(OOC: Continued from A Bridge To Brooklyn)

IC:
For a moment Jacen was left pondering why in the world the skies were parting as light shone down and a heavenly choir sung in the background. Quite obviously, Lori showing this much emotion and affection would have to be classified as a miracle. Wouldn't it? at the moment Jaceen really didn't care. He was just enjoying the feeling of her wonderful curvaceousness pressed against his back while her lips pressed against the area just behind his ear.

"A shirt... yeah..." Jacen breathed in reply as he did his best to maintain control and keep his libido in check through not only a kiss but also a nibble of the skin. "I better or we could end up not leaving the apartment today."

Reaching up Jacen carefully pulled himself free from her arms and then made his way to the bedroom. Not only did he need to get her a shirt but he needed to get dressed in something other than sweatpants. After all, sweatpants didn't do much to help hold a guy in check. Digging through his drawers Jacen did his best to find something that would fit Lori and wouldn't look like a night shirt. For a moment he toyed with the idea of just giving her one of his white undershirts but decided that when combined with her black bra that might come off a little to trampy. Finally, after much searching he found one of the few colored undershirts that he owned. Burgundy colored, the shirt fit quite tightly on him which meant that it would still be at least a little baggy on Lori.

Turning back around Jacen wasn't at all surprised to find that she had followed him into the bedroom and was standing there with a slightly coy expression on her face. "Here," Jacen said with a quick grin as he walked over and handed her the shirt, "that should work for you but now I need to get dressed."

***

Stepping out of the truck, Jacen looked at the small building that housed the jump school. It was right next to a small private airfield and Jacen had visited several times since coming out of the military. He had even gone through the process of making sure the paperwork was filed to prove that he was qualified as a jump instructor.

Clad in worn, comfortable looking khakis, white sneakers, white undershirt, and brown and teal striped shirt left untucked, Jace was dressed quite casually though without the redneck look that he somtiems assumed when wearing his denim jeans.

"I have to admit I can't wait to see what you look like in a jumpsuit." Jacen said with a quick grin at Lori before leading the way into the building. Sitting behind the counter was a forty-something woman with shoulder length brown hair. Even though she looked friendly there was also a firmness in her expression that made it clear she wasn't a person to be messed with.

"Hey Christine. You got any opening this morning?"

Glancing up from her paperwork the woman smiled quickly at the man that had become one of there decent customers. No where near as good as some of their best but at least he came often enough that they had learned his name.

"I think we have a couple opening. Solo or with a friend?"

"With a friend." Jacen replied with a smile as he stepped back beside Lori and looped an arm around her waist. He had been hit on by enough other women that he wanted it to be quite clear that he was there with only one woman, and that was the woman he would be staying with.

"That'll work." Christine replied cheerfully as she directed her gaze toward Lori, "Would you rather go up on a tandem jump with this joke or do you want to use a static line?"

Well, burgundy wasn't her favorite color, but it would do. While it wasn't nearly as tent-like as the last, Lori had to tuck the shirt in or risk sitting on it. It wasn't all bad. The sleeves were definitely telling, but the larger than Lori-sized neck was nice. Sometimes tee shirts could feel a bit strangling.

Lori stuck her pink tongue out at Jacen's jump suit comment. Honestly, Lori was just hoping she didn't have to wear a child's size. Being on the beginning end of ladies' sizes had it's definite downfalls.

She followed wordlessly at Jacen's elbow. Her mind and eyes were busy taking in every detail of the place. The tin buildings. Hangars and runways. Tufts of grass, a glass door with a metal frame. A squat and stern woman that seemed happy to converse. She watched the exchange curiously until Jacen half scooped her up in one arm and the woman addressed her.

"Would you rather go up on a tandem jump with this joke or do you want to use a static line?"

"Hmmm. I'd like to think a tandem would fun. That way if something goes wrong I have time to knock him around before we splat. But in all honesty... " She looked up at Jacen who still had his arm around her middle, pulling her to the balls of her feet because of the height difference. "I think I want to go with the static line." Surely that would put them 8 to 10 feet away and that meant she could try something if something went wrong...

The idea of jumping in tandem was much more appealing than the static line jump but Jacen was nothing if not a gentleman, which meant that it was most deffinately ladies choice.

