Their Counting Started Long Ago, a dark angel fanfic

This is 'Their counting started long ago', written by Octavia, rated G.

Summary: Alec finds one of the forgotten siblings. Try to guess which one!!!

Puh-lease review. Even if it's to tell me I suck. I will treasure your criticism.

Sirius Black, as always, I love you.

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Their counting started long ago
The game's Hide and Seek.
I'm crouched behind a grave,
and watching with paranoia.
The orange grove's branches rip

our Izods
while we lurk around the tombstones.

The hidden ghosts
have found us again, and they love
to play Seek with us,
even after our games have ended.
Their counting started long ago.

Alec knocked on the door, looking at the package as he did so. The contents were in the shape of a cylinder, and it rattled. If he tried hard, he could smell the mustiness of pills that had not seen fresh air in a long time.

The door was wrenched open, and Alec jumped. He hadn't heard any footsteps coming from inside the apartment. A girl stared up at him, not much younger than himself.

She didn't say anything, just looked at him expectantly with wide, light eyes.

Alec stared slightly, before recovering himself enough to talk. "Jam Pony delivery for…" he pretended to consult his clipboard, even though he had memorised the name straight away when he'd been handed the package back at Jam Pony. "Ms Jonnie Alkaisi?"

The name was odd for the girl, who appeared to be a Caucasian American, but it fitted her. Maybe he was wrong, anyway, Alec thought. He was never very good at telling what ethnic group or combination of ethnic groups a person belonged to, and he didn't really want to develop that skill.

"Yeah, that's me," said the girl, taking the package from him with hands that shook slightly. Alec could see her leg twitch, and her foot involuntarily move under her baggy jeans.

While she signed his clipboard, Alec took the opportunity to study her. She had wavy brown hair, not as dark as Max's or Cindy's or his own, but almost. It was pinned up, out of her face, but she kept on having to push it out of her eyes. Her skin was a bit too pale for her to be entirely healthy, and she had the look of one of the millions of people on the Outside who didn't get enough to eat. Long eyelashes made shadows on her cheeks as she looked down at her shoes, her hand in her pocket, fumbling for money.

She looked like someone he had seen before, though he couldn't place her. Maybe it was just her mannerisms, reminding him of somebody.

He took the clipboard back, and reached out for the coins the girl had in her hand. Her whole body was shaking slightly, and she almost dropped one of the coins as she handed them to him.

Her other hand caught the falling coin before it hit the ground, and she handed it to Alec quickly, something like fear flitting across her wide eyes. He stared into those eyes for a moment, wondering about the quick reflexes, the shaking, the fear.

The moment passed, and he was able to look at her normally again, as a pretty girl who would be beautiful if she was taken care of properly.

Putting the money in his pocket, he looked at her again and said "Thanks, Jonnie Alkaisi."

She met his eyes when he said her name the second time, and the surprise that had shown on her face was quickly hidden. Instead of remarking on it, she just said "Thanks," quietly, not at all like the loud and bold and laughing and happy girls he was used to. He liked it, but at the same time wished she was like one of those girls.

He stepped back, and watched her retreat, cat quiet, back into her apartment. When she turned, just as the door was shutting, he thought for a second that he had glimpsed something black on her neck.

Alec shook off the thought, and knew that he wouldn't say anything. If the girl really was like him, then she was hiding. He knew how hard it was to hide. He wasn't going to make it harder for the girl by telling people he'd seen one of the things the tabloids shrieked about daily.

He thought of her pretty hair, skinny arms and scared eyes, and thought that she deserved to hide, undisturbed.