Author's Info: Well everyone, here's something I wasn't ever expecting on writing, or putting on Fanfiction! This is a song fic based on Cascada's Runaway. The premise? My own personal story! Told from the viewpoint of Shawn, my main male character. This is a HUGE DEAL for me, so PLEASE tell me what you think!!! I cannot stress that enough! The song was absolutely perfect for Shawn's character, and I got to introduce my absolute character of all time here first!
The "what"s: I was listening to Runaway by Cascada over and over as I wrote this. I wanted to stay focused on where I was going with this, and to figure out what was relevant to my work. All I can think is "Did I really write this?" "Did this really just happen?" and "HELL YEAH! Damian!!!!!" You understand what it's like when you finally introduce your favorite character. He is amazingness incarnate in my world.
Disclaimer: I don't own Cascada's Runaway. I DO, however, own these characters AND the plot.
Runaway: A Shawn Story
From London to Paris
From Berlin to Rome
I've seen much in my four hundred years of life. I've traveled to places most will never see in their entire lifetime, and I've experienced historical events first hand. I have always considered myself lucky, and I know I possess things most would give their lives for. I think they're a bunch of fools, personally. Sure, I have money, power, friends who would die for me, but they have things I will never have. They have families who love them, people they can tell everything to and still be accepted, and, perhaps most important, the ability to find a purpose to their life.
You're searching for something
A place to call home
Seth tells me I'm just overreacting, and I guess it's possible. After everything we've been through, though, I have to wonder. The wars between the clans, the lies, the deceit—everything we once fought for and believed in; it was meaningless now. That's why we left it all, and why there's a price on all our heads. At first the other clans thought they could sway us to their side, but that proved useless. We knew their intentions all too well; they were no different than Michel's clan. I'm tired of that life; I just want to find somewhere I can live in peace. Maybe I'll even find someone to share that life with.
Been hiding your feelings
Went out of control
Your destination's unknown
There I go again, fancying those romantic notions. You'd think I'd have given up those thoughts by now, especially after Natalie. I guess I'm just hopeless. I still remember the way she betrayed me to Michel. I had wanted her to come with us, but she had just been lying to me about wanting to end the fighting. She just wanted to stay close Michel's favorite since she wasn't going to be noticed by Michel himself. She used my departure to gain favor with Michel. I was just her puppet; my feelings meant nothing. Even after all that, I still want to know if it's possible. I wonder if there is someone who can make that go away. Seth swears there is, but Seth is always saying things like that.
Tell me
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
Perhaps it's a good thing Seth is gone. He may be like a brother to me, but it's because of that he also annoys me at every possible opportunity. I can't help but smile at the reminder of how we first met. Michel had found him and brought him into our coven in a way similar to that Raphael and I underwent. I was called in to witness his abilities. I hadn't seen Michel so excited in a long time, well over fifty years. He brought in a man suspected of being a traitor and placed him before Seth. Before long, Seth began talking to him; I could tell he was probing him, trying to get inside his head. Before long, he was speaking quite persuasively, and the traitor admitted his faults. Seth's abilities lay in convincing people to create or break ties with others. Even I had to admit it was useful. That didn't mean I was amused when he attempted it on me, however.
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above, baby
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
Runaway from love (runaway)
Over time, he realized I wasn't going to fall for his tricks and gave up. After that, we quickly became friends. He was the one person besides my brother I found myself able to talk to whenever I questioned things within the coven. After a time, I realized Raphael and I no longer saw things the same way. I didn't see anything in the coven the same anymore. That was when I made the decision to leave. When Seth heard, he insisted on coming with me. He said there was no point in being in the coven with me gone. That's when we left. We later became friends with Jase and Catherine, and now we've got our small group, hidden away from the rest of our kind and from the fighting. It's not the best life, but it's better than the alternative.
A new town, a new place
A knock on the door
You came as a stranger and entered the door
That's why we're here now, in this small city so far from the covens. The last place we went to ended in a battle with the local coven. We knew it had been risky, but we needed to be there. The clans have been rather restless lately, and we were worried the wars were about to escalate threefold. There would be more carnage and bloodshed than ever before, and our kind wouldn't be the only ones suffering. Humans, innocents, would get caught in our wars as well. Some would be found useful and turned into one of us, others would be held hostage for their ties with the covens, but most would just become part of the slaughter, blood to feed our rage and our appetite. We may have won that fight, but we couldn't risk being discovered any time soon. We needed time to recover, time to cope with what we had been forced to do.
