A/N::pops head in hesitantly:: Soooooooo sorry I disappeared! I just couldn't find time or motivation to write! Hopefully things will get better. ::blushes::

Switching points of view again. This time we're going to Ana Lucia's perspective.

Chapter 11/Ana Lucia

I woke up with a heavy heart. My parents were out of town again on business and the house seemed empty and oppressive. I got up and went downstairs to make breakfast. The extra chair at the table reminded me once again who was not upstairs in his room, buried underneath his covers, waiting for me to wake him with the smell of his favorite: bacon and eggs with French toast . . . although he had not been eating at all very much during the last days.

It had been three weeks since Alex left. I still felt guilty about his leaving. Lash keeps telling me that it wasn't my fault, that Alex had a lot of other problems that became too much for him. Lash said he could relate. I suppose he could. His father is not as abusive now that Sarah is safe at home. But it can still be rough. Already a couple of times Lash and Sarah have slept over here just as a precaution. I felt sorry for them.

Adjusting my glasses, I got out a bowl and a spoon. Pouring out some cereal and milk, I went to put the carton away when I caught a glimpse of myself in the toaster. I sighed. I always wore my contacts now whenever I went out with Lash, because I know he liked me better without my "dorky" glasses. I agreed with him that I looked prettier without them. Unfortunately, I become as blind as a newborn kitten as soon as I take them off.

Peering at my reflection, I remembered all the times Alex had insisted I was beautiful, glasses and all. I had thanked him almost flippantly. Shamefully I remembered how I had not really cared for Alex's opinion . . . only Lash's. I sat down and placed my head in my hands, staring at my soggy cereal dismally. Since Alex left there has been so many times when I've realized how much I had taken him for granted. Now that he was gone, I missed him. I missed him terribly. He had been like a brother to me. I loved him.

I remember being shocked when I found the bloody razor, fallen between the trashcan and the toilet in the bathroom. I was even more horrified when I forced him to lift his sleeves and he revealed weeks of cutting scars. How could I have missed that? I had not been paying attention.

There was also his weight. He had been much too skinny, I could tell that when I healed his newest wounds. But I was too wrapped up in my own new social life to try and talk to him about it. His outburst after his nightmare did not surprise me now. He must have thought that I hated him. I gave him no reason to think otherwise.

I could only eat a few bits of my cereal before my throat closed up. I threw the rest away and decided to visit the room before I went to school. Climbing the stairs, I took a deep breath and opened the door to the room that held so many painful memories.

It was completely the same. Mama and Papi had not the time to fix it up, and I had not the heart. I walked in and sat on the half-made bed, looking around. There was nothing on the walls, no collections on the dresser. He had never expressed interest in anything. I leaned forward and opened the top drawer of the dresser. There, pushed to the back and behind rows of black socks, was the book.

It was a sketch book and I had found it the first week of Alex's absence. When I had opened it for the first time, I was amazed at the talent I saw. I had never known Alex could draw, yet these sketches were masterpieces. But then as I looked at them closer, my throat constricted and my chest began to ache. These weren't just any kind of sketches; they were sketches of despair, of anger, of hurt, and of death.

Demons grabbed and wrestled with a boy that looked frighteningly like Alex himself, dragging him to a cliff. In one sketch the boy sat on a rock, cutting his arm as the demons danced on his head and shoulders and around him. When I looked closer I could see a small tear caught in the corner of the boy's eye. Another drawing was just a broken bottle, lying on a wooden floor. In another it was just a smoking gun, the hand holding it slung out over what looked like the passenger seat of a car. The body was not shown.

I wondered about these drawings, and felt horrified and angry at myself for not paying closer attention to the pain Alex had been experiencing. Lash did his best to comfort me, but I wanted my Alex. Home, safe, and with me. I fell back against the pillow, holding the sketch book to my chest. I breathed in deeply and smiled slightly. Alex's smell was still here. His smell had become something special to me. It reminded me of a dark forest after a rainstorm. That musty yet fresh scent made me think of tall, dark trees and mossy ground.

It was almost time to leave for school. I got up and washed my face, clearing away the tears I had not felt falling. Applying some makeup, I put in my contacts and left the house. I sat by myself on the bus, wondering if this loneliness is what Alex had felt every day. When we passed Lash's neighborhood, he got on and sat next to me. He put his arm around me and I snuggled against him tightly, burying my face in his chest. He patted my shoulder.

"It's okay Ana, we'll find him." He told me.

Magenta's lead had done us no good. We had called this Megan Taylor's number and all we got was her mother saying she had gone to private school. Maj had a few colorful words to say about that, but it did no good. We still had no leads.

