Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to know Andy Douglas or Chase Stevens. However, if TNA wanted to give them to me, I wouldn't complain. :P No trademark or copy write infringement is intended. I make no money off of this story, but the idea as well as original characters still belongs to me. So now, enjoy!
She stared out at the action going on all around her. Standing in the shadows, she was unfazed by the cold and darkness. In fact, she preferred the dark. Her deep blue eyes took in every detail around her. Her keen eyesight allowed her to see what no other would have. She was still new to this way of life… No, that's not right, she wasn't living anymore, and it was merely a way of being. Everything she did was to survive. Feeding, lurking on this earth, fighting, it was all she could do now. If she let her guard down, she would feel the sadness creep in. Her sire had told her emotions would be the hardest to rid herself of from her former life.
She thought back to that night. It had been only ten years ago, just a second for one of her kind. She had looked into his eyes and had been unable to resist his appeal. From his dirty blond hair, to his grey eyes to his deep voice to the way he had seduced her. She had been powerless to stop any of it. Not even her love of her family had been able to pull her back. When he had finally revealed what he was, she had been too far gone to really care. They had discussed Changing her for awhile before it actually happened. It had been the hardest decision she had ever made: choosing between the love of her family and her love of him. Her family thought she had simply disappeared, and never heard from again. Except for one…
The music was blaring from the club she stood just inside of. Anytime they met, it was always a place like this, at ten minutes till three. A very strange time, but it held meaning for them, besides she wasn't looking to explain herself to anyone. Those days were over. She glanced at her watch, the one item she still held from her other life, and saw she still had ten minutes left before he showed up. Glancing around with a sick smile on her face, she briefly thought of feeding, but discarded the idea as she seen the options before her. And she knew how he felt about witnessing it. Her sharp teeth shone in the darkness as she remembered the one time he had seen her with a conquest. To see the strong and sometimes hotheaded man she had once called her brother cry had almost been enough to appeal to her still lingering human side to let him go… almost. She had simply hidden the body of the mere mortal until Andy had left, then she'd fed upon his body. The blood had been cold but it had deluded the alcohol that the man had consumed prior to his extinction.
She paid no attention to any of the patrons in the club, knowing her chances of discovery in a place like this where slim. Even if she were found out she had no doubt that she could wipe the entire place out within a couple of moments. But none of that concerned her right then. Her eyes had locked onto her brother's. It almost felt strange to call him that. Her sire had tried to force her to let go of all ties to her former life, and for the most part she had. But she had been unable to let go of her older brother. She had attributed it to the fact that he understood, as impossible as that would be for some. His fascination with her kind allowed him to be more open. Thus, why she continued to break the rules by meeting him at least once a year, more if time and circumstances permitted it.
The creature of the night felt someone lean against the wall closest to her. She knew by the heartbeat immediately who it was. His voice only confirmed it with his next words.
"If I were to hug you, would I get bitten?" It was his usual smart assed comment when they saw each other.
"Perhaps. It has been almost a day since I last fed, and I'm still a newborn in this world. I find it very hard to control the urge to eat. So, the risk is yours to take."
Ignoring her comments, Andy reached over and hugged her. It seemed very strange for him to do so to someone that, by all rights, was dead. Her skin was ice cold but he resisted the instinct to let go. These moments were so far between, and he knew that one day she would stop coming to him. That this would be all he'd have to hold onto of his baby sister. No one, not even his best friend Chase knew where he went on these visits. No one could understand. Sometimes, he was hard pressed to really understand how his fun loving sister could be the same as the creature in his arms now. At times, he wanted to kill the little bastard that had stolen her from him, and other times he was almost jealous.
Andy never told how his fascinations with vampires had gotten started, mainly because no one knew of Chloe and those that did didn't know what end she had truly met. So, he had passed it off as just a hobby, but in reality it was a small way he could feel like he was close to his sister again.
He tried not to be hurt when she didn't return the hug he offered, but it was hard to hide it. Releasing her, Andy took the time to get a good look at her. Physically, Chloe still looked like the sixteen year old she'd been. Her once healthy and glowing skin was now almost a transparent white, her lips no longer smiled, but it was her eyes that always shocked him the most. Her once bright, happy go lucky eyes were now dull, cold, and lifeless. Now she only wore black where once she had loved colors. He was shocked each time he seen her, even though he knew what he would find. But, sometimes if he looked hard enough, he could catch glimpses of who she used to be. Though, those times were getting few and farther between.
They stood silently, just watching each other. It was how most of their stolen time together was spent. She knew she couldn't tell him what she had been doing and he knew she had no interest in human life any longer, so neither wasted their breath. Instead, they just looked, and communicated on a different level, one, that if any were to ask Chloe, she would deny existed for her. Blue and brown eyes exchanged information lips could not. Finally, he asked the question that had been on his mind since he found out about her, only months after The Change, as she called it.
"Chloe, why not Change me, too? Then I could take care of you." His eyes were desperate. It got harder and harder to see her walk away and wonder if he'd ever see her again.
But she shook her head. "I cannot Change you, brother. It is against our laws. Your desire to protect others is only inherent to your mortality, as is all emotions. If another of my kind were to give you The Change, you would lose them. We could very well end up enemies instead of what we are now."
Try as he might, Andy couldn't stop the bitterness from seeping into his voice. "And what are we now, Chloe? Two souls that met once a year for a while or a brother who was torn apart from his baby sister?"
She watched him silently for a moment, unsure of how to reply. In the ten years since she'd been Changed, they had never discussed her former mortality. It was taboo for her to even be there. Her kind was not permitted to do anything but feed off of mortals, and here she was talking to one about things none were supposed to know. When she spoke, there was a hint of lingering compassion in her voice for the first time, a slight look of love in her otherwise dead eyes.
"Andy, I am sorry. You shouldn't know the things I've told you, nor should you have seen the things I know you have." She could feel a sense of sorrow as she looked at the man before her.
"Just so you know, Chloe, I could kill him for doing this to you. You should be able to enjoy your life. Fuck, you should be living! Not trapped into a world of darkness."
A hint of a smile graced her otherwise emotionless face. Her older brother had always had a temper and was one to act first and question later. She knew his hotheadedness served him well in his profession, but outside of it, he tended to stay in trouble. "I know you would try, big brother. And for that, a part of me thanks you. Now I must go. There is a long way to safety and not a lot of time to get there."
He nodded sadly, but before she could leave, he placed a hand on her arm and said. "Is this the last time I'll see you?"
She didn't turn around but answered quietly, "I do not know."
Fighting not to punch something, or someone, he said in a somewhat desperate voice. "I love you Chloe. No matter what else, I always will."
She had told him from their very first meeting that there would come a day when she could no longer return those words to him and he feared that today was the day. However a soft, almost inaudible sound reached his ears. It came in the voice Chloe used to use with him when she was scared or hurt.
"I love you, too, Andy."
She was gone so fast; he almost thought he had been imagining her there. Bowing his head in sadness, he whispered into the air, "I miss you."
A/N: This idea wouldn't leave me alone to let me work on the promised chapter of 'House of Cards' so I had to write it. So, what did you think? Keep in mind this is my first attempt as darker fan fictions. As always constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks for reading!
(Now, everyone go PM Phoenix to get her and her co author to update Immortal Truth. Well, after she stops bouncing. :D)
