THEN

Children running through a garden full of flowers, a pond in the background, and parents sitting around a small deck table, the children are laughing and giggling while they play.

A doctor's office, certificates littering an entire wall, the blinds behind the desk are half open. On the desk is a picture of the doctor's family. A girl is sitting in a chair in a corner of the office playing with a Barbie doll while the doctor and her mother talk.

"Tanya has a very serious illness. She has a very large stomach ulcer that's near impossible to remove successfully. I'm sorry Mrs Liberty."

The doctor's office faded away, into darkness.

"Tanya won't live a full life."

NOW

The alarm clock beside the bed and an arm stretched from underneath the duvet to slap against the cupboard a few times before finding the clock. The arm dropped back beside the bed, the tattoo on the upper arm obscured by the darkness in the room, and the angle at which the arm was twisted. There was a dull groan from under the duvet which pulled down off the hidden face. Benjamin Mayson was 19 years old, and didn't have a lot of friends, despite his age. All through school he'd been the minority, with only a handful of friends, but only one best friend; Tanya Liberty. She was a few months older than him and neither of them knew what they'd do without the other. She was the first thing he thought about before he went to sleep, and the first thing he thought about when he woke up. That…and how unfair life was.

He groaned again as he sat up, kicking the duvet off the end of the mattress, rubbing his face with his hand, the stubble rough against the tough skin of his hand. He muttered incoherently to himself as he got up, wearing just a pair of black tracksuit bottoms he stumbled across the floor and out of the door, he stretched as he turned to the left and walked down the short hallway to the bathroom and pulled the toilet seat up, he turned his head and looked at his reflection.

He wished he hadn't stayed up so late watching reruns of Supernatural on TV. His normally-spiky black hair was flattened over to one side, the length of it made him appear smart. So he hoped in the shower and washed his hair. In a better light and angle, the tattoo of the pentagram was clear now, the sun's rays sprouting in an 8-spoke pattern around it. The same tattoo that Sam and Dean Winchester have tattooed on their chests.

Once he was out and dried, he went back to his room in the nude to get some clean clothes; a pair of black faded jeans, a Metallica t-shirt, a plain black shirt which was open displaying the t-shirt, and a fingerless glove on his right hand. He also wore thick eyeliner.

He turned back to the bed when he was standing in the doorway, then walked over and felt under the pillow then pulled the gun out. It was black, fully loaded, and very shiny.

Ben stared at the gun and knew he'd never need it…right?

He shook his head and hid the gun again, then walked out of the room, closing the door.

Once he got to school he went to his usual spot, where Tanya would always meet him, she was often there before him but sometimes he was the first there. He leant against the wall remembering the episode from the night before. 'Crossroad Blues' of Season 2. Crossroad demons…he knew they had to exist. Supernatural was fake, but based on legends…myths, the truth. Vampires, demons, ghosts, Reapers…

He was torn from his train of thought by the sound of heels clicking against the concrete, he turned his head and saw Tanya's dark hair bouncing off the top of her back in a pony tail; she was wearing a blue t-shirt with a logo or brand name on it, and a pair of tight blue jeans with a pair of black Converse All Stars like his own.

"Hey Benny," she smiled and hugged him, then pulled back sharply.

"What…what is it? Are you ok?" he asked suddenly, worried…scared…a hand on her arm and the other on her back, while her own hand was on her stomach, the other clutching her phone.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she smiled falsely, "Really," she added quietly, as another friend approached them, he had the beginnings of a beard coming through, his hair was blonde and brown styled with the fringe down over his eye.

"Hey guys," he said with a cheery smile.

"Hey Lynx," Ben muttered, fed up with Tanya lying to him.

Lynx's real name was Lyle, but he had derived his nickname from his overzealous use of the Lynx deodorant.

Lynx slapped Ben's shoulder and hugged Tanya loosely.

"Only saying hi, see you suckers later." he said and left.

