It all seemed right. The theater was as old and majestic as it had been those many weeks ago, but today, it seemed to be frowning down on the young man seated in it. Look what you have done, it was saying. Look at whom you have hurt. Look at Codi, look at Lily. Look at Hannah. Should have kept with those studies. It was later than Colton preferred to stay out, and the moon was new outside. The lack of light was oppressing, and the silence drowned out the theaters pessimistic voice.

Much opposed to the day Colton had decided to give himself a head rush and see if he died, he sat on the stage and was reading. The newspaper, no doubt, and today’s. Well, today being the day that would have its sunrise in four hours. The words were blurring together, but Colton didn't let the darkness, nor his weariness, overcome him. History day had been a success, said the paper. There was a picture of the first place project and its creators. His team had gotten third. Respectable, yes, but all it got them was a half a paragraph of glory, mostly just to get their names in it. He was frowning. Holstein, they had spelled it. No, no, it was HALstien. Probably his fault. Everything seemed to have been his fault. The pen he had brought didn't work, he forgot tape, and Joey was at his throat the entire time... Joey would have gotten along great with Bo.

Colton glanced to the door. No one there, which devastated him. Codi hadn't bothered to call, nor look. Probably sleeping. Bo was gone, wasn’t he? And Lily and Hannah too. Jake had been dead almost a year now. Who next? Natasha had died in a drunk driving accident over the weekend. They found all her blood. She had been the fifth student this year to wind up dead. Isn't that why he and Codi had decided they should leave? Because the school wasn't safe? And he had decided they should stay, for what? Nothing, that was it. Nothing.

Colton scanned over the article again, and let the silence overcome the theaters mournful tune. Look what you've done. Look what you have done...

OOC| I'm taking it this is the new board.. |

In that dull silence of the theater, the sound of high heels slowly made their way to the surface from the maze of hallways which lead to the dressing rooms. The noise vibrated from the empty seats, from the concrete stairs, and by Colton's ears. It grew louder, until the source finally appeared. A pair of laced up stilettos, firmly placed on the feet of a woman. A blonde woman, all too familiar.

Lily had not known Colton was in the theater. Of course she would have if she had bothered to know, but she hadn't. In truth, she did not even know why she herself had been there. Her legs had carried her there. Those sculpted dancer's legs had wanted her to stand on a stage, to be used again in a whirl of dance in the proper place for it, instead of being utilized to manipulate a man or to carry her to tedious places.

Now that she stood on stage left, she saw him openly. Sitting there, reading a paper. That boy was going to think she was stalking him. And what had happened to her promise that he would never see her again? Well, what odds. She slowly walked to center stage, her eyes moving from Colton to the rows of empty chairs, to the modest box seats, to the sound booth in the back, to the now dark spotlights mounted at the ceiling.

She stopped at her destination, and turned to face them all. She didn't look in costume. Besides her stilettos she wore a skirt which fell halfway to her knee. It was pink, but had a heavy black lace layer over it which made it sexier. Her top was black as well, a scoop neckline which bared her shoulders. Yet somehow, she seemed as if she belonged there. She certainly looked better suited to performing than a man just sitting on the edge of the stage. She was always performing, anyway. Always had been.

Those bruises had faded, leaving her pale cream skin unmarred by anything but the lack of a smile.

Colton heard the heels. He heard them break the veil of silence, break the feeling of being alone, and break his concentration. He knew who it was. Heel clicks were everywhere, but those heel clicks were distinct. They tread elegantly, or even lightly. Years and years of practiced stepping, and still on someone who definitely looked too young for such a practiced ease. The vibrations came closer, and the sound grew louder. They clicked onto the stage, then across it. Was she to kill him? Still, he would not look. The words on the paper blurred together in an impossible state, and discerning them became too hard to achieve. Colton grimaced.

"Hullo, Lily."

Pushed himself off the stage, landing just before the first row of seats. Chose one, front and center, and sat in it. It was then he finally decided to look at her. First, the bruises. Gone, as his were. Lack of smile was taken in next, then the woman as a whole. She did put on quite a performance up there, even with a lack of lighting, music, lines, and plot. Or was their ongoing battle a sort of plot in itself? Was this the point where he was to tell her he was sick of everything? Or maybe this was the point where he was to go fight the archenemy and save the princess? Or maybe this was the time to start making apologies?

"I had hoped you didn't go. I never got to apologize for grabbing you, nor thank you for dragging Bo off."

