Chapter 1: Meeting
It was raining. Torrents fell from the skies, the dark clouds looming threateningly over the town and its weary people, who ran through the streets hoping to wait out the storm in shops and their homes. Among the masses one stood completely still, leaning against the wall of Beatrice's Dress-Ware, its dying neon lights illuminating against his heavily rain-matted hair. The boy turned, hands in his pockets as he looked at his reflection in the window. His eyes shone blue, through the heavily rained on glasses. His hair was a pure white, almost silver and it hung over his shoulders. Blue streaks waved through the white as the boy shook himself. He wore nothing but simple clothes way too big for him, a simple gray shirt and black sweats. On his feet were some Nike's he had stolen from the nearby Goodwill, along with the others. Slightly taller than other fifteen year olds', he knew that under the clothes he was slightly built, medium muscles, and a six pack, that had made women swoon. Especially when he needed money. "Whatcha' Doin' here in the rain?" He suddenly realized that there was another boy standing behind him and he spun on his heel, quickly pulling out his throwing knife, and standing before the stranger in a fighting stance. Suddenly a white tiger stood in front of the boy, crouched and growling. "Hey, take it easy Tigrera, I just spooked him 'is all." The Stranger said patting the tigers head, who began to purr. "Who the hell are you?" The boy looked away from the tiger, and with a grin, pointed at himself with his thumb and said, "I'm Zero!" With a wave of his hand he pointed at the tiger. "And this is Tigrera." Tigrera sat on the sidewalk and bowed her head. He looked at the two with a curious eye. "I'm Leo..." he replied cautiously. He stood straighter and lowered the knife, but didn't put it away, as he studied the boy who called himself Zero and his tiger. 'Who the hell walks with a tiger? And in public?' "So anyway, why are you in the rain?" Leo looked at Zero. He was wearing a black heavy looking overcoat, black shirt pants and boots. Even his hair which only reached his ears was black. 'Is this guy emo?' he thought before replying. "I got kicked outta the bar." Zero turned his head and gazed at Leo with a raised look. Leo couldn't help but think that he looked like a confused puppy. "You old enough to go to a bar?" "No..." He shrugged. "Not it that ever mattered before," Again, Zero looked at him with a confused look. "Why then, didn't you go home?" Anger rose in Leo's chest and he replied, "Cause I don't have one," He spat these words out and gripped the handle of the knife tighter. "Oh, hey I'm sorry, look, I know how it feels," As he said this, Leo couldn't help but believe him. The way he looked at Tigrera and the way of feeling the sadness emit from them, it made him feel that something had happened to them like Leo. Suddenly fear and sadness filled him as the memories began to flood his mind. 'No! No, go away! I don't want to remember!' he shouted to himself. Just as soon as they had come they were gone as Zero placed his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, well I know this great place were can go grab a few." He said it in a manner that gave Leo no room to say no. "All right..." He put his knife away. He noticed That Zero was staring at him as he sheathed his knife. In truth, he had more hidden on different parts of his body, but there was no way Zero would know that, after all they had just met. As they began to walk down the sidewalk, Leo could feel his memories floating around on the back of his mind. They seemed to stay there until they began to fade away, and it was only after they had truly left, that he realized that Zero's arm was still draped around him, and that somehow, someway, Zero was keeping them away. 'Who the hell is this guy?' Leo thought to himself. They continued walking that way; Tigrera staying on his left side, and Leo under Zero's arm, and he began to notice that the rain was beginning to die away. "Storms gonna get worse soon," Leo look over at him and saw that he was staring up into the sky. Leo followed his gaze and saw that the clouds were getting lighter. "What makes you say that?" Zero looked at him and smiled, shrugging as he said, "Just a feeling I'm getting...." It became quiet after that and Leo continued to stare into the sky. He lost himself in it and he enjoyed the rain as it ran down his face, and he marveled on how the sky was so calm. "Despite everything, it always surprises me how relaxed I feel while staring into the sky," Leo's gaze shot to Zero, who grinned slyly. "At least, is that what you're thinking?" Leo quickly stepped away from him and he watched as Zero chuckled and thrust his hands into his pockets. Leo began to think of a way to escape when Zero said, "Well this is it," Leo didn't shift his gaze for awhile then slowly followed it to the bar. It was regular, kinda like a cabin and there was an alleyway on either side of the bar. 'Charlies Tavern' shown brightly in fresh neon lights, changing into an assortment of colors. "I've never seen this one before...." he muttered. Zero slapped his shoulder and said, "That's cause you never opened your eyes," And before Leo could say anything, Zero walked in, Tigrera following right behind, and with a swish of her tail, the door closed. In that instant Leo had the urge to run. "Something about him 's not right..." he said aloud. But he knew, deep in his gut, that it wasn't true. There was something that called him to Zero, something that he knew, somehow, someway, Zero knew things about him; and everything else that even he denied to admit about himself. And it irritated him further as he listened to the distant rumble of thunder fill the sky, as he realized that Zero had ways of knowing things before anyone else could. "Maybe..." Leo sighed and quickly went inside the tavern, before he could change his mind. As he stepped inside, three shadows left the alley from across the street and with a nod to each other, slowly proceeded towards 'Charlies Tavern'.
