A dark rose

Dan watched her from afar, the wind blowing his midnight hair against his face.

He was wearing a black coat, black hat, hands in pocket.

His heart clenched as he heard her soft laughter from the other side of the road.

She was at the bookshop...with Philip.

They were both laughing together and Dan's heart raced even more.

It's been almost six months...

Six months since that night.

He'd missed her, he'd missed them both but he knew that life was over. The life of peace he had.

Everything was over...at least for him.

Leaving was for the best, it was either that or risk losing her. But he would die first before he allowed even a hair on her head go out of place.

He turned away, closing his eyes.

When he opened them, they were a startling yellow and he was standing in front of the gate of an old mansion.

The door opened to him and he let himself in.

The mansion stood hauntingly in the surrounding forest, dark clouds looming overhead.

It was a place for the damned—like himself.

He put off his coat and hat and hanged it on the rack.

He let out a sigh and sat in the cushioned chair.

He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Lily, " he breathed.

A tear escaped his lid.

He was lonely. When he'd combusted and turned into that despicable creature and had passed out, he'd found himself in the mansion—completely human, with fresh clothes and beddings.

But some things hadn't remained the same.

His chestnut hair had turned midnight black and his hazel eyes...they'd turned an abominable yellow.

The Sentinels had brought him there.

Apparently, they were more real than he'd thought. Manifesting in the physical world and having substance.

He hadn't eaten for days, tried starving himself-it was better than living with that thing inside of him.

But even that hadn't worked.

But he guessed it was for the best, Lily would be safe.

'She would be safe...'

The hunger never subsided, in fact daily, the hunger increased.

It felt like there was a void inside of him, and no matter how much he ate, the hunger never left.

It was a miserable life.

The only person capable of satiating his hunger was the person he needed to be the farthest away from.

He missed her...so much.

Her warm smiles, her soft forest-green eyes.

She was such a beauty to behold, an enigma.

He didn't know why she'd stayed with him—with all his problems.

Now she knew everything, and him regaining all his memories had been torture.

He'd remembered every. single. detail.

How brutally he'd murdered his family; his father, mother and younger sister.

And she knows what he'd done.

She must be disgusted, sickened by him.

He could never show his face, and it hurt him.

Being away from her, all those months had been nothing but torture, physically and emotionally.

He could hardly stand it.

"You are back, " Peace said, emerging out of the shadows.

Dan sighed softly.

"He never listens, " Anger grumbled, standing beside Peace.

"Nothing good can ever come from you going secretly to see her, you two can never be, " Sin interjected quietly from the corner of the room, standing and watching.

"She'll never want an abomination like you, " Peace declared.

Dan gritted his teeth.

"Forget about her, what you need to do is to find a way to break this curse. There's an invincible seal on your heart and as long as that evil seal remains, you can never be truly human, "

Dan hit the antique centre table in the living room with such force, it reduced to dust.

"Shut up!"

"Just shut the fuck up, all of you!"

His breathing was ragged.

He turned to face all of them.

"I never asked for any of this, " Tears fell from his eyes.

"I love her, don't you understand?!"

"You don't, you only think you do, " Royalty asserted quietly, emerging beside Dan.

"Your heart is sick, " it continued softly.

Dan's brows furrowed tiredly and he sunk to the polished floor.

"Can't you do something about this hunger?" he whispered, head bowed.

His hair shielded most of his face from them.

It was killing him, not being near her.

It was literally killing him.

"There is nothing we can do young one, " Peace said almost contritely.

"It hurts, " he whispered.

He didn't care what they said, he was still going to see her.

Even if seeing her tore him apart, he would still do it.

It was her, it would always be her.

√√√

"Philip, have you heard anything from Detective Robins?" Lily climbed the counter and stared at Philip.

Philip sighed and turned to her, he could see the bags underneath her eyes.

"You've been having those nightmares again haven't you?" he stated.

"It's not important, " she grumbled.

"So, have you heard anything?" she asked again.

Philip sighed running his hand through his dark locks.

Lily's heart clenched, 'Dan used to do that.'

She swallowed a sob and looked away.

Philip had caught the look in her eyes but pretended not to.

She didn't need him hounding on her every single moment she got like that, she wasn't some unbreakable plate.

He sighed once again-he realised he'd been doing that a lot.

"The detective called and said there were still no new leads."

"Although, about his room, she expressed her confusion. The source of the fire is still yet to be found."

"According to forensic, nothing in the house could have started the fire, so unless Hellboy had decided to pay Dan a visit or...something really strange is going on."

Philip sighed thoroughly frustrated.

He faced Lily and noticed the faraway look in her eyes.

'She was zoning out again.'

"Lily." He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. But unfortunately, the movement had been too sudden, so she slipped off the counter.

Philip caught her easily, annoyed.

He placed her down gently.

"Why are you so jittery? What were you thinking about?"

He scrutinised her petite face, but she wasn't meeting his eyes.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair-yet again.

"You know, Dan would want me to take care of you."

"But I can't do that if you maintain keeping things from me." He placed a hand on his hip, eyes narrowed at her.

Lily looked up at him.

She felt so useless.

All these months, he'd put up with her childish ways, never for once complaining.

He was a good friend.

"I'm so sorry Philip, " she said quietly.

