Chapter Eight

Leaving

The three men stood at the other edge of the clearing, two glaring menacingly and one trying to look menacing but failing miserably.

Harry, Parvati, Seamus and Rose scampered out of the clearing and hid behind some trees.

"What are we going to do?" moaned Harry quietly.

"I don't know, but I think we need Ron, Spike and Danny to help us out," said Seamus. "I'll go talk to them."

Seamus glanced quickly toward the clearing and then darted over to where the other four teens were sitting. Danny was still clutching his forehead desperately. Spike still had his arms around Danny and was rocking him a bit. And Hermione and Ron were looking apprehensive. Seamus knelt down beside them. "Listen, you guys, I kind of have bad news."

Hermione, Ron and Spike looked up, the worry increasing. Danny would have looked up, but at the present moment, he could barely open his eyes because of the pain.

"What's wrong?" asked Spike.

Seamus glanced again toward the clearing. "Erm, there's a couple guys in the clearing right now. They didn't look all that nice…"

Danny picked his head up and stared straight into Seamus' hazel eyes. "Run."

"What?" Seamus looked confused.

"Run. Get out of here." Danny struggled to his feet, with a little help from Spike. "Take Her-mee-one, Parvati and Rose and get out of here. Harry should go with you, too. Ron and Spike and I will take care of those gits in the clearing."

Spike turned nervous eyes on Danny. "Danny, you don't look up to this."

"I'll be alright. Seamus, go tell the others. You five need to get out of here. You can meet Her-mee-one back here." Danny made a shooing gesture.

Seamus nodded and hurried back to the others. Danny looked at Spike. "Can I talk to you alone for a second?"

Spike nodded. He put an arm around Danny's waist to keep him upright. "Ron, Her-mee-one? We'll be right back. Say your goodbyes."

Danny forced himself upright and walked away from Ron and Hermione, Spike close at his heels.

~ " * " ~

Seamus walked back to where Harry was hiding with Rose and Parvati. Rose was curled up on the ground and shaking slightly from fear. Parvati was sitting next to her, one arm around the other girl's shoulders and the other hand running soothing fingers through the blonde locks. Harry was a couple feet away, pacing nervously and running his hands through his hair, messing up the once-neat styling. They all looked up anxiously as Seamus approached.

"Harry. Girls. We need to get out of here. Danny told me to get you three and then we're going to pick up Her-mee-one and try to find help." Seamus stood in front of the worried trio, hands stuffed into his jeans pockets.

Parvati glanced up at Harry and then looked to Seamus. "Where are we going to go?" she asked.

"I dunno, Parvati. I really don't know." Seamus shrugged and then let out a heavy sigh. "All I know is that Spike, Danny, and Ron are going to face off against those three creepy guys in the clearing. And we're not gonna be anywhere near there."

Harry stared at Seamus. "You mean, they're going to just go into that clearing and get their butts whomped by three scary-looking old blokes?"

Seamus shrugged. "I guess so."

"Seamus, we can't leave. I don't feel right about it," said Rose shakily.

"Yeah," agreed Parvati. "We can't just let them go in there so they can get beaten senseless."

Seamus threw his hands up and stepped back a couple paces. "Don't yell at me. Danny was the nutter that said they'd be going in alone."

Harry looked at the girls and then to the retreating Irishman. "We can't let them do that. Let's go talk to them."

~ " * " ~

Ron looked at Hermione. There was something about her. He cleared his throat. "Well," he said nervously.

"Well," she echoed.

They stared at each other for a second. Then something in Ron told him there was only one thing he could do. He slipped a hand around her waist, and rested the other hand softly on her cheek. They stepped together and their lips met in a soft kiss. One of her hands slipped up and into his red locks, playing with the little curl at the nape of his neck. Ron pulled her closer to him, flicking his tongue over her lips. She willingly granted him entrance. The second their tongues touched, they both knew this was right.

They lost themselves in each other, exploring bodies they were sure they knew. Hands flew over familiar-feeling skin, tongues tasting familiar tastes. After what felt like mere seconds, the two teens' lips were disconnected.

Hermione's hand released Ron's backside, which it had been grasping firmly. Her other hand untangled itself from the soft red hair.

Ron's hand snaked back around Hermione's waist, reluctantly letting go. His other hand dropped away from the soft skin of the back of her neck.

