As soon as Rhys was awake, it was like the whole centre of the party shifter towards him. People who noticed that he was up, instantly crowded around him. Women were eager to get on his lap and even some men were eyeing him with interest. After all he was the best, juiciest meat around. Beauty was no longer the foremost quality someone looked for when searching for a partner. After all looks cannot guarantee safety nor bring bring food on the table. Thus, Skill and power have overtaken it as a new standard of finding partners by an overwhelmingly quantity. Rhys was what anyone would call perfect in that aspect. He had it all. Power obtained through hardwork, unparalleled skill, amazing looks, and most importantly, endless potential when compared to his age. Anyone would have been blind to pick him as their second option.

Beautiful people were something only the strong could afford to keep next to them. After all everyone else was already busy enough to survive by themselves as it is and didn't have time to pamper a beauty conscious person. Rhys was one such powerful person who had free picks on anyone he desired. He just had to give them the slightest sign and they would willingly be his. Yet the said man's eyes were glued on a certain person at that moment and that person was watching him back as well. Unlike the nauseating looks the people around him were giving him, full of desire and calculations, this young man's eyes held blazing anger. Different emotions flashed on Rhys's face as he finally laid eyes on Ash. First came Joy, and then relief and then pain and anger. He started debating whether to go over or not but in the end decided to ignore him as he had originally intended. During the one month that Ash was missing Rhys had been trying to come to terms with his death and his own guilty conscience. But more than that the previously hazy, forewarning memories of disasters, came back to him again but this time with greater clarity. He could remember some of the smaller details and signs that he hadn't paid attention to before also one of faces of Ash's victims became crystal clear to him. What shocked him the most was that it turned out to be Kyle of all people.

Rhys still remembered waking up, drenched in cold sweat, startled as the image of Kyle's bleeding out, lifeless body lay in his hands. He remembered feeling incomparable pain and agony followed by immeasurable anger and hate. After calming down and realising that all of it was a dream, he felt relieved. Both because it hadn't yet happened and that there was no longer a chance for it to happen since Ash was dead. Kyle was his only family left. He would do anything to make sure that no harm came to him. And if that means that he had to give up on Ash or that the boy had to die again and again, he could live with that....

Rhys had sworn back then, as slim as the chances may be, that if Ash returned from the graves, he would treat him as an enemy and ensure that he stays as far away from his family and friends as possible. If he returns then Rhys would find a way to distance the whole group from the boy in the future. Now that his fantasy of the death coming alive became reality, he couldn't help but hesitate. He hadn't actually expected to have to deal with such a situation at all. Moreover the dead boy coming back alive didn't just only make him relieved but Rhys also noticed that his heart was racing in anticipation. These were such contradictory feelings that Rhys was having a hard time coming to terms with the rollercoaster of emotions he felt. This had to be done before he could harden his heart to cut off all connections with Ash. But his feelings were just too complicated. In fact they were so messed up that Rhys no longer knew how he really felt when it came to Ash.

Was he wary? - Yes! He couldn't get the thought that Ash would soon betray them and kill some of them out of his mind. So he felt like he always has to keep a monitoring eye on the boy.

Was he angry? - Yes and No. depends on the situation.

Did he hate him? - Again yes and no. The boy hadn't done anything major to make him hate him but the memories from his supposedly past life were haunting him. And he did personally nearly die because of him once before.

Next, did he trust him? - Not entirely but he could trust him to come up with good/ better solutions in desperate situations. Which was admirable.

Did he value him - Yes. His skill to heal and prevent infection were of great importance to him and anyone else who had a head on their necks.

Did he owe him? - Yes and No. Ash saved his life once and won a bet against him. But on the other hand he also shoved Rhys nearly to his death. So these two should have cancelled each other out...?

Did he feel guilty? - Yes! He felt like it was because of his incompetence and lack of proper supervision, that Ash was betrayed and left behind. He also hadn't been taking much care of Emma as he had promised. He had just tossed the responsibility to Mrs Nolan and thought that the end of it. Of course if someone had actually wanted to throw her away he would have intervened but other than that, just hearing her name made him remember about the bet and Ash's death and brought more guilt and self loathing to him that he couldn't look at the girl without thinking about this. If these emotions had seeped through onto his face while he was facing her, the girl would only be more upset than grateful.

Did he enjoy his company? - Yes! It was very fun to tease the boy.

Did he like him?- .....No!

