[IC] Mira's Gone. It's Anna Now. (Heartless and Thinker)

[AHeartlessNobody]

"Vincent! Please! Wake up! Wake up, Vin!" Mirabella cried over her friend and new found lover as he layed on the floor, unmoving. She leaned over, checking his head, and screamed a terrified shriek when she touched his head where the bucket had hit. They had killed him. The only person who ever understood her, who had tried to help her, who had loved her, was gone. The blood soaked girl stood up, her angry and piercing blue eyes glowing ever so slightly as they fell upon the crowd. The sweet, shy, awkward little Mira was gone in that moment. The old Mira was not conscious, nor aware of what was going on.This was a new Mira.The lights above her cracked and exploded over everyone, making them scream.

They had reasons to scream yes, because they would soon lose their lives. Every single one of those unforgivable scum would soon be begging for mercy, just as she had so many times. But, just as mercy was never shown to neither she or Vin, she would not show it to them. She killed them all. Some were held down mentally to the floor while their classmates trampled over them in attempt to get to the doors they had no idea were locked, while others were crushed between the bleachers she pushed together on them in their struggles to escape. Some where caught on fire from ripped electrical wires. Some were thrown against walls and tables. Once the more disposable ones(over one hundred students) were out of the way, she moved onto the few whom had caused her and Vin the most pain through out their years. A group of just twenty people. She took her time with these. The ones who had just been the lackeys she slowly and mentally choked until they fell to the floor lifeless. The leaders though, oh she had fun with them. She levitated broken shards of glass and slowly cut them, every inch of their skin, and when she grew tired of ones screams, she would slit their throat and move on to the next one.

The very last one trembled there. This was the most hated one. A pretty little bitch who had made her life miserable. The one who had taken the video of her and laughed, only to later post it on the internet for everyone to see.The one who had planned the prank that had killed her beloved Vincent. This girl had ruined her life. The girl looked up at her, begging her for her life to be spared, "Mirabella! Y-you don't want to do this! You'll regret this! All of this! For the rest of your life!"

"And what about Vin's life? WHAT ABOUT HIS LIFE!? YOU THINK HE'LL REGRET THIS?!" Mira's face suddenly grew darker as she stood over the girl, "Oh yes, that's right. He won't have a chance to. Because you killed him." With a snarl she swiped her hand through the air and a sickening crack sounded as the girls neck was broken. With her last victim out of the way, Mira gave up. She fell to the floor, her body weak from the energy her powers had taken from her. She was in and out of consciousness and was so sure she was seeing things. She heard a soft voice say her name and was lifted from the floor to look into the face of her Vin. He asked her so kindly to unlock the door and she obeyed. Only for him would she do as someone said. With the door unlocked, she was carried, all the way back to her house. He put her on her feet, and then he was just...gone. That was how she knew it must have been her just seeing things. Clearing she had just stumbled her way back home. She walked through the front door, finding her mother had broken out of the closet, and unable to find her, went to wash the horrid blood from her skin. She filled the tub and stripped down, slipping in. The blood filled the tub and looking down at her arms, still wet with the blood that had not only been poured over her, but the blood of the people she had killed, the emotional and scarred Mira suddenly snapped back into place and she began screaming.

The screams that escaped her filled her bedroom and woke her up, the young blonde woman siting up in her bed quickly, hysterical, biting down hard on her arm to muffle her screams and cries of fear at the painful memories that haunted her dreams. She laid back, sobbing and yelling into her pillow, trying to tell herself that what happened was all in the past. That it wasn't even her. That had been Mirabella. She wasn't Mirabella anymore. She had decided right after leaving her burning home she wouldn't be that girl anymore. She would be someone new. She was Annabella now. Anna wouldn't do anything like that. Anna was a new person. Anna hadn't killed anyone. She hadn't killed anyone. No, that was Mira who had done the deed. But even then, all the lights about her hotel room flickered widely and busted, things about her room, including her bed levitating.

She clawed at her pillow, ripping them by accident with her finger nails in attempt to clam and sooth herself. It didn't help. Her screams continued to flow from her and into the pillow, and the more she screams, the more things in the hotel room broke. The things that floated about grew faster in speed and soon it was like a mad whirlwind of energy all around her, mimicking the swirl of emotions she was feeling in that moment, and would surely feel more and more of the longer she thought about what had happened merely hours earlier.

[Thinker]

Vince floated between reality and a void of pure energy that connected directly to Mira’s soul. It was quiet, soft and shimmered with soft hues of colors. His jeans and t-shirt reflected the calmer yet confused state she was in. He heard a rumble of a car, he turned to find a mini wagon inches from him. Vincent threw up his arms to protect his head, the mother fighting with her teenage son and the little girl dressed in a soccer outfit and pigtails brushed passed him. He staggered when the van finished driving through him. Through him?!

His hands drifted over his chest and stomach turning in circles trying to make sense of just had happened. He backed toward Mira’s house passing through a sapling and he cried out jumping away from the tree. “What is happening?” He had a solid hold on the ground under his feet, he didn't pass through that. Everything else was fair game to his strange new ability.

He called to a woman walking a little dog, she either couldn’t see him or was choosing to ignore the frantic teenager. Her dog, however, barked rapidly at him like a little machine gun. "I hate dogs."

Smoke billowed from the house as Mira peeled out of the driveway in her mother’s car. “Where are you...?” Once the car reached an apex distance he was yanked after the car. He kept phasing through objects and people in his path, he kept screaming and covering his face every time for the first few blocks. He started running and laughed feeling like the Terminator in that movie. He jumped, his sneakers hit the back of the car and he slipped into the trunk. Growling, he clawed through the back seat and stabilized himself to sit behind his girlfriend.

Vince tried to talk to Mira, in her determined and panicked state she would not hear him. Perplexed, Vince leaned back on the seat and drifted to sleep. His body shimmered and vanished from sight.

