Please, please, please…before you read this, I am warning you: ORIGINAL CHARACTERS. I have never done them before in my writing, and I am, to say the least, very worried. Mary-sue's are annoying, I know. So, if you are going to review, please tell me what I can do to improve them. Because, as I said, I've never done this before, and I don't want them to be unrealistic or Mary-sue-ish.

This one is going to be…stranger, I guess. As far as I'm planning, there's not going to be just vampires. And this is AU. Well, I think that's what this would be called, anyway…

I am still writing 'What If,' alongside this. Which is sad, considering I haven't written a thing in months, but I plan on wrapping up my other stories so I can focus solely on this. ^_^

So, this will have slash. But not like my last story, where ALL of it was slash. Two, three pairings of slash in this, probably. Which isn't much, considering I am introducing about seven (if I counted correctly) OC's. And they're not just extras; they're a part of the plot. *sigh* If you really hate OC's, and this just isn't an exception, either tell me how to improve them or don't review. Because otherwise it's like someone telling me 'I hate slash. I'm not continuing reading this.' Well, that doesn't help me, and it's just a waste of your time to say so, really.

Because I know I personally don't like them. Unless they're believable, cute, evil, etc. The first sign of one I get nervous. . Please? *pouty face* Be honest on what you think of my originals; specifically—and what can be done to improve them. :)

If you love something, let it go

If it comes back to you, it's yours

If it doesn't, it never was

~DMX, 'Let Me Fly'

The floors creaked, and then the ticking of Thorn's claws on the wood could be heard from the next room. Water dripped from the faucet in the bathroom, piercing Max's ears every time it dropped and hit the hard surface. The porch light flickered, and buzzed in meek protest before refocusing. Max understood what conditions his house was in, and in no way did anything to fix it.

The only things his days had been consisting of was: feed Thorn, try to look decent, go to the video store for a bit, come back, feed Thorn, sit on the couch the rest of the night feeling sorry.

Lucy was gone; he admitted with a small sign and frowned deeply. She had gathered her sons during the day and left, without a word, just a little note, addressed formally to Max stating what she had decided. They just weren't right for his lifestyle. Luckily for them, they were still human. So no killing of anyone was required.

The ending credits of the movie were rolling, and the last scene lingered in Max's mind. It was the cliché end for most stories: The man and woman are together and happy, probably soon subjected to marriage and kids – all in the very likely sequel for it. The life that Max strived for and had never gotten a hold of.

Did he not deserve it? Was he repulsive, or just unlucky in his romantic advances? Or both?

Maybe it's not me, he thought.

It's not you, he told himself reassuringly.

He could recall all of his failures of trying to fulfill his dream, and they all ended the same. Courts them, takes them out to nice places, makes them fall for him, has his boys bond with those close to the woman…And then…Bam! It all goes downhill.

Oh, Lucy…

She was his favorite – really something special. What happened, he asked himself. Just as quickly as he asked it, his mind answered.

Because of my boys. They screw it up every time.

Don't get Max wrong; he loves them like his own. But…they mess things up for him. Why? Well, they're not disciplined (that's a mother's job to take), they don't think before they act, they – He could go on with the list, but the point is, it's always somehow their fault things end badly, now that he thinks about it.

This time maybe not so much. They just weren't able to connect with Michael, and they didn't even try with Sam. ('He's too annoying, Max!') And as David had also stated, 'I can't believe Michael is dumber than Paul, yet he didn't drink anything.' So, maybe this time they had put some effort in it… But then they showed Lucy too much too soon, and she freaked.

The credits rolled, and he remembered the last scene again. The people in the movie were happy because they had found their match. Their soul mate. Max pondered that phrase.

Everyone was happy, disciplined, and content with each other. Everyone but the bad guy was happy.

A light bulb lit up in his head.

He had visited her before, just not with these intentions. She was somewhat considered a friend to him – his only true one, actually; he didn't count those that didn't know about his "disease," if you call it that.

