((Good to know LoLz. Now I can Tie in New Orleans into this story YES!!))

Maria got out of the car and turned to look at the ocean. It was beautiful, she couldn't remember the last time she saw the ocean. Smiling she turned to Marcus. "It's beautiful here." She said almost jumping up and down with excitement.

She could hardly contain herself. She wanted to go collect Sea shells, build a sand castle. Race down the pier. Lay out on the beach....She had to clam down. It was her overactive suger in her system. It sometimes made her act like a kid again.

Marcus smiled, and started to walk to the peir. "So, what do you want to do? I'm fine hanging out or doing something, so it's up to you." He glanced across the water. It was the one thing that had always wanted to make him stay, this scene. His father's boat, surrounded by Orange water, and Silhouetted by the sun. Now, he realised he had two things to keep him here, these scene, and this girl to share it with. That struck him as odd for a moment, but he let it go.

"Hmm, well how late is the rollercoasters going?" She asked hearing the screaming of people on them. It had always fascinated her how they built RollerCoasters right over the Ocean. If someone were to fly out, they would have a fun time swimming back. She laughed slightly thinking about it.

Marcus smiled. "It runs pretty late. Once the sun goes down, they light it up. Do you want to ride it before or after the sun goes down?" He looked at it, then at her, and couldn't help seeing the little girl in her. He felt it made her even cuter, and besides, he liked that rollercoaster.

"Umm...I don't are. Either would be fun. Or we could just walk the peir and watch people until the rollercoaster lights up." Maria said fighting the urge to jump up and down again. SHe had so much energy she was pretty sure she could run from here to Rome and back in 60 seconds.

He smiled at her. "Lets walk for a bit. We were just at a Restaurant and in my Car, we can sit on the Roller coaster later." He put his hands into his pockets, walking towards the public half of the peir, near the roller coaster, and watched her with a smile.

Maria smiled and followed him. She loved the smell she got from this place. A mixture of the sea salt, cotton Candy, and excitement. Not to mention the blood of all the humans around. She watched Marcus with a hint of curiosity. He seemed to be enjoying himself too.

As they walked they came across a stand selling paintings done with only the guys hand. They were beautiful. All of them had dolphins in them, waterfalls in some. But one she noticed more then the rest. It was a waterfall with a dolphin jumping out of the water, and a little girl with brown curly hiar sat at the waters edge. "How much for this one?" She asked picking it up. "Fifteen." The guy said turning to her. Maria stuck her hand in her pocked and brought out a ten. "Oh well, maybe another time." She sighed setting it back down.

Marcus smiled, and pulled out a twenty. "Keep the change, buddy, and keep up the good work." He picked it up and handed it to her. "Here you go." He smiled at her. He wasn't sure if he had just done that to be nice, or if it had been the slight pain he'd felt when she had looked so dissapointed, but he was happy to get it for her.

"Oh, thank you." Maria cried throwing her arms around him and hugging. She kind of wished she hadn't. She was sure her arm had brushed his neck, he would have felt how ice cold it was, or how impossiably smooth....

He shivered. "Wow, you're freezing. Are you cold? I can lend you my jacket, if you want. Here," he pulled back, took it off, tossing it over her shoulders. "Here, that should warm you up a little more." He held out the painting, a huge smile on his face. "And here you go. I believe this is yours."

"Yeah, I get cold real easy. In fact you can say I feel like Ice all the time." She said shivering to make it seem more believe able. She took the jacket and tugged it so that her arms fell into it. She took a deep breath and sighed. It smelled just like him, sweet, but not like food sweet, like something dangrously sweet.

He smiled as she put it on. "Well, hopefully that will help." He started walking along the Pier again, stopping to check out some of the other booths. He stopped at a shooting one, and looked up at the prizes. "See one you like? I'll win one for you, I've got quite the shot, you know." He over dramatically flexed his muscles. He wasn't out of shape, but he wasn't going to win any competitions with them.

"Hmm...How about that Edward Pulshie? I need a new punching bag." She joked pointing at the stupid looking doll. "No seriously you don't have to win me anything." She said smiling as he showed her his "Guns".

He smiled at her joke. "Well, if you're sure, I can just win you something next time." He started walking with her again. "So, glad you came down here?" They were nearly to the end of the pier, and the sun was dropping quickly past the horizon.

She smiled as a gust of wind through her hair into her face. "Yes. It's amazing. So beautiful. It could have taken my breath away." She said then froze. Could have taken my breath away? Stupid idiot! HE'S GOING TO KNOW SOMETHINGS UP!! She yelled at herself inside her head. She looked over at him to see if he noticed.

He smiled, but then blinked. Had she said that in the past tense? He looked at her, a little confused, but decided to let it go. Probably a slip of the tongue. He looked back at the sunset, but now he felt something else. He couldn't place it, but he felt like something was going wrong. It wasn't her, was it? No, it couldn't be, he was having a wonderful time with her... HE glanced at her again, this time a little more confused, then quickly averted his gaze.

"Whats wrong?" Maria asked noticing his confusion as he looked at her closely. She was worried she had freaked him out with the whole past tense slip up.

He cleared his throat. "Nothing, just, um, thinking." He looked across the water. Surely he was imagining things. She had to have a breath to take away, she was standing there, talking to him. Her skin was pretty cold, though...

No, stop it, this is real life, things like that don't really exist. But, she does have a dad that writes those kind of books. Did he write from experiance? Of course not, that couldn't be possible. He realized he was staring at her again. He had to figure out some way to be sure. She had been walking around in sunlight, but plenty of vampire fiction told it both ways. "So, um, how are you feeling now? The Jacket, I mean. Did it help?" He looked out over the water, wondering what he should do.

"Sort of, my skin always feels cold, My dad says its because my mother had a heart of ice when she was pregnant with me." Maria said with a small bell like laugh. He seemed to be thinking something. "What are you thinking about?" She asked looking at him.

He glanced at her agian. "It's nothing. Just, um, wondering... if I might be so bold as to kiss you." He glanced over the water. He wondered if she would refuse, and if it was because she wouldn't want to, or because she was hiding something.

"Umm....I'm...Sorry. I can't. This was fun but I have to get home it's late." She said feeling udderly ashamed of herself. She wanted to kiss him, but she wasn't sure if she could control herself.

He frowned. Was it him, or his suspisioins that she was avoiding. He nodded. "lright, sure, I'll take you home if you want." He looked back out over the water, then up at the rollercoaster. "Didn't you want to ride it when the lights were on?"

"Yes, very much...But I should really get home before my dad gets angry." Maria sighed looking down like she was about to cry. Truth be told, she would already have burst into tears if she could, but being a vampire she just couldn't.

He nodded, silent, and started walking back up the peir. He was sure she wasn't a vampire, but how else could he explain her weird behavior and sudden mood change. He had to test it, but he didn't know how. He glanced over at her, watching her carefully as he walked.

She followed him back to his car and stood next to the door waiting. "I'm sorry I ruined your moment back there." maria Sighed shoving her arms into her pockets.