1

Songs I Wanna Sing

MUSE, SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE
http://www.metrolyrics.com/supermassive-black-hole-lyrics-muse.html
THE ONLY EXCEPTION

THE ANTHEM PT.2
WITH HARRY POTTER CLIPS

Narnia- The Animals Talk Chapter 2. The Lion and the Tiger

Naturally, I was scared. I knew exactly how Alice had felt as soon as she'd landed in Wonderland, and I didn't like it. I mean, it wasn't like Dodo Birds were coming out of the trees, or I was creating an ocean with my tears, but something had definitely happened when I'd climbed out of the tree. These woods weren't murky brown and dull green. They weren't littered with trash. They were golden and bright, beautiful and lively, even if it was cold and growing darker, as it had been in my woods.
Something was definitely different about the trees. They moved in a different way. Like... they were more... alive.
I forced myself to remain calm. I was doing better than I imagined in a situation like this. I had no idea where I was, but there was no panic. I waited for it, but it didn't come. I decided I couldn't just stand here. What would be the point? No one was around here. Just the trees.
So I re-laced my boots and shoved my hands in my pockets, starting to move away from the hollowed tree. A tree that didn't seem so hollow anymore.
As I walked, my nose started to go numb. I didn't realize how cold it was when I'd left the house, and it was colder still in this new place. Tiny, perfect snowflakes began to make their way through the leaves of the canopy. I was in awe. My fascination overpowered my fear of the cold and loneliness; the entire place leaked wonder.
Leaves crunched and twigs snapped behind me. Every time I would jump, but whenever I looked, nothing was there. I felt no eyes on my back, and was assured that I had to keep moving and not let it bother me. Maybe I was dreaming. This thought entered my mind more than once.
It was too real to be a dream, and my toes would be numb if it was. Soon I came to what appeared to be a clearing, wide and large, an exact circle. As the trees thinned and I got closer I got, I thought I was seeing animals. I squinted and rubbed my eyes, and sure enough, there they were. They weren't just animals. They were, but they weren't.
I swore I was seeing things, because what I was seeing didn't exist. Sure, there were normal animals; but most of these wouldn't be able to coexist with each other, much less coexist with this biome. I wondered then if I'd been drugged, because as I stepped behind a tree [as close as I would allow myself to get to these creatures], I could see every hair on the back of a black centaur a few yards away. There were also minotaurs, big and black with course hair and large horns. There were tiny men, dwarves or elves or something. Petals and dry leaves swirled around the heads of the group, forming and dispersing into human shapes. Lights as big as fists buzzed on the wings of insects. All of them fidgeted, but none made a noise. None looked at one another. Just straight ahead at platform stone overlooking the crowd.
Not much time later, at least, it couldn't have been because the snow had barely made a layer on the frosted ground, I could hear something behind the platform. All the creatures seemed to have heard it, too.
A lion emerged, behind him springing and eager-looking tiger. They were both as large as rhinos, the biggest big cats I've ever seen. The lion looked over the array of creatures silently. He sat. His eyes shown through the twilight like tiny golden suns and his coat seemed to glimmer with flakes of gold as well. Snowflakes seemed to melt a second before they touched him.
The tigress [I knew because when you tried to think of her as a he, it didn't work]had a bright white stomach when she sat, a color that seemed to be spreading through her body with the arrival of winter. She was slightly smaller than the massive lion, yet bigger than a fully grown tiger. I liked her. I liked her very much.
They sat in silence. No one- nothing, moved. The fairies and sprites seemed to have landed, because the air was still. All but the snowflakes. The centaurs looked at them with distain.
I must have been standing there for an hour, maybe a minute [I had no idea] until something actually happened. And when something happened, it happened. My toes may have been numb, and my eyes watering, but I had been good for this. Though nothing could have prepared me. It happened.
Something the creatures had all been waiting for.
The lion opened it's mouth, and spoke.

