The Impossible

Disclaimer: I don't own the Darren Shan Saga/Cirque Du Freak or any of it's characters... yet.

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Chapter 11: I Hate Love

I munched on a small piece of sausage, looking around at the green foliage all around us. We were camping out in the forest-like area some way away from my hometown to avoid me being recognised. Sixteen years may have passed, but I had only grown four years or so, and was heavily pregnant. People stared at me wherever I went. I mean, how often do you see a pregnant sixteen year old? Okay, quite often, but that didn't stop the disdainful glances.

I managed a subtle glance at my other companions sitting around the campfire, analysing the tiniest details about them.

There was, of course, my constantly worried protector, the grey-skinned, green-eyed Harkat. I watched him checking if the sausages were cooked with his practically nerveless fingers. He was a friend I could count on, no matter the situation. His presence on this trip was expected, and I welcomed him fully.

Then there was Vancha, a burly, green-haired vampire Prince who was currently picking his nose shamelessly. I screwed up my nose at him and moved on to the next person before his disgusting habits made me puke. Despite that, I was happy he was here.

Evanna, the inhuman witch with mismatched eyes. I told her numerous times that she didn't have to follow me on this trip. She merely shook her head and smiled, then proceeded to make preparations to leave.

The other two people sitting around the campfire were people I was not as familiar with. They were two Generals who'd just finished their training and had been assigned to help guard me. My outraged protests had fallen on deaf ears.

Xylo Mills was a large, muscle-bound vampire with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. He had more scars than I could count, and an extremely silent disposition. When he had been assigned to be one of my bodyguards, I tried talking him out of it and had obtained single-syllables in response.

Like:

"Hey, you know, you don't have to come along with us,"

"Hn,"

"Mika is seriously overreacting. I'm pregnant, not dying. I don't need guards. I can take care of myself,"

"Oh,"

"So, this whole job? It's not an order, so don't worry. You can decline if you want."

"Hmm,"

See what I mean?

But he came along anyway. Damn it.

The other was Jace Keenan, a small, slim man who seemed to lack enthusiasm in anything.

Like:

"I was just telling Xylo that this guarding task isn't an order. It's alright to say no."

"Okay,"

"Seriously."

"Sure."

"So... You're going to decline, right?"

"No."

"Why?" I whined frustratedly, overwhelmed with guilt. Why was everyone making such a big deal out of everything?

"Because I don't really care either way,"

Yeah. It's really annoying, you know, to be treated like some little damsel in distress.

And I wasn't even in distress. As I'd already mentioned, I was pregnant, not dying. I was perfectly fine as I am.

"You're not going to explore the town, are you?" Vancha asked, snapping me out of my silent, mental rant.

"I don't know..." I replied. "But we do need to investigate the location of the vampaneze... Not to mention be on guard against any of Steve's traps." I listed off. Vancha nodded in agreement.

"If you are going to go, make sure one of us are accompanying you," he said. "As you've mentioned, we need to be vigilant against Steve's cunning. You never know what kind of evil plan's been formulated in his head,"

I nodded, but wasn't planning on going into town. Too much deeply buried memories. I shied away from the thought of digging up all those painful times.

We spent the night chatting - Vancha, Harkat, Evanna and I. Xylo and Jace didn't contribute much, though we tried to include them in our conversations - and by the time we went to sleep it was early in the morning.

At noon or so I woke up gasping. Recently I had been waking up pale and panting, but with no recollection of what I'd been dreaming about.

I sat up slowly, careful not to wake Evanna, and rubbed the back of my neck. The midday sun hung high in the sky and small slivers of light peeked through the opening of the tent.

Stealthily, I crawled over to the entrance of the tent and pulled the flaps aside, leaving the tent in search of some water.

After drinking my fill and washing my face, I went back to the tent and sat outside of it. I was still wide awake, and I knew that there was no way I would fall back asleep.

I looked over to the end of the horizon, where my childhood town sat. The buildings shone and glistened in the blazing sun, encasing the town in a radiant glow. I sighed longingly. I was both attracted and repelled to the idea of re-visiting my town.

If I went, all the feelings of regret and pain I'd suppressed for so long - they would all come back and hit me like a truck speeding down a highway.

The more I thought about it, the more tempted I got. It was like the town was coaxing me from afar.

