#derek lancaster

[ravenfreakinclaw]

And there's no remedy for memory your face is Like a melody, it won't leave my head Your soul is haunting me and telling me That everything is fine But I wish I was dead

[ravenfreakinclaw]

“COLE!”

The scream, the warning it came far too late and later he wouldn’t even be able to tell you who it was that called for him in the shudder-inducing screech. She didn’t see it coming and apparently neither did he since he had happened to glance over at her. He felt that tug in his gut, that instinct kicking in to warn him that something was off, something that was wrong. He had to admit, she sharpened his senses like no one else could. One would think that the ability to be content in her presence would dull out his instinct, but it worked opposite. Rather than weakening one another, they made each other stronger, and they were one hell of a pair.

Keera was faster, of course she was faster.

Derek was on her heels, of course not as fast, but trying to keep up, his eyes frantically searching the parking garage to find the assailant. Katie was standing still at Cole’s side, her hands lifted slightly in the air – she knew she could have done something to stop it, she saw the whole thing. Instead,  she decided to watch it play out.

Noah was wide-eyed and silent and already had the blonde in his arms. He had lowered them to the floor but had kept her from falling, instead her legs were sprawled on the ground but her top half was resting in Noah’s lap. His hands were covered in blood, but still he held her tight, pushing as hard as he could at the wound that just would not stop pumping out blood.

It was her neck. An artery - a kill shot that could only have come from an expert.

Cole left Katie and practically slid across the floor to meet Keera and the other pair.

Katie remained stoic, staring at the scene before her, she didn’t move when she felt the hand slip into hers. The warm fingers tightly squeezed and worked out the stiffness in her fingers.

“I’m right here.”

Bonnie’s voice came as a gentle whisper at Katie’s ear and immediately she was able to control her body again, able to move. Her fingers gripped Bonnie’s and she turned her head just enough to glance over the brunette. “I know you are. I didn’t do this – but he’ll think I did, he always thinks it’s me, and if she makes it she’ll blame me too.”

Giving her a small smile, Bonnie squeezed her fingers gently once more and shook her head. “I won’t let them, it wasn’t you. I know it. You’re good. You’re better than this. You control your power, no one else, and you didn’t do this.”

--

Who did? Who did it? Who were they aiming for? Why not hit someone in the heart or the head? Why the slow death. Bleeding to death, suddenly turning cold and feeling your limbs turn into nothing. Why? Who? Again, more questions that would haunt them forever. Was Lillian actually the target or had she just gotten in the way of the real target? Amongst them it was nearly impossible to tell who was the most powerful.

Many would say Katie won by a landslide, with her ability to materialize anything, but others would say it was Cole, he could control whoever he wanted to. Lillian was also in the ranks, one wrong word to her and your wouldn’t exist anymore, you’d literally be blown down to your molecules. Keera had speed, and was to be underestimated. Her speed helped her to avoid nearly any attack, and her martial arts training was phenomenal. Derek could literally copy anything he say, the ability to watch a movie and then imitate the stunts, the actions. Sure he was a fantastic cook, but his power was downright dangerous when he wanted it to be. (Which he rarely did.) Bonnie was telekinetic. She could drown you without even moving, strangle you with your own shirt, throw your weapons away, turn your weapons on you. And there was Noah. He was the wild card. It was nearly impossible to get him to use his power at all without much coaxing, but he was powerful – he could be strong if he just tuned it, something Cole told him constantly. He could imitate any power he wanted. Meaning he could pick anyone from the group and do the same thing.

Picking the most powerful was impossible in this group. They trained. They practiced. They embraced the fact that they were mutants and didn’t attempt to hide a single thing. Freedom was all they were after… well… somewhat. Maybe a few of them were more than willing to tear the world down to it’s foundations, but that’s a story for another time.

--

Noah’s hand nearly circled Lillian’s neck as he pressed down. The five gathered around the two, Keera and Cole on the floor, Derek standing close, Katie and Bonnie still holding back a bit.

“Dammit Lil’s, I’m sorry…” Cole’s eyes were wide as he stared at the blonde, taking her hand and holding tightly his head whipped up to look at Katie. “Do something. Now. I know you can.”

