Chapter 25

He kept a complacent frown, but his eyes were detached. "What the hell are you yelling atmefor? It's not necessarily a cakewalk to find a trod, you know. If you wanna know so badly, why don't you ask the guy that you came here with?"

"If I could, I would! Dumbass!"

"So, am I a smartass or a dumbass?"

"Alex isn't the suspicious one here! He had no idea what was going on!"

Puck scoffed, "You reallyarea kid."

At that moment, when we were both anxiously waiting in the foxglove field to uncover the mystery behind my entrance into this world, Alex had popped up in our conversation. He had led me to the location of the trod. Puck claimed that our entrance into the NeverNever wasn't accidental. That Alex knew where he was going. But I had known better. I knew that Alex would never purposefully bring me into such a dangerous position. He would never. The fact that Puck had acted like he knew the motives behind Alex's actions, as if he knew him better than I did, made my blood boil.

At the time, I had basically blocked out Puck, not even bothering to comment on the attack he made on my best friend's credibility. However, his words ate at me for a long time and, admittedly, still did so, even during this Exchange Ball. I had comforted myself with Soren and Mae's presence, soothing myself with the idea that Alex hadn't forgotten about me and had full intentions of protecting me. But then again, I had never been told or understood how he knew either of the kids, or what exactly their purpose was. Now that everything else that Puck had said was proven to be true, or at least difficult to rebuke, the possibility that Alex's taking me into the NeverNever with an ulterior motive, besides a peaceful picnic, became a less preposterous argument.

And now, as far as I could tell, he was here.

I admit that, since my entrance to the NeverNever, my thoughts had been anything but organized or sensible, but never to this extent. I couldn't blame it on an overactive imagination, knowing myself. It could've been a projection. A doppelganger! Maybe this weird winged creature simply resembled Alex but was, in fact, someone totally different! Could it have been a hallucination? However, this hallucination had spoken to me, as well. It had called my name.

Alex.

But, also not Alex.

No! It can't be him!

"Silvie!" The Alex-look-alike called again, waving a single arm this time.

Yeah. A doppelganger. A doppelganger that also happened to know my name and call me by the same nickname. This wasn't making any sense to me.

Mae and Soren had always told me that Alex was coming to look for me, but I had mainly kept that idea in my heart to comfort myself during lonely nights in the prison, not because I actually believed it. Also, the proposition that this…creature with enormous black wings and sharp nails that could skewer me with a poke was absurd. Ludicrous. I knew what Alex looked like and, although this being bore an exhilarating and miraculous resemblance to my best friend, I was unable to believe that this was truly my Alex Pierce.

I used the archive in the back of my mind and tried to identify this creature's form. I spotted the red mask hanging off from his neck, a scary one featuring a demon with a long, rounded nose. A tengu. A Japanese supernatural being resembling a crow, originally thought to be a demon in Buddhism, which was characterized by ominous wings and long noses that evolved from ancient images of them having beaks. Identifying what it was wouldn't change that fact that I was slightly afraid of it, but I wanted to make sure that I had all of my facts correct in case he confronted me.

And I was right to prepare because, after a few moments of frozen and uncomfortable staring, the tengu made his way over to me. My eyes followed him as he pushed through a medley of fae crowding around toppled and ruined chairs. I jumped, confliction stirring in my heart. Was I to stay and act calm in front of a fae that could most likely eat me or start a conversation to inquire whether he really was Alex?

But, what if he was?

Wouldn't that mean that Alex was…a fae? That he knew about this place –about the NeverNever—the whole time? If that were case, it would only prove Puck right. It would mean that Alex did have a connection to this place and his leading me was completely purposeful. However, if he was just any old fae, then I would still be plagued with worry about the real Alex's whereabouts. Either way, the thought of interacting with this fae scared the wits out of me.

