A/N I'm sorry it took so long to get this up but I actually have some valid excuses. :P For one, the Avatar finale came out!! Ok, so maybe that's not valid to you guys, but after watching the whole show and waiting, it was completely amazing! Also, last week was kataang week and I participated. That and I've been real busy when it comes to school. I'm starting college this January (okay, so it's only dual enrollment, but it still takes up time.) I'm busy working most the day now. My dad owns his own business and I've been doing records and secretary work. My best friend is literally in love with my other best friend, and on top of that, I still don't have my drivers license! Yes, I know it's bad that I don't have my license.

But finally, I have finished this chapter and I actually find it mildly interesting myself. The plot may get a little confusing, and it's kind of supposed to, but when everything is revealed, everything will make sense. I'm sorry that the plot goes so slow. It's kind of building up. I hope to really get into the plot and start revealing things within the next two chapters (and I have like, just under half of the next chapter written already so it won't be long). I have a laptop too now, so that'll help.

I'm sorry that this is a long authors note, but I have to say this. I threw in something that Makaila has had with her that is vital to the story and no one seems to have noticed yet. I'm actually very happy about it. I know that was kind of vague, but if anyone picks up on what she has and what it has to do with any other certain character(s) (and "Heart's Disadvantage), then I will write a oneshot with whatever plot they choose! Not that anyone probably wants to see me do another oneshot. Yes that's vague, but I'm sorry. I really can't give to much away.

I am also now referring to the kid that hasn't been named that was on her roof as, "the boy".

And just as a P.S.: Eitan is the kid that was teasing Makaila in earlier chapters outside the school, and then again when they were "beating up" the boy.

And we finally move on to the actual story! I will not take as long to update again, I promise!

Enjoy! Hopefully…

Chapter 6

Makaila took the stairs two at a time until she reached the bottom. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Huh? What?"

Makaila turned to the couch and giggled as Ash sat up, his eyes tired and hair a mess. She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you on the couch?"

Ash put a hand behind his neck. "Oh. Well… um…"

"Happy birthday sweetie!"

"Thanks mom!"

Misty gave Makaila a hug and then glared in the direction of the couch. Ash quickly picked up a pillow and placed it in front of him as though to somehow shield himself. Misty rolled her eyes and started towards the kitchen.

Makaila walked to the couch and sat down beside Ash. "Did you guys have an argument?"

"Uh…well…" Ash glanced in the direction of the kitchen and Makaila sighed. Her parents fought sometimes. They never had a full blown out fight, just small arguments.

Misty interrupted on the conversation. "We're having breakfast in just a few minutes."

"Oh… um… I'm not really hungry."

Both Ash and Misty turned to Makaila with looks of confusion. Their daughter was almost like Ash when it came to food. She wasn't as… enthusiastic as Ash was. But she didn't turn down a good breakfast.

"Are you sick?" Ash asked.

She shook her head "no" as Misty checked. "I just… I'm not hungry."

Ash and Misty exchanged looks before Misty answered. "Well… alright then. What are you going to do during breakfast?"

"Well…" she looked down at the floor nervously and then back up to her parents. "Elise was going to meet me today. She said she was going to give me something for my birthday."

Misty turned to the cupboard and started pulling things out. "Really? You seem to be spending a lot of time with Elise lately."

"Well, yeah. She's my friend."

Misty sighed and placed her hands on the counter. "Alright, you can go. But be back in an hour in a half." She turned around with a smile. "So we can celebrate."

"Thanks mom! I'll be back soon." She ran to the door and Misty turned to Ash, but was cut off by Makaila's yell from the door. "Pikachu's back!"

Ash jumped up and walked into the hall.

Makaila laughed as Pikachu and a few smaller versions of himself all leapt on top of Ash. The mother stayed on the floor and curled around herself. Makaila shut the door just as she heard her mom yell out, "No! We used up three ketchup bottles last time they came. They can live just fine without any."

