AN- Well hello you pretty people! I'm really tired, really really tired! Just wanted to say thank you to all you who have reviewed and added to favorite story. This is a really important chapter, even thought it doesn't seem like it at the beginning. It actually pretty angsty so be warned. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner but I can't promise anything. Anyways, going to bed, talk to ya next time. : )

Reason 9- Again

Noah awoke Monday morning, less then determined to go to school. He would have rolled over and gone back to sleep if it weren’t for the weight pressing into his back. Noah was fairly sure it wasn’t either of his brothers, because if either of them were sitting on him, Noah would already be dead.

“I’m up!” Lucy announced loudly, startling Noah. As soon as Tabitha had been convinced that Noah wouldn’t infect Lucy, she brought the little girl back home. Lucy quickly grew attached to Noah, insisting on reading to him every chance she got. She clung to Noah, asking him all kinds of questions about being blind. Noah wasn’t really bothered by it. He was actually grateful for the attention.

Until now…

“Noah, you have to get up!” Lucy proclaimed when Noah shifted and buried his head under the pillows. He felt the little girl shake him as she tugged on his shoulders, insistent in her endeavor.

“Lucy no!” Noah heard his father enter the room and pull his sister off of him. “Don’t do that. He’s still doesn’t feel well.”

“But he won’t get up,” Lucy said. Noah moaned before he finally sat up. He probably looked like crap because he felt like it. Despite this, Noah still planned on going to school simply because he was bored out of his mind staying at home.

“Noah, maybe you should stay home,” Jason said, his voice laced with concern. Noah ignored him though and stood up. Almost immediately there was a little girl hugging his leg, refusing to let go.

“Dad, I’m fine,” Noah replied, his voice heavy with sleep. He tried to take a step forward, but was no where near strong enough to lift Lucy up and keep his balance at the same time.

Eventually, Noah was able to get downstairs with all of his limbs. It took a lot of effort to do so though, as Jason insisted that Noah stay in bed, and Lucy clung to him like a lifeline. Noah managed to get away from them to wash the just-sick feeling off his skin. Now awake, refreshed, and dressed, Noah waited at the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. He had wanted to get it himself, but Tabitha walked in and nearly had a hernia watching Noah rummage through cereal boxes.

Tabitha was in a strangely good mood. She was humming as she waltzed around the kitchen, adding to Noah’s surly mood. Something about being treated like an infant irritated Noah, so he couldn’t help but seethe.

A thundering noise rolled down the stairs before a loud painful thump graced Noah’s ears. So his brother’s were up… great.

“Fuck!” Adam hissed. An explosion of annoyance radiated briefly from Tabitha, and Noah couldn’t help but grin as she stayed silent.

“It’s called karma, bitch!” Taylor shouted from upstairs, earning another shot of annoyance from their mother.

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Alright,” Tabitha grumbled before storming over to the hallway. “The next person to swear in this house is getting the crap kicked out of them now knock it off!”

Silence spread through out the house, and Noah smiled, his bad mood a faint thought in the past. More thundering down the stairs, and suddenly Taylor was in the kitchen, his good mood palpable to Noah.

“Hey, you feel better?” Taylor asked, lightly mussing Noah hair. Noah slapped his hand away, and sent a half-hearted glare his direction.

“Yes dad,” Noah rolled his eyes. Taylor didn’t seem fazed by it at all and went on humming happily. Noah frowned; it was too early in the morning for his family to be this happily. “Ok what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked, taking a seat across the table from Noah.

“I mean, everyone seems really happy today.”

“I didn’t know that you disliked happy people Noah. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You know what I mean, smart-ass.”

There was a long period of silence between the two, in which Noah realized his mother wasn’t pouring a bowl of cereal for him. The sound of cooking and sizzling told Noah he was more likely going to be having eggs and bacon then cereal.

“Mom, do you have something to say?” Taylor asked, and Noah couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. Taylor the tattle-tale.

