ONE

ONE

       "What?" Rosie almost dropped her own phone. She parted the curtains aside just a crack and peered out the living room window. Sure enough, standing there was "a creepy guy", as Athena had put it. He was rather tall, with black hair that fell across his neck and his face. He was wearing a simple navy t-shirt with a dark hoodie, jeans, and skating shoes, and had his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.
       "Do you see him?" Athena asked, keeping her voice low.
       Rosie didn't answer. Instead, she started flipping out. "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod," she screeched. "My parents aren't home! What am I going to do?"
       Athena, who was outside, backed far enough away from the house so that she was out of hearing range. She hid behind a tree and slumped down to her knees.
       "Call Chase," she said. "Right now."

       Chase, at that moment, was doing homework with Daniel and Monica when his cell phone rang. Once he saw that it was Rosie, he quietly excused himself from the room and picked up.
       "Rosie. What's up?"
       Rosie started talking into her phone very fast, making it hard for Chase to understand. All he could make out were the words "creepy", "parents", and "porch" before she started screaming again.
       "Whoa, calm down," he said, rubbing his forehead in confusion. "Say it again, more slowly."
       Rosie took a deep breath, then said, "I invited Athena over to my house today so we could hang out. So she's walking over, right? Then all of a sudden, she tells me there's some random creepy guy outside my house, standing on my porch. I look outside, and there he is." She started freaking out again. "My parents aren't home! What should I do?"
       "Hang on," Chase told her, as his heart started to race. "Make sure Athena stays hidden. I'm going to get Daniel and Monica, and we're coming over as soon as we can." He paused, then continued, "And, please don't do anything stupid."
       "I won't," Rosie promised. "I love you."
       "I love you too. See you in a few." Chase hung up and charged back into Daniel's bedroom. Daniel and Monica, who were bent over their textbooks, looked up at his abrupt entrance.
       "It's Rosie," Chase announced. "And Athena. They're in big trouble. We've gotta go."

       Three minutes later, Athena watched Daniel as he parked his car at the end of the block. He, Chase, and Monica climbed out and walked casually towards her. Once they were hidden behind the tree, all three of them dropped down to the ground.
       "Okay," Daniel began, "Here's the plan..."

       Rosie looked out of the upstairs window and saw Athena, Daniel, Chase, and Monica come out from behind their tree and start to make their way down the block. They approached her driveway and kept walking until they were about two feet away from the mysterious man. Rosie opened the window a crack so she could hear what they were saying.
       "Hey, buddy!" Chase yelled. His cheeks were flushed, slightly from the cold, but more so from anger.
       The odd boy turned to face all four friends, who probably looked fairly intimidating to him. He blinked, but didn't talk.
       "What're you doing here?" Monica, who was practically fearless, asked. "Are you the paper boy or something?"
       "I--I'm looking for...Rosie?" the guy asked.
       Chase's frown deepened, and Daniel stepped forward. "I don't believe she knows you."
       "I have a message for her," the guy said.
       "Well, why don't you give it to us instead," Athena suggested. It was a command, not a question.
       "I'd rather not," he told her, without batting an eye.
       "Well, you can either give it to us," Chase said, "Or the police. Your choice."
       The mysterious boy didn't say anything else. Instead, he turned and ran out of sight. All five friends watched him go. Then, realizing that she was safe, Rosie sprinted downstairs, out the door, and straight into Chase's arms.
       "I heard everything," she murmured into his shoulder as her eyes filled with tears. She pulled away from him and looked at everybody else. "Thanks for saving me, guys. I don't know what I would've done without you."
       Monica shrugged. "It's nothing, really. I've dealt with worse."
       "I wonder what he wanted, anyway," Athena spoke up. Close up, she had realized that the guy was kind of cute, in that tough-looking way. She quickly shook the ridiculous thought away.
       "Even if he was the paper boy, I'd beat the crap out of him," Chase huffed. "Just for scaring Rosie."
       Daniel grinned. "You would."
       After his remark, the five friends temporarily forgot about the previous incident and began to joke around again. They went inside Rosie's house, where they planned to stay until dinner.


       The next day, at lunch, Athena was sitting with Rosie and Monica. They were soon joined by Daniel and Chase.
       "Did you hear?" Daniel asked, taking a bite out of the apple he was holding.
       "Hear what?" Monica asked.
       "There's a new guy," Chase reported.
       "What's with all these new, creepy people?" Rosie wondered out loud. She took a swig of her Pepsi.
       "His name is Sylar," Chase continued, ignoring her comment.
       "Sylar? Who names their kid Sylar?" Athena said, raising an eyebrow.
       "Who names their kid Athena?" Daniel shot back. His sister stuck her tongue out at him.
       "He has a pretty good point there," Monica said, smirking.
       Athena rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

       At the end of day, Athena was once again without a ride. She sighed and pushed the doors of the school open, and stepped outside. She started walking home, carrying her books in her arms, and kept her gaze fixed on the sidewalk in front of her.
       "Stupid lovesick Daniel," she mumbled. Suddenly, she bumped into someone and her books flew all over the ground around her. Athena's head jerked up and she found herself face-to-face with the mysterious guy from yesterday.
       This boy also found himself staring at Athena. His dark green eyes locked in place with her light blue ones, which were searching him for signs of recognition. Something flickered in her eyes, but in a moment it was gone.
       Athena pulled away from the trance she had somehow managed to get into and started to pick up her books from the ground.
       "Let me help you," the guy offered. Without waiting for an answer, he knelt in the grass and began collecting some of the books and papers that had gone astray. He handed them to Athena, who snatched them away hastily and didn't even say a simple "thank you." Instead, her eyes flashed again, but this time with annoyance. The boy was startled. Did she recognize him from yesterday? Did she know what he was doing at Rosie's house? She couldn't have. Could she?
       They both stood up. "I'm Sylar," he said, extending his hand.
       Athena looked like she wanted to spit on it, but was refraining herself. She shook it and said, "Athena."
       Sylar didn't know what got into him, but suddenly he felt a smile stretching its way across his face.
       "What's wrong with your lip?" Athena asked him. He just continued to grin and didn't answer. The two locked eyes again. They stood there for several minutes. People passed and stray leaves blew on by, but the pair just stayed where they were, as if their feet were stuck to the ground with superglue.
       "I--I should really get home," Athena spoke up, stepping away.
       "Will I see you tomorrow?" Sylar asked. He just couldn't help himself.
       "Maybe." Athena turned and walked away, without once looking back.
       Sylar watched her go until she was out of sight. Then, his phone rang. Without checking to see who it was, he picked it up.
       "Hello? Yeah, I found it. Not yet...maybe a week. I'll definitely tell you, don't worry."

       Meanwhile, Athena was walking home and thinking of Sylar.
       He doesn't know what they say about me yet, she thought. I can tell him the truth before it's too late...Wait, what am I thinking? He stalked Rosie! I can't have any contact with him. I won't meet him tomorrow. I'll tell Daniel all about this and he'll be sure to give me a ride home instead. She went on, still arguing with herself in her head.

Author's Note

Still pretty short and kinda rushed, but oh well.

Sorry if it's a boring start. It'll get better soon. I just have to be in a certain mood to write this type of thing, and at the end of the chapter I was zoning out.

Reviews

[Melody]

It's pretty good! I like it!