“Blaine, we’re back,” Brian whispered, afraid to break the silent spell that had fallen over us on the ride back.

            “What?” I asked, breaking out of the daze I was in.

            “We’re back at your apartment. Do you… do you want me to leave you alone?” he asked, clearly wanting to stay, but not wanting to make me uncomfortable.

            “No. I don’t want to be alone,” I whispered, staring out the window. It seemed like in just a few hours, my entire world had changed. It was like everything I had ever known or learned seemed irrelevant now. I had never been a strong believer in fate or destiny because I didn’t like the idea of not being in control of my own life. I viewed life as more than just a set path, but rather a series of decisions that carved a path in our lives. Suddenly, my whole view on life had been altered and I had no idea what I was supposed to do now. How do you deal with finding out that you are supposed to save the world? How do you handle knowing that you are the world’s last hope to survival? It was a lot to take, and I knew that if I was alone, I would dwell on it, driving myself crazy.

            “Okay.” That was all he said as he pulled the keys from the ignition and opened his door. Still, I sat there, staring at the night sky, lost in thought. Brian came around to my side of the car, opening the door and then silently urging me out. We walked, slowly and silently, neither one of us knowing what to say.

            “Blaine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Brian began, thinking I was upset with him for taking me to the cave.

            “Brian, you have nothing to apologize for. I don’t mean to be so distant; I’m just trying to process everything. It’s… a lot to take in,” I eased his worry.

            “I know. I just… I never wanted to upset you. I just wanted to help you and instead I ended up adding to the confusion,” he continued.

            “You gave me answers I never thought I would find. If anything, I should be thanking you,” I told him, touching his shoulder to show him that I meant what I said.

            His only response was a slight nod of his head as we came to my door. As I unlocked it, though, I was hit with a wave of uneasiness and dread. Someone’s here. It was already too late to turn back, though, so I walked into the apartment, ready to fight. I searched the darkness for a face… any face. It was as if my power was being blocked, or possibly deflected, which led me to believe it could only be one person. “Caleb… where are you?”

            As I expected, he took the bait, appearing before us in a cloud of smoke. “Such a good little halfie. Always prepared. Always aware,” he sneered.

            “Haven’t you had enough today, Caleb? I kicked your ass once already. Do you really want me to do it again?” I challenged.

            “You got lucky. That won’t happen again,” he confidently announced. I was waiting for him to strike at any second, but he still managed to knock me off my feet, catching me off-guard with a new power. I felt like my organs were tearing themselves apart. The pain was unbearable, and I couldn’t even stand, let alone fight.

            I saw one of Brian’s energy balls wiz past me out of the corner of my eye just before I felt Caleb’s hold relinquish. “I won’t let you hurt her anymore,” Brian declared, sending another energy ball at Caleb. I jumped to my feet, trying to reestablish my bearings.

            “You expect to stop me?” Caleb laughed a horribly cynical laugh.

            “If I have to,” Brian stated, determination written across his features. He threw another energy ball, since that was his only offensive power, but this time Caleb was expecting it. I watched in horror as Caleb deflected the energy ball, sending it back towards Brian.

            I don’t know what came over me, but before I even realized what I was doing, I was in front of Brian, my hands out in front of me as I screamed one word: “NOOOOOOOOO!” I felt an energy surge through my body, an energy unlike anything I had ever felt before. I watched, amazed, as the energy ball slowed down before stopping a mere foot in front of me, as if suspended in mid-air. I didn’t take the time to dwell on it, though, as I quickly pulled Brian and myself out of the path of danger. I wasn’t quick enough, though, as I felt the ball scorch the skin on my right shoulder before crashing into the wall.

            Caleb stared in disbelief at the energy ball, and I took the opportunity to send him flying into the wall.

            “You bitch!” he shouted, getting to his feet. He held his hands up, and it was like lightening was being created from his fingertips as he sent bolt after bolt of electricity in our direction.

            I concentrated on the energy I had felt before and felt it flowing through me again. Using the power, I started disintegrating each bolt as it approached. I didn’t know where this power was coming from, but it was the only thing keeping us alive, so I didn’t question it.

            “That’s impossible!” Caleb yelled, watching with a dissatisfied frown across his face. He tried using the same attack he had first used on me, but it was different this time. It was as if I could see the attack, which had been invisible before, as it approached, giving me the ability to stop it in its tracks.

            “So you have found the power. No matter. You will not be able to stop us forever, Blaine,” he proclaimed before disappearing.