“No,” Tabitha replied happily. Noah felt Adam come into the kitchen, grumbling something unintelligible. There was a slight delay between his steps, and he threw himself into a chair. Despite the obvious limp, Adam was still in a reasonably good mood.

“What’s with that smile on your face?” Taylor asked Adam, his voice sounding suspicious.

“Nothing a queer like you would know about,” Adam snapped, sounding embarrassed more then anything. That made Noah’s eyebrows raise.

“Adam!” Tabitha hissed threateningly.

“What? He wouldn’t,” Adam tried to sound innocent.

“Hey Adam, shut up,” Taylor snapped, the last part coming out almost as a growl. Noah wondered what he was missing.

A plate was shoved in front of Noah, and a fork was thrust in his hand. Tentatively, Noah took a bite. He had grown wary of breakfast food in the years that he stayed at the other school. Everything they had there was supposed to be a mood elevator, therefore it tasted horrible. He had completely forgotten how much he loved his mom’s cooking.

… Or hell, even his dad’s cooking…

“Noah, is something wrong with your food?” Tabitha sounded really worried. Noah hurriedly shook his head.

“It’s good mom,” Noah muttered. He was beginning to forget why he used to throw up everything he ate.

“So we all know why I’m in a good mood,” Adam said, swallowing down some breakfast. “We don’t even want to know why mom is happy. But what about you Taylor? Did you murder Night or something.”

Noah could just imagine Taylor glaring at Adam. “Some of us don’t need a reason to be happy Adam. Some of us are just appreciative of life.”

“Right, so who’d you fuck?”

“Dammit Adam!” Tabitha snapped. “I’m telling Jason when he comes back from errands.”

“I’m a quiver with fear,” Adam murmured as soon as she left the room.

“Ok, so seriously, what is going on?” Noah dared to ask, aware that his brothers would most likely ignore him. He was pleasantly surprised however when they didn’t.

“Well, Adam’s on-again off-again girlfriend snuck into his room last night,” Taylor responded, sounding vaguely disgusted. “Guess what they did?”

“Um, ew,” Noah didn’t need to be asked that question. Then something hit him. “You have a girlfriend?”

“Remember Fiona? Angry red head, with a lot of ribbons in hair? Liked to beat Adam with her Lisa Frank binder?” Noah felt his mouth drop. Adam was an asshole, and Fi was the prettiest sweetest girl a year older then him. Noah didn’t actually talk to her but he knew her because Adam used to rant and rave about her. They really didn’t like each other.

“But she’s was so nice,” Noah said. Taylor broke out laughing while Adam growled low in his throat.

“Shut up!”

“It was actually really funny when they got together,” Taylor started, completely ignoring Adam’s murderous aura. “They were both helping with the Easter hayride, and Ms. Freeman being the infinite bitch that she is, put them both behind the lemonade stand.”

“Taylor…”

“It truly was magical… One minute, they were screaming dirty insults at each other -”

“Shut up!”

“- The next, I’m pulling them off each other. Fi’s lipstick was smeared all over Adam’s face. Children were crying…”

Adam was about to lunge across the table, and Noah instinctively backed away, taking his food with him. Luckily, the door opened and a second later, Noah had a lap full of little sister.

“Noah!” Lucy wrapped her arms around Noah’s waist, securing herself to her older brother. Noah sighed, resigned himself to his fate, and continued eating his breakfast.

“Hey, you guys almost ready to go to school?” Jason asked, oblivious about what was about to transpire in the kitchen. The murderous aura dimmed only slightly, but Adam still seemed likely to kill his older brother.

…….

The morning had been fairly eventful. Julia and Eli had come by and began to transpire in a bickering match. Adam grumbled the entire time he was supposed to help Noah, so he was completely useless. Noah was happy that he had put his glasses on, because he didn’t think he would be able to get away with rolling his eyes as much as he did without them.

