This Must be Fiction

Ville and I spent days doing some sight seeing in California and spending our time doing whatever we wanted to.

One afternoon while Ville was out, "running errands," as he liked to call it, I got a phone call from a number I recognized as being from the California area. I looked at the phone suspiciously, and answer hesitantly.

"Hello?"

"Molly?" I heard the voice of an older gentleman.

"Yes, who is this?" I asked. He sounded familiar.

"Nathan Grey. I uh... I'm the guy who hit you with my car."

"Oh! Hi." I answered questioningly. I couldn't imagine what he would want. I wasn't planning on suing him or anything, I was feeling fine.

"I know this is a bit out of left field, but I had a talk with my lawyers.." Oh no, he was planning on suing me. Shit. "And they advised me to at least try to make it up to you about what happened a few days ago." Oh, so he was going to bribe me not to sue him. "So I was wondering if I could offer you a job, or something? My company is hiring and I thought if maybe you needed a job... or anything else... you know.. money or something?" He said, pausing in between each sentence. I could tell he was not comfortable with a conversation like this. But I seriously considered what he was saying for a second. My money continued to dwindle, even with Ville's help, and I knew I wanted to stay in California for a while longer.

But this was kind of an awkward situation. This man I didn't know was offering me a job, or money. It sounded shady, but I did need a job. What would Ville think of me not leaving California for a while?

"Could I umm... get back to you on that one?" I asked shyly.

"Oh yes, definitely. Do you still have my phone number?" He asked.

"Well it's in my phone now, but yes I have it written down. I'll call you soon." I said. He mumbled something on the other end and I heard the phone click.

I looked down at my cell phone, making sure to save the number in it.

So Nathan Grey wanted to offer me money. The job sounded better to me. But I didn't even know what his company did. Still, I needed the cash. How would my family feel about me staying in California this much longer? My mom was already calling me every day asking when I was coming home, and Lizzie was getting stressed out because she couldn't talk to me in person. Ville's work was piling up on him, and he was constantly on the phone with some person or another discussing his band or some TV show, apparently. He never talked about his work with me, I didn't know why, but I wasn't going to push it.

I heard the distinct door click from the other side of the room, and my body whipped around just in time to see Ville strolling in the door.

"Hey." I said. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I tried to fake that I wasn't completely nervous to ask him about his opinion.

"Nothings wrong nesessarily, but... I think maybe we should talk." I said.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Ville joked. I laughed nervously like I always did when he made jokes like that.

"Yes. I am." Pause for sarcastic eye roll. "Now can you bring your ass over here and bring me a beer? Please." I smiled. He laughed at me and did as I asked.

"Ok so, it's kind of weird, and I just heard about it, but some guy Nathan is offering me a job. He's the guy that hit me-uh, you, with the car, and he feels bad so he's offering me a job with his company. I don't know what they do or whatever, but I'm starting to think I need more money. It doesn't really have to be permanent or anything. But I was just wondering what your thoughts on the subject are." I was speaking with my hands, not looking at Ville the entire time. His feet swung over to spread across the small chair in the room and he interlaced his fingers and rested them on the top of his head.

"It's not my decision, dear." He said casually, as if I didn't already know.

"Well yeah, but you're opinion means a lot. If i get a job it means I'm staying longer than I was expecting and I don't know what that means for you. I don't know if you'd want to stay here with me, go back to Finland, work on.. whatever it is you're working on."

I was looking at him now, thinking of the multitude of Ville-like answers that he was probably brewing over in his brain. His bottom lip pouted and it made me think about kissing it. I shook my head to shake the thoughts from my mind and Ville answered shortly after.

"I honestly cannot give you an answer. It would be good for you to get a job out here, I know that from experience. No matter what this company is you will undoubtedly meet a ton of people. But, then again, I can't spend a long time out here anymore. My band has been needing my help, even though we're on a break from recording right now. So, don't let me influence you're decision. What do you want to do?" He looked at me with those incredible eyes that made my knees weak. Good thing I was sitting. The stare he had going on right now would have made me fall.

"I think I want the job." I said without hesitation.

