Prologue


Dearest Phoenix,
I’m sorry I had to die before you were born. It wasn’t by choice. I’m hoping you are reading this when you are 16. After your 16th birthday, I told my daughter, your mother, to give you this letter. You don’t know this but…you are a, well, mythical bird. You are a phoenix. Only one can exist at one time and I too am a phoenix. That is why I’m dying. My grandmother before me was a phoenix too. So on this day, a very hot August day, you will be born, August 21st, noon. I was also born in August at noon. Oh sorry I’m getting off track. You won’t have any training with your new powers so please try to figure them out. You will be able to shape shift into a bird on fire, have the melting hand, control fire, and control ashes. I bid you farewell my dear Phoenix. Remember; be careful, somebody might be looking for you.

Love Your Grandmother,
Phoenix Fire

I folded up my letter and kissed the top of it. I looked up at my son-in-law and smiled weakly. I was sitting in a hospital bed, taking my last breaths. My daughter was in labor, giving birth, in the room next door. My daughter, Margaret, not knowing about the magical world, decided to marry someone I did not approve of. A human. It was going to be very difficult for the little phoenix to have two human parents. I mean, who was going to train her. I handed my son-in-law, John, the letter.
“Remember,” I coughed, “give this to her when she turns 16. Exactly 16. Do you understand?” I asked giving him a stern look. He nodded his head and took my hand. I coughed some more.
“Now, if someone is looking for her, protect her as much as you can. If she dies, we all do,” I said dazed. Everyone who I know thinks I’m crazy which included my son-in-law. John just smiled a knowing smile on his face because he did not believe me. When I said ‘we all do’ I meant all the phoenixes that have ever been born onto this earth. We would all be extinct. I coughed some more. I looked at him weakly. I knew it was soon the end.
“Give my daughter and my granddaughter my blessings and my love,” I whispered. As I took my last breath, I heard the screams of a newborn baby. The next phoenix.

Chapter 1
The beginning

Back, forth, back, forth, I thought as I kicked my legs back and forth on the swing. I felt my chocolate curls bounce on my shoulders. I’m doing it! I’m doing it! I screamed in my head. I looked over to my mother on the playground bench talking to some lady. I smiled my best smile. I was swinging! All by myself!! I looked over at some little girl. I think she was my age and she was concentrating very hard over a pile of rocks. She had tight black curls that framed her little ivory face like vines on a tree. Her cheeks were red from such concentration. Her eyebrows puckered up on her forehead and her little pink tongue was sticking out. It was pure concentration. I bet she can’t swing as good as I can, I thought. So I smiled and slowed down on the swing. I got up and walked up to her. I sat down next to her pile of rocks. She just glanced at me and then went back to concentrating.
“Do you want to have a swinging contest?” I asked. She looked at me more closely.
“No,” she said. Then she looked back at her pile of rocks. I frowned.
“Are you afraid I’ll beat you?” I asked quietly. She looked at me like I was crazy.
“No, I’m a really good swinger,” she said her shoulders straightening.
“Then why won’t you have a swinging contest?” I asked smiling. She glared at me for a moment.
“Fine, I’ll do it!” she exclaimed, pumping her little fist into the air. She smiled a sly smile and sat down on one of the swings. I ran and sat down on the swing next to her.
“One,” I said.
“Two,” she said.
“Three!” we both cried. Then we pumped our little legs as fast as we could. I felt beads of sweat on my forehead. I was a very tiny little girl so while I was pumping my legs, I was slipping off the large swing. So the swing threw me off. For a second, I felt like I was flying. Then I felt my little red shoes touch the ground. I dusted off my red dress and turned to look at a shocked face.
“How did you do that?” she asked. I shrugged.
“I don’t know,” I said. She slowed down her swing and walked up to me.
“My name is Jolie Parker. What’s your name?” asked the girl.
“I’m Mel. Mel Fire,” I said smiling at the girl. I knew we were going to be friends forever. I was five.

………………………………………………………………………………

I closed my eyes and felt the sun on my face. It was a beautiful spring day in April. I’ve always loved the heat and I loved to run. It felt like flying. I sat down on the black top during recess and let the sun wash over me like water in a hot bath. Jolie walked up behind me and sat down. So far we were always in the same classes. She looked over to me. I opened my eyes and looked over to her. She was now closing her eyes and waving her hand over the grass. I never understood why she did that. I looked over to Kate. She was the new girl and I guess she was okay. I wasn’t a friend to her though. She had caramel waves and green blue eyes. Her eyes were like the sea. She looked really upset right now though. It was right after lunch and a bunch of mean boys were surrounding her. I walked over to her. When I was in hearing distance, I heard what those boys were saying.
“My mom made me brownies for lunch,” said one boy with a sneer.
“My mom made me cookies,” said another boy.
“My mom made me a cake!” cried a boy with a black shirt. In this heat? I asked myself. I frowned. A boy, it looked like the leader, hit him on his shoulder.
“That’s because it was your birthday,” he said glaring at him.
“So?” he asked confused. I didn’t know what was going on here. I almost turned around when I heard the leader boy’s voice.
“So what did your mommy make you?” he asked in an innocent voice. Everyone knew that poor Kate’s mommy was dead. That was the reason why she moved here.
“My mommy’s dead,” she whispered. One of the boys laughed.
“I’m sorry but I don’t think I heard you,” said the boy who laughed. She whipped her head around at him and glared.
“My mommy is DEAD!” she screamed at him. That’s when I ran. Who was this boy and why was he teasing her? Why were they all teasing her? I ran and slipped through between two boys. All the boys looked at me. The leader came up to me and sneered. I pushed him a little.
“Leave her alone!” I told him. He smiled and pushed me a little harder.
“You’re not the boss of me,” he said. I pushed him harder.
“You’re making her upset!” I said. Then he pushed me even harder. I landed on my butt against the ground. Then I think the ground pushed me up because I was on my feet and I glared at him. I felt heat from the sun and it was boiling inside of me. There was a ball of heat in my heart that kept building and building. I pushed my hands out and let the heat flow through it. I pushed him to the ground. I felt especially proud of myself until I saw his shirt. There were two burnt hand marks on his shirt. The two hand marks looked like they were burning through his shirt and almost touching his skin. I started to panic.
“Does someone have any water?” I cried. Kate somehow appeared a bucket from behind of her.
“I do!” she cried. Then I splashed the leader boy with water. She smiled at me.
“Thank you,” she whispered to me. I smiled back.
“Your welcome,” I said. That was when I became friends with Kate Harrison. I was nine.

……………………………………………………………………………….

I heard the echo of my footsteps in the big hallway. The floors were marble and made huge echoes in this empty hallway. I was looking for my step-dad when I ran into a girl. Her hair was cut in layers and her hair was a strawberry blonde. It looked like it went up to her shoulders. Her head was in her hands and she didn’t look too happy. I sat down next to her on the bench. She looked up and I saw that her eyes were a dark brown. A darker brown then my eyes. Her face was dotted in freckles but so was everyone else’s these days. She just sighed and put her head back in her hands. I looked around. Don’t talk to her! Don’t talk to her! She’s here for a reason! My head screamed at me but I was curious. I wanted to know why she was in a courthouse. I looked at her hard.
“Why are you here?” I asked warily. She looked at me bored.
“I’m waiting for my trial to say whether I go to jail or not,” she said in a bored tone.
“But why would you go to jail?” I asked her. She looked at me and squinted.
“I wanted to sell cookies to the strangers who work here but they decided to arrest me because one of them was allergic to peanuts,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
“Really?” I said carefully. I think she came from the nut house.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“I think that’s not true,” I said. She gave me thumbs up with fake enthusiasm.
“Ding! Ding! We have a winner. The reason why I’m here is because of my stupid aunt. She thinks it’s illegal to create a hurricane in Hawaii. She doesn’t even have proof except for that stupid video. I mean seriously! I mean I guess the government does want us to be a secret but she’s always been jealous of me. Just because I have the family powers and she doesn’t! Did you know she killed my mom and dad? But no one believes me!” said the girl in frustration. I scooted an inch away from her. She was crazy, I was sure. She stuck out her hand.
“My name is Aria Greene. What’s yours?” she asked. I smiled and shook her hand.
“Mel Fire,” I said. I was thirteen.

………………………………………………………………………………

I was packing my books into my backpack. I looked around our big kitchen and saw the envelope. I knew I was only allowed to open it when I turned sixteen. Only 4 more months! I screamed in my head. Only, on my birthday, I have to be at my dad’s house. My parents weren’t always divorced, like any other parent. They just did when I turned 12. I wasn’t very happy because right away my mother got married to some hotshot lawyer named George. To make matters worse, I wasn’t the only child anymore. George had a son with some other woman and now he’s part of the “family” if you could call it that. His son’s name is James and he’s 18. After my mother got married to George, the greatest lawyer of our time, she tried to have a baby. It didn’t work out. I mean she was young and everything but the weird thing was the doctor said she couldn’t have any babies. That was weird because hello? I was born. The doctor said sometimes there’s “good mistakes” and that’s how I was born. Oh great! Another thing James could tease me about. I’m a mistake. So lately my mother has been trying to get closer to me. It’s sickening and annoying. I heard my mother slapping her feet against the marble stairs. She yawned.
“Melanie! Are you down there?” she asked warily. I grabbed my piece of toast and ran out the door. I closed the door behind me to see Kate.
“Hey, Kate!” I cried, waving my hand frantically. I looked around and frowned.
“Where’s-“ I started to say.
“Jolie? I don’t know. Oh and hey Mel!” said Kate. I caught up to her and walked beside her. We all walked to school, Kate, Jolie, and I. Lately, though, Jolie has been ditching us for some red head. Oh I’m sorry, strawberry blonde. I don’t know what she looks like because I’ve always seen her from a distance. All I know is that she’s new to our school.
“I cannot believe Jolie is ditching us again!” I cried. I felt heat building up inside of me. Kate gulped behind me. Somehow she always has water and she splashed me with it.
“Augh!” I yelled. Then I smiled.
“What was that for?” I asked her looking at my wet curls and my wet top.
“You needed to cool down,” she said carefully. I looked at her.
“Where do you keep that bucket anyway?” I asked her. She shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she said. Then Kate’s phone went off playing her favorite song by Taylor Swift, “Jump then Fall”. She looked at the caller ID. Then she looked back up at me.
“It’s Jolie,” she whispered. I shook my head and laughed.
“You always make things so dramatic,” I said smiling. She laughed.
“Yeah, I do,” she said and then she picked up the phone.
“Hey Jolie! So why’d you call? Really? Uh huh. Oh my god that would be great! Oh the red head? Oh I’m sorry, strawberry blond,” she said while rolling her eyes at me.
“Yeah I know she has a name. I don’t-oh whatever. Yeah, yeah. Wait, what time? Seven? When again? Friday? Ok we’ll be there. I said we’d be there! Are you hard of hearing? Where are you any way? At school? No wonder there’s all that yelling. Is whatever-her-name-is with you? Did she drive you to school again? Ok yeah I’m walking up to school. We live near by you know. Ok whatever. Bye!” she said while closing her phone. She looked at me.
“I guess we’re going to a sleepover,” said Kate. I rolled my eyes.
“Great,” I said.

