Simple and Clean [Jamie]

[Deleted]

There were times in which even the most selfless of creatures must give into their natures and take what it is that they needed to survive despite the fact that it caused harm to either the others around them or the world that they lived in. With animals they were required by nature to harm either other animals or the living plants in order to gain the sustinance that they needed in order to survive in the cruel and cold world. Humans were very much the same, killing off the aforementioned animals and plants in order to eat and survive another day, but perhaps the very worst creatures by design were no other then vampires, who lived off of the blood that ran through the veins in mortals in sweet and tempting crimson rivers.

Vampires were beautiful creatures by design and everything about them was made to seduce and ensnare the mortals of which they fed off of. Everything from their sharp and haunting eyes, to their soft and alluring smiles were made to entrance mortals. One simple bat of their eyelashes and one well placed smile could completely ensnare a human, putting an end to their mortal life and ensuring that the vampire could go on and live another day. Of course, there were always exceptions to what was considered normal. Some vampires had lived long enough to develop a taste, a preference to what kind of blood that they would ingest. They became picky and soon not just any mortal would sastisfy their hunger and quench their dark thirst.

Aleksandr was this type of vampire.

He chose to only drink from those that were willing to give their blood to him by their own choice and on top of that he only drank from those of which he held a special sort of bond with. For him, the blood that he drank tasted better when it was not clouded by fear and it tasted even better when it came from a person that he cared about. This was the very reason why Aleksandr kept a small supply of donors [probably about three total, counting his favorite] and there was one that he chose to call more than all of the others, simply because this was his favorite person to drink from.

He was a small and delicate Japanese boy that was named Hizaki and he came every other week in order to supply Aleksandr with the blood that he needed in order to survive.

Today had happened to be one of the days that Hizaki came to Hogsmeade and the young vampire stood in the shadows, hiding from the sunlight as he waited for the arrival of his most trusted mortal friend. He was not waiting all that long before he could hear the familiar click of the heeled boots that his friend so loved to wear. He could smell the scent of the sweet almost feminine smelling cologne that his friend was so fond of mixing with the delicious scent of his blood as his friend arrived closer and closer, running to him and throwing his arms around the vampire in a way that no other person dared to do as the soft flesh of his cheek pressed up against his side.

" It's been far too long Aleksandr!!! It feels like once every two weeks is far too long for me to have to wait in order to see you!" He did not have to look down at the strange male in order to know that his friend's lightly painted lips had formed into a pout and his eyes softened slightly as he turned to face the mortal, into a gentle and affectionate gaze that seemed to almost transform him into an entirely new person. His lips curled up into a soft smile and his hand moved to gently brush the boy's bangs out of his face before smiling softly at him. " I am sorry that you miss me so much, however once every two veeks is as often as I can safely take from you. You know that as well as I do. I do not vant you getting hurt. Now come, let us valk around for a bit so that you may properly get used to finding your vay around town. I vill not alvays have the time to entertain you Hizaki."

It was with that said, that the pair linked arms and began to make their way around the small wizarding village. The young boy looking around the town in excitement and awe and the vampire treating the boy with such gentleness that it was almost as though the vampire seemed to believe as though the mortal was made out of glass. It was certainly out of character for the vampire and it was sure to cause whoever it was that knew him as he normally was quite a shock!

[Jamie Rosenthal]

There were few things on this earth that Jamie didn't enjoy.

As he strolled into Hogsmeade, he hadn't a care in the world. In the times gaping between times where he had gotten to see Aleksandr in the village, his dreams had begun to find the vampire within them. He had inspired him to write a few new poems, but still Jamie did not seem to notice how his heart beat to see him and think about him.

Why? Because the thought was just too silly! Him? A crush? No, no. That didn't happen.

As he entered the village, he noticed something in the shadows of the buildings and he turned to look. Imagine his shock to see Aleksandr with another beautiful creature. He looked so happy, so content in the other's presence. He was affectionate. That heart flutter stopped instantly. He couldn't feel the sting that came from the organ thanks to his condition.

Why had he only assumed that Aleksandr was not with someone? A person like Alek could have anyone that he wanted, and judging by the contentment on his face, he had found that person.

Ah, yes...well...good for Alek. Pangs of jealousy surged through him as he watched the two interact so happily, yet his mind only seemed to preach, 'I told you it was silly to have a crush on him.' Between the stinging bears of his heart, the organ replied, 'Its never foolish to hope...'

