AN: a big thanks to everyone who reviewed! Also, the lovely LostInSantaCarla3 made me realize that I forgot to mention this story takes place pre-movie, so the characters might not be quite the ones we know and love yet. I hope everyone also had a great Christmas. Here's the next chapter! :)

Chapter Three

"You look good," Bree said, as I stared at my reflection in the small bathroom mirror. The plum with the leather jacket looked great, and several days of good hair products had made my blond hair shiny. The silver pin glinted, pulling back some of my hair on the side. The rest of it fell nearly to my waist. We didn't have any makeup, but there wasn't any help for that.

"Sure you don't want a necklace?" Bree asked.

I shook my head. "I don't want to mess with it all night."

The doorbell rang.

"That's him," Bree said, eyes shining. "Here, take these." She shoved ballet flats at me, and I slipped them on my bare feet, swallowing nerves. She smiled and sat on the bed, wrapping her arms around the knee pulled to her chest. "Have fun, okay Riss? Then tell me all about it."

"I'm gonna live it up," I promised her, squaring my shoulders. Then I heard the key turn in the lock, and Vivian opened the door. I wished she'd knock, at least.

"Are you ready, Marissa?" she asked, looking drop dead gorgeous, as usual, polished beyond belief like a 40s film star. I tamped down the irritation. Well, tonight I looked pretty good myself.

"Sure," I said, following her out the door. Once up the creaky basement stairs and down the hallway, I grinned at David. He stood in the entryway, exchanging alpha-male stares with Andre. This was promising.

He glanced at me and said, "You look nice."

"Thanks," I replied dryly. A man of few words. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

"I expect you back by eleven thirty," Andre said, looking unhappy.

"Even Cinderella got midnight," I said disgustedly. "Anyway, I don't know how long the production is."

"Midnight is fine," Vivian said soothingly. "We will see you then, Marissa."

Shouldering past my keepers, I reached for David's hand. "C'mon, chauffeur."

As we stepped off the porch into the blue-black night, he asked, "So, midnight."

"Fuck no," I mumbled. "But not 'til dawn either, or he'll come looking for us, which would be bad."

"Two AM then," he said, swinging onto his motorbike. "Climb on."

I awkwardly pulled myself on, using him as ballast. I was thankful the dress had a flowing skirt to give me room. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I held on as the engine roared to life and we sped off down the drive.

He drove fast. Probably a vampire thing. I concentrated on keeping my head down and hanging on, thinking that of all the things that could kill me, a motorcycle crash wouldn't be the most likely. The wind whistled through my hair, and I listened to the silence in David's chest where a heartbeat should be. The lack of sound wasn't as disturbing as I had expected.

Once we got to the boardwalk, he slowed to a normal speed, and then pulled up in front of the large grassy space where the outdoor theater lay. The shell dome had its back to the sea, and the grassy hill was already dotted with people. I waited silently in line with David as he paid for our tickets. Part of me had wondered if he would try to sneak us in without paying. I didn't care either way, but I was surprised that he had gone the honest route.

"Where do you want to sit?" he finally asked.

"Somewhere with a good view," I murmured, listening to the orchestra warm up. I sat down in the grass and David sat next to me, and then the magic started.

I always felt like the Nutcracker Ballet was a little bit magic. The lack of words, the soaring music, the dancers doing things I never could… it was as magical to me as stepping into fairyland or the land of the dolls.

And good always wins.

As Clara received her Nutcracker for Christmas, I leaned sideways and rested my head on David's shoulder, just to see if he'd let me. I held my breath.

After a minute, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. I exhaled slowly, watching the dancers twirl and spin. I stayed there for the rest of the Ballet.

As the Nutcracker defeated the Mouse King and turned into a prince, I felt my heart wrench. I miss Lisa. Her infectious grin and annoying forays into my space and reading books on rainy Saturdays together. I missed being a sister.

When Clara and the Nutcracker stepped into the Land of Snow and the snowflakes pirouetted, I thought, I miss home. Our house with the wrap around porch in north Texas, the sweltering summers, the sometimes-snow dusted winters all full of Christmas twinkle lights.