"Then there it is." He put his hands out in front of him as if he was handing over the job to me. I laughed and ran over to him and sat in his lap, a position we hadn't been in in a while.
We had been hesitant to touch each other in any sort of way since he told me his secret. I suddenly remembered that he was a vampire and tensed up on his lap.

"Relax." He whispered. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled my hips closer to his waist. I breathed deeply and sighed on his shoulder. I slowly but surely let myself relax on his lap, knowing that he was vampire but knowing he wasn't going to hurt me. His cold skin was a constant reminder, but I enjoyed it at the moment.

"I'm relaxed." I said. I rested my forehead on his shoulder and he tilted his head over to touch mine. Ville's hands rubbed my back slowly, making me feel like a little girl in his arms, but liking the feeling all the same.

"Are you sure?" He whispered to me again. I nodded, rubbing my forehead on his shoulder. Ville's body hummed as he laughed in the baritone way he did when he was lightly amused.

"Should I call him back today?" I asked. His head perked up and he looked down at me, I kept my head where it was.

"Maybe tomorrow. Keep him waiting a bit." He spoke with uncertainty, like he was hiding something. I figured since we had gotten into a fight before about him hiding something from me, I wouldn't try to get into another one.

"Well then." I said as I lifted my head up. Ville's arms were still wrapped securely around my waist, keeping me in place. He was staring into my eyes, locking me where I was. I almost wished that I was looking somewhere else, because his gaze was making my stomach tense up. I leaned in an inch in what I assume was an attempt to kiss him, but I wouldn't know because my mind was a blank. His head stayed where it was, so I tried to lean in closer again. This time, he cleared his throat and I was shaken from my trance. I looked into his eyes, embarrassed, and smiled shyly at him.

"Sorry..." I mumbled. He grumbled a laugh again and ran his hand through my hair.

"Don't be. I'd be more receptive to it if... well if.." he paused and I bit my lip. "If you didn't smell so good." He said. I shut my eyes and tensed up on his lap.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." He repeated as he lifted me from his lap and set me on the bed. Ville knew that he had said something to make me scared.

"No, no. It's ok... I'm just not used to you saying stuff like that, I guess."

"It's not ok, I shouldn't be telling you things like that." He was pacing the room. His body language was making me more tense and I wanted to hug him and tell him that it really wasn't that big of a deal, but he was making me nervous to do so.

"Really, Ville, it's fine." I stood up even though he was slightly scaring me. He stopped pacing long enough to look at me and soften his expression. His shoulders slouched and he walked over to the bed to take a seat.

"I've never had to deal with telling a human about me before. Well I have, but the circumstances were very different. What I'm trying to say is, I've having a difficult time trying to act myself around you and keep myself hidden from you all at once."

I had a hard time looking at him while he spoke. I had never considered how hard it was for Ville, the last few days I had only focused on how I felt about him telling me he was a vampire.

"I'm sorry. I guess we're both just getting used to everything."

"It's not ok either, by the way. It's not ok that I make you scared like this."

"I'm not scared."

"Yes you are, I can feel it. I kind of..." He stopped to look at me and then back towards the floor. "I can sense emotions."

Well that was certainly some news. I didn't speak.

"And now you're pissed." He threw his hands in the air.

"Well yeah! I didn't know you could feel my feelings!" I said, not speaking loudly, but raising my voice. This news changed things. Had Ville felt every emotion I had felt towards him? All of the lusting, loving, adoring emotions?

"And there's kind of more."

"Oh great! More hidden news." I said sarcastically. It felt terrible to be talking with Ville this way, but it was frustrating to know that he could tell my emotions all the time.

"Please stop, Molly, you've got to try to think about how hard it is to tell you everything." He spoke down to me. I nodded with pinched eyebrows.

"But I can also project my emotions onto other people. That part I can control, sort of. Usually if it comes in handy, I can make the people around me feel what I feel. I can sort of just.. send it to them. But with you it's different. I kind of... automatically do it. I can hold them back from you, but sometimes when I'm not thinking about it I send my emotions to you. And usually it takes a little bit of concentration to pick up other peoples senses, but with you it's automatic. I don't have to think about it." He sat down in the middle of his speech and was now staring out of the window.

