21 Everything Happens for a Reason

All of them sat around the table, eating, making small conversations with each other.

"I was just wondering" June said, making everyone look at him "What happened after, you know Zenaida....?"

"Zenayda" Harper corrected

"Yeah her" June said, "What happened after she stepped in her sisters position"

"Well, for starters she agreed to a peace treaty with the Chaos, Although it took her a long time." Harper said, sighing

"Really? I mean how is that even possible? She hated the Chaos" June said, scowling .

"Well you aren't the only one who was surprised by her decisions." Harper said "She refused for a very long time, then one day she just changed her mind and signed the peace treaty. Every Gifted protested against this, but what can you do when you're up against a 'Queen'"

"What made her change her mind?" Andrew asked, eye brows furrowed

"Well, no one really knows the reason and she kept it all to herself" Harper answered

"That sounds all too fishy to me" Mrs. Summers

And everyone nodded.

"What's in the peace treaty?" June asked

"There's a lot of things in there but the only one I know and most famous one is that 'Chaos are to submit and follow the orders of The Queen, anyone fail to comply will result in punishment'" Caleb said

"And...?" June said, waiting for more

"And as far we know up to date, the Chaos stayed true to the peace treaty." Harper said

"But Zenayda has eyes everywhere and some Chaos who were still trouble makers, were punished" Alisa said

"What was the punishment?" Andrew asked

"Death" Caleb answered

"Well, what about the Shadows?" June asked, after taking a drink

"The shadows on the other hand do not answer to anyone even the Chaos , so they still wreck havoc. They may not be as powerful as the Chaos are but they are clever and smart, making them hard to kill and extinguish" Harper explained.

Alisa noticed that Andrew's just staring at his food, deep in thought

"Hey, you okay?" Alisa said, Her voice low and gentle, putting a hand on Andrew's shoulder.

Startled, Andrew turned to Alisa, "Yeah" Andrew answered.

"You sure?" Alisa said, concerned etched in her face

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired" Andrew gave Alisa a small smile.

Mrs. Summers saw that Andrew barley touched his food

"Not hungry?" Mrs. Summers asked.

Andrew shook his head, his face heating up.

"It's okay, you must be still tired." Mrs. Summers said, having that motherly smile, "Go, rest up" She said in encouragement.

"Thank you" Andrew said standing up, "And nice meeting you Mr.Hearth"

"It was also a pleasure meeting you" Harper stood up extending a hand

Andrew to the hand and shook it. Then he looked at Caleb and Alisa

"I'll see you round?" Andrew said

"You know it" Caleb said, smirking at his sister

Alisa ignored his brother and gave Andrew's hand a light squeeze, smiling back.

Then Andrew gave June and Mrs. Summers a grateful nod and left the dinning room.

All of them watch silently as Andrew left the Dinning room.

"It's a lot for him to take" Harper said, when Andrew's out of earshot.

"He's gone through a lot" Mrs. Summers agreed

"How did the Shadow possessed his dad?" June asked

"Well technically his father was long gone after the possession. When he was possessed, the shadow became one with him making him a Shadow" Harper explained

"But the Shadow that attacked me and the one that broke into the house looked...Less human" June said

"That is one way, why Shadows are hard to kill, They can take the form of a human being" Caleb explained

"So anyone of us cloud be a shadow, Is that what your saying?" June asked

"Yes" Harper answered

"That's just great" June grumbled

"Is there any other way for the Shadows to to take human form, besides possession?" June asked.

"There are three ways. First is as you all know being possessed but for it work the Human vessel needs to have so much negative emotion, thus making Andrew's father a perfect vessel for a Shadow. The second one is when a Shadow has killed and eaten enough Gifted-

"That's just sick" June said in disgust

"And the third one is, if a human being drank a blood of a Chaos, or in this case the Human becoming a Shadow."

"Wait did you say 'Drank a Blood of a Chaos'?" June said, his eyes widen

"Yes, the Chaos did this in the wars so they can increase in numbers and have an advantage. But after the peace treaty has been signed, Zenayda forebode this action and any one caught disobeying will be punished by death on the spot." Harper explained

But June can't seem calm down. "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God" He kept saying. He keeps pushing his hair back, his leg bounced none stop, and he can't seem to know what to do. He's anxious, nervous, agitated and a whole lot more.

"Honey are you okay?" Mrs. Summers said, confused by her son's behavior

"Yeah" June answered a little too fast, making Mrs. Summers worry even more.

"June, you tell me what's happening right now" Mrs. Summers said, her voice in warning and hard making June look up at her.

June looked a Caleb and Alisa and they're just like him. Alisa's face is pale and Caleb's jaw is set in a hard line.

Even Harper was surprised by how his children are acting as well.

"Caleb, Alisa did you forget to tell me something" Harper said

"A Chaos is making Shadows here" Alisa blurted out

Caleb groaned, covering his face

"Sorry, I can't lie. you know I can't lie to dad" Alisa said to his brother

"What did you say?!" Harper exclaimed

"There's a Chaos here, making Shadows" Caleb said

"Yeah, I think I got that part down! Why didn't you tell me?!" Harper said, trying real hard to reign in his temper.

