Tokyo

Lucy Rose

Lucy's red eyes sparkled as she looked over the four people who were getting thier second chance at life. "I really did a good job didn't I?" She spoke, shattering the silence as she admired her work with their new bodies. "Let's begin, shall we?" She stood in front of the four at the gateway between Earth and the Otherworld.
"I have given you new life to let you finish what you've started, you have all died, but there is something keeping you tied to Earth, we are here now to cut this tie. I know you all throw what I am talking about." She smiled at them, excited for their second chance. "I will set you free in a few minutes, but now, I must go over some things. First, you won't be able to feel pain, but do not think that you are invincible. If you get stabbed, punched, or you fall, your temporary bodies will crack and you will bleed holy water. Obviously this will be hard to cover up. Just think about me and I will come and refill your bodies with water and seal your cracks. Don't worry, this will be quick, lasting up to 4 seconds at most, and no one will see anything. You have no rules, but don't think this is just to have fun, this is only to do finish what keeps you on Earth, you only have three days. In three days time, I'll come to pick you up."
The angel smiled at all of them and then bowed. "Enjoy your new life." She disappeared and the gates to Earth opened revealing the bustling city of Tokyo.
"Good luck." Lucy's sweet voice rang in each of their ears.

Leo Amor

Looking around, Leo guessed that he was in some kind of alley. He could hear the rush of cars speeding by, and the sound of chattering of many voices So we must be in some kind of busy area. Maybe some kind of intersection? Leo wasn't certain. He looked down at himself, but only saw his familiar rough hands and decently built figure. I suppose we must have changed, but I can't see it, he thought. Mentally shrugging, he looked around at the others. They all were in various levels of shock, though it didn't seem like any fights had broken out.... Yet. Leo debated sticking around, but he didn't really like being in an alley with four other people he didn't really know. Besides, he had things to do, people to see. Well, one particular person... I'm sorry, Leo thought, thinking about Remo. I never meant to hurt you like this... He let out a sigh and looked around the group.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to do my duty as quickly as possible," he said. With that, he stepped into the busy street. Almost immediately he was nearly pushed into a wall, the quick rush of the pedestrians not ready for someone to suddenly enter the stream. Gritting his teeth, Leo made his way into the pattern of walking, looking around carefully. For what? He thought. It's not like Remo would be here, in the middle of a... A quick look around affirmed that it was a shopping district. It's totally out of character for him... But no, there was someone with Remo's hair, down to the odd curl. That's either him or his long-lost twin, Leo thought with a gulp. I can't loose him. Not when I'm this close. "This is ridiculous," Leo muttered as he shoved his way through the crowd. Extremely rude of him, but he was technically dead. He had bigger things to worry about then being polite and making sure everyone loved him.

Making his way towards a crosswalk, he saw Remo look around with a somewhat depressed look. Leo felt his heart lurch. I'm so sorry, he wanted to say. He wanted to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness, but what would that achieve? Remo wouldn't recognize him, probably. Unless Lucy had been crazy enough to drop them back on Earth in their regular bodies, but Leo highly doubted that. Deciding that the best move would be to go up and introduce himself, make something up about mistaking him for a stranger, when someone suddenly pushed their way through the crowd, shoving a few people forward, including Remo... Who was then pushed into a turning car. Jumping forward with speed he didn't know he had, Leo grabbed Remo and pulled him back, holding onto him with a death grip.

"I've got you," Leo muttered. He quickly breathed in the scent on the top of Remo's head, becoming certain that he had the right person. Why Remo was there he didn't really care about. The only thing was that Remo was there, Leo had just saved his life, and this was probably the best way to start things off. Walking back a few feet as the crossing sign turned green, Leo let go of Remo and rubbed the back of his head, pretending to look somewhat embarrassed and nervous. "Are you ok? You got pushed forward really suddenly," he said, speaking in English. It was Remo's first language after all, and while the Italian (born in America) could speak Japanese, Leo knew Remo's written Japanese was pretty bad. Well, as much as Leo could remember.

Taryn Reid

“Good Luck…” She heard Lucy, the angel that had given them their glorious bodies back, call out to the cluster of them as the Gates of Earth swung open, blinding each and every one of them with a glaring light. Instinctively, Taryn screwed her eyes shut, the intensity of the light making her vision see the vivid red of her eyelids. When the radiance of the glow had faded, Taryn slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the dimmer light of the Earth.

With a giant smile, she looked around her tiny knot of people, seeing that everyone’s bodies were back. When her eyes fell upon her brother, the smile faltered, a frown taking its place.

“Remi, what are you doing here? You didn’t die…” she trailed off, remembering how she happened to die and a flood of unwanted anger surged through her, her vision glowing red, “You killed me, not the other way around. Why are you here?” her eyes narrowed in an attempted to calm her anger down. She was never like this, and it irked her to be so.

Deciding that it would be best to look away from the target of her aggravation, Taryn glanced at the rest of the group with little interest, another aspect she was not used to. Usually she was investigating every little thing, curious to the world around her. Apparently death changed that.

Turning her body back to Remus, Taryn wrapped her arms reluctantly around his middle, embracing him in a loose hug, “I don’t know how you died Remi, but I am glad you’re here with me now…and that you didn’t kill her…” she added as an afterthought.

Instantaneously another wave of intense anger and loathing filled her body and she took a step back quickly staring at her brother, eyes filled with astonishment, head tilted sideways. With a displeased frown and a shake of her head, she once again shifted her body away from him, going as far as to take a few steps away from him to distance herself.

The distance gave her an opportunity to look around their environment. They had appeared in an alley way, right off a major street in Tokyo. The walls were a drab gray, draining the rest of the area of any color. Others must have felt the same way because when she looked closer it was decorated with graffiti and other bright decals. Her weight shifted from one foot to the other, the gravel dirt cracking under her boot-clad feet, dust settling on them, making her sigh gently.

Striding away from the group, mainly from her brother, Taryn contemplated what she was going to do here while on her stay at Earth. Lucy said that she had unfinished business, but the only thing she wished she could have done was spend more time with Caprice, to tell her good-bye. To…her dying wish was to…to stop her brother from killing her, was it not?

Taryn’s head snapped to gaze at her brother, who happened to be looking back. A much more demanding and vigorous animosity gushed through her and she stumbled forward, her knees landing on the dirt painfully, her hands gripping her head in a tight hold. With a soft whimper, Taryn felt the energy deplete from her and she yawned, standing up slowly, swaying on her feet. With another yawn her eyes closed and she drifted off into a sleep, unaware that she was in an alley with other people around her.

Finally, stop trying to smother me, it won’t work, idiot girl She sneered, her eyes narrowing automatically. With a glower she admired her surrounding, her nose scrunching up into a scowl at the destruction other children had done to the perfect gray wall. With a roll of her eyes, Tahni looked over at Taryn’s brother, Remus, and sneered at him while he wasn’t looking. As she took a step forward, she noticed the boots she was wearing and grumbled lowly. White boots, in a filthy alley? Not suitable at all. Stupid-ass-girl, how much more idiotic can one get without being a total mental case? Tahni snickered. Too late, she already was.

