Adri pretended that she didn't hear the voices of the men behind her. They were just a bunch of yahoos from somewhere out of town who'd had the fortune of seeing her dance tonight. Well unfortune as Adri saw it... They'd paid well yeah sure, but they were anoying ugly and they smelt. Hmph... Yeah she was off the clock now. She didn't have to be nice to them any more.

"Eeeey. Sweet thang... Why don't ya get back on over here and maybe we all can have a nice night or somethang." Yeah... Drunk too, perfect.

But she pretended like she didn't hear them, instead looking for the phone Xander had given her. Now she was kind of wishing she hadn't said no to his offer of walking her home... This was just the kind of thing that she hated and that he was afraid of.

She pulled her jacket tighter around her, the rain was making things even colder. Really cold for almost July anyway.

"Oh I know you can hear me girlie... Why you acting like this huh?" The voice called again.

"Cause I ain't interested in a bunch of yahoo-rednecks like you! Just cause I do my job doesn't mean I like you!" She hollered back at them. But that probably wasn't the best idea. The one man fell silent and the others hooted with laughter. "And I wasn't just talking about him!" She added sharply, shutting the others up now too.

They all began to move closer now, with more effort than before. "What did you say sweetie? Are we gonna have to teach you some manners on how to treat men? Because we will." Growled one of them.

"You touch me, my boyfriend won't be too happy, and he's more than able to deal with you overgrown cow pies." She snapped, her hand now securly around her phone, the screen of the razer flipped up. All she had to do was hold down the two and Xander would be on the other end. He'd find her... He'd keep her safe. "So just go away now, and I'll be more than happy to forget about all of you."

“I don’t need you to walk me home from work, Xander. I can take care of myself, really.” Those had been Adri’s exact words the first time, which seemed so long ago now, that he’d offered. Since then he’d offered many times, bringing up the fact that it was dangerous for her to walk alone after what she did for work – but the girl wouldn’t be helped. He knew she hated to feel dependent on someone.

But, as Xander did most of the time anyway, the vampire did what he wanted. And that was to protect the girl he cared about. Adri was a pretty girl, despite what she thought about herself, and he knew that when one of beautiful and a dancer – things could get dangerous, fast. That was why he’d been tailing her home for the last few weeks, keeping to the shadows and rushing into their apartment the last moment before she arrived, lest she figure it out.

On this night, like he’d expected when the small group of men left the club almost right after Adri, Xander watched them follow the young human. None of them were vampires, just stupid, neanderthal drunks looking to score with a pretty lady. For the most part the vampire wasn’t worried, they were at least fifty yards behind her and he was walking the ledge of an abandoned apartment building between the group and Adri. She was doing a fantastic job of ignoring them when she spat out that she could never be interested in a bunch of ‘yahoo rednecks’ – the comment making them all fluster in their buzz.

When their pace quickened after his girl, Xander glided down the side of the three story building as if it were only a ten foot drop and landed silently next to a puddle splattering about with the falling rain. A second later he emerged from the alley between the apartments and the neighboring one and smiled guiltily at Adri. Rustling his short, messy black locks, Xander approached the young human with an expression that spoke both ‘yeah, sorry I followed you’ and ‘don’t worry, I’ll handle this’. As he reached her, the yellow eyed man smirked in a knowing fashion and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Hey, babe.”

The rednecks stopped in their tracks for a moment before continuing, probably under the delusion they could take just one guy, who unbeknownst to them was a vampire. Setting a hand reassuringly on Adri’s hand that held the phone; he smiled at her then turned to face the on-coming would-be threat.

“This little whore yer girly-friend boi? Cuz she’s mighty perdy but she’s mouthy too!” It was almost instantaneous - Xander went from standing beside Adri to glowering at the speaking redneck from a few inches away, a movement no human could pull off. The redneck fell backward, stumbled on his friends' feet and was on his ass before he even knew it. The vampire smiled wickedly and put up welcoming hands to the rest, shifting his fingers back and forth in a 'come get some' kind of motion.

The first to take the bait was a tall, thin man in a baseball cap with the New York Yankees logo on it. He took a wide swing but it never connected, as his fist reached where Xander had once been standing, the vampire slid out of the way and to the left of him. A few sharp blows to the ribs from his strong fist dropped the tall man and he had plenty of time to duck and roll to the right as another man approached from behind. Once back on his feet, Xander laughed mockingly at the new fighter's attempts at punching him, the fatter man's fists flying out into open air as the vampire backed up easily from reach. Flitting forward, the yellow eyed man tapped the fat man's forehead and jumped back as a barrage of swings swiped through the air, each time his fist cut through the space between them one could hear the rain drops slapping his flesh. Smiling at the very human feebleness of the attacks, Xander cracked his own fist between the fat man's and before he realized it, the man backed up to avoid being hit again and fell over the first redneck who fell. Now on his knees, the fat man's last conscious sight was a black jean-clad knee connecting roughly with the space between his eyes.

Xander turned as the fattest of the group fell unconscious to the ground, slumped heavily over his much smaller friend, "Rawr!" He hoarsley whispered at the last standing man who took off with a pathetically girly cry, a rush of laughter leaving Xander's mouth as he turned to walk from the three downed men over to Adri. "How about we leave these Yankee lovin' losers in their puddles and go home?" Typically, Xander didn't like sports, but he was a Red Sox fan and beating up a couple redneck Yankee lovers felt awesome.

As she saw Xander suddenly appear in front of her, she was first delighted, but then angry. He'd been following her! After she told him that he was fine, he'd still followed her! And if he knew what way she went he had to be doing it more than just tonight.

But there was really no time to yell at him, as he went to work getting rid of the guys.

She'd wanted to join in herself after they called her a whore. She'd never voluntarily had sex with anyone but Xander. She had more respect for herself than that! She was a stripper, not a hooker!

But he got rid of them far too quick and she turned to leave as the last one turned tail.

Now she could be angry at him. "Go away Xander." She snapped, not looking at him. "You lied to me. You said as long as I had the cell phone you wouldn't be so damn obsessive!" She shot him a glare, but quickly looked back to the street. It was hard to be angry with him when she was looking at him. The urge to kiss him, press herself close to him and let him drive her wild was overwhelming. And when he bit her... It was almost better than sex.

Even thinking of that made her resolve weaken, so she crossed her arms against her chest and walked forward with a marching gait, keeping her eyes adverted.

"Obsessive? Babe," Xander walked slowly behind the human girl with a sigh, "I'm not obsessive, I just had a feeling that something bad was apt to happen tonight. Not to mention you had your finger on my quick dial anyway." He knew that she couldn't bare to look at him and be angry at the same time, something that made him smirk every time she would let her temper flare. The rain pattered down on the street in the slowly forming puddles, each drop glistening under the press of the street lights as the vampire flitted to stand in front of his girlfriend, "You know I did it with best intentions, Adri. I'm not stalking you or anything."

From the night they'd met, things had always played out like this when it came to her independence. She thought she could take care of herself knowing she had a vampire life-line she could call when in trouble; but even vampires couldn't travel the length of the city in a moment's notice because of a phone call. Xander cared for the girl and he knew that she cared for him too - having told him so and confessed that he was her first sex partner she'd willingly taken.

Xander lead her to a store's overhang to get out of the rain and placed his hands gently on her shoulder and cheek, "I've only been tailing you for two nights," he lied perfectly, "it was a gut instinct, Babe, I swear. Otherwise I would have trusted you to care for yourself." His yellow eyes caught her gaze and he tried his best to hold it, his handsome features twisted into a charming smirk.

To be honest, he'd had a strange feeling as if karma would want to take her from him, so he'd been trailing the human for going on three weeks. He'd finally come close to love again and he wasn't about to let it go for anything - especially a group of inbred drunks. Their sex was fantastic, she let him feed from her sometimes and they got along - most of the time. The fights were always short lived and pathetic at best, the making up being their motivator for anger in the first place. Xander came to adore the human girl and couldn't imagine having to let her go before it was naturally time due to his immortality.

"I don't care! I can take care of myself. And I wasn't going to call you anyway. It was just a threat. They were going to leave me alone. You di-"

But the moment he tilted her head up and she looked into his eyes Adri was lost. His eyes were so beautiful. She'd never seen anyone with that color eyes before, and they were just...

