The Fools That Fall in Love

"Run Lydia! Run!" A man's voice yelled, slightly echoing. "Lydia! Come on!" He urged. I was running fast, but all I could see were slow, yet blurred visions of what seemed to be a brightly lit city. Behind me, and whoever the man was that was pulling my hand, there were faint visions of strange red creatures lunging themselves toward us.
Racing down a vacant ally way, we caught a dead end. I didn't know exactly where I was or who I was with, as I had not gotten a clear image of his face, but his voice was familiar. I pressed my body against the brick wall, bracing myself for the torture that I knew was about to come. I felt the presence of the very thing we were running from, whatever it may have been.
"I'll never let them hurt you. I promise." The man whispered, pulling me close to him as the creatures attacked us.
All I could hear was the ripping of flesh, crushing of bones, and screeching of the creatures. I could feel blood splatter across my face as I turned my body to avoid getting touched by them. The smell was putrid, very much like burning of hair or the smell of a rotting corpse.
Soon after the noise stopped, I looked up to find the creatures smiling at each other, then at me. They were red and had the body of very skinny children. Their wings and claws came to an incredibly sharp point, as did the spiraled horns that grew from their despicable heads. They inched toward me, speaking an unknown language that could easily be translated into something to the effect of "Kill her! Cease her! Bring the soul to the devil himself!" A few of them chanted this, while others said something of "Twist her bones and bend the limbs back! Take the soul to SATAN!" Their words rang in my head for what seemed like forever while time suddenly became still and everything stopped dead, as if it were all a movie that got paused by the viewer.
I found myself able to move, but unable to hear anything but the whimper of the man at my feet. I'd almost forgotten about him. "Lydia.." He trembled, obviously in a great amount of pain.
I looked to the ground at the bloody man, holding on to dear life. I bent down and cradled him best I could, finally seeing his face and knowing who he was at the sight of his shoulder length black hair and wild eyes. "Are you going to be okay?" I said, my eyes watering. It was a bad question, but what else was I supposed to say?
"Silver bullets can't kill me babe, but I can't recover in time to get out of here before sunrise. I'm going to burn tonight." He softly explained, his words sounding crushed beneath his chest.
"No!" I cried, not knowing why I felt such compassion. Was he supposed to be a lover? "You can't! I have to get you out of here.." I said, trying to pull him to his feet but failing terribly.
"Lydia, this time freeze won't last forever. You have to go, and now. You don't have much time. Go!" He demanded, before places a heartfelt kiss on my lips.
"Lydia.." I heard the faint call of another familiar voice. "Lydia!!" I looked around, but no one was there.
"Goodbye my love." The man said. I looked up into the sky and a bright light beamed down on me.
"LYDIA!" The shrill yell woke me with a start, the sunlight coming in from the window blinding me.
"Ahh!!" I yelled. "What?" I asked, desperate to get my heart rate back to normal.
"Wake up and get to work! You're already 45 minutes late!" Jason scolded. Great.
"I'm late again? Oh my gosh!" I yelled, running around in a panic to get ready to go. I knew I was about to get fired.
When I got to the little book store, Clare wasn't at the door waiting like normal. She was at the front desk, doing my job.
I quickly walked over to her, already apologizing. "Clare! I'm so sorry I'm late again, it's.. It's.." I tried to explain, but no words came. What could I possibly say this time?
"No Lydia! I've had it! You're fired! Get out and don't come back until your uniform and name tag are ready to hand in." She lectured.
"No! Please! You don't understand! I can't get fired." My eyes started to get teary and I was becoming frantic. What would Jason say?
"Enough! You heard me! Get out!" She pushed me out of the front door, making me stumble. I regained my composure and slowly walked down the street, tears falling from my eyes. I felt completely doomed and hopeless.
"Hey!" I heard someone call after me. It was the man on the phone.. The same man in my dream.
"Uh, yeah?" I wondered what he could possibly want.
"Hi. Are you okay?" He asked, taking a step in front of me to stop my walking. One hand rested gently on my shoulder in a comforting way. How did he even know there was something wrong?
"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. He gave me a look that showed me he knew better. "Is it that obvious?" I said, feeling very hopeless and humiliated.
"Only a little. Plus, I saw a bit of what happened. Did she just fire you?" I wondered why this guy was so concerned. Maybe he was just naturally kind?
"Yeah. She did, actually." I said slowly.
"I'm sorry." He frowned.
"Weren't you here just the other day?" I asked, knowing damn well he was.
"Yeah, I was. My name is Michael, by the way." He shook my hand in a very old fashioned kind of way that really threw me off.
"Lydia." I smiled up at him, blushing at his attractive, toothy grin.
"Well, since you won't be working, would you like to have lunch with me?" He asked kindly.
"Absolutely." I smiled, already feeling better about my day.
"Where's your car?" He asked, not taking into mind that I hadn't taken a car.
"I walked here. I live really close." I said cooly, wondering where we were going.
