Pete finally escaped from Brendon and Ryan's home early in the morning, feigning tiredness as an excuse, and even though he knew his friends meant well, he found himself heaving a sigh of relief once he was out of their earshot.

Brendon had stubbornly refused to let Pete be alone tonight, saying that no one should be left by themselves after receiving the news he had been given earlier in the evening, but Pete had the sneaking suspicion that Brendon was also afraid that he would try and visit Mikey if he was left unobserved for too long.

He was probably right to be honest, but Pete surprised even himself when he turned his feet toward his own home instead of Mikey's. It was late anyway, so his mate would probably be asleep, and Pete wasn't ready to face him until he had some more time to compose himself.

Pete still felt like he wanted to cry whenever he recalled Brendon's words, but he had shed all of his tears already, and he was left with no way to relieve the painful ache in his heart.

This hurt so much, worse than any physical pain Pete had ever experienced, and even though he hadn't suffered that many injuries over the course of his short life, Pete was certain he would rather lose a limb than continue feeling this way for a moment longer.

Because over time, cuts and broken bones would heal, but this wasn't something Pete could just bandage up. His heart was literally breaking, which was an expression that Pete had never understood until today, making the phrase "ignorance is bliss" much more meaningful to him, and he truly wished that he had never seen Mikey if this was the result of finding his mate.

He couldn't take it back now though, and if Pete was given the power of foresight, alerting him beforehand that Mikey wouldn't return his feelings, he honestly didn't know whether he would have looked into his eyes or not, because even though this hurt like hell, Pete was keeping up with his theme of cheesy sayings and "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" popped into Pete's head whenever he tried to imagine a world in which he didn't know of Mikey's existence, even though he had been just fine living that way yesterday, but now his old life seemed paltry and unimportant.

This just wasn't fair - it wasn't supposed to happen this way. Mikey should love Pete, but he didn't - he couldn't, and how the fuck was Pete supposed to turn off his own emotions and pretend like everything was okay?

Pete slammed the door to his humble home shut before throwing himself down onto the couch with a pathetic sigh. He probably should be getting ready for bed; the sun would be rising soon, if it hadn't already, but Pete just didn't care enough to move.

Actually, Pete wasn't sure if he gave a shit about anything anymore, besides Mikey that is. This vampire who had been a stranger to him a few hours ago had become his whole world all because of a simple glance, and Pete knew he would never be whole again without Mikey by his side.

There was no possible way he could just ignore him like Brendon had suggested, that would drive Pete insane, but could he really maintain a simple friendship with his soul mate? Billie Joe had done it for years, but the truth had slipped out eventually, and everything had come crumbling down on him when that happened.

No matter how he tried to spin this situation, Pete continued to come to the conclusion that he was totally fucked, and even though it sounded dramatic - ridiculous even, Pete felt as if his life was ending before it had even properly started.

Pete wasn't prone to fits of depression, and even after all of the terrible things that had happened to him, this sensation of drowning in his own emotions was new to him, and he quickly decided he hated it.

Pete felt so helpless, and confused, and lonely, and he just wanted someone to step in and fix this, but that was impossible, and Pete knew that there was no magic remedy that would make Mikey care for Pete, not in the way Pete needed him too.

If only Pete had met Mikey first, before he had found Ray; maybe then Mikey could have fallen in love with him, and even though they wouldn't be properly mated, Pete could live with that, he would take any scraps Mikey threw his way at this point.

It all came down to Ray though, he was the root of this problem, at least, in Pete's mind he was. Ray got lucky and snatched Mikey up before Pete had been given a chance to win Mikey's affections, and if it wasn't for him, Pete could be with Mikey.

That probably wasn't entirely true, but Pete was far past the point of thinking rationally right now, and in his head, he honestly believed that if Ray was removed from Mikey's life, Pete could woo him somehow.

