I wake up the next morning with tingling lips, wanting the feel of Alex's almost kiss once more. The thought of Sean seeing us together embarrassed me terribly, but the annoyance I felt towards him was much stronger. We could have kissed, I keep telling myself, if it weren't for Sean.

Hank had been working on our ability enhancing suits for as long as we've been at the mansion which makes me think we have the upper hand against Shaw. That is, taking into account that Shaw is quite powerful, and now that he has Angel on his side she can give him insight into what exactly we were planning to do. A part of me just hopes that even if we do win this battle of sorts, my friends still come out alive.

After yet another long training session, I begin to head up to my bedroom when Moira, who arrived early that morning, ushered me to the lounge room, where everyone was sat watching the small television in which our President Kennedy sits behind his usual desk. I walk over and stand beside Alex, who smiles at me quite awkwardly, and Raven.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union . . ." Kennedy explains, causing us to worry.

"That's where we're going to find Shaw," Erik says, using his gun to point at the TV. I furrow my brows worriedly.

"How do you know?"


"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III," Charles speaks up, not missing a single beat.

"So much for diplomacy," Erik then says, "I suggest you all get a good nights sleep."

We continue to listen to the television until Kennedy begins to ramble, and I see no point in continuing to listen, so I hastily leave the room after Erik. The thought of having Shaw begin his attack tomorrow didn't affect me as much as it did the others because I was expecting it. We had already been at Charles' mansion for quite some time now and had our fair share of training. Of course Shaw would choose to attack when we were not at all prepared. But that was the thing, we were. At least, some of us were.

I had been making some progress with my training, though I have yet to move more than a bath full of water. However frustrating that may seem, I haven't been more frustrated then I am currently, seeing as tomorrow was the big day. I felt as if I was about to take an exam I haven't studied for, except in this case, my life depends on it and seeing as I was homeschooled, my mother would let me retake the exam if I didn't do well.

I have a brisk bath before drying off my tail and heading into my bedroom to tidy up a little. Something tells me that it won't be long before I head back home to my family, I only first have to risk my life and save all of human-kind. It feels as if I haven't seen or thought about my family in so long because I have been so distracted with training and such, which somehow causes me to feel guilty.

Nightfall comes around much quicker than I expect, and I find my heartbeat begins to quicken the more I think about tomorrow. I sit on my dresser as I practise moving a body of water around my room. At one point, I accidentally drop it onto the carpet, before picking it up causing the carpet to be entirely dry. I hear a knock on my door and I place the water back into its glass.

"Come in," I call out, and see Alex peek his head in. My heartbeat somehow slows down and I begin to feel a sense of calm.

"Hey."

"Hi," I wave awkwardly. "How're you feeling? We've got a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah I'm alright, you?" Alex asks, to which I reply with a shrug of my shoulders. He walks over to my bed and sits across from me.

"I know how you're probably feeling, with your powers not being to their full potential just yet. But you never know, you might do alright under pressure, that's how it usually works with me anyway. It's just like instinct, when something you're not expecting happens and the adrenaline kicks in. You know?" Alex looks up at me with a small smile that I have grown to love.

"Yeah I guess, I just can't help but worry. What if some water touches me and I just lose it? My tail will grow and I'll be stuck," I try to look anywhere but him as I talk, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Okay listen, I know you know that I like you a lot. Maybe even . . . okay, the point is that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I know you're probably doubting that a lot, but it's true. Tomorrow, when the time comes, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you come out alive. Not because I want to but because . . . I have to. I'm going to be watching you at all times and if anyone hurts you, and I mean anyone, I'm going to kill them."


"Alex, you can't-"

"Yes, Amelia, I can."


"- say that. You need to take care of yourself and I need to take care of myself. You can't just risk your life for me, that's too much pressure. How do you think I'm going to feel if you don't come out of there alive? I could never forgive myself," I finish off by looking at my knees. I know that I can't protect Alex so the best I can do is make sure he protects himself. I'm not strong, nor will I be able to kill a person. But I was right when I said that I couldn't forgive myself if he didn't come out of there alive. Out of every person in the mansion, he was the one I cared for the most. He was the one I loved.

I notice that the room was a little too quiet, so I look up from my knees only to see Alex with his head in his hand. Afraid that he might be crying, I hop off from the dresser and sit beside him on the bed, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, feeling him tense at my touch.

"Are you crying?" I ask him quietly, only to feel his body shake as he chuckled.

"No, Am."

"Then what?"

He looks up from his hands and into my eyes.

"I'm just thinking," he says and I unwrap my arms.

"About what?" I ask.

"What to do." Alex looks down at his clasped hands. I didn't have to ask, I just knew that he was scared. He was so, so brave for saying those things and the thought of him protecting me made me like him all the more. I couldn't help myself as I leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the very corner of his mouth, mostly on his cheek. I wasn't nervous about this, though I usually would be. Anyone who knows me knows that I could never make the first move, which is why I surprised myself so much. Alex looked up from his hands and, while I could see his ears turning slightly pink, hugged me tightly.

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