Chapter 10

Double digits, baby! Happy happy happy AF123! First time for any of my stories! 3 I love all of you for getting me on this far, so let me take this chance to thank: ClumsyAssassin21, Shelleythesnail, havoc2345, IRapeRaimbows, Dodectron, Dunedain789, XxKuro-koneko-nyaxX, Evenelle, Nameless Daydreamer, egiaprevolg, TheNinjaVampire, Hawkbelly, MaryandMerlin, Zuckaiy, and CreativeChica39. Listen to this song while reading the chapter (especially during the fry fight) cuzz I love it, and I know you all love me back! Now onward and upward!

Song: I Know I Know I Know, Tegan and Sara

"The weather is changing and

breaking my stride, I know,

I know, I know, it's just this day."

Gladston watched me pace back and forth across my kitchen, his fat doggy head lolling back and forth, his sunken eyes disinterestedly observing me slowly lose my sanity. Ezio watched me as well, confusion and worry plain on his face. I, meanwhile, was rambling to myself out loud, my fingers rapping a tattoo against my leg, my heart pounding so hard I could actually see my chest twitching.

"This isn't possible . . . Abstergo doesn't exist . . . It's okay, Anna, just go . . . hang out with Leah and Emily, get a dress for the wedding, eat some McDonald's . . . it's just a prank or something . . . oh, I'm going to kill Leah if she's behind this."

Ezio, it seemed, had finally had enough. "Anna!" He said, standing abruptly. "What is this . . . Abstergo, and why has it gotten you so upset?" He put his hands on my arms, holding me still.

I shook my head, looking up at him. "You don't get it, Ezio. Abstergo . . . they aren't supposed to exist. But . . . they found me, somehow, and now . . ." I stopped, realizing that Ezio was still not getting it. Just get it over with, Anna. He has to know. "Abstergo, they're Templars. And they have training, and technology, the best of the world. I have no idea what they want with me, but it can't be good."

Just the expression on Ezio's face made me nervous. I saw anger, and slight confusion, but I could tell he was making a plan. I broke free from his grasp and fell back down into a chair. Grabbing my phone, I dialed Leah's number. When she picked up, her voice sounded tired. She hadn't bothered to turn her screen on, so I could only see her profile picture of a cat wearing a neon green top hat and giving the camera a freaky cat grin.

She yawned. "Hello?"

"Leah, I really need to-did I wake you up?"

"Um, if by wake up you mean that I was sleeping, and your annoyingly loud Black Veil Brides ringtone made me concious, then yes, you woke me up."

I swiveled to look at my clock. "Le, are you kidding me? It's one in the afternoon, on a Tuesday."

"So?"

"So, you aren't-you know what, whatever. You need to get over here. Now. Pick up Emily, too, she needs to hear this."

"Can I get coffee first?"

"Only if you get me one, and get some fries from McDonald's too."

"You're eating McDonald's? Jesus, this is getting serious."

I laughed, but stopped when I remembered why it was so serious. "Yeah. Just . . . hurry up."

I hung up and turned to confused Assassin next to me. "Listen, Ezio, Abstergo aren't like the Templars from 1480. They have lots of advanced technology, and they are way worse than the Templars back then. I can't even imagine what they'll do if they get their hands on you . . ."

Ezio furrowed his brow. "Why would they want me?"

I pressed my lips together. There was no way I could tell him anything about his future, or the Apple, before any of it had come to pass; I had already gotten off easy with the whole Ezio-now-knows-he's-in-the-future thing, so I decided to wing it. First things first, though.

"Where were you before you arrived in my bedroom?" I asked. I needed to know how far along he was in his life before I said anything stupid.

Ezio looked confused at my question, because it had nothing to do with the answer to his. "The last thing I remember . . . I was with Bartolomeo, in Venezia, looking for someone named Bianca . . . I fell unconcious, and when I woke up, everything was white. I thought I must have died, so I started walking, and I was blinded for a moment. When I could see, I saw you."

I mulled that over for a second. Bartolomeo, looking for his big-ass sword Bianca. I smiled at the scene. Ezio's expression in the game when Bartolomeo revealed that it was not a woman he was looking for, but a sword, was picture worthy. Biting my lip, I tried to come up with a suitable lie to tell Ezio.

