To the place where I belong. [Open}

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan nodded to the nurse, signing the all-too-familiar discharge paper. He stood -with the help of his brother, of course- as he took the bag the nurse was offering.

"Rewrap and clean these wounds every day, okay? And make sure to let them air out. It does them good." She said with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." He said, looking down as he limped off, his ring and card in his back pocket. He leaned on his brother until they climbed into Braxtons car -one much bigger than Brendans, that was for sure. But still Brendan couldnt look up. He felt the ring pressing against his pants, but he ignored it.

He snapped his seatbelt as Braxton drove them back home, his mind blank for the first time since he was born.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton helped his brother into the bed, looking around the room. It looked alot like his own dorm -minus the dog and snake- but then again, it held the Esscence A La Bren. The ghostly way the lights flickered, the pictures of Diane above his desk.

And thats when it really hit Braxton. His brother might not be okay this time. He reached for the wedding band, adding it to the first ring on his brother chain as he kissed his forehead.

"Call me if you need be, Brenny. Im here.."

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan nodded and watched his brother go, possibly the only person he would see for awhile. He vaugely wished Kit was here, to talk to. He smiled a bit, feeling bad about kicking the boy out of his room.

He pulled himself up out of bed, walking to his desk. The note was gone and the room had been cleaned. Even his desk had been replaced. But nothing took away the pain. He reached to the pictures, pulling them down one by one as he stroked them gently. He smiled softly, humming the tune he had sung to her on valentines day as he gently placed the pictures in the trash can. He walked to the mini fridge, opening it and pulling out the ice cream she didnt eat. He looked around, not sure what to do with it.

Because for once, the voice was gone. And he didnt think it was coming back.

Brendan slowly but surely made his way to Kits room, knocking softly on the door and hoping he wasnt busy. He clung to the Coffee icecream, something about it making him feel sick.

"Kit?"

[Kit Livingston]

Kit was in his room, sorting through the items on the desk, trying to take his mind off things. Any distraction would have been welcome now. He knew what had happened, knew what he should do, and nothing looked like it turn out well. There was a knock on the door. He lifted his head, half-wondering if he should open it.

He slid up from his chair, moving to the door slowly and opening it. "Brendan?" he said, suddenly seeing him, opening the door wider for him to come in, seeing something in his expression that showed that he could do with help. Besides, why else would he come to Kit. "Come in," he suggested, moving back so that Brendan could enter the room. "Are you alright? What happened to your arms?" he asked, seeing the bandages on his wrists.

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan shrugged, handing him the ice cream.

"This one says Diane." He said, holding out his left arm playfully. "But it doesnt matter. I dont wanna talk about it. I just came to bring you some ice cream and see if you wanted to go with the cripple to the mall to get a new guitar.. Because an elf broke mine."

And he realized that his brother wasnt making any reply to that. Maybe he had learned his lesson? Maybe he finally felt bad for ruining Brendans life?

"Its been in my mini frige for a few days. Uh. Not the elf. The ice cream.. Its coffee. I dont know what you like.. but I have no use for it." He shrugged, leaning against the wall. And had he had two snakebites in his lower lip, he would have looked exactly like Braxton.

[Kit Livingston]

Kit nodded. He wasn't the sort to pry, though he would be more than willing to listen when Brendan needed him to. But right now, it seemed that he just needed a friend, and a distraction, and he wasn't going to pull him away, especially while he was still on such thin ice. He took the ice cream, smiling, "Thanks... I'm sure I'll find a use for it," he said with a smile, passing it between his two hands a couple of times nervously.

"So, you wanting to go to the mall now? I'll drop this off in the kitchen freezer on the way if so..." he said.

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan shrugged, still wondering where is brother was.

"Whatevers cool with me, man. Just something about coffee doesnt seem to be sitting right with me. I dont know. Im usually the first to down three pots in the morning.." He smiled a bit, the pain starting to evaporate. "But Im warning you. Im slow. Cant walk very well by myself. Took me half an hour to get down the hall to your dorm. And I aint lying."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, hoping he wasnt interrupting anything. "Were you doing something? I can hobble back down the hall. Its no problem. I was just doing a little redecorating." He shrugged again.