Her hand moved to his cheek, ignoring the rain Adri moved in closer to him, letting her hands slide behind his back. She kissed him softly, ignoring the fact that he was talking. She didn't care... It didn't matter, only his lips, his body near hers.

"Just shut up..." She murmured, kissing him again, winding herself closer.

It was a few minutes until she broke away for a breath. She didn't care that she was almost soaked to the bone, but it didn't matter.

"Xander..." She whispered. "Why... why won't you turn me? You know I want to be with you... I know it's hard for you. But I want to be with you. Then you wouldn't ever have to worry about me..." She murmured, starting to shiver slightly. "And I'd never have to leave you..."

But Xander wasn't the only one to hear the whispered plea. A dark figure a few blocks away who chuckles silently to himself. Well well.... A vampire who loved a little human. A weak little human girl.... This could be fun indeed. And even better. he didn't want to turn her? How interesting...

Xander wasn’t surprised that Adri wanted to kiss him, regardless of whether he was talking or not, and when she finally told him to shut up – he couldn’t help but grin into their smooches. His hands wandered down to her lower back and pulled her closer as they made out, the rain cutting down in sheets. Then she asked, again.

The yellow eyed vampire couldn’t truly understand for himself why he wouldn’t want to turn Adri. He obviously loved her or he wouldn’t have put so much effort into taking care of her… And yet, he didn’t want her to be a vampire for fear she wouldn’t stay the same. Some people, Xander was well aware of, became completely different after being turned. Their personalities twisted into something they could never have imagined being as humans. Then there was the strength she’d have – could she handle it? If he turned her, would she stand the emotional pressures of being an emoting fledgling? And the feeding! Some people couldn’t get past feeding and it ended up being the end of them in the long run.

Xander’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden tingling in the back of his mind like someone, or something, was watching them. He heard the soft chuckling beneath the heavy fall of rain drops, but he didn’t turn to look – if it was another vampire and he wanted to be trouble, Xander would rather stand between the creature and Adri. “I know, Adri. I know. I just can’t do it. Perhaps in time…” He lied in the last bit. He inwardly came to the decision that he wouldn’t turn her unless she were going to die or they had no other option; such as she was aging and they truly wanted to keep each other for the following centuries.

The vampire kissed her softly on the lips, jaw then her neck, “You know I love you, Adri. I just can’t turn you, not yet. And we can stay together for as long as you want – I promise.”

His words cut through her with a sharp feeling of rejection. It was as if he really didn't want to be with her. Or maybe he wanted to be with her now, but he knew that in time... He wouldn't love her anymore.

"Xander... Please... I don't want anyone but you, I want to stay with you forever. And if you feel the same, if you want to love me forever too, why don't you just turn me?"

But as she looked up at his face, she knew it was a lost argument.

"Fine... Let's just go home... I'm hungry anyway..." She murmured as she pulled away, heading back to their apartment with a glum look on her face. He said he loved her and he wanted the same thing, but she couldn't get over the feeling of rejection. Did he really love her?

In just a few seconds of thinking about it, the doubt and rejection felt like it was going to smother her. It was getting to the point where it was hard to breath like she was on the verge of discovering something she didn't want to know. Why didn't he want her? He didn't, did he? Not forever at least... Was it because he didn't think she was as pretty as humans did? Maybe because of her job, did he think that she liked stripping? Sure she liked being a tease, but it was the best money she could come by. He knew that was why she did it... He knew and he said he was okay with it. He knew that if he wanted her to quit, she would...

So why didn't he want her to be like him? Why didn't he want her forever?

Because you're weak... You're stupid and ugly.... A voice sneered in her head. And it... It was right. She didn't deserve it, him, anything....

Another low, light chuckle came from the rooftop shadow. This would be easier than he thought...

Xander watched the light leave Adri’s eyes and the disappointment seemed to radiate off of the poor girl like a furnace. “I want to be with you forever, Adri. You know that. I just need to find… The right time!” He exaggerated his words with his hands in a gesture that he’d picked up from the latest generation – before this time he’d never blown out each word accompanied by a hand gesture or flailing of the arms and hands. The words ‘stripping’ and ‘money’ flitted through his mind from her and he grew stiff for a moment. He loved that she was doing something for herself and not being dependent on him or another person; but it was dangerous profession. That fact was the only one that he didn’t like about what she did.

“Adri, please. You know that I want what’s best for you and I believe at this time that stripping is what makes you feel beautiful, though you needn’t worry about it because you’re gorgeous to me, and it gives you money that you earned on your own. Not many women your age can say they earn what you do being as brave as you are.” Walking along beside her when she turned away again, he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug, letting his head fall to rest on top of hers.

“I love you, Adri.” Xander was suddenly overrun with the scent of the other vampire he sensed some distance away, but when he looked about nonchalantly, the figure was gone. Though his chuckling rung in his sensitive ears. He could hear Adri’s heart beat, and pulled her even closer, his yellow eyes looking beyond the rain drops to the darkest part at the end of the street. “Let’s get home, you’ll catch a cold out here.” He hated being so soft and delicate with humans, made him feel cheesy and weak; but he truly cared for Adri and sometimes she needed a little soft-spoken encouragement.

"Well when is the 'right time' going to be Xander?" She pleaded, the tears in her eyes barely staying back. She was grateful that the rain would hide them if they did fall. "I want to be with you more than anything, I don't care about anything else! If you love me, if you want to be with me, why do you keep waiting and trying to push this off?" She wrapped her arms tight around her. She was wet and it was getting even colder.

Because he doesn't really want you. He's just lying, humoring you for now. He doesn't really love you. You should know that? How could someone like him really love a pathetic, needy creature like you. Look at the way you're begging now. A voice in her head responded. And of course she was right. She was begging, throwing a tantrum like a little kid. Why would he ever want to put up with her when she was acting like this? When she was so whiny and weak?

The tears fell as he pulled her closer, looking away. By the time she pulled away, they were blended with the rain dripping down her face.

"I don't care..." She muttered as she turned from him, slinking almost towards the apartment. Her shoulders were hunched, her head down, a defeated posture as she rolled all the thoughts she'd had over and over in her mind. He was all she wanted, all she would ever want. It hurt more than anything to know that he didn't want her the same way. He might never want her the same way. Or... Or maybe he did, but he just didn't any more. A phase, a novelty. She was just a stupid human, no where near good enough for him.

Xander caught sight of the tears and felt a building in his frustration; he couldn’t make her understand and it seemed she’d made up her mind about something completely false. He did love her. He wasn’t pushing her away because he didn’t care about her anymore; that would be difficult if not impossible for the vampire. In all his years Xander’s never come across this issue before so he knew little of how to handle it.

“Christ, you’re so frustrating, babe! I swear, you’re crazy!” He laughed lightly to try and get her to lighten up, joke with him. But almost instantly he regretted it. In that past she hadn’t fallen into spurts of laughter when he joked like that; instead she would typically get worse. He hated that, but it was a part of the girl he loved, and so he tolerated it with a smile. “And I do care.” Catching her under the knees and behind the shoulders, Xander flitted the few blocks to their apartment and stopped when he reached the door, putting her back on her own two feet and smiling as he gently kissed her cheek and opened the door. “After you, beautiful.”

Standing in the doorway with the door open for the human girl, he looked back to the street from which they’d entered to get home and noticed a fleeting figure, knowing well it was the vampire from before. “Hey babe, aside from those idiots I beat up, was anyone else particularly interested in you tonight?” He felt a pang of fear as he realized she might answer with no and take it that he didn’t take interest in her either; sometimes women could look too far into a comment or question. He just hoped Adri didn’t.

She didn't look at him as he joked with her. It.... It wasn't funny. She probably was crazy. Maybe... Maybe her mind had snapped and these past months with Xander had all been some... Illusion. Like one night her mind crossed the line between protection and insanity. It had been trying to protect her, but it went just a little too far and now she was lost.

It would explain a lot actually...

"Xander... Stop it..." She mumbled as he scooped her up. She tried to wriggle out of his arms, but they held her tight.

She swayed as he put her down, the burst of speed making her lightheaded, almost nauseous. "Ugh... I hate it when you do that..." She groaned lightly as she went through the door. She went to her room, the one where she kept her things, and grabbed her pajamas. Usually she slept with Xander in his room... But tonight... She wasn't so sure she should.

