Chapter 7: New Chapters
	Colonel Lydecker always said to take new challenges, well here it goes. 
	I can't believe I was relying on Manticore propaganda in order to get the courage to face a guy. I was pathetic! I spotted Kevin by the flagpole the second I got out of the building. I walked over using my Manticore training to pour myself into the role of a normal teenage girl. God help us all! 
	"Hey," I said smiling. 
	"Hey," he said. 
	We fell into an awkward silence. I took the opportunity to check him out more thoroughly. I guess he was pretty hot. He wasn't Zero, but no one would ever be Zero. Zero was tall and lanky, but he was nicely built with a 6 pack to top it off. Kevin was around my height, he was maybe 5'7". I was 5'3", I hadn't gotten Krit's height genes I guess. 
	"Where to?" I asked breaking the silence. 
	He chuckled slightly, "Am I a tour guide?" 
	"And maybe something more," I quipped grinning. 
	"Okay. I can live with that," he replied offering his hand. 
	I accepted it and we began to walk away towards downtown. The rest of the day was a blur, but I had a BLAST! I mean, for the first time in my life I really saw the world! I spent 4 hours doing nothing! We walked throughout the whole entire town. He showed me Petey's Pizza Parlor (the teen hangout), Blaze(a club that on occasion can be pretty cool), and all the other hot spots. We ended out tour at the market and Kevin's grandfather had gladly given me a job. He was a nice old man, I had to admit. I envied Kevin, he had the life I wanted. He had friends, family, and stability. While I had training, fear, complexity, and structure. 
	We found ourselves sitting on the porch swing at 1700. I smiled at Kevin as we swung together in silence. 
	"I had a good time," I said honestly. 
	"That's good. I hoped you did," he replied turning towards me. 
	"You're so lucky, Kevin," I sighed, "You get to live this life. A life with love, friends, family, and closeness." 
	"You have Krit. Now, you have me and Eve too." 
	"All my life, I've always wanted a family and real friends outside of people like me." 
	"People like you?" 
	"Orphans," I corrected myself quickly, "I spent the last couple years in a military academy before I found Krit." 
	"But-" 
	"I lied. Krit and I just met each other a few weeks ago. He's become my big brother and protector in a short span of time. I spent my years in a military academy. I broke out and found Krit." 
	"Wow." 
	"I never had anyone but myself and Zero," I said quickly, once again not thinking. 	"Zero?" 
	"An old friend," I said in a tone that said the topic was off limits. 
	"Okay," he said his eyes sending a message of understanding. 
	"Kai?" Julian's voice came from the window. 
	"Yes, Jul?" I said without looking back. 
	"Dinners in 10 minutes. Tell Krit." 
	"Okay," I replied and began to get up. 
	Kevin grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him. He stood up standing eye to eye with me. His warm brown eyes were filled with a look of caring I had only seen in Zero and Krit's eyes. Frankly, it scared me to see it in Kevin's. Along with the fear I felt in the pit of my stomach, it made me feel safe. I found myself lost in his gaze. 
	"Kai.." he said softly. 
	I allowed my eyes to leave his and memorize the curves of his face, the feeling of his breath so close, and the outline of his soft lips. 
	"Y-yes," I said, kicking myself mentally for how stupid I sounded. 
	"Can we do this again?" he asked his eyes falling upon my lips, I felt myself blush. 
	"I would like that- a lot," I replied. 
	"Can I-" he began. 
	"Yes," I replied, the boy had to actually ask to kiss me? Small town boys were stupid! 
	He began to lean forward and put a hand on my shoulder. I felt his lips lightly brush mine and I felt sparks. I leaned into the kiss, it was soft and gentle. The way a first kiss should have been. Not like the one Zero and I shared, a kiss of two people who loved each other, a kiss that could mean goodbye or until we meet again. His hand moved to the back of my neck, his fingers brushed my barcode and I jumped back in surprise. 
	"What?" he asked worried. 
	"N-Nothing," I stammered, "I should go fine Krit, " I said lamely and took off like a bat out of hell. 
	I ran until I saw Krit in the back, he was training of all things. I watched him for a second as he did pushups and practiced fighting an invisible enemy. I coughed to get his attention. 
