Fan Fiction ❯ Illicit Angels-Caught between heaven and hell ❯ chapter 5 ( Chapter 6 )

"Skylar!" Tawny cried, not caring that she was in the middle of the airport crowded by people she didn't know. She ran to her cousin with open arms.

Skylar threw down her luggage and ran to meet Tawny. The two hugged each other, talking wildly at the same time. Tawny's mother shook her head. She didn't understand how they could understand each other, considering the fact that they talked at the same time and they did it so quickly. Sometimes she didn't understand her daughter and her friends.

Finally, after much effort, Tawny's mother gathered up the two rambling teenagers and got them situated in the van. And all the way home, they talked faster than she had ever heard two people talk before. She thought that it was absolutely hilarious.

When the car pulled up in front of the two-story house, Tawny and Skylar rushed inside, putting Skylar's bags in Tawny's room. They both talked for a while, catching up on things.

"That's cool that you get to hang out with Ariel again." Skylar paused, looking around her cousin's room. "So are their any hot guys around here?" Skylar asked after she flopped on her stomach on Tawny's bed as she grabbed a white teddy bear from the shelf next to it, studying it. Tawny chuckled. Of course Skylar would ask that question. Tawny loved her cousin dearly, but even she had to admit that Skylar was a bit of a tart.

"Well," Tawny smiled to herself. "Yeah...but only two that I know personally...and really, only one of them is available at the moment."

"So who's the one that's available...and why are you smiling like that?" Skylar asked, as she herself couldn't help but smile at the love struck look on her cousin's face.

"I don't know...he's just...really…heavenly." She dropped down on her bed next to Skylar, looking up at the ceiling dreamily. Skylar sat up so that she looked down at Tawny and giggled.

"Heavenly? Heavenly? I don't think I've ever described a guy like that...what's his name?" Skylar set the bear in front of her as she played with its nose waiting for her cousin to respond.

"His name?" Tawny bit her lip and smiled as Taylor's face came to her mind. "His name is Taylor. And he looks like he could have been thrown out of heaven just for being too handsome. He and Peter, that's his older brother, both." Tawny scrunched her nose up just thinking of Taylor as she smiled even wider. Skylar laughed.

"Not to exaggerate or anything," Skylar joked, rolling her eyes. Tawny giggled and grabbed a pillow from the top of her bed, laying it on her stomach as she played with the corners of it. "So what does he look like?" Tawny sighed. Her eyes looked as if they had glazed over and she had gone off in another world as she softly spoke.

"He is tall. Handsome…he has blonde hair. The most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen, they're so alive and curious. He wears all black...and has a silver cross necklace...and a silver earring in his upper left ear. He has the most kissable lips, with that little curl that they have. They're always moist and look so soft. His teeth are white, but not perfect...but it gives him a boyish quality that makes him even more attractive. He has flawless skin and always seems to be lightly blushing. He has broad shoulders and a trim waist. And....he's just...heavenly." Tawny sighed when she'd finally stopped talking. Skylar stared at her cousin in amazement. Tawny sounded like a poet.

"Wow." Skylar finally uttered. "He sounds...heavenly." Tawny smiled up at the ceiling and nodded her head.

"Oh, but he is. If only you knew, Sky…if only you knew."

* * *

"Tay! TAY-LOR!" Peter shouted at Taylor who was sitting in the window seat staring out across the street.

"What? Huh?" Taylor looked back at his older brother, almost falling off of his perch. Peter laughed.

"Where the hell were you, man? Shit! I've been calling your name for, like, five minutes!" He walked over to the window to see what Taylor had been gawking at. He peered out the window and finally his eyes rested upon two girls sitting in the window across from theirs.

He recognized Tawny, but didn't know who the other one was. She had straight, light brown hair, freckles, bright blue eyes, straight teeth and both of the girls were laughing to reveal their similar, killer smiles.

Peter glanced at his brother who was once again concentrating his attention on the girls in the window. "Whoa, bud. You better calm down there. I don't think that you could handle two!" Taylor smiled up at his older brother.

"Shut up, Pete!" Peter couldn't help but grin.

"So, um...yeah...anyways....I came in here to ask if you mind if we were to invite Tawny....and uh...her new friend to come to The Club with us tonight."

"I wouldn't care," Taylor said, shrugging, slipping back into his quiet facade. Peter frowned slightly as he watched Taylor sink back into his shell. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Well, Ariel left to go over there a just a minute ago. `Cause she said something about there being a few changes that were gonna be made. I think that she's up to something...I'm not sure what yet..." Peter drew his eyebrows together, trying to decode Ariel's cryptic words.

