Chapter 5: Guys Night Out

As I sat at the window, I saw the world pass me by. Zoey had made several attempts to get me out of my current state, but she failed miserably. I couldn't feel anything. I was completely numb. My heart…well, I don't even know if I have a heart anymore. When Riley left, he took every part of my happiness with him. Oh Langston, where are you when I need you? That's right, you're gone. Just like everything else. But you were the one person I could talk to. Who's gonna do that for me now? I feel so lost. Because when you left and he left, my heart was taken with you. I don't know why, but everywhere I look, I feel like I see mementos that reminded me of him. My heart has been officially ripped out of my chest. I find myself screaming at night because of the nightmares. I don't even see my friends anymore. I'm just so out of it. I look at the clock every day and I see the time fly by. The tick, tick, ticking, feels like little pricks in my skin. The pain is unbearable. I guess I should be happy, because the pain lets me remember that you were all actually real and not just a figment of my imagination.

I watched Zoey pull up in front of the house. I could see that she was up to no good. Anytime she goes shopping, she always seems to have something wicked planned. I was about to go lock my door when she burst in.

"Okay look, you have to get your act together soon. Or else mom's gonna send you to New York with dad." she said. I gave her a quizzical look. Was my mother insane?

"What?" I asked.

"Yeah, I heard her talking about it to Trevor last night. We have to do something." she said.

"Why are you helping? I would've thought that you would've wanted me to leave. Since after all this is all your fault!" I said and stormed to the bathroom. I could hear her groaning.

"I'm sorry for what I said okay? I was just mad. My baby brother is putting his life in danger by dating a…" she stopped and looked around. "Vampire." I was looking through the cabinet when she said that. I felt what was left of my heart break.

"I get it Zoey, I really do. But it was my decision. I love…loved him. And now he's gone." I said as I sat down on the edge of the tub. Zoey came over and sat beside me.

"I understand. I shouldn't have said it. And I wish with all my heart that I could take it back. But I can't. All I can do is ask you to forgive me." she said sincerely. I looked into her hazel eyes and I saw the truth. She didn't mean to hurt me; she was just doing what pain in the ass siblings do.

"Okay, I forgive you." I said with a smile. She seemed to brighten up at my response and hugged me. I may look like I'm happy now, but on the inside I was miserable. I still felt numb. I pulled back and asked."What are we gonna do about mom?" She looked away for a moment.

"I've got an idea. Call one of your friends. Make some type of guy's night out. That'll help your case." she said. I didn't really want to do that. But if it could get me out of leaving Toronto, I was all for it.

"Okay." I said.

"Alright, so when mom gets home she's probably gonna wanna talk to you. Do whatever you need to; in order to trick her into thinking you're happy. I know it's gonna be hard, but I'll be there for you every step of the way. I failed you once bro, I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice." She pulled me into another hug. "I promise."

Later that day mom called me and Zoey downstairs. As I came out of my bedroom, I looked at Zoey with a questioning expression.

"She wants to see the both of us?" I whispered as we walked downstairs.

"This can't be good. But stick to the plan. We'll improvise if we have to." she said as we rounded the corner and entered the living room.

"Hey kids, um, sit down." mom said. Zoey and I sat on the couch.

"It has come to my attention that Zane honey, you're miserable. And I've been trying to help the best that I could, but it doesn't seem to be working." I just looked at her.

"But mom…"

"Not now Zoey." mom said. Zoey sunk down in her seat.

"You're going to New York. I've decided that maybe a change of scenery would do you some good." she said.

"I don't wanna leave Toronto mom." I said. She looked at me with a sad expression.

"Oh honey, I know you don't. But what else can I do? You're depressed about Riley. I get that, but it's time to move on. It's been months. He's not coming back." I know she meant that in a nice way, but it still stung.

"I know that." I said simply.

"It's just that, your behavior isn't normal. I fear for my little boy and so does your father. He thinks that it would be best if both of you came to live with him." I saw Zoey's eyes almost pop out of her head.

"What!" she yelled.

"Your father thinks that it would be best if both of you went to New York."

"I can't believe this! I'm an adult now. He can't make these decisions for me." Zoey said.

"Zo, you're 19 years old. If you were 21 it would be different. Besides, at least there you can watch out for your baby brother." mom said hopeful. I could tell that Zoey was about to have a meltdown.

"I don't want to leave. I have so much stuff here. I go to college here. I don't wanna just transfer out." she said. Kim sighed heavily.

"I don't want you to leave either. But it's for Zane's sake. Just go, meet new people. It's not hard for people like you two to meet new friends. Besides Zoey you have good grades, you could go to NYU." I decided it was time to speak up before Zoey blew a gasket.

"Mom, we like our old friends." I said. Kim looked at me with a blank expression.

