It’s Satan himself, licking the wounds on his arm, contemplating the mistakes he had made in the last encounter. His wings protectively encircled his body with conservation due to recognition of defeat.

This was just like any other business party she had gone to with her supposed boyfriend. She sat alone in the corner, watching the excessively jeweled women flirtatiously throw themselves onto the men, her eyes occasionally drifting to the dark-haired man who had claimed eternal love to her.

She grew increasingly self-conscious as she sat by herself, rather depressed, knowing very well that she never belonged in the society of the top echelon. Almost bored to tears, she clutched her purse, a silver color that matched her bluish gray satin dress, and proceeded toward the balcony that overlooked the garden outside. A waiter intercepted her on the way and offered a glass of champagne. She had the impulse to take two, but decided against it. Getting drunk may help her forget some of the pain, but it leads to a horrible time in the morning with a hangover.

She gently pushed the door open while carefully holding the wine glass by the stem in the other hand. The balcony was free of dancing couples, but it was still a romantic setup. The moonlit floor, the marble statues of Grecian goddesses, and the railing made of a white plaster-like material. Too beautiful, it almost made her cry. She took a sip from the glass, the bubbly liquid bitter and dry. Unsatisfied, she placed it on the railing, and then casually draped her hands over it.

“Something wrong?” a deep voice inquired.

She suddenly snapped out of her self-pitying, and turned around to ascertain the speaker. It was a man whom she had never seen before although he was awfully handsome. Suddenly, she felt as if her breath were caught in her throat when he walked toward her until he stood directly to her left. His blond locks aesthetically draped over his forehead without covering up his dark eyes. His skin glowed strangely under the silver moonlight.

He looked angelic.

“No, I’m fine,” she said out of courtesy, and then smiled as if to provide evidence to her assertion. However, she suddenly realized how moist her eyes had become.

He glanced at her wineglass before taking a gulp from his own, though his contained red wine.

“Not much of a drinker, are you?” he questioned softly though it sounded strong and deep.

“No, I wouldn’t want to end up like them,” she said, pointing to the giddy, obnoxious couples inside. “Besides, it tastes too bitter.”

“Mm-hm” he mumbled a sound as if to suggest an agreement. Then he suggested, “But you know, its taste depends on your mood. Why don’t you go have some fun, like a dance with your date?”

She felt a painful strike against her chest when he said those words, and subconsciously laid her palm on the spot above her heart.

“I am only a prop here for my date,” she whispered and looked down as if in shame or desperate forlornness. She didn’t care if she looked like she was emotionally unstable to this stranger; she did what she wanted to do a long time ago: cry.

Her tears came down silently, and occasionally she uttered a sob or two. Clutching her dress and dropping her purse to the ground, she was dropping down to her knees…

Until, that man caught her by the shoulders, lifting her up, and brought her head against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, quickly wiping away the tears that trailed down her cheeks.

“Don’t be.”

That night ended much faster than usual, in fact, too quick. She wanted to say goodbye to that man before she left. However, after he told her that he was getting another drink, he simply disappeared in the crowd.

She sat in the limousine with her boyfriend. (How she loathed that title for him!) They were both silent. He was, apparently, completely wasted and now asleep, and clothes all disheveled. She felt a sense of disgust against him, not that she had never felt this way before, but the contrast was especially strong when she thought of the man she had met earlier tonight.

When the chauffeur stopped the car in front of her apartment building, her date still had not woken up. She really didn’t care. Walking up the decaying steps and pushing open the half-unhinged door, she silently shifted her dress and lifted it above her ankles.

She would have to return it tomorrow.

Days later, her boyfriend called her in order to get her to dine with him and some friends.

“Evy, how about it?” he asked over the phone, his voice raspy.

“Sure, whatever.”

“Ok, I’ll pick you up at 8 tonight.”

She wanted to hang up right away, but on the other end came a string of giggles, very feminine sounding giggles, then, a long dial tone.

What was she thinking when she decided to become his girlfriend? He may have gotten her a diamond necklace or two, but nothing else had come out of it. Frankly, she didn’t care about jewelry; she needed stability.

