knee to push up the door handle, muscles flexing from the exertion. They get inside and Caden leans back against the door to shut it, sighing in relief.

Whatever else is out there in the dark, April feels strangely relieved for Caden's presence. The lights are out and she isn't afraid of the dark, but there's clearly something else going on out here that she can't explain and right now it's nothing she wants to deal with. He lifts her and she wraps her arms around his neck, glancing around the beach as she gives a nod of agreement. Her ankle throbs as he brings her into the house and she winces, but once they're inside, she feels like she can breathe a little easier.

"Thank you," she says, her gaze flicking toward the window as something moves past it, something dark and shapeless. This town never stops surprising her.

"The lights all went out," she says. "Everywhere. Did you see that?"

"You're welcome." He holds her with one arm and locks the door before drawing the curtains and looking down at her, breathing heavily from all the adrenaline. After a second he blinks and blushes, carrying her over to the sofa and laying her down gently. "Yeah, I saw. Hope you don't mind riding the night out here with me."

He knows he has a box of candles somewhere, thanks to his mom and sister, and he finds them with relative ease and starts lighting them. Soon the living room is cast in a soft glow, with one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom to light the way.

"Do you want something warmer to wear? And we should probably get some ice on that ankle." He realizes that he's still in his boxer briefs and blushes, hoping it's hidden by the candlelight. This is... intimate. "And maybe some clothes on me."

Since the wedding, Caden knows that April... is whatever it is she's doing with Les. She's still uncomfortable using the word boyfriend, but they're exclusive in their own way and yet she's also fairly certain Les had been flirting just a little bit at the wedding. It's interesting to discover she doesn't necessarily mind. April has never been in a relationship before, but she's always been under the impression people were supposed to get jealous when someone they're with expresses even playful interest in another.

But it doesn't bother her. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it.

She smiles a little, despite the pain in her ankle, and says, "Some ice would be good, but I'm fine otherwise." Her smile grows as her gaze drifts over him. "You can do whatever you like, don't let me disrupt your routine."

The way April's eyes sweep over his body makes him feel warm all over, but he has to remind himself that it doesn't mean anything. He feels like he knows April well enough to know that she's a flirt, and furthermore, she's with Les. So even though he does enjoy the attention from someone he's so attracted to, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's anything special.

"Hang tight." He takes a candle and makes his way towards his bedroom, kicking off his underwear and pulling on some worn out, fitted jeans and a thin tee. He grabs some ibuprofen from his medicine cabinet and goes into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and an ice pack before trekking back into living room. "Here, take these for the swelling."

He hands her the pills and the water and then bites his lip, debating with himself before finally carefully lifting her feet and sitting down on the end of the couch before resting them in his lap. Her ankle is definitely swollen and Caden cradles it delicately in one hand while lightly holding the ice pack to it with the other.

After a few moments he looks up at her with a soft smile on his face, stroking the knob of her ankle with his thumb. "I think you're gonna live. You'll just be without that strut of yours for a few days."

It's probably a good thing for both of them that her ankle hurts enough that she can't follow them, because he walks away from her and April seriously contemplates going after him for a moment. She knows where he's going, that he's going to change into something dry, and she knows she could get herself into serious trouble in this situation.

But when she shifts on the couch, her ankle throbs angrily and so she settles back down, having to content herself with just watching him. Waiting for him to return.

She takes the pills in the water, her smile growing slightly when he sets her feet in his lap. Sometimes Caden surprises her and now is certainly one of those times. She thinks about calling Les, asking if he'd like to come over and join them, but she remembers she had no reception on the beach. "Good thing you're here to take care of me," she answers after she swallows the pills and a shiver races down her spine when she feels his thumb moving over her skin.

"Yeah, good thing." He swallows and looks down at her ankle, readjusting the ice pack a little. He feels her shiver and assumes it's from the cold, so he curls his palm around her ankle just above the ice pack like he can stave off the chill. "Are you too cold? I could get a fire going."

It's so quiet. He never realizes how much white noise there is with so many electric devices running until they're all off, and now there's just silence as he looks over at the girl he wants, the one he can't have, the one who looks even more beautiful than usual in the flickering glow of the candles.

"This probably isn't how you imagined spending your Halloween night," he says quietly, tearing his gaze away to shift the ice again. His hand is freezing and he flexes his fingers before holding the ice back in place again. He's freezing all over, really, because the wet suit helped but he had still been looking forward to a hot shower after his swim, chilled as he was.

"The twisted ankle is a definite no on my list of plans, but otherwise..." She trails off and shrugs, because she hadn't really had anything planned. Les is off somewhere with Corry, which is fine, although she's sort of wondering where Corrine's husband is and why he's not with her tonight. Why her... whatever Les is is with her instead.

