A/N: Hello! I have been attempting and failing to write more frequently. But I can't do anything if I don't try. This story, I've noticed, has a kind of plot to it and I didn't think I'd have one at all. Go me! I'm proud of myself. This has been a dark time for me, but I'm trying. Enjoy a little update.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Samantha stared in wonder at her laptop screen at the pictures that the realtor had sent her. She couldn't believe this wasn't a hoax. It seemed so surreal.

"Felicity, dearest, I just…I'm shocked," Samantha said into her phone as she sat on her bed. "There would be no way in Hell that I could afford to get half this house on my own. But this thing…it's got five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a full kitchen and dining room. It's in a good neighborhood." She blinked. "Oh God. There's a fireplace. Of course the Boys would choose a house with a fireplace."

Felicity giggled on the phone. "Of course. They're pyromaniacs. And so are you." She sighed. "Just be careful, dearest. I'd hate to hear you got burned."

"Same," Samantha said, clicking a few more buttons. "But dearest, how am I even supposed to get my stuff to that house? I don't have money for a moving truck or boxes and tape. What about my fragile things? And how am I supposed to take care of the things needed in that house? I'm running on a poor person's bank account."

"Um, maybe the Boys will help you?" Felicity suggested and Samantha heard a dog bark in the background. "They always seem to."

"But I don't want the Boys to help me all the time," Samantha muttered. "I need to do somethings by myself."

"Oh no, Sammy's talking about doing things on her own again," Marko said, climbing through the window. "That's no good, right Paul?"

"Right Marko," Paul said, hopping in after him and then jumping on the bed next to Samantha. "So, Sammy who ya talking to?"

Samantha put a hand over the phone's microphone. "Felicity."

"You know who loves Felicity? Paul wrestled the phone from her. "Dwayne, your European girlfriend is on the phone." He made kissing sounds into the phone. "Hello precious. I'll give you to Dwayne in a moment. Where's my love?"

Samantha growled and reached for her phone. "Give that back."

Paul laughed and hopped away, causing Scarlet to fall on the bed. She lifted her head and saw him and the other two huddled around the phone, making sounds and crude jokes into the phone. Suddenly a decent pressure landed on her back and started massaging her tense muscles. Samantha resisted for just a moment, not always liking being touched, but soon melted under the hands. She sighed in relief and arched into the touch.

"Samantha, you're way too tense for a Lost Girl that's come into a giant piece of property," David said from behind her as he massaged her back.

Samantha held up a finger. "I would say something bad about you buying me a house, but I am enjoying this massage too much." She sighed again. "Give me a few seconds to think about if it's worth it."

She could feel the smirk on David's lips without even seeing him. David loomed over her and his one earring touched her cheek.

"We could take this massage elsewhere," he offered, his breath touching her ear. "Make it something a bit more enjoyable for the both of us."

Samantha rolled her eyes and raised her hips, bumping her butt into his junk. "Forget it. This massage is not worth it. I want up."

"I want you," David said, bumping her right back.

"Tough tatas."

David reached under her and squeezed her breasts. Samantha gasped and tried to roll over to free herself. "Nah, they're soft and very squishy."

Samantha smacked his hands and wrestled him off the bed. She straddled him and put her hand to his throat, one hand pulled back to punch him. David smirked, blue eyes blazing with life as he locked eyes with her. The Lost Girl blinked and cursed.

"You can never win that one," David pointed out.

"One day I will," Samantha retorted, leaning over him.

"We'll celebrate that day, Sammy," Dwayne said, glancing over at her as Marko and Paul got into an 'I love Felicity more than – blank' fight with the phone. "Because we know how much of an asshole David can be."

David flipped him off and Samantha squeezed his throat. "You do realize I don't need to breathe…don't you, Vampire Queen?"

Samantha huffed. "Doesn't mean I can't pretend to strangle you."

"Does to."

"Fuck you." Samantha squeezed his throat. "You lot bought me a house."

"Duh."

Samantha rolled her eyes and pushed herself to her feet, moving away from David. "I don't even know why someone would do something like that for me. I'm not special. I'm just – just meh."

Paul and Marko gasped.