"Huh?" She asked as he asked her a question. The words had barely registered. "Oh... uh... no. No one really." She shook her head, drops of water falling. "I'm gonna take a shower..." She mumbled, turning to the bathroom. Her hands were beginning to shiver, whether from the cold or from fear, rejection or pain... Well a shower could help any of those problems.

Once the water was on, steam rising from the heat, she stepped in, letting the tears fall down her face again. Why was she being so stupid. He wouldn't have kept her around this long if he didn't love her? Or he could feel guilty about kicking me out... She mumbled to herself. With a shuddering sigh she sank against the wall, sitting in the tub. She felt so tired now... She hadn't before... but maybe all the emotional stuff had drained her.

She tried to get up, fight it off enough to get out of the shower first. But her head slumped to the side, the weight of the exhaustion pressing her down.

Here, he could play. Sure influencing her conscious thoughts was easy, enjoyable... Watching how easy it was to manipulate this little human girl. Turning her against the vampire hadn't been hard at all. It was almost too easy. Dreams however... Those could do even more damage. He could show her anything, and she couldn't look away. She would have to see it.

Adri gave a little moan of fear that was all but drowned out from the pounding of the water. Darkness... Everywhere... She was all alone.

Xander slammed the door behind him absentmindedly and went to the kitchen, popped open the fridge and took out an old whisky bottle full to the apex with blood. He down half the bottle and nodded slowly when she muttered something about taking a shower. The black haired vampire was upset that things had gone this badly. He was hoping that later she’d crawl into bed with him and they’d simply lay there in each others arms, forgetting about that bad night. But something told him that wouldn’t happen.

With a sigh, he downed the rest of the bottle and let the empty glass bottle slide into the sink full of sudsy water from earlier. He was doing dishes before he went to ‘walk Adri home’. He leaned against the counter with one arm and rubbed his face with the other; and that’s when he senses it. A tingling in the back of his mind that said something was wrong with the girl in the hot shower. The senses didn’t go away as he blinked away a foggy vision of her naked frame in the shower, falling to unconsciousness and then the fear on her features. That vampire from before… There wasn’t something about that figure who’d evaded his glances that made his spine twinge angrily.

The vampire walked to the bathroom door, removing his wet shirt and brushing back his hair as he opened the door, steam rolling out before he re-closed it. Moving slowly to the shower, Xander removed his soaked-through pants and sneakers and stood there, naked, as he opened the curtain to look on the sleeping angel in his shower. She was not asleep soundly that was for sure. Knowing she was asleep, the vampire took advantage of it and slid in gently, lifting her enough so he could sit on the floor of the shower and hold her. He rested his head against hers and sighed, feeling a rush of love for her but at the same time a loss that he couldn’t get her to understand his hesitation.

Once or twice they’d fallen asleep in the shower together. Laying there naked under the hot water, not doing anything but holding one another. It was a nice reminder of better times. He closed his yellow eyes and thought of how to rectify the situation.



{{Sorry if it sux >_<}}

No one.... No one was here with her... She called out, her arms waving in front of her to try to find something, anything. Her voice echoed back at her, and a moment later, her hands hit a wall. Solid, cold...

"What?" She mumbled out, her words echoing slightly against the wall. It was like... Marble. Stone. She followed it around, panic setting in as she realized that she was in a box. No more than three paces from one side to the other.

Little whimpers of fear sounded from her as she realized that she was trapped in her nightmare.

Taking another step, her hands searching the invisible wall for something to get her out, she heard.... Water? Stepping in water, was that the sound? Sticking her hand down, goosebumps ran up her arm as she felt it in the freezing water. What was going on? Was there a spout somewhere? No, she couldn't hear any water running. But... It was getting deeper! The ice cold water seeped through the top of her shoes, soaked the bottom of her jeans and.... And it was up around her ankles not even thirty seconds later!

Looking up into the utter darkness she started to scream. What was happening? What was going on? She started screaming for Xander. He... He always helped her. He would save her wouldn't he?

She was shivering, even though the hot water was still running over her skin. Her whimpers had become almost sobs of fear, coming out choked and strangled as she tried to wake. But the hold over her body was too strong, forcing her to stay trapped in the nightmare. He wasn't about to let her go before the good part.

"Xander!" She screamed. "Xander I'm sorry! Please! Please help me!" She screamed again and again. And there... There was his face, just outside the box. it was as if a pannel had lit up, the opaque box became transparent.

His face looked pained, guilty... As if he wanted to help.... But he couldn't bring himself to do anything. And then she saw why. A woman... Beautiful, glorious and immortal was tugging at his hand, pulling him away to join her.

The water was at her waist now, and all she could do was stair. Stair at him as he looked at her with that apologetic smile and gave her a little shrug. He walked away then, joining the beautiful woman, disappearing as the darkness slid over her eyes again. "Xander!" She screamed, pounding on the walls, only succeeding in hurting her fists. "Xander! Don't leave me here!! Don't! Please!!"

But the water was at her shoulders now, her body convulsing with the cold.

She would die... She would die and he wouldn't care. He would be happier without her. Yes... He might be sad, but he didn't really want her around, would do better without her.

The water was up to her chin now... And as she began to float, she realized there was no top. She... She could just tread water for now. Maybe he would come back.

But he wouldn't. He didn't want to. he could have stopped it the first time, but he didn't. Sobbing, she pushed herself under the icy water, her sobs making her gulp in a lungful of freezing water. Xander would be happier... He'd want it this way...

Adri woke up with a cry, gasping for air and thrashing about. She ended up on the other side of the tub, her knees to her chest as she sobbed, shivered and cried. She didn't even notice Xander, sitting at the other end, the worry and fear in his eyes.

Xander lay there watching the tortured looks appear on Adri's pretty features but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. The girl was most definitely dreaming, having a nightmare more like, but he couldn't shake her out of it. He touched her face gently and jostled her lightly to wake her but it didn't work, "Adri. Adri, wake up, babe." He shifted her frame a little so that he could better look at her face, his yellow eyes full of worry and concentration; why wouldn't she wake? Images came from her mind that flashed briefly in Xander's and he could momentarily feel her terror, a blast of cold rushing over him and making him look to the shower's head to see if perhaps the temperature of the water had changed - it hadn't.

The vampire had only ever seen a few humans have nightmares before and both times he'd left them alone, but Adri was whimpering, crying and shivering like mad; he couldn't simply let her stay in whatever horror her mind had succumbed to. Taking her by the back of the neck so her head didn't hit the side of the tub or wall and by the shoulder, Xander shook her with force. "Adri! Wake up!!" His voice was stern like he was angry but in fact he was merely trying to focus on waking her instead of letting his worry overwhelm him.

Then, after a few minutes of horrible cries and moans, Adri snapped awake. The girl moved quicker than Xander thought humans could as she scrambled away from him to sit opposite him in the tub, her knees pulled to her chest as she began to weep. It was then that he knew she'd seen something quite aweful; but what worried him most was that she'd woken of her own volition, not his efforts. Many times that was something those under hypnosis did; being given a direct order not to wake until they were 'ready' or they saw something in particular. Adri had quite literally leapt the from nightmare and was unaware of her boyfriend in the tub with her, the hot water still beating down on the both of them.

Reaching out a pale hand, Xander gently lay it on her shoulder, "Adri? Babe, what happened?" Then it hit him - the vampire he'd seen outside Adri's work. The bastard must have had something to do with it. In the time he'd known the beautiful young woman she'd never had a nightmare of this verocity, let alone one he couldn't wake her from. It would also explain her solid conviction about her worthlessness; if the vampire outside work had fed her those ideas and she'd been trapped in the nightmare... It was all starting to make sense. And it pissed him off.

"What did you see?" His hand went to the side of her head to brush back her soaked hair, his yellow eyes full of a furious need to protect. The water the beat down on them was hot and yet his girlfriend continued to shiver, the anger seeping into his undead heart even more, the vampire ignoring the water dropletts that ran down his handsome features from his own soaked hair.

She didn't look at him... Even as he touched her she continued to shiver as if the water weren't hot enough to cause steam, but rather as if it were freezing.

