And we have arrived at the ACTION! With some more backstory and some more mush, of course, to start us off and prepare us.

"With shortness of breath, I'll try to explain the infinite and how rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist."

— 'Saturn', Sleeping at Last.

——

Frank stifled a giggle as he peered around the corner in hopes of finding Gerard, but he only came across a massive floral arrangement situated behind the open door of what seemed to be a cavernous study. He slipped away and stood in the center of the hallway, his lips pulling into a grin.

"Come on, you know it's not fair making me look for you when you've proven yourself to be the master of hiding." Frank called out, knowing Gerard could hear him clearly at any volume no matter where he resided in the massive house. He tipped his head back, spinning in a slow circle as he studied the lighting fixtures as though Gerard would suddenly reappear in a moment of distraction, but he came up with a click of his tongue to find Gerard was still completely out of sight.

"I'm not nosing around all these rooms for you. That's just an invasion of privacy." Frank said on a softer note, his thumbs hooping through the belt loops of his jeans. He hoped Gerard's family— whatever little of it remained in the house— didn't mind their momentary game or Frank wandering up the steps to both search for Gerard and quietly admiring the building collection of antiques he suspected were fully authentic and collected through time. He searched respectfully, of course, leaving sealed bedroom doors shut and only venturing towards open spaces that seemed to lure him in. There was a part of him drawn to the beauty of the place, but he had a feeling he was painfully unaware of the significance of everything he stood in the presence of.

Just as Frank backpedalled and prepared to enter the study to peek at the overflowing book shelves that caught his eye, a pair of arms were curling around his waist and pulling him back towards a solid chest vibrating with silenced laughter. Frank shouted as he was lifted off his feet and swung in a circle, his heart hardly able to contain the way it burst to life from the surprise and glee of being carried with such ease.

"You're absolutely terrible at this game." Gerard's fond whisper was pressed into the nape of Frank's neck where his pulse thrummed as he set Frank back down onto his feet.

"You have the most unfair advantage, it's like you teleport or something." Frank retorted with a grin. He wriggled out from the circle of Gerard's arms to face him, backing up in the direction of the study. "I got a little distracted anyway."

"I'm unsurprised that my greatest competition is books, of all things." Gerard swept Frank's hand up into his own and guided him to the multiple shelves supporting the spines of books of all kinds. Frank peered closely at them, noticing they were meticulously organized in alphabetical order and by color. Frank could only pray to have as much patience as the person who managed to successfully complete their vision without losing their sanity. His collection of books consisted of no particular genre or author, finding his favorites tended to be the most random selections of whatever sounded intriguing to him in the moment. It seemed these bookshelves were a combination of favorite authors and genres as he recognized some of the names and titles, but others were foreign to him.

"I've never even heard of some of these before." Frank's index finger glided along the auburn spine of a book titled in a language he couldn't recognize right off the bat. "Who in your family collected all these? Or did everyone accumulate a bunch of books and put them in the same place?"

"They're mostly my father's valuable possessions, but we all pitched in with our favorites, too. My father speaks a handful of different tongues, which is why some of these may not be familiar to you." Gerard plucked out a teal book with a plain front cover, the title neatly plastered on in a language Frank more or less recognized as French. "I regret losing my passion for learning French in the midst of my lessons. It would be wonderful to be able to speak it now."

Frank's brows raised high. "Why did you lose your motivation?"

Gerard gently tucked the book back into its designated spot with a somber tilt of his mouth. "It was during Mikey's time away from us. Sometimes, I'd sink so deeply into the fear that he'd never come back and go into a peculiar state of mind. Almost dormant, I'd say."

Frank sympathized as he sensed a wave of coldness from the past washing up along the edges of Gerard's serene meadow. His hand reached between them to brush his finger's against Gerard's, linking their pinkies together in a gentle fold as a nonverbal reassurance. Gerard chuckled softly at the gesture, turning to graze his lips against Frank's temple. Although Frank reveled in every touch, he found his mind was distant, caught between curiosity for the past and unstoppable yearning for the present. Sometimes, the present couldn't resume without sweeping aside the past first.

Frank's lips parted around a question he heavily hesitated to ask for a long moment of silence before he raked up the nerve to let it go. "Gerard? Is it okay if I ask what exactly happened during Mikey's time away?"

A muscle is Gerard's jaw twitched, but no sign of discomfort or pain emitted from him. He released Frank's hand to step forward, pretending to be engrossed in the lettering of book titles as a distraction from reacting any differently.

"In regards to how Mikey spent his time away or how we coped without him?" Gerard assessed the question with quiet caution, feeling around the tender areas in preparation to prod old scars.

Frank licked over his lip ring and tugged, fiddling with it to ebb away the traces of regret stirring in him. He could never be fully sure what crossed a line, or where the line was. He tested boundaries with his inquiries and always prepared to step back if it was needed. Frank was part of Gerard's life, but he in no way was entitled to any piece of information.

"Both, if it's not too much to ask."

"I don't think Gerard would share a narrative nearly as entertaining as mine." A voice from the entry to the study tore Frank's apprehensive eyes from Gerard. They landed on Mikey who stood with the beginnings of a smirk bringing fire behind Frank's skin. He was only used to being near one vampire, at times forgetting every member of the household possessed hearing abilities of such power that it was inevitable Frank's conversation with Gerard would be overhead even if he spoke in a soft voice.

"I don't mean to pry," Frank clarified, stammering out the words. "I just— I got curious. There's a lot I don't know about yet, and if I'm gonna stick around, then . . ." Frank trailed off, suddenly feeling dumb as he stood there speechless.

"You aren't prying. I'd be inclined to know more about myself too from an outsider's perspective. But you're not just an outsider anymore." Mikey carefully passed the threshold, eyes darting between Frank and Gerard as the remnants of his smile dissipated. His demeanor transformed into one asking if his appearance was regarded as safe. Frank believed there could be no harm in simply speaking to each other, but he couldn't be quickly reassured that Gerard felt the same.

Luckily, Gerard remained perfectly calm, perhaps a bit surprised by Mikey's initiation. "I didn't think you'd be interested in sharing."

Relaxation spread across Mikey's form apart from the vigilant way he held himself. Frank could tell he avoided habitually breathing to avoid inhaling Frank's scent. Being mildly self conscious about his blood would never cease being an odd feeling. Blood was never a vital part of himself he thought about much unless medical care and his nearly fatal uncoordinated ways came into play.