The restaurant was extravagant, as always. Today, she decided to wear a classic black dress, tired of all the fancy luxuries that the rich were always after. However, when her boyfriend saw her dress, he immediately pulled out a gold chain necklace out of his pockets.

“Evy, you look too bland otherwise.”

Thanks, she wanted to say sarcastically but didn’t. He was always spoiled as a child and didn’t see beauty in simplicity. Nonetheless, she draped the chain around her neck as he had suggested.

“Jake!” a bunch of couples exclaimed in their direction. They were all his college friends; although she had never seen them in person, she had certainly seen them in photographs.

She watched them crowd around her boyfriend. Technically, she was the center of attention as well since they continuously commented on her beauty and how fitting she was to be his girlfriend.

“Jake, your girlfriend’s hot.” She heard someone say. It wasn’t the first time someone had commented on her beauty, but suddenly, she felt like an object placed on a pedestal.

She didn’t speak much throughout the dinner, letting the others joke around about inappropriate topics. Instead, she allowed her attention to focus on attacking the escargots in front of her. Unfortunately, the shell somehow bounced into her stomach and rolled into her lap, the sauce leaving an imprint on the dark fabric of her dress where uncovered by a napkin. Thoroughly embarrassed, she excused herself to the ladies’ room, but the others barely noticed the incident.

When she came out of the restroom, her eyes landed on the conspicuous blond hair of someone sitting a few tables to her right. Suddenly, she found herself staring at him eat. His movements are quick but not hurried, reminding her of how strongly her clumsiness contrasted with his grace. Accidentally, his eyes caught hers when he raised his head. She turned her head away reflexively, but then realized how insensibly she was acting. Boldly, she smiled at him and slowly but determinedly walked toward him.

“Hi, I’m Evy,” she said with a smile, putting out a hand to offer a handshake.

“Please, sit down.” He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the seat opposite his.

“I wanted to thank you for the other night,” she continued.

“Don’t worry about it. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” she replied, “I’m actually having dinner with some friends.”

She saw a flash in his enigmatic eyes. Then, he called the waiter, raising his wine glass.

“The same for the lady, please.”

She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what she would say. She knew absolutely nothing about the man sitting in front of her, but she was intrigued by him.

“Like what you see?” he commented, though rather blithely and without emphasis.

She suddenly realized that she was staring again and apologized immediately.

“But why should I accept your apology?” he asked softly. “It doesn’t automatically cancel out what you did before,” he said with a mysterious smirk.

“No, it doesn’t,” she muttered, “but…”

“But you can let me reciprocate the action,” he suggested and sipped the wine.

“What? Staring?” she said incredulously.

“It’s ok, I was only joking.”

“Oh.”

Her wine arrived, and out of courtesy, she took a sip.

“How does it taste?”

After much thought, she replied, “it’s not bad. I’m just never used to alcoholic drinks.”

“I see,” he nodded, “it’s a good thing. That way, you’ll never run the risk of getting drunk.”

She put down her drink. “No, I’ve been drunk before.”

“Really?” he raised a brow.

“Yeah,” she laughed, “it happened when I was still in college. It was at a party with my friends. I must’ve been too happy that day…”

“Or, too sad.”

She looked up at him, not knowing what to say.

He simply looked back without a hint of trepidation. She couldn’t possibly win.

“Yes,” she said, putting up a smile though her eyes started to tear up. She started thinking about how her father died that day. She didn’t want to talk, knowing her voice would crack.

She brushed away a stray teardrop at the corner of her eye and smiled painfully at him again.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked.

She nodded right away, not caring how she had abandoned her boyfriend.

She was silent as she sat in his car, and he didn’t prod her with any questions or comments. Soon, she had fallen into deep sleep, and when she woke up, she found herself in an elegant room with traditional decor.

She blinked several times to let what she saw register in her mind correctly.

“You awake?”

She sat up quickly and saw the blond-haired man approach her and sit on the edge of the bed. He wore a loose long-sleeved collared shirt and dark pants. She wanted to read his expressions, but couldn’t and found them to be rather placid and enigmatic.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I gave you so much trouble.” She quickly straightened her pajamas.

