Alexia heard the water before she saw it, slapping against rocks and cliffs. When she stood up to take in her surroundings, she almost collapsed to the ground, but Demetri caught her. "You okay?" She regained her balance, but he was still holding her. She looked up into his face to thank him and for the first time since she found out that she was Immortal was caught in his gaze. His green eyes were lit up in a way that told her he was ecstatic that she was obviously still interested in him, even though he had lied to her.

"You don't know how much it means to me that I'm back here with you." Demetri let a small smile sneak across his face and he pulled her in closer to him and she held her breath, half hoping he would kiss her before the others came through the portal, and half hoping that she would just turn away from his beautiful... everything. "I wish you remembered," he whispered to her.

"Me too." Before the words had fully left her mouth, she heard Cheri, Roman, and Ellie hit the ground behind them. She quickly pushed his hands off her and faced her friends, who looked very pale.

"That was so messed." Ellie made to stand but Roman held her down.

"Wait a second or you might faint. Regain your balance first."

Alexia went over to her friends to help them up slowly. Then she took their hands and turned them toward the beautiful beach in front of them. The sun was starting to come up but just barely. The water was clear and beautiful. Soon the sky would be bursting with color from the sunrise, and she wanted to stand there and watch the sky become alive.

"This is gorgeous," she said. "It's just like I remembered." Somehow, they had landed right on the very stretch of beach that her grandparents' beach house was on. She knew if they walked down the shoreline for only five short minutes, they would reach the house. "How did you know to go here? How did you know that my beach house was right by here?"

"I let you decide where we came out, and this is the place you chose." Demetri smiled down at her. He was standing very close and it was making Alexia's heart beat faster and faster. "Lead the way," he told her.

Within five minutes, they were all standing in front of the most beautiful house they had seen so far. It was modern and clean looking, with big front windows that let in the sunlight. There was a balcony off what had been her grandparents' room, and Alexia had always loved watching the waves from it. Her grandfather's friend had taken very good care of the outside of the house and Alexia hoped not too much had changed on the inside.

"Didn't you say it gets rented out to people when you're not here?" Roman questioned.

"I don't think anyone is renting it now, and besides, technically it's mine." She marched forward and swung open the gate. The path up to the door was lined with rocks and shells collected from the beach. It was great to be back to this place. She knew the extra key was hidden in the shell that sat on the corner of the step. The only problem was that the shell was gone. She looked around for it briefly before turning to face the small crowd behind her. "Uh, there is usually a spare key in a shell on the step, but it's gone."

"Maybe it's unlocked," Cheri suggested. "It doesn't look like there are too many neighbors around here, so why lock it up?" She motioned for Alexia to give it a try.

Alexia reached for the brass door handle, which felt smaller than she remembered, and turned. To her surprise, the door popped open and she stepped inside. The inside was just like she remembered. The open layout made the place look huge. To the right was a sitting room, with casual wicker furniture that you would usually see outside. To the left was a dining room and kitchen, all very modern and updated. Straight ahead was a sliding screen door that led to a small backyard. A small winding staircase was stationed in front of the patio door that led to the bedrooms and two bathrooms.

"This is it. Make yourselves at home." Alexia smiled and turned to flick on the light switch behind her. The whole main floor lit up and everyone stepped inside. Just before Roman closed the door behind him, Alexia swore she saw somebody standing at the front gate. "Did you see that?" She looked at Roman with a scared look on her face that made him tense up and get into protector mode.

"See what? What did you see, Alexia?"

"I thought I saw somebody standing at the gate," she said, "but you would have seen them when you closed the door. I must just be paranoid."

Of course, being the cautious person, he was, Roman wrenched the door open to look outside. Nobody was there.

"Told you I was just being paranoid." Truthfully, she was trying to convince herself more than him. "There are three rooms upstairs. Us girls can share and you two can have your own." She looked down at her clothes and remembered that they had nothing to change into. "Uh, what are we going to do about clothes?"

