A/N:: Hey guys! Here's another one for the Moose and Camille fans! Thank you so much for all the follows and PMs about I Finally Let You. Truly, guys, I didn't expect anyone to like it or want to read it, so thanks again for your continued support! Love you all!

I Could Never Let Go

Faceless masks of white and darkened masks of black covered his eyes in between shades of grey. He watched them mill around his body, a crossroads that went nowhere as he stood in the centre of the room, waiting for Camille to surface from this place of strangers. The music wallowed through the air, a soft yet sweet lullaby that would rock the hardest criminal to sleep, and on the dance floor, the dancers were waltzing slowly, gently rocking to the rhythm that stirred their hearts and spoke to their souls.

He pocketed his hands, searching the endless crowds for the one girl he came here for, yet couldn't find. He sighed, raking a hand through his curly hair and biting his lip. Maybe he should just go home. Or go to the Vault. He really didn't want to be here by himself, not if she wasn't here at all. She was more than an hour late, and as the time ticked by with ease, his heart picked up with unease.

He should go by her dorm, check and see if she was okay. She probably didn't want to come to the dance anyway, and just forgot to tell him. He inched his way through the crowd, dense as they were, all dressed in different colours and wearing different masks. One of the boys, he smirked, was wearing a Hallowe'en mask, carrying the hand of a girl who was laughing while pointing at him. Damn, he should've done that.

Just as he found the exit sign, someone from behind him tapped his shoulder. He glanced backways to see Kristen as she pulled her mask off, an expression of worry on her face. She wore a beautiful dress of black, all puffy and girly, he noted, something Camille would love. Heck, she probably helped her pick out the thing. Kristen looked at him a second longer, before she asked, "Is Camille not with you? She left the dorm over a half hour ago, just before me."

Moose stopped. He felt his heart stop beating, because in that second, he felt a cold sliver of something grasp his stomach, and a shiver rippled down his spine. He took his hands out of his pockets, his mouth opening and then closing as he fidgeted around for his phone. This wasn't like Cam at all. She'd ring him if something was up. Kristen saw her answer written all over his face, and rushed to find her phone, hoping she'd find a text or even a voicemail to explain where her friend was.

Moose opened his phone and dialled her number, but just as he placed the phone to his ear, it went straight to voicemail. Cursing suddenly, he said, "Kristen, stay here and keep an eye on your phone. If Cam rings, text me." He didn't wait for her to answer, he merely turned and ran for it, out of the ballroom and into the corridors of NYU. He juggled past the crowds, earning a fw curses and threats in the process, but he couldn't care for that now. He needed to find Camille.

The air was crisp and cold, and threatened snow. He threw on his black jacket, and shivered still once he was nestled inside it. His breath made small marshmallows in the air, but he forgot that while his eyes searched the grounds for her. His heart pounded and his head pumped as the tension in his stomach began to increase. Without hesitation, he started to walk purposefully toward the dorms in the hopes of finding her somewhere there. He should've waited for her at her dorm in the first place.

He should never have agreed to let her come here by herself.

He took out his phone and dialled her number again, just as a set of teenagers walked by him, all laughing and joking. Now, their masks and carefree humour were lost on him, and just as he turned a sharp corner in the direction of the dorms, he stopped, and listened. Her phone wasn't answering again, but it was deadly silent down this darkened street. There was no-one about out here, and in comparison to the messes of people who were milling around the grounds just beyond here, it felt as cutting and as scary as the setting of a horror movie.

"Camille?" he called out, defying his sudden uneasy fear. He started to walk again, down this narrow path. "Camille? Can you hear me?" The trees that shaded this area during the day, were sinister in the night, and seemed to stretch upwards for forever, their branchy fingers cascading down to him, pointing to him. It was eerie, and he didn't like the sudden drop in atmosphere. Almost like second nature, he felt she was here, somewhere, and his lungs felt like spasming.

"Camille?!"

