Disclaimer: I don't own the Lost Boys. I only desperately wish I did.

I had called Santa Carla my home for a very long time. Longer than most of its residents had even been alive. But now, it was time for an unfortunate change in scenery once the dust settled in the Lucy incident. As my family grew, I should have known that relocation would become a necessity to avoid detection. The more vampires, the more...Messes. Eventually, someone would piece things together and point the finger our direction. Chances of them killing one of us were slim, but it would be simplest if we could avoid the issue altogether.

Michael was the first to offer a suggestion, and he requested that we split up. In fact, Michael had expressed interest in moving out on his own for some time, but I simply could not allow it. We needed to stick together, at least for a short while. I had learned from my own creator, as he did from his creator before him, that our kind did not do well on their own, especially as fledgling vampires. It was a very lonely existence. One day he would be ready, but not now. The only other option, then, was to limit our time in one place. It was decided that we could spend no more than ten years in one location to avoid raising suspicion. With a plan set, the only question was: where to next?

Most of us had never ventured too far out California, so with an excellent opportunity for a road trip, we decided to take a few years to tour the United States. We made a particularly lengthy stop in Arizona to handle some business, but also enjoyed extended stays in Colorado and even Mexico. We decided to call Louisiana our new home for the early 90s. While I enjoyed it, the atmosphere was a little too refined for the boys, so I decided to cut the stay short to take them somewhere a little more similar to home. It was a crummy little beach town in South Carolina. Few people actually lived there full-time and outside of beach season, it was barren. And violent. It made masking our deeds easy. Fewer caves than Santa Carla, though, unfortunately.

But once we had settled in and fell into the monotony again, I wanted more. The boys were forever frozen at their various ages mentally and physically, it seemed, but had each other to stay entertained. I craved someone I could relate to myself; someone to lay with. Lucy had sparked the idea, and I was saddened to bury her and her youngest, but there would be others. In the timeline of my life, she was nothing more than a blip. I hardly remembered what she looked like let alone the reasons I chose her. But I needed to prepare. I spent a great deal of time thinking about my last attempt and dissecting why it failed. About the time I figured it out was when I met Maggie. She was on vacation with her sister and had left a husband and two children at home, but she was perfect. Not only was she nurturing and meek, but timelessly beautiful. She might have people waiting for her at home, but for now, she was mostly alone and I had plenty of time to woo her. Thanks to some counseling from my maker, I also had a trick up my sleeve to help the process along.

Vampire blood has many wonderfully handy properties, you see, even in small doses. When I invited her and her sister out to dinner I could have surreptitiously swapped her drink for some of my blood. With some persuasion, no one would have never noticed it. After the initial change, however…It would have been another fight to get her to finalize her transformation as she became resistant to my mental manipulations. Instead, I would take things slower this time around and allow her to come to me.

One singular drop of my blood was all she needed to get the ball rolling. The moment it hit her tongue the consequences would take hold. There would be some minor side effects, but ones that could be easily rationalized away – the minute sensitivity to the sun, her circadian rhythm shifting slightly, a meager aversion to garlicky foods. Most importantly, though, it would begin the bond. To a human unaware of what was happening to them, it would become a nagging pull toward the person with whom they shared a bond. It was known as the call of blood - an indescribable need to be near the vampire whose blood existed within their system. I knew the true reason. However, Maggie would not have this realization and would come to her own conclusions about why she wanted to spend so much time with me and how terribly lonely and cold it felt to be without. And when she returned home from her vacation, it would only become increasingly more painful knowing exactly what it was that would bring her relief from the torment and not being able to get it back. But that was just what I wanted – a slow and almost imperceptible build up of tension. I couldn't move too quickly or I might end up in another mess. While I formulated the next phase of my plan, we exchanged a number of late night phone calls that cemented her feelings. If only I lived closer, she said…Well, who was I to deny a lady? I continued to stir the pot for several years. I could wait. At least that meant one brat would be out of the house within a couple of years. That would make things even easier.

It took about a year to find housing near Maggie considering she was much further inland and viable housing was harder to come across. The boys were already upset about moving away from the beach. I figured thrusting them into a housing development's basement would cause an outright rebellion. I just asked they be patient. Eternity was a long time. They would see the ocean again. Meanwhile, I told Maggie that it was a work transfer that brought me into town – that it must be fate. She ate it right up. Yet still, she refused my advances. She would deny her heart for the happiness of her family. How touching. No matter. Truthfully, I found her loyalty to be one of her best qualities and her reaction only further proved I had selected the right target. Unfortunately, she was loyal to the wrong individuals. That could be arranged, it would just take time and some strong nudges.

