A/N: Chapter six! Whoohoo! FLUFF! SQUISH! SAPPINESS!

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"Shut up and go to sleep, lover boy." Said Evra, rolling over so that his back was to Darren. Darren simply stood there for a while, stunned.

A few minutes later, Darren had come up with something to say to that, but he heard Evra's deep and even breathing, suggesting sleep. So, he just plopped down onto his own hammock, falling asleep almost immediately, and landing in dreams of Whisper.

The next few days flew by for the four friends. Whisper and Darren had noticeably grown closer, though tension was still high. Whisper showed no sign that she was getting more normal, and Darren had trying with all his might to weasel facts out of Sam (and sometimes even Whisper herself).

Darren and Evra were content with the way life was going, they had two good friends, and the shows were going well. The same routine had been going on pretty much every day, although it differed a little day by day. Darren had been going out more frequently to do his vampire stuff with Mr. Crepsley, as it was getting more and more urgent for Darren to drink human blood.

The worry for his assistant could be seen quite plainly on the vampire's face, to those who knew what to look for. As for Darren, He got weaker, paler, and less healthy by the day. He often experienced dizzy spells, causing to fall, or drop whatever it was he was holding at the time (one more perilous occasion, it had been Madam Octa's flute. Darren would have been a goner if he had been practicing alone, but he happened to be rehearsing with Mr. Crepsley, who inevitably saved his life).

Today, Darren was walking around, scouring the area for a fox or a rabbit he could drink from. He listened carefully, and though his senses were weakening, he could still hear better than any human. He heard a heartbeat from behind a bush, and warily inched towards it. The pulse of the creature's heart grew louder and louder as he closed in on his intended prey, and just as he was tensing to spring-

"May I ask what you are doing?" A voice came from behind him, causing him to jump out of his skin.

It was – of course – Whisper, carrying a large hardcover book with frayed edges.

"I – um – I was just…" Darren stuttered, trying to come up with a quick lie. Sam and Whisper still unaware of Darren's vampirism, and he rather preferred it that way. Coming to his senses, he said, "What are YOU doing?"

"I was just looking for somewhere I could sit and read in peace," she replied cuttingly.

Darren's stomach growled. He had recently eaten lunch; the hunger was for something else. She watched him intently, like a mildly interesting television program. He was currently watching her neck, and anyone who knew the nature of a vampire's feeding habits would know what he was thinking.

Blood………

"Hello? Darren? You with me?" Whisper said, walking towards him and snapping her fingers in his face.

Snapping out of his trance, Darren looked at her fully. Her expression was confused; her free arm was now hanging limply to one side, while the other clutched the large, thick book to her chest.

"Uh, Yeah. Walk with me?" Darren asked her. He could swear he could see a small smile cross her lips, but it might just have been his imagination.

"Sure."

And so the walked. And they talked. They were being civil to one another. A few sarcastic jokes and snide comments here and there, but that was just playful banter. At one point, Darren linked his arm with Whisper's bookless one, and to his delight she didn't pull away. They walked into the woods, on a pathway that wound in and around the trees and eventually would lead them back to camp. The woods were nice, they weren't dense, and the beams of light that came from overhead hit them gracefully, making the scene even more fantasy-like.

They came to a clearing with a small river running through it, and stopped to sit for a while. The river wasn't very wide, but it looked like it might be deep, and it was moving fluently. Whisper walked to the single, large, shady tree in the clearing and sat down. Darren followed her, and sat next to her. He leaned against the large tree, and she laid her head on his chest, with his arm draped over her shoulders, ending with his hand resting on her hip.

Well, this is new, thought Darren. Never before had they relaxed together like this…so freely and comfortably. They remained silent for awhile, just lounging under the tree, contentedly watching the creek, and the trees on the other side of it.

After a while, Whisper broke the content silence.

"It's getting late. We might want to head back." She said, gently tugging Darren's arm off of her and sitting up. Her voice was a bit raspy, she obviously wasn't used to talking as much as she bad been before they had come to rest under the tree, and her voice was worn out a bit.

It WAS getting late. Darren looked out over the tree tops, and indeed, the sky was turning slightly orange with sun-set. They had been gone since around one or two o'clock, so they must have been gone at least four or five hours.

"Yeah. Oh crap, what are the others going to think we've been doing this whole time? Ah well, I don't care." Darren said. But he did care. He knew Evra was going to tease him endlessly when they got back, and he could only imagine what Sam had in store for Whisper.

She chuckled and stood up. "I'm just going to go wash my face in the creek. I'm really hot."

