A thousand memories... {Open}

[LUKE ANDREW JOHNSON]

Today hadn't been one of the best of nights. As usual Luke wasn't really up to doing much, not that he was lazy or anything, there was just nothing that he could do. All his friends had left town for a bit, a little hunt was going on somewhere and every spot had been filled by the time Luke had found out anything about it. So here he was, in the dead of night, walking along the beach in the brown suit that he always wore.

Stopping he glanced out at the sea, the tide seemed quite low today, it had never been like that before. Sighing Luke turned around and walked back the way he came, tonight was one of the worst nights ever. That wasn't the main thing that seemed wrong with today though, sure the tide was a bit of a worry, and yeah there wasn't any vampires around town at the moment, but what really mattered was that Luke missed all the stuff he took for granted as a human. Food, drink... Sunlight... Closing his eyes Luke tilted his head to face the sky, the cold wind hitting his face.

[demi]

Today had been pretty great for Bella O'Shea. It was one of her days off, and the weather had been great. She'd spent most of the time in her front garden trying to top up her tan. It had worked a little, and Bella would just have to be happy that she'd had the day off. She'd seen many people, including her dad, go off to work this morning, or afternoon, or evening. Bella had gone in around 3 so that she could get some food and she ended up reading, not putting the book down until she heard her dad get in at just after 5.

In all honestly, Bella was twenty and should probably be looking for her own house or apartment, but she knew her parents didn't mind her living with them. she was a useful baby-sitter whenever her parents wanted to go out. She could cook pretty well, and she didn't mind doing any spare jobs that needed to be done at the house. And anyway, she chipped in with the bills so it wasn't like she wasn't useful in the house.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she decided that it was late enough for her to go to bed. She hadn't been too productive today, but somehow it'd worn her out. A few seconds after her head hit the pillow, Bella was asleep.

But apparently it wasn't Bella's night. She woke up in the dead of the night after a bad dream. She glanced at the clock next to her bead. It was early in the morning, but Bella was now very much awake. With a small groan, she got out of bed and put on a pair of trackies and a t shirt, grabbing the large hoodie she adored as she tiptoed out of her room and to the front door, only stopping to slip her shoes on.

She made her way to the beach. She didn't really know why, but it was as though something was pulling her there, and she didn't retaliate. The beach was nice, and at this time it was bound to be empty. She pulled the sleeves of her hoodie down so that they covered her hands as she looked up at the sky momentarily. The stars were out and the moon was almost full. It was a pretty site and it made her smile. Smiling to herself, she made her way to the beach. However, she almost didn't notice the figure already there.

[LUKE ANDREW JOHNSON]

Luke hadn't been concentrating on what was going on around him, instead he was just thinking about some things; his mind seemed to be wandering into a dream, perhaps he was falling asleep? Well that was unlikely, even with his eyes closed the the fact he was a vampire was stopping him, no one could sleep after death. It all seemed to be bringing memories back to him, memories of him playing soccer on the beach with his friends, good times... Times that were gone.

Then something struck him like a slap to the face, a scent, the strong scent of a human heading his way, female by the smell of things. Sharply turning his head to face where the scent was coming from Luke smiled. "A little snack," his voice was sharp and cold like ice, no emotion in it whatsoever, "how lovely..." Turning his entire body to face the girl Luke began walking towards her, "you shouldn't be wandering around at this time, what with all the vampires around..."

Grinning Luke held out his hand as he continued to make his way towards her, "the name is Luke Johnson, pleasure to meet you." He had one plan in mind, the girl would take his hand and he would feed on her blood, the warm red liquid that would no doubt be a lot more wonderful coming from this girl, she seemed so fresh. Of course if that didn't work then the hunt would begin.

[demi]

Had the temperature dropped? Probably not, but Bella pulled her sleeves down and crossed her arms. And that's when she saw him. She hadn't expected to see anyone out here so the sight of this stranger stopped her dead in her tracks. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking up as far as she could tell in the dim light that was coming from the streetlamp around 100 meters in the direction she'd just come from.

