I woke up the next morning, slightly disorientated. I lay there staring at my reflection in the TV opposite the couch, trying to clear the sleep cobwebs. I heard someone moving around my apartment as the smell of freshly-brewed coffee attacked my nostrils, and it took me a second to put my defenses back up and figure out that Brian was the one in my kitchen. It had been a long time since I had let my defenses drop, especially over night, and it frightened me that it had happened so naturally around Brain, a man who had been the cause of so much pain and stress in my life over the last week.

“Hey, good morning,” Brian cheerfully greeted when he saw me start to sit up on the couch.

I turned around and watched him as he carried two hot mugs of coffee, handing one to me before taking a seat beside me. “Good morning,” I replied, taking a sip out of my mug.

“I hope you don’t mind. I woke up and saw you sleeping, so I just went ahead and…” he rambled. I gently touched his arm, letting him know it was alright, when I was hit with a flash, almost as if a movie was playing in my head.

*flash*

“You are such a fool, Blaine. Did you really think you could save me? You couldn’t save Caleb, why should I be any different? You’re pathetic,” Brian said before lunging at me and stabbing me several times with the dagger in his hands, watching with a vicious smile on his face as I crumpled helplessly to the ground.

“I loved you. I gave my heart to you. I trusted you,” I whispered, refusing to give up the fight.

“Like I said… a fool,” he repeated, before I sent him flying into the opposite wall before hitting him with a strong enough psionic blast to kill him.

I watched as Caleb walked out of the shadows, sword in hand, walking toward me with hate in his eyes. As he stabs me, with the last ounce of strength in my body, I use my telekinesis to take the dagger Brain dropped when I killed him and chop off Caleb’s head, killing him, before my body falls to the ground, still.

*end flash*

“Blaine?” Brian asked when the distant look faded from my features.

I didn’t answer him, instead sitting there silently as I tried to understand what had just happened. I felt like I had been there, like I was watching everything from the sidelines. It had felt so real. I remembered my father telling me that whenever he got premonitions, it was almost like a dream, like a movie playing in your head as you watched a scene play out from the side. I knew that it was common for children of halfies to share some of the same powers that their parents had, but until just a moment ago, it had not happened to me. I looked into Brian’s concerned eyes as he stared back at me, and instead of feeling fear or despair, I felt determination and a will to fight. Instead of giving in, I vowed, silently, to do whatever it took to make sure my vision didn’t come true. I had lost Caleb to the dark side; they would not take Brian too.

“Blaine, are you okay?” Brian tried again.

I turned my head, smiling at him, letting him know I was fine. “Yeah, I am.”

He looked hesitant, not sure whether he should believe me or not, but I put my hand on his shoulder, nodding my head to reassure him. He nodded as well, accepting my answer. “Well, I was thinking that since it’s my fault you have to go into the studio and practice this weekend and do that evaluation tomorrow, it’s only fair that I go in with you. Plus,” he chuckled, “I could use the extra practice, and since you are the best and my partner for this tour, you can help me,” he smiled, his charm winning me over instantly.

“Well, since it is your fault, I guess it’s only fair that you have to suffer with me,” I agreed, giving him a look.

While I got ready to spend the day dancing, Brian drove home so that he could get his stuff and change as well. We decided to meet at the studio in an hour, but as I looked around my apartment bored after getting ready in record time, I decided to go ahead and get there early.

As I walked down the deserted halls of the practice studio, I heard music resounding from our usual room. No one is supposed to be here today, I thought to myself as I cautiously made my way down the hall. I could feel someone’s presence, but I didn’t recognize them so it didn’t do me much good.

Opening the door, I stood there watching a mystery woman dancing to the music, lost in her own world. Turning around for a move, she stumbled when she noticed me watching her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone else was going to be here today,” she apologized, breathing hard in an attempt to catch her breath.

“Likewise,” I responded. “You’ve got some good moves. I liked that double-turn-high-kick-split move you did,” I complimented.

“Thanks. I’m Santina Lockehart,” she introduced herself, holding out a hand for me to shake.

