"Can the killer in me tame the fire in you? I know there's something waiting for us. I am sick of the chase,  but I'm stupid in love and there's nothing I can do."

— Killer, Phoebe Bridgers

——

Every sentient being standing in the field sank back into a bed of silence. The tension, which was palpable and rough against skin cooled from the frigid air, made Frank feel as though he'd become as fragile as bone china, shattering under the slightest impact. In that moment, a feather would carry out the job of breaking him, and every breath felt like an inhalation of splintered fragments sticking to the inner lining of his lungs. 

A witch? That couldn't be right. Frank possessed a special ability, it was true, but nothing else within his person indicated the presence of higher power. Not enough to categorize him as anything apart from human. Frank couldn't flicker the lights with his mind or ward of evil with a brush of his hand. Had that been the case, he'd be a fierce protector shoving the Way family behind him to keep the nomadic vampires out of their path. He wouldn't place them in a dangerous position the way he did just by living and breathing as a vampire's prey. 

For the hundredth time, Frank's memory traveled back to the story Jamia shared about witches and the way their path had crossed with vampires. Gerard dismissed it as a tale created out of animosity, later revealing there had been some truth to it, but Frank hadn't thought to ask about it in depth after he made his grand revelation. Witches certainly existed; that much had been confirmed. He began to rightfully suppose Jamia's story hadn't been fabricated, a matter of truth from the past involving the Way family's plea for peace. The stories were handed down and instilled in the current generation. If a grand power was treasured and distributed through bloodlines, Frank would've been raised around magic, grown into an eventual wielder of it— or would he? Jamia didn't seem to possess any power, nor did her brother, unless she masked it for her own discretion. Frank had a gut feeling she hadn't been pretending or making up her aversion to her family's deep involvement in witchcraft. 

"You're mistaken." Donald traded in his formal tone for a sound of warning weaving through his words. "We aren't involved with witches. They keep away from us and we don't seek them out." 

Brian's eyes flickered back to Donald, a fire burning deeply in his crimson irises as a sickeningly sweet smile twisted his mouth. "There's no mistake to be made, Donald. A witch's fragrance is so distinct, how could any one of you miss it? Their blood is rich with power. An ordinary human's blood can't compare to its sweetness." 

Frank's stomach twisted. Gerard's words echoed through his head. The sweetness of your blood is like nothing else I've ever smelled before. The world swayed in a hazy film as Frank was drawn back to a place where he became aware of his life's nectar circulating through his veins in rivers, suddenly too warm under skin that flushed harshly in a moment where his identity became one heaping question. His breath quickened and his hand shot out to wrap around Gerard's wrist, looking up with large eyes. Gerard met his gaze with a look of something Frank had never seen in him before and something he hadn't expected to find— deep, undiluted terror. 

"Again, you're incorrect," Donna cut in stiffly, "He's human. There's been no indication whatsoever that he shares ancestry with witches." 

"Don't lie to us. I can sense it in him, have you forgotten that you can't hide your abilities from me? You know he's able to feel things others can't, I'm sure. He may live as a normal human, the magic may be asleep, but his blood sings with so much promise." The words came out as unhinged rambles the longer he went on. Brian's eyes pinned on Frank with a greedy look, an almost savage glint that began appearing in Stefan's watching eyes. Frank backed up as word after word slammed him into a staggering state of uncertainty, only to be stopped by Gerard who pushed him completely behind his back so neither of the nomads could pin him with their starved gazes. Frank could only imagine where their thoughts laid. If his blood was so sweet to others, if there was truly magic within it, the nomads thirsted for it. 

"He holds no relevance to you. If . . . if the magic is asleep, let it slumber on."  Donald exchanged a brief look with his wife. Their worry was so deeply imbedded in them that it became tangible to Frank who was trying to gain insight on anything in a desperate attempt because he couldn't see when he was being shielded by Gerard's body.

Brian's pout was audible in his voice. "Such a pitiful waste. Don't you think?" The question was directed towards his partner. 

A grunt of agreement rumbled in Stefan's chest. A strip of silence fell, a breeze fluttering around them and grazing Frank's skin. As it carried Frank's scent over to the nose's of the vampires, a faint hiss was released. The Ways stepped back in their protective knit falling over Frank. He cursed silently, wishing there was some way to mute the smell of his blood and have him blend into the background to the point where he was practically nonexistent. 

"You ought to keep him close. I'd hate to think of what would happen if you let him out of your sight. Plenty of nomads pass through the area." Stefan growled with a threat looming in his voice. 

"It's not likely we'll leave him unprotected. He's part of this family now. Thank you for your concern." Gerard's voice came out in a clear menacing tone dripping so much venom that it was hardly recognizable— had it not been for the rumble of his words rippling through him, Frank would've been lost puzzling over who had spoken. Gerard was prepared to pounce, fury ripe and frighteningly scalding. 

Donald collected some of their game gear resting on the ground. "We'll be leaving now. I'm not sure if it's too much to ask, but please, to avoid frightening the humans, clean up after yourselves when you feed." 

Brian cooly responded as if it were an ordinary topic of conversation and Donald hadn't hardened considerably since they detected Frank among their group. "It was our mistake. It's not always easy getting rid of the bodies. It won't happen again— besides, we're taking off, too." 

"Very well."

