November 4th 1996

     "See! Look! It's the fat one!" Addison whisper yelled as she pointed through the bars on the door. "He always bumps his hips on the wall, we could totally grab the keys."

     "And then what? If we leave there will be a hundred WICKED guards on us."

     Addison smirked as she kept looking through the bars. "Nah, leave that one to me."

     Rose looked at her skeptically. "Whenever you make that face it's never a good idea."

     "Hey!" Addison frowned as she turned around. "That's not true! I always have great ideas!"

     "Yeah because trying to grab the guy's hand when he pushed the food through the door last month worked out so well."

     "They won't expect this one! Plus, I'm older so I get to make the plans."

     "You're not that much older, Addi."

     "I got you beat by a whole year, I'm twelve remember?" The girl smiled like it was the biggest accomplishment ever.

     Suddenly Rose got quiet as she looked at the floor.

     "Hey, what's wrong? It's okay that you're littl..."

     "No," Rose said quickly. "That's not it."

     "Well then what is?"

     "When we get out of here," the girl stated softly, "I don't have a home to go back to."

     "Yeah you do stupid," Addison lightly rolled her eyes when Rose looked at her.

     "What?"

     "It's with me. We might not have a house or anything but as long as we're together..it's a home to me."

     Addison didn't even protest when Rose practically tackled her into a hug.

July 31st, 2002

2:08 am

     It took Newt forever to fall asleep that night. They slept in shifts. When it was Newt and Kis' turn to sleep Minho went all rock mode and carried them so they could keep moving. Kis was a wreck, she wouldn't show it of course, but Newt could tell by the way she twitched in her sleep and how she walked with her head down. When Minho slept they stopped because two skinny blondes were no match for a boy made of literal rock. They'd be dead exhausted if they got ambushed.

      When Newt finally fell asleep curled into Minho's chest he was jolted awake by a loud noise.

     "What the fuc-" Newt trailed off as he looked around him. He was no longer in Minho's arms, he was in a dark room with barely any lighting and an oddly freezing cold floor.

     "Newt?" he heard softly from the corner.
Newt turned around so quick he almost gave himself whiplash, he'd know that voice anywhere.

     "Tommy?"

     Finally he could see him, it was almost like the brunette boy appeared out of nowhere. He was sitting in the corner of the room, his back against the wall and god was Tommy hot, but in that state he looked like shit. Newt was over to him in an instant.

     "Hey," he said softly as he cupped his face in his hands. "You okay?"

     Thomas nodded as he reached for Newt. "I fucked up so bad."

     "Hey hey hey, none of that." Newt pulled the brunette boy into his arms and placed a soft kiss into his hair. "You didn't fuck anything up."

     "I don't know where El is," Thomas mumbled into Newt's shoulder as he scrunched up his fists in the back of his shirt.

     "We'll find her."

     "My mom hates me Newt."

     "Who cares what she thinks?" Newt pressed another soft kiss to his temple. "I love you enough for the both of us."

     "It sucks." Thomas' voice cracked which made Newt's heart do the same.

     He started rubbing circles on the boy's back as he felt his body shake. "Don't cry Tommy, it's gonna be okay. Me, Kis and Min are coming for you guys."

     "I'm gonna get everyone killed."

     Newt pressed a kiss into his shoulder. "Come on, you know you can't get rid of me that easily and Minho would never miss out on a chance to tease us for being 'too gay'."

     Thomas huffed out a small laugh at that. "You guys don't have to come after me, this is my problem, I'll fix it."

     "Shut up dumbass, of course I'm coming for you, but hey, next time..." Newt pulled back and held his face again so he could look into his tear stained eyes, "...you better fucking bring me with you."

     "You would have talked me out of it."

     "Damn right I would have. This was a stupid idea."

    Thomas stuck out his bottom lip which was beyond adorable. "I hate when you're right."

     Newt smiled and softly kissed his lips. "I'm usually right babe, get used to it."

     "I don't know how this keeps happening," Thomas said as he sighed and leaned into Newt's body.

     "Seeing me in your dreams?"

     Thomas nodded.

     "Well isn't it obvious Tommy?" Newt cocked his head slightly at the brunette boy. "I'm terrified of losing you, I'm scared shitless that I'll never see the real you again."

     "I'm scared of that too," Thomas whispered as he rested his head on Newt's shoulder.

     "Hey, are you alright?" Newt asked as he stared at Thomas' pale face.

     "Don't feel so good," Thomas mumbled as he let his eyes flutter closed.

     "Tommy, Tommy, hey get up." Newt started shaking the brunette boy who just groaned slightly.

     "Can't," Thomas mumbled as he went limp in Newt's arms.

     Newt's eyes widened as he stared at Thomas' skin. It looked as if he was fading away, becoming lighter with every passing second.

     "Tommy what's happening?" Newt asked frantically as he tried to desperately grasp onto his fading boyfriend.

     Thomas slowly opened his eyes and looked at him with a dead resembling expression. "I can't control it."

     "What can't you control?"

