Chapter 7

The last race had just finished, with Blake in first and Hunter right behind him. I had been cheering for both of them the whole time, just a bit more so for Hunter. The whole thing took a few hours, cause there had been a bunch of races. After changing Hunter came to me.

"Hey." he said coolly.

"Hey." I say, "You were awesome out there."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I did, very much. But I think your fan-club might have as well." I motioned at the group of girls watching us. They started walking to us. "I'll let you be for a minute." I say before leaving him to the fan-girls, all of them, asking for an autograph of something.

I retreated away when Blake caught up with me. "Where you heading to?"

"Oh, I was just letting your brother have some guy time." Blake followed my gaze back to Hunter and the girls.

"Oh, them. Don't worry about them, they always hang around the race-track. Hunter talks to them, but I'm pretty sure he realizes none of them have a brain cell in their head."

I laughed. "You know, I always thought he'd be the flirt type."

"Hopeless flirt." Blake agreed. We both laughed again.

My cell went off right then, and I saw from the caller ID it was Danny.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Blake asked.

I swiped my thumb over the screen, ignoring the call. "Nah," I said, "It's not important." I turned my phone off as I slid it into my pocket.

Hunter finished with the girls and came back over. We soon ditched the others and went to catch a movie before getting dinner at a restaurant. I laughed a bit before taking another sip of my soda.

"No."

"Come on."

"No way."

"Come on Alexis." Hunter said, "We've known each other how long?"

"A few months."

"Okay then. So it doesn't seem fair I still don't know the last name of you, or your father."

"I said no Hunter." I playfully responded, "Lord knows, because I don't, why my dad keeps our last name a secret, but I need to respect that." I kept the mood light even though I hated lying. But honestly, even I didn't know Sensei J's last name, and I'm pretending it's mine.

"Fine then." Hunter said. We were sitting across from one another in a booth at the restaurant.

"So, how long have you been doing motocross." I asked.

"Years." he answered. "How about you? Any sports?"

"I surf. Not competitively or anything. My cousin taught me a few years ago." I answer honestly. It seems so strange. Fire and water don't normally mix, but I've always loved surfing. And hey, my cousin is one of my best friends, and she is water powered.

"That's cool. I've never tried surfing before."

"Ugh, I love it. Maybe I can show you one day."

"Maybe I can show you how to ride a motocross bike someday."

I smiled to myself, then at him, "I'd like that."

We walked around the town after dinner, just talking and enjoying each others company

"Favorite color?"

"Red." he responded.

"Mine too. What shade?"

"Crimson. You?"

"Fitting." I said, referring to his ninja color. I felt lucky he didn't know the Volcano colors. "Scarlet."

We both went quiet for a moment. I wasn't expecting the next question.

"Hey Alexis?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever miss your mother?" He was referring to the imaginary mother who had only ceased to exist a few months ago. But my real mother, the one I lost 12 years ago, is who I thought of.

"Yes." I answered honestly.

"I miss my mom all the time. My dad too." I knew Hunter and Blake had adoptive parents, but this was new. Not knowing what to say, I raise my eyebrows at him.

He saw and explained. I was kinda shocked how open he was. "Blake and my parents were killed years ago. I don't know who did it, but when I found out they'll pay. After they died we came to live at the Academy. Sensei Omino took us in and trained us since we were kids. That's why I'd do anything for the Academy.

I wanted to cry, and yell, and run. I wanted to tell Hunter I understood, how basically the exact same thing happened to me. I wanted to tell him what I was, who I was, why I was really here. But it was the last thing I wanted that kept me from doing it. The last thing, the thing I wanted more than anything, was to serve my school like my parents did. So I couldn't tell him anything.

We stood on the empty sidewalk under a street lamp. It was a warm night, and I turned to look in his eyes. They weren't brooding or dark right then. They showed everything. Compassion, trust, strength,...love.

Then Hunter kissed me.

And I kissed him back.

I don't what came over me. I had been trained since childhood to always stay in control, but instinct took over. The kiss was gentle and sweet. It only ended when we needed air. As soon as our lips parted we were caught just looking at each other, eye-to-eye. He reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair from my face. He never took his eyes of me.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" I asked finally.

"Your eyes." he said seriously. "They're beautiful. Like emeralds."

I blushed deeply and finally turned away to hide my flushed cheeks. "Thank you." I say. Before I can do anything he lifts my chin up and kisses me again. I don't know how long we stayed that way. But when we finally headed back, arms around each other, he says, "So, does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?"

NONONONONONO! My brain screams at me. No, you aren't supposed to like him. No, don't do this to yourself. No, you'll only hurt him. But for all it's screaming, and I know how cliché this sounds, my heart screamed louder.

"Yes." I reply with a genuine smile.