"What do you mean he's dead?" Brittany cried, lunging forward "You can't mean like... dead, right?"

Mandi nodded. "He's... he's gone. I can't... I can't..." she burst into tears, collapsing onto the blonde, and crying into her shoulder. "I CAN'T FEEL HIM ON THE OTHER END, ANYMORE!"

"But, that's just because you're new to this soulmate thing." David's voice was almost pleading. "You just can't feel him, because you don't know what to look for!"

"I saw him get killed." Mandi gasped, "Axel was going to kill Gillian and Fern-" Brittany gasped as David growled at the thought of that blonde ass hole killing their soulmates. "-but he stopped him, by giving him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"His own life..." Robin murmured, glancing down at the still unconcious Tyler, and stroking her hair.

"He pulled one of those Edward Cullen moves." Mandi sniffled, not even bothering to try and figure out how she knew that, even though she hated Twilight. "He seduced him with the thought of his death. He knew Axel couldn't let this chance go since Roland would never go back, again."

"Oh, Roland..." Brittany sighed, before burying her face in Mandi's hair. "How am I gonna be able to live with that on my concious?"

"What do you mean?" David sighed, sitting down, "It wasn't you he saved."

Brittany lifted her head up, and although Mandi couldn't see her face, she knew the blonde was glaring at the human boy. "Don't pretend like you're not thinking the same thing!" she cried. "He saved your soulmate, too! How are we ever going to repay him?"

Mandi couldn't take listening to them anymore. She was too busy lost in her inner wanderings. Why did it hurt so much-him getting killed? He was just a pest who didn't deserve her thoughts at all.

Because, no matter how annoying he was... a voice in the back of her mind said A life was still lost, today.

"That idiot!" she yelled, sobbing into Brittany's shoulder again. "How could he die on me? And afteer I treated him so badly, too?"

"Mandi..." Brittany murmured, stroking Mandi's hair. "Don't say that, it isn't polite. He wasn't an idiot-"

"YES HE IS!" Mandi cried, "HE'S A COMPLETE AND UTTER BAFFOON! HE LEFT BEFORE I COULD REALIZE I'D FALLEN IN LOVE WITH HIM!"

There was a soft gasp from the boys, and Mandi could tell that Brittany was smirking slightly at her declarance of love for the boy she supposedly hated, but she didn't stop her ranting.

"STUPID! STUPID!" she continued to yell. "HE'S THE ASSHOLE! HE'S FOOLISH! A DICKHEAD! I CAN'T BELIEVE HIM! ROLAND WAS THE DUMBEST OF THE DUMB!"

"Geez, that's the 'Thank you' I get?" a familiar voice said from behind her. "Not even a 'Welcome back'?"

Mandi gasped and whirled around to see Gillian, Fern and a very tired looking Roland.

"Roland?" Brittany gasped, standing up. "But-but, Mandi said you were dead!"

"Thank goodness." Mandi whispered so low she doubted anyone could hear her. She balled her fists at her sides, and shook her hair to hide her tear stained face.

Roland chuckled, "Oh yes, our little spy. I wondered why I could sense you in the room." Mandi had a feeling that he was looking at her, but she couldn't see him due to her face. "Anyway, I didn't die-obviously. I just had to get Axel close enough so I could kill him. I didn't want Mandi to see, though. Her weak heart wouldn't be able to handle it. So I had to push her away, which unfortunatly resulted in her thinking I died." his voice dropped down to a disaproving tone. "Although I can't believe that you guys would think me so weak as to actually be killed by a guy like that."

Mandi growled, and whirled around. All the relief, shock, saddness and anger finally caused something inside her to snap. "Well, you can hardly blame us!" she cried, jumping up. "We were worried about you! We knew you were over exurting yourself, you jerk!"

Roland blinked, and stepped back, "Whoa-why are you so angry? I'm alive, so what's the problem?"

"THE PROBLEM IS YOU MADE ME THINK YOU DIED!" Mandi yelled, lunging at him and grabbing at his collar. "DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE HOW AWFUL THAT FELT? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE FOREVER!"

"Shut up!" Roland cried, "You heard me, I had to! But, I'm alive, now, so there's no reason for you to be upset!"

"I don't shut up, I grow up, when I see you I throw up and you lick it up!" Mandi felt herself calm down enough, to make that joke, and was a bit happy at that fact.

"What?" now, Roland sounded confused.

"JUST SHUT UP AND KISS ME, ALREADY!" Mandi gasped, before grabbing his collar, pulling him down, and crashing his lips to hers.

~NWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNW

"You're kiddding!" Tyler whined, falling back into the water. The five girls were back at the pool two weeks later-after they'd all been ungrounded. "I missed all that while I was asleep?"

Brittany had lured Karina and April away so Mandi could tell Tyler about what had happened after she'd passed out. The two of them had been grounded for disspearing for an entire week with only a note saying that they were going to find Tyler and that their parents couldn't help. Yesterday was Mandi's last day of grounding so they were all celebrating.

Mandi giggled, and shrugged. "Sorry, Ty. That's what you get for being so weak."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you go through having no food for an entire week-not to mention, having an insane vampire suck my blood everyday!"

"Why's Tyler freaking out?" April asked, as the three other girls returned.

Brittany chuckled and shook her head. "This is Tyler we're talking about. She's probably freaking out over Mandi's new boyfriend. Or, she didn't take her pills, this morning. You know, the ones that keep her from going insane?"

Tyler growled, before chasing after Brittany who started to swim away. "TAKE THAT BACK, YOU JERK!" she cried.

Mandi shook her head, before turning to Karina. "We have the craziest best friends, don't we?" she asked.

Karina chuckled. "You're just noticing?"

Mandi glanced over at April, the only one who didn't have a best friend in their group before pouncing on her and giving her a noogie. "You have to stay normal, otherwise we'll be the traveling circus."

April laughed. "No promises, Mandi."

"By the way," Karina pointed towards the gate that surrounded the pool. "I think someone's looking for you."

Mandi turned around to see Roland staring intently at her between the wires of the gate. She blushed, before turning to her friends, and holding up a finger as if to say "One sec". She then started to hurry towards her soulmate.

"What're you doing?" she smirked, grabbing hold of the gate.

Roland smiled lovingly down at her. "You've been grounded for two weeks, so I haven't been able to see you. I'm not like Fern, who can sneak silently through Brittany's bedroom window."

Mandi smirked up at him. "But you're seeing me, now, you dope."

Roland bent down so that they were face to face. "I'd prefer not to see you through a fence."

"Then come inside." Mandi suggested, her voice dropping to a whisper, as she leaned forward.

"You want me to stop so I can?" Roland breathed, leaning forward, as well. Their lips were merely inches apart, now. "You can't have both, Mandi."

"Kiss me first, than come in." Mandi ordered, softly.

Roland smiled, "As you wish." before touching his lips to hers.

~NWNWNWNWNWNWNW

Brittany and Tyler smiled at the couple for a second, before turning to April and Karina who're playing in the pool.

Sighing, Brittany turned back to Tyler. "We're going to have to tell them, soon you know."

Tyler nodded, "I know. We can't protect them forever."

"Especially from their own fate."

BeBe: And, done! Okay, so the sequel to this is Fate! It's Karina's story!