Evening Read

(A tiny bit of power play... Sorry Dx I tried not to..)

Loren watched in his preipheal vision as Jenna was draged away by the raging Cole, and he smirked that evil, sly smirk of his. His plan was unfolding perfectly so far. Now all they needed was for Matt to run and tell the others, then, with the help of the Briggs cove, destroy them all. Loren chuckled to himself at how perfectly everything was going, and in responce he could practically feel the waves of hate radiating off of Matt as his love was dragged from sight. Now for the fun part. He could still feel the presence of Skylar and Meg behind him, doing nothing as they have continued to do this entire time. "You two," he said, his eyes focused on Matt's. He spoke to them over his shoulder without turning his head. "Get out of here. Cole has her, and that's all that matters. I'll deal with him soon," he added, referring to a frozen Matt who had a snarl still frozen in place on his face. Once he was sure the others were gone by the sound of their footsteps, Loren made his move. Staring with an equal amount of hate right back at Matt, he advanced. Striding up to the vampire so he could get his moint across. "You tell Brad and his precious little Grace that we have Jenna, and we're not afraid to kill her. In fact, there's a deadline. You have one day to act, or she dies. Now you wouldn't want that to happen to your girlfriend, would you? I certainly don't want to come across as rude. You three show up in a day, and we just might spare her life. What I want in return for Jenna's safety is Brad. Give him to me without a struggle, and she will go free; no strings attached. Got it?" He grinned his evil grin and drew his fist back and unleashed all of his power into one blow, delivering it straight to the vampire's face, resulting in his opponent being thrown across the room and making another huge hole in the wall. This time the impact shook the ground too, and nearby bookshelves plummetted to the earth. With the grin still on his face, Loren backed up and fled faster than he had ever run. But it didn't matter; they still had Jenna. Besides, Loren could kill Matt right now if he truly wanted to. But then his message wouldn't get back to the other two. Matt had to stay alive to play his part in all of this.

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Out of Matt's preipheal vision, he watched in horror as Jenna was dragged away from him, but not without one last glance from Jenna. I love you, was what she mouthed, and Matt only wished he was able to return the gesture. He loved her, and this was killing him. Seeing the terror on her face as she couldn't break away from the hold that bound her as she was being dragged away was torture for him. All he wanted was her safety. Though he didn't have long to gaze at her until his line of site from her was broken as the first vampire exited the building. He had a feeling he wouldn't see her again for a while. Despair welled up i nside of him at the thought of her never returning, and in turn rage followed suit. He would not let them kill her. She was going to live if it meant the cost of his own life. He'd gladly give his own rather than her die. Loren spoke, and once again his attention was returned to the human drinker before him. Hate shot through his golden eyes at the evil being before him. Never had he gone this far before. They'd scuffled, but this was an all-out war now. As the other two vampires who hadn't done anything left, Matt's full attention was on Loren. Matt's golden eyes were liquid fire as he stared into the face of his enemy. This was the man that had stolen Grace and seduced her into leaving Brad. This was the man that had caused so much pain and destruction in countless people's lives. This was the man who held all of Matt's hate, and he channeled that into his eyes as Loren drew closer. At this range, Matt could clearly scent the human blood wafting from him. It made MAtt want to puke. Loren disgusted him. As Loren spoke, stting the terms, Matt listened intently. If there was any way to get Jenna back, he'd go to the ends of the earch for it. What could Loren possibly want so bad that he'd go this far for? "Brad comes witout a struggle, and in reture Jenna will be freed; no strings attached." That was the key line right there. Despair once again filled Matt's being. How could he choose between his best friend and his love. His heart was torn in two, and he didn't know what to do. He had to tell the others. But before another thought crossed his mind, Loren drew back his fist. And before he could even process what was going to happen, he was punched and thrown across the room in a pile of hardwall and books scattering around him. Quickly regaining himself, he seemed to do more damage to the property than to anything else, Matt scrambeled onto his feet and stumbled for the door; Loren already being long gone by now. There was no use in chasing after him; he had to go straight to Grace and Brad. With his eyes narrowed and a look of despair mixed with hate in them, he took off as fast as he could for the woods. They had to act fast. Jenna's scent, even now, was already fading from this place.