"Alright then. Jacen you know where the men's equipment room is. Go get yourself ready and I'll take the lady to find herself some gear."

"See you later Lori." Jacen said with a quick wink at the blond before walking off down the hall and entering the second door on the left. Inside were at least ten or twelve different gray jumpsuits in varying adult sizes. Sorting through them Jacen found the suit that he normally wear and then set changing into the suit and pulling on the jump boots that were also in varrying sizes to accomodate different customers.

"Hey Kyle." Jacen greeted as he walked out into the main hangar to see about claiming a helmet.

"Jacen. You soloing today?" Asked a guy that looked barely old enough to be out of college but was really in his thirties.

"Nope. I brought a friend so we're gonna do a static line."

"I'll go get the plane warmed up."

***

Ten minutes later Jacen stood out on the runway beside the idling prop plane. His sunglasses were still firmly in place with the straps to his helmet securing them on his head even more firmly. With his parachute attached with all the right clips he was actually beginning to feel like he was back in the military again. Keeping his eyes on the building Jacen could feel a slight smile pulling at his lips as he just waited for Lori to walk out.

Obviously it was one of those slow-motion scenes. The wind blew Lori's hair to the side, streaming the yellow locks out from the collar of her grey flight suit. It would have looked a bit like a janitor's jumpsuit had she not been rigged with the accompanying harness that held her carefully checked and re-checked parachute pack tightly to her body. She'd asked so many questions of Christine that the woman hardly had anything to go over with her at the end. There was no way Lori would be getting into a plane without understanding how her parachute was packed, how it would unfold, and what cord did exactly what.

A white helmet held under her arm, sunglasses in her fingers, Lori walked a bit uncomfortably up to the plane. The harness pulled tightly at all of her joints. Sure it made every curve like wow, but it felt like a thong for her armpits, hip joints, and waist.

"I understand the line will pull the chute." Lori set her helmet next to Jacen, tying her loose hair back as Christine had suggested. "But at 32.2 feet per second I still wanna know how high we are going so I know when to start screaming." She was only half joking. Sure she was fine now, but anyone with half a brain would hesitate before jumping flat out of a strange plane at a strange height surrounded by strange men. There were just too many unknowns. After she got a little more understanding down she would happily, happily go out the propeller plane's door without hesitation. What kid didn't dream of having the balls to fly like this. This was like what normal people dreams were made of right?

"About 30,000 ft." The pilot fielded that questions. Thirty-thousand feet. Her math brain kicked into gear. That gave her what she estimated to be about 2 minutes of free fall before she ought to start screaming. Yep. 2 minutes assuming what Christine had told her about the landing process was right.

"I can do 2 minutes." And so she hopped into the plane, checking her own and Jacen's oxygen supply and the mask that went with it. This was pretty intense and smacked of military influence. She slipped the helmet on, clicking the chip strap in place and slipping the protective eye coverings on before pushed them up to the top of her helmet. Part of it felt cool, the other part felt like she was the biggest nerd suffering one of the biggest wedgies still. "You ready?" The excitement was really starting to show in her eyes when the propellers started roaring to life.

She gripped Jacen's elbow as the plane wheels started rolling with a jerk. She was ready. As ready as she would ever be, anyway. It was one of those: just don't think about it moments. She'd done all the thinking before hand, now was the time to do.

Jacen leaned back in one of the small jump seats that was provided for jumpers and smiled as he felt the plane begin to roll forward. The vibrations from the engine that ran through the whole plane were deffinately noticable but for now at least they worked more as a massaging sensation than an annoying one.

"Of course I'm ready." Jacen replied over the roar of the engine as Lori's hand touched his elbow, "I'm the one that's done this before. Remember?"

The flight to the jump zone was what took the longest. With a jump this high you were never released directly over the field where you wanted to land. Instead the jump master calcualted the how the windos would affect the jumpers and picked the correct point for the actual jump to take place so that prevailing winds would carry them to the landing location.

"When the chute opens you've got two cords to hold onto." Jacen reminded Lori as the plane drew closer to the jump zone, "That's how you steer. I'll take lead so do you best to follow. Sound good?"