"You know Ariel...that's just the way that she is. Unpredictable." Taylor got up from the window seat.

"Yeah. I know. But she could at least give some warning when she's going to be unpredictable," Peter grumbled. Taylor rolled his eyes and shook his head, snorting. He couldn't help busting out into laughter when he felt the pillow that Peter had launched through the air collide with the back of his head.

* * *

"Oh! Hey, Ariel!" Tawny opened her bedroom door to greet her friend.

"Hey!" She stepped inside. Her eyes fell on Skylar sitting on Tawny's bed picking a piece of fuzz from her black and white comforter. "Hey, I remember you." Skylar looked up and smiled sweetly at the familiar face.

"Yeah…Ariel, right? I remember you too. I'm Skylar, Tawny's cousin." She got up and walked over to Ariel, offering her hand. Ariel took it.

"Cool." She turned around to face Tawny again. "I was wondering...do you guys wanna go someplace with me, Taylor, Kelly, and Peter tonight?" Tawny looked at her curiously as she sat down on her bed.

"Where?" she asked.

"It's a place called The Club. Pete, Tay, Kelly, and I go there all the time," Ariel explained. "You have to be at least sixteen to get in. It's mostly a college hang out place but lot of the kids from Tulsa Union and Broken Arrow hang out there," she added, naming off the two largest high schools in the Tulsa area.

"That sounds fun!" Skylar commented as she leaned against the dresser.

"Okay, then." Tawny said, smiling.

"Well...you guys…just a few things, though. What do you think of makeovers?" Ariel smiled mischievously. Tawny and Skylar looked at each other, shrugging.

"Um..." Tawny began.

"Sure! Why not?" Skylar finished for her cousin. Ariel grinned approvingly.

"Good. Okay...." Ariel began pulling things out of her bag and placing them on Tawny's desktop. "This is gonna take a lot work..."

* * *

"Hey!" Peter said into the phone to Ariel. "You guys ready yet? I mean, how long does it take a girl, Ell...c'mon! We've been waiting forever!" He glanced and lightly laughed when he saw his brother dramatically slap his hand over his eyes after looking at his watch, trying to help Peter's point along.

"Alright, alright! Jeez! We're almost done okay! I mean...Skylar just has to get her shoes on and Tawny is still trying to get her damn ring in....I'd better go help her. We'll be over in a few minutes, alright?" Ariel said hurriedly.

"Okay. See ya in a few…I hope!!!!" he added. Ariel laughed.

"Bye, Pete." Peter replaced the phone in its cradle and turned to Taylor. "They'll be over in a few minutes. What can I say? I don't know what she's doing to them...but she's doing something...she's been over there for like..." he glanced at his watch. "Three hours now."

"Okay...she'd better hurry though. I'm bored." Taylor paced back and forth in front of the couch.

"Maybe we should wait outside by the car?" Peter suggested after a few minutes. Taylor nodded quickly before turning and walking towards the door.

"Man, only a week ago, I had to drag him to get him out of the house. Now he can't wait to get out," Peter muttered as he followed his brother through the living to the front door. Before they reached the front door, however, Ariel opened it and stepped inside.

"Well?" Peter looked at her expectantly.

"Well...." she bit her lip at him coyly as she smiled. "You guys hafta come out here...they're waiting by the car." With that she walked out the door, motioning for them to follow. Peter and Taylor looked at each other and shrugged. Then they followed Ariel outside. Peter and Taylor froze when they saw the two girls leaning against the car. Both boys stared at them in shock.

"Tawny?" Taylor stepped forward, almost unsure of whom stood in front of him. Tawny smiled at Taylor.

"Yup…it's me," she replied, laughing nervously. "And this is my cousin, Skylar. Skylar, this is Taylor." Skylar gladly offered her hand to him and he shook it.

"Hey, Taylor."

"Call me Tay." He smiled at her.

"Okay...Tay." she smiled even wider. He was more gorgeous than Tawny had described. He and Peter both. "And this must be Peter?" she turned her attention to the young man next to Ariel, staring approvingly at her. "Ariel kept talking about you." Her words snapped him back into reality.

"Oh! Uh...hi! Yeah. I'm Pete. And you're Skylar." He shook her hand. She nodded, smiling up at him. Ariel smiled happily as her 'work' was admired. "You guys…when did…so…" Peter floundered for words.

