A/N: Hey there! Finally, we reach the thriller/creepy parts. These next couple of chapters are not what you normally find in fiction. Maybe you guys can help me figure out what genre this belongs to...yeah!!

Anyway, note to old readers, NEW CHAPTER ONE (not the prologue, real chapter one ). If you hated it well, I hope you like this new one. If not then...oh well, sucks for me (not changing, deleting, and adding anytime soon).

To my new readers ( who didn't the old chapter one) hi!! Thanks so much for reading this far, I'm very grateful! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have fun getting know Azure a little more.

Happy reading!!

Four weeks had passed since Azure¢ began living with me. I still hadn’t taken the girls out anywhere. Something would always come up; Kyara had to go home, Azure¢ was in one of her sour moods, or the store was extra busy. However, I finally decided to take them out to dinner. Azure¢’s table manors finally improved and she ate like a normal person. Also, I’d been keeping the store open more later that usual, so I had a little money to spare.

I was debating where we should go when Ms. Carlias’s sneeze brought me back into reality.

“…so….why were you late?” she asked.

“I was actually going to come here ten minutes early but I got caught up in something,” I replied as she smiled warmly.

“You? Early?”

“Yeah…but as we can see that didn’t work out. ”

“And why is that?”

“…I bumped into Laiya.”

“Laiya?”

“She’s my ex. She bumped into me, and…

“And…what?”

I stared at her, then down at the brown carpet.

“…she looked at me for a couple of seconds before she turned away and went…somewhere.” I answered.

“…and how did you feel?”

“Angry, hurt…but…I just don’t care anymore.”

“Why not?”

“She’s just a whore-”

“Please don’t say things like that.”

“It’s true though. I gave her my heart and she basically spat in my face. Thinking about it now…I don’t even know why I asked her out. It was just…stupid of me.”

“…so you weren’t in love.”

“At one point I was…but now, she’s just another girl I see in the hallways.”

Ms. Carlias nodded and jotted down some notes.

“Leo, I appreciate you opening up to me, for once. See? These sessions aren’t too bad, right?”

I shrugged and stared at the clock. Ten minutes left.

“…can I go home early?” I asked as Ms. Carlias sighed.

“We go through every single day. My answer is the same as yesterdays’. Why do you persist on asking me?”

“I’m just hoping you could do me a favor.”

Ms. Carlias smiled and leaned back in her chair.

“Oh, get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ms. Carlias chuckled.

“I won’t be here tomorrow.” I replied before a small smile formed on my lips.

“Why not?”

“I’m taking a couple people out tomorrow.”

“Then why are you leaving early now?”

“I’m just making extra money.”

I waved and jumped out the door before she could stop me. I headed outside and saw Kyara and Azure¢ hanging out with Terrence. I strolled toward them and slid my hands in my pockets. The temperature had dropped drastically. Terrence was causally leaning on his car and Azure¢ was leaning on Kyara’s. She looked…forlorn and tired. She didn’t even look at me when I approached everyone.

“You’re out early.” Terrence called.

“Yeah, Ms. Carlias was nice enough to give me a break.” I replied.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. I didn’t want to ask but I knew it would make him happy and he’d realize that I wasn’t going steal Kyara away.

“…Terrence, can I speak to you for a second.” I asked.

“Sure.”

I walked away from the girls and Terrence followed. I stopped once we were out of earshot and took another deep breath.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked.

“Night?” Terrence asked back.

“Yeah...”

“I’m working late at the job. You know how Cold Stone gets on Friday nights.”

“Oh…I see.”

“…why?”

“I was going to take Azure¢ and Kyara out to dinner. I thought I should invite you too, since she is your girlfriend.”

Terrence looked at me for a couple seconds before he let out a small chuckle.

“You changed man.” Terrence smirked.

“Really.” I smirked back.

Terrence looked around and reached into his pocket. He handed me around fifteen dollars and smirked once more.

“I trust you,” Terrence pointed out. “I don’t know if it’s enough, but that should cover for her food. If not, then let me know I’ll pay you back…or we can all go out tonight.”

“She has to leave tonight.” I replied. “That’s why I’m taking her out tomorrow.”