Come, Darren Shan. Return to where you belong.

I wish I had better self-control. Was I a masochist or what?

Noticing the golden rays of heat radiating from the sun, I realised that I couldn't ask any of my vampire escorts to go with me in this bright sunlight - which left Harkat and Evanna.

Evanna was out of the question. I had troubled her enough. And watching her sleep so soundly just made me feel plain guilty.

I peeked into the tent Harkat shared with Vancha and immediately registered the dim shade of his green eyes. Harkat was sleeping. That made me wonder when exactly he fell asleep, considering that he only slept four or five hours in total.

Sighing, I shrugged. It's not as if any of the vampaneze could attack me either at this time of day, and I doubted Gannen would allow Steve the half-vampire to attack me alone. And if I was in places with lots of people they would be unlikely to attack me anyway. Also, we'd seen no sign of any vampaneze nearby. Vancha was being just a little paranoid. It would only be a short tour anyway. I kept telling myself these things, assuring myself that what I was doing wouldn't doom our clan forever.

I wore a trench coat with a hood and a scarf that covered half my face, so that it would be more difficult for people to recognise me. If I wasn't pregnant, remaining imperceptible would have been much easier, as my gigantic bump tended to attract attention, but I couldn't really do much about that.

It was a bright, sunny day, but a chill remained in the air. I drew my coat tighter around me.

As I stepped into town, happy goosebumps started appearing on my arms. There really wasn't much that had changed. Sure, there were some new buildings, others redesigned or redecorated - but the names remained the same.

Each place I passed brought back a new memory. I smiled at each, enjoying the pleasant feeling of nostalgia.

I explored the central shopping area, then visited my favourite parks.

One had become a housing estate, but the other remained the same. I brushed my hand against the bark of a tree. Nothing had changed, and yet everything had.

Then I decided to do what I knew would be the most challenging task yet.

I walked slowly to my old house. I guessed that Andy probably wouldn't be there, but my parents may be.

The house took my breath away. It hadn't changed. Same colour door, same style curtains, same small garden out the back. All the memories came rushing back. My knees felt weak, and I had to grip the top of the fence to steady myself.

"May I help you?" a man asked politely behind me. I jumped like I had been hit by a bolt of lightning and released the fence. My already horrible lack of balance combined with my lack of steadiness due to the sudden emotional turmoil made me fall horribly. At the last minute the man caught me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, shocked at my reaction to his simple question.

"I'm... fine!" I said, struggling to get back to my feet, staring at the ground accusatorily.

Then I lifted my head... And caught sight of a familiar black-haired man. He had aged considerably since the last time I'd seen him - grown a lot taller and bigger, gained some wrinkles. But I recognised him at first sight. And so did he.

"Darren Shan?" he gasped.

"Tommy Jones?" I exclaimed. I'd seen very few people I'd recognised while in town, then all of a sudden one of my best friends appears before my eyes.

Ironic, isn't it?

Tommy was beyond astonished to see me after I had been declared deceased sixteen years ago, looking only a few years older though more than one and a half decades had gone past. Not to mention the well-defined bump sticking out from under my trench coat.

I spun a hasty, far-fetched tale to explain myself, informing Tommy that I had contracted a rare disease that prevented me from ageing normally, and I had only had five or six years to live. Then the Cirque Du Freak came to town, and with them came an extraordinary physician who said he could help me if he could constantly monitor me. My parents grasped this sliver of hope and helped me fake my death so I could travel with the illegal circus troupe of freaks. The physician didn't cure me, but managed to extend my life, as could be seen by how I was still alive.

At first, Tommy was so shocked that he couldn't comprehend a thing I said, but then he regained some clarity and was outraged by what I'd done and how much it had hurt everyone.

"Especially Steve. It was never the same between us after you were gone," Tommy told me as we sat on a secluded-ish park bench. My ears perked up at the S-name, as it so often did over the years.

"I'm sorry. But it was for the best," I said.

Tommy was still unhappy about what I told him we had deemed the best course of action, but said nothing more about it. He proceeded to tell me about the reason he was in town. Apparently he had become a well-known goal keeper for one of the biggest football teams in the world. I was so excited for him. It was something he'd always wanted. In fact, we had aimed for professional football careers together - me as a striker and Tommy as goalkeeper.