As the mysterious but familiar fae drew nearer, I could more closely examine his body. I spotted the reflection of light off of his smooth black feathers. They were laced throughout his fussy black hair and the rigid but taut contours of his folded black wings. He wore a long-sleeved maroon shirt, which I assumed was impossible, considering the scorching heat wave the kingdom seemed to have been experiencing for the past week. Over that was an unbuttoned, course-textured gray vest that flew behind his arms as he rushed over to me. His legs were clad in dark pants that almost resembled jeans, things that I was somehow elated to see again, and dark brown riding boots. My outfit basically consisted of a leotard and a flimsy cape, so if this was actually Alex approaching me, I was about to be extremely embarrassed, having him witness me in such a laughably shameful outfit.

He wore something shimmering with metallic luster on his neck, but because of my lack of contact lenses, I couldn't properly identify it.

Wait. Metallic? Why was this fae able to wear something metallic? Was he half-fae, like Meghan and Ash?

"Silvie! I'm so glad I found you!" The fae, with a wondrously light and boyish voice, made a final leap toward me with a smile on his face so bright that could simultaneously stop a war and cure cancer. He was so delighted that he seemed to shine, which provided a stark an unusual contrast with his black wings.

The beast lifted up his hands, obviously intending to embrace me. I could see the talons of a monster rise up to my face as his broad chest prepared to engulf me. Although that smile should have been comforting enough, the intimidating figure still struck fear into my heart.

I panicked.

Before he could touch me, I acted out of my rising fear, which had conquered the pure pleasure of seeing him again. My heart raced. Was it Alex? Was it not Alex? Was it a monster? Was Alex a monster? What had he done? I wasn't about to greet someone that I still had so many doubts about with open arms.

I placed my hands swiftly on his painfully familiar pecs and shoved him away. That motion ended with him staying still and me falling backwards, nearly colliding with a fae. I somehow regained my balance, having sacrificed a bit of my pride. My head was facing downward; I was not brave enough or dumb enough to face him. The force of my shove hadn't done much good, considering Alex and this Alex-figure were much taller and stronger than me; however, it had an effect. A prominent one.

My hands hung in the air, floating as if they had been frozen there by shock. My face was a mess, caught in between wide-eyed fright and the clenched teeth and stinging eyes of someone about to cry. I could feel my face strain as I tried to stop the tears, but I wasn't in enough control of myself to do so. What was I to do? What could I do? All of my unanswered questions flooded out not in thoughts, but in tears. I felt wetness drip slowly down my right cheek and was suddenly aware of what was going on.

I didn't understand. I was so frustrated about not being able to understand, about not knowing the right answer, that my frustrations had bubbled over and been exposed to the world as weak, mindless, pathetic tears. I wanted to wipe them away, to erase evidence that they were ever here, but my hands were still frozen in the air. When I tried to slide them down, they creaked and shook, as if I were a robot shutting down.

The creature's arms dropped lifelessly to his sides, his heart-warming smile subsiding. Now, his cheeky face was plagued with a straight smile, as if he was unsuccessfully concealing his pain instead of letting in pour out, like I was. Why was I being so uncharacteristically emotional anyway? This place had really gotten to me.

We stood in silence for a few moments, trying to gauge each other, thinking about everything. Everything from what we were to do next to how we would react to a medley of probable future occurrences. What I would say if he admitted to being the real Alex. What I would do if he admitted that he had brought me here on purpose. How quickly I would run away if he really did turn out to be a violent fae that craved my apparently sweet-tasting human blood. Morbid, but yes, I thought of a proper escape plan.

Then, Alex or whoever he was, spoke. "Ha…I done fucked up, huh?"

What? Why was he talking like that? A colloquial phrase like that could easily convince me that he was indeed my best friend from Virginia, from a high school where people speak in Ebonics more often than standard American English. But I wasn't going to jump to conclusions. It could also be a trick.

He continued with a somber, despairing tone. Alex had never been one that was able to easily conceal his emotions. "I…y-you gotta know, I feel awful for making you cry, Silvie. Really…" He was stuttering and, although it was barely noticeable, his voice cracked. This definitely veered from my image of fae perfection. Despite the tears still creeping down my cheek in defiance of my mental screams for them to cease, I listened intently. "…That was never…I…I-I'm sorry.

