The Strangest Partnership

Elizabeth Thomas was your typical American college student. The blonde girl spent the majority of her time trying to enjoy her youth by getting wasted at parties and avoiding her responsibilities as college student. Studying art because she was always pretty good at drawing, the blonde girl came home from another crazy party she attended one morning.

Lee, that was what she called herself, once again had succeed in going to another party and destroyed her body only with beers and cigarettes. The sun had started to rise on the horizon and she laughed with her friends, congratulating herself for today was Saturday and she could have the whole day just for sleeping. After parting with her friends who lives three houses away from her, Lee walked alone to a stupid little house she lived in, three blocks away from college.

She didn't hate her house, but she preferred sharing a dorm with her friends where she didn't have to clean the whole house since she lived alone in one, but her parents agreed that part of the deal of them letting her take the art degree was that she would live here.

Lee stomped her way to her house. She stomped a lot- she stomped when she was in a hurry, she stomped when she tried to clear her mind, and she stomped when she was sleepy so that she would be more awake. She desperately needed her warm, cosy bed, but what awaited her in her house wasn't her bed alone.

Someone, a guy, was on the stairs in front of her door, hiding his face in hood and shuddering.

She thought that he might be a homeless people. But he dressed pretty neatly for homeless people, Lee observed. He was tall and slender, with long legs and dark boots. His figure looked good in his hooded jacket and black jeans that were both clean. And his hands, his hand’s pale fingers- they were too clean even for Lee's standard.

“Hey,” she stepped closer to him but kept her distance. “You okay, Man? What are you doing in front my house?”

The first rays of sunlight start to bath Lee’s standing figure and the stranger whimpered, his face was still hidden under the hood, but Lee could see his dark brown hair.

“You okay? Dude? You look like you’re being tortured,” Lee huffed, the effect on stomp-walking had vanished and her headache from drinking and sleepiness made her quite irritated.

He then lifted his face and she gulped at the sight of his face. He had the bluest eyes Lee had ever laid her eyes upon and they were gorgeous- but he looked like he was in serious pain. She knew it was never wise to let a stranger, a male stranger to be more specific, to get inside her place- but he was seriously too weak to do anything to harm her, because even his fingers were trembling while the sun rose higher. Lee decided to help him- and getting her pepper spray ready too at the same time.

“Alright, just get in, okay? You can sleep on my couch or something.” She cocked her head at the direction of the front door.

He nodded, shuddered, and Lee opened the front door with a key, before stepping aside and letting him stumbled inside the house. He was tall, that was what Lee recognised. She was pretty tall for girl in her twenties, but he was so much taller than her. And he was pale too. He looked ill.

Closing the door behind her, Lee walked faster and gesture to the couch.

“Couch,” she said, deciding that it’d be best if she didn’t say long sentence that would probably hard for him to catch. He still didn’t say a word, but he eyed the guest room, eyes squinting to the draped windows. Watching his figure in a dim light of her house, somehow she thought of a lost dragon, sniffing his new cage. She didn't even know why she would think this guy as a dragon. “Yeah, just leave them closed if you want to sleep, I don’t mind, I’m going to bed too.” Lee added, referring to the drapes, too sleepy to even think that she just said long sentence.

He nodded, his tousled locks bobbed a little and Lee chuckled.

“I don’t know what’s your problem, but get some sleep and I can help you after I get my sleep too, okay?" she smiled.

He managed a smirk-like half-smile before he finally spoke.

“Thank you,” he said in British accent. His voice was raspy but he sounded sincere.

“You’re Brit,” Lee commented, but a big yawn suddenly escaped her mouth. Sleepiness was more important than British accent. “Not that I care too much about it. Let me get you a blanket then I’ll go to bed. Don’t go into my room though- I’ll lock it, in fact, so you can’t do anything nasty to me.”

He just nodded and seemed uninterested, and Lee quickly stomped into her room in second floor, grabbing any blanket she could get her hand into and shoved it to his chest.

“Good night,” she turned around, climbing the stairs as fast as she could manage with alcohol in her blood, too tired to care whether he liked the blanket or not.

