Test

"Mrs. Copperland, I'm so sorry!" Alex immediately jumped backward until he pressed his back against the wall.

"I thought you were Vikki!" He raised his hands and tried to explain the misunderstanding.

"Of course, you did, dear…" she slowly turned to face him, flaunting her young figure.

"Haven't I already told you to call me Vivian?" She glided across the hall with pure grace, closing the gap between them.

Raising her hands to caress his face, he could only focus on the deep red that adorned her fingernails as she gently grazed the bottom of his jawline and dropped them to his collarbone. "I hope you're enjoying the party… Now, what can I do for you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Co- Vivian, the party is great." Alex tripped over his words at the sudden closeness between them.

"Have you seen Vikki?" He slid away slightly. He had grown close to Vivian over the years, but he was still embarrassed by the misunderstanding.

"Oh my god! You're cheating on me? With my mom?" Vikki stepped out of the kitchen doorway with tears in her eyes. "How long has this been going on?"

"Vik-" Alex continued stepping away from Vivian, but Vikki kept marching toward him.

"Was it good? Is that where you learned THAT? Oh god!" Vikki's pace quickened to the point she was running at him, who had given up on retreating.

"You said you learned it special for me!" She reached her hand toward his face.

"Stop it!" Alex was done being pushed back and caught her wrist.

Vikki laughed, "There's no way I can keep that up!"

"Vik, what the Hell? Don't do that shit!" Alex pushed Vikki away and began to leave the hall. He didn't want to fight in front of Vivian.

"Alex, I didn't mean it! Don't leave!" She ran after him with desperation in her voice, hoping that her prank didn't ruin the evening!

"Yeah, go ahead and test him tonight," Vivian whispered into her cell phone. "Don't do anything deadly."

…

"I'll make it up to you tonight, just stop walking away and give me a kiss!" Vikki was pleading with Alex as they entered the ballroom.

Alex wasn't too upset, but he wasn't in the mood for a party anymore. He intended on finding Trent before he left for the evening, but his old friend was chatting with the actress he had met earlier. Not wanting to disrupt this potential opportunity, he chose to forego his goodbyes instead.

"Hey, you two, where've you been?" Layla ran up and threw her arms around the couple.

"Why wasn't I invited?" She exaggerated a frown, trying to make them feel bad.

"Oh, nowhere, I just caught this weirdo trying to make out with my mom!" Vikki tried to cheer up her friend and gave Alex a hard time.

"I'd make out with your mom!" Layla chimed in as she released Alex's shoulder, stumbling, and hugged Vikki, kissing her on the cheek.

"..." Vikki didn't know how to respond to her friend's drunken outburst.

"Okay, girls, I think we've had enough fun for the evening. I have a surprise!" Alex pulled the old key that Jimmy had given him earlier and showed the girls, "I have my own place!"

Layla's eyes lit up and sparkled as memories of his childhood home filled her mind,

"Can we go see it? Please?"

They all agreed that it would be a fun way to end their evening and snuck out of the graduation party. Appreciating the beauty of the night, they decided to walk the distance to his home rather than take a taxi.

A chill filled the night air as they strolled down the dark city streets. The lack of activity made it incredibly peaceful and significantly contrasted the environment they had just left.

"I've never seen the city so quiet!" Layla broke the silence as she inched closer to the couple for comfort.

"Everyone who matters is at my house. They all wanted to meet this guy!" Vikki smiled and pulled Alexander's arm into her chest. "Who would've thought he'd sneak out of his own party!"

"Are you saying we don't matter?" three large thugs had stepped out of an alley and interrupted their conversation.

Two of them brandished knives, while the man in the middle aimed a pistol directly at Alex! "Bring the girls to us, and you won't get hurt."

Hesitating for a moment, he looked at his companions. He was sure he could get out of this situation, but he didn't want them to be injured because of him.

"Girls, he has a gun; let's listen to him. Come with me." He grabbed both of their hands and started walking towards the three men, who had slowly walked back into the cover of darkness.

The women protested heavily, but he used his superior strength to force them to follow him. They all wanted to protect each other, believing that they were the only ones that could survive the situation unscathed.

[Do I need to issue a quest?]

[This situation could end up poorly for you.]

