It was loud and it was packed. If it wasn't the thumping of a dance beat that seemed to permeate the very air no matter what room you were in, then it was the raucous chatter of bodies relishing in the revelry of the evening.

It was the aforementioned "end of year" party, and essentially every student of the year had turned up as well as anyone else who knew of it. Tourists that had caught wind of a celebration and had come to peek their interest. Younger members of the student body looking to enact a small slight of rebellion. The entire house was practically filled to bursting with mingling peoples, vying for their own small corner of comfort, drink in hand, and fun on their mind.

How the authorities hadn't come to shut it down already was anybody's guess. Especially with recent events, but there had been a collective understanding to keep the party as much on the down low as possible. To that point, there seemed to be a collective "rushed" atmosphere. Guzzling down alcohol with mindless abandon, paying no care to the substance or the burning sensation it left down the back of the throat, and sampling the first scratching experience of a cigarette, like this was a moment that could be taken from them at any second.

It was hectic. Chaotic. Yet sublimely wonderful, in it's tangled and fleshy mess. A world of recklessness and fun, all beneath a two storey roof.

Alice had taken to lingering near one of the far walls that didn't see much traffic. She wasn't one for parties or large gatherings in such enclosed spaces. She found it hard to breathe, and being unable to see a clear exit, an uninterrupted path to the outside, was one of the few things she found difficult to keep a handle on. But she was here none the less. Justifying her presence as a need to keep watch and look out for a her friends.

The delicate fingers of her right hand toyed with the amethyst at her neck in a busy rhythm, while her other had hold of a nondescript beverage that smelled vaguely of apples. It wasn't her drink of choice. It spiked at the corners of her jaw and made her suck on her tongue with each swig she took. But it had been the easiest to get to and get away, so she didn't make a fuss. Merely hoped it would numb her enough to actually enjoy the evening.

As if sensing her unease, Alaric joined her, leaning nonchalantly with his back pressed against the same wall, and raising one foot off the already sticky floor to also hold it against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest in his usual manner.

He looked smart tonight. Alaric had always held a sense of style, but tonight was the first time in many years that Alice thought he looked smart. He wore a buttoned shirt, that seemed two-tone in colour. Where it was black until the faintest shimmer of light caught the fabric, and it glimmered in a crimson hue. He smelled delicious. A concoction of dark chocolate and wild berries, that seemed to infect the air in his presence with a sweetness that caused one to salivate on reaction.

He rolled his head along the wall to look at her lazily with a knowing smile.

Another thing that Alice still found, almost alarmingly so, odd. For the passed few days he had been unusually... Warm. Instead of the smug smirk that toyed on his lips, the odd joke between the group was often met with a genuine smile and honest laughter. Something Alice honestly thought he had forgotten how to do the older Alaric seemed to get. He was also more open to touching. He would hug, and make physical contact with them all in a fashion much more akin to Lily, as if he was cherishing each touch. Like it could all be taken away from him at any moment, and this was his way of making sure not to miss out on anything he might regret later.

Yet there was something more. Something profound. Something quite sad that Alice found crossing her thoughts whenever she questioned why he may be acting this way. It was like he was saying goodbye.

Alaric's eyes seemed to gesture further into the room, and when Alice followed his gaze, they fell upon Marshal. He was hanging off of Mark's arm. A big, toothy, grin on his face as it was lit up in a moment of pure, mundane, happiness. They stood chatting to each other and a few other students Alice vaguely recognised. It was innocent, and happy, and everything Alice could ever want for her friend. She couldn't help but find herself smiling at it, immediately relieving any tension that held her chest in its vice-like grip.

Alice raised her gaze to thank Alaric for the distraction. But when she did so, he was gone. Like things weren't that different after all.

Rhys had a small buzz going on. It made him all tingly at the skin, bubbled with warmth on the inside, and seemed to cast the edges of every person in here with a slight haze to their edges. A tiredness he didn't know he had held in his limbs, seemed to seep outwards from his muscles as he relaxed for what he felt was for the first time in a long while.

He helped himself to another drink, although found his happy buzz immediately stifled by the nasally voice calling his attention to the side.

"I never had you for a fruity, alco-pop, type of guy." Micah spoke, rounding playfully to Rhys' front as he leaned his weight on the drinks table. His eyes were painted with thin strokes of black liner, that framed their glittering and meticulous cores with an almost frightening intensity. The dark browns of his hair, occasionally cast in the different spots of coloured light that swirled the room in a practised rhythm, was spiked rebelliously in directions that didn't have any obvious pattern.

"Do you make it a habit to judge what someone has to drink?" Rhys responded, despite being known as 'the patient one' of the group, when it came to Micah; the end of his tether was surprisingly always within reach.

"I'm not judging" Micah laughed, raising his hands passively as he shook his head. "Just making conversation."

