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Ring around the rosy

Pockets full of posy

Ashes, ashes

We all

Fall

Down.

I bolt upright in bed, the Voice still echoing in my head. The d*mn thing; I barley got any sleep as it is and now its waking me up at a quarter to six in the f*cking morning?! "Will you shut the f*ck up already?" I whisper harshly.

Oooh, someone's snippy today. This is important, so stop trying to get rid of me and just listen.

I groan and roll over in bed. The sheets twist around my legs and I settle back down into the warmth of the mattress. "What? What could you possibly have to tell me at six in the morning?"

Luca was meant to die the other day, but you transferred more time into his Date, if that makes any sense.

"And how the hell would you know anything about Luca? I thought you left awhile ago."

I never really leave, Kodie, you-

I growl out quietly, "Shut the hell up. You know I hate being called that."

The Voice lets out an exasperated sigh. I know, I know. My parents used to call me that. But its okay for me to call you 'Kodie' because I'm you; as you are me and I am you and we are us. Now, self, think of me- or in this case, you- as your conscience.

"You're just confusing me even more." I pry my eyes open once more and start to pace my room. If the Voice is me, then I'm merely going even more insane than I was before, correct?

Nay. For I am not controlled by you, but only by myself, therefore, you. Open your eyes to the world Kodie. You touch the souls of the living- or dying, depending on how your outlook is- and some of their life principle is transferred to you.

Where do you think it goes? Trust me when I say that we do not steal life away from anyone - death is a fate, not a small touch.

But then again, I am you, and you are me. Your, our, mind created a new personality; me! Or sometimes you. We together are whom people call 'Dakota'- I'm the half that stores away vital life and decides where to place it.

I stop pacing and sit shakily on my bed. I mumble to myself, "What sh*t have I been smokin'?"

Ha. Ha. Very funny. Take this seriously, Kodie. You don't think that Luca just happened to be given more life out of everyone else you've touched?

I wait for more to be spoken by the Voice, but it goes eerily silent. "Then why? What happened? Can I help other people?" I wait for it to speak again. I wait, and wait, and wait.

About three minutes later, just before I'm about to give up and go back to sleep, I hear a soft voice- as soft as a change in the breeze. Ask him; think.

A frustrated grunt escapes my lips and I settle back into bed, trying to catch one more needed hour of sleep. But my mind races far too fast for me to relax. Maybe if I read, it would calm me down.

For the next hour or so, I page through random books placed on the bookshelf by Loonie. But reading isn't really my thing. The words scatter together on the page and I can never seem to focus on the plot, let alone the main characters. Maybe I'm a demi-god like in the Percy Jackson movie. Notice I said 'movie' not 'book'.

If only I could be so lucky to have godly parents. And not two deadbeats who think a saintly deed is to ditch their kid instead of killing him- like they actually wanted to do.

**Flashback**

"Well what the f*ck do we do with him?!" I hear my mommy's voice from the kitchen from where I sit- hidden at the top of the stairs. They've been fighting for a long time.

"I told you last week! We should just drop him off at the orphanage or the police station and let them handle everything." The sound of a chair being pulled out causes me to believe my dad sat down, brushing off her earlier suggestion of throwing me down the stairs in hope that my neck breaks the fall.

Mommy sighs loudly and slams her hand on the counter. "He's not three anymore, Dean! If we just leave him somewhere, he'll tell them who his parents are and they'll just bring him right back to us. We need to dispose of Dakota for good," she spits my name out, "There's something terribly wrong with him. Dean, I'm scared of him. He knew when that poor old woman was going to die. I don't know how, but he knew. He told us when we're going to die, Dean. How do you still want to keep such a monstrosity?"

W-what? M-mommy...?

Tears leak down my five year old face. I-I only tr-tried to help. It hurts to touch people, b-but I was only trying to h-help.

"He's still our son, Jess," daddy says softly, "I don't think I could live if I had known that we actually killed our little baby boy." I hear soft sniffling, like he's weeping into mom's shirt.

Mom's voice noticeably softens, "You're right. I... I was being stupid. I can't kill a child, even if he is... what he is. Let's just wait until we sell the house, then we'll leave him somewhere and try to raise a normal family far, far away from here."