"Felicity, precious angel pumpkin pie," Marko said, speaking into the phone. "Sammy's talking nonsense again, so we're going to have to go."

"Make her see the light," Paul said, stealing the phone and making a kissy sound in it again. "Love you babe. You're wonderful. Bye."

Samantha leaned against a wall and watched all four Lost Boys size her up. David flipped onto his feet and let out a growl. A finger that held so much power over her, pointed in her direction.

"Who the fuck said you're not special?" David demanded, his eyes narrowed.

The dark haired Goth shrugged. "Who hasn't?"

"Fuck them. Fuck all of them." David took a step towards her and snarled. "They don't know special even when it dances buck ass naked in front of them." He grabbed her chin and forced her face up. "You're fucking special, Samantha."

"We wouldn't love you nearly as much if you weren't," Dwayne admitted, offering her a small smile.

"Yeah, we would have eaten you, Princess," Paul said, smiling brightly.

"Nom nom." Marko laughed, bouncing slightly.

Samantha frowned. "So you would have murdered me in cold blood for snacks and enjoyment if you hadn't found me special enough?" She looked into David's eyes. "Yay me."

"But you are special and no one lays a hand on you," David growled, eyes blazing. "You're one in hundreds of millions that stands out in the world like some kind of bright star."

Samantha made a face. "I don't want to stand out."

"Tough shit." David rested his forehead against hers. "You're going to shine so bright that people are going to notice you. Even when you're trying to hide."

The Goth closed her eyes to hide her fear. "I only want to be noticed by you and the Boys."

"We're not going anywhere, Samantha, and if we were, you'd be coming with us."

"Promise?"

"Promise." David kissed her on the tip of her nose. "Now open your eyes."

Samantha sighed and opened her eyes. "David, you Boys got me a house."

"Sure we did, Sammy," Paul declared, bouncing on the bed again.

"A place all your own," Dwayne told her.

"Away from your parents who treat you like shit," David stated. His grip on her chin tightened a little bit, a warning. "Don't let them in that house unless you want to have them over."

She tried to keep the same expression on her face, but failed. A smile broke out on her lips and she bounced. "I have a house!"

"Yes, but I have the keys," David told her, shaking two shiny keys in front of her face.

Samantha's eyes, naturally being drawn to shiny things, fixated on the keys and her mouth dropped open. She moved her hand. "Give me!"

"Ah, ah, ah, patience, Samantha." David said, suddenly standing feet from her. "We're taking you on a little tour of the house tonight and shopping for supplies. If I get my way, you're going to be in that house before your parents can damage you much more." He waved two fingers. "Boys, let's take our Girl out for the night."

Paul and Marko howled, stomping their feet. Samantha hushed them the best she could, but they ignored her and she ended up being half-dragged, half-pushed from her room.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Samantha looked around the darkened house with a look of awe on her face. The Boys were running around the place, shouting a list of what they thought she needed to make it a proper home. She twisted her ring around her finger as she looked in all the rooms on the first floor. Seeing a closet big enough to stand in, Samantha put herself in it and covered her ears.

How am I going to explain this to Mom and Dad? They're going to flip when they find out I have a house…and from the looks of it, it's loads better than what Dad can get. What if they decide they're moving in to help me run it? Can they legally do that? I'm an adult. I should be able to run a house by myself without my parents' intervention. And maybe I won't be alone. I can invite Felicity to come move in with me. She always wants to hang out with the Boys. Samantha chewed on her bottom lip. But what if she doesn't want to come live with me? Even with this perfect house? And my parents will notice all the empty rooms. There are five rooms upstairs. That's enough for all of us to have one and have extras.

"Samantha, I can hear you panicking in there," David's voice announced through the door. "Do you need one of your emergency meds?"

The Lost Girl swallowed her pride and her fear that were both choking her, lifting her gaze to the door. "Y–yeah."

The door opened and David looked down at her, his ice blue gaze almost glowing in the darkened house. He held out one of the familiar green pills and a cold coffee drink. Samantha smiled a tiny smile.

"Do you always carry those around in dark, empty houses?" she asked, taking both. "These coffee drinks."

"Your fridge is full of them," David announced with a smirk. "I know they're your favorite, so we grabbed you some."

