Author's note:
Hey everyone! I am sooo sorry for the wait. Ames and I have been working on this together but my boyfriend and my brother (he's also Ames' boyfriend) got into some idiotic skatebvoarding accident and are in the hospital. Broken arms, legs and one minor concussion and two huge idiots. They put a ramp on either side of our pool. one on each and tried to jump, meet in the air and land on the opposite side. Instead they crashed into each other and landed in the pool, hitting the bottom. Stupid, right?
Anyway onto the more important thing here... Thank you sooo much for all the reviews, alerts and favorites! They mean so much. The next chapter will be up fairly soon because I already have it written in my journal, just gotta type, proof read and upload!
One more thing; who is phyched for tonights episode! Episode 8 was sooo sad. I felt bad for Brian and Alek. This chapter might be a little mushy cause we wrote most of it while/ right after watching it and we were all awww poor Alek, awww poor Brian. The quiz thing is somthing that I did to help Ames decided between my bro and this other guy from her school. That means I'm Jasmine...yay! Anyway enjoy, sorry this is sooo long!
Disclaimer: I own the Nine Lives of Chloe King as much as I own my own set of claws. In other words; I wish!
"When I was 14 my mother was murdered. My dad decided to take us on vacation for a week," Brian started. "By us I mean he, my mother and I. He had a rare week off so he took us to Brazil. Believe it or not my father and I used to get along, He wasn't always disappointed in me or working."
"What does this have to do with Chloe?" Alek snapped. He didn't mean to be rude but he wasn't really interested in the human boy's childhood, just the beautiful blonde haired girl that was in his apartment with his cousin.
"Trust me, it does. Just wait," Brian insisted.
-Flashback (Brian's POV)-
"Brian, Whitley get up!" a happy female voice called out through the hotel suite. My mother. Barely awake, I faintly heard my fathers voice and laughter and my mother let out a schoolgirl giggle before I turned over and went back to sleep.
Next thing I know the door was slamming open revealing my mother, dressed in a sun dress and my father still in his pajamas.
"C'mon baby boy. The sun is shining, the ocean is calling and you need to get out of bed!" my mother said happily, sitting in the edge of my bed, stroking my hair.
I just turned over and pulled the covers over my head.
Suddenly a cascade of freezing water and ice poured over me and I jumped straight out of the bed into the air. My parents couldn't stop laughing. All I could think was how mature the adults in the family were.
"You're already wet, so get your trunks on! We're going to the beach! Cowabunga!" That of course was my mother. She always had a smile on her face and it was ridiculously contagious.
30 minutes later she was chasing me around the sand dunes, her towel flying behind her like a cape. My father had had to stay behind a little because he'd gotten an emergency call from his business partner and it couldn't wait. My mother and I swam, and laid out on the beach then swam some more. Finally we went to the snack shack on the beach.
"Give me the best on the menu, please!" my mother told the waiter.
"Of course, Ms. Rezza," he replied, turning away.
Almost the second after he said her name and left, we were surrounded by men in black clothes. They pulled my mother and I to our feet, so roughly that I felt like my arm was being ripped off. Suddenly the entire dining area was screaming, some people were running or whipping out phones. The majority of the group around us broke away, chasing after all oft those people. Pretty soon my mother and I were the only living people besides the mysterious mob.
I felt someone grab my arm and whipped around expecting to find myself face to face with one of the attackers. Instead I saw my mother.
"Run, go get help," my mother hissed in my ear. Normally I would say that I had to stay and defend her but something in her eyes made me wait for the men to be distracted and take off up the beach. I was half-way up when I heard my mother scream. It was the blood-curdling scream from the horror movies and at the sound my heart dropped. I didn't have to turn around to know what had just happened. However, when I did the sight was much worse than I expected. My mother was laying on the ground, broken dishes surrounding her. One of her arms was bent back at an awkward angle, obviously broken. Her entire body was covered in long, garish red gashes with her dress torn to shreds.
It felt like I couldn't breathe. Apparently I went into shock.
