Hurricane by 30 Seconds To Mars. I LOVE THIS BAND!! <3<3<3 for each one of them! Back to the story...

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Previously...

"It's you," I stuttered out. I was...confused. Who was this guy? My head throbbed since I just began to have a headache.

He smiled tauntingly,"Yes. I know you know who I am...Arielle." I gaped at him in shock. I moved away from him in suspicion.

It was that guy from Borders, the stranger I bumped into with the skull and crossbones tattoo on his wrist. 

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?!" I said in a shaky voice. Control yourself, I thought. You can't show him your afraid,he'll take advantage of that.

He raised an eyebrow,"Well how should I answer that? Let me put it Shadowfax led me to you, that's how I know your name." 

I shook my head,"I don't know what your talking about. I don't know who is this Shadowfax your talking about... So you got the wrong person." I looked him straight in the eye so he wouldn't notice my lie.

Unfortunately he didn't believe me,"Don't lie to me! It will get you in trouble if you do. Now were just gonna take a walk somewhere..." He hissed in anger. I stiffened at the last part. 

I started frantically shaking my head and I started moving away from him. Bad move. He came toward me and grabbed me by my hair. I screamed out from the pain. 

"Please stop it, stop it!" I yelled out. I didn't receive anything from my words. 

Then came the very unexpected of it all.

"Let her go now, Sebastian!" hissed a hard,angry too familiar voice behind us.

Please god, no! Please let that not be him!, I thought desperately. 

Sebastian forcefully turned me around with him. There he stood. Shadow. I pleaded him with my eyes to run instead of facing Sebastian alone, but nevertheless Shadow ignored my pleadings and glared furiously at Sebastian.

Sebastian smirked and then yanked at my hair making me cry out in pain, making Shadow wince. I hated myself now.

"So you do know her then! Because you little friend here denied it. Oh and nice to see you Shadowfax...again,"said a sneering Sebastian.

I peeked at Shadow from the corner of my eye, he slipped in his poker face. I was somehow grateful for that. But there was too may clues that we did know each other. 

"You won't get away from this Seb. Your making a mistake," said an unusually calm Shadow.

"Oh really, but even if you think that Shadowfax I will beat you one of these days and consider that a warning." 

"I won't let you take her." Was the only thing that came out of Shadow's mouth at Sebastian's threat. As I looked closely at Shadow now as Sebastian held me down, there was a threatening glint in his crystal eyes and a twist in his mouth. What the hell?

Sebastian responded with,"We'll see about that..." Then out of nowhere came out two-hooded guys that just came out of the shadows,hiding I would say. 

I gasped at the realization that hit me: Sebastian would kill Shadow if he stopped him from taking me! Then I started squirming from under Sebastian's tight grasp in my arms. He glared at me,wordlessly.

With panic I looked at Shadow and he finally met my gaze, it read "don't-you-dare-do-anything-brave". He then released me from his penetrating gaze to the three guys a few feet away from. 

I looked at them and I immediately hid my horror-struck expression from them as I noticed the two hooded-guys had guns pointed at Shadow in point-blank. 

"Any last words Shadow before I take your little friend here." said casually Sebastian. He sickens me and I want to spit on him... if I had the guts to do that anyway.

Inexplicably Shadow smiled at him. "I'd rather show you then tell you in words..." 

Another surprise happened to this hellish of a night...

I heard loud grunts behind me and then the sound of someone shifting their weight. Before I could turn my head at that direction (F.Y.I. she's sitting in the ground 'cause of Seb) in a rush I fell face down in the hard ground. That meant that Sebastian released me. Why? Before I could investigate more I was roughly picked of the ground, but these hands were gentler and different. Then my face was pressed in someone's strong back. I breathed in the scent earthy,soap,and a hint of cologne in the mix. Only one person had that exact scent: Shadow. I relaxed against him and then peeked at the scene in front of him from beside his elbow.

Sebastian was gone. But two figures were in the ground, passed out it seemed.

Holding them down was two more figures. I tensed up.

