Okay here's the first chapter of "Some secrets should stay hidden" featuring Manny from monster high, I don't own monster high. You know the deal, I only own that's mine. Okay love you peeps, let's go!

Sophia's p.o.v.

"OW, that hurts," the Minotaur yells.

He quickly pulls away his arm and sends me a deathly snarl. I snap back a stare and grab his hand.

"Well MAYBE it wouldn't hurt so much if you would stop moving!" I yell back.

"Hey, this happened because YOU screamed!"

He glares at me, our faces inches apart. I can make out the individual hairs that line his face. His large nose suspends a golden hooped ring that dangles from his septum; but seems to have been painfully attached deep within his nose. His cheeks dip into his face and emphasize the size of the nose. His hair is messy and blonde; a sort of bloody blonde mop of messy curls, since this was a new style, from the fight, I guess I can sort of take credit for. But, the thing that strikes me the most are his piercing blue eyes. One look and I swear he can see into my soul. One look and my heart accelerates to what feels like a thousand beats per second. One look and my mouth fills with saliva, forcing me to swallow, though that doesn't seem possible, given the size of the ball in my throat. I swallow anyway.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have screamed if you hadn't scared me!" I rasp back, my distracted mind not missing a beat. Well, maybe only one, one beat.

"Well it's not my fault I look this way," he grumbles. "It's not my fault you think I'm ugly"

When he says this I realize that all the fight and all of the fire has left my body. All of it. Gone. As quickly as it had come. Which surprises me because there was so much of it. Indeed, indeed, it was quite a fight. And yet now, none of that. Now just his words, carried by a surprisingly soft and hurting tone.

That tone shocks me to the core. Is it really possible that a creature like this can feel something like grief or compassion? Emotions that indicate, no, prove that there is something within them that we have to recognize as essentially human. And yet everything we're taught about them screams that that's impossible. So, here I am, shocked into questioning everything we know about them … or maybe, everything we think we know about them.

I set the damp cloth in the water, then reach over and grab his huge furry hand.

"I never said you were ugly, I just said you scared me." He looks at me with those piercing blue eyes. I quickly glance at his wounds, my mind reeling with all these emotions. I shut my eyes tightly as I try to think of how to word this " I know that you monsters would never hurt us 'Normies.' It's just that you guys are a lot, and I mean a lot, bigger and stronger than us." I motion to his biceps and I can see what he can't help - the slight smile that hugs his lips for a second "So when we first see you guys and we're not expecting it, the situation can be a bit …"

"Horrifying?" he cuts me off. "Disturbing? Revolting? Life-scaring?"

He is glaring at me now. I clench my teeth together before letting out a sigh through my nose

"Startling," I finish. "Startling."

I let out the "asshole" for good measure. His face softens and I reached over to swirl around the soaking cloth and push down my anger. The warrior side of me wanted nothing more than to push the boundaries and see just how far I could take this fight but the mother side of me sliced through the poison. Being the annoying but correct voice of wisdom that pushed apart the clouds and let the sun in. The kind of sun that made you pause, take in a slow calming breath and think about your actions. Mark your next moves so they benefit both yourself and others. Breaking the ice surrounding his soul would not be an easy task, but through the anger I saw he was willing, not maybe not willing but I guess trying. Yes, trying to change. The fact he had bled for me once already was enough of a reminder.

"I didn't see that man behind me, so when you just appeared..." I trailed off, carefully choosing my words.

"You thought I was going to hurt you" he finished, I sighed and nodded.

He reaches with his good hand and grabs mine, his completely covered my hand. His mouth opens slightly, like he's going to say something but no words come out. I see the battle raging behind his eyes, the fact that he wants to say "I'm never going to hurt you, not after what you did for me"

He doesn't.

I'm human, he's a monster. Two people from different worlds. Worlds that were currently at war. To say something like that meant trust. To establish a bond that went against everything we had been taught. I thought I would feel hurt; feel rejected because after everything he still shut me out. Clinging to the old ways of his people even though the truth stared him, staring BOTH of us in the face.