"So, Tawny," Skylar mused, drawing out her words, smiling mischeviously and glancing at Tawny before looking back to Taylor. "This is the heavenly creature I've heard so much about."

"Huh?" Taylor and Peter both asked in confusion.

"Skylar!" Tawny hissed. Her cheeks were a dark crimson that only deepened when Taylor shot her a questioning look.

"Heavenly creature, huh?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Tawny. Tawny stammered an inaudible reply, shooting Skylar a deadly glare, to which Skylar laughed and winked at her cousin.

"So, are we going or not?" Ariel asked in good-natured impatience, deciding she should probably bail her friend out before Taylor and Peter had a chance to mortify her, as boys are wont to do at such times. "I am ready to dance."

"Yeah, we're meeting Kelly at the club." Taylor replied, still unable to take his eyes off of Tawny.

"Let's go then," Tawny quipped, all too glad for the change in subject and diversion of attention from her self. All four piled into Peter's van and Peter drove off to the club. In the car, Taylor couldn't help but stare at Tawny. She had had never stuck him as the kind of person who wore black…at all. Her personality seemed too…vibrant to be muted by the lack of colorful clothing. But, there she was before him, dressed all in black, and she looked hauntingly beautiful. Like a Black Angel, Taylor mused, referring both to the name that he and the rest of his group of friends had acquired and to the fact that Tawny still looked so innocent, yet devious all the same.

Ariel was wearing a short black skirt with a pair of black high heal sandals. She wore a black tank top and a silver chain necklace with a small cross on it and snake spiraling up it. She had painted her nails black as well. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun. She wore two dangling crosses in the first hole of her double pierced lobes and a small silver hoop in the second.

Tawny wore a long black skirt with slits up the sides to her mid thighs. She wore black knee-high combat boots. Her long hair was pulled into a high ponytail with a metal cuff that covered the hair bands. She wore a black tube top that cut off just above her belly button, revealing a small cross that dangled from a modest silver hoop through the upper lip of her navel. Her skin, like her cousin's, sparkled with glitter, making her look almost like a pixie.

Skylar wore a long black skirt much like Tawny's, only it had one slit up the right side. She too, wore a black belly shirt, although hers was a tank top, and she wore a silver arm circlet that curled around her bicep into fancy designs. Her shoulder length mousey brown hair was left down to cascade across her shoulders.

* * *

"There they are," Kelly said aloud. The young man she had been talking with followed her stare. "We'll continue this later." Her companion nodded quickly. That said Kelly got up out of her seat and walked across the dance floor to greet her friends. She met up with them at the bar.

"This is so cool," Skylar whispered excitedly to Tawny as they drew up to the bar. Tawny glanced around at the people.

"Every one is staring at us," Tawny observed.

"They usually do," Kelly explained as she approached the group. She adjusted her black tube top that she wore with a pair of black pants. "We come here a lot and people kind of look at us like some elite clique." She locked eyes with Peter, who gave her a look that plainly said "be careful how much you divulge about our `clique'." Kelly nodded slightly, letting him know that she understood perfectly. Kelly hadn't been lying, when she said that people regarded them as a clique. It wasn't hard to see why people left them alone. Peter, Ariel, Kelly, and Taylor, always adorned in black, were intimidating to be near. Their dark appearance and eerie silence to all but each other were frightening sometimes. Everyone knew better than to approach the small group that usually only included Peter, Taylor, Ariel, and Kelly. At the Club, the other club-goers knew them as The Black Angels. If only they knew the irony of those words.

"Kelly, this is Tawny's cousin, Skylar," Ariel explained when Kelly looked at Skylar quizzically. Kelly nodded. She looked back at Tawny and Skylar. They were dressed in all black. Tawny would definitely look better in red, she thought to herself.

"So, who were you talking to?" Peter asked Kelly.

"Oh, that was some guy that I knew before I was-" Kelly stopped her self just in time. She growled silently to herself at having to be so careful about what she said. Absently, she began to play with the red bead on her bracelet. "Before I was transferred to a different school…he went to my old school." Kelly sighed inwardly with relief as Peter nodded, excepting her explanation.

"What grade are you in?" Skylar asked. Kelly looked at her,

"Huh?"

"How old are you? What grade are you in?" Skylar repeated. Kelly raised her eyebrows.

"Um…I'm sixteen," Kelly answered. More or less, she added silently.

"Wow, you're younger than Tawny and me," Skylar continued. "How do you know Taylor and Peter? From what I've heard they aren't in high school any more. How did you meet them?" Tawny was speechless at how straightforward her cousin was. On the other hand, Skylar had asked some pretty good questions that Tawny had wanted to ask her self but was too shy.

