The big city.

"Want me to go with you?" Blake asked.

~!!~
Warren smiled, and pulled away.

Ava shook her head. "No, I think I should go alone," She said quietly.
~!!~
Melanie smiled weakly up at him.

Blake nodded.

~!!~
Warren grab her hand. "Where are we?"

Melanie looked around, then back at him. "Would you believe me if I said we were lost?" She asked.
~!!~
Ava walked outside and to the woods.

Warren laughed. "Yes."

Ava soon came out in the meadow. She looked around, sighing lightly.
~!!~
Melanie laughed. "Then, we're lost," she said, keeping a hold of his hand.

"How do we find our way back?" He asked.

"Depends. Where do you want to go? Everywhere here is pretty much the same," She said.

"Somewhere . . . other then here?" He said with a smirk.

Melanie nodded.

"Right, well I can do that!" She said, and started walking, still holding his hand.

Warren smiled and followed. He started to talk about totally random things.

-----2 Days Later-----

Raven was sitting on earth in the park. She hadn't said a word to Sable; she hadn't even seen him. It was as if he were avoiding her.

"Stupid Aden!" She shouted suddenly, throwing a rock hard at a tree. It bounced off harmlessly. This was all his fault. He shouldn't have been there when Sable showed up, or at all. He had been lying when he said he wanted to make her fall in love with him. He just wanted to hurt her. And he had done a good job of it, too.
~!!~
Ashlyn's tattoo was healed by now, though it was still sore. No more blood, just the tattoo on her lower back. She didn't understand why she had done that. She had a crush on Mason; no reason to go out and do stupid things. She hadn't been thinking.

She groaned and lay back on the bed. Why did she ever have to meet him??? She sat up, sucking in a quick breathe when she moved her back. It still hurt, a lot.
~!!~
Ava was worried. She could have sworn that she'd seen Nick the past few days, outside her window or at the foot of her bed at night. She knew that he couldn't have really been there. It had to be in her head. But it all seemed so real.

She hadn't told Blake, for fear of worrying him. She didn't need to make him scared over nothing. But a few times she thought she had heard Nick's voice, and that scared her even more.

She sat up on the couch, changing the channel on the TV absentmindedly. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Cora wouldn't say a word to her about anything, no matter what she tried, either.
~!!~
Cora was laying on the bed upstairs, staring at the ceiling. She missed Carlisle, so much, but she knew she couldn't go back now. It would only hurt more. She didn't know how much longer there was until the judgement, but she had to hold out until then. She just had to. But it was getting so hard.
~!!~
Sable was in heaven. He wanted to see Raven, but thought she was angry, so he avoided her. He thought she was in heaven somewhere, and he was sitting under the crow tree, thinking. Just what did Aden want with his little sister? It scared him; he didn't want him anywhere near her, or Jade.
~!!~
Laurinda was hungry, tired, and sore.

She had been back to the streets now, but she couldn't stop thinking about Lance. For once in her life, someone had actually...helped her, just for the sake of helping her. It was a nice change of pace.

She headed down the streets quickly and quietly, trying to remain unseen. She had a bag of chips under her jacket that she had just stolen.
~!!~
Hymn was in the underworld (where else?) and was in Chris' cave. She was looking at the drawing of the two roses, a piece of chalk in hand. She wanted to add something to it, but didn't know what. She wondered where he was for a moment.
~!!~
Melanie was sitting next to Warren. She was holding his hand, and humming a song to herself. They were sitting in one of the main corridors of the underworld. The song she was humming was the one she had been playing on the piano the day they met.
~!!~
Lenora was feeling horrible. She had told her father off again and again, and now he hadn't come back. She didn't want him to; she had convinced herself of that long ago. But she missed him. It was all so confusing.

She was sitting inside on the couch, staring down at the drawing. It was of his face, and it was perfect in every detail. It was as if she were staring straight at him. She hated it.
~!!~
Elliot was in the dark caverns, as usual. She was sitting in Jake's cavern, wondeirng where he was. Not that she cared.

She sighed and leaned her head back on the wall. Andrew had left her alone lately, and for that she was grateful. But she also wanted to see Tyler again. And that feeling that someone she had kissed had gone back to their old ways remained, and she wanted to go investigate it. She felt as though it were someone important.
~!!~
Andrew was sitting in his own cave, staring at the wall blankly. He was thinking about Lee. He had convinced himself that he did not love her, but every day he saw her face when he closed his eyes. It was killing him, if he wasn't already dead.
~!!~
Lee was doing the same as Andrew; thinking about him, but instead of hating it, she loved it.

Carlisle sat on the front porch, an unlit cigarette in between his lips. On the ground beside him was a lighter.

"Aww is Carlisle feeling heart sick?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Shut up Damon!" he shouted to it

"Aww he really is! Where's the brother I knew, the one who had no feelings for his bride?"