It seemed like no one else at school even noticed Alex was missing. Even Principal Powers had only just realized he had not been attending school for the past three weeks and had called me to her office the other day to ask about it. When I told her he had run away from home, she told me she would get in touch with the Bureau for Superhero Assistance and see if they could find him.

I was grateful, but that still did not give me back my Alex. I had no idea where he could be. The only place I knew he was not was Canada. He would never go where his father allegedly lived. I shifted slightly in my seat and Lash began to play with my hair. I sighed and kissed his cheek.

"Ana Lucia?" Lash asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"During lunch let's go outside to eat. There's something I need to tell you in private."

I was curious to know what this something was, and was tempted to wheedle it out of him right then and there. But I didn't, knowing that when Lash decided on something he was very stubborn. That reminded me of the time, about four or five months ago, when the boy Jacob Whitewater died. Lash had tried so hard to save this little boy and when he couldn't, he promised Jacob that he would become a superhero. This was part of the reason Lash had changed so drastically from the stuck up, bully/villain he had been last school year.

I still don't remember how I exactly I had fallen for Lash. He was good looking, there was no doubt of that, but I was not the shallow kind of girl who fell for a guy just because he was cute. The first time I spoke to him was when I saved his life. For some strange reason he had been leaning out over the edge of the school and had almost fallen. I had grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. I was not surprised to see him doing community service with me and Warren Peace a while later. What surprised me was the attachment Jacob formed with him.

Slowly during those days Lash got to know Jacob better, I witnessed a real change in Lash. He became less aggressive, and less eager for a fight. I found myself slowly beginning to like him more and more until I was sure I was in love with him.

Today I listened impatiently in class, waiting for the time the lunch bell would ring so I could talk with Lash. When the bell finally did ring, I made my way hurriedly out the doors and into the front lawn of the hovering school. I looked around for Lash but could not spot him. Then a white and black striped arm came out of nowhere and tapped my shoulder. I turned and watched it snake through the air back to where it had come and then headed that way.

When I arrived at the place, Lash took me in his arms and hugged me tightly. I was slightly surprised at this display of affection in public, but returned the hug graciously. After a few moments I pulled away and looked up into his face.

"Lash," I said. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

He sighed and turned to walk toward a tree and lean against it, facing me.

"Did you know that Alex is like, in love with you?"

I started and then frowned. "I do not understand. Alex is my friend; I love him like a brother. How can what you say be true?"

Lash rolled his eyes. "I've known since Homecoming. He didn't want me to take you. I could tell. But anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because since he thinks you hate him, he might have done something drastic. Something like joining Royal Pain."

My frown deepened. "But she is in jail, no?"

"Yes, she is. But she set her academy up to keep going even if she was caught. She had this second-in-command dude. I never saw him. I don't think any of the kids did. But there were kids there and still are if the Bureau hasn't gotten to them. Any chance Alex might have joined up? I can see him as a dark, angsty villain."

I punched Lash lightly in the arm at his teasing grin. "Lash, this is serious! If he's joined a villain academy, a secret one at that, how in the world are we going to find him and get him back?"

"How do you know he even wants to come back? Alex is a freak, Ana, he's gonna want to join other freaks."

Now I was becoming angry. "He is not a freak Lash," I said sternly. "He's been abused and neglected and so he's withdrawn. He's just trying to start over."

"Well, he's not doing a very good job of it. I'm sorry Ana, I know how much you like the kid, but unless the Bureau launches an attack on Royal Pain's academy, we don't have much of a chance to get him back."

I sighed. Lash pushed off the tree and walked over to put his arm around me. I leaned against his shoulder. "He was hurting so much," I muttered. "And I paid no attention."

"You didn't know Ana, don't blame yourself."

"I should have known. He depended on me and I failed him."

"People make mistakes Ana, just hope that he forgives you . . . if we ever see him again."

I knew that he was right. There was nothing I could do for Alex now. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. When I got home, my mom was there. She held me while I cried. I was thankful that she was there for she was much more sympathetic than Lash. She simply let me cry my tears and then made me some hot chocolate.

After I was done and had gone to bed, I stared up at the ceiling. I wondered what Alex was doing and if he was having any more nightmares. I wished I knew exactly where he was. I wanted him home, in my arms, away from all the pain and suffering he was experiencing. But I knew that would not happen any time soon. And so I made up my mind right then and there to search more diligently for him, even if Lash thought it was a waste of time.

Review? . . . Please::attempts puppy dog eyes::