Disclaimer: I do not own Little Vampire or The Craft (the universe of my OC) and all depictions done are out of love for their respective franchises.

Author Note: I'm so sorry these chapters take so long guys! I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUUU! And your reviews are like magic to my creative soul! I really mean it! They really keep me motivated to write this story! So just think about it, the more lines you guys drop me, the more I'll drop for you ;)! It's a bit of give and take, but not really. Haha! I'm just super happy if you guys are enjoying the story and I just really love to hear what ya'll have to say! So don't be scared of that little box on the bottom ;)!

- O -

Smooth black backs scurried along the undersides of her arms. Her hands balled up into claws. "Get off!" she rasped. "Get the fuck off of me!" Her throat was raw from her cries. She screamed desperately as the swarm grew in its might and began to lay their prickly legs across her face. One even went as far as to scamper by the corner of her eye. "Please! For fuck's sake!" Her arms drew up from the ground before she slammed them back into the damp earth. All at once the illusions began to dissipate. Each and every sticky slithering insect disintegrating from her rattled form. Her wide eyes blinked open in nervous relief as she watched the roach on her cheek suddenly fall away into the air. Breath barely made its way through her lips as she let her head fall back against the ground and let the soil saturate her hair. "W-Wow," was all she managed to mutter. "...This is getting bad." She moved her aching limbs to the side."... I couldn't even tell that I was sleeping," she squeezed her eyes closed.

A few moments passed in beautiful silence.

With shaking palms she lifted herself from the muck on the floor. 'Wait a minute-' Slightly horrified, she rubbed the grim between her fingers. These hexes weren't interfering with the natural magic were they?! She jumped in hurried surprise. The sounds of twittering bugs could be heard and felt moving just beneath the rocky floors surface. "Are they-" she nearly knocked one of her candles over in shock as her feet suddenly stood her from the ground. "Oh God!" Nancy began pulling at her hair and screeching in severe annoyance.

Those fuckin' illusions were eating the natural magic in her tavern.

"I didn't even know that was possible!" she screamed with her broken voice. Her body fell into a squat as she began to rock back and forth on her heels. 'Think think think think! C'mon Pooh Bear think!" The heels of her hands pushed roughly against her eyeballs.

A suffering moment of silence passed.

"...I got nothin'," she admitted uselessly to herself. Her hands let up on the pressure as her red bleary eyes opened to gaze around her seemingly safe tavern. Blowing a disappointed raspberry at nothing in particular Nancy ultimately decided to just give herself a break for the moment and pop her head up to the surface world for some real air.

- O -

Dusting off her dirtied blue jeans and giving a small squint at the fading sun on the horizon Nancy zipped up her jacket before heading off to the morgue. "I could sure use some fresh fruit and some indoor plumbing," she mumbled tiredly. Her arms easily sliding behind her head as she strode her way over to her practiced and marked path to the gravedigger's all too cozy lodgings. Now that she though about it, her jean legs were pretty caked in mud. 'I wonder if he'll be out long enough for me to do some laundry,' she thought idly to herself as she hopped over a tree stump. "Shit," she cursed at the crunching of her shoes. 'There's that damn man now,' her ears had just barely managed to catch the steady rhythm of the grave digger's whistling. Sucking in a breath of air she began to crouch and army crawl herself to the back of a tall headstone. With a last wiggle she managed to fit her body completely against its stony surface.

"...I coulda' swore tha I heard somethin'," she heard the thick roll of his Swedish accent as his footfalls neared her.

She held her breath as his dirtied boot almost grazed her hand. 'Shitshitshitshitshitshit-' her inner mantra hummed as she pushed her back anxiously against the shadow of the headstone. 'Don't look behhhhinddd youuuuuu,' she ground her teeth together as she tried to roll herself into a bush while the grave dwellers back was turned.

Fate had other plans.

A fat glossy beetle flew down from the tree above and landed squarely on Nancy's forehead.

Nothing could not stop the practiced scream that escaped her throat. She flew up from the ground, disregarding the situation entirely and proceeded to flail around madly. Her arms swiping and beating her own head.

She was the picture of insanity.