He counted both statements as the apologies, and quickly took to folding the newspaper and tossing it to his feet. With all distractions gone, he looked back up to the actress. The dancer. The artist. Whatever this play was, she seemed to fit the part. Whether she was a savior, a sinner, or just someone in-between. Colton arched an eyebrow, and posed a question.

“I thought you were leaving?”

It seemed more like a statement, but his voice played it into a question. He wanted to know why she was still in town, and more importantly, why she was here. Why she had come to this stage this night.

OOC| Oh, blah, this is the best I can do. |


Lily didn't look at him either, as he left the stage and settled in a chair. She kept her eyes on the empty tech booth. Even as she felt she was about to begin another tête-à-tête where she must step lightly and decisively, she did not respond to his greeting. She felt his eyes appraising her, a familiar feeling which she loathed each time she came in contact with it. However, that survival instinct to dazzle overtook her and she smiled. Brilliantly, immediately pulling her features into a softer light as she looked down on him, though it was gone again in a second.

"Yes, I had thought I was. I had convinced Bo, had plans made for Hannah, but at the last moment she decided she wished to stay. Which meant we did, as well."

She turned then. Rose up to the sole of her right foot, turning on it in a fluid, swift movement until she faced stage right. Her left foot she held in arabesque, extended it behind her body. Then she returned it to earth with a sharp 'clack'. The noise seemed to please her, a true smile formed though her expression was still serious. Colton was no longer there, not sitting in the audience, front and center. Her body shifted slightly, automatically, into a cambrer, where she arched her spine beginning between her shoulder blades.

After a moment, she stopped. She turned to the left once more and walked in a wide circle about the stage, and ended downstage right to face Colton once more.

"And I thought you were leaving."

Hers was a statement. He would answer if he saw fit. If he wanted to know her intentions here tonight he would ask. That did not mean she had an answer.

Colton caught the smile and the dazzle of it was not lost on him, though he rather wished that it was. He listened to the tale and watched her move across the stage. That still didn’t explain why she was here, which was what he was curious about. She could dance, perhaps. Maybe she had come here to dance? Colton doubted that, and chose to answer her statement as if it was a question.

“No, not yet. We haven’t decided where to go yet. I don’t think I’ll be moving anyway. I have another year after this, as does Codi, but she doesn’t understand I’d rather not remake the few friends I have when we move somewhere else.” He wasn’t watching her anymore, and, instead, had fixed his gaze on the floor by the discarded newspaper. “Anyway, why are you here. I thought you couldn’t wait to be rid of me.”

It had been something like that, hadn’t it? That the minute she found Bo, they were leaving. And she hadn’t been distressed about it. Colton watched her from the corner of his eye, not because he longed to see her dancing across the stage, but more because he wanted to see her reaction. See if he had hit one of those buttons that caused an immediate negative reaction that could be rather painful. This way, he’d have some time to react. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking into consideration her inhuman speed.


((Bah... That was a rather horrid post, on my part. Yours was fine.))

Lily stood still now, her arms crossed just under her chest, each elbow held in the opposite hand. She knew that he was hoping for a reaction from her, so she gave only a maddening cool one.

"I simply found your attitude to be sickeningly male and couldn't stand it for a moment longer." She said with a shrug, a small smirk playing across her lips. It was very different from the smiles she had gave earlier. Where the first had been to distract and the second a by-product of her Pirouette, this was a smug presentation of her unshakable demeanor.

"I am here because I wanted an itinerary of the theater's events. I was not aware that you were here, but even if I had been it would do little to stop me from coming. I do not dictate my actions around the positions of others like you."

Like you.. Meaning mortal men? Well, then she would be lying.

OOC| Is maddeningly even a word? lol.. |

Colton scoffed at her remark, and leaned back in the chair.

"That's a new one. My attitude was, if I may quote?, 'sickeningly male'. Hah! You don't know how many times I have heard the exact opposite of that."

He wasn't lying either. The year that he and Jake were involved had been one of the hardest years of his life, much to the credit of people who were more accustomed to jeering than to simply ignoring them. And it hadn't been a crude relationship, like some of there relationships with those slutty little girls who didn't wear enough to cover a child, let alone their behinds. There had been no kisses in public for all to see and comment on, but he still got an earful of being too 'girly', too gay. Hearing this in contrast with the past was startling and somewhat amusing.

"Would you prefer I leave? I assume you expected this place to be empty; assumed you'd be alone. Plus, I have a feeling I am being too male for your taste again."

