| Nicole Hathaway |
 |
| Portrayed By: | Eva Green |
| Status: | Alive |
| Age: | 21 |
| Occupation: | Secretary |
| Family: | Mother, Anais, living in Paris. |
| Significant Other(s): | Single |
| Freak Factor: | Slayer |
Background
“I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.”
(Douglas Adams)
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross lies your calling.
(Aristotle)
Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.
(Vincent Van Gogh)
It had never been Nicole Hathaway's dream to be working in a run down bar in Downtown Las Vegas. She had all kinds of plans, growing up in Henderson, Nevada. She wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer or a princess. Despite trying hard, Nicole was never academically gifted, ruling the first two out. As for being a princess? There didn't seem to be many jobs advertised for the position. So, she drifted along, getting decent grades and graduated with her high school diploma.
The summer after high school seemed endless, not because it was filled with fun and parties (although there were some of them), but because she had no idea what she wanted to do next. With still no clear plans, but a knowledge, she had to do -something-, she enrolled in Las Vegas College, based in her hometown to take some classes in Business Administration. Did it fill her with excitement? No. But it seemed like the kind of subject that could be used in a lot of jobs. It also kept her father, Wesley happy. Though not particularly strict, he had no intention of letting his only child, sit around the house all day. Whilst she was there, she took some classes in Kung Fu and Kickboxing. It made a change from the hot and stuffy classrooms and she found the classes great fun, as well as being a great way to keep fit.
Her mother, Anais didn't have much to say on the subject, of Nicole going to college. She had seemed withdrawn throughout Nicole's senior year at high school and had started to talk more and more about her native France. Eventually, Wesley, seeing his wife was so unhappy cashed in their savings and paid for her to return home to Paris, for a month, hoping it would revive her spirits. That was the last they saw of her. Later, Nicole heard, from her grandmother, that Anais had met another man and was living in an apartment with him. She was too angry to visit her, though on another level, she was also rather envious. Nicole was bored and Paris seemed so glamorous. She spent her time in classes, dreaming that she too could run off to lead a life filled with adventure.
She still managed to pass the course, however and was even considering more studying, maybe in another town. Fate was to intervene, though and within a week of Nicole finishing college, her father was diagnosed with cancer. Apparently he had been feeling ill for some time, but he had put it down to grief, at Anais leaving him. By the time, the disease was discovered, it had already advanced and Wesley had to have an operation. The problem was, that they no longer had savings to pay the medical bills. They has no choice but to sell the family home and move into basic rented accomodation.
Sadly, the operation was unsuccessful, as were the chemotherapy sessions that followed, Within, a few months of his diagnosis, her father had passed away. Nicole was left with nothing. No family and no money. There was no way, she could afford college now. She tried hunting for jobs in offices, but nobody seemed to be hiring. She was about to give up, when she remembered that Kelly, her best friend in school had moved to Las Vegas to work as a barmaid. Okay, it wasn't an ideal career, but it was better than nothing. She called her up and Kelly told her to pack her things and come stay at her place. She arrived at Kelly's grotty apartment, in downtown Vegas, a far cry from the bright lights of the hotels on The Strip. kelly told her that she was welcome to share with her, as long as she took the couch. There were no vacancies at the bar where she worked, but she knew of someone hiring, in a diner not far away. She had arranged for Nicole to go meet the owner that night. The owner took one look at Nicole and hired her on the spot. He didn't really care how good she was at serving food and drink. Looking like her, she would be sure to pull in the male customers. She was told to turn up, the following evening at 7pm.
That is how Nicole, came to be working at The Sunset Diner. No, it hadn't been her dream, but it -was- her destiny. The night of June 4th, 2007, wasn't a busy one. Monday was usually their quietest night and Nicole had been left alone to run the diner. Only a handful of customers had been in, mostly tourists and a couple of people on their own, who didn't seem to want to go home. They just sat there, trying to make a cup of coffee last as long as possible. She was just about to close up, when a group arrived at the diner. Five tough looking males, full of swagger and confidence. "Oh great", she murmured, under her breath. She had a feeling she was in for some ass grabbing and lewd comments. They looked her over, but didn't appear to be drunk. They were actually, fairly polite, requesting she stay open another thirty minutes so they could have some coffee. She was about to say no, but then thought, why not? All she had to go home to was a lumpy sofa and some reheated macaroni and cheese. Besides, they may seem friendly enough now, but they could turn nasty if she turned them down. She put on the coffee maker and set about making their drinks.