A blank stare.

Katie only stared at him, not responding, not moving, and clearly invoking his anger. Cole was about fuming when she refused to response and he was torn between getting up and forcing her to do it with his own hands and leaving the girl on the floor.

“Noah. You can do it, just use Katie’s power.”

Keera was of course the one to come up with the solution, the most sensible and grounded of the entire group. Panic was rarely something she displayed and right now was a shining moment of her cool head. Of course. If Katie wouldn’t, Noah could. He could materialize anything he wanted if he concentrated, he just had to tap into Katie’s power.

“I’m freezing.”

Lillian broke the stunned silence and leaned her head back against Noah’s chest, looking to Keera for a long moment. The two didn’t need to speak, neither was a mind reader but they had been friends for long enough. It was too soon, and it wasn’t battle. Keera knew well enough not to let her friend go out like this. That wasn’t possible. This wasn’t possible, no one had seen it coming and no one had been able to stop it.

“COLE. Make him do it!”

Bonnie had finally interjected while she held tightly to Katie.   She wasn’t offering her up, not in a million years, it was too dangerous to let Cole into that much power. Noah could only imitate the power, he didn’t know the extent of it, he didn’t know how deep, or how dark it could get. It was going to have to be a complete transfer.

“I can- I can’t do this! What if I screw it up?!”

“Noah if you don’t do something, or even try, she’s going to DIE.”

Panicking and flustered, Noah was at a loss. He wouldn’t let go of Lillian’s neck and Cole was glaring at him like murder was the first thing on his mind.

Cole took it upon himself to close his eyes and enter Noah’s mind, but the boy wasn’t concentrating, his thoughts were everywhere and it was more difficult than he expected, he needed something familiar, somewhere he had been, and that was where he made his mistake.

The seven were in silence, save for Lillian’s shallow breaths, as Cole entered Katie’s mind. The girl stiffened and released Bonnie, lifting her hands again against her will. He had a hold of her, he was pulling the strings like a puppet and he was using her to mend the wound. New skin was grafting over the gouge. He was going where he wasn’t supposed to be, and she didn’t like it. Somewhere inside of her, deep down in that part she never went to if she could help it, something began stirring. It was her, but it wasn’t her at the same time, coming up to fight off Cole. Her eyes had turned black while she stared at Lillian, still not moving but watching the skin mend.

She started to fight.

This wasn’t right, he was invading, she wanted control back and she was going to get it. Cole was shaking the amount of power that was coursing through him, determined to keep this girl under his reign. Katie was trembling, her eyes having gone from Lillian to Cole. She was fighting his control, and she was fighting it hard.

With an ear-piercing scream, Katie threw her head back and slammed her hands against her sides. That same moment, Cole slumped down, unconscious against the floor. His fingers still entangled with Lillian’s. Lillian was still bleeding, now it seemed worse than before, she was whiter than a ghost and that “wound” had become a gash that slid nearly across her entire neck, giving her a double smile. A casualty of the fight, her chest had stopped moving and she was still.

She wasn’t the only one. Cole wasn’t moving. He wasn’t breathing and Derek was the first to realize.

Noah was stuck in shock, shaking the girl in his arms and trying to wake the dead. Keera was getting to her feet, Derek was on the ground beside Cole trying to revive him.

In an instant Keera was across the concrete and had Katie pinned against a pillar by her throat. “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE! LOOK AT IT. YOU DID THIS! IT WAS YOU!” Keera cut off her speech by slamming her right fist into Katie’s face. Once. Twice. Three times. It seemed like it was never going to end until she felt herself flying backward. Bonnie had stepped up, fire in her eyes and put herself between Keera and Katie.

“Listen to me, right now.” Bonnie’s voice was soft as she spoke, but it was thick with malice. “Come near her again, and you’ll end up just like those two. I’ll do it with a snap of my fingers and don’t think of testing me Thompson. We’re friends, but I won’t let you hurt her. You touch her again, and I will end you.”