Did he crave him? - No.....!

These many different contradicting thoughts and emotions were constantly churning in his head making it difficult for Rhys to accurately pinpoint a location for Ash in his mind. Was he bad? Was he good? He just didn't know. He actually wished for someone to tell him the answer to this predicament. But there was no such luck.

Although he said that he would ignore Ash and keep his distance, he found his eyes stealing glances in his direction all the time. Soon he became annoyed. 'Why are there so many people talking with Ash.' Until a while before it had been their own group that went over to say their greetings, but now every weirdo was making their way over to him. Girls and boys alike. But men were in the majority. This irking feeling was so uncomfortable but he couldn't really place where it came from or what it meant in this situation. He growled and threw back a few more glasses of alcohol instead of pondering on it deeper.

As he was distracted with all sorts of thoughts concerning Ash, he heard a call next to him, bringing his attention back to his surroundings "Hey Rhys I have been looking for you." Suddenly an overly sweet voice sounded in his ear and he half groaned and half sighed before turning his head towards the person. In front of him stood a very pretty girl with auburn hair and dark blue eyes. The light of the fire made her hair look more red than usual and her eyes darker than they were. He had taken a fancy to her during one of his drunken stupors and had slept with her. Since then she would come to find him regularly and whenever Rhys was in the mood he would give into the temptation. But for the past several days he had been avoiding this woman completely. She was acting like she had a claim on him. This has been annoying him even more than usual ever since Ash's return.

"Stephany." He greeter her blankly. Since he was already found, it might be time to let her know that it was starting to get uncomfortable...

She ignored his cold greeting and without any restrictions or shame, plopped down next to him, leaning into his chest as if that was the most natural thing to do. "You have been hard to find for the past days. I have been getting a bit lonely." She whispered in an intimate voice. Rhys instantly felt burdened. He immediately became aware of the numerous curious looks that were directed at them. It seems rumour had already spread around, about them sleeping together and people were now trying to gauge the truth of it.

Rhys decided to ignore the burning glances directed at him. Just by looking at them Rhys could tell what was going through their minds even without him saying a thing. A smaller community meant more 'closer relations' which in turn meant more gossip. But what irked him more was that while he was making a sweep of the surrounding to give every nosy person a warning glare, he happened to see Ash being offered drink after drink by pretty girls and good looking men in succession. Their intentions were very obvious. 'When did all the people turn into creatures controlled by their primitive desires?' Rhys could understand that when one is surrounded by danger and you don't know if you will survive past tonight, people will let go of their morals and focus on venting their frustration and seeking pleasure. 'But there are so many other people around. Why go after a scrawny looking boy?' He completely forgot about the girl glued to him and started staring with a frown at the boy who was busy smiling and talking with others, unaware of his thoughts.

Then he saw something that annoyed him even more. The girl sitting on Luke leaned away from him and started running her hands over Ash's arms and chest, teasing him. Luke on the side was enjoying the show as he just placed an arm on the bench behind Ash's head and let the girl do whatever she wanted. 'Do you not see that he is uncomfortable' Rhys wanted to roar at his friend. Rhys felt very annoyed. His hands clenched together into fists as if he wanted to punch someone.

Ash on the other hand was having a horrible experience. The girl sat straddling half him and half Luke as if she couldn't be satisfied with just one of them. She started whispering all kinds of nonsense as if to get his attention and Luke was just grinning like a fool as he placed an arm around him and watched on with amusement. 'All these people are idiots.' Ash thought with a darkened face. Suddenly he jolted as he felt a hand being casually placed over his Jean. He looked down and saw that it belonged to Luke. Luke had always been a tad too touchy for Ash's comfort. The man had an evil smile on his lips as he pretended like he was doing nothing. Ash tried to ignore that hand but it wasn't helping that it started to move. In truth he wanted to just get up and bolt at that moment. But he was completely trapped to his seat by these two people blocking any paths of escape. Ash's whole body shuddered as the hand finally rested on his crotch and started kneading there. He felt disgusted and ashamed. Ash instantly used all his strength to push the girl off his lap and jumped up to escape to somewhere with people he was more comfortable with.

