Hi, I know, I know. You guys hate me and wish I would die. But if that were to happen, who would finish writing this story? Exactly! No one, and you'd be left wondering, "What would've happened if we hadn't murdered that very nice lady? Hm...?" So, don't kill me, please. I'm so sorry it's taken so long, but my excuse is the oldest in the book: School. It is true though. I've actually had this written out for a while now, but in long-hand, and I pretty much just finished typing it up not too long ago. I'm sorry it's taken so long. It's pretty long, just for you guys. Remember, it's going to be taking a while, but hopefully not this long, from now on. Enjoy. I love you all!

*Fake Russian accent* Maybe you should ask yourself this: What did I do to get stabbed? Hm...?

*Sob* OH MY GOD! You're right! I'm so sorry I made you stab me!

Go watch Christopher Titus! I command it!

Enjoy!

Simply,

Sam.

Despite her bad attitude, Lane was there to help us until the very bitter end. She never once complained when we called her in the middle of the night, even though she did give us attitude. That was just her. Giving attitude was what she did best, it sometimes seemed. So, because she helped us and always did her best when it came to doing things for us, I loved her. She was wonderful. But after all of that, there was a time when I completely hated her. When I couldn't even stand to hear her name. I hated her because she was the one that brought me closer and closer to Blake. And after we came back to the States, I hated her and I hated him. I thought they could both rot in hell for all I cared. But then something happened, but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Way, way ahead of myself.

Maybe it's because of what happened that summer, or maybe I just always thought that way. All I know is that this white light is here to help me, may it be good or bad, I really don't care either way. As all the Strigoi fall to the ground in defeat, the white light stops being so blinding, slowly dimming, until I can start to make out features of the person. Male. Tall. Shockingly blond hair. Eyes. Beautiful eyes, the most beautiful I've ever seen. And they have a familiar spark in them. Wait, you know what, this guys looks just like-

"Mac, wake the hell up!" I bolt upright at the sound of Maks voice shouting right into my ear, and look around me, wide eyed. "Hurry up, we have to go meet Lane." I look to my left and see Maks lifting luggage, walking out the door.

"You do remember what happened yesterday, don't you, MacKayla?" Blake's voice asks me and that's when I do remember. Yesterday is when we met Lane, Sydney's daughter. We got to talking, but she had to be somewhere, so we drove over to the next town, and today we're going to meet her at the local coffee shop.

"Yea, I remember." I say as I roll out of bed, grab my bag, and walk into the bathroom. It takes me twenty minutes to get ready, including the shower, getting dressed, fixing my hair, and putting on makeup. Let me just say, that's an all time record for me. Although, it wasn't much makeup, just mascara, lotion, a little bit of eye shadow, and some lip-gloss. Like my mom says, what's the point in putting on make up if it's just going to get washed away by sweat? Exactly.

"Yea, I can do that, so don't worry about it. It'll all be arranged by the time you get there. Have a safe trip, here's my number, and just call whenever you need something." We stand, shake hands, and leave. We just finished our meeting with Lane and it's time to start going to the next town. She promised to arrange a room in a really nice hotel in the next town, instead of the usual cheap places we've been staying, and we won't have to pay for it or anything, which I think is really nice her. She didn't have to, but she kind of insisted on it once she heard why exactly we were here. Also, it was her way of thanking us for helping out with the Strigoi incident. It took a while to get it out of her, but she finally admitted that she was struggling with the Strigoi, so it was a good thing I cut in when I did.

I'm looking at her card as we're driving along when Maks says, "She was really nice, don't you think?" And while his question is completely normal, even his posture as he's driving is totally relaxed, his voice has a certain edge to it. A slightly familiar edge. One that his voice only gets every once in a while, when he's talking about a certain something.

I turn to Blake, who's looking back at me from the passenger seat as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking. I give him a little devious smile, and he gives me a wink, which momentarily sends my heart all a flutter, but I ignore it and say, in a teasing voice, "Does Maksim maybe have a little crush on Ms. Lane?"

I see his eyes briefly widen in the rearview mirror, but then they take on a defensive look. "Oh, just be quiet, Mac, you don't know anything!"

Again, I throw a quick look at Blake, and then say, "Well do you or don't you? You never really said yay or nay."