Wait, pajamas? That means…

He saw her puzzled expression as she smoothed out her clothes, and said, “Your dress is on the couch over there.”

Still having that troubled look on her face, she asked, “You didn’t…” undress me, did you? She didn’t finish the sentence, though.

He sighed, rather amused, and gently pushed her to lie back down. Instead of pulling away from her, he supported his body above hers by putting a hand on either side of her head, thus caging her in. She soon felt as if she had lost the ability to breathe. The proximity enabled her senses to come alive. She could smell his pine-like scent mixed with desire. She could see his eyes that were now burning into an amber hue. His warm breaths tumbled down her neck, leaving the skin to cool.

She knew she was losing her mind when unknowingly, her arms circled around his neck. He took it as an invitation, and shifted his weight until his body firmly weighed on top of hers. She felt her body go weak and sinking into the soft mattress and the gentle sheets and blankets.

He didn’t kiss her; he merely traced his lips along her jawbone, her neck, and lower. Occasionally, those lips grazed hers, but when she sought after them, he simply pulled away. After a slight struggle, he removed the blanket that was between them and gazed at her blankly.

With this pause, she suddenly realized what she was doing, to a stranger nonetheless. She must have been delirious.

“No,” she whispered and pulled out from under him. He didn’t protest. She almost wanted him to say something, anything, but instead, he remained silent. She didn’t know what to do.

“What time is it?” she asked as she jumped off the bed.

He glanced at his watch. “It’s three in the morning.” After a few seconds, he added, “I’ll take you home.”

The best she could do in the car was to stay awake. He drove on without a word.

“Hey, what is your name?” she asked suddenly.

He chuckled. “Why are you so interested all of a sudden?”

“I’ve always wondered. So, what is it?”

“Just call me whatever you want,” he suggested.

She wasn’t about to give up. “I already told you a lot about me. So, you should reciprocate the action,” she imitated his words.

He smirked. “Just call me…Aidan,” he said with a bit of hesitation.

“It’s not your real name, is it?”

“No.” This answer came out definitely.

“Fine, then, ‘Aidan’,” she said with an emphasis on his name, “but I’ll find out your real name in no time.”

“You sure sound confident.” He smirked.

Her phone rang; the shrill sound resonated within her small apartment.

Still half-asleep, she had barely picked up the phone, when out came, “Evy! What happened to you last night?”

You still cared? She thought, but instead, said, “I felt kind of sick and had to go home,” paused, “I didn’t want to embarrass you.” She bit her tongue.

“Ok, well, tonight, my parents want to see both of us for dinner at their house.”

“Ok,” she hung up. That was the real reason she had been his girlfriend, his parents. He would never dare bring one of those girls that he hung out regularly to see his parents, so he used her.

Knock, knock. Someone was knocking on her door.

She jumped out of her bed and rushed toward it. Swinging it open, she dropped her jaws.

“Coffee?” a cup of steaming coffee was offered to her.

She took it into her hands. The warmth slowly diffused into her cold fingers.

“Thank you…” she whispered, watching him cheerfully sipping from his cup of coffee.

“You are staring again.”

Right. She moved slightly away from the doorway. “You want to come in?” she asked with a grin.

He stepped into the living room/ kitchen/ dining room, and watched her scurrying about in her lavender-colored pajamas that brought out a sense of childishness out of her.

“Here’s your pajamas,” she said, handing the neatly folded pile to him, “I washed it last night.”

He smiled. “You can keep’em.”

“No,” she said defiantly, “I washed them just for you, so you should be courteous and…”

He suddenly stood up, lifting her chin up with his index finger ever so gently. Slowly, he placed a kiss on her lips. She was in shock, and before she could register that in her mind, he had pulled away.

“That was something I forgot to do last night,” he said.

She looked up at him with a grin.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he suggested, “Wanna go out for a ride with me?”

“Now?” she responded, incredulous.

“Of course.”

Here she was again, in the car with him. Who was he anyways? She couldn’t help but wonder. She had already kissed the guy, and yet she still didn’t know his real name.

“What is your family like?” she prodded.

“I don’t have a family,” he answered immediately.

“Oh,” she felt sorry for him right away, “what happened to your parents?”

