New character alert. Be ready!

A special thank you to DaughterofApollo101, one of my most consistant reviewers. The new character is based off the idea that she sent me. Thank you DaughterofApollo! I hope you enjoy your character!


Chapter 10 A Second Chance

"Michael…" Ben said nervously, "I was just wondering… and I mean don't take this the wrong way… it's just…. I was…"

"For God's sake Ben, spit it out!" I snapped. We were just walking out of hospital wing where I was just hit twice with sucker punches. The first came from Dr. Glass when she was performing her routine physical on me with Ben getting his next to me. She was looking at my forehead and sighed frustrated.

"I'll need to redo the stitches." She said, pulling out instruments of pain.

That sucked, and then while we were walking out of the hospital some hot girls came in and I tried to act charming to impress them. I soon found out that girls aren't really attracted to guys who look like they had the crap beaten out of them, even if they did while trying to protect them. Ben tried some moves too, but after he started to fidget nervously they didn't even give him a chance.

"Do you think I'm attractive?" Ben said nervously, hoping I wouldn't take it the wrong way.

I didn't, since I knew Ben, and decided to delay my answer. "Why do you ask? Because of those girls?"

"Well… yeah. And also because of Hal."

I began to laugh as I led us towards the cafeteria. "He'd tell you that you weren't good looking? I think older brothers are supposed to be jerks like that."

"Hal doesn't say stuff like that, at least not anymore." Ben said. "It's just that while we were at that hellhole sanctuary there was this girl there and she was all over Hal. I just… I just want somebody to like me."

"I like you." I said smiling.

Ben sighed. "You know what I mean."

"Ben, I'm sure that you're capable of getting a girlfriend or just even getting someone to like you. Hal just has it easier than you." I said comfortingly.

"Because he doesn't have razors coming out of back?" Ben said sadly.

"No, because his hair always seems to be gelled and combed perfectly." I said. Ben looked at me and we both began to laugh.

As we entered the cafeteria Ben began to talk about his emotional problems, but my attention was directed elsewhere. Aunt Cindy was in the cafeteria looking right at me with disgust. She then smiled and nodded at Ben. She then held up two fingers and mouthed 'two days left'.

I wanted to flick her off right there, but also wanted Ben not to notice my bitch of an aunt. It was late in the afternoon so Ben was able to just grab a couple of snacks without standing in line. He handed me some and directed me towards our table, still talking about something. As we sat down I directed my attention at Ben.

"So what about you Michael?" Ben asked.

"I'm sorry?" I said.

"You ever have a girlfriend?" Ben asked. I stiffened at that question, a flood a memories coming back.

'You have a girlfriend!' My mom shrieked excitedly as I told them that I needed a ride to the movies. 'That's wonderful!' She rushed forward and gave me a big hug.

'Mom!' I said laughing, 'It isn't that big of deal!'

My mom gasped, 'Michael, this is huge news! Oh we need to find you something to wear!'

'Well I was just going to wear something casual.' I said. Behind my mom dad laughed. My mom shook her head disapprovingly.

'No! We will find you something amazing! Something that will really dazzle her beyond words! Daryl, hand me my car keys! We are going to the mall!'

'Mom I have Homework…' I said awkwardly, sounding just like I always did when my mom wanted to bring me clothes shopping.

'We can do that later! Come on sweet heart! Oooooh! I'm so excited!' My mom grabbed me and dragged me to the front door.

'Dad?' I called out, looking for some help. But he just laughed and waved at me. I my face went red with embarrassment; already I hated dating and I remembered why I don't tell my parents anything.

"I had a girlfriend." I said plainly. Ben looked at me expectantly, wanting me to continue with my story.

"And?" he asked curiously.

"And I regretted it." I said, taking a bite out of the power bar that Ben got me.

"Oh." Ben said.

"What about you?" I asked, wanting to get off the topic of my girlfriend.

"I've never had one." Ben confessed. "They all went for Hal and I was just the 'math geek' brother of the star lacrosse to all the girls. That's literally what they called me, along with Hal."

"Well screw those bitches!" I said, throwing down the empty wrapper to the power bar. Ben's eyes shot open wide in shock, "And screw Hal for not helping you!" I stood up quickly and Ben began looking around to see if I had attracted the attention of anybody.

"Michael? What are doing?" Ben asked nervously.

"Taking a stand! Ben Mason we are going to find you a girl tonight!" I declared proudly. Some of the people at the other tables around us began to giggle and some girls had to leave to stop from laughing. "Well I guess we can rule out those girls." I said.

Ben was red in the face, "Michael please, just sit down!"

"Hey! You were complaining about your poor luck with girls! Now we're going to do something! Come on, we're going to make you look sexy!" I said, smiling at the discomfort on Ben's face.