When he stood in front of her doorway she reacted as if she hadn't seen him in years; rushing him in and offering him coffee and a place to sit. Max didn't even remember how long ago the last time had been. "Gosh, I haven't seen you in forever, Max!"

"Hello, Kate," he greeted. When he looked at her fully, he couldn't believe how…long it had really been since he'd last seen her. Piercings were littering her pale, pretty face, with bright red lipstick and rather messy black hair falling around the many different tattoos that reached up to her neck.

Those weren't there before, obviously.

"How have you been?" he asked politely.

"Me? I've been great," she exclaimed. "Look at you – you're…" She moved her arms in a gesture that Max had learned to understand, and knew to take it as a compliment.

"Why, thank you, Kate." A door opened from down the hallway, and out stepped a young woman with purple hair down to her chin, skin so pale it seemed white, skimpy pajamas on, and a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

She didn't seem to notice Max standing there a few feet away and walked straight across the room she'd come from like a zombie, the door clicking as it shut again while she resumed her daily waking-up ritual.

"And how is Temperance?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking about removing her door completely. I have no idea what she's thinking or feeling most of the time. I assume she's doing well, since she's been having her boyfriend stay over almost every night now." Max raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"

There was a muffled 'He's not my boyfriend!' from the room. Apparently the walls were thin in this house.

"Don't expect anything more out of her now than the last time you saw her. She's only gotten worse."

"I don't find that hard to believe. She's a very controlled and calm individual."

"But she's like a blob!" Kate's raspy voice croaked a little. "Almost every answer out of her is one syllable," she went on, holding up one finger, complaining about Temperance's lack of presenting her emotions for others. Kate and her were just opposites. The older woman of the house—the one who didn't know how to shut out her emotions, and was pretty loud. Versus a very young lady, who was shy and collected, and never opened up to anyone. Not even her own mother.

"I'm sure it's just a phase," Max assured. But Kate seriously doubted that. After all, Temperance, her daughter and student, would be turning a whole nineteen years old soon, and this "phase" had never appeared suddenly nor disappeared for a significant amount of time. Everyone just started assuming that was just her personality naturally and constantly. "She is very young yet, after all."

Kate smiled and agreed. "She is." Just then the door opened and Temperance stepped out, still undressed, but with straighter hair and no toothbrush in her mouth. She turned and saw Max standing there.

"Oh, great," she mumbled. "Company." Despite her looking indecent, she approached them with a blank face. "Morning, Mom." She quickly added, "Hey, Max." He didn't bother to point out it was the opposite of "morning."

"Hello, Temperance." He got no further acknowledgement out of her.

"I'll be in the kitchen," she deadpanned. Her bare feet lightly slapped the wooden floor and she faded out of sight, the sound of her footsteps fading – but remained loud to Max's ears.

"She sleeps all day."

"Wow. That's a long time to be asleep," Max said, surprised, but now knowing why she was so pale. The last time he checked, she wasn't a vampire.

"And then, she wakes up squinting like it's seven a.m. and eats breakfast," Kate said lightly, as if she still didn't believe it. Max heard a refrigerator's door open and the appliance hum. "It's very odd, I'll tell you that, Max." There was a beat of silence. "Well, are you hungry?" she suddenly asked enthusiastically.

She went on telling him all the things she had in her fridge that he could have, leading him further into the house to their kitchen. "No, thank you. I already ate," Max laughed, putting on his nice-guy charm that had never failed him.

She ushered him to sit on the bar stool, next to Temperance, who was munching away at a dry bowl of cereal. Kate leaned over the other side on her forearms, smiling rather wickedly at him now. "So what do I owe in exchange for your wonderful company?"

"Oh, please, Kate! Can't I just stop by for a visit?" Kate rolled her eyes again

"You know, I'm not stupid and pathetic like most women you think you can charm away. I know you don't just visit for company. Especially me."

