*1 week later*
LUNA

I slowly make my way down the cave floor, still a little sore from fighting the Head Vampire last week.
My arms are wrapped in bandages, but they'll soon come off.

It feels different, walking on this floor, glancing around at the cave walls, the dimly lit rooms where I fell down and hit my head the night I found my sister.

This cave used to be a bustle of noise, of color.
It used to be a home.
Now, it's quiet, and everything has lost it's brightness.
Because everyone is either gone or leaving.

I see Dwayne ahead of me, long hair tied back in a pony tail, and his outfit a simple pair of jeans and a grey T shirt.
I approach him. "Hey."

He jumps a little at my sudden appearance, but he smiles when he sees me.
A real smile...one that I haven't seen him do before.
"Luna," he hugs me, "I haven't seen you in a while," he pulls away, ruffling my hair. "How are you?"

"I'm well," I smile, smoothing my hair down.
"And Marko?" Dwayne asks, the brotherly tone sinking in his voice.

I smile even wider. "Marko's great. He's been staying at Michaels house with Star for the time being. But today, Star's going to go home."

Go home...
After seven years of her absence, she's finally going home.
We'll be a real family again.
Mom and Dad still don't know anything about Star, The Lost Boys, or everything that's happened since July last year.

Today though, that's all going to change.

"I'm glad to hear that," he says, before I notice the suitcase in front of him.
"You're leaving?" I ask, shock filling my stomach.

Dwayne nods, one hand gently grazing his packed clothes. "Yes," he says, "I figured it would be best to leave Santa Carla and start a new life somewhere else," he looks at me, "there are...too many bad memories here."

A knife slices my heart.
I didn't expect Dwayne to leave. Honestly, I thought he'd stay here forever, to be close to Marko.

But...I guess not.
I try not to show my pain.
I've grown to care about Dwayne a lot, and now that he's leaving...

I force a smile. "I'm happy for you," I whisper, though he sees through my lie.

Dwayne hugs me again. "I'll come visit you as often as I can," he pulls away, "I promise."
I nod, before I glance in the corner, seeing a hunched over figure sitting down, head in his hands.

"Is that David?" I ask through a whisper, afraid that he'll hear me and lash out.
Dwayne nods. "Yeah, that's him."

"What's wrong with him?" I ask. I've never seen him like this before.
He looks weak, tired, and without the will to go on.

When just months ago, he was confident, cocky, and stopped anyone from standing in his way.
The death of the Head Vampire hit him the hardest out of them all.

Paul didn't even sweat it. Two days after everything, he hopped on a bus with a guitar in hand, heading for L.A. to try and get a record lable, and saying goodbye to us.

Sad to see him go, honestly.
But, when we'll hear from him again, he'll most likely have an album out.

I glance between Dwayne and David, feeling a little sympathy for David.
The one who almost killed me, Star, and Marko.
The one who killed dozens of innocents.
The one I despise.

But today...

"I'm gonna go talk to him."
"You sure that's wise?" Dwayne raises an eyebrow, "after everything that's happened?"
There's worry in his voice.

"He's powerless now," I point out, "there's nothing he can do to hurt me."
Dwayne looks like he wants to protest, but he only sighs and nods.

"Alright, go ahead."
"Thanks," I walk towards the corner, slowly, hesitantly.
I still can't help but feel a little scared in front of him. But I keep telling myself that there is nothing he can do to hurt me, and that I'm the powerful one now.

I approach him. "David?"
It takes him a moment, but his hands slowly fall from his face and his eyes look up at me.
For a moment, I can't recognize him.

His face is full of anguish, pain, sorrow, and depression.
My eyes widen.

He exhales softly. "Hello, Luna," he looks at the space between us, "what brings you here? Nothing should make you come back."
"I came to see Dwayne," I point out.

"Ah," David chuckles, but it's sarcastic. "Figures."
He exhales deeply, letting his shoulders slouch forward.
"How are you?" I ask, though I regret it.

It's sometimes a double edge sword asking someone how they are in times like these, especially if your the reason why they feel like this.
David shakes his head. "Not myself," he admits, "this whole 'human' thing... it'll take some getting used to."

"You were human before you became a vampire," I say, "can't you remember?"
He scoffs. "Barely. It was 40 years ago, Luna," his hands clench in between his legs. "40 years..." He breathes the words out as if there shocking to him.

I sit down.

He looks at me. "You have time for a story?"
I nod.

"Well, it begins like any other story I guess," he shrugs, "I was a young man, living in San Francisco before it became what it is now. I worked at a factory, lived in a small house, and had enough money for a bottle of hard A." He remarks, "I was addicted to alcohol, bad. So bad that there were a few times I almost died. But I didn't care. It was my only tool to get rid of my post trauma."

He licks his lips. "My memories of a childhood were wiped clean when I drank the bottle. Except for..." He trails off, eyes staring into the unknown as if there's something there.

