[5]

When we got upstairs, he gently set me on his bed  and leaned towards me, moving his hands behind me. I moved mine to his waist as he softly pressed his lips to mine. His lips were cold and lifeless but they moved with intensity. I forgot about all of my problems, just being there in his arms. There was only Damien, no one else. Until he suddenly pulled away.1

"What did I do?!" I asked, desperatly. 2

"Nothing, nothing. I just... don't want to hurt you."3

"What do you mean?"4

"I'm strong, too strong for my own good. And anything I do could snap you like a twig in seconds. And if I hurt you... I would hate myself."5

"Haven't you ever been with a... human... before?"6

"I've had human friends but... I've never dated. Not a vamp nor a human."7

"Oh."8

"I just... Let me show you something." Inan instant, I was on his back and he was running. "Close you eyes if you get motion sick." I buried my face into his shoulder and closed my eyes. Within seconds, we came to a stop. 9

 10

"We're here." He said.11

I jumped off his back and took his hand.12

"Where is 'here'?"13

"My place." He took a few steps closer to the old house. "Are you scared?"14

I nodded.15

"Don't be. It's fine. No one is in there. No one has been for years." 16

"I don't know. It doesn't look very... safe."17

"But you feel perfectly safe with a vampire?" He asked, laughing. "Come, it'll be fine. I promise."18

"I don't know..."19

"You'll be fine. The inside looks much better than the outside. I did it over quite a bit. We can sit and talk. It looks really nice, I promise." Damien grabbed my hand and gently tugged me inside. 20

He wasn't lying. The inside looked brand new. the walls were a deep violet, like Damien's eyes, and the window frames were lavender. There were couches lining the walls, all either purple or black, and a single black table in the center.  21

"Wow, Damien. This is beautiful." I looked into his eyes in awe.22

"I knew you'd like it. Come now, to a couch, and let's talk. I may be a vampire but i can't stand forever." 23

I followed him to one of the purple couches and sat next to him, facing him,  and sat 'pretzel-style'. 24

"Okay, so since you aren't like Edward Cullen in any way, tell me what you are like." I said.25

"I do age, like any normal person. I don't have flawless skin, I don't sparkle in the sunlight, nor melt in sunlight ether. My eyes do turn a redish-orange when I m thirsty. I don't 'eat' humans, only animals. I do have amazing stenght and speed. And... yeah."26

"You are 18, right?"27

"Yeah. Graduating this year. And you are 17, graduating next year, am I correct?"28

"Stalker-ish, but yes." We both laughed. "Do you... have any... powers?"29

"No. What about you?"30

"What do you mean? I'm just a human."31

"A genius human."32

"I'm studious."33

"Can I... ask you a... some-what... personal qustion?"34

"Sure, Damien."35

"Do you... do you really like me?"36

I smiled gently. "Yes." We were both silent and I started thinking he didn't like me. I looked at my hands in my lap. "Do you... like... me?"37

He paused for a second. "So much that I'm afraid I'll hurt you."38

"What do you mean?" I was still looking at my hands.39

He leaned back and pulled me into his lap, my head rest on his chest.40

"Geny, let's say we started dating and wanted kids and we had sex," he said it so easily, like the word wasn't awkward like it is for most teenagers, "I would hurt you during the sex so bad that I could very possibly kill you. My father almost killed my mother. Infact he did kill her when they tried for a third child. I really like you, I don't want to take the chance of losing you forever, Gen."41

"Oh." I was dissapointed. "Can't you control yourself?"42

"Do you know how hard that would be?"43

"So... does this mean, we can never date?"44

"I'm afraid so. Just kissing could hurt you."45

Tears came to my eyes. 46

"Please don't say that." I whispered. He didn't say anything. I felt the warm flow of tears fall from my eyes. I buried my face in Damien'd chest, my eyeliner staning his perfect shirt. "Please, can we at least try?"47

"What if I hurt you?"48

"What if you don't?"49

"I've never had a girlfriend, I don't know how to act as a boyfriend."50

"Neither have I. You just gave me my first kiss. You don't know, maybe you and your fther are complete oppisites."51

"But what if we aren't?"52

"Damien, I will take all the pain in the world becase nothing can compare to the empty pain I would have if you said no to trying."53

"Genevieve."54

"If you say no, I will never mention it again. I'll leave you alone and I'll forget about all of this."55

"Geny."56

"Damien, please."57

"Alright, Geny. We can be together but if I hurt you once, just once, I'm not to blame, okay?"58

"I understand." I kneeled over him and leaned my hands on the back of the couch. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me down on him, laying me on his chest and pressing my lips to his. He pulled away again. I sighed. "What is it this time, Damien?"59

"I sould get you home."60

"You have amazing speed, we could leave anytime an dbe home in the same second!"61

"Geny, I have a load of homework to do. I'm sorry."62

I stood up and sighed again.63

"Alright, fine. Take me home, Damien." He stood in front of me, cradled me against his chest and ran me home. 64

He stopped on my porch, setting me back on my feet.65

"I don't think that is going to be my choice every time, Damien. I'm starting to get sick."66

Damien wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.67

"I'm sorry, Geny." We stood silent for a minute or two. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"68

"Tomorrow?!"69

He sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you what, if you get lonely, just hang these" he handed me wind chimes, "outside your bedroom window and I'll come. "I promise."70

"How will you hear it, though? If there is no wind?"71

"Who ever said it needed wind?"72

He took off running before I could say anything else.73

 74

I ran up to my room and instantly put the chimes out my window before going back downstairs to join my family. They were jst finishing dinner.75

"Nice of you to join us." Mom said harshly.76

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