A/N: I decided to not put a note at the end of this chapter for...~reasons~...wink, wink, nudge, nudge. As always, thank you very much for the reviews. They genuinely are very encouraging. MissRuthless, I very much agree with you - the truth rarely seems to be a kept secret. Your senses serve you well! Miss Nori, I'm also looking forward to Dwayne and Elizabeth getting back on track and enjoying their time together! I think they both deserve their happiness. This was a very fun chapter to write. Hope you all enjoy it.

"Drop down, you'll be fine!" Elizabeth glanced behind her, half expecting to see an angry, burly security guard barreling down on her but she was quite alone, crouched down on the roof as she was. Dwayne had navigated them, leading them to the roof with easy and graceful movements, easily directing her towards the right ladder, the right place to step, to jump. She'd seen the guards that worked in Santa Carla and she was confident that none of them could get up to where Dwayne had taken them anyway but still.

She looked down into the dark space below her, shaking her head at Dwayne's words, "I've never done anything this illegal before in my life!" she told him a whisper, again looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to get caught by someone in authority, stupid an idea though she knew it was.

As his laughter met her ears, his deep, booming and amused chuckle seeming to snake through the air, she had to bite her lip to keep her smile down.

"Breaking and entering is way worse than some alcohol on a beach" she told him, still in a whisper, as she glanced down into the darkness, "..worse than some weed, too..."

"You're perfectly safe. Nobody will know" he told her, his tone laced with fond amusement, "just close the shutter on your way down..."

She knew that he would catch her, that he wouldn't let her fall into a painful and graceless lump on the floor of whatever room waited below and truthfully, she was thrilled to be with him again. Just the two of them, dating and being with each other. It felt like their time together had done before. With a final glance over her shoulder, seeing the glittering lights of the boardwalk off and away in the distance, she nudged the shutter off its hook, supporting it with her back and shoulders. It wasn't very heavy. She carefully lowered herself down into the open window, legs swinging freely in the air. She held onto the ledge for a moment, the shutter resting with an uncomfortable pressure on her hands, before closing her eyes and letting herself fall.

As she was plunged into darkness and as the light thud of the shutter sealed them into whatever building he had chosen to bring her to, she felt a very brief spark of fear. Elizabeth couldn't help the little yelp that escaped her as his arms wrapped easily around her waist, leaving her elevated in the darkness, her dress bunched up high over her hips. It was surreal how strong he was. To catch her, keep her elevated and have his arms steady, firm as stone without even the smallest of trembles? It was crazy. She wasn't overly light but he held her as if she weighed nothing. She giggled in relief as he placed a kiss on her stomach before releasing her and, knowing that the ground wasn't far, she let herself drop and land with a little spring in her step.

"You OK there, law buster?" he teased, body close to hers.

"I think so.." she breathed, hands patting his chest a few times, trying to place the position of his body. She found his broad shoulders and squinted but the room was so incredibly dark, she couldn't see his face. She couldn't see anything, "where are we?"

He had walked with her for about ten minutes, guiding her away from the riotous boardwalk and into an area that could be described as shabby at best. There were some boarded up shops, a grubby looking cafe and a few bars scattered around the area but it felt miles away from the bright, relative safety of the boardwalk. If she'd stumbled upon the slightly decrepit streets herself, she would have been scared. Even if she had been in the area with Michael and Sammy, she would have been scared.

Luckily, she was with Dwayne.

"You're going to love it" he promised her and she trusted the certainty in his voice, "kick off your shoes?"

"What?"

"Trust me" he murmured, taking a step back from her.

She couldn't see where he was going and while the darkness felt a little ominous, concealing the unknown, she did as she was told, trusting him fully.

"Oh-" she flinched in surprise a little as her covered feet met with what felt like short, faux grass. It was hard and plastic but gave way under her weight.

Where was she? "Where am I?!" she queried, excitement building.

"Socks, too" he commanded and she turned her head, trying to pin point his voice. She could hear the amusement held within it, she could hear the smile she knew was decorating his face but she had no idea where he was.

It was a lost cause.

"Where are you?" she asked, once again doing as she was told. Though she couldn't see, she fumbled and stuffed her socks inside her shoes, wriggling her feet into the floor, "I can't even guess where we are, Dwayne..."

