Part 22:
 

Rating: PG-13
 

"God, it feels so good to be back. I had no idea I'd miss Manhattan so much."

"Me, neither." Arianna glanced at the bright lights, billboards, and multitudes of people that made up Times Square. "I've never been down here alone at night before."

"You're not alone. You're with me," Gabriel reminded her.

"I mean without an adult," she said. She grabbed his hand. "Come on! It's my fifteenth birthday! I've got no one to worry about me. I'm gonna party like I'm twenty-one!"

"Where do you wanna go?"

Arianna thought for a moment. "The Village. I wanna go to the Tunnel. You've heard of that club, right?"

"Yeah. A friend of mine used to be a bouncer there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Arianna pulled Gabriel toward the nearest subway entrance. "Let's go! It's not going to be February seventeenth forever!" She heard a low rumble as they descended the dirty steps leading
to the train station. "Come on, that's probably our train! And God knows when the next one's coming."

They ran down the stairs and dropped their tokens into the turnstiles, pushing through the crowds of people getting off the train. They squeezed into the graffiti-decorated subway car seconds before the doors slid shut. A moment later the conductor's muffled voice announced something indecipherable and the train began moving, speeding and lurching through underground tunnels towards downtown Manhattan. Arianna leaned against the door next to Gabriel and realized that this was the first time she's ridden the subway unsupervised, where she didn't have to worry about getting caught by her parents. The thought unsettled her. Most thoughts about her parents and friends usually did.

A seat opened up as a short Asian woman got off the train. Arianna sat down. Gabriel stood over her and held onto the handle attached to the ceiling.

Arianna also realized that Gabriel was the only friend of hers who hadn't died in 1994. First had been all of her friends from her life before discovering the Night World. After that had been Cathanne, who'd been sucked dry of all her life by Quinn, the bastard.

Arianna shut her eyes. She didn't need this now. It was her birthday! She was going to have fun, damn it. She was going to use the ID Darius had gotten for her back in Miami to get into a club and she was going to drink and dance and party until she couldn't see straight.

The man sitting next to her got up and Gabriel took the seat. Arianna took comfort from the warmth his body next to her offered. She couldn't let anything happen to him. It would be almost as bad as when Mark… No, nothing was going to happen to Gabriel. But just in case something did…

I can't get too close, she thought. That's all there is to it. We're too close already. We need some time apart. Plus, I need to find a real Night World witch to train me. After this, we split up. It's for the best.

Although she knew it was necessary, her decision left her feeling disconsolate. Arianna sighed and leaned against Gabriel. He glanced at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What are we going to do for your birthday?" Arianna didn't feel like voicing her fears. They were irrational, anyway.

"I don't know. May's still a while off."

"You're a Gemini, right?"

"Yeah."

Arianna thought about this. Mark had been a Libra, Ash was an Aries, and Gabriel was a Gemini. All were good matches for Aquarius, which was Arianna's sign. Arianna wondered if this was all just a coincidence.

Arianna didn't believe in coincidences.