The Hotness

"You know him?" Amy cried. It was close to a scream or a screech.

Chloe was looking into the locker she had just opened, but turned to see where Amy was looking. She was looking at the guy they just passed while going to the lockers, the guy who had just nodded to Chloe.

The Uniter sighed and turned back the items in her locker. "Met him this morning, as soon as I – we – arrived."

"So, dish. Who is he? I mean besides being smokin'…"

"Amy! He's Mai."

Amy looked at her best friend now. "I can still enjoy the hotness."

Chloe shook her head as she closed her locker. She almost said something about Paul, but decided not to. Amy looking at Mai was too much like Chloe paying attention to Brian when she knew she shouldn't.

"He's here to protect. His cover is that there was some unnamed threat at the school, so he's here for a few days just in case. He's supposed to be very low profile, only the principal and a couple of teachers know. It's all very hush hush."

"Mmm," Amy said, looking back at him. He was leaning against a wall, watching them. "I heard something was up, though I didn't hear it was about you."

"Well that's something," Chloe muttered.

"And my sources are good." Amy claimed. "If I didn't hear about your involvement, no one here suspects it."

Chloe just leaned against her locker and closed her eyes as she wondered how long all of this would last.

"He's the extra protection because of what happened Saturday?" Amy asked.

"Not just him. I have a matching pair of Mai Ninja. Janelle is here too." Chloe nodded towards the other Mai standing nearby, watching them. "I can't even go to the bathroom alone."

"Well if she's as hot as he is…" Amy said as she turned her head to see. "She is! You're lucky Alek only has eyes for you."

Chloe closed her eyes again and let herself rub her forehead this time. "Amy…"

"Well he does. And he's always there for you. Honestly, I don't know what else you could possibly want in someone."

"Amy. Are we really going to talk about this?"

"Fine," Amy said, sounding disappointed, but moving on. "But at least you're alone when you're in the classroom."

"Nope," Chloe replied. "Janelle's cover is that she's some kind of student teacher who is here for a couple of days observing each and every one of my classes."

That made Amy pause. "How long will they be here?"

"Probably just a couple of days – long enough to get a couple of Mai who are my age transferred in, who will also be in all of my classes."

Amy studied Chloe for a few seconds before saying "I think it's good that they're watching over you, protecting you. Don't you?'

"Yeah," Chloe admitted as they left the lockers and headed for class. "I am a little spooked about all of this. I just want things to get back to normal."

"Sure," Amy said as they parted ways. "Back to normal. Until then, at least enjoy the hotness…"

The Space

Chloe was on her way to work after school when she saw Alek a little ahead of her – arguing with Brian.

The human was sitting at a table with his computer in front of him, the Mai standing with his back to her.

She concentrated, trying to hear them as she approached.

"What more does she have to do to make you leave her alone?" Alek was asking.

"She's not doing anything to make me do that," Brian argued. "Only you are trying."

"Then what more do I have to do?"

"It's her choice," Brian spat back.

"Alek," Chloe said softly from behind him. "Give me a minute with him, please."

Alek turned his back to Brian and faced the Uniter. "You're kidding right? Leave you alone with him? I know you were paying attention yesterday."

"I was, but…" She really didn't have anything to say after that. There was no good reason for him to leave them alone, not in his mind anyway.

Alek looked at her expectantly, but it was Janelle that spoke from behind Chloe. "I'll stay with her. You can wait across the street."

Alek kept his eyes focused on the Uniter as Chloe nodded. "Please, just for a minute."

She could tell he was fuming as he moved away from them, and it caused her some pain, but she thought it was important for her to talk to Brian, especially with what she had heard about the Rezza's recently. She was sure he wouldn't say anything with Alek near, but hoped that Janelle's presence would not have the same effect on him. She was a little relieved when Janelle stayed about five feet away from them.

Chloe tried to put her serious face on as she sat down. She hadn't wanted to damage her relationship with Alek any more than it already was, but she was disturbed by what she had heard about Brian and his father. She needed to know more, and talking to Brian was the only way she thought she could do it.

She was a little surprised to see Brian looking at Janelle rather than at her. She was even more surprised at what he said when he spoke.

"Are there more?"

Chloe didn't understand. "Brian?" she asked quietly.

He still didn't look at her, his eyes moving between Alek and Janelle, but he spoke a little firmer this time. "Are there more?"

"More what?"

Brian finally met Chloe's eyes as he answered. "More people around you. My dad was right. They're here to protect you aren't they?"

It was Chloe who looked away this time. "He said that?"

"Yeah. When I told him what you said about your mother – that she does know about you, he said you were protected."

Chloe took a deep breath and almost rubbed her head again. "You told him that?" She still couldn't look at him.