My father came to the beach just a minute after it all occurred. He ignored me and ran straight for my mother. Well, my mother's body. I was crying so hard I could barely see but I did see my father lift my mother's body onto his lap and pulled something out of her back, something I hadn't noticed. A dagger. It was the first time I saw my father cry and the last time I saw him show any emotion other than anger and disappointment. The police were there almost immediately. My father filed police reports and I went back to the hotel room. We spent a week in Brazil because my father refused to leave.
We had a funeral for her when we got back to San Francisco. There were a bunch of huge guys with guns along the perimeter. One even stood directly in the middle of the funeral blocking my view of my mother's casket. My father never held me and he never cried. My mother's funeral was almost as bad as the day my mother got murdered.
Since then my father and my relationship has been terrible. We barely speak and it seems like I can't do anything right by him.
-End flashback-
"I'm sorry," Alek said with sincerity that only someone who had lost their parents could have.
Brian nodded, turning his head and wiping away a few tears. Awkward silence followed.
Finally Alek stood up, "I think I'll go get a coffee.'
Standing in line his thoughts were racing. He felt for Brian but at the same time Alek still hated him for what happened. He still wasn't completely positive what had happened between the two because after Chloe had finished chastising him for being rash and jumping Brian, and then thanking him, she refused to speak of the incident. Alek decided to ask Brian about it, having developed some sort of trust for the human. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too insensitive of him, so soon after Brian had shared the painful story.
Alek grabbed his espresso and returned to the table to find Brian sifting through some papers.
"What are those?" he asked.
Brian looked up, startled. "Copies of some files I found in my father's office. I'll show you.'
"Before you do," Alek interjected, "what happened last week?"
"Chloe didn't tell you?" Brian asked, somewhat surprised. Alek shook his head. Brian sighed.
"It started a couple weeks ago," Brian started, "a little while after I first met Chloe. My father and I haven't gotten along since my mother was killed. He only cared enough to pester me to "show some initiative" which for him meant joining the family business. I didn't even know what the family business was entirely. It was something about finance. My mother always kept me away from it and after she died I didn't really care."
Alek opened his mouth as if to say something, more than likely about Brian needing to get to the point. Before he could, the human boy continued.
"Don't worry; I'm getting to the part with Chloe. Anyway, my father suddenly wanted to know a bunch of stuff about Chloe. He sat me down in his office one morning and asked me her name and how we met, things like that. To me it as totally innocent, I was just getting the dad I hadn't had in 5 years back. Then we'd pass each other at home and he would ask me about her. It seemed like Chloe was always the only thing that we talked about."
"You didn't find that odd?" Alek asked. "Isn't it strange that you're father wasn't concerned about school or work and only about the details of your friend's life?"
Brian was starting to get frustrated. He had to be home before his father got back from Simone's so that no one would know he had left. Since Simone and some of the lower ranking Order members that she brought with her, found him bloodied up on the floor surrounded by dead guards and no Chloe, he hadn't been allowed to go out. The few people that survived run-ins with the blonde Mai sitting across from him, vouched that he had a hell of a temper so his father ordered that Brian be kept in hiding, for fear of retaliation. If Whitley knew that his son had not only disobeyed him but had set up a meeting with the very person he was trying to protect him from, Brian wouldn't have to worry about Alek killing him, his father would do it.
And now Alek was making him repeat himself because the Brit only heard what he wanted too.
"I told you; I was too happy that my father was showing some interest in me to assume some kind of conspiracy. Plus, he knew everything about work and I'm not in school. He hates the rest of my friends so it seemed like Chloe was the only thing we could talk about."
Alek sat back in his chair, bored. Sure, he had asked Brian what happened last week but he had only wanted to know how he had helped Chloe. Actually he wanted to make sure that Chloe wasn't lying to protect her human and that he didn't have to kill him.
At first Alek had smirked in satisfaction seeing the scars on Brian's face and the cast on his left leg, but now he was starting to feel bad for him. If he was innocent then Alek had a lot of apologizing to do, especially after hearing Brian's story.
Even though Whitley Rezza was still alive, Brian had essentially lost both of his parents in one day. Alek had gone through that, twice, once when his birth parents were slaughtered and again when his adoptive parents gave him up when he was transforming.
