Those eyes that plucked the heart from me,
Those eyes that sucked the breath from me.

~W.W Gibson, The Stone

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It was three in the morning and I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom, near my bed.

Breathing in deep, I pulled my magic back into me. Then, breathing out I pushed my magic out and it surrounded me in a heady mist of gold.

I repeated the process again.

Intense violet eyes.

My concentration broke and the glass on my table, my bed and God knows what else fractured around me. My bed had lost one leg and was leaning heavily on the floor.

Oh fudge cream.

Fourth time. Dammit. I'd lost control for the forth damn time.

Releasing your magic and then drawing it back in was like exercising your limbs by stretching them. It was essential to have control over it so that no matter the situation I can always control my power, reel it back in of necessary. 

If I let it rip out of me like this I may end up hurting someone.

Fudge it all.

I rubbed my face and sighed. With a wave of my hand and a murmur of incantation, everything was back in order.

The bed was fine and so was the glass. I'd been quick to realize that my power had a very destructive tendency, so I'd leant the fix-it spell so that I don't live in something that looked like a bull mauled its way through it.

I dropped my pose and landed on the floor with a huff, my hair spread around me and some of it landed on my face. I was too tired to even lift my hand and remove it.

Almost two weeks and he was still in my head. Stuck on effing reply. That song makes so much sense right now.

It's like some kind of void. Everything. Everything I think about comes back to him. Even food. And that's saying something, because nothing distracts me from food.

I haven't taken a single breath without wondering what he's doing. Not a single wink of sleep because I've been up wondering if he was too.

Hell, I could deal with all that but food was where I drew the line.

Food had always been my get-away buddy, my form of meditation. And now everything tastes the same.

Even chocolate.

I winced and swore, probably colouring the air blue. I pressed the heel of my palms against my eyes.

Kiel. Kiel. Kiel. Kiel.

It always came back to him.

I pulled my left hand away to check the watch resting against my wrist, below my palm.

Three twenty seven.

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair in a pathetic attempt to comb it.

Buy it felt like an effing cobweb, crisscrossed everywhere, so I gave up and quickly braided it and pulled it into an elastic band I'd had on my right wrist.

As I got up, my long braid slid over my shoulder and tumbled down my chest. I walked out of my room and headed to the kitchen. As soon as I got to the kitchen, I pounced on the fridge. I hugged it first.

"I'm sorry, Edwardo. I'm here now." I whispered to him.

Edwardo, the fridge (in case that wasn't clear), had gotten me through some rough patches. Like when I didn't win that ARC contest...or when the releasing of a book was postponed.

I shuddered. The horror.

Those were some dark times.

I whipped the fridge open and squealed (in my head, I don't want anyone to storm in here thankyouverymuch). There was cake! And it was chocolate.

I did a small jig before grabbing the cake and setting it on the small table in the kitchen, which was meant for the cooks when they were cutting or slicing or dicing or doing whatever magic they do while cooking to make the food taste sooo good.

I rubbed my hands together in glee, before I noticed that there was a note sticking out of the bottom of the cake.

What the...

I pulled it out and grinned when I recognised the handwriting.

 
Do not eat this —G

I let out an evil laugh, albeit it was whispered, but whatever.

This is what she gets for making me go on a date with William.

I dug into the cake with relish and moaned at the amazing sweet taste and gooey center.

Oh, I love the ones with the gooey center. I made a mental note to always steal Glinda's cake from now on. They were atrociously delicious. I bet this cake is probably illegal in certain parts of the world.

I left one slice for her so that she isn't too mad and placed it back into Edwardo. Blowing him a kiss goodbye, I skipped back to my bedroom, utterly oblivious to suspicion of finding anything on my bed.

When I opened my door I had the shock of my life. I jumped out of my skin and almost high enough to hit the roof. Okay, maybe not. But almost.

I murmured an incantation waiting for a sword to materialize in my hand. When I felt something solid...and wooden I blinked.

What the?

It was a baseball bat.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Was my magic not working? Or had I by hearted the wrong incantation. The latter being more likely.

What an utter waste of ten minutes.

Then remembering what-who- was on my bed, I whipped around and held my bat up.

But the Vamp was resting easy on my bed against my pillows with his legs crossed at the ankles.

