Parties had never been something that the majority of the Blackbourne team actively enjoyed. Of course they attended them, especially the Academy parties, but only out of necessity. There was only a few of them who truly took a certain amount of enjoyment out of socializing with people they somewhat tolerated, while also being dragged into conversations with strangers.

North Taylor and Silas Korba were not one of those people who took delight out of attending parties and making small talk with acquaintances.

"She would probably enjoy this sort of thing," Silas said, scanning the room, searching for any of their brothers or anyone who may be familiar. He didn't have to specify who he was talking about when he said she, both of them were painfully aware of who he was speaking of. "Though, she would probably want to stay with people she knew."

North sighed, leaning his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. From the bags under his eyes, it was rather clear that he hadn't been getting that much sleep lately. He avoided sleeping as much as possible; whenever he allowed himself to get some rest, he found that his dreams were haunted by his childhood best friend and the screams of terror that tore out of her when she was dragged into that van.

"Fuck," North sighed, running his fingers through his hair. If Gabriel had saw the movement, he would have been on North's ass, but luckily, the fashion savvy boy was nowhere in sight. "I can't do this anymore, Si. I love our brothers, but I can't let her go. I want to. I know she's most likely gone... But what if she's not?"

Silas turned and eyed up his best friend with curiosity. North was standing straight again, looking at Silas, his dark brown eyes swimming with a number of emotions. For awhile, after Sang had been taken, North had fallen into a dark phase. He wouldn't talk, and he blamed himself, as if he was responsible for her kidnapping. Silas tried his best to help, but then he was being shipped off to America, leaving North all by himself to deal with the depression he had fallen into.

Nine years later, and North had nearly healed, but there was something holding him back. Silas knew what it was, because it held him back as well. It was the what ifs. What if she was still alive? What if they could help her? What if they could bring her home? What if she wasn't okay? What if she was dead?

"We'll talk to Mr. Blackbourne about it tomorrow," Silas decided, looking back out at the party, silently hoping that they could leave soon. He wanted to try to force North to get some sleep before the meeting with Mr. Blackbourne the next day. They would both need clear heads if they were going to talk about something they had tried to bury deep since coming to America. "Your brother is going towards the dessert table again."

North swore under his breath, watching as Luke dragged the one and only, Dr. Sean Green, along with him. Normally, he would storm over and scold his brother, but with the knowledge that he would be reopening an old wound soon, he only watched. It wasn't exactly fair to Luke, but once him and North got close, North became rather protective. He knew that Luke didn't understand, but of course he couldn't. He had never talked about Sang very much, and when he did, he never mentioned what had happened to her.

North just didn't want to lose another person he loved.

Nathan approached the pair of his more antisocial brothers, a scowl on his face. Silas had no doubt that yet another Academy girl had tried to hit on him, he had shook off their advances and fled over to them. Nathan stood on the opposite side of Silas, beginning to scan the party with him as well, on edge as always, like they had been trained to be.

"I think we're leaving soon," Nathan announced, crossing his arms over his chest. He was attempting to spot Kota, hoping that if he did, he could plead with him for them to leave already. There were plenty of Academy people that he enjoyed speaking to, but there was also a good amount that made him want to gouge his eyes out.

"I'll go ask Kota," North offered, detaching himself from the wall. Silas raised an eyebrow, silently questioning if he should come along, but North only shook his head.

He weaved his way through the party, partially glad that people took his scowl as a sign to stay away. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone other than his team that day, though he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but his team on most days. At the same moment he caught sight of his team lead, out of his peripheral vision he saw a flash of brilliant blonde hair and a heart stopping smile accompanied by a musical laugh.

He froze, his breath catching in his throat.

She couldn't be there.

Surely his brain was playing tricks on him.

He slowly turned, certain that if he moved too fast that she would disappear. His eyes trained on the back of a girl with sleek blonde hair with several colors streaked in, her dress a pale pink. He had only ever saw one girl with hair like that, hair that changed color in every new lighting she passed through.

He thought he was going to throw up.