"I – actually have a…favor in mind that you could do for me. I do believe you owe me one," he said, now a bit more confident that she truly would help him. You owe me this, after all…

"Mmm?"

"It's rather to do with…" He leaned forward and lowered his voice, as if someone might overhear them. "…one of your spells."

"What about them," she asked in a raspy voice. Max smiled, almost innocently. Temp shook her head at them, still silently eating. "Shut up!" Kate scolded, and Max raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. It was as if the purple-haired teen had actually said anything offensive—or even anything at all. She just buried her face further in her food.

"Sorry," she mumbled. There was a brief moment of total silence, and Kate sighed, turning her attention back to Max.

"What's this about my spells?" she asked curiously. Then Max remember why exactly he came here, and he straightened up, his friendly smile returning.

"Well, I was just wondering… if there was one tailored for my request," he said hesitantly, wondering if this was going to be too big of a favor for her to carry out.

"And I thought you wouldn't want anything added to your life…" He paused for a moment.

"It's not for me," he said. "Rather for…the boys." Now she was highly curious, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Hm." She stood up straight, walking out of the kitchen and motioning for him to follow.

He just hoped she's still as good as she once was. He shook that thought away. He didn't know much about witchcraft, but he did know that they only got better with age. Which was why he was calling upon Kate and not Temperance. The more he thought about it, Temp probably hadn't even learned anything from her mother yet. She seemed a little too unwilling to learn, or come out of her room for that matter.

Kate led him down their basement steps, which were a bit close to the ceiling accounting Max's height, and at the bottom he saw the room was dimly lit by a single light bulb and the room consisted solely of cobwebs, dust, and a washer and dryer. He was going to ask what they were doing, when she opened up another door. Of course, he thought. It squeaked and scraped across the flooring, and it looked like she had to put some effort into opening it all the way.

He had to resist to offer her help; he knew how touchy she was with that.

Her basement smelt of dust and cat litter, and he had to hold his breath because it was so repulsive to him. Then when he entered the dark extra room, the mixture of ember and roses filled the area around him, cancelling out the horrid smell from before.

There was a swift movement of her arm and fire lit up a fireplace on the left of him. It outlined some more things so they could be seen, but Max didn't need a light. It was for Kate only.

He had only been in this place once or twice before, and everything was in the same place as he remembered. The bookshelves that were packed with many things, the polar bear rug that lay in front of the fireplace and Victorian couch that—in Max's opinion—pulled the whole room together.

She sat down on the blood red sofa, patting the seat next to her. He complied with her request, sitting down slowly and fixing his glasses a little. Kate was totally relaxed, but Max found it a little more difficult to do so—especially considering he wasn't in his own home. No one wants a rude guest. "So, talk to me a little more about this," she said, leaning back against the high arm. He cleared his throat before explaining everything to her, in detail. He made sure to tell her about Lucy, especially, but there were some…white lies here and there. But a little lie never hurt anyone…it just makes the person telling it seem better.

Kate was a very reasonable woman, but she would not help him whatsoever if she felt not everything was unbiased. He knew this so well, that he decided to leave out some details that would make her question him further. But, hey, he told her everything still! Well…almost everything.

I imagine Kate looking kind of like Kat Von D. :D

And I already dislike Temperance. She's very boring to write. Reminds me of one specific chick from a book that may or may not include sparkly vampires. I'm not saying names… *walks away*

*Comes back* Kind of like me, except I talk too much on the side of being boring. -_-'

Oh, and I'll say that… most of the events of Lost Boys never happened. Michael listened to Star and didn't drink the blood, so he never became a half-vampire. Therefore, none of the events happened. But Max and Lucy still fell for each other and stuff.

This was a very boring and uneventful start. But I guess it's hard to jump in right away with lots of action because then people get confused easily. Or is that just me?

Well, now I'm beginning to think most of the story was author's notes. -_- Review button is below this…. (Click ze button! :D)