For a second, she thought she heard an odd, buzzing and static sound.

"I had to chose somewhere special..." he said and she bit her lip through her smile, "..somewhere for us"

There were a few clicks, some suspiciously heavy movements and then, this time, a very loud and clear buzz.

Elizabeth blinked as the sound of a heavy leaver being switched filled the room just as a few obnoxiously bright and loud neon lights brightened the darkness.

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, twirling on the spot and looking at the room at large.

"What is this place?!" she exclaimed, seeing she was indeed standing on a huge patch of fake grass. Not only that, but there were giant, plastic trees scattered throughout the room with fabric leaves dangling down their molded branches. She was in some kind of wonderland forest. There were even plush squirrels scattered in some nooks in the trees. A few little nymphs and fairies, too. She saw that some of the thick trunks had large, black holes in them and that they were lined with a soft looking foam.

Try your luck! was written, freehand, over the circular spaces and she reached out to touch one.

"Empty.." Dwayne told her, coming to stand in front of the bemused girl, body leaning against a tree trunk, "but its designed to be filled with stuff"

"Stuff?"

He nodded and shrugged, "jello or fake spiders. You know, stuff to freak out inquisitive kids..."

"Dwayne, where are we?!"

"Fun House" he smiled.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Come on..." he held out his hand to her and she took it, smiling as he petted a watching squirrel. He led them to a very, very wide tree molded against the wall and tugged easily on one of the many branches poking out of it and she couldn't help but laugh as it opened to reveal a doorway, "after you..."

She grinned and ducked down without further prompting, having to walk in a crouch to make it through the tunnel.

When she emerged, it was like she'd crawled into another world completely.

"Wow..."

She twirled around, catching his eyes as he shut the door behind him. On this side of the room, the door wasn't a tree. It was shaped to look like a balloon.

"Wow" he agreed, seemingly pleased to watch her. She wiggled her bare toes against the floor, noting that it had the same kind of texture as a deflated balloon. The room was circus themed and she couldn't believe the thought that had gone into its design. She wondered what it was intended to be filled with.

"Why-what?"

The room was absolutely pristine. Fresh and new, if a little stuffy. How could something so nice exist in such an anonymous building? How could it be so untouched?

"Never opened" he told her, flicking a clown on the nose as she moved to poke and touch the fluffy, garish wall.

"Why? How could they never open it? This is a whole Fun House!? Oh yeesh..." Elizabeth asked, peering at a silent clown. It was tall, taking up almost the entire length of the striped, furry wall. While its body was made from fabric, she assumed the large, plastic head must have been some kind of animatronic. It rested face down, plastic chin tucked deep into its hollow chest. It was creepy but not particularly scary. She could imagine hoards of children running through the room with joyful, panicked screams, excitedly searching for the next door, "..it's such a waste?"

She glanced behind her and smiled at Dwayne.

He pushed himself off and away from a tall, yellow ladder that looked liked it lead to nowhere, "honestly? It's in the wrong place for little kids-" she nodded. That wasn't unreasonable, if she wasn't with Dwayne she would certainly have felt unsafe. The abandoned building was arguably very far away from the hustle and bustle of the main boardwalk. They had left the gates, they had left the pier and walked deep into that kind of ratty residential area, " -and then the assumption was that the kids who would use it..well, they'd make it their own place...use it as a kind of facilitator, you know?"

"No?" she laughed, turning to face him fully.

He watched her, eyes dancing a little, "...they worried that they'd take E or mushrooms and then wander through here..." he smiled at her, gesturing to the walls around them. While the lights he had managed to turn on were dim - probably emergency ones - she could see that the greens and yellows and oranges would be neon in the right light and she could imagine how intense the mixture of patterns, designs and even textures would be to a group of stoned kids, "...there are strobes and disco balls, too but I didn't mess with those"

"Yikes!" she laughed, spinning around in a small circle and taking in as much of the room as she could, "sounds like it would be right up Paul's alley, huh?"

Dwayne nodded but made no move to talk about Paul.

Elizabeth moved towards the next door. It was different to the overall design of the room in that it was a simple, silver door. No colors, no patterns, no designs and also no doorknob.

