--ahh, so i see i haven't received one single review. is the story really that bad? i mean, i wouldn't mind one review...no matter what it says. i just want someone's opinion on it.

so, here goes chapter 7:

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I practically ran up the walkway to Hien's house. I rang the doorbell and turned my body so that I was staring out at the houses across the street. People were leaving their houses and getting in their cars. That was normal. Birds were chirping and flying back and forth on the electricity pole. Still normal. My heart ached and I watched as a little old woman walked her small pug down the street. The old woman waved and smiled. I did the same to her. I felt better being around things that grew up with all my life.

"Who is it?" A voice called from the other side of the door.

I spun around. It was Hien. "It's me, Raya."

"Raya?!" Hien unlocked the door in such a hurry that it was all done in a blink of an eye. The door was pulled open and standing in the doorway was the girl who had been my best friend since kindergarten. She was petite, cute, and an inch smaller than me. Hien had long, chestnut, silky hair that went down to her chest. Her eyes were the shape of almonds and were dark brown. Every time I saw her I always had to compliment her eyes. I just loved them.

Hien ran out of the door and wrapped her arms around me. I buried my face in her shoulder. "It's been so long!" Hien complained and pulled away.

I grinned. "It's only been about two days since I last saw you, Hien."

Hien sighed excitedly. "Still, I'm use to seeing you every day and now that I'm not going to it's going to be weird!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. I inhaled the smell of the house. It always smelled of fresh flowers and I was able to relax here. It was like my sanctuary.

"Where's Brian?" I asked and followed Hien farther into her house. I glanced at the paintings that were on either side of the wall. They were of flowers or of gorgeous sceneries. "I can't get over how beautiful your house is."

"Brian? Oh, he's watching TV in the living room like always." Hien giggled. "Your condo is way better than my house. Do you want something to drink or to eat?"

I patted my stomach. "Maybe later, Hien, but not right now. I just came back from eating at Denny's so I'm really full."

"I'm going to go get the Lucky Charms in case you change your mind. Go ahead to my room, Ray, you know where it is."

"Of course I know where your room is! I would never forget. I've been here so many times that if you blindfolded me blind I would still know where your room was!"

Hien joined in with my laughter and then disappeared through a doorway that was the entrance to her kitchen.

I felt way better now that I was Hien.

I heard the sounds of people chattering up ahead and I guessed that it was coming from the TV. "Hey, Brian?" I walked into the living room and found him lying down on the couch, a blank expression on his face. Brian was Hien's ten year old brother. He usually stayed inside and watched TV all day. Hien and her mother tried everything possible to get him out of the house. His mom bought him a bike, a skateboard, a dog, and all that good stuff yet he still stayed cooped up in the house.

"Whu?" He looked around, his hair messing up as he turned his head from side to side.

I waved. "Over here, Brian!" I leaned on the couch and messed with his hair some more. "How has life been?"

"Oh, hey, tried to move away from my hand. He turned back to the TV screen. "Boring."

I followed his eyes to the screen. He was watching Scooby Doo. "I used to love watching that when I was little. It was my favorite show." I got a pillow and threw it at Brian. "You need to get out of the house."

He pushed the pillow off his face. Brian didn't look at me. "I'm perfectly fine here." He said in his monotone voice.

I used my index finger to point at the small beagle that was sitting outside of the screen door. "Look at the poor little guy. You are leaving him outside all by himself. He wants someone to play with, Brian."

He shrugged. "I didn't tell my mom to buy the dog."

"His name isn't "the dog". His name is Lucky." I explained as I made my over to the screen door. It was sad how I knew more about his dog then he did. Lucky looked at me as I approached the screen and his tail started wagging. "If you aren't going to play with the poor fellow, then I am."

"Be my guest, Raya." I listened as Brian switched the channel and I heard the sounds of guns going off and people screaming.

"What are you watching?" I had my hand on the handle but I twisted my head to face Brian. Brian confused me most of the time.

"Some war movie. It looks pretty good. Oh, whoa! Look at that Raya!" Brian sat straight up and leaned forward eagerly. "That guy's arm flew off!"

I recoiled in disgust. This guy was running through a jungle and out of nowhere there were places exploding next to him. The next bomb was set off and the guy exploded into tiny pieces, blood spewing everywhere.

A chill ran through my body. Violence seemed to follow me everywhere in different ways. "Ew, Brian. How can you be interested in that stuff?" I waved my hand at the TV in dismissal. "Those movies are gross and bloody. I don't like them."

Brian was excited by this movie because he was sitting on the floor now with the remote in his hand and his eyes glued to the animated TV screen. "How can you not like bloody movies filled with gore?" he asked in a shocked wonder.

"Because I just don't." I opened the screen door and let Lucky come in. He was still a puppy. I scooped him up in my arms and walked around the couch. "Hien, I think your brother is a lost cause!"

"I know, right?" Hien came out of the kitchen and noted Lucky in my arms. "I swear he needs to get some sunshine and be removed from this living room." Her hand reached out and petted Lucky. "Poor Lucky." Hien crooned. "Your owner doesn't want anything to do with you." She had a box of Lucky Charms under arm. "I thought you were going to meet me in my room?"

Lucky squirmed in my arms and I put him down. "I was but I wanted to talk to Brian and see if anything interesting was happening with him. He says life is boring." I lingered by the hallway, waiting for Hien to come and join me.

"Well, that's because he never does anything interesting." Hien emphasized, her voice echoing throughout the room. "All he does is sit in this room and watch TV all day."

Brian didn't even pay attention to his sister's words. His eyes were stuck on the screen, his mouth slightly open.

Hien turned to me; her jaw was locked in annoyance. "He's going to die alone. I swear he is."

My mouth dropped. "Hien! Don't say that." I grabbed the box of Lucky Charms and gave them a shake. "Follow me if you want the sugary goodness." I slunk in the hallway.

