Nikita lay, flat on his back, beneath a window. It was a window that belonged to a bedroom. A bedroom that belonged to a girl. He was behind a large, untamed bush of ivy, hidden from view of the public. He grimaced at the bugs crawling around inside the bush, having never had a real liking for them. It hadn't been hard to find this window, let alone the small house it belonged to.

After chasing down a couple lame deer outside of New York's bright lights, Nick trailed back to the bus stop where he'd encountered Olivia. His stone brow furrowed as he examined the surroundings, attempting to find out where the girl had run off to. He saw a diner down the road, closed, a dance studio down the road in the opposite direction and a library across the street. Unable to find anything worth his time, Nick plopped down into the bench and heaved a loud sigh.

Just then, something shiny caught his now softer grey eyes. He was upon the object in a moment. It was small, and when he picked it up, he discovered it was a card. It was in a small laminated pouch, and he scanned the first side of it he saw. A bus pass. Well, that means she must have walked the rest of the way home. He flipped it over, and saw something actually useful. Her student ID card, along with her school photo.

"Olivia Roberts... grade 11, Regis High School..." Nikita muttered to himself. Simple enough. It had her name, and it was definitely her face. He could just go to the school and see her there in the morning, but he wouldn't mind seeing her living arrangements. All he needed now was a phone book. After that was in his capable, and cold, hands, having found it in a telephone booth, he was all set. Within a mere hour he found the house. It wasn't a mansion, that's for sure.

A one level house painted a pastel indigo color with three windows all on one wall. There were two wide ones, those of the bedrooms, and one smaller ones between them. He guessed the smaller one was the bathroom one because of the way the glass had been blurred. The blinds were closed on each bedroom. They were a dull, off white hue with several kinks and creases in them. Nikita angled himself, peering through the narrow cracks, trying to figure out which one belonged to Olivia. In one room, the room at the far end of the house, he saw a queen sized mattress with multiple quilts piled in a heap in the middle of the bed. A broken lamp in the corner, pillows without any coverings, a stained carpet and a dusty mirror were the only other things he saw in the room. Clearly, this wasn't her room. He switched over to the other window, passing the bathroom window on his way, and discovered a completely different scene.

The walls of this room were painted a light, cheery yellow with crisp white trim. A twin bed with a white duvet and half a dozen pillows was off in one corner, and a clean, well-kept wooden desk in another corner. The room had been rid of the carpet, and instead had a worn out wooden floor. Her closet was open, revealing some jackets and shoes, and many, many books. Big reader, clearly. Next to her bed sat a nightstand with a small lamp, the only thing currently lighting the room. There were several other lamps scattered throughout the room, as well. At the foot of her bed, was a laundry hamper and then her dresser was fitted snugly beside her desk. Her desk held papers and a pencil case, a lamp and a small portable stereo. On top of her dresser, were multiple stacks of CD's.

Nikita was astounded by the difference between the rooms…. It was like it wasn't even in the same house, as if they were from different worlds. He wondered, whom did the other room belong to? It was dirty and dark and depressing…

Then, Olivia had entered the room. He only observed her for a few moments, not wanting to intrude. Even he had the decency to give a girl her privacy, especially since it was a human girl. But from what he saw, she was an average teenage girl, nothing particularly special about her. Well, other than the fact that her blood was odorless.
She walked in, wearing black boxers and a baby pink camisole, yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and she was barefoot. After letting her hair out, she sat down on her bed with a loud sigh and pulled out some socks. She slipped them on, then curled up under the warm blankets. She adjusted and readjusted the pillows until they were to her desired comfort. Once she finally lay still and closed her eyes, Nikita gave her the deserved privacy.

Now, he'd been lying beneath her window for a solid eight hours, and the sun was starting to rise. A small amount of panic formed in his throat, until the dull grey clouds slid over the light and cast the whole street in a shadow. He checked his pocket watch. It was six thirty in the morning. A few moments later, the light above him flicked on and he heard her crawling out of bed. The light brightened as he heard her flick on a few more lamps, then she opened a drawer to her dresser.

Olivia got home faster than she though, that night. She guessed it was probably because she was so terrified, she lost track of time. But she checked the clock when she got home, and saw it had taken her forty minutes to run from the bus stop home. Her eyebrows had risen in wonder. Last time she checked, she could barely run for ten minutes, let alone sprint for forty. Must have been the fear pulsing through her. It was kind of silly, really. One little thing freaks her out and she makes a huge deal and runs away. Typical of her to over-exaggerate...
But it wasn't just the smelling thing… there was a vibe… a vibe that intrigued her yet told her sternly to keep away. It was a chilling feeling; one that gave you shivers of both pleasure and fear…