Pete's earlier sorrow slowly transformed into anger, anger at Ray and the fact that he had stolen Mikey from Pete, and the rage Pete was feeling was much easier to deal with than the crushing despair he had been battling earlier, so he embraced it willingly.

As Pete let this new emotion flood throughout his entire body, he felt powerful, in control, and he no longer wanted to curl up and die, no - now he wanted to fight for Mikey and prove to him that he was worthy of his love.

Pete just needed to find a way to show Mikey how much he cared for him, then he would understand that Pete was the better option, and mated or not, maybe he could end up falling for Pete in the end, but Ray needed to be removed from the situation before that could happen.

Maybe Pete could get Ray kicked out of the coven, god knows that Bert had enough ridiculous rules as it was, and if Ray got caught breaking one of them, Bert might retract his welcome and tell Ray that he needed to find another place to live.

If that really did happen, Mikey would most definitely go with his mate, but Pete didn't even consider that option; his brain had twisted this entire situation around in knots, painting Ray as the villain, and Pete as the hero, with Mikey the damsel in distress of course, except maybe without the dress. As soon as Ray was erased from the picture, Mikey would see what a better option Pete was, and they would ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after - or something like that.

Now all Pete had to do was figure out a way to get Ray evicted from the coven, which was no easy task. Bert may be very strict, but he had a soft spot in his heart that he tried to hide, and Pete knew he wouldn't banish Ray unless he did something truly terrible.

Pete didn't have a clear idea of what horrendous event he would need to stage that could ruin Ray's chances at staying here, but he would work out the semantics later. Right now, he was too angry to think straight, because even picturing Ray's stupid face made him want to punch a wall, or Ray himself, that would be a much better option than taking his aggression out on an innocent object.

Pete wasn't typically a violent person, actually, this was entirely new to him, but something had snapped inside his brain, and Pete could truly say that he hated Ray - despised him even. It didn't matter that he hardly knew the vampire at all, he had taken Mikey from Pete, and that was unforgivable.

Suddenly, all the glass in Pete's house shattered, lamps exploded in a flurry of shards along with the nearby mirror that was hanging on the wall. The unexpected noise had Pete sitting up in alarm, glancing around rapidly to try and find the cause of this random destruction.

But Pete was alone, and he hadn't done anything that would have caused this - right? He was just sitting here thinking about Ray...

Before Pete could ponder this odd event any longer, he was overcome by a wave of exhaustion, as if he hadn't rested for days, but that wasn't the case, and as of five minutes ago, he had been wide awake.