"We can handle that after we eat," Roman responded. "I don't think any of us really want to go to bed right now anyways. Demetri and I still need to track down your father." Until he had mentioned her father, Alexia had completely forgotten that they were not there for a vacation, but that they were here on business, which would possibly give Alexia the upper hand on Amarantos. Roman broke her from her thoughts. "Do you think the fridge would be stocked if nobody is here, or do I have to go spear some fish?"

"No, there should be something in the cupboard or something we can eat for now." She led the party into the large kitchen and started searching through cupboards. The best she found were two cans of vegetable soup and a loaf of bread in the freezer. "Looks like this is all we have to work with. We can go get some groceries when the market opens and then..." she looked at Demetri and Roman, "I don't want to take charge on anything that costs money, considering it's not mine to spend."

"It's fine," Demetri assured her, "we're not going to starve while we're here. You guys can go to the market while we track down your dad. It won't take too long. I am sure he isn't far away from home."

"Alright, well, let's get this food going. I am starving." Cheri rubbed her stomach and went to stretch out in the living room. Alexia started bustling around the kitchen searching for a pot for the soup and a knife to cut the bread. "Alexia," Cheri called from the living room.

"What's up?"

"Can you come here?" A little nervous, Alexia put down the spoon she was using to stir the soup and asked Ellie to take over.

"What is it?"

When she reached the living room, she found Cheri staring at a shelf full of framed pictures, and she was pointing at one in particular. It was of Alexia when she was here the last time, and she was wearing a bathing suit and standing on the beach. In the background of the photo were two men. One she recognized as Ahaz and the other she had seen before, but didn't know from where. She took the picture from the shelf and brought it to Demetri.

"Who is that?" she shoved it under his nose and pointed at the man beside Ahaz.

"Damn, you look good in a bathing suit." She blushed and smacked his arm and repeated her question. "That's Ahaz and..." he paused, his mouth hanging open. "That's Amarantos."

"I remember him. I remember his face. Did I know him in my first life?"

"We all knew him, Alexia. He was the leader of The Union and any Tera or Immortal knew who he was."

"No, I don't mean did I know who he was, I mean did I know him, was I close to him? I feel like I have many memories with him that I obviously can't remember." It was frustrating knowing there was something she knew, but could not access.

"No child was close to him," Demetri explained, "but he was close to both of our families. Our parents, Amar, and his wife would get together for dinners all the time. As for why he is in the background of your photo is beyond me. Somebody must have recognized you on your last visit here and he wanted to see for himself that you were really here."

When he saw that she wasn't convinced, he spoke again. "Alexia, don't overthink this photo. This was taken before The Union had even thought of ending The Punishment Games. Don't let your mind run wild with this, please."

"Whatever, Alexia," Cheri said. "Forget I even pointed it out. It just freaked me out a little bit." Cheri ripped the photo from her hands and went to put it back on the shelf. Alexia knew she shouldn't let her mind run wild with what she had seen in the photo, so, as hard as it was, she shrugged it off.

"How's that soup coming, Ellie?" Roman walked over and took a small taste. "Well, about as good as vegetable soup can taste, I suppose. I think it's good enough to eat now."

Alexia opened the cupboard closest to the fridge and pulled out five dusty bowls and ran them under some hot water. As she did this, she imagined what her grandfather would have said about the house being dusty, and she couldn't help shedding a tear.

"You know this isn't too bad," Roman said as they all sat around the table eating their soup and bread. The sun was starting to come up, and the way it hit the water was beautiful. Nobody spoke as they watched the sun come up, turning the dark sky pink and then blue. Everyone finished eating but they continued to watch. Whether they liked it or not, they were in the face of danger, and the sunrise let them forget it for a moment. Finally, the sky was blue, and birds could be heard cawing on the beach, and they all moved at once, as if they had been in a trance.

"We should probably head to the village," Demetri said, breaking the silence. "To get to the market you just have to..."

Alexia rolled her eyes and interrupted. "Excuse me, are you forgetting whose beach house we are in? I know my way to the market. I've been there a billion times. Let's go get changed and then..." she paused. "Oh yeah, we didn't bring anything."

"When you're at the market," Roman said as he handed her a stack of foreign money, "buy yourselves some clothes too."

