"Now introducing the one known as… Steve!" Murlough sneered, clapping his hands together as a spotlight was pointed at the far left corner of the stage, and a figure appeared, tall and handsome.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Steve said, gazing off into the distance as if staring out into a crowd.

Christine's heart stopped.

"Steve! What do you think you're doing? What are you doing with him?" She said, indicating Murlough, who was glaring hungrily at her family.

Steve's eyebrows knitted together in mock confusion.

"Who Murlough…? Nah, he's all right. For one thing, he didn't say that I have 'bad blood'…" Steve continued, glowering openly at Christine. "And for another thing, he didn''t lie to me." He continued to glare at her.

"Steve, please!" Christine pleaded. "Don't do this! Come with me and-"

"And, what exactly?" Steve said, cutting Christine off. "Live with you and a bunch of freaks-?"

"Yes!" Christine said, this time cutting Steve off. "You can come and stay with me and the Cirque! It's by far a better life than the one that you're leading now!"

Christine gazed up at Steve through her now, brilliant silver eyes. For a moment, she thought she could see the old Steve staring back at her. His eyes even seemed to go back to their regular color; a dark hazel, with a bluish tinge. Then they suddenly snapped back to scarlet.

"Oh don't try that with me!" Steve snarled.

"Try what?" Christine asked, confused.

Steve snorted.

"That little look you used to get when you felt bad for someone and you wanted to play, Miss Thoughtful! ...Well I don't need your help! Besides…" He leered then continued. "I bet you haven't been drinking any blood lately!"

Christine clenched her teeth.

"No Steve…you're wrong… I have, as a matter of fact been drinking a lot blood."

Steve's face fell.

"Oh…" He voiced lamely.

Clearing her throat, Christine continued.

"What about you? How many people have you murdered now?"

At first Steve only looked at Christine. Then he threw his head back in laughter.

"You're a fucking vampire! You drink blood too! And you're calling me a murderer?" Steve again began to laugh. A cool and mirthless laugh.

Christine gave Steve a sweet smile.

"Yes Steve. That's because, the fact is that I'm not drinking human blood!"

Steve stopped laughing and stared confusedly at Christine.

"How's that work?" He asked, snickering.

Christine gazed up at Steve with a coy smirk on her face.

"I''ve been hunting Vampaneze."

Steve's smile was wiped off of his face by her words.

"You''ve been what!" He said in a shocked voice.

"That's right, you heard me! I''ve been hunting and killing your lot!"

Steve stared at her for a moment then growled like an animal.

"You little bitch!" He snarled at Christine through clenched teeth. "You're the one who's been attacking Mr. Tiny's men?!"

"Uh-huh! So what are you waiting for? Come over here and do something about it!" She said challengingly. Steve bared his teeth, then making up his mind, he jumped off of the stage and leaped at Christine. He hit her with such force that she toppled over. Slamming her to the ground, Steve grabbed both of her hands and held them above her head, so that she couldn't strike his face. Christine snickered.

"What the hell's so funny?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Well…it's just that…well I knew that I'd be pinned down by a guy someday…I just never thought it would be you Steve!"

Steve shouted out in disgust. He drew his hand back, ready to slash her face into two. But before he could even touch her, Christine twisted her body around so that her knee was free; then she gathered up all of the strength that she possessed, and kneed Steve as hard as she could in between his legs. Steve gasped out and his hand flew to his midriff. Christine gave him a great shove and pushed him off of her.

"Damn, Steve! Can't you tell when somebody's kidding?"

Steve glared over at where Christine sat, brushing herself off.

"Yeah…I can." He said. "But that wasn't funny!"

"Oh, lighten up!" Christine snorted. "You're acting like we're a couple!" She glanced sideways at him as he stood up, to see if there would be a reaction, but he simply attacked her again.

Steve lifted her up by the front of her shirt and slammed her up against a nearby wall. He lunged forward and tried to take a bite out of her neck. She slapped his face away and counter reacted by lowering her hand and stabbing his side with her fingernails. He cried out in pain, snatched her hand away from his side, raised it up to the wall, and slammed it against it as hard as he could.

Now it was Christine's turn to shout out in pain as Steve dug his nails into her wrist. He then grabbed her other hand and did the same.

Eyes streaming in pain, Christine raised her head to look up at Steve.

"Wow Steve…" She said, trying to breathe normally. "You really get pleasure out of causing other's pain, huh?"

Steve stared down into her eyes - his widening. He was just beginning to loosen his grip, when a shout from behind him made him jump, and his nails dug even deeper into her wrists. Christine screamed in pain as Murlough called over to Steve.

"Boy! I'm needed outside! Can you handle the girl while I'm gone?"

"Of course I can!" Steve said. "Go!"

"All right, but I'm taking the bags of blood with me!" Murlough darted over to where Christine's family was tied up, he cut their ropes, and shoved them one by one behind the stage curtain and out of sight.

