Author's Note:
Hey everybody! Okay, I am sooooooo sorry about the super long wait. I know it's been weeks I hate myself too! I have plenty of excuses though including boy trouble, not talking to my bestfriend/co-writer, missing a bunch of school and therefore having loads of make-up work, haiving to teach myself Algebra 2 and possibly having Lyme disease. There's more too but I will not force you all to listen to my sob story when you wanna read a chapter. And there is much bigger news...
THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING HAS BEEN CANCELLED! You all might now that considering I read that in two other fanfics. That's how I found out but I just had to pass it on. I hate abc family for this! Sure, i still watch shows but I will never call them my fave again! The only slightly good thing is that there's a chance the SyFy chanel will pick it up. Of course it won't be the same but at least there will be Alek on TV. I think that I'll write a 'what would have been' fic about season 2 becuase I have a few ideas and it'll be something to tide us over until we hear more.
Once again; special thanks to HaleyLizQuinn, she helps me get this story to you all. I would never not talk to you, Haley!
Okay, rambling done.
Oh sorry, one more thing! This chapter is the longest ever. 18 pages on Word and I'm actually writing this now before I've finished the chapter. It the longest ever. Twice as much as any other chapter!
Now I'm really done.
Disclaimer: I own The Nine Lives of Chloe King as much as I own the ability to keep it on air. In other words; I SO SUPER FREAKING WISH!
Chapter 6
The next morning Chloe was awaken by a loud banging. She looked around sleepily trying to remember where she was. Finally she recognized the living room of the condo and the memories of the night before flooded her mind. She remembered her and Alek coming in, ordering Chinese food, a lot of kissing and finally watching TV until they both fell asleep on the couch.
Bang Bang Bang
Chloe sighed, shut her eyes and tried to snuggle deeper into Alek's chest to drown out the sound.
"Chloe Nicole King, I know you can hear me! You have one minute to open this door!' a demanding female voice shouted, only slightly muffled by the hardwood door. Amy.
"All of San Francisco can hear you. We have neighbors you know," Chloe heard a much quieter female voice hiss to Amy.
Chloe reluctantly pulled her head up from where it had been resting on Alek's bare chest and untangled herself from his arms. She trudged to the door and miraculously managed to only stumble and almost knock over one precious artifact in her half-awake stupor. She quickly adjusted the blue sleeping shorts and matching tank top she'd changed into the night before and opened the door.
Amy had one hand raised to pound on the door again but quickly dropped it and smiled when she saw her best friend.
"What time is it?" Chloe asked, rubbing her eyes groggily.
"5:33."
Chloe looked away from Amy to see Jasmine holding a bag and clad in a pair of Amy's rarely used sweatpants and a t-shirt.
At Chloe's confused look Jasmine explained, "I slept over at Amy's. I left my keys here yesterday morning plus I didn't want to be around for lovebird's night." Jasmine's nose scrunched up and she shuddered in disgust as every unwanted image of what her cousin and her friend might have been doing all night appeared in her head.
Chloe blushed, understanding what Jasmine meant. "We just watched movies,' she mumbled as she stepped out of the doorway, earning a skeptical smirk from Amy.
Somehow the shorter brunette seemed to be 100% awake regardless of the early hour. Amy was completely ready for the day, already dressed in a gray bubble skirt, a yellow v-neck, dark green leggings and black ankle boots that matched her ¾ length sleeve blazer and fedora. A green and gold flower adorned the hat and her gold bangles and necklaces completed the outfit and made it very Amy.
"How are you so awake?" Chloe questioned.
Amy ignored her and headed over to the sofa where Alek was just waking up. He pulled a pillow from the back of the sofa over his face and tried to go back to sleep.
Amy pulled the pillow from his face and leaned over the back of the sofa as Jasmine and Chloe came up beside her. "Alek will you go get breakfast in, like, 30 minutes. Buttermilk and chocolate chip pancakes, fruit salad, two grande mocha lattes and a venti cappuccino."
Alek glared up at Amy. "It's my house. You can't tell me what to do. Buy your own breakfast and let me sleep."
Amy sighed and turned to the girl on her left. "Chloe…"
"Alek will you please go get breakfast?" Chloe asked sweetly, leaning over the sofa as well.
Alek opened his mouth to refuse but one look at Chloe's pleading eyes and soft smile, he found himself saying, "Fine. In a half-hour." Amy cheered and repeated her order before grabbing her bags and heading to the guest room where Chloe was staying. Chloe kissed Alek's cheek, thanked him and followed her friend.
"You're so whipped," Jasmine said, chuckling and patting Alek's head in mock sympathy. He tried to smack her hand away but she quickly removed it and ran out the room.
Alek rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head, immediately going back to sleep, but not before setting an alarm on his phone.
In the guest room, Amy dropped her bags on the bed and plopped down beside them. Chloe followed after and collapsed into the armchair while Jasmine sat against the headboard.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Chloe asked her best friend.
"I'm here to help you get ready, silly!' Amy cheered, clapping her hands together like a little kid. Chloe raised an eyebrow in confusion. Amy sighed and stood up. She continued pacing and swinging her arms dramatically. "This is a big day. It's you first day of school as Mrs. Alek Petrov."
"Mrs. Alek Petrov? We just got together the night before last, we're hardly married," Chloe protested. The defiance in her voice contrasted with the happy, wondrous expression on her face as she thought of the possibility of someday being married to Alek. Since Mai mated for life, it's pretty much guaranteed which made Chloe smile.
Amy waved a hand, dismissing Chloe's statement. "Either way, now that you're dating the most popular guy in school, everybody's going to be looking at you and you need to look hot! Hotter than usual." With that she grabbed the blonde by the arm and dragged her towards the walk-in closet. Chloe shot Jasmine a pleading look as she passed but only got a laugh in return as Jasmine settled into the pillows behind her back.
"This really isn't necessary, Amy," Chloe tried but to no avail. Amy opened the closet door and lead Chloe inside. With her hands on her hips and her lips pursed in concentration, Amy examined every piece of Chloe's clothes that was hanging before her. Every time she saw a garment that she deemed appropriate, she would pull it off the hanger and toss it to Chloe. By the time Amy was satisfied, Chloe had a pile of clothes that was so tall it covered her face completely. Chloe struggled to not drop the clothes as she followed Amy back into the bedroom.
Chloe deposited her load on the bed as Jasmine watched. Amy pulled out several outfits and handed them to Chloe, ushering her to go change.
5 minutes later, Chloe emerged from the bathroom in a red mini-skirt, a black tank top and a black denim jacket.
"Not good in case of a fight," Jasmine commented.
"Too sluttish," Amy aid, shooing Chloe back to go change.
Chloe tried on a dozen or so more outfits, all of which Amy found something wrong with and sent her back to change.
While Chloe was in the other room, Amy turned to Jasmine with a mischievous smile on her face.
Uh oh, Jasmine thought, I recognize that look. That look is never good on Amy.
"What?" she asked the human girl nervously.
"You know you're the only one now," Amy said, crossing her arms.