Too busy mocking Taryn and her poor taste in clothing, or any fashion in general, Tahni didn’t see Remus approach her and lay a coarse hand on her shoulder. Stunned by the action, she seized his wrist and twisted it away from her, eyes shady and treacherous.

“The hell do you want, Remus?” she spoke his name with pure spite, her grasp on his wrist almost to the point of breaking it. While she was tempted to do so, logic won against her rash decision. What logic won against her, she did not know, but Tahni let his wrist go unbroken; however, sprained was another story.

Remus grunted in discomfort, and managed to yank his hand way with a pop, glaring at her darkly. Tahni lost her pissed look, giving him a conceited smile and childishly flipped him off.

What an asshole. I hate him, that bastard she thought to herself as he turned away from her, back facing her. Tahni stared longingly at his back, imagination running wild.

She walked up to him, a knife concealed in her pants. As she got closer, she tugged it out, and cut a deep slash into his back, blood spraying her clothes in red, her white boots tainted, eyes filled with malice and hatred. Another gash, more blood dripped onto her and staining his shirt a dark brown-red color. She smiled as his knees buckled from under him, gasping in pain. Eyes wide with shock. She kicked him, dirt flying into his wounds, and rolled him over to his back, pressing him there with the heel of her blood splattered boots. Digging her heel into his chest, his breathing became more labored, hands desperately trying to pry her shoes off of him.

With a smirk, she shook her head, applying more pressure, hearing the musical sound of cracking bones, accompanied by screams of agony before they faded out, his breathing slowing to a stop. She had killed him. At last he was good and dead

Tahni blinked and loudly cursed, seeing that Remus was standing right there and her wonderful fantasy was not in fact a reality.

Glaring at Taryn’s brother, she stalked past him, shoving him out of her way forcefully, “I’m leaving,” she announced to everyone, “Don’t find me.” She huffed and disappeared from view, walking down the sidewalk, her temper slowly dispersing, leaving her a relatively calm and approachable person. After about a half hour of walking aimlessly through the streets of Tokyo in dusty, dirty clothing, Tahni surveyed the people around her, picking out the richest looking man in the group. Trailing behind him, she was able to secretly snatch his wallet, no one paying any mind to her. Grabbing his credit card and $80 in cash she dropped the wallet, walking away and stuffing it into her back pocket.

She continued this cycle for quite a while, raking in $200 in cold hard cash and 6 credit cards, as well as some food coupons and other assortments of gift cards, summing it up to be about $500 overall, not including the credit cards.

With a small shrug, she got up from the bench she had happened to be sitting on, after shoving an elder off of it, growling at him.

Walking peacefully, albeit meaninglessly through Tokyo, once again, Tahni found herself a small shopping center. Striding inside, she browsed through the shops, finding outfits that suited her taste and not the dumb girl Taryn.

Coming out of the store 3 hours, and 10 outfits, later, Tahni was seemingly satisfied, and had calmed her temper down even farther, until she was forced to explain to some incoherent jackarse that if he didn’t more out of her way, her new 4 ½ black thigh high boots were going to find a way up his arse.

Wandering closer to the residential area, where most of the houses and some of the high school resided, Tahni spotted a familiar blob of hair pulled into a ponytail. Curious, Tahni followed the moving figure, at an extremely far distance, so she didn’t seem too stalker and creeperish.

Strolling along, she managed to get closer to the person, figuring it was indeed someone of the female race, her long chocolate brown hair wrapped into a ponytail, the ends swishing just below her shoulder-blades. She was dressed in denim shorts with a worn leather belt and a simple white t-shirt.

Tahni scowled darkly at the shoes she was wearing. If this was that one girl…Taryn’s best friend…C-something, then she would have better taste in her…clothing. Right?

Having nothing to do, Tahni continued to follow the C-something girl until they came across a diner. As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly, startling Tahni just a bit. With an irritable shrug, she waltzed into the small diner and shot a glare at the receptionist, growing more annoyed as it took her longer to get her seated. With a yawn, she spotted the C girl again and thought that Taryn would, unfortunately be better suited for this type of situation.

Laying her head on the table, she dozed off, mentally dragging a passed out Taryn to the front of their shared minds and kicked her awake; violently she might add.

“Ouch, headache again, my God they hurt…like…ow.” Taryn rubbed her head, ignoring that she was in an alley when she was last aware. Observing where she was, she saw Caprice and waved her arms widely, not realizing that she was no longer in her normal body.

“Caprice, I found you!” she shrieked, a grin plastered on her lips, giggling loudly, “That was easy…huh!” she continued to laugh happily, while in her head Tahni was wishing she could conjure up a gun and shoot her from inside her brain.

Wait…what brain again? Tahni laughed soundlessly.

Caprice Goergetti

A few hours earlier...

Caprice opened her eyes with a gasping cough. She rolled onto her stomach, choking on her own tears as she tried to bring herself back to reality. Her heart was pounding, and she hoisted herself weakly on one hand. Face turned towards the soaked bed sheets. Slowly, her nightmare faded and reality sunk in. She wasn't dying. She wasn't hurtling off the road. Conner wasn't sitting beside her, and there was no screaming ambulance. As she realized these things, she also realized another noise in the room other than her own choking sounds. Her phone was ringing. Caprice turned her head to look at the little device on her nightstand and just watched it ring, never happier that someone had called her for this sound was what had woken her up from the nightmare.

Though she was happy, Caprice just sat on her knees with her white blankets wrapped around her and watched it ring. She couldn't even remember why she'd bought the thing because ever since the day she'd moved out she hadn't picked it up once. Her voicemail box was full and her mother and father took turns calling her everyday. In the beginning, it had been some of Conors family, Dani's mother and father, and all her selfish friends, seeing if she wanted to got to this party or that fashion show. After the first week however, this had stopped. Her two room apartment had looked lie a garden of flowers, she'd nearly never needed to cook dinner, and had heard enough "I'm sorrys" to last her a lifetime. So Caprice had stopped answering the phone or the door. She no longer wanted gifts or presents or sympothy All she wanted was Conor, Dani, and Remus back, but these were things people couldn't offer.

Her voicemail box screeched, bringing her back to reality as her mothers voice recorded her thousandth message. Caprice dragged herself from the bed and groaned, inwardly begging her mom to stop checking on her. There was nothing more painful than the days her mom decided to call. Typically, it was her dad, and his messages were livable, but her mom just brought up old wounds that never seemed to heal. So, before she could get started on how it wasn't her fault and how blaming herself was never the answer, Caprice pulled the plug out of the wall and threw the phone in her trash bin.

Getting ready every morning was a hassle and some days it hurt even to look in the mirror. Caprice dragged herself around the room, selecting as a top a plain white softball t-shirt with Owls scrawled across the front in blue. She hadn't been part of the Owls team, since she was sixteen, and the tee was too small, but she didn't care. It did it's job of covering as much skin as possible. After the tee, she pulled out a usual pair of shorts that she seemed to have a thousand of. Some had a hole in the thigh or fringe along the bottom, or too were long, or too short, but most looked exactly the same. Like this pair. Being tall was a pain, and she could never find clothes that fit around the waist as long as in length so a belt was always needed, and she always wore the same beaten brown leather one that looked like all it would take was one more day of wear, and the whole thing would fall apart.