"Um," Kelly began, speaking loudly so she could be heard over the loud music. "My sister Lily, um, was really close to Taylor." Taylor looked at Kelly with an unreadable glare. Every one else froze.

"Who's Lily?" Skylar asked, oblivious to the discomfort that the subject was causing.

"Y' know, I'm going to sit down," Tawny said quickly, sensing the sudden tension. Ariel looked like she could have kissed Tawny right then.

"That is a great idea!" Ariel shouted, slightly louder than necessary. "Let's all go sit down."

"Actually, guys, I'm gonna go explore okay?" Skylar said happily. There are too many cute guys here, she thought.

"Alright...uh...you're coming back, right?" Tawny turned to her cousin.

"Um...if I'm not back when you guys leave I'll ...catch a taxi!" Skylar assured her before she headed towards a group of guys. Tawny smiled to herself. Skylar was always in a hurry to…`meet new people' so to speak. Tawny wondered briefly what Skylar would be doing that would make her have to catch a cab ride home. Shrugging, she looked over at Peter, Taylor, Kelly, and Ariel and made her way over to them. Peter and Ariel stood side by side and Ariel leaned her head against his shoulder. It wasn't too long before Peter led Ariel out onto the dance floor.

Tawny was still aware of the glances and glares that she and her friends were receiving. Her friends were use to it; she was not. She turned her attention to Taylor. He leaned against the bar; his arms crossed over his chest, and stared intensely at his surroundings as if memorizing them. Tawny stared at him. She couldn't help it. She couldn't help but notice how gorgeous he was. He, of course, wore all black. Baggy black jeans, black boots, and a tight black t-shirt. Peter wore the same, except he wore a black wife-beater instead of a t-shirt.

But there was something about Taylor that drew Tawny's attention away from everything else. She knew every detail of his profile, could recall in her minds eye the way his lips moved when he talked, the way his eyes shone when he smiled, the way he moved and walked. She'd been watching him for the past couple of weeks since he had shown up on her doorstep with Ariel, Peter, and Kelly. But there was something that was bothering her. Even though she knew every thing about the way he moved and how he looked, she actually knew nothing more about him other than the fact that he was eighteen, lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had a brother named Peter, and happened to be close friends with Ariel.

After two weeks…that's all she knew about him. As she thought about this, still staring at him, she began to get slightly frustrated. She'd talked to him many times about a plethora of subjects…sort of. Their `conversations' consisted of Tawny babbling about some strange subject and her asking questions that Taylor would give simple, ambiguous replies to. And she still could not sense any kind of thought or emotion from him. She had never been so frustrated with her empathic abilities before.

Even when she got up the nerve to ask straightforward questions, Taylor's answers hardly ever betrayed any insight to himself or his brother. Not even Ariel, who was her best friend, would divulge any thing else about Taylor and Peter. It almost seemed to be on purpose. Like there was some big secret about the two young men. Tawny sighed in frustration. She didn't like it when her friends tried to keep her in the dark about something. She liked it even less when her friends seemed to be succeeding.

Taylor sensed Tawny's eyes on him and turned to meet her gaze with his. Bringing her self back to reality, she looked down, embarrassed. He smirked. "Anything wrong?" Tawny felt her mind go blank and her knees go weak at the sound of his voice.

"Not from where I'm standing," Tawny sighed. Taylor raised an eyebrow in amusement. A smile teased to corners of his lips.

"Huh?" He'd heard what she'd mumbled but wanted to see if she'd say it again, only louder. Realizing what she'd said, Tawny tried to cover up her statement.
"Um...nothing. I just, uh...I feel weird here. I'm not used to being stared at and…never mind." She took a deep breath and tried to slow her heartbeat down. What is your problem, you idiot? Tawny asked her self.Why can't you just talk to him, ask him questions about himself? That's how you get to know a personif you're a normal human being. Your empathic strengths go on the frits and you act like it's the end of the world when it's really just a way to strengthen your social skills. Taylor laughed. He motioned for her to come stand by him. She calmly walked over and sat on astool next to him. He was a head taller than she was. Taylor turned to look at her and Tawny felt her cheeks getting warmer with her blush.

"Hey, Taylor, do you wanna dance with me?" Kelly asked. Taylor looked over at her as she came to stand next to him.

