Sora felt her heart skitter to a stop for a moment. So it's not going to be a stroke but a heart-attack, she thought as she waited breathlessly for her heart beat to return. After a few seconds, she exhaled and sagged in relief as her heartbeat thumped back into its usual rhythm.

"Is that true?" she hotly demanded to Drake.

He refused to meet her eyes, he was focusing on Mo with fury in his eyes. Sora swore his anger was making the temperature rise in the room. Is he about to set the whole house on fire? she wondered terrified. She felt Katie stiffen next to her; even she could sense that something was wrong.

"Can someone please explain to me why anyone would want to hunt me down and kill me?" she asked repeating the exact words Mo used.

Drake finally turned to look at her, the anger vanishing from his eyes, replaced by a bit of sadness. "This is why I haven't said anything to my parents. Dragoncallers are considered a threat to our kind and are killed on sight. Or at least that's what I heard. I'd never seen one until I met you."

"You've never seen another one?" Mo wondered aloud. "They are more rare than you might think," Drake replied refusing to tear his eyes from Sora's. "My parents must not find out about you. They are very traditional despite their outward appearance."

"You mean they would actually kill me if they knew?" she asked with sudden disbelief. Her memory flashed back to the meeting with Drake's parents. They had seemed like warm and friendly people, especially Mrs. Harrison. She found it hard to believe they were capable of turning into cold blooded killers at a moment's notice. Then she remembered that they, too, were dragons, and that thought dispelled any lingering feelings of pleasantness she had regarding Drake's parents.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they never find out about you," Drake assured her. Surprisingly, his words had a calming effect, and her feelings of terror vanished.

"We will make sure of it," Mo and Katie added.

Sora eyed each of them. She was relieved to have them on her side.

***

Sunday brought a sunny day with a gentle warmth that made Sora forget of all her problems briefly. She just sat at the back door's step holding Kiba in her arms, letting the rays of light bathe her. It was enough to make her feel normal again for a few minutes.

Normal, she thought bitterly. I am never going to be normal again.

As if sensing the change of her mood, Kiba licked her hand. "Thank you," she said and rubbed his ear between her fingers. "You are the best dog ever." Kiba barked in response and wandered off to play with his toys.

Sora watched him walk away, her gaze flickering away from Kiba's swishing tail to Drake's house. Drake was the furthest person from normal. She wondered if he resented being born a dragon. She remembered how uptight and serious he looked all the time, ready to do his duty. But he never seemed happy about it. He didn't choose to be born a dragon and a Senser on top of that. He had to drag other people into a life that even he didn't seem to want.

The only glimpses of happiness Sora had seen were when they were doing simple, everyday stuff, like making lists. The thought of him smiling made Sora's own lips twitch upwards. She wanted to see him smile again. She wasn't sure if she even liked the guy, but everyone deserved to be happy, and being normal was what made Drake happy.

With a renewed determination, Sora rose from her seat and walked back inside to find her phone. There was only one person she knew that made being normal the most enjoyable thing in the world, and Sora needed her help.

***

The doorbell hadn't even finished chiming before Drake threw open the door. His expression changed from bored to all business when he saw two girls and a dog standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?"

Sora smiled at him, trying to keep her nervousness in check. "It's Sunday."

"And that means park time," added Katie when he arched one of his eyebrows.

He still seemed confused. "So?"

"So," Sora handed him Kiba's leash before he could protest and dragged him out of his house. "You're coming with us," she said in a tone that indicated no arguments.

Drake shot them a look of annoyance, but he refrained from speaking, grasped onto the leash with his left hand and followed them down the street.

"Is this some kind of excuse to talk about what we discussed yesterday?" he asked when they were a safe distance away from his house.

Sora hesitated so Katie piped in. "No, dummy. It's actually a Sunday ritual."

Sora jumped when Katie called Drake a dummy, but Drake didn't even acknowledge her slight. He strolled casually, his eyes fixed on Kiba, he seemed relaxed, which was a relief to Sora. Katie caught Sora's eye and gave her a thumbs up which made Sora grin.

After a few minutes, the trio reached the park. The so called park was in reality, a big grassy field where everyone brought their dogs to run and play. Sora knelt to release Kiba from his leash. Drake stiffened as she unclipped the collar. "You're letting him loose?" he questioned.

