Here, we go! We at it again! Next chapter is up and ready to be read! Lol. Thank you to those who left reviews, they are greatly loved.

Also, if you had a guess as to what was going on with Erik that I asked about last chapter…it'll be confirmed in this one! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

Now read on!

Not Following Through

Raoul paced back and forth in his living room. Christine was asleep and he didn't want to wake her. After they had realized that they had made a mistake, they had headed back to the apartment that held the man that might ruin everything. They had recently moved in knowing that it was time to move on from their last place, they didn't want to move away only a week after they moved into the new one.

They had gone to the apartment and found the lights off and the mess Raoul had made cleaned up. Not a speck could be seen on the pavement, yet there was no trace of Christine's work being broken. Raoul had been sure that if the other man had seen the blood, he would have broken the trance, but that didn't seem to be the case.

The apartment was peaceful, the two inhabitants seemingly also sleeping peacefully. Raoul could hear the sound of two men breathing deeply, telling him that they were indeed asleep.

"What happened?" Raoul had asked as they watched the apartment, as if chaos was going to erupt from it at any moment.

Christine had frowned in confusion. "I don't know. You were right about there being another, but why hasn't he said anything? Did he not see the blood?"

Raoul glanced around making sure that they weren't being watched. It would be a little awkward if they were caught and were watched as they were watching. Finding no one, he faced Christine.

"I'm pretty sure he was close enough to see it. Definitely awake."

Christine furrowed her eyebrows. "Than what…"

Raoul placed his hand on her shoulder. "Come on. We'll figure it out tomorrow."

"You mean later today?" Christine offered with a small grin.

Raoul grinned back. "Exactly."

They had gone back and had went to sleep but Raoul had trouble doing so. There was a nagging tug at the back of his mind, like he was missing something important. And he was certain that it had to do with the man they hadn't gotten to. It kept pecking at him until Raoul got out of the bed, careful not to wake Christine and went into their living room.

He paced back and forth, trying to work out the unsettling feeling he had. He knew that it wasn't about the whole thing that happened with the blood and whether the compel would break. Raoul didn't know what it was about.

For one reason or another, he felt the intense urge to go back to that apartment. There was a pull in his gut that was telling him to return and it took him every ounce of his will power to not go back.

By the time dawn arrived, Raoul was pacing a line in their new carpet. He knew that Christine didn't need to be up for a couple hours but he decided to risk going out. The whole idea of the sun being deadly to them was ridiculous. The sun produced light and heat, Raoul didn't have any more problems than any other person who was in the sun. He got really bad sunburn when he was out in it for too long, but that was everyone.

Within a few seconds, Raoul had left the apartment, locked the door, and was standing across the yard of the apartment of the men from last night. The pull in his gut was tugging harder but he forced himself to remain out of sight and not get any closer. He took note of the scent of the man he had spoken to last night. It was one of coffee, but not the cheap stuff sold in stores, the good kind that had a sprinkle of warm spices. There was a slight mix of gun powder in the scent, telling Raoul that the man had a career that involved weaponry.

Knowing this made Raoul more unsettled about making sure that he didn't have the compel broken.

He also couldn't smell anything of the other man, but that wasn't surprising. Scents can get lost with enough time, all it took was a few days of not leaving one spot or bad weather. It had rained yesterday and if the man hadn't left the apartment after that, his scent would be gone.

He heard one person moving around in the apartment but couldn't tell who it was, though he must have gotten up right at dawn. He heard an alarm ring through and it being turned off. A part of him was impatient and felt the need to break into the apartment, but he clenched his wrists with his opposite hands to give him a mental warning to make him stay put.

When he saw a figure move within the window frame of one of the windows, his instincts knew that it was the other man. The blinds and curtains were closed but the pulled in his gut jerked at the sight causing Raoul to sharply gasp under his breath. He tightened his grip on his wrists and continued to watch.

Eventually, the man he had spoken to last night came out dressed in a cheap suit and locked the door behind him. Raoul watch him go to his car, completely calm and not giving any indication that his compel had been broken. The man got in his car and drove away.

Raoul turned back towards the apartment and wondered when the other man would leave. He crushed down the urge to walk to the door and knock on it. He listened as the man got ready for his day. When the man made obvious noises that meant he was going to head out, Raoul glanced down at his watch. He was shocked to see that he had been standing in front of the man's apartment for almost an hour!

Suddenly the door to the apartment opened, Raoul's head whipped up and finally caught sight of the man.

"Ah!" Raoul gasped at the assault the man's scent.

He could feel his mouth watering as his fangs descended from his gums. He stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall of the closest apartment. He quickly turned, placing both of his hands on the wall in front of him as he tried to gain control of himself. His nails clawed into the brinks as he hunched over, body trembling from trying to make sure that he stayed exactly where he was instead of running to the man to drink from him.

The man had the most intoxicating scent he's ever smelled. The aroma of apple pierced through the air, but not just any apple. It was the apple you craved on a hot summer's day, thirsting for its juices and crunch. It was the apple freshly picked from the tree in perfect condition. It was the apple that was the symbol of temptation, mixed with a hint of parchment like in old books.

