11

I woke up alone the next morning.

It didn't surprise me when I opened my eyes and realized this. Sean obviously wasn't about to let himself to get caught, but he'd moved so gently that I'd never felt him leave, even though I tended to be a light sleeper. You could call that a product of coming from a hostile environment. It was in my benefit to make sure I could wake at a moment's notice.

I got up slowly as the sunlight beamed in on me, and saw that the window over my bed was closed tightly, although it wasn't locked. Stretching, I decided that it would probably be best for me to get on with my day like nothing had happened. Hopefully, Sean would show up again and lay with me.

As much as I hated admitting it, I had been way too comfortable with him there. That situation turned out way too inviting to pass up if I was able to do it again.

My morning went by fairly smoothly. Raziel came back to school, although he'd seemed a little bit begrudging about it. Anna was back too. She was feeling a lot better, and acting like her happy-go-lucky self. I was glad to see that. I'd been worried about her since she'd sounded so sick before.

As the two of us sat down in our first class, Anna slyly passed me a note. What was written on it caught me a little off guard.

Have you gotten to talk to Sean anymore?

I thought about how to word my answer before I wrote back to her. I knew that she'd eventually ask me about this. She was way too curious to ever pass up something like Sean's apparent interest in me, and she was using this as a way to ask me without Raziel overhearing.

Yes. I guess we're starting to become friends now.

She smiled when she read that, but she didn't get to pass the note back since the teacher was watching the class like a hawk. I confess that I was kind of glad. I worried that I might end up letting things slip about the night before.

I admit that I was still a little bit puzzled about all of it. Sean's words kept echoing in my head as I sat there, and I felt my cheeks getting hot.

I'm in love with you Mia.

He couldn't possibly have been serious, I thought.

There was just no way that someone like him could ever love someone like me, especially when I thought about everything that had happened between us after I'd first come there. Besides, what would happen if Raziel found out about all of this? I was certain that there would be one nasty fight between them.

I must have been concentrating hard on my thoughts, because I didn't hear the teacher, Ms. Booker, calling my name until the fourth time she said it. That was incredibly embarrassing. I looked down at my book and straightened my black framed glasses as I heard the small snickers around me.

I barely noticed Anna staring at me from the corner of my eye. Of course, she had to say something about it when class was over.

"What was up with you? I've never seen you space out so much." she said as she stood up with me.

I shook my head as we stepped out for lunch, "It's nothing, and seriously Anna, you haven't known me that long. It's a bad habit I have." I told her.

"You must have been thinking about something really deep. You looked like you were a million miles away." Anna went on.

I wish I was, I couldn't help but think.

I looked at the hallway walls as we walked. The usual signs were plastered on them, mostly advertising the upcoming prom. Being Juniors, Raziel, Anna, and I were able to go. I hadn't really given it that much thought. I knew that I probably could go if I really wanted to. There were enough guys showing an interest in me now. A few had even spoken to me in my classes.

Well, the ones who were brave enough to stand up to Raziel. He was my self-proclaimed protector and dared any of them to try anything with me. Guess the whole incident with Sean had brought that one out in him.

But it made me wonder if I even stood a chance at having a boyfriend now. I'd told Raziel that, although I blushed like mad when I did. I think it was more from admitting to him that I would be open to such a thing happening.

I'll admit that I was feeling better about myself there now. After all, I was Michael Renaldi's daughter. I was supposed to be a popular rich kid. In a way, I was slowly becoming that. But I still liked keeping my tight little circle of Raziel and Anna as close friends too. It was much easier and more comfortable that way.

As we walked by the library, I caught sight of Sean sitting in there at one of the tables near the window, reading a book. Without thinking, I stopped and stared at him. He didn't look that different from any of the other times I'd seen him, dressed nicely with the light shining slightly off of his dark hair. He appeared content with what he was reading.

Anna stopped beside me, "Mia? What's up?" she asked. Then she saw who I was looking at, "Oh... you've gotten to the staring stage huh?"

I shook my head, forcing myself to look at her, "What?"

Anna grinned, "The staring stage. You like Sean, and now you're staring at him when you can." she elaborated.

"No, I don't." I retorted.

I tried to move away, but it felt like I was frozen in place. Not a good thing considering who I was with.

"Come on Mia, don't be like that. I think Sean really likes you, especially since he talked to you behind Raziel's back like he did that day." Anna went on.

"Anna, can we please leave it alone? If Raziel hears you..." I started.

"Hears what?"