"Abstergo wants you because you, er, have something they want." There. It wasn't a complete lie. And I could tell that Ezio knew I wasn't giving him the complete truth, but he didn't say anything. He stared at me for a long moment, trying to get me to break and tell him everything, but I met his gaze silently. We sat there staring at each other for a few minutes before several excited knocks on the door made me look away.

I got up and opened the door to see Leah and Emily, Leah holding two frappe's from Starbucks and Emily holding her own and a bag with a blissfully recognizable golden M on it. They smiled, and I grinned and took the caramel frappe from Leah and the bag from Emily.

"Thanks, guys. I needed this. But you need to see something."

They took their seats at my kitchen table, Emily sitting across from me, and Leah sitting almost awkwardly close to Ezio. From the pocket of my sweatpants I pulled the envelope bearing the Abstergo symbol and set it in the middle of my table. Several reactions happened at the sight of the piece of paper. Emily looked disturbed and slightly frightened, but she didn't really play Assassin's Creed, so she had no idea. Leah gasped and lunged at the envelope as if to rip it apart, but I quickly snatched it away. Another reaction happened, however. I looked back up and my eyes magically magnetted to Ezio concerned face. I smiled reassuringly at him, making a mental note to apologize for being a pshyco skank to him yesterday.

Looking back at my friends, I said, "I haven't opened it yet. What do you think?" I waved the horrid thing in the air, much like I had done with my sister's wedding invitation. Silence. Biting my lip, I turned it over and ripped the envelope open. Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded once. I pulled it out and put my thumb underneath the folded part. Cold fear iced over my fingers, and I hesitated, suddenly not wanting to know what was written there. I dropped the paper and grabbed the McDonald's bag, ripped it open, grabbed a giant thing of fries, and jammed a couple in my mouth. Mm, so greasy, so salty, so cholesterol-tastic, and so good. I smiled at the delicious potato posers, and suddenly, simultaneously, Emily and Leah both snatched at the bag and ripped out their own. Leah shoved another giant container into Ezio's hands, laughing as she forced a handful into my mouth. I tore the fries from her hand and threw them at her, but she moved at the last second and the torn-up fries landed smack in the middle of Ezio's face.

Three of us froze. Ezio reached up and removed the potatoes from his face. I feared the worst, when suddenly a wide grin split his face and with a laugh he threw them back at me. What ensued was possibly the most epic fry fight in the history of the universe. In the end, no fries were left standing, including the four of us. At some point I had tried to throw a handful of the stuff at Emily, and my arm swung too far, and I ended up punching Ezio in the side of his face. Leah yelled at me a lot, and Ezio was forgiving me far too extensively, and I was cracking up and saying that the punch was revenge for not catching me when I tripped over Gladston and down the stairs. Leah and Emily stayed over, because I didn't feel like cleaning up the fries by myself, they had been over since two thirty, and another night alone in my house with Ezio would probably have driven me insane.

[...]

We gathered all the pillows and blankets I owned and piled them in a pile. The only rules were: you got what you could grab. On the count of three, the four of us dove into the center of my living room floor and started snatching at anything we could get our hands on. Ezio, somehow, got pretty much ninety percent of what was down there, which confused me, and I ended up with only a very fluffy pillow, my favorite.

I was glaring at the thing when Ezio butted in. "You could always share with me, bella,"

"Oh, ha ha, Ezio," I sneered sarcastically. "In your perverted dreams."

Ezio shrugged and tossed a large, black and red quilt at me. I caught it and shot him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me?"

The Assassin looked surprised. "Why would I kid?" He looked confused but also somewhat amused.

"I'm not taking away your blankets, Ezio. Don't worry," I gave a resigned smile. "I'm used to sleeping on the couch."

I tossed the blanket back at him. He caught it, and something flickered in his eyes, and if I hadn't known better I would have thought that he looked unhappy with me, but I shook it off and jumped onto my couch. Leah curled up in my chair, and Emily laid on her side next to the landing leading upstairs. I reached up and turned off the one remaining light, and my house went dark. The envelope was all but forgotten.

[...]

When I woke up the next morning, I noticed that I was quite a bit warmer than I was last night. I curled back into a blanket that I didn't recognize until later in the day. A warm, heavy, black and red quilt.

I'm sorry for that fluffyness, but I realllllly want to get both the plot moving and their relationship more involved. SO! Review, and the end of Part I will be at Chapter 15! Later, lovelies, and follow the Creed!