Author's Note: Thank you all for the feedback! You guys always inspire me to keep it going. Here's a nice long chapter to tide you over for a bit. ;p

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Chapter 2: Doubt

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"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Stop it, David!"

Star sounded on the verge of hysteria. She was backing fearfully down the deserted isle and David was advancing. His arms were wide and his steps almost hesitant. Everything about him held an air of confusion, but Star knew better.

This was David. Her David.

It was far too coincidental for him to be anything else. She'd fallen for his act earlier, but no more.

"I don't know how you survived, but-"

"Please, I don't know what you're talking about," David begged.

"I'm sorry about Marko and the others," She blurted in a rush. "It shouldn't have had to happen, but I couldn't become what you wanted, David. I'm not a killer."

David slowed to a stop at this, letting Star back away further. He was looking at her with not only a desperate confusion now, but with fear. For several moments he just stood there and Star came to a stop as she backed into a wall. What was wrong with him? The David she knew could never have looked so lost. So scared.

"I have to go," he said, his voice just above a hoarse whisper. Then he turned away and headed straight for the stairwell that led to the main floor, not even bothering to pick up his belongings. Star watched, her thoughts swirling with confusion as he left. It wasn't until he'd been long out of sight that Star's breathing returned to normal and she dared to move.

Again she found that she wasn't sure of the nature of this David. One thing was certain, however. It was time to talk to Michael.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

David sat quietly in the low thick branches of an oak. The young man looked out over the empty park, his eyes distant. The sound of footsteps made him start and he looked around the darkness beneath him, but saw nothing. With the slightest hint of a pout he looked around again but still saw nothing. He shrugged and leaned back against the trunk.

"David?"

David jumped, momentarily losing his balance before righting himself in his spot. He looked beneath him again and now thought he saw something in the shadows.

"Who's asking?" David asked, bracing himself with a branch just above his head.

The figure stepped closer, moving out of the shadows. As did a second figure. David swallowed visibly as he examined the pair. Despite the darkness the first figure's short curly brown hair and well built form was visible. The second figure who hadn't yet spoken was somewhat shorter with straight brown hair that hung just above his eyes and around his ears. This one looked up stoically at David.

"I'm asking," The first figure replied gruffly. With his blue eyes blazing, he cut a more intimidating figure than the silent second.

David frowned, but noted that he was a good foot or so out of their immediate reach.

"Well, if you get to remain anonymous, then I do too," David declared.

"Funny, David," replied the speaker for the pair.

"Who says I'm David?"

"What are you doing here?" the tall one demanded.

"Well, I was enjoying some peace and quiet-"

"Cut the crap. You're supposed to be dead, now you're here? Where we are? I doubt it's just coincidence. What the hell do you want from us?" the tall man shouted.

David's eyes widened and he tensed visibly. "You're with that woman from the library, aren't you-"

"Don't play dumb. You've scared Star half to death! Is that what you want? To scare us?"

"I scared her?! She scared me!" David exclaimed.

The curly haired one sneered. "I somehow doubt that."

"Well she did. Talking about dead people come back to haunt her and that look in her eyes? Do you know what it's like to have someone look at you with that kind of fear?" David's voice had risen a few notches and his tone was that of an innocent wrongly accused. The speaker glanced to his companion, uncertainty visible in his expression despite the darkness.

"Prove to us that you're not David," the curly one demanded, looking back to the young man in the tree.

"The fact that he's supposed to be dead isn't enough for you?" David questioned warily.

"The fact that you look just like him makes me wonder about that."

David's breathing was somewhat faster now as he searched the pair. "How? How can I prove that I'm not the person you think I am?"

"You can come with us."

David scoffed. "Hell no! Do you think I was born yesterday?"

"Don't you want us to go away?" The taller, older one asked.

"Of course! But I've seen way too many horror flicks to follow you anywhere."

The silent figure snickered at this and the first looked at him condescendingly.

"Well, he has got a point," the formerly quiet one replied. "If it were me in his place, I'd be worried."

"It's not like you've even introduced yourselves," David added.

"And we won't. David would know us. Let's see if you slip up."

David's shoulders sagged. "Sounds like you're planning for us to be talking for a while."

"The library."

David and the curly haired one looked to the no-longer-quiet man.

"We could go to the library," the second man elaborated. "It's a public place, so it'll keep you safe."

