Disclaimer: This story involves love, relationship, and "adult" subject matter between teenage boys... so I guess that means your not supposed to read this if your under 18, but really if you are younger than that, I can't stop you. Just Don't Get Caught :)  If homosexuality offends you, then leave, or join the 21st century, and open up to it.

This Is FICTION... any character resembling a real life person is by coincidence, and in the rare event a character is based on someone in real life their name has been changed due to legal and personal protection.  You never know who's lurking around reading this.  So now the little spiel is over so hopefully someone will enjoy this.  Do Not Reproduce this story, and if you would like to have it on your web site, email me & get my permission. Thanks. Copyright ©  Jaden & Jaded Edge Productions

Fists and legs flew in every direction.  My motions remained fluid, my concentration never once faltering.  "Come on, I want one past me."  My words came as more of a challenge than a taunt.

"Oh I'll give ya one punk.  One you wont be forgetting for a VERY long time."  Dave said with a sly grin on his face.  He always was a cheeky little shit.  A cheeky little shit that needed a wake up call.  In both an attempt to embarrass and convey my seriousness to him, I slapped him good and proper on his left cheek.

"How the fark can I hit you when you move faster than my eyes can blink?!?"  The frustration showed in Dave's voice. He has come a long way in a short time since his crossover.  Only a couple of weeks in and I had him training.

"Concentrate!  Stop focusing on your frustration.  Clear your mind and watch my movements."  I watched his eyes as I prepared for his strike. Dave threw a high sidekick aimed for my head, but I knocked it down with my forearm.  Dave's eyes never left my arms as he quickly tried a roundhouse kick that I ducked under then swept his one stable leg out from under him. He went down with a thud.

"You dickhead!  Watch my movements you say.  Why didn't you just tell me to throw myself on the ground?"  Dave grumbled sarcastically.

"Get up.  High kick right, roundhouse kick left."

"Do I look like an idiot?  No wait, don't you dare answer that."

"Kick!" I had to block out Dave's jokes to hold my focus.  Dion did this with me when I was trained, now I was doing the same for Dave.  Dave grumbled then threw a lazy sidekick.  "Again. If you don't try for real I'll lay your ass out right now."  He mumbled something under his breath.  "Do you want to quit? Be a quitter, see how long you go before something out there tears you apart."

Dave got a determined look on his face, giving me the desired effect.  Sometimes it takes being an asshole to get results.  His right leg came up hard and fast, my forearm just shooting out to block it.  Dave's roundhouse kick followed swiftly, but I ducked as I did the last time then went for a leg sweep.  As my leg was about to connect with the back of Dave's knees, he pushed off the ground into a back flip, then tackled me to the ground not a split second after his feet touched back down on the mat.

"Ha! Take that ya shit-for-head.  I liked you better when you weren't sucking people's blood."  I grinned at him.

"Hey, my methods may be harsh, but they work don't they?"  Dave just rolled his eyes then pulled me up.

"Are we done Masta Joey?"  I took a playful swat at him, but he ducked and scurried out of the room.  I laughed at his antics as I headed for the showers.

Dave has been progressing very well.  I expected him to be angry or sad when he found out that he had been turned into a vampire.  Instead, his reaction was the complete opposite.  He seemed happy... happy to have a new start.  Then when I filled him in on the extra abilities he would acquire as he developed more into his new self, he became ecstatic.  In fact a day hasn't gone by since his crossover that he hasn't asked me how much longer it would be before his powers start to appear.  Judging from his agility and background in acrobatics, I assume that his gift will involve some aspects of those skills.

I walked into the deserted shower room and turned on the nearest shower head.  The warm water ran off my body, washing away the days activities as I soaped up.  Having a shower to use regularly is something I cherish, especially after not being able to use one on a regular basis back in Chicago.  Thinking about the past few months brings mixed emotions to me.  The choice I made to leave Chi-town, the lot.. him.. well, it was one of the hardest choices I ever had to make.  I left to pursue a life before all of this.. a life before I became more human than human.  I have yet to make peace with myself and my past.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by the sound of the shower room door opening.  The soap in my eyes prevented me from seeing who had walked in.

"Who's there?"  I called out.  No one answered, but I could hear a nearby shower head turn on.  I rinsed the suds from my face and opened my eyes.  I looked directly where the shower head had turned on to see just that... a shower head.  The water sprayed out of the nozzle two rows down from me, but no one was under it.

Suddenly someone grabbed me by the neck from behind.  I gripped the arm tightly and flipped the attacker over my shoulder.  What I didn't count on was the person locking their legs around my neck as they went over my shoulder.  I lost my balance and flipped over as well, landing with a slight smack as my naked body hit the hard tile floor.  My attacker ended up on top of me.. definitely a male.  That's when I realized the attacker was naked as well, our bodies pressed against one another.

I blinked my eyes a few times trying to shake the disorientation that hitting the ground had caused.  The person on top of me slowly started to come into focus.  Those deep dark eyes, that long blonde hair.. the devious smile.. Gavin.

"You asshole."  I started to push him off of me, but he grabbed my arms and pinned them down.  Gavin grinned widely.

"You don't like this position?"  He asked.  I couldn't tell if he was being serious or just teasing.  I suddenly became very aware of my situation.  Gavin's naked flesh rubbed against mine as I struggled to free myself.  When I felt little Joey starting to wake up I stopped struggling.  Gavin looked down at my rapidly growing endowment, "That's what I thought."  I blushed furiously at his suggestive comment.

I looked into his eyes, quickly getting lost in their deepness.  Gavin held eye contact, making me helpless under his grasp.  I felt a nudge against my thigh as Gavin blushed slightly.  Our eye contact never broke while I spoke in a soft whisper, "Looks like you don't mind this position either."

