I didn't make you wait too long, did I?

Well…this would be the final chapter of First Sight.

Firstly, I'd like to thank my reviewers:

Kittymoon14, DeadCuteSpirit, Atlantic-Wolf, puppy444219, your-brown-eyed-angel, Cruznik06, silverwings1986, sakurahime87, AestheticBreezyDoll, Youko1776, yume girl 91, Inu-Miko-Demoness, fruit lover, Allysien, lithiumxflower, Erisabeisuu, Kikyo10 and Tenka-chan.

I'm sure that's everyone! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…

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Chapter Seventeen

First Sight

When Esther awoke, she was comfortable. More comfortable than she should have been in a bed. She frowned to herself as she tried to figure out where she was. What a dilemma.

Slowly but surely, the memories began to resurface. Pain, sadness, heartache, love, hate, anger, and happiness. So many emotions whirled around in her tired, confused head.

Then it occurred to her that opening her eyes would certainly help her find out where she was.

She wrenched her eyes open, taking in the surroundings of an unfamiliar house.

She blinked several times, as if it was nothing more than a illusion.

But it wasn't.

Okay, so opening her eyes really didn't help her find out where she was.

While she was looking around in obvious confusion, she heard a chuckle from beside her.

Only then did she notice who she was gripping onto. How come she never noticed?

Now she was more than awake.

With a bright red face, she removed her hands fro their death grip on Ion's shirt, refusing to look at him as she stared at the floor, her face bright red.

He chuckled again. "My, my, Esther, you're certainly confused today."

She gathered the courage to look up at him, her face still a little pink.

"H-how did I wind up in your house?" Her voice turned into a squeak at the end.

He smiled at her. "You fell asleep as I was carrying you. Then you refused to let go of me, so I just let you sleep. Don't worry about me, either, I really don't need to sleep, it's just nice to." He shrugged casually.

"O-oh." Her thoughts trailed back to her dreams. It was probably because she didn't want to let him go, since both of them had literally looked Death in the face. But this time, Death was in the form of a malicious little girl unwillingly turned vampire. A mistake Ion would probably regret for all of his life.

He stroked her face lightly. Her expression must have changed. "It will be alright now, Lea is usually serious about things like that. I'm sure she'll be back eventually, just not for a while. She's young in both body and mind still, so she knows very little."

Esther smiled a little at his words and his touch. "How about you?"

"In body I may be young, but…" He grinned. "I'm sure most human men this age would kill to look like I do."

She giggled a little. "How old?"

He put a finger upon her lips with a soft smile. "It's very rude to ask someone their age."

She sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You know, Ion…"

"Hm?"

"About that time at Lea's…" Esther frowned. "Why did she kidnap me? I mean, am I seriously that important in this game of immortals?"

Ion frowned a little. "First of all, this is no game. Vampires usually don't fight unless they feel they must."

He was silent after this. "What about my first question?"

He was silent again. She was about to speak, but he suddenly crushed her to him, embracing her more closely than he ever had.

"Because you are important to me. The most important person to me. She knew I would come if she had taken you, no matter the circumstances. Lea knows me inside and out. She has a very perceptive mind."

Esther was speechless.

Ion chuckled sadly. "Well, it is true, believe it or not. What are the words for it? Hm…"

She sighed. "You have no idea how I feel so don't jump to conclusions. You too…are important to me Ion, more than I can put into words."

He pulled back, clearly speechless.

She smiled a little.

There was an unspoken agreement between the two, an unspoken consent as their lips met, warmth filling their hearts and brining them closer than before.

When they separated, they still stayed close, Esther resting against Ion's shoulder again.

"Ion, I think I know the phrase you were looking for earlier."

"Hm? Oh, that's right. Sorry, I don't know human expressions very well." He smiled sheepishly.

I think the words you were looking for was love at first sight."

He nodded. "That sounds right." He smiled, resting his forehead against hers.

He closed his eyes, whispering to himself.

"First sight…what a perfect description."

She pressed her lips to his briefly. "I couldn't agree more."

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"Are you sure about this?"

Ion stared doubtfully at the school gates.

"Don't worry about it."

She took a deep breath.

"You'll do fine," he promised, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

She shook her head. "You'll do so much better, so please stop trying to comfort me. Ugh…finals…"

He shook his head. "Of course I'll do better. I've been alive a lot longer than you, remember?"

"Yeah, sure."

The two went their separate directions to face finals.

'I'm so gonna fail, I'm so gonna fail, I'm so gonna fail. UGH! If Lea hadn't kidnapped me, I might have had time to study, but nooo…all of this has to happen to me, the girl who struggles with tests like these.'

Taking a deep breath, she entered the classroom, preparing to meet her doom.

