ωαℓℓ-є тєѕтєя [DNP DNL plzkthnx]

Why are you creeping me?

I'm checking out your post history...	17.0%	[ 8 ]
I followed you from the 'join me in the forums' link...	14.9%	[ 7 ]
I'm checking out yo' pseudos...	19.1%	[ 9 ]
I JUST LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!! <3	48.9%	[ 23 ]
Total Votes:			[ 47 ]

[walikeheke]

Benji was sleeping on the large bed with his son, Tomás and his soon-to-be-wife Alejandra. The three of them were leaning against each other. Alejandra was a tall Italian, French, and Spanish woman and was in Benji's eyes, the most beautiful thing in the world along with the little curly-haired three year old between them. His forehead was touching with hers and his arm was around Tomás, who leaned into his mother's bosom. They had decided to take a siesta during the day and the sun streamed through the windows to put them in a lazy heat. It was Christmas afternoon and the Argentine family, though not in the best of financial situations, had enjoyed themselves well enough. For Benji it was just enough to see the way that Tomás' face lit up when he got the presents that he did, running to hug Benji and then Alejandra. And then they'd given their son the best news yet - that they would be getting married.

Sure it was a big backwards, but after four years, they would be making it official. The bad memories of his harsh late teens and early twenties, including his failed attempt at college, was fading away into nothing but a hazy dream. His hazel eyes flickered open and he looked at Alejandra, and the back of Tomás' curly head. He shifted to get a better view of Alejandra and she stirred, sleepily opening her green eyes to look at him. "Hello handsome." She leaned forward and kissed him, causing Benji to smile. They looked into each other's eyes and talked softly in Spanish of nothing in particular. Benji could see the dust motes flying away, occasionally blowing at them. He placed a hand on hers and their fingers laced. Everything was peaceful for the Argentines.

He closed his eyes as his lady pushed her fingers through his hair, the feel of her fingers lightly rubbing his scalp making him let out a content sigh. She kissed him again and her full lips were soft against his own. He went to deepen it when a childish yawn erupted between them. Pulling away and looking down, Tomás' eyes were squinted tightly shut and his mouth was stretched as big as it could get before he slumped back on the bed, as if the exertion had been mighty indeed. Then his high-pitched Spanish voice reached Benji's ears. "Mama? Papi? What are you doing?" "We were waiting for you, my darling." Benji kissed the top of Tomás' head with a shy smile. "Good evening, Sir Tomás." The boy giggled and put his child-hand over Benji's mouth., laying on his back between his parents.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" Benji asked, tugging at one of the curls in the little mestizo-criollo's mix hair. Alejandra rubbed the little toddler's back. "Yes! Yes! It was lots of fun," he said before throwing his arms around Benji, who smiled and put his arm around the boy. "Good, my little starshine. Papi and I were talking, and how would you like to go to the cinema tonight?" The little boy's eyes lit up so much that it made Benji burst with happiness. The little boy started to crawl out of the bed and ran around in his little boy boxer-briefs, trying to find clothes. Benji and Alejandra laughed as he dove under the bed, popping up to stir the dust and hold up a pair of shorts and his shirt on inside-out. "Let's go! Let's go!" Jumping up and down excitedly, Alejandra sat up and stretched, her brown hair falling down around her shoulders.

Their room was clean, and white. There weren't many decorations but they didn't need it. The sandy-tan carpet and white bedsheets with tan designs and accents. There was a nightstand with a lamp, and then a small hutch where they kept some more of their clothes, the only stuff on it being a a radio/CD player done in an old-fashioned style, and pictures of their small family. The curtains on the window were pulled open and their skylight was never covered. Their house was gentle, peaceful, and only interrupted by the laughter that rang out from the three of them. Tomás was running around trying to gather the stuff to take to the movie, leaving the room for a moment. Still lying on his side, Benji looked up at Alejandra, who ran her hand through her disheveled hair. "Should we start getting ready?" "Probably." He scratched the back of his neck and she leaned down to kiss his forehead. Benji sat up, looking at Alejandra.

She wore a tanktop and a pair of loose shorts, while Benji was barechested in a pair of pajama pants. Soon, Tomás scrambled back into the room as fast as his little feet could carry him. He had managed to jump into his shorts, which were undone, and was nearly teetering over carrying his shoes, Benji's, and Alejandra's. Over his shoulder was his Mama's purse, and he dumped them all on the bed, now running to the closet without any regard to grab a shirt for Benji. "Come on, Papi!" he said, throwing a t-shirt at Benji and then exerting himself crawling onto the bed to dump the shirt on a blinking Benji's head. He turned his head slowly over to Alejandra who was having a laughing fit, putting a hand up to move the offending t-shirt out of the way. Then he put it on, looking down to see what Tomás had picked out. It was just a plain t-shirt, and it worked for him.

Slipping on a blouse, Alejandra stood up and pulled on Benji's hands. Tomás jumped up and down happily before launching himself at his father, who caught him and wavered a little bit, inspiring a look of alarm on Alejandra's face. But then Benji steadied himself and kissed his son's forehead and let him down onto the floor. "Let's go let's go let's go let's go!" Benji smiled and then reached for Alejandra. Between the two of them, and the warm summer air combined with the uplifting spirit of Christmas, everything bad that had ever happened seemed like it never existed. He kissed Alejandra's forehead as well as they slipped on the shoes Tomás had gotten, and walked out the apartment to go see a family film that was showing at their local cinema.