Gavin slowly brought his face down towards mine until our lips were millimeters apart.  He stopped and stared harder into my eyes searching for some answer to an unspoken question he was asking through his own eyes.  I saw something in Gavin I had never seen before.. fear.  I took the initiative and tenderly brought my lips to his.  Our lips meshed together, slowly at first then more urgently.  I felt wetness hit my face, so I opened my eyes to see Gavin had his eyes open too.. the tears dropping from them onto my face.  He released my arms from his grasp allowing me to wrap my arms around him.  I ran one hand up and down his back trying to soothe him.  Gavin's breathing became short, I could feel him breaking down in my arms.  He kissed me harder, the emotion pouring from him to me.

Suddenly the shower room door flew open and two loud voices echoed through the room. "Whoa!"  Gavin and I broke our kiss and turned our heads to see Jared and Alex standing in the doorway.  I had to keep my jaw from dropping at the sight of the two flawless visions in front of Gavin and I.  "When did we get a full service shower?"  Jared teased, a sly grin adorning his face.

Gavin shot Jared a dirty look then reluctantly got off of me.  He offered his hand to help me up which I gladly excepted.  "You two are gonna injure someone swinging those things around."  Alex pointed out mine and Gavin's obvious arousal.  I blushed lightly, but Gavin just grunted and walked out of the shower room.  My eyes followed his naked form as I started to follow him.

*THWACK*

I jumped off the ground as a hand smacked me hard on my ass.  I looked back to see Alex giving me his patented innocent look, but the smile he was trying to hold back gave him away.  I just shook my head and walked out of the room rubbing my ass trying to make the stinging sensation die down.  I heard Alex and Jared start yelling loudly, "Oh, Joey!!  You make me soooo hot."

"Do me harder Gavin!!"  I had to snicker to myself as they broke out into a fit of giggles.  Those two could give Eric a run for his money in the clown department.

I thought about Eric while I toweled off.  He seemed so sad when I saw him at my grave.  It's something so out of character for him.. to be sad.  Eric was extremely close to his brother and I guess Blade leaving has really changed Eric's outlook.  Seeing as Blade is on the other side of the country, I don't think I'll be seeing him anytime soon.  I'll check on Eric later.. I know Blade would want someone to look after his younger brother.

I shook the thoughts out of my head as I walked into the main living area where Chloe and Dave sat playing some video game.  "If you don't stop that I'm going to kick you in the dick!"  Dave yelled at Chloe, obviously getting beaten at whatever game was being played.

"I don't have a dick, I'm a chick."  Chloe smacked Dave upside the head.  Dave went to knock her off the couch, but Chloe put up one of her shields.  Dave quickly unplugged her controller and proceeded to destroy her character on the game.

"Haha!  Take that woman!"  Chloe glared at him, and let down her shield.  I leaned against the door frame watching their competitive exchange. I felt a pair of arms go around my waist as I looked on.  I smiled, the affection between Gavin and I is something I could definitely get used to.

"Sorry about the shower thing back there."  Gavin whispered.  "Alex and Jared are clowns.  Obnoxious ones at that."

"Hehe, they're funny though.  And hey, they look good with no clothes on."  I teased.  I heard a muffled snicker, then lips on my neck.  I leaned back into him, as his lips nestled my neck.  I let out a small sigh and closed my eyes when he slightly turned my head and placed his lips over mine.  Damn he tasted good.

*FLASH*  All of a sudden a bright flash startled me from the moment.  I snapped my head in the direction of the light and saw Jared standing there with a smug grin on his face, a camera with a fresh polaroid snapshot coming out, grasped in one hand.  "So, Joey..  did you like kissing Gavin?"  He asked.

"I'm gonna zap you."  I threatened jokingly.

"Oh come on, the world wants to know."  The grin on Jared's face told me I was missing something.  The door to Gavin's room opened up.. and Gavin walked out.  I looked down at the arms around my waist, then back at Gavin.  The confused look on my face caused Jared to bust out laughing.

"Everyone already knows I'm the best kisser in the universe!"  Gavin's voice came from behind me.. but he was now sitting over by Dave and Chloe.  I turned my head to see a widely grinning Alex behind me.

"Alex."  He looked at me questionably.  "Run."  Alex took off running like there was no tomorrow.  I was faster than him, so I caught him quickly.  "It's not polite to play tricks on people."  I said as I held him down on the ground.

"Mmm.. you like this position don't you?"  Alex said, mimicking Gavin's voice once again.  I started tickling him, then grabbed his nipples.  He was still bare chested from his shower.  He looked up at me with a dawning realization of what was going to happen.  "NOOOOO!"

"NIRPLE!"  I twisted his nipples, causing Alex to yell out in pain.  I started to laugh hysterically as he squirmed free from beneath me.  He got up quickly, and I followed suit.  He quickly hopped over the the couch and into Dave's lap.

"Save me!"  He said to Dave, in his best damsel in distress impersonation.  Dave just looked at Alex, finally recovering from the sudden shock of him jumping into his lap.  He looked at Alex's arm that was around his shoulders.

"Why, hello there."  Dave said, in a seductive purr.  I burst out laughing.  The look on Alex's face was priceless.

"I think that's the first time I've seen Alex speechless since I've known him."  Chloe chimed in.  Alex blushed a little, then smiled, bringing his eyes to meet Dave's.  They held eye contact for a few moments, when all of a sudden Alex flew up into the air.

"Gavvvvvviiiiiiinnnnnnnn!  Let me down!"  Alex whined.

"I think you can stay up there for awhile.  I know how much you idolize me, but impersonating me to kiss Joey?  That's a no no."  Gavin smirked at me.

"Oh come on!  I had to show him what a real kiss is like."  Gavin made Alex fly higher into the air.  "Please let me down!"  Alex's demeanor seemed to change from clowning around, to genuine fear.  Gavin made him go even higher.

"Gavin.."  Jared spoke up.  Gavin ignored him.  I felt a wet drop hit my face, then I looked up at Alex. Tears fell from his eyes, as he silently whispered something to himself.

"Gavin, that's enough."  I said.  He seemed to be ignoring everyone.  That or he really was focused on holding Alex up in the air.