"I understand why you don't wanna touch me either. Really, I get it. I mean, I look weird like this, don't I?" He raised his arms almost unwillingly, pairing that motion with a grimace. I got a closer look at his smooth, glistening wings and was once again torn between admiring them and briskly running in the opposite direction. It wasn't even like the tengu was the most intimidating creature in this room. Just the fact that his face matched that of my irresponsible best friend was fucking with my head. That was all.

I wanted to tell him so much. That he looked so stately and handsome. That he looked fantastic without his glasses. I wanted to see his awkward blush. I just couldn't get the words out.

Several fae glowered at us from all sides. I tried to ignore their stares, especially those of the fae that were snidely laughing at my stagnant tears. I had stopped crying for now, finally able to control myself, but I still must have looked puffy-eyed and pitiful. I brought a palm to my face, wiping my wet cheeks, then determinedly looked at the tengu again, more confidently this time.

He scratched at his head, pausing in order to formulate his thoughts. Nervously, he then grasped the ends of his gray vest, pulling the fabric downwards to relieve frustration as his eyes closed in a forced but calm contemplation. "And I won't force you to do anything. I was the one who left you anyway. Why should you trust me? Especially when I was so obviously hiding something from you?"

And then I knew. I could tell from his expression, the direction his head was turned as he evaded my eyes. He always tilted his head at an unnatural angle downward when he feared my wrath, making it so that he, being at least half a foot taller than me, had to look up at me like a child being punished. His deep brown eyes shifted back and forth across the floor as his thin lips pursed, forming a face that all of Alex's fan girls would kill to see.

This was Alex. His mannerisms. His stuttering. Him.

A new generation of tears threatened to surface, but not from confusion. I was happy. I found him. He was here. Alex really had come to save me. Mae and Soren were right. Puck was right about Alex being fae, but that wouldn't be enough to change his heart.

I trusted Alex to always come find me when I was lost. Like after I had spaghetti spilled on me. When I was walking out in the rain after the power in my house shut off. He would always come find me.

Throwing caution to the wind, I approached him this time. Of course, he flinched, confused by the sudden change of heart, but he didn't have much time to escape. I wrapped my arms around him sloppily and my palms landed flat across his back, nestled underneath the gigantic wings. I gripped his vest, wishing that the force of my pounce would be enough to bring us closer. I plunged my face into his shirt, seeking his warmth and desiring a method to hide the overwhelming tears that I wasn't sure I could contain any longer.

Although he was surprised, my best friend let out a sigh at my embrace. He was hesitant, considering the awkward feeling that was only now dissipating, but he slowly wrapped his heavy and tough arms around me. One of his palms rested on the crown of my head while the other rested on my right hip. His warm breath tickled as he sighed once again into my hair. "I'm so glad you're okay, Silvie."

Because of my plethora of emotions and the fear that, because of my crying, my voice would crack once I used it, the only word I could squeak out was his name.

"Alex."

He nodded and, even though I wasn't facing him, I could feel his brilliant smile.

Although hugging Alex nearly knocked the breath out of me, it was like taking in fresh air. His body felt exactly the same as it always had: smooth muscles under tight skin and a hardness that was hard to perceive through often baggy and unflattering clothing. But tonight, he looked fantastic. Foreign but familiar. Strange but safe. Unusual but completely normal. All at the same time.

I allowed myself to melt in his arms, even though the wariness that I had felt a moment before had not quite faded. I could still recall the sudden recoil I had experienced after first seeing his frightening appearance. I still felt like backing away, although that feeling had been replaced by a longing and warmth that I had long since gone without. This figure with jet black hair and surreal matching wings should have been something to fear, but I found myself digging my face into his shoulder, relishing in the feeling of his hard body against my soft cheeks. I missed this. I missed him.