"Well... what does that mean?" I asked. He looked at me from under his dark eyelashes and crossed his arms.

"I don't know. It's never happened before. I've been alive more than a hundred years, and my abilities have never been this uncontrolled with anyone." He stood up and retrieved a beer from the mini-fridge.

So something about me made Ville's power stronger. I couldn't find an explanation or even reasonable response to what he was telling me.

"Ok. Is it a good thing?" I asked.

"Yes and no. It's easy to pick up on what you're feeling, but sometimes difficult to hide what I'm feeling. And sometimes when you're mad, or sad, it projects onto me easily and I have to control myself to keep down those feelings. But I do like knowing how you feel all the time, though." He finished his beer and set it on the small counter that doubled as a TV stand.

"I wish I knew what to say right now."

"Me too. I'm sorry for getting you involved with all of this."

"Will you please stop saying you're sorry? You don't have anything to apologize for, Ville. I wish you'd just accept everything. Let me know everything about you. You don't need to hide from me." I said, rising as I spoke and walking towards him. He was quiet, and I took the opportunity to sit on his lap gently. Once again he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me closely. Ville's set his forehead on my shoulder and I rested my arm around his shoulders. Both of us calmed down and we were quiet for a few minutes. I was trying to tell if it was Ville's calm emotions or mine that we were feeling, but gave up trying to tell the difference and just let myself feel comfortable. My body practically melted into his.

"Are you tired?" He asked.

"Not really." I spoke quietly.

"I hate to break up this lovely moment," he picked his head up, "but I promised Kat that we would meet up and talk. She really enjoys having another vampire around. She only has one at the shop that she can talk to." My heart sank.

"Oh. ok." I said, disappointed. I was hoping Ville could stay in with me tonight and we could just talk. But I understood that he could use another vampire around.

He stood up with me in his arms and set me down lightly on the bed.

"I won't be long." He put one hand on the back of my head leaned down to kiss the top of it. I breathed heavily and looked up at his form floating out the door. Once it was shut I flopped down on the bed and put a pillow over my face. Time to think about things.

XXXXXX

Ville and I took a cab into L.A. to look for Nathan Gray's company. Nathan and I had spoken briefly and he told me that he worked for a publishing and management company, and that they needed a receptionist at the front desk. It sounded like a perfect opportunity to me, so Nathan invited me to come visit the office and see if I liked the set up.

"I'm nervous." I laughed and looked at Ville. Calm suddenly washed over me and I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for that." I said, referring to the obvious emotion that Ville had sent to me.

"No problem." He reached over and grabbed my hand. I became even more comfortable. He let go, and some of the comfort went away. I looked up at him with a confused face.

"Sorry, I was experimenting. It's stronger when we're touching." He smiled as he grabbed my hand once again and cupped his long fingers over mine.

"That's fine. Good to know."

The cab dropped us off right in front of the building. It was about three stories tall with thick tinted windows lining the side. There were people standing outside smoking, making a semi circle around a cigarette butt container. I looked for the address, but I couldn't find it. I kept glancing from the piece of paper I held to the building, not being able to figure out if I was at the right destination. The people smoking around the building were staring at me, but Ville made me feel confident and comfortable while we were standing there. I knew it was him making me feel this way, because I was a generally nervous person in important situations.

He tugged my hand and led me in, holding the door open for me. My knees almost buckled when we walked into the office. I walked slowly to woman at the front desk, noticing all the while how important the people around me looked. Either they were incredibly gorgeous, or dressed incredibly well.

"Hi I'm Molly. I'm here to see Nathan Gray." I said to the woman. She looked at me with an expression-less face and held one finger up telling me to hold on a minute. I looked at Ville quickly and then back, knowing he was watching me from a few feet behind. The receptionist spoke into a phone very briefly and then told me to take a seat and wait, Nathan would be down soon.

"I think maybe I should go." Ville said as we were sitting on the leather sofa in the corner of the room.