"Let me down!  God, someone get me down.."  Alex screamed out, pleading with all he had.

"Oh bloody hell."  Dave got up and walked over to Gavin.  "Let the kid down already."  Gavin ignored Dave as well.  Dave got angry, and kicked Gavin in the shin.  Gavin flinched, then flicked his wrist, sending Dave flying across the room.  Dave groaned, as he tumbled over a coffee table.  He stood up slowly, groaning from the impact.  I watched the fury burn in his eyes as he glared at Gavin.  Dave started running full stride towards him, then jumped into the air just a few feet away from Gavin.  I watched in astonishment as Dave seemed to "shimmer" in front of my very eyes, before disappearing altogether!

"Where did he go?"  Jared asked.  I just shook my head, wondering the same thing.  I scanned the room, but didn't pick up any indication that he was around.  Then as quick as he disappeared, a slight blur flashed again above me, then was gone a moment later.  Then seemingly out of thin air, Dave reappeared standing by the couch.. Alex in his grasp.  I looked up, wondering what the hell just happened.  Alex sobbed in Dave's arms, Dave still holding the death glare on Gavin.

I walked over to Gavin, who's eyes were still fixated on the spot where he had held Alex.  "Gavin."  I waved my hand in front of his face.  He didn't flinch.  "GAVIN!"  I yelled.  Still nothing.  I took his hand in mine, then dropped it.. the coldness of his skin shocking me.  The look in his eyes was frightening.. so intense.. yet so 'out there'.  I brought my lips to his, hoping to get some sort of response from him.  Slowly, but surely, Gavin's lips started to kiss back.. his daze finally being broken.  I pulled back, looking him in the eyes.  Tears threatened to flow over, the intense look in his eyes replaced by the fear I had seen earlier in the shower.  "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know."  Alex came dashing over to Gavin, yelling obscenities.  Dave and Jared grabbed a hold of him before he attacked Gavin.

"You fucking asshole!!!  You know I hate heights.  You know what happened... you fucking know!"  The pain in the once happy voice of Alex was enough to send waves of emotion jolting through me.  I could feel his pain, and it caused tears to fall from my eyes.  Alex ran off to his room, while Dave gave Gavin a disgusted look.

"Try that shit again and you'll be lying face down ya bastaad."  Jared followed Dave towards Alex's room, while Chloe retired to her own.  Gavin leaned back on the couch running his hands through his hair.  I put my arm around him trying to get a grip on myself as well.

"What happened, Gavin?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Bro, come on..."

"I said I don't want to talk about it, Joey!"  He stood up abruptly.

"Fuck you then.  I don't know what that was just now, but whatever it was you better keep it in check.  You scared the hell out of Alex, and alienated Dave in the process.  I thought I knew you, but I don't know that cold person that you just were."

"You don't know anything, Joey.  Don't forget who runs this place."  Gavin threw his hand out, as he stalked towards the now open front door.  He walked out, then slammed the door behind him.

I sighed to myself, then laid down on the couch.  My eyes slowly started to close when I heard what sounded like glass breaking coming from the back of the room.  I jumped up and ran to where the sound came from.  I found a window shattered, broken glass all over the floor.  I looked around, not seeing anyone, then approached the window.  I thought I saw movement, but pitch black darkness impaired my vision.  I was about to turn around when suddenly something grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me towards it.  I came face to face with a pair of glowing purple eyes.

"If you value your life, you will listen to me."  I struggled to break free, but whoever this was wasn't having any of it.  "Leave Anaheim.  Leave this state.  Or you will have to leave this world."  The fear and anger inside of me brought up that familiar electric glow in my eyes.  I prepared to jolt the vampire in front of me with all I had, but suddenly he put his hand to my chest and caused my own power to implode upon me.  I flew across the room, crashing through a bookshelf, gasping for air until my vision started to blur.  I looked back at the window, the devious purple glare giving me one last look, then disappearing into the darkness that it came from.  I struggled to pull myself up as Dave and Jared came out of Alex's room. They saw me and came rushing over.

"Joey you're bleeding.. what happened?"  Asked Jared.  I glanced down to see blood coming from my nose and mouth.

"I j-just ne-eed to lie dow..."  I collapsed before getting the sentence out, my world enveloped by absolute darkness...

'I opened my eyes, but couldn't see a thing.  My arms felt around me, trying to get some idea of my surroundings.  Suddenly a light popped on.  A dimly lit street light.  How did I get on the street?  I continued walking straight ahead, light after light seemingly magically turning on.  I came to a halt at a Y.  Both alleys were so dark it was near impossible to choose which was the right one to go down.  A blood curdling scream came from the right alley, so I took off in that direction.  My legs ran so fast I don't know how the rest of me kept up.  The darkness seemed to swarm around me, when I suddenly hit something solid and hard.  I fell to the ground with a thud.  "Joey..."  A voice whispered.  The darkness seemed to separate like a thick mist in front of me.  I pulled myself up off of the ground, holding my aching head.  "Joey.."  I stumbled through the alley way in front of me, my head groggy from hitting that wall.  I eventually came to another split, left or right this time.  "Joey help me."  My head whipped in the direction of the right alley.  "No, Joey.. help me!"  The whisper came from the left alley this time. I shook my head.. maybe I'm going crazy.  A bright light started to emerge from a wall in the left alley.  In big letters, a name set in flames came into view.. Gavin.  I didn't think twice and took off full speed down the left alley way.

I came to a clearing where I heard voices.  The fog was thick, but I cut through it like a knife to be greeted with a strange sight before me.  A boy, his brown hair hovering just over is shoulders, his body only covered with a pair of bright red pants, stood with his back to me.  Gavin appeared in front of him, seemingly having a stare down with the boy.  I stepped forward, calling out Gavin's name, "Gavin.. what's wrong?"  He temporarily broke his stare with the boy and looked up at me.  No emotion appeared in his eyes, then, as if he just realized who I was, a chilling look appeared on his face.  A wild, crazed look shone in his eyes, while that devious smile sent a chill up my spine.