"I hope a hell hound chews him up and spits him out," Ben muttered.

"Oh for God's sake, you don't still believe in that crap?" Tanya snapped.

Ben didn't reply, he just stared at her and they began walking inside the college.

"It was fun when we first started watching it…but now its just…childish." Tanya added after a few minutes of silence.

Throughout the day not a lot happened. Tanya didn't eat at lunch again despite how much Ben tried to get her to eat something.

"You have to eat…please?" he said.

She just shook her head, pushing the food away.

After a while Ben had enough and stormed off, hitching his backpack over one shoulder while picking fluff from his glove, his jaw clenched tightly. Tanya followed him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You." Ben replied.

"What have I done?"

"Nothing, that's just it. You wont eat, you wont drink, all you do is go to the gym and dance, its not healthy for a person, especially you."

Tanya looked hurt.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I love you, I've always loved you. Do you know how much it kills me to see you in pain?" Ben said.

"Ben…I know its hard but…I'm not like you or…any one else here…I'm not going to live forever…but I'm not going to live as long as you." Tanya said quietly.

"I know…" Ben said, just as quietly.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You say this stuff doesn't exist…Angels, Demons, stuff like that?" Ben said, "Crossroad Demon." he said before walking off.

"Benny!" Tanya called after him, but he didn't listen and just kept walking.

Ben sat at his computer, silently, the Prodigy was blaring away to itself in the background but he was focusing on local lore. More importantly, crossroad demons, any way he could save Tanya's life. Suddenly, he came across something, sitting bolt up right in the seat, slowly leaning into the screen as he read.

"Local…very close…" he said, grabbing his jacket and bolting out of the room, "I'll be back soon!" he shouted to his parents, not giving them time to respond before the door slammed shut.

He made his way in silence down to the crossroads, it was a rail track, disused, about a mile out of town. Once he reached the track he followed it, feeling along it with his foot in the darkness. Every time he heard a noise he turned sharply in the direction in fright. Every time he swallowed his fear and kept moving. He almost tripped over the crossing lines and looked around, swallowing nervously.

"Found the crossroads," he whispered to himself, rubbing his hands together, "Next…I need to…" he continued, trying to remember. "Dig a hole dead centre, I need a light…" he said, feeling in his pockets for a lighter, pulling out the small blue vial of liquid gas and lighting it, and used his fingers to dig a hole in the middle of the tracks, placing inside a box with a picture of him and Tanya, and other odds and ends from both their lives, and then covering the box with dirt again, compacting it down almost flat.

"If you're there…I want to make a deal…" he said loudly, not standing, or looking up.

Silence, not a thing made a sound…which wasn't right, nothing, absolutely nothing was making a noise, no rustling of trees, no owls hooting, no noises of traffic. It was as if time was standing still.

"What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice.

Benny turned sharply and raised the lighter to see the woman standing in front of him.

"Tanya?" he asked quietly.

'Tanya' shook her head.

"Not Tanya." she said, with a smile.

Ben was speechless, it looked and sounded like her.

"Are you…?"

"I'm the crossroad demon, yes." she nodded.

"Are you possessing my friend?"

"No, I merely appear as what you desire. You desire Tanya, and I reckon that's why you're here?"

Ben only nodded.

"Why's that Benny?" she asked, coming right up to him and placing a hand on his chest, looking up into his eyes.

"Tanya's ill…"

"I know,"

"She doesn't deserve to be…"

"Do you?"

Ben swallowed.

"More than her…she's the nicest person in the world, she deserves a full life, not this…bullshit one she's got now." Ben said bitterly, "I want her to be happy, I hate seeing her in pain…I…I don't want her to die."

"But you'd die for her?" the demon asked, her eyes flashing deep red in the light.

Ben swallowed again…

WHAT DO YOU WANT BENNY TO DO?

SAVE TANYA'S LIFE?

OR SAVE HIS OWN?

You decide…