SEVEN

The huge old croak door opened and a young man dressed in black snuck in holding a bow with arrows at his back, then he came to the cage where Shem was.

"Mentor" he said in shock when he saw him and rushed over "mentor, are you okay? what happened?"

Shem looked up at him, his eyes were nearly blinded with blood, the skin surrounding his neck were gone and he was still chained up.

"Delyn? You're..." Shem tried to say with a broken voice

"Alive? Yeah" Delyn said "come on, lets get you oitta here" then he used the key he stole to open the cage and released Shem

"You have to go Delyn, find Zack and warn him about Zhedras' plan" He said

"Not without you mentor" Delyn insisted as he heloed him up and they both left the place.

...

That night, Tesla wasn't back yet, I and Clovet were in my room discussing, we both sat beside each other on the bed.

"So, how does it feels to have Zhebel off your tail" Clovet asked

"It's nice, really" I replied "I think I'm beginning to forget what it was like having Zhebel chasing me around"

"Yeah, it's totally nice to have you around anyways" she said and I smiled then all of a sudden, she hit me with a pillow

"Hey, what was that for?" I asked

"Pillow fight!" She exclaimed then I grabbed another pillow and we began to hit each other till we were exhausted then we both laid on the bed looking up

"These past few days have been fun" she said smiling

"Yeah" I smiled back

"I wish it'll never end" but before I could say anything, there was a loud bang at the door which alerted us and immediately, we went to check who it was.

When we opened the door, we were surprised to see who the person was

"Mum?" Clovet asked more surprised than I was

"Oh sweetheart" Bia cried as she kissed Clovet on both cheeks "you got me worried"

"Erm... What are you doing here?" Clovet asked

"I'm here to take you home Clo." Bia said dragging her out of the house

"Mum..."

"Lets take you home dear and..."

"Mum!" Clovet yelled freeing herself from Bias' grasp "I'm fine okay, I don't think I'm ready to follow you home"

"What, you can't stay here Clovet you're are putting yourself in danger" Bia said

"No I'm not" she argued "I mean, he's my brother, what harm Could he possibly do to me?"

"Clovet..."

"And I can take care of myself mum" she yelled then I came outside

"Is everything alright?" I asked

"What have you done to my daughter?" Bia sneered when she saw me "what have you done to my girls"

"Am I Suppose to answer that" I whispered to Clovet

"Mum, just go okay, your presence here isn't doing any help and no matter how much you beg, I'm not going back home with you until I feel like" Clovet said "so just leave me alone okay, leave" and she went back inside

I looked at Bia who looked back at me and I could see the pains in her eyes, she took a deep breath then turned and left, I signed and went inside.

"Hey Clo." I called and she turned to look at me, She was seated on the couch, her arms folded and she was trying not to get upset "I think you should go back home"

"What!"she exclaimed "you're chasing me?"

"No, no" I said quickly "but come on, look, I don't want to look like a bad guy here but Bia is really worried about you"

"Well, I don't care" she got up and went to the kitchen then I signed again.

The next day at work, it seems pretty quiet and boring and as if the time was moving too slow until the door opened and a cute looking guy entered catching Destinys attention

"Hello handsome" she said which got me surprised as I stared at her "what can I get ya?"

"Handsome?" I mouthed

"A decaffeinated coffee to go please" he said then Clovet came by with an empty tray and was surprised to see him

"Mark, you... You're here?" She asked already blushing

"Hey, Co... Erm..." He tried to remember her name

"Clovet" she reminded him and they both smiled at each other

"Uh... You too know each other?" Rick asked surprised before Destiny could find her words

"Yeah, we met at the sub station" Mark said

"He caught the guy that tried to rob me" Clovet added blushing

"Wow, how romantic" I chimmed in from behind

"Well, here you go sir" Destiny gave him what he ordered

"Thanks" he thanked her and turned to leave

"Well?" I whispered to Clovet

"Erm... Would you mind grabbing a coffee with me some other time" she said quickly without thinking "or maybe an iced tea, or... Erm... It's the least I can do to erm... Thank you"

He stared at her as if she was an idiot for a moment then repiled

"Sure, why not, how about tomorrow then" he said she nodded

"Can I have your digits" she said before he could leave "so we could talk more"

"O...kay" he replied and wrote it in a piece of paper and gave it to her

"is that all" he asked and she nodded then he left.

"That's my girl" I said as we gave each other a high five

"Wow, good for you Clo." Destiny said, "why do I feel like I've been robbed"

"Sorry Des." Clovet chuckled

"Yeah, you're loss" Rick chimmed in

"That was so unbelievable Des. I thought... I thought you were gay" I said and they all gasped

"What, hell no" she said irritatedly "this is because of the way I dress isn't it?" Then I nodded

"No,Destiny is not gay, men" Rick said "she's just a tomboy"

"If she were gay, I would constantly remind her that I'm not" Clovet said as they chuckled.

The next day after work, I and Tesla was at my place baking and discussing

"So, what are you doing for the holidays" Tesla asked batting the butter

"Holiday?" I asked confused " what holiday"

"Are you kidding me, christmas is in like two weeks" she explained

"Oh, christmas" I chuckled "um I don't know"

"Well, I was thinking that we could invite all our friends for dinner at your place" she suggested

"Really?" I asked because I don't think it's a good idea

"Yeah, it'll be fun and we'll get to open presents" she giggled.