            I looked behind me, at Brian, who was staring at me as if I had grown another head. “How did you do that?” he questioned.

            I felt the power drain from me, as I fell to my knees, my energy spent. I looked up at Brian, confusion written all over my face. “I… I don’t know.”

            “That must have been what my grandfather was talking about. ‘The power of the Universe,’” he concluded. “What was it like?”

            “I felt invincible, like I could do anything,” I confessed. “It scares me. It’s like the power was controlling me, not the other way around.”

            “But we’re alive because of that power,” he said, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

            “Yeah…” I responded, as I let Brian help me onto the couch beside him. I watched as he then lifted his wrist, using his nail to slice it open before offering it to me. “What…?” I began, but he interrupted me.

            “You need to drink so that you can heal faster,” he told me, gesturing to the burn on my right shoulder from when the energy ball had skimmed my skin.

            I had never been a fan of drinking, only drinking what was necessary for my survival, but I knew that he was right. If we didn’t want anyone to get suspicious, I needed to heal quickly. I gently grasped his wrist, glancing into his eyes to make sure. He nodded, trying to reassure me. I lowered my mouth to his open cut, letting his warm blood flow across my tongue, savoring the taste. No matter how much I hated it, I couldn’t deny the innate desire and pleasure I had for the taste of blood. It was something I had come to terms with long ago. Somehow, though, halfie blood was always better than human blood. Once I got a taste of Caleb’s blood for the first time, it was like I had become addicted. Human blood no longer tasted as good as it once had. But after Caleb turned, I had to convert back to human blood. I would pick up a random stranger at a club, go back to his house, drinking his blood while I was kissing up and down his neck, and the next morning, when he woke up, I was gone and he was none the wiser.

            I would never admit it, but I had missed the taste of halfie blood, and Brian’s seemed even sweeter than Caleb’s had been. I kept drinking until I’d had enough, pulling back and watching as the cut healed before my eyes.

            “Thank you,” I told Brian, looking back up into his caring eyes.

            “You don’t ever have to thank me,” he smiled. I could feel the desire he had coursing through his veins, and I wanted nothing more than for him to lean in and kiss me. I saw him smirk as he read my thoughts, doing exactly that. He leaned in slowly, leaving me time to change my mind if I so desired. Finally, his lips captured mine in a gentle, slow kiss, neither of us in the mood to rush things. I closed my eyes, losing myself in the feel of his hands, one resting on the back of my neck, pulling me closer, while the other ran slowly up and down my arm, careful not to touch my burn. I had never felt this much in a kiss before, and it scared me that I could have so much emotion for one person. By the time we both pulled away, we were gasping for breath. I looked into his eyes, lost in the emotions they held. This time, it was me who initiated the kiss, leaning into his embrace and kissing him deeply. When we finally pulled away, he pulled me into his arms as he lay back on the couch. I felt him kiss the back of my head, whispering, “Goodnight,” into my hair. With both of us worn out from the battle, we fell asleep within a few minutes.

*The next morning*

            The next morning, I awoke to the sound of a ringing phone. I reached over, blindly, pulling the phone to my ear before mumbling an incoherent, “Hello.”

            “Blaine? Are you still sleeping? You were supposed to be at the studio a half-hour ago,” Harris lectured through the phone.

            “OH SHIT! We’ll be there soon,” I exclaimed, my eyes flying open. I quickly hung up the phone before turning to Brian, who was still fast asleep, spooning me from behind. I was surprised that the ringing and my movements hadn’t woken him up. I smiled softly at the peaceful, serene look on his face, contemplating waking him or not. He made that choice for me as his crystal blue eyes opened, looking at me with child-like innocence.

            He smiled sleepily at me, a small yawn escaping his lips. “Good morning,” his sleep-thick voice greeted me.

            “Good morning. It seems we overslept,” I told him with amusement present in my tone. “Harris just called and told me that we were supposed to be there 30 minutes ago for my evaluation.”

            “SHIT!” he exclaimed in the same tone I had used just a moment before.

            We both dragged our tired bodies off the couch, getting ready to head out to the studio to meet Harris for my evaluation. Luckily, Brian always carried a couple changes of clothes in his car, so he was able to change at my place and we were on the way within 15 minutes of Harris’ call. We walked into the studio 10 minutes later, surprised to find Alex and Santina there with Harris.

            They all looked up at us as we entered, Alex and Harris surprised to see Brian and I together. I smiled over at Santina, giving her a slight wave as we approached them.