Instead of running away like he truly wanted to, he straightened up and moved past them as if he couldn't see or hear them, though the beating of his heart made him cast his eyes downward. Well, this put a damper on his mood, however, he decided to head into the Tea Shop in order to find some tea that was similar to the sort that his mother had loved so much.

The prospect of comfort was alluring.

As he went on his way, the wind caught his hair again and sent it dancing through the sky again, setting the locks ablaze in sunlight. He found himself drawing more directly into the path of the sun in the sky to avoid them as he placed a hand on the door of the ship, eager to get away quickly...

[Deleted]

The scent of his newest mortal friend had somehow managed to cut through the scent that was held by Hizaki and yet as his eyes left the soft and feminine face to try and find him through the crowd he was surprised to find that he could not see him as his gaze moved through the crowd, jumping from person to person before a tug on his arm managed to distract him, causing his focus to shift from finding his new friend to staring down at his pouting donor, who obviously did not like that the vampire's attention was not on him.

" I do not come here all that often Alek, I only get the chance to see you twice a month where as I am sure that whoever it is that you are looking for gets to see you every single day if not every week! I do not feel like sharing your attention right now, please take me to your home. " A sigh passed through the vampire's lips at the huffed demand of his donor before he smiled sheepishly at the human and gently ruffled the younger boy's hair. He should have known better then to try and find Jamie in front of jealous little Hiza, who did not even like his attention going to even his other two donors when he was around.

" Very vell. Ve shall go back to my home but remember this visit may not last too long Hiza. I have to do other things." They walked past the others as they spoke openly with one another, the mortal clinging tightly onto the arm of the vampire. " You're trying to get rid of me already Alek? How cruel!! You're never going to find a mate that will be willing to put up with you if you're always like that! Always taking what you want from a person before kicking them to the curb."

The vampire's eyes rolled slightly upwards as they walked past the village tea shop in order to reach the houses that lay directly past the exit. " Something tells me that you are not all that vorried about my lack of a mate. Besides that last bit is not true and you know it. If it vas, I vould have gotten rid of you after the first time I had tasted your blood." This conversation lasted until they finally reached Aleksandr's home where the pair decided to get down to business.

It was a few hours later before the pair was seen again, Aleksandr appearing to be in a much better mood then he had been in a long while and the young mortal looking slightly tired and much paler then he had in the hours before. The pair hugged for a moment, promising to see one another in another two weeks before the mortal apperated away back to his home and with a calm smile, the vampire began his usual patrol around the village alone again.

[Jamie Rosenthal]

For hours, he had been sitting in the tea shop, trying to push the jealousy out of his system. He was having trouble pushing past the feeling of numbness that was present in his chest. That sort of feeling, when he normally felt something, meant that there was pain. Why would there be pain? There should be no pain. He sighed, looking down at the untouched cup of tea in front of him. He was the only solitary person in the shop among half a dozen couples, and he found his eyes glued to the table, fingertips pressed against the smooth table top.

Finally, he pulled out a bit of parchment and started to write in a thin flourish from the quill and ink bottle that he kept on him at all times. Nothing seemed to do any justice to how he felt. He didn't understand why there was a need to feel like this and simply leaned back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling before letting his eyes close. His hair skirted against the clean floor as his chest rose and fell in a slow, meaningful rhythm.

"Knock zhis off, Jamie. Zhere is no need to focus on zhis. You brought zhis on yourself."

He spoke quietly to himself and finally straightened and got up from the chair. His fantasies forgotten for the time being. He took a deep breath again and went to the front counter, paying for the untouched tea as well as a small box of the tea that his senses had honed in on as his mother's favorite. It was at this time that he moved out of the shop with a soft sigh as the wind caught him. Something in his body chemistry had shifted the smell of his cologne and gave it a strong smell that was laced in a smell that almost seemed to radiate ache, the feeling, however, was lost to him.

With his eyes lifted slightly, he started back toward the castle. His hair hung down his back, twisting in the soft breeze. This weekend might result in a trip to Berlin to see his sister. That might make him feel a little better. She was more experienced in means of the heart than he was and ever wanted to be at times and maybe she could explain to him why that onslaught of what would have been pain had attacked his heart like that.

Maybe he didn't want to know.

His face slid to an expression of indifference as he slid through the people of the village again, making a turn around a building far too sharply and running square into someone walking with a numb thud.

"Forgif me..."