"The only one?" Jasmine asked, not a bit less nervous.
Amy nodded, "I have Paul and now Chloe and Alek have each other. You're the only single one."
"I don't want a boyfriend. Having one will distract me from my duties," Jasmine said sadly, repeating the words her mother had told her countless times.
Detecting the unhappiness in Jasmine's voice, Amy switched from match-maker mode to friend mode. She moved closer and laid a comforting hand on Jasmine's arm. "Jas, you are amazing at your duties. Having a boyfriend isn't going to change that." Jasmine nodded and smiled gratefully at her new friend. The mischievous twinkle returned to Amy's eyes. "What about Cameron?"
Jasmine's dark cheeks reddened slightly and she looked away. Amy took that as all the conformation she needed. "I knew it! You like him!"
"It doesn't matter. He doesn't like me and he's in college anyway. Too old," Jasmine replied quietly.
"So?' Amy asked, crossing her arms and moving to sit on her heels. "Brian was, like, in love with Chloe and he's in college."
"Yeah but Chloe's…Chloe."
"And you're you," Amy said, kindly. "He'll love you. Especially when I'm done."
"Done with what?"
Amy and Jasmine looked over to see Chloe walking towards them.
"Jasmine likes Cameron and I'm going to make sure he likes her back."
"I'm helping," Chloe said sternly then she turned to Jasmine and smiled, "I knew I detected something between you two!"
Jasmine returned the smile although inside she was somewhat nervous about what the girls would be planning.
Amy stood up to appraise Chloe's new outfit. She motioned for Chloe to spin and admired her work.
Chloe was wearing a short-sleeved sheer nude colored blouse and dark wash skinny jean with decorated back pockets. A brown vest covered everything that needed to be covered.
"Perfect," Amy approved," sexy yet sweet. But it's missing something."
Amy rushed over to her bag and started pulling stuff out. Every kind of necklace, bracelet and earring imaginable came flying from Amy's hands to the bed and surrounding areas, often hitting Jasmine and Chloe. Finally she found the chunky, carved wooden bracelets and matching hoop earrings that she was looking for. One of her dads bought them for her in India. Henna was used to trace the carvings and give them a red color. She handed the jewelry to Chloe who inspected them closely.
"These are beautiful," Chloe said, "I can't wear these to school. They might get messed up."
She tried to pass them back but Amy pushed her hands away. "Yes you can. For luck."
Chloe smiled at her best friend and put the beautiful pieces on. She spun around and struck a pose. "What do you think?"
"Gorgeous."
"Nice," Jasmine said, "but hold on a minute." She jumped up and ran out the room.
A few minutes later he returned with a large, silky red scarf that matched the color of the henna perfectly and wrapped it around Chloe's neck so that the tasseled ends hung over the front of the vest.
"Now it's perfect," Jasmine said. She and Amy stood back to admire their work.
They cocked their heads and squinted their eyes, appraising Chloe. They turned to each other and nodded their heads in agreement. "Hair and make-up."
Chloe was ushered to take a seat in the desk chair. Amy pulled case after case of make-up and hair care supplies from one of her bags. Jasmine tossed Chloe her plush white robe to cover her clothes and moved behind her.
15 minute later Jasmine had combed Chloe's curly blonde hair into a carefully done messy bun and secured it with two wooden chopsticks, leaving a few wisps to frame her face. Amy lightly lined Chloe's eyes and applied some blush and mascara.
Just as Amy was about to put on some red lipstick, a loud crash sounded through the apartment. Jasmine immediately dropped the can of hair spray she was holding and jumped protectively in front of Chloe. At the same instant, the blonde jumped from the chair and pushed Amy behind her. All three sets of eyes widened in fear and their heartbeats quickened.
"It's just me!" a familiar British male voice called out from the living room causing all three girls to visibly relax, "Come eat!"
"Just a minute!" Jasmine called back, picking up the hair spray can and returning to her earlier position. She and Amy put the finishing touches on Chloe's hair and make-up, omitting the lipstick until after breakfast.
"Shoes," Amy said, snapping her fingers in remembrance. She grabbed her purse and pulled out a pair of high-heeled knee-high brown boots.
Jasmine stared in wonder at how the big boots could fit in the little bag. "How did she…"
"It's Amy," Chloe cut off her question with a look that read "don't even bother asking."
Jasmine laughed and excused herself to go change.
Chloe put the boots on and took off her robe long enough to check out her outfit in the full length mirror. She had to admit she looked really good.
"If your food gets cold I am not going out to get more!" Alek shouted from the kitchen. He was sitting on a barstool at the counter, a plate loaded with pancakes and fruit and a coffee cup before him.
Chloe and Amy entered the room, laughing loudly.
"Hey Alek," Chloe said brightly, wrapping her arms around Alek's neck from behind.
"Good morning, love," Alek replied, turning to press a kiss to Chloe's lips. Chloe blushed lightly and pulled one hand from around Alek's neck to caress his cheek.
Amy watched the couple with a huge smile on her face. "You too are just so freaking adorable!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together for the second time that morning and jumping slightly. "Chalek is so the cutest couple! Well, second after me and Paul!"
Alek rolled his eyes but couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"Chalek?" Chloe asked, amused as she moved away from Alek and around the counter towards Amy and the food.
"Of course!" Amy replied, laughing, "It's your couple name! Like Bradgelina only Chloe and Alek. Jasmine came up with it!"
Chloe smiled at her best friend. Chalek, she thought, I like the sound of that. Chalek.
"Jasmine? You have corrupted my cousin," Alek said jokingly, pointing an accusing finger at Amy. The girls just laughed in response.
Chloe and Amy made plates for themselves, grabbed their coffees and joined Alek at the counter. Jasmine joined them a few minutes later, fully dressed in skinny jeans, an off the shoulder top and a pair of heels. The teens ate in silence, with occasional conversation between the girls about what to expect at school. Alek remained utterly oblivious to the importance of that day, shoveling forkful after forkful of food into his mouth.
Amy glanced down at her phone which was lying on the counter beside her coffee, her eyes widening when she sees the time. "Let's go! We're going to be late!" she said, taking her last bite of strawberry and jumping from the stool. Jasmine followed suit, taking her unfinished coffee with her. She and Amy hurried towards the bedroom.
"Will you get my bag for me?" Chloe called after her friend.
"Sure!" Amy shouted back from down the hall.
Chloe got up from her own stool and slipped the robe off. She adjusted her scarf and vest and picked a stray fiber from her shirt sleeve. When she looked up, Alek's eyes were trailing slowly up and down her body. She blushed under his intense gaze. Finally his eyes came to meet her own.
"You look gorgeous," he said, smiling at her. She smiled back and leaned in for a quick kiss. When they separated, Alek hurriedly finished the last of his pancake and stood as well. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, grabbing his keys.
"Um…about that," Chloe began, "I was thinking that maybe I should ride with Amy and Jasmine. I just don't want…"
"People to get the wrong idea?" Alek guessed. Chloe nodded. "It's fine. Go with them and I'll see you in school."
