Cole flew towards the city of Haven, Germany. He sighed contently as he looked down at the familiar buildings, not needing a map to find his university and dorm room. He landed softly on the grass, the campus grounds quiet. He looked around, feeling somewhat surreal that he was finally back.

He had to break into his own dorm room, as he had left his key in his backpack that Tori had confiscated and left in the shared bed room. Cole's Iredescent eyes quickly adjusted as he realized he had night vision, not needing a flashlight to see in the dark. I'm like a cat, or Batman, he thought in delight. He walked quietly past his sleeping roommate Nico and lay on his back on his own bed. He sighed, feeling like he had just returned home after a vacation.

Some vacation, he thought, scoffing. More like a nightmare.

Cole got up and began to go through his own stuff, frowning. Those aren't mine, he thought, pulling out a thick textbook he didn't recognize. He put it back in the backpack and pulled out a folder with stickers of cats on them. What the....

He put the backpack back on the floor and looked in the drawers where he kept his clothes. Those definitely aren't mine, he thought, lifting a dark mustard yellow sweater and some white dress clothes. He found a Playboy magazine hidden underneath a stack of shirts. The shoes at the door weren't his either.

They've already replaced me, he thought, the sudden realization like ice down his back. Nico got a new roommate. He's probably out with friends or at a girl's house; that might be why he's gone. What did they do with my stuff?

He went over to Nico and shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. "Nico, wake up. I'm back. Where's my stuff? What happened?"

Nico, his messy brown hair tousled from sleep, groaned quietly and rubbed at his eyes, saying, "Cole? Where have you been, man? Everyone thought you dropped out."

"What? Hell no. I'm only a few months away from graduating with honors." Dropped out. I have to tell my teachers I'm still attending the university, Cole thought in alarm, his mind beginning to race. "Can you tell me where's my stuff at?"

"They gave them back to your mom. Figured it was the right thing to do instead of donating them. When you went missing, nobody knew what happened. Everyone just assumed you dropped out."

"I'm certainly not dropping out. I never intended to drop out," Cole told him firmly. "I gotta talk to the professor."

"Well, class isn't going to start for another five hours. Did you get any sleep, man?" Nico asked.

"I'm not tired," Cole answered, not wishing to sleep. He thought about what he was going to do before he could talk to his professors, when it suddenly came to him. He went to the bathroom, freshened up, then walked past Nico, saying, "I'm gonna return to campus in five hours. See you later, Nico. So good to see you, man." He suddenly gave Nico a hug, surprising the guy.

"Yeah, good to see you too, man," Nico said in response, giving him a confused look. "Dude, are you sparkling? You got glitter all over you."

Cole sighed heavily, not wishing to explain. "It's a long story," he said at last, going over to the door.

"Oh ok, gotcha," Nico said in understanding.

Cole left the dorm room and headed for a certain house located in the suburbs near campus. He landed on the roof of the house, his wings still stretched out as he began stepping carefully to reach her window.

Lena Krasota was his girlfriend. She went to the same university he did. They had been dating for a year now. Lena had long straight brown hair and was very beautiful. Her last name meant beauty in Russian. Cole smiled as he thought of her, wishing he had his phone so he could text her to let her know he was right outside her window. He tapped quietly on the glass, hoping that would wake her up without bringing anyone else's attention.

This is what I need, he thought. A beautiful woman to help me forget all that I've been through. It's been so long since I've been with a woman. I wonder if contraceptives would still work. He was sure Tori knew about such things, but Cole did not ever want to go back there. He hated Tori and didn't want to dwell on the way she changed his life.

Cole's Iredescent hearing caught even the slightest movement of everything that was going on in the house. He heard her parents snore in their room far across the hall. He heard the clock ticking quietly in the living room. He heard their cat curled up against the couch. He heard crickets outside and the sound of cars passing through the street. He heard Lena begin to stir and sit up in bed, turning to see Cole at the window. He waved at her, his wings lowered so that they were hidden behind his back, the hood of his hoodie pulled back and showing his short blond hair. He hoped she wouldn't scream.

