Storm Brew

Coward, taking off before I could confront him... such a coward!

"Why did you let him leave? I wanted to talk to him!"

"If I did try to keep him here you wouldn't have liked how I did it." My head turned to Nate as his sentence lingered with dark threats.

He was angry at Reed—I was angry at Reed, we both were, but for different reasons. Nate was mad because Reed had basically called him incompetent and me... well, I wanted to ask what his deal had been with my Mom.

"Are you alright?" I pulled at his hand so he'd sit down with me.

Nathaniel did so, albeit reluctantly. He didn't seem to have a problem with Anna—just... with her presence or maybe it was the reason why she was here, to help him. Nate wasn't the kind of person who asked for help. Anna was settling next door. After we'd exited mine and Nate's room only my boyfriend stood there, leaning on the glass window smoking. Anna's bag was across from him and there was no sign of Reed. We still hadn't talked about things.

"I'm fine," He arched his shoulders as if trying to rid himself of all the tension. Nate's definition of 'fine' was different than mine—it wasn't the only word with a different definition, though, so it wasn't all that surprising.

"I'm buying you a dictionary..." I muttered as my hand traced his partially shaved face. "You're not fine. You haven't been since we stopped at the gas station."

Nate looked up ahead, where the TV was.

"That's because Reed called me saying he wanted to talk to me." His eyes returned to me. "In person," Oh, so that's why he'd been looking so sullen ever since he'd walked out the station.

"I thought it was because I didn't go buy your food." I mused blinking softly.

Nate cocked an eyebrow then wrapped an arm around my waist, making me tumble into him.

"But I like it when you get angry at me." I didn't get to frown because he caught my mouth with his. "It's hot." I felt the arm on my waist curl tighter, soon I was pressing onto his side like I was nailed to him. "How are you?"

I'd say great after that deep smooch but that would feed his ego... and besides he was probably talking about finding out my childhood friend was, in truth, an assassin. I shrugged off.

"My parents were assassins, my boyfriend is an assassin—why am I still surprised?" I said sarcastically.

Nate's chin settled on top of my head.

"You're getting over it, then?" He asked.

"Sure," I mumbled. "My brain doesn't seem to mind that I didn't know that dirty little secret of hers."

Nathaniel pulled us apart enough to allow me to look at his face.

"I should've told you—but it wasn't my secret to tell." He looked conflicted. "Sorry,"

Hearing Nate say 'sorry' was adorable, no matter how much he said it, it never seemed to change. His voice lowered and instead of its normal deep timber, it grew hushed and soft. If I told him that he'd probably stopsaying it...

"I get that." At least I was trying to. "Are you okay with this?" I knew he wasn't, not completely. Nate's nose wrinkling was proof of it.

"I don't have a choice." He groaned out.

"Are you going to be nice?"

"I'm not nice." Nate proclaimed.

"You're nice to me." I pointed out.

"Exactly, to you, not to other people. You're special, princess." Hmm, that sounded very sweet but I didn't want World War III to break out between Nathaniel and Anna.

"She's one of my best friends, be nice." I asked tracing his European jaw line. "Be nice, for me?" I asked with a forming pout. Nate appeared unaffected.

"I'm not promising you anything." It wasn't a 'no' and with Nate that was the best you could get away with.
Nathaniel tilted his body backward then it hit the mattress, I thought he'd pull me along, but instead he released the hold on me. I turned around getting onto bed, standing on my knees looking down to him.

"Melissa?" His hand curled on mine, his eyes locked with mine.

"Yes?" I said after a long pause.

Nate's eyes closed for a little while.

"This goes without saying but... that stuff that I said—what I've told you about me..." Nate sat up again, his head higher than mine, his expression guarded. "That stuff's private..." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Nate saying this to me was redundant—but I'd assure him, like I knew he wanted me to.

"Of course," My free hand twined in the back of his hair. "I know that, silly." I combed the ash hair softly, my mouth corners turned up. "Besides, I wouldn't want Anna to be kidnapped by one of your vengeful enemies."

