Poster Boys For Your Scene

Tears of pain. Tears of fear. Tears of regret. She cried because she knew that she brought this suffering onto herself. Screaming, convulsing, and shivering, she lay there helplessly on Pete's bed. She could feel her fangs growing, becoming sharp and cutting her mouth. Her head throbbed. Her body ached. The only word to describe her terrible ordeal was hell.

"Pete, we need your help. It's going to be hard to think back, but you need to. When you were changing, what happened? Was there something that could be done to ease the pain? I just can't stand to see her in this much agony..." Joe's face had no life. All he could do was watch this poor girl change into a monster against her will. She's so young... Why her? Why did she make that promise...

"All I can remember is the pain. My mouth got pretty chewed up because of my teeth and the headache was unbearable. My neck burned like hell, but wasn't even comparable to the rest of the pain. But I don't think there is any Advil: Vampire Strength. We just need to let it run it's course." In his mind, he was recalling all of the suffering he went through that night that he was bitten. Except, Pete wasn't in a bed surrounded by people that loved him. He was in a dark alley next to a dumpster.

Finally, the grief in the room became too much for Pete and he stormed out. The pain... I was probably exactly 18, the same age as her. Why didn't I get Beckett sooner? She's going through this because of me. He went downstairs to try and comfort Morgan and Melissa. As soon as he opened the door, both girls ran up to him, crying, and held onto him for dear life. Pete returned the gesture. They all sat on the couch and just cried. After a little while, Morgan broke the silence. "What is going to happen to her?"

Shit, how am I going to explain this? "Well, I'm not going to sugarcoat things. She is going through unimaginable pain right now. Nothing that you have ever come close to feeling. Her hair is turning as black as night and fangs are growing in rapidly, probably cutting her gums. Because of all her new powers, her nerves are getting rewired. Think of thousands of needles swimming through your veins. But most of all, she has the worst headache you could ever imagine. She's turning into a vampire and there is no stopping it. Nothing we can do."

"...Will that happen to us?" Melissa was completely in shock. Her breath was running short and her body was freezing. Pete grabbed some blankets.

"Shit, I shouldn't have told you guys about her changes in detail. But now that we know what lengths Beckett will go to, we can be more prepared. I swear I will do my hardest to protect both of you from him. I don't know how I could live with myself if I let that happen. Well, it's not like I have a choice now..." Morgan felt a stab of guilt.

"You have four very capable men looking after you now. But I don't think you'll be able to go home anytime soon. It is way too dangerous. And..."

"Oh my god... wait a minute, what's today?"

"I think it's the third of May. Why?"

"Because, next week is my birthday! I don't have to go home, because I'm going to be eighteen! And besides, it's not like I'm missing anything. I hated school. I hated being home. I didn't have any opportunities. I think I want to stay here, with you, for as long as possible. At least I'd know that I'd be looked out for..." Morgan knew that she couldn't go back home. She didn't want to return to life without Pete.

"And I think I'm good, with arrangements to stay. I'm a foster kid. I ran away all the time. But they never cared. I don't want to go back to that. I don't care about the danger, I want to stay." Secretly, Melissa was thinking about life without Andy. There is no way I can leave. They're so nice to me. How could I leave?

"I had no idea how much you guys hated home. So you really want to stay? It's going to be tough. And we can't stay here. I'm sure that after Becky recovers, we're going to leave. I don't know where, and I don't know when. But, it's always going to be dangerous."

They didn't care. Both girls were determined to let go of their old lives and start a new one. Pete was actually kind of relieved to hear this, because he didn't want to lose Morgan or Melissa.

Then, Melissa asked an important question. "Does this mean we get to go on tour with you?" All three of them laughed a nervous, uncomfortable laugh. It didn't seem right to laugh when one of their own was in so much pain.