I Love You, I'll Kill You

We were on the road, speeding at around 100 MPH, when the sun had finally risen. I embraced it, closing my eyes and letting the warmth of its light fill me. I had been cold, shaking with shock. My body had been through hell, and the distress had finally caught up with me when I had let out all my emotions and cried my eyes out. It couldn’t have been more than an hour before I was drained of tears, and for that I was thankful.

Desmond had been scratching his arms uncomfortably within the first ten minutes of light. I didn't want to ask what was wrong, and I was afraid what his answer would be. It just figured; I was finally safe, and Desmond wasn’t. It was the best time of time for me to be outside, and the worst for Desmond. I was so comfortable in the warmth of the sun. Desmond, on the other hand, was not. His fingers began to tap on the steering wheel nervously, and that’s when my eyes finally turned to him.

"How much longer are you able to handle the sun?" I dreaded to wonder what the answer would be, but knew that it best to know how much longer we had until he needed to find a place away from the sun. He didn’t reply at first, thinking about the answer himself. It was just my day. I was now at a point of the day where I was safest, and I was stuck with a vampire who couldn't stand the sun for a very long time. I groaned at the thought. This was not working out the way I had hoped.

"Not very long," he finally replied with an annoyed sigh. "I am usually able to stay out in the sun for a longer period of time, but since I haven't drunk a lot of blood lately, I am weakening." I wearily looked over him, and turned bright red. I quickly looked away, trying to hide my face from him. The sun was hitting his face perfectly, lighting all his perfect features while he stared ahead of him.

Why did he have to be so good looking?

I tried to think of something other than his looks and played with my fingers, cracking them as I did. My muscles were stiff all over from the rough night and being tense for three quarters of the night. I swallowed when an idea popped into my mind and looked to the floor of the car instead of the gorgeous vampire that sat beside me.

"Um...do you want me to drive? I mean, it would give you a chance to hide from the sun a bit instead of enduring whatever you are enduring right now." I tried not to stutter over my own words, and succeeded…for the moment.

He looked to me then, lifting an eyebrow at me, not sure if I was serious or not. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I thought you said you wanted to drive my car." Well, at least I tried to come up with an idea. He obviously didn't like it. He must really not trust me driving his car. I sighed and shook my head, making sure that he wouldn't see. I looked out the window of the car, watching the trees pass by quickly as we drove on through the deserted road, at least that's what it looked like. I couldn’t help but glance to Desmond when he scratched his forearm for the hundredth time. My eyes widened at the sight of his skin burning, starting to peel.

I shouted, "You're hurting yourself, you idiot!” I went to put a hand on his, but attached myself to the seat instead. “Stop being an ass! Let me drive."

He had been caught by surprise from my outburst, but not surprised enough to swerve. Of course, he had amazing instincts and could probably drive with his eyes closed without crashing. If it had been me driving and he had shouted, I’d have gone off the road. It was the first time I had really demanded and yelled at him like that. He noticed that I was staring at his arm and followed my line of sight. He glared at his arm, pulling his sleeves down lower, but it still didn't prove anything to me.

"It's nothing," he replied nonchalantly, his eyes returning to the road. My mouth dropped. He cared more about his pride than his body? Typical guy…

"I don't think burning skin is nothing. Let me drive. You can hide in the back and away from the sun," I demanded again. He turned away from the road and glared at me, telling me that he was not going to budge. I gladly returned the glare. I was not going to be pushed around like a little girl anymore. After what had happened the previous night, I was sure I could handle anything. I was probably getting ahead of myself, but at this point and time, I didn't care.

"Can you even drive?" he grumbled in a low voice. I cringed when I took another glance to his arm. I could tell he was in pain. He was able to pull down the shades of the car to shade his face, but couldn't stop the sun from burning his arms. And I was guessing that the clothes on him didn’t block out the power of the sun completely. It was weakening him no matter what he said.

"Of course I can drive. I may not have my license yet, but that never stopped me before." Desmond groaned loud enough for me to hear, making me frown. He didn't trust me to be able to drive. Little did he know, I was not exactly a goody two shoes back home in England. I was a bit of a rebel back home, much to my parent's dismay. I had crazy friends who snuck out in the middle of the night with me and would do mischievous things. We even came to be known as "The Mischief Makers" and we were proud of it.

