Hey there everyone! First off, I am extremely sorry for not updating IFOF in like, forever. Writer's block again. Anyways, this is my new fic, inspired by a new song by The Rasmus by the same name – Ten Black Roses.

Here's a bit about it: There will be 25 chapters, including a Prologue and Epilogue. The chapters will be short, about 1-2 thousand words each. I will try to update as quick as possible and if I can, every few days. I already have the first chapter written as well.

Please give it a go! Would love to hear from you all XD

(PS. Sorry for the crappy formatting of the chapter. The stupid document editor kept screwing everything up!)

TEN BLACK ROSES

DancerInTheDark101

Summary: When Kai's friends start to suspect something isn't quite at home, they pry into the matter. What they find shocks and horrifies them, but does is explain the constant bruising and bandages? What is Kai hiding so desperately? (Abuse, dark themes)

Prologue: Life Is Like A Boat In The Bottle

The hot red of pain slashed through his mind and body as the knife came crashing down again and again on his unprotected flesh. He screamed, not aloud because that would signal weakness, but in the depths of his sub-consciousness where nothing could hurt him.

He screwed his eyes shut as the waves of pain assaulted his battered and bruised body, the slashes cross-crossing over each other like an intricate web of lies and betrayal. All he wished was to curl up in a tight ball to stop the slashes from reaching his flesh and cry. It was all becoming too much to handle. There was only so much one person could bear before it overwhelmed them and their world came crashing down around them.

Another slash, another ounce of awareness gone. Another slash. More slashes followed, until he was unable to feel the pain any more. He lay on the floor, bloodied, with crystalline tear trails snaking their way down his pale face. He stared into the air in front of him, vision blurry and unseeing.

He didn't care anymore. There was too much pain in his life and not enough love. From every day since the accident, his world had slowly been falling apart. He was waiting for the day when everything gave in and shattered. Then, and only then, would he have his peace.

A painful kick landed on his left side and he continued to lie there. There was not even a flinch. He knew the kick must have been painful, every kick was. Yet, he couldn't feel the kick properly. All that reached his senses was a mild twinge in his left ribs, nothing else. Was that a bad thing?

"Worthless piece of scum," spoke the cold, hard voice of his abuser. The man never did have any feelings. How could he when he did this almost every day? "You should have died alongside your worthless parents."

Now, that stung. His parents hadn't been worthless. His mother – from what he remembered – was one of the warmest, most lovely people in the world. And his father had been a strong, strict, but kind man who protected his family till his death.

If anyone was worthless, it was him. He hadn't been prepared for the accident. He hadn't stopped it from happening. He couldn't stop was what happening now. Worthless. That was the one word he would describe himself with.

A sudden slapping sound reached his ears and he felt his head snap to the side, a slight burning spreading over his cheek. Had he just slapped him?

"Get up!" the man standing above him screamed, spit flying from his mouth and landing just below his right eye. Paying the spit no attention, he blinked sluggishly and looked up at him.

Vision blurry, he blinked again and let the scene in front of him sink in as his eyes adjusted. As he was staring upwards, more than slightly dazed, the pain returned full force. Suddenly, he wished for the cold numbness to return so that he didn't have to feel the white-hot waves of pain rushing through his body and seemingly setting it on fire.

Gasping for breath, he bolted upright as a large hand came crashing down to connect with his cheek again. The stinging increased tenfold and he bit back a cry. How had it come to this? Why was he the one who had endured so much pain?

Stumbling to his feet, he swayed slightly, but managed to keep himself upright by placing a pale and bloody hand on the wall beside him. He gazed ahead and was met with a pair of cold, unforgiving grey eyes, malice burning in their depths.

That was it. He wasn't going to give in any more. There was only so much he could do to him and he was pretty sure that the limit had been reached long ago. He was going to stand up for who he was, for what he believed in. He wasn't going to be held down and abused by the man any longer. He was his own person.

Glaring at said man, he took a tentative step forward, wincing as his sprained ankle took most of his weight on it. Ignoring the hard look that was sent his way, he slowly limped past his abuser and towards the stairs.

He stopped abruptly as the sound of heavy footsteps followed him. What did he want now? Hadn't he had his fun for the night?

