"I told you. My name is Ivan." He said, feeling his heart break. "I don't want to eat you…not ever. It's nothing like that. Please…trust me." He would never hurt him. He would be forever damned to loneliness and the sensation of being alone forever. But who would ever want to be known as friend to a zombie. "I really wanted to be with you."

"No!" She shrieked, posing herself as she had done in the memory of the fencing battle with Charles. "You're trying to fool me! You're a demon; a man of death!"

"Please…" Ivan begged, wiping the foundation off his face to show off his rotted, grey-green flesh and molded eye sockets. "I would never try to fool you. Please trust me. It's not my fault I'm like this."

Francesca watched in horror as the zombie reached under his shirt and pushed past the aged, worn surface of the flap of skin that acted as a weak shield to his heart. Zombies needed no heart; their brain was all they needed to survive.

Wincing once, Ivan pulled out the heart and shoved it towards her as though it were a prize. "I no longer need this, Francesca." He said, staring at her intently. "For my heart no longer beats. But my brain…it needs love. And I love you. I wanted to tell you, but I knew you would run away. For weeks, I've been eating the brains of people close to you, old lovers and stuff. And they make me feel alive. You make me feel alive, thoughI'm dead. I'm sorry my flesh is dead and rotting; that my heart can no longer beat for you. But…" He paused here, unsure of how to go on. Resorting to the first thing that came to mind. "But I really…love you. And I'll love you forever. Until we are torn to bits by death and those who hate us."

Francesca swallowed and backed away, shaking her head. "No. You can't love. It's…impossible."

"The heart…doesn't create love, Francesca. Though it hurts when one's love is unrequited." At this, he sighed. So many people thought the same as she did; that one could love so long as one's heart was intact, forbidding Ivan from love. And, of course, they were wrong. Love was produced by the brain; your heart ached because of what people told you. "If my heart were still beating…it would be for you. I promise."

"But…it's not." She continued to back away, the twilight that had dimmed the streets on both of their journeys adding to the fear. Didn't zombies get more powerful during the night?

"Francesca, don't run. Please…don't run." He practically begged, extending the hand with the heart clasped in it. "I never meant for you to find out. Don't leave me…please don't leave me."

Rather than abiding by and paying heed to what he had said, Francesca turned and ran, refusing to stay there and possibly be eaten.

Groaning, he put the heart back in his chest and gave chase to the girl, not wanting to scare her further but knowing there was no other choice; he couldn't bear to lose her after so long a wait to meet and speak with her.

She ran upstairs and pushed open a door, gasping for breath. Looking around, she stopped to catch her escaped breath and swallow, just to see Ivan standing there, giving her a smile. As she screamed, she ran off, away from the zombie.

The same thing happened as she ran back down the stairs, going through hallways and opening virtually every one of the doors to the outside, making it a grand total of three times. And every time, Ivan was there, ready and armed with a smile that began to lose its meaning after time.

When she went back to the front door where the chase had begun and he was there to greet her, she screamed and fainted, falling into his arms.

Pausing for a second, he lifted her ever so gently and walked around the house until he reached her room, placing her down on the soft bed with her hands clasped over her chest in the typical position for those who had fallen to death.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, hesitating yet again before he kissed her. He didn't know if that would change her, and a new part of him hoped that it would. If she could exist without fear of him…think of the times they could have together. They could live anywhere, free from the barriers life set up.

He turned away, ready to leave her here, for she would never accept him now. Not now that she knew that he was a zombie; the things of nightmares.

Francesca awoke, her skin already rotted and her eyes losing their glint. She saw how he had come back, trying to act as though nothing were wrong.

She put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn. When she saw his eyes, she gave an awkward smile.

Smiling back, he moved away the hand and took it in his own. The smiles were exchanged, and they stood there, not caring about anything in the world.

They would be forced to exist for all of eternity, but at least neither would be alone for that time.

A/N Sorry for the slight overlap there, everyone. I wrote Ivan's dialogue and then decided it didn't work because of the text that came after. I hope you enjoyed this story, because this is the last chapter! ^^ Have a good day and thanks for reading!