"He's very stuck up" I commented to Riley as we lazed in my room

Riley stifled a laugh "He's always been like that, so don't feel too special"

"The main reason I left last night was because I missed the outside world. I've been cooped up in here for a week now, I feel like I'm suffocating of boredom"

"I can see your point, trust me. I'd go insane sitting around here all day too" He confessed as he sprawled himself out beside me on the bed, staring at the plain white ceiling.

"Duke is going to remain an angry mess now he has to babysit me 24/7, isn't he?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows

"Probably, if only he liked tequila and vodka shots, but he's not the sort"

"Yeah, I didn't think he was that sort" I thought

"I have an idea, but you'll have to be the one to persuade him more than me, I can't bat my gorgeous eyes at him the way you can and win and argument" Riley suggested as he flung himself off my bed

I stood up and walked towards him "As if he'll let me go anywhere, especially with you" I snorted as I stood in front of him

"We can ask him to come along as well. I mean most other vampires are terrified of him, they wouldn't try anything in public. There is a lake not far from here, none of Ryde's friends even know it exists" He grinned

I had to admit it sounded like a good idea, yet I knew that the chances of Duke allowing it to actually happen, were beyond impossible. Riley and I were not very trustworthy or well behaved.

I narrowed my eyes at him, weighing up my options.

"Fine, but if he yells at me, I'm going to tell him it was all your idea, and you forced me into asking" I pointed at his chest as he grabbed my finger and threw it away

"Deal" He smiled as he intertwined our fingers and pulled me along with clasped hands

Standing in front of Duke's desk as he waited for me to speak, was when I realized how ridiculous our request was going to sound. There was no way he was going to allow this to happen, we had already caused him enough trouble.

"I was thinking" I started

As I spoke the first words, Duke's gaze moved from between our faces, to our hands. I suddenly realized that Riley and I were locked together with our fingers. As fast as he had noticed, I ripped my grip away, forcing my hands behind my back.

"I was wondering if we could maybe go out for a little while. I've been informed about a lake nearby and I would love to just get out and soak up some fresh air, which is what my intentions were yesterday" I babbled on, fast, getting it over and done with.

Duke's gaze flickered in-between me and Riley, attempting to decide who's idea it actually was.

I waited for the blow.

Duke sighed and leaned back in his chair, exposing a small area of skin beneath his shirt when he lifted his arms behind his head.

I forced my gaze back to his face, certain I'd already turned a light shade of strawberry

"It's a risk" Duke started "But it does sound reasonable. Perhaps if I allow this, you won't feel the need to run out on us again" He continued as Riley grinned like a small excited child.

Was he actually considering this? Why? Was he mad?

Duke lifted himself up from the chair and rolled his neck before turning to Riley.

"The lake?" He spoke deep and gruff as his eyes kept trained on Riley's.

He knew it was all Riley's idea. He wasn't that stupid.

"Group effort" Riley shrugged

"Right" Duke raised his eyebrows as he walked past Riley "Half an hour" He called from behind his shoulder as he disappeared into the room behind his study

I looked back at Riley, who now held up a hand, expecting a high five. I smacked it lightly as I smiled

"Group effort" I repeated, shocked that this was really going to happen.

-

Riley, Duke and I sat in the back seat of the familiar black Rolls Royce that had driven us home from my runaway incident.

"Where's Seth? He's always gone" I asked, breaking the silence while I sat against the window

"He's busy" Riley answered simply "He likes to use his ability to get the ladies and money" He smiled a second later

"Like any of you would need to use your abilities to pick up" I snorted as I looked out the window

"Some of us do, like Seth" Riley insulted his friend

"I doubt that, it must be hard for you though, no abilities, how on earth do you do it?" I teased, holding my nose and waving my hand

I was surprised to see Duke smile as my eyes flickered in his direction

"Ha ha ha" Riley sarcastically laughed as he nudged me hard in the ribs.

In the next twenty minutes the Rolls Royce slowly pulled up to a stop, gliding toughly along a loose gravel road. From where I could see out of the window, a large shimmering lake of water replaced a substantial amount of land.

The sun was high in the air and reflected light sparkles on top of its slow ripples.

I looked at the boys, and waited eagerly until they stepped out before following. Once I did, I came to view an empty beautiful park space edging around the large lake.