He let out a breath and pinched the bridge of his freckled nose.

"If you're really sorry, then tell me what's up. Is it those nightmares?"

She nodded softly.

He held her hand and dragged her to the mini cafe.

She gasped softly at the suddenness.

He made her sit and dropped a mug of hot cocoa in front of her.

Her eyes lowered when she remembered when Dan had done the same thing.

Without being able to stop it, tears fell down her eyes.

She quickly wiped the tears.

"I'm sorry."

Philip paused to look at her, his brows were furrowed in worry.

He noticed she'd lost weight.

He sighed and sat opposite her with his own mug.

"Okay, spill it."

Lily looked at him and she managed a smile before lowering her eyes to her hands.

"It's the same nightmare, " she started softly.

A pause.

"I keep seeing him, Philip, " she whispered.

"I keep seeing him covered in flames, in excruciating pain, "

"What if he's..., " her voice shook.

"What if he's dead?" she cried.

"What if Dan is dead?" She couldn't help the tears that fell down her cheeks.

"Seeing him in a lot of pain is just too much, "

"The thought of him being somewhere, alone, breaks my heart, "

Her eyes lowered

She tried wiping her eyes.

She heard him stand and felt his arms wrap around her.

She was surprised but then slowly, she relaxed.

"I keep hearing his screams, " she whispered, "in my head."

"What if he's alive and he's in a lot of pain? I don't know what I would do, " she whispered.

"I just want him back."

"I just want my Dan back."

"It's okay, Lily, we'll find him," he said comfortingly, but Philip didn't quite believe his own words anymore.

It's been six months.

√√√

Dan stared at both of them—Philip hugging Lily.

He wished he could be the one comforting them.

His eyes lowered.

It's not like he could actually go to them.

But it touched his heart how far they had gone to look for him, he didn't know if he deserved such a gift, not from good people like them.

He was a monster—an abomination.

They represented everything he wanted but could never have.

He let out a breath.

He turned to walk away but then he heard an angelic voice. It was Lily's.

"Dan!"

His eyes widened and he froze.

He was on the other side and cars passed swiftly by in between.

He didn't dare move, he wasn't the only Dan in the city.

"Daniel Winslow!"

His eyes dilated.

Hesitantly, he turned to the side and saw Lily open the bookshop...and she was staring at him.

Dan's heart pulsated wildly in his chest, his mind shut down and all he could do, was stare back at her.

She started moving towards him—that brought him back to reality.

He turned and started walking away.

"Dan!" She was getting closer.

"Wait, stop!"

He paused.

She was about ten metres away.

He should keep moving but he heard her move towards him.

She was behind him now.

He held his breath.

"Dan, is it really you?" Her voice sounded ghost-like like she wasn't quite sure.

Slowly, Dan turned around.

And when he did, he wished he hadn't.

Philip had run after her, probably because of her hysteric state.

"Daniel?" she whispered.

Hearing her say his name, sent his heart in a heated frenzy.

He couldn't stop looking at her.

'They weren't supposed to meet, not like this.'

Philip quickly stepped forward and pulled Lily to him.

That made his heart feel like it was being ripped into pieces.

"Step away from him Lily, "

"That is not our Dan, " Philip said taking a few steps away from him, pulling her with him.

Dan wanted to reach out but he stopped himself.

He let his hand drop to his side.

'Who could blame him?'

He looked completely different from the Dan they knew.

The Dan in front of them wasn't wearing any glasses, was paler, hair wasn't their usual chestnut but a startling black which reached his chin.

And his hazel eyes were yellow, almost amber.

"Let's go, Lily, " Philip said quietly into her ear.

But Lily couldn't stop looking at him.

A tear escaped her eye.

"Are you not Dan?" she whispered.

That question twisted his insides and spat it out on the dry ground to shrivel.

'What was he supposed to say to that?'

Dan stared at her for the longest time and then he shook his head.

"You've got the wrong person, miss," he smiled softly.

"O-Oh, I t-thought..."

She sighed and looked away.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone I knew, " she said quietly.

"I'm sorry for stopping you—quite rudely, "

"We'll be on our way, " Philip tightened his hold around her and turned her around in the direction of the bookshop.

She chanced a final look at him before looking away.

Dan had caught the mixed emotions in her eyes.

By the time they got to the bookshop and Lily looked back to where they came...

...he was gone.

√√√

'I thought you were someone I knew...'

'You've got the wrong person.'

'O-Oh, I t-thought...'

Dan crushed the half-empty glass cup in his hand.

Blood dripped on the antique carpet rug.

He lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

He sat on the floor and propped his hand on his raised knee.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand-the hand with broken shards of glass.

His breath came out unevenly and his hands trembled.

'Step away from him Lily.'

'He's not our Dan.'

He clenched his jaws.

He was alone...alone...

Nobody cared.

Nobody

'Please, eat something.'

'I like you, Dan.'

'I like everything about you...'

'I love your beautiful hazel eyes.'

Dan clutched his hair not minding the pain that shot through his palm.

'I don't know Lily, I wouldn't want to disappoint you.'

'It doesn't matter, it'll be good, as long as it comes from the heart.'

"Lily, " he sobbed softly.

'You'll be okay, we both will.'

"I don't think I'll ever be okay."

...