Boethius would never, ever understand women. No matter how many he slept with, lived with, talked with, or ruined; they were incomprehensible. That was never clearer to him than now. He had just hung up his cell phone, cutting Hannah off as she wailed about how he had ruined her life. He had taken her out of her life, brought her to a new one. She didn’t have a life until he came along. But now she was upset, and it was because of that idiot Colton.

To top it off, since returning from France Lily had been sulking. She had started when they stopped in Italy on their way back home, to visit Adia. He had bought the redhead some jewelry, and he had the sneaking suspicion Lily was jealous. Either that, or insane. First she rages when he fights with Colton and Eric; but when he is nice to Adia, she calls him a bastard and refuses to talk to him on a flight over the Atlantic Ocean. Women.

The bus he rode screeched to a halt, making its last stop of the night. Bo still found the concept of public transportation amusing, but Lily had refused to allow him to retrieve the coat which held the keys to his car, so he had had no choice. He descended from the bus, turning up the collar of his shirt against the chill in the winter air. The cell phone in his pocket began to buzz again, but he ignored it.

If women excelled at aggravating him, he would excel at ignoring them.

Idiot was the perfect adjective you could describe him with, and right now, he looked the part.

Colton hadn't left his room for a few days after Beltane, save for a 'fast food' run. What a night it had been. He was still too shaken up about it to venture out into the world, where he might just get sucked up into a sticky situation like that. See, it wasn't that he didn't trust the world. No, now it was an internal thing; he couldn't trust himself.

Colton finally did leave, and avoided everyone at all costs. He fed on some poor jogger, but was careful to leave the kid alive. He was someone's son, someone's boyfriend, someone's future father. Colton didn't feel like ruining all that. Not tonight.

He roamed the streets for a while, not wanting to go home and be cooped up, but not really having anything to do other than that, which led to roaming. He could go pick up Celeste... He could leave her at his parents just one more night... He chose the ladder. She was a lucky kid; had two successive birthday parties and two big, chocolate cakes. Colton missed human life most with the sight of chocolate cake. Who wouldn't?

As it always turned out, Colton crossed paths with Bo. Tonight, though, he didn't bump into him. He walked past him, and disappeared to the rear of the man. He didn't even notice. He never did; not until it was too late.

Bo saw Colton coming a mile away. Or he would have, if Demaitre's streets ran for a mile. He stopped walking as Colton approached him, wondering what his reaction would be. Frightened, angry, pathetic.. But, no! He walked right past him!

"What are you so upset about?" Bo asked with a scoff as Colton passed. "Are you even capable of any emotion other than depression?" He turned to face Colton's back. He scowled down at this young one, this fledgling which was partically his own. Yet despite that scowl he was secretly delighted that Colton was apparently suffering so much. And he hadn't done a thing! There was no way Lily could be upset with him.

OOC| Short.. and sweet? |

((I love Bo. He makes me happy. XD))

Colton stopped too, more with that icy sort of freeze over you get when your scared, or worried, or you feel like you've forgotten something. He turned slightly, and faced Bo. Well, there was Bo's answer. Fear. But, as a trend, it seemed to be slowly disappating. Bo hadn't done anything recently that Colton should be scared about. It had almost been a year since the older vampire had beaten the snot out of him. Seven months since Bo had killed him. Nothing since, though. So, no, Colton was just a tiny bit scared. The rest of him was almost arrogant in the way that he didn't care what Bo tried to do, because, hey! Lily'd get him back. In bed.

"Not depressed." Lie one. "I haven't had anything interesting to get upset about happen recently..." Lie two. "I'm just going to go pick up Celeste." Lie three. "What do you want...?" Li-- No, now here was a valid attempt at conversation. Colton didn't really look at Bo, because he didn't intend to stay for long. When Bo answered him, he'd chose to either respond... Or leave. Whoo. What choices!

"No.. I'm sorry little man, but I've had to endure enough depressed people to identify the ailment in others. And you, are depressed. What have you done, hmm?" He stopped trying to hide his happiness. Might as well let the kid see he brought joy to other people's lives.

He stepped towards Colton and started probing into his mind, finding that the boy offered little resistance. At least, little resistance that Bo couldn't crush without thinking. Images of Beltane flashed across the circuits of Colton's brain, and Bo caught the feelings of anger, lust, sex, guilt, and now the ever present depression.

He stepped back again, as if to escape from Colton's mind.

"Oooh.. You've been a naughty boy. Just wait until your mother finds out! No, perhaps even better. Wait until your little lover is told." He smirked to himself, had to keep from rubbing his hands together in glee.

This even made up for having to ride on the bus!

((... I take that back. Jerkface! lol))

Colton was too quick to reply. "I am not!" Bo didn't believe him. That sucked a lot, too, because, though Colton had practiced at keeping his mind from being read so easily, he was no match for Bo. Bo crushed the seemingly little resistence Colton had put up. That sucked too. Colton, of course, aided the process of Bo finding out just what he was trying to hide by letting those very images flash by, in an attempt to hide them.

Colton was already pale, but he went about sheet white with what Bo said. His eyes widened, and he shook his head. "I--" He couldn't even start to explain to Bo anything about that night. He just stood there a moment, then freaked out. "No! No! You can't!" He made a big enough fuss when he had to.