Chapter 2
School

We walked up to the bronze doorways. I sighed. I didn’t mind school too much; it’s just the people inside of it. Everything is always broken up into groups. There are the outcasts (that’s me!), the populars, the jocks, the geeks, the dramas, and all the other stereotypes. That’s why I wasn’t very happy in high school. Southern California, L.A., is great its just there are a lot of snobs living here. I walked through the doors, past Miss Sparkle and Shine (A.K.A the queen of the drama club also A.K.A Rachel Wellington.) She sneered at me and then smiled at all the rest of her friends. They were all good looking let me tell you but they were also all snobs. The food chain was this: first, the populars. They can eat up anybody and can turn the whole school against you. Plus, they were all blonde. Second, the jocks. Those boys are totally hot but have really big heads. Technically they belong in the populars group but not all of them are blonde. Boo hoo. Third, are the dramas. No wonder why Rachel thinks she’s all that. They all try out for the school musicals and if you don’t get in, you’re out. As simple as that. And everyone else follows after them. Lately people have been starting to mix. It’s really irritating me. Kate waved over her boyfriend and smiled. Her boyfriend walked over and kissed her on the cheek. I just glared at him. He smiled a wary smile. Kate’s boyfriend is Justin Gregory. He’s the quarterback for our school football team. Yes, he’s a jock and she’s an outcast. Do you see how irritating that is? To make matters worse, because he started to date Kate, everyone else has been mixing. Some popular girl is dating a geek! Sure she gave him a makeover and now he looks totally hot but the thing is he was a geek! I swear I don’t know what this world is coming to. Justin doesn’t really like me that much. I honestly don’t know why. Okay, I do. He’s the guy I burned in the third grade. He still has my little hand marks on his skin. It’s pretty funny when you think of it. Well, I think it’s funny, he doesn’t. Jolie has a boyfriend too actually but, thankfully, he’s somewhat of an outcast. Nobody really knows why though. I mean he’s cute and funny. He’s nice too! Jolie thinks he just “chose” to be an outcast. Who chooses to be an outcast? I’m the only one without a boyfriend. Kate thinks it’s because of the burning accident in third grade. Jolie thinks it’s because I don’t let guys get close to me. Whatever the reason is, the point is I don’t have a boyfriend.
“Hey, Mel,” he said smiling at me. I rolled my eyes and gave him a little wave. Kate looked back at me.
“Bye Mel! See you after school!” she screamed down the hall. Everyone looked at her and she just smiled and waved. Kate loves attention. That’s one thing that Justin likes about her. At least he seemed to love her; you could plainly see it in his face when he sees her. That makes me like him, some. Then I saw Jolie at her locker, without her boyfriend. I walked up next to her.
“Were you going to school with that red head?” I asked her. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.
“It’s strawberry blonde and yes, I did. We have an English project together,” she said smiling a forced smile. I’ve been Jolie’s friend long enough to know when she’s upset. I sighed.
“What did he do?” I asked. I didn’t have to say his name. We both knew who he was.
“We had a fight,” she whispered her eyes watering. I looked at her.
“Everyone has fights, Jolie,” I said. She looked at me with her huge brown eyes.
“It was about his…career. If you could call it that,” said Jolie in disgust. Her boyfriend, Ian, is a famous singer. They met and fell in love. Now he goes to our school and sticks with her every second of the day. He’s got curly dark brown hair and brown eyes. Lately, they’ve been having when-to-meet issues and Rachel issues. Rachel hates the attention that Jolie is getting from the press and what not so she’s been trying to steal John away. John just doesn’t believe that. “She’s a good person!” is his side of the argument.
“Oh whatever! Just forget about him. He’s just a big headed pop star,” I said walking to our first class. Jolie sniffled.
“I can’t. He’s in my mind twenty-four seven!” she shouted. Everyone in the hallway stared at her. Jolie shied away from the attention. Kate and Jolie are complete opposites. Kate is outgoing and loves being the center of attention. Plus, sometimes she thinks she’s in a movie about her life so she’s completely dramatic. The thing is about Kate, is no matter how hard you try; you’ve got to love her! Jolie is different. She’s shy and hates it when people stare at her. Sometimes she completely ignores you. So if you don’t know her well you would think she’s rude but she just doesn’t know what to say. Plus I think she’s kind of deaf and blind, but that’s just my opinion.
“Well he doesn’t have to know you’re thinking about him,” I said quietly. Kate came up to us.
“I heard,” she said putting her hand on Jolie’s shoulder. She looked at her like she was crazy.
“Heard what?” she asked slowly. Kate closed her eyes like it was hard for her to say it. Then she looked out into the middle of nowhere.
“About…your breakup,” she said. Then she looked back at us. I just shook my head slowly.
“What’s today’s episode about, Kate?” I asked sarcastically. She looked at me.
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” she said sarcastically back.
“Kate! We didn’t break up!” cried Jolie. She was a mess. We ran into the girl’s bathroom. Who cared if I was late for first period? My friend felt like she was dying! Kate grabbed a bunch of tissues out of her big black gold lined purse. It had a gold belt in the middle of the bag too. I didn’t know what the purpose of it was but it was still there.
“There, there,” said Kate sympathetically. Jolie blew her nose.
“Is the ‘show’ on hold?” I asked teasingly. Kate smiled at me.
“Of course,” she said. I rolled my eyes. Kate frowned.
“So what happened?” she asked.
“Well, I guess Jolie and Ian are in another fight. That’s what she told me,” I said. Kate frowned some more.
“Rachel told me that they broke up,” she said. Jolie started to cry even harder.
“We,” she hiccupped, “didn’t break up!” I shrugged at Kate. She shrugged back.
“Jolie just forget about him,” said Kate.
“But I can’t,” wailed Jolie.
“Then act like you did,” said Kate breezily. She’s good, I thought. Jolie looked into the mirror.
“Fine. Okay. Just help me fix my makeup,” said Jolie wiping up the last of her tears and washing her face. I laughed.
“Okay we’ll help you,” I said laughing. Then Rachel came in the bathroom. Kate and I crossed our arms, like bodyguards.
“What are you doing here?” asked Kate glaring at Rachel. Rachel smiled.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she said smiling a smug smile seeing that Jolie was a mess. She walked up to Jolie.
“I heard that you and Ian broke up,” she said with a fake sad face.
“I thought she said she needed to go to the bathroom,” I whispered to Kate.
“Yeah, seriously,” she whispered back. Jolie threw a sharp look in Rachel’s direction.
“We didn’t break up,” she said confidently. Rachel’s smile disappeared.
“You didn’t?” she asked.
“Yeah, we didn’t,” said Jolie. Rachel walked straight out of the bathroom.
“What’s her problem?” I asked in disgust. Jolie picked up her light pink bag.
“Let’s go to first period,” she said. I looked at Kate and waved good-bye.
“So? There’s a sleepover Friday?” I asked trying to make conversation. Jolie looked at her chipped nails.
“Yeah I guess. And you’ll get to meet Aria!” cried Jolie. Aria? I thought, that name sounds familiar. I frowned thinking.
“Um, yeah, sounds…cool,” I said slowly. Jolie frowned.
“Um, you don’t sound very excited,” she said stopping and looking at me. Before I could say anything, she gasped. I looked over to where she was looking at. It was Ian. He gave Jolie and I a tiny wave and smiled one of his heart breaking smiles. Jolie just sighed in a happy way. He’s taken her heart away again. Just after one wave and smile! I tapped my foot and crossed my arms.
“What?” she asked while walking down the empty hall.
“Are you serious?” I asked her blocking her view of Ian. She looked away from me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Jolie stiffly. I scoffed.
“Oh yeah right!” I exclaimed. Then I walked into first period waving good-bye. When I opened room 201, my teacher took one look at me and then went back to teaching. Mrs. Howard was my English teacher. She just got married not too long ago and she was my favorite teacher. I blushed and took my seat next to dark-and-mysterious and pulled out my textbook. Even though English was my favorite subject and I was really good at it, I just couldn’t seem to concentrate. I was thinking about that girl Aria. I’ve heard that name before, I thought. Where have I heard it? I tapped my pencil against my desk, deep in thought. I looked out the window staring at a red robin. It was staring right back at me with its little black eyes. The tapping stopped and I just stared at it. Then it flew away. How strange, I thought. Then the deafening bell rang. The rest of the first half of the day went like that. Then the lunch bell rang. I practically flew out of my desk past the black-haired mysterious guy. Then I looked back at him and he looked at me. I quickly turned my head forward and started walking towards Jolie and Kate. Kate was practically grinning from ear to ear. I looked at her curiously.
“Um, yes?” I asked taking my lunch out of my locker. She nodded her head to the mysterious guy.
“Are you guys-?” she started to ask. I laughed.
“Dating? Um, no. I don’t even know his name,” I said smiling a little smile. Jolie smiled with me. Kate just frowned.
“His name is Michael. Someone said he’s a spy,” she said. I cocked my head to the side.
“And you believe that?” I asked. She shrugged. We, then, walked into the cafeteria. It was chaos as usual. I turned to Jolie.
“Eating with us? Or her?” I asked nodding my head over to the strawberry blonde whose head was turned away from me. Jolie looked over to her and then back at Kate and I.
“I’ll eat with you guys, today. Besides, after Friday, I’m sure we’ll all be eating together.”
“Whatever,” I said, shrugging. Jolie was taking out her usual veggie burger and apple.
“Why don’t you ever eat meat?” I asked taking out my own ham sandwich and a bag of chips.
“You know why,” she said. Jolie was a vegan. She never, and I mean never, eats meat. It’s against her “nature”. Just then Justin came over and sat down next to Kate.
“Hey,” he said giving her a kiss on the forehead. She smiled blissfully.
“Hi,” she said. Then he looked around, frowning.
“Um, where’s Ian?” he asked confused. Then Jolie started to silently cry.
“Idiot,” I said to him. He stuck his tongue at me. Then I stuck my thumbs into my ears and waggled my fingers. Kate gave me her look and I slowly gave her a guilty look back. Then Justin caught sight of Rachel and she waved him over to the somewhat popular table.
“Bye,” he said sticking his tongue at me. I stuck my tongue right back at him. Then he gave Kate a kiss goodbye, which I saw Rachel frown about.
“Isn’t he AH-MAZING?” exclaimed Kate when Justin was out of the hearing zone.
“Yeah absolutely amazing,” I said sarcastically. Kate handed Jolie some tissues.