“…No, seriously! What is the true definition between a pie and a cake?” Eli asked, unfortunately he was completely serious. “I mean, you could say that a pie has crust but wouldn’t frosting be a proverbial type of crust? And wouldn’t…”

“Oh my god, shut the fuck up!” Julia snapped loudly from her seat next to Noah. Darryl and Eli had been arguing since the beginning of lunch about what constitutes a pie and a cake. The talk had been going to the gutter a little earlier on, but luckily, Julia had threatened to smack anyone who said anything really disgusting.

Noah found the argument to be a welcome distraction from the fact that Ela, Walsh, Celine, and… Matt all decided to ignore him. Noah wasn’t sure what was going on, but they had to know that Noah couldn’t seek them out for himself. Despite that, Noah just pretended that nothing was bothering him. His brothers were both in a reasonably good mood and he didn’t want to alert them to the fact that a lot was on his mind.

Noah didn’t realize how much was on his mind until he realized he was missing out on a conversation not having to do with pie. Adam was radiating with embarrassment, something Noah just could not miss.

“…aw, Adam, it’s so cute that you had your cherry popped,” Julia said condescendingly. “It’s even cuter that Fiona was the one who did it, but I swear to god that if you and her start calling each other Addy and Fifi, I might just murder you both.”

Adam sputtered angrily, trying to find the right words to tell off Julia. The best he could get was, “I did not have sex!”

“What? No actual sex but maybe oral sex? Oh, are you into kinky things Adam?” Julia’s teasing was crossing the bounds and now Taylor was uncomfortable.

“Jules, he’s my younger brother,” Taylor said threateningly.

“You were making fun of him with the rest of us,” Eli replied, eyebrow raised. Taylor sighed.

“It’s one thing if we tease him but I don’t need graphic details.”

“So then, you don’t want to know how Noah lost his?” Jules taunted. Noah frowned at Jules sure-sounding tone, like she was told something the rest of them weren’t. Unfortunately, she was a really good actress, and Taylor and Adam were deathly quiet. Noah could feel himself being stared at and it was slowly grating on his nerves.

“There’s no way…” Adam trailed off, sounding angrier then before. “Those bi-polar fuckers at that school touched you!”

Jules was obviously not prepared for this reaction. “Adam, calm down-”

“I will not,” Adam yelled. “He’s not even sixteen! That’s sick!”

Taylor was being quiet, but Noah had a feeling he was just as upset. Noah was really tempted to play this out just to see if his brothers would actually threaten to kill someone.

“It had better have been consensual!”

“Adam!”

“Well who was it? Some neurotic guy you shared a room with?”

Noah’s eyes widened and for once, his face and ears reddened in embarrassment. The comedy of the situation left him as he digested Adam’s words.

“Why would you assume it was a guy?” Noah was wondering if, because Matt admitted to liking him, that there was some kind of vibe he now exuded. It was a strange thought and Noah was slowly getting a headache when thinking about it, so he tried to push it out of his mind… sort of.

“I don’t know. There’s one in the family, why can’t there be another?” Adam said, and was silenced by someone with a resounding slap. Noah wasn’t sure why Adam needed to be slapped, but that thought quickly went away when Noah realized the full extent of Adam’s remark.

“Wait, who’s gay in our family?” Noah asked. His question was met with a eerie silence, something that made Noah really suspicious.

“That’s not the point,” Adam responded finally. “The point is that someone your age… should not be engaging in that shit.”

“I haven’t had sex. Julia was just fucking with you and Taylor.” Noah said quickly. He could feel embarrassment from his two brothers but was no longer interested in it. “Now who in our family is gay?”

There was more silence before Adam finally said, “Uncle Bob.”

Noah’s eyes furrowed. “Who the hell is Uncle Bob?”

“He’s Aunt Liz’s ex.”

“Her ex?”

“Thus the problem,” Adam could be really clever when he wanted to, Noah would give him that. Noah really didn’t see either of them telling the truth anytime soon so he would ask someone else. At the moment however, the subject was dropped.

“You had better be telling the truth though Noah,” Taylor said, protectiveness edging his voice. Noah rolled his eyes.