On one side hovering over the dark blue water was an old painted white wood pier.

It was quiet, and beautiful.

"It's beautiful" I murmured as we walked towards the edge of the lake, watching as a few ducks played in the water

"Yeah it is" Riley agreed as he stretched his body out wide

I moved closer to the edge of the water, watching as small waves washed to and from the dark dirty sand strewn around the edges.

I took a glance behind my shoulder. Duke was standing a few meters away, his hands shoved in his front jeans pockets as he watched Riley and I like a hawk.

"He can't ever be happy can he?" I whispered to myself, hoping Duke wouldn't be able to hear it

Riley looked at me this time, his expression stern and thoughtful

"His mother's ashes were spread here" He whispered back beside me

"Oh" Was all I could say.

I felt bad for my previous comment.

I couldn't imagine how it must have felt for him to stand in the same place he'd let his own mother go. Could he ever look at the place without thinking of her? Opening old wounds wasn't something that was easy to do, I knew the feeling.

I took a deep inhale, soaking in the smell of the fresh air. I thought back to when I'd attended my dad's funeral, it was the worst thing I'd ever endured, and it probably always would be. I'd only allowed myself to visit his grave once a year for his birthday. The memories it brought back were far too difficult and the only thing I seemed to get out of it, were tears and further heartbreak.

I sighed and began to slowly trail my way over to the dock.

My feet caused it to creak as I stepped onto the chipped wooden Pier, the water lightly rocking through the cracks in between the planks. I expected Riley to follow, but instead I saw him standing beside Duke. They seemed to be in serious conversation, their eyebrows furrowed together as they spoke. I turned back to the water ahead and squinted my eyes against the forceful sun's reflections.

I closed my eyes and bent my head back, letting the quiet, warm, relaxing environment soak in. My neck protested, stinging where my wounds were, arguing against the pressure and heat, but I didn't move. The position was far too comfortable. I was tired of being constricted due to injury.

"I come here whenever I have spare time, which isn't often" Duke's voice snapped my head to attention. He was standing beside me craning his neck backwards in the same position I was "It remains my favorite place, and I've been to a lot of places during my time" He continued

"Guess it's dumb to say it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen, seeing as I haven't been anywhere apart from home" I commented

"It's not dumb" He shook his head "But I'm sure no matter where you'll go in life it won't be as good as this place"

I dropped my head, and as I glanced at Duke, I noticed that Seth had joined us and was standing with Riley, talking.

"That's if Ryde hasn't killed me by the time I get to visit other places" I mumbled

"I won't let that happen, I'll keep you safe, just so you can visit other places, only to return to here, and say exactly what I have" He replied

"It might take me awhile, but I hope it'll happen like that" I smiled

There was a quiet silence for about a minute.

Although this silence was not at all awkward, it was comfortable.

"I set my mothers ashes free here" Duke broke the silence.

I was surprised he had told me himself. Maybe he was starting to trust me, starting to open up, somehow, someway I hoped so.

"Isn't it hard to come here after that?" I asked curious as to why I felt that way about my father's grave.

"Not really. It brings back memories. But mostly happy ones, I know she's happy now, safe"

"I wish I could see it that way" I whispered, now feeling guilty as to why I could never feel that way about my father's passing.

"Your father?" He asked, watching me closely

I nodded

"It hurts. I can't bring myself to visit his grave regularly. It only brings back the memories of just how hard it was to lose him" I confessed

"It passes. Once you get older, you decide that holding onto the happy memories is far better than holding onto the bad. It gives you closure. It's what they'd want you to remember" He smiled.

"I hope so" I smiled in return

"But I suppose it's harder on your end. Grieving alone is a tough experience" He broke our gaze looking back towards the water

"I feel like I'm the only one who remembers him, keeps him in my thoughts. I don't understand how anyone who loved him could just forget him" This was in reference to my mother. I wondered if she purposely tried to erase him from her head, just because it was too hard for her.

"As long as you don't forget him, it doesn't matter what other people think, I'm sure he'd be grateful" He smiled, looking towards me again.

I fought the urge not to cry, blinking back threatening tears as images of my father's happy face flickered in my mind, along with the bad. I remembered falling down the hospital wall in reaction to the doctor's heart piercing words.

