Silent Angel Crashes Through the Sky

I sat down with Pete on the sofa. He stared at me with surprise. I knew it was odd that I was getting so close to him willingly. It did still feel a little weird. He was so cold...

"Just let me talk, okay?" Pete nodded with hesitation. He gave me a small smile of encouragement. I suddenly felt light-headed, worried, anxious. But, I let out a deep breath and started talking.

"I've... I've said some really horrible things to you, Pete." I looked away from him.

"You're a parasite-

"You're a monster-

"You aren't my brother."

"I also told you that I wasn't sorry." I bit my lip. "I think that a part of me was telling the truth, but another part of me was lying." I swallowed hard. "I don't want to fight you. I just... I thought I had to. I felt like I needed to." I sniffled a little. "I didn't want to face reality. I didn't want to try and reason with you, or the guys, or anyone. I was content with the bubble I had put around myself. I have had blinders on for three years. And, I regret it more than anything else in the world." I drew in a shaky breath.

"But, the thing is, I can't take it back. And, I still don't feel... comfortable around you, yet." I finally looked up at him. He had closed his eyes, holding an almost pained expression on his pale face. "Because every time I look at you, one part of me sees the monster that killed my parents and my boyfriend. And, the other part of me sees the man who raised me and kept me safe from all those monsters.

"You're not a monster, Pete. And, I am sorry." I cleared my throat. "That's it." Pete opened his eyes and the shining gold made me feel calm.

"Can I give you a hug?" Tears immediately sprung to my eyes. I nodded a couple times, shutting my eyes tightly. I caught him in a hug and felt the tears start to stream down my face. I buried my face into his hoodie, and it reminded me of the time that Jimmy had died. I think he was wearing the same hoodie...

I sniffled and held onto him tighter.

"Can I call you Annie again?" I thought for a moment.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "You can." I pulled away and smiled at him, wiping the tears from my face and sniffling again. "We might just have to wait a while for 'Panda' to feel okay again." Pete smiled and nodded. He smoothed back some of my hair and then ruffled it up again. I laughed and pushed his hand away. "Ass," I laughed, putting my hair back in place.

"Alright, we all one big, happy family again?" I looked over to see the rest of the boys standing in the doorway. "Cause the Killjoys are here and Avenged isn't," Andy said, pointing towards the door. On cue, there were a couple pounds on the door. Pete and I stood up. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to make myself look a little more presentable.

"Shit," I mumbled. I looked out the window and saw their car- old and beat-up. In the darkness I could make out that it was white, with what looked like an American flag painted on the side. I raised my eyebrows. Not very discreet. But, maybe discreet wasn't their thing.

I followed the boys to the front door. Pete opened it up and we were met with a very colorful bunch of men. I widened my eyes.

No. Discrete was most certainly not their thing.

The first thing I saw was a head of bright, fire-engine red hair. I tilted my head to look behind him and all their attire seemed to play into a very whimsical, bad-ass theme. Pete invited them in quickly. I felt for any cold radiations, but I got nothing. They were all human. We all shook hands.

"You can call me Poison. This is Jet Star, Ghoul, and Cobra." I raised an eyebrow at the red-head, pursing my lips. I was not calling them that. I figured that they had the same sort of name complex that the Avenged boys had. So, I would treat them the same. Figure out their real names, and ignore the stupid-sounding ones. Simple.

"Nice to meet you," Pete spoke for the rest of us. "I'm Pete. This is Andy, Joe, Patrick, and my sister, Clark." I nodded in acknowledgement. They nodded back.

"She the one who arranged this?" 'Ghoul' asked. I lifted my chin higher, nodding again.

"Yes. I am."

"Well, I guess you're in charge then," 'Poison' said.

"We're waiting for two more groups to start, but please, come in. Make yourselves comfortable." I led them into the living room.

"Avenged here, yet?" He asked. I shook my head.

"They're one group we're waiting on. Them and Echelon." I glanced back at them, and 'Poison' had pursed his lips.

"Echelon, huh?" I narrowed my eyes slightly, a little suspicious.

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Problem?" He shook his head.

"Oh, no. No problem." I looked at Pete, who shrugged with raised eyebrows.

"Good. Have a seat. Anything we can get you?" They all shook their heads, sitting down. They looked lost in the ugly, old floral prints. Thankfully, there was another knock at the door at that moment. "Got it!" I called out as I rushed to the front door. The door was opening as I got there. Matt stepped inside. I instantly blushed. "Oh, hey, guys. Good. The Killjoys just got here, too. We're just waiting on Echelon." I was really glad that people were actually showing up tonight. We had finally found reliable groups who would hear us out.

"Echelon?" Someone piped up from the back. I think it was Zacky. I frowned, crossing my arms.

"Yes. Echelon. What the hell is everyone's problem with Echelon? They seemed nice enough to me." They all looked at each other.

"Well," Matt started. "It's just that they're a little... uh-"

"Unorthodox," Brian finished. I gave them a condescending look.

"Don't you think?" Jimmy asked hesitantly.

"I like unorthodox kind of people. They're unique." Brian held up his hands defensively.

"Just saying. You're the boss, boss." I rolled my eyes.

"Come help me with the Killjoys. I don't know what to do with them. I love unique people, but these guys are uncharted waters for me. They're yours, you deal with them." I let them slip past me into the living room, but Matt hung back. My stomach sank with dread. I knew what was coming.

"Can we talk first?" I bit my lip, blushing and looking away.

"Yes," I mumbled. I peered into the living room. Everyone was talking, preoccupied. I took Matt's muscular arm and brought him to the kitchen.

"About the kiss. I'm sorry if-"

"No," I said quickly before he had a chance to finish. "You have nothing to be sorry for." I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "It's just... I've got a lot of baggage, Matt. Things I should probably fill you in on if we plan on..." I stopped myself, feeling the blush come back. He smirked.

"So, you liked it as much as I did?" he asked, getting closer to me. I was leaning against the counter, frozen as he came nearer and nearer. I felt myself smile.

"Actually... yes. Probably even more than you," I said, biting my lip. The weight that I'd felt in my stomach disappeared.

"Oh yeah?" I nodded, laughing. He put his hands on my arms and came in for a kiss. I leaned forward, too. Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, making me jump in surprise. I looked over and saw Pete. I blushed and mentally face-palmed. Why did I make up with him again?

"Echelon just arrived," he said lowly, arms crossed. There was a knock on the door as he finished his sentence. I cleared my throat.

"Well? Go let them in," I said quickly. He leered at Matt, but finally turned and headed towards the door. I let my head fall against Matt's chest. "Sorry," I said, embarrassed by my overprotective brother. His chest shook with laughter as he wrapped his arms around me tightly. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled into his shirt.

"Don't worry about it." I lifted my head back up and he kissed my lips quickly. "We have plenty of time for that," he said with a wink. I laughed, and we both headed out into the living room.