He stopped when he heard a rustle, and looked all around him, wondering where it came from. "Camille?" he called again, just as he dialled her number, placing the phone to his ear. Something faintly began to ring from far off, and Moose kept to the path, before he turned sharply to the right, digging his hands through the dense flowers and thorns, scratching his fingers just as he saw a mass of silvery white, a cloud descended upon solid earth.

His eyes widened and he stepped forward, catching his foot on a twine of bramble just as he pitched downward, landing on his hands and knees. "C-Camille?" he whispered, trying to swallow down the fear and dread that swam in his stomach and rose up his throat, trying to ignore the far off sounds of people cackling like witches over the blasted cauldron, trying to pretend Camille hadn't been here the entire time he waited for her at the dance. Oh, God.

"Camille? Can you hear me?" he placed both his hands on her bare arms, and rocked her gently. She didn't answer, and her skin was cold. His heart leaped at him then, and more urgently, he repeated her name, his hands trembling just slightly. She twitched under his touch, and he pried her hair, which had fallen around her face, away, to see her. Her eyes were closed, but under the darkened light, he could make out the prints of bruises, snaking through her soft skin like caresses from the devil who gave them to her.

He jolted, and his voice rose an octave again. He needed her to wake up, but he was afraid to move her. "Camille! Please, you have to open your eyes, please!" He tapped her shoulder, just close to her face, and she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. Her body moved slightly, but she went under darkness again and remained motionless. She was breathing fine, but he was deathly scared. He couldn't think. His mind raced. His heartbeat sounded the quiet ground he stood on. His eyes watered.

Who done this to her?

Even though his hands were faintly bleeding from falling over the thorns earlier, he ignored his stomach-curling fears and scooped Camille up effortlessly. She didn't move this time, and her limb body was motionless under his suddenly moving one. Her head rolled onto his shoulder, and the beautiful dress she wore only emphasised the darkened skin of her body.

Someone had beat her up. Someone could've-

Oh no, his eyes widened, before he shook his head. His breath came in rasps, but he ignored them.

The Vault wasn't too far from here.

xxxxxxx

Anala heard the Ticks before she saw them, and she groaned when they came into view. She groaned because they were followed by the Santiago twins, who were arguing over something that had nothing to do with her.

Jason sighed along with her when she heard the famous line-

"C'mon, man, what would Jesus do?"

"Jesus would probably tell you not to go taking others' property," one of the Santiago twins garbled out, just as the other one joined in-

"Yes, and he'd also say that threesomes are forbidden, so stop praying to him."

Anala choked on her Coke, and Jason barked a laugh as everyone went quiet. Vladd walked into the kitchen and looked around at the scene: the twins were staring down the Ticks, and the Ticks were grinning sheepishly, the seemingly innocent expression on their faces begging to be considered. He looked between them, to Anala and Jason, before he shrugged and walked back out. Whatever it was, he did not want to get involved.

"Okay okay, if you love your Jesus thing, then that's fine, but I want that back," Santiago number one pointed to the toothbrush in Tick number one's hand.

"But we need it!"

"I wouldn't like to think what for," Anala muttered under her breath as she caught her breath from the coughing fit. She looked to Jason, and smirked. He grinned wickedly back, before sighing and intervening.

"Okay, guys, come on, give him back his toothbrush," he said calmly. The Ticks groaned.

"But we need it!" they all said in unison.

"And they need it too" he replied, reaching out for the toothbrush, shuddering against what they said. "In fact, they need it more than you need it." Each Tick looked to the other, and sadly, reluctantly, they gave the toothbrush back to Jason, who handed it back to the twins. "Now, are we settled? Great." He clapped his hands together and turned to Anala. "Now, this lighting thing I had going for our next big dance-off-"

"As if winning the World Jam wasn't enough?" the Satiago twins chirped.

"Yeah, I think we should take a break, I mean, just for a while. It's only been a week, and Moose is out tonight with Camille," Anala put in, folding her arms, a small smile on her face. "You know he'd love to hear whatever you've got."