"Woah! Great Nessy's beard!" She somehow heard the gruff man's voice through her hysteria.

She heard him approach her.

"...Are you alrigh' Lass?" he implored at her now crumpled still crouched figure.

Nancy's eyes were wide as she stared at the ground. 'Well, mother of all suck, how in the hell do I explain this one?!' With a calming breath through her nose she began to think fast.

"Lass?" he ventured even closer.

Nancy began to cough loudly and threw her face into her jacketed arm, effectively smearing her own make-up all over her face. With glassy eyes she looked up into the weather worn face of the grave digger. "...Oh my, I'm so sorry to have disturbed you sir," her voice heightened strangely. "I seem to have gotten lost and I can't find my way and I'm lost an-" she made a keening sound and took a hitched breath before hiding her face back into the crook of her arm.

"Now now deary," the man's voice somehow didn't sound quite so gruff. "C'mere and we'll get you all cleaned up an' have you on yer merry way."

Nancy turned her smeared face back up to look at him.

For all she knew this man could be a psychopath...but then again, what the hell was she? She'd already been to his house dozens of times without him knowing, and not once did she seem to stumble upon anything even remotely sinister. She was definitely more dangerous. Definitely.

She finally nodded her fake flustered little head at him.

- O -

This man's kindness knew no end. She frowned at herself in his bathroom mirror as she pondered this. He had asked her absolutely no questions, fed her, cleaned her clothes, let her use his shower, and the cherry on top of all this was the fluffy white bath robe he had left for her outside the bathroom door. What a goddamn joke. This just wasn't her life. Months of living underground, breaking into this man's house, barely getting by and now she's sitting plush in his bathrobe.

She could just shoot herself.

A soft knock sounded on the door. "Deary, how are you doin'?"

Nancy smacked a palm against her face. "...I'm well sir, thank you so much," she managed to blurt back at him.

"Tis' no trouble, when yer done, I've got some hot cocoa waitin' fer ya!"

Nancy had to stop herself from punching the mirror through. "...Stupid kind people...and their stupid kind habits..." she grumbled to herself as she pushed her nose ring back in and slipped on the stupid fuzzy robe.

- O -

"So," he began levelly. Gazing at Nancy kindly over the rim of his hot cocoa. "Where were ya gettin' to?"

Nancy swallowed stiffly before looking to him shyly. "To be quite honest, I was actually running away sir." She pulled at the rim of the overly fuzzy robe. Not a lie. "There really was no destination for me in the first place." Also not a lie. She looked to the small crack in the linoleum flooring.

She heard him hum in apparent understanding. She really wasn't too shocked that he wasn't surprised. He really didn't seem to be as stupid as she initially thought him to be.

"I figured as much," she heard him mutter. "But, all the same, you were absolutely filthy, no sense leavin' a young lady in such a muck," his face cracked in a weather worn smile.

She grimaced in return. Maybe I was wrong, maybe this dude is a creep. She started to analyze him discreetly, but then he spoke again.

"I'm just takin' a gander, but you must be runnin' from a bad boyfriend I'd venture," he gestured to her uncovered arms.

Nancy unconsciously folded her arms together at the attention. She forgot that the robe would leave her so exposed, but pushing past the discomfort. This was an opening.

She looked to the side before nodding her head solemnly. "Something like that," she ground out.

His grey eyebrows fell into a scowl. "Well, I say good riddance, to a man who can't care for his woman properly," he croaked out in angry concern. "Did'ja move to the isles for 'im?" He asked Nancy gently.

Nancy managed a few theatrical tears as she stared into her steaming hot cocoa. "Aye, I did sir," she whimpered. "From America!"

"From America! Blimey! Darlin', what a fools world this has come to be." He shook his head and scratched at his beanie cap with a dirtied hand.

"A fools world indeed," Nancy spoke softly before taking a final sip of her cocoa.

- O -

"Ahhh," she let loose a large stretch as she experienced the luxury of clean clothing. 'He even cleaned the scuffs off my jacket,' she noticed with a scowl.

"Well now, I say, that'll do ya jus' fine," His voice called to her from the kitchen entry way.