Trembling, Steve turned back to Christine, who was clenching her teeth and trying to ignore the pain.

"Christine?" Steve murmured.

Christine's eyes fluttered open. She could now feel her own blood trailing down from her wrists, into her shirt sleeve, and down her side.

"What Steve?" She asked breathlessly.

"If I let your hands go, can you try to not kill me?"

"Sure Steve…" Christine said, biting her lip to keep from screaming.

Slowly, Steve released Christine's bleeding wrists.

Eyeing Steve for a moment, Christine made up her mind and quickly brought her wrists up to her mouth and began to suck on the puncher marks that were all around her wrists. But they wouldn't heal.

She drew her hands away from her face, frowning down at her (now bleeding worse than ever) wrists.

"Yeah…that's something that I doubt you even know about." Steve said, gripping his side. "If a Vampaneze bites or scratches another vampire, or half vampire, that Vampaneze has to heal the wound. The vampire can't."

Christine stared at Steve in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She said with an astonished look on her face.

Steve shook his head.

"If you allow me to, and try not to kill me…I could help you." He continued to stare into Christine's eyes. "So can I?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"Can you what?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Heal your wounds!"

Christine glanced down at his out stretched hand for a moment, than hesitantly, gave him her own. Steve licked the tips of his fingers, grabbed both of Christine's wrists, and healed them.

Christine could feel her skin mending over the wounds as Steve let go of her hands and they fell limply to her side.

"Don't tell me I have to heal your's." Christine said, indicating the wound she had given him on his side.

"No…I can do it. It's different with the Vampaneze."

"Of course it is…" Christine said, shaking her head.

Licking his right hand and lifting up his shirt, Steve ran his fingers over his side. Christine watched as the wound healed. Steve let his shirt fall back into place and his head snapped back up to stare Christine in the face.

"Well, that's that!" Christine said in mock humor, raising her arms.

"Not quite…" Steve said, pointing at Christine's shoulder.

Christine glanced down at her left shoulder and gasped out in surprise.

She had only just realized that there was a decent sized gash on her neck, which was dripping blood profusely. She glanced back up at Steve who was now staring at her left shoulder. A hungry look in his eyes.

"Go ahead." Christine said.

Steve looked taken aback.

"What?"

"Go ahead." Christine said again. This time, nodding at her shoulder.

Steve stared at her, then her shoulder. Raising his hand, he hung back hesitantly for a moment, then grabbed Christine by her shoulders, and pulled her toward him.

Christine's eyes fluttered close as Steve began to heal her shoulder.

His tongue fluttered over the wound and Christine sighed. After a moment, she could tell that she was healed, but Steve's mouth was still at her shoulder.

"Steve? You can let go now." She tried to tell him, but she just couldn''t choke out the words.

Steve was now making his way slowly up her neck and was right below her jaw. He was leaving behind light, sweet kisses against her skin as his arms then rapped themselves tightly around her waist. Christine sighed again, and when Steve's lower lip came to a stop at the right side of her mouth she suddenly came to her senses.

"Steve!" She gasped out. "W-w-we can't! Somebody…might come! W-we're supposed to be fighting! Not-" She broke off as Steve's lips met hers and their breath clashed.

Christine moaned and rapped her arms around Steve's neck, entangling her fingers, into his hair.

He backed Christine up against the wall that, (earlier) they had been fighting against.

Steve drew Christine closer to him, so close, that she could feel his heart beating through his t-shirt. Her heart was skipping beats and she knew that Steve could feel it.

Steve opened his mouth and inhaled. Christine shuddered as his warm breath brushed over her lips.

"Christine…" Steve said, breathing heavily.

"What?" Christine asked, a little disgruntled.

"I'm so sorry…!"

Christine was just about to answer when she was interrupted by the sound of someone clapping.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Mr. Tiny said, walking out from behind the stage curtain. "I would have never in my wildest dreams, have thought that young master Steve, and miss Christine, would ever make a couple!" He came to a stop at the edge of the stage, smiling.

Steve slowly released Christine. He moved her behind him so that she was shielded from Mr. Tiny.

"That's enough Mr. Tiny! No more! I want out of this!" Steve said.

Mr. Tiny only smiled his sickly smile.

"Oh, my young prodigy…you have much to learn!"

Mr. Tiny then lifted his ornate walking stick, pointing it at Christine, and a bright ray of plasma energy shot out of it and enveloped her - twisting around her body like a python.

Steve shouted out and tried to pull Christine out from inside of the plasma, but was shocked. He drew his hand back quickly from the force that held Christine.

Mr. Tiny twitched his walking stick to the side and Christine began to float through the air toward him.

"No!" Steve cried out. He ran after Christine right up to the stage and leaped up onto it, facing Mr. Tiny.

"Tiny! Put her down!"