The apology was uttered darkly as the German felt his chest for any lascerations, checked his hands, face...no lascerations. When he finally looked up to see who he'd run into, he found himself looking into those more vibrant icy eyes and blonde hair.

Oh.

"Aleksandr. I'm sorry, I vasn't payink attention."

[Deleted]

It had been a whle after he had begun his patrol that his nose had caught a very interesting scent, one that had immediately captured his senses. It was the scent that he had come across many times before, the scent that he had sought out earlier in the day. It was the scent that he had come to recognize as the one that often followed Jamie around and yet there was something off about it. It smelled stronger than he could remember it smelling at any previous point in time and there was something off about the scent, something that although he did not know exactly what it was it was enough to make him want to go and seek out the red head in order to make sure that he was okay and that was exactly what he did.

With his powerful nose, he began to trace the cologne slipping through, and ignoring the small crowds of people as he went, not wanting to lose the scent of Jamie and despite his very best efforts, his attempt to avoid running into people was destroyed when someone ended up running into him instead. A small grunt left his mouth at the impact and he sighed in slight frustration before his ears perked up at the rather dark sounding apology.

He knew that voice and now that he was focused, the scent that he had smelled was stronger then ever. His eyes moved to glance at the person, lighting up as they normally did whenever he saw Jamie and a smile crossed his features as he watched the mortal fall into the normal routine that he always seemed to do whenever he ran into someone before looking up and seeing that it was he who he had run into.

Huh. Was it just the vampire or did the mortal not look all that happy to see him?

" It is fine. It vould take much more then that to hurt me, Jamie. However you look at though you have just lost your best friend. Vhat is it that is bothering you my friend?"

[Jamie Rosenthal]

His eyes were somewhere between lost in the way Aleksandr's face lit up, and distracted. Should he ask about the person e'd seen him with, or was this going to turn into an awkward conversation. Perhaps there was a kinder way to go about talking about those things. He found his insides had stopped being so numb, finally, that meant the pain was going away. And with Aleksandr's question, he found himself answering with a quiet smile.

"Nosink, at least not now."

He couldn't help it, that smile and the light in those eyes made him feel like he was special again. It was as if he could truly feel no pain near this vampire.

"I had meant to see you sooner, but you seemed a bit busy vhen I came srough zee village zee first time. I sought I vould not bozer you since you had company. But, I ahm happy to see you now."

Well, it was true. He would never, ever admit the jealousy that he went through, or the feelings that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but nonetheless, feelings that the vampire instilled in his mortal heart. It was something that he never thought he'd ever feel and it certainly took a special person to bring them out in him.

"Not zhat I'm not usually unhappy to see you, I vasn't intendink to look so cranky. It has been an odd day."

[Deleted]

So he had been right, something had been bothering the younger male and yet with the smile that the vampire had been given, the heavy scent that had seemed to cloud the air around him seemed to just fade away until nothing more than a vague memory that the scent had even exsisted was left. He was still slightly concerned that something had made Jamie upset to the point where he had literally been able to smell his emotions radiating off of him in the air, but as he stared at that small smile that Jamie had gifted him with, he found that he did not have the heart to ask about it again. He did not want to upset the boy any more than he had already been that day.

His icy gaze seemed to soften and at that moment Jamie was gifted with a small and softer smile then what was normally seen on the vampire. " I am glad to see that you are no longer upset. However, if you ever vant to talk about vhat is vas that vas bothering you, I am here for you my friend." When Jamie spoke of wanting to see him earlier as he passed on through the village the first time, but deciding not to talk to him because he had seemed busy, the vampire looked genuinely surprised for a moment. " My friend, I am never too busy to make some time for you. Do not ever hesitate to approach me, no matter vhat I promise that I vill alvays have time to talk."

He paused for a moment before hearing what Jamie had said about the fact that he had had company and that he did not want to bother the two of them and he couldn't help but smile and chuckle quietly. " You are never a bother to me Jamie, so please do not ever think that. I am alvays happy to get to see and talk to you, so don't ever hesitate to approach me, even if I do have someone vith me! I am happy to see you as vell, by the vay."

He chuckled quietly at Jamie's next words, eyes shining with amusement as he stared at the mortal.

" I understand all too vell vhat you mean after all, ve all have those days, do we not?"

[Jamie Rosenthal]

Jamie smiled again, finding his gaze going back to the ground and his hand rose to tuck stray strands of carmine behind his ear. His cheeks turned a soft rosy color before he finally looked up.