Didn't laugh out loud, but his eyes showed that he still found this amusing. Maybe it just felt good to have someone see him as a male. He, himself, did not know the answer. Colton stood, grabbing the paper as he did so, and waited for the expected dismissal.

He did not have to laugh for Lily to feel as if he were demeaning her. She had not been inside his mind, did not feel like she needed the advantage, but the amusement came across to her in waves.

"Then perhaps I just bring out the worst in people." Lily snapped haughtly. Her hands slipped down to her waist, a confrontational post she assumed often. "You were, and are, far from manly or butch. The only clue I had as to your sex was the fact that you were so insanely cowardly. And had Hannah distressed. Any prelude I had about your masculinity was pretty much washed away when I had to be called in to defend you."

She turned and stomped her way to the steps, her spiky heels leaving little white marks on the soft surface on the stage. In the morning the manager will stand staring at them in a mix of anger and dispair, and wonder how such damage had occured while the stage was empty. But now, Lily hardly noticed the destruction as she moved quickly down the steps into the carpeted aisle.

"Stay here, if you wish. I don't belong in a place for mortals, anyway." She spat out over her shoulder.

One could take the impression that this little blonde beauty didn't fair well with conversation.

Colton fell silent, and positivly glared at her.

"You don't understand, obviously, why I am afraid. Unlike some arrogant peopl-- ahem! Vampires-- I actually have a life that can easily be lost. You, you are immortal. Me, I just have a few years to live out as mine."

Colton folded his arms across his chest, newspaper in one hand. She had quite a temper on her, and the clacking of the heels left enough ringing in his mind to solidify that. He had deserved that well enough, that remark on him being manly, being 'butch', but the one on his cowardess, however true, didn't seem fair. She wasn't playing by the rules, but wasn't all fair in love and war?

"I have a feeling the show is over... Sorry, Lily. 'Bout dragging you into this mess."

Not said in a mocking tone, but it might have seemed that he could have put more actual feeling into it. In truth, he didn't think she cared anyway, so he wasn't going to waste energy on making her care. She was an individual. She wasn't changed easily, so he wasn't going to try.

Colton took to walking out of the theatre, slower than his usual stride, as if expecting her to make another witty comeback. Maybe any sort of acknoledgement.

Lily stopped walking herself, still holding onto the handrail of the stairs tightly {although you probably could not tell if her knuckled ever turned white from pressure, they were pale enough already}. She waited until he had passed her before replying.

"I understand that you're afraid Boethius will crush you. I also understand that I have seen men less than twice your age and stature stand up to him. And he has left them unharmed." She said as he passed her. "You need to understand, Colton, Bo can smell fear. And he hates it. Courage he respects. He may never like you, but if you are brave he'll respect you. As it is now he sees you as nothing more than a little dog who runs for cover each time he enters the room."

His endless apologizes were beginning to become annoying. She had rarely ever received gratitude for much in her life, and it was vaguely unsettling. Another little smile crossed her face as an idea appeared to her.

"And mortality.. it's not permanent."

She was hinting at something, and she was serious, as always. She wanted to see how he would react, wondered what ammunition she could gather. She needed an arsenal against her friends, as well as her enemies.

Colton stopped, and turned back to face her.

"Let him smell my fear. I don't want him to like me, to respect me. I want him to leave me alone. To stop being so protective of people. I don't want to like Hannah anymore... I miss her company. I miss our friendship. He broke that. There can't be anything more if I am not allowed to see her. Plus, she doesn't want to see me anymore either. Guess everything is square then, eh?"

Two points for honesty. Painfully acurate honesty. Colton shifted his weight and dropped his eyes to the floor. Maybe he hadn't realized, till this point, how long it had been since he had actually had a nice time with Hannah. A good three weeks ago, perhaps a month. This sunk in, and he began to doubt more and more what Lily had told him a while ago.

"And I know mortality isn't permenant. Otherwise you and Bo and Hannah wouldn't exist."

She might have hinted something, and he might have caught it. Maybe he didn't, because his reply showed no hint of her proposal. Colton met her gaze again, his face stern and calculating, letting no other emotion show. He didn't feel anything inside. Nothing he could show.

Lily watched him shift his weight, drop his eyes. She threw back her own head, shaking her hair off of her shoulders. Keeping her chin high. Her arms she crossed again, an action to close her body and give her strength in whatever she faced.