"Um…" Taylor glanced at Tawny, who was pretending to be looking out into the throng of people. "I kinda want to just sit here for a minute. I'll dance with you later." Kelly, who had seen Taylor's brief glance towards Tawny, narrowed her eyes but turned around quickly and sauntered into the crowd. Taylor and Tawny were alone…relatively.

"You didn't have to stay on my account," Tawny said softly. She had seen the glance too. Taylor blushed slightly.

"Who said I was sitting here for your benefit?" Taylor asked nonchalantly. "I don't like to dance."

"Oh," Tawny said quietly, trying not to let her disappointment show. Taylor smiled, however.

"Getting to sit with you and talk is just an added bonus." Tawny suddenly became enthralled with the floor as she smiled. She bent over slightly as she distractedly scratched an itch behind her knee. Taylor watched as she did so and noticed for the first time a small tattoo on the small of her back.

"Woah! You have a tattoo?" Taylor cried. What he meant was: You have thattattoo? Tawny sat up quickly, suddenly self-conscious.

"Um…yeah," Tawny said slowly. Taylor looked at her with a new sense of intrigue.

"Huh…I never would have figured you for the tattoo type," Taylor stated, sounding relaxed. It can't be…there's no way that she's…Is she? Taylor thought frantically, though he remained perfectly calm in the out side. He could feel the muscles in his body tighten with alarm. I gotta tell Pete!

"Most people don't…but it wasn't like I had any say in the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had it ever since I can remember. It's weird though. I've had it since I can remember. The mark actually kinda grows with my body some how. My dad said that I've had it since I was a baby, but I don't know for sure," Tawny confessed.

"Does it symbolize any thing?" Taylor asked.Please say no! he begged silently

"My dad said it's an ancient tribal symbol for `soul'." Okay, at least it's not the one that stands for strength. That means that she's a daughter of Shida …a child of `Sight'…

"Wow, since you were ababy?" Taylor asked in still slightly in shock. Still, if she finds out about me, Pete, and Kelly… Tawny nodded. "Why?"

"He never really told me why…he just said that I needed to have it so that the…jeez, I don't even really remember, it was so long ago…I think he said I had to have it so that some one could recognize me."

"Some one? Like, who?" Tawny shrugged her shoulders. Maybe she truly doesn't know?

"Beats the hell outta me. All I can say is that trying to explain to other kids why you have a father who…um…I'm just glad that I had Ariel as a friend back then. `Cause if I didn't have her, I would have killed my self to escape the loneliness."

"I know what it's like to be lonely," Taylor said sympathetically, relaxing despite his anxiety.

"Are you okay?" Tawny asked. She'd seen his alarm when he first saw the tattoo. And his sudden talkativeness was extremely unusual. Tawny took in a deep breath, clearing her mind and concentrated really hard. There! She could feel tiny ripples of worry splashing off of Taylor and flowing into Tawny. "Are you sure? You seem like you're worried about something. Is there something that bothers you about my tattoo?" Taylor quickly shook his head. Tawny cocked her head slightly and looked up at him. Was he lying? It was too hard for her to tell!

"You know," Taylor said, changing the subject. "You remind me an awful lot of some one I used to know." Tawny refused to let her disappointment show.There he goes, avoiding the chance for me to find out more about him. Is he hiding something?

"Really? Who?" Tawny asked, deciding to give up for now and let Taylor move the conversation in a different direction. Taylor turned his head to look out into the crowd.

"You remind me of Lily," Taylor said after a few moments.

"Who is Lily?"

"Lily was…some one that I loved very much…but I lost her," Taylor said, his voice thicker than usual. Tawny's eyes widened. Here he was again, confiding in her. Tawny couldn't help the warmth that seemed to flow through her. She briefly wondered if her whole body was blushing.

"How did you lose her? If you don't mind my asking." Finally, I'm getting to know more about him!

"She was taken from me…" Taylor sounded as though he were in a daze. "Some times I…never mind…" Taylor suddenly trailed off. He shook his head, not wanting to talk any more. Damnit! Tawny swore to her self. He had shut her out again. Oh well, slowly I learn more about him…maybe…

"Wow, suddenly my problems seem so trivial," Tawny said, laughing half-heartedly.

"You know, I've never talked that much about Lily ever since…I mean, you're really easy to talk to," Taylor said, turning to look at her again, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth. Tawny felt her cheeks redden slightly.

"It's a talent I have," Tawny said, pretending to toss her hair over her shoulder like a movie star. Then she giggled and looked up into Taylor's eyes. "You know, this is really kinda fun…talking with you, I mean…we've talked before but we never really…talked…it's nice…y' know?" Taylor smiled finally and nodded. He knew.