"He's a dog, he loves to run free." She gave Kiba an affectionate head pat, signaling for him to run. Kiba eagerly high tailed over to a group of dogs and immediately began sniffing, while his three two-legged friends sat down on a shaded bench to watch.

No one spoke. Sora could feel the tension mounting between them. She was beginning to think bringing Drake to the park was not such a good idea after all, but then Kiba came bouncing back, stopping in front of Drake, wagging his tail happily.

"There is something in his mouth," Katie commented. Drake nudged Kiba gently, urging him to drop the item.

"What do you have there, boy?" he asked, just as Kiba dropped the slobbery thing into Drake's open palm. It was dark brown, long and lean and disgusting. "What the hell?" Drake exclaimed.

"It's a dead worm," was all Sora could manage to say before she burst out laughing.

Drake let out a disgusted squeal as he flung the dead worm into the bushes. The scream was so out of character for him that the girls burst into another fit of laughter.

"I think it means he likes you," Sora remarked. Kiba remained in front of Drake, swishing his tail expectantly.

"Next time, how about bringing me something not so dead, okay?"

"Trust me a dead worm is better than an alive one," Sora said between giggles. He gave her a huge smile, and then he reached to pet Kiba, but the dog jumped back playfully avoiding him. He bent his front legs and brushed his tail rapidly from side to side, all while he barked happily at Drake.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked still smiling at the big dog. "Don't let me get you." Drake jumped from his seat and started chasing Kiba in a small circle.

Sora saw Katie dart over to them. "I'll save you Kiba," she screamed between laughs. When the dog saw Katie he immediately started running toward her, and then they both turned and ran from Drake. "Don't let the big bad man catch you," she giggled.

Drake strolled back to his seat. Sora noticed that he was out of breath, his cheeks flushed a cute shade of pink. He had an enormous grin plastered on his face. "That dog of yours," he muttered before he flopped down next to her on the bench.

Sora peeked over at Kiba and Katie, both still running, once in a while stopping to play with each other. "He is something," she said. She could see Katie waving a small stick trying to catch Kiba's attention. Kiba jumped and snared the end of the stick in his jaws. He tugged and Katie pulled back hard. The two played tug of war until Kiba finally jerked the stick free, pulling Katie to her knees, Kiba then proceeded to parade around with the stick clamped firmly in his mouth, totally content in his victory.

Sora smiled and felt more at peace than she had in a long time. This is real happiness. These two are my happiness, she thought. She felt like she had been watching Katie and Kiba for hours, but still it wasn't enough. Suddenly, she was very aware of Drake's strong presence next to her, so she swiveled her thoughts to him.

She caught him staring at her, a look of awe in his face. His eyes were wide and sparkling, while his lips were slightly parted with a hint of a smile at the corners. They just sat there staring quietly at one another, neither wanting to break the spell. Sora noticed that for the first time since they had met, Drake seemed at peace, too.

The moment was interrupted when Kiba nuzzled against Sora's hand, pushing something into her palm. Sora flinched when she saw another dead worm in her hand. She could hear Drake snorting back his laughs. "Is that for me?" she asked her dog, while she quickly dropped the worm. "I love you too." She jumped from her seat tackling the big dog, trying to pin him to the ground. Katie reached them just in time to help her rub his belly.

***

It was nearly lunch time, and the group was getting hungry. After they returned Kiba home and fed and watered him, Sora suggested they visit her grandparent's Sushi restaurant for lunch. They were all sitting at one of the smaller tables, waiting for their order, when someone very familiar walked in.

Sora was the first one to recognize the girl with the bleach blond ponytail waiting in line for take-out. "Crap," she muttered, and both Drake and Katie turned in their seats to get a better look.

Their movement attracted the girl's attention. When she saw them, she quickly grabbed her take-out and walked over to their table. "Sora, I'm glad to see you two worked things out," Mia said, but it was obvious she was expecting Katie to still be mad at Sora. "I wouldn't want to be the reason you two stopped hanging out. It's hard to find good help these days." And with that, she flipped her ponytail and walked out of the restaurant before anyone could say a thing.

There was a small pause and a few awkward looks between Sora and Katie before Drake finally spoke. "Who was that?"

