The smell of smoke and curiosity

~What are you?~

It's been two hours since Dante fell unconscious on his floor for some unknown reason as of yet. I had placed him on the sofa with a thin blanket and a cold flannel on his head because he was burning up, almost like he had a fever. It took some hard work to get him there as he's a lot heavier than he looks and I'm not particularly strong. I could have left him there, but I didn't and I'm not sure why, possibly I'm just biting off more than I can chew right now, or possibly I care about this man in some way or another. 

I'm unsure of what just occurred all I know so far is I'm not crazy. His face which I have seen a few times now definitely changed this time right before my eyes and I cannot deny what I saw any longer. Just what is Dante? why did he try to bite me? and why is he now passed out on the sofa? I should really leave, my instincts are screaming at me to dash for the door but my heart is telling me to wait, telling me to help him, I'm unsure how I will come of use to him but I feel like he may need my help somehow, someday. 

Wiping the sweat from the pale white skin on his face I notice his lips are slightly apart and cracked like he hasn't had any fluids in days. Slowly I patted them with the flannel, making them moist and I suddenly got a curious urge to look past his lips and into his mouth to see the teeth I saw earlier, the teeth that he tried to scare me with. Checking he is still out of it before I did then I slowly lifted his top lip with my index finger and took a quick glance but before I could his hand was around my wrist so fast it made me jump and he was staring right at me. 

He stared at me so intensely it caused me to look away "I was just-" interrupted by him moving my head to face his I struggled to look him in the eyes, why am I a nervous wreck around him? he sighed and took his hand from my chin and placed it on his forehead. "What happened?" he asked in an antagonizing way, I cleared my throat and stood picking up the bowl of water and cloth aside from me and taking it to the sink "you fainted I was looking after you" drying the bowl with a tea towel I turned and he was stood right in front of me making me jolt and let go of it when it was suddenly in his hand, how did he catch that? He placed the bowl into the sink and the towel on the side he stepped towards me in an intimating way "why?" creeping up to me with nowhere else to go but pressed against the sink. "Why what?" I spat out confidently even though my body language may be saying different "why did you look after me? you could have gone but you didn't" he spoke glaring at me curiously.

Now only at arm's length and coming closer and closer, "because you looked sick I helped you are you seriously mad at me for nursing you back to health?" another step closer and he is now looking down at me, his arms placed either side of the counter locking me in place his face met mine, he was still a little unbalanced on his feet but it didn't seem to phase him. "not mad just curious" he held his alluring gaze in place causing me to stutter before I even spoke this is a different kind of danger, one that is tempting. Placing my hand on his chest about to push him away "well be curious over there your too close" my hand not moving him an inch I came to realize something. His heart has no beat, his chest is stone-cold, I  flashed my eyes at his in worry to then see him with a smirk on his face. Why isn't his heart beating?

Still smirking he took my hand into his still on his chest pressing it down a little harder "have you just realized?" I pulled my hand back and pushed past him, this time he moved. As I brushed past he grabbed my hand again turning me around to face him only his face wasn't on mine this time, it was facing down "you need to stay away from me Willow, it was a close call this time but next time it might not be" his hand let go of mine, leaving me to feel a hint of loneliness. "you don't get to decide that by yourself and what was a close call? you're not telling me anything the only thing I have realized is that you're sick" he snickered at my last comment "I guess you could call it being sick to humans" he said as he crossed his arms, now he's just pissing me off.

So I decided to switch this up a bit and stride towards him, just like he has done to me multiple times before, making his face turn sour like he is now nervous rather than being all smug like he was not two seconds ago. "w-what are you doing?" he stuttered edging backward, "hmm not so smug anymore are ya? so tell me, how exactly are you sick?" my arms now crossed and standing right in front of him demanding an answer and I'm not leaving till I get one. "j-just stay back, you wouldn't understand so drop it" he spoke uncomfortably now cornered to the kitchen side. "you spent a fair amount of time trying to scare me and now look at you, what are you so scared of?" I'm now looking up to him, I'm so close I could almost reach out to him but I'm afraid if I do that he will run again. 

He's trying his best not to look at me but I know he wants to, he wants to tell me what's been going on but he's afraid, but afraid of what? he shot me a glance that looked as if it surprised him as much as it did me "of hurting you, of course, I don't want to hurt you" voice raised but his eyes were full of remorse as he spoke "then don't hurt me" I whispered with another step towards him "I-I can't control it" his head had drooped and my hand reached on its own caressing his icy cheek forcing him to look at me again. "show me again" I asked, but did I really want to see it again? my mouth had betrayed me yet again spitting out the very words I had held back, but I have to see it again, I have to be certain on what he is.

He sighed and shut his eyes placing his hand on top of mine, the coldness made me focus on it, and just when I thought nothing is going to happen something did. His nails started to grow to about 2inches long with a sharp point turning black when they stopped, I slowly peered up to his face, observing it. He opened his eyes again hesitantly and looked at me and there I saw it, the change in colour, the hypnotizing blood red that reeled me in. Making me want to get a closer peek but my body was frozen, not in fear like you would expect for the look on his face wasn't scary, it was saddening, it made me sympathize for him, feel sorry for whatever he became because he so obviously held a great deal of pain over it. 

His lips parted now exposing two razor-sharp teeth that I know weren't there before, his hand pulled mine from his cheek letting it drop by my side,

"I'm a vampire Willow and you should be running right about now"