"Rhys, Did you hear what I said? What are you looking at?" Stephany's voice rang again as her eyes scanned the crowd to find what Rhys was finding so interesting. But before she could get far, the hand she had consciously placed on the man's thighs were covered by the other's and then led into his shirt to touch bare skin. She quickly jerked her head down to take a look and an amused as well as satisfied look filled her face. 'The man is finally taking the initiative.' She was aware that Rhys held no special feelings for her and that he was seeing her just to satisfy each other's physical needs. It has been about a week since they last had some fun together and she was starting to worry a bit. After all he was the priced trophy that fell into her laps unexpectedly. She would be darned to give it to someone else so soon. 'Well seems like I don't have to start worrying just yet.' She thought with mirth. Before she could say anything else to the man, she was wildly yanked forward before their lips merged together in a heated kiss. She could feel several different emotion in that kiss. Especially Anger and restraint. She couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. Their relationship was now publicly announced with this. Until now people were just guessing and assuming but now it has become a fact.

Without breaking their interlocked lips, Rhys swept her into his lap and continued with greater ferociousness. He was slightly aware that he was doing something idiotic but the heat of the moment interlinked with anger, made him continue regardless. Before when his thoughts were becoming dangerous, he vaguely remembered that he noticed a flash of blue from his side and that triggered his current actions. He broke away from her for a moment to take a heavy breath and saw her do the same. Her blue eyes were twinkling with desire. 'Something is not quite right...' Rhys thought as the fire in him started cooling down instantly. 'What is it that is disturbing me?' He wondered as Stephany started placing kisses around his neck and chest while her hands popped open button after button. 'Is it the audience?' Rhys's eyes wandered around the snickering crowd around him. He had never cared about them before so it couldn't be the case now. Suddenly he felt electrocuted. Another pair of blues were watching them intrigued. Unlike Stephany's eyes, this pair seemed to suck his very soul out of him and made him gasp as if out of breath. He instantly felt his body heating back up. The woman on his lap became even more enthusiastic as she took of her top after she finished with his buttons and plastered herself back against him. Rhys could feel the other party's body heat sweeping into his skin, but his eyes were stuck on the ocean blues of someone else.

Suddenly another thought came to him, 'Is Ash getting aroused by watching him?' The look in his eyes increased in intensity as he imagined the scene and he felt his pants tent up. 'Shit! I am really losing it.'

If looks could kill, then Rhys would be ten feet under right now because Ash was scowling at him with anger after the initial surprised curiosity passed of seeing Rhys do something he had never seen him do before. As soon as their eyes met, he let the man know that he was extremely dissatisfied with his behaviour. His anger was not unfounded. Rhys had been a dick with the situation regarding Emma. Seeing that Rhys was finally willing to acknowledge his presence, even if it was in such an awkward situation, Ash raised an eyebrow demanding him for an explanation and refused to lower his head to hide the soft tint that was threatening to burst on his face. In response Rhys smirked as he completely ignored the fuming gaze and single mindedly focused on his curiosity. His eyes started traveling down the boy's body and stopping at a certain place at the waist covered by fabric. Unconsciously his lips became dry and he licked them to alleviate the feeling. Suddenly Rhys had a desire to tear off the cloth and expose what was hidden inside. His eyes immediately became heated with his thoughts. It seemed like his desire was exposed on his face because when he raised back his head to meet Ash's, he noticed the other's face was beet red making him look more tempting than anything else he had seen. 'This is bad! Ah, the alcohol wasn't helping.' In fact it was making the whole thing much more difficult to bear.

Lena who had come back to find Ash in his new spot after getting around to meet a few sober and interesting people, noticed that Ash was a bit distracted. She traced his line of sight and noticed the intertwined people sitting across from them with a flickering campfire in between. She was at first a bit surprised by the lack of shame or need of privacy for these group of people. They were all living in the now, like ancient cave people. She had already seen several couples in pairs and some in more numbers engaged in sex all around them, while she made her rounds. But she found this particular couple and Ash to be the most amusing. Just looking at the pair from across the fire, Lena could tell a few things. One they had not much chemistry. Two, the woman's method of seduction was horrible. She just gave off the wrong impression than the one she intended. Three, the man seemed like he totally lacked interest in his partner and finally four, she was certain that his mind was filled with nothing else than the boy, he was staring a hole through. It was very obvious to her that he lusted after Ash. But it seemed like there was an unseeable wall between the two that kept the man from taking direct action.