     Thomas let out a breath and blinked hard, his eyes clouding over black when he looked back at Newt. "Myself." And then in a flash he was gone.

     Newt was left staring at the empty space, a sickening feeling in his stomach. He woke up a second later, screaming his throat raw and thrashing so hard Minho almost dropped him.

     They decided to stop, Kis had to hold down Newt's arms while Minho held his legs. He passed out a minute later, his entire body going rigid. Minho slowly looked up at Kis, his chest rising and falling with the effort that restraining Newt had required.

     Kis' face was dark as she returned the look.

     "He's killing him," Kis said as she let her gaze stray back down to Newt who wasn't moving.

     "What?"

     "Thomas is killing Newt."

10:17pm

     When Thomas came to his senses he was laying down on a cold floor and his muscles were stiff. He slowly sat up, trying to ignore the aching pain his his neck and back.

     He rubbed his eyes and slowly lowered his hands when he took in the metal barred door in front of him.

     "Fuck," Thomas mumbled as he leaned back against the stone wall on the right side of him. His stomach dropped and he felt sick. This was all his fault, El was missing, his friends were somewhere looking for him, probably about to walk into the trap too. He let his head fall hard against the rock surface, wincing slightly at the pain. Everyone was dying because of him. He felt his face heat up and the sharp tears prick at his eyes. No. No, he wasn't going to cry. He didn't deserve to cry, he needed to fix this. He slowly stood up, ignoring the aching pain shooting up his legs. He slowly made his way over to the doors and lightly shook them. Of course they didn't budge, he felt stupid for even trying to make them move. He felt the panci bubbling in his chest, he was trapped, like legimately trapped. Thomas dropped to his knees, letting his face fall into his hands. He fucked up so bad.

     Thomas focused on his breathing as he stared at the small patch of floor in front of him. There had to be something he could do, there was a way out of everything. As soon as Thomas lifted his head to try something else, he heard loud footsteps coming down from the hall. Thomas scooted back as he felt his blood run cold. His skin instantly prickled with fear.
He heard a grunt and not long after a man appeared in front of the cell. He was in all black with a covering over his nose and mouth.

     "You try and run. I kill her," he said slowly as his eyes narrowed in on Thomas.

     Thomas nodded, curling in more on himself. That's when he saw El. Her body was on the ground and her eyes were open but they were blank and almost looked lifeless. The man swung the cell door open, Thomas winced at the horrible creaking sound the rusty bars made.

     The men roughly grabbed El by her upper arm and practically slid her into the small room acting as Thomas' cell. He kicked at her legs to get her inside before swinging the door shut and locking it tightly. The man lingered there for a second longer, his icy gaze swiping over the cell once more before he left.

     Thomas was on El in an instant, trying to pull her so she was laying in a way where her body didn't look contorted. Thomas lightly grabbed her shoulder and shook her, feeling the panic amplify in his chest.

     "El, El wake up? Are you okay?"

     The girl blinked finally, but her eyes were still out of focus, as if she didn't even know that Thomas was hovering above her.

     "El," Thomas begged, his voice cracking. "I-if you don't get up I-I..." he bit his lip hard to stop from getting worked up. "El you're tougher than this."

     El let out a little breath and winced softly as she blinked again. Thomas stopped shaking her and helped pulled her into a sitting position. It was then that Thomas finally took in her neck. There was a large spidery looking patch on the side. The underlying skin was red and swollen.

     Thomas felt sick, he gently ran his fingers along it, jumping back when he felt a hard bump in the middle.

     "What did they do to you?" Thomas whispered softly as he looked back into the girls eyes. This time she was looking back at him.

     "They're in my head," she mumbled softly. "Thomas, they're in my head."

11:47 pm

     Newt was fast asleep with his head on Minho's lap who was gently rubbing his head. His chest was rising and falling steadily now, he twitched sometimes but otherwise he was sleeping well. The boy kept flashing in and out of sight which worried Minho. They were in another hotel room, one they randomly booked for the night so Newt could gather some strength, he wouldn't admit it but he was seriously hurting.

     Kis was sitting next to him, staring at the wall barely moving. Minho knew she was stuck up in her thoughts. The buff boy got up, placing Newt on the comfy hotel bed before flopping back on the floor next to his friend.

     "Hey, blonde satan, what's going on in that head of yours?"

     Kis jumped as if she forgot Minho was there but quickly regained her composure and stared at him.

     "What do you think?" She snapped which made Minho frown. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Sorry."

     "Nah, I get it," Minho said as he reached his arm out to her. "Come here."

     Kis gave him a disgusted face which Minho returned by raising his eyebrows.

     "I'm not giving up, come over here."

     Kis rolled her eyes but shifted next to the buff boy and looked down at Newt.

     "I'm worried about him."

     Minho nodded and lightly squeezed her arm. "Me too"

     "I'm worried about El too," Kid said softly as she pulled her knees to her chest.

     "I know. You see anything else?"

     Kis hesitated for a moment before she shook her head.

     Minho was quiet, trying to figure out a way to phrase his next sentence without getting an elbow to the stomach.