“It’s ‘good morning’, actually.” He corrected.

She could hear him snickered but all Lee had in mind was how attractive his accent was. Sure her friends made a big deal out of British or Australian accent, but not until Lee experienced it first-hand like this she realised how tasty some words sound when it was pronounced with different accent. She smiled before closing her door and threw herself to her bed.


Lee woke up at two in the afternoon and stormed down the stairs from her bedroom in second floor, laughing because her head hurts and she was hungry. Why did she kept doing this getting-drunk-and-suffer-from-vomiting-and-headache all over again? She remembered she had cereal- very little amount of cereal. One more meal and she needed to buy more.

When Lee was finally downstairs, on her way to kitchen, she saw the British guy stood next to the couch he was sleeping in and she let out an “Oh.”

He just nodded once to her and he didn't blink at all as long as Lee stared at him.

“You’re still here,” she said, not realising how stupid it sounds until she spoke it out loud.

He only nodded again, still not blinking.

“I hope you’re not hungry because the only food I have in this house is cereal and there’s only one portion left so you won’t get any until I buy some other,” she stomped to kitchen with him followed her, almost soundlessly, like he didn’t have any weight. Or maybe that was one of his British gentleman magic trick or something. Lee felt bad that she didn't share her portion of cereal with him, but she was hungry and she helped him a lot already with letting him in- her parents surely wouldn't be happy to see her letting a complete stranger took a nap on their couch.

He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m not hungry.” He raised his chin slightly and she had a feeling he thought what she said was funny.

But Lee scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s true,” he said and Lee couldn’t help but to grin at every words he said in that pretty, pretty accent.

“Yeah?” she grabbed a bowl and started to pour the last cereal she had from the box.

“I don’t particularly like cereal.” He shrugged and Lee just mumbled an “Okay” while she poured milk to her cereal. Anything else she needed to think about her decision and this tall pale guy had to wait until her stomach was full.

When she already ate half of her bowl, she just realised that he was still standing outside the kitchen, in the shadow with the dark guest room as background because obviously he hadn’t open the drapes yet. She thought of the dragon again, but she dismissed the thought quickly.

“What are you doing there just standing looking pretty?” Lee laughed, waving her hand to her guest to sit next to her in sun-bathed island counters. “Come here. Sit. It’s warmer here in the kitchen- I mean, thank God for sun in the winter.”

But he shook his head in almost disgusted manner.

“You don’t like nice, warm day?” she retorted but shrugged anyway. “Whatever.”

After Lee finished with her very late brunch, she looked back at the blue-eyed Brit. He was still standing there under the shadow, almost motionless since she entered the kitchen. It was a little weird.

“You okay?”

He nodded.

“What’s your name?” Lee decided to change the subject because she was tired of his nod.

“Gus,” he replied, teeth gritted somehow.

“What, your grandparents are Spanish or something?” she snickered as she washed her bowl.

“Norwegian.”

“Okay, Gus. I’m Lee. Elizabeth, actually, but who call themselves like your queen?” she laughed at her own joke and then ready to get back upstairs after she dried her bowl and spoon. “I’m going to bed again if you don’t want your cereal. I can totally get one if you’re desperately hungry.”

Those made him laugh somehow.

“I’m not ‘desperately hungry’,” he repeated her words, only in a more beautiful way with that accent of his.

“Yeah. Okay. Good on you. If you want to go, let me know, okay? I need to lock the door again.” She was halfway through the stairs. “Good night, Gus.”

He didn’t bother correcting her this time.


At night, Gus disappeared from her living room and Lee didn’t even bother to look for him. She then went for some groceries and cooked a simple stir-fry dinner for herself. She sat on the place she sat this morning, thinking about the pale, blue-eyed guy who felt like a dream now that she fully woke up and recovered from her hangover. Lee didn’t even know whether he was real. If he told her best friends Brittany and Laura about Gus, they would probably think she was just still drunk. British guy who just slumped over her porch? Yeah, right.

When Lee had finished her meal, there were knocks on her door. She dragged herself to the door just to find Gus standing outside. With his height towering over her and they stood only inches from each other, she could observe that he was somehow looked better and happier.