The curly haired one and the quiet one exchanged glances, silently debating with each other, before the former one sighed.

"Fine, let's do it."

David shifted uneasily in his perch. "I still haven't agreed."

"It will just be some questions, mirrors, and holy water. Nothing to worry about."

Mirrors? Holy water? David laughed at these strange people below him.

"Unless, of course, I'm a vampire. Right?"

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Michael looked down at the seemingly young man who sat at the table before him, looking very much the part of an obstinate prisoner. 'David' he'd said his name was, but had refused to give him a last name. It was incredible the likeness he had to the vampire Michael had known twenty years earlier. Too incredible. Too impossible. When Star had told him of her sightings of this... person... he had wanted to just assure her that whoever she'd seen could not have been the Lost Boy leader, that her imagination was playing tricks, but she was adamant. Something strange was going on, she'd said, because this person looked like David, but didn't act like him. He had some of his quirks, his interests, but showed no recognition. She wanted to believe that it was all just coincidence, but how could it be? Michael hadn't really worried until he'd lain eyes on David in the park. He and Laddie had gone out in search of him to put Star's mind at ease and now he knew that she had right to be worried. Confused even. But if Michael could help it, they would find the truth of things that night. One way or the other.

"What do you do during the day?" Michael asked as David crossed his arms, glaring up at him with those eerily familiar eyes.

"I work. Four days a week. I also have classes. Some are during the day, but I have a several night classes. It makes for a hectic week."

Michael sighed, running his fingers through his curly hair and looked around for his missing partner. Laddie had run off to acquire something they needed for a true test of David's nature.

"You realize, David, that you've been nothing but vague. It doesn't all add up."

"Oh yeah, it makes more sense that I'm a vampire."

"Just answer the questions and we'll go."

"I do answer," David replied.

"You're lacking in details," Michael shot back.

"Then ask better questions!" David exclaimed, his voice raising. "I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to tell you where I live, my last name, which classes I'm taking, or where I work."

"That makes it hard to verify your story," Michael told him.

"Maybe. But it also makes it hard for you nut jobs to come check up on me in the middle of the day or night with guns and knives. ...Or maybe stakes and crosses, with the way you people think. Either way, I'd rather live to see my 80's," David replied evenly.

Michael frowned. Again, taking his queue from Laddie, if he put himself in an innocent David's shoes, he would probably think all this was a little crazy as well. Good for the both of them there were other ways, better ways, of finding the truth that didn't rely on how honest and forthcoming David was.

As if on cue Laddie returned, weaving through the stacks of bookcases to the semi-secluded back area they had chosen for the interrogation. Laddie handed Michael a beat up water bottle.

"I couldn't find the mirror or the cross," he replied in his quiet voice. "Your car is a mess."

Michael nodded through a half smile. "It's all right. This will do."

As Michael placed the water bottle on the table in front of David, Laddie moved to the blond's right as if to make sure that he didn't try to bolt. David just watched them with a tilted brow.

"Drink it," Michael ordered.

David looked at the bottle. "What's supposed to be in there?"

"If you're human, nothing that will hurt you."

"Did you poison it? Drug it?" David questioned.

"It's holy water," Michael told him irritably.

"Holy water?" David glanced to Laddie who nodded at him before David turned his attention back to Michael. "You drugged it."

"It's not drugged. Now drink it, or we'll make you drink it!" Michael shouted, slamming his hands down on the table. The water sloshed around the bottle as David glared back at him angrily.

The more David resisted, the more Michael found himself becoming certain that this was in fact the David he'd thought he'd killed. He forced himself not to wonder about how that was possible and kept his mind on the present. Even this man's glare was the same.

It was Laddie's quiet voice that broke the increasing tension. He simply and calmly declared, "It's fine. The water is fine."

Michael kept his eyes locked on David, but David glanced to the quiet man, his own anger seeming to diminish.

"So ...what, if I drink this and I don't fizz or something, then you'll stop bothering me?"

"Yes," Michael promised, his nerves on edge. 'Was he going to do it?' Whether or not he did it wouldn't prove anything. If this were the vampire... maybe he thought they were bluffing. He'd be in for a rude awakening then.

David's blue eyes searched Laddie then Michael then the bottle before him. Michael waited, nerves on end. Finally David sighed, nodded to himself, then lifted the bottle.

