Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Moonlight, anything that occurs in this fanfic from the show, or any of its characters. I do, however, own this plot. Yayz!
AN: Okay, so now that I'm pretty well caught up with my assignments, I plan to update somewhat more regularly. Please don't be disappointed, though, if updates end up being just as sporadic as they already are. Know that I'm trying my best to updating faster, ad that I spend the better part of my classes daydreaming about new plot twists and ideas for the story (who needs math anyway?) Updating regularly may be hard for me though, because, although I am seriously lacking in a life, something always seems to com up that ends up impeding my progress because I'm short for time (go figure!) Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing my best to update as often as possible and to stick with my story, because generally I have a track record of not updating for a long time, and then simply giving up altogether because I forget where I'm going with the pot and my interests have moved on. I figure that as long as I keep up with my updating, then I won't lose interest. Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you don't become discouraged and stop reading because of my bad track record. If you amazing readers keep reviewing, then I'll be compelled to keep writing, so I look forward to more reviews. Oh, and just so you all know, this chapter was inspired by Faber Drive's song Tongue Tied. Well, enough of my incessant speech. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Seth sat in his apartment on the ragged old black couch he'd owned for years. He was watching "Live Free or Die Hard" with his girlfriend of two years, Hanna. Although Hanna was thoroughly enjoying the movie, Seth found that his mind was elsewhere, and although he was staring intensely at the TV screen, none of what was happening seemed to register in his brain. He found himself thinking about the girl he'd rescued the night before. No matter what he did, ultimately his thoughts would settle on her. There had just been something about her face that he couldn't get out of his mind.
Of course, he hadn't told Hanna anything of what had happened last night for several reasons. Firstly, he was still unsure about what he'd seen himself. He could have sworn that the attacker had looked like something out of a horror movie, with white, cloudy eyes and overlong canine teeth, like fangs. He had also moved faster than any human being Seth had ever seen. But it couldn't be. Secondly, Seth knew that Hannah wouldn't believe him. He wouldn't have believed it himself if he didn't have the bloodstained clothes to prove that he hadn't just been dreaming.
"…Seth!" Hanna said sharply, drawing him from his reverie.
"Hm? What?" He said distractedly. Finally, he was able to pull himself back to reality and to focus on his surroundings.
"I asked you to pass the popcorn." Hanna answered, looking at him with a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay? It's just…you've been really distant today. Is there anything you need to talk about?"
"No, of course not. I'm fine." Seth assured his girlfriend with a small smile. He passed her the popcorn before going back to his thoughts. Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious girl. He felt guilty, thinking about some other girl while his girlfriend sat snuggled up to him, but…he just couldn't stop. Needing to sort out his thoughts, Seth decided he needed to go for a walk. "You know what? All of a sudden, I find that I'm really hungry. I'm going out to grab a sub or something. You want anything?"
"No, I'm fine thanks sweetie. But do you want me to come with you?" She asked, standing up and reaching for her coat.
"No! I mean, uh, it's okay. You should sit and watch your movie. I know you've wanted to see it for a while now." Seth answered. He realized within seconds of his mistake that he'd answered a bit too forcefully, and a bit too quickly as well. He saw the hurt register in Hanna's face.
"Oh, I get it." She said quietly in a calm voice, although Seth could see that she was trying to keep her voice steady. "You need to get away from me." She stared at him for a few seconds before adding, "Well fine, Seth. Go ahead. Hope you enjoy sleeping alone tonight!"
With that, she grabbed the her stuff and, walking around the couch and past Seth without so much as a glance back at him, she left, slamming the door behind her.
"Hanna, WAIT!" Seth called after he, following her out into the hallway. "Hanna, I didn't mean it that way!"
Hanna didn't answer as she walked into the elevator at the end of the hall, pushed the button, and was obscured by the closing of the elevator doors.
