wow. been a while for this one. huh. anyways, i hope you enjoy it. R&R for more. :) i also hope i've cleared up any prior confusion. hehe. :3

03. Did it have to be her?


03. Someone Who Cares: Three Days Grace


*Max*

Please remember the names. Please remember the names!

No matter how many times I stressed that, I still couldn't help but worry about slip-ups. These guys knew the drill. They knew their cover stories well enough to recite them in their sleep, okay?

But when safety could be an issue, all of our safety, it's my job to worry. Can't just turn it on and off. Sorry.

Actually, no. Scratch that. I'm not sorry. You've got a problem with me worrying for my family, get the fuck over it.

Ugh. I shouldn't say that. You know, with me trying to be a good role model and all, especially for Angel.

Fang was being unusually quiet.

I know, I know. The impassive, mysterious, silent hybrid was being quiet? Yes. Even when it's just the two of us, which is not like him. He talked this morning, but after breakfast, he's been kinda . . . weird . . . almost like he's thinking.

And even when I make jokes about how he shouldn't be doing that, he just ignores me and continues thinking.

Why is this boy so damn mysterious and frustrating? Can anyone tell me? Anyone?

That's what I thought. No one knows!

"They're here!" Ella called out in the creepy Fourth Kind voice, giggling maniacally as she turned, eyes wide.

Nudge screamed loudly as she ran from the room, because the poor girl still had nightmares from that movie.

I rolled my eyes. "Ella, must you torment the poor girl?"

She was grinning wildly at me. "Yeah, 'cause it's payback."

"Pay her back later, when they're not arriving," I pleaded. "Remember? We have to act normal, morph into people they like."

"What if they like us for who we are?" Gazzy asked curiously, frowning a little. "I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not. I have to do it all the time at school too!"

I ruffled his hair a little, something he scowled about—because it's "treating him like a baby," apparently. "Well, Gaz, we have to do this. For Mom. And who knows? Maybe you already know them. Didn't Mom say they go to the same school as you guys?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah. Which is what makes me wonder . . . she says their names are Mika and Preston Crosslin?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah. Something like that. Or Peyton and Mike? Something like that."

"That sounds familiar," Gazzy wondered aloud. "I've heard someone mention that name . . . who was it? Hmm."

"I know her," Fang said quietly, lips turning into a slight grin. "Mika Crosslin. Haven't heard from that girl in a long time."

"A girl named Mika?" Iggy snorted. "That's weird."

"She's different," Fang agreed, going back to the usual impassive instantly. "Trust me, though. We'll be able to live with her."

"Us or you?" I scowled. A part of me already hated this girl, but I still wasn't able to put a face with the name. I knew I shouldn't be jealous, because I knew Fang didn't think of her like that. He used to talk about her a lot, but only in that little sister kind of way.

Who is she?

When I heard a knock on the door, I realized I was about to find out.

Mom practically ran to the door, calling out, "I've got it!" along the way. We all cleared a path, because she was really moving along.

"Preston, Mika!" she was absolutely beaming, but we all knew she was a little scared on the inside too. "You don't have to knock. This is your home. Come on in. We'll get you unpacked and unloaded in a jiffy. I'm sure you're both exhausted, so we'll let you rest first."

"We're fine," a male voice—Preston—said honestly. "But, either way works with us."

Awkward. The tension in the room was so thick that it couldn't even be cut with a chainsaw.

Until the . . . absolutely beautiful Mika entered the room. She had the same effect on the emotions in the room that the empathetic Iggy usually did. Which was a little strange to me.

At any rate, the second she walked in, everything changed. She glanced at all of us through very unique and mystifying eyes. I couldn't say they were just one incredible color but two—one a bright a almost unnatural purple and the other a bright, definitely unnatural, red. I didn't get distracted with her eyes too long, though, because the moment she spotted Fang, she got this huge, wide smile and squealed a little.

Remember my whole jealousy deal from earlier? Yeah. This did not help, especially when they exchanged hugs.