It struck Frank in an instant. He briefly questioned the meaning behind the final part of their exchange until his mind was flooded with the prior tragedy sweeping over their small town, darkening his life in a direct touch his mother was barely breaking away from at last. The alleged animal attack causing the body of a woman Linda had been close with to wash up— the vampires that had brutally torn into the victim were standing right before Frank.  

Anger brewed in a crimson storm in Frank's body. As devastated as he was to discover the perpetrators to a case that could never be fully resolved due to the secret world of vampires being involved, a fury so deep swept through him like a hurricane and left his hands trembling at his sides. He wanted to tear his way to the front and maul the nomads, shout at the top of his lungs, seek justice for the innocent life they'd taken that was just one among hundreds of others, but Frank was nothing against two vampires. Weak, fragile. In one swift motion, they would have his neck and he'd be lifeless on the ground in seconds. Watching them swiftly turn away and make their escape when the Ways finally broke apart left Frank with a feeling of heavy guilt laid thick over his wrath. 

 "Gerard. Take Frank back to the house now." Donald murmured in a flying string of urgency. 

Gerard dove into action with a curt nod. When he turned, the anguish in his eyes struck Frank in the center of his chest and set him far apart from anger. Suddenly, all he felt was concern. 

"Get on my back." Gerard ordered. Something within his tone told Frank there was no time to protest or question it, so he did as asked of him, holding on tight as Gerard split through the clearing and into the green to return them to the car awaiting on the trail. 

When they reached their destination, Frank dizzily got to his feet, steadied by a pair of strong hands. Frank looked up once the blurriness of a fleeting wave of motion sickness passed. 

"Gerard?" No response came. Gerard's face was open with the pained look before, but also an unbridled anger with passion turning his essence into a vat of magma disintegrating all in its wake. It was a miracle Frank wasn't reduced to ash under his touch that somehow remained gentle as possible as he guided Frank into the passenger's seat, wordlessly appearing in the driver's side and twisting the keys in the ignition. 

Growing anxious from the silence and a touch infuriated by being ignored, Frank tried again, louder that time. "Gerard, what the fuck just happened? What's going on? Why are you—" 

Gerard cut Frank off with hushed swear words rapidly flinging from the tip of his tongue under his breath. He tore off onto the trail, the car rocking violently on the rough terrain. Frank gripped onto the sides of his seat for dear life. 

"I'm so sorry, Frank. I'm so fucking sorry. I should've never brought you with us tonight, this all could've been prevented if I'd just dropped you off at home. I'm too selfish, I couldn't be apart from you for just a few hours." 

Frank fought not to grow nauseous from the rocking motion of the speeding car, squeezing his eyes shut as his skin pulled white over his knuckles. He struggled to collect any coherent through through the rattling in his head, summoning up a few to calm Gerard down before they slammed into a tree. "Kristin didn't see the nomads coming until we were already out by the field." 

"Still, I've known this entire time a rouge vampire is out there, and yet— I keep taking you places where they can find you." 

"It's fine, it's fine, they already . . . they left. They're leaving, Gerard, I doubt they're gonna come back and try to find me. Just— Gerard, if you don't slow down, we're gonna end up twisted around the trees or flipped over in a ditch, please." 

Frank's plea broke through to Gerard. Though they still savagely split through the green, the speed lulled down to a pace that was still unacceptable, but not as violent as the setting that caused Frank's eyes to go wide when he read the numbers had entered the triple digits. He released a breath he'd been holding, his head spinning. If he could just gather his thoughts for a second and think about what had just occurred, then maybe he wouldn't feel like he was on the verge of imploding, but such was impossible when Gerard was in worse shape than he was,  picking up where they'd left off. 

"They are coming back, Frank. Stefan was trying to mask his thoughts, but it slipped for the split second when the breeze hit, he lost control." 

Frank's head snapped up. "He's coming after me?" 

Gerard's jaw locked, his eyes wide and overbrimming with rage. "His life's mission is to drain the blood of a witch and now that he's found one so vulnerable, he won't stop until he has you." 

Everything in Frank came to a steady halt apart from his heart irregularly thumping against his ribcage, banging against his bones in search of escape. "And I have the blood he wants?" Frank rasped. 

The pained look from before returned to Gerard's face barely illuminated by the dashboard and the faint flow of the headlights brightening the path they barreled through. It insinuated a greater truth Frank wasn't prepared for in the slightest, feeling its clutch closing over his erratic heart and giving a pulverizing squeeze. 

"I've been keeping something from you, Frank. And I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for withholding this information." Gerard's throat bobbed around a thick swallow, his lips pressing into a tight line. 

There it was; Frank's awful doubt he thought he'd managed to destroy, the residue of his distrust in Gerard. He'd hoped they were transparent and faced each other made of clear glass, but Frank always had a thought that caused him great guilt, one that wondered if Gerard only cleared away what was left before showing himself to Frank so it wasn't visible. Frank hated to think that way, but he hated the fact that his gut instinct was being proven right even more. 

"Just tell me." Frank whispered, inaudible to himself over the roar of the Jeep's powerful engine, but it would reach Gerard's sensitive ears listening out for his responses. Gerard considered it first, tortured by what he'd kept from Frank, and finally dove into it. 