"Yeah," she acknowledged him with a small awkward smile. "I can take it from here sir, thank you so much for your help."

"Twas nothin', you jus' get yerself back onto a flight to those States o' yers," He gave her wrinkled wink before turning around to lead her to the door.

Nancy glanced quickly over to her dusty window before following the Gravedigger to his front door. 'I'm a damn bandit I tell you,' she thought with a shake of her head.

He waited quietly for her in the hallway as she zipped up her jacket and folded her growing curly hair up of of the rim.

"Thanks again sir," Nancy quickly bobbed her head in thanks before trotting her way down the steep cement steps.

"Wait!"

Nancy turned her head abruptly in his direction as the slender grave keeper hurried down to meet her.

"You best be bringing some light in this blackness," his gloved hands passed her a flashlight. "My best wishes to ya-"

"Nancy," she provided for him without hesitation. As kind as this man had been to her, he deserved her real goddamn name.

His laugh lines crinkled at her in a smile as she clicked on her complimentary flashlight and began her imaginary trek.

Nancy waved at him from a fair distance when she noticed that he watching out for her. She gave him a thumbs up before she veered down a hill in the direction of the tall iron gate at the west end of the graveyard. She could make her way back from there. No sense in endangering the tricky position of her Vampires to this cemetery's only other inhabitant. She would just have to be of absolute stealth from now on to avoid being seen by the kind grave digger.

She frowned deeply at the thought. The only decent human she'd encountered in weeks and now she to be absolutely certain that he never saw her again. She was beginning to really realize the full drawbacks to this on-the-run lifestyle.

"Well this sucks," she grumbled out, pausing briefly to gaze up at the milky white half moon. 'There's not really a choice though, is there?' she thought dryly moving her sight downward to a particularly interesting headstone.

It was enormous in its size.

The hollow eyes of an angel faced statuette gazed down at her. It's a wonder her eyes weren't drawn to it immediately. Billowing wet drapery glided down its marble body, rising and shining coolly in the white light of the moon. A single white limestone leg was raised to strike the dragon-like snake frozen in a feral snarl beneath its foot.

Nancy was awestruck.

'To my delightful Nora - May you conquer your demons in the afterlife as well - 1953 - 2003.' Nancy traced the raised surface of the smooth wording with her fingertips.

"Nancy?"

The Witch jumped from her trance at the sudden voice. In extreme relief her scattered thoughts immediately recognized the voice as Rudolf.

"I'm sorry Nancy, I did not mean to give you a fright," Rudolf smiled apologetically at her with a small tilt of his head.

She dismissed him easily. "It's all good Rudolf." She turned to face him just in time to catch his somewhat bewildered nod. A small smile slid onto her face.

The little Vampire child cleared his throat quite properly. "I saw you from above," he gestured to the moon. "My family has just returned from our hunt and I saw your figure, Is all well Nancy?" He asked her carefully, and with a slight tinge of discomfort.

Poor kid. Nancy eyed Rudolf's adorable Victorian clad form. 'Probably thinks I'm going to explode in a crying fit all over him again," she closed her eyes at the memory.

Rudolf sniffed at the air.

"I'm alright Rudolf," she said at last, turning her body back around to face the grandiose headstone. "Really," she gave him a small content smile.

Dust billowed off of Rudolf's nearly ancient state of dress as he crossed his arms at her. "This may be none of my concern but I've taken notice that you and my brother Gregory have ceased speaking after his disappearance," he spoke in utmost innocence.

Nancy's eyebrows furrowed. "Gregory?" She'd forgotten about all that. With all the other conflicts of the day, that particular one had happily fallen through the cracks. But here was Rudolf, acting the true part of curious little brother. How cute.

"Yes," Rudolf nodded slowly. "He insisted on taking you to gather your magic materials that eve, and if I may be so bold, I'd like to inquire about your current lack of communication with him?"

Ahhh, Rudolf. Ever the eloquent speaker. Gregory could certainly learn a thing or two from his charming little brothe-

"Wait a minute!" Nancy exclaimed loudly.

