Reviews: Big thanks to; chrono-contract, pheonix80, Blaze Queenie, Elves of the Moon, , Rapunzelle, Thegoldenlock, Nameless Little Girl, Destiny Kitty, kit572 and Tenshi of Freedom for taking the time to review! -glomps-

Heehee, now for chapter 2! Enjoy!

Watching Miguel pull out of the driveway, Kai can't quell that feeling of impending dread that has taken a hold of his body. Wrapping his arms around himself, he rubs his hands up and down his upper arms, trying to push away a slight chill that causes him to shiver. He doesn't like this feeling, this feeling of fear and concern. He's experienced it too many times before, but this time, its making him feel lightheaded and he finds it a little hard to swallow.

He can't get rid of that image from last night, the absolute fear on Miguel's, the way his body was trembling with fright. And most importantly, the sincerity on his face when he claims to have seen a hooded figure floating out in the hallway.

He believes the blonde, truly he does, he just doesn't want to believe that small voice inside his head telling him that that figure Miguel had an encounter with last night was the Grim Reaper, or Death himself.

Not many people know this, and probably not many will believe it, but Kai is a very spiritual person. He believes in life after death, and that there are things in this word that can't be explain through science or even human knowledge. That's why he was so interesting in learning Miguel's beliefs and culture towards Halloween. To him, it was just a day where the veil between life and death was slightly blurred.

Walking back inside, the sounds of his fellow bladers talking excitedly to each other greets him. Everyone seems to be in festive mood. Too bad Kai isn't.

"Hey, where's Miguel?" Max suddenly asks.

"He went into town," Claude tells him as he helps Ray light some candles. "He's just doing me a favor."

"But the party is about to start," Max points out, not wanting to start without him, but also not wanting to delay the party.

"He won't be long," Kai says as he lingers in the doorway of the room before moving to head upstairs to the bedrooms. "He said he wouldn't," he whispers to himself, trying to reassure himself.

He then retreats upstairs, into his room. He can't stop this feeling of dread and he moves to sit on the edge of his bed, keeping his gaze on the driveway. He doesn't know how long he's been sitting here, through several reminders that the party has started apparently. But he doesn't want to leave, the take his eyes off the driveway until he sees the familiar sight of that old Ute appearing.

Suddenly, he see it. There, standing at the end of the driveway, looking up, at him through the window. That figure Miguel told him about.

A black cloak, no feet or face, floating and swaying, yet completely invisible to the wind or rain.

It's him…It's death…

No…

"No," Kai whispers, his eyes widening with fear. He then springs to his feet and dashes out of the room. Ignoring the heavy rain and blowing wind, he races outside and towards the driveway where the cloaked figure is still lingering.

"You can't!" he yells out to him, not caring if anyone happens across him like this. "You can't take him!"

He's after Miguel, isn't he? Is that why he visited him last night?

The figure simply seems to stare at him, its gaze cutting right through him, into his soul. But Kai doesn't care, if it helps in anyway, helps to keep Miguel with him for just that little bit longer, he'll curse and scream at him all he wants.

"I won't let you take him!" he yells as he shakes his head furiously at him, curling his hands into fists by his sides. "You're not allowed!"

Suddenly, the figure seems to bow its head and then fades away, leaving no sign other than the haunting memory burned into Kai's subconscious that he was even here.

"Don't take him from me, please," Kai whispers as he falls to his knees in the mud, ignoring the rain as it falls around him in heavy torrents. "He's…all I have."

Tears are cascading down his cheeks, as heavy as the rain around him. He sinks further onto the ground, the mud clinging to him like a second skin as his slender body appear frail and delicate as it shakes from his tears. His heart aches in despair, crying out in sadness.

This can't be…Miguel can't be gone from his life. He brought light back into his world, light he thought he'd never see. Charming, intelligent, friendly, understanding, there are very few people in his life that can even compare to Miguel. No one comes close. He needs him to stay in his life. He's content whenever the blonde is near.

Could the Gods and Spirits above really be so cruel as to take his light away from him so quickly, so easily?

"I love him," he whispers as he lifts his hands to his face, smothering an agonizing cry in his palms. "I never told him."

He doesn't know how long he's been sitting here, outside in the rain, crying until there is no more tears to cry. The rain is cold, the ground is sticky and hard, but he doesn't notice these things at all. All he can acknowledge is this excruciating pain in his heart, the hollowness in his soul and the inability to breath properly.

The figure, that hood figure, it was death, or the Grim Reaper in many other cultures. Kai knows it, he can feel the deathly chill that radiated from it. Despite his young years, he's been near death before and has witness it many times. The stillness, the coldness, the icy chill still haunts him.

And now…Miguel…

"No," Kai whispers and shakes his head almost violently in denial before leaning his head back to peer up at the dark gray sky far above. "He can't be dead. I won't let him die."

Suddenly, the sound of a vehicle driving up the stone drive way, hastily yet cautiously at the same time reaches his ears. Kai's heart feels like it literally stops beating when the familiar white Ute appears in his sight. The vehicle comes to a abrupt halt and a thankfully familiar blonde steps out from the drivers' side door, pale and shaking, but very much alive.