"I always had a suspicion. I tried— I tried to deny it. I thought there was something familiar in your scent once I gained control over myself and cleared my head to think. Then there was the part where I couldn't hear your thoughts. But there were no signs of practices in magic or of you knowing anything about it, nothing tying you to them." Gerard took the briefest pause to just barely try to hold himself together, his hands tight over the steering wheel. "My suspicion returned once I figured out what you're capable of, but I remembered Mikey's sensitivity to certain energies before we were turned, so I drew a conclusion that you were ordinary. But . . . but I was wrong. Excuses and explanations kept coming up because I refused to accept the truth. I—" 

"Wait. Wait, I need a second, I can't— I can't think." Frank's thoughts were swarming in a disorganized hum coming to swallow him up. The racing of his heart caused a spreading ache in his chest, branching out and seeping into his quivering lungs that couldn't get enough air. Frank began gulping it down, his body breaking into a frenzy. Still, no matter how much he breathed in, it wasn't enough. Frank was suffocating.

He gripped the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that lights burst in the darkness behind his eyes. "I think I'm having a panic attack, fuck. Pull over." 

"I can't stop—" Gerard started to protest.

Frank's hysteria broke free. "Please!"  

The car came to a jerking halt. Frank rocked forward, restrained by the seatbelts digging into the skin of his neck and leaving behind a friction burn that would turn red in the next few minutes. Frank gasped, sinking under the feeling of suffocation and reaching out for Gerard with a panicked sound. 

"I'm sorry, baby." Gerard was full of guilt, soft now that he'd twisted the keys out of the ignition to leave them in momentary silence. He leaned towards Frank, first gently squeezing his hands, then cupping his hands around Frank's wet face— wet? He hadn't realized tears were pouring from his eyes until he felt them being stroked away and his sight was blurry trying to fix itself on Gerard. 

"Breathe. Look at me, Frank, try to keep your breathing steady. You need to stay calm." Gerard guided Frank. He started counting at a rhythm for Frank to follow. Frank struggled staying on track at first, drowning in too much and too little air, but the longer he fought to focus and continue following Gerard's voice, the panic gradually ebbed away. He graciously clung onto anything that pulled him from the black waters that stung like acid in his lungs and for a fleeting second, he was shocked by his reaction, wondering how long it had been building. He knew the trigger, which helped him gain back some clarity removing him from the frenzied state of what felt like his insides trying to crawl out of his skin. Frank's breath shook as he swung it back to an acceptable rhythm. An awful feeling started pinching his heart as he realized Gerard had been dishonest with him again. Frank wasn't certain if it felt like betrayal or heartbreak. 

Frank pulled away from Gerard, piecing everything together. "You . . . you kept this from me. You— that's what Mikey was hinting at in the study earlier when he asked about my lineage. That's why you reacted that way." 

Gerard shut his eyes tight for a moment in regret. "I was afraid. When Mikey's power didn't work on you, that dreadful theory came up again." Gerard dragged his hands over his face. "Vampire powers have no effect on witches. It's a way of protecting themselves from us." 

Frank's head slowly shook back and forth. Over that pinched feeling in his chest, his temper sparked, lashing and taking control. "Why would you . . . why would you keep this from me? What else have you been hiding?" 

"This is the only thing that I've kept to myself. I've been transparent with everything else." 

"How can I believe you? This isn't the first time you've hidden something massive from me and tried to cover it up." Frank's voice gradually grew in volume. He knew deep down he shouldn't have thrown the past in Gerard's face so carelessly, knowing he'd done what he had to in order to protect Frank until he ran out of options and accepted their fate, but Frank's hurt was unraveling. Set in tandem with his welling anger, it wasn't a pleasant combination. But he wasn't the kind of person to sit back in indignation and wait for things to pass no matter how terrible they were, just as long as they were done and over with eventually. 

Gerard was bewildered for a moment before disbelief raised his voice as well. "Frank, I've only ever kept things from you because these are things that can put you in mortal danger! Don't you understand?"

"I know that, but the part I don't understand is why you'd keep something like this from me. This is— it's a part of my identity. I don't have any other gateway to it. How can that put me in mortal danger?" 

"Because, Frank, a human involving themselves in our world is dangerous enough, yet we can still find ways to manage. But witches . . . it's a death sentence." 

Frank's glaring eyes widened. Gerard refused to meet his gaze, conflicted as ever and trying to keep his self control at bay so he wouldn't reveal exactly how much Frank was pushing him in his already strung up state. Frank willed himself to take a deep breath. Arguing didn't seem their greatest decision in their circumstances and he could admit he'd ran with his impulses, needing somewhere to lay all of his distress. Frank wouldn't go as far as to say he was fully irrational, but there were tough things he needed to understand in the supernatural world. If he was pulled from the dark, Frank would have to approach it with caution, observing the risks and not severing the only lifeline that guided him through the entirety of his treacherous journey; Gerard. 

Pulling himself together as much as he could and shelving his hurt for the time being, Frank looked to Gerard for answers. "Why?" 

Gerard looked as though he wished for any other question than that, but he knew what was needed of him and made no attempt to rake up excuses to not provide an explanation. 

"Vampires who live off human blood lose their morality over time. They're always searching for ways to become stronger. Witches, their blood is filled with power. If a vampire consumes a witch's blood, the magic transfers into them. A vampire can become a God by doing it."  

Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, his pained look returning. "I've dragged you into a world of exposure. Things like what happened tonight, it happens more often than you think. Vampires sense when others are near and they investigate. Even if the magic in your veins isn't active, it's present. They can smell it. If I leave you unguarded for one second, someone will find you and they'll kill you for it. Or worse, if word gets out that I've been protecting a witch, our mortal enemy, all of us will be killed. And I'll be forced to watch them take the life of the only one I've ever loved." 

A knot stuck in Frank's throat and almost cut off his air flow. He felt his heartbeat in his fingertips digging hard into the sides of the carseat, nails cutting into soft leather and nearly bending back from the force of his grip. He almost lost his focus in the sea of words Gerard unleashed upon what was once dry earth Frank demanded to be filled, back when he hadn't worried if the water was capable of overbrimming and washing out the remainder of the land. Frank idly began wondering if his mere existence was an experiment. One of god's games where Frank was constantly gazing into the eyes of death and his creator's responsibility was to see how many times he could escape it. He'd been weaved together with flesh and blood serving as a time bomb, ticking loudly for all to hear, presenting an ostentatious trigger button too irresistible for anyone not to press. Perhaps he'd been born with the intentions of someone dismantling him. His blood meant to be consumed, his body given to the earth. 

What was the point in saving him if it all seemed so inexorable? Frank welcomed inevitable things most of the time. It seemed this was another occurrence that needed to happen and the constant tango with fate was doing more harm than good. 

Crushing down the thought was meeting Gerard's eyes that were now resting on him. He waited for Frank's reaction almost beseechingly, anything he could mercifully be given. Frank had to swallow down the bleakness of his thoughts even though he knew Gerard couldn't hear them, but it was possible they were written all over his face. He couldn't do that to him. The entire reason he protected Frank with his life and more was because of his love for him, a devotion that was indescribable and almost didn't make sense to someone who didn't deem themselves worthy of the intensity at times. Frank just wished it were possible to protect Gerard just as fiercely instead of feeling so feeble and powerless. 

Until a small recollection tickled the back of his brain. 

"Jamia— she told me . . ." Frank swallowed hard. "Witches kill vampires before vampires get the chance to kill them." 

"It's not only an act of self defense. The entire point of a witch's existence is to protect the world from evil. Well, here we are, poisoning the human race and killing it slowly." Gerard scoffed softly in a small moment of loathing. 

It was exactly the confirmation Frank needed. "Which means the stories are true." 

Puzzled, Gerard's brow furrowed. "Yes. What are you thinking?"

Maybe Frank didn't have to balance upon the precipice of death and wait for forces above him to save him. Maybe . . . 

"Just— just some residual questions." Frank held his breath. "Look, none of what you said is gonna happen. Stefan's not gonna kill me, no one will. It's— I think I have a loose plan. I don't know how the hell I'm gonna make sure it all works out, but I'll try, maybe there's some way to keep me hidden, I don't know."  

"A plan?" 

"The future's a blur, but I can promise you that you're not losing me tonight." Frank let out the breath he'd been holding and more, his head throbbing in protest. 

Gerard shook his head, unraveling all over again. "He's after you. God knows if he'll tell any other vampires about your existence—" 

Frank rushed to sweep up the parts of Gerard that came undone and delicately laced him back together in a soft voice that even surprised himself considering he was fresh off a panic attack and a hurt feeling. "He won't. It's his life's mission to kill a witch, isn't it? He's not letting anyone take this opportunity from him. Even if his friends promise not to go in for the kill while helping him track me down, he can't risk it. If he's on the hunt, he's going on his own." 

Frank was impressed with his ability to speak so surely. He carried his gut instinct and ran with it, putting himself in the mind of a hellbent vampire on the hunt. His hands were still trembling— there was no way for Frank to annihilate all of his fear. He'd remain afraid on a varying degree during the entire chase, but the least he could do was use the adrenaline for something better than cowering away. 

Frank's confidence rubbed off on Gerard. The haunting look of trepidation faded from Gerard's eyes, and like Frank's fear, some would persist, but it didn't fight to keep its hold on him. 

A determined look set Gerard's jaw in a rigid pose. "It's all of us against him. Whatever plan we invent, I won't allow him a chance at taking you away from me." 

Relief washed over Frank at Gerard's cooperation. He took a few deep breaths, settling in his seat. His heart still pounded. "Okay. We'll talk with the others, see how we're going to handle this." 

Frank nodded. Just as he turned to look out the window, Gerard's voice called out his name. He glanced over immediately. 

"I'm sorry." Gerard murmured sadly. "As much as I try not to fuck it, it feels as if I have a tendency to do so. I'd never hurt you if I had any other choice."

Frank looked deeply into his eyes and chose to understand him. "I know you wouldn't." 

Gerard nodded once, letting only a few sparse seconds pass holding onto Frank's forgiveness. Twisting the keys in the ignition again, Gerard fired up the Jeep and sent them splitting off towards the house. Frank made no comment on the speed— if anything, he wished it were possible for them to exceed the highest level of numbers on the speed meter to meet up with Gerard's family even sooner. 

Fighting off a lethal headache and tilting his head back against the seat, Frank felt a returning sting of resentful grief welling up in him. He cracked his eyes open, blinking in the dark and turning his face towards Gerard's. 

"They killed my mom's friend, didn't they?" 