"Darling, nothing is ever 'square'. Has it even occurred to you that Hannah has removed herself from you so that Bo would not have a reason to snap your neck? She's protecting you in the only way she knows she can. And it really stings that she has to do so in fear of a man that doesn't love her as much as he pretends."

She stared at him steadily, blinking leisurely. Looking perfectly calm and pretty and dangerous.

"But can you honestly tell me that since the first morning you knew what we all were, you didn't wonder what it would be like? To see civilizations crumble and new cultures arise? Don't tell me you aren't curious to feel you literally have an eternity before you, with a beautiful man or woman by your side?"

Colton glared at her, and snapped back at her. She had said he didn't care for Hannah? That he was pretending?

"Yes, it has occurred to me. And I hate it. I don't want to be a burden to her, and that is all I am right now. Can't you see that? She'd probably be happier without me. The fact that we can't see each other just to keep me safe is something in itself. You think she'd like to live like that? Never seeing me, and living in a constant fear for me? Lily, I don't want to do that to her anymore."

His glare had worn itself off halfway through his rant, and was replaced by a masked expression, though a hint of bleak sadness was there too. A few days ago, he had tried to convince himself that disappearing would be the best thing for her. He told himself that it was right. Now that he had the chance to do it, he couldn't. He didn't want to. Selfish, he told himself. Selfish.

"... I have wondered, yes. Eternity is something people always want at one point in their lives. Normally, they feel on top of the world. They want to live like that forever. Me, I don't know. Eternity is a long time, and right now, I lack a companion for all my years, be they mortal or immortal years."

Colton shrugged, and sat himself on the arms of one of the theatre chairs. He kept his eyes on the floor, not daring himself to look back at Lily. He figured she thought of him poorly, and knew she had good reason.

"Eternity is time to get it all right! To fix your mistakes and make everything right again, no matter how badly you've messed up in the past." Even as she spoke so convincingly, almost passionately, in the back of her private mind Lily was surprised she could. "And if you can't, it doesn't matter, because you out last your mistakes."

She watched him take a seat, before slowly beginning to move. She walked to the seat directly above him, on the next ascending row of chairs. She settled herself into it comfortably, crossing her legs at the ankles in delicate lady-like fashion. She rested her elbow on the arm rest, her open palm to her cheek. Perfectly content, calm and in charge.

"And you do not lack a companion. You have your sister. Or you have Hannah. At one point, you're going to have to choose between them. None of you can live like this for much longer. It isn't fair."

Lily actual felt pity for the three of them. Hannah's vitality was fading each day, she was losing excitement in everything Lily did to stimulate her. Colton was obviously torn over the situation, and guilty over everything he had done about it in the past few weeks. And Codi was caught between in all of it, nothing was her fault but she had to watch her brother brooding. However, she was challenging Colton discreetly, watching him carefully still.

Colton was calculating Lily as she judged him. Why was she pressing such an issue to him?

"Lily, why talk of eternity, when I have trouble getting one day out of the week right? Why tell me all about it?”

He looked up to where she sat, frowning. She praised her eternity, much opposed to what people had told those foolish kids who wished to live forever. They told them you’d get bored after a while. These days, nothing seemed exciting enough to live forever for. She told him that he would outlast his mistakes. He always made new ones… Who knew if being eternal would be a mistake or not?

“… I can’t pick one over the other, Lily. If I really had to, I’d have to stay with Codi. She’s family, and she needs me to be there and help her. Maybe one day she won’t need me anymore. But not today.”

Colton sighed and slumped down into the seat of the chair. His legs dangled over one arm, and his back rested against the other, the side closest to Lily leaning against the back on the chair. The hour had gotten to him, but he didn’t want to go home.

Lily closed her eyes when Colton had finished speaking. She began to move the foot crossed over the other, dipping it in little circles in that restless way people have. She ignored his questions, and kept a silence which lasted at least a full moment. In the middle of it, she opened her eyes halfway, watching Colton through a fringe of lashes.

"That seemed like a very easy decision to make." She said finally. "At least, you made it quickly.."

She seemed about to say more when another pair of footsteps drew another person near. They were heavier footsteps, a man’s. They came from the lobby, and made their way to the theater itself.

Lily didn't seem afraid or concerned, but she sighed and stood, walked towards the man to greet him.

OOC| Dun dun dunnn.. :) |

Colton blinked. What did that mean? It meant nothing. Just because he'd take his sister over a girl he never got to see anyway didn't meant he loved one any less or any more. It was all scientific. Codi had been there since he was born. She had always had his back, even when they bickered. She would be there till he died, or him for her. That was how it was. With some other person, there was not that same security, even if it was Hannah. She might choose someone over him one day.