And it isn't that she's jealous, she just finds it a little strange, which she tries not to let on. She's never had a best friend before, not even a good friend, so she knows she doesn't understand the intricacies of their relationship, but every so often she has to wonder just a little. If maybe Les has stronger feelings for Corrine than he realizes.

"I didn't have any particularly grand plans," she tells him, tilting her head. "I was thinking I might go to Coop's party." She frowns just a little, watching Caden before she says, "You look cold."

"Ah. Where's Les tonight?" It's not like Halloween is a particularly romantic holiday, but it still seems like one that couples might spend together. The mention of Les should have Caden feeling bad for sitting there with April's feet in his lap, fingers pressed into the delicate hollow of her ankle, but for some reason Caden doesn't think Les would be terribly upset to find them in such a position. It's not like they're doing anything wrong.

"I am. Never quite warmed up from my dip in the ocean." He laughs and looks her over, resting his warmer hand on her calf and smiling up at her. "What about you? You're the one with bare legs and an ice pack. How are you not freezing?"

There's a soft cashmere throw on the back of the couch and Caden pulls it down, flicking it out and setting the ice pack on the coffee table. It's been on her long enough. He slips out from under her feet and puts the blanket over her, tucking it carefully under her feet. "How's that?"

Sure, he's selfishly upset that his reason to touch her is gone, but he's more concerned with her well-being than his own pointless desires.

"He's with Corrine Flynn," she says and leaves it at that, because she's sure Caden will know the name. It's hard to exist in this world, especially as a popular writer, she imagines, and not know who Corrine is. April hadn't paid much mind to popular movies or Hollywood gossip before coming here and even she had known Corrine before her arrival.

The fact that they're related makes it that much harder to escape her. Not that she's done anything wrong, far from it. April just isn't looking for a family, a feeling she's thankfully quite certain Corry shares.

"I'm fine," she says with a laugh as he tucks her in and she shifts on the couch, leaning a little closer to him. "Let me ask you something. You know Les is a witch. Would it scare you to find out I might have a little magic of my own?" She doesn't know why she's doing this, why she's taking the risk except that it's a bit of a test in a way. If he runs from what she is, then she knows.

Caden raises an eyebrow at that, because of course he's heard of her, but he had no idea she was living here. There's also something in April's tone that makes Caden just want to drop the subject, and maybe it makes him feel less guilty for being here with April like this if Les is trapped somewhere with a gorgeous female friend of his own.

She talks about having magic of her own and Caden is instantly intrigued, but he senses that she may be a little nervous. He gets that. Not everyone can be as open about it as Les is, he's sure. He smiles at her and sits next to her on the couch, leaning in close to press their shoulders together.

"Les told me that magic was real and that he was a witch, and I still stayed in his creepy basement." He laughs and puts a hand on her back, patting reassuringly. "I'm fascinated by all this stuff. I've been reading and writing about it forever. So no, it wouldn't scare me. I just want you to be comfortable enough to share it with me."

It's a risk. It's always a risk. April wears her siren form as a kind of armor, too, because if it scares someone off, then that's it, that's all the proof she needs that they're not worth her time anyway. Les had stayed, but he's the only one.

Not that she makes a habit of showing this to many people. There are a few in Siren Cove who know, but most of them are sirens themselves and they're not bothered by the form she takes or the way her eyes go black.

It has nothing to do with her comfort. It has everything to do with gauging his reaction. She leans forward, just enough that he can see her eyes in the dark and she lets them go blow. She lets her teeth sharpen into jagged points. She lets the scales flow over her skin, though because she's dressed and on land, she limits it to just her arms, black scales that shimmer like oil in the candle light.

"I don't get cold very often," she says and even her voice is different, more musical, more commanding.

Caden gets flustered when April leans in, and he's ashamed to say that his eyes are on her mouth at first, and he's scared that she might kiss him and he'll have to pull away because she's with Les and this is all so complicated, but that's not what happens at all. He doesn't even have time to be embarrassed by his thoughts, because April is changing, transforming.

He scoots back a little, not out of fear, but just to see better. Her eyes are black and her teeth are sharp, scales like obsidian taking place of her skin, and Caden blinks. And blinks again. She loves the water, she's almost inhumanely gorgeous and when she speaks in this form, Caden feels almost euphoric, like all the stress of making decisions has been lifted.

After a moment, Caden's look of surprise turns into a lazy grin, and he reaches out to let his fingers hover over her arm without touching, looking up into eyes that are blacker than the sky outside. "You're a siren."

He almost touches her and April feels the urge to flinch back, to tuck into herself like she always wants to when the thought of showing someone what she is comes up. She doesn't even have to do it, she only needs to think it and she remembers the rejection, the fear.

