Ludub

Haha! Glad I was actually able to surprise you! I thought I'd been very heavy-handed with the clues throughout the story but I suppose they're only obvious if you already know.... Yeah, Mason really got the wrong end of the stick and ran with it, didn't he? He does like to settle things with his fists a lot so I thought this was something he probably would do. For a doctor, he's not really the brightest a lot of the time. And Pembie? Ewww! Thanks guys! New chapter almost written so it'll be up tonight or tomorrow!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the really long wait for this chapter. That was a long 'few days'! Really hope you like this next chapter. WARNING ADULT THEMES! Chapter 7 Sunday night… “Do you think I should go and ask Brody if he wants some dinner?” asked Tori, as she set the bowl of salad in the middle of the table, “I mean… do you think he’d agree to come out here?” “I doubt it” said Justin, with a little sigh. He carried the pan of pasta over to the table and set it on one of the place mats. “I just don’t think he’s ready…” “But if we don’t at least try to make things normal for him…?” she started to say. “It doesn’t matter how normal we try to make things” he said, giving a little shrug “Things aren’t normal… and he’s not dealing… like at all!” “He needs to eat” she replied, “Maybe eating with the rest of us would make him feel a little better?” “Tori! You can’t force things!” he argued, “You can’t just make him feel better because you want him to… It doesn’t work that way.” He’d certainly seen that earlier, and he was surprised that Tori was so clueless about dealing with a rape victim when she would have seen so many of them in her role as a doctor. “I know!” she sighed, as she slumped into one of the chairs at the dining table, “I just… I feel so helpless!” She wanted to barge her way into that room right now and throw her arms around him. She knew that it was the wrong thing to do, and that he wouldn’t thank her for it. She knew that absolutely! As a doctor! As a rational thinking human being! She knew that forcing things with him wasn’t going to help at all, but her heart said something different… “I just…” she said, tearing up a little, “I hate this, Justin… I hate this!” Justin walked around the table and put his arms around her. “I know” he said, resting his head on top of hers, “I hate it too.” Suddenly, they heard Brody’s door open. “Is that?!” asked Tori, turning to look. “Yeah, I think it is” he replied, letting her go and walking towards the hallway. “Brodes?!” he exclaimed when he saw his brother walk out into the livingroom, “We didn’t think you’d want any…” “I don’t” said Brody, glancing at the table of food with a look of revulsion. “Where are you going?!” asked Tori, taking in the rucksack that he was carrying and the fact that he was dressed in his work clothes, “You’re not going to work, are you?!” “Yeah… I am” he said, as he headed towards the door. It was clear that he wanted out of there as quickly as possible and really didn’t want to talk to them. ‘Why didn’t I just go out the window?!’ he thought to himself. “Wait, Brodes?!” called Justin, as he raced towards the door and caught hold of his arm. “Get off me!” he growled, glaring at him and wrenching his arm away, “Don’t touch me!” “Brodes, please?!” pleaded Justin, “Just stay… Stay and talk to us?” He shook his head and tried to open the door again but Justin held it closed. “I need to see how the restaurant’s doing” he reasoned, as he tried to pull the door open, “I can’t just let thigs fall apart.” “Phoebe and Mason are looking after things tonight” said Tori, who was now standing beside Justin with her arms wrapped across her chest. She looked so worried for him. “Who made that decision?” asked Brody. He couldn’t help resenting Phoebe being involved in all of this. He didn’t like that she’d been gossiping about him. “Well… you weren’t here” said Justin, “So… we figured out shifts so we could all cover.” “Yeah, we’ve all done a few hours” said Tori, “Everyone’s been really good… Phoebe, Ash, even Olivia!” He looked at his siblings’ worry-filled faces and felt a pang of guilt. Everyone was being so kind to him and he’s was being so ungrateful! “Thanks” he said, softening a little, “I appreciate that.” “Will you just sit down and talk to us?” asked Tori, seeing a small chink in his armour, “We just want to… It might… It might help if you… y’know… if you talked about things?” He gave a little snort and shook his head. No amount of talking was ever going to fix his problems! “I need to go” he said, nodding for Justin to let him open the door. “Come on, mate?” coaxed Justin, “I’m sorry for what I said earlier… I’m an idiot!” “You are” agreed Brody, “But… it’s okay… I know you didn’t mean any harm…” “I am, sorry, though” said Justin. “So… do you wanna sit down?” asked Tori, sounding much more hopeful now, “Maybe have something to eat?” He glanced across at the table and saw the pan full of pasta slowly congealing. It was penne pasta with Justin’s favourite store bought pasta sauce dumped on top. The mere thought of it made his stomach turn! “Uhh… no thanks” he said, giving them an apologetic little shrug, “I’m still gonna head to the restaurant and see what’s going on.” “Okay” said Justin, “I’ll come too.” “No, you won’t!” snapped Brody. He hadn’t meant to sound quite so hostile but it had come out that way. “You’re staying here” he insisted. “I just… I’m worried about you Brodes” said Justin, looking more than a little hurt, “Are you sure you want to go out there… alone?” He gave a little snort. “I’ll be fine” he said, backing away in a ‘don’t follow me’ kind of way, “I’ll talk to you later… when I get home.” He walked away from the house and started to head towards the restaurant. Every now and then, he glanced back to check that Justin and Tori weren’t following him, but so far it seemed like they’d respected his wishes. He just wanted to try to be normal. Maybe if he threw himself back into his work, then things would be okay?! Maybe he could just carry on as though nothing had ever happened? After all, he’d spent his whole life keeping the real ‘him’ a secret