Chasing Ghosts
Chapter Sixteen: Beginning
Word Count: 3,249
Note: So, I'm not dead. Once again I am so, so sorry for such a long wait in-between updates. For those who are sticking out for said updates I cannot express my love and gratitude enough. It seems as if I have come across a very, very strong writers block so ideas are welcome! I am a little cautious to write about the actual Lost Boys timeline, and before now I guess I have not really thought about it all that much (a little sloppy, I know, but once I decide where this story is going I will definitely let you all know what the go is with Star and what not) Nonetheless, enjoy the chapter! I also want to give a massive shout-out to TomieHarley who gives me hope that I can cross this writers block sooner rather than later – thank you so much for all of your kind words.

-0-

Danielle woke slowly, and it was a few minutes of relaxing into the comforts of the bed before she opened her eyes. The first thing she knew was that Marko was no longer beside her, the second thing she knew as that her boyfriend and all of his friends were Vampires. It was something she was going to have to just wrap her head around – but wasn't it not so long ago she was defending Vampires to Marko and Paul? Though at that time she obviously hadn't known they existed, she had done so all the same.

A moment passed before she thought of her neighbours and how they had actually been right about everything all along – she shook her head and smiled to herself, feeling a little guilty how she had never believed them before now. But soon it was not only the guilt about them being right that plagued her, it was the guilt about how she would soon have to lie to them again about the fact that she knew four of them – and they seemed pretty alright to her. Something that Danielle knew deep down neither boy would ever believe.

As she swung her legs off of the bed she stretched with a loud yawn, the place was still lit with faint candlelight and she could not help but wonder how long she had slept for. She looked down to the clothes that were not hers and fiddled with the hem of the white singlet. At least, she thought, Bo and James would not be a problem anymore. More guilt filled her, which she didn't have the energy to feel the night before. Of course she hadn't wished either man a good life – far from it, but did she ever wish that they would just die? No, she hadn't. Both of them were now dead because of her, and that was something she was going to have to live with for the rest of her life.

"You're awake"

The voice snapped her from her thoughts, and when she lifted her head she saw that Dwayne was leaning against a wall on the other side of the room

"Yes, I just woke. What time is it?"

"Seven thirty"

"You're joking" she gaped

"No"

"Oh, sorry – it's just I never sleep in, especially that late"

"Understandable. After last night it's only logical that you would be physically and mentally exhausted"

"I guess that is true"

After that, silence filled the room. Before now she had never been alone with Dwayne before, and she had no idea what they could possibly talk about.

"Marko said you liked to read"

She was awfully glad that he had spoken first, and at the thought of books she allowed herself to smile and forget about the guilt – for now.

"Oh yes, it's one of my favourite ways to pass the time"

"You get him talking about books, he'll never shut up" Paul called out, and a moment later he appeared beside Dwayne looking like he had just rolled out of bed. His hair was messier than usual and bare of his usual fishnet shirts and coats, and she had to admit – he had a lot more muscle than she thought he would have. David appeared next; he too was without his long black coat and instead wore a simple black t-shirt cuffed at the sleeves with some dark jeans.

"So" David began with a clap of his hands "You're still here"

"I just woke up"

"No, I meant you're still here. We were taking bets on whether you would stay or not after finding out about what we are"

For a moment she was silent, and then her laughter filled the room surprising David and the other two boys beside him.

"Let me guess, Paul owes you a fair bit then"

"How the fu-" Paul began, and then he stopped himself "How do you know I bet against you huh? There is no way you could have possibly known that"

"I just do" she shrugged "And before you apologise, I won't take it personally"

"Yeah, she ain't going nowhere" David smirked "I'm liking her more and more already. Just gotta see if Marko is going to-"

But he did not get the chance to finish, because at that moment Marko walked into the room.

"Morning" he said rather loudly, and Danielle could not help but grow curious as to what David would have said

"I think you're a little late" she said sheepishly, she was still sitting on the bed and dressed in his clothes nonetheless – for the first time since the boys had arrived she felt rather embarrassed.

"Don't be, they look better on you than they look on him-" Paul said, and then Marko slapped him across the back of the head "-ow! You little fuck, what was that for?"

"Mind-reading" Marko grumbled, he then made his way over to where she sat and kissed her cheek "Block her thoughts out, I don't want you poking around her head"

"What about Dwayne and David?" Paul asked as he rubbed the back of his head as if he were in pain "I don't see you smacking them"

"David and Dwayne both know better than to bring them up in a conversation, especially if it's going to make her embarrassed" Marko deadpanned "And I'm not an idiot, I don't have a deathwish"

Danielle did not think she would ever grow tired of their banter, even if it she was at the blunt of it.

"I hope you slept well, c'mon, I'll take you home so you can get some proper clothes"

She followed him out of his home and gave a wave to his three friends as she began to climb the stairs, and soon she was climbing onto the back of his bike and wrapping her arms around his waist. Unlike the other times that they had done this, this time she leant her head against his back and held on just that little bit harder.