"Seriously, dude?" Demetri reached into the duffle bag and pulled out another stack almost the same size and thrust it into Alexia's other hand. "Get yourselves anything you need; clothes, food and you know all those girly things I know you're going to hate not having while you're here. Oh, and one more thing."

"What?" Alexia asked, curious as to what else she would need.

"Bathing suits."

"Bathing suits?"

"Yeah, we may be here on serious business, but that doesn't mean that we can't have some fun while we are here too."

"Demetri, I don't know if I like where you're going with this," Alexia said with a small grin.

"Don't go there. I expect to see three hot girls sporting new bathing suits when we meet back here, and then tonight we're going to have a party."

Alexia waited for Roman to revoke the idea but surprisingly he didn't. "A party, with who?"

"You think we don't know people here?" Roman said, sounding slightly offended. "This will be a good way to find your father, Alexia."

"I thought you said he wouldn't leave here in case I came back?"

It was Ellie who answered her question, which shocked them all. "He didn't mean he would for sure be at the same house. I mean, could you live in the same place for three hundred and fifty years? People would notice, duh."

"I knew you were smart deep down!" Cheri hugged her friend and Ellie punched her arm playfully.

"Anyways, food, clothes, girly things, and bathing suits. That is your shopping list. Don't forget anything." Demetri winked at her, and pushed Roman out the door, following closely behind.

"Alright Alexia," Ellie jumped down from her stool and stretched up like a cat, "lead the way to this market. I wonder if they have sexy bathing suits here!"

"Can you believe that super-sexy Demetri wants to have a party tonight?" Cheri asked.

"And way-to-careful Roman is letting him!" Ellie chimed in.

"Wait a second, what did you call them?" Alexia was ushering them out the door, so she could close it behind them.

"Oh, we didn't tell you? We gave them nicknames." She smiled at her and Alexia couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, and what are they again?"

"Super-sexy-Demetri," Cheri started.

"And way-to-careful-Roman," Ellie finished. "I think they fit pretty well."

Alexia thought a moment and then nodded her head. "You know what, I think those could stick."

She steered them to the staircase down the beach that would lead them to a street that would lead them to the market. It was early in the morning, and the sun was hot on their skin. This would have been a great time for flip flops, shorts and a light t-shirt, unfortunately they were stuck in boots, jeans, and long-sleeve shirts.

"We look so foreign right now," Alexia complained. Her friends looked down at themselves and burst out in laughter.

It didn't take long for them to get to the market. Even though the sun had just come up, it was already busy. There were stands set up with different fruits, vegetables, and meats. Some stands sold shoes, shirts, and jewelry. As she had expected, their attire was drawing a lot of attention. After the fifth mother pulled her child tight against her side muttering something about crazy people, Alexia told her friends, "Okay, first things first, we get the hell out of these clothes and into something a little more appropriate, so people stop staring at us."

"Well, we don't know where the good shopping is here," Ellie said. "Where do you suggest?"

"I don't know. Let's have a look at some of those clothing stands over there." She pointed toward a section with several clothing booths set up. From where they were, she could see some decent shorts and some sexy skirts. As they made their way through the crowd, they continued to get more stares from the locals. It was hard not to tell them to take a picture, but Alexia was always taught not to give herself a bad name in another country.

After twenty minutes, they were laden down with shorts, shirts, several pairs of shoes, and even some nice accessories. Demetri had given them a ridiculous amount of money that Alexia wasn't even comfortable carrying around. She felt bad for spending their money that they had no doubt worked hard for over the past three centuries, but she couldn't help going all out on a really sexy bathing suit that she was sure would blow Demetri's and even way-to-careful Roman's mind.

"I would say we should go dump this crap back at the house and come back for food, but it looks like people snatch it up pretty quickly around here." Ellie looked around at the dwindling supplies around them. They had been so focused on what they were going to wear the next few days, they hadn't even given a thought about what they would eat.

"Okay, I have a plan. You two take this stuff back to the house and I will grab as much as I can in the next ten minutes."

"I don't think we should split up, Alexia," Ellie cautioned.

"Do you want to eat or not, Ellie?" Cheri said dismissively. "She will be fine. All she has to do is get mad and she will kick anyone's ass."

