A/N: Double digits, and a super long one. I wasn't even sure where I wanted this chapter to go when I started it, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you guys are too!

The closer it got to sundown, the more Tara was convinced she was making a mistake. David clearly didn't like her, so why on earth would he invited her to hang out with all of them? She wondered if she was taking his behaviour too personally. He didn't seem like the kind of person who really liked anybody – other than the Lost Boys, of course. Or maybe Cat had talked him into it. Shaking her head at herself in the mirror, she sighed. It was difficult to picture David being talked into anything he didn't want to do. This left her feeling like she was about to go defend herself in court. Hell, if Cat wasn't going to be there, Tara doubted she would've accepted the offer.

She liked Cat. Funny, smart and surprisingly kind, Tara hoped that these traits would extend to time spent with both her and the Lost Boys. That way if David did have some kind of ulterior motive, she'd have somebody on her team. Although that would mean siding with somebody she'd only really known for a handful of weeks over somebody who she considered her brother.

Yeah…The night ahead was likely to be a sure-fire shit show. But at least it'd be a shit show that she looked good at. Opting for a black spaghetti strap skater dress, along with a baggy purple off-the-shoulder sweater, she'd plaited her hair, allowing the platinum blonde streaks to show through. Hey, if it went well maybe she and David could end up sharing boxes of bleach. The mental image alone put a smile on her face.

"I'm going out!" she called quickly to Carolina and Johnny, speed-walking through the living room.

It took everything she had not to groan audibly when Carolina spun on the sofa, frowning a little.

"I don't know if you want to be alone on the boardwalk after dark," her aunt frowned at her.

"Yeah, 'cause I didn't just spend months on end slumming it in New York," she sighed.

"New York isn't murder capital of the world," Carolina shot back.

"Well…It's a good thing I won't be alone," Tara shrugged, continuing on her way until Carolina spoke up again.

"Oh, you're meeting Cat again?"

"Yeah…and the rest of them."

Now it was Johnny's turn to question her "All of them?"

"…The Lost Boys."

If she'd expected Johnny to pull some pseudo-fatherly bullshit on her about her choice of company, she would've been sorely disappointed. Instead he gave a bark of laughter, and lifted his drink in almost a salute to her "Good for you!"

Carolina wasn't so pleased.

"Tara," she groaned.

"Ah-ah!" Tara splayed a hand towards her "You're the one who keeps insisting you're not my parent and can't tell me what to do! You like Cat! Hell, since you found out about what happened to her mom, she's been 'that poor girl' every time you see her!"

"It's not her I have the issue with, and you know it."

"Well, they're her friends. I wanna be friends with her, I gotta make friends with her friends."

It wasn't her sole reason for going. The Lost Boys were fascinating to her, and her aunt knew it. Tara was simply counting on the fact that she wouldn't say it.

"Ha, you could be the second Lost Girl in history," Johnny muttered, resulting in a shove from Carolina.

"I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions, and my own mistakes. Weren't you a hippy? You should be all for this!" Tara gave a teasing grin.

Carolina said nothing, turning back around with a grunt. Tara took this as her sign to leave, giving Johnny an amused wave on her way out.

Finding the Lost Boys wasn't hard, mostly because they found her. Figuring she'd buy the next comic in the vampire series that the guy in the store had given her, she slipped in on her way to the beach. The place was busier during the night than it had been last time she was there, with a few teens standing in the corner looking so desperate to not seem suspicious that they reeked of guilt. Tara wondered just how many comics they had hidden in their coats.

Edgar's eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw her. He hesitated for a moment before striding over, looking a little suspicious. Tara was beginning to assume that was just his face. People in Santa Carla were fucking weird.

"You're back," he grunted, somehow managing to make it sound like an accusation.

"I was going to pick up the second issue of that vampire series," she admitted "Maybe see if you had anything else similar."

The last one had given her more ideas than she had clothing to DIY. He seemed to perk up at that. Or at least, he didn't frown quite as much.

"You liked the last one?" he led her towards the horror section, eyes scanning the shelves thoughtfully.

