Intertwined

[Scion]

VividBubbles!: Thanks for always commenting! You're the best!

ElementsofGray: LOL that's not weird at all. I love guys like that who are all cool and collected during the craziest moments. XD Hehe, I do that all the time (favor a character b/c of his name). Even if it's an annoying character, if he has a cool name, I'll get all attached to him anyway. I ended up giving Baron too much depth to actually be explored just in this one story, since he's just a side character...I feel like he's mad at me for slighting him. I'm glad my flashbacks don't bother you!! I always feel like just explaining what happened/talking about what happened in the past doesn't really give the same punch/emotional effect, so I've become addicted to flashbacks, so I try to make them important. I'm rambling nowww. Anyway, you know your comments are gold to me. <3

Ciuty80: Ohh, thank you!!!!!!!!!! Your comments always make me feel so good. Love ya!

Part Thirteen:

Twelve Years and A Little Over Five Months Ago

"It's about McQuinn," Adam was saying.

Tabby's knees gave out and she crumbled to the hardwood, her heart clenching. No--he couldn't be--dead? NO! That wasn't it! Clearly that could never happen to someone so vibrantly alive and beautiful and--

"--he's got cancer. It's bad, Tabitha. It's really fucking bad."

Fucking? Had she heard right? Adam swearing like that could mean only one thing. As the world around her swam, she managed a weak, "...What?"

"I don't know how the hell it got this bad without us knowing--I mean, JESUS H CHRIST, he's got stage fucking goddamn four fucking cancer, GODDAMNIT! HE'S PRACTICALLY DEAD ALREADY FOR FUCKSSAKE!"

He started screaming then, like a complete lunatic, and for some reason it seemed right. Necessary. Appropriate. She wanted to scream to. Wanted to rip her hair out, wanted to bash her teeth in, wanted to break every bone in her body.

But she simply sat there with the phone in her hand.

This must be what it feels like to die, she thought. I'm dying. I must be dying.

~*~

Twelve Years and Six Months Ago

Sitting by McQuinn's hospital bed, Adam simmered. Day in and day out, "Where's Tabby? Is Tabby coming? Is she okay? I need to see her."

No matter how many times Adam called her or banged on her door, she never answered, and he was about ready to kill her--that is if she ever showed her face. Even Mara came, for God's sake--and every day at that! But Tabitha...he gritted his teeth.

"I'm...gonna be sick," McQuinn mumbled, leaning over the side of the cot, his face the color of spoiled milk.

Adam lunged for the basin and brought it to McQuinn, holding it for him as he retched. Trying to swallow back his anger in the face of his fiend's pain, Adam rubbed MQuinn's back until he'd finished.

"Sorry." With his eyes sunken in and his cheeks shadowed caves, McQuinn hardly looked human anymore. "Adam," he whispered, slouching back weakly against his pillow. "She's not...coming, is she?"

No, he thought. But, as he took his friend's hand and squeezed, all he said was, "Just get some rest. You look exhausted."

"Thanks." McQuinn smiled slightly, his lips pale and cracked.

Adam's throat started to close. He knew how this went. "For what?"

"Being...my friend." His breathing changed, then, as sleep drew him under.

Eyes blurring with unshed tears, Adam stroked McQuinn's forehead. "I...think I love," he said.

But there was no one there to hear him.

~*~

Present Day

What. The heck. Were all these freaks. Talking about?

Any minute now, Felix's head was going to fall off. And then he'd be dead--and he wouldn't have to listen to any more of this insanity. Then again, if he were dead, he'd have to leave Reece behind--he didn't care how they were related or non-related. Reece was still his brother.

Creepy cemetery guy busied himself digging the bullet from August's shoulder while Felix tried to pretend none of this was happening.

"I...don't understand," Reece said at his side. "He's not my dad...?"

Felix made a 'I have no freaking clue' face and patted him on the back. "No matter what, you're still my brother," he said, then winced at how cheesy that sounded.

But Reece merely smiled weakly and mumbled, "Thanks, little bro."

Despite everything, Felix couldn't help but laugh. He kinda wanted to hug Reece, but figured that was a bit too touchy-feely for someone as cool as his brother.

And that's when Reece threw his arms around him and squeezed him hard enough to make his ribs creak like one of those doors in horror movie haunted houses. It lasted only a few seconds, and then he was gone.

"I can read everything you're thinking right on your face," Reece informed him, before bending at the waist to continue his sneezing marathon. "Hh--hihenxgsstchhh! Huhh...MXKzshhhhhhh!"

List of things to do: practice expressions of indifference in the mirror. Use Quinn-Reece's face as a reference.

"Kid." Cemetery guy had finished up his...work...with crazy August dude, and was now staring at Reece with a face that said clearly, 'When someone throws crap at you...run away.' Or something like that. "You coming, or what?" He cast a dismissive glance at Felix's dad, who was still sprawled on the ground, unmoving. "I think we're done here."

Reece nodded, and Felix felt his belly knot. This was not a 'see you later' but a 'goodbye forever, see you never.'

"Great. Car's parked over there. Tell those legs of yours to get a move on."

