A/N: I am so sorry for the wait! I just honestly didn't know where to go with the chapter! I wanted to wait so I could do it justice for those of you still following me! I hope it lives up to expectations!

She woke up a while later and sighed, sitting up. She hadn't really planned on falling asleep again but she must've due to the little depression she'd worked herself into. She glanced at the clock to see it was five thirty and she stood up, walking downstairs. When she reached the living room, she looked out the window to see that there still wasn't any car in the driveway. Her mother should have been home by now. With a frown, she walked to the phone and dialed her mom's cell. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Mom, where are you?"

"Still at work, I'm afraid. I probably won't be home for a while, though. Why don't you go over to Jerry's at six and I'll meet you over there when I get home, alright?" her mother asked her, causing Nicole to pause. While she really didn't think Jerry would hurt her or anything (after all, he had all day to do so if he really wanted to), she was still nervous about entering his 'lair', so to speak.

"Uh, I- I guess so," she replied and glanced back at the clock, noting she had about twenty eight minutes to get ready.

"Alright then, I will see you later," her mother replied and with that, hung up. Nicole shook her head slightly, frowning at the thought of her mother. After her dad had left, her mother had grown distant of sorts but they were still on decent terms. Nicole jogged back upstairs, making sure to shut the door and blinds to possible peeping toms… or Jerry's, and started getting dressed. She was finished getting ready by five fifty five and was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a softball warm up jacket she had. Tucked into her back pocket was a stake (just in case) and around her neck was a cross. With a heavy sigh, she put her cell phone and her IPod in her warm up jacket (ignoring all the missed calls from Charley and Peter) and walked out the front door. Glancing at the sky, she was pleased to see that the clouds appeared to be almost all gone. It was dusk by this point- the perfect time for Jerry to be out and around.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered to herself as she cut across both hers and Jerry's lawns and jogged up the porch steps. She hesitated at the door before reaching out to knock on the door but it was flung open before she could do anything. There stood Jerry, smirking at her as he glanced around the street behind her.

"Excited, aren't you?" Nicole commented lightly, starting to feel a bit more comfortable. He smirked slightly as he moved aside and she cautiously entered the house. Well, besides the black spray painted windows, the house didn't look too creepy at all.

"Not what you expected?" he asked, his voice coming from right behind her. She took a few steps away and looked around the place, noting that it seemed pretty normal. "No coffin- I sleep in an actual bed, but I do have a torture chamber," he said slowly, giving a bit of a laugh. She turned towards him, frowning, and trying to gauge if he was being truthful. "Just kidding," he added and she shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Where's your mother? I was under the impression you were both attending."

"Yeah, well, news flash, she's still working," Nicole said bitterly as she flopped down on the couch, figuring the least she could do would be to return the favor.

"Sure, make yourself right at home," Jerry said with a smirk as he sat in the armchair opposite her. He did frown though, mulling over her prior sentence. "You seem… bitter about her still working. Does it happen often?" he asked, staring at her. She looked away, trying to keep her heartbeat under control and not get angry so he wouldn't be too suspicious.

"It's not important," she answered, pretending to be looking around the place again. Jerry frowned but otherwise kept silent until he stood up suddenly, causing her attention to return to him. He motioned for her to follow and headed towards the stairs where he paused.

"Are you coming?" He asked. "I might as well return the favor and show you around," he added and she sighed before standing and following him. He walked up the stairs and she followed at a slower pace, starting to get slightly nervous again. After all, she was alone in the house with a vampire… on his turf. At the top of the stairs was a hallway which he led her down, pointing out the bathroom on the way. At the end, he gave a small grin before throwing the door open. "My room," he said as they walked in. Nicole glanced around and, besides the spray painted windows and heavy curtains, the room looked fairly normal.

"No coffin? Darn," Nicole said, pretending to be disappointed.

"No coffin," he said before smiling to himself and glancing at the closet. Nicole noticed this and frowned at him.

"What's in there?" she asked, suspicious of him and he smirked at her.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked. Nicole was immediately set on edge by the way he said it but nodded anyways. "Well then," he said as he threw the closet open. Nicole stared into the closet, full of his clothing and raised an eyebrow.

"Clothes? Oooh... the horror!" She exclaimed, shooting him a false petrified look. He rolled his eyes at her and stepped into the closet. At that moment, a door in the back of the closet swung open and it was easily a few inches thick and made of steel. Glancing once more behind her, Nicole's curiosity won and she followed him into the closet and entered a small hallway with six doors. The door behind her slowly shut, locking her in the hallway with him.

