Because When I Arrive, I Bring The Fire

“Sir- sir, excuse me- sir- you can not smoke- sir- excuse me- you can not smoke in here!” A rather frazzled waitress spoke, trying to get the man in the booth before her to listen to the words she was practically jamming into his ears; he could hear her alright, and the fact that she seamed to think that repeating her words would change his lack of interest in what she was saying annoyed him to such an extent that he had considered pouring his wine over her head- but then he had banished the though after realizing that it would be nothing but a waste of good wine if he actually did so.

“Stop doing that!” Vito finally replied, speaking with his jaw locked, not even looking up from the expensive silver watch on his wrist, which he had been examining only a moment ago- before the dreadfully ignorant women had begun screeching in his ears. He rested his hand against his forehead, massaging his temples as he often did when he was experiencing extreme aggravation, in order to keep his temper, “Unless you wish for me to set that… gorgeous little uniform of yours on fire, with this cigarette, I suggest you bring me another bottle of your finest wine and leave me to drink in peace,” he spoke, sounding surprisingly calm for someone who was grinding his teeth together to the point of filing his bicuspids down to nothing.

“I’m sorry sir, but its against the rules”- but just as she was about to recite the entire employee handbook, Vito looked up from his wristwatch and stood slowly, smoothing the front of his suit down before turning his full attention to the women, “Does this job, honestly, mean that much to you?” he asked, his voice so quiet it almost sounded as if he were whispering. The waitress, clearly apprehensive, nodded her head, her outrageously curly red hair moving with her as she did so, “yes, sir, I do but what does that”- and once again she was interrupted; Vito loved that look of frustration that passed over her face whenever she stopped her midsentence, it was so very entertaining, and had the women not aggravated him so much he surely would have found it attractive, “Well… every good crew member goes down with their ship…” Vito spoke, cupping her face with his hand, while bringing his lighter to the side of her blouse with the other. “I believe it is the captain that goes down with his shi”- interrupted, again, though it hadn’t been Vito to interrupt her that time around; she had been interrupted by a bright orange flame which had begun crawling up the white fabric of her shirt –“Shit!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Well, move around too much and it will be the crew member bringing the ship down..."

Vito sat back down in his booth slowly, sighing as he did so, “Forget that second bottle of wine, doll, I know where to get a much better one,” he said with a flirtatious smirk, though he knew she was too preoccupied by the fact that Vito had set her uniform on fire to look his way. He brought his glass to his lips and allowed the alcohol to rush into his mouth and make its way down his throat, the feeling oh so soothing. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the flavor, and then stood once more, straightened his clothes so that nothing was wrinkled, and made his way out of the door.

It had been a cheap place anyway, and Vito wasn’t a big fan of the women that talked too much.

With his hands in his pockets, Vito walked down the sidewalk, listening to the sweet sound of a light rain falling from the heavens. He grinned- a grin that was almost genuine- and headed towards Diagon Alley; normally he wouldn’t have set foot anywhere near the place, but he had a good feeling that he would run into someone he knew, and loved to taunt, if he made his way into the shittier part of wizard-London. After all, Jack Dyllan never had been good with money.

Jack was already in Diagon Alley, walking down a crowded street, eyes straining as she looked more towards ground level. She loved crowds for one particular reason; in ensured a better outcome for her pranks. More people equates to more chances to retry if one of the pranks were to flop.

But Jack had a classic in mind. a classic that never flopped because it was so pure and simple. In the muggle world, it would not be so brilliant. But in the wizarding world, where wizards were absolutely ignorant to muggle inventions and devices, a tricky muggleborn like herself could really get away with some brilliant plots.

Finally, she found what she was looking for. A cat, probably a stray, was winding itself between people's legs outside of a shop. Jack stooped and then picked up the cat, scratching it behind the ears. She walked over to a bench an sat down on it, plopping the cat next to her, which bean to rub its head all over her arm.

Jack slipped a small muggle laser pointer out of her pocket and pointed it next to her. The cat swiped at it. Perfect. Jack made the little red dot travel upwards on the bench and the cat pounced. Jack zig-zagged it and made it shoot across the ground, the cat in hot pursuit of the demented little dot. With smile, Jack pointed at the back of a tall man who had just turned around.

The cat pounced and the man yet out a bellow, but the cat was already chasing after the dot again, heading right for a woman laden down with shopping bags. She screamed and jumped over the cat and hurried away. Jack turned and made the cat run in front of the bench and charge in the opposite way.

She looked up and saw Vito Dee Symons, and she raised her eyebrow. She half-smirked and half-scowled before she realized where the cat was headed. Allowing for the smirk to take over, she pointed the laser pointer right at Vito's midsection.

As soon as Vito walked on to the main streets of Diagon Alley he regretted it. What kind of odd, flea ridden animal attacked humans?