"Shh it's gonna be alright. No one's gonna hurt you...not while I'm here anyway." said a soothing,gentle Shadow. Such small words, but held such passion in them. I slowly relaxed, but I was still wary.

Shadow reached behind him and gently nudged me forward, reassuring me. What a soft gesture it felt. I took a step forward, but it had me cringing in pain. 

Shadow hissed in anger. I heard him curse under his breath.

He then swiftly scooped me up in his arms, he was trying to be gentle, but apparently his anger was getting in the way of that. He kept his body close to mine, sending a trail of electricity along my spine. I shivered.

I realized Shadow was walking toward the four people in the ground. I stayed close to him.

The two figures that were holding down the other two stood up. I looked at them closely. They reached behind them and revealed themselves by placing their hoodies down. The two of them untied their bandannas that half covered their faces. The clothing fell from their faces.

It was Ash and TJ.

I gaped at them. Ash chuckled at my expression, but TJ did the opposite. 

Shadow shifted from under me and smirked at them.

"Nice disguise guys, but your in the wrong gang. We don't wear bandannas like fake gangsters do. I thought I told you better...Ash!" Shadow raised an eyebrow, mockingly. I hid my grin.

Ash teasingly glared at him,"It's the only thing I could find since you texted "to hurry our asses up, pronto!" And shockingly that meant quickly! What a shock! Didn't anyone ever tell you that Shadow!" 

"Along with that we found out who was the source of our problem," TJ looked at me. I looked away and suddenly felt guilty at the trouble I've been causing.

Shadow narrowed his eyes, but ignored that comment. "We better be going before someone finds us here. TJ did you bring the car?" Instead of looking at their expressions for a sign that they hated me I had my head pressed in Shadow's chest. Through the leather jacket and sweater I could feel the heat coming from his body. He was soo warm.

I heard TJ grunt in response. Apparently guy-code.

Shadow nodded in approval.

"Wait! What do we do with these guys?" asked Ash.

TJ snorted,"Oh you'll come out with something, you always do. You never need help." 

I peeked at Ash from the corner of my eye. He cocked his head at the side and then he glanced at one of the nearby dumpsters. He grinned mischievously while TJ groaned, that shocked me.

Shadow seemed amused by this,"Another one Ash! Oh well...I guess go for it, but make sure they're not conscious."

Ash sharply nodded and hauled one of the guys laid in the floor over his shoulder. His strength impressed me since the guy was twice his size. Impossible, but apparently he was fit. TJ did the same thing. 

I couldn't believe they were gonna throw them inside a dumpster, a place to not sleep in. I shivered at the thought of sleeping in one. 

I looked at Shadow questioningly at what they were doing. I just noticed that Shadow was looking at me with a gentle touch in his eyes. Which was unusual since his eyes were closer to ice than fire, but right now they were warm. I liked that...

Shadow understood my question,"Don't worry about that especially when they were called here to kidnap you along with Sebastian. So don't think about it."

For the first time I spoked, but in a low voice. " What happened to Sebastian?" 

He shrugged not really interested.

"When Ash and TJ appeared he took it as warning and just sped off leaving these guys to themselves." 

I nodded then looked at Ash and TJ as they headed toward us.

Ash dusted of his hands against his jeans and said,"We're done here and Sebastian better watch himself since were not kidding around like he is." 

Shadow and TJ both grunted while I got concerned.

With that we made our way out of the alley with me still in Shadow's arms and headed toward the car, but then my friends popped in my head.

"Wait! We can't leave yet, my friends are waiting for me in McDonald's!," I exclaimed out loud.

Shadow's narrowed his eyes,"First let me get you to the car and we can talk about it there instead in the middle of the street."

I sighed and waited. When we got there Shadow gently set me down in the passenger seat and got in the driver's seat. The others sat on the back.

I faced Shadow and said,"I have to go see them! My mom will freak out on me if she finds out that I'm not with them! I can't stay here Shadow!" I glanced at the window.

Ash decided to add something,"Hmm well the girl has a point Shadow. And I don't think Sebastian will try to go after her especially if they're in McDonald's dude!" 

Ash made McDonald's sound lame which was funny somehow in this situation. 