"Micah Wallace just making conversation, isn't really one of the things I thought possible. What do you want, Micah? And why are you asking me for it?"

"Rhys... I'm hurt." Micah cooed mockingly as he proffered a small cup with a frothy liquid Rhys assumed to be beer, and took a small sip. He grimaced slightly at the taste, and procured what looked like a small vial from his back pocket. It's contents looked much like small crystals of pink salt, and Micah emptied it into the liquid. He swirled the drink momentarily before taking a gulp and humming in satisfaction. "I don't want anything to do with you, your friends, or your happy little tree house. I was temporarily bored, and thought making casual conversation might honestly have alleviated that somewhat."

Rhys seemed unnecessarily heckled by Micah's words. Perhaps it was the drink muddling his thoughts, or maybe he genuinely was so insulted by the sight of him so close in his proximity, that anything that came from those serpentine lips of his immediately rubbed him the wrong way.

"It's not a treehouse, it's in the quarry, besides there's gotta be close to a hundred people here. Why choose to make conversation with me, and not with anyone else?" Rhys remarked, tightening his grip over his drink while folding one arm under the other.

"Fair enough. I know when I'm not wanted" Micah said taking another swig from his cup, before giving a wink and saying "I'll go find someone else to hold my attention then."

Without so much as another word, Micah turned and was soon swallowed by the crowd. Leaving to Rhys let out a breath of relief, chuckling to himself slightly, and rubbing at his face. He was a lot more highly strung than he thought to be as snippy than that, and he felt an unusual pang of guilt at the thought. Maybe Micah was genuinely looking for company in these uncertain times. He may be an asshole, but Rhys couldn't help feeling like it must be quite lonely painting yourself as an enemy to everyone like that. Perhaps if he was nicer in that moment, he could've even persuaded Micah to help with finding the hunter, whom had been nerve-wreckingly absent in activity in the passed week or so.

Before he could make up the resolve to go and find Micah to apologise, upon his first steps; Rhys had found his eyes make contact with a complete and utter stranger.

A swirl of confusion racked in his mind, as the first words that were conjured to his thoughts when looking upon the man was: beautiful. Rhys had never described a member of his own sex as beautiful before. It ruined him in a way he didn't quite fully comprehend, as he had always been so sure of himself. Or at least he thought he had been, no matter how Alaric teased.

The young man approached, deftly, yet cheerfully, weaving between the dancing bodies without taking his eyes off of Rhys once. His hair was blonde, and luscious in short curls. There was a soft, pinkness to his lips, and his eyes were so impossibly green in their colour, that Rhys swore on that moment that they couldn't of been anything else other than cosmetic contact lenses.

When he stood before Rhys, he was roughly the same height, but held a vibrant air that simply exhumed good cheer from a bright and confident grin.

"Hi." He said curtly, his expression seemed to spark with an almost excited curiosity. So much so that there was a moment that Rhys thought he might start vibrating on the spot. He wondered if the young man had taken anything, or if this was just how he was.

"Hey." Rhys replied apprehensively. Unsure of what to make of this breath taking marvel of a stranger in front of him.

"I'm Aris" He said, offering his hand

"Rhys." Rhys took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "That's an unusual name. You're not from around here are you?"

"No." Aris said pointedly, stopping to give a slight chuckle. "Me and my better half are just visiting town. Caught wind of this party and decided to check it out. It's a nice place."

"Oh, well, welcome to Willowstream. You sure picked a time to visit." Rhys laughed awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck as he did so.

"Tell me about it. We arrived today, as we're just passing through to see things, ya know, and it seems like the entire town is buzzing with the uh... events that happened. Can't even go to buy doughnuts without someone mentioning it."

"Well to be fair, towns like this rarely have drama like that. All the excitement we usually get is what people bring in when they come here on holiday. People are bound to talk"

"True... True..." Aris said, his voice trailing off as he studied the area around him, but more importantly; he was studying Rhys. His eyes wandered up and down Rhys' frame, and he seemed to have no control over the expressions he was making as he did so. He wasn't looking in a particularly suggestive way, no, his study looked decidedly academic in nature. Like Rhys was something he was unfamiliar with and was trying to figure him out.

It made Rhys feel incredibly uncomfortable. Like he was a frog, pinned by its arms, and waiting to be dissected.

"Can I help you?" Rhys offered, if anything just to shake the feeling of being studied.

"Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to stare it's just..." Aris paused to take a bracing breath "Okay, so this may sound weird, and I totally get it, but I feel an almost... Kinship with you. An understanding. Sort of... Kinda... Yeah..."

"We met like five seconds ago." Rhys responded nervously, and he couldn't help but lean a little more heavily on the back foot. Who was this guy?

