A/N: SPRING BREAK IS FINALLY HERE!

And you know what that means! More posting! Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. Lots of stress, lack of sleep...ug, you name it. Oh well. Here you go, shorter than I wanted, but I should be able to post again soon.

In advance, I'm sorry River!

How to be Human

Lesson Thirteen: How to Break a Heart

Turk's View: River

"Zel, can I talk to you for a moment?" Zel looked up at me from where he and Vincent were playing chess. He was losing horribly. Lilith was reading a book on the couch, using Vincent's lap as a footrest. If Vincent was uncomfortable, he wasn't saying anything.

Honestly, I don't know why we let that woman get away with so much. Maybe it's because she's better than Akito.

"Uh…yeah, sure…" Zel replied, biting his lip nervously. I gestured towards the door, hoping he'd take the hint that I'd like to talk to him in private.

Zel took the hint and stood up.

"I'll be back to defeat you in a few moments! Take this time to prepare your will, Dear Brother!" he said, grinning. Vincent snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Who do you want me to leave your sword to, Zel?" Vincent asked, grinning slightly at his dorky little brother.

"Not funny! Ever heard of a come from behind win?" Zel asked as he showed me to the door.

"If you come back from this, I'll wear a dress on Monday," Vincent said.

"If that is said…" Rito said, coming in.

"Zel must win this chess match!" Tori finished. I grinned.

"Ay!" I said. "Perfect blackmail." Zel smiled as he opened the door for me.

"Might as well get used to calling Vincent 'Victoria'….we'll be right back," Zel boasted, shutting the door behind us.

"Zel, you know you're the one losing horribly, right?" I questioned, smiling. He nodded as we started walking down the hallway.

"Yup! So why not go down sounding like an ignorant fool?" he laughed. "Just kidding. Vincent and I always do stuff like that. But Vince is a genius and I'm a moron, so I'll never beat him."

"You're smarter than I am, if that's any condolence," I replied. Zel looked mortified.

"I am not!" he said, attaching an aristocratic, Victorian-era sounding accent to his words. "Why, I am insulted by the very fact that you believe my intelligence is superior to yours!"

"Whatever, drama queen," I replied, shrugging. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Well, it looks like you wanted to talk to me in private…or, at least, away from Lilith's prying eyes and ears. Do you think behind the building is far enough?" He gestured to the alley, for we were now standing in front of the apartment complex. It was already late and the Slums were darker than ever, even with the streetlights. No sky means no stars, no sky means no moon.

Once, I'd been warned not to go into dark alleyways with strange men. Of course, that was before I became a Turk.

Plus I had nothing to worry about. Even on his best days, I could still kick Zel's ass.

(That's one thing I always seem to forget. It's not Zel on his best days that you need to worry about.)

Turks'/Lilith's View

"No no no!" Lilith said, pouting like a three year old. Vincent smiled.

"I can almost taste victory," he said to her, nodding.

"You set this up!" Lilith accused.

"No, Lilith, I believe you did."

"Set what up?" the Twins chanted.

"No outside interference!" Lilith ordered.

"It's about the bet," Vincent replied, shrugging. Rito and Tori exchanged a look.

"What does this bet…?"

"Have to do with our River?" Lilith stopped acting like a spoiled brat and looked at the Twins, who were glaring at her.

"Vincent started it!" she accused.

The Twins' glares told her that they really didn't care. She quickly started to explain.

"Vincent and I made a bet that Zel would propose to a girl before Zel's bet with Akito was over. Only Vincent bet that Zel would propose to River before the bet was over. Okay? Don't kill me. I'm playing fair!" Lilith stated, glaring at Vincent. Great, two other people were in on the bet. "You can't tell River, though!"

Lilith was surprised. Rito looked at Vincent and her with a look of amusement. And it looked like he totally agreed with their bet.

Tori looked mortified.

"Sorry, my brother," Rito said, surprising Lilith and Vincent. "You were too late."

Tori said nothing right away. He flopped onto the couch and sighed.

"Fine. I'll get the rebound, if I have to," he muttered mournfully. Vincent's comment surprised them all.

"You little pervert."

The room erupted with laughter.

Turk's View: River

We stood in uncomfortable silence. Zel stared at the ground and I stared at him. Every bit of me just wanted to scream "I love you!" at the top of my lungs. Every bit but my brain, which was telling my mouth not to cooperate.

Zel shifted uncomfortably. I forgot how much he didn't like silence. I wanted to say something…anything.

"Thank you," I whispered. It was barely audible.

I'm a fierce Turk, fear me!

Zel looked up at me, bewilderment in his eyes. Oh, those beautiful blue eyes that I never want to look away from. Dear Gaia let me drown in Zel's gorgeous blue eyes!

"Huh?" he asked.

"Thank you," I said. Oh crap, taboo word.