The noise from the coffee maker blocked out, the sound of anyone approaching. If it hadn't of been for the strange guy, pounding on the front window of the diner, she surely would have died that night, or worse. She screamed, as she saw one of the men, looming over her. Except, he wasn't a man anymore, he was some kind of monster. She took a step back, running to the other end of the counter, only to be met by another one, looking just as horrific. Meanwhile, the guy was now trying to kick in the door, without much success. He was yelling, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. She looked both ways, one of them blocked her path, whichever way she chose to escape. She picked the skinnier of the two, shoving him as hard as she could. To her shock, he flew straight over the counter, but got quickly back up, coming at her again. She lept over the counter (who knew she could do that?) and shoved him again. This time, her push was enough to send him flying through the front door, glass flying everywhere. The man outside, stared at her in disbelief, before realising he could now enter the diner. He quickly tried to aid her.
He took out a wooden stick and threw it at the other creature, behind the counter. The stick landed in the monsters chest, but the monster just looked down at it, laughing. "Push it in further", the man called out no Nicole. She didn't stop to question him, she just did as he asked and then…in front of her lay a pile of dust. She clasped her hand to her mouth, "Is he, are they? OH MY GOD, ARE THESE VAMPIRES?", her words seemed to echo around the diner, as the other two members of the gang took this moment to emerge from the bathroom. "Thats right darling, wanna come join us?" The man quickly grabbed a wooden chair, attempting to break the leg off, without much success, much to the amusement of the two vampires. He instead picked up a wooden stool , holding it in front of him. Nicole, looked across at him, her eyes pleading. "What do I do? Tell me what to do."
"Pick the stake up", he told her. She did so and copied his earlier motion, throwing the stick at one of the vampires chests. She hit the target, first time. The man stared at her, half impressed, half scowling. "Beginners luck", she shrugged, as he ran at the other one with the stool. The vampire kicked the stool from his grasp, causing him to fight it without weapons, which he actually did a pretty good job of. For a guy who was kinda skinny, he knew how to kick some ass.The two fought their way around the diner, smashing tables and chairs as they did. She waited till the vampire was tiring, before moving behind him, staking him from behind. "Heh! That one was mine", yelled the man." Where did you learn to fight like that, anyway?", he asked. She shrugged. "I took some classes in college."
She relaxed a little, realising, the threat seemed over. They has forgottten though, about the flying vampire, on the pavement outside. He took this moment to make his reappearance. The man coolly, took out a pistol crossbow and shot the vampire through the heart, his aim this time, perfect. "I forgot I had that", he said, putting it away. Nicole started laughing, partly from hysteria and shock. Her laughter turned to a frown, though as she surveyed the damage done to the diner. She sat down, on one of the few remaining chairs and let out a deep sigh. "Not only am I gonna be fired, I am gonna have to pay for all this. It's not like I can tell the truth about what happened." At that, the sound of police sirens rang out. "Shit", she cried out. "I need to get out of here." She ran outside to the pavement, not even stopping to grab her jacket or purse. She stood there, frozen on the spot, looking both ways. The man, meanwhile had also left. He was now sat astride a red scooter, fastening a white helmet around his chin. "Hop on". He told her. She hesitated for a second, before doing as he said. She wrapped her hands around his waist, as they fled the scene of the drama and rode off into the Las Vegas night.