"You.... you left me... You left me because...." She stammered. But the thought of him with that other girl, the vampire, made her sob even harder. She couldn't bring herself to say the words, even though everything was pointing to the truth. He didn't love her, couldn't love her. He didn't want to turn her because unlike the other girl, he didn't want to be with her. That was why he left her there, that was why he didn't even look back as she drowned.

Adri looked up at him finally, her eyes full of pain, confusion. She choked and shivered on the words as they came out "Is... Is there someone else? Is there another girl Xander? Do you..." Another tremor ran through her and she looked away again.

"Do you not love me anymore?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but he would hear her, even over the water. "Do you really still love me?"

Xander sat next to the tremor-stricken girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying, without success, to stop her shivering. He was hurt that she would suggest there was another woman – had he ever given her the idea that there might have been? Was there any evidence to support the claim? No. He loved Adri and, knowing her past from what she’d told him and from her blood, there was no way he could add to the growing pile of pains and horrible experiences she’d already had. No. He loved her very much and would never cheat on her. “How could you ask me that, Adri? You know that you’re the only one I want.” He pulled back a lock of her soaked hair to better look at her face when she finally looked up, “If I didn’t want you here and didn’t love you – would I have followed you from work to ensure your safety? Are those the actions of someone who doesn’t love you?”

It was logic. But, in his experience with the human girl, he’d learned she wasn’t always logical and tended to run with what her gut told her rather than her mind. If she’d clear her thoughts of her troubled emotions of rejection and dismay; she’d realize, full-heartily, that Xander loved her more than anything.

The vampire with yellow eyes caught her gaze and found it filled with fear, confusion and sadness. It was both beautiful and terrible to behold on the beautiful girl, but he wanted it to stop – here and now. Xander planted a soft, loving kiss on her lips and smiled gently, water still running down his sculpted vampire face, “I love you, Adri.” He looked over her face and pulled her closer, “Only you.”

"But you left me..." She murmured, her eyes avoiding his even though he made her face him. "You left me to die and walked off with her... You didn't care, didn't look back. You didn't even look sorry!" She broke off into sobs again, the terror once more taking her.

As he kissed her though, a wave of joy washed over Adri. But it had nothing to do with Xander, not completely anyway.

No... He couldn't just send her spiraling into a depression. She'd learn to deal with it. There was a much better way to break her. One that would be far more enjoyable and entertaining to him anyway. Roller coasters were so much fun weren't they? Humans seemed to enjoy them anyway. Well.... This one was the type he'd enjoy.

All the doubt and fear left her. There was no hesitation in her answering kiss. it was as if the nightmare never happened. She was stupid, of course he loved her. Why would there be anyone else? She still had some growing to do, she was still maturing and still looked too young for him. She knew that. She wanted to wait so they could belong together without looking out of place.

Adri could feel the heat finally, and not only the heat of the water, but of something inside. A sharp ache of need racked her body, strong and urgent. "It's stupid..." She panted as she broke away from the kiss. "It's stupid... It doesn't matter... Just a stupid dream..." She panted moving to straddle him.

The dark shadow chuckled as he watched the scene through her eyes. it was so easy... Too easy to manipulate these simple humans. Their emotions were like... Switches really. All you had to know was which one to flip. One switch could send them into hysterics... Another into urgent desire and simple animalistic need.

"Just forget everything... Make me forget..." Adri groaned as she nipped at his neck, moving her hips against his. "Make me forget everything...."

Oh it was entertaining...

Xander watched the torment in her face as she spoke of the other woman and his leaving her drain away quite suddenly. It was as if she had suddenly come out of it when he kissed her and all the reassuring she needed was in the most natural and simple act two people could commit to. And, of course, the vampire put up to objections when she straddled him on the floor on the tub, the shower beating down on her back and his chest. "Yeah, just a dream." He smirked, his yellow eyes closing against the nipping at his neck and the promise her hips against his gave. Pulling her into a fiery kiss, the vampire grabbed her lithe frame strongly with his hands high on her hips, the only part of him that still lived seeming to come to life beneath her.

In their time together, Xander had seen in her blood that Adri'd been taken advantage of many times over, physically and mentally. It had sadened the black haired vampire and put him off slightly when they grew close enough so that she wanted to have sex. But after the first few times, Xander found that Adri was using their great sex as an escape from reality; and in its place he gave her one filled with wanted joys and the repeated release that she sought.

As their lips seemed to battle needingly, Xander's mind whirred with the possible reasons for her sudden change of heart, his ego not fully taking credit. Adri had been struck abruptly by a nightmare she couldn't escape, despite his efforts, and she was thoroughly convinced not two minutes ago that he not only didn't love her, but wanted to be with another woman. It made no sense. Until his subconscious added the appearance of the vampire he'd sensed in the street outside Adri's work. But unforutanely, his mind had not conveyed the realized connection to the front of his brain, where Xander was furiously focused on nothing but inducing and recieving worldly pleasures from the beautiful girl atop him in the tub.

Strongly, but not so strongly as to hurt the human, Xander slid back in the tub so his back was against the white porcelain and forced Adri from their kiss into a sitting position. With the naked girl up, Xander pulled himself up to her, his mouth closing over her right breast, tongue doing gentle laps around the erect nipple in his mouth. His hands, still rough from his days as a working-class human in rome and greece, held firmly to her supple sides and back.

After a moment he didn't even need to try to encourage her. Humans he knew, especially younger ones like her, were ruled by their hormones. Once their mind was on any particular track it wasn't going to change unless someone flipped the switch. He would wait for that though. Wait until the time was right, when his powers could be used to their best effect. It seemed though that even the vampire was in the same state of mind....

He'd been so absorbed in this pathetic human that he didn't even notice that he was so close, just a few stories above him on the roof.

Oh well, his loss.

The contrast between his hands and the water made Adri tremble with pleasure. It was almost an overload of her senses, but it was fantastic.

"Xander..." She sighed, her lips pulling up in a smile. "I'm starting to prune..." Her lips kissed against his neck, against the water that beaded up on his skin. She trusted him to take care of the movement from one place to another, he could carry her as easy as a feather. He was so sure in his movements that he wouldn't drop her or trip. "besides... I have a feeling that the bathtub isn't the best place..." She murmured, trailing off slightly.

Xander felt the tingling in the back of his mind again like he was being watched and that there wasn't something odd about the way Adri had so quickly gotten over her fears of rejection and another woman in his life. Yes, the human was sometimes erratic in her emotions and acted more like an emotionally wild fledgling than a human teenager, but nevertheless. Hormones were hormones and though he was a vampire; he too enjoyed a good shag and feeding.

Catching on quickly to what the girl wanted, Xander grabbed her sharply on the buttocks, nails digging in slightly, and stood effortlessly with her held against him. He loved the feel of her naked frame against his and continued to kiss her needingly as one hand reached over and turned off the shower, opened the curtain and he stepped out of the shower with a grace only a vampire possessed. Turning around, the yellow eyed vampire used his bare back to push the partially opened lavitory door out of their way and make his way down the short hall to their room.

When he reached the edge of the bed Xander smiled into their kissing, "Destination reached, beautiful." His voice was gruff and sexy as hell as he laid them down easily, and totally soaking wet, on his bed. Putting his hand under her back, the black haired man moved her up the bed before resting part of his weight atop her, his hand sliding from beneath her to her side. He kissed and suckled on her lips, jaw and finally the soft pulsing flesh of her neck while his right hand gently made its way across the smooth skin of her stomach and down to her heat where he teased and brushed but did not separate her vulva.

"Definitely better." The vampire smirked against her skin and let his fangs brush the surface of her flesh to elicit goosebumps, his free hand brushing back her soaked hair from her neck.

As she thought, she hardly felt him move, hardly noticed as he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom.

But that probably had something to do with the kissing.

He was always too much, too overwhelming for her. It was as if he was more than human, even before he died. Something more than vampire, something that no human could stand. Maybe an angel, some heavenly being or maybe one from hell. But she could never think of Xander as a deamon, as some evil being.

He saw his chance. An opening just to stir a bit of her fears.

'Or is he? Is it really your love he wants?' His voice echoed in her mind. And he chuckled as he felt her tense for the slightest of moments before her cares vanished with the desire.