They stepped back one pace each and stared at each other. Ron was the first to break their silence. "Wow," he whispered. "That was-"

"Amazing," finished Hermione.

Ron nodded. "I've been wanting to do that all day." A faint smile flitted across his lips. But then a worried look took its place. "Listen, I need to say something."

Hermione's features contorted in fear. "What?"

Ron took a deep breath. "I don't know exactly what our relationship is when we know who we are, but I do know this. I really care about you. Very much. And I want you to remember that." He reached out and played with a few strands of her hair. "No matter what happens, remember I care about you."

Hermione stared back at Ron, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Ron…"

His hand moved back to her cheek, brushing a couple stray tears off the milky skin. He stared into the beautiful molten chocolate eyes. He swallowed hard. "And Her-mee-one?"

"Yes?" she murmured, hanging on his every word.

He cupped her face, blue eyes shining intensely. "I- Erm. I think I love you."

The words were barely a whisper. But to Hermione, he had shouted it from a mountain top and it was echoing over and over in her head. She let out a choked sob and threw her arms around him. As tears ran free all over Ron's shoulder, she whispered back. "I think I love you, too."

She lifted her head to stare up into Ron's eyes. He leaned down, and another soft kiss was shared.

~ " * " ~

Spike followed Danny a few feet away from the others. Danny came to a halt just on the other side of a large tree whose purpose became that of blocking them from view. Spike watched the raven-haired teen closely. There was an emotion present in the shining emerald eyes. Spike could not quite grasp what it was as he was sure he had never encountered it before. Danny slowly raised his gaze to meet Spike's.

Danny stared into the gray eyes, seeing curiosity and wonderment waltzing together in the stormy irises. I need to get myself together and just get it out, thought Danny. His heart was racing as he stared at Spike. "Spike, there's something I need to say, and I feel like this is the best time, because I've got this silly feeling like we're not going to make out of that clearing alive."

Spike took a hesitant step toward Danny. "What is it?" he asked quietly, putting a hand out to touch Danny's shoulder. At the touch, the sharp pain that was Danny's headache faded to become a dull nearly-nonexistent throb. The slight subsiding of the headache gave him the courage he needed.

Danny advanced to stand directly in front of the blonde. "Spike, there's something inside me that says you are someone really important to me. That same something is making me think I've never told you that before. So I want to tell you now." Danny reached up and tucked a stray bit of blonde silk behind Spike's ear.

"Tell me what?" Spike was staring at Danny intently, confused.

Danny took a deep breath. "Spike, I-" He stopped, and looked away. He mumbled something quietly.

Spike asked him to repeat himself and with a sigh, Danny did.

"I think I might have feelings for you."

Spike's eyes went huge. Danny's heart sank. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Now he's going to be all weird around me… But what came next erased Danny's fears.

Spike seized the raven-haired boy's face and pulled him close. Their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. After taking a second to recover from the surprise of the kiss, Danny had his arms around the blonde's waist, bringing him ever closer. Spike's pale fingers left Danny's cheeks to tangle themselves in the obsidian locks.

The fleeting sparks of excitement the two boys had felt at the slight touches before were nothing to the feeling of their lips pressed together. They concentrated on nothing but that feeling for a long time, exploring the other's mouth, tasting each other. Even though the two boys' minds had somehow been wiped of all memories, each knew for certain that they had never kissed each other before, and this was the most amazing experience they had ever had in their entire lives.

Danny clung to Spike desperately, feeling that if he let go, something would happen to rip Spike from him. But after a while, they had to separate, if only so that their lungs could regroup and remember what it was like to be used. They broke apart at the same time, and stared at each other. Neither knew what to say, so they didn't say a thing.

As Spike stared at Danny, he knew that whatever this was between them, that it fit somehow. Even though he still had no memories, Spike felt more complete, more whole. The ghost of a smile made the corners of his lips twitch ever so slightly. He played with the curls at the base of Danny's neck as they gazed at each other.

A couple minutes later, a sound in the direction of the others caught their attention and they stepped apart reluctantly. As they did, the same thought drifted through their minds.

Anyone tries to screw with him and I'll kill them with my bare hands.

~ " * " ~

Seamus led the way back to the path where he'd left Ron, Hermione, Danny and Spike. When he reached it, though, he stopped in his tracks, causing everyone behind him to slam into his back. What he was looking at stunned him.