"Don't be mad at them. It was Luke who's making the Shadows and almost made me one too. If it weren't for them I'd be long dead" June explained.

"I knew from the very start, something is fishy about that kid!" Mrs. Summers exploded, "And why didn't you tell me?" she demanded

"How was I suppose to tell you, you'd think I'm crazy. I didn't even know that you know about Gifted" June said

Mrs. Summers realized that her son had a point, she no longer pushed but you can see that she's still shaking from the mixed emotions she's feeling.

"What happened? Tell me everything" Harper said, a little calmer now

"Well, Luke invited me to his party, I though it was just like his usual parties but then he spiked my drink, I was out immediately. I woke up and saw Luke making people drink his blood. People who drank it started acting weird, then when he was done with everyone he made drink next. When I refused, he forced me to drink it. I was out numbered and Luke has this some kind of power so I had no choice, he made me drink. Next thing I knew, I felt like I was burning. It happened for a while, but when Luke became impatient, he commanded one of his guards to see what was happening with me. When the guard approached, he suddenly erupted in Golden flames and turned to ashes. Then the rest is a blur, but one thing's for sure if it weren't for Caleb and Alisa coming, I'd be dead." June looked at the siblings with so much gratitude.

After June told his story Harper looked at his Children, waiting for their story.

"We were at the dinner that night when, Alisa heard June's screams. At first she shook it off and didn't pay attention to it, but she kept hearing June." Caleb started

"June's screams kept getting louder and louder. I knew He was in trouble and so I told Caleb about what was happening. I begged Caleb for us to help. When he said yes, we ran as fast as we could." Alisa continued

"When we got there, June was already fighting the Shadows off but he was clearly out numbered. So we rushed in and helped him. The Chaos stayed back and let the Shadows do the attacking for him, which was weird. When we're really getting overpowered, June suddenly busts in Golden flames and nearly burned the house down." Caleb continued

"The flame was really blinding, so we didn't exactly knew what happened, but when the flame died down, we saw most of the Shadows where gone. Realizing his army disintegrated in a flash, The Chaos escaped. We didn't get the chance to follow him, since the normal people were taking notice and we had to get June out of there, who was out cold on the ground." Alisa continued

"We got out of there as fast as possible. We found June's car and searched his wallet for his address. We drove him home and snuck him in as quiet as possible and put him to bed. Alisa cleaned him as much as she can and I change his clothes. I parked his SUV in the garage and we left quietly." Caleb ended

"Wait, so you guys drove me home, Put me to bed, cleaned me up, parked my car and just left?" June said, Puzzled and a little disturbed.

"I swear we didn't steal anything" Alisa promised

"I know you guys didn't. It's just that you don't exactly hear that everyday" June said

Harper sighed and looked at Mrs. Summers. Understanding passed between them and Harper spoke.

"The thing you kids did was very brave, but also very reckless as well. I know June, you just tried to survived-"Harper said looking at June "And you kids just tried to save a Friend-" He said looking at his kids, "But what you kids got into was very dangerous. You got yourselves in Gifted Politics. Zenayda has eyes everywhere and if this news reached her, if she didn't already, she's not going to be happy about this, and sooner or later she will make her move" Harper said, his voice very tensed

"You kids need to understand that Gifted Politics is like walking on egg shells, and if you got caught, It can get really messy" Mrs. Summers said

"How did you know so much about Gifted?" June asked

"Now's not the right time to tell you, but I promise I will, Okay?" Mrs. Summers said, promising

June understood the situation and nodded

"You kids need to be careful, Arisa and I can't always have an eye on you so you have to protect each other. You have to be really careful in who you trust, If anything unusual happens... and I mean anything, you have to promise not to engage and try your best to escape. Inform me as soon as possible okay? You have to promise me" Harper's voice was very serious.

"What's the Gifted Politics, what's so bad about it" Caleb said, confused

"Someday you will know but for now we have to protect you from it. So you kids have to promise, You will do it Yes?" Harper said, Sounding very serious

The three nodded

"Good kids" Harper sigh

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After they're done eating, June and Caleb took care of the dishes, so Mrs. Summers and Harper could catch up. Alisa said she was going to check up on Andrew, both parents allowed her as long she promised, no close doors. Alisa promised and went up stairs, leaving the grown ups in the living room.

Both Arisa and Harper were very silent, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Harper said, his voice low and worried.

"I'm just in shock. I'm just trying real hard to absorb it all." Arisa answered, her voice the same way as Harper

"I know" Harper said

"They're just so young to get involved in this" Arisa said, looking at the kitchen door

"You know age doesn't matter to Zenayda, Right? She doesn't care as long as you are something of worth or use to her." Harper said

"If she caught them, I don't know what she'll do to them" Arisa said, her voice laced with fear.

"And we won't allow that to happened" Harper said, reassuring her

"June wasn't even suppose to be a Gifted, and now this happened. I gave my all trying to protect him from this world and give him a normal human life. I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I failed 'Him'" Arisa said covering her face.