from everyone he knew, in more ways than one! He was a seasoned liar, a master at hiding in plain sight… Maybe he could do the same with this? Maybe he could just suppress his desires, and pretend that they weren’t there? Maybe just try to live a normal life? Maybe he could do it if he tried hard enough?! Maybe no-one ever had to know? He glanced at the stretch of beach where ‘it’ had happened and shuddered a little. How had he let such a thing happen to him?! Why had he allowed himself to be a victim?! Why had he been the one chosen?! He still didn’t have an answer to those questions. He paused for a moment outside the surf club and looked up at the brightly lit restaurant above. How was he going to do this? Just walk in there and pretend that everything was exactly the same as it had been on Friday night? As though his whole world hadn’t been turned upside down?! How was he going to pass himself? God, was he nervous! He went inside and slowly climbed the stairs. He could already tell that the place was heaving! Just full to the brim of young holidaymakers and students! He could hear them all in there. So full of life! He stopped at the door and looked at the sea of faces. That 2 for 1 cocktail voucher had certainly done the trick. He hadn’t seen the place this busy for a long time! Suddenly, he became aware of a scuffle going on near the bar as some glasses got knocked off the bar and smashed. Two men seemed to be fighting and a crowd had formed to watch. There were excited shouts and whoops, and loud grunting noises. “Hey!” he shouted as he made his way through the crowd, “Hey! Stop it!” The crowd parted and he managed to push his way through. It was Mason and a man with a beard. He had him on the ground and he was sitting on top of him. He couldn’t see who the other man was. “**** you!” growled Mason, as he punched the man in the face repeatedly, “I know what you did! I know what you did to my brother! You sick ****!” “Mason!” yelled Brody, as he moved forward to drag him off the other man. What were their customers going to think?! What kind of place was this, if they allowed their staff to attack people right in the middle of the restaurant?! “What are you doing?!” he roared, as he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away, “What the hell are you doing?!” “It’s him!” shouted Mason, as he pointed at the bloodied body on the floor, “It’s him… the bastard just walked in here, like he owns the place!” The other man had his hands up in front of his face now and appeared to be crying. “It’s that bastard that… that… that raped you!” shouted Mason. Brody’s mouth fell open. It was Kris on the floor, all covered in blood, and Mason had just announced to the whole of Summer Bay that he’d been raped! He looked around the room at all the shocked looking faces. They weren’t looking at Kris anymore. They were looking at him! “What the ****?!” coughed Kris, as he sat up and hugged his arms around his stomach. Mason must have kicked him there too. “I didn’t ****ing rape anyone!” he exclaimed. Mason made a move to go in for round two, but someone held him back. “This is assault!” said Kris, looking around him at the crowd of people that had just watched Mason kick lumps out of him, “And I have witnesses!” “Shut up!” snarled Mason, as he took his phone out of his pocket. “I’m gonna call the cops! See how far you get with your assault charges when they find out what you did!” He made a show of dialling the number, but Brody snatched the phone out of his hand and shook his head at him. “Kris… I…” Brody started to say. “I didn’t do anything to you!” shouted Kris, as he clambered to his feet and stared at Brody in anger, “And if you’re saying that I did, you’re a ****ing liar! …You wanted it! You were into it! …You know it …and I know it!” Brody looked around at all the shocked faces again and noticed that Justin was standing there. He and Mason were both looking at him rather expectantly. He just wanted to run away. “He… he didn’t” he stammered, “He didn’t rape me…” Back to Saturday night… “Hey” said a young female voice, “Hey, mister… are you okay?!” “Mmmm” groaned Brody, as he slowly became aware of something nudging him and poking him in the shoulder. He was being rocked back and forth rather insistently. “I don’t have all night mister” said the young voice again, “I need my money…” She sounded a little edgy and frustrated. “Come on!” she whined, as she kneeled down in front of him and gave him a hard shake with both hands. “Wake up!” she shouted at him, “He won’t pay me unless I do it!” “Wuh?” he asked, in a groggy sort of voice. “Wake up!” she said again, sounding increasingly impatient. He opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at up at her. “Uhhhh… where am I?” he asked, becoming more and more aware of a range of unpleasant smells surrounding him; a mixture of rotting food, and damp, and human body fluids. He was lying on a very old and soiled mattress, in what seemed to be some kind of doss house or squat. The whole place stank to high heaven. As he squinted to try to see her a little better, a look of recognition slowly passed over his face when he realised who she was. It was the same rough looking young girl that he’d bumped into earlier. Up close, she seemed a little older than he’d originally thought. Maybe 18 or 19? “Does it matter?” asked the girl, with an angry little shrug. “Does it matter where I am?!” he repeated, furrowing his brows at her in confusion, “Yeah, it matters…” He sat up, and had to put his hand out to steady himself. He was still so dizzy and weak! The pain in his stomach was only getting worse, like someone had a hold of it and just kept twisting and twisting! He’d never experienced hunger like this. “It shouldn’t” she said, rolling her eyes at him. “What is this place?” he asked, as he started to become accustomed to the gloom. It seemed to be some old business premises of some sort. Maybe an old clothing store? There were a couple of broken mannequins propped against a wall and what looked like wooden serving counters. Whatever it had been in the past, it had long since been abandoned and allowed to fall into disrepair. All the