I was strong enough to leave Joe to his own whims once he had remembered everyone's names and what his usual tasks were. This gave me the chance to be with my friends, even if I couldn't really interact with them.

Joe would always shy away from as much public outing adventures as he could get away with. Dinners were off, meetings were one sided. About the only think he was doing was warming up onstage. It had taken two weeks worth of shows, but at least he had stopped acting like he had a board up his arse. Other than that, he still wasn't someone to hang around.

"You are absolutely drab, you know that?"

"Daniel, I'm Death. I'm not supposed to be happy and fun to be around. Think about it, am I supposed to be Mr. Nice Guy?"

"No, but you don't have to act like an arsehole all the time!"

"Oh, go haunt someone else for a while, won't you?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

"Because I plan on experimenting on my own tonight, and you seem to like it better when you don't have to be around me all of the time."

I folded my arms, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"And just what kind of 'experimenting' are we doing, if I may ask?"

He glared at me for a moment, thinking through his smart remarks before gracing me with his answer.

"I'm looking for pleasure tonight, and I have asked you nicely for privacy. I'm sure that Oh Mighty didn't give you this to have to revert to your own hand on late nights. Now would you please go?"

He patted his groin as he spoke, wearing that 'you should have known' look on his face. I groaned, shaking my head as he came around in front of me. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrow as he eyed me questioningly.

"Fine, okay...Top drawer, use them or you'll die from something nastier than me."

I couldn't really believe that I was letting him go to do what he wanted, but it would get us one step closer to finishing out business workings. The faster I could get out of the situation, the happier I would be.

I followed the guys around for most of the night, tagging along as they all headed to dinner, minus one guitar player. Darren had done nothing but sigh heavily as he had been turned down on his offer for yet another night, closing his eyes as the door was shut in his face. I had wrapped my arms around him, not knowing if he felt them or not.

Ben had decided on some old Italian place, hoping in some way to bring Darren's attitude back up and out of the sewer where he had settled with his depressed demeanor. Certainly the rest of the group had noticed, as seen by the expressions that everyone else wore as we sat down, my place on the back bench next to Karl.

"Something is wrong with him. He never used to miss out on these dinners, and now he never comes. In fact, he never does anything outside of the shows, and maybe some of the meet and greets when I really badger him into it. It's like his just dead to the world."

"Darren, of course he's going to act like that. You know what a quiet person he is, and I'm sure he just needs some time to sort it out for himself. I wouldn't worry about him too much, I'm sure he'll come around, right guys?"

Karl sounded so sincere, reaching across the table to loosely grasp one of Darren's hands. I slammed my fist on the table out of frustration.

"I am here! I am here...That isn't me back in that hotel room!"

I started to cry, tears flowing down my cheeks as I leaned back against the seat. As I opened my eyes again, I was startled to see Karl's brows knitted, his eyes locked with mine, their color a shade brighter than what I usually remembered his being.

"Karl, what's wrong? What are you staring at?"

He snapped his gaze away as Ben grasped his arm gently, shaking him from his daze. He blinked a few times, meeting the worried glances from around the table.

"I...I don't know. I just thought I heard something. I guess I didn't though, just weird."

Ben rubbed his back for a moment.

"You look kinda out of it. Do you want to go to the loo, and I'll make sure we order you something decent?"

"Ah, yeah, thanks..."

I watched him tense as he slid out from behind the table and through me before making his way towards the rest room. I got up a moment later, following him and passing easily through the door, which he had locked once he was sure that no one else was using the facilities. He was leaning against one of the sinks, his head bowed as the water ran, occasionally splashing a handful up into his face.

"I did not just see Daniel, I did not just see Daniel..."

He kept repeating it as I came closer, reaching out and gently placing my hand on his shoulder. He was up in a flash, his back against the wall like someone who had been caught doing something that they shouldn't have. His eyes were wide, water dribbling down from his face onto his shirt as he shivered and tried to claw into the tiles in the wall. I had never seen anyone so terrified in my life.

"Karl?"

"Stay away from me! I don't know what you are, but you are not Daniel! Daniel is in his room at the hotel, you are not Daniel!"

I walked slowly up to him, waving my hand through his chest. It didn't calm him at all, and he was gasping for breath like he was about to start yelling for help.

"I swear to God, Karl! If you yell, I will strangle you in your sleep!"

He visibly shrank against the wall, taking deep and shuddering breaths as he tried to get a grip before I decided to do something.

"Who a..are you?"

"I am Daniel...Karl, something has happened."

"Yeah, I can see that. What the hell is going on?"

"I really don't think this is the place to tell you about it, and it's going to take a little while to explain. Besides, you and Joe are the only ones that can see me."

"Joe?"

"Yeah, the guy that is in my body..."