When was the last time I had been outside? It had to have been weeks, at least, in my mind it had been. I really wasn't sure of the time. Living in the night was strange but oddly calming. The cave was becoming a familiar sensation to wake up in, but it was slowly becoming cramped. No matter how big it was or how many tunnels ran throughout, I could begin to feel the walls slowly closing in around me, but I didn't want to go outside. No, going outside would only bring danger. I knew that.

The boys liked to remind me that the Lost couldn't leave the woods, but they didn't have much research to go off of. What if they could? They had ended up in my yard that night they burned my house down. That felt just like yesterday. I just wasn't sure how far they could go. Perhaps they were looking for the cave right now. Maybe when I finally stepped out into the open, I would get attacked all over again. I was terrified. Absolutely terrified.

I paced in front of the fountain in the middle of the cave. Ten steps forward. Turn around. Ten steps forward. Turn around. Repeat. Repeat until the boys got tired of me and decided to leave or kick me out. Repeat until the thoughts in my head were drowned out by my counting. Repeat until I could breathe properly again.

I could feel the boys' eyes on me, though they did try to hide it. Nothing could hide that burning feeling, though. I closed my eyes tight and stopped abruptly. I took a long, shuddering breath before turning and staring at David. "I need to go outside. Go somewhere. I don't know how much longer I can stand being in here, David."

David tilted his head and bit at the cord to the headphones he was partly wearing. "Are you sure?"

"Not at fucking all."

I heard Marko let out a giggle, and I turned to see him biting his thumb from where he was perched on the backrest of a couch. "Come on, David. When's the last time we all went to the boardwalk? We've gone out only to eat for weeks. I want to go steal stuff and maybe get in a fight!"

"God, I want to get in a fight," Paul grumbled from his spot at the water fountain behind me.

David looked to Dwayne who was leaning against a bookshelf, and Dwayne shrugged his shoulders. David groaned lowly and pulled off his headphones before putting a cigarette between his lips. "Go get ready, I guess."

Marko let out a loud, childish squeal and jumped up, running toward me and grabbing my hand as he passed. I grunted as he pulled me along but complied with his movements. He pulled me through one of the hallways towards the room I had claimed as mine and quickly sat me down on my bed, a broad grin on his face. "I want to pick out your outfit. I know that sounds dumb, but I want to, and you have to let me."

I raised an eyebrow but nodded, letting him do whatever he wanted. I turned toward the door as he started rifling through all my clothes. They had brought everything they thought I would care about from my bedroom to the cave about three days after the death of my mother.

The death of my family.

The memory itself was constantly at the back of my mind, but it was something I could deal with. I wasn't in my bed anymore, which was a good sign. I was moving on. I was okay. Or I would be. There were still moments where something set off a memory, and I broke down completely, but I was becoming used to the idea of not having the two to go to anymore. No matter how much she hated me and made me feel bad, she was my mother and just about the only thing I'd known. And now she was gone. My aunt, I had only known for a few weeks, but it still hurt.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Dwayne walking through the door and smiling at me. I smiled back and laughed as Marko threw a shirt at my head. I grabbed it and examined it. It was actually a shirt I had stolen from Dwayne, seeing as he refused to wear any. I had cut it into a crop top and wore it much more than I cared to admit. It was nice having something of his.

I had something for each of the boys. A pair of jeans from Paul that were tighter than I liked to think about, a necklace or three from David who had more jewelry than he ever wore, and a pair of boots from Marko who somehow had the same foot size as me. Altogether, it made a nice outfit, but it wasn't what Marko was throwing at me.

Instead, Marko threw me a pair of red jeans, a belt and a few chains to clip to it, a leather jacket, the boots I had stolen from him, a necklace with angel wings as a charm, and an earring he had made me himself. It wasn't a bad outfit at all, but I wouldn't tell him that.

"What do you want to do while we're out," I questioned the boys as I stood up and took off my shirt.

Marko jumped onto my bed and huffed while Dwayne sat down nicely. "I don't know, to be honest," Marko replied. "I really want to just walk around and see what happens. Those are always the best trips."

"I agree," Dwayne said, watching as I pulled my shirt over my head before pushing my leggings down. "There's a new video shop open. Maybe we can go find some movies to watch."

"We don't have anything to play movies on, do we?"

Dwayne smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess we'll get a tv as well. It's about time we got some newer stuff in here."

I laughed with him, pulling the shoes onto my feet. "Well, I imagine tonight will be good. At least, I hope it will be."

"Everything will be fine, Ivarella. It'll all be good."

The boardwalk was just how I remembered it, though a bit brighter. The lights were almost blinding the first few moments I walked around. The whispering about me and the boys started up just like I remembered as well, though I didn't mind it as much. I had my hand intertwined with David's, his other holding a cigarette. Dwayne was talking to Marko behind me, and Paul was ahead of us, running around like there was no tomorrow. Constant loud laughs escaped his lips, and it made me smile just a bit brighter.