"Cheers," he replied before tipping the bottle to his lips and downing the entire thing. When it was done he slammed the bottle triumphantly down on the table with a sigh and looked up at Michael with a smile who stared in surprise.

"See? I'm clean."

Michael stared for another several moments, waiting to see smoke erupt from David's nostrils or for him to scream in agony... But he didn't. Michael glanced to Laddie who was frowning at the bottle then looked back to the young man in front of him and waved his hand dismissively.

"Fine. Go."

David eyed him suspiciously as he got to his feet and moved towards the stacks closest to the stairs. He looked like he wanted to say something to them, perhaps something questioning their sanity, but he held his tongue and instead turned continued away in silence.

Michael remained poised over the table, face contorted in confusion. Laddie crossed his arms, eyes moving from the direction David had disappeared back to the bottle.

"You're sure this was holy water, right?"

Laddie nodded, an almost offended frown crossing his face. Michael sighed.

"How could someone look so much like him and not be him? That kid does look like him, right? Exactly like him?"

Laddie nodded assertively.

"Then I don't get it. Did David have a son? A clone? What?"

Laddie shrugged helplessly and Michael scowled another moment then sighed. "It doesn't matter. That kid's no vampire. Whoever he is, he's not a problem."

Again the younger man nodded, his brown hair swaying around his forehead.

"We may not understand it, but this is a good thing," Michael continued. Saying it aloud, he hoped, would help him believe it. "I'm going to tell Star. Coming?"

Laddie picked up the bottle and followed after Michael.

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Star sat on her porch looking out to the cloudy night sky through the large screen windows. Rain pattered gently on the overhang that protected her. Star liked watching the rain. It was calming and it let her mind wander freely. She'd been out there a good hour already.

Michael had gone out with a few friends some time earlier. She'd turned down his invitation to go out with them, not feeling like she wanted to deal with large crowds at the time. So here she sat, her thoughts wandering between work that she had yet to complete, household chores, Michael, but often her thoughts returned to the anomaly that called himself David.

It was no lie that she'd been relieved to hear that he was as human as the rest of them, but it opened up a whole new mess of questions that Star found gnawed at her.

Her thoughts wandered again as the rain came down harder than before. She wondered if there would be a lightening storm and hoped that Michael would be careful.

A sharp knock startled her and she turned to the screen door, expecting to see Michael back early. She was startled yet again to see not her husband, but the young David standing at the door.

"Hi," he greeted with a small wave. Water dripped from wet clumps of blond hair to trickle down his face and neck. His shirt clung to his chest and his kakis stuck to his legs.

Part of her wanted to get the young man out of the rain, but she was still somewhat wary.

"David," she greeted, her tone showing her surprise. She stood from her chair and approached the door slowly, noting that it was unlocked. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

David gave an awkward smile, opened his mouth to answer, then spun away quickly to sneeze into his arm. "Sorry," he said with a sniff as he turned back. "I asked the librarian on duty where I could find you. She didn't know exactly, but she helped me find out. ...Sorry, I know this is awkward, but after everything... I just wanted- I just needed to talk to you."

Star watched him uncertainly. "So you walked out here in the rain?"

"Heh, honestly I might have done this another day if it had been raining when I left," he admitted as his hands dipped into his soaked pockets as he searched for something.

"It's been raining for over an hour," she told him though as she examined him she realized that he certainly looked like he'd been out there for a while.

"Yeah, I know. It took me longer to get here than I thought. I didn't bring my bike... Which I guess is good. I don't like to get the motor wet." His hands flew out of his pockets so he could catch another sneeze in his arm. When he recovered he looked back at her. "I know you don't like me, so you don't have to let me in... I just wanted to talk. ...And maybe ask for a tissue, if you've got one."

Star hesitated before inwardly scolding herself. This man had done nothing to her and she and Michael had been awful to him. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, he'd walked all this way in the rain to talk. She was sure she knew about what and she really didn't want to talk about it, but the least she could do was get this kid out of the rain.

"Of course," she replied, opening the door.

David looked through the entryway, but hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, come on. It's pouring out there now."

As David stepped over the threshold, Star found herself holding her breath, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, she let it out in a quiet sigh and closed the door. Hearing David sniff again, she stepped past him and headed for the door that led into her home.

"Just wait there, I'll get you some Kleenex."

"Thank you," came the ever polite reply.

A few moments later Star returned with a box of tissues and two big fluffy blue towels. She placed one towel on one of the porch chairs, put the box on the table before David and handed him the other towel as she motioned for him to take a seat.

