Anti-Venom

Happy Birthday."

The words are repulsive, and completely inappropriate. So Gwen just groans, and turns over in bed. She pulls the covers right the way up over her too so that she doesn't have to look at Patrick. Patrick is actually one of the last people she wants to see right now.

"Gwennie, come on, you're eighteen today." Patrick smiles.

Now she snaps. She throws the sheets off of herself and sits bolt upright. Pain tears through her from last night's events but she really doesn't care right now.

"Fuck off Patrick!" She yells incredibly angrily. "Is this all some sick fucking game to you huh? I lost our baby last night. Or doesn't that matter to you?"

"I-"

"Shut the fuck up I'm talking!" She near enough screeches and throws her fist down onto the bed. "Just let me fucking talk! I never fucking asked to be some sort of key, I never asked to get pregnant and I certainly never asked to lose it the day before my eighteenth. In fact if you had asked me I'd have probably said that I have no interest in kids right now, if you want one let's wait until I'm thirty, but no, no this kid has to be born within a fucking year."

"Your brother-"

"He can fuck off too! All of you, you can all fuck off, you don't fucking care about me you just care about your precious fucking baby and your sick little fantasies." Gwen bites, just as the door opens and Joe steps in.

"And do not get me started on you!" She points over at the man, but very quickly just falls straight back down into the mattress out cold.

Patrick looks to Joe now, a little unsure of what has just happened.

"I may have just used a form of magic I really shouldn't have." Joe sheepishly speaks. "This stays between us right?"

"Yeah." Patrick nods and sighs in relief. He takes a couple of steps away from the bed and towards the bedroom door; looking over his shoulder at Gwen as he goes. Once they're both out, they shut the door behind them, only to be greeted by Andy, Spencer and Pete all stood there, birthday balloons, get well soon balloons, gifts, and all sorts in their hands.

"Wrong time?" Andy asks, to which Joe just nods.

"I think all of today is going to be the wrong time." Matthew speaks up from where he is still led on the sofa.

"Honestly, I've never seen her so angry." Patrick sighs as he rests on the back of Matthew's sofa. Andy, Pete and Spencer just take all of the things they're holding over to the kitchen and place them down on the counter top. They've no idea what to do with them now that they know what sort of mood Gwen is in.

"So how did your first night go?" Patrick asks Pete.

But just as Pete goes to reply, Matthew looks over, and finds himself filling up with a feeling of dread and horror. He jumps up off of the sofa and scurries back as far as he can go. All colour drains from his face; his fear of the dark creature is extremely evident.

"It's okay, he can't and won't hurt you." Patrick tells the young boy. "He's with us now. He really may not want to be, but he is. His free will has been revoked."

"Revoked?" Matthew asks. Having been with the demons for so long he's forgotten a lot of what he was taught at school; including the meaning of a fair few words. To him now, everything is new, and scary.

"It means taken away." Andy replies. "Pete here no longer has free will, he can no longer do as he pleases. Only what select others request of him."

"So, a bit like a genie. Only he's a vampire, not magical." Matt states, to which all snigger a little.

"Only he serves us for eternity, not just for 3 wishes." Andy muses.

Pete rolls his eyes and turns to Spencer, who gives him a rather sympathetic look, and then together they come over to the living room to sit on the other sofa.

"Ooh they're lovers." Matthew plays a little, which earns him a glare from Pete. A glare he's seen plenty of times before, and knows not to push him any further. Maybe it's the startling red eyes that do it for him, maybe that's why he's so nervous of Pete; whatever it is he doesn't like him.

"So, how are you feeling today?" Andy asks as he moves over to where Matthew sits so that he can check on him.

"I feel better I guess." The youngster shrugs. "I mean I don't, I don't know how I feel about never seeing Brendon again, I, I want him back but-"

"Brendon's no longer human." Spencer cuts him off. "When he was with us, he was part way through being demonised, and that's what was so, I don't know. But it was heart breaking watching him every night. He cared about you and only you. All he ever dreamed about was you. A lot of his visions were of you. But he had no way of knowing if you were alive or not. The amount of times I had to stay up at night and cast a spell over him to get him to sleep, and in the day the amount of times I had to calm him down. He felt every single time they beat you. That was the only thing he had that gave him comfort that you were alive. If he hadn't felt that he'd have thought you were dead."