She shook her head and exited, heading towards the forest. The truth was she had no plans of visiting Elise, the girl she had created. She had agreed to meet with him. She hated to lie, but at this point she had grown used to the fact that he didn't like other people to see him, and that for some reason, no one believed her anyway. She had finally decided that it was best to keep her visits to herself.

She entered the forest, swatting some tree branches out of the way. "Hey! Are you in here? I wanted to thank you for the necklace! Hello…?"

"Well, if it isn't little miss delusional."

Makaila spun around and her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here, Eitan?"

Eitan stood from the branch he had been sitting on and walked towards her. "I could ask you the same question." He whispered, his hazel eyes teasing her. He didn't act like an eleven year old, and he was definitely the same boy that had always teased her, despite the way his looks continued to rapidly change. The year before his hair had been almost white, and now it was a light blond. His eyes had gone from blue to hazel. There were other things, but Makaila's nine-year old mind didn't really notice them.

She returned the look with a glare, backing up subconsciously despite her firm gaze.

"So, where'd you get the necklace?" he reached out and flicked the blue tear shaped crystal on her neck.

She pulled back and wrapped a hand around it, beginning to walk backwards. "That's none of your business."

"Oh come on. Is it-"

"It was a birthday present."

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?" he leaned forward with a smirk. "And who was it from then?"

She grinded her teeth together. His constant fascination with her friend in the forest always unsettled her. "I don't have to tell you."

"Oh right. Is it from the little forest brat?"

"He's not a brat!"

He smirked again. "I'll take that as a yes. But I have some news for you. He's not r- Ow! What the…?" he looked down and picked up the rock that had somehow come in contact with his head. He picked up the rock and looked it over, noting the strange grooves on the side. He slipped it into his pocket and looked around, then back to Makaila. "All right. You wanna play games…?" he looked up and around the trees. "Let the games began." He turned and exited, leaving Makaila to unclench the necklace and sigh in relief.

Not thirty seconds after Eitan had left, a boy dropped down from seemingly no where and landed in front of her. He stood and wiped off his jean pants with a smile then looked up at her.

Makaila smiled and grabbed his hand as if it was tradition. He didn't seem the least bit fazed, and began leading her by the hand she had held onto. He hadn't changed much in the last two years. Not when it came to looks, but his personality had brightened. He smiled every time she came to see him. And he was always there. Another thing that Makaila didn't ponder.

He turned around once they had reached a wall of branches and put a finger to his mouth to show her to be quiet. She nodded and he grabbed her wrist again before pushing branches and helping her through.

"Oh! It's so pretty!" The boy walked around to her front and smiled as she looked around.

The entire thing was picturesque. In front of them was the picture perfect version of a beautiful getaway you would find in a romance story.

A small pond reflected all of the greens around the area, and cherry blossom trees lined one edge, dropping layers upon layers of pink petals into the water. On the other edge was a giant willow tree, its branches forming a perfect veil that dropped into the water. The water itself was completely clean and clear and ran in a perfect oval. Makaila fell to her knees and looked into the water, finding tons of sparkling rocks lined the entire bottom. The entire area seemed to glow.

"How is this possible? Can this actually happen in a forest?" she stood and found him smiling at her. "How did you know this was here?"

He shrugged and motioned around them. She didn't quite understand the gesture, but it turned her attention back to the amazing site around her.

He turned to her and his gaze softened as he glanced at her necklace. He pointed nervously at it and gave a nod of the head, accompanied by a look that undoubtedly meant, "Is it alright?"

Makaila blinked then looked down at the necklace "Oh! Yes! It's beautiful. Thanks."

That was good enough for him and he smiled and turned back to the view.

"Really, thanks." He turned back to her and smiled once more, but stiffened instinctively as her hand slipped into his with a squeeze. He opened his mouth and started to form words, only finding that nothing came out. He sighed in exasperation and turned away.

"It's ok." He looked back up with a light blush and she giggled. "I understand. Thanks for everything you're doing for my birthday."

He beamed, which was not something he did often, and nodded happily before leaning forward and leaving a kiss on her cheek.

