SemiBroken Eggshells

A/N: More Vincent-oriented stuff. Not so kink-filled this time. All human forms. Small bits of boy love fluff here and there.

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SemiBroken Eggshells

Denver, CO: It seems that these young people are still on their hunt for their friend. The head of the group, Nathan Winters, had this to say, "It's apparent that Vince doesn't want us to find him, but we are going to. If everyone else drops out, I am, at least, going to continue my hunt for him." Vincent Fox, 23, left his home city of Denver July 7, 2013, and Nathan, along with the boys other friends have been searching high and low for him...

Vincent rolled his false two-toned eyes as he set the paper down, looking at the entrance as he took another slow drink of his tea. In the door walked three people that the boy didn't want to see. In his line of sight stood three of the closest friends he had, Nathan, Krys and Lex.

Nathan, the tallest of the group, had let his hair go back to the dark brown that it was when the two had been first introduced. The male stood tall, about six foot six inches. The boy thought that Nathan had grown a couple of inches since Vincent could remember. His look had changed, just like the runaways had. Nathan wore slightly baggy dark blue jeans, a black and white studded belt around his waist; a dark grey button up that Vincent had left at their friend Tracy's apartment years before, and black under armor underneath.

Lex, the shortest of the group, stood at about four foot three or so. Her hair was cut short, typical boy cut, but was amazingly curly. She wore a grey and black stripped hoodie zipped up, possibly her black shirt underneath, black and green TRIPP pants and her frantic yet adorable rainbow beanie. The brunette had the same eyes as he remembered. The unmistakable bright green eyes that pierced into Vincent's eyes when the two shared a conversation. Her breasts weren't very noticeable, seeing is how since Vincent had known her, she was rather flat-chested.

Krys, the medium height individual, was, like Nathan, male, stood at about five foot five. His hair was dirty blonde and cut more in an emo fashion, the back spiked up with probably a small amount of styling glue, his bangs about grown out to about his collar bone, maybe a little shorter. Krys's piercing blues were the eyes you would expect to gaze into your soul and make you pour out your life to him. He wore a black hoodie with a pair of white tribal looking wings on the back, a maroon and white horizontally stripped shirt and a pair of Nathan's pants held up with his sparkly dragon belt that he had all those years ago.

The three had taken a seat next to Vincent's lone table, talking to themselves in a low voice.

"We will find him, Nate..." Lex said, sitting across from the two. Krys let an arm slide across Nathan's shoulders in a comforting hug.

"Find who?" Vincent dared to speak, masking his voice. Nathan shot a stare at the boy and squinted.

"Our friend Vincent. Commonly, he goes by Vince."

Nathan still had that familiar voice that rang in Vincent's dreams. The voice seemed strong, yet the run-away male knew that his tall friend was in pain from losing someone so close. It pained Vincent to hear it after a year and a half. The look Nathan gave him was painstaking. The boy looked so hurt, but he wouldn't show it with his body language. Krys had that same look in his eyes.

"Oh... Well my apologies, but I cannot assist you in your hunt." Vincent lied, biting his tongue gently. He packed up his sketch book and the paper and shoved them in his bag. He took a long drink of his iced tea as Nathan stood, walking to the cashier.

"Hello... I don't mean to be a bother but I was wondering if you could help me find a friend of ours." Nathan said in a low voice as he pulled out a picture of Vincent. At that point, the boy had left the coffee shop and was on his motorcycle, up the road to his humble abode.

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Nine hours. It took them nine hours to find him. Vincent figured that that was more then enough time to change his look, shave the sides and back of his head then dye his hair black. As soon has he had finished, there was a loud rapping on the door. Vincent quickly removed his contacts and went down the steps into the main room. He looked at the wooden door before grasping the brass knob and jerking it open. Nathan stood in the door way, Krys and Lex back at the car.

"We are looking for our friend Vincent. Commonly goes by Vince..." Nathan muttered. Vincent ground his teeth in annoyance as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"Why won't you give up in getting me?" He muttered as he moved out of the way, motioning the tall boy in. Nathan looked over his shoulder and Krys and Lex got back in the car. He stepped in the house and let out a soft sigh.

"Care for some tea?" Vincent muttered as he closed the door. Nathan nodded slowly and Vincent placed a silver tea kettle on a dark metal tray, guiding the male into the den. He sat down, Nathan sitting across from him, and served the tea, sighing. Nathan bit his lip.