After dressing, Caprice went into the second room of her tiny apartment, the room she called the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror while she brushed out her long chocolate brown her and winced. Her eyes were the eternal red, and her cheeks were stained with the salt of dried tears. When she scraped her hair back in a high, straight ponytail that swished along her shoulder blades, you could also see the scar. It started at her right temple and ended on the tip of her eyebrow. The doctors had said if the piece of glass that had lodged itself there was any deeper; it would have killed her. Sometimes she wished that Conor had been the one driving. The one with only a few scars to show for the whole thing. Wincing at the sight of the scar, and the memory it presented, she pushed away from the mirror and slipped on some white sneakers before heading outside.

As soon she stepped into the bright sunlight, her head pounded and a wave of nausea almost sent her back inside, but she had to work. She'd already missed two days this week and knowing what she was going through, her boss was tolerant, but nobody was that tolerant. So she forced herself into the bustling crowd of people on the streets, not even bothering to stop and wave to her neighbor Harvy as he greeted her. Harvy was a good guy, but far too optimistic for her taste. It almost made her want to puke with how happy he was all the time so instead of waving. She just started to elbow her way through the busy streets knowing that her rudeness wouldn't last a second in Harvy's head.

Present...

When she finally reached the little dinner, she was late and Tacki, her boss, dragged her into the kitchen. She stopped and the rants began, screaming that she was worthless, that she couldn't keep giving her sick days, and the other waitresses were starting to try to take off too. After her tantrum had run its full course, Tacki hugged her and sighed, "I know you're going through a lot Caprice, but it's hard to manage a restaurant with no wait staff. Now get your apron on and get your butt out there. Don't let me see you slacking again." This cycle repeated itself at least once a week, and as threatening as she may seem, Caprice knew Tacki would never fire her. She threw on her apron and got to work, forcing a happy attitude on, and plastering a totally see-through smile to her lips. She buzzed from table to table taking orders and never receiving more than a dollar in tips.

Caprice was placing an order when she glanced at her section to see that the host was seating a girl with far too many shopping bags. Not a few seconds after she sat, she slumped her head forward, looking knocked out. Then, just as quickly as she had passed out, she sat back up and glanced around like she didn't know where she was. Caprice rolled her eyes and finished filling the order. Great. The host had it out for her because of her constant refusal to go out with him. He asked her every Friday, and every Friday, she said no. This only made him angry, and he made sure to fill her section with the hobos, cheap wads, whackos, and extremely slow old people all week. With a groan, she mad her way to the table and on her way there, the girl spotted her and nearly jumped out of her seat. "Caprice, I found you!” the girl had squealed and giggled. Caprice stopped in her tracks in front of the table and felt every eye in the restaurant on her. According to the rest of the wait staff, as well as Tacki and the host, she was a no-good hermit. Why would someone visit her? And be excited?

Found me? So she was looking for her? She looked at the girl, trying to conjure up any reorganization, but couldn't. Maybe she was from her shallow life? One of the party-going girls. No, that wouldn't be it. All of those girls had long since given up on her, at first they'd still wanted to be close to the popular girl, but when they'd realized how weak, she was. They quickly threw her under the bus and took her spot as most popular. Which was totally fine with her, but didn't help in any way as an explanation for who this stranger was.

Standing before her, Caprice knew what the girl saw. None of those girls would ever seek out a girl who was too thin, always hungry, scraped her long pretty hair into a simple ponytail, wore simple shorts. A plain softball tee that flashed her sapphire belly piercing in and out of view as she walked, a pair of old sneakers, no makeup whatsoever, had eyes red from a night of nightmares, tearstained cheeks, and an ugly scar on her right temple. No. She knew that if one of those girls saw her now, they wouldn't even recognize her, let alone remember her name.

"I'm sorry..." She said, still trying to bring a memory to match the face of the girl. "But... I can't recall where I know you from. Remind me?"

Remo Ulisse

It was one of those days again. One of those days when he just didn't feel like doing anything, when his eyes were half-lidded and his lips were curved into a frown and all his movements were sluggish and lazy. A day where he wondered why he was still alive. Depression, is a good word for how he was feeling. He wasn't a depressed person in general, but that's how he was feeling. Who would know? he wondered, staring at the opposite wall. It was white with dusty patterns where picture frames seemed to be at some point recently. Glass shards were scattered across the ground under the rectangular dust prints, mocking him and the ribbons around his hands that concealed the blood caused by them.

He wanted to forget it all. The longer he stared, however, the more he remembered; the more he remembered the look on that face, in those eyes, the feel of his hands and hugs and... No, he was remembering again. He wanted to forget. He wanted it to be gone before he could do anything again. It. All the memories. He wanted them gone. He didn't want to reverse time--he just wanted sudden and random amnesia. Angry, he tried convincing himself. He was just angry. He wasn't sad or regretful or reminiscent or longing or bothered--he was just angry. Simple.

Remo knew he had to get out of the house. Getting to his feet, he forced himself to move his lazy gaze towards the door. He grabbed his coat and left. The cool, brisk air outside almost felt nice; but for the moment, it only felt average. Everything was average. To him, the nice breeze was dull, the clear blue sky was gray, the smiling people were all faceless zombies. He simply didn't care, he convinced himself. He didn't care for anything anymore. When he happened to glance up and pay at least a little attention to things again, he realized he somehow managed to get himself to the shopping district. Raising an eyebrow, he merely stared blankly at the neon sign telling him about all the new sales in the area. He didn't care about that either.

"Hey, Remo!" Remo looked up curiously, catching the gaze of one of the men who worked at a nearby shop. Yoshiya, if he could recall, was the man's name. He was young and they'd spoken before, but Remo never really cared to get to know too many people other than... He was remembering again. "You seem to be in a good mood." That hit a chord. A good mood? He wanted to suddenly beat this man with the obnoxious neon sign beside him, but he controlled himself as he usually did. "Oh, I need to get going. See you later, man!" The guy gave Remo a casual wave--one that was not returned--and went back to his store. Did he have no idea? Was he really that clueless? Or was Remo really that unreadable?

Remo felt as if he were glaring glumly down at the ground, but he bet his expression never changed as per usual. He supposed he should be used to that by now, people being unable to read him. But he'd gotten so used to being around someone who could read him almost like a book, it started to become natural to him to be... Who? I'm an idiot. He tried to forget again. He felt a sudden jerk and hardly had a chance to glance back to see who'd shoved him when he found himself being shoved towards a car. It took hardly a second for him to register what was happening. "Eh--hey!" he shouted hesitantly, not completely understanding the situation; all he knew was he was suddenly anxious and knew he needed to get away. A final push by the faceless stranger and Remo shut his eyes, expecting to find himself flopping harshly into the leather seats on his face and riding away into the sunset with some random serial killers.

