[CLOSED] there is no storybook ending.

[alexander 'xan' manuel steele]

Xander smiled over at her, trying to cope with the idea of being back here, touching everything. "Yeah? You got pretty eyes," He offered sheepishly, sitting on the other side of the bed. He drew his legs onto it.

He sat criss cross, playing with the guitar another moment. "So weird.." He mumbled softly. He began to sing again, moving slightly with the lyrics, a song he had told Trez to play on his funeral. He had known he would never survive that cancer.

"The strongest structures ever built are the ones that don't get built at all.
The kinda bricks that don't get laid are the only kind that never fall.

He taught himself how not to lose
By never really trying to win
That's how the man in front of you became
The boy who never

I'm afraid of what might happen if together we build a wall.
Cause the only kinda love that never gets built is the only kinda love that never falls.

So i forfeit future tears of joy
To save us both from pain
I could kiss you now, but i'd only miss you more
When i walk away
When i walk away

I never let my heart speak through my lips
I'll never let my hands rest on your hips
I never said i love you, but the heart never lies
I know you heard me say it when i said it with my eyes

So i forfeit future tears of joy, to save us both from pain
I could kiss you now, but i'd only miss you more
He taught himself how not to lose, by never really trying to win. That's how the man in front of you became the boy who never , the Boy Who Never..."

[aubri 'bee' ella-paige reed]

She watched him silently, chewing on her lip. When he stopped playing, she reached over and strummed it, then pulled her hands back into her lap. "You know you gotta strum pointlessly at the end. For no reason. That's what my brother said." She smiled over at him, pushing her hair back out of her face. "I don't know a whole lot of songs." She said with a shrug. She couldn't do much high.

"Here's my heart in a postcard, darlin'; Just one step from the edge. I sleep alone and it's so hard, darlin'. You're next to me in my head.." She chewed on her lip, but she couldn't remember what came next. "I dunno. I'm too high for this." She groaned, collapsing back on the bed. "Sing me another song. A pretty song." She insisted.

[alexander 'xan' manuel steele]

Alexander smiled at her, laughed softly. "Yeah, okay." As for the drugs, he'd never really gone down that road, had been sick enough as was.

"Uhm....You're wonderful
you're good at everything you do
Everyone is equal, but not as equal as you
You're the best
you're the best
and every town's got one like you

Just take trip far away when no one really cares about those things
and expose yourself to the pleasures and pain of this life
You can let down your guard tonight

Paranoid perfectionist people they can only put their very, very best foot forward
and as a result they're rather easy to detect
they'll be the only ones hopping down the streets of New York
and every town's got one like you

Just take trip far away when no one really cares about those things
and expose yourself to the pleasures and pain
if you're walking down the light, you'll never know what's on either side
You might be wrong or might be right
You can't pass this love, you gotta give it a try

Just take trip far away when no one really cares about those things
and expose yourself to the pleasures and pain of this life
You can let down your guard tonight

Just take trip far away when no one really cares about those things
if you're walking down the light, you'll never know what's on either side
You might be wrong or might be right
You can't pass this love, you gotta give it a try...."

[aubri 'bee' ella-paige reed]

Aubri closed her eyes, listening to him with a smile. She loved listening to Marc play, it always made her feel special. When he stopped, she opened her eyes, looking over at him. "I liked that one." She sat up, kissing his cheek before she laid back down. "For your troubles." She said, playing with the ends of her shirt. She drew her knees up close, reaching up again for the necklace that wasn't there.

"I like you. You remind me of the mad hatter. In the old Alice in Wonderland books? All fancy and stuff. I think you're kinda fancy." She said. She thought for a second, wondering if that made any sense. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye; I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" She smiled over at him again.

[alexander 'xan' manuel steele]

Xander smiled sheepishly at the kiss on the cheek, laughed. "I'm not that fancy," He complained. He'd never gone through that skater phase though, did wear somewhat decent clothes when he could. And considering he was wearing what he had died in...

"I was late for every date in the past two and a half months," He huffed, shrugging some. He watched the way she reached for her neck. "Lose something?"

[aubri 'bee' ella-paige reed]

Aubri raised an eyebrow, then looked at her hand. She rested it on her stomach, shaking her head. "No." She said. She never knew why she had done it, and why she had always reached for a necklace when she never wore a necklace in her life. Maybe it had something to do with her strange 'what do you know about the president?' dreams. She chewed on her lip, looking him over.

"Well, I mean, what you're buried in is always fancy. but I can see you wearing fancy things all the time." She said with a smile.

[alexander 'xan' manuel steele]

Xander smiled at her warmly. "Yeah..usually do..guess it made up for what the leukemia took." He chewed on his lip thoughtfully, leaning back in the bed and looking around. "I wanna take Trez out, tonight." He smiled. "You should come too, if you want."

He wanted to do something fun with his brother, but he wanted to get to know this girl better, too. Shifting his weight again, he huffed. "Wings are so uncomfortable.." He mumbled, not used to having them within him, let alone having them at all.

[aubri 'bee' ella-paige reed]

Aubri shook her head, pulling herself up. It took a minute, but she finally got into a sitting position. "No, that's okay. I think I'm gonna go see Marc. He's been feeling bad lately." She said, lacing her fingers together. She had never known what it was like to hold anyone's hand but her own. She folded them together, holding them between her thighs. She ran one of her fingers along a faint bruise on her thigh, keeping her head down.

"I dunno. I feel bad for him. His dad got so mad at him cause he has a boyfriend now. And then August bit him.. And he's been like, sick.." She didn't quite comprehend the idea of being a vampire. She couldn't grasp a lot of the strange species around here.

[alexander 'xan' manuel steele]

"I'm sorry," He murmured with a frown. "He could come too." He smiled faintly. "Unless he wants to be alone." Shrugging, he got up and put the guitar back on its stand, reaching for a photo album, flipping through pictures and allowing her to see if she wanted. A few were random things he had snapped of Trez being, well, Trez. Most were different events and get togethers. One thing was always missing in their teen years though. Parents.

He smiled at a picture of them as little kids, pulling it out and sliding it into the front where it belonged. A few were Trez sleeping in a chair at the hospital, him on leave with Trez. Others somebody else had taken, Trez slumped near the hospital bed on long nights when Xander had been in far too much pain. Probably pictures Sean had taken.

[aubri 'bee' ella-paige reed]

She looked over his shoulder, almost wishing she had something like an album to remind her of her family. It got a little easier every time she got high, she forgot them a little more. Until she finally sobered up. She didn't want to forget, she just didn't want to remember.

"You two were cute." She said with a smile, pointing to one of the pictures. "I remember being at the hospital when my little sister was born. But I don't remember ever being at a hospital before or since then." She couldn't afford to go to the doctor, even when she really needed to. She just sucked it up and pretended it was okay. "Trez was telling me about you. I told Sean last night that maybe you were coming back. I'm still waiting on one of my family to come back.." She laid her chin on his shoulder, kneeling behind him.