*HEY GUYS! HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! I THINK THIS ONE CAME FASTER THAN THE OTHERS BUT IDFK I LOSE TRACK OF THE DAYS. ANYWAY, SHOUTOUT TO WAIFU ScarletLeCreepy  BECAUSE ITS HER AND THE HUBBY'S ANNIVERSARY TODAY (10/9). YAY! NOW, TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS!

Questions!!:
-Which is your favorite Tim Burton movie? (It's an intense tie between Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride.~)
-Who is your favorite video game character? (I don't remember if I asked this question but I'm doing this anyway. My favorite one right now would definitely have to be Asura from Asura's Wrath. (ง'̀-'́)ง )

ENJOY THE CHAPTER EVERYONE!!*

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 46

Kayla and I were sitting together on one side of the lunch booth, looking at pictures of outfits on her phone, while Craig sat across from us. He was concentrated on some work for class while paying little attention to the pizza hanging in his mouth. I giggled and leaned over, pulling his lunch away. "Why are you acting funny," I asked him. Kayla nodded in agreement.

Craig spoke without taking his eyes off of the papers, "I had a rough night yesterday and didn't get to complete my homework."

"What did you do?," Kayla questioned.

"Important things," he murmured, still entranced with work. He reached over and grabbed an apple from his tray, although from the way he brought it up to his mouth he must've thought it was his drink. He was stumped to discover he had a fruit in his hand instead of a water bottle. I sighed and plucked his papers away from him. "Hey!," he protested but I held onto them anyway. I whipped out a pencil from my bag and scribbled over the papers. In just a few minutes I had corrected and completed his homework. I casually handed them back to him and I watched his posture relax.

"Thanks, Ao," he said, "you didn't have to do that for me.."

"Of course, I didn't want you to struggle. Plus, I know you won't make the time to eat and I want you to eat," I chimed.

"Alright," he chuckled dryly. As we all sat and ate, I thought about Xavier. He wasn't sitting with us, like he's been doing the past couple of weeks. I haven't seen him in his old spot or in the lunch room at all. I knew his weird behavior had something to do with Craig. Craig's behavior is also worrisome. He always gets his work done and he isn't so tense most of the time. I think it's time I talk with the both of them about this.

"How is your soreness," Kayla asked me.

I shrugged and replied, "Well, it still kinda hurts but I think it's starting to fade."

"And, your head? Are you okay?" She cocked an eyebrow with concern.

Gently touching my bruise, I chuckled and said, "Oh, I'm fine. Just bumped my head on my dresser."

"A lot of weird things have been happening to you recently," Craig remarked before taking a big bite of his pizza.

I smiled at the both of my friends, lying through my teeth, "I've just got a lot on my mind. But, I assure you guys that I'm alright. What's happened before is over and done with.

"You've been kidnapped and chased after. How is that something to brush off?," Kayla murmured.

I sighed and stated, "I'm telling you I'm fine, now. Okay, guys? There's nothing to worry about."

The both of them held hesitant faces for a few moments before relaxing. All three of us went on with our lunches, chatting about things that best friends chat about. Suddenly, Kayla jumped in her seat, fiddled with her phone and pulled up a video. Craig and I stared at her, wondering why she got so excited so suddenly. "You guys should check this out," was all she said before she played the video for us. Craig and I leaned in to see what it was.

The quality of the video wasn't the best but it wasn't completely horrible. Judging by it, it was recorded on a phone. I recognized the setting in the video as the Metropolis center next to Gracewood. I couldn't hear the sound that well since we were in the lunch room but I can tell people were screaming. Then, I figure out why. There's this creature jumping around on buildings, large, dark figures resembling hands trailing behind it. I couldn't really get a clear image of it because the camera was shaking. Although, once I focused hard enough, I recognized it to have a female figure. Finally, it stopped running across rooftops and landed on a street lamp, perched perfectly like a bird. That's when my face dropped at the realization that the creature was very familiar. It was Elizabeth but her face was different, terrifying. She was going ballistic; screaming, picking up cars and terrorizing people. I don't remember this happening. Thinking back on it, is that why I saw those police cruisers driving hurriedly towards the Metropolis center, on the day I was kidnapped. This is what happened while I was running from Corrupted and the white haired man?

"How come I've never seen this video?," I asked Kayla.

She chuckled, "Well, it could be because you don't have a phone."

I gave her a look. "Besides that..."

Kayla shrugged and said, "I'm not exactly sure. It's going viral through all types of social media. Who knew this part of Virginia would ever get this kind of attention, huh? There's rumors that the government or some organization tried to keep the incident a secret but it eventually got out somehow. So, since it's so popular, it's hard for them to erase it from existence, ya know? But, no one is really sure. It's just rumors and theories right now."

"I say it's some sort of publicity stunt," Craig retorted. "Maybe some extreme advertisement for some project, or someone just got really, really bored. Oh, but did you hear about that train getting derailed on the same day?"

"Yeah. Also, those eight officers who were massacred? That's screwed up on so many levels. The perp hasn't even been found yet," Kayla added.