'Your blood. He also craves that...' He whispered as Xander's teeth grazed her skin. 'What's next? Your life? Your soul? He could just kill you. He could kill you now and you wouldn't have a chance.'

Adri's breath became ragged, almost panicked. Her eyes were wide as she tried to push him off of her. But of course he was far too strong. However his touches soothed her, or rather turned her fear into desire. His hands made her body shiver, arch slightly. Her lips parted with a gasp and a sigh, her eyes closing again.

"Xander..." She murmured softly. "No teasing..." Her voice was breathy, heavy with an ache. "You know I hate that...."

The vampire felt Adri resist him for a moment and he might have looked up if her resistence was not quelled by his touches as quickly as it had come on. She shivered beneath him and he wondered inwardly if she were cold, his own body not creating heat but remaining cool aside from the beads of chilling warm water on his frame. Then he heard it. The faintest whisper of another's voice mingled with his girlfriend's thoughts. It was very subtle and he almost missed it but then again it may have just been the human erratic thoughts. But he knew her mind. Knew how quickly or slowly she shifted her thoughts when he touched her like this. He decided to ignore it for now.

Hearing her say his name was enough to make him oblige, he loved the way her whispy voice caught in her throat between gasps as his name escaped her lips. It was very fragile, needy, human - beautiful. Nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, Xander bit into her flesh with a satifying pop that made him moan against her.

As the vampire bit into the girl's flesh and clung to her neck gently with one hand, he slid a single finger between her folds to brush the swelling bead beneath. He knew from experience and from her words and thoughts about her past with men that she could get skiddish and paniced at the drop of a hat. It was a sad fact, but one he'd come accustomed to when bedding with Adri. He truly cared about her and hated to think that it was he who might cause her fear, despite if it were accidental. The black haired man closed his mouth over the bleeding wounds in her neck and pulled out her warm, salty yet sweet crimson while simultaneously manipulating her nub gently.

He pulled his mouth from her neck for but a second to whisper in her ear, "I love you, Gorgeous."

Adri was enjoying everything he was doing to her, the way he was touching her. She didn't want him to stop, didn't want him to let go of her. She wanted him to hold her tighter, press her closer. Every time he bit into her she nearly cried out with ecstasy, her body always spasmed with delight.

She always looked forward to it, always craved it. She couldn't explain it, but the pain, the pleasure, it was always so overwhelming.

But not this time.

Fear overwhelmed her mind the moment his teeth broth the skin of her neck. Her defense was pathetic, she was only human after all. But that made it all the more fun for him. The sound of her bloodcurdling panic was almost as sweet as she scent of blood.

"NO!" She screamed, the only discernible words that was coming from her now. And it was only after the first and loudest scream that the panic truly set in.

The terror had caught him off guard, that what had to have happened because otherwise she would have never escaped him. Blood seeping from her neck she ran, stumbling to the closed door. She leaned against it, panting, staring at him as her heart pounded furiously in her chest, her eyes wide with terror.

"He's going to kill you.. You know he'll never let you live. You're too weak. He wouldn't ever leave you, he'd just kill you. It's so much easier."

"STAY AWAY FROM ME! DON"T TOUCH ME!" She screamed, her hand fumbling with the door knob and pulling it open before stumbling down the hall.

"If you don't kill him he'll kill you first! You have to kill him!

But he was so strong! She didn't have a chance! She couldn't kill him could she? If he wanted to kill her, she couldn't stop him. She was just a human, a weak pathetic human.

I have to try! I have to try to kill him! This time the thought in her mind was her own. He laughed, victorious, as he heard it. She was his now... She wouldn't escape if he didn't want her to. Now the agony wouldn't only be hers... But his as well. Even more sweet. To have this vampire see why humans were so inferior. Why he shouldn't be wasting his time with them.

In the kitchen she'd done the only thing she could. Grabbing a big knife she backed herself into a corner. She could defend herself better like this. Trembling she held the knife out, waiting for him to come close to her. She had to kill him... She didn't want to die, so she had to kill him. He wasn't the Xander she thought he was. He'd lied to her, he was using her. He was only going to kill her later. She couldn't go down without a fight.

The escape of the girl beneath him was unexpected, but what had allowed her to retreat was a mix of shock at her response to his touch and respect for the fact that she may be freaking out. The vampire turned over abruptly at her pushing and rolled onto his back, looking at her worriedly as he sat up, "Adri, I'm-" Xander words were cut off by her screaming about not going near her and not to touch her. He thought for a moment that he may have done irrepairable damage to their relationship by pushing her into sexual contact too quickly after a small freak out like she had in the bathroom, but then he felt it again. Only this time is seemed more elated and at ease with itself; the buzzing of another's thoughts mingling with Adri's.

Standing and running after the naked human teenager, Xander kept a little distance between himself and Adri and when he finally reached the kitchen, he looked on her with a determination he'd discovered in the moments it took him to get there. She was backed into a corner of the dark kitchen with a knife in her hand, a rather big one, that gave her the look of a frightened damsel in a 90s horror film. "Adri, calm down." When she didn't come out of the corner and all he could feel of her were the rushed thoughts of self defense and a miss-placed fear of Xander, the vampire grimaced angrily. "Adri, whatever you're hearing - it's bullshit!" His tone was sharp and carried a finality that usually only parents possessed. With that the vampire looked around the kitchen through the windows from where he stood at the entrance, scanning the pitch darkness of the street outside aside from the street lit areas. The rain was still going strong outside and when he finally turned his gaze to the living room windows - he saw what he was looking for.

Through the window, shifting in the rain on the neighboring building, was the obvious crouched shadow cast by a figure on their roof. The street lights from the front side of the building were casting the shadow to the other building and it was the final bit of proof he needed to put together why Adri was being more erratic and illogical than usual. She was a teenage human girl, but she was never this out of herself. It was as if all control of her emotions were laying in the balance of someone else's hands. And now Xander knew whose.

Reaching to the crimson colored blanket on the back of the couch, Xander grabbed it and flitted to Adri, throwing the blanket over her before she could escape him. With the blanket over her, Xander swept her up, keeping his face from the blanket to ensure she didn't stab it with the knife through the fabric. Holding the paniced and erratic girl he flitted to their bedroom again and tossed her lightly onto the bed before turning and slamming the door. He locked it behind him with the key over the doorframe and turned his face towards the ceiling. The way he saw it, if the vampire from before had followed them home and was controlling his girlfriend's thoughts to a degree; then he could damn sure know what she knew. The black haired man couldn't let his girlfriend betray his course of action to the enemy, even if unintentionally.

Walking down the hall as silently as a ghost, Xander went into the bathroom. Gazing out the window and craning his neck he could still see the shadow of the vampire on the roof, so he cleared his thoughts and hoped the door held against the panicing girl in the room beyond. He pulled on his jeans, zipped and buttoned them and crawled out the window to climb up the frame, grab the edge of their roof and pull himself up quietly. When he reached his destination it was the pounding of the rain droplets that covered his slightly splashy steps on the flat roof's surface.

"Oi, fucker! Who the hell do you think you are?" The only reason he didn't charge the figure and twist his head clean off was because he wanted answers to why he'd followed them home and why he was messing with Adri. Sometimes, where there was mischeif, there was a leading force behind it. And if there was even a chance that this guy was only a messenger sent to screw things up a little for the bit mess later; Xander wanted to know now so he could better put a stop to it.

{{Sorry if it blows}}

"You lied to me! You don't love me! You just want my blood! You're just going to kill me!" She sad, panting, gasping to catch her breath.

"STAY AWAY!!" She screamed as he moved closer. But his next movements were far too quick. He had her wrapped up in the blankets, unable to fight as he carried her of, screaming all the while.

When she was able to fight free of the blanket she was alone, locked in the room. She ran tot he door yelling, begging him to let her out, let her go. He was going to kill her! He wouldn't let her escape now, no way in hell.

"You have to take your own life! He's furious with you! He's going to torture you before he kills you! That's why he's locked you up in here! You're trapped, take the knife. It will be kinder, you know it will. He can make your pain last forever!"

But his speech was cut short as he heard the Vampire's voice. But he only laughed. "I know who I am... And so does you're little human toy! But she doesn't seem to know herself. Or you." He chuckled again.