windows were boarded up, with chinks of artificial street lighting casting an orange glow on the walls. The light fittings overhead had been disconnected, and only loose wires hung there now, and even the light switches had been torn out. There were mattresses everywhere, just like his, and bodies crashed out on them wherever he looked. There were used needles lying around, as well as little bits of burnt tin foil and spoons. This was clearly a drug den. Someone had brought him to a doss house and turfed him on a mattress to sleep among the junkies! How had he gotten himself into a mess like this?! The last thing that he remembered was passing out in an alleyway. “Who are you?” he asked, “Why did you bring me here?” “I’m no-one” she said, standing up again and staring down at him a little coldly, “And this is nowhere…” He shook his head and stared around him. This didn’t make any sense. What had she been saying about money before? “It’s where Morten told me to bring you” she added. “Morten?” he asked. He didn’t know anyone called Morten. “Yeah…” she said, rolling her eyes at him again. It was like he was the dumbest person that she’d ever met and everything that came out of his mouth was incredibly stupid. “He told me to take care of you.” she said, looking at him with pure disgust on her face, “So, can we get the show on the road so I can get my money?!” “What d’ya mean?!” asked Brody. A terrible thought was running through his mind. Was this young girl a prostitute? Had someone paid her to sleep with him?! “He told me to bring you here” she said, in a tone that said, ‘I don’t have time for this… Can we just get on with it?’. “For what?!” he asked, beginning to panic. She gave a frustrated sort of huff and stopped to look at him. “You really don’t know?!” she asked, “You really don’t know why you’re here?!” She was looking at him as though he was something she’d just scraped off her shoe. He shook his head. He didn’t know anything for sure right now. All he could hear was a heartbeat and it was thumping so loudly that it seemed deafening. She gave a little snort, and stood there looking at him with her hands on her hips. She was obviously waiting for him to say something or to make a move. “Really?!” she repeated in a disbelieving way. “I uh… I don’t know what…” he began to say. “Oh, for God’s sake!” she exclaimed, before stomping off across the room and out into the hallway. He watched her go, and wondered at the fact that he could still smell her, even after the door had banged shut. No-one had ever smelt so good to him. She almost smelt edible. God, he was hungry! He sat there on the mattress and wondered whether he should get up and try to find something to eat. Then he noticed a backpack on the floor. The girl must have left it there. He could see a brown paper bag poking out of the top, the kind you might get from McDonald’s, and wondered whether there might be some food in there. He looked around quickly to make sure that he wasn’t being watched and then opened her bag to have a better look. The bag was from a pharmacy and was stuffed full of energy drinks and bottles of iron supplement pills. But right in the bottom of the bag was a sandwich! He was in luck! An old sweaty looking sandwich wrapped in cling film, but beggars couldn’t be choosers! He would have eaten anything right now! He snatched it from the bag and then looked towards the door again. He didn’t know where she’d gone or how long it would be before she got back. Stealing from her really wasn’t cool, he knew that, but surely it was better than sleeping with her?! Then again, she didn’t seem too friendly. She probably wouldn’t take too kindly to him stealing her food. Maybe he should try to run?! Maybe he should just get up and go while he had the chance?! He took a deep breath and tried to stand up, but staggered immediately, and fell back onto the mattress. His head was spinning! He felt sick. ‘Okay’ he said to himself, ‘Eat the sandwich first… then run!’ He began to unwrap the sandwich and brought it towards his mouth. It looked like some kind of cheese but it smelt revolting! Like something decomposing! He opened it a little to look at it. It was just yellow cheese and a few slices of onion. It didn’t look bad… ‘Just eat it!’ he said to himself, ‘You need it… You need food!’ With that, he took a big bite, and began to chew. The taste was overwhelmingly bad; like eating meat that had been rotting for weeks! ‘Oh God!’ he thought to himself, as he started to retch, ‘Oh ****, this is disgusting!’ He stood up and began to retch, leaning on a wooden counter for support. “What the **** are you doing?!” shouted the young girl, “Were you eating my sandwich?! How ****ing stupid are you?!” He turned to look at her with teary looking eyes. “I was hungry” he said, before starting to retch again and vomiting what looked like blood on the floor. “Oh ****!” he said, wiping at his mouth and staring at the blood in horror. “That’s what happens” she said, swiping the half-eaten sandwich out of his hand, “That’s what you get for trying to eat my sandwich! …You can’t eat that, not anymore!” “You… You poisoned it?!” he asked, collapsing back onto the mattress, “You poisoned me?!” “What?!” she asked, starting to laugh, “You think… You actually think I poisoned you… I poisoned a sandwich just in case some idiot tried to steal it from me?!” He stared up at her in fear and clutched his stomach. That growling hunger was back, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore. Why did she smell so good?! How could he be getting sick, but find the way that she smelled so enticing?! “How dumb are you?!” she asked, laughing and shaking her head, “I can’t believe you actually tried to eat a sandwich!” She was laughing hysterically now. “I don’t understand?” he coughed, “What’s so funny?!” “Morten said you were fresh” she said, before flopping down on the mattress beside him, “But he didn’t say you were completely ****ing clueless!” “Who the **** is Morten?!” he asked, with a little flash of anger. He was sick and he didn’t like being laughed at. She smirked, as she continued to giggle, and began to unwind the scarf from around