(A/N): Hey Guys! Chapter four for tonight, hope you like!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Leo, Elaine, Shari, Nicholai, Jonothan, Lisbet, Cipicia, Mia, Brooke and Quiggly.

Leo

I woke up again a while later, parched, but not in nearly as much pain.

"Water?" I mumbled stupidly, trying to sit up on arms that felt like they were made of jelly, only to have an arm wrap around my back and help me to sit up, pillows being pushed behind my back as I realised that I was, and had been, laying in a bed.

My own bed it seemed, but it was positioned in the middle of the living room floor, where there was plenty of space to move around it.

As I turned my head slightly, I realised that it was Shari who was helping me to get, and remain, upright, and my mouth remained open slightly until her eyes met mine.

They were tired, and full of pain.

"Shari...?" I asked quietly, but she shook her head, brushing my inquiry off.

"How are you feeling?" I was confused for a minute, before looking inside myself. How was I feeling?

"I'm fine." She rolled her eyes, sighing deeply before handing me a tall cup full of clear, cold water.

I raised the cup to my lip, seeing how parched I was, taking a small sip before starting to chug it down.

"Hey, hey, slow down or you'll-" Spew. All over the floor. Nothing came up, just the water I had just tried to drink. Other than that, nothing, which really had me worried. "Leo-" I cut her off.

"Shari..." I said quietly, staring at the vomit-covered floor. "How long was I out?" We locked eyes and she shrugged, trying to blow it off.

"Not-" I cut her off again.

"The truth, Shari." I told her warningly, and she stared at me for a second before shrugging, and starting to clean up the vomit.

"A week." I almost choked on my own tongue.

"A week?!" I cried, before stopping myself as my throat burnt, feeling like someone had rubbed it with sandpaper so hard that little cuts had formed. "A week?" I asked again, more carefully, and she sighed before using vampire speed to clean up the rest of the mess before returning to my bedside.

"Yes. Your father was very worried about you." I turned my eyes to my lap, my fingers intertwining, trying to keep myself busy so I wouldn't freak out.

"What about Elaine, and her family?" I asked suddenly, having them pop into my head, and I tried to swing my legs over the bed only to be stopped by a sharp, intense pain in my stomach, and Shari's hand. "Ugh..." I groaned, leaning back as Shari watched me with worried eyes.

"They're fine, your father and I have been taking watches, though I don't think Jonothan will be coming back again." She informed me, one hand resting on my shoulder as she handed me the cup again, making me drink slowly this time.

"He wouldn't dare, not after this." The arrival of a new voice startled me into choking on the water, spluttering as I recognised it and pulled away from Shari to snap my head towards the door where, as expected, none other than Lisbet was standing.

"You...You saved me, didn't you?" I asked carefully, curiously, not sure that what I had seen hadn't been a dream.

"That I did." I stared at her, before turning my eyes back to Shari, raising an eyebrow, asking if we could trust her, to which I received a small nod I knew wouldn't go unnoticed. "Most of the full vampires want you dead, Leonides." I turned my attention back to her after that statement, before rolling my eyes.

"No freaking duh." I muttered, shaking my head lightly as she grinned.

"To be honest, I kind of like you." I raised an eyebrow, to which she winked. "You've got spunk." I had no idea what 'spunk' was, but I was also sure that whatever it was, I didn't have it, if it made her like me.

"Why?" She seemed confused, so I elaborated. "Why'd you save me?" She grimaced, appearing at my bedside using vampire speed.

"Because Leonides, you're one of a kind. What with your half-vampire, part veela DNA and all..." Shari froze, glaring at Lisbet like I hadn't been supposed to know about it, but I grinned.

"Relax Shars, I already knew that." She froze again, her eyes fluttering closed in frustration before she turned to face me once more.

"How?!" She cried, throwing her hands up in the air like it was a big secret.

"An old friend told me, last year I think it was. I've known for a while." She stared at me for a minute, reading the trace of distrust on my face before she sighed, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Leo, I just wanted you to be safe." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Safe from what?" She opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by the door opening to admit not only one person, but two.

"Leo!" A familiar voice exclaimed, and I braced myself before arms were flung around me, though I had to grunt in pain as their body impacted mine.

"Hey Damsel." I whispered as she pulled away quickly, having heard my grunt, looking at me worriedly.

"What the hell happened?!" She growled, sounding much more threatening now that I knew that she could kick my butt.

"I...don't actually...know..." I mumbled, glancing at Shari and my father before down to my lap, my fingers clenched together as I tried to avoid her gaze.

"Leo...?" She asked quietly, her tone confused, and my eyes jumped to her face again, worried.

"What? Are you okay?" I asked quickly, looking her over, trying to find anything that could be causing her pain or trouble, but ultimately finding nothing.

"I'm fine... you just seem...different, is all..." She trailed off, staring at me before my eyes darted away from hers again, to the spot where Shari had just been occupying, but now wasn't, before realising that all three vampires were now missing from the room.

"What happened?" She asked again, and I winced, trying not to think of it, trying not to remember the trauma or pain of what I had been through.

"I-" I cut myself off, looking for a way out of this conversation, anything.

"Leo, last time I saw you, you had a piece of glass sticking out of your side, what the hell happened?" She demanded, placing both hands on my shoulders to keep me in place, though she knew, by this point, that I could get out of it. You know, if I had my full strength back...

"A whole bunch of things... and then my mother..." She gasped before wincing and falling silent.

"Your...your mother?" She mumbled, staring at me. "She did this to you?" I hesitated for a second before nodding. "That bitch!" I glanced up at her again, before reaching up to rest a hand on the side of her face, making her look at me again instead of glaring into the distance.

"I'm fine Damsel, there's no need to worry." She glared at me weakly, furious, though scared to harm me in my hurt state.

"No need to worry?" She hissed, her fingertips digging into my shoulders lightly. "Leo, I will always worry, and I have much reason to." And with that, she didn't leave my side for the rest of the day.

I don't know what she told her mother or brother about where she had been, or what she had been doing, but she clung to me all day, gingerly, trying not to hurt me, until it happened again.

Pain tore through me, and I flung myself back against the bed out of reflex, screaming at the sudden pain, and the last thing I heard was my father and Lisbet reaching my bedside, Shari pulling a distressed Elaine away.

(A/N): I both hate and love torturing Leo...

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 29/12/22