"..but why not use it, this must have cost a bomb?" she asked him, running her hands over the surface, looking for a way to open it. She'd lived in Santa Carla long enough already to know that it wasn't a particularly wholesome place and that people seemed to run with it anyway. She didn't quite see the harm in kids using the fun house to enhance their high, "add some working streetlights and get some security guards to patrol, right? This is such a waste..."

"Just didn't make sense for them to open it, I guess" he replied, watching her as she poked at the door, "it's too out of the way compared to everything else, the rejuvenation program that started this whole thing fell through and when your potential customers are gonna be kids who are-"

He seemed to be choosing his words carefully and she laughed softly, "-fucked out of their heads?"

"-Paul's a bad influence" he told her, finally mentioning his friend, his eyes dancing with humor, "but yeah. Kids who are fucked out of their heads aren't exactly careful. This place'd be trashed in a second..easier to close it and wait-"

"-wait?"

He smiled, "wait..every couple years there's money thrown at the pleasure park..some grand renovation or another economic rejuvenation program. This whole area was gonna be an extension of the main boardwalk. They'll get the idea to neaten up this area again, they'll make plans for a ball pit or a rainy day park or something..and then it'll all fall through. It always does.."

"You're incredibly cynical" Elizabeth told him playfully.

"I've been around long enough" he replied, moving towards her a little.

Elizabeth nodded and poked at what she thought, for a second, was a lump in the polished metal. She had expected the door to spring open but it didn't.

They still hadn't addressed his vampirism and she turned away from him, back to the door.

"Marko heard they were going to make the whole building a kid's park. Indoor slides, soft play. The works," he continued, "hasn't happened yet though. Think they just forgot about it..."

"But not you?" she said with a smile.

"Not me" he confirmed, striding over to her.

"..so what's the deal with this door?" she asked him as he came to stand beside her, "what's the trick?"

He laughed at her.

"Share your secrets" she commanded playfully and he laughed again.

Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he murmured, "...you push it open" and, as he braced his hands against the door and gave it a good, solid little shove, it swung outwards.

"Sneaky"

"It's a Fun House..."

Stepping into the new room with intrigue, she asked, "...do you come here often?"

"Are you hitting on me?"

She laughed and shook her head, happy to be with him again. Just be with him, present and together and normal.

"Always" she told him with a small smile.

She was rewarded with another kiss on her forehead, "not really..we tend to keep our secrets between us"

She nodded, feeling pleased. She was glad to know that other people, other girls hadn't been brought to the surreal, oddly romantic Fun House. She bit her lip and glanced around.

The room was empty, this time there were almost no decorations on the walls and no accessories or outlandish designs. It was completely different to the other two they had made their way through.

There was a silver curtain, beyond which she could see a jagged handle, and then, to the other side of the room was a door shaped like the lid of an old-time coffin. The writing around the coffin simply read, coward's way out, and she decided that she was no coward..but even if she was, escape via coffin didn't seem overly safe. It felt like a sneaky little Fun House trap and she shook her head, moving towards the curtain.

"That's the mirror maze-" Dwayne warned her, his hand gently wrapped around the wrist of her outstretched arm, preventing her from pushing open the door. She froze, fingers just grazing the deliberately jagged, polished silver handle. She could hear the how forced his voice was, how much effort he had put into sounding neutral and she swallowed nervously, "-this way is better..."

His head jerked lightly towards the coffin shaped door and Elizabeth couldn't help the small frown that snaked its way onto her face.

She didn't like to hear the forced neutrality, she didn't like to hear that he was trying to hide any feelings from her. He shouldn't have to. She could feel it, she knew that he was trying to hide his sadness. He was sad and pained, unwilling to submit her to being with him before a mirror.

She didn't like it. It wasn't fair to him.

Her fingers twitched a little as she remembered the horror of seeing him in the mirror - of not seeing him in the mirror - and she nodded slowly.

Everything was right again. They were together, they were happy. Everything was as it had been but better, even. She felt respected enough by David, she had an honest friendship with Marko and Paul, different though they both were. She felt like her friendship with the boys, their easy relationships would go back to how it had been, but she thought it would be better.

They had no secrets, not anymore. Their fresh start had well and truly been established.

"...this is our fresh start" she murmured, opening the door despite his soft grip.

She knew he understood what she was mumbling about when she felt his fingers slacken.

