Draco:  I'm finally back!  Bah!  I lost the beginning of this chapter ten times, Goddammit!  Argh!  Anyway…this is the insert chapter that I promised my little sister.  The quote is from a song of hers called "Can someone help me?" which appears in here in full.  Also, this is the last call for fanworks if you want an insert, because we're coming up to the end of this beautiful story.  That said…enjoy!

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"In and out of the mist, life moves on."

Mobs of people were gathered throughout the mall as Ashley dragged Omi through.  Nagi followed close behind, and the little goth was amazed that the boy could keep up with them so calmly.  They were on their way back outside after a stop by the food court, Ashley giggling about "perfect timing" and how she "almost forgot," and Omi was glad to see that the rain had stopped.  What she had almost forgotten, he didn't know, but it seemed to be whatever all of the people had come to see.

Out in the parking lot, Omi could see a stage set up, a banner reading "Kiss of Fate" in bleeding black letters hung across the front.  His new friend lead him on a zig-zag course through the people until they reached a table where a blue-haired boy stood selling copies of a demo CD.  He smiled at them as he tugged at the sleeves of the fishnet he wore under a baggy green t-shirt, and silver glinted from his nose and eyebrow.

"Hey," he nodded to Ashley.  "How's it goin'?"

The girl laughed, "Pretty good, but I almost forgot you guys had a show today!"  She hugged Omi, who smiled nervously as the blue-haired kid laughed back.  "Anyway," Ashley went on, "this is Omi!  Omi, meet Shane!  He's the drummer for the band that's setting up!"

Omi shook hands with the boy, and Shane shrugged.  "I'm the only one with no electronics to hook up, so I get to play salesman.  Want a demo?  We'll even sign it for ya, if ya want."  Shane laughed at himself and Omi looked around for an escape.  It wasn't that he didn't like the guy, but he wasn't horribly comfortable meeting new people in this kind of crowd.

Then he saw something he hadn't expected, brownish-blonde hair dangling over cords as a crouched figure taped up the rubber tubing around microphone wires.  Heather stood up and turned to a girl beside her.  Omi glanced back at Ashley, but she had fallen into a conversation with Shane while Nagi was nowhere to be seen, and started making his way towards the stage, butterflies in his stomach.

"Now you gotta be careful," Heather was saying as the other girl pulled shoulder-length brown hair up into a clip.  "This mike is wicked when it's working, but it only works if the wires are right.  When I plug it up and hit the switch, do the mike check.  If it still won't work, I'll adjust it.  Once it's set, though, don't mess with it or you might lose it. You got me?"

"Sure," the girl smirked and messed with the jelly bracelets that covered her arms.  "Don't screw with the mike once it's working."  Then she smiled.  "Thanks again, Heb."

Shrugging, Heather headed offstage.  "Don't mention it, sis.  Just don't bust it up any more than I have."

Biting at his lip, Omi snuck around the side of the stage and stood a few feet behind his friend as she found the plug to the sound board and switched it on.  A booming pop sounded from the mike and the other girl screamed.  Heather just laughed as the crowd roared to the echo of the band's lead singer shouting curses at her sister over the sound system.  Shaking her head, the blonde took a seat on a crate as the rest of the band hit the stage and her sister tried to gain composure.

"D-dragon?"  Omi finally choked out under a blush, and Heather spun in surprise, eyes wide.

"Omi!  Wow!  How'd you…?  Oh wait…  Ashley…"  His friend smiled softly.  "You were with Ashley, weren't you?  I guess she decided to hit the show."

Nodding, Omi looked around nervously as the music began, the singer's voice crashing over them.  In and out of the mist, life moves on.  Omi sighed, and Heather motioned for him to sit down beside her.  After a moment's hesitation, he did, and she hugged him.  It's become routine, all feeling's gone.  He held on to her tightly, and he could feel his tears starting again, still there even after he'd held them back for so long.  She just let him cry.

All alone, no one's there.  My heart's twisting, gonna tear.  It's too hard.  I can't cope.  I lost all hope.

"That's my little sister up there," Heather told him as his shoulders stopped shaking.  "She wrote this."

I can't breathe.

"It's good," he whispered into her shoulder, then sat up.  "I can really feel it right now, especially after today."

I'm stuck and I can't get away.  I feel like I'm going insane.  I'm drowning in a wave of tears.  Can someone help me?  Please?

Heather looked down.  "I'm really sorry, hun.  I didn't really think before I ran off.  I mean, I promise Shell I'd be here today because they'd never gone through a mike check or anything before, but I just didn't think.  I forgot I hadn't told you about it."

They don't see.  They don't know.

Omi looked at her for moment, and let the song fill the silence.

I hide it well, won't let it show.

"It really hurt," he finally said.  "I'm not going to lie to you.  It hurt like Hell.  But it wasn't you leaving that hurt the most.  I could have dealt with it if it had just been you.  I could have just let it go and talked to you later.  I know you always have a reason.  Then Aya left.  I don't know what I would have done if he had stayed, but I could have figured that out a lot easier than I figured all of this out.  Suddenly I was alone, you know?  I hate being alone."

It's not over.  Life's not gone.

Then he smiled a little.  "But Ashley was there, too, and she wouldn't let me let go.  So it's okay that you had to go and just forgot to tell me why.  I don't mind.  I really don't.  You've already done so much for me, so I guess that's why it was so hard for me when you left.  I felt like I owed you for everything you'd done, but I didn't know what to do."

I'm gonna kiss my fate, meet it head on.

"You don't owe me anything, baby," she laughed softly and hugged him again, and Omi felt almost giddy.  "I do what I can for everybody, and when I love a person as much as I love you, I'll do anything."

And they'll never see that I can't breathe.

"I know," Omi laughed.  "I've kind of figured that out."

I'm stuck and I can't get away.  I feel like I'm going insane.  I'm drowning in a wave of tears.  Can someone help me?  Please?

After a moment, he stood up.  "Thanks."

"No problem," she smirked and patted him on the arm.  "Why don't you enjoy yourself today, hun?  Go out there, find Ashley, and rock this concert thing like nothing happened this morning, alright?"

"I can do that," Omi grinned and glomped her.

Then she kissed his cheek and sent him back out into the crowd.

Can someone help me?

A smile still on his lips, he rounded the corner of the stage and laughed at the sight of the crowd.  Suddenly he could really feel it.  Like he'd told Heather, the song was real.  It really was amazing.  So, he started into the audience in search of Ashley, and went along with the flow, not watching his step until he ran into someone.  And his stomach flipped as the color drained from his face.

Help me.

Aya stared down at him, and Omi suddenly felt dizzy as the punk gripped his shoulders.

Please?