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Jerry parked his truck in the back of the diner, right next to her car, as he always did. He slipped out it, excited to see her again. He had called her during the day under the guise of letting her have his number but he really just wanted to hear her voice. This time, things were going to be different for them. This time he would change her and keep her forever. He would never again have to feel the pain of her death. He would never again find her as he had in the past, never would he bury her again. By changing her, it would actually save hundreds from having to face his grief and anger.

" Hey!" Nick voice called out. Jerry smiled. He had been expecting this.

" Hey there, guy." Jerry said when he turned and faced her angry ex-boyfriend. Jerry's back was to the diner.

" Hey there, guy? Who the hell do you think you are? What have you been telling my girlfriend?" Nick asked. He was walking towards Jerry.

" I haven't been telling her anything. I haven't had too, she sees a lot." Jerry said.

" I know you think you have some stupid crush on her, but she belongs to me so you need to back the fuck off." Nick spit out. Jerry chuckled as he started to rub his upper lip. " I'm the one who fucks her, not you, you got that? Remember this, next time you're staring at her ass, you're staring at my sloppy seconds. That bitch..." Nick's words were cut off suddenly. Jerry had the man by the throat and was holding him in the air. Nick's hands were grasping at Jerry's, his eyes were wide.

" She never belonged to you, you got that?" Jerry hissed out. He knew his fangs were out and he didn't care. " She is no one's sloppy seconds. If I ever hear you call her a bitch again, I will rip your fucking throat out, do you understand me?" Nick was kicking his legs. Jerry shook him hard. " Do you understand me?"

" I... understand." Nick managed to get out. Jerry dropped him straight to the ground and pulled his fangs back.

" Good, now get the fuck out of here." Without another word, Nick turned and quickly left the parking lot. Jerry smiled and started around the building.

When he walked into the diner, she was standing at a table, taking an order. She looked away and met his eyes. He saw her struggling not to smile as she quickly switched her head towards the counter. Jerry smiled and walked over to where she wanted him. He slipped into the seat and waited. He glanced behind him at her as she gathered the menus and left the table.

" Are you the only one working here?" Jerry asked as she came up to him. She set a menu down then walked around him.

" No. We were slow so I told Gail she could go home. I'm only here for two more hours, I think I can handle it. Coffee?" She asked.

" Sure." Jerry said as he watched her. She had on her jeans and the diner's white tee shirt. There was a small black apron tied around her waist. When she reached up to get a cup for him, the back of her shirt came up and he could see her skin, her milky white skin. He sighed as he remembered all to well what it tasted like.

" Rough day?" She asked.

" What?" Jerry asked. She faced him with a smile and the coffee pot.

" Did you have a rough day? You sighed pretty big so I was just wondering." She said.

" No, I had a good day, better now that I'm here with you." He said, liking the blush she started sporting.

" Why do you say those things to me?" Lyric asked as she set the cup down.

" Say what?" Jerry asked. Lyric shrugged as she poured the coffee and grabbed him some creamers.

" The things you say to me." She said.

" Like what? That your name is beautiful, or that you're beautiful, or that seeing you is the highlight of my night? You mean that stuff? "

" Yeah." Lyric was blushing again as she turned around to put the coffee pot down.

" Because I mean it." Lyric moved to the computer and started to enter in her order for her other customers.

" But you hardly know me." She said.

' I know you better than you know your self.' He thought.

" Doesn't make anything any less true. I think Lyric is a beautiful name. I think you are beautiful and seeing you in the best part about tonight so far." Jerry said honestly. She shook her head but laughed.

" You're good for a girl's ego." She said. Jerry smiled.

" I'd like to bring you to my place tonight, if that's all right with you." Lyric turned around and walked until she was standing in front of him.

" But it will be 10 when I clock out." She said. Jerry leaned forward with his arms on the counter and his hands clasped together.

" I'm a night owl." He said. " I'd like to spend time with you, continue getting to know you. I have seen where you live, you can see where I live." Lyric smiled like she was trying to hide it. Finally she nodded.

" I think I'd like that." She said. Jerry nodded.

After she shift was over, Lyric followed Jerry to his place. She was surprised at how eager she was so spend time with him. There was something so familiar and comforting about him and the more she was around him, the more she was starting to like him. She wasn't going to jump into anything with him but she was excited to be around someone who wanted more then sex.

Lyric pulled up beside Jerry. His house was in the woods with no other houses around and she started to feel a little nervous. She didn't really know him that well and if he tried anything, she'd be completely at his mercy right then. She shook her head as she got out of her car. Somewhere, deep inside her, she knew better than to be scared of him. She was sure he'd never hurt her.

" I'm afraid the house is a bare." He said. " I am redoing the upstairs so right now I live in the basement part of the house. So I hope you can over look everything until we are in my main living area." Lyric smiled. Jerry seemed so cool and collected, it was nice for her to see him nervous about something.

" This is a nice house." She said.

" Thank you." Jerry said as they walked up the sidewalk.

Jerry lived in a two story log cabin. The ground floor was bare, with no couches, or furniture of any kind. He explained to her that he had just redone the floors and the walls. They walked through the living room to a door. Again, Lyric questioned what she was doing following a strange man down into his basement but then Jerry smiled warmly at her and her fear melted away.

The basement of the cabin was completely done. It had a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. It was cozy and warm, not at all like most basements. It even had a gas fireplace. The only thing missing were windows. His space screamed male to her. All the wood was dark, the couches were big and a big screen, flat TV was mounted against one of the walls. The area smelled like warm cinnamon.

" I love cinnamon." Lyric said without thinking. She was following him to the kitchen. Jerry smiled.

' I know.' He kept the cinnamon scent around him because of her.

" It is my favorite as well." He said. " Would you like a drink?"

The evening went smoothly. They sat on his couch, facing each other, and talked for hours. Lyric felt like they would never run out of things to say to each other and she loved it. She had been dating Nick for six months and they had never had the good times that she and Jerry had been having. By the time Lyric looked at the clock, it was 2 in the morning.

" Holy shit, I'm so sorry!" She said as she set her empty cup down. " I didn't realize it was so late. I need to go."

" Don't worry. You aren't keeping me from anything but if you are tired, then let me walk you out." Jerry said.

XXXXXX

" Elizabetha, do not fear me, my love." Jareth whispered into her ear.

" But you are a vampire, a souless devil." She whispered. Jareth was standing behind her, holding her against him.

" I am a vampire but I am no devil. You know of my love for you. If I were a devil could I have fallen for an angel?" Elizabetha's breath caught and her eyes closed when he slowly dragged the tip of his tongue up her neck. Her head fell back and she moaned.

" But you killed those men. I saw you." She whispered. Around them lay the bodies of four highway men, all drained of blood.

" What choice did I have? Would you have rathered that I stand by and allow them to hurt what I hold most dear? Should I have let them rape and kill you?" He asked. He turned her in his arms. " Don't hide your beautiful eyes from me. If you can not accept me for what I am, then I will leave you be. I will not ask your father for your hand in marriage as we planned. You but say the word and I am gone." Elizabetha looked up at him and frowned. " Is that what you want?" For a while she didn't speak.

" If you were to leave, then I will die of heartbreak." She finally admitted. Jareth smiled and brought one hand to the back of her neck.

" Know that I would never hurt you or your family. I love you to much to cause you pain."

" How can this work? How can we be married?" Elizabetha asked.

" I would like to change you. If I change you, make you like me, then we can be together forever but if that is not what you want, then I shall care for you throughout your life." Jareth said. " I love you, Elizabetha LaMont." He whispered before he kissed her.