"He got away from his brother and met someone he loves." Carlisle shouted. All Damon did was laugh

Jade was in heaven. But she wasn't with Sable. She has been avoiding the siblings for a while now. She felt that it was her fault they were fighting. She felt awful. Just awful. They use to be so close, now they were speaking to each other; and it was her fault. At least that is what she told herself. She kept thinking about what Raven once said. She had been right, as least in her eyes. Everything that had been happening have been her fault. She closed her eyes and laid in the grass.

She missed Sable. She wanted to go find him. No. She wouldn't. Sooner or later they would make up, and they would be happier without her. Would she even be missed? A selfish part of her wanted him to. No, she wanted them to be happy. She wanted them to be close again, she was willing to sarfice her own happiness for theirs.

~!!~
Mason became visable. He had enough with her winceing. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. He wasn't thinking, and he went behind her and lifted her shirt just enough for him to see the tattoo.

He would of have been mad it he first saw the day she got it. Oh, but now he was ticked off. He couldn't leave her alone for a few hours with out her doing something stupid.

"Ashlynn." His voice was low and even. "Why did you get a tattoo?"

~!!~
"I'm not stupid." He said appearing behind the small angel. He thought for a moment. "I geuss I'm not really smart ethier" He said. He haven't been lieing. He really did want her to fall in love with him. The bad thing was that he liked this girl. Not completely romanticly, yet.

~!!~
Her thoughts seemed to have called to him. Chris leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Miss me?" He asked, playfully.

~!!~
Warren had his eyes closed. He loved this song. He loved her even more. He opened his eyes and brought her hand to his lips. After a moment he lettheir hands fall back to the ground, and let the sweet music shallow him.

He let his thoughts float away. To what could of have been, if he hadn't died. He would of have asked her to marry him the she the moment she told him Laim freed her from the enagedment. He wouldn't have been able to buy her a ring, but he could of have made her happy, and that was all that mattered. Her father wouldn't of have approved, and might have locked her up or someting, but he would have freed her. If anything they could of have enloped.

They could of have been happy. He could of have made her happy. They could of have lived long lifes together. They could of have had a kid or two (that would of have been much later). Instead he had died., and had followed shrotly after.

He often had these thoughts. Sometimes they made him happy, sometimes, they made him sad (surpiseingly).

This time thinking of that made him sad, and smiled disappeared.

~!!~
Kindell came running in. Panic on his face. "They want to eat me!" He said.

Sable was thinking about Jade, too. He hadn't seen her in a few days, and he wanted to. He felt bad that he had been so precoppupied with his and Raven's argument. He didn't know where to find her, however. He was by the crow tree, and she wasn't. He remembered her saying that this was her favorite place, yet she was not here.
~!!~
Ashlyn jumped when Mason appeared, and lifted her shirt. She was about to yell at him something about being a pervert and to go jump off a cliff when she realized what he had done.

"Do I need your permission now?" She snapped, pulling her shirt back down and turning to face him. "You say you're here to protect me, but you're just annoying me. Why don't you just go away??" She asked. Her words were complete and total lies, but once she started, she found that she could not stop. "Just leave me alone, Mason!" she yelled. Her next words hurt her to even say. "Why didn't you just stay dead?!"
~!!~
Raven jumped when she heard a voice, and spun around.

"No, you're not smart!" She yelled. She had another rock in her hand, and had to hold herself back from throwing it at his big head. "It's your fault that my brother doesn't want to talk to me. You never wanted me to like you. You wanted to hurt me, and congragulations Aden, you succeeded!" She shouted, throwing her arms up in the air. She hurled the rock at the tree. It left a dent in the bark this time, and small pieces fell to the ground.
~!!~
Hymn smiled when she heard him behind her. It seemed as though they were in sync at times.

"I did," she said quietly. She looked back at the drawing, then at the chalk in her hands. She set it down carefully on the ground, and turned to face him, a small smile gracing her normally downcast features.
~!!~
Melanie smiled slightly, watching Warren as she continued to hum. She had often thought of the same things he was thinking of right now. If he hadn't of died, of what could have happened. Would they have gotten married? The thought made her smile. She was glad only to be with him, but at times she had wished they could have lived longer, grew old together. They were together now, but in less than desirable circumstances. She saw his smile disappear, and immediatly fell silent.

"You okay?" She asked quielty, voice laced with concern.
~!!~
Elliot jumped up when Kindell came in. She sighed and beckoned him over to her, standing in front of him.

"Not while I'm here," She said simply. Andrew showed up next to her then. "Boo," He said in her ear.

"Gah!" She shouted, and turned to glare at him. "I hope this wasn't one of them," She said to Kindell. Andrew looked at Kindell, and frowned. "Who's the kid?" He asked.

