Chapter 2: Rachel

I eventually decided to wear a pair of khaki pants and a light blue, button up shirt. I walked to the mall where Tobias and I were going to meet Cassie and Jake. We were supposed to meet in the food court where we were to do lunch and hang out for a little while and discuss the next plan of action.

I got to the mall early, so I stood outside the doors and waited for Tobias to arrive. As I waited, I watched the lines of pedestrians walk in and out of the mall. I silently wondered how many of these people were just normal mall rats and how many of them were Yeerks going through the motions so they looked normal to everyone else. You cannot tell who is a Yeerk and who is not.

It makes you slightly paranoid. Always wondering if the person you are talking too is a prisoner in their own mind. Jake once said it was like watching a movie. He was an outsider watching the actions of someone else. I was so involved in my thoughts that I didn't see Tobias walk up until he tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped slightly and turned to look at him. He had a slight smile on his face and looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

I sent him a mocking glare.

"Hey" He said, and the sound of his voice kept me from being mad at him. He looked slightly awkward, as he always did when he morphed his old self. He squints like he can't see and forgets to show emotion. Besides that, he looked the same. His blonde hair wassticking up in random directionswhich made him look slightly geeky, but cute all the same.

"Hey" I said back, feeling my heart flutter at the sight of him.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, but"

"It's fine." I said, cutting him off. I could guess why he was late and it didn't matter to me. As long as we were together, nothing else really mattered. I reached out and took his hand, intertwining our fingers and he didn't tense up or jerk away. He gave me a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and we started walking into the mall.

To the observer, we probably looked like a normal couple going to spend the day at the mall. They wouldn't guess that we were more mismatched than Romeo and Juliet. At least they were the same species.

"Oh, you know how today was going to be just us?" I said, trying to break to him my conversation with Cassie. I tried to say everything casually, but Tobias knew me better than that.

"Yes…?" He asked, looking slightly quizzical or sick. I decided the look was meant to be quizzical.

"Well, Cassie called today and" Tobias stopped walking in mid-step. I stopped with him and turned to face him.

"Don't tell me that"

"No, it's not that" I said, knowing what he was thinking. Tobias looked relieved. "Jake asked Cassie out and she was really nervous about the whole thing so I kind of said they could join us."

Tobias just stared at me for a second then shrugged.

"Fine by me." He said and added quietly "I'm OK as long as we're together."

I stared back at him for a moment. I wasn't expecting him to say that. He wasn't the one to just come out and say what was on his mind. After all we've been through, he is still shy, especially when he is in his human form.

Tobias looked away from my gaze and stared at the floor. I tried to catch his gaze, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. I smiled at him. It was cute. He was cute and I loved him even more than I did for it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean"

"Yes you did." I said, and he glanced timidly back up at me. I felt my smile get bigger. "It's sweet and I feel the same way." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. When I pulled back, I looked back at him with a smile and started walking again, a satisfied smile on my face. Tobias took a moment to collect himself from his shock and caught up to me. I could feel his gaze on me and I just smiled innocently and took his hand again.

We entered the food court and I spotted Cassie and Jake already seated at a table. I wondered briefly how they managed to beat us without our noticing but quickly shrugged it off. Tobias and I crossed through the maze of chairs, tables, screaming kids and people to the table.

We all ate lunch and talked. It was so normal that I forgot for an hour that my boyfriend is a red-tailed hawk. Until he leaned over and whispered to me that he would be right back. He gave me a kiss on the cheek which caused me to grin again before he left.

I knew he had to demorph. I understood why he had to demorph. I would be doing the same thing if I was him, but I still wished that he wouldn't. Part of me wanted him to stay with me for two hours and we could always be together without having to worry about the time.

"Rachel?" I snapped myself out of my thoughts and looked up at the voice who said my name.

"you ok?" Cassie asked me. I gave her a small smile and nodded. I don't understand why she asked me if I was ok. She's Cassie! She can read emotion in people as easily as breathing. She knew I wasn't completely ok or else she wouldn't have asked.

"I'm going to run to the restroom while Tobias is gone. You two, behave!" Cassie joked and left the table. I glanced over at Jake and felt a sly smile come across my face.

"So, you and Cassie?"

"So, you and Tobias?" He shot back in the same tone as me. I glared at him.

"I don't have to tell you that I'll have to hurt you if you hurt her, do I? Though you're my cousin, I still have to do my best friend duty."

"No." Jake said and added "I'm still debating who I need to give the talk to….I'm almost more worried about Tobias than I am you." He admitted.

I laughed. The others thought I was some loose cannon. A Xena wanna-be. They didn't understand that I'm just as scared as they are, but someone needs to be strong. Don't get me wrong, I like a good fight, but I'm not going to go on a mass killing spree. I'm strong when I need to be and sometimes, I get reckless. I know I could cross the line that Cassie, Marco, and Tobias wouldn't cross. But it doesn't make me a psycho.

"So, what made you decide to ask Cassie out? Finally, I might add." Jake looked at me and just shrugged.

"it felt right." Was all he said. I studied him for a moment and noticed the stress from being our leader was showing itself more and more. He probably needed this break more than I did.

"So, do I have to warn you that I'll inflict bodily pain if you end up hurting Tobias?" Jake asked. I looked at him and I didn't even know I said it until Jake nodded, like he agreed with what I just said.

"I'll never hurt Tobias. Not if I can help it."

We were both silent and Cassie came back to our table seconds later. I frowned and glanced into the crowd. Tobias should have been back by now.

Thanks to all who reviewed!

sednonsatia: Thank you for the criticism and the review. I know I'm not perfect and neither is my beta reader.

GenesisDragonGlad you liked it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter also.

Ambrosia: Sorry that you feel that way about my books. But I didn't pack them up because of lack of space (that was part of it) but we were having our house renovated for 6 months and literally, everything was taken out. My Animorphs just never found their way back. That is also why I left them in the attic, my mom is like yours and she would have taken them off the shelve and gave them away to Salvation Army or something. I like my Animorphs and wanted to keep them so I left them in the attic until I wanted to read them again or I got the space for them; whichever happened first.
I'm sorry to state, but after your reviews, I'm not quite so sure I want to email you about my story. If you liked it enough, you can check back once in awhile (and it's easy to set up an author alert, all you hafta do is click the review, and click signed review and it will log you in. Then click the bottom where it asks for author alerts and stuff. I do it all the time). I felt the way you asked was sort of rude plus, I'm too lazy to write down your email, and sign online, and fill out the email…sound familiar?