1- Sneaking Out

A silver car pulled up to the curb. Skye smiled, jogging over and opening the door before sliding into the passenger seat. Turning to face the boy in the car, she watched him grin broadly, flashing white teeth in the dark. "Cold?"

"It's thirty degrees out. What do you think?"

"Windows down, then?"

She smirked, "Yes."

They rolled the windows down and enjoyed the freezing air whipping into their faces as they drove away. A pleasant silence ensued, and Skye used that silence to observe her friend and driver. Aubrey Desroz was nineteen, almost twenty. She made a mental note that his birthday was coming up next month. So was hers. Sixteen on March seventeeth, and his birthday would come around two days later.

He had short to medium length hair. It fell over the tops of his ears, eyes, and the back of his neck in slight waves. He wasn't looking at her, but she knew his eyes were just as dark as his hair. His irises and pupils blended perfectly, black on black. He had a large jaw and slightly prominent cheek bones, giving him distinguishingly handsome features. His chin was squared and clefted. Skye always teased him that he ccould "blow his nose and wipe his ass at the same time." His nose was sculpted, lips full and sensual. He's more slender than broad, more feminine looking than manly, but at six foot six he was someone to reckon with. They stopped at a red light, and he swiveled his head to look at her, biting his lip nervously. She studied his expression a few moments, looking him in the eyes. Anxiety was written all over his face. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her jeans making a soft swish against the material of the seat as she moved.

"What is it?"

"You're going to meet a couple friends of mine."

Great. Not even a real warning. Pfft. When he didn't continue she prompted him, "...And?"

"They're...different from your everyday people. They're twins. The older one is...not very friendly. You'll like the younger one."

"By not very friendly you mean...?"

"He's pretty cold."

"Okay. What does that have to do with me liking him or not?"

"What do you want me to say? He loves his brother and me. Probably his sister. Besides that, I don't know."

"Sister?"

"Nissa. She lives in Italy with their grandparents."

"They're Italian?"

"Yes." Figures. Aubrey was Italian, too.

"Do they live with their parents?"

"They haven't seen their parents since they were young. You'll have to ask them about that if you want to know more." Pain in the ass.

"What's the younger one like?"

"Kristopher. He's...softer? I mean, he's tough as nails and all but...he's empathetic, forgiving. I don't know."

Uh hu. So one's emotionless and the other is really emotional? Lovely. "What's the other one's name?"

"Nikolas."

I let out a long breath and shrugged. "Here we go..."

"Yep." The light turned green for the sixth time since they stopped. This time Aubrey realized it and drove off. Skye didn't know where they were after a while. They sure as hell weren't in Kansas anymore. They'd left Whitestone and gone through College Point, maybe they were still there? Probably. They definitely weren't in Manhattan. This place wasn't on any of Skye's explorations, though.

"Where are we going?"

"Their house."

"Great." Taking off her cap, she narrowed her eyes at the reflection in the sideview mirror. Of course her hair would be screwed up when she was going to see Aubrey's friends. That was a rule. It wasn't really a matter of what they would think, but she would have felt better if it had looked more presentable. The dark brown would have to look like it had been brushed with a pillow. Hell, it probably had. There wasn't much to brush anyway, her hair was only about four inches long. She redonned the now cold cap as Aubrey parked infront of a white house with a white picket fence. They got out of the car and walked up to the gate. There was a pretty large lawn, and it looked like it ran into the backyard of the house. The walkway was cobblestones, leading up to a big blue door with a wreath. Those little homey ones made out of all the flowers. She bet it was plastic.

Skye half expected a collie to run up to her barking and lead her to a cow trying to give birth. "Is Timmy stuck in a well?"

Aubrey smiled, "I can't wait until you meet them."

At this point, neither could she. She stepped inside the gate after Aubrey, before getting tackled by a huge boulder...or atleast that's what it felt like. The ''boulder'' in question was a harlequin Great Dane, which was licking her face with enthusiasm before it sat on her. Skye took being crushed pretty well, lying there and trying to breathe. A deep voice came out of the dark,

"Ahanu! Come here! Get off her, now!" The Dane immediately ran into the shadows towards the voice, letting Skye breathe again. Focusing her eyes in the dark, she finally saw the figure standing across the lawn. He was shorter than Aubrey by a couple of inches, but still well over six feet. His hair was black as a raven's wing and short, smoothed down except for a few tufts on the side of his head (Aha! So everyone had bad hair days!). Unlike Aubrey, he was broad. Very broad. His skin was slightly pale, but there was evidence of a golden color in sunnier weather. He was wearing light gray pajama pants, a sweatshirt a few shades darker, and flip flops. Ugh, mandals. He was toned, but he looked as if he only worked out either as an after thought or to keep himself in good condition. His eyes were dark, but Skye couldn't see what color in the night.

