Protected One Series: Book One- Protected

Candidate of the Protected One

  "What is the Protected One?" I asked Zander. He shrugged, "We only know what you heard yesterday." I nodded,"... so... the other girls... do they have a Protector too?" I asked. Zander stared at me blankly and then laughed, like it was a joke I wasn't part of, "Yeah. The Officials assigned two of us per person." Oh... "But why'd you sound so shocked yesterday?" I asked. "Because I didn't fully understand my 'job,' until this morning," he said. 

  "What else do you want to know?" he asked. I thought for a moment, "The other Protector for me is Blake, right?" Zander nodded. "Okay. Let me just ask all at once... First off, why are both of you guys' eyes weird? And second, who were you talking about when you said, 'They've got some people here,'" I asked. Zander sat back in his chair, "Our eye color is actually normal... well I guess not for Normals, but they're normal for Protectors, and those people I was talking about, are the people who want the Protected One for their power. They're called Reapers."

  There was silence for a long time. I began to wonder something, "What's your power?" I asked Zander. "Anything and Everything," he said. I stared at him, "What the heck does that mean?" I asked, confused. "Basically, we use what we can. We use our opponent's weaknesses, and can even change our form," he said. "Wow... you really are a guardian angel," I said in awe. "Yeah, I've been saying that when you first came in here," he stated. 

 "Anyways, I think I've got this figured out," I mumbled. "Great. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you... If it turns out that you really are a Normal, then your memories of anything about Blake and me will be gone.," Zander said nonchalantly. "...Why?" I asked. "Because, only the most suspected Protected One can know our identities. If a bunch of Normals knew what we were, then they would go out and do reckless things," he answered. I didn't say anything, but only gasped when Zander disappeared from his spot to where I was in a blink-of-an-eye. "You will never see or hear of anything of me again," he stated. I'll forget a person I just met. It's fine though... I won't exactly remember.

                                                                          ~

  The next few days, Zander started coming back to school. I didn't really talk to him. I knew things I had to keep a secret, and things I shouldn't even know. The only times we did come in contact, was for group projects and Chemistry Labs. I wasn't technically avoiding Zander, I was just trying to avoid what he was. I hadn't really been doing anything, when Mel came up to me, "Hey Stella! Let's go to the beach!" she exclaimed excitedly. 

  "Why the beach?" I asked. Mel just shrugged, "We can go to the pool... No wait! Why don't we just have a pool party at your house?" she asked. I smiled at her, "Fine, but only between friends, nothing huge," I said. Mel laughed, "Alright! Am I inviting Cass?" she asked. I nodded, still smiling brightly, "Yeah. We haven't done anything together since last week," I said. Cass was our friend since Junior High. She's a very petite girl with short brown hair and brown doe eyes. I got up, getting ready to leave. "Why don't you invite Zander? He's been staring at you for these past few days," Mel said.

  Maybe it's because he's supposed to be watching me... I looked over at Zander and back at Mel, "Uhhh... no... it's fine..." I felt kind of uncomfortable. Mel rolled her eyes, "Just go over there and ask already," she said, pushing me over there. "H-Hey!" I stuttered, yelling at her. I was now standing in front of Zander, blushing ever so lightly. He looked up from his phone, "Hey," he said nonchalantly. I smiled awkwardly, "... Hi... Sooo... do you wanna come over for-" I didn't even get to finish. Zander looked back down at his phone and tapped his ear, "I heard you. Sure," he asnwered. How did he... never mind. "If you want, Blake could come..." I said quietly. He raised an eyebrow at me, "Are you already falling for him?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, and looked away, "That's not even funny. I... feel bad if you just left him there by himself."

  "He's not a puppy, but we'll both be there," Zander said. "Alright, see you later then," I said, leaving right when the bell rang. I went home and noticed a moving van across the street. Huh... a new neighbor. I walked inside, "Mom! I'm home!" My mom was in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water, "Hey. How was your day?" she asked. "It was fine. Can I invite some people over to swim?" I asked her.

  She looked up at me, "That depends... how many people are coming?" she asked. I counted; Mel, Cass, Zander, and Blake. "Only four," I said. "Okay... but I have a condition, just to make your social cirlce a little wider... we're going to greet the new neighbors," she said, "and you can invite their kids while we're at it." I kind of laughed, "Alright." My mom hugged me and smiled, "Let's go," she said. We walked across the street, and knocked on the door.

  The door opened, revealing a guy that was my age. He had black hair and light green eyes. ...I wonder if he is a Protector... "Hello. We're the neighbors from across the street, the Twilight's. I'm  Seraphina, and this is my daughter, Astella," my mom said. The guy didn't even smile, and just seemed plain mysterious. "My name's Cane Remington. My parents are in the back. You can talk to them if you'd like," he said to my mom. My mom smiled and went in, while I stayed by the door with Cane. "What school do you go to?" I asked him. "I'm going to start attending Halligan High after this year's session is over," he said. 

 Does that mean he was sent here as a Protector, too...?