"Give me the box! I haven't eaten lunch yet!" Hien came inside the room after I plopped down on her bed. I held out the box of Lucky Charms. Taking the from my hands she carefully opened the box, stuck her hand in, and then stuck some Lucky Charms in her mouth. She flopped down on the bed and when she did some of the cereal came spilling out on her and the bed.

We both burst out laughing and I leaned over, picked up a rainbow marshmellow, and put it in my mouth. "Yum!"

"I agree!" She munched on a couple of cereal grains. "So how has summer been for you so far?"

I froze but then smiled and shrugged. I had to keep cool. I didn't want to show her that something was wrong. "Oh it's been boring so far. You know—nothing to do. How about you?"

"Super boring! I am stuck in this house with nothing to do. I have to watch Brian because my mom works from 5am to 6pm. If I go somewhere I have to take Brian! It totally sucks!" She huffed and then gave me a little push. "Thank you for coming, Ray. It means a lot to me."

"You know I always will." I said softly. "That's what bestfriends do."

Hien blinked in gratitude and stayed quiet. We lay on her bed for about ten minutes in silence—excluding the crunching sound of cereal as it was grinded down by our teeth. My eyes were locked on the ceiling. Hien's room was painted a light purple and she had posters everywhere on her walls. The posters were of her favorites actors, actresses, favorite singers, favorite bands, or of anything that she liked.

I found it quite scary to have all those faces up on her walls. I felt as if they were watching me, analyzing my every movement, stalking me. I like to have privacy so that's why I never put up posters on my wall. It was just too creepy for me. I got paranoid easily.

In the corner of her room was a desk with a laptop on it. It was a simple desk that was made from oak. I liked how it was always so shiny.

Across from the bed was her closet that was filled with amazing clothes and shoes. I loved to search through her clothes and pick out her outfit for certain days. I felt like her mom, but it didn't really matter to Hien. She liked the clothes I picked out so every Sunday I would come over to her house and we would decide on what clothes she would wear for the whole week. It was fun.

"How has your mom been after the divorce?" I pulled my eyes off the posters. I moved my body so that I was lying on my side.

Hien's parents had divorced about three months ago and I never really asked how she had been doing because I didn't need to. Hien's face and mood told all. Some days her hair wouldn't be brushed and she'd have dark circles under her eyes. Her mom would keep her up all night by crying and expressing her feelings. I felt bad for Hien. Sometimes when it became too much for her she would spend the night at my house.

Her father got them on the weekends while their mother had them during the week and their mom had custody of them which meant that her father paid child support. Hien was affected by the divorce, but she wasn't affected by it as much as I thought she would be. As it turns out she actually hated her father. The reasons were fairly simple: he didn't spend time with them, he was verbally abusive, he was a workaholic and sometimes stayed overtime just to get away from Hien and Brian.

So when Hien went over to her father's new apartment she would text and call me all the time so her dad wouldn't make her spend "quality time" with him. And to elaborate on what her dad called "quality time" meant that her dad popped open a beer, sat on the couch, and watched the news. He made Hien and Brian sit in the living room with him for about two hours as they watched whatever he wanted in pure silence. Hien did a very good job at explaining every little detail.

I never really knew her father that much. I just knew he liked to drink beer on his free time and loved to leave and hang out with his friends. From what Hien always told me about him though he sounded like a jackass.

Hien buried her face in her sheets and curled up in a ball. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question so fast."

Grabbing her hand I whispered, "Is everything alright?"

I felt the pressure as she gripped my hand. After a second the grip tightened and I gave her hand a shake. "Hien!"

Her shoulders moved up and down and I thought she was laughing but my concern grew once I heard the sobs. Scrambling up on my knees I shuffled forward and pulled on her shoulders. "Come here." I hated seeing the people I loved crying. If they shed tears then it made me wants to cry also. It was such an emotional feeling.

Without hesitation Hien scooted her head on my knee and I got a good look at her face. Her face was wet with tears, her face screwed up like she wanted to scream, and her mouth was moving soundlessly as if she were trying to tell me something but couldn't because she couldn't contain herself. "Control, Hien. Calm down." Using my hand I started to stroke her head with tenderness.

Hien sniffled and closed her eyes. "Take a deep breath." I commanded smoothly. She did. "Now take your time to tell me what's wrong." I encouraged while stroking her hair rhythmically. I even hummed her favorite song by NeverShoutNever which was "Losing It".

She loosened up; her sobs dwindled into sniffles that sounded every couple of minutes. "I'm feeling b-b-better." She hiccupped.

"Shh." I wiped the tears away from her face and kept on humming the song. If I continued she would calmly have collected herself by the time the song was over.

I was right. While humming "Losing It" all the way through she stayed quiet and then the sniffles vanished.

After humming all I could hear was Hien sucking in a breath and then exhaling. "I can talk now." She dwelled on something she was thinking about for about thirty more seconds before she carried on with what she had to say. "You know how I told you my dad doesn't like paying child support?"

I dipped my head and settled on keeping soundless. I wasn't going to interrupt anything by speaking. I would only verbalize when needed.

"Well for the past couple of weeks my dad started asking me and my brother what we thought about staying with him during the week and going with my mom during the weekend. Like a switch. I told him that I liked where I was and Brian just shrugged his shoulder instead of giving him a legit answer. I started to question where all this was coming from and he told me that he didn't think that Brian and I were living in a stable environment."

I was taken aback—my eyebrows narrowed and my jaw locked. "What's that supposed to mean?" I hissed.

"Exactly what I said! He told me that mom worked too many hours of the day and can't keep proper care of us that way. Which is bullshit because mom always has some food in the microwave for us to heat up, she buys us clothes, puts a roof over our heads, lets us have electricity and water, and gives us plenty of love. That's pretty much all she needs to do. I can't say much for my dad who just ignores us and makes us find food to eat on our own. And if we do have food it's crappy or some frozen dinner package. He doesn't even care about us! He just doesn't want to pay child support anymore!" Hien's hands gesticulated wildly as if she were giving a speech.