The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood 9. Bad Luck Comet

The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood 9. Bad Luck Comet

I decided not to drive. It was too much to think about, which seemed silly since I've driven for a while now. I ran with the current thoughts of how much harder this job appointed to me actually was. I was supposed to be helping Stefan, not getting angry with him the second day. I had a feeling as soon as we got past this, it'd all be easier. After all, he's my best friend, and trusting him is the most important thing right now. He needed my help getting closer to Elena.
When I got into town, there were already plenty of people there. It wasn't dark enough to quite see the purpose of tonight's gathering, but the sky showed signs of a clear and promising night. I remembered the last time they'd held a festival in Mystic Falls for the comet.
I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone coming over to me. I turned my head to see Elena's friend Bonnie. She was beautiful, with large eyes and mocha-colored skin. She carried a box that's contents clattered as she walked.
"Hi," she said, smiling at me and reaching into the box. She produced a candle and held it out to me.
"Thanks." I took it.
"You're Stefan's friend, Vanessa. Right?" she looked friendly enough, so I returned her smile.
"Yup. Best friends. You and Elena are pretty close too, right?"
"Yeah, we've known each other forever." she stuck out her hand for me to shake. I smiled wider and took it.
Something went wrong. I could feel it, and see it in her eyes. She jerked back.
"I-I gotta g-go..." Bonnie mumbled, and walked quickly away. I stared after her, wondering what else could go wrong.
I looked around the park as the sky turned everything a darker shade. I followed eyes to the place where the comet lingered, suspended. It moved so slowly, it didn't look real.
Then my neck prickled like it always did when someone was watching me. I assumed it to be Bonnie, but it didn't feel like the right direction when I turned her way, and she was busying herself by handing out candles. She still looked flustered. I turned this was and that but I couldn't find anyone else staring. I wondered where Jeremy was, and how he was doing. I needed an update on Vicki as well, and my mind was averted from my would-be stalker. I spotted Stefan at the same moment he spotted me a moment later. I grimaced.
"Hey, Vaness," Stefan said as he came over. Using his nickname for me was not going to make me forgive him, I reminded myself coldly.
"Stefan," I replied with a monotone voice, twisting the wick of my candle and beginning to walk away. He followed, like he always did.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You can't just ignore me, you're my babysitter."
I turned on him sharply. He fell back under my expression.
"You're right. I can't just ignore you. Like Damon did." I walked away defiantly, my confidence regaining. I was right, I could never stay mad a Stefan Salvatore for long, but for now I still had reason. What ever. I'd shown up, hadn't I?
Interrupting my thoughts, Caroline Forbes bounced in front of me, a smile plastered to her face. I suppose she was pretty, beautiful, actually. Her long, blonde hair curled at the end and her eyes were green and almond shaped. She was always dressed like she was a model from a catalog.
"Hey!" she greeted.
"Hi," I said, deciding to be as nice as possible. My neck tickled dully again.
"Were... you at the party last night?" she asked sweetly.
"Wouldn't miss it." we walked side by side throught the candle-bearing crowd. I wondered how to get away.
"I guess I missed you," she shrugged.
"Guess so. I was with Jeremy around the Pavilion."
"Elena's brother?" she stopped dead in her tracks. I smiled inwardly, trying to look innocent.
"Yeah, he's really nice." I said casually.
"Are you going to date?" Caroline blurted. I glanced at her, startled. I hadn't thought about it.
"I don't know, he's sort of-"
"-A druggie? Yeah..."
"I was going to say not my type." I said, shocked. Caroline looked at me like I was kidding, then when she realized I wasn't she faltered under my gaze.
I turned away from her to get my candle lit. My mind buzzed with annoyance for Caroline as the flame transfered from wick to wick. The flame joined, melting the wax, making it spill over the sides of the candles. One drop slipped past the plastic cup and fell on to the hand of the person that had lit my candle. Their fingers were long and that of a man. Familiar. Especially the ring.
"Stefan-!" Caroline cried suddenly, making my turn. I cursed, looked back, but-
"Damnit!" I looked around frantically, but... nothing. "What? What the hell do you-?"
"Caroline, can I talk to Vanessa for a minute..."
"Sure..." she seemed happy to get away from me. She knew she'd upset me, but I was a little too upset by something she had said. And it wasn't just that.
I regained control. "What? Can't you just leave me alone until I'm ready to talk to you again?"
"I just thought... we could..." Stefan's eyes moved away from my face. He was looking at something else now- no, glaring at someone else. I snapped my head back, following his gaze, but nothing was there. I turned back, moving my hair out of my face. "Just.." he looked at me, and he knew there was no getting through just yet. He made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. "... just keep an eye out, okay?"
"Of course."
I watched him disappear into the crowd and felt like throwing something after him. I turned and ran. Nothing was going according to plan, everything was falling apart in my hands. I told myself I was overreacting over and over, but it didn't work. I put on one final burst of speed- now in the darkness of the abandoned edges of town- and BAM!
I tripped and landed- hard- on the grass, snapping my wrist and bruising my rib cage. Vampires have auto-pilot. As I jerked my wrist back into place, I looked around for an answer, but I was alone again. Always alone.
But I wasn't alone. I didn't know it, but another vampire WAS in Mystic Falls. And he was watching me.
One with hair so dark it was almost black.