He'd returned to town due to a game he was due to play nearby.

"Today's the only off-day we really get. Tomorrow we start training again for the game," He glanced at his watch and stood up abruptly. "Shoot. I was supposed to have an evening meal with-" He cut off suddenly, looking at me as if contemplating something. "Actually, you should come along,"

I looked at him stupidly. "What?"

"I had an appointment to meet up with Alan Morris. Remember him?" I gaped at my old best friend.

"He's here?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah. He's visiting his granddad, and heard I was in town," Tommy answered. "We can tell him all about your condition. He may even be able to help. He's a geneticist, you know,"

I bit my lip. "I don't know... I only told you because I had ran into you, Tommy. To purposely tell Alan that I'm not in fact, dead is a whole different thing..."

"It's time you tell people the truth, Darren. We can take it. We aren't kids anymore, but we are still friends," Tommy told me. I'm not so sure why I did it. Maybe it's just that I missed my friends, and I hated the way we'd separated. I smiled slightly, and nodded, deciding to tell my half-truth to Alan, estatic at having an excuse to see him again.

Tommy chivalrously offered me his hand to help me stand up, I smiled and accepted his help gratefully. My coordination skills had been slightly impaired by the fact that I was practically ready to go into labour at any moment.

"Where's the dad, anyway?" Tommy asked me as we walked out of the park. I stumbled in surprise at the question but managed to regain my footing at the last minute.

"He's... not around," I muttered. Tommy eyes softened with pity. He didn't know what to say.

"Oh. I see," he said finally. I smiled wryly at him, wondering if I'll ever tell him that it was Steve who did this to me.

---

The seat vibrated as I shook nervously in it. Tommy had rented a booth a distance away from all the other restaurant customers so I could tell my story with ease. Alan was late and I was getting more edgy by the second.

"Relax," Tommy said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Sorry," I sighed, trying to stay still. "I just have this weird feeling that I shouldn't be here,"

"Relax," he said again. "He'll be here, and we'll have a great get-together. If only Steve was here, we could have a complete reunion." I twitched but said nothing. The wait was agonizing. I looked out the window, seeing the sun set steadily and darkness fall over the town. Crazy scenarios ran through my head. What if the vampaneze had found out that I was here and Steve had harmed Alan to get to me or something? I trembled and Tommy chastised me once again, thinking that I was simply anxious at Alan's reaction to my backstory. Finally, Tommy voiced out two words that had me sighing in release.

"He's here and - Oh..." Tommy choked off in surprise. I looked back curiously, having heard two sets of footsteps approaching us. I gasped.

Alan Morris was there, of course, looking older and wiser. As wise as Alan could get, anyway.

That wasn't what shocked me. What took me completely by surprise was the man standing next to him.

"Steve Leopard?" Tommy gasped out. He had been astonished enough to see me, then his old buddy Steve appears.

Great. Fantastic. Could it get any worse?

"Darren Shan?" Alan's voice rang out with amazement.

Oh yeah, it could.

I focused entirely on the Lord of the Vampaneze. His eyes had a slightly red tinge to them, his long grey hair hung loose over his shoulders - they'd grown a little - and he was once again attired in all black. On his chest one thing stood out - glistening brightly against his all dark clothing was the cross that matched mine. My heart thumped and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch mine. Aside from the hair length and eye colour, he didn't look any different from eight months ago, when he'd gotten me pregnant. The thought of that made me go cold.

He was staring intently at my swollen midriff. I tried concealing it, moving to my side so that the table blocked it, uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze.

For a long time, no one said anything. Tommy was too busy processing this amazing coincidence, Alan was too busy trying to make sense of me, the walking corpse and Steve was too busy trying to make sense of the fact that I was expecting.

And me? I was too busy trying to think of a way to get out of there.

Then Steve cleared his throat.

"Well," he said. "This is awkward."

This encouraged Alan to force out a few words or, you know, just one. "H-How!" he sputtered, pointing to me and blinking furiously.

"Um, well, how about you take a seat and I'll tell you all about it," I said, patting the seat beside me. Alan moved, but Steve was faster than him and slid into the seat beside me before he could. Alan dumbly stared at Steve for a few seconds before moving to sit next to Tommy. I glared at Steve but he ignored me.