Chapter 3
The Sleepover

I looked at myself in my floor length mirror. I saw my mouth twist in disgust. I was wearing an oversized blue sweatshirt and jean shorts. My skin was pale, no matter how long I stay in the sun. My hair was down in dark, chocolate waves. My almond-shaped eyes were a dark brown, as well. My dark purple glasses hid my eyes and I was glad about that. I looked like a totally different person with them off. So I mostly kept them on. I turned to look at my cluttered room. My room was huge. Well, it was bigger than the closet room I had when I was eleven. Before my parents got a divorce. Two of my walls were crimson red and the other two had dark pink fur on it. My curtains were bright red with black at the top. Plus, half of one of my dark pink fur walls was a mirror. My bed had gold sheets and orange and red pillows on top. My bed was a canopy bed. The curtains around my bed were a translucent red. I had a window chair that was bright yellow, the brightest thing in my room. It had orange and bright red pillows on it as well. For now, though, everything was covered in clothes. I had already packed everything in my red sling-over bag. I was ready to go. One more thing, I thought as I grabbed a brush from my antique, mahogany dresser. I ran the brush through my chocolate waves and then packed it into my bag.
“Melanie!” yelled my mom for the fifth time. It’s Mel, mom, I said in my head for the thousandth time.
“COMING!!” I yelled down the stairs. Then I ran down them and ran right into George.
“Um, sorry,” I mumbled. He looked at me with his blue eyes.
“No problem, Melanie,” his voice boomed, “Just be careful where you’re running.”
“Yeah, George. Bye,” I said through my teeth. I hated that guy. He was so full of himself. Mom smiled up at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Sorry, hon, but I have to take Melanie here to her friend’s house,” said my mom shrugging.
“It’s not like you had anything planned, anyway,” I mumbled as I slipped past her out into the cool night. Only at night did it ever smell slightly like winter. I got into the passenger side of my mom’s car. Then I saw her talking to George some more. I leaned over to the driver’s side of the car and honked the horn. I saw George jump a little and when my mom, finally, came into the car, she saw my smug smile. Then she shook her head and backed out of the driveway. My mom, Margaret, had blazing red hair and piercing green eyes. I looked nothing like her, nothing like my grandma as well. My heart gave a little squeeze, thinking about the grandmother I’ve never known. My mom kept telling me I am exactly like her, even if I don’t look like her. She told me that my grandma died the same day, the same hour, and the same second that I was born. So technically, the day to celebrate my birth was also the day for my mother to mourn over her mother. I rested my head on my arm as I watched the other cars drive by. My mom glanced at me.
“Melanie, maybe you shouldn’t stay up so late. I don’t know if this is a good idea if you’re so tired already,” she said. I sighed. Oh give it a rest, I thought.
“Mom, I’m fine,” I said. I loved my mom. I really did. I just don’t know how she could find a new husband in less than a year. Anyway, I guess my dad did the same. Plus, he actually already has another daughter anyway. She has bouncy black curls and dark blue eyes. Her name is Sarah and she’s the most beautiful little girl ever. Sarah mostly looks like my dad, and I guess her dad too. My dad has black hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. Sarah gets the blue eyes from her mom, Rebecca. I like Rebecca okay. I’m just polite to her though. Then my mom drove up Jolie’s driveway. I love Jolie’s house. It’s tinted blue and then has a dark blue door and dark blue shutters. It’s quaint, small, and absolutely perfect. When I knocked on the door, Jolie answered. Her tight curls framed her face wildly and she was wearing a light flower-patterned nightgown. Yet, she still looked like a tree sprite.
“Hey Mel! What took you so long?” she exclaimed, her cheeks flushed.
“Mom,” I said. She cocked her head to the side and raised one eyebrow.
“Okay! And me,” I said laughing. Jolie shook her head and smiled. Then she grabbed my hand.
“C’mon! You absolutely have to meet Aria!” Jolie cried, jumping up and down, hardly containing her excitement. I laughed.
“Okay! I’m coming!” I cried. Then she practically dragged me down the stairs into her basement. Then I paused at the end of the staircase, peering into the basement. Aria was turned away from me while Kate and her did a pillow fight. Kate squealed when Aria poked both sides with her fingers and then started beating Kate with the pillow. They were both laughing. Jolie clapped her hands together and Aria turned around. I gasped. It was the same Aria! She had strawberry blonde layered hair that came to her shoulders and dark brown eyes that were darker than my own. Hers was an almost black color.
“Aria?” I asked warily. She looked at me lazily.
“That’s my name, punk,” she said narrowing her eyes, assessing me. I took a deep breath. What was her last name? I asked myself. I swear I heard a light bulb light up and make a ding inside my head.
“Aria Greene?” I asked astonished. She looked at me slowly. Then I saw recognition in her face. Then she narrowed her eyes again.
“You’ve changed,” said Aria accusingly, like I wasn’t allowed to change. I laughed.
“You haven’t!” I cried. She gave me a sideways smile. Kate and Jolie gave each other a sideways confused look.
“Um, care to explain?” asked Kate looking straight at me with her ever-changing eyes. Right now it was green with blue around it.
“Um, I met her at a courthouse when I was like, 13,” I said. Kate whipped her head to look at Aria.
“Yeah, I was there. Only because my stupid aunt ratted me out,” said Aria clenching her hands into fists.
“Um, why?” asked Jolie. Aria looked at her while we all looked at Aria.
“Well, she told people that I made a hurricane or tornado, whatever, she was just jealous. Still is,” said Aria. Aria looked at Kate with a somewhat confused expression. I saw Kate mouth “cut it out”. Then when she saw me staring at her she started to laugh.
“Oh your so funny, Aria,” said Kate laughing. But I knew she was hiding something. I frowned thinking about what she could be hiding. Then Jolie brought out her spinning black leather chairs. For the next hour, Kate, Aria, and Jolie tried to knock each other off the chairs. I didn’t even try to go on. This might sound babyish but I was totally frightened. I was scared that I would hit my head. The reason was my dad dropped me while he flipped me over his shoulder. The worst experience of my life! I laughed along with them but nobody forced me to go. I was happy. Then after the chair wars, it was secret telling. I lay down on my belly, hearing the rustling of the sleeping bag as I moved. We were in a circle, heads facing each other. Kate looked at us, in our eyes, one by one. This part gave me the creeps but I was somewhat used to it because usually Kate did this with Jolie and I. We all nodded once. Then Kate stuck her hand out into the middle and we all did the same.
“Repeat after me,” said Aria. Then I heard an “Ahem!” It was pitch black and all you could see was the flashlight underneath our hands, making it glow.
“I will not speak a word from this sleepover,” started Aria. She paused indicating it was our turn to speak.
“I will not speak a word from this sleepover,” we all repeated.
“Whoever does will be shunned,” said Aria.
“Whoever does will be shunned,” we repeated.
“FOREVER!!” she screamed.
“Um,” we all said looking at each other. Aria looked at us annoyed. I smiled.
“FOREVER!!” we all screamed at the same time. Then we burst into giggles. Aria cleared her throat and looked at us like a bunch of kids. I quickly regained myself. She looked at us one by one.
“Okay, Jolie, since this is your house, you start,” said Kate settling into her sleeping bag. Jolie sat up as straight as a post and looked at the ground.
“There isn’t anything to tell,” she said quietly but loud enough for us all to hear. I tried to catch her eye.
“What do you mean ‘there isn’t anything to tell’?” I asked. She looked at me and then looked back down.
“Exactly what I said,” said Jolie. Aria gave me an I’m-not-buying-it look.
“If it’s about Ian, you can tell us you know,” said Aria crossing her arms. She knows? I asked myself. I couldn’t really say I was surprised. Jolie sighed. When she looked up, we could see she was crying.
“I can’t keep anything from you guys, can I?” she said, not really asking. Kate got up real fast.
“If he broke up with you, I swear, I’ll pummel him to a pulp!” she cried.
“I’m with you there,” Aria and I said at the same time. Jolie laughed a sad laugh.
“It’s not that, you guys. No need to beat up anybody. He just…needs some time, he said. He needs to think things over. When he’s ready again, he’ll tell me,” said Jolie twisting her hands around. Then she looked up at us, her brown eyes filled with water.
“Okay, I’m definitely beating him up,” said Aria standing with Kate.
“Or at least talk it out,” I said. Kate and Aria looked at me like I was crazy.
“Hey, I don’t want to be suspended,” I said throwing my hands up.
“Mel’s right. You guys can’t go beating up a superstar,” said Jolie wiping her eyes. Aria scoffed.
“Says who?” asked Aria. Jolie looked at her.
“I mean you just can’t do that. Maybe you should talk to him or, preferably, just forget about it,” said Jolie. Kate and Aria sat back down slowly.
“Preferably, I would like to beat him up,” said Kate. Aria gave her a high five.
“So would I,” said Aria. Jolie laughed a hard laugh.
“Preferably, I would just want to forget the whole thing,” said Jolie. I took one look at her and decided we should move on. Clearly, she was uncomfortable about talking about it.
“Moving on!” I shouted. Aria gave me a strange look and gave me a ‘ha’. Kate looked at me and I knew she agreed.
“Yeah, okay, Aria, you’re up,” she said waving her hand at Aria. Aria sighed.
“Okay, okay, okay. Well, let’s see…” she said pausing to think.
“Okay I’ve got something to share! Well, there’s this senior at our school…I don’t know what his name is but I’ve seen him around. He’s most likely 18 years old,” said Aria pausing to think about him. I felt my eyebrows pucker up.
“Um, Aria?? What does he look like for Pete’s sake?” cried Kate. Aria looked up to look at her.
“Oh, um, yeah. He’s taller than me by a good three inches, sandy blonde hair, emerald green eyes, kind of tan, definitely cute. Oh and he drives a Mercedes. It’s black,” finished Aria. Jolie, Kate, and I each gave a knowing smile. I put my head into my hands. Then I peeked through my fingers. Aria gave us a confused-if-you-don’t-tell-me-I’m-going-to- lose-it look.
“Do you know whom I’m talking about?” she asked suspiciously. Kate laughed.
“Um, yeah! He’s Mel’s step-brother, James,” said Kate. I groaned.
“Don’t remind me,” I mumbled. Aria laughed.
“Um, wow! Didn’t see that coming!” she exclaimed. Then we all laughed. After telling our secrets I think I fell asleep but I had the strangest dream. All I could see was black but I could hear voices. Mostly Aria’s, Kate’s, and Jolie’s. I could also hear my thoughts.
“Do you think she’s asleep yet?” asked Aria bored.
“I don’t know,” said Kate…or Jolie. They both sound the same to me. Then someone tapped my shoulder and softly called my name. Everything was silent for a minute or so.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Kate.
“Okay good,” replied Aria.
“Maybe we should whisper so we don’t wake her up,” whispered Jolie.
“Is this okay for you?” stage whispered Aria. I could just see Jolie rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, whatever,” whispered Jolie.
“So…she doesn’t know?” asked Aria in a whisper.
“Yeah she doesn’t,” replied Kate.
“How can she not know? That’s like impossible,” whispered Aria. I wish I could open my eyes and see what’s happening! What are they talking about anyway? I asked myself.
“She won’t know until she turns sixteen,” said Jolie.
“Shhh!” replied Aria and Kate simultaneously.
“Oops! Sorry,” whispered Jolie.
“Besides, how do you know this?” asked Kate in a whisper.
“Um, I’m smart!” whispered Jolie.
“Okay you guys, whispering is starting to irritate me! Either we talk about this when she’s not sleeping and when she’s not here or you all are going to have to trust my judgment on whether she is completely knocked out or not. Okay?” said Aria aloud.
“Okay, gosh!” said Kate.
“Yeah, agreed,” said Jolie.
“Good,” said Aria obviously happy she got her way.
“So, what can you do?” asked Kate.
“I can control the air. You know, like the wind? The stuff you breathe in and out? Did you know I could make sure no air is around you and it’s like a vacuum? I’ve never done it yet but I know I can do it. Always imagine doing it to my aunt,” said Aria. Wait what?!
“I also heard that air benders, or whatever you want to call yourself, can also make illusions if they tried hard enough,” said Kate.
“Yeah, I can do that too. Oh, and I like to be called an illusionist. I mostly work with those. They’re easier for me,” said Aria sounding distracted.
“No way! Really? I hear they’re like the hardest thing!” exclaimed Jolie. Then there was silence while they waited whether I would wake up or not.
“Whoops,” whispered Jolie.
“She sleeps like a rock,” said Aria in her carefree tone. There was more silence while they debated inwardly whether they should talk or not.
“So…what do you guys do? I mean, what does Kate and Mel do?” asked Aria. Yeah, what do I do you guys? I inwardly glared at them.
“Well, I can control the water. Waves and stuff. I can even appear it out of thin air. Pretty cool, huh?” said Kate. No wonder why she always has water!
“No, not really,” said Aria. I heard a gush of air being sucked in.
“Well,” said Kate in an insulted tone.
“Just kidding,” said Aria.
“I know,” said Kate laughing a quiet laugh.
“And Mel?” asked Aria.
“Well,” started Kate.
“Mel’s a bit special,” said Jolie.
“How exactly?” asked Aria.
“Mel is a phoenix,” they whispered simultaneously.
“Wait what?” asked Aria. She sounded confused but not confused at the same time. Wait what? That’s what I want to know. And why haven’t they told us this before?
“Mel is a phoenix. We just said that,” said Kate obviously bored.
“But only one can exist at one time and…aren’t they birds?” asked Aria sounding amazed. Well I’m not a bird. Let me tell you that.
“Ok. In her family tree or whatever, her grandmother Phoenix Fire’s great, great, great, great, great, great-,” started Kate.
“Ok! I get it! A lot of greats!” exclaimed Aria. I could imagine Kate give her one of her looks.
“Grandmother, who was an actual bird, traded a bit of blood with a human so their families would stop fighting. In reality, it started even more fighting because her really great grandmother, instead of turning into ashes and turning into another bird, had a baby. This baby was human who could shape shift into a bird. Then the human family had a problem with it. If the phoenix powers skip a generation then there would still be more phoenixes than one. That irritated them and so that family became the enemies. That human family became the very first phoenix hunters,” said Kate all dramatic like. Wow, learning about my history here that I NEVER KNEW ABOUT!! I was done with all the sleeping.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked slowly and calmly with just a tint of anger. They all three looked at each other.