I silently retreat back into my small room, careful not to let either of my parents hear my heart-wrenching sobs.

"I love you sweetie."

"I love you too."

**Flashback Over**

Its probably time to say good morning to Loonie. I hop off my bed and pull on a pair of tight, black skinny jeans and an oversized gray sweater. Yawning loudly, I slowly descend down the staircase.

Loonie's at the kitchen table with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch. Her head's hung low and her eyes are closed. I bring the sleeve of my sweater to my mouth and chew on it nervously.

Loons finally notices me standing awkwardly in the doorway and plasters on a smile, gesturing for me to sit at the table. "Mornin' glory, what's your story?" she greets in her groggy British accent.

"Good morning, Loonie. Are you okay? You look a little... out of it." I eye her bitten nails and unkempt hair.

She sighs and rubs her temple with one hand. "I'm a terrible mom, aren't I? I mean, it hasn't even been a week, yet all this sh*t happened to you, to Luca."

I'm about to protest and tell her that's an outright lie, but the low tones of the doorbell cut me off. "I'll get it," Loonie quickly jumps from her seat and throws open the front door.

"Andy! You should know by now that you don't have to even ring the bell, just come right in, honey!" Loonie's usual spark is back, if not slightly dulled. "Your lover is right in the kitchen, I'll be right back." She can be heard running up the stairs while I roll my eyes and blush at the 'lover' title.

Andy enters the kitchen with a small smile and takes the stool across from me.

"Hi," I say quietly, "Why're you here so early? It's barely seven."

Andy shoots me one of his beautiful smiles. "I'm taking you out, remember? I thought we could go get breakfast before we go cat shopping," he teases, "Besides, I want our first date to be special."

First date? First date?! "First date?" I blush bright red, like a pikachu.

Andrew merely winks and stands up. I follow him nonetheless and we're about to make it out the door, when Loonie barrels down the stairs with a huge grin spread across her face. She's carrying a small, leather bound book with the title The Tempest etched onto the front.

"Andy darling, be a moose and give this to your mum; its for our book club meeting next week." Andrew rolls his eyes playfully.

"You know, one of these days I'm not going to be able to be your little slave, Loonie."

Loonie merely grins back and thwacks him upside the head. "Just do it, boy."

As much as it pains me to admit, I feel slightly jealous over their loving exchange. It's comical, really; my foster-mom favors my boyfriend over me, and vice versa. They've know each other for a great amount longer than a few days. Even when Andy takes my hand in his and Loonie pats my back in departure, a nagging feeling tells me I'm only going to be a burden for the remainder of my time here - which is what now? Two days?

We drive in silence to a small building with the words WINDMILL CAFE poorly stencil-painted on the side. We park in an unpaved parking lot of gravel and dirt and I step out hesitantly. "You'll like this place, I promise." Andy quickly pecks my lips - sending those constant waves of bliss throughout my body, making my toes curl.

A small bell rings as we enter the tiny building. I glance around and take in the tiny area. There's not much to look at; it's extremely small, but not cramped because it only has about fifteen, well spaced tables. The décor resembles that of a nursing home with the pastel floral curtains trimmed in lace and the sickly smell of the elderly.

Even the people here look like they're only in it for the senior special. There's two tables taken by old people sipping their tea carefully. The waitress appears from behind the kitchen and immediately rushes over to us.

"Andrew! How're you doing, sweetie?" She pinches his cheek lightly before kissing it modestly.

Andy blushes a little, but laughs and says, "I'm fine, Grams. I'd like you to meet Dakota," he gently pushes me forward, "He's new in town and I just thought he should try your famous pancakes."

Taken aback, I stare at Andy's grandma's now outstretched hand blankly. I can't shake her hand. I didn't wear my gloves because I knew Andy wanted to hold my hand. The situation soon become unbearably awkward, but Andy's grandma seems completely oblivious.

I choose to crack a smile and wave stupidly, but she accepts it and smiles back. "Nice to meet you Mrs.-"

"Oh no, sonny. Call me Grams!" She blinks from behind her square glasses and turns on her heel, motioning for us to follow.