Ellie still didn't look convinced. She knew it wasn't a good idea to leave anyone alone here.

"I'll be fine Ellie," Alexia assured her. "I've been here a billion times, so it's not like I am going to get lost. Go, I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes." Ellie sighed but did as she was told, and they made their way back down the same street that would lead them back to the beach.

Alexia started bustling around like a mad woman, snatching up a ton of fruit and vegetables, several packages of meat that would need to be frozen right away, and some spices to add to them. By the time she had bought enough food to last them at least three days, the market had pretty much cleared out.

With her groceries, she started making her way back down to the beach. It was hard not to take her time, since she loved being back here. It reminded her of so many good times with her parents and grandparents. For a moment she even missed her mother, whom she hoped would not be missing her too much. The sun was high in the sky now, and it must have been almost eleven o'clock when she reached the beach.

The waves rolled up to the shore and then sucked back in, reminding her of the portal and how she had been sucked into it, spun around, and ended up on the other side of the world. Enjoying the sand in her toes a little too much, she refocused herself and started to hurry back to the house. She had almost forgotten that her friends would be waiting for her return.

When she reached the gate, she knew something was wrong. The door was cracked open and the clothes they had just bought were lying in the entryway. Neither Ellie nor Cheri would treat brand new clothing like that if they could avoid it. As quietly as she could Alexia placed the groceries down on the ground and approached the front door. Thinking of things that made her mad turned out to be slightly harder than before, considering that she had been so happy all morning.

"My friends could be in danger," she whispered to herself.

Then she felt it, like a bird of rage spreading its wings inside her. When the edges of her vision got blurry, she knew it would be enough to protect them. Silently, she stepped up to the door, hoping to sneak up on whoever was in there possibly hurting her friends. With a burst of rage, she kicked the door open, putting a hole in the wall from the door handle. She looked around to find Ellie and Cheri tied up on the wicker furniture. Behind them was Phil, her grandfather's best friend in the whole town.

"Phil!" She charged at him, but then remembered that he didn't know what she was. Turning quickly away so her eyes could return to their natural color, she continued yelling at him. "Phil, it's Alexia! Those are my friends. Why did you tie them up?"

She turned to face him now, hoping the black had left her eyes. Phil looked as he always had, ready to go to the beach and catch a wave. His hair was black and flecked with white here and there, his swim shorts were wet, and his Hawaiian style shirt was unbuttoned in the front.

"Alexia?" He squinted his eyes and dropped the wrench that Alexia hadn't even noticed he was holding. "Nobody told me you were coming here. I thought they were coming in here to steal everything!"

Alexia looked around and gave him a strange look. "Phil, there isn't much to take. Besides, they are two teenage girls, why would they be stealing from us?"

"You don't know this area..." he defended weakly. "They scared me, okay?" He bent down to untie them, and they both gave him extremely dirty looks.

"Cheri, Ellie, this is Phil. He was a good friend of my grandfather. He looks after the beach house when nobody is renting it."

"Considering you're not supposed to be here until you turn eighteen, why are you here?" Phil put his hands on his hips and gave her that do-I-have-to-call-your-mother look.

Alexia didn't know what to tell him. She couldn't think of a lie quick enough. As if it were always her first reaction, she walked toward him and looked him dead in his eyes. Once she was sure he was stuck in her gaze, she said, "You knew I was coming here. I spoke to you earlier this week. I told you I was coming here with friends for a few days and to stay away." She paused to see if he was buying it. "Don't you remember Phil?" She blinked her eyes a few times and then pulled away from his face. Her eyes stung from focusing on his so hard. It hurt but she had to know if it worked.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten?" Phil slapped his hand to his head. "Me and my old age, I suppose. Is there anything you need while you're here?"

Alexia was trying to keep her jaw from hanging open. It had worked; she had made Phil believe what she wanted him to believe. Demetri had said it was extremely hard to make a human believe something that they knew wasn't true. He said it took a lot of practice, but Alexia had done it her first time, and she hadn't even been told how to do it.

"Firewood and alcohol, and a lot of it," she said in a confident voice. "We're having a party."