[ravenfreakinclaw]

I'm posting this... but you guys continue it. :D

Cole had managed to create his own little army… his own very female run army. Sure he had Derek, but Derek didn’t really count with how often Keera and Lillian assured that he would remain out of the fray. He had to admit, his girls were powerful. Extremely powerful, and when they were together they were downright unstoppable. Keera. Bonnie. Katie. Lillian. With the four of them it was only obvious that he was able to do whatever he wanted, take whatever he wanted and be wherever he wanted in comfort.

That was true at least until SHIELD came for them. They were simply too strong and too closely bonded. Even Katie and Lillian were able to squash their dislike when it came to SHIELD. The pair managed to work together and if that was possible –well then what in the hell wasn’t?

Of course with all of their capabilities, SHIELD was able to track them down somewhere outside of Shanghai and they had to send their top team.

The top team that included Natasha Romanoff, Danny Cook, Clint Barton, James Pierce and Elle Holt.

Not what they needed.

All five were friends, companions, confidents of this separate group. The group that had been deemed “evil” all because they refused to live under SHIELDs rule. They refused to be their puppets and hide their powers. They lived free and out in the open, but evidently that meant they needed to be taught a lesson and squashed. Squashed by their friends.

Bonnie had been the first to see the helicopter, and she was the one that came into the house with somber face. “Guys…”

She didn’t need to say anymore, they could hear it. Hear the approaching squad and the thowping of the blades. An ambush. They were going to be attacked and the only way out was going to be to fight through it.

Keera and Lillian’s eyes met briefly and Lillian flicked her chin up. “We’ve got to get them out of here first.” The two were then lost in a private conversation, having to worry about the boys that had done nothing wrong other than love them. They were completely innocent, they hadn’t taken any part in any of the tasks that the girls had, they were just along for the ride. All because of this stupid love business.  No words passed between the friends, just a long stare before Lillian was reeling backward and at Cole’s side.

“Doc, get them out of here. Now, before it’s too late. They’ll hate us for it, but they can’t hate us if they’re dead. Do it now.”

Sometimes Cole felt like a commander in a war. He was just trying to stay alive, to live his life and keep these girls alive. But it was always a battle, and now it seemed like the real war was starting. His hard gaze fell on Lillian and then Keera in turn for a long moment before he finally nodded his head. Honestly he would have loved the additional powers of Derek and Noah, but clearly he wasn’t going to get his way – fighting both Keera and Lillian on something was a losing battle – a lesson he learned quite a long, long time ago.

“NOW.”

Lillian’s demanding voice snapped him into gear and he nodded, Keera standing close to him as he seemed to slip out of it, to concentrate on puppeting the two far, far away from them, something that wasn’t easy for him since he had actually grown rather fond of the two geniuses. It was just nice to have some testosterone around with all of these women – though Dickens testosterone level was questionable.

"So are we going to fight, or just sit around and wait for them to show up, zap us and drag us all back to that school?" Katie's voice broke through the silence as her and Bonnie stood side by side, mirror images of one another with their arms crossed.

Four sets of eyes settled on Cole and he cleared his throat gently.

"We fight."  

[ravenfreakinclaw]

“Derek? Derek! DEREK!”

Speed wasn’t going to help her this time, in fact it seemed like her speed was fighting against it, it was reversing. Instead of speeding up she was stuck and time was slowed. The scene was playing out right in front o her and there was absolutely nothing that she could do about it.

One second he was looking at her with a playful grin on his face, of course, that’s how he always looked at her. The tip of his head, the half smile, the wide, innocent eyes that always drew her in. The next she was watching him slowly fall to the ground, his smile replaced with a look of shock but his eyes were still on hers. Those bright blue eyes had faded… the light was slowly draining out and there was nothing she could do about it.

Before she was even able to start forward, two sets of arms had wound around her and pinned her arms behind her back. “DEREK!” Her throat was quickly beginning to ache from her screaming. Her speed wasn’t working, nothing was working. Her combat training was gone. The only thing she could think about was getting to him and bringing that light back, putting that smile on his face.

“DEREK!”

