Author's Note: An update, yay! They'll be pretty frequent like this now, although this week I will be quite busy because my brother is getting married so the next chapter will be up next week, as soon as I can get the time to write it'll be done. Thanks for the new favourites and follows and to Flowerchild23, TishaLiz, Eveline Wulf, Fairydoll and sadlyhuman1997 for their reviews :) okay guys, enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lost Boys, just my OCs.

"What?"

The word squeaked out by itself, I was in shock as I stared at her. She furrowed her brows, "I said we need to leave, tonight."

"I know what you said. I just can't believe that's your answer to everything." I said in shock, she scoffed.

"Well it worked pretty well for me the first time. And it's the best option given the situation. You get away from Max and those boys for good, we never have to come back here."

Never come back?

"Where would we go?" I asked, trying to see how the hell this would even work.

She shrugged, "Anywhere we want. As long as it's far away from here. I think we should leave as soon as possible."

"How soon?"

She leant off the bar, "How fast can you pack?" With that she started walking away, my feet were frozen to the spot and I couldn't find it in me to try and follow her. She glanced back over her shoulder after a few seconds, coming back to my side with a bewildered expression, "What are you waiting for?"

"I can't go."

Her eyes widened, "And why not?"

"Because!" I cried, attracting the attention of some bystanders. I took a deep breath whilst trying to find the rest of the sentence, why couldn't I leave? I wasn't sure, I just knew I couldn't.

"Because?" She urged after a few seconds of silence.

"Because I don't want to." I said. It was the truth, I just wasn't sure why. She stared at me with an unreadable expression, I brushed a hand through my hair, "I mean, at least not tonight. It's too short-notice I can't just up and leave."

"Why? What's keeping you here?"

I threw my hands up, "The fact that I live here! My whole life is in Santa Carla I don't want to just run away. And how do we know that'll even solve anything? What's to stop Max looking for us and finding us?"

"He won't, I know what I'm doing. You'll be safe, a lot safer than you are right now."

I knew she was right, but I couldn't just leave, "Can you give me some time?" She sighed heavily and I caught her arm, "I just need some time to think, okay?"

She reluctantly nodded, "Fine, but we can't stay here much longer. I can give you till tomorrow night at the most, then you have to promise you'll have your mind made up."

"I will." I lied, I couldn't see myself coming to a conclusion on such a decision in a day. But I needed to buy some time and she was offering it to me.

"Okay, here, tomorrow night." She said, gesturing to the spot we were standing in. After a short hug she left, disappearing into the crowd and after a few seconds I couldn't pick her out anymore.

My shoulders sank in defeat when I was finally left alone, and I hurried away from the carousel. My feet were on automatic as I walked, my mind was a million miles away. Leave Santa Carla? How could I?

The more I thought about the question, the more I had to face the fact I could easily leave. My adoptive parents had all but left me alone since I stormed out, whether out of guilt over the fact they had lied to me or fear I might never come back if they pushed me, I didn't know. But they'd not notice right away, I'd just add to the ever-growing list of people who suddenly just disappeared from the town.

If I did leave, it'd bring a certain amount of attention to the guys for being some of the only people to see me before I vanished, but I was sure it wasn't the first time they'd been in trouble for something like that, and how would you arrest them anyway? The image of anyone trying to put handcuffs on guys like David or Dwayne was enough to make me laugh, Dwayne alone could probably snap the metal like it was cheap plastic.

Max wouldn't be pleased, but what did I care what he thought? He turned my mother against her will, and tried to persuade her to make me into a vampire before I was even seven years old, he could go to hell for all I care.

All the reasons I could think of seemed to agree with what my mother suggested, but something was holding me back. For some reason I couldn't picture leaving for anything, not even to get away from danger, it was like my mind hit a wall when I tried to find the answer.

In the midst of my inner battle, my eyes locked with a familiar dark pair across the small walkway that ran up the middle of the boardwalk. My steps faltered for a second, I almost turned to walk over to him before I caught myself. If we talked he'd know something was wrong and I'd end up caving, I'd tell him everything and this wasn't his problem. I'd brought enough drama down on him and the guys.

I reluctantly broke away from his gaze to turn my eyes forward and continue walking, ignoring the guilty feeling in my stomach. Eventually I found my way down to the beach, shuffling through the sand and navigating through the various groups huddled around warm fires.

The music and chatter of the boardwalk slowly faded away to be replaced by soothing waves and a gentle breeze that ruffled my hair, I came to a stop about ten feet from the dark waves, shrugging my jacket off my shoulders and letting it fall to the sand before I sat down. The cool wind settled over my shoulders and I took a deep breath of salty air, my eyes closing. I could definitely think better out here.

