As he walked away, my heart shattered. I called for him, begging him to stay. He didn't turn back, just kept walking. Already I could feel the pains of heartbreak. I just stood there, long after he'd gone, trying to figure out what I'd do without him. Just as I'd come to the conclusion that death was the best alternative, Nick came up behind me. "Now that he's gone, we can live our lives to the fullest." Were the words he whispered in my ear. I swatted him away.

"No."

"He doesn't want you in his life anymore." His response came with a look of bewilderment as if he couldn't believe I was turning him down for a mere mortal. One that didn't even want me anymore.

"But I need him in mine. Jared keeps me grounded to who I really am. Do you think you could stay out of my life for a while, and find your own? For me?"

Reluctantly, it seemed, he complied. He spun on his heel and walked away, leaving me alone once again. Once Nick had walked away, I realized exactly what I would do. Commit suicide. Without Jared, life had no meaning. Living forever wouldn't be worth it if it meant that I had to spend forever without him.

With that in mind, I flew up to my room. I barricaded every possible entrance, and then collapsed, sobbing, onto my bed. Once I'd cried myself out, I began the long, agonizing process of suicide.

Three Weeks Later

JARED

It was his blood. The remedy to all wounds, the solution to all problems. I pulled on it, strong and hard, yanking its healing warmth into my body. As it coursed through my body, I felt my self-inflicted wounds begin to heal. Not long after, I fell into the deep peaceful sleep of the healing.

It wasn't Jared's warm, comforting embrace I woke up in, but Nick's. The slight bit of hope I had when it was his blood that healed me shattered. I had thought that, because it was his blood that saved me, he'd be there when I woke up. I was sorely mistaken, and the willingness I had to live seconds before disappeared.

Every day I moved robotically through life. I would wake up, Nick would try (unsuccessfully) to feed me, and then I would go on the balcony. It had been my favorite spot since Nick had forced us to move onto his house. Well, actually, he carried me out to the balcony. I would sit out there all night until Nick would carry me back to my room. This continued for a few days, maybe even weeks, I'll never know for sure. People kept coming by my room. They kept trying to talk to me, to convince me to come back. At least, I'm fairly certain that's what they were doing.

Enough time had passed for me to become completely convinced he hated me and never wanted to see me again. I was contemplating trying to kill myself again, but since Nick was here, I knew he'd try to bring me back. That very same night, I heard a sound I thought I'd never hear again. Jared's heartbeat. It was just outside the room, and the soul-crushing thought of him just passing by raged through my mind. However, it wasn't the case. I felt his hesitation through the slight bond we shared, and I heard him open the door, then heard it shut.

He walked onto my room, and I heard him approach the balcony. I could hear the door open and shut, and he sat down across from me. It was the closest we'd been in months, and I wanted to launch myself into his arms, but I decided against it. Instead, I just sat there, pretending he wasn't sitting right across from me.

He sat there for a while, as if indecisive as to what to say. Eventually, he decided on the one thing he must have known would get my attention.

"I was very angry that night and said some things I shouldn't have. The one I regret most was telling you to get out of my life."

My brain didn't know what to do with that statement, but my eyes sure did. They darted towards his face, looking directly in his eyes. I guess they wanted to test the sincerity of his statement. In the warm, emerald depths of his gaze, I could see the emotion behind what he was saying.

After a brief pause, he continued.

"I didn't mean to say that, you of all people should've known it for a lie. Those two years you were gone… were hell,

not only for you but for me as well."

I kept my eyes trained on him, waiting for any sign of a lie, not wanting to show any emotion just yet. He continued, his words, to me, all muddled together and meaningless. They seemed to be repetitive, and it wasn't until the end that the words really began to stick, and I truly payed attention.

"I don't want to lose our friendship over something as stupid as what I said to you. I… I really do need you in my life, Robert."

I replayed those words in my head over and over: I really do need you in my life, Robert. My mind couldn't process it, and it couldn't believe it either. He couldn't possibly need me, not after what he said.

"I never meant for any of this to happen, Jared," I said hoarsely. I haven't spoken in weeks, and my raspy voice was proof of that. The words I'd spoken came out in more of a whisper because my voice hadn't been used in forever.

"I know you didn't."

Hearing him say those words lifted my heart and made me feel like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders.

"I'm partly to blame too. I lead you to believe that was what I wanted and it was wrong of me to do so."

Finally tearing my gaze away from his warm emerald one, I responded.

"It was my uncontrollable desire for you that blinded me to that. Even now, it's still there."

"The trust I had in you, will not happen overnight. The friendship we had before will take a while to rebuild. It's going to take time, but I'm willing to start now."

Hope fluttered in my chest, quickening my heart.

"We wouldn't have to rebuild anything, if I would've left a long time ago and never came back." I told him, knowing that I never would've been able to do that.

"If that is what you have to do, then I can't stop you."

My mouth fell open when he said that, and I tried to figure out if he really, honestly meant that. Did he not understand that he was the reason I couldn't leave? That it was him who was stopping me, not myself?

"You are what's stopping me, Jared, don't you understand? I'd rather be dead, really dead, than if you weren't here with me."

"Well, that explains a lot," he whispered, and I could tell that his words weren't meant for me to hear. His next words proved my prediction correct.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you'll never have to," he whispered meaningfully, reaching over the table to hold my hand in his.

The

End

* A/N *

The plot for this passage was inspired by a fanfic I read once.