"Do you plan on getting up or should one of us carry you into the house?" She smiled, then realized she was staring at him. Damn it. He smiled back and flashed white teeth, a boyish grin. He knew she'd been looking. Standing up and walking towards him, Skye extending her hand, "I'm Skye. It's nice to meet you."

He took her hand and shook it, looking a bit surprised. "You too. My brother and I have heard a lot about you. I'm Kris." His hand was large, enveloping hers. He released her and dropped his hand to his side. He looked over her, presumably at Aubrey then back at her. "You like dogs, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"We've got a few, and they're all out here somewhere. Aubrey and I are going to head in, but maybe you want to stay out and see the dogs for a few?"

Skye knew they wanted her outside for the few minutes to talk alone or something, but she trusted Aubrey and didn't really care to question the request. She just nodded and watched their backs as they went in the front door, closing it behind them. She whistled for the dogs and heard barking coming far away but closing in fast. The dane next to her thumped his tail in excitement. She knelt beside him and he immediately lowered his head and pressed himself against her, rubbing and whimpering in joyat the attention. A few moments later a smaller shape leapt into her lap and two more danes ran into her, almost knocking her to the floor with their momentum. She lifted the little lump on her legs up for inspection. It was a (surprise, surprise) dane pup. She petted and stroked the other two, one black and the other a charcoal gray. The puppy was fawn colored and wagged its tail like a propellor, wriggling in excitement. Skye sat in the heap of dogs, crooning and cooing at them. She loved dogs.

A deep voice behind her made her freeze. It was Kris' baritone, but different. The tone was full of authority. Cool. Menacing. She stood and turned around only to be confronted by a cool stare. Nikolas looked exactly like Kris in every way, except his eyes. A solid ice blue, like husky eyes. His eyes were so cold they burned. He looked calm and distant, like he was watching everything from the outside. He stood towering over Skye, the same full lips that Kris used to smile were in a grim line across his face. His nose was straight and long, easing in with his sculpted jaw and wide chin. He was shirtless, unlike Kris, wearing only a pair of loose fitting jeans and going barefoot. Yes! No mandals! Weren't his feet cold?His tall and stocky frame was chiseled, noticeable like he worked out, not like his brother's more subtle build. Skye mentally thanked herself for keeping her mouth closed, otherwise she would have drooled everywhere. He cocked an eyebrow at her as he repeated himself, "Who are you?"

His features were slightly different now. No longer undeterminable, but curious. Skye stared into his eyes and fumbled for words before she blinked rapidly, coming out of her trance. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" He smirked, angering Skye by mocking her and being attractive. Made perfect sense.

She glared at him. "That's what I said, didn't I?"

He kept his smirk plastered to his face, "I'm Nikolas. You're Skye right?"

"Yeah." Her voice was clipped, but he seemed to enjoy the fact that he pissed her off. She offered her hand to him, gritting her teeth.

He shook her hand and nodded. She did so as well and he let go, crossing his arms. "Ready to head in?" He indicated the house with his chin.

She nodded and waited for him to start walking. She didn't really want him behind her. "Sure."

"Ladies first." He stepped back, giving her plenty of room.

She sighed, muttering under her breath and started walking up the pathway to the front door. She looked back and he was only a few feet away, smiling before he reached her, crowding her in the doorway. "What are you doing?" She sounded panicked and breathy.

He smiled then, moving closer so she was stuck between him and the cool wood of the door. "I'm just unlocking the door."

There was a click, and Skye let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Having him that close to her had left her scatter brained. She felt like she already knew him. Wild. Reckless. Strong. He knew it. She knew it. Danger rolled off him like heavy cologne. He leaned forward with his gaze locked on hers and she stumbled backwards like a bird before a snake. He slipped his arm around her as she clumsily fell, but his feet were still on the front step and he lost his balance as they fell together. Nik's arm cushioned her landing as his other stopped him from crushing her. Skye looked up at him with wide eyes. His pupils were dilated to small black dots in pools of blue ice. His short hair stuck up all over the place, mussed from falling, and his bare chest pressed down on her warmly.