"But he can't do that!" I protested. I had stopped stroking her hair and found my fist curled.

Hien's hair went left to right as she shook her head. "He can, Raya. He's a cop, remember? They are more than likely bound to take his word over my mother's." She said, sounding rather tired.

"'You can speak up for yourself!" I panicked.

Hien groped around for my hand and I let our hands cling to each other. "I'm not allowed in court. Brian and I aren't of age." Hien uttered sadly.

"The court will still talk to you, right? They have to!" An idea came to my head. "My dad's a lawyer. He can help you out!"

"My mom doesn't have that kind of money." She objected and constricted my hand.

My mouth was working faster than my brain. "It doesn't have to be about money! I could ask my dad for a favor. He knows you're my bestfriend and would let something bad happen to you if it meant hurting me. My dad is aware of how much you mean to me."

Hien lifted her head out of my lap and stared me in the eyes. I noticed how very bright red her eyes were from crying. "Would you really?" Our hands were still interlocked.

My voice dropped down. "Of course I would do that. You're my bestfriend. I don't want to see you leave me or be sad."

She got up on her knees and threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much, Raya." Her voice started to crack. "Thank you so much."

"I'm always there for you, Hien. Please don't start to cry again. You know when you cry it makes me want to cry too." I clung tightly to her, afraid that if I let go she would disappear forever. Hien was my bestfriend. We did things together and shared things with one another that we would never share with another human being. It's cliché to say this but Hien is the other half of me. Put together we complete each other. I knew if I let her go that I would never—ever—find a friend like her again.

"I know you'll always be there for me. When that one girl picked on me in seventh grade you took care of her for me. You got in trouble for it, but you told me that you didn't care about the consequences. You just wanted to make sure that I was okay. You're like my big sister."

I beamed, amused by her memory. "I wasn't going to let her harm you. She needed to be put in her place." I embraced her securely. "You're like my sister, too. That's why I'm not going to let you go."

I sighed with relief inwardly as Hien's soft laughter rang in my ears. She was happy. "Thanks for everything." She breathed.

"Let's do something. I want you to be happy, not sad." I let go of her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her off the bed with me. I sat crossed legged down on her carpet. When Hien stayed standing I gently tugged on her hand and made that face that meant do-as-I-say. With a playful roll of her charming brown eyes she sat down in front of me. "Lucky, come here boy!" I called.

I could hear the jingle of his collar before I actually saw him appear in the room. Lucky's tail was wagging, his tongue hanging out as he padded over to us. I started to scratch the back of his ears. As soon as I did that he threw himself on the ground before me.

Hien giggled. "Silly dog. He always likes it when he's scratched behind the ear." Her expression changed when her eyes locked onto something. I glanced behind me. Was there a bug or something? I knew for a fact she freaked out when there was a spider in view. Though there was nothing there. "Your elbow, Ray. I barely noticed it now…what happened?"

I could feel my heartbeat slow down to deadly thuds. "I fell when I got out of the car." I made it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

"You're so clumsy, Raya." Hien shook her head at me.

I wanted to oppose what she said because she was talking it like I actually fell out of a car at my own fault. When it so happened it was Craig who made me fall out of the car. But if I told her that then she would freak out and ask how I got away. Then that would lead to Quinn who no one was supposed to know about. So I guess I had to play the clumsy person.

"Oops, clumsy me."

"You need to be more careful." Hien scolded. She reached on top of her bed to grab the box of cereal.

"How many times have I heard that?" I puffed out.

Hien cocked her head to the side, her cheeks were big with all the cereal she had shoved in her mouth. "What do you mean?" It took all my self control not to laugh at her.

"Lately people have been telling me to be careful."

Hien took a couple of moments to chew down the cereal. "Maybe those people who have been telling you to be careful are right." She pointed to my elbows.

"They are possibly right…but I can take care of myself."

"You always say that." She threw some cereal at me and I gasped. "Someone should take care of you for a change."

When the cereal fell on the ground Lucky got up and started to eat it.

"You mean like a boyfriend or a really good friend who cares? I don't need anyone." I turned my eyes on her. "Do you have any new crushes?"

"Hm, probably a boyfriend. I mean you haven't dated a single nice guy. I'm not exaggerating on that either. Craig was a total jackass. That other guy…what was his name? Larry? No…oh, it was Gary! He didn't like me being your friend. He got super jealous whenever you spent time with me! He just wanted you all to himself. Talk about being over protective." Hien's face started to burn a bright red. "You know Carl? Well, we have been texting a lot. I finally got the courage to call him and ever since then we have been talking nonstop. He's super sweet, Raya. I think things are looking up for me."

I fell back on the carpet. "Jeez, I know! It's horrible. I always get the bad guys. And if I get another guy I'm going to make sure he's alright with you. If he isn't fine with you, well, he's going bye bye." I held out on hand as a signal for her to help me back up. Hien grabbed my hand and pulled. I was looking into her face that was glowing with giddiness. "Oh, my! Are you serious, Hien? I'm so happy for you! Yeah, I've talked to Carl a few times before. We had Pre-Calculus together. And he was pretty nice."

Hien gushed. "I know, right?" Her eye lashes fluttered and she released this little happy sigh.

I seized her delicate, small hands. "Gosh, you really do like him. Well, I pray things go well for you, buddy."

"He asked me to the movies this weekend and I said yes!" Another happy sigh from her. "I know, but enough of me! What about you? Do you have your sights on someone? Knowing you, Raya, you probably do. Why should I even ask? You're so pretty it's crazy."