But Caden doesn't look scared and he's not scrambling off the couch and asking her to leave. He's even smiling and so she doesn't retreat like she wants to, she doesn't try to hide it. This is what she is. It's saved her countless times in the past, starting as a child, and in Siren Cove no one really seems to mind.

"I'm a siren," she agrees, the words spilling out of her like a melody. There's no intention behind what she's saying, she doesn't want to make him do anything, but she could and sometimes the temptation is nearly overwhelming.

Part of Caden wonders why he's so readily accepting of all of this, witches and sirens and mysterious shadows in the dark, but he just is. Maybe it's been a part of his life for so long, in some capacity, that finding out that it's all real isn't that much of a stretch.

And she's still April, even with scales and sharp teeth. She isn't going to hurt him, and there's no reason to treat her differently for what she is. It's just another facet of her, something to make Caden even more interested. She's just enchanting, no pun intended.

Her voice is like a song and Caden smiles lazily, leaning in a bit and lowering his hand onto her arm, gliding his thumb across her scales to feel the texture. He realizes what he's doing and pulls his hand back, blushing fiercely. "Sorry, I shouldn't have touched you without asking. That was rude. I just - "

He cuts himself off and smiles at her, eyes bright. "Thank for you showing me. I know it couldn't have been easy and it means a lot that you'd trust me with it."

She shakes her head at his apology because if she hadn't wanted him to touch her, he wouldn't have. She wouldn't have let him and when his hand had hovered over his arm, she'd had the chance to make it stop and hadn't. But he blushes and she can't help but smile, letting herself melt back into the form she wears most often. It's not the one she's most comfortable in, but most other people are and she knows the benefit of making others comfortable.

"That's my big secret," she says, leaning back on the couch again. He's not scared of her, which makes it a lot easier for her to play it off as if it's not a big deal.

"So now I'm going to ask you something," she continues, smiling at him. She wants him to tell her, she doesn't want to try and force it out of him. "Are you interested in Les?"

He slumps a little in relief when she waves off his apology and watches her as she shifts seamlessly back into her other form. Caden lets her gaze linger on her face, blunt white teeth hidden by soft-looking lips, and is immensely pleased by how comfortable she seems to be with him, in his home.

"It's safe with me," he promises. His eyebrows raise expectantly at her mention of a question and then he blanches, eyes going wide and cheeks heating up as he scoots back from her. God, how embarrassing. Of course they both know. It's not like he's well-versed in this enough to know how to hide it.

"Uh, I mean." He swallows and looks down, fiddling with his fingers. He doesn't know what to say, but he knows he can't lie. He just doesn't know why she's asking if she already knows. "He's great. He showed me that magic was real. And he's - well, you know."

He furrows his brow and keeps his gaze on his fingers, unable to look at her. "I thought, maybe. Before I knew he was with you. I thought he was flirting with me, I guess. But that's just what you guys do; I know that now." He blows out a breath and forces himself to wrap up his rambling. "I wouldn't try anything. With either of you."

Wow, that was telling. Caden buries his face in his palms for a moment before swallowing hard and letting his elbows rest on his knees as he hunches forward, eyes on the flickering candle on the coffee table.

"That's just what we do," she echoes with a soft laugh, because she's never really thought of anything she and Les do together as something that's individual to the two of them. They're together, certainly, but flirting with Caden hasn't been something they'd planned on doing, it had just happened, and while she's happy, albeit sometimes a little confused, with Les, she's also never really been in a relationship before. The idea that they can't branch out a little if it's something they're both interested in just doesn't make sense to her.

And it's not exclusively about sex. While she certainly appreciates what Caden has to offer in terms of his physical appearance, she likes him. She likes being around him and she thinks Les does, too.

"It isn't, you know," she tells him. "Something we do. Les and I... it's all very new." And not just in terms of the length of time they've been together, but it's all new to April, too. This isn't something she's ever done before, she doesn't think of rules like other people might, and the further she gets into this relationship, the more she's beginning to discover she doesn't quite think of it in the same way others see as being normal. "I can promise you that the number of people the two of us hit on together is a very exclusive list of one."

There's Coop, of course, but Les has really only mentioned in passing that Coop is attracted to him. They've never really been around him together.

Caden lifts his head and slowly looks over at her, brows slightly furrowed as he listens to what she's saying.

"It's just me?" He asks softly, carefully, voice tinged with confusion and a little hope. He'd thought that April and Les were just friendly, flirty people, that maybe they liked seeing Caden blush. Some people tease him just for his reaction and he thought maybe it was like that, in a playful instead of malicious way.

He never really thought they actually liked him, not like that. But she's making it sound like they might? He isn't sure that he's following along.