Pete was slightly scared as he found his body slumping down onto the couch against his will, his eyes falling shut as if weights were tied to the ends of them, and before Pete could panic about his sudden bout of fatigue, he found himself surrendering to the oblivion of sleep, not that he really had much choice in the matter.

~~~

Gerard slept fitfully throughout the day, plagued by his dreams once again, but they were worse this time, because now he knew Frank was his mate, and watching him die in his arms was the worst kind of torture he could ever imagine, even more so than being burned alive numerous times.

Whenever Gerard closed his eyes, the dream started again, and no matter how hard Gerard tried to wake himself, he couldn't escape from the veil of sleep until the full five minute scenario had ended; only then would he jolt back to consciousness, covered in sweat and breathing harshly as if he had just run a hundred miles.

Gerard hadn't missed these night terrors, of course he hadn't, but now that they had returned, Gerard began to notice details that had slipped his attention the first hundred times, and he found himself examining things more closely as he was forced to repeat the same events over and over again.

Gerard recognized his surroundings now, and the strange corridor filled with small cages no longer confounded him. It was Frank's clinic filled with kennels for the dogs in his care, and the only reason Gerard hadn't caught on to that before was because he had never set foot in a veterinarian office until he had met Frank.

Now the hallway he walked down was familiar to him, because he had trod that path in real life when he had exited Frank's house, and even the desk Frank was trapped under was the same piece of furniture he had noticed when he had been there himself.

These newfound discoveries didn't help him to understand why the room was engulfed in flames though, or why Gerard was unnaturally thirsty - achingly so. He had never felt the need for blood reach such a high intensity before, not even when he had been dying from his bullet wounds, but now not biting Frank became even more important, because draining his mate would be the worst thing in the world, and Gerard knew if he attempted to drink from Frank when he was this ravenous, he would kill him for sure.

And even though Gerard finally understood where he was, and who Frank was, the sequence of the dream hadn't changed at all, but it had become truly horrendous now that Gerard grasped what Frank was to him, which also meant watching him die hurt so much that it had reached the point where it was literally tearing him apart.

No matter what he did, he couldn't change the inevitable outcome of the vision which resulted in both of their deaths, and the thought of what that could possibly mean for the future terrified Gerard.

These dreams were obviously relevant, that much was certain now that Gerard knew Frank was real, but did that mean that Frank was doomed to perish in a fiery inferno with Gerard alongside him, or could it be changed somehow?

Maybe if Gerard continued to avoid Frank, this ending would not come to pass, but maybe it wouldn't; perhaps Frank would just die alone, and Gerard would be killed by the breaking of their bond after the fact.

And if Gerard was being honest with himself, he knew he couldn't go without seeing Frank for much longer. The internal magnet drawing him back toward Belleville - toward Frank - was increasing in strength, and Gerard had to be near him again.

And even if the events of his hallucinations were set in stone, and nothing Gerard did would change either his or Frank's demise, Gerard couldn't leave Frank to die without at least trying to save him, and if they were doomed to perish, they might as well go down together.

There had to be a way for Gerard to change the dream though, because the thought of Frank no longer existing actually brought tears to Gerard's eyes, but he didn't know what path to take to make sure that Frank would survive, or himself for that matter, but he wasn't going to give up just because he had never succeeded before.

Gerard waited for the setting sun anxiously, for he longed to leave the small cave he had hidden himself in so he could return to Belleville, even though what he would do when he got there was another matter entirely, but it definitely involved Frank, that was for sure.

Gerard knew he should search for Mikey, they had been separated for too long, and Gerard was worried about him as well, but he had to try and approach Frank first, or he would never be able to concentrate on finding his brother. Once he had made sure Frank was safe, and maybe even spoken with him, Gerard would return to the church, and hopefully this time, Mikey and Ray would be there waiting for him.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only about thirty minutes, the sun began its descent across the sky and the forest grew dark enough for Gerard to begin making his way back to the place his heart longed to be.

Flames continued to flicker at the corner of his vision as Gerard set his feet toward Belleville, but Gerard ignored them; they weren't real, and even if they were, he would find a way to pass through a wall of fire as long as Frank was waiting for him on the other side.

~~~

Mikey had gone to beg Bert's permission to search for Gerard as soon as he had awoken. He was surprised he had managed to shut his eyes at all with his worries for Gerard eating away at him, but Ray had done a very good job at distracting Mikey from his fears, and he had ended up dozing off despite his misgivings.

Bert had been sympathetic to Mikey's pleas, but he was still wary about letting anyone into town while the hunters resided there. After much debate, he had agreed to let Mikey search the church and the surrounding areas, just in case Gerard had hidden himself somewhere nearby, but he had made Mikey promise not to show his face in the more populated sections of the city just yet.

Mikey assured Bert that he wouldn't, and he would hold to his word for now, especially since he didn't want to disregard the coven leader after only just finding a home. Mikey truly was grateful for all that Bert had done for him, but he wouldn't be able to appreciate the novelty of living in a real coven until Gerard was by his side, because without his brother, this was just another place to stay.

Mikey returned to the house he had been given as quickly as he could, and he all but dragged Ray out of bed when he arrived to find him still ensconced in the sheets, forcing his sleepy mate to get dressed as he rapidly explained that Bert had given them permission to leave the coven for a short time. When Ray finally shook himself mostly awake and got his sleep clogged brain to process Mikey's words, a large grin emerged on his face at the prospect of finding Gerard, his expression mirroring Mikey's exactly.

