"You've kept me waiting a long time." She said with a grin, like she knew who I was. I had no recollection of ever meeting her before, though, and I had no idea of what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." I apologized anyway, nodding my head politely. Her smile grew wider. Who was this little girl? She stood there so confidently, probably not even five feet tall. The aura that she gave off was so bright and pure; nothing that I had ever experienced before. She was so cheerful that I even began to feel happy, the best I had been in a long time.

She extended her hand out for me to take, not saying a word. Without hesitation, I grabbed it. I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't care. This small girl had given me hope, something I hadn't felt in centuries. She must have been some kind of angel.

She led me out the door, whipping a compact umbrella out of her purse. Popping the thing open, she reached up to try and shield both her and myself from the rain, not able to get the umbrella over my head. I took it from her and held it over top of us as we walked.

"I'm Alice." She said, keeping a firm grasp on my other hand. She swerved back and forth around the puddles that were on the sidewalk, not wanting to get her shoes wet.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice." I told her, "My name is…"

"Jasper Whitlock." She cut me off, smiling up at me, "I know."

I shook my head in disbelief. "How did you…"

"Psychic." She cut me off again, tapping her head with her pointer finger, "I see the future."

"And I was in your future?" I asked. She nodded.

"What exactly did you see?" I wondered. Alice didn't answer, keeping her stare straight ahead. I decided to let it drop. We rounded a corner, and walked a little ways until Alice made a sudden stop in front of a motel.

"You want to get out of the rain?" she looked up at me. I could feel that she didn't like being out here in the wetness, so I nodded yes. I closed the umbrella before walking inside. The place was pretty nice. There was classical music playing, and I could smell the chlorine from a nearby pool.

"I'll get us a room." She told me, and then skipped over to the front desk. I followed right behind her, leaning against the counter. As I stood there waiting for Alice, I let my mind wander. I watched the receptionist behind the desk, envisioning my mouth at his neck. I hadn't fed in quite a while, and I knew that I was running a risk at being this close. I'd have to wait until it got darker out. Oh, but imagine the sweet taste! The warm liquid running down my throat! I was completely lost in my fantasy by the Alice finished up, so I jumped when she tapped my arm.

"Room 148." She said, grabbing my hand. We found the room, unlocked the door, and entered. There was one queen sized bed with the generic floral bedspread, and curtains that matched. Cheap paintings hung on the wall, and a small TV that set on a dresser. I sighed, closing the door.

"Hey, look!" she squealed, picking up a flier from the nightstand, "There's going to be a dance tonight!"

She held up the bright pink paper for me to see. "Wanna go?"

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea." I explained, "I'm kind of thirsty. I'm going to go out later."

I was suddenly hit with a wave of her disappointment.

"Oh." She frowned, then grabbed the remote control and flipped the TV. She jumped onto the bed, laying on her stomach and kicking her feet in the air as she clicked through the channels.

"Check the weather." I said as I took a seat beside her.

"Oh, it will be dry tomorrow. Perfect for travel." She smiled over at me.

"And you saw that with your… power?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Now, where exactly are we going?" I questioned. She sighed, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She crossed her thin legs into a pretzel and looked at me.

"I saw this coven of three males and two females, and I saw us joining them. So I found you, and now we're on our way to go find them up in California." She told me, "But they're a little different. See, they feed on animals instead of humans."

"Why?" I grimaced. I had had animal blood before, and it was less than enjoyable. She shrugged.

"It's a human preservation, save-the-species kind of thing." I watched Alice slide herself off of the bed, standing not even a foot away.

"You want to do something fun?" she asked.

"Umm," she didn't let me finish. She took my hands from my lap and pulled me onto my feet. Then she climbed up onto bed, taking me with her. She started jumping, not letting go of my hands. My arms waved up and down with the rest of her body, while I just stood there.

"Come one!" she encouraged. The rays of delight radiating off of her were irresistible, and I gave in. I felt my mouth crack into a grin for the first time in I don't know how long as we bounced simultaneously up and down. Alice's giggle was infectious, and I joined in the laughter. My mood was at an absolute high. We lost track of time while we jumped, until something in the bed frame cracked. We both stopped.

"Oops." She cringed at the sound. I got off of the bed and composed myself, looking out the window. It was dark enough now that I could go out.

"I should probably…" my voice trailed off, and I thumbed toward the door.

Alice nodded. "You'll come back, right?"

I already knew that I would. Where else would I go? I didn't exactly have a home. Plus, this Alice… there was just something about her. She was like a magnet, drawing me in. It intrigued me.

"Shouldn't you already know?" I teased, still feeling playful. I saw her smile just before I closed the door.

The rain had eased up into a light drizzle, but it was still enough to soak me as I wandered the street. Some cars passed me as I walked, and I saw the passengers staring back at me, the freak without an umbrella. I snickered to myself, and then stopped suddenly at the entrance of an alleyway, where I heard the delicious heartbeat of my chosen victim.