Rudolf barely had time to shield his delicate ears from her outburst.

"That was so a date!" Nancy grabbed at her hair in dismay.

"Date?" Rudolf repeated in complete and utter confusion, all the while still keeping a steady hold over his ears.

'Making me believe that he was forced to be in close proximity with me, he had fucking asked for it!' her thoughts flowed and rambled. "I'm gonna stake his stupid neck-" Nancy huffed to herself as she stomped her way past Rudolf's shocked form.

- O -

'Dumbass can't even look at me now,' her thoughts still rolled as she kicked her way through the foggy graveyard.

Destination unclear, and her thoughts muddled she unknowing stumbled upon the booming voices of Freda and Frederick.

"Frederick, my dearest, we must give her time," she heard the great Vampire matriarch coax from the grove of trees nearby.

"Time!" Frederick boomed. "Time!? Freda, my darling, time is running out!"

Her eyes barely glimpsed his gesticulating arms as she crept her way closer.

Freda's jeweled hand reached forward to comfort her husbands shaking shoulders. Their voices became quiet and too distant to hear.

The moon shone brightly upon the couples' solemn figures.

Nancy observed the scene with an ever deepening scowl. 'One problem after another I tell ya, just when I think things couldn't get any more complicated I just have to go and overhear something like this,' her head shook in disbelief.

"You really shouldn't eavesdrop, it's quite unseemly."

'Shoot me in the face,' Nancy deadpanned to herself. She stood from her crouch. "And you really shouldn't ignore people," she smiled widely at him. "It's extremely rude."

Gregory scowled deeply at the Witch before letting out a noise that sounded a bit like a snicker. But who could tell, it could have been a growl for all she knew.

A few tense silent moments passed before Nancy let out the biggest yawn of her life. To hell with being mad, she was too tired for all this shit. She wiped her nose on her jacket sleeve before sending the grumpy Vampire a small goofy grin.

The disgust on his face was clearly coupled with some form of amusement. She could work with that. "How else am I supposed to know," She started. "What your family thinks of me, I mean," her eyes focused solely on her mud caked sneakers as she began to walk a circle around Gregory.

She was behind him when he responded. "...That's fair I suppose," his said evenly. "I do the same on occasion, I like to know my social standing."

Woah. Was this going to be an actual conversation? Nancy very nearly stopped walking, but forced herself not to falter. She wanted to see how long she could make this quasi-friendly conversation last. "Yeah?" she intoned."I thought your standing would be pretty clear, being family and all that?"

Her eyes flickered up to catch the annoyed look on his pallid face, for once it didn't seem to be directed at her. "It would appear that way, but being the first born son certainly carries its own burdens."

"Like what?" Nancy prompted gently, stopping her circular pacing to stand an acceptable distance away.

Gregory's split eyebrow rose in its customary fashion. "Why so curious?"

Nancy rubbed her lips together and popped a shrug. "No reason, just asking."

Gregory threw her a disbelieving look.

She laughed lightly. "Okay, I'm just a touch curious about your family, I mean, you guys have been Vampires together for what, like, centuries, there's got to be a lot of dirt there?"

"Dirt?" Gregory's nose wrinkled.

Nancy scratched the back of her neck. "Sorry, 21st century speak, dirt just means, well... history, I guess."

He nodded to her in absentminded understanding. His pale hand twitched. "You would be correct in assuming there is much ...dirt between me and my family," he said in absolute seriousness.

Nancy's eyes crinkled in laughter.

"What?" Gregory held back a snarl.

"That's not quite how you would phrase that," Nancy informed him through her chuckles.

"You misinformed me then, the fault is not mine," he scowled deeply and crossed his arms at her.

This just made Nancy laugh harder. 'God, for being so old, he's such a damn child!' she thought humorously to herself.

Gregory stared at her in what he hoped looked like a threatening expression. Inwardly he found himself quite amused with the Witch, and if he forced himself to reveal his true opinion, he would find that he found her smile to be even more inviting than her initial fear of him.

"Gregory," Nancy purposefully used his name. 'Time to get some serious grilling done. Hopefully it won't spoil the mood?'