her neck. “You really don’t know?!” she asked. “No! I don’t ****ing know!” he growled, “Can you stop talking in riddles?!” “How can you not remember?” she asked, “I mean… He’s the one that ‘made’ you… I think I’d remember that!” “Made me?” he repeated. He didn’t understand. “Yeah… y’know?” she said, using the sort of tone you would with a two year old, “The vampire that made you… Fangs and stuff… That guy!” He stared at her in shock. Did she just say ‘vampire’?! Some part of him had been pretending that this whole thing wasn’t happening. He’d been trying to tell himself that he’d just imagined it, and that the bites on his neck were really just the marks from some sort of insect. Or maybe the blonde man that had bitten him was actually just a mental patient and he’d simply been drawn into this delusion by the power of suggestion? Or maybe it had all been a dream?! But here she was, some girl he’d never met before, and she’d just said that he was a vampire! What on earth was going on?! “I’m a… You’re saying I’m a… a vampire?” he stammered. “You’re saying you’re not?” she asked, tilting her head at him in a mocking sort of way. “But… there’s no such thing as vampires…” he said, “I mean… they’re make believe…” “So… you’re trying to tell me that you don’t like the way I smell?” she asked, as she sat there with the scarf still loosely wound around her neck, “You don’t look at me and think ‘my god, she smells amazing!’” He looked down at the floor in shame. Of course, he’d been thinking that! There was something about her that drew him to her, in a way that he’d never been attracted to anyone… and now that she’d pointed out what it was, he couldn’t ignore it. She had a scent that was overpoweringly delicious. He wanted to lick her from head to toe. What was wrong with him?! “You aren’t looking at me like you’d look at food?” she asked. He glanced up at her in a shamefaced sort of way. She did smell tasty to him. He was sure that he could hear her blood coursing through her veins. “I thought so” she smirked. “But… I…” he stammered. This was insane! How could he really be a vampire?! How could they be sitting here talking about vampires as though it was the most normal thing in the world?! As though they weren’t just fantasy characters in movies and books. Why was he looking at her wrists in this way? Looking at the veins… Was that his own heartbeat that he could hear, or was it hers? “Morten said it was your first time…” she said, becoming all ‘business’ about it again, “So… I need you to know that there are some ground rules…” She unwrapped her neck and revealed the marks for the first time. There were multiple puncture wounds in neat little sets of two. “Who the **** is Morten?!” he gasped, “Did he do that to you?!” His hand had shot up to the marks on his own neck. He only had one set of puncture wounds, she had about six! “Morten’s your master” she said, with a little shrug, “Isn’t he?” “My master?” he asked, looking more than a little perturbed. “Yeah…” she said, giving him a look that said ‘how dumb are you?!’, “He’s like… the one that ‘made’ you… You know, the one that bit you and let you drink his blood?” ‘Morten?’ he thought, ‘That fits’ The blonde man that had bit him had never told him his name, but ‘Morten’ seemed appropriate. He’d had a sort of Scandinavian look. “So…” she said, unzipping her hoodie a little further to fully expose her neck and chest area, “So… You need to know when to stop… You feel my heart start to slow down and you have to ****ing stop! Okay?! …Morten won’t be happy if you drink me dry!” He was horrified! She was offering to let him drink her blood?! She was offering to let him feed on her because he was a vampire! Because Morten had paid her to do it! “I’m serious!” she said, leaning her neck towards him, “You take it easy… I don’t want to end up dead!” He shook his head. He couldn’t do it! His stomach may have been crying out to him, and every fibre in his being was yelling at him to take what was on offer, but he just couldn’t do that to her! Brody Morgan was not going to bite some poor girl and drink her blood! He just wasn’t! “What’s wrong?” asked the girl, opening her eyes and frowning at him, “You got stage fright or something?” “I can’t” he said, shifting down the mattress a little to get away from her, “I’m not…” “What?!” she laughed, “You’re not that kind of vampire?! …You’d prefer a boy or something?!” “Don’t call me that!” he snapped at her, “This is ridiculous… There’s no such thing as vampires…” “My neck would suggest otherwise” said the girl, with a snort. “But they’re just bites” he said, “Doesn’t mean they actually drank your blood…” “You think Morten didn’t drink yours?” she asked. “No… well… I mean… it felt like he did” he admitted, “…but maybe I was just imagining things…” She just smirked and shook her head. “You keep telling yourself that” she said, “But you know you’re looking at me right now like I’m a juicy steak just sitting here right in front of you…” He tried to keep his eyes fixed on the floor, but lasted all of about 5 seconds. He couldn’t resist looking. She had a large vein in her throat that was just pulsating and screaming for him to bite it. He could hear her heartbeat too, just thundering in his ears… He couldn’t stop staring at her neck. “Just do it!” said the girl, offering him her neck again with a little sigh. “You’ll feel better when you do… and I’ll get my money.” “Maybe…” he said, feeling himself drawn in, “Maybe just a little?” She was offering after all. He wasn’t taking it by force, even if it was some weird sort of prostitution. Was drinking her blood as bad as sleeping with her? Should he be feeling ashamed of himself? ‘What are you doing?!’ he screamed at himself, as he leaned in towards her neck, ‘What the **** are you doing, Brody?! You are not a vampire!’ As though in answer to his own self-denial, he felt his eyeteeth shift and grow. They were long and sharp now, and cutting his lip a little. ‘Oh ****!’ he gasped in his head, ‘I have fangs! I have ****ing fangs! …I AM a vampire!’ “Just don’t kill me!” moaned the girl, tensing her whole body as his teeth pierced her skin, “…Please don’t kill me!”

