Trouble Always Finds Me (Mia)

[tinkerbell2]

It felt like the world around him was moving much slower than usual. Time normally moved quite slow for Ben, with such a routine day-to-day life, but now it dragged on, each minute ticking by like it moved through jello. After what he’d been through a few nights ago, it was no surprise. Near death experiences and encounters with vampires made normal life seem exceptionally dull. Ben hadn’t heard from Mia since she’d left his apartment a few mornings ago. He wished that wasn’t so. It had been a long time since Ben had had decent company in his house. And even though she’d been a bloody, hungry mess, he had still enjoyed her company. Returning to normal life had hard but he was managing.

He dragged his work boots across the sidewalk, staring down as he did so. Ben was exhausted after a very long, hard day at the construction site. Someone had miscalculated an angle on the building they were working on and that meant overtime work and a lot of it. They’d worked into the evening and had been instructed to be back bright and early the next morning. He felt like running home and collapsing onto his bed but his feet wouldn’t move that fast. Slowly, he rounded the dark corner onto his street and looked up to the entrance of his apartment. Standing in front of the door his building were two men, dressed in dark suits and obviously trying to look inconspicuous. Ben slowed his steps even further but it was only a few yards to the building’s entrance. The men looked up at him as he approached, acknowledgement in their eyes. Ben noticed the dark car with dark tinted windows parked on the street next to the men. He swore softly under his breath and then looked up to greet the detectives. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.

“Gentlemen,” He tried to smile but his lips curved into a more of a grimace, “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Are you Benicio Vega?” The man closest to him was tall, with short, military-styled hair and a angry look on his face. Ben tried not to notice the gun on his belt clip.

“No,” His voice was perfectly calm, he’d done a lot of lying in his past, “But I can let you in and show you to his apartment.” Ben wasn’t quite sure why he was lying. Of course they would recognize him. But he couldn’t help it. He had just slipped into an old habit.

The shorter officer laughed, “Please, spare us the show. I can guarantee I’ve seen it before.” He stepped towards Ben, handcuffs gleaming in the dim light. “We need to ask you a few questions down at the station.”

“Oh?” Ben took a step back. Running wasn’t his thing. Physically, he could probably outrun these two fools. But, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t run from this. He’d simply fight. “What about, may I ask.”

“Well,” Said the tall cop, “A gun belonging to you was found next to the...remains of a man.” The officer shivered, obviously remembering something he didn’t like. Ben too remember the scene where he’d first met Mia. Blood, a lot of blood, and a very dead and drained homeless man. It was not a fond memory.

“Hmmm,” Ben knew there was no getting around this, he’d be going to jail tonight. “Well, I’m glad you found my gun. Funny though, I don’t remember the gun being loaded. Nor, do I remember shooting anyone.”

“Yes, well…” The short cop seemed to be on edge and he took several more steps towards Ben, “There certainly was a lack of gun use at the crime scene which is why we’d like to talk to you.” Both men moved forward then, placing their strong hands on Ben’s arms.

“Easy! Easy! I’m coming, God damn it.” He pulled away from them and was met with even more resistance, “Christ all right, all right.” He forced his muscles to relax and the officers seemed to relax as well. They began escorting him towards their car and Ben, though most of him told him to fight, gave in. Maybe he could fabricate some sort of story that would clear his name. Of course, he hadn’t done anything! Mia was the murderer here. But, she couldn’t help it. Ben knew he would cover for her no matter what it took. He stared at the ground, blinking back guilty tears as they threatened to pour over onto his face. So much for uneventful nights. Trouble seemed to be finding him often these days.

[random314]

Ever since that dreadful night just a few nights ago, Mia had been slowly adjusting to her new life as a vampire, and that new life would take a lot of getting used to. Nearly every night since the change she'd crept into bed, shut her eyes, and attempted to fall asleep, but then she'd remember she didn't need sleep anymore, and she would rise again. She'd also made the mistake of actually making herself a bowl of cereal one morning, but after she'd taken one bite she remembered it didn't taste nearly as good as it used to, and she would end up throwing the whole thing away. Then she'd have to spent the rest of the day inside since the sun made her uncomfortable. It wasn't as painful as some vampire movies made it out to be, but it certainly wasn't enjoyable. She'd found that out when she'd went home after spending the night at Ben's house in order to avoid the cops. That morning she'd started to head to work, but the minute she'd stepped out of the car into the bright sunlight, Mia had turned right around again and drove home. She'd called in sick every single day since the change, and she was running out of sick days. Mia had come to the conclusion that she'd have to get a different job, because working as a waitress in an outdoor cafe was not going to cut it. Maybe she'd be a bartender and work in a dark club or something. Really, why did so many people think vampires were cool? All Mia thought was that they had a lot to deal with.

Since she didn't go to work now, Mia had a lot of time on her hands, but even with all that time she hadn't gone to see Ben. He'd been a great help to her during her change, and she was grateful for it. In fact, Ben was the only man she actually trusted, well, with her secret at least. It was funny; they'd only known each other for one night and already she trusted him, but then, maybe it wasn't so odd. When two people are pushed together in severe circumstances, oftentimes bizarre friendships can come out of it, and sometimes, even trusting relationships. Mia had passed Ben's apartment several times on her nighttime wanderings, but she'd never visited him again. It wasn't as if she didn't want to bother him, Mia didn't really care actually, but she was sort of afraid. She was afraid to trust him, afraid that she actually liked him. Ever since she was little Mia hadn't liked men, starting with her father and only worsening from the tauntings of the little boys on the playground, and now that she actually trusted and may actually consider befriending one, it was difficult to accept.