"You ready?" he asked

"Always"

They sped off immediately and Danielle as always couldn't help but smile and laugh as they went, overtaking cars that honked their horns at his somewhat reckless driving. Marko pulled up outside of her apartment building and took her hand as he helped her off, giving her a little kiss on the forehead when he was done.

"Do you want me to come up?" he asked

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Nothing, no reason"

She had a feeling that he may have just lied, but she wouldn't push for an answer. They walked up the sets of stairs and when she opened her door she couldn't help but smile as she stepped into her apartment – a moment later her eyes wondered to her bedroom, she simply could not wait for a shower.

"Go" he nodded "Take as long as you need, I'm fine out here"

"Are you sure?" she asked "I wouldn't want you to get bored"

"I'm fine here" he smirked "Unless you want me to join you?"

Her heart stopped for a moment, and she knew that she was blushing madly at the thought.

"I'm kidding" he smiled "you and me both are nowhere near ready enough for that yet"

Danielle nodded and slipped into her room, undressing slowly before she went into her bathroom and turned on the taps to her shower. You and me both. The words kept repeating themselves over and over in her head, how in the world could he possibly not be ready? Surely he had been with girls before, he had told her that before – so why in the world isn't he ready? Her thoughts soon drifted to the topic completely, she did not think she was ready for such a huge step so early in their relationship – the most she had ever done was kiss a boy and Marko was also her first for that too.

Even though the water was quite hot, she could not help but feel a little cold. She was completely and utterly inexperienced when it came to anything to do with relationships, especially the physical side, and she couldn't help but convince herself that she was going to make an utter fool of herself. What if when the time came she just didn't know what to do? Or even worse, did something wrong completely? They plagued her brain even after she had turned the water off, and as she dressed in an oversized black singlet and plain leggings she couldn't help but critique her body.

Her hips were too big, her stomach was not completely flat and her skin was very far from being perfect with the freckles that doted here and their across her shoulders – she did not even want to think about the occasional shaving sores on her legs. With a deep breath she tried to push the thoughts from her mind, and she was somewhat successful when she joined Marko in the lounge room of her apartment. Her thoughts were then completely wiped as she realised what he was doing, more or so what he was looking through. Marko was on her couch as he flipped through the sketchbook that held the drawings of him.

"What are you doing?" she asked

Marko lifted his head and grinned "You know, I'm all up for nude modelling if you ever wanna' give it a shot"

"You -" she wanted to be angry, but she also wanted to laugh. Neither won.

"Don't be embarrassed, I'm honestly flattered" he said "It's cute"

"It isn't" she groaned as she covered her face with her hands "I don't even know why I ended up drawing you in any of these, you're just all I ended up thinking about"

"Well I am definitely not going to complain about that"

"It was just your jacket to begin with"

"And you did a very good job" he laughed "Danielle please don't be embarrassed"

"You're asking me to do the impossible"

"Would it make you feel better if I admitted that I'd drawn you as well?"

She jumped at how close he was, and when she removed her hands from her eyes she saw that he was right in front of her. Marko was not tall, in fact he stood only two or three inches higher than her – so she was looking right into his blue eyes. They were beautiful.

"A little"

"Well, I have – so don't be all shy on me now. I meant it when I said I was honestly flattered"

She nodded, and when he cocked his head to the side she smiled.

"I don't wanna have to read your mind. So tell me what you're thinking"

"I – I don't know how to do this" she smiled and motioned between them "I don't know relationships, or commitment or anything that I'm supposed to do. I don't know what I'm meant to do to keep you happy, or to – to satisfy you-"

He interrupted her with a soft kiss, and a moment after his lips landed on hers he cupped her face between his hands. Her worries fell; as did the doubt and every other negative feeling she was plagued with only moments before. When his lips left hers she released the breath she did not realize she had been holding.

"I just want you to be you" he smirked "Nothing more and nothing less. And you don't need to worry about satisfying me – on the contrary I should be the one worrying about satisfying you"

"I'm sure you're -" but she didn't know how to finish her sentence, so she closed her mouth and just stared at him instead

"You're adorable" he laughed, then he kissed her again – her eyes closed when he began to pull her closer "You really are" he mumbled between kisses.

Danielle wanted to cry when a knock at the door tore them apart.

"Danielle! Open up" it was Edgar

"It's Edgar"

Marko groaned and rolled his eyes "Of course it is"

"C'mon, they're like brothers to me"

"They don't like me"

"Yes, I think I gathered that. I have no idea why though"

"I can think of a few"

"Tell me?" she asked – there was more knocking on the door

"Danielle are you still in there?" Alan asked

"His bike is outside; of course she's still here"

It was then that she walked over and opened her door – and there they stood, Alan still with his hand raised as if he were about to knock again and Edgar with his arms crossed.

"Hi!" Alan said "We – er, we just-"

"Alan knew you didn't come back last night and he got worried" Edgar grunted "You're fine though"

"Yeah – I just, I actually crashed at Marko's. I fell asleep last night"

"Oh" Alan said – it was then that she looked at him.