"It vas not you I vas afraid of upsettink. Your friend looked as if he...she...er zhey...might haf given you grief for an interruption. I did not vant to ruin your moment, you looked too happy for me to vant to interrupt, efen if it vas to just say hello."

Quietly, he found his gaze still fixated on the ground. He was curious, but was still unsure if he wanted the answer to the burning question in his mind. He knew that eventually he would give up on trying to understand the weird feeling from earlier, and wind up pushing it away until it happened again. Finally, he looked up at the vampire and asked in a voice full of curiousity.

"Who vas zhat, if you do not mind my askink. I sink I vould remember seeink someone like zhat before."

They must not live in the village, he thought. Maybe that was a good thing, but if Alek was truly so fond of them, perhaps it was bad.

[Deleted]

Aleksandr's brow rose in absolute amusement at the small burst of uncertainty that the mortal had in trying to guess his companion's gender, the amusement only growing at the blush that seemed to rise on the other's cheeks as a result of it. A small chuckle filled the air as his eyes shone before he went to speak up and ease the male's discomfort.

" It is alright for I myself vas unable to distinguish just vhat gender Hizaki vas vhen I first met him a few years ago. He is in fact a male, do not let his taste for feminine clothes fool you. Ah, I suppose I vas happy. I see Hizaki once every two veeks for a couple of hours and his visits are alvays velcome occurances, at least they are for me anyvays. It still seems as though some people are surprised to see a person dressed in such a vay here at Hogsmeade."

He watched as the other boy's gaze fixed to the ground quietly and inwardly, the vampire frowned. What was on the other boy's mind and why did he suddenly seem as though something was bothering him again? It continued on this way for a moment before Jamie's beautiful green gaze glanced at him and he was asked a question that he had not been expecting.

It seemed as though Jamie wanted to know just who Hizaki was. All was silent for a moment before the surprised look on his face slipped away, going back to his normal, somewhat happy expression as he cleared his throat to answer the mortal's question.

" Ahh. I do not think that you vould know him because he does not live here. He lives in Japan. His name is Hizaki Kawamura and he is both my favorite out of my blood donors and one of my most trusted mortal friends. As I said before he comes here once every two veeks and during his visits he supplies me vith enough sustinance in order for me to be properly sustained until his next visit. The reason that you have not seen him here before is because this has been his first visit since you have arrived here."

Inside his mind, he wondered just why the other male had asked him about Hizaki though both his smile and his kind gaze never faultered as he gave the boy the information that he had asked for.

[Jamie Rosenthal]

"He is beautiful. I can see vhy. He almost looks as if he vere made and not born."

Jamie listened to the explanation of Alek's friend and found only more confusion. Blood donor? That would suggest that Alek drank of willing participants, which made him a very different sort of vampire entirely. The others he had seen in the castle drank of animals, or even each other with the need to feel sated. From what he gathered after treating a girl whose best friend was a hald vampire in the castle for fatigue and blood loss, he had found that the act of feeding was something that kept the vampire and their source of nourishment close.

It was both endearing, and a touch frightening to think that something so carnal and passionate would be occuring so often within the school as well as in the village. He wished he could partake, deep down, but chose to not voice such thoughts aloud.

"So, you only feed vhen a donor is in town zhen? Isn't vaitink like zhat liable to hurt you? You know if you need blood..."

Say it. Say it! You can say it!

"If there is none of your donors nearby, you can have some of mine."

He looked up at the vampire in earnest. All he wanted was for him to be safe and happy. Forgive him for his desires!

"You vouldn't hurt me, and I'd do anysink to make sure you vere safe...and zhat you vere happy. If you needed it, I vould gife it to you."

Keep talking, and you'll likely tell him that you were thinking about him all day. Jamie's lips closed, then opened again promptly to utter a soft phrase to try to displace the feeling of worry in his tone.

"Zhat's vhat friends are for, ja?"

Granted during that one utterance, there was a smell in the air and it smelled so pure it could have been snow, but it was the smell of trust and a form of love that even Jamie didn't know that he felt. He really had a bad feeling about Alek's friend, but he wasn't about to voice that. All he cared about was the vampire's safety and happiness.

Like any friend should.