Vito looked down at the filthy cat that was clinging to the fabric of his best suit, digging its sharp claws into it until it reached his skin and began embedding its nails into his skin. Instinctively, Vito grabbed hold of the feline and tightened his grip around its midsection, his eyes betraying his shock and frustration. He ripped the cat off of his stomach and dropped it on the ground, opening his mouth slightly, as if getting ready to say something- but no words left his lips, no uttered curse words or angered threats, instead, he pulled his leg back slowly and swung it forward, the toe of his black Giorgio Brutini shoes colliding with the side of the feline, sending it flying off to the side. A few women gasped and shot Vito angered looks- which he returned, though he couldn’t help but smirk.

Vito looked around, scanning the area, when all of a sudden he spotted a small, red laser dancing around on the bricks that made up the streets. An expression of realization crossed the man’s face, fallowed by a slow, halfhearted roll of his dark eyes. “Come out, come out wherever you are, Jack- your launching kittens at innocent citizens now? Who knew you were so cold,” he spoke, speaking loud enough for anyone near him to hear, but not nearly loud enough to be considered shouting- Vito Dee Symons didn’t shout; it was unbecoming of him, and anything that didn’t keep his image of perfection, well, perfect was out of the question.

Jack scowled when Vito kicked the cat; was he such a wuss that a few scratches would lead him to be a complete and total arse. Jack was all for messing with humans, but animals did not know any better. She pushed herself up off the bench, tucking her laser pointer in her pocket and whipping out her wand. She was surprised how quickly she could fully hate Vito. Minutes ago, she could tolerate him.

"Vito, you are a prat, you know that?" She scowled, stalking over to him with her wand pointed threateningly at him. She always seemed to be threatening him with something, whether it be magic or pranks. In a few minutes she would cool off, but for now, she would enjoy the bit of power she held at the moment. "You are just foul."

“Oh yes, I know that, but thank you for pointing it out; I really do like this game of ‘Lets point out our insecurities’, but I’m afraid I have too little, and you too many for it to end fairly,” Vito replied smoothly, looking down at the girl in a rather patronizing way; he greatly enjoyed the angered version of Jack, she was a lot more entertaining. Vito wrapped an arm around the teenager’s waist, sighing for a moment as he mocked her, knowing that touching her- heck, even being that close to her- would only enrage her further.

It was a game Vito liked to play when he found himself without entertainment; he would push Jack as far as he possibly could, and would watch as she exploded. Sometimes, unfortunately, Jack twisted things around and made it so that Vito was the one loosing his patients, but if he were careful enough, he could keep her from angering him to that point.

Vito thought of the slashes the cat had made in his suit and looked down at it for a moment, letting go of Jack to straighten out the material, “Look at that- look at what you did to this perfect piece of clothing,” he growled, but quickly ran one of his hands over his face to calm himself; he knew that he could fix the suit with a repairing charm, but the fact that it had even come to that in the first place was what frustrated him.

So much for not allowing himself to become angry- well, what was to be expected with such a narcissistic person as Vito?

Jack sneered at his words, ticking her head and squinting at him in anger as he drew close to her. She did not mind the sometimes-friendly rivalry between them, but as a person, she could not stand Vito. She was into mayhem and bringing justice to those who deserved it. He was into bringing mayhem to everyone, causing even innocent people trouble.

He wrapped an arm around her and she visibly tensed, and made a fake gagging noise, just to enunciate the point that she did not like being touched. She pointed her wand at him, hexes and jinxes coming into her mind, when he withdrew to investigate the damage down to his clothes.

Ah, Vito and his vanity. That was where Jack was usually able to triumph over him. Jack was proud and sometimes arrogant, but she did not give a flying dungbomb about the way that she looked. Even now, she was in skinny jeans, a ratty old tee-shirt, and sneakers, her hair frazzled from the day. She clucked her tongue, shaking her shame. "That is a shame..." She reached out and grabbed one of the rips and ever so gently applied pressure. The remaining seams fell loose and she held up a piece of ripped fabric. "Oops," she said with a smirk on her lips and a gleam in her eye.

There had always been a small sliver missing from Vito’s glass shield, which he had set up in front of himself in order to keep himself the cold, devious person he was… but Jack knew how to squeeze through that small crack and do whatever she wished to Vito once she had managed to get inside. The simple act of tearing a piece of the man’s expensive suit, for example, was enough to throw him over the edge- and it had only been five minutes since he had first spotted the young female in the crowd. Sure, she was entertaining, and Vito loved a good game or two, but when it came to messing with such things as his perfected appearance, war would be declared.

Vito ran a hand through his dark brown hair when a strand fell in his eyes, which were narrowed and glinted darkly in the setting sun, “Don’t. Test. Me. Girl.” He had spoken slowly through his teeth, taking both of her wrists in his hands, giving them a threatening squeeze to prove his point. Vito Dee Symons was a poltergeist of his word, and he was promising then and there that if the female continued on in such a way, that he would allow his anger to get the best of him. Jack had seen the man at his worst, and therefore, she knew what he could do, even if he had never actually gotten the chance to harm her.