But none of that never happened. "I've got you," a voice said behind him. Remo blinked dumbly, staring out into space as the strangers disappeared among the masses. The way he was being held was almost familiar. Familiar to something he wanted to forget. Maybe he truly couldn't remember, but his subconscious suddenly--and quite randomly--burst into gear and he felt his eyes water up despite his own confusion. He leaned momentarily back into the hold. He realized he'd stopped breathing.

The person let go of him after an extended minute, a time that seemed to of lasted way too long for comfort, and Remo remembered to breathe again. He took in air like he was dying and spun to face the person, staring at him for a long moment. Nothing came to mind. No familiarity. I'm supposed to forget what again? He blinked dumbly for the second time. "Are you ok? You got pushed forward really suddenly," the other boy said in shaky English. How did he...? Oh, wait. Remo remembered when he shouted at the stranger, he'd been so caught off-guard, he must have spoken in English instead of Japanese. That's how this man knew. This guy saved his life, hadn't he?

"What do you want?" Remo asked, suddenly feeling on his guard and suspicious. He pulled his jacket collar up and closed it more around himself as a colder burst of wind blew by. He studied the boy up and down. He seemed innocent enough, but then again, so did many people. You never knew who might love you one day and hate you the next. He didn't need to associate with another person again. Oh. I'm remembering. He shook his head, taking a step back. "Thanks," he said in Japanese, straightening up and going blank-faced as usual. He shoved his cut-up hands into his jacket pockets. "You're a nice person." He frowned, gaze downcast. "But I need to go now."

Adrian Varxous

What was this? This feeling of being alive again? He was in a strange haze and not sure where he was at the moment. Didn't he die? Yes. He did. Sitting up to glance at his surroundings, his eyes widened at the sudden remembering of what happened to him. His mother went on a rampage and he ended up dieing cause of it. He should hate her right? Wrong, he was feeling nothing but sorrow for her. She must have been ostracized cause of her actions. He knew she couldn't have gone to jail since she was crazy and all.He ran his slender fingers through what should have been short black hair. To him it was but to everyone else it was long and purple. He pushed his back against the tree to help him get a better footing. "That woman she did this." Now his full memory was back, but how was it possible to live a new life? Sighing he realized he was by the tree in his backyard. Once he regained all of his strength he started to walk to the back door. Surely it was open for him. Adrian stopped his hand from pulling the door open. What if things turned out the same way again? No they wouldn't or at least he wouldn't know until he tried. In one swift movement he opened the door to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table.

"Mother..." He slowly walked up behind her not wanting to startle her in any way. He rested his hand on her shoulder before walking in front of her to kneel down. "W-who are you?!" The woman pushed back from nothing but pure fear. "You're not my son!" His eyes widened to hear such a thing to come from her. "Of course I am can't you tell?" He tried to plead with her now. "No I killed him cause he was acting strange, you don't look anything like him." Her voice started to shake and he could tell she hadn't been taking her medication. He would be even more worried if he had any type of siblings who would have to be subjected to this. "Mother it's me I promise. You haven't been taking your medication have you?" His voice was soothing as always, but it didn't seem to work this time. "Leave my house now!" She stood up from her previous seated position and backed farther away from him. "You told me to never leave you." This seemed to have struck something inside of the woman. "How did you know I told him that?" Her recent timorous self seemed to have faded away. "You really are Adrian." She hugged him tightly. This mislead him into thinking he still looked the same. The fact was if she wasn't mentally crazy, then there would have been no chance for her to believe this was actually her son. For once her insanity paid off somewhat. "I'm so sorry." Soft sobs came from his mother and he felt relived she believed him.

"It's fine really." He wasn't even going to try and tell her about his second chance at life, or even how short of a chance it was. Pulling away from her he simply smiled. "I'll be up in my room." He pulled away from her and walked up the familiar stairs. Once in the comfort of his own room he sat down on the same bed he was killed on. It should have scared him, but it didn't. No matter what this was still his home. His eyes scanned the room and he stood up abruptly grabbing a picture frame. It was of him and Akita. "I never told her!" He took in a quick breath of air as if he was just punched. "I need to see her now!" He bolted out of his room still holding the picture frame. "I'll be right back take your medicine while I'm gone!" Adrian called to his mother shortly before running out of the house. After a rather lengthy distance, he finally made it to Akita's house. He stopped in front of it only to let his brown eyes look over her house. Taking a deep breath he walked up to the door. He froze again right before ringing the doorbell. he closed his eyes remembering he definitely had to tell her how he felt. His eyes snapped back open and he thrust his finger forward ringing the doorbell. Hopefully she wouldn't be freaked out by this.

Leo Armor

"What do you want?" Remo's voice was so cold, so suspicious, that Leo had to remind himself that he didn't look like himself anymore. That Remo wouldn't be able to recognize him. It still hurt, still stung, to be spoken to so coldly by the person he loved. I just want to tell you how sorry I am, is there anything wrong with that? Leo swallowed down a wave of pain, the memories of happy birthdays and cheerful holidays threatening to burst over him. It wasn't just the special days, it was everything else. The feeling that he was so close to someone else, that they loved each other, pure and simple. Yes, those were the memories Leo wanted to hold onto. The ones he refused to let go of. "Thanks," Remo said in Japanese. He straightened up, his face going blank. Or, well, almost blank. Leo could still see some doubt in his eyes, and maybe some pain at remembering some memories. 'I wish I could make all your bad memories go away, Remo. But all I can offer is the chance to make new, happy ones.' Leo swallowed again, remembering when he told that to his boyfriend. It seemed like it was eons ago. "You're a nice person." Remo frowned, gaze downcast. "But I need to go now." He turned to leave, but Leo grabbed his sleeve desperately.

"Don't go!" Leo shouted in Japanese. Around them, the sea of people parted, some giving the two curious looks. It wasn't every day you saw two foreign-looking men (Leo didn't exactly look like your stereotypical Japanese man, though he didn't know that). "Please," Leo added, switching back to English. His English wasn't the best, but he could still say enough to get his point across. "I mean! What kind of person would I be if I let you go off?" Leo's mind raced, trying to think of good reasons to keep Remo around. He doesn't have work today, does he? Oh God, I hope not. "There's a tea shop nearby," Leo pointed out, waving behind himself. He saw it when he had raced to catch up with Remo. Do I even have any money? Leo thought. I hope so. "I'll buy you something and we can talk," Leo offered.

Take it, take the offer, Leo thought. He gave Remo a warm smile, the kind that he used to when he came home after working all weekend, ready to just cuddle in bed with the love of his life. You remember my smile, right, Remo? Please tell me you remember my smile, my scent, my touch. Please tell me that you remember me, and that you'll never let me go, but you'll move on. You have to move on, forgive me for what I did to you, and find someone else to heal your broken heart. I can never take back my death, or the words I said, or the things I promised. All I can do is tell you, beg you, to forgive me and move on. Even though it'll break my heart, seeing you with another, it will heal yours. And isn't that for the better? After all, I love you so much, how could I dare wish you for myself, when I can give you nothing?