Gerard's face hardened. His throat bobbed and he wordlessly reached out for Frank's hand after a long stretch of silence that told Frank everything he needed to hear without words needing to be spoken. He allowed Gerard to take his hand and held onto it for dear life. 

They moment they arrived to the house, Frank all but sprinted inside, cursing his human pace compared to the blur of supernatural speed that would surely come in handy in that moment. He found the Way family pacing anxiously inside, awaiting, gathering in the living room the moment Gerard arrived with Frank. 

"I have somewhat of a plan." Frank breathlessly spoke out before anyone had the opportunity to stress any longer about the situation. 

Alicia sitting on the furthest end of the couch with a rigid posture gave a bitter scoff. "A plan? Do you think we're going on a wild goose chase under your order?" 

"Alicia, I expect you to keep your snarky comments to yourself tonight." Donna snapped so suddenly it even stunned Alicia. "None of us want to hear them." 

Alicia sprung up to her feet with a defiant look making Frank take a single step back. "If you think I'm going to protect a witch, you've mistaken me for someone else. You know the penalty for siding with them. We'll all get our heads ripped off." 

"Not if we kill the only two vampires who know about him." Mikey piped in with an abhorred look appearing at the thought of the nomads. "No one would be able to spread the word. The dead can't speak." 

"So we're killers now?" Alicia met Mikey's eyes, her own alight in a bright fire. "Is that what we're meant to become as long as he's around?" 

"Frank's part of our family, Alicia." Donald steadily fixed Alicia with a stern glare anyone would waver under. "He's Gerard's, and Gerard is his, it's no different than what you've known before. As a family, we protect one another. No matter the consequence." 

"You guys may want to stop your arguing to listen to Frank." Kristin's voice came out in a lower rumble as she rubbed her temples slowly as though a terrible ache rested behind them. As Mikey settled beside her to provide comfort, Alicia turned away from the sight, walking towards the wide glass windows so her expression wasn't visible to anyone, but her silence hung heavy with the words she wouldn't say. 

Gerard gently nudged Frank forward, the only incentive he needed to launch into his plan despite the unsettled feeling remaining in him from Alicia's blatant hatred he couldn't see her shedding. 

"Stefan isn't around right now, but he will be if his gift is hunting. So, we need to stage something when he finally begins. Shake him off our trail." 

"We were thinking something similar." Donald nodded once. 

"I'll say I'm going one place to try to escape, but I'll go the opposite direction, and some of us can lead him elsewhere with a trick of sorts. I— I'm not really sure how we can do that. I don't think vampires are very easily fooled." 

Donald proposed, "We'll take anything of yours that absorbs your scent the most. A clothing item you wear often, preferably. Donna and Alicia can work together to throw off the hunter." 

"I'll take you away from Oregon. We can head towards Washington, it's the only place far away enough without much sunlight we can reach in a limited amount of time." Kristin removed her hands from her temples, steadily focusing on the present instead of relying on the future. 

"As much as I hate to resort to killing one of our own kind, it seems that's the only option we're left with." Donald somberly sighed, turning towards the vampires looking to him for their next move. "Mikey, go with Kristin and Frank. Gerard, unfortunately we'll need your talent to aid us." 

Alarm belled in Frank's stomach. "What?" 

"Wherever Gerard is, he'll anticipate you to follow, Frank. He'll soon figure out the trail Donna and Alicia are leaving behind is false. He'll search for Gerard and when he finds us, we'll take care of it." 

Frank turned back to look at Gerard who didn't object to the change in plan, but the agonized look wiring his jaw shut told him he wasn't anywhere near pleased with separation in a case where Frank's life was at stake. "I don't really know how comfortable I feel with this, Donald. It's not that I don't trust that you'll protect me, but putting Gerard in front of the killer is just—" 

Gerard stepped in with determination clearing away some of the pain clouding him, leaving Frank to stare at him in disbelief. "I can handle it, Frank. I have an advantage. Any move he tries to make, I'll detect them before he can do any damage. Besides, he'll be outnumbered." 

Frank was only partially soothed by the advantages he couldn't deny. Frank's mind rapidly scanned over the plan, piecing it together, until an imperative factor that somehow floated above his panic began sinking in. A sharp flash of coldness filtered through him in an instant, his face paling. 

"Fuck. My mother. I can't leave her behind, he'll— he'll kill her." Frank whirled around, eyes frantically looking over the vampires. 

Donna walked forward, resting a soothing hand on Frank's shoulder, nodding understandingly. "We'll weave her into this plan somehow." 

"Frank. You'll be followed back to your house when you go to gather your things. That's where you'll have to mislead him, he'll be hanging onto your every word trying to figure out where you're taking off to." Kristin barely missed a beat in her words as she tangled into a new vision warping before her eyes settled on the carpet. 

Frank's brow furrowed. "How?" 

"You'll have to tell your mother you're heading back home to California tonight." 

Frank wavered. "I . . .  she won't let me. None of my excuses will be believable, and if I say I'm going back home with my dad, he's still on the road. She won't buy it." 

"You have to try. You might end up hurting her, but it's nothing that can't be repaired once this is all over." Kristin weaved back into the present, a regretful frown resting on her lips as she turned to meet Frank's stare. "I wouldn't suggest this if we weren't so limited with our choices now. She'll forgive you, Frank. You're her only son." 