"Let's go Chloe!" Amy called from the door.
Chloe kissed Alek gently on the cheek and started to step away but he pulled her back and crashed his lips onto hers. The kiss sent tingles down Chloe's spine and reluctantly she pulled away, afraid that if she didn't, she would melt into a puddle right on the kitchen floor.
"A proper good-bye kiss," Alek said smirking.
Damn that smirk, Chloe thought as she wrapped her arms around Alek's neck and pulled his head back down to hers. Alek's tongue traced a line along her bottom lip and Chloe thought she was going to turn into a human shaped fire ball.
"Step away from the hot Brit, Chloe! We have school to get to!" Amy shouted from the front door. Alek pulled away from Chloe and smirked down at her. She blushed and looked away from his cocky expression for a moment before pulling herself out of his arms. She headed to the door where Jasmine was standing, holding Chloe's bag and jacket.
"Amy went down to get her car," Jasmine explained as she handed Chloe her stuff. Both girls shouted their good-byes to Alek and headed out the door to meet their friend in her bright red Volkswagen Beetle. Jasmine and Chloe linked arms and walked to the elevators.
Amy had her car idled in front of the building and she was sitting in the front seat, fixing her make-up in the rear-view mirror. The girls entered the car and Amy pulled away from the curb, heading to school.
"Oh my God Chloe," Amy squealed suddenly while stopped at a red light. She turned in her seat to face her best friend, "you have to tell me everything about Alek and I mean everything!"
"Not everything. Please remember I'm in the car and he's my cousin," Jasmine put in with a disgusted look.
"I feel bad for you Jas. You're the only girl that can't appreciate Alek's sexiness!"
"Amy!" Jasmine and Chloe shouted, alerting the brunette human that she shouldn't say those kinds of things and that the traffic light had changed. Amy turned back in her seat and pressed the gas, speeding off to a chorus of blaring horns. She held off her questions for a couple more minutes before she thought she would explode.
"At least tell me how you guys got together!" she begged. Chloe obliged, grinning madly as she told the story of the quiz and the chocolate covered strawberries. Amy squealed at appropriate moments and cooed at others. "So…is he a good kisser?"
"Amazing kisser," Chloe replied.
Jasmine made gagging sounds in the backseat and tried to bury her head in her jacket.
Amy ignored Jasmine and continued peppering the blonde girl beside her with questions. "Have you seen him with his shirt off? I'm sure you have! Tell me…what's it like?"
Jasmine's head snapped up and she glared at the back of her friend's head. "Amy, are you trying to kill me here?"
"What?" Amy demanded. "It's not that bad! Be glad I'm not asking how the sex is!"
For the second time in the short car ride, both Chloe and Jasmine shouted the brunette human's name. Amy chuckled to herself as she turned the corner by Varese Vintage.
"You're going to make me puke up my breakfast!" Jasmine cried with a look of pure revulsion on her face.
"We haven't gotten that far and we won't be anytime soon," Chloe insisted, staring out the window to try and avoid looking at her friends.
"Sure…" Amy said, giving Chloe an unbelieving look. Her look became stern when Chloe turned to face her. "Either way, when you do I expect all of the details. I wonder-"
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" Jasmine shouted. Amy turned and gave the Mai girl a wide-eyed look of mock innocence.
The conversation ended when Amy pulled up in front of the school. Jasmine jumped out of the car to escape any talk of Alek's body, clothed and not. Amy and Chloe followed suit and they linked arms, heading up the path to the front door of the school.
Marina High School is just like the high schools on TV. The student population is divided into several groups, cliques if you will, but the major distinction is very simple. Popular or unpopular. Chloe, Amy and Jasmine had the looks to be accepted but not the personality. Jasmine was too quiet and Amy and Chloe were too quirky. They weren't mocked, they were ignored. Invisible to anyone that's "anyone" and that's the way they liked it. The few times when Chloe's name was mentioned around school the standard reaction was a confused look and a "Who's that?" or "Is she new here?" Taking all of that into consideration, it's perfectly reasonable to think that a large part of Marina High School's students were thrown into a tizzy when they found out that Chloe King was dating Alek Petrov, sexy British new kid turned basketball star and the most popular guy in school.
As Chloe, Amy and Jasmine entered the school building, several pairs of eyes followed them closely. Chloe and Jasmine used their Mai hearing to listen to the whispers that were being exchanged around them.
"That's her, right?" one girl whispered o her friends.
"Yep. That's Chloe King, Alek new girlfriend."
"She actually pretty hot," a guy in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt noted. His friends laughed and shouted a few cat calls at the girls.
Amy shot Jasmine and Chloe a curious look, wondering what they were hearing as the two girls rolled their eyes and chuckled.
"How do they know already?" Chloe whispered to Jasmine and Amy, "You guys are the only ones that should know."
Before her friends could say anything, her answer came running up in baggy sweats and a Batman t-shirt.
"Hey Chloe…shit!' Tyler Reese called as he sprinted towards her, dropping his binder in the process. A few notebooks slid out but instead of stopping to pick them up, he kicked them towards the girls in his hurry. Amy tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh as a Spider-Man notebook sailed past her foot.
"Hi Tyler," Chloe said, biting her lip to keep in her giggle.
Tyler tripped over his scattered belongings, sending him careening several steps closer to Chloe, Amy and Jasmine. Jasmine buried her head in Chloe's shoulder to muffle her hysterics as Tyler righted himself, his face bright red.
"Uh hey guys, er, girls. You all look ho…um, pretty. Yeah, really pretty." He stuttered.
Jasmine and Amy contained their giggles long enough to chorus a greeting to the blushing boy.
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, And Alek. He's okay, right?" Tyler rushed out.
"We're fine. It's okay Tyler."
A group of guys from the computer club called out to Tyler from down the hall. He turned to them and then back to the girls, as if asking permission to leave. They said their goodbyes and Tyler collected his stuff from the floor and ran off.
"What was that all about?" Jasmine asked, bumping her shoulder into Chloe's as the three started walking deeper into the school. A few people in the hall, laughed about the exchange they had had with Tyler and watched them walk away.
"Tyler almost ran me over yesterday," Chloe explained as if near-death experiences were an everyday thing – which they actually were for Chloe.
"You what?" Amy and Jasmine cried out simultaneously.
"You guy have got to stop doing that," Chloe joked, linking her arms back through her friends'.
Amy grabbed Chloe's arm, inspecting it. "Seriously, you got run over? Are you alright?" she asked.
"You didn't lose a life, did you?" Jasmine questioned frantically. Valentina was going to be pissed and more than likely find some way to blame Jasmine for it.
"No…" Chloe said slowly. Amy and Jasmine raised their eyebrows at her tone. "Alek jumped in front of the car and pushed me out of the way."
Amy squealed loudly, causing people to turn and stare. She ignored them and latched onto Chloe's arm tightly. "That is so freaking romantic!"
The other two girls rolled their eyes at Amy's usual exuberance.