He blushed as he pulled back, but Makaila didn't notice.

"Hmm…" He turned his head to the side curiously at her thoughtful look. "I need something to call you."

He blinked and his mouth opened, before closing uselessly.

She giggled. "How 'bout Dawson?" He stuck his tongue out and shook his head and she giggled once again. "All right… Not a name then. A nick-name."

She plopped down on the grass and he followed, looking at her curiously. "Lane."

He blinked and narrowed his eyes curiously.

"Yeah. You know, Lane. It's a name. I don't know what it really means, but you're always taking me places so it fits!"

He pursed his lips and turned back to the water with a light shrug.

"You don't like that, huh?"

He shrugged once more and leaned farther over the side of the pond. Makaila smirked from behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, preparing to push him. Makaila had just barely touched him before he spun around, switched their positions, and dropped her backwards into the pond, all in one quick and smooth motion.

Makaila's head popped out of the water, her eyes wide. His eyes were almost as wide as hers, but he shook it off and smiled guiltily at her, extending a hand. Makaila took it and began pulling herself up. About half way out of the water her mind changed and she grabbed his hand with both of hers, pulling him in with a hard tug.

He almost landed on top of her, but she managed to move aside in time. He came to the surface, spluttering and wiping the water from his eyes. She closed her eyes and laughed, and he smiled softly while watching her, before smirking and splashing her in the face. She gasped. "I'm already soaked!" He giggled, another thing that he didn't do often, and she copied the action before splashing him back.

Finally he pulled himself back up onto the bank and then helped her up. They sat and shivered for a moment, and it wasn't long before Makaila began talking again, the boy just sitting calmly and listening.

"Oh! And Michael and Taylor have been hanging out together all the time! You remember Michael and Taylor right?"

He nodded and she contintude before he could finish the action. "Well, I think they're in love, but no one listens to me."

He stopped her suddenly by placing a hand on her arm and looked at her curiously, tilting his head slightly and raising an eyebrow to show that he didn't understand her.

"What?"

He shook his head slightly and attempted to mouth a word. She read his lips for a moment before finally exlaiming, "Oh! Love! What about love?"

His face told her that he still didn't understand and she stared back. "Huh... Oh, you... you don't know what that means?"

He shook his head and her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

He nodded again.

"Do you know what having a crush on someone means?" Her answer was "no". "What about like-like? A-Adore? Fancy?"

Each word was answered by a shake of the head.

"Well um..." she sat back and he watched her in interest. "Love is... Well, you can't see it, and you can't really hear it. Um, you feel it. Understand?"

He nodded but his facial expression told her to go on.

"You feel love towards a person. I guess it means that you care about that person, and... that you make them feel better when they're sad, and you protect them. Daddy says there are different kinds of love. That one love you can love a lot of people with and the other love you love one person with. That's the kind of love daddy has for mommy. The kind of love that makes you wanna kiss someone. That's what he says... Even though kissing is gross."

She heard a light giggle to her side and turned. "What? It is gross!"

He shrugged. "You don't think so?"

He shook his head and she narrowed her eyes. "Have you kissed someone." A blush ran up to his face as she leaned forward and he shook his head once again. "Good." she stated.

He rose an eyebrow and scrunched his small face into a "Why?" face.

"Because it's gross!"

He shook his head.

"Yes it is!"

Another shake.

"It is to!"

It was apparent that she was fighting a loosing battle as all he had to do was shake his head, and he finally just stopped and watched her, smiling as she grew frustrated with him even more. Finally she lunged at him, and he gasped and fell back as she landed on top of him.

"Bye Skye!"

Skye straitened and looked to the door as Taylor began leaving through it. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Oh… I thought… well, me and Michael… are going out…. Not that kind of going out! You know, just as… friends…?"

Skye rose an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded. "I'll see you later."

Skye sighed and nodded before something occurred to him. "Where's Michael? You're not going somewhere to meet him by yourself are you?"

"No. He's outside."

"Oh. Ok, good."