His vampaneze stench was getting on my nerves. The only consolation was that my vampire scent was probably annoying him too. Then again, from the way he hadn't minded me sharing his coffin, maybe not.

"Go on," Alan said tensely, and I opened my mouth to repeat the rather badly formulated tale I'd used on Tommy.

Steve wouldn't shut up about it. He scoffed lightly at my story, particularly the part about my 'physician', sometimes laughing in low chuckles to himself. I stepped on his foot thrice, and glared at him. He glared back. Luckily, Alan was too engrossed in my fake story to realise. I did, however, notice Tommy glancing between to two of us and frowning. Steve merely beamed back innocently, which made me want to hurt him even more.

"A sickness that stunts the ageing process?" Alan asked in wonderment. I nodded hesitantly, not liking the curious twinkle in his eye.

"And causes you to die early," I added morbidly. "I'm just lucky, that's all,"

"I'll say..." Alan said. Then he paused, thinking.

Don't say what I think you're going to say. I prayed.

"Would you mind if I did some experiments on you?" he said finally. I knew it.

I glared at him. "I know I'm a freak, Alan. No need to add to it,"

"No! I don't mean it that way. It's just that... Such a sickness could be the spring of eternal youth everyone's been looking for. And if we could twist the DNA, make it less harmful..." he muttered.

"Absolutely not. Find someone else," I huffed. "I've had enough guinea pig role playing. The only time I'll ever go back to a hospital now is when my kid is born," That, of course, was a lie. I doubt I'd go to a hospital to give birth. It was too risky.

"Alright," Alan said dejectedly, giving in. "Speaking of which, whose bun is in your oven anyway?"

A cold sweat broke out over my palms. I could feel Steve straighten up at that.

"Well..." I started reluctantly. Then Alan howled in pain and Tommy glared at him.

"What?" Alan mouthed, massaging his aching foot. Tommy just shook his head in the least subtle way I'd ever seen. I cleared my throat.

"You see..." I started again, then paused. "It's-"

"Mine," Steve said suddenly, a strange smile on his face. My head swivelled around towards him so suddenly that my neck cricked in protest.

"What - seriously?" Tommy asked, mouth hanging open.

"Yeah, duh," Steve shrugged, sneaking an arm behind me, draping it over the shoulder furthest from him (my left shoulder). I tried to subtly shrug it off, but he ignored me. "Isn't that right, honey?"

I frowned, but couldn't deny it. It was the truth after all. I plastered a cheesy, patronising smile on my face. "Right, dear," His grin grew even wider. I rolled my eyes, dropping the smile.

"So that's why you didn't seem surprised to see her," Tommy noted.

"And those..." Alan gestured at our chests. I looked down to see my cross winking in the light. Annoyed, I slipped it into my shirt. Tommy lifted an eyebrow at that, his mind was probably, like mine, flashing back to when I told him that 'the father' wasn't around.

"Yeah, I ran into her a while back and we just reconnected," he explained, grinning pointedly at me.

"I see. Then what happened?" Tommy prompted.

He shot me. I voiced mentally. "We had some... differences we couldn't overcome," I said.

"She left," Steve added.

"I did not leave, I was kicked out," I corrected, thinking of how I'd fallen down the garbage chute.

"I would never kick you out, dearest,"

"Yes, you would, sweetie pie," I said in an exaggerated sweet tone, mimicking his.

"So you guys are together?" Alan asked, confused.

"No," I said.

"Yes," Steve said at the same time I did.

"No?" Alan echoed.

"Yes?" Tommy repeated at the same time as Alan had.

"There are a lot of details we have to work out," I said. "But yes, he's the dad," I decided that coming clean was probably the best thing I could do at that moment.

"Well, then... Congratulations," Alan said, still confused.

"Thanks. Can we get some alcohol here?" I asked, my voice shaky. I felt like this evening could not get any worse.

"Now, now, alcohol's bad for the baby," Steve said in an extremely annoying voice, patting my stomach gently.

Don't slap him. I had to tell myself. Don't slap him, not yet. Later, when you have an alibi...

We proceeded to order our meal and continue on with dinner. At first, dinner was tense and the conversation stressful, but then we got to our childhood memories and the atmosphere changed dramatically. We laughed at our own stupidity, what we'd gotten up to as children. They told me stories of things after I'd been gone, too. For a moment, I felt totally at home. Even Steve's constant touch on me didn't seem that annoying.