“Taylor, is it any of my business when you have sex?”

“Well, if you really want to know, then I will call you up the moment it happens, and while I’m at it, I’ll call you afterwards as well.”

Noah internally cringed and made a face. “Please don’t.”

Taylor just smiled and mussed his little brothers hair when he got up to get more food. Darryl and Julia started arguing about something, which eventually Adam had to comment on. Noah had the distinct impression someone was staring at him.

“This must be weird for you right?” Eli said, and Noah had a feeling that he was talking to him.

“What is weird?” Noah asked, eyes frowning.

“Your brothers acting not only decent to you but protective.” Eli paused, probably to gauge Noah’s reaction. “I saw how you were around them when you first came back. I thought Taylor was going to have to basically crawl on broken glass before you gave him the time of day.”

Noah felt blood rush to his ears and was slightly insulted by that comment. His disproval must have shown because Eli was quick to backpedal. “I’m not saying your cruel or anything Noah but… Taylor and Adam both knew they screwed up. They expected it as well. Nobody expected you to forgive them that quickly.

“Then again, you forgave Night right? I guess you’re just that kind of a guy.”

“Forgave Night for what?” Noah asked. The stumped feeling eminating off of Eli reminded Noah of why he supposedly ‘hated’ Night, and also something he had been meaning to clear up with his brothers.

“Night… he was the one who blinded you. I mean, I’ve heard that your sight went away because of blunt force trauma to the head but… I mean - come on - that’s supposed to be a ruse.” Eli didn’t sound so sure as he finished up because Noah didn’t look like he was going to confirm anything. The truth was that no one knew what happened in the ally way that day except for Noah, Matt, and the few other kids that were unfortunate enough to be there. Of course, no one was going to own up to permanently incapacitating a kid, and Noah was so depressed afterward, he refused to talk about it.

Taylor returned and sensed the restlessness. It didn’t help that Julia, Darryl, and Matt had all dropped their conversation and were frowning towards Noah and Eli. Noah felt it was only right to tell, seeing as Night had turned over a new leaf and was a lot better person then he was as a child.

“Why are you guys talking about Night?” Adam asked, his tone holding an edginess that it didn’t even hold when Adam criticized Noah.

“Noah is being awkwardly silent, giving the impression that Night didn’t make him blind,” Eli’s voice was hard, a tone Noah had not yet heard.

“That’s because he didn’t,” Noah said, feeling the mix of emotions around him. The most prominent emotions came from Taylor who took the unoccupied seat next to Noah.

“Noah, you don’t have to lie for him…” Taylor sounded slightly angry, but Noah felt like the emotions weren’t directed at him.

“I’m not Taylor,” Noah said seriously, wishing he could look at Taylor so he could reassure him with his eyes. “Night didn’t make me blind. I hit the back of my head on a trash barge and then I couldn’t see. That was what happened.”

It was partially true. There was no need to tell anyone that Matt had pushed him hard enough he went flying back and hit his head. Noah really didn’t want Adam and Taylor to hurt Matt, and Matt didn’t need to be seen as a force of evil in their small town.

“But Noah, why would you…?” Julia began slowly, but Noah anticipated her question.

“I never said he attacked me. His -male groupies- were harassing me that day and they where there when I tripped but they never actually did anything.”

The revelation was met by a heavy silence. Noah could almost feel Taylor’s mind reeling next to him and it made him a little worried. Adam was rustling uncomfortably and Noah could feel the unrest radiating from him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Adam said, obviously trying to hold back the anger in his voice. “After it happened you just stayed quiet and let everyone assume that the demon did what he did best and mutilated you!”

Noah felt affronted by Adam’s anger which was actually directed at him. “I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Why? Because everyone’s first assumption is the truth?” Adam’s words were sneered and Noah felt anger growing and coursing through his body. “If Night didn’t mutilate you as you say he didn’t, then how hard was it to say, ‘no, I just was clumsy and tripped’.”