"Of course I don't like her! What's wrong with you! Why would you even suggest that I think she is the most beautiful girl in the world?"

A brief silence. "I never suggested that, Maks, you just did."

"Oh, just shut up!"

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Blake says softly, and I just can't help but laugh. Maks clenches the steering wheel and instead of saying anything more, just turns the radios volume up higher, eliminating the chance of anymore teasing. Blake looks back at me, and once again winks, but this time, has a smile on his face and a glint in his eyes. I smile back at him, and when he shifts his eyes over to Maks, and then back to me, I can't help but just laugh quietly one more time.

"So, where are you off to, brother dear?" I ask Maks as he walks out of the bathroom, all dressed up and with his hair smooted out. We arrived here last night, and, true to her word, Lane arranged a room for us in one of the high-end hotels here. We were supposed to take off this morning, but Maks insisted on staying one more night, and now I know the reason. And that reason has a name. And that name rhymes with pain. That's right. Lane.

"No where in particular." Was his very original answer.

I smil and tuck my legs under me. I'm sitting on the sofa in the common room and I'm watching my favorite movie of all time, Batman Begins with Christian Bale. "Really? Because you look mighty spiffy to be going nowhere in particular." He gives me a look before continuing his grooming process. "So, you going out with Lane?"

"I don't see why that concerns you." He looks at me.

"I don't see why it concerns me either, but I'm asking anyway."
"Mac, just watch your movie." I stick my tongue out at him before he turns away.

"What's going on in here?" Blake asks as he walks out of his room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Nothing." Maks answers just as I say, "Maks is going out with Lane."

"No, I'm not!" He exclaims as Blake and I start to laugh. "Whatever." He mumbles, turning away from us. Blake plops down next to me on the sofa, and we all laps into a comfortable silence. Almost. The TV is still blaring noises out to us of Batman and Scarecrow being all creepy and what not. "Well, I'm off now. Behave you two." Maks says as he walks to the door.

"And don't wait up?" I ask teasingly. Instead of answering he simply smiles and continues to walk out the door, softly clicking it shut. "I guess that's an affirmative, Batman." Blake says softly with his eyebrows raised. That throws me into a fit of giggles and he laughs along with me.

"Put on Dark Knight!" I yell to Blake from my room. I'm changing into shorts and a shirt and we're fighting over what to watch next.

"We just watched Batman Begins! I appreciate any Batman movie as much as the next person, but I want to watch something else, if you don't mind."

"I do mind, but whatever." I answer as I walk out of my room. "Seriously? Almost Famous? You have a thing for Kate Hudson or something?"

"Actually, yes, I do." He answers with a smile on his face as he sits down on the sofa.

"Fine, but only because you freely admitted you had a thing for her." I say as I throw myself next to him.

"Ever seen this movie?"

"WAY too many times."

And we watch the movie. Or, kind of watch the movie, actually. We mostly talk. For example, since the age of 10, he's moved to eight different schools. EIGHT! That's crazy! And, he has an older sister, whom he completely adores. We talked about everything, except for one thing, actually. His mom and dad. I know that his mom was human and his dad a Moroi, and I know that his father killed his mother, but beyond that, I don't know too much about his family. Like, I have no clue who his father is, because he and his sister have their mother's maiden name. I want to know, but I don't want to push, so I leave it along, which is a good thing, I guess.

"Then she picked it up by its hind legs and threw it in the pool. The poor thing didn't have a chance." I laugh so hard, my stomach starts to ache. He's telling a story about when his sister was younger and it involves a little cat. It's pretty funny.

"Your sister sounds cool. I should meet her. We'd cause havoc everywhere we went."

"I completely agree with you. Actually, there's a picture of her in my wallet, if you want to see her."

"Really? Yea! I'll go get it!" I hop off the sofa and jog to his room.

"On the little table beside the bed."

His bed is neat, much like mine was when we first got here. His luggage is beside the wall and the only thing out is his wallet, right where he said it was. I grab it and open it, and my eyes go wide. His sister is beautiful. She has blonde hair, like his, but instead of green eyes, she has blue eyes. She looks like one of those Greek goddesses, like Aphrodite, maybe. Beautiful. There's something familiar about her, though. Something very familiar. I can sense it about to click, but then I see another photo that throws that one out of my mind and sends me into a fit of giggles. It's one of Blake, a few years younger, dressed up like a girl, standing next to his sister, who is dressed like a boy.