"Er… Torture chamber?" Nicole asked as she took a step past him, glancing around at the doors. Every one of them had peep holes and keys in the locks. "Er feeding room…s?" she asked, opening a door cautiously to see the room empty. She was wary of his gaze which she could practically feel on her back as she knelt down to examine the floor. As she suspected, there was indeed a floor trap. Frowning, she shut the door and opened the next one, seeing the same thing. After a closer inspection of all the rooms, it was revealed they all had floor traps. She turned to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes to the second. I wouldn't exactly call this a torture chamber," he said, smirking at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so, now that I've seen your… feeding prison- that's what I'll call it- shall we move on?" She asked him, glancing at the door. The door was several inches thick and full steel by the looks of it… she did not want to be trying to push that open. He smirked at her and his eyebrow also rose before frowning slightly.

"I do not understand you," he muttered, shaking his head as he turned towards the door.

"And you probably never will," she said, smirking at his back. This caused him to turn around and stare at her.

"You confuse me."

"You've already said that," Nicole replied, mock rolling her eyes. She smirked at his glare.

"Why aren't you afraid?" He asked suddenly, his expression serious. She just shrugged at him and sighed.

"I figure that if you were going to kill me, you would've done so already. I mean, after all, you had all day and I was even sleeping for a couple of hours! Plus, I don't know…" she said trailing off. "I guess I don't see anything wrong in doing what nature created you to do," she said, shrugging slightly. "Anyways, whatever- let's go," she said, nodding towards the door. He just shook his head.

"You trust far too easily," he stated before turning to the door and easily pulling it open. He then proceeded to walk out and Nicole followed, glancing over her shoulder at the door. Holy fuck he's strong, she thought to herself as she exited the closet to see him lying on his bed, tossing an apple up and down which had not been in the room before they went in. and fast, she added in her head.

"So, what do you mean by I trust too easily?" she asked as she sat in the chair at his desk. "Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" He stopped tossing the apple and took a rather large bite, she noticed, and continued to stare at her for a few minutes before responding.

"No… you shouldn't be afraid of me but you do trust too easily- too easily for your own good, that is," he said as he took another bite out of the apple.

"I do not!"

"Sure," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "That's why you're sitting in the bedroom of a dangerous vampire you only met yesterday," he said as his gaze returned to her.

"Right, well, maybe that's because I really couldn't give a shit if you're a vampire or not," she replied and he stopped, mid-bite, to stare at her in confusion.

"I really never will figure you out," he told her before taking a bite from the apple.

"And let's hope it stay that way," she said. When she noticed his look of confusion, she rolled her eyes and said, "It wouldn't do to be too predictable, now would it?" she asked. He responded by shaking his head, muttering something too low for her to hear, and taking another bite of the apple.

"Holy shit," Nicole said when she saw hit take the apple from his mouth. All that was left was the stem. In four bites, he'd managed to eat the whole apple- core and all. He smirked at her as he threw the stem in the trash.

"What- vampire got your tongue?" he asked, giving her a devious smirk before jumping up from the bed.

"Haha, very funny! You're a rip Jerry!" Nicole said sarcastically as she too stood and followed him out of his room and back downstairs into the living room. The doorbell rang then and Jerry smirked at her before going to the door. He came back a few seconds later with both Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.

"Ah- Nicole! How are you darling?" Mrs. Johnson asked and Nicole stood up, smiling and gave her a hug.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Nicole asked in return.

"Good, good- as good as one can be when they're seniors," she replied, giving Nicole a warm smile.

"Yes, Happy Birthday," Nicole replied. Today was Mrs. Johnson's sixty fifth birthday. Both Johnsons were sixty five- Mr. Johnson having turned sixty five a few months prior.

"Ah, many happy regards," Jerry said, smiling charmingly at Mrs. Johnson who smiled and thanked him.

"Oh dear, thank you," Mrs. Johnson said to Nicole.

"I actually got something for you," Nicole said as she handed Mrs. Johnson a silver watch. "I just figured that I would get it for you, especially since your old one went missing." Mrs. Johnson's watch had actually been stolen a few weeks prior during a break in. The thief had not been caught yet, sadly, so Nicole had decided to give her a new silver watch.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Johnson said warmly, giving Nicole a hug. Mrs. Johnson was practically Nicole's third grandma. "Now, where is your mother?" she asked, glancing around past Jerry. Nicole's expression darkened immediately.

