New friend.

Something about this was so perfect that I couldn't say in one word. Zack, a new kid and also a mai at my school. He had moved in right next door to me. He was raised by humans too, I found out he was mai because he had been running around roof tops a few nights ago. They weren't Alek's footsteps either, or Jasmine's. It made me wonder if another scar faced freak was going to come out of no where. The next day I had noticed how he walked. Light steps, like a cat. I caught up with him as he was walking to school. "Zack! Hey!" I whispered very quietly. Only a mai could have heard that.

"Hey, Chloe" He said, I pointed to him.

"I KNEW IT!" I almost yelled then looked around for Alek or Jasmine on roof tops. "You're mai!" he went completely pale for three seconds. Then his color restored.

"You are?" He asked and I nodded. I wasn't going to tell him that I was the uniter. I didn't want that attention from him. "Oh thank God." He looked up in the sky "Finally a friend" I shrugged.

"Just because you aren't human doesn't mean that you can't have human friends" He said he knew that and he meant a friend he didn't have to lie to. "I gotcha, Paul and Amy know but that's them. I couldn't leave them out of it. They watched me change"

"Oh, like getting the claws" His retracted and then suck back in. "I didn't tell anyone, not even my own family" I knew how that felt.

"What brings you here?" I asked. "I mean I would think it's a job or something"

"Yeah I didn't really have a choice of leaving but I heard that the SF mai are pretty cool." he looked at me "I see why they would say that" I nudged him and then we were in the warm school. He didn't leave me to be with his friends, ironically the football players (Completely different group from Basket ball players.) He was a "Jocko" with an accent like the prince off of The Prince and Me. He was different though. We had dropped the mai conversation and started talking about things normal people talked about. "Yeah, that video was crazy looking. I only watched it because it had Kanye in it"

"Oh on a first name basis with Kanye West" I was flirting with him by reflex. "Sure you weren't watching it because you think Katy Perry is hot?"

"That might have played into it" He laughed. His friends didn't question him hanging out with me. They just walked up and accepted me. Weird. I had never been into the "jocko" thing. I didn't see Amy or Paul, they must have been in class already. "Hey guys. It's alright if Chloe sits with us today?" He asked and they said sure. One of his friends named Frank said something crazy to me.

"I thought you were Alek?" I shook my head getting a sarcastic look on my face.

"No way!" I said. He smiled at me. This was going to be fun hanging out with these guys. I wondered why they were so different from the others.

"Oh cool. Cocky bastard he is. You know, we would have invited you into the club sooner but you seemed so content with Amy and Paul over there." Frank was saying "We try to stick to stereo typical feelings"

"I see." Lunch came and I sat with them. Zack had put his arms around my shoulders. Alek was watching us intently. Watching Zack mostly. I looked him straight in the eye from the other side of the room. Trying to tell him to back off. Other people were starting to look and I didn't need that rumor spreading around. I turned my attention back to the guys. I still didn't see Amy or Paul. Then I remembered. It was their annual skip day, I had told them I wasn't going to show up already.

"... Chloe" Frank said laughing "If he's bothering you, We'll take care of him" He said looking at Alek from across the room as well.

"He's no problem. Just probably curious how I am up on the social meter like everyone else is"

"Got it" Frank winked. Zack removed his arm from my shoulders, it was time to go. I tried to ignore Alek in my next class that we had together.

"Is that your boyfriend?" He asked me coming out of no where as the bell rang. "That football player?"

"He's just a friend." I mummbled.

"I've heard that before" Alek said "He looked pretty comfortable with his arm around you"

"Are you jealous or something?"

"Don't be silly" He said like a jerk, walking away. Frank was there again. Asking me if he needed to teach him a lesson. I liked how he was going to back me up but I felt like he was stalking me.

"Uh, No." I said and walked out of the classroom and on to the next. When that was over I met up with Zack and we went to my job. I saw Alek waiting at the entrance. Here we go, I thought to myself.

"What's his deal?" Zack asked as we approached.

"He's bipolar" I said and turned to go the long way into the store. Alek was gone when I got down the stairs. "Really, he's not a problem." I wanted to say he was protecting me but then I would have to explain why.

"I don't really understand that but okay" Zack waited around until I was done with work and then we walked home together. Which wasn't strange he lived right next door. We had made plans for later, I expected Alek to be hanging around. He was with that look on his face. Valentina right behind him. Great.

"Chloe we have to talk" She said. I didn't know what I was hoping for.