It made Raoul need like he's never needed before.

How in the world did he not noticed this last night?! He doubted that he being drunk was the reason. He was pretty sure he would be able to recognize the scent anywhere.

He pressed his forehead to the wall, trying to force his fangs back and calm the desperate urge to go to the man. The last thing they needed was for him to mess up this soon in their new life.

It took some time and while the pull in his gut remained, he was able to withdraw his fangs and straightened. When he glanced towards the apartment, he found that the man was gone, but his scent lingered. Following it, Raoul eventually caught up to him and the sight almost made him freeze in his tracks.

The man's back was to him and was walking at a steady pace but in the man's left hand, a white cane was being slid back and forth in front of him.

He's blind, Raoul thought in disbelief.

That…explained a lot actually. If he couldn't see, he wouldn't have seen the blood therefore wouldn't have been able to break the compel, even if he was there. All night, Raoul and Christine had been worried over nothing. A part of him was relieved that there was nothing to worry about, but then a darker part of him started to whisper thoughts.

If he was blind, he was an easy target. The man wouldn't see Raoul coming and would be unable to defend himself. Raoul would be able to easily knock the man unconscious to drink from him. Usually, he didn't do that, but since the man was blind, Raoul needed him to be unconscious.

Raoul felt his mouth began to water again at the thought of being able to drink the blood that created that scent and picked up his pace.

As if he could sense his presence, the man stopped in his walking, causing Raoul to stop as well. The man cocked his head to the side, listening for anything. Raoul made sure to remain perfectly motionless, going as far as to stop his breathing to not be heard.

After a few minutes, the man shook his head and began to walk again. It was early enough that there weren't a lot of people around, they were either asleep or driving pass them. Raoul made sure to walk casually as possible for their benefit but also made sure to keep quiet for the man to not hear him. As they walked, Raoul took his time to observe his future prey.

The man was tall, taller than Raoul probably by a couple inches. He wore black slacks, a long sleeve white button up with a black vest, and dress shoes, which made Raoul think he was crazy since it was summer. The man was slightly pale, though not nearly as pale as Raoul and Christine, and had black hair that was slicked back with gel.

Raoul let his glaze linger on the man's wide shoulders before settling on his neck, imagining what it would be like to pierce the skin with his fangs.

As if summoned, Raoul could feel them descend from his gums again. When Raoul spotted an opportunity, he used his speed to bring himself behind the man and grabbed him. The man jerked in surprise but Raoul gave the man no time to react. Instead, he pushed him against the wall and slammed his head onto the brick. The man's head hit and he slumped back in Raoul's grip.

The man was heavier than he thought, but that wasn't a problem for him. Raoul quickly dragged him out of sight, making sure to grab the cane, and laid him on the ground on his back. For the first time, Raoul got a proper look at the man's face.

Raoul blinked with a small gasped. The man's face was disfigured beyond anything Raoul has ever seen before. Raoul crouched and leaned over him to get a closer look. It looked painful and Raoul wondered what had come first. The blindness or the disfigurement? Maybe he was born with both?

He shook his head, bringing him out of his thoughts. He had followed the man for one reason. Now he had the opportunity to do it.

Raoul got more comfortable, reaching forward and took hold of the man's head and leaned forward as he brought the neck closer. He let out a large exhale before taking in a deep breath of the scent, almost groaning as he could practically taste the blood already.

His fangs touched the tip of skin when suddenly, Raoul felt wrong all over, the sensation engulfing his entire being.

Startled, Raoul dropped the man and lunched backwards hard enough that he landed on his behind. He panted as the feeling went away, though the urge to bite remained. He stared at the unconscious man, wondering what had happened.

Shaking his head, he got on his knees and tried again, but the same thing happened. As soon as Raoul's fangs were about to break skin, the overwhelming feeling of wrongness and guilt washed over him.

Eventually, he gave up trying to bite the man and sat on the concrete next to him, trying to figure out what to do next. The need to bite was strong, but something was preventing him from doing it. The feeling of wrongness was like the pull in his gut, contradicting each other. One nagging him to get as close as possible to the man, while the other is telling him that he's making a mistake somewhere.

Raoul reached forward and gently touched the ruined skin of the man's face with his fingertips. The skin was rough as he imagined but at the same time fragile, like the slightest pressure would make the skin crumble. Since he couldn't bite him he supposed he should try to wake him up.

"Hey," Raoul stated, adding urgency in his voice, lightly tapping the man's face. "Are you okay?"

The man stirred and after a moment, opened his eyes.

Blank golden orbs stared at nothing above him and Raoul had to hold back a gasp.

The man might have a disfigured face, but he also had the most amazing eyes Raoul has ever seen.

"Sir? Can you hear me?" Raoul asked, taking his hand away but continued to glaze at the blazing eyes.

When those eyes focused directly on him, pinpointing his location by hearing, Raoul knew one thing was certain.

He was not going to be able to ever harm the other man.

Yep! Erik's blind in this! How many of you guessed correctly? If you did, be sure to let me know in a review! Or if you enjoyed the chapter leave one for that too! Next chapter will be in Erik's POV. See ya next time!