Skye walked to the window and watched as Taylor walked down the short steps to meet Michael. He grabbed her hand to help lead her and Skye frowned. Michael stopped and turned back to the house, noticing Skye watching. He raised the hand not holding Taylor's and waved uncomfortably before turning back around and continuing on.

Skye sighed and walked back to the table. He sat and paused before standing and making his way swiftly to the door.

"Ash?"

"Mmm?" Ash looked up to see Misty staring at him seriously and gulped. "What?"

"When are you going to tell her?"

Ash's eyes widened. "She's nine."

"I know. But she's mature enough to understand." Ash gulped as she grabbed his hand.

"I…I don't know. What would I say to her?"

"Just tell her."

"Why?"

Misty sighed and dropped his hand. "Ash, she's keeping things from us."

"Huh?"

"You know how she said that Elise was in her class?" Ash nodded. "I asked her teacher. There is no Elise in her class." Ash looked down. "And two days ago she said she was going to play with Drake. He was sick, but she was still gone for two hours. Ash…" Ash looked back up. "She's keeping things from us, and I think she learned it from you and me."

"How's that possible? She can't know that I haven't told her."

"She doesn't have to. She's your daughter. You need to be honest with her."

"How do you kn-"

"Ash, my father was a grunt and never told me. One day both of my parents just disappeared. For a while it seemed like they had just decided to abandon us, then I found out they were dead but nobody would tell me why. You have a dangerous past. How do we know that it will always stay in the past? What if something were to happen?"

"Misty… nothing's going to happen."

"You can't possibly know that."

Ash let out a shaky breath. "I don't' know what to say to her. How do we know that this is really the best time?"

"Just do your best. You have to tell her eventually. I can't tell you what I would have given for my dad to tell me."

Ash nodded numbly.

Misty walked to the sink and looked out the window. "Look's like a storm's coming. Do you want to get Makaila or do you want me to?"

"No. I'll do it."

Ash walked to the door and started out, heading strait toward the forest.

Just past the first few trees of the forest there was a clearing. The clearing was as far as Makaila was aloud to go, and was where Ash was heading now. He reached the clearing and looked around, surprised that she wasn't there. "Makaila!" he called. He looked around the clearing again, his heart speeding up. 'Maybe Misty was right.' "MAKAILA!"

He suddenly made a shushing motion with his mouth and covered hers with one hand. He staid still and then started pushing Makaila to the trees.

"Wait? What?"

He smiled half-heartedly and put a finger to his mouth once more before ushering her to hurry once again.

Makaila turned, and ran. She had no idea what she was running from until she turned her head to glance behind her and coincidently landed right in the arms of a man. She screamed and began thrashing, ignoring the voice attempting to calm her until the hands holding her, shook her hard.

She looked up and only felt all the more shocked. "D-Daddy." She bit her lip and lowered her gaze, lip quivering.

Ash sighed. All his life he had been punished for his smallest mistakes. It was hard for him to understand how something so small would be so hard for his daughter. He let out a deep breath of frustration and pulled her firmly against his chest. "How can I make you understand?"

The breath that he had just let out he suddenly whished he had held onto. Because he desperately needed it as he heard the voices through the trees. He pulled Makaila into his arms, and, after a moment, started running.

"This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to find him? He could be anywhere."

"Stop complaining. It's not like we're loosing anything. If we don't find him, we don't find him and we tell Eitan so. And if we do find him, who's gonna care? The only person he's ever let see him is that girl, and he can't speak. Who's he gonna tell?"

The boy inhaled sharply and flattened himself more against the tree. He looked up, hoping to find a vine or a low branch or something that could help him but found nothing.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be."

His gaze immediately dropped from the tree and locked with one of the two boys in front of him. His hands subconsciously began grabbing at the bark, as though in hope he may find something to hold onto. Not three seconds later, he was hauled from the tree by four arms and pulled back in the direction they had come.

Eitan stood, flipping something into the air and catching it again while he patiently waited.

"Hey Eitan, look what we found."