I know they're teenagers, so maybe not the most sensible, but keeping Kyle's illness a secret is not a good idea. What if his medication interferes with the medicine they're giving him? Silly Kyle. Silly Phoebe... (shakes head) Looking forward to the next chapter x

Aww, I'm glad that Kyle has finally woken up. Gosh, he's been through a lot! Interested to know what Nate has to say. Looking forward to the next update x P.s. congratulations on your degree!!! well done!

Okay, so I'm expecting Alf to announce his love for Leah pretty soon, and for her to say 'oh my god, I thought you'd never say it! I'm in love with you too!' Sure, why not?

Looks like this might be 'the story that could tear the forum apart'! lol! (With the writer on one side, and pretty much everyone else on the other side going 'Phoebe's being a selfish cow!' haha!)

I'm not so familiar with this new family, but did the dad just punch his daughter in this face?! Seriously, there's something in the water! There has to be! Everyone has gone insane

Has there been some sort of secret gas attack in the Bay that has turned everyone into bickering 4 year olds?

I did tell you my search history is really weird! Like a proper eejit, I actually researched minimum security prisons in Australia! This is one particular type. Josh has been incredibly lucky (for once!) Aww, I'm glad you liked this. I was worried it might be a little bit corny. I actually remembered you making fun of Kyle's 'mood killing' tendencies, and thought I'd turn the tables and have Kyle call 'Aaron' out on it. Of course, 'Aaron' is really just Kyle's imagination so he's really just killing the mood himself... if that makes sense... I'm really glad you liked that. Who doesn't like a cheesy pun, eh? I could almost hear the drum roll and all of your audible groans as I wrote it, haha! Should get the epilogue up tonight with a bit of luck!

Tamara and Mason? (Again, wrinkles nose, lol) oh well... takes all sorts, I suppose. Looks like things didn't end well between Evelyn (I'll call her that just for you ) and Spencer. He always did get walked over! Loved this line : Again, you write Alf so well! Really enjoying this

Thank you! I was really hoping the humour would come across here! If you're gonna write a done to death 'farewell dream' scene, you might as well go the tongue in cheek route and have the characters themselves make fun of it! It only seemed fitting. All the other baddies got their comeuppance. Smithy had to! True, true...

Thanks everyone! Really glad you're enjoying it! Well, he did try his best! Mason never really does say the right thing. He always strikes me as lacking empathy a little. No, probably not the best idea really... Understandable really, considering how confused he is about things. Yeah, more will be revealed in the next chapter. Enjoying keeping you guessing! Thank you! I tried very hard with this scene to convey how dark and scary a world it was out there. Danger lurking round every corner.... Thank you so much JUDE, that's really kind of you to say! I'm really glad you're enjoying it too! I agree. I think the show really missed a golden opportunity to have a gay character who was just gay. No coming out story, no drama around it. Just a character who happens to be gay. It would have been so easy. He was so clearly set up that way in his opening scenes.... but then they bottled it and we've ended up with this ridiculous drug story instead. Boo Hope to have a new chapter up in a day or two. Thanks for reading x

My goodness, they're an accepting bunch, for people so hellbent on full out war with the other half of the bay! Lol!

Haha! Glad you liked that. I was blushing a little writing it!

Indeed. Haha! Thank you! It's insane that this story ended up as long as it did! It was only supposed to be 5 chapters and definitely wasn't meant to take the course that it did. Yeah, I reckon Kyle's a lot softer than he liked to pretend... and everyone's seen Titanic! Lol! Really glad you all enjoyed it. I'll post the epilogue tomorrow!

Well you know what they say, 'a problem shared, is a problem halved'... not sure that's true in this case. They're actually trying to recruit more people to the 'cause' , which is basically just asserting over and over that 'Phoebe has the right to be a total cow'. To be fair, you can't argue with that. She does have that right. And she is (a total cow) Doesn't mean people should applaud her for it.

Well, that escalated quickly! Apparently 'Phoebe deserves to be happy' and that's the only thing that matters? ...but I have no idea why. Are Mason and Brody both in love with her? Is Heath? ...Is Alf?! What now? All out warfare? Like 'Gangs of New York'? I would love to see that!

Loved this chapter, but I think I might have to get a sheet of paper out and draw a flow chart like you suggested in the previous fic (or a venn diagram, because everyone seems to gave been with everyone else at some stage) I was wondering what had happened to Matt and Evie, so that answers that. Makes me a little sad though. Love the dialogue in this. All the little quips. Alf especially, so dry and witty, even in the face of death. Once again, very well written

Well, it was nice of her to announce it in front of everyone like that! She couldnt have taken Justin aside, or maybe waited till after the engagement party? To be fair, that is pretty in character though. Phoebe rarely really thinks about anyone else's feelings so she probably would just blurt it out like that. Nice that Heath is in this. Interested to see Justin's reaction. Poor guy.

Good start, and an interesting idea. I do think it would be better if the chapters were a little longer though, or maybe had more than one scene. Just a suggestion. Looking forward to seeing where you take this.

Isn't Josh and Phoebe's boy called Jimmy?

Really enjoyed his chapter and all the awkward /tense little interactions. Very well written. Really nice that Zac and Leah managed to have a baby afterall. Quite surprised by the name Dwight So many kids, trying to get my head around whose is who's Jett and Olivia is interesting. Wondering who Mason's with now, although from what Jett said, it doesn't sound like he's managed to get one to stick? I was starting to think 'how old is Alf now?' That is very sad. Strange to think of Summer Bay without Mr Stewart

Was Brax listed as Darryl Braxton?