“ I got you. Anyway, have fun…and if you do anything stupid, I’m going to have to jump you.”

I shrugged as Terrence headed back toward the girls. I followed and stared at the sky. It was bright and clear day. Terrence walked over to Kyara, gave her a light kiss and got in his car. Kyara got in her own car and Azure¢ followed. I jogged up to the front seat and Kyara gave me a warm smile.

“So, what did you ask him?” Kyara asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” I smirked.

“So it looks like that bake sale was a hit.” I called.

“I should make you pay full rent,” my grandmother scowled.

I sighed before I strolled over to her and gave her sweet kiss on the cheek. My grandma’s eyes widened and she stared at me incredulously.

“Leo…I…” my grandma held her cheek. “I don’t even remember the last time you kissed me…”

At that moment, she walked up to Azure¢ and Kyara and held their hands.

“Thank you.” Grandma smiled warmly. “I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but thank you.”

“For what?” Kyara giggled.

“For giving Leo a heart!”

Kyara laughed and I rolled my eyes. My grandmother waved at us and headed toward the entrance of the building. I took a deep breath and jumped behind the counter.

“…so,” I called. “How long are you staying?”

“Just a couple of hours.” Kyara replied. “I have to study for a test tomorrow.”

“Alright…oh and tomorrow, wear something nice…do you think Azure¢ can borrow some of you clothes?”

“Wear something nice? For what?”

“You’ll see tomorrow.”

Kyara lifted an eyebrow and stared me down. However, I wasn’t going to say a word and she knew it. She rolled her eyes and shrugged as she sat down next to me.

“Can you at least give me a little hint?” Kyara asked.

“No,” I simply answered. “If I give you a hint, you’ll know what the surprise is.”

“…you’re taking us out to dinner.”

Darn it, Kyara!

“Maybe…”

“We’re going to Shayla’s, right?”

Why do I even bother hiding things from her?

“Perhaps, there are a lot places where you can be semi-formal.”

Kyara laughed as she tugged on one of her low ponytails.

“You know, you don’t have to take us out” Kyara whispered. “…I feel bad for wasting your money.”

I smirked.

“Listen, I may be poor, but come on, I’m not that poor.”

“I know, but still.”

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat.

“I just want to take you guys out, that’s all. I invited Terrence, but he’s busy.”

“You invited Terrence!”

“Yeah.”

Kyara stared at me before she shook her head.

“…wow, you’re grandma’s right…you’re changing.”

“…what’s that supposed to mean!” I scowled as I crossed my arms.

“It’s not a bad!”

“Whatever.”

Kyara smiled at me warmly. I returned it with a scowl and I stared out the window.

“Hm, maybe you’ll smile one day.” Kyara whispered.

“I smile…sometimes.” I answered, still facing the window.

I could feel Kyara gaze at the back of my neck, waiting for me to turn around. However, I remained still.

“Yale…” Azure¢ whispered.

She held her head and stood up. She headed toward my room without saying another word.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.

“I don’t know…” Kyara replied. “She’s been grouchy since this morning.”

I nod and leaned back in the chair. It seemed like it was going to be a long afternoon.

Finally, after calling her for almost thirty minutes, I was able to get Azure¢ to get out of my room. She looked around desolately then looked at me. Her normally bright sea-green eyes were empty and she was slouching more that usual.

“Kyar…Leo, Kyar…” she croaked.

“She left.” I replied as I stroked her head. “Come on, let’s watch a movie.”

“…Leo…”

I looked at her. She scratched her neck and fumbled with the chain. She winced as her delicate fingers grazed the fuming shackle. I reached out and held her hand. She looked at me miserably and held her head. I slightly chuckled and pulled her into the kitchen.

“And here I thought it was that time of the month.” I confessed. “Well, this makes things much easier.”

I handed Azure¢ some aspirin and water along with an ice pack. After I made sure she took the medicine correctly, I brought her back in the living room and put on the “Little Mermaid.” I had a feeling she would enjoy it, and I was right. As soon as she saw the mermaids singing, she clapped her hands and smiled brightly. I slightly chuckled and headed toward the kitchen to make dinner. After I fed her and cleaned up the kitchen, I joined her. By that time, Azure¢ was nodding her as she listened to that song by Ursula.

