He was much too distracted with the dog. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that I cared too much about his safety, I would have broken both of his hands for touching my dog. Even now, as he was blowing air onto the dog's face, pestering the Husky, I allowed it to slide. Time was too precious for me to be cruel to him, although his bones could have broken so quickly, so smoothly.

Settling back into my leather couch, I crossed my legs at the ankles and trailed my eyes over the frame of the boy. Petite. He appeared to be only a few years younger than myself, but I knew he was much younger than me by a difference of several centuries, and yet, he entranced me more than any other of my selections. If not, he would have surely been dead by now.

Awkwardly, I shifted in my seat until I decided to stand and stretch before making my way to the boy. We hadn't spoken since the night before when I had first lured him into my clutches, and I knew I had to talk to him eventually or else the silence would have driven me to end him early. I wouldn't want to do that.

"You can at least tell me your name," my victim murmured lowly, now realizing my hands were on his shoulders. My grip was light to show that I wasn't a threat. Slowly, he pushed his blond hair back from his face and exhaled slowly. "I just don't understand you. You're a kidnapper, yet you've fed me, let me stay in a bed, let me use your computer and TV, and you haven't, well, killed me. What's with you?" Suddenly, he had released himself from my grip, and his brown eyes were boring into my gray ones.

By now, my Husky, Brutus, was by my side, his ears and tail erect, his attention pointed at me, waiting for my response. I patted his head, which relaxed him, and he lowered himself to the ground to sleep. Slyly, I smiled at the boy and approached him as he stood to his feet, still afraid of me and my intentions.

"My name shouldn't be important to you, Calvin," I told him, holding back a laugh when he was clearly scared knowing that I knew his name. Extending a hand out to him, I raised an eyebrow to offer my peace. "Don't be scared, alright? I'm not going to hurt you." Yet, I thought grimly to myself.

He was still scared, as he should have been, when he took my hand. He wasn't very muscular and was in fact rather scrawny. I loved this, though, because it reminded me of the boys I had in my earlier years. His hair was cut above his shoulders and curled slightly due to the humidity outside. His features were soft, very unlike my own. Come to think of it, he was almost opposite of me.

My arms and legs were muscular, but I was slender elsewhere. The bones in my face were sharp, very angled and defined. Although I was a man, my hair fell in long waves past my shoulders, styled in the old fashioned way that I had been brought up in. Most importantly, however, were my gray eyes, which I believe was what drew Calvin in the most. They were the signature eyes of every undead creature, the sign of death.

Calvin had caught my attention the night before when I had been out for a mere two hours, hunting for something to do, someone to be. He had been leaving the library with a group of friends, three books on Plato and Aristotle in his hands, which had first piqued my interest in him, let alone the fact that he had been in a tight fitting white T-shirt.

Curious, I followed him until he had left his companions and made his way to his apartment, which was where I first lured him in. He simply passed me on the sidewalk, and when he glanced into my eyes, he was hooked, and so was I. Using my simplest form of what is best described as "mind control", I put him to sleep, where he fell into my arms, and, courtesy of a cab ride, I took him to my penthouse that overlooked St. Augustine.

He had slept well for several hours, but awoke in fear at about midnight. I had let him sleep in my own bed, regardless of there being two other bedrooms. Staying at the foot of the bed while he observed the room, I patiently waited while he threw curses at me, threatening to call the cops to report a kidnapping.

After a while, he had calmed down when I offered him no reason as to why I had taken him. He knew he wouldn't win with me, and that submission enticed me. We had dined together at about three that morning, courtesy of room service. He didn't speak much, nor did he eat much, but he stared intently at me, watching me as I didn't touch my food, just stirred around coffee in its cup.

Finally, he had fallen back asleep after finding my dog. Brutus had joined him in my bed, and they slept while I sat there, watching them, boy and dog. I knew they would be fine together, and it calmed me to know the sweet Calvin took comfort in something while he stayed with me.

Stroking Calvin's cheek with the back of my fingers, I now led him towards the couch I had just been sitting in. He unwillingly sat and drew away from me, unnerved by my cold touch. Would I if I could, I would have heated up my hands so I didn't freeze him. Sadly, that was out of the question.

"You don't want to tell me your name because you know I would report you," Calvin boldly stated, thinking he knew the answer to my anonymity. I laughed, though. I felt like names weren't necessary was all. I knew his just because I had searched his mind for something on him. I tried not to pry much, only to know his name was Calvin Drake and he was twenty two years old.

"I just don't think names are important," I retorted, and I could feel my grin forming. "I just know yours through a little searching." Leaning forward, I reached out to grab his face in my hands, again being gentle so that I didn't scare him. He seemed to relax more in my hands, and I tried my hardest to resist looking into his mind to see what he was thinking.

Calvin's shoulders slumped a little more and became much more relaxed. My groin tensed as I saw his eyes flit up and down my hunched body, and I wasn't quite sure if I wanted his body or his blood at that moment. Possibly both, much like it had always been with my victims.

Beginning to understand my game, Calvin leaned into me, bringing his mouth close to my right ear. "I think your name would be extremely important to me. How else am I supposed to scream it tonight," he whispered, making me recoil in surprise. He was fiery, and I loved it. It had been a very long time since someone had said something so enticing to me.