"It's only fair since I know so much about Frank despite barely meeting him officially today." Mikey's eyes carried over to Frank and observed him curiously. "We're a lot alike. Some of our senses are on the same wavelength, so I've heard."

"Right," Frank was stricken as he remembered, easily excitable. "We feel things others can't. But your talent is way more intense than mine, isn't it?"

"I can persuade emotions and sense them in multiple people at once. I can calm down an entire room of people, I know this because I've done it hundreds of times." Mikey's smug lifting of the corner of his mouth resembled Gerard so stunningly that it made Frank go through a brief stage of whiplash.

"Might've benefitted Alicia today." Gerard grumbled.

"Alicia's her own entity. Not a vampire nor human, just spite and resentment personified." Mikey swiftly blurred through the room and appeared on the lounging chair angled near the window between two sets of bookcases.

Frank webbed his fingers together, twiddling his thumbs. "I can't— I can't really pin specific emotions unless they're significantly strong. And I definitely can't change anyone's mood. Is this something you can build on with practice?"

Mikey seemed regretful as he said, "Sorry, but the only reason I'm like this is because I'm no longer human. Vampirism sharpens everything by a dozen. I guess my gift's always been there to some extent, it was more of a strange connection to people than anything. I'm surprised you can feel things to the degree you do as a human."

Frank tasted disappointment, but he wouldn't deny he reveled in knowing his particular sense was still extraordinary, all things considered. Frank withheld a smile as his gaze fell down to his sneakers on the polished wood floors he felt guilty stepping upon in case he caused a scuff or small scratch to appear. It seemed likely to happen, knowing his luck.

"Frank's always stood out from the rest." The softness in Gerard's voice couldn't compare to all the tenderness in the world, making Frank's chest give a tight clench of longing even as he stood within reach.

Mikey had the most peculiar reaction to the both of them. While most siblings would roll their eyes and retreat to avoid witnessing sparking romance their family member encountered, he gazed directly into it with thoughtful eyes, the faintest upward curve of his mouth that almost felt like an illusion if it was looked at for too long. Frank wondered if he sensed the unconditional fondness. If his devotion was so easily known, Frank wished there was a way for Mikey to collect it and allow Gerard to bathe in the extraction taken directly from Frank's heart. Perhaps someday, if Frank was set apart from humanity by even a fraction, he could take upon his own abilities and do exactly what he wished for.

"You wanted to know what my story is, right?" Mikey raised an eyebrow, resting his cheek onto his folded fist.

Frank glanced around the room. He went to settle on the desk chair, but before he could reach it, Gerard swiftly seated himself and reeled his arms around his waist to pull him down onto the open space in his lap. Roses unfurled in Frank's cheeks, wondering if this visual of closeness was too much, but Mikey's expression hadn't changed. Frank settled into comfortability as well as preparation for Mikey's story.

"So you know I vanished for fifty years after my transformation," Mikey said it as more of a statement of fact instead of a question, continuing his flow through Frank's confirmative nod. "I don't want to leave the impression I did it to be cruel. I love my family, but there was anger in me that needed to be resolved somehow. And I'm not proud of what I did. I'll always regret those fifty years I strayed from the right path."

Frank admired the way he spoke with dignity despite his shame over a particular moment in his past. He stood in the pride of his present instead of dwelling on who he no longer was.

"Our family has very different feeding methods. We try to blend in with civilization instead of becoming so estranged, and honestly, I think it's much more beneficial trying to keep in touch with our roots instead of living in our own bubble. It's claustrophobic hiding in the shadows, never seeing the way the world changes."

"Is that why you go to school and work?" Frank couldn't resist interjecting with a question.

"It's a perfect way to get situated in the present. High school, especially, is where the heart of this current generation lies. Kids have the most major influence on times." Mikey cringed faintly. "It's a little hard to adjust sometimes. Maybe that's just the old man in me."

"You dare speak negatively about your age in the presence of your brother who's older than you?" Gerard's voice took on offense, but as Frank peered down at him, a humorous curve of his mouth took away from it. Mikey answered with a brief snicker, crossing his legs in his seat and sinking further into it.

"It's not like you're so much older. Numbers don't mean a damn thing anymore. We're just sentient beings beyond age and time." Mikey's eyes casted down to his crossed ankles, the humor draining from his smirk which wilted at the edges. "Sorry for digressing a little. Anyway. . . I follow my family's lifestyle choice, but I haven't always."

Frank sucked down the welling gasp habitually coming up. Swallowing it down roughly, Frank's lips parted in preparation to speak before anything spilled out of him, until eventually, he said, "Gerard says all vampires have tasted human blood at least once."

Mikey's eyes raised up and connected with Frank's, glowing murky green and a splash of hazelnut brown splitting into part of one intriguing iris. "I've tasted it more than once. It was all I consumed for those fifty years. To a savage degree. Call it rebellion, which was idiotic on my part. I really thought that no diet of animal blood could change the fact that my soul was already sold off and long gone, so I saw no use in suffering trying to control my urges."

Frank's stomach flipped. Intrusive thoughts instinctively flitted through his mind's film, lifeless bodies ashen and limp laying on bloodied grounds as a dark figure loomed over them, crimson eyes cutting through the pitch of night's shadows. Frank couldn't picture Mikey's face emerging from the darkness in a feral state, he couldn't even imagine such a tranquil person harboring the urge to kill, let alone slaughter hundreds to subdue a relentless hunger. Struggles aside, Mikey didn't seem capable of it, but he had been, and Frank decided that was a version of him he didn't know and never would.

"It was also a way to make my parents pay for their decision. I wanted them to know that I was only ever what they made me." Mikey ruefully grimaced. "I was never as graceful as Gerard when it came to forgiveness."

"We both struggled." Gerard insisted as a source of comfort. Its intended effect helped soften the building look of shame dusting over Mikey's eyes. Frank felt Gerard's hand gently squeeze his waist— checking in to assure Frank was absorbing everything in time and not drowning in overwhelming confessions. Frank shot a small and fleeting smile down at Gerard and gave the same to Mikey.

"Yes, we both did." Mikey sighed. "I took off from my family's side after much consideration. I didn't know where I was going or what I would make of myself. All I clearly remember in those moments were being bombarded by the strongest sense of freedom, and unlimited freedom is a dangerous thing for a reckless vampire to have. During my tour of the world, I got tangled up with a group of nomadic vampires. They lived a similar life to mine and tended to be very picky with who they allowed to run with them, I suppose my power and my newness was intriguing to them, so they took me in.

