Author's Note: This story contains some graphic content, including adult language and graphic violence, sexual situations and themes that may not be suitable for younger readers. I have had some reviews from other websites claiming that the physical nature of Abel is disturbing to some readers. Please note that although he is technically of a young age in most physical aspects, he has the muscle tone, strength and supernatural age of a timeless vampire, and the story is intended to show his expression of love for a human based on what comes from within him. As a prequel to readers: Reese is featured more prominently in later chapters, but the first few are mostly about Kathryn. I've been getting a lot of reviews about that so I thought it might be nice to make note of it before readers begin. Enjoy!

1:

Kathryn and I were best friends from the start, both commuting from the mid-west to Long Beach in search of the glory and achievement that all young college girls believe they can get in a city bigger than their hometown.

My name is Reese. I wanted to be an actress when I came to Long Beach, although I would later realize my passion should have been more for painting. I had the long curly brown hair and the coveralls splattered with paint like the few other girls that didn't give a crap about their appearance or social status, and although Kathryn was friends with me and the crowd I was with, she could've been with just about any clique she wanted.

Kathryn had been blessed with the good looks that came from women who didn't have to try very hard and didn't need much to stay beautiful. She had long reddish brown hair that dangled around her shoulders, and a pair of somber brown eyes that looked so cute when she was trying to get somebody to do something for her. Light freckles danced across her nose, her height was a respectable 5'5, but sadly she acquired the one thing that was a turn off for most guys: brains.

I had rented an apartment to live in while going to school, but Kathryn's grandparents were loaded enough that they found her a house on the hillside with all modern appliances, fancy walls and floors made from every part of a tree and special light filtering windows to let the sun in but keep the harmful rays out so it wouldn't damage the wood or Kathryn's skin. Quite an over-the-top purchase, if you ask me, but Kathryn said her grandparents only bought it because they didn't want their granddaughter dying of skin cancer from the mostly sunny California days.

I wish my grandparents worried about me like that.

Kathryn asked me to move into her house shortly after we became friends. I was anxious to do it at first, thinking that if our friendship didn't last, I would be out on my ass, but she insisted that it was alright, and the house was huge for just one person, so I took the offer. We bought a big screen TV, furnished the house with two recliners and a big couch for our TV, and recreated two of the bedrooms for guest rooms when someone came to visit. Not that we had a lot of people to visit, but we liked to think so. Frank, Kathryn's former boyfriend who parted with her on good terms, was about the only visitor we got. At least, he was the only visitor, until a night out at one of the local clubs would change our lives forever.

Kathryn stirred her red and pink whatever drink while she passively watched the people dancing across the floor from us. I was fiddling with the umbrella on my own drink, not really sure at this point what I had ordered, either. We weren't much for the night scene, and most of the time it was just an excuse to get out of the house. My curls bounced in front of my face too much when I danced, so I usually sat at the booth instead of bonding bodies with some male hotshot. Kathryn could've found someone to dance with, but she was too shy to ask anyone and most of the guys were drunk by the time they came over to ask her.

I should bring up that we weren't the wild girl types.

My curls were dangling in front of my face while I leaned in to further inspect my drink umbrella, which had somehow lodged itself into my straw so I couldn't get a good slurp, when Kathryn elbowed me a little and asked, “Do you see that man staring at me?”

I looked up and caught sight of him right away. He was seated on a bar stool, his legs hanging over the side as if he were about to jump down at any second. He had short blond hair parted to one side like some 1950's style, and he was wearing a black pair of expensive pants and a white button up shirt, also a name brand, rolled up at the sleeves above his elbows. The muscle exposed on his arms was amazingly thick and strong looking, and he had deep golden brown eyes that were watching Kathryn closely.

The only downside was that physically he was the size of a ten-year-old boy.

“You mean that boy over there?” I asked, looked at Kathryn to make certain he was the one she was referring to.

She scoffed at me, replying, “Reese, this is a night club, and he has an alcoholic drink next to him. There's no way he could possibly be a boy, regardless of his size and his cute face.”

I looked at him again. Kathryn was right, no boys would be in a night club, and they couldn't possibly have the built arms that this one did, but he still had a bit of chubbiness around his cheeks, and thin pouting lips, just like a boy would have.

“Maybe he's a dwarf or something,” I said out loud, confused.

I turned to look at Kathryn when she asked, “Should I ask him to dance?”

Her eyes were glowing. She had never looked excited about asking a guy to do anything before. I also didn't think she had a thing for shorties. I shrugged my shoulders and replied, “Why not?”