"Oh.. Well alright then. Ride with me then? I would have just had you follow me, so you wouldn't feel weird, but I guess since you can't.." He trailed off, knowing how awkward this really was.
I laughed, realizing that he was just trying to make it known that I wasn't going to get raped or something. Getting in a car with a stranger is a bad idea, and I even had a bad vibe about him. What made me nod my head and agree to get in his car, then actually do it, I'll never know.
We drove aimlessly around the city, talking and laughing, until we finally found a small Italian diner, probably family run. We walked in and took a seat at a booth and sat across from each other. We ordered our food and began talking as we waited for our lunch.
"So, now that you aren't working, what are you going to do?" He asked.
"I don't know. Obviously, I didn't want to work at a book store forever. I actually would love to be a photographer, or even a graphic designer. But those things take college courses that I don't have money for." I explained, wishing I hadn't gotten fired.
"Is that why you were working there? To get money for college?" I liked how interested he was in my life, rather than my body or who I've been with.
"No. I have bills to pay. I haven't lived with my parents in years!" I smiled.
"Really? So you live by yourself then?" He looked like he felt bad for me, which was no what I wanted.
"No. I live with my.. Hmm.. Uh boyfriend, as of now." I stuttered, hating admitting I had a boyfriend. I hated calling Jason that because it didn't feel like he was my boyfriend.
"Oh, you aren't single? I'm so sorry. I really should have asked sooner. Well, I hope he won't mind you having lunch with me." He looked as if he knew more than he should about my situation, but he didn't mention anything so neither did I.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." I shrugged.
"So tell me about him." He half smiled.
"What do you want to know?" I wasn't sure what to say. Lie and say that I loved him and blah blah blah, or tell the truth about hating his guts?
"I don't know. The usual. Is he everything you ever dreamed of when you were a little girl, thinking about your future love?" His fluid, and somewhat poetic, way of speaking made my heart melt. I loved romantic guys, and by the way he talked, I knew he was a natural romantic.
"I'd like to think so, but I'm having a hard time admitting to myself that he's not." I half lied.
"Why not?" Right there, I was determined to tell him. To get help.
"I don't know." I looked down, suddenly getting scared and backing out.
"You're lying." He said, softly. "Tell me, who am I going to tell? I just met you today, no one I know would even know who you are." Oddly enough, that was comforting. Maybe it was a stranger I needed to tell, maybe that was the only way I could get help.
"You're right." I said, reminding myself of Sarah in "Labyrinth" when Hoggle asked her what other choice she had. "Uh, you have to promise not to freak out or anything. Or tell anyone, obviously.."
"Of course. You have my word. No telling without your consent, no freaking out. Shoot." I wasn't sure why he added "without your consent", but I thought nothing of it and went on to tell him.
"He's.. Well, it's a hard thing to really say out loud. I've never had to before." I admitted. "Uhm, he's.. An alcoholic, sex addict, probably a drug addict, uhm, abusive, I don't know. He's not exactly Prince Charming." I expected Michael to interrupt me and really react to the abusive aspect of it all, but he sat quiet and let me talk. I thought that would make me mad, or make me feel like he didn't care, but I got the opposite feeling. "Uh, I don't know. I guess that's all there is to it. He's a jock type kind of guy too." I cringed.
"You aren't into preppy guys?" He half smiled.
"In all honesty? No. Not all. I figured that out the hard way." I shrugged.
"So what kind of guys are you into?" He asked, a bit smug.
"I have no idea. Preppy guys are completely out now, I'm a little afraid of shock goths, from what I've seen I've never actually met one. Emo guys are way too girly for me, chess geek guys really aren't my thing because they're too smart and I can never understand a thing they're talking about. That leaves rapists, drug addicts and pedophiles. " I said sarcastically, making Michael laugh.
"You left out vampires." He smiled, oddly.
"Vampires?" I mused. "I used to have nightmares about the monsters! Vampires would be the last mythical creature on earth I'd ever want to be with." I laughed, but Michael didn't find it so amusing.
"Why not? They're immortal, obviously, they're the most romantic you'll ever get, you could live with that one person, literally forever.. What else could you possibly want?" He asked, more curious than anything else.
"You know what.. You kind of have a point. But no, vampire movies have traumatized me! I'm incredibly scared of the thought they they could be real." I shook my head, thinking I must sound idiotic.
"Don't second guess it Lydia. You know they're out there, you've probably talked to one before. They're everywhere." Usually I'd think he was crazy, but he sounded so... Certain. It was like he knew something more, something much greater than I knew.
"What are you talking about? Vampires? They're myths.." I said, second guessing the thought. They weren't real. Vampires didn't exist. Did they?
"You're a smart girl Lydia, I know you don't believe that with every ounce of your heart. I know that there's a part of you that knows vampires exist and coexist with humans." He gave me this serious look that I couldn't decipher. What was he talking about? I knew he was just a bit too perfect, he had to have a major flaw. I thought I knew what that flaw was. I thought he was either crazy or just obsessed with vampires like you some people with aliens. Knowing what I know now, I wish I'd just believed what he said. Why didn't I listen?