There were a few shops I didn't remember being there, but that might have just been because I was unobservant before. I didn't know nor care all too much.

After a bit of walking, Paul ended up yelling that he had found the video shop, and that's where we went. Even from outside, I could tell it was probably the brightest shop on the boardwalk. Neon signs lit up the inside and outside, flashing movie titles and phrases for people to look at. The shelves were filled with VHS tapes of all kinds, and a multitude of different kinds of players and televisions were placed on high shelves. I didn't even know where to look, there was so much.

Paul immediately skipped ahead, staring at all the neon signs, and I could have sworn I heard him asking Marko which looked the easiest to take. Marko was a bit behind him, but he was staring at all the movies instead. His eyes kept glancing between the romance section and the horror section. I smiled a bit at that and followed David as he stalked through the store. He didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular though. Perhaps he was just there for the boys.

Before I could register what was happening, I felt arms clasp around my stomach, and I was pulled away from David. I gasped and fought for a moment until I heard Paul's familiar laugh in my ear. He placed me down with a groan, and I hit his chest, glaring at him. "Not funny, Paul!"

"I don't know, chika. It was pretty funny to me. Now, help me pick out a movie."

I huffed but complied with him, looking at all the titles before picking out a movie titled 'The Breakfast Club.' It looked entertaining, at least. Paul gave me a big grin and a kiss on the cheek before letting me do my own thing.

I looked around the store for a few moments before I saw Dwayne who was standing in front of the collection of VHS players and TVs. I made my way over to him easily and placed my head on his shoulder from behind, looking at what he was. "Have you found something you like," I mumbled against his shoulder, pressing a small kiss to his neck.

He relaxed a bit and bent his knees so I could lean more comfortably on him. "Not yet," he responded. "I'm still looking. Gotta find something Paul won't immediately destroy."

"That is exceptionally hard."

Dwayne nodded.

I pulled away and leaned against the wall as he continued to look. "Hey, Dwayne," I questioned. He hummed in response and glanced at me before picking up a thick looking box. "What's that thing you do with David sometimes? With your hands, I mean? Is it sign language?"

Dwayne placed the box back and nodded. "Yes."

I fiddled with my fingers. "Why do you guys do that instead of, like, talking?" The question came out ruder than I intended, and I winced a bit at my choice of words. "I mean, it's like, fine that you do it, I just- I've never seen someone do it when they can talk."

Dwayne laughed a bit and picked up another box, putting this one under his arm. "I'm not- I'm not a big fan of talking." He paused for a second and breathed out deeply. "It's something stupid, really, but I used to have a really big stutter. An uncontrollable one, so when I was human, I would pretend I was mute and only speak through sign. When I became a vampire, I slowly, uhm, taught myself how to talk normally, but I still don't like it. It feels foreign."

I nodded, smiling a bit at the new information. "So, why does David know how to do it?"

Dwayne motioned for me to follow him, and I did. We made our way over to the counter where the other boys were. "David knows because he has hearing problems and it's easier for us to talk like that because I'm normally quiet when I do talk."

"David knows because he's an old man," Paul barked out, playfully bumping David's shoulder. David sent him a glare, but we could all see the small smile at the edge of his lips.

"Well, I think it's kinda cool that y'all know how to do that."

David smiled at me and placed money on the counter as the cashier said the total. "I'm glad you think so," he stated. "Maybe we'll teach you some one day."

I grinned. "Really? Can you teach me something now?"

David laughed and wrapped his arm around me while Marko and Paul fought for the bags. "Why don't we go get some food, and I'll teach you a thing or two."

So, we set to getting food, and we were soon sitting in the little Chinese shop from our first encounter. Paul and Marko had devoured all of theirs before I could even sit down properly and proceeded to fall asleep on each other, claiming they needed a power nap as it was getting later into the night. Dwayne was sitting beside me, his head resting on my shoulder as I face David.

"This one's really, really simple. You just have to put your pinkie and pointer finger up, your middle fingers down, and your thumb out." He demonstrated, and I followed quickly.

"Like that?"

He nodded. "Then, you just move it back and forth between the two of us a bit, and that's it."

I followed his instructions, and he nodded encouragingly. "Cool! What does it mean, though?"

"It means 'I love you,'" Dwayne responded.

David did the same gesture and pressed our fingertips together. "It means 'I love you,' and I thought I would teach you it first because I do it a lot, but you've never known what it's meant. Now, you know."

I grinned so broadly my face hurt, and I intertwined Dwayne and I's fingers, keeping my other hand pressed to David's. "Well, I love you, too, David. I love you a whole lot."