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Warmth in the Darkness, Chapter 11: Sorry Sorry

Will's P.O.V

Will's mind felt overcrowded. All his thoughts surrounded that vermin missing from his school, and all of them were angry. It was all he could do to stop himself from killing anyone on the street. He knew the case was pointing fingers to the Night World. But they've never been so reckless with the leftover vermin – they were always sure of compelling them to keep them from finding out. Which meant the fingers were pointing to a different spot, someone not as uptight about the rules. His black book bag thumped against his thigh as he ran back home. Adriel better be there… or else he'll have to waste time looking for him. Will spread out his mind in all directions to look for his brother – ah yes, Adriel was inside. Perfect.

Keep calm, his inner voice advised him. Don't burst through the door like an animal.

Will stalked through the door and slammed it gracefully behind him. He kept his back to Adriel's presence – the kitchen. He dropped his book bag beside the couch, turned on the TV and opened up his laptop to stall for time. Why, he did not know. Finally, he had to turn around. Adriel's impatience to his anger was growing and his own anger was starting to get out of control.

When he started to stare expressionlessly at Adriel, he did a double take.

Umm, what the hell? Will thought.

His eyes widened and he took in the scene of the kitchen. There were two vermin girls sitting at their table, and Adriel was behind the counter, holding up a silver knife, and wearing an… apron? Will almost cracked a grin at the flowers and butterflies he was wearing, but his anger got the better of him.

"What is this?" Will regained his mask and kept his voice steady and quiet.

"What do you think this is?"

Adriel's voice was full of humour, which only made Will madder than he was before.

"Why is there vermin in our house? Why are you wearing an apron? What are you doing?" He wasn't shouting, but he felt he was going to, soon.

Adriel waved the knife at him. "I'm obviously cooking." He nodded at the two humans. "And meet Sasha and Nicole. Say hi, ladies," he added.

Will didn't even glance at them as they waved and winked. "What is wrong with you?" His voice turned low and dark. "Mom and Dad told us to lie low when they're gone." His eyes were black and burned with fury.

Adriel rolled his eyes and began chopping up onions skillfully. "Will, tell me, where do you think they are? They're somewhere across the world, like Australia, and jumping around with kangaroos." He snorted. "Mom and Dad aren't here to watch us, and besides… I think they'll agree to this kind of fun," he added slyly.

Will had enough. Red clouds surrounded his mind and he leapt for Adriel without thinking. His hand gripped Adriel's throat, but he kept his fangs in, only letting his eyes show the rage.

"Are you PMSing again?" Adriel asked conversationally. "I don't think girls do that as much as you."

"Shut the hell up." Will dug his nails into Adriel's neck.

Adriel dumped the chopped onions in a bowl. He then forcefully tore Will's hand away, not even wincing when Will's nails left trails.

"Why are you PMSing?" Adriel demanded.

That was when Will landed his first punch, right on Adriel's cheekbone.

"What the fuck?"

Adriel put Will in a chokehold, squeezing tightly. His head felt like it was going to burst. Shit, this was going the wrong way, he thought. Will dug his nails into Adriel's arm, and finally Adriel let go. Stifling a cough, Will flew to where Sasha was sitting and sank his fangs into her wrist. She didn't even cry out.

Adriel's got the compelling going on good, Will thought vaguely.

The warm blood trickled down his throat, and he gulped hungrily. He wanted it all, this magical potion; the elixir of life. He finally licked the wound close and licked his lips. His fangs were already shrunken down.

Adriel was smirking at Will. "Now can we talk about this… issue like civilized people?"

Taking in his emotions, Will looked emptily at him and jumped onto the couch. Adriel slowly walked to the other couch and flopped on it. Will noticed that Adriel had taken off the apron.

"Let's talk, Adriel." Will spoke casually. "How's your refrigerator? His blood's still clean, right?"

Adriel looked sharply at Will. "He's quite fine, thanks. How's yours?"

Will ignored his question. "Really? I haven't seen him in a while at school."

"Hmm. I haven't noticed."

Will randomly drew patterns on the couch. "I even heard that he went missing a couple of days ago."

"Oh, really? How unfortunate." Adriel's voice was still calm.

Enough.

Will ran at vampire speed to Adriel, grabbing a pencil along the way. He stood over Adriel's slouched figure, pointing the pencil at him.

"Why did you kill him?" He asked coolly. Don't let your emotions vetray you, he thought to himself. He even slid a hand in his pocket.

