I was sixteen when my parents kicked me out of my own home. I lived on the streets and everyone treated me the way they would treat the people who betrayed the goddess. I never knew falling in love with a human was something so wrong, at least not until he left me.

After that I hated everything and everyone. Maybe that was because I was alone and no one cared about me. Even my old friends ignored me when they walked by, it was heartbreaking and I thought nothing mattered anymore.

But that was before I met my real friends.

I was asleep on the street when someone woke me up. "It isn't safe for you to be sleeping here." He said.

I looked up and saw a boy. I was startled at first and sat up defensively. But then I realized who it was.

Keroshan Aarvind. I don't know anyone who doesn't know him. He was famous, famous because he was the son of Aarvind, the greatest King of Warriors in history. His blue hair looked strangely silver under the moon and he had a smile on his face.

Though I had never met or seen him, I knew him and had a picture of him in my head. A picture formed by the descriptions that people would say. Strangely, my picture of him was nothing like the real thing.

He was taller than I expected and I pictured him to look more built. My friends were crazy about him, always dreaming of meeting him and maybe spending the rest of their lives with him. They would often get into fights with each other because they all wanted him. It was pathetic, really. I had a feeling he was quite handsome but I expected him to have a look of pride and a bad ego which would be a serious turn off.

But again, I was wrong. He was handsome, yes, very handsome actually but he didn't look like he had a bad ego and he didn't look proud. He had a warm smile and friendly eyes but at the same time I could tell that with a switch of expressions, he could look very scary.

He shifted uncomfortably, probably because of my staring.

I looked away.

"What are you doing, sleeping here?" He asked.

I hugged my legs. "I was kicked out of my house." I said, bluntly.

He seemed surprised. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Might I ask why?"

"I fell in love with a human, my parents didn't like it, they kicked me out and the bastard dumped me."

His eyebrows shot up. "Wow..." He said. "Well, I assume you dislike humans now."

"They can go die... I hope there's another war and all of them are killed. Every last one of them." I bit my lip, hard.

He surprised me by laughing. "Well, that makes two of us." He then picked up my bag and got up. "Come, you can stay at my home for the night."

I looked at him.

He smiled. "I think you already know who I am, so you don't need to worry about me doing anything to you."

I hesitated. "No... that's not-"

He held his hand out, silencing me. "You have a choice between a cold, hard floor and a nice, soft bed. If I were you, I would choose the bed." He started walking. "Come."

I got up and followed him. "Wait... I shouldn't..."

"I have a big home and we have a few extra rooms. You can sleep in one of them."

"Would you parents..." I then remembered something.

"My father's gone and my mother is ill. She can barely speak, so I doubt she'd say anything even if she had a problem with you staying."

"Oh... I'm sorry..." I didn't know what to say.

He smiled. "My name is Keroshan... but I'm sure you know that."

I nodded.

He waited for a second and then raised an eyebrow. "And what's your name?"

"Oh." I said, stupidly. "I'm Serena."

He nodded. "That's a nice name."

When we got to his huge home, he let me in and I was surprised by another boy. "Hey Keroshan!" The red haired boy said loudly. He then noticed me. "Hello!"

I smiled. "Hi."

"This is Serena, she's going to stay here for the night." Keroshan said.

The red haired boy smiled. "Hi Serena! I'm Chirpy! It's nice to meet you!"

"Chirpy?" What a strange name.

"Well, my real name is Chervilayn and Chirpy's my nick name. I prefer Chirpy." He grinned. He was very cute.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chirpy."

His orange eyes were bright. "I hope you feel at home! If you need anything, just ask!"

I was surprised by his kindness. "Thank you."

A small girl walked into the room.

"This is Katelyn." Keroshan said. "My younger sister."

I smiled at her. "Hi, I'm Serena."

She smiled, shyly.

"Why don't you go sit down? Chirpy and I will get you something to eat." Keroshan said and Chirpy rushed into the room that I guessed was the kitchen. Keroshan then pointed to an entrance with no door. "That's the living room."

I nodded. "Thank you." I said as I walked towards the entrance. It was a big living room. We had a big house too but it was nothing compared to this house.