"Fine," Alek said a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice. "But what happened with Chloe?"
"Okay, on the day it happened my father put me in an office with loads of paperwork. He accidentally left his phone and got a call. I figured how to get into his voicemail and heard that they had Chloe and that she was securely in place. I ran around until I got a guard to tell me where I was. My father was about to kill her with the dagger that killed my mother. I convinced him to give me the dagger and let me kill her. I talked and ranted about nonsense waiting for help. I figured you guys would be coming soon. I cut her free of the rope which is why she was on the ground. When you came in I was kneeling in front of her to ask her if she thought you all were coming," Brian rushed out. He was proud that he was able to save Chloe but he had more important things to get to.
"Thank you," Alek said quietly, looking downward in shame for having failed at his job, "for doing what I should have."
"Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure you're great at what you do, after all Chloe's okay." Brian tried to smile reassuringly but ended up wincing as he shifted his broken leg into the table leg.
Alek noticed the look of pain on the scared face. He gestured to Brian's healing body. 'I'm sorry about that. I didn't…"
"It's alright," Brian cut him off. "I would've done the same thing. Well, not exactly the same…" Brian held up his right hand as if extracting claws he didn't have.
Alek smiled for the first time since he arrived. Actually it was the first time since he left his apartment that morning. Since he left Chloe.
Damn it, Alek, he scolded himself, can't you go an hour without thinking about her?" He already knew that the answer was a resounding "No". There was something about Chloe that made him think about her all the time. When someone else laughed all he could think about was Chloe's laugh and her sarcasm and amazing sense of humor. When he flirted with a random girl and he would make a provocative comment, they would giggle and agree and all that Alek thought about was that Chloe would have had a smart, sassy comment to say right back. Chloe was funny, smart, beautiful, witty, brave and Mai. She was Alek's perfect girl. If only she wasn't infatuated with this human, he thought bitterly to herself, looking at the boy across the table.
"You okay, Alek?" Brian asked, noticing Alek's change in demeanor and intense gaze.
"Yeah, I'm fine,' Alek replied after a moment, bringing himself from his Chloe-filled thoughts back to reality. Then a thought struck him.
"Hold on," he blurted, " how did you know about us being Mai?"
Brian was content that he had finally gotten to the most important part of the meeting.
"A couple days before the incident, my father called me into his office. Basically he explained who the Mai are, from the time of Ancient Egypt to now. I can tell you right now, he hates your entire race."
"No shit," Alek mumbled. He thought to himself, this bastard's the same as the one's that killed Chloe's and my parents. And he took Chloe's first life.
Brian looked at the angered Brit apologetically. He knew he had no control over what his father and those before him did but he still felt terrible about the attacks.
"Then he started telling me about Mom's murder."
-Flashback-
"The Mai are monsters. They killed your mother! They- they murdered Evelyn!" my father was yelling at this point, his voice cracking with emotion. He had explained the whole thing with a calm disgust until he got to how my mother died. "And it all comes back to the Uniter!"
Chloe? How could Chloe be involved in this, she was only 11 when it happened, I thought to myself.
"That's ridiculous, Dad. She couldn-"
"How would you know? You don't know anything about this, boy." At first he was shouting in his face but by the end of this thought he had sat back in his desk chair and rested his head in his hands.
"Then explain." I said with a forcefulness I had never used with my father before. His head snapped up.
"The Uniter," he began.
"Chloe."
"Chloe," he continued without a bit less of distaste in his voice, "was born in Ukraine. Her real name was Daria Ivanchuk. My step-brother, who lived in Europe, lead the attacks that killed her parents and a lot of the European Mai. The families of the dead killed many of the Order men in retaliation. The Ivanchuk family sought more. It took years but they found out whom my step-brother was and that he had family – us – here. I knew they were coming so I took us to Brazil under a different name while my men took care of them. The Ivanchuks found out where we were and sent some friends in Brazil to find us. When they heard the waiter call your mother, "Mrs. Rezza," they attacked."