"Sure, I love anything to do with vampires," she shrugged, glancing towards the storefront.

Hopefully the Lost Boys were there already. It was only that morning that she'd realised how vague David had been the night before. "On the beach" didn't mean shit in Santa Carla, and "after dark" meant less than shit with the early sunsets well set in. Scouring the beach for people who might not even be there wasn't an idea that filled her with a great amount of excitement.

"They're monsters," Edgar muttered, grabbing a couple of comics from the shelf.

It took her a second to remember what they'd been talking about, and to realise that he wasn't referring to the Lost Boys. Recollections of her conversation about them with Cat sprang back to mind. Yeah, Edgar Frog seemed like the kind of guy who held a grudge.

"I dunno, there's something romantic about the whole thing," she replied distractedly.

Fixing her with a steely glare, Edgar grunted. Somebody took their fiction a little too seriously.

"Murder is romantic now?" he scoffed, leading her towards the counter.

"Those women who marry serial killers on death row seem to think so," she muttered sarcastically, digging her wallet out of her tote.

Apparently this was the wrong move. Snatching the cash from her hand, he practically shoved the comics at her.

"Calm down, man," she blinked "It's fiction."

"Don't be so-."

When he looked up, something to her left at the storefront caught his attention. Then his eyes widened. Tara wouldn't have even noticed Cat standing there otherwise, but when she did she gave her a smile. Leaning against the doorway just outside of the store, her eyes flickered between Tara and Edgar. Paul appeared a few moments later, hovering over her shoulder. Edgar visibly tensed.

"Hey guys!" Cat grinned, looking decidedly malicious "What are we talking about?"

"You're not welcome in this store," Edgar ground out, never taking his eyes from the couple.

"I'm not in your shop, Eric," Cat tilted her head, looking down pointedly at her boots, just toeing the line marking the entrance.

Edgar looked like he was beginning to reach under the counter, and Paul took a very deliberate step forward. This was when Tara's blood ran cold. Whatever feud was going on between these guys was no joke. If Cat was nervous it didn't show in her face…although the way she suddenly grabbed Paul's hand did.

"You coming, Tara?" she asked brightly, turning her head to look at her instead.

Between the odd look Paul was giving her, and the look of pure loathing that Edgar suddenly adopted, Tara suddenly felt like a deer in headlights.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she nodded, clutching the comics to her chest.

She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The bonfire was quite a ways away up the beach – close enough to be able to see other fires dotted along the sand, but not enough to be able to hear much of other people. Not that she'd be able to anyway, with the way the boom box was blaring AC/DC.

"Somebody get the lady a drink," David called over it when they made their arrival, nodding at Tara in greeting.

Cat and Paul fell into the sand beside the bonfire, Marko sending a kick Paul's way once he settled. Dwayne was the one who stood and made his way to the comically over-packed and oversized cooler (how the fuck did they get that one on the bikes?) so Tara chose to follow him, rather than play third-wheel to the happy couple.

"What's your poison?" Dwayne asked, rifling through the bottles.

Most of them were water bottles, filled with what she guessed was anything but water. That, or the Lost Boys prioritised staying hydrated. Doubtful.

"What you got?" she shrugged, dropping her bag next to the cooler.

"Pretty much everything but absinthe," he snorted.

"We've got the vodka and the gin over here!" Cat called "…except I can't remember which one's vodka and which one's gin."

"Why the fuck did you get gin anyway?" David wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," she shrugged before turning her head and sticking out her tongue, allowing Paul to drop a handful of tiny white pills on it.

It looked like when the Lost Boys partied, they really fucking partied.

"Uh, just a beer for now," she shrugged and thanked him when he handed her one.

"Codeine," he supplied at her questioning look towards Cat "Strong ones, too."

"Aren't you not supposed to mix that with alcohol?" she blinked, sending the girl a concerned look as she took a swig from the bottle of gin-or-vodka.

"It's fine," Cat shook her head "I'm sturdier than I look."

"Yeah she is," Paul grinned, earning eye-rolls and groans all around the bonfire.