"She's still working, apparently," Nicole said bitterly, glaring out the window and Mrs. Johnson gave a noise of disparagement.

"Never mind her, dear. She loves you regardless," Mrs. Johnson replied and Nicole glanced back at her.

"She has a real funny way of showing it," she muttered to herself before saying more loudly, "You're right. Let's enjoy welcoming Jerry to the neighborhood, shall we?" Nicole asked, smiling over at Mr. Johnson and Jerry whom were in a conversation about their trucks.

"Ah, so you already know Jerry?" Mrs. Johnson asked with a smile. "Wonderful."

"Yes, Jerry came over for dinner last night," Nicole replied. Mrs. Johnson smiled at her and pulled her over to the side to say more quietly.

"A rather dashing young fellow, don't you think?" she asked Nicole, her smile giving away her hidden meaning. Over Mrs. Johnson's shoulder, Nicole could see Jerry shift slightly, obviously listening to their conversation.

"If you say so," she replied, easily keeping her face and voice neutral. The Distance formula is… she started to think to keep herself from laughing in poor Mrs. Johnson's face. If only she knew…

"How old is he darling?" Mrs. Johnson asked with a devious smile and this time Nicole couldn't help but groan and roll her eyes.

"Mrs. Johnson, are you really trying to set me up?" she hissed at her in disbelief. Nicole was inwardly laughing as she imagined Mrs. Johnson's expression is she were to find out what Jerry was really like…

"No dear, no dear. Just curious. Besides, you haven't even looked at guys since Mark. How long has it been?" Mrs. Johnson asked solemnly and Nicole shook her head, looking out the open window.

"Three years," she replied quietly.

"You really liked that boy, didn't you, dear?" Mrs. Johnson asked quietly and Nicole could see over Mrs. Johnson's shoulder that Jerry's back had stiffened and that both he and Mr. Johnson were looking over at the two, obviously listening on the conversation.

"Does it really matter? It wouldn't have changed anything," Nicole replied before her phone started to vibrate. She decided to ignore it in favor of continuing the conversation with Mrs. Johnson.

"Yes, well dear, I was simply wondering. After all, Jerry does look to be a fine young man, doesn't he?" Mrs. Johnson asked and Nicole couldn't help but smile and shake her head. Mrs. Johnson was nothing if not persistent. She was still trying to get Nicole to tell her how old Jerry was. She laughed inwardly at the thought of telling Mrs. Johnson how old Jerry really was but decided to just go with how old he had been physically when he was changed.

"Twenty six. Jerry is twenty six," Nicole replied with a shake of her head and she could see Jerry smirk out of the corner of her eye. Mrs. Johnson's face lit up at this and gave Nicole a rather devious smile.

"Twenty six, really now? Right in the age range if you ask me," Mrs. Johnson said and Nicole couldn't help but give a short laugh. Nicole knew that if she didn't start playing along now, she wouldn't be able to escape this conversation all night.

"Well, even if something were to happen, it would have to wait until next Friday at the earliest," she replied, sneakily diverting Mrs. Johnson from the subject. Mrs. Johnson actually was caught by surprise and her eyebrows rose.

"Oh, and why is that?" she asked as the doorbell rang and Jerry left with Mr. Johnson to go to the door. As the Klines walked in, Nicole answered.

"Well, Charley and Peter are coming to visit Friday and heaven knows how they are when it comes to me and dating," She replied and over Mrs. Johnson's shoulder, shared a small smile with Jerry. They both were thinking the same thing- Charley and Peter would not be happy if something like that were to happen between the two.

"Oh, Charley and Peter are coming! Isn't that wonderful, John," Mrs. Johnson said to Mr. Johnson and both Diana and Dean Kline smiled.

"Ah, I always thought Peter was a nice lad," Diana said and Nicole couldn't help but snort with laughter, everyone's attention focusing on her.

"A nice 'lad'? Diana, you ought to see him when he's drunk and I can tell you that's quite often. He drinks any alcoholic beverage that stays still long enough!" Nicole responded causing both Mr. Johnson and Dean to laugh.Hell, he even drinks while going to hunt vampires, Nicole thought, looking at Jerry and chuckling to herself. Yes, Peter was that fellow far to addicted to alcohol. He was hilarious, though, so you either loved him or you hated him.