As the Spanish, Arabian, and Russian dancers took the stage in the Land of Sweets, I tried not to think about my mother walking past my empty room day after day. Would she have kept it the same, or would she have given everything away, like when Dad died three years ago? Would she have given up hope on me by now?

As the Sugar Plum Fairy danced the Pas de Deux with the Prince, my eyes filled with tears. I miss being me. I missed Rissa Townsend, sister and daughter, full of smiles and joy. Not Riss, coarse and cold from capture.

But eventually, the dream ended. It had to end —in the ballet, and in real life, too.

We just sat for a while after the ballet ended and everybody got up to go. I wiped my eyes and leaned forward, arms propped up on my knees.

"What now?" David asked. He hadn't moved a muscle the whole ballet.

"Can I have a dollar?" I whispered.

"Why?"

I turned to him and swallowed. "Please don't ask me, David. A dollar in quarters. Please."

He helped me up and followed me back to the boardwalk. I stopped by a pay phone. Promises like I'm not calling for help or I'm not making trouble tried to leave my lips, but I pressed them together, hard. I wasn't going to justify myself to him. He'd either give me the money or he wouldn't.

He dropped four quarters into my palm.

I stared at the silver in my hand. "Count to two hundred and then knock," I whispered before shutting the phone booth door. With shaking hands, I dropped the quarters in and dialed the familiar number.

The phone rang twice before someone picked up. "Hello, Townsend residence," said the quiet voice of my mother.

I hadn't heard her voice in nearly a year. I nearly choked up, but I pinched my nose, hard, and nasally asked, "Is Lisa there? Christine would like to speak to Lisa."

"Lisa!" My mother called. "Telephone!"

The phone thumped a few times changing hands until my sister picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, pepunk," I said shakily. "It's me."

I heard her gasp. "Rissa?" she whispered into the phone.

"Yeah," I whispered brokenly. "Hey. I —I watched the Nutcracker tonight. And I thought of you."

"You saw the Nutcracker?"

"Yeah, on a beach with a boy, can you believe it?" I said, twisting the phone cord. "I'm sorry I couldn't see it with you, but I wanted to."

"Rissa, where are you?" Lisa pleaded. "Please come home."

"I can't come home just yet, honey," I told her. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but I promise, I will come home. Listen, I can't talk for long. So quick, tell me everything that's been going on with you —go!"

"I won the spelling bee at school, and Kelsey and I play house a lot of times on the weekend, and I'm going to be Mary in the Christmas pageant at church," Lisa said promptly. "And Mom is sad a lot. Sometimes she goes into your room and cries."

"I'm so proud of you, pepunk," I said, rubbing my eyes. "But you can't tell Mom about this, okay? You'll just have to give her extra big hugs from me."

"We pray for you," Lisa's far away voice said. "Every night, that you're safe and you'll come back."

My heart crunched. "Keep praying," I said with numb lips, giving her that hope I had lost. "I love you lots," I said, as David knocked on the glass. "I promise. I promise."

"I want you home," Lisa whispered.

"I want me home too," I said, voice cracking. "Soon, okay? Soon. I've gotta go. I love you."

"Love you!"

I hung up the phone before I started to sob.

"Trouble in paradise?" David drawled as I inched out the phone booth door.

I sniffed violently. "No, I love dying by inches."

I started walking to force away the sorrow, not caring if he followed me or not. But I heard the rhythmic footfalls of his boots on the wooden planks. I didn't want to be teary. But angry, I was good at. "I love being far from home. I love being leered at every single fucking night." I shot a slightly apologetic glance at him. "Not you."

"Andre?"

"Yeah." I scuffed my flats along the boards, then kicked them off and picked them up. I stepped down the stairs that led to the beach, feeling the sand in between my toes. "He's not ever gonna do anything about it," I stated, reaching the seashore. The waves rolling onto shore roared quietly in the dark night. "Because the whole virgin thing is like a big deal with the older vampires. They get way more money for it. Though apparently it doesn't do a thing for the blood's taste."

"What about money?"

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Oh, yeah, your sire is paying Vivian and Andre a large chunk of change for this." I gestured to myself, a sick smile plastered to my face. "This don't come cheap." I dropped my shoes in the sand and walked towards the water until the waves lapped at my ankles, pulling and sucking, saying come into the water. Come in.