When I felt the wings attached to his back, however, a new wave of uncertainty washed over me.

But Alex had been the one that brought me into the NeverNever, right? Although I had known him as my best friend for so long, was Alex himself, not just this avian creature, someone to be trusted? There were many worries clouding my thoughts that basking in Alex's arms would not qualm. I had to face him myself to get everything straightened out, especially since this was such a crucial time and he could possibly assist with whatever plan I assumed had been put in motion to free me.

I tore my head away from the crook of his shoulder unwillingly and gazed into his eyes with mixed emotions. His look of sadness and acceptance communicated that he knew exactly what I was feeling. There would be no confusion. He knew what he had done.

"Ale—" I began to say his name again, loving the feeling of it on my lips. But he stopped me. He placed his hand, one decorated with scars and fingernails as long as kitchen knives, in front of my mouth. His face was no longer marred by that tortured expression and that itself made me grin.

I had stopped talking momentarily, waiting for him to reveal something. A secret. A plot. An explanation. I wanted to pry and bother him until he revealed to me all of the knowledge I was looking after, but I decided to wait. I stayed calmed as he took in a large enough breath to blow out the candles on a birthday cake as wide as a football stadium.

And then he let that breath out. Why was he taking so long?

As I forced myself to keep my mind away from forming more unnecessary questions, Alex began to move. Closer. To me. His eyes began drooping as our faces drew closer. I thought that, perhaps, he was going to whisper what he had to say to me, even though we were surrounded by chatting fae and I wouldn't have been able to hear it, even if he said it using a blow horn. But his face still drew closer and, being the skeptic I am, I drew back a peg, fearing what might come next.

Then, I shivered as I felt the heart-racing tingle of his breath on my neck. When had he gotten so close? I couldn't even see his eyes anymore without crossing my own, so I closed them instead. Was he really going to whisper something to me? This distance could be sufficient, I thought naively. I simply waited as he continued to breathe dangerously close to my own mouth. How many inches apart were our faces now? What exactly was going on? I couldn't calm down.

When our noses touched, I experienced a de ja vu. Our faces had been this close before. After the dance, while hanging out at my house and watching recorded episodes of 'Jeopardy.' The night that my mom had died, before I had received the news. We had been sitting on the couch together when, suddenly, Alex and I had a moment. I felt weird and, to this day, I am still convinced that I was having an out-of-body experience and was not in control of myself. We began to move closer and it got warmer and, although we were interrupted by a startling knock on the door, I knew then and now that Alex and I—

Had been about to kiss.

De ja vu.

**Sooo…I have an excuse for our lateness. There was some laziness and miscommunication and APPARENTLY, Clover is not capable of writing a kiss scene (even when the people DON'T actually kiss) even though SHE'S the only one of us who's actually KISSED SOMEONE before. Yes, my friend, I'm judging you hard right now. But I digress…

Anyway, this chapter was meant to be totally different. I actually typed up most of chapter 25…and it was 12 pages long. It wasn't even ¾ done yet. Sooo I decided to just post already and find a part where I would be satisfied stopping (just to tempt you guys) and get on with the next chapter after feeling like less of an awful person from not updating for a month…dear God, it's been a month.

Also, considering that I stayed up really late last night writing an essay, feel like shit, and haven't been in my dorm all day because I VOTED FOR THE FIRST TIME, I'm not gonna do viewer responses tonight…I know…I'm sad. I like doing them 'cause all of your reviews are funny and cute, but I'm in desperate need of a nap…I'm probs gonna skip the gym tonight, too. Nooooo.

But anyway, since I have already done 5 other pages of the next chapter, it should be up soon (and I really hope I'm not lying to myself and to you guys when I say it this time). I promise that things will actually happen then…we've kinda reached the top of the hill and now we have to get over the hill and, trust me, the down part of the hill is a BITCH.

So, while I nap and dream about sexy Asians, have a nice life! And don't hate us for putting out a chapter that had as much spoken dialogue as a twenties movie. :D**