I then noticed a boy sitting in front of the fireplace. His back was to me, I'm sure he could hear me but he didn't even bother turning around. He had long, emerald green hair which was tied up in a ponytail.

I sat down on one of the sofas and watched the boy.

He took a deep breath and then sighed. He lifted himself and stretched. I bit my lip as I watched him stretch, shocked by how his easily he curved. He then looked at me. "What?" He asked.

I hesitated. "...Sorry... you stretch, err... well."

He stared at me for a second but then smiled. "You're the girl who got kicked out by your parents, right?"

I frowned but nodded.

He sat down on the couch across from me. "How's your human?"

I put my elbow on the arm of the sofa and rested my chin on my palm. I looked at the flames in the fireplace. "I don't care." I said. I then looked at him to see my reaction.

He watched me carefully. "I see..."

He was quite a guy. His eyes were small, his irises were yellow and his pupils looked snake like, long and thin. His skin was pale, which made his eyes stick out. He had defined cheekbones and nice lips. He had a chiseled face which made him look sexy when he didn't smile.

He raised an eyebrow, which made him look sexier. "What? Do I look good?"

His question surprised me but I smiled. "Actually, you do." I said, truthfully.

He smiled a crooked smile. This guy looked good no matter what, which was enchanting. "I am Serpethion." He said.

"I'm Serena."

"That's a nice name." He said.

"Thank you."

Another girl walked in right then. "Hi!" She smiled as she walked towards Serpethion. He moved over right away and she sat next to him on the small chair, she was half on him. He put his arm around her.

I felt slightly jealous.

"This is Serena." Serpethion said, pointing at me.

The girl smiled at me. She was beautiful, thin and tall. She had black, long hair and golden eyes. "I'm Seretha!" She said, happily.

I smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Was Serpethion flirting with you?" She asked.

I felt my cheeks heat up as Serpethion chuckled.

"Um... no." I said.

"I think you're scaring her." Serpethion said.

Her thin eyebrows shot up. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

I shook my head. "No... you aren't scaring me."

She smiled at me.

It was then awkwardly quiet. Serpethion played with her hair and then rested his head on her shoulder. Wow, they were cute.

"Are you two... err, lovers?" I asked, breaking the silence.

The two looked at me and then burst into laughter.

I felt my cheeks heat up again.

"No, no!" Seretha said, kindly. "He's my best friend, like a brother."

Serpethion, who was still laughing, looked at me. "Do we look like lovers?"

I didn't say anything.

"How could I be in love with this girl?" He looked at Seretha, who looked back at him.

"What's wrong with this girl?" Seretha asked, her face slowly changing.

Serpethion snorted. "She acts like, our mom." He said, looking at me. "Who would fall in love with someone who acts like their mom? It's no wonder that she's still single."

I laughed when Seretha pinched him. "So? You're still single!" She argued.

Serpethion grinned. "I'm single 'cause I wanna be."

"Sure." Seretha said.

I laughed harder when Seretha grabbed Serpethions ear.

He froze. "Let go." He said. "Let go."

Seretha grinned and looked at me. "This is how you deal with Serpethion. Grab his ear and give it a little twist."

"Ow!" Serpethion yelled.

She let go.

He frowned at her.

"Hey, foods ready!" Chirpy said.

Serpethion and Seretha got up right away. "About time." Serpethion said.

Chirpy frowned.

Seretha ran to Chirpy. "Thank Chirpy!" She said and then ran past him.

Serpethion walked up to him and put his arm around Chirpy's shoulder. "I'm starving." He said.

Chirpy punched him. "So you met Serena?" He asked Serpethion.

Serpethion nodded and turned around. "Come on, the food's for you too."

I got up and followed them. I watched as the two boys talked like best friends. It was hard to believe that a really cute guy could be best friends with a really sexy guy.

Keroshan came down the large staircase right then.

Serpethion looked at him. "How's mom?" He asked.

Keroshan sighed. "Not better." He looked more upset than he sounded.

"Are you two siblings?" I asked. I don't remember anyone saying anything about Keroshan having a brother.

Keroshan shook his head.