After a moment of silence, simply standing there, glaring at the girl, Vito seemed to have calmed himself, and his frown curled slowly upward into a dangerous grin, his eyebrows moving upwards slightly as well. “Now, I need more wine and a few cigarettes”- He wasn’t looking at her anymore; instead he had turned his attention back to his suit and the wand he held idly in his right hand as he mended it, watching as the stitches repaired themselves- “Care to join me, Jaquellene darling?” Vito asked, his voice kept to a low volume as usual to give him that sense of mystique that he loved so much about himself. “I could very much use the company of an… interesting friend,” He added, well aware of the double meaning in his words, testing Jack the same way she had testing him only moments prior.

“Oh, but of course, we would head to Satin’s- the waitress at the ______ bar doesn’t exactly like me as of today,” Vito smiled genuinely, that rare moment of innocence that never stayed for long.

Jack could see the frustration and anger begin to twist and distort Vito's irritatingly handsome features. Ah, she loved the power that she knew she could exert over him sometimes. Sure they were rivals and they were usually at each other's throats, but that made them both very good at being able to get inside each other's head to mess each other up. They knew how to push each other's buttons.

He grabbed her wrists and squeezed them. It would be painful for a frail girl, but this was Jack Dyllan, tomboy and Beater extrordinaire, a title she had coined for herself, of course. He growled at her through clenched teeth, and she smirked bravely up at him. Her eyes twinkled with a confidant gleam just short of daring him to hurt her. You don't dare Vito to do something like that, because, very much like her, he would not back down. He cracked a smile and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

He released her and expressed his need for alcohol and cigarettes. Her lip curled in her disgust. "You're like my mother with those damn things," she said, partially to deal another blow to the sexist poltergeist, and just because that was the thought that had popped into her head. He arrogantly asked if she would like to join him and she automatically opened her mouth to shoot down his request. Then she saw how he was smirking, hoping to push her buttons. Narrowing her eyes even more, she crossed her arms and said, "I would love nothing more." Her eyebrows raised, to let him know she had called his bluff.

“I would love to meet her,” Vito purred, bringing his face awfully close to the female’s ear as he spoke, always hoping to get some irritated reaction out of her. He of course hadn’t been expecting her to accept his invitation to join him for an evening at his club, but he was quick on his feet, and found a way to twist things in a way that would benefit himself, “No need to worry about the entry fee, doll, they… know me there,” he spoke smoothly, that smirk of his never leaving his face, “But you will, of course, need a change of clothing, but I’m sure one of the dancers would be more than willing to lend you a uniform.” One of the things Vito liked to bring up constantly, was Jack’s lack of money- or, at least, her lack of the riches that he considered money- and would, whenever given the opportunity, bring it up, for he felt that such things as money and vanity were more important than anything else.

But that much was to be expected from the man.

In one swift move, Vito slid his hands gracefully into the pockets of his pants and started forward- expecting the young women to fallow him –each stepped as planned out and exaggerated as a well-choreographed dance.

Without so much as a glance over his shoulder, Vito brought his right hand to his face and ran it slowly over his closed eyes and his forehead- quickly his skin paled, along with his clothing, until he seemingly vanished altogether. “Give me just a moment, Jack…” The man’s voice danced about the air, traveling into one of the Gryffindor’s ears- though Vito knew he didn’t have to explain his sudden disappearance to anyone, especially not her, he did so anyway, and made his way into one of the darker-looking shops nearest to him.

-

“Wonderful…” Vito stated, appearing suddenly in front of Jaquellene with two handfuls of expensive cigars, which he had most likely stolen; even with enough money to buy the entire shop, Vito still stole from several, simply because he enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment and power that always took over him afterwards, only inflating his ego further- heck, it showed in his eyes as he stood there, dropping the cigars into his pockets, grinning to himself.

Jack winced visibly as he brought his face close to her, acting as though the mere closeness between them revolted her behind compare. He mentioned covering her fee and anger flared up in her. If she wanted, she could have access to the riches of her eccentric, wealthy uncle, but she just so happened to be a good person and refused to stoop to begging for more money than she needed.

And besides, her pride would not let her. But now he pride was getting her all in a tiff when he more or less called her poor. She scowled and then he mentioned a change of clothes and offered to give her one of the dancer's uniforms. Her lip curled in disgust; she was sure these 'dancers' probably dressed scantily, seeing as that was Vito's usual favorite choice in women. Jack wore boy's clothes half the time. She couldn't say when she had last worn a skirt by her own will.

He disappeared and she went over and sat on her original bench, experimenting more with her laser pointer. Vito reappeared and returned with handfuls of cigars. First she scrunched her nose in further disgust, then she rolled her eyes. If he was so much better off than her, why had he stolen them, for she was sure he had. Oh that's right, because he was Vito. She stood and bowed slightly, making a sweeping motion with her hands. "Lead the way." She sneered at him to assure him that her manner was held in complete and utter sarcasm.