'I mean, just look at them.' Lena thought as the pair started to kiss again. 'Are you kissing her or my boy, Ash eeh? With such heated eyes on my poor boy, would anyone who notices think otherwise? Ash was being eye-fucked senseless right now, that Lena wondered what would actually happen if the two got locked up in a room at this moment. Her thoughts immediately turned wicked. 'But what does Ash think of the situation.' She thought as her eyes found their way back to the boy. He had a curious expression laced with a bit of anger on his face. After a moment of watching he would smirk in ridicule and turn away to chat with someone who came up to offer him drinks. This in turn would lead to some kind of dramatic action from the duo across the fire, which again drew everyones eyes in that direction again. 'Can you be any less desperate and....pathetic?' Lena really wanted to snicker. 'It seems like Ash doesn't have much interest in the other party but my boy is certainly very popular with everyone. I mean who wouldn't like him. Just look at that innocent looking face and wide beautiful eyes...just delicious. Even I wouldn't mind teasing him a bit, and this is when he is not my type. Maybe I should give him a push.' She smiled evilly.

"Ash... what are you thinking about." She started of the conversation easy as she placed both her hands around Ash's neck and leaned into him to hug. Ash didn't mind at all. Lena has always been like that since he met her so he found her actions completely normal.

Ash quickly glanced at her and smiled, "Do you want the truth?" He asked with a small cute grin. "I am wondering how to get back at someone. He couldn't keep his darn promise and instead has been whoring around with others and getting senselessly drunk." He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Is it that man?" Lena asked as he nodded her head towards Rhys who suddenly had a ferocious look in his eyes as he looked at her posture completely forgetting about his current partner. The smirk on her lips widened as she raised both her legs and half straddled Ash from where she was sitting on the bench. She immediately noticed the dark eyes turn savage. 'Only this much and he is already reacting this bad and here I am only getting started.' She really was finding it hard to suppress her laughter. "Mmm maybe you are going about it the wrong way?"

"How so?" Ash asked a bit curious as he just placed a hand around Lena's waist so that she wouldn't loose her balance and fall over due to her antics. He had enough opportunities to practice, that he was now kind-of an expert when dealing with Lena. The action came out very naturally and smoothly that some would wonder if they were together.

As if she had been waiting for this moment she leaned towards his ear and whispered temptingly, "you have to seduce him." Ash felt itchy in his ear. 'What is this silly girl trying to do.' He thought with a roll of his eyes. She was acting more intimate than usual. Not that he really minds. But the atmosphere around them would just lead to unnecessary assumptions and judgments.

"Are you drunk?" Ash asked disapprovingly. "Should I take you to you tent or get you some water?" His voice was filled with concern.

Lena rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I am trying to seduce you here, Ash. Have a bit of compassion." She shouted in a fake offended way and swatted against his chest.

"You are???" Ash was confused. "Isn't this what you always do?" He looked down at their close bodies and didn't think anything strange. She had been like this the moment they met. And she was the same with the rest of the members he travelled with. At first he his face used to turn beet red whenever she clung to him but after a while it just turned to numbness. Habit was a dangerous thing.

Lena sighed in defeat. 'He is right!!!' She just liked being close to her boys and girls so she had never restrained herself around them. Its not like she was jumping into bed with them but she loved teasing them endlessly. "Let's not stray from the subject. You said you wanted to get even with this guy. Then the best way is to seduce him and then break his heart."

Ash scoffed. "He won't be seduced by me even if I try." His eyes quickly stole a glance at Rhys and saw that his expression wasn't quite right. But he couldn't tell what exactly was wrong.

"Oh believe me he will." Lena murmured under her breath which Ash didn't catch due to him being distracted by other thoughts. She didn't dwell on the subject but just said "Even if he doesn't, learning to seduce someone the right way can get you lots of benefits. For one, they will listen to anything you tell them without making them feel forced."

As he heard this, Ash's eyes immediately lit up. 'They would listen to me and make my wishes come true and they will do it at their own will?' Then isn't this exactly what he needed? He could seduce someone kind and more powerful than Rhys and trick them into protecting Emma. He was contemplating the possibilities of what Lena just now said and a bright smile filled his face.

"Interested?" She asked mockingly. Ash coughed awkwardly before looking at her and scratching his ear, "So,...*cough* how should I go about it?"

Lena laughed out aloud, and started giving her master class on the arts of temptations and seduction. She kept telling him how nobody could resist a beautiful tempting person, how a person should use their charms to get what they want. "Men are easy creatures." she said. "Give them a little bit of attention at the right place and time and they will completely surrender to you." She then gave Ash a one over and said "You, dear Ash have the first part of appearance in the bag. This can give you an advantage over the others if you play your cards right. Of course you cannot depend on appearance alone nowadays." She ruffled his hair intimately. "For example like I am doing. Watch and learn."