"I was afraid of that. There is no way I am letting you drive this car. Only I am allowed to drive this car." I rolled my eyes when he continued to scratch his arms. They were going to burn off if he kept this up. I did the gutsiest thing I had done since I had arrived. I reached over as quickly as possible and pulled hard on the steering wheel, making the car twist around in circles as it spun out of control...almost. We spun maybe four times before Desmond slammed his foot on the breaks and the car stopped spinning, sitting right in the middle of the road.

I was now breathing hard, the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I jerked away from Desmond, knowing he was not happy with me and my choice of actions. Sure, the car had a chance of crashing, but it was the only way to get him to stop the car. I slowly looked up from the ground, and sure enough, he was glaring at me darker than I had ever seen. I gave a shy smirk, trying to act all innocent. I had a feeling it wasn't working.

"Are you an idiot?!" he snapped at me. I couldn’t help but let my smirk grow. I got him mad, something that made him stop the car for a moment. I ignored his comments and chuckled quietly as I opened the passenger car door and stepped out of the car. I closed it behind me before walking around the front of the car, feeling his glare on me the whole time. I opened his door, motioning him to get out of the seat. He growled in a low tone, but to my surprise, got up from his seat on the driver's side and stood next to me. I had to look up a bit too see his face. He was a couple inches taller than I, making me feel real short.

I began to climb into the car, but gasped loudly when I felt pressure on my shoulders as hands grabbed me and slammed me against the side of the car. My eyes had shut on instinct, afraid of what he was going to do to me. Would he slap me? I slowly opened my eyes when I didn’t feel any sting of a strike.

"Pull that stunt again, and I will make sure you know the meaning of pain,” he threatened as he snarled at me, pushing me against the side of the car with his strong arms. I was getting cocky, and smiled as I looked up to stare at him. He was a bit surprised by my actions when I touched his hand, shading it from the sun. I could tell it was burning him at the moment.

"Well, I don't think you would harm me after last night. You've been protecting me this whole time. And besides, I don't think you're able to hurt me a lot at this moment. Your skin is disintegrating, and if it continues, you will fry. So I would advise you to get in the car and stop threatening me so we can get you to a place where you can hide away until night time. Sound good?" I don’t know why I suddenly had a spark of courage in me, but for some reason, his threat didn't sound very convincing. Sure, he was a vampire who could kill me at any time, but something in his voice told me he wouldn’t do it.

He stared at me with incredulous eyes. I almost laughed when he hadn't realized that he had dropped his hands to his sides. I slid past him and into the front seat, feeling excitement while I touched the steering wheel, stroking it with anticipation. Desmond climbed into the back, lying down on the seat, using his coat to cover his body from the sun.

I looked in my mirror and asked, "Where to, captain?" I struggled not to laugh when I heard him groan and grumble a few words quietly, probably cursing me.

"Just drive on the main road. You will eventually end up where we want to be." I saluted him, though he had already pulled the jacket over his body, and roared the car to life, feeling the adrenaline rush through me like I was on a lot of caffeine. My hands were practically shaking when I put the car in first gear and put my foot on the gas pedal.

Thank goodness I learned how to drive a stick shift, I thought to myself, and then took off and was at 80 MPH within a couple of seconds. I had never gone over 100 MHP. I knew I didn’t have the same reflexes as Desmond and really didn't want him to kill me for wrecking his car; his very nice and expensive car. I glanced behind me to see that his head was still covered by his jacket, hiding away from the sun. I gave a sigh of relief and returned my eyes to the road, driving off to—well, I didn't know where, but I trusted Desmond when he said to just keep on the road. I was so happy to be able to drive one of my favorite cars. Hopefully the sun would be on my side and stay over the sky longer than the night.

*****

After hours of driving, I was getting tired. I tried turning on the radio, but Desmond snapped at me, telling me to turn it off rudely. I was now getting more bored as the day dragged on. The road did nothing but twist and turn. It was nothing like the previous night, having to do James Bond stunt moves as we drove at 100 MPH. There weren't even any animals around, which I found very strange. Not even a bird could be seen in sight.

"What kind of place is this?" I whispered to myself, glancing around the darkening woods as night drew closer. It was very odd to not even come across one living animal...or dead one. My nerves were starting to act up again while I watched the sun slowly set in front of me, but it felt like it was going down faster than usual. The sun hadn’t been up for more than six hours, and yet it was already going down, being taken over by night. It didn’t make sense. It felt like only seconds before it was finally twilight. I wanted to bite my nails off, I was getting so nervous.