Vincent opened his pale eyes blinking rapidly at the strange place he found himself, the color of his clothes were two tones of reds reflecting her fear. His pale eyes landed upon Mira, in her terrified state the room was being torn apart. He didn’t see anything that terrorized her, he vaulted onto the floating mattress with inhuman agility and crawled toward her. Things passed through him that was orbiting the top of the mattress. Slowly he put his hands on her back, praying he wouldn’t pass through her. They rested upon her warm back, the physical touch brought knowledge of her rapid heartbeat and mind reeling from haunting memories. “I am here,” he said, settling beside her. He stroked her long hair and caressed her back. “Mira,” he kissed her tear stained cheek and planted another on her neck.

She seemed unwilling to snap out of her state. He thought for a moment, his hand never stopping the movement. They had gone out for ice cream on more than one occasion when one or both had a really hard day. “I am in the mood for some mint chocolate ice cream,” he whispered in her ear. It was his favorite, though after eating it he would get stomach cramps from the dairy. He endured it. He would endure anything to spend time with her.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna wasn't all too aware of someone speaking to her. The voice reached her ears, but that was all. There was no comprehension of someone touching her, or stroking her hair.The only thing that remained her her mind at that moment was the horrible memories that flashed before her eyes, making her scream louder. She just wanted those horrible feeling to go away. She didn't want to feel like a monster. Did killing all those people....killing her mother...did that make her a monster? Maybe her mother had been right. Maybe she was a witch who needed to burn in hell. She sobbed in between her screams, and as she knelled there on her bed, her face buried against the pillow, to muffle her own frightened sounds, she heard the sweetest and softest voice whispered in her ear, and this time, the voice reached her through her meltdown. Everything in the air suddenly froze in place, just hovering there for a moment, before it all dropped to the floor in loud thuds and smashes, the mattress falling to the floor with both of them still on it.

Anna slowly sat up on the mattress, eyes wide and tear filled as she looked to see none other than Vincent sitting beside her. Different emotions swept through Anna and that was present on her face. Sadness, regret, anger, happiness. With a trembling hand, she reached out, brushing some of his dark hair from his face as she had down so many times before, only this time she didn't do it teasingly. She did it as if to really see if he was real. The hand that brushed his hair away, moved slowly to let her fingertips run across his cheek and she found he was solid. He was here, and he was in front of her. Alive.

She in that instant threw her arms around him, hugging herself tightly to him, her hands clinging at the fabric of his shirt, as if she were afraid he was disappear if she didn't do so. Sobs mixed with a relieved laughter racked through her body, "I....It is you....Vincent....you're alive...." She pulled back to look at him and it was then that she noticed something....odd about him. His shirt and pants, both once two tones of red, were now shimmering and changing colors. She looked at him, shocked and confused, trying to piece together what exactly was going on. He couldn't do that before. So why was it now that was going on? And more so, how had he been able to get up onto the bed with her when it had been so high up? The nonathletic Vincent she knew wouldn't even be able to grip the mattress's edge if he jumped. What had happened at that prom that had caused this change within him?

With her mind swirling of possibilities, things in the room began to levitate again and the colors of his clothes changed once again as if in sync with the changing of her emotions. As the things around the room began moving about quickly and the mattress lifted up from the floor again., She couldn't concentrate on just one certain item. They all moved about in speratic ways, some things even smashing against the walls. Thats when a lamp brushed passed her, barely missing her on head and going to hit Vincent in the head. A small squeak of fright escape her and jolted forward, as if ready to push him out of the way of the object, but she was too slow. The lamp hit him and....went right through him. She froze, lowering herself to sit back down and the objects around thing, still floating, at least slowed down, gliding harmlessly threw the air.

She looked up at him, confused and frightened, thought he fear was not of him. It was of what she could have done to him. Obviously, whatever had happened to him had to do with her powers, likely her outburst in the gym at prom. She sat there on the floating mattress trembling, curling up there with her knees curled to her chest, eyes wide with the fear of herself, her hands nervously scratching at the skin of her arms, drawing blood in the process. She was hyperventilating slightly, speaking quietly in barely a whisper in between her gasps of breath, "i did this....I killed them...killed my mother....I shed their blood so easily....and now....now.....I did this to you...mother was right....I deserve to go to hell....I should have let her kill me...I am a monster..." She whispered in sudden realization that this powers were no gift as she thought they were. Thy were a curse. If they had caused all this, then she didn't want them. The hand that scratched at her skin now scratched harder, smearing blood over her arm, she herself unaware she was even doing this.

[Thinker]

Vince smile as his best friend peered at him, the familiar gesture made all the weirdness happened to him disappear. He moved his hand toward her searching fingertips. Then he was caught in a bear hug, he laughed his joy and returned the gesture. “I am here. I am here,” was all he could say, unmanly tears stung his eyes. The hug ended faster than he would have liked. He was itching to cuddle with her for a while and just forget for a few moments longer. Confusion sobered him. “I never died.” All that happened in the school was foggy, he just remembered reaching the door with Mira in his arms, she had unlocked it and then everything was blank again until they were at her house. He had to have been on autopilot or something.

She started noticing the things about him he had not yet, he glanced at his clothing that brought such a funny expression to Mira. He jerked when everything was in motion again, he glanced around trying not to show his fear. He had not learned all what he could and could not do in this new state of being. Death he escaped once, but he wasn’t ready to face that monster yet. He pushed that out of his mind, Mira was not yet out of danger. The power was building.

He crawled toward her as she started folding in on herself, her powers wild and thick giving him more strength. He had no idea what she was talking about. What deaths? He grabbed her hands forcing her to stop tearing her skin. “Mira look at me,” he ordered sternly but tenderly. “Look at me. I ran after your car. I wasn’t winded,” he laughed with the pure delight of what that statement meant. If his father saw that, he would think the man would be impressed. His dad would find something wrong with his form or something stupid. “I was like the freaking terminator!” He caused his features to go completely serious as he dropped her hands and pumped his arms like the actor had done in the chase scene. “It was awesome.”