Alan's hair was messy; his signature floppy brown hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in a couple of days and large bags hung under his eyes. But that wasn't what made her really look at him – what made her do that was the redness of his cheeks.

"We'll go then" Edgar said firmly "Sorry if we interrupted you and uh- blondie"

"Are you guys like together now?" Alan asked

"Yes" she nodded "We are"

She did not miss the look that crossed his face, or how quickly he had tried to hide it

"Alright, well we'll see you around"

"I'm going to make a big breakfast for dinner tomorrow" she said with a small smile "Can I count you guys in to help me eat everything?"

"Sure" Alan nodded "We'll come over around seven. See you"

Edgar nodded, and then joined his brother. Danielle watched as they both took towards the stairs.

"How did I not see it sooner" she mumbled to herself

"What – the boys crush on you? Don't be hard on yourself"

"How did you know?" she asked, a moment later after locking her door she joined him on the couch "And how long have you known?"

"I was pretty positive about it all when he came and It was the night before you came to me in the rain, I was standing outside of the comic shop earlier and looking up here – man that sounds bad when I say it out loud – but yeah, he came over to me and tore me a new one. I was pissed at first, but you know in the end he made some good points. He also threatened me, it was kinda' amusing"

"I don't want it to change things" she said "Now that – well I know"

"Then don't let it" he grinned "He'll get over it, he's young"

"I'm young"

"He is younger"

"How old are you?" she asked suddenly

"How old am I?" he grinned

"Yes" she smiled "C'mon, tell me"

"I'm eighteen"

"C'mon Marko, how long have you been seventeen"

"I was turned in 1955*"

"Wow" she breathed "Why were you turned?"

"I was sick" he nodded "My heart, it was never good you know. And I was dying; I didn't have anyone either – parents both died. I was a rebel, a real shit head if I can be honest – it's how I met David and Dwayne to begin with. David turned me – the pain was, well it wasn't nice – but it was worth it"

"Does David only turn you if you're sick?" she asked

"Nah, Dwayne wasn't sick – they just bonded you know? And the same goes with Paul. Guess I was the charity case" he laughed

"You're not a charity case" she frowned

"I was being silly" he shook his head

Even though she had slept through the entire day, she was still incredibly tired. She could not hold in her yawn, and it was then that she stretched herself out on the couch and rested her head against Marko's shoulder. For the first time since that morning the two both that had attacked her came into her mind, as did the guilt.

"You're practically screaming your thoughts to me" he mumbled into her hair "Dan, you don't have to feel guilty about shit. I killed them and that is on me"

"No – it isn't" she sighed "It's on me"

"They attacked you!" he cried out, and then he was in front of her "They would have killed you Danielle – do you understand that?"

"Yes" she frowned

"Then understand this – I would do what I did last night again, and again and again if that meant keeping you safe. And if I could have I would have made it slower and three times as painful because they deserved it"

"Don't say that" she began "I'm not worth someone's life"

"Yes you are" he deadpanned "And if I have to do it again I will"

"Do you know how that makes me feel?" she asked "That you're willing to kill someone for me? Not theoretically, but literally take someone's life for me"

"No – I don't" he admitted "But if it's you or them I'm going to pick you. Danielle I am a Vampire and that does not just mean that I drink blood to survive, it means that I will protect you fiercely against all that I have to, that I am dangerous and deadly and once my temper snaps not much can hold me back. Maybe you'll understand-"

Her eyes widened at his words

"No – no not anytime soon – fuck, shit" he groaned "I'm going to freak you out even more than I have already which I thought was fucking impossible considering all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours"

Marko did not sit beside her on the couch; instead he shifted until his back was leaning against the wall in front of her.

"I haven't done this either you know" he said quietly "I don't know what to say in situations like this, I don't know how to make you feel better about something that I'm not ashamed of"

"I don't expect you too" she sighed "I just – it's hard for me"

"I know, I know it is" he said with a shake of his head "Do you – do you uh, want me to go?"

"No – no you don't have to go, I don't want that"

"Alright" he nodded

"So – how do you uh, eat" she asked

"We feed of humans" he said, and she could tell that he didn't want to continue – but she needed to know, she had to know "We try and go for the assholes, the scum that hang around the boardwalk you know"

"Do you have to drain them?"

"No"

"But sometimes you do?" she asked

"Yes"

She nodded in understanding.

"I-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me. If I didn't want you to be here, you wouldn't be"

He smiled at that

"Are you hungry? I can cook"

"I wouldn't complain" he grinned

"I'll scramble some eggs, I'm feeling quite peckish"

While she prepared the simple meal they joked, Marko doodled in one of her sketch pads and Danielle couldn't help but settle into calm. The past twenty-four hours had been absolutely nothing less than wild – she had nearly drowned, had witnessed the death of a person and had found out that her boyfriend sometimes are people to survive. Her life was so far from perfect it wasn't funny – but at the same time she was happier than she had ever been in a very, very long time.

-0-

* 1955 – an absolute random guess as is the whole turning story – they are complete and utter works of fiction from the corners of my mind.