Night had crept up on Lucian, darkness crept across the room as he sat in the corner against the walls. He tried to mould his body into the corner, trying to get as far away from the sinister thoughts that had taken shape, slowly etching their way closer to him. Inky dark shadows slithered along the wood floors, over the rug and touched at his toes. The wind whispered taunting words to him, telling him that inner peace was just a line away. He could have just one, it whispered, one would make no difference. The darkness edged over his toes even though he curled them under, pulling his feet closer to his body. He tried to shrink further into the wall, trying to escape the dark but nothing would work. Pain gnawed at his body, his head thumped over and over again like a tribal drum that boomed through his mind. His arms were wrapped around his legs trying to get away from the shadow demon that was reaching out for him. The moon's gaze from the window above him was of no help, it was supposed to abate the shadows but it did nothing. Perched high in the sky the moon was large and full and worse yet, quiet. The shadows curled up the walls around him, slowly shrinking his space of light. Drums echoed through him as his eyes darted from wall to wall, watching them close in, taking his light away. Lucian closed his eyes trying to find some light filled paradise, where he could forget the nightmare that had become real. Where he could soak in the light and forget his problems. But there was no paradise to be found, the coldness of the shadow had soaked through his body making him shiver frantically. When the shadows had consumed the light and Lucian was sitting in total darkness, the booming drums stopped.

He opened his eyes to a new source of light, the moons gaze shined through the patio doors to the table nearby. It looked like it was covered in diamonds, shimmering in the light. Lucian rubbed his eyes, unable to believe it. The drums had stopped; the shadows had consumed the room but there was one ray of light. Then the shadow monster spoke. One, just one Lucian. Open the draw, you know you have enough for tonight. One won't hurt, just one little ray of light to send us away. Lucian gulped as he stared at the draw in the coffee table, all that he needed was in that draw. He let out a low whimper, not wanting to let the monster win, shaking his head. One little ray of hope my lovely, it will dispel all of your fears, all of your demons. We will slip away into the night and leave you be. Just one little ray of light.

********************

Danika laid in bed, thinking about that kiss. How sweet it was, how perfect was the moment, even if she was scared. She knew she should be scared, he was drunk and very likely high. As she laid in bed staring at the ceiling she knew that he was only a few steps from her. Their rooms shared a wall. She was so close yet so far. Danika knew a lot about him, his family and his past but she wanted to know more, she wanted to know the real him. Even though she knew he was drunk, she thought that maybe with the time that had passed, he had sobered enough to be around and have a conversation. She hoped. Danika climbed out of the bed and crept along the hall, the few steps to his bedroom. Quietly she knocked as she opened the door, calling out to him in a soft voice. The room was dark, the moonlight shone bright through the open doors to the patio. He wasn't in his bed and there were no sounds coming from his bathroom. She was about to turn away when she saw the coffee table, powder everywhere. Danika frowned knowing it wasn't like that when she was here a few hours ago. She didn't want to deal with an addict, her last boyfriend was one and he wasn't easy to live with. He stole from her constantly to pay for his habit, he almost got her killed because his dealer turned up looking for his money. Danika knew that would never happen with someone like Lucian who clearly had a lot of money but she knew it wasn't worth the risk. As she began to close the door, something caught her eye. A foot. It twitched. Danika gasped and quickly entered the room, closing the door behind her. There he was, passed out in between the table and the lounge.

'Lucian.' she whispered frantically.

She shook him until he groaned at her.

'Wake up you idiot!'

Danika had no clue what to do, she had never dealt with this. Seth had never passed out on her. For some reason he always did it when she wasn't around or he went to a friend's place. She tried to lift him up, his body was too heavy for her. His body thumped back to the rug with another groan. Inspiration struck her as she grabbed his ankles and dragged him into the bathroom.

'God you're heavy, where are you hiding all this weight?'

She pulled him all the way into the large open shower, propping him up into the corner. Grabbing the shower head, she turned it on as cold as she could and directed it right at his face. He spluttered and coughed as his eyes shot open, looking at her. Lucian couldn't believe what he was seeing. His last memory was of the ceiling as he fell to the rug, now he was faced with one angry woman. She was in tiny shorts and a singlet top, both purple in colour. Her curves were stunning.

'Sober yet?'