She'd been silent, but he seemed to realize that she was there, and he turned to face her. A smile crept onto his lips and a shiver went down her spine. "you shouldn't be wandering around at this time, what with all the vampires around..."[/i] He said, and started towards her.

It was then that she understood what he was. Her arms uncrossed and went into her pockets. Her eyes however stayed fixed on his face, unwilling to move even if she'd wanted them to. Her fingers fumbled around in her pockets until she came across what she'd been hoping was in there. She pulled out a long silver chain, and suddenly her own smiled was a mirror of his. "Did you think that just because I'm blonde, I'm an idiot?" She asked.

She wrapped the long glistening chain around her neck and let it hang down to her waist. She didn't know too much about vampires. Well, she was pretty sure she didn't know a lot of truth about vampires. As far as she had believed growing up, vampires needed special rings to go out in the sunlight and powerful ones couldn't cross water. She knew that wasn't true and she should probably stop reading these books.

His hand outstretched as if to take her own, and her breathing hitched. She knew what she wanted to do. After all, the books had got one thing right. He was stunning. But she knew that taking his hand would probably not be the best idea in the world. She suddenly found herself unable to stop and her hand connected with his. "Bella." She introduced herself to him, unable to say more.

[LUKE ANDREW JOHNSON]

Luke snarled slightly when she pulled out the chain and wrapped it around herself, he almost took a step backwards but stopped himself when he felt their hands connect. He took a quick sniff and then suddenly jerked his hand away and shot backwards, "Bella... It's a pleasure..." His eyes tightened slightly as he carefully checked her out body wise, "You're the first..." His voice was now a mutter that was barely audible even to vampires.

Carefully taking a step forward he smiled, a grin that the Cheshire cat would be proud of, his hands now down by his sides and his fangs still not out. "You can lose the chain, I assure you that you will not come to any harm by anyone, including myself." His smile turned into a frown and very carefully and slowly he took another step forward.

Turning his head to the side Luke glanced back towards the sea, "Magnificent isn't it. Not just the sea but life itself. Although i'm sure those people who have compared vampires to that Cullen family from those books don't find life that it exciting anymore... That is, of course, if they are still alive after saying such things..." His head shot back to face Bella, "Are you afraid?"

[demi]

Bella's parents were going to freak when she got back. Maybe she should think about getting her own place soon... Wait, why was she even thinking about this. She was in close proximity to an extremely looking vampire and she was wondering about getting her own place. Bella you idiot.

"You're the first..."[/i] She heard him say, but he never finished it. What was he going to say? She was the first what? His choice of words confused him and she wished she could know what the end of that sentence might be.

"You can lose the chain, I assure you that you will not come to any harm by anyone, including myself."[/i] If ever Bella was stuck between a rock and a hard place, it would be now. On one hand, she believed him one hundred percent. He wouldn't hurt her. Why would he want to? But then she realised why she'd put it on in the first place. He was a vampire and he could kill her if he wanted to. She was safer with the chain on. But did he want to hurt her? All these questions were swimming around her head, making it almost impossible to form a proper answer. "I, err," She what? She didn't know and her heartbeat increased as he stepped another step closer to her. She swallowed, and tried another attempt to answer. "How can I be sure? I mean you're like a vampire, and you drink blood, and I'm full of it, and..." She was babbling and she knew it, but she couldn't stop herself now. It was all coming out, everything she was thinking.

She managed to shut herself up as Luke started talking, not looking at her, but towards the sea, which was where she had planned on going. So much for clearing her head. Cullen family. How ironic. She'd never seen the obvious connection before, Bella was a pretty common name these days anyway. But she saw it now, as if it was a neon sign a meter away from her, flashing in bright colours. "Are you afraid?"[/i] He asked suddenly, turning back to face her. She started to answer, but her words were caught in her throat. Was she scared? No. She was surprised at the speed in which her answer was formed. She should be scared. This was the first time she'd been alone with a vampire in her life. But somehow she wasn't scared, wasn't afraid of him. There was something there, a spark maybe, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "No." She answered him, pretty sure of herself.

