Hey guys! So, I need to confess, I actually sort of maybe forgot about this story... ^^; Well I hit a writer's block. I know exactly how the story is going to go, but I started worrying about if it was flowing from each chapter and styaing consistent. I kept finding mistakes and was like, wow, is all of my story like this? I'm no really expierenced with writing. Too bad we don't all have editiors right? So, I kept trying to read the whole thing from start to finish, but kept getting discourgaged, and therefore kept putting it off. Then the weirdest summer of my life hit, and it totally escaped my mind! Thank you thelittlepurplepuffball for sending the recent review and reminding me about how horrible I have been un updating!

Honestly, I'm not sure if this chapter is super ready yet, but I don't want to kept you all waiting. I'm thinking about going back and editing the whole thing, though I know it's going to be a huge job. I am going to try to be more regular in my post, key word try. Thank you all for being so understanding! 3 3 3

Also, spoiler alert, (but I know I would want to know) no matter how much angst is in my stories, I ALWAYS have happy endings! :) I'm kind of a sucker for that.

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Izzy stared at his outstretched hand, feeling her heart drop into her toes. Suddenly it was as if she was back in the alleyway, alone, hiding from the world. And suddenly, the shine in his eyes reflected the faces of those ripped from her. Her aunt, her uncles, her past. He was the same.

"Izzy, is everything ok?" Fitz asked as his eyebrows knit together in concern.

Without another thought she took his hand, wishing she could pretend there was a reasonable excuse. Maybe there was one, but she wasn't going to wait and hope.

Fitz pulled her gently off the ground, a splash of concern still covering his face.

"Sorry, I'm just, really tried." She forced a smile. "It's been a long day. I've learned a lot, and it's just making my brain a bit, foggy."

"Oh, well you haven't eaten in a while, right? Dinner's ready, maybe it will help. I know I don't always think straight without food..."

"Maybe." She smiled back, dropping his hand and keeping an icy distance between them.

Fitz gave a slight nod before turning his back to her and walking to the doorway. Izzy could feel the smile slip off her lips, a heart wrenching feeling overtaking her heart. She wanted to scream, to cry, to run away and start over somewhere else, to really make this all a bad dream, but that wasn't a choice anymore.

She was being hunted, and the only place she was truly safe was here, with him; and his family. If she could just hold on for a week or two, she could move into her home, with her parents. Then she wouldn't have to rely on him. The thoughts strengthened her resolve, not that she had any other choice. She had screamed and cried and run away, and it did nothing to help. She was still left with a whole in her heart. This time would be different.

Izzy made her way into the house, walking towards the crowded dining room table. Fitz motioned her over, a bright smile on his face.

"I made a plate for you already, I figured you wouldn't be sure which was what yet." He motioned to an empty chair next to him.

"OOOOooor, you could, I don't know, sit at the cool end of the table." Keefe smirked, doing a dramatic two handed point to the seat next to him. "Biana's already crossed over, you two, can." He said like a tv announcer.

Izzy stood frozen at the edge of the room, looking between the two. She couldn't help but remember all of the times Keefe had warned her about Fitz. Her heart gave a painful tug and her eyes burned, but she pushed the feelings and thoughts away. She hoped it would lay dormant in some dark corner of her brain till she had time to deal with it, but there wasn't any guarantee. She sat down carefully next to Fitz, as if the seat had nails. She couldn't let him know that she was on to him. Fingering the sparkly teal gem on her Nexus, she felt even worse. If only she could rip it off and toss it at his stupid, handsome, smiling face…

"Hey, come on Fos-, umm, Izzinator! I really think it would be better…" He began to trail off. Something flashed over his face, like he knew exactly what she was thinking. Great, was he a telepath too? She screamed a few lyrics in her head, something edgy and dark and full of swear words. When he gave no reaction, she was satisfied with that evidence and went back to pretending nothing was wrong.

"Next time I'll sit next to you, promise." She smiled, feeling like the walls were closing in on her side of the table. It was as if half the house began to melt in an ode to Slurps and Burps. "Thanks for the food Fitz." She half muttered as she pulled the plate closer and shoved a random tuber into her mouth. The sickeningly sweet taste of frosting coated her lips, making it hard to speak.

"Anytime" He smiled, directing a cold glare at Keefe.

Keefe shifted in his seat, a look of such rage and hatred filling his eyes that Izzy didn't believe it at first.