"What do you think about this stuff, Ao?," Craig asked me. Both of my friends' gazes turned towards me. I couldn't say anything, really. All I could do was keep watching the video; watching as Elizabeth attacked a semi-truck, howling ferociously. I watched the images in my head; the white haired man chasing me, attacking me, killing those officers right in front of me. I could remember the feeling of the last officer's blood spraying across my face, covering my glasses, obscuring my view of the white haired man hitting me over the head with a gun and then carrying me away. I unconsciously reached up towards the spot on my head that was hit, gulping hard.

Once I could finally cut my focus from the video and my own thoughts I just shook my head and replied, "It's absolutely terrifying..."

The school bell rang, concluding the conversation.

...

The school day was over and students were gathered in the front, hanging out in their usual spots and talking with their friends. I was waiting out in the front also, along with Kayla. The both of us need a ride home and Craig is the only one with a vehicle and license for it.

"Where is he?," Kayla grumbled, arms crossed, foot tapping.

"Maybe he got caught up with class work, or he's just using the restroom," I guessed.

"Nah, nah, I saw him walk out of class on my way here," Kayla stated, "Plus he wasn't going in the direction of any restrooms."

"Counselor's?"

"No..."

"Orchestra room?"

"He wouldn't be taking this long if he was picking up his cello," Kayla murmured. She squared her shoulders and added, "Plus, I have this feeling that something's wrong."

"You've noticed he's been acting strange, too, right..?"

"Of course I've noticed. Xavier's been weird, too," Kayla sighed.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Have you figured out what's wrong? Did Craig tell you anything?"

"No," Kayla muttered, "Nothing. I don't get why he's being so secretive. And, I don't get how I haven't found out on my own what he's being secretive about! I'm losing my edge, Blue."

"Let's go look for him," I said. Kayla didn't have to say anything to agree, as she grabbed my arm and, without a moment to lose, the both of us hurried inside the school to look for Craig.

We looked in the suggested areas. Orchestra room was locked so no one could enter. Junior class counselor's office was open but the lady was talking with a couple of students, and none of them were Craig. We tried for the restroom but all we did was ask any guy coming out if they've seen Craig Holland. All of them said 'No, sorry'.

"I'm this close to heading for the administrative office and calling for him on the comm," Kayla said, pinching her fingers to barely an inch. "Then, when he finally shows up I'm going to kick his ass."

"Calm down," I chuckled, "I'm sure you won't have to do that."

"Which part? Calling him over the comm or kicking his ass?"

"Hopefully, not both," I responded. I looked around as the both of us were standing in the center of the school, halls spanning from this point, sky light seeping in above us. Then, I got an idea and said, "We haven't checked outside." Kayla stared at me for a moment, before wordlessly agreeing with my referred idea and rushing for the gym. I quickly followed after her.

Passing through the gym, we made it outside where the game field was. The only people around were the soccer team practicing and JROTC running drills. No one sat along the bleachers or hung out on the side lines. We peeked under both bleachers and found no one.

Kayla frowned and looked around, her thinking face on. "Let's walk around the school," I suggested. Kayla nodded and we started walking together. I checked the time on my watch (something I decided to use since I have no phone for time), seeing that we were past the usual time that we all leave. A few times, Kayla and I got stopped by security and we got asked what we were doing. We explained our situation to them, they gave us a warning, then we went on our way. After a while, we stopped walking, finding no sign of Craig through our trek.

"Dammit, Craig," Kayla murmured, "where the hell are you...?"

While Kayla stood in front of me, stressing out, something caught my attention behind her and I moved my head to the side. And, there, in a grove of trees, was Craig. He looked tempered but was not yelling. Quickly, I tapped Kayla's shoulder and pointed behind her. She turned and gasped, eyes going wide. Then, she opened her mouth attempting to holler but I grabbed onto her and covered her mouth. I dragged her up against the school building and whispered, "Something's happening so let's not get in the way."

"Whaa eef he's im treeble," Kayla murmured into my hand.

"He doesn't look like he's in danger, but we should watch him," I replied. Kayla didn't protest and I let go of her mouth. The both of us watched Craig behind the corner in silence. He looked very pissed, with arms crossed. I couldn't see who he was talking to since they were behind a tree, and from our distance it was hard to hear them, too. I could only infer what the situation was.

Finally, the other person stepped out into view and it was Xavier. He looked frustrated but not completely aggravated like Craig. Kayla and I watched the both of them talk for a while. Craig made a bunch of hand and body movement, something he does when he's super angry. Xavier shifted in his place a lot, hands on his hips, something I've never seen him do. Now that I think about it, this is the first time they've really talked since Craig started seeing that Aaron guy.

"You know what, fuck you!!" Kayla and I shared wide eyed glances at Craig's sudden outburst. He started yelling now but not enough for us to hear. His cheeks flushed read, eyes narrowed, chest popped out like he's ready to fight. Xavier didn't react and stayed the same but I could tell he was distressed. Once Craig was done yelling, he started backing away from the blonde boy, shooting him double middle fingers. When Craig turned to walk away, Xavier lunged out for him and grabbed onto his arm. Craig shouted and smacked his chest, trying to push him away. Xavier didn't seem to want to hurt Craig, which was good, but Craig was going ballistic. Suddenly, he landed a hard slap across Xavier's face, louder than his first outburst, so loud it echoed. Kayla and I held back gasps.