THEY were wrong.

My other hand let go of the cloth, moved through the air with grace and landed gently on top of his. My fingers were still damp and warm but I doubt he minded as he looked up at me with shock and shuts his mouth. I gave a small smile.

"I know that now" I whisper, saving him from the inner struggle.

I was shocked as he gives me a small smile in return. Usually he would glare at me, smack my hand away for suggesting he would say something that caring. But I guess, lying here broken and bleeding on my couch was enough from him to drop the walls. Well enough that emotions -other than anger- like compassion, could slip though…

I pull my hand off of his and turn back to the bowl, the small shred of happiness as I knew I was breaking through that wall of his. Piece by piece, I would find out who the monster was inside.

"Now hold still! This might sting a little" I moved the cloth towards his arm and he cried out.

"Ow, that hurts!" he half yells

I jump. Half because he scared me and half because this was a side of him I didn't see often. The happy side. The child-like side. It seemed the morphine was starting to take its effect. I send him a light glare. He looks back at me with a sly a grin on his face.

"I haven't even touched you yet!" I laugh, he chuckles and looks around the room. Placing the cloth of the wounds, to soften up the dry blood. I started to gently clean out the wound, he only flinched slightly. Folding the cloth over I saw the patches of drying blood and sighed "You didn't have to help me today. I'm really am grateful..." I gently wash out the cloth in the red water "Thank-you, for saving my life."

I'm not sure but I swore he sucked in a sharp breath, I glanced at him but his eyes were looking out the window. I gently cleaned out the rest of the wound and wondered if that was the first time he had heard that from a "Normie".

"... You're welcome" his quiet voice answers back, it was so quiet that I almost missed it.

He was looking down at me and I glance up at him with a small smile, this had been the first time we had gotten through a 4 word conversation. Well without screaming at each that is. I'm usually a composed person but something about him brings out the...? Animal? No... Beast? No... Oh I know. He brings out the Monster in me. And truthfully, I'm not sure if that's good or bad... but curiosity got the better of me. That and some little nagging voice that said I wanted to hear his voice.

"I'm Sophia, by the way. Sophia jones." I wash out the cloth, he nods.

"Manny, Manny taur." his voice wasn't as gruff as it started but there was still a guarded tone to it.

I push down the ache in my chest. Of course, he didn't trust me. Having hated humans for so long it was hard to push the voices aside. To let someone in when every fiber in your being told you to run. But the small amount of anger was less than before and I took it. If he was starting to trust me I wouldn't shatter it with petty jabs to raise myself confidence. Though the mix of crashing adrenalin and lack of sleep brought out the worst as I felt the similar tickle of giggles that ran their way up my throat.

I tried to stop it. I really did! But a small chuckle slipped past my guard and escaped my lips.

"What?" he sends me a confused look?

I burst into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry" I say between laughing "Manny taur, that's so clever"

(Manny's p.o.v)

She had finally stopped laughing, but I really had no idea what was so funny. I felt the surge of anger flood through my veins but it was crushed. Stopped like someone had simply flipped a switch. Something about her laughter calmed me. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. A sweet, caring melody, like little bells dancing through the wind. Or that first breath of air you take after you head comes out of water.

I sat there dumbfounded, why was I feeling this? A part of my worried that she might notice but the logical side said she was too lost in her own world to notice me. Then again, if she hadn't noticed we wouldn't be here right now…

The room goes quiet. SO quiet it takes me a second to snap back into the present. Sophia's face was flushed, her cheeks rosy. Eyes watering, her breathing slightly labored as she came down from her high. In my distracted mind, a word slipped out.

Beautiful.

Well, for a normie that is… I quickly countered.

She smiled and cleared her throat, the blush slightly darkening as she notices my staring.