"I take it we've only met him while he's sober," Dean said lightly, smiling at her.

"Dean, Charley is his closest friend and I doubt he'seven seen Peter sober," Nicole replied while shaking her head. The Emmersons arrived then, followed soon by the Pierres. Within no time, the six closest neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Emmerson, Mr. and Mrs. Kline, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Pierre, Mr. Stryker, Mrs. Lesla) and Nicole were packed into Jerry's house, everyone talking amongst themselves. Nicole stood by the open window and stared across at her empty house. Nicole could only figure that her mother had decided to skip the party and go to a bar or club and find someone to fuck. It was just like her, though, so Nicole really shouldn't have expected otherwise.

"Anything of interest?" Jerry's voice asked from right behind her, causing her to jump slightly. She spun around and glared at him. He had just been across the room a second ago and now he was here, using his creepy… vampire speed or what not.

"Would you stop doing that?" Nicole asked as she pushed his shoulder lightly. "That's so-"

"Scary?" Jerry suggested with a grin.

"Creepy," Nicole said, glaring at him. "And no, there is nothing of interest out the window."

"Then what are you doing over here sulking?" Jerry asked.

"I am not sulking… I'm thinking," Nicole replied and she turned back to the window, only to have him now standing in front of her and blocking the window.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked with a grin and she shook her head.

"I don't wish to share," Nicole replied and before she knew it, Jerry had her by the wrist and was pulling her to the stairs.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at him as they walked past the Klines. He simply motioned for her to follow him up the stairs and she did so. They stopped in his bedroom and he motioned for her to take a seat on the bed while he leaned against the closed door.

"Okay, start talking. You've been giving me that answer all day," he replied with a smirk.

"And if I don't want to tell you?" she asked. He gave her a wicked smile and, with a blink, he was gone.

"Then you're not going anywhere," he said from behind her and, spinning around, she could see him seated on the bed by the headboard. "Remember- you're on myturf now. There's nowhere I can't get you," he added with a grin and Nicole rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" she asked grumpily, glaring at him. He was about to respond when she felt her phone vibrate from what must've been the sixth time since she arrived nearly an hour ago. "That's it- hold on," she said to Jerry before answering the cell.

"Nicole? Nicole-"

"What do you want Charley?" Nicole asked with a sigh as she shook her head wearily.

"Oh, Nicole! You're there! We thought something terrible had happened to you when you weren't answering your phone! We were ready to hop on the next flight out there if you hadn't picked up your phone!" Charley said quickly in a rush. Nicole shook her head.

"I'm-"

"Oi you bloody prick! Where the fuck have you been?" Peter shouted through the phone, his voice sounding… normal?

"Peter? Are you actually sober?" Nicole asked in shock.

"Do you know how worried we've been? Of course I'm sober! I can't be drunk when trying to figure out how to steal you back from a bloodsucking demon!" Peter shouted back, thoroughly pissed.

"Why Peter, I'm shocked. I didn't know you cared that much. Besides, don't you do your best thinking while drunk?" Nicole asked in response.

"Well, I-"

"He usually says some atypical dumbass things and I improve the plan so that it actually works," Charley interrupted and Nicole couldn't help but shake her head.

"Such as setting yourself on fire and trying to stake a vampire?" she asked and she could hear both of them grumbling on the other end.

"Well, it was a good idea-"

"It almost worked!" Charley said indignantly.

"Yes, almost being the key word because if it hadworked, I wouldn't be sitting here with Jerry right now," Nicole responded, not thinking. Jerry smirked at her when they both heard the sharp intake of breath on the other line.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?" Charley's voice came through the phone and Nicole, wincing pulled the phone away from her ear. Jerry also winced ever so slightly at the sudden yelling. Nicole assumed his ears must be sensitive with his vampire hearing.

"SITTING WITH HIM-" Peter shouted.

"NOW?" Charley finished for him.

"Guys, guys-" Nicole tried to interrupt but they cut her off.

"Oh god, oh god! Nicole, tell me you're alright," Charley said frantically.

"Release her you filthy bloodsucking demon! I know you can hear me!" Peter shouted.

"Nicole! Oh god, this is my entire fault!" Charley said again, his voice sounding even more frantic.

"How the bloody hell is this your fault? You didn't send him there!"

"I never should have told her! He would've left her alone if I hadn't have said anything!" Charley yelled back at Peter and Nicole sighed, putting the phone down on the bed. Jerry's eyebrow rose.