I convinced Maggie to sneak out to late dinners as frequently as I could. With two adolescent children, it was difficult to find a time when they were both sleeping when I was also able to call on her. However, after the oldest moved to college, I knew it was time. The slightly empty nest would begin to wear on her. It wouldn't be long until I gave her the second dose of my blood, the dose that would begin her life's downward spiral. And then there would be one less person to pull her out of it. As the side effects became more severe, they would begin impacting her in more obvious ways which would only further drive a wedge between her and her family. The inability to wake up early and her late night rendezvous with me would cause her work to suffer until eventually she was fired. As parts of her quite literally died, she would become lethargic. Furthermore, when her slight obsession with me evolved into a full blown addiction, her attachment to even her own husband would pale in comparison. I would be the air she breathed. Nothing would make her happy aside from being with me anymore. It would be quite easy to convince her of the fact that we were soulmates by then, and that resisting would only make things harder for us. But still she refused to let go of her family. Fortunately, fate had worked this sticky situation out for me. Or perhaps I have you to thank, Brenna...

It barely felt like I had closed my eyes when I was jolted from my sleep by horrendous nightmares of…My mother? And Someone else. It was the first time I had remembered a dream since I first came to Young Haven. It was utterly bizarre…

'Brenna…'

I had more important things to deal with than dream interpretation, though. The boys hadn't shown up, as far as I could see. And, once again, the sun was already down when I woke up. This nocturnal lifestyle I had fallen into actually suited the situation, thankfully. The boys were most likely to try something in the middle of the night when no one else was awake or around which meant I also needed to be awake and vigilant then. The only downside was that I was starting to lose track of the day of the week. My laptop told me it was November fifth. If my life hadn't taken a turn for the weird, I would have been hosting my annual V for Vendetta party tonight. I supposed I could always just watch it by myself and make eggy in a basket if I had the food laying around…But it just wouldn't be the same.

My laptop dinging pulled me back to the present and Facebook flashed at me that I had a new message. It was Philip, William's brother. I hadn't heard from him in ages, but he had a tendency of popping up out of the blue to ask if I wanted to go do something.

"Will and a few friends of mine are going back to Crandall tonight for a little get-together. Now that you're one of the cool kids and started going out, do you want to come?" I grimaced. It would be a long time before I ever returned to that scene again. Or…Maybe this was actually a good idea. I would be surrounded by people. There was no way they would be stupid enough to try anything there! Right? I wondered if this would be considered cheating...

"I wasn't planning on it," I typed. "But I do really need to get out of the apartment. Is this going to be a small thing, or should I be getting dressed up?"

"It's pretty chill, only close friends. We're sitting in the parking lot if you want to hop in?" I hadn't showered, I wasn't wearing makeup, but I couldn't turn down the offer.

"I'll be right there." Actually, I realized, I had no idea what I looked like at all, but I tried to smooth out my hair in the best ponytail I could muster and rubbed my eyes to make sure the makeup was all off. I really didn't want to look at myself in the mirror because that would just solidify all the things I was feeling, and I didn't have time for a breakdown.

I grabbed the usual effects, ID and keys, and felt very strange about not having my phone, but there was nothing I could do about that. Then, readying myself, I peeked out the door, terrified of what I might find. Seeing nothing but an empty hallway, I bolted out, not chancing another look back.

'Brenna…'

I ran out the side doors and I kept running until I reached the car, flinging the door open and throwing myself inside. Everyone within the car stared at me.

"Are…you in some sort of rush?" William asked from the front seat.

"Just, uh, really excited to be going out!" I knew I was being suspicious, and I knew the nervous laugh didn't help my case any. Fortunately, William and Philip exchanged a glance but didn't ask anything else. They put the car into motion.

Low - Cracker

The party, for having only fifty guests, was actually a chill time, as was promised, although I'm certain the largeness of the house played into this. I sat with Will and Phil in what I assumed at this point were their usual seats by the hookah and hardly saw anyone else around.

"You seem really tense, Brenna," William commented. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." I hadn't been able to sit still, constantly fidgeting, tapping a foot, or playing with my hair.