His dreadlocks swayed over his right shoulder as he quickly turned his head to her attention.

"Geeze, I don't mean to bring this up to make you mad or anything, but why did you take me out that night?"

His mouth opened quickly in response, " I did not-"

"Ah-ba-ba!" she shushed him swiftly. "Don't give me that crap, I talked to Rudolf and he said that you 'insisted' on taking me that night," she spoke to him sternly, as a school teacher would her naughty protege. She didn't even know why she was digging this hole. There were much bigger fish to fry in her pool of issues. But for some reason she just wanted to get to the bottom of this one. It had nothing to do with her finding Gregory kind of cute. Absolutely nothing to do with it.

Pshh! That's what she told herself at least.

Gregory merely blinked at her in response. Not at all the firecracker of denial she had been expecting.

His face remained blank for a moment more, before he looked her directly into her steel blue eyes. "...Because you're interesting."

This crap again?! Nancy wanted to rub her face in anguish. That's the same shit he had said to stop her from leaving! She didn't know what she had been expecting but that had not been it!

He spoke again, this time to the muddy ground. "I feel strange around you."

Nancy felt her inner annoyance ebb away and forced herself to remain silent.

He looked sideways at her, the lapels of his dirty grey trench coat obstructing his face. "At first it was a burning sensation, I had assumed it was hunger."

Nancy swallowed thickly.

"But then you had to go and bloody touch me, and hold me, and lay your lips on my face."

His expression looked so lost and forlorn. Nancy honestly felt bad.

"I feel most disturbed by your presence," he said slowly. "...I believe it was an attempt to try and understand it... That is why I took you out that night," His light eyes gazed at her intently, waiting and gauging her for a reaction.

Nancy kept her face blank as she studied the teenage Vampire. A half baked idea began to formulate in her brain. With a practiced smile she reached out for Gregory's cold clawed hand.

There was a small recoil at first but he surprisingly allowed her to grab hold of him. His eyes never left her face.

"Take me flying," she goaded him gently.

He gazed at her as if to say 'why'?

She rolled her eyes. "I want to try something, and I can't do it here," her eyes looked sideways through the forest clearing to still see the glittering gaudy clothing of the parent Vampires. "It's a test, to maybe help you understand."

Gregory followed her line of sight easily. His eyes narrowed back at her. "How can I trust you?"

Nancy huffed at him, "We're still going on about that are we?"

Gregory ultimately allowed his curious nature to take root. He looked up to the halved moon. "...Where shall I take you?"

Nancy shrugged easily. "I don't care, it's your choice."

His face appeared to deliberate for a moment before he tightened his hold of her smaller hand and took a great leap off of the mossy graveyard soil.

- O -

Before she knew it, Gregory had landed them in the loveliest clearing that Nancy had ever seen. The ebony roaring waves of the ocean were clearly visible from the height of the rock side and the moon shone in a distorted blur across each ripple on the great waters surface. Large land formations sprouted out along the green of the grass in an apparent gate away from the vast steepness of the cliff.

She had to stop herself from struggling free from Gregory's vice grip on her hand as they neared the very green grassy floor of it. She assumed that he now deemed her a flight risk after her previous stunt with him. She could hardly blame the boy.

He sent her a stony look from over his shoulder as he increased his grip and landed with her softly onto the world's unmovable surface.

Nancy hissed in relief as he finally relinquished his hold. "Jesus Mary and Joseph, that was painful," She muttered to herself while she cradled her poor appendage.

Gregory smiled sardonically at her. "I wouldn't have held so tight now, if you had not squirmed so much," he chided. "I even went out of my way to fly smoothly for you," He rolled his eyes and took a few full steps toward her. "I just don't want any surprises." He looked down at her from his height.

"Hmpf," Nancy crossed her jacketed arms. She honestly had nothing to say to that. He was right to be cautious. Can't really be mad at that.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Nancy finally lifted her head to stare up at him openly. His eyes looked almost grey in the moonlight, especially since they were contrasted so drastically with the dark hollows around his eyes. If she hadn't known better she would have accused him of wearing her make-up. She smiled at the thought.

