A/N: I do not own anything relatable to TNLOCK.
*ETA: This is not a run into your arms love story. There will eventually be Chalek, but you have to be patient. Good things take time, and I don't know about you but when they just jump into each others arms I don't feel like it is very realistic at all. Just thought I would let you know before committing to my story (Although I would LOVE that, and I would love for you to review and let me know how you like this story).
'Run. Run! RUN! Faster!' That was all I could think. All I could do to get away. Run. Run away from the one place I had ever called home. I couldn't stay though. I ran all the way to the London Heathrow Airport. I made my way inside, which wasn't hard to do considering I had gotten out of my home so fast that all I could manage to do is grab a duffel and throw in some various clothing and a single picture. I stood there, looking at the list of departures.
Toronto. Newcastle. Beijing. Barcelona. Paris. Dubai. Amsterdam. Vancouver. New York.
'America' I thought. 'Yes. America. Land of the free...Home of the brave..Well, that's what they say anyway. America it is then.' Duffel in hand, I walked to the ticket agent. "One way, non-stop to New York, please." The woman glanced at me, and started typing away. "That will be 716 pounds please. I will also need your I.D." She said. I pulled out my wallet and handed her my I.D. along with my..parents..credit card. I hoped and prayed they had not cut it off. That was they least they could do. She swiped the card and there was a buzz. "Hold on one moment please." She said, picking up the phone. "If you could wait over by that door over there." She smiled at me as she spoke.
My hearing had improved since my incident on my 14th birthday. It was so loud in here I couldn't catch on to what she was saying into the telephone. I just stood there, waiting, staring at the woman. She waved me over after about 10 minutes. "Okay sir, you're all set." I looked at her, smiled, and said thank you. I walked away and looked down at my ticket stub. Terminal Four. I made my way to the terminal and waited to board the plane. Thirty minutes later they started boarding. I handed my ticket to the attendant and he scanned it, waving me by. I boarded the plane and made my way down the isle. 9A, good at least I have the window seat. I shoved my bag into the overhead compartment and took my seat. I was exhausted. At least I could just rest for a few hours until we land. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.
"Hello? Excuse me, sir? Sir, you need to wake up, the plane has landed." I opened my eyes to see the flight attendant with her hand on my shoudler nudging me awake. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Thank you." I said groggily. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got up to stretch, bumping my head and elbows on the roof. I opened the overhead compartment and grabbed my duffel and exited the plane. When I finally made it outside, I looked around. I have no idea where to go.
There were taxis lined up along the front of the building, so I decided to hop into one. "Where to man?" The driver asked. "Times Square." I replied. It's the only place in New York I've heard of other than the Empire State Building. About 45 minutes later the taxi stopped and I paid the driver. I got out and he sped off into traffic. Taking a deep breath, I looked around. Grrrrr. My stomach grumbled,. I hadn't realized I was so hungry.
I turned around to find somewhere to eat and a girl bumped into me. "Oh, I'm sorry! Really, I wasn't paying attention." I apologized quickly. I looked at the girl, she looked about my age, she had dark brown hair, and equally dark brown eyes. "It's ok! I'm fine." She said with a smile. I stood staring at her for a moment, I was transfixed. I don't know why but I just felt safe. "I'm Alek. I just got off a plane from London." I said, holding my hand out to shake hers. "I'm Jasmine." She said, taking my hand. She looked behind her, "Here comes my mother. Mom! Meet Alek, he just arrived from London!" She exclaimed to her mother. I looked at the woman approaching, she had the same hair as her daughter. Her eyes were a little lighter though.
"Hello Alek. My name is Valentina. I see you met Jasmine. May I ask where your parents are?" She looked at me questioningly. "Uh..They are in London. I'm here alone, ma'am." I replied nervously. "Do you know where you're going?" Valentina asked. "No. I just got out of a taxi cab when I ran into your daughter." "Well, that won't do. Come join us for dinner, Alek." Valentina insisted. We all walked together to a restaurant.
We had made small talk and ordered our food and Valentina took a sip of her drink and looked at me. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so far from your parents alone?" I looked down at my lap and gulped. I figured I would have to tell my story to someone..It just worried me what they would think.
I glanced at Valentina, and took a deep breath. "It was on my 14th birthday. I - " I hesitated. "I changed. I don't know how to explain it, but I changed. It scared them, so I left." Valentina stared at me for a few moments. "I know." She said simply, and matter-of-factly. I looked at her dumbfounded. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I could tell the moment I saw you. That's why Jasmine bumped into you. She had to get close enough to smell you." She was leaned over toward me whispering now.
"You are different Alek. Special. Like Jasmine and myself." I was still staring at her. I felt like an idiot because my mouth was hanging open. "What do you mean-" She interrupted me, "Not here." She stood up and went to pay for our meals. Jasmine and I followed. I looked at Jasmine and she smiled at me again. Valentina turned to us. "Come, we have much to discuss."
We were all in their hotel room. I was shocked..I knew I was different, but I didn't know why until now. It all makes sense now thanks to Valentina and Jasmine. They explained to me what I was. What we are. Mai. An ancient race descended from the Goddess Bastet. Pretty much cat-people. Valentina looked at Jasmine and I, pointed at us both and sternly stated, "Cousins." We laughed. "The thought honestly never occured to me, Aunt Val." She smiled at me and said, "Come along, nephew. Let's go home."