"Wait!" I guess Blake just remembered about the picture. He barges into the room, but I jump across the bed, to the other side. "You didn't tell me you liked to play dress up!"

He momentarily stops, then says, "MacKayla!" He hops across the bed, reaching for me, but I avoid his arms and run out of the room.

"You make a pretty girl, I'll give you that much, Adair!" He has a smile on his red face.

"Belikov, give it back."

"But you're just so darn gorgeous!" I stick my tongue out at him, and step quickly back as he lunges towards me. The back of my knees hit the arm of the sofa and I fall backwards. Blake lands on top of me, but apparently he knew the sofa was right behind me, because he threw his arms out, on either side of me, to catch all of his weight.

"I'll take that back." He says, easily plucking the wallet out of my hands. He looks down at me at that moment, our eyes meeting, and we both seem to instantaneously sober. We just continue to stare at each other, our faces only a short distance apart. My eyes slowly wander to his lips and that's when I come to a little of my senses. What am I thinking? Yes, he does seem very kissable, that's for damn sure, but that's not the point. If I kiss him, it'll be like I'm forgetting about Him. Not because I haven't been with another guy since Him, because I have, but they were make-outs at parties. Or one-nighters. Never beyond that. I knew nothing about those other guys, not even their first names. I know almost everything about Blake, and I'll have to be in close proximity to him for at least four more days, if all goes well, but it'll be more personal if we do anything, and I don't think I can deal with that. Not after Him. It'll be liked throwing his sacrifice out the window. It'll make it pointless.

But then I move my eyes upwards, and once again, I lock onto his gaze. There's a question in his eyes, and I know that question. I've seen it only once before, because this is the only time since then I look the guy in the eyes. That question, at that time, was full of love, and assurance, but the question was still asked, just to be asked. But, though this question was still the same, it was filled with completely different emotions. Those eyes, that always seemed so sure, they seemed desperate for an answer from me, for a sign of any kind. They were filled with longing, lust, but they were filled with something else as well. They were filled with care. And that last feeling is what made up my mind for me. It's what made me reach my hands up, around his neck, and pull him, those eyes, and those lips, towards me. That was my answer and he didn't protest or ask if I was sure. He just accepted it, and kissed me right back. And the kiss was so right, so perfect, so wonderful. It was all so wonderful. After o long of denying myself any kind of touch that was filled with care, this was great. Wonderful, even. Magical.

I smile and stretch my whole body. I give a contented sigh and cuddle back into the warmth of the blanket, and sit up rapidly. I'm alone. That bastard! He just left? "Ugh, bastard." I quickly put on my clothes, in a hurry to get out of there, but then I realize it's my room, so I fall back on the bed. "Damn, I can't believe he left." I sit there for a few more minutes, but finally decide to go out into the common room. The moment I walk out, I see him. He's standing by the window, shirtless, talking on the phone and sounding completely agitated. His hair is all messed up and he still sounds a little groggy, as if he were forcefully pulled from his sleep. I just stand there and continue to stare at him, no longer mad with him. After a while, I walk back into my room to wash up, because I'm practically starving. He spots me as soon as I walk back out and the smile he throws me at me takes me completely off guard.

"Actually, yes, she's right here. Hold on a moment." He says into the phone. He puts his hand over the receiver and holds it out to me. "It's my sister. My cousin told her we were near by and she's insisting on us stopping and having lunch with her at the next town. I'm telling her we can't, so please back me up on this."

I look up at him skeptically, then take the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi! Is this MacKayla?" A peppy voice says from the other end of the phone.

"Yes."

"Great! This is Jenny, Blake's fabulous older sister. So, what do you say? I know he just finished practically begging you to say no, but I haven't seen my dear brother in quite a while. So please, please say you'll eat lunch with me."

I smile slyly at Blake and before he realized what my intentions are, I say, "We'd love to have lunch with you. We'll see you there. Okay, I'll tell him. Bye." I hang up the phone and stick my tongue out at him. He looks wide-awake now. "She said to dress up nice."

"Why would you agree to it?"