"This will take a while," Nicole replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh you bloody prick! She's hot! He would've taken her anyways!"

"Did you just call Nicole hot? Never mind- It's my fault because if I never got involved, he never would've been out there hunting her!"

"I doubt the bloody idiot even knew she was related to you until yesterday!" Peter shouted back.

"I can't believe it. God, why couldn't I have just killed him when he was here? Better yet, why did I have to mock Ed about him being a vampire? We could've taken care of this much sooner!" Charley shouted back.

"Because who the bloody fuck would think he was a vampire?" Peter shouted in retaliation. "Ooooh- Jerry the vampire! Oh my bloody god! It was such a terrible, unbelievable name-"

"Guys, guys," Nicole said, trying to interrupt.

"And, he's a vampire regardless of his fucking name!" Charley shouted back. Nicole sighed heavily before glancing over her shoulder at Jerry.

"You might want to cover your ears," she said and, when he did, she shouted into the phone, "GUYS!" They both shut up immediately and with a sigh, Nicole started to speak.

"First of all, I'm fine guys. Really, I'm fine. He's not doing anything- it's just a party at his place- a Welcome to the Neighborhood party, alright? Secondly, Charley- I have to agree with Peter, sadly- you are a bloody prick," Nicole said calmly and could see Jerry grinning out of the corner of her eye as he grabbed another apple. "This is not your fault at all. Do you hear me?"

"But-"

"No buts. Do you understand?"

"I-"

"Do you understand? It's a simple question Charley, requiring a yes or no answer," Nicole said impatiently and she could see Jerry chuckling into his apple now. Covering the receiver with her hand, she said to him, "What are youlaughing at?" He stopped laughing and shook his head, taking another bite of his apple while smiling.

"No," Charley said.

"You bloody…" Peter started but Nicole cut him off.

"Charley- you warned me just like you should have done. I just obviously wasn't that good of an actress. Now, I'm absolutely fine-"

"How do we know that bloody… bloody… bloodyVampire isn't going to hurt you?" Charley demanded and Nicole couldn't help but shake her head.

"Firstly, you might want to be a little nicer- he can hear you. I'm sitting next to him right now," Nicole replied.

"Bloody ass, get away-"

"Charley!" Nicole reprimanded him and he huffed.

"Fine- where are you?"

"At his house for the party. I do believe I've already told you that," Nicole retaliated. She could hear Peter and Charley muttering 'shit' and 'fuck' in the background.

"Nicole, get out of there now before he hurts you," Peter said quietly and forcefully.

"Right, I don't think he's going to hurt me," she replied, shaking her head. Jerry gave another devious chuckle as he took one last bite out of his apple before throwing it away.

"Nicole, he's fucking Jaws- a shark. He is not sweet or-"

"Charley, shut up. I'm just saying is that he had all day to hurt me."

"What do you mean?" Charley demanded quietly.
"Just as I said. It's been a cloudy day and he was lurking around my house all day."

"WHAT?" Charley and Peter demanded at the same time.

"I'm not going to tell you if you don't calm down," Nicole replied, sighing heavily. Jerry patted the space next to him and she sat next to him on the bed, leaning up against the headboard and preparing herself for the longconversation.

"Fine. Please explain."

"Well, I woke up this morning to find him sitting at my kitchen table…" there was a sharp intake of breath on the other line. "Bottom line is, he was hanging out and lurking around all day. I actually fell asleep on the couch in the basement at some point and he didn't try to bite or kill me then. The only thing he did was end up scaring the shit out of me when I woke up," Nicole said, glaring at Jerry who just smirked.

"Nicole- I… I don't even know what to say," Charley said, sighing.

"I do! STAY AWAY FROM HER YOU BLOODY-" Peter shouted causing both her and Jerry to wince- Jerry more so than Nicole- and they could hear scuffling as Charley seemed to get Peter to shut up.

"Anyways, I'm going to go now and-"

"Nicole, how will we know if you're okay?" Charley asked hurriedly.

"I'll give you a call later, after the party, alright?" Nicole asked.

"Fine and you can tell Jaws that if you're injured in any way-" Peter started but Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes.

"He can hear you himself. I meant it when he's sitting right next to me… he seems to find it quite amusing," she said, glancing over at Jerry who was chuckling darkly. "Right, though. He does anything, you'll act all macho and come in with the stakes and crossbows and try to set him on fire again. I'll be sure to tell him that," Nicole said, amusement evident in her voice. "Anyways, I'm going to go now as you are keeping us from a good party."