"Who the fudge are you?" I snapped, trying to sound as threatening as possible, since neither my height nor my petite body possessed the word intimidation in their dictionary.

The Vamp, whoever he was, sat up and I stilled, struck by the uncanny resemblance this Vampire had to my mat-Kiel. Had to Kiel.

This Vamp had light brown eyes, which was the only difference, however they had the same high cheekbones, straight nose and thick lips. Even the damn thick lashes.

If you ask me, my ma-uh, Kiel- looked much better.

But no one was asking me, so I should shut up.

Hello! Brain! Imposter in bed. Stop thinking so much and hit him.

I snapped out of my reverie and just when I was going to say something, the Vampire spoke.

"Honey, if you think that toothpick is going to do me any harm I gave you more credit than you deserved." he said, eyeing my bat with a bored expression.

"Sorry," I said with a fake-sweet smile "it's not everyday I find myself face-to-face with a Vamp in my bed."

The Vampire in front of me grinned and two cute dimples formed on his face.

Did Kiel have dimples too? He had yet to grin at me...I'd seen his small smirks but nothing else-

Shut up, brain.

"Must be your lucky day," the Vampire said, grinning.

"Yes, I have been bestowed with the greatest of boons." I deadpanned.

I dropped the bat to my side as I realized that this Vamp was here to uh…talk. I didn't sense any threat. Yet.

He waved one hand at the bat I was still holding. 

"You can drop the twig-"

"I bet you wouldn't call it that, once I've banged your brains out." I said.

He rolled his eyes and stretched his hand out for me to shake.

"I'm Derek Fang, son of Master Alexander Fang and brother to Kiel Fang." he said, then added "I'm the awesome one among the others."

"There are more of you?" I asked, incredulous, as I gingerly shook his hand.

How many siblings did Kiel have?

He laughed pulling his hand back, "Yes, there's Hera, but she's with another Clan because she mated with one of them and then there's Freddy. But he's boring."

"Freddy?" I asked holding in a laugh. Sounds awful lot like Teddy. Not very threatening at all.

Derek grinned, "He hates his name. Warning, if you ever see him, never ask for his name. He's the grumpy one."
"And what's Kiel?"

It slipped out. I felt like hitting myself with the bat.

Derek met my eyes and for a second his own brown eyes turned serious and he looked so much like his brother for that second, that I almost lost breath.

"He's the intense one." Derek finally said.

I nodded and cleared my throat.

"So what's with the uh...impromptu visit?" I asked, waving my hand in his general direction.

Derek snapped his fingers like he finally remembered what he came here for.

"So!" he started with a clap of his hands "The whole of last week Kiel has been really quiet and I was bored and he was being boring and I couldn't find anything to do, usually I annoy Freddy but that evening he'd gone out or something with one of those blondes, who by the way-"

"Derek." I said in an attempt to remind him he was diverting from the topic, even as I tried to hold in a grin.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, he was all quiet and moody and black emotions most of last week and so I did what I do best. I used my ninja sleuth skills-"

"You bugged him till he told you about me didn't you?" I asked.

"Pretty much, yes." he nodded, not a shred of shame on his face.

I let out a laugh. I liked this guy. I tossed the bat into the air and it disintegrated into gold mist. Hey, if he was going to hurt me he could have done it as soon as I entered.

Derek stared at the golden mist in awe. I bet he liked that it was all sparkly.

"Derek," I called again to catch his wavered (easily wavered) attention.

He looked at me once, then back at the disappearing mist. When it fully disintegrated into the air, he looked back at me.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, so. He told me about you-"

I huffed and walked to the other side of the bed, setting my butt on it.

"I haven't told anyone." I grumbled.

"Oh, don't blame him." Derek said for which I threw him a 'seriously-you're-supporting-him' look.

Derek huffed, "Fine. Okay. Kiel didn't tell me. Jet did."

Yeah, because that makes it so much better.

"Who's Jet?" I sighed.

"Jet and Kiel are thick as thieves, you don't see one without the other-"

"I have a best friend too. I haven't told my best friend either, despite the fact that I could incur her wrath. And she hits hard.Real damn hard. Why do so many people know?!" I hissed.