"FUCK!" He yelled, turning and punching the wall. He immediately regretted it, feeling a throbbing pain shoot up his hand. Cursing again, this time under his breath, he went back into his apartment, grabbed his jacket and keys and, after catching the next elevator, was on his way out. He wasn't exactly sure where he planned to go, but he knew he had to walk. The fresh air and exercise would clear his head, give him a chance to sort through everything that was bothering him…
Beth and Mick had been kissing passionately for what had seemed like an eternity. Mick, finally gathering himself together, broke the blissful embrace. Exhausted, having just come out of surgery and immediately afterward engaged in a tongue-wrestling match with Mick, Beth fell back on her bed, a slightly dazed smile on her face. True, the anesthetic still hadn't quite worn off yet, but she was lucid enough that she could tell what was going on. Mick stood up and turned to look out the window, preparing himself for what he had to do. He'd slipped up, allowed his feelings for Beth to influence his actions, rather than his brain. He hated the fact that he had to do this, but he knew he had to. Mentally prepared, he turned back to Beth, a clear, pained expression on his face.
Beth saw his expression and knew it didn't bode well. She secretly knew what was coming, and mentally kicked herself for believing for one minute that Mick had finally given in to her.
"Beth…" Mick began, trying to let her down easy.
"Just stop, Mick, okay? Don't bother." She turned to face the wall in the opposite direction from Mick, attempting to hide her tears from him. Mick, however, could sense her anguish and smell the saltiness of her tears in the air, and it made his heart break. He didn't want to have to refuse her. In any other time, in any other place, under any other circumstances, he wouldn't 't have. But this was the time. This was the place. These were the circumstances. He knew full well why it could never be. He wanted it to be, more than Beth could ever possibly understand. He was devoted to her, as much as he hated having to admit it to himself. Tonight had shown him more clearly than ever before. He loved her, would gladly die for her, and would do anything and everything in his power to protect her. Even if it meant having to protect her from himself.
"Beth…There are about a million reasons why it could never work…" Mick began, trying to come up with the right words. If only he could make her understand, to see it from his point of view. He continued to struggle with words until Beth interrupted his train of thought.
"Yes Mick, I know. You must have told me every goddamn reason in the book of why it could never work. But I've never once heard you give me a single reason why it could. God knows there are quite a few. But you're not willing to accept the fact that it could work." She had said all of this with increasing volume, despite the pain it caused in her neck. Then, quite suddenly and dramatically, she reverted back to her quite, almost inaudible voice. "You're not willing to accept me."
Mick was becoming frustrated now. No matter how many times he explained it to her, how hard he tried to make her see, she refused to see it from his point of view. "It's not that simple, Beth!" He said, raising his voice slightly.
"How?" Beth argued, a desperation making itself present in her voice. "Tell me how it's not that simple, Mick."
"I've tried!" He said angrily, beginning to pace the room. "But you never listen! You're so good at asking the questions, Beth, but you do a really shitty job of listening for the answers!" He looked at her, exasperated. How could he ever possibly make her see?
"What answers, Mick? YOU NEVER GIVE ME ANY!" She yelled, instantly regretting it. Her throat hurt more than ever, but the burning anger in the pit of her stomach that had replaced the hurt was still blazing as fiercely as ever. "You try to feed me some bullshit line about reasons and change subjects whenever I get too close to you. It's like we're forever taking one step forward and two steps back. We're getting nowhere, Mick. I want to know you, to become part of your world, but for God's sake, you have to let me in!"
"Beth, I'm trying to protect you. You thin you want to be involved in my life in my world, but you don't. And I don't want you to. Beth, I've put you in so much danger already. By just being associated with you, I've dragged you into a world I never wanted you to see. A world I tried so hard to protect you from after you were kidnapped. Yet you seem quite content to just rush headlong into it, throwing yourself repeatedly in harm's way. I can't stand by and let you do that, Beth." He finished, brushing some of her beautiful golden locks behind her ear. "Besides, what about Josh? You've got a perfectly good, respectable man who loves you like crazy and treats you right. Why are you so insistent on giving all of that up?"