Late that night, when Tomás had long since gone to sleep, Benji and Alejandra lay on the bed together, their foreheads touching. at night, the clean and uncluttered room still looked peaceful in the shadowed night. But Benji felt no shadows in his mind lurking around, and that was what made him happier beyond belief. Just being here with her, and knowing that the little person he'd helped create was right next door. Knowing that Tomás wasn't going through anything that he had, growing up in a house with an unhinged parent in a broken home. The relief of clarity was palpable to the mestizo man. "I love you," he said, putting his arm around her. "I love you too. Forever." "Forever." He liked the sound of that. She nestled up against his chest and together, the two light-eyed Argentineans fell asleep.

[walikeheke]

they call me Scheherazade

Scheherazade slept the days away, only waking up to eat and drink. She recovered strength, and conserved her energy. The bruises had transformed from the deep, disgusting purple-blue to more greenish-yellow hues, making her seem diseased. But it was the healing process. Her hair didn’t look as unhealthy, and the deep impressions under her eyes had become gray instead of purple. The scars and torture marks remained, however. They seemed to refuse to heal, lacking the nutrients necessary to make a full recovery. The only disturbance came after a couple of days. Major Falk was in to see her. He walked into her solitary cell, breaking the silence as the door shut. She immediately sat up and went on guard. There was nobody else in the closed-off room, and he was blocking the only exit. She went to stand up and he drew a gun. ”Don’t even think about it.” she sat down, staring at him with unadulterated hatred.

Keeping the gun trained on her, he came closer. ”You’re still alive.” she snarled. ”Surprise surprise. Sorry to disappoint you.” he shrugged. ”That could be taken care of easily enough. I could kill you now – get rid of all my problems.” but she knew he was bluffing. She was a part of Lazar’s case and to kill her would cause unnecessary tension between departments. She continued staring at him. ”They have a special place in hell waiting for you, Falk.” he gave a cold grin that sent shivers down her spine. ”Or I could just enjoy you right now. Nobody would stop me. I’m a superior officer having a little fun with the pretty detainee.” disregarding the gun she stood up and landed a solid punch on his nose. He let out a yelp and dropped his gun. She grabbed it, and trained it on him. ”Get the ******** out of here.” he laughed. ”You have to give the gun back to me. I have information for you.” She just scoffed. There was nothing he could do to psych her out, he was a liar and a rapist. ”I know your name.”

She stopped cold, and seeing the weakness in her eyes he continued. ”I monitored your neighborhood. I know everything about you. See, I couldn’t figure out why we had no records of you. But then again, we ******** you up pretty good, in both ways. So I figured, you can’t remember a damn thing, can you? And I remember you well. You were definitely the prettiest one. So young, so vivacious and full of life and fury. You’re still the prettiest gypsy woman, but a little old for my tastes. You must be what, 27 now? Yeah, I remember your neighborhood. I remember you, I watched you. And you can’t remember a single thing. You won’t kill me.”

Goddamn it, he was right. Scheherazade lowered her offenses, but not without a final attack. She took the handgun and threw it at his head, striking him squarely on the forehead. He let out a yelp and a ”You b***h!”, causing the other guards to come in. He left grumbling and she went back to thinking. It was difficult to tell how much information he did know about her. She had no doubt he knew her name. But how much else did he know? Did he know if she had any siblings, any other relatives struggling to survive here in the city? All questions that begged to be answered.

---

Ali was back. And he had the elite force with him. Ali, Aladdin, Jinn, Abu Kir, Sinbad, Kalandar, Shara, and Nur. 8 of the best revolutionaries located in the city. They were dressed in close-fitting clothes to reduce any rustling. The military personnel had been leaking information to them. And of course expected them to come rescue their storyteller, Scheherazade. But they were acting quickly, and the workers were more than likely unprepared. They had guns and grenades strapped to their bodies. The mix of gypsies, Persians, and Arabs snuck through, small and starving bodies crawling through small spaces and avoiding being detected.

Ali was second-in-command to Scheherazade, her right-hand man, and was acting as the leader in the unconventional circumstance. They got as close as they could to Scheherazade’s room. Ali motioned to Sinbad, who was undoubtedly the brawniest of the group. They could see Major Falk stalking outside her room, apparently deciding on his next course of action. Sinbad snuck behind him, and when the good Major decided to turn around, he found a large Arab man standing there, and his fist heading straight to his head. Falk was out cold.

The others quickly dropped down and grabbed his key, opening the door. They saw Scheherazade in there, in a corner. ”Come on, we’re here for you!” he whispered, his golden eyes trying not to reveal the shocking difference in her appearance. Instead he ran over and helped her up. She weighed next to nothing in his arms.

”I can walk…” Scheherazade protested. She couldn’t believe what was going on. They didn’t leave her to die. They went against her explicit orders and she saw her team there. Ali shook his head and handed her to Sinbad, who promptly held her much like a babe. She didn’t struggle though. A gunshot rang as Abu Kir used Falk’s gun to kill most of the security cameras in the hall. The explosion came next. Ali gave her a reluctant smile. ”Guns, grenades, and bombs?” she returned his expression. ”Better safe than sorry.” she nodded. ”Sekani would have been proud.” Ali nodded, and the team headed out of the facility, shooting at any guards they encountered. No killing shots were fired. Most of them were aimed at the legs, specifically the thigh or knee. The most dangerous shot fired was a shoulder one. Sinbad handed Scher a gun, his hands occupied with shielding and holding her.