"I mean, what kind of tea do you like? Um, let me guess..." Leo suddenly added, racking his brain to remember what tea Remo liked. Oh, of course. "Green tea, or any kind of herbal tea. It calms you down, you know?" This was a mix of English and Japanese, since Leo didn't know some of the English words. To others, it was probably confusing, but he used to do it all the time on accident. Back when he was alive, that is.

Akita Saruwatari

Akita had ran to a store to pick some food out and had just came out to fine her white cat, Dammit sitting by the door. She smiled at the cat, without thinking. When she realized what she was doing she brought her hand to her lips feeling the slight curve of them, cherishing the feeling before it disappeared into a frown and she was holding back tears. A smile didn't belong on her lips.

She swallowed hard and leaned over to stroke the cat's back before standing up and walking home. The bag bounced on her hip as she walked and Dammit strolled at a leisurely pace by her. She saw a guy walk by her, he reminded her of Adrian, his hair was black like his.

She groaned and internally slapped herself, why did she force herself to think of Adrian? Why was she torturing herself like this? Her head ached with a pain that she's had since this morning, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as the hole in her heart. She hated herself for hurting so much. What did Adrian do for her? Pretend to love her and then die?

And then die...

She felt a whimper escape her throat and she covered her mouth to mask the sound. "Where did that come from?" Akita muttered, removing her hand from her lips, she looked at it, as if she could find answers. But she didn't find anything, her hand didn't tell her how Adrian really felt, nor why she felt this hole in her chest. She swallowed a lump and quickened her pace, now just wanting to get home.

She reached the building and found a boy standing outside her door. Akita tightened her grip on the bags, couldn't her classmates just leave her alone? She was fine! She walked up to him, her long, thin reddish brown hair hung down her back like an unkempt, knotted cape behind her and her brown eyes narrowed slits. She knew she looked like a mess, she hadn't cared about beauty since Adrian died. A small yellow bell jingled as she walked and a blue knitted dress hung on her body with black boots that clicked on the sidewalk as she walked.

"I don't know who you are." She hissed, "but I don't need your sympathy."

Adrian Varxous

Adrian waited patiently for someone to answer the door. If he could just see her face, he would fell better. Adrian looked over when he heard a familiar voice. It was wonderful to hear it. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. It had to be her, it just had to be. He turned to face her fully and smiled. It faded a little seeing how down she looked. It almost doesn't even look like her. He spaced out as he glanced over her body. It was like looking at a ghost of her old self. Adrian almost didn't even hear her, cause he was so lost in his thoughts. Adrian stared at her blankly not sure what to say at first. He was so excited to see her, but now he is really nervous. Taking a breath he was about to speak when it hit him. She didn't know who he was?! His mouth slightly hung open as if he was going to say something, but no words came out.

He wasn't really sure how to respond to her now. "Oh um...you really don't remember me? I look the same as always." He protested trying to get her to understand what he was trying to say. "It's me Adrian." He tried to keep from panicking but what happened to her? She had no clue as to who he was and was treating him like a stranger. Was she doing this on purpose cause she was mad at him, or did she lose her memory? A ton of possibilities were going through his mind. "Did you lose your memory or something? If your mad at me then just say so." He placed both of his hands on her shoulders trying to get her full attention. "Please don't ignore me, you're too important to me." His voice was desperate now. "Just tell me what I have to do to get you to talk to me normally again." It never occurred to him he might have looked different than before, but when he walked pass his mirror he looked the same as always.

Akita Saruwatari

"It's me Adrian."
Those words rang in Akita's ears as she glared at the boy, and then a grin formed on her lips and she managed to chuckle. "You're kidding me, right?" She asked, "Do you think I'm stupid?" Her voice rose and the smile turned into a frown as she tried to hold back extreme anger and tears.
"What kind of joke is this?" She pushed the Adrian imposter's hands off of her shoulder and got up in his face, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not funny!" Akita pushed him out of her way and walked to the door unlocking it. She opened it, but stood in the door way, her shoulders shook as her tears that she was trying to hold back suddenly exploded out of her.
Akita's voice cracked as she spoke, not turning around, so that the stranger wouldn't see her cry, "If your going to pretend to be someone your not, you should at least put some effort into your disguise. Adrian didn't have long purple hair, he had shiny black hair, and his eyes weren't hazel, they were the same weird shade of brown as mine, he was perfect..." She trembled at the memories and walked into her house.
"Do me a favor and don't come back, okay?" She said, slamming the door behind her.
Akita dropped the groceries on the ground and they landed with a loud crash. She looked down at her trembling hands, and watched as tear drops splashed onto her palms, then buried her face in them.
Slowly, she stopped crying and walked into the bathroom.
'Akita, you look like a mess.' She remembered hearing Adrian say one day, after she had had a fight with her best friend, and had cried for hours after school ended. She could almost see her boyfriend standing there behind her, grinning at her with that stupid, cocky bad boy grin that she loved. That grin that he hadn't lost, even after he stopped acting like a bad boy.
Akita looked at her reflection, just like she had that day, and frowned, knowing that Adrian was right, she did look terrible. Then, she picked up her brush and ran it through her hair, untangling the knots, and tying it up in a ponytail, leaving her bangs out. She fixed her gold bell, placing it just above her right ear, and then put on some makeup. She looked normal again. That day, after she had fixed herself up, Adrian had leaned over and kissed her forehead, and she had grinned. Today, there was no Adrian, only Akita, standing there, staring at herself in the mirror, trying not to completely lose it.

Remo Ulisse

The cross-walk turned to the little white man and Remo took a step forward to cross the street. Maybe he'd just head home and forget all about today. As much as he hated being in that house by himself, reality was just a little too dangerous for him right now, it seemed. It wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself, but well, he didn't need to go around getting kidnapped or something weird like that. Sighing shortly, he moved to start across the street, but stopped when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. He moved his foot back, turning to glare halfheartedly at the boy who just seemed like he wouldn't let him be.

"Don't go!" The boy shouted. Remo raised an eyebrow, feeling pretty weirded out right about now, although he was sure his face wouldn't show it to this normal person. There was really only one person who could tell what he was really feeling and he hated that person. Just a part of my imagination, he thought dully, wanting to leave. "Please," the boy said switching to English, which was strange to Remo. They could speak in Japanese. He really didn't mind, but... "I mean! What kind of person would I be if I let you go off?" Blinking, he could feel himself start to get really weirded out. You would be a normal kind of person, he couldn't help but bitterly think, taking an instinctive step away. "There's a tea shop nearby," the boy continued. "I'll buy you something and we can talk,"

Remo sighed again, but it was lighter, not depressed. This guy really wasn't going to let him just walk away from here, was he? Well, he supposed he wasn't a totally heartless person. The guy did just probably save his life, or save him from some future inconvenience. He supposed he owed him at least a conversation in a tea shop. That couldn't be so bad. Maybe it'd help him get his mind off things; break him away from reality, do something he normally wouldn't do. It will never be a date, though, Remo told himself with a frown. He couldn't do it. "I mean, what kind of tea do you like? Um, let me guess..." The boy continued, pausing to think for a moment. "Green tea, or any kind of herbal tea. It calms you down, you know?"