Tara was just about to open her beer when it was snatched from her hands, and replaced by a water bottle full of some kind of amber liquid.

David smirked at her "Go hard or go home."

Rolling her eyes, she uncapped the bottle and took a swig. Whisky. Not excited at the prospect of being a component of a Cat and Paul sandwich, she was left with either David, Marko or Dwayne to side beside. It wasn't even a question, especially not seeing how David felt about her and how little she knew Marko.

"You can grab a beer if you want, y'know," he snorted a little at the bottle in her hand.

"Would I be judged relentlessly for it all night?" she raised her eyebrows.

"…Probably," he shrugged, smirking at her.

"Well then…cheers," she returned his smirk, holding up her bottle and taking another swig.

Tara hadn't drank much since leaving New York. Hell, she hadn't even really drank much in New York. Sure, avoiding her home as much as possible at night presented a perfect opportunity, but working her ass off as in intern at the local tattoo parlour during the day offered the perfect reason not to. Staying awake was hard enough, throw in a hangover? Arriving in Santa Carla lessened the amount even more, however. Carolina was hardly a potential drinking buddy.

The result of this was that after a few gulps of whisky she was already feeling a slight buzz, beginning in her fingertips and her toes. She didn't mind, it calmed her, making her feel a little less like a lamb ready for slaughter. The looks she was getting every so often from David were working hard to undo that, though. They weren't outright glares, it was just like he was…considering her. The same way a lion would consider a fucking zebra. But if there was anything Tara knew, it was that he'd thrive from a reaction. She'd be damned if she gave him one.

Instead she took off her sweater and stretched out comfortably in the sand, not missing the way Dwayne blatantly side-eyed her as she did so. When she arched her eyebrows at him, the corner of his mouth twisted upwards and he shrugged off his jacket. She stared openly, just as he had, and snickered at the smug look on his face.

"You do realise we're a fuckin' collective third wheel here, right?" Marko snorted to David.

"You always have each other," Cat grinned at him from Paul's lap.

"I'm good thanks, sis," he rolled his eyes.

There was that word again. "Sister". It still struck her as odd that they all viewed each other as family. Okay sure, they were close, but so were plenty of other people. Maybe they were all each other had? But that couldn't be right. After all, the fiasco with Cat's mom was almost what had launched her friendship with the girl. That raised a question. Why had she been told by letter? Where was Cat's real family? She was close to them, if her reaction to the phone call was any indication, but she never spoke of them. It seemed odd for a young woman to be so far away from home, with so little contact. Sure, she was hardly much different, but she was living with extended family - and she wasn't in a completely different country, either.

"Did you make that necklace?" Tara asked, both out of a need to distract herself from Marko's remarks (both the one about couples and the one about families) and genuine curiosity.

"Uh-huh," he nodded, turning to face her a little more, chin tilted upwards to expose it even more.

Tara couldn't help herself and reached out a hand to touch it. It was certainly very different from the stuff she made, although not in a bad way. Knick-knacks all held together with bits of twine and string. Stopping at what looked like a rodent skull, she ran a fingertip over the smooth bone. She didn't even notice the side of her hand straying closer and closer to his exposed chest until it ended up resting there. For a brief second it stayed there, and all she could think of was how /warm/ he was. Then she snatched her hand away.

"It's pretty," she murmured, turning to face the bonfire again.

"Not really the look I was goin' for, but I'll take it," he shrugged, visibly unfazed by her reaction to him.

Catching the amused look she was getting from Paul across the fire, she had to make a conscious effort not to scowl at him. She knew how it looked. Using a guy's clothing or accessories to get a chance to touch him was the oldest trick in the book, but certainly not one she'd just tried to pull. So why did she do it? If it had been one of the others wearing the necklace, she wouldn't have gotten that close. It had to be the alcohol. Tara furiously ignored how much that sounded like a shitty excuse, even to her own ears.

"So, uh, what are you guys gonna be for Halloween?" she changed the topic somewhat awkwardly, making a lame attempt at small-talk.

"A vampire," Paul deadpanned, sending Cat into fits of laughter which she poorly tried to muffle, pressing her face into his neck.

