((A/N: Hope you all are enjoying this. Reviews are always nice but leave the unnecessary snide comments to a minimum please. Thanks for the reviews so far! Glad you like Anna. I'll put pictures up soon.))
Disclaimer: I do not own I Am Number Four in any way shape or form, not the story line or the characters. Just Anna.
Anna walked down the hall towards John's room, phone in hand scrolling through the songs she had just finished uploading on it. It was convenient that Henri gave her an iPhone so now she didn't have to carry her iPod and a phone around, she smiled to herself. Looking up she paused seeing Henri standing in John's doorway, she stepped into the bathroom and stuck her headphones in as if she were listening to music.
"Invisible," he said almost exasperated, "You heard me when I said that, right?" He was annoyed and she didn't have to see his face to know that. Anna didn't want to get caught up in a lecture by budding in so she would eavesdrop instead. "Cause I'm pretty sure you were there," she heard him scoff and his footsteps become distance. Sighing she left the bathroom and went straight to John's room.
She poked her head in first, "You okay?" She asked coming into view, leaning against the door frame. He looked pretty upset, then again neither of them liked being scolded by Henri, he was so serious.
John looked up at her and nodded, "Yeah, that Sarah girl, took pictures of me and put them on her website," he scoffed, "It was a whole section dedicated to me." He seemed pleased by that for some reason. Anna couldn't help but smile at him, he seemed really happy; it was nice to see for a change. She walked into his room and jumped in his bed scooting next to him. He closed his computer and made room for her on the bed.
She rested her head on his chest and cuddled next to him remaining silent. He looked down at her curiously, "Hey, what's up with you today?" He asked lightly draping his arm around her, though it was not done out of intimacy, but warmth.
Anna didn't say anything for a moment trying to think of an answer because, honestly, she didn't even know herself. She never acted out or did things to draw attention to herself. She didn't like putting up with bullying but she would always get people back in discrete ways. She had never been so aggressive about someone other than John before and no one would dare say anything about Henri so she never needed to stand up for him, not to mention he was a grown man, he could handle himself.
John shook her lightly and she blinked, being snapped from her thoughts, she took a deep breath and sighed, "I don't know," she said resting her arm on his chest, near her face. "Just seeing the way they treated that guy really got under my skin, he was minding his own business and they were just toying with him." Some of her anger resurfaced thinking about it but she kept herself in check.
"Yeah, I understand," he said resting his head against his beige headboard, looking up at the ceiling. "I feel bad for him but it doesn't seem he wants people around him anyway, you heard what he said at lunch."
Anna shook her head, "He was looking out for us, John, and he said he wasn't the kind of person we would want to hang with not the other way around," she clenched her fist, "I'm going to be his friend, he deserves one."
"That might not be a good idea…" John said hesitantly.
Anna pushed herself up from his chest, using one arm to support herself as she looked down at him, "Don't tell me you're worried about a stupid reputation, John, that guy is lonely." How could he even think of something as stupid as a high school reputation over someone's possible sanity?
John put his hands up in defense, "Not what I'm saying," he said quickly, "I just think it would make things harder for him if we suddenly had to leave." If something happened where they just had to drop everything and move states without a word, how much worse would that make him feel? If the only friend he had moved without even saying so much as good bye.
Anna's expression relaxed and she slumped her shoulders in defeat, laying back down to rest against him, "I guess…that's true." She said sadly. "But if we do a good job and stay hidden maybe we can stay for a while?" She sounded hopeful.
John wanted to be hopeful too, "Yeah, maybe," he sighed, closing his eyes.
The following morning John woke to the sound of his phone alarm jingling in his ear obnoxiously. He sighed and grabbed it pulling it to his face, the light on the phone too bright but he found the silence button and pushed it quickly and set the phone back down. He rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bed stretching until his bones cracked, he looked down at his bed seeing it was empty. He remembered Anna laying with him before he fell asleep, she probably went back to her room.
He grabbed his clothes from his closet and tossed them on his bed before stripping down. He was anxious to go to school, he usually didn't get that way but the people at this school were different, or, at least one person was.
It didn't take him long to get ready for school, he never dressed up or anything. He only wore a simple pale blue shirt, dark jeans, a dark gray hoodie, and gray shoes. He glanced down the hallway and listened for a moment, he couldn't hear Anna making her usual morning noise. He frowned and left his room heading towards her room, the closer he got the louder he could hear her phone alarm going off.