She turned to get out of the booth, but much to both of our surprise, the boy/man we were speaking of was standing right there. He looked even more handsome up close, his eyes gliding quickly in their sockets as if he were looking at everything all at once. He reached out his small hand to Kathryn and asked, “Would you care to dance, young lady?”

I had to stifle my laughter. He was calling her a young lady as if he were older than she, and he was the one who looked like a kid.

He glanced at me when I thought this, and I almost felt like he knew what was going on in my head. His gaze was more powerful than I had anticipated, but thankfully Kathryn took his attention again, replying, “Yes, I would love to dance with you.”

She took his hand in her own, and he gently led her to the dance floor. Even when they began moving together, he was very civilized and cordial, like some British guy out of a 19th Century novel. I felt kind of bad judging him so harshly, he was actually being quite the sweetheart to Kathryn and he was the first non-drunk to ask her to dance in months. Maybe she would even like him enough to go out.

I looked around at the night club, mostly meeting darkened or withdrawn faces, and I felt the distinct presence of something I could not place. I looked up at the banister where people were usually mingling and looking down at the dancers, and I saw four men leaning against the railing, staring down at Kathryn and the little person she was with.

They were all very different, yet the same somehow. The first one was the youngest, blond hair and brown eyes, probably in his late teens. His clothes were basically jeans and a t-shirt, he was handsome and he had his hands together like one of those strong, quiet types. Next to him was a rebel type, spiked blue hair, brown eyes, guyliner, gothic black clothing with chains coming out of his jeans and tattoos of red flames riding up his arms. Next to him was a huge athletic guy, built for the surfing unit, long blond hair, wearing a t-shirt that defined his very well built body, and a pair of shorts with a palm tree pattern on it. He was leaning more heavily on the railing, and judging from his size, I thought he may break down the bars if he wasn't careful.

The last one caught more of my attention than the rest. He was staring more deeply out at Kathryn and her guy while they danced, his green eyes following them like they were the only two people in the room. He had short dark hair designed in that just-got-out-of-bed look, he sported bronzed skin and lean but muscular features, like a swimmer or a tennis player. He had some looks of an Italian background, a strong jaw, a long smooth nose, big pouting lips that parted slightly while he observed the dance floor...

He had to be the hottest guy I had seen in...ever.

I hadn't been looking at them long when suddenly the first three moved back seamlessly into the crowd emerging around the banister. The big one elbowed the hot one on the end and said something to him, then the hot one turned and looked down at me, meeting my gaze.

Quickly, I looked away, attempting to put my efforts back into my stupid drink again. I could feel him still watching me, but then Kathryn came back at that moment and she said to me excitedly, “The guy I just danced with is wonderful! His name is Abel, he wants to take me out tomorrow on a date!”

I hugged Kathryn close, and the feeling of being watched faded. I looked back up at the banister once more, but hottie had vanished from sight.

Kathryn went out on several dates with Abel in the weeks following the night club dance. She would give me details about him whenever she came home, like that he was “chivalrous,” and hadn't brought her to bed or tried to kiss her yet. He also lived with a group of guys on the outskirts of the city. He claimed he was twenty-four, and he had an ID to prove it, but I couldn't help teasing Kathryn about her “youngin' boyfriend” whenever I had the chance.

Frank also found the description of Kathryn's new date to be weird. He ran his hands through his straight black hair, repositioned his glasses and asked, “He's what now?”

“He looks like a ten-year-old boy but he's not. I know, it sounds like something out of a fairytale. I'm pretty sure he's a dwarf or a little person. He's barely three inches shorter than Kathryn,” I told him.

Our jokes and concerns were not met well by Kathryn herself. She would argue, “Just because he's short doesn't mean he's any less of a man!”

“We don't think he's less of a man, Kathryn. We just...wonder if he's being honest with you about his age,” Frank told her.

“Don't you think he gets that all the time? You should hear him speak, he does not use words like a ten-year-old boy would!” Kathryn put up a good point.

Abel was very articulate, and had the intelligence of men twice his age. Still, when Kathryn invited Abel and his friends over to watch a movie one afternoon, Frank and I were skeptical as to if this relationship would really last.

I came to the door with Kathryn when we heard the knock. Frank stood by, watching idly from the kitchen like a worried father figure. When Kathryn pulled the door open, I stepped back in shock.

The same four guys standing on the night club banister were now standing behind Abel.