While out of the range from her hearing aid, I whisper to Andy, "Is she really your grandma or does everyone just call her that?" He laughs quietly and kisses the top of my ear while hugging me close.

"Yes, she really is my grandma. She's been working here her whole life. I practically grew up in here." He beams at me as we sit across from each other. "Now I know this isn't the most romantic place, but I knew it wouldn't be crowed or anything."

And he's right. I'm actually starting to appreciate it more now that I think about the lack of touchy people. It's cute and cozy.

Oh god. I can already feel my masculinity withering away.

Andy's grandma places two glasses of water in front of us and smiles coyly at her grandson. She leaves to clear tables without a word and I focus my attention back to my date. "Isn't she going to give us a menu or something?"

"No," Andy says stubbornly - pouting, almost, "You're going to eat pancakes and you're going like them. Now hush up and play footsie with me."

I laugh when he looks under the table at our tangled feet, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Feeling a blunt force to my leg, I gasp and glare at Andy. "Ow! Why'd you kick me?"

Andy looks away sheepishly and squeaks out in a cute voice, "Sowry." I'm about to kick him back, but his silvery gray eyes catch mine and make me refuse to hurt him in anyway. His hand reaches over and slides through my own, causing waves of security and warmth to shoot through my entire being. We could spend all day together and do nothing but hold hands and I'd still be over the moon with happiness.

I lean over and catch his lips, molding mine over them. He blushes red and kisses me back gently. After a few seconds, I pull away and rest my forehead against his. Andy giggles softly and pecks my lips once more before leaning back into his seat.

We chat for awhile about nothing in particular; Andy mainly asks me questions about what kind of cat I wan to get. His grandma rushes over with a short-stack of blueberry pancakes covered in syrup and homemade whipping cream. My mouth waters and I spare at it while she sets it in front of me.

"There ya' are, Toyota." She says with an elderly smile.

Toyota? Da f*ck? "Um, my name is Dakota." I correct her.

Her gray brows furrow. "Pardon?"

"I'm Dakota," I speak louder.

"No, no, sweetheart; this is Minnesota."

Oh, for the love of - "Grams. His name. His name is Dakota."

"Isn't that what I said?" She snaps her hand to her hip defensively.

Andy rolls his eyes. "Sure, Grandma."

While they've been talking, I've been chowing down on what has to be the best pancakes I've ever had. They're just so... they're indescribable. Holy freaking sh*t.

By the time they finish arguing, I'm stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. Too... much... pancake.

Andy smirks when his grandma leaves and quickly licks the corner of my mouth, making me shudder. "You had some whipped cream by your mouth," he whispers huskily against my lips. I smile and touch my nose to his before falling into another one of Andy's kisses.

"Funny, I thought Dakota was a boy at first!" Andy's grandma laughs loudly and me and him break apart immediately. "Sorry about sweetie." She squeezes my shoulder quickly before going back into the diner's kitchen with my dirty plate.

"W-what?" I ask, flabbergasted. "I am not a girl! Why would she think I'm a girl? I don't even look like a girl!"

"Well you can sometimes have a high voice-"

"Shut up. Now." I glare at the table in front of me and cross my arms.

I see Andy smile docilely. "I'm sorry. My grandma is really old fashioned and doesn't really understand that two guys can have feelings for each other. Don't get me wrong, she's great and I love her, but she just doesn't understand what gay or bi or pansexual is."

Frowning, I nod anyway. "Fine. But if she calls me a chick one more time, I swear I'll replace her denture cream with superglue."

Andy cracks a smile and stands up. He takes my hand and pulls me up as well, leading us to the diner's exit. He shouts a goodbye to his grams and exits quickly. "Right. Now to the animal adoption thingy!"

I smile widely and we both enter the car. The ride is short and Andy soon pulls up to the Rainbow Animal Rescue building. We walk in and it smells like you'd expect: used cat litter and puppy pads.

"Welcome to Rainbow Rescue, can I help you?" A short, teenage volunteer asks, sporting a bright smile. She sets down a book as we walk over to the desk.

"He wants to adopt a cat," Andy says while pointing at me. I roll my eyes but nod eagerly when the girl eyes me curiously.