Chapter 4
I’m a phoenix. Great! Anything Else?

“Um, Mel, exactly what did you hear?” asked Jolie.
“Everything,” I replied crossing my arms. They all mouthed ‘oh’ at the same time.
“So you heard about the whole-?” asked Kate not quite finishing.
“Yes. Apparently I’m a phoenix. Anything else I need to know? Oh I know, Jolie, you’re a tree nymph right?” I asked sarcastically.
“Well, kinda,” said Jolie. I felt my jaw drop.
“No. Way,” I whispered between gasps. Jolie shook her head.
“No! I mean, I don’t live by a tree. I control earth,” said Jolie shrugging.
“Ok, either you all are crazy or this is just a dream,” I said shaking my head.
“Yeah, it’s a dream, kid. Now go back to beddy bye or something. NO! This is NOT a dream! GROW UP!!” shouted Aria. Then she crossed the room and slapped me across the face.
“ARE YOU AWAKE NOW?? DO YOU STILL THINK THIS IS A DREAM??” screamed Aria.
“Nope. I’m good. Yeah, I deserved that,” I said rubbing my face. She smiled at me and walked backwards back to her sleeping bag.
“Ok. If I’m a phoenix and someone’s hunting me…why haven’t any of you told me??” I asked. Kate and Jolie shrugged.
“You weren’t supposed to know until your sixteenth birthday. That’s when your full powers come in. But being surrounded by super powered people,” started Jolie.
“Um, I prefer superhuman,” interrupted Aria. Jolie shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Ok, being surrounded by superhuman people sometimes make your powers come in earlier. I mean look at Kate. Her hair is starting to turn blue,” said Jolie. Kate must’ve seen my face ‘cause she butted in.
“Just the tips, at the end, ok? It’s ok. Not all of it,” said Kate like she was talking to a baby. I just glared at her.
“Ok, whatever,” I said sighing. I looked at my hands clenching and unclenching them.
“But…how do you know? I mean how do you know I’m a phoenix?” I asked them quietly. Jolie scoffed and Kate gave a little ‘ha’. I glared at them.
“Seriously!” I cried getting frustrated.
“Ok, ok, ok,” said Jolie putting her hands up.
“Well?” I asked crossing my arms. Kate and Jolie looked at each other.
“Ok, well, how to start this? Hmmm, oh I know! Ok. Well, Mel, first your name was supposed to be Phoenix Fire just like your grandma’s,” said Jolie. Aria scoffed.
“Like that’s not a giveaway,” said Aria. Jolie and Kate glared at her. She just glared back. Jolie and Kate gave her a look and looked back at me.
“As I was saying, you said that your name was supposed to be Phoenix Fire but your mom only decided to name you with the last name. So your name is Melanie Fire. That’s what your mother decided and there is no turning back on that one. Anyway, when I first met you,” started Jolie.
“On the swings,” I interrupted. Jolie glared at me.
“Yes, on the swings, you flew off. I had two theories. One, you were just really tiny but the fire that came off of you canceled that theory. Anyway, you have bird-like bones. So my second theory was more correct. That you were the one and only phoenix,” ended Jolie. She smiled warmly at me. I thought about it. I remember feeling like I was flying but not the fire part.
“Ok, but a theory doesn’t prove anything. Plus, that one little thing doesn’t make me a phoenix,” I said crossing my arms. Aria just stared at us like how a kid stares at the television set.
“Well, you didn’t hear about my part yet, Mel. When I first met you, or well, when we first became friends…” started off Kate.
“Yeah, the time where Justin and his friends were bullying you about your mom,” I said picking at my nails. It’s a nasty habit. I don’t bite them, just pick at them when I’m upset or don’t want to think about something. My friends say I have pretty nails all the same. Oh, and piano fingers. Kate stared at me long and hard.
“You know, I’ve been trying to put that out of my mind because I’ve started dating Justin and he’s changed. Now, though, I’m thinking about it again!” said Kate. I smiled a happy little smile.
“Does that mean you’ll break up with that jerk?” I asked hopefully. Kate looked at me strangely.
“You know, sometimes, I think you want me to break up with him because you like him and want him for yourself,” said Kate thoughtfully. Then she looked at me and smiled. I felt my jaw drop and my eyes go big. I knew what I looked liked, like a deer caught in headlights, except, not out of fear, out of shock.
“Um, no! I hate him. I think he’s snobby, a jerk, careless, probably only likes you because you’re a challenge,” and then I stopped. Kate eyes grew wide. It started filling with water, those ever changing eyes.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean…Kate, I…” I stammered. Then I fled the room. I knew I shouldn’t have. I mean, you would think she would flee the room but she didn’t, I did. I opened up Jolie’s dark blue door and saw a sheet of water. Probably Kate’s tears, I thought to myself. Even though it was pouring cats and dogs I ran out there anyway. I like to run anyway. It gives me the feeling of flying. So I ran. I knew I was soaking wet but I didn’t care. When I was about a mile away from Jolie’s house I heard screaming. The screams called out my name. I looked back for a moment. I would’ve thought I was crazy for what I was seeing. Water was pouring down my face and I kept spitting after a few minutes, staring at what was coming my way. Kate somehow had no water hitting her. Aria was in the air blowing water away from her. Jolie was…I couldn’t quite explain it. She was moving the sidewalk so she didn’t have to run. Oh, she was soaking wet but she wasn’t running like Kate. Then I got mad. If I had such great powers, why can’t I control them like my friends can? It wasn’t fair. Soon enough I was dry and I honestly didn’t know why. Well, I didn’t know until Jolie, Kate, and Aria all stopped.
“Mel! You’re on fire!!” they cried. I looked around myself and sure enough I was in a huge fire.
“Whoa,” I whispered to myself. It was like being in a wild fire except it was on you and that you weren’t being burned. Then I changed. It wasn’t like a split second like in the movies. It was slow, like lava. Plus, I kept flickering between my human self and my…bird self. I guess it was because I had never changed before. When I did finally change into a bird, it felt incredible. I could feel a burst of fire tear up inside of my heart. I just flamed. I was a bird and I seemed to fly so fast I left a trail of fire where I flew. No, it did not burn stuff. It was like a jet when a jet leaves a trail. It was awesome!
“Whoa! Good job, Mel!” I heard Aria scream. I laughed. When I was a mythical bird my laugh sounded angelic. It didn’t sound like me at all.
“You did it!!” screamed Jolie. She even threw her fist into the air. Just like old times.
“I cannot believe you did it!” screamed Kate, cupping her hands around her mouth so I could hear. I just laughed some more. I flew in a loop and then landed on the ground, turning back into a human as I did.
“Oh my god!! That was so much fun!” I screamed, laughing.
“Cannot believe you did it. I’m so proud of you. Even before you turned 16!!” said Aria as we were walking back to Jolie’s house. Then she slapped me on the back. We all stayed dry on the walk back because Kate was keeping the water off of us. When we got to Jolie’s house we had to be extra quiet because Jolie’s parents were asleep. No matter how nice they seemed to be, they were really strict and none of us wanted Jolie to get grounded just because we woke up her parents. Then we all just crashed.