“Why are you so curious?” he turned to her as the car rolled to a stop at a red light. The look in his eyes seemed demanding, if not intimidating.

“Well,” she paused, “I just want to know more about you.”

“And with what purpose do you carry?”

“Just…I don’t know. But it makes sense for me to know more about you since we’ve already kissed.”

“I can tell you this much: I was an orphan, and the rest, you don’t want to know.”

She fell silent. He was becoming more and more intimidating, and she felt trapped in the car with him. But when she thought about how he said he was an orphan, she couldn’t help but pity him.

They had arrived at the beach. No one was there except for them two. When she saw the blue sea under the azure sky, she was genuinely happy.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she smiled at him and grabbed his shirtsleeve suddenly, “Wanna play tag?”

He looked amused and would perhaps laugh at her childishness. She ran several feet ahead of him before he chased after her. Their footprints perfectly imprinted onto the sand before the waves erased them and smoothed out the sandy beach once again.

He suddenly circled his arms around her small waist, and made her stop running away from him. She let out a squeal, surprised at his sudden approach. She was even more shocked when he laid her down on her back on the beach. His eyes started to burn once again. Slowly, he unbuttoned her white cotton shirt, and to her own surprise, she didn’t even protest. His lips started to roam once again, from her shoulders to her neck and to her stomach.

“This is not fair,” she uttered these words as he was about to kiss her lips.

“What is not fair?” he questioned playfully.

She jerked at his long-sleeved shirt. “May I?”

He nodded, and she smiled, rather evilly. Rolling the hem of the shirt higher and higher, revealing his perfect body, she almost couldn’t control herself. With a quick final pull, the shirt was tossed away. Her fingers gently brushed against his solidly built body, admiring it as if she were admiring something totally celestial. Seeing how her expressions are starting to melt into bliss, he knew the time was right and placed his lips on hers. She uttered a cry, but didn’t push him away. The kiss grew more and more intense. There was no more of his light and gentle brushings. Instead, the deep kiss drew her out of breath. Her fingers lightly touched his well-built arms, and she felt a sudden change in the texture of his skin. She glanced at it, and saw a dark scar running down his forearm like a slithering serpent. Soon, however, his tongue intruded into her mouth, and she couldn’t possibly object. She knew she had lost.

“Evy, where are you?” Jake questioned with an annoyed tone, “shouldn’t you be at my parents’ house by now.”

She gulped unknowingly before stating as-a-matter-of-factly, “Jake, I don’t think I should go…”

“What do you mean ‘you don’t think’?” he strutted in the middle of her sentence.

“To be honest with you,” she paused, “I don’t think this should continue…”

“What don’t you think should continue?”

“Well, our relationship…”

“And your point is?”

She sighed, “Don’t you understand? I think we should break up.”

He must’ve smirked one way or the other; she heard him scoff over the phone.

“Oh, I don’t think so…” he stated plainly.

“Well, I do,” she was suddenly angry because of him and hung up impulsively.

She then went out of her apartment building and called a cab. Her impulsiveness was controlling her that night. Where to? She had nowhere to go, except…maybe.

She laughed at herself. What happened that afternoon was…spontaneous, and she wasn’t usually like that. Now, she wanted to go to his place. She still remembered the directions to his estate.

“Where to, miss?”

“The mansion on Parkview.”

“What?” the taxi driver looked thoroughly confounded.

“Parkview Boulevard, I said.”

The man mumbled something under his breath, but drove away nonetheless.

“There ya go, miss.”

“Thanks,” she pulled out some bills and handed them to him, “keep the change.”

Now, she was alone, but she wasn’t scared in the dark. Determinedly, she walked on the paths that led to the main building. She was ready, ready to take control of her own future by following what her heart told her to do. And she was proud of herself for it.

As she turned the corner, circling away from the tall shrubbery, she suddenly dropped down on her knees…

What was there? One thing was sure: there was no mansion. Only decaying ruins from decades ago, or even centuries, she couldn’t tell. The barren grounds under the moonlight were eerie by default, and in her eyes, they strangely glowed.

Fin.

A/N: this was meant to be a short story with some supernatural elements. tell me what you think. Review!