He leaned toward her his lips close to her ear. “I love you.” He kissed her cheek, then leaned back. “Just promise me under no circumstances will you start singing that song in that movie,” he paused snapping his fingers to help bring it forth. “You know the one where the two were flying on a magic carpet.” He rarely forgot movies, they were his escape when he was not with her. “Aladdin.” He pointed his finger at her. “That’s it.” He patted his hand on the mattress. “This is far too lumpy to be a magic carpet don’t you think?” He winked, then giggled. He fell onto his side laughing at his lame joke, it was part of his personality people either loved or hated.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna looked at him confused when he said he never died. She searched her memory, speaking quietly, "B....but you were hit so hard. That bucket, it fell on your head. You hit your head on the floor too. You weren't moving. You weren't even breathing!" She said, her bright blue eyes searching his pale ones. She had to admit though, in that instant, she hadn't exactly been 'all there'. It may have been very possible he had just been knocked out. But she had been so sure at the time....Had he been revived? Yes, that had to be it. But how? And who? It wasn't possible that...that she...? She looked down at her hands and bloodied finger nails in thought of the possibility his revival had something to do with her powers, before she started scratching once again. That is, until he grabbed her hands, stopping her from harming herself any more.

Then he called her that name. Mira. Any lights in the room that had been spared from her earlier tantrum had in that moment, blown out, shattering glass everywhere. She spoke once again, her voice stern and determined, as if she was trying to convince herself just as much as him with what she was saying, "No! That is not my name! I....I'm not Mira anymore. Mira was a killer and a beast. Mira's gone. It's Anna now. Anna is my name." There was a slightly pained look on her as she said this, her eyes almost begging him to agree with her.

She calmed down a little as he continued on, speaking about what he had done. He had run after her car? He would have had to be running fast to do that. Faster than any other human, much less a human with asthma like him. But, then again, now that she thought about it, having somehow gotten onto the bed with her at such a height, having run after her car, she somewhat understood and a theory clicked in her head. Had her powers really somehow brought him back? And now they were affecting him? It would explain so much right now. Why she could touch him, yet other objects went right through him. He was in a energized state. Made out of some type of energy that she could physically feel. Just as she could her powers. This was....well a miracle in a way. She had a second chance to be with Vincent. Her powers had done something good, though it probably didn't make up for all the lives her powers had taken as well. But it made her feel slightly less of a killer.

When he leaned forward to whisper that he loved her and kiss her cheek, Anna melted. She felt warm and most of her fear washed away from her the moment he said those words. A hesitant smile came to her face at his jokes and when he fell onto his side, she carefully crawled over to him, the things in the room slowly lowering back to the floor as she curled up there next to him, her head rested on his arm, "I won't star singing if you don't." She said softly and smiled up at him, much more calmer now then she had been just moments ago, "I'm glad you're here with me Vincent....promise me you won't leave me. I don't think I could withstand the pain of loosing you again...."

[Thinker]

Vince was started by her outburst, his head cocked to the side as he considered the name change. He didn’t like it, she didn’t ‘look’ like an Anna to him. She was Mira, she would always be no matter what. The spike of not so good feeling power snapped through him when she expressed herself that time, he simply nodded in agreement. She wanted to be called that he would to make her happy. “Anna it is then,” he whispered. It would take a lot to remember her name and he repeated several times in his mind like a little train. “Doesn’t matter what I call you, you are still mine.” He flashed her that teasing unsure smile of his.

Vince wrapped himself around her. “That’s fair,” he said in all seriousness. “We all know what happened in choir when my voice started breaking.” He turned his face into her hair and giggled. Then gave an overly cracked note ending with a cough. “Man, puberty was harsh.”

His fingers slipped over her hair breathing in the calming state of her emotions, watching his short sleeve reflecting those colors. “I will not leave you,” he promised. He couldn’t physically leave her. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her about that whole car chase thing. That freakish pull that didn’t let the two separate. He chalked it down for another time. She was calm now, he didn’t want to chance upsetting her. He kissed where ever he could reach several times and held her tightly for a moment before relaxing. “Trust me, M…Anna. My beautiful Anna, my schedule is clear. I am all yours.”

He thought a moment that he should call his parents. What would he say? How would he explain a situation he wasn’t totally sure of? Could he even use a phone? He was a being of energy, of Anna’s energy, more or less bring more interference into a call then be helpful. A letter, he thought suddenly. He could use a pen and scribble something down. That looped him back to his original question. What would he say?

Another notion wormed into his mind. Did he have to eat? He wasn’t hungry. All these things he was used to doing before were called into question. He let out a breath and kissed Anna again. He would figure it out.

“I am glad I am here with you too,” he stated in all honesty. It was the only place he truly wanted to be. “I promise with everything in me that I will stay at your side. I will always be close, always.” He wanted to call her a pet name, people in relationships always had something to call each other. That would normally make him roll his eyes. But he wanted something special for her. Like Boo or Cutie, nothing sappy like Princess. Anna would more than likely pop him in the nose. He snuggled a bit closer to her if all possible letting his mind just wandered as he caressed her hair and shoulders. He was pinned in this moment and he wasn’t going to let her go until she wanted to leave. “Where are we anyway?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna nodded when he agreed to call her Anna instead of Mira. She had halfway expected him to disagree with her, but was glad he hadn't. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was still unstable. Shaken up by the events that had taken place just hours earlier. Any little thing that angered or upset her could start that fiasco all over again. She didn't want it to happen again. She didn't enjoy hurting or killing people. But there was a chance it could happen. And more so, she worried this time Vincent might be among the victims if he got too close to her during another attack. She would never be able to live with herself if that happened. It had been hard enough thinking he had been killed because a group of brats hated her, but to kill him herself? She wouldn't be able to bare the thought of it.