"Oh I'm sorry, I really need more sleep!" she smiled, I rolled my eyes.

Her excuse was pathetic and with anyone else I wouldn't believe it but seemed to… fit her. She wasn't judgemental like others. Didn't laugh at your faults or sneer in disgust. Sophia was Sophia. The laughable, annoying, caring, aggravating little normie that wouldn't stay out of my life. God I'm turning soft…

"Really, I couldn't tell" I say sarcastically, she hit me again but continued working. The air was nice, calm. No hint of anger or threat. It was a nice break from reality. Something I could only find with her, as annoying as it sounds. To break the trance, my eyes wandered around her house, looking at all the little things here and there. I wanted to hear her voice, to hear that laugh again. My mind ran through hundreds of things to say, each one outshining the last until my mouth blurt out "… You have a nice house"

Her head snaps up at me, the slightly confused look dances before her eyes. Her mouth twists in a mix of a frown and a smile.

"What?" she chuckles

Dear god, kill me now…

"Um… you have a nice house?" I repeat but this time slightly quieter.

I think if we had been in any other situation she would have laughed. Doubled over in laughter until she was nothing but a ball of happy tears and then spent the next 5 hours teasing me about it. But the previous events hung heavy on both our minds and somehow brought us both to the same plain. A slow, mellow plain. Where we could take part in each other's flaws and not quite fix them but maybe mend. Just a little.

"Thanks, it's my aunt's though." I nod. I kept looking when a flash of brown caught my eye; it was a small picture in the corner of the room. Or rather the frame that was rebounding the sunlight straight to my face. I close my eyes from a second as black circles flash before my vision I switched my eyes to look at it "What?"

Her tone was concerned. Though I would be too if I thought a 310-pound minotaur was about to pass out of me. I smile gently and open my eyes. Her eyes as frozen on mine, and I will myself not to gasp. There it was again. That look. The one that says "I know you're a monster but I still care"

"Oh nothing, I'm just looking at that" I point to it.

Her eyes follow my arm and soon that caring look is replaced with one of sadness.

"Ooh" she says and looks at the floor "That..."

I pause slightly and bite my cheek, the atmosphere had dropped to a cold depressing feeling and I instantly regretted saying anything. Sophia squeezes my hand and stands up to grabs it. She glances down at it for a second, a slight hesitation on her face. She bites her bottom lip and shoves the square frame into my hand. I gently turn it over and see myself in the reflection; tipping the glass a smidge my reflection disappears. It was a little girl and a boy, they had weird clothes on.

"That was me on Halloween, I was about 6 then I think. I'm dress up as a princess." I nodded.

"Who's beside you" she smiles sadly.

"That was my brother, Jonathon. He passed away about 2 years after that picture was taken." she whispers.

"I'm sorry?" I whisper and cringe at how questionable it sounds. Caring was not a strong suit of mine. I quickly redirect the question in hopes that she didn't notice. We both know she had "So what are you?"

I was well aware of Halloween. A miserable time of year where the Normie's play cruel pranks on our school and students. We were supposed to get along but one day everything changed and we all split up. She laughs.

"I'm a princess" she says, I gave her a confused look before she walked over and grabbed a small book from the shelf. Sophia sat back down and explained to me the deal of Fairy-tails and their stories.

*20 minutes later...*

"And that's what I choose to be" Sophia says, I look at her as she wraps up my arm.

"Why, would anyone want to be locked in a tower for a year!?" I laugh, she shrugs.

"I don't know?! I didn't write the books." she laughs "And I was 6, give me a break!" she clears her throat "Um, Manny?" I look at her.

"Ya?" I ask.

"I need to treat your other wounds, so um..." a light blush dusts her cheeks "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt."

She looked at the floor and I couldn't help but laugh at her sudden shyness. Standing up I used my good arm to tare what was left of my ragged shirt off my body and dropped it on the floor, I sat back down on the couch. Her blush had turned from a light pink to a dark red as she eyed up my body.