"Okay, I'll think about it" I said just then, Clovet entered in beaming with excitement as she laid on the coach using her legs to hit it, guess she couldn't contain the excitement

"Someone's feeling excited" Tesla said and we both came out to see her "what's the matter?"

"How did your date go" I asked

"It was magnificent, he was..." She beamed and told us all about it.

"Well, that's a starts" Tesla said happy for her

"Men, I feel lucky" Clovet said Smiling as she began to say dream.

"Well, I hope you're not too excited because we baked croissants and it ain't gonna eat itself" I said bringing her back to reality and we head to the kitchen.

The next day at work, I told them about Teslas plan for christmas and they all agreed and was excited.

Later that day, I and Clovert went shopping to buy some christmas decorations and other christmas stuff.

"Men, this is going to be the best christmas ever, don't you agree" she said as we entered the shopping mall

"You think?" I asked

"Yeah, I mean considering it's the first christmas you'll spend with us." she replied

"Okay, but I still don't get why we celebrate" I said "Really? Like the holidays is so special, it's a time where we can spend with families and friends" she explained "and don't worry, your first christmas with us will be very special you won't forget it in a hurry" then I smiled.

At home, we began to decorate the Christmas tree and most parts of the house.

"I think we should invite Bia over" I said and Clovet frowned

"Save your breath, she won't come" she said putting the lights round the tree

"But, I have to try, after all, she is family" I insisted as I was arranging the socks filled with candies at the fireplace.

"Okay then, but don't be disappointed if she turns you down" Clovet said and I signed, I have to try.

On Christmas eve, I and Jerry had an outing to the theatre where we watched some Christmas songs and drama presentation and it was magnificent.

"You guys are really in on this holiday" i said munching my popcorn.

"You have no idea" Jerry said "hey, I invited Ferda and Lolly to join us tomorrow"

"That's okay, the more the merrier" I said "what about Bia?"

"Nah, even if I did, she won't come" he said "and she won't even like the idea of Lolly and Ferda coming too"

"Yeah, but she's family" I said

"I know, but in this case, no one can convince her to come to your house, not even me" Jerry said before the lights came back on, the presentation was over, the cast bowed as the audience gave a thunderous applause and was throwing red roses to the stage.

That night, I came down to Clovets house, breathed in and out before knocking at the door. I know Bia has always been unkind to me but she is family and would mean alot if she came.

After a while, the door opened and Bia stood before me.

"What is it that you want?" She asked but before I could answer, she said "I thought I told you to stay away from my household.

"Look Bia, I know having me around isn't what you wanted but it's Christmas tomorrow and even though I'm not sure why we celebrate it, it'll be nice to have you with us tomorrow" I said but she only stared after me without uttering a word "your presence will mean a lot to all of us"

"Really?" She scoffed "after everything I've done, you still insist I come merry with you?"

"Yes" I nodded

"Well, my answer is no" she said "you may have won my family over, dragged them to believing your cock and bull story and trusting you but if any of my girls get hurt because of you, I'll kill you before Zhebel gets the chance" and with that, she went inside and shut the door at my face.

"Okay, the tree is finally ready" Clovet said as she placed the star on its top.

"It's great" Tesla commented putting the presents under the tree

"Oh I can't wait for tomorrow" Clovet giggled

"I see, Someone's excited" Tesla said with a smile

"Yeah, you bet I am, it's my first Christmas with Zack and I'm super excited" she said in between giggles

"Wow, he must be so lucky to have you" Tesla said not asking further questions.

The D-day arrived, it's Christmas, all day we were preparing for tonight, Clovet and Tesla were cooking, I and Destiny went shopping for drinks while Rick and Steve were arranging the table.

Night fell, we were done, the table was set and we were all sitted ready to have dinner then door opened and Jerry came in with Lolly and Ferda

"Hope we're not late" he asked

"No, you came just in time, hop right in" Tesla said with a smile as they took their seat next to Clovet.

After a while, Sam and Mark joined us, we were surprised to see them

"Sam!" Tesla called "thought you ain't coming"

"Well, it's a party and where there's a party, there's alcohol, why in the world would I miss it" he said and sat next to Tesla

"Guys, hope you don't mind that I invited Mark over" Clovet said as Mark came and sat beside her

"No," I said "the more the merrier" then he smiled.

All night, we ate, made fun and enjoyed ourselves, after eating, we went over to the sitting room to open our presents.

"Here" I gave Tesla a small box "this is for you" she smiled, took it and opened it

"OMG," she exclaimed and brought out the golden pendant I bought for her "it's... Gorgeous, thanks, I love it"

"Here, let me out it on you" I offered and helped her wear it on, I handed her a mirror to look at her self.

"Thanks alot babe" she thanked me and we kissed

The exchange of gifts was going on, we were discussing about how we wantes the following year to look like before there was a knock at the door and everyone paused.

"You expecting someone son" Jerry asked

"Erm... No" I replied then stood up to go and open the door a bit excited thinking that Bia has finally changed her mind but when I opened it, it was not Bia, it was a dude, dark in complexion, average in height, he wore a black hood on a black face cap.

"Can I help ya" I asked then he raised his face and looked at me

"Hey Zack," he said "merry Christmas"

On seeing his face, I gasped. I was so surprised that I froze where I stood

"Delyn?"