∞

Demetri and Roman returned to the beach house with several bags of clothing for themselves and even a few food items that you couldn't get from the market. Milk, chocolate bars, chips, and beef jerky; 'boy food', Roman had called it.

The girls had revealed the events of their day to the boys, but Alexia chose to leave out the part about her being able to convince Phil that she had told him they were coming. She wanted to keep that from them; she didn't know why, but she wanted to soak it in a bit. When she had skipped over that part of the story, she gave Ellie a warning look when she was about to butt in and tell them how she had gotten him to leave.

"Why are you not telling them?" was the first thing from Ellie's mouth when they were alone in the bedroom putting on their new swimsuits.

"Because..." She paused for a long moment. "I don't know, I just wanted to, you know, soak it up a bit. I know they will turn it into some big thing and I just felt so confident when I realized I had done it. I don't want them to ruin it for me."

"I understand," Cheri chimed in, "but don't you think this could have something to do with the special defense you're supposed to have? Maybe all your defenses are just super easy for you, like you don't need practice to control them."

"That can't be it," Ellie butt in, "or she would be able to control her anger better."

This made Alexia realize something that she had missed before. "Wait a minute. How did Phil capture you guys? How did you not fight him off?"

"He was expecting us," Ellie began. "I'm sure he noticed the soup bowls and everything so when we came through that door he was ready to make the attack."

"We didn't even have time to get angry," Cheri added. "We jumped right to terrified."

Alexia shook her head, "We need to be ready for a fight at a moments notice. I don't want anything to happen to you." Ellie and Cheri both nodded in agreement.

The three of them stood in front of the big bedroom mirror, checking out how good they looked in their new swimsuits. While shopping they had realized that either men were the ones who made the clothes at the market or the women liked to show a lot of skin. Everything they had bought showed either a bit too much cleavage or a lot of stomach. It didn't bother any of them much, since they were all comfortable with their bodies, but it did give them a good laugh.

The swimming suit Cheri chose was a black bikini with small gems embedded all over it. Alexia had told her it made her butt look big and she bought it right away. Ellie, of course, chose a hot pink swimsuit, a one-piece that connected the top to the bottom by a gold chain in the front and back. Cheri had said it made her look much older and Ellie had practically thrown it into the seller's face.

Alexia had spent a lot of time choosing her swim suit. She knew she shouldn't care what the guys thought but couldn't help thinking to herself, what would Demetri say? Would this finally make Roman a little more aggressive? She knew it was wrong to think about impressing them both; in fact, it had made her sick to her stomach when she realized how history was repeating itself. Here they were back in Greece and she was trying to impress them both.

Standing in front of the mirror in her new hot swimsuit was bringing these feelings back to the surface. She didn't want to feel this way; she wanted to keep feeling confident in herself. Shoving the feelings back down inside of her, she asked her friends, "Does this look like I'm trying to hard?"

"NO!" they both said together.

"It looks amazing," Ellie assured her.

She had chosen a swimsuit that showed off her curves and tanned skin. It was a two-piece made of silky gold material that made her feel beautiful. On the front right side of the bottoms there was a small heart made of the same gems that were on Cheri's. She knew she looked good and it made her confidence grow a little bigger inside her chest.

"Hair up or down?" Ellie held her hair up and then let it fall around her shoulders.

"Down," Alexia and Cheri said at the same time.

"Are we ready to go down then?" Cheri continued.

"I'm nervous," Alexia said.

"Why?" Ellie asked, turning to her with a very sad look on her face. "This is supposed to be fun. How can you be nervous?"

"Think about it, Ellie." Alexia sat on the edge of the bed. "The people they said they would invite... I probably knew them once upon a time. What if it's too much for me to handle and I get sick and make a fool out of myself?"

"Do you really think we would let that happen?" Roman was standing in the doorway wearing just his swim shorts. Nobody had even heard him come up the stairs. "Wow." His eyes bulged out of his head as he looked around at the three girls all standing there in their bathing suits. Surprisingly, his eyes lingered on Cheri, making her blush.

Quickly regaining his composure, he said to Alexia, without really taking his eyes off Cheri, "You're going to be fine. There aren't many people you knew that are coming, so just try to have fun, okay? You have been cooped up in our house for three days, and you should let loose. You all deserve a night of fun before we lay down a plan of action."