Eitan turned and smiled his crooked smile as they pulled the struggling boy forward. "Hey!" The boy continued to struggle and didn't seem to hear him so he repeated the word again, his face coming much closer to the boy's.

This time the boy flinched and cowered, sinking back into the arms that held him securely.

"Open. Your. Eyes." The boy shivered and Eitan ground his teeth. "Now."

The boy obeyed, carefully, his eyes opening just enough to see the rock held out in front of him.

"Remember this?"

He paused and then nodded slowly. He had barely started nodding his head when he was hit hard in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him, and his stomach seemed to heat up. He bit his lip and dropped his head, the action unfinished.

Eitan threw the rock to the ground and pulled the boy's hair, forcing him to raise his head. "You are making my job extremely difficult."

His lip remained bit and his eyes closed tightly as he expected another hit. He was surprised when Eitan let go, tossing his head slightly in the process, and stepped back. "Let him go."

"What?" both boys holding him looked up at him incredulously.

"He isn't worth the time."

They didn't exactly understand the statement, but dropped him all the same and stepped aside.

He landed on the ground and stayed that way for a moment. As he started to raise himself, he paused at Eitan's comment.

"I want you to stop seeing her."

His eyes widened and his gaze stayed on the ground for a moment before he slowly shook his head, "no".

"What?"

He breathed deeply and quietly to calm himself and once again shook his head.

"I don't think you get it."

His hands clenched into fists as Eitan stepped forward and pulled his collar, raising him to his feet. Eitan's mouth opened and then shut as he looked between the young boy's eyes, and then suddenly he laughed and dropped him back to the ground. He continued laughing and finally turned round to face him once more. "You-You like her!"

The boy's eyes narrowed in confusion, being unfamiliar with the statement.

Eitan shook his head at the boy's clueless face and raised an eyebrow. "You love her? Get it?"

A furious blush flew to his face, though he tried to hide it as he looked down.

"You actually think that Makaila would like you? Pathetic."

The words stung, more than he was about to admit, and he felt tears run to his eyes, but was quick to swallow them.

"What, are you crying now?"

He clenched his teeth tightly and looked up to glare at the boy standing above him.

Eitan ignored the look and lowered back to him, pulling the boy that was much smaller than him up just slightly by the scruff of his neck. "Alright, I know that you have a hard time understanding me sometimes, so I'll make this clear." The boy continued to glare as he went on. "If you do keep on seeing her, somebody will be in a lot of pain. And it won't be you."

A look of silent panic passed the boy's eyes and his eyes glazed, before his head suddenly fell back, as if he had just fallen asleep.

Eitan's brow came together in confusion. "What's wrong with you?" The boy's head suddenly snapped back to his previous position, his eyes almost glowing as he slammed Eitan into the ground on his back.

The small boy was much too strong to be so young, and Eitan found himself unable to move from beneath him for several moments. "Get him off of me!"

The two standing by silently moved forward and grabbed the boy's arms with much difficulty, pulling him off Eitan.

Eitan jumped up immediately and pushed the boy against the nearest tree, knocking the other two away in the process. Before the boy could continue what he had started, Eitan yelled out the only thing he knew would end it. "She isn't here! Stop it! She's not here!"

He seemed to wake from a dream, and his arms fell limply to his sides as he breathed deeply, Eitan's hands still holding him against the tree.

He looked forward vaguely and felt something collide sharply with his stomach. He groaned and dropped his head, suddenly not even attempting to fight back. His mouth opened and mouthed a word. Stop... The pain continued and he mouthed it again shakily, not even sure that Eitan was reading the word.

After a few more minutes Eitan stood, satisfied, and motioned lazily for the other two to follow him as he began to leave.

"Are you just going to leave him there?" the blond asked carefully.

He turned and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

The boy didn't answer but just continued to follow him.

A few minutes later the boy finally raised himself, his legs shaking the entire time. He wiped at his mouth, surprised to find blood spread across his hand. He looked down, found more cuts and bruises, and fell back down again, leaning against the tree. He needed help and he knew it, but who could he possibly go to? She was the only one. The only one he felt it was safe to go to. But was it really? Wasn't that the reason he was in this mess? He looked back down at himself and stood, nearly tripping in the process, and made his way to the only house he had ever visited.