Now the rest came, like waterworks.

"Thank you so much. For saving me. And sure, I know, it was like forever and a day ago but I never forgot you and I made it my life's goal to find you again one day and now I have. I mean, when Rito told me that one of your aliases was Drakra, I didn't believe him. But now, I know it was you. You saved me on the streets! You, Zel! I can't believe that fate has allowed us to meet again! I mean, I never thought I'd see the famed…"

I stopped. Because my mind finally caught up with my words, and I remembered that I was trespassing onto holy ground. Onto a conversation Zel didn't want to have.

"How do you still remember all that?" Zel asked, surprising me.

"I have a good memory?" I vouched, shocked.

"Damn right. I mean, whenever I switch with Drakra, I don't remember anything. So you can guess where a lot of my childhood memories went." He laughed slightly before continuing. "And the whole incident with the slavers sigil last week…all I remember about that is Lilith asking where the nine year old was."

I gawked at him. What type of childhood could you live to have such a suppressive memory?

"I mean, here you are, thanking me for saving your life eleven years ago when I can hardly remember what happened yesterday. Sure, that's probably a side effect of the pills I have to take, but still…it's amazing River! Wait…why are you thanking me?"

"For saving me," I repeated.

"I know…but…shouldn't you be thanking Rito or Tori? I mean, they saved you saved you. I just…killed a guy…Man, Wolf wasn't too happy with me."

"Wolf? Was that the black haired man with you?"

"You remember him too?!"

"I didn't really know who he was…just that he seemed like a friend…" I replied. Yeah! He was talking to me.

"Amazing…You remember Wolf too," Zel muttered, smiling at me. "So, is that what you wanted to say? Thank you?"

I nodded, though inside I was saying Wait! One more thing!

"That was really sweet of you, River. Thanks," he said, blushing slightly. I looked at my hands, smiling.

"Uh…Zel…?"

"Yeah?"

Then it happened. Stupid impulses! Stupid not thinking straight! Stupid me, for looking into his eyes and forgetting my place.

"Iloveyou." The words ran together, undecipherable.

"What?" Zel asked, chuckling.

"I love you!" I practically screamed at him.

He looked shocked.

Um…are guys supposed to look shocked?

"Ha!" he said, laughing. "Wow, you had me going there, Ri! I actually thought you said you…"

"I said I love you, Zel," I repeated quietly. Zel choked on air, cutting off his own sentence.

Silence. Heart shattering, bone crushing silence.

"Zel?"

"It's not true," Zel moaned, covering his ears.

"Zel, it's true! I swear!"

Then the whole thing fell apart.

"Liar!"

"What? No! Zel, I'm not lying to you! I love you! You saved me! I owe everything to you!"

"You don't love me," he said. My eyes went wide.

"Zel, you don't understand, that's not what I..." I tried again to correct myself, but he wouldn't listen.

"The man you love died in the Slums, alright River? He's not here anymore!" Zel yelled at me, turning away. I saw his eyes flash green for a moment.

"Zel, don't say that! You're right here! You're not dead!"

"You don't love me, River! You love him! He's the one that saved you, not me! And you shouldn't love him anyway!" Zel lamented, turning around to glare at me again.

"I love Zeliki Norumik, adopted surname of Valentine, okay?! No one else!" I shouted back at him. Oh no, was I going to start crying?

"No you don't," Zel said to me. He sounded pained, yet oddly childish. I was no longer talking to a twenty-three year old man. I was talking to an eight year old child…maybe younger.

Zel turned away from me yet again, shoving his hands into his pockets and bunching up his shoulders. He was hiding his scars.

"Zel, I'm serious," I whispered to his back. "It's you I love, not Drakra. You're a nice, caring, intelligent, and funny individual. Drakra is crazy…and, to be honest, he scares me. But you're not him, Zel! You're you!"

He started to laugh. I backed up for a moment before swallowing my fear and inching closer. He'd thrown his head back to laugh, pulling his hands out of his pockets again. His shoulders were shaking. I almost thought he might be crying, not laughing.

"Zel...why are you laughing?" I asked, touching his shoulder. He whipped around so fast that he was a blur. The next thing I knew, I was pressed against the wall of the building, my heart racing, and found myself staring into the greenest eyes I've ever seen.

Oh shit.

"Are you afraid now, River?" Zel...No, Drakra, asked. "Do I scare you still?"

I am an idiot.

No…I'm going to die.

"Hey, you still in there girlie? Gonna speak?"

"Z-Zel?" I gasped, struggling to get out of the man's grip. To no avail, he was way stronger than I was.

"You are scared!" Drakra laughed, glee filled response shocking me. "Sorry, little girl, Zeliki isn't here anymore. Care to leave him a message?" Drakra leaned in closer, so close that I could smell his breath and feel it against my skin.

I swear to Gaia, it smelled like sulfur and brimstone.