     "Uh, if you see anything else, you know you can tell me, right? Even if it's bad, like really bad o-"

     "I love her."

     "What?"

     "El," Kis said as she looked down at her feet. "I love her."

     "Well yeah of course you do, she's been your friend sinc-"

     Kis sighed loudly. "No, dipshit, like I'm in love with her."

     Minho tried to keep the shocked look off his face as he looked at the blonde girl. "Wait what?"

     Kis rolled her eyes. "I have been, for like ever."

     "Does-"

      "Newt knows, she doesn't."

     "But I-I dated her, you could have told-"

     "No. It doesn't matter, you were always nice to her."

     "If I would have known I never would ha-"

     "Stop holy fuck just stop Minho."

     "Is that why you hated me?" The buff boy asked as he looked at the girl.

     "I never hated you."

     "We weren't good, you can't even say that we were."

     "It wasn't hate. It was jealousy."

     "Jealousy?"

     Kis shrugged. "You got to treat her the way I wanted to. You had everything I ever wanted." She met his gaze then. "You know I've only ever loved two people, the first I'll never see again and the other being El. She means a lot to me. I'm scared of losing her, I don't even know myself without her. I know it's weird because she's my best friend but..."

     "That's not weird."

     "It is."

     Minho rolled his eyes. "Did I ever tell you about the time me and Newt fucked?"

     The look on Kis' face made Minho snort out a laugh. "See that's weird right?"

     "Does Thomas know?"

     Minho nodded. "Newt told him; anyways, we wanted to get out first time over with and thought, 'well who better to do it with than my best friend?' so we did it, it was weird and awkward and thinking about it even now makes me cringe."

     "And knowing that helps me how?"

     "Because it's not weird to be attracted to your best friend, or even be in love with them. I mean I love Newt of course, but not that way and even though it wasn't great, I'm glad my first time was with him and not some random stranger. Newt's my best friend, he was back then and he is now."

     Kis shrugged. "It feels like I'm lying to her all the time. She asks me you know, she asks who I'm into and stuff like that. I'm too much of a little bitch to tell her so of course I say no one." Kis tugged on her hair. "I regret it though, I should have told her. If I never see her again I might never get the chance to."

     "We'll get her back, you'll see her again I promise."

     Kis let a breath out her nose. "You don't know that Minho."

     "I know that you mean a lot to her too and she wouldn't go anywhere without seeing you again."

     Kis shook her head. "Don't start doing that."

     "Doing what?"

     "Acting all weird about me and El now that you know."

     "I'm not!"

     Minho swore he saw a small smile cross Kis' lips. "You totally are...and we're not gonna sit around her and talk about girls because that's definitely not happening."

     Minho felt himself smiling back. "What you don't wanna discuss boobs a-" Minho cut off when Kid hit him with a pillow.

     "Shut up bitch."

     Minho feigned an offended look as he put his hand over his heart. "I'm hurt that you would call me such an offensive term, I thought we were friends."

     "Friends or not, you're still a bitch."

     Minho put his hand on her face and pushed her, making her fall onto her back.

     Kis quickly grabbed onto the bed comforter to pull herself but the entire thing came down, covering the three of them with the blankets. Everyone was silent for a second until Minho broke out into laughter, followed by Kis.

     "What the fuck were you trying to do?"

     "Get back up!"

     Suddenly Newt groaned and started pushing at the blanket. "How am I supposed to sleep with this bloody yellin?"

     That just made Minho and Kis laugh harder as they tried to untangle themselves from the blankets.

     Newt finally freed himself and kicked at Minho was was slowly emerging from the blanket. "You're a bloody asshole."

     Minho gave him a huge smile and tackled him into a hug. "Good morning sleeping beauty I missed that gorgeous face of yours."

     "Morning?" Kis made a face as she shoved the blanket off of her. "It's the middle of the night."

     Minho rolled his eyes. "Same difference Kismet."

     "I mean not really..."

     "Can both of you shut up," Newt huffed as he tried to push Minho's body off of him.

     "Shut me up." Minho dramatically winked at Newt who fake gagged.

     "Why do you gotta be gross all the time?"

     Minho grinned. "Because you love me."

     Newt rolled his eyes. "Love is a strong word."

     "Not strong enough for your feelings toward me baby."

     "What the hell did you do to him?" Newt asked as he looked at Kis. "Did you like turn on his extra annoying switch."

     "Nah that's not what she turned o-" Minho cut off when Kis kicked him in the head.

     "Enough from you, you're done talking. Newt do you feel okay?"

     The blonde boy nodded. "Yeah, I feel a lot better, I can walk now."

     "Good. We have to go," Kis said as she grabbed her coat and pulled it on. "We can't waste anymore time."

     Newt and Minho shared a look before getting up and grabbing the little stuff they had. Kis was out the door by the time they were done.

     "Is she?" Newt asked as he motioned to the closed door.

     Minho just shook his head. "She's okay, let's just follow her."

     Newt made a face before following Minho out of the room, feeling more confused than when he fell asleep.