"The one thing who both saved and destroyed me..." He whispers.
"What do you mean?" I ask.

He looks at me. "Caroline," he whispers, squeezing his hands together. "She was a waitress at this bar I used to go, so she witnessed first hand how bad I would get drunk. And one day," he laughs, "she approached me in the bar, and said 'Are you going to sit here and waste your life in the bottle? Or are you going to make something of yourself?'."

"She moved in to my house to help get me sober, and by god..." He trails off, "I didn't make it easy. I swore at her, threatened her, and threw a light near her head because she wouldn't give me a bottle. But she stayed. With a smile..."

His hands begin to shake as his eyes lower from my face to his. "It took me two years to finally sober up. And past that point. I never touched a drop again."

"Caroline still stayed however. She lived in my house for five years. We weren't dating or anything, we were just good friends splitting the rent cost. But one night, she looked at me, and said, 'It's been five years and you still haven't asked me to marry you.',"

A tear runs down his cheek, and he sniffles.
"So, we got married. And it was the best few months of my life."

"Few months?" I ask.

He bites his bottom lip. "Four months after our marriage, Caroline got cancer. And me, being a desperate, in love fool, I ran to every hospital, every god damn medical center that I could find. But none of them helped her..."

David pulls out the bottle. "One night, Max approached me, saying that if I give Caroline this, it'll save her..." He trails off, dropping the now empty bottle and throwing his hands over his face, crying.

"David if this is too hard you don't have-"

"No," David wipes his eyes, "I need to talk about this. I can't keep killing myself over this..." He inhales a breath, "I went home, and poured her a cup and gave it to her. God I was such an idiot," he cries, "it took less then five minutes, and suddenly, she starts screaming. She screamed, and screamed...until," he snaps his fingers, "she stopped."

"What I gave her, that bottle," he nods at it as it lies on the floor. "It killed her. I, fucking killed her."

My eyes widen, and my lips part.
He breaks down into sobs, burying his hands in his face once again, to hide his tears.

I slowly reach out and touch his shoulder.
He looks at me.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper, feeling my eyes begin to water as well.

David sits a little straighter, running a hand down his face and sighing. "Why did I trust him? Why did I give my wife that drink?"

"I don't know," I whisper, "you thought you were doing what was best for her."
"But it lead to her death," he exhales a shuddering breath, "my love killed her...and I've had to live with that for 40 years."

He clenches a fist, and for a moment I think he's going to punch the wall beside me.
But all he does is slam himself against it, clawing at the stone as he cries.

"Fucking Max..." He whispers, through clenched teeth. "I wanted to die. I wanted to kill myself, god, how could I live? Knowing that I killed my wife...so I grabbed the bottle and drank it, hoping for the same outcome my wife got. But instead," his hands fall away and he looks at me. "I became a vampire."

I glance at the ground beneath our feet, before I feel his hand touch my shoulder.
The contact makes me jump slightly, knowing all the other times he's touched me, he's only hurt me.

But when I look up into his eyes, I no longer see the dangerous David.
I see the David he once was before he became a monster.

"I became Max's toy, but after going years of living this way of life, I found some enjoyment out of it. I...pushed away the memories of my past, and tried to make a new life, with a new woman. Hoping it'll make those memories... disappear."

He sighs, his head lowering.
"I was so blind," he looks at me, "and you were the one who saved me. Who saved us," he nods at Dwayne who stands off to the side, pretending that he's not listening, though he's totally eavesdropping.

I stare up at David.
"I'm so sorry, Luna," he whispers.
I hug him, and the touch makes his body tense.

"I forgive you," I whisper.
It's true. I do forgive him. Knowing his past, his pain he's suffered...
The taste of power was too much for him. And he got carried away.
But now, he's free...

He hugs me back, before Dwayne comes into the room.
"We should get going."

I let David go, standing off to the side as he approaches Dwayne, wiping his face.
Dwayne pats him on the back brotherly like as we all take our leave of the cave.

When we step outside, David stares up at the blue sky, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air.
Slowly, he steps into the sunlight, no fear, no burning.

He looks at me, smiling.
Hope rises in my chest. Hope for his well being, his future...

As Dwayne leaves to get the bikes, David turns towards me.
"I guess this is goodbye," he says.
I nod.

"Well, I hope you have a good life with Marko, the ass better not do anything stupid," he jokes.
I laugh softly, staring at the man I once feared, I once hated.

I see him now as my friend.

He smiles softly at me, hands in his pockets. "Tell Star that I'm sorry, and that I wish her all the happiness in the world with Michael."

"I will," I say as Dwayne approaches us.
David turns. "Goodbye, Luna."

"Goodbye," I wave as they jump on there bikes and start them.
Soon, they drive out of there, hitting the sunlit highway, disappearing down the road.

Not in the shadows, or in the dark of the night.
But in the daylight.

I smile, humming as I go to my bike.
Now, it's time for Star to go back home.