A/N: Hello there, my lovelies! It's taken me a while to get this worked on and updated, but very, very busy I have been. Work and trying to get a different job because my current workplace is a nightmare. And there are other projects in place that I need to pay attention to and new projects keep popping up…You understand, right? Well, I have this update for you and it is still kind of short, but I tried. Almost three scenes in this one. Well, two and a bit. You'll see. I hope that you like it and thanks for the support so far. Enjoy, my dears!
OOOOOOOOOO
Paul managed to catch up to his brothers and Sisters on the beach quickly and was relieved to see that Dwayne had managed to snag Faith before she could hurt herself. But he could tell just by the way that she was holding her body that he wasn't looking at his Sister. He was looking at that other personality that liked to pop up whenever things got a little too much for Faith too handle. And clearly, David was not happy about that.
"Adalyn, let Faith back out now," David ordered, pointing a finger at the redhead.
The redhead shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, her Southern belle accent hanging heavily on her words, "Faith's thinking things over right now, David. Why can't you let her be? Why can't I stay out?"
"Because you don't belong out here!" David snapped, glaring at the redhead. "She does."
The redhead rolled her eyes. "We're the same person, David."
"You're not her, Adalyn," Dwayne said with more patience than Paul's older brother. "Faith is our Sister and you're dead."
"Please just let her out," Iona begged, putting her hand on Dwayne's arm. "The danger is past. We're all here."
"That's not what she's thinking. That's not what I'm feeling right here." The redhead put a hand on her stomach where everyone knew that Faith had scars from a previous vampire encounter. "David, she's scared."
"Well, tell her to get the fuck out here and talk to me! I want to talk to her and not to you!" David grabbed the redhead by the arm, perhaps a little too tightly because she gasped. "Now, let her out, Adalyn!"
"Easy man," Paul said, moving forward. "That's not how we get Faith back and you know it."
David's ice blue eyes turned in Paul's direction and narrowed. "What are you doing here? Didn't we tell you that Faith wanted you to stay and bother the record shop girl?"
"Yeah well, my Sister needed me more than some hot chick did." Paul looked over at the redhead and smiled slightly. "Hey there, Adalyn."
"Paul…"
"You know you're not supposed to be out here, making a scene when we've got everything covered, don't you?" Paul asked, wagging his finger at her. "You're making trouble and that's a big no-no girlfriend. So why don't you let my favorite Sister out and take a breather? I'll make her laugh." He jerked his thumb over at Marko. "He'll give her a good one too."
The redhead's gray eyes flickered briefly in Marko's direction before looking back at Paul. "Paul, she really doesn't like what's going on right now."
"I know, babe, but like I said, we've got this covered. So, c'mon. Scat. Let my Faith back out into the present and don't let me see your face back out here for a while, okay, Princess?"
Paul watched as the redhead's eyes closed and her body relaxed for just a moment. When her body's manner shifted back into the more recognizable modern one of his Sister, he knew that Adalyn was gone and that Faith was back. Faith opened her eyes and blinked, looking up at Paul with guilt in her gray eyes.
"Paul…" she whispered, a frown tugging at her ruby lips.
"Hey Sis," he greeted, smiling widely. "Have a nice trip into Mind Land?"
Faith's lips twitched at the corner. "I – I don't know about that."
David moved past Paul and grabbed Faith by the shoulders. "Don't you ever do that again, Faith," he ordered, looking down at her. "You had us scared shitless."
Faith looked away from Paul and up at her mate. "David, I'm sorry, but I had to get away from there and I didn't exactly mean to run away from you." She shook her head and lowered her gaze. "Adalyn had to come out to give me a breather."
David let out a small growl and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Fuck Faith, you don't have to be so scared that you have to let her out like that. I've got you. We've all got you. Don't you understand that?" He buried his face against her neck. "I'm not about to let Max or any other vampire get their hands on you."
"None of us are," Dwayne said softly, earning a mutter of agreement from the gathered family.
Faith wrapped her arms around David and sighed before looking over at the rest of the family. Her eyes were sad when she looked at their faces. "Guys, I'm sorry that this happened."
"Don't be," Iona told her with a small smile. "We're just glad that we caught up to you before something happened."
"But you might want to do something about your feet, Sis," Marko said, pointing down.
Faith glanced down at her feet and seemed to realize that they were bare. "Um…when did that happen?"
"About the same time that you decided to bolt," Dwayne commented, shaking his head.
"Shame on you, Faith," Paul chided, wagging his finger at her again. "Your feet are really going to abandon you this time. Neglecting them like this? Shame, shame, shame."
Faith smiled slightly at him. "Good thing I have spares back at home, huh?"
"Yep!" Paul agreed, nodding his blond head. "By the way, I got you a present!" He pulled the record out of his jacket. "A brand spanking new David Bowie record for you, my little Sis…because of that unhealthy fascination you have with him!"
David lifted his face away from Faith's neck and gave Paul an annoyed look. "Really? You're encouraging that? When she has me?"
"You can't sing to her like David Bowie can, Davie," Paul said, handing Faith the record. "She likes his tights. Don't you, Faith?"
