An owl hooted.

A clock ticked.

A stray dog barked.

But nothing, nothing was louder than the pounding of her own heart as she stood there on the cold driveway with him beside her, their gazes locked. Her breathing was fast and ragged, like she had just run a million miles without stopping.

It was too much. Everything was too much; meeting her mom after so long, losing her classmates to this madness, and stripping away the facade of her perfect life to reveal what lay underneath.

Broken. She felt broken.

" What the hell did you just do to me?" She hissed, gasping for breath.

" It's an age old method to kill someone," He replied coldly," Drowning someone in their own thoughts, drowning them until they die."

" It didn't work on me," She said triumphantly.

" You were able to swim."

For some reason, there was equal parts pride and disappointment in his voice. He stepped closer. His hair stuck up at odd angles, and his eyes were unnaturally bright. Feverish. Lips parted in anticipation. He looked mad. Madder than she had ever seen him.

The whole street seemed to be frozen in time; the trees that usually rustled stood tall, silent, and dark, and the air was motionless. Still. There wasn't even a trace of wind.

" Death like that is more peaceful than what you are going to have to go through now," He said quietly.

Something was growing inside her, something that had been born the second she leaped from the window. She was not sure what it was yet, but she knew she would never let her death be penciled in on someone's to-do list. Fear clenched her heart, but it was overridden by another need. A need to survive.

She would live through this.

Her eyes rose and met his. Lightning burst across the sky, illuminating the street in a silvery glow. The wind picked up, howling, shrieking-

He raised his hand, a midnight serpent slipping into the palm of his hand from his neck.

" I thought you would be easier to control like this, Naomi," He murmured," But you have, unfortunately, proven me wrong."

Fury flared inside her at his indifferent tone, as if she was somehow inferior to Naomi. She stepped back, casting her eyes around for a weapon, anything that could protect her-

" Akira!" Someone shouted.

She whipped around, wanting to cry with relief. Aidan was running down the driveway towards her, his eyes wide and panicked. Determined. He chucked a dagger towards her and she caught it deftly, an instinct born from years of training, an instinct that did not belong to her.

Evan laughed, sounding almost amused. " You don't even know how to use it right now. Give up, Naomi. You don't have the strength to do this."

Adrenaline was running so high through her muscles she barely heard him. She leaped forward, twisting her arm around to reposition the dagger in her hand, but stars burst before the corner of her vision and a second later, she found herself splayed flat across the earth. Evan had knocked her down without even touching her, and now he held Aidan in a head-lock, his lips stretched into a violent smile.

In that brief second, two possibilities flashed through her mind. If she killed Evan, Aidan would survive. If she lacked the strength to do that, then she would lose Aidan forever. The two men in her life. Maybe she would always be doomed to choosing between them.

As if on cue, a voice spoke up in her mind, coming from a very unexpected source.

Naomi.

She was whispering something under her breath, but Akira heard her voice as clear as day. Pain shot through her head and she cried out, sinking to her knees. A fleeting memory passed before her eyes like a bad quality movie.

" Scared yet?"  Taunted Naomi, dancing before Evan with a dagger in her hand.

It was a warm summer morning in the Enchanted Forest, the gentle breeze a pleasant surprise considering the season. They were standing outside the training rooms on a vast expanse of grass beside the woods, and Naomi was challenging Evan to a duel.

He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at her, but his lips were pressed shut as if he was holding back a laugh.

" Terrified," He replied.

She grinned and leaped toward him, sliding one leg slyly under his knees. She knew it was cheating, but she badly wanted to see him beaten in a fight. He lost his balance and she grabbed the brief opportunity to knock him down using her elbow.

He glared at her from his position on the grass and swore in a language she didn't understand.

" What does that mean?" She asked, laughing.

" If I wanted you to know, I would have said it in English."

" So it was something really bad?" She pretended to be offended, sliding her hand over her heart.

