Chapter 6: Questions

*Jo's POV*

Black eyes. What could that mean? I looked at Clark and Aaron, but they were just staring at me. They hadn't seen anything. I looked back at Nikko, and he was watching me, waiting for a reaction.

"Nikko, could we go talk somewhere else?" I asked him.

At first, he looked surprised, but then he smiled slightly and nodded.

"But, Jo," Aaron began, but I cut him off.

"No, Aaron, I already told you everything you need to know in my text this morning. I'm sorry, but my feelings haven't changed, and they won't ever change," I said firmly as he stood there in shock. Then, I glanced towards Clark who was smiling, "I'll talk to you later, Clark."

"Sounds good," Clark said, still smiling. "You two have fun. I'll just go find Dylan."

I smiled back at him with appreciation and then turned to walk back towards my house, knowing that Nikko would follow. I didn't even have to look behind me to know that he was; I could feel his presence. People watched us and whispered as we walked by, but I didn't care. We got to the patio door, and Nikko reached out to open it for me and brushed against my arm. I gasped.

When he had touched me, I had felt like a shock had ran down my arm and my skin began to tingle in pleasure where I could feel his chest against my arm. Just as soon as it came on, it was gone. He had pulled the door open and away from me, and I found myself craving for him to touch me again.

"What was that?" I asked, looking down my arm.

"Just come inside and we can talk," Nikko said, and placed his hand on the middle of my back to guide me through the door.

I held my breath as his hand was on my bare skin, but I managed to step inside and heard him close the door behind him. Something deep inside of me started to stir, and warmth spread across my whole body.

He pulled his hand away and I sucked in air. I was starting to feel a little light headed, so I braced my hand against the wall and continued to breathe. I glanced back up at Nikko. He was breathing slightly harder too, and I noticed his cheeks had a slight red tinge to them.

So, he was affected too.

"What," I sucked in another breath. "Is happening to me."

"Just calm down and I can explain everything."

Nikko reached out to assumably grab my hand, but seemed to think better of it and dropped it back to his side. He shifted his weight back and forth as he looked at me, and I realized that this was the first time I had seen him unsure, or not confident. For some reason, that calmed me down, and I felt the urge to comfort him. Which was crazy, considering the fact that he obviously knew more than I did. Either way, I was starting to relax.

"Who are you, really?" I asked as I got my breathing under control. "And why do I feel this way?"

"I already told you, my name is Nikko," he said, scratching his head and staring down at me. "How exactly are you feeling?"

"You can already tell, can't you?" I asked pleadingly. "Don't you feel it too?"

"Yes, and no," he admitted. "Considering I don't exactly know how you are feeling. But I definitely feel something every time I see you, or smell you, or touch you…"

He trailed off again as he stared down at my arms and hands.

"That's exactly how I feel too," I exclaimed, excited. "I feel like my body is on fire when I am around you, and I am drawn to you like you are the air I need to live."

As soon as I finished speaking, Nikko reached out and wrapped me up into his arms. I sighed in content and melted into his chest, enjoying the tingles that ran along my body. Nikko sighed above me and rested his chin on the top of my head.

"Exactly," he murmured into my hair, before he slowly pulled away. "We are mates."

"Mate." I heard inside my head.

"Mates?" I asked, looking up at him and grabbing his hand.

He squeezed my hand tighter before replying. "It means we belong together. I believe the word you humans use is 'soulmates'."

"Wait, humans?" I raised my eyes.

"Oh, Jo, there you are!" my mom suddenly cut in, walking over with a giant birthday cake in her hands and glancing at Nikko. "What are you doing in here?"

"I just wanted somewhere quiet to talk with Nikko," I told her, and watched as she gave Nikko an odd look.

"Nice to see you again," he nodded to her. "Did you need some help carrying the cake out?"

"If you could grab the door for me, that would be great," my mom said with a smile. "But you two will have to come out with me. Can't have a birthday cake without the birthday girl!"

"But–-" I began. I wasn't done talking with Nikko.

"It's alright," Nikko said with a smile and opened the door for my mom. "We can talk more later."

"I'm going to hold you to that," I smiled and gave him another quick hug before following my mom out the door.

I knew in my mind that I should be more upset at finding out about this whole 'mates' thing, and of course the possibly 'non-human' thing, but I just couldn't help but think that it felt right. I definitely wanted more answers, and needed them, but I couldn't deny how I was already feeling about him.

Looking behind myself, I saw Nikko following closely behind me with a smile on my face and I couldn't help but smile back.

My mom proceeded to carry the cake to the table with the snacks, then ensued in creating an embarrassing display of social awkwardness by having everybody stand in a circle and sing to me. Once the singing was done, my mom sliced the cake and laid out the pieces so whoever wanted one could just grab it. I grabbed two plates and gestured at Nikko to follow me, which he did happily.

We had just sat down at a table away from the mass of the crowd when we were almost instantly interrupted again. I know I was having a party, but at this point, I just wished that everybody was gone and it was only me and Nikko.

"Hey, Jo, can we sit with you guys?" Emily asked as she walked up with a piece of cake with Chloe and Taylor following closely behind her.

I looked at Nikko, but knew I couldn't turn the girls down without a big scene, so I reluctantly nodded. They sat down around us, with Emily taking the seat on the other side of Nikko. When she did, Nikko scooted closer to me, which made me smile.

"Hi, Nikko, it's good to see you again," Chloe said as she sat down across from him.

"Hello," he said simply with a nod.

"Where's Aaron, Jo?" Emily asked me with a smirk, and I shot her a glare.

"How should I know?" I asked in a flat voice.

"Well, he's basically your boyfriend," she shrugged.

My mouth dropped open as I looked at her, but she just smiled at me. I clenched my hands into fists, deciding what to do and debating whether I should hit her. Nikko reached under the table and grabbed my hand. I looked at his face and saw that he was smiling, which relaxed me.

"I think he left earlier," Nikko said to Emily instead. "He didn't seem too happy after Jo turned down his advances, and I haven't seen him since."

The three girls stared at Nikko in shock, and then glanced at me, while I shrugged. I saw out of the corner of my eye that somebody else was walking up, so I turned to look and saw Nikko's friend Byron. He gave me a small smile as he saw me and came to stand behind Nikko.

"Hey, man. Sorry, but we gotta get going," he said to Nikko, touching him on the shoulder.

"Alright," Nikko said, dropping my hand and standing up.

"Wait!" I said standing up beside him.

"Don't worry, I will see you again soon," he leaned down and kissed me on the cheek before whispering in my ear. "By the way, you look gorgeous."

Then with a smile and a wave, they were gone before I could say anything else.

The rest of my birthday party went by without a hitch. I went to find Clark once I finished my cake, so I didn't have to spend any more time with the girls that I used to think were my friends. Besides having to open presents in front of everybody, I actually had fun. Once it started to get dark, I walked everybody out and thanked and hugged them. Nikko was right, I didn't see Aaron, so he really must have left earlier.

With the last person gone, I thankfully walked up the stairs and into my room. Exhausted, I walked over and collapsed onto my bed. There was a crinkle underneath me, and I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion. I sat up slowly and reached behind me to grab what I had laid on. It was indeed a piece of paper and my heart skipped a beat as I read it.

'Jo, sorry I had to leave your party early, something had come up. Please, join me tomorrow night for dinner, and I will answer all of your questions then. I will pick you up at 4. I can't wait to see you again. -Nikko

P.S. Thank you for tonight'

I fell asleep with a smile on my face and feeling more normal than I had in months.

"Need. Mate." the voice inside my head said as I was drifting off…