"You told me to tell him. What neither of you is telling me is what this is about." Brian hesitated until she finally looked at him. "What's going on, Chloe? Why would you need protection? Why would my dad ask about your mother knowing who you are?"

Chloe studied him enough to convince herself that he really had no idea about who she was. Still, she wanted confirmation. "You really don't know, do you?"

It looked like Brian was starting to glare when he slowly asked "Know what?" - enunciating each syllable.

"Nothing," she said as she thought 'he can't tell me anything.' "Nothing you need to know. But Brian, please, you need to give me some space for a little while. It's not safe around me. I'm not safe right now."

Brian was obviously confused. "What do you mean? Do you need my help?"

Chloe quickly shook her head. "No. I mean I care about you, and I'd die if you got hurt. Please stay away from me, just for a little while."

"But Alek…" he began to protest.

"Alek can help me right now, and he is."

Brian looked down, thinking this had something to do with the fact that he had punched Alek once. "I thought we were past that. I really did think he was hurting you, and I've apologized."

"That's not it," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Though Alek would never hurt me – you need to remember that. But this isn't about Alek, this is about me. Please give me some space, just for awhile. I promise, I'll let you know when it's safe around me again."

She rose and went to Janelle, not looking back to him until she reached the other Mai girl. When she looked at him again, she gave him a small smile and said "I'll let you know when," loud enough for him to hear.

She turned from him and scanned the area with her eyes, trying to find Alek, but she couldn't see him. She resumed the walk to her work, Janelle walking right beside her.

The Assistant

Chloe was in her room doing homework when her mother knocked and entered.

"Hey kiddo," Meredith greeted

"Hi Mom," Chloe answered, happy to take a break from the book in front of her.

"Guess what happened to me today," Meredith began, though she did not wait for Chloe to guess. "I arrived at work to find that I have a new assistant."

"You already have an assistant," Chloe noted.

"Yes I do. Now I have two, but I'm not paying the new one. Nor am I allowed to ask her to do anything for me. Mostly she just hangs around me, won't let me go anywhere alone. She even insists on entering the ladies' room to check it out before she lets me in."

Chloe couldn't help a small laugh, though it came out as an unpleasant sound.

"My guess is that you have a similar problem." Meredith added.

"Similar and double," Chloe responded. "Though only one of them goes to bathroom with me."

Chloe was just wondering about the words she had just spoken, when her mother spoke again. "I'll take that in the most innocent way possible."

Then Meredith sighed. "Are we doing the right thing?"

Chloe shrugged. "I think. I can't just leave, but it really is a pain."

Meredith was nodding when Chloe asked "Did you hear from Mr. Rezza?"

"No, though I didn't expect to just yet. I expected him to take a few days to decide. I do wonder now if our meeting was what I thought it was, or if it was some kind of distraction."

"He does seem to know about me," Chloe agreed. Then she made a decision and asked "Can you set up a meeting with him? Him, you and me?"

Meredith did not look thrilled. "And you want a meeting with him because…?"

"He obviously knows about me. Valentina thinks he's dangerous, but he hasn't told Brian about me. I don't know." Chloe looked down, trying to gather her thoughts. "I just think that maybe we can put an end to all of this."

"Put an end to this" Meredith repeated. "Those words don't comfort me. Shouldn't we just let the Mai handle it?"

"The Mai is me, Mom." Chloe answered, chuckling at her sentence as she met her mother's eyes again. "I am the Mai. Besides, he wasn't the one who shot me. He's protecting Brian from all of this. He seemed nice when I met him. Did you find him unreasonable?"

"That was business, Chloe, not you. How could I take that risk, any risk, with you?"

"I just want to talk with him, Mom. If we can show him how awesome I am, maybe things will get better between him and the Mai."

Meredith still looked doubtful. "Would Valentina approve?"

"You have no idea how often Valentina does not approve of what I do."

"She's just looking out for you, Chloe."

"I know. Please, Mom. Can you at least ask him if he's willing? Just the three of us, no one else. Our 'assistants' will be near, will make sure no one is with him to surprise us, but I'd just like to talk to him. I need to know if what Valentina says is true."

"Just us three – not Brian?"

"Not Brian," Chloe confirmed.

Meredith sighed. "All right. I'll see what he says. At least I should be able to find out if he really is serious about what we discussed."

Chloe nodded. "Thanks." Then she added, "and please, don't talk to anyone but him. If there's a problem with anyone else at his company, well I only want him to know about this."

Meredith studied Chloe for a minute, then asked "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Chloe nodded. "I'm sure," though she really wasn't. Actually, she was beginning to wonder if Valentina was right about her being reckless.