[Deleted]

" Da he does, doesn't he? He reminds me very much of a small little doll vith the vay that he looks and dresses himself. To this day I have never met another human that is quite like Hizaki, though I really do believe that is vhy he presents himself the vay that he does. He tries so hard to be unique from vhat I know." Then again, he really did not know what went on in the lives of his donors unless they themselves told him what was going on in them. He viewed his donors as humans and as friends, not as possessions that he had to keep tabs on and he made sure to treat them as such.

Aleksandr was different in the way that he offered protection to those that he drank from, offered them whatever it was that their hearts wanted from him and asked only for them to give him some of their blood on the occasions that he asked them for it. He respected their privacy and their right to have normal lives, something that was not often found amongst vampires and their human donors. When Jamie asked him if the fact that he only fed when a donor was in town was liable to hurt him in any way, the vampire merely smiled at him.

" It does make things a little harder for me. I have to avoid getting seriously injured because I do not heal as fast as I vould if I fed regularly and even small injuries can become a serious pain later on if I am not careful, but I refuse to drink off of people who I have nothing in common vith and I refuse to feed off of those who are not villing like some sort of monster."

He fell quiet when he heard the offer that Jamie had given him. The mortal had offered to give up some of his blood in order to feed the vampire should he ever need it and did not have one of his donors nearby. The vampire was completely taken by surprise, never before had a human approached him with the idea, it had always been him who approached the mortals in the past, so why was Jamie so eager to offer up his blood?

" You vould be villing to give up your blood for me? That is surprising. Forgive me for my reaction, but I've never had a mortal offer me their blood like that, I am usually alvays the one to approach them and ask if they vould be villing to allow me to drink from them. " Again he fell quiet as the redhead spoke, this time taken aback from the sheer concern and worry that was on the other's face. Never before had a mortal or any creature for that matter, looked at him in such a way. Never before had another creature cared so much for his happiness.

It was nearly enough to cause his heart to beat faster, to cause it to nearly jump out of his chest.

" Thank you. Da. You are right, that is vhat friends are for. Thank you for your offer, that is really kind of you and I vill take you up on it if I ever find myself in need of sustinance and my donors are not here to help me. I am sorry if I've vorried you vith my unorthodox feeding patterns." He gave Jamie a small and sheepish smile for a moment before it slipped off of his face as a new scent filled the air. It was clean and pure, reminding the young vampire of untouched snow and yet there was something so warm and inviting about the scent that it was almost enticing.

Was that scent coming from Jamie?

[Jamie Rosenthal]

"Vorried? Yes, but it is more vorry at zee sought zhat if somesink happened to you and I vere none zee viser of your feedink habits...vhat if I could not help you? My magic only goes so far, but for you I..."

You...you what?

His mind stopped, he had let Alek in to one of the places never glimpsed by any soul before that moment and it was difficult for him to gather his thoughts. He tried to sound like an old friend, but the gaze in those eyes was enough to coax out the tone he then used paired with the lingering gaze of concern.

"I vould do anything."

He found the redness in his face filling out again and shivered softly. Once more, the darkness would beckon him back to the castle, but he found himself unwilling to leave the gaze of those eyes. He was so very silly, hoping that Alek would undertand his feelings such as they were, even if he did not understand them yet. All he knew, was if there ever came a day where those eyes disappeared from him, he might truly understand pain.

"I vill return vithin the next fortnight, I promise you."

As he moved toward the castle, he found his gaze sweeping back to look in the diresction he had been, feeling his heat fill up with blood. Aiy...it was difficult to admit a crush of this magnitude to a heart that never felt such complex emotions before.

[Deleted]

He had never expected to ever hear the words that had left Jamie's mouth come from anyone, especially not from a young mortal. To hear that there was one that cared enough about him to actually worry about him, to hear that there was someone out there that would do anything for him, it was something that under any normal circumstances would have made the vampire swear that he was living in some sort of sweet and innocent dream. His gaze never left the mortal's face, though it had softened to the point of being similar to the gaze that he had held for his blood donor earlier.

" Thank you. I shall not take advantage of the kindness that you have shown me." His lips formed a smile as he saw that faint burst of color spread on the pale skin of the younger male, finding the blush to almost be endearing.

He watched with his icy gaze as Jamie began taking a few steps back, obviously intending to begin making his way back to the castle before stopping and promising that he would be back to visit within the next fortnight. The vampire stood unmoving watching as the young man got further and further away from him before disappearing from his sight completely, standing there for a few moments after before he himself started heading back to his own home, three final words filing the air before fading into the dark silence.

" I'll be vating..."