"So, how was everyone's day today?" Della sang from the middle of the table, her hands frantically moving as she scooped random food, fixed the napkins, adjusted the crystal serving bowls and wrinkles in the table cloth, really anything to keep herself busy. A large smile sat on her red lips like a mask.

Alden cleared his throat, causing Della to look back at him as she blinked in and out. "Maybe, we should start with a different question…"

Izzy and Biana exchanged a look as the glaring between them intensified.

The rest of the dinner had gone the same way. Izzy shoveled her food into her mouth. Fitz had, of course, picked out the perfect meal, but with everything going on, she couldn't even taste it. Excusing herself from the table, she left before she was given a reply, all but racing through the living room.

"Izzy!" a voice called from behind her. Her brain was a bit too fuzzy to even tell who it was, but she didn't really care at this point. She just wanted to leave. The feeling of her heart tearing apart her stomach was becoming more and more common. All she wanted was to be happy, all she wanted was to have friends and-

"Izzy!" The voice called again, a strong hand grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

Izzy looked up, a wave of relief hitting her when a few whips of blonde hair hit her forehead, ice blue eyes staring back at her before turning her around.

"Keefe." She half sighed in an almost annoyed manner, a small smile lighting her lips.

"We need to talk." Keefe whispered. "I'm an Empath, so I feel things, especially from you. I-" He cut himself off taking a slight step back before running his hands over his vest. When he didn't finish, Izzy opened her mouth to speak, but a tall, glaring figure entered the room, causing her to slam it shut again.

"Keefe, I-" Fitz began, surprisingly more sadness to his voice than anger.

"This doesn't concern you!" Keefe snapped back. "So you can leave!"

"Izzy isn't your pawn, leave her out of this." Fitz growled, ripping Keefe's hand off of Izzy's shoulder.

"Funny, I should be saying the same thing." Keefe glared.

The two stood there for what felt like a lifetime, staring each other down, then Izzy realized their facial expressions were changing. Somehow, it was as if they were actually talking, but neither opened their mouths.

"Fine." Keefe finally snapped. "But I'll be back. This may be your house, but I have every right to be here." He turned sharply, his eyes softening once they hit Izzy. "I got this for you earlier, the instructions are on the back. Now you can contact me. Anytime, day or night, if you need me just call me." He set the cool, metal square into her hands, then turned and took a few steps towards the door.

"Thanks," Izzy choked out, her eyes watering at the gesture which slightly eased the knot in her stomach.

"No problem." He smiled back. Fitz took a step closer, his tall, intimidating stature hovering over Keefe. "Also, I put all of your bags in your room." He continued, unfazed. "It was pretty, uuh, Vackerish, so I did a bit of redecorating. No need to thank me." He winked.

"You, what?" Izzy squeaked as her eyes grew. Even Fitz's eyes grew as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I'd better get going, got a bunch of Council work to do. They really work us Emissaries hard Foster! You should come join me sometime, we'd make a great team. I'd invite you too Vacker, but with your record…" Keefe shrugged. "See ya Izz."

Walking towards the door, he turned and gave a wave, his trademark smirk illuminating his face.

After the door closed, a strange, cold silence fell between the two. Izzy had no intentions of breaking it. Fitz turned, his mouths opening the slightest bit as his eyebrows knit together, but at that second Alvar dashed into the room, stopping to catch his breath as a gave a crooked smile to Izzy.

"Had to grab this from Dad's office. Super important." He held up the scroll in his hand before glancing around the room. "Did Keefe just leave? He promised to let me know beforehand."

Izzy nodded as Fitz grumbled something under his breath about his brother being too good to work with Keefe.

Alvar rolled his eyes, ignoring Fitz's comment. "Of course he did. We have a meeting tomorrow, to discuss your… reappearance. Gotta prepare in advance." Smiling, he tucked the scroll into his cloak pocket, gave a small wave to Izzy. As he made his way to the door, his cloak billowed around him, swishing back and forth between blue and purple. The way he walked, Izzy didn't doubt for a second he was a Councilor. After he too disappeared with a gust of chilly night air, the cloud of silence once again fell over the room, and this time no one seemed ready to jump in.

"So…" Fitz started. Izzy ran her fingers over the rugged rigids of her arms, not even sure where she should wish she was.

"I, umm, should go see Biana. I borrowed her boots, and, I need to go thank her."