"You seem like you're looking for someone." Philip pointed out. I had to find a way explain it off without giving them a reason to try and act like heroes and get themselves killed.

"There's just this guy I'm trying to avoid." I shrugged. "We had…A falling out."

"Ah, that sucks." William seemed to buy it. "Well, if they give you any grief here, we'll just kick them out." I tried not to imagine how that would end.

"Hey, I know what would lighten your mood!" Philip nudged the girl sitting next to him, I think her name was Lilah, who started digging around in her purse. She eventually pulled out a baggie of something plant-like and what I recognized as rolling papers.

"Oh! Uh…I've never smoked before," I admitted, watching Lilah light up a pre-rolled joint and pass it to me.

"Never?" William seemed incredulous. "Oh, it should totally take the edge off. Here…" He helped me re-light the joint and tried to coach me through. "Just suck for a couple of seconds, good…" he watched me stare at him wide-eyed and confused about how badly this burned. "Good, now pull it away and breath in some air, hold iiiiiiit…There, now, let it out." The room disappeared in a cloud of smoke for a second and I was positive, as I began hacking, that part of my lung would be laying on the floor somewhere when it cleared.

"Woah, boss hit!" William waved his hands in front of his face, trying to get the cloud to clear while Phil passed me a bottle of water I could to sip from.

"Don't worry, coughing is good!" He assured me, taking the joint and clapping me on the back. "It just means you're going to get really high. No need to be embarrassed!" He started to raise the blunt to his lips, but paused, looking back to me once more. "I won't tell Jordan if you don't?" He offered a pinky and I wrapped mine around his to seal the deal.

"Promise." I agreed. She would flip on both of us. It was just another reason in a long list detailing why I was drifting away from my roommate. If she looked down on people who drank, I would be subhuman to her after this.

The brothers were right about the weed helping me to relax a little, but they hadn't warned me about the paranoia. Within a few minutes could feel my heartbeat in my chest and I kept scratching at it. I eventually grabbed William's hand and placed it against my neck.

"Does it seem like my heart's beating faster than it should be?" He just laughed.

"You're fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"It's a normal side effect. You're not dying. It's just a lot of serotonin rushing your brain at once. Breathe." I tried to do as they said, but my heart felt like it was hammering through my chest and it was hard not to pay attention. Honestly, it had to be my mind playing tricks on me, but it almost started to sound like I was hearing more than one heartbeat…

'Brenna…'

Not to mention how dry my mouth was, compounding with the soreness that had already settled in my throat…

'This isn't where I should be…'

I wanted to tell them but, then I wasn't so certain that I had said it already. I didn't want to look like an idiot and keep saying the same things over and over again, so I decided to keep my mouth shut, which in turn increased my anxiety.

'I should be leaving…'

I just kept flitting my eyes between people, uselessly, not able to keep up with the conversation going on in front of me, terrified to speak in case I sounded stupid or I had forgotten what I already said.

'I shouldn't be here…'

By the time someone finished a sentence, I couldn't remember how it had started. I tried to follow cues from everyone else's expression. I just wanted to go...

"She's probably getting stuck in her head." I heard Philip say before turning on some music in the background. "That should help a little."

Restless - Unkle

"Brenna, talk to us." Will waved a hand in front of my face. Earth to Brenna!"

"Man…I don't know…" I felt a smile start to take over my face the moment I opened my mouth, finding it funny how difficult it was to form a sentence instead of scary as it had been a few seconds before. I ended up hiding my face in my hands, dissolving into a fit of giggles.

"Awe, she's so high!" Philip laughed, leaning closer. "How does it feel?"

"Tingly?" I rubbed my hands against each other, staring at them for a few seconds before beginning to open and close them in front of my face…Or maybe it had been a few minutes. Time was starting to slow down on me. "I don't know. I feel like I want to say something, but then I can't remember if I have or not, so I'm worried I keep saying the same stuff over and over. I can't, like…Remember. And I'm reallllly hungry..."

'Ignore that…'

"I think you overdid it a little." Lilah stared pointedly at William. He waved her off.

"Your first time?" Someone's voice over my shoulder which I immediately recognized.

'Stay calm…'

"And you didn't even invite me?" I stared at Paul through half-lidded eyes. To my surprise, I felt...Serene. I just didn't care. They were murderers, they were going to kill me, and that was fine. Literally everything was fine with the entire universe right then.

