I looked into her golden amber eyes and they were searching my face, trying to answer some hidden question.

"Howdy Little Mrs.…Miss? Mary…" was she in a courtship? Engaged? She had no ring… did she have a mate? She most certainly did, no sensible male would leave such a beautiful, small, fragile defenseless creature to fend for herself.

"Uhm," she cleared her throat… "It's Just Mary Alice…for now." She smiled, and leaned in… was she suggesting that I could change her status? As she leaned in, a slight breeze floated in from the window, and caressed her face, carrying her scent towards me...

She...Mary Alice, smelt like cinnamon mixed with the slightest bit of French vanilla, and springtime… the sunshine… the plethora of flowers… mainly…what was that scent…Sunflowers? Yes, sunflowers. And Roses. But, the smell of cinnamon was the most intoxicating, reminding me of the delicious cinnamon buns my mother used to bake. I swear to god, sitting there, in front of this little angel, sent straight from heaven for me, I licked my lips… how inappropriate… how embarrassing.

Then she broke out in to hysterics. Mary Alice covered her mouth in a feeble attempt to stop the laughing fit, but her glorious sounds of her laughter were still heard from every corner of the now empty diner. I sunk into my chair, letting my hair cover my eyes. And she immediately stopped laughing.

"Jazz, I'm sorry…sometimes I just can't contain my laughter…" she flashed an apologetic smile, and I was perfectly fine, embarrassment far behind me.

"Jazz?"

She nodded. "Like the music," she stood up, and moved around the table, sitting beside me. "It's just something I saw in a vision, I'm sorry."

"A vision?" I scooted closer to her side, demanding an explanation.

"Shoot…," she smiled, it was only a half smile, she was upset by something… I felt the need to comfort her.

"Mary Alice, What's bothering you little Darlin'?" I reached for her hand… but I was afraid to take it in my own. I was a southern gentleman. We just don't go around to random diners, picking up women…so I slowly pulled my hand back to my lap, keeping far away enough so that I wasn't tempted.

She eyed my hands before she responded, placing the smallest pout to her lips. It was adorable, and completely irresistible. "Well first things first, Mr. Whitlock… why are you scared of me?"

Scared? Me? I laughed. "I'm not scared of you little lady, I'm scared of the big fellow who would track me down if I even thought about holdin' that perty lil' hand of yours." My accent came out, and drowned my words. It was an old nervous habit of mine, that hadn't surfaced in a while.

"I hardly doubt that you would ever attempt to beat yourself up Jasper," what? "I mean, especially if it were to be a fight over me...there is no competition other than yourself." She smiled, and shuffled closer to my side. We were almost touching now, and it frightened me. I had to stay a gentleman, but this one was most definitely trying to test my limits, every so often she would move closer, or bat her eyelashes, or gently let the skin of her arm graze across my biceps. She was feisty.

"What are you trying to tell me ma'am?"

"Well, it's quite a long story; I wouldn't want to bore you."

"I have got nothing but time sweetheart, speak on."

"Alright then." She smiled, and reached out for my arm. "You mind?"

I shook my head, confused with what she was asking, but let her continue anyhow. She slowly traced her fingers down my arm, sending an electric shock into my heart; what was she doing?

As she reached my wrist, she grabbed the black fabric of my shirt, pulling it up my arm, revealing my scars…

"These scars… they are from another vampire…many others…am I correct?"

"How did you know?"

"The other vampires… you were some form of leader to them, weren't you?"

I was hesitant, but I would answer anything truthfully to that sweet little face of hers…

"I suppose so… But Mary Alice, how did you know?"

"I spoke of visions, did I not?"

I nodded, and she traced one of my more dominant scars with a gentle finger, that sent sparks flying through my body. I never knew how amazing something as simple as touch could be… Mary Alice moved the fabric higher on my arm, letting her fingers follow the path of my scars. Her hand became greedy, moving the fabric as high as my arm would allow it, without stretching or tearing it. The feeling of her slight touch sent an aching sensation to run through my veins. My next actions were impulsive.