"Best friends." Serpethion said. "She's like my mom, so I call her mom. Chirpy does too."

I nodded. "Oh." So now, a really sexy guy was best friends with a really cute guy and a really hot guy. I bit my lip, it was too much for me to be surrounded by three perfect guys.

After eating the most filling dinner I've had in weeks, I went straight to sleep.

Keroshan ended up letting me stay with him from that day on. Keroshan, Chirpy, Serpethion and Seretha ended up becoming my best friends, along with Savannah and Aryan. I don't think I've ever had so much fun before and I don't think I've ever been so accepted before.

It was a few months after I met him that I realized I was in love with Serpethion. It happened on a day that he took me out to show me something.

"Watch your step." He said.

I nodded as I stepped over the log. "Where are we going?" I asked.

He smiled. "You'll see."

I sighed and followed him through the dense, dark and muddy forest.

Over the last few months, I had gotten used to Serpethions personality. He was rough, sometimes rude but he had a good heart. He spoke with sarcasm almost all the time, which was sometimes annoying.

I also learned a lot about the relationship with him and Keroshan. They always fought, but it always ended with the two laughing like idiots.

Seretha was always the one who stopped the fights though and half the reason they end up laughing is apparently because of Seretha, I still don't know what the other half of the reason is.

We eventually arrived at a large field. There wasn't anything great about it, it was just a field, but there was a river at the opposite end. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked.

Serpethion grinned. "Yes."

"Um, why?"

"Kero and I used to train here." He said.

"Kero? Is that his nickname?" I asked. I don't remember anyone calling him that.

Serpethion nodded. "But don't call him that when you're talking to him, he hates it."

"Why?"

"His father used to call him that, he hates everything that reminds him of his father." Serpethion said. "I only say it when he's not around and that's because I forget."

I remembered what Kero had told me about his dad, I couldn't believe it. Aarvind, the King of Warriors was one of the most respected men in Raakshya. "How do you remember he hates it when he's there and not remember when he isn't?"

Serpethion sat down in the grass. "Don't tell him I said this, but... when you look at Keroshan, you see his father. I see this and then my first thought is that they look exactly the same and I feel sort of proud. I feel proud because Kero is one of my best friends and one day he's going to be like his father. But then I remember that Kero hates his father and I remember to call him Keroshan."

I chuckled and sat next to him.

"I know, weird."

"No, no... He's lucky to have a great friend."

Serpethion looked at me and smiled. "He is."

"You said you and Keroshan used to train here. You don't anymore?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Ever since his mother got sick, it's been difficult for him to do anything but sit around and mope." He sighed. "She's important to him, if anything happens to her..."

"Do you think she's going to... die?"

Serpethion took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "I don't know. I want her to get better so much. She's like my mother too, I love her, she raised me... If she does dies, I really don't know what's going to happen to us all."

"Where are your parents?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

Serpethion snorted. "They died, a long time ago."

I was shocked. "You don't sound upset..."

"I'm not." He said bluntly. "They aren't really dead. I just consider them dead. They were bad parents. I hated them."

I frowned. "That's not nice."

Serpethions face changed and then I gasped when he pulled off his shirt. He turned his back to me and pointed at the long, diagonal, dark line on his back. It looked like a scar. "It's a little stretched now but my parents did that to me." He said.

I put my hand over my mouth.

He put his shirt back on. "My parents liked to beat me, both of them. Kero's mother found out and confronted them. They laughed at her and asked her what she's going to do about it." He let out a soft laugh. "I still remember that day. She just glared at them and then, she looked at me. I was sitting there and crying like a baby... but who wouldn't? I was five and my mom had just burned me with a hot metal bar." He sighed. "And then... his mother just picked me up and walked out of the house with me. Kero was there too, he was telling me not to cry the whole time. But then my dad ran after us, almost attacked us too but Kero's dad was there in a second and grabbed my dad by the neck. He threw him on the floor and told him that if he ever touches me, his son or his wife, he'll kill him."

I watched his face carefully, noticing the pain in his eyes.