Quinn's smiling face flashed in my head and I bit my lip, deciding if I should tell her about him. Quinn obviously saw me just as work, but that didn't mean I saw him in that way. I knew there was a crush starting to form and I didn't want that. We were going to work with each other and if I fawned over him things weren't going to go right. I didn't need that right now and he most certainly didn't need a human girl crushing on him either. I could give him another name. Hm. "There is this one guy…" I kept stroking Lucky. "What? I'm not pretty. You are way gorgeous then me! Your face is soft, delicate, and flawless. You have these mesmerizing brown eyes. And when you smile…it's like whoa."

"Oh my gosh, Raya!" She squealed, clapping her hands. "Tell me all about him!" Another handful of Lucky Charms were thrown at me. "Shut up! You have curves that I wish I had! You curvaceous, girl. You have this nice, tan, yet light skin. And when you smile it's like bam!"

I played around with my hair, trying to think of ways how to explain Quinn. "Well, his name is…Quinn." I mentally pinched myself. I was going to regret telling Hien about him. I had to tell someone and why not Hien? She wouldn't even know what he was; she would only know who he was. "Well, I haven't known him for very long, but I feel as if I do know him...it's insane really. Quinn is nice, protective, funny, a bit pushy…but in a good way." I couldn't help but smile. "Whatever, my gorgeous Asian. You are 100 times way beautiful and you always will be and that's final. What I say goes."

"You have to introduce me! I want to approve of him. Wait—how does he look like?" She got up and went to her shelf where she had a collection of DVDs. "Ugh, fine. You win." Hien scowled at me playfully. "This time."

I started to fumble around with my necklace. "Uh, I don't know if that's going to be possible. He's really busy with his work and stuff." I wasn't lying. Quinn actually did focus on his work intently—from what he told me. "Quinn has bangs that sweep to the right but it's not like one of those emo hair cuts—you can see his eyes. His hair isn't too short or too long, it's right in the middle. And he has some muscle. His eyes…uh, they are so enchanting. They may just seem like another pair of dark brown eyes but to me they seem like something more."

"Oh, he sounds pretty cute to me. Now I most certainly have to meet him." Hien searched through her DVDs. "Aw, no fair, Raya. He has a job? Even better! If he's so busy then how did you meet him?"

"At a party last night." It was true. I did meet Quinn last night—when his fist connected with my head.

"Now I can see how you say it's insane. You just barely met him and you feel like this? I dunno. Should I dare say the words?" I shook my head. It was foolish to even think of that possibility. "I think I will. Maybe it 's love at first sight?"

I threw up my hands in dismay. "No it's not love at first sight. I would know."

Hien did the James Bond move where she snapped her head to glance at me. One eyebrow rose. "Would you know how love at first sight feels like? Have you experienced it before?" I opened my mouth. "I think not, Raya Hemina."

"Well, wouldn't I feel something at least? You know like the loss of oxygen from my lungs whenever I stare him in the eyes? Or my heart starts to race uncontrollably to where I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack?"

Hien shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Raya. Do you want me to search the symptoms of love at first sight on Google? Ah ha!" She pulled out a movie and hid it behind her back while walking up to me. "It's movie time!"

"I'm serious, Hien. I don't think this is love at first sight. I just think it's a little crush. Maybe my first real crush. I really didn't like Craig—he came after me and I just accepted it. Gary…I just went out with him because I felt sorry for the poor guy." I took a cereal piece of the ground and fed it to Lucky. "What movie are we going to watch? A romance? A comedy?" I put my hand against my forehead dramatically. "A drama?"

"You never actually had a real crush? Craig is the one who pursued you…it wasn't the other way around. Now I do remember you telling me you only dated Gary because he kept on asking you so you just decided to date him awhile before you dumped him. That was kind of harsh. You could have just told him that you didn't like him that way, but no, you had to do it the hard way. That's cute though, Raya. Your first real crush. I bet it'll go well for you though." She backed away from me to her TV and DVD player. "Take a guess."

"Well, he just didn't get the point that I didn't like him, so I made sure that he got it. Besides, the last I heard he found a girlfriend who actually liked him. Everything worked out in the end. Don't mention Craig. That jackass." I pulled Lucky onto the bed with me. "My first real crush, huh. You think it's going to go well for me? Uh, we'll see about that." I doubted myself. I switched over to Hien who was standing by the bed, eager for my guess. Hm. She loved to watch romance movies. "Titanic?"

She gave me this look that meant are you kidding me? "It's a movie that is amazingly wonderful! We both fell in love with it when we watched it on Lifetime."

"Fine." I tried to think back. It popped into my head with ease. I was surprised that I didn't get it on my first guess. "Pride and Prejudice!"

"It took you two guesses? I'm ashamed!" She flashed the DVD in front of me. "How could you forget about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth?" Hien walked over to her TV and DVD player. I turned my gaze upward at the ceiling while she opened and placed in the DVD.

"Dunno. My mind wasn't working on guessing movies." I patted the little beagle lying next to me and laughed when he started to lick my face. "Ew, Lucky!"

Another matter of weight fell down on the bed beside me and poked my side. "You're always up for guessing movies. I guess it's that Quinn guy that's clouding your mind."

I glared. "No I am not, Hien!" I stretched out on her, laying my head in her lap. "Just watch the movie and shush." I slapped the space next to me so that Lucky would leave my feet and come over to my face. Rising to his paws I could hear the jingle of his collar, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I stroked beneath his chin, encouraging him to come to rest beside me. Lucky threw himself down and allowed me to keep caressing his ears.

Hien sighed, exasperated. "Whatever you say, Ray. Whatever you say. Isn't that how all first crushes stare? You can't keep them off your mind." She didn't want an answer to these inquiries; she stated it as a fact rather than a question. "I can watch and talk during the movie. I'm a multi-tasker." She messed around with my hair.

