A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been away on vacation for the last week, and then the system must have crashed because I couldn't log on and upload last night. Oh well.

Object of Interest

It was almost sunrise by the time the vampires surrounding the church decided to call it quits for the night. Islene had slept lightly throughout the night, her dreams haunted by visions of her beloved Scott in the hands of nightmarish creatures, tormented, agonized, and completely at their mercy. Or lack thereof, as the case was. And she saw herself, running towards him but never moving forwards. Indeed, she seemed to be moving backwards as Scott was taken slowly away from her, his screams of anguish echoing in the darkness, surrounding her, choking her, until she awoke with a violent start and a choked, "No!" She looked all around her, fearful that she would see the demons with Scott. Slowly she relaxed, trying to still her racing heart.

"Islene…"

She froze. She knew the voice, but she didn't know how. It held no menace, or mesmer, as she called the hypnotic quality the vampires' voices took on when they called to her, taking the word from a book she had read, but it had to be a vampire. But who?

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Islene…it's me."

Her eyes widened. "Scott?" she whispered, her voice squeaking a little. "Is it really you?"

"Yes. And I'm alone. I'm out here. Come to the window; you don't have to come outside."

Obligingly, Islene went to the window. Standing outside, all alone and looking very somber, was Scott. She gave a small cry of delight, and started for the door. But then she stopped. This could all be a clever trick. An illusion, a strange game of the light. She wasn't going to be fooled so easily. She walked back to the window slowly.

"Prove it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Scott arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Prove you are the real Scott," she said.

"How shall I do that? I first asked you out on your birthday two years ago. Our first date was to see Phantom of the Opera, your favourite Broadway musical. Afterwards, I gave you a black rose, our symbol of undying love. For your last birthday, I gave you a custom-made silver locket in the shape of a rose with a picture of the two of us together inside. We found the bodies of both our families just a few weeks ago while we were away at a Ren faire, for which you had dressed in a Sherwood Forrest gown bought online from a Jeannie Nitro site. I wore a…"

"Not good enough," said Islene flatly. "There had to be vampires at all those events; you could know that from any one of them."

"Then what do you wish of me?"

"Tell me my name. Say it, if you know, or let me be."

Scott gazed at her for a moment. "I understand your skepticism. Your name is SIN. It stands for Soul Islene Nyelle. You always went by your middle name to save yourself from being taunted more than necessary. You only wanted me to call you Soul because I love you. It was special. It was just for us. You are Soul."

Islene stood staring wide-eyed at him. "Yes!" she finally said, nearly speechless with joy. She rushed outside to him and into his arms, almost crying. Scott held her close, but he kept his head back a little. Islene knew perfectly well why, but she tried to kid herself into believing something else was the reason. "Oh, Scott," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have moved faster, I could have saved you, I should have-"

"Shh," said Scott gently, pulling back and placing a finger to her lips. "You don't have to say anything. It wasn't your fault. Shh, don't cry. It's all right." He took her face in his hands lovingly and smiled at her, brushing away her tears. "I love you. I always love you. And I will always love you." She smiled back now.

"I love you too," she said. "And I want to be with you. So the question now is: What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I want to be with you too," he said. "But I don't want you to give up all that we've fought for just for me. It can't be this easy for them. They've put us through hell, now we're going to give it right back to them. If they ever do get you, I'll make sure they don't kill you, so we can be together." He looked at the sky and frowned. "But I should go soon, before I'm missed. But I'll come back, if I can."

"Yes, please," said Islene. "I want to see you again."

"And I you," replied Scott smiling. He leaned in towards her and their lips met. Islene pulled back sharply, however, when Scott bit her lip.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, licking the few drops of her blood off his lips. "Really, I didn't mean to do that."

"No, I understand," said Islene, sucking on her bleeding lip. "You can't help it, can you." It really wasn't a question. Scott sighed sadly.

"I have to go," he said.

"You can't stay any longer?" asked Islene, though she already knew the answer. Scott didn't reply, just kissed her again.

"I will come back," he insisted. "Good-night…Soul." With that, he vanished into the night. Islene hurried back to the church. Before she entered, however, she turned back one last time.

"Good-night, sweet prince," she whispered, and entered the church, locking the door behind her. Neither she nor Scott had noticed the humanoid figure hiding in the shadows watching them.

"Hmm…interesting," he mused. With a wicked grin, he left.