Shadow cocked his head,unsure. "You got a point there Ash, but are you sure they're still there Arielle?"

"I'll call them then," I said.

Shadow nodded. 

I reached for my Blackberry in my jeans pocket and 5 text messages appeared with 4 missed calls. I groaned in frustration.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. I shook my head and decided to call Seth instead since he doesn't freak out like the others, but probably will ask questions like he always does. I took the risk, I dialed his number.

I took a deep breath and placed the phone in my ear. One ring...Two ring...

"Arielle?!?" asked person in the other line. I sighed in relief.

"Uh, yeah it's me Seth. Arielle," I said.

"Arielle where have you been?! I thought you were searching for your phone in Borders! Where are you?," said a flustered Seth. I bit my lip. Now what? I looked at Shadow for help. 

He mouthed "you got lost in the mall". 

I nodded and said,"Funny story Seth is that I got lost in the Mall somehow! Can you believe it!" I faked a laugh. Grrr, I thought.

There was a pause. "Your not lying are you Arielle?" 

"No Seth I can never lie to you, your one of my best friends," I said in a low voice, looking down guiltily as I fiddled with a hole in my jeans. I felt so ashamed and dirty. Am I bad friend?, I thought.

"I believe you then. Where are you anyway? Are you still in the mall?" Another sigh.

"The question is where are you?" I was stalling. I searched for an answer while Seth told me where he was.

"We left McDonald's like 10 minutes ago and went to the mall to see if you were there. So where are you?" 

I blinked a few times,"Umm actually I'm not alone. What I mean is when I found my phone I bumped into someone from school. So yeah I'm with him right now." I glanced at Shadow from the corner of my eye he had his eyes narrowed down. Ash and TJ had frowns in their faces.

"Him?" demanded Seth. 

"Uh yeah him. I gotta go now Seth. I'll meet you in the house in a few minutes, ok!" I quickly said.

"Arielle wait! What will I say to your mom if she's there! She'll be suspicious!" 

"Just make up something, please! Thanks, I'll meet you there soon! Bye!" Then I quickly pressed the 'ending call' button and leaned on my seat. I was throwing them to the sharks meaning my mom, but I couldn't tell them the real reason of my absence and why Shadow was there at the alley. I just can't... 

"So now what? Take her home like she said or what man?," said Ash, interrupting the awkward silence in the car. I heard Shadow move in his seat beside me.

"Yeah. Let's go and you guys hide in the back because I don't want to explain more to her friends and to her mom if she's there," Shadow said quietly. Then the car rumbled to life. The car was a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. 

Then we were moving through the streets of Oregon and off we went home...

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The house light were one and I prayed that my mom wasn't home yet. Unfortunately my prayers weren't answered when my mom came running out of the house. My friends were standing in the doorway, their mouths hanging open. Amusing, I thought. Then I looked at my mom.

Oh great, I thought. Just my luck. She'll probably have a fit and lecture me more of the dangers in this world. Sorry mom, but I already found out tonight, so no need in for the lecture.

I glanced at Shadow as we came out the car and headed toward mom. He had a strained expression on his face and hard eyes were included. I sighed. 

I walked steadily alongside him to not worry my mom about that I possibly made my ankle worse and faced my mom. She did not look happy at all. 

"Arielle where have you been?! I..-" she went on and on. I didn't pay attention to her since I didn't have the energy to hear her ranting on and on about this. To be honest, it annoyed me somehow. I looked down at the ground.

Then she caught my attention with,"Oh! It's you, that boy from the hospital! What are you doing here?" 

My head snapped up, before I could answer for him he spoke.

"I drove Arielle over here Mrs. Martinez since I bumped into her in the mall. Apparently she was lost. So I helped her find the exit to the mall, but then she found out that her friends left her and I volunteered to drive her home. It really wasn't anything Mrs.Martinez, so no need to worry!,"said a cheerful Shadow. I looked at him in confusion at his act. Wow. I never seen him like this. Trying to play the good guy aren't you?

My mom smiled at this and said in relief,"Well if that's true I shouldn't be acting like this then! Quite exaggerating actually! Well thank you um-."

