Chapter Two

"And they say she's in the Class A team, been this way since eighteen."

- Ed Sheeran "The A Team"

Slowly, his red eyes started to open. He rolled over and stood up, slightly unsure of where he was.

"Where am I?" he thought while rubbing his eyes.

"You started using again," said a woman's voice. He could have sworn that he had heard it before, it sounded so familiar.

"What?! Who are you?!"

The woman stepped out of the darkness. Her hair was red, a beautiful dark red that reminded him of hell-fire. She was beautiful, she really was. He wanted her. "Moira?" he asked. "My, my. You haven't aged a day."

She was not impressed. She didn't even crack a smile. She returned no compliments as she said, "Of course I haven't. You've started using again."

"No," he smiled. "I didn't. I stopped right after I got kicked out; I realized how stupid I had been."

She flashed an impatient glare. "You're a liar. You had only stopped temporarily. You've started using again; just look at your arms."

He looked at her and slowly directed his gaze towards his left arm. There were scars, a number of them, but there was a new puncture wound as well. "What?!" he asked, shocked.

"Heroin," she said in a slightly seductive whisper. "You did it last night." She stopped. She studied him. He looked confused and extremely disappointed, tears forming in his eyes. He looked pathetic. She felt a sharp pang of pity for him. "Here's my advice," she said. "Go back to your room, take a shower, and put on a long sleeve shirt to cover those track marks you have there on your arm."

The tears rolled down. He ran his fingers through his white hair in frustration. "She's going to kill me."

Moira stepped closer and wiped the tears off the young man's cheeks. "I know," she whispered. "Just like she killed me."

Daniel let out a stunned "What?!"

She kept her hand on his cheek and said in that same whispery tone, "I suggest you take my advice into consideration."

. ^ . ^ .

He sat straight up, his body dripping with sweat. He couldn't stop shaking. "Please just let it be a dream, please just let it be a dream," he said quietly as he looked towards his arm. "Shit."

Like Moira said, he took a shower and put on a long sleeve shirt. He made sure that the needle had definitely been disposed of before going downstairs, where he saw Tate and Addie sitting at the table. "Hey guys," he said, covering his fear with a yawn. "Do we have any cereal?"

As Constance walked in the room and took her seat, she chuckled. "We?"

Daniel sat down. "Yeah, Mom. We're a family. Right, Addie?" She smiled and nodded. "Tate?"

He sat in silence before saying, "We'd still be a family if Dad was still here."

Daniel sighed. "Well, kid, he's not. He left us; he's gone. I know you may not like her," he gestured towards their mother, "but she's your mother. She raised you, she loves you, and she's the only parent you have, so treat her right."

The room went silent. Daniel was sure that he didn't take too strict a tone with Tate, and he also didn't want to treat him as if he was of lesser intelligence. Still, he had to get back on Constance's good side; he had to. Yet overall, if there was anything about being a member of this family what he would always love, it was his relationship with Tate. He wanted to make sure his younger brother grew up the right way, and he wasn't sure if Constance could provide that. Still, at the same time, Daniel knew that Tate was different that he was, and he had hope that Tate wouldn't fuck himself up as much.

"So," he said. "Do we have any cereal?"

. ^ . ^ .

He was sitting outside, smoking a cigarette. Tate came out of the house and sat on the stairs next to him. "When did you start doing that?" Tate asked.

Daniel shrugged, "A bit after I left."

"Can I try it?" the boy asked.

"No," Daniel said simply.

Tate was slightly offended. "Why not?! Why can you do something that I can't?!"

"Because it's a bad habit to get into," he said as he put out the cigarette. "How about we go for a walk and I buy you an ice cream instead?"

Tate smiled and stood up. They began to walk together.

If one didn't know the family personally, they probably wouldn't be able to tell that the two were related. Daniel was tall and thin, whereas twelve-year-old Tate was of average height and weight. Daniel was an albino, meaning that he was pale with white hair and red eyes. Tate's hair and eyes were both darker than his brother's, and both of them wondered exactly where Daniel's features came from. Daniel was quiet, and everyone knew he was thoughtful whereas Tate wasn't afraid to be outspoken about what he cared about. The two both had their flaws, it just came down to which one had more of them.

When they arrived at the ice-cream stand, Tate chose a simple vanilla ice-cream cone.

. ^ . ^ .

It was just about eight o'clock at night. Daniel was supposed to go somewhere; he had a meeting. It was of extreme importance.

Not only would he be doing important things, but he would be talking to important people. He would be seeing her again. He had loved her once. She had been his entire being, his entire world. She loved him as much as he loved her, or so they thought. Eventually, he became unaware as to whether or not those feelings were honest and real or just a shadow placed over both of them when they were surrounded by the proper external circumstances.

Either way, he had known her for his entire life. The two of them had grown up together. They had shared in each other's joy, they had shared in each other's sorrow. They had been there for one another when needed. They had truly been alive, despite whatever anyone else had tried to tell them.

Daniel had only one question. If they really had loved each other for so long, why was it their relationship hadn't turned to a romantic one before the day it had? Why did neither of them make a move towards the other? Daniel knew why he had done nothing of the sort; he didn't want to lose her. He would rather suffer in silence than voice these thoughts and end up losing her completely. He couldn't figure out why she didn't do anything, though. He knew she had the confidence and he couldn't figure out one good reason why she chose not to act.

When something did finally happen, they were each nineteen and they were each under the influence of something. She was under the influence of alcohol, he was under the influence of love. Considering these influences, neither of them knew what they were actually doing. They were in her house, the house which her parents left her. She was heavily intoxicated and he was there to make sure she didn't do anything which she would regret in the end. He was there to protect her from herself and he did this job well.

The two were sitting on a couch. In front of them was a television. The TV was on, turned to MTV, but the volume was turned all the way down. There was a punk concert on at the moment. Daniel wanted to watch it, he found it interesting, but he didn't want to bother her.

It started slowly. She leaned closer. And closer. And even closer. Until she kissed him. Their lips locked. It kept escalating. One thing led to another and suddenly, she was on top of him, trying to undo his belt. He held her hands still and slowly removed them so she was no longer touching him.

"Don't," he said softly. "Don't."

When she asked him why he did that the next day, she had said "Didn't you want it?"

He answered, "Yes, I did. I wanted it more than you can imagine."

"Then why did you stop me?" she asked.

"You asked me to make sure you didn't do anything which you would regret. That's all I did."

He took his tasks very seriously, especially when it came to protecting her.

AN: Thank you for reading! And no, this will not turn into a love story, in case you're wondering. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think?