The 5 minute bell rang and the three girls hugged and parted ways, speeding to their lockers as fast as their high heels could go.
Chloe ended up making it to her first period class because people kept trying to talk to her or come up and ask if she was dating Alek before simply walking away. She had even ducked into a few doorways to avoid people that were coming her way. However, Chloe was surprised to see that for the most part the rumors had faded by the time first period ended.
Riiiiinnnnng Riiiiinnnng Riiiiinnnng
Chloe jumped almost three feet into the air as the sound of the school bell cut through her day dream. Her pencil tumbled from where it was resting lazily in her hand to the floor. Chloe bent down to pick it up, her elbow knocking her notebook off the desk. It landed next to her pencil with a loud clatter. Everyone turned to look at the blushing blonde.
"Everything alright, Miss King?" Mrs. Bradford, Chloe's 4th period History teacher asked as the rest of the students filed out, laughing and giggling to each other about Chloe's predicament. She blushed even harder as she tried to pick up her binder and ended up causing several poly folders to slip out. Mrs. Bradford looked at her through her wire-rimmed glasses and tsked, turning back to the board.
Chloe mumbled a curse under her breath as she tried to stretch her arms out further to reach a paper that had floated away from her. Her fingers barely grazed the edge of the paper. Chloe started tipping out of the chair but a strong hand caught her arm, keeping her from falling face first into the tiled floor. A pair of white Nike sneakers appeared before her. She trailed her eyes from the shoes to a pair of strong jean covered legs, a light blue polo and up to a familiar, handsome smiling face. Chloe recognized him as one of the jockos Alek hung out with. Damian something, or maybe Dylan. He had a twin and Chloe was always confusing the two. He released her arm and bent over to retrieve the paper.
"Thanks," Chloe said with a small smile as she took it from his hand. She stood and grabbed her stuff, prepared to make her way out the door but the tall basketball player was blocking her path.
"I'm Damian. Damian Gray," he said, holding his hand out to her. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Chloe King."
Great somebody else that suddenly knows me, Chloe thought as she shook his hand and smiled politely. He let her go and she quickly fled out the door. Amy stood at the other end of the hall, watching for her friend to emerge from class. Chloe started heading towards the brunette but a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders, stopping her. Amy raised her eyebrows as the boy that wasn't Alek pulled Chloe close into his side but before she could see more, a huge crowd of people stepped into her line of vision.
Chloe gasped as she was suddenly pulled back. She looked up and was stunned to see Damian at her side. Or rather stunned to see him at such a close proximity.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, trying to slip from under his arm but was unable to because he just held on tighter. "Get off of me."
"Attitude much," Damian replied, chuckling as he started walking, causing Chloe to stumble along with him. The blonde shot him a glare which only made him laugh harder. "I'm introducing myself to a pretty girl. Is that such a crime?"
"You're past introducing yourself," Chloe snapped, taking his arm from around her and dropping it, "now it's just creepy." She flashed a fake angelic smile at Damian's cute but very shocked face and turned to walk away.
She got about five steps before a hard body was suddenly right behind her. "Feisty," Damian whispered into Chloe's ear. "I like feisty." His breath ghosted lightly over the outside of Chloe's ear. Alek did this all the time except with Alek it made Chloe blush and want to kiss him. With Damian it was just irritating. Chloe spun around, her agitation visible on her pretty face.
"Look. This is, well, actually it isn't sweet at all," Chloe said, her arms crossed. Damian raised an eyebrow and crossed his own arms, mimicking her pissed off posture. "I think you've got the wrong idea. I have a-"
"Boyfriend? I am well aware of that."
Chloe's irritation doubled. "Of course you do. Why else would you be talking to me? If I wasn't dating Alek you wouldn't even know my name," she mumbled to herself more than Damian. Her entire day had been that way. People that she'd known since grade school but had never spoken to were suddenly saying hello, usually after she caught them watching her but still. That wasn't what annoyed Chloe the most though. People were saying that Chloe didn't deserve Alek, that there was no way he would choose a nobody like her. Some had gone so far as to say he was only dating her because she put out and some of the other jocks wondered if he'd let them "have a go". Chloe looked down as she remembered the jealousy, disgust and lust she had picked up from the other students through her empathy.
Damian, who had heard her quiet words and noticed her mood change, put a finger under her chin and gently raised her head so he could see her face.
"Au contraire," he told her, "I've known who you were for a while. Even before you started dating Petrov."
"Are you flirting with me?"
"No."
Chloe was surprised by his bluntness. Damian chuckled at the look on Chloe's face and returned his arm to its previous position around Chloe's shoulders.
"Now you're the one that has the wrong idea," he told her, leaning in close again, "You're my best friend's girlfriend. Alek's like a brother to me which makes you…my sister-in-law." He straightened up and smiled at Chloe.
"Oh really?" Chloe raised an eyebrow and smirked. Damian wasn't so bad when he wasn't being creepy.
"Thank God I'm not really you're brother!" a voice said from behind them. They turned to see Alek standing there with his usual cocky expression on his face. The Brit smacked his friend on the back of his head gently- well, gently by Mai standards- and pulled Chloe from Damian's arms and into his own.
"I don't think I could survive with Valentina as my aunt," Damian joked, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. "God she's scary."
Chloe giggled but suddenly a thought hit her. She turned to Alek with a wide-eyed expression. "Is he Mai?" she mouthed with her back to Damian. Alek quickly shook his head and smiled at her.
"Okay, go ahead and have your little romantic moment. Pretend like I'm not here," Damian said.
"I will," Alek said before leaning down to kiss Chloe. She leaned up, their lips met and pretty soon they were all but making out in the middle of the hallway.
"Ugh, you two are sappy and disgusting already," Damian complained. A chorus of playful 'get a room's came from people nearby. Alek pulled back and winked at Chloe. She blushed and mock-glared at his unspoken sexual innuendo. A loud cough interrupted their moment. They both looked over at Damian who was leaning against a locker, awkwardly averting his eyes. "You too are disgusting. I'm out of here." He started walking away.
"Wait!" Alek called after his fleeing friend. "I came to tell you that we have basketball practice during lunch today. Last minute thing from Coach."
"You're not coming to lunch?" Chloe asked, trying and most likely failing to keep the whine out of her voice and the puppy dog eyes away. Oh my God, how did Alek have this kind of affect on her? She never used to whine; that was Amy's thing.
"Sorry, love. I'll see you after school." Alek kissed the top of Chloe's head and leaned down to kiss her lips again. However, before they actually made contact, a hand latched onto the back of Alek's shirt and pulled him back.
"We are leaving before this turns into 'High School Hallway Porno'," Damian, announced, causing several people to turn and look again as he pulled Alek away. "See ya later, Chloe!"
Chloe waved and blushed in amusement and embarrassment.
"Bye Chloe," Alek called. He pushed Damian away from him and the two left with a final goodbye to Chloe.
