Dead in the Water

(Amanda's POV)

Martin smiled as our eyes locked onto each other. "I wrote this song for the one I have always loved. It's called Hero/Heroine and the one who is special to me is my heroine as I am her hero." Martin said out into the crowd. Then he nodded his head at his bandmates and our song, the one he wrote and sang to me years ago when we first met in the hospital, began to play. At first I just listened but then I sang along with Martin glancing at me the entire time he sang.

"It's too late baby, there's no turning around
I got my hands in my pocket and my head in a cloud
This is how I do
When I think about you
I never thought that you could break me apart
I keep a sinister smile and a hole in my heart
You want to get inside
Then you can get in line
But not this time

Cause you caught me off guard
Now I'm running and screaming
I feel like a hero and you are my heroine

I won't try to philosophize
I'll just take a deep breath then I'll look in your eyes
This is how I feel
And it's so surreal
I got a closet filled up to the brim
With the ghosts of my past and their skeletons
And I don't know why
You'd even try
But I won't lie

You caught me off guard
Now I'm running and screaming

I feel like a hero and you are my heroine
Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?

And I feel a weakness coming on
It never felt so good to be so wrong
Had my heart on lockdown
And then you turned me around
And I'm feeling like a newborn child
Every time I get a chance to see you smile
It's not complicated
I was so jaded

And you caught me off guard
Now I'm running and screaming"

"Isn't that the..."Elissa said to me as she finally caught up to me.

"Yeah, it is." I smiled. I was so proud of Martin.

"How do you think he survived?" Elissa asked.

"I don't know but I will find out later but right now just let me enjoy this, ok?" I asked starting to tune her out.

"Gotcha." She said as all our friends rushed over and stood behind me.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that Martin was alive and here?" I asked Pete as I turned around after my song was played.

"I honestly didn't know. I never saw him or the rest of his band until five minutes before they were to go on." Pete answered.

The rest of the set was amazing. When they were done, Martin had said that they were going to do autographs at a table in the back. However there was a very huge line set up already waiting for them.

"Hey, wait until after the next band plays or at least midway through and then I will get you backstage." Pete whispered in my ear as I knew I would never be able to make my way through the line and say everything I wanted to say to Martin. Besides a meet and greet table really wasn't the place for me to talk to Martin anyway.

"Before you say anything, Brendon and I are on it." Erelin replied grabbing Brendon's hand and searching out for some vampires I felt.

I smiled. "You are going to see him, Amanda." Elissa replied giving me a hug.

"It's about darn time you start to smile again." Nonnie replied giving me a hug.

"What took him so long?" Frank replied.

"Frank! That's my line." Nonnie replied elbowing him in the ribs.

"Look any questions you have, I will answer them tomorrow." I grinned.

"Ooh, I sense that you two are going to need alot of alone time." Chrissy replied.

"Maybe. There is alot of catching up to do." I grinned.

The next band started to play. I didn't really care so I didn't make it a point to even hear who it was. As soon as Pete tapped me on the shoulder I grabbed his hand as he led me through the crowd of people and out the side door of the club.

"You going to be ok?" Pete asked.

"Yeah. I can feel him. I'm just nervous." I said as he hugged me.

"You'll do fine." Pete replied and with that he left me in the alley as the next band was getting their equipment ready out of their van.

I walked a bit down the alley following my heart, to a black van. I saw Martin, and his gang loading up their equipment. My heart was beating way too fast. It was starting to get a bit foggy.

Through the fog I watched as Martin handed Paul one of his guitars and then turn around. He then proceeded to walk towards me. I then froze and couldn't move. I waited for this moment forever and thought it would never happen to me. I thought Martin was dead and never coming back to me.

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?" I asked as Martin approached me. It was a dumb thing to say but its all I could get out at the moment.

"I would never leave you." He said as he stood in front of me.

"You did leave me. Why? And How?" I stammered.

I looked into those same warm and caring eyes and wanted to hold him. We both reached for each other and held on tight. No words were spoken for several minutes. I could hear Martin's heart beat for the first time and it was just as loud and strong as mine. Then he lifted my chin up and kissed me, sending sparks all around me and leaving me breathless.

He extended his hand and I took it as we walked out of the alley and back onto the street. Martin flagged a cab and we both got in. "What about the others?" I asked breaking the silence.

"They will understand. I can catch up to them. We are in town for a few days." Martin replied as I snuggled into his arms.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To a new place." Martin answered.

The driver took us to a nice apartment that had a great view of the city. "You live here?" I asked once we were inside. The apartment was so much bigger then mine or Elissa's.

"I do." He replied.

I sat down on his sofa and Martin sat beside me. "You want answers. First off, I had to leave you. I didn't want to but I had to. Everything was so crazy when I woke up." Martin explained.

I just kissed Martin to shush him. I wanted answers but my body didn't want to talk right now. Too much time had been kept from us.

I reached for his shirt as we kissed and laughed. He reached for mine. Once our shirts were on the floor he got up and scooped me in his arms, carrying me to the bed of his new bedroom. It had been forever it seemed since I had been in Martin's arms.

"You like?" He breathed into my ear after he sat me down on the bed and I crawled up on it with him climbing over me.

"I miss our old apartment." I pouted.

"This is ours you know." He whispered in my ear sending chills down my spine.

