Another one-shot to put off homework or writing another chapter of Raw

Except, this one turned out slightly better than my other ones so I decided to post it instead of letting it half rot unfinished on my computer. There is a surprise ending so I recommend reading it to the end.

The first half of the story is very different to the second half but I did that on purpose... I (cough) swear.

Hope you guys enjoy! Tell me what you think :) Xxx

Above all, Nathan was tired.

He was sick of things turning out shit. And although you'd think that he caused most of the problems that happened in his life, you're wrong. Yes… He was a cocksure, intolerable, horny prick. But you don't naturally become this twat without help along the way.

The way of empty Christmases, and unhappy birthdays, of uncaring mothers and useless prick fathers, of a roundabout of two week lasting 'Nathan, you're going to have to start calling me Dad' boyfriends and incessant bullying.

Yes, bullying.

When he was like ten, Nathan reasoned, but he just shrugs it off now as a personality shaper, a confidence builder. By the time he was 13, he was fully planted in the middle of a rough English estate, physically ruffled every time he stepped out the door. And then an amazing thing happened.

He was attractive to girls somehow.

They fawned over the lean curly topped Irish boy, with the 'adorable accent'. When this finally hit Nathan, he had grinned his impish smile and became a slut. Sure, a player may seem a bad thing, but it was better than a skinny loser. Well… He thought it was anyway. He gained friends and lost friends, because frankly, Nathan just didn't give a shit that would listen to his incessant pod cast of bullshit commentary. And when he had no one left when he finally finished school, he couldn't summon up enough emotion to care.

He had become a robot, calling up people every night to come clubbing with him (because although they bitched about him behind his back, and weren't really friends, no one said no to Nathan. Because he had trouble scrawled all over him, and everyone likes to dabble in a bit of trouble sometime, even if it is just for one night.) He would get high, and fuck girls in the corner, in the bathroom, in his room (his mum banging on the door, saying her and her new fella 'Jeremy' couldn't sleep), in doorways and anywhere else he could pull.

Because usually they were to drunk to listen to his annoying banter... And every morning, it wasn't him who fucked off it was always the girl.

He woke up on streets or in abandoned houses, alone and clutching a pillow. He had never had a proper girlfriend. Nathan just assumed if he fucked everyone, one of them would stay. But none of them did. Some left satisfied, eager to brag about the previous nights expeditions, and others were so hung over that they couldn't remember ever meeting Nathan and had stumbled off horrified.

If he woke up before them, he would always offer breakfast, his number a ride home (somehow).

But no one ever accepted.

When they left, Nathan's insides coiled like wire and his throat became very dry but he's suck in a breath and stand up stretching, trying to be pleased that he had at least had sex. But by the time he was 19 he was cold inside. Sure he would make constant jokes when it wasn't appropriate, he would make countless innuendos and sex movements, he would try to pull a girl who would roll their eyes and groan and he would pretend to not care about what anyone though about him.

If he decided he wouldn't care about anything, then it wouldn't hurt him. If he said hurtful things all the time, then he could get back at the world for being such a bitch to him. If he put up this bravado and instead of pretending all the time, it will eventually become a part of him. He would become a machine, toiling out constant prick comments and never flinching at other comments thrown back. If he was as cold and hard and empty as a machine inside, then he would become invincible.

Nothing would stand in his way, but death.

One Year Later

So it was official he guessed.

When he finally managed to create the right key for his prison door (he had gone through a total of 2,567 keys before finally sticking the final one and clicking the bars open and escaping). He hated that prison. It wasn't even the prison that was that bad. An unfortunate leftover from trading in his Immortality was that he could still see and hear the ghosts that haunted the building.

Guards were sick of Nathan screaming the house down when the executed ghosts of almost 200 years ago leapt at him through a wall. Once, three headless men blocked him from his plain set bed and he had to sleep on the floor. He rattled the bars uselessly day after day and the cellmates hated him viciously.