Kathryn hugged Abel first, sounding as excited as she had the first night she met him. He had a bouquet of unusual roses in his arms, and he handed them to Kathryn. They were white, but traced with brown at the rims, as if they had been burned a little. The end result was that they were not only beautiful, but the edges of the white petals were stained with golden embers.

“Thank you,” Kathryn smiled when she took the roses from Abel, then she looked at the others while Abel began introducing them one by one.

“These are my companions, Drew and Hardy,” Abel said, motioning to the blond teenager I saw the other day as Drew, and the goth kid as Hardy.

Kathryn took their hands and shook each one, and then they took my hand and shook it as well. I noticed that it was cloudy outside, a good sign that a storm was coming in.

“This is Casey,” Abel stated when he motioned to the big one.

He grasped both Kathryn's hand and my own and shook almost violently. Kathryn laughed, but I felt like my eyes were going to fall out of my head by the time he let my hand go.

“And this is Toby,” Abel motioned to the hot guy I saw at the night club.

He took Kathryn's hand first and shook it kindly, then he took my hand and shook. He observed me a little longer than Kathryn, not with attraction like I had hoped, but more of a “should I know you?” gaze.

“I am so glad all of you could come. I'm sure you know I'm Kathryn, this is Reese and this is Frank,” she said, motioning to me and then backing up so the guys could see Frank in the kitchen.

He waved, and the guys nodded each of their heads at Frank. They seemed unamused with him.

“Well, come and sit down, we've got a movie and popcorn and you can play video games afterward, Frank set everything up,” Kathryn tried to sound like a good hostess.

She let them inside, then she moved to close the door. I distinctly noticed Hot Toby turning to look at Kathryn while she did, and my insides deflated a little. He must be attracted to her. However, she was dating Abel, so I could be Toby's potential next choice. One could only hope.

Just before closing the door completely, Kathryn looked back at Toby and asked, “Do you have custom windows on your car?”

He smiled and answered smoothly, “Yeah, they're light filtering windows. Keeps the sun glare out of my eyes.”

Kathryn nodded and replied, “Coincidentally, this house has the same light filtering windows in its entire layout. My grandparents didn't want harmful rays giving me skin cancer.”

Toby laughed kindly, and Kathryn did as well. I caught a look from her that told me she was attracted to Toby too, but I didn't read much into it. Girls could be attracted to lots of guys, doesn't mean they'll make a move. At least, that's what I wanted to believe.

Frank gave Toby a glare when he walked by, and by the time we had all settled to watch the film, Frank was nestled between giant Casey and the constantly fidgeting Hardy, so he was none too pleased. Kathryn offered the guys popcorn, which they all turned down, then Kathryn and I tossed popcorn at each other from time to time while the movie played.

Besides Frank's uncomfortable demeanor, everyone got along fairly well, and soon it was becoming a ritual for the guys to come and hang out every evening at Kathryn's house. Frank eventually warmed up to the others, and they were playing video games and having guy bonding moments while Kathryn would go to her room with Abel to talk and I would work on my paintings.

Drew seemed the most into me, coming over to look at whatever I was working on. He always asked the same thing about my many new projects, “What is it?”

I would give him an answer like, “The ocean,” or, “A clock,” but no matter what I said, he would always nod his head and respond, “Cool.”

Several more weeks passed, and Kathryn continued to date Abel. I had all but given up my hopes on Toby, it was obvious he was crushing on Kathryn but she couldn't be with him because she was dating his roommate, but he still didn't show must interest in anyone else. I became more familiar with Abel's looks, and I stopped teasing Kathryn, but that didn't mean that they didn't get a few snide looks from others whenever they went out.

One night, Abel took Kathryn out to dinner. The waiter came up to deliver a bottle of wine to Kathryn's table and said, “For the lady, and for her son.”

He turned to look at Abel, assuming he was a boy playing dress up in a fancy suit and tie. Abel stated more firmly, “I am her date, monsieur. If I am asked to present identification once more, I will consider taking legal action against this restaurant for discrimination.”

Kathryn described everything for me, telling me that the waiter's eyes widened and he apologized, adding, “Pardon me for my mistake. The wine is free of charge. Forgive me, sir.”

“All is forgotten,” Abel sent the waiter away with a wave of his palm.

“You must get that all the time,” Kathryn said when the waiter was gone.

Abel smiled a little and replied, “It is no matter. People are arrogant of those that don't appeal to what they see as normal. I have no problem with that, I enjoy being mysterious. It makes my life easier, to an extent.”