“But with out my voice I can I-”

“Yale!!” Azure¢ called as she held her hands.

“You have your looks”

“Yale.”

“You’re pretty face”

“Yale!” Azure¢ held her face and I rolled my eyes.

“And don’t underestimate the importance of body language, HA!”

Azure¢ cheered as she stood up and started moving her body in some sort of squiggly manor.

“Sit down, Azure¢” I called holding my face. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Azure¢ laughed and ran toward me. It was good to see her in a bright mood once again. She sat down next to me and cuddled her head on my shoulder and laughed even more. I looked at her for a couple of seconds and sighed. I lifted my arm for her head and allowed her to rest on my collar bone. Again, she smiled warmly and she held onto me to absorb all the heat I had to offer. I was tempted to wrap my arm around her waist or her shoulder, but I rested it on the couch instead.

Everything was going fine until the ending scene. Azure¢ was completely silent for the rest of the movie until she saw Ariel’s and Eric’s kiss. That seemed to stick out more than anything else; never mind all the singing, the mermaids, sea creatures and a huge octopus that tried to take over the sea. As soon as she saw that kiss, Azure¢’s eyes widened and she poked me and called my name, demanding an explanation.

“Their kissing,” I groaned. “That’s it.”

“Yale!” Azure¢ pointed at the television but all she saw where the credits. “Leo?”

“It’s what two people do when their in love.”

Azure¢ looked around and nodded. At that moment, she leaned dangerously close to me. I moved back and held her shoulders to prevent her from moving any closer.

“Let’s not invade each other’s personal space.” I called as my cheeks burned.

Azure¢ laughed and looked around the room jubilantly. Once I felt it was safe to let her go, I did and as soon as released her, Azure¢ squealed and pecked my cheek.

I threw “The Little Mermaid” across my bedroom. Last night, Azure¢ thought it would be fun to kiss and poke my cheek whenever my defenses were put on hold during instances such as when I was brushing my teeth, pulling out the sofa-bed and trying to fall asleep.

It was good to get a break though. Kyara took Azure¢ to her house to find something nice for her to wear. I had no clue what I was going to wear. I don’t dress for occasions that often. After scavenging, my entire room, I found a wrinkled white collar bone shirt, it seemed causal, but nice wear. I settled for jeans and quickly ironed my shirt. I looked in the mirror debating whether or not I should do something with my unkempt hair. I smirked and left it. I sat by the couch and waited for the girls to show up. I rolled my eyes; I knew it was going to be a while before anyone showed up. I speed walked to the store and hung the “Close” sign up. I smirked. It felt great closing the Deli early.

Two and half hours passed before there was finally a knock on the door. I jumped up and answered. Kyara waved and walked in while Azure¢ followed. Again, she was looking tired and distraught.

“Oh wow,” Kyara smiled. “You look nice. I guess we don’t need this.”

Kyara folded up a navy pinstriped shirt and placed it on the table. Conversely, staring at Kyara and Azure¢ made me feel like a bum. Kyara had a black, crinkled skirt with a lavender bell-sleeved v-neck blouse. Azure¢, on the other hand wore brown slacks with a light blue long sleeved shirt made out of cashmere…I think.

“She’s really cold.” Kyara replied as she fixed the sleeve Azure¢ kept pulling down. “I was hoping she might warm up a bit…is she sick?”

“…no, she’s always cold, right Azure¢?” I called.

Azure¢ didn’t respond. Instead she looked at me, however, it wasn’t the look I was used to. Her sea-green eyes were bluer than usual. In fact, there were just as blue as mine, if not bluer. Her eyes were sharp and it appeared like she was…glaring at me. I shook my head and strolled over to Kyara. I decided to have a little fun with her. I took a deep breath and smiled a true and warm smile.

Kyara’s eyes widened and immediately she was flustered. I slightly laughed and walked closer to her.

“There’s you smile.” I whispered.

Kyara didn’t say anything. She gazed at my face before she looked away. I smirked and sighed at loud.

