AN: Another chapter? So soon? Woo!

Chapter 18:

When Will Mew Reflection Show Who I am Inside?

Amaya was humming to herself as she mopped the floors of her apartment. She decided today was as good a day as any to get some cleaning done. Music blared from her stereo as she danced across the floor with her inanimate dance partner. Between dancing and working her jobs, she didn't really get a lot of time to herself. She preferred to keep busy, but some downtime was nice every once in awhile. Yes, she worked more than one job. The cafe with the other Mews, gigs where she was paid to perform, and a bakery, owned by an old friend. When she first moved to Japan, she didn't really know what she was doing. She didn't have a place to stay, or to make money. She just wanted to dance. She came across the bakery, and the kind owner Yu was understanding and helped her get on her feet. He was a kind elderly man, and couldn't really run the bakery by himself. He had one other part-time worker, and sometimes his son helped, but that was on occasion.

She forced thoughts of that aside, and dipped the mop in the ever-growing dirtier water. She didn't have much furniture to move before she started. Just the couch and a shelf. She liked to keep things simple. She was gone most of the day, and really didn't need that much furniture. She didn't watch TV or play video games, and saw no use for extra ornaments to hang on the wall. She couldn't really afford much either. Even though she was payed for gigs, and both her part-time jobs, between paying for this apartment, and renting out space in the dance studio (which was her real home), and taking care of herself and saving for future plans, she didn't have much to spare.

Even though she was slowly growing in fame, she didn't care about that. Her true dream was to own her own dance studio, and to help others discover their dreams and talent for dancing. Her mother wouldn't have approved. She wanted her to go for more practical things, and she almost had...Again Amaya shoved her thoughts aside. This was one downfall of having time to herself, her mind wandered to things she didn't want to think about.

She finished mopping and moved into the kitchen, and it was then that she noticed her phone blinking. She hadn't head it ring over the music pounding from her headphones. She removed them and checked for messages. There weren't any, but she recognized the number. He called again?, she thought, slightly annoyed. She didn't mind it really, but he seemed to call her every waking minute. Well more like every couple hours. He was border-lining possessive, but she was used to that kind of thing. She dialled his number and it only rang once before he answered.

"Heeeey, babe," he greeted.

She didn't like being called babe, but didn't say anything about it. "I was cleaning," she stated. "That's why I missed your call."

"Oh no biggie," he replied, sounding really laid back. "Was just wondering if you wanted to...hang out." She could hear the implication in his voice.

"I actually have some things to take care of," Amaya said, picking at the mop handle, "and I want to hit the studio later, but I'll be free later."

"How about I drive you around for the errands?" he suggested. "Come oooon, I wanna see you." She moved the phone away a bit as she sighed in slight annoyance. She didn't like him being like this, but what could she do? That's how he was.

"Really, I can handle it myself," she replied, being as gentle as possible with the turn down, "but I promise you will see me today." As you do every other day, she thought.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, sounding annoyed. "Right after you are done dancing okay? I'll pick you up!"

"I'll text you when I'm done," she agreed. She hung up on him as he was saying bye, and dropped the phone on the table loudly, rubbing her face over her hands. Why, why, why, why, she repeated to herself over and over. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Why did she keep putting herself in situations. So like this? So much stress and annoyance? So she wouldn't be alone?

Sighing, Amaya finished up mopping, and didn't bother to change out of her clothes as she got ready to go out. She had her headphones in again, and too lazy to put in her contacts she wore her glasses. She slipped on her shoes and threw her hair up in a messy bun, and grabbed her bag and grocery list. As she left the apartment, she left a kiss on the only photograph she had in her apartment. The one of her mother.

\NMM/

4 Years Ago

It was raining outside, and Amaya's mother had refused to drive her to dance class, so she had made the trek there and back on her own. It was late and she was heading home from a successful dress rehearsal. She was given her first lead, and she was brimming with excitement, but shaky with nerves. The performance was tomorrow, and she had nailed it today in rehearsal. But what if she would screw up tomorrow? What if she made a fool of herself? What if she made a mistake? Her father always said that there were no mistakes, only happy accidents. She beamed, thinking that if tomorrow she did fall or mess up, she'd do so with pride and confidence, that way the only indication that she messed up would be from her fellow dancer's faces. She giggled, and jumped over a puddle.

