Summary: "He was like…liquid oxygen. The more I drank, the thirstier I was, the harder it was for me to breathe. He was all around me and I was very certain that he was slowly killing me. I was drowning in oxygen but unable to breathe it. I couldn't think. I could only feel." This is a story about love, hate, lust, need, revenge, death, murder, lies, hope, and truth. It is about two people (and maybe even a third) and their quest for life. It is set in the Marauders' Era and is rated M for mature language/scenes and potentially disturbing content. You been warned.

Liquid Oxygen

Chapter One:

The Black's

He was everything. The whole world began and ended with him. It wasn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that I was totally unaware of the fact that we had an audience. I didn't notice and even if I would have, I'm sure it wouldn't have bothered me. As it was, I only had eyes for the dark haired teenage boy that I was currently straddling as if he was a chair.

Before I go any further, I feel it is my obligation to pause for a minute and explain the above paragraph in more detail so you don't go around assuming that you're going to be reading a story about some slutty girl that needs to get a life instead of attempting to narrate it. My name is Electra Callisto Mulciber and the boy that I was referring to is Regulus Arcturus Black. We are both sixth year Slytherin's at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As previously state, Regulus is… well, he's everything.

We have been "going out" for about three years now. I know, one might find it odd that twelve year olds would be together but it really wasn't like that at the time. Regulus and I have always been close. What we have is very special. That's what we tell everyone, anyways. I do love him, don't get me wrong, but it's just the fact that we are so right for each other that is so very wrong. All of my life I have been told what to do and all of my life I have followed it without question. This is no exception. My father practically ordered me to get on Regulus's good side and warned me to keep it that way unless he said otherwise. So here I am.

"Regulus, please," I whispered into his ear, feeling more than a bit proud of myself when a shiver passed through his body.

His eyes already dark eyes became even darker as he fixed me with a searing stare that, on any other day, would have made me back down. This time was different. I was on a mission and there was nothing that could stop me from my goal. Except everything, of course. It is with great regret that I inform you of my weakness for all things involving one Regulus Arcturus Black. He has the ability to make me forget my name. Yeah, it has happened before.

"No, Ellie. I've already told you that that is not going to happen. There is no way that you are coming with us to England tomorrow. Now, don't you worry your pretty little head. We'll be fine, we're big boys now. No one's going to eat us," he said to the apparent amusement of the others, for they laughed with more than a hint of maliciousness in their tones.

I pouted. I'm not ashamed of saying this because it always gets me what I want (well, in most cases) and it is a perfectly acceptable… Oh, who am I kidding. I will pull out all the stops when I think it can get me something I want. What I wanted now, more than anything in the world, was to be allowed to go to England tomorrow with Regulus and his friends. It appeared as if fate had another idea in mind, however, for Regulus succeeded in throwing my goal from my mind in his next movement. He bent his head to mine and captured my lips in a heated kiss.

Now, it's really true what they say when people talk about how just one kiss can make you forget everything. Within the next couple of seconds, I nearly forgot who I was. He didn't let me forget, however, as he said my name softly in my ear and then suggested we go up to his room. Without hesitation, I stood up and pulled him up with me, ignoring the catcalls and I flew up the stairs with him attached to my hand.

Door, check. Bed, oh yes. Got that. Clothes? Taken care of. Regulus? Right here. My body slammed against the silken green sheets with the force of two bodies, seeing as Regulus followed me within seconds. It was rather hard to tell where one of us ended and the other began. Neither of us noticed as he planted kisses all over my face before moving down to my jaw, placing expertly driven nibbles all along it that set me on fire.

His large and rather soft hands traced patterns on my stomach and he met me at the very core of my being. We rocked together, exploring our bodies with unashamed ease; the ease only lovers can have with another's body. With one final thrust, we lost ourselves to the burgeoning blackness and tumbled off the cliff into the precipice. I felt as if I was drowning in the sensations and I mewled softly against his chest. I heard the smile on his face before it came into view once more.

"Did you just mewl?" Regulus asked, his voice dripping with amusement.

I huffed with indignation before grinning and pushing on his chest so I could reverse the position and answered with equal amusement, "Apparently. I thought it was just my imagination. Did you hear it, too?"

He smirked, looking very pleased with himself and said, "Why, yes, yes I did. It appears as if I have performed satisfactorily."