“I know what you want to say.” I teased.

“Don’t you dare.” Kyara called, more flustered than usual.

Azure¢ suddenly gasped. Her hand was on the back of her neck; she slowly rubbed her damp hair underneath the chain. Her face was scrunched up in pain and I walked over to her. I pulled her hand away from her neck and placed my hand on her frigid forehead. She glared at me once more until I smiled for her. Instantly, her sharp piercing eyes softened and a small but very noticeable blush crept across her face. This time, I laughed full heartedly.

Kyara walked toward and smiled as well, really enjoying the sudden openness I had.

“So,” I began as I looked back at Kyara, smirking.

“I’m not saying a word.” Kyara scowled as she twirled her hair around her finger.

“You find me hot too, eh Azure¢?”

There was a sudden rush of cold air. Azure¢’s irises constricted. All the lights dimmed and eventually blew. I looked at Kyara who stared back at me in fear. The apartment was glacial and dark. As I exhaled, I could see my breath flow into the air and slowly disappear. I turned to Kyara once again and she was chattering and hugging herself to become warm. I turned my attention back to Azure¢. Her blue eyes were glowing and the shackle on her neck snapped and clamored onto the floor. She held her chest as she began coughing, violently. She fell to her knees and I rushed by her side. Her hand flew to the back of her neck once more and she slowly looked around. After another brutal coughing fit, she turned toward me. She whispered something to me but, I couldn’t understand her. Her voice was ragged and hoarse. Before I could say anything, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hungrily pressed her lips against mine.

My head seemed to explode from the frigidity. My lips burned as she pressed harder and harder onto my mouth. I could feel all the warmth I had left slowly exude from my body and into her. My ears popped and my whole world seemed to take place under water.

“Stop it!!”

Her voice sounded so distant. Azure¢ pressed herself onto me firmly and I felt myself grow limb. At that moment, she did something with her hands, and there was a loud thump right behind me. I tried to pull away from her, but she only tightened her grip and her eyes narrowed. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and pushed me down onto the ground. I felt fainter and fainter as she seemed to become colder and colder. My lips were numbed and I barely felt any pain as my head smacked onto the floor. Pressure tore away at my ears and soon I wasn’t able to breathe. Azure¢ wrapped her around me tightly and tried to absorb the remnants of body heat I had left. The room dimmed even more, Azure¢ was a deathly pale color and I gave up trying to pull away. As darkness flooded my mind, I could only think of what her mother said…

“There she is!”

I slowly opened my eyes. My head ached and my lips still felt a little numb.

“…she’s pretty…”

“Doesn’t matter! She’s still a freak of nature!”

I looked around and noticed that I was outside. The sky was light grey and there was a chilled breeze. I was in a park…it looked like Paker’s Field. Slowly, I stood up and noticed a bunch a guys surrounding a young girl on the tree set. There was a puddle of water beneath her and she was staring at it. They all looked like they were no older than eight. I gradually approached them to see what was going on. One guy called her filthy names while the other three laughed. One boy, however, looked a little nervous.

“Hey! Get angry!” the leader shouted. “We know you’re from that laboratory!”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The girl whispered.

“Leave her a lone.” I called as I approached them.

The boys ignored me.

“We saw that crystal of yours,” another boy sneered. “Its bright blue and-”

“That’s a necklace stupid! I happened to wear it backwards that day.”

It was then when the girl looked up to glare at the boys. My eyes widened as I stared at her striking sea-green eyes. Azure¢.

“What’s going on?!” I gasped as I slowly backed away.

“Liar!” the leader shouted.

He charged and all the boys, except one, followed. Azure¢’s eyes widened and she jumped off the swing to run away. The boys easily caught up to her. One pushed her into another puddle and the guys jumped her.

“Stop it!” I shouted as I ran after them.