Minutes later the side panel on the plane was thrown open and Jacen and Lori were ushered over to the door. The cold wind was rushing against any exposed skin but the adrenaline that was coursing through their bloodstream would easily overcome the temperature difference. Looking over at the jump master Jacen waited until finally the older looking gentleman gave him the thumbs up. Throwing himself out of the plane, Jacen could feel himself free falling for just a few seconds before his parachute began to open with a gentle jerk. The parachutes used at these altitudes were designed to open at a slightly slower speed, minimizing the jerk while also allowing the skydiver to fall farther and use up more distance before the chute opened completely.

"Yahooooo!" Jacen roared through his face mask, the delight and excitement obvious to anyone within hearing range.

Face mask affixed, Lori stepped up to the open panel and watched Jacen fling himself out of the plane. She looked to the flight master and waited for her signal before she turned to the roaring open space and hesitated. She took a step back and then ran out for more of a swan dive. It threw off her timing, sure but made her feel better about jumping out into nothingness.

The chute opened and the panic and heart attack jerked up along with her stomach. It went from sheer terror to... joy.

Lori kicked her feet and pulled the cord that would take her slightly closer to Jacen. They would probably not be able to hear each other, but she was doing her duty and following the leader. Lori's mind wandered from everything between the rate at which they were falling to if it were possible to perfectly oppose the earth's magnetic field and stay at a certain altitude.

Perhaps if Jacen really were far enough away as they got closer she would attempt this, her greatest levitation trick. She reached out with that part of her that was mutant and tried to feel the pull of the earth. It was there, comforting and real. She kicked her feet again and looked toward the ground with her eyes, probably a mistake. It made her start wondering about the exact landing procedure. What if she'd trusted those calculations to that old man and he'd forgotten to carry the one? They could be landing in a tree field or worse: a populated area! Surely the only things worse than landing was being landed on.

Lori kicked her legs again and compensated for the wind, keeping a close bead on Jacen's location. Until they got closer, she would be enjoying this. Once she felt confident enough to attempt a magnetic field close to the ground, she would start enjoying that.

The view from so high above the earth was completely different than what most people came to appreciate. Even those that flew in planes could never appreciate the freedom, excitement, and joy that combined with this perspective to give a skydiver this completely unique view of life and the world upon which they lived.

Craning his neck around, Jacen made sure to Lori was following him as he pulled at his cords and guided the shoot toward the target landing area. They had at least a good twenty or thirty minutes of flight time before the actual landing so he was going to enjoy every moment of it. At this height you really did feel like you could reach out and touch the clouds.

"I wonder what Lori's feeling right now." Jacen pondered to himself, "If I had Kealey's power I'd have some idea. Of course, to have a power like Kealey's I'd have to be a mutant which I am apparently not."

And there it was again. Jacen had successfully ignored the question since leaving the apartment by filling his mind with thoughts of how sexy his blond friend was and how good she would look in a jumpsuit but now that he was floating through the air with Lori behind him that pressing question could once again push to the forefront.

"But if I'm not a mutant then what am I? Humans can't affect mutants like this. Could they have gotten the test wrong? Could there have been a mistake in how the blood was handled?"

Pulling his right hand cord Jacen took his parachute into a slow circle, orbiting one area so that he could get a full view before once again heading off in the apropriate direction. None of the movements were to fast so it should have been easy for Lori to follow him but there was no guarantee. Glancing over his shoulder he doubled checked that she was still around as that one question repeated through his mind once again.

"What am I?"

Fifteen minutes was a long time to be alone inside of Lori's head. The scenery was beautiful, but scenery was more Jacen's thing, she figured. Behind the mask, Lori chewed her lip. She didn't want to waste this trip, but the wind streaming past her suit and the pull against the chute wasn't enough to keep her mind in the moment.

What did he want? Mars hadn't wanted anything. They both knew they would never be each other’s one and only, but to be each other’s now and then seemed alright. Lori was okay with that, and so was Mars, she thought. What more did she need? What more did Jacen need? What did he want from her?

She resolved to ask him, but hadn't she already asked him? Hmmm. Lori kicked her feet again watching the ant-sized things grow larger without a care. Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to fly?

Lori followed Jacen's path exactly. She prided her precision in all things technical. And it was fun: the danger, the wind that provided the challenge to compensate properly for his slow turn... the best challenge was the opposition of the earth's magnetic field. They were getting close enough that she started to try. It was hard, not that the earth's field was changing, but that it was a very precise feeling. Lori didn't do precise.