Frank resents the mere thought of causing his mother any distress after the events occurring in her life. Possibilities paged through his racing mind, none any more pleasant than the other, and defeat sank in as he came to the realization that the only possible way to make a break for it was an outlandish excuse where Linda also felt she couldn't hold Frank back once his mind was made up. His heart ached the way it had when his mother mourned the loss of her friend.

 "We need to go now." Gerard said urgently, eyes glued to the clock in the room. 

"Frank, we'll need your coat and your cap." Donald held a hand out. Frank immediately shucked off his jacket and tossed it into Donald's waiting grasp along with the cap. The vampires sped into action, words exchanged at rapid intervals Frank couldn't understand. Gerard hurried them over to the parking garage to settle into a quicker vehicle than the Jeep, but just before he could pass the threshold to the exit, Alicia's venomous voice cut in. 

"Just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I'm doing it for you. I'm protecting my family." 

Again, Frank had always made an attempt at being understanding of the root of Alicia's malice. Above all things, he'd always sympathize with her and wish none of her desires were inaccessible, finding it would be excruciating if he was put in a circumstance where Gerard was destined to be with another while Frank suffered from an inescapable love for him. Yet, exhaustion wore down his nerves and for the smallest moment, Frank was prepared to snap back before he leveled himself. He was better than that. In a moment of exasperation, everything was worn down to a sad pity, no animosity driving him the way it did Alicia.

Frank turned to meet Alicia's dark-eyed stare drilling such a menacing look into him that he imagined he'd cower underneath it if he didn't sense the genuine fear for the lives of her family swirling like sapphire blue in all the colors that made her into the person she was. 

"That's more than enough for me, Alicia. You may find it hard to believe, but I love everyone in this family. I'd rather risk my own life than any of yours, but they won't allow it." Frank refused to allow his voice quiver, though his throat tightened in warning. Frank gripped the doorframe, prepared to vanish through it and set into one of the most dreaded parts of their plan. He set his focus away from the way his words surprised her. 

Lastly, Frank wistfully told her, "You can hate me until the day I die, maybe I deserve it, but I'll never hate you." 

Frank promptly released himself from the brief interaction and headed into the parking garage where everyone gathered in preparation to take off in their separate directions. They ran through the sequence of events Kristin had foreseen along with their intended route before Frank climbed into the passenger side of Gerard's silver car, gripping onto the seatbelt that felt cold and unyielding pressing against his chest in a secure hold. He closed his eyes and pointedly avoided paying attention to the speed the car raced at, finding other concerns were more worthy of his time and everything else faded into a minuscule details making him question everything he once stored his energy into. Although Frank's mind pressed for him to think harder about the future of the plan they cultivated from the ground up, he brushed it to the back of his thoughts, willing himself not to dwell on anything but the present. 

Arriving at Frank's house, his heart refused to be still. A tugging feeling at his chest wanted to tether him to the seat, but his body took initiative by removing him from the warmth of the car to step out into the bleak coldness of the night. Frank hardly felt Gerard's presence beside him as they began a death march all the way to the porch where the light was harsh on Frank's eyes grown sensitive and aching from holding back hot tears of both guilt and repressed fear. 

"After this, I'll need to hand you over to Kristin and Mikey. Take your truck and meet them in the high school parking lot." Gerard turned to Frank at the door, his eyes gradually bringing Frank back to where his feet were planted on the brittle steps outside his home. 

It began dawning on Frank the seriousness of the separation awaiting him. His heart hung heavier than ever catching the devotion in Gerard's eyes that always existed no matter the consequence it would bring him. 

"I don't want to do this without you." Frank slowly shook his head. The wounded look coming to bloom across Gerard's face made things no easier, but Gerard cleared it away with a tight swallow and a deep breath. 

"And neither do I, little dove. But this won't keep us apart forever." Gerard stepped closer until he was the only thing surrounding Frank, increasing the ache in his chest. "You only have ten minutes, Frank, ten minutes to do this and pack your things. I need you to be brave." 

Frank nearly unraveled at the time limit. Would it be enough to shake his mother off his path and set off before disaster struck? Frank wasn't positive he could entrust himself enough to be successful. "What if it all goes wrong?"

Gerard took Frank's face between his hands in an icy cradle, eyes alight with anguish. "You will come out of this alive. I'll go to the ends of the earth to make sure you're safe."

Frank withheld the fluttering breath of panic squeezing his throat. "I'm not worried about myself. I know I'll be okay because I have all of you, but if anything happens to any of you because of this, I don't know what I'll do with myself."

"I swear to you, darling, nothing will touch us. I need you to have complete faith in us."

"I do, it's not that. I'm not worth any of this, Gerard, you all lived peacefully before me."

Gerard's face fell in an image of heartbreak, his thumbs delicately stroking Frank's cheeks. "Don't say that. You're worth everything. Every bit of my heart is yours, and who can live without their heart?"

Frank's eyes stung around the edges. Despite the reassuring words, a cocoon wrapped around him in a protective shell making it impossible for anything to squander his deepest fears souring his ability to keep calm. In spite of having power on his side, Frank decided long ago he could never be too certain about anything. And just around the same time, it became clear as ever that Gerard was one thing he couldn't risk losing.

"You're my everything," Frank choked, "Which is why you need to protect yourself as fiercely as you're protecting me. Don't let the hunt make you lose sight of what's important here, and that's me and you, unharmed, getting to see each other again once this is all over."