I buried my face in my hands after giving up on trying to come to a decision some time later, I couldn't do it. Leave and never come back, or stay and probably end up a vampire. I couldn't ignore the fact to anyone else the latter option would seem crazy, to me the former was as equally unappealing.

I stayed sitting until the waved started to lap at the soles of my outstretched feet, then with a defeated sigh I got up from the sand and stretched, picking my jacket up. I went to turn to walk back towards the boardwalk when my eyes landed on a figure standing twenty feet away. I gasped in surprise before letting out a chuckle.

"You scared me."

One side of Dwayne's mouth lifted as he came closer, "Sorry, I seem to have a talent for it."

"How long have you been standing there?"

He stared out at the waves as he came to stand beside me, "Not long, when I saw you at the boardwalk you looked troubled. I wanted to give you some space but I guess my curiosity got a bit too much."

"Well, thanks for the space you did give me. Not that it helped much." I rubbed my forehead in frustration, my breath whistling out through my gritted teeth. When I finally looked back over at him he had quirked an eyebrow and I knew what he wanted to ask, "It's a long story." I offered as a lame excuse to not tell him.

"I have time." He told me with a hint of a smile.

"Ha ha." I said with sarcasm, and his face returned to its usual stoic state but his eyes still remained curious. The small waves started to lick at the bottom of my shoes so I waved for him to follow me as I headed back up the beach, a few of the fires had been abandoned so I didn't have to worry about people being around.

"So what's going on?" He asked when I made no attempt to start explaining when we sat down, I tried to find the right way to start. I hadn't told any of them I had even met my mother the other night or that I knew how she had become a vampire, so I guessed that was a good way to start.

I cleared my throat, "Did Max ever tell you guys anything about my mother?"

"Like what?"

"Like if he knew her or anything? Or how he knew her."

He thought for a second, "He might have." He said carefully.

"I know everything, Dwayne. So whatever you know I know as well. My mother told me about her and Max, she told me it all."

He seemed relieved, "Okay, he told us they had been together and she left. He didn't say why, think he left that part out for a reason."

"It was because he had made her into a vampire and he wanted to do the same to me. And I know to you guys that might not seem like a big deal but he wanted to turn me a little... Younger than you guys."

He stared out at the water, "How young?"

"Like five." I winced, watching his jaw clench.

"Should've known." He said with a bitter chuckle, "He just said she up and left for no reason but I knew that wasn't true."

I nodded, "She left to keep me safe and now she's pissed he's found me again. She thinks he wants you guys to turn me... Does he?"

There was a moment of silence before he met my eyes, "Yeah. He does. Has for quite a while."

"Why didn't you turn me before now then? Since David offered me the wine it's never come up, really." I asked, confused.

He shrugged, drawing patterns in the sand, "Never seemed like the right time, you had enough to deal with without turning as well. We knew we couldn't put it off forever, but we decided to wait until this thing with your mom blew over."

"I don't think it will." I confessed quietly, his eyes flicked to mine.

"Why not?"

I swallowed thickly, "Because she wants me to leave with her. Tomorrow night."

The silence that followed stretched on a lot more than I thought it would, I knew quite well that Dwayne was quiet, I just didn't think he was this quiet. His expression wasn't giving anything away, and I tried to be patient but eventually I couldn't take it anymore, "Dwayne?" I asked hesitantly.

I seemed to snap him out of a daze, his head turned quickly to meet my gaze, and he smiled tightly, "So... You're going to leave then?"

I shook my head, "No! I mean, I don't know if I am. I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't decide to leave or not. I mean, how do you just decide to do that? I can't just go away, if I do I can't come back it'd be for good. I don't know if I could do that."

"Why?"

I laughed humourlessly, "If I knew I would tell you. Believe me. But I don't even know myself."

"So this is what has you troubled?"

"Mm-hm. On one hand if I don't leave I'll be throwing everything my mother did for me back in her face. And let's go ahead and assume I'll be a vampire, I'll probably never see her again because of Max. But if I do leave... I don't come back. Ever."

I could see him weighing up what I had said, "So you don't want to leave Santa Carla... That's what's stopping you?"

Now that he said it, I knew that wasn't it,"No. It's not the town, Santa Carla's not the only place I ever want to be. I think it's because if I leave here I leave everything I know behind. Julie and Peter, Nick... You guys."

Of course the first two weren't as prominent a problem as the third. It wasn't like my adoptive parents didn't weigh on my mind, even though I wasn't in the best mood to talk to them now didn't mean I'd ever be. And if I disappeared it was a sure thing who Nick would pin my disappearance on. But now that I thought more about it, complete detachment from the group I had basically been living with this past while was definitely a big thing to ask.