“Really hard,” Noah hissed, his anger a roaring fire burning in his ears, slowly growing with each word.

“Oh really? When you became blind, you also lost your voice too?” Adam sighed and slammed his fist on the counter hard enough to make the plates jump. “Jesus! You’re here for two weeks and Night’s already bullying you!”

“No, I’m telling the truth Adam. Night didn’t lay a hand on me that day!”

“Then why didn’t you say so seven years ago?!”

Noah clenched his fists and glared in Adam’s direction across the table. “I told you, I didn’t want to talk about it!”

“If you just tripped when you were blinded Noah then it shouldn’t have been that traumatizing.”

“The actual blinding wasn’t what was so horrible, Adam!”

“Then what was so bad, Noah?!”

“The waiting all night hoping your older brothers would realize you were gone and come find you!” Noah stood up, allowing his anger to take control of his muscles. “The realizing that the two people who are supposed to save you from bullying, who are supposed to walk you home from school, wouldn’t! I was always like that, Adam! I always felt alone because the two people I wanted around me couldn’t get farther away from me, and being alone in that ally only drove the point home that I wasn’t wanted! I wasn’t screwed up because I’m blind! I was screwed up because you abandoned me! I blame you more than anyone else for me being blind!”

Noah stopped to catch his breath. God, he hated his mouth and how it ran off without him. It wasn’t fair though because he wasn’t normally like this with anyone else. Something about Adam just made Noah spit things out like bazookas and he really dropped a big one this time. The silence in the lunchroom told him everyone had heard his little outburst, and if his face weren’t already red from yelling, he would have blushed. Noise slowly returned to the cafeteria once everyone was sure Noah wasn’t going to say something else. That noise however didn’t reach the table Noah was standing at, and the awkward painful silence was just too much for Noah.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” He said hastily, reaching for his glasses and white cane. He was on his way when he felt someone tentatively touch his arm. Noah drew back and jerked away. “Don’t help me.” He didn’t mean to be mean but Noah had just said something terrible and now wanted to stick his head in the sand and throw up.

Noah had been in school long enough to discover the typical layout so he got to the bathroom without much problem. As soon as he was hidden, Noah felt the heavy weight on his chest. He had just shouted the most selfish hurtful thing he had ever thought at his brother in front of everyone. Doing so made him feel exactly like he thought it would; crappy.

Something else bothered Noah equally. He should have anticipated that his brothers wouldn’t have believed him. It made Noah feel slightly bitter that his brothers had the nerve to distrust him but he pushed that thought away quickly.

“Noah, are you ok?” Taylor said, and Noah internally groaned. He heard two pairs of shoes on the tiled floor and knew that Adam was there too. Noah didn’t move, keeping his grip on the porcelain sink in front of him.

“I came in here alone for a reason,” Noah said, trying not to sound irritated. He didn’t like that he was on the border of failing.

“I know, but we need to talk,” Taylor replied.

“I don’t want to talk right now Taylor. I’ll just say something else horrible and hate myself more so please… just…” Noah couldn’t continue. He wanted to throw up.

“You know that we didn’t want to let you walk home alone Noah,” Taylor finally spoke up after a few minutes. Noah couldn’t stop his back from stiffening or his grip from tightening. That was a really sore subject that Noah purposely avoided. He didn’t feel like there was a good enough reason to ever excuse it, and so there was no point in mulling it over.

“We realized a long time ago that Night only picked on you to piss us off.” Adam continued on in a monotonous voice. “We stopped walking you home because Night was less likely to harass you if we weren’t with you. If we had known that Night would send someone else in his absence we wouldn’t have…”

“Deserted me?” Noah couldn’t help but supply. Adam for once didn’t say something snarky and opted to stay silent. Noah was so tense he had effectively cut off his empathy power because he couldn’t feel anything but this disgusting tightness in is chest. He was about to exhale and let some of the tenseness out of his shoulders when Taylor was right there pulling the glasses off Noah’s face.