Playing along, I inched closer to him, our crossed legs now touching. "In that case, my name is Evander," I replied my hands placed on either of his knees, slowly heading up to his thighs. Quickly, I added, "And I'll make sure you'll never forget that name."

"Christ, you're rich!" he boomed, leaping to his feet and again pushing his hair back from his cherubic face. "You fucking take me off the street, and then you treat me like this. Who the hell are you, and what do you want with me? Are you going to kill me? Hold me hostage? My parents have no money and are living in Michigan, so it'll be a while to get a ransom." There was a slight bulge in his jeans where I had clearly aroused something within him, and that was all that I noticed. Not his rant, not the frustrated and scared look on his face.

As tempting as it was to use my powers to calm him, I resisted and sat still, hoping he would join me on the couch again. "Calvin, please sit back down," I pleaded when he refused to sit down. Still, he stood there, frightened. I couldn't blame the poor fellow. I also couldn't resist said fellow. The thought of dining on him later made me bite my lower lip, and I could feel my canines sharpen.

Calvin shrieked when he saw how my teeth had grown, stumbling backwards into one of the recliners. "What the fuck, this can't be happening," he moaned, mainly to himself. He brought his legs to his chest and began to shake. I saw him blanch, and I could hear his heartbeat racing. "No, this isn't real. Shit, this can't be real. You're not supposed to exist!" he yelled to me.

Sick of toying with him, I stood, and Brutus rose to his feet, coming to my side and wagging his tail. When he realized my face was stern, he took off towards my bedroom, away from the room of the soon-to-be crime scene. Smart dog.

Speedily making my way to Calvin, I hoisted him up by the front of his shirt and raised him out of the chair, holding him above the ground. "If you make a sound, I will tear you to pieces," I threatened while he thrashed about like a fish out of water. His legs were swinging, yet every time he hit my legs with his bare feet, I ignored it for it felt like nothing.

My hunger was rising, and I could feel the itching in the back of my throat. My mouth was dry, and all I could hear was the sound of Calvin's rushing blood and thumping heart. I wanted nothing more than to tear into his ashen flesh, making it red from the trailing blood.

However, this felt incredibly wrong. Calvin was struggling, trying to get free, and I usually adored this part of the kill, but I couldn't do this, not to him. I couldn't place it, but I wanted him in a much different way than a victim. It may have been the way he looked, or how completely and utterly normal he was.

That's what I had been seeking for so long: normalcy. No matter how hard I tried to find it, I never found it in anyone, not until now with this arm-flailing, crying, cursing child. He was so unlike my other victims. Where they had been rich, or cheap prostitutes, or aspiring actors, Calvin was so simple. He was plain and ordinary, and if it was the one thing I wanted, it was that.

Lowering Calvin back down into the seat, I felt my fangs recede, and I made my way back to the couch where I had been earlier. In the recliner, Calvin sat there, trembling and on the verge of tears, looking like he was going to faint at any given moment. I so hoped he wouldn't because I knew I owed him an apology.

"You're lucky," I began, carefully picking out my words. "I say this because I would have killed you right then, but I didn't and you are still alive, Calvin." His face tensed, and I went on. "I couldn't kill you because you are what I want to be: normal. You know what I am, now. You are aware of the fact that I am so very unlike you, and you should be thankful that I did not wipe you off the face of this planet." As much as I tried to sound threatening, I knew I wasn't able to. He looked so innocent then.

Still remaining in his curled up position, Calvin let out a sob. However, I believed that I had spotted a smile on his lips, possibly a grateful one. I let him cry for a while before I spoke because I didn't want to frighten him all the more. Suddenly, regret for sounding so cruel filled my dead heart, and I had had enough of his crying since it was making me feel sick, if that was even possible.

"Calvin, please," I called before crossing over to him. I offered my hand to him, but he ignored it, which I couldn't blame him for. "Stop crying, Calvin, please. I'm not going to hurt you, understand? Oh, I'm so sorry." I kneeled down and grabbed his chin between my index finger and thumb, jerking his face close to mine. "I'm begging you to quit," I whispered, and I felt his hot breath on my face.

His tears were utterly wonderful to me. I couldn't believe how much I missed being able to cry like a human. After resisting for a few moments, I no longer could keep in my temptation and I reached my tongue out to lick away the salty tears from Calvin's cheeks. He gasped and shook at the closeness of my face to his; on the bright side, his crying had ceased.

An idea came to me that made me smile, my lips now against the cheek of Calvin. If he was so normal, why shouldn't I keep him around to possibly make me feel the same way? Yes, this was the answer to it all. I wouldn't have to ever kill him, so he could live, and maybe I could, too.

"Calvin, sweetie," I muttered, bringing my face away from his to look into his scared eyes. He seemed calmer now, which I was thankful for. "Calvin, I have a question for you, and I need you to listen to me." Biting my lip, I saw his reactions switch between scared to curious, ending somewhere in between. "Calvin, be my companion and stay with me, please. I need you."

*AN: Sorry it was so long! I had wanted this to be a one-shot at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be a story. Anyway! I'll try to update if anyone likes it! Thank you for reading.