"But I wouldn't worry about me right now.... I would worry about your little human pet... I bet she tastes delicious though... Pity her blood is uselessly soaking into the carpet." He grinned. "But then again maybe the stain won't be as bad as the body you'll have to get rid of." He burst into an almost insane laughter, unable to hold it in any longer.

She had to do it, had to take her own life. It would be better than anything Xander had in mind for her... She didn't want to do it... But she didn't want to live at his mercy.. Didn't want to live as his toy... I was all she would be anymore. That was all he wanted from her.

The knife slid up her arms, knowing that slitting across her wrists would be too slow. The blood began to put out, but she wasn't able to cut her right wrist as deep so the blood came slower from there. The crimson quickly stained the carpets, and her vision began to blur. She had to... It was the only way... The only way...

Xander approached the other vampire quickly and growled at him, flitting forward and grabbing him by the throat. "What the fuck are you-" Then he caught the heavy scent of spilled blood coming through the partially opened window of their master bedroom. After a few seconds he realized what the beast in his grip meant, the strength in his hand seeping away into a accuring worry and fear. "What did you do?" He asked through gritted teeth, using his strength and body's position to gain leverage over the other night creature and toss him from the roof. Of course the damned man would live, being a vampire, but it got him away for the moment.

The black haired man took to a flat out run towards the front of their apartment and leapt down from the roof to the protruding staircase, landing deftly before their front door. He pushed through the unlocked door easily and made his way to the locked door of their bedroom, the sound of heavy rain outside and the scents of that rain and his girlfriend's blood mixing in the air. "Adri? Adri are you-?" He cut himself off when he entered and she was bleeding from elongated wounds cut long-ways into her arms. "Dear fuckin' lord - what did you do!?" Worry filled his yellow eyes but he didn't panic. Well, maybe a little.

Standing over the bleeding girl on the floor, Xander reached down and lifted her into his arms. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He lay her on the bed and brushed back her hair, his attention turning to the self-inflicted wounds in her arms. Leaning down the vampire licked the wounds and they quickly began the healing process, but the blood loss suffered was already too great to undo with a simple healing of the wounds that had allowed for it.

"Damn it." He cursed, brushing back his soaked dark hair with a trembling hand, "Adri - hey, Adri." He jostled her lightly to see if he could muster her attention, "It seems you'll get your wish if I don't get you to a hospital. Though I'm not sure there's time... If I don't turn you, you'll die. And I don't have a car. An ambulance would be too late - shit." By the end of his words he was basically thinking out loud, but he wouldn't go through with a siring unless Adri consciously told him that was what she wanted.

She wasn't quite out of it... But she was dazed, unable to really respond. Slumped against the wall, it barely registered as he picked her up, as he began to panic. His hands, which she usually felt as cold, were soft against her skin. She could barely feel them.

It was only as he moved the hair out of her face, looking down at her that she saw who it was. She tried to say his name but she could barely move her lips.

Cold... So cold and tired now. Her eyes drifted shut, it was time to go to sleep. Her arms didn't hurt anymore... That was good at least. Now without the pain she could actually fall asleep.

A small moan came from her throat as he shook her, her eyes opening with difficulty. Why wouldn't he let her sleep? Didn't he know she was tired? It was starting to become hard to breath though.... Like she couldn't get enough air... What had happened? She... She couldn't remember. Everything was hazy, fuzzy... Hadn't she gone to take a shower? Had she fallen? Hit her head?

She tried to ask, but her throat was so dry.., her body so weak. It was hard to push enough air out to make even the slight little sound she could make. She just wanted to sleep.... Everything would be okay after she slept right? Yeah... she'd feel better when she woke up.

"Xan-..." Was all she was able to murmur out before her eyes slid shut again, slipping into unconsciousness. But she was still alive, her pulse weak, hardly there... But she was alive.

((However she may never wake up again- DUN DUN DUNNN!!!! LoL!))

Xander looked down on the human and realized that she couldn't agree or disagree with what he was proposing. She'd wanted to be with him forever as a vampire and now that the true opportunity presented itself; Xander felt a deep regret for the fact that he knew what he had to do. The black haired man had always hoped the he would turn his girlfriend when she was a little older and perhaps more stable. Not to mention he'd wanted it to be a personal experience, even romantic if he could pull it off. But no. The vampire he'd thrown from the roof moments before was to blame for this premature siring. It was that thing's fault! And Xander swore even as he was using the same knife Adri had attempted to kill herself with to cut the outer edge of his forarm against his radius, that he would kill the creature.

The cut he'd made wasn't exactly enough seeing as his skin so quickly went about starting to heal, so the vampire made more savage cuts in the form of a sloppy asterics. Xander tilted his girlfriend's head back on the pillow and sat beside her on the bed, leaning over her naked frame as he placed the wound above her mouth and flexed the muscles in his arm. The wound began to drip blood and after a few more squeezes of his fist, the vampire noted the blood was dripping quickly enough into her mouth that the girl might wake and feed of her own volition soon.

As a drop of his crimson fell on the pale lips of his mortally wounded lover, Xander's mind flitted back to his own siring. He'd awoken to find his sire sucking hard from the side of his ribcage, little resistence possible considering how badly Xander had already been drained. It was a siring out of hate, not love. It was forceful, cruel and most definitely not wanted at the time. His blurry gaze fell upon the man and he felt the very human response of fear of the vampire; so he put up what little resistence he could. But it was all in vain and it ended with the vampire beating him into unconsciousness again. His last memory as a human was the blurry image of his vampire's horribly grinning face over his own, the vampire biting into his lip playfully almost like one would expect a female lover to. If he'd been more consciencous of his surroundings and what was happening to him, Xander might have been embarassed.

"Adri, please. Drink, babe. Come on." His words weren't filled with worry but his yellow eyes bore the brimming of blood tears. He feared he hadn't gotten there in time as the brunette's pulse slowed and her breathing all but stopped. If he hadn't gotten his blood into her fast enough and she didn't turn... The thought was almost too much and Xander came to the disturbing realization of what the vampire on the roof was refering to.

Adri had become less of a human pet and more of a friend, a lover and a companion. Vampires who carried on with relationships like these were looked down upon and it explained why the creature on the roof had made Adri do this to herself. He was making Xander turn the human for the sake of realizing that humans and vampires couldn't co-exist as he and Adri had for months now. It seemed almost a life time ago now that they'd even met. "I'm so -" The dark haired vampire cut himself off and brushed back more of her soaked but drying hair, "Feed, babe. Please, just feed and this will all be over." He snaked his uninjured hand under her neck and lifted her up a little from the bed to pull her into a hug, the bleeding wound still in her mouth. "We can be together forever, just like you wanted..." His tone was flat and his yellow gaze flitted about thoughtfully before him, as if considering himself cheesy for saying such a thing, but knowing that if she was stronger emotionally as a vampire; it would be true.

Of course the fall really hadn't stopped him for too long. He wasn't a weak little human. Within a minute he was up at the window of the room, watching closely as the vampire suddenly made the decision that earlier he hadn't been able to.

"You know this was all she wanted." He said nodding knowingly. "I saw it. In her head. She wants to be one of us. She thinks we're magical or something. She calls you an angel. One she wasn't worthy of. How else do you think it was so easy to make her think what I did." He grinned his gleaming teeth. "Well... The killing stuff was easier after she thought that it was her own thoughts in control. If she were human though... You would leave her. You'd get bored with her. You would end up leaving her somewhere hurting, hating you." He nodded, his eyes in some far off place.

The blood smeared on her lips gave her the only color she had, but for a while, they weren't getting where they needed to be. But as the first few trickled slowly, the power began to be absorbed by her body.

After a minute, her body seemed to react with almost violent force, making the deranged vampire start, his lanky hair falling into his face. "Aren't you glad you didn't try to finish me off? You wouldn't have been back in time for this." He smirked, still crouching on the window ledge lightly.

Her arms wrapped around his fiercely, clinging on and refusing to let go. Adri drank deeply, her teeth growing sharper, hungrier until they dug into his flesh on their own. She only stopped after another few minutes, when a debilitating pain ran through her body. Her body arched, crying out in pain, almost howling.