Gregory's eyebrows rose at the appearance of the Witch's smile. Always so unexpected. It was quite irritating really.

"C'mon," she finally broke the air between them. As she turned to stride closer to the cliffs edge she turned her head to Gregory's still motionless figure. "Follow me," she reiterated.

His pale hand balled itself into his pocket as he matched his stride to Nancy's.

"Right here," She exclaimed after only a few seconds.

Before Gregory could get a word in she had suddenly fallen to the ground and sprawled her body out into the grass. She wiggled for a bit before deciding to place her arms behind her head.

He eyed her wearily.

"Come on," she said easily. "Join me."

He hesitated before placing himself delicately into the grass. He could hear Nancy chuckling at him.

"What are you? A princess?" she giggled at the strange way he moved, as if worried he might sully his already torn and stained clothes.

He growled lowly at her before throwing himself into the moist dew of the grass. His back to her of course.

She snickered before looking out at the stars. "They're beautiful," she breathed at the glowing expanse of outer space.

Apparently cooled by the subject change, Gregory took a moment before rolling onto his back.

Crickets chirruped and frogs croaked as the unlikely pair stared up in silence.

Nancy grew bored. 'Let's lighten the mood a little shall we?' she decided with a devious smirk.

"...Gregory," she mumbled to the sky.

"...hmm?" he grumbled from beside her.

"Have I ever told you that you look like a mouse," she flipped over onto her side to perform another overly friendly breach of conduct and reach out obnoxiously for his ears.

His face dipped into a large frown as he grabbed her hand before it could reach its destination. "No," he spoke venomously. His calm visibly and audibly breaking.

"Well you do," she smiled a crescent. "With those large ears of yours!"

Gregory's face bit into a defensive snarl as he too sat up to face her. "Yeah, well be careful. Some might mistake that large head of yours for that of a large dog!" He bit out, huffing before laying back down and turning his body away from hers.

His liberty spikes flattening a bit as his dreadlocks pooled around his angry head.

Nancy's face sputtered into a fit of wheezing laughter. "...I do have a bit of a massive head don't I?" she spoke finally, running her fingers through her hair amused.

Gregory rolled his eyes. "Enormous really," he provided with a microscopic smile.

"Haha," she chuffed. "That's why I made you fly us out here you know?"

Gregory turned his head to look at her in mock seriousness. "To let me know I have mouse proportioned ears?" he scowled in what looked like good humor. "How can I ever repay you?" he spat as he moved back onto his back.

Nancy wasn't fooled anymore. He was in a good mood. His mouth was actually even quirked in an odd sort of half smile. It was adorable really.

Damn was this trouble. This annoying boy was actually surprising her. She didn't know what the hell she was doing asking him to take her flying. Well she did. the plan was to get a free flight. She was such an idiot. It was freaking her out. She was having a really fucking good time with him. 'I smell trouble,' she thought with a scowl up at the moon. Cute boy. Friendly feelings. Small twinge of possible danger. She did not have time for this. I repeat: she did not have time for this. She was on the run and on an impossible mission of sorts. No romance for Nancy. Bad Nancy. Bad girl. Simmer down. She tried to tell herself but found it all feeling empty as she felt the steady beating of her own heart in her chest. She could feel her pulse pick up, and it certainly wasn't from fear this time. 'Oh damn, I'm gonna go there aren't I?' she asked herself. When she turned her head to see Gregory's profile illuminated by the moon she pretty much lost it. Impulsive lifestyle for the win.

"Hey," she grabbed his stupid attention. "..Can I try something?"

Gregory looked at her blankly.

She swallowed. "It's the reason I had you take us out here, the real reason," she stressed as his face began to dip into a disbelieving look.

He could do nothing more than stare at her.

Nancy blinked rapidly. This is so fucking stupid I should have neve-

"Proceed," his boyish voice chopped her inner berating in half.

Nancy clenched her hands into fists. 'Fuck I just gotta do this!' she cheered herself on, taking the plunge.

To Gregory's complete and utter astonishment the Witch leaned forward, captured his lips with hers and pulled herself away from him all in the span of one very packed second.