"You do not tell me what I can and cannot do. That's the beauty of it! So, whom would you like me to call first? Lily, or Hannah? I think perhaps Hannah; she'll need longer to get over it." He seemed so glad as he spoke, but when he brought Hannah up his happiness began to wane.

"So, what the hell little boy! You claim you love her, yet you jump on the first man who allows it?" His volume grew as he spoke. "It's a damned good thing I kept you apart! She'll be less attached to you now. Because I sincerely hope you don't expect you'll ever see her again, now that you've fucked around!"

He stepped towards Colton again; quickly closed the space between them, then created more as he shoved Colton away with his hands on Colton's shoulders.

Anger seemed to radiate, and when coupled with the fear of losing everything you had worked for flashed before you, the key held by one person. One son of a bitch who knew nothing about his life, who held so much power over something he knew so little about. Was it the mystery of it that kept Bo lured to making his life a living hell, or was it just the fact that he could?

"You don't know, Bo! You know NOTHING of what happened to me. You haven't the slightest idea!" Colton let his voice grow louder as well, and when Bo shoved him, Colton became foolish, and shoved back. Before, it would have been the quivelant of a toddler pushing on an oak tree, but Colton was fortunate that vampires had extra strength. That's right, he shoved Bo back a full inch. You go, Colton!

Bo spilled everything Colton had never wanted to hear. Everything. Call Lily, or Hannah? He'd call them both... What would Lily say? He had pieced together by now that Hannah had been spoon-fed by Bo to not care about him. Maybe she never had. Maybe she thought him nothing more than an aquaintence, and he was trying too hard. But he was clinging to the only thing he had right now, and that was his hope.

"If you hadn't gotten in the way of her and I, perhaps this would never have happened. You know what, Bo? Look! Look at what happened! Why don't you peer into my head and see that I was forced into that situation, and that it wasn't MY choice! GO AHEAD!" Colton didn't look threatening. He didn't even look convincing. He looked hurt and concerned and scared. If he was more of an emotions guy, and was capable of more than just depression, perhaps he'd be in tears.

But Bo pretty much summed that up earlier.

Bo was greatly surprised when Colton shoved back. He actually had the guts to push him? The surprise quickly gave way to even greater anger. Bo swung his right arm, the back of his hand connecting with Colton’s cheek. That arm, that hand, had fought lions. And it had won; he still had the scars to prove it. Colton’s fresh little face seemed a poor target in comparison to all it had defeated.

“I do know.” Bo growled, his voice low and slow with intimidation. “I have peered inside your head, and I’ve no wish to return to your internal porno film. What you don’t seem to know is why I ‘got in the way’. Jesus Christ, you make it sound like some soap opera! I sent her to New Orleans because the sight of you made her feel guilt. Which drove her into depression, which brought with it a roaring case of dementia. If I hadn’t taken her away, she most likely would have killed either you or herself. You know nothing!”

Colton didn't know what was scarier, the fact that he heard a very sickening crack with the connection of Bo's fist to his cheek, or the fact that the bone went misalligned, then realigned. Realigned, and, if he could feel right, healed. Colton looked dazed, almost like he'd fall unconscious to the ground, and blinked himself back to here, and now. Even if the bones mended, it hurt like hell. The bastard. He'd get his... Ummm... Later!

"You didn't see enough, then. You didn't see how what you saw happened. You don't know. Don't give me that bullshit." Colton was good with words. Punches, no. Arguments, yes. "Oh, yea... About that whole depressive thing? May I remind you that if YOU had never intervined, I would not be DEAD and she would not be DEPRESSED! If you claim that I know nothing, then I beg to differ, because at least I know WHY she's upset." Well, why she's upset now. She'd have a new reason the minute Bo decided to share his little dirty laundry with Hannah.

“No, you don’t why she’s depressed. That’s the part I find most amusing. But I think I’ll save that information for later.” Colton’s genius with arguments had little effect on Bo. Especially because, this time, at least, Colton didn’t know why Hannah was upset. He would assume it was because of his changing, but Bo really knew it was over Jake’s murder. Which Hannah herself had committed.

“Enjoy your night, Colton. I have a feeling there will be precious few like them in the future, for you..” Bo turned away from Colton, his smirk back in place over his wicked face. His handsomely wicked face, but wicked none the less.

He began walking away from Colton, quite happy with his victory. He either didn’t realize Hannah’s imminent devastation, or he didn’t care.

OOC| I don’t know if it’s imminent or eminent.. |

Colton was curious with this small bone of information. What had he done? Colton automatically assumed he had done something, and he was worried with it. Worried sick with the thought that now, now he had done two things wrong, and he could not reconcile either.

Bo left him to 'enjoy' his night. The night that would start a forever downward sprial of nights, because there was no doubt in Colton's mind Bo would tell Lily, but worse yet, tell Hannah. No doubts. The bastard enjoyed this sort of stuff. Colton considered going home and calling Lily first. He could outrun Bo, couldn't he?

Instead, Colton raised a cold hand to his burning cheek, and walked in the opposite direction. He'd go pick up Celeste tonight, and lock himself in for the next few weeks. Maybe no one would care to see him gone, and it would all roll over... In the next three hundred years.