.seven. 

The dark haired girl with blue eyes pushed the door to the old bar open in the neighborhood of her home town. She had been away from home for so long that she had forgotten how horrible the place smelled. But she needed a drink considering everything she lived while in London.

She took one step into the bar and froze her stride when she saw a head of dyed white hair. But it couldn't be.

She had returned home from the old continent to escape being hunted. 

Next to the familiar boy was another boy wearing a jean jacket despite the bitter cold and dark skinny jeans. There was something familiar about the other boy as well and she assumed he was a hunter. He had probably been the one who killed her dad.

Hoping she hadn't been seen, she turned around and made a run back to her house without stopping, even though her legs burned as though they were on fire. She didn't leave the house for the rest of the night and she wondered if him being in Montreal was a mere coincidence or if he had been tracking her.

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The next day, the blue eyed girl with long strands of dark hair that fell down her back in soft waves returned home with her school bag slung over her shoulder. Her mother was always keen on having her children get a good education and she sent her son and daughter to St. Albert Academy, a catholic private school where the graduation rate was one hundred percent. She was about to start her final year of high school when her dad died, and she was forced to run away for a while.

While in London, she told her mother she would be staying with the family of her deceased father. She thought that being in a new town would help her get over her father's death.

All it did was keep her always running. It seemed that hunters were everywhere now. It was a hunter that had killed her father here in Montreal and another was hunting her when she was trying to hide in London. 

As she walked up the small path that led up to the door, she could hear her mother's thoughts. But they were joined by the thoughts of a male, someone who sounded like a teenager. At first she thought maybe it was her brother Jack. But her brother had long since left Canada to hide out in Brazil. He had done so the moment he turned eighteen.

What's taking her so long? She heard the boy's thoughts. 

And her blood ran cold.

Whoever the person was, they were waiting for her. The girl with bright blue eyes pushed the front door open, hoping her mother wasn't in danger. 

In the livingroom was the pale skinned boy she knew from London. Her mother was sat on the opposite couch with a cup of tea nestled warmly between her hands. In front of the boy was a slice of warm and delicious smelling cherry pie. And the color didn't appetize her in the slightest. When she saw the boy and the color of the pie filling, all she could associate it with was blood. It wasn't the same shade of red, but it still triggered the images of death in her mind. The two looked at the dark haired girl at the doorway. But her mother offered a wide smile, saying, "Hazel! Why didn't you tell me you have such a lovely boyfriend? As your mother I'm hurt that you hid this from me."

She looked back over her shoulder at the door and debated whether or not she had a realistic chance of escaping and making it out alive. Then she thought of her mother. Her mother wasn't part of their world. She didn't know what was going on in the silence of the room. She was only human. Hazel wondered if the boy knew or would even care. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the thoughts of the white haired boy.

Don't try to run, he warned her, a smirk appearing on his face when he remembered Hazel could hear what he was thinking. The moment you turn around I'll shoot to kill. Come sit next to me. And don't worry, I won't hurt your mum. I wouldn't take someone's mum from them.

Hazel gulped nervously, but did as she was told. She took a seat on the sofa next to the hunter and like a rabbit, she could feel her heart racing. The moment she sat down by his side, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a gesture she would have thought as cute if she didn't know the guy was trying to kill her.

Play along, Hazel. And she felt a chill run down her spine. The way her name sounded in his voice was tragically lovely.

She stiffly snuggled into him, attempting to make it all seem natural, and she looked at her mother's waiting eyes that expected an answer. Biting her lip, she replied, "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, mum. It happened recently in London and I was so happy I just forgot."

You're such a good liar, the hunter thought mockingly.

And Hazel stomped down on his foot with all her strength. 

"What happened?" Hazel's mother gasped. "Are you okay?" In between the two of them and her mother was a coffee table that blocked some of the view.

"I'm fine." Michael assured the woman with a smile.

"Mum," The blue eyed girl pulled away from her supposed boyfriend and got back on her feet with a nervous smile that she forced onto her face. "My boyfriend and I need to talk about some very important things. We're going to take a little walk, okay?"

The woman nodded, "Okay sweetie. But be careful. Its very cold outside."

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The two teenagers were a few streets away from Hazel's house when she stopped walking. They had reached a nearby park and she looked around to make sure no one could listen in on their conversation before finally speaking. "Who are you and what do you want?" Michael could feel himself getting lost in her ocean blue eyes and he couldn't help but be reminded of Harley when he looked at her. She was very similar to his half-sister, except for a few minor details and the dark hair. Harley had blue hair, but he knew she was naturally blonde from the childhood pictures he saw at her house.

"I'm a hunter." He stated simply with a shrug of his shoulders. "Its really nothing personal. Its my mission to kill you, its my job. If I don't do it, then I'm the one who will die."

Hazel narrowed her eyes at him. The dark haired girl really concentrated to listen in on his thoughts. Michael quickly noticed this and sang a song in his mind to prevent himself from thinking any thoughts that could give away information. He refused to allow her to trample over the privacy of his mind.

"Are you singing Fluorescent Adolescent?" She wondered. 

Momentarily forgetting that she was his target and that he was supposed to eliminate her, his eyes brightened with excitement. "You like Arctic Monkeys?"

She let out a laugh. "Yes. But that really isn't what I want to know. This is obviously not a social visit. So I want to know...If you found me," She wondered, "Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Michael shrugged once more. "I guess I just feel that by killing you, I'm killing Harley. She asked me to be compassionate with my victims, you know." He told her matter of factly. "But I don't think that would be possible if I'm supposed to kill you."

"So are you going to kill me or not?" She asked, expecting the worst.

He shook his head. "Not yet."

"Then why are you here?" She asked another question.

"Because," He sighed, "I'm just curious about you."

She eyed him suspiciously. "You don't know why I'm being hunted?"

-

yaasss. 

the next chapter is the last that i have pre-written, so after maybe next week the story will go back to having slow updates.

and finally the mysterious white rabbit's name has been revealed. her name is hazel. and i purposefully gave her a name that starts with an H to really emphasize that she reminds michael of harley.

so i hope you like the chapter.

i want to thank you all for reading though.

i love you all.

-clary xx