A/N: Hey guys this is my first fanfic but I want complete and brutal honesty, and this chapter is better than the first. I needed to give a little background info. The conversation in the previous chapter was from episode 10, Beautiful Day. If you haven't watched it you may be a little lost in this chapter. Oh, and the entire first paragraph she is talking to herself, so sorry if it's confusing. Reviews are appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Nine Lives of Chloe King, or I wouldn't have let them cancel it. Duh!

Ch. 2: Salty Tears

I sat there, stunned, on the steps of the grand theatre where another one of my precious lives had just been stolen from me. I was drenched in my own sweat and blood, and he was too. Brian, whose lifeless cold body was draped over my lap. It was limp and completely utterly still. A single salty tear ran down and over my cheek as more and more quickly followed. I did nothing to stop them, not caring if they swallowed me up and I drowned in them, because then maybe I would be with him…

I woke up, startled, and clutched my blankets as if my life depended on it, turning my knuckles white. I checked myself once over, but the blood had completely vanished, leaving me shaking slightly. "It was a dream." I thought, as I began calming down. The whole thing was a really awful dream. I glanced at my clock, which read 4:46 a.m., in flashing lights while beeping loudly. I had forgotten to turn my alarm clock off the night before. I took a deep breath in, wishing a certain Mai would be here in times like these. Speaking of, "I must have gone to bed after Alek had fled my room yesterday, when he overheard the conversation I had with my mom." I reasoned, unable to find another logical explanation for my lack of memory. Honestly, I didn't remember getting in bed at all yesterday. "Alek… I need to talk to him," I reminded myself. I hoped he would forgive me, and I was prepared to beg on my knees, if need be. I knew I didn't deserve his good graces, but I couldn't live without him. "I'm going to call him," I resolved. I immediately began thinking of what to say, but nothing came to me.

I felt sore as I hopped out of bed and headed towards my bathroom door, searching for my missing phone as I went. "What could I have possibly done to make it so painful to move?" I asked myself out loud.

I bent down to retrieve the missing phone out of the back pocket of my crumpled pants, which I had tossed on the bathroom floor after changing out of them the night before. Although I had no memory of doing this either, it's what I always did, so I wasn't too shocked to find them. I hardly noticed the drops of blood covering my jeans. I figured my mind was playing tricks on me after my horrible dream.

"Do you honestly not remember?" A British accent asked from behind me. Startled, I jumped up from my crouched position on the floor. I couldn't believe it was really Alek. He had come, even after I hurt him so badly yesterday.

I smiled, hopeful that he had come to give me another chance, and responded stupidly, "Remember what?" I looked down at my phone, which was now cradled in my hand. The most recent message that I had received was pulled up on the screen. It read, 'Meet me at Hannah's last stop. Here. Now. –DAD'. Once I registered what the message said and what its mere presence meant, the smile, which had been inching down, completely dropped off of my face. It had happened; it wasn't a dream at all. This was crystal clear to me now as my heart sank.

While I was still putting the pieces together, Alec sighed and began, "Chloe, love…you were shot… you died…"

Recovering slightly, I looked up into Alek's face clearly for the first time, and gasped. " Oh my Basset! What happened to you Alek?" I practically screamed, demanding an explanation and cutting him off before he could continue. Taking a good look at him I realized that he was fairly beat up. His bottom lip was swollen up, like it had recently been stung by a large bee. There was a slight bulge around the middle of his stomach, giving away the position of a large bandage of some sort. The last visible injury was a cut over his left eye that, at just a glance, blended in fairly well with his eyebrow. This small cut is what worried me the most. Being Mai meant having the ability to heal very fast, which meant that it should have healed a long time ago, but this cut looked fresh.

In response to my question I expected Alek to say something smart and cocky like, 'You should see the other guy' or something, but no. Instead, he started to break down. I saw his face fall as a flood of memories came rushing back into his mind at hearing my question. That was the first time I saw Alek Petrov cry.

"It was Zain…he…he was waiting…Jasmine…Val-Valentina…they…the-they're gone Chloe." He choked out. The tears were rolling down his cheek. The reflection of the moonlight glistened in his tears, making them look almost magical. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they were; the Mai are pretty magical to me.