"Frank—"

Frank batted Gerard's hands from him so his palms cradled around Gerard's exquisite face, pulling them as close together as they could be, foreheads touching as Frank tightly shut his eyes.

"You have to promise me that you won't put yourself in any position that might be a cause of me losing you. I can't lose you."

Gerard's eyes glistened in memory of tears he couldn't shed and the phantom of the ones that would fall if he had the ability. "You won't."

"Then promise me. I love you, Gerard. I love you so much it hurts, I feel it in— in my fucking core, and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't turn it off so I can let you go out there and sacrifice yourself just for me. So don't you dare fucking do it, Gerard, don't you dare even think—" Frank cut himself off with a garbled sob breaking apart his words. He dissolved at Gerard's feet, but held on with the grip of someone fighting to stay on the surface.

"Then let me cross my heart in front of you. I promise I won't do that to you, I won't hurt you this way. If it comes to a fight, I'm not going in by myself. As much as I'd love to tear this hunter apart with my hands alone, I won't  break my vow to you." Gerard rested his hands over Frank's that trembled as they framed his face.

Frank needed to breathe in the words of promise, to taste them on the tip of his tongue and store away the memory of them to console himself in the moments he'd be torn apart from his anchor. Frank gasped out a single breath and pressed his lips to Gerard's in a kiss filled with desperate passion. Gerard requited it instantaneously; his arms wrapped around his waist in an iron hold nearly lifting Frank off his feet. Frank wished he would, wondering if wings would burst through their skin to carry them to a place where no danger could scathe them, and it only made him hold on tighter in prayer of it happening. They'd see to the ends of infinity and find a savior in the divinity of being alone together. 

They pulled away on the cusp of one shared breath that shattered the moment their lips no longer touched. They remained close, and Frank was completely shattered knowing he'd need to part from him for days, maybe even longer.

"I wanted to give this to you whenever we returned to our meadow, but I want you to keep it with you if I can't be by your side." Gerard dug into his pocket and curled his fist around what resided there. He took Frank's hand gingerly and turned it palm-up to rest something cool in it.

Frank looked down and found a gold locket resting in his hand. The heart-shaped outside was smooth with a mirror-shine and framed in elegant swirls, but as Gerard reached to open it, the inside had lillies etched into the gold, reminding Frank of their valley of flowers, the place where he fell so completely in love with everything Gerard was.

"It was my grandmother's. My mother kept it all these years, but she wanted me to have it in case I ever found the person I want to share my eternity with." Gerard closed Frank's fingers around the necklace. "We may not have eternity, but I know whatever time any of us have left, I only want to spend it with you."

Frank felt the gold warming against his skin as though it always belonged to him. Underneath the fissures spreading through his aching heart, Frank's pulse raced and every piece of him bloomed in a peony flush only Gerard could evoke. He threw his arms around Gerard again, pressing his face into his neck and releasing a shaking breath.

"I'm yours. Every bit of me." Frank whispered. "Come back to me as soon as you can." 

Frank held onto the breath he took that filled him with Gerard's scent before pivoting around to face the front door. As he roped the necklace around his neck and hid it under his sweater, he glanced back once to find Gerard had vanished from the steps, but Frank knew he lingered out of sight within the area. Frank felt the necklace added weight to his body that kept him from losing all ties to gravity. Steadied, Frank entered the house, raking up every negative emotion and letting it storm in a fit of thunder that broke the wall within him. He used the despair to his advantage and slammed the door harshly, hoping to capture his mother's attention. 

On cue, Linda rushed towards the front door, bewildered and puzzled by Frank's loud arrival. "You're back early." 

Frank hated this. He hated every bit of it, but he choked down the resentment and kept a single fragment of it with him to strike up the show of his life. A piece of him hoped Stefan was listening to his words that came next and that he was becoming thoroughly convinced by them. 

"I fucking hate him." Frank strangled out. "I couldn't stand being around him for another second." 

Shock stripped Linda of any other reaction. "What? Frank, what— what happened?" 

Frank pressed his fists into his crying eyes, letting out an aggrieved sound. "I don't want to talk about it. I just— it's over. Gerard and I, we're fucking done, I never want to see his face ever again." 

Before Linda could ask more questions, Frank stalked towards the stairs, climbing up with a speed making him breathless as he already struggled to keep his breathing steady through his emotion. He stormed into his room that was left cool and abandoned, nearly wavering when he noticed a trace of Gerard's scent had already embedded itself into the atmosphere. It helped the knot in his throat grow and added to his performance. Frank retrieved a duffle bag from the recesses of his closet and began stuffing random clothes inside in handfuls at a time. He wasn't certain how long he'd be gone, going off the loosest basis that made him wonder how the hell he'd managed to become tangled in this situation to begin with. 

"Frank, hey, what do you mean you're done? You were both over the moon for each other before you left." Linda called out in alarm as she treaded up the stairs. 

Frank managed a bitter laugh. "That was before I realized I had the wrong idea of him the entire time. I was almost convinced he felt the same way I felt about him, but he doesn't, I don't think he ever did." The words stung like hell belting out. It was the furthest thing from the truth, but it was necessary and would most definitely count as the last straw for Frank to come to the decision to leave. 

Linda stopped in the doorway, her brow furrowing. "Why are you packing a bag?" 

