AN: okay, just to be clear, I don't like Brian all that much. Trust me, it'll become clear later on..

And I don't own 'The nine lives of Chloe King'. If I did, I'd know what would happen, and Brian would be shipped to Timboektoe or somewhere far, far away.

I hope you like the story, please R&R, as I feed on reviews. Free hugs for the readers, and cookies on top if you review!

Don't Let the Sky Fall

Chapter 1

It was dark outside, and the soft light of the moon was obscured by the floating clouds that came and went. A gentle breeze scurried them away, making room for the stars to shine. People all over the country were asleep, and all you could hear was a single owl, screeching, searching for food.

Only one girl, a young woman, was sitting on top of a roof. She held her arms around her knees protectively, pretending to be a rock no one could ever break.
Deep down, she knew that wasn't true. Chloe was no rock, and she was most definitely not unbreakable.
A sigh escaped her mouth, and her gaze lifted towards the dark sky. How had things become so complicated so damn fast? Only a few months ago she had been a normal teenage girl that was living a normal teenage life. And now? Not anymore, not even close.
Now she was Mai, some king of cat-like creatures, descendants of the Egyptian goddess Bastet. More even, she was supposed to be the Uniter of the Mai. She hadn't told her mom, who still believed she was the normal daughter she raised.
On top of that, her supposed-to-be-dead-dad was still alive. For over ten years she hadn't heard of him, and now, on her birthday, she finds out he's still alive. Another thing her mom knew nothing about.

As if all of these shenanigans weren't hard enough to live through, there was the Brian-case. Brian was this nice, kind, wonderful person. Human person, to be exact, and because of some stupid curse, Chloe couldn't be with him without killing him, literally.
Although her head knew this, her heart kept refusing to stay away. Brian always managed to cheer her up, even though he didn't know her secrets. He was there for her when he needed her, and even though she only wanted to be friends (stupid bloody curse) while she knew he wanted more, he didn't push her. Why did he have to be this nice? It would be loads easier to stay away if he behaved like a jerk instead of Mister Personality!

"A penny for your thoughts." Someone said. The voice had startled her, but Chloe tried her best not to show it.

"If I was an assassin, you might have been dead. Again."

"Well then I'm lucky you aren't one. Wait, I don't know if that's lucky…"

"Auwch, that hurt." He said, mocking her.

"Good." She smiled.

"I'm still waiting on the story about your thoughts…"

"Trust me, you don't even want to know it." She said, chuckling lightly. The man who came to sit next to her on the ledge smiled.

"Oh come on, Chloe," he said in that British accent of his, "I want to know everything."

"I'm sure you do, but I'm not telling you." She wouldn't give in to him. Not this time. Alex was supposed to be her protector, but he was so much more to her. He was someone she could confide in about her being the Uniter. He was someone who could manage to get a smile on her face even if she felt like crying. He was a real friend to her.

Alek turned his head to look at her, and his dark brown eyes gazes intently at her face, trying to pierce the protective bubble she had set up around herself.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly. His voice had lost its previous humorous tone and was all seriousness right now.

Chloe tilted her head back to look at the stars once more, as if the answer to the question was somewhere between those little dots of light.

"No, I'm not. But I will be." Eventually she turned her gaze back to Alek, smiling apologetically.

"I know you will. You always bounce back, Chloe King." The young man lightly bumped her shoulder.
That was another thing she liked about Alek. He wouldn't push her into talking if she didn't want to, and yet he wouldn't leave her side when he knew she wasn't okay.

They sat in silence for a while, shoulders barely touching. Chloe nor Alek knew for how long exactly, but neither of them really cared. It was only when the girl had to stifle a yawn that Alek ushered her back inside her room.

"Thank you, Alek." She whispered, before closing her window. Alek managed to nod his head towards her, showing he got the message. Showing he knew she saw him as a close friend. A friend… never before in his life had this little word meant and hurt so much as now. And yet, a friend was what she needed him to be, so that was exactly what he was going to be for her, for as long as she needed.
And after she had gone to sleep, he made himself comfortable on the roof, focusing on her heartbeat, and her steady breathing, making sure she was safe.