"Sorry, Paul," I mumbled sheepishly, the corners of my mouth refusing to turn down all the way, giving me a somewhat dreamy look.

"Woah, Brenna!" Marko grabbed hold of my shoulders, getting close enough to check out my eyes. "Look at you! I thought you didn't smoke?" I shrugged. I knew I should be upset with them for being murderers and stuff, I just…Couldn't. I was fresh out of fucks to give about absolutely anything.

"I'm trying new stuff, remember?"

"I'm so proud!" Paul gave a fake sniffle. "Our little Brenna is growing up!" He wrapped an arm around Marko's shoulder, both clearly faking lamentations.

"Guys…" I shoved them both, nearly knocking Marko off the arm of the couch, and they both just laughed.

'This feels natural…'

"I miss you." I said a little more seriously. Although I couldn't stop grinning, the smiles faded off their faces pretty quickly.

"You know what you have to do…" If it hadn't been for Mary Jane keeping me steady, I would have jumped out of my skin when I felt the hot breath of David tickle my neck as he whispered in my ear. Now it was somewhat pleasant, and I felt myself beginning to lean back into him until I rested against the leather of his jacket. I couldn't see it, but I was positive his expression was wicked. He placed a hand on either shoulder and began massaging gently. I sighed, contentedly, and my eyes began to slide shut. It felt better than any massage I had ever received, but I wasn't sure if it was my level of intoxication, or if David was just that skilled. And the butterflies…That had to be the weed, right? I tried to suppress a moan.

"If you miss us," he brought me back to the present by pulling his magic hands away. "You just have to come see us." There was that voice again, sweet as sin. "We could go right now…" I found myself nodding.

'I should stand up…'

I felt myself rising out of my seat and David offered his hand to me.

'I should be going…'

"I should be going…" I wasn't really sure who I was talking to, but Philip grabbed me, pulling me out of the clouds.

"Hey, we brought you here, so you're our responsibility." He was talking more to David than myself. I pulled my hand back, confused as to how it extended in the first place, hovering just above David's outstretched one. "No leaving with random people we barely know when you're this messed up." I nodded, sitting back down, but still staring at David.

"What protective friends you have, Brenna." David didn't break eye contact as he began to walk past me. "I wouldn't keep them too close, if I were you…" He warned, up against the side of my face again, his low chuckle rumbling through his chest and into mine. He was completely right. Tonight had been a terrible idea. "Boys?" He called. Marko and Paul shifted their gazes to the floor.

"See ya, Brenna." Marko mumbled. Paul just squeezed my shoulder on his way past, reassuringly. I watched them go, unable to shake the feeling that a part of me left with them.

"Were those the guys you were trying to avoid?" Philip asked when they were good and gone.

'Lie…'

"No." I was worried my response might have been too immediate. "Just some other guys I've been hanging out with." He nodded.

"Well, little miss stoner pants," He stood. "I think it's time to get you home anyway. You need a bag of chips, a stupid comedy, and to sleep this all off in time for class tomorrow."

"Sorry, guys," I shuffled my feet. "Didn't mean to cut your night short."

"What time do you think it is?" William snickered. "It's way past bedtime!" He took my hand, pulling me from the depths of the couch. I was especially grateful for the assistance considering that my body felt like it had been filled with cement while I was distracted. They were kind enough to walk me to my room after parking and I determined it would be for the best to follow their instructions: stuff my face, turn on a dumb movie, and try to sleep. But first, I needed to make another stop.

1940 (Amplive Remix) – The Submarines

Before changing into my pajamas, I made sure to grab my room key and head across the hall to a certain curly haired neighbor of mine. After a couple of raps, he actually answered. I expected at this time he would either be out cold or just getting back from a bar. He never seemed to be around when I needed him.

"Hey, Brenna!" Michael seemed genuinely happy to see me as he leaned against the doorway. "What can I do for you?

"Heyyyy Michael." I felt like my speech was obviously slurred. Was it? I thought I had come down considerably from where I was previously. He smiled in a knowing way. If it wasn't my manner of speech, it must have been my bloodshot eyes that gave me up.

"You have a little fun tonight?"

"Yeah..." I bit my lip. "Maybe a little too much fun. I was just wondering if I could maybe get that sugar back? And some Kool-Aid to go with it? I figure you kind of owe me one at this point..."

"Yeah, come in!" He stepped aside to allow me entrance. "I have just the thing."