[Kit Livingston]

Kit scratched the back of his head, a little nervous that he would say the wrong thing and be kicked out. "Yeah, I'm used to it, Zeke's been hobbling a little too..." he said, pulling off his jacket from the end of the bed, quickly grabbing his keys and a few of the smaller items from his desk. "Sorry, habit..." he explained quickly at the geeky collection of magical items which he felt unable to leave completely.

He picked up the ice cream, and left the room, closing it when they were both out. "Don't worry about interrupting me, I could do with some distraction. Swear I'm going mad..." he said with a smile and a shrug.

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan followed him slowly, keeping his head down, as he had all day. He pulled his hood over his head and hoped he would be mistaken for Braxton. That usually made his life better.

"I keep crap in my pockets too. And my wallet." He fished his wallet out, but instead of an ID staring up at him, it was another picture of Diane. He pulled it out, tucking it carefully behind his credit card. He would put it with the others once he got home.

"You think theyll let me take a flight back to Texas? I wanna give my dad his ring back." He said, pointing to the wedding band on his necklace. "It hurts too much to look at it, now."

[Kit Livingston]

Kit watched him put the photo away. He wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright, but without knowing what had happened there wasn't a lot that he could do. He was hurt, so maybe Diane was too, and that was dangerous ground... "There's a long distance teleporter in the entrance hall. Its how I get back home for holidays," Kit told him, "I'm sure if you explain to them then they'll let you use it, if you can find your way back."

[/blockquote]

[Brendan Reid]

"I think Id much rather stay in Texas." He said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets. He wanted to spill to Kit, but then again, he didnt wanna loose the boy like he had lost everyone else.

"You have my cell number, dont you?" He asked, looking over at the boy. "Does Zeke make you happy?"

He said that last part without realizing it. And something about it hurt. Hed seen a boy just like him with the school moron, Kurt. Then again, Zeke probably had a twin.

"Sorry.. Disregard that last part." He said with a shrug.

[Kit Livingston]

Kit frowned at him, knowing that he was in trouble and if he was all the way in America there was no way he'd be able to help him out. "Brendan..." he said slowly, looking down. "I don't know whats going on, but running away doesn't solve anything...." he said, unable to look at him, hoping desperately that his words didn't hurt him anymore than he was already.

He looked away, stopping in his tracks and putting his hands in his pockets. "It's hard... with me and Zeke, I mean. There's a lot of problems, a lot of roadblocks. Sometimes I can't bare to see him, sometimes I feel angry with myself. Other times I want nothing more than him. Basically..." he looked back at Brendan, "Things change. A lot. But they always end up where they're meant to be if you wait long enough. If you run away, it breaks the balance."

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan shook his head slowly, Kits words sinking in.

"Im not running. Im going to see my Daddy. And give him back whats his. I might be there for a day, I might be there for a month. The fact of the matter is, hes dead. And I wasnt even there for his funeral. Its the least I can do is give him back what belongs to him. This ring is not mine. He gave it to me so when I get married, I would have his ring. And Im not getting married. Not now. Not ever. Im staying single." He said, looking around for his brother as he followed Kit slowly.

[Kit Livingston]

Kit nodded. "Just don't be a stranger..." he said feebly, knowing that if Brendan had decided on this course of action then there wasn't a lot else for him to be able to do. "And hey, things change. I mean I never thought I'd fall - for someone, especially not with a dude..." he said slowly, hesitating as he knew that he was meant to say 'fall in love', but it felt completely wrong. "At least lets go have a day before you go, take our minds off things, yeah? Get you that guitar, maybe catch a movie... just have a break from everything?" he suggested, feeling like he needed it just as much as Brendan did.

[/blockquote]

[Brendan Reid]

Brendan nodded. "That sounds really good. I think Id miss my baby way too much if I went away without it." He said, refferring to his guitar. He smiled, fishing around in his pockets.

"Why dont we drop by my dorm and grab some cash. I dont have anything on me. I think I gave Brax all I had on me." He said, knowing good and well he had spent it all on Dianes Valentines gifts. "Something about a card or something for his boyfriend. You know that kid hasnt been around? I think hes off with some girl.. Or something. He told Brax something about a vacation or something. I didnt pay much attention."

He fumbled with his keys, slowly opening the door to his room. And once inside, he realized he missed a picture...