Xavier let go of Craig, so Craig was free to back away, giving him double middle finger again, along with a bras d'honneur gesture. He began storming off, leaving Xavier behind with a bright red cheek. It suddenly occurred to me that Craig was trudging off in our direction and, quickly, I grabbed Kayla and we started running. We managed to run quite a distance until we hid behind a tucked away corner. The both of us waited in silence until Craig stormed off right past us. By the way he kept going, he hadn't seen us. Kayla and I waited for a while, stunned by the scene that unraveled before us.

"Something's definitely up," Kayla murmured.

"Should we find Xavier and see how he's doing?" I asked.

"No! We shouldn't do that," Kayla responded, "He'll know that we saw. This is something that should be private between them. We can deal with them without bringing the argument up."

"I suppose," I sighed, adjusting my backpack straps on my shoulders.

"C'mon, let's find Craig," she said. I followed after her as we made our way back to the front of the school.

We found Craig standing around in the front, waiting for us. His expression held no indication of the recent argument he had. I almost believed he was fine but I knew he was hiding his anger. We jogged up to him and he asked, "Where were you guys?" No disturbance in his voice showed anger either. He was completely masked.

"Um," I started, "we were...--"

"Doing girl stuff," Kayla said.

Craig cocked an eyebrow. "What exactly is 'girl stuff'?"

Kayla smiled bright and said, "Oh, you know, talking about boys, touching up our hair in the bathroom."

"Talking about our menstruation cycles," I added. Kayla gave me the most intense 'STFU, TOO MUCH' look. I tried to play it cool but even I felt embarrassed for myself. It just came out.

"Uh, ew," Craig remarked, "but, I hope you've got all of that out of the way. Let's head for my truck." Craig started heading for student parking and we followed behind him. Kayla bumped my arm and hissed, "Menstruation cycles? Really?"

"I panicked, okay," I whined. Kayla shook her head and sighed.

The three of us made it to the truck. Craig unlocked the doors and we all hopped in. I sat in the back while Kayla took shot gun. I checked the time on my watch again, noting that I would be slightly late for training today. Craig started up the truck and began to drive out of the parking lot. The cabin was silent and I tried not to let it bother me. Everything was okay for a while; I stared outside of the window, Kayla played with her phone. Suddenly, I noticed Craig made a different turn than he usually takes to get to my place. Puzzled, I asked him, "This isn't the right way to my house. Where are we going?" Kayla decided to look up from her phone and saw that I was right.

Craig kept his eyes on the road as he said, "There's been a change in plans."

"What are you talking about?" Kayla inquired.

"We're going out to eat," he answered.

Alarmed by this, I said, "Craig, you know I'm not allowed anywhere outside of my house besides school...!"

"Well, consider this a break in moderation," Craig replied, "Besides, your parents don't have to know."

"But, Craig--."

"Just relax, Blue-Boo. I'll bring you back in time before they come home. I'd never let you get in trouble," he interjected. Craig put more pressure on the gas and the truck moved faster. Kayla looked back at me from the front seat, both of us shared worried expressions. I need to go home soon. Not only because I'm grounded but mainly because Jack will be waiting for me. I shouldn't be late for training, especially since today was important. But, despite that I knew what was important, I leaned back into my seat and murmured, "I suppose grabbing a quick lunch wouldn't be so bad..."

"Awesome," Craig chuckled.

I turned my head towards the window, staring nervously out at the passing buildings and streets, at the herds of vehicles around us.

...

We had gone to a small coffee shop to get lunch. While we were there, I was checking my watch a lot at the start, but as we all talked, relaxed, and ate and drank good things, I forgot about the time. I let loose and unconsciously put aside all of the little things that ate away at my mind. Soon, the three of us left the shop, the vibe around us much lighter than it had been before. Craig drove me home, dropped me off and we said our good-byes with gentle smiles. I watched Kayla and Craig drive away and I stayed standing by the curb, feeling the happiness slowly fade into neutrality. Then, once I finally checked my watch, that neutrality quickly broke away as panic stormed in.

I'm an hour late.

"Kuso!" I exclaimed, before fumbling to take out my keys to unlock the gate. After entering, I slammed it shut and locked it. I sprinted for the front door, attempted to unlock it, dropped my keys, cursed even louder, picked up my keys, attempted to unlock the door, succeeded and barged right inside. The sound of the front door slamming echoed all throughout the house and I began running upstairs for my room. I dropped my backpack and slipped out of my shoes before I made it to the stairs, started peeling my jacket off as I ascended, then my shirt was next.

Ao, what are you--?

"Shush, no time, Sam!!!"