"I have been thinking on this decision for weeks... It wasn't easy. The only way I made it was through logic. Commen sense. You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives..."

She wasn't listening. She heard the footsteps his voice had drowned out from his ears. Heavy footprints. Colton didn't stand up. He didn't care who it was, be it a janitor or Bo or his father. No, he didn't care. He was too tired to worry, and too upset to fret. Instead, he sat in the chair, eyes locked on Lily and whoever might come into view.


((Ahhh! Run awaaaaaaaaay!))

Lily wasn't paying attention to Colton anymore. Her concentration was on the being coming towards them, though she looked vaguely detached as she crossed her arms and stood waiting. Bo entered through the open entrance and stood there, framed in the doorway as both he and Lily simply looked at each other. It would most likely seem like an awkward silence to Colton, but they were communicating mentally.

Finally, Bo came towards her and spoke aloud. "I thought you were just going to find the schedule and leave again?" He asked her. He placed his fingertips on her hips, a very light connection to gauge her mood tonight.

"I was.. But I got distracted." She didn't move away from him, and in fact unfolded her arms to place her hands on his chest.

"Ah, yes.." Bo looked over her head to stare at Colton. His gaze wasn't menacing, but it wasn't friendly either. "I see you've healed." His voice was hard.

Lily lifted her hands to grasp Bo's jaw in her hands, pulling his head down gently so that he was forced to look at her. "Be nice.."

"I am." He explained impatiently, shaking his head in an irritable, almost dog-like manner to remove her.


OOC| heeheehee... actually, I'm not in a threatening mood now, so I think it's probably safe.. |

Colton knew who was there when the first words were uttered. Tonight, it felt different to hear Bo speak. Not scary, as it had been. Tonight it was more of a, 'This again... Get it over with...' kind of feel. How much good came out of not caring, Colton didn't know.

"Well enough."

Said almost curtly, in reply to having healed up. The bruises were gone, the scabs too small to notice, if there were any left at all. His nose wasn't broken. Physically, everything was fine.

"I have a feeling I have interrupted some plans. Care if I leave?"

Normally he would have stood to emphisis his willingness to be out of others way. Now he couldn't seem to pull himself up. He hadn't even made the effort to look over to them to acknowledge their pressence there. He didn't seem likey to look over there, either. Just looked a cross between stubborn, tired, and sorrowful.

"No, Colton, it's fine. We're leaving. I can have Winston call the theater in the morning." Lily said briskly, her tendency to have things planned and in order surfacing once more.

"Winston is in New York." Bo reminded her pointedly. "Go look for it yourself, it shouldn't be that hard for a woman of your intelligence." He turned stepped to the side of her, out of her way, and gave her a little pull in the direction of the entrance.

Lily did not reply, feeling put out at his abrupt reminder and his order. She crossed her arms once more, and quickly walked out the way he had come in. She did not insult him by telling him to behave himself while she was gone, or to come with her. He would do either only if he chose to do so.

OOC| Sorry for the late reply! We FINALLY put off the play on Tuesday, so it was pretty hectic up till then. And I was exhausted the day afterwards, and also cranky. But it went perfectly! No one screwed up, even Crummey! {He's blotched every play he's ever been in, except for this one.} And I got an honorable mention for Best Supporting Actress, which rocks. *huggles her certificate and her roses* |

Colton watched her leave, then turned his gaze to Bo. Tall man with a six o'clock shadow. Shoulders set, and strong enough to be feared. Colton didn't see why Lily expected him not to fear the man. Bo wanted his throat, and any person, intelligent or not, would have enough of their wits about them to fear them.

"So... Going to see a show? Which one?"

There was always more than one show playing, especially here. Colton didn't care which one they were seeing. It wasn't as if he had any good advice about which one might be best. He was making conversation. Simple, harmless conversation in which, perhaps for once, he could let go of the fear of the towering man in the entrance.

((OOC: Sweet! Excellent job there, Vanessa! You wiiiiiin! And, no sweat about the late reply. I have hjad to work on a math essay anyway. I used that time off well.))

OOC| That's good.. I hate math. *shudders at the thought of math on the weekend* You know what really sucks!? It's May 24 weekend and I HAD to go get sick. I'm really pissed.. But, we're still going to go to St. John's, so no more posties until I get back.. Probably around late Sunday evening. |

"Lily's dying to see a ballet. Acting like her feet will fall off if she doesn't. I myself have no interest in the theater since they stopped throwing Christans to the lions." Bo replied smoothly, even civily.