The next day, we had flown to their home in San Francisco, so now we were at their apartment building. We got in the elevator and Jasmine pushed the button for the eighteenth floor. Exiting the elevator, we turned left and headed down the hallway to apartment 1803. Their home. My new home.
As if Valentina had heard my thoughts, she stated, "Our home." We walked in and she directed me to two different bedrooms. They were both guest bedrooms and she told me I could have my pick of which one to stay in. I walked into one, there was a king size bed, the walls were blue and the furniture was white. As soon as I walked in I felt like I was home. I set my bag on the bed and walked to the window. Looking out you could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and a trail of shops. I turned and walked to my bag and opened it. I pulled out the single photo I owned, and set it on the dresser.
"They looked like great people." I jumped and turned around. "You startled me." I said quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." She looked down at her feet. "It's okay." I looked at her and smiled, reassuring her. After a pause, I started again, "My birth parents." I paused and took in a breath. "All I know is that I was four when they died. It was in Russia." I glanced at the picture. She was right. They did look like great people. "I should finish unpacking."
She started to turn and stopped. "You know, you can talk to me whenever you need to. If you need to. I'll be here." She said and she smiled at me and walked out, closing the door quietly behind her. I finished unpacking and went to take a shower. When I got out, I got dressed and walked into the kitchen. Valentina was already in there cooking dinner. "Funny. I didn't picture you as the cooking type." I said. She glanced at me and smirked. "We can't live on take-out and pizza." I laughed. "Yeah, you're right about that."
We were all sitting down at the table eating our dinner when Valentina spoke up. "Alek, I assume you were going to school in London?" I stopped and put down my fork. "Yes ma'am. I would have been a freshman this year." I glanced at both of them."Alek, you should go to school with me! It starts in 2 weeks, I'm sure there is time to get you enrolled." Jasmine exclaimed. Valentina was staring at me with a curious look on her face. She was waiting for my answer.
I guess I could go back to school. Probably nothing better to do. "Sure, why not? Everyone needs an education, right?" I glanced over at Jasmine who was grinning like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. "Great! We'll need to go school shopping. Wanna go tomorrow?" I thought for a moment. "Tomorrow works. I need to get some clothes, too. Unfortunately I did not have the time to properly pack." I replied. "So, are there any other Mai our age in the area?" Jasmine looked down. She almost looked sad. "No. At least none that have gone through their transformation." I couldn't think of anything to say. I could tell that something was bothering her, probably that we were the only two Mai in San Francisco in high school.
She started to walk away and I stopped her, "Jasmine?" I asked. "Yeah Alek?" She was facing me again, looking me straight in the eye. "He wasn't Mai, was he?" I asked her, even though it was more of a statement. "No. He wasn't. That's why I don't get close to humans. At least none I can fall in love with." I slung my arm over her shoulder and gave her a half hug. Her eyes were glazed over, I could tell she was going to cry.
"Come on. Let's go watch a movie before we go to bed. Your choice." She smiled at me and we went to the living room. She scanned through the DVD's and picked out Aeon Flux. I smiled, "Thank Bastet you didn't pick out a bloody romantic movie!" We both burst out laughing. She popped the movie in and laid across the sofa, so I got comfortable on the loveseat. We both ended up passing out in the middle of the movie.
Valentina woke us in the morning and we got showered and dressed and went out for our day of school shopping. We went to a few stores and got some school supplies and I got some t-shirts and shoes. All that I needed now were jeans. Good old-fashioned - "Vintage? Sweet. Best place to buy jeans!" I exclaimed. Jasmine stared at me like I was insane. "I never thought I would meet a guy that liked to shop as much as you!" We had burst out in a fit of laughter as we walked into the store. "I like to look presentable" I said with a straight face. Jasmine just laughed.
We were browsing through articles of clothing and I had found a few pairs of jeans I liked so I started to make my way to the counter. I turned to look for Jasmine when I bumped into a mannequin, knocking it over. "Bloody hell!" I blurted as I knelt down to pick it up. "I thought that was something they only said in movies." A voice chirped. I looked up at the owner of the voice. She had long curly blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
She was stunning..I quickly picked up the mannequin and smirked at her. "Actually, on the contrary it is a quite popular phrase in England." She smiled at me, looked down at the ground and back up at me biting her lip. I was entranced, staring at the girl in front of me. We both stood silent for a moment and finally Jasmine showed up beside me and interrupted the silence. "Alek, mom wants us back at the apartment. She needs you for some information to get you enrolled in school." I looked at Jasmine and back at the girl. "So, uh, I guess I'll see you around?" She asked. I smirked at her again. "I'd like that." I replied. She smiled again and said goodbye and went back to counter to mark clothing with price tags.
I paid for my things and Jasmine and I walked out, heading back to the apartment. When we were close to the apartment, she stopped, so I looked at her questioningly. "You can't be friends with that girl Alek." She said. "Why not?" I fumed. "Because she's a human." She asserted. "Just because she's human doesn't mean I can't befriend her!" I argued. I knew why she was warning me against it. I had only spoken with the girl for 2 minutes and I already liked her. Jasmine stared down at the ground. "Just trust me Alek. You know that I'm right." I started walking again, and I heard Jasmines footsteps start behind me. "Yes. You're right." I mumbled.
A/N: This was my very first fanfic ever..Review..pm me, whatever, just give me feedback! And should I continue this story or just leave it as a one shot?