He paused at her door and knocked to see if maybe she just had her iPod on instead and couldn't hear her phone. That was unlikely though, she had been so excited to put all her music on her phone, there was no way she wouldn't just use that. When he didn't get a reply he opened the door and saw Anna still laying her bed, above her covers and drenched. He rushed over to her kneeling on her bed and placing his hand over her forehead, he didn't know if it was night sweat or a fever but feeling her head confirmed it was definitely a fever, she was burning up!
He pulled her towards him but she didn't even stir, "Anna," he shook her, "Anna!" he shook harder but she wasn't responding to him. He didn't want to leave her, he turned to the bedroom door, "Henri!" he shouted knowing he would hear. "Henri, hurry its Anna," he shouted again. He turned back to her and shook her as panic continued to rise in his chest.
There were footsteps booming loudly around and the sound of a door colliding with a wall. The footsteps were in Anna's room now and the bed shifted next to John who was now looking over to Henri who seemed concentrated and concerned.
"Is this how you found her?" he asked pushing her damp hair from her forehead.
John nodded, "Yeah," he swallowed hard, "I just came to check on her because she wasn't up yet and this is how she was." John let Henri hold her and he got off the bed to stand back. Henri forced one of her eyes open and then checked her palms, they were bright pink. John was on the verge of pacing, "Henri is she going to be okay?"
Henri gently set her back down on her pillow and stood from the bed, "She'll be fine, but she isn't going to school," he said moving over to her window and pushing it open to let in a cool breeze. "Hurry and go before you're late."
John seemed torn, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay so I can help out with her?" He had never in his entire life seen her sick. Their kind didn't fall ill to human sickness or disease so it had to be something serious if she was reacting the way she was.
"No," Henri said walking out of the room, leading him out as well, "She'll be fine, just let her ride it out."
John didn't like Henri's answer one bit, it was still plaguing him. Just let her ride it out? She was suffering in silence he was sure, she was practically on fire when he had touched her. He was also wishing he would have stayed home for himself, he was starting to feel strange himself. He was starting to perspire even though he was just sitting in class, watching a documentary on World War I.
Anna's eyes snapped open and in the moment she wanted to sit up in her bed she was paralyzed by the heat. She screamed out flailing her burning hands as if it would put the fire out but it was all over her body too, "Henri! Henri!" What was happening to her? She brought her hands into view and saw the brightest pink light emitting from them, she tried to wipe it off but it remained, bright as ever. As she became more aware of what was happening the heat began to drain away from her body and all of it was spreading to her hands.
"Stop! Stop!" She shouted trying to shake the light away. She could hear footsteps booming up the stairs but she didn't bother containing herself. "Henri!" She screamed again and as if by magic he was right by her side, John running in as well. He grabbed her hands to still her and she looked at him wide eyed, "What's happening?"
"It's your legacy," he said putting her hands to her side and reaching to her face, placing her head between his hands. "Take deep breaths, relax, I know it's scary," he said trying to get her to breath with him and she was. "Both yours and John's parents were members of the Lorien guard, you've inherited their gifts."
Anna seemed confused still as she continued breathing with him, "Gifts?"
He nodded, "Yes, gifts, and as you grow with them you will learn to control them just as you are now, breathing and concentrating." He was right, she looked down at her hands and the light was gone. "Only the nine of you got these gifts and each legacy has its own function, you and John reacted similarly, yours was just a bit more drastic." Henri said standing from the bed.
Anna collapsed against her pillow, "I never want to go through that again," she said fanning her face. "Will that happen all the time?"
Henri shook his head, "No, but in the mean time I need you two to stay out of school until you get a good grip on your gifts," he said standing in the door way now, "They will only draw attention to you and I still have business here."
John turned to him, "So we have all these powers but aren't allowed to use them?" He asked raising an eye brow.
Henri nodded, "Exactly," and he exited the room walking down the hall.
John shook his head; he didn't know why he even asked since he figured he would say that. He sat on the bed next to her, "How are you feeling now?" He asked watching her stare at her palms.
She closed and opened her hands and they lit up bright pink, she sat up on her bed and turned to him, "Do yours-," she looked up at him. He smiled and lit his hands up as well; they were a blue color, like the crystal she always saw shinning on Henri's dagger. She grinned and touched his palm to hers, "It's so warm," she mused.
He grinned devilishly at her, "Want to test them out?" he asked standing from her bed now full of excitement. She was quick to join him, without even answering she slipped her white canvas shoes on and turned to the window.
