●O N E●

Kara stepped inside the treacherous home again. It was her twentieth birthday today.

She took silent, cautionary steps like she was trying to not trip over live wires.

She passed the hall and hurried to run across to reach Damon's room.

Just a few more steps and she was going to reach the door. But before her fingers could even touch the handle, a hand came from behind her to cover her mouth and other one draped over her waist to drag her backwards.

"Do not make a sound." The commanding voice had her halt all her struggles. She did not need to hear another word to guess who it was.

The hand on her waist turned her around without removing his hold. He walked both of them forward until they were inside his room. And then only he removed his hand from over her mouth.

Kara turned back around to face the only person that she was craving to see, but then he was also the one that she wanted to run away from. He aroused feelings in her that she was unaware the depth of.

James locked the door of his room to face the vixen who has been making him burn from inside since the day he had laid his eyes upon her.

Even when he was about to celebrate his twenty fifth birthday now, he found it impossible to get over his obsession with her.

Whenever he saw her, there was only one thing that repeated inside his head over and over and over again- hide her.

"Why are you here?" James asked her. He took long, slow, predatory steps towards her, and she stepped back with his each one. She was not even aware of it, James knew. He had years of knowledge of her every little move.

After asking the question James inwardly smirked. Of course he knew why she was here. It is her birthday today. The only day when she drags Damon, his younger brother to the abandoned church in the middle of the small jungle just outside of their town to wander. Her obsession with the abandoned church has been amusing him for years now.

"Kara," he murmured in a low tone when she did not give him an answer, "Why are you here?"

The way her sinless gaze stared up to him, the way she tried to hide the red hue on her cheeks was utterly adorable and at the same time, pretty hot to him. She did not even realise what she did to him with just one glance.

"Damon." She muttered as her dark brown eyes flew to the door that he was standing beside to cage her in, "I and Damon had.. some plans."

Kara barely stopped herself from gulping down the nervousness that had taken over her. She did not know why, but he always scared her. James's one angry look was enough to make her run to the hills screaming.

Probably it was because he never actually gave his attention to anyone except her. She had started noticing it just a couple of years ago. He was indifferent to anything that other people did, be it his friends or be it his brother. They could burn the house down and he would not give a damn. But when it came to her, he was like a pillar in the way of a leaf.

When James had decided to go to college while stimulusly handling the machinery business that his family co-owned with hers from generations, making it one of the top ten companies existing in New York City, she had thought he would have less time to make her miserable. But if it was possible, his controlling nature just increased.

Sometimes it drove her mad. But most of the times, her eyes just craved for him.

Her childhood was filled with happiness and him. Every memory that she could remember was filled with him.

~~~Past~~~

James was standing by the door staring at the doll that his dad had brought to their home for the first time. His dad said she is so adorable like a doll. She actually looked like one.

His dad had said that the new doll had come to stay in the house next door with her family. And then dad had left the room, asking him and Damon to play with her because he had some work to do.

As he looked at her, he saw her giggling at something that Damon had said. Damon and doll were both of same age. Five years old.

She flipped back and forth on her tip toes wearing her yellow dress. The doll was the prettiest one that he had seen ever.

Her brown eyes came to look at him curiously. As soon as her gaze collided with his own, something dropped in his stomach. A sudden nervousness took over him. And nervousness and he was never a good combination for him. It made him angry.

He raised his eye brows at her arrogantly.

"What is your name?" Damon asked her while eyeing her swinging ponytails.

"Kara." She sweetly replied and took a step towards James. James's green eyes were captivating to her. She had never seen eyes like those.

She came to stand in front of him. For a minute there was nothing but silence in between them as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Are those real?" Kara whispered mysteriously.

"What?" James asked in confusion.

"Your eyes." Kara replied while standing up on her tip toes to match his height. She wanted to have a look at those unique eyes.

Kara put her index finger on James's cheek softly and murmured, "They look like pebbles. The ones we have in our big jar of pebbles. My daddy brings one every time he goes away for work. I do not have a pebble like the colour of your eyes."

James was standing immobile on his spot. A sudden shyness had taken over him. He did not know if he wanted to run away or keep talking to the doll.

Kara tilted her head to the side in wonder as her face scrunched up a little in confusion,

"Would it hurt if I poked them with my finger?" She asked in complete seriousness.