May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight

I sighed and straightened my newly stolen, crisp white button-down shirt, then pushed open the door to the funeral home. I hadn't even bothered going to Jaime's visitation or funeral so I don't know why I was going to this one. I think most of the reason was watching out for Kellin, although I wasn't quite sure why I was doing that either. Okay, I knew why, but I didn't want to admit it.

It was quiet inside, much like I expected it to be. I signed the little attendance book at the front entrance then continued into the main room for the visitation. There were maybe about 40 people in here, some adults, some students who may have known him. I recognized two people from the pictures in his house as his parents. They were both red-faced from crying, and the woman was holding a tissue in her hand as she talked. There was so much crying. I looked around, taking in the whole heartbreaking scene. I did this. I caused all of this pain. As much as I had hoped it would be easier than the last time, it definitely wasn't.

I turned around and my eyes finally landed on Kellin, who was sitting in the corner talking to another teenager boy with short black hair. The boy patted Kellin on the shoulder before standing and walking off. I took that as my cue to go over to him. He looked so broken. He didn't look up as I approached him, he just kept staring down at the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to him. He shook his head slowly.

"Not in the slightest," he answered. It suddenly hit me that I had killed both of his best friends. I had taken two people that he loved very much away from him without any warning, and I now hated myself for it.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked.

"No," he said with a shake of his head.

"Do you want to be alone?"

"No," he whispered. He really looked like he was on the verge of breaking down, and I hated seeing him like that more than anything in the world. We sat there in silence for maybe ten more minutes, watching people mill around the room in a depressive state, before he looked over at me.

"Will you - do you think it's okay with your parents if you come back home with me?" he asked sheepishly. I nodded my head.

"Of course," I replied.

An hour or so passed before Kellin was finally ready to leave. He did eventually go over to the casket to say his final goodbyes, but I couldn't bring myself to do the same. I just couldn't look at his body after what I did to him. They all thought it was suicide, I'd covered my tracks pretty well, but I knew differently. He didn't deserve to die, but what was done was done. I had to return successful from my mission by tomorrow. All I had to worry about now was Kellin.

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The drive back to Kellin's house was a silent one. He had driven himself there since his parents were out of town, but was too much of a mess to drive now, so I took over the wheel for him. I felt like it was the least I could do to help him, and that way I had to keep my eyes on the road so I didn't have to see him crying silently in the passenger seat.

When we reached his house, it was more silence as we walked up to his bedroom and sat next to each other on the edge of his bed. I wanted to know what was going on in his head, but another part of me knew that it would only hurt me more. All the pain that I've seen him go through was caused by me, and whether he knew that or not, it still burdened me.

"Why does this keep happening?" Kellin whispered with trembling lips. I frowned and looked down at my lap, not quite knowing how to respond to that. I knew why it was happening and there was no way in hell that I was going to tell him, so I said nothing.

"They're saying that he killed himself partially because of Jaime. I don't know if that's true or not, but there's really no other explanation. He never said anything about hurting himself or . . . If I had known I would have tried to help him," he vented as tears rolled down his cheeks. I reached out a hand and stroked his back, hoping that it would comfort him in some way.

"I know you would have, but you can't dwell on that now. Nobody could've stopped it because no one knew it was going to happen. We just need to accept what happened and try to deal with it as best we can," I said. Kellin nodded and smiled meekly up at me.

"Thank you, Vic. You're always there for me," he said quietly. I smiled in return, and Kellin took a deep breath and straightened his back.

"I just don't want to think about it anymore. I don't want to feel like this," he muttered as he dried his eyes. I bit my lip, contemplating my next move. I told myself that I would never do this again, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted Kellin to feel better, and I hadn't been able to get him out of my head for the past three days.

"I can try to help take your mind off of it," I offered. Kellin looked up at me.

"How?" he asked.

"Kiss me," I whispered. Kellin glanced down at my lips before putting his hand on the back of my neck and crushing our lips together. I had expected him to hesitate, but he was nothing but eager as he demanded that I kiss him back. He wasn't thinking clearly, that was evident, but I guess I wasn't either. I responded with just as much enthusiasm, and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling his chest against mine. Kellin caught my bottom lip between his teeth, drawing it out and running his tongue along it. I growled and pushed him back on the bed until his head hit the pillow.

I hovered over him and let my hands wander over his chest. It was so firm and God, his lips were so sweet. Kellin brought his hands up and tangled them in my hair, and I moaned at the feeling. I slipped my tongue out of my mouth and swiped it along his lips, and he immediately parted them. I deepened the kiss, savoring the way his mouth tasted and the way his tongue expertly glided along mine. I pressed my body against his as the kiss became more heated, and loved how warm he was.