'They say that kid cleaned out a casino of millions'

'They always say the mental ones are the cleverest'

'Have you seen his cell? Its full of thousands of keys!'

'He has to be careful or he'll be put in isolation'

'How could a kid so young be so out of his mind?'

When any of these comments filtered down the halls and reached Nathan, he spat and cursed angrily, banging his head. He felt like he was going out of his mind. He couldn't help it, what with the ghosts and eventually being put in isolation where he had no human contact.

When he escaped, he had slunk out at 3 in the morning, as sly and silent as a fox on the hunt. Yet one cellmate had been awake, glaring out through the bars and he had caught sight of a raving eyed, wild feral Nathan, escaping despite supposedly having no way to escape. He immediately called out, not feeling any betrayal at ratting out Nathan, because he was strange. An outsider. A misfit among misfits…

Nathan turned at the loud shout of the prisoner, his eyes wide and pleading and the prisoner fell silent, a glint in his eye.

'Let me out and I won't scream' the prisoner said, rattling the bars. He grinned a dirty smile and Nathan stared him down, his own crazed eyes taking in every inch of the older cellmate.

'I don't know how you escaped, but they say you have hidden talents.'

'I can warp reality' Nathan hissed harshly. The man fell silent again.

'Bullshit' He whispered furiously back, 'prove it to me you mental son of a-'

The force of a huge rock, propelled from nothing, blew the man back, breaking through the iron bars and crushing him into the wall. He shrieked and gasped a final breath before wheezing out and going still. Immediately alarm bells sounded and Nathan smirked. He took a moment to listen to the frantic sounds of prison guards rising up, cursing the one man who was supposed to be on duty and banging through doors. He took one final glance at the man before bolting down the corridor and through the main doors. He heard men shouting out for him but they couldn't catch him, his stamina heightened from constant pacing in his cell.

Raking a hand through his curly hair, he glanced down at his hand and concentrated. Immediately his cupped palms were overflowed with fake dollars, spilling from his fingers onto the ground. As soon as he broke concentration and they hit the ground, they turned to dust. He fluttered his eyelashes for a few moments before stripping out of his prisoner uniform and headed for the hotel.

At the front desk, Nathan asked for Marnie. He had slightly contorted his face using his power, giving the illusion he was an older man. He put on an American accent.

'Well… are you a relative of this girl?'

'Yes' He grunted, sweat breaking out on his forehead, praying he wouldn't suddenly sprout a crop of dark curly hair.

'Well she left a note..' The hotel manager fished under the desk and produced a note on the hotel paper. Nathan snatched it and began reading it quickly. He nodded, dropped the paper and quickly scooted outside. Once outside, he let the words flow through his head. Marnie was gone, with the baby, with another man.

He knew it was coming but he didn't think it would hurt this much as he suddenly felt hot tears spring from his eyes, sticking to his eyelashes and leaving tear track marks down his face. He gulped in the cool air, gasping and sobbing. He finally stood up and hardened. He was Nathan Young for Christ's sake. The Invincible Nathan Young. The one who had never let his feelings get the better of him, not when his mum's boyfriend had fiddled with him, not now with Marnie gone, not ever.

He passed through security miraculously and was undisturbed until he reached London. He weaved through passengers, having no carry on luggage or suitcase. Usually American security was way uptight but it was early in the morning and he slipped through the net. He reached the community centre 9 the following night, feeling his head swim.

Bunging through the doors, he dropped to his knees and rested his feverish forehead on the cool lino floor. It smelled like home, it felt like home. Fuck, it was home… He groaned a loud moan, pulling him up off the floor and up the stairs to his make shift bed.

After finally reaching the top of the stairs, he turned around and squealed with surprise when he saw Alisha sitting, head down low on his mattress. He exhaled, his fingers thrumming around his beating chest.

She looked up, her eyes shining. She looked at him with slight amusement, with almost nostalgia in her eyes. She stood up and hopped off the mattress. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when his eyes followed her.