"Shadowfax. Shadowfax Skywood.," responded Shadow. I felt weird at this friendly exchange they were having. Just too real...

Mom smiled again,"Thanks Shadowfax for helping Arielle! I really appreciate it since you've helped her two times already! You should be heading home now, your parents will be worried!' 

"Um mom I'm gonna talk to Shadowfax for a few minutes. Do you mind?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Not at all! I'll see you inside Arielle!" With that she left. I didn't speak till she was inside and nudged my friends inside to give us some privacy.

I looked at Shadow.

"Ok what was with the act back there?," I asked. 

Shadow cocked his head,"What act?," he mocked.

I rolled my eyes. "You know what act Shadow! You really should stop putting in these fake acts. How are people going to see the real you."

He stared at me,"You want me to show your mother my true self! You want me to show her that I'm really not the guy she met three minutes ago instead I'm a gangster! How stupid are you Arielle?" 

"Forget it okay... I gotta go now. Thanks for your help," I said in a low voice. I hid my face from him and turned around.

He caught my arm,"No. Tell me the real reason you wanted to talk to me?" 

I didn't say anything.

I heard him sigh and he gently grabbed my chin and tilted it up.

I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and the world around me seemed to stop to a halt...

"What is it?" He whispered. 

"Why were you there? How could you possibly know I was there in the first place? How Shadow?" I whispered softly.

He released my chin and looked at the sky and then the ground.

I placed my hands on my hip and waited.

After a few long seconds he answered. "Can we not do this now Arielle? Please, another time, but not now."

I narrowed my eyes,"Why?"

"Just because. Okay I'll promise you this: tomorrow I'll answer all your answers without any delay. You okay with that?" He searched my face.

I thought about that and then reluctantly nodded. He sighed and them a smile softly tugged in the corners of his mouth.

I liked that soft expression on his face it made my heart lurch. 

"I'll see you later then. I'm really glad your okay Arielle, who have no idea how," he said with a longing look.

He let his gaze rest on me for awhile until he turned around and headed toward the car. He opened the driver's seat and closed it when he was inside. In the back I could see the outlines of Ash and TJ. The Coupe rumbled to life and with a last look at me, Shadow waved. I waved in return and the car sped off, out of my sight in a few minutes.

I started walking toward the house and when I reached the front door I glanced back at the road with longing and then closed the door softly behind me.

As I entered the living room, my friends were there as I predicted with shocked expressions. I did what I did in lunch the first day in school when Shadow decided to have a little chat with me. I crossed my arms and  laughed at my friends. That made them get more in shock which made me laugh more.

Just hours ago I was being taunted in the alley with a stranger (he is) that was threatening to take me, a few minutes ago I was having an intense small conversation with Shadow, and now here I'am laughing like nothing was wrong and acting like they were being the lunatics instead. 

Am I crazy or what?

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Jeesh... When I wrote the part where Shadow was saying good-bye to Arielle I was like,"THIS IS NOT HOW I INTENDED IT TO END AT ALL!!" -Sighs and cracks knuckles- Well aside from that thanks for reading! In a way you could say I'm stalling for Shadow. This is the Big Warning for them now since Seb (Sebastian) knows about Arielle and apparently he's gonna toy with that since you just witnessed the type of person he is (eh) and...hmm maybe I'll let you wonder about this... 

I actually had a different for this song instead of Hurricane by 30 Seconds to Mars it was gonna be My Immortal by Evanescence. This song was intended for when Arielle in the end asks Shadow all those questions, its really intense and kinda sexual.

The lines that captured my attention to consider this song were "these wounds won't seem to heal,this pain is just too real, there's just too much that time can't erase" I'm listening to it right now. Really beautiful.

Maybe another time when the mood seems right and perfect.

Well anyway it was also fun to write this one too, but the beginning made me flinch at how I had to describe Seb like. Gosh, you guys probably hate him.

Well bye now before I start boring you... Oh wait there is a vid for the Hurricane, but I don't like the way it goes since there is a lot of rated R things in them so i'll post the lyrics instead. :)

Consider being a fan/comment/vote? Peace Out! :D