Lucian noted the severe tone in her voice, it was cold and short. Any chance he had with her, he had just blown. Another one bites the dust he thought morosely, this one didn't get very far. Ruefully he nodded, though he had his doubts. His mind was still hazy, the edges of his eyesight were a little fuzzy. He watched as she returned the shower head to its place, letting it pour over him. The sight of her stretching up was enthralling, the shirt lifted ever so slightly, but it was enough to give just a peek of skin. Water rained down on him as he sat there, Danika moved to the other side of the shower, sitting on the tiled bench. Her legs crossed into each other as she made herself comfortable, waiting for time to pass.

Danika watched as he closed his eyes. She wasn't sure if sleep was beginning to take hold or if he was passing out again. Calling out to him made his head bolt up, but it would roll and drop. As she got off her perch and turned off the water, she thought it was likely that he was tired. She knelt between his legs, trying to wake him. His head lifted and looked at her like he had a moment of clarity, his shrivelled fingers touched the skin of her cheek.

'You are so beautiful.'

Danika smiled at him.

'How about you say that when you're sober? Are you tired, do you want to go to bed now?'

Lucian nodded as he struggled to remove his shirt. It was wet and clinging to his body, difficult for anyone at the best of times.

'Here, let me.'

She started with the cuffs of his shirt, undoing the buttons.

'These are helpful, you know. You won't get far with these still done up.'

Lucian could see the smirk on her face, she was being cheeky and hiding it as being a caring person. He didn't care if she mocked him, at least she wasn't yelling at him. Better yet, she was talking to him. Danika pulled the shirt from his body, tossing it to one side with a great slop sound. She looked at his pants, wondering what lay below.

'Are you... you know.' she gestured to him.

He nodded as he pulled at the waistband, trying to find the button.

'Stop it, for Christ's sake. Like a bloody overgrown baby.'

Danika held her breath as she pulled the zip down, praying that he was wearing something underneath. He nodded but she didn't know whether that meant he was wearing something or he wasn't wearing something. When she was faced with black satin she breathed a sigh of relief.

He was dry, he was able to stand. Of course getting him to the bed was difficult, Danika had to prop him up in order to get him to walk. She sat him at the end of the bed, realising she should have pulled the linen back before bringing him out. As she pulled the top cover back she raised an eyebrow at the satin sheets, thinking they had gone out of style about seven hundred years ago. At least, that's what Brendan said her mind laughed, Of course, he'd know.

'Ok, time to get under the sheets.' Danika sighed as she lifted him up.

His body was heavy, even though there was hardly anything of him, he was like a dead weight. He flopped down to the bed again, sitting on the edge as she tried to get him to lay down.

'Sleep on your side, that way you won't choke if you vomit.'

Lucian nodded as he looked at her hand. It was by her side, touching the edge of her pants and the skin below. Patiently she was waiting for him to lift his feet and lay down but he didn't. His hand reached out for hers, feeling the softness of her skin, her calloused fingers.

'Stay.' he pleaded 'Keep me company.'

'You need sleep Lucian; you need to get off the drugs.'

'Darkness haunts me.'

'You're scared of the dark? Turn on a light.'

He shook his head.

'Not the darkness of the night. No light bulb will solve my problems.'

'How do you know if me staying will help you?'

'I don't.'

He let go of her hand and laid on the bed, expecting her to leave. But there were no sounds of doors opening and closing, there was no padding of her feet across the floor. The only sounds were the lights in the bathroom being turned off and Danika huffing softly. He could feel the bed depress behind him, the linen being moved around.

'Please don't drain me thanks. Unlike you, I like life.'

Danika could feel him moving in the bed, feeling him move closer. Her back was to him; she couldn't see what he was doing.

'Thank you, not just for this but for before.'

Danika turned her body slightly and looked up at him, his eyes were bright in the light of the moon as he looked down at her.

'I'd say any time but I'd rather you stopped doing drugs. Can you do that? If I asked you to stop, would you?'

Lucian wanted to say yes, but he remembered his thoughts earlier that he was going to go cold turkey just to be with her. It had lasted all of about an hour.

'Your lack of response isn't encouraging Lucian.'

Danika rolled back over to face the door to the bathroom but Lucian hadn't moved.

'I need help.' he whispered.

'Damn straight you do.' she snapped at him 'Go to sleep Lucian.'

He laid down but still very close to Danika. She was like a talisman to ward off the darkness.