Tonight, Mia was again on one of her nighttime feeding sessions. Yet again, she passed Ben's apartment, but this time she did stop, because the minute she'd stepped on the road where Ben's apartment was located her enhanced hearing caught word of a conversation she did not like in the slightest. As Mia got closer to his apartment, she quickened her step and finally saw what was going on as well as hearing it. Some cops were bothering Ben about a suspecting shooting and killing of a homeless man--a homeless man Mia had murdered. Her face went pale as she listened to this, and she knew she had to intervene. It was all her fault Ben was in this mess anyway. Soon, she appeared right at the shorter officer's side, as if she'd been their all along. As a vampire, it was easy for her to move quickly and silently, so she wouldn't be surprised if her presence came as a surprise to all three men. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, knowing she had no right asking, but she didn't really care. Maybe she'd be able to talk the officers out of it. She couldn't tell them what really happened; never could she tell, but maybe she could make something up so they'd let Ben go. Her hands were on her hips as she gazed straight up into the officer's eyes, a glare on her face. "What are you doing with Ben?"

[tinkerbell2]

“Holy shit!” The shorter cop jumped nearly as high as he was tall, turning with scared eyes to face Mia. His gun was already drawn, pointing at her chest. He looked her over, noting her gender and size.

Ben gasped, his brown eyes growing at the site of his vampire companion. “Mia! What the hell are you doing here. You shouldn’t be here!”[/b]

The taller cop tugged roughly against Ben’s arm, pulling him further towards the car and away from Mia. “Keep her away, Hillman, while I cuff him,” He told his partner while he pulled out a pair of handcuff. Ben knew that those cuff were bad news. Once he was in handcuffs, there was very little he could do to escape.

Ben shook his head. How could he even be thinking about running? He was a grown man. Besides, they didn’t have anything on him. Not really. Not as long as he kept his mouth shut. He looked at Mia, “Please, Mia, don’t….just…. Leave. Please.”

“You’d better listen to your friend, Miss Mia.” Officer Hillman put his gun back on his belt, having made the incorrect assumption that Mia was not any threat to him and his partner. “We just need to take Mr. Vega down to the station to ask him a few questions…” He paused for a moment, trying to act in a dramatic fashion, “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a murder would you, Miss? Mr. Vega’s gun was found next to the body of a man who was lacking…. His blood. Now, sweetheart, you don’t want to get involved in this. Trust me.”

Ben turned towards the taller officer, reading his name tag. “Look, Office Dunham. I don’t want any trouble so no need to--” He felt the cold steel of the handcuff go around his left wrist. “Handcuff me! I’m not under arrest, damnit!” He pulled away from the officer, holding his hand up to stop him. “I’ll go quietly, really, I will. I just don’t like the cuffs.”

Dunham stared at Ben in shock, drawing his gun on the man, “Turn around! Turn around, I said, damn it, or I will shoot you!” He pointed the handgun at Ben’s chest, his hand shaking slightly and a bead of sweat running down his neck.

Ben backed away, “Okay, okay. I just don’t like handcuffs. No big deal.” He looked over the officers shoulder, eyeing Mia warily. How had she ended up in this situation? Ben felt his back against the dark, unmarked police car. “Look, I’ll get in.” He opened the door without turning his back on the officer. His eyes flicker from the man’s gun to Mia and back again. He wished she would simply disappear, get herself out of this mess. “Mia,” He called out her name, “Leave.”

[random314]

Mia could have laughed at the smaller cop's reaction to her presence, but when the gun was pointed at her chest, any laugh she might have uttered caught in her throat and she was glaring again, even more fiercely this time. Sure, she had sneaked up on them, but she didn't like that gun so close to her. Mia didn't know if vampires were immune to regular attacks, but she did not want to find out this way. Ben seemed just as surprised as the cops were at her presence, and he wasted no time in shouting at her and telling her she shouldn't be there. Mia simply raised her brows at him. Did he mean she shouldn't be involved in this situation? Or did he mean she shouldn't be coming around his apartment at all? She hoped, and assumed the former, but she really didn't care what he said. She was staying. Ben had saved her ass and now it was time for her to save his.

Clearly the officer didn't think she was a threat, as Hillman lowered his gun and simply told her to listen to Ben and leave. When would they get in through their thick heads that she wasn't going anywhere. Ben should know, she'd told him that if he ever got caught by the cops she'd take the blame, although Mia wasn't sure she was going to do as she said. She had a different plan in mind...

The officer than proceeded to question her about the murder Ben was obviously going to be accused of. He called her sweetheart and acted as if the simple idea of murder would stop such a sweet little girl's heart. Mia could have slapped him. She hated people who underestimated her because of her size or gender. Mia simply continued to glare as the officer explained the situation. She wasn't sure how to answer him, because obviously the truth would not do. Mia could easily tell him that she'd been the one who'd committed the murder, but she doubted the cops would believe her, unless of course, she sunk her teeth into their necks as well. "Well, actually, on the contrary Officer Hillman, I do want to get involved."