[LUKE ANDREW JOHNSON]

“Vampire or not I would not be able to hurt you, I wouldn't allow myself...” Luke smiled briefly but then almost instantly frowned, “I do drink blood, indeed I do drink human blood, it would not be very natural for me not to. I will not harm you.” Taking another step forward Luke raised his hand to the level of Bella's chest, his palm facing towards her body, the only thing preventing him from touching her was the chain. Even through the gap between his hand and her chest Luke could feel her heart beating, his eyes tightening as the feeling shot through him like a stake driving through his own heart.


“You say you are not afraid, and yet you won't remove that chain.” Luke lowered the positioning of his hand so it was now facing her stomach, there was something about this girl that sent a jolt of excitement through him, a thrill that he had never experienced before. “If I was going to hurt you then I could have done it when you wasn't aware of me, I could easily have come up behind you and killed you instantly...” With the last word Luke darted behind Bella quicker than a human could blink and let his fangs come out, his mouth was now by her neck in the exact position he would have used to drain her blood. “I could've done it, but I did not, and I will not...” Luke's eyes closed as he smiled and wrapped his right arm around her body so his palm was facing her stomach again being really careful not to touch the chain, “I promise that I won't hurt you, now please, remove this chain...”

[demi]

Bella stood frozen, she hadn't moved since she'd realised that she wasn't alone. Had it only been a few minutes ago? It felt like a lifetime. Not that she bothered. Time has ceased to mean much to her tonight. She felt like she couldn't move, even if she'd wanted to.

Her eyes followed his hand as it hovered over her chest; her heart. In theory this was nothing, but she saw his eyes tighten and and she stopped breathing. A shock went through her body, but it was one of thrill. This was new, exciting, maybe dangerous. This wasn't what Bella was normally like, but she liked it.

“You say you are not afraid, and yet you won't remove that chain.”[/i] He made perfect sense, and if Bella wasn't frozen she might have taken it off. But she still couldn't move, only her eyes, which followed his hand down to her stomach. He kept speaking. She kept still. It was as simple as that. Or so it seemed.

One instant he was there, his hand lingering and her eyes watching, and the next he was no where to be seen. But she could feel him, and she suddenly regained her speech, her movement, everything she'd lost while she'd been watching him. Even though she could move, she didn't dare, with his teeth millimeters away from her neck. One wrong move and she could be dead, although he reassured her that it wouldn't happen. His arm snaked around her as she finally spoke. She turned in his hold so that she faced him, having to look up to see his face they were so close. "Ok." Was all she said, but it would be enough for him. Slowly, she reached one of her hands up and took the chain off from around her neck and returned it to her pocket, her eyes never leaving his.

[LUKE ANDREW JOHNSON]

Luke watched as she took the chain off and put it back into her pocket, his eyes were fixed onto hers, he wasn't blinking or moving them in any way, he just continued to stare. “Very good...” Now that she was facing him and the chain had gone Luke placed his hand on her back and raised the other to her lips, his fingers carefully pressed on them. Laughing he began to slowly move his hand from her lips down to her cheek never leaving contact with her skin, “Tell me, what is it like for you to be in my presence, the presence of a vampire... the presence of a vampire who not only has got his fangs out but is also touching you...” Luke smiled as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, “I must say that I personally find this quite interesting, and extraordinary, of course a vampire falling in love with a human at first sight is not uncommon... Take Edward Cullen for example, or for a realistic approach there is First Lieutenant William Thomas Compton....”

Sighing Luke removed his hands from Bella's body and slowly turned around to face away from her, finally breaking his stare at her. Slowly walking away Luke spoke again, this time his voice was as icy as his skin, “It is wrong for me to say that, you are a mortal who has many opportunities that lay before her... I on the other hand no longer require anything...” Stopping Luke turned to face the sea again and took a step towards it, “My family is gone, my life ended a day before the second great war was declared over, most of my friends had died before me...” Luke quickly wiped a tear of blood from his eye with the sleeve of his shirt, “I must apologize, it is a difficult subject for me to talk about...”