Skylar watched Loren and Matt before his eyes. It was like a blurry T.V. screen. He couldn't yell at the characters to do what he wanted and he couldn't control where the T.V. camera went. The T.V. camera being him. Loren hissed something that Skylar could barely make out but he caught a few words. "Get out." It became clear that Loren had a sly plan to do something, state his offers to Jenna's boyfriend. Skylar glanced at the eyes of the other vampire, hoping that he could see Skylar wasn't entirely in on this whole thing. It bothered him to start a wildfire with the Klein coven but he couldn't control it. Once he had agreed with Loren's plan, there was no way to stop it. A wildfire was all this was. All it needed was the sizzle into ashes. Course, it was only starting. Skylar quickly took Meg's hand again and tore down the stairs. He didn't want to be in the line of fire. He espeically didn't want Meg to be caught in the middle of it. As he came through the door of Jenna's hideout, he noted that the store was empty. Probley just the look of Cole dragged Jenna away scared away most of the customers. He led Meg outside into the chilly night air but instead of heading towards his car, he took her to the alley way beside Borders.

"I bet we can stay here for right now, "Skylar's half-smile appeared on his face. "I have a feeling we both need some peace and quiet. Even if it's only for a few minutes." He leaned up against the brick wall and sighed, closing his eyes to check the wereabouts of the other vampires. Loren was somewhat nearby but not within hearing distance even for a vampire and Jenna's boyfriend was long gone.

Megan could only watch as the scene unfolded before her, like those popular horror movies that always surprise you at the end, except this was not surpising, because she was part of it, had actually lended a small quiet hand in planning it. Loren smirked, a small cruel chuckle escaping his mouth that made Megan's pale fists clench. She would have believed he had forgotten her and Skylar were still present, now unwilling witnesses to this scheme. The new vampire hissed words towards the pair of them, and Megan indeed wanted to oblige and leave as soon as the words were spoken. She glanced at the surroundings once more, Jenna's boyfriend frozen in his spot, his eyes a burning rage that made this whole thing seem not worthy of the trouble. Glanicng at Loren again, his handsome features no longer had their appeal because she was seeing the cold fury showing in them. Megan realized this was all for his benefit, that his hatred towards the Klein coven was more than she herself could ever feel. Mere irritation were her feelings, but this was much more. Surely Cole didn't feel that much either? The look on his face as he had dragged Jenna out was ice, a hatred that scared her senseless. He was practically her brother, but now she didn't feel so comfortable, like she was slowly noticing a different side of him, which was as thruthful as they were vampires.
Skylar grabbed her hand, and Megan felt relief wash through her, as irrational as it was. He couldn't fix this, nobody could. They had screwed this up, and it was too late to turn back now, no matter how much she wanted to. He pulled her efortlessly away, and as soon as she realized what they were doing, she ran with more speed than him. Approaching a dark alley, she leaned against the grungy wall, but then just sunk to the floor into a pathetic sitting postition. She couldn't pretend any longer, no matter how much of a coward it proved she was. Looking back up at Skylar as he spoke, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "That sounds nice," Megan said quietly, not wanting or caring enough to look to the future to see what was going to happen next. "I'm not sure about this..." She trailed off, finally vocing her doubts.

"Neither am I," Skylar spoke after a few breaths of uneeded air. He walked over across from Meg and leaned up against a dumpster, watching her face. She definatly was emotionally tired as Grace was when they saw her last. He held out his hands and she took them thankfully as he swiftly helped her into a standing position. Next he pulled her closer and embraced Meg into a long-needed hug. Sklyar sighed with the ease inside his mind, lulling him into a small imaginary sleep. It was awoken when he sensed that they should be moving on. Should be going to calm Cole down and make sure that Loren didn't touch a hair on Jenna's head until she was safetly returned for whatever price it took. He took Meghan's hand and feeled some resistance in the two of them. They didn't want to go back. "We've got to face them sometime." he said quietly.

The dark alleyway was suddenly swimming with moonlight, shining down on the two figures. It was seeming more and more mystic as they stayed there. The after affects of the fight were permenatly imprinted on it, even if the residents forgot over time. Skylar turned around to face Meg again. His golden speckled eyes glanced at her face, practically porcelin and he realized how lucky he was to have her be on his side of this argument. His hands slowly let her hand go and he cupped her face in his hands. Sklyar angled his head down, being about six inches taller than her, and touched their two lips, a small but meaningful kiss. Like this would be the last time that this moment would happen and no action would disturb it for the time being.