Thanks for the kind comments folks! Much appreciated! Here's the new chapter! WARNING: ADULT THEMES & SEXUAL CONTENT! Chapter 6 Sunday morning continued… “What?!” exclaimed Brody, looking shocked and disgusted, “I’m… I’m not!” If there was one thing that he knew now, it was that he wasn’t gay. Friday had more than answered that question for him. There was no doubt in his mind. He wasn’t straight, he wasn’t bi, and he definitely wasn’t gay! He was nothing at all! In fact, he was even more ‘nothing’ now, than he had been then… And now he was angry! Justin tilted his head at him in pity. “It’s okay” he repeated, “I hadn’t realised it… but when Phoebe said…” “Phoebe said what?!” gasped Brody, pulling away from him with a look of pure disgust, “She said…? She said that I’m gay?!” He wrinkled his nose in revulsion. “Where does she get off…” he growled at him, “…making assumptions like that?! Talking about me behind my back?!” He was genuinely hurt. Had they been laughing at him?! “She… she thought…” stammered Justin, realising that he may have misjudged this a little, “She thought maybe…” “Well, I’m not!” he shouted at him, clambering off the other side of the bed and hugging his arms around his chest. He could see the doubting expression on his brother’s face, almost mocking him. He hated him right now. “I’m not!” he roared at him. “Mate, I know you left the bar…” he said, wondering how best to phrase this, “…with… with that guy?” “So?!” he asked, feeling a little shocked that Justin had been keeping tabs on him. He guessed that Declan must have told him. Had they all been having a good old laugh at his expense?! “So maybe …maybe you liked him?” asked Justin, in a cautious sort of way, “Maybe you went back to his?” “That’s none of your business!” he scowled. He still didn’t understand why he’d done it. Nothing could have been more out of character! Hooking up with some random guy and going back to his hotel room with him?! What the hell had he been thinking?! “Come on, Brody?!” said Justin, getting to his feet, “I don’t have a problem with it… I mean… y’know? …If you are…” “Oh, well!” exclaimed Brody, in a theatrical tone of voice, “…That’s kind of you! …I mean, I’m glad you don’t have a problem with who I sleep with! …That’s such a relief! …It really is!” He knew, deep down, that he was being unfair to him, but he was just so angry right now. He wanted to make him feel bad. “Brody, come on?!” Justin started to say, “I didn’t mean to upset you.” He could see how angry he was and he felt like kicking himself for how badly he’d handled this. Maybe he should have let Tori come in here after all?! Maybe she would have done a better job?! “No really!” continued Brody, now pacing the room, “That’s such a weight off my chest, Justin! …It’s been keeping me up at night! …I’m like ‘Maybe I won’t sleep with that guy because Justin wouldn’t like it?!’… Because that’s what I do, isn’t it?!… I let my family decide my relationships for me!” “Brody!” groaned Justin, “You know that’s not what I meant!” “No, seriously!” he said, with a forced little laugh, “It’s really good to know… I mean… My brother and his girlfriend put their heads together… like a little committee… and decided…You decided that it was okay for me to **** men?!” He knew that putting it in such crude terms would make Justin uncomfortable, and that’s what he wanted right now. He wanted to make him squirm. “It’s okay for me to suck **** …and take it up the ass?!” he said, glaring at him from across the room, “ …Because you and Phoebe say so?!” Saying the words actually made him cringe himself. He couldn't shake the memories of Friday night no matter how hard he tried. “Okay, okay” replied Justin, holding his hands up in front of him, “I just meant… That I’d support you… no matter what!” “Oh! Well, let’s hear it for Justin Morgan then!” he sneered sarcastically. “Giving me his permission to sleep with men?!” he continued, “How very modern of you!” He knew that it wasn’t true! Justin wouldn’t support him if he knew the truth about him. None of the family would. Everyone had their limits! “Brody?!” he said again, in an exasperated tone, “You don’t have to…” “No really! Thank you, Justin!” he said, cutting him off and giving him a slow round of applause, “Thank you so sooooo much!” “Mate, come on…” sighed Justin, as he took a step towards him, “That’s not…” “No, I mean it!” he laughed, in a strange forced sort of way, “Brother of the year!” He continued to applaud him in a slow and deliberate way. “Take a bow!” he teased. How dare he and Phoebe sit around talking about him like that?! How dare they?! If they were already making fun of him like this, then he couldn’t help wondering what they’d say when they found out the truth! When they knew what he’d done? What would they say about him then?! “Brody?!” tutted Justin, “I know you’re… just lashing out… because of what happened on Friday… I mean… You have every right to be…” “To be what?!” he demanded, “To be angry?!” The mention of Friday night was the last straw. Oh, God was he angry now?! He’d been trying desperately to forget about Friday! The last thing that he wanted was to be reminded of it! “What do you know about it?!” he snarled at him, “What the **** do you know?!” The hotel had been bad enough. The thought of it made him shudder… but what had happened on that beach afterwards had been the stuff of nightmares! Like something from a bad horror movie… He had a mental image of himself, chest deep in sea water, as he stared up at him. That dark figure of a man that would change his life forever. He felt physically sick! “I… I don’t know” stammered Justin, “but…” “But nothing!” he said, glaring back at him, “You don’t know anything!” He shook his head and marched over to the door. “You know what?!” he said, as he pulled it open and motioned with his head for him to leave, “Just get out!” “Brody, can we just talk about this…?” asked Justin, “Please?!” “I said get out!” he bellowed at him, “Get out of my room! Get out!” “Brody… I’m not going until…” “Justin, will you get out of my room?!” he yelled again, standing there with his arms folded, “I want you to leave!” “Okay” said Justin, giving him a sad little nod. He could see how upset he was, and refusing to get out of his room clearly wasn’t going to help matters. “Okay, I’ll go” he said, walking out past him, and then turning to face him again with a worried expression, “but…” “Just go!” he said, slamming the door in his face. As soon as it was closed, he slid down to the floor, and sat with his back against it. ‘Why did you do that?!’ he asked himself, as the tears began to flood down his face again, ‘Why did you push him away like that?! All he was trying to do was help… and you just threw it back in his face!’ He just felt so confused. Justin stood outside, just staring at the closed door, and wondering what to do for the best. He’d obviously made a terrible mess of this! All he’d wanted to do was help, but Brody was even more upset now than he had been earlier, and here they were again on opposite sides of a closed door. He’d somehow managed to make things worse and alienate him even further! Dropping that question on him now had been the wrong thing to do, and he could see that now. He wondered how he could have been so stupid! Asking him if he was gay under these circumstances had probably seemed like an accusation. As though being gay was an explanation in itself! Almost like victim shaming! As if he thought that Brody being friendly, and flirting with the other man, had somehow justified what had happened later. That being raped was somehow connected to whether he was gay or not. That wasn’t what he’d meant, but it was obviously how Brody had taken it! And now he was in there, on his own… hurt and frightened and isolated. The worst thing was that he could hear him crying again! Just sobbing his little heart out. He felt terrible! “Brodes?” he said, in a tentative sort of voice, “I’m really sorry… Mate, I didn’t mean to hurt you…” “Just go away!” he shouted back at him, “Just leave me alone!” He wanted more than anything to open the door and let Justin hug him… but he just couldn’t. He put his hands over his ears to try to block out the sounds from the rest of the house. He needed to be alone. He needed to try to calm down. “Okay… but I’m not going anywhere” said Justin, “I’ll just be in the livingroom… Shout if you need me.” He waited for a response but he got none. “Okay” he said again, before heading back down the hallway to speak to the others. He knew that they would have heard the shouting, so there’d be no hiding the fact that he’d messed up, and that Brody had thrown him out. He felt ashamed and embarrassed. So much for this ‘special bond’ between the two of them! He couldn’t have done worse if he’d tried! “Well, that went well!” said Mason, as he walked back into the room. They were all looking at him. He gave a defeated sigh and nodded. What else was there to say?! Tori got up when she saw how upset he was. “Come here” she said, walking straight over to him and throwing her arms around him, “It’s okay… you did your best” “He’s just so…” said Justin, starting to tear up a little, “He’s such a mess, Tori! …I’m scared for him!” ***** Back to Saturday night (after he left the hospital)… Brody limped along the darkened city street, hugging his arms around his chest, and trying desperately not to make eye contact with anyone. On one side of the street were dilapidated buildings, some of them boarded up and derelict, and some of them simply fallen into disrepair. There seemed to be broken windows everywhere but some of them had been patched up with cardboard and packaging tape. Everything had a look of squalor. Of being uncared for… On the other side was an open area of wasteland that ran down to some railway tracks and the underpass of a bridge. There was a lot of rubbish lying about. Bin bags, and cardboard boxes, and a few stolen shopping trolleys that had seen better days. It was a very rough area to say the least! He was scared. Very scared! All around him were unknown and hostile looking faces. People were staring at him as he made his way past. Some of them even stopped in their tracks to turn and watch after him. Maybe it was his strange clothes, or the fact that he was barefoot, or maybe it was because he just looked so lost and frightened. Whatever it was, he seemed to be drawing a lot of attention wherever he went. He couldn’t help feeling threatened. He wondered if they knew somehow? If they could tell just by looking at him? Would they know what had happened last night?! Would they know what he was?! He didn’t know where he was going. He was just trudging forward. Endlessly forward, in a mindless sort of way. He was shivering now, but his feet were badly blistered from running on hot tarmac all day, and the skin on his face felt hot and horribly tight from being out in the sun. Maybe that was why people were staring?! Maybe it was because of his sunburn?! He could almost hear Tori now, scolding him about not wearing sun protection! That made him laugh a little. He was going to need much more than sunscreen to protect him now! “Hey, watch it, creep!” someone warned him, shoving him in the middle of the chest. “Sorry” he mumbled, glancing up at her only for a moment before stepping out of her path. It was a rough looking young girl that he’d just bumped into. She was glaring at him with such hostility! “You will be if you ever touch me again!” she snarled, as she pushed on past him, “Pervert!” He stood against the wall and watched as she walked away. She was very young to be out on the street alone so late at night. He didn’t think that she could be more than maybe 16 years old, and this was a very rough part of the city. There were prostitutes and pimps, and drug dealers, on every corner. Every doorway seemed to harbour a hopeless body in a sleeping bag, or maybe even two. There were even a couple of burnt out cars and he’d nearly stepped on a used syringe more than once, which was why he’d been keeping his eyes fixed on the pavement. It wasn’t somewhere that he ever would have chosen to come to, but he’d somehow felt drawn here. Like something was calling him? Calling him to this place… He tried to start moving again, but he staggered a little, and had to catch hold of a railing to keep himself from falling over. He felt so dizzy! He’d gradually become aware of a strange gnawing pain in his stomach, but it had taken him quite some time to realise what it was. He was hungry! He hadn’t eaten since Friday night so it had to have been