They kicked and punched every open spot. I reached out to grab one of the boys’ shoulders and my hand went right through him. I nearly choked on my breath as I fell into the puddle. I was completely dry; I didn’t exist in that…place. I couldn’t do anything except stare at the sadistic boys’ as they tortured her. Azure¢ screamed and called for help, but there was no one around. Suddenly, one of the boys forced her onto her stomach and pushed her head into the puddle. She flailed and struggled from his grip but he wouldn’t let her go. By that time, the other boys backed away and nervously told him that was enough. Again, I shouted at them, tried to stop it, but there was nothing I could do, except watch. The bubbles that erupted from the puddle slowly began to cease. Her struggle became weaker and weaker until she went limb. The leader stopped pushing on her head and lifted her hair.

“I knew it!” he shouted. “That’s not a necklace. It’s a real crystal!”

The other boys didn’t say anything. Instead, they rubbed their arms and stared at their breath wane into the frosty air.

“Something…something’s wrong,” the nervous guy whispered fearfully.

“…you didn’t…kill her did you?” another asked.

“No…it was an accident…” the leader shot back. “…it doesn’t matter though! It’s not like anyone will miss her! Let’s go!”

“I’m…r-really…c-c-cold-d.”

There was a splash and all of us turned our attention to Azure¢. Slowly, she lifted her head out of the water. She spat out blood and wiped the mud off her face. Her gold bangs covered her eyes as she faced them. As she lifted her head to look at them, the boys started moaning and wailing about the cold. From what I could tell, it wasn’t supposed to be cold. The boys had on t-shirts and shorts.

“Cold?” Azure¢ whispered as she glared at them.

The boys didn’t say anything.

“It won’t last long.”

Her eyes instantly turned bright blue and glowed. Abruptly, one of the boys gagged. We all looked at him only to see a large icicle sticking out of his chest. The guys shouted and tried to run away. However, their feet were frozen onto the ground. A large shadow covered one of the guys. As he looked up a colossal block of ice crashed down onto him. My eyes widened as I witnessed the rest of the boys get murdered, one by one; each murder more gory and horrifying than the last. By the time she got to the last boy, I was feeling really sick and images of my mother kept popping up.

“Don’t kill me!” the leader cried.

He was right in front of me. I desperately wanted to move, but I couldn’t.

“Why? It’s not like anyone will miss you.”

Her right eye turned back into a sea-green eye I longed to see. However, she narrowed her eyes and water shot up from under the ground. As it reached the peak of its height, it froze until it was solid ice. Without any warning, the ice shattered into long sharp pieces. I immediately shut my eyes as the guy screamed. I didn’t enough time to cover my ears though…it still sends shivers down my spine to this day, only the shivers are not from queasiness…

Azure¢’s eyes returned back to normal. She stared at the gory scene before her for a couple minutes before she screamed and backed away.

“I…hello?”

Her hands shook as she touched her cheek. She looked at her fingers and her eyes widened when she saw crimson.

I couldn’t move.

A small sound escaped from her lips as we heard clapping from afar.

Azure¢’s eyes widened and backed away from the noise. She ran past the bloody corpses’. For a second, I thought she was running toward me, but she stared straight ahead and ran right past me.

“Azure¢,” a rough yet patient voice called.

“NO!” Azure¢ shouted as she continued to run.

After managing to get on my feet, I ran after her.

“Azure¢,” his tone had less patience that time.

“Go away!”

“Azure¢!”

He said with such force that both Azure¢ and I immediately stopped in our tracks. I turned around to see who was talking anyway and I gulped. I don’t know how to explain it, but it seemed like a dark aura was emitting from him. He was tall, around 6’3”, had dark brown hair and it was just as unkempt as mine, if not worse. He had on one of those laboratory coats but it was spotted in what looked like blood. Lastly, he had on black circular shades and it made me wonder if he was blind.

Next to the man was a young girl…or boy, I couldn’t tell at first. He, or she, looked no younger than eleven. The first thing that caught my eye though was the crimson red hair, which hung around the shoulders, and the striking gold eyes that stared Azure¢ down. Drops of blood ran down the face and fell off the tips of his hair.

“Well done, Azure¢” the older man called as he resumed clapping.

Azure¢’s couldn’t turn around and face them. She held her shoulders and stared at the ground as another sound quickly flew out her mouth. It almost sounded like a…laugh.

“I…”

“They had it coming,” the man shrugged. “It’s nothing to fret about. Besides, that’s what happens when someone pushes you too far.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!” she shouted.

