A/N: Hi, as you can see I am back in the game and I am ready to write once again. I'm really sorry for not updating lately it's just that RL has been just...crazy for me lately. So thank for the people reading this now and for others who have been patiently awaiting my new story. I'm not telling you much about it just READ & REVIEW!

I've always loved fall. I craved the feeling of the air cooling down for the year; I dwelled in the slight chill of the autumn wind. I even found myself smiling indulgently at young children dressing up as ghouls and goblins on the wicked night of Halloween. Yes, all of these things made me enjoy the season, but this year everything was different. The weather, though not as sweltering as the summer, was still hot enough to require running the air conditioner, and the only wind blowing was the kind that was fraught with humidity. The sight of trick-or-treaters just reminded me how frightening it was that dark creatures of the night , good or bad, did exist in the world. And as the last straw, I had been falling in love with one of them ever since he happened to kiss me exactly one month ago. Not for the first time, my life was screwed.

P.O.V- Sydney

"Sage," a faraway voice yelled in a whisper. It was enough to wake me from my much enjoyed, dreamless sleep. Fear instantly crept into my body as I looked around my room for intruders; I had been feeling pretty paranoid ever since my fiasco with the barbarian society of vampire haters that surprisingly included a former friend of mine. Though, he was kind of reluctant about his involvement.

"Sage!" The voice whispered again as I reluctantly pulled down my fluffy blanket and rolled out of my comfy bed. Through the disorientation, the mysterious voice became not so mysterious. Only one person called me by my last name...

"Adrian?" I called out hesitantly. I didn't dare look out the window because from my understanding we weren't exactly on speaking turns the last time I saw him. In fact, ever since that damned kiss, he had been successfully avoiding me unless it was truly important. Part of me hated him for destroying the reluctant friendship that had been growing; no matter how wrong and dysfunctional it was, it worked. Other parts of me loathed myself for not explaining, for walking away from something I really wanted. But the Alchemist in me, the majority of me, knew that succumbing to my feelings would do more harm than good, and would most likely guarantee me a one-way ticket to the re-education center.

"Yeah, Sage it's me. Come here," Adrian said in an unreadable tone that gave nothing about his state away. I started walking towards the window while pulling on a silky, red kimono-like robe over my plain black camisole and sleep shorts. As I searched for my bunny slippers under my bed, I bumped my head on my nightstand. Though the impact wasn't lethal, pain still flooded through my head. To make matters more embarrassing, during the fall my underwear drawer had burst open, and its contents were now covering my head. Why did the universe choose today for me to become clumsy, I thought as I became suddenly annoyed with myself.

"Adrian, are you still there?" I asked from my annoyingly wounded position on the floor.

There was a pause before he confirmed he hadn't left me stranded, "Yeah. Sage, what's the holdup?"

"Umm... I'm kind of tied up here." I called out and laughed bitterly at the humorless pun.

After another pause, I heard grunts and sounds of great exertion coming from the window. Listening carefully, I caught not so quiet swears coming from Adrian. "What are you doing?" I exclaimed in exasperation; I hated not being able to see what was happening; it was disabling.

"I'm coming up there," he said as if he was telling me what the weather was like outside. Great, maybe he'll be too angry at me to notice the delicacies on my head. Or if he's feeling really generous he can do me the favor of making me a paper bag to hide myself in for the rest of my life.

A knock on window interrupted my thoughts. "It's open, Adrian." I called out as I closed my eyes. There was a soft thump as he jumped onto the carpet. What is he, a vampire ninja? Was climbing the walls outside even possible? Sometimes I forgot how fast and graceful Adrian could be.

My inner sarcastic voice was silenced quickly as Adrian came closer. I couldn't see or hear him, I felt him; I felt myself react to him. My palms started to get clammy and the nerves in my stomach were becoming butterflies. The mere thought of embracing him and inhaling his expensive cologne was overwhelming.

Adrian's chuckle drew me out of my emotional turmoil. He took a few steps further and observed my embarrassingly awkward position. After analyzing the situation with a comical expression, he picked up a pair of one of my... more appealing undergarments. "A silky black bra with red lace. I thought you were a cotton briefs kind of girl."

A fiery blushed rose on my cheeks as he fingered the material with way too much interest. "Julia dragged me into Victoria Secret a week or two ago. She said it was time to get out of the kid section of K-Mart," I rambled. "I really have no use for it, and the lace is kind of itchy, but it's okay I guess. It was just a gift. You're supposed to wear gifts at least once, right? Adrian?"