Screaming again didn’t help, she was completely helpless as he fell to the ground. First to his knees, one hand pressed against his chest, and then he fell backward, lying on his back and staring up at the blank sky that meant nothing to him. The man that had been behind him retreated backward, holding the wet blade that had skewered through Derek like he was nothing. There was a sick grin on his face when his eyes met Keera’s.

“Whoops.”

Her hands were still tied behind her back, but right now, that wasn’t going to stop her. The rage that had lit through her body with that idiot’s smile was flaming hot and burning now. With a yell she whipped around and managed to roundhouse kick the first man in the jaw, a loud crack echoing through the hills when she did so. The second man came for her, but that was a mistake as she slammed her foot down against the front of his shin. Ouch.

She wouldn’t cry. She was going to fix this.

In a blink she was at Derek’s side, on the ground and staring at him, trying hard to free her hands from behind her back.

“Hold on. Just hang on, alright? You’re going to be okay, we’re going to get some help. Someone has to be around. Someone.”

With that she sat back on her feet and glanced around quickly.

“SOMEONE HELP! HELP!”

Her dark hair was falling into her face as she stared down at him and he managed to lift a blood covered hand to brush her hair back and then gently touch her face.

“You know I love you, right? You’re going to be okay, I promise. It’s all going to be okay… shhh.”

He was consoling her. He was there, dying, bleeding to death and she couldn’t do a thing. Sure she could have ran and brought someone back with her, but she couldn’t make herself leave. She was too afraid of what she’d find when she came back. So she stayed. She stayed and dropped her head against his shoulder in silence.

“Cowboy don’t you leave me…”

Finally she whispered the words in his ear as his breathing began to shallow out. A small smile tugged on his lips as he tipped her chin up so he could look at her.

“Never, not-ma’am. I’ll never leave you.”

With that, his fingers fell from her face and he went still. In that very same moment it began to rain. The water poured down on the pair, the world continuing on as if nothing had happened while Keera’s entire existence went into limbo. How symbolic, he was gone and now it was raining. Always raining. 

[lillian-graham]

Between the Raindrops → Deera

Twilight had finally settled over the SHIELD Academy grounds, but it was hardly dark. Instead, the shadows were thrown aside by hundreds of tiny white lights. Music. Laughter. Plenty of people. Not typically the average sight for an institution under the threat of war with another… but tonight was a special occasion.

Tonight was a celebration.

Today had been a wedding.

Keera Thompson. Derek Lancaster. Keera Lancaster. Derek Thompson.

It was all pretty much synonymous now, and there wasn’t a single soul complaining about it. (No matter how much Noah grumbled.) A first in the school, having everyone actual come together under an event, but this was something new, something different. Something happy.

At the moment, the beautiful bride was being spun easily around the dance floor. The pair were a dizzying sight with their circle after circle, but even more so with her smile. The very same man that had given her away that day was the man that held the honor of the first dance, who else would it really be?

Her brothers couldn’t make it to the ceremony any more than her father could have. It was just simply too dangerous to involve them in this world anymore. Hell, they wouldn’t even know about it until the day was long over. Naturally, the request had fallen on the dumbstruck man, and after much joking and teasing about how she was going to be no fun, about how she wouldn’t have time for him anymore, he finally caved.

Cole Adler even agreed to wear the suit.

“Come on, I think it’s only fair that the partner should get at least a chance before the husband steps in.” The poised voice came from beside the pair and Iosif Wright stood there, a hint of a smile on his face. The tension between him and Cole didn’t exist, not tonight anyway, it wasn’t about them. It was about Keera. It was about the girl – woman that was being passed between them flawlessly as son fell into father’s step without a moment’s hesitation.

“Now just imagine you get pregnant, who is going to beat me around the CT field?”

“My daughter.”  

Keera had fired off the retort of their well practiced banter without even breathing.  The pair caught one another’s eyes and broke into laughter. The teasing finally diminished into quiet and the pair just danced, knowing one another’s next steps better than they knew their own – much like when they were in the field.