"Running with them felt like reigning over the entire world. We thrived off of blood, stolen riches, driving vampires out of their territory for the fun of it. No one could ever catch us because we never stayed in one place.  We were completely unstoppable in our way of living and I started to believe I'd never come back to my family from how hooked I was on the rush. Once a vampire has a taste of power, it's addictive. One day, we had a nasty collision with a large clan just off the west coast. We tried driving them off their land to claim their prey, but they were powerful, just as I was. Every member had an advantage of some kind that left us totally helpless against them. It was fucking stupid to even think we could chase them off— my clan knew it. The cowards threw me under the bus and claimed it was my plan to overthrow the clan and take over their city. Had it not been for my ability to control emotions, I would've been ripped apart first while the others escaped."

Frank's jaw had opened at some point, and only when he gasped quietly did he realize his mouth was hanging open dumbly. He pressed his lips together and nodded eagerly for Mikey to keep on, not wanting to cut into the moment with his own thoughts just yet.

"When we were off the hook, I confronted my clan. They said they panicked and figured it was necessary since I was the only one with any power out of all of them, but knowing how they were, it was just a lie to get me to lay off of them. It was like a violent shake back into reality. I was seeing through the rush for the first time and realizing the people I'd grown so close to, people I thought were my new family didn't care for me in the same way. The surge of emotion I'd mistaken as love was the joy they got from our adventures, all circling back to their addiction. It was the first time I thought about my real family in so long. No matter how angry I was, I was loved unconditionally. Even during the moment right before I abandoned them."

Frank dared to look up from his fidgeting fingers and drew away from the film strip of orchestrated visuals playing behind his eyes to glance at Gerard, half expecting to see him soaked in a vintage filter until his own mind's clarity returned him to the present. Gerard's eyes were unfocused and firmly situated on one of the bookshelves, sucked into the whirlpool of memories in Mikey's mind he watched. Frank wished he had the same ability instead of leaving most of it to his imagination.

"I took off on my own for a while to think." Mikey leaned forward in his chair, resting both elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "I knew I no longer belonged with the nomads. Yet I was too ashamed to go back home, to my real home. I was terrified that I wouldn't be welcomed and they'd all resent me for leaving them. I wandered as far away from the last place I saw the nomads, barely stopping to feed, and that was when I found Kristin in a park late at night."

Frank looked up in quiet surprise. "That's how you met her?"

Mikey smiled and it was molten with affection for the aforementioned girl. "She told me she was waiting for me all day. She saw herself being taken in by my family, but the only thing preventing her from going to them right away was me. I was the key to her finding them, but at the moment, she failed to tell me she'd been having visions of the other kind of role I would play in her future,  her inevitable lover— most likely not to scare me off. I was extremely skeptical at first, even defensive, but she gave me plenty of reasons and evidence to believe her. It felt like a blessing in disguise, taking the form of a woman I'd never seen before in my life, and I couldn't deny I was immediately drawn to her." 

"She saw you two being together before you even met her," Frank breathed out a chuckle, "Kind of like how she saw my future with Gerard just days after we met?"

"Exactly." Mikey's lips pulling up in a knowing smile. "Just like you and my brother, it took some time for her and I to connect. It wasn't that we clashed— I'd closed myself off to most emotions to live the type of lifestyle I did for that phase in my life." 

"Having Alicia around was confusing enough." Gerard grumbled, resulting in Frank digging his elbow into his side to rebuke him. 

"You told Frank about that?" Mikey didn't sound upset, only perturbed by the delicate matter being raised to the discussion. 

"I shared her reasons for her resentment to reassure him a bit." Gerard drew Frank closer despite just having the point of his elbow grinding into him. "It would become obvious at one point or another." 

"I'm sure you've never met a makeshift family with so much dirty laundry," Mikey smirked. "Unless your family is the type to throw plates at each other's heads, only then would it compete with mine." 

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're as boring as can be. Save for a civil divorce and . . . a slightly eccentric step-mother." Frank sheepishly ducked his head and tried not think about how distant his father became since they no longer lived together. "We're not getting too into that. Gerard already cracked my mind open about it once." 

"As much as I could, given the circumstances." Gerard's lips hovered so near to Frank's cheek that the brush of his air against his skin was electric. Frank turned his burning face away and pretended he hadn't heard Gerard chuckling at the sound of his palpitating heart. 

"Do you think you're closed off to every vampire's powers?" Mikey inquired. 

"Um, I don't know. I haven't exactly met very many in my life, not that I'd know of aside from you guys."

"I would have tested it out myself, but I wanted to ask you permission before trying to shift your emotions." 

Tingles of nervousness fanned out underneath the skin at the back of Frank's neck. It was a harmless persuasion of the mind, and it wasn't as though Mikey would manipulate his emotions to make him experience anything so unpleasant, but Frank wasn't certain if it would be overwhelming despite everything. Some part of him was tempted, a piece of him that ultimately brought him to consenting to a test trial. 

"Go ahead." Frank gulped underneath his attempt to keep a nonchalant face. Gerard's hand calmingly rested on his hip, a perfect anchor for Frank to stay wrapped around.

Mikey's eyes intently focused on Frank. As silence fell over them in a dramatic veil, Frank could hear the reckless sound of his blood rushing quicker from the anticipation for the drastic change between shifting emotions. He waited, a handful of seconds ticking by, then two handfuls— nothing came over him. 

Stunned, Mikey leaned back, huffing in amazement. "That's so odd. I can feel your emotions, but I can't persuade them." 

"At least you can get anything from him. I'd say you understand my frustrations clearly now, but you only know the half of it." Gerard gazed at Frank as though he were viewing him for the first time all over again, besotted by all of his curiosities. 

Frank stammered. "I really don't know why nothing works on me. I'm not trying to block anyone out, I wouldn't know how. Have any of you ever experienced this in someone before?" 

"Not since . . ." Mikey drifted into his memories, until something apparently struck him, his brows creasing. Gerard went rigid, the tension pulled as tight as a violin string. "Hmm. Actually, what's your family lineage like?" 

"Mikey." Gerard said in warning. Frank shot him a puzzled look he didn't entertain or acknowledge at all, but it only opened a new door of curiosity. 

"C'mon, it can't be so harmful to—"

"Yes, it can be, and I'd prefer to not even insinuate the possibility of it." Gerard gnashed his teeth together. Sparks of surprise ignited in Frank capturing the burning light beyond his eyes refusing to directly connect with anyone's gaze. Frank assumed it wasn't anything good, but if it involved himself or a possible clue to the reason behind his unbreakable mind, he felt inclined to learn about it. 