"And then, Kero's mom walked up to my dad and mom and told them that they were bad parents. She's like, 'I hope the gods and goddesses punish you for what you've done to this poor child.' She looked so disgusted and then she looked at her husband who smiled at her, encouragingly. And then she's like, 'I'll raise him, I'll make sure he becomes someone great and I'll make you look at him and feel sorry for yourselves.' And then she put her hand on Kero's head and said, 'I swear on my own blood that this will happen.' And that's what happened."

"Have you seen your parents after that?"

"Yes, of course." He said. "I try not to act weak so I grin at them to mock them. I'm happy here; I want them to know that."

I smiled at him. "You're very strong." I said.

He grinned. "I know."

I shook my head. "You are so..."

He laughed and got up. "Do you think you can beat me in a battle?" He asked.

I smiled. "I'm good."

He looked at me. "Really? That's a bit hard to believe."

I got up too. "I think I can beat you."

"Shall we see?"

I nodded. "We shall."

He walked to the center of the field and I followed him. He then turned around and looked at me. "I'll go easy on you."

I laughed. "You don't need too."

"I don't want to hurt you." He said.

I then ran towards him, throwing my fist in his direction.

He disappeared.

I gasped when I felt him tug at my hair and flung myself around.

He laughed. "Still think you're good?"

I scowled and grabbed his arm, pulling him forward. I threw my fist at his face but he ducked. I lifted my leg and kicked but he jumped over. He was too fast.

He then used his legs to trip me, I let out a scream as I fell back. He quickly sat on top of me, grabbed both my hands and pinned them onto the floor. "I win." He grinned. "And that was me going easy on you."

"You were not going easy on me!" I growled.

He frowned. "I didn't even attack you!"

"You haven't won yet."

"Fine, I'll give you ten seconds to do something." He started to countdown, grinning at me. Of course I couldn't do anything with him sitting on top of me.

He grinned as he looked down at me. I frowned, but then I realized that I could actually win, he was a guy, just another guy and there was one thing I could do. Though my hands were pinned down, I knew I could lift myself up far enough to win. He was, in fact, just another guy.

I lifted myself up and pressed my lips against his and, as expected, he let go of my wrists, shocked. I used my right hand to pull out his own sword from his sheathe and my left to push him back. I moved quickly and this time, I was the one sitting on top of him. I held the sword at his neck to make sure he doesn't move. I grinned. "Who's the winner now?" I asked.

He stared at me for a while, but then frowned. "That wasn't fair!" He hissed.

"Really? I don't remember you making any rules."

He bit his lip and frowned. "Get off me."

"First say I won."

"I won."

I frowned at him. "Say Serena won."

He took a deep breath. "Serena won."

"Now say that Serena is amazing."

He glared.

"Say it."

"Serena is... amazing."

"Say it like you mean it!"

"Serena!"

I laughed and got off him.

He moved away from me and looked away. After a short moment of silence, he looked back at me. "You shouldn't do that."

"Do what?" I asked, though I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Kiss me."

I felt a little insulted and very embarrassed.

"Not that I don't want you too, err, kiss me." He said right away.

I felt my cheeks heat up. Did he just tell me that he wanted me to kiss him?

"I mean..." He scratched his head with his hand. "Well, the thing is..." He looked at me and grinned, showing his fangs. "My fangs eject venom and if I'm not, um, ready... I could hurt you."

I put my hand over my mouth. "Do you think you poisoned me?"

He smiled. "No."

I sighed in relief.

And then we both laughed.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept having the temptation to kiss him again. As the days passed, I started to like him more and more, eventually I realized I was in love with him.

Almost a month after Keroshan's birthday, his mother died. I never felt such depression. Everyone in the house never said a word to each other for a long while, but soon, Seretha realized that they should move on and started pushing everyone forward.

Nothing was the same after that. Keroshan's love for the queen was destroyed, Seretha became a bit more defensive. One of Chirpy's sisters disappeared without saying a word and that just added to Chirpy's sadness. Aryan's elder brother was killed in battle and Savannah's parents were too. Soon, Serpethion left and joined the queen. After that, his attitude changed and it worried me more than a bit and it messed with Kero too.

He needed his friends. But thankfully for us, Chirpy was there and you know him, he's great at making people happy.

But again, nothing was the same after that.