dum, de dum...:D

R&R! to make me happy and write faster...:D *nudge* *nudge*

yes. do it.

please? :D

the song from chapter 1 was...erm...Oh yes! All Signs Point to Lauderdale by A Day to Remember. T.T I had someone tell me that's a Cartel song, when it clearly isn't. it's on their new freaking album.

sigh. anyways. here ya go. :) chapter 2. this should clear up a lot of confusion chapter one brought to you. :D not the prologue though. that gets explained a lot later, probably closer to the end. :)

Safe little house, safe little friends,
Safe little thoughts to keep you safe
From all those big bad wolves that eat you up.
Safe in your room,
Safe as a tomb,
Sleep in a coffin made of glass.
It takes a big facade to hide the cracks

Can you make this last?
Cause now I'm not so sure,
Are you up to the task?
Sometimes the sickness is the cure.
You're searching so hard,
You've lost yourself

Does it help to play as you're wasting away
Like a silver screen cliche?
Cause after all we're actors on a stage.
Will it help you to wait for the moment to break,
Is it real or is it fake?
All we are just chapters on a page.
Cause after all we're actors on a stage.

Hearing you now, shedding the doubts
They'll be no past or future tense.
Regrets a waste of time and plans will change.
Plans will always change
Oh, some for the worst,
Some for the best,
You know you can always get your way.
So worried about what's next,
You lost today.
You lost today

*Elliot*

A loud crash of thunder rumbled, and most people standing under the awning either jumped or screamed. But not me.

They were all waiting, but I didn't feel like it. The rain didn't bother me, so I walked out and began heading out to my blacked out hard top 2014 Jeep Wrangler.

I pulled the hood of my black hoodie over my head with a sigh. If she was here, she would pull it off, and we would dance in the rain together, laughing like complete morons.

But she wasn't here. As a matter of fact, I had no idea where she was.

As I reached my Jeep, I looked back at my fellow band members still waiting on the rain, some now watching me. Others were doing the same thing I was—getting away from here.

Without really caring what the ones watching thought, I let out some of the frustration thinking about brought by punching the side of my Jeep. It didn't really hurt, nor did it surprise me when it actually dented the side a little.

Don't forget to fix that later, before Katharine sees it.

When I climbed in, I saw a note with my name scribbled on it sitting in the passenger seat, where things were normally left for me—from this particular sender anyways.

Because of what it might contain, I didn't even bother starting my vehicle. Actually, I scrambled to open it and even ripped it a little. Just the edges.

Elliot,

Hey, man. Still nothing. I don't know what's going on. I'm starting to feel really bad, like a complete jerk—worse than that, but you get the point. This is all my fault, and I'm so sorry. I know she means a lot to you. And I'm sorry I can't explain.

One day, though. I promise. I'll explain everything, or she will. I just have to know something first. You'll get all the answers you want one day. I swear. You deserve that much after what we've—mostly because of me—put you through.

—Ember

I grunted and let out a frustrated scream before beating against my steering wheel. It had been lined with titanium multiple times over—by me, of course—so that I wouldn't break it again when I had moments like this.

Trust me. There have been a lot of moments like this over the past three years, especially in these past few months where I've gotten nothing. I'm beyond worried, and I'm also worried she might be happy where she's at and might have moved on.

I just don't know anything, and that sucks. A lot.

Why, Iggy? Where did you go? Why did you go? Especially without even telling me, of all people. I would understand not telling Sierra, because she would freak out. But me?

It didn't make any sense to me. She told her brother, the one she scarcely ever even sees, but not me?

Something was up, something either dangerous or possibly family threatening.

I plugged my iPod into my stereo and began blaring the song 2nd Sucks by A Day to Remember. Unlike most people here, I wasn't a fan of the new techno music coming out—practically all that was coming out. I liked mostly rock stuff from anywhere between 2000 and 2015. There were other good genres of music between those years, but mostly it was just any kind of rock.

Iggy was the same way.

It was a miserable ride home. Whenever I could somehow manage to stop thinking about her, I was decent. Never really happy, but able to at least pretend. But times like now? No.

As I neared a stop sign, a really young woman suddenly appeared in the passenger's seat beside me. It scared me so bad that I screamed a little, and I began swerving on the wet road. She had to help me get set, but I was still freaking out.

She looked like a female version of me, and she was smiling sheepishly up at me.

"What the—who are you?"

She laughed nervously. "Yeah. . . I'm your mom. Your real mom. Your adopted parents wouldn't let me talk to you, because they claim I'm not old enough to be your real mother, so I finally—after a freaking year—had to take matters into my own hands. Illegal? Eh, sure, I guess, but I'm not exactly what you would call a law follower. As I was saying, I had to take matters into my own hands, b—"

"By scaring the crap out of me?" I exclaimed. "Because if so, you succeeded!"

She shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "I was gonna jump out in front of your Jeep, so this way is better for the both of us."