"Nicole- I mean it. Give me a call later if anything happens- anything at all, alright?" Charley asked.

"Okay Charley… sheesh, you can stop acting all 'protective brother' now, alright?"

"Whatever you runt," he replied. "Be careful," he warned.

"Always am, Charles, always am," Nicole replied.

"I'll talk to you later then," he said as he hung up the phone and Nicole sighed in relief.

"That wasn't too bad," Nicole said with a bright smile.

"Too bad? That phone call was nearly five minutes," Jerry commented seriously.

"Oh, it could be worse. They were yelling at me for nearly ten minutes straight when I was dating Mark before I calmed them down long enough to talk. One would think they'd be angrier about me spending any amount of time with you," Nicole said, rolling her eyes.

"Now that that is taken care of- tell me what has been wrong with you today," Jerry said and Nicole glanced away around the room.

"Nothing-"

"Please don't start that crap with me again. I can hearyour heartbeat quicken when you lie," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"It really is nothing I wish to share," Nicole respnded, glaring at him. He glared at her and chuckled darkly.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, smirking at her and she frowned.

"Yeah," she replied and he slowly stood from her bed before practically teleporting to the spot next to the bed on her side.

"Still sure?" he asked, grinning down at her. She frowned at him.

"Yes, I'm- woah! Jerry, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" She demanded as he lifted her off the bed.

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked again and Nicole sighed in frustration.

"If it'll get you to put me down then fine!" She growled at him and he dropped her on the bed, smirking.

"I knew I'd get my way."

"Well, what do you want to know?" She asked, glaring at him.

"The first time you got upset today- while you were working out. Why did you get upset?" He asked and Nicole rolled her eyes.

"You mean the reason I won't continue on to Washington?" she asked and he nodded. "Because, nobody in my family really cares much about my state championships. The only two who do care tend to be stuck in Nevada, unable to go- Peter and Charley," she said, rolling her eyes again. "Apparently, boxing isn't a 'woman' sport and I should be doing something like Cheerleading. They aren't even very supportive of me when I play softball and basketball, either." Jerry frowned slightly before looking back at her.

"They should care no matter what," he said quietly.

"And you would know this, how?" she said, looking at him doubtfully. He sighed and rolled his eyes at her.

"I may be a vampire but I'm not completely emotionless- I was human once too. Besides, my- uh- species is surprisingly… family oriented," he said mysteriously and Nicole shook her head.

"Right, well, while they should care, they don't."

"When's your next match?" Jerry asked suddenly, staring up at the ceiling from where he was lying on the bed.

"Uh- I don't know- Saturday night, I think," Nicole replied. "Yeah because Charley and Peter are going," she said again, sounding more confident in the answer this time.

"Hmmm… What time?"

"Seven."

"Good, I'll get to see you fight," he replied and Nicole stared over at him in shock. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No… I'm just a little surprised, that's all," Nicole commented.

"Why, do you not want me to go?"

"It's not that I just didn't expect you to… I don't know- offer to go."

"Right… what happened the second time you were angry- when you went to sleep for a second time?" Jerry asked, changing the topic.

"Again, family issues. It relates back to the whole woman boxer thing." He nodded at this and then frowned again.

"What about your mother? You seem to be… bitter when talking about her," he noted and Nicole rolled her eyes.

"She's never home. Not since my father left, at least. She goes out nearly three times a week, gets drunk, and then gets laid," Nicole replied, rolling her eyes. "She's been doing that for as long as I can remember- fifth grade at least." Jerry shook his head.

"She's wasting it," he commented lightly before smirking at her.

"Wasting what?"

"The time she has left with her family. One never knows when they'll lose them," he said lightly and she thought he was almost referencing himself then and when he had been turned.

"I suppose," she replied.

"What about Mark?" he asked, noting how her eyes immediately darkened in anger.

"Don't mention that bastard. I- I'm not… comfortable enough to talk about it," Nicole said as she jumped off the bed. Seeming to get the hint, thankfully, that he shouldn't push it, Jerry followed her.

"We ought to get back to the party," he said as he opened the door for her. They walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. It seemed like everyone was getting the wrong impression that something was happening between the two of them as all of them (all of them knowing Nicole well and her troubled past) smiled at seeing them descending the stairs together.

A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! I'll try and update really soon! I promise!