"A kiss maybe? Is that what you were going to give to Zeliki? Or was it something more?"

"Let go of me!" I shouted.

"Oh no, River. I let you go once, and look where you ended up! With those worthless Terrains whom I can never tell apart. No, no, River, you're staying here, with me."

I wanted to call for help. For the first time in eleven years, I felt weak, helpless.

All because I told Zel I loved him.

"Let me go!" I ordered again.

"So stupid," Drakra replied. "I told you, you're not going anywhere." His eyes scanned up and down my body lustfully.

Lustfully?!

Shit shit shit!

"Luckily, this won't hurt you at all, unless you don't cooperate," he whispered into my ear. I gagged on his breath and tried to struggle away again.

BAM!

The next thing I knew, Drakra pulled away from me, screaming and clutching his shoulder. He glared at me, florescent green eyes bathing me in their luminescence. Then another shot sounded off, hitting his leg. He howled in pain and collapsed onto the street, blood pouring from his wounds. His leg was broken, his shoulder dislocated.

I didn't fire the shots.

I looked up, checking all the windows. Would the sniper take me next?

I found the sniper and my eyes widened.

Hazel eyes met red.

Vincent had shot his own brother to save me.

Shot him twice.

I watched him lower the gun, eyes just as wide as mine. I stared at him, he stared at me.

"I-I…" I crawled along the wall towards the street…I had to get away.

"I'm going home!" I shouted, bolting from the alley and away from the broken figure of Zel.

Away from the demon who had taken my love away…

Turk's View: Vincent

Vincent watched River run to safety. He tried a wide variety of things to calm his breathing, but nothing worked.

He'd shot Zel.

Panic struck; an emotion that, to Vincent, wasn't normal.

He'd shot Zel.

Lilith ran into the room, called by the gunshots. Rito and Tori weren't far behind.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Lilith screamed. Vincent barely even registered her anger.

"I…I shot Zel."

"WHAT?!"

"He….he was going to rape River…" Vincent muttered. Rito choked and Tori bolted from the room. Rito turned, excused himself, and followed after his brother. They were going after River…that was okay, right?

"Y-you shot…is he…where?"

"Shoulder, dislocated. Leg, broken. Bleeding badly," Vincent rattled off, slipping into a slight stated of delirium.

"Vincent, we have to get him to a hospital!" Lilith screamed.

"He…he turned into Drakra...Actually changed."

"Vincent now is not the time for this!"

"Don't you get it, Lilith? There is something wrong with him!" Vincent shouted.

He never got to complete his sentence, because Cinder walked into the kitchen where Vincent and Lilith were, watching them with shock.

"What's going on?" she asked her eyes blurry from sleep.

"Someone just shot Zel, Cinder," Lilith said. Cinder's eyes widened, but Vincent felt sick. Why did Lilith just lie? He knew, from the way he was standing, that the little girl couldn't see that he held the gun.

"What? Master Zel!" Cinder screamed, trying to bolt from the room in search of Vincent's brother. Lilith caught her.

"Shh, Cinder! It's alright. We just have to get to a hospital. Come on, I know one. Calm down, he's not going to die."

"Why would someone shoot him?! Is everyone else okay? MASTER ZEL!" Cinder cried, tears falling from her eyes. "DON'T LEAVE ME! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!"

Vincent's hear broke to pieces. Lilith seemed on the verge of tears but refused to let the little girl go.

"Vincent, get Zel to a hospital now! Go!" Lilith ordered. "I'll follow you!"

Vincent then watched Lilith do something he'd only equate to the lowest of the low, even lower than the Turks themselves. She subtly pressed the pressure points on Cinder's neck, knocking her out instantly.

"Why are you still standing here?!" Lilith screamed. Vincent didn't think, he just moved to the window and hopped onto the ledge.

Three story drop.

He jumped anyway.

Vincent didn't feel it when he hit the ground. He was already sprinting towards his brother's body. Zel wasn't dead, but he very well could be soon.

All the blood…

His eyes were still open, were still green, and he was still clutching his shoulder when Vincent reached him.

"Get…away," Zel coughed. But it didn't sound like Zel. The voice was deeper, angrier.

"Don't hurt Vincent!" Zel shouted, the real Zel. Vincent watched his brother's body convulse with pain. "Drakra, stay away from Vincent!"

"Hello, fool," Drakra said to Vincent, before closing his eyes. Zel had fainted, unable to keep two minds alive and monitor his loss of blood.

Vincent picked his brother up, shock in his eyes. But he couldn't think about the situation right now. He had to get Zel to a hospital.

Orders were orders, after all.

A/N: I feel horrible now...Sorry River!

Okay, things will get better, I promise! This was necessary, I swear...Reviews? Questions? Comments? Ideas? Flames?

Right, and Shera will be more in the next chapter.