Before anyone could move further into the subject, Kristin cheerily appeared in the doorway, her knuckles rapping against the frame. "I've come to deliver a message." 

Frank faltered. He shot a glance over to Mikey, momentarily settled by the subtle nod of his head promising they'd delve into the topic another time, even if it seemed to aggravate Gerard. He remained pulled into a permanently tense posture Frank could hardly soothe even as he guided his fingers towards Gerard's, the tips grazing calmingly against the soft skin at the back of his hand. Gerard sighed softly, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes. Frank frowned.

"What news does the messenger owl bring today?" Mikey jested lightly. 

"A storm is headed our way. It's a dry thunderstorm, so you know what that means." Kristin bounced excitedly on her heels. 

Mikey grinned. "Baseball." 

Frank looked between them, baffled. "Vampires play baseball?" 

"It  doesn't kill us to have a little fun from time to time." Kristin took no offense. Sauntering into the room, she held her hands out for Mikey to take, lifting him to his feet. "You should join us, Frank, I think you'd enjoy it. You're definitely in for something you've never seen before." 

Frank chuckled, fiddling nervously with his lip ring. "Um. I'm not really good at sports. Actually, I really fuckin' suck at them, you'd probably get frustrated with me." 

"You can just watch. It wouldn't be fair to ask you to play anyway, these guys cheat." Kristin pouted. 

"It's not cheating if we're just faster than the rest of you. And one of us happens to have telepathy." Gerard dusted off the collection of budding icicles building at the tips of his aura and convinced himself to pay attention to the better things at hand— but Frank hoped he wouldn't so quickly assume he was brushing off the subject. Frank was nothing if not persistent, Gerard should've known that by then. 

"I can see all of your movements the second you decide on them, but you don't see me using that to my advantage. Anyway, all that aside— it would be really nice if you could join us, Frank. Donald likes to call it more of a bonding exercise than a sport." 

Frank contemplatively chewed his lip. "As long as I don't have to play, then it sounds like fun. But we need to get through one obstacle first." 

Everyone turned to him curiously. Frank suppressed a grin, turning to meet Gerard's eyes. 

"We have to tell my mother why I'm gonna be spending more time with you and your family." 

"A challenge I'm willing to accept." Gerard coaxed Frank to his feet and lithely rose out of his seat, his chilled hand wrapping around Frank's and soaking in his warmth instantaneously. "Let's complete your tour of the house before we enter the dragon's lair, shall we?" 

The two of them whisked out of the study after bidding a temporary goodbye to Kristin and Mikey who lingered in the room. Gerard guided Frank down the stretch of the vast hallway until they approached a sealed room with a bare door and a smooth handle Gerard's hand rested upon as he turned towards Frank with a faint smile tilting his lips. "This is my room." 

The door opened and revealed a bright open space that exuded the sweet scent burrowed in Gerard's skin, leaving Frank momentarily dazed as it struck him unexpectedly. Once he cleared away the faint dizziness swirling through his head, Frank's eyes wandered across the large room, moving across a large television unit serving as a partial bookcase framing around a flat screen he doubted Gerard used so often, perhaps the look of it brought him to the normalcy of the world's current state. The shelves were occupied by less books and more knick knacks including a record player in pristine condition just above a short supply of scented candles. The floor was mostly covered in a lush gray carpet with a faint blue tinge, leading Frank's curious gaze to a charcoal colored sofa and a series of film posters pinned onto the walls— aged classics, some Frank knew Gerard held an interest in and some he hadn't, dark frames illuminated by the warmth of a lamp nestled between the armrest and a side table set with a pile of textbooks from their school and scattered pens. The lighting fixtures were built into the high ceiling and one of the walls had been completely replaced with polished glass not holding so much as a speck of dust. It looked out towards the endless stretch of evergreen beyond the house, fog clinging to the corners. 

One thing that went missing caught Frank's intrigue the most. "I know you don't sleep, but you really don't own a bed?" 

"If I'd like to laze about, the sofa's enough. A bed takes up unnecessary space." Gerard shrugged. 

Frank chuckled, but the sound was cut off as he wandered past the television unit and came across a massive shelf filled with a variety of what must've been hundreds of records and CDs. Awestruck, Frank's wide eyes couldn't tear away from the never-ending stretch of music. "You mean it leaves more space for this massive music collection." 

"I think anyone would become a collector of at least one thing if they lived as long as I have." Gerard appeared at Frank's side with a look of pride. Frank expected for someone to be so content with their own collection. He was blown away, especially as he spotted over a handful of special editions and relics. 

"This is the stuff people sell for hundreds of bucks. They don't even make some of these presses anymore, do you frequently have to make sure people don't try to rob you?" Frank crouched down to view the last shelf, tilting his head to the side as he gingerly swept his finger across the lineup of thin vinyl sleeves.  

"They'd have to know about it first to be tempted to rob me. Besides, it's not wise to break into a vampire's house." 

"You wouldn't hurt a fly." Frank smiled warmly and rose back into an upright position. "You have the best music taste. I almost feel insecure about mine, I thought I had a large range." 

"Here's your opportunity to broaden it." Gerard's hand knocked gently into Frank's, eliciting a rush of tingles running along the length of his arm. "And an excuse for you to visit again." 

Frank's pinky hesitantly reached out, brushing Gerard's, and slowly curled around it in a loose hold. "As if anything could keep me away." 

Gerard moved his hand away, momentarily surprising Frank, but he only released its hold to move behind Frank and curl an arm around his waist to pull his back against his chest in an adoring embrace. Frank mustered all the strength within himself not to shut his eyes and sink completely into him in hopes of their bodies melding together in an elegant and unlikely fusion. 

With lips grazing Frank's ear, Gerard whispered, "I hope your mother approves of me. I want as little obstacles as possible between us." 

"Now you know exactly how I felt. Really, I don't see a reason why she wouldn't adore you. She's already rooting for us, remember? She's a little familiar with you anyway because she knows your mom." Frank's fingers brushed over Gerard's arm. Being so close to him, Frank noted the absence of a heartbeat, but he was warmed over by the ripple of a light shiver in response to his touch. Frank withheld a smile and let himself rest in Gerard's arms the way he so craved. 

"I'll check in with Kristin just in case. See what the future holds." 

"You don't need a vision to know she'll love you. I don't know how everyone in the entire world isn't head over heels for you." 

"Like you?" Gerard spun Frank around in his arms. 

