Blood Rites

Sally's jaw dropped. "You’re a WHAT?" Sally's words came out just as Decebel walked up.

"Yes, Jen, you’re a what, exactly?" He asked her, voice serious as ever, eyebrow raised.

Jen glared at Sally. "One word, Sally,"

Sally held her hands up in surrender. "Oh, believe me, I have not forgotten what you will do if I say a word when I'm not supposed to. I knew I should have gotten rid of those damn dolls," she grumbled.

"Hi Decebel," Jen said, grinning innocently and acting as if she had just noticed his appearance.

Decebel narrowed his eyes at her, then his face wiped clean like a cloth running across a dry erase board. "Vasile and Alina wanted me to invite you both to come eat with everyone in the hospital cafeteria."

Jen tossed down her cards. "I could eat. What about you, Sally?"

Sally was still staring at Jen with shock-filled eyes. "You, you, Yoooouuu," Sally kept saying to Jen, with different inflections in her voice.

"Sally, let's move past this and get on to more important things, okay?" Jen took her IV pole in one hand and Sally by the other hand and began pulling a reluctant Sally away with Decebel to follow.

"What could be more important than the fact that you're a mmrrm." Jen had slapped her hand across Sally's mouth. She was trying to keep from losing her balance and knocking her IV over and she looked back at Decebel, who was watching in curiosity.

"You will have to excuse us for a sec, Dec, she swallowed her tongue. I'm just going to help her cough it up. We can meet you down there," Jen said sweetly while she continued to keep Sally's mouth covered.

"Okay then." Decebel sounded unsure as he walked past the two girls. He looked back at them one more time before turning and walking away muttering in Romanian.

"What is wrong with you?" Sally sputtered when Jen finally uncovered her mouth.

"I have a reputation to maintain. You can't just go flapping at the lips that I'm as pure as you and Jacque," Jen said, hands on her hips, lips set in a tight line.

"Oh, believe me, Jen, no one would ever confuse you with being pure, virginity be damned," Sally shot back at her sarcastically. "Out of curiosity, does Jacque know?"

"No and she doesn't need to know. What's the big freaking deal, Sally? So I'm not as experienced as I let on. What does it even matter?" Jen was getting irritated at her friend's curiosity in her sex life, or lack thereof.

"It's not really that it's a big deal as much as it's just, kind of disappointing," Sally said, sounding deflated.

Jen looked at her through half-hooded eyes. "Okay, so what I'm hearing you say," Jen started then paused, shaking her head in disbelief."You're disappointed that I'm a virgin? Did I misunderstand you? Is my hearing going bad or are you just a dumbass?"

"Okay, let me esplain it like this, Lucy."

"By all means, Ricky, esplain away," Jen responded dryly.

"So, you know how when you are a kid and you see Disney World on T.V.?" Jen nodded her understanding as Sally continued. "It's so amazing and bigger than life, they show you the fireworks above the big beautiful castle that every little girl dreams of living in, and you think 'wow, I want to go there'."

"Are you seriously comparing me to an amusement park?"

Sally shushed her. "Wait for it."

Jen motioned for Sally to get on with it.

"Finally your day comes and your parents take you to Disney World. You're going to see the beautiful castle you've seen so many times on T.V. Only when you get there and walk up to the big castle, you realize it's just a big castle-shaped building with a hole going through the middle where people are walking in and out." She blew out a deflating breath. "Even though it was still a pretty awesome place, it was a little disappointing that the castle wound up being a fake."

Jen just stood there staring at Sally. She didn't really know what to say, she was truly baffled by the fact that this news was having such a detrimental effect on her best friend. "Sally, you do realize that you just compared the news of my virginity to an amusement park castle right? Just want to be clear on that."

Sally nodded, biting on her bottom lip. "Yeah, now that you put it like that it's really kind of disturbing," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I guess I was just expecting you to be the one to tell me what it was like, ya know? Kind of like how you were the first one of us to shave your legs, and try tampons, and wax your bikini line," Sally said wistfully.

"Well, the night's still young my sweet, innocent flower. Who knows what could happen between now and tomorrow morning?" Jen laughed at Sally's dubious look.

"Come on, Virginia, let's go get something to eat." Sally darted out of Jen's reach, knowing she was going to try and hit her at the sound of her new nickname.

"Sally," Jen growled out a warning, unable to move quickly due to the annoying IV.

"Did you say something. Virginia?" Sally continued to tease. darting here and there to stay out of Jen's slapping hands.

Fane and Jacque looked up from the table when they heard Sally's singing all through the cafeteria. She was belting out at the top of her lungs Train's "Meet Virginia". A very pissed off looking Jen was dragging her IV pole as quickly as she could without falling, trying to catch up to her quarry. By the time Sally had reached the table, she had tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard. She leaned over the table, panting, finishing her serenade. "Her confidence is tragic, but her intuition magic, and the shape of her body, unusual, meet Virginia!" Sally ended dramatically, arms in the air like Vanna White indicating where Jen now stood. Much to Jen's chagrin the entire cafeteria broke into applause.

Jen pasted on her most dazzling smile and waved at everyone adoringly, but to Sally she muttered under her breath, "This is war."

Sally bowed to her audience and then to the table where all friends sat clapping as well. Decebel stood up and walked over to Jen. It was obvious he was trying not to laugh, and Jen was disappointed because she really wanted to know what he looked like when he was cracking up, but it was at her expense so she could stand the disappointment.

"Why don't I help you to your seat?"

Jen grabbed Sally's hand. "That would be nice, thank you, Decebel." She drug Sally behind her as she followed Decebel to the seats he indicated. As he was pushing Jen's chair in behind her while she sat down, Decebel leaned forward and whispered in her ear. Jen's body went rigid. Sally looked at them curiously, then looked at Jacque to see if she was seeing this. Jacque shrugged her shoulders in an 'I have no clue what's up' manner. Sally watched as Jen tilted her head up to look at Decebel. She batted her eyes sweetly and smiled a very sensual smile. Sally noticed Decebel's eyes begin to glow. "Hey, Fane," Jen raised her voice about the noise in the room.