Amy Plum

“I'm not happy. Nor am I sad. I'm just...here.”

“Whatever happens, remember that I will love you forever,” he says. “Even if my spirit is dispersed and my consciousness released to the universe... whatever is left of me will never stop loving you.”

“Don’t you see Kate? I can’t be yours in any kind of real way. But what I can promise you is that I will always be here for you, watching out for you, making sure you are safe. And happy.”

“Kate, I’ll say it like this. Vincent is my best friend. There’s not a person in this world I’m closer to. But for the past year, I have betrayed him in my heart every single day because I want for myself what he loves the very most.”

“Kate, I want you to know that I awoke the first time I saw you.”

“And carefully... tenderly... taking my time with every brushstroke, I sketch the curve of her neck, apply the crimson of her lips, form her face into a two-dimensional tribute to her beauty.”

“I know how ineffectual my actions are, but I do them on purpose--to punish myself. I deserve the pain that closeness to her brings. I want to hold her like this every day. I want to be the focus of her radiant smile. I let myself pretend for the duration of the song, and when its over I touch her face again and imagine that we are together.”

“I squeeze her and she laughs and looks up at me, "Jules, you incorrigible rake," she scolds, and then gives me a smile that makes me feel we're in zero gravity. Floating inches above the floor. weightless and timeless, and I wish this song would last forever.”

“She loves Vincent body and soul. He is her true love. She will never feel for me what she does for him. But I will never stop loving her. And I have to learn to live with that.”

“I know what's coming next. I look at Giulianna's expertly made-up face, sink into her catlike beauty, and then close my eyes and I'm kissing Kate. I don't even try to stop it anymore-this happens every time. With every girl.”

“I introduce the two girls. Kate leans over and whispers, "She's gorgeous!" And I respond with the truth: "She has nothing on you, of course, Kates. It's just that you are so very... taken.”

“She is my inspiration. My muse. My obsession.”

“Their poses are all different but the face is the same. Painted from memory in scene after scene is the fresh-faced beauty. Kate.It's the bargain I've made with myself. If I can't caress her body with my hands, I paint it with my brushes. Use my fingers to trace her lines.”

“It's with a feeling of despair that I return her to his arms. I want him to be angry. I want him to challenge me. Because then the truth will be out and I won't have to hide my feelings. But he trusts me too much to suspect me. And I love him too much to hurt him.”

“Kate is right there, ready to be scooped up and loved. And I'm so tempted. She is beautiful; not just her face-her entire being is lovely. I see why Vincent is drawn to her.”

“I find myself wishing that I could work that magic for her. That I could bring the smile back to her face. But I slap at those thoughts as if they were mosquitoes. What am I doing, caring so much about my best friend's love? I deny my feelings for her because they shouldn't exist.”

“She leaves an empty hole behind her. There was this feeling of optimism and joy in the house when she was around that's now turned into void. Like Vincent, I feel hollow. Sad. And as the days pass, I begin to realize I've grown to care for Kate. Not as my best friend's girlfriend, but as someone in and of herself. And I realize I miss her.”

“You're sure you don't need me to walk you home?" I say, lifting my eyebrow and giving her my most flirtatious smile.She refuses but blushes deeply-hot pink spreading across her cheeks. As usual, I feel a wild rush of success. I love flirting more than food. Or even fighting. And evoking a blush is one of the most satisfying results I can hope for.I like this girl, I find myself thinking. I'm actually looking forward to her being around.”

“May I guess this has something to do with the particularly hot undead guy you suck face with on a regular basis?”

“It hadn’t escaped my attention that I preferred to spend time with the undead rather than the living. I tried not to think about what that said about me.”

“Well spit on my empty grave if it ain't the attack of the disney princesses!”

“You beautiful girl. You've given new life to my Vincent. He might be strong of spirit, but he's a tender soul.And you've touched him. For as long as I've known him, his only motivation has been vengeance and loyalty,which may be why he's one of the few survivors. But now he has..." She paused, thinking twice abiout whatshe was going to say, and settled for, "You.”

“The old dictum was backward. It should be "Better not tohave loved at all, than to love and have lost." I had done theright thing, I reassured myself. So why did it feel like I hadmade the biggest mistake of my life?”

“Maybe I wasn't happy, but I wasn't sad. I was just . . . there.”

“Our lips brushed,and I felt like a chord had been struck inside me, and my body was humming with a pure musical note.”

“Over two hundred years," Jeanne said, finishing his sentence as she shoveled a mountain of scrambled eggs onto Ambrose's plate. Her gave her a ravishing smile, and said "Marry me, Jeanne" leaning over to kiss the hand holding the serving spoon. "In your dreams," she laughed...”

“His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gazed at me with that look that always made me melt: as if I were edible and he could barely restrain himself from taking a bite.”

“Before I saw you, I hadn’t cared for anyone for . . . well, for the good part of a century, and it felt like my heart had been permanently disconnected. I wasn’t even looking anymore. And without expecting anything . . . without any hope at all, suddenly you were here.”