She was coming up to the house, and was surprised to see her the backseat door to her dad's car open. She was about to close it when she heard screaming from inside her house. Her heart dropped, and stared up at the house in fear. They were at it again. She didn't wanna go in, so she sat in the car, leaving the door open. She shivered, and tried not to cry. They were always fighting. Always. Dad said it would get better, but it didn't. It got worse. Mom had thrown a plate at him once. She missed of course because she was terrible at throwing, but it still was scary.

Amara was still confused as to why the door was opened and looked around. She then noticed sitting next to her was a duffle bag. Is dad going somewhere? She thought, and then she was struck with fear. No...he couldn't be.

"Leave! You get out of my house! GET OUT!" Amaya jumped out of the car, and found her feet taking her to the side of the house just as someone came bursting out the front door. Her heart was racing, and she felt her breathing coming in desperate gasps.

"Oh this makes you a man alright! Walking out on your family!" Her mother was screaming at the top of her lungs as her father bounded down the front steps and threw another bag into the backseat. "I never wanna see you again! Don't you even dare! Try and come back! Ever!"

She hadn't put up her umbrella again, so the rain was pouring down her face. Come on Dad, she thought. Don't leave...you said you wouldn't...you promised...Tell her! Tell her you don't wanna leave! Tell her your promise to me!"

"I hope you're happy with that slut!" her mother continued to scream. "Hope you're happy with your new family! Good job choosing her over Amaya!" Her father stopped as he opened the driver's side door. A little hope rose in Amaya's chest. It's not true...tell her...tell me...say something!

He didn't say anything. He threw himself into the car, started it up, and zoomed out of the driveway and down the street, her mother still screaming at him all the while. She only caught a few things, "baby", "new wife", "Japan", but didn't hear anything else. Her entire world had frozen. He was gone. He didn't even try to fight to stay. He had chosen to leave. He chose some strangers over her...

She hadn't seen him again. She never wanted to see him again. Until a Halloween part 4 years later.

"Gloria!" a male voice shouted, coming from the doorway.

"Daddy!" the girl shouted, pulling from Amaya, and running across the chaotic room into the arms of her dad. Huh, Amaya thought. I guess he was look- She felt her heart stop, and she lost control of her breathing.

"Oh I'm so glad you're alright," he sighed in relief.

"She helped me," the girl said, turning to point at her. Her dad looked up with a smile, but it slowly faded. NO!, she shouted internally, keeping her face straight, and quickly making her way to the back of the Cafe. Her heart was working again, and it was racing a million miles an hour, and tears were threatening to spill over. NO!, she shouted again. No! No! She was running now, and she ran into the Staff lounge, slamming the door behind her.

\NMM/

Present

Aneeta walked around town checking over her list. She got most of the things she wanted, but she couldn't carry everything she wanted. She didn't want to take everything home and then go back out again. She'd have to get it another day. She decided to stop at a cafe to get something to snack on as she made the trip home, and found the closest one she could. As she walked up to the front doors, they were suddenly whipped open, and Amaya narrowly evaded getting whacked by it. A man on a cellphone, of course, she thought, rolling her eyes.

"Oh sorry," he quickly said as he passed by. Amaya froze when she registered who it was. No, no, no, no, she kept repeating to herself. Please, don't notice me, please-

"Amaya?" the man had stopped. Amaya swore under her breath, but didn't turn to look at him. She didn't even move to go inside the cafe. She just stood there, staring at her groceries. He quickly signed off of his call, and looked at her. "Wow you...you've grown so much..." She wasn't sure if she could pull of her straight-faced facade, but she tried, looking in his general direction but didn't look him in the eye.

"Hi...father..," the word felt like poison in her mouth. She definitely wouldn't call him "dad" anymore.

"What are you doing in Japan?" he asked, sounding excited, and a little hopeful.

"I...live here now," she replied, glancing away. The question she was dreading was coming up. She just knew it. She didn't want to tell him. He of course didn't know, but she sure as heck didn't wanna be the one to tell him. She didn't even like to admit it herself.