I couldn't really process what he was actually saying, but I didn't want to worry about it right now. My main concern had become comforting the crying boy in front of me right now, and being there for him, like he always is for me. I walked him over tio my bed and we sat down there. I held him close to me, listening to his frantic heartbeat as he sobbed. I waited and listened until he was ready to continue.

After a few minutes, he cleared his throat and began again. He spoke so quietly that only another Mai would be able to hear him. "Zain was waiting for me at the penthouse." He used his sleeve to wipe a progressing tear from his eye. "When I got there, it… it was too late. The healers at headquarters told me Valentina had been poisoned, but Jas…" He took another deep breath and pushed on refusing to give in to the fresh tears emerging from his eyes. He began again, "Jasmine was stabbed…I tried so hard to kill him, Chloe. I wanted to rip him up into a million pieces with my claws. I wanted to see and taste his blood, and watch the life drain out of him. I'm a monster Chloe…"

This confession brought on a new round of tears, soaking through my thin shirt. I was downright shocked. Alek was opening up to me, sharing his deepest and darkest thoughts and worries with me. This was a new side of Alek; one that I never thought I would get to see. He was very vulnerable right now, and he trusted me to see him through it. He believed himself to be a monster after that traitor, Zain, killed his only living family.

I kissed his cheek tenderly, where a tear was resting. He looked up slightly confused. I licked my lips, where the salty tear had dissolved, before I began, "Zain? I never would have pegged him as a traitor. Alek, you were angry… he deserved to die…" It was harsh, but his story made me angry and it was getting harder to control that anger. "…He killed his own. He is a traitor…" I spat. I looked into Alek's eyes, and my anger immediately dissipated. I was supposed to be comforting him, not stressing him out more.

When Chloe looked at me with her big blue eyes, the anger immediately left her gaze and softened. She lightly says, "You have every right to be angry, Alek..." When she said my name my heart fluttered. No other girl has ever made me feel this way, which is a pretty big deal considering how amazing I am and how many girls are willing to throw themselves at me per day. I would estimate about 100 G/D [girls per day] if you didn't know.

She was still talking…"…but it's over now. Everything will get better eventually, I promise. With Zain gone…"

I look at her, my eyes grew wide as I realized what she was saying. I silenced her when I said her name, "Chloe…he got away. Zain got away. He stabbed me…" I unconscientiously touched my bandaged stomach where I had been stabbed. "… with… with the same knife that claimed Jasmine's life. We fought, but…but he knew every move that I would make. He matched every punch and kick I threw at him perfectly. I think he was watching us. I think he had been for awhile actually." With this Chloe looked dumbfounded. It was cute. "Hey, I'm still the best fighter, the uniter can't even handle me." I added cockily, changing the tone of my voice.

She giggled and said, " Now there's the C.B. I know and love!" Her eyes widened after the last word, and then looked at me pleadingly, as if to say 'please don't comment.' But I did anyway…

"Chloe?" I smiled, at her reaction and I could hear her heart speed up, but she refused to give me the explanation I longed for. I sighed and looked down at my fingers fiddling with them, as I often did when I wanted to look nervously cute.

"Alek…" She began, but when I looked up at her hopefully our faces came so close together that if I twitched our noses would brush one another's. So that's what I did; I twitched, making one final tear slipped down my face. She closed the distance, putting her lips to mine. Her lips tasted salty. Had she been crying? Had I been too rapped up in myself to notice her own silent tears. I pulled away, momentarily, to look at her. Her blue eyes were red and puffy.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. She looked up at me questioningly, and I answered her by pressing my lips to each of her eyes and then once again to her lips. We fell back onto her bed. Our lips disconnected and she snuggled into me after we got under her covers. I wrapped my arms around her and we fell asleep for the remaining hours of the night.

Together.

A/N: R&R please! Why isn't the cut over Alec's eye healing? What happened to Chloe's mom? Where did Zain go? I know but do you? Please share your thoughts! 3