It was apparent that something was very wrong by the second day.

John was feeling better than ever. He felt like he was twenty years younger, like he could go anywhere he wanted, do anything he felt like, and nothing could stop him. The voices were almost completely gone, and the visions were muddled, no longer intense and frightening.

So what if exorcisms seemed a bit harder than usual? It was worth it.

Chas, however, was a different story.

At first, the kid was excited to help, ecstatic that John was finally letting him. He was prompt, eager, alert, all those things that John expected from him. After about a day, though, he seemed dazed. Unfocused. He even began dozing at the wheel, always too tired to quite get things right.

Chas thought he'd just come down with some kind of strange flu bug- never mind the fact that angels weren't supposed to get sick.

"Ready to go, kid?"

Chas didn't look up. He was staring at the tabletop, his wings drooping, his gaze distant. John took a few steps toward him, raising an eyebrow.

"Chas…Earth to Chas," he said teasingly, poking at one of Chas's wings. Chas jumped, and then let out a long breath.

"Geez, don't scare me like that," he said, shakily standing. John could see his hands trembling.

"You alright, kid?" he asked, almost reaching out to steady the boy, but quickly catching himself. Chas nodded, grabbing his car keys off the table.

"Mmhmm. M'okay," Chas insisted, nodding and sleepily rubbing his eyes.

John was about to object, but by then Chas was already headed for the door. John followed, feeling the guilt building in him.

He had to tell Chas what he'd done. That necklace was draining him physically, driving him into the ground, and the boy was oblivious to what was actually causing all the problems.

But maybe he could hold out a little longer. Just long enough for John to savor this a little more. It wasn't like Chas couldn't bounce back from this. The kid bounced back from everything.

Once again, John had to repeatedly wake Chas up. He fell asleep just about every time the car stopped at a light, even sometimes while the car was moving.

The spark was gone. The spark that kept Chas talking about nonsense, the spark that made his hazel eyes turn from blue to green to brown with his rapidly-changing moods, that spark that gave him an unbelievable angelic glow. John hadn't noticed that spark, not until it wasn't there.

He had to tell him. Now. Before this went too far.

"Chas, I need to-"

CRUNCH.

John was suddenly thrown forward in his seat, and ended up slamming his forehead against the front passenger seat thanks to his damn pride in insisting that he didn't need a damn seatbelt. He heard a pained yowl and a string of curses from the front seat as he recovered.

"Oh, damn…oh fuck," Chas said, fumbling to undo his seatbelt, obviously shocked. He turned to look at John. "You okay, John? You okay?"

John nodded numbly. "Yeah. I think so."

Chas stumbled out of the car, running his hand through his hair and letting out a sigh as he surveyed the damage. John took a few deep breaths and then stepped out as well, walking to the front of the car.

It was repairable, but certainly not a cheap fix. Steam was coming out from under the hood, which was folded a good foot in the air from the impact. The back bumper of the car Chas had hit was crumpled, a cheap fix, but the driver of that car was less than thankful for walking away unharmed and not at fault.

"What the hell are you doing? What the hell?" the man shrieked as he got out of his car. He was one of those blue-collar workers, in a suit, probably headed home from work.

"I'm so, so sorry, sir, I swear I'll pay for the damage…" Chas said, obviously not really there, still in shock.

"You're damn right you'll be paying for it! Damn right! Fuckin' kid, you probably don't even have insurance, do you?"

"It's not my car, sir, it's the-"

"I'll have your fuckin' money and your job! You shouldn't be on the road, damn bitch!"

At this point, the man was practically screaming in Chas's face, and that was enough for John to step in.

"Look, bastard, this is quite obviously an accident, so why don't you get off his back about it?" he said harshly, stepping between the man and the bewildered teenager.

"Why don't you stay out of this?" the man said, a threat in his tone. John sneered.

"Back off. He said he'd pay for the damage, he'll probably lose his job anyway without you pushing it," he pointed out just as a cop car pulled up.

It took an hour and a half to calm the man down and get everything sorted out- including the cops putting Chas through a breathalyzer and a drug test, thinking that he was stoned from the distant, barely-there way he was acting. When it was all over, John took Chas back to the apartment, increasingly worried for the boy's well-being.

He couldn't help but notice as he helped Chas up the stairs that when he was touching the boy, not even the visions could reach him.

"Thanks for…well, helpin' out back there," Chas said softly as they walked in the apartment. John shrugged, throwing his jacket on the back of a chair.

"Not a problem. Listen, Chas, I really need to tell you something."

"Me first."

John gave him a curious look. "What?"

"I…I've been wantin' to tell you something. Since before…before I died," Chas said, shifting his weight nervously, playing with the hem of his shirt.

John took a deep breath. "And?"

Chas paused, looked out the window for a few moments. "John…I just…"

"Chas, just say it. Stop dancin' around it."

Chas sighed, nodded…and then stepped forward, put one hand on the back of John's head, and pulled him into a clumsy, inexperienced kiss.

John was in Heaven, for those few brief moments. Everything was gone, everything but Chas, the feel of Chas's lips, the warmth of Chas's skin…

Then, he realized what he was doing. He was kissing an eighteen year old boy. His apprentice. He'd known this kid since he was 14, and he was kissing him. It couldn't be right, couldn't be.

He broke off the kiss, his automatic reaction to be to push Chas away. Chas stumbled back and hit the door, the shove a little harder than John meant for it to be.

"Chas…" John started, but he didn't know what to say. He was supposed to be telling Chas about the pendant, telling him about the relic's effects, saving him…but now John couldn't think straight, couldn't concentrate at all. All he knew was that something that his mind said was wrong had felt so right for that short time, and though he dealt with breaches of morals every day, this was different. This involved Chas.

Chas stared at John, breathing hard, his eyes searching. "John, I've been in love with you for...for…for a long time, a-and I just wanted you to know-"

"No, Chas, no."

"But I just want-"

"No!" John snapped, backing up against the table. "Fucking no, Chas, you can't…we just…"

John could see already that Chas was near tears, fighting them with everything he had left. He wanted nothing more than to hold him close, tell him it was okay, that he might…

That he just might feel the same way.

Chas was quickly realizing what he'd done. John knew this because within moments, the door had slammed shut and Chas was gone.

"CHAS!" he yelled, almost falling on his face as he sprinted for the door. He took the stairs two at a time, but by the time he got out onto the crowded street, there was no way of knowing which way the boy had gone. He turned around, searching the crowd for that familiar, soft, curly hair, but has was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck. God dammit," John muttered, everything crumbling down around him. Chas had run away, he didn't want to be found…

And that pendant was still draining him.

John didn't have long to find him before it would be too late. Main problem being, he had no idea how long Chas had left…or what would happen when there was nothing left for the pendant to draw on.