"Oh really?" he asked, sounding surprised. "Well, that explains why you have groceries, but that's...great. Uh...is your..mother here too?" There it was. Amaya bit her tongue. Maybe telling wouldn't be so bad. By telling him she'd see his reaction. If he was indifferent, her hatred would probably grow, and if he showed otherwise...well she wasn't sure what she'd feel. Satisfaction? For seeing him regret what he did? Sympathy? She definitely didn't want to say anything.

"She...uh...," Amaya hesitated, unable to find the right words.

"No, it's okay," he spoke up. "Shouldn't have asked. Right. She said she never want to see me again, and I understand, me not knowing where she is probably is better." Trust me, you'll never see her again, she thought, unable to say anything. It was then her phone rang, causing her to jump and nearly drop her things.

"You can get that," her dad said, looking slightly awkward. "I have to get going back to..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head. "I-it was great seeing you again Amaya..perhaps...we could..."

"I have to answer this," she said bluntly, taking out her phone, not wanting to reply to what he was asking.

"Yes of course," he nodded. He gave a small awkward wave and hurried off. Amaya sighed, thankful for the call. It was her Mew Phone, already knowing what was happening.

"Where?" she asked, moving in the opposite direction of her father.

"The subway! It's a giant worm in the subway!" Kotona shouted from the other end. "Closest station to Amaya's school."

"Coming," she stated, hanging up. She would drop off her things at Yu's bakery, then go meet them. She often dropped off her things there when she was out and needed to go help the Mews. Yu never asked why. He was just more than happy to help her out. It was only a couple blocks away from where she was so she made her way over there.

"Hey Yu!," she called out as soon as she answered. "Yu?" she said again when there was no reply. She was a bad kind of surprise when his nephew came out from the back. He almost never took shifts here.

"Hey babe," he grinned. "Didn't think you'd come in here today. You made my day."

"Well I was going to see you later anyways," she pointed out. "Is Yu here?"

"Old fart stepped out," he sighed, looking annoyed. "You know I can help you." He grinned.

"I just wanted to drop these off in the back," she stated, slipping behind the counter. She quickly made her way to the fridge and put her things inside. It was no surprise to her that he was right behind her when she turned around. He kissed her as she knew he would, and his hands started travelling over her body. She only let it go on for a few seconds before pushing herself away.

"I have to go do something," she stated, trying to pull away.

"Aw, but you just got here," he whined, kissing her neck.

"You are supposed to be working," she pointed out. "No work, and when your done text me. I'll probably not be hitting the studio today."

"Great," he grinned stupidly. She took that chance to finally slip away and leave the shop.

\NMM/

18 Months Ago

That day was so full of promise. It was Amaya and her boyfriend's year anniversary. She was so excited. It fell on a weekend, and he promised a fun day she'd never forget. He had been her first boyfriend. It took him months of constantly asking her out before she finally accepted. She was wary of dating because of her father. She didn't want to be left like she was before. So far, Kevin had been absolutely perfect to her. Brought her her homework when she was sick, talked about everything for hours on end on the phone, was supportive of her ambitions, and she his, took her out on dates, both expensive and inexpensive, but her favourites were the inexpensive because of how create he got. They were just perfect together, everyone said so, and she couldn't express how happy she was when she was with him. It was as if the world was perfect, and nothing could ever go wrong. It was this naivety that was her downfall.

She decided to take the route to the back of the school that day. It was closer to Kevin's locker and she wanted to give him his present. He liked this one band, and she managed to get him a poster of theirs, with all of the band members signatures on it. It had cost her more than she expected, but she didn't care. She knew he'd love it. She was going down the back alley right near the school when she heard giggling in a smaller alley just off of that one. She was anxious and didn't want to be seen. This was usually a place where couples came to...well you know. She and Kevin never went back there though. Perhaps if she just ran by? Yeah, they wouldn't notice her. She took a silent deep breath and readied herself to sprint by.