You have no idea, Darren thought, smiling to himself.

She walked over to the river and crouched on a large wet rock. She leaned forward and put both hands in the water and cupper water in them (she had let her book lying under the tree next to Darren's still-sitting form).

Darren's eyes were closed when it happened.

He was still lounging under the tree, still feeling Whisper curled body against his, when his eyes snapped open at the sound of a panicked shriek and a splash. He leapt to his feet and saw what was going on down by the river.

He figured in an instant what had happened. She had evidently been leaning over the rock and splashing water onto her face when she had slipped and fallen in. The river was rapidly dragging her downstream, the only thing visible of her was her hand, and occasionally her head popped out of the water, gasping for air.

"WHISPER!" He roared. He was panicking, trying to figure out what to do. There was the occasional rock that was peeking out from the water's rushing surface, and the abstract tree-branch that protruded over the water, but nothing else to keep her from being swept away into oblivion.

Her head popped out of the water long enough for her to splutter, "Dar-Darren! Help!" Before the currents once again pulled her under.

He tore across the grassy clearing, quickly closing the gap between him and the river's edge. He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. The he saw it. There was a long stick lying near the river's edge. He quickly snatched it up, and darted along the riverbank as to draw level with Whisper. He leaped onto a rock on the river, using all of his vampiric powers to his advantage, vaulting from rock to rock.

"Whisper! Try to grab this stick! I'll hold it out to you!" He yelled, praying she could hear him and continuing to jump from rock to rock, trying to stay as close to her as he could. She feebly reached for the branch, and failed a few times before finally grasping one end, at which point Darren promptly stopped on the rock he was on and held on for (her) dear life. The sheer momentum of the river and the weight of Whisper's body in the rushing river was causing Darren to slip slightly on the wet rock, though all his muscles were tense, and he was holding on with all his might.

He pulled her in, and when she got to the rock, she grabbed it and tried to pull herself up, but slipped and continued to be dragged away by the wretched river, screaming. Darren hesitated, horrified, as she was distanced from him once again. Without thinking, he tossed the stick aside and dove in after her.

The water was freezing, and it immediately went up his nose and into his lungs, causing him to cough ad flail about. But he heard Whisper scream, and he remembered why he was in the river in the first place.

With purpose, and as much speed and control as he could muster, he swam towards Whisper. After about a minute of frantic and desperate searching, he reached he, and his hand closed tightly around the cuff of her shirt. He then started to drag her back to she river bank. They were hitting rocks and currents, mind you, so this took about eight minutes. When they reached the side of the river, Whisper plopped down, panting, and Darren followed suit.

When they had each caught their breath, they sat up and examined themselves, or at least Whisper did. She checked herself for injuries, and shockingly, the only injuries she sported were a long cut across her forehead, and a large purple bruise on her left shoulder. Darren, however, had not gotten off so lightly.

His face was bruised, and his right eye was swollen shut. His chest and abdomen were bruised and battered, and it was very likely that a few ribs were broken. His ankle as sticking out at an odd angle. Noting this, Whisper rushed over.

"Darren! Are you all right? Are you hurt?" She asked frantically, though she knew she was asking dumb questions.

"Oh…yes." He struggled sarcastically. "I'm only…laying…on the ground…bruised and sore…I'm FINE." He spat.

His snide remark just seemed to bounce off of her.

"Sorry…" She bit her lip and looked around, as if trying to decide on something. Apparently coming to a decision, she turned back to Darren. "Stay here, and don't move. I'll be back." And off she dashed.

Now that he had nothing else to distract him, Darren looked around and observed his surroundings. It was just light enough for him to see that he was no where near where the clearing was. He was lying on a damp riverbank, in a patch of grass that was mostly mud and rocks. There were trees everywhere, and the river flowed somewhere around his feet. The riverbank raised up in a miniature cliff, about ten feet high.

A few minutes later, Whisper's footsteps could be heard running flat-out towards him. She dropped to her knees, and skidded the last five feet to Darren's side. She was holding the large book. She had evidently gone upriver and gotten that book, for some reason. She hurriedly opened it and began to leaf through it. She apparently found what she was looking for, because she whispered; "YES!"

She set the book aside(still open), and laid a hand on Darren's shoulder.

"You'll be okay, Darren." She said quietly. A white glow touched his shoulder and the same warmth he had felt that night around the fire spread from the point of her touch, all down his body. "You'll be all right."

And he got no farther.

He passed out.

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CLIFFIE!