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"I am so…tired…of…tests…" Esther buried her face in her arms as they sat at their usual table.

"My head's killing me."

"Come on, they weren't that bad, Esther." Ion sighed. "I think you're probably exaggerating things."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. Some of use are really only in our teen years, unlike someone who's a freaking GENIUS and has lived for God-knows-how long! ARGH!" She dropped her head into her arms again.

Ion chuckled, then immediately stopped. She could tell this silence was serious.

She lifted her head to see the cause, and then she saw him. Dietrich. He looked rather nervous, and was holding an envelope in his hand.

Ion looked murderous as he scowled at Dietrich. If looks could kill…

Esther immediately spoke in a halfhearted attempt to ease the sudden hostility.

"Hello, Dietrich. How are you?"

He still looked nervous. "I suppose I could be better."

Ion clenched his teeth. "Just finish whatever you have to do and leave."

Dietrich sighed, running one hand through his hair.

"I know you've figured out what I am by now, Ion, and remember: it wasn't my choice. I was told to betray Esther, but I never really did. I like her too much." He smiled weakly, sadly.

"Anyways, this is from Lea. For you." He handed Ion the envelope. "It's best I take my leave now." He bowed a little and walked away.

Ion now turned his attention to the envelope. "From Lea…" He frowned a little as he tore off the top part. "I wonder…"

Esther leaned over his shoulder to read. It was a note, written in Lea's small, neat print.

Ion, and probably Esther,

I am long gone by now. Obviously. I really don't trust the post with this, so I used Dietrich.

Read carefully.

I have been researching my past lately, and I found out much about myself. While it's true that my becoming a vampire is Ion's doing, but only partly. It was his bite that transformed me, but someone else's care that made me become what I am. Ion had taken too much blood for me to live, so of course, Ion didn't do this alone.

I suspect that someone had found me, taken me and nurtured me, then somehow gave a corpse to my parents.

I'm a little fuzzy on the details, and this is all I know so far, but I figured that Ion should beat himself up too much over what happened. What's done is done.

Remember I still hate the both of you, but I'll still give you this warning: There's someone out there who's a lot more threatening than I am, so be on your guards.

Best of luck to keeping yourselves alive.

Regards,

Lea

PS: Please burn this note. You can keep the pictures, it's just something old I found. Use it for voodoo or what have you, I just figured you'd get more use out of it than I would. And Ion, don't forget, I will kill you someday.

"How very cheerful of her," Esther muttered. "But pictures?"

Ion dumped the remaining contents of the envelope on the table.

There was one picture of the two of them, sitting at lunch, eating. The second was a much older one of Lea and Ion, wearing uniforms of their old school. The third was one of the three of them, before Esther realized what Lea was.

"Do you want them?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

"But about what she wrote…it's unsettling. Another vampire out there?"

"We shouldn't worry too much about it, just be on our guards. There isn't a reason to be so paranoid about it. She didn't tell you so you could freak out."

"I know." He sighed. "But…"

"Just know that it wasn't all your fault, and she doesn't want you dwelling on the past. She's right. What's done is done."

"For once she has something worthwhile to say."

They ate in silence until the bell rang. Esther stood up automatically, but Ion grabbed her wrist.

"Ion?"

He smiled innocently, a look that took her breath away.

"Let's skip sixth."

"H-huh? W-why?"

"We've already taken those exams, remember? Besides, I'd like to spend some more time with you."

"Um…alright then…"

"Don't worry, I'll have Radu deal with it."

Once he was sure the lunchroom was empty, he swept her up off her feet and leapt into the air.

As he ran, Esther wondered about that phrase, love at first sight. It was so cheesy, so corny, yet somewhow, it wasn't. Somehow, she felt there was a double meaning to that simple, seemingly cliché phrase.

"Ion?"

"Hm?"

"You know love at first sight?"

"What about it?"

"…"

"Esther?"

She sighed with a small smile upon her face. "Oh, nothing, never mind."

When she was sure he wasn't watching her anymore, she gazed at him. His red eyes, pale skin, platinum blonde hair…he was so much more than she could ask for. All of this pain was worth it.

And as for first sight…it was just that. She saw him, and he saw her. That was all it took. That first glance, that first look, that first meeting…

It was all because of First Sight.

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You all like?

Again, MANY thanks to my readers and reviewers who kept this going! You all ROCK!

I'd love to give you all free hugs from Ion, but unfortunately, life doesn't work out that way.

He's very stubborn. And he's Esther's.

Anyways, if you all want me to write an epilogue, PLEASE SAY SO. If you don't, then I won't.

Alright, that's all, and goodbye to you all!

Tamashii