Wow, the reception this got was even better than I hoped! Thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts. I'm sorry it seems really depressing right now (poor Frank!) but I promise it'll get better. Again, thanks if you are still reading! This one's a bit short, but important. Please review! (or not)

I thought I might update every other day, but since I got more faves/alerts/reviews than I ever expected, I decided to just go ahead and upload again today! =D But I might just wait until Wednesday next time to upload the third chapter...it depends. ;)

Disclaimer: oops, forgot this last time. Don't own any of these characters! You can obviously see what would happen if I did. x.x

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CHAPTER 2

Now that he had a set mission in mind, morbid though it was, Frank moved quickly, yet still stealthily so he didn't wake anyone. He was glad he didn't have to worry about waking Aunt Gertrude, whose room was on the first floor. She was away, staying with a sick friend. He grabbed his dark hooded sweatshirt off the rack near the door, shoved his arms through the sleeves, and zipped it up; even though it was a summer night and probably fifty or sixty degrees outside, he always felt cold now. He snagged his keys off the hook and swiftly disarmed the alarm system before stepping outside and turning to shut the door softly and lock it.

The tense teen pivoted on his heel and strode habitually toward his and Joe's...toward his black van, and climbed in. He accidentally peered to his right like he was expecting something before he could stop himself. Frank forced himself to stare straight ahead until he dipped his chin so his forehead rested on the top of the steering wheel. He swallowed thickly and told himself, He's never going to be sitting there again. Get a grip. That's the whole point of this little trip. He briefly considered taking another vehicle, his parents' car, or his motorcycle even. But something told him it should be the van.

Suddenly wanting to get this over with as soon as he could, with sharp movements Frank brought his head up, jabbed the key into the ignition, and buckled his seat belt—though now more out of indifferent routine than self-preservation. He put the vehicle into neutral so he could roll the van down the driveway noiselessly, and not until he bounced onto the black pavement did he turn the key and switch on the headlights. He shifted to Drive and sped down the gloomy street, eerily lit only by the evenly spaced, orange-glowing streetlights.

He decided to take the next fifteen minutes it normally took to get to the graveyard to mentally prepare himself. A dozen times he contemplated turning back, but he would abruptly shake the idea. He needed this; that along with the feeling churning in his gut impelled him to unconsciously speed up.

Though he was surrounded by his friends and family—even half the police force were here to pay their respects—he felt completely alone. He was an only child. Frank clenched his teeth to keep from sobbing as tears poured down his cheeks. The preacher in front went on to say how no one should be taken so young, especially not one who was so devoted to helping people and was loved by so many. Frank barely heard him; he already knew all this, and inside he just felt shock, like there was no way this could be real. It all seemed like he was trapped in some sort of horrific, endless dream. He moved his eyes to listlessly stare at the memorial stone set at the head of the grave.

JOSEPH PAUL HARDY

Born: June 20, 1987

Died: April 10, 2005

BELOVED SON, BROTHER, AND FRIEND

Sensing a quiet, Frank turned his detached gaze upward and noticed the preacher had finished his sermon. Some men he didn't bother to mentally identify were beginning to gather around the casket to lower it into the ground. He shivered as a chill ran down his spine and spread through his whole body.

This wasn't supposed to happen, it wasn't supposed to end this way. He should've been able to protect Joe, he should've been there to stop the man from taking him, should've been able to fight off the man and save him from the fire. A soft sob escaped him. I'm sorry I let you down, little brother. I'm so sorry...

Suddenly unable to accept the cruel reality—his brother was dead—the destroyed young man swayed before he staggered into the aisle...and took off. He ran away from the service, from his distraught family, from the truth, though he knew he couldn't run forever.

It still hurt so much, and he still couldn't escape the pain.

Frank jerked back to the present, and his eyes focused on the road again. Blinking, he realized he had missed a turn a few blocks back. Already in a grim mood, he banged the steering wheel with his fist in frustration at his lapse in concentration. Grumbling to himself, Frank just decided he'd have to take a different route. Even though he was going faster than he originally intended, with still about five minutes to go and, trying to make up for the lost time, he pushed the accelerator down further and whipped around the next corner at a dangerous speed.

With a gasp he slammed on the brakes just as a man standing on the street dove out of the way. He had almost hit someone! Adrenaline was starting to pump through him and, quickly shutting off the van and unbuckling his seat belt, he jumped out the door intending to see if the man was okay. As he was rounding the front of the van he heard a voice. He froze near the left headlight with one hand on the hood when he saw a familiar figure sitting in the glow of the streetlight.

"What are you, drunk? Watch it, buddy, you could've killed m-" The young man still on the ground and rubbing his head stopped mid-rebuke when he raised his head to see who it was who had almost run him down.

Frank felt dizzy. He assumed he must've crashed, been knocked unconscious, and was dreaming again. As the figure raised his blond head Frank's incredulous dark brown eyes met vivid blue eyes, ones he thought he'd never see again.

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Mwahaha! I'm evil, I know, what with this being so short and also leaving you with a bit of a cliffie. But believe me, there was no where else to break up the chapters. I promise I'll update soon. ;)