"Wha-" was all that Ben could get out before I grabbed his hand and dragged him away. I smiled, feeling like I had a serious case of déjà vu.

Later

"I don't think I can do this." Ben said nervously, pacing back and forth in discomfort. I rolled me eyes, 'Maybe Hal did try and just ruled it as a lost cause.' I thought to myself. I mentally kicked myself for that thought, 'You're here to help Ben, he's your friend!'

'Ya, but for how much longer?' I thought to myself. Part of me felt like I was doing this so when, no if, Ben found out that I used him he would really understand that I did think of him as a true friend.

But the other part of me didn't care about that. This part was doing this because Ben was my friend, because he needed help and I would give it without any thought to myself. Because Ben was my best friend.

I shuttered at that word, 'best friend'. I didn't really have many friends before the invasion and the only one I could consider to be my best friend didn't really feel like my best friend. He had a lot of other friends, friends that were way more interesting and more social than me. I did some things that I regret a lot, but I doubt that he much I regretted those things.

Ben was the first person that I could really call best friend, and part of me was proud of that. If Ben considered me his best friend, I don't know. But I sure hope so. Ben's ranting and panicking brought me out of thoughts.

"We should just go Michael! This was a mistake!" He began to walk away, but I grabbed him before he could go.

"No it wasn't! We are going to find someone here for you, just look at all those girls!" I pointed down the hallway or the 'teen hallway' as many people had begun to call it. It was night time hang out for many teens, connected to a courtyard and the library. I thought it would be the best place for Ben to meet somebody. Nobody was paying much attention to anybody not in their conversations so if Ben got rejected than nobody would really notice.

"Ya, but-" Ben began.

"No buts! We didn't just spend hours looking through clothes for you to walk away right now!" I said. Ben did look rather good in his clothes, though I wasn't much of fashion expert. We found him the least dirty clothes around and even got an elderly woman to clean his hair out. Ben was uncomfortable the entire time and if I had a video camera I would have been recording everything.

"What if I get rejected by every girl here? What if nobody likes me! What if-"

"Stop it Ben!" I said, shaking him back and forth. "You can do this! Ok?"

Ben began to nod his head, "Ok." He closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out like an athlete, "Ok, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" I said. We walked down the hallway, looking at all the girls nearby. After I was done helping Ben I should probably find a girl myself. "See anybody you like?" I asked.

Ben's eyes were casing everybody around, looking for somebody nice.

"Nobody really stands out." I begged to differ with Ben, but I was letting Ben do his own thing and it would be easier if I didn't say anything.

"Why don't we go check out the courtyard?" I said. Ben nodded and we exited into the cool night time air. Some lanterns were lit around the courtyard to give us some light, but the stars above also helped. It wasn't as crowded out here like inside and Ben's eyes immediately stopped on some girl. He smiled.

"She is beautiful!" He said pointing to a girl gazing up at the stars. I found who he was looking at and found that he was correct.

Her hair was auburn, pulled up in a slight ponytail that hung down her back. A few strands of hair fell in front of her face around her round eyes, darting everywhere in the sky as if studying every single star. The lantern light was reflecting onto her face, making her seem divine in nature. Her posture was a bit tight and her face looked serious but otherwise she was amazing.

"Well then go talk to her." I said to Ben.

"What? Just like that?" Ben said, getting nervous again.

"It isn't rocket science Ben. Just start off with small talk and then work your way into something more serious. Get her name and try to be charming." I coached him.

Ben nodded, "Ok, charming. I can do charming."

"There you go! Now go get her!" I said to Ben. She had begun to walk away, eyes cast down when Ben stepped in front of her smiling like an idiot. I stood a few feet away so I could hear what they were saying.

Her eyes looked even more beautiful up close, with a crystal blue look to them. She looked over Ben and then returned her attention to his face. Ben laughed nervously.

"What?" she asked Ben in a semi aggressive tone. Ben's shoulder's tightened.

"What?" He asked her nervously.

The girl looked at Ben with annoyance, "Why are you just standing there?"

"Oh! Me?" Ben said. I slapped my palm to my face and groaned to myself; this was going to be a long night.

"I don't see anybody else in front of me." She said, gazing at Ben judgingly.

"Right, well I guess you're right." Ben laughed a little before continuing, "I was wondering… if you and I… or I and you… however you want to say it…" If I was old enough to drink I would drinking for Ben now. The girl looked like she could use a few drinks herself by what Ben was putting her through.

The girl pushed Ben aside and walked away, but Ben's face hardened and he spun around and called out "Wait!"

The girl stopped in her tracks and Ben walked closer to her. "I just… I just wanted to know your name!"