I was stunned and terrified. I was hunted and I never even knew. Tears welled in my eyes. Oblivious to my pain, my father continued on bitterly.
"Now I want revenge, the same way they took their revenge on my Evelyn, I will take their precious Daria."
The pure disgust I felt for him temporarily overpowered my pain.
"I thought you wanted her because she was the Uniter," I pointed out. "That's why everyone else wants her. For me it's just an added bonus," he replied. He reached under his desk and pulled out a stack of CDs and files.
I couldn't handle anymore…disturbing…information that day so, without a word I got up and left.
-End of flashback-
"My mother died because of this stupid, meaningless fued!" Brian seethed.
"And Chloe's," Alek reminded him. "And mine." The last part he said quietly, so quietly he thought human ears couldn't here it but judging from the look he got from Brian. Alek knew he heard him
"Oh yeah, you're from England right. I don't remember seeing anything about the 'Petrov' s in the "UK" files."
"Not UK, I was born in Russia. I only went to England when I got adopted after my parents were killed, Alek said, refusing to go into further detail.
"I could look them up in the 'Russia' files if you want," Brian offered.
Alek just shook his head, refusing to think about his families when they were more important things to deal with.
"What do you mean 'Russia' files?" Alek asked.
Brian reached around the café chair, to pull a huge black canvas bag around to the side of the table. He reached inside and started pulling out stack and stacks of files and setting them on the table.
"The next day I went back into my dad's office and took the files and disks he was going to show me that day. After what happened that day I searched through his office every chance I got and looked through everything."
Alek and Brian started looking through the files. At one point Alek pulled his chair to the side of the table so that he and Brian could watch one of the videos from the CDs on the laptop Brian had brought. For the most part, the tensin between the two had disappeared.
At the apartment
"Popcorn or ice cream?" Jasmine questioned, holding the two containers in front of her blonde friend's face. Chloe looked up from the array of DVDs on the shelves in Jasmine's room and gave Jasmine a look.
"Both," the two girls decided together before cracking up.
Jasmine returned to the kitchen to make the microwave popcorn. Chloe finally decided on a movie and stuck it in the DVD player. Finally Jasmine returned with a huge bowl of popcorn, a pint of cookies and cream ice cream and two spoons.
They sat in silence, munching and watching the movie, except for the occasional laughter.
"We can't keep doing this! This relationship is going nowhere! Its wrong!" cried out the on-screen heroine.
The male lead of the movie grabbed her arm to keep her from funning away.
"No Tori!" he said, "I love you! We'll make it work."
Tori stood, shocked. 'Brian, I-I…"
Chloe froze with her hand half-way to the bowl of popcorn. For the first time she realized that the character was named Brian.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Before she could wipe them away, Jasmine moticed them. The brunette jumped up, moved the food, turned the TV off and wrapped her arms around Chloe in a comforting hug.
They sat like that for a while, Chloe crying and Jasmine holding her.
"I…I need to know if he's okay," Chloe managed to choke out.
"You stopped Alek before he could do enough to kill him," Jasmine reassured her.
"But what if nobody came! He could have bled to death!" Chloe cried, starting to panic.
"He could walk. The injuries weren't enough to paralyze him. Simone was coming to him anyway."
'What about the Order?" Chloe asked, "What if they're mad he didn't kill me?"
Jasmine sighed. "Whitley Rezza is a terrible man, but he loves his son. Just trust me, Chloe, Brian's okay. A little beat up, but okay."
Chloe nodded, finally accepting it. However, she couldn't shake the nagging fear she felt. She was terrified for Brian. He had been the first boy she loved. Brian made her palms sweat and her heart race. She had been somewhat angry at him for ignoring her wishes when he told her he loved her and tried to kiss her. After that she pushed him away. She pushed away everybody that upset her. Everybody except…Alek. As much as he infuriated and annoyed her with his smirk and sarcastic comments, she found herself loving being around him. Chloe only felt 100% safe when she knew he was watching her.
"What are you thinking about?" Jasmine asked, noticing Chloe's long silence and thoughtful expression.