One with piercing blue eyes.

The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood Chapter 8 Part 2

I blew out the candles one by one in my room, taking my time so I didn't have to arrive when Stefan had told me to. I know I shouldn't- Stefan trusted me to be his "chaperone"- but I was a little angry at him at the moment.
I mean, he hadn't exactly been lying to me, but he sure as hell wasn't telling me the truth. And tonight- well tonight I'd just have to get it out of him. I wanted to know, needed to know, what had attacked and nearly killed Vicki Donavan. Stefan knew.
I pulled on a black sweater and headed for the door at human speed. It was quiet; Veronica had already gone out somewhere.
As soon as my hand felt the door knob, a light tap came from the other side of the wood. I blanched with what little color my skin shown. There was no window on the door, no peep hole. I took a deep, self-attempted breath to try and calm myself down. It didn't work well. I kept thinking... what if it was-?
Before I could think the name, I ripped the door open, fully expecting to see the face I've been longing to see, forgiving, resentful, and full of repent. I hoped to see the light in his shockingly bright eyes, his strong, perfect frame leaning dolefully against the dark doorframe. But there was nothing. No one.
Nothing but the prints from a crow on the dirt path.

The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood- Chapter 8

8. The Secret Kept

"My brother and I... aren't exactly on good terms," Stefan tried to explain to Elena's questioning face. She wouldn't let up, and Stefan was getting tired of talking of Damon.
"I guess it's just weird for me," Elena said," I've always been okay with Jeremy. I can't imagine being angry at him for so long." Wind blew her hair in her face and she moved it, wrapping herself more tightly in her sweater. It wasn't cold, at least not to Stefan, Elena just seemed more closed to Stefan today.
Elena was standing in the doorway of her house, an old building that Stefan had recognized from long ago with two stories and wide-framed windows. Stefan stood just outside, although Elena had offered him in. All he had wanted was to tell Elena something, then leave. He wasn't trying to be rude, just efficient. He didn't want Vanessa to find out, wasn't that the whole point?
"I can see that," he said, his mind wandering to last night, and how it changed everything. After he'd gotten home from the hospital, Stefan had felt guilty for not telling Vanessa about him. Damon had come back. He'd come into the boarding house and completely ruined everything. Elena came by earlier to speak to Stefan, and Damon had been there. Stefan was just glad he hadn't done anything to her. It wouldn't have been fair. Damon was always out to destroy him. Nor did Damon realize his brother had come to Mystic Falls to mend the past, and now he was trying to repeat it.
"He's still your brother, Stefan." Elena tilted her head against the doorframe. "How long did you say you haven't seen him for?"
"I didn't..." Stefan said indifferently, looking down. Fifteen years. He hadn't seen Damon in fifteen years. Until now. "I just needed to stop by to tell you to do me a favor."
"Oh- okay," Elena was taken by surprise, but was good at hiding it.
"You know Vanessa?"
"... yeah?" Elena said, unsure.
"Don't tell her." Stefan said.
"Tell her... tell her what?"
"About Damon. If you see her, if she asks, don't tell her." Stefan looked rushed, pained, even. Elena had so many questions, they showed right through her, but Stefan was obviously not in the mood. Elena had never seen such tension between brothers before today, and it scared her. Yes, Damon was handsome and charming, but she could tell that there was something wrong about him. Something under the surface.
And she was right.
There was a silence, and a crow could be heard in the distance. Stefan wondered vaguely if it was Damon's, and if it was listening in. It wouldn't have surprised him.
"... Why?" Elena asked after a few more moments.
"She's... not on good terms with him either."