"See something you like, Princess?" I smirk, she shoots me a look before grabbing a needle.

"What, am I suppose to see something?" she fires back, I grin.

That's what I liked about this Nor-... girl, that's what I liked about this girl. She had a fire that matched mine. A certain shyness and air of respect around her but a temper and a mouth that could outwit Cleo. Well, maybe.

She pats my shoulder

"Lay down." she nodded her head forwards.

I do that and flinch, the wounds were still very raw. She nibbles on her lower lip for a minute, just rolling the needle in her fingers.

"Is something wrong?" I sigh, she looks up at me.

"No, um... You're just a lot bigger than most humans so I'm figuring out the best way to do this..." Sophia says, eyes looking at my wounds and body.

I tried not to squirm, I really did.

But for the first time in my life, I was being treated like an equal to a human. I wasn't being yelled at or called names. Stuck in a fight. For each thing I had some emotion, some action that helped me get through tough times. But this one was so new that I was totally lost. For the first time I was on... and I literally shuddered at the thought. Normal... grounds with another person, a human person to be exact. My walls fell down, my pride vanished, my trusted wall of anger left and couldn't help but feel subconscious under her gaze.

That awful gaze. That Wonderfully, AWFUL, gaze. Because I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what she was thinking.

Disgust?

Horror?

Fear?

Humor?

All she did was stand there, rolling that blasted needle between her two fingers and rake her eyes up and down my body. And when I say rake I mean Rake. In truth she had just been looking but I swore it was like she was dragging her nails down my body. It burned and stung but through the pain it left a surprisingly good tingle ripping through my body. When I couldn't take it anymore she finally spoke.

"Okay..." she sighs, slowly her hands touch my lower abdomen "Don't freak out" she whispers as she crawls onto my lap.

I shoot her a look. I'm not sure if it was the morphine or the blood loss. But for some reason I was feeling more confident, willing to push the boundaries. Ones I wouldn't cross out of fear or rejection and that fact that it might make me look like a fool.

"Oh?" I grin, my tone cocky as my hips roll slightly towards her.

The torn skin burns slightly across my stomach but the light blush that dusts her cheeks was worth it. AS if she wasn't embarrassed she shuts her eyes, when they open I'm met with a firm face. Not one of anger but one that spoke "Do that again when your bleeding and I'll kill you"

"Don't start." Sophia says, carefully she starts to clean out my wounds. I bite my tongue as a light stinging pain shoots through my chest. "Sorry" she says "I'm trying to be gentle, it's just the wound are deep." after a few minutes she wipes her head, I see a slight wince of pain.

"Your hurt." I say and go to sit up, she shakes her head.

The look of fear flashing across her face as this small movement knocks her off my lap and onto my chest. The movement makes a blush flash across my face and me biting my inner cheek till to was bleeding to stop the lustful groan from ripping off my throat. The movement cause her legs to subconsciously tighten around my groin so she didn't fall to the ground and when I froze the force knocked her forwards. Her soft breast landing on my firm chest. Though it hurt like hell I couldn't ignore the way we perfectly fit together. Like two pieces of a puzzle. A soft groan left her lips, Her hair had fallen over her face and cascaded around her shoulders. I groaned that time as her eyes caught mine. The look of shock but pure comfort was thrilling. Thankfully she took that groan as pain and sat up, though her mouth fell open as she slid down to my lap. I blush and shut my eye.

"Sorry..." I trail off

her shoulders were shaking as she bitterly fought the laughter threatening to escape

"Its fine" she whispers in a shaking breath "Its a perfectly normal reaction" she says, reaching up she gently removed her sweater and shirt.

My eyes widen a bit at her body and I smirked. Though it didn't help my current "problem" it was a nice distraction from my embarrassment. I take the spot light off myself in an instant.