Faith smiled and clutched her new record to her side, ignoring David's dark look. "Did you finally find out that record shop girl's name, Paul? Before this happened?"
Paul nodded. "Yep! It's Jessi and she threatened me with a bat this time…I think she likes me. But how could she not? Look at me! I'm drop dead sexy!"
Marko cooed and wagged his finger around his temple. Paul laughed and playfully punched his curly-haired brother on the shoulder.
"That's nice, Paul," Faith said, tilting her head to the side. "I hope that you get to know her better."
"I hope that she takes a crack at him with the bat," David muttered, earning an elbow to the stomach from Faith. "What? He fucking deserves it."
Paul laughed loudly. "I probably do! I'm gonna go back there again and again and again to see her…"
"I expect so," Faith said before looking at David. "David, can we go back home? Just me and you? I don't feel right being out here right now…not after what I did."
David nodded and slid his arm around his mate's waist. His blue gaze turned onto the Lost Boys and Iona. "You lot can stay out for a while longer, but stay out of trouble," he ordered. "I'll see you when the sun sets tomorrow."
Paul watched the leader of the Lost Boys escort his redheaded Sister away and bounced on the balls of his feet. He really wanted to chase after Faith and pull her into a dance like the good old days just to get a smile out of her because clearly, she needed something to pick her up. But David was just as good at that as he was. And maybe she needed some alone time with David after that little incident with Adalyn and whatever brought up that fit in the first place.
"I wish this didn't have to happen to her," Iona said, speaking what was on everyone's mind. "Whatever the hell Max and the other vampires are putting up, can't be good if David can't even keep her calm."
Paul glanced over at the gypsy dancer and watched Dwayne slide his arm around her waist. He liked his newest Sister, even tried to feel her up a couple times like he did with Faith, but he knew that she belonged with Dwayne. And she had a point, things were getting a bit out of control with Max and the other new Masters.
"We'll just have to keep an eye out," Dwayne softly said, glancing around at the group. "That's all we really can do right now."
"Unless we get permission to take the other vampires out," Marko commented, biting his thumbnail. His eyes turned in the direction of Paul. "So…a bat, huh?"
"Hell yeah!" Paul said with a proud smile. He felt himself tighten just thinking about it. "Ooh! I just want to see her face again! You should see her, Marko! She's hot!"
"That'd probably be a bad idea, Paul," Iona said, shaking her head as she leaned against Dwayne. "You're the one that's supposed to fall in love with her. Not Marko."
And just like that, Paul's mood was dampened a bit. "Seriously, Dancer? Me fall in love? With one girl? You're funny!" He gestured at himself. "I'm way too much for one girl to handle! I need like five girls for myself!" He laughed and elbowed Marko. "We both need a harem of girls, Marko buddy!"
Marko nodded in agreement. "Yeah we do!"
Dwayne and Iona shared a look, probably communicating through their shared bond. Dwayne shook his head and glanced over at Paul.
"We should get back to the boardwalk," he said softly. "Someone has to find Laddie."
Paul pouted. "Fine! But I'm not riding with him. Marko is."
Marko shook his head. "I rode with him last time. It's your turn."
"We'll figure that out when we get back to the boardwalk, you two," Iona muttered, turning and heading up the beach. "Idiots."
"We love you too, Sis!" Paul laughed, chasing after her.
OOOOOOOOO
Jessi waited rather impatiently as Jack climbed down the stairs that led off of the stage, his guitar case slung over his back. His blond hair was slightly messed up from all of the headbanging that he'd done, but it was still swept over his brow in that charming fashion that she'd come to associate with him. His blue eyes turned towards her as he walked over to her and he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him, rather than pay attention to any of the groupies that called out to him.
"Hey Jessi," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "How'd I do?"
"You were great," she told him. "From what I managed to catch at the end. I've never heard those two songs before. Something new, Jack?"
Jack nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Just a couple. Nothing big though." He poked her in the side. "You've been playing too, Sis. I've heard you in your room during the day. Why didn't you tell me that you were trying to come up with some new lyrics? I could have helped."
"Because I didn't think that I should bother you when you were working on your own stuff," Jessi muttered, slipping her hands down his chest. "My crap is nowhere near as good." Her dark eyes turned towards his groupies as the rest of the band descended from the stage. "They really don't think so."
"The groupies or the band?" Jack asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because you know I don't really care about the opinions of either group. The band is a bunch of creeps and the groupies are just fans. You're my little sister. You should get encouraged."
"Uh-huh, sure." Jessi squirmed in his arms. "You say that now, but wait until you make it big by yourself. Then you'll forget all about little old me."
Jack shook his head and held onto her tighter. "We could break out together, Jessi. Me and you. And make it big without those losers."
"That'd be something."
Jessi could already picture a life without Jack and their creeper roommates. A life without Santa Carla and its nightmares.
Without Paul, Jessi thought before she could stop herself.
"Hey Jessi," someone said, popping up when she didn't want them to.
"Lester," Jessi grumbled, turning her dark gaze on one of her brother's roommates and bandmates. "What do you want now?"
