A/N: This is what I wish Benny's life had been like if vampires didn't exist, and he was allowed a normal life.

Green Man of the Bayou

Sat at the old docks, Benjamin watched as the mosquitoes danced around him, the buzzing of their wings filling the silence. Surrounded by forest, no one ever used this place, fearing the alleged forest spirit within. But Benjamin liked it. Of all the places in Louisiana, he saw true beauty here. Its rotting boards and sinking stilts were just challenges to him. The scent of stagnant water no longer burned.

Ten years spent visiting the lake, he never gave much mind to the frequent flooding or random creatures. Heck, he liked it. "Makes it al-natural, you know? There's a kinda beauty in it. It don't mean I didn't take precautions, mind you." The Green Man would then point to his workshop, which sat upon a wooden frame. "Water rides straight under and never gives me any grief." Rough, his voice would echo across the lake's green waters.

Benjamin was as much part of the dockyard as the dock itself. Every day he'd mend it more. Green Man of the Bayou, the locals would call him. Tales were spun of how he'd drag children into the lake never to be seen again. Some claimed he had a giant grey beard that nested birds. Others claimed he spoke in nothing but riddles.

They couldn't have been more wrong. The town knew of a man and a spirit, and never thought them the same. It was just as he had planned it. Weaving tales of the Green Man and the haunted docks amongst the superstitious townsfolk, he ensured no one would destroy his favourite place.

It was at night he'd take on his other identity. Cleaning himself up, Benjamin would head down to the local bar'n'grill, to serve his famous gumbo. No one would believe that the Green Man was good ol' Benny Lafitte, a thirty-somethin' short order cook with a thick Cajun accent. And that was how he wanted it to stay. If they found out, he'd lose everything.

Taking a gulp of his bitter beer, Benny continued to watch the lake. Louisianan sun high above him, work was impossible with the heat. He knew his double life would have to end sometime, that someone would find out. The moment that happened, the government would claim this place and put some god-awful concrete bay on it.

Thinking back on it, Benny realised he had forgotten something. Andrea still didn't know he was the Green Man.