Even Dwayne was biting the inside of his cheek, lips wobbling in a visible effort to repress an amused grin. Tara gave a confused frown. Were they mocking her? She didn't think so...Or at least, she hoped she could take Cat's laughter as a sign that they weren't.

"We, uh, we should go see that movie," Cat breathed once she'd recovered "It was great."

"Never again. Not after Braveheart," Paul grumbled, shaking his head.

"You'd like Lestat," the Brit nodded to David, ignoring Paul's comment.

"What happened with Braveheart?" Tara asked with a frown.

"Miss Scotland over here took about five fuckin' hours to recover is what happened," grunted the blond "That and it should'a had freakin' subtitles, I swear. I'm sat there with no idea what's going on, and she's beside me crying her goddamn eyes out."

Waving a hand dismissively, Cat sighed "It's a good thing I don't have much of an accent then, isn't it? Our relationship would be comprised solely of letters."

"And Paul's barely literate," Marko snickered, earning a handful of sand hurled in his direction.

She'd almost accomplished her goal of forgetting her close proximity to Dwayne, but his laugh at Marko's teasing undid all of that. It was practically right in her damn ear, deep, low and painfully attractive. There was no way she was inching away, though. Not with David still scrutinising her every move. Taking another gulp from the bottle, she blinked in surprise at how much she'd managed to get through in such a short amount of time. Not that she was the only one, but nobody else seemed to be that drunk. The only difference to how they'd been when she first arrived was the way Cat was staring lazily at the tendrils of smoke rising from the fire - but that could've been the pills.

"You're a pretty hardcore horror fan then, huh?" David ignored his 'sibling's banter, leaning forward a little as he spoke to her "The movie, the comic...the jewellery."

"I dunno if the movie can really be considered a horror," Tara shrugged a little "But I guess, yeah. Mostly the monsters, though. The ghost stuff is kinda boring."

"You don't believe in ghosts?" he tilted his head.

"Do you?" she snorted "It's not about belief, it's about enjoyment. Ghosts bore me. Werewolves, zombies and vampires? Now they're interesting. Shit, when I was a kid I wanted to be a vampire."

Dwayne turned his head at that, and even Cat was staring at her in surprise. Oh c'mon. It wasn't that uncommon.

"How'd that work out for you?" David mumbled, focus on taking a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

"I'll keep you updated," Tara rolled her eyes.

"Hey, just making sure you're not falling into the same void as the Frogs," Cat cut in, giving her a small but reassuring smile "I swear those creeps get off to those horror comics they hoard in there."

Tara laughed at that, relaxing a little "Ugh, don't. I'll never be able to go back there."

"You there often?" David cut in again.

Somehow he managed to make every question feel like an interrogation. All that was missing were a set of handcuffs.

"Twice so far, why?" she frowned.

"They...weren't too nice to Cat once they caught wind that she knew us," Dwayne spoke up now, tone a lot softer than David's.

...Oh. So this was concern? A small amount of guilt welled up in her chest at how cagey she'd been so far, Carolina's comment about her 'misdirecting her anger' springing to mind. Could it be that they were just looking out for the new girl?

"...What did they do?" she asked softly.

"Literally tried to drag me off the boardwalk and into their stupid shop. Arseholes waited until they had me alone - I was on my way back to the hotel after hanging out with the guys. They were spouting off conspiracy theories about them," Cat shrugged "Luckily, Paul saw and came over before anything could happen...but I mean, you saw what happened tonight. Bastards are unstable."

Thinking back to what had happened in the store, her brow furrowed. Sure, Cat and Paul hadn't been too friendly, but she'd seen the way Edgar had slowly began to reach underneath the counter. She highly doubted he had a water pistol hidden under there. Hell, his anger alone at her opinions on the comics had been bad enough. It was hard to imagine how they'd taken being rejected from the Lost Boys. Tara dearly hoped there was another comic store somewhere on the boardwalk.

"Enough of this sorry shit," David sighed, jumping to his feet and moving to the boom box, turning up the volume even more.