But Reece wasn't budging; he was staring at Felix. "I...have to go," he began, some of that flat expression giving way to honest confusion and pain. "Don't know where. Don't know much of anything, as it goes." He managed to pull one side of his mouth up in a half-smile. "You coming?"

And Felix felt his own face break into a wide grin as the dread that had been building inside him suddenly dissipated. What was here for him, anyway? A carrot father ready to whack his own son--er, nephew? It didn't matter. And a mother who came home once a week and spoke to him once every never about the new adult diapers she'd bought for her husband?

Thanks, but no thanks.

"Am I coming with my undead, blood-drinking non-brother and his band of red-eyed, sharp-fanged weirdos with bats? Yes. Yes, I am."

~*~

Sitting alone in her living room with the TV on mute, Tabby couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching her. Unnerved, she got up to shut the blinds, peering tentatively out into the black of night as she did.

Curling back up on the sofa, she closed her eyes, clutched Foster's picture to her chest, and thought, What do I do?

~*~

With his back to McQuinn's gravestone, Adam downed a handful of pills, washing them down with a swig of beer. If he was going to die, he might as well die like the pitiful loser he was.

Despite the chill in the air, he was sweating. Why, he didn't know. Didn't care. His entire life was one big mistake. His envy had been a ridiculous illusion. Oh, he'd been jealous all right - first when McQuinn had started dating Tabitha--and then when he'd grown close to Mara.

What did those two instances have in common?

Foster Reece McQuinn.

He hadn't wanted Mara, hadn't even wanted Tabitha. Of course, it had taken Foster's death for him to come to this realization, and by then it had been too late.

Not that it mattered. McQuinn had never seen him that way.

Even so, life without him was hell. Why not try the real thing?

~*~

He'd needed one final moment--one last glimpse of her--because he knew he'd never see her again. It hadn't been enough, but it would have to last him an eternity--literally.

As they drove past that particular cemetery, Quinn felt an uneasiness in his stomach. The darkness didn't hinder his eyesight as it once had, so when he saw the figure slumped against the stone, he knew immediately who it was. "Wait! Stop the car!"

"What?" Baron braked hard enough to give them all whiplash. "What is it now, brat!?"

But Quinn was already jumping out of the car, Felix on his heels. He ran as fast as he could, which turned out to be pretty damned fast, because he was by Adam's side in less than a second--or at least it felt that way to him.

Fear could do that to a person, make time feel like one big hoax.

Quinn took in the nearly empty bottle of pills, the deathly pallor of Adam's skin, and knew deep down that he only had once choice. Still, as Baron and August arrived on the scene, he checked his friend's wrist for a pulse, and found the barest flutter.

An ambulance would never make it there in time.

"What's..." Felix began, sounding shell-shocked. "That's...Bradster...but...why?"

Instead of responding, Quinn bit savagely into his wrist, then placed the bleeding appendage against Adam's mouth, allowing the red to seep past Adam's lips. "Swallow," he said, massaging his old friend's throat. "Come on, swallow."

"Kid, you have got to be kidding me," Baron grumped. "If you think I'm babysitting for Angsty Non-Teenager 2.0, you're crazier than your father!"

"Which one?" Quinn shot back, before biting into Adam's throat. His plan had been to make the bite and then pull back without taking any blood--but when the time came, he found he couldn't. The hunger that had been eating away at him reared its ugly head, demanding he suck Adam dry--a thought which, only moments ago, would have horrified him.

Someone grabbed the back of his neck and tore him away from his food; Quinn spun, hissing, fangs extended, ready to attack.

Baron laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm shaking on the inside. Truly."

"Um...R--Reece?"

From the corner of his eye, Quinn saw Felix flinch away from him. He waited to feel the shame, the guilt, but neither came. He felt only exhausted, drained to the point of collapse.

"I'm not scared! I mean, actually, you're really scary, but--but--vampires are supposed to be scary, so it's all good! And I have no clue what you just did to Bradster but I'm sure it was for his own good so don't feel guilty. Well, also, you look kind of hungry, so--"

"I did it...right...didn't I?" Quinn asked no one in particular.

"Unfortunately," Baron said.

August stared at Quinn in silence, then pulled a blood pack from his jacket pocket and offered it to him. Quinn took it with shaking fingers.

He felt Felix's eyes on him as he gorged; the pain in his stomach slowly subsided, oddly leaving him even more lethargic than before. "Heh...heh...hehtxjshhhihh!" Quinn wanted to kneel again, to make sure Adam was...well, he wasn't going to be okay.

You...didn't even think about it. What if...this isn't what he wanted?

It had merely been his instinct to do what he'd done. But maybe he'd made a mistake. Just what kind of fate had he consigned Adam to without his consent?

"Hey--you aren't going to faint again, are you?" Felix asked, edging closer. "I'd appreciate some warning this time, is all."

Then, for the first time in his life, Quinn admitted, "I don't think I'm okay. I feel...really sick. My eyes feel like they're gona fall out of my head; my brain feels like a lump of mush; there's an invisible gorilla sitting on my chest; my nose is disgusting; oh, and I feel like passing out in my own vomit, which seems to beee a tr...rend offf...mmmine."