---

Back at the base, Scheherazade was reunited with her faction. Her ‘stories’ crowded around her and gave her filthy hugs. She was weakened from the excitement and couldn’t stay up for much longer, needing to relax again. Ali looked at her from the corner, with a worried expression. After about a half an hour of well-wishing, he stepped in and took her arm. ”She needs to rest. We’ll talk to you all later.” guiding her to the makeshift cot, he laid her down. ”Are you going to be okay?” she nodded. ”I just need to sleep. I’ll talk to you when I wake up, okay?” he nodded and settled himself in the corner. She briefly thought about Lazar, but he was quickly forgotten as she slipped into a dreamless sleep.


I can tell 1001 stories

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

Aiden knew it was happening, but it didn’t prepare him for the pain or the shock he felt. As he jumped in to protect Olive, he felt the horrific tearing of his jugular, the skin giving way to flesh and exposing his throat and vocal cord. The ugly wound was accompanied by a sickly smack and tearing sound, and a small choke on his part. His hands flew to his neck, holding the muscles together. Blood initially sprayed and under the pressure of his hand simply leaked and drenched him. He closed his eyes, trying to breathe slowly though his esophagus was trashed. The terrible wound was already starting to heal, but it was definitely bad enough to take a decent amount of time. He blocked out the sounds, though the fighting temporarily subsided. He avoided Eve’s eyes and looked down at the ground, concentrating on getting his stuff together. Blood soaked his shirt. He didn’t fear anything from the vampires, his scent was wretched enough to them to keep them from getting a little too hungry.

Rami let out a primal growl and started to head towards Nate, but Aiden sent his body barreling into his friend’s wolf form. Meeting the Egyptian-Native’s angry and confused eyes, he just shook his head. His throat had healed enough for him to take off his hands, revealing a severe flesh wound slowly coming down. He spoke ”It’s alright. Leave it alone.” anyone walking by would see the skin hanging off of the region and his entire torso and lower half of his face covered in sticky red blood. ”Let’s just go, okay?” he ignored the confused looks around him. His throat was almost healed, just a thin layer of skin missing and revealing the pink flesh underneath. Aiden pulled a spare change of clothes out of Rami’s backpack (they always carried extras in case of circumstances like these, and tossed them to his friend. Rami phased back from golden wolf to sandy-skinned human and unabashedly changed into his regular clothes. The tense anger in his friend’s face was evident, and he stared at Eve in hatred. Aiden’s own instinct to phase slowly faded as he kept his countenance calm.

After motioning to Olive and Rami to head out, he stalked out of the street, his laughing face serious. He ignored Rami’s questions. ”What the hell was that? You’re just going to let that little b***h do that to you, and not retaliate?” Aiden shot him a sardonic look. ”You were attacking her brother, and I joined in cause he was attacking you. She was only displaying the same qualities I was. What the hell happened?” after thinking about it for a moment he shook his head. ”You know what? I don’t want to know.” he ignored and put his hands over his ears as Rami and Olive both argued about his non-reaction. He headed back to the house, wanting to get out of his bloody clothes and to wash his face for the third time that day.

”You two hold on while I go get rid of this.” he dashed into the house, tearing off his ruined t-shirt for another one and using a soapy washcloth to clean his face. When he changed into a new shirt, he walked outside, his face carefully schooled to hide his expression. Rami and Olive realized it was a useless battle, and walked around with him. His stomach let out a huge rumble of dissatisfaction, and he drew his eyebrows together. ”Food sounds good.”

---

The next morning Aiden woke up from a dreamless sleep, to the smell of food and the sound of his family downstairs. Aiden loved his sleep. And food. He went and took a shower, getting dressed as usual. The previous night he had looked up some monologues and found about six that looked interesting. He was going to bring them into class, maybe see if he could talk to Bedebe afterwards, she was interesting. He examined his face in the mirror, his curly hair drying fast. As he shaved he noticed a faint pink scar on his neck from the injury yesterday. So it hadn’t completely faded… the scar tissue would heal in due time. Olive was tense at the breakfast table and their parents were obviously curious as to what happened the first day of school.

His dad tried talking about it but he was ignored. After breakfast, his mother pulled him aside, whispering in Spanish. It was one of the few connections between Aiden and his mom. While Olive had gotten her coloring as well as dark hair and features, Aiden was the freakish one with hazel eyes (his father having honey-colored eyes) and light hair. He was also significantly taller than the Argentinean woman. But only Aiden had bothered to learn his mother’s native language, his father and sister couldn’t speak it. He stayed at the table as she motioned to him. ”Aiden,” she started. Aiden smiled at her. He truly was a mama’s boy, and was unashamed of it. ”Yes, Mami?” she smiled in return to his smile and attentiveness. ” ¿Sé que usted y su hermana son diferentes, pero todavía quiero que usted se dirija a mí sobre ello, bien? Yo le amo muchísimo y moriría si algo le pasara. ¿Cómo era el primer día de la escuela? Hizo usted ve cualquiera de el…” she paused. ”¿vampiros?” So she was worried about them getting into trouble, and wanted to know if they’d encounter the vampires. ” Nada pasó la madre, es bien. Encontré realmente a uno de ellos, una muchacha llamó a Eve. Ella es muy agradable, y pienso que podemos hacernos hasta amigos. No preocúpese de nosotros, Madre, sé que usted no quiso moverse aquí. Le amo también” he only told her about Eve, not mentioning the male vampire. Or the fight. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he pulled his hat on his head and went to school.