"Because I woke up alone!" The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them and I quickly whirl around and slap my hand over my mouth. Crap.

I feel him come up behind me. "The phone rang and I didn't want to take the call in the room, because I didn't want to wake you. Plus, I ordered breakfast." He gently turns me around to face him and pries my hand from my mouth. "I'm sorry." He says sincerely.

I bit my lip and look at him. He's begging me to forgive him for making me wake up along and I sigh. "Okay, I mean, I guess it's okay."

He gives me a blinding smile and, as if it's a normal thing, he leans down and places a single kiss on my lips. His eyes widen and he turns slightly red, as if he just realized what he just did. I'll admit, it's kind of endearing. A knock on the doo saves him from stammering out an unwanted apology. "Look, it's the food!" A bellboy pushes in a cart covered with trays emitting awesomely delicious smells. The bellboy lifts one of the covers and there are pancakes!

"Ohh…" I take the plate, cut into the pancake, and take a bite. "Mmmmmm….." I turn to the boy. "Tell whoever made these that I love them and want to have their bastardous babies." I turn and walk to the table and hear Blake chuckle.

"Thank you." The boy leaves and Blake wheels over the cart. "Good?"

"Delicious." We sit in comftorable silence for a few minutes before the door opens and in walks Maks. He comes straight to the table, grabs a plate and digs into it. Blake and I share a look before Maks speaks.

"How was your night?" He doesn't specify who the question is for, so we both stay silent. He gives us both a looks. "Are we not talking to me?" Still, the silence remains after his words. "Adair, how was your night?"

Blake looks up with evident relief on his face. "Great."

"And yours, Mac?"

"Wonderful."

"That's good."

"So, how was yours?" I ask hesitantly.

He smiles and says, "Oh, just fine." He looks at his plate and I look at Blake. I make a "Gag me, please" face and he smiles.

"So…. We promised to meet Blake's sister for lunch at the next town over." I say hurriedly. Maks looks up and so does Blake, his eyes wide.

"But we don't have to. I mean, I know we came here for reason, and we're on quite a schedule, and we only have so much time before people at the Academy start asking. So, we don't have to, Jenny will understand."

"Oh, come one, Adair. We promised." I say back.

Blake opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Maks sighs. "Fine, we'll go meet her. No more stops though or we'll be behind." He gets up and walks to his room.

"We already are, because of you." I say to his back. Instead of answering, he shuts his door. "Jerk."

"Hurry up!" Maks exclaims from the common room.

"I'm going!" I yell back from my room. I lock my suitcase and throw it out the door, where I hear a grunt. I'm assuming it hit one of the boys. I walk out of the room. "Let's go." I laugh at the sight before me. Both boys are on the floor, my suitcase covering both. "Oh, you babies!" I pull the case off and they stand.

"That's heavy, sis, that's heavy." Maks says, taking the luggage out to the car.

Blake and I look at each other. We had a talk earlier this morning when Maks walked into his room, but we didn't figure anything out. We're both still unsure about the night before. We're unresolved, but (I didn't admit this to him) I do like him. He's sweet and funny, in that really dry way and that guarded look he usually has on his face falls away when we're talking, but he still has it in his eyes. I'm trying to get rid of it, though.

I smile. "Let's go. We don't want to be yelled at by Maks again."

He nods and agrees with me. "It is quite scary when he yells." We walk down to the car and we take off. The car ride is short and comfortable, with Maks driving, Blake in the front seat, and me, stretched out in the back seat.

"We're here." Maks announces a couple hours later. I sit up and look at our surroundings. It seems like a pretty small town, but still busier than the last one. "Where are we supposed to be meeting her?"

"At the Cabin. It's down the road, you can't miss it." Blake answers. And he's right, we don't. It actually kind of looks like a cabin, which is pretty cool. "Right. Well, don't say I didn't warn you." He says, stepping out of the car, fairly calmly, and walking to the building. I kind of hope he's just being dramatic, but I highly doubt it. He doesn't seem like the dramatic type of person. I'm just saying.

It seems like a pretty nice place, homey. I look around the area, and see Blake walking to a table, Maks trailing behind him. They walk to a table where a pretty girl is sitting. She looks like the one that was in Blake's picture. His sister. She's even prettier in real life, though. I still have a sense familiarity.