A mixture of English and Japanese. It was almost strange to hear all of a sudden, and probably to any onlookers, but to Remo, it was actually...nostalgic, in a way. He almost--almost--felt normal for a moment. If he could just close his eyes and imagine things back to the way they were, listening to this guy, just maybe he... No, that would be wrong. He couldn't do that to himself. Because by the time he'd open his eyes and see this stranger staring back, he'd crash back down to reality again and remember it all. He was trying to forget. He didn't want familiarity. He wanted something different. He just wanted to be left alone again. "...Alright," Remo said finally, deciding he really couldn't say no. Starting to walk down the sidewalk--slowly, so the other boy could match his pace--he started towards the tea shop he'd been in plenty of times before. "What's your name?" It couldn't hurt to ask, he thought. Frowning, he added, "I'm Remo." Don't bother memorizing it.

Leo Amor

Leo didn't realize his mistake until after the words had left his mouth, and the offending opening snapped shut. He accidentally spoke in English-Japanese all the time when he was alive, but how would Remo react? If he ran away, if he became nervous or scared.... Leo wasn't sure he could handle it. The two stood in silence for far too long, but Remo was the one who broke it. "...Alright," Remo finally said. Leo could have let out a huge sigh of relief, but he decided that would
be a little strange. Like this whole thing isn't strange in the first place, he thought as they started walking. Remo kept an easy pace, unlike the man Leo knew, who would have made him work to keep up. "What's your name?" Remo asked, frowning. "I'm Remo." Leo smiled and nodded wondering how much different he looked to his boyfriend. I wish I could look in a mirror and see what I look like... But would that work? I look down at my hands and I see my normal hands, but clearly Remo doesn't recognize me... Ugh, it's confusing.

"Nice to meet you, Remo," Leo replied calmly, sticking his hands in his pockets like he used to do when he was alive. "I'm Leo. Leo Amor." He chuckled, not sure where the name came from. It sounded good, at any rate. "Have you lived here long?" Leo asked, trying to make some attempts at small talk. The worst that could happen was that they could fail, but that was a risk Leo was willing to take. After all, he only had three days to get Remo to forgive him, and he was going to use every second he could. "I've lived here most of my life. I was planning on moving to another country with someone very close to me, but..." Leo gave Remo a pained smile. You know what happened. I was killed and I broke your heart, and oh God I'm so sorry. Please, somehow realize this. Leo shrugged and looked away as they drew closer to the tea shop, eventually stopping at the entrance.

"After you," Leo said as he opened the door for Remo. He waited until the other was in before following, the door opening with the ring of a bell. It was quiet, inside, unlike the bustling city outside. The sound could hardly be heard, actually, and the entire mood was calm and relaxed. This is somewhere he should like, Leo thought as he looked around for a waiter or waitress. A woman walked up to them and smiled kindly, seeing two friends. Not a dead man and his boyfriend. Probably a good thing, but still.

"A table for two?" She asked. Leo nodded and she led them away towards a small booth, in the back of the shop. Away from everyone else, which was a good thing. Leo didn't want too many people staring if he ended up freaking Remo out. Sitting down after Remo, Leo smiled as he took the menus. "Thank you," he told the waitress as she walked away with a wink. I'm going to ignore that, Leo thought as he turned back to Remo.

Lynx Romulus

A harsh, white brilliance trounced out the softer glow that once occupied the surrounding air, slashing callously at Lynx’s sensitive eyes. A strong arm instinctively flung up to form a defensive shield against the blinding light but to no avail. The severe radiance easily penetrated the feeble barrier and once again pierced through the male’s squinted lids. Following soon after the painful light show, a blast of strident noise replaced the peaceful quiet of before and besieged Lynx’s ears, causing him to cringe slightly. A swift rush of roaring wind blasted from the white nothingness before him, flinging his hair back and nipping at his cheeks.

As suddenly as it had started everything ceased. The light faded, the wind dropped, and the grating din that had pierced the male’s ears subsided to a continuous hum in the back of his mind.

Slowly the sealed lids parted, revealing a pair of shockingly light, cornflower blue eyes. These eyes lay hidden behind an unruly veil of black as they quickly flicked about their surroundings. The bit of asphalt Lynx had found himself standing on was narrow, the graffitied walls only a few meters apart from one another. Smog swirled about his ankles and he nearly choked as the thick city air stuck to his throat and lungs. Further in front of Lynx rested the entrance of the alleyway. It was considerably brighter than the rest of the alley and the contrast was great enough that at the right time of day the entrance could appear the light at the end of the tunnel. This light at the end of the tunnel peered into a heavily populated street, bustling about with life.

“Remi, what are you doing here? You didn’t die…”

Remi… Only one person called him that. Lynx turned slowly to find a wide eyed Dani staring up at him. A slight grimace flashed across his face as the memories of their final moments flooded back.

“I don’t know how you died Remi, but I am glad you’re here with me now…” You killed me… he felt like saying it, he felt like making her just as responsible for this as he, but he couldn’t bring himself to utter the words. Instead he turned on his heels sharply, preparing to make his leave. …and that you didn’t kill her…” A bolt of shock struck his spine as his sister spoke and he froze as she wrapped her arms lightly around his torso. Didn’t kill her? Lynx’s mind was still foggy with death and it took him a few moments to fully regain remembrance. Her Caprice. His spine began to chill and his muscles to go ridged as he remembered just exactly why he was dead. It was all Caprice’s fault. She was the reason he, along with his cousin and sister were dead.

Just as quickly as they were around his waist, Dani’s arms retreated. Lynx turned and followed after his sister’s retreating figure, resting a rough hand on her shoulder. “Dani…”

Before he had the chance to say more Dani’s small hand wrapped tightly around his wrist, twisting it in an unnatural position. Lynx grunted in discomfort as the thin bones in his wrist began to grind against each other. Dani’s response to his touch told the tall male right away it wasn’t his sister he was talking to, it was Devaki. The corners of Lynx’s lips twitched upward in response to the pain of breaking free from the shorter woman’s grasp and a low chuckle escaped his thin lips as he examined his wrist.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to do my duty as quickly as possible."

Lynx turned from his injured wrist to see a lanky, blue-haired male exiting the alley way. My duty… A wide grin flashed across the male’s face as he thought of Caprice’s lifeless body laying mangled and damaged on the cold flooring of a rundown alley, somewhere no one would look for someone of her status. With another chuckle and a shake of his head Lynx turned to leave as the male who had previously spoken had done. As he neared the busy street, a violent shove came at him and he hopped to regain his balance. What a child. The smile from before, still residing upon his lips, grew slightly as he watched his ‘sister’ storm off into the sea of hurried people. “She’s probably off to find Cap… She’ll find her faster than me…” With a short laugh Lynx jumped into the crowd and after Devaki.