“Gus,” Lee breathed. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged, “Coming home…?” His sight fell to Lee’s confused face.

“Where were you?” she stepped aside so he could walk in, but he didn’t budge.

“I went to eat. Can I come in?” he shoved his hands into his jeans pocket.

“Sure you can. Get in,” Lee cocked her head and watching him strutted inside her house in a manner that somehow amazed her. “You went to eat? Why didn’t you just tell me you were hungry? I can cook pretty good, you know?” She toyed, trying to sound insulted.

But Gus didn’t laugh, only smirking in a mysterious way.

“So that’s why you look better,” she followed him to the guest room. “’Cause you ate. That’s good.”

They just stood in silence awkwardly for a couple of seconds before Lee realised she was the one being awkward.

“Alright, just make yourself at home, I’ll be upstairs, doing my assignment and getting ready for tomorrow.”

He nodded and she walked away.

The strange thing about Gus was that he seemed to have no ulterior motive. Most guys Lee know would jump at her whenever they were alone or simply glancing at her cleavage when they thought she didn’t notice. But Gus didn’t seem to be interested to her at all, yet he kept coming home, only disappearing at night and spent the majority of the day sleeping on the couch that started to bent on the place his body lied down every noon. Lee felt sorry for him being so tall but had to sleep in such narrow, short couch, so she showed him the attic where he could sleep in a larger bed. The attic was a little dusty and the bed there wasn’t as big as hers, but he didn’t seem to mind and help her with cleaning the place, which was really helpful, especially when she was busy with assignment because Lee wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having cleaning lady.

It was almost two weeks when Lee counted how long since Gus appeared on her stairs and she still didn’t see any indication that he’d change his pattern. He was probably staying at other people’s place as well, which explained his constant of clothes changing even though he didn’t really use her bathroom at all.

On the weekend of week three, Lee decided to sit down with him because she grew impatient with his mystery.

“Gus?”

“Mm?” he was reading one of her art journal with full concentration and didn’t even bother with lifting his head to see her.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure.” He finally dropped the magazine on his hand while sitting on his couch that used to be his bed while Lee sitting across him on other couch.

Lee crossed her hands in front of her chest, “What are you, really?”

His body stiffened but then he laughed. “What do you mean, Lee?” That was the first time he said her name.

“Exactly what I said- what are you? What are you doing here? What are you doing with your life? What are you-“ she stopped.

“What?” Gus smirked.

“I get it,” she said smugly but deep down she was terrified. “You’re a vampire.”

His demeanour suddenly turned serious. “You knew.”

“I just know, actually,” she corrected, nervous but trust him enough to not having him attack her and suck her blood or something. “That explains why you wanted to get inside my house when the sun rise. The drapes too- and you always leave at night because you hunt for blood and you can’t exactly eat my food.” Lee bubbled, “And the invitation…you always wait for me to invite you inside, because vampire couldn’t get inside people’s house without their permission.”

He snickered darkly. “Spot on.”

Lee waited. “What now? You’re going to suck me dry?”

Gus sighed. “Do I look like I want to drink your blood? If I want to, I can do it the first time we met.”

“But you don’t,” Lee said, confused.

He shrugged. “You’re a friend. You’re being nice to me. You gave me your attic, for God’s sake.”

“Do you kill people, then?” she quickly sat straight. “At night, when you hunt?”

“Not really. I mostly just suck blood and destroy evidence. Do remember that I can do mind control.”

“Right,” Lee huffed.

“Sometimes I take blood from hospital, but of course, it isn’t as good as real, fresh blood.”

“O…kay. What about the clothes?”

“I borrowed them.”

“You steal them!” Lee laughed. “You steal them, you git! Why did you do that? You can tell me. I may live in this pathetic place, but I can totally buy you clothes.”

He raised his eyebrows, seemed interested. “You do?”

“Yeah, Man,” Lee cheered. “Just go tell me whenever you need ones at night.”

“You know people will notice you walking with me, right?” the smirk was back to his lips.

“I’ll just tell them you’re my relative or something.”