There was a man that was dumping something into the trash Dumpster down there. I stalked toward him in the shadows, not making one sound. Then the wind blew, and his scent smacked me straight in the face. I went into hyper drive, my mind lost to the thirst. The human had no chance. My hands were already snapping his neck before he could even blink. I pierced the flesh easily, and our poured the blood. I sucked at the throat vigorously; I couldn't pull away. I didn't want to. The blood's warmth felt good, almost comforting, not to mention the taste. It only got better and better. I was on cloud nine. It wasn't long before I drained the body completely, my thirst having been satisfied. I discarded the body and headed back to the motel. There was a little store that I passed on the way back that sold suits and dresses. It reminded me of Alice and the dance. I hated that I had disappointed her earlier, and the window display gave me an idea.

I walked into the store, shaking the rain from my hair. There was a little dark violet dress hanging from a rack that looked perfect for Alice, with frills and sparkles. I took it, then picked something out for myself. The place was completely empty apart from the woman at the checkout and I. I loitered around, trying to plan my escape, when the telephone rang. As soon as the woman turned her back to me, I flew full speed out the door. It wasn't far to the motel from here, but I kept up the pace to keep the clothes from getting wet. I slowed to human speed when I reached the safety of the motel's front canopy, strolling through the doors and down the hall to our room. I could hear music and chatter coming from somewhere in the distance, and I figured that that was the dance. I was about halfway to the room when the door swung open. Alice pranced toward me merrily, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. My body froze, tense at the sudden contact, but then loosened up when I felt Alice's mood. I put my free arm around her lightly, barely touching her.

"Thank you!" she squeaked. So much for the surprise. She took the dress from my hand and ran back to the room excitedly. By the time I had gotten in there, she already had it on. I watched Alice twirl in front of the mirror that was attached to the closet. Her perfect smile made her nose crinkle up, and her big eyes sparkled in the frame of a set of thick eyelashes.

"What do you think?" she asked, twirling around for me like my own personal ballerina.

"Beautiful." I said without a second thought. She smiled in delight. If only she knew that I wasn't talking about the dress, but about her. Her eyes lit up at my response, and I noticed the odd golden color that they were. This was the first time I had really looked at them, and they were nothing like the normal vampire red that I was accustomed to.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are your eyes like that?" I questioned. She looked confused before the light bulb clicked in her head.

"I figure it's because of my diet." She informed, "Your eyes are red because you feed on humans. Well, I feed on animals."

"You too?" I asked. She shrugged.

"If we're going to live with a coven like that, I figured that I'd start working on it early."

She had a point. I nodded, discontinuing the conversation, and headed to the bathroom to change. When I came out in my suit, I caught Alice dancing around the room. She gracefully twirled toward me causing the dress to lift as she spun, exposing her thigh. I couldn't help but notice; she had very nice legs.

"Let's go!" her voice was bubbly with excitement as she grabbed my hand. I intertwined our fingers as we strolled down the long corridor, locking her hand in mine. I could feel it- I was under her spell. There was an unfamiliar spring in my step as I walked, and I liked it.

We reached the ballroom, and the majority of the guests were married couples that ranged from middle-aged to the elderly. This didn't seem to affect Alice what-so-ever as she made her way to the dance floor. The mood of the place was relatively calm, so I thought it would be fun to liven them up a bit. I knew Alice would like it. Someone changed the music to a quicker tune as I sent out a wave of enthusiasm to all of the uneventful humans.

I heard Alice giggle as she dragged me out in the middle of the crowd, turning around to face me. The bright smile never left her face as she twisted and turned, spinning circles around me. We were definitely attracting attention. People were getting out of our way to let us have our own space, while others stopped dancing altogether to watch us. I tried to hold my own, but I felt like nothing compared to the elegance and beauty that was Alice. She was glowing.

The evening carried on until midnight. I could have easily stayed all night with Alice by my side, but they switched off the music and everyone left. It was probably for the better, considering that the humans were becoming hot with all the activity. Their sweating made their scent strong, and I could practically hear each individual heart racing with excitement. Alice seemed completely oblivious, like she didn't even notice. She just kept dancing.

We went back to the hotel room then. I changed out of my suit, but Alice kept her dress on. She said she liked it too much.

"So, did you enjoy yourself?" she asked me as I sat myself on the bed. I leaned my back on the headboard and folded my legs.

"Yes, I did. Thank you." I said as Alice tossed the TV remote to me. She looked confused.

"For what?"

"I don't know, really." I couldn't figure out how to put it into words. This little girl made it feel like she had erased everything of my sketchy past and gave me a future. I had hope, and I was looking forward to my new life with Alice. There was no way that I could express the amount of appreciation that I had toward her. She giggled.

"Well, you're welcome." She climbed onto the bed then and plopped herself into my lap like a child. I noticed that she wasn't really shy about that kind of stuff. I also noticed that I hadn't tensed up like I normally would have. This girl had softened me up. I couldn't exactly put my finger on what her emotion was, but it was comforting, almost warm and fuzzy. I reflected the feeling as I wrapped my arms around her. All of my guards had been let down, yet I felt completely safe with Alice here in my arms. I felt whole. It was like I had been a puzzle, and she was the missing piece that no one could find. Alice completed my picture.