"Oh..." Elena thought of the mysterious girl with the blue-green eyes and the dark hair. She was the type who protected who she was loyal to, which was what obviously made Stefan want to protect her. She looked strong, but something told Elena that she was much more vulnerable than that. Elena felt a pang for Vanessa, as well as a stab of uncalled for hatred towards Damon. How nice could a person be if they'd turned two people against them like that. "He must not be that great of a brother then..." she said without thinking.
"No. No, he's not." Stefan seemed relieved that Elena had said that. He looked down at the silver watch around his wrist and glared at it like it was an enemy. He looked back to Elena. "I'm sorry I had to put you in the middle of that," he said as he backed down the porch steps.
"I can't just lie, though, if she asks!"
"I know it sounds wrong of me, but please- do this for me, I really gotta go..."
"Wait, I don't-" but before she could ask another question, Stefan was gone.

Torchwood- The Coming Darkness- 1. The One and Only

Torchwood- The Coming Darkness- 1. The One and Only

The bell rings- finally- and one girl, the strangest, runs for the door. She can't wait to get the hell out of there, so she pushes her way through the teenagers walking to their lockers. She'd already dropped off her books, so she went straight down all three flights of the High School, so fast it made her dizzy. But it didn't matter, she couldn't be late today.
She shouldn't have, but she heard the angry thoughts of the teens she pushed past. They thickened her headache and just made her move faster. Some stuck their feet out for her to trip on- but the clever telepath that she was, maneuvered around them. The closer she got to the exit, the more her headache faded. One more stair, a few more steps, and- BAM! she was slammed headfirst into a wall. So much for her disappearing headache.
She wasn't mad, looking around for the culprit. Some people laughed but others asked if she was alright. She ignored them and went out the door into a blast of cold air. She was met with a pleasant surprise, at least, and it calmed her throbbing head.
The he was at the bike rack, waiting for me, even through she had specifically told him not to. He grinned when he saw her sarcastically scowling at him. He gave a fake scowl himself.
Captain Jack Harkness.
People stared at him as they wondered who he was, why he was dressed the way he was dressed, if he was single- and why the hell he was grinning at the weirdo Vanessa Reeves.
"I told you not to come," said Vanessa, wrinkling her nose. She was slightly annoyed, it wasn't an act.
"Well I came anyway," he said, taking her bag and swinging it over his shoulder and putting an arm around her. He'd never been to her high school before, and he stated to notice the staring.
"They're going to think you're a pedophile," she told him, her mind grazing the minds of the others around her. She glanced up at his face. He was still taller than her, but she had grown a lot since they'd met. Jack would call it 'developed', but Jack says a lot of things.
"I resent that," he said sternly. Vanessa couldn't tell what he was thinking today; he was the only person she'd ever met that could block her telepathy.
"I told you I was going to come anyway, you didn't have to pick me up."
"Maybe I wanted to see you," he said. She rolled her eyes again but her insides flipped.
"You're just impatient," she said. He made a face as they began to make their way off school grounds. "Now give me back my Vortex Manipulator."
He sighed and let go of her. He took the bracelet device out of his pocket. She tried to take it but he rolled up her sleeve and strapped it on her arm for her.
"You'd just end up asking me to do it for you," Jack concluded, answering her glare.
He pecked her on the forehead and she pressed a button on the manipulator.
The world disappeared around her and she got that familiar feeling she'd just inhaled intoxicating fumes. Her head spun and colors whirled by until she knew where she was again. Jack appeared next to her.
"Welcome back," he said.
The Torchwood Hub.