"Clean yourself up. I want you down for dinner in half an hour." The tone was formal, sharp – like he hadn't just bloodied and bruised him for the past two hours. To the man, it was obviously something akin to a business meeting; something he must attend to.

Trying not to aggravate the head wound too much, he nodded and hid another wince as a painful headache pounded to make it known. If he were lucky, one of the maids would help him clean his wounds and be ready in time for dinner. If he weren't…well, then he probably wouldn't be going to school the next day.

Sighing heavily, he falteringly made his way up the stairs and to his bedroom, which was situated on the third floor. Luckily, one of the maids was waiting outside his door with a bundle of bandages, a needle and thread and antiseptic, ready to treat the wounds.

Frowning, he limped over to the maid. He didn't know why the beating had been so bad before. He hadn't disobeyed the man in the past few weeks. Maybe he was just letting off steam? He had known that to happen a few times in the past years.

Flashing the maid a small, but sad smile, he unlocked his door and stumbled in, his energy reserves almost gone. As he was ushered into the en suite, he thought about the one friend that had always been with him during the beatings.

She had stayed with him, even when he had treated her like shit. But he had forbidden him from seeing her and he missed her warmth that embraced him like his long-dead mother.

"Master?" The maid's voice shook him out of his thoughts and he turned to see her standing there with a sleek, mobile phone in her hand. Sighing, he reached out with his clean hand and placed the small phone next to his ear.

"Hello?" he spoke, trying to hide the roughness from his voice. Whoever it was, they didn't need to know what was going on behind the doors of the mansion.

"Kai? You okay?" Of course, the one person who would see straight through his acting had to be the one to ring.

Closing his eyes, Kai winced as the maid threaded the stitching needle through a cut on his arm. "Yeah, Tala. No, Grandfather's not home. Nothing's happened. I'm fine…"

…TBC…

Please review

Preview: Chapter 1: Try To Sail, You Can't With No Air

The sun rose quickly above the hills to greet the students of Bakuten High with its blazing glory. Birds chirped in their homes in the trees, greeting them as they walked into the large school for the first day of the new term.

One group of students stood beside the front entrance, laughing and greeting each other with high-fives and smiles.

Kai eyed the group of people warily from his place in the shadows of nearby trees. He wasn't sure whether or not to greet them or just skip out on the day altogether. He had been made to go overboard with the makeup to hide the bruising and he was extremely hot, dressed in a black, long-sleeved t-shirt and dark, baggy jeans. Black sunglasses covered his crimson eyes, masking the dark circles around his eyes and one particularly nasty bruise that the makeup hadn't wanted to cover.

Sighing, the bluenette made up his mind and escaped the darkness of the tree's shadows. He ambled over to the group, hoping that he was hiding his discomfort well enough. He was a few metres from the front entrance, when a navy-haired teen caught sight of him and yelled out, waving.

"Kai! Hay! Over here!" the teen called Tyson called enthusiastically.

Kai rolled his eyes behind the glasses and looked at the group. It looked like that he was last one to arrive. His gaze rested on a familiar redhead and he flinched slightly behind the dark sunglasses as Tala's features morphed into a frowning glare.

Oh shit.

PLEASE READ: Below is an extract from the story I am currently writing. It is a vampire novel :) If you like what you read here, send me a PM or email and I will gladly send you what I have written so far. I really want feedback on it! Thank you. Hope you enjoy.

Oh and by the way: the main character's name is Szethyn.

As he gazed into the mirror, he realised how much he looked like his long-dead father. They had the same eyes, the same high cheekbones and the same petulant pout that drove a number of the female population insane.

Mind floating to the past, he thought about his life before his rebirth.

He had been born in 1682 in what was now called San Francisco. His village had been a relatively small one, but the villagers had been very close and watched each others' backs at all times. Growing up had been a privilege, as many of the boys his age had been forced to join the military and fight pointless wars. Many of his friends had left one day and had returned only days later – in a wooden box called a coffin.

It had been a cold night in March when they had come. He had only recently had his eighteenth birthday, the day when he was recognised as a man.

They came at night, under the blanket of darkness to disguise their attack. He could clearly remember the screams from the dying women and children, being torn apart by their loved ones. They had turned most of the village men that night, turning them into cold blooded, cold hearted killers.

He had been one of them.

And he had never looked back since.

Killing his family had been easy…

Please let me know what you think!

-Dancer-