~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aiden's PoV
I see her open the French glass doors and nearly fall out of the tree I'm currently sitting in. Ok, maybe this mission might not be so bad. She has long, raven hair and bright green eyes, but her beauty's somewhat marred by the look of utter frustration on her face.
She paces for a few moments, toying with the ends of her hair before letting out a piercing scream. I cover my ears, the shrill sound almost too much for my hyper-sensitive ears, but I still hear a splash from the swimming pool.
She grins and looks over. "Need a floaty, Barbie?" she asks, feigning politeness as a blonde flails madly in the pool. The look of amusement on her face at the woman looking like a drowned poodle is enough to know that I'll get along with her just fine.
She walks back inside, a bounce to her step that was not there before. She twirls happily, jumping on her bed to an old Yellowcard song.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Halley's PoV
Is it sad that I derive pleasure from the humiliation of my father's girlfriends? I mean, for argument's sake, they have made my life a living hell. It's the least I can do to repay them.
Although, sadly-well, for Bitty(I think that's the new one's name)- making her fall into the pool just isn't enough to repay her for forcing me to come to that stupid dinner later on tonight. I mean, really, how many middle-aged businessmen can you have hit on you before you barf all over your Chanel dress? Ugh, and don't even get me started on the clothes!!
I stop jumping smack dab in the middle of "Powder" by Yellowcard to stare in disgust at the prom-ish, fluffy pink and green number that's, and I quote, "perfectly fit for your personality, doll!" Can you say barf-tastic? Oh well, I'll "alter" it before the party.
It's just so lame that the women my father dates really feel the need to hang out with me. Maybe they feel sorry for me because my mother, by her own admission, didn't want me. Whatever; like it really matters to me. I have my music, I have my dancing, and that's all I need.
I don't really feel compelled to go hang out with people, besides Mary. Maybe it's because I've been so secluded from the outside world, but either way, I definitely do not like hanging our with the girls at boarding schools- again, with the exception of Mary.
I just hate how people can be so egotistical, you know? It's like, god, there are six billion other people in the world, just think about them for a change! It's hard to think about the big picture when the people you are in contact with constantly are so vain.
But none of that matters...someday, I'm leaving here. If only it were today....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aiden's PoV
What if she doesn't believe me, or doesn't want to leave? What am I going to do then? Calm down, Aiden. For god's sake, you're a highly trained, genetically engineered soldier capable of deactivating a bomb in approximately 2.5 seconds. You can talk to a girl.
But this girl? She's so different from all the other ones at Manticore, that's for sure. She listens to great music, and is snarky, and...I'm doomed, aren't I?
She snips away at the giant poofball that rich people call a dress, throwing the discarded cloth over her shoulder, completely unaware that she's being watched. All of a sudden she tenses, and her head shoots up, her green eyes meeting mine. Shit.
I sign to her that I'm one of the good guys, hoping desperately she understands. She sits still for a moment, the scissors lying in her lap. She looks at me as if she's trying to decipher whether I'm really good or not, then signals for me to meet her at five o'clock behind the pool house.
Damn, I like this mission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Halley's PoV
I pause mid-snip, my scissors falling into my lap, forgotten, as the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. I look out the window, my eyes landing on a man sitting in one of our trees. I close my eyes, trying to feel out whether he's good or bad. He does some weird motion to me, and I decide he's good.
Using sign language, I tell him to meet me behind the pool villa tonight, during the party. My eyes linger on him for a moment, studying his catlike movements as he climbs down the tree. Well, this is an interesting development.
Back to slaughtering the poofball...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aiden's Pov
I decide to stop at a nearby drug store for some chow...after all, we genetically empowered have very high metabolism- we like food. A lot. I walk into the store, heading straight to the junk food aisle. Hmm...Cheetos, Doritos, ooh, we got the whole -itos family! I grab a bag of cheetos and a box of Little Debbie brownies.
I walk to the cash register, chips and brownies in hand, but stop at a jewelry stand, staring at a necklace with a tiny yingyang on it. Well, bribery is always helpful. I pay for my purchases and walk back to my bike, wrapping the necklace around my wrist for safekeeping.
All I know is that this sure as hell isn't your average mission...not that I really mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Halley's PoV
"Darling, let me see your dress!" Bitsy calls happily through the door. I smirk, sliding on the new dress I made- I cut off all the poof, like in that old movie 'What a Girl wants', so I'm just wearing the light pink slip and my mother's pearls.