---

The first two period went by without event, though Olive certainly wasn’t very happy with him. It was ignored, and he took notes on the subject. He didn't want to think about the fight and had his usual carefree and happy face on, as if the whole thing had never happened. He held the door open, talked to the girls like he normally did, this time soliciting some hugs out of them. They always wanted hugs. While Aiden never did anything to show them special interest (he was just as much a gentleman to Mary Sue as he was to Shanae), something about him just screamed 'I really don't give a damn if you come up and either flirt with me, hug me, or ask awkward questions'. All that aside, classes were back to being for a full hour and it was nice having something to mentally occupy him. Occasionally when the lecture was covering something he knew, he pulled out his notebook and wrote down observations from the fight yesterday, particularly Eve’s strength and how hitting vampires was like colliding with metal. Soon enough, the bell to second period rang and it was time for AP Euro.

He saw Ms. Rydgren when he walked through the door, her small blond frame putting up a few of the contents of the Stalin bucket. He saw his own quote on there in his neat handwriting. With a groan, he realized Rami’s stupid drawing also made it. A few of them caught his eye, including random scribbles and a jokes. In the left corner he saw a neat note in script writing. Living is easy with eyes closed. Aiden gave a sardonic smile. Amen to that.. Ms. Rydgren came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. ”How are you doing, Aiden?” she asked, a bright smile on her cherry-red lips. She was a young teacher, obviously passionate about teaching and history. It was hard not to brighten up around her, like it was hard not to be awed in Bedebe’s presence. ”I’m doing well.” she nodded. ”That’s good. There are some rumors going around that some of the new kids got into a fight yesterday. Is it true?” Aiden winced. ”No, not at all. We were just talking.” she seemed to be relieved. ”Oh good, you just seem like such a nice young man. Rami, he’s your friend right? He seems to be a charmer like you. I saw his history grades from last year, they’re very good.” he just nodded before she waltzed away to talk to other students.

He sat down at his Voltaire desk, the familiar Frenchman looking up at him. ”Hullo Voltaire.” he said, mindlessly. ”You would have disagreed with the girl I was talking to last hour, Suzy. She was telling me about the importance of Christ and religious in this failing world. She’s Baptist, apparently. Stressed the importance of virginity. I like what you said – ‘It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge’. Rather spot on of you.” it was all said in a whisper. He was quite aware that if anyone realized he was talking to a picture of a dead man, he’d be deemed not a genius but just downright insane. ”Too much emphasis on the spiritual side of things over here, when physically it’s all here and now. I don’t owe my allegiance to any deities in the sky if I live down here.” rather cynical, but it was who he was. Most people believed Aiden to at least have some semblance of religion. That was actually Rami. You’d never guess it, but he believed in Allah far more seriously than anyone would care to admit. And he was getting tired of Suzy’s determination to turn him to religion. So instead, he decided to open up his AP Euro textbook and begin reading the first chapter.

ooc: once again, not that great. But I think skipping to the next day would get more done :]



• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

KAMNAPAVARTISINGH

Kamna walked into the house, tired and sore and ready to flop onto her bed. She dropped her bag in the foyer and kicked off her flip flops, her heels tucked deep into the duffel bag. Stretching and letting out a groan of contentment, she headed towards the living room.

”Mom, Dad? I’m home.” she called out. She heard voices murmuring. That’s odd… she thought. Her parents usually retired early, before she got home from Chicago. And she heard unfamiliar voices. She headed out to the living room, wary but otherwise quite exhilarated after a good lesson. She had mastered a very difficult routine. Previously, Jared Rodriguez, her dance partner, had kept on dropping her. Her hips still bore the bruise of a failed attempt. But Madame had yelled and pushed them until the breaking point. And then they had gotten it. With a month left until the first competition, Kamna was positive they were going to steal the show. Upon entering the living room, she paused in confusion.

She saw her father and mother sitting across from three unfamiliar people. Two of them were around their age, and one was possibly a college student, looking around his late teens or early 20s. They were all dressed on the nicer side, which made Kamna feel very peculiar. Her parents had said there was a surprise for her after she got home, and she officially had no clue, and felt out of place. She was wearing a black scoop neck tank top and gray sweat pants rolled up to the knee, and the top rolled down once so it sat on her hips. Her hair was piled into a pony-tail and held off of her neck with a clip. She paused before speaking. ”Who are they?” Her Dad gasped. Her mother simply shrunk into her father’s side and was unable to meet Kamna’s eyes. ”Is that anyway to treat guests!?!” he exclaimed. Then he turned to the older Indians and talked in Hindi. ”I’m sorry. Like I said before, she’s a little rough around the edges, but overall she’s pretty obedient.”

