Kevin (1)

Kevin sat on his bed and stared at the torn piece of paper in his hand. What does this mean? Does she like me? Does she know that I've been stalking her all year? It was too much to hope that she'd suddenly realized that she liked him. Kevin knew it couldn't be true yet a piece of him wanted it more than anything. Too many years being isolated from everyone, pretending to be normal. Won't this just dig the hole deeper? Instead of pretending part of the time I'd have to pretend all of the time.

His only hope would be that she would accept him for who, and what he is. He doesn't believe that all humans are narrow minded, there have to be some out there that will accept the impossible. What should I do?

"Stop being such a coward and read the note."

He took a deep breath to steady himself and unfolded the note. He stared at it for a long time, the words written on it not fully registering on his anxiety ridden brain. When his brain finally cleared he had to reread it. It said simply; Meet me at midnight. An address followed and it was one he didn't recognize. After a year of following her around he knows where she lives, the address and phone number of her home. It's not like he follows her home every day after school. That had been a one time thing.

He has to be careful with everything he does so he couldn't bring himself to follow her around like that again. It had been dangerous as it was, if his parents had noticed he would have been in a lot of trouble. So, instead he has come to her parent's store every day after school, and on the weekends. Sometimes only for a few minutes but he never leaves until he can see her, somehow it makes his day brighter.

He reads the note again then looks up at the clock by his bed. He's startled to find that it's already almost midnight. He'll be dead if he's caught sneaking out at night but he's not about to miss an opportunity to meet with Leona. It's not like sneaking out will be easy, either. His room is on the second floor of the house. No balcony, just a drop off from the window.

If he tries to sneak back downstairs his parents will hear and come to investigate so he has no choice but to go out the window. Kevin looks around at his room, at all of the signs that he is just another human teenager. Posters of rock bands litter one side of his wall; walls painted dark blue. A tv with his game system sitting next to it on the stand, controller lay discarded on the floor and dirty clothes litter the floor.

Displayed on the wall is a dented metal bat, his pride and joy. He had been ten when he hit his first home run. At least it would have been if he hadn't destroyed the ball and dented the bat. That was the day his parents decided he couldn't play sports at school.

His bed is a wrinkled mess of black sheets and red blankets, his two favorite colors. But the wall his bed rests against is what he finds the most comfort in. To the naked eye it is plain and without decoration. But, to his eyes, it's filled with the lost art of his people. It tells the story of how his parents immigrated to earth. Written with a pen whose ink only he can read he's spent many long nights writing on it.

And now he's thinking about doing something that goes against everything his parents have taught him. What he will have to do to see Leona will shatter the trust he has with his parents and will leave him open. His heart is in his throat as he stands and opens the window and looks down.

"It's now or never."

Drawing up whatever courage he has, Kevin crawls through the window and at the last moment jumps. He lands on the ground without a sound, barely disturbing the earth as his feet touch. If he were a normal human what he had just done would have seriously injured him. But, he's not human and the jump barely affected him. This is one of many reasons that he's not allowed to play sports of any kind. His differences would be noticed right away.

It takes him a while to find the right place, he turns the wrong way once and is forced to double back. He's never gotten used to the idea that all the houses in this part of town all look the same. At least they look the same to him, maybe it's not so in reality. By the time he finds the right house it's after midnight. He takes a deep breath and raises his hand to knock.

*******

There is a knock at the door and Leona nearly jumps out of her skin, her heart stops beating for a moment. She looks at Edward and he just shrugs his shoulders, his eyes hold a hint of humor. She doesn't think it's very funny and gives him a dirty look to let him know how she feels.

Leona takes a deep breath and walks to the door. She notices that the microwave clock says it's ten after midnight. There is another knock at the door and she quickly opens it. Her heart has decided to start up again and beats rapidly at the sight of Kevin standing in the doorway.

"Come in."

She's surprised that her voice sounds so calm, it's a lot calmer than she feels. She can tell that he had changed clothes from earlier. He's wearing a white shirt with sky blue on the sleeves and around the shoulder. His jeans look new and cling to him just enough to accentuate his ass. The shirt shows off the fact that he has more muscles than she'd thought he processed. Just the sight of him makes things low in her stomach clench and heat up. The image of him naked is foremost in her mind and no amount of willpower can shake it.

"Sorry I'm late, it wasn't easy finding this place. I think I almost got lost once."

He smiles then takes a look around the house, looking a little startled when he sees Edward sitting on the couch.

"Who's he? Why aren't we at your parents place?"

That makes her pause a moment, the fact that he knew enough about her to know who her parents are and where they live surprises her. She just isn't prepared for any of this. The initial bout of lust has been drawn back in the face of a reality that's too surreal to be real. She takes the safest way out and says nothing. Right now he doesn't need to know the whole truth just as she doesn't need to know just how much he's been following her. Leona shuts the door and walks over to Kevin, his face shows his confusion and he looks at Edward questioningly.

By now Edward's smiling enough to light up his face, humor more than a glint in his eyes. He looks like he's about to burst out laughing. If he does I'll have to hurt him, there is nothing about this that's funny. She doesn't know which one of them is causing him so much fun. Edward stands and casually walks over to them. She can feel his mind enter hers, the soft caress that brings the lust back to the surface.

~Do you want him to belong to you?~

What would it be like to own another? She knows what her instincts are telling her to do, what the voice inside is screaming at her to do. But, does she really want this? Does she want the responsibility that will surely come with it?

~Yes, I want him.~

~Very well. Stand in front of him. Now, search for him, feel him. Look him in the eyes until you can see the very center of his soul, his essence.~

She moves to stand in front of Kevin, her eyes locking with his as she does as instructed. Kevin looks at her curiously then his eyes glaze over and all thought leaves him. Edward is all business now, she cannot sense even the smallest hint of a smile on his face. When he pulls away mentally she's left feeling isolated and oddly bereft. Where did that come from?

"Search for his name and call him out."

Since she already knows his name that part is easy, but she still searches it out. It comes into her mind as a picture more than a sound.

"Kevin."

He tilts his head in her direction, the glazed look in his eyes seems to deepen and clear at the same time.

"He's yours right now, but now you have to decide what you're going to do with him. Will you keep him, own him body and soul, or will you let him go? You can make him forget everything, make him forget he ever liked you."

Could I really just let him go? It would be better for him if I were that strong. Leona can feel in his mind that he's liked her since the first time he saw her. He had followed her around school the first month. When he found out where she worked he had come to the store after school and watched her work. She feels strange, looking at his memories, his inner thoughts. Why hadn't I noticed him before? I was weirded out by the fact that he would stare at me. I should have been happy that someone noticed me.

~Kevin, do you want to be released, to forget, or do you want to stay with me forever?~

She just thought it, wondering how she should decide. Then he took a step toward her and said the one word that decided everything.

"Stay."

She shivers suddenly but not from the cold. She hadn't asked him aloud; she doesn't think that she had even addressed him. But he had answered and she knows that she can't let him go now, as selfish as that sounds. She won't let him go.

"I want to keep him."