That's right. Fang exchanged hugs with someone. A girl . . . a girl that's not me.

In this moment, I wanted nothing more than to punch her in the face.

And suddenly, I was calm. A glance over at Iggy, I saw he was looking at me. So I know he was behind my control, and I was thankful.

Good little brother.

"I haven't seen or heard from you in five months!" she exclaimed, eyes bright. "What have you been up to?"

"The usual," Fang shrugged, giving her a grin. "What about you? Staying out of trouble, I hope?"

"Never," she teased, and I was instantly put on high alert. "I completely forgot your name is actually Nick. I only know you as Fang. Nick doesn't even click . . . and that totally rhymed."

That changed the aura of the room again. Completely. Fang noticed our shock, our rage, and she did too. And understood it.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" I asked harshly, giving him an angry glare—one he hated getting because he knew it meant I was really pissed at him.

Suddenly, I was calm, and I didn't want to be. When I shot a look over at Iggy, I saw he was just as angry as I had been. So why did he change my rage? That's not fair.

And it didn't make sense. Nothing did right now.

One moment, she understood, and the next, she was just as confused as her brother. Mom told us that Jason knew and accepted our secret. He treated us like normal people, not creatures or things to feel sorry for. So, I got why he understood our anger with Fang.

Did he tell her? Or did she just know his name?

I didn't know, but either way, he was dead.

For the sake of Preston liking us and being able to live with us, I put on a happy mask and smiled at him.

It seemed as if Fang alone was enough to keep her here, to make her want to stay.

That wasn't the most irritating thing, though, although believe me. It was irritating. What was bugging me most was the fact that I had no idea if Fang told her or not, and if he did, why didn't he tell us about it? Why didn't he tell me?!

They all tried to make small talk, but as Fang and Mika carried on with me glaring bitterly from the sidelines, I realized that I just couldn't take it anymore.

I grabbed his wrist tightly, cutting her off immediately as she gawked at me, her eyes so distracting that I almost forgot what I was doing.

Almost.

Instead, I just glared as I pulled Fang right out of the room. "You told her?!"

"She just knows my name!" he insisted. "Look, I know I should've told you about it, but you would've gotten mad. I get it. I should've told you guys, but really, you wouldn't believe how she found out that if I told you."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh? Try me."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright. She's naturally empathetic."


I was pacing around my room, my lips turned into a frown and my eyebrows pulled together. This was seriously bugging me. How was that possible? Naturally empathetic? And Mika Crosslin? I had seen those eyes before, and they weren't eyes I wanted to see in my family, much less eyes I wanted to be watching over Angel while I'm away at college.

"What is it?" Fang demanded quietly, eyes set on me while he laid across my bed and simply watched me pace. "This doesn't change anything."

I was wide-eyed as I turned towards him. "Yeah, it does! She's exactly what Angel is becoming! And she's the only female influence Angel's gonna have around! Well, the only one somewhat close to her age anyways."

"She went through the exact same thing Angel's going through now," he, very calmly, corrected. "To an extent. I had a class with her. Her reputation never left her. She's not the girl she used to be, Max. She can help Angel."

"I . . ." I was hesitant, mostly because his feelings for her irritated me. Why did he like her? What was so special about her, besides her looks and her . . . natural empathetic abilities? All I know is that she's supposedly really easy and that she used to swing both ways—mostly the same way as herself.

"Max, get to know her this summer before you make any decisions," he requested gently. "I can see your mind plotting a way to bring Angel with us. But that won't help anything. Let go of everything you've heard about her, and get to know Mika Crosslin. Please?"

That surprised me. Please? Since when did Fang, my Fang, say please?

Wait. Scratch that. He's not my Fang, even if I do want him to be . . . .

"Fine," I sighed, although I knew I would still dislike her. "I'll give her a chance. But if you're wrong, Angel and Gazzy are coming with us."

He nodded. "As long as they both want to."

Ugh.