Alexia was trying not to stare at his body; it was beautiful just like Demetri's was. His skin was slightly darker, and it seemed to glow slightly. His arms were thick and loaded with muscle, and Alexia couldn't help but think about how good it would feel in his arms if he would just take control of her, like Demetri would.

"Ah, no plan-of-action talk!" Cheri said, holding her hand up to stop him from talking about the forbidden topic. "See, Alexia, it's going to be fine. Now let's go make some margaritas and let loose!" She smacked Ellie's butt hard to get them all moving. Roman turned awkwardly away and headed down the stairs.

Alexia shook her head trying to rid herself of thoughts about how badly she wanted to be in Roman's arms. Unfortunately for her, there was going to be a topless Demetri and Roman surrounding her all night. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the breath was knocked out of her. Demetri was standing topless in the kitchen blending them some fruity drinks, and his swim shorts hung low on his hips. She knew she had to find something to get her through the night with these two boys without pouncing on either of them.

"I figured I would make you ladies a fruity drink to..."

The rest of his sentence was not heard by Alexia. She had spotted it. The bottle of vodka sitting next to the sink would be her savior. She twisted the cap off and started chugging it back. Everyone faced her with their jaws hanging wide open. After about five big burning gulps, Alexia slammed the bottle back on the counter with a loud.

"Whooo. This is going to be a good night." She looked at the group of people staring at her and stared back. "What?" She shrugged and walked out the door to the beach with bottle in hand.

The sun was almost down, and it wouldn't be long before the water was too cold to go into, so she took another gulp of Vodka and left it on the porch before running to the water. It was just like she remembered, warm water with the waves pushing her backward. She turned back to see everyone walking much slower to the water. "Come on you guys, get in here before it's too cold!"

She was already feeling the alcohol, which was what she wanted. If she started off tipsy, she would be good for the rest of the night. She stood still, waist deep in water, facing the sunset and waiting for somebody, anybody, to join her in the water. Ellie got to her side first. Before she could question what exactly Alexia had up her sleeve, Alexia stopped her.

"Is this not the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen? I know what you're thinking El, you're worried about what I'm going to do tonight, and I have to be honest with you. Looking at those two guys topless is killing me. It's taking everything I have not to pounce on both of them and rip their clothes off."

Ellie raised an eyebrow in response and Alexia sighed.

"I know you're thinking that the alcohol will just make it worse, but I think it will keep me calm and collected." She turned to look back at the boys, who were hauling some of the wood Phil had brought over for a fire to a pit in the sand. "See, I can look at them right now and not freeze up. It just takes the edge off. I'm not going to be drinking like that all night, I swear."

"Okay, I believe you. I just don't want you to get drunk and do something stupid." Ellie smiled at her and put her arm around her just as Cheri joined them and put her arm around Ellie.

"Taking care of our little alcoholic over here?" Cheri joked.

Alexia laughed and reached over to smack her friend lightly on the arm. They stood together for a moment, mesmerized by the sun setting in the sky.

"I understand why you're getting wasted, Alexia," Cheri said. "They both look super hot tonight. I think we may need a new nickname for Roman. Something like rock-hard-abs Roman. I think that sounds really good!"

Ellie gave her a warning look as if to tell her to shut up.

"I like it," Alexia said, looking back at the guys on the beach. They had a fire going already and Alexia could see a small group of people coming down the steps that led to the market. "I think some of the people they invited are here."

"I wonder if you know any of them," Cheri pondered.

From out in the water, they couldn't get a good look at any of the people approaching. It looked like two guys and two girls, but Alexia wasn't sure. "Me too. I guess we should go introduce ourselves then."

Splashing Cheri with some ocean water, Alexia laughed and took off running out of the water. As she got closer, she realized her prediction was right. The newcomers consisted of two boys probably one or two years older than her and two girls who were most likely the same age. She searched their faces for some familiarity but saw nothing.