Anna laughed softly when he mimicked his cracking voice from when the two had been in choir a couple of years back. She nodded in agreement, her mind sudden;y brought back to the video they had played overhead at the prom. The video of her in the shower, believing she was bleeding to death when in reality it had just been the period no one had ever bothered o tell her about. She nodded slightly, seeming slightly out of it for a moment, the colors on his shirt fading slowly to that red color again, things in the room trembling, reading to be thrust into the air again, "Yeah. Puberty was harsh." She said quietly, very close to having another meltdown.

When she felt Vincent pressing kisses on her skin again though, she took a shaky breath, calming down once more, the colors of his shirt shifting back to that same calming tone. She sighed softly and cuddled up closer to him, burying her face against his neck, relieved when he said he wasn't going anywhere. He was the only person she had now and if he decided that he didn't want to be with her anymore and that he wanted to leave her, she would be alone. She didn't want to be alone. The thought of being all be herself, with no one to turn to and on top that living with these powers, scared her. She was frightened of herself. But, she was sure that as long as her Vincent was here with her, she would be fine. She wouldn't be alone and she would be safe.

She breathed in his scent as she buried her face against him once more, only to look back up at him to ask where exactly they were. She sat up from where they lay, a slightly confused look on her face, "To be very honest...I'm not all too sure. I just kind of picked a direction and started driving. I was kind of out of it at the time as you can imagine." But then again, he didn't seem to remember what happened a the prom, and he hadn't been there when she had killed her mother, so maybe even he couldn't imagine what she had been feeling at that time. She frowned and standing up, getting out of the bed, she walked over, searching through the drawers of different things int he hotel room for any kind of identification of where they could possible be.

Finally, opening the drawer in one of the dressers, she pulled out a phone book, looking at the city it was from, "We're in Montrero. I guess that means I drove about..." She paused, calculating it in her head for a moment before she nodded to herself, "About six hours." She had left the flaming house at ten thirty, meaning she didn't get here until four thirty in the morning. Turning her head slightly she looked at the clock and saw it read six. She hadn't slept long then obviously, and yet, with all of the events that had happened, she wasn't all that tired.

Walking back over to the bed, she flopped down onto it, a frown on her face as she looked over at him, "Vince....do you really...do you really not remember anything that happened after we were called up onto the stage?"

[Thinker]

“Montrero,” he said slowly testing the name on his tongue. He had no clue if it was just a hiccup on the side of a road or an actual town. He had not been away from his small radius of school, Mira-Anna’s and his own house. He sat up like someone poked him in the back with a sharp object. “Six hours? Damn girl, you could be a truck driver if you keep that up.” His brow knitted in thought. “But beware of the black dog.” He made the last two words as creepy sounding as possible wiggling his fingers. He was pretty sure she hadn’t seen that movie and wouldn’t understand the context of the statement.

Vince’s head tilted to the side when she plopped on the bed causing him to bounce slightly. He giggled softly. His smile faded at the question, his eyes dropped to his hands. What did he remember? He remembered blood dumped on his rented tux. Yea, he wasn’t getting his deposit back. He raked a hand through his hair, which stopped at the place where the bucket had collided with his head. There was no bump or tender spot. Odd.

The laughter from the crowd and his best friend screaming, distant like a movie. He had seen the video online and had reported it to the site manager in hopes they would be smart enough to remove it. He never checked back to see if they had. He planned to sue if they were still allowing people to see it. “I saw colors weaving and flowing around me, in me and through me,” he touched his chest. “All I could hear was rage, like roaring of a thousand tigers. It was so loud, but it didn’t hurt.” His gaze flipped to her face. “You would never hurt me Anna. Never.” He rolled on his back and peered at the ceiling for a moment his hands resting on his stomach. “Then it was all quiet, I stood up and my tux didn’t come with me.” He let out a strangled laugh, which deepen into a more cheerful sound. “Then I had you in my arms and you were unlocking the door. Then,” he inhaled a deep breath and let it out noisily. “I was standing in the middle of the street, you were at your door and went inside.” He smiled at her, a mischievous smile spread on his lips, rolling on his side his hand propping up his head. “Then I chased you and feel asleep in the back seat.” His finger traced her jaw line. “So, I guess I don’t remember what happened after the stage. Do you want to talk about it? I am here. I have always listened, nothing’s changed in that department.”

Vince brushed some hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You know that right?” He scooted a little closer to her resting a hand on her side near her hip. “I am your bo—“ He almost said the committed boyfriend word. He didn’t want to scare her or cause a fight. They had never really officially declared anything between them. “Best friend. Forever.” He would marry her in a heartbeat. Always felt that way in the back of his mind. But he didn’t want to ruin the special bond they had with the topic he was too frightened to even voice. What they shared in that classroom was something he would always treasure. Their first time, giving themselves to each other in such a way. Never in a thousand years did he dream he would have done that at the prom.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Colors weaving around him? Into him? He felt rage. Her rage. Her powers. That confirmed her earlier thoughts then. This Vincent, while alive, was merely a form of energy. Her energy. Her powers. She supposed she should the thankful for that. If it had not been for her powers flowing into him, he might not be here with her right now. Without her powers, she even doubted he would be alive. She was glad it hadn't hurt him. When he turned his gaze to her and said she would never hurt him, a soft smile came to her face and she took his hand in hers, holding it gently, "Never in a million year would I even harm you." She confirmed after he stated it and let go of his hand as he rolled over to look at the ceiling. He confirmed that he had indeed carried her out of the prom. So she hadn't just dreamnt that. She frowned when he said he watched her enter the house. It was there that she had snapped out of her state. Where she had first realized what she had done, washing the blood off of herself in the bathroom. There she had realized she was a monster. And, in seeking help from her mother, almost begging for her mother to tell her otherwise, her mother betrayed her. And she killed her for it. Killed her and set the only home she had ever known on fire. She drove away. Drove and drove, unsure of where she was going, what direction she was going in, or even how long she had been going. She had just wanted to leave. Leave and never come back.