"I can keep my mind off of him—it's not like I'm thinking of him 24/7. And I wasn't thinking of him at all until we brought up the crush conversation." My hand went instantly to my pocket where my cell phone was. Quinn said he'd text me in a little while to check on how I was doing, but so far there was nothing. I brought my hand up back to Lucky. I didn't need Quinn to check on me—I didn't even need to think about him. I mean, that's why I came back to my family, my friends, right? I was trying to block them away for a little while. "We'll if you want to get into to the movie, then don't talk."

"I bet you were, Raya. You just don't want to admit it. " It was weird how her words were true. I was too proud to admit that I didn't have him on my mind. "I've seen this movie like a million times and so have you. We know this movie backwards and forwards. We even read the books just to see what the similarities and differences were. I just put the movie on so if we get bored we can just focus on it. Though I will watch it and talk to you. The movie is so good you can't afford to not watch it."

My mouth twisted, trying to form words—a sentence of how to come back. "I don't need to think of him. Besides today is our day and I'm not going to let a boy ruin it. You're my sister and you come before any boy." I turned my head to look up at her.

Hien looked down on me, her hair falling away from her face. "A boy will never ruin what we have. And hey you need a guy in your life. It'll maybe make you feel the one who is being protected instead of the one having to do the actual protecting."

That shocked me. "I do not need a guy in my life! I'm perfectly stable on my own. What's makes you say that, Hien?" I turned my head sharply away from her, focusing my eyes on the screen. Lucky moved his big dome so that he was staring into my eyes. I was a sucker for puppy eyes, so I kept on massaging his ears.

"Well, I was just saying! Having a guy in your life you be helpful. And not just a hookup or a fling either, Raya, I'm talking about a real relationship. You haven't been in one and I too, haven't been in one either, but I think having a real, solid, and loving boyfriend would help you." Hien picked strands of my hair and started messing around with them. "I'm just looking out for you. Watch—if this Quinn guy decides to get serious with you, then you're going to be happier—much happier than you are now." Hien said with hope in her voice.

This was crap. Did she think I was lonely or something? Things were just not adding up. And why would Hien just tell me this now? My head was starting to hurt and for some reason the pain in the back of my head was starting to act up. Drawing in a sharp breath I closed my eyes and brought my arms in closer to me so that I was hugging my fists to myself. First the vampires and now this: a lecture from my best friend on why to get a boyfriend. Great. Just great. "Do I look depressed or unhappy to you?"

"No! It's just that…ugh, never mind. This conversation will just go nowhere. Forget I said anything, kay?" Hien patted my head. "Let's just watch the movie. Look, everyone's barely getting up." Pressing her back against the wall and scooting closer to the solid mass I had to crawl closer to her. There was something still bothering her, I could tell by the stiffness in her strokes.

I pressed my lips together and then hit her leg. "I'm not going to forget about what you said. There's something bothering you so why don't you just let it out? Is it because I keep on pushing away your advice to get a guy?" Instantly my hand went up to my necklace and I held on to the lion's paw. There was always someone telling me what to do, continuously pressing me to do what they want or what they saw was right.

I could hear her breathing softly. "All I wanted to say was that you'd be better off in the protection of another guy's arms. With Craig and what he tried to do with you…he attempted to r-r," Hien choked on the word.

"Sh, sh. You don't need to say it—we both know what he tried to do, nothing more needs to be said." Slowly my heartbeat began to accelerate with each breath I took. The courage wasn't stirring in me and I knew I was in no state to tell her about his second crack at rape. My hands started to shake and dread was colonizing. I had to tell her…if I had to keep Quinn's little secret, which was already too much too handle, I couldn't keep this one. Keeping secrets and lying to my family and friends wasn't my thing.

I licked my lips for they felt dry, and my throat suddenly felt parched. "Hien, there's something I have to tell you…" I was unable to finish a sentence.

She noticed something was wrong and grabbed my still shaking hands. "What? Raya if this is something big you have to spit it out. Please." She grabbed my chin and kept trying to force me to look her in the eyes, but I jerked my head away. If I watched her reaction, viewed the change of emotion in her brown, soft eyes, it would be too much.

"You know how Craig tried to…rape me? Well last night Oliver had to supply for this party and he asked me to come with him and I accepted. Little did I know he was to supply for Craig. So we went up to the room where he was with his little stupid friends and they were getting high. Craig was in the room and made Oliver give him the liquor then made everyone leave—except for me. While we were alone he kept on talking about getting back together and I refused. When I did he grabbed me and pushed me on the couch. After that he tried to push his hands under my shirt and he started to suck on my lips. It was so gross, so scary too. I tricked him into thinking that I still liked him and then punched him in the face. I ran out, grabbed Oliver's hand then started running downstairs. I told Oliver everything and wanted to kill, but I convinced him not to." Even though I told her the truth I had to cover up another part of the story with a lie.

The change, just as I feared, in her face was painful to watch. Her mouth fell slightly open and her soft eyes started to burn with a rage. With a forceful push she threw the box of cereal on the floor and she hit her fists against the bed that I had to sit up quickly so she didn't make contact with my head. She hung her head, chest heaving with great effort that it scared me. I stayed quiet while she fumed silently.

"Hien?" I called cautiously.

In a fluid moment she jerked her head up to stare me with fiery, brown eyes. "You have got to be kidding me, Raya! That...that jerk! That asshole! Pervert!" The words were blurted out. "You have to report this to the Police! He can't get away with what he tried to do with you! If you just let this go then he's going to get it in his mind that he can get away with anything."

At the mention of police I shook my head vigorously. "No! No police!" If I told the police then Craig would tell them about Quinn and then it would dissolve into chaos. I couldn't allow myself to do that. I wasn't going to jeopardize everything Quinn was trying to do by going to the police with my little problems. Saving the humans was way more important than Craig trying to get his way with me. I stumbled with my words. "I don't have any proof, Hien. They aren't just going to take my word. I have to have evidence. Nobody saw Craig trying to do that. I just told Oliver, but he didn't actually see anything. I don't think the cops are going to just take his word for it. "

"But they have to!" She protested.

