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Isabel sat alone in her room, her mind going over the events of the past few hours. She had seen her mother. Her greatest wish had been fullfilled, and yet... her mother had confirmed what Tess and Nasedo said. Michael was her destiny. Michael. The spikey haired kid she had laughed with, played with, and grown up with. Her second brother. She hadn't thought about him in any other way since the sixth grade. That was when all the most popular girls had boyfriends. Isabel smiled at the memory. She had tried to get Michael to be her boyfriend, but he had refused. "Girl's were icky!" Isabel's smile quickly faded. Even then, there wasn't an ounce of romance between them. Not like... Alex.
Alex. Alex was someone Isabel had never dared to hope for. Long ago, they had all vowed never to get involved with a human. And until Alex, Isabel had never let any one get close to her. She had hardened her heart, put on a mask, became the Ice Queen. But boys still had crushes on her. She would've had to be blind not to notice. But she would've also had to be blind not to know *why* they liked her. The beautiful Isabel Evans, most popular girl in the school. The "Elle McPhearson of the sophomore class."
She went on dates, but she didn't have boyfriends. She couldn't let anyone get that close. But Alex was different. She didn't know that at first. Isabel had passed him off as another one of those slightly dorky boys who were in love with an image. For once, she was glad to be wrong. Alex actually wanted to see below the surface. He wanted to find out who she really was. He dreamt about her.
She had entered many dreams about herself before, but his was the first one she was actually happy to be a part of. And then Alex had found out their secret. Isabel had felt... relieved. For so long, it had been just the three of them, and then all of sudden, Liz and Maria, too. Two couples, plus Isabel. Once Alex came along, it was two couples. It seemed like it was meant to be.
Of course, Isabel didn't let Alex in at first, but slowly and gradually, like a flower blooming, she had opened up. Alex understood her, understood what it felt like to always be the third wheel, to have close friends, but never a best friend. She had even let him kiss her. Isabel smiled. She had gotten flashes, something she had never quite expected. She had forgotten what a cute little boy Alex had been. Maybe someday she would him that. But that thought made her think of the future, and that made her think of other things.
Tess. And Nasedo. Tess who had seemed to understand Isabel, but was dedicated to a destiny Isabel wanted no part of. Sometimes she would feel so close to Tess, and then, all of a sudden, Tess would do or say something that made Isabel realize how far apart they really were.
Then there was Nasedo, who was nothing at all like any of them had expected. Not the father Michael longed for, or the leader Max had wished for, or... Isabel didn't know what she had hoped for. Maybe she didn't want Nasedo at all. She was content, and even happy, in her new life. In fact, with her and Alex growing so close, her life was just about perfect.
Not anymore. Isabel didn't even have Max or Michael. Not really. Max was pining over Liz, and Michael was upset about killing Pierce and breaking up with Maria. And Tess couldn't understand. Not really. Tess didn't know humans, didn't trust them.
Isabel lay down on her bed. She wouldn't cry. She would be strong, the warrior princess she was destined to be. It almost worked. She was fine until her gaze swept over to her dresser and her picture of Alex. A tear rebelliously dropped from Isabel's eye.
She couldn't lose Alex. She couldn't. Not now, not ever. She climbed off her bed, and out the window, and ran to the house she had visited not nearly enough. She walked around the house and tapped on a certain window.
"What?" a confused and sleepy voice called out. Alex opened his window.
"Isabel?" His eyes widened in surprise.
"May I come in?"
Alex nodded mutely, and stepped back as Isabel climbed in. She unabashadly flung herself into his arms.
"I don't want to lose you," she whispered between sobs. When her crying had ceased, she continued to cling to Alex.
"It's alright," he whispered. "It's okay."
"I don't want to be apart, Alex. I can't lose you. I just don't want to be alone," Isabel confessed.
Alex looked as if someone had just handed him a priceless gift. "You mean it's okay? What about your destiny?"
"It's you, Alex. I don't care about anything else." She managed a laugh. "I sound like Max, don't I?"
Alex was still trying to comprehend. "But what about Tess, Nasedo, your *mother,* everyone...?"
"Come on, Alex. Like the others are really going to stay apart."
Alex was beginning to grin. "Thank you, Isabel. Thanks for letting me in." And he smiled at her, a smiled that promised a future that she no longer dreaded. A future where she had Alex. A future where she was loved.
End
