David directed the two men as they replaced the front window of the apartment. He found that he was the only one actually concerned with up keeping the appearance of the flat. He only caught brief glimpses of Genieve every now and again, and the longest conversation they'd had was an argument over the correct way to butter toast. Nick was busy, buried in his work at the hospital, and desperately chasing up old leads on their attackers that were leading him nowhere. Riley was either in his room, or, like today, he was out, although where he went David couldn't have guessed.

He threw himself down onto the couch as the builders left, admiring the new window. It was certainly cleaner, and let more light in than the old one, which had yellowed and cracked over the past forty years. He looked down to see a fresh cup of tea sitting on the coffee table, and watched as the builders empty mugs floated into the air and onto the sink. "Thanks Gen." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He downed the drink in one, taking the cup and placing it in the sink.

He glanced at the word LEAVE etched into the wall as he walked past. They couldn't afford to pay a professional painter to fix it, seeing as the houses only source of income was Nick. David wasn't sure where a janitor was getting enough money to feed three people, but he hadn't seen Nick enough to ask recently. There was a knock on the door.

"Neighbours?" Genieve asked from behind him. David sighed, turning to face the redheaded woman sitting at the table.

"Probably."

"God, they can't leave us alone, can they?"

There was another knock on the door. "They're concerned. There was gunshots and screaming, and-" Genieve disappeared. He wandered over, and opened the door.

"Good evening sir!"

David looked down at the four teenagers assembled on his front doorstep. One, a tall thin boy, held a King Charles Cavalier in his arms. He blinked at them. "Erm... Can I help you?"

One of them, the more athletic looking of the two boys, stepped forwards, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "Actually, we were hoping we could help you."

David was incredibly confused.

"You see," the dark haired boy continued, "Me and my associates here are members of the L.P.I.R.C., and we heard that you may be in need of our assistance." He handed David a business card.

A bead of cold sweat ran down the back of Davids neck as he read the card aloud. "The London Paranormal Investigation and Research Club?"

"Yessir!" The teen grinned. "May we come in?"

David looked at the group of two boys, two girls, and a dog. "Sure..." He stepped aside and let them forward in, before glancing back out into the street. "Do you kids have like, any parents with you or anything?"

"No, why?" Asked one of the girls, the blonde one with glasses and a thick Scottish accent, "You planning on doing anything suspicious?"

David blushed. "No, no of course not, just wondering... Can I get anyone a cup of tea or something?"

"Well, if you're offering." The dark haired boy smiled. "Oh, of course, manners. I'm Lance, I'm in charge of the social interactions and business end of the group. This is Martha," he pointed at the blonde girl in glasses, who was inspecting the some of the black powder on the floor with a pocket magnifying glass, "Our scientific expert,"

David was dubious as to how much of an 'expert' Martha actually was, seeing as none of the group looked older than sixteen.

"Eve, our psychic and spiritual analyst," Lance gestured to a Pakistani girl, with a grey beanie and dark purple hoodie, who was inspecting the words etched on the wall.

"Pleasure." She muttered airily.

"And this is Blake," he gestured to the tall boy with the dog, which was desperately struggling in his arms, "Our supernatural expert."

"And I own the dog." Blake added. "Her names Bella. Do you mind if I..." He nodded at the ground.

"Oh, no, not at all." David stammered, watching as the dog took off in circles upon touching the ground. "I'm David. David Bronzcert." He shook Lance's hand. "Do you mind if I ask how exactly you heard about this place?"

"Well," Lance explained, as David suddenly remembered the tea he'd offered, and rushed across the room to the kitchen, "We were at the police station for one of our other cases, long story, haunted museum scandal, when we saw these two men be dragged in, ranting about a ghost, and flying objects, and the address of your flat. So we did a little digging."

"Yeah," Blake cut in, "Did you know there have been officially documented paranormal occupancies here since the 1940's? And rumours since the mid the nineteenth century?"

David went to fill the kettle, only to find five cups and a saucer full of tea already sitting on the bench. "Not a clue. But I've only lived here for about a month or so."

Martha scraped some of the black dust off the ground into a specimen bag. "Do you live here alone, Mr. Bronzcert?"

"No, he doesn't." Eve cut him off before he could answer. She still stood transfixed in front of the writing.

David moved the tea onto the table, and placed the saucer onto the ground for the dog. "How'd you know that?"

"There's too much energy here. But it's strange... The energy is different. All four of them are... Unique. I've never felt anything like it. There are three others here, aren't there?"

David sat down at the table, eyeing her suspiciously. "Yeah, yeah, my flat mates. They own the house, not me, so they'd know more about it."

"There's so much... Anger. And sadness..." Eve muttered. She gently touched a finger to the wall, before recoiling as if it had burnt her. "And fear. She was scared... Terrified..."

"She?" Lance asked.

Eve nodded, waving a hand slowly in front of the words. "Yes, it was a she. Who did this?" She turned back to look at David.

Davids tongue felt like lead in his mouth. "I don't actually know... I wasn't present when it happened. When those men broke in. Listen are you sure you kids are qualif-"

"Incredibly so." Martha cut in. "We've helped solve numerous paranormal and supernatural related crimes. All of which have been proven completely fake, of course."

"Unfortunately." Blake muttered, sitting down across from David, and sipping on his tea. "So, David, you mind if I call you David?" The redheaded man shrugged, "Have you, or, any of your flat mates, ever experienced anything strange whilst living in this house? Beyond the norm, if you will?"

"Other than having two men break into our living room?" David said nervously, "No, sorry." There was rumbling from the pipes. Bella, who was curled up at Blake's feet, whined. "Dodgy plumbing." David said quickly.