"Miguel…?" Kai breathes, tears once again building in his eyes when Miguel moves to lean against the side of the Ute, a shaky hand touching his face in almost disbelief. Suddenly, he turns his blue eyes towards him and they widen in alarm, and yet, they hold a sense of relief.

He's here…

Without wasting a single moment, Kai climbs to his feet, his legs a little shaky from the emotional torment, but he ignores the numbness as he runs over to Miguel. Miguel pushes away from the Ute and opens his arms as he takes a few steps forward as well. Kai practically crashes into his chest as Miguel wraps his arms tightly around his body, neither teen caring very much about the rain or mud.

He's alive…

There's so much relief, so much joy in Kai's heart that he's sure it would burst. He wraps his arms around Miguel's body, his hands resting on his upper back as he buries his face in the crook of his neck, pulling their bodies together. Miguel has arms wound so tightly around Kai, pulling him mentally and physically closer, his face in Kai's damp hair as he clings to him. His body is no longer shaking, but heavy with fatigue and Kai has to hold up upright to keep him standing.

"Are you alright?" Kai asks him as he pushes back ever so slightly to frame his face in his hands and gaze into his eyes, his own searching frantically for any visible injuries. "What happened?"

"There was this car on the wrong side of the road," Miguel explains, his voice still a little shaky as well as he leans heavily against him. "He was talking on his phone. I had to swerve to miss him, but the breaks locked up and I was heading for the edge of the cliff. But suddenly, I felt something touch my foot quite heavily, almost like slamming it down on the break pedal, the breaks then kicked in and the car stopped before…the cliff."

"The Grim Reaper," Kai whispers, a look of confusion on his face.

"What?"

"That hooded being you saw last night, I saw him too, today, not long ago," Kai murmurs.

Miguel stiffens in shock, his eyes widening ever so with fright. "You saw him too?"

"He…wasn't carrying his scythe," Kai whispers, his eyes widening in realization ever so slightly as he clings to Miguel. "Oh thank God, he was just warning you."

"Kai," Miguel breathes as he presses their foreheads together.

"I was scared," Kai admits, refusing to take his eyes off Miguel in fear that if he does close his eyes and opens them again, he'll find Miguel gone. "I thought…"

Suddenly, Miguel cuts him off by leaning forward and pressing their lips together. Kai feels his eyes shut involuntarily, but the feel of Miguel's lips against his reassures him that he's still here and very much alive. He makes a small sound of approval and leans into the kiss, tilting his head to the side as Miguel boldly runs his tongue over his bottom nip before nibbling on it and slipping inside. Their tongues soon meet as the kiss turns passionate, the two grasping desperately onto each other as they releases their worries, concerns and fears into this kiss, telling each other how much they mean to the other without the use of words.

A tear slips from Kai's eye as he thinks about how close he came to loosing Miguel and how close he came to never experiencing something so loving and intimate with him.

"I love you," Kai whispers as he momentarily pulls his lips away from Miguel's to draw in a breath to sooth his rapidly beating heart.

"I love you, too," Miguel replies as he leans forward to pull him into yet another passionate kiss.

As the rain falls from above, the two continue to trade loving kisses, simply relishing in the feel of one another. It doesn't bother either male that they are sharing these kisses outside where anyone could find them, they don't care about hiding. Not anymore.

"Let's go inside," Miguel whispers as he presses their foreheads together again. "It's cold out here."

"Yeah," Kai whispers in reply but gives his head a little shake, not wanting to head back indoors and into that party atmosphere in the rooms down stairs. He's in no mood for that, he just wants to stay like this, in Miguel's arms. "But I don't want to go back to the party."

"Neither do I," Miguel agrees quickly, as if he read Kai's thoughts. "Let's go back to our room. I want to just spend time with you."

"Yes, let's do that."

Death doesn't have to physical, it can be spiritual as well. The Grim Reaper signifies death, well in a sense, that's true what happened here tonight. Something did die tonight, and that was their denial and procrastination. No more waiting until tomorrow, no more putting anything off ever again.

Tonight Miguel could have easily died, dying before telling Kai how he felt, dying before learning how Kai felt.

What happened tonight wasn't a near death experience, it was a life changing one. He's going to be doing things differently now. The little things aren't a concern anymore, they aren't worth getting worked up about.

Miguel knows that now, and looking down at the beautiful male in his arms only confirms his belief. Living life now and enjoying it to its full extent with Kai by his side is all that matters to him now.

Death still scares the hell out of him, but when its his time to come, many years in the future, at least he'll be satisfied in knowing he won't have any regrets.

"Lets have a shower to warm up," Miguel suggests as he and Kai slowly make their way inside, keeping a firm hold of one another. "And then we'll tell everyone we're together."

Kai pulls back and gives Miguel a look of surprise. "What?"

Miguel smiles and kisses his forehead gently. "I'm ready to start a new chapter of my life. Aren't you?"

"…Yeah, I am."

…Um, yeah, different from what I usually write, huh? I just wanted to try something different for Halloween. How did I do? Ok?

X3 I'm actually quite surprised that some of you actually thought I would have the guts to kill of Miguel. As if I could do anything to separate my favorite pairing!

Please review.