He smiled suddenly and reached upwards, pulling her down beside him. She flipped around and planted one hand on the grass beside his head, the other waving the dagger threateningly in front of his face.

" Okay, after that disgusting little bit of cheating, you've succeeded in knocking me down," He said, and she realized he was using his instructor voice,"  What should you do next?"

" Trap you. Make sure there's no way you can move or escape," She answered immediately, earning an approving smile from him. Nervous for all the wrong reasons, she lifted herself up and straddled his thighs, her knees sinking into the soft mud underneath them.

Heat flared in his eyes at their new position. She was basically on top of him now, only a few layers of denim and cotton separating bare skin.

" That works," He murmured," Now, what about my hands?"

Ignoring the pounding of her own heart, she leaned forward and pinned them above his head. They were so close now they basically shared the same airspace, his warm breath fanning her face. It must have been a figment of her imagination, but she felt the pulse on the inside of his wrist racing. Unconsciously, her body began rocking against his, their hips molding together.

" That's enough," He said quietly, but his eyes seemed to be telling her something else entirely, his expression longing and a bit wistful.

She rose to her feet unsteadily, never breaking eye contact with him. What had she just done?

Fortunately he pretended like it never happened, instead choosing to comment on her fighting techniques, but she knew he had felt it as well. That brief flare of electricity, where their bodies had felt so alive and warm against each other.

" I'm pretty good at this whole fighting thing, aren't I?" She said as they headed into the training room, bouncing on her toes, feeling giddy and happy.

" I don't just want you to be good," He replied," I want you to be the best."

Like him, thought Naomi with pride. As she gazed up at him, hope expanded in her chest, threatening to burst outside. With him beside her, how could she possibly fail?

...

The memory faded before her eyes and Akira screamed again, feeling white-hot pain shoot through her skull. Her eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry. She stumbled to her feet, her mind trying to cling onto the fleeting, wonderful memory of how alive Evan had once been. He had always pushed her to believe she deserved more, that she was better than she ever thought, that she was amazing and precious and loved.

Tears ran down her face as she saw him now, cold and dead. He was still clutching Aidan, and the younger boy's face was rapidly turning blue from suffocation.

" Let him go!" She yelled desperately, trying to find a good hold on her dagger.

Aidan's hands were scrambling against Evan's hold, but he didn't look terrified. There was only faith in his expression, faith that she would find a way to save him.

More memories flashed before her eyes but, this time, these ones were her own. Memories of Aidan and her; kissing in his car beside the lake, laughing like idiots in empty corridors, and of him whispering the dirtiest things in her ears as they danced in front of the entire school.

" You're like a star," He had told her once," I don't know when you're going to wink out of existence, and I don't ever want the morning to come."

She hadn't known what to say then, so she'd made a joke and ignored his comment. Looking back now, she wished she had kissed him instead. Funny how sometimes she wished she responded differently to certain situations, but by the time she figured out how to it was always too late.

She wanted to make the right choice now, one which she would not regret later. Evan didn't love her; he loved the wild, feral and gorgeous girl with cascading auburn hair.

He loved Naomi.

Suddenly, it dawned on her with startling clarity just how important memories really were. They made up such a huge part of people's lives, shaping their ideas and views and personalities, and therefore who they fell in love with.

Her memories were what made her Akira, and what connected her to Aidan. If Naomi hadn't existed in her head, she would have chosen Aidan in a heartbeat. He was real. He was here. And he loved her.

" You're right," She told Evan, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears," Maybe Naomi wouldn't have had the strength to kill you. Maybe things would have been different if she was standing here instead of me."

His brow furrowed," Naomi, what are you saying? All I did was make you weaker, more submissive."

She shook her head, gripping her dagger tighter, and stepped forward. Evan tossed her a confident, lazy smile, as if he didn't really believe she would hurt him.

I'm sorry, she whispered to Naomi in her head, I'm sorry things couldn't be different.