"Why'd you leave?" Nathan's voice hinted just a tad that he had been hurt by Vincent's actions, but he wouldn't tell him that. Not unless he was asked.

"Why'd you come looking?" Vincent shot back, biting down on his lip. He parted his lips and took a slow drink of the tea before getting up. He walked over and turned the chair, sitting on Nathan's lap to fully face him, wrapping his arms around the back of his neck.

"Because I care, Vince." Nathan said softly. Vincent rolled his eyes.

"Or is it because I hurt you as much as you hurt me?" Vincent snapped, looking Nathan dead in the eyes. Both males shared the hazel hue, Vincent's a little brighter then Nathan's were. Nathan swallowed hard.

"That, too..."

Vincent snorted softly as he moved off of Nathan's lap, moving back to sit in his chair. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and pulled one of the sticks out, lighting it with a lit candle.

"You lied to me, Nathan."

Nathan looked at Vincent, his head jerked back slightly, as if he had just been shot in the heart. Nathan wasn't used to being called a liar, so he looked at the male and questioned, "How?" The male showed confusion on his face, his brow furrowed, hazel eyes strained a bit.

"You told me that if I left you wouldn't be hurt. Do you remember that morning? We were at Tracy's apartment back at Spyglass Hill, over by my old high school. Everyone in the fucking apartment was asleep except for you and me."

Nathan looked away. He remembered that, when Vincent was 17 and he was 18. He remembered it as if it was only the year before, 2012, but in reality it was back in 2009, around May or June. Nathan bit his lip softly, wanting to forget that he lied.

"You lied to me, Nate..." Vincent muttered, looking down at his hands. Nathan let out a soft sigh before the silence was broken by the ringing of Nathan's phone. Vincent took it from him and looked. The screen read Krys. He flipped it opened.

"You guys can come back. Do NOT tell Chase that you found me, though." He said in a monotone voice, looking at Nathan.

"Alright."

That was all Krys said. Vincent flipped the phone closed and laughed softly, opening it again and pressing the off button. Nathan looked at Vincent with a slight fear of the other's actual emotions. Was he pissed off that they went looking for him?

"Your number... It's still the one that you had back then, right?" Vincent looked at Nathan with narrowed eyes. Nathan nodded slowly in approval that the male had such good memory. Vincent pulled out his own phone and saved the number, pressing away at the buttons.

"I'm sending you a text. It'll read 'Promise me you won't tell Chase,' alright?" Vincent asked with a slightly hateful tone. Nathan's eyes lit up.

'Maybe he's finally giving up! Maybe he'll stop running away...' The tall male thought, hoping that it was true. Instead of saying it out loud, he parted his lips, "Alright. I promise I won't tell Chase."

The rest of the tea time was spent in silence.

About four hours passed before there was a gentle rapping on the door. Vincent got up and opened it, letting Krys and Lex in with no word. The two followed him as they walked passed Nathan, who got up and got to the end of the line, following Vincent to the second den.

The room was slightly offset; pictures of Vincent with various friends hung or taped up on the walls. The seating was random, but suited Vincent's typical random personality. In the room there were two futons and three bean bag chairs. There was a television with a Game Cube and a Play Station two, shelves loaded with games and DVDs. Vincent waved his hand to the futons and the bean bag chairs, smirking slightly.

"Please, sit."

Lex took a seat on a futon, Nathan and Vincent on the other, Krys on a bean bag chair.

"If you wanted to leave, why would you want to save your memories of such happy times?" Krys's voice was soft, child like almost.

"Because, to me, it's easier that way..." Vincent said softly. He laid out on the futon before curling up. Nathan, Lex and Krys all talked with one another, Vincent piping in occasionally before he made it look like he was falling asleep, soon enough tacking in light snores to make it more believable. After an hour and a half, Nathan, Lex and Krys all passed out.

Nathan was leaned against the armrest on the futon frame, snoring softly as he mumbled in his sleep. Lex was laid out on the other futon, her arms behind her head. Krys curled up in a ball on the bean bag in silence. Vincent got up and walked silently through the house, got his boots on, picked up his bag and left as quietly as he had crept. He nabbed his bicycle from the side of the house and got on it, riding through the trails to the street as fast as he could before finally coming across a second house, his aunts. He tossed the bike in the bushes and walked in.