“I’m really happy for you, Keer. You deserve it, and it’s good to see you smiling like that.” Iosif tipped his head toward her and pressed his lips to her temple, lowering his voice. “No matter what Noah says about it, Lancaster is a good guy… speaking of Noah, here he comes.”

Iosif had pulled his head back from Keera’s and had enough sense to feign surprise at the sight of Noah reaching out for the bride. “Try not to step on her feet, yeah? Now she has a husband that’ll kick your ass… well when she’s done with you anyway.”

 Wright chuckled teasingly while Noah mocked him and pulled Keera too him. “I don’t step on feet.” He huffed out a bit insulted but brought her a little bit closer just to prove his point. “So..”

The silence lasted between them as Keera tried to fight the smirk that was threatening to burst forward when she turned her gaze back to Noah. Remaining silent, she simply lifted her eyebrows to stare at Noah. “So… he’s not all that bad… still has stupid hair and does he really have to talk in that dumb accent?”

Keera actually giggled out when he started on his spiel but she just nodded her head at him. “I like that accent, you should hear him during sex, it gets even thicker.”

Noah immediately groaned and rolled his eyes up to the top of the tent, mocking her and shaking his head. “I don’t know why you have to hate me, but fine, fine.” He pretending to start to let her go but stopped before she could stop him, instead he just pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m happy for you, Keera. Really. And you look… wow. He’s a lucky guy.”

“He sure is, and at least he knows it.”

The voice of the blonde cut over Noah’s speaking and he immediately tensed, rolling his eyes, the scowl taking the place of the smile on his lips, Keera almost broke into laughter at the sudden change in him, but she only shook her head, letting him go.

“Scamper, Kid, I need the lady of the hour.”

Noah still didn’t turn around, only mocked the girl where he was well aware she couldn’t see him and looked back to Keera, taking a hold of her face in both of his hands he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m not done with you.”

Keera smirked and winked toward him. “You never will be.”

The blonde’s fingers reached out for Keera and she pulled her toward her, slinging an arm around her waist, an amused grin on her face, slowly Lillian started leading Keera toward the front, and further from the tables when the brunette spoke.

“Every time?”

“Every single chance I get.”

Lil grinned and turned her head enough to give Keera a wink, letting the secret fall into the silence between the two. She stopped suddenly and turned to look at her. “Alright blushing bride in all of your white innocence. I need you to stand… right here, because that Cowboy of yours has watched one too many videos and… well, he has a surprise for you. You stay. Look pretty. Don’t move.”

Lillian was prepared to flounce off  back and do whatever it was she did when she disappeared and not give Keera the chance to question her when she thought better of it and stopped, spinning around to hug her tightly. “Congratulations.” Whispering the word into the other girl’s ear, Lillian squeezed her tightly and then broke apart from her with a smile. “Eyes forward.”

Oh yeah… there had been that stage there, of course, where else had the music been coming from? Keera’s thoughts had started to drift as the girl in motion finally found herself standing still, and happy about it. Two rarities in one. Right now, she was convinced there was only one reason she was still standing here, and that reason… just walked on the stage?

Why was Derek on stage?

…And in a cowboy hat?

She really was off of her game with all this happiness. Her guard was so  incredibly down. Confusion was the only thing she was processing… until he pulled the guitar strap over his head and stepped up to the microphone. Until she heard the catcalls from the crowd and instantly her jaw dropped.

He was going to sing.

Keera could almost feel the heat rise up into her cheeks accompanied with the pure shock of just what was happening at all. She was in wonder, in awe, in anger, prepared to kill a duo of people for keeping this from her and she swore she could hear their laughs behind her.

“Now this ain’t hard… and gimme a break here, I just picked it up a few minutes ago, but this one’s for a real special lady… a not-ma’am if ya will. Keera Lancaster, you pay attention now… because I mean every word.”

The curly haired boy offered a grin that only pulled up one side of his lips. His light eyes drifted from hers to look over the neck of the guitar in his hand and with an experimental strum and his eyes were on her’s again.