“Taylor, don’t,” Noah hissed, trying to simultaneous grab his glasses back and take a step back. Taylor quickly grabbed Noah’s arm before he could get away and held him still.

“I’m sorry Noah,” Taylor pleaded, his voice quiet. “I’m so sorry. If there was anyway I could go back in time and change it I would, and I know that saying that is cliché but it’s true. I’ve never regretted anything more in my life.”

Noah wasn’t going to cry, but his eyes definitely watered up. He really wanted to see at that moment, so he could see Taylor’s face instead of the 9 year old kid that he remembered.

“I know. I really do know.”

“Do you? ‘Cause I think that speech in the lunchroom said something different.”

Noah frowned. “I was mad because somebody wasn’t believing me.” Noah could hear Adam shift anxiously. “I am not being controlled by Night. I’m not some blind thoughtless puppet that comes to life when he’s around.”

“I’m an overprotective asshole Noah. Get over it,” Adam spat. Noah tensed back up again, something Taylor felt so he maneuvered Noah around so he stood in between them.

“Fiona must have had a serious lobotomy to ever sleep with you.”

“Ok, I think that’s enough.” Taylor said, mostly to Adam, who looked ready to vent. He turned around to Noah. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Noah bit back a comment about throwing a fit in front of the entire student body. He felt like such a child for losing his cool. Ms. Edgecombe might call it a break through but Noah called it a nightmare. The desperate urge to run screaming was starting to rear its ugly head as Noah realized he would have to go to class soon.

“Yeah, I don’t believe you for a second,” Taylor replied after a long moment. “C’mon, we’re going to check you out so you can go home. Mom will be thrilled.”

Noah praised Taylor for his empathic abilities, which had to in some way be responsible for Taylor’s perceptiveness.

…

Noah’s outburst turned out to be legendary and not easily forgotten. Noah groaned at the memory of freshman girls who offered their condolences as well as an opportunity to ‘never be alone again’. His embarrassment was cemented.

On the upside, Adam was being forced to grit his teeth and shut up for the majority of the time, so Noah wouldn’t shout at him again. After a week of school, Fiona came by the table, just to introduce herself to Noah and ask if Adam was finally learning some tact. Noah found he really liked Fiona and decided his brother would always be a dick if he let her go.

School occupied a lot of Noah’s time, and when he wasn’t think about that, he was thinking about the fact that he hadn’t seen Matt or his friends in a few weeks. Noah wanted to seek them out, but he remembered the terrible guilt that haunted Matt every time he saw Noah. Noah had a feel that Matt was avoiding him so he wouldn’t feel like that and honestly, Noah didn’t blame him. The incredible feeling of guilt that he experienced made him nauseous and to constantly live like that… well, Noah didn’t know how he did it.

Noah didn’t have school to occupy his mind on that particular day. He had woken up earlier with a migraine, so he was forced back into bed with a Tylenol and a glass of water. When he woke back up, he realized that the house was completely empty, meaning both his parents were at work and Adam and Taylor were still at school. Noah winced when his head protested him sitting up. It wasn’t as bad as when he woke up in the morning but his head still seemed to hate him.

It took a while, but Noah managed to pull himself out of bed. He grabbed his cane on the way downstairs to the kitchen. It was sort of nice that no one was there to baby him, and he took advantage of it. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and ate it as slowly as his migraine would allow. He was almost done when he felt a cold rush of wind send shivers down his back.

“Playing hooky?” Night said right behind Noah. Noah nearly jumped out of his skin and threw a dark look at where Night appeared. It had been a while since Noah had seen him, and he was slightly curious why Night hadn’t visited him.

“What are you doing here?” Noah asked, hearing Night cross around the table in front of him. After a second, Noah started hearing the cupboard doors slam open and shut.

“Well, you weren’t at school today so I thought I’d see why,” Night replied. “You have a headache, don’t you?” There was the sound of cereal filling a bowl and Noah rolled his eyes.

“How can you tell?”