"No one you need to know," Sora commented, while fiddling with her chopsticks. "Actually, be glad you don't know her, yet." She looked at Katie to make sure she was okay after Mia's attack. Her friend gave her a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Sora was relieved when her grandmother rang the bell announcing their order was ready. Sora retrieved their food. Her grandmother stopped her before she could return to her seat and asked, "Is everything alright?"

"You saw that?" Sora asked taking the plates.

"I never liked that girl," her grandmother muttered under her breath and nodded toward Sora's table. "I see you made a new friend." She gave Drake a wide smile that made her eyes disappear into two thin lines thanks to her wrinkles. He waved back at her, smiling awkwardly.

Sora moved to block Drake from her grandmother's view. "Don't be weird. He is just a friend."

"Can't a grandmother hope?" She pretended to clean while stealing glances at Drake. Sora snorted and walked over to her table, delivering the two plates heaped with food to her friends.

When she returned for her own plate, her grandmother grabbed her wrist softly but with surprising speed. "I just worry a bit. I am glad you have Katie, but after that boy, Mo, dropped out of the picture, you seem like you could use another friend."

Sora locked eyes with her grandmother, she could tell that she was seriously concerned. When Mo abandoned their friendship, it had hurt her deeply. She used to sit in her room, refusing to go out for days after he stopped talking to her. But that was years ago, and she was over it, or at least she hoped she was. "I am okay," she said, and she was surprised to actually mean it. After all that had happened the past few days, it was a miracle to be okay, but it was true.

She was about to walk back to her table when she stopped and said to her grandmother in a jesting tone, "Oh, and don't think I can't tell how you are looking at him." Her grandmother looked surprised but also intrigued. "He is just a friend."

"And you call me a pervy old man." Her grandfather had been listening to them for the last couple of minutes. He was standing at the door of the kitchen, a frying pan in his hand, staring at them. Sora gave him a huge smile. "Quit mumbling you two. We are working here," he scolded them but couldn't manage to hide his big smile.

***

The lunch was more uneventful than Sora imagined, having a dragon at their table and all, but she was glad to have a quiet lunch. For the past few hours, she was just a girl hanging out with her best friend and the guy next door.

The guy next door, she thought as she flashed a small smile. It sounds like a teenage romance movie.

"What are you smiling about?" Drake interrupted her thoughts and dragged her back to reality. He seemed genuinely interested while waiting for her response.

"Nothing."

The three of them walked in silence until they reached Katie's house. She took a step towards her fence and unlocked the big gate. "This is my stop."

Drake raised his eyebrows in admiration and a bit of disbelief. "Nice house."

Sora couldn't help but smile at his reaction. Katie's house was one of the most expensive and magnificent ones in the city. It wasn't unusual for someone to stop and stare in admiration.

"Let's go to our humble homes," she joked and elbowed him.

He trailed her quietly over to their street. They stopped between their two houses. "I am glad we went out today," Drake commented staring straight into her eyes.

Sora felt awkward for a moment but managed to smile anyways. "We should do this next Sunday, too."

Suddenly, his expression changed. His eyes lost the peace that they had radiated all morning, and the darkness returned in a flash. "For your own good, I hope I am not here next Sunday." He was dead serious, and Sora felt like she had been slapped with a harsh dose of reality. Dragons, Dragoncallers, fires and danger, all flashed back to her in an instant. She staggered back, it was as if she had been physically assaulted.

Drake's fast reflexes spared her the fall, but once his hand touched her bare wrist, the shock of electricity that shot up her arm was enough to erase all the carefree moments of the day. The peace of mind left her, and in its place slid in a quiet dread, vibrating right beneath the surface of her every thought, ready to explode.

They broke apart fast, both keeping their eyes on their feet, not daring to look at each other. The distance between them suddenly widened, sweeping away all the pleasant moments of the day. In fact, it was as if the relaxing day had never happened. Almost.

Drake was the first one to break the awkward silence. "I had a really great day today. Honestly."

Sora peered up and found him smiling. It wasn't his big, bright smile, but it was enough. It was an uneasy smile, burdened by the weight of his responsibilities and the difficult road that lay ahead.

He turned to leave. After a few steps, he halted but didn't turn to Sora as he spoke. "Thanks for showing me what normal feels like."

With those words, Sora's eyebrows shot to the sky, her mouth dropping wide open. She felt a warm feeling in her stomach before she felt the sliver of fear. It was at that exact moment that she realized she might have a great deal more to lose than she anticipated, before this was all over.