Both of us turned to see Raziel walking over to us.

Damn it, I thought, please don't let him have heard her say that Sean spoke to me a while back.

I never had told him about that one, and apparently, Anna had never bothered mentioning it either. Maybe she'd forgotten to.

"You're late! Where have you been?" Anna demanded, putting a hand on her hip.

"I had to finish up a lab project." Raziel told her, "Anyway, what were you two talking about?"

Anna gave him her best smile as she hugged his waist, "Oh nothing. Why don't we get some lunch now? I'm starving." she suggested.

I knew this ploy. She was trying to divert his attention. I thanked her in my head for that.

But Raziel was still giving her a skeptical look.

"Are you up to something?" he asked her.

"Me? Of course not! What makes you think that?" Anna responded, playing innocent.

Raziel let out an exhausted sigh, apparently deciding to just give it up for now.

"Come on then. Let's go get some lunch. I'm hungry too."

I glanced at the library again as we walked away. Sean was still sitting there, though he did look up briefly towards the window. A smile crossed his face as we caught eyes. I felt the blush creep across my cheeks as I forced myself to turn away. Stupid fox.

I worked hard to keep that blush in check as I joined Raziel and Anna, but neither of them seemed to notice it. Instead, as we sat down at our table, Anna turned to me with a question that was completely away from anything we'd been talking about before.

"Seriously Mia, you're really not going to Prom this year?"

This had been a topic of conversation between us for the last two weeks, although I wasn't changing my answer, no matter how many times she asked.

"No. I told you before that I don't want to go." I responded.

"You seriously don't want to huh?" Raziel said, sitting back in his chair. He'd been amused about this ever since Anna first brought it up.

"No, I don't." I repeated.

"How can a girl not want to go to the Prom? It's the most magical night of her life." Anna complained.

"You mean besides the loss of her innocence?" Raziel joked.

"Stop being a pervert!" Anna scolded him.

I swear, if those two weren't going at it at least somewhat, then I'd know that something was wrong between them. They were always pushing each other's buttons.

Be as it may, I decided to keep up the previous conversation and pretend that I hadn't heard Raziel's comment.

"I just don't see where it matters that much if I go to the Prom. That's all it is. Besides, there isn't anyone here that I'd want to go with anyway." I told them.

Anna stared at me, "Seriously? No one?"

"Nope."

"What about Sean Morrison?"

I almost choked, even though I hadn't been drinking anything. Raziel just about fell out of his chair where he'd been leaning back.

"Have you lost your mind?!" he fumed at her.

"What? I think it's legit if she wants to go with him. Besides, isn't Sean one of the most popular guys here? It would fit." Anna defended.

"She's not going with Sean Morrison!" Raziel declared.

I hung my head. Of course, Anna would open the can of worms, and she wasn't giving up.

"Come on Raziel. Going to the Prom together wouldn't hurt anything. You can always go as friends too." she insisted.

"Yes it would. He's supposed to be staying away from her, remember?" Raziel countered.

That one caught my attention. I noticed Anna tense up like she'd just remembered something.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." she apologized.

"Raziel..." I started.

I was interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing. I couldn't believe that lunch was over already. The three of us quickly got up with the rest of the kids and made our way to class.

But as Raziel and I sat down in English, I turned towards him sharply.

"Raziel, what was that about at lunch?" I demanded quietly.

"What was what about?" Raziel asked, looking genuinely confused.

"You know what."

Raziel shook his head, "Seriously, I don't. You've lost me."

I made sure no one was listening before continuing, "You told Anna to remember that Sean was supposed to stay away from me. What did you mean by that?" I whispered as I leaned closer to him.

"Oh," Raziel sounded like he'd had a great revelation, "That. Don't worry about it."

I knew then that he'd told Anna the truth about us and Sean. It made me wonder what would happen when Michael and Raphael learned about it. We weren't supposed to be telling anyone our secret, and while I liked Anna, we were still only sixteen years old. Anna could very well blurt it out without realizing it.

I sat through English thinking about this. Beside me, Raziel was awake, but quiet. He seemed to be thinking something over. I found out after class what it was. He asked me if I was going to tell Michael about Anna.

"I don't see where it's any of my business Raziel, but you know that there could be trouble from it." I told him as we stood by our cars.

"I think it'll be okay. Besides, it's not like I'm planning on ever losing her." Raziel assured me.

"I guess."

I leaned back against my car. I wasn't too sure about that one, but I didn't have the heart to even suggest to him that the relationship could fade in time.