Derek held up his hands in front of me and I stopped talking, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I don't think Kiel told Jet."

I raised a eyebrow, "Did a unicorn tell Jet then?"

"I love unicorns! They're so-"

"Derek."

"Right. No. Like I said, Jet and Kiel are inseparable from each other. Jet must've been around when Kiel and you-"

"Okay, got it." I said. I didn't want to hear it. It made the fact more real and our lack of choice more unbearable. And the open secret that I lack observation skills very prominent.

"But if Jet told you, what's the proof he won't tell others?" I ask.

Derek stared at me for three seconds, then slumped.

"Okay, Jet didn't tell me." he confessed.

"Who told you, Derek?" I asked, a sense of foreboding spreading through me.

"I eavesdropped on Jet and Kiel's conversation." he said meeting me eyes with an accomplished smirk.

"How noble of you." I said, then shook my head.

"So why are you here?" I asked, because I was finally (!) feeling sleepy. And if I didn't catch the bugger by the throat, it'll squiggle away.

"I wanted to see you," he said throwing me a shy smile.

"At three in the morning?"

He blinked at me for a few seconds before he slowly said, "I don't understand the question."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned, giving up on questioning him.

"How did you get through the defensive spells around this mansion?"

Derek grinned, "I'm kinda awesome like that."

I threw him a blank look.

"I don't think your spells keep intruders out, they keep out anyone who wishes to harm any of you," he paused and tilted his head, like he was listening to something "and from the sound coming from the other room, it doesn't seem like I'm the only guy who's visiting."

I gasped, instantly distracted.

I wonder who it was. The person visiting and the person being visited.

"I know that look." Derek said, grinning.

"What look?" I asked confused.

"That's the look I get when I want to know something and the only way to do so is by using my ninja sleuthing skills-"

"Eavesdropping?" I asked.

"Yup!" Derek grinned.

I rolled my eyes and scrunched my noise.

"I'm not eavesdropping on their... miscellaneous activities."

Derek huffed, "Oh, alright."

I shivered and realized that this sneaky Vamp had crept into my room via my window, which was now open and freezing my ass off. 

I started to walk towards it to shut it, because it didn't look like Derek was going to leave anytime soon.

"You know what makes this more awesome?" Derek asked from behind me.

"The fact that I'm more awesome than you thought I'd be?" I asked, pulling the doors closed and tugging at the curtains.

"No," he said and I threw him a look over my shoulder, "Well, yes. But that's not what I'm talking about."

Finally having shut those stubborn polka dotted curtains closed, I turned to him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Derek blinked and gasped out, "You don't know?"

I stopped walking and cocked my head.

"Know what?" I asked.

"Oh bitter bloods! You don't know!"

Bitter bloods? Must be a Vamp thing.

"Yes, I believe we've established that." I said slowly.

"This just keeps getting better and better." Derek said, rubbing his hands together in glee.

"I'm glad you're finding amusement in my love life." I said, before adding, "Or the lack of."

He patted the spot next to him and I sunk down on the corner of the bed next to him, with my legs supporting me by being on the floor.

He leaned forward, like what he was going to tell me was very important, his brown eyes alight with excitement.

"Kiel is engaged."

I jerked straight and my leg slipped against the polished smooth floor and my little butt slipped off the bed and I landed on the floor. My bangs had slipped out of the braid eons ago and now rushed forward to brush my eyes while my butt hurt like a mother.

Derek slapped a hand over his mouth and laughed his ass off, silently beating at his thigh in delight.

I whipped off my butt and grabbed his shirt.

"What?" I hissed.

It didn't make sense. He would marry only the one he was to be blooded to. And he wasn't blooded to anyone (according to everyone except Jet and Derek) yet.

"Relax, relax. It's a precarious engagement." Derek said, patting my hands that were clutched in his shirt.

I slowly loosened them and let go, realizing my reaction may have been a bit too... over the top. I sank back onto the bed, twining my fingers into the end of my braid to keep from strangling the truth out of him.

"Precarious engagement?" I asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, you know...since he hasn't found a mate yet, according to dad and mom that is, the engagement is like a just-in-case."

"Why is there a need for a just-in-case?" I asked, already hating that word.