"We should do this more often," he suggested.

"Definitely," Tawny agreed.

"Even if it's not at the Club…or with so many other people." Tawny smiled up at him. Then she turned her gaze from his face to across the dance floor, where she spotted Ariel and Peter swaying together to the slow song that was playing, holding each other close.

"So..." Tawny said as she looked at Peter and her best friend. "They really like each other, huh?" Taylor followed her gaze to his brother and Ariel.

"Yeah…yeah, they do. Pete says he knows for sure that Ariel is his soul mate." Taylor explained. Tawny stared at Taylor in surprise. "What?"

"Nothin'…I just…never figured you guys for believing in soul mates." Taylor smirked down at her.

"There's a lot that you wouldn't figure about me and Pete," he returned. Tell me about it, she snorted inwardly. But she just smiled shyly up at Taylor.

"So maybe you could explain every thing that I'm missing about you guys, mystery man." Taylor chuckled and turned his attention back to the throng of dancers. Well…slowly but surely, I'm figuring him out. Veryslowly…

Taylor glanced over at Tawny when the song ended and saw a small smile on her face as she watched them descend from the dance floor.

"What are you thinking about?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?" Tawny turned to Taylor. "Oh...nothing." she shrugged. Taylor nodded and turned his attention back to Peter and Ariel, who were now laughing with each other.

* * *

"Tawny!" Skylar whispered harshly as she plopped down on her bed. "Tawny, c'mon, wake up! I wanna talk to you!"

"Talk to your self," Tawny mumbled. Skylar laughed and poked her sleeping cousin.

"Tawny! Wake up!" Tawny stirred and opened her eyes to see her excited cousin.

"So…you finally decided to come home, huh?" Tawny said groggily as she sat up.

"Oh, Tawny! You have no clue what just happened to me!" She grabbed Tawny's hand. "I think I met the guy of my dreams. We were just...wow....he's so hot and so...mysterious..."

"What's he look like?" Tawny became more awake and tried to show her enthusiasm for Skylar. Skylar smiled dreamily as her eyes stared, unfocused, at the wall next to Tawny's head.

"It's that guy that I met the last time we went to the club. He's tall....dark....and gorgeous....he has brown eyes. He has the most kissable lips...brown hair...tan, smooth skin...and he's so charming. There's something about him…he's definitely a bad boy." Tawny looked at her cousin with wide eyes.

"Wow," she muttered. She remembered Skylar mentioning the guy last time when she had stumbled into Tawny's bedroom around one o-clock in the morning. "Sky, what time is it?" Tawny looked around for her watch on her bed stand. Finally she found it. She squinted her eyes through the dark as she strained to read it, then she remembered the button on the side for the light. The face of the watch lit up. 3:09 a.m. "Oh my God, Skylar. Do you have any idea how late, um...early it is?" Tawny questioned her cousin as she set the watch back down on the stand.

"I don't care, Tawny. You're too uptight sometimes. No one heard me come in. And you have got to meet this guy!" Skylar began gathering up her pajamas.

"Well...what's his name?" Tawny asked, trying to resist a yawn, as she lay back down, trying to find a comfortable position again.

"You hafta find out next week. Ariel said they go at least once a week and that guy said he and his brother are there every other night." Skylar disappeared into the bathroom. Tawny shook her head as she stared up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come back to her. Finally, Skylar came out of the bathroom and jumped into her cot, covering herself up with the comforter. "I'm gonna have great dreams tonight, Tawny. How about you? You gonna dream about Tay-lor??" She drew out the name as if to tease her.

Tawny laughed and threw one of her pillows at Skylar's head. As she settled back down into her nest over covers she couldn't stop her mind from floating back to earlier that night. She had spent three hours talking with Taylor at the club while Peter and Ariel danced and Skylar flirted with the guy that she had met the first time they had gone.

Slowly, Tawny was beginning to find out a little more out about Taylor. In high school he was on the varsity wrestling team. His favorite color was blue and he didn't used to dress all in black. When she had asked about the change Taylor had grown quiet for a few moments before steering the subject of conversation in a different direction. Every once in a while she would feel emotions coming from Taylor

A/N in my copy of the story you can see a pic of Tawny's tattoo. I know that it won't show up for you guys but hopefully I will get a few pictures up so that people can see what her tattoo looks like. This is just kind of a fun chapter just to learn more about the characters and especially Tawny and her abilities and just how little she knows about herself. Please tell me what you think? Thanx!!!