Vincent let out a soft sigh. This abode had the same general layout as the other. He walked around the house, getting himself situated. How much longer would it be until the found him again? He had only gone a few miles from the other home that it would be easy to track him down, the bicycle track more than likely being apparent in the dirt. He let out a soft sigh and headed down the stairs, to the basement room. The room was rather large with various pictures he had drawn scattered through out it, tacked to the wooden walls and hung in picture frames. He walked to the bed and set his bag down, pulling off his shirt and pants to sleep in his boxers, laying on it with a mildly depressed sigh before slowly letting himself fall into a light sleep.

The hours pass and the boy woke up, arms around his waist. He looked over his shoulder to see Nathan lying behind him, awake. A rather pissed off look was decorating his face like a kindergartener's crayon scribble. Vincent let out a light groan.

"Why do you keep doing this to me? Better yet, why do you keep doing this to Krys? I realize I deserve it, but he doesn't, Vincent," Nathan stated, pulling him closer so the short male's bare back pressed against his bare chest. Shirtless was Nathan's typical thing. The taller male never really wore a shirt unless it was necessary.

"Why the fuck do you keep looking for me?" Vincent answered with his own question.

"Why won't you let yourself be found?"

"Why can't I just be left in peace...?" Vincent choked out a dry sob, keeping his focus forward. Nathan rolled him around so the two were face to face. Vincent let out a soft, dry sob and pulled himself into Nathan's neck. He tried to let himself cry, but the tears wouldn't come. The boy bit his lip and Nathan just wrapped his arms around him tighter. How could he stay pissed off at someone so depressed?

"Cry if you need too... I am here, you know that..." Nathan had a soft tone. Vincent reached a hand in between the two and took hold of the Florida State University charm that he had gotten from Nathan when he was 17, Nathan being 18 at that time. Vincent bit his lip.

"Why won't..." The boy's voice went muffled.

"Why won't what?" Nathan cocked a brow as he rubbed Vincent's back. Sudden jerking movements and Vincent tore himself away from Nathan, falling out of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. He stood up and pulled his pants on.

"Why won't you just leave me the fuck alone, Nathan Winters?!" Vincent had raised his voice, his eyes narrowed. Nathan got out of the bed, standing in front of Vincent.

"Because when we got here and I came in here, in your sleep you said 'Nate don't leave me...' That's why."

Both males were considerably half naked, both only wearing pants and boxers. Vincent scooped up his bag and moved, walking quickly out of the room and up the stairs. Lex and Krys sat at the table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Vincent walked to the door and pulled his socks and boots on, taking off out the door as soon as he opened it.

"Nathan! Get up here! He's escaped again!" Krys Lex the two watching Nathan skip steps as he ran up the stairs and took off after Vincent, soon following him in hot pursuit.

The three of them followed Vincent's twists and turns through the forest, but soon lost him. Vincent had confused the hell out of Nathan and Krys, but Lex listened closely for his movements.

Vincent had hidden himself in an abandoned fox den, curled up; staring out from under the tree he had hidden himself under. He had been hidden for an hour before he heard the three approaching. He hid himself deeper in the den, poked and prodded by broken twigs and sharp rocks. The den was surprisingly large. Suddenly, a hand reached in and pulled him out by the back of his neck, pinning him to the large tree.

"Why the fuck are you doing this, Vincent Fox!?" Nathan snapped both hands on Vincent's shoulders.

"Because it's what I want!" He snapped back. Lex snarled.

"If you are going to be stubborn, then I'm fucking leaving." She snapped, turning back the way of which the three of them had come.

"Vince, we aren't leaving you..." Krys muttered, talking about him and Nathan. Nathan let Vincent go, who crumpled to the ground in misery.

Vincent stayed with Nathan and Krys for about three days in the mountain abode, debating on whether or not he should leave again. He decided it would be what was best, in his mind. He waited until Nathan and Krys slept in the king sized bed to execute his escape. How the three had laid on the bed was Krys and Nathan on the ends and Vincent in the middle. Except the one night where he finally executed his plan of escape. Nathan lay in the middle that night. Vincent got up in the middle of the night, about four in the morning grabbed his bag and kissed Nathan and Krys on their foreheads. He walked out of the room into the kitchen. On the dry erase board, he took the black marker and scrawled 'Love you guys... See you in the next life.' Next life... It hurt him to write it, but he figured if he had written something that sounded like suicide, they would leave him be.