I open the door, biting my lip so hard that it bleeds to keep myself from laughing at Betty's face. "What did you do? That was a $400 gown!!!" she shrieks, her voicing so shrill that if it went any higher, only dogs and whales would be able to hear it.
"I made some adjustments. You like?" I ask, twirling around. She gapes. Someone should really tell her that leaving your mouth open can result in a bug flying in and choking you to death. Then again, let's just see what happens if we don't tell her, shall we?
"You little monster!!" she whines, stomping away. Well, as good as you can stomp in pumps.
A half hour later, I walk down the stairway, not at all surprised to see that all of my father's acquaintances are already here. Simon de Lark is immediately at my side, taking my arm. Um, excuse me? God, it's so stupid how rich boys automatically think that every girl wants them, and want to be their future trophy wife.
I pull my elbow away from him, smiling sweetly to make up for it. He flashes me what he thinks looks like a sexy smile, but really just looks like he's gonna pass out. "I'm going to go freshen up, dear." I tell him, treating him how my father wants me to- as much as I hate it, it's worth the extra cash he floats my way to at least pretend to swoon over these guys.
"All right, darling. I'll get us some champagne." he tells me, and I fight the urge to cringe when he kisses me on my cheek. Ew.
I make my way out to the pool house, cursing my high heels every step of the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aiden's PoV
When is she coming? It's 5:17. She should have been here by now! Maybe she just wanted to get rid of me. Oh, man, Max is gonna kill me if I don't bring her back!
Well, the least I can do is some recon... I start to walk away, but stop at the sound of a voice calling, "wait!!! Wait a minute!"
I turn around, greeted by the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. A lot to say, coming from Manticore, where we're bred to look perfect. But her beauty is unconventional. She's skinny, but not like model thin. Normal, curvy. Her black hair is let long, falling in soft curls. Her bright green eyes, shimmering with playfulness, are as bright as fresh-cut grass.
"I'm sorry. What can I say? The sadistic bastard who invented high heels hates women, and our feet. I'm Halley." she smirks, and I find myself smiling. "So, any reason you were watching me, or do you just stalk random people?" she asks, and I laugh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Halley's PoV
"So, any reason you were watching me, or do you just stalk random people?" I ask, and he grins this amazing grin. Hey, he's kinda cute...no, Halley!! Keep on track!
"Aiden, and you might want to sit down for this." he says, and I look at him suspiciously, but motion for him to follow me into the pool house anyway, where we sit on the couch.
"Okay, so what is it?" I ask him, twisting my hands nervously. He puts his hands over mine to stop them, but doesn't take them away.
"Um, you know the whole transgenic situation, right?" he asks me, and I nod. "Well, the man who created us, Sandeman, was in a family that was in this cult, the Conclave..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aiden's PoV
I don't know what to do...she's been sitting with her mouth open, just staring at me for about five minutes. Suddenly, she shakes her head, tears filling her eyes. "No...they would have told me..."
She looks up at me, her green eyes filled with disbelief and sadness. Looking so lost that it's breaking my genetically engineered heart. I wrap my arms around her in an attempt to protect her from the world that's hurting her so much, and she just rests her head on my chest and lets the tears fall unchecked down her face.
"I never knew...god, what do I do? I can't stay here." she whispers, sitting up. I wipe a tear she's missed off her cheek, and she smiles-very, very faintly, but it still makes me feel better.
"You can come to Terminal City with me. It's where you belong." I tell her, and she stops completely. "Max and Alec, our leaders, want you there. We all do."
"You sure?" she asks uncertainly, and I nod.
"Positive. You're what we need to beat the Conclave." I tell her, and she twists her hand nervously again. I put my hand over hers, stilling them. "When do you want to leave?" I ask her, and she smiles brightly, her perfect mouth curving up into an adorable smile...stay on task, soldier!!
"Tonight. I'll pack during the dinner, telling everyone I don't feel good, and then sneak out while they're eating." she says, and smiles. "I'm really doing this?" she asks, and I nod happily.
"Yeah, you're really doing this." I tell her, and she holds out her arm. I shake my head, confused.
"Pinch me. I want to make sure this is real." she whispers, closing her eyes. I pinch her skin lightly, and she grins happily.
"I'm really leaving here..." she whispers, her joy evident. A voice calls her name outside, and she looks at me. "I'll be waiting in here at eight." she says, running out of the pool house, a skip to her step.
"I'll be waiting."
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A/N: whatcha think? Tell me!!! hope you like it!!
Luv ya all, and thanx to all my beloved reviewers!!!
Molly Jeane :D