I was struggling to unbutton my pants by the time I charged into my room. I threw everything I had in my arms onto my bed and fell over whilst my pants hung at my knees. I didn't even bother to get up and I crawled towards my dresser to collect my work-out clothes. My pants were off, my clothes were in my hands and I sat up straight only to be greeted by the sight of Jack sitting on my desk chair, arms crossed and shoulders tense. I let out a shrilled scream of surprise but it hadn't surprised him.

"You're late," he muttered in a low, stern voice.

I covered my half-naked body with my work-out clothes and stammered, "I know! My friend dragged me out for lunch! I lost track of time! I'm an idiot, I know! I probably should've said no but I couldn't reject his offer because he's going through a really tough time although he doesn't know that I know it but--."

Jack suddenly stood from his seat and headed for the door. "Meet me in the backyard as soon as you've gotten dressed." Without another word, he opened the door, walked out and closed it quietly.

Well shit...

I sat on my floor in silence for a few moments, feeling a lot worse than before. I should probably feel better since Jack didn't lecture or yell at me, but honestly that's much more scarier. Knowing him, he doesn't need to talk to make a point. He's going to make me repay for being late, I'm sure of it.

I raced to get dressed as fast as I could to avoid wasting more time. Once I was done, I hurried out of my room and down the stairs. I barged outside from the back door and kicked it closed. Jack was waiting in the middle of the backyard, arms crossed again, his blue mask sending chills through my spine. Despite that I was nervous, I still walked up to him anyway.

"Jack," I started, "I'm really sorry--."

"Quiet," he ordered. I shut up. He continued and said, "If you want to express your apology, make it useful through combat."

"What do you mean...?" My heart began pounding hard.

"We're going to fight," he answered, "Just like I had planned for us to do so I could evaluate your current skills, but since we're an hour behind schedule we'll have to make this quick. To save time, I will not explain to you what to do or how. You'll learn everything through experience. And, because you decided to skip an hour's worth of important training and made me wait around for you like a fool...I won't take things easy on you."

"What...?!" I exclaimed, nervousness prominent in my voice. Jack nodded silently. I wanted to plead with him not to do this, not so soon into training, but I knew it would be a fruitless effort. I accepted this, feeling a huge, foreboding void in my stomach.

"Well," I began, "when do we start?"

"Now."

Jack threw a punch and I barely dodged it. I leap a couple of feet away from him, dazed by the sudden movement and the adrenaline that shot through my veins. He kicked at me, tapping my leg which made me stumble. I thought to distance myself away from him as best as I could but he was too fast. Before I could even realize, he had already jabbed my side with incredible force. I tried blocking but his hands were too fast and I couldn't lift my arms up in time. I was too overwhelmed with his attacks that I couldn't think of how I could defend myself. I can't do that with punches so the best I could do was try to block or dodge his attacks. That proved to be harder than it seemed.

After getting jabbed past my arms and failing to dodge attacks, I decided that I should try throwing in some hits of my own to get him to back off. I patiently watched him punch at me, despite the pain that I received, until I found a pattern and took it to my advantage. There's a split second for me to get a hit in before he punches again. If I'm lucky, I can succeed and jab him. I tried it, taking the right moment to lunge forward and punch, but instead he took me by surprise by catching my fist and kneeing me in the gut. I let out a wheezy yelp and then got elbowed away. I held my aching stomach and backed away from him. Jack didn't stop and I took a couple of more hits. I tried to attack his lower body but as I raised my leg to kick, he grabbed it and flipped me over. I fell front first onto the ground and winced in pain. I spotted Jack coming for me out of the corner of my eye and, with lightning speed, I rolled out of the way of his oncoming kick. As he reeled back from his attack, I got up to my feet again. Stumbling away, I huffed, feeling disappointed to find out that I can't even give good offensive-defense.

Suddenly, during a burst of punches and jabs, Jack kicked up at such a high speed that I barely saw his leg. A powerful force impacted the side of my face and my world went white for a split second. I almost felt blissful in that split second and I didn't want it to go away but it did and I was left to feel the tremendous aftermath. My head was rattled and my hands wavered in the air. Jack shoved them out of the way to land a punch to the other side of my face. Again, my vision went white and when it cleared out I found that my surroundings were blurry. Cold realization hit me that Jack had knocked my glasses off. His blurry figure loomed over me and I panicked.

I dodged past his incoming hit and just started running. I had no location in mind, I just ran. Panicked, dizzied, scared, I ran as fast as I could until I felt Jack come up behind me and trip my legs. I was sent crashing down to the ground. My knees felt scraped and my head hurt after hitting the ground. My body ached worse than it had when it was sore. I was too disoriented to get up, to even think. Suddenly, I felt weight on top of me and I looked up to see Jack pinning me down by the waist. It occurred to me that I was in the worst position to be in during combat. Any person with common sense knew this was the kind of moment that could be the end of them. Never get on the ground, never let the enemy trap you, never be late to training ever again.

Desperate, I tried wiggling out from under Jack but he was too heavy for me to move. My legs kicked behind him. I threw punches in the air to hit him but he leaned too far back for me to get a hit. His position protected him and hindered me. He suddenly snatched both of my wrists in one hand and pinned them against my chest. Even with blurry vision, I could see him raise a fist above my head. This time, I couldn't defend myself one bit. My hands are trapped, my legs are useless. I'm done for. I've lost.