“Well you keep wincing for no reason and you look really pale. Given your past history, its not that hard to figure it out.” Night took a seat across the table from Noah. Noah paused, listening to Night crunch on his cereal, when something occurred to him.

“You didn’t just come over here for that did you?” Noah asked. Night is quiet with only his really loud eating habits filling the room. Noah waited patiently for Night to answer, battling his headache while he did so.

“Actually I did,” Night finally responded. “Matt told you everything, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he did.”

A pause. “And?”

“And what?”

“Oh come on! You’ve been avoiding him for nearly two weeks!”

“I can’t avoid him Night. I can’t see!”

Night seemed to slump in his chair, his mood slightly deflated. “So, you’re not trying to avoid him?”

“I thought he was trying to avoid me.” Noah felt a little sad at thinking that. Still, Noah wasn’t going to go out of his way to make Matt feel uncomfortable.

“Why the fuck would he do that? Unless you asked him to.” Noah could feel Night’s skeptic thoughts swirling around him, adding to his headache. Night was silent for a long while before he demanded Noah tell him exactly what Matt said, word for word. Noah protested at doing such a stupid thing but eventually told Night what he wanted to hear.

When Noah finished, Night was quiet again, and his mood was disturbing Noah. Right when Noah was about to tell Night to leave when he had better control over his emotions, Night finally decided to talk.

“So, he didn’t tell you everything.” Night cursed and swore, ignoring the dumbfounded look on Noah’s face. What else could there possibly be?

“Wait, what did he leave out?”

Night didn’t say anything, as he was too busy muttering angrily under his breath. Noah wasn’t sure if Night heard him, and when Night kept going on, Noah was sure he hadn’t. “Night, what did Matt leave out?” Noah all but shouted. Night heard this time, because he went deadly quiet. Noah could feel the hesitancy in Night’s aura that felt so strong Noah was almost sure that Night wouldn’t tell him. Right as he was sure of it, Noah felt the hesitancy fade away and was replaced by a strange electricity in the air. He felt it cackle around him, sending little pinpricks along his skin.

“What is this?” Noah asked startled. The cackling got stronger, stabbing at Noah’s skin, before it faded away as quickly as it came. Noah felt confused, unsure if the feeling was even real.

“What are you talking about?” Night’s tone sounded evasive, something that made Noah very suspicious. Noah was about to comment on it but Night finally decided to answer his question.

“Noah, do you know exactly what kind of demons me and Matt are?” Night went on. Noah blinked, realizing he didn’t, before he shook his head. “My father and his mother were born a really long time ago, like… two thousand years ago I think, so back in biblical times.”

Noah frowned. “How old does that make you?”

Night’s grin was palpable in the air. “I’m exactly as old as I seem. My father and aunt were born human, and they married humans. So, I’m much more human then I am a demon. My father was turned into a demon.”

“How?”

Noah suddenly felt like he was wading in a thick shroud of darkness as he felt Night’s mood darken. “We try not to talk about it. The only thing that matters was that my father and my aunt were… really angry and destructive. People used to think of them as devils or creatures that worked for the devil because of what they do.

“Ok, so I know what my parents did was horrible Noah. They know it too. I need you to promise me that you won’t think too badly of them and know that they’ve changed a lot since me and my cousin have been born.”

Noah blinked at the seriousness of Night’s tone. Noah wasn’t sure if he had ever heard Night talk like this, but it seemed like he was begging for forgiveness. Slowly, Noah nodded his head.

“So… most demons pray on humans, mostly because at one point or another, when they were humans they were really fucked up by society… sort of like you, except you are way to virtuous to hold a serious grudge.” Night grinned as Noah narrowed his eyes at him.

“You obviously didn’t hear my outburst in school a week ago.”

“I am just smart enough to know that you did not mean that. Anyway, my father was dark enough to hold a grudge and blamed… everyone for how his life had turned out. He and my aunt went insane, and long gory graphic story short, they became these Mephistopheles-like demons.”

Noah frowned, vaguely remembering the name from his reading. “What does that mean?”

