Recap: a little of what Hannah's family looked like was portrayed. Nathanael almost told Zara what went down in the Payne's life before she came. Zara got a mysterious call from someone Nathanael would like to know about. Hannah is heading out to hang out with Kate.

      Zara stumbled into her room after walking out on a dejected Nathanael. She has been offered to walk right into his heart, with its door opened wide. Earning his trust hasn't been her priority because deep down she knew she doesn't deserve it, any of it really. She was prone to break it anyway.
    Everyone has a skeleton or two in the figurative dark closet. Hers is just a tad bit full with them, the skeletons. When the girl who assumed the name Zara took the rein of her life, she knew she was bound to hurt individuals in her way to her goals. Before the long journey she had promised herself and the memory of Tsion and the others, she would gallop all the way there relentlessly crushing all the obstacles that lay ahead. Oblivious imposers will be collateral damage.
Nathanael is collateral damage. It just so happens that the guilt is gnawing at her heart. She denied him the one thing he needed; her as a sister.
She didn't dwell on the guilt and Nathanael for long. Her mind kept nudging her with a more pressing matter. Like the phone call she received from the number she desperately hoped she would never see flashing on her screen. That number only served one purpose and it is never good.
They are never going to give me a break.
She looked up and right at her reflection. Her complexion had turned unnaturally pale and she looked exhausted. For a brief moment, she saw through it all, through the pains, the miseries, the illness and finally the change. And beyond them she saw a very young docile girl. She willed her to come back knowing it was futile. She may want her but she doesn't need her anyway.
Suddenly she felt suffocated. She wanted to be somewhere else. She grabbed her keys and a leather jacket. She maneuvered her car out of the gate and down the slope but she didn't know where to go. Two girls, about her age or maybe a little older, passed by her vehicle giggling like they didn't have a care in the world. An idea occurred to her and a bitter smile adorned her face. She stepped on the gas, heading to the downtown mall. She can go to the garage later since it is nearby where she was going.
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Kate widened her eyes at the sight of her friend approaching, no, storming, towards her for two reasons. One,her attire. She knew Hannah was bold and comfortable in her own body but not that comfortable. Her friend was bordering on scandalous in the closet department because despite her bitchiness and sour attitude, she was descent. And two, she was early. Not only early, she was five minutes early. That never happened. She usually arrived at least twenty minutes later than their schedule. Something is wrong, Kate deduced.
"You are early", she voiced out her thought.
Hannah only scowled in response. "Let's just get out of here, I am not in the mood for anything really."
Kate regarded her friend with scrutiny and finally sighed. She glanced at Hannah's ride, an electric blue Jeep Cherokee, and said, "Keep your car here, I have somewhere in mind."
Hannah raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Lead the way."
After a five minute walk, they stopped in front of an entrance of what looks like an abandoned garage.
"Where the hell are we?"
"You will see." "Bit! Hey, Bit!" Kate called out walking along a dirty driveway with remains of cars and machines sprawled either way. When she received no response, she walked in further.
Hannah's anger from earlier subsided momentarily and something a-keen to fear replaced it. She tugged at her top subconsciously and shivered. "Kate, what the hell are you doing? This is an abandoned garage. Why are we even here in the first place?" Just then, a man whose have face was half hidden by grease emerged from behind a shed. Hannah couldn't see his face but he had a fit body.
"Ciao, Kate. Long time! Watcha' doin' here?" Kate's expression brightened and she fastened her pace towards him. She seemed to go in for a hug but then thought better of it and just grabbed him by either of his shoulders. "I missed you too! How is ma?"
"As if. You haven't come around in quite a while. Ma has decided that you forgot all 'bout her.", what Hannah has now assumed to be Bit admonished in a playful tone.

"I know she knows that I will never forget about her. I will come by later this week. Anyways this is my friend Hannah. Hannah, this is family, Pedro."

    "How do you do, Hana? You can call me Bit."
"How do you do, Bit?" She was breathless with relief that Kate hadn't dragged her to some serial killer's hideout that she didn't even bother with correcting Bit when he got her name wrong. "I would show you around but I don't think you will find anything interesting here."