Narnia; The Animals Talk

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
C. S. Lewis
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My face was still red with anger as I burst out of the side door of our house. That was the very last fight I could stand, I didn't think I could even bear to hear my parent's voices ever again. I hated them - no question, and needed to get as far away from them as possible. I wasn't so blind from anger as to not know where to turn. The woods were calling to me.
The small town in Illinois was close to Chicago- but not close enough. That's why the woods were always a safe place. For the City kids, it would definitely be downtown to hang out and play some basketball. Even go to the park, or the free of cost Lincoln Park Zoo. For us suburban kids, well, we were left to suffer the cold wrath of video games, exclusion from the cool kids [unless you WERE a cool kid] and my personal favorite- the woods. At this time of the year, they were cold and muddy, but I didn't care. The entire woods used to be mine and my twin sister Veronica's.
"Vanessa!" I hear my father yell behind me. I pick up my pace and silently warn him not to follow. If he chased me into the woods, he'd be lost before he knew it. Me, I'm an expert. I know where I'm going, and could never get lost in the Forest Preserve. I shoved my hands in my coat pockets and trudged to the end of my block, turning left. I was barely even paying attention, my feet were on autopilot, my brain on lockdown. I willed myself not to look behind me. I hoped Veronica wouldn't follow; I was too angry to even deal with her.
But it melted away, the anger, replaced with wonder of how the woods would look just now. Leaves were falling from the trees, the sky was grey but light. Enough light to see from under the canopy. I pass the main path entrance, knowing that was for the sissies who take their dogs out for a stroll. The place I was looking for was just around the slight curve. And there it was. The short arch of overhanging intertwined branches. Small, but easy enough for me to get through.
The ground was soft, and a thin covering of leaves layering the ground. A short walk from the entrance, as I knew, was the pond, which I always remember vividly how it looks in the summer. Surprisingly, as I reached it, it did look the same as in the summer. Or at least the pond did. I got as close to the water as possible without my feet sinking it. I bent down to see there were little green sprouts poking through the mud. My eyebrows raised at them.
A twig snapped close to me, and I looked up. A deer lifted her head from the water a few yards away, her muzzle dripping. The look on her face was almost comical. "Good girl," I whispered. The deer shook her head and continued drinking. Apparently I posed as no threat.
I skirted the edge of the pond, circling the trees to get to the rickety bridge. The pond turned into a small flowing river, and I wanted to get to the other side. I began to walk onto the bridge, but it shook so I crawled the rest of the way. When I got to the other side, I saw what I'd crossed for. A large pile of logs and branches sat in front of me. Though that's not what it looked like to me. They looked like ruins.
My sister, our friend, and I used to sit inside the fort that someone else had made and make imaginary battle plans. We'd cleared out the webs and the spiders and had played make believe all day in the woods we weren't even aloud in. Technically I wasn't even supposed to be there now, but I honestly didn't care.
Then, after a few summers of royalty over the woods, the land we'd renamed from 'The Forest Preserve' to Farei, a huge storm came that had flooded everyone's backyards and basements. We knew that rain always flooded the pond [or, in our eyes, the sea] that spread out beneath the castle, but we were unsure of the damage that would be inflicted this time. We gritted our teeth until it was over.
When it was, only our friend Andy [King Andrew] was free to go into the woods. When he came back, he brought horrible news. The kingdom had fallen in the storm. Now only the wet ruins and mud remained.
I kicked at one of the logs and a few beetles scuttled out from underneath. A worm poked it's head out, then squiggled back in. I sighed. The ruins were already decomposing.