"Because he's going to be twenty one and most Vamp's blood before twenty...and there are chances of his mate is dead."

I felt completely blind-sided. Kiel was going to marry that girl. Because there was no chance of us revealing the truth.

So I grasped for straws. Something to help me believe that this marriage may not happen.

"And the girl? Won't she find her mate?" I asked.

"She was around her mate when she was young and she lost him. Luckily they hadn't blooded because they were woo young. Besides she loves Kiel, so..." Derek shrugged.

I wanted to hit him with something for being so casual about this. I didn't like this. I didn't like that girl and I hated Kiel for accepting.

It took me a few minutes to stop seeing red everywhere and take a deep breath. Then, something else he said snagged my attention.

"When does he turn twenty one?" I asked, before looking away. My voice had turned soft.

I didn't need to know about his birthday, but I wanted to.

"In a week."

I nodded, comfortable in the silence.

When my butt started vibrating I freaked out. I was two seconds away from screaming 'Earthquake!', when Derek pulled out a sleek black phone out of his pocket and grinned when he checked the screen.

Then he flipped the phone around to show me the screen.

There was one letter on it: K.

Yeah, well underneath that there was 'calling' but that doesn't sound as cool.

My eyes widened and I pursed my lips. Derek looked pointedly at me and made a zipping motion at his mouth, telling me I should stay quiet.

I scowled at him and flipped him the bird letting him know how I felt about his suggestion.

He smirked before he slid a finger along the screen and answered with a "Yo!"

I heard a voice and immediately recognized Kiel. I slid forward along the bed to place my ear on the other side of the phone as Derek said into the phone "Nothing man, just chilling."

My heart thudded out of its chest as I listened intently waiting for him to speak.

Somehow I...missed him.

His eyes. His voice. His quiet. His...

"Are you with someone?" I heard though the other side of the phone. His voice sent tingles of joy down my spine.

Derek snickered at me.

"It's like you're having an org-" I smacked his face with a pillow before he could finish that sentence.

"Ow, geez." he grumbled at me.

"Yeah, man I'm with someone. And you know them too." Derek said into the phone and I smacked him again.

I pointed a finger at him, threateningly.

"So, I've been thinking," Derek started, rubbing his nose where I'd smacked the pillow against it and tossing me a scowl.

"Finally," Kiel said, sounding relieved, "I was starting to think you didn't possess the ability."

I covered my mouth and snickered and Derek threw me a dark glare.

"You're with a girl?" Kiel asked his voice its quiet commanding self, but I could hear the surprise.

"That's not the point," Derek grumbled.

I raised an eyebrow at him wondering what the sneaky head of his had thought up. I still couldn't believe I hadn't kicked his ass out. He'd sneaked his way into my room and charmed his way into my liking him. I gave him a small smile but it was quickly wiped out when I heart what he said next.

"I'm thinking," Derek started "that all of the Heirs, and some of their close friends, should go on a trip."

What.

"And what brought this on?" Kiel asked after a few beats of silence, seeming the least bit perturbed by what Derek said.

He didn't know Derek knew about us, so he couldn't give us away.

"I just think that since one day, you guys are going to rule-ish together-ish, you should build rapport. Think about it, our dad is growing new grey hairs after every Meet. I don't want to see you that way." Derek said.

Rapport my ass. He wants drama.

I kicked his shin and he scowled at me. I shook my head at him vigorously to let him know how I felt about the idea.

Grey hairs? Please. That guy was totally enjoying all the tension in the air. If anyone was going prematurely grey, it was me. Because of the brand of trouble that had walked into my room (uninvited) today.

"No one would agree to this, Derek." Kiel said into the phone ignoring the whole grey hair thing, then added, "Now stop speaking shit and-"

"If everyone were to agree, would you go?" Derek interrupted.

"I-"

"I'll take that as a yes." Derek said smiling wide and hung up.

The way he smirked at me after that scared the crap out of me.

No one would agree to this...right?

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Anyway. That was fun. But it only just comes up to three thousand four hundred and seventy nine words (daaaaaaaayum) and counting. I was aiming for four thousand. Hope you enjoyed that. I know that Kiel didn't feature in this, but he'll be coming..soon-ish. *wink* Vote and comment guys!