Her eyes moved back over to him and she closed her eyes for just a moment when he brushed her hair back from her face. She opened her eyes again a moment later to look at him with a pained look on her face, "I know that. I know I've always been able to talk to you.....I....I just...." She had tears streaming down her face once again, "After I saw you hit by that bucket. I thought you were dead. I...I lost it. I couldn't help it." She looked t her trembling hands, "My powers snapped just as much as I did. I wasn't myself. I....I killed them Vin. Every single one of them. I crushed them. Cut them. Threw them against walls. And worse, I enjoyed it. At the time I enjoyed getting back at the for everything they had done to us. I felt like they all deserved death because they had brought it upon you."

She sat up again, wrapping her arms around herself, taking deep breaths, struggling to control her emotions and her powers at the same time, the colors on his shirt and pants flicking between different colors at her confused state of mind about the whole situation. She wasn't even sure how she felt about it anymore.She hated the people she had killed. And at the same time she felt bad that she killed them. And even more so, she feared herself. She had never known she was capable of so much destruction. Capable to killing and torturing people in such ways. She took another shaky breath, rocking back and forth slightly now in nervousness and fear of the memories, "I took my time.....with the ones that tortured us most....especially Christine. She's the one who planned the blood prank. The one who dropped the bucket on your head. I tortured them back."

She refused to look at him by now. She feared his reaction. Feared he would think the same thing as her mother. That she was a monster. That she deserved to die even more than those people in the school. She moved a hand to her mouth to muffle the sobs that escaped her now, "After that, they were all dead. And I felt so....tired.....I just fell out. That's when you carried me home I think. I went inside and washed all the blood off of me....but....but it didn't help." She frantically moved her hands to her ears, "I could still hear their screams. I knew I killed all those people and nothing can change that." She was sobbing more now, her whole body trembling, "When I got out of the bath, momma found me. I thought she was okay, that she wanted to help me....but.....but she didn't.....she stabbed me Vin. She called me a witch and said I needed to go back to hell. She tried to kill me." She could still feel the pain in her back from her the knife had entered her. It wasn't a dire wound, but it still hurt like hell, "I didn't know what to do...I was so scared...I....I.....I killed momma....." She sobbed more now, curling up there.

[Thinker]

Vince grinned at her knowing she spoke the truth about not wanting to hurt him. They were best friend with romance included, which only made the relationship to him sweeter.
His smile faded, the look of concern and acceptance replaced it. He mopped up some tears as she started baring her heart. His eyebrows shot up. Killed them? She destroyed the people that enjoyed spreading terror and shame upon them both? Anna did it for him. He scooted closer a few inches as she told him about Christine. The one who, before he met Anna had pulled his swimming trunks down around his ankles at a public and very full pool. That same Christine that never let him forget the tears he had shed at that moment when he had been so rudely exposed to most of the people in his world.

“She got what she deserved,” he said barely above a whisper. His own anger echoed by the fact that girl was determined to make their lives hell and enjoyed it on a daily bases. Those people who had taken high school and their self-appointed popularity to a twisted level as if someday they would not all leave the place and join the real world. They were heartless, cruel and deserved what they had received.

“What?” Vince exclaimed straightening. Then forced his mouth shut to let her finish her tale about her mother. He threw his arms around her, pulling her out of her curled state and encouraged to wrap herself around him instead. “You are not a monster, Anna. You are not. They were. All of them,” his voice cracked with emotion at his declaration. “They didn’t help us. They turned their back on us. They are the monsters, Anna. Them. Not you.”
It was them against the world, and it was like that even now. He hated them that sentiment pooled his soul so deeply and darkly he didn’t care notice his jeans turning black. He had to protect his Anna from them, he would. He would destroy them if they tried to hurt her again. He would do what he had to in order to keep her safe. He held her for some time, letting her have her cry as he silently cursed the world.

When her sobbing had calmed, he didn’t stop comforting her by his soft caresses and butterfly kisses. He tightened his grip on her for a moment taking in a breath, his hip and back aching from the position he had forced them into. “I know you hadn’t eaten since this whole thing begun,” he said softly. “I would go and buy you food, but I don’t think I can physically. I will go with you. Always. I insist you getting something to eat. I bet it will make you feel better.” He shifted his leg. “And something to fix that wound. I’ll tend to that. Then we should leave this place. Go somewhere nice, just the two of us. The beach or maybe the mountains.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna didn't struggle against him when he pulled her out of her curled up state, and hugged herself to him. She was thankful Vincent didn't react the same way her mother had. In fact, he agreed with her, and told her he saw all of those people as monsters, not her. She cried against him for a long while until she had herself and her emotions under control. Pulling back slightly she took deep breaths to calm down completely before wiping her eyes and cheeks free of tears. the moment he mentioned floor, she could feel her stomach growl. He knew her so well. Mira had always loved to eat and all the time, even though she remained thin as a pole. Anna was no different. She nodded, giving him a soft smile, "Okay. I'll order a pizza."

Leaning over the bed, she grabbed the hotel phone and a book next to it with some local restaurant numbers. After finding a good pizza place, she ordered what she usually did. A large pizza, one half being cheese and the other half being ham and sausage. She would always eat the ham and sausage half while Vin was known for eating the cheese half. It wasn't until she hung up the phone that she realized it might not be that way this time. Could Vin even eat? She wasn't sure, but she supposed they would find out when the pizza got there. After hanging up the phone, Anna got up from the bed and pulled on her jacket, "While we're waiting for that to be delivered, I think there's a convenience store up the road. Let's go there to get something to fix up the stab would like you said."