I shook my head. "I made the mistake of not reporting it last time so now I can't do anything about it."

Hien glared at me. "You can't just give up. They'll still listen to you. I know you can't tell your parents...you already told me that, but the cops can do something about it."

"Maybe I can get a restraining order on him? Besides it wasn't really Craig's fault--I'm the one who went over to his house. The cops are going to ask what I was doing there and what am I going to tell them? Oh, we went to his house so my brother, who's a minor, can go supply liquor for these stupid people. I don't even know where he got it from so if I go to the police Craig is going to manage to turn something on me...on Oliver. That's the last thing we need--it's the last thing my father needs. He can't keep coming and saving us." I turned my face away from her. "I promise to stay away from him and I think now that Oliver knows he's going to protect me from going anywhere near that sleezebag. Don't worry, Hien, I'll be fine." I reached for her hand.

She was still breathing hard, but her facial expression softened, and she took grasp of my hand. "I understand in some ways, though I would feel better if the cops were involved, but if you stay far, far away then I'm fine. But if he tries to pull that stunt one more time I'm going to make sure something's done and once I'm threw with him Craig's going to regret ever messing with you." It was scary how deadly her voice got, but I knew she would go through with her words. I was glad I had a friend like her.

I blinked. "Okay, but it's not going to happen again so you don't need to go all warrioress on me. Look, let's get back to watching the movie. Mr. Darcy is yummy." I needed to get off the Craig topic because if we kept up like this then something was bound to slip from my mouth that I knew I was going to regret.

She laughed and looked at the TV screen. "He certainly is, but he is Elizabeth's man. Ah, they make such a cute couple. I think it's funny how they both ignored each other in the beginning. Gosh, they were both stubborn to realize that they were so much alike."

I crept back over to her legs and laid my head down. "But it's a great movie." It was such a relief when she followed after my lead as I switched topics.

"Yes it is." Hien ran her fingers through my hair.

Then, all of a sudden with everything I went through I felt sleepy. I yawned and shifted once more to get comfortable. My eyes were on the TV, but my eyelids started to drop and out of nowhere everything went dark.

****

Everything was pitch black, empty, scary and there were no sounds. I looked around wildly, trying to grasp for something in the dark, hoping to find a solid object. but my hands cut right through the air and I ran in every direction, fear coursing through my veins. This place...was nothing--there were no objects, no sounds, no air, no lights...empty. I was alone.

Where was I? What was this place? It was no use in running from here to there. I was alone, in a weird place, and there seemed to be no chance of anybody--or anything coming here. I stopped in the dark, my hands pinned against my side, and sank down to my knees, wondering what I should do. I didn't even know how I got to this place.

That was when I heard a noise. It was the sound of a door opening--creaking as it did so. I got up and spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of light or a figure. In front of me some door openend, letting a brilliant light pour it's way into the dark space which I was in. And when that happened I actually got to see that the wall, cieling, and floor were a brilliant, hard white.

A scream pierced my ears and I bolted for the door on impulse. I should have ran away from the door since I didn't know what had produced the scream, but I just knew I had to go to it because it sounded so familiar...and I couldn't quite place my finger on who's voice it was.

As I got to the door I pushed my way through into the blinding white light. I had to put my hands up to my face so that I could hide my eyes.

Then I discovered that I was out on the sidewalk, running through the streets to something. I had to get home. That's what my mind was screaming: Home Home Home! I didn't know why, but it was important that I made it back to my house. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me think that something bad was going to happen. No--I knew that something was going to occur and that's what was bugging me so bad.

Running through the dark with street and building lights flying by me was surreal. I could see anything but the path ahead of me. I didn't know where I was--I was just running. When I turned the corner I ran into the street I had to catch my breath.

The street was empty; there were no cars, the street lights were dim, but I could still see the figure very clearly. It was a small little girl with long black hair that fell over her shoulders. She was just standing there with her big blue eyes--they looked haunted and she had her mouth open as if she wanted to call out to someone. With horror I realized that it was Corinne. I ran forward and stopped when I was closed enough to see what she was covered in. It was blood.

"Corinne?" I stiffened, fear coursing through my very body.

She looked at me and opened her mouth again, but this time unleashing a shrill, high scream that made my ears ring. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears with my hands. What was my sister doing here? Why was she covered in blood?

I tore my hands off my ears as soon as the scream stopped and was about to take a step forward when I noticed her eyes. She had blinked and then opened them, revealing pure, pitch black eyes. I couldn't find my voice.

At last, after about two minutes of pure, eerie silence with Corinne just staring at me, she spoke. And when she did so, chills ran up my spine. Her voice was detached--like as if she were somewhere far away, and there was an iciness to it.

"Raya," Corinne shut her eyelids then she snapped her head in my direction, a twisted smile on her face. "Raya."

The street lights suddenly dimmed and then turned off, leaving me in darkness with something that wasn't my sister. There wasn't a worse feeling than knowing you were in the presence of another thing that may be potentially dangerous. But how could Corinne be dangerous? She was just a five year old who loved to eat ice cream and candy; she wasn't like a tiger or a killing machine. A thought registered in my mind. Or she couldn't be a vampire.

Yet, I couldn't help but feel dread slowly seep its way into my heart making it tighten. A normal child's eyes wouldn't revert from blue to black. It was abnormal.

Corinne's silhouette could be seen for the light of the moon was shining down. Blinking for only a millisecond I stared at the same place she was standing. She was gone, though I didn't dare move for terror was still pulsing through me, freezing me in place. I released a shaky breath and clenched my fists.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard her voice again, except this time it was coming from behind me. I was fighting my body to stay calm--I just wanted to run away, but somehow I was compelled to stay right where I was at.