"Joey."  I looked at him questionably.  That's when the other boy cocked his head to the side to look at me.  His eyes were closed for a  moment, then they blinked open.  Him.  The purple eyes burned through me.  I looked from the boy back to Gavin.  "Run."  Gavin hissed.  I hesitated, then turned around and ran with all I had back the way I came.  I could hear the two of them behind me as I approached the split in the alley.  I was almost there when something dropped down in front of me with the greatest of ease.  Shocking platinum hair flowed in the wind, of a towering male figure.  The silver specs in his eyes gave away the fact that it was a Skrull, but there was something different about this one.  His mouth opened.. and fangs protruded from his canines.  How is this possible..  I didn't think twice as the entity in front of me started to produce some kind of electricity from his hands, not unlike my own.  A cold whisper swept through my ear.  "You don't know anything about me, Joey."  Gavin's voice was not the one I had come to know since meeting him.  Tears started to fall from my eyes, as I dug into the ground pushing off as hard as I could.  I dove at the Skrull or whatever the hell he was in front of me.  I made myself transparent as I went through his shots of electricity and right through his body.  I landed in-between the right and left alleys, as I turned to look back at my three attackers.  They all stepped forward, but stopped just short of coming into the split.

The boy with the purple eyes never took his eyes from mine, "You killed them, Joey.  Wrong choice."  With that, all three of them disappeared seemingly into thin air.  What was that all about?  Why was Gavin helping them?

I turned and started to walk back the way I came when I saw fire burning in the right alley.. the one I bypassed.  I approached the flames cautiously.. and stopped dead in my tracks as I saw not one.. but two names.  Eric and Blade Stevens.  My eyes widened as I heard gun shots.  No.  I rounded the corner at the end of the alley.  I came into a large room filled with at least a hundred people.  The walls were all painted a bright white.. the funeral home.. the one that my service was held at.  Two large white caskets sat in diagonal contortion.  As I approached I saw all of my old friends sitting or standing in various parts of the room.  All of them had tear streaked faces, trying to be strong for one another.  I passed each one solemnly.  Each of them looked up at me as I passed.  Kai Kimbal sobbed as he watched me pass.  I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath while I stepped up to the caskets.  I reluctantly opened them to see my best friend and his little brother each lying in their own caskets.  Their faces lifeless and made up.  I brought my hand to Blade's face, running it along his cheek.  Tears fell from my eyes, my breathe getting short as a lump formed in my throat.  I looked over at Eric's casket, where his boyfriend Matt stood.  A blank stare on his face overshadowed his crying.  I pulled myself up, and put my hand on his shoulder.  A shock went through me as a vision came into my head.  Matt, all disheveled, standing in a bathroom staring into a mirror.  A bottle of pills in one hand, a bottle of vodka in the other.  I snapped myself out of the vision and backed away slowly. "Matt..."  I spoke his name, but he didn't respond.  He turned to look at Eric again.  I turned back to Blade's casket.. but he wasn't alone.  Tyler Pierce stood at the side of his ex boyfriend and one true love.  His eyes were bloodshot, too tired to cry anymore.  Tyler's eyes came to meet mine.  The sadness between the both of us consumed me.

"You made the wrong choice, Joey."  Tyler spoke softly.  I moved to comfort him, but the room dematerialized right before my eyes and I ended up outside.  A faint glow came over the horizon and steadily grew... the sun.  The rays started to penetrate my flesh..'

"JOEY!!!!!"  My eyes fluttered at the sound of a voice.  I shot up, a cold sweat all over my body.  Alex, Dave and Jared were huddled around me.  "Dude, are you all right?  You were crying and screaming while you were passed out.."  Alex rambled.

"P-passed out?"  It was a nightmare.. all one big nightmare.

"Yeah.  What happened?"  Dave asked, looking at the broken glass on the floor.

"Someone attacked me."

"How is that possible?  We have a high end security system set up here.  No one can go undetected.. unless they got the code from someone."  Jared said.  A rage built up inside of me.

"Where is Gavin!?"  Alex, Dave and Jared looked at me in confusion.  At that very moment the front door flew open and Gavin came walking in.  I struggled to pull myself up, the damage from my own power was a lot worse than I knew.  My body ached all over, the blood on my face had dried.  I limped over towards Gavin who stood in the doorway looking at me wide eyed and in disbelief.

"What happened to you?"  Gavin asked.  I came nose to nose with him, my eyes burning into his.

"Why don't you tell me?"  I hissed.

"That's kind of hard, considering I just got here."

"Who knows how to get by our security here, Gavin?"

"No one, other than the people in this building."  Gavin stepped around me and strolled casually toward his room.

"Is that right?  No other vampire knows how to get by it huh?  Tell me something, who is the boy with the purple eyes?"  Gavin froze.  He turned his head to look at me, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"W-What did you just say?"

"The boy with the purple eyes.  The one who did this to me."  I motioned to my injuries, "Who is he?"  Gavin seemed to be in deep thought.

"Where did this happen?"  He finally asked.  I motioned to the broken window.  He quickly ran over to the window and stuck his head out of it.  He seemed to be looking for something.  I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder.  He turned to look at me, his eyes glowing brightly.  "I have to find him."  He said sadly.

"Who is it, Gavin?"  I asked once again.

"I'll let you know."  Gavin suddenly jumped out the window and into the darkness.  I started to follow him, but a hand held me back.

"Easy there tiger.  If you didn't notice, you're more than a little banged up there.  You need to be fixed up."  Jared said.

"With what?  Do we have a first aid kit lying around?"

Jared chuckled, "You're looking at it.  Lie down on the couch and let me work my magic."  He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.  I smirked and did as I was told.  He put his hands over my face, waving them around an inch or so from my skin.  "Relax.  This will sting a bit."  A moment later I felt a shot of warmth shoot through my entire body, then what felt like my face tightening.  I did all I could to hold in a groan from the awkwardness of the whole thing.  A bright light emitted from Jared's hands and engulfed my wounds.  He closed his hands over my face completely, and held them there for a few moments.  The light slowly dimmed until it was completely gone.  Jared removed his hands and stood from his kneeling position.  "All better."