"Valentina" Zack said. Alek and Valentina looked at me like I was spilling mai secrets with every guy I met. "Uh, sorry I've been meaning to introduce myself since I moved her. Zack Barns" He held out his hand to her, she didn't shake his hand until I said

"He's mai" Both of their eyes widened and Valentina started talking him, when he walked in his house they both had their arms crossed.

"You're neighbors mai and you didn't think to tell us?" Alek asked.

"Well, seeing as I just found out this morning and then I was pushed into a group of football player. No I really didn't have the time. I would have told you in that class except someone was too busy being a jerk asking me if that was my boyfriend." Valentina was going to open her mouth but closed it. "I'm not going to walk up to your group of pervertts and pull you aside. Everyone already thinks you're hitting this!"

Valentina's mouth curled up, "ah well, I can see why you are drawn to him. He was raised by humans too, he knows how it is. Plus, he's your neighbor so that adds that friendship into it. Alek you being a jerk without knowng the whole story wasn't right. Chloe you avoiding Alek at your store was also not right." She walked off after saying that leaving me with Alek.

Three months later:

Zack and Alek really hit it off, even though Alek complained about how annoying he was all the time. I noticed something about Zack I hadn't before. He was careless. He offered to watch me for Alek a few times but Alek always refused to let anyone do the work. Until, this weekend where Alek had to do something with Valentina and Jasmine. My mom was out of town and I was bored. That's how the party got started. The football players showed up at Zack's house and then half of my school did. I was getting in on that party, I danced with Zack the whole night to a 30h!3 CD (old of course) and a little bit of Drake. People were recording things, and taking pictures. I knew there would be no point in denying this party. I was dancing like I would at a club that my mom would never show up at. I was dressed like it too. Amy and Paul had showed up- Zack wasn't rude to them like Alek was. He was pretty open to everyone actually. That made him Mr. Popular this year. Taking the title from Alek. My mom would flip if she saw this party, and suggest we moved.

"This is awesome" I said to Zack, my phone was vibrating in my pocket, I answered it to the most inappropriate song in the back ground. "Hello?" I said

"Where are you at?" Jasmine said, I hoped it was not on speaker. The song playing was "I'm not your boyfriend baby" all about being a gangster, sex and drugs. Just what Alek would throw in my face if he was hearing this.

"Is that Jasmine? Tell her I said hi!" A drunk Zack said almost tripping over his feet. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm at a party" I told Jasmine, I heard her sigh.

"Zack's house? Chloe you realize videos are all over facebook. I'm talking to you now before Alek can find his phone and call you. He's pissed." I heard in the back ground is that Chloe? Oh nice now I'm in trouble with Alek. She put it on speaker because I could here him louder.

"Where are you at?" Alek almost yelled.

"If I said I was at home would you believe me?" I asked and then gave it up "I'm at Zack's and he's throwing a party"

"Chloe, WANT A BEER? Or do you go stronger?"

"You're drinking?" he asked "I'm coming home." He said but I knew he wouldn't- or at least I hoped he wouldn't. I would keep going on with my life tonight because it wasn't likely.

"I am not drinking" I said. "Jasmine do I sound like I'm drinking?"

"No." I heard her call.

The song went off, and another up beat song came on. It was like everything was in slow motion. The door getting kicked down, them asking for me. "Alek. I need you." I said scared as I heard someone scream. I hand came around my neck.

"Hello Chloe King" I screamed with everything I had.

"CHLOE?" I heard Alek yell and the screen said my call had been dropped Stupid AT&T. I knew he would save me. A drunk Zack wasn't going to do anything to save me.

Several Hours Later:

I sat in some dirty motel room, blind folded. That wasn't going to do much I could still hear. From the training I could get out of the ties and everything but I knew I wouldn't make it out without losing any of my lives. Two guys were watching me. They were tall and a little heavy weighted by their footsteps. Someone ripped the blind fold off my face. And automatically replacing it with a cold blade against my throat. They had me by my arms as they pointed it in my back walking me to the tower I had orginally died from falling off of. They pulled me up the stairs making me stand on the edge. I could feel the pain again. I was also thinking of a plan to run after I had fallen. I had a few seconds to run from the time I fell. Then I saw two figures dressed in black, running around the thing. Then more showed up, I heard a voice. Zack's. "Toss her" He said. I went cold trying to face him. traitor. I felt the knife rip down my back.

"I trusted you" I yelled as I began to fall, I felt the grip of strong arms catching me instead of the colison of the sidewalk. I was hurting so bad, when had I stopped screaming. My back was bleeding pretty bad. . I felt like I was dying in Alek's arms. He was running, I heard the door breaking as he ran into his house. He laid me on the closest thing, a table. He was working fast trying to stop the breathing. Was he crying? I was crying to out of pain. I heard other foot steps and Jasmine and Valentina's frantic voices. I was dying. I knew I was. I saw the bright light above me, then I closed my eyes.

