At two in the morning, she found herself in front of the door she knew so well. As she stared up at the black paint, she felt something different stirring. Every time she had been here before, she had simply been there to visit her boyfriend, Devan. This time, she was here for 'Graysen.'

Shoving back her fears, she knocked. Nothing. Alex waited for another minute, hoping to hear footsteps, but the house was dead silent. She turned to leave, defeated, when she heard stumbling around inside. The door swung open a minute later, revealing a tall figure with a scowl twisted onto his face. Graysen.

Something within his eyes shifted when he recognized her, "You." He slowly took a step back, wariness in his eyes as he opened the door wider for her to enter.

Alex walked in, looking around at the familiar layout of the apartment. Blankets lay sprawled out on the floor next to the couch. He was sleeping there. "Hey..." She started, ready to test the boy in front of her. "Do you have any family?"

He stared at her for a second. "Who do you think you are to question me?" After a moment of staring, his eyes flicked away, looking at the wall, a hint of hurt lurking in his look. She assumed he had a strong bond with his family as Devan had once had. A spike of sympathy shot through Alex at the slight show of emotion in his hardened eyes. She extended her hand to place on his shoulder, to comfort him in a time of struggle. The tall boy glanced down at her outstretched hand reaching towards him and flinched away. Panic was hidden in his gaze as he took a long stride away from her.

Graysen was afraid.

Yawning, she gently placed her head on her hard desk. Alex had spent the entire night talking to Graysen. As much as she wanted to pretend what had happened when the sun had risen was just a dream, she couldn't deny what she had seen. When the rays of sunlight peaked through the drawn blinds, Graysen's eyes had rolled back up into his head, revealing only white. He stood there for a minute, seemingly frozen in place before plummeting onto the floor, unmoving. Seconds later, he slowly raised his head, wincing at the brightness of the sun.

As if just noticing she was there, he blinked in confusion, turning to face her, "Alex? What are you doing here?"

Graysen had disappeared, leaving Devan in his wake. And for once, she was disappointed to see her boyfriend.

Alex watched Devan from across the table, studying his every movement. People bustled around them, chatting carelessly about life and taking food to the waiting tables. Everything he did was different from the way Graysen did it down to how he sipped the cola in front of him. Graysen. Her stomach began to twist at the thought of what she was keeping from the person she supposedly loved. She knew she had to tell Devan eventually, before Graysen did something to hurt Devan. Would Graysen hurt himself? The teenage girl pondered as the boy across from her received their meals from the waiter before them.

I have to tell him before I regret it. "Deva-" A loud clash cut her off, filling the entire restaurant.

The waiter serving them flushed a vibrant pink, quickly apologizing to Devan before bending over to clean up the spilt food and shattered glass around him. Embarrassment stood clear on his boyish face as he hurried to clean up the mess. Devan stood up with a sympathetic smile, joining the boy on the dirty floor. He placed a single hand on the boy's back, giving him a kind smile before beginning to help him clean up. Alex watched the scene unfold before her for a minute before joining them on the floor, embarrassed she had just been watching. Shame filled at her at the thought that without Devan doing it first, she may have just watched the waiter clean up the mess on the floor alone. Telling him about Graysen can wait just a bit longer.