“Blaine Christianson,” I reciprocated.

“OH! You’re Blaine! Harris has told me a lot about you and said that if I ever needed any help catching up, I should talk to you,” she informed me. This was the first I had heard of this, and she must had read the shock and confusion on my face because she went on to explain. “One of the dancers for the Backstreet tour, I think her name was Marissa, had to leave because she found out that she’s pregnant, so Harris called me in.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. I sensed Brian pulling into the parking lot, so I calmly waited for him to walk into the studio.

“Hey,” he greeted me with a hug. Then he turned to Santina and held out his hand in introduction, “Brian Littrell.”

“I know who you are. I’m Santina Lockehart,” she replied, shaking his offered hand. “I’m actually just leaving. I’ve been here since 6 this morning and I’m going to get an early lunch. It was nice meeting you both, and I guess I will see you in rehearsals on Monday.”

Brian got the same confused, shocked look I had gotten just moments before. ‘Marissa’s pregnant,’ I told him telepathically. He just gave me a slight nod, letting me know he heard me.

We spent the next 6 hours rehearsing the dance sequences over and over again, but accomplishing more in those 6 hours than we had all week prior. Now that we were able to work together and cooperate, it made our rehearsal time that much more productive.

I wiped the sweat off my face as soon as we finished our final run-through, and glanced over at Brian. He kept shooting me nervous looks, and with my empathy powers, I could sense fear and something else I couldn’t place. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked up before blushing slightly and busying himself with packing up his things.

“Brian, whatever’s on your mind, just say it,” I prodded him gently, trying to ease his nervousness.

“Well, we’ve been dancing practically all day, and I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. And I was thinking that if maybe you were hungry too, we could go get something to eat together. But I completely understand if…” Brian rambled.  

“Brian, are you trying to ask me out?” I asked, smiling at his anxious ramblings.

“Well, yeah… I’m trying,” he chuckled nervously.

“In that case, I would love to go out with you, Brian,” I told him, easing his fear of rejection. “I do want to go home and take a shower and change first, though.”

“Of course. How about I pick you up at 6:30?” he asked, the shy look crossing his face again.

“I’ll be ready,” I smiled, feeling my insides flutter in excitement.

We picked up our gear before walking out of the rehearsal studio side-by-side. When I reached my car, Brian grabbed hold of my hand and gently kissed the back of it. “I’ll see you in an hour and a half.” And with that, he walked to his car and drove away.

I was about to get in my car and leave when I felt Caleb coming. I let out a sigh of frustration and closed my car door. “What do you want, now, Caleb?” I questioned, not even trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

“There’s something different about you, Blaine. There’s something in your eyes I haven’t seen in a long time. Could it possibly be hope and determination? Have you finally found a new reason to fight?” he said, reading me like he had always been able to do.

“Once again, Caleb, do you have a reason for being here or are you just here to make my life a living hell?” I smiled sweetly. “Because if there isn’t a particular reason you are here, then I have somewhere I need to be.”

He gave me a sickeningly sweet smile before astral projecting himself behind me and wrapping his arm around my neck. “I do have a purpose. I was sent here by Marcus to make sure the prophecy fails,” he told me, choking the life out of me. I tried my hardest to shake him off of me, but it was no use. Caleb was just as strong as me, so my attempts were futile.

My vision started to blur, but I wasn’t about to give up. I focused my energy on his physical being, knowing that attacking the astral projection would be pointless. I hit him with the hardest psionic blast I could muster, and I felt his grip loosen before disappearing all-together. I fell to my knees, chocking and gasping for air, taking a moment to recover before climbing back to my feet to face him. I watched as he grasped his head, crying out in pain from the immense pressure my psionic blast had caused. I was getting ready to gather my strength again to hit him with another blast, but he sent me a glare, deflecting my second blast before vanishing into thin air. I may have won that battle, but I knew that Marcus would never give up his attacks on me. I thought back over what Caleb had said about a prophecy, and my mind started racing with thoughts about possible meanings. I would worry about that later, though, because I had a date to get ready for.