"Then I think I can grow to love it." I smiled as I reached for his belt undoing it to get to his pants.

"Someone's in a hurry." He laughed.

"Well, I don't want this to be a dream." I smiled as he fumbled with my pants.

"We can take our time." He grinned.

Several hours later our bodies were entwined and wrapped in a blanket. I had my head on his shoulder and I could feel Martin''s heart beat. It was still just as strong as earlier. Martin reached over and took my hand from his heart and held it.

"I love you." Martin replied before he kissed my forehead.

"I love you too." I said looking up and kissing his lips.

"Amanda, I have to tell you what happened to me. It's important." Martin replied sitting up.

"I helped kill Ian and ran back to the mansion to find that you and Paul were gone." I frowned remembering that painful moment.

"I'm sorry, baby." He said with sadness in his eyes.

"No. You told me you would always be right here. You said so in the dream you left me before I woke up and killed Ian. But you were gone. It was like my heart was ripped out. I didn't want your life to end for me to live. It wasn't fair and then for Paul to drag you off somewhere when I came back looking for you made me not able to breathe it seemed.
I couldn't feel you." I said remembering the horrible events.

"You can now." Martin replied. "We share a connection forever, now."

"Just like that your phone was disconnected. I couldn't hear your voice or contact Paul. I didn't know where he had taken you. Then I felt a pressure in my chest and then that feeling was gone." I sort of trailed off.

"That was when I woke up. Amanda, I thought I was dead. I thought that giving you my life was it. I was in a limbo. I wasn't dead but not exactly alive and then I was back. I woke up in the back of Paul's van. My chest had hurt from where I came to. I was confused and so was Paul but we knew it had something to do with you killing Ian.

I wanted to go back to you but I couldn't. I wasn't ready yet. I came back a little weak. I had to regain my strength and you had just believed I had died, I didn't want you to see me so suddenly. I thought of you every day.

I picked up my old life again making music. We had to make up a convincing story of how I didn't really die and that I had amnesia somewhere from being attacked. We had picked up a record deal before I was turned and when that happened everything changed so we had to fix that. I wanted to get my life back on track for us to have a ife together.

Me and the other guys started writing and recording our album. It comes out soon." Martin smiled as he looked proud of it.

"When we were done in the studio I had to come back home here to find you. I had just moved back here and got this place. I was reading the newspaper when I saw that Frank and Nonnie were getting married under announcements and engagements." Martin explained.

"So you were there! I wasn't losing my mind. I felt you. Elissa told me I had made you up because I had been daydreaming. Why didn't you stay?" I asked a little hurt.

"I don't know. I just didn't feel right crashing their wedding. Something told me to keep an eye on you that night though and I am lucky I did." He replied.

"I felt you as I went out slaying to blow off some steam. I thought I was losing my mind because I couldn't explain what I was feeling. Then I felt so overwhelmed with everything that I..." I tried to say.

"That you almost passed out but I caught you." Martin said unsure how I would react to this news.

"I heard a voice, I'm guessing yours then but it was all mumbled to me. I just remember this calm feeling coming over me. I then fell asleep in your arms. But how did you get in my apartment or even know where it was?" I asked confused.

"Easy. I dug into your purse and got it off your liscence plus having your house key on you helped too." He grinned.

"Don't grin at me. You still kept me not knowing that you were alive and in town for almost two more months!" I yelled.

"I deserve that. I did. This show tonight was important to us. I didn't know that Pete had a band until tonight honestly. I thought I felt you at the venue and I tried to find you but I guess we kept missing each other." Martin said making me feel a little guilty because I had felt him I just didn't know it at the time.

"Then when we went up on stage I had seen the gang so I knew or at least thought you would be there to support them but you weren't there during our first song. So, I figured you weren't there." Martin explained.

"Oh, I was there but I had to chase a vampire out. Then I got to the point I was ready to go home. Alot changed, Martin. I'm not exactly the same girl you fell in love with. I became damaged when you left me. I hated the world and all I wanted to do was kill vampires. I couldn't go out with my friends or my sister for awhile. Then the night of Nonnie's wedding something changed. I think you changed me some. I wasn't always so skeptical about things and I tried to open up more and be me but some things haven't changed. I still get anti-social at times but when you caught me that night I woke up feeling more alive. I wasn't grieving over you but trying to live." I explained.

"What made you come back tonight?" Martin asked.

"Elissa got worried when I took so long killing that vampire. I even scratched my elbow." I said holding it up.

"I don't see anything but how about this." He said picking up my elbow and kissing it long and slow and from that spot down my arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry am I distracting you?" Martin playfully asked once he was done and I was like in another world because of him.

"You can continue." He grinned.

"Fine." I said shaking my head at him. "So anyways she gets a call from Pete who tells her to drag me inside and once I was dragged it all clicked. I felt you and heard your voice and the rest was history except for the annoyance of Elissa talking to me as I was listening to our song." I sighed as Martin laughed.

"Then Pete got me backstage and the rest is history cause we..."

"We felt our way back to each other." We both said.

Martin and I leaned in about to kiss and head under the covers when our cell phones went off. "Man, can't Elissa cut me some slack?" I huffed.

"Paul is calling me." Martin laughed as we tossed our phones on the floor and started to continue where we had left off.

"Welcome home." I breathed.