Lester smirked and pushed his dark hair out of his face as if that would make him hotter. "I'm glad you came to see the show, Jessi," he crooned, eyeing her. "I didn't think that your boss would let you." He smirked at her. "Guess he knows how much you enjoy watching us on stage, right?"
Jessi tapped her brother's chest. "I enjoy seeing my brother on stage. I don't enjoy seeing you, Lester."
Lester's smirk seemed to grow and she hated it. "You keep telling yourself that, babe. But we know the truth." His eyes turned to the other two bandmates. "Don't we, boys?"
Erik and Phil nodded with their own deadly smirks.
"We'll see you two back home after we do a bit of hunting," Lester said, sending Jessi another look. "And Jessi, black does look good on you." He made a kissy face. "See you around, sweetheart, Jack."
Jessi suppressed a shiver as Lester led the rest of the band away and tried not to hurl a venomous response after him. Jack shook his head and wrapped his arms tighter around her.
"I hate him," Jessi told her big brother. "I hate all of them. The way that they undress me with their eyes and talk to me like that."
Jack looked down at her and sighed. "I know, Jessi. I hate how they talk to you too, but what can we do? Besides get our own place which we can't exactly afford to right now…But we're close. I almost have enough money to get us the hell out of Lester's place before he can think about offering us his bottle."
Jessi shook her head and frowned. "I don't want to drink from that, Jack. To become like him and the others…Nope. Not gonna happen."
"Right." He shifted her out of his arms and gripped her hand, continuing to ignore his groupies as he led her away from the concert portion of the boardwalk. "We're going to get the hell out of there before anything happens to either of us. I'm going to make damn sure that nothing happens to you. Mom and Dad made me promise to take care of you before they died and I'm not planning on letting them down."
"You haven't so far."
"Barely."
Jessi swung her hand with her brother's and looked out at the boardwalk. "We're going to be okay though. We'll get some money together and get out of Lester's place. Maybe we'll get out of Santa Carla completely and then things will change for the better."
Jack laughed. "Yeah. We'll become a famous duo and take the country by storm."
"That's not what I meant, Jack, and you know it." Jessi glanced over at her brother. "You're the one with the pure talent here. Dad said so."
"Dad also said that you had talent too, Sis. And I do too. So, one day, me and you, we're going to hit the big charts and make something of ourselves. Without Lester, Phil, and Erik messing with us." He swung their hands a bit more. "And that's a promise."
They lapsed into silence for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the boardwalk. Jessi reached up and brushed back a strand of her platinum blonde hair, wishing that her brother's words could happen sooner rather than later. That they could actually be possible.
"So, are you hungry?" Jack asked, looking over at her.
"A bit," Jessi admitted, turning her dark gaze up to him. "Didn't pack lunch today."
"Jessi!" Jack sighed, shaking his head. "C'mon, I'll feed you something. And next time, don't starve yourself or I'm gonna beat your ass."
Jessi laughed and slid her arm around her brother's waist. "I'd like to see you try, Jack."
Jack smiled and pressed another kiss to her temple. "Love you, kiddo."
OOOOOOOOO
Paul stood outside the hotel-cave, finishing off his last joint for the night. His eyes were turned towards the horizon, watching the sky lighten as dawn approached, but he could feel the thoughts of his brother's in his head. David was trying to keep his own shielded from the others as he paid attention to Faith, but Paul could pick up the leader's concern for his mate. Paul had half a mind to crash into their private chamber and mess around with his favorite Sister, just to get her spirits perked back up, but he knew better than that. David would kill him and he wasn't keen on dying when he had just figured out the name of that record shop girl.
I need to see her again, Paul told himself, taking a drag on his joint. Even if she does threaten me with her bat or say that she doesn't want to see me…How can someone resist me and my charms? Ha! I'm a sexy beast and no girl can resist me! I have to go back there and get her to hang out with me…She might want to do it if I ask nicely enough. Or I could bother her again and again until she admits defeat and surrenders. That'd be fun too…
He laughed out loud and tossed his blond head at the thought of Jessi's face if he did bother her to hanging out with him. It would be so cute to get her riled up like that. He could just picture it, clear as day and that would be perfect.
I've got to do it, Paul decided, nodding his head as he finished his joint. I have to see her tomorrow night. On the boardwalk. As long as the others have my Sister covered, I can do this. Because I have to see her again.
Paul flicked his joint's end into the ocean below and smiled lazily out at the world. "I'm seeing you tomorrow, Jessi, because you are going to be my new favorite thing…"
OOOOOOOOO
A/N: Not much interaction with Marko, I'm afraid. I do love him though, so I kind of feel bad for that. I tried to get all of the Boys in here, but I didn't manage. And I got more of Jessi's brother in here. So that's good. And I included something about their roommates, didn't I? Let me know what you thought about this, please. I love reviews – good, bad, and indifferent – because they are helpful or just interesting to read. And that's a fact because I have so many stories on here that have zero reviews on them, completely, and that's weird. You could check out my page and see that and you'd be like "Wow", I'm sure. I hope to get back here when I can, but I've got some new one-shots to write, chapters for other stories to get on, and other projects that need attention, plus an interview to prepare for. So, yep, I'm busy. Love you all and I thank you for coming back! See you around! -Scarlet