I turned and cantered down the hill from where our 'castle' used to stand. There was a bright open valley where there were trees all around and some scattered here and there. This used to be our practice grounds for battle, where we'd take long branches and fight each other with them. We'd use the tree's as a target and throw emptied beer bottles and rocks at them, pretending that they were the enemy. We each had some sort of special power, too, so we'd use them. I know I had the ability to talk to the animals. We'd never get lost because the deer would 'tell' me to follow the deer paths. Veronica would control the weather, so we never got caught in the rain. Andy could grow plants, and find out where the enemy was just by touching them. We always won against our enemies.
We each had incredible weapons, too. I couldn't remember what the others had, but I remembered mine vividly. It was an ebony bow with silver arrows. The feathers were jet black crow. I looked down and saw a few sticks and branches lying on the forest floor. It wouldn't be like the sharpened branch I'd carried around with me, which had also been taken by the flood, but it'd have to do. I picked one of them up.
After a few minutes of reminiscing and walking, I came across a tree taller than the others. I recognized it right away. It was the old hollow tree we used to use as our secondary base! I'd personally loved that tree because it seemed like every animal could have lived in it. But today it looked odd.
Not a bad odd, a good odd, actually. It looked a bit younger, for some reason, yet I knew it was still our tree. It had the same shaped opening and the same knot in the side. It stood out amongst the rest of the trees, which had shed, or was shedding it's leaves. Ours still hung to it's large, bright, green-yellow, fanned out leaves. It was the strangest, most liveliest tree in the woods.
I walked up to it and found our names still carved in the side. It sounded completely ridiculous, Queen Vanessa. I looked into the hole and raised the branch, paranoid in case an animal hopped out at me. But there was nothing inside the hallow tree. Absolutely nothing at all. Not one mushroom, leaf, or rock was inside. It was hollowed out completely, totally smooth, with nothing but the dirt floor.
My eyes widened. This was without a doubt the weirdest thing I'd ever seen in the woods. I dropped to my knees and stuck my head in. The tree had always been big enough to fit all three of us inside, but not one of us had ever wanted to venture inside. It was always infested with spiders, dead wood, and plenty of fungus. So we stayed out. I wondered what had made it this way.
I looked up the tree, and saw that it was hollow a good way up. I was so confused; I'd never seen this happen to a tree before. Curiosity overtook me and I climbed inside, sitting and wrapping my arms around me knees. It was warmer in the tree than outside, which added to the list of oddities. But not a much as when I looked directly in front of me.
Something was carved intricately into the inside wall of the tree. I stared at it. Whoever had carved it must have hallowed out the rest of the tree. It made me think they'd by doing this they'd claimed the tree for themselves, but somehow I felt to comfortable to think that this place had been meant for no one else but me.
The carving was of two creatures; a lion, and my favorite animal, a tiger. Somehow I knew that the tiger was in fact a Tigress, and that the lion was a male. They didn't seem to be mates, more like they coincided with each other. It was beautiful, and I let my mind wander as I stared at it. I took my hand and ran it over the design, only to pull it back in shock.
Where my hand had trailed over the carved wood, it had disappeared. When my hand was moved the carving was gone entirely. I stared at it, feeling slightly worried. I pulled my nails across the area where the wood used to be, but nothing caught. Nothing was there. No ridges, not even a painting.
In my frustration I reached out of the opening for my branch. But it wasn't there. I stuck out my head and blinked in the setting sun. It was nowhere to be seen. Then I looked up.
These weren't my woods.

