Waiting I'm waiting... For something to save me from this one horse town. I'm waiting... For an adventure to add a plot twist to my boring #life. I'm waiting... For something extraordinary to steal me away. I'm waiting... To escape from the repeated schedules. I'm waiting... To stretch my wings and fly away from this hell. I'm waiting... To scream until my pleas are heard. I'm waiting... For a hero to save me. I'm waiting... To see my dreams realized. I'm waiting... For you. I'm waiting... Are you coming?

When Flames Fall "Leone... I understand... Why you don't let... People... Get close... Anymore... You're dangerous..." A woman coughed in the gentle arms of a young man, her blood staining both of them. "That's... Why... I... Love... You..." She coughed, her voice growing faint. Her eyes began to roll back, and as the period of silent sobs drew longer, her once rosy skin turned cold. He could still see the room falling apart around him, as countless people ran in and out. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. Nothing felt real, except for the chill that ran from his dead love's cold fingertips right to his heart. Many years later... A young man walked alone on an empty street, silence holding him in a deep embrace like a long lost friend. His dark grey eyes drifted up from the yellow lines of the cracked pavement as he heard some sort of struggle up ahead. He hurried to investigate and saw a big guy dragging some girl into an alleyway. "Hey, what do you think you're going to do with her?" He asked sharply as he walked over to the alley. "What's it to you, kid?" The man asked, his words slurred with alcohol. He took a swig from the vodka bottle in his hand, finishing it off. "Nothing. It just seems like your lady friend doesn't want to have wild dumpster sex at the moment." The boy stated, pushing a few messy strands of his black hair out of his face. The woman looked utterly terrified as she struggled in the grip of the man. "Let me go... Please..." She cried. "You heard her. Let her go." The boy stated, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the brick wall of the alley. The man let out a hearty laugh and threw the woman into the back wall of the alley. "Boy, you sure got balls talking to your elder like that." A dark malevolence shined in the man's beady eyes as he lumbered closer. "Too bad I'm going to cut 'em off for ya." He man growled, breaking the bottle against the wall. "Something tells me that things are going to end badly for you." The boy stated, simply observing the man from where he was leaning against the wall. "I'll take my chances." The man growled and lunged at the boy. The boy waved his hand and muttered a small phrase under his breath. The ground opened up beneath the two of them. The boy clung to the wall, a bit of surprise showing in his dark eyes. He could hear the man far below him, a stream of profanities bouncing off the walls of the twenty foot deep hole in the ground. "Well, boy, it may not be your balls, but it's something!" The boy glanced down long enough to see the man throw his broken bottle up at him. A grunt of pain sounded from deep in his throat as the bottle nailed him in the back of his thigh. He carefully inched his way across the wall, his fingertips growing numb as they scraped against the brick. The woman grabbed his hand once he was close enough to the edge of the hole. She helped him get on solid ground. Her emerald gaze looked over him carefully. "Thanks." The boy stated through gritted teeth as he tried to stand. It hurt too much. "Hold still. The bottle's still stuck in your leg." The woman's voice was gentle as she spoke to the boy. She pulled out the bottle without another word, a pained noise escaping the boy. "Next time give me a little bit of a warning." He stated in a bit of a higher tone. His whole body was trembling. "Sorry. My name's Aeva, by the way." The woman spoke with a gentle voice. "Leone." The boy grunted as he attempted to stand up. Once again, pain overtook him and he collapsed. "Would you hold still? You have a big, deep cut in the back of your leg. Your muscle is probably shredded, and it won't get any better with you straining it!" Aeva stated sharply. "You don't quite understand the situation here. If I don't get out of here soon, we'll be a lot worse off than dealing with some drunken buffoon." Leone stated as he tried to get up one more time. Same result as all his previous attempts. He waved his hand and muttered another phrase, and a portal appeared before them. Aeva looked down at him with confusion shining in her emerald eyes. "I'll explain everything once you get me through that portal." Leone sighed, a wave of exhaustion sweeping over him. "Fine. But promise me that you'll rest once we get there." Aeva sighed, carefully looping his arm over her shoulders and putting her hand at his waist. She carefully lifted him up. He was surprisingly light, even for the 15 year old that he looked like. She dragged him over to the portal and hesitated.