I nervously said, "Uh, Desmond?" I now wanted him to drive, in case something decided to pop out of nowhere. I knew that if we were suddenly attacked, I would lose it. I heard no reply and glanced to the back seat to see that his jacket was still covering him. I pulled off to the side of the road and stopped the car so that I could reach back to wake him up.

"Desmond?" I repeated as I reached for his jacket. I shook him a little. I screamed when his hand jolted up and caught my arm, grabbing it painfully. He shot up from the sound of my scream, his eyes dark as they quickly search around the car, his teeth revealed, and his face contorted with rage. I cringed, his hold on me feeling like needles and pins. His hands were freezing cold again.

He looked to me finally, his eyes focusing on what was happening, looking down at how his hand was holding mine and immediately let go as soon as he realized what he was doing. He pulled back his hand and stared at it, as though ashamed of his reaction to my touch.

"Sorry," he muttered in low tone. I pulled back my arm and rubbed it, more shock than pain running through me than anything. "I think you should sit in the back now." I stared at him with a lost look, but he refused to look at me. I became even more puzzled when he got out of the car and walked to the other side of the car, as though trying to keep as much distance from me as he could. I slowly hopped out of the car and climbed into the back, closing the door behind me. I waited for him to climb into the driver's side.

He closed his eyes from the outside of the car, leaning against the side while he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He was finally getting his bearings. After moments of taking deep breaths, he opened his eyes and walked around to the driver's side, climbing in and closing the door behind him. He sighed loudly before he started the car.

I looked to his hands and noticed that the burn marks that he had received earlier were now gone. The sun was finally down. It made me nervous to no end. It wasn't only the sun; it was the way Desmond was acting.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice unwavering. He put the car in first gear and drove off faster than I ever had.

He nodded his head. "Yeah...just a little stressed," he replied in such a low tone that I could barely hear what he had said. I glanced beside me. His coat was lying beside me. My fingers inched toward it. I had the urge to see how it smelled. I glanced to the front to see that his eyes were settled on the road and slowly pick up the jacket and put it around me. His scent wisped into my senses, making me shiver. His jacket smelled so calm, it was hard to describe it any other way. It was almost like the scent of a pure, cool gust of wind.

"Why do I need to sit in the back seat?" I inquired as the thought popped into my mind. Usually he would force me to sit in the front seat, now he was forcing me to the back. He looked into the rear view mirror, looking straight at me with plain eyes. It was the exact same look when I had first met him. He looked away and returned back to the road.

"It's safer this way. I don't want my threat to come true." I shuddered, the thought of his pain threat now etched into my mind.

I gulped. "Are you...hungry, or something?" I feared to ask. He nodded his head without a pause and took a quick glance in the mirror. I bit my lower lip, thinking of how much pain it would be to be bitten by a vampire. I mean really bitten by a vampire. When Lucas, Desmond's brother, had bitten me, he had barely gotten his fangs in me. And even then, it was painful. I swallowed hard. I tried to ignore the thought of being bitten. I looked out the window, night finally taking its toll. I now hated the dark. After last night, I never wanted it to be night time again.

*****

By the next time I looked from the window, the car was stopping. We had arrived to our destination. Desmond didn’t take his time getting out of the car and walked toward the house. I got out of the car as well and looked over the house. It was nothing special. It was just a normal 2 story house. There were a couple of beat up cars sitting out on the front lawn; a typical mechanic's yard.

I quickly closed the door and ran to catch up to Desmond as he walked up the steps, to the front door. I stayed only a couple inches away from him as, once again, I didn't want to push him over the edge and end up dead. He put one of his hands in his pocket and reached with the other to knock on the door.

"Whose house is this?" I asked in a low voice. I could hear footsteps coming from inside the house, making their way to the door.

"It belongs to a couple of my old friends. Don't worry, they won't munch on you like I will," he joked, sending me a smirk. I glowered at him. I didn't find it funny. It only scared me more. The door opened, and to my surprise, a normal looking girl opened the door. Her hair was the color of fire, but her face held color. She smiled when her eyes landed on Desmond.

"Desmond, this is a pleasant surprise. I just got a call from your brother. He tells me you're out saving a human girl. That's not like you, Desmond," the girl said as she sent him a twisted smirk that I didn't like. I couldn’t help but glare at her. "And this must be the girl," she said, finally looking to me, but with amusement. I drew closer to Desmond. Her eyes told me what kind of person she was. She wanted to kill me, I could tell that much.