The bright light that welcomed the male came as a shock and he had to squint his eyes. The shut eyes cautiously reopened only to shut right back up. Damn… since when have my eyes been so sensitive… Blindly flowing through the crowd, Lynx felt around the back of his neck, his fingers wrapping successfully around the fabric of the vibrant red hood that rested limply at the base of his neck. Lynx flicked his wrists, cringing slightly at the pain he felt in his injured right wrist, and tugged the hood over his eyes, shielding them from the harsh rays.

Now able to see, Lynx followed after Devaki. They walked for what seemed an hour and Caprice had never once been in sight. The tall male began to grow impatient as he watched his ‘sister’ go on her shopping spree. His foot tapped impatiently as he watched her sort through article upon article of clothing and the only thing keeping him from bursting out in an aggravated yell was the distant thought of his revenge.

Lynx settled into a plush armchair across from the women’s department and sat in wait for Devaki to finish. As he waited, his eyes rested on a mirror stationed on a pillar a few feet away from where he sat. Aside from the messy tangle of his red hair now fashioned itself in, he looked the same as ever. “Wonder how Cap will react when she sees I’ve come back from the dead…” He chuckled as he mused over the idea of her screaming in terror or falling over in shock at the sight of him.

The sight of Devaki leaving the shops with her arm looped with shopping bags sent Lynx upright and out of his whirl of murderous fantasies. “Finally…” Lynx spoke under his breath as he continued to peruse the freshly clothed girl.

Devaki took a sharp turn and headed into a small restaurant. Lynx followed after and without waiting to be seated, took a spot next to a large glass window and across from where his sister now sat. He sat with his head downward, stray strands of hair falling into his eyes and his face shaded by the shadow cast by his read hoodie.

“Caprice, I found you!”

A shrill shriek from Dani sent his eyes upwards, searching high and low for the cause of the shriek. There it was, standing only a few feet from where he sat. Caprice. A wide grin split his shadowed face as Lynx’s spidery fingers of his left, uninjured, hand wrapped around a cool piece of silver. Slowly he stood, taking steady steps to where Caprice stood, the fork taken from the table held firmly in his hand. The thin girl seemed distracted by Lynx’s sister and didn’t notice the tall male shrouded in vibrant red coming dangerously close.

She might not have noticed but a young man seating a couple not too far away did. He noticed the fork grasped threateningly in his hand and called out too him, telling him to get away. Lynx ignored him of course and continued his slow steps towards revenge. The man called out to him again, louder this time and hurriedly walked towards where he stood. Lynx was oblivious to his presence, his face filled with a seemingly sadistic mirth, and lunged for Caprice. The man beside him gaped his mouth and his eyes grew wide before he mindlessly took action. The man dove at Lynx, throwing him off balance and the fork only grazed the skin of Caprice's arm, letting a few trickles of red flow. The fork flew from his left hand as he landed violently on the floor with a thud, the ‘heroic’ man sprawled on top of Lynx’s fallen body, feebly attempting to hold him down.

Caprice Goergetti

Caprice neither heard nor saw the man approaching her with a fork. Her back was turned to him and her attention was on the girl that had shouted her name. Gradually, activity returned to the resturant and only Tacki glanced over at her with raised eyebrows as if to say: "You have a social life?" Caprice shot her a glare and Tacki disappeared into the kitchen, hands raised in defense, shoulders shaking with laughter. With a sigh, she awaited the girls answer to her question, trying her best not to look impatient, but Josh, the host, was quickly filling her section.

The mystery girl never got the chance. Before she'd even opened her mouth, Josh called something out from off to the right of her, but the words didn't catch in her ears. Though they did in the girls. Her eyes were locked on whatever was behind her. With a crinkle of her eyebrows in confusion, Caprice turned just as Josh called out again and lept at the figure. Her spinning motion caused her arm to catch the edge of his weapon and she staggered back in shock as four thin blood lines trickled down her arm. A small yelp escaped her lips, though not due to the scrape on her arm. Instead, the noise was created by the thought of what could have happened if Josh hadn't stepped in, and that brought her out of her shock for Josh hadn't just stepped in, he was still stepping in, trying to hold the boy down.

Due to the way Josh held him, Caprice couldn't see the boys face and instinctivly, she grabbed a knife off the nearest table and gripped it so tightly her knuckles whitened. Again, all eyes were on her in the resturant. The waitstaff was, no doubt, wondering how she'd managed to get two visitors in a manor of five mintues. Even if one wanted to kill her. Tacki stood behind the diners counter where she'd stopped mid-taking an order and now stared with her mouth hanging open wider then Caprice had ever seen it.

All of this attention, with Josh and now a second waiter managing to hold the guy down, and all she could do was think about how she didn't want to die. As much pain as she was in, she'd never hurt herself or tried to commit suicide. The closest thing the had to a friend was Tacki and if Josh could count, but he was more like a puppy, always following her around. She was left alone after Conor, Remus, and Dani had died, all of her "friends" quickly throwing her under the bus and taking her popularity from her. Once, she'd overdosed on sleeping medication and if her mother hadn't decided to check on her that night, she would have been dead. They'd rushed her to the hospital and with one look at her recent trauma the tiny event got her nailed to two months of therepy that she was still skipping. The whole thing had scared her so much, she'd emptied her medicine cabinet and decided that if there was a way for her to get rid of her guilt, it wasn't suicide.

Now Tacki was back in action, her fiery temper clearly displayed on her freckled face as she pushed Caprice behind her, yet again obstrucing her veiw of the attackers face. "What the hell is going on here?!" she screamed in a voice that made Caprice jump.

"This guy was going to attack Caprice." Josh stumbled, glancing in her direction, with so much worry and sick puppy love in his eyes that she looked away.

Tacki smirked and waved her hand dismissivly. "Congrats, you're a hero. Now get him out of here. If I ever see his face in my diner again I'll stab you with a fork." At her remark, Josh's face turned beat red and he huffed something about not being security, but Caprice knew Tacki hadn't ment it like that. In a weird way, Tacki's constant insults were a sign that she cared. It meant you were important enough to be insulted.

Now the boys were having trouble, trying to drag him off and Tacki shouted something to the diner about getting back to work and then turned to her. "Who the hell was that? And why did he want kill you?"

Caprice galnced back at the guy as he struggled againt Josh and the other waiter. Her fingers tugged at the edge of her white (and now red) tee, pulling it up and down over the sapphire ring in her stomach. Her red eyes traveled up to Tacki's. "I don't know." She whispered. "I've never seen him in my life." She tried to think of when she'd seen the guy and any possible motive he might have for attacking her, but couldn't bring anything up. Just like she'd thought with the girl a few minutes ago, this person couldn't possibly know her. As far as everyone but her parents were concerned, she'd dropped off the map. If he was a past boyfriend, he wouldn't know she worked here, let alone worked at all. She'd never had to so much as lift a finger if she'd wanted something. If he'd managed to get ahold of where she worked, it'd be almost impossible to recognize her with her face scrubbed clean of makeup, simple wardrobe, and red eyes with salt-stained cheeks.

