You can read this story as a sequel to Alek's heartbreaking scene during the last episode. However, I haven't even seen the episode yet (but I'm a spoiler addict, damn you curiosity) so I know what happened. I 'borrowed' his scene for this story, and all of the other things in the eppy haven't happened. In here, you won't read about any deaths or surprise family members. None of that is relevant here. (also: Brian is still alive)

Mind you: this is a CHALEK one shot! I tried to stay true to tv-Brian, but I don't like him, so don't hate on me.

Please read & review, cookies all around!

MY ONLY OPTION

"I don't want you to choose me because I am the only option"

Those words haunted her mind every waking moment. The look on his face, the regret and sadness in his eyes were visible in every dream.
It had been days, nearly a week since Alek had spoken those words. He had accepted that Chloe was in love with Brian, and he realized that he didn't stand a chance. He did the chivalric thing and backed off. He had put her happiness before his own. Many a man would've fought to gain her love, and they wouldn't have backed down. They would've persevered. But not Alek, he had only thought about her and her heart's choice. He chose her. And ever since his confession, she hadn't seen him, nor heard of him.

But this wasn't what she wanted.
The sun was rising and Chloe sat on a roof, thinking about everything that had happened during the last few months. The sun was rising, bringing light in the darkness. I would be a beautiful day, and yet Chloe couldn't revel in the magnificent play of passing clouds and disappearing stars. Her mind wasn't there, her mind wandered to the two boys that meant the world to her.

"I think I'm in love with Brian." She could still hear herself say the words out loud. And at that time they seemed right. Now, she didn't know anymore. The look in Alek's eyes broke her heart in a million pieces. But her words would have shattered his…

Brian made her laugh. She felt well when she was with him, and they had fun together. Brian needed her, especially since his father couldn't help him resolve the mysteries surrounding the death of his mother. If you could count that as love, Chloe didn't know anymore.
It was as if her mind had been clouded for weeks, and that only now the light broke through.
You don't know what you possess until you lose it' came to mind.
She missed hearing his heart beat when he kept watch on her roof. She missed the remarks she received when he was lounging on her bed once more.
This wasn't what she wanted.

Hours later she got up from her spot on the roof, stretching her legs and walked towards the familiar coffee shop near the place where she worked. Brian was already there, expecting her. Two cups of coffee were standing in front of him.

"Good morning." He said, smiling widely when he saw her.

"Hey." Chloe said, smiling back at him, trying to look natural and happy, and probably failing miserably.

"Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept in a week." He noticed, putting his hand on top of hers and squeezing gently.

"You might be right about that." She muttered, too soft for him to hear. She looked into his chocolate eyes. He was amazing. Brian was the kind hearted, gentle soul she didn't know she was looking for. She knew he'd be there for her when she needed him, to hold her when she was sad, to laugh with her when she was happy.
But this wasn't what she wanted.
Somehow it felt wrong, being here. It felt wrong to have coffee with Brian and to pretend that everything was alright. Because it wasn't. She was missing something.
Chloe closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, she once more stared into Brian's eyes. That's when she saw the difference. She was looking into the wrong eyes. The girl averted her gaze to the steaming cup in front of her.

"Things are not alright, Chloe. I can tell." Brian squeezed her hand again. "Does it have something to do with that friend of you? Alex?" he asked. Her head flew up.

"It's Alek." Was all she said.

"So I'm right."

"Why do you have to be so perfect?" she asked him while she looked everywhere but at his eyes, knowing it weren't the eyes she wanted to see.

"Oh, but I'm far from perfect." Brian chuckled, but this was just that bit more confirmation that he was perfect!

"Yes you are! You are kind, and sweet and gentle and understanding. You are everything a girl could ever hope for. And yet…"

"And yet it doesn't feel right?" he completed her sentence. Only now she answered his gaze and nodded.
"I could tell something was off with you, I just couldn't put my finger on it. It's this Alek guy, he likes you too, doesn't he?" Brian was right, Alek liked her, and she had lead him to believe that they had a chance. And now she broke his heart. Chloe felt terrible about it.

This wasn't what she wanted!

"Yeah, he does like me. And I don't know what to think anymore…" she said desperately.

"Chloe, I told you how I feel about you, and I know you feel something for me too. You mean enough for me to fight for you. I can't just let any random guy swoop you away. I don't want to lose you." He said, the kind smile still on his face and a loving look in his eyes.

"Thank you." Chloe replied, smiling genuinely for the first time in days, "Thank you for opening my eyes." She might have found something that made him a bit less perfect, or at least to her.

"Okay… I don't think I'm following you."

"Sometimes, I don't want people to fight for me. Sometimes you have to set the people you love free to see what they want. If they come back, they're yours forever. If they don't, they were never really yours to begin with." She said, sounding wiser than she ever held possible. The light behind her eyes became brighter as the last shards of mist in her mind resolved. Things were crystal clear.

He chose to set her free, to give her the chance. He wanted her to be happy. He would give his life for her without hesitating. Not that that was what she wanted…

"Brian, you mean a lot to me, but this isn't right, this isn't fair. Not to me, but especially not to you. I can't pretend to be happy with you when I keep thinking about someone else." At that moment she only wanted to get away from the coffee shop. She needed to find Alek.