I groaned and hit him on the chest, saying, "Shut up, Black. Stop being so arrogant."

Standing up, I stretched lightly, very aware that his eyes were taking in the movement hungrily. I was not in the least bit embarrassed; I'm very comfortable in my skin. His shirt was closer to me; it was forest green and fell well past my knees but it was there and I liked to wear his clothes. They always made me feel tinier than I already was and made me feel protected. He smiled softly as I finished buttoning the shirt and then pulled on the pair of shorts I had on earlier.

"You're so beautiful, angel," he said, his voice filled with awe.

I snorted as I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and shook my head. How could he think that when my dark brown curls were currently a mass of tangles and knots, sure signs of our previous endeavors? When my lips were red and chapped from his bruising kisses? When I looked as if I was a fucking albino? I pursed my lips and glared at him. He smirked again, quickly snapping out of whatever dimension he had visited, and rephrased his statement.

"Although, you need to stop eating so damn much. You almost crushed me when you sat on me," he said.

There, that was more like it. I frowned at him and then grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. My response was a deep laugh that penetrated my very soul. I mean a rather irritating noise that bugged the hell out of me. Yeah, that's it. In an effort to get away from my momentary insanity, I left him lying on his bed and walked out into the hall. It was only a matter of time before he followed. Knowing Regulus, he'd take forever to make his hair look perfect again. Obviously, whomever it was that had said girls took forever to get ready had never met Regulus Black.

As I was wandering around randomly, it was my misfortune to run into the other Black brother. I say misfortune because he was just as hot as Regulus if not more so. Sirius Orion Black was the elder Black brother and the "black" sheep of the family. Sorry, couldn't resist it, the temptation was too much. Anyways, he was Sorted into Gryffindor, which shocked the hell out of everyone. The Black's were predominately Slytherins with the occasional Ravenclaw mixed in. It was basically a mark against the Blacks in the eyes of "important" Pureblood society. My father had almost reconsidered his goals when he heard of it. Then we went to school and Regulus followed Black tradition, which I sort of suspected he actually chose to go to Slytherin over Ravenclaw, because he is bloody brilliant. Anyways…

"Mulciber," he said coolly, nodding his head at me in a faux polite way.

I sneered at him, my automatic defensive expression, and said back in the same mannerism, "Black."

His eyes ran up and down my body and I resisted the urge to shiver. Damn these Black men. They just had to be too sexy for their own good, didn't they? He was the "player" of Hogwarts; every girl wanted to be with him or be seen with him and almost every girl had. Except yours truly, of course. It wasn't really by choice because I'm certain it might have happened once upon a time if I wasn't with Regulus and a Slytherin. Sirius Black was gorgeous and he was also a blood traitor… I had to remind myself of that at his next words.

"So, you still playing at being Reggie's whore? He's not good for you, I hope you know that. He's a right git that will only end up leaving you in the end," he said, his voice actually serious for a change. No pun intended.

"For your information, Black, I am not Regulus's whore. I'm his girlfriend. I feel the need to inform you that you are suffering from identity failure. You are confusing Regulus with yourself," I said in a bored voice, as if I could care less about his opinions. Which, you know, was totally the truth.

His dark eyes hardened and I realized, not for the first time, how alike Regulus and Sirius were. They were tall, dark, and unbelievably handsome. It was rather amazing the type of genes these boys possessed, considering how inbred Pureblood families (especially theirs) tended to be. I was always astounded when seeing one or the other show some of the same characteristics as the other mostly because they were too remarkably different people.

"Whatever, Mulciber. Don't say I didn't warn you, though," he said shortly before brushing past me.

I sat down, allowing my legs to curl under my body as I pressed my back to the wall and waited for Regulus. As I thought about what had just occurred, I realized a few things. One, I had once again allowed Regulus to talk me out of going somewhere with him. Two, Sirius looked as if he was going on a long trip or something. Three, he was one hundred percent right and I was just trying to convince myself otherwise.

Shit.

Author's Note: Hello, it's me again! I've had this in my head since late last night and it's been driving me crazy. I had a dream about it and Regulus was bugging me all day to write a story about him so yeah. Here it is. I might actually be able to get another chapter up later today or tomorrow if I'm in the mood. It might be a really bad first chapter, I don't know though… Electra might seem a bit Mary Sue-ish at the moment. It'll be fixed later on, though.

So read and review please! Let me know what you think.