She tried to forget the whole incident, changing right away into her pyjamas; a pair of black silky boxers and a pale pink camisole. But she found herself still quivering as she undressed and dressed. Her hair, she tied it back using an old elastic then grabbed a couple pins and stuck in there in the shape of an 'X' to hold it up. However, it took her longer than usual to make them straight because of her quivering hands. Too exhausted to wash her face or even brush her teeth, Olivia walked slowly back to her room. She was glad she never had to walk by her mother's room, at the end of the hall, not that it was ever occupied by its rightful owner. Her mother was always at some motel, too exhausted by whatever she did to drive all the way home. Or at least, that was the excuse she gave Olivia. She paid the bills when she came home every now and then, making sure her daughter was all right, but other than that, she was practically nonexistent.
But her room… Oh her room was so dreadful. It was never taken care of, dust always lined every surface…

Anyhow, Olivia put some cozy dry socks on and curled up in her bed.
Her sleep was fitful, waking up every now and then. She didn't dream much, but she did see a mix up of different images. The one that kept repeating itself was Nikita's wide curious eyes, penetrating her own green ones. That explained why she couldn't sleep. They seemed to stare right through her. She awoke a bit later than usual. Half an hour later, to be exact. Her alarm read six thirty in the morning, so she rolled out of bed and flicked her lamp on. After adjusting her eyes to the new lighting, Olivia stretched and dragged her feet off to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, going through the tedious tasks she went through every morning: brush hair, brush teeth, get dressed, make toast, apply makeup…

Of course, they were absolutely necessary. Well, except maybe the make-up part. But she only used a bit of cover up and some lip-gloss and mascara. She never lathered on the stuff like she was some sort of showgirl. Even though she was fortunate enough to have porcelain skin, like that of a doll's, there was the odd imperfection along her face.

Once she was ready, her hair in a neat low ponytail and wearing her denim skort and purple blouse with her worn out white sneakers, Olivia ate quickly then dashed out the door, grabbing her bag along the way.

Nikita was instantly awake when he heard the creaking of the door opening, followed by a faint click as she closed it. Show time.

Olivia walked briskly down the driveway, paying more attention to searching for something in her bag than to where she placed her feet. Then, she stepped on her own toe by accident and wound up falling onto the crack concrete. Her knees broke her fall and she dropped her bag.

"Ouch!" she cried, wincing. She brought one knee up to examine it. After brushing away the small fragments of rocks, sure enough, she'd skinned her knees. There was some blood, but not a whole lot.

This was Nikita's chance. While she was distracted by her own simple pain, he ran to the other side of the road. His movement was so quick; no one could have possibly seen it. But, the fact that she was bleeding and he sense nothing only made him more irritated.

"Miss? Are you alright?" his voice was even softer than it was last night, what with him being much more calm and relaxed and at ease after feeding.

But because it was so soft, it sent off a major alarm in Olivia's head. Her head snapped up and her bright green eyes widened in horror.
"Y-you—!" she stammered, unable to finish.

"Are you okay?" Nikita asked again, looking at her knee. "Did you fall?"

"I'm fine." She snapped, standing up right, regaining her thoughts. "What do you want?"

Nikita frowned. "I see you're still upset about last night." He acknowledged.

Olivia scoffed. "No, why should I be?" she retorted.

Nikita hadn't been expected her to be so rash. "Well, I assumed you took my actions in the wrong sense…"

Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Actions? You were smelling me!!" she almost screamed

Nikita shook his head. "Seems I was right. You see, I was looking for the time. I thought maybe you might have a watch."

"Why didn't you just ask?" she spat, bending down quickly to retrieve her bag.

Nick shrugged. "I dunno. You were acting all weird… guess I didn't want to bother you."

"Well that worked like a charm…" she muttered, inaudible for any human ear, but Nikita heard just fine.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess I should explain…"

Olivia nodded in approval.

"You see, I live at the end of this street. Just moved here, in fact. I've seen you around a few times… and I recognized you at the bus stop. I thought maybe I could strike up some sort of conversation." He seemed embarrassed. Great liar, indeed.

Olivia wasn't one to be gullible, but the way he said it all, she just had to believe him. He really hadn't done anything wrong. She sighed, loosening her posture.

"Okay.." she said, dismissing her negativity.

Nikita seemed to like that, smiling triumphantly. "Anyways, I came back to give you this. You dropped it, uh… on your way home.." he said, substituting the real story with something less embarrassing, for her sake. He held out the bus pass and ID card.

Olivia's eyes widened. She hadn't even realized she'd lost them. "Thank you." She said, extremely grateful, as she took them from him. The cards were cold… She wondered why…

"Are you on your way to school?" he asked, glancing at her bag.

"Er, yeah…" Liv responded shyly.

"Mind if I walk you? It's the least I could do. Besides, I'm new at the school. Wouldn't mind if I had someone more accustomed to it than I." He spoke so eloquently. It was something you picked up after three or four centuries.

Olivia nodded, a bit confused by his request. The two walked in silence, side by side, walking in unison. She averted her gaze from his at all times, while he couldn't let his eyes leave her. He pursed his lips, concentrating.

This was all so… so… so weird.