Lena stared at him in surprise. She got out of bed and slowly approached him, keeping her voice down while saying in bewilderment, "Cole? What in the world are you doing at my window? Why haven't you texted me? Where have you been?"

"In hell," Cole answered, glad she didn't freak out. "I was kidnapped. My phone was taken away. But I escaped, and now I'm back."

He stepped in her room, dematerializing his wings so she wouldn't even know he had them. He sighed deeply, hoping she wouldn't see the –

"Is that....glitter?" Lena asked, making Cole's heart lurch. He froze, not wanting to talk about this right now, but knowing he had to.

"Yes, it's glitter," Cole said, forcing the words out. He fought to push those difficult memories aside and just focus on the softness of her hair, the honeysuckle perfume she liked to wear, her adoring smile....

He suddenly hugged her, almost desperate to. Lena hesitated, then responded in kind. Cole started to kiss her, one hand running through her hair, his other hand on her back. Lena kissed him before she pulled back, saying skeptically, "Are you sure you didn't cheat on me? Were you at a club the entire time you were gone?"

"I assure you, I didn't go to a club. I was kidnapped and taken away to....a secret lab." When Lena started to get a doubtful look on her face, Cole said, "I know it sounds outlandish, but I wouldn't lie to you, Lena."

"I know," Lena said slowly, almost cautiously. "It just concerns me."

"It's unsettling to me too," said Cole. "But the important thing is I'm back, and I have you." He began to kiss her again, wanting to lose himself in her.

A few uncertainties remaining in her mind though some of her doubts were starting to float away, Lena decided to worry about it later and just enjoy having her boyfriend back for the moment. She kissed Cole, missing him and feeling happy to see him again.

They kissed for a while longer before taking it to the bed. Cole's fingers strayed from her face to the straps on her silky green night dress, pushing them down. Lena took his hoodie and shirt off. She started to touch his bare chest in the darkness when she suddenly stopped. Cole didn't hesitant and continued to undress her. Lena pushed his hand away and lifted her strap up.

"Stop," she told him, almost fearfully. "Cole, you're glowing in the dark! You're glittering everywhere."

Cole paused, completely taken back. "What?" He looked down at himself, dumbfounded.

And stared in absolute shock. His skin shimmer not only shimmered like diamonds in the sunlight, but also glowed in the dark, though not as brightly as in the daytime. It wasn't an intense shimmer, but it still shimmered beautifully.

Used to his Iredescent body by now, Cole shrugged indifferently and said, "So?" Disregarding his shimmery body, he reached for Lena again, but Lena moved away from Cole, her eyes wide and looking somewhat repulsed. The look on her face shocked Cole, stunning him.

"Len...." He began to say.

She looked up at him, that look still on her face. "Cole, I'm sorry. You're probably on drugs or something," she said, her voice sad and fearful.

Cole stared at her. "What? Lena, I'm not on drugs," he told her, unable to believe she thought of it. "I'm still me. I'm the same Cole you always knew. Just because I'm sparkly doesn't mean I'm – "

"This is worse than my brother on acid," Lena interrupted, getting off the bed. "I don't know what you did while you were gone, or why you were gone, but – "

"I already told you, I was kidnapped. I'm telling you the truth, Lena! I would never lie to you," Cole said back, raising his voice as he tried hard to get Lena to believe and understand. "Why would I lie about something like this? You know I would never just suddenly leave without even an explanation why."

"I'm sorry," Lena whispered, reaching for her phone. "I'm calling the cops."

"Len, what – " Cole said in astonishment, reaching for her almost instinctively.

"Get away from me!" Lena suddenly exclaimed, backing against the wall. "I don't know what you did to yourself, but it's clear you did it just to draw attention to yourself. Why in the world, I don't freakin' know, but I don't want to hear another lie from you. Kidnapped, what an elaborate lie. By who, the intelligence ops? The KGB? I don't believe that somebody would overpower you like that." She gave him an aggrieved look. "What did you do, swallow glitter or try some weird drug or something because you think it's cool? Club girls might like that, but I don't. I want a normal, cute smart college guy who doesn't put glitter all over himself like a teenager. You're an adult man, Cole."