Megan's eyes followed Skylar's movements as he walked closer towards her. She took his hands gratefully, needing any emotional support she could get at that moment. For a brief moment she expected for him to let go of her hands immediately, like what would usually happen, but he pulled her into a hug. She clung to him, letting herself inhale his scent that she had grown so used to. Burrying herself slightly into his chest, she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the place where his heart lay still. She felt content at the current postion but unsettled at the plan they were still going through with. Too soon, she felt Skylar shift slightly, and she opened her eyes to meet his. He took her hand, and a small part of her wanted to pull away like a stubborn child refusing to go where she was neede to go, and it showed in her face. "We've got to face them sometime." he said quietly, and she nodded unhappily.
Megan glanced over to the bookstore, peering inside the window. Looking at the destroyed funriture on the inside, pure guilt began to fill her. She looked at Skylar again, just as his face turned to her, like he had sensed it. As his hand let go of hers she wanted to protest, but then it was against her cheek, and she almost pulled away in shock at what he was doing, the huge spark of emotion that had just coarsed through her. It seemed unreal when he reached down, when his perfect lips touched hers. Another jolt of feeling came, and she closed her eyes and kissed him back slowly. She would have gladly continued, but he pulled away, reminding her that they had a purpose here. She stared deeply into his eyes, and saw raw love in his, making her realize how she was feeling love. True love, not like when she had been fed lies over a century ago. Strange, this crisis was bringing this out now, but there was a slightly desperate edge to it all, because the odds were not with them. The corners of her mouth curved upwards slightly, because even in the darkness she was finding light. The moon shone brightly above them, echoind her feelings.
Suddenly, a scene flashed before her. No longer with Skylar, but a silent witness to what was happening in this new place, she could only watch as she recognized the face of Cole, and then Jenna. They were in a house she had never seen before, but almost immediately she knew it was Loren's local residence. It was where Cole took her. Her stomach rose into her throat like she was falling, but she didn't notice. Eyes narrowing, she almost gasped at how daring poor Jenna was being. Then, she really did gasp at Cole's next statement. "Oh, speaking of my coven, I don't really think I'll be staying with them. They showed a complete weakness at the bookstore. I almost felt myself become embarassed. I should have known they couldn't have pulled off a job like this. You need a certain amount of darkness to kill someone." The words rang out clearer than anything else in this scene, and they pierced Megan's heart, popping her happy bubble, as the blackness took her back into reality.
Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find that she was in a dip, Skylar holding her up. Her eyes flickered, she knew what had happened. A vision, clear as day, meaning it would happen, no doubts. "Skylar... Cole, he..." She couldn't finish. A sob rose into her throat, and she let it break free. Practically her own brother did this, but he wasn't acting like himself anymore. The pain was like a knife stabbing into her back, or her heart, but then slow realization came with more sobs. Gaining control for a brief moment, she was able to convey what she had seen. "H-He's not in our coven... anymore. Called us weak." She sniffed, trembling as the sobs slowed slightly, her golden eyes gazing sadly into Skylar's.
(teeny bit of power play)

One moment passed as Skylar held Meg in his arms to when she was falling. His reflexes, being one of vampire, caught her as she started to tumble to the cement, his golden speckled eyes wide. Meg's eyes closed as she lay limp in his arms and he could feel she was having a vision. This didn't seem like the normal look into the future; she was much more focased on this one. As her back stiffened, he allowed her to stand a little bit on her own, leaning against his arms for support. Her eyes were swimming with sadness as she leaned against his chest and wept. Skylar had never seen Meghan like this before besides when he first met her. He wrapped his arms around her back as she trembled in them and he rubbed her back a little for assurance to whatever it was that she saw. She was suddenly facing him, a sob about to come onto her pretty face. "Skylar... Cole, he..." her sob echoed into the suddenly eerie night sky. He glanced at her eyes momentarily, not wanting to stare at this side of Meghan. It made him turn away inside. It couldn't be this bad. Just couldn't.

"H-He's not in our coven... anymore." Meg's voice was something he once-in-a-life-time wanted to block out. "Called us weak." Instead of the reaction Meg was probley expecting-- a broken down form of Skylar or who was for once silent-- she got the complete oppsite. His eyes burst into two golden flames, licking at its depths. He let Meg sit down on a cardboard box filled full with something as he stomped the ground.

"That fool," Skylar started to pace and grumble under his breath. "Cole will regret this. For the rest of his life." Skylar knew he wasn't helping Meghan at all, running around and acting like an idiot who knew too many curses but it was all he could do to stop himself from strangling Cole by the neck the next time he saw him. Why couldn't he be the one with the visions? This must be hurting Meg more than he could ever know.