"HA! Yes yes! I forgot about this! I wonder if she will remember...." His laughter began to build as her body began to jerk, spasming as she cried out. The pain was unbearble! She'd never felt anything like it!

But then again her body hadn't been dying one organ at a time like it was now.

Xander felt the tingling of the other vampire's pressence in the window but his attention was absorbed wholly by Adri. And when she finally caught onto what she was supposed to do and the very human-vampire reaction of realizing the blood would save her, the man only encouraged her, ignoring the pain as her teeth grew sharper against his flesh. Minutes passed and Xander felt himself grow dizzy, it was time to stop her. But he didn't even have to. The naked girl arched her back much like she did when he was working her nethers over wonderfully, but this time she screamed out in agony instead of bliss. Adri's screams and cries filled the bedroom and a neighbor slammed a fist against the far end of the corridor where the two apartments met. He ignored the bangs and the vampire laughing outside the window.

Reaching down her stroked her face and tried to speak to her reassuring words that would explain what was happening, but for each vampire fledgling the pain was a different degree. Obviously, for Adri, it was going to leave Xander little option for consolation.

Moments passed and the vampire felt a growing sense of grief and mourning as he watched his girlfriend arch and scream against the death of her body. "It'll be over soon, love. I swear." It wasn't spoken very loudly but he was sure both Adri and the vampire outside the window would hear. An urge to throw something through the window at the vampire filled Xander and the only thing that stopped him was the fact he couldn't take his eyes off Adri. Inwardly he wondered if her current physical state was how she wanted to look for all eternity. If perhaps she'd wanted to be a few years older and more comfortable with her frame before being sired. These were questions he would have to ask later, much later.

He wanted to pull the changing fledgling into a loving embrace but found in most cases, it actually hurt the person more to be embraced simply because the body was having a chaotic shift of control from human to vampire. Each brush of contact could feel like a slice from a sharp knife because the cells were be enlightened by a vampire's awareness. It almost made him shed tears for her as he watched with a pained expression, deciding only to take her hand and grip it tightly as she suffered through her human death.

"It's almost over."

It felt as if someone were ripping out her insides, sending them through a blender.... She was oblivious to everything around her. The neighbors pounding on the wall, the vampire, laughing at her pain as he perched in the window, his eyes filled with a rather disturbing glee.

"Oh this is interesting indeed! Watching you worry over her. It's so sweet you know. You obviously love her, but you were just too weak to do what she needed you to do. What she wanted you to do."

The vampire cackled as her body jerked again.

But another ten minutes later, it was as if someone cut the power that was electrocuting her.

She fell still, quiet... The pounding of her heart could be heard, but she wasn't breathing Then she began to pant, the scents making her eyes snap open. So many scents, so many things around her! And her sight! Everything seemed so much sharper, so much clearer. The first of these scents and sights though, was Xander. Her body felt different, but she didn't know how so. It just... Felt different. Everything felt stronger. Especially one thing she knew well what it was.

Quicker than any human could have moved, she sat up, into his arms and kissed him hungrily. The urge and desire she felt for him was too strong to ignore, too hard to push aside.

The snickers of the vampire didn't phase her, and she didn't even notice when he left. She was far too absorbed by The vampire who held her now. Flashing lights, the siren loosed for a second or so... Then the knock, almost pounding on the door meant nothing to her. She just didn't care. Didn't give a damn. He was here... He was all that mattered. She was naked already. Just made things far easier.

Xander watched with a somewhat somber expression as his girlfriend jerked and whimpered occasionally against the changing in her frame. His hand resting on her bare side, just below her breast, feeling her steadying heartbeat and increased breath rate as the change overtook the human Adri and put forth the vampire. It seemed like a century passed as she changed and finally when she was sitting up abruptly into his arms, Xander closed them around her powerfully and returned the hungry kiss. It was no longer the gentle and nibbling kisses of a human and vampire. It was two sexually charged vampires kissing out of love and lust.

Laying her back, the black haired vampire half-noted the absence of the intruding mind at the window, his hands pressing against her side and the back of her neck, pulling her closer like he wanted to absorb the fledgling. His thoughts turned from worry to the unmistakebly sinful desire of a vampire noting the full scent of a vampire female in his grasp. His body was verging on a stiff reaction to the closeness when he heard it. A siren and the banging on the door.

Thoughts whirred in his mind as he pulled reluctantly from their kiss, his tongue already missing the sweetness of Adri's saliva. "Damn humans." Xander jested smirking devilishly down at his fledgling, an immense love for her seeming to radiate from the man.

Standing slowly from the new vampire, in all her illustrious new glory, Xander grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped it haphazardly about his toned waist. Leaning over her pulled Adri into an embrace and nibbled at her neck playfully with hungry growl, simultaneously pulling the sheet from the bed she lay on and wrapping it about her from under her arms and down. Helping her stand with a gentle grip on her hand, Xander pulled the brunette to her feet and lead her, hands on her hips from behind, to the front door they'd left slightly ajar.

"Let us greet our human guests, yeah?" Standing in the doorway was a policeman with a heavy duty flash light aiming the beam into their apartment. "Can we help you officer?" Xander's words were full of a jestful sarcasm and cockiness.

"Yes, the neighbors have called that there were screams and that a girl was crying for help. Can I assume it was you, ma'am?" The young officer asked her, his hat tipped back to drain rainwater away from his shadowed face. The sirens had been turned off but the lights still flashed different colors, their contrast against Xander's shoulders and face making the cop a little uneasy.

Xander held semi-tightly to Adri's hips and playfully slid his left up and down her side, knowing well that a fledgling exposed to humans directly after siring will want to feed until their new need is sated. "Nothin' to worry about, officer. We have, how do you say-" The vampire looked down at Adri and smirked devilishly before smirking, a promise hidden in his smirk saying it was be perfectly true once the police left. "Kinky habits." Laughing lightly, Xander pulled Adri closer against him and stared openly at the cop with a smile.

"Wha.... Why? Huh?" Her voice sounded different to her, clearer, sharper. It was almost disorienting... He pulled the sheet around her body, pulled her along with him reluctantly. Why did they have to leave the bed? Why did he stop.

"Hu-Oh... People? Um... Okay." But who was there? What did they want?

Police officers? That was the first thing she noticed. Ten the scent hit her. Her throat began to burn, to ache... As if she were so thirsty that she couldn't even swallow. She remembered... Remembered what had happened to her. She... She was like Xander now wasn't she? She felt different.... And now... Was that really why? Sh didn't remember everything, just like... Like she wanted to fall asleep. Now she never wanted to sleep.

Well... Now she wanted to kill... She wanted to tear their throats out, feel that warm pulse against her teeth.

She gripped Xander's arm tightly. "Yes..." Her voice was tight, strained.

"Are you okay Miss?" She could see the worry on his face, but it was all she could do to keep from leaping at him. If Xander hadn't been close by she would have already killed them, she knew that deep in her toes.

"Yes, just fine. Do you mind? Really? We were in the middle of something. I'm sorry if our neighbors are prudes...." She ground her teeth, trying to control herself while she displayed frustration, as if angry at her neighbors.

Xander could feel the need for blood and the thrill of killing the officer as though it were radiating off of her, her brutish wants openly conveyed in her thoughts he read. He was slightly concerned she might act on those wants when the officer asked about her condition and she spoke of their neighbors being prudes; the elder vampire could have died laughing but instead only grinned and cocked a cheeky brow at the officer. "Yeah, those damned neighbors." He jested, sliding his face into the crook of Adri's shoulder and neck and nibbling playfully at the skin there to exhibit to the officer that they were completely fine.

"I see..." The officer got the distinct look that he knew what was going on and tried to hide a smirk. "I'll be sure to remind the neighbors that calling the police is better left for emergencies." His last word was emphasized with a knowing smile before he tipped his hat back to let some resting water slip back before nodding and moving down the stairs.

Laughing, Xander reached down and slid his hands about the fledgling's waist, "Quick on yer toes, love." He complimented her, feeling once again the burning need to touch his new fledling in ways that would make her scream for other reasons. "You did well, Adri. You've fought off yer first real craving - I'm proud of you." Collecting her dark hair and brushing it away from her neck, Xander suckled at the rejuvinated flesh that seemed almost to glow in the dark it was so vibrant.