"Elizabeth, I didn't bring you here for this, I swear. You don't have to-"

"-I want to" she told him, turning to face him.

It was true. She did.

She had her fresh start with the boys, she wanted it with him, too.

"It might be scary-"

She shook her head. She loved him and she knew him, this time...this time they would do it right. She slowly stepped through the open door, the curtain mussing her hair a little as she moved beyond it.

Immediately she was surrounded by long, tall and almost seamless mirrors and she saw that she was alone in the room. Instinctively she thought that Dwayne had yet to join her, the logical part of her brain insisting that he'd not yet entered the room. The mirrors showed only her, every angle...there she was. She moved to turn but froze, suppressing a shudder, as she felt his hands very gently, very slowly graze her shoulders. It was the most surreal thing. Though her mind protested, she took a deep breath as she turned to meet Dwayne's eyes.

His jaw was set as he watched her carefully, his hands soft against her arms.

The door they had entered through had swung shut and while she had no doubt that he could guide them back out, she herself had no idea where the door had been. It was as if the mirror maze was forcing, prodding and encouraging her to face the truth, to face his reality.

She smiled, a flickering, nervous smile as she moved one hand up his chest and towards his shoulder.

"It's so weird..." she all but whispered, her voice gentle. She could feel him, she could see him but there was no reflection. It was almost disorienting, it was so wrong...it was as if her mind was fighting against the strange impossibility that was, in fact, possible. She reached out slowly and brushed her finger through his hair, watching as her hand moved through nothing but air in the mirrors surrounding them..surrounding her. She could feel it, the strands silken and smooth and all but gliding between her fingers, and she could see it, right there before her..but in the mirrors, she was utterly alone.

The room was dim, the blue little lights lining the floor providing no practical light other than markers of safety but the overhead fairy lights, twinkling and golden, provided an oddly romantic glow to the room. She let her eyes focus on her reflection again, seeing how her dress was a little high against her thigh, the material being pulled upwards with the movement of her outstretched hand. Her fingers were dancing, waving oddly and her other hand was braced flat against nothing.

"You're not here..." she said quietly, moving her hand up towards his neck, watching in the mirror behind him as her hand met an obvious but invisible barrier, her palm flat and fingers curling. She looked so awkward and uncomfortable in the mirror, like a mime frozen in a mimicry of an intimate dance.

"I'm here..." he assured her and she blinked towards him, meeting his dark eyes.

She nodded, smiling softly as he cupped her cheek with his hand.

"Are you frightened?"

"...no..." she all but murmured, eyes locked on to his.

It was true. She felt unsure but not afraid, not frightened. She was calm, she was collected and she was with him.

"You're not afraid of me?"

"...no" she whispered again, meaning it with all of her heart, "no, of course not, never-"

"-Elizabeth, I'm sorry for how-"

"-don't" she interrupted, placing her finger against his lips. There was a hint of pleading to his voice and it all but broke her heart. Of all the things she needed to hear, of all the things she wanted to hear, an apology was not one of them. Not from him. He had done nothing but love her and she desperately wanted him to know that.

"I have..I have so many questions and there's so much I want to know and so much I want to say to you but you...you've never done anything but love me and I-" she stopped and took a breath, exhaling through a small smile, "-God, I just want to be with you, Dwayne.."

She smiled up at him, "I do..I waited all day for this and I thought over and over about..about what we would say, about what we would discuss but..I don't care" she shook her head, "I just want you, no matter wh-"

He kissed her, silencing her jumbled but heartfelt words and she all but melted into him.

The mirrors lied.

He was there. He was real and he was hers.

"I love you.." he murmured and she heard the promise in his voice. For better or for worse, he was hers. His world was a dark one, his brothers had made that clear to her. His, the life of his pack, it was no fairy tale, it was a scary and new world but she knew, without a doubt, that even if he was dark, if he was part of that darkness...he was also her light. Her savior, protector.

Hers.

Always hers and she had no desire to be anything but his.

She sighed in relief, in pleasure and need as his lips, hot against her neck, continued their welcome assault. She caught sight of herself in the mirrors, seeing her hair tumbling down the leather of his jacket, seeing the way her neck was tilted to the side, how her eyebrows were contracting in delight and building excitement. She swallowed, turning her body a little as she looked at her figure, alone and solitary in the softly lit room. He kept placing sweet, delicate kisses along the length of her neck, his hands gliding across her back, hips and stomach as he let her turn in his grasp.