She walked with him out the door and after leaving the hotel, and to the convenience store. She wasn't exactly sure what all would fix up a stab wound. There wasn't much a person could do for it. So,s he just grabbed a number of different supplies that she thought might help and checked out. Within ten minutes of the time they left, they were back at the apartment and not too long after the pizza arrived. Sure enough, it turned out Vincent couldn't even touch, much less eat, the pizza. So, Anna took to her half and ate, grateful to finally have something on her stomach. It made her feel much better then she had been feeling.

When she was done eating, she sat down on the bed and took out the medical supplies, laying them out on the mattress before taking off her shirt to let him see the wound on her back, "How bad is it?"

[Thinker]

Vince nodded at the familiar and favorite food the two shared on many occasions. He was pretty plain when it came to his style of toppings for the most part, he liked the sauce the most and all those fancy other things were just in the way of that flavor. His stomach didn’t rumble nor did he salivate at the thought of the food, he kept his dread to himself.

He jumped to his feet and walked a few paces off the mattress and dropped to the floor. “As you wish,” he stated mimicking the hero in Princess’ Bride. He reached for the knob of the door only his hand slipped right through it. “Hmm, I guess I can’t be a gentleman.” He waited for her to open the door and let her pass before dancing behind her quickly.

His mind wandered during the short walk to the store, the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon and the streets were not terribly busy. The store was empty expect for the rather bored looking clerk polishing the counter with a dry rag. The clerk’s eyes shifted over Anna in a lusty creepy way, Vince stood in front of the man apparently unable to block the gaze. He peered at the monitor behind the clerk’s shoulder, he saw only two people in the store. Anna and the creepy male. The place where he should be was empty. He waved at the camera and a bit of static trampled over the picture.

It finally clicked why the woman near Mira’s house hadn’t interacted with him. Clearly others could not see or hear him. Anna was the only one that could. Maybe he did die and he was a ghost, he shook his head at this thought. His eyes landed on a small display of Tums and stared at it with all he had in him, he reached out and his fingers went through it twice before he gathered enough energy to hit it and one of the racks tumbled over the countertop. The clerk’s eyes was finally diverted from Anna as he quickly gathered the runaway packages. Vince smiled sweetly at Anna when she came to the counter to pay for the items selected.

Once they returned to the hotel, he leaned over the pizza to inhale the flavorful odor. It smelt like pizza, it gave him little pleasure.

Vince stared at the angry red flesh of the wound for a moment, the sharp object had cut more than stabbed. It hadn’t gone to the bone just tore the muscle above her shoulder blade. He gently cleaned the wound careful not to disturb the healing that had already taken place and padded it dry. The injury appeared better without all the extra blood. “Not bad, I think you can get by without having to have stitches,” he picked up the package of Band-Aids and found some butterfly type ones and unwrapped them all. “Good thing it didn’t go straight in.” He pinched the flesh closed and stuck the bandages on her skin. He dabbed some anti-bacterial gel on it for happiness and covered the wound with the largest bandage in the package. “There. Good as new. Sort of.” He chuckled.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna winced as he cleaned and took care of the wound. It hurt like hell, but she was relieved to know it didn't need to have stitches. That would have been very painful and close to impossible without going to the doctor, which they couldn't do. People would ask too many questions and she couldn't deal with that. Not now. Once it was all done, she went to put her shirt back on, only to pause and decide against putting the same shirt back on. It had a rip and blood stain where the knife had entered. She couldn't exactly walk around wearing that. Sighing and turning to him and giving him a soft kiss and a thank you for helping with the wound, she stood up from the bed, going over to the book bad of clothes she had brought with her, having packed it before she set the house on fire.

She slipped on a clean shirt and put the ruined one in a different pocket of the backpack, to be disposed of later when it was more convenient. Leaving the room in a mess as it was was bad enough. But they had to get out of there as quick as possible. She threw her back pack onto her back and moved with him out of the hotel room, going down the stairs and turning in the key. She hadn't used her real name to get the room. She used another fake name so if they did pitch a fit about how she left it, they wouldn't be able to find her later. Especially since every time she walked into the hallway she used her powers to black out the security cameras.

Luckily they didn't insist on checking the room before she left and she left freely, going out to the car. She knew soon she would have to get rid of the car and find another one, so as to avoid suspicion. This was her dead mother's car after all. They'd be looking for it after they found her dead body int he ashes of the burnt down house. If they found her body and more importantly identified the charred body as her and not Mira. After all, she and her mother were about the same height with the same type of body. With the body being disfigured from the flames it would be almost impossible to tell for a long time.

She road down the road quietly at first before she glanced over at Vincent, doing her best to give him a smile after thinking about her mother, "So, where are we going? It should probably be somewhere that isn't too populated."

[Thinker]

Vince had to stare at his hands when she dressed, his thoughts were heavily burdened with bodily desires. He rose and walked through the door taking a few cleansing breaths. The housekeeping staff’s cart was two doors down from them, they had to get out and now. He phased through the door again, his words were stalled in his throat to see she was ready. “I feel like we are in The Bourne Identity,” he said as they walked down the hallway, he kept glancing behind. There was no one in the hallway and the housekeeper didn’t even look their way. “All this cloak and dagger stuff. Hiding our tracks and on the run from the ‘man’.”

Once they were out of the building, he glanced over his shoulder at the two bit place. “We better not end up like Thelma and Louise, so stay clear of cliffs.”

It takes a few tries to sit in the passenger seat without sagging into the bottom of the chair. Vince stares at the window caught up in his own whirlwind thoughts, his life wouldn’t be normal again. There was chance of going to college. Taking up painting like he always wanted to. Watching movies would be hard without Anna turning on the television for him. He hoped he would learn to manulpate objects better than just knocking over a box of Tums.