"But you're hardly ever around them. Well, Zoey sees her friends, but Zane you don't." Zoey looked at me pleadingly. It was now or never.

"I do actually." Kim was shocked. "I've made plans with K.C." I said.

"Wow okay, so what're you guys gonna do?" she asked. I wasn't exactly sure.

"Um, we're gonna just hang out. Nothing too major." I said.

"Well alright. I guess you are starting to make some progress. I'll call your father and tell him that you're staying, yeah?" she asked.

"Yes." Zoey and I said in unison. Kim smiled and went to call dad.

"You…were…amazing!" Zoey squealed. Yeah, yeah, I know.

"I know. I didn't want my suffering to cause you, mom, or dad anymore grief." I said.

"Thanks bro. Now how're you gonna pull this off?" she asked.

"Well, first I'll call K.C. and see what he wants to do. And then I'll go from there." I said.

"I hope this works out for you." she said with a bit of sadness in her voice. I do too.

So later on that week, K.C. and I went to the race track. It was loud and the people annoyed me. But I actually started to like it. I would watch as the cars raced around the track. I would get this funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't know what it was, but I liked it. When it was over we walked downstairs and were about to leave when I noticed a group of guys. I started to have flashbacks of when I was almost attacked and Ri… I mean he saved me. I was thinking about going over to them when all of a sudden I heard a voice.

"Don't even think about it." It said. I looked around and saw no one. K.C. was rambling on about how sick the cars looked.

"Dude, those cars are like, awesome. I wouldn't mind taking one of those babies for a test run." He said. I just nodded my head. "I mean seriously, imagine going all those miles, legally. I would tear up the race track." I watched the guys intently and was contemplating on going over there.

"You promised." The voice said again. I looked at K.C. who was marveling at a truck. I turned back to see the guys and when I did I saw Riley. I blinked a few times and he was still there. It took all I had in me not to just hug him. But when I stepped forward K.C. stepped in front of me, causing Riley to disappear. No! I yelled in my head.

"Hey dude, you alright?" K.C. asked. I looked at him with a sullen expression. I was pissed. He ruined my one chance with Riley.

"Yeah." I said as I shook my head. Was I dreaming? Am I crazy? I asked myself. I looked over at the group of guys again. I wonder…

"Hey, um, I think I know those guys." I said pointing to the group of men. K.C. raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep, I'm gonna go say hi." I said as I dashed away from him. The guys looked at me as I approached them. I had a bad feeling about this, but I liked it. As I got closer, Riley appeared in front of me. I gasped.

"Just walk away." He said. I turned slightly and he began to fade. It was then that I realized that I was crazy. But oh well. When I finally reached them, I saw that it wasn't the group of guys.

"Oh, um sorry, I thought you were somebody else." I said sadly.

"Hey, don't go." One of the guys said. I could tell he liked me already.

"But my friend is waiting." I said. He looked over at K.C. who was talking to another girl. Hmm, Marisol isn't gonna like that.

"He can wait. Come on." he said dragging me to one of the cars. "Here, safety first." he said handing me a helmet. I grabbed it and stared. Was I really about to get into some stranger's car. As I thought about it, Riley appeared.

"That's it Zane, think long and hard. You could get hurt." he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Like you haven't hurt me enough." I mumbled.

"You say something?" the guy asked. I shook my head no and got in the car. I took one last look at Riley. He was livid. I smiled as we zoomed on to the track. We hit 0 to 100 miles in seconds.

"Whoa, we're going fast." I said. I loved this feeling though. The fact that I could be danger was a real rush.

"I know. The feeling you're feeling now is called an 'Adrenaline Rush'. Everybody gets it." he said as he made a sharp turn. When we were done, he gave me his number.

"My name's Josh. Call me sometime." he said as he bit his lip.

"Sure." I said flirtatiously. If he only knew, I had no intention of calling him. When I reached K.C. he gawked at me.

"Dude! Are you insane!" he yelled. I just looked at the ground.

"I thought it was fun." I said innocently. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, it did look like it. And I see that you seemed to have caught someone's eye." he said looking over at Josh.

"Yeah I guess I did." I said. I could hear growling in my head. I looked over at Josh and saw Riley glowering at him as if he could set him on fire. I just smiled.

"Well let's go get something to eat. I'm starving." he said as we left.

When I returned home that night, I came to a shocking conclusion. I was in danger when Riley showed up the first time. And this time I was in sort of the same situation. It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Danger. So danger is what causes me to see him. Well then, it looks like I'm gonna have to get used to the term 'Living life dangerously.'

A/N: Oh Zane what're you thinking? And K.C. is so much cooler than Jessica was in New Moon. Meagan do your thing girl. The next chapter will be focused on Owen and Zane. XOXO ShadowBeauty. P.S. Non-members can review too. So tell all your friends.