"Nothing," Chloe lied. Jasmine quirked an eyebrow at her, obviously skeptical.
"Alek," Chloe sighed, ducking her head.
Jasmine grinned at the mention of her cousin's name.
"You like him, don't you?" she inquired. For the first time, Chloe didn't try to deny anything when someone asked about her possible affections for a cocky Brit.
At Chloe's silence, Jasmine's grin widened. She cared about Alek and Chloe and she didn't want to see either of them get hurt. It was obvious to everyone but Chloe that he was head over heels in love with the Uniter and when Mai fall in love,it's for life. If Chloe hadn't felt the same way for Alek, he would have been devastated and alone or the rest of his life. Jasmine had always kind of guessed that Chloe liked her cousin but it felt good to hear her say it. Now Chloe could date Alek, someone that wouldn't break her heart and that she could actually be with.
"Tell him that," Jasmine urged.
Chloe's head snapped up, eyes wide. "No, no way!"
" Why not?" the brunette asked,
"I couldn't, I mean he wouldn't – he doesn't,' Chloe stuttered nervously. She took a deep breath and blushed slightly. "He doesn't like me. Not like that."
Jasmine chuckled at the irony of the situation. Just last week, after saving Chloe, Alek had said the same words to her about Chloe. "Yeah, I guess he doesn't like you."
Chloe face fell instantly. Jasmine chuckled at her expression and finished her statement, "I think he loves you."
Loves me? Loves me! Alek loves me? There's no way! Chloe thought to herself, unable to keep the idiotic smile off her face. Amy had told her the same thing once but Chloe assumed that she was just doing the best friend thing and trying to help her get over Brian but hearing it from Alek's cousin made her believe it.
The two girls sat in silence after Jasmine turned back on the movie.
"Wait," Chloe said randomly, pausing the movie when the couple finally shared the expected "I love you" s and public make-up in the cafeteria, "how do you know when you're in love?"
Jasmine put down the bowl of popcorn she was holding and turned to her friend. She accepted that she wasn't going to just watch the movie and that she was going to spend quite a bit of her night helping Chloe admit how she feels about Alek and possibly convince her hard-headed cousin to tell her how he feels.
However, as much as she wanted to help, Jasmine had no idea how to answer the question. Jasmine looked at Chloe curiously for further explanation.
"I mean I really like Brian. I even thought I loved him but then why do I keep thinking about Alek?"
Jasmine sat in thoughtful silence unable to answer Chloe's question. Suddenly she jumped up from her seat on the sofa and sprinted to her room.
"Jas…" Chloe called out after her, surprised and worried.
The brunette walked out of her room clutching a magazine in her hand. Chloe looked at her in question. Jasmine held up the magazine for Chloe to see. It was a past issue of HerStyle, hardly something anyone would expect Jasmine to be reading. Chloe's confusion grew.
"I brought this when I was wondering about Luke," Jasmine and I explained, gesturing to the headline that read True Love: Is he the one? She opened the magazine. "This is the quiz I took about him. I'll read you the question and you say "Alek" or "Brian".
Chloe nodded, adjusting her position on the sofa and fixing the blanket, getting ready.
(A/N: This may sound cheesy...I talekd about this in my first author's note. The question is said by Jasmine, the italics is Chloe's thoughts as she figures out hjer answer and what comes after is the answer said by Chloe.)
"Okay," Jasmine said reading the first question to herself, formatting it to fit their game before asking Chloe. "You love it when he complements you. Which one?"
Let's see, Chloe thought to herself, Brian compliments me all the time…sometimes a little too often but it still makes me feel good. Alek rarely ever compliments me so when he does it makes me feel amazing.
"Alek," Chloe finally admitted.
Jasmine smirked and marked an "A" next to the question.
"You smile whenever you think about him."
I get sad when I see Brian's name because I can't be with him but then I always think about how sweet he is. Alek usually annoys me.
"Brian"
A "B" was written next to question 2.
"You feel jealous when he talks to someone of the opposite sex."
I don't know any of Brian's female friends. I don't know any of Alek's either…oh, who am I kidding? I threw him into a shelf when he almost kissed Mimi.
