AN: This story is my new baby, I just suddenly came up with this idea and had to write it down. Please review and tell me what you think!

Chapter 1. Stop&Stare

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us

It's time to make our move, I'm shakin' off the rust

I've got my heart set on anywhere but here

I'm staring down myself, counting up the years

Steady hands just take the wheel

Every glance is killing me

Time to make one last appeal

For the life I lead

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go no where

Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be, oh

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

And you'd give anything to get what's fair

But fair ain't what you really need

Oh, can you see what I see?

I was tired. Tired of running from the inevitable, it was always bound to happen and maybe it was better this way. What was I even thinking, running away from faeries. There was nowhere to even run to, even with the royal blood coursing through my veins I was still just a half-breed. I was surprised I even got this far without them catching up with me, maybe they were just humouring me, waiting for me to give up, and I was ready to do just that. I had had enough of people dying because the uprising Brigant-family haters wanted me dead. But what truly broke my resistance was the death of my parents.

I had always had a close relationship with my parents and we agreed on most things and they accepted me as I am, with my telepathy and all. I never thought that maybe my parents weren't actually my real parents. I only few years ago, after my parents had deceased, found out that my mother had had an affair with a faerie, and that he was my father by blood. I did not even know such things as faeries existed, all this I was told by my supposed grandfather, Niall Brigant, the king of faeries. He was very protective of his blood and therefore sought me out after realizing there were rebelling faeries after his descendants.

My life profoundly changed after his visit. I was running for my life, as I had no way of fighting. There was no time to teach me how to 'use my light' as Niall had put it, my best chance was to move constantly from place to place but we both knew that they would eventually catch up on me. At first I had been afraid to die, but now I was ready. I have been alone for two years, and it was exhausting, not that I wasn't used to being lonely since telepathy could be a bitch when it came to socializing but I had always had my family to back me up.

I grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. After Niall's visit I travelled around the USA and finally Europe. Numerous countries, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, England, Denmark, Sweden and so on. And now I was back in Shreveport, it was really just an attempt to find some sort of a closure. Looking back, a lot happened two years ago, vampires came out of the coffin, my parents died, I found out I was half fairie and that I was in a life threatning situation. Running had been easy at first, I got to go to numerous places I had always wanted to visit, but soon everything started to look, smell and even sound the same. I wished I could have shared the many beautiful scenes I saw with someone, maybe it would have made it just that more special to me as well.

I did not go to see my family house. I just did not want to see it in the state it must be in for being abandoned for years. It was not how I wanted to remember it, if people remembered anything in death at all. Instead I decided to go to my favourite place since I had been a child, located in the woods of C. Bickham Dickson Park, was a small clearing were I would lie down on to the soft grass and just gaze at the stars.

As I walked down the path I could remember even with my eyes closed, I recognized every tree from my childhood as if nothing had changed from those days. When I stepped in to the familiar clearing I saw that it was already occupied. I cursed inwardly for not checking my surroundings with my telepathy and immediately put down my shields to listen to whoever decided to sit on my clearing at this hour. But what I found made me curse again, a vampire, suddenly I was glad for my ability to mask my scent or I would be half drained by now.

He just sat there with his legs crossed, staring off to somewhere far away it seemed, facing away from me. I briefly wondered what he was doing outside when there was only few hours until the sun's rays would burn him. "Good evening." He greeted me while turning to look at me over his shoulder. He had dark hair which only made his pale skin look even paler, and an unusually beautiful face with a straight nose and full, nicely curved lips. The stars did not give enough light for me to see what color his eyes were, but I knew they would be just as stunning as the rest of his face was.

I knew I should run as far away from him as I could, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Vampires were dangerous creatures to humans, but especially to fairies for it was almost impossible for them to resist the scent of our blood. And besides, what did I have to lose? Was it any better to be executed in an unknown way or be drained by a vampire, did it really even matter anymore? So I started fidgeting nervously, playing with the ends of my naturally platin blond hair, and thought of what to say to him that wouldn't make it so obvious that I had some serious problems interacting with people. "What are you doing here? It's dawn soon." Way to go Claire, just offend him, as if he doesn't know dawn is approaching, besides this is a public park he's allowed to be here just as much as you are! My thoughts were going overdrive and I cringed inwardly before he answered with a calm voice "I could ask you the same. And I am aware." He turned back to his previous position, staring in to nothingness again.

"Well this is sort of my clearing, or that's how I like to think it as. Why aren't you looking for shelter?" I asked him. Maybe his turning had gone wrong or something and he had no self-preservation instincts. "I have been in Shreveport for a little over a year now but not once have I seen you or smelled your scent in here." He stated but did not turn to look at me. "And I do not wish to find shelter." He continued dismissively.

I was surprised, vampires weren't exactly the suicidal type. "I've been...out of town, you could say. You're here to burn?" I asked walking up to him and sitting down with my knees tightly against my chest. He sighed, I was probably bothering him. "Very perceptive of you. Yes, I am here to end my long existence." I didn't know if that was meant as an insult, but couldn't detect any sarcasm in his tone. "Oh, that's too bad. Well I'll just leave you...to it." I said while starting to get up. His words had awakened my curiosity as to why he wanted to die, but I was not going to ask.

"You never told me why you are here." He said before I had a chance to get up. "Well, it's a long story, let's just say I have just about the same amount of time left as you before I will perish as well, and I wanted to spend it here." I answered him truthfully, what could it hurt? "Then why were you leaving? Does my presence bother you?" He asked curiously.

"Not really, quite the opposite actually, I just assumed I was the one bothering you." I said looking down at my hands which had surprisingly fast stopped fidgeting, I was getting too comfortable next to this soon-to-be-dead stranger. But maybe that was just it, we were both at the end of our roads, maybe we were meant to give each other comfort. I was surprised to find that I wanted to give him that comfort I realized I needed so desperately.

"Are you scared?" I asked with a quiet voice only a vampire could hear. He smiled, and looked at the stars. "No. I have lived for two thousand years and seen everything there is to see."

"Oh, I see." I suppose I should have been more shocked by his age but I knew there were beings older than even Christ himself, having met Niall Brigant who probably was older than this strange boy vampire.

"Are you?" He turned to look at me again. "Am I what?" I asked confused. "Are you afraid to die?" I had to think about it before answering. I thought I wasn't scared anymore, that I wanted to be alone even when I died, but I had been wrong. I wanted someone to be there, to comfort me when I took my last breath. It was a selfish wish, one that would never come true for I was alone.

"I thought I wasn't. I have been alone for a long time and I thought I was ready, but I- I don't want to die alone." The tears sprung to my eyes and I closed them in shame, I wasn't used to crying and in front of strangers was just that much more embarrassing. Suddenly I felt cold arms around me, pulling me closer and I looked up to him surprised as vampires weren't especially touchy-feely, but he just looked at me and said "It is okay to be afraid. And if you feel like crying, you should cry." And I let go and did just that.

The lyrics are from OneRepublic's song called Stop&Stare.