She got it right enough to slow herself, falling farther and farther behind Jacen, though they should have been falling at the same rate. That was proof that she was getting closer in the very least. Jacen had already landed, but Lori was still ways from the ground and... slowing? She would get it. Eventually she could get it as long as she figured it out before she got too close.

It seemed as though Lori was beginning to slow down ever so slightly but since she was still following the same path that Jacen had already travelled he wasn't particularly worried about it. Besides, he did have the pressing matter of landing without any sort of injury.

The former military man's eyes narrowed as he watched the 'X' that he had been aiming for. The very center of the target was where he planned to plant his feet and then jog forward so that he didn't get knocked over by his parachute. Pulling one cord and then the other Jacen adjusted his trajectory and then at the last moment yanked both cords down so that his chute began to fold in on itself. As his feet touched the ground Jacen's legs were already pumping into a jog that carried him off of the target, clearing the area for the next person to land.

Going into a crouch Jacen swiftly pulled in his chute, stuffing it into the pack for temporary storage before looking back up into the sky to locate Lori. She should have landed by now but instead she was still in the air. Was she even moving? From this angle it was hard to tell. One moment Jacen thought that she might just be floating but then the next he was pretty sure that she was still drifting toward the landing site albeit extremely slowly.

Smiling slightly to himself Jacen stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the blond to finally come in for a landing. He couldn't know for sure but he did suspect that she must be exercising some other side of her mutant abilities. Otherwise there would be no reason for her to be so far behind him in the landing. She had to be doing something to change her speed or else the winds were doing some really strange things.

"So was I right when I said that was an experience you would never forget?" Jacen asked with a grin once Lori's feet had finally touched down on the landing mat. Unlatching his own helmet he pulled it off and then jogged over to the young woman to help her collect her chute and then carry it over to the waiting truck that would return them to the hangar so they could change back into their street clothes. "Is this gonna be a one time deal for you or have I inspired an addict?"

She just couldn't do it. Changing her personal magnetic field was hard enough, but once once she'd gotten close enough to the opposite register, it was like one round thing trying to stand on another. Or maybe like Lori standing on one of those log roll things. No one ever made it across on the first go. At least it made Lori's decent very controlled and slow. Her parachute actually floated down lazily behind her as she dropped the last couple feet to the ground.

What a work out!

Lori stood and brushed herself off, accepting Jacen's help with the unwieldy chute before peeling off her face mask. "That wasn't bad at all." She inspected the mat curiously. She'd missed the X by quite a bit, but then again she'd stopped navigating by the pull cords some time ago. The men waiting in the truck certainly seemed unable to close their jaws and certainly couldn't give Lori proper eye contact. Ah. She hadn't thought about how she was exposing herself, she'd just found a new challenge she had to explore.

Lori pulled the chin strap and freed her head from the stuffy helmet which got deposited in the back of the truck with the unfolded parachutes. "Oh, I'd definitely do it again. I don't have that last landing bit down just yet, you know?" She grinned up at Jacen like a kid with a new toy. She'd be thinking about that one for some time now. It was certainly a lovely distraction from the question that plagued her.

A protesting gurgle echoed from Lori's stomach as they pulled up to the hangar to change and replace the equipment. Whispers passed from person to person, how could she not notice? But she did her best not to embarrass herself or Jacen. All they had to do was get changed and get out and enjoy the day. Lori waved to her mutant counterpart as they split ways again. Christine showed up as Lori was tucking Jacen's burgandy tee into her pants and the woman showed her where to deposit the jumpsuit.

With her coiled wire bracelets, Lori made sure to windmill the metal through her field a few times to build up her charge before entering Jacen's field again. She hadn't expended too much energy changing her own field, but it was enough that it made her worry. And why worry when you have the answer? So Jacen would wait a few more minutes before they joined up again? At least she'd be in no danger of passing out or being too passive. There was no need for that.

She was grinning even bigger when she exited the changing room. "Can we do it again?" An addict, he may have made.

The fact that Lori had enjoyed skydiving was a prize all its own. It meant that, at least in this area, the two of them had similar interests. Now if Jacen could find a few more areas where their interests intertwined they might even have enough to start building a relationship of some sort. After all, a real man never dated a woman just for her body. Sure he might hook up with one on account of her body but if he was really looking for a dating relationship he looked for a lot more than just a body. Similar interested and an intelligent mind were important too.