The moment I saw you, I knew it for sure
You won't pack your bags anymore
It's for that reason I met her. Her name is Whitney, a local girl. It was a chance meeting. I had been rather bored, since Seth had gone off to feed and flirt and Jase and Catherine were no doubt in the middle of their own business. Sometimes I wonder how he puts up with her. She's so headstrong and he is always laid back. She is far too blunt and condescending with her words, and he's always cautious and contemplative. Somehow they manage to make it work, though. I guess it's because he always seems to know what she's really trying to say, and she has an uncanny sense of what people are about to do. I'm digressing though. I was talking about Whitney.
Tell me
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
I had gone to the park to kill some time. I wasn't hungry yet I had been in that house for far too long. She was sitting on one of the swings, looking rather out of it. She seemed rather upset as well. Normally I wouldn't get involved in their affairs. Humans could be quite petty. Something about her made me curious, though. I figured it was alright to investigate this once, if for no other reason than to sate my own desires. I went over and introduced myself. She unwillingly spoke back. I could see she was wondering if I was even remotely sane, not that I minded. At this point, I was questioning my own sanity. When she left, I found myself wanting to talk to her again, although I wasn't sure why.
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above, baby
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
Runaway from love (runaway)
Over time, I got to know Whitney better. I found out about Meg, the girl who had led her to the park that day, and about Gabriel, her boyfriend. He didn't like me much; I guess he saw me as a threat. Her brother, Matt, was thrilled with the sudden competition for his sister, not that it lasted long. Gabriel was a fool, believing the lies Meg continued to spin even after she had already hurt Whitney. I had never realized women could be so callous, but I still had to thank her. She left me the opportunity to find out something I had only recently begun wondering, no doubt thanks to Seth's no so subtle hints. I wondered if I had developed feelings for the human girl, even though I had tried so hard to stay distant from her. I couldn't afford to get involved any further; if I did, she would get dragged into my world, and she would be a very vulnerable target for my enemies. I had to leave, now.
I know you don't want to be a bother
Though your love's so undiscovered
Damn that girl! Does she have no sense at all? I left because I didn't want her to get involved, yet here she is, talking to the one person who would happily ruin everything: my brother. I don't know why they suddenly came to this place, or why it had to be here, but I knew I couldn't ignore it anymore. She had been chosen by Michel. She was going to be initiated, and she had no idea. She would be forced into the very world I have spent centuries running away from. I guess this only proves there is no running away from your destiny. I was meant to fight ever since Michel found Raphael and me all those years ago in Paris. This time, though, only one of us would survive. I would make sure of it. I had finally had enough of Michel's manipulations. I was going to have my revenge, and I was going to get back everything he had ever stolen from me.
I want you to stay boy
Stop running away from love
The time had finally come for the fight. Of course, I had been a fool. In my attempts to plead with her, I grew angry, and we fought. She went to their home, thinking it was some sort of human family tradition. I didn't have much time, and we would be severely outnumbered. I just had to hope Michel wasn't expecting me. Seth, Jase, and Catherine insisted on coming with me. I didn't want to get them involved; it was my mistake after all, but they insisted. Seth knew I would never be able to get past all of them at once, especially if Damian was there. Besides, there was also Raphael, and I couldn't be sure if I could count on family loyalty, not after everything I had done. Still, I had to try. I had to atone for my mistakes, and I couldn't leave Whitney to suffer in my place.
Tell me
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
I don't know how she did it, but by the time I was able to infiltrate their place, Whitney had already run. I knew I had to find her before anyone else, or that would be the end of her human life. It took time, but I did. She was in the woods, scared and trapped. When she saw me, she wasn't any better. I knew it was too late to hide what I was from her any longer, so I told her the truth. The whole of it. I knew we had to get away fast, but there was no point if she didn't trust me. It took time, but she did. I couldn't even begin to express the relief I felt, and I did the one thing that crossed my mind: I kissed her. She flushed, but before anything else could be done, we were attacked. Damian had come at last. The real battle was about to begin.
How can it be boy?
You're still a runaway
You chase the dreams from heaven above, baby
Where in this world will you find a place to stay?
Runaway from love
Runaway from love
Damian may be the most skilled of all Michel's coven, but I couldn't let that distract me. I couldn't afford to lose this battle. If I did, Whitney, as well as all the others, would be forfeit. In that faceoff, I fought like I never had before. I had never wanted to kill him; Damian was just like I was once. He was the fool, the puppet, a tool to be used by Michel. Unfortunately, I didn't have a choice. As I stripped him of his life, I whispered my apologies. He stared at me as his eyes dimmed before fading entirely. One more sin to add to the many I already accumulated, and I was about to commit another. I was selfish, and I wanted to keep her with me. I knew it would mean she would have to leave behind everything she had ever known, but I was willing. The only thing stopping me was her. As bad as I wanted it, I still couldn't do what Michel had been ready to do, and I gave her the choice. When she told me she was ready to give up her old life, I knew. I had found the one who could alleviate my sins. I found the person I was meant to love, and she loved me in return.