Feeling like a cornered animal, I began to cry, pleading, "Please, no more! Please, Jack! I can't do this anymore! I'm done. Please, just let me go. Just let me say sorry!" I've never felt so weak, so defeated, than in this moment.

Jack paused for a moment, making me painfully wonder if he's deciding to stop or keep going. Then, he sighed and dropped his hand at his side. He picked himself up from on top of me and stood straight. He held out a hand for me to take. The heaviness in my chest faded and I could breathe easier. For a second, I wondered if it was a trick, but I grabbed onto his hand anyway. To my relief, it was not a trick and Jack helped me up onto my feet.

"Next time," Jack said, "you get here on time."

"Y-Yeah," I murmured, still feeling the aching spots that Jack inflicted on me.

I sluggishly shuffled past him to find my glasses again. They were on the other side of the backyard, lying in the grass. I leaned down and picked them up. I slipped them onto my face but something was wrong. The right lens made everything look wonky. I took my glasses off and looked closely at them. My face went pale at the sight of the right lens cracked with a spider web pattern.

"No," I murmured, "no, no, no, no..!"

"What's wrong?" Jack asked me.

"M-My glasses," I answered, "They're broken!" Then, I turned to Jack with a frown on my face. Pent up energy surfaced from deep down within and I growled, "You broke my damn glasses!!"

"Uh..."

"You asshole!!!" I screamed. Without any thought, I charged forward towards Jack and raised my leg up high. The ball of my foot connected with his head and he stumbled to the side. I kicked him so hard that his mask flew off of his face. He hissed in pain and turned away from me.

Holy shit.

I started punching at his back and kicking at his legs. "That's payback for ruining my glasses," I hollered at him. Still turned away from me, he held out an arm which held me away. That didn't stop me as I started smacking his head. "You know how long it takes to book an optometrist appointment?! Who's the one who has to apologize now?!"

"Ow!!" Jack hissed, as I kept smacking him as hard as I could. Then, I shoved his hand away and kicked the back of his knee, hard. Jack let out a surprised growl and dropped down to his knees.

Finish him!

Sam kept cheering me on in a boisterous voice.

Next, I jumped onto Jack's back, clinging to him like Velcro. "Aw, fu--."

"You've got a lot of nerve beating me up and then breaking my glasses! How am I going to explain these bruises to my parents, huh?? Kuso baka!!!"

"I don't know what that means!," he growled in frustration. I glared at him but suddenly stopped as I noticed he was covering his eyes. Curious, I grabbed his wrist but he threw me off of his back before I could move his hand.

Fatality failed!

I landed on the ground, right next to Jack's mask. I sat up and looked at him, watched as he stumbled around, covering his eyes, sifting his hands through the grass.

Um. Is he cool?

I wondered the same thing as Sam. I watched him shuffle around a bit until finally I realized what he was doing. He's trying to find his mask. But...why is he covering his eyes?

After it was clear that Jack would be stuck trying to find his mask, I grabbed it, stood up and gave it to him. "Here's your--," I started but he didn't give me enough time to finish my sentence because he immediately snatched it away from me. He turned around, slipped it on, then turned back around to face me. "Thanks," he murmured.

"No problem," I replied softly, quizzically narrowing my eyes at him. The both of us stood in silence for a while, staring at each other. Finally the silence broke when Jack scoffed and said, "You should head inside and take care of your wounds before your parents show up."

"Yeah," I agreed. Without warning, I punched him in the shoulder though that didn't seem to do much but I'm sure it got my point across. When I started walking, I suddenly felt him smack the back of my head and I went falling. "Oops, we're even," he deadpanned.

"That is not even!," I exclaimed from my spot on the ground. I stood up, saying, "This is even!," then raised my leg and literally kicked his back, near the area where his tailbone would be. He barely moved and murmured, "Ow." The way he said it sounded funny and I laughed but was interrupted when he flicked my forehead, right where a bruise was so the pain was even greater. "Gah, you jerk," I grumbled and started smacking him across his arms, chest and head. He subtlety blocked my hits and even started pawing back at my face. After a few seconds he had enough and I suddenly found myself against his chest, my arms trapped to my sides as he hugged me tight. We stayed like this for a while and I couldn't help but find comfort in his strong arms, even if he was squeezing me tight. Even if these were the arms that annihilated me a few minutes ago.

"I apologize," Jack suddenly said in a low, sincere tone.

Despite the poor state he put me in, I sighed and said, "Me too."

"Are you okay?," he asked me.

I stifled an airy chuckle and replied, "Not really, but I'll say 'I'm fine' just for the sake of being cliché."

"Do you think you'll be cliché enough to train up on magic tomorrow?"

"Maybe," I murmured. Jack nodded and went quiet for a moment. I smiled at him then said, "You're still a jerk."

"I feel like you've said that already," he remarked. This time I managed a real chuckle.

"I should get cleaned up before my parents come home," I noted.

"Right," Jack agreed and let me go. I didn't want him to but I knew our time was almost up and we couldn't see each other any longer than this. "Get plenty of rest," he advised.