Adriel put on an innocent face. "I didn't kill anybody."

"Don't lie," Will said. He studied the pencil thoughtfully.

"I didn't."

"Did you know wood poison can kill off a vampire in two hours, no matter how small the wound is?" Will asked placidly. "If the piece of wood is stuck in the correct spot, of course," he added. He dangled the pencil in front of Adriel's face.

"Fine. I did." Adriel lay down on the couch and crossed his arms.

"Why did you kill him?" Will asked, his voice going deadly.

"It was a statement, man. The gang wanted the Daybreakers to know that not everyone wants to be hippies. He was kind of dirty, you know. I would've disposed of him later anyway." Adriel shrugged. "Now I have Sasha and Nicole."

"You bastard."

Adriel looked up in surprise. "Why are you so concerned about him? He's vermin. Disposable. What's with this fucking attitude?"

Will coolly studied him. Vivienne's hurting because of you. You could've killed some other guy.

"I'm just curious," he said abruptly. Will glanced at the kitchen, pretending to be checking on Adriel's new food supply. "And the parents? Why didn't you compel them?" He asked, to distract his brother.

"Jeez, little brother. I'd have thought you were smarter." Adriel shook his head in mock sadness. "If the vermin don't find out, then how do the Daybreakers get our no-peace idea?"

Having nothing else to say, Will flopped back on his couch. "And the body?" He asked carelessly, drawing patterns again. He ignored the way he internally winced for bringing Vivienne pain.

He heard Adriel chuckle. "Be patient, Will. You'll soon find out."

Vivienne's P.O.V

Vivienne stepped into her car eyes flickering dully around before slamming the door shut. Her mom slowly turned the car onto the main road, glancing every-so often at the still figure beside her. But Vivienne didn't notice – she just stared vacantly out the window. The only sounds were the radio and the occasional honking of horns. Vivienne pressed her head to the cold window. She felt dead, like an empty corpse brought to life… a vampire, in ways. Numbness was spreading through her chest, despite Alex's earlier comforts. The warmth she had felt was lost again.

"V… I heard about your friend," her mom finally said.

Vivienne said nothing.

"Don't worry, okay? Everything's going to be okay."

She nodded slowly. "I'm just tired," she lied.

Her mom glanced at her daughter again, but knew to say nothing. They lapsed into a dreary silence after that, but Vivienne wasn't aware that. She was too busy thinking. Where is Darrion? Is he really dead? Or just missing? She thought.

He's definitely dead, a voice said in her mind.

Vivienne closed her eyes and her brows furrowed. If it's been a few days ago, then he's probably dead, she agreed. Where else could he be?

People must die eventually, the voice said again.

True… but why so soon? Sure, Darrion was stupid and annoying, but didn't everyone have a right to live? Though she said that she wanted him to die before, she didn't actually want that to happen. He was nice to be around. Anyway, why him? Why not some stranger? It was selfish, but… it would be easier for her to not know the person who died.

Much, much easier…

A shadow of a girl was in front of her. She put a hand lightly on Vivienne's and started running forward. Without thinking, Vivienne followed her. Just as she was about to touch the girl, a door appeared in front of her in the mist and shadows. The girl was no where to be seen. Vivienne stepped through, trying to look for her, but a bright light enveloped her, and she suddenly found herself at her swimming pool. Vivienne frowned. She hadn't been here in a long time… but why now? The girl was still no where to be seen. Weird.

"Vivienne!" Someone screamed, causing some of her other friends to scream too.

What? There are people here? Vivienne glanced around. Hmm… seems like her whole swim team is here. Funny how she didn't notice before. She gave the kids a weak smile and spotted Melissa.

Melissa!

"Stop being an Asian emo," Melissa chided.

I'm not being one. My friend is missing and I think he's dead, Vivienne wanted to say. But her lips formed other words.

"I'm not emo." Wait, what? "Actually, I Googled it and it said, quote, 'An emo is clearly defined by their music and their sense of hurting themselves'. And I don't listen to screamo music or cut myself daily," her mouth said.

Wait. This is what I said last week. When I did that weird thing and Will came, she realized. This was the lost memory.

"You still dress like an emo," Melissa was saying.

What is going on?