"What? Why?" I asked. I was worried he was going to leave and I was going to be forced to be awkward and scared by myself.

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to be here. I mean, it is kind of a job interview. And besides, what if Nathan recognizes me? It's probably best that I wait for you at the hotel." He patted my leg and rose slowly.

"Um. Ok. I guess just wait for me there." I said, looking up at him. I was still sitting and Ville was towering over me. He looked down apologetically as I suddenly got even more nervous. Ville let his beautiful smile show and sent a wave of courage over me. I watched him walk slowly out the door and down the street until my confidence was gone.

I looked around the room, noticing for the first time how enormous it was. It expanded for possibly 50 feet behind the receptionist's desk, all of it lined in marble or tinted glass. The elevator button in the corner lit up, and I recognized Nathan immediately. He wasn't as sweaty as I remembered him, probably because he was in his air-conditioned office. Although he was bald, and a little on the heavier side, he was pretty good looking. His authoritative strides made his persona seem important, but I knew he wasn't as harsh as he made himself out to be. His suit clung in just the right spots on his body, making me assume that he had gotten it custom tailored.

"Molly! I'm glad you've come. Would you like to come up to my office?" He looked genuinely excited to see me. I rose from the couch and shook his extended hand.

"Sure!" I smiled and nodded. We talked casually about the weather and how the Yankees were doing this year until we got to his office. It was pretty large, and looked similar to the front lobby. Tiled floors with leather furniture and a large window. The window gazed down onto the busy L.A. street. Nathan took a seat and I sat across from him in the leather chair.

"So listen," He started, "the job really requires no experience, and I've told my boss that I had someone in mind for the position and he trusts me on that one. You'd have to be here from ten to four thirty every day, but the pay is good. How does that sound?" He looked at me after shuffling through a few papers.

"Good. I'd just be a receptionist? Answer phones and organize?" I asked.

"Yes, basically. Not a difficult position. You're getting good hours because our busiest time is during the day, so you'll take those times. You interested?"

"Yes." I said without hesitation. I didn't let him know that I probably wouldn't be keeping the job for long.

"Alright, great." He paused for a second and looked past my head out his door. "And... I really am sorry about what happened. I know that I'm just trying to make up for what I did, but I do think you're a nice person and you deserve this job. I hope you'll trust me." He spoke so sincerely it was hard not to like him.

"I trust you. When do I start?" I asked. He looked at his calender and then towards his watch.

"It's kind of soon, but can you come in tomorrow? It won't be for long, a few hours at the most, but we need to get you trained and everything. Dress nicely, there are a lot of important people that come through these offices. Can you do that?"

I hesitated, thinking about my lack of a wardrobe, but then quickly figured out an outfit in my
head and answered.

"Sure."

"Oh and just for formality you need to fill out these." He handed me three papers.
I left his office feeling confident, but worried. I considered how long I was actually going to keep this job, because I knew once I started something I stuck with it. But I would deal with that when the time came.

Ville wasn't in the hotel once I got there, so I decided to get to work on the paperwork Nathan had given me. It was easy enough to fill out, but I stopped once I got to the address part of the sheet. What should I write?
I skipped over it and I figured I would explain my situation to Nathan tomorrow.

It had been more than a few hours and Ville still wasn't back. I considered the fact that he was with Kat, making business calls, or maybe even... eating.

The door handle jiggled and I thought Ville had probably forgotten his key, and I began walking to open the door. The handle shook more violently, and I was curious as to why he was so impatient. As I stretched my hand out to twist the lock, the door sprung open and before I knew it I was pinned against the wall. The room was spinning and it was difficult to see just who had me against the wall like this. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, but I could barely breath.

"What the-" I tried to say before a hand was clamped over my mouth.

"Where is he?" Someone asked. I opened my eyes and saw Ville's companion Bam staring at me. I had no clue why Bam would treat me like this, I hadn't done anything.

"I don't know.." I spoke through Bam's fingers. I looked into his icy blue eyes that held so much hatred in them. My eyes shut and I focused on not passing out.