"You can't do this to me Chloe!" Alek yelled, bringing me back. I wished for death the pain was so bad. The cut had came around to my stomach. I cut that would kill me, slowly. He was crying I confirmed. Valentina was now doing what she could. And Fast. She was stitching me up and then she turned me over and started doing the back of me. I died. I could feel it. The way I lost consciousness for those few seconds and saw nothing but black and I was awake. Not bleeding anymore the cut healing into a scar. Valentina was angry, she just walked out. I thought she was crying too. Jasmine followed her. I knew I was crying. I looked at Alek, his shirt covered in my blood. His face full wet from tears that were still coming from his eyes. I remembered he hadn't seen me die before. Now, we were closer as friends. My face was in my hands as I shook. My shirt was ripped off of me, but I didn't care what he saw. He touched my hair. I looked up at him. He took me in his arms again and took me to his room. The silence was needed, I didn't know what to say to him. I wasn't over dying but I wasn't freaking out anymore dying the first time was when I was suppose to freak out about coming back to life. This was different. 7 lives to live. Alek was in a daze. I hugged him wrapping my arms around his arms because he wasn't going to hug me back.

"Alek." I said to him after I let go. He looked at me wiping his face. "It's not your fault"

"I should have been here, I should have known something was wrong with him. Raised by humans but aware of us? Not beloning to a Pride before hand? The strage behavior wanting to watch you all the time. And I let him so I could go on a trip that wasn't important at all"

"Alek. You went because you thought I was safe, I thought I was safe. He was my friend. But it was a lie. All of it." My eyes were tearing up again I knew Alek didn't need to see that.

"I should have been here." He said, "I shouldn't have your blood all over my shirt. I shouldn't have pools of blood on the table. You shouldn't be shirtless in my room for this reason" I loved how he said for this reason. "It shouldn't have happened"

"But it did" I whispered and shivered remembering it. "It did happen and we can't change that"

"When I heard you scream I died inside Chloe and having you on that table knowing we probably wouldn't be able to save you broke me." His eyes were full of tears again too. He hugged me, we stayed like that for a while until I stated we had to clean up. He gave me one of his shirts and we started to clean. I was about to make a comment about it looking like a murder scene but technaically it had been... that probably wouldn't keep the moment good.

Over Protective:

My mom could walk in and see Alek with his arms wrapped around me, he didn't care. He had been sleeping in my room like this with me since what happened. The relationship with him had progressed quickly after we started learning each others little habits and things from being with each other all the time. Even school it was hard to get away from him. Zack had vanished a long with his "Parents" I now suspected to be part of the order. What would make a mai turn against his own race. Fear? I knew they would kill him when the job was over. Things slowly got back to normal, or a more protected normal. Alek and I had told everyone we were dating, I could see how people believed that. As time went on I wanted to be with him. With Alek sleeping in my bed every night didn't mean the dreams went away. They were common and sometimes I cried in my sleep. Death was haunting me. Tonight the dream was a replay of what happened. Alek crying over me. I jolted up and Alek sat up holding me while I cried into him. He kissed my head. Saying "it's okay, it's okay" I didn't feel okay when I had those dreams. Knowing they were still out there and had people that I would trust on their side made me scared. It made me think back to my dad. "TRUST NO ONE"

"Alek" I wanted and needed to know about my dads messages. Every single one of them. He was in shock when I told him about the time and everything. What did he mean? Was Alek's first question. As in who not to trust. I didn't know. I knew I could trust Alek and Jasmine and Valentina but any one else beides Amy and Paul I could never trust again. It would be too hard to develope new friendships. I cut off the football team and went back to Amy and Paul at school with Alek on the side. Then work was work with Alek watching me. Summer break was coming up fast. I knew if Alek had his way I would never leave the house but he couldn't have his way. It was impossible for me.

Lock down was already the words I had summed up everything with. Even with school. He was protecting me from even myself most of the time. Even him, sometimes. Training was harder than ever but I wasn't going to complain anymore I clearly needed it. Jasmine was thinking Alek and I were together as well esp with training.

"Alek" I said again "Do you like me?"

"What?"

"Would you date me?"

"We are dating"

"Not like that I mean actual dating"

"Yeah, I would" he said with enthusasim. "Would you like to?" It was one of the few good things about this. It brought us closer in a way I couldn't explain.

"Good" I said "because I'm tired of pretending I don't care" He pulled me into him again and I closed my eyes. This overprotective moron just made my night. Dating Alek for real now. That was going to be interesting.