He thought about his parents, they were jerks most of the time but there was love too. He would never see them again and all they would have was a bloody tux and no body to mourn. Contacting them would put Anna at risk and it went against all that was in him to do that. Her safety was his top concern. That spurred the thought of learning to use the energy inside him to move things better, that way he could protect her if things came down to a fist fight. He touched his head, he was tired. Car rides, even in this state lulled him to sleep.

Vince turned to Anna, confused at first at the question. Asking a complete idiot when it came to geography. He peered out the window finding a distant mountain peak which he pointed to. “That looks good. Do you think you have enough money to get us there?”

He really hated not able to help, he felt like a freeloader in a major way. This was what she needed, her powers made him this way. So, he figured it was good enough for now until he learned more of what he could do.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna looked to where he pointed and thought for a moment. She had about six hundred in cash on her and on top on that had her mother's credit card and her own debit card in which she could use to get more money out of her bank account. As long as she didn't use the credit card too much and used it in places they wouldn't be in long, she was sure they'd be fine.

She nodded, looking straight ahead again as she drove along, "Yeah. I have enough to get us there. Maybe even some left over to get us a small place to stay for a little while if we're lucky." To be honest, she wondered how all of this would go. She had never been out on her own before and it scared her.

But who could blame her? Her psychotic mother had sheltered her all her life to the point where she was afraid of almost everything. Now she was slowly being cured of that, being on the run with Vincent. She had a feeling she would become a completely new person. And she hoped it would be for the best.

She drove for a long time, only stopping to use the bathroom and go through the drive through for breakfast and lunch. When dinner rolled around she grabbed a sub and drink from Subway, then drove to a nearby hotel. After getting the room pass she went up to the room, sighing as she sat her back pack on the bed.

Looking over at Vincent as she sat on the edge of the bed, she smiled lightly, "You know, this reminds me a lot of the times we would sneak out to go hang out at night." She had to sneak out because of her psychotic mother not letting her go anywhere besides schools. He had to sneak out because his parents hadnt really liked her. But even though their parents hadn't approved, they still snuck out anyway. Sometimes even spending the night without the parents knowing if the other was too tired to walk home(as friends of course and not anything romantic).

Anna curled her knees to her chest, her small smile fading away to a frown, "Vin....do you remember that time....the day the...video....came out? How I came to your house that night and showed you how they posted it online? .....Did that make you change what you thought about me? Did it make you, at the time, ashamed of me?" He had seen it that night, before she had come up to his bedroom window in tears. She had spent the night there on that night after her mother had told her how ashamed she was of Mira. She couldn't help but think back and think, even though her loved her now, at that time was he ashamed he was her friend? She knew it was stupid of her to ask after so long, and maybe it was just the new changes in her causing her to finally ask what he had thought about that after so long, but it was on her mind and she wanted to know.

[Thinker]

After some time of driving in silence, Vince was drifting to sleep. He caught himself on several times, he straightened and shook his head. Cars were evil. His thoughts were not helping and he brushed aside the whole pity party that continually threatened to swamp his mind. “Just to think,” he said. “I was worried about college and trying to find one that would accept us both. You know, so we could still be there for each other during that whole new experience. I had never brought it up, frankly I was worried your mother wouldn’t let you go. My father was all but shoving college down my throat.” He laughed and shook his head. “I had no idea what I wanted to go in to.”

What he did now he seemed to be better at, like he was designed from birth to end up like this. The thought was sobering, he leaned his head back on the seat not expecting a response from Anna. He was thinking out loud, which he did on occasion, and it didn’t require added input. He just needed to get it out of his head and let it simmer in the universe for a while.

The rest of the day was a blur, he was happy that he could stretch his legs every time she stopped for necessities. The car was getting to be like a cramped classroom by midday and he put his hands through the roof and pulled himself up. He concentrated on keeping the roof as his foundation and was able to stand on the metal surface. He stood there with his hands in his jean pockets laughing like a crazy person, the wind did nothing to his clothing or hair. Bugs, the occasional bird just passed through him. Not even a shadow on the ground. He was invisible to the world. He surfed the vehicle like he had seen in shows of jocks showing off, or complete idiots that would die at the end of the scene.

He automatically sat down when he noticed a highway patrol coming up behind them with the lights on. His heart hammered until the cruiser continued by and took an exit ahead of them. He sank through the roof and settled on the seat again. It wasn’t long before Anna stopped at subway. Vince went behind the counter and made faces and mimicked the poor ‘sandwich artist’ trying to steal a couple giggles from Anna. She wouldn’t crack like she was on autopilot, he slapped her butt cheek playfully on the way out and blamed the worker still behind the counter.

Vince yawned and stretched when they finally settled into the hotel room. He was going to bring up the fact he hadn’t had to use the restroom all day. It was strangely nice, yet he was feeling drained, tired and what he would summarize as hungry. He sat through the bed and hit the floor, he stood up stepped out of the frame and concentrated on the object before it would hold him properly. He turned to Anna as she started speaking.

He shrugged his shoulder. How could he forget? It was sheered into his memory along with the anger and hate that was tied to it. He couldn’t believe those girls didn’t help Mira in what had to be a very trying time. He tilted his head, his black mane shifting away from his forehead. “Why would that change what I thought about you? The only people I was ashamed of was those girls, all of them. Not just the ones who took it but those who were too afraid to step in to help you. The teacher, who should have been there to stop it and do her duty to protect and inform you. Where was she?” He shook his head, touching her cheek with a reassuring smile. “No, I was not ashamed of you.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna looked up at him with tears still in her eyes as he spoke to her, telling her how he was not ashamed of her, but ashamed of the girls who had done this to her. He then asked about the teacher who had been on duty. The gym teacher. Where had she been when this was happening. At the time, she hadn't known where the teacher had been. It was only later, after the video was posted up online and they were brought in for questioning did she come to find out the teacher who should have been there to help her had gone off to chat with some of her teacher friends. No one had been there to help her and those girls had so evilly taunted her.

