"Will things ever be the same again?"

The Final Countdown by Europe

"WELL, THAT'S A bummer," Paul piped up after a moment of stunned silence.

All heads in the room swiveled to look at him with unimpressed expressions. He simply held both hands up in surrender, mouthing an apology. It took a lot out of Sevyn not to laugh, but it wouldn't be appropriate.

For once, she resisted the urge to laugh at the wrong time, which was a sign of growth in her opinion.

"Show us," David commanded. This news rattled him, but he maintained his usual cool exterior. He couldn't afford to let his nestmates meet their true death, and if what Sevyn said is true, that's exactly where they were headed. He needed to stop it, and if Sevyn was willing to help, he'd use her in any way he could.

"Ah, right now?" Sevyn asked, glancing between all of them. "Fine, but if you attack me again, I'm leaving. As you can see, I can escape faster than you can follow, and I promise you'll never find me. Now, if that's what you want? Fine. I'll leave. But if not, you can't kill me. I rather enjoy being alive, thank you very much, and you all seem to have a bit of a temper problem."

"We won't kill you. Now, stop talking and play the damn movie," David snapped, his impatience growing.

"See, there it is, that temper I was talking about," she mumbled as she reached for the wireless mouse.

"Is that a laptop? It's so small... and why is the keyboard rainbow-colored? Why doesn't your mouse have a cord?" Paul fired off rapid questions that Sevyn didn't feel like explaining.

"Yes, it's a gaming laptop, my smaller one. The bigger one's in my bedroom. I have a regular desktop too, but that's in the spare room. They all have rainbow lights because I like colorful things – no hidden meaning there. And wireless mice are more convenient. Now, can I start the movie?"

Paul opened his mouth for more questions, but Dwayne nudged him, and he shut up with a sigh. Sevyn gave Dwayne an appreciative nod before turning her attention back to the TV.

The pink-haired girl put the movie back to the beginning and gestured for the boys to sit. "Make yourselves at home," she offered.

Once everyone was settled – Marko on one side of her, Dwayne on the other, David in an armchair, and Paul sprawled on the floor leaning back on her legs – she hit play.

Part of her worried about their reaction to the second half of the movie, where things went south for them. But she hadn't written the movie, surely they'd understand that. After all, she'd made it clear she wanted to prevent those events. Hopefully, they'd remember that.

When the boys first appeared on screen, Paul and Marko erupted in cheers, commenting on how good they looked. It made her wonder when the last time they'd seen themselves was. That led to questions about how they styled their hair so perfectly without mirrors.

She'd have to ask them sometime.

It took all her willpower not to talk during the movie – unlike Paul, who seemed to have no qualms about talking over it – but she was terrible at keeping quiet. Normally, she was alone and could talk to the screen as much as she wanted, but now wasn't the time to annoy them.

So, she mostly kept quiet, answering their questions only when spoken to. Three of the boys seemed to be enjoying watching themselves, laughing every time they messed with Michael – which, she had to admit, she found funny too.

David, of course, was silent. He watched intently, trying to pinpoint where things went wrong, trying to figure out how to prevent their future death. He couldn't let them die, and he had a feeling Sevyn would be the key to stopping it. Already, she was attempting to help by showing them the movie.

He appreciated that – even if he wouldn't say it - and made a mental note to keep it in mind.

"You've seen the cave? What do you think?" Dwayne turned to Sevyn, curious.

"Oh, I think it's amazing! You guys have such a cool setup down there. I really want to see it in person," she gushed like the true fangirl she was.

"We'll take you there soon, pixie girl," Marko assured her with a wink.

Sevyn beamed at him, clearly excited by the prospect of visiting their lair. Marko found it cute, but he just gave her his usual mischievous smirk before turning back to the movie in time to boo at Star for being a buzzkill.

The pink-haired girl couldn't help but laugh and boo along with them. She didn't necessarily hate Star, but she definitely didn't like her either – a fact that became abundantly clear to the boys as the movie progressed.

When they reached the bridge scene, Sevyn piped up, "When we get to this point, I want to come with you! Please! I've always wanted to hang under the bridge when the train goes by and drop off afterwards," she pleaded, giving David her most hopeful puppy-dog eyes.

David simply rolled his eyes and dismissively waved a hand in her direction. "Maybe," he muttered, keeping his gaze glued to the screen.

She huffed and pouted a little, but didn't make a scene about it. She was determined to jump off that bridge, whether he approved or not.

Later, during the scene where the boys reveal their true forms, Dwayne turned to see Sevyn's reaction. He was surprised by the raw desire he saw there. The vampire wasn't oblivious; he knew she was attracted to all of them – she practically admitted it. But seeing her remain attracted to them in their monstrous forms caught him off guard.

It wasn't until Star approached Michael, begging for his help, that David finally sat up straight, his gaze shifting from contemplative to furious. Sevyn knew this reaction was coming. Star betrayed them to save herself, but unfortunately, she lacked the full picture, which ultimately led to their end.

A chorus of murderous growls erupted from the living room. They were livid, and frankly, Sevyn couldn't blame them. Hell, she was mad too! She'd always held a fondness for them and hated seeing them die.

When they reached the scene where the Emersons and the Frogs attacked the cave, Sevyn paused the movie. "I usually stop watching here because things go to absolute shit for you guys," she warned.

With that, she resumed the movie. When it came to Marko's death scene, Sevyn couldn't help herself. She reached out and squeezed his thigh. He may be a jerk to her sometimes, but she didn't want him to die. None of them deserved that fate.

Marko was floored by Sevyn's unexpected compassion. She'd witnessed his monstrous side, even seen him kill and enjoy it, yet here she was, genuinely saddened by him dying. It forced him to see her in a new light.

Throughout the second half of movie their attention was split, each of the boys made mental notes of Sevyn's reactions as they fell one-by-one, mirroring her earlier attentiveness. Now, however, Sevyn was too engrossed in the movie to focus on them – she was consumed by sadness and anger on their behalf. In her eyes, they didn't deserve such an unfair end.

The movie ended, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. Sevyn broke it this time. "I think I know how to prevent you guys from dying," she explained. "Maybe I was overthinking it. The simpler solution is probably the best. You're killed by a bunch of teenagers; I think we can easily stop them now that you know what's coming. Now my question is do we want Max to die?"

The boys exchanged glances before David spoke for the group, "Yes."