When had he started slurring? When had everything become so dark?

Through it all, he heard Felix say with fire, "That's not funny. Not even a little bit."

"Hhhey, Felixxx?"

"What!?"

"I....thhhhink...I'mm gonnnaa..."

And Felix caught him before he could hit the dirt.

~*~

Foster, Adam thought, battling the heavy blackness. If he could just reach the surface, maybe he could find what he needed, what he'd longed for for so many years. He managed to get his eyes open just enough to focus woozily on the face staring down at him. His head was pillowed on...on...what was that? Someone's legs?

He blinked, seeing a familiar pair of blue eyes. His chest pulsed with white-hot pain. "M-M-McQui..nn..." he gasped as more agony ripped through him.

"Haven't heard that one in a while," the image of his best friend said to him, and smiled.

Adam felt tears drip from his eyes, and didn't try to fight them. "Am I...?" He stopped, because...what did it matter? McQuinn was there. That's all he needed to know.

"No, you're not dead," he said, and, God, his face--Adam wanted to reach up and touch it, just to make sure it was real. "You're fine. We're both fine. Everything's okay now."

Adam couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a drop of scarlet seep from the corner of McQuinn's eye to trickle down his cheek.

He closed his eyes, mouth forming into a contented smile.

McQuinn. My...McQuinn.

~*~

THE END.

A bit different from my usual HEA endings, but...I didn't feel like Tabby deserved Quinn at all. Just my thoughts! Let me know what you think!

[Ciuty80]

somehow i knew this would be your last update...and i think it was a good ending.

quinn and felix are together <-very important to me

well, i think i need to re-read everything again when i have more time

but thank you so much for writing again such an extraordinary story!!

and i LOVE ya too, Scion!!!!

[VividBubbles!]

Felix and Quinn are together! Yay! And Adam is okay and a vampy and with Quinn too! Double yay! Oh Scion, I love your stories. They're all so bittersweet, and the endings are always amazing, even if they're usually bittersweet too. I don't know whether Tabitha deserved Quinn, but she is your character and if you believe she does, then she doesn't. Truth be told, she kind of came off to me as a coward.

I can't wait to see another of your stories!

BYE!

P.S. Have you seen the trailer to the Mortal Instruments movie that's supposed to come out in 2013? If you haven't, I'd suggest you'd take a look.

[Emily]

Ohmigosh I come back and realize I missed a part an all of sudden this ended holy gods wait wait wait I still don't understand

Am I dense or what

So Foster is McQuinn is Reece is Quinn? Time to go back and reread and make all the little scattered dots connect and make have that telltale lightbulb go off in my head.

And then mentally cross off another finished Scion story and sit on the edge of my seat counting down the days, waiting for another.

Merry Christmas! even though I provide the lowest level of insightful comments, I'll have you know I enjoy the mind-boggling as much as any of the rest of us do and I'm so glad someone like you happens to be a fetisher who happened upon this wonderful community and happened to grace us all with her lovely writing :'D I think this is the part where I say thank you and hohoho

[EmeraldThread]

SDLKFJAIFJSDLK!!!!!! Entire thing. So. Awesome. I don't even know how to react because I knew this would be the last update and you ended it really nicely, but I'm just a greedy human being and I want more Scion-ness. X3

Someone grabbed the back of his neck and tore him away from his food; Quinn spun, hissing, fangs extended, ready to attack.

Baron laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm shaking on the inside. Truly."

I really liked this part. The images in my head when I read it were just really clear and I like Baron's reaction, just like good try, but no. xD Honestly, I enjoyed this sososo much, I love Quinn/Reece/Foster/McQuinn and Felix and Baron and Felix's awkward wonderfulness and you're just so GOOD at this.

I sorta kinda agree that Tabby didn't deserve Quinn, but at the same time, I didn't mind them together either. One thing I DID really like was how you showed Quinn's transformation in the story from that creepy kid in the school to...well, maybe not his old self, but a lot closer than before. xD How he became more normal? But anyway, that was great.

Haha, yup, even if I hate the character's personality, it's always made slightly better if I favor the name. With my own characters, I always end up paying so much more attention to them if I gave them one of my favorite names or something. XD I agree on some level about explaining not having the same effect as flashbacks, but I think it also depends on what your style is and how they're written either way. Obviously your style is flashbacks because you do them so darn beautifully, but I don't know that I'd be able to do it quite as well if I tried. Anyway, I love your rambling, and your writing and just how awesome you are in general!

And THANK YOU for writing and sharing it with us! Honestly, I'm really glad you do because since I discovered the forum a few years ago, you've been one of the writers I look up to the most, creating stories with both excellent plot and fetishy appeal. But yeah, Merry Christmas and thank you for this lovely early forum gift that you've bestowed upon us~!

[Sneezypeezy]

Scion, I'm crying! I read the first parts of the story when they came out, then I couldn't understand it so I waited until the full story was finished and now I understand it! it was so freaking sad though.. But I loved the st

[Sneezypeezy]

Story line and btw my name is Mara lol