Frank froze up. No, he couldn't— he needed to pull through if he wanted Stefan gone. He wrapped a tourniquet around his breaking heart and forced his hands to keep moving, robotically shoving his belongings into the bag. 

"I can't stay here any longer, mom. There's nothing for me here." Frank released a shuddering breath. "I just— this town has only drained the life out of me. Things were looking up when I met Gerard, but he's out of the picture." 

Linda's eyes widened. "Frankie, you can't just leave! Your father's still touring with his wife, where will you go?" 

"I don't need him to be home in order for me to go back to California. I have a key to the house, I'll just— I'll ask him for help to get groceries or something until I find a job, and he's not gonna be on the road forever. I'll make it work." 

"And what about school? You're more than halfway through your final year, you can't drop out and transfer somewhere else again like this."

"It'll be just a few days. I'll adjust fast, I'm familiar with the school already." 

"Frank, this is crazy. You're not thinking clearly. What you need to do it sit down, get some rest for the night—" 

Frank whirled around. "My head's never been clearer than it is now. Mom, I've never liked it here. I hate the constant rain, I hate being away from dad, and I miss my old life. I thought I was doing the right thing by coming here, but the only thing that came out of it was me getting my heart broken." 

A helpless look began engulfing Linda. The tension drained, leaving behind a feeble slump of her shoulders that made Frank want to strangle the breath out of the hunter himself for forcing him to take these measures. 

"Is he really worth you taking off so suddenly?" 

"I've been thinking about it for a long time. It isn't just about him. I told you that." 

"At least stay the night." Linda suggested in a soft voice coming from the pain she refused to let show in full force. "I don't want you driving around half asleep. Besides, the truck won't make it that far. I'll help you get a plane ticket in the morning if that's really what you want." 

Frank hid the burning tears in his eyes by shoving more personal items into his bag until it was nearly impossible to zip shut. "You think I can stay here another second?" 

"Is it so bad being here with me?" Linda's splintering voice made Frank's chest shudder with a sob he forced down, wedging between his ribs and nearly breaking them. 

Frank was almost out of time. Pinching his eyes shut, he slung the duffel bag across his shoulder, slowly turning around to face his mother. She appeared so small in her wounded state. Her similarities to Frank's appearance stood out as he recognized a certain look in them he'd viewed in his own eyes while looking in the mirror; a broken look of the fear she may no longer be good enough. 

A sudden anger ignited in Linda's eyes. She shook her head, brushing off the threat of tears. "I'm not letting you leave. You've lost your mind if you think I'm allowing you to be this reckless." 

"You can't keep me here." 

"You haven't given me a good enough reason to let you go tonight. I'm sorry Gerard hurt you and you're not too fond of this place, but it's nothing you can't survive." 

Frank clutched onto his duffel bag so tightly his fingers ached from it. There would only be one reason he could possibly use that would vanquish Linda's efforts to keep him locked away overnight. Frank couldn't stand the way this would mark them both, how cruel he'd seem, almost enough for his mother to question if he'd ever been genuinely good to begin with. Frank would question himself for letting this last resort fly. 

"Maybe it's enough for you to stay in a miserable town like this, but it's not enough for me. It never will be. I won't die being here, you're right— but I'm stuck and I can't take it anymore. I love you, mom. I just— I can't stand holding myself back for you anymore." 

The words rang with a similar resonance his mother had heard before. Years ago, when the only love she'd desperately clung onto appeared at the doorway with bags packed, bidding her farewell to take off and live the life he always desired. A life that wouldn't include Linda, one he hadn't attempt to fit her into because he decided she couldn't long before he realized he'd subconsciously given up. 

It shredded into her. Frank couldn't stand watching the pain take ahold of her for another second. Biting back hysterical sobs, Frank briskly brushed past her, not looking back once until he grabbed the keys to his truck and headed out the front door that slammed behind him. It was as though the house had spit him out and warned him not to return, a notion Frank felt he deserved. With Gerard's car out of sight of only the company of the truck's cab to soothe the frost bringing a mighty tremble to Frank's body, he unraveled in the driver's seat. 

Frank's weakness could only take ahold of him for a limited amount of time. He punched the steering wheel, crying out for something to wake him from this nightmare, but the retrieval would never arrive. He was left to face reality and muscle through it if he wanted himself and everyone else to come out of this endangerment alive. Frank only managed to float back to a somewhat collected version of himself by clutching onto the heart locket Gerard gifted to him, taking several leveling breaths as his thumb stroked delicately across the clasp. Somehow, things would heal themselves, and there had to be some balance along the road even if Frank had never felt more shaken than he did currently. 

Twisting the keys in the ignition was equivalent to twisting the blade. Frank willed himself to keep the tears from blurring his eyes as he headed towards the school, the place where it all started, and the place he could expect to be the beginning of the end. 

—

Hi! Welcome back. I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter for some reason, pardon me if anything seems a little weird, I have trouble keeping track of so much detail for plot and piecing it all together in a sensical way. Brain scrambles. 

Anyway, I hope you guys liked the new chapter and you're looking forward to the next one! The closer we get to the ending the more excited I get, I'm so glad we have a sequel ahead of us otherwise I'd be pretty blue since this fic is almost done. Let me know your thoughts if you'd got any, it's a pleasure to hear from any of you and to answer your questions. 

-rosexo