more than 24 hours! He patted the pockets of his trousers with a little sigh, realising that these weren’t his clothes, and that he didn’t have a penny to his name! What was he going to do?! He took a few deep breaths and then pushed off again. He would have to find something to eat and soon. He wondered if he could sit down in a doorway somewhere and try begging? Maybe some kind passer-by would drop a few coins for him? Maybe they’d see what a mess he was and help him out with a few dollars so he could buy some decent food?! He hoped so! He just needed to find somewhere suitable to sit… As he stumbled on, he became aware of the number of other people begging on the street. The sheer number of other hopeless cases out there, with their hands held out, looking for money. What would make him a more worthy cause than any of these other waifs and strays?! Why would someone believe him, when each and every one of these people probably had a better sob story than he did?! How was he going to compete? He continued on for a couple of streets, picking a paper cup off the ground to beg with, and only stopped when he came to an area that looked a little less rough. There was a step that was unoccupied, so he limped over to it, and lowered himself carefully down to sit. For some reason, he felt weak and fragile, and as though his body was made of glass! He set the paper cup on the step and wrapped his arms around himself. He was shivering badly. He was pretty sure that he had a high fever because he felt like his body was on fire. He glanced at the cup, and then at the handful of people that were making their way down the street towards him, and wondered what on earth he was doing?! Why was he begging on the streets of Sydney when he was a highly-respected chef, and a restaurant owner?! What was he doing asking people for money when he had a healthy bank balance and a home of his own to go to?! Why had he run away today like some kind of teenager who’d fallen out with his parents?! Why was he running about the place barefoot and wearing some other poor man’s clothes?! Had he gone completely crazy?! What on earth was he doing?! ‘Phone Justin!’ he said to himself, ‘Phone Justin and get him to come get you!’ He put his hand on his pocket again out of instinct but he had no phone! He gave an audible tut. He was going to need money to use a payphone! He was going to have to beg after all! He gave a heavy sigh as he sat there waiting for the small group of strangers to draw level with where he was sitting. They looked young and drunk, and very giddy, but he was hoping that someone might be generous enough to give him a little change. “Can you spare some change?” he asked, sticking the cup out towards them when they got close enough, “Please?! Some change?” He’d never felt more pathetic. They glanced at him in a pitying way, mumbled half-hearted apologies, and then just scooted on by. Another young couple did the same thing a few moments later but they didn’t even acknowledge him. The woman simply gripped her handbag a little closer in case he might try to steal it, and then sped up to get past him faster. He tried again and again and again, but very few would even look at him. Only one man stopped, but he said that he had no money, and handed him a cigarette instead. No-one gave him any money. No-one wanted to know. After a while, he set the cup at his feet and simply watched the people walking past. It was like he was invisible, as though he didn’t exist. He felt separate, somehow. Distanced from everything… Like he didn’t belong to this world anymore… But suddenly, he became aware of a presence. There was someone watching him. Someone to whom he wasn’t invisible! He didn’t know where he was, but he could feel his eyes on him, and it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was like there was a small voice inside his head, saying ‘He’s here… He’s watching you… You can feel it!’ He stared around him, searching the faces of all the people passing by, searching the doorways up and down the street, searching the windows of the buildings opposite… He was here somewhere! He just couldn’t see him! He could feel his heart thumping as he began to get more and more anxious. “Where are you?!” he said under his breath. He needed to know where he was, in order to know which way to run. He got cautiously to his feet, getting ready to bolt if he needed to, and did a slow sweep of all the doorsteps on the other side of the street. “Where the **** are you?!” he muttered to himself. That’s when he saw him! Blonde hair and black clothes… and very pale skin. That same predatory gaze. That same cold stare… What was he doing here?! What did he want with him?! Hadn’t he already taken all that there was to take?! Suddenly he was running again. Running for all he was worth! Pounding the city pavements despite the pain in his swollen and blistered feet. He kept looking behind him to check that he wasn’t being followed. He couldn’t see him! He didn’t know where he was! He stopped for a moment because he was out of breath, and incredibly hot, and he immediately staggered because he was feeling dizzy. ‘Oh ****!’ he thought, as his vision began to go funny, ‘I don’t feel so good!’ He glanced sideways and saw a darkened alleyway. Maybe he could hide in there for a while? Maybe he could just sit down in there and hide? He staggered his way up the alleyway, feeling weak and shaky, and squinting to try to see straight. Right at the end, he found some steps, and what looked like a boarded-up doorway. He decided to sit there. No-one would see him from the street from here, he reasoned. He’d be safe here. He lowered himself onto the step and curled up against the wooden boarded doorway, dragging some of the discarded cardboard around him, partly for warmth and partly for camouflage. And then he shut his eyes…

Wow, I've never really taken notice of the credits. Ash as 'Martin'?! That's pretty odd! It would be quite funny if someone wrote a story with all the characters' full names - there are so many shortened versions! Just off the top of my head, we'd have Erica, Darryl, Joshua, Andrew, Nathaniel, Zachariah, Victoria, Belinda, Martin, Katarina, Christopher, Matthew, and Vincent Junior... oh and Alfred! It sounds so much less Australian! haha!