I stood at the end of the bed looking at all of the clothes I threw around, still trying to decide what to wear. I had one dress, but it was my prom dress, and I didn't quite fit into it anymore. I walked across the hall and knocked on Stryker's door. He opened it in a pair of black jeans, and didn't have a shirt on. "I need your help," I told him. He walked behind me back to my room, and I told him why I needed him. The first thing he reached for was the dress. "Doesn't fit." I tried to explain. "Put it on," he demanded. I yanked it away and went to the bathroom to change into it.
When I put it on, I went to the mirror. It still fit, but now it barely went to my knees. Seeing myself in it, I started remembering what happened that night. I didn't go with anyone, but I stayed by Tori the whole night. I had left early, because I couldn't deal with the names I was being called. That night, I cried myself to sleep and even thought about taking my life. But if I did, I wouldn't have met Li Mei orStryker, and even Johnny Cage. I alsowouldn't have learned anything of what I can do now.
I walked out, and when Stryker saw me, he gasped and said, "You look beautiful." He stepped over to me, and put his hands around my waist. His lips met my forehead. "Now c'mon, I have to finish up." He grabbed my hand and pulled me to his room and he continued to change. He slipped on a white button down shirt, and put on a dress jacket. He held out his arm, and I slipped my hand on his bicep.
We walked halfway down the stairs, until I realized that I didn't put on any make up to cover up the marking on my face. I pulled on Stryker's arm. "I can't go down there. I didn't cover my markings." He chuckled. "You don't need to. Maybe someone here can explain to you what it is." I agreed and walked down the rest of the stairs. At the bottom, the first person I locked eyes with was Johnny. When he seen me, his eyes widened. He walked over to me and before he got close, Stryker stepped in front of me. "Don't," I heard him whisper.
I walked around him and hugged Johnny. "You look great," he said. "You don't clean up so bad yourself." I pulled away, but his arm stayed around my waist, and I kept my hand on his arm. He turned to Stryker and reached out his hand. When Stryker didn't take it, I grabbed his hand and made him shake it. Johnny smiled and walked away. I softly punched Stryker in the stomach. "If you don't be nice, I'm going to beat it out you." I scanned the room for either Raiden or Li Mei, and found Li Mei first. I drug Stryker over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and smiled. "You look absolutely stunning," she turned to Stryker, "And you clean up nicely. Let me introduce you to somebody." She pulled me next to her.
"Master Bo' Rai Cho, meet Nitana, the New Fighter." The man held out his hand. He smelled heavily of alcohol. I took it and smiled. "You look as good as Li Mei described you. It would be my pleasure to work with you." I laughed. "I might take you up on that." Stryker whispered in my ear, "There's someone I want you to meet." I smiled again. "It was nice meeting you." Bo' Rai Cho waved, and I let Stryker pull me through the crowd to a young looking man.
"Jax!" Stryker yelled at someone. A black man who looked to be in his thirties turned to look at Stryker. When we got closer, Stryker said, "Jax, I would like you to meet my..." I saw him fumble for the right words. "My girlfriend, Nitana." I was shocked. Was I really Stryker's girlfriend? Pushing it to the back of my mind, I reached my hand out. He shook it. "So your the one that everyone has been talking about?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, I'll catch you later, I have to go find Sonya." Jax walked off.
We eventually met up with Raiden, and he introduced me to a bunch of other people, I picked up names like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Fujin. But I wasn't really focused on that. Was I really in a relationship with Stryker? Or was he just saying that as an excuse?
The main dinner began and he took me to a table. At the table was Johnny, Li Mei, Raiden, Taven, and the one who was named Fujin. Our plates were distributed, but all I did was push my food around. It looked delicious, but I didn't have the appetite to eat at the moment. Stryker noticed that I was acting strange, and asked if everything was okay. I nodded and continued to play with my food. After the plates were picked up, Raiden asked everyone to go outside.
We formed a circle around him and he started talking about something, but I spaced out. Then I the heard words, "I would like to show you what Nitana can do." I came back to my senses and saw everyone staring at me. I walked towards Raiden, and stood next to him. "Can you do this?" He whispered to me. I nodded. I announced to everyone, "I learned these first two on my own, by exploring what I could actually do." They waited for me to continue. "I'm sure most of you heard that the place I was staying at was broken into, and someone was looking for me. Stryker and I were in danger, and I tried to think of a way to protect us. And I did this," I imagined a small circle, not too big, and made it high enough to cover my height. There were gasping, and a few whispers. I let it die down before I did the next trick. I disappeared and returned behind Taven. Everyone cheered me on. I showed them everything else I learned, and soon I was bombarded with questions.
The night finally ended with most of the people leaving. I made small talk with Liu Kang, about Earthrealm and Shao Kahn. When he left, the only people left besides me were Stryker and Raiden. I headed upstairs to my room and changed into a tank top and a pair of boy shorts. I walked out of my room and across the hall to Stryker's room. He was not in there, but I still crawled in his bed. I was almost to a deep sleep when I heard the door creak open. I slowly opened my eyes and seen Stryker standing in the doorway. "Sure, make yourself at home." I cracked a smile. "I thought it looked clear, I did." He slid off his pants and pulled off his shirt, and laid down next to me. His arms wrapped around me and I felt lips on my neck. Now with him beside me, I could sleep soundly.