Ron and Hermione were tangled up together in a tight embrace, caught up in a kiss. And they were completely oblivious to anything that was not themselves.

Seamus stared, and the others peeked around him to see what he had stopped for. Harry was the first to speak.

"Bloody hell!"

Ron and Hermione broke apart instantly, stumbling away from each other. Their kiss-swollen lips gave them away. They had obviously been at it for a while. Seamus was still just staring.

"Oh God, Seamus. I-I-I'm sorry," stammered Hermione, her hand flying to her mouth. "I-"

Seamus shook his head and waved away any other apologies that might be forthcoming. "No. It's alright."

Now it was Ron and Hermione's turn to stare. "What?" asked Ron softly.

Seamus sighed. "I said it's alright." He looked back and forth between the couple. "I'm not upset by it. In fact, I-" Seamus looked confused by his thoughts. "I feel like it's supposed to be like that… You two, together." He let a small smile form on his lips.

Hermione walked over to Seamus and took one of his hands in hers. "You're alright, Seamus? Really?"

Seamus nodded. "Really. I knew we, you and me, were too good to be true. Her-mee-one, you belong with Ron. I see that now."

Hermione smiled at Seamus and put her arms around him. A light peck was placed on his cheek and she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "Thank you for understanding."

Seamus gave the girl a gentle squeeze before releasing her. Then he looked around. "Where are Danny and Spike?"

Ron and Hermione shrugged as one.

As if on cue, Danny and Spike emerged from the woods behind Ron and Hermione. "We're right here," said Danny easily. He and Spike grinned at the group.

Parvati ran to Danny and threw her arms around his neck as Rose did the same to Spike.

"You can't go face those men," cried Parvati.

"Please don't go alone," whimpered Rose.

The two stunned boys patted the girls' backs gingerly. "We'll be alright," said Danny in a would-be confident voice.

"We're not going to be alone," said Spike, pulling back from the clinging blonde girl. "There will be three of us."

Parvati shook her head. "But that's three teenagers against three grown men," she squealed.

Danny winced slightly as the headache that had been damped moments ago came raging back full force. He pulled away from Parvati and a hand went to his forehead. "We-we'll be okay," he said through the pain.

Spike released Rose completely and put an arm around Danny's waist. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Danny nodded just enough that Spike could see. He squared his shoulders and fought the pain blazing through the center of his forehead. At Spike's touch, that pain had subsided a little, but it was still pretty bad. Danny looked at Harry, Seamus and the girls. "Listen," he said firmly. "You five are getting out of here. Go try to find help."

He glanced at Ron and Spike briefly. "Are you two okay with this? I didn't even think to ask…"

Ron nodded confidently. "I'm here for you, mate."

Spike slipped a hand discretely into Danny's. "Let's kick some ass."

Danny flicked a smile at Spike, and then one at Ron. "Right. So the rest of you are going to get the hell out of here. No," said Danny, holding up a hand to stop Harry and Parvati from protesting. "You're leaving. I don't care what you think. We can handle this ourselves. I'm sure of it. Now go."

Seamus stepped forward and shook Danny's hand. "Be careful." Danny nodded. Each of the five teens that were to leave embraced the three boys that were to fight. Hermione left kisses on Spike's and Danny's cheeks before she left a lingering kiss on Ron's lips. At that, the three girls and two boys turned and started back down the path they'd come on.

Danny looked to the other two boys. "Alright. Are you two really sure?"

Confident nods came from both Ron and Spike. Ron stepped forward and folded Danny into a fierce hug. "I don't know what we are to each other usually, Danny, but I feel like we've done something like this before."

Danny returned the hug with the same fervor. "Me too."

They separated and Ron hugged Spike. This hug was more awkward, but almost as fierce.

Then Spike and Danny wrapped their arms around each other and they shared a soft kiss. "We'll be alright," whispered Spike into Danny's ear. He felt Danny nod in response. They finally let go and the trio looked at each other.

Danny inhaled deeply, letting it out slow. "Right then. Let's go."

With that, the three teenagers made for the clearing, unarmed and unaware of the danger that was now eminent. Two thoughts flashed through Danny's mind as they approached.

Why do I feel like I'm marching toward my death?

And why am I not worried in the slightest?

~*~TBC~*~