Bert wasn't letting them go alone of course, he didn't trust them nearly enough for that yet, but the vampire he had chosen to accompany them seemed nice; he was the same man that had showed them around yesterday - Mikey was pretty certain his name was Brandon, or maybe Brendon, and Mikey didn't mind his presence at all.

Nothing could dampen Mikey's chipper mood as they ascended the steps which led to the old church that rested innocently above the coven, because it felt so good to finally be doing something to help his brother, and Mikey was hopeful that Gerard would return to this location, he had told them to wait for him here after all.

"So what does your brother look like anyway," Brendon - Mikey had confirmed that was indeed his name - asked curiously as they walked.

"Um, he's a little shorter than me, with long black hair, and he is wearing a black trench coat and dark jeans," Mikey stammered out, unsure of how exactly to describe Gerard in any more detail, he had never really thought about it before.

"And he promised he would meet you at the church?"

"Yes, but we ran into Bert the night we got separated, so we may have missed him while we were in the coven. Hopefully, he will come back here soon, we told him we would wait for two days before moving on, even though I would never be able to leave without him," Mikey answered with a sigh. Talking about Gerard made his heart ache painfully, and only the hope of finding him tonight kept him from falling back into despair.

"I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother," Brendon mumbled with a thoughtful expression on his face. Most vampires shared Brendon's sentiments, because siblings were so rare among their kind, but Mikey had never known a life without Gerard, so he sometimes forgot what an anomaly they were.

"It's amazing, he is so much more than just a brother; he is my best friend, my protector, my support. He saved me during the purge; if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have known what to do. When our parents came into our room and told us to hide, I panicked - froze up entirely. Gerard was the one who dragged me down into the basement, he was the one who hid us behind the bookshelf and kept me quiet when all I wanted to do was scream..." Mikey trailed off when he realized that he had gotten a bit too detailed about his personal life with a complete stranger, but he had been caught up in his memories, and Brendon seemed to be listening raptly.

"I wasn't born yet when the purge happened...fuck, I didn't know you were either - you look so young," Brendon exclaimed in surprise.

"I was very little, but I was old enough to remember it. Our entire coven was wiped out, and I can't even begin to explain what it feels like to finally find a home again."

"Now that I can empathize with, our coven got hit by hunters recently as well. I used to live in New York before I relocated here," Brendon admitted, and even though he was smiling, Mikey saw the hidden sorrow on his face, but he could tell that Brendon didn't want to expand on his experiences any more than he already had, and Mikey could respect that.

And just when Mikey was opening his mouth to respond, he noticed that they had reached the church, but that wasn't what had Mikey's jaw snapping shut with a sharp snap of his teeth - no, it was what he saw in the corner of the room that had him rushing over as quickly as he could, completely forgetting about Brendon's existence for the moment.

Mikey shouldn't even have noticed the small stack of rocks so soon, but maybe Ray was right, and he was connected to Gerard in some way that transcended simply being related, but whatever was the case, Mikey's eyes were immediately drawn to the pile of three stones, stacked from largest to smallest, which was a sign Gerard had used before to let Mikey know he had to leave for the night.

And even though this was nowhere near as exciting as finding Gerard, Mikey's heart was still beating rapidly as he felt a large grin tugging at his face. This was proof that Gerard was alive, that he had been here, which meant there was a good chance that he would probably return soon, and finding this proof that his brother was still out there somewhere was everything to Mikey.

Phew, I didn't think I was going to finish this update tonight, but I managed to knock it out.

I wrote this over a couple of days, and if it is sort of disjointed and stuff, that is why, but I literally have no free time lately, and I feel like my writing is steadily getting shittier, but I'm trying.

This chapter is dedicated to EmmaVonMonroe because she is a super loyal reader who always comments on all of my stories, and her existence makes me happy.

((((updating vibes))))

<3 starr