            “I’m so sorry I’m late, Harris. I just had a very difficult night last night,” I explained.

            “You’re here now. That’s what matters,” he said, waving it off. “Are you ready to dance?” He directed his question to both Brian and I.

            Our only response was moving into position for the opening number. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8…” we counted in unison, executing the moves perfectly, despite our tired state of mind. As the last strains of the music echoed throughout the room, we held the closing pose, with Brian supporting me in a dip while I held one leg wrapped around his waist. We didn’t even have to see their faces to know that we had done well. It was like after all we had been through together, we were connected. We were able to dance with a passion neither of us had experienced before.

            “That was amazing! Why haven’t you been dancing like that all week?” Harris questioned, shocked by the sudden turn-around in our dancing.

            “It was mostly my fault. I just had some things to work out,” Brian confessed, finally shifting the blame from me to him.

            Harris nodded his understanding before turning to the other two people in the room. “What did you guys think?”

            “I’ve never seen two people dance so passionately before,” Santina looked at us with awe shining in her eyes. “The way you two moved together, it was like you could read each other’s minds.” The scary thing was that she wasn’t too far off. It was like we were linked together and could feel what the other one wanted without even talking. It was how I knew exactly what he was going to do before he even made a move.

            “Brian, man, I’ve NEVER seen you dance like that before, and I have been watching you dance for far too long. That was amazing,” Alex complimented.

            Brian and I looked at each other before turning to our group of admirers and bowing in appreciation. “Well, I guess this was a wasted trip. I’ll see you all in rehearsal tomorrow.” With that said, Harris was gone.

            Brian and I both let out a sigh of relief before collapsing to the floor in a heap of arms and legs. “I guess we’re still tired, huh?” I laughed as we used each other for support.

            “I would have to say ‘yes,’” he laughed as well.

            “Soooo… exactly WHAT happened with you two? The last time I saw you, you were both civil, but you still couldn’t stand to be near one another. Now, you’re not even flinching about the fact that you are touching when you don’t have to be,” Alex observed.

            “We settled our issues, right Bri?” I asked.

            “Most definitely, Blaine,” he agreed.

            We watched Alex shake his head before joining us on the floor, Santina following suit. “So what did happen? Really?” he asked again. “I know you were heading over to Blaine’s apartment Friday night, but I haven’t heard from you all weekend. I left you several messages at your house,” he told Brian.

            “I went to her apartment, and she wouldn’t let me in at first, so I waited in the hallway until she gave in,” he confessed. I hid my face in Brian’s arm, knowing what Alex was going to ask next.

            “How long were you in the hallway?” he asked, glancing quickly at me before returning his gaze back to Brian.

            “An hour,” he smiled, laughing at the uncomfortable situation I was now in.

            “AN HOUR!? You made him wait in the hall for an hour?” Alex exclaimed as Brian and Santina both laughed.

            “I thought he would give up and go away. He didn’t, so I had no choice but to let him in,” I defended.

            “Geez. I would have given up on your ass after 20 minutes,” Alex laughed as well.

            “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing he didn’t give up on my ass or we wouldn’t be here right now, and my ass could have very well been kicked off this tour,” I pouted.

            I wouldn’t have ever given up on you, Brian told me telepathically, bringing a smile out of my pout, followed by a slight blush. I wasn’t the type to blush very easily, so it took a special man to make me blush… especially in public.

            I’m glad you didn’t, I told him back.

            As the silence settled over us, so did the thoughts we had been trying to avoid. We have to tell them, he urged me.

            You heard what Delthea said. I don’t want to scare him away with too much. And we don’t even know Santina very well. How do we know if we can trust her? I argued back.

            You have to trust her. She is part of the prophecy… of your destiny. Our destiny. They both are, he continued.

            Deep down, I knew he was right. I was just scared that they would turn on me or they wouldn’t believe me. I knew I had the ability to prove to them who I was, but I didn’t want to resort to that power any more than necessary because of the fear I had of it. We’re putting a lot of faith into people we hardly know. Santina, Kate, and even J.D. to an extent, I cautioned, giving him a look.

            We don’t have a choice, he reminded me.

            I sighed in defeat, giving him an ‘I-hope-you’re-right’ look. He grasped my hand, trying to give me strength and confidence as we both turned to face the inevitable. “Alex, Santina, we have something very important that we have to tell you. You will probably think we are crazy, but please hear us out,” I started, shooting Brian one last look.