Chloe giggled quietly to herself. Suddenly she was very aware that the majority of the hallway was looking at her. She ducked her head, trying to hide her bright red face. For yet another time that day Chloe wished that Jasmine had left her hair down so that she could use it to hide from the stares of her schoolmates. She walked to her locker and opened it. Quick fix of her hair and lip gloss and depositing her books and Chloe shut her locker and turned around. Only she didn't expect to find someone walking up so close behind her that she ended up crashing into them.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" a girl's voice said when they righted themselves and stepped away from each other.
Chloe apologized as well and turned to walk away, focusing more on getting to lunch on time than the person before her.
"OMG, I love your boots!" the same female voice said.
Chloe turned back to the girl and recognized her instantly as Kelsey Washington. There was nobody at Marina High School that didn't know who Kelsey was. She was of average height with a slim but still curvy figure, long dark red hair, a beautiful face, a limitless credit card and was undeniably the most popular girl in school. She and Chloe had been in school together since pre-school but this was the first time they'd ever talked outside of class. Kelsey was the captain of the cheerleading squad and only hung out with the other cheerleaders and jocks. Jocks like Alek, who the majority of the school – especially Kelsey - thought was her perfect match.
"Thanks," Chloe said, quite uncomfortable. The first time talking to the most popular girl in school for the first time would be somewhat nerve racking for almost anyone. Plus, if you're Chloe, it's also rather annoying considering that Kelsey would never be talking to her if not for the fact that she was dating Alek. Which also made Chloe stop to wait for some nasty comment.
"Where'd you buy them?" Kelsey asked, smiling warmly at Chloe.
"Uh, I'm borrowing them from my friend, Amy. She bought them from the store I work at, Varese Vintage.'
"Oh, you're Chloe King, right?" she asked as if it dawned on her for the first time.
"Of course I am. Alek's new girlfriend; why else would you know me?" Chloe exclaimed bitterly.
Kelsey looked taken aback. 'No...uh…I went into Varese Vintage one time and the lady who owns it told me a girl from my school named Chloe King worked there too."
Chloe's eyes widened. She tried apologizing but Kelsey was unbothered.
"Don't worry about," she blew it off with a wave of her manicured hand. You're dating Alek? You guys do make a cute couple."
Okay, this girl lives under a rock. A pom-pom shaped rock, Chloe thought in surprise.
Kelsey opened her mouth to say something but the late bell rang for lunch. Kelsey swore under her breath and grabbed Chloe's arm, leading her away. Chloe let herself be dragged along, stunned that the red-head was talking to her let alone linking arms with her like they were best friends. Speaking of best friends, Amy was probably really worried about where Chloe was. Ever since Chloe had become Mai and more importantly, prey for the Order, Amy and Paul got worried if she was even five minutes late without word.
"I just love your outfit. Did all of it come from Varese?" Kelsey asked as she and Chloe made their way to the cafeteria. Before Chloe could reply, they reached the crowded, bright tiled room. "I really want to talk to you. Come sit with me?"
Chloe was silent for a moment. If anyone asked her, she would probably tell them that she was in shock.
"Damn, Alek and Kelsey. What the hell happened to King?" someone said to their friend as they walked around the two girls.
"Sorry but I have to meet my friends," Chloe said.
"Have them sit with us too. Amy and Paul, right?" Kelsey offered as she led Chloe into the cafeteria. It seemed like once again almost everyone turned to stare at Chloe as she hung out with one of the most popular people in school.
Chloe agreed to ask and the two parted after Kelsey gave the shocked blonde a tight hug. Chloe headed over to her usual table to see Amy sitting there alone, staring at her.
"Oh my God, Chloe!" Amy squealed once Chloe got close to her. "First I see you with Damian all over you and now Kelsey too! What's up, Loe?"
"Deep breaths," Chloe said, giggling slightly. Amy waved her hand at her to make her continue talking. "Damian was just introducing himself to me. And Kelsey likes my boots…your boots. She wants us to sit with her. But if you don't want to…"
Amy was already out of her seat, grabbing her bag and lunch. "Of course I want to sit with Kelsey and her friends!"
"Wait, where are Paul and Jasmine?" Chloe asked as Amy gathered her books and make-up case.
"Paul had an emergency comic book club meeting and Jasmine had to make up a Calculus test." Amy grabbed Chlo's arm and started pulling.
"Are you sure? We really don't have to," Chloe tried to convince her friend even as she was being led away.
Meanwhile, Kelsey made her way to her usual table in the middle of the cafeteria directly under the skylight. Her friends smiled and waved at her as she approached.
"Hey Kels," they chimed.
"What took you so long," asked Faye, Kelsey's closest friend out of the group of cheerleaders as Kelsey sat down and deposited her purse in the empty chair beside her.
Kelsey ignored the question and leaned in, signaling that the rest of the girls should as well because a secret was about to be shared. "Chloe King an Amy Phipps are sitting with us today," she announced, receiving surprised looks from every face at the table.
"Why?" several of the girls questioned.
"Because I invited them." Kelsey only had to say those 4 words and the girls shut up instantly. After all, the Queen had spoken.
Well, not every girl.
Faye was the only one of the cheerleaders, actually one of the only people in the whole school, that wasn't afraid to piss Kelsey off. "I get that Chloe's dating Alek but what does that have to do with us? And do we seriously have to deal with crazy Amy." Kelsey shot Faye a sharp glare. The dark-haired girl crossed her arms and slouched down into her chair. "Fine but if she squeals my ear off, I'm going home with a headache before cheer practice."
"Wait, I still don't get what's going on," one of the stereotypical ditzy blonde girls asked.
"You will soon enough. Just play nice…for now," Kelsey replied with her signature sinister smirk. All of the girls smiled at the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. It was obvious that all of the cheerleaders were curious about what their captain was planning but no one got the chance to ask because a high-pitched voice called out to them.
"Hey!" Amy greeted as she and Chloe approached the table. Kelsey removed her purse from the chair but before Amy could plop down in the seat, the red-head reached out and pulled Chloe by the arm into the seat. Cara, by far the nicest of the group, moved from her seat beside Chloe to the vacant one on the other side of her so that Amy could sit behind her friend. Chloe and Amy flashed grateful smiles at Cara who gave them small smiles back.
"Hey Amy," Kelsey said, leaning around Chloe to greet the other girl.
Amy returned the greeting, a shrill undertone in her voice. Faye winced at the irritating sound and glared at Kelsey. Her best friend gave her a warning look and turned back to the two new girls. She pointed to each individual girl and introduced them. First Faye then the ditzy blonde named Sophie, Anna, the only brunette, a couple of brunettes turned blondes named Leslie and Phoebe and finally the Italian exchange student.
"And that's Lucinda," Kelsey said pointing at the girl that had come into their school the year before and was almost always the center of rumors now. Mostly boy related ones.
"Call me Luce," she said pronouncing carefully so that they'd understand through her accent that her nickname was said like the word 'loose'.
"Trust me, there's a reason why we call her that," Anna joked, earning a round of giggles and a half-hearted smack from Lucinda. Chloe and Amy didn't know what to do because they had heard about Lucinda's reputation of having hooked up with almost every jock at least once but they weren't close enough to Lucinda to joke about it.