"Kevin," a girl giggled. Amaya heart raced, but she shook her head. There's a ton of Kevin's in the school, she told herself silently. It's a different one. It's not him. It's not yours. It's-

"I don't see why you don't just dump Amaya already," the girl sighed. "I don't like sneaking around."

"I can't today," the all-too familiar boy voice sighed. "It's our anniversary. That'd be horrible dumping her now." Amaya lost all feeling, the poster slipped and hit the ground, startling the couple.

"Someone's there," the girl whispered. There were footsteps, but Amaya couldn't move. She was in complete denial, that was, until she saw him. The dominant emotions in his eyes was fear and disbelief. If there was regret in there she didn't bother to search any further for it. She spun on her heels and ran as fast as she could away from them. She wasn't sobbing, but her tears had fallen relentlessly.

She closed herself off after that. She had no long-term commitments, just short things with the wrong type of guy. The kind like Yu's nephew. She refused to allow herself to love again, and fought it whenever she felt the smallest hint of it. Since moving to Japan she didn't have any problems with that. Until she met him, but refused it.

"I didn't see your ticket m-miss," someone said from beside her. "I can't let you go any farther without a ticket."

"I'm with the cafe," she replied looking up at him, and boy did she regret it. Their eyes locked, and she felt she wouldn't be able to tear them away. Her pulse involuntarily picked up, and her breath got caught in her chest. Not again..., she managed to think among the haze that settle upon her mind.

"There you are Amaya!" Kita called excitedly running over to her. Amaya was now able to pull her eyes from the boy's and look down at the jumpy girl.

"That's Patrick."

\NMM/

Present

"It's skin is too thick!" Plum shouted, her attack failed for the third time. The worm reared and charged at her and Avious and the two of them jumped out of its reach. It took up half of the tunnel, and was over 20 feet long. It whipped its tail catching Plum's leg and throwing her against the bricked side of the tunnel.

"How are we going to kill it?" Licorice growled, stomping her feet. She was getting annoyed with it tossing everyone around and not being able to hit it.

"You have to get it from the inside," Ice stated, finally joining them.

"Oh thank god you're here," Cotton Candy sighed. "How are we gonna do that?"

"Licorice, you attack him and annoy him, so that his mouth will open when he screams," she instructed. "Avious, you attack him with your Chakrams when his mouth opens, and hit him hard. Cotton Candy you distract him for Licorice so she can get in a good shot. I'll check on Plum." They all nodded, and set to work. She wondered how they didn't see it sooner. She had hung back only a couple minutes to observe the creature and figure out what had to be done. She hurried to Plum and helped her sit up.

"My arm," she huffed. "It hurts." Icing wasn't a doctor, but she recognized a sprain from a broken bone, and as she tenderly touched her shoulder, she knew it was only a sprang.

"You'll be okay," she stated. "It's not broken." The tunnel filled with an antagonized scream, but Icing didn't look. Plum was, looking stressed.

"We can't pierce it's skin," Plum huffed. "I think we need to attack it through its mouth."

"They are already on that," Icing informed.

"So you thought of it first," Plum sighed. "Some leader I am."

"No," she replied. "You were hit and practically knocked out. It's fine. You thought of it, and that's what matters." There was another scream, which was quickly silenced, followed by a sickening explosion, and ooze spraying everywhere.

"Gahhh!" Licorice screeched. "Alien worm guts!" Cotton Candy couldn't help but laugh, which caused the smaller Mew to grab a glob and threw it at her. Avious side-stepped away from them so he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

"That was the first attack in awhile," Icing stated, looking at the remains of the worm.

"Yeah," Plum sighed, scratching her head. "Why do you think they've been gone so long?"

"Why do you think they came back?" Avious asked, dodging another glob of guts.

"They obviously still haven't found what they want," Icing stated.

"I wish we knew what they were looking for," Plum said. "If it's not too much of a bother we could just give it to them."

"I doubt they'd go through all this trouble and destruction looking for something harmless," Icing explained, just as a glob of guts hit her arm. Cotton Candy and Licorice stopped dead, both covered with the stuff, and stared in fear. Icing acted as if she didn't notice, but she did. She kept herself from shivering in disgust.