'Just trust me' Alexander wouldn't mind being robbed if it meant the girls would be safe.

He needed to know what their motivation was.

"Not too bright, are ya boy?" The thug with the gun laughed, "There's no reason a guy like you needs two beautiful girls like them. You can watch us have some fun with them instead."

Alex stopped thinking.

Ignoring the fact that the man in front of him was holding him at gunpoint, he sprinted forward with all of his strength. The gunman fired his pistol at the pissed-off teen, striking him in the stomach! It didn't slow him down as he punched the man in the abdomen before grabbing the gun and forcing it from his hands.

Taking the firearm in his hand, he used it as a club to strike the face of the thug. Driving through the gangster's face with his fist, a shower of blood bloomed from his nose as he was brought to the ground.

Alex didn't relent, repeatedly smashing the same spot until his skull had collapsed into a liquid mess.

He had used his superior strength to kill his opponent in an instant.

[Alexander, you need to calm down now!]

'Shut up! I'm busy!' Alex didn't want to be calm.

He was okay with being robbed, but these idiots had threatened the people he cared about. He wasn't worried about the consequences; he chose to respond.

The two remaining men stood frozen in place. One had dropped his knife and began to drop to his knees when Alex was standing before him with his throat in his hand.

A simple threatening test for the young man had suddenly become a test of survival for the gangsters.

He lifted the man from the ground and squeezed with all of his strength. The crunching of bones resonated through the alley as the thug's head lay loosely to the side, his neck completely crushed. Releasing his grip, the corpse collapsed to the ground.

The third man had started to run out of the alley, but Alex was faster! Sprinting without delay, he found himself standing in front of the shocked gangster who wildly swung his knife in a panic, causing no threat.

The pissed-off were-rex kicked the man's knee and caused the joint to buckle in the wrong direction.

He screamed out in agony as he curled on the ground gripping the destroyed joint in despair. Fear and panic in his eyes were replaced with desperation and regret as he refused to accept his fate. "N-n-no!. I'll talk!"

No longer willing to listen to reason, Alex raised his foot and stomped on his opponent's face, knocking him out. Not satisfied, he continued until there was nothing but a mix of asphalt and a bloody paste.

"Alex, you were shot!" The girls stared at Alexander.

The women were shocked at what occurred, and questions flooded there mind. Still, their concern for the young man took priority.

"They must have missed; I'm fine." Alex brushed off the comment as he walked toward Layla and Vikki.

His blood-soaked figure steamed in the chilly night air.

"There's a hole in your shirt! They didn't miss." Layla tried to press the subject, but he didn't allow it.

He picked up Vikki and threw her over his shoulder as he grabbed Layla's wrist. A primal urge inside of him told him he needed to get the women home right now.

The rest of the trip to his house went by quickly as he sprinted through the streets. He pulled the girls into his home and disrobed immediately, discarding the blood-soaked clothing.

He jumped in the shower to clean up and returned to the girls wearing a towel.

"My mother will take care of the incident; you don't have to worry." Vikki had announced as if this wasn't the first time something like this had happened to her, surprising Alex.

Not responding, he just picked his lover up at the waist and carried her to the master bedroom. He had hoped his urge would be gone after showering and calming down, but it had only gotten stronger.

He was afraid of losing control.

He tossed Vikki on the bed and turned off the lights. As he approached the bed to join her, they heard a click, and the door opened.

"Do you guys mind if I sleep in here tonight? I'm kind of not okay." Layla stared at the ground, knowing she was interrupting the couple.

Because they had been through a lot, Alex suppressed his urge and decided to comfort the girls instead. Making sure his towel was secure, he climbed into the center of the bed as Layla and Vikki cuddled up onto his chest.

[You can't put others first like that]

'I'll have to risk it tonight. They need me,' he thought.

[I don't agree with your choice.]

'It's still my choice.'

[You need to learn to control your emotions and urges.]

A few awkward moments passed as the three of them joked and pretended that the night was just like any other. They discussed the party and the various people they met. Eventually, the tension left the room, and Alex thought everyone had fallen asleep.

Just before he closed his eyes, he felt Layla's arm reach over to Vikki, pulling her closer. He could hear the clear sound of a kiss as he felt two hands reach his abdomen…