Eighteen Years after Paperkites...

Tasha Highmark woke up on Monday morning in a rush.

She'd slept through her first alarm, her second, and had been awoken by an aggravating phone call from her guitarist who was under the impression that their band meeting started five minutes ago.

She threw her thick duvet onto the floor and ran to the closet, picking out the first wrinkled pair of jeans she could find and a black sweatshirt that she wasn't completely sure belonged to her by the way the sleeves were hanging off her hands.

A disgruntled moan from her bed gave a clue as to who it belonged to.

As she sat next to him, pulling on her boots and trying to do up the laces, his hand snuck around her waist and tried to pull her down to bed with him. She giggled but groaned, "No! I need to get to the meeting!"

"You can be a little late," his voice came huskily as he wormed his face out from under the covers and looked up at her with his grey eyes pleading with her.

"I really need to go," Tasha answered, shifting out of his grasp and reaching for her keys and handbag. "Make sure you lock the door before you go, okay?"

"I don't have work today," he answered with a smug smile.

"Then don't burn down my house."

"I'll be here when you get back," he said with a wide grin.

"Good, I'll probably need to get rid of some frustration."

"Ergh, Tasha," he groaned as she leaned down and muffled his protests with her lips. Pulling away, slightly satisfied, she kissed his cheek lightly where his scar ended and leaned back.

"Run fast," he chuckled as she sprinted out the door. He ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair and gave a satisfied sigh before finishing as she closed the door, "Hurry back, Ash."

xxx

"Felix wear you out last night?"

"Eww! Sam! You're disgusting!" Erin, the only other girl in the band threw a cushion at Sam's laughing face as Tasha walked in rolling her eyes. Jayden walking into the room then, carrying his laptop in his arms as he sank into the lounge beside Erin. Danny followed with a few mugs of coffee which everyone practically leapt on.

"At least I don't need coffee to wake up," Tasha pointed out.

"No, you needed something a little harder to wake you up," Danny said with a smirk.

"Yeah," Tasha said stonily. "Your fucking phone call."

"No need to get snappy," Danny replied. "Did you want a tea?"

"Because he knows how she likes it," Sam called, suggestively raising his eyebrows as Danny went into the kitchen.

"You boys are insufferable," Erin groaned. Tasha had moved beyond their dirty minds, taking as many jabs at their lack of sex lives that they did at hers. Mind you, they got on with Felix like a house on fire and she hated it.

"Aww, come on Erin," Jayden said, still not looking up from the email he was typing. "Some of us actually hold down decent jobs and don't make dirty insinuations and actually turn up to meetings on time." That was definitely aimed at Tasha.

"It's not my fault that no one taught me anything in high school," Tasha shrugged, not letting on how much that dig at decent jobs actually hurt. "I enjoy working at Target. Leave me be."

"It's better than those of us who are unemployed," Danny answered, returning with a mug of black tea. "And paying rent to their parents off gig money."

"There there, Danny," Sam patted him on the back as he pulled up a stool and grabbed his guitar to pick at the strings absently. "You'll move out one day. You might get laid one day too, but I don't see that day being anytime soo – OW!" Danny's tuning pegs were going to leave bruises on Sam's ribs.

"Hush children!" Jayden answered, finally looking up. "So, we've got a gig coming up down at Selvia's."

"Selvia's!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

"No way she'd let us back after last time," Danny said in amazement.

"Yeah, didn't I completely ruin her back room?" Sam's brow was furrowed in confusion.

"I told her that you and Danny were married now and at terms with your love for one another, so there wouldn't be any destructive quickies in the back room. Sam."

"I do not regret my choice of lifestyle," Sam answered, his nose up in the air. "Those girls were hot…wait…she thinks that we're…"

"She was all for it," Jayden replied with an evil grin. "In fact, she's using it for advertising purposes."

"Good God, man. I'm never going to get any because of you."

"Maybe it'll teach you a lesson," Jayden said, knowing that he'd simply find a girl to take back to their apartment anyway and he'd end up sleeping on Erin's couch to avoid the noises next door.

"Well, what are we playing?"

"The usual set list," he answered, bringing it up on his laptop before ordering everyone, "Avengers assemble!"

Nobody moved.

"'Positions' works just as well, Jay," Tasha reminded him and he sighed.

"I couldn't have chosen a more boring band."

xxx

Felix threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before dragging his phone from its charger and checking his Facebook. It had been relatively easy to fit in once he'd acclimatised to this world's technology, and now, it was nearly impossible to tell he was from another realm.

Save for the marks across his skin which, despite having told Tasha's band, he got from a car crash, he'd actually gotten in battles in the past three hundred years.

Today marked the second year he'd been in New York. It was the fourteenth that Natasha Asteria Highmark had been here.

And she didn't remember why.

It was his job to be there for her when she did remember, but he thought it would have happened by now. He thought they would be home by now. He thought that they would be safe.

"Don't worry guys," he murmured to himself as he closed his eyes wistfully thinking of home. Of Pan and Evie and Emma. "Someday soon, I'll bring her back to you."

Aight guys. Quite plainly, I couldn't make myself stay away. Updating this is like an addiction, and I wanted to get some done before I start Uni, cause I'm gonna be horrible at time management and shiz. But anyway.

Obviously, this picks up in a very different place from where we left off, but don't worry, as usual, our flashbacks will tell the story. =P

I love you guys! Review and tell me what you think!

Hugs and butterfly kisses,

YouSaid.

P.S. Any new readers? This is a sequel so you might wanna head over and read Paperkites. But of course, you don't have to, things might just be a little confusing. =P