She immediately stood up and straddled Ash completely so that they were facing each other. Lena could feel a murderous stare directed at the back of her head and she was feeling very excited about it. 'This is so much fun.' She laughed in her heart like a child who stole candy. Ash felt that as soon as she sat on top of him, her whole aura changed. She didn't seem like she was doing this for fun like she always did. "Tell me Ash. What would you do to seduce the girl who climbed on your lap?" Her voice was extremely low as if she was whispering a secret meant for only a lover's ears.

"Emm... Isn't seduction all about physical contact?" Ash asked doubtfully. "So I just... Touch her???"

Lena almost chocked and broke her charming image, "Touch her where exactly..." She saw Ash turn red at the question and smirked as he opened and closed his mouth trying to find an inoffensive answer, "No need to answer that..." she decided to cut him some slack and explained seriously. "Physical contact is not the main step in seduction Ash. Its just a part of it. More than that what will make you stand out from others is your attitude and your aura. They have to ooze with confidence. Every word you speak, every action you take must feel like a mirage. Keep them wanting more by giving them small tastes of what they can expect. This will make their minds go crazy." As she was saying this she took his hands and laid them over her hip. Her tone changed into a new low and she fluttered her eyelashes while keeping constant eye contact with him. A sly smile flittered across her lips as her eyes lowered towards his lips without any sense of shame. Ash felt a stuffy feeling rise in his chest and he thought he was suddenly breathless. Lena was very confident in her moves. And rightfully so. Ash could almost picture all the unfortunate souls who were used due to her... 'manipulation.' And these poor souls even if they know her intentions would still willingly follow through with what she wanted.

Although Ash didn't really understand all of what she said, he could feel that the atmosphere was much more tense and serious than their previous playfulness. He was unnaturally conscious of even the smallest moves made by her and thought her much more beautiful than the first time he laid eyes on her. Ash's ears started heating up and his eyes became dodgy. The colour slowly spread further as Lena placed a finger under his chin and lifted it to make him look back at her. "Once you know your prey is completely mesmerised by your charm, only then do you make your move." She heart racing slowly moved closer to Ash and then placed a heavy kiss on his lips. Ash was completely stunned but at the same time not so. It was a complicated feeling. He just felt the soft wetness move against his lips and instinctively responded. He didn't even realise that his eyes had closed as he immersed himself in the feeling. After a short moment they pulled apart with Ash still being in a daze. Lena chuckled and slapped him lightly across his cheeks to bring him back to earth. Once she got his attention she childishly pocked out her lips and ruffled his hair, immediately breaking her diva image from before. "See I told you. Men are easy to seduce." At which Ash blushed again in shame.

Just as he was contemplating, going and hiding in some ditch, Loch and Andrew walked over with two others from their party. They seemed to have witnessed the whole thing as they had slightly disapproving looks on their faces. "Lena are you teasing Ash again?" Loch asked flicking the woman across her forehead with a slightly scolding voice.

"Of course not!!!" She faked an offended tone as she snuggled back into Ash's embrace who sighed helplessly but still pulled her closer. He couldn't help the soft smile that spread on his lips.

"Yeah like hell you are not." One of the boys said rolling their eyes at her as he plopped down on one of the empty spots next to Ash. "Just look at him. He seems really rattled."

"She has played the same trick on all of us. What made you think that Ash could escape the fate?" Andrew asked with a mocking grin as he took the other side of Ash and patted him as if to console a comrade.

The other guy laughed, "She is like a predator marking her territory. None of us can escape anymore." He then turned his eyes to the still pouting woman who refused to leave from Ash's embrace and scoffed, "If you keep doing this I doubt you will find a boyfriend in this lifetime."

"Hey!!" Lena shouted annoyed. 'These bunch of guys... how dare they talk about me like this! Hmmp I will deal with them later. I am too comfortable to argue with you right now.' She ignored the bunch of laughing fools around her and directed her gaze towards the one person she had been dying to see the expression of.

And the man did not disappoint. Rhys had actually pushed his partner aside and drunk another half a bottle of burning liquor as he watched the commotion at their end with narrowed eyes. As her teasing eyes met his furious ones, he stood up suddenly, hesitated for a moment and then marched away from a party without another word.