Fitz gave a nod, but when Izzy hit the halfway point, Fitz turned.

"Izzy, wait-"

Running her hand over the scars a little faster, Izzy took a deep breath and turned, forcing herself to meet his eyes. When she did, she felt the telltale thump thump as her heart skipped a beat. But, there was something else, a sadness in his eyes that wasn't there before… After a second he looked away, staring down the hallway.

"Izzy, about Keefe and me, and our fighting, it has nothing to do with you, and I'm sorry you've been put in the middle of it. I greatly regret that, and I'll try to find a way to make sure it doesn't happen in the future."

Clearing his throat, he shifted slightly, peering out of the corner of his eye as if to judge her reaction.

"I… thanks. I would appreciate that."

He gave a short nod, but as Izzy turned again to leave, he stopped her.

"Isn't that what you're upset about?"

It was silent for a few seconds, before Izzy turned and gave her best smile. "Yeah. It is, I'm just also, really tired."

This time when she walked away she didn't give him time to call her back, or to stare at her with those eyes that tore at her heart. Instead she quickly found the stairs, and all but ran up them. She could feel the tears beginning to run down her face, carving hot, salty paths into her cheeks. It wasn't that he had just said anything wrong, besides the fact it was all a bold face lie, but she just couldn't contain the day's events inside any longer. That dark corner of her brain where she had stuffed all of her emotions and thoughts and experiences had overflowed like a tsunami. As much as she tried, she would never, ever be over losing her family, Fitz betraying her was just a rather large bonus. It just reminded her of how alone she really, truly was.

Since everyone was downstairs, she ran through the hallway, unwilling to let anyone hear the sobs escape from her chest. The only part of the deeply shadowed hall that held any light was the large, half circle of bright, white moonlight that beamed in from the similarly shaped window. Without thinking she collapsed in front of it, pressing her burning cheek up against the cool, crystal glass.

As she stared out through clouded eyes, she couldn't help but let the scenery take her breath away. The emerald green meadow shined like a sea of gems in the cloak of moonlight, and the trees that scattered towards the forest's edge seemed even more lifelike than before. Something about the view made her feel calmer, like she wasn't so impossibly alone. The thought was only further confirmed when a bright, golden tangle sent an almost too bright glimmer before disappearing under a midnight black hood. Keefe turned, smiling at Alvar as Alvar's lips moved in unheard words.

For some reason, seeing his smile sent a pang through her heart. It was probably just because she was so lonely, trapped in a strange house with strange people in a new world. Somehow, he seemed to understand her. Maybe she could trust him, he did seem to have her best interests at heart, though so did Fitx. And, as with Fitz… she didn't know who he even was anymore.

Alvar lifted his hand up, drawing her gaze as a bright green beam of light lit up the grass, causing a strange glow to cast over their faces as Alvar's eyes swept across the field. He roughly grabbed Keefe's hand before pulling them both into the light, and disappearing in a flash. Frowning, Izzy stared at the empty spot, wishing she was traveling with them. Even though she had just met him, Keefe's absence made things so… quiet, though that wasn't always such a bad thing. It was just, she had relied so much on Fitz, too much, and now, she didn't know what to do. Well, she knew what to do, but it was hard, probably the hardest thing she had ever done.

After a few minutes passed and voices could be heard from the living room, she forced herself up and stumbled to her room. She was too tired to look for the decorations Keefe had left, too tired to organize the clothing and trinkets they had gotten. Instead she threw herself on the bed with such force she bounced twice, then smothered herself with blankets. As the tears rolled out, she cried harder than she ever had, soaking her pillow case all the way through.

For the first time in her life, she had no one. Even in the alleyway at least she could pretend it was all just a nightmare, but now, it was real, very real. Somehow, before seeing Atlanis, and before she had to realize Fitz was normal, flawed person, with his own motives, and definitely not a cute boy form of a fairy godmother, she could pretend it was all a dream. Even as much as she thought she had come to terms with everything, some part of her was still denying it. And, in one foul swoop Fitz and Keefe managed to find a way to completely shred that apart. As the world sank down on her, the giant, aching black hole that sat in her heart proved everything, and the only thing that kept her thinking she was real, and not one of the tragic hero's from her stories, were the scars that ran across her arms.

Her sobs muffled under her blankets, she cried until the moon began to slowly sink towards the horizon, and then exhaustion took hold, and she fell fast asleep.