"Shut up." Frank snickered, not resisting the urge to stretch up on the tips of his toes to rest his forehead against Gerard's. They remained that way for a short moment, smiles overtaking their faces, until Gerard parted from him to start up his record player that already had a vinyl resting on the turntable. After a few seconds of hushed static, the sound of soft jazz music filtered into the room, followed by the smooth croon of a woman's voice telling of her experience with falling in love upon a city bridge. It rang out with a strange familiarity Frank couldn't tell where he'd heard the sound before, but the warmth blooming in chest came with a combination of fluttering butterflies from the inside engulfing him steadily, perfect increments of bliss as he felt Gerard's eyes resting on him from the short distance between them. 

"That sounds nice." Frank murmured softly as not to disrupt the soothing music. It worked as a tether between them, drawing their bodies together with fluidity where it barely felt like their feet touched the floor during their approach. Frank felt breathless as Gerard gazed at him with as much endearment as the music held, as if he were the singer and Frank was an enamored heart's desire inspiring honeyed lyrics laid over soft piano. A pair of arms held him close, treating him as a work of fragile art, and Frank fell into Gerard's embrace without question. 

At least, not until they began to sway at a rhythm and Frank stumbled. "Gerard, I can't— I can't dance. I'm the worst at it." He nervously released a puff of laughter and clutched both of Gerard's upper arms, feeling like he'd fall over at some point.

"I'm not asking you to waltz, Frank. I know better than to ask the one with two left feet to do that." Gerard chuckled softly. Instead of moving them in such a coordinated way, he drew Frank against him until his head rested against Gerard's chest, moving them in a slow circle. "Can I just hold you like this for a while?" 

Frank's hands shakily slipped up to Gerard's shoulders, fingers bunching into the fabric of his shirt as he took a breath. He relaxed his body and yielded to Gerard's hold, eyes slipping shut, finding he needed Gerard now more than ever. Just like that, in a slow-dancing trance where time slowed all around them. "Please." 

Gerard's hands resting at Frank's waist tightened their hold for a fleeting second before his arms completely encircled him with the promise of not letting go until Frank was ready to part from him. Frank felt he would never be ready. They fell into their slow orbit, fading out from the world and burning like two merging stars until the record long came to a staticky end and reality was a distant memory resting apart from their makeshift universe.

—

When they found the will to part and tackle the final obstacle in their path, Gerard drove them home with a bit of anxiousness hardening his features that were otherwise still softened from the pleasantness of their togetherness throughout a majority of the day. Frank smiled when they settled in front of his home and looked to Gerard. "Now it's your turn. Luckily for you, I gave her a head's up, so she's expecting you." 

Gerard tackled his own nerves and completely shed them as he thought of something witty to respond with, a smirk forming on his perfect mouth. "If she's anything like you, it won't be difficult to woo her." 

"I cannot believe you just said that to me." Frank groaned. Undoing his seatbelt, he shook his head and repressed a grin threatening to overtake his face. "Don't be so smug. C'mon, let's go before she dies of anticipation." 

The two hiked up the path leading to the front door and Frank made it a goal not to fumble with the key in the lock as he so often did, grateful that the door opened with ease and he wouldn't need to apologize rattling the doorknob and red in the face. 

"Mom?" Frank called out once they were inside.

"Hi!" Frank's mother popped out into the foyer instantly, catching Frank off guard until he remembered she must've been eagerly waiting nearby the second she heard the rumble of the car engine outside. 

"Hey. Uh,"  Frank suddenly wasn't sure how to introduce two people, flushing all the way to his hairline as he glanced between them. "Mom, this is Gerard, you kinda know him." 

"Yes, Dr. Way's son. She's told me a lot of amazing things about you, I've also heard a thing or two from Frank." Linda pleasantly affirmed while simultaneously making Frank's eyes widen at the last part.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Iero. I've been looking forward to formally introducing myself."  Gerard put on a show with his dazzling grin and polite tone, outstretching a respectful hand towards her in greeting. Linda seemed surprised as she accepted the handshake, and if she noticed the coldness of his hand, she must've figured it was due to the low temperatures outside. "I hope you don't mind that I've been taking up more of Frank's time lately." 

"Oh, not at all, I'm really glad that he has—" Linda's eyes flickered between them so suggestively she might as well have winked at Frank. He stifled a wince. "—such a good friend out here." 

Frank found the perfect opening to share the news. Fiddling with his lip ring, Frank cleared his throat softly, catching and holding her gaze with a meaningful look. "Actually, I wanted to tell you. He's my boyfriend." 

Linda lit up with an excited look that indicated she'd expected that much, but she feigned her surprise. Frank mashed his lips into a thin line to keep from bursting out with laughter. "Oh! Oh my gosh, I— this just happened today?" 

"Well, it kind of happened yesterday, but I— I just wasn't prepared to tell you yet. I wanted Gerard to be there when I told you." Frank said with a note of guilt, a nervous chuckle fluttering out.

Gerard fixed Linda with an earnest look. "I care about Frank so much and I promise to take care of him, Ms. Iero. He's absolutely wonderful, it seems becoming aquatinted with him comes with an instinct to cherish him." 

A small moment of silence fell after Gerard's words that rolled of his tongue like poetry. They hadn't been practiced, judging from the tinge of nerves that settled in towards the end as he worried if he'd spoken too deeply for a time that was spent barely breaking the news to Frank's mother. But there was no harm in emotion— if anything, knowing Gerard was completely sincere in his feelings for Frank would soothe Linda if she held any doubts. In the meantime, Frank felt himself melting all over again, a blush burning deep in his cheeks. 

"Wow," Linda breathed, at a loss for words until she found the correct thing to say. "I have no doubts you'll take care of him, Gerard. I'm happy for the both of you, I saw this coming just around the corner the second Frank told me he thinks you're—" 

"Mom." Frank said pleadingly. 

Linda rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I'm sure he knows by now." 

"I was looking to ask for your permission to take Frank out again tonight. My family and I are planning on playing a game of baseball out in the field near my house, we've invited Frank to come along with us." Gerard smiled benevolently. 

Dubious, Linda lifted an eyebrow at her son. "You're playing baseball?" 

"I'm just watching them play." Frank scrambled. He didn't sound so convincing now that he realized it sounded like an excuse to allow him to slip away with Gerard again for the evening, but his mother would know the difference between him getting flustered and him making up lies. 

Linda studied Frank with a slight narrowing of her eyes until she decided he was being completely honest. She relaxed, a smile forming. "Okay, well if Frank is looking forward to it and as long as you don't bring him home too late, I'm perfectly fine with it." 