Another long draw of silence settled in, until I sighed and sat myself down on the pier, pulling off my second hand vans. I rolled up my jeans, dangling my feet in the water.

"Careful of the sharks, they bite" Duke smiled, cracking his first ever joke.

-

The ride home was quiet, and I felt myself sink into the leather car seats more comfortably than I had before. Seth sat in the front of the car with the driver, who I had briefly seen as a tall balding man in a cheap suit.

Riley rest his head on my shoulder, earning himself regular glances on Duke's behalf. When our eyes would catch, his face was soft, calm.

When we returned to the house, Riley and I had lunch. I'd had a salad sandwich, while Riley scoffed down on hamburger Anna had slapped together.

I still felt unsure of her. There was something about Anna that made me uncomfortable.

Every time I thought about it I brushed it off, blaming what I knew about her past.

I thanked her as usual, and offered to help with the dishes, once again being told it was her job, and she didn't mind doing it alone.

Riley and I sauntered upstairs for another session of Final Fantasy battles when we came across Seth, who stood at the top of the stairs.

"What's up brother?" Riley smiled as we stopped in front of him

"Duke and I want a word with you" Seth's expression was serious, and his comment was more directed at me as he kept his eyes on mine.

My smile and happy demeanour vanished. I didn't like the seriousness in his tone, or his eyes, and whenever Duke wanted to 'talk' it usually wasn't about anything good.

Riley and I turned on our heel and walked back down the stairs with Seth in tow. I felt my stomach begin to roll as we walked into the living room where Duke sat slouched on the long red couch. He sat up straight as soon as we entered and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Have a seat" He gestured me towards the opposite couch. Seth sat beside Duke, and there was a seconds silence, building tension.

"The reason Seth hasn't been around much is because I had sent him to do a little research" Duke began "I asked him to find out as much information about a Cure as he could. It was tricky, but Seth worked his magic"

I had a feeling they'd broken a couple of rules on this quest

"He came across quite a lot" Duke continued as he looked towards Seth to continue

"You are what we so obviously call a Cure. Your blood is precious and rare. It is immune to our kind. We cannot heal you, your blood, your chemistry, it's our very opposite. You are practically a walking steel cage, refusing to let any part of us in" Seth began to explain "I discovered that people like you are able to block out abilities in which normal humans cannot. Your brain works like a burglar alarm. Whenever there is something, or someone trying to penetrate your thoughts or manipulate you, it sends a signal rushing through your system which quickly blocks the threat. However, you can control it. You can become adjusted enough to someone that you allow abilities in"

"So, if I try really hard, I can block your ability? Or let in someone like Grant's or Harris's abilities?" I questioned, trying to understand

"You have already blocked me numerous times. All you have to do is tell yourself you don't want me to hear your thoughts and it works. And if you allowed people like Grant or Harriss access, then yes. It's entirely your choice. You're in control here, not us"

"That's, good then" I smiled slightly

"For you yes. But, very frustrating for people like me" He smiled in return

"I think it's fair. I can't read your mind, why should you be able to read mine?"

"I guess so" Seth agreed

"So what happens now?" I asked, curious as to why this information was being told so seriously.

"I've also researched a lot into what happens to Cure's..." He paused before continuing, his face returning serious. "Most of them do not make it past 24 years old. As soon as they are discovered, they are hunted, kidnapped, tortured, and drained" He spoke it carefully as all eyes were on me for a reaction.

"Awesome" I nodded sarcastically, fidgeting with my hands in my lap

"But, we, as in me, Duke and Riley" he signalled in between them all "Have pledged to see to it, that you will be the first ever Cure to make it past that age, and well beyond"

"Why me?" I sighed as I pushed my head in my hands and leaned forward

"The point is, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're going to be stuck with us for an awfully long time, whether you are living here, or elsewhere." Seth continued again, standing up

I groaned, and ran a hand through my free falling hair "Why me?"

"I wish I could have given you better news, but half of what I did find, it does work to your advantage" Seth sighed, standing

Riley threw an arm over my shoulder and leaned in close "All mine" He smirked

I groaned, leaning back in the couch

"Aw, c'mon, you love it" Riley teased, finding humour in the most grim of situations.