Darby stood under a tree watching the rain fall on a gloomy Saturday afternoon. It had taken what felt like forever to get here but she finally made it to this city in California where everyone was talking about love and peace and all the girls wore flowers in their hair. Wanting to fit in, she had woven her own crown of light pink and blue flowers she found growing in a park. Several people so far had offered her those funny smelling cigarettes but she declined every time. What if smoking that plant made her lose her inhibitions and she started telling people what she was? Or worse, what if she bit someone in clear view of everyone?
"On the other hand, maybe no one would even notice," she thought to herself as she watched the crowd of teens and young adults around her dancing without a care to music she had never heard before. There was so much life and passion and art surrounding her and Darby felt even more keenly aware of her undead state.
"Hey I love your flower crown," said a voice interrupting Darby's thoughts. She looked up and saw a young woman no more than twenty with cornsilk blonde hair tied in two braids on either side of her head. She was wearing a long white dress that just barely touched the tops of her feet and now clung to her body in the rain. Darby gasped slightly and averted her eyes as she noticed the woman was wearing no undergarments.
"Come dance with us," the girl invited, gesturing to the group of men and women behind her swaying back and forth to a delicate melody and seemingly relishing the feeling of cool rain on their skin. The girl had a big welcoming smile on her face and Darby couldn't help smiling back just a little. She took a step forward and peeked out from under the tree. There was still a layer of cloud cover between her and the sun. She reached her hand out and instantly pulled it back under the shade of the tree wincing at the burn on her skin. Leaving the protection of the tree's branches was out of the question until it was darker.
"Thank you for the invitation but I can't right now. I'm not feeling well," Darby told her. She felt bad for lying to this sweet girl but how could she possibly tell her the truth?
The girl nodded and looked at Darby knowingly.
"Having a bad trip," she said decidedly.
Darby cocked her head to the side slightly and frowned in concentration. She thought about her trip to California so far. It had been long and hitchhiking was much more difficult than it looked in the movies but overall it had been a fine time.
"No it was a good trip," she told the girl. "But I should probably keep moving. I'm kind of looking for someone."
"Right on," the girl said, nodding her head in time with the music. Her braids flopped from side to side against her shoulders.
"I hope you find them," she said. She turned back to her friends and one of the young men wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips.
Darby walked on, careful to stay under the shade of the trees. She thought about the day she had met George. It had been in a park not very different from this one and he had been so friendly to her even though he knew what she was. He had even asked to become like her. And now she had travelled all the way across the country in hopes of seeing him again and here she was, stuck under a row of trees until dusk arrived.
Feeling discouraged, she plopped down on a large rock next to one of the trees and looked around. How did she know if he was even here? Perhaps she had been too hasty in coming out here. They had only met once for a few minutes and yet Darby had found herself strangely drawn to him.
"I'm such a fool," she thought to herself. "As if I would find him in this huge crowd of people."
She was about to give up and go look for someone to eat when she heard a deep voice behind her say, "Excuse me, miss. Is there room on that rock for one more?"
Darby looked up right into George's smiling face. She hopped to her feet and was about to reach out and hug him but she froze up instead. What if that was too familiar? They barely knew each other and it was possibly, even likely, he did not feel the same connection to her that she felt for him.
"Um hi. How are you?" she stammered, feeling not at all like her usual confident self.
"I'm doing alright. Better now that you're here."
Darby knew if she was still human her entire face would be blushing from her chin to the roots of her hair.
"I'm glad you finally made it," George said, gesturing for her to sit back down on her rock. She did and this time she left enough room for him to sit next to her.
"Were...were you expecting me?" Darby asked.
"Well you did say you were going to follow me here. And I have to say I'm glad you did."
"You are?" Darby asked, feeling a smile creep across her face.
"For sure. When I last saw you, you refused to turn me; said it was something I should think about for a while. Well I had plenty of time to think on the car ride cross country and now I know it's what I want."
"Oh," Darby said, her happiness instantly deflated. George wasn't happy to see her. He was happy she was there to give him what he wanted.
"Unless you've changed your mind about it?" George asked, looking at her with concern in his eyes.
"No of course not," Darby told him. "If that's what you want then that's what you'll get."
Two young ladies walked past them just then, both of them wearing long skin tight jeans that flared out at the knees and shirts that showed their bellies. She looked at George whose head turned in their direction as they passed.
"I'm so foolish," she thought as she watched George observe them until they disappeared into the crowd.
"Why would he want plain old undead me when he can have his pick from any of these beautiful living girls?"
"I think you would look very cute in those kind of pants," George said suddenly. Darby looked up and saw that his full attention was once again on her. He looked her up and down and she suddenly felt unflattering in her short black skirt and light blue short sleeved blouse.
"Thank you," Darby said, blushing slightly and looking around at anything but George's face.
"Are you ok?" he asked. "Are you not happy to see me?"
"Of course I am," Darby exclaimed, a little more enthusiastically than she meant to.
"I'm just not sure what you want from me."
"What do you mean?" George asked, adjusting his position on the rock to face her.
"I mean you don't have to pretend that you actually like me just to get me to bite you," she said quietly as a group of girls walked by shaking tambourines and singing a song Darby had never heard before.
"Is...is that what you think of me?" George asked. Darby looked at him and saw a sadness in his eyes. Her stomach dropped and she wished she could grab the words she had just uttered into the air and stuff them back into her mouth.
"No of course not. I just mean that...well when most people find out what I am they either run away from me or want something from me."
"Well I'm not running am I?" George asked. "And since I sat down I haven't asked you for a single thing. I'm just happy to be near you again."
"But when I saw you last you said you wanted me to bite you."
"I did but that's not all I want from you. I saw you every day at the park at home for years and there was something attractive about the way you carry yourself. Something graceful and confident. You're a beautiful woman, Darby. I want to get to know you better. And if that means becoming a vampire myself then I'll do it."
Darby sat there speechless. Had this handsome man just called her beautiful?
"Becoming a vampire is a huge transition," she said in a small voice, still reeling from George's admission of admiration.
"Its a lot to consider and I am not entirely sure I am worth changing your life over."
"Well," George said, reaching over to Darby and taking her delicate cold hand in his own warm one," Why don't you tell me about yourself and let me be the judge of that?"
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