If I just kept walking into the water, would David pull me back, or could I just keep going until the waters closed over my head? I've always loved the water.

You promised Bree you wouldn't leave her. You promised Lisa you'd come home.

"Please don't make me go back," I whispered to the ocean. "This isn't living."

"Riss," David said from behind me.

I dug my toes into the wet sand and swallowed. "Say it again."

"Riss." His fingers found mine —skin on skin. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I said, letting him slowly tow me down the seashore.

"Somewhere else."

I stared at our intertwined hands. "How'd you hurt your hands, David?"

"Accidents. Broken glass. Barbed wire."

"Barbed wire? Really?" I said, running my thumb over his fingers.

"Youthful indiscretions," he said, with a flash of that wicked grin again.

"Damn it, David, why are you doing this," I said tiredly. "You're a vampire. Being nice to your food supply isn't normal."

"Who says we're normal?" he said, coming to a stop. "I like pissing off that ass as much as you do." He smiled devilishly. "I like kissing you." He shrugged. "The fact that you taste good is a perk."

I shot him a dirty look. "You're twisted."

"You're just realizing that now?" he said, smirking. "Isn't being human about seizing every day as it comes? Or is that bullshit."

"It's bullshit," I said darkly. "But I don't think anyone has ever thought about this sort of shitty situation. Unless someone has written some really creepy supernatural Stockholm syndrome harlequin novel."

"Well if they have, I'm sure you can find it on the Boardwalk," he murmured, still smirking at my Stockholm syndrome comment.

"I'm sure you'd know all about that." I stuck my nose up in the air.

"Actually, I would." He tugged me closer and pressed his lips to mine as the sea breeze rolled in from the Pacific.

We spent most of the next hour like that, walking on the shore, me occasionally splashing him, he kissing me when I managed to spray him with seawater, not talking much.

In the back of my mind, I knew that he didn't really care, not like I wanted him to. But I was so affection starved from a year of hell that this faux thing was feeding something I needed. I was willing to take what crumbs I could get.

We eventually left the shore and walked down the road that I recognized led to the house Vivian and Andre were renting. "What time is it?" I said, leaning on David.

"One thirty."

I laughed out loud, and it rang in the stillness of the night. "They're gonna be so pissed."

"That's the plan." He kissed me again, and his facial hair tickled my skin. I smiled against his mouth, tugging on his pale blond hair that he tucked inside his collar.

"So why the Nutcracker," he said, running his fingers through my hair. "I was wondering."

"I always go see the Nutcracker," I said, looking down. "With my sister. Lisa. She's eight now." My throat closed, and I couldn't speak for a while. David draped his arm around my shoulders as we walked. "It's like our thing," I whispered. "Andre wasn't going to take that from me."

"You called her, didn't you."

"Don't tell," I said, looking up at him. "Please."

He shrugged artfully. "Who would I tell? Andre the dick?" He made a face.

"So sweet," I drawled. "I like the new bling." I tapped his new earring that dangled from his left ear.

"Thanks," he smirked. "What did you do with the other one?"

I had hidden it in the mattress. "That's for me to know and you to find out," I said, raising my eyebrows. I turned my face up for another kiss.

"Watch out," he said in a low voice. "They're looking out the window." He stared over my shoulder at the house that had just become visible on the hill.

"Ohh, vampire vision," I cooed. "Well. I guess we better make it count then."

We took turns tugging each other up the hill and kissing. I got the feeling he was humoring me, but I didn't care. For a few minutes more, someone would give me affection that I wanted, and I was going to take advantage of this.

When we got to the porch, the door opened, and I heard, "Marissa." Andre's voice was covered in hoarfrost.

I pressed my lips to David's one last time, fisting my hands in his overcoat, trying to make this last. "See you around," I whispered against his lips. As I stepped away from him, I felt the tension in the air between Andre and David, like a taut rope they were playing tug-of-war with. Stepping around Andre, I walked in the door.

"You're late," Vivian said, arms crossed and toe tapping.

"We lost track of time," I said, shrugging out of my jacket and touching my swollen lips.

"Well, did you —"

Andre stepped in and shut the door, right before he backhanded me into the wall.