"When?"

David didn't answer.

Dwayne showed up in the room and smiled, taking her by the hand. "Sammy, come see the kitchen. You'll love it."

Samantha let the dark-haired Lost Boy pull her farther into the house and she looked around a room that could have swallowed two of her father's kitchens very easily. Paul and Marko caught her eye because they were kneeling on the ground in front of the fridge and looked like they were worshipping it.

"Um, guys?"

"The Mighty Fridge has fridge water!" Paul declared, bowing.

"And fridge ice," Marko added, bowing too.

"It does?" Samantha asked, never having either one of those options before on her fridges.

"And you can push these buttons to see the weather and what's inside the fridge," Dwayne announced, showing Samantha a touch pad. "Other cool things too, but the power will have to be turned on first for you to see everything."

Paul pouted. "So no fridge water?"

"Or ice?" Marko sniffled.

Samantha patted Marko's soft locks. "I'll have the power turned on when I can."

Marko laughed and moved out from under her hand. "Wrong!"

The girl stared at him in confusion. "Wrong?"

Paul jumped onto the ceiling and laughed like a hyena. "So wrong, Sammy. So, so wrong."

"Race you to the upstairs bedrooms, Paul!"

"You're on!"

Samantha watched them disappear, laughing like idiots, and sighed. She set her drink down on the island in the middle of the kitchen and turned her gaze to Dwayne. He leaned next to her.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I don't know. Everything. I have to tell myself that this is real every ten seconds and you Boys keep coming up with more surprises." Samantha blinked at him. "Is this even real?"

"Do you want me to pinch you to prove it's real?"

"No…Dwayne, why'd you Boys do this? Why'd you get me a house?"

"Them." Dwayne said as Samantha got a text from her parents demanding to know where she was. "We didn't want you to be alone in that room for the rest of your human life. So, this house may be a temporary thing, big deal. We want you to be happy Sammy."

Samantha shot off a quick text. "So, you don't see you Boys living here?"

Dwayne offered her a half smirk. "Would you really want us to live in here with you?"

"Well, that's the plan in the end, isn't it?" Samantha asked. "Me living with you guys?"

The dark haired Lost Boy nodded. "I guess you're right."

His dark eyes weren't focused on her anymore as he looked out into the darkness beyond a giant window across from them. Samantha drank her coffee and then felt her body calm down. She felt like she should go upstairs suddenly and turned, heading up a back staircase.

Marko and Paul were running from room to room, shouting and stamping their feet as they came up with ideas of what the rooms could be. She stood in the hall for a moment before her eyes were drawn to a door they weren't messing with. The girl walked over to it, dodging wild blonds in the process. She slowly opened the door and looked inside.

The room was large and bare, but beautiful in the moonlight that poured from a great window. She moved into it and spun around in the middle, looking all around. David was leaning against one of the three other doors in the room. Samantha turned away from him and crossed to the window.

"This room is beautiful," she said, looking up at the moon and feeling at peace. "Much nicer than any of the rooms back home. And it's actually the right temperature…"

"This is your room, Samantha," David told her, watching. "You are the master of this house and as such you get the biggest, most comfortable room." He was suddenly behind her and she could feel the solidness of his form against her back. "Think of all the things you can do once you officially move in. The modestly rules you can give up. The objects you can display and leave out." His breath touched her ear. "The things you can do with a big bed and a little imagination."

Shivers ran down Samantha's spine before she could even have the notion of controlling them. "David! Not here!"

"Why not?" he growled seductively in her ear. "This is your house…your chance at freedom…"

Samantha turned around and looked up at him. Bad idea. She jumped onto her toes and kissed him. David pressed her back against the window and kissed her harder. He had just made it to her neck when Samantha noticed that the other Boys were standing at the doorway.

"Don't you fuckers know when to leave?" David snarled, lifting his face away from Samantha's neck. "I've been telling you to leave for half an hour."

"Right," Dwayne said, rolling his eyes. "Like we were going to let you forget that we need to do some late night shopping to get the house ready for Sammy. Because c'mon David, she needs out of her parents' place fast and that means we need to get things."

"Pretty things," Paul said, wiggling his fingers.

"Shiny things," Marko agreed.