Torchwood Fan Fiction Promo

"I know... everything about you."
I was panting, staring straight into his face, lacking any confidence whatsoever. Knowing him I was certain about. Trusting myself to tell him correctly- not so much.

"How?" he demanded.

"I- I don't know." I admitted, the rain dripping from my nose. Just a few moments ago, I had simply stuck my head outside the apartment window to check the weather. It was obviously raining- but who can resist sticking their hands outside to feel the wet coldness on a brisk fall night? I was wondering when we would leave this stuffy apartment when I'd looked down and seen this man. He was handsome- but when you're fourteen, you think most anyone's handsome. He had on a dress shirt and pants, with a trench coat that was long a gray. And his name had just come to me. It came out of nowhere, and when it did- the information kept coming and coming. Everything about this random man running down the street entered my brain- slowly at first, and then gaining as he got closer and closer to the building.I had to shout out to him- mild OCD takes it toll on you every once in a while. But I was starting to believe that it was more than that.
I'd felt... something about him. This had never happened before.
"Tell me! How old are you? Where did you come from?! Who are you?!" The man should have scared me, but the more I dug subconsciously into his mind, the more I saw that he wasn't a threat to me.
"I've already said! I don't how I know who you are- I just know! I'm... I'm fourteen. My name's... Vanessa." I told him after a short inward debate.
"Are you lying?" He took a step closer.
"No! I- I think I can read your mind." The rain poured down- slicking my hair to my face, making it look black. His was already wet; his blue green eyes watched me carefully.
"Fourteen, huh?" he said, calming down considerably. I nodded."Chance," he mumbled, turning to face the apartment I'd just come out of. I wondered if anyone at the party had noticed I'd gone missing. My twin sister- maybe. "Pure chance and I end up running into something like this again. How-how are you doing that?" He said, rounding on me like he had as soon as I'd snuck out of the hot apartment building.
"Doing what?" I asked, my stutter under control now. A person with an umbrella passed, and he tried to pull me to a more secretive place. Instinct kicked it.
"No," I said. "We stay." He automatically obliged, but waited for the person to round the corner. It was a lesser part of Chicago- no one would pass for another half hour- if even.
"How are you pulling memories like that?! I can't even remember some of this! But I know they're mine... It's like my life is flashing before my eyes. How are you doing this?!" he insisted.
"I don't know- listen. I have to go back! I don't know what's happening. But- but I can talk to you later."
"When? Do you live here?" he gestured to the apartment building.
"No. I don't." I wasn't telling him no because I thought he was a rapist, or a murderer- I said it because it was the truth.
"Here- take this-" he reached his hand into the pocket of the trench coat he was wearing. He pulled out a thick, leather bound envelope and shoved it in my hand.
"Vanessa?" I heard my sister ask suddenly from the window. I pulled the man closer to the building so she couldn't look down at us.
"Yeah- Ronnie, I'm down here."
"Where? I'm coming down!"
"What? Wait! No! She thinks I'm fooling around-"
"That will help you find me again. Do not lose it, Vanessa."
My eyes widened when he said my name. A rush of adrenaline flowed through me. This man was nearly as old as my father- yet...
"I have to go. Do. Not. Lose it. I don't even know why I'm trusting you with it. It's the only thing I have left." He turned and ran, faster than I could ever run- and disappeared in the pouring rain. I stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk, clutching the wet leather. I'd never seen anyone like that before, not in my life.

And that was the moment I'd met him.


I'd never seen anyone like Captain Jack Harkness.