"Because it's not what I want." Beth said, looking meaningfully into his eyes. "I'm a big girl, and I can decide for myself what I need. I don't need you to try and do it for me. And what I need, Mick St. John, is you."
"Beth," he began with a heavy heart. He hated having to say this. What he hated even more was knowing that he didn't mean it. But he'd rather have her alive, safe, and full of hatred for him than dead and gone forever while madly in love with him. He knew he could only protect her to an extent, and if he allowed her to become entangled in his world, sooner or later something would happen to her, and it would be because of him. Tonight was a perfect example of that. "It was wrong for me to let you kiss me. It was a mistake. Things between us can only end badly."
With that, he got up, put his jacket on, and walked out of the room, not looking back at Beth, who was crying. He was trying to fight back his own looming tears.
Rory had climbed down from the Hollywood sign, and had decided that it was about time for her to head back to the hospital. She needed to go and find out what had happened to Beth, and although she had prolonged the moment this long, she needed to know, and her need to know overpowered the dread she felt at the idea of returning to the hospital. She reached the end of a street and, picking up the scent of what she assumed was a human, she slowed to a walk. She recognized the smell, and as she passed the man that it belonged to, she heard him mumbling to himself. The voice sounded familiar too, as though she had heard him and smelled him from somewhere in a dream. She looked back over her shoulder at him as she reached the end of the street and, with one last glance back at him, she turned the corner and reverted to super-speed.
Seth walked down the empty street, mumbling to himself. Hanna was mad at him. He hated when she was pissed at him. He couldn't help but admit to himself as he walked that this blowup had been a long time coming. For a while now, maybe a few months or so, there had been a certain amount of tension growing between them. Him becoming preoccupied with the idea of the mystery girl he'd rescued was just the icing on the cake. It had been the match that had lit the deadly inferno. He also couldn't help but to admit to himself that he was becoming obsessed with the girl he'd rescued. He wasn't sure why, but she wouldn't leave his mind. He was somehow fascinated with her. A girl he'd never met or talked to.
He was so busy mumbling to himself that he almost bumped into someone passing by him, swerving just in time to avoid them. He had stolen a quick glance at the woman's face before reverting his eyes back to the ground. After he had gone a few more steps, he stopped in his tracks. What he had seen had taken a moment to do so, but it had finally registered in his mind. He had just passed her. The mystery girl. He turned around and, as fast as his legs would possibly carry him, he ran back. He covered the distance of the short street in just under a minute and, coming to the corner, rounded it. He stopped dead in his tracks. The extensive street stretched on for a long way, and he had only passed her a minute ago. He ran partway up the street and back again, looking for some sign of her. There was no possible way she could have just disappeared in that short amount of time, without a trace. It was just impossible. Then again, in the last 24 hours, the impossible was beginning to become the ordinary. He wasn't sure whether or not to chalk the whole experience up to imagination and over exhaustion (he hadn't slept well the night before due to continual nightmares) or to believe his eyes and ignore his brain. Confused more than ever, Seth continued walking in the direction he had been originally, once again muttering to himself as he went.
AN: Sorry about the whole Mick/Beth argument. It was too early in the plot for them to get together. But don't worry; they'll have awesome make-up sex later. (Make-up as in me making up to you for crushing your souls like the evil tormentor I am.) Anyway, please keep up with the amazing reviews, (they inspire me) and thank you for putting up with my continual insane plot twists and jerking you around as the reader (I'm seriously considering becoming a Hollywood writer, as they're always jerking people around with their evil multi-part episodes and cliffhangers, and I'm pretty good at it ;P) Anyway, please continue to enjoy, and if anyone has any small details they'd like me to work in, just let me know and I'll do my best to try and work them in without changing the plot too much. Oh, and for you Josef fans out there, don't worry; I've come to realize what an amazing character he is and, at the request of one of my readers, am planning to work him in sometime within the next few chapters. Thanks again!
Luvz, Cat.