Not that I would cry over leaving David and Marko, as nice as they were on occasion they weren't a concern for me when I thought about leaving, it was the remaining two members of the group. Not being around Paul would mean I'd be deprived of the one fun relationship I had with a person, it was easy to be around him and I had to admit he was my best friend these days.

When my thoughts turned to the last member of the group, my eyes moved of their own accord to meet his and I felt my face flush. I wouldn't call Dwayne a best friend, or even a friend for that matter, he seemed to belong in a category of his own that you couldn't put a label on. Unless there was a word for someone that makes you feel on edge constantly yet you've never felt more able to talk to someone like you have with them, he was simply impossible to describe.

I hurriedly looked away when I realised in the middle of my musings I hadn't thought to break my stare, I clambered up from the sand and brushed the tiny grains from my palms which had started to sweat for some reason, folding my arms tightly afterward.

"I don't know what to do." I breathed helplessly, pacing back and forth, "No matter what I pick someone is gonna be upset, there's gonna be someone that I never see again and I don't want to have to choose. Why does everything have to be so complicated?!"

A hand grabbed my arm and stopped me in my tracks, which I was grateful for because I was tracing back over the footsteps so many times I was starting to dig a trench.

I looked up in surprise when his other hand went to my other arm to turn me to face him, my breath caught a little as I became aware of the proximity, we were less than a foot apart. I tried to keep my eyes off his but of course that left me staring at his bare chest that peeked out from under his jacket, I switched instead to meeting his eyes.

"Listen to me," He began, his tone gentle but insistent, "You have to stop thinking about what other people want you to do. Forget what your mom said, she can't make you do something you don't want to do. And Max can't either, what happened with your mom won't happen again, we won't let it. You're not gonna get forced into anything, not while I'm around. Okay?"

"Okay." I answered but I was still unsure about what to do.

I could tell he knew I hadn't really bought what he was saying, "If you base this decision on what someone else wants then you're gonna wind up regretting it. Just forget about everyone else and think about yourself. What do you want to do?" He asked the last part slowly and I stayed silent to try and find the answer.

A thought came up but I dismissed it, it was absolutely crazy and the only reason it came into my head was because he was so close and I couldn't think straight when he did stuff like this. Any kind of contact with him and I was too distracted to pay attention to much else.

I shook my head, "I can't do that, it's selfish. I can't think like that-"

"Yes you can." He interrupted, shaking my shoulders slightly, "That's how you should be thinking about this, you're the one that has to live with this decision. And I know that you know the answer, you're just too afraid to say it."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are." He argued, "I can see it, you're just fighting what you want because you're worried that you're going to upset someone. Just think about yourself for a change."

What he said wasn't helping me because now all I could think about was him, he dropped his hands from my arms slowly and rather than feel relieved at the loss of contact I found myself missing it.

"I can't."

He stared at me with sympathy but nevertheless he wasn't satisfied with my answer, "Why not?"

"Because I'm too busy thinking of... Someone else." I went to say his name but it got stuck, his expression turned to one of confusion and I sighed, he had no idea the effect he could have on me and it was not fair.

Now that I had realised that I couldn't stop thinking about him, even when I was meant to be thinking about myself, my reluctance to leave started to make a little more sense. If the loss of brief contact we had was enough to upset me, what would it be like if I lost him altogether?

The thought had my body inch closer to his without me thinking about the action, it was a reflex in response to the prospect of never being close to him again.

"Who?"

His voice pulled me out of my train of thought and I remembered what I had said, before I could even think of an excuse or something to backtrack, my fingers reached out to brush his.

"You."

We both seemed shocked that I had said it, at least I knew I was. He made no move to stop me linking my fingers through his so I decided to enjoy it while I had the chance, my eyes fixed on our joined hands as I waited for him to break away.

I almost jumped when he took my chin between his thumb and index finger, surely he was just trying to break it to me gently that I was crazy and I needed to get some sense and control myself better.

My cheeks felt like the were on fire when our eyes met again, it was hard to tell from his eyes what he was thinking, hell it was hard to ever tell what he was thinking.

"Bryn..." I had to suppress a shiver at the husky edge to his voice, he shook his head a little almost as if he didn't know what else to say after that.

I decided to make myself as clear as possible, in a few seconds I knew I'd regret this immensely so I was damned if I was about to waste my rush of bravery, "You wanted to know what I wanted. I want you. I think I always have."

He was silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke, "Are you sure?"

I knew I'd never felt more sure of anything, I felt small smile pull at my lips, and I nodded, "Yes."

That seemed to be the answer he wanted, his hold on my hand tightened while the other moved to cradle the side of my face. I had just enough time to let out a relieved sigh as he moved closer, before my eyes fluttered shut as his lips pressed against mine.