But still even after all they had done, had they deserved to die? They had caused so much pain toward she and James. Maybe to even more people neither of them knew of. Now that they were dead and gone, they couldn't cause that pain to them or anyone else for that matter. They were gone and it was a good thing they were. As much as the world would probably be a better place without them, it didn't change the fact that SHE had killed them. Had she been upset if they had died in some other way? No, absolutely not. She would have been relieved in a way. But because it was her that had done the deed. Because she found she had it in her to kill a living being. That was what upset her the most.

Carefully wiping the tears from her eyes and looking back at him, she leaned into his touch as he touched her cheek before she moved closer and hugged him. Her face was buried against his neck as she relaxed there, speaking softly to him, "And...and what about when I told you what I did to those people...did it make you love me less?...I mean....I know everything they did to us was unforgivable...but.....had they deserved to die?"

She wondered what the families of those people felt. She could already barely stand it that Vincent was dead now because of her. They had poured that blood on them because of her. If it hadn't been for that, then that bucket wouldn't have landed on his head and he wouldn't be dead. In a way now, it was her fault he was dead. She couldn't help but blame herself for it. Holding herself tighter to him, she kissed him once again before burying her face against the front of his shirt, "I....I just feel so confused.....I don't think I know what to feel anymore."

[Thinker]

“Love you less? No. What else would have stopped them? Nothing. You saved a lot of people pain. Sure their families will lie to everyone about how good their demon spawn were. They will grieve and life will go on. The world a little brighter without their taint.” He patted her back affectionately. “I wouldn’t worry about it anymore.” He shivered as his drained energy filled in her state of confusion, it was a beautiful rush like conquering a daunting task with excellence. The ‘hunger’ pain went away and he was now sure of how he was to stay strong.

He gave her a small grin when she kissed him, she hid her face too quickly in his shirt respond to it. He gritted his teeth for a moment while he held her feeling the waves of emotions lapping through him. He smiled at what he felt from her energy he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. “Don’t be confused. Feel refreshed and put it behind you as easily as you did your old name. You are a new person now, right? So why let all of those past regrets bog you down? You cannot change the past. Don’t let them continue torturing you from the grave. If you do they win. They are dead, let them rot.”

Vince was dying to tell her about what he was going through. All the wonders he discovered so far, he thought about what she had been talking about tonight and squashed that idea. Some day he will share his secrets with her. “Sleep, you have been driving a long while. I am sure you are exhausted. Can you turn on the T.V. and leave the remote nearby before you drift off? I doubt I will not sleep tonight.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Anna smiled softly up at him and sighed, nodding. He was right. She shouldn't be living in the past when she needed to leave it all behind. She kissed him once more, "Yeah. I guess you're right. Leave them be. Keep them dead. Don't let their lives get to me." She nodded in agreement when he told her to go to sleep. She was really tired, after all that driving. Sleeping would by far be the best thing for her right now. She looked around for the remote and picked it up, using it to turn the tv on before laying it next to him on the bed, "There, you're all set for the night Vin. Wake me up if anything happens, okay?" She said and with that, layed down and covered herself up before curling in a ball with her knees to her chest, just as she always did when she slept.

She didn't fall asleep immediately. It took a while of trying to relax, but finally she managed to drift off, into dreams that she didn't want to have. Dreams of her mother screaming horrid names at her and shoving her into that closet. Dreams of blood. Blood. Blood. And more blood. Blood being poured over she and Vincent. The blood of the victims her powers had taken. In her sleep, Anna began tossing and turning wildly before she shoot up, covering her mouth with her hand to muffles the screams that escaped her and when the screams stopped, she sobbed as she sat there, her breathing uneven and her eyes wide with fear.

She looked up at Vincent in front of her and cried softly, hugging herself to him, "Why do I keep having dreams about it Vincent? Its not fair. I just want to forget. And I can't. It just keeps coming back to haunt me all over again." She slowly wiped her tears from her eyes but right after more tears would just form, "How am I ever going to sleep when those memories just keep coming back?"

[Thinker]

The colors on Vincent’s shirt calmed when Anna drifted to sleep, he turned his attention fully on the remote and figured out he could change the channel. He watched a few sitcoms with little interest and hammered the button. He stopped suddenly at the image of his grad picture on the television and winced at his full name on the screen. It faded to Anna’s class picture. “These two are wanted by the police for questioning in the mass murder of,” he flipped the channel and Sponge Bob Squarepants was dancing on screen.

Vincent rubbed his jaw, he had known that would have happened sooner or later. He had hoped they would have been father away before the police started flashing their pictures in the media. They only wanted for questioning, meaning they had no idea what they were facing. There was no evidence that pointed to Anna at least not yet. If they found them now before Anna could stabilize, they would throw her into an asylum. A small part of him had a twisted feeling she would never really be mentally sound, not after all the murders she single handedly committed. Another part of him hoped she never was, her power was delicious when she didn’t have a handle on it.

He left the room and wandered the hall, he couldn’t really go to the lobby with his limited radius so he returned and sat crossed legged on the bed. He really needed more roaming room. He sat there contemplating the situation for an undetermined amount of time, Anna’s power started licking at him and she started to scream. He stabbed the power button and he leaned toward his friend. He was pulled out of his position and he held her. “It takes time,” he said, stroking her hair. Having no real clue if she would ever forget. How could someone forget that? He still remembered that blood in every way being dumped on him.

Pure exhaustion would be Anna’s true friend. That was the only thing that would keep her mind from assaulting her. When she was in a sleep she wasn't able to dream. Maybe a shrink that could walk her through this guilt or whatever she was suffering from. They could kidnap someone like that or something. He dismissed the idea, they didn't need the hassle of trying to keep another person alive. "It will take some doing, I am sure. But you just have to keep fighting it like you did them in the gym. You will win."