I stood from the couch and brought my hands to my face.  Not a cut or blemish could be felt.  I walked over to a mirror and checked it out again.  The blood was gone, the cuts were gone.. everything.  I turned and looked at Jared, "How did you do that?"

"I'm a healer.  That's my gift.  It's great being able to heal people, but it drains me a little bit each time a I do it."

"Thanks, bro."  I sat back down on the couch while Jared took a seat opposite me.  I eyed Dave and Alex who were talking in a far corner of the room.  "So, what's his deal?"  I asked.

"Who?  Alex?"  I nodded.  "I'm the one who changed him.  I didn't know what else to do.  I mean, I'm only 17 like you, and I panicked when..."  I put a hand up.

"Slow down, dude."

"Sorry.  Last year I went down to an amusement park.  It was raining and really windy out.  There were lots of kids laughing and fooling around.  I love to be around happy people.. that's why I went that night.  I got in line for the ferris wheel.  I saw Alex get on with his parents.  Don't get me wrong, I don't consider myself gay, but I was struck by his beauty when I first saw him, which caused me to watch his every move.  The ferris wheel cars weren't totally enclosed, the sides were just two small metal railings interlocked.  The ride started moving, and everything seemed fine.. but then something went wrong.  The wind picked up and the cars started swaying heavily back and forth.  The operator stopped the ride and announced that due to the strong winds, they were going to start letting everyone off.  One by one, each car started to empty.. and then Alex's car stopped at the top.  Since my senses are way more advanced than humans, I heard the snap first.  One of the cables holding their car up snapped.  The operator didn't hear or see it, so I tried to warn him.  He just brushed me off as some paranoid kid.  Then.. the second one snapped.  This time everyone saw it and started screaming.  Of course widespread panic set in, but I knew it was too late for a rescue attempt.  I could hear the thoughts running through Alex's mind.  He was scared, petrified even.  The tears of fear poured from his eyes, but then another set of thoughts came through.  His mother and his father both had the same thought.. we are going to die and we have to get Alex out of here.  I watched the swaying car rock back and forth as the final cable began to unravel.  Just as it snapped, I saw something fly out the opposite side of the car and into a near by tree.  The car started to plummet fast, and before anyone could blink, it crashed to the ground."  He paused and tried to compose his thoughts.  "The wreckage was unrecognizable.  You would never know what that twisted pile of metal used to be if you didn't see it before hand.  Paramedics, fireman and police officers tried to aid Alex's parents, but we all knew it was no use.  The thing is.. no one knew Alex got out. I pushed through the crowd and toward the tree.  Alex sat on a branch, holding on as tight as possible.  His tears fell from above like raindrops.  I climbed the tree quickly and cautiously approached him.  I'll never forget that moment when he turned to look at me."  Jared took my hand and placed it over his chest.  "See for yourself."

Soon I was watching the night he just described.  I saw the accident, then him sitting near Alex in the tree.

"They're gone.."  Alex whispered through his sadness.

"I'm sorry."  Jared responded.  He moved closer to Alex, slowly and cautiously.  Alex turned his head to really look at Jared.

"I-if I fall, will you catch me?"  With that, Alex slid off the branch, free falling down towards the ground.  Jared recovered quickly from the shock of the situation, and dove towards the ground himself.  Jared got an arm around Alex, then twisted enough so he took the impact as they hit the ground.  Alex sat up on top of Jared's prone body.  He ran his hand over a slight trickle of blood that dripped from Jared's mouth.  "Y-you caught me...how..."  Jared was injured, and had trouble giving any sign that he was even alive.  "Wake up.. please wake up.."  Alex shook Jared, but no movement came from his hero.  The wind blew harshly, causing a large tree limb to snap.  The limb fell towards Alex and Jared at a fast pace, and just as it was about to smash the two, the limb just stopped.  It hovered in mid air above them, then flew the opposite way into a clearing.  Another figure stepped out of the shadows.. Gavin.  Alex looked at him wearily, but Gavin just gave him a small smile.  He offered his hand to Alex, then gently lifted Jared up.  He carried Jared away, leading Alex by the hand.  The images were cut short by a deafening scream.  Jared and I both jumped up from the couch and ran towards the source.  We burst into Chloe's room and saw nothing, but her standing on a chair.

"Don't just stand there!  Kill it!"  She screamed.  She pointed at the ground where a small spider crawled around menacingly.  I burst out laughing and Jared soon followed.

"Chloe.. you do know you're a vampire right?"  I snickered.

"What does that have to do with anything?!?  It's all creepy and ewwwwww.. kill it!"  Jared walked over to the tiny bug, then picked it up in his hand.  He seemed to study the creature and then calmly walked out of the room and set the bug outside the front door.  He walked back in with a grin on his face.

"Spiders are amazing creatures once you really take the time to look at them.  Most of them just millimeters in size yet they can climb to enormous heights, hunt prey much larger than them, and most of all they have the will to survive.  How many spiders do you see that go down without a fight?  You can hit them, spray them, or whatever, yet somehow they still manage to use their environment to survive as long as they can."

"Like us."  Alex stood in the doorway.  Jared shot him a proud look, and nodded.  "No matter what, we do what we have to do to survive. The sad thing is most of us take the fact that we are special for granted.  Humans don't have the same opportunities we have.  A gun shot to them means death in most cases.  A gunshot to us can mean death, but with our abilities we somehow manage to survive 90 percent of the time.  It's all surreal when you finally take it all in."

I looked from Alex to Jared, "You guys are deep."

"Don't let them fool you.  This is one of the few times when a meaningful thought forms in their minds."  Chloe teased with a sly grin.  Jared feigned mock hurt while Alex grinned deviously.