‘Look around There's no one but you and me Right here and now The way it was meant to be There's a smile on my face Knowing that together everything that's in our way We're better than alright’

Keera took a step back from the stage, her grin wide and head shaking as the recognized the song instantly. The first night she had really met him, drinking in Cole’s room with Lillian. The radio… or a computer, or something was playing music long after their game of poker, Lillian had stormed out in her extremely exaggerated anger and Cole had left to do damage control, which left Keera and Derek alone. The song seemed so out of place when it started playing, and in a very, very bold move, a very, very drunk Derek Lancaster had been on his feet demanding that a very, very drunk Keera dance with him.

‘Walking between the raindrops Riding the aftershock beside you Off into the sunset Living like there's nothing left to lose Chasing after gold mines Crossing the fine lines we knew Hold on and take a breath I'll be here every step Walking between the raindrops with you’

She couldn’t believe he remembered, hell, she couldn’t believe that she remembered that had been the song on the radio, but here they were… and hey, he wasn’t that bad of a singer, though her impatience was waning. She hadn’t seen him since ‘I Do’, so the brunette lifted a hand and coyly curled a finger toward her.

The cowboy immediately handed off the guitar, going were beckoned with an easy hop off of the stage. Once he made it to the brunette, his arms wound around her waist and he smirked. “So I should assume I’m getting lucky tonight, not ma’am?”

Keera responded by lifting a hand to shove his hat down over his eyes. His reply was a quick movement of pulling it off his own head and dropping it on hers where it stayed. And right then was where it became all about nothing but just the pair of them. The rest of it faded away while they stared at one another and Derek slowly lead his wife around the dance floor.

‘When the walls come down You'll know I'm here to stay There's nothing I would change Knowing that together everything that's in our way We're better than alright’

[lillian-graham]

The Escapist Chronicles

Free. She had gotten free from the White Room. Free from Lawson. Free from the basement. She had managed it all on her own and she was proud of herself but she was beaten in, that was for sure.  Immediately she had set off for Cole’s room, needing to be reassured that this was real. Tossing open the door without knocking, Lillian called his name but she stopped halfway through and stood in the doorway.

Cole wasn’t there. But the room wasn’t empty.

Keera and Derek sat on the bed, across from one another, a bottle of Cole’s special mix between them and a deck of cards scattered. Keera’s eyes lifted to look at the blonde and she immediately rolled them and looked back to her cards. “She’s here.” She grumbled the words to Derek who turned his head and looked her over slowly with a raised brow. She wasn’t sure what it was about that look, but she felt as if he knew something she didn’t, as if he was seeing right through her.

A shudder went up her spine as she stood still and gently rubbed her arm. “Where’s Doc?”

Derek’s eyes were still on her, but it was Keera that responded. “He took off a few minutes ago, he must have known you were coming.” A wicked grin was on the brunette’s face as she lifted her eyes to look at Lillian once more. Lil’s eyes darted between the two. “Did he say where he was going?”

This time, Derek answered, he shook his head slowly as he gracefully slid from the bed. “No ma’am.” The boy moved toward her with ease, until he was standing almost uncomfortably close to her, completely out of his character. He didn’t say anything as he stepped up into her. One hand reached up to grab the door, the other gently took her arm and pulled her into the room. “We should really have a talk. The three of us. In private.”

The tension in the air was ridiculous and Lillian felt so wrong and out of place it wasn’t even funny. But shestill allowed Derek to pull her into the room and close the door. Keera’s eyes were on them now, her cards had been dropped to her laugh. “Don’t be too rough on her now,Der.” Though it if was possible, she looked even more creepy than she had before.

Lillian’s eyes went up to Derek and she took a step away from him, but he stopped her. “Lancaster… you’re pushing it. What do you want to talk about?” She stood strong, frim, her arms folding across her chest staring at the boy while her anger was already beginning to grow.

“Talk? Well there’s not much talkin’ to be had from you, just me and not ma’am here. My mom told me it was always best to be honest, so here it goes.” Derek had almost backed her into the door and his smile spread. “Being honest, I only bothered talking to you in the first place to get to your friend. Who really wants to be with – and excuse my language but – the school’s tramp. The girl who, honestly, I think you’ve probably been ridden more often than my horse has.”