The man’s smirk wavered.

“Don’t raise you voice at me,” he warned. “If you persist on giving me that kind of attitude, I’m going to have to punish you.”

“…punish me?”

At that moment Azure¢ turned around and began laughing at him. She held her shoulders; her eyes were wide and filled with fear.

“…but you said,” she called as another roll of laughter erupted from her lips. “You said we were free-”

“If and only if you were able to function in society and act like a normal person. Murdering kids for your self-satisfaction isn’t normal.”

“I didn’t mean to!” her eyes glistened as she attempted to suppress a laugh. “It just…happened!”

“But you enjoyed it though, right? Look at you. Laughing is something Lilith would do if she saw blood splattering onto the ground, hear their cries for help-”

“S-stop!”

Azure¢ closed her eyes and held her head but she couldn’t stop laughing.

“Maybe…in another year or two, you guys might be able to fit into society,” the man yawned. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

The girl with red hair turned toward Azure¢. Her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched up into a scowl.

“…shut up…” she was a boy.

His voice was low, firm yet seemed to have a velvet touch to it.

“I don’t want to go back…”Azure¢ screamed in laughter.

“Shut up.”

“…don’t make me go back…”

“SHUT UP!”

Azure¢’s eyes widened as the boy rushed up to her. He grabbed her collar and pulled her close to him. Azure¢ bit her lip but she shook as the horrid laughter rolled all throughout her chest. The boys shook her violently and Azure¢’s laughter exploded into loud shrieks.

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” he roared. “Don’t you see?! He’s not going to let us go…shut up!!”

The fuming boy glared at her and Azure¢ struggled to take deep breaths. Still giggling, she lifted her hands and pressed them against his face. His eyes widened and he let go of her. He fell to his knees and held his face, twitching in pain. The man laughed as he approached the kids.

“I was right when I said you were a living flame,” the man sneered. “Lawrence, why-”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Lawrence shouted.

“Why don’t you think I’ll let you go? I only want the best for you.”

“Money…that’s all your after. That’s what all of you are after. I don’t know what you plan to do with us, but in the end, you’re the ones that get the profit…”

The man laughed as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out an ice cube and Azure¢ immediately ceased laughing. She held her chest as she tried to catch her breath and fell to her knees. However, giggles rumbled throughout her body.

“What…did you…do to me?” Azure¢ gasped.

She clasped her hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook. The man ignored her and focused all his attention on picked up Lawrence by the hair and pulled him up until his knees left the ground. He clenched his eyes shut but refused to show any sign of pain.

“You’re mistaken. I’ll never sell any of you,” the man smirked.

“Then let us go, you son of-”

“Don’t you want to become stronger though?” the man whispered as he ran the ice cube along Lawrence’s neck.

Lawrence twitched violently and his mouth opened. However, he refused to scream out. His hands reached up and grabbed the man’s wrist. The man only smirked and pressed the ice cube against his neck harder.

“Give me a couple months and I’ll make you immune to cold objects.”

Lawrence slowly shook his head. The man smirked and ran the ice cube along his neck again. This time, he slowly dragged it back to the back of his neck. Lawrence’s eyes widened and he hollered out in agony. Azure¢ shrilled in laughter once more as she witnessed his pain. The man stared at her and finally dropped Lawrence onto the ground. Lawrence took deep breaths. His eyes were blank and he struggled to move.

“Azure¢!” the man called. “Let’s go.”

Azure¢ slowly walked up to the boy. Her hand was clasped over her mouth and her face was red from her tears mixing with the blood. She reached out to touch him but his deadly glare stopped her.

“…Alizarin…” she whispered.

The sky dimmed and I felt wobbly.

“We’re leaving now!”

I stumbled and my whole world grew darker.

Azure¢ said something else before her gagged and coughed up blood.

I could no longer see. The world was completely black.

“I don’t want to go back!”

I lost my balance and fell backwards; only I never hit the ground.

“…so, am I dead now?” I whispered.

My voice echoed in the empty abyss. I closed my eyes and kept falling and falling, farther and farther into an endless pure black void.