Makaila sat up in bed and looked around. It had just been another dream. She shrugged off her sheets and climbed out of bed, quietly tiptoeing down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was just filling up her glass with water when she spotted something out of the kitchen window. It was a vague shape at first, something she couldn't make out. When she finally could, she gasped.

The glass slipped from her hand and lay forgotten in the sink as she raced out the door and to the figure waiting there.

He was relieved to see her coming, and slipped to the ground before she even reached him.

Makaila fell to her knees beside him and looked him over, biting her lip to suppress all of the gasps. "Who did this?" He inhaled sharply as her fingers delicately ran over a gash on his neck. My dream... "I'll-I'll be right back. Wait here."

He nodded, there wasn't much of a choice, and felt his heart sink as he watched her run back in the house.

Not two minutes later, she came running back out, a first aid kit under one arm and a wet rag in the other.

She plopped down next to him and looked him over quickly. "Take off your shirt, ok?"

He nodded and did so. Makaila looked at his chest and took out a bottle of something he had never seen before. She wet the rag and placed it on his chest and he recoiled, eyes wide in shock.

"What's wrong?"

He bit his lip and touched his chest, then looked back to the bottle.

"Oh! It's supposed to sting!"

His eyes narrowed and he mouthed a word. He seemed to constantly forget that no noise would come from his mouth. But Makaila always understood him anyway.

"Because it's killing germs."

He still didn't seem to really understand, but nodded and allowed her to continue. She did so and then paused. "Are you… hurt anywhere else?"

He shook his head and she smiled and put the stuff back away. Makaila was young but was still extremely knowledgeable when it came to taking care of a person. She had wrapped his chest and cleaned up anything else that was needed. The wrap looked a little funny, but it served its purpose.

She stood to head back inside then turned back around and stared at him as he looked back up at her. She bit her lip and glanced nervously at the house. "I think you should sleep in a bed. Come upstairs with me, ok?"

He gulped and looked at the house before shaking his head rapidly. "Hey, hey." She sat down beside him and grabbed his shoulders to calm him. "It'll be ok. I'll be with you, alright? Please. Come inside."

He looked at her pleading eyes, and it didn't take more than a few seconds for him to agree with a nod of the head, despite of how afraid he was.

They made their way into the house and up the stairs quietly, trying not to wake Makaila's parents. Makaila failed to notice the way the boy looked curiously around the house, taking in everything he could. Finally, they reached Makaila's room and she sat on the bed and motioned for him to do the same. He sat on the edge and picked a book off of her nightstand, running his fingers over it awkwardly before tilting his head to the side and holding it up by one side of the cover while the other fell open.

She giggled and pulled it out of his hands, then flicked on the lamp and turned off the light. His eyes widened and he jumped away from the lamp on her nightstand, curling into the corner.

"What's wrong?"

He clenched his hands into fists and she watched as he started shaking, seeing the signs that he was trying not to cry. "Hey… what's wrong?" He shook his head and she crawled into the bed beside him, innocently wrapping her arm around him. "Hey… calm down, ok?"

He took a breath and let his head fall onto her, surprising even her, and simply nodded once more with his eyes still closed. She stared at him and then finally smiled. She waited until his breathing evened and eventually fell asleep beside him.

A/N So now just imagine this awesomely tough yet cute little boy I have created leaning on Makaila. Kawaii! (He's my fav character even if he's vague.)

Also, I was vague on the color of Makaila's hair. Makaila has dark hair, like Ash's, but it has a slight red undertone when she's younger. As she gets older the red comes out of her hair. She also has cerulean eyes like Misty. :)

So, I'm hoping the plot will expand in the next chapter, but there's a possibility it may be the chapter after the next one. The wait will not be as long. Please review! I live for reviews. And please ignore the amount of hyper that is showing through my author's notes.