Faint You know that light headed feeling that you get when you almost fall down the basement steps? You know, when you feel the adrenaline flood your head and your knees turn to jelly? Well, that was what I was feeling at the moment, but I wasn't even close to the basement. You can call me Aluro Reven, and I live at this ramshackle house in Queens, New York. Why? Because #life here is better. The house, dubbed St. Martha's House of the Fallen, is the shelter of about fifteen kids, myself included. Now, I can guess that there are a few of you who are wondering what the heck's wrong with me. Reason number one is that I'd end up in the red place a lot faster if I were with my family. To put simple terms to it, my evil stepmom and three older stepsisters enjoyed making my #life a living hell. When they ditched me at Seaside Heights in New Jersey, I said why not and hopped on the first greyhound bus to New York City. Fortunately, St. Martha's was in Queens. I'm going on year three at Martha's, but I remember my first day like it was ten minutes ago. I was walking out of Starbucks when I saw a girl and two boys all walking and talking. The girl and the boy walking right next to her looked extremely similar, with the same thick black hair and pale skin tone. The other boy walking with them looked very familiar, and then it hit me. I saw him at Seaside! He was the one who told me about Martha's. I hurried after him. I caught up with him in the subway. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to look at me. A smirk crossed his face as he looked at me with recognition in his turquoise gaze. "If it isn't Lady Aluro. I'm glad to see that you made it here in one piece." Well, I guess I should pause and fill in the holes. My real name's Annabeth Reven, but Sol (the guy from Seaside) decided to give me a nickname. Lady Aluro Reven was too long, so people just call me Aluro or the crazy lady. I stand at 5'7, with a thin, athletic build. I have a slight tan, and black hair that falls to my shoulders. The tips are dyed dark red, and I always wear blood red contacts. I wear dark colored clothes, but you will never find me in a skirt or dress. Sol is one of the many misters of mystery in my misguided #life, with shaggy bleach blonde hair that often falls in his beautiful- Gah! Did I just say beautiful? Forget it. Anyways, his messy hair usually falls in his light turquoise gaze. Over the past three years, I haven't learned much about him, but he has this way of making me feel like I'm at home wherever we might be. His tan skin is nearly flawless, but we all have out scars. When he laughs, these cute little dimples show on his cheeks. He's almost like a big brother... Except he's not, and he's hot. Then there's Leone. If there's one person with a serious anger problem besides me in Martha's, it's Leone. If you're around him and his twin sister enough, you'll hear them muttering in French. The problem was that I only had one year of Spanish under my belt, and even that had gone rusty. He has a couple inches on Sol, and tends to be a lot less sociable. His grey-blue eyes are captivatingly cunning, and his methods are often questionable. His tan skin bears scars that don't get asked about. His short clipped hair gives him even more of a poker-face, and I've never seen him break. He is a rock and a fox all in one. He does have a soft side, however. It just takes a year or two to find it. Naiya is his twin sister, and she is his polar opposite when it comes to personality. Her eyes are a light blue-grey color, her long black hair pulled back into a ponytail or braid that falls to the small of her back. She's three inches taller than me, which gets a little annoying. She laughs a lot at the stupidest of things, though none of us have the heart to tell her it's not that funny. She is very loyal to her friends, though her brother always takes the priority. So that's the new family that I've sorta adopted in the past three years. It was like any other Saturday morning, really. I was relaxing on the concrete steps of St. Marta's when I heard the door open behind me. "Hey Lady. Mind if I join you?" Sol asked and sat down next to me before I could answer. "You're missing an epic battle for the remote in there." He stated with a laugh. A small smirk crossed my face. "Who's winning?" I asked out of curiosity. "Currently... Me." Sol laughed as he pulled two AA batteries from his pocket. I laughed with him. "So, what are you really doing out here?" I asked with a raised brow. "Avoiding a potentially p'oed Leo." He laughed lightly, but something felt off. He continued with his smile dying. "And having a small internal debate with myself." "Debate on what?" I asked curiously, my dark red eyes fixing on him worriedly. "It's nothing, really. Just my heart and my head are having a bit of a screaming contest." He stated with a shrug as he sat down beside me. "Has to be something if they're having a scream-off." I commented lightly, looking at him as he chewed the inside of his lip. His elbows rested heavily on his knees as he propped his head up with his hand. A caught him casting a sideways glance my way. "You're not gonna let up 'till I tell you, are ya?" He finally asked with a small laugh. "Yep. So stop the grand mysterio act and start talking." I replied gruffly. "Well... My family wants me to come visit, and they're completely insane. And I don't feel comfortable leaving you here with Leone." I gave him a long are you kidding me look. "Go. I can handle myself." I stated sharply. "Leone can handle you too, and that's what I'm worried about." I gave him a solid punch in the arm for that one. "Okay, maybe not you..." He grumbled, rubbing his arm lightly.