"Alek." Chloe blushed as Jasmine's smile grew.
"You call him when you're in danger. Do you even need to answer that?" Jasmine asked. The second question was her own. Chloe chuckled and shook her head. An "A" was written next to the question before they moved on to the next one.
"Who's personality do you like more?"
Brian's sweet, funny, smart. Alek is cocky, stubborn rude, and always making inappropriate comments.
"Brian."
"Who are you more attracted to?"
Brian is cute. I mean he has a nice body and face. But I'm not stupid; Alek is very, very sexy. The accent, the body, the face…the accent.
"Alek."
Jasmine fake gagged but wrote down the answer anyway.
They continued the same way, with Jasmine reading the question, Chloe comparing the two boys in her mind before answering and Jasmine writing down her answer.
"So, which one is it?" Chloe asked, actually bouncing in nervous anticipation.
Jasmine finished her tally and turned to her friend. "They're even."
"Even?" Chloe cried out incredulously, "What the Hell? I could have told you that!"
Jasmine shrugged and flipped through the magazine. "Oh wait, one more question."
"Who is the last person you think about before you fall asleep and the first person you think about then you wake up in the morning?"
Chloe sighed, knowing that if the magazine was right, she officially had her answer and then she would have the trouble of figuring out what to do about it.
Every night I say a little prayer that the people I care about are safe. He's one of them. Every morning I wake up hoping that I'll see him so that I know he got through another night safely.
"Well?" Jasmine asked urgently.
"Alek."
There it is! Chapter 2 of Goodbyes, Hellos! Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter is pretty fluffy Chalek...maybe even a kiss. I'll be more tempted to put it in if I get loads of reviews! My new goal is 30. I have the chapter written in my notebook. I'll type it tomorrow and I'll upload as soon as I get 30 reviews.
Okay 3 things to cover- PLEASE READ!
Which of these story ideas do you like better for me to do? These are the ideas that me and Ames came up with so no copying!
a) Series of one-shots on how Chloe loses her remaining lives.
b) Discovering a huge secret about Chloes real family that Meredith's been hiding.
c)Alek proving that he isn't ashamed of Chloe at a basketball game.
d0 Series of Chalek songfics
We'll write them all at some point but which do you want first?
Next thing: Any ideas about what you want to see in this story? I have it mostly planned out but I'll still take suggestions!
Here are replies to the reviews I got for the first chapter:
KayJay112: I'm so glad you like it and here's more...hope you can say you love it now! :D Tell me what you think!
CtrlAltDelicious: I think this chapter pretty much explains but yes its a Chalek story. Brian is sweet and I love Alek more too. They just sorta fell out of love with each other, Brian realizing he didn't know the real Chloe and Chloe realizing Brian is puppy (well...kitty) love and Alek's the real thing.
MissTerie: I hope you don't regret it! Thanks! If he wasn't being compared to someone like Alek people would probably love him but...yeah...
Godess of the Sands; No she isn't mad at Alek. She was pissed that he didn't listen and just acted on impulse like that but then she forgave him like a second later and thanked him.
analise: Thank you! That means a lot because I try my hardest and I'm like a fail with spelling.
InferiMaster: Well, I hope you like where this is going so far. I'm open to suggestions too!
NotSoSweetAndInnocentAnymore: Episode 7 was awesome! Whadya think of 8? the ending of that ripped my heart out. Tear. BTW I love your username!
Catlover10808: First, thank you for being my first reviewer!And about Brian...my sentiments exactly.
Fish-in-Bowl, BSB plus BTR equals HEAVEN, Gymnast.15, Isob3l. KendallShmidtBenjaminStoneHOT, bucksgirl731: Thank you so very, very much for your interest. Hope you liked the new chapter and please review!
Well, that's it! All of my authors note had some very important information so if you didn't read, please do. Hope you enjoyed! Now all you have to do is...REVIEW! If I could I'd offer to send Ben Stone ina gift box to eveyone who reviews but since I can't, I'll give you Chalek goodness instead!
Until next time!