The other woman, the one that wasn’t her mother, nodded. ”Its okay,” she said with a thick accent. Then she turned to Kamna and looked her up and down. ”She is very beautiful. And I am sure her personality is just as warming.” Kamna wanted to say thank you to the lady if it wasn’t for the fact that this whole thing was very suspicious. The other man, whom she assumed was the lady’s husband stood up and turned to Kamna. ”Hello,” he said, also very thickly accented. ”You must be Kamna. My name is Parm Dosanjh. This is my lovely wife, Pavarti Dosanjh, and my son, Ravi.” The son, Ravi, stood up. ”It is nice to make your acquaintance. My mother is right, you are very beautiful.”

He was the most well-spoken of the family. She assessed him. He looked like the typical Indian young male. She avoided looking at him. ”Thanks. Kamna.” she muttered. She looked at her parents expectantly. Her father met her gaze, and with a cool, almost degrading look, he announced the impossible, what would ultimately change her life forever.

”Kamna, Ravi is now your fiancé.”

Pause.

Kamna felt everyone looking at her. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She looked from her Dad, with a haughty look on his face, to her mom, who couldn’t look up from the floor. Mr and Mrs Dosanjh looked at her with a bright, expectant look on their faces. Ravi looked kind. She wanted to throw something at him. Everyone waited for her to say something.

”What…. Do you mean….” she said, staring at her dad. He cleared his throat. Before answering her, he turned to the Dosanjhs`. ”Forgive my daughter. She is intelligent, but sometimes she does not listen. But I assure you, she is obedient, religious, and chaste.” Kamna gasped. Her father turned to her. ”I knew coming to America was a bad idea. It has been a corrupting influence on you, and after talking to some of our family in India, we decided the best course of action was to arrange a marriage, and we will move back to India”

”I-I-I… I’m sixteen.” she stuttered. Her chest had a strange constricting feeling to it, and her stomach turned as if she were about to vomit. Her eyes darted around quickly, like a caged animal looking for an escape. ”What about high school? And how old is he?!?” Her father glared. ”You are old enough. We will send you back to India. You still have dual citizenship. And you do not need to finish high school to be a dutiful wife.” He smiled at the Dosanjh family. ”Ravi is 21. You two will be married in the summer.” Kamna started to hyperventilate. She could see the damned boy, Ravi, looking at her with concern. She didn’t want his pity. She wanted them the ******** out.

And everyone kept looking at her. God, she wanted them to stop looking at her. Her father stood up and made her sit on the couch. She sat between her mother and her father so she was thoroughly trapped. Ravi sat likewise, between his parents. She could feel him looking at her. She wanted him to just stop. ”Kamna is acting silly at the moment. I would not be surprised if you wanted to call off the engagement. But I promise you – “ Pavarti laughed. A joyful, cheery laugh that made Kamna want to slap her. ”Don’t worry,” she said. ”She will put a little spice in Ravi’s life. I was much the same way. She will make a stunning addition to our family, I’m sure.” she turned her gaze to Kamna. ”So, tell me about yourself, darling.”

Don’t call me darling. Kamna thought vehemently. But her Hindi upbringing came out and she meekly responded. She was dull, lifeless. ”I’m a junior. I go to Young High. I want to be a scientist. I hate SUVs. I dance – “ her father cut her off. ”And she’s a beautiful dancer! She has mastered the Bharatnatyam.” this drew appreciative glances from Mr. and Mrs. Dosanjh. He proudly continued. ”She is the best at our temple. And she devotes several hours a week to the temple, which is all the way in Chicago!” he laughed gaily. She wanted to punch him. ”So Ravi, future son-in-law, tell me about you?”

Ravi gave a smile. She loathed him. ”Well, I finished school early so this year I will get my double-masters in politics and law at Harvard. Then I plan on moving back to Mumbai with my parents and starting a business. I have an internship at the moment, and they have made a job offer for me, which will allow me to set up internationally.” He looked kindly at Kamna. ”We will get to travel a lot. All over the world.”

Damn him. Damn him and his charming smile, and the way he was her parent’s dream. It was a legitimate offer, at least in India. But Kamna was an American girl. And she was going to act like one. She stood up, rapidly, the blood rushing to her head. Her heart thundered in her chest and her breathing was ragged. ”I… I-I-I.” her vision tunneled and she passed out on the living room floor.

***

Kamna woke up about an hour later, still dressed in her dance clothes, laying on her bed. She was groggy. She felt someone come sit on her bed. She looked up, seeing a stranger, a guy. Her female instincts shot her up and she shrieked, sitting up and scooting against the wall, her hands fisted. And then it hit her. This wasn’t a stranger. This was Ravi Dosanjh. Apparently her fiancé. She looked at him warily. She looked towards the door. It was closed and locked. She fought the urge to jump out of the window.

”Sorry I startled you.” he said. ”I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” he smiled. She felt like covering herself up. She was still in just a tank top and her low-rolled sweats. Her hair was loose, strands escaping their confines. ”I can’t do this.” she said, shaking her head. ”I’m sixteen. I’m an American. And I don’t even know you!” she exclaimed. Ravi nodded. ”I know, and I’m sorry. Our parents are pretty set on it though. And… I promise we can just make the best of this.” he moved to put his hand on hers. She jerked it back. ”I wouldn’t mind waiting until you finished high school. Its not like we’re in any rush.” She stared at him, wide-eyed, like he was a 2-headed, 5-horned creature that lept out of Pan’s Labyrinth.