She grins and claps her hands together. "Wonderful! We have around twenty-three cats that need a new home and a couple kittens as well. Have you ever adopted before?"

Before I can answer, Andy nods and says, "Yeah, I got my two cats, Peeka and Boo, from here."

"Awe, cute! Their names are adorable!" I don't like this girl. She's too bubbly. "You're not too bad yourself," she mumbles with a wink to my Andy. Yeah. I don't like her at all.

If Andy hears her, he doesn't respond and continues to lead me over to the large pen where there's a few kittens playing. After oohing and aahing at the adorable baby cats, my eyes wander to the large cages across the room. There's older cats either eating or sleeping. Some are looking at us curiously, meowing on occasion.

I walk to the cages and stick my fingers through one of them. A small, gray cat with brown and white fur underneath pops out of a cat house thing and approaches me cautiously. Eventually it reaches me and rubs its face against two of my fingers, purring loudly.

Smiling, I read the kitty's info card attached to the cage. Name: Cleo. Gender: Male. Age: 16 months. Breed: Long haired Aby. Abandoned a few days after he was born. My smile fades and I stare into Cleo's greenish-gray eyes. "It's okay, Cleo. I'll take care of you." He meows loudly, still purring.

I grin and call Andy over to me. "I want Cleo."

He pouts a little. "What about the cute little kittens?"

"Cleo's adorable. And he's tiny; he looks like he's not even a year old. I like him." I turn back and smile broadly at my kitty.

The annoying girl from before comes up next to me and wrinkles her nose. "He was the runt from the litter, that's why his mom left him lone; he was too much of a burden."

If looks could kill, she'd be pushing daises right now. No need to be a b*tch to a poor, cute kitty. "Well I want him so unlock this cage and offer me paper or plastic so I can go spend time with my cat."

~*~*~

Cleo now sits in my lap on the car ride to the hospital. He hated being in the box with only a few small air holes cut through, so I let him crawl all over me, meowing and rubbing the side of his face against my arms and chest.

"He really is an amazing cat," Andy says in appreciation.

"I thought you wanted me to get one of the 'cute kitties'?" I snap, holding a purring Cleo closer to my chest.

"No! I just wanted play with them more," he pouts, "And I was kind of stalling... I don't think it's a good idea for you to visit Luca."

I frown in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because of what happened last time you were there! I don't like seeing you get all sick like that."

Sighing, I scratch Cleo gently behind the ear - much to his content. "I'll be fine this time. I think I was still in shock when I felt his Number."

Andy turns into the hospital parking lot. "'Felt'?"

Tell him.

"I feel what they feel when they die." It flies from my mouth before I can stop it.

Andrew stays silent until the car is safely parked, but he makes no move to get out. "You feel how people die?"

"Just the general feeling," I say quietly, still petting a now sleeping Cleo. He gives me a confused look so I explain. "Like when someone dies in a house fire, I feel like I'm being burned alive, suffocating from the smoke. Or like from a heart attack, I feel sharp pains on a certain part of my body - usually my chest. Or like someone drowning, I feel the water fill my lungs, making me not able to breath, and then everything goes black. Or l-"

"Stop. Please, Kota. Please stop." Andy looks at me with a heart-wrenching expression, making me swallow my words. He leans over the dash and hugs me tightly. I get caught up in the peacefulness of the hug and don't separate until ten minutes have passed.

I give Andy a small smile and start to exit the car, but I remember that I have a kitty sleeping on my lap. Gingerly, I shift him so he's laying on the car seat instead while I stand outside of the car. I bite my lip and ask nervously, "Do you think he'll be okay out here all alone?"

Andy wraps his hand around mine and cuddles into my chest. "We won't stay long; we'll be back before he even walks up."

Nodding, I close the door lightly and walk with Andy to the hospital entrance. We sign in and go to Andy's room as swiftly as possible. Luca's mom, Mrs. Chay, walks out of the room with a tired smile on her face.

"Oh hello boys! Luca woke up a few hours ago! Isn't that great? I'm just going to go grab another cup of coffee from the cafeteria and maybe a sandwich or something. Do you guys want anything?"

I shake my head and Andy replies with a polite, "No thanks Mrs. C." She smiles again and leaves us standing outside of Luca's room.