So he was being good. And somewhat decent. Lily would be proud of him, although that didn't change the fact that he was still a monster somewhere deep down. It was like there was a thin sheet of ice spread out over a black river. It seperated him and Colton, but if it happened to crack in places under their weight, it would shatter.

Colton nodded, a bit alarmed with Bo's reply. Still, he put on a good face and tried to put a touch of humour into his reply.

"You'd enjoy hockey, I suppose. Boxing, wrestling. Maybe football. Ballet doesn't really seem your type..."

Not that Colton was judging him uncaring for the finer arts. Well, he was, but not trying to be open about it. Then again, Colton had no love for ballets. If he went to the theatre, it was for a good comedy. A well rehearsed musical. A tragedy that made his life seem so much more desirable at the end. Maybe even a good work of Shakespeare, but not ballet.


((OOC: Now I apologize for the late reply. You know how time disappears... And school sucks you up... And books wrap up up in tales so sweet and sad that you cannot be torn from them. This, my friend, was my weekend. Along with a side of swimming...))

OOC| *waves a flag* I'm not dead! I'm just drowning under work! Exams are evil, and I'm still not getting better from my flu.. Stress.. Horrible stress.. |

"No." Bo answered. "It isn't. But I'll go if it makes Lily happy." He wasn't one for organized sports much anymore. He used to enjoy watching a game of boxing or baseball, but hadn't really seen one in ages. He didn't even remember the names of any of the teams or players. A hazard of the decades, he assumed.

He had no more to say, and he did not feel like putting this mortal at ease with meaningless small talk. Much more enjoyable to regard him sitting uncomfortably under the weight of stoney silence.

Bo's fun was interrupted when Lily returned. She stepped inside the theater and allowed the door to close behind her, watching Bo and Colton. She was slightly relieved to see them both where she had left them, but she did nothing to betray that. Instead, she walked to Bo's side.

Colton was quiet a moment, and glanced over to Bo under messed bangs that desperatly needed a haircut.

"'Course. Every good man just wants to see his girl happy."

He let that sink in, knowing full well he shouldn't have said that. Lily, as usual, was the bell that saved him. She walked in during the silence and moved to Bo's side. Quiet.

"Well, it's getting late. I suppose you two need to go somewhere."

At this, Colton stood himself up, eyes alighting between the two faces twice, before coming to a rest on Lily. It was her 'yay' or 'nay' everyone listened to. Colton seemed to be no exception to this.


((OOC: I must admit, I did worry! And, ewww, flu. Get better!))

Bo exhaled sharply, as if about to form a retort to Colton's statement. He was quelled, however, by Lily's presence. As always. Astonishing, really. And peculiar. Each seemed to hold in check a very fundamental part of the other's core, yet instead of annoyance the result was affection. For the most part.

Lily returned Colton's gaze even as she slipped her arm around Bo's. The motion was a very startling feminine one in the audience of these two males, yet she was still the matriarch when she spoke, "Yes, we wouldn't want Codi to worry about you."

It struck her as amusing how she held a close little court of people and vampires, and how to various degrees she was the commander of them. She, the one who in life had always depended on others to keep her households from falling apart. She had certainly come full circle.

OOC| I'm trying! I refer to my post in 'New Member!' |

Colton nodded, and looked to the door.

"Yes, can't have Codi worry too much."

With that, Colton inclined his head to the pair then made his way down the isles, newspaper in hand. He had seen that exhale on Bo's part. He knew well enough that he had tread on very thin ice, and his excuse to leave was not so that Codi wouldn't worry. It was protection. He didn't know what he might have said next. It might have been bad.

The doors opened to let in a sliver of light as Colton disappeared out the exit. Nice night for a walk home.

Once the door had closed behind Colton, silence once again engulfed the two present.

"You startled him. He still fears you." Lily said without looking at Bo. It was uncertain if she was angry or not.

"Fear is good, darling." Bo replied. He bent his head to lay a kiss on the top of her head, then untangled her from his arms. He left the way he came in, leaving her to find her own way home.

She stood there alone now, quite for several minutes, before doing just that.

OOC| All done... Vanessa needs to go eat something now. Doing english presentations in the afternoon when the last thing you ate was a graham cracker at midnight isn't fun. Food and sleeping is highly over-rated. |

((OOC: You make the next topic, doll! But sleep and eat, first!))