Chapter 5
Adoption, dreaming, and more

When I woke up the next morning, I thought it might’ve been just a dream but, no, I realized, it was much more than that. After we all got dressed the doorbell rang. Jolie’s mother (who thinks I’m so polite and sweet) called me up from the basement saying my mother was here.
“Bye you guys,” I said and they all looked at me strangely. I guess because I haven’t said one word since I woke up. I had a lot of thinking to do. When I got upstairs, I thanked Jolie’s mother for letting me stay. Then I climbed into my mom’s big green van. My mom’s eyes were practically glowing. Her dark green eyes had a sort of twinkle in them and my mom’s usually wild red hair seemed tame.
“Hey sweetie! How was the sleepover?” she asked casually as she backed out of Jolie’s driveway.
“Good,” I said warily. She glanced over at me and smiled.
“What?” I asked running my fingers through my hair. I really need a haircut, I thought.
“Sweetie, what if I told you I’ve been thinking about adoption?” asked my mom keeping her eyes on the road. I frowned.
“I’d be fine with it I guess. I mean, if that’s what you want…and I’ll help baby-sit,” I said looking in the glove box for a lollipop. My mom always keeps lollipops in the glove box. Jackpot, I thought grabbing a grape one.
“Well, sweetie, I don’t mean adopting a baby,” said my mom slowly. I looked at her quickly.
“I’d be ok with a toddler too. You know me, besides I adore little Sarah so…it would be ok,” I said taking the wrapper off the lollipop.
“Honey, I mean a girl your age,” said my mom pulling into the driveway. I looked at her confused. She sighed and cut off the ignition. Then she turned in her seat to look at me.
“Melanie, a couple months ago I went to the adoption center with George. I expected to adopt a little baby. You know me, I love little kids. But the thing that changed my mind…I saw an older girl there. A girl your age. She had such a way with little kids. They all looked up to her. She had this glow around her. Here, you’ll see her when we go inside,” said my mom smiling. I looked at my mom like she was crazy.
“Mom, please just say I don’t have to share a room,” I said in utmost sincerity. She looked over at me and laughed.
“C’mon! Meet Macy!” cried my mother. I slowly unbuckled myself and opened the door of the car. I walked up the stone sidewalk and up the stone steps. My mom then unlocked and opened the big red door. I smelled something really good and figured George was cooking. I dropped my stuff and walked over to the kitchen. Then I screamed. It wasn’t George it was this…stranger!
“Melanie!” scolded my mom, “its just Macy!” Macy was in an apron and was holding a spatula ready to flip the pancakes. She was wearing a white, simple but elegant dress. She wasn’t model thin but she wasn’t completely obese either. Her figure was homey looking. I can’t explain it. It was like motherly feeling but in a teenager. Her hair was a dark honey color and her eyes were a spring green. Her wavy hair came down to her shoulders and she had side bangs that kind of covered one eye. She looked over to my mom and then to me.
“Um, hi? Do you like pancakes?” asked Macy uncertainly. She had a certain glow around her. It was something unnatural, something you couldn’t find with humans. I must be crazy, sometimes people just draw other people around them, I thought. I looked up at her.
“Yeah, I love them,” I said. She looked at me and smiled. We won’t be as close as sisters but we may be as close as friends. When we all sat down to breakfast, which was delicious, George stood up to say a toast.
“A toast to Macy and her delicious breakfast that she made,” boomed George gesturing to Macy. Macy blushed delicately and ducked her head.
“Let’s eat!” cried James. Then he picked up his fork and dug in. I didn’t start eating because I felt a bit sick. Reality was starting to catch up with me. I’m a phoenix. I turned into a bird…on fire! Also, because of all that fire disappearing out of my body I felt sicker. I needed some heat. I needed more heat. While I was thinking this and clutching my stomach, Macy stood up.
“Oh, another toast?” asked my mom, wiping her mouth with her cloth napkin. Macy shook her head.
“Oh, no, Mrs.…?” said Macy. My mom smiled.
“Just call me Margaret if you have a problem with calling me mom,” said my mom. Macy smiled.
“No, Margaret, I’m not going to make a toast. I’m just going to make a suggestion. Could we pray first? I mean, before we eat?” asked Macy. She sat back down. We all looked at each other. Mom and I used to pray when I was younger but then she married George and George doesn’t believe in God.
“I’m sorry, Macy, but in this household, we are not religious,” boomed George. Macy frowned.
“What do you mean? Do you not have a religion? Well, what better religion than being Christian?” asked Macy. Then she puckered her eyebrows in thought.
“Although any other religion is good as well. I don’t judge,” said Macy smiling. George smiled as well.
“What about atheist? Are you against that religion?” asked George smiling like the Cheshire cat. Macy’s smile disappeared.
“You’re all…you all don’t…I mean I thought…you guys don’t believe in God?” stammered Macy. George smiled some more.
“No, we-“
“Yes, some of us believe in God. I do,” I said, interrupting George. Macy smiled at me.
“Well, then we both can pray,” said Macy. Then she bowed her head and put her hands together.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this wonderful breakfast that is before us. We thank you that everyone is here and safe. Bless everyone who is at this table and the world. Amen,” said Macy. Then she looked up and smiled at me again. I smiled back at her. I haven’t prayed in a long time and that felt…awkward and wonderful at the same time. I finished my breakfast in record time and practically ran out the door to get in the heat. Ah, that feels better, I thought. I, later, moved under the shade of the tree to look somewhat normal. Then someone skateboarded by just as Kate was walking up my lawn. I stared at him for a minute longer. He was doing complicated tricks on it but was only 20 feet away from me. Including my lawn, the sidewalk, and half the street. Kate sat down next to me. She glanced the way I was looking and then tapped my shoulder. I rolled my head toward her.
“Yes?” I asked. She smiled a knowing smile. I pulled myself up more straight against the tree trunk.
“What?” I asked. She lay down next to me.
“So, do you know him?” she asked casually, her hands behind her head.
“Know…?” I asked. Then she casually looked over to the boy on the skateboard.
“Oh, no. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before,” I said. She looked over at me in disbelief.
“Are you kidding me? It’s Michael…in the flesh!!!!” she half choked and screamed. Then he turned around looking in our direction. His cold dark green eyes with gold flecks stared straight into my soul, captivating me in his eyes. Keeping me in his dark forever drowning eyes. Then Kate waggled her fingers at him and he turned away from me to stare at her. It didn’t seem to have the same affect on her but she did gasp.
“He’s so beautiful,” Kate whispered. I slapped her arm.
“Shut up. You have a boyfriend, remember?” I whispered back. Then she winked at me.
“Yeah, but you don’t,” she said casually. Then just as casually she waved her hand in the air as if she was moving something. Suddenly, it started to rain.
“Oh. My. Gosh! KATE!” I screamed. She put her finger to her lips indicating for me to shut up. Then she waved over to Michael.
“Oh Michael! Over here!!” she said. He looked in her direction.
“You should really get out of this rain. Maybe you should come inside, considering your house is two blocks down,” said Kate. Michael looked around then he shrugged. Before I knew what was happening, Kate rushed Michael and I into my house. He put down his wet, gleaming, and onyx skateboard. Then he took off his shining green helmet, the color of his eyes, and he shook out his dark brown hair. I swear, he was like my knight in shining armor. Except you don’t like him, Mel, I thought. Then he flashed me a smile. When he smiles his dimples show. Everyone has dimples! I thought quickly. But as quickly as that thought came another one came. But nobody’s dimples are like his. I knew it then. I’ve gone completely mad. Everyone’s dimples are the same!! Then Macy came running down the stairs.
“Oh whose-,” started Macy. Then she glared at Michael. He gave her a cold stare.
“Stay where you are, hunter,” hissed Macy. Michael laughed. Then he gave her a sideways grin.
“Sorry, but I don’t hunt. Unless you’re asking about other things,” he said smiling. She threw another glare at him.
“Mel? Can we talk? In the kitchen?” asked Macy still glaring at Michael. I looked at Kate confused. She shrugged.
“Um, yeah. Sure,” I said hesitantly. Macy stalked off to the kitchen, her honey hair flying and her green eyes flashing. When we got to the kitchen she stood next to the marble counter while I opened the fridge. I brought out some yogurt.
“Want some?” I asked holding out a strawberry yogurt.
“No, I don’t eat yogurt,” she said still rigid.
“Suit yourself,” I said opening the container and spooning some into my mouth.
“Do you know what he is?” she asked sharply pointing to the other room where Kate and Michael was.
“What do you mean?” I asked putting another spoonful of yogurt into my mouth.
“I mean, do you think he’s something else besides human?” she asked softly her spring green eyes softening. I looked at her like she was crazy. Did she know about this stuff? Was she some magical, mythical thing as well?
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” I said staring her straight in the eyes. We stayed like this for a little while.
“Mel, just…don’t be friends with him. Not for a while anyway,” said Macy, but I heard the double meaning in her words. Not until I figure this out. I sighed.
“Deal,” I said. Then I threw my empty yogurt container in the trash.