He smiled mischievously, and I was glad seeing as I'd broken through his worry.

"No, we really wouldn't want that." He leant in to kiss me.

I placed the hand that had been caressing his hair to his chest, leaning myself backward a little.

"You were being sarcastic." I accused.

Nate took on such an innocent expression... on him it truly was a fake. Nate was everything but innocent.

"I was not."

"You did it again—"

He kissed me and I could feel him smile slightly. Idiot... why did he have to kiss so well, though?

I watched Nate's quiet, still form. He was draped into the motel's sheets. It wasn't that late, we'd gotten dinner about two hours ago, but I was glad to see him getting better when it came to sleeping. I was pretty sure it had to do with his hangover, though. But whatever the reason it was good for him.

For the first time in about a month I ate with someone other than Nate. It was interesting... Nathaniel wasn't mean or rude—he plainly ignored Anna through it. In my opinion, that was better than causing a riot. God knows he could do it—and with Anna's temper... it was a recipe for disaster. Anna hadn't paid attention to him in return. During it, I caught Nate's fleeting glances—especially when I laughed—I guessed he'd never seen me laugh like that, which made me strangely guilty. There were things I just didn't understand sometimes...

I was about to brush an ash strand from his forehead—but thought better. What if he woke up? His sleep had become kind of unstable—sometimes he woke with the slightest of change, touch—other times he slept through a nuclear attack.

I walked to the bedroom door, closing the door softly behind me—

"Ah...!" I muffled the scream as soon as a distinctive laugh came from behind me. "Ann," I scolded. "Give me a heart attack why don't you." I breathed in and out, my hand slowly dropping from my own mouth.

"You'd think after a month of being chased by killers you'd be less of a scary cat." She crossed her arms with a playful smile, they only gained more glee when she saw me locking the door. "Afraid Nate's going to run away? I didn't know you were the dominatrix kind of girlfriend, you had me fooled—"

"He's sleeping," I explained. "I... locking a door won't keep assassins out, will it?"

Anna's lips pressed into a tight line, trying not to smile.

"Nice try, though." Her head shook. "I thought he was the one who protected you—not the other way around."

I stuffed the key in my jean's pocket.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked. "I was going to your room."

"I came to escort you,"

"It's next door..." I tilted my head to see the door behind her.

Anna puffed her chest like she was about to make a speech.

"Do you know how seriously I take my job?"

"Very...?"

"Exactly," She took my hand into hers tugging me behind her. "So, come on."

Anna's room was the print image of mine—she didn't lock the door. Guess it really didn't do anything to keep people like them out.

She only stopped when we were sitting on her bed. My legs were crossed and she was laying on her stomach staring at me intently.

"Spill," Anna rubbed her hands. "I want to know every detail." Right. This was the part where I did my one-month-report. Starting with Nathaniel, I presumed; if I was going to tell her about Nate though... should I tell the part where he covered my back in purple bruises and how he hurt my feelings? She'd probably knock some sense into him, even if I told her not to... maybe if I begged her...?

"Huh..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm not sure what to tell you—where to start."

Anna tapped a finger on her chin.

"The beginning is always good, Mel." I bit my lip. "If you prefer to tell me about sex—"

"We didn't have sex," I cut off, my eyes going a little wide.

Her forest eyes blinked once, and then she brushed a strand of thick hair from her face.

"You didn't...? She sounded like a kid who'd been told that two plus two wasn't four. "You didn't?"

"No,"

She seemed so surprised, then again Sam proved Nate had nightstands—lots of them, Anna probably knew of his reputation.

"I'm sorry, it's just... are you sure that's really Nathaniel Belanger you have in there?" I nodded dumbly, tempted to run into my bedroom and see if it was. "I don't know many things about him—I do know he has sex with girls and well, that's all... you know. No strings attached." I could feel my cheeks tainted. "Not that I'd want you to be one of those girls, but I thought you'd finally given in to my motto." She shrugged lightly.

