Picture on the side: Lazarus

________________________________________________

Ethan. Holy hell...

"Oh my God why can't I ever have something even close to luck?" I groaned as I threw my hands out in a wide gesture. I couldn't believe it! Why was Ethan even here?!

"Jeez no need to sound so happy to see me Ash..." Ethan said with a slight chuckle and I glared at him. I wasn't really feeling like making jokes right now.

"Hey Ash, what the hell are you doing? I thought we were supposed to buy something to eat and then leave?" Matt said in irritation as he appeared at the end of an aisle. While he was talking he moved towards us and suddenly a sharp intake of a breath could be heard. I frowned as I turned my eyes on Ethan but when I got a look of his face I immediately froze on the spot.

Could it be...?

"Mine..." Ethan said in a dark voice and I felt my eyes widen.

"NO!! Hell no! Forget it! You hear me? Forget it!" I yelled as I jumped in front of Matt,efficiently shielding him from Ethan's line of vision. Matt hissed as I accidently stepped on his foot in my hurry to cover him and Ethan immediately let out a terrifying growl. I could feel his stare burning a hole right through me and I watched as Ethan's steel gray eyes almost started to glow silver.

This was not good.

"Move." Ethan growled at me and I flinched before I remembered that Matt was more important than my own well-being. I couldn't let this happen to him too. No way.

"God, you've made a mistake! I promise you this guy is not what you think he is! Ethan don't...!" I didn't get to finish my speech because Ethan suddenly jerked me out of the way and wrapped his arms around Matt as if he was going to hug the life out of him.

I could see Matt's jaw suddenly drop in shock as Ethan buried his face against his neck and drew a deep breath, humming slightly in approval.

Oh no...shit was about to go down...take cover!

"What the hell are you doing man?! Get the fuck of me! Ash! Get your stupid friend of me now or I swear to God I'll kick his sorry ass! Do you hear me? Ash! Are you even listening? Do something!" Matt was literally glaring daggers at me as he kept screaming and trying to wiggle his way out of Ethan's embrace.

Yeah, as if that would ever happen. I had had my fair share of the feeling of complete helplessness in the hold of a werewolf so I knew exactly how he felt...

"Ah sorry Matt, there's nothing I can do...I guess you just have to wait until his done..." I said in a sheepish voice. I held my hands up and slowly started to walk backwards when Matt turned his 'I'm going to end you'-glare on me.

"Get.Him.Of.Ash." Matt growled at me and I could feel my eyes widen. Hell no.

"Ahh I just remembered that I'm really hungry...I'll just leave you guys to it...bye!" I shrieked as I turned on my heels and bolted down one of the aisles that lead further into the shop. If Matt thought that I would try to help him and risk getting killed by a scary werewolf he had another thing coming...

"Ash! Don't you dare leave...!" Matt screamed behind me but I ignored him as I suddenly spotted Kate and Regina. Finally some normal people!

I should not have said that...

"What do you mean kiwi is too sour to taste good?!" Kate yelled at Regina and I could see them stare each other down.

"You heard me! If we're getting a fruit it should be a melon!" Regina yelled back at her and I slowly came to a stop a few steps away from them. I so didn't want to get involved in this...

"A melon!? Do you even know what you're talking about! That stupid fruit isn't even supposed to be called a fruit! It has so many seeds that you can't even chew properly!" Kate pointed to the big watermelon in Regina's hands and I could clearly see the look of disgust on her small face.

"So what? Are you saying that there isn't seeds in those kiwis too?!" Regina frowned down at Kate and the kiwis she was currently holding in her hands like they were some precious jewels.

What was wrong with the people around me? Why did I even hang out with them willingly? Seriously...I mean why...?

"Hey come on! Why can't you buy one each? Wouldn't that solve the problem right away?" I said in a soothing voice as I stepped up to them.

In the blink of an eye they had both turned their eyes on me and their whole demeanor suddenly changed.

"Yeah, we could totally do that..." Regina said in a contemplating voice.

"Yeah, why didn't we think of that?" Kate said and I couldn't help but stare at them.