"I have to go. I'm really, really sorry, Brian. I'm sorry if I have lead you on, and I'm sorry if I was dishonest to you." She said, talking faster by the minute.

"It's alright," he said, "Go find your right person." He tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. The short pain is probably for the best, Chloe thought when she got up and left in a hurry.

'Alek, where the hell are you?' she asked out loud. The girl had checked the harbor, Valentina's place and even her own rooftop, but her protector was nowhere to be found.

"I'll be damned if I give up now!" she said, louder this time. Chloe started jogging towards the park where she and her Mai friends always train. When she got to their usual spot, she stood still, trying to regain her breath. Her hands were on her hips, and her eyes were scouting the neighborhood, looking for the first sign of trouble. Or Alek. The tower where she'd died for the first time wasn't that far of. That's when she saw him. On top of the tower she could make out the figure of Alek. He appeared to be sitting on the sill of the top floor. She sprinted towards the place and cursed under her breath when she jogged up the stairs.

Once up there, she forgot everything; the stairs, the pain in her side, the stabbing in her chest. In front of her stood the tall figure of her protector, rays of sunlight shining from behind him, covering him in a golden light. He stood proud, head held high.

"Chloe." He sounded surprised, to say the least. The words she had wanted to say to him had vanished into thin air. She had prepared an entire speech. She knew exactly what to say to him, how to apologize and how to make clear that it was him she wanted. She had said it all, but no sound left her lips.

"You are the only option." She suddenly said, regaining her posture.

"Excuse me?" he asked. "I told you, I don't want you to choose me because I'm your only option." Again he had a pained look in his eyes. To him it was like Chloe had come there to torment him some more. He had lost her already once, and now she was doing it to him again.

"No, totally not what I meant." Chloe sighed, waving her arms. "you are my only option. I don't want anyone else." Alek simply stood there, paralyzed, baffled, pinned to the ground.
Chloe took a step in his direction.

"It took me too long to realize, and I understand if you don't want to anymore, but you are the one I want to be with. You are the one I want to love."
Alek still hadn't moved an inch. Instead he just looked into her eyes, as if he could find the truth in there. She had lead him on. She had made him believe they could be something. She had hurt him. And yet here she was, standing right in front of him, stating it was him she wanted.

"Chloe, I just…" he tried, but the words escaped him.

"It's okay, I understand. I have been a fool. I should have known earlier. You have always been there for me, Alek. Whenever I needed you, whether I did or didn't realize that, you were always there. You kept me out of harms way, and if I didn't listen and if I didn't want to stay safe, you were always by my side. You stand by me in every aspect. And I let you down. I'm really, terribly sorry for that. I hate that I hurt you. It hurts me to see you hurt like that, and I know it's my fault."

Tears started forming in the blonde girl's eyes, and she was trying to stay strong. She couldn't cry now. Chloe would be happy if they could ever act normal again.

"I'll just go now."

"No, Chloe, wait."

"Don't… you don't have to. I did this to you. I just want you to know that I – I should have chosen you. I'm so sorry." With those words Chloe descended the flight of stairs. She fought back the tears that were threatening to spill, and that was a fight she lost. By the time she got out of the tower, she was crying. She ran outside, towards the cover of the trees. Chloe felt she needed a good cry. She had gotten herself into this mess, now she had to get out of it again. But that could wait, the mess wouldn't go anywhere, and now the only thing she wanted to do was cry.

The trees came closer and closer, and she heard someone call her name behind her. Without paying any attention, she kept on running, only stopping when someone loosely grabbed her arm and spun her round.

"You're not going anywhere." Alek spoke in hushed tones before his lips found hers. The kiss was forceful and sweet, tender and passionate, romantic and needy. It was so much more than just a kiss.
Alek was the first to break away.

"I guess I'm not." Chloe said, her hand sneaking to the back of his neck and pulling him close again, closing the distance between them.
He kissed her as if his life depended on it. Alek's arms sneaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him. His lips were ever so soft against her, and yet there was a force behind it that didn't falter. They needed this, they both did.
With his arms still around her, Alek lifted her of the ground and spun the both of them round and round.

When he put her back down, he had to ask: "Are you really sure about this?" Chloe nodded immediately.

"You are my only option." She repeated, earning a smile from Alek that could light up the entire world. It already felt so much more right than all the rest in the world.

"But what about you. Stop thinking about what I want for a second, and tell me what it is that you want." Chloe countered. He had looked out for her long enough now. It was time to take care of him.

The Mai protector sat down against a tree, pulling Chloe with him. She sat on his lap, left arm around his neck and fingers entwined in his hair. Alek took her right hand in his own and interlaced their fingers.

"I want you."

"That can't be all you want?" she asked. Alek chuckled as he pressed a light kiss to her temple.

'You're right. I also want a penguin and a unicorn, but Valentina already said I couldn't have them." Chloe laughed out loud before she kissed his lips again, loving the feel of his touch. Alek grinned against her mouth.

"This is exactly right." Chloe whispered as she looked into the brown eyes of the handsome young man before her. He looked back at her with eyes full of love.

"This is exactly what I want."

THE END

So what did you think? Hit that REVIEW button! abuse it if you like!
I also want to apologize for any errors in the story (spelling/grammar or otherwise) it's nearly 3am here, but I just wanted to get this up for all you awesome people!

virtual cookies for reviewers, hugs for the readers!