"I know, but I'm geared! I loved the dance-off, and I wanted to get us back out there, show the world that we aren't just a once off," he replied. He shrugged and sighed, raking a hand over his head. "I just enjoyed the last time so much, even with all the pressure to get the Vault back. It was nice, to feel all that team-work, and MSA were so good."

"They were most definitely good, especially that Fly girl," the twins added together.

"Oh yeah, she was definitely good," the Ticks joined in. "Did you guys see the MSA crew in the Streets? They literally blew the crowds away, man!"

"Yeah, and Moose was absolutely brilliant! He told us all about it, and that was good, but when I saw him move out there, with the rain, it was a whole different story. I suppose that's where the water dance battle with Gwai came from," Anala noted. "When he accidentally set off the water, I thought we were goners, but he took it all in stride."

"Yes, yes, senorita, it was good," Santiago twin number two commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We should consider gathering that MSA crew up again just so we can battle them."

"Oh, I like your thoughts-"

"Nada nada nada!" he waved his hands in the air dismissively. "Now, lets get back to-"

Anala heard the elevator squeak in protest, and she looked out over the open area, toward the elevator doors, wondering who'd be coming at this hour of the night. Jason heard it too, and over the twins and Ticks' bickering, followed her toward the elevator, gesturing to both Jacob and Vladd to follow them. Jacob heard the sound, and walked toward them, looking at the unopened elevator doors with tension in his eyes.

"This isn't good," he whispered to Jason. "All of our team is here. There shouldn't be anyone else-"

"Could be Moose and Camille ditching the dance," Jason noted, as Vladd went to stand by Anala, right in front of the elevator doors.

"Camille, ditch the dance she's been waiting for ever since she found her feelings for Moose?" Jacob noted, looking seriously at Jason. He was usually so quiet and thoughtful, but the slight narrow in his eyes warned Jason otherwise. This couldn't be good, not at all.

Suddenly, the doors were shoved open, and in fell Moose, a lump of silver gliding past their eyes. He collapsed on the floor, his breath caught between coughs, his body a shivering mess against the floor. He pushed himself up quickly, his arms cradling the silver light in his arms, and Anala was the first to react. She pushed herself down to his level, and her eyes widened.

"Oh my God, what happened to her?"

"I-I don-" Moose was shivering so badly his teeth chattered and she looked up to see he was in bad a shape as she was. Lines of sweat beaded his forehead, probably from carrying her: he wasn't a very strong guy, with arms as wiry as lines of copper, and his face was deathly white. His hands shivered from where they held the silent body against him. "I-I foun-" He couldn't even get the words out properly, and he slumped against the ground.

"Okay, Anala, help me carry Camille into your cot-Vladd, take Moose-" Jacob started, until Moose stopped him.

"No, please, let me stay-I don't know who-I'm sorry, Camille-I'm sorry-"

Vladd hitched him up by placing both his arms under Moose's, and he gently guided him away from Camille, who, by this time, was turned over by Anala. She gasped when she saw all the bruises, and the cuts, which gilded her skin in rivers of colours. Camille was knocked out cold, and the only source of warmth seemed to have come from the jacket Moose had put upon her covered shoulders.

"He carried her from NYU to here," she stated the obvious. "Who in God's name would do this to her?"

"I can think of a small group of people," Jason said softly, just as she and Jacob lifted her up into the space between them, her dress softening against their skin as they hefted the light Camille into a bed not twenty feet from where Moose had fallen. The twins came over and went pale when they saw Camille's silent face, her skin rattled with purple, green and yellow. Off in the corner, as far away from them as possible, Moose was hoarsely complaining that he should be with her, he needed to be there, but Vladd had placed both his hands on his shoulders and made him stay put.

Vladd was calmly speaking to him, but it didn't matter, as poor Moose was raising his voice against him, pushing against his featherlight hands whenever he placed them on Moose's chest to keep him from getting up.