Dwayne gave them both a look. "Practical human things."

Samantha ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I only really know two options that are open this late where we can get home supplies at this hour. One is where I work. The other is full of cheaper items. Can we go there?"

"No," David said, shaking his head. "We're not getting you cheap shit." He looked at his Boys. "We're going to go to her work and get everything a house needs. If you think Samantha needs it to be comfortable here, get it."

Samantha waved her hands. "Don't tell them that, David!"

"Too late," David smirked, grabbing her around the waist and propelling her forward.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Samantha kept glancing around the store as she pushed a cart overloaded with items, following the other three Boys who had their own carts of stuff. David was moving behind her, making sure she didn't abandon her cart. She felt so self conscious moving through her workspace with this much stuff that was clearly not being returned to their places among the store. She'd long since given up on tallying up how much was in the carts because her brain couldn't conceive that the Boys had that much money after a shopping spree and buying her a house before this. Her lip grew sore from how much she was chewing on it as she pretended to be interested in the items that the Boys were laughing about.

"Samantha," David said, putting his hands over hers as she pushed her cart, pushing it with her. "I can tell your mind is a chaotic mess again. You're scared that your parents are going to freak the fuck out when they find out that you have a house to move into. You're scared that we're spending this ridiculous amount of money on you and then are going to ditch you. You're afraid that you're going to end up alone in that house, like you are in your current room and this shithole of a workplace."

"Please don't remind me of what I'm afraid of, David," Samantha begged, closing her eyes. "It's bad enough I have extra voices telling me about them repeatedly in my head. I don't need you to be one of the millions there too." She sighed. "I can't be brave like you when I'm in this place. This place, it – it sucks all the good things out of a person."

David's hands squeezed hers. "Do you think I like making you come back to this shithole more than necessary? I know how they treat you and I fucking hate it. But they are the only halfway decent store that's open at our hours of running around, so we come here. We show you off. We don't let anyone take advantage of you."

Samantha opened her eyes and looked straight ahead as Marko let out a loud belch into the nearest red phone that was connected to the intercom. (She'd told him the code to do that a long time ago.) "David, you know she's here. With her minion. Her gossip. Her rumor mill. It hurts and I'm getting sick of being called up for Department 20s. She can suck an egg for all I care."

"I couldn't give a damn about her," David said, shaking his head. "She's on my shit list. One day, she'll feel my fangs." He kissed her neck. "Then you'll be free."

"As long as I quit," Samantha retorted. "And have another job lined up."

"No, by then you won't need to worry about money. So put that thought aside." David's hands tightened on hers again. "We're getting closer to the answer we've been looking for."

"More patience?"

"Yeah."

Samantha looked at David. "Well, I hope you're good at patience because we've hit the checklanes and with this many carts of shit, it's going to take awhile." She shrugged her shoulders. "These late night guys are slow, but hey, I've got all the time in the world." She bumped her butt back against him. "But I have a question for you to answer."

"How are we getting all this shit to the house?" David asked, bumping her forward as Dwayne declared to the cashier that all of them were in one order.

Samantha pouted. "I'm getting too predictable." Okay, this cashier looks like he's about to pass out from this order. Poor guy probably never saw so much be bought on one order except during the Christmas Cop thing.

David laughed in her ear. "And I can't wait to find out what happens when you put your creativity from your books into action."

Color hit Samantha's face hard and she kicked him, earning a laugh from the Boys as the poor cashier scanned item after item.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dwayne and David stood outside Samantha's parents house long after they had dropped Samantha off. They were in the shadows of the tree in the front yard, one that needed some work done on it, but her father was lazy with the projects. Samantha had gone about her business quietly and had still been yelled at. David was a little proud of her because she openly rolled her eyes at her parents' nonsense before grabbing a pocky bag and heading upstairs to bed.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Dwayne asked, looking at David.

"She better be," David told him, taking a drag on his cigarette. "We only have so much longer we have to deal with these bastards. Then comes the hard part."

Dwayne nodded and looked back at the windows as one by one, they darkened.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: So, whatcha think? Am I still keeping your interest? If I am, thank you! If not, well, you're gone, so…Bye! Thanks! - Scarlet