The cheerleaders continued talking amongst themselves and Chloe and Amy looked around the room, uncomfortable. They noticed a few people turning and looking their way but for the most part it was as if nothing had ever changed. They were still pretty much invisible.
Kelsey seemed to pick up on how uncomfortable Chloe and Amy were and cut off Leslie's long story about God knows what, turning the conversation to the two girls.
"I was telling Chloe earlier how much I love her outfit," she announced to the table. The other girls al looked at Chloe and nodded their agreement.
"Thanks," Chloe said, "Amy picked it out."
"Really?" Faye said with an exagerated sweetness. She shot Kelsey a smug look and turned back to Chloe and Amy. "I would love to have your advice. We're going shopping in Union Square tomorrow after school. You guys should totally come with."
Amy's eyes brightened instantly. Union Square is one of San Francisco's major shopping meccas. With shops like Neiman Marcus, Coach, Saks, Bulgari, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Celine, Escada, Gucci, and Hermes it was easily a fashionista's dream. And a wallet's worst nightmare.
"Um...I can't afford shopping there. I'm saving up for a car," Chloe explained. Amy's face fell and she looked at Chloe with pleading eyes.
Faye giggled lightly even though it was obvious she wasn't actually amused. She ignored Kelsey's ice cold glare and continued with her own icy smile. "Oh no, silly! We do this every month and everyne's bill is on Kelsey. Or should I say Kelsey's daddy. You guys have to come."
Chloe shifted in her seat, trying to ignore her instincts that told her this was a very bad idea as Amy agreed instantly. The petite brunette had a firm grip on the Mai girl's arm to keep her from turning down the offer.
"This'll be fun, won't it Kelsey?" Faye continued prodding, turning to face Kelsey. As she looked at the beautiful red-head, her smile turned into a smirk and she raised an eyebrow in challenge.
However, Kelsey held her gaze, a challenging look in her own eyes. The two girls continued to stare each toehr down. Although Kelsey would never admit, she had always liked Faye because she wasn't afraid to stand up to her. It made her work harder to keep control of the group. "I was just about to invite you guys," she told Chloe and Amy, never looking away from Faye. "Of course you have to come!"
A loud clatter broke throught the din of chatter in the cafeteria. All of the girls, including Faye and Kelsey turned to see Tyler squating in the middle of the room, surrounded by spilled milk, a splattered pizza and the rest of his lunch scattered around.
"You wonder how guys like Tyler could be of the same species as guys like them," Lucinda said, smirking. The girls followed her gaze to see the entire basketball team, lead by Alek , entering the cafeteria doors.
"God, Alek's sexy," Lucinda said, fanning herself. "What I wouldn't give to.."
She was stopped by gentle sack on her arm. "Stop Luce, he's taken now," Anna scolded with a wink to Chloe. Chloe smiled back at her and turned back to the boys. Alek and Damian were at the front of the group, roughhousing like boys do. Their coach was also with them, dressed ina Marina High School track suit, herding the boys straight to the lunch line. He could be heard shouting orders at the boys from across the room.
"What's with Hendricks?" Leslie questionned, giving the coach weird looks.
"The boys ditched all-day practice on Saturday to come to my pool party," Kelsey announced, "except Alek. We all know where he was," she added with a suggestive look to Chloe. "Anyway, Hendricks is wiping their asses on the field as punishment."
The girl's laughed at the boy's expense and watched as the pudgy, red-faced coach guided the very loud jocks into a line, barking at anyone that shouted out to the rest of the students in the cafeteria.
Alek was the first to come out of the line, a packed try in his hands. He waited until Coach Hendricks had his back turned and sped over to the table where Chloe, Amy Kelsey and the rest of the cheerleaders were sitting
"Hello ladies," Alek said. He put his tray down on the table in front of Chloe and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She turned her head so that they're lips could meet in a short, sweet kiss. The girls awwed causing Chloe to blush.
"Petrov!" Coach Hendricks shouted from where he stood with the rest of the team, "Get you keister over here or I'm keeping you after school too!"
Alek sighed. "The devil calls." He gave Chloe a final kiss, this time much longer than the first.
"Petrov!" the coach called again. His already red face turned the color of a ripe tomato as his anger increased
Chloe pulled away from Alek and pushed him gently on the chest so he would go. Alek gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek, waved at the girls and jogged away, carefully balancing his tray in his hands.
After that all of the girls seemed much more comfortable with Chloe and Amy. Chloe and Amy even put ina few comments and jokes before the lunch period ended. When the bell rang, the girls quickly jumped up and grabbed their stuff. Amy and Chloe linked arms and hurried to their next class.
That afternoon, after school, the five teenagers, Mai and human, rushed into the condo. Paul had started another round of his rapid-fire Mai questions causing Alek to shove him playfully and Paul to shove back, which sent Alek's soda flying all over Jasmine. She chased the two boys out of the elevator and down the hall, yelling every kind of threat possible, leaving Amy and Chloe running after them.
"I am going to kill you!" Jasmine shouted as she bust through the door, soaked silk clinging to her torso.
Paul let out an unmanly shriek and ran behind Alek. That only made Chloe and Amy laugh harder. Jasmine moved closer to the boys and Paul reached out and grasped Alek's upper arms, maneuvering him like a shield. The British Mai turned around and shot a withering glare at the cowering human. Paul mumbled an apology and pulled away.
On the other side of the room, Amy shrieked loudly causing both boys to look up. The second they did, a wave of cold water came flying at them, soaking their upper bodies. Jasmine stood before them, smiling triumphantly and holding two empty flower vases. Paul and Alek sputtered slightly and tried to wipe as much water off their faces while Jasmine turned to share high-fives with the laughing Chloe and Amy.
"You think this is funny?" Alek demanded, glaring at the chuckling girls.
Amy gasped for breath and managed to reply, "Very," in a spot-on impersonation of Alek's accent in between laughs.
"Oh my God, you guys look so…" Chloe began but was unable to finish because a new round of giggles overtook her as Amy acted out the look on the guys' faces when the water hit them.
Both girls were too occupied with their hysterics to notice the conspiratorial glance the two boys shared. Alek and Paul suddenly rushed forward and tackled their respective girlfriends in big, wet hugs. Chloe and Amy squealed and shouted as their clothes got wet and they tried to pull away.
"Looks like you all are having fun."
The teens froze at the voice and looked towards the door to see Valentina standing with a hand on her hips and a suitcase at her feet.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Jasmine asked as she adjusted her wet shirt and stood up straighter.
Alek pulled his arms from around Chloe and righted himself. 'I thought you were going to be gone until Wednesday.'
"I was but we cut the meeting short," Valentina replied to her daughter and nephew. She turned to the two humans and the Uniter that were in the room and nodded her greeting to them. "Chloe. Amy. Paul."
"Hello Valentina," the three said.
The older woman told the teenagers to carry on and remember to clean up before heading to her bedroom and attached office. She got to the doorway and turned around, returning to the living room.