Nicole had killed her first vampires. Due to meeting the man, who she was to find out was named Blaine, they wouldn't be her last. After riding off with her, he had taken her back to his place. Normally going home with some strange man, wouldn't be high on her list of sensible things to do, but she wasn't exactly feeling herself and besides, this guy had just helped to save her life. She followed him, as he let them in to her apartment, where she was met with walls, adorned with numerous posters, including ones showing Ninjas, Trogdor, Magic:The Gathering and Weezer. In the corner of the room stood the hugest computer she had ever seen and in another corner, a cage with a rat in it. She saw him looking at her and give him a forced smile. "Nice place", she managed, looking for somewhere she could sit down. He fetched her a can of soda and told her to sit on the sofa."Can I get you some food?" She smiled again, this time a genuine one. "That would be great. I am starved." He nodded. "Lesse, I got Doritos, Cheetos, cheez-its, cheese sandwich, cheese dip…""Big fan of cheese huh?", she grinned at him. "Any of those will be fine." He went off to the kitchen, bringing in a tray piled high with a selection of each. She sat nibbling on the food (which was suprisingly tasty) and the two got to talking.
" So, you're pretty tough for a waitress…those classes you took were pretty advanced huh?", he joked. "What exactly were they? Window-smashing 101, Art of the Scottish Vampire Toss?" "No, they were…", she broke off, realising he wasn't serious. "It was adrenaline , I guess.That helps, doesn't it? In these situations?" He eyed her, looking thoughtful. "Or, there could be a totally different explaination." He took a Dorito and chewed on it, still watching her, as he did. "Do you believe in destiny, Nicole?" he asked. She shrugged. "Maybe, although it is pretty hard to, when you are a waitress working in a grotty diner. I mean..is that what my role in life is meant to be? Great." "Hmm", he commented. "Have you heard of the tale of the Slayer?" "You mean the band?", she asked. Now there's the shortest book ever written", he carried on. He shook his head. "No, I mean the Vampire Slayer. She who freaks the freaks, now in plural form." She stared back at him. "Huh?" Not that I have met one myself, at least not till now, I think." "Wait", she said, choking on her cola."You think -I- am one?" He held out his arm. "Here, armwrestle me." She looked at him quizically. "Erm..sure, I guess. " She bent over the table, placing her arm against his and the two began their contest. Not that it was much of one, she got his arm down, within the first second."OHGODOHGODMYARMWHATHAVEYOUDONE", he cried out. "Oh my God, have I hurt you?" she asked, moving to rub his arm. "Nah, it's cool actually. Damn, you're strong, though." She sat back on the sofa and looked over at him. "So, tell me more about these slayers.."
So that was how Nicole came to be Blaine's "sidekick". At least thats how he had put the idea to her. "Well, I know you're obviously pretty new to this whole vampire-slaying business, but I'm a pretty open-minded kinda guy. Tell you what. You can be my sidekick. That way I can teach you the ropes, and make sure you don't hurt yourself learning." Now she was without a job, Nicole and Blaine met up every evening, so he could help her train. Eventually, she joined a temp agency, where she did secretarial work, allowing her to earn enough to get by and still dedicate the necessary time to working on her skills. The classes, she had took in college had given her a good grounding in martial arts, but the progress she made was far quicker than it was back then, even allowing for the fact she was practising every day.
It was time for Nicole, to take the next step.Blaine decided she was ready to go along with him, when he patrolled. As well as being Blaine's "sidekick", Nicole was also becoming his close friend. When Kelly decided that she wanted to move in with her boyfriend, Nicole felt like she had overstayed her welcome. Blaine offered to let her stay at his place. "Well, you could come stay at my place…"I mean, uhh, you know…Just till, like… you find somewhere else…" She had to admit it took some getting used to. I mean, the guy had a pet rat and she kept finding crumbs from cheese snacks around the place. She couldn't fault his generosity, though. He even let her take his bed (complete with superhero bed cover and pillowcases), whilst he slept on the couch. The truth was, other than her father, Blaine was the only man she had ever been close to. She had never had a serious boyfriend. She had a few dates in high school and college, but she struggled to even remember their names, let alone anything special about them. Her affection soon turned to more and within a couple of months of living with him, she knew she had fallen for Blaine. Not that she told him, she was afraid it would jeopardize their relationship.
Nicole never did find another place. The two continue in their routine, up to the present day. Nicole works most afternoons as a secretary in a car hire firm, she spends her evenings training and her nights patrolling with Blaine. She rises mid morning, and it all begins again. It's not the life she would have chosen for herself, but she is fairly happy with the life that has chosen her.
Logs
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