I pulled back and kissed down his jaw until I reached his neck, then sucked on the flesh. Kellin moaned and tugged on my hair to encourage me. I moved to another spot and bit harshly, then licked over it to sooth the spot. I continued traveling further south and reached his collarbone, sucking a hickey into the skin. Kellin bucked his hips up into mine and a jolt of electricity went through me. I had never felt anything like that before. I pushed myself up on my forearms and looked down at him as I continued to grind our hips together. His eyes were clouded with lust as he stared back at me, mouth slightly agape as quiet moans passed his lips. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I fervently pressed our lips back together, wasting no time in sucking his tongue into mouth. His hands trailed down my back until they got to the hem of my shirt, his long fingers slipping underneath the fabric and sending chills throughout my body. I didn't know how far this was going to go, but at the moment I didn't care. I just wanted Kellin, as much of him as he would give me. I had never lusted over someone so much.

The mood was suddenly interrupted, however, when my phone decided to beep repeatedly on the bedside table, alerting me of a text. I groaned and reluctantly pushed myself off of Kellin, hoping that it would be nothing and we could get back to it, but the message in front of me definitely wasn't nothing.

I know who you are, and I know who you're with. Come find me at the alley between Main St. and Broad or you'll regret it. -G

No. No, no, no, no, this can't be happening. He can't be here! Not now! I reluctantly looked at Kellin, who was still lying there with flushed cheeks and an obvious bulge in his pants.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. I gulped. Everything was not okay.

"Um, I have to get home. I'm really sorry. I wish I could stay, but something happened with my little brother and my mom wants me to get back," I lied as I shoved my phone in my pocket with shaky hands. Kellin sat up and nodded.

"Oh, okay. I understand," he said with sadness lacing his voice. I stood up and was about to leave when I sighed and thought 'fuck it' before leaning back down and pressing my lips to his once more in a sweet kiss. Kellin smiled as I pulled away, and I muttered a quick goodbye before rushing out the door.

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The walk to the alley went by faster than I wanted it to, and soon I was face to face with a creature that I thought I could have forgotten about long ago. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. He was paler than I remembered, slinking around like some kind of sly, dirty street cat, but I knew that he was a lot more dangerous than a feline. He grinned ferally as I approached, a bone-chilling laugh erupting from his throat.

"My, my, little Victor. I almost thought you wouldn't come," he said in a voice that was so melodic it was almost sexual. It was just the same as the last time I'd heard it. He had been chained up for committing a crime, and I was forced to torture him. The whole time he tried to sweet talk me into letting him out, but I wouldn't let anything he said sway me.

"Why did you call me here Gerard?" I asked. He laughed again and clasped his hands together behind his back.

"Now, now, don't get yourself so worked up. I just happened to be in the area, and when I heard about your mission I decided to check up on you. And what I found was very interesting," he mused. I gritted my teeth and glared at him. I wasn't here to play games.

"And just what, may I ask, did you find?" I asked. Gerard bit his lip as he smiled and shook his head.

"You've been a very bad boy, Victor. I saw what you were doing with that Kellin, and I honestly don't think you have any intentions of completing your mission," he said. He was right, I knew I wouldn't be able to kill Kellin now, but that was none of his business.

"My mission is none of your concern," I growled. Gerard's face went from creepily happy to full of rage in a split second.

"Then just whose concern is it? The Advisers? Because when they hear about what you're doing you know they'll have no mercy on you, and this time I'll make sure I'm the one with the whip in my hand," he threatened. His face suddenly lit up in another one of his wicked smiles.

"Or . . . I could just go take care of this little Kellin problem myself. Make you really suffer," he said. He started circling around me, letting his hand lazily drape across my shoulders. My stomach dropped at the thought of him even laying a finger on my precious Kellin.

"You wouldn't do that," I whispered. Gerard stopped pacing in front of me and leaned in close to where I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"Watch me."

My eyes widened and my hands flew out to grab him on instinct. He wasn't expecting me to attack him so quickly, so his guard was down as I tackled him to the ground and wrapped my hands around his throat.

"You won't get away with this, Victor. They're coming. They'll find you," he choked. This enraged me even more, and with a loud grunt I pushed his chin up until it separated from his neck. I gripped his greasy black hair as tight as I could and pulled the head clean off, chucking it down the alley. I was breathing heavily as I calmed down from the brief encounter, but now I was more on edge than ever.

I tensed as I heard faint footsteps behind me and I wheeled around, expecting to see another demon behind me, but what I saw was much worse. My own bloodthirsty eyes met with Kellin's terrified ones as he gazed upon the scene in front of him.