"Well, if that's all," she said, turning on her heels and heading back toward the manhole cover she came down. Her heels clicked on the floor loudly as they others watched.

"I'm sorry," she barely heard Licorice whisper before being hit. "I said I'm sorry!" Icing didn't turn back to look at them. She guessed she and Cotton Candy had gotten into another little squabble. She sighed as she climbed out onto the surface, her clothes changing to normal. She didn't mind fighting the aliens, but knowing why would be nice. Sure she knew she was protecting Japan, and the rest of Earth, but she'd like to know why they were attacking herself. Of course that would be too easy. She quickly wiped off the goop with a shutter, and shook to get the grossed out feelings out of her system. She sighed once more and ran her hands over her face, before making her way back to the bakery.

\NMM/

Amaya was sitting in his car, staring out the window, bored and annoyed. It was pouring rain outside. They were supposed to see a movie, but the particular one he wanted to see wasn't playing, and he was throwing a real fit about it. She pay much attention to his rant, her mind was thinking about other things. How she hated rain for one. Held too many bad memories for her. She was quickly brought out of her frittering thoughts when a hand touched her leg, caressing it.

"Something on your mind?" he smirked, rubbing her leg lightly.

"No, I'm fine," she replied, removing his hand. "So what now? We gonna go see something else, or get something to eat?"

"Or...," he started, leaning closer. "We could stay right here."

Amaya knew what he was thinking, and tried to stay calm. "I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat."

"We can go later," he replied, kissing her, and practically climbing on top of her. After a few minutes of him kissing her, she managed to pull her lips away, but his travelled over her cheek.

"Um, can we got eat now? Like seriously?" she asked, becoming annoyed.

"Oh come on babe," he chuckled. "We got time."

"I really don't wanna do this right now," she huffed, pushing at him to get off.

"What's your problem?" he demanded, glaring at her. "You never wanna do anything!"

"Yeah, I wanna go eat," she snapped, glaring back. "Now come on and drive."

"What if I don't want to?" he asked in a dangerous tone, and his hand travelled to and unwanted place. The next thing she knew, her fist came into contact with his face and he was leaning back holding his nose.

"You...you..." he was staring at her in bewilderment, then it slowly changed to anger. Amaya was thankful she hadn't put on her seat belt yet as she pushed open the door and threw herself out, his hand just missing her. She booked it out of the parking lot, her heart racing in fear. The high heels didn't slow her down as she raced down the street. She looked over her shoulder and regretted it. It had thrown her off balance, and she slipped hitting the ground hard. She was then yanked to her feet roughly and she screamed. She was silenced when metal touched her neck.

"I'll kill you if you make another sound," he threatened. The fact that she was a Mew and would totally kick his butt didn't even cross her mind. Her mind and heart were racing, purely running on fear and adrenaline. It was just her, him, and the knife. She for once didn't know what to do. She felt completely and utterly helpless. She was now cold and wet from the rain, and shivered but mostly from fear. He pulled her into a nearby alley and held her against the wall with the knife at her throat.

"Now," he whispered, looking down at her, his face slightly red from her attack. "Where were we?" She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her tears, but they were hard to control. She did her best not to sob, keeping her eyes shut not wanting to look at him.

Suddenly the weight of him was gone and her legs couldn't hold her up, so she fell to the ground. There was a shout and then a couple loud noises Eyes stinging, she looked around in confusion. He was on the ground, unconscious, and the knife several feet away from him. Was he dead? Standing over him was another guy. She looked away, not really knowing what to think or say, she just sat on the ground until he came over and knelt beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, taking off his jacket. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, meaning it for the second question. "I-I'm...fine," she replied, holding back the tears that now threatened to spill. It was slowly dawning on her that she was safe. This guy had come to her rescue, and saved her from the horrible things that could have happened. She was just so, so relieved.

"A...Amaya?" the boy asked after putting the jacket around her shoulders. Amaya's head snapped up in surprise, eyes wide mouth hanging open. It was Patrick. Her usual composure was gone. Her eyes glowing with expression, her face showing no signs of stiffness nor any attempt to hide what she was feeling. Patrick had to admit seeing her like this scared him, but not so much as seeing that guy with the knife at her throat. She then threw herself into his arms and began sobbing against his chest. Patrick was now bewildered. He'd never been in a situation like this, nor did he ever he'd see Amaya like this.