”Ravi… don’t take this personally.” she felt like she was panicking again. ”But… you’re five years older than me. In… 10 years that won’t be such a big deal. But right now it is! And – and- and – I don’t even want to get married! I don’t even like Indian boys! I like white boys. This just doesn’t feel right. I’m not going to go through with it.” She avoided looking at him, drawing her knees close to her chest. ”Can, can you get out of here? I need some time alone.” he nodded. He kissed her on the cheek, which made her inwardly shudder, and stood up. ”My parents and I will be staying in the guest rooms, in case you ever want to talk to me.” he gave her a kind smile and walked out.

She was left, stunned. How could they do this to me? Am I that bad of a person? I try my best. I do well in school, I don’t do drugs, drink, or have sex. I go to Temple. I pay my alms, stay out of trouble. What did I do to deserve this? tears sprang to her eyes as she drew up into a smaller ball. What can I do… she saw her cell phone on her night stand. She reached for it, hot tears still pouring down her face. She needed to talk to someone. Seth wouldn’t be a very good choiceSergei didn’t care for emotional conversations. She needed to talk to one of her girl friends. She flipped open her cell.

Hey, Allie?
Can we talk before school tomorrow?
Maybe meet up somewhere?
-Kamna

She put her phone down and stood up, wordlessly grabbing her pajamas and a towel and heading to the bathroom. Luckily everyone else had retired to their rooms. She let the water run for a bit before slowly taking off her clothes. She stepped into the painfully hot shower, her tears washing away with the steady stream. She washed her long hair and her body and then just stood there as if waiting for the end of the world. After staying in there for a long while, she stepped out, dripping large puddles of water onto the floor. The scent of her green tea soap filled the air and she wrapped her towel around her. She looked at herself in the mirror. Then she finished drying and stepped into her pajamas, which was nearly the same as her workout clothes. She wore a white camisole and extremely loose pink-purple pajama pants that sat low on her hips. She tried to tie them so they were higher but they refused. With a shrug she walked out. In the hall she saw Ravi, whom also looked like he was heading to the bathroom. She ignored his polite inquiries and headed to her room, locking the door. With a heartfelt sigh she flopped onto the bed. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to throw her Shiva statue on to the floor, scrub the henna that so intricately traced its way on her body off, and shut out the world.

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Those you've known and lost still walk behind you
All alone, they linger till they find you
Without them the world goes dark around you
And nothing is okay until you know that they have found you ←

The day was appropiately overcast. Aiden stood with a somber, haunted expression on his face. His usually wild hair was combed mercilessly back. He was dressed in his dark gray suit, a white dress shirt underneath. A black tie stood out from the fabric, the jacket unbuttoned as his hands clenched and unclenched in his pockets. The only mark on his outfit was the dirt that got onto his dress shoes. It went unnoticed. The assembly was dead silent, the only sound being the wretched sobs that cut through the air. Aiden couldn’t bear to look. It was Mr. Stevens, kneeling on the cement where the casket sat, a picture of smiling, young Rami, and the forever stilled older version laying next to it. Aiden’s own eyes were dry, but the usual twinkle was gone. It was dead, devoid of any happiness. Mr. Stevens, the wonderful, kind man, who had done nothing to deserve the hardships life imposed on him, had his head on the table and sobbed his heart out. First he lost his wife to cancer. Then he lost his only child, his son, at the cold hand of murder.

The service was a mixture of the two cultures Rami Stevens had represented. Egyptains as well as members of his tribe filled the small space outside. Aiden had been asked to say a few words, after Mr. Stevens and the Imam had their say. Mr. Stevens could barely speak, he was so choked up. But everyone was patient had held onto his sad, pained words. Aiden couldn’t focus. He only tensed when his twin reached over and squeezed his hand. He couldn’t believe it. His best friend, Rami, who he had seen so virile and full of life only a few days prior, had been killed. By three silver bullets. Aiden felt a strange lump in his throat when Mr. Stevens finished the story he was telling, looking at Aiden.

What sent a jolt through Aiden’s heart wasn’t the desolate look in Mr. Stevens eyes but the smile that he gave Aiden. The desperate smile of a man who had lost everything in his life worth living for. Aiden shrugged away from his family’s hands and headed up in front of the group. He didn’t have any notes, and for a moment all he could do was stare, and blink. He saw Mr. Stevens, no longer sobbing but with a defeated slump, tears streaming. His family, looking sorrowful. But they couldn’t understand the complex emotions going through his head. This was his best friend, his constant companion. He saw Rami’s grandfather, the Alpha and tribal leader, with his mouth set in a hard line, the grief glittering in his eyes. He wished Evelyn could have been there with him, but it would have caused unnecessary tension.

He cleared his throat. ”Rami got me in trouble the first day I met him.” there were a few reluctant smiles. ”It was in middle school. When he came into our class, he knew English but had an Arabic accent. A heavy one. A lot of the kids didn’t want to talk to him but were interested. He walked up to me, and asked me if I played football.” Aiden shrugged. ”I didn’t. Told him I wasn’t a huge fan of tackling. He just laughed, called me a stupid American, and said ‘no, I mean soccer. European football.” Aiden nervously ran his hand through his hair, hoping he wasn’t being too out there with his talk. He avoided looking at people’s eyes. ”Well, I said I could try. So after school, I went out to the field and played with him. See, playing soccer didn’t require us to talk. We were messing around out there in the woods. I kicked the ball a little too hard and it went sailing through the science lab window.” A few more smiles among the audience. ”We chased after it, and found the school security waiting for us. They demanded to know who did it.” he smiled at the memory. ”Rami gave them the biggest smile and said he did it. That he was sorry, and he wasn’t accustomed to the buildings here in America yet, that where they lived they all lived in smaller buildings made of dirt.” Mr. Stevens had a hesitant grin. ”Of course they didn’t. But the school let him off the hook. When I tried to ask him about it later he just said ‘Shut up. I like you. If I like someone I stick by them – always.”