Suddenly, he was no longer an eighteen year old at a party, but a nine year boy, running along the beach with a blonde haired girl. A girl he loved fiercely, as did Silas. She slid in the sand, and Silas caught her, that laugh drifting around them. The sound of their combined laughter echoed in his mind, and black dots swam before his vision. It couldn't be, she could not be there. 

"North?" Kota's voice washed over him, full of concern and some confusion. "North? What's wrong?" His voice drew North out of his memories, but the pain that memories provided still lingered, stabbing through his heart. 

North gripped Kota's arm, turning to look at him, a serious but desperate look passing over his face. "Get Silas. Now."

Kota's eyebrows shot up but he didn't question it, he merely nodded then crossed the room as fast as he could to go collect Silas. In a matter of moments, Silas was by North's side, a mixture of fear and worry present on his face. North's distress was rather clear, and he was still staring at the space that he had caught sight of the pretty Sang look a like. 

"What is it? North, what happened?" Silas rushed out in Greek, resting a hand on North's shoulder, his eyebrows furrowing together. He didn't know what was happening but he was sure that whatever it was couldn't be good. North was hard to knock off his feet, and the last time he had seen him this affected was when... Sang was kidnapped.

"She's here, Si," North choked out, his voice full of wonder and shock. "I saw her."

"Okay..." Silas said slowly, surprise hitting him. He wasn't sure if he could believe North at the moment. His mind had been so clouded with guilt and longing for her lately, that it was hard to distinguish if he had really saw her or if he had seen another beautiful blonde girl and decided that it must be their lost best friend. "Come on, North. Let's get out of here..."

He hated to drag North away from the part, especially after North was convinced that he had just saw their child hood best friend, the girl they loved. Silas wanted to stay as well and find her, question her, see if she was really who North thought, but he knew better. He wanted to approach her with a clear mind, and he thought it was best to go to Mr. Blackbourne about it firs and see if he knew anything. 

Reluctantly, him and North walked out of the party, both of them caught up in old memories.

Sang Sorenson hadn't intended for her first night back in America in almost eight months to be spent at a party. Yet, her good friend, Spencer Carmichael was rather persuasive when he wanted to be. Not wanting to spend the entirety of the night alone, fully aware that Spencer would leave her at some point to flirt, she dragged along her closest companions, Natalia Popov and Lex Coriand.

  The three girls were standing in the middle of the room, side by side, regarding everyone with warning looks. They were rather friendly they wanted to be but otherwise, they were cold and closed off, some more than others. Natalia stood so close to Sang their arms brushed against each other each time one of them breathed; it was only expected of her though, she was rather protective of the younger, smaller girl.

It was no wonder the girls were getting so many looks, though. They were all extremely beautiful in different ways. 

The tallest out of the group was Natalia, her body ribbon thin. Her skin was fair, but Sang's was much paler than her's. She had dark brown hair, nearly black that was pulled into a high ponytail at the moment, showing off her high cheek bones and piercing green eyes. When standing side by side, some could see a slight resemblance between their eyes and button noses.

Lex stood slightly behind Sang, looking over the shorter girls head. Platinum blonde hair that was quite obviously bleached to that color, hung in ringlets around her, her tan skin giving her an exotic look, as well as her dark eyes. She was curvier than the two girls before her, but she used her assets to her advantage. Her lips that were painted red were curved down in a scowl at the moment.

Sang was in between them, as always, the baby but also the leader, the one that needed to be protected most of the time. Her blonde hair shone underneath the lights, wavy and spilling around her shoulders and down her back. Her green eyes were accentuated by the dark eyeliner around it. Compared to the other two girls, she was rather petite. 

"There is not enough liquor that can make me stand some of these people," Lex said, her dark brown eyes shooting daggers into anyone that dared to look her way. When she spoke there was the slightest trace of a British accent, but that was the only way to identify her as anything else but American. "Where's Raven and Brandon? At least they're entertaining."

"You're not allowed around them unsupervised anymore after last time, remember?" Sang raised her eyebrows at her friend, sweeping her hair over her shoulder. Her accent was undoubtedly European but it was such a blend that only a trained ear would be able to nail which accents she carried heaviest. "If you're going to spend time with them, bring Spencer or Axel." Even though her words made it seem like she was paying attention, her voice was distant, as was the look in her eyes.