I introduced myself despite my distaste for her. "Grace," I murmured in a low tone because I really didn't feel comfortable.

She gave me a fake smile as she opened the door wider. "Well, come on in. You both look white as ghosts," she joked. In my opinion, she was already annoying. She was one of those fake happy-go-lucky girls. I felt her eyes burn through my skin while I walked next to Desmond as we entered the house. My eyebrow rose when I saw a male standing at the top of the stairs, his smile warmer than the girl's.

"Desmond, it's good to see you. Ah, and I see you've brought a friend. Who, may I inquire, is this? It's not like you to hang around your dinner." Why did I get the feeling I was getting myself into a dangerous situation? Desmond walked up the stairs, showing his fangs in a smile, taking his hand from his pocket to shake the young man’s hand. He was just as normal as the girl. His hair was a bit long, but it was in that cute surfer-boy way. They weren't palely white or anything. Not like Desmond and the rest of his family.

"It's good to see you, too. This is Grace. Grace, these are my friends, Ivan and Dawn." Figured they both had normal names. I reached out my hand to shake Ivan's hand. I sighed when it wasn't cold like Desmond's or Cain's. Ivan led us into the living room on the second floor, a comfy couch waiting for us. I didn’t hesitate to sit on it, tired from sitting in a car all day. Desmond took a seat next to me, but made sure to keep a large space between us. Ivan and Dawn each grabbed one of the single chairs.

"So, tell me what you've done this time to get yourself into trouble," Ivan began, leaning back in his chair. I could feel the stress Desmond was feeling. He wanted to get away...but was it from me? My question was answered when he leaned away from me a bit. I almost frowned, knowing it was me who was causing him to be so tense and stressed looking.

"Grace here seems to be sought after by the worst of guys. I think you can guess whom I speak of when I say you can't get much eviler." Ivan chuckled while Dawn smirked. I couldn't tell, but I was sure that she was happy that I was wanted by the worst of people.

Ivan said, "Ah, Cain. Yes, that fellow is definitely as bad to the bone as you can get." Ivan only needed one guess to know who Desmond was talking about. Was Cain really that well known? Well, then again, he was the Devil's son, so probably.

"Not only is he after her, but I guess Lucifer wants her, too." Desmond sounded upset, and when I saw Dawn’s smirk turn into a frown, I held back a smile. Ivan's eyes went wide for a moment. What was so surprising about the Devil wanting me?

"AndLucifer? What's so special about you, Grace? Are you a part werewolf and vampire, or something?"

My face cringed from Ivan's question. "No, I don't think so. I'm just a normal human being," I said with a shrug. All of them laughed after my answer. I frowned at this. Why were they laughing?

Dawn said while still laughing a bit, "Honey, I think you're anything but normal if the Devil and his son want you. You have something they want." I struggled not to glare at her, and succeeded somehow. Desmond twitched from beside me when I move a little closer to him. The way Dawn was looking at me, like I was just some pathetic little thing, made me uncomfortable.

Ivan didn’t fail to notice how Desmond was acting and smirked a bit. "Desmond, you look a little famished. Why don't you do Grace a favor and go get something to eat.” It was said as a question and a demand. Before I was able to glance to Desmond, he rose up from the chair and disappeared within a blink of an eye. I blinked a few times; surprised that he had disappeared into thin air.

"So, Grace—what is your relationship with Desmond? It's not very often he hangs with humans." I turned my attention to Dawn as she spoke to me. I gave her a plain look for a moment, not sure where she was going with this. I had had a feeling as soon as Desmond left there would be personal questions asked.

"Um...I'm not really sure. I mean, we just met yesterday...at least it felt like just yesterday. He's just kind of protecting me for the moment, I guess." I was having a hard time not sounding like a total clueless person. Both Ivan and Dawn glanced to each other with raised eyebrows. They were obviously lost about something. I cleared my throat a bit when they continued to stare at each other, as though they were having a private conversation with their eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask...what are you guys?" I asked, dying to know. They both turn their attention to me, and they smiled. They weren't evil, merely amused. They turned back to one another, shared a short glance, and nodded together as if it were some routine. They both looked back to me at the same time with their lips twitching, looking like they were trying to hold back their laughs.