Women could be so scary...

"Ash, you little fucker! Come here so I can kill you!" Matt's voice suddenly floated through the air and I quickly jumped behind Regina as I caught sight of Matt coming down the aisle towards us with Ethan hot on his trail. He did not look happy.

Hm...seemed like he had managed to get him of huh? I snickered as my eyes fell on the scratch-marks on Ethan's left cheek and I was instantly rewarded with an angry glare from said person.

Haha the poor guy needed to learn fast that Matt wasn't one to back down from a fight and he definitely wasn't afraid to use dirty tricks. I had experienced that numerous of times...

"What the hell are you smiling about? I'm going to kick your ass for leaving me with this lunatic!" Matt growled at me and I immediately stopped smirking. Uuups...

"Ahh whoa you need to calm down. I mean do you see that guy? What the hell did you want me to do? Bash his head in with a frying pan? Because I can tell you now that I don't even think that would have stopped him..." I said as I pointed to Ethan. He was the one Matt should be angry at not poor little me...!

"Don't even try pulling that pouting look on me Ash! I know you're not that innocent so don't even try it...!" Matt said as he sent me a warning glare and my pout immediately turned into a slight grin.

"Well it was worth a try...don't you think?" I said, trying not to laugh at the confused look on Ethan's face. He definitely would have fallen for it.

"Yeah?" Matt said and I yelped as he gave me a smack on the back of my head.

"Did I really deserve that?" I said in a fake 'pity me'-voice and I watched Matt's anger disperse. He could never stay angry at people for too long he just wasn't that kind of person. He smiled wickedly at me as he pretended to think about it and I watched him in amusement.

"Yeah...totally." He finally answered and I chuckled at him. He could be such an asshole.

"Eh...excuse me for asking but who is Mr. sexy as hell?" Regina suddenly said and I watched as she pointed at Ethan with wide eyes. I watched as Ethan smiled proudly in Matt's direction but he just gave him an irritated glance and huffed loudly. I snickered and took it upon myself to introduce him since he seemed to be too occupied with staring at Matt.

"That's Ethan...I met him in the woods as I tried to escape on my own from the kidnappers." I said as I shrugged my shoulders. I caught Ethan sending me a curious look from the corner of my eye but I ignored him.

"That reminds me...what are you doing here by yourself Ash?" Ethan asked and I cursed mentally. What was I supposed to say? Would he be on our side if I told him I'd managed to escape or would he call the brothers?

"We saved him and now we're going to buy some food and go...so bye." Matt answered in annoyance and then he took a firm grip on my arm and started dragging me down an aisle.

Well, that's one way to do it I guess.

"What do you mean 'saved him'?" Ethan said as he started walking after us. Damn it! Couldn't he just have left it at that?

"I meant what I just said idiot. He got kidnapped and we saved him and now we're going to drive home and leave this shit behind us." Matt answered him yet again and I sighed as I saw the frown on Ethan's face. Guess he didn't like that... great.

"No, you can't go. Ash belongs to them and you're going to come with me." He said as he took a grip on my free arm. Matt stopped and turned on Ethan with an angry glare.

"Let go!" Matt said as he pulled in my right arm. I took a step in his direction but immediately had to stop since Ethan started pulling in my left arm. Matt countered by pulling back and Ethan sighed loudly. What the hell! I wasn't some stupid toy they could fight over!

"Don't be difficult." Ethan said to Matt as he pulled me towards himself again. I was starting to feel really irritated by this tug-of-war.

"Don't tell me what to do asshole!" Matt growled back and I swear I could feel a headache emerge.

"Good God can you stop pulling at me?! Can't you leave me out of this stupid fight?" I groaned as I glared at them both. It was silent for a second but then they both growled in unison:

"Shut up Ash!"

Well that was nice.

"Fine! I'm going to call the brothers and ask what they have to say about this!" Ethan suddenly let go of my arm and I stumbled and fell right into Matt who let out a surprised yelp. We managed to not fall over and when we regained our balance we both shot Ethan a death-glare.