She looked at Ben suspiciously, "That's all you wanted?"

"Well, I was planning on being funny and charming and everything. Can I get a second chance?" Ben pleaded.

She shook her head, "Find another girl." She began walking away again.

"Can I at least get your name?" Ben called out.

She scoffed, "It's not one you'll ever need to know."

"Oooooh!" I heard a voice call out nearby. I turned to see who it was and I felt my stomach drop.

"Crap." I muttered. Terry and his friends appeared as if out of thin air, clapping together and laughing at Ben. Ben's nervous face appeared again while the girl looked defiant.

"Razor back isn't much of a lady's man it seems. Can't blame you though," Terry said, looking at the girl, "I wouldn't want to hook up with him either." The guys began to laugh and started patting each other on the back like they just won a sports game. I was debating with myself whether or not to help Ben. If he was careful he could make a good impression on this girl. But knowing Ben he wasn't the insult type of guy, so there was no chance of that happening.

"Well I wouldn't want to hook up with you." The girl said with her arms crossed in defiance. "I don't think you'd last long." The guys began to laugh behind Terry, patting him the back as if encouraging him. Terry smiled and turned fully to the girl.

"I could show you how long I can last. I'd give you a night to remember." He said as the guys behind him laughed hysterically and bumped Terry on the arm.

"Well I have a suggestion for you guys." The girl said smiling, "Why don't you guys just go screw each other in the bathroom? It looks like you want to with the way your all touching each other." Ben laughed and I had too also, Terry and his motley crew looked stunned. Terry stepped forward with a look of murder on his face.

"You bitch!" He shouted. Ben jumped in between both of them, holding up his hands in defense.

"Leave her alone!" He shouted. Terry was surprised that Ben would try to stand against him, looking him over as if weighing his odds. Ben looked pretty determined though and from what I've seen the past couple of days from Ben, I'm pretty sure that Ben could actually kick the larger kid's ass.

A crowd had begun to from just like when Ben was confronted by that crazy guy in the cafeteria. Terry sensed that things were not going his way and backed off. "Just watch out razor back. And you too bitch!"

The girl gave Terry a rather rude gesture when his back was turned and I began to laugh silently again. The crowd dispersed and it was just Ben and the girl again. "That was stupid of you." The girl said. Ben looked stunned.

"I just defended you." He protested.

"I can take care of myself, so you can drop the 'shining knight in armor' routine." She said. Ben looked hurt by her words and dropped his gaze. She looked around Ben and moved her hand to his back. Ben stiffened as she touched his 'razors' in his back.

"I was considering getting some piercings before the invasion." She said calmly. "Just in my ears and maybe one in my nose. Don't you think this is a bit extreme?" Ben looked shocked.

"What?" He said. She smiled.

"No sense of humor I guess." She said. Ben looked taken aback.

"No I do have one! It's just that nobodies every really, you know, touched them before."

"Oh? Well I guess I'm unique." She said.

"Yes you are." Ben said smiling, but then covered his mouth and blushed when he realized what he just said. She smiled a sweet, perfect smile.

"You still want to know my name?" She asked.

Ben's head shot up. "Only if you want to give it." Ben said cautiously. She smiled.

"I do. I'm Alyssa." She said.

"I'm Ben." He answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Ben. That's a nice name." Alyssa said. Ben smiled.

"Alyssa is also a nice name." She laughed. It sounded amazing and I could see that Ben was practically melting next to her. God I wish I had a video camera.

"Well Ben, it looks like you've got yourself a second chance." She smiled again and walked away. Ben stared at her, smiling giddily to himself. I walked up to him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Well that was easy." Ben said. I looked at him and began to laugh. He looked at me and began to laugh himself.


Thanks to all my reviewers and subscribers.

I swear, Hal must of had some hair stylist background before the invasion. How he manages to keep his hair perfectly gelled and combed is beyond me. (A little hint to the make up team for Falling Skies)

The scene when Ben and Alyssa first meet is based off of a scene from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, when the young Ezio Auditorie meets the beautiful Cristina Vespuci. It went down in pretty much the same manner and I always find that scene extremly hilarious. The chapter is also named after the side quest that shows this scene. If you wish to see it here is a link:

http:/ www. youtube .com / watch?v=vJS-R-ejDVE

I DO NOT OWN ASSASSIN'S CREED OR ANY OF THE GAMES FOLLOWING IT OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED. ALL CREDIT GOES TO UBISOFT FOR PRODUCING THE GAME AND CREATING AN AMAZING PLOT LINE.

REVIEW please! I want to hear your thoughts on Alyssa and where you think the story should go. As you should of learned by now I listen to your suggestions.