I Am Number Four

Chapter Four: A Fresh Start

Climbing out of the car, Avalon stared up at the house that would be her home for the next couple of years; she doubted it would be long before they were moving again, she couldn't wait to head off to college. 

Lillian smiled as she climbed out of the car, and stretched slightly before she turned and looked at her daughter; the new house was nice and so different to the last one they had lived in. 

"What do you think?" Lilliana asked walking over to Avalon, she was pleased and she was hopeful that this would work out for them all.

Avalon didn't know why her parents continually insisted on buying a new house every time that they moved somewhere; they would only end up selling it again when they moved. 

"It's nice," Avalon murmured eyeing the house, she watched as her father unlocked the door and she couldn't wait to get set up in her own room; the trip had been a long one and she just wanted to sleep. 

Looking around Avalon stared at the trees that surrounded her new home, it seemed to isolate them from the world and it made her a little nervous. 

Moving away from Lillian, Avalon headed up the stairs and into the house; she wrinkled her nose at the off-green colour of the walls knowing that this could only mean one thing. 

"Mum's going to attempt to paint again, isn't she?" Avalon asked making James laugh and nod his head, her mother was terrible at painting and it was clearly going to happen again. 

Lillian rolled her eyes at her daughter's words, she wasn't that bad and what happened last time wasn't her fault; she hadn't meant for the wall to turn that colour. 

James shook his head as he smiled before looking at his daughter, he was pleased to see that she was still joking about all of this; he was sure being here in Paradise would be good for them. 

"Yes and don't sulk when she paints your room pink," James joked while Avalon rolled her eyes before tilting her head in question; she was exhausted and she wanted to get some sleep soon.

The trip had been a long one and Avalon was sure that moving all their crap into the house would take a while; she wasn't looking forward to unpacking the moving truck when it arrived. 

"Where is my room?" Avalon asked making her parents smiled at each other before James wrapped his arms around Lillian; they had been doing a lot of thinking and they had decided on something. 

They were sure that Avalon would be pleased with what they had decided since they knew how much Avalon hated all the morning around. 

"Well, we thought that since we'll be staying here till you graduate, that maybe you'd like to have the attic and decorate it yourself," Lillian revealed making Avalon smile, she couldn't believe that they were actually going to actually stay; she had thought they'd move again before she graduated. 

James laughed before he and Lillian moved away from the front door and looked around the room, he was glad that they had come here even if they had enjoyed living by the beach. 

"Do you think she suspects anything?" Lillian whispered concerned moving towards her husband, she hated to think what they would do if she learnt the truth about her heritage. 

James sighed and pressed a kiss to Lillian's head, it was better that Avalon had no idea who she really was and he knew that this wasn't going to get any easier. 

"Of course not, if we're lucky she's become a Cêpan not a Garde," James tried to reassure her, he knew that it wasn't likely but Avalon was sixteen years old and there was still no sign of her developing any legacies. 

Lillian closed her eyes and shook her head, she had no idea if that would work but she knew that the moment that Avalon learned the truth that everything would be destroyed.

"If only that was possible," Lillian whispered burying her head into James' shoulder as he continued to hug her in comfort, sooner or later their lie would be revealed; it scared the crap out of them. 

The moment that they would have to tell Avalon that they weren't her parents was growing closer and they had no idea what was going to happen; she wasn't likely to take this news well. 

James kissed the top of Lillian's head, he loved her so much and he would never regret what they had done; they had done the right thing and they were both alive because of that choice. 

They would have died on Lorien if they hadn't of done what they had, they even had a beautiful daughter now; they could only hope that she would understand what they had done. 

It was all to protect her and James knew that she would likely be upset when she found out what they had hidden for her and they had only done it to keep her safe.

***

Staring into the mirror, Daniel took a deep breath and continued to dye his hair blonde while thinking about where they were going; he wasn't looking forward to living in a place called Paradise. 

Henri sighed before rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, they had taken all the small roads so that they didn't have to worry about attracting any unwanted attention. 

"Goodbye Daniel Jones, it was nice being you," John Smith whispered staring into the mirror, he ignored the smile on Henri's face before he carried on what he was doing. 

It was strange going from one name to the next but John understood that it was for the best, the last thing that they wanted was for the Mogadorians to track them down.

Henri sighed before looking out of the window of their room, they had been staying in crappy hotels for days and they were no closer to reaching their destination. 

"Do you think Avalon's okay?" John asked looking into the mirror to see Henri, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the brunette and he had missed her. 

Raising an eyebrow, Henri looked to John and sighed knowing that it was for the best that he never spoke to the human again; he had already seen how close he had grown to Avalon. 

"She'll be fine, the Mogadorians aren't after her," Henri said calmly, making John nodded before he looked at himself in the mirror; he couldn't help but worry about the brunette, who had unwittingly put herself in danger by helping him that day. 

Daniel's friends weren't the kind to keep quiet about what they had seen and if the Mogadorians did come looking they would not only mention his name but hers as well. 

And while Daniel Jones would no longer exist, Avalon Halliwell would meaning the Mogs would track her down and hurt her if they wanted to find her. 

"I hope so," John whispered making Henri look at him concerned however he didn't say anything before looking at the clock on the wall. 

The last thing that they needed was for John to get attached to anyone while they were in hiding. 

"Go wash that stuff off, we have to be out of here," Henri murmured making John nod before he headed into the bathroom and started to wash off the dye. 

Henri sighed continuing to work on their new documents, he hoped that John hadn't fallen for a human; it was dangerous enough now that Number Three had been killed meaning that the Mogadorians would be coming after them.