	"Dinner," I said simply and walked inside using the back door. 
	Through dinner, I ignored the concerned looks Krit sent me. I knew he could sense the unrest within me, but I didn't want to talk to him about it. I got up as quick as I had sat down and ran up the stairs 4 at a time. 
	I closed the door on Room 711 and sat on my bed. I was lost and confused, something a Manticore soldier never should be. I HAD enjoyed the kiss, but something inside of me told me it was wrong. It kept repeating my kiss with Zero in the back of my mind and everything Zero and I ever shared. Such as, our first time on the outside on a mission, our first kiss, he was the first one to see me cry, and I was the first one to see the side of him that was sensitive and accepted being less then a soldier. But I also had visions of Kevin and my day, how right it felt to hold his hand and how great it felt to be normal. I knew this would be a battle to last forever, the want to be normal and the fact that I was Manticore. A soft knock at the door got my attention, I knew who it was. I could smell their perfume and Krit wouldn't knock, it was his room. 
	"Come in, Julian." 
	The older woman entered and sat at the end of my bed next to me and looked at me compassionately. 
	"What's wrong, Kai?" she asked bluntly. 
	"Everything." 
	"More specifically?" 
	"Kevin." 
	"What happened?" 
	"He kissed me." 
	"Did you want-" she began but I cut her off, I was good at that. 
	"That's the problem! I liked it! I wanted him to!" 
	"I don't see the problem. He's young, cute, polite, and smart." 
	"This is the problem," I yelled angrily pulling the dog tags off my neck snapping the ball chain, "MY first love." 
	"Oh Kai!" she said with sympathy, "What happened with him? He leave you for a tramp? Or did he just give you the old 'Let's just be friends speech'?" 
	Her tone suggested she had experienced both of these options. 
	"He got hurt and caught, so I could be safe." 
	"How romantic!" 
	"He's stuck and trapped! Because of me!" I said angrily, "THAT'S romantic?" 
	Julian looked at me sadly, " Kai. Tell me one thing and I'll leave you alone." 	"Okay," I agreed, calming down slightly. 
	"Did you enjoy the kiss with Kevin?" 
	"Yes," I admitted, "That's what makes it so wrong." 
	"Maybe, just maybe, it means you are ready to move past your past experience and move onto a new option." 
	"So you think I should give Kevin a chance?" 
	"Yes," Julian said and put a hand on my arm, "You let him go, you'll always wonder what it could have been." 
	I bent down and picked up the silver chain and dog tags I had thrown to the floor, "I promised to get him back from the people who took him. He's alive and waiting for me to come back." 
	"Then go back for him, just don't center your whole life around him." 
	I handed Julian the dog tags, "Take these." 
	"What?" 
	"If I keep them I won't be able to stand the guilt. If I give them to Krit he'll make me keep them. But you won't let me put my life on hold." 
	Julian closed her fingers around the necklace and nodded. 
	"Call him," she said simply and left the room. 
	"Call him." I repeated quietly. 
	"Call who?" Krit asked entering the room and shutting the door behind him. 	"Kevin," I replied. 
	"Where's your-" Krit began, I knew he would notice the missing item. 
	"I gave them to Julian. It will help me move on past him." 
	"You sure?" Krit asked slightly concerned, he remembered how broken up I was during the first week we were on the road. 
	"Yes. Krit, it's been two weeks. For all I know Zero could have broken down and could be reprogrammed. I love Zero as well as X6-601. But they are still two minds in one great looking body. If I find him again, he might not be the same and I need to accept that as a possibility." 
	"As long as you think so. " Krit said hesitantly. 
	"I'll be fine," I said and smirked, "But it's good to know you worry." 
	Krit gave me a small hug and I returned the favor. 
	"I need to go call Kevin. He's probably confused about the kiss," I said and left. 	"What kiss?" Krit called after me, god he really was like an older brother. 
	I caught a glimpse of Julian hiding something in a vase downstairs. Now I knew where my memory engraved in metal was hidden, I'd have to restrain myself. I picked the phone ready to begin a new life and to be ready to open some new chapters in the book that is Kai. Kai, I think a new life should get a new name. I'll have to think about that one.