Stake Through My Heart

Harry stepped into the snowy street and looked up at the sky, breathing in the crisp evening air and admiring the stars, revealed by this rare cloudless night. It wasn't often that the clouds disappeared, and sometimes it felt like it would snow forever, but tonight the city was a winter wonderland. He decided against taking a cab, and walked the streets instead, relishing the crunching of his boots in the snow, and noting the dim halos around the streetlights in the nights. His breath puffed around his face in white clouds, so cold was it, but the brisk pace he help kept him from freezing. He enjoyed the outdoors more than the stuffy interiors, no matter how cold it was.

Suddenly a blood curdling scream pierced the air and a chill ran down his spine. He froze in his tracks, trying to gauge where it had come from, thinking that it sounded too much like a horror movie for his liking. After a moment, another scream was heard, and this time he could clearly tell that it came from a woman. His natural instinct as a man kicked in, and he ran in the direction of the sound, his fear completely forgotten.

As he ran he could hear muffled wails growing louder, and as he turned a corner he saw a struggle taking place in the shadows. He ran closer, shouting, and for a moment the tangle stopped, revealing a man clutching a woman tightly by her throat. In his other hand he held an object that he stuffed into his pocket too quickly for Harry to see what it was. The woman's eyes were wide open with terror, and her mouth in an `o' of distress, but her air was cut off now and she couldn't make a sound anymore.

Harry ran towards the man and shouldered him out of the way, elbowing him in the face as soon as he released his grip on the woman. The man turned and ran, disappearing into the dark.

Harry knelt down next to the woman who was now sprawling in the snow. She was clutching her throat, but scrambled to her feet, and when he checked to see if she was alright he was relieved to see that the choking hadn't left any bruises. In the combination of the moonlight and a streetlamp he paid closer attention to her, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Pitch black hair framed a milky white face and ice blue eyes fluttered from under thick lashes. He wrote down his details for her, and insisted on taking hers. He had to see her again.

The next morning Harry phoned her, Veronica he'd found out her name was, to make sure she was alright. She seemed a little detached from the conversation, but it was understandable, considering that she'd been attacked the night before. He urged her to see someone about it. She politely thanked him and ended the conversation.

A few days later, Harry found he couldn't get Veronica off his mind. He'd been thinking about her since that night, and he gave in to the urge to phone her again. She answered and spoke to him in the same detached way she had before, and declined his offer to take her out to coffee. He found it a little disappointing, but kept on trying until finally, two weeks later, she agreed.

They got on better face to face, and Harry was sure that it was because she was nervous of men now, her jittery actions in the café where they met after dark one evening being quite prominent. Still, conversation flowed and by the end of the night she phoned him to thank him for taking her out and distracting her a bit. She was taking the assault harder than she expected, she admitted.

As time carried on Veronica and Harry spent more and more time together, and he couldn't help but fall in love with her. There was something about her that just set her apart from other women. She was driven and ambitious, and inexplicably confident, something he had never seen in a woman before. She must have known that she was beautiful, but she wasn't vain, and he found this quality rare. The only thing that bothered him about her was that she never seemed to relax around him, even if they were alone, and she was so busy with work, although she was vague about what she did, that only met up with him on the odd evening. Nevertheless, his feelings for her grew stronger every time they met, and one night he confessed to her that he'd fallen for her.

Her face grew somber as she looked into his eyes, and told him that despite the fact that she had developed feelings for him too, it will never work, for reasons she was unwilling to explain, even though he pleaded with her to at least tell him why she didn't think he was good enough. When he couldn't get any more out of her, she left his apartment and left him behind with a broken heart.

One morning, shortly after Veronica had rejected him, there was a knock on Harry's door, and when he opened it, he answered to a man that looked vaguely familiar. He claimed to be there about issues regarding tax, but when he was seated inside Harry's living room he started on something completely different.