"Help me!  Help me!  The itsy bitsy spider is going to eat me!  Kill it!"  Alex used his powers to mimic Chloe's voice to a tee.  She glared at him, while he threw his hands up in surrender and started backing out of the room.  I shook my head and started to follow Alex out.  I rounded the doorway when someone popped out of nowhere.  I jumped, and let out a yelp, startled by the action.  Dave looked at me sheepishly.

"Sorry, Masta Joey.  It was supposed to be Chloe coming out the door."

"Well, young grasshoppa, next time, I'll have to light you up like a Christmas tree."  I tried to keep a serious look on my face, but the color draining out of Dave's face caused me to give in to the laughter trying to fight it's way out.

"You asshole.  You'd have to actually be able to catch me first."

I raised my eyebrows, "Is that a challenge?  You really think after a few hours that you have your power under control enough to fool me?"

"Of course."  His grin gave a hint of cockiness.  I nodded, and made a blue spark emit from my eyes.  I reached for Dave, but sure enough, he shimmered before me, and vanished into thin air.  I focused  all my energy on blocking out the world around me.  My mind cleared completely as I let myself be part of the environment, hoping to sense Dave's presence.  A sound to my right caused me to turn to the right, but I kept my eyes closed not losing my focus.  I figured that he would go to the opposite direction that I turned, so I ducked down and did a back sweep.  My leg connected and I heard a thump as someone hit the ground.  I opened my eyes to see a blonde boy on the ground, but it wasn't Dave.  Alex rubbed a hand over his ass from the sting of hitting the floor.

"Damn, I'd hate to be your boyfriend.  Approaching you from behind is painful."  I swatted at him as he giggled.  I stood up and scanned the room, but came up empty.  Dave was nowhere to be seen.  After half an hour, I started to get a little worried.  I called out his name, walking through all the rooms in the house.  I came back out into the main hall when the phone rang.  I walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Uh, did someone order a pizza?"

"No..."

"Well, hmmm  I seem to have an order here for a Joey Marling.  It's from Trio's Pizzeria in East fucking bum fuck!  I don't know where the hell I am son!"  Dave yelled into the phone.  I couldn't help but laugh at the predicament.

"Dave, calm down.  Use your training.  Focus all your energy into coming back here.  Listen to my voice and relax.  Clear your mind."  He grumbled before falling silent.  After a few minutes he grunted in frustration.

"Still here!  I think some old lady is eyeing my ass."

"Hahah, dude, come on.  Focus."

"You try focusing when some old bag looks like she's going to eat you..."  Alex came over to me and motioned for me to give him the phone.  I handed it to him, then stepped aside.

"Dave, Alex is here laying on the couch.. naked.  You should see it.. what a sight.  His legs wide open, his young coc..."  Alex mimicked my voice.  Before I could blink, Dave appeared in mid air literally falling onto the couch.  He looked around for Alex and saw him on the phone.  Jared and Chloe had joined in to watch the show and we all burst into a fit of giggles.

"You all shit me."  Dave muttered.  Alex approached the couch, slowly lifting his shirt up as he walked.  Dave froze, his eyes glued to the boy in front of him.  Alex let the shirt drop to the floor and swayed his hips as he went for the belt buckle.  He walked right up to Dave and whispered in his ear.

"You have to work a little harder to get me out of my pants."  A wide grin broke out across Alex's face as he slowly backed away, leaving Dave with his jaw dropped.  I walked over to a chair and sat down.  Dave stayed in the seat he was in, still in shock from Alex's tease.  Jared and Chloe sat next to each other on the love seat, then Alex came sauntering back into the room, still shirtless.  He walked over to Dave then fell back onto the cushion next to him.  Dave's arm was outstretched where Alex was now sitting, so Alex just leaned back into it.  If they were any closer they would have been on top of each other.  Alex looked up briefly at Dave and grinned, then looked away, a slight blush showing on his flawless face.  I smiled at the two of them then turned my attention to Jared.  He kept a watchful eye on Alex, most likely just fulfilling his protector role.  Chloe kept stealing glances at me, but I just shrugged them off.  She's beautiful, but my heart is so conflicted right now, I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

"So, how about we get to know each other a little better?"  Chloe spoke up.

"What do you have in mind?"  I asked.

"Well, let's talk about our extras and why we think we have them."

"You want my powers don't you devil woman?"  Jared grinned.  Chloe smacked him upside the head.

"Since you're so eager to run your mouth, you can start."

"Okay, okay.  You really need to take your anti PMS medicine more often."  Jared ducked another swat from Chloe. "Well, I'm Jared, the brown haired, blue eyed, sexy tanned, model specimen of a heartthrob as you all can see."  We all laughed at his feigned cockiness. "I'm a healer, so obviously I can heal vampires, humans and animals alike.  Ever since I was little I had always wanted to be a doctor.  My mom got me a doctor kit when I was five, and I used to always pretend I was curing everything."  He paused slightly, "When my little brother got diagnosed with leukemia, I studied everything I could get my hands on so I could find a cure.  No matter what I did, nothing ever helped.  Then one day, about two weeks before h-he died.. he suddenly got better.  The doctors couldn't explain it, and one nurse came over to me and said it was me who made him better.  That my love for him was healing him.  My love wasn't enough to keep him alive though.  After he died, part of me died with him.  From that moment on, I was determined to be a doctor and find a cure to cancer.  As you can tell, it didn't exactly turn out that way.  I wish everyday that I had these powers before he died, because I don't care if the government would have hunted me down, I would have sacrificed myself to save him."  Jared's eyes glowed brightly as tears poured over his eye lids.  Chloe tried to comfort him, but he shrugged her arm away.  "Your turn, Chloe."