While Hillman had been talking to her, Ben had been getting cuffed, and now, hearing Dunham's shout, Mia whipped around in his direction. Ben was just in the process of getting in the police car. No way, Mia was not going to have this. "Mia, leave," he ordered her. "Like Hell I'll leave," she snarled, and then, with no warning to anybody, Mia snapped.

She grabbed Hillman by the arm and pulled him to her, then sunk her teeth deep into his neck; she'd worry about the consequences later, all that mattered now was saving Ben. Hillman screamed loudly, but couldn't do anything else under her firm grasp. Then she felt it. A sharp, aching pain in her side. The other officer had realized what was going on and shot her. The pain wasn't as bad as she'd thought a gun shot would be, so she simply continued sucking the blood from the short officer's neck. She was just about to pull away from him and deal with the tall one, when she felt yet another hard pang hit her in the shoulder. Bang. Another in her leg. Mia released Hillman and stood to face the other officer. He looked terribly frightened and shocked as he stared at her, his gun aimed right for her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted, probably forgetting all about Ben with Mia to deal with. Mia shot a look a desperate look at Ben and then turned back to the officer, ready to take him on as well.

[tinkerbell2]

Mia wasn’t going anywhere and he should have known that the moment he saw her. He wished that he could enjoy her presence tonight rather than having to worry about her safety. But Ben would never be able to keep her safe, especially from herself. He watched, quite stunned, as Mia turned on the police officer. Her fangs glistened in the dim streetlights and then found their way through the skin of the officers neck and into his veins. Ben tried to move, to stop her. That was wrong. Ben knew how much that hurt and it sure as hell wasn’t worth it for her to do it to a police officer. His feet were frozen to the concrete. He limps could not be raised as he watched in horror as the second officer raised his gun and then fired. “No.” His lips barely moved to form the word. It seemed as though Mia was hardly phased by the first bullet. But Ben watched as the second bullet pierced her skin. It was painful to watch and yet he could not pull his eyes away from Mia’s beautiful face. He wanted to take the bullets away from her and take them himself, but he wasn’t fast enough. A third bullet ripped through her perfectly white skin. “NO!” Ben charged the firing officer, rage filling his eyes. The handcuff had only be attached to one wrist and he had to use that to his advantage now. He grabbed the open cuff with his free hand wrapped the cold steel around the officer’s neck, yanking it tight across his skin. The officer struggled, fumbling with both his gun and his radio. “Need…backup…” He choked out, then raised his gun at Mia. Ben pulled harder on the handcuffs, hoping to kill him before he could fire again. Ben would kill for Mia. The gun was aimed right at her chest… at her heart. The trigger shifted and the gun fired. “NO!” Ben pulled so hard again the officer’s neck that it snapped and he went limp in his hands. He dropped the dead body onto the concrete, his breathing labored with his effort. His eyes moved over the corpse but he could hardly see street. Tears were brimming in his eyes and he was terrified for Mia. He couldn’t bring himself to even look at her, afraid of what he would see. Was she dead too? “Mia…?” He called her name out softly, not looking her direction.

[random314]

Mia had promised herself she would never kill another human again, and she was keeping that promise. Sure, she'd bit the officer, but she hadn't taken enough blood to actually kill him. She knew the bite would hurt, and she knew the pain would distract him from Ben, which was the whole reason she'd bitten him. Mia needed to give Ben enough time to escape. She wasn't sure where he should go, but she knew that anywhere was better than jail. He'd told her that he'd spent time in the slammer before, and she didn't want him to have to go back just because she'd lost control that night. When she pulled away from the officer, he fell backward, hand grabbing his neck, and howling in pain. She did have a conscious, and she did feel bad, but Mia didn't have time to pity him, because everything around her was moving so fast.

She heard Ben yell out, and the next thing she knew, Ben had jumped out of the car and had his handcuff wrapped around the healthy officer’s neck. Mia's eyes widened as the handcuff tightened. What was Ben doing? Surely he wasn't trying to kill him? Before she could figure out what to do next though, the officer was calling for back up, and then a bullet was shooting through the air right towards her. Mia was too stunned to move. She was only a new vampire after all, so she wasn't nearly as fast as the others yet. The bullet hit her right in the chest, sending her stumbling backward. She clutched her chest as the blood flowed heavily. Why hadn't she collapsed yet? She had so many wounds...Mia heard Ben shout and then she heard a snapping sound. The officer’s neck had broken.

She was too shocked to cry, or scream; she was too shocked to do anything. She simply fell back onto the sidewalk clutching her chest and wondering why she hadn't passed out yet. Mia heard Ben calling her name softly. She looked over at him. God, he looked terrible. It was horrible seeing such a strong man break down like that. Pain was searing through her like wildfire, but surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as she'd thought a gunshot would feel. "Ben?" she breathed, struggling to sit up. It was hard for her to stand up, but finally she managed. Her steps slow, Mia made her way to Ben slowly, and grabbed his arm as if it were her only lifeline. "We've got to get out of here," she exclaimed, her eyes scanning the heavily bleeding officer she'd bitten, and then the dead one.