"Alek,' she called out. The blonde turned away from Chloe to his aunt and gave her an expectant look. Valentina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. I sent you a text yesterday asking you to drop some stuff off for me downtown. I am going to assume there's a good reason why you did not reply."
All eyes turned to Alek.
"I never got your text," Alek began, formulating a good excuse.
Valentina raised both eyebrows and gave her nephew a stern look..
An idea popped into Alek's mind and he started speaking immediately. "I got into a fight with a member of the Order yesterday morning. My phone fell out ofmy pocket and broke."
"And where is your phone now?"
"I threw it in the trash. No point in carrying it around."
Valentina looked Alek in the eyes, watching to see if he would falter and expose a lie. Alek kept his aunt's gaze and at last she accepted is answer and turned towards the kitchen. A soon as her back was to him, Alek slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it behind his back. The only person who was within catching distance was Paul. He noticed the flying projectile right before it reached him. Paul tried to grab it but with his lack of hand/eye coordination and its speed, the iPhone ended up slipping through his fingers and falling to the floor.
When the sound of Paul's mumbled swearing and the loud crash reached her astute ears, Valentina spun around towards the living room. She saw the Asian boy rushing to pick up a phone that looked an awful lot like a certain blonde Mai someone's.
"Isn't that your phone Alek?" she asked accusingly, stepping from the kitchen.
"Nope, mine's broken. That one's Paul's?" Alek replied smoothly, sending a warning glance over his shoulder.
Valentina shifted her intense gaze down to the human boy. "Is that true?"
Paul's eyes widened in fear of the intimidating woman before him. He opened his mouth to reply, snapped it shut and opened it again. Valentina stared deeply into his eyes and Paul squirmed, the saying 'If looks could kill' coming to mind. "Yes," he finally yelped out after Amy crushed his toe under the sharp heel of her ankle boot. Paul laughed nervously. "Yeah it's mine. Just got it."
Valentina continued to stare down the human boy as the others watched nervously. Just as Paul was about to crack under the pressure and out Alek, Valentina suddenly turned around and headed back to her office. At the sound of her door closing, a collective sigh of relief left the teenagers, all of which did not want to witness angry Valentina.
"Real smooth," Alek quipped, smacking Paul on the shoulder.
"Hey!" Paul exclaimed, rubbing the place where he had been hit. "Dude, your aunt's scary! You owe me a lot of Mai questions for that."
Before Alek could reply, a blaring ring tone filled the air. All eyes turned to the phone in Paul's hand. Alek swore under his breath and groaned in frustration as Valentina's face filled the screen.
"Alek, get in here! Now!" his aunt called from her office. Alek cursed again, grabbed his phone and headed to the other room with a reassuring pat and smile from Chloe.
The door to the office was unlocked so Alek walked in. In all of the years he had lived at the condo, he'd only been in there a few times. He and Jasmine only went past the door when there was serious business to take care Of or they were in trouble. That 10 by 14 room was the equivalent of a control center for the Bay area Mai. Upon seeing the modern, cozy furniture and family pictures, one might underestimate the amount of life or death decisions that took place within those jade green walls. And that made Alek all the more nervous as she settled into a chair, across from the angry but calm pride leader.
Valentina watched her nephew closely as he shifted a few times and waited for him to look at her before beginning to speak. "Where were you yesterday?"
"With Chloe," he replied truthfully, looking into his aunt's eyes. If there's one thing that Valentina held above anything else when talking to someone, it's eye contact.
She leaned forward slightly and clasped her hands together on the desk. "What were you doing and who was there?" she asked. She listened intently as Alek retold the story of yesterday's events. He carefully left out the part about Jasmine and Chloe sneaking out and meeting Brian, not wanting to anger Valentina. When he finished, she noted, "You finally told her how you feel." It was obviously not a question but Alek nodded anyway. "Are you two dating now?"
"Yes ma'am," Alek replied tentatively. He expected a lecture of some sort. Maybe she'd tell him that it would distract him from his duties too much and put lives at risk like he'd heard her tell Jasmine several times. Or maybe the sex talk she had never bothered to give him when he was dating Mimi. After all, a pregnant Uniter would make quite the scandal and disgrace for the San Francisco pride and its leaders.
However, much to Alek's surprise, Valentina smiled warmly at him. "I'm happy for you. It's evident how much you care for her." Alek smiled widely back to his aunt. She was the closest thing he had to a mother and he loved the maternal side of her. "However…" Alek's face fell as Valentina's tone switched back to strict and professional.
"What?"
"It increases the level of danger for Chloe and especially you. The Order will use you to lure Chloe into a trap the same way they did with Paul. Except any apprehensions they may have had about killing Paul, Amy and Chloe's mother because they are human, they will not have for you." Valentina explained.
Valentina ignored him and continued. 'Jasmine has gotten every close to Chloe and her human friends, hasn't she?"
Alek debated a moment before answering. Jasmine had friends that she loved and could be herself with, something she hadn't had since she transformed. She was the happiest Alek had ever seen her and he didn't want to risk messing that up by having Valentina think she's neglecting her duties. Finally, realizing Valentina probably already knew, Alek confirmed,
"She's at a greater risk as well," Valentina said. "They already want you two because you're Mai and the Uniter's protectors. As soon as the Order knows how important you both are to Chloe, assuming they don't already, the price on your heads will go up immensely." Alek tried once again to protest but Valentina wouldn't let him speak. "I do not want to lose either of you and I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening. I guarantee Chloe feels the same and that's the other problem. She's sacrifice all of her remaining lives to save you."
Alek sat back in his chair, unable to argue that since Chloe had said that herself several times. Plus he was kind of touched. And confused."What are you going to do?"
'The Chicago pride has been offering to send over two of the best young fighters. I'm going to take them up on the offer."
Her words caused Alek to shoot up straight, a look of utter shock on his face. "You're getting new protectors? Are you taking me and Jas off Uniter duty?" he demanded.
"Jas and I," Valentina corrected his grammar instinctively. "Not new protectors for Chloe, protectors for you and Jasmine. I still expect you to jump in front of a knife for Chloe but now I expect someone to jump in front of you."
'I don't think all of this is necessary,' Alek said, crossing his arms.
'I am not asking for your permission, I am telling you what will be happening. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make," she told him with a stern look. Valentina picked the phone up from its stand on the desk, signaling that it was time for Alek to leave, which he did.
When he returned to the living room, he found Chloe and Jasmine sprawled across the floor, surrounded by textbooks and notebooks with Amy and Paul nowhere to be found. He walked over to his girlfriend and cousin who were so absorbed in their homework that they didn't notice him approach. Alek plopped down on the carpet and rested his head on Chloe's back, causing the blonde girl to jump.
"How'd it go?" she asked Alek. Jasmine watched him in curiosity and waited for his answer.
Alek explained everything Valentina had told him to the two girls. The idea of extra protectors didn't bother either of them, instead they seemed somewhat relieved. The two girls returned to their work and eventually fell asleep to the sound of their voices, overpowered by Chloe's heartbeat.
