Chapter 15

"If you're losing sleep—forgive me. I just can't keep pretending."

-Michelle Branch

The sun was beginning to set, and Max and Tyson were outside of the mansion looking the gate up and down. Fingering the metal bars of the gate, Tyson looked longingly up at the sky. "Do you really think this going to work? We still haven't found a weakness in the gate that will make it possible for me to escape."

Staring intently at the gate a teasing smile made it's way across Max's lips. "And here everyone we know thinks you're the optimistic one, and yet here you are being cynical." Moving his gaze around the yard, Max spotted the one thing that could help Tyson escape. Smirking Max tilted his head to the side, "So Tyson, how good are you at climbing trees?"

X.X

Something was about to happen, Kai could feel it in every fiber of his being, but he couldn't tell what it was. It made his blood boil, and if his heart had been working it would possibly be pounding at that very moment with dread. Glancing out the window of his room, he sighed as he saw the approach of night. Returning his attention to his book, Kai pushed down his worry.

X.X

Rei searched up and down the halls for his blond lover, but couldn't find any sign of him. It was at times like these when he wished he had kept Max locked up in his room, so he could find him easier. Of course if he did that then Max might have continued to hate him, and then they never would have gotten as far as they did a couple of days ago.

Hearing a noise coming from the kitchen, Rei carefully crept to where the sounds were coming from, pausing in the doorway, he peeked into the room. Max sat at the wooden table, eyes glowing with contented bliss as he ate what looked like a chocolate bar. Chuckling at the cute scene before him, Rei stepped out from his hiding place to stand behind Max and wrapped his arms around the blonde's shoulders. "Remind me again why I let you have sugar even though a few minutes later you'll be bouncing off the walls?"

Pretending to think it over in his head, Max smiled coyly and said, "Because you love me, and you also love the taste of sugar in my blood."

"Are you sure?" Rei said in a teasing way and leaned closer to the blonde's neck. "Perhaps I enjoy drinking your blood because it makes you submit more easily." Giving Max's neck a small nip without piercing the skin he got a soft whimper from the blonde.

"Rei stop being mean to me, or I'll leave you for the chocolate bar," Max whined.

To say Rei was stunned by Max's comment was an understatement. He stopped nipping the sensitive flesh, and pulled away from Max a bit so he could look the blond in the eyes. "You are joking right, because I can actually see you doing that."

Keeping his cool, Max knew it was time to throw his plan into action. "Well it's not like you have anything to keep me here other than Tyson, but we've been in a fight for a while now so that doesn't matter anymore. Of course, if you were to turn me into a vampire or perhaps do a blood bond with me then I might have a reason to stay."

Growing suspicious of his lover, Rei searched Max's face for anything that would give the blond away to what he was planning. Finding nothing Rei stroked Max's cheek in a comforting way, as if he were a child. "What exactly do you know about blood bonds, Max?" Rei said in a soothing voice, trying to coax the information out of Max.

"I know that they're similar to changing into a vampire, but a little different," Max answered truthfully. "When changing a person into a vampire the victim has to have all of their blood drained from their body and then be given vampire blood, but with the blood bond you would only have to drink some of my blood, and then give me some of yours. I'd still be human, but as long as you're alive I can't age or die from age. Also ,we'd be able to sense each other in a way."

Nodding his head, Rei smiled at Max, still unsure of what made the blond bring up the subject of blood bonds. "You seem to have done your research Max, but is there any reason why you brought up this topic?"

Blushing, Max looked down at the now very interesting floor. Clutching the bottom of his seat so hard it made his knuckles turn white. He began to realize how hard it was going to be to tell Rei what he wanted, and what made matters worse was that if he delayed this any longer Rei might leave, and then notice Tyson was missing and tell Kai, which would lead to a very unhappy Tyson. Taking a deep breath Max looked straight into Rei's golden eyes. "I w-want you to do a b-blood bond with me."

The look on Rei's face was pure shock. While he would love to perform a blood bond on Max, having Max ask him, and only days after their little love session, was a surprise. He was sure he would have to wait months, maybe even years, before he would do that to Max. Tightening his hold on Max, he rested his head on Max's shoulder and nuzzled the blonde's head. "Are you sure about this?"

Max didn't wait a second to respond, he knew this is what he wanted, and Tyson had given him his blessing as well. "Yes."

X.X

Tyson's breathing grew deeper as he ran. He had successfully climbed the tree that was close to the gate and used it to jump out of his prison. He hadn't stopped running since he had escaped from the mansion, and he wasn't going to until he reached the last place he had seen Hiro.

Thinking of his brother made him clutch the jacket in his hand more firmly, not wanting to lose the only thing he had left of his brother. His feet grew tried as he continued running but he didn't slow his pace down, in fear of Max's plan not working and getting caught. A sound came from the bushes beside him, and being naturally curious Tyson turned his head to look at whatever had made the noise only to see a mouth full of sharp silver teeth.

X.X

Kai slammed his book close. He couldn't get into the story he was reading, and it annoyed him to no end. Pushing himself up from his red velvet chair he stretched. Only one thought filled his mind, Tyson. The blue haired boy had been on his thoughts for a while now, and that was part of the reason why he couldn't enjoy reading his book.

Leaving his room and heading towards Tyson's, he overheard a bit of Max's and Rei's conversation—one of the bonuses of being a vampire: great hearing. When he heard Max bring up the subject of a blood bond, needless to say, he was a little shocked, but he shook it off and continued towards Tyson's room.

When he finally reached the door he paused for a moment to think over what he was going to say to the blue haired boy. He hadn't exactly planned a conversation, but by the time he reached the door he knew it would probably be better to make contact with Tyson if there was something he wanted to talk to the boy about. Finally deciding on a topic, he slowly opened the door to the room and stepped in to see nothing.

Glancing around the room for any sign of Tyson hiding somewhere, he could find no trace of the boy. The longer Kai looked around the room the more worried he became, but it wasn't until he noticed something other than Tyson was missing did he do anything. Growling he slammed the door, almost ripping it off it's hinges.

The only thing other than Tyson that had been missing from the room was Hiro's jacket, which could only mean one thing.