[tinkerbell2]

His pained and terrified howling was torturous. Ben closed his eyes but it only intensified the police officers pathetic cries for help. It hadn’t hurt that much when Mia had bitten him. At least… Mia was alive. Or, as alive as she could be for the moment. He was just barely aware of Mia staggering towards him when Ben reached down and picked up the dead police officers gun in his large hand. Mia’s cold hand on the skin of his arm shocked him back into reality and he immediately knew what he needed to do. “Ben?” His name on her tongue was alluring and he couldn’t help but smile. His the corners of his lips turned up but the grin that developed had a unstable edge to it. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He looked down at her, placing his hand around her tiny waist. She looked so awful, like she might collapse if he didn’t hold her up. He noticed the blood pouring from her chest and it was painful for him to look at. Would she heal? He wasn’t sure how injuries worked with vampires. But if had been him in her situation, he’d be lying still and cold on the sidewalk. But, she was still standing, still breathing…. Still holding the silver gun, he reached up to brush a strand of hair away from her face. “I know…. We will.” The gun shone in his hand and he suddenly knew what was expected of him. Ben looked over Mia’s shoulder at the cop still writhing in pain. Ben was going to be the hero for Mia. Or, the villain, at least. He shifted without second thought into his very old comfort zone where killing someone was like stepping on a cockroach; it didn’t mean a damn thing. He raised the gun at the police officer. “Don’t look,” He tried to turn her body away from what he was about to do.

Two shots rang out in quick succession and then the night air was still. His aim had been perfect and the police officer was no longer suffering. Emotion drained out of Ben quickly. He simply began to act, thinking, but not considering emotion or consequence. He did exactly what he had to do to preserve himself and Mia. He shoved the gun snugly between his hip and pants. He lifted Mia up in one swift motion and moved her to the stairs just outside of his building. “Please,” He was saying and he put her back down on the stairs, “Don’t move. Give me just a minute.” He turned away from her and set to work. First, he dragged the still-bleeding officer into a dark corner behind the building. That man was fat. He huffed but eventually put the body into a place where he knew it would stay invisible until he could dispose of him. Ben considered for a few short moments what to do with the second body. That one wasn’t bleeding… but Mia was. His decision was made shortly after that. Mia could feed off the second body and then heal, wasn’t that how things in the supernatural world worked? She lost blood so she’d regain it and be fine. At least, that was his logic. He started towards the officer’s still body but then looked up at the undercover police car and froze. Without pausing, he hoped into the car and shifted the gear into neutral before jumping back out. One hefty push was all it took to send the car rolling down the street. He didn’t’ stop to watch what happened to the cruiser and instead lifted the stiff body onto his shoulder. Ben returned to Mia’s side, the police officers feet dragging behind him. “Come on, lets go upstairs and... talk,” He reached down and pulled her up by her arm, intent on getting her inside, “You don’t look so good.” They needed some of plan and Mia was definitely going down hill. He frowned, how was he supposed to help save a vampire?

[random314]

Why is smiling? Mia wondered, watching as Ben's lips twitched at the corners and then lifted up. One officer was dead, the other crying out in pain, and both of them were in even more of a mess than they'd previously been in. There was nothing to be smiling about. But then, looking closer, Mia saw that his smile was uneasy. He was probably only smiling because she was alive. That was the only reason she was smiling; because Ben was alive. She was a vampire, and had super strength and speed. Mia didn't know how fast wounds heeled, but she was certain that a shot to the heart would kill any natural being. She hadn't died, and although her wounds hurt and she was losing blood, Mia knew that she wasn't going to die tonight, but Ben... He was human. She was just grateful that the officer had been too concentrated on her to pay attention to Ben. Mia wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if he'd died because of her. She'd been taking a risk when she'd attacked that officer, and Mia still wasn't sure if it had been the right choice. Surely more cops would come, and then Ben would get in even more trouble, all because of her. It was such a giant mess.

Mia was surprised when Ben placed an arm around her waist, and even more so when he reached up to brush a stray hair out of her eyes. This was hardly the time for this; any moment now Mia was expecting more cops to come and guns to be fired, and yet...she liked being comforted. All her life she hadn't been treated very tenderly, even by her parents, and to have that now was nice, even in a time of danger. Still, they had to get out of here, and soon. Mia told him so, and was relived when he told her that they would leave, but apparently Ben wasn't intent on leaving anytime soon. "Don't look," he told her, easily turning her body away from the writhing cop. She didn't like this though; She never had liked being told what to do. Mia realized that she could easily turn back around, even though she was so tiny being a vampire gave her a lot of strength. Mia didn't turn though, because in the back of her mind she knew what Ben was about to do, and she didn't want to see it. Did it really have to be done? "Ben wait!" she pleaded, but it was too late; the gun had already been fired. Mia almost let out a yell of surprise, but managed to keep quiet as she turned back around to face the gruesome seen around her. She was strong; she could handle this...even though she was bleeding from what felt like every part of her body.