"Back to the room?"

Adri wasn't laughing though... Far from it, she was about to leap at the man, her nails digging into his flesh. Had he been a normal human she probably would have broken bone.

She had just made up her mind to leap at the man, to do what she wanted, to tear him apart. But Xander moved too quick, shutting the door before she could leap. A silent scream was in her eyes as she leaped at the wood, her nails tearing into the wood with her nails, cursing at Xander with a string of nearly nonsensical words.

When his hands slid around her waist, she lost it. She screeched, her voice higher than any human's voice should be.

But there was only the uncontrollable vampire in her now. She was beyond sex, beyond anything but blood. She needed it, wanted it. Wanted it more than anything, even Xander at this point.

Growling, Adri flung herself away from him, her fangs bared as she hissed and crouched, ready to attack him.

Then she began running though the apartment, towards the scent of fresh air that she caught. She had to get away, had to run... Find the blood... Find it. Kill it... Naked, she hurled herself out of the window and clear across the street to the roof of a lower building. She took off across the roofs as fast as she could. She caught the scent of a human, and dropped down right in front of a man. His scent, the pulse of his living body.... She hardly noticed anything beyond the scent and sound before attacking. The screams were only an annoyance, and she found snapping his neck more than helped solve that problem.

Xander watched Adri freak out and backed away quickly as she bore her fangs at him. He hadn't expected her to be so bloodlusty at first, he'd thought perhaps it would start later in the evening; the elder damned himself for being so inconsiderate to the fact that all vampires react differently after siring. "Adri, wait!" He called after her, stopping in the doorway as the naked girl basically flew through the air to a neighboring rooftop where she landed with an impossible grace and continued. "Goddamnit!" He cursed.

The blackhaired man only stopped in his pursuit long enough to pull on a pair of his 'emo' jeans but decided against button them and settled for a quick zip instead. He followed his fledgling out the window and followed her scent across a few more rooftops until he met up with the obvious screams of a tortured victim to a crazed creature. "Adri, yer making a right mess yer first night!" Xander growled to himself as his strong legs propelled him forward until he too landed skillfully in the alley where she'd abruptly attacked the human man.

Stalking up behind her quickly, Xander grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, the bloody mess of her first feeding all over her naked frame. "Adri...." Shaking his head the black haired vampire backed away and let his childre feed until she was done with the man, his yellow eyes moving over her as she fed.

A snarl tore from her throat as Xander pulled her back from her prey. Swinging at him she screamed in frustration. But he let her go and she lept away with the man's body, clutching it to her like a grotesque doll. She drank and drank from the man until not a single drop seemed to remain, but after she detached her fangs from his neck she still didn't let go of his body. A growl came to her throat as she smelt and then saw Xander.

Blood covered Adri's chest, as if she was the one with some gruesome wound and not the dead man. Baring her fangs she licked her lips. She was still hungry, no... not hungry... Thirsty. Blood... She wanted more. Her eyes narrowed at Xander, as if wondering to herself if he was some sort of prey. He smelt good, but not in the way the man had. But his scent still made her body burn.

Why though? What was going on? It was as if her mind went from one thing to another without any real reason why. Just a vague scent... An image... A memory...

And now Adri was remembering his hands... The way they'd run over her body, the way his skin felt against hers....

She nearly shuddered with desire. As it was, her expression quickly changed. The thirst changed into a hunger, but not like any real hunger she remembered. Her body tensed and relaxed, trembling with something akin to anticipation. She remembered what he could do, how he made her feel.

Slinking up to him, she wrapped her body around his. The ferocity of her kisses were close to the ones the human had felt rip at his throat. The same ferocity that had killed a man without a single thought of doing it.

Xander watched the insensity with which his childre fed and he couldn't help but smirk. The violence was something he'd been familiar with oh so well until he'd met Adri. She had become his blood pet so to speak, her only real exchange rate currency being sex, and fantastic sex at that. Her vampire's eyes glared at him for but a moment, an expression of silent consideration covering her pretty face as he knew she was wondering if she could take him. Then she changed again.

Her expression became a look he'd grown accustomed to recognizing instantly since they'd become close, but there was the sharpness and vicousness of vampire need mixed into it that made her both gorgeous and monstrous at the same time. "That's right, babe." It was as if he were reminding her that they could accomplish some wonderous things in the bedroom now that they were both vampires; something that few vampires really took advantage of.

Their kisses were strong and only the beginning. Xander lifted Adri's body against his and had her wrap her legs about his waist, holding firmly to her bare ass cheek and snaking his other hand under one arm and to the back of her neck for support of her slight weight. He could have brought her home and laid her the way only two vampires really could, or they could stay out for a while more and feed together; something almost better than sex in itself.

"Adri-" He snuck in her name between rough kisses before transfering his lips to her pallor and blood stained throat, licking up some of the drying remnants of the dead man. "Wanna go home and fuck..." He nibbled sharply at her throat to elicit some response, "Or shall we hunt together?"

A rumble of pleasure moved up from her throat as he moved her up, her body clung to his automatically. Her nose brushed at his neck, taking in the delicious scent. A rush of heat ran over her as his hand caressed her backside, cupped her head as they kissed almost viciously.

She wanted him, just to take her right there, press her tight against the brick wall, on the dirty ground, she just didn't care. The urge she felt for him was impossibly strong, impossibly overwhelming. She had no clue how this could be, but it was. It just was.

There was only one thing that would possibly overwhelm it....

As he brushed his lips at her throat he brought that to the forefront of her mind. Thirst... Blood... She wanted it. So much so that her lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing her fangs. She nearly pressed them into his throat.

Hunt... With him... No... No he would steal her prey. She couldn't let him near her prey.

A low growl, far different from the rumble of pleasure before. "You touch my prey... I will kill you..." She hissed. It was as if she had no idea, or simply didn't care that he was stronger than her. She would try to kill him. With that she lept away from him. She could find her way back. She didn't need him. She knew what to do. It was as if the instinct was taking over and was all that mattered. Which was the truth really.

He was smart obviously and decided not to follow, or perhaps to keep a good distance away from her while she decided to feed.

One more man fell to her fangs. He'd come willingly enough, expecting to fuck her perhaps. But he was dead before he could even try to take his belt off. The next was a woman, a prostitute who thought that she was trying to steal her 'market' or something and had hit her. She hadn't really needed the woman, but oh well. The thirst was now at the back of her mind, and being away from Xander made her really be able to look around. She was naked, covered in blood from her chin to her breasts....

But she solved that by breaking the front window of a department store where she saw the cutest little outfit. It was entertaining to shove her fist through the glass and then not have it even hurt.

She'd been dressed and gone far before she heard the sirens of the police. Hah... Lousy idiots.

Now dressed in a pair of tight fitting jeans with flare at the bottom, a pair of high stilleto boots (something that she would normally wear to work) with a cute chenille sweater and a long leather coat trimmed with a white fur. She began to make her way home though, simply enjoying the feel of the power in her body now. She hadn't really thought about the people she'd killed, but maybe that would come later.

Xander knew well what she'd meant to say when she threatened his life over her prey. She wasn't stupid and could guess easily that, being as old as he was, he could destroy her. But, in truth, he couldn't remember ever showing her his full strength or asserting himself to intimidate, so he let her go on her feeding spree and watched from a nearby rooftop as she took the second man of the evening. This man was just horny and stupid, he fell easily to her charms, well her naked body anyway, and was dead quick enough.

After that though, Xander had decided it best to leave his fledgling to her own bidding and hoped she would find her way home before the dawn; something they dicussed many times. The sun was his enemy as now it was hers. Hopefully she would remember.

The far off sirens died away as the black haired vampire made his way into their apartment and began cleaning up broken glass and duct-taping the shattered window they'd lept through before. He'd taken the time to button his pants and pull on a shirt to fight off a chill that was more subconcious than actually bothersome, being a vampire he hardly felt the cold unless it was 20 below.

Standing in the kitchen, he left the front door open and smoked a cigarette as the rain died away and a breeze flushed past his face occasionally, for some reason reminding him of the soft, cool caresses of his fledgling's skin despite her having been rough and hungry.

Sitting there in the darkness of their apartment, Xander waited for his girlfriend to return to him. At least, hoping that she would.