Gerard grinned, a piercingly beautiful image that would cause anyone to disintegrate at the sight of it. "Thank you, Mrs. Iero. I'll bring him back at an appropriate time, no worries." 

Turning to Frank, Gerard gently took his hand. "Perhaps we should get going now. I hate to leave so soon, but my family likes starting early." 

"You'll have to come back for dinner one of these days!" Linda proposed enthusiastically. She'd been successfully charmed.  

"That would be lovely. Perhaps we can arrange something soon?" Gerard beamed at her acceptance of him. 

"I'll coordinate it, since I'll most likely be the one doing the cooking." Frank chuckled. He started moving towards the door, waving at Linda with the hand that wasn't folded around Gerard's. "We'll see you later, mom." 

"Be safe, okay?" 

"No problem. I have twenty bucks tucked in my copy of Dorian Gray on my dresser, get yourself some takeout." Frank said over his shoulder, giving one last goodbye before the door shut and him and Gerard made their way back into the car. Frank turned up the heater, warming his hands in front of the vents to chase out the cold that had built inside during their brief time away.

"How did I do?" Gerard dared to appear worried even though he'd had the advantage of reading Linda much better than Frank ever could with his telepathy skills. Frank came to the realization that Gerard sought out his approval over the interaction. 

"I think she's in love with you too now." Frank grinned. 

Gerard eased up in the driver's seat. His relaxed smirk took over, his hands resting over the steering wheel. "As I said, it was incredibly simple winning her over."

"Don't get too cocky, alright?" Frank pulled one hand away from the heater vent to playfully swat the side of Gerard's arm. "Now we have to figure out how the hell we're gonna have you over for dinner if you can't eat human food." 

"That's a foul experience I'm ready to take on if it means I won't raise suspicion. I'd hate to have to blow your mother off a dozen times, too." Gerard pulled the car into drive and parted from the curb to ease onto the road. "Are you ready for some vampire baseball?" 

Frank settled into the seats and drew the hood of his jacket over his head. "Ready as ever." 

Just before they approached the place where the game would be set, they arrived back at the Way's house for Gerard to grab his lucky baseball cap and to switch his sleek silver car out for a massive off-roading Jeep that had Frank gawking in disbelief. Gerard lifted him up into the seat like a toddler, resulting in Frank's flailing legs and shocked laughter bouncing off the walls of the outside of the house. Once he was settled in, Gerard soothed him with a soft kiss to his forehead, resting one of his caps atop of his head and disappearing in a flash. He reappeared in the driver's seat in the matter of a second. 

The field the Ways were hosting their game in was far beyond civilization and buried deep within the woods, surpassing the thickest of the green and seeping into an eventual clearing. It wasn't as stunning as the meadow Gerard guided Frank to, but it held its charm with an large expanse of lush grass and the sporadic blooming of tiny white flowers imbedded between the blades of grass, a ring of mossy boulders surrounding the field. The sharp scent of rain lingered in the air from the dew collected on the damp ground, but the sound of thunder clapping under the thickly knitted sheet of clouds above told of a storm different from the rush of everlasting water. 

As everyone gathered out on the field, Frank watched with amusement as Mikey flashed across the field, carrying back medium sized rocks to place them on the ground as makeshift bases creating a diamond across the grass. 

"Do you play often?" Frank asked. 

"Only when thunder is guaranteed. You'll see why. It won't be as fun if I tell you beforehand." Gerard's grin with alight with excitement Frank hadn't witnessed in him before, but he decided he wished to see more of it in the future. It left Frank wishing he wasn't so terrible at sports so he'd be able to partake in them. It only took a moment of remembering his aversion to them for the desire to fall apart. Well, that hadn't taken long.

Frank watched Donald toss a striped baseball bat into Mikey's waiting hand and when he went to check on the others, his eyes landed on Alicia murmuring to Kristin off to the side. Part of his smile wavered. 

Donna caught onto the way his face fell while she approached him and Gerard. She rested a reassuring hand on his arm, shaking her head. "Alicia's promised to play nice. She won't be snapping at you anymore, I'm terribly sorry for her behavior earlier." 

Frank pretended to be put at ease by her words so she wouldn't grow concerned. His unconfident eyes continued to flicker over to Alicia, his stomach resting heavily at the darkness her bitterness exuded. It was such a shame when he sensed so much potential laying beneath it. "No worries. I understand her reasons for exploding, I guess."

"She'll keep her distance. She's only here to play, not to start anything." Gerard reassured with a final tone, slightly distant as he listened to the frequency of her thoughts— more than likely digging into her brain to be able to provide a promise that wouldn't be broken. Frank decided to trust in the clear certainty Gerard spoke with and sighed to alleviate himself of the brewing tension that had began to take over, mustering a smile returning the kind one Donna offered him. 

Donald called Gerard over. Before he took off, he turned to Frank, brushing a gentle touch underneath his chin. "You'll be my cheerleader, won't you?" A teasing glint in his eyes radiated in the curve of his irresistible smirk Frank felt his blood rush quicker at to know it was all for him. 

"Sorry I didn't bring pom-poms, but yes. Just know I can't do backflips or cartwheels, I'll end up concussing myself if I try that." 

Gerard parted from him with a gleeful laugh automatically pulling a wider smile from Frank. He sped off towards his father and the rest of the Ways gathered to organize the game while Donna stayed behind. 

"You don't wanna play?" Frank asked her curiously. 

"Someone has to work as a catcher. They organize the game, but I call the shots." Donna winked. Something within her smile was similar to Gerard's and Mikey's, perhaps the warmth behind it or the similar crooked curl was just a signature thing in the family. 

"I'll help you keep an eye out in case anyone cheats. Kristin claims they do." Frank retreated to the tip of the field's manmade diamond formation as everyone began spreading out to take their places in preparation of the beginning. 

"Kristin cheats, too— it's impossible not to when she can see the future, which makes her and Gerard quite an interesting pair when it comes to playing against each other." Donna chuckled. "One day, you'll have to witness a chess match between them. They're constantly using their powers to decide their next move, it's comical because they hardly move the whole time." 

Frank envisioned an impossible game of chest between the two and he stowed away a personal reminder to mention it to Gerard later in hopes of getting to witness it for himself. As him and Donna settled, Frank's eyes searched for the pitcher. Kristin stood with the baseball held firmly in her hand, her eyes narrowing in concentration as the batter, Gerard, shifted into position with Donna crouched behind him, baseball mitt in hand. 