The boys were both dressed in swim trunks and muscle shirts while the girls were sporting string bikinis and bright colorful wraps. Neither of these guys had the type of bodies that Demetri and Roman had, not even close. Nevertheless, they weren't too bad looking and if the two girls they were with weren't their girlfriends, she was sure Cheri and Ellie would try to hit on them.

"Alexia!" The first girl ran at her and caught her up in a big hug. Just like when she had approached Ahaz, a million images burst into her mind, pictures of her and this girl on the beach, in the market, playing with paper dolls, and many more images which Alexia knew were most likely memories from her first life.

"I didn't believe it when they said you were really here." The girl held her at arm's length and looked her over. She was a pretty girl, with much darker skin then Alexia's, bright brown eyes that were bulging out of her head at the moment, and brown hair that tickled her waist. Their eyes were level with each other. Alexia knew this girl once upon a time, but now she was just a stranger staring at her like a long-lost best friend.

"Oh." The girl let go and took a step back. "I'm sorry, I forgot you probably don't remember me, do you? I'm Leigh, and we used to be best friends, like, forever ago." She laughed, and Alexia caught a flash of brilliant white teeth.

All Alexia could do was smile back, since she was in shock. This used to be her Ellie. This was the girl that she would have gushed to about Demetri and Roman and what they would do when they were alone. If she had been as close to Leigh as she was with Ellie and Cheri, then this girl would know everything about who she used to be.

"Anyways," Leigh spoke quickly, "this is Sam." She pointed to the girl behind her, who looked exactly like Leigh, except slightly taller with shorter hair. "Alex and Theo." She finished gesturing at the boys behind her. "Theo is my brother, although I'm sure you don't remember him, since you were always too focused on those two." She gestured to Demetri and Roman, and then slapped her head. "That was stupid of me to say. I'm sorry. You know how you have those moments when you just kind of talk without thinking about what you're saying? I'm having one of those moments."

Alexia couldn't help but laugh, Leigh was exactly like the friends she had now. No wonder they had been best friends. "It's okay. I can imagine it must be pretty weird seeing me again."

Cheri and Ellie were standing beside her now, checking out Theo and Alex.

"This is Cheri and Ellie, my best friends," Alexia said, making introductions. "And this is Leigh, Sam, Theo, and Demetrius. Leigh used to be my best friend before..." she paused trying to choose the right words, "...I died or whatever."

Leigh pulled both the girls in for a bone-crushing hug, and Alexia could tell she was going to get along with her friends well.

"It's so good to meet you," Leigh said to the girls. "I hope you've been taking good care of my girl during this lifetime. You're the lucky ones, since you never have to lose her. Well, until you die, that is."

"We're Immortal, too," Ellie said proudly and beamed at Theo, trying to impress him with what she was.

"Imagine that," Sam said, speaking for the first time. Her voice was soft and shy. "Did you, like, know who Alexia was when you met her?"

"Oh, no, we grew up together, and when Alexia turned Immortal so did we cause this one time when we were little kids..."

Alexia cut Ellie off before she could finish the story. "Do you guys want a drink or something?"

"Nah," Leigh said. "We took some shots before we came over here. To be honest, I was a little nervous about seeing you again. I thought it would be, like, really weird but it's totally awesome."

Alexia couldn't agree with her, so she just nodded and smiled.

"Theo," Demetri said as he came over, "we didn't get to talk much earlier. How's it been? I don't think I've seen you since..." Demetri paused to remember the year, "...1873?"

"I think that's about right." As soon as Theo began to speak, Ellie gasped quietly and squeezed Alexia's wrist. Alexia knew right away that Ellie loved this boy, as she was the type of girl to go all drooly over a guy with a deep sexy voice.

"I'm going to go get some lawn chairs, so we can all sit around the fire," said Alexia.

"I'll help!" Ellie and Leigh said at the same time, following behind Alexia.

When they were far enough away, Ellie gave a squeal and looked at Leigh. "I am sorry to say this, but he is so hot. Is he your boyfriend or Sam's?"

Leigh laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Theo is mybrother, but don't worry," she added when Ellie got that oh-shit look on herface, "I'm used to girls acting like that about him. I'm sure Cheri will be allover Alex, but don't worry, they are both single and ready to mingle. It's going to be a good night."