My rival. (GXG)

Mark

"Irene?"

The young girl drew her sword, clenching her jaw, when she saw the woman in front of her. "How do you know my name?" She hissed, getting in front of Max and pointing her swords towards her.

The woman in front of her seemed to be mentally out as she gazed into the void with empty eyes. Irene frowned a bit at her appearance, her blue eyes carefully hovering over her pure white hair, down to her beautiful features and her lifeless green eyes. "Abi?..."

Irene threw her sword on the ground and ran to her, jumping into her arms, taking the older girl by surprise. "Abi!" She cried out, her blue eyes glistening with tears and falling down her pale cheeks. "You're alive!"

Abitha seemed to snap out of her trance as Irene embraced her, returning the hug weakly. A flicker of recognition passed through her eyes before they clouded over again. "Irene," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I thought I'd lost you." Irene held her tighter, her fingers digging into her clothes, gripping her back gently.

The vampires around them gazed at them with relief.

Max frowned a bit, but what surprised her most was the voice coming from behind Abitha. Her cheeks heated up at the familiar sound of a certain girl's voice. She felt her lips tremble as she caught sight of the people nearing them.

Beverly burst out in tears when she saw her running to her, grabbing her hands, and pulling her into a tight embrace. Max nuzzled her face into her best friend's hair, sighing in relief. Beverly's hands clawed at her back as she laughed quietly. "You scared me, you idiot." She mumbled quietly and put her head on the taller girl's shoulder.

Max's tears were filled with such emotion that she was starting to heat up from her powers. But she was too happy to even let go. Beverly came for her, Veton came, and Nikolai came.

Jane made the effort to come too.

Beverly withdrew and used her thumbs to wipe away Max's tears. "You didn't think I'd let you alone, right?" With a little grin on her lips, Max shook her head. "Never," she said in response as she felt Beverly grab her nose. "'Aight, better be that you certified idiot."

Max gave her a stupid smile, and Beverly withdrew, putting her arm around her waist because, let's face it, as someone two heads smaller than Max, that's all she could reach. Veton approached Max and looked at her.

"Glad to see you alive, red." Unexpectedly, she gave her a hug, but Max only nodded as she pressed her fingers into the older girl's back. With a little laugh, Veton winked at her and ruffled her already disheveled hair. "You gave us a scare."

Veton, who was older, groaned and rubbed her temples as Nikolai slightly forced her to the side. With tears in his green eyes, Nikolai pulled Max up to his level and put his arms around her, giving her a firm embrace. "God, we thought you were gone for good!" Max gazed at him as he wept once more and put her arms around his neck. His hands were gentle, and he was crying so uncontrollably that Max couldn't even contain herself. "I prayed every day for you." He whispered quietly, clenching his jaw. "I prayed that you would be alive and well."

Nikolai cared about Max so much; he considered her a little sister, and his emotions were really deep. He had cared about her since the beginning, befriended her from the start. Max had Jacey; she had to care for her, but it didn't feel bad to have someone older than her care the same for her.

It felt so nice to have someone older that you could trust that Max considered Nikolai the bigger brother she never had. Her mother divorced her father, Samuel, when they were young, but she knew she had an older brother, Billy. Still, Max would always choose Nikolai over her own blood.