"This is..." she breathed, coming to look directly at herself, feeling how her back was pressed tightly against his chest but seeing nothing of the sort in the mirror, "..Dwayne?"

Elizabeth felt the heat pool delightfully and teasingly down low in her stomach as his hands, the hands she couldn't see reflected, brushed down her hip, ruffling and crumpling the fabric of her dress.

It was so surreal.

While he slowly raked his fingers up the smooth skin of her thigh, his other hand was making light work of the opalescent buttons decorating the simple bodice of her dress. She leaned against him, losing herself to his touch.

"I'll always love you, Elizabeth"

She couldn't help the way her body trembled under his touch, how she responded to his deep, powerful words. She had been so focused on her reflection, so lost in the feelings that she whimpered a little as the pressure around her chest suddenly lifted. As his other hand crept up and under her dress, she knew without looking at her reflection that he had freed her breasts from the confines of her white, innocent little dress.

She arched her back as she felt warmth of his palm cover her breast, taking a shuddering and needful breath as his thumb gently, painfully slowly ran over her nipple.

"Oh my God-" she whimpered, body twitching in welcome surprise as his fingers began brushing against the lines of her underwear with delicious, dedicated slowness. She moaned, fighting back a shudder as he knowingly and firmly pressed himself against her.

"-me..." he corrected her in a whisper, his voice deep and filled with need. She bit her lip, instinctively pushing her body back against him. She was inexperienced but the lust in his voice pushed her further into a haze of need.

She gasped when her eyes flickered open, catching sight of herself in the glow of the mirrors surrounding her. Her head was tilted to the side, her hair splayed messily as she writhed in anticipation and budding pleasure. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her lips swollen and she couldn't help the moan that escaped her as Dwayne placed a hard, firm kiss on the juncture between her neck and shoulder. She looked so unbelievably sexy, so flushed with wanton abandon, so unlike herself. She could feel him, she could feel all of him but in the mirror, in the romantic, twinkling glow of the mirror maze, all she could see was herself. Her white dress was pushed up high around her milky thighs and her breasts were exposed, wonderfully escaping the broderie anglais material of her dress. She was clutching desperately at nothing, her eyebrows furrowed in near ecstasy. She didn't look like herself, she didn't recognize the girl in the mirror.

She cried out for him as his fingers slipped past her damp underwear, curling her body inwards as he gently, softly began to dance against her entrance. He kissed her neck again and she arched her back instead, body desperately responding to his actions. For the briefest of moments his hand left her chest and before so could protest, before she could beg for its return, she felt and then heard the zipper of his jeans being opened.

"Oh-" she moaned, her voice low and breathless, drowning in him, feeling every movement as he freed himself from the tight confines of his trousers. Her eyes flickered open again and she thought she would cry, cry or explode from the intensity of it all. She was there, exposed and open to him, his for the taking. Her hair, her dress, everything was ruffled, everything was wildly out of place..everything but his jacket. The black leather, the over-sized material still dwarfed her frame and, as her eyes flickered closed in longing and anticipation, it looked like the only item of clothing she had on.

It was close to being too much, she could never have imagined she would be part of such an erotic experience.

"Elizabeth-" he groaned and she whimpered, a desperate, pleading, "-yes..."

She knew that he was asking for her permission and his care, his tenderness despite their incredibly primal position brought her close to the edge, "-God, yes, Dwayne-"

He let out a deep, guttural groan as he pushed into her and she cried out in precious relief, throwing her head against his chest with abandon. As he began to slowly, painfully slowly take her from behind, she thought she would explode with pleasure. It felt so wrong, so beautifully wrong to be taken like this, fully clothed, underwear pushed to the side, his hands clutching at her stomach, her breasts.

She gasped again, panted a deep and desperate moan as he kept the depth, the speed at a slow, sensuous pace.

In the mirror there was only her..but it was a lie. The mirrors lied.

As she cried out again, as his lips brushed against her ear, as growled words of love and adoration, she threw her hand back and into his hair, holding onto him.

They were together, moving as one and without a doubt she knew that she was his. She would always be his.