Chapter 6
Saviors

Macy gave me a look and then ran up the stairs. Huh, I thought, I haven’t even seen her room yet. Too bad. I shrugged. Then I walked into the sitting room where Kate and Michael were talking.
“Oh, so Justin is your boyfriend. I wasn’t sure,” said Michael with his arms around the back of the couch. Kate frowned. Then she laughed.
“Yes, yes we are together. As in a relationship, together. You know? You just don’t see us together because…well…no one ever sees you,” said Kate.
“Huh. Too bad,” said Michael turning his grin on me. I frowned and tried to flow hate through my eyes. He turned back towards Kate.
“He’s a lucky man,” he said to her. She blushed and ducked her head. Figures, I thought, a flirt. Then he turned his green-gold eyes on me.
“You’re…Melanie, right?” asked Michael gazing up at me. I sat down on the far end of the couch.
“Mel, actually,” I said staring straight into his eyes. I won’t let him see what he does to me. He smiled at me. I just looked at him in a bored way.
“And you are…?” I asked, knowing who he was already. He frowned.
“Oh, I thought you knew who I was. I, um, I’m Michael,” Michael said with a frown still on his beautiful face.
“Nice to meet you Michael,” I said smiling.
“You know we are in the same classes,” he said smiling back at me. I frowned. Not all of them, right? I asked myself.
“You’re in my first period…I’m sure of that,” I said slowly.
“And all your other classes,” he said back. We stared each other down for a few moments but then Kate coughed.
“It looks like the rain has stopped,” said Kate. Michael looked up at her and smiled.
“Thanks for letting me stay here,” said Michael sincerely. Kate blushed for a second.
“Well, it’s Mel’s house,” she said. Michael looked at me with his cold gaze.
“Um, thanks,” he mumbled and then he practically ran out the door.
“Freak,” I muttered under my breath when the door closed shut. Kate glanced at me.
“He probably likes you,” she said looking at her nails and frowning.
“Um, no he doesn’t,” I said. Does he? I asked myself uncertainly. Of course he doesn’t! I sighed.
“Let’s go upstairs,” I said heading for the stairs.
“Ok, sure. Don’t ask for my opinion,” mumbled Kate. I turned to look at her.
“Honestly, I don’t want your opinion,” I joked. She faked laughed. When we got to my room, Kate went straight to my dresser where all my nail polish was.
“Why do you have so much yellow, orange, and red nail polish?” asked Kate holding up a light red bottle of nail polish. I shrugged.
“I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with being…oh I don’t know, a PHOENIX!” I half yelled. She put the bottle of nail polish back down. Then she sat down beside me on my canopy bed.
“Wanna talk about it?” she asked softly.
“I just don’t think it has gotten through my head yet. I mean everything adds up. But, if someone was looking for me, you know the phoenix hunter, wouldn’t you think that they would’ve figured it out before I did?” I asked looking at Kate’s sea green eyes. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something but Macy beat her to it.
“Not if you’ve got your Guardian Angel around,” said Macy leaning against my doorframe, smiling.
“Macy, sorry to break it to you but I don’t think that there is such a thing as a Guardian Angel,” I said slowly. She scoffed and walked into my red room. She sat down on my computer chair, which was black.
“Sweetie, if there is no such thing as Guardian Angels, I wouldn’t be here right now. I mean some people don’t have a Guardian Angel in the flesh but there are such things,” said Macy brushing her hair behind her ear with her hand.
“Wait, what?” I asked startled. I looked at Kate and she looked back at me. She shrugged.
“I don’t know everything,” said Kate. I sighed. Macy let out a peal of laughter.
“Haven’t you gotten it yet?” she asked smiling. I frowned.
“Not really,” I said slowly.
“I’m your Guardian Angel,” said Macy staring in my eyes. I had this feeling like I wasn’t in my body. It was like I was floating around my body. Or like I was above it. I couldn’t feel a thing. Then I slammed back into my body and I could feel everything.
“My, my Guardian Angel,” I stammered. Macy nodded.
“Uh huh,” she said urging me to go on.
“I have a Guardian Angel,” I said slowly.
“Yes,” said Macy.
“And its…you?” I asked. She nodded. Then I lost it. I started laughing, like mad. I kept laughing and laughing. Kate and Macy just stared at me, startled.
“I think she’s lost it,” whispered Kate to Macy. I wiped my eyes.
“Me? Lost it? No, you did!! You all have lost it!!” I said still laughing. Macy and Kate exchanged confused looks.
“Um…it looks like you did…” said Macy. I wiped my eyes.
“Okay. I’m good,” I said, calming down a little. Macy turned to Kate.
“I have to go now,” she said slowly and calmly. Then she turned and left the room.
“Um, okay…” I said slowly. Kate looked at me in a way that I knew she agreed. Then she looked at her watch.
“Oh, I’ve got to go. Jolie wanted to go shopping with me,” said Kate. I looked at her in a mock hurt way.
“And you didn’t invite me?” I asked fake hurt. She laughed.
“Yes, I didn’t. So there!” she said laughing. Then she kissed both of my cheeks, like the French, and hightailed it out of my room.
“Well, that was a pretty fast escape,” I mumbled under my breath. Then I snapped my fingers and fire was between my thumb and my pointer finger. Then I blew on it and it flew out further instead of blowing out. Huh, I thought. Then the fire grew around my hand, like vines on a tree. Then the door opened and it all went away. That was close, I thought. My mom’s head popped into my room.
“Hey, sweetie, what’s going on?” she asked smiling. I wiped my head.
“Nothing,” I said looking at my bedspread. Then I looked up.
“Why?” I asked slowly. My mom looked around my room.
“Well…how do you like Macy?” asked my mom her green eyes dancing everywhere. If only you knew, I thought. Then I smiled to myself.
“What?” asked my mom, seeing my smile.
“I like her. I like her a lot,” I said smiling. My mom smiled back at me.
“Good,” she said.
“Well, you should pack to go to your father’s house and I should start up the car,” my mom said slowly. I got off my bed and grabbed my red knapsack.
“Right,” I said starting to pack clothes into it. My mom gathered herself up and stepped out of my room. I dropped my knapsack and flopped down on my bed. My dad, I thought, what am I supposed to do about Sarah? I sighed.
In a few minutes, I was ready and packed. I ran down the marble steps. I looked up and saw James look at me in shock.
“What?” I asked putting my hands on my hips, annoyed.
“You’re. On. Fire!” he whispered.
“Well, thanks. I mean, I know I can run down the stairs pretty fast but not that fast,” I said running my fingers through my hair.
“No, I mean you were seriously on fire! Well, I’m pretty sure,” James said confused. Dang it! I thought.
“Um, I don’t think that’s possible, James,” I said slowly like I was talking to a baby. He glared at me.
“Whatever. You going to your dad’s?” he asked pointing to my knapsack.
“Yeah,” I said glaring at him. He shrugged.
“Have fun,” he said in a non-caring way. Then he picked up his book and went back to reading. I turned my head sideways to read the binding.
“What are you reading?” I asked tilting my head back. Please don’t be what I think it is! I screamed in my head. James looked up at me and then looked at his book.
“Uh, The History of the One and Only Phoenix, why?” he asked. Oh God, no! I whispered in my head. I only had one thing on my mind. He’s the Phoenix hunter!! He knows! He has to be the Phoenix hunter!! Why did my mother have to marry into the Phoenix hunter family? WHY?? While my insides were breaking down, the outside felt pretty calm.
“I didn’t know you read,” I said nonchalantly like my insides weren’t burning with anticipation.
“I don’t,” he said with a sneer.
“Then why…?” I said letting my question fade.
“It’s for English class, genius. We’re doing mythology. It’s kind of fascinating. Did you know that only one phoenix can exist at a time? And that when a phoenix dies, and new one is born out of the dead one’s ashes?” said James fascinated. If only you knew, I thought. Yet, I was relieved. I was so glad that he couldn’t possibly be the phoenix hunter.
“Yeah, sounds…fascinating. I’ve got to go, see ya!” I said waving to him as I walked out the door.
“Bye,” he said going back to his book. I saw my mom in the car with Macy. Then I did a double check. Macy? What in the world is she doing in the car? The car that is going to my dad’s house? I dropped my knapsack in the trunk and slipped into the backseat.
“What are you doing here, Macy?” I asked between my teeth. Macy opened her mouth to speak but my mother spoke first.
“Macy just wants to see where you go to every weekend,” said my mom.
“I don’t go every weekend. Just every other weekend,” I said with clenched teeth. Macy looked at me with wide eyes.
