Risks

A little grin quirks the corner of Gunner's mouth as Bree leans back against him. Her comment makes the grin spread. Slowly, he lets his chin rest on Bree's head. "If it weren't for you... I'm not sure this vampire would have a night sky to look at right now."

His arms move a little tighter. "Thank you."

A silent moment is suddenly broken by the rumbling of Gunner's stomach. "Aw man." He can't help a brief laugh as he backs away, letting Bree go. "I guess my stomach can't live off the stars like the rest of me can."


Kyle slings his duffel bag over his shoulder and heads back to the intimidating front doors of the mansion. He and Alice hadn't needed very much time to go gather their things from the hotel, and had now returned to Erik's house.

Ringing the doorbell, this time it's Erik who answers it. He gives them both a big smile, but instead of inviting them in right away, he joins them on the porch.

"Hey, guys. Get everything?"

Kyle nods, his free hand holding Alice's. "Yep. You still sure about this?"

"Pft, of course... can you see how many rooms are in this place? I think we have the room."

Kyle laughs. "This is true."

"Um..." Erik runs a hand through his hair. "I guess I wanted to talk to you guys alone before going back inside."

Kyle shifts a little uneasily, giving Alice a sidelong glance of discomfort. "Okay... what's up?"

"I wanted to explain about Kip, just so you guys understood." Erik leans against one of the porch pillars. "He's lived here with my family for a few years now - he's pretty much like a little brother, so you'll probably see that he's got rights around here like any family member."

Kyle lifts his eyebrows, but doesn't find it too surprising. "I see."

"There's more..." Erik hesitates. "And I guess I should have told you sooner in case it affects the future."

Now Kyle is worried, and his grip tightens around Alice's hand tightens. "Go on."

"Kip's from an abusive home situation." Erik sighs, clearly bothered by it. "When he was younger, his sister died, his mom walked out, and his dad became a drunk. A few years ago, I finally got him to come live here - I guess we unofficially adopted him." He pauses to take a breath. "Thing is... his dad still hounds him. Mostly for money, since he knows he lives here. We've... tried to get Kip to cut his ties but..." He shrugs, obviously having been at a loss for a while now. "That was who was on the phone earlier. It usually upsets Kip pretty bad, but his dad has some kind of hold on him, maybe it's just because it's his dad, but Kip won't tell him not to call anymore. His dad has... threatened him in numerous ways... some connected to the band."

Kyle takes the information in and glances at Alice a couple times. He was sorry to hear that Kip had had such a rough time. He never would have guessed it of the rather hyper and funny young man. "So what you're saying is that as a band, we might run into some trouble at some time or another."

"Yes."

Kyle can't help a little grin. "Not everybody knows that JetStream has its own bodyguard since Jason, lead singer, is an Elite agent. I'm not gonna shy away from an angry father."

Erik smiles, noticeably breathing a sigh of relief. "You're okay with this then?"

"I am..."

Erik cocks his head to Alice. "We're considering you part of this too. You alright with any of this risk?"