"See you back in the lobby." Jacen called as he headed into the men's changing room. In relatively short time he had changed back into his street clothes as well as returning the boots and jumpsuit to their appropriate locations. Going over to where a small sink and mirror were set in the wall, Jacen washed his face quickly in order to remove some of the sweat that had begun to form as well as giving him back that clean feeling that made a person so much more comfortable.

"Have fun Jacen?" Christine asked as he walked back out and made his way over to the counter.

"Always Christine." Jacen said with a quick laugh as he pulled out money including extra for a tip and handed it over to the brown haired woman, "And if her comment outside was indication I think that Lori and I might be showing up here again in the not so distance future."

After several minutes of idle chatting with Christine, Jacen's words were proven true by the words that erupted from Lori's mouth as soon as she exited the changing room. "Can we do it again?" The twinkle in her eye and the smile on her lips was catching and he found that he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I guess we'll have to see about coming back on my next day off." Jacen said with obvious amusement as he walked Lori to the door while waving back to Christine, "See you next time Christine!"

***

"So, let's see..." Jacen said with a grin and climbed into his truck, lifting his hand as though it held an invisible clipboard that only he could see. "Skydiving... check. Do we head straight for the movies from here and munch on concession food or do we drive through a burger place on the way?"

Looking over at Lori, he raised an eyebrow questioningly even as he started up the truck and backed out of his parking space, "Also... what kind of movies do you like? Somehow I doubt you're a big fan of the normal chick-flick film."

"Nerd." She pushed his imaginary clipboard downward so that he would stop looking at it so hard.

Lori hmmmed at Jacen's inquisition. If she were stringing him along for some favor or something, she probably wouldn't let it get this far. There were very few reasons for Lori to have gone to a theater since it was low contact and in a darkened room. Typically to get what she wanted she needed eye contact and an ear to hear her. A Movie theater wasn't exactly the most conducive to her needs in those areas. This normal people business was trickier than it seemed.

"You know what. It doesn't even matter. I don't know what is playing so there's no point in making plans about it." Lori rolled down her window and leaned her arm out as they started backing away. This was all rather surreal. Days like this were for movies, not for Lori.

"Let's just go and pick from the posters. If you want to see one about traveling pants or matchmakers or whatever, I'm not gonna hold you back. You're the one footing the bill, right? That earns you twice the vote." Not that Lori couldn't pay, but that was a man pride thing, right? Well, it should be. She didn't have any cash on her, it was still stashed in her magnetic-user-only accessible hiding place at the Sanctuary.

"And as for food, as long as there are pickles I am game. I'm feeling the need for a pickle right about now." Lori wasn't particularly picky, though she did have a peculiar affinity for acidic foods. It just got her insides buzzing.

"Nerd?" Jacen asked with raised eyebrow, "I've got a say, no one has ever even suggested that I'm the slightest bit nerdy."

Seeing that Lori apparently wanted to enjoy the fresh air outside, Jacen went along with it and lowered his own window instead of turning on the air conditioning. It wasn't particularly a surprise that Lori didn't know what movies were playing since she had previously said that her power could affect the movie projectors. It also wasn't that surprising to him because he didn't particularly follow movies either. Hollywood had been in such a rut of making bad movies for so long that he couldn't remember the last movie that he'd been excited about going to see in theaters.

"I think I can handle not planning for the movie but I'm gonna make you pick the film." Jacen said with a grin as he drove along, enjoying the feel of the cool breeze moving through the cab of the truck, "After all, I don't want you ragging on me because I picked a mindless action flick or an overly emotional chick flick. Your pick and my turn to tease."

Pickles... Jacen just knew that he'd never understand women and their particular food choices. Sure pickles were OK, but only if they were being served with another food. No one was going to convince him that pickles on their own were the ultimate snack. Nope, if he was getting food at the concession it would most definitely consist of hot dog, popcorn, soda, and at least one good sized chocolate bar. What were days off for if not for pigging out on junk food?

***

AMC Empire 25 was one of the biggest movie theaters in New York City, boasting twenty-five different screens and a rotation of movies that would make most people's heads spin. They did their best to keep a balance of all types of moves so that anyone and everyone could come in and find a movie they wanted to watch.