With astounding grace, Kristin's moved fluidly as a stream of glistening water as she hurled the ball in a single flawless motion sending the ball flying in a pale blur moving impossibly fast. For the brief moment it split through the air with a high-pitched whistle, Frank worried Gerard wouldn't be able to move quickly enough to hit it, but he should've known better than to underestimate a vampire. Gerard struck the ball with ease and at the same level of speed, a movement so precise that Frank nearly missed it, sending the baseball hurdling deep into the green. The sound of the impact sent out a thunderous boom echoing through the field and traveling over the treetops, mingling with a round of rumbling thunder. The two sounds were nearly impossible to differentiate. 

Realizing, Frank breathed, "That's why you need thunder." 

Donna looked over her shoulder with a grin. "There's a reason why vampire baseball isn't quite the same as the human type." 

The second Gerard swung the bat into the approaching baseball, he sprinted across the bases in a blurry streak as Mikey took off in the direction of the ball. Frank bet Mikey would be able to capture the ball before Gerard was able to make a homerun with the speed he raced at, but he found his assumption was incorrect as Gerard managed to touch all four bases thrice before Mikey reemerged with the ball in hand, grinning in spite of the swear word he vocalized to find he'd been bested. 

"Gerard's the fastest out of all of us." Donna commented on Frank's amazement. "We try to outrun him, but it's nearly impossible." 

"Kinda unfair that he can read your minds and beat you all in a race, isn't it?" 

"It's infuriatingly unfair." Mikey called out from across the field. Frank's hot second of surprise melted off instantly— he enjoyed the fact that he was slowly becoming accustomed to vampire abilities. 

The game continued in a blindingly quick progression that Frank was dizzied by as he attempted to keep up, cursing the way he felt sluggish in comparison to a vampire's rapidity, but all in all, he found himself thoroughly entertained by the matches switching off between players. He found small telltale signs of the aforementioned cheating when Kristin smiled smugly to herself before letting the ball fly only for Gerard to switch up the game and ruin her prediction. Kristin only kept her knowledge of the game's future events when any of the others went up to bat, often finding herself sighing whenever Alicia stepped up with her fierce batting technique and almost aggressive determination to get in her share of homeruns.

 Each time the bat struck an incoming baseball, the sound of it echoed out and extended towards the sunless sky in a matter that held the power to shake the clouds themselves, a resonation vibrating underneath Frank's feet. He felt it reach his very core as he watched from the sidelines, captivated by the art of their methods of gameplay, suddenly coming to the realization of how astonishing the new world he became part of truly was. Frank never expected to become involved in such a space where everything beyond his imagination took place, where he found himself in infinite awe the more he discovered. It eradicated any traces of fear he initially felt during the first moment he knew things were bound to absorb him, embracing him in unknown shadows. Fascination accompanied him as he fell in love with not only Gerard, but vampires as a whole.

Halfway through the game, Frank crouched down in the same position Donna had been in to temporarily take her place. The batter, Donald, missed the ball on purpose for Frank to get his first feel of the impact of the ball landing in his protected hand. He felt it radiate through his entire body, an exhilarating landing he was nearly jostled by, but he managed to keep steady with the help of Donna's anchoring hand on his back. His laughter rang out and he turned to Gerard with a wide grin, warmth encircling his heart to meet his adoring beam. 

Suddenly, during their moment of pure delight, Kristin's voice cut in with an urgent ring shattering all traces of peace. "Stop the game!" 

Frank's smile vanished. A gut wrenching wave of collective alarm dropped down to the base of his stomach and rose up to the very top of it in a strong motion leaving him staggered. His eyes darted over to Kristin who was part-ways into a vision while the remainder of her straightened up and took two uneasy steps forward. Gerard, reading in on her vision, became the picture of pure panic. In a flash, he was beside Frank, tossing the baseball mitt aside and wrapping a protective arm around his waist.

"What's going on?" Frank asked the question everyone had in their wide eyes resting on Kristin. 

"Nomads are coming towards us right this second," Gerard spoke to Frank, but let his voice be heard by the rest of the group. "They heard us. They'll want to talk to us." 

"Gerard, you need to get Frank out of here immediately." Donald urged, but Kristin slowly turned towards an empty space in the trees, fixed with a grim look bringing a wave of dreadful nausea to Frank.

"It's too late." She murmured lowly. 

Gerard swore under his breath, the sound a low growl sending chills sweeping down Frank's spine. 

Frank followed Kristin's gaze. On cue, the empty space was no longer as vacant when a pair of vampires parted the green and entered the field. They stood still for a moment as they surveyed the family lying ahead, such still curiosity that would've been innocent had they not been a group that viciously consumed human blood. 

"I told you it was a mistake bringing him along." Alicia was through with masking her disdain, speaking lowly to go unheard by the nomads. "Do you understand what'll happen when they find out he's human?" 

"Keep your mouth shut." Gerard hissed at her fiercely, drawing a flinch from Frank. 

Alicia glared daggers. She pivoted away and the group began forming a shielding line obscuring the view of Gerard standing protectively beside Frank, his entire body gone cold as a stone carving. 

"Gerard," Frank whispered breathlessly, "We can still leave. Let's go, there's no way I'm staying and getting all of you into trouble." 

"No use," Kristin said almost sadly, "Your scent's already imbedded in these grounds, they'll be able to track you if that's what they want." 

"Is that what they'll want?" Gerard froze. 

Kristin only connected her gaze with his. As whatever she showed him flooded Gerard's mind, the steel arm around Frank's waist tightened, pulling him closer so he was practically plastered against his side. Frank squirmed, resenting that he was being deprived of needed information and he had no way of knowing what was in store, but judging by Gerard's reaction, he'd seen the worst in Kristin's visions. Trepidation set on devouring Frank. 

"Stay behind me. Don't move, no matter what, okay?" Gerard frantically whispered into Frank's ear in a hurried string of words. "Leave this to us. There's a chance things will go smoothly and we'll be able to leave without disturbance." 

"What's the other path like?" Frank sensed in Gerard's desperate voice that somewhere among the visions, there was a harrowing outcome Gerard was keeping from him and he needed to hear if even if it was impossible to digest. 

