Immortal Love

Prologue

February 5th, 1923
New York

The night was young and cold. It might not have been cold to them, but they had to pretend it was freezing. Most people were too drunk to actually notice if they sat perfectly fine in the snow in nothing but their under garments. Jade walks into a shop before heading to the back and heading down the stairs to be let into the speakeasy her friends planned to meet her at. One of her friends helped run the place, so it was easy access for them.
Jade walked into the speakeasy and scanned the crowds for her friends. It was hard to make friends for her because eventually she'd have to break it off before she drew attention to the fact that she didn't age. "Why isn't your hair turning grey?" She'd tell them she uses charcoal to color the grays to appear young. She worried she also started the trend of using a Mercury based cream in a lie telling people it helped her look young. She knew she had a few more years before she had to worry about that with these women, but the knowledge and dread loomed over her.
    She found them and grinned at her friends as she approached them. After some quick catching up, their friend that owned the place ran up, looking panicked and frantic. She informed them that their live singer had canceled and she didn't know what to do. They all looked at Jade, she knew where this was going.
    Aaron sat across the bar in a booth alone, ignoring every woman who attempted to approach him. He didn't care to make any connections with people when he knew he'd just have to rid them from his life later on. It was too much of a hassle to him, and far from worth it. He scanned the room and noticed people already getting rowdy as the music had stopped and the next performer still hadn't come on. He couldn't help but laugh. He knew the reason people wanted music. It was to hide the gang, sex, and drug talk that went on. It wasn't uncommon dialogue for speakeasies, but it was still deemed taboo. He didn't mind the silence. He was there for the alcohol and people watching. His eyes drifted to the bar where he can see a group of women hurrying into the back and one protesting. He didn't think much of it until a few bit later when the woman who had been protesting comes out in a black flapper dress that she had not been wearing before, matching her black hair that was now in finger waves. The headpiece she wore topping off the hair look. Her makeup appeared darker, with a darker red lip. She looked slightly uncomfortable as she walked onto the stage.
    The music started after everyone was set up and Aaron couldn't help but stare at this woman, shifting from side to side until the music kicked off. He watched the woman sing as she stared anywhere but at the crowd. She sang a song he had heard on the television. He was mesmerized by the way she sang and got lost in the song, despite the songs heartbreaking lyrics. He froze as her eyes met his. It was the first time he had seen a singer, let alone a female singer, look into the crowd while singing. And to think she was staring at him was absurd. He cleared his throat and took a long sip of his drink. After a few songs, people were drunk. It was the break before she had to go back on.
    Jade was sitting at the bar, freaking out. She was approached by lots of men trying to get her to head to the back or out to the alley with them. She turned them all away and eventually her friends formed a circle around her, telling her how amazing she sounded. She thanked them, but she couldn't get the man out of her head. It wasn't common she looked out towards the crowd, but this man's gaze made her skin feel on fire. She hadn't expected to immediately find the gaze, but when she did, it took all of her willpower to look away. She hasn't been able to spot him since.
    The bartender offered her another drink, this time of something they just recently got in. She turned it down, knowing she was going to have to get back up onto the stage. She did have a drink of moonshine that another friend was finished with as she accepted the new drink. She told her she needed to ease her nerves. After a few minutes, she prepared to go back up on stage.
    Jade get's set up and prepares to sing her next song until she realized everyone around her was coughing and looked ill. It wasn't until the musicians on stage with her passed out that she began to panic. She had heard of multiple situations of lethal alcohol being sold to speakeasies out of desperation. As more people began fainting, she tried focusing on. She could no longer hear the heartbeats of the people around her. She dropped everything when she saw her friends, dead near the bar. She felt her eyes swell up as she looked around. Everyone was gone. Aside from that man. That man from earlier. Sneaking towards the stairs as if trying to hide. Trying to get out unspotted. She yelled for him. He stopped and looked at her quizzically. She ran up to him and accused him of being to blame. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist before pulling her from the basement filled with bodies that once were enjoying their surroundings.
    They left the shop through the back entrance. Jade wasn't sure about anything, but for some reason, she didn't care. Not right now. It wasn't her. It couldn't have been even if she had accepted the drink. But she was confused as to how this man hadn't had the same fate. Was it possible he was like her? He was immortal? She thought it was impossible. She questioned him the whole way out. Only to be met with silence. After he realized she wouldn't stop, he gave her one short answer.
    "I didn't drink anything but the moonshine."
    She accepted this answer. They spent the rest of the night exploring the town. Never once did they realize it was easily below freezing and neither of them were bothered by the cold. They found another alleyway. And for the first time since they left the hidden bar, he spoke.
    "I don't know what it is about you that I'm so drawn to, but I can't seem to stop."
            The rest of that night is history. Something neither of them would have to think about again.
                    Or so they thought....