"He felt it?" Pete asks, his emotions held in his throat. Of course, for years he'd only ever been on one side, now he was on the other side, and hearing what they had to say.

"Every time." Andy replies in a low tone of voice.

"Do you, do you think we will ever get him back?" Matthew asks. His voice is shaky, and his heart beats like a heavy drum in his chest.

"No." Andy replies coldly, and honestly. "He's a demon now. The moment I see him, he'll be gone."

"How dare you." A new voice speaks with venom laced in her tone. All look round then, to see Gwen stood in the entrance of the hall way that leads to the bedrooms, now dresses in fresh clothes. "How dare you talk that way about anybody. Brendon is a living being. You don't know for definite if they've demonised him. You don't know what sort of demon he is, you don't know anything. What if we do see him again and he's as good as he was here? What if he's going through exactly what Matthew went through? What if he's led in a heap on the floor? Crying his eyes out because he's lost everything that ever meant anything to him all over again? And all you're doing is sitting here talking about him? About how he's vermin now. Nobody is vermin."

She heads over to the front door now, and pulls her shoes on.

"Where are you going?" Andy asks.

"Out." Is simply all Gwen says, before she opens the door and steps out. Not a single one of them in the house follow her. They just sit or stand in place, completely stunned at what has just happened.

Outside, Gwen crosses her arms as she heads along the street. She knows that the beach is only a short walk away, so that's where she is going. Not being able to feel her hair blowing about as she walks is a feeling that she is sure she won't get used to, but she mentally tells herself that it won't be forever. Her hair will grow back, and by the time it does there will be another baby. But that doesn't help the way she is feeling now.

Everywhere she looks as she reaches the sea front, there are families and couples. They have no idea of all of the dark things that this world holds.

There is a family over by a road crossing; a mother, a father and two sons. All four of them hold ice creams, and laugh as they wait to cross the road to get to the beach.

Sat outside a coffee house is another couple, young, completely in love. Gwen can just about make out a bridal magazine. They have so many high hopes ahead of them. With a sigh, she decides to go into the coffee house, orders not a coffee, but lemonade; and then goes back to sit outside, where she is very suddenly joined by somebody.

"Fancy running into you here." The voice toys as it's owner places a hand around Gwen's cup over her own. Instinctively Gwen reaches into her pocket and clasps hold of a talisman that Patrick had given her.

"Happy birthday Gwennie." The man speaks in a near whisper. That's the moment she pulls her hand and the talisman out of her pocket, and places it down on the table. The other hand pulls off of her then, and she allows herself to look up.

"You can't touch me out here. Not while I have this." Gwen tells him, hoping she sounds confident. Ultimately though she knows that he knows she is terrified.

"That may be true little girl, but we can and we will come for you again." He tells her.

"Why have you followed me here knowing you can't touch me right now?" She asks, not daring to look round for fear he may do something to the talisman and attack her.

"You're scared of me." The male states confidently.

"Wouldn't you be if you were me?" She asks in return.

"You raise a fair point." Is the reply.

"William what do you want?" She asks again.

"To tell you to run." William replies. "Just do it. Please."

For a moment she looks at him with confusion in her eyes. Did he just plead with her? Did he just make a suggestion for her own good?

"Gwen please, run. Go, because it won't stop. It'll happen every night. Please, go to Patrick, tell your brother you have to go. It's. It safe here." He begs again. Gwen looks up now, and notices his eyes, she's seen those eyes before; and they are not William's.

"Oh my god." She realises. "Oh my god, you, oh god."

"Please." The person before her pleads one last time. "This will be the last time I can talk to you before, before... well, you know."

"Okay." She nods. "Do you want me to take a message to Matthew, he-"

"Tell him I love him. Always will."

With that, Gwen nods, takes hold of the talisman and puts it back in her pocket. When she looks up again, she sees the real person who is sitting in front of her. His appearance is different, the scars are gone and replaced with what looks like very intricate red tattoos. His eyes are pure black, and as she reaches for his hand one last time, she notices he is cold to the touch.

"One more thing." He tells her. "Ryan he's.... ask your brother who he is to you."

Completely confused, Gwen nods, and finally gets up. She nods the person before her farewell, and then turns to leave; fully in the knowledge that that was the last time that anybody would ever see that side of him.