Aiden let out a dry chuckle. ”And he did. He was a good friend. A great friend. And an honest person. He was a little rough around the edges but he kept his word and did good. I think he matured faster than he was supposed to.” Aiden choked on his words. ”But all throughout the hardships of life, he stayed a true friend.” he looked down at the body of his friend. ”Thanks, Rami. I feel no shame in saying I love you, and that you are my brother in spirit if not blood.” he bent over and dropped a kiss onto his friend’s forehead. The most shocking thing was the change in temperature. His normally hot-blooded, hot-headed friend, the one he had gotten to know so well, was cool against his lips. He stood up and tried to squash the tears that started to spill from his eyes. It was useless. He bent his head. Though you’d expect his tears to evaporate on his hot skin, the tears spilling were also very warm to the touch, and he wiped them off on the back of his hand, joining his family down below. It wasn’t a spectacular speech, but Rami wasn’t the kind of guy to go for spectacular speeches.

---

Once home, Aiden slowly stripped off his suit until he was down to his underwear, and then put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He shook out his hair, so it was back to it’s usual wavy ‘fro. His wiry frame stood in his room, unblinking. He was one of the few graveside men. In accordance to Islamic tradition, Rami was buried without a casket and on the rightside of his body, facing Mecca. Only men are allowed to accompany the graveside. Aiden’s father had also been one of the pallbearers. His body was wrapped in a plain white cloth. The dirt above the grave was raised by seven inches. A proper Islamic burial, though his grandfather performed some Native American ritual to grant his soul save passage to heaven. Aiden had been silent and seemingly made of stone the entire time. Now that he was home, he didn’t know what to do. He was filled with too much emotion, too much life. It was so painful, he wanted to tear his heart out.

So he ran.

He didn’t run through the house. He leapt through his window, cutting his skin open in several places, and took off. He heard someone shout his name but by then he was gone, sprinting at breakneck speed towards the woods. He let the wind whip his face and dodged trees, letting out a roar as he finally phased and left his clothes behind, blindly heading towards the mountains. He couldn’t tell how long he ran, but he didn’t stop until he missed some undershrub and went flying into a tree. His back landed against it with a sickening thud, but he was in wolf form. He slid to the ground and just lay there, dazed. Curling into a ball, he licked his wounds. There were traces of snow, so he must have gotten pretty far up. But instead of starting to head back, which would take a good deal longer, he just closed his eyes and let himself drift out of consciousness. It was almost absurd. A giant, wounded wolf laying at the base of a tree in the middle of nowhere. But he slept soundlessly in his safe refuge, only moving as uneasy thoughts entered his dreaming world.



• • • All things he ever lived are left behind
All the things his mama did to make him mind
All the sadness that he'd come to own... ←

((The world and all it's sorrow, at the heart of everything))

[walikeheke]

KAMNAPAVARTISINGH

Kamna woke up that morning feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. She had set her alarm early so she would meet Frankie before school, and also secretly hoped that no one else was up yet. Since she took night showers, she slipped on her clothes after getting out of bed. She put on a deep orange tank top. The straps were thick and it had an empire waist, and then flowed away from beneath her bust. She wore brown fitted capris that ended right below her knee. Going into the bathroom she brushed her hair out, opting to leave it down. She wasn’t one for makeup, but she put on a little bit of dark brown eyeliner at the edges of her eyes and some carmex lip balm.

Walking out of the bathroom, she didn’t hear anyone moving about, a good sign. She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, grabbing her customary fruit-salad breakfast. The concoction was one of the few food products that could considerably brighten her day. Deciding to treat herself, she grabbed the honey and drizzled more on, and mixed a few more mint leaves in. She grabbed the rather large bowl and turned around to sit at the table.

”Hello, Kamna. How are you this morning?” she looked up with an inner shudder of repulsion. Of course Ravi would be there. Turning back around she grabbed the water pitcher from the fridge. She inwardly wished for a big, cool, glass of chocolate milk right at that moment. Damn it all, that’s what got her into this mess in the first place. “Hello” she grumbled. She sat down across from him with her water and fruit salad. He was reading. Okay, he was a guest. She’d attempt at polite conversation, so long as he didn’t get the wrong impression. ”What are you reading?” she seemed to not be able to enunciate clearly around him. It came out more like whatreyou’eading. Sadly enough, he was able to understand her. ”A history of communist Russia.” he said with a small smile, as if he knew she was going through pains. She shoved fruit into her mouth. The honey was sweet with the refreshing strawberries, oranges, and melons, contrasting with the tartness of the blueberries and raspberries and altogether different from the bananas and mango. She gulped down some water before responding. ”One of my friends is Russian. Sergei.” She didn’t know why she was telling him stuff. ”Cool.” he said.