"I will," I responded as I began walking towards the backdoor to my house. I walked onto the concrete patio, up to the door, and before turning the knob, I looked back to see Jack. Just like last time, he was gone. Nowhere in sight. Sighing, I entered my house once again. As I went upstairs to get changed out of my clothes and showered, I couldn't stop thinking about Jack. Or, more correctly, his eyes. Why cover them? What happened to him? Is it something recent? He was perfectly fine up until I knocked his mask off. What is he not telling me? I hesitantly put the thought away for now and entered my room.

...

I sat at my vanity; hair damp and scented with exotic flowers, comfy, clean clothes on my body, antiseptic, bandaids, cotton balls, Q-tips and Bengay cream sitting in front of me on my vanity. I tried looking past my broken glasses as best as I could while I fixed up my face.

Sorry, I didn't do anything to help. I thought I should have let you handle it. It is your training, after all.

"Oh, it's fine, Sam," I said, "You're right. I'm just glad Jack stopped when he did. I'm also glad you hadn't done anything. Knowing you, you would've gone haywire on him."

True.

"Although, my body hurts like a kuso ttare...," I muttered.

You look pretty terrible. It's going to be hard covering your wounds up, let alone making an excuse for them.

"Crap, I have to do that, too," I hissed. "Quick, Sam, what's a reasonable excuse?"

Uh, you got into a fight at school?

"No, I'm too smart and nice to do that," I countered.

Fell down the stairs?

"I used that one last time.."

Self-inflicted?

"Even if I did hurt myself, there's no way I'd ever break my own glasses," I murmured.

Well, then I have nothing.

"Damn," I sighed tiredly. I continued to put the pain relief cream on my face. "Why can't I tell my parents what's going on and have them be completely okay with it," I asked rhetorically. I stared at myself in the mirror for a while. "Maybe I can cover everything with make-up, or something...," I suggested aloud.

Eh, you don't look too bad. Everything looks better already.

"Really...?"

Well, you know, aside from the fact that you look like hell.

I made a face at my reflection, which was basically directed toward Sam. "Not helping," I grumbled.

Sorry.

He tried to hide it but I could still hear the amusement in his voice.

I continued on with cleaning my wounds. After everything was done, and bandaged, I leaned back in my chair and released an exhausted breath. I lifted up my arms to see the bruises splotched all over them. I'm sure covering my limbs and body won't be too hard, but I just wished Jack had refrained from hitting my face. But, like I said, make-up could come in handy. It's time I started using my little set again. Not exactly the reason I imagined to use it but it'll do.

As I sat up straight to pick up all of the medical items from my vanity, I caught a small flash out of the corner of my eye. I turned, not expecting an elvish, blonde boy to be seated at the edge of my bed. Yelping with surprise, I jumped and held a hand to my chest.

"Hey, Sheba!" Ben greeted merrily.

Once my heart calmed down, I exhaled heavily and said, "It's good to see you, Ben."

"Whoa, what the hell ran you over," Ben remarked, pointing to my face with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," I started softly, "I came an hour late to training so Jack decided to punish me through fighting."

"He couldn't have given you a slap on the wrist or something? Damn," Ben chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. He also did a number on my glasses," I grumbled.

"I can see that." He held back his laughter and his cheeks flushed pink from his own humor. I gave him a narrow look and muttered, "That's not even funny."

"No? Well it sure is cracking me up..!" His muffled laughter got louder.

"Ben."

"Okay, sorry, I'll stop."

"Mmm-hmmm."

"Are you going to be okay?," Ben asked me.

I nodded and waved my hand in the air. "I'll be fine. I just have to not be late ever again. What's done is done."

Ben nodded although it seemed he did want to do something for me.

"So, how's the trip? Jeff and Elizabeth?," I asked, lightening my tone of voice.

Ben smiled and answered, "They're doing fine. Well, at least that's how I left them." I playfully rolled my eyes and stifled a chuckle. "Anyway," he continued, "we took a stop at a motel to rest. It shouldn't take longer than a week to get to where we need to go. Which I'm not really sure where exactly but Elizabeth knows where to go so..."

"No fighting? No Corrupted? Enemies?"

"None of that! Just a few troubles with the car but that was the only eventful thing today," Ben chuckled. He plopped down onto my bed, hands behind his head.

"That's good," I commented.

"What about you? How's your end of the arc?"

I thought about training and the drama going on in school. So far, there haven't been that many passing days to actually build up news to tell. It's just been my friends and I at school, Jack and I (one time with Slender and Ms. P) after school, then my parents and I during the evening. And, throughout all of that I have Sam, but nothing weird has stirred up between us. Well, the more correct term would be dangerous, since weird is pretty much what I live now. Maybe it's not weird at all, it's just normal.

"Training, school, being grounded and cooped up in this place for possibly a month," was all I answered.

"Harsh," Ben replied.

"Eh, it's so-so," I murmured.

"How's your brain buddy?"

Brain buddy, what?

"Sam? He's doing fine, thank you for asking," I chuckled.