Ben had a good shot, the bullet had pierced right through the officer's heart and he was dead. Gone. Mia simply stared at the scene, unable to come up with a plan or an idea of what they should do next. She didn't really feel anything. It was almos as if she was feeling so many different emotions at once that they all seemed to override the other. She didn't know whether to be mad at Ben or not. Mia didn't approve of murder, but what else could they have done? She didn't know. She was mad, but really too confused and scared to yell at Ben now. Luckily, Ben was able to keep his head. Before Mia knew what was happening he'd lifted her up and was carrying her towards his apartment building. Usually Mia would never allow anybody to have such control over her, especially a man, but this time Mia allowed him to do with her as he wanted. She just wanted to wake up and realize it had all just been a horrible dream. He placed her down on some steps and told her to wait there. Mia didn't have any idea of where she would go, and wasn't even sure if she could move, so staying where she was seemed like a fine idea to her. She watched as Ben walked back to the dead officer and dragged him away, out of Mia's line of view. She imagined he was disposing of the body, but she had no idea where Ben would put it. They had to get out of here; get rid of the bodies and get out of here. Restless, and no longer in as much of a shocked state, Mia attempted to stand, but stopped when she watched Ben approaching her, the other body draped over his shoulders

Mia stood quickly with the help of Ben. She had no idea what they were going to do now, and was glad when Ben seemed to have some idea. “Come on, lets go upstairs and... talk,” he said. Mia gazed at him, open mouthed. "What? We--we've GOT to get out of here! I mean, the cops, more are bound to show up soon. And what did you do with that body? What are you planning on doing with him?" she asking nodding towards the corpse draped over Ben's back. "We can't just go inside. What if they come back?" Mia was on the verge of hysteria now. Before her life had been so mundane, so dull, and now everything was just happening so fast, and she'd murdered people, and Ben had murdered people, and now she just knew that they weren't going to be able to get away with it. How could they? It was impossible. "Ben...we're screwed."

[tinkerbell2]

Ben set the cold body down on the stairs and then placed both of his hands firmly on Mia’s shoulders. He looked deeply into her eyes, trying to reassure her. “We are nothing, Mia. This isn’t a ‘we’ thing. They know nothing about you. You are going to be fine, as soon as we get these bullets out of you…” He paused, looked down at the bullet wound in her chest and then the one in her leg. He had some tweezers upstairs somewhere. How fast could she heal? She would definitely need blood. That was the point of bringing their dead friend up with them. Ben wasn’t sure how Mia would take to drinking from a dead police officer but it was definitely better than nothing. “And once you’re okay, then you’ll go home and I’ll worry about myself.” And then it was as if someone upstairs was listening; a light rain began to fall over them, coating them in sparkling drops. But the rain was not light for very long. Soon, it was pounding down upon the man and the vampire. “See…” Ben motioned towards the sky as he released his grip on Mia, “Someone’s trying to clean up after us. You’ll be fine.” He managed a small smile at the thought. The rain would wash away the blood that had begun to dry on the concrete sidewalk behind them. He slung the body back over his shoulder again and opened the door to his apartment building, leading the way up the three flights of stairs to his apartment, all the while keeping a firm hand on Mia’s arm. He was nervous that she would suddenly collapse or faint or die. That would only lead him down a path of destruction. It didn’t matter what happened to him, so long as Mia was okay… so long as she lived. Or, continued to exist, at least.

He pushed open the door to his apartment. This all seem too familiar. Wasn’t it just yesterday that he was pulling a bloody vampire into his apartment? It definitely seemed like déjà vu. He dumped the dead police officer on the floor, in too much of a daze to really care what happened to the body. Ben shut the door behind Mia and let out a sigh of relief. Sure, the entire NYPD would be banging down his down door any minute now. But until that happened, Mia and he was safe. He looked up at her. She looked a hot mess. Both hot and a very bad mess. “Shouldn’t you lie down? Or I can take a look at the…” Jesus Christ, she had bullet wounds. She’d actually been shot. “Uh, wounds. Maybe we should, no,” They couldn’t go to a doctor because Mia didn’t even have a heartbeat. He gave her a long hard look, his brows furrowing in frustration and worry. What could he do for her? “I thought maybe you could,” He looked down at the body, “You know,” He kicked the body lightly, “Eat him or whatever. Are you alright?” He took to timid steps towards her, his hands outstretched as though she might need his support.

[random314]

Mia stared back into Ben's dark eyes that could probably appear menacing if he were angry, but to Mia all she saw in them was reassurance and comfort. Looking into them made her feel protected, and she didn't like that. She knew he couldn't protect her; no one could, only she could protect herself, but it was becoming harder and harder not to rely on Ben. Mia knew she should know better; after what happened with the last man she trusted she had good reason never to trust, rely, or care for anyone, but she felt all three for Ben. Of course, even though she cared for him, he could still annoy her sometimes, like now, when he tried to tell her that there was no ‘we’ and she wouldn’t get in trouble. Sure, maybe he was just saying that to comfort her, but she still could disagree with it. When the cops found the bodies of the officers they’d see the teeth marks in that one officer’s neck, and didn’t they have fingerprint machines and stuff to determine who did what? Mia didn’t really know; she’d never done anything this serious before. All she knew was that if Ben got blamed again, Mia wouldn’t let him deal with it all on his own. Even though her involvement today probably caused more trouble than it was worth, at least Ben wasn’t in jail. It was all Mia’s fault they were in this mess in the first place. If only she’d been able to control her thirst that night in the alley. “We’re in this together, Ben. How many times do I have to tell you?” she asked him softly, but her voice still held some annoyance in it. Just because she was on the verge of freaking out didn’t mean she’d lose all her spunk, “And I am not going home. The cops know where you live. You should come stay with me.” Mia didn’t think twice about her offer. She didn’t really care if Ben thought it absurd or stupid or awkward. She just wanted to make sure that both of them were safe. It was better if they stuck together anyway; they could help each other.