"I'm not a kid. I died at 15! I become an adult at 13!" Kindell yelled.

~!!~
Jade was sitting near a waterfall. She sighed heavely. She wanted to go the the crow tree, but knew Sable would look there first if he went looking for her.

~!!~
Mason stepped back. A mix of emtions on his face, mostly sadness. He disappeared.

~!!~
"Still tring to come up with something to add?" He asked, seeing the chalk.

~!!~
Warren opened his eyes. "I'm fine." He said. "I was just thinking."

~!!~
"I didn't say that I was." Aden said. "And I didn't say it wasn't my fault. But I wasn't lieing. I do want to get you to fall in love with me."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Then you're a kid to me," he said. Elliot shoved him away roughly. "Get out of here!" She spat. "I brought you a visitor," Andrew said, and a little girl came out from the entrance of the cavern. Elliot's eyes widened, and she couldn't move. It was Ellie. The little girl she had come to love and then let die. She was standing in front of her.

"Why, Elliot?" Her little voice asked. "Why did you leave? You let me die," She whispered. Elliot opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
~!!~
Sable soon couldn't take it anymore; he stood up and began walking. He needed to find Jade. He had a feeling she felt like this was her fault, when it was anything but. It was his fault, and Aden's. But mostly his.
~!!~
Ashlyn saw his face, and she was about to tell him she was sorry, but he was gone. She stood there for a moment, hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, before she turned and let out a cry of frustration. She hated herself more than ever right now.

She stormed out into the living room, and saw her father lying passed out once more. She walked past him and into the kitchen. It was 7 pm. She was sick of seeing him like this all of the time. She was sick of her life as it was. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She rolled her eyes as she passed by her father on the way back to her room. She took a bag out from under her bed, and stuffed it with clothes in a blind rage. Then she was in her bathroom, and put her toothbrush and brush in it. She went back to her room and took out her money that she had been saving to hopefully move out someday. She had a good amount of it. Then she went into the living room and dug around in her father's liquor cabinet until she found his alchohol money. She took that too.

"Good riddances to this place," She mumbled under her breathe. She walked to the door and down to the lobby.

"Hey, Ashlyn, where ya headed this late?" The man at the desk asked.

"Out," Ashlyn mumbled, and ran out into the cold night air. She started down the sidewalk, and was soon at the subway station. She bought a ticket for the furthest place away from here she could, and then sat down on a bench to wait. Why was she doing this? She was sick of her life the way it was. She could maybe get away from Mason this way, or so she hoped. Yet Ether had the uncanny ability to find her no matter where she went. She could get away from her father, and maybe start new. She wanted to leave. She just wanted to go.
~!!~
Hymn nodded. "Yeah, I am," She said quietly. She picked the chalk back up and turned it over in her hands, thinking about all the time she had broken his chalk when he was still a kid. She smiled slightly at the thought, then quickly shook it off. "But I don't know what...." she finally said, and set it back down again with a small sigh . "My artistic abilities suck anyways," She laughed slightly.
~!!~
"About what?" Melanie asked softly, taking his hand again and intertwining their fingers. She wanted to know. She still felt as though she had been away from him for so long.
~!!~
Raven glared at him, fury and hatred written in her eyes. "Good luck," She spat. "I hate you. Everything was fine with me and my brother, and then you show up!!" She yelled. She knew somewhere deep down that it was not his fault, but she sure didn't show it. "Everyday we were so close...my life kind of sucked," She laughed wryly. "He was the only one there for me, and now he's gone, and it's your fault!!" She yelled.

Kendell looked at the litlle demon, and said nothing.

~!!~
Jade letout a breath. SHe hadn't moved from her spot.

~!!~
Chris laguhed slightly.

~!!~
How it could have been." Warren said. "How it should have been."

~!!~
Adn frowned. "Is is? Am I the only one to blame?"

"I didn't.....I didn't leave..." Elliot whispered. Ellie's eyes were sad and dead, and soon she disappeared without another word. Elliot fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself, as if to hold herself together. Andrew laughed scornfully and left as well.
~!!~
Sable soon found Jade, and smiled slightly at her. He walked over to her and sat next to her without a word. He was still thinking about what to say.
~!!~
Hymn pulled her knees up to her chest silently. She didn't know what to do now.
~!!~
Melanie's small smile diminished as he spoke. "It's a shame," She said quietly. "But there's no going back now. What's done is done. What's important, is that now we have each other," she said quietly, and held his hand tigher in her own.
~!!~
Raven glared at him, but slowly, little by little, her anger diminished, leaving only the hurt little girl underneath it.