"Why did you run out on me, Sage?" He whispered painfully. My attempt at avoiding confrontation had obviously failed. Royally.

"You already know why. We are two different species. And most of the time it seems as if we're in two different universes. You can do anything and you have this freedom that I would kill for. I clean up everyone else's mess, and I am forced to be who the Alchemists want me to be."

"No, that tells me nothing but what everyone else thinks. What do you think? Better yet, what do you feel?"

"What I feel?" I laugh without humor. "That is so cliché. I feel obligated to make everyone happy. I feel more at home when I am here with you guys than when I am with my own race. And I feel like...I feel like a huge jerk for leaving you standing in your apartment alone. And I'm sorry. Adrian, I'm sorry."

"Don't say you're sorry. I don't need your pity. I've got enough to last a lifetime."

"What do you want me to say, Adrian? Do you want me to say that I'll break all the rules for you? Do you want me to grovel at my knees and beg for your forgiveness? I know I messed up... I know I hurt you. But I can't give you what you want, okay!" By this point tears were stinging at my eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Maybe I just want you to say that what I'm feeling isn't one-sided. Just for one second in your life, Sage, just stop thinking about what everyone else has to say."

For some reason anger consumed me; it wasn't really him I was upset with, it was the fact that what he said was true. Once again Adrian was right. But the thing that drove me the craziest was that no matter how much I cared about him I wouldn't let myself have him; it was as if my brain couldn't comprehend my heart being in charge for once. The tears began to flow.

"I wish I could, have no idea how I much I want to, but that's not how life works for me. I have people who count on me, people who expect me to be the paragon for everyone else. And thanks to one of your kind I've already messed that up big time. You want me to just drop everything I was taught to be with you.

"And what about when you drop me for some other flavor of the month that is prettier, thinner, and just better than me. You could have anyone you wanted and you choose me. And to top it all of, I think that I'm really falling for you. God! Damn you." My once loud, enraged voice had died down to a raspy whisper. Unintentionally I had just exposed all of my deepest fears and feelings to the guy I tried to hide from, but I couldn't take anything I said back; it was the raw truth.

I couldn't really look Adrian in the eye as I heard him breathe in heavily. It was almost laughable because I had more less bared my soul to him mere seconds ago. He started to say something, but before I could decipher what he said I saw his head shake in my peripheral vision. This is it, I thought, This is the part when he tells me everything was a stupid ruse. He made a mistake in his feelings and he hopes we can still be friends or whatever we were. Don't cry Sydney. No matter what he says don't let him see you cry. It only makes things-

My thoughts were suddenly caught off as he collapsed to knees in front of me, forcing my attention back to him. "Sydney. I hate to break it to you, but those Alchemist don't give a shit about you and they sure as hell don't care about your work ethics. They only pretend to care about you because you keep your mouth shut like a good little girl and you take care of business. You know who really cares about you? Eddie, Jill, even Angeline." I looked at him in confusion at the last bit because I was sure he was include himself on the list.

"No, Sydney I don't care about you," I heard myself breathe in a large intake of air. "It's a lot more than that. Your friends care about you. I...need you, not like air, but like peanut butter and jelly. When I'm alone I'm okay and all, but when I'm with you I'm better. It's like we were made to be a pair. I would take my eyes out of their sockets just so you could see yourself the way I see you. Everything you do, whether or not its laughing at my hilarious jokes or trying to kick my ass, is beautiful. You're not perfect, but that's the best part. I love every imperfection about you, it makes you seem real when I think you're a dream half of the time."

For the first time that night I looked at him closely. He lifted his head to stare back. At that moment I gazed into his eyes and decided the sharp green hue was my favorite color from now on. Something in me begged me to look away, but I just couldn't. For a brief moment I was frightened that he was using compulsion on me, but with another look at his open face I knew he would never do anything to hurt me. The silence in the room was deafening, the tension in the room now unbearable.

I was the first one to break the silence. "Adrian." His name tumbled out of mouth in a choked whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I know that I probably don't deserve anything from you, but can you do me a favor?" He nodded his head once solemnly.

"Can we just forget everything else? All of the controversy, rules, and probable impending doom?"

"Yeah, Sage. I'd like that."

"And Adrian?"

"Hmmmm..."

"Can you stay with me, please?"

A/N: I hope you guys have a safe and great holiday! R&R. Sorry for the long wait... If you saw any errors or didn't enjoy it, it was because I posted it hastily.