It was at this point that the dark clouds overhead opened up and a light rain came pattering down on them. Mia gazed upward at the sky as the rain got heavier and heavier. She nearly smiled. The rain would be able to wash most of the evidence away. Ben apparently thought the same, judging by his words. Mia gave him a skeptical look in response. Someone was watching over them? Yeah right. "Ben, if anyone was watching over us I wouldn't be a vampire and you wouldn't have the cops on your ass," she told him matter of factly. She didn't believe in God. After all the crap that happened in her life, Mia didn't see any reason to. She'd thought Ben would feel the same way. From the little he'd told her about his past, Mia didn't think he'd have much faith left at all.

She followed him up the stairs silently. He still had a firm grip on her arm all the way up into his apartment. Mia didn't try to pull away, even though it would have been easy to. Ben's apartment looked nearly the same as it did those few nights ago when she'd first met Ben. It was amazing to think how much her life had changed in just a few days. He asked if she wanted to lie down, and Mia shook her head. Her wounds didn't feel as bad as they had earlier. Was it possible they'd already begun to heal? When Ben asked if he could look at her wounds, Mia nodded. "Okay," she said simply as he approached her. "They're not as bad as they look." As for the body on the floor Mia shrugged. She would try not to feel bad about taking an innocent man's blood. She'd done it before, but she'd never killed any of them. "Yeah, I guess I could drink from him, but I really think we should get out of here as soon as possible."

[tinkerbell2]

"Ben, if anyone was watching over us I wouldn't be a vampire and you wouldn't have the cops on your ass.” Mia’s word made him pause for a moment and then sent his mind into over drive. She could not have been more accurate. They were alone in this world. There was no other answer for the all the horrible things that had happened in Ben’s past, not to mention the existence of vampires and other creatures of the night. And Mia, a beautiful, innocent woman was destined to feed on humans for the rest of eternity. If she lived that long. The world was so cruel. Ben had always believed that. But it was hard to see how cruel it could be to people who absolutely didn’t deserve it. Ben knew he deserved to spend an eternity burning in hell for the things he’d done and he was prepared to pay that price. But was Mia destined for something similar? He could only wish that she wasn’t.

Back in the apartment, the horror of what just happened was starting to hit Ben like ten tons of bricks. He ran his hands over his face and across his scalp. The room was starting to spin. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, trying to clear his sense and get a grip on the world. Mia had four bullet wounds, one of which he was quite sure went straight at her heart. He looked up at her. She said she felt alright and she looked like she was telling the truth. She wasn’t any paler than usual and she didn’t look like she was going to die. “I’ll…” He bit his lip, tossing ideas around his head. He was certainly no doctor and Mia didn’t look like she needed his head. “Got get some bandages and… stuff.” Ben look down, his cheeks flushing slightly. He felt utterly helpless. “And give you a little privacy,” he told her, stepping around her and towards his bedroom. “Remember,” He voice was soft, full of pain, “He’s already dead. And you didn’t kill him.”

Once in his bedroom with the door closed, Ben collapsed onto his bed. He had a medical kit in the closet but he had a feeling it wouldn’t do any good. Once Mia had drank from that police officer, she’d be fine. For a moment, he wished there was something he could do. He wanted to be the knight in shining armor riding to Mia’s rescue. Of course, he’d just killed two men and that wasn’t exactly heroic. She could drink his blood… The moment he had that thought he regretted it. No, it was too painful and way too weird. He just wanted to be of some sort of help. Instinctively, Ben knew that once Mia had had her fill of blood, she'd be fine. His help wasn't needed. He took a deep breath and hopped off the bed to open the closet and retrieve his sparse first aid kit. It had bandaids, gauze, a wrap and hydrogen peroxide. He grabbed the gauze and wrap and put the rest away then snatched a sweatshirt from its hanger. It would be huge on Mia but it would hide the blood stains on her clothes. She was right. They had to leave. He opened the top drawer of his dresser and snatched the keys to his truck out. Ben hardly ever drove the dilapidated old Ford, it was faster to walk to work in New York City traffic. But he knew it had a full tank of gas and he could throw the bodies in the back. And if they were running…. He grabbed a duffle bag from the closet and began throwing clothes into it. He may not be coming back to this apartment… ever.

Once he was packed and ready to go on the run, Ben slung the duffle bag over the his shoulder and opened the door slowly. He peeked out, unsure of what he would find. “Mia?” He closed the door behind him and stepped lightly down the hallway.

[random314]

Mia gave Ben a weak smile as she watched him turn and leave the room. He was right, she hadn't killed the officer, but she still felt bad. She'd never drunk from a dead person before. Even that homeless man she'd murdered...he'd been alive when she'd drunk from him. When he'd died she'd stopped, disgusted with herself, but tonight she would be drinking from a dead guy. Even though there were far more appetizing meals around (like Ben) Mia would simply have to cope with the dead guy instead. Ben had brought him just up for her, she realized, and so she would just deal with the dead officer as nourishment for now. She really was starting to feel a bit light headed from loss of blood. Her bullet wounds didn't really hurt, in fact, some of them had even started to close, but she did need blood.