"By the way, I'm also not as dumb as she seems to think I am. I heard what you two were talking about in the hall." Raziel added, leaning back beside me and looking up at the sky.

My heartbeat quickened, "You heard us?"

"Yep, but I didn't think it was worth saying anything around Anna. Seriously Mia, why do you always insist on inviting trouble?" he asked, sounding exasperated.

"I'm not inviting trouble. Besides, Anna's just seeing things. I don't really like Sean." I lied.

Raziel shook his head, "I'll believe that one when I see it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. It's pretty obvious to me. Seriously, how'd you manage to attract a fox anyway Mia?"

I frowned at him, "I didn't attract him on purpose, and I don't really want his attention either. I don't even like him, so just lose that thought." I responded, moving to the other side of the car to open my driver's side door.

"If you say so." Raziel shrugged. He leaned down to my open window as I started the car, "But you should listen to me too Mia. Even if you did break him like Raphael and Michael seem to think, he could still be dangerous. Just watch yourself around him, okay?"

This would be the first I'd hear of Raphael thinking the same as Michael. But at the time, I decided not to say anything more to it.

"Okay. I understand Raziel, but I'm not interested." I insisted.

"Like I said, if you want to say so. See ya later." Raziel replied, standing up straight and heading back to his own car.

The irony in all of this didn't escape me as I drove home. Even Raziel had figured out that I actually did like Sean, though I'd never give him the satisfaction of a real answer.

But as I drove, forbidden thoughts began to enter my mind. What if Sean did ask me to the Prom? What would it be like to go with him? I imagined that it would be wonderful. Spending time together, perhaps getting in a few slow dances to romantic songs.

I forced myself to pull over as my mind tried to fall into that fantasy. I put the car in park and banged my head on the steering wheel to force those thoughts away. No, I wouldn't allow myself to even consider falling in love again. Having my heart broken once was enough, and on top of that, this fox had also tried to kill me before. I needed to get him out of my head.

I finally pulled myself back together and got back on the road. Thankfully, I made it back home without having to pull over again and force forbidden thoughts from my head. Once I got my things put away after getting inside, I laid back on the couch and grabbed the book I'd been reading from the end table, along with my iPhone, which I'll admit was my favorite gift from my dad.

Putting it on shuffle, I tried to lose myself in the music and my book for a while. I just needed to make myself stop thinking for a bit. I was certain that doing this would work. Heck, it always worked before whenever I began thinking about Zane.

And work it did. For the next hour, I got lost in the music and the story I was reading. Feeling my eyes getting heavy, I ended up laying the book over my face and closing them. I was half asleep when I noticed the book being moved.

"You picked an odd way of napping." Michael joked as he looked down at me.

"I was comfortable." I laughed, pulling the earphones out and turning off the player.

Michael tossed the newspaper he'd brought in onto the coffee table across from us. The sound echoed a little in the large, quiet room.

"I was thinking we'd go out for dinner this evening. You don't mind, do you?" he suggested.

I didn't miss that he sounded pretty up beat. His day must have gone pretty well. Of course, I also knew that he must have had something in mind for this sudden thought too, but I reasoned that it was probably good, considering how cheerful he was.

"Sure. Just give me a bit to get changed." I agreed as I got up.

It wasn't long before we were heading out to a small restaurant about thirty miles from town. It wasn't really a place where you'd normally see people with a lot of money, but I think Michael preferred it because it had this down-home feeling to it. It was kind of funny when I thought about it. For a man with so much money, Michael was very down to earth most of the time.

I took in how familiar everything was as we stepped inside. I'd been to this place several times in the last few years with Michael, although it definitely wasn't as packed as it normally was in the summer. The hostess took us back to a table by the windows overlooking the water, and the two of us sat down and looked over the menus.

"You're in a good mood today. Did something good happen?" I asked Michael after we gave our orders.

"Well, it was a good day for us, but I'm happier over being able to get out with you tonight. It's been too long since the two of us had a night to ourselves like this, hasn't it?" Michael responded.

"Yeah. It has." I acknowledged.

We had some small talk as our dinner came. I was feeling pretty comfortable now. This was a lot like all of the times before when we had dinners out together. But as we continued, the subject turned to something I hadn't been expecting.

"I have been wondering about something Mia. Raziel mentioned the other day that he was taking a girl to the Junior Prom this coming month, but I don't think you've mentioned anything about you wanting to go." Michael pointed out.

