Spoilers contained in this fanfiction. I do not claim rights to the characters - just the story. Lyrics by Rascal Flatts, "What Hurts The Most."

Darkest Powers

WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO

By NormalTeenageGirl

A bell tinkled above my head as I followed Maya and Corey into a little cafe in a town near Buffalo. Maya shivered as the heat penetrated through her wet clothes. "Thank God," she muttered. "Any wetter and I swear I'd drown."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure." But I knew where she was coming from. It was pouring more than I could have thought possible - and I came from an island in Canada. I knew what pouring rain was.

"I'm hungry," said Corey, sticking a hand in his pocket as he fished for some cash. "Lunch's on me."

"Just get a few bagels," Maya told him. "Daniel and I will find a table."

I followed Maya silently towards a small table in a corner. The way she said "Daniel and I" so easily... it hurt. I wanted there to be a "Daniel and I." And it wasn't in the 'friendly' category.

When we sat down, Maya frowned at me. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Uh huh." Maya looked skeptical. "I know something's up."

I glanced out the window, not wanting to see the compassion in her eyes. It didn't matter how much she cared about me. It would never be enough.

"I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me..."

"Gotta love America," Corey announced, breaking up the moment. "Good food, good music."

"Music?" I glanced up at the ceiling looking for speakers. Habit, I guess. "Never heard this song."

"I have. Not sure who it is though," said Maya. I could feel her gaze still trained on me. "It's pretty good."

I grabbed one of the bagels and avoided Maya's eyes by listening to the song and chewing slowly.

"There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay
But that's not what gets me."

Oh, great, a depressing love song, I thought sourly, feeling even worse.

"What hurts the most
Was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away."

"You okay, dude?" Corey had stopped chewing, and I realized I had a pained look plastered onto my face.

I forced a smile. "Yeah. Totally."

"And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Was what I was trying to do."

Pretty much my love-life in a nutshell. I sighed, glancing at Maya. She met my eyes, looking totally baffled.

There was one moment, when we were still lost on an island, when I had tried to tell Maya that, even though I'd been dating Serena, she was the one I actually liked. As usual, my tactics went straight over her head, and I hadn't brought it up since.

I'd tried even before then, when we were safe. But then she and Rafe actually began dating, and, I'll admit, part of the reason I gave him such a hard time was because I was so jealous. I had always - always - been there for her, and suddenly a strange boy could come waltzing in and take my girl? Not cool. But I did try to relax, mostly because I didn't want to have to explain to Maya the real reason why I didn't like him.

"Daniel..." she began.

I got up. "I'm going to go see if I can find a map in a tourist shop," I said gruffly, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "I'll be back in a few."

"But - "

I walked away, ignoring Maya's protests. Words from the song chased me out the door into the cold.

"But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away, all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken..."

A girl and her mother, covered by an umbrella, sloshed through the rain towards me. Just as they were passing, the girl glanced up and smiled shyly. A silent greeting.

I smiled back fleetingly. And it felt good just letting go of some of my stress.

I was always trying to show Maya that my love wasn't just brotherly, but she never noticed.

I was in the real world now, not living in a tiny, isolated town.

Maybe it was time for me to find a new girl to love, to let go of Maya.

And maybe, just maybe, that was what I was trying to do all along.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! Review if you'd like - I'm planning on making one, possibly two, full-length stories with the Darkest Power/Darkness Rising characters, so your feedback from this story will help the other ones as well.