Michael's place was everything I expected out of a college apartment, truthfully. Thick curtains covered the large living room windows which completely blocked out the streetlights. It enhanced the effect that the multiple blacklights in the room created causing the various neon posters to glow brightly in contrast. Beer bottles littered every conceivable open surface and a certain odor lingered amidst the obvious scent of stale beer.

"Make yourself at home!" He offered, pulling a pitcher of a bright red liquid from the refrigerator. "Have a seat!" After pouring us both a glass, he joined me on the couch. "So, how are you? We really haven't gotten a chance to chat since that fight with your roommates the other day. What's their deal, anyway?" He offered one of the drinks to me.

"Ughhh." I was about to take a large swig but set the glass back down on the coffee table. "Well, for all their concern, they've apparently been planning on moving out this whole time. Didn't even have the balls to tell me."

"That's super fucked up." He agreed, producing a glass pipe and a pill bottle from the coffee table drawer. I didn't understand what he was up to until I saw the leafy substance he produced from the container.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Maybe it's for the best. They were acting more like parents than friends anyway. Maybe we're just growing apart." I sighed. "But now I'm going to get assigned random people for roommates. The last time I was assigned a roommate..." I shivered. "Freshman year was rough, man." I sighed deeply. "Damn it, I was having such a good night..."

"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't think it was anything that heavy." His head drooped for a moment before popping back up with a sly grin. "But..." He held up a lighter and a pipe. "Maybe this can make up for it?" I considered his offer.

"Yeah, I wasn't really feeling tired yet anyway. Maybe this will help me?"

"Oh, don't worry. This stuff will knock you on your ass." He promised.

"Awesome. I'll go grab us some munchies."

The cheese puffs helped and Michael's movie choice, Eurotrip, kept me out of my head from the start this time around. But, despite how relaxing the high was, sleep was somehow still not coming without a fight. Additionally, despite plowing through the junk food, my stomach gave an embarrassing large gurgle as the credits began to roll.

"Late night food run?" Michael offered. "I know just the thing..."

"Dude, the furthest I could move right now is from my couch to my bed. I'm gonna try and grab some shut eye before I have to be up in the morning."

"Alright..." Michael's sigh sounded clearly disappointed. "Tomorrow night. Promise me you'll let me take you to dinner. I guarantee you haven't had anything like it before."

"Okay, okay!" I laughed. "Actually, that would be really great. I could use some company. The apartment is starting to get a little too quiet."

Like a perfect gentleman, he saw me to his door and watched to make sure I got into my own apartment.

"G'night, Brenna. Sweet dreams."

"Night, Michael! Thanks again!" Once the door was closed, I was slammed with another pang of hunger, but I couldn't do anything about it at this hour. I rubbed at my sore throat and realized that despite going over for a drink, I never actually touched a drop of what Michael had poured for me. Damn. I felt bad for making him wasting a glass, but going back at this point would just be weird. And he still had my sugar! Oh well, I could grab it the next day when he went out. I absolutely needed rest at that moment or I would almost certainly sleep through my alarms and miss another day of work, and I just couldn't afford it anymore. My savings would start to run out at this rate.

But despite being extraordinarily high, sleep still eluded me.

"Oh, come the fuck on..." I grumbled, opting to just turn on some music, turn off the lights and lay with my eyes closed as long as it took for me to pass out. I grinned to myself as I took a deep breath. Everything was still nice and tingly, and realizing how good the sheets felt against my skin, I started making snow angels on the bed. This really did feel good. Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to just nap for a bit...And then, after a while of laying still, I even began to feel weightless. I could have been floating on a cloud. I wondered why I hadn't tried this sooner.

I must have nodded at some point because time got hazy for a minute, but I began to detect that something was a little off. It felt like I had slipped off the bed or something because I seemed to be laying on my stomach now, bent in an awkward position. I opened one eye groggily to find myself staring at something very white and very close. Not my bed. Not the carpet.

"What…?" I attempted to push myself up and look around. That's when I noticed that my bed was beneath me. I began scrambling, trying my hardest to get myself back down, grabbing the curtains and whatever else I could to pull myself toward the floor. Fortunately, I fell pretty immediately. Unfortunately, I missed the bed and crashed into the carpeting. Ignoring the pain as best as I could, I rolled myself underneath the bed frame a hyperventilating mess, clutching the boxspring as though at any moment I would find myself sucked back up into the ceiling.

Something was very, very wrong.