"Is training easier with him?," Ben inquired.

I cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Ben also cocked his head to the side. "You don't have Sam help you out or something?"

I shook my head.

Ben nodded and added, "So, Jack isn't cool with you bending the rules, huh?"

I responded with no complete words, just a low, "Ummm..."

Ben flashed me a look. "Don't tell me Jack doesn't even know about him..."

"Ummm...!"

"God dammit, Sheba," Ben sighed.

"It hadn't occurred to me during these past few days! I've been preoccupied with things!"

"It hadn't occurred to you to tell Jack way before either?"

I mentally slapped my forehead and replied, "Well, no, but we were barely getting used to each other! I can't just tell him 'hey Jack, guess what, I have a voice inside my head that is a fully sentient force that dwells within my body'!"

Ben raised a hand and responded, "That's a great explanation!"

"Ben."

"It's better than nothing, right?"

"It's not like I'm going to leave him in the dark forever. I'm not that inconsiderate," I murmured.

"When do you plan on telling him?"

Yeah...when..?

I wasn't really sure.

"When the both of us can actually sit down and really talk about this," I answered. "Right now, Jack only sees me for training and that's all he really wants, it seems. This subject isn't something I can bring up as if it were asking what the time is."

"Guess you're right," Ben agreed quietly. The conversation quickly shifted.

"So, speaking of Jack, how are things between you and him," Ben asked and I caught a hint of a playful purr in his voice. He rolled over onto his stomach and held up his head in his hands.

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "Why do you have that look in your eyes? What are you implying?"

"Exactly what you think I think I'm implying," Ben giggled, adding a little eyebrow wiggle. A blush came to my cheeks and I looked away. I replied, "Things are just fine between him and I."

"Is fine your Sheba lingo for 'we've totally hooked up and things are great'," Ben japed with a Cheshire Cat grin.

I blushed harder and replied, "N-No! Why should we hook up?"

Ben face-palmed himself and said, "My lovely Sheba, it is soooooo obvious that you like him and soooooo obvious that he feels the same way."

"Is it really...?"

"Yes," Ben retorted mockingly, with a heavy nod of his head. He suddenly laughed and rolled over onto his back, his head hanging off of the edge of the bed. "Jesus, the both of you are super smart but you can be oblivious as hell."

"Whatever," I grumbled.

He laughed some more and said, "I'd be surprised if the both of you haven't shared some sort of affection with each other. Like, a kiss or something."

I went wide-eyed and I responded with silence. I could feel the embarrassing heat on my face. Ben stopped laughing and his expression gradually changed into one of shock. He released a long gasp, then said, "No fuckin' way." He didn't even let me reply as he suddenly shot up onto his knees and blurted, "You guys already kissed? You smooched?? Lip hugged?? Punched each other's mouths with your own?!"

"Pipe down!," I hissed. "First of all, that last one sounds like it hurts. Second...yes, we did kiss."

"When?"

I thought back to the full kiss that Jack and I shared and I could feel the corners of my lips tug into a small, giddy smile. "It was the night we came back from finding Elizabeth."

"That long ago? Are you serious? And, you told me none of this?" Ben held a hand to his chest, offense in his blue, illusion eyes.

"Well--."

"Was I not worthy of such glorious news? Me, your beloved Casanova? I thought we had something Sheba," Ben swooned melodramatically with a somber voice. I rolled my eyes at his act. Not even a second later, he went back to his previous behavior and asked, "So, how was it? Give me details."

"No way," I chuckled nervously. "It was a private moment between Jack and I."

"C'mon, it's not like it's going to be a secret forever," Ben retorted, "Besides, you didn't think I was the only one who's expecting you two to get together, did you?"

I blushed yet again.

"Elizabeth thinks you two should just be with each other already. Hell, I'm sure Sam's thought about it, too!"

"Sam?" I murmured.

No comment.

"Tonchiki..." I muttered. I turned my attention back to Ben, who was staring at me with a childish, expectant look in his eyes. "Sooooo...," he started.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "I'm not telling you."

"C'mon, Sheba," he drawled.

Shaking my head, I said, "Nope."

"Aweee," he whined softly.

I stared down at the floor for a few seconds, holding a slight frown on my face. Upon glancing at him, my eyes went directly to his, big and gleaming like a puppy dogs. I relaxed and muttered very quietly, "It was like a first-base level kiss."

He perked up. "Pre-first base or first-first base?"

"...First-first base."

Ben put his hands to his cheeks and chirped, "Aw snap, Sheba's got game. And, for the first kiss between you two, that isn't half bad."

Steering my eyes away from the elvish, blonde boy, I commented, "It was my first ever kiss, to be honest."

Ben gasped loud and sang, "No way! That's adorable! Even better!" He plopped back down onto the bed again, holding his head up with his hands, and continued, "So, since you guys have already established that you both dig each other, why don't you seal the deal?"

I shrugged and answered, "I don't even know if Jack really likes me."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well," I started, "sometimes it's hard to read him. He doesn't express his feelings very fluently. I've gotten used to that about him but sometimes it can be a frustrating factor. He doesn't talk much and...he's just very poker faced. Inside and out."