"I was...so scared," she hiccuped, holding him tightly.

His arms went around her and held her tightly. "Your safe now," he whispered, sighing. They couldn't stay here, not with that guy still laying there. With uncertainty, he picked her up in his arms and slowly got to his feet. He never realized how small she really was. Her confidence and grace made her look so different, but now she looked helpless and tiny. He carried her out of the alleyway,away from further danger, and down the street.

\NMM/

10 Months Ago

Amaya sat quietly in the car with her mother. She was driving her to her entrance exams. She was going to school for journalism. She would have preferred creative writing but her mother said that journalism would be better, and there were journalists who also wrote novels. Above all else she wanted to pursue her dancing, but her mom wouldn't hear any of it. She said it wasn't a practical career choice. So she was applying to college like her mother wanted. Ever since her dad had left she had been harder on her, trying to get her to do something more academic, more "realistic" with her life. She loved her mom, but sometimes she felt like there was just a distance between them, some kind of disconnection, and she felt her mom could never truly understand what dancing meant to her. Even if it was unrealistic.

Her mother had asked her something; something she didn't catch. She was about to ask her to repeat it, but she had blacked out. Well, there were other things that happened before then, but it all happened so fast. The car was jarred to one side, the the ground was above them, then below, then above again. Her ears were filled with most unpleasant sounds, and that was the last thing she remembered before the black out.

She awoke quite some time later to an annoying beeping noise. Her aunt was with her, and for the next week, many things that were told and shown to her didn't sink in. She had seen her mother's dead body, went to the funeral, and watched her being buried, and had doctors, the few family members she had, and even her friends talk to her. It didn't truly sink in that her mother, and her future in journalism had been taken away in mere minutes, for at least another week, and she wept for days. She did feel guilty, however, for not wanting to honour her mother's wishes, and continue to pursue that career path. But she was finally free to do what she wanted. She was free to dance.

\NMM/

Present

"Here," Patrick said, handing Amaya her third cup of tea. He had brought her back to his place, because she didn't want to go to hers, and didn't know where else to take her. They were both fully dry now, and sitting on the floor in his room. Amaya was wearing a pair of his pyjamas and wrapped in a blanket. Though she was not cold anymore, she was still shivering. She still couldn't believe it. She knew he was bad, yet she still hung out with him. She'd been unintelligent before, but this was below stupid.

While she was mentally scolding herself for the nth time, Patrick was sitting a little uneasily near her. For one his parent's didn't know she was here. His father had gone out and his mom was working. He'd also never had a girl in his room before, or in his clothes, or sit like this with him. She had cried a lot, and spoken about a lot of things too. It was like a floodgate opened, and she just kept talking and talking, but he listened to her. He listened to all she intently, getting her more tissues and tea whenever she needed it.

"Thank you," she whispered, breathing in the smell of her drink.

"I-it's no problem," he replied, looking down at his floor.

"I can't...can't believe I...I could have kicked his ass," she sighed.

"Stop beating yourself up about it," he insisted. "Really, you're safe now."

She nodded, knowing she'd go in circles again with her self-negativity for the nth time and just sipped her tea again. "I'm sorry if I inconvenience you."

"N-no it's alright," he half smiled. "My parents don't know you're here is all."

"Oh, should I leave then?" she asked, looking apologetic.

"No that's fine," he replied a little hasty. "I mean...it's still raining out. You'll get wet again. Uh, you could..stay here...if you wanted."

"That is a nice offer," Amaya replied, smiling a little, "but I'd be taking your bed from you."

"Oh, it's no problem," Patrick insisted. "A night on the floor won't kill me. Wouldn't be the first time. Used to fall asleep in my neighbour's barn sometimes."

"Must have been nice," she wondered, sipping her tea. "To ride horses and stuff."

"Yeah it's great," he nodded.

"I've never ridden one," she admitted, looking at her steam cup.

"M-maybe one day you will...," he replied, a little awkwardly.

"Yeah, maybe," she smiled.