He stood up in his seat and leaned across the table to kiss Kathryn. She joined his lips with her own, not minding several gasps coming from a few tables nearby at the sight of a young lady passionately kissing a man the size of a boy.

After they dined, Abel took Kathryn out to one of the lover's lanes that overlooked Long Beach. She told me the details of what happened, that they were making out and Kathryn decided that she wanted to make their relationship physical as well as emotional.

She let Abel position himself above her in the passenger's seat. He pulled the lever and let the seat fall back so they were horizontally in place. Kathryn told me that Abel's kisses were affectionate and “very experienced,” a term she used for guys that had lips that knew their way around a woman's mouth and body. They hadn't removed clothing beyond Kathryn unbuttoning Abel's shirt to reveal his small but athletically built and perfectly muscled chest when he told her, “Kathryn, I have a confession to make.”

Kathryn had noticed something about Abel from the first day she had met him. Beyond his obvious physical characteristics not reaching the average, she kept telling me that there was something else about him that she couldn't quite place, and of course his friends seemed to share this odd sense that had yet to be revealed.

Listening intently, Kathryn awaited Abel's confession, but it was not what she expected.

“I am not physically capable of having sexual relations with you. I am unable to have children, either.”

Abel let his head drop, adding, “I should have told you this before. I did not expect you to want to marry and have children one day with someone like myself, but I could have been more honest with you sooner, so that you would know what I cannot provide for you.”

Kathryn told me later that she was actually more shocked that Abel would think that he could not be a husband, and his initial confession was much less important to her. She replied to him, saying, “Abel, that doesn't matter to me. I'm not much for the wife and kids lifestyle anyway. Besides, there are other things we can do to have sex. There are also alternative ways we can amuse each other.”

Abel looked her in the eyes and answered, “Even with devices or help of any kind, I could not fully provide for you, and eventually your physical needs will need to be met. If you choose to stay with me, I would honor that, but I ask that you don't go behind my back to find a physical suitor. Tell me if you find someone that meets your needs, and I will make it work.”

“Abel, you don't understand. I want to be with you and only you. I'm not the kind of girl that dates two men at one time, especially if one is only for sex. I like building relationships based on trust and love and affection. I have that with you and I don't want to ever make you think you're not enough for me.”

He nodded, then asked, “Would you be angry if I asked to end our night now, and take you home?”

Kathryn shook her head, answering, “I won't be angry. Don't be upset, Abel. I find you very attractive, I want to stay with you.”

“I know that you do,” Abel said.

Two days passed, and Kathryn hadn't heard from Abel since he took her home after their date. Even his roommates hadn't shown up to play video games or hang out. I didn't think that Abel was the type to just run off and not call a girl, but when the morning of the third day came with no messages on our phone, I became worried that I had misjudged him.

Kathryn sat on the couch, wrapped up in her favorite red woven blanket, while I sat in the recliner closest to our room while I played with my bowl of half-melted ice cream and observed some old game show on the TV screen. It was sunny for a while, then the clouds came through and the sun was blocked for a good half an hour. I heard a knock at the door and I got up to open it, thinking it must be Frank dropping by to reclaim the couch since Abel's guys weren't around anymore. I was shocked when I saw Abel and all of his friends standing on the other side.

“May we come in?” Abel asked politely.

I probably looked like a big dope, standing there wide eyed with disbelief. I nodded my head and answered, “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

They came through the door as I stepped aside. Kathryn stood up and let her woven blanket fall back onto the couch, coming over to hug Abel. She held him for a long time, then she let him go and told him, “I thought you weren't coming back.”

There were tears forming in her eyes. I hadn't realized how much Kathryn felt for Abel until I saw her at that moment.

“My apologies for making you wait for me. I was considering something very important, and now I have come to confess it to you,” Abel stated.

Normally, if a man tells me he has a confession, I figure it's going to be something bad or disgusting or otherwise not what I want to hear. In Kathryn's case, she led Abel over to the recliner near the guest room and she sat down while he stood in front of her, then she told him, “I'm listening.”

Abel's friends gathered around him, and I walked over to stand behind the recliner where Kathryn was sitting so I could understand what was going on as well. Drew, Hardy, Casey and Toby stood with Abel as if they were all one man alone, and Abel's golden brown eyes glittered against the filtered rays of sunlight now coming in through the special glass windows as he said simply, “We are vampires.”

I stared. Then I burst out laughing.