"You're not wrong there," Ben remarked.

"Plus, recently we haven't been hanging out the same as we used to," I admitted, "Ever since training, it's more business between us. My limited time keeps me from spending time with him outside of training and being grounded to the house doesn't help either."

"Uh huh."

"To be truthful, lately I wonder if he tolerates me sometimes. Sure, we kissed. Sure, we've danced together and read together and have enjoyed music together. We've helped each other. He's told me before that he cares about me, but that sentence can mean just about any form of affection, maybe not romantic. Or fully romantic. I mean, I'm someone important and wouldn't anyone feel obligated to care about me. It's just-- I don't-- he's-- eh-- he's a confusing person. And...I guess I am, too."

My room was quiet for a few moments. I stared off into space, thinking about so many things all at once while trying to fish out one particular problem. Since when have I become so disorganized?

I heard Ben chuckle softly and I shifted my attention back to him. "I get what you're saying," he said, "He's...a complex son of a bitch. But, that doesn't mean you can't reach him. Actually, I think you already have." I gave him an inquisitive look. He continued with his words, "The day you got kidnapped he was very, very upset. Like, scary upset, it was ridiculous. He was so livid that he didn't care if he was still recovering from his injuries. He didn't care that he could barely walk, let alone stand. He didn't care about any of his own problems. He only cared about bringing you back home. And, he did. He was the one that found you, you know. Carried you all the way to the hospital and left you there so you could get help. I'm sure the idea of just bringing you back to your house or even the hideout came to mind, it came to my mind, but he knew best. Yeah, he may not talk much, or express his feelings through another form other than words, but...it's stuff like what he did that makes it show that he cares. I've never seen him so unhinged. Not since two years ago. And, he's not perfect. Stubborn, smart-ass, maybe even cruel at times. Bastard's got some serious issues, too. He tends to avoid caring because of the shit he's been through, which sucks because he shouldn't have to. But, he cares about you. He may try to hide it like the secret badass he thinks he is, but it's there. And, that's amplified even more by the fact that you stay committed to him no matter what. Hell, he fuckin' wrecked you and you're still willing to put up with him. On a realistic sense, he may not even deserve you. You should just put him down and say good-bye forever. Because of that, he ends up caring more. Because of that he wants to avoid caring about you. Because of that, he cares about you ten times more. It's a weird-ass cycle." Ben stopped to stifle a laugh before clearing his throat and continuing. "Point being, if you can make him act as head-over-heels as a guy like him can get, then that means something. You're someone special, Ao. Real special. And, it'd be absolute universal level bullshit if you didn't take the chance to be with him."

Ben's words impacted me so greatly, so powerfully, I almost wanted to cry. I never really thought him to be the down to earth kind of person, since he's mostly joked around with me. Usually, when people like him say stuff like that, it isn't taken seriously. But, I take it straight to heart. He's not only a very good friend to Jack but he's being a very good friend to me, too. I've just learned quite a bit about Jack and I hope I can learn more by myself. It warms my heart to hear that Jack was so upset over my absence. It makes me rethink all of the little things he's done for me that were more than acts of common decency. "Thank you, Ben," I said, trying not to let my voice crack from all of the emotions that were trying to spring out of me.

Ben gave me a smile and said, "No problem. I am your Casanova, after all. Gotta look out for my Sheba." I chuckled at his response. He then added, "So, what are you going to do? Will you take the chance with Jack?"

I looked down at the floor. I was quiet for a while, musing over my swirling thoughts. Finally, I answered, "I'll think about it."

Ben laughed and replied, "At least it's not a no."

The elvish, blonde boy sat up and stretched his arms over his head, groaning as he did so. "Well," he started, "I should be heading back to the motel. Gotta check up on the problematic duo." He slid off of the bed and held his hands at his hips. "I guess, I'll see you later, Sheba," he said, grinning charismatically.

"Be safe," I told him.

I watched as his image began to distort but before he left I exclaimed, "Wait!", and he stopped. Once he did that, I jumped out of my seat and hugged him tight. "Thank you for everything," I murmured into his shirt. He chuckled and hugged back. "Take care of yourself, Ao," he told me. We let go of each other and smiled at one another. "Yo, remind Jack to not mess up your face again, okay? It's awesome when it's not beat up. If he does, I'll mess up his face and stuff," Ben proclaimed. I laughed and said, "See you later, Ben."

"I'm serious though, I will fuckin' hadoken his ass like no tomorrow--." He had teleported before he could finish his sentence, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Once again, my room was left without any other physical company but my own.

That was pretty cool.

I smiled. "Yeah, it really was."

So, what will you do?

I shrugged. "Like I said," I responded, "I'll think about it." I heard Sam chuckle softly.

I took a glance at myself in the mirror of my vanity. Sighing with some content, I said, "I'm feeling better already." Of course, I didn't look it but I didn't let that bring down the happiness I felt. Then, as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my mood was lifted even more.

In the sweetest of tones, Sam said...

Utsukushīdesu.

...

(Beautiful.)