"What the hell!" Ville's voice boomed from the door. Bam's weight was lifted from me and I fell forward slightly before regaining composure. Bam had his back turned to me, and Ville was standing hesitantly by the door. Another man was standing close to Bam and I, watching my every movement. I rubbed my head and looked desperately towards Ville.

"You know this isn't right." Bam spoke with such intensity it had my knees shaking.

"It isn't for you to say what's right and what isn't. Get out of here, Bam." Ville took small steps towards him, but didn't adjust his composure. Bam's feet shuffled slowly back towards me and reached out for my hand. I retracted and he laughed.

"There's only one way for this to be right again. You can't honestly believe that the Superiors would let this continue?" Bam stepped towards me again, and I was cornered between him and the strange muscular man that Bam had brought with him. My eyes were darting from one person to another.

"Bam, if you touch her, I will kill you." Ville's voice in such a low tone it was barely audible. Bam didn't falter. His hand reached for mine slowly again and Ville took this opportunity to run towards us and steal me away from between the two men.

"If you touch her, I will kill you." He said, towering over Bam and staring down at him. His threat was serious. I had never seen Ville so angry.

"I'll be back, Ville." Bam said as he and his friend walked slowly from the room. Once the door shut I collapsed on the chair.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Ville asked as he knelt down next to me and checked over my arms and legs. I was still terrified of the Ville I had seen just seconds ago. His face had been so frightening that it registered an emotion in me that I had never felt before. I pulled myself together.

"No, no, I'm fine. What was that all about?" I ask, breathing heavily. Ville began pacing the room.

"Bam thinks that... he thinks that by us being together like this, we'll both be killed." Any breathing I was doing was immediately stopped.

"Killed? By who?" I whispered. He picked me up around my waist and sat down with me on his lap.

"The Superiors. They're the eldest vampires and they have a set list of rules for all vampires to abide by. I've broken them, clearly, by telling you about us. It's only a matter of time before they find out about us, but they haven't yet. Bam is determined to get me home before they discover anything about us."

"But why did he want me?" I asked, trying not to concentrate on on the possibility of being killed by a group of vampires.

"Because if Bam couldn't get me to leave... he would.. kill you."

My eyes burned from the salt in my tears. There were vampires who wanted me dead. More than one. This was more than I signed up for. I shook in Ville's lap, wanting more than anything to run away from him and be with him at the same time.

"I won't let anyone hurt you." He said, brushing my cheek. I didn't speak. How could this possibly be happening?

"It's just vital that you never speak of me to anyone."

"Now is not the time to lecture me Ville." I held a hand up to stop him from speaking. I didn't need to be spoken to like I didn't know how serious the consequences were.

"I'm sorry." He whispered in my ear. I shook my head. I didn't know what to say.

"What do we do now?" I asked, not being able to look at him.

"Go on like this never happened. As long as no catastrophe happens, we'll be fine."
I quietly wept in his arms, feeling comfortable and vulnerable all at once. Ville's long arms were wrapped around my waist, enabling me to move.

"I've got to.." Sniffle ".. go to work tomorrow." Sniffle. I released myself from his grip and shuffled into the bathroom. I showered for the longest time imaginable, and Ville was laying in bed when I came out. I looked at his immobile body, and felt incredibly bad for having made him feel so terrible.

I crawled on top of him.

"I don't want anything to happen to the two of us." I said.

"Darling me neither. Our relationship means so much to me. It literally pains me that something could ever possibly come between us."

"I hope nothing does."

He rolled me over and kissed my cheek before tucking me tightly into the bed and wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Nothing will."

My stomach was turning in knots and I was praying that Ville could not tell the way I was feeling right now. It was moments like this that made me believe I could spend the rest of my life with him. I looked to my left to see if Ville was peaking at me from his side of the bed, but I couldn't see him. It would be just too embarrassing if he knew what I was thinking. I wondered if he could feel the emotion stirring in the pit of my stomach. He grunted and I looked over to see him with his eyes shut, in what I assume to be was sleep. In the entire time we'd been together, I'd never seen him sleep. It was peaceful.