Ivan spoke first. "We were wondering if you were going to ask that question. Well, since you asked. We are fallen angels,” he said proudly as he sat up. Dawn did the same, standing next to him as the both stood straight, taking superhero stances. I lifted my eyebrow, curious as to what they were doing. I jumped about a foot in the air when wings sprung out of their backs. My jaw dropped, staring in complete shock. Their wings were pure white and huge, about seven feet wide. I was sure I was dreaming. I never thought I would live the day when I saw fallen angels.

I stuttered in pure amazement. "F-fallen angels?" They both continued to smirk while they stood in all their glory. "Does that mean you both are...dead?" I had always wondered if you had to die to become an angel, or if you were born one.

Ivan shook his head a little, putting his wings away and sat on the couch next to me. "Well, technically we were never alive. But if you would like to put it that way, yes. We cannot die unless we become human."

My eyebrows furrowed, remembering a similar situation when I watched the movie Dogma and how the fallen angels died in that movie. "And you become human by losing your wings?" Ivan smiled at me. Dawn put away her wings and sat in one of the other chairs.

"You are a smart girl," he complimented me. I gave him a shy smirk of thanks. Desmond appeared at that point beside the couch, making me gasp and almost scream from surprise. I was [i/]not going to get used to all these super human powers all these creatures had. I stared at him for a moment, spotting something red on the side of his mouth. I shivered and I turned my eyes away, knowing what it was. Ivan pointed to the spot on his own face, telling Desmond to wipe off the excess blood on his face. He did so quickly, not wanting to scare me, which he already had.

Dawn stood up. "I presume you both will be staying here tonight,” she said, a lusty look in her eyes as she roamed over Desmond’s body, and then turned them to me with smile on her face. I glared at her, trying my best not to act jealous.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind." Desmond was either trying to make me jealous, or being naïve. Either way, it was pissing me off. Dawn's smile widened and went to stand next to him, her eyes looking at me all the while.

Ivan replied, "No, not at all. But we don't have enough rooms for you both to sleep separately. We weren't expecting company.”

Dawn chirped in and said, “Ivan, you can sleep out on the couch for the night, right?" Ivan’s eyebrows furrowed, a lost look crossing his features. Dawn gave him a look and a twitch of her eyebrow, and I think she sent a glance to me, and then back to him. He nodded his head, a small smirk twitching the sides of his mouth. He shook his head a little as he grabbed a pillow, already getting ready for bed.

"Grace can sleep in Ivan's room." Dawn's voice was changing into a lower tone. I bit my lip, feeling anger beginning to boil inside of me. Desmond looked down at her for a moment, and I think he was giving the same lost look as Ivan had. He took a few glances back and forth between Dawn and me. He did it a few more times before keeping his eyes on me. By this time her hands had found his arm, caressing him.

His eyes stayed on me as he said, "I'll stay with her in Ivan's room. I'm not leaving her alone. It would be too risky otherwise." I was almost bouncing with joy on the inside. As long as he wasn't staying with Dawn, I was okay. Dawn sent me a look that told me I better watch my back. It was times like these where I wished I had Desmond's gun so I could shoot off her pretty little wings.

I followed Desmond down the short hall and reached what I assumed was Ivan's room. He opened the door for me, letting me walk into the room before he did. I took a glance around the room and smiled. It was a normal size room, just like mine back home. I sighed at the sight of the bed. It looked so comfy. I immediately walked over to the bed and laid down on it. I closed my eyes and I sighed loudly, feeling my tired eyes give in. I opened one when I heard Desmond walk over to the chair in the corner and take a seat.

I sat up on my elbow and I stared at him. "Aren't you going to sleep?" I was a little upset that he was keeping his distance from me, even though he had just eaten.

He shook his head. "No, I've already slept today. You go ahead and get some sleep. Plus, I think Dawn has a grudge against you and might try to do something to you while you sleep. I'll make sure she doesn't do anything," he said, ending with a smirk.

I sighed, and my eyes dropped to the sheets. "You noticed, too?" I asked in a bit of a pouting voice.

He smirked, holding back a chuckle. "It's kind of hard not to. She is envious of you because I've never hung around one girl for very long. I'm usually a one-night stand kind of guy." I rolled my eyes and plopped back down on the bed. He laughed at my exasperated reaction.

"Figures," I muttered, bringing the sheets closer to me.

Little did we know…there was someone else other than the four of us in the house.