“Those are pretty," She commented, leaning down to smell the flowers. "They're from Violette," I said, watching for her reaction. "They look like weeds," she replied, straightening.”

“The American School of Paris is one of those strange places in foreign cities where expatriates huddle together in a defensive circle and try to pretend they're still back at home.I saw it as a place for lost souls.”

“Personally, I'm happy I haven't run into a murderous killer since, well...since you chopped my ex's head off with a sword.”

“Mon ange”

“Bearing my mother's face was a daily reminder that I could be as strong as she had been. And fighting for what I wanted most in life was the best way to keep her alive in my heart.”

“So I figured I might as well see if I could find something Gaspard didnt already know about. Like an herb or potion or something.""Hmm," said Georgia, looking off into some invisible dreamworld. "Or maybe bathing naked in the Seine under the light of a full moon"- she glanced up quickly- "in which case, definitely tell me when and where your voodoo's going down!”

“Sorry I'm not your boyfriend. And I mean that in all sorts of ways.”

“Kate, I honestly don't know how Vincent puts up with you. You are... infuriating.”

“Ladies, it's almost midnight. And I, for one, hoped not to have to resort to kissing Gaspard when the clock strikes twelve.”

“You'll have to do better than that measly steel blade to make a dent in me.”

“Not that I don't think you're totally hot when you're dripping with sweat.”

“Um, yeah. I guess lying around reading books all day doesn't do much for physical endurance.”

“And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life Cause sooner or later it's over I just don't want to miss you tonightAnd I don't want the world to see me Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I amthis song remind me of die for me at sometimes on in the chapter :)”

“We're all lost souls here. It's a good thing we've got each other.”

“Natural talent!" crowed Vincent, sweeping my sweaty self up into his arms and pacing across the room, holding me like a trophy. "Of course my girlfriend's got it. In truckloads! How else could she have slain a giant evil zombie, single-handedly saving my undead body?”

“How about I take you to my studio? Much less dangerous. Plus, I need a model and you could sit for me.""You want me to sit for a portrait?" I asked stunned."Actually, at the moment I'm concentrating on full-length nudes, in the spirit of Modigliani," Jules said. He was making an effort to keep a straight face. "Just kidding, Kates. You're a lady."Jules was trying the guilt-trip method of attack. And it was working."Ok I'll pose for you," I conceded. "But under no circumstances will any article of clothing leave my body whilst I am in your studio.""And if you're elsewhere?" he asked, breaking into a sly smile.I rolled my eyes.”

“And I've got THIS," I pulled out the signum and held it up for him to see, "that says I'm kindred. And I've got THIS," I pointed at my head, "that says I'm as smart as you. And I have THIS," I held up my middle finger, "that says go to hell, you immortal bigot."And with that I spun around and stomped out the door, filing the expression on Arthur's face in a mental folder labeled "Kate's Proudest Moments".”

“I saw a picture of you and Vincent in a 1968 newspaper that said you died in a fire," I said, turning to Ambrose.He nodded at me with a little smile, urging me on."So how can you be here now?""Well, I'm glad we're starting with the easy questions," he said, stretching his powerful arms and then leaning toward me. "The answer would be ... because we're zombies!" and he let out a horrible groan, stretching his mouth open and baring his teeth as he curled his hands into claws. Seeing my terrified expression, Ambrose began cracking up and slapping his knee with his hand. "Just kidding," he cackled, and then, calming down, looked at me sedately. "But no, seriously. We're zombies.""We are not zombies!" said Charlotte, her voice rising with annoyance.”

“Kait,im not always the beat at exspressing myself to you,so im taking advantage of the fact that i will be completely unresponsive when you read this, and therefore incapable of messing things up.I want to thank you for giving me a chance. when i first saw you, i knew i had found something incredible. And since then all i've wanted was to be with you as much as possible.When i thought i had lost you, i was torn betewwn wanting you back and wanting the best for you-wanting you to be happy.seeing you so miserable during the weeks we were apart gave me the courage to fight for us...to find a way for things to work.And seeing you happy again in the dayswe've been back together makes me think i did the right thing.I cant promise you an ordinary experience,kate.I wish i could transform myself into a normal man and be there for you,always,without th trama that defines my life as "the walking dead." Since that isnt possible, I can only reassure yoiu that i will do everything in my power to make it up make it up to you. To give you more that a normal boyfriend could.I have no idea what that will mean, exactly, but i'm looking forward to finding out. With you.Thank ou for being here, my beauty. Mon ange. My Kate.Yours utterly,Vincent”

“Well? What could I say?I said, Yes”

“Кое е по-доброто - да съм сама и да страдам в самота или да ме боли и да живея истински?”

“You told me this wasn't a formal date when you invited me to come. Why should I care if you have a girlfriend?""Absolutely," he said, giving me a fake-serious look. "Yeah, you and I are just friends . . . out for a friendly walk. Nothing more, nothing less.""Exactly!" I agreed, my heart giving a painful twist.He broke into a large grin and, leaning over, kissed me on the cheek. "Kate," he whispered, "you are way too gullible.”