"Blood." It was soft, yet had an edge to it. My jaw locked. Why did she say blood? I didn't comprehend the situation. "Some things can't be stopped." My blood ran cold and my eyes widened.

Before I had time to realize what happened I felt two hands squeeze my arms and then Corinne was violently shaking me. I didn't get how Corinne could have so much strength for such a small girl. What was going on? What was happening? I tried to shake myself loose but she had me gripped tightly and I could feel her fingernails digging into my flesh. I winced. The pain felt so real, but this had to be a dream...it couldn't be real.

The last thing I heard was the full out scream of a little girl. "RAYA!"

Then unlike everything going black, it went white.

****

"Raya! Raya! Wake up!"

My eyes opened and I was back in the safety of Hien's room. "What?"

"Raya, finally you're awake." I looked up to Hien's worried face.

The shaking stopped. "What happened?" I propped myself up on my elbows, my eyebrows knit together, puzzled.

"You were like spazzing out or something--you were flinging your arms and kicking your legs and you were practically screaming. Did you have like a bad nightmare or something? Wait, that was a stupid question to ask. Of course you had a bad dream." Hien grabbed my head and lay her own cheek on top of my skull. "Everything's okay now."

I collapsed against Hien and let my eyes close. "It was the worst nightmare..."

"Shhh, don't think about it." Hien cooed.

What was my dream supposed to mean? Was it a sign or was there a hidden meaning in it? It's just a dream...and dreams don't mean anything. I could feel my heart stuck in my throat and I was struggling for breath. It had to mean something. I bit my lip, buried my head in Hien's side, my body trembling with fear. But what if it did have a meaning? Didn't dreams always hold a message or something like that? So what was mine supposed to mean?

The dream flashed in my head: the white walls, the blinding light, the scream, the dark city, the empty streets, Corinne in blood, her black eyes, and the screaming of my name. Again, at the memory, my heart speed up with terror. I couldn't even come to think about my little sister in my dream...it was horrible. My gut yanked to the side and I emitted a weird noise and my face screwed up.

Catching on to my despair, Hien kissed the top of my head and whispered words of comfort into my ear. "We need to get your mind off of the dream. I'll play some music for you, okay? What's your favorite band right now?" I looked at her and she gave her head a quick shake. "Nevermind. I know who it is and thankfully I have them on my ipod. But why wouldn't I have them on my ipod? They're so freakin' awesome!"

I was glad for her rambling.

In a split second the door flew open--startling both Hien and I so much that we jumped--and in came Brian, his eyes wide. "What the heck was that? Did one of you see a spider or something?"

"Nice, you jerk." Hien snapped. "Next time you see something bad or scream--and I know you do--I'm going to make fun of you."

"I don't scream at anything." Brian glared.

"How do you feel about clowns? How about we watch the movie It?" His sister challenged.

I didn't catch Brian's expression. "That's different. Besides I'm not scared of them!"

"Oh, yeah? Wasn't it just a couple of days ago that we watched it and you screamed?"

Brian stayed silent.

Hien huffed. "Exactly." She craddled my head again as if I were her child who needed to be sung a lullaby. "Raya just had a bad dream. She's fine now. Go back to your bloody movie."

I buried my face in Hien's lap, avoiding to look at Brian. It was already enough that my bestfriend was treating me like a baby--I didn't need to see the look on her brother's face as he was told a sixteen year old had a bad dream and was being treated like a five year old.

"Oh, alright then. Oh, mom called just a little while ago and she said she'd be home at five. I told her Raya was here and she was fine with it." Brian said.

"Okay. Thanks, now leave." Hien said bluntly, but politely. "Go watch your bloody movie and keep watch for the clowns."

Brian said something I couldn't hear because he slammed the door before I could catch the words.

"Well, at least my mom now knows about you being here. That's nothing new though." She grinned and then climbed off the bed, moving to her desk where she had her ihome, pressed a few buttons and soft music filled the air.

Sighing, I lay down on the bed, letting my eyelids fall, and blocking out everything except for the voices of The Scene Aesthetic. They were my favorite group to listen to. Whenever I listened to them I felt better, much better, and I let all my worries fade away into the sky. It was simple. All you had to do was let go and feel the music within you. Pushing away everything that was going on with me I loosened up and pretended I was on the beach with the sun high in the sky, warming me up, the sand between my toes, the ocean breeze floating to my nose...

My lips started working by mouthing the lyrics to their song "Come What May".

"Okay, well I'm going to go get some Tylenol. Lets see if it helps you relax or something." I didn't even hear as Hien spoke to me; the only thing that I gave my attention was the music.

The song went by fast and I instantly felt better. With a slight smile on my face, I reached for Hien's pillow and pulled my knees in toward my chest.

Then there was a loud buzz and a vibration from my pocket. My cell phone. Hesitantly I pulled it out and found that it was a text message.

And it was from Quinn.

My mood lifted a little and I read the text. Are you fine?

I let my fingers get down to business. Not really.

So I waited for his to reply. It took about thirty seconds. Why? Something wrong?

I licked my lips. A lot of things were wrong right now, but the only main thing that was wrong was the dream. I fell asleep and had this dream...it was horrible. My friend said I was screaming.

Another couple of seconds. What was the dream about?

As I sat there, my heart pounding, and mind racing, I contemplated on whether I should tell him or not. I decided I would. I dreamt that my sister was covered in blood and she had these pure, ebony, cold eyes and she was screaming my name. And then she whispered blood in my ear and then told me that I couldn't fix everything. My stomach started to flip. That was the only thing that bothered me: Corinne being in the dream and whispering things that sent goosebumps to form on my arms.