"No, it wasn't..." Eve breathed, to quietly for anyone to hear. Anyone normal, at least. It was at that moment that Bella decided to stand up, sniffing the air. The dog wandered over, and sat down in front of the fridge. None of the group paid any notice.

"So, Mr. Bronzcert," Martha began, downing her tea in one gulp, "Any idea what this is? Or where it came from?" She held up the powder.

"Ash?" David croaked. He cleared his throat. He could feel the sweat beading on his brow and hoped the teens didn't notice. "We have a fireplace, just over there."

She nodded curiously. "Mind if I take this sample?" David shook his head. It was at this point that Bella began to whine, scratching at the fridge. Before anyone could notice, Eve walked towards the stairs, as if in a trance. David and Lance followed her, leaving the others at the table.

"Excuse me?" David asked, "What are you-" Eve stumbled, collapsing onto the ground, and gasped. Both the others dropped to her side. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Sorry, sorry..." She mumbled, catching her breath. "There's just so much... Emotion here. Raw, strong emotions." She pointed to the far door, Riley's, "Pain," The next, Nicks, "Regret," and finally, at Davids door, "And-and rage." She pulled her self up with Lances help. "So much rage." She moved towards the door.

"Excuse me that's my-"

They opened the door.

"Bedroom." David finished.

The two teens stared at the room. Large claw marks were gouged into the floor and walls. The wallpaper was in tatters, and the chest of draws was flung against the far wall, one of its empty draws lying alone in the corner. The single window on the wall opposite them was cracked, badly, and was being held together with duct-tape.

Both Lance and Eve stared at David. David stared back at Lance and Eve, pale faced and sweating. There was a shout from downstairs. "Thank God." David breathed as the two kids raced down. He jogged after them.

Martha, Blake and Bella all stood in front of the open fridge, and were quickly joined by the others. Davids jaw dropped. One shelf was filled with a collection of salads, fruits, and drinks. The second, was filled with an assortment of plastic wrapped chunks of meat, including the hearts, kidneys, and livers of various animals. The third shelf, most disturbingly, contained several bags of blood, and a post-it note reading Nicks, Don't Touch.

"Care to explain?" Blake asked, surveying David.

The redheads mouth opened and closed for a few seconds. "Black pudding." He said after a moment. "My uh, my roommate loves the stuff. Makes it himself." He breathed, confident in that answer. "You know, dice it up, mix it with blood, compress it into a sausage?"

Lance, Eve and Blake all looked at Martha, who nodded approvingly at the Scottish dish.

"I know it's not a pretty sight, opening the fridge to see that, believe me." David forced a laugh. "Really puts you off breakfast in the mornings, doesn't it? But like I said, they own the house, so..." He swallowed. At least partially convinced, Blake closed the door to the fridge. "Now, I really appreciate you kids trying to help out, but I can almost guarantee there is nothing supernatural going on here. I think it's best if you guys get going."

There was a scratching sound to their left. They all turned around. Martha squeaked. Scratched into the wall underneath the word, LEAVE was now the word, PLEASE?

Quite quickly, the teenagers made their way back onto the street. "Listen, uh, you-you have our card." Lance nodded at David, "So if you ever need help with... Anything, you know... Paranormal, just give us a call."

"Will do, thanks for stopping by guys." David closed the door, pressed his back against it, and slid down onto the floor as the London Paranormal Investigation and Research Club, made their way back down the street, intrigued by, in their minds, their newest case.

"Really?" David asked the empty house.

Genieve appeared on the couch. "They seemed nice."

"Really?" He yelled. "You just had to go and do that?" He pointed at the wall, "Like they weren't already suspicious enough!"

"Calm down." She smirked, "Their kids. No ones gonna believe them. Police have crawled over every inch of this place already, and they didn't find anything. The most that'll happen is they snoop around for a little, find nothing, and get distracted when something more interesting comes up."

"Nicks gonna kill me if he finds out." David muttered into his hands. "Nick is gonna bloody kill me..."

* * *

Riley sat across the coffee table from Charlotte, his cold hands around his warm paper cup of coffee. "So, how's the business going?" This was the first time they'd say down together since meeting again.

The young woman laughed. "How's the business going? My entire world view has been ripped apart, and you ask me how the business is going?"

Riley took a sip of his coffee. "Okay... How are you going?"

She drummed her fingers on the table. "Insane. I'm going insane. You're dead."

"Correct." Riley nodded. She reached across the table and touched his shoulder, checking to make sure he was actually there. Her hand slid up to his neck, where she felt for a pulse.

After a moment she simply said, "Nothing."

"Correct." Riley said again.

"An-And there are vampires?"

"Correct."

"And werewolves."

"Correct."

Charlotte paused. "Do they try and kill each other like they do in all the movies?"

Riley smirked. "Only when Nick doesn't do the dishes." Charlotte smiled uneasily. "But enough about my life. What have you done for the last fifteen years?"

She sighed, taking a sip of her tea, and glancing around the coffee shop. "Well, I finished school, top of my classes in chemistry, biology and modern history."

"One of those things is unlike the other."

Charlotte scoffed. "It was a bludge. I only took it cause of this boy..." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, finished top of classes. I was gonna go to university for medicine, but uh, mom got sick. Really sick. And I spent most of the time I wasn't lookin' after her looking after the shop. And then... Then she passed."

"I'm sorry." Riley said after a moment.

"No you're not." Charlotte shook her head. She wouldn't look at him. "And you shouldn't be. I-I know what she did now. She broke the rules. She broke... Nature. She broke you. Hell she even managed to break me, in the end."

The two of them sat in awkward silence for a while. "To being broken?" Riley raised his cardboard cup.

"To being broken." Charlotte smirked. She knocked her cup against his, which managed to knock the lids off both, spilling a mixture of boiling hot coffee and tea coffee all over the table...