The following Friday was uncharacteristically warm so the majority of Marina High School found some place to be outside after school. A group of cheerleaders were practicing their routines on the field while several boys watched. The drama club had taken up residence in the shade of one of the two trees while student council took the other one. Chloe, Amy and Paul were hanging out against one of the stone wall, sharing some cookies Paul's mother had made for them. Jasmine had gone home to help Valentina with something and Alek was off with his basketball buddies. The three decided to take the opportunity to catch up. Paul had been busy with comic book club all week and in addition to going shopping at Union Square, Amy and Chloe had been invited to movies, coffee outings and a study night that ended up being centered around gossip, boys and lip gloss with Kelsey and the cheerleaders.
Around them, people were talking and laughing, causing a din of noise to fill the air. A dark-haired boy on a skateboard jumped from the top step into the air just as a yellow taxi cab pulled up in front of the school. The cab driver stepped out and had to flatten himself against the side of the cab to avoid being run over by the skateboarder.
"Damn kids," he mumbled. He ran a hand through his graying hair and moved to open the rear door.
An elderly woman stuck one foot out the opening and held out a hand for the driver to help her. She had gray hair that was piled atop her head and clipped under a small pillbox hat and wrinkled skin. She stepped out of the cab and adjusted her long floral skirt, silk blouse and tea jacket, before offering the man a gloved hand.
"Thank you very much," she said softly in her accented voice as they shook hands.
"Why would you want to come to a high school anyway?" he asked as he shut the car door.
The woman reached into her purse for her wallet and pulled out a few bills. "Well, sir," she said just as politely as before, "that is none of your concern." She handed him the money and walked away.
The driver counted the money and noticed she had given him $40 extra. Before she could realize her mistake, he jumped back in his cab and drove away.
The elderly woman looked around at the group of milling teenagers. There were over 100 people in front of her but not the one she was looking for.
"Excuse me," she said to the person nearest to her, tapping the girl on the shoulder. The girl turned away from her group of friends to see who was speaking to her.
"Yes?" the girl asked, putting a hand on her low rise jean clad hips.
"Do you know Aleksei Petrov?" the woman questioned.
"Aleksei Petrov? Oh you mean Alek," As the name left her lips, the girl and her friends giggled and started twirling their hair, as if by reflex. "Of course we know Alek."
"Do you know where he is?"
The girl looked around and shrugged. "Probably at basketball." She looked around again and pointed to where Chloe was laughing at something Paul had said. 'That's his girlfriend. She might know.'
The woman tried to thank the bottle blonde but she had already turned back to her friends.
The American girls have no manners, she thought as she turned away and walked towards Chloe.
Chloe, Amy and Paul were standing up to get ready to go home.
"Paul you're crazy! Of course I don't get hairballs!' Chloe said, gripping her side as she laughed hysterically. She was almost doubled over when a tap on her shoulder caused her to spring into the air. Chloe spun around to see the old woman standing with her hand still raised and a startled look on her face.
"Sorry," Chloe chuckled, awkwardly smoothing her hair. "Um may I help you?"
The woman smiled kindly at her. "Yes. Are you Alek's girlfriend?"
"Uh…yeah. I'm Chloe. Chloe King," she replied, watching the woman in confused suspicion. Amy and Paul shared a confused look.
"Do you know where Alek is?" the woman asked as they shook hands.
Thanks for introducing yourself, Chloe thought to herself although she plastered on a bright, polite smile.
"I'm not sure. If you tell me your name, I'll tell him you came."
Before Chloe had a chance to hear if the woman replied or try to figure out who she was, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and a body pressed against her. Alek buried his face in the crook of her neck, placing a gentle kiss on the exposed skin there.
Chloe giggled quietly and brought a hand up to bring Alek's head towards her own. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and smiled at him. When he approached, Chloe's taller figure was blocking the woman and he was too wrapped up in his girlfriend to notice the stranger.
"Alek, this lady was looking for you," Chloe said, still staring into his eyes. At Chloe's words Alek looked up at the person before them for the first time.
Alek gasped sharply, his eyes widening in shock and his entire body turning to stone.
He woman looked at the handsome blonde boy and felt tears well in her eyes. "Aleksei…"
Before she could finish, Alek dropped his arms from around Chloe, turned and ran towards the school as fast as he could.
"Alek!" Chloe called after him but he kept running. Completely forgetting about the woman, she took off after him.
Amy and Paul watched in shock as their two friends ran into the building and the woman in front of them started to silently cry.
Alek busted through the front door; his feet pounding on the tile floor, He ignored the weird looks from students and shouts from teachers as he skidded around a corner, never slowing. Chloe called out to him again and again and he heard her chasing him but wouldn't stop. He couldn't. Alek's fight or flight reaction had taken over and chosen flight. He had to get away.
Chloe ran closely behind Alek as he maneuvered his way through the maze of hallways. Alek finally reached a dead end, surrounded only by lockers and locked doors. He ran up to the row of lockers against the far wall and slammed his hands against it. He remained like that with his hands pressed to the cold metal, breathing heavily. Chloe caught up and approached him. She laid a gentle hand on his back, calming him slightly.
"Alek, what's going on?" Chloe asked gently, worry and compassion evident in her voice. "You can talk to me. Who is she?"
A sudden surge of rage filled Alek as he though about that woman.
"God damn it!" he shouted, pushing away from the wall and Chloe and kicking the looker nearest to him. The loud sounds reverberated through the empty hallway. Alek punched the locker and turned around, his chest rising and falling aggressively.
"Alek…" Chloe began, startled and even more worried.
Slowly the anger left Alek's body and an overwhelming sadness took over. With a strangled sob, he slid down the face of the lockers to the floor. Chloe knelt down before him, placing her hands on his knees, her heart breaking for him even though she had no idea what was going on. Raw pain clouded his face and tears built up in his blonde eyelashes.
"Alek. Who. Is. That?"
Ha Ha! Another cliffhanger! Yay!
Well, hello again! I hope you liked it! I told you it was long.. :). I know that it jumps quite a bit but I just really wanted to include everything that I did. And get to that big cliffhanger! Feel free to guess int he reviews. I discovered last chapter that I get more review with a cliffy and I'm almost at 100 so... REVIEW please.
Here are replies to the last chapter. I know it seems like ages ago but..
OLemonLime0: Glad you liked it! You had me scared with your review for the first chapter! As you know, there was some Amy and Chloe talking. Expect more in the future because I absolutely love that friendship!
Lauren: Thanks!
Isob3l: I love drama too and I can guarantee that there is plenty more to come!
Wolf9lucky: I'm evil again! Haha. I'll try to update a whole heck of a lot sooner than I did this time.
i. run. with. vampires-OCD: Thanks! Not trouble exactly but it cerainly made something happen!
HaleyLizQuinn: Hey girly! Th elong awaited chapter and super special surprise!
Alanna-Banana1987: Not disobeyed exactly...more like ignored. Yep, consequences. Thank you so much! I promise to keep writing and hopefully there will be a quick update.
REVIEW PLEASE!