Chloe gave Jared a sad look, then started in on her own theory.  "I'm a defender.  My extra is purely defense, but it doesn't make it any less useful than any other.  My plasma shields are nearly indestructible"  She stressed the word nearly while she looked at me, "I believe I was given the shields as my gift because of my home life.  My father was an abusive son of a bitch who used me and my mother for human punching bags.  I couldn't defend myself back then.  One night I had enough and went to the police.  They laughed in my face, saying I was making up stories.  Some crazy bitch is what they called me.  Then it happened.  He came home drunk and my mother was his prime target.  Once he started hitting her, he didn't stop.  My father killed my mother in cold blood and I saw the entire thing.  I ran from my house that night and never looked back.  I ran into Gavin not too long after that, and the rest is history."  She looked at Alex, who seemed to sink further into Dave's arms under her gaze.

"Alex, you don't have to talk about it.  We all already know about your past.. I told Joey earlier and you said you told Dave as well."

"I know, Jared.  So, I'll just talk about my extra.  I'm not sure what you would call it really.  I can impersonate anyone's voice, or anything's sound.  I guess it might be because I always joke around, and when I was younger I would try to impersonate people from TV.  I don't know how else to explain why that's my particular gift.  Not really that cool once I look at you guys and your powers."

"Alex, your power can be just as valuable as anyone else's.  Not to mention that you are still developing and there's no telling what else you could obtain."  Jared tried to encourage him.  Suddenly I got a sharp pain in my temple.  I winced, then another shot of pain went through me.

"Ugh.."  I grabbed my head, trying to block out the pain.  Dave got up quickly and came to my side.  Another shot of pain hit, but this time a vision came with it.  Numbers.  10.  Another pain jolted through my neck this time.  02.  Tonight.  Then one more shot simmered through my entire body, causing me to fall off the chair and onto the ground.  I could feel myself having some sort of seizure as the visions poured into my head.

'A street sign, barely hanging onto it's last screw thread, read West Street.  A masked man  stood in an alley way lit only by a rusted old barrel which had been set a flame.  Another masked man stood a few feet to the right of the first one.  A brief flash and another one was revealed to me, perched up on a broken down fire escape.  Then the one near the barrel raised his hand up in the hair and brought it down harshly, striking someone I hadn't seen before.  The masked man pulled the other person up roughly by the hair and brought him into the light.  The boy came into view, bloodied and beaten.  Eric Stevens.'  I tried to pull myself from the seemingly epileptic state I was in, when another vision hit.  'Another person entered the alley, walking cautiously, as if he was expecting trouble.  The blonde hair draped over his neck, a hidden fear within, the boy moved on until the masked man on the fire escape jumped him.'  I was ripped from the vision with a start.

My eyes opened to see a glow disappearing into Jared's hands.  I shot up off the ground and headed for the door.  "Joey where do you think you're going?"  Chloe asked.

"To make the right decision."  I left without another word, running full speed ahead.  Within 10 minutes I reached West Street.  I jumped off a near by dumpster and up onto a window sill of a nearby building.  I climbed up to the roof, then silently made my way to the edge.  I looked down into the dark alley to see what I had seen in my visions.  The masked men were there, one holding Eric hostage, and another getting pounded on by the boy I saw take out the first masked man in the visions.  I peered closer and recognized the blonde boy.. Blade.  My breathe caught in my throat, the shock of seeing him again hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.  Two other guys I didn't recognize fought further down the alley. They both hit each other head on, and seemingly eliminated each other from the equation.  While my attention was focused on the two nameless boys, I didn't see the final masked man leave Eric's side and attack Blade.

"Looks like this is it, Blade.  I may have fibbed a little about our deal."  I listened intently to the man's words.  He kicked Blade hard in the ribs, sending him onto his back.  The man walked over to Eric and picked him up.   I itched to stop what was happening, but I couldn't reveal myself.  I stood still, watching as my best friend and his little brother fought for their lives.  Blade tried to pull himself up, but he just grasped his ribs and fell back to the ground..  "Should I kill him first?  Or you?"  The masked man taunted.  He dragged Eric closer to Blade.  His foot swung back and came down, and kicked Blade in the side of the head.  His head smacked the concrete so hard I could hear the impact from the rooftop.  The masked man grabbed Blade by the hair, pulling his face close to his.  He let go of Eric for a moment, then reached up and pulled the mask off his head.  My blood boiled as I saw someone that was not only at one time a teammate, but also a friend.  Scott Lachence.  We played hockey together during my brief time in Anaheim.  My how times have changed.  I saw tears fall from Blade's eyes.  I probed his mind and saw something I never wanted to see from him.  Quit.  He had nothing left.  "What's the matter?  You are going to cry now?  Why?  Did you cry when you took my life away?  Did you cry for me when I lost all of my friends because of you?  Guess what, Blade.  It's too fucking late!!"  Scott  pulled out a gleaming object.. a silver pistol.  He held it up in the air admiring it.  "Nice, huh?  So.. your choice.. big bro or little bro first."  He let go of Blade's hair then grabbed Eric again.  He held Eric up, tears flowing down his cheeks.  Scott leaned over and licked from the bottom of Eric's face to his temple.  "I love the taste of fear.  Maybe I'll have a little fun with Eric here before I off him.  I mean, you had your shot with him, I might as well give him one last wild ride."  Scott grinned, "Make your choice, Blade."  I entered Blade's mind once again, and this time I saw the Blade I knew and loved.  The hero he was meant to be.

"C-Come.. get me..."  Blade stammered.  Scott smiled widely and dropped Eric to the ground.  He stalked towards Blade who took a swing at him, but was already beaten.  He avoided Blade's  fist easily, then reeled back and whacked him in the face with the butt of the pistol, causing blood to fly from his mouth.  Blade fell to the ground in a heap.  The smell of my friend's blood perked up my senses.  I stealthily descended down the fire escape and stopped near the bottom.  Scott picked up Blade and held the gun to his temple.

"For once in your life, you lose.  Scott wins.  You took my life and now I'm taking it back."  Scott said.  The way his voice was devoid of all emotion, let me know that this wasn't going to end well.  I can't reveal myself.. that's all that kept playing over and over in my head.  Then Jared's words pushed into my mind.