Though Tacki didn't look like she believed her she groaned anyway. "Alright. We're getting rid of him now, just be careful on your way home. Don't take your usual route through the alleys. Stick to the main routes. Worst comes to worst and you'll have to go out with Josh now." And with that, she laughed and walked off, shouting over she shoulder to clean her arm and get back to work. With a groan, she rolled her eyes and realized Tacki was right. There was no way Josh would ever let her get out of this one, so she turned back to the girl.

"I'm sorry about that." She said with a plastered smile. "Give me a moment." Once Caprice had cleaned her arm quickly, she returned to the table and asked the girl once more where she knew her from with an apologetic tone she was sure she'd nailed, while the whole time, her eyes were on the window behind her, looking for her attacker.

Taryn Reid
“I’m sorry…but I can’t recall where I know you from. Remind me?” Caprice said to Taryn, face puzzled.

Taryn opened her mouth to reply, shocked that she wouldn’t remember her best[/b] friend. They had been through…everything together. How could she not remember her? Did she move on with her life? Forget that she was ever in her life? Forget her past with her family, ignoring them? How…how could she forget something like that? The pain was almost unbearable, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes. With a sniff, she looked back at Caprice, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

Thud.

Eyes widening her eyes fell upon Remi, who was holding a fork, a dangerous look in his eyes. A young waiter was trying to hold him down, Remi growling lowly. Taryn, scared, shrank back in her seat, realizing she was the cause of this spectacle. If she hadn’t shouted out Caprice’s name, she wouldn’t have been targeted. Either way, how did she even get here? Taryn tilted her head, no longer paying attention to whatever trouble Remi had caused himself. She knew he wasn’t harmful now, but she should make sure, at no cost, that Caprice got home save. She knew her brother. He would be back without a doubt.

[i]So really…how did I even get here? Taryn hummed trying to figure it all out. She remembered the bleary alley, the gray graffiti walls; but after that it was black as night. No memory whatsoever. I guess my illness carries on even over here! she mentally giggled, not too worried about the situation anymore. That’s the type of person she was. Too care-free for her own good.

"Who the hell was that? And why did he want kill you?" Another waitress was over by Caprice and her, Taryn blinking. Remi. That was Remi, my brother. He wants her blood as revenge. For our cousin. Caprice should be dead. A voice snarled in Taryn’s mind, making her flinch. It hadn’t been the first time she heard it, but they were so rare that she forgot. Besides, she knew it was just her in her mind. No one shared a mind with her. Wouldn’t that be fun though? To share a mind with someone. Oh? And what if you didn’t even know it. And you were living a double life. Maybe one of them is a super star, while the other is just a normal, high school girl, bullied and made fun of for her unique eye color or something.

Or maybe one of them was a drug dealer. Taryn never tried any form of drugs, alcohol excluded, she was a normal person for crying out loud. But from what she heard, it couldn’t be…all bad. Sure don’t get addicted, but a hit couldn’t hurt. Dealing drugs sounded much more fun than actually using them so that beautiful possibly played out in her head, ignoring the world around her. Caprice had left, something about…something.

Bored with playing out different scenarios of what her life could be like if she shared a body with someone, she yawned widely, resting back in her seat, eyes closing. Sure people were still looking over at her, of course they were. It wasn’t everyday that someone tried to attack a waitress in the middle of the day. Didn’t Remi have more decency then that? If she had to kill someone, anyone, wouldn’t the cover of the night work best? You could dress in all black, hiding out on top of a roof, overlooking their apartment (since of course, the person she would have to kill would have to live in an apartment. Nothing more or less.). She would wait, for the right moment when he (never a she, no. Taryn could never hurt a girl) was in front of the window then BAM there would be a bullet through their head, blood trickling down the face, eyes dead.

"I'm sorry about that." Caprice plastered on a smile, most likely apologizing for the incident. "Give me a moment." she rushed away, Taryn daydreaming again. Though it was of nothing of much importance; where to find shelter, where to get more food when she was hungry, and the other necessities she would most definitely need.

When Caprice came back, she repeated her previous question to her, the puzzled and confused look easily seen in her eyes. Taryn titled her head and frowned slightly. “Neh, Caprice, how could you not remember me?” she spoke softly hoping she wouldn’t startle her with the information. It dawned on her that if she didn’t outright notice her…that would mean she wasn’t the same on the outside. She looked different.

“We were best friends. Not those blonde, but nice, girls you hung out with. Me. Dani! It’s me, I promise. Will you believe me?” She smiled kindly, voice full of hope. Still there was the nagging thought that she would reject her, call her a freak. She would be disgusted. Yell at her that Dani was dead, long gone along with her brother. Along with their cousin Caprice had accidentally killed, Connor. “It’s just not me that’s here. That guy that attacked you? It was Remi. He’s back too. He wants revenge Caprice…he promised to kill you. Please, even if you don’t believe who I am, let me protect you from him.”

Caprice Goergetti

When Caprice returned back to the table and asked the girl once more who she was, she wan't anywhere near prepared for the answer she was going to be given. She expected the girl to possibly be a mourning friend or family member of Connors, Remi's, or Dani's, she didn't look like the dyed blondes Caprice used to hang out with, so that was definatly out of the question. She'd definatly not expected to words that came out of her mouth.

“We were best friends. Not those blonde, but nice, girls you hung out with. Me. Dani! It’s me, I promise. Will you believe me?”

"Dani..." Caprice's smile dropped from her face and her eyes took on a tortured look as she repeated the name that she hadn't so much as spoken since the night of the crash. For a second she stood frozen as the girl continued on.

“It’s just not me that’s here. That guy that attacked you? It was Remi. He’s back too. He wants revenge Caprice…he promised to kill you. Please, even if you don’t believe who I am, let me protect you from him.”

The words bounced around in her head, not willing to sink in and she dropped the pad of paper she used for orders onto the floor, leaning heavily on the table for support. Those names... Caprice shook her head as the words finally sunk in and she looked at the girl, a shocked and horrified expression on her face. Dani... Connor... Remi... The names made her head spin and she tried to force back memory after memory as it came on her. Now was not the time or place to have another episodes. Ever since she'd cut herself off from all family and friend contacts, Caprice's fits had become less frequent, and she no longer passed out or sobbed in public, but sometimes her hands shook and her head spun.

"What kind of a joke is this?" She hissed darkly at the girl, leaning on the table so fiercely she was afraid it would snap. This girl looked nothing like Dani, though as she considered it, her image flickered and certain familiarizes were obvious. Closing her eyes, Caprice took a deep breath and then opened them again to find the flickering had stopped and the room had become a little more stable. "Look, if you went to my school I'm used to your jokes, and this by far had been the most pathetic." She shook her head and hid her eyes behind one of her hands. "If you're going to do something like this at least try to get the facts right. Remi was not a stalker, he didn't kill or attempt it and Dani... She looked nothing like you. Props for the personality though." Caprice shook her head and had to look away to keep the tears from rolling. She was a murderer and these people from her school could never let her forget it. Was it not enough that she suffered from nightmares and loneliness?

"Who the hell are you really?"