She shook her head and Nathan still stared at her. He tried to muster up a cheeky grin, but he was too far-gone. Too haunted, too tired… The bravado he had built up over so long melted away and he collapsed onto the bed, patting the mattress beside him, indicating Alisha to join him. Alisha gingerly sat down, tears starting to drip down her face.

Nathan never liked when girls cried.

'It's ok, don't cry' He managed to choke out, his contradiction proved when he started crying also, not really sure why.

'Everything has fallen apart' She whispered, glancing down at her hands.

'Same here' He replied.

'Simon's gone…' She said, before slamming her face into her palms and sobbing. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling his despair widen into a yawning hole.

'I never thought he would ever leave you', his sobs getting the better of him, 'but then again, I wouldn't have thought Marnie would have left me in prison'

Alisha looked like she was about to say something but she just glanced up into his deep green eyes, wet with tears and he felt a huge appreciation for her being there. He wanted to hug her badly, but he didn't want to be too forward, so he rocked back on his hunkers and collapsed onto the bed, looking at the crumbling roof. Alisha joined him, making no sound whatsoever.

'Your different' Alisha said quietly.

'I've always been like this, but only at night when no one is around. I'm just good at pretending'

'Knew it.' Alisha said smugly, 'Simon and I knew no human being could live that much off nervous energy.' The sound of Simon's name made her voice wobble.

'Well Barry was always a bit of a panty sniffer. Don't worry too much about it' Nathan tried to console, finding it difficult.

'I loved him' She said sadly.

He took a while to reply before he said, '… So did I'

She giggled slightly and turned to face him on her side. He turned to look at her as well. He admired how beautiful she was and she took in his every feature.

'I missed you' She finds herself blurting out.

'I missed you too' He said raggedly, struggling to find his breath.

There was a pregnant pause while they both took in every inch of each other.

'So what now?' Alisha asked him and he pretended to consider.

'We could have amazing sex' He said, waggling his eyebrows.

She sighed and rolled her eyes but didn't reach out to strike him, which he had expected. 'What do you actually want to do…'?

'I don't know… stay with you?'

She coughed, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head at him. He shrugged.

'Well then smarty, what do you want to do?' He asked back.

'I don't know what to do anymore…'

'Your not the only one…' He admitted, groaning. 'But you can do anything if you wanted to…' He was inches from the swell of her lips, her heavy chest and her fluttering eyes. 'You don't have to stand still just because Simon fucked off with someone.'

She angrily bolted up and he cowered away in surprise. He nose flared and her eyes were fiery. 'He did not LEAVE me. I can't… I don't…' She sunk to her knees, crying. Nathan moved with precise slow movements, so unlike his usual self that Alisha stopped to watch. He shrugged off his hoody and Alisha admired the way the tight t-shirt clung to him, how much more built he was than she remembered.

Marnie was crazy, she thought lightly.

He moved towards her slowly, giving her time to pull away. More tears slid down her face as she watched his face inched closer. His eyes closed, his head tilted but she did not move, did not dare. His lips slightly parted and a deep yearning popped like champagne in the bottom of her stomach. Her eyes were wide open, knowing this was it. He fell forward and his eyes bolted open, breathing in ragged breaths. He had fallen right through her. She… She was…

She stepped backwards and he shot up, his heart racing, his head shaking, not believing what was happening.

'No… no no no no NO NO' He shouted, pushing air away from him, feeling his lower back hit the railings, feeling faint and sick and wrong and… She stared at him with a look that told a hundred stories. Suddenly, she caught the light from a streetlamp shining through the window and he could see the fine blood red line cut across her neck that he couldn't see in the dark.

'Nathan… I'm dead…'

So those who haven't guessed, yes this is set after Alisha's death and she is left as a ghost roaming the community centre. Nathan arrives back, knowing nothing of course and finds her upset after Simon 'leaving' her, ie: going back in time to save her etc etc.

Reviews are love :D tell me what you thought.