"We don't want Henri scolding," she said glancing back at him before jumping down and landing with ease. Normally that would have scared the living daylights out of her but something inside of her reassured her thoughts. In an instant John was standing next to her, looking amazed.
"Race you to the waterfall!" he exclaimed taking off before she could even agree, but she wasn't slow to react. She used all of her strength to propel her forward but John still had a lead on her. Without a second thought she jumped into the trees using the tree branches as her track. The trees weren't leafy trees so it made it easy to jump through each hole and opening. She could hear the water rushing ahead and her heart quickened; she wanted so badly to win against John, just once.
It was coming into view now and she dropped through the trees to land on the dirt path, but instantly regretted it seeing as how he zipped past her before she even hit the ground. "Damnit," she cursed sprinting forward, "John, don't cheat!" She called out all hope fading in an instant when he stopped at the edge of the waterfall cliff. He glanced back at her, grinning before he flipped off of the cliff. Her eyes widened when he disappeared from sight.
Not breaking her stride she jumped the cliff in one smooth motion, the air whipped across her face in a pleasant way. She looked down as she began to hurl down towards the ground, her eyes widened, "Shit!" She screamed putting her hands out as if that would break her fall but the wind suddenly stopped. She looked around for a moment and saw she was still in the air, "John…?" She could feel her body turning in the air and he was looking up at her amazed, "Am I flying?"
John started laughing which only made Anna laugh. She could feel the power surging through her and she adjusted her hands slowly and floated to the ground. She smiled up at John, "Now that we're out, let's go to town shall we," she offered.
He nodded and they began their trip to town.
"It's really quiet here," Anna noted as they walked along the wet pavement that sparkled dimly under the white florescent street lights. It was Twilight and there were few people out, stores were starting to shut down and restaurants were packed with dinner crowd. "I kind of like it, it's a really nice break from hustle and bustle." She looked up at John who seemed distracted, he began walking a little faster and she followed wondering what he saw.
The approached a small photography shop and that's when Anna stopped, her eye twitched in irritation, she didn't even have to see inside to know who had caught his attention. "Well I'm going home," she said walking past him quickly so she wouldn't blow his cover. He was totally caught up in this girl it wasn't even funny; it was just gross to her. She never really expected John to be the guy who would be into blondes but maybe it was because she didn't act like the stereotypical one. Shaking her head she let the thought go, she didn't need to fret about something that didn't involve her; she just didn't want him to get hurt.
"Sam! Come on now! What are you forgetting?" She stopped hearing Sam's name and looked across the street seeing an older man yelling over the car at him. Sam looked upset, which upset her, "It's the same damn thing with you every time! Lock the door and turn off the lights!" Anna's eye twitched¸ no wonder he took crap from people at school; he took at home as well. She ran her fingers through her hair and crossed the street quickly.
"Hey! Excuse me," she called waving her arm to get their attention, the older man turned to look at her. "Are you closing?" she asked pretending to be breathless. He didn't speak for a moment, she could see his eyes traveling but she ignored it, "Am I too late, sir?"
He shook his head, "Oh, no, uhh, Sam, why don't you help this young lady and I'll come back to pick you up. I have an errand to run anyway." He said opening his car door and getting in. Anna walked around the car and to the side walk where Sam was standing. She smiled at him and he looked relieved when the man drove away.
"That your dad?" She asked walking in front of him.
He waited for the car to be out of sight before he slowly shifted his gaze towards her, "No, that's my step da—," his eyes meet hers and his eyes suddenly widened. She took a step back at his surprise and looked around for a second, seeing nothing she looked back up to him, "What?"
"Your eyes are pink," he stated clearly in disbelief, "That's not normal, I can't believe I didn't notice earlier." He leaned closer to her to get a better look. She felt her heartbeat increase and body tingle at how close they were. She started to laugh at the look on his face, "Contacts," she said with a shrug.
He nodded and smacked his forehead, "Of course," he laughed, "They look really real," he said standing straight again. He glanced back at the store and took a step towards it, "Did you really want to look or…?" What? Of course she wanted to look. Why else would she be here? Though, something inside of him wanted it to be different.
Anna grinned, "Nope," she laughed, "I actually came to just talk to you, but if you want to go inside to make it seem like we actually discussed…" she peaked inside the store, "Guitars, we can. I don't want to get you in trouble." She said her voice trailing at the end.
He smiled and nodded, "Alright," he grabbed the keys from his pocket and walked over to the door unlocking it quickly and opening it for her. She walked in, brushing lightly against his chest as she passed and she wished in that instant that he would wrap his arms around her and hold her to him. But she held her composure and just waited for him to close the door.