After a moment he shifts a bit closer, back to where he was before with his thigh brushing April's. He licks his lips and turns his head to look at her. "So, I mean, you know I have feelings for you." He swallows hard and bites his bottom lip. "And Les, well. I like him too. I just - I wasn't going to say anything. You guys are together and I respect that. I didn't - I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

"What do you think all that inviting you over for dinner at his place was about?" she asks with a small smirk, tipping her head to look over at him. Before they do anything, she'll have to talk to Les, she knows that, but more and more, the idea of pulling Caden into this appeals to her. It appeals to the part of her that doesn't quite know what to do in a relationship, that isn't sure she's cut out to be someone's girlfriend. April has lied her way through countless fake relationships for the money she knew she'd get at the end, but she's never been in a real one until Les and sometimes she worries she's not doing it properly.

If nothing else, though, she knows before she does anything here, she has to talk to him. They might be working just fine without labels, but that's one thing she's sure he'd rather she bring up with him than just go ahead with.

"Tell you what, you come over for dinner like we suggested," she says easily, still smiling over at him. "I'll tell Les how you rescued me, we'll have dinner and it'll be fun." She might need to talk to Les first, but she saw the way he'd looked at Caden. She's fairly certain he likes him, too.

"Pity friendship?" He laughs to let her know that he's teasing and then looks at her curiously. He's not entirely sure what's going to happen at this dinner, but he knows that he'd be an idiot to turn down the invitation.

He thinks about what could happen with a blush on his cheeks, unintentionally giving her a bit of a smoldering look as his mind races, along with his pulse. Really, there's so many ways to take a dinner invitation after a confession of his feelings and the confirmation that they're both possibly interested in him. He's probably wrong, but still it's a good image, all exciting and new.

She's looking at him expectantly and god, he wants, so he allows himself to reach out and finally touch her soft hair where it's spilling into her face. It slips between his fingers like silk and he swallows hard as he tucks it behind her delicate ear, thumbing at her cheekbone just once before dropping his hand.

"Yeah," he says softly, surprised by how rough his voice sounds. "I think I'd like that."

She grins again when he touches her hair, when he tucks it back behind her ear and she's going to have to talk to Les soon, she thinks. Not tonight, there's no reception and he's with Corry anyway, but maybe she'll see if she can call him tomorrow morning. Or maybe she'll just show up at his place, see what he thinks.

"Good," she says, her lips still curved into a smile. "I like the sound of this plan. I'm sure he'll be grateful to hear about how you looked after me tonight." And she's teasing a little, but she means it as well. She likes to imagine what Les might think of the story, of Caden coming to her rescue on the beach.

"You make it sound like I wrestled dragons for you. Or climbed a tower," he laughs. He feels all jittery and excited, like he's sixteen instead of a few months shy of thirty. It's ridiculous. Then again, it is kind of new and exciting, if he's getting the right idea. And it's been a very long time since he's felt for anyone what he feels for April.

And knowing that there's hope, no matter how small a glimmer? That's enough to have his heart beating faster. He's not sure how all this works, or if it even can, but he's going to go to this dinner and find out.

He wants to touch her so badly, but he can't, so he practically sits on his hands as he leans over to look at her ankle. "How are you feeling, by the way? Do you need more ice? Maybe a glass of wine?"

He scrunches his face up in a smile as he laughs and reaches up to grip the back of his own neck, looking at her and then away again. He could probably use the alcohol.

"I heard there was a party going on next door," she suggests, knowing it's probably not a great idea for them to continue to be alone together right now. She needs to talk to Les first, she does owe him that much as someone who cares about him. They may not be calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but she knows that's what they are regardless of what they say. They're in a relationship and she cares about him and so, for the first time in her life, April plans on doing something right.

Even if the thing she's doing isn't what might be considered normal.

"You help me over there to hang out with Coop again, then make sure I can home safe and I'll call you my hero for the rest of my life," she says with a smile, offering Caden her hand. "Let's go."

Caden is almost disappointed when she mentions the party, because he'd been enjoying their time together, but after thinking it on a moment he understands. It's not that she isn't enjoying his company, but maybe nothing good can come of being alone together right now. Or that could just be wishful thinking. It's all so confusing, and maybe some time away from it will help him clear his head.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. Just let me blow out all these candles." He stands up to do so, leaving one burning on the coffee table that he plans on taking with them, and looks down at her hand, something small and delicate but has the power to drive Caden crazy with a simple touch. He takes it and helps her gently to her feet, lifting her arm up over his wide shoulders and curling a hand around her waist to help her walk. "I can drive you home later, whenever you're ready."

They make their way over to Coop's slowly, and the candle in Caden's hand seems to keep the strange shadows away. He looks over at April, a little breathless at the way she looks in the candlelight, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. People are crowded at Coop's in the dark and the man himself is walking around shirtless, to no one's surprise. Caden can't help but to laugh as he helps April inside. "Happy Halloween."

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[closed - Caden - blackout]

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