"I wasn't with Camille when it happened-I'm sorry, I'm so-"

Vladd looked to Jacob for help, since it seemed Moose wouldn't calm down, and Anala looked over her shoulder to see him breaking down, his hands gathered in fistfuls of curly, dark hair that clung to his head. His breath sighed from his body, and he was drained. She nudged Jacob to go to him, just as she grabbed one of the girls to give her a hand in carrying Camille to a room where they could help her in private.

As they went off, Jacob and Jason stepped toward Moose, who stood up again, only to be pushed back down wordlessly by Vladd. His eyes widened, looking to Vladd, then to both Jacob and Jason.

"Please, let me-"

"Stop, Moose, now," Jacob ordered, his voice gentle, but even. He glanced to Vladd. "Get a cloth, and some ice, please." Vladd nodded, his eyes slightly wide from seeing his friends so distraught. Moose placed his hands on Jacob's chest, trying to gently move him, until Jacob put both of his hands on top, and forced him down onto the seat. "The girls are helping Camille, and she needs privacy. Now, are you going to walk in on her like that, or are you going to man up and calm down for her? She doesn't need to see you like this," he added softly, his voice calming down slightly from its faint pitch. Moose hng his head, tears ready to fall.

"I just couldn't believe-seeing her-she doesn't deserve-"

"No, that should not have happened, not to Camille, but at the moment, if that was you, and Camille was barging right in and having a fit like that, I don't think it'd make you feel any better," he crouched down as Vladd reappeared with ice and a bowl of water with a cloth seeped in it. He took the cloth and pressed it against Moose's burning skin. Moose flinched, but Jacob remained firm. "You need to relax, okay?"

After a split second, Moose seemed to relax into Jacob's hand as the cloth rested over his forehead. He closed his eyes and slumped. Jacob placed his other hand against his shoulder in order to hold him up.

"Could someone go get a spare change of clothes for Moose? Ticks? I think you may have something close enough to his size," he added, as he took a handful of ice from where Vladd left them in the bowl, and wrapped them in the cloth. He held them against Moose's neck, and suddenly, Moose flinched away from its icy touch. "Stay still, you've got a fever."

Moose grabbed the ice pack and held it close to his neck, his eyes fluttering closed as he felt its coldness seep into his body. He shivered and sneezed. Jacob eyed the shirt he was wearing, before he started to unbutton it.

"Here's something. It should fit the kid," one of the Ticks came up behind him just as he was doing so, a deep blue t-shirt and grey sweater, clean and fresh from the washing pointed over his shoulder. Jacob took it with one hand, and placed it on Moose's lap. The kid was ready to fall asleep by now, his shudders dying down slightly once the fresh clothes were on him.

"Feel better?"

Moose nodded, sitting up a little, his voice slightly hoarse again as he asked, "Can I see Camille now, please?" His voice was full of worry and a vicious plea cut through Jacob's body as he looked into those eyes, watching them water slightly under Camille's name.

"We've got her cleaned up, and changed. She's still asleep," Anala's voice softly carried through the open room, and Jacob looked over his shoulder to see her head peeking from the doorframe. "It's just bruises and small cuts, nothing too serious."

Immediately, Moose was up and out of the seat, walking toward the room Camille was in, and Jacob got up and followed a few seconds after him. Anala watched him dive right into the room, his hair flying out in unruly curls around his face as he walked in. As soon as Jacob and Jason looked into the bedroom, there he was, lying down next to her, the ice pack all but forgotten on the bedside table. His body curled up against hers, and Jacob could make out the faint whispers of apologies and mutterings that never, never would this ever, happen again.

He wondered faintly if Camille would hear his promises from where she still slept.

Right then and there, he knew Moose had fallen asleep against her, his arms around her shoulders as he pulled her close to him.

He closed his eyes later that night thinking that when it all came down to it, he never could let her go.

xxxxxxxxx