The color, or whatever was left of it, drained from her face as she looked from Derek to Keera who was giggling. Trying to focus on her anger, she straightened up staring at Derek and shrugging. “Nothing I haven’t heard before, and while we’re being honest, it still doesn’t bother me, I can have sex with whomever I want, whenever I want and I don’t give a damn what anyone has to say about it.”

Derek only shook his head sadly and backed away from her. “It’s like damaged goods, ma’am. No one wants to use something that someone else has thrown out. It’s like a broken toy.” The boy shrugged and dropped back down to the bed as Keera got up and came toward her.

“Hey blondie.” Smirking widely Keera’s arms folded in her particular stance. “It pisses you off, doesn’t it? Not only does Derek want me more than he wants you, but Noah wants me more than he wants you too… looks like that makes you second choice, doesn’t it?” The girl let out harsh laughter but kept her arms folded and continued in her tirade. “Do you know why I even bothered to be friends with you at all? It was hilarious to watch you fall flat on your face over and over again. You’re pathetic. You’re not a person. You’re a bitch with a special little power that you can’t even control.”

At the moment, Lillian was somehow resisting the urge to slap the girl, but she only closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down. She was raging internally, but a small part of her was agreeing with every word the two said, and it was beginning to break her down. Maybe Doc was wrong, she wasn’t strong at all. She was just some girl with a big mouth, a big power and open legs.

Her eyes closed as she moved back away from Keera, her back pressing into the door, but Keera only pressed on. “Seriously, Lillian, did you really think that anyone at this school really cared if you were alive or dead? No, of course not. We all knew you were downstairs, but none of us bothered to come and get you, now did we? Why? Because we are better off without you. We like you down there, it’s what you deserve and where you should be. Nobody wants you here, no one needs you here. No one even cares if you just disappeared. So do us all a favor and disappear, Graham. Get the hell out of our life.”

Derek got off of the bed and came up behind Keera, his arms went around the girl’s waist and he stooped she he could drop his chin to her shoulder. “I hate being rude, but my girl’s got a point you know. We’re all better off when you’re not around, and we don’t have to deal with you. I haven’t even known you that long – but it’s still too long.”

Keera was smirking again, she let out a small laugh as Lillian’s fingers went over her eyes. God she wanted this to be a dream, she wanted to wake up. Stilled pressed into the door she slowly slid to the floor and that was when Keera reached down and pinched her arm painfully. It was almost as if she had read her mind. “This ain’t a dream, Graham. This is reality, so deal with it and accept it. We don’t want you here… now get out, because the sight of you is turning my stomach.”

Keera and Derek broke into wicked laughter as Lillian forced herself to her feet. Oh well. She didn’t need them. She didn’t need anyone. She didn’t care what anyone thought. Struggling to find the doorknob she ripped the door open and went out into the hallway. She wasn’t dreaming, she was out and back in the school, but she was still alone.

The laughter was echoing down the hallway and she shoved her fingers up into her hair as she spun in a slow circle. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she tried to focus on something, on anything, but none of it was making sense. Pressing her head against the wall, her hands slammed into the brick beside her head and a loud sob tore through her whole body. She needed to get herself together. It didn’t matter. It was fine. She was alone. Her own ‘family’ was abandoning her. No, they were kicking her out because they couldn’t stand her. She was a disgrace of a person… not even a real person. Jackson was right – NO. Jackson hadn’t been real… had he?

Now she was just confused, reality and imagination were beginning to blend together and she couldn’t tell the two apart. She needed to talk to someone who could help her work it out. Someone who would make it make sense. The same someone that always made it make sense. Danny. She needed to find Danny.

--

Lawson’s fingers lifted from the sedated whimpering girl and he smirked to the attendant in the room. “We’re nearly there, you know, this is actually a bit of fun…” The man chuckled as the girl drifted back into consciousness she was still drowsy from the sedation. Upon seeing her eyelids open, the attendant hurried the release another sedative into one of the many IVs inserted into her body. While her confusion was only growing, where in the hell was she now? What was real? When she drifted back under, she had no idea which way was out and which way was in.