"Hi. So nice to meet you." She shakes our hands as Blake introduces us. After the introductions and the order, we sit in a slightly awkward silence before Jenny breaks it. "So, I hear you lot are in a quest of sorts, am I right?"

Maks nods. "Yes, you are."

"My cousin might be your half sister?"

"Yes."

"Well, while that topic is rather moot, this next one isn't: your parents are amazing guardians."

"So we've been told." As they continue to speak, I look around the restaurant.

After a while, Jenny makes a slightly offensive comment to me (I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much, for some reason I do not know), but before I can answer, a movement catches my eye. I turn my head, and my head and my breath seems to halt in its tracks. It stays put in my throat, and my lungs begin to burn before I remember to breathe again. A girl walks to our table, pretty. Fairly tall, black hair, gray eyes. Pretty. A girl that I am close to. Was. A girl that I was close to.

She sits beside Jenny and she introduces her to us. "Oh! This is Riley. Riley, this is Maksim Belikov, son of Dimitri Belikov and Rose Hathaway Belikov. And this is his sister, MacKayla." Riley shakes Maks' hand but stops when our eyes meet. She knows me. She's Riley. Sara's older sister.

"Mac." She says softly. I just stare at her. It's been almost two years since we last saw each other and we didn't part on great terms. It was at their funeral.

It had been dark outside, raining. The ground was sucking at everyone's feet as they walked to their cars at the end of the service, at mine were not immune to the ground. The service just ended, and I was waiting for my car to drive up when I decided to raise my eyes from the home they had made on the ground. And the first thing I see is her face. She had been about to step into a car that a boy and girl had just gotten into when she turned my way. Our eyes met. And in the previously dead eyes, I saw a flame rise up and flicker, as if the anger that ignited them at first wasn't strong enough to keep them alive. She stalked to me. My eyes widen in fear, because while I might be a fairly kickass novice, she's a guardian and guardians aren't supposed to lose their cool. It's a well-known fact.

I open my mouth, about to stammer out an apology for her loss. I mean, she had just lost her one and only baby sister. It must've been oh-so-terribly tough for her. But before my words come out, she yells. "Oh, shut the hell up! I don't want your rotten apology, it means nothing to me. It will give me no solace, no matter how sorry you are. And besides, what are you doing here? This is for friends and family only. Murderers aren't allowed." My eyes widen further as her onslaught continues.

"You caused this! You were the one that killed her, and I will never forgive you for that! You took her away from me, and that wasn't enough, was it? You had to take Kyle with you too! You hurt, completely damaged, not just one family, but two! I hate you!" With those last words, she throws her arms out, sufficiently causing me to fall to the ground, dropping my umbrella on the muddy ground. I look up at her, rain running in my eyes, as I stare at her. Others heard her yelling and pulled her back, taking her to her car. They put her in, and the car takes off. I can still hear the ringing of her yells in my ears. I look back down, and place my mud-soaked hands in my lap. She's right. I caused the death of not only Sara, but of Kyle also. I caused them both to die. It was all my fault.

"Ms? Ms? Are you okay, Ms?" I look up to see inquiring eyes staring at me. The water has stopped beating down on my me and it takes me some time to realize that it's because this kind face is carrying an umbrella. I nod my head, because I can't seem to do anything else. "Here, Ms, let me help you up. Your car's here." The hand reaches down, grabs my arm, and pulls me up. The grip stays on my arm, guiding me to my car. The grip softens, slowly pushing me into the car. "I'm sorry, Ms." I look up at the eyes. I nod my head. The hand closes the door and the car takes off. I looked out the window, and saw the umbrella, still on the ground, sinking into the mud, and continuing to fill with the rain. I closed my eyes. And tried not to remember.

So, what did yo all think? I'll try to post the next chapter soon, I just have to finish writing it!

*Cocky grin* I'm 6'2", I'm blonde, I'm tan, I'm wearing white pants, and I realize: I'm a very pretty man.

*Sob* I'm 6'2"... I'm blonde... I'm tan... I'm wearing white pants... *Sob* And I realize:... I'm a very pretty man *Sob*

Go watch him! Tehe!

Thanks!

Simply,

Sam.

P.S.: LOVE YOU ALL!