"You work here?" She asked walking around all the displays of guitars, they were pretty cool looking. She couldn't play an instrument to save her life but she could appreciate someone who could play. She looked over to Sam who was leaning against the door frame, looking at her, she smiled and he shook his head as if snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Uh, yeah," he answered as his cheeks flushed, "I work her three days out of the week to help my step dad out," she noticed how hatefully he spat out the words step dad.
"You two don't get along," she stated. It wasn't a question because it was so obvious. Sam looked away from her now; she could feel him emotionally withdrawing. She didn't want that, "We don't have to talk about it, its okay." She said softly. He smiled lightly as if thanking her. She leaned on one of the display sets and propped her elbow up, resting her chin in her palm, "So, what kind of things are you interested in, Samuel?" She asked dragging out his full name playfully.
He wrinkled his nose hearing his name and laughed, "Well, uh…" he pushed himself off the wall and began strolling slowly through the store though he remained in her sight, "It's kind of weird." He glanced over to her, watching her reaction.
Anna shrugged, "I'm good with weird," she smiled.
Sam's mouth twitched at the corner as if he were about to smile, "Well before my dad went missing, we would do a lot of research on ancient astronauts, UFO's and shit," he stopped pacing and looked at a wooden display thoughtfully. He began tracing his finger along the top of it, "He called himself an anthropologist, he was really just a foreman at the Steel Mill, he spent all his time for some kind of alien abduction…"His expression became soft as he spoke of his father, it made Anna itch to comfort him. "I use to think he was a genius,
he scoffed, "I had to, nobody wants to admit their dad's a freak," his expression hardened again and she could feel the distance close before she could stop it.
He looked up at her and saw how intently she was staring at him, "You're probably ready to leave at this point since I've effectively weird-ed you out," he said moving towards the stores main doors.
Anna was quick to react, "Sam, Sam," she reached out to him and grabbed his arm before he reached the door, he turned back to look at her, "I like spending time with you," she smiled, "I'm not weird-ed out at all, I'm interested." She released his arm slowly and looked into his eyes, "You interest me."
Sam didn't say anything for a moment, a part of him wanted to believe what she had just said but another part of him told himself not to be so dumb. "Is this a trick or something?" He stepped away from her, "Did Mark put you up to messing with me?"
Anna's face went from shock, to hurt, to anger, "How could you think I would do something like that or would even associate myself with someone as filthy and disgusting as Mark James," she spit his name out as if it had left a bad taste in her mouth. "I can see you don't really trust people, I can't blame you, but please know that you can at least trust me."
He didn't speak.
She laughed, "What am I saying?" she said aloud, running her fingers through her hair she shook her head at herself. "Of course you aren't going to trust a strange girl," she laughed again. "I'm sorry you feel that I'm trying to trick you, Sam, but I'm not, I really do enjoy talking to you and I hope you can learn to trust me." She moved around him and opened the store door, "Don't forget to lock the door," she said with a wave as she walked down the side walk, away from the store.
A part of her genuinely wanted to stay at the store with him and keep talking but she knew it would better for her to leave. She would respect his feelings at least and let his sudden anxiety fade. She could always talk to him at school though she would probably wait for him to initiate conversation but she could wait. She was in his mind now and that was all she wanted. For him to think about her as much as she did him, she smiled to herself, Paradise was turning out to be exciting after all.
Arriving home Anna walked in the front door trying to be quiet, but the door clicked noisily behind her. She cringed and stilled herself as a familiar voice spilled out of the study, "Did you have fun?"
Anna remained cringing, waiting for him to yell, but nothing ever came. "No, actually," she said slowly, "Just walked through town for some fresh air."
"Okay, wish you would have left a note but I'm glad you are familiarizing yourself with the town," he said clicking away on his keyboard, "Call John in please and you two get some rest."
Anna was absolutely flabbergasted, "Yes, Henri," she said running up the stairs and nearly tripping over Bernie Kosar who was just laying in the hall at the top step. She jumped over him and groaned, turning back to him, "Bernie," she whined kneeling down to his level. "You nearly killed me," she said ruffling his floppy ears about. Bernie barked and licked her face as if apologizing, she laughed, "Will you go and retrieve John, please boy?" Bernie stood from his spot and made his way down the flight of stairs, and out the doggy door. Anna smiled and turned to her bedroom to do exactly what Henri instructed, sleep.