This effectively drowned out all possibility of conversation as "Rock n' Roll Train" started up. She couldn't pretend she wasn't glad. Before she was even fully aware of what was happening, Cat was dragging her up from the sand to dance. The Lost Girl was strong for her size. Tara had never been much of a dancer, but Cat's version of dancing seemed to be simply moving provocatively to the music, throwing a smirk or a teasing grin to Paul every so often, so Tara followed her lead. She was too tipsy to really care if she ended up looking stupid, anyway. This was probably why, half way through the dance, she couldn't stop herself from throwing a look to Dwayne.

Still sitting where she'd left him, David had taken up her spot and was muttering something to him. Whilst Dwayne was nodding and appeared to be paying close attention his eyes were still glued to her.

"You should try some pills!" Cat called over the music "You'll feel like you're floating! It's great!"

"Nah," Tara called back, shaking her head as she continued to dance "I don't think I'm as, uh, 'sturdy' as you."

"I'm sure Dwayne'd be more than willing to test that out," Cat shot her a teasing grin.

She could only stare in shock at that, and almost stopped dancing before she caught herself and continued, giving the girl a mock-glare in response to her laughter.

The night continued in much the same manner. Every time she finished a bottle, a new one was shoved into her hands, and she and Cat only stopped dancing when the mixtape was being changed - which Cat usually took as a smoking break, pulling a seemingly endless amount of joints from Paul's jacket and sharing them with him, laughing freely when he refused to take his hands off of her. Tara wondered if she and Julian had ever been like that. She didn't think so. Then she wondered if her parents had ever been like that. The question was enough to cut through her reverie.

"Having fun?" Dwayne's voice was enough to make her jump when he appeared beside her, offering a joint that he'd already smoked a little.

"Are you?" she shot back with a playful smile, accepting it and taking a draw.

"Yeah," he shrugged, making her struggle to hold back a laugh.

It was something she'd never tried much in New York, not wanting to give her dad another reason to bitch at her, and so she couldn't hold back a few coughs after she exhaled. Expecting Dwayne to laugh at her, she was surprised when he smiled almost fondly instead, accepting it back and inhaling deeply.

"Show off," Tara muttered, glad of the alcohol in her system making her feel a lot more at ease.

The booze had also allowed her to come to another revelation - she was taking the entire situation with Dwayne way too seriously. She'd spent so much time constantly telling herself "no relationships, only fun" and then when the potential for fun arose, she took it as seriously as the potential for a relationship (and she was willing to put money on the fact that that wasn't what Dwayne wanted, either). This aided her feelings of relaxation even more.

"And what do you call that dancing?" he teased right back, smoke billowing from his mouth as he spoke.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she shrugged.

"Uh-huh, sure," he side-eyed her "C'mere."

"What?" she blinked in surprise, sitting up a little.

"Relax," he snorted, giving her a look "I won't bite."

"Not yet, anyway!" Marko called over from the boom box as he rifled through the tapes.

Dwayne ignored him "It's easier this way - I'm gonna take a draw, inhale, then exhale it into your mouth...If you want."

"I know what a shotgun kiss is," she rolled her eyes a little, shifting so that they were more or less face to face.

"Is that a yes?" he quirked a brow.

Acting a lot calmer than she felt, Tara nodded. The boom box kicked up again, this time blaring Motley Crue's Girls, Girls, Girls. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Paul pull Cat up for a "dance", that was really more of a groping session, but the girl didn't seem to mind. Shit, if anything she was practically glowing. It was almost enough to distract Tara from Dwayne. Almost. He was watching her carefully as he took a draw, almost as though he expected her to change her mind. That sealed her determination. She was almost surprised to find that it wasn't nerves she was feeling, but anticipation.

When he pulled the joint away from his mouth they both leaned in, lips inches away from each other as he blew the smoke towards her mouth and she inhaled quickly. Then she chose to surprise him. Once there was no more smoke left to inhale, she closed her lips, but stopped him from pulling away, raising a hand to the side of his jaw. If he was surprised he didn't show it, following her lead and moving one of his hands from his side to her waist, pulling her closer, too. The kiss was innocent - barely more than a peck, and lasting no more than three seconds - but after weeks on end of looks and cautious barely-there flirting, she felt like a junkie scoring for the first time in weeks.