Megan sat down on some weak cardboard box, the top sagging slightly from her weight. Crosssing her arms around her chest, she struggled to quit trembling as she watched Skylar. He was angry, and she was too of course, but the grief was sronger, dominant. Curling up into herself as much as possible, she blinked her eyes slowly, as if trying to hold back tears that wouldn't come. Aching sobs without tears were just as as effective as a scream without noise. For once she wished she had the ability to truly cry, because this wasn't hellping, just shaking. Knowing why Cole's words struck souch pain with her just made it worse. Another betrayal of someone she loved, but she would never know why. The insecurities she had felt over a century ago came back, as fresh in her mind as if had been yesterday. Questions swarmed through her mind, making her doubt if she was good enough for anyone to love her, whether for family or otherwise. Not Peter, or Cole apparently.
Skylar's angry words floated into her hearing, and she struggled to focuss on them thorugh her own thoughts, but they did bring him into her mind. Struggling to trust anyone since her creator had hurt her, she had learned over time to trust him and Cole. Now that Cole was gone too, Megan couldn't help but have doubts. Her eyes flickered from Skylar to the floor, and she remembered his lips just moments ago, soft on hers, and silently cursed heself. Of course, she could trust him, she had practically given him her still heart just now. Standing up slowly, her legs shook only faintly, arms wrapped around her chest as if to hold herself together, she walked towards him.
Letting her arms fall to her sides, she held her breath and then sighed in relief when shards of her body didn't fall, which it very well felt like might happen. Megan stood next to Skylar, taking one of his hands with her own, clinging to it by her fingertips. "What are we going to do?" She asked in a broken voice, not having enough energy to try to sound a little happier. "I'm not going to go through with their plans now," Megan voiced quietly, struggling not to weep again. She feverently wished they had never decided to come to this small town in the first place, but then this side of Cole would have shown eventually. It would have only delayed the pain she was feeling now, that betrayal that echoed through her mind.

"No," Skylar agreed solomly. "But, this gives me an idea." He sat down on the cement ground and flicked away a banana peeling. He propped his elbows on his knees as he spoke. "First, we need to go tell the Klein coven that we're on their side, despite what they might do. It wouldn't do any good for them to attack us the next time they saw us. " Moonlight spilled down past the fractered wall of Borders and down to half his face, creating shadows on one eye and the oppsite side of his face. It gave off the feeling of a warrior preparing to fight a last battle that was scared for life because of a comrad. A warrior that wasn't taking no for an answer.

"After we tell them everything we know, we're going to go to Loren's house as planned and be spies for our newfound ally. We've got to be strong about this. Cole has stabbed us in the back, and its time that he learned how it felt," Skylar's grim face was different from usual. The funny, smirking self transformed into someone that was resembled a solomn stone statue. He stood and took Meg's hand to lead her to the car. If she would rather stand to the sidelines than to face Cole again, then so be it. The thing he wasn't going to do though was to leave her here. She would stay with the Klein coven while he went with Brad. A small plan started to envelope in his head like a relieving golden mist that soaked his skull. This would work out.

Megan listened intently, finidng herself watching Skylar for any traces of his old cheerfullness that she craved right now. Anything to show her things we're still okay, the same, when they were most definitely not, and she knew it. Deep in the distance her hearing could pick up a large dog barking, and it almost made her flinch. Small normal things seemed so foreign to her, now that it seemed like her whole world had been flipped upside down, or tossed in the blender and set on high. When Skylar was done speaking, she nodded slightly. Looking into his eyes, she could see the anger, the revenge Skylar wanted. Was it wrong just to want to leave right now, lock these memories up and throw them down the deep well of her mind, where she hid every other painful memory, because that was what she felt like doing.
Skylar stood and led her to the car, and Megan followed willingly. For a brief second, she felt like running and never stopping, sprinting away from this small town that now was her personal hell, but as he took her hand, Meg realized she wouldn't ever be able to leave him behind. No matter how much her desire to run was, her desire to stay with Skylar was greater. Gripping his hand tightly, she worried about what would happen next. Needing to support and stay with Skylar, but never wanting to see Cole's cruel face again, she would have to decide soon. Closing her eyes, she struggled to find her future, it was just a bunch of swirling pictures and decisions, flipping back and forth between scenes too fast for her to see anything. Sighing, she gave up, letting what would happen fade from her mind. Getting in the pasenger side of the car, she stared out the window. The moon was still shining brightly, but now it cast an eery glow onto everyting.