This man, Jack, was a vampire slayer, and he was there to warn Harry that Veronica was a vampire. Harry refused to believe it, and argued with Jack threatening to throw him out, but then, as Jack kept pointing out things like the fact that she never met anyone in daylight, and she was increasingly jittery in public places, he started to piece together where he'd seen this man. It was the man who had assaulted Veronica on the night they met. Anger bubbled through Harry's veins when he realized this, but something about the way that Jack was talking about Veronica make Harry stop in his tracks. Long after Jack had left Harry was still sitting in his chair, trying to make sense of what he'd been told. He stared at the piece of paper he'd left of the coffee table with his number, should Harry feel the need to call him.

Veronica contacted Harry a week or so later, asking if they could still meet and talk as always. She knew she was asking a lot, but she enjoyed spending time with him, and even though they couldn't be together, she didn't want to lose him. She still wanted him in her life. After what Jack had told him, Harry was reluctant to have anything more to do with Veronica, but he decided to see her and gauge for himself how much of this was true. He met up with her at their usual café, talking about all sorts of things. She noticed that he was distant, and asked twice if he was alright, but he claimed fatigue and paid close attention to her. When they left the café, Harry pressed Veronica against a wall in a dark alley and pulled up her upper lip before she could say or do anything. His body went cold as he saw two long fangs, and she turned her face away closing her eyes. He stood back, and pulled out his phone, phoning Jack. He held Veronica by the wrist, gently so as not to make her weary, and only half-listened when she tried to explain herself

Jack was there quicker than he thought was possible, and when Veronica realized what had happened terror racked her body and her eyes looked at Harry pleadingly as Jack roughly grabbed her and pulled a stake from his pocket. Harry, not having expected that Jack would execute her on the spot, suddenly realized what he'd done. He stood there, helpless, as he knew that Jack would kill her, and he would be to blame, and the love he had for her suddenly overwhelmed him with such strength that the pain in her eyes became unbearable. He turned, and fought Jack off instead, catching the man off guard. Jack knocked Veronica's head against the wall, causing her to black out. Then he turned on Harry, and they jumped each other. They tumbled to the ground, wrestling and punching in the snow, and after a struggle that carried on for what felt like an eternity, Harry finally managed to knock Jack out. He crawled over to Veronica, and picked her up, limping in the darkness to his apartment, keeping to the shadows as much as he could. He sat by her, holding her hand until she started coming round. When she opened her eyes, terror rippled through her body all over again, but he held her and whispered softly to her, apologizing for the mistake he'd made and telling her that he loved her, and would protect her from anyone if she'd have him. He didn't care that she was a vampire; he just wanted to be with her. As he fear subsided and she realized he was serious, and not out to harm her again, she accepted him.

Chapter 1
Harry comes across an assault on his way home, and saves a woman from a man trying to kill her. She's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen and he has to get to know her better. He insists until she gives in.

Chapter 2
They start spending time with each other, and develop strong feelings for each other, but when Harry tells her that he loves her and he wants to be with her, she refuses him, saying that she can't be with him even though she loves him too, and she won't give him a reason why.

Chapter 3
A man comes to visit Harry shortly after, under false pretenses, and then reveals that he is Veronica's attacker. He tells Harry he's actually a vampire slayer, and Veronica is a vampire. When Harry doesn't believe him, he tells him what signs to look out for.

Chapter 4
When Veronica wants to see Harry again he agrees, and starts looking for the signs Jack told him about, eventually finding out she is indeed a vampire. He calls Jack, so that she can be slayed, but as the reality of what he's done hits him, he finds he can't lose her, and he fights Jack off instead.

Chapter 5
Harry takes Veronica home and takes care of her until she's alright again, then apologizing for betraying her and tells her that he wants to be with her even though she's a vampire. He tells her he stopped Jack, and vows to always protect her from anyone and anything. She accepts him.

Characters:

Harry - Sandy colored hair, hazel eyes, quite proper, does what needs to be done, very passionate when he's in love.

Veronica - black hair, milky white skin, ice blue eyes, confident but not vain, almost regal, vampire.

Jack - dark character, looks like he has much to hide, dark hair, beady eyes, creeping attitude, means business, vampire slayer.

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