Chloe walked beside James on the sand of the beach, her heels in her hand. The ocean was gently lapping close to her feet, but just out of reach. A cool breeze from the water danced across her skin. The moon was high in the sky, reflecting beautifully in the water. It seemed so picturesque, she couldn't help but smile.
"OK. How about this? You ask me a question, and after I answer I can ask you one?" Chloe suggested.
"OK. I can do that." James agreed with a smile. "First question..." He took a few moments to think. "How did you become an angel?" Chloe had a feeling that was going to be his first question.
"Well," she began, "it happened in Greece, believe it or not." James looked at her in surprise. She smiled at him. "I know. Pretty far from here, right?" Chloe laughed softly.
"Not exactly a day trip." He joked.
"Exactly." She laughed again. "Anyway, I was just a normal girl living a normal life. The little town that my parents and I lived in...suddenly everything started shaking. Some sort of attack on us. We had no idea what was happening. Everyone was running...screaming..." Chloe could still see the bodies and the pools of blood under them. "People were laying in the streets... Dying in the streets." She sighed. "Well, I couldn't leave the people laying there. So I helped them. Bandaged their wounds the best I could. My parents tried to get me to leave with them, but I just couldn't." She squinted her eyes and stared ahead, like she was trying to focus on something in the distance. "I remember a bright flash of light and then...nothing."
"Wow..." James breathed after a moment. The two had stopped in the middle of her story. Chloe stared wordlessly at the ocean while James just stared at her.
"What happened to your arm?" She turned to face him, staring into his eyes with a curious expression.
"Is that your question?" James asked, wanting to be sure. Chloe nodded. "Alright. Well, I was a prisoner of war. Back in the forties." He said. Chloe continued to stare at him, obviously interested in his story. "It was..." He grimaced before continuing, "cut off during a particularly bad 'interrogation' session."
"Damn..." Chloe swore, then immediately held her hand over her mouth. "Oops." She mumbled. James chuckled softly.
"Anyway, the vampire that...uh, made me, I guess? Was some kind of engineer or something. I don't know. But that's how I got the arm." He reached up with his bionic arm and gently brushed his fingers down Chloe's arm. She was surprised by how gentle he was being with it. It looked very intimidating.
"You seem to know how to use it well." She remarked. James smiled at her and nodded.
"Years of practice, doll." He replied. Chloe blushed sightly and smiled back at him. The water lapped at her feet and she jumped away in surprise.
"Gah! It's cold!" She squeaked as she reflexively grabbed a hold of James' arm. He laughed and backed up a few feet with her.
"That was adorable." He half teased her. Chloe looked up at him and shook her head.
"Oh, hush you." She said and playfully smacked his arm. "It's your turn again, you know." She reminded him as they walked towards the lifeguard tower.
"So, do you have wings?" James asked. Chloe knew he would ask that question at some point, too. She nodded. "Can... Can I see?"
"I thought it was a question for a question? You just asked me two." She teased him back. James opened his mouth to protest, but Chloe cut him off. "I'm kidding. I'll make an exception this time." She smiled. "So, I need you to not freak out. Can you do that?" James raised one eyebrow curiously.
"Uh, sure." He agreed. Chloe stepped in front of him. She dropped her heels and held her hands together, keeping her palms separate. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. James watched her curiously. He saw a dim ball of light form out of, seemingly, nowhere. It got brighter and bigger as she concentrated on it.
"Close your eyes." She directed him. Without question, James closed his eyes. Even through his eyelids, he could still see the light. A moment later, he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. As if nothing in the world could effect him. It was like he couldn't remember any bad thing that had ever happened to him.
"What...is this?" James asked, not opening his eyes. All the happy moments of his life swam in his head.
"Um... It's my..." Chloe struggled to find the right words. "Well, for lack of a better word, it's my essence." She bit her lip nervously. "You can...open your eyes now."
James slowly opened his eyes and felt his jaw drop. Chloe stood in front of him, a golden aura dimly pulsating around her body. However, what caught his attention were her wings. They were pure white and stretched to a span of eight feet. She seemed so small to have such large wings! They fluttered in the breeze. Chloe looked nervous.
"So," she began quietly, "these are my wings." Her voice was softer than usual. She was pretty nervous, showing James her wings. She couldn't figure out why, though. She just...was.