So when Mia heard a door close in the hall, she walked over to the dead officer and knelt beside him. She was hesitant at first, but when she lowered her head to his neck and her fangs it, and the blood filled her mouth, Mia's instincts took over. The blood wasn't as sweet as it could have been, but Mia didn't stop drinking from him, not even when she heard faint footsteps coming from the hall. She felt herself getting stronger with each drop of blood, and soon Mia was at full strength once more. When she finally lifted her lips from the officer’s neck, he was sucked dry and extremely pale. She turned to see if Ben was coming down the hallway yet, but to her surprise he was already in the room with her. Her lips were coated in blood, and some of it was dripping from her lips. Mia hastily wiped her hand across her mouth as she looked back at him. He was carrying a duffel bag and looked prepared to leave. She wondered how much he'd seen, but tried not to think too much on it. He'd seen her at her worst before; surely seeing her feed would not freak him out any more? "Good, we're leaving," she said as he approached. "I think we should stay at my place. It's not too far from here," she told him, and then she looked to the drained body on the floor. "Um, what are we going to do with him?"

[tinkerbell2]

He wasn’t sure what emotion was surging through his veins as he came around the corner to find Mia still draining the blood from the body of the police officer. Perhaps it was a mixture of several things; curiosity, certainly. What did it taste like? How did it work? What would it be like to be that body. He’d had that experience before, of course he had not been a willing donor at the time. He was also frightened, though not as much as he once would have been. Ben had accepted that Mia was not of his world and with that came other strange things to accept: the cold and pale skin, the strange diet, and the inhuman senses and speed. Still, to see her so predatory was certainly a shock. But, Ben hid his emotions well. He waited patiently until she was finished and then smiled timidly. “Good, we’re leaving.” Her words suddenly struck him. Ben would never be able to come back to this apartment. Sure it was small, expensive, and the location wasn’t all the great, but it had been his refuge for a long time. And this was the end for him and his apartment. He sighed then reached up to adjust the strap on his duffle bag. “Yeah, we’re leaving.” He nodded. Her place worked for him. And he was certainly curious. “I’ll handle him then we’ll go out the back.” Setting the duffle bag down on the couch, he reached down for the body and lifted. It was surprisingly lighter, at least ten pounds lighter. He dragged the body to the living room window, opened it and looked out. It was a side street to the building. There was an open dumpster just below his window. He often dumped bags of trash this way, rather than walking them all the way… Now he was just going to dump a body. He lifted and then pushed, watching the man fall easily into the dumpster. Sure, someone would find him but they would probably find him no matter what Ben did with the body. He sighed and then shut the window. His truck was just across the street from the dumpster. If they could make it without being seen, things would be that much better. And if they could make it back to Mia’s with out being stopped… maybe he could go on the run.

“Okay,” He turned to face Mia, “Lets go.” He turned off the lights as he went for the door and grabbed his bag but didn’t bother to lock it as they left. He led the way down a back stair case and through two sets of door before they were on the poorly lit street. “Come on,” He snatched her hand and pulled her quickly across the street and towards the truck. It was old, beat up, and the first thing he’d bought when he’d moved to New York. He flung the duffle bag in the back then opened the doors and hopped in. The engine roared loudly to life on the first try and Ben floored it, speeding off into the night. “Okay,” He said once they were a few streets away from his apartment and the crime scene, “Where are we going? I mean, you’re place, I know, but where’s that?” He squeezed the wheel tightly, trying not to get upset. He’d done absolutely everything possible to keep a low profile in New York and now he’d been on the run for the murder of two cops. He suddenly felt the cool metal of the gun on the skin of his back and pulled it out from his waistband. He placed it gingerly on his lap and the put his hands back on the wheel. At least he still had the gun. “I’m sorry things turned out like this, Mia. I really am. But, thanks in advance for your hospitality.”

[random314]

Mia watched as Ben dragged the body to his window. Surely he wasn't going to--yes, yes he was. With surprise in her eyes Mia watched Ben shove the body through the window, and then it fell down, landing in the side street next to his apartment. "Are you just going to leave it there?" Mia asked, taking some steps towards Ben. She peered out the window when he'd left it and saw the lifeless body had landed in a dumpster. Well, that was better than it just lying in the street. Still, shouldn't they have buried it or hid it? Well, this was the best they could do for now; they had little time before the cops realized that two of their officers were missing. Ben knew more about this stuff than Mia did, so if he thought tossing the body into a dumpster was the right way to go, then Mia wouldn't object.

She followed Ben quickly out the door and down the back staircase. When he grasped her hand in his she didn't object. He'd done this before, but he usually grabbed her arm instead. Mia could keep up perfectly well on her own. In fact, she could probably out run Ben with her new vampire speed, but she still let him grab hold of her. She wasn't sure why she allowed it. Mia had every reason not to allow anyone, especially a man, to touch her again, but for some reason she didn't mind Ben’s hand clasped in her own; she even liked it. Perhaps it was because he was the only one she really had left. She wasn't going to tell the few friends she had about her vampire abilities, and she certainly would not tell her mother. Ben was the only one who knew, and the tragedies they'd been in had brought them together. Neither of them would be able to get through this big mess on their own. Well, Ben probably would have been fine if Mia hadn't tried sucking him dry, but she certainly needed him, probably more than he knew, and more than Mia would like to admit.