I immediately stopped glaring as Ethan fished up a cellphone from his pocket and started punching in numbers. Holy hell he was calling them! Shit! I didn't have time to do anything because someone suddenly picked up on the other end of the line and Ethan said:

"Alex? Hi, I was just standing here with Ash and he...what did you say? Yeah...Ash, the one I met in the woods... Huh? Yeah I just told you he is here! Well yeah...we're in the old petrol station shop, you know like three hours from you...yeah I guess so...okay ehhm bye..."

Ethan turned in my direction and held the phone out towards me.

"Alex wants to say something." He said to me and I took a hesitant step back. My wide eyes went from Ethan's face to his outstretched hand and the phone lying there. Oh God I did not want to answer that phone...

When I made no move to grab the phone, Ethan stepped up to me and took my arm and planted it in my right hand. He took my arm and bent it so I had the phone pressed against my ear. I'm going to get killed...

"Ehm...hey...?" I could hear something break on the other end before a dark voice suddenly said:

"You're going to stay exactly where you are and you're going to do so until we get there. Is that understood?"

I swallowed hard as the heavy demand washed over me and I could feel my body tense. This voice was seriously scary...

"Uhm...u-understood..." I managed to get out and I could hear a car start through the phone. Oh my God they were going to come for me!

"Ash, I want you to know that when I get my hands on you this time, I will not stop until I've made you completely mine. There will be nothing that you can say to make me stop. I just hope you had a fun time with your friends and that your little trip was worth the things I'm going to do to you when I find you." The dark voice echoed through my head and made me shiver even though I couldn't see the man which it belonged to.

My mouth turned dry as the words sank in and I didn't know what to say. I doubted a 'sorry' would do me any good right now...

The hard 'click' as he hung up made me jerk where I stood and it took a minute before I could lower the phone and give it back to Ethan.

"Who was that Ash? Was that the kidnappers? What the hell is going on here?" Matt's voice cut through the air and I shifted my gaze to him.

"They're coming for me..." I whispered as I stared at him and I could feel his confusion clear as day.

"Well then let's go right now before they arrive!" He stated in a firm voice and I could feel my head shake from side to side before I even knew what I was doing.

"No! They'll find us and I'm already in trouble as it is! I can't go because there's nowhere to run to. Just take Kate and go!" I said and I could feel the determination in my voice.

I knew that there were nowhere for me to run because the brothers' wouldn't give up searching for me but that didn't mean that Kate and the others had to get in trouble too.

"What the hell are you saying you idiot! We came here to take you home and now you're telling us to leave you behind?! Hell no, forget it!" Matt yelled at me and I stared at his angry face. Suddenly Ethan was standing with a hand wrapped around Matt's upper arm and he gave me a hard look.

"This one is not going anywhere and neither is you Ash. Deal with it." He said in a firm voice and I watched as Matt gave him a dirty look as he tried to pull his arm away. Well it seemed like there were no choice then.

"Regina you have to take Kate and get home before they arrive. Matt and I will stay behind okay?" I said as I turned my face on Regina. She gave me an irritated eye and I just knew that I wouldn't like this at all...

"Hell no! You don't get to dump us and have all the fun yourselves!" She said as she pointed at Matt and me in an angry manner. I could see Kate nodding beside her and I draw a deep breath to calm myself.

"Regina for God's sake! There isn't anything remotely 'fun' with this situation! Are you fucking telling me that you want to be kidnapped too?!" I yelled at her and I watched as she glared back with even more determination. Great...

"That's exactly what I'm 'fucking telling' you, you dumb headed monkey fluff!" She yelled back at me and I glared at her as I threw my hands up in an 'I give up'-gesture.

I seriously didn't get people sometimes and especially not Regina! I mean what was up with that 'dumb headed monkey fluff' anyway? Who even says something like that? Yeah right...Regina that's who...

"Well now that it seems like we have figured that out, why not buy some food and wait for Alex and the others outside?" Ethan said in a suddenly cheerful voice and I watched as Matt shot him an irritated glare.