"Yeah, then when Mr Dalton caught us, Steve actually talked him out of giving us a detention. I still can't believe that," Alan laughed.

"Mr Dalton always liked Steve," I commented lightly.

"Yeah, even when he caught Steve making regular trips to the girls' bathroom," Tommy added. "I can't believe anyone would still like Steve after knowing that,"

"Speak for yourself, Darren didn't seem to have any trouble liking Steve. Well, I guess that makes sense since she was the reason he did it so frequently." Alan said slyly.

"Hey!" I protested. "You're just jealous because you would've been called a perv had you been the one to do it,"

"He's a perv anyway," Steve said, earning a kick from Alan which he avoided swiftly. "Besides," Steve said. "We were in sixth grade. There wasn't much to see in the girls' toilet anyway. Not yet,"

That earned him a few wolf-whistles.

I rolled my eyes. "Men," I said, shaking my head with disgust.

"You know, you used to be willing to do anything just to be considered male," Alan reminded me.

"That-" I started, trying to deny it but finding that I couldn't. "That's true," I muttered. Alan started laughing.

"At least she was great as a male and a female," Steve cut in. "You're not very successful as a male, and I doubt you'd have more luck as a female,"

Tommy went 'ooooh' at that comment.

I stared at Steve. He winked at me. I didn't know what to feel. Annoyed? Or flattered that he'd defended me? For some reason the list of things Gannen had said Steve had done for me popped into my head. I shook my head, trying to clear it.

Was it possible to hate and love someone as much as I did Steve? This was so frustrating.

Wait a second. I stopped myself. I do not love Steve. I do not love Steve. Not anymore. He shot me. I hate him. I hate him. Grrr!

It was as I was thinking this that Steve's hand - which wasn't behind me anymore, due to the fact that he had to eat dinner - moved to where my hand was under the table and his fingers slipped in between mine, making a tight lattice between our hands. I looked up at him, confused. His face showed no signs of acknowledging that action.

Thanks, Steve, for bewildering me even more.

What was worse? I didn't even shake it off. I left it closed around mine, enjoying the feel of his warm skin against mine once again.

I was such a saddo.

Tommy paid the bill, assuring us that the amount of money he had used really wasn't that much. I peeked at the receipt with my enhanced vampire eyesight and nearly gasped out loud. Steve smirked at my reaction, having seen it too.

We walked through the street of places we'd played at together, reminiscing.

"You mean he actually got caught?" I asked as we passed an old wall which had been vandalised years ago by someone we knew, and had expected to have gotten away with it.

"Yeah. Some old lady finally found the courage to turn him in. He cursed her all the way to the police station. She flipped him the finger in reply," Alan informed me.

"Wow. Geriatrics are scary," I commented, wide-eyed. We continued our trek, seemingly going nowhere. Steve's fingers were still laced around mine. I shivered, the night chill had descended over the velvety darkness and every few minutes a cold breeze blew through the night. Steve drew me closer, placing an arm around me.

"Cold?" he whispered.

I nodded gratefully as he shielded me from the cold wind. I really didn't understand Steve. Was this all a front to fool Tommy and Alan? And if so, why? To make me trust him once again? To use Tommy and Alan as hostages?

I was distracted from my thoughts as we came across a familiar building. It was my house, and it was in complete darkness. No lights shone from the windows. It was utterly dark. This new revelation made me feel even colder inside for some reason. Where were my parents? Were they in there? Why were they going to sleep so early? Had Andy joined them?

I looked at the place which used to be my home longingly. For the first time in years, I wished I had never become a vampire.

"Your parents moved away four or five years ago," Tommy told me quietly, noticing my gaze. "They left for the coast,"

"Oh. Is that so," I said, masking my relief.

"Yeah. Dermot had a mild heart attack, so-"

"Heart attack?" I snapped. For a second, the whole world seemed to turn and spin. I leaned heavily against Steve and Steve held me comfortingly, stroking my hand with his thumb.

"Mild. Mild, Darren. He's fine. They suffered a lot after they lost you. Things were never the same," Tommy said quietly.