"No," She whispered. She felt tears stinging her eyes, and quickly looked away, dropping the rock that she had picked up. "No, you're not," She whispered.
~!!~
Ashlyn looked up as the subway pulled into the station. She handed them her ticket, and got on quickly. It pulled away from the station, and she sighed in relief as she watched the station slowly disappear. She was finally getting away. Away from the town that held so many painful memories. She was going back to her old town, she decided then. Just to see something. Then she would leave, and start fresh somewhere else.

She closed her eyes. She could make it to her old town by tonight, hopefully. She could visit what she needed to, stay the night, then be on her way as far away as possible in the morning. She clutched her bag tighter to her chest.
~!!~
Ava was sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She was trying to calm herself. She stood up and walked to the fridge when she saw a face out the window. The mug slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, as she stared straight into Nick's face. This was no hallucination. He was really there this time.
~!!~
Laurinda stared straight ahead at the brick wall in front of her, knees pulled up to her chest for warmth. It was summer, but the night felt cold to her. She looked around the alley as she heard a crash, but then soon decided it must have been a cat or something and attempted to relax again. It wasn't working so well.
~!!~
Cora thought she heard a crash downstairs, but couldn't find the will to get out of bed. She was too tired, too sad to do anything.

"So, now what lover boy? You're just going to sit here and smoke until she returns?" Damon asked, "Like she'll want you back when she finds out you smoked." he said

"She doesn't want to see me. I feel like a plague... I bring pain to those around me." Carlisle said, the unlit cigarette was on the tear stained ground.

"Because my boy, that is what you are by nature. A demon, now and forever. Except it while you can." Damon said

"I am not a demon!" Carlisle shouted.

"Why do you say this?" Damon asked lazily.

"Because I can't leave them!!! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left them!!!" Carlisle's shouts could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

"And that my dear brother is why you should stay here. Your life is good and you obviously are a good person or you wouldn't care about them like you clearly do." Damon said. "But how do you convince them of that?" he asked himself.

Carlisle just shrugged and looked down at the ground.

Kindell looked at her.

~!!~
Jade opened her eyes and sat up. "Sable. . ." She said softly. She was wearing a dress from the 1800's. She haven't dressed like that in awhile.

~!!~
Chris picked up the chalk, he truned it over in her hands. "You know art isn't about being good at drawing." He said.

~!!~
Warren looked at her, but said nothing.

~!!~
Aden smiled at her. "See? It's all a misunderstanding."

~!!~
Blake was with Lance, and Lance was out. He had been visting Iran.

"I never said that," Raven snapped, but her tears ruined the effect of her words. "It's still your fault. Just not....completely," She whispered.
~!!~
"Everything okay?" Sable asked. He didn't mention a thing about Raven. "Something wrong?"
~!!~
"What do you mean?" Hymn asked, looking up at him from her spot on the ground.
~!!~
Elliot closed her eyes tightly, her shoulders racking with sobs. She couldn't believe this. Ellie....Ellie was a demon. It wasn't right. It couldn't be.
~!!~
Ava took a step back, and turned to run. He was in front of her now.

"Ava, Ava, Ava," He said, shaking his head. "I thought I told you not to run."

In a moment he had her pinned on the couch. She stared up at him, trying to figure out just how he had done that so quickly.

"Get off!" She shouted, kicking and punching. She couldn't move.
~!!~
Cora could have sworn she heard something now, but still, she did not move.
~!!~
Ashlyn stared out the window, watching the wall of the subway tunnel pass by in a blur of colors. She then turned back, and looked around the sparsely occupied subway car.

Carlisle and Damon walked down the street slowly, the two were silent. Carlisle suddenly stopped when they were in front of Lance's and he frowned. "This is where she is, huh?" Damon asked.

"Yep." Carlisle said, "What's going on in there?" he heard a struggle from the sidewalk so he moved closer to the house to hear better.

"Sounds like a girl in trouble." Damon said.

"It's not Cora but who is it...?" Carlisle asked himself

"Stop trying to figure it out and let's go!" Damon grabbed Carlisle's arm and disappeared and reappeared inside the house. Damon's chivalry sparked as he attempted to pull Nick off of Ava.

Nick glared at Damon as he was pulled off. Ava stumbled to her feet, eyes wild and confused. She recognized Carlisle, but not the other. But she didn't care right now; she was grateful.

"Get off of me!" Nick demanded, pulling himself out of his grasp. Ava stepped back.
~!!~
Cora heard more voices, and she finally stood up. She walked to the top of the stairs, and looked down. She saw Ava, and another man she didn't recognize. She saw Damon and Carlisle, and froze at her spot at the top of the stairs. Why was he here?

"Leave her alone!" Damon growled at Nick, he grabbed him again and put him up to the wall, "Leave!" he shouted.

Carlisle looked up at Cora sadly. "Damon, now that you've been chivalrous can we go? I told you I didn't want to be here..." he turned back to his brother who said nothing to him.