"I wish everyday that I had these powers before my brother died, because I don't care if the government would have  hunted me down, I would have sacrificed myself to save him."  I knew right then what had to be done.

Blade struggled a bit, then Scott cocked the gun.  "Shhh.. don't struggle.  This won't hurt a bit.."  I leapt from my perch on the fire escape.  Scott didn't see me coming until the last second, but by then I had him in my grasp.  Scott never was a spring chicken, he was strong, and wasn't going to just lie there and take a beating.  He aimed the gun at my head, but I quickly grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the ground.  He pulled the trigger twice, sending the sound of gunshots blaring through the alley.  My fangs slowly ascended from my canines, causing Scott to scream.  "AHHHHHHH!"  He fought his hardest until his eyes met mine.  A look of recognition passed between Scott and I.  "Joey.." I retracted my fangs quickly realizing that my cover was blown.  My eyes glowed bright blue, and I sent a small amount of electricity through his body. His body shook slightly as the electricity shut down his system.  I only put enough into him to render him unconscious for a good amount of time.  I couldn't bring myself to kill him, no matter how nuts he was.

I turned around and saw Blade lying on the ground, struggling to get up.  I walked over to him cautiously, not a sound to be heard in the night, except for the wheeze coming from deep within him, trying to take in the air that had been driven out of his body.  I put my arms around his waist and gently pulled him up from the ground.  I held my arms around him for a few moments, the tears pouring from my eyes.  Holding Blade close again made me incredibly happy, yet incredibly sad.  For this is the last time that I will ever hold my love in my arms again.  I wanted to kiss him so badly, but that would have given away who I was too easily.  Blade tried to shake the disorientation from his eyes, so I quickly let go of him and turned away.  I heard his footsteps as he stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulder.  That spark that passes between two truly connected people passed through me and him one more time.  I sighed then spoke.

"When darkness falls, I'll be here."  I reached behind myself, then took my arm and placed it over Blade's heart.  "Your eyes, stare at me in the dark.  And I hope, those eyes don't steal my freedom.  Goodbye is never forever. "  I recited the words from a song that meant something special to us when we were just getting together.  Something I know, he nor I will ever forget.  It's the best I could do without revealing myself to him.

Sirens could be heard off in the distance, so I took that as my sign that it was time to go.  I moved away from Blade's touch, and knew he would follow.  I heard a small commotion, and glanced back to see that he stumbled over something, but was still trying to get to me.  I moved quickly towards the building beside me and used my power to walk through the wall.  I watched as Blade looked into the darkness in despair.  I wish I could let him know it's me.

I looked on from a safe distance as Blade cradled his brother in his arms.  The bond between them is something that can be battered, but not broken.  Blade spoke in a whisper out into the darkness, "Thank you.  Goodbye."  Whether or not he had any idea that it was me, I don't know.  But I hope in some way this brings us both the closure we so desperately need.  I watched as a car pulled up at the end of the alley and two large men in suits got out.  They stormed right past Blade and Eric, who looked on in wonder.  The two men stalked around the alley looking for something.  One pulled out some kind of small electronic device with a screen on it.  My brow raised in confusion.

"We've got one movement on the screen from 15 feet ahead.  Let's move."  It suddenly dawned on me that they weren't the cops.. it was the cleanup crew.  Except this time, they weren't there to dispose of a body, they were there to take down a menace to their system... me.  I turned and ran down the alley as the two men came my way.  They were no match for my speed, so I wasn't really worried about being caught.  I turned a corner and came into another alley.  I ran blindly, my head looking back to make sure no one was on my tail when I ran right into something.  I fell backwards and landed on my ass.  I looked up into two burning purple eyes.  I moved backwards as fast as I could, but I couldn't regain my footing.  The boy with the purple eyes stepped closer then stopped right in front of me.

"We have to move.  There's 2 cars waiting at the end of the opposite alley." He said in a raspy voice.  His eyes glowed brightly.  Someone else stepped out from behind him, the light revealing his slender form.  Gavin extended his hand to me and I grasped it firmly.  He pulled me to my feet then looked me in the eye.  I returned his gaze wearily.

"Joey...."  I thought back to my dream and a fear swept over me.  Gavin looked at the other boy then back at me, but there were no evil smiles on their faces like my dream.  "We have to run."  I nodded slowly as Gavin turned and took off fast, followed closely by the purple eyed boy.  I took off and hung closely to them.  Soon enough we were back at our home.  Gavin barged through the door, startling Jared, Alex, Dave and Chloe.  They all shot up out of their seats and stared at the three of us.  "Jared, Alex and Chloe gather your things that mean a lot to you.  Dave, come with me."

Dave came walking over cautiously, his trust in Gavin minimal at best.  "What do you want?"

"You are the key to our plan.  Do you have your teleportation under control enough to get us out of here?"

"I don't know..."  Gavin looked at the purple eyed boy.

"Help him."  The boy nodded and motioned for Dave to come over.  Dave did, and the boy spoke in a low tone to him.

"Take my hand and feel your power.  Be your power with everything that you are and hold on to it."  Dave did as he was asked and took the boy's hand.  A bright light emerged around them.  A breeze swept through the building, as the the boy with purple eyes lit up, rays of purple light emitting brightly from his eyes and all around him.  Dave lit up as well, a magenta colored light emitting from around him.  Jared came out of his room, followed soon after by Alex and Chloe.

Jared looked at the site in front of him then to Gavin, "What's going on?"

A determined look shone in his dark eyes.  He took hold of Dave's hand and motioned for me to take hold of the purple eyed boy's free hand.  I did as I was asked.  Gavin lit up in a bright white light, while a bright blue light shot from my body.  Gavin held his hand out to Jared who grasped it, lighting up green, then Chloe who emitted a pink light, followed by Alex who lit up in a bright orange as he grabbed my hand tightly.  Gavin gave a final answer to Jared as we were all engulfed in a ball of energy.  "We are surviving the game."  The energy swallowed us whole, and a millisecond later we disappeared into the unknown....