"Well, it seems princess here is nicely built." I joked, she glared up at me before going back to her work but I could see the small smile. Sophia had nice toned legs, a flat, firm and hard stomach. Even from here I could see the light definition of a 6 pack, lean, strong arms and probably a C cup breast size. But it was hard to tell with the sports bra she was currently sporting.

"Well, I need to be with all the sports I play." she says, her eyes never leaving my wounds.

"You play sports?" I ask, she looks up with a "duh" look on her face.

"No, I've never heard of this thing called sports..." she smirks, I glare lightly at her as she laughs. "Yes, I play volley-ball, mixed-martial-arts, cheer-leading and gymnastics. Plus a bit of figure skating for my mother's sake."

"Wow, do you do anything besides sports?" I joke, she glares at me before laughing.

"If you have my parents as your family then you would understand..." She says and trail off, looks up and glared out the window. I had lost her... I could see it in her eyes, she was gone in a thought.

(Sophia's p.o.v)

Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

I paced around the room as my mind swirled with anger, sad and scared thoughts. The earlier calmness had faded with every passing minute.

Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

I glanced down at the bloody sink. The red water swirling with the pink bubbles. My hands were dripping with a mixture of both. Why was I so stupid?! Why cant I ever do what I'm told. How did this even happen.

I paced back and forth form the kitchen to the living room. My unconscious house guest laying on my couch. His body is wrapped in red gauze.

Oh Shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

Why hadn't I seen him.

It happened so fast.

Everything all at once. Why?!

My house phone rang and I shrieked loudly.

My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to take little gasping breaths.

Ring ring. ring ring.

throwing a hand over my heart I picked up the phone with a shaking hand.

"H-hello?" I whispered.

"Soph?" My best friend's voice rang through "Are you okay?" her voice was filled with concern "You left so quickly, I wasn't sure what was wrong?"

I paced the floor in silence

"Um, I'm fine..." I tried to say it with a firm voice but it slipped out as a broken whisper.

"Bull-shit..." she states "Soph I'm outside your door, let me in!"

I walked over to the door, the handle was locked from my previous freak out. It shock lightly from the outside but my hand didn't move.

"Soph, please. Let me in."

I was frozen, a long sigh escaped her lips

"God Damn it Sophia, IF you don't let me in right now I'm going to break down the door. So choose one!" she growls

My hand works and I slowly open the door, and see Nat standing there in her cheer outfit. Her hair still in their pony-tails, make-up on and pom-poms in her left hand. Her boyfriends football coat hung loosely on her shoulders and covered the whole outfit by a good few inches. Her anger faded away as she saw my face. I glanced at the mirror beside the door and froze. My face was pure white, my hair was pulled into a messy bun with other hairs sticking everywhere, tear and ruined make-up stained my cheeks. My hands were crusted in red, and bloody soap still lingered on the kitchen floor.

"Holy fuck Sophia, what happened?!"

I usually bashed her choice of foul words but this time I was to freaked to do anything. I felt something grab my hands and I realized it was her.

"Sophia" she says and grabs my face, her hands resting on my neck and thumbs brushing my cheeks. "Love, look at me..." I glance up "What ever happened will fix it, but you need to tell me what's going on" I glance into her brown and green eyes and tears fell.

"It all happened so fast" I whisper and fall into her body, my hands wrap around her waist and she lets out a startled gasp before returning the gesture and running her fingers through my hair. Carefully working out the knots in both a helpful and soothing way.

"Sophia" she whispers and wipes the tears "What Happened?"

I pull away and slowly walk into the living room, I pulled out a key and unlocked the door. With a glance at Nat, I pushed it in and she gasps loudly. Her eyes slowly move back to mine. But my eyes were on Manny, watching his staggered breathing and fearing any second it might stop. And if it did what might happen.

"... Can I go to jail for killing a monster?"

Okay that the end of chapter one, what do you think? R&R people. love you all, peace out!

xxxxxTheJonesStoriesxxxxx