I bit my lip guiltily. "I'm sorry, guys," I said, my voice sounded small and ashamed.

"It's already passed. You did what you had to," Alan shrugged. I nodded, still feeling somewhat shamefaced.

"If you had a chance to re-do it all again, would you choose not to go with that 'physician'?" Steve asked, eyes boring into mine. "Even at the risk of losing your life instead?"

"Of course," I whispered. "I would've sacrificed myself if it meant you guys would've been happy. You know that, Steve," You know I would have sacrificed myself over and over again if it would make you happy, Steve. I tried to tell him telepathically. His eyes continued to bore into mine for about a minute more, then he looked away. I sighed, knowing that my message hadn't reached him. But he drew me closer to him, tightening his hold around me.

Oh, God, I am so in love with him. I groaned mentally, unable to deny it any longer, feeling the buzz of endorphins as he protectively held me closer to his side.

"Hey, look! It's the park we used to play in!" Alan called out suddenly.

The four of us stared at the park. It was a big park, with a miniature-ish soccer field in the middle of it. It was lit up by lamp posts scattered around the park, so we had no difficulty maneuvering through the park. We used to go to the soccer field everyday, and end up getting told off for not doing our homework the next day.

Tommy bent down and picked up a stray soccer ball.

"Kids must have left it behind," he said, turning it over and examining it.

Alan slapped it out of his hands and it landed on the ground. With a swift kick, it flew towards the goal. Alan chased after it, further guiding it towards the goal.

"Oh no you don't!" Tommy shouted and bounded after Alan. Alan let out a victorious bark of laughter and kept going. Tommy intercepted him in no time, and kicked the ball in the opposite direction. It glided steadily towards me. I kicked it back to them excitedly, making sure not to use my inhuman power to do so.

The ball flew towards Tommy. I surged forward to join them but Steve held me back.

"No," he said warningly, resting one hand on my tummy.

I groaned. "Aw, Steve!" I protested like a child. He smirked at me, removed his scarf and looped it around the scarf I was already wearing.

"Stay warm," he told me. "Don't worry, I'll play for you and me both," He winked and left me to join the other two guys, subtly using his heightened speed and strength as an advantage to steal the ball from them. I watched in partial awe as he somehow concealed the fact that he was superhuman and yet was obviously playing better than they were.

I pushed away my reverence for him and pouted, upset to be left behind, but it wasn't long before I was cheering and laughing my head off at their antics. I was so glad the park was pretty far away from any residential houses. We were making a fair bit of noise.

About fifteen minutes later, they collapsed on the field, tired and satisfied. I jogged over to join them. Steve, who was sitting up on the grass, pulled me into his lap and kissed my neck lightly. I allowed him and actually giggled, feeling some leftover euphoria from being with my friends once again.

For a long time, we just stayed like that. A comfortable silence fell upon us, interrupted only by their panting as they tried to catch their breath.

"Oh crap," Tommy said, sitting up abruptly and glancing at his wrist watch. "I've got to go or my manager will sack me!"

"Right. I should get going too. I think granddad's waiting up for me," Alan said, getting up from his reclining position and standing up shakily.

I got off from Steve's lap and stood up, but found that I couldn't. My unborn child was impeding my efforts to stand. Steve, noticing my difficulties, stood up and helped me to my feet.

Seriously. How could I not have fallen in love with him all over again. He was just so... nice when he was like this.

Tommy turned to me. "Where are you staying?" he asked.

"Oh, some motel nearby..." I said airily, trying to fake my way through. Tommy gave me a concerned look, and I felt touched by his chivalry.

"I'll take her home," Steve said.

Tommy brightened up. "Really? Great! Keep them safe, alright?" He said, gesturing to both me and my big belly.

"Be careful of any robbers. It's pretty late," Alan warned. Steve rolled his eyes. I resisted the urge to laugh. Robbers winning against a half-vampaneze and a (pregnant) half-vampire? Unthinkable.

"We'll be fine. Go," he said, making a shooing motion at them both.

They smirked. "See you, Darren, Steve," Alan said, winking as he walked off.

"Glad you're both alive. Let's catch up later," We nodded. Then he paused. "Actually, would you guys like to come to my game? It's the day after tomorrow. I can send you guys tickets. We always have some extra for friends and family. We can go to lunch after or something,"

"What, really?" I gasped excitedly. I hadn't seen a football in years, much less a football game. He nodded.