I laughed for a good ten seconds, until I realized that no one else joined in. Not even Kathryn. I became confused. Was she really listening to this? I knew there was something up with these guys, but vampires? Abel, Drew and Hardy were pale, but Casey and Toby had tanned skin. Can't go out into the sunlight? I hadn't seen the other guys in the sun, but I had seen Abel outside during the day. Cold to the touch? I had touched Drew's hand when we were playing video games once and he passed me the controller. His fingers were lukewarm, but not cold. Most importantly, vampires fed on human blood. They hadn't fed on us and they had every chance in the world. It didn't add up.

I stopped laughing and looked down at Kathryn, waiting for her to tell Abel and his friends to get out, or at least say something. When she finally did speak, she only stated, “Show me.”

Now I felt curious. Abel and his friends spread out to various parts of the room, but it wasn't that they were moving that caught my attention. It was how fast.

Their bodies were like a blur, a second of black shifting forms and then suddenly they were spread about the room. Toby was in the kitchen. He pulled a large steak knife out of the drawer before I had even seen him pull the drawer open, then he was a blur until he returned to a few feet from us. Hardy launched himself onto the wall. He climbed up the side of the wooded paneling like it had invisible grips that kept him from falling off, then he was on the ceiling, dangling among the huge wooden beams until he had picked himself up with ease and seated himself on a single beam.

Casey was next. He picked up our couch with one hand as if it were weightless, then he tossed it across the room half-heartedly, and Drew caught it with his hands, placing the couch back on the ground with inhuman simplicity.

Abel had taken one of Kathryn's marble book ends from one of her shelves near the front door. He had come back to the coffee table in front of the TV, and stood near it, but he did not move just yet. He allowed Toby to prove himself first.

Toby stepped closer to us and pulled up the sleeve of his button up blue shirt until we could see his left arm. He held it out and put the blade of the steak knife against his skin. I could see him pushing down with the knife as hard as he could, but the blade wasn't breaking his skin in the slightest. In fact, there was a graining noise like his skin was breaking the blade. The edge of the steak knife against his skin began to curl under the pressure, until the blade itself broke into three pieces and detached from the hilt, clattering on the floor.

Toby's skin was untouched.

My mouth was dropped open. My eyes were huge. My brain was not functioning. I didn't know if I should be afraid or amazed. I looked down at Kathryn, but she was observing everything with a look of interest and anticipation. She wasn't afraid or shocked or anything. She was just...intrigued.

Abel glided off of the ground and landed on top of the coffee table like he was a magician defying the laws of gravity. He was still holding the marble book end, in the shape of a globe with a stand underneath it, also made of marble. Abel drew his fingernails along the globe, and the marble fell apart into tiny grains under his nails, drifting to the floor. Abel made his way along the coffee table while he demonstrated his strength, saying, “I am Abel, the oldest of all the vampires. I was born to a dawning race of humans that still looked like apes. I was bitten by an unknown creature after an accident left me nearly drowned deep within a flooded mountain. The creature burned into ash, and I became what I am with only ten years of a lifetime in me.”

He pulled apart the globe and the stand, then crushed them within his childlike palms until the marble was turned into a sandy film, his strength even destroying it before it could crumple or break into chunks. Abel stopped at the edge of the coffee table, looking down at Kathryn as if she were someone to be worshiped. He stated to her kindly, glancing up at me for a few moments as well, “We are not all that the legends tell of our kind. We will explain ourselves further, but you must know that we do not intend to feed upon you. We ask that you, Kathryn, and you, Reese, give us permission to reside here with you. Your home has filtered windows to keep the light away from my companions, we have found you to be trustworthy of our secret and you may help us to blend in further with society, and most of all, we find you both very...intriguing.”

I blanched a little. Kathryn continued to remain undeterred, asking Abel, “If I allow you to stay here, you will be living under my rules.”

A lump rose in my throat. I knew that ground rules would probably be needed for male guests, but these were vampires...I doubt we could do much if they didn't clean up after themselves or if they forgot to close the refrigerator.

Still, Abel nodded and replied as seriously as Kathryn, “We understand.”

Either Abel was a very civilized ancient vampire, or he was playing a good game of one. I was used to the movies with the rampant, raging, emotionally charged vampires, not the group of guys pleading to stay with a couple of humans to reap the benefits of a light filtered house and a legitimate social look. I would learn soon enough that Abel didn't just come to live with us for our intrigue. Strangely enough, he was the least of the problems that were just around the corner.