SORRY SORRY SORRY. The second half of vacation I was staying with a family friend so I wasn't exactly on my laptop. If you all hate me, you should lol. Thank you LetsGoDancing17, golightlygirl, Trulzxoxo, and Sam0728 for the reviews. You guys are the shit.

Music

The Cure for Pain - Jon Foreman

See How Man Was Made - Josh Ritter

There was a little restaurant on the boardwalk that sat above the water overlooking the lake and harbored boats. When Elijah asked for a table they put them at the corner of two windows, accommodatingly secluded from the rest of the customers. There was a moment of hesitation Elijah waited to sit down before Hayley. It was a courteous gesture that he did so effortlessly, she hardly noticed. He looked over at her to notice how uncomfortably she looked. Her shoulders were slightly raised and she kept playing with the end of the tablecloth.

"So are you going to take a bite of our waitress while I munch on some French fries?" She half laughed looking up at him.

"Contrary to popular belief, vampires can eat quite normally if we also have a sufficient amount of blood in our system." He said looking at the menu. Hayley raised her eyebrows in surprise, not expecting that to be the case.

"'Hey Hayley what did you learn today?' 'Oh nothing much dad, just that vampires can eat normal food like any human does.'" She had the mock conversation mostly to herself but Elijah could perfectly hear it from across the table.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. But, for some reason, I doubt that's what the average conversation sounds like in your household."

"Yeah, you are right. Actually, conversation in general is rare." She corrected herself. A gloomy sigh came out. Always underestimating him, she didn't realize he would catch it.

"What exactly is your family like?" Elijah was honestly curious. His entire time knowing her, not once did they call her. Yes, she'd told him they were away on a long business trip but it didn't seem like it was even close to the first time. Elijah was no expert on parenting, his rearing and life was proof of that. But he couldn't see them as being good parents if they treated Hayley this way.

She cringed at the question. Her parents were not a favorite subject to talk about. Looking up at him she measured if he truly cared to hear it.

"Do you really want to know?" She winced.

"Yes, very much. I believe that your parents tell a great deal about you."

"Ah gosh…where do I start? Umm… they met when they were both working at a competitive law firm. They 'fell in love' or whatever. And they tried the whole typical American family thing. They had my sister and I think they realized that they were never cut out to be parents. It was probably a fun game to them at first, like little kids playing house. And although they will never admit it, I don't think they were ever planning to have another child. Lucky for them, they had my sister to take care of me. I guess they figured we could raise each other and they could go back to being a kid-less couple. Right around the time my mom found out she was pregnant with me; they had already planned on starting their own law firm. They take most of the jobs that no one else wants that involve severe traveling. So as you've probably observed they're rarely home. And now we're just a standard dysfunctional family." She finished sarcastically. Taking a sip of water, she didn't want to look up at Elijah.

He was taking in everything she said still. They ignored Hayley as if she was an annoying thorn in their side rather than their own daughter. It explained why she acted the way she did. So used to being treated as if she was unimportant, she never dared to try and open up to anyone. Growing up, she always tried to make her parents happy, and every time she was disappointed when they still failed to acknowledge her. Elijah's first instinct was to tell her he was sorry for what horrible parents she was unfortunately given. But she didn't want sympathy. She was tough and to pity her would be an insult. He understood that.

"Hayley, sometimes we get unsuitable people as parents and it makes us think we did something wrong to deserve them. But it's not your fault."

She had been looking out the window as he spoke to him. But what he was saying caught her attention. Her eyes filled with the sadness that had been built up over her entire life. "Why are you saying that?" She said softly.

"Because I don't consider anyone ever has. I hate the thought of you blaming yourself for the absence of concern and love your parents have."

Before she could thank him for saying the thing no one else ever did, their server came over. Hayley sat up straight and turned her attention to the waitress. She quickly ordered a vanilla latte and Elijah ordered a plain black coffee. The waitress smiled and muttered something about coming back to take their order in a little bit. Elijah was too busy staring at Hayley to pay any attention to it.

"That must explain why you're so close to your sister." Elijah continued once the waitress had moved on to her other tables.

"How do you know that I'm close to my sister?" She gave him a wary look.

"Simple, it's the way your voice and mannerisms change when you talk about her. And you seemed openly pleased when you were speaking with her on the phone the other day." The waitress came back with their coffee and asked if they were ready to order. Hayley asked for chocolate chip pancakes and Elijah for eggs benedict. And once again she rushed away, leaving them alone.

"You seem waste a lot of energy trying to figure me out." She exhaled.