"Come on Lori... you gotta make a choice now." Jacen said with a laugh as the two of them made their way through the line, "Pick the movie and then I'll buy you a giant pickle. Maybe even two if you want."

"Me? Rag on you? Preposterous! Why would I care if you liked mushy crap? For all I know you're there to take notes." Hmmm. Now that was an idea. It would be like reconnaissance on what people want. A measure of a collective expectation to which maybe she could form herself. Perhaps a romance was in order.

Lori's hand ducked and swooped through the air stream that followed along side the car. It was much like the sky diving had been except on a smaller scale. So that Jacen would not see, she kept her hand close to the side of the door. She didn't want to admit that she'd enjoyed it that much.

***

Once at the theater, Lori was a bit overwhelmed. She made all kinds of faces, mostly incredulous, at the posters as they walked past them. Big Momma's Cabin 2? Who wanted to see a man dressed as a morbidly obese woman? Following that line of thought: who wanted to see a man dressed as a morbidly obese woman chase down bank robbers in the woods... again?

"Come on Lori... you gotta make a choice now. Pick the movie and then I'll buy you a giant pickle. Maybe even two if you want."

She squeaked. "This is important. We're committing ourselves to sit and face this decision for 2 hours. If I choose wrong that's 2 hours of misery. No pickle can improve a poor plot." She wrinkled her nose at the silly man as they paced closer to the front of the line. That was actually quite hard to say. No pickle can improve a poor plot, no pickle can improve a poor plot, no pickle can improve a poor plot. As she tried the tongue twister out in her head, Lori narrowed their choices down to two posters.

One showed the long exposed neck of a woman with two runnels of blood dripping down it. She assumed that meant vampires and there was no better way to mix romance, action, and sci-fi/fantasy and still pull off some kind of cool... assuming the production was properly funded and post produced, of course.

The other poster Lori probably gaped at the longest. It appealed to her because of the man's expression, she could care less about the woman leaning against him. His eyes said 'I am dangerous' but his body said 'hold me close and gentle.' The rest of the poster hinted that he was a one of the many poor choices for the heroine of the story. That was of little to no consequence since the man was very much Lori's type. Perhaps she could rent that one when no one else was around.

"Vampires." She tugged at Jacen's rolled up sleeve and pointed. "I think vampires are the acceptable choice here." Oh but they were at the window so Lori just spoke up so that the woman behind the Plate glass could hear her through the holes.

"Two for the vampire flick."

"The one now or the one in two hours?"

Bewildered, Lori checked the clock behind the woman and the times listed above her head. Technically it started in 6 minutes. "Now is fine." She belatedly checked with Jacen through a question in her eyes. "They do that preview thing, right?"

A vampire movie? What was it with women and vampire movies? Jacen had really been expecting Lori to buck the trend and pick something completely off the wall and different but instead she had gone with the classic romance/action combination that seemed to excite so many othe women. Oh well, at least that meant that more than likely there would be plenty of action and drama for him to enjoy.

"They do the preview the thing." Jacen said with a nod of confirmatino while pulling money out of his wallet and slipping it through the slot in the glass window, "The one in six minutes would be great. Thanks."

Moments later the two of them were inside the theater and heading straight for the concession line. There were a few other people had the same idea of grabbing snacks before the movie but thanks to it being so close to the start time of a bunch of movies, the line had already cleared out pretty well.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly by and after about ten or twelve minutes Jacen and Lori were finally up to the counter. They were missing some of the previews but that didn't really matter. As long as they got to see the main event it would all be good.

"One hotdog, a large popcorn, a large coke or pepsi, and a jumbo snickers bar. Plus whatever the lady's having." Jacen ordered quickly, finishing with a slight nod to the attractive blond that was standing beside him.

***

The theater was already dark as Jacen and Lori slipped through the doors but thanks to the lights sets along the aisle ways they could still find their way around. The last of the previews were still playing through as some sort of huge robot looking thing apparently worked at destroying a city or something. He really couldn't be sure because he was paying a lot more attention to where they could get a good seat without accidently stumbling and spilling any of their precious food. One or two rows in front of the very back row was a large empty area that Jace made a beeline for. Soon he and his lady friend were seated with drinks in their holders and food in their laps.

"I didn't know you were a fan of vampires." Jacen leaned over and murmured quietly to Lori, "I'm just learning all kinds of stuff about you today."