I was still in denial, because there was no way. This girl looked like she could be my twin sister—old enough to be too! There was no way she was my mom! Too young.

I shook my head firmly. "You're too young to be my mom. There's no way."

"Just look at me," she scoffed. "I'm the female version of you! Well, technically, we both look like spitting images of my dad with bright blue eyes. No idea where those came from."

As she continued to ramble on, a little nervously I might add, it clicked in my brain who this was. It should've been obvious, because how many times did I look at her picture? How many times did I wonder, even though my brain made me deny it? My hopeful side never gave up on the hope that she was my mom.

This was that avian-hybrid kid that made news a year or so before I was born. It was such a big deal because she married the hidden prince of England, and she was so different from what anyone expected from a prince's choice in spouses.

The only problem was. . .they died. . . .

She seemed to understand what I was thinking, because she nodded. "I should've guessed this was coming. I'm not really dead, and neither is your dad. It's a long story, and I'll explain later, but tomorrow… can you talk? This sounds creepy, but we have a lot to talk about—too much for this car ride. You don't have to come alone. A girlfriend, or fiancée, maybe?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure where she is—my girlfriend, that is. I'm not engaged."

She groaned. "You see? This is why I wanted to talk to you a year ago! You would've had time to pick someone to mate with and save yourself! Ugh! Your birthday is the same day as your dad's—October twenty-first. It's what? September twenty-ninth? No!"

My eyebrows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

She shook her head firmly, eyes set in front of her. "Tomorrow. This isn't good. You. . .this might sound personal, especially for some woman you don't really know, but. . .do you want to spend the rest of your life with the girl you're with now? You're more mature than most twenty-one year-olds. Genetically, that's how it works. I hope it stayed true with you. . . have you even thought about that?"

I was hesitant to answer, because how often didn't I think about it? It was insane! All my life, Katharine and Gavin made me think I didn't even want to get married, because they were constantly fighting, and they never really seemed happy.

And then I met Iggy. My stance on marriage didn't change—I wasn't getting married. It didn't change until we went on a date, and then she disappeared.

That's when I realized how much I truly loved this girl. And I didn't think it was possible at my age, but I was so wrong about everything. I fell, hard, for this girl, and I had no intentions to be with anyone else. For all of my life.

I did want to spend the rest of my days—however many that may be—with her. I wanted that more than anything.

"All the time, it seems," I whispered, looking back towards the dreary roads in front of me and sighing. "She's the only person I can see myself with for the rest of my life. I see myself leaving behind Katharine and Gavin, leaving behind other friends. . . but not her."

She nodded. "This is good. We can work with that. But, don't be alarmed if we have to get together a search party to find her. You don't have much time before you start going crazy."

"Crazy?" My eyebrows furrowed. "Why on earth would I go crazy?"

"Tomorrow," she murmured. "I should probably get out of here before I make things worse. Just know that we're here to help find her, or to help if you need anything." She pulled a napkin and pen out of my dashboard and scribbled something down. "Here's our address. You have a GPS, right?"

I nodded. "Got one. I'll be there—probably alone, because no one besides my girlfriend knows my secret."

Her eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Really now? No one?"

I shook my head. "No one. Not even Katharine and Gavin."

"Wow. I'm impressed."

I shrugged. "Not a big deal. My wings didn't grow until I was five, and I was dressing myself at that point. So, it was okay."

She frowned. "That's odd. What all can you do?"

"When allowed access, I can communicate with someone telepathically," I started, taking a deep breath to brace myself for the extensive list. "I can disappear, on will, and move around. I can move faster than the speed of sound, but I don't recommend that, because it sucks. I can heal people, to a certain extent. No raising the dead or healing shattered bones. I can only make the serious injuries a little better. Hmm. I can talk to animals. I'm electrokinetic. And. . . that's it."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. That must be interesting. Alright. Well, we'll talk later. You're almost home now. No, I'm not stalking you. I just talked to your adopted parents before. Sorry to be so creepy and blunt about this, but there really was no other way to talk to you. I could've enrolled in school, but that would raise too much suspicion, and people don't know I'm alive. So, there's the address. If you don't come. . .well, sorry, kid, but I'll keep coming back. Please. This is a dire situation, and if it weren't, I wouldn't be here. I didn't want to give you up, but. . .my lifestyle demanded it."

And then, before I could ask, she disappeared, leaving me alone as I pulled into the driveway of my adopted parents' house.

That. . .she was. . .

Oh man. Iggy was right.

Ugh. Now I'm gonna have to say those words out-loud when I find her and tell her.

With a groan, I climbed out, my black backpack slung over my shoulder, and began walking inside. Of course, I pretended to dread having to say, "You were right," but in all honesty, I wouldn't mind, because that would mean she was here. It would mean I could look at her and kiss her, like I've wanted to do since the moment I laid eyes on her. It would mean she was close enough to hug.

It would mean she was back here with me.