Vincent Fox was wrongly mistaken.

The boy got a ride back to Denver, three hours of sitting in a car with a man who was running errands to the city. He stared out the passenger window with a depressed look on his face.

At about eight in the morning, Vincent got a text from Nathan. He gritted his teeth and opened the phone, reading the message.

Dammit, Vince! I'm keeping my promise, but I am texting the others that you're on the run again. Nice try with the suicide threat.

He bit his lip, being dropped off on the mall. Vincent furrowed his brow and delayed, waiting for something interesting to happen throughout the day. At about four he heard yelling.

"VINCENT FUCKING FOX!" He looked up to see Corpus charging at him, Pinky, Aimee and Doran right behind the blonde boy. A loud smack and Vincent fell to the ground, a red mark forming on his right cheek. He clenched his jaw and looked up at Corpus and the others.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you realize how fucking worried we have been about you?" Doran barked, restraining himself from hitting Vincent as well. Vincent pushed himself up, standing.

"Why? You all should have known I was going to leave..." Vincent said softly, wiping the saliva that dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. His brow furrowed and he let out a soft sigh as Pinky pulled the boy into a hug, sighing softly.

"Come on... We're taking you to our place..." She said softly, taking a hold of Vincent's wrist and beginning to walk, Corpus, Aimee and Doran following behind the two. It wasn't that long of a walk to Pinky's familiar white truck. They all got in, Doran sitting shotgun. Corpus and Aimee in the backseat, Vincent in the trunk. He held his knees to his chest, his bag by his side.

He stuck with them for about three days as well before fleeing to Castle Rock's suburbia.

He leaned against a fence, smoking a cigarette, thinking of a good place to head for. He was positive that Chase was looking for him, but he wasn't so sure about Nathan's older brother Blaise. He furrowed a brow before hearing the high pitched voice of Chase.

"Vincent Fox!" Chase ran as fast as his small legs could carry him, kicking Vincent square in the gut. Vincent keeled over in pain, groaning out. He'd rather get smacked by Corpus again over Chase's foot getting him in the abdomen. He pushed himself and looked at Chase.

"What... What the... Fuck do you want?" He snapped, glaring.

"Where the fuck have you been, we have been looking everywhere for you!" The petite male yelled, glaring. Vincent turned on heel and began to walk, Chase following behind, pestering him with questions about where he had gone. Vincent dealt with it for a couple of hours before finally snapping, glaring at Chase.

"I didn't even want you to fucking find me! Get the fuck away from me!" Vincent shouted, taking off from Chase, who stood there, stabbed in the heart by the words. His eyes showed the pain that had been inflicted on him by the male's words. Vincent continued to run, his eyes narrowed.

It was not to long after that he felt a large hand grasp around his wrist, pulling him back. Vincent, on instinct, raised his other fist to punch, but his arms were crushed against his chest, long arms wrapped around them to hold them down.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Vincent yelled, squirming violently.

"Why are you doing this...?" A soothing voice spoke softly, the tone that the shorter male expected Nathan to use. He looked up, seeing Blaise staring down at him with a worried look. Blaise loosened his grip enough for Vincent to turn before crushing the short male against him again.

"Why the fuck do you care? You barely know me!" He snapped, glaring up at the oldest Winters boy.

"But Nathan knows you well, Vince, so I care because my brother cares... You don't want to do this... I know you don't." Blaise said softly. Vincent looked away and bit his lip before summing up the strength and shoving himself away from Blaise. The boy gave up, for the time being. He looked at Blaise with hurt and tired eyes, and Blaise smiled.

"Come on... You're staying with me..." He said softly, taking Vincent's wrist and walking slowly toward his abode.

Vincent stayed with Blaise for about four days. He was forcing himself to look happy around the oldest Winters boy, taking his time to get to know him as a person. When he wasn't faking his happiness he was alone, crying in the guest room. He furrowed his brow. Every time he had gone to sleep, he woke up to Blaise sitting on the bed beside him, but the oldest Winters didn't notice that he was up. Blaise gently rubbed his shoulder and sigh softly.

"I want to keep you safe... You know that, Vince... I don't want you to run; I want you to trust me." He always said that, thinking that he was talking to himself. Vincent let out a dry sob when the man left the room, clinging to the blanket that he took with him everywhere, a white hospital blanket that Nathan used so many years ago when the taller boy had stayed the night in Vincent's abode.