7. The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood

The Vampire Diaries- All is Fair with Love and Blood 7. A Compelling Story

As it turns out, Stefan WAS headed for the hospital. I was thoroughly confused, though.I suppose it was possible for me to not know the full story of what had bitten Vicki Donavan at the party last night. I was still trying to work out if it had been a vampire. It wasn't me, I knew that much. It couldn't have possibly been Veronica, either- she was amongst the crowd the entire night. And Stefan- well... he was iffy sometimes, but I'd trusted him when he'd told me it hadn't been him. Could it have been..?
No, Stefan would have told me.
Or would he have?
He'd been behaving oddly- like he had bad new he knew he'd have to tell me eventually. It made me angry. I'd come to Mystic Falls to worry about Stefan , not myself, or any bad news he had for me!
And if it had been Stefan that had bitten Vicki, it would have been all my fault! Though I never believed for a second that it had been Stefan that'd done it, I'm sure Zack- the owner of the Salvatore boarding house, and Stefan's great nephew, had already dished him out for the crime. He'd probably also blamed him on the recently broadcasted deaths in the woods, which I'd attempted to ignore. I had hoped that that mystery had really been an animal- but these things added up.
Especially in Mystic Falls.
So there I was, sorely ending up staring at the hospital, a few seconds after Stefan had disappeared inside. Was I being unfair, wanting to follow him? I wanted to trust him, and I did: for the most part.
I pushed decidedly through the door, which opened and stuck against the handicap lock. I didn't give time for the nurse at the circular desk time to look up from the computer, let alone check me in. I made my way down the hall, following Stefan's sharp turns around corners. He knew where Vicki's room was?
I couldn't help but look into the rooms as we passed intensive care unit, which meant we were getting closer to Vicki. The bandages and beeping heart monitors made me think. What if Vicki had... died? Where would we stand then?
When I came to a wide hall brimmed with bustling nurses and doctors, I watched Stefan slip, unnoticed, into one of the rooms. I assumed it was Vicki's and followed. I hovered in the doorframe when I reached it, but I didn't hear anything for a few moments. I walked it.
Stefan was leaning over Vicki, their eyes both wide and staring. Stefan was whispering something to her, and I realized that he was trying to compel her.
"It was an animal that attacked you," he said quietly .
"It was an animal that attacked me," she repeated, her voice as glazed as her eyes.
"Are you sure that'll work?" I asked, making Stefan whirl around. Vicki showed no sign that she knew of my presence.
"No," Stefan sighed.
"Do you want me to..?"
"No- wait!" Stefan put a finger to my mouth, which always annoyed me to no end. But I could hear it, too; there were footsteps, softer than the nurses or doctors', coming closer to Vicki's room.
Stefan took my arm and pulled me from the room. I shook him off gently and followed. We went down the hall, around the corner, and into a new hall. Behind us, someone was lurking closer, picking up their pace.
"What do we do?" I whispered.
"Turn," he directed, not answering.
"Who is it?"
"Matt," he breathed.
At first, I had no idea who he was talking about, but a second later I realized that Vicki's brother must have come straight from school. I wondered vaguely where THEIR parents were.
Stefan took another turn suddenly, and we found ourselves slamming into a wall of the thick scent of blood.
It was the donation center.
I flashed a glance at Stefan's face and grabbed his hand, crushing it in my own. I pulled, and he didn't try to resist, instead he looked around for a way out.
"There!" I instructed, pointing to a wrap-around curtain that wasn't in use, stationed in front of a window near the center. I yanked it back, and a light breeze drifted out of the open window.
"Jump!" I whispered harshly. He took one look at me and sailed out, running lightning fast as soon as his feet hit the ground. I followed relentlessly throwing myself out, flying when my feet merely tapped the cement below.
I stopped at the front of the building. Where was Stefan? Maybe he left because he was angry that I'd tried to help. I felt a slightly angry push on my shoulder, and there he was, having less of a reason to be angry than I.
"Don't look at me like that because I was trying to HELP you. There's something you're not telling me- and you definitely should NOT be the angry one." I insisted, a little louder than necessary. I didn't care! The anger drained from his face almost at once, taking on a more sympathetic look. "You know who attacked Vicki, don't you?" I asked, gentler this time. He just put his face in his hands and shook his head.
"I'll only assume it was you," I lied, "just like Zack, and then who's fault would it be, Stef? Yours? No, it'd be mine! I'm supposed to be-!"
"I didn't. I didn't hurt anyone." Stefan's eyes were cold as he lifted his head. I stared at him for a moment, knowing it was impossible to stay angry while looking into his face... reminding me of his brother... damnit.
Stefan looked up at the hospital. "We should go," he put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," And then he was gone.
Right then and there I felt like a breakdown. He trusted me, didn't he? Before I was a vampire, I know I'd been mentally unstable- and still am at times- but whatever he tells me I can take, can't I?
I lifted my own head to the hospital- and caught my breath. Matt was searching the grounds from one of the top windows in the building. He turned his head towards me-
but I was already a streak across the lawn.