I grabbed her tiny hand from my arm, and placed it on the side of my neck, revealing more of my horrifying scars. She gasped slightly, and started tracing her way down to my collarbone, and under my chin. She was so small, that she could barely reach my face, so she straddled herself on my legs, one of her thighs on either side of my own. We were wrapped up in our small perfect world of emotion, and Mary Alice had definitely been affected. She slowly looked up into my eyes, and bit her bottom lip, leaving her hands on my neck. As she looked in my eyes, her hands slowly fell to the collar of my shirt, to tackle some buttons…this was too far for me. I was raised differently. I know Mary Alice was just as much of a wild animal as I was, just as dangerous, just as alone… just as scared… but we were in a diner for heaven's sake… this was inappropriate public behavior for anyone. I cleared my throat, and she came back to reality. As cold as I felt, she understood, apologized quietly, and sat beside me again.

"Continue?"

She nodded.

"Once upon a time I was a human, just as you were… not that I have any memory." She cringed, and I reached out for her hand again, this time gaining the mental strength needed to hold her tiny hand in mine.

Her hand seemed to drown in my large fist, but it did not feel wrong or uncomfortable… no, it was just the opposite. It was… well, I would say perfect, but the word was so plain compared to what it actually was...holding her hand was a key. Not only to open a new door to a new life for this monster I was, but a key to open chances for myself, and finally, a key to lock myself into this amazing world named Mary Alice.

I used my 'ability' to calm her slightly-enough for her to continue.

"Well, I woke up from a burning pain that seemed to last forever… seeing only the eternity of darkness that I remember. Not knowing what I was, who I was, or why I was in a ditch, on the side of the main road in town, covered in what seemed to be my own blood. But, the burning from my throat over powered all thoughts I had, causing me to have the urge to drink the blood off of my own body, making me crazy."

I knew that feeling…

"After a moment, I began to scream; not knowing what was happening to me…then it happened."

I leaned closer, as her voice got quieter.

"I saw this mysterious man, with eyes of coal black, hair golden and slightly curled… standing with me, telling me that he loved me, holding me close…"

Was she talking about me? How was that even remotely possible? She was lying to me…

"Jasper… I saw you. I saw us. I know, I was frightened too… but I knew that whoever I was looking for… they made me happy… wherever I was, it made me feel at home...and I wanted it Jasper, I wanted it more that blood."

"How do you know my name?" I wanted the full story from Mary Alice...I needed to know how she knew me, I wanted to know why she looked at me like that…with those eyes…those beautiful golden eyes…

"I continued seeing these random well visions of you and i. we were with others. And you were hiding me… well trying. I was climbing on you back, trying to get a better look at the strange beings… they knew us, and called us by our names… they also spoke of vampirism and our abilities…"

"What abilities?"

"Oh please Jasper, like you don't know." She laughed again, teasing me.

I just starred at her, memorizing the contours of her face, the shape of her eyes, the unique color of her lips, the rosy pink of human life that still existed somehow in her cheeks… everything about her was more perfect, more beautiful, more amazing then the face of a goddess. I shrugged, not taking my eyes off of her face.

"You…you can manipulate people's emotions… I thought you knew… you have been controlling mine for awhile now... I thought you knew…"

Oh that… "I know. I was just making sure that you knew what I knew.. you know?"

"what?"

"I have no idea what I just said..." I was mesmerized by the way her mouth moved as she talked… the way she smiled at almost every other word she said.

"That's fine.., but Jasper, I knew we would be together from the moment I saw your face. And after I had a vision of well this, I came here and have been patiently waiting…"

"I'm so terribly sorry ma'am…how long have you been waiting?"

"Well, I believe I am around the age of 19… and I woke up -so to speak -on October 15th, 1920… I saw you for the first time that day… but I didn't have the vision of tonight until… 1925. It took me almost two years to find this diner, and when I got here it was… 1927 exactly. It was new years eve."

"But, Mary Alice… its 1945 now… you have been here for 20 years?"

She nodded… how was that possible? How did she not get discovered?

"Jasper, I knew you were the dominant factor to my future, I had no option other than to wait."

I smiled... I had an idea. I could win over that little heart of hers with a simple smile, and a simple melody…