Vivienne watched in confusion and horror as the scene played out in front of her. Suddenly, when the goggles clattered to the floor and she found the crumpled note in her palm, the scene stopped. It melted away, replaced by the earlier misty darkness. Vivienne looked around her, searching for the girl that had led her here. She needed to know what happened. Then the fog cleared and she saw the outline of the girl. Her back was turned to her. Vivienne reached out to turn the girl around and gasped. The girl was a mirror image of herself, except her hair was longer and her eyes were all black instead of brown.

"Find the note," the girl said. "Find the note and read it. Remember what it says, then destroy it. Don't let anyone see it."

Vivienne cocked her head at her lookalike. What are you talking about, she tried to ask. But the words won't come out of her mouth and the girl smirked, fading away.

Then Vivienne was left alone.

Vivienne's P.O.V

"… yeah, and then I woke up," Vivienne said. Her eyes darted side to side, looking for anyone else listening.

"Woah… that's weird," Rachelle said. "I've never dreamt of anything like that before."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was the first time that no one was sad about Darrion's disappearance, or possible death. They were sitting on the floor in a secluded hallway area, discussing about weird things that happened to them.

"Hey! Maybe the dream is trying to tell you a message," Penelope said in a hushed murmur. Her eyes widened with mock mystery.

"Yeah! Then it would be like one of those dramas I watch," Naomi added, voice turning dreamy. "You know, the dream is telling you to find your soulmate, and then after a lot of problems, you two finally meet and get together." She grinned.

"I hope I get a guy if you find your 'soulmate'." Kristina said casually. "You guys always get the guys, and I, am the only one who hasn't had a guy crush on me before."

Vivienne rolled her eyes with everyone else. It wasn't the first time Kristina had complained about that. Apparently Eliza and Rachelle wasn't surprised that she didn't have any guys liking her, because of her outlook and personality. Well maybe except for Darrion… She felt the old ache inside of her when she thought of Darrion. Again. He really did play a big part in everyone's life, being a popular jock-idiot thing.

"I find it weird how you remembered part of the memory," Alex said, suddenly appearing from out of nowhere.

Everyone stared at him in silence.

"You were… listening?" Vivienne finally asked.

"Yeah… I was right here the whole time." He gestured to his spot behind a wall.

Kristina stepped forward and almost smiled. "Were you spying on us?"

Alex looked at her for a moment. Vivienne understood his glance. He was still weirded out because of her constant obsession of him. "No… I was filming for English," he said slowly. "I was packing up then you guys started talking."

"Pleasedon'ttell," Vivienne quickly gushed out, hoping her cheeks weren't red. After all, it's kind of embarrassing that she dreamt of a mirror image. What grade was she in? Two?

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, don't worry."

"Anyways," Eliza cut in, steering everyone back in the right direction. "Aren't you supposed to get your memory back after a while?" Eliza asked.

Vivienne shrugged.

"If you are, then it's normal," Eliza explained.

"But then the memory is a little messed, isn't it? No offence," Rachelle added. "I mean, in real life, you obviously wouldn't see a complete lookalike, right?"

"Yeah, so maybe part of it has recovered, and part of it is still unrecovered, causing her brain to finish the dream using its imagination!" Eliza concluded.

"Umm… I still like the message thing better," Kristina said in the strange silence that followed.

"Ya, we all know you do," Naomi said, rolling her eyes.

"Shaddup," Kristina giggled.

"Well then! Case closed."Rachelle stood and brushed off invisible rocks off her butt.

"Hey! I still have a story to tell!" Kristina complained.

"Look at the time, dummy," Naomi said. "Class is gonna start soon."

Kristina harrumphed, and grumbled to herself as everyone else got up and stretched.

I should say thanks, Vivienne thought. It would be rude not to. But she strangely felt queasy when she opened her mouth to talk, like snakes have replaced her bones and were wriggling beneath her skin.

Just say thank you. It's not a big deal.

Ignoring the want of cowering in a dark corner somewhere, Vivienne opened her mouth… and the bell rang.

A little relieved, she followed her friends as they walked to their lockers, not really listening to their small chatter. She frowned, unsure of her emotions.

Why does it feel so weird, just to say thank you? She thought.

As she was pondering her sudden change of wanting to show emotions, she didn't notice someone studying her from far away.

Please review? I know I'm a bad person for always not updating… but please? Pleaaaassseeeeeeeee? Imma try to update sooner but this week is actually really, really busy. But look! Ahoy! The summer's coming which means… MORE TIME TO UPDATE! And also my 1 year anniversary of being a writer. 8)