After she pulled away to breathe the smoke out, a millisecond passed, their eyes met, and they were on each other again. The kiss was nothing in comparison to what was going on with Cat and Paul a few feet away, but it didn't feel that way. Dwayne was bare from the waist up, and Tara's dress was hardly the most modest thing in her wardrobe. She was all too aware of his jeans rubbing against her inner thighs, the heat of his chest against hers, and the confidence in his grasp. His mouth moved against hers with such a sense of urgency that she couldn't help but feel a little smug. So she hadn't been the only one quietly going crazy.

They only pulled apart when a piercing wolf-whistle reminded them that they weren't alone. The four remaining Lost Boys were all giving them smug smiles. Tara didn't move for a few seconds, still straddling Dwayne's lap, hands resting on his heaving chest. Then she started to laugh. Dwayne soon joined in, shifting as she moved off of him. It only worsened when she saw the lipstick smudged around his mouth.

"...On that note," Cat began, amusement lacing her tone "Paul and I are heading home."

It was only then that Tara noticed how little Paul seemed to be interested in them, his sole focus on Cat and his attempts to pull her away. The couple took a few steps away, when Cat suddenly paused and began to run back (prompting a dramatic groan from Paul). She landed roughly in the sand beside Dwayne, tugging on his hair jokingly so she could whisper something in his ear. Tara couldn't make out what she was saying - but she doubted she'd be able to even if she'd screamed it, she was so busy trying to recover from what had just happened and the pure relief coursing through her over it. She couldn't believe how dramatic she'd been over the whole thing. Over her attraction to him. Hell, had he been waiting for her to calm down and do that? She should've done it the first day she saw him.

Dwayne chuckled at whatever Cat said, ruffling her hair and shoving her back towards Paul. Once they were gone, he turned to her.

"Want me to walk you home? It's getting late."

"Sure," she breathed, snatching up her sweater and bag "Bye guys, it's uh...it's been fun."

"I'm sure it has," David smirked at her, giving a small sarcastic wave.

Marko settled for a nod. Sliding her feet into her sandals, she began to follow Dwayne along the beach. He was right, it was getting late. The beach was getting quieter now, and most of the stores and amusements on the boardwalk had shut down. She hadn't even realised her lack of sobriety until she had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other - at one point even stopping to pause so she could slip her shoes off, making it easier to walk. It took a few moments for her to gather her thoughts enough to talk.

"This...uh...This isn't anything serious," she'd meant it as a question, to ask him for reassurance, but it came out as a statement.

"Nah, far from it," he agreed with an amused smirk "I'm not that kinda guy. Why, you falling for me?"

"Sure," she snorted "One night and I'm sold. Should we live in your place or mine?"

"Hey, that's basically how Cat and Paul wound up - gotta make sure you're not as crazy as them," he teased.

"Well, maybe I'll find myself a nice Scotsman and run off happily into the sunset," she wrinkled her nose even at the thought "Cat has a brother, right?"

Dwayne laughed, shaking his head in amusement. It was amazing how much awkwardness could disappear with a kiss or two...and copious amounts of alcohol. When they reached The Hideout, she led him round the back, near the dumpsters, to the fire escape which led up to her bedroom window.

"You wanna come in?" she asked softly, gesturing to the ladder.

"You're drunk," he shook his head "Maybe next time."

"Assuming I allow a next time," she shrugged with a teasing smile.

"You will," he gave her a half-smile in return "I'm irresistible."

Stifling her laughter so she wouldn't wake up Carolina, she shook her head. Sensing that their conversation was at an end, Dwayne gave her a boost so she could reach the ladder and begin her climb.

"Nice view!" he snickered as she struggled upwards in her dress, cold metal digging into her bare feet.

"Fuck you!" she hissed back.

"Probably, some day."

The next time she looked down, he was gone.