Once the two of them were safely sitting inside Ben's truck, Mia's nerves slowly started to subside. She was still nervous, but as they sped away from the crime scene she started to feel calmer. She told Ben where her apartment was and soon they were speeding off in its direction. It would be just their luck if they got caught for speeding. When he told her he was sorry for the way things turned out, Mia waved a hand through the air, dismissing his words. "Yeah, well, don't mention it. If not for me you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place," she told him, hating to admit that she was really at fault, but knowing it was true. Ben's apartment wasn't very far from Mia's, so it wasn't long until they pulled up in front of Mia's building. Mia hadn't talked much during the ride, still preoccupied with thoughts of flashing sirens and black and white cars suddenly popping out of nowhere and chasing after them, but luckily her fears didn't come true. Ben's old truck pulled up in front of Mia's building with no problem. Mia jumped out of the truck as soon as it stopped and would have pulled Ben out too if he weren't already getting out himself. "Okay, I live at the very top," she told him, starting towards her building.

It was odd bringing someone up to her apartment, especially a guy. She hardly ever brought anyone up there. The last person who'd been there had been her ex boyfriend, and that had been months and months ago. She barely had any food now; they'd have to shopping to make the place fit for a human. She might have some boxes of cereal lying around though. Mia led Ben up the stairs to her apartment, hoping she didn't have anything embarrassing lying around. She hadn't been expecting company. What do you care though? she asked herself. You've never cared before! It was true, Mia usually didn't care what people thought, so she shouldn't care now, but for some reason she cared what Ben thought. She fumbled with the key for a moment before the door finally opened, revealing a fairly simple apartment.

Mia's little apartment was probably around the same size as Ben's, if not a bit smaller. The carpet was light blue and the walls were bare except for some drawings spread around, most of which were slightly dark and depressing. There was an easel propped by the window and a couch in the corner facing a tiny TV. Draped over the couch was a blood stained t-shirt. So there was something she'd left out. Well, at least it wasn't underwear or something. She'd worn that shirt last night when she'd went out for her meal and the meal had put up a bit of a fight. She wasn't sure what to do now as she stood in her apartment with Ben. She was the farthest thing from a hostess. "Um...well, I don't really have any human food, but I might have some cereal around here somewhere. As for sleeping, well I don't really use my bed anymore, so you could use that I suppose..." she trailed off, knowing she was doing a horrible job. Plus, she couldn't act all friendly and helpful when troublesome thoughts were nagging her in the back of her mind. "You don't think they'll find us here do you? I mean we're safe?" she asked, completely changing the direction of the conversation. She didn't like showing how nervous she actually was, but what if the cops sent the whole police squad over? Ben and Mia wouldn't be able to take on all that on their own...

[tinkerbell2]

The very quiet ride to Mia’s apartment gave Ben a lot of time to think. In fact, it was probably too much time. He felt like he burst through his skin into a thousand little pieces of anguish. How could he have so easily slipped back into the ways of his past? It had been a torturous seven years of self-exile and now it was all for nothing. He was so angry with himself he could have killed someone else. Then again, he’d already murdered two police officers so one more person wouldn’t make much of a difference. He squeezed the wheel harder, not caring that his knuckles were turning white or that his hands were cramping. Ben could have screamed. Instead he let out a ragged, deep breath. He had to get back into control of himself before he lost it all over the floor. Falling apart would not help now. But he felt like a coward, like a murderer, and it made it very hard to concentrate.

He turned the wheel, pulling into Mia’s apartment complex. He shut the engine off, shoved the keys in his pocket and then jerked his duffle bag from the cab. He didn’t bother to lock the car, no thief with any sense of dignity would steal this heap of junk. Following her up the stairs to the apartment, he chewed quietly on his thoughts. Ben had a very sudden urge to wash his hands. On the surface they were clean and free of blood but he knew what those hands were capable of: murder. Sure, he’d killed innocent people before but it had always been in the name of his gang, the Latin Kings. The tattoo on his shoulder would always serve as a permanent reminder of his stupidity in blinding following his fellow gang members. And yet tonight, he’d acted completely on his own and had murdered for absolutely no reason. Well… he looked at Mia as she let him into her apartment, maybe he had some reason. But as he stepped into her apartment, Ben realized how little he actually knew about Mia. What was her middle name? Her favorite color? Could it be light blue, the color of the carpet. Did she hate doing laundry? He stared at the bloody shirt laying over the sofa. She’d be doing a lot of it if she wanted to keep any shirts clean. He’d murdered for Mia and he didn’t even know her. He sighed, setting the duffle bag down on the floor and the leaned on the wall next to him. “No, no, what kind of gentleman would I be if I took the bed in your own house. But, thanks for offering,” He said with a small smile. His face was tired and stressed and the smile only made it seem more so. "You don't think they'll find us here do you? I mean we're safe?" He question posed several problem but Ben didn't want to alarm her. He wouldn't be able to stay in New York unless he went very low. His job was out the window and he wouldn't be able to go out much. "Yes. For tonight, we are safe. Mia...." He shook his head, "They don't even know about you."

With his head hung, he moved towards the couch and then collapsed into the soft cushions. The bloody shirt didn't bother him at all. He leaned forward, burrowing his face in his hands. "I.... I think I'll have to leave. Soon, too. I don't want to lead trouble to your door step just because you're gracious enough to let me stay here." He peeked up at her from between his fingers, "Thank you, though, for letting me stay here, for tonight, at least. But I don't think it would be right for me to stay any longer." He gave her an apologetic grin and then looked her over with scrutinizing eyes, "Are you sure you're alright? You look..." Awful. Cute. Like a bloody mess. "like you could use some clean clothes."