My phone buzzed again. I bet you it's all on account of me and what I told you and what you're dealing with. I'm really sorry you have to deal with this. Don't worry about it, Raya, as I told you before I'll keep you out of harm's way.

A warm, fuzzy feeling filled my body and I could feel my cheeks burning. You're sweet...really.

No I am not.

Before I had time to reply back my phone lit up and it said that Quinn was calling me. I answered. "Quinn?"

"Your dream...it rubs me the wrong way." Hearing his voice made me melt. I felt somewhat safe. "You shouldn't think so much about us...the things you have to go through."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "How can I not, Quinn? It's all I have to think about."

"I knew we shouldn't have asked you to do this...but the others wouldn't listen. You can stop now, Raya. You don't have to do this." It sounded like he was pleading.

I rolled my eyes. "But I have to do this, Quinn, I just have to. I feel like I have a responsibility to help my fellow humans...no matter what the cost." I flinched at my own words.

"Those other human lives are not your responsibility. The only thing you should be responsible for is your family and yourself." He argued.

"And that's what I'm doing! I'm helping my family by doing this, but I'm not so sure how I am benefiting."

"Maybe you aren't supposed to benefit from something like this."

"And maybe I am but you just don't know it yet." I said matter-of-factly.

"How could you possibly benefit from this situation?" Quinn sounded mad...or maybe annoyed.

I thought for a second and then blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "I met you." Quinn stayed silent and my eyes popped out. "I-I uh, didn't mean for that to come out that way--"

And then he chuckled softly. "By meeting me I think I just ruined your life, Raya."

I countered back. "You didn't ruin my life...so far my life is going well."

He scoffed. "Oh yeah. Uh huh. So encountering a dhampir that was sucking someone's blood in front of your face happens to you on a daily basis, I presume?"

I faltered. "Not necesarily, but that still doesn't mean you ruined my life. My life could possibly benefit from just meeting you. You never know. Wait until a little while down the road and we'll see what happens then."

"How long is down the road?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not sure." I whispered. I didn't even know what was going to happen to me after the rogue vampires were caught--I mean, if they were ever caught. "But you will make a difference in some way."

"And if somehow, by magic or some other power that is now of my knowledge, that I do benefit your life--though I don't see how I can actually attribute to your life--then I'll do something and make it up to you." The words that came out sounded awkward...like he had a hard time saying them.

I smiled. "Like what?"

"Oh, I dunno. Buy you a cookie?"

I sat up. "What? A cookie? You'll buy me a cookie just for achknowleding that you changed my life?" That'll be some gift.

"Uh--I-I didn't mean that." He stuttered. "Well we will see then if the time comes."

I frowned. I didn't like how he said "if".

Then, quite randomly--probably to change the subject--he said: "It feels weird waiting out here. I found a good parking spot though so it doesn't look like I'm stalking anybody."

I completly forgot that he was keeping guard outside. "But you aren't stalking, you're protecting. There's a difference."

"I know, but you know I feel awkward just waiting outside while you are inside doing...whatever and having fun with a friend. I just feel like I'm not meant to be here--like I have a restraining order and I'm violating it."

"Well, you have an unusual perspective on this situation. You're keeping me safe so you shouldn't feel that way. " I pursed my lips. "How long do you have until Zaria takes the shift?"

"I have ten more hours." Quinn replied and the asked, "Why?"

"Cause I'm going to ask if Hien will let you in for a little bit." I regretted the words.

"No, Raya, don't you dare do it!" He protested.

"Well by your words it sounds like you're lonely and I don't want you feeling like that. And if you're around others you won't feel so left out."

"I was just joking around, Raya, I feel absolutely fine. Besides I'm not suppose to interact with humans. I mean I already screwed up by meeting you."

I was taken aback and left speechless.

"Shit. That came out wrong. There's nothing wrong with meeting you if it was under a different circumstance and if I was human then it would be alright if I meet you."

Emotions of hurt and pain pinched my heart. "So this is wrong?"

"No, no!" Quinn interjected.

"Then what do you mean?"

Quinn exhaled. "I don't know. Whenever I talk to you something always slips out that's not meant to be said. I feel like such a dummy." His voice dropped down a level. "Forgive me, please?"

"Sure, why not? There's no harm in it, right?" I said sarcastically.

"I could understand why you're mad. I believe I already slipped up three times today."

I smirked. "I think it's funny really." I slid off the bed and went over to the desk. "You're forgiven...again." I twirled a strand of my hair with one finger.

"You're too nice, Raya. And really, I'm fine about the whole staying out here and watching you thing."

A laugh emitted from my throat. "Liar. I'm asking Hien about letting you in. Hey, this can give you a chance to work on your social skills." I put down my phone but I could hear as Quinn sighed loudly.

I opened the door and found that Hien was walking down the hall. "Hey."

"Are you feeling better?" She had a bottled water in one hand.

I nodded. "Yeah. I know this may sound weird, but Quinn texted me and I was wondering if he could come over."

She stopped when she got right in front of me. "Come...here?"

"He said he has nothing to do and you know I don't like to see him lonely." I shrugged my shoulders.

Hien smiled. "And this is the guy you like, right?"

I was stuck. Hm. "Yeah."

"Sure. There's nothing wrong with that. I just have to bribe Brian to keep quiet. I'll give him thirty bucks...he'll take it."

I hugged Hien. "Thanks. And if he is kinda shy...just gently bring up a subject."

One side of her lip pulled up. "'Kay. Here's the Tylenol and water. I'll be back in a few. I have to go talk to Brian now."

Taking the pill and water from her I went back in the room. Twisting the cap off I put the pill on my toungue and washed it down with water. "Bleh." Placing the water on the bed I picked up the phone. "She said it's fine. Come here in fifteen minutes so it seems like you took some time getting here."

"I can't believe I'm going to do this..."

I couldn't contain the giggle from within. "Just remember to smile when the door opens."