She lifted the dagger and sliced her own arm. Pain exploded everywhere, clouding her senses, and somewhere in the background Aidan let out a string of curse words. Evan was right in front of her in a flash, his hands balancing on her shoulders.

" Oh,no," He said softly," You aren't going to kill yourself. I'm not going to let you die as a coward."

Why let her die at all?

But his position was vulnerable, his chest exposed to her, face puzzled. In her heart, she knew he would do something like this, stop her, if she tried hurting herself. Even if it put him at risk. That was how well a part of her knew him, almost like they shared the same heartbeat.

Maybe that's why she already had the dagger poised and ready in her palm. Lightning quick, she brought it up and plunged it into his stomach. Her strength finally showed itself, helping her slide the dagger all the way through.

For a second, all she heard was the deafening roar of silence. His eyes widened in shock, lips parting into a grisly, pained grimace. Clouds moved back over the moon, and darkness fell once more. Her eyes lifted and met his unflinching gaze, and she couldn't move and couldn't think.

There were screams and cries in the distance, Aidan rushing to her side, but all she was doing was standing still.

" Akira, let go," Said Aidan urgently, trying to pull her away," Let go of him. It's over."

But she didn't. Those eyes were fixed on hers, and she saw a thousand emotions play across his face. Rage. Disbelief. Fear.

Slowly, the darkness melted from his gaze, and his eyes lightened.

Her heart broke.

Chocolate-brown again.

He looked up at her, and something flashed across his face.

Relief.

The buildings around them began to shake, crumbling to the ground in large metal blocks, scattering the ground with debris. The screams grew louder, and she was sure people were getting crushed under metal somewhere, but she couldn't bring herself to care right then. The dark magic pooled out of him, circling his head like a twisted version of a halo.

His knees gave away before he sank to the ground, and she went right with him. She was still holding the dagger.

" Get the weapon out of his body!" Someone screamed.

She turned her head to see Krishna behind her, pressing her palm against Evan's back. A warm, golden glow enveloped him as her face scrunched up in concentration.

She was healing him.

" He's going to be okay," Whispered Aidan, pulling her to her feet," But we have got to move."

She wanted to collapse in his arms, wanted to tell him that she loved him, but nothing came out of her mouth. The dark magic rose higher and higher, filling the sky with shadows.

" Get through the Portal!" Screamed Krishna, gesturing to Akira's book lying on the ground beside them.

The book was the Portal? How ironic, thought Akira dryly. Her ticket out of Siwan had been under her nose this whole time.

" That book is going to save us?" Asked Aidan dubiously, dragging her over to it.

" Hey, don't ask me," Replied Akira," I didn't make the rules."

He pulled her closer," You chose me."

" I did."

She wanted to tell him that in another situation, another life, maybe they had a shot at a future. Maybe they could wake up in each other's arms and pretend that she wasn't inhabiting another girl's body.

The wind roared in her ears, but she still heard the words he spoke before the buildings came crashing down around them.

" I know."

And then it was chaos. Krishna dragged a limp Evan over to the book and the four of them stood around it, clasping hands. A brilliant flash of light enveloped them, but even the Portal wasn't quick enough.

The dark magic threaded itself together rapidly and shot towards their little group with a vengeance. Out of the corner of her vision, Akira spotted Krishna throwing herself in front of Evan to shield him from it. There was no need for her to do that.

The magic came directly at Akira, enveloping her in a tornado of darkness, biting into her clothes and skin.

Voices whispered in her ears, telling her to do terrible, unspeakable things.

Open your mouth, whispered a voice insistently. It was soft and gentle and warm. How could she refuse?

Distantly, she thought she heard Aidan shouting, but she didn't care. All the mattered was that voice, telling her to open her mouth.

And really, that wasn't such a hard thing to do.

Surrounded by shadows. That was what Naomi had said.

As she widened her mouth and felt the darkness consume her body, power surging through her fingertips, the dark magic taking root, she finally understood what that meant.