"They're beautiful." James breathed. His eyes were fixated on them. "Can I touch them?" He asked.
"You know, we're really not following the rules of the game anymore." Chloe joked to hide her nervous demeanor. "But, sure. Why not?" She took a small step towards James. He slowly reached his real hand out and stroked her feathers. They were so soft. He could only imagine that they felt like what a cloud would feel like.
"So soft..." He murmured as he stroked her feathers some more. Chloe moved her wings back and forth in a gentle flapping motion. James retracted his hand in surprise, but smiled nonetheless.
"Can I ask you a question now?" Chloe asked. James laughed.
"Of course. I'm sorry." He replied. She fluffed her wings out a bit, stretching them as far as she could.
"What do I smell like?" She asked. James blinked a few times, caught off guard.
"Uh, well... Don't laugh, or anything." He began with some trepidation. "You smell...sweet. Like sugar and cinnamon." Chloe tilted her head to the side as a gentle gust of wind ruffled her feathers and played with her hair.
"Really?" She asked curiously. "I wonder why..."
"I don't really know how it works either, honestly." James admitted with a laugh. "Why don't you ask me another question, though." He offered. The two of them started walking down the beach again, side by side, after Chloe picked up her heels.
"Alright." She nodded. "Though just let me explain something. You're only able to see my wings now because of what I did. Angels can always see the wings of other angels. For anyone else to see them, we have to give them some of our essence. It won't last forever, though. A few hours at most. After it wears off, I'll look normal again."
"But still beautiful." James quickly added. Chloe blushed and looked down as she walked. After a moment, she glanced up at him and smiled. She brought her left wing closer to James, gently wrapping it around him as if it were her arm. He looked at her and smiled. "That's too cute." He chuckled. Chloe nodded, smiling wider.
"So...my question." She bit her lip, knowing what she wanted to ask...but feeling too nervous to ask it.
"Chloe?" James asked after the silence lingered too long. Chloe blinked a few times and turned to face him. She hadn't realized she had stopped walking, either. "Thinking hard, huh?"
"I want you to be honest with me when I ask you this." She said, determined and serious.
"Alright... What is it?" Before Chloe could talk herself out of asking, the words fell from her lips.
"Do you want to taste me?" It felt like a weight off her shoulders. The question had been burning in the back of her mind since they started this game. She wanted to know. She also wanted to prove Melody wrong about vampires.
"I...I..." James stammered. He sounded flustered and caught off guard by her, yet again. Chloe felt bad for putting him on the spot, but she truly wanted his honest answer. It took him a few moments to regain his composure, but he finally locked eyes with her and replied, "I...do."
Chloe bit her lip nervously. She didn't know how the process worked. Well, obviously he would bite her and...drink from her. But where? How long would he drink? How much would he drink? He had a sense to know when to stop, right? She gently moved her wings back and forth as she thought.
"Um... How... How do you want to...do this?" She asked quietly. James took a step towards her and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.
"It will hurt for a second." He informed her.
"And then?" Chloe asked, staring up at him.
"Well, then it won't..." He smiled sheepishly. She furrowed her brows. "You'll see." He said. The tone of his voice was mildly reassuring. James gently grabbed a hold of her hand and turned her palm face up. "I'll bite you here." He pointed to her wrist. "Are you sure you're OK with doing this?" He asked her.
"Yes." Chloe replied with barely any hesitation.
"OK." James nodded. "You're gonna get light-headed, too. Is it OK if I...hold on to you?" He asked, somewhat nervously. Chloe nodded and James gently wrapped his metal arm around her waist, pulling her close against him.
"Why bite my wrist and not my neck?" She asked. James smiled.
"The blood from the neck is much more potent because of the jugular vein. I think because it carries so much blood. It's the same with the femoral artery in your thigh." He explained.
"Oh, I see. That makes sense... I think." Chloe laughed softly. James gently took her wrist in his hand and placed his lips against it. Her skin was soft and smooth. He felt her shiver ever so slightly. Her heart sped up and James heard it thrumming in his ears.
"I won't hurt you. I promise." He whispered. Chloe nodded and felt a little more relieved. James quickly, but gently, sank his teeth into her skin.