“It means that we can see souls, and that we can exchange things for those souls. Its how my parents have been living for nearly two thousand years.” Noah felt like his ears are clogged for a second with all this new information. He can’t really digest everything because he’s not sure what was said. Night sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Matt is so much better at this then I am.

“Alright, so this is how it works; demons can live for a very long time as long as they keep feeding off of human souls. Its how wendigos have lasted so long even though most of them were created back in the Pilgrim times. My father was no different. But instead of the gruesome, decapitating and drinking blood nastiness-” Noah made a face “-he granted weak willed or greedy humans the chance to do whatever they wanted, and then he got their soul. Both Matt and I have inherited our parents ability to see auras and souls. Its how we get our first impressions off of people.”

“So…” Noah said slowly, in taking the information which seemed a bit more clear. “You are kind of like a… genie.” Noah almost sighed when his Disney references were failing him.

“Not quiet. Genies are tricksters that don’t really do real magic to get you what you want.”

Noah gave Night a deadpan look. “I was kidding.”

“Well, still… I can do probably the greatest things in the world, but you would have to enter a pact with your soul to see it. The point is that this is what my family does, its our cross to bear. It’s really fucking annoying to grow up with it, and it’s really screwed me up, and it’s obviously screwed Matt up…”

“Does this have anything to do with what Matt didn’t tell me?” Noah asked, interrupting Night’s rambling.

“Ah right, ok so here’s the thing Noah; Matt doesn’t just like you.” The air in the room cackled again. “No one in my family just likes someone. My aunt found my uncle at a restaurant when he served her dinner. She fell head over heels in love with him and magically regained her love for humanity. My father was the same way.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Noah, Matt can not just like you. We don’t have the luxury of half assed feelings. The demonic part of us forces us to either be humanity’s greatest threat or its greatest protector. Matt saw you at the age of nine and fell in love with you.”

Blood rushed straight to Noah’s face and ears when the full impact of Night’s words hit him. He sputtered in embarrassment at being told something so ridiculous. It was so insane that Noah was not sure how to tell Night that he must be going insane. “That’s just…”

“It’s not ridiculous Noah. He knew who you were just by looking at you that first time. He didn’t fall in love with your looks, he fell in love with you.”

“There’s no way that’s possible!” Noah shouted, a little startled by his outburst. He couldn’t take it back though. Love at first sight was a silly concept for fairy tales.

“Is it? He hasn’t done anything where he shows that he, in some way, knows you a little better then you know yourself?” Noah opened his mouth to argue but was shut silent by a distant memory. He had forgotten the time Matt took him to see his younger sister, something that had uplifted Noah a lot, so much so, that he was able to get through the next few days.

“Noah, Matt was in love with you, and he was nine, and it, like most nine year old who are attracted to others, scared the crap out of him. It didn’t really help that you were off in your own little world but Matt has been pining after you ever sense you left.”

Noah gaped, unable to do much else. For a while he sat in silence, trying to digest what he was told. Finally he asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Matt convinced himself a long time ago that he doesn’t have a chance in hell in being able to be with you. I don’t agree however, because I knew that even if you initially didn’t want to forgive Matt… well, it’s really hard to stay indifferent and hateful to someone who is dedicated to you. Matt doesn’t deserve to be as depressed as he’s been these past seven years.”

Noah stays quiet after that, his mind to busy thinking things through. He had no idea that anyone could feel that strongly about him, and he was still doubting it. Matt didn’t seem to be able to get farther away from him these days.

“Noah I don’t want to make you feel guilty or anything, because it’s not your fault, but Matt is too connected to you. Being away from you as long as he has is severely hurt him, and… Noah… he’ll probably never be able to fall in love with someone else ever again.”

Noah wanted to look up at Night and see the sad look on his face. The realization that he couldn’t do it hit him harder then ever as he realized he could never request someone to look him in the eye to tell him the truth. For some reason, as ridiculous as it sounded, Noah felt like he had been blinded all over again, and once again he felt utterly alone.