"I guess that sounds good..." I said in a tired voice as I sighed in defeat. This day wasn't going as I had planned at all.

[An hour later]

Finally!

I took a deep breath of the fresh air outside the petrol filling shop and sighed in bliss. It had turned out that choosing stuff to buy had been even more difficult than you could imagine. It had taken forever to agree on what to get and I was completely drained right now.

"Come on everybody we can sit down over there for a while!" Regina said as she passed me and set her sight on some outdoor-tables at the end of the parking lot.

We followed behind her and I smirked at the way Matt tried to keep as far away from Ethan as possible. Ethan on the other hand just stepped after him and managed to keep close to him anyway. There was humor in watching them like this and I laughed as Matt slapped Ethan's hand away from touching his arm.

"Cut it out! And you Ash, you can shut the hell up okay?!" Matt growled at us and that just made me laugh even more. Regina started giggling and Kate smiled widely at Ethan's amused expression.

"Aww but I can't help it Matty...you look so adorable." I cooed at him and I had to jump to the side when his fist came flying in my direction.

"Take that back you little shit!" He growled as he threw himself at me. I let out a little shriek as I started running towards the tables with Matt at my heels.

Wow they sure liked to chase me around, him and Regina...Haha too bad they couldn't catch me! I ran faster as I felt Matt coming to close and I laughed at him over my shoulder.

"Are you slacking off, grandpa?" I laughed out and I could hear Matt's irritated huff behind me.

"As if, you turtle!" He retorted as he began to catch up to me. I laughed again as we kept sprinting towards the end of the parking lot.

When I reached the tables Matt was just at my heels and with a little yell he threw himself at me from behind. We tumbled to the ground and if it hadn't been grass where we fell it would have hurt like hell. As soon as we made contact with the ground Matt was coming for me and he quickly straddled me before I had the time to get away. This reminded me of Regina...hm...

"Now what was that about me being adorable huh?" Matt said as he smirked down at me and I grimaced at his smug face.

"Well I have no clue as to what you're talking about, cutie-pie..." I said as I grinned up at him and I could see him struggling to keep his cool smirk in place. Matt leaned down to whisper in my ear but before he could he was suddenly yanked away from on top of me. He let out a small yelp as he got crushed against Ethan's chest and I received a nasty glare at the same time.

I held up my hands in surrender and gave Ethan a soothing smile. I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Calm down Ethy, I wasn't trying to steal him away. That would be so gross because he's my oldest friend." I blinked at him and I could see him visibly relax at my words. Matt on the other hand...

"What the hell are you talking about? Steal who away?! Let me go for fucks sake!" He yelled as he struggled against Ethan's vice like grip.

"Good luck with that..." I thought as I rose from the ground and started brushing dirt of my clothes. I was rolling around a lot on the ground lately...

When Ethan had finally released his hold on Matt we all sat down around one of the tables. I fished out a small orange from the shopping bag. When both Regina and Kate gave me weird looks I said:

"What? I'm hungry."

Regina shook her head and Kate pointed at the fruit in my hand.

"Even so...how the hell can you eat something so disgusting?! Can't you see all the white stuff! It's gross." Kate said in a disapproving voice and I gave her a small grin.

"Well good thing that it's me who is going to eat it and not you princess." I answered as I threw the first piece into my mouth. I seriously didn't care what they thought about it. If I wanted to eat my orange then I sure as hell would eat my orange.

"Well I couldn't agree more little girl." A voice from behind us suddenly said.

Everybody turned their eyes in the direction of the new voice and I could feel my eyes widen as I took in the men before us. They were seriously huge! Before anyone else could say anything Ethan shot up from his seat and pushed Matt behind him at the same time.

"Rogue!" He growled as he bared his teeth at the three guys in front of him.

The man who had talked before raised an eyebrow and gave Ethan a once over before his black eyes fell on Matt. Something glimmered in his eyes and I seriously didn't like the smile that he shot him. Before I could think it through, I rose from my seat and went to stand beside Ethan.