flames | The Lost Boys (1987) | revised

| EPILOGUE |

"Paul, if you don't back the fuck up, I'm going to roundhouse kick you into the fucking ocean, dude!"

I turned at the sound of Marko's yelling even though I could already tell that it was said with a grin plastered across his face. Paul had snaked his arms around Marko's neck and jumped on him, piggyback style. Marko had been carrying quite a few bags from our mini shopping trip but had dropped quite a number of them at Paul's mini attack.

Paul giggled drunkenly and pressed a few kisses into Marko's hair before dropping his chin on top of his head, a lazy smile stuck to his face. "Nah, I'm good."

I bent and picked up the bags Marko had dropped and listened as David's footsteps approached. I knew each of them by their gait, even though I hated to admit it. David's footsteps were always quiet, but they had no rhythm when you could hear them. When Dwayne wasn't wearing boots, you couldn't pick up his footsteps, even with vampire hearing; with boots, he was audible, but you could tell him apart from David by the fact that he walked like a marcher - heel to toe with a tempo that nobody heard but him. Marko had his spurs, but he also had a heavier foot than the other which always made a funny sound. Lastly, Paul had the strangest gait; he rarely took even steps, rather preferring something that almost sounded like a dance. He also walked faster than the others unless he had just woken up.

"Do you need help?" David asked, his voice quiet against the loud boardwalk.

I lifted myself and gave him a smile and a kiss. "I'm good, don't worry. Have you got it all boarded up?"

He nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Dwayne is double-checking, so I figured I would come get you guys."

"Alright, let's head over."

Marko let out a loud huff as Paul kicked at his sides like a horse, but he didn't kick him off, choosing to walk with us.

We had bought a house right by the coast. Though the boys loved the cave, they had told me they were looking for a reason to ditch it ever since Max had died. "It's nice and all, but we need a home. Also, who knows if there are any other lost leftover. They would know where we lived. We have enough money saved up,-" though they wouldn't tell me where it came from "-so we can just leave. Find somewhere nice. A home." So we bought a real house, one with five bedrooms and a working kitchen. We wouldn't sleep in the rooms, it had a basement that got cold enough for comfort at night, and we had sealed any little cracks or windows that would have let light in. So, we would sleep in there, and at night, we each had a room for if we wanted to be alone - a rare occasion, but one that did happen.

Tonight was the night that we moved into the house completely.

The walk from the boardwalk wasn't very long, but it was far enough away for the noise to become a low hum in the back of our minds. We didn't want to be too far away considering the boardwalk was filled with quick and easy meals, but we also didn't want to be too close. The house was practically a godsend. It also wasn't close to the woods. I still loved fire, loved the biting feeling at my fingertips, but my dead heart practically jumped out of my chest every time I was near the forest. But, in a town like Santa Carla, it was pretty easy to stay away.

I felt myself relaxing completely at the feeling of sand underneath my feet and David's arm around me. Marko ended up taking off into a sprint while Paul laughed louder and louder. David and I kept our pace though, drinking in the night.

Dwayne was leaning against the door when we reached the house, a small smile on his face. He led us inside and used the link to talk to us. 'It's not all decorated just yet, but the basement is completely sealed, and everything else is cleaned.'

I looked around happily. It was completely different than when we had first browsed around it. With the lights on and everything cleaned out, it was almost beautiful, but it was missing something. So, I placed our bags down and got to work.

The living room was decorated with Marko's art. We went through all of it and chose our favorites and then got them framed - all of this being done behind his back so he didn't freak out. We didn't touch the things we knew he wouldn't want us looking through, though. We hung it up throughout the room wherever we felt it would fit.

We hung new curtains along all the windows, one with little bats and cowboy hats. I thought they were hilarious when I came across them and couldn't stop laughing when we bought them.

One of the chairs in the living room had a large throw blanket of David Bowie's face plastered across it. As a throwback to the time David got plastered and wouldn't stop crying over how beautiful David Bowie was. We were never going to let him live that down.

The bedrooms were decorated according to each person. Paul's was covered in band posters and dog pictures. Clothes were thrown haphazardly onto hangers and onto a small rack he had drilled into the wall, and a rainbow of blankets covered every surface he could have thrown them on.

Marko's was strangely neat with all of his art supplies stored into a variety of drawers and his bed barren except for a huge teddy bear that was bigger than him. Apparently, Dwayne had won it for him on the boardwalk a while back, but I wasn't there for it.

David's room was organized the best out of everyone's. His walls were lined with all forms of music he had bought or stolen, and he was the only one with a TV in his room. He had never liked the quiet, so it made sense that his room was louder than the rest.

Dwayne had originally wanted to keep his room bare. He wanted just a bed and maybe his books, but after a bit of convincing, he had added a bit of decoration. Now, he had thick bookcases lining his walls filled with novels of all kinds, long stretches of vine plants fell from hanging pots, and his bed had the most blankets out of everyone.

Mine was comfortable. I had pictures of the boys and me lining the walls, my favorite was a few from a photobooth we had taken up for about an hour. Matches, lighters, candles, and incense filled the room, and fairy lights replaced the real one, placing everything in a soft glow. My bed was the biggest with enough room to fit all of us comfortably because I knew my room would be invaded the most out of everyone's - though I really didn't mind.

Once we were finished and done admiring our work, we found ourselves back in the living room. The TV was on, and Marko and Paul were splayed across the floor watching a cartoon movie. They both had smiles on their faces and arms thrown around each other. Paul kept pressing kisses to Marko's head, and Marko kept smacking him gently in response. I was sitting in David's lap, watching Dwayne's hands in front of me as he tried to teach me sign language. I was slowly getting the hang of it, but I tended to mix a few things up.

"I love you," David mumbled into my neck, his voice groggy from sleepiness.

I huffed. "I love you, too, David."

I did. I loved them all so much, and when I was with them, I was at home. I was safe.

For now, at least.