   "No, it's okay. Kate said she would show me something so we will be on our way."
"The something is here, silly! Bit, you still have my babies right?"
Bit's eyes glistened mischievously.
"Why? You miss' em?"
"You know I do. Take us there, I need to introduce them to my friend."
He led them behind the shed he emerged from earlier. They came to the beginning of what seems to be a track of some sort. Two machines which slightly resembled cars stood not too far. Kate walked towards them and leaned over the side of one of the "cars" where a door was supposed to be but isn't.
She seemed to be examining them and finally hummed in satisfaction.
"Hannah come over here. Meet Mario"- she gestured towards the red one, "and Kart. My babies".Kart was the black one.
"Who came up with the names?" Hannah asked incredulously.
"I did. Original, right? Mario, Kart." Kate chuckled to herself.
"Bit's uncle, Bit and I built them from used cars two summers ago. Bit, give us the keys."
Two separate ordinary keys were on her hands. She handed one to Hannah.
"We are going to drive these across the clearing. You get to drive Kart." Hannah eyed Kate skeptically.
"You expect me to drive this?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Are you crazy?"
"You have been asking about my sanity quite frequently. I assure you, I am fine. They are safe, I promise."
"Maybe next round. I will sit this one out."
"Huh, and here I thought you actually wanted to have fun and be young." Kate commented mockingly.
Hannah begrudgingly went on Kart and put the keys in the ignition, smack in the middle of the steering wheel. The engine roared loudly for such a small thing.

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Half an hour later, both of them were back on the streets and to the mall. Hannah's hair looked like a tornado passed by it, it stood in every direction. She giggled uncontrollably, "Best time I ever had driving anything!"
  
    Kate looked at her friend with a tender smile. She glanced ahead to the entrance of the mall and saw a familiar figure clad in black disappearing through the revolving doors.  "Hey, wasn't that Zara? Come on, let's catch up."
  "Why the hell would we do that" Hannah whined, her good mood ebbing away a little.
"Because we are friends, duh. Why don't you like her anyway?"
  "Just because."

   There was something about the new girl that put Hannah on edge. Maybe it was because she couldn't intimidate her the way she does with other people. Or it was the way she carried herself around, like she  wasn't someone to be messed with. Or maybe it was the way she deflected Hannah's approaches, whether they be friendly or hostile,with grace and a cool, almost ruthlessly aloof demeanor.
  
   Kate dragged her friend to the way she saw Zara vanishing,Hannah muttering all the way. They arrived at the food court and saw her a few tables away staring at the far distance.
 
   Kate walked over and scraped the chair in front of the distracted girl to sit. "Hey, Zara. Fancy seeing you here."
 
   Zara shook out of her dazed state. "Kate, Hannah."
"Are you waiting for someone?" Kate looked across to the ordering place as she spoke.
  "No."
"You came here all alone?" Hannah gaped at Zara, aghast.
  "That is a problem,how?" Zara inquired looking genuinely curious.
   "Don't you have like, friends or something?"
  "Don't be ridiculous Hannah, she has us. Why didn't you call if you were planning on coming here? I could have come here with you." Kate chided.
  "I didn't know going out alone was a crime."
"It isn't. But it looks kind of lonely."
  "Well, thank you for your concern but it isn't."
Kate looked a little hurt and Zara felt bad for how she brushed her off. And, all along Hannah had a smug expression on her face.Zara wondered what the deal is with her.
   "After all that racing I am famished. I am going to go order, anything you guys might need?" Hannah chirped happily.
  Kate was sure she got a whiplash from her friend's 180 turn of attitude.
  "Sure.... I can do with a slice of pepperoni pizza...please.." She asked skeptically. "How about you Zara?"
   "Nothing, thanks."
Both Kate and Zara looked at the other girl astounded as she retreated to the ordering bar.
  "Okay, that was new." Kate said to no one in particular.
   "Why do you always try to be so nice to everyone?"
At first, Kate thought she was hearing things. She ogled the girl in front of her. This day just keeps getting better and better. She tried to recover immediately.
   "Wow, That isn't something I get accused of everyday."
   Zara didn't crack a smile but kept a steady gaze at the blonde clearly waiting for an answer.
   "We all have one battle or the other we fight without the outer world knowing about it. I believe that being in a nicer company and a non hostile environment helps us win it. I also believe that what we receive is what we give so it is a fair trade, don't you think?"
  "What about when you encounter people who don't deserve your niceness, people like me, people like Hannah?"
    "Like I said everyone is fighting something that we don't know about, and with all due respect, you don't know the story between me and her so you can't speak surely if she deserves my 'niceness' or not."
  That was the first time Zara saw Kate speaking sternly. Hannah must be important to her.
Just then a boisterous boy she saw around the school compound passed by Kate, knocking her head with his tray in the process. He kept walking away. Zara scraped her chair back and stood in front of him.
   "You just hit her and you are not going to apologize?"
  "Uhhh what?"
  "Apologize to my friend now and watch were you are going next time."
   "Says who?" He raised his eyebrows cockily.
"Says she and so will my fist if you don't apologize and beat it already."
   Zara swirled around and came face to neck with the one person she didn't expect to see there.
         
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  Hey? I am sure you won't remember me but it is that girl who never seems to keep her promises for some reason. You know her? She goes by the pen name axumitlegends?
So yeah, here is chapter 15. Enjoy...love all of you who are sticking with me after this whole time.
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