Lost in Technicolor

The Crash

As soon as Drake was out of that booth and away from Damien, he pulled out Jade's crushed ring again. If he had fixed it before when it was in a million pieces, he could put it together again, right? However, this time instead of being shattered it was bent and different pieces seemed melted together almost. How the hell had Damien destroyed it? Thrown it into a fire? Probably. But the question remained, why? Why did he want Jade stuck in that world so desperately? He was more worried for her than he'd care to say.

As he tinkered with the metal trying to pry prices away from one another, Dane watched him curiously, laughing every now and then. Drake knew that it was because he was reminding him of Damien and it irked him. Until at last he threw the ring down on the floor, having made no progress whatsoever.

Dane stooped down and picked it up and inspected it. He laughed, "The only way she's getting back is if she finds a ring in that time. You shouldn't even bother with this."

"And how's that funny, brother," Drake hissed, throwing his words as hard as he could at Dane.

Dane looked at him as if he were hurt and with a grim smile, replied, "Damien wanted her to find Alastair right, well if she wants to come back she's gonna have to."

Drake thought on this for a while, before cursing, "That bastard. How the hell did he - never mind that. Well, then I just have to find a way to her before it comes to that. I won't let him be satisfied out of our pain."

"Well," Dane muttered, tossing the ring to Drake, "this won't be the way trust me on that."

"I know that," Drake snatched it out of the air. That didn't mean he'd give up on it though.

"I just want to help," Dane sighed, catching Drake's pity. He knew that he was treating him like Damien always did. "Don't," Drake looked up to see the wild anger in Dane's eyes, "do not pity me. I don't give a damn about you. I only care about Jade's well being."

Drake narrowed his eyes at him, half angry and half confused. "You don't give a damn about me," he repeated his 'brother'.

He sighed again, "Drake, I don't mean it completely like that. It's just I've given my try to be your friend and you rejected me more than Damien if that's even possible."

"Why do you all hold grudges against me from things I did as a child?" Drake, held back a shout, making the inside of his throat hurt. "Things I can't even remember," he croaked.

"You . . . you ugh," Dane put a hand to his head in frustration, "how have you treated me these past few years, Drake? Surely you don't honestly think that I'm holding a grudge from when you were six."

Drake pursed his lips, seeing the truth in his words. "I'll admit that I've been less than kind to you, but that's only due to Jade's and your friendship."

Dane scoffed at him, leaning against the wall of the hallway and fiddling with his fingers so he didn't have to look at Drake, "Tell me Drake, how the hell is that a reason?"

Taking a deep breath and then releasing it in a loud sigh, he responded, "It was two against one."

Now Dane looked up with a sarcastic sort of shock in his eyes, "You were intimidated by the two of us?"

"She had you to team up with against Damien and so Damien just assumed that I was involved in all of your hatred of him," Drake muttered. "He presumed that I was the cause."

"He punished you for what Jade did?" Dane said, standing up.

Drake gave him a funny look. "You don't know?"

"What?" Dane asked, obviously becoming very curious.

Laughing to himself, Drake answered, "Damien told me from the very beginning that I was responsible for her, which turned out to mean that I was to be held responsible for everything that she ever did against him. Why? Because I supposedly could read her every thought and therefore could stop whatever she was planning to do before it happened."