"не весело. (No fun)." Lex pouted at her best friend, who was mainly ignoring her. Sang was on edge, as she always was in large social settings. She expected her unofficial team leader to snap at her, but the more petite blonde was obviously caught up in her thoughts. Lex and Natalia exchanged looks, both wracked with concern. Ever since their last mission, Sang had becme more and more distant. "Natty, fix her."

Natalia gripped Sang's shoulders, a grin on her face. "Shortcake," Natalia purred, using the term that she knew Sang hated most, hoping to irritate her enough to draw a reaction from her. "What's going on in that little mind of yours, are you alright?"

Sang swatted her best friend's hands away, sending a glare. "Da. I'm fine, Nat."

Lex scoffed. "She's fine she says. Do you hear that, Nat? She's fine."

"Do you want me to break your fingers?" Sang asked in exasperation, turning to shoot her a friend a warning gaze. Lex flashed a dangerous grin, her eyes flashing with something similar to a warning as well. The girls would never hurt each other, but when they said things like that, it made it easy to flash back to their past, to remember what exactly that had all been put through together.

"Lex," Natalia said, her voice harder than what they were used to, her Russian accent thick with an unrecognizable emotion. "Leave us. I must talk to Sang about something."

Lex looked between the two, obviously displeased that she was being pushed out. They were supposed to be best friends, supposed to tell each other everything, but lately Natalia and Sang had gotten more secretive, more private. Lex hated it, considering they had been through hell and back together, but she didn't say anything. She understood that Sang had a stronger bond with Natalia; there was nothing she could do about it. And if leaving meant fixing Sang, then she would do it.

"Не подталкивай ее. (Don't push her.)" Lex warned, nearly snarling at her dark haired friend.

Natalia shoved Lex away, shooting her a glare. Natalia would never hurt Sang, and they all knew it, it was stupid of Lex to even suggest Natalia would push her into speaking of something she didn't want to. Once Lex was far away enough that she couldn't hear their conversation, Natalia rounded on her friend, gripping her shoulders again.

"Stop." She commanded, shaking Sang lightly, bringing her back down to Earth. "Stop it. Sang Sorenson-Kaylor, I will personally kick your ass. I promised you we would find them and bring them back to you. The mission we were on for the last six months that you almost lost your sanity to ensured us the favors we need for this. If you don't keep disappearing on me, I'm going to have to tell Lex and Dr. Roberts."

"Nat," Sang looked up, her bright green eyes glossed over with tears. "Do you ever miss your home?" The question was sudden, and took Natalia off guard.

Natalia's face softened at the mention of Russia, the place she had been raised, the place she had met Sang. "Yes, of course... My life is better here though. Why do you ask?"

"Those boys are home for me," Sang explained quietly, looking down at the floor. "Ever since I was taken that day, it's like I don't have a place to call my own anymore. It's terrible. I feel awful that I can't call you and Lex home, and while I feel safe with you, it's not the same."

Natalia scanned Sang's face, her mouth drawing down in a frown. "They really mean alot to you, da?"

"They mean everything to me, Natalia," Sang whispered, her fingers tracing over the tattoo on her wrist that was dedicated to said boys. "They were the only thing that got me through..." She was unable to finish her sentence, a ball of emotion forming in her throat.

Natalia's resolve hardened. She had known for the longest time about the boys and about how badly Sang wanted to find them. Lex was vaguely aware of the situation, but after everything Sang and Natalia had been through together, it was easier for them to open up to each other.

"Alright, mоя маленькая птичка (my little bird)," Natalia sighed, pulling Sang into her arms. "We will search for you boys as soon as you've rested up well. You have an appointment tomorrow at the Academy hospital. Once you have healed and rested, we will start our search." 

If it meant bringing Sang happiness, Natalia would move heaven and hell.

a/n: I just wanted to put this up because the prologue was really short and I don't know where the eff I'm going with this story. I have some ideas but we'll see, we shall see. 

Also, bonus points for anyone who can guess what Natalia is to Sang!!

xoxo,

ry.