Oh yes. Anna's motto. She was the reason why I'd given into my attraction for Parker. Sex is like food, there are tons of different reasons to have sex and you should try every reason at least once. That was her fantastic motto. Well, I hadn't followed it. I'd been in a relationship with Parker and we'd done it. It was for pleasure and it wasn't bad. Alright it was a little, since it was the first time.

"I told you I'd never to that."

"Mentalities change, Mel." Her raven eyebrows wagged. "Besides, he's hot."

"Thanks," I chuckled.

"Anytime," Anna winked.

I curled against the headboard thinking of way to explain Nate without telling everything he didn't want me to mention—it was hard.

"When we met I hated him," She snorted and I laughed shallowly. "Really—I just wanted to push him off a cliff..." I bit my lip, wondering how that seemed so long ago—another life time, but it wasn't. "I thought I couldnever like someone like him... he's violent, he's rude, arrogant—a jackass." I drew my lips in then offered a small smile to my friend. "I don't know how it happened; when I looked over my shoulder it was too late. He'd gotten under my skin, and no matter what I did—how much I'd denied it—I couldn't shake him." I rested my head on my shoulder. "Because somehow he makes me feel everything I've ever wanted—and things I never felt before."

Anna rolled onto her back, sitting up. A corner of her lips itched.

"You're in love with him," She stated softly.

"I am," My palms ran across my face. "Is it too weird?"

"I'm an assassin, there is no such thing as too weird for me." Anna smiled a little wider then she sighed slowly.

"I just wasn't expecting it, that's all." Her shoulders lifted and fell in the same second.

That got me wondering...

"What do you know about him?"

Anna twisted her shoulder length hair, brushing it to one side.

"Somehow I think you know more about him than I do." I give a guilty brush of my hair. "I get it, he never was very talkative about himself."

"I thought that was normal because you don't have attachments?"

"Sure," Anna admitted. "But those are stereotypes—I tell you everything for one," She nudged my shoulder with hers, her smile made me smile. "There are others who don't share with outsiders. So, they share with those who are like them—other assassins." Her head tilted into the board. "There are two levels of training. The first level is when you're seven until your ten—the second is when you're ten to fifteen. I met Nate when I was seven, he was eight. We were in the same class," Anna's head tossed in my direction. "I don't know if you know... he's...?"

"Adopted," I nodded softly.

"Yeah, I didn't want to be the one to tell you if you didn't know. It feels wrong telling something that isn't yours to tell," I felt a smile coming on, Nate said something of the sorts. "Well, he was adopted by the Armstrong's and it was all everyone talked about—the Hive doesn't get outsiders often, so Nathaniel had this big spotlight for a while. Besides, he stuck out like a sour thumb."

I slit my eyes softly, heart jumping fast.

"Why...?"

"He was different from the other kids—the ones who grew up there. They're normally cold, detached and violent—like Drew." My heart skipped a beat; she noticed rubbing my leg to calm me down. "Nate was more like me—he wasn't anything like that. Though, at first sight he'd seem cold and detached but I could see he was just sad." Nate never said anything about it but I'd pieced together something like that. Which normal eight year old would be happy in those circumstances? He was being trained to be a killer! "I tried to talk to him—he didn't want to." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, there was this one time after training... everyone had left, I was packing up in the locker room. When I was walking out he was there and so was Drew—they were sparring, nowhere in hell was it an even match—she'd been training for six years already, he'd been at it for three months, I think." Anna breathed in like she was reliving what she'd seen, her eyes bored into mine, I swallowed because it was like I could see her astonishment. "Nate's head hit the floor while she was pinning him—she said something to him then, I don't know what it was but until that day I'd never him so angry, so violent—he broke her nose." Anna stretched her legs in front of her. "I didn't see Nate for two whole days after that," My eyebrows knitted together, could it be... "Every time I saw Nate he was better and better—no one whispered anything because of him being adopted.

Nate was really something. Anna seemed to like him, I think.