Shock and dismay hit Cole like electric waves. He was hurt, his blissful freedom quickly turning into bad, sickening feelings of loneliness and rejection. The way Lena looked at him, like he was a freak....

Humiliated, Cole got off the bed and began to pull his shirt back on, choosing to hold his hoodie in his hand. He tossed a glance at Lena, feeling another wave of emotional pain run through him. He started materializing his wings, unfurling them to their full irangel glory. His skin shimmer intensifying, he turned to give Lena one last look, catching the dismayed look in her eyes that wounded him like sharp arrows digging into his heart.

"Believe what you want, Lena," he told her, his voice firm even though he was starting to rapidly fall apart emotionally, his heart breaking into pieces. "But these wings are real. Drugs can't make humans magically grow wings. Do a drug test on me, hell even get an extensive hair test done on me, and you will find that no drugs of any kind has ever entered my body in my life."

Cole flew out the window before Lena could see the tears form in his eyes. He didn't even look back; he just flew away as fast as he could, utterly hurt and humiliated. Lena stared after him as he flew, watching him with wide eyes.

The tears came easy now, Cole's shoulders heaving heavily as he began to cry. He avoided going to his parents' house, fearing they would respond the same way Lena did. He stopped to rest on top of a random building rooftop, just sitting in a crouched position with his wings around him, his knees pulled up to his chest as he continued to cry.

A few hours later, he went back to campus and waited in the empty classroom for his professor to show up. He kept the hood of his hoodie up, hiding his face so nobody would see it was him. His eyes were red from crying. He struggled to keep a composed front, feeling like he was falling apart.

When he saw his professor, he quickly walked up to him and began to speak to him, but the professor just stared at him, taking in the red eyes and the shimmery skin. Cole begged for him to keep his classes, to ensure that he was still going to finish school without any complications, but the professor said, "You shouldn't have had too much fun partying if you cared about your graduation."

Realizing he wasn't going to listen to him, tears welled up in Cole's eyes again. He started crying even as he hurriedly ran away.

It was even worse outside of the building. People started pointing and laughing at him. Hushed whispers, exclamations, wide eyes, repulsed looks, and even some people yelling, "Freak!" caused Cole to feel an even wider scope of rejection and denial than he had ever felt on a personal level.

Not knowing what else to do, Cole lifted to the sky, hearing the people below him start to say all kinds of things at the sight of his wings. They were light brown edged in vivid blue, a striking appearance that baffled and amazed the people. Cole's blue Henley shirt and heathered grey hoodie paired well with his steel blue eyes, blue jeans and white shoes, though inside he certainly didn't feel all that put together.

A swirl of emotions raged throughout Cole. He was shocked that people would openly deny him like that, to call him a bunch of names and treat him like an outsider. I'm rejected among my own kind, only they're no longer my own kind. I'm an alien now.

Lowering his head, Cole felt the tears sting his eyes again as he began looking for a spot to be alone. He cried for hours, huddled against a random tree as he sought what little comfort he could find. Sorrow and loneliness turned into anger and rage. He focused it on the person who caused all this in the first place: Tori Nichok.

The very name sent a fiery current through his body, filling it with intense hate. Cole's eyes raised as he glared at the trees, the forest around him reminding him of the forest he had come from. I will come back and kill Tori, he decided, a murderous plan forming in his mind as he began to think of how exactly he would kill her.

He didn't much care for what the other irangels did nor what they would do in Tori's absence. He only cared about killing the woman who had drastically changed his life in a horrible way. His clouded mind was only able to register those thoughts, a result of all the pain and shock he had experienced in a short amount of time.

Rising, Cole walked before taking to the sky again, his wings snapping in fury as he headed for Wachstyen Forest, in the stretch of land that was Tori's private property. As he flew, he continued to think about his plan, satisfying himself with thoughts of Tori's dead body at his feet. Murder was something he would never have considered in his life, but after all that he had been through, Cole felt it was something to be justified for all that Tori had done.

He didn't know that that wasn't the worst of what Tori would do.

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Music:

"Incomplete"
by Gavin Luke

"Incomplete"
by The Anix

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