"How about you, Steve?" Tommy asked, gaining his answer from my enthusiastic reaction. Steve glanced at me sideways contemplatively. I tilted my head to one side, telepathically asking him to go. He turned back to Tommy.

"Sure. Not like I have anything better to do," he said in a slightly sarcastic tone. I rolled my eyes. Probably had prior engagements in planning the doom of the vampire clan.

Tommy smiled. "Great! I'll leave some tickets for you guys. You better be there." he said, then kissed me on the cheek. I stared at him in surprise. Tommy left to chase after Alan, as they were heading the same way. Steve glared at his retreating back and I felt blood rush to my cheeks in a pleasant manner.

Steve and I watched them go. I felt sorry to see two of my closest friends leaving - people I'd probably never see again after this.

Then Steve arms around me loosened, and dropped completely.

"The guy who had sex with you... It's not either of them, is it?" Steve asked suddenly, his voice cold. He watched Alan and Tommy walk away laughing to themselves about something the other had said.

"...huh?" I frowned in confusion. What the hell was he talking about now? He turned his head to glare at me coldly.

"Obviously, the person who fathered your child isn't either of them. But he's some other human, isn't he? Oh well, he can't be too hard to find. After all, if he can win you over and actually get you pregnant, he's probably a moron who doesn't know how to cover his tracks." Steve shrugged, then stepped closer to me. "And when I find him, I'll rip out his heart myself," Steve hissed at me.

I just stared at him at first, gaping rudely. Then I groaned frustratedly.

Steve had conveniently found another reason to hate me.

For someone so intelligent and cunning, he was just so... so... so stupid.

I wondered if I was like one of those heroines in the soap operas my mum used to watch. You know, the ones that swoon for jerks no matter what they do to her? Doormats, I think they were called. And in those ideal romances, usually the heroines can change the jerk to become less... jerky.

Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen in real life.

Tommy and Alan turned back, and waved at us. Steve waved back. I ignored them.

I shook my head frantically. "No, Steve, you are the dad,"

"Liar!" he growled. "Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not!" I shouted back. "You're the father of my ch-"

Before I could get out another word, his mouth descended on mine, and he kissed me harshly. I moaned into his mouth, my pregnancy hormones kicking in. It felt so good to be kissed once again.

And yet, so bad. It took all of my willpower to try and push him off. He didn't budge. So I lifted my right hand and slapped him with everything I had. He immediately broke off and stared at me incredulously.

"You are such an asshole," I snarled at him. "You're so goddamn paranoid! Can you stop thinking of yourself as the victim for one second? God!"

I threw my hands in the air for dramatic effect, then proceeded to stomp off. As I turned away, I caught sight of Steve covering his right cheek with his palm, a surprised expression on his face.

"Well, I am the victim," Steve said lamely from behind me. I ignored him and continued to walk away from him, then broke out in a run. I didn't want to be near him anymore.

I didn't get very far. I ended up panting, gasping for air and sobbing within ten minutes. My vision was blurry and I couldn't think straight.

Argh, how many times did I have to fall for the guy before I learnt my lesson? God, was I submissive or what? I just let him walk all over me.

No more. I swore to myself. From now on, I won't let him play around with me like this.

I swiped the back of my hand across my face, roughly wiping away the snot and tears.

"Uh... You alright?" came a voice behind me. I turned to see Vancha looking at me in concern. I'd never been so glad to see the filthy vampire.

I threw my arms around his waist and broke down completely, unsure of why I was even crying. The guy was a jerk. I had no reason to feel hurt.

Yeah, and pigs could fly.

Vancha watched me quietly as I flooded his muddy, purple animal hides with my tears.

Stupid pregnancy mood swings. Stupid Steve. Stupid vampaneze. Stupid soppy love songs. Stupid love. I hate them all.

I hate love.

I really, really do.

---

A/N: Xylo means wood in Greek, while Jace means healer in Greek as well. I don't know why I went for Greek names. They just sounded cool, I guess? To be truthful, Xylo and Jace don't really have much of a role to play in this fic. I just wanted to prove a point that Mr Tiny's rules weren't really in effect anymore. And that Mika's a paranoid sweetie.