“You can’t protect me everywhere,” I whispered when the car started.
“I’m not. I’m just going to see your father. You know, just in case,” said Macy looking ahead and pretending to listen to whatever my mom was talking about.
“What do you mean ‘just in case’? My father isn’t the phoenix hunter,” I whispered angrily. Macy flickered her eyes to my face.
“It’s happened once in your history,” whispered Macy.
“History-?” I started to ask.
“We are here!” cried my mother. I smiled at her and went back to Macy.
“This conversation is not over,” I whispered. Then I got out of the car. I grabbed my knapsack from the trunk and hugged my mom good-bye. Then I knocked on the bright yellow door of my father’s house. The door creaked open and there was Rebecca, my dad’s wife.
“Mel!” she cried and hugged me.
“Um, hi,” I said walking in and taking off my shoes. She smiled at me. Then she twisted her upper body toward the stairs.
“Hon! Mel’s here!” she yelled. My dad came down the stairs and then engulfed me into a huge hug.
“Mel!” he cried.
“Hi dad,” I said, muffled, still in his hug. My dad let go of me and led me inside. I followed Rebecca into the kitchen.
“Did you eat breakfast?” asked Rebecca while putting her golden hair into a ponytail. Her bright blue eyes rested on me for a second and then went on making a sandwich.
“Yeah, mom adopted this girl who is the same age as me,” I said eyeing the sandwich. Rebecca put it down in front of me and pulled out a chair.
“Really? And how do you feel about having a girl, your age, living with you?” She asked. Rebecca is a therapist so she usually asks me these kinds of things.
“It’s ok, I guess. She’s a good cook,” I said stuffing the sandwich into my mouth. Well, it was lunchtime so…
“This is really good, Rebecca,” I said. Then Sarah came skipping into the kitchen.
“Melly!!” she screamed and ran straight for me. When she jumped onto my legs I gave a little grunt and started laughing.
“Hey, Sarah,” I said hugging her. She stuck her thumb into her mouth and looked up at me. Then she took it out and pointed at me.
“You seem different, Melly,” she said. I looked at her blue eyes.
“What do you mean, Sarah?” I asked turning her so she would fully face me.
“I don’t know. There is something about you that’s different,” said Sarah thoughtfully. I don’t think Sarah is your average three year old. She thinks things over with some thought and most of the time she has some insight to what she’s saying. Plus, she thinks playing with dolls is the most boring game that ever lived. I pretended to ponder over what she said.
“Maybe it’s the new shampoo I used this morning,” I said. Sarah looked doubtful for a little while and then let it go.
“Whatever,” she said. Rebecca glanced sharply at Sarah.
“We do not say ‘whatever’ to our guests, Sarah,” said Rebecca returning to her dishes.
“She’s not our guest, mommy, she’s my sister and she says it to me all the time,” said Sarah. Then she got off my lap and pulled my arm with all her might.
“C’mon! C’mon! C’mon! NCIS is starting!!” cried Sarah. Yes, my sister likes watching NCIS. So what? After we watched an hour of NCIS, I started to unpack my knapsack in my room, when Sarah wandered in and flopped on my bed.
“I know something is different about you,” she said wagging her finger at me.
“What do you mean, Sarah?” I asked putting my clothes away in the white dresser.
“Don’t ‘what do you mean, Sarah’ me!” cried Sarah standing on my pink covered bed with her finger pointing straight at me. I felt like someone just called me a witch and everyone was going to hang me.
“Sarah,” I said exasperatedly. She sat down and bounced on my bed.
“Melly,” she mocked. I sat down next to her.
“Tell me what’s wrong. Why are you acting like this? Why do you think that there is something different about me?” I asked bringing her over onto my lap and stroking her black waves. She stuck her pinky finger into her mouth. Sarah does this when she’s thinking. Her eyebrows puckered on the top of her milk colored forehead. Her blue eyes twinkled at some memory.
“I had a dream last night,” she said. I smiled at her but inside I was breaking down. WHAT DREAM TOLD YOU I WAS A FREAKING PHOENIX??!!!
“Oh?” I said completely calm. She looked up at me.
“Yeah. You changed and then there was black. When the black faded, a girl was there…she told me she was a witch and I needed to warn you,” said Sarah. I frowned.
“Warn me about what?” I asked slowly. She played with her black wavy hair. I saw the wheels turning in her head. I knew she was thinking whether she should tell me and have me laugh at her or not and save the humiliation.
“Just tell me, Sarah,” I said with a sigh. Sarah looked at me with her eyes filling up her face.
“Promise you won’t laugh?” she asked crossing her arms and getting off my lap so she could face me.
“Promise,” I said.
“Cross your heart?” she asked sternly. I sighed.
“I thought you said you were too old for this kind of-.”
“JUST CROSS IT!!!” she screamed. I put my hands up.
“Ok, ok, ok, no need to freak out,” I said crossing my heart. She smiled.
“Okay, now where was I? Oh yes, the warning. This girl she had blond wavy hair that went all the way down to her waist and cream-colored skin. Her cheeks were the color of pink rose petals and her lips were as big as a raspberry on her face. Her face was heart-shaped. But her eyes…her eyes were blurred. I couldn’t see her eyes. But I do know that her blond hair was wispy, like when the sky is so clear but there are only a few clouds in the sky but it looks…you know!” said Sarah frustrated. I smiled.
“Yes I know. They’re called cirrus clouds,” I said. She hastily smiled at me.
“Great, whatever, anyway she said that you were in grave danger. And so were your friends. That because you were aware of your ‘change’ that people will become more aware of it too, which meant…hunters? Lots of them. And not only your hunters that you know about, by the way, I don’t know what hunters you know about,” she said looking at me skeptically.
“Just keep going,” I said grumpily. She grumbled back at me.
“Anyway, she said that you have to be more aware of who you get close to. That if something happens to you, all hell is going to break loose,” said Sarah smiling at me.
“Sarah, you know not to say bad words,” I said softly. She scoffed.
“I didn’t say it. The lady said it, so it doesn’t count,” she said. Then she looked up at me with her big blue eyes.
“So?” she asked.
“So…what?” I asked back. Sarah frowned.
“What change? What hunters?” asked Sarah. I glared at her.
“It was just a dream, Sarah. It means nothing,” I hissed at her. She took a step back.
“My dreams never just mean nothing, Melanie,” she said holding out my full name. I frowned.
“What do you mean your ‘dreams never just mean nothing’?” I asked slowly. Sarah’s cheeks turned red.
“Nothing. I meant nothing,” she said wringing her hands. When I was about to say something, Rebecca called me saying someone was at the door for me. I pointed at Sarah and she ran out of my room. I sighed. Then I ran down the crimson-carpeted steps and opened the front door. My eyes grew really big.
“Aria?” I asked with the door wide open.
“Um, yeah. Gonna let me in?” she asked with a hand on her hips. I stared at her with my jaw dropped.
“How did you know-?” I let the question hang there.
“Um, I live near here. I saw you come out of your car and head up here…Can I come in now?” she asked.
“Um, yeah. Of course,” I said moving aside. She walked in and slipped off her flip-flops.
“Nice house,” she commented. I laughed.
“It’s not mine. It’s my dad’s and his wife’s,” I said, going toward the steps.
“You mean your mom’s,” said Aria looking around.
“What?” I asked turning around quickly.
“Your dad’s and your mom’s house,” she said confused. I laughed again.
“Oh, no. My parents are divorced,” I said. Aria laughed.
“Oh, right. I remember. James is your stepbrother. It makes sense now,” she said as we walked into my room. I smiled and sat on my bed. She sat on my rolling chair.
“Um, nice room,” said Aria looking uncomfortable. I looked at the old yellow walls, the big bay window, and my bright pink twin bed.
“Um, yeah. This isn’t my usual room,” I said rubbing my arm. We looked around the room for a few minutes.
“So…what brings you here? To my room?” I asked nonchalantly. Aria glanced at me and smiled.
“Anything you might want to talk to me about?” she asked.
“Um, not really,” I said. She laughed.
“I heard the conversation with your sister. Pretty big stuff I was hearing. Smart girl. Really talented,” said Aria.
“What do you mean?” I asked slowly. She moved her hands as if she was moving water.
“Wind carries and sound comes with it,” she said smiling. I mock smiled back.
“What did you mean about my sister?” I asked seriously. She frowned.
“You don’t know?” she asked confused.
“Know what?” I asked back.
“That your little sister is a witch?” she asked. I gasped.