"I know, I know. Listen. I'm pretty good with nature." Aris remarked, his voice holding a slight tone of panic as if he was mentally cursing himself for coming off so weird. Which was fair, as he was indeed coming off as weird.

"So like a zoologist?" Rhys questioned with a quirk of his eyebrow. Although how that related to him he didn't know, but somewhere over the awkwardness, his curiosity at this stranger had been invited forward, and he wanted to know where he was going with this.

"Not quite, although I do like animals a fair bit."

"A geologist then?"

"No." Aris laughed "Although rocks are pretty cool."

"A botanist?" Rhys confusedly asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to puzzle it out, especially as Aris shook his head to the question.

There was a silence as Rhys could tell that Aris was mulling over how exactly he was going to explain his strange statement. It hung awkwardly thick in the air, and Rhys felt himself shifting uncomfortably on the balls of his feet as he waited, suddenly unsure if he even wanted to know the answer.

Seemingly in a moment of eureka, Aris clicked his fingers.

"I know! A gift!" He proclaimed, before giving surveying looks of the area, and turning his back to the majority of the crowd.

This had Rhys even more intrigued, as Aris seemed to cup his hands together before bringing them up to his lips and blowing gently on the inside. Rhys' eyes widened in surprise as there was a small, ethereal, glow that momentarily sparked in the space between Aris' fingers, and when Aris opened his hands and offered one of them to Rhys, in his palm was a singular flower.

It was a daisy. Pale white in it's petals that gently faded into a delicate pink, and then purple, at the tips. The stem seemed to be completely embedded into Aris' flesh. The green slowly fading in to the colour of his skin, as if it and the flower were one and the same.

"How did you--" Rhys gasped as Aris plucked the small daisy and handed it over to him, where he took it with gentle fingers and studied it curiously. "Are you... Like me?" Rhys said, looking up to Aris. He found a long buried light of hope somehow awakening within his core. It hurt to allow himself that risk. That daring leap into what maddening depths may promise that he is no longer alone. That he is not the only one in the world.

Aris seemed to sense this. His expression turning from the proud cheerfulness it once held to one more sympathetic, as he tilted his head to the side slightly and regretfully shook it. The small gesture somehow more piercing in its pain than when Rebecca had stabbed him in the shoulder.

"No. I don't know what you are if I'm honest. I'm not the most knowledgable at what I do, you'd have to ask Rana about that, I'm just very good at it." He gave a laugh, as if the sound was enough to ease the tone that had infected the space between them.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Rhys asked after a moment of contemplation, choosing to ignore the mention of this 'Rana' fellow. His wonder at the stranger in front of him helping to stamp down the shards of glass that had become his insides.

"Eh, you wouldn't know it. It's a little obscure" He laughed again, obviously at a joke that only he understood. Rhys couldn't help but think that this man, as curious as he was, laughed an awful lot. Or maybe it was just nerves.

"Oh, well... Thank you, for the present. I'll keep it for as long as I can." Rhys promised, tucking it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Aris? Where are you, love?" Another voice called over the crowd, before wading through the people came yet another intensely attractive young man. He was immediately obvious in how different his countenance was when compared to Aris. He seemed happy enough, but there was a darkness lurking behind his expression. Almost as if he didn't want to allow himself to be cheerful. Like something bad could happen if he did so.

His hair was unreasonably dark. Almost so much so that it seemed to devour any of the light that touched it, and like Aris; his eyes were shockingly vibrant in their colour. Except rather than a brilliant emerald green, these ones were an almost poisonous amethyst. They were beautiful, but radiated an untrusting suspicion like every face they lingered upon could be a potential threat. Whomever this guy was, Rhys got the distinct feeling that he had an incredibly troubled past, and probably had severe trust issues.

"Coming, Sunshine!" Aris called out like it was reflex as his grin seemed to light up even further. He gave a quick nod towards Rhys "Well, if I'm lucky, I might see you again someday, Rhys. But if not: then good luck, and it was really cool to meet you!" was all he said before he jogged on over to the other man that he'd referred to as Sunshine. Which struck Rhys as odd, because 'bright and warm' was the last description he would use to describe him. It seemed more apt to describe Aris in that way.

With that, Rhys was left alone. Utterly dumbfounded by the entire encounter with the strange man. He briefly wondered if it was a popular fashion statement where they were from to where coloured contacts like that, but then he felt the daisy in his pocket. He hadn't met someone like him, and he hated that he had allowed himself to hope for a brief moment. But perhaps the meeting wasn't entirely pointless.

The world was big, and wonderful, and mysterious. It was then that Rhys decided what he wanted to do once all this was over. He wanted to explore.

A/N: Get read Babes because this is the part in the book where things start to get going. Alot is going to happen in the next few chapters, so buckle up, clench your buttcheeks, and prepare for a ride.

All posturing aside, I really hope you guys are enjoying the read and thank you for reading it ^-^