This was the roundabout way of him asking why I wasn't going.

"No, I really haven't said anything because I wasn't planning on going." I confessed.

"Really? That's surprising. I thought that all girls looked forward to that." Michael said.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal Dad. I just don't see how I could go without a date. That's all." I explained, resting my elbow on the table with my chin against my hand.

"Are you that worried about getting a date for it? I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem for you." Michael assured me.

"It's not that. There's just no one in the school that I'm interested in going with. Besides, the only reason that Raziel's going is because his girlfriend really wants him to." I informed him.

"I suppose." Michael sounded a bit reluctant, "But it's still a big night, even for a Junior."

"I know, but seriously Dad, there isn't anybody that I'm that interested in going with. Most of the guys in our school just don't interest me that much."

Michael shrugged, "I suppose I can't say much to that one. I'd expect you to have high standards. Just don't set them too high my dear. You shouldn't be alone forever."

This was typical Michael. I knew that no guy would ever be good enough for me in his eyes, although he still wanted me to be happy with someone of my own one day.

I decided to try and change the subject now. I was feeling uncomfortable over all of this Prom stuff being brought up over and over.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you that Sean apologized to me a few weeks ago."

I felt like this might have been the best time to do this. After all, time had passed, and Michael had seemed to be a bit more forgiving towards Sean when he'd speak of him.

"Really? I had guessed he might have done that at school when Raziel wasn't around. Raphael probably would've gotten a phone call about his son's suspension otherwise." Michael noted.

I chuckled as I heard that one. How sad that he was probably right.

"So you're not against me at least speaking to him now?" I asked him.

"Not really, although I will be keeping more tabs on him from now on. Sean's a nice boy at heart. His biggest problem before was that wild nature of his. I'd imagine after what happened that he's probably much more stable now." Michael answered.

"So, you know more about this whole Breaker thing?" I guessed.

"I do. I have the same ability, though it surprises me that yours kicked in like it did. Typically, our extra abilities don't come in until after our times." Michael explained.

I could read between the lines very easily with that one. I had to when it came down to it. We were in a public place.

"I guess I really am weird, huh?" I muttered.

"Not really." Michael replied, "Mine also kicked in earlier than expected at one time when my life and the lives of others were in danger. Perhaps it's really reflex in the end."

"Really? What happened?" I asked, feeling curious.

He'd never mentioned anything like that before, and he'd been pretty open with me about a lot of things since what had happened.

"It's not worth talking about. Just an old problem that was resolved afterwards." Michael answered with a quick wave of his hand.

I really hated it when he did that. It meant that the subject would be dropped automatically. But as we sat there, Michael changed the subject back to our previous conversation.

"By the way, I've been thinking about whole Prom thing. I think you should go."

"You really think so?" I asked, almost dropping my fork.

"Of course. I think it would be good for you. After all, you only experience high school once, and far be it for me to be blunt, but your life before I got you back wasn't exactly the best. I'd prefer to see you have some good experiences here, especially given what's already happened. I'll admit that I've been feeling pretty guilty about all of it." Michael explained.

"You know that wasn't your fault Dad. Raziel and I should've just told you when it started. "I reasoned.

"I know," Michael acknowledged, "but it doesn't change my feelings towards it as a parent. I know I haven't exactly done right either, especially when I look back and consider how I kept you in the dark about so many things before. My protection hasn't been good for you. I suppose that Raphael is right when he says that the worst events in history were caused from the best of intentions."

Okay, so he was good at making me feel guilty. Even though I shouldn't have, I did. I really should've been making myself do more.

"All right. I guess I'll go, but I still don't have a date." I reluctantly agreed.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm sure we can figure something out there. After all, not everyone goes to such things with a romantic interest." Michael reminded me.

It didn't escape me that he seemed more than pleased now. I'd probably just played right into his hand.

"I guess, but what do you mean by figure something out if that doesn't work out?" I dared ask.

"Don't worry about it. If you can't find someone within a week of it, then we'll figure it out for you." Michael promised.

Okay, I thought, so I have until the week before. I had better get on that first thing tomorrow.

But first, I had to make sure of something.

"So, as long as it's someone I like, it's okay?" I verified.

"Yes. I won't argue that one. But please think about your decision too. You're a smart girl Mia, so I trust that I won't have to worry too much. But remember that sometimes caution can be good too."

I took his words to heart that night, although I think I'd already made up my mind on who I hoped to go with. I just hoped he'd agree to it, and that I wouldn't be making a mistake.