Chapter 7
Confusing

“My sister is a what?” I asked astonished. She glanced at me.
“A WITCH!! Are you hard of hearing?” asked Aria squinting her eyes at me. I lay back on my bed, thinking. Then I shot up from my bed and laughed.
“Oh, you’re joking! ‘Cause that’s not possible! My dad has no history of magical beings on his side and Rebecca is-,” I let the sentence drop. Sarah said in her dream a witch came to her, a witch with wispy, blond hair, cream-colored skin, and rose petal cheeks. The eyes were blurred but I knew they were blue, a bright sapphire blue like Sarah’s. I knew it couldn’t possibly be Rebecca but it could be one of her…
“No,” I whispered. Aria shrugged.
“Unfortunately. It runs on her mother side. Half of them are lost witches and the other half…”
“Knows exactly what’s happening,” I said staring at my wall. I saw Aria nod in the corner of my eye. I turned to look at her.
“I have to talk to one of Rebecca’s cousins. I know exactly who to talk to, too,” I said with a gleam in my eye. We rushed down the stairs.
“Hey, Rebecca!” I exclaimed. She turned from her book.
“Yes?” she asked slowly.
“Where does Mary live?” I asked. She looked confused for a while.
“Mary? My uncle’s half daughter’s daughter?” she asked. I stared at her.
“The only Mary on your side of the family,” I said. She laughed.
“Ok, so my uncle’s half daughter’s daughter!” Rebecca exclaimed.
“Whatever. Where does she live?” I asked. Rebecca thought for a while.
“She lives on Melrose Boulevard, in the hotel, just ask for Mary Rose,” said Rebecca. I looked at her like she was crazy.
“Mary…ROSE? Is that some kind of joke? All she would need was my first name and she’d be named after Melrose Boulevard,” I laughed.
“No, Melrose Boulevard is named after her mother. Her mother’s name is Melissa,” she said. I stared for a minute.
“Well, ok then. I’m going to see her,” I said. She stared at me.
“How do you plan on getting there?” she asked. I smiled.
“James, of course!” I exclaimed. She laughed and shook her head. I flipped out my cell phone and called my stepbrother.
“Why?” he asked in a bored way after I told him I want to go to Melrose Boulevard.
“Because I want to see my step mom’s cousin’s daughter. Is that so bad?” I asked in my most innocent voice. He groaned for a little bit.
"Ok, fine. What time?" he asked after a while and relunctantly. I smiled at Aria and gave her the thumbs up while pretending to think about what time James could come over here and pick me up.
"Um, Now would be okay," I said thoughtfully. There was silence on the other end. I held the reciever closer to my ear, trying to hear something. I tried to pull it closer but all I got was a smashed ear.
"James? James? James?!" I yelled into the phone. Then I heard sudden bursts of laughing. I scowled.
"I got you! I got you good!" he said probably doubled over with laughter. I growled at him.
"You are so lucky I didn't call nine-one-one," I hissed into the phone.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. So now? Okay, I'm on my way, sissy," he said and then I heard a click.
"Rebecca?" I called out.
"Yeah?" she asked sticking her head out of the kitchen.
"James is taking us," I told her. She nodded.
"Ok, James is such a sweet kid," Rebecca commented. Mostly to herself.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said in James bored tone of voice. I turned to Aria.
"Ok, well, he's coming. Let's go meet my cousin shall we?" I said, my head cocked and a smile taking place on my face.

Chapter 8
Cousin Mary Rose

When James pulled up into the glistening black driveway, Aria and I jumped right into his silver BMW.
"Drive man!!" I shouted at him. He looked back at me and shook his finger.
"No, no, no. What do you say?" he said with a smug smile.
"Please?" I asked looking up and making my chocolate eyes as big as possible. James smiled at me.
"You know what you have to say," he said smugly. I scowled at him. Then I sighed and mumbled,
"James is the best. He's the most handsome person in the world. All the girls love him. Yippee for James! Can we go now?" He laughed and then put the car in drive. He backed out of the driveway. That's when he noticed Aria.
"Whose your friend?" he asked me while looking at Aria and giving her a flirtatious smile.
"Someone out of your league," I stated. I felt something hard hit my ribs. It was Aria's elbow.
"Her name is Aria. Aria this is James, my step-brother," I said grumpily. She smiled at James.
"Shouldn't you keep your eyes on the road?" she asked batting her eyelashes. James swiveled his head to look at the road. He gave a nervous laugh.
"Um, yeah. You're right," he said. I hid a smile. On our way over to MelRose Boulevard I saw Michael walking along the streets. I almost panicked.
"STOP THE CAR!!" I screamed. Okay, I panicked. James stomped on the brakes, making a screeching sound. He looked around.
"What? What? What happened? Are you okay? What's going on?!" James said loudly while looking around nervously. I turned to him.
"I have to get out," I told him. He just gave me this look.
"You told me to stop just for that?" He asked angrily.
"Well, I can't exactly just jump out of a moving vehicle," I said rolling my eyes. I opened the car door and slid out. Michael turned to look at me. He looked bored.
"Michael!" I yelled cupping my hands around my mouth.
"I see you, Mel," he said annoyed. I walked up to him.
"Wanna come with us to MelRose Boulevard? We're gonna visit my cousin, Mary Rose," I said. His eyes lit up for a second.
"Yeah, I might be into that," he said after a while. Might be into that, I thought, what is that supposed to mean! I smiled at him. Michael followed me into the car.
"Hey what's up, man?" said James while doing that guy handshake thing.
"Nothin' much, just hanging with your sis and her friend I guess," he said shoving his hands into his pockets. James smiled at him.
"You guess? They're right here so I guess you are, huh?" said James, a smile playing on his face. Michael turned and smiled at me so quick I wasn't sure if he actually smiled or not. He was facing my step brother.
"Yeah, I guess I am," he said smiling. His eyes glanced over at me. He cocked a grin, his dark green eyes twinkling. I kind of smiled back at him, too distracted by his deep eyes. I stared into them, the liquid green eyes searching into my very soul, creeping into my mind. My heart started to pound in my ears. Is it really that loud? I asked myself. Finally, he turned his searching eyes away from me. I took an intake of air. He was beautiful. So very beautiful, and I wanted him to be mine. All mine. What was wrong with me? I thought. I so badly wanted to smack myself. He's just playing with my mind, I thought. He does this. He does this. I don't love him. I don't love him. I don't- I saw his beautiful liquid never ending green eyes in my mind. I love him. I thought suddenly, defeated. I was about to cry. I could feel it.
"James, pull over," I said slowly. He looked at me. I glared at him.
"Ok, ok, ok," he said putting his hands up. He pulled over. I reached across Michael to unlock and open the door. He looked at me startled. I gave him a cold, indifferent stare.
"Go, get out," I said pushing him along. He stumbled out of the car and I got out with him. Aria looked like she was going to say something but I gave her a look which I hoped was saying I'm giving you a chance with my brother. She fell back against her seat, defeated.
I pulled Michael along. I knew he could stop suddenly and pull me back with him but he didn't. I didn't stop moving until we were far away from the car, from people. I looked around and stopped, pulling my sweater around me tighter. I suddenly felt cold, I started to cry, silently. Michael looked startled and then after a long moment he took his hand and brushed away a tear. I looked up at him. He grumbled and jammed his hands in his pockets.
"Why did you bring me out here just to cry?" he asked looking away from me. I wiped the last of my tears.
"That's not...I don't know why I started crying ok?" I snapped. Then I took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm just-" And that's when he leaned in to kiss me. I was surprised. Then I felt myself slowly melt against him, living in the kiss, breathing it like oxygen. I needed this. I needed this. I kept thinking in my head. Then he pulled away.
"What's it you wanted to tell me?" he asked after a moment went by. I looked at him and didn't say anything. I just stared at those beautiful green eyes. I didn't need to say anything. I had nothing to say anymore. Then I finally looked away.
"We should-" I started to say.
"Yeah," he said. We started to head back to the car, our hands in our pockets. Just looking where we were going, no where else. Then I remembered why I needed to talk to him. I grabbed his arm and jerked him back. He looked at me surprised.
"I can't...I can't...do this," I said trembling with emotion. He looked at me, searching my eyes, questioning them.
"You can't do what?" he asked. I wiped my face as tears streaked down it. God, I'm emotional today, I thought.
"I can't love you," I said quietly. Michael looked startled then he smiled slowly.
"Who said anything about love?" he asked with a sly grin. I frowned at him.
"You kissed me. I thought..." I said suddenly confused.
"It was an...experiment of mine," he said slowly. I felt myself bubble with anger. Then I pushed him with all my might.
"YOU JERK!! I HATE YOU! WHY DID YOU KISS ME IF YOU DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING FOR ME??!" I yelled at him. I felt the sun beat down on me and I felt myself soak it up. The heat concentrated at my palms. I pushed him again. He fell to the ground and I saw handmarks on his jacket. He quickly took it off before the handmarks burned through his shirt and, potentially, his skin. He looked at me in wonder but in a "I knew it" way. I looked at my hands, somewhat dazed. Michael laughed kind of coldly.
"And that was my experiment, my dear Phoenix," he said smiling. I looked at him in surprise. He knew, I thought. But his experiment...oh...I thought in my head.
"Your..." I said slowly.
"Part of a long line of phoenix hunters? Why, yes, I am," he said with a grin that didnt express that he was happy.
"How do you know I'm the phoenix?" I asked crossing my arms. He looked at me like I was dumb.
"The melting hand? I just witnessed it," he said slowly. I saw Aria suddenly behind him holding his jacket. She winked and then she disappeared with the breeze.
"Um, what are you talking about?" I said my eyes widening slightly.
"You burned my jacket..." he trailed off looking for it.
"What jacket? You weren't wearing one," I said slowly, acting like he was dumb. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"I saw it," he stated slowly doubting it.
"Really?" I asked my eyes widening. He glared at me.
"So I don't have proof. But I know what you are, Phoenix," he said smirking.
"OH. MY. GOD. MICHAEL! My name is MEL. MEL FIRE! Not frikin' 'PHOENIX'! Ok?" I asked.
"Whatever. I'm still gonna kill you. Before you turn 16," he said. I threw up my hands and then I opened them up. Letting my arms out, I threw my head back and then looked back at him.
"Then do it, Michael. I'm the phoenix right? The one and only. And you're Michael, the phoenix hunter. Kill me now. What are you waiting for?" I asked him cocking my head. I saw him look panicked a second. Then he shrugged.
"Fine, whatever," he said. He took out a knife and walked over to me.
"Just....put your arms down. No need to be overly dramatic," he said. I put them down and looked him straight in the eye.
"If your not a cruel person. Just please kill me quickly. And don't harm anyone else," I whispered. He nodded keeping his face hard and his eyes cold. But no one could lie with someone looking straight into his eyes. He likes me, I thought, and he's sad about having to do this to me. Michael walked closer to me. His knife hanging loosely to his side. Anyone could tell he was trying to keep his cool. I looked into his dark green eyes. He finally looked at me in the eye. His eyes softened and I could see through into his soul. I knew it, he's in love with me. But now I'm going to die...
"Mel," he whispered. I looked up at him. He was inches away.
"I knew you felt something for me," I barely whispered. He smiled a little.
"I'm going to kill you. Maybe that something is hate?" he asked.
"No," I said looking at him into his eyes, "it's love." Michael looked astonished for a second. Then he grabbed my shoulders and slowly looked into my eyes.
"That won't change a thing. Destiny is destiny, Mel. And this is mine," he whispered.
"I know. So do it," I said. He got his hands off my shoulders. He looked at his knife. He brought it up quickly. I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt him

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.11.2010

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