A World Apart

Thanks for the reivews. Here\'s another fluffy, cute kitty chapter for you all!



Chapter 14



I shook my head in anger at Logan\'s remark. I couldn\'t believe it. I just would not accept it. How could my brother have a date - especially one that\'s male?



"No way..." I said firmly.



"Yes way. It\'s not uncommon either and I\'ll have to say it myself that your little brother is a cutie," Logan said above the roar of the crowd.



I looked out among the crowd to see my brother laughing his usually happy grin. He was dancing and suddenly the young man across from him put his hands on my brother. I frowned and approached them. I moved through a kissing couple and a big group of dancers to get to my brother. I grabbed his upper arm and he looked up, shocked to see me. Robin looked over at "Justin" and his grin had turned into a depressed frown. He tried to shake me off, but I dragged him off the dance floor and into a corner.



"Raven..." He began from behind me," Let go of me. I can\'t believe you did that!"



He finally pulled out of my strong grip and crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me," Why did you do that?"



"You shouldn\'t be out there like that Robin! Why do you think? I mean...you were with another guy! And besides the fact that he was another guy...you don\'t even know him!" I argued with him.



I could hear the loud, techno beat of the dance floor behind me, but tried to ignore it and focus on the situation in front of me. I had cornered my brother up against a wall.



"I do know him, Rave! We\'ve been in school for a week already! He just asked me if I wanted to go to the club, that\'s all!" He explained desperately.



"It\'s just...it\'s disgusting!" I said, rougher than I had intended.



Robin looked like he was going to break down any moment. I noticed he was wearing some kind of charcoal colored eye shadow. He wiped his hand across his face and smeared it. He looked at the front of his hand with the makeup on it and then to me.



"You said you were okay with it," He said with a sniffle.



I felt a hand cover my shoulder and noticed a security guard had came over," Is there a problem here?"



The big guy must have noticed Robin crying from where he was standing. I suppose they probably look out for this sort of thing, especially with new people.



“There’s no problem," I replied, stepping away from my brother.



"Well, I\'ll be keeping my eye on you two, then," The bouncer said, walking back into the crowd.



"Woah!"



I looked around, recognizing Logan\'s voice. He came up to me on the right," Did you guys just get in trouble?"



We both denied it, but Logan only grinned and placed a concerned hand on my brother\'s back," What\'s wrong?"



"Nothing," He said in a little voice.



Logan looked at me with an angry expression, but made sure that Robin didn\'t see it," Why don\'t you go back down there with Justin? I think he\'s waiting for you."



Robin shook his head and wiped his eyes again, "I don\'t feel like it."



They were both silent for a moment and then Logan spoke up," Aw, come on. Let\'s go to the bathroom and I\'ll make an attempt to fix your make up and then we\'ll come right back out, alright?"



Robin just stared with a mixture of confusion and admiration. I don\'t know why, but I allowed my little brother to go with him. For some strange reason I trusted Logan with my brother.



They came out a few minutes later and Robin looked better. His makeup had been fixed to the best of Logan\'s ability and Robin went back to the dance floor to find his "date". Logan approached me then, and I knew I was in for it. I just walked away, but he caught up to me.



"Raven. Why would you do that to your brother? Do you even realize how upset you made him? You just apologized a few days ago for being this way and then look what happened!" Logan said loudly, following me.



I wish that bouncer would come up and get him off my ass.



I turned around suddenly, meeting the angry chestnut brown eyes of Logan," Do you think I wanted to hurt him? Do you think I\'d want to hurt my brother, especially Robin? No! That wasn\'t my intent at all!"



"Then what was your intent, Raven? You sure didn’t make it known to him...or me!" He argued as we past up some tables.



I was on my way out the door and didn\'t want him trailing me. I brushed past the open doors of the club and made my way out onto the street. The bouncers had allowed us to leave without question. I guess they wanted us gone. I walked in the darkness on the paved street, hoping I was heading towards my house, but a little unsure in the dark.



"Wait up!" I heard Logan yell behind me and could hear him catching up to me.



"Just leave me alone, alright? This isn\'t your problem and I don\'t know why the hell you have to make it your business! He\'s my brother...not yours!" I said loudly.



"It\'s not because he\'s anybodies brother. It\'s because he\'s hurting inside and you aren\'t making any attempt to help him!" Logan said and his voice dropped to a whisper," He needs you. He needs a role model in his life. He\'s just looking for someone who cares."



"I do care about him, dammit!" I yelled back," I just don\'t want to see him hurt."



"What?" Logan scoffed.



"I don\'t want to see him get hurt. I do care about him, all right? How could I not? I just want what\'s best for him!"



"Being a big brother now, aren\'t you? Well, in that case, you\'re getting overprotective. He was right there with you in that club. If you were concerned, you had every opportunity to keep an eye on him, but you knew he was having fun. I know Justin and I know his family. They\'re good people. Give it a chance. I don\'t think Robin\'s going to change any time soon."



I had signed and halted to a slower pace. We were near the edge of town now, near the woods. I paused, shaking my head when I casually glanced out into the hazy field a few yards away. I saw the mysterious, evil figures I could never, ever forget.



It was them. The ones who had beat me up and left me for dead. They were waiting. I saw the large stature, ugly clothes, and sharp teeth. I remember their hard voices and even rougher hands. I remember how they had held me down to hit me. I could feel their teeth tearing off a chunk of my ear. I remember the knife in my shoulder. I remember hitting my head on the concrete.



I remember how I almost died.



"Raven?"



Logan\'s voice brought me back to reality. I hadn\'t realized that I had stopped in the middle of the road and was staring out into an empty field. My breathing had increased significantly and I suddenly realized that I couldn\'t move.



"You all right?" Logan asked again.



"I saw them," I whispered and looked into a concerned pair of brown eyes," They were out there."



Logan looked out to where I had pointed. There were a few trees in the distance and a field, but nothing more. He shook his head, looking back at me," I don\'t see anything. What did you see?"



I waved my hand towards the field," They were out there. They were coming for me!"



I began to shake from the fear that consumed my body. What if they come back to get me? What if they beat me up again? What if I don\'t make it?



I felt Logan put a wary hand on my shoulder. When I didn\'t shrug it off, he pulled me against him in one swift motion. Our chests were pressed together and I could feel his warm hands against my back. He pulled my head close to his shoulder and cradled me like a little child.



"It\'s okay..." He said, running his hand over my ears and hair," I don\'t know what you saw, but there\'s nothing there now."



I couldn\'t help but cling to him. I was scared to death. I could feel my nerves on edge and I looked around, frightened.



"How about I take you to my house, okay? It\'s closer than walking all the way back to yours. I\'ll walk you back home later," Logan offered and waited for my response.