Okay, so, I usually don't do this, but I have a shout out right here.

Raven, I like freaking love you. Your reviews on this fic make me smile, they're so nice! :D

That is all. You may now carry on and read :D I hope you like it!

"You."

I nearly shit myself when I saw that she was pointing at me. I felt the blood drain from my face as people stared at me. Why me? How did she know I was here? I got past the other vampires with ease. Because she's different. "You better get on that stage before I do." A guy said, causing ripples of giggles and chuckles through the crowd. I slowly stood to my feet, my eyes locked on her bright green ones.

I walked up on the stage, still looking into her eyes, and stopped before her. When she wore heels, she came up to about my nose, opposed to no heels when she came to my shoulder. How could I have hated her? How could I have wanted to kill her? How could I have killed her father? All these thoughts rushed through my head as a battle raged inside me.

Kill the bitch, we hate her.

No, I can't, I love her!

We hate her.

Who is 'we'?

"You seem troubled." She said, circling me, avoiding my eyes. I gulped. Oh, God, what is she going to do to me? Maybe I should kill her, before she can kill me. I nodded slowly in response to her question. "You could say that." I said carefully, watching her. The crowd was soaking this up. They were staring intently, not a single sound was made. I eased my hand into my pocket where a pocket knife was hiding. Her eyes then met mine. I stopped.

She was looking at me with concern, compassion, and…fear. I put my hand down slowly and let it hang by my sides. I saw something flicker in her eyes, but I'm not sure what it was. She backed away slowly, still circling. I slightly tensed as the water above our heads thawed. Quick as a flash, she brought the water towards her, froze it, and threw it at me in one fluid motion. I ducked and rolled out of the way.

I looked up at her. She was facing the audience and she…winked at me? I stared dumbly. She tried to kill me and then winked at me…? She did it again. "Make it good." She murmured low enough so that only I could hear it. I nodded imperceptibly and flipped over her as she shot more water at me. The crowd was gasping and cheering and just couldn't get enough of it. I could see the smile in her eyes.

Soon she stopped where she was standing, threw the water in the air, and let the drops just stay still there. She smiled and bowed and her act was concluded. She waved her hand towards me. "Please, give it up for my amazing partner, Steve Leonard!" she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to center stage. I stared at her, shocked, and she raised our clasped hands in the air and pulled us into a bow.

She looked to her left and stared at the tall ringmaster for a long time before nodding and pulling me back stage. What the hell is she doing? What if someone sees us? I tried to pull away but she stopped and glared at me before she pulled on my arm again and kept walking. She dragged me through the deserted camp and into the forest next to it. She stopped when we came to a clearing where she dropped my arm.

We stood like that for a long time, silent, before she spoke.

"Steve…why are you here?" she asked, looking into my eyes. I hesitated. "I don't know." I whispered. She glared at me. "Steve, don't lie to me." She said. I looked down as I pulled out the pocket knife. Flipping it open, I looked up at her. She looked sad. "You came to finish what you started." She said quietly. I nodded slowly. "I did…I was going to wait through the show and find you after and kill you, but…" I trailed off.

"But what?" she asked, slowly approaching me. I clenched the knife in my hand. "I…can't" I whispered. She gently put her hand on mine and looked up into my eyes. "Why?" She asked. I yanked my hand from her. "I don't know!" I shouted at her. I started pacing back and forth in the meadow, getting angrier with each step. Finally, I groaned and fell on my ass, dropping my head into my hands.

"I want to kill you…so bad. I hate you so much. But…I can't kill you…I…I don't hate you, I love you, so so much. But…we want to kill you and we hate you so much." I said hoarsely. She dropped in front of me and gently held my face, pulling it up so she was looking into my eyes.

"Who is 'we'?" She asked softly. "I don't know…they won't leave me alone…Vanessa, they want you dead." She sucked in her breath. I stared intently at her. She was beautiful.

Her pale skin. Her full, pink lips. Her hazelnut curls. Her small hands. Her delicate body. Her sparkling green eyes that were gazing into mine, full of fear, concern, and compassion. I couldn't take it.

I took hold of her face and brought her lips to mine, kissing her roughly. She gasped in surprise and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth, pressing it against hers. I could feel her hands on my chest. Even though I knew she was just trying to push me away, the contact felt good and nearly drove me crazy.

I tore myself away from her and stared at her as she laid on the ground gasping for breath.

"Steve! Steve, what did you do to her?" I looked up to see Darren bursting into the clearing, followed by Vancha March and that kid Eric that Vanessa re-blooded. Darren fell to the ground and pulled Vanessa into him. "Are you okay? What'd he do to you? Are you hurt?" he asked her. She looked up at me, eyes wide. "I-I'm fine, he didn't hurt me." She said quietly. Darren looked up at me, confused and angry.

"Steve, I swear to God—" he began.

"I kissed her." I whispered, appalled with myself. I hated her! Why did I kiss her?

Because you love her.

How could I have done this? That look on her face…the look in her eyes…why?

Because you love her.

Why the hell is all this shit happening to me?

Because you love her.

I stumbled backwards and ran away, as fast as I could. I knew I didn't need to, Vanessa wouldn't let them hurt me, I know that now, but I couldn't stand to look at her. She wasn't mine anymore, she was Darren's. And that thought alone nearly drove me insane.

Because I loved her.