“British relative?” Gus scoffed.

“Right…well, distant relative. But still a relative,” she nodded and he shrugged but agreed somehow.

Lee knew he found her very accepting and tolerable when it comes to his life state. In order to repay his kindness, she then started to reduce her party hours and added more time to work on her assignment home, where the strange, British vampire she somehow kept on her place helped her out.

One day, while Lee painted on a canvas, she recognised that Gus was watching her finger moved above the canvas.

“Hey Gus?”

“What?”

“How old are you? Don’t tell me you’re a hundred years old or something.”

“I’m thirty, actually.”

“For real?” Lee tittered. “A thirty years old vampire didn’t sound very scary.”

“I turned into one on the age of twenty-five. That’s five years ago. So I’m practically thirty years old now.”

“Okay, I can do the math, Sherlock.”

He eyed her she could feel his gaze on her back.

“You’re coming home earlier lately.”

“Well yeah I got you.”

“And what does that supposed to mean?”

“It means I don’t want you to feel lonely because you have no one to talk to.”

He scoffed. “I’m not a kid who constantly needs your attention.”

She didn’t reply, only chuckled.

“I can always watch telly,” he suggested.

Lee turned around and laughed in a very un-ladylike manner. “’Telly’.” She repeated, amused. “If you’re just normal dude, I’d introduce you to my friend. They’re suckers for British accent.”

He only smiled.

They grew closer after that, though. Lee kept coming home earlier and Gus was getting good at being cleaning lady- or was it cleaning gentleman? He was helping her cleaning the tall places one night when she remembered something.

“Say, Gus, you don’t ask me to give you my blood.”

“Yeah, because you don’t offer it to me and I don’t want to force you. Lee, we’ve talked about this.”

The blonde shrugged. “Can’t you just suck me dry and leave me dying?”

He gave her the stare that reminded her that he was a vampire, an immortal creature of the night. She felt a chill down to her spine whenever he looked at her like that. “You sure you want that?” his smirk spelled danger.

Lee quickly shook her head, trying to sound brave at her best. “I’m just joking, Man, come on.”

He huffed. “You’re a friend, like I said. I don’t eat friend. Beside, how would you explain the mark on your skin, then?”

She laughed. “You’re right. So I’m your friend, huh…?”

“What else would you refer yourself to me as?”

“Mistress? Because you’re my pet slash vampire?”

He ended up ruffling her hair so bad Lee screamed and laughed so loud.

As they grew intimate, he’d offer her to sleep in his arms whenever she needed someone to hug or to cry at. Despite her outgoing attitude and cheerful personality, Lee was pretty sensitive when it comes to getting bad score for her assignment. He always knew when she was sad and he started to scoop himself unto her bed and she didn’t mind.

“You don’t sleep, Gus?” she asked, one night when she had lost count how many times he had try to cheer her up this way.

“Sleep doesn’t do me anything. I have the rest of eternity to sleep. I’ll sleep whenever I feel sleepy.” He mumbled, his breath was warm but his body was cold.

“You smell like iron and blood,” she chuckled, nuzzled her face into his cold chest, covered in cotton shirt and somehow felt comfortable even though they were rock hard.

“Well, I’m a vampire- what do you expect?”

“Next time, use mouthwash after you eat.”

“Understood, Mistress,” he joked.

Lee laughed before she yawned.

“Where are you going after this? Back to England, maybe?” she asked.

Gus didn’t answer. His expression was stiff, even though he looked as stiff as statue all the time.

“No plan?” she helped.

He still didn’t answer. The blue-eyed vampire didn't look like he liked the idea of getting out of his routine.

“Just stay here, then.” Lee said, smiling faintly, half-asleep. “You can watch me grow old and I’ll still take care of you and buy you clothes.”

“That sounds good enough...Mistress." Gus' voice wasn't louder than a soft, raspy whisper. Her eyes were closed, but Lee could hear him smiling through his words.

He planted a kiss to the top of her head and Lee purred in comfort like a cat. She didn't know what would happen to her in years that were coming, nobody in her age seemingly does, but she knew that somehow Gus would always be there with her.