Gerard tightened his jaw. He shook his head, denying Frank of any insight involving his own fate. A spark of anger flourished in Frank, but it fizzled out and he was completely helpless as he looked over the shoulder's of Gerard and Donald to find the nomads were now approaching them, moving with the grace of swans gliding across the glassy surface of a lake. Unlike the Ways, the elegance they exuded felt eerie and unnatural— it was then that Frank came face to face with the frightful part within the beauty of vampires. In those nomads, Frank felt how their ethereal nature was a form of bait, a hypnotizing trap luring naive human beings into their unstoppable doom. It was exactly what Gerard had meant when he grew so frustrated and confused by Frank's lack of fear, but it wasn't that love blinded Frank to any of it. The Ways were not predators; the nomads were. 

One was smaller in build, not quite petite if they stood alone but slender and short in comparison to the long and bulky structure of their partner. Frank was unable to tell if the smaller one was male or female; their face was lovely and framed in medium length dark hair waving around their jaw, but their chest was flat, no curves shown in the skin that was exposed underneath a cropped and unruly white shirt hidden under a lavish fur coat. Their partner was visibly male, harsher looking in terms of facial structure with piercing onyx eyes and fair hair. He was clad in a leather jacket zipped up over a too-small shirt barely peeking out under the jacket's hem, dark jeans full of holes and freckled in mud. The smaller vampires fitted jeans were in a similar condition. The pair were barefoot, but it didn't seem the earth below harmed their skin in any way. Frank would've been mesmerized by the beauty of the smaller one had it not been for the horrifying redness in their emotionless eyes, irises full of crimson only the consumption of human blood could cause. 

The nomads came to a stop at a careful distance. They observed the Ways with a tilt of their heads moving in sync, red and black eyes drinking them in individually, almost peacefully. It wasn't a good sign that one of the nomads had eyes of pitch, meaning he was hungry. Frank found Mikey in the line of vampires and noticed a focused look on his face; he was leveling their moods to make them far less of a threat. Frank was only slightly relieved. Part of him stilled when a look of recognition followed by hardness washed over Mikey. It wasn't difficult to piece it together— Mikey knew these vampires. 

"Pardon us if we're intruding," The androgynous vampire spoke in a voice that went with their appearance, a perfect balance of feminine and masculine. "We were passing through town to cross over the state line and sensed other vampires in the vicinity." 

"No problem." Donald spoke in a perfectly composed voice despite the caution in his stance. "We were just wrapping up a game of baseball." 

"Leaving so soon?" The smaller nomad attempted a charming smile, but it only made Frank want to flinch away. 

"We've been playing for quite a while, we'd hate for it to grow dark on us unexpectedly." Donald smiled back much more convincingly. "I'm Donald Way. This is my wife, Donna, and our children. Mikey, Kristin, Alicia, and Gerard." 

Frank was confused by the way he'd been skipped over when he was clearly visible even though a line of vampires, but from the way neither nomad acknowledged him and Mikey's brow furrowed in even deeper concentration, he wondered if something was being done to conceal him somehow, perhaps instill disinterest in them so deep that they couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge Frank's presence. Or Mikey's, evidently, since they failed to recognize him.

"I'm Brian, Brian Molko." Brian turned to their partner, sinister smile softening as they regarded him. Frank assumed Brian was male by then. "And this is my partner, Stefan Olsdal." 

"Pleasure to meet you." Stefan nodded once, brief and to the point. Frank wondered if he was antisocial or if he took caution, which was terribly ironic. 

"I must say, you're one of the most peculiar clans I've come across." Brian said thoughtfully. "Are you the family I've heard about? The one that consumes animal blood as a means of survival?" 

Donald shifted uncomfortably, but never lost his pleasantness. "You'd be correct. I suppose plenty of word goes out about us since our methods are unconventional." 

"I couldn't image living on such a diet, but to each their own." Brian attempted a joke, but it came off as sarcastic, bitter. His eyes roamed around again, lingering on Mikey's face. Gerard tensed up just before Brian said, "I remember you." 

Mikey looked pained for only a fraction of a second in the moment his power slipped. He swallowed thickly, nodding in a stiff motion. "We ran together for a few years before I left the nomadic life behind." 

"Yes, quite a time. Stefan had just awakened me when we found our first nomadic group." Brian's fond hand instinctively sought out Stefan's in a clear sign of romantic affection Frank wasn't sure was eagerly returned judging by the immobility of Stefan's hand and face. "I never expected someone so wild would come to live a domestic life like this." 

Mikey tore his eyes away, his shoulders holding an uncomfortable posture. "Things have changed." 

"Evidently." Brian's jaw twitched. His gaze settled back on Donald. "My, you have quite a lineup. A clairvoyant, a telepath, and a mood manipulator." 

Frank went as tense as every vampire closest to him. 

Unsurely, Donald hesitated. "That's . . . astoundingly accurate. How did you know?" 

"Funnily enough, my power is detecting special abilities in others. Hardly as exciting as my Stefan's, he's a magnificent hunter. No prey ever slips away from him." Brian smirked. Stefan's face finally shifted into a similar smug look. Frank's heart began thudding, sensing something ominous in the air, a foreboding air chilling him to the bone. 

"I've never heard of such an ability." 

"It's rare. Not as rare as the talents amongst your clan, though. I'm a little jealous." 

"Talents aside. There's something much more intriguing about your group." Stefan spoke in a deep voice, a sinister rumble. The air was suddenly suffocating as he looked through the line of vampire's locking eyes with Gerard. Gerard braced for attack, strung like a live wire as he held Stefan's stare with unyieldingly daring gaze of his own. Fury washed through Gerard in a molten wave vanquishing all glaciers residing in him. 

"Ah, yes, he's right." Brian looked past the vampires, but instead of focusing on Gerard, his piercing gaze fell on Frank. Frank felt it cutting through him sharp as a blade, sinking under his skin and entering his bloodstream like a serpent following the path of his nervous system. Brian's essence slammed into Frank as a most unwelcome force; a rotten interior of wilted flowers, pure lakes settled in deceitful innocence and infested with parasitic organisms. Holding Brian's gaze was being engulfed by those waters stripping skin from bone. Frank was suddenly frozen in fear. 

A hungry smile curled Brian's perfect mouth as he said in a silky tone, "I'm very curious to know about the little witch you've brought along with you." 

—— 

So... I like cliffhangers, as you can tell. It keeps things interesting but I'm genuinely sorry if you hate them! I'm gonna try to get back on track and not let another month sit between this and the next update. 

Things have heated up and I'm so excited to go into detail about that last line I left you with, shit's about to get a little crazy so hold on! And we're well past the midway point, meaning we're getting closer to the ending, but I hope you're getting ready for the sequel that'll follow. 

Let me know your thoughts! Love to you all. 

-rosexo