Harper removed Arisa's hand from her face and looked at her straight in the eyes "Jonathan knows that you did everything to protect June, He died knowing that and he's not going to blame you for what happened to June. Honestly I was confused how it happened but it happened, now we have to move on and do our best to protect our children, we have to be strong for them" Harper said, his voice low but hard

Arisa's eyes are glassy from unshed tears. She wiped her tears away and nodded.

"Tan would have done the same" Arisa said, smiling a sad smile

"He definitely would have" Harper agreed, with the same sad smile

And for a moment, both of them were silent. Remembering the past.

Then Arisa spoke "I just don't understand. Why this poor kids? they've already been through so much in their young age and this one-" She said looking at Harper "This one will destroy them"

Staring at his joined hands, Harper said "We have to believe in them, that's the only thing we can do." He turned to Arisa and said "Just like Jonathan always says-"

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"You're quiet, You okay?" June said, startling Caleb from his thoughts

June and Caleb are in the kitchen cleaning the dishes.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to absorb everything, you know." Caleb said, turning his head to June

"Yeah, I understand how you feel. The past two day has been really something. Learning about the Gifted, Luke wanting to destroy me and our kind, finding Andrew almost dead in the middle of nowhere, My mom knowing about the Gifted , It's just a lot to take in" June said with a sigh

"You'll get there." Caleb said, reassuring June "It took me and my sister a long time to figure it out as well. but everyday we learn something new that will top the last one we learned, this one is the biggest yet. That's the first time I saw dad, on the edge of loosing his temper" Caleb said while wiping the dish dry.

For a moment they worked quietly and in sync

"How do you guys do it?" June asked

"Do what?" Caleb said turning to June

"You know, not going insane with all this." June said

"It's gets easy with time, and having my sister really helps a lot" Caleb said returning to work

"You really love your sister don't you? I wish I had a sibling" June said, his voice a little sad

"For all I know it has always been my sister and me. Dad helps a lot but with my sister it's like I can't live without her, you know what I mean?"

June nodded

"And a while ago when we arrived, when my sister saw Andrew and her face lit up. The way she looked, hugged, speak ,touch, smile at him , I never saw her with anyone like that." Caleb said, keeping his attention on drying the dishes, "And honestly it kinda hurts, I know it's stupid but I can't help but feel jealous."

"But you didn't show it" June said, his voice commending

"I have to. I don't have the right to pull her away from people, She deserves to be happy and if I need to contain this stupid jealousy for her to be happy then, I will." Caleb said.

"You're really good brother, Cay. And don't feel stupid, its natural to feel that way when all your life you only got is each other" June said putting a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "but at some point you can't always be with each other, time will come when you two will be on your own and not have the other half to rely on. One day she will also feel jealous when you're with someone special" June said, which made Caleb turn to him. "But the point is that maybe, Alisa meeting Andrew will help you broaden your horizon as well. Meeting new friends, finding that special someone and a lot more things. The horizon is wide and it's time for the both of you to spread your wings and fly."

"Wow, you're really good at this" Caleb said, smiling making June chuckle. "Thanks" Caleb said, with a small but grateful smile

"No problem" June said, smiling as well "My mom always tells me in time like this that-"

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Alisa quietly opened the door to Andrew's room. She saw Andrew kneeling, picking the scattered shattered window glass on the floor.

Alisa quietly walked towards Andrew and kneel beside him, and they both collect shattered window glass.

"You okay?" Alisa asked, her voice concern.

Andrew just stayed quiet and just kept picking glass.

Alisa turned her head to Andrew, she softly put her hands on Andrew's hands, stopping him on what he's is doing. Andrew turned his head to Alisa with waves of emotions.

"You can tell me" Alisa said, her voice soft and sincere

Andrew released all the glass he's collected. The weight of everything came crashing down on him and it was finally to much for him. He slump to the ground and leaned his back to the bed.

Alisa sat beside him and they sat their quietly

Andrew suddenly spoke "I'm not" his voice tired

"Huh?" Alisa said turning to Andrew, startled

"I'm not... Okay that is" Andrew said

"Saying that it's gonna be okay is not okay because I don't have a single clue the weight off what your feeling right now." Alisa said, looking at the shattered window "So instead of saying it's going to be okay. I'm going say, I'll always be right here for you" returning to Andrew, smiling

"Why do you care so much?" Andrew said, looking into Alisa's eyes

"I don't really know" Alisa said, leaning her head on the bed, "but what I'm sure of is that when I first met you" tilting her head to look at Andrew "..... or rather heard you play, I knew there was something special about you." She said smiling

"What so special about me, is it because I'm a 'Second generation'?" Andrew said, his brows furrowed

"It's because I saw a beautiful soul, or in this case heard." Alisa said, holding Andrew's hand.

Andrew held Alisa's hand back.

Andrew looked at their joined hands and said "I don't really understand still but thank you"

Alisa said "My Dad always told us in times like this that-"

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"Everything happens for a reason" Harper, June and Alisa said at the same time.