Authors Note:

This fic came to me after the "Dogs of War" episode, when Chloe encounters the jackals. I'd been getting the itch to write something for it, and bam! here it is. Who am I to say no? However, I will say that ABC's child's play with a plot line of this potential was another reason the plot bunnies started forming in my head. Whatever. We'll see.

Disclaimer:

The Nine Lives of Chloe King belongs to ABC Family and Liz Braswell, respectively. All that belongs to me is the plot that this story will have, which is pretty up in the air at this point.

. ... .

Chloe's POV

"You were right, Chloe. It's time for me to start moving on, and I need this. We need this."

My mother's mouth was forming and speaking the words, but I was having a hard time believing that it was actually her speaking them.

"Mom.." I started, but my mother quickly stopped my speech.

"I'm not going to sign this unless you're okay with it Chloe. I could never do that to you. I just want you to think about it. I don't need an answer now, okay?" She looked at me, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at how much I was keeping from her.

It was too much to deal with right now.

"Okay, mom. I promise I'll think about it."

"I love you, Chloe."

"Implied."

"Goodnight. Sweet dreams," she said as she stood up from the table. I watched her as she went up the stairs to bed.

As soon as I heard her bedroom door shut, there was a tap on the door. I felt a wave of annoyance come over me. Seriously? Who was it now? Curiosity won out over annoyance, however, and I opened the door.

To my surprise, the mysterious knocker was Alek. Memories of the brutal beating he had took today flashed before my eyes at the sight of him, and I walked down my steps. He wasn't looking at me, and I found that I felt a strange mixture of worry and anxiety. Since when had Alec knocked?

"Alek?" I said cautiously, and he looked at me. "Are you..are you okay?"

For a moment, he said nothing. He simply looked at me with his brown eyes and for some reason that I couldn't explain, the look he was giving me made every nerve in my body became aware of him. I felt a pleasant tingle on my skin and my heart's rhythm kicked up a gear.

"We belong together," he said. The sound of his voice sent another thrill down my spine.

But before I could say anything further, his lips were on mine. Was Alek actually kissing me right now? I stiffened slightly, but the feeling of his lips on mine sent a slow, liquid burn through my body. What seemed like way too soon, he pulled away from me.

He looked at me with his dark gaze and I held it as I closed the space between our lips with my own. His lips were hot on mine then, and I lost myself in the feeling. My body hummed and the some part of my brain was grateful that I didn't have to worry about him dying.

He traced my bottom lip with the velvety tip of his tongue. I almost moaned from the feeling, but with the pleasure came my first ray of doubt. What was I doing? I pulled away from him suddenly.

"Chloe-" his voice was surprised, and I thought maybe I hurt him.

"I-I'm sorry Alek..I'm just really confused right now and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything-"

"Chloe," he cut me off, and something about his tone made me stop my rambling. "You don't have to be sorry to me. I just needed to show you how much I care for you."

I fell awkwardly silent. The shock had not worn off yet. Had that really just happened?

I looked at him, and then around us. We were on my front porch, in full view of..well who knows what I might be in full view of, to be honest? I looked back to Alek. He seemed to have been following my train of thought.

"So..uhm..aside from that, Alek, is there anything else you needed?"

"Actually, yes. I need to talk to you about something else. But not here. Up in your room."

Suddenly I just wanted pause the situation. I didn't want to hear what he had to tell me upstairs. I just wanted to stay right here and not worry about it.

Unfortunately that option wasn't available to me.

"Okay. But be quiet. My mom only just went to sleep." I sighed.

. ... .

AN: What do you think? Interested in the next chapter? Please, let me know. :) Haven't written in a few months, so try to take it easy on me. Haha.