"Don't get sick because of me, ok?" she replied after another 'thanks'.

David looked at her with an amused, but surprised expression, as if he hadn't expected hospitality nor concern from her. With a chuckle he rubbed the towel over his head and neck, then picked up a tissue.

"It takes more than a little rain to get me sick," he declared confidently. Then he blew his nose.

"Well good," Star replied through an amused laugh of her own. Star found his shy smile strange on the face she remembered as a killer's, yet it was disarming all the same.

Somehow the tension eased after that and the pair were able to sit and chat about old wives tales concerning what made one sick. Star even brought out tea to warm the young man up. Finally the chatter died down and they just sat quietly listening to the rain. Though she now felt more comfortable around David, she knew what he'd come to talk about. Not sure what to say, she could only wait nervously, trying to plan a response that wouldn't sound crazy. She glanced to David and noted how calm he seemed. The shyness he displayed earlier, appeared to have melted away and he sat back quite calm and cool as he stared off into the night. Despite his cropped hair and the fuzzy towel around his neck, she found that the more she looked at him, the more everything about him, even the aura that emanated from him reminded her of David. Her David.

And then he sat up, his shoulders drooping, his blue eyes glancing floor-ward awkwardly and the dominating presence of her David vanished leaving the young shy man in his wake. Star swallowed hard, knowing he was about to break the silence.

"Star... can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask," she replied, implying that he might not receive an answer.

David nodded, sipped his tea then asked, "Who was this guy 'David'? What did he do to you and Michael and that other guy to make you so scared?"

Star met the young man's gaze, searching him and wondering how far she should go.

"David... David was complicated," she answered truthfully. The young man waited patiently as she took a long swig from her mug to buy time to think. She would keep it vague, but truthful. "He was good to me for a while. He became almost family."

David listened quietly, eyes not watching her, but looking outside into the darkness. Star watched him a moment then turned away with a sigh.

"What happened?" David asked finally.

"He wanted me to become something I'm not," she replied.

There. Short, simple, and true without getting into the literally gory details. David and the rest of the Boys had been almost family for a time. Then she'd realized just how brutal they were, just how gruesome becoming a vampire was, and that to survive that way, would cost Star her soul. She couldn't do it. And when Michael had given her the opportunity, she'd escaped. But this David didn't need to know all that.

The scathing tone surprised Star and she turned to David sharply as he replied. "Is that all?"

For a moment she was silent, stunned by his impudence. How dare he?

"David wasn't what you wanted, so you betrayed him?"

The rain was coming down even harder now, the heavy droplets thundered down on the porch roof. Despite the deafening noise Star could hear the young man's quiet but chilling voice clearly. His before soft eyes had hardened, the rest of his expression was stoic. The woman's heartbeat quickened.

"I never said I betrayed-"

"You betrayed the Lost Boys. Let killers into our home. While we slept, Star!"

There was a rushing sound in her ears. She couldn't breathe. It was him.

"David," she gasped.

David turned slowly towards her, the crystal blue of his eyes turned yellow and his brow pushed forward, distorting his handsome features.

"Star," he greeted, his fangs visible behind his lips as he spoke. Suddenly he was on his feet, knocking the table that separated them aside, and stepping up close, but not touching her. Star remained frozen in her seat, staring at him in wide-eyed shock.

"You couldn't handle it-" David sneered.

"David, I-"

"You couldn't handle what we offered," David continued, heedless. "So you tried to kill us all."

The vampire leaned in close. She wanted to strike him, fight or even flee, but she couldn't move. And it was more than fear, she realized. He was keeping her there. David blew in her ear and she shivered as he spoke.

"Well, you didn't kill us all."

She sucked in her breath and then suddenly David was gone. Star paused, took another shuddering breath then looked around wildly. There was no sign of him. In fact there was no sign that he'd been here at all. The towels had vanished as had the tissues and the tea cups. The table he'd knocked over was righted and even Star herself was sitting in the same place she had been originally.

She stood up abruptly, looking for the water that had soaked the floor when he'd entered or the hot kettle she'd left on the stove, but found neither. She couldn't decide if that made her feel better or worse...

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A/N: Then next chap or the chapter after will be the final chapter! Depends on how I want to separate it... ponders I told you it'd be short! Reviews are awesome and let me know you'd like to see the end.