"Can you go first?" I ask lightly, brushing a strand of hair out of Andy's eyes. He pecks my lips tenderly and nods. I follow after him, making sure to stay out of the way until Luca and Andy have their private time.

"Andy!?" I hear a weak voice try to yell.

"Hey Luca! How're you feeling? No pain right now? I can ask them to get more drugs in you so this whole thing feels just like a bad acid trip or something. When are you coming home?"

I peek my head around the door and see Andy lightly hugging a smiling Luca. He looks just like he did yesterday except now, his eyes are open and shining with life.

Luca lets out a sweet laugh and shakes his head. "I'm fine Andy, nothing can bring down this awesome f*cker!" He points to himself cockily. "And I'll probably be home in a week, maybe five or six days. Short time, I know. But the doctor said everything healed up nicely and my blood count is back to normal thanks to a blood transfusion thingy or something and the next few days are just to keep me monitored then I can go home and rest for a few more weeks and, and, and-"

He stops when he sees me standing by the doorway. I try to offer up a smile, but it comes out as a grimace. Will he be scared of me? Grateful? Loathsome?

"D-dakota," Luca breathes out, "You're here."

I don't speak, just nod my head once.

Ask him, half-wit.

"Not yet," I try to whisper, but it comes out louder than intended and both Andy and Luca look at me like I've just announced I'm pregnant. I sigh in frustration and walk up quickly to Luca knowing I've got a kitty waiting for me in the car. "How are you still alive?"

Luca's tell-tale eyes show his fear as they dart around the room, "I-"

"You died; why aren't you dead?" I ask. All sorts of thoughts fly through my mind. Are the Numbers real? Am I just going crazy? Can I really help people? How? Why's he alive?

Andy steps closer to Luca. "Dakota, stop; you're scaring him." he says kindly, but firm.

Does Andy think I'm crazy? Is he going to ignore me now that Luca's better? Will he leave me alone?

Shut up. Kodie-kodes, cam yo a*s down and ask Luca if he remembers anything from when you two touched for the first time.

Two days. Two days. Two days, two days, twodays, twodaystwodaystwodaysto-

Dakota! Ask. Him.

"D-do you remember when we- when I touched you the first time? Did you feel anything or, or see anything?" My voice feels weak; it sounds weak. I can feel the muscles in my body contracting from the nerves. I won't be able to stand for much longer.

Luca stares at me, eyes no longer fidgeting. "There was that one time. When we were at Andy's house?"

My mind races back to that day - Day three, I believe - and I replay the point when my skin touched his: I was freaking out, practically having a mental breakdown. I reached out blindly and grabbed hold of Luca. I felt a sudden burst of energy shoot directly through my body from where Andy was touching me to where I was touching Luca. His Number became jumbled... like it is now.

"I felt something flow through my body, like a shock from an outlet." Luca scratches his nose self consciously.

Andy looks between my and Luca. "I remember that. I was touching Dakota and Dakota was touching you and then it was like a power rush through my hand."

I walk closer to Luca and hover my hand over his forehead. Asking him for premission with my eyes, he nods and brushes back his sandy blonde hair. I place my hand on his skin and for a second, nothing happens.

As I wait, nothing happens. For over ten seconds, nothing happens.

Then a sudden burst of white hot pain rips through me, causing me to gasp and fall to the ground. I caught a flash of blurred blue light before my hand left his skin, but not a clean Number.

Andy rushes to my side and holds me to him tightly. "Shh, it's okay Kota-bear."

I blink to realize that I'm crying. God, I'm such a p*ssy. Speaking of p*ssies, Cleo's probably awake now and freaking out in the car.

"I'm fine, Andy." I kiss his jawline softly and try to stand. I stumble backwards, knocking sh*t over. I try to stand again while Andy steadies me, but I fall on my a*ss for a second time. My breath comes out in pants and I catch Luca's eye. He looks at me like I've grown a third head and tries to talk to me, but my mind's already blacking out, making me loose my vision and hearing.

I feel myself rasp out, "Take me home, Andy," before my body gives up and shuts down.

The fight is lost.

But the war can still be won.

Two more days.

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