Elijah tilted his head, wasn't it obvious to her? "Well, I wouldn't have to put forth such an effort if you would merely let your guard down." At that her cheeks blushed a soft pink. It was a rarity, but Elijah decided right then that he would do anything to see it again.

Taking a sip of her latte, she seemed to be having an internal battle in her mind. When she looked at Elijah, all she sought to do was tell him anything he wanted to know. But everything in her past and in her gut told her not to let such a thing occur. Every time she allowed herself to open up and just be herself, it never ended how she had anticipated. The other person would never say the right thing or they would disappear altogether when she started to trust them. How could she throw Elijah in that pile though? He'd done nothing wrong to her. Never once did he show signs of abusing her trust or her vulnerabilities.

If you do what you're thinking, you'll fall for him, her mind told her. What do you expect to get out of this? Do you plan on having a vampire for a boyfriend? Maybe take him to prom this year?He's over a thousand years old; it's nothing but trouble. Hayley told her brain to shut the hell up. From what she'd learned from books and movies, the brain always was the realist. It kept you safe and made it clear when the answer to your problems was easy. The mind made right and wrong seem so simple. But when listening to only your brain, you ended up with a life without risks, a safe life. While her brain told her never to open up to anyone, her heart was telling her that if she should let her guard down to anyone ever again, it should be the man sitting across from her right now.

Taking in a deep breath, she leaned forward on the table. "Ok then, what do you want to know?"

Elijah didn't smile at her change in defense. He saw how hard it was for her to agree to let him in just a little. No matter what happened between them, if she decided that he no longer deserved a part in her life, he would never let her regret trusting him.

"Why do you like photography so much?" He asked after a tick of hesitation.

She smiled at that one, knowing already how she would respond. It was an easy one to start with and Elijah knew it. "I like seeing things in a different way. If I can take a picture of something so ordinary, that people don't think twice about, and have them take a second glance than I succeeded. Life is short, and most of the time, people move too fast to appreciate the little things that aren't perceived as beautiful."

Elijah shook his head at her response. "When you say things like that, I have to remind myself that you're only 17 years old."

Because he brought it up, she took the opportunity to ask what she'd been thinking since the day they met. "Why are you so interested in me? You've been alive for so long, met so many people…probably many fascinating and beautiful women. How can anyone catch your eye anymore, especially me?"

The question completely caught Elijah off guard. He never imagined that she would view the situation in such a way. Is that really how she thought of a vampire's immortality and how he'd use it? And it was so obvious that the way she viewed herself was distorted. She couldn't believe that she caught the attention of anyone.

"I don't think you stand ready to hear the answer quite yet. But I promise, one day I will tell you." He replied graciously. She glared at him, annoyed by his reply. Elijah knew she thought that was his way of getting out of a question he didn't have an answer to. But he knew exactly what he wanted to say; except he knew she wasn't ready to hear it. Then reality was constantly on his mind. The chances of him loving this girl, without anyone getting hurt, were awfully poor. The more time he spent with Hayley, the more he wished to give her any happiness possible. And Elijah couldn't convince himself that it would be found through him. His only reasoning for being in her life this long was for untainted self-seeking reasons. She fascinated him in no way than any other woman had. Hayley enamored him and he simply could not help it.

Their food had finally arrived but Hayley was no longer interested in eating. She wanted to figure Elijah out. Yes, he'd told her all about his family but that only made her feel the sorrow and loss. She didn't know what made Elijah happy, what he's spent his entire life doing, or just the stupid things, like their favorite color, that you always want to know about somebody you've just met. But the subject of past affections still scratched the service of her mind, fighting its way out into the open. Did she dare open this box up? Although, then she asked herself what the point in pushing it aside for another time was.

"How many women have you been in love with?" It rushed out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Elijah waited, trying to measure if she was being serious or slightly mocking him. Slowly, he put his silverware down and crossed his arms.

"Two." He said calmly. Two? Two! Hayley thought. It almost made it worse. To live a thousand years and only love two women, the stories were either tragic or romantic. She didn't think she was prepared to hear either. Then she became confused at why it bothered her so much. She was jealous! Intimidated by women she knew she could never compare to without even knowing a single thing about her.

"What happened to them?" She continued carefully.

"One went missing and the other became a vampire." Elijah became aware of how intimidated Hayley was becoming. "Before I tell you anymore, you must know that it is nothing like what you are picturing right now. It was unrequited love, ending before it began and there is nothing left but wasted emotion." But nothing he said would ease her.

"What were their names?" She murmured.

"Tatia and Katarina."