She paid attention to her breakfast, refusing to meet his eyes, and when she was finished she went to the kitchen, rinsing off her bowl and putting it into the dishwasher. She went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came out, Ravi was sitting on the couch contentedly reading his book. She felt like grabbing the little statue of Shiva on the desk and throwing it at the back of his head. She resisted the impulse, heading for the door. ”Bye.” he called out. ”Have a nice day at school.” she muttered something incomprehensible.

Getting in the car, she first checked the gas. It had a quarter-tank, which was more than enough to get her to and from school today, but a strange sensation filled her, and she went to the gas station and filled it all the way. She usually didn’t even drive to school. But she wanted to make sure she got there early and meet Frankie.

She walked in, looking for the customary bright-red hair. Upon seeing her she scooted across from the friendly girl. She was glad Allie agreed to meet her. ”Hey Allie. How are you?” she waited for Allie’s response but she couldn’t help it. She needed to tell someone. Anyone. She needed advice. ”Allielastnightmyparentstoldmethattheyarrangedamarriage.” Realizing that she sounded much like she had with Ravi that morning she gulped and spoke again. ”My parents arranged a marriage.” she stuttered over her words. ”I-I-I-I don’t know what to do.” she found herself speaking before she could wait for a response. ”I can’t do that! I c-can’t imagine moving back to India, e-even less m-marrying someone I don’t even know!” she forced back the tears that threatened to spill out. She refused to cry over it. Over the Dosanjhs`, over the situation. To cry would validate it.

[walikeheke]

KAMNAPAVARTISINGH

Kamna walked into her house that evening with mixed feelings of dread, resentment, and nervousness. She heard joyful, familial laughter. She walked into the dining room where her father and Mr. Dosanjh talked and the wives moved around in the kitchen. Ravi greeted her with a warm smile. She scowled. ”You are just in time for dinner.” she grumbled at his attempt to be…. friendly… to her. It made him harder to hate. But nevertheless, she did. ”Are you ready for Sagai?” he said, grasping her hand. She stared at the hand. Then she turned to her parents. ”Sagai? You’re really going through with this?” Sagai was the engagement process.

Her mother stopped making the dinner for a second. ”Sweetheart, its all for the best. The dowry has already been established and the rings have been bought.” Kamna looked at her mother, dumbfounded. ”Dowry?” Her mother absent-mindedly nodded. ”Ten thousand dollars and our property in south India.” Kamna sputtered. ”What?!?” she felt like cattle. Very expensive cattle. ”You and Ravi will be able to live in the property after you get married.” Ravi ushered her to the dining room table. Her mother and Mrs. Dosanjh brought in the food. She waited until the adults and Ravi took their food, as was custom, and then she took her portion. They ate in what she was sure her parents felt was companionable silence, but what was stifling to her.

She excused herself after hurriedly finishing her meal. As she headed out, her mother called out ”We’re going to be going out later, don’t stay up.” Kamna nodded and headed into her room. She pulled out a book, The Boundless Depth and started to read. As the time passed she was fully immersed in the world of the heroine, and had forgotten about all her troubles. She vaguely heard her parents and the Dosanjhs` leave, right as the girl in the book jumped off the cliff into the depths of the cold endless sea.

She heard a knock on the door. ”Forget something?” she called out distractedly, intent on getting to the end of the chapter. ”Not at all.” said a young male voice. She looked up in alarm. It was Ravi standing in the doorwell. ”The adults left already.” she had a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She studied him warily. There was a glint of hardness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. She shut her book and sat up on her bed. She was already changed into her pajamas. Backing against the wall, she pulled her knees up and tucked them to her chest. ”What do you want?”

”I just want to talk.” he said, walking over and sitting on her bed. She felt it was a violation of her personal space. ”We don’t have much to talk about.” she said tersely. He chuckled. ”I don’t see why you’re so against it… it’s going to happen. Why don’t we just get along? It’ll make things so much easier for the both of us.” He reached out to tuck a part of her hair behind her ear. She flinched at his touch. ”Please don’t touch me, Ravi.” A flash of anger went through his eyes. The hairs on the back of her neck raised. The feeling in her stomach turned to a sickening lead.

”You don’t need to be so difficult.” he started, getting up and slowly advancing towards her. ”Why don’t you realize you just can’t win? You’re trying to fight against the flow of things.” Kamna gulped nervously. She hadn’t seen this side of Ravi yet. ”I won’t be forced into doing anything, Ravi. I live in America, not India. Please back up.” but he didn’t. He came closer until he was right in front of her. Then he grabbed her and forced a kiss on her, pulling her up close to him with frightening strength, and with a sickening horror, she realized exactly what his intentions were. As his hand started to head towards her pajama bottoms, she bit his lip, causing him to yelp. She fought, she kicked, she screamed. She landed a punch right to his nose, causing him to howl with pain. But in the end, it all only served to anger him and as he struck her and moved closer she pleaded for mercy where none was coming.

***

”Kamna?” a female voice called out. ”Kamna, where are you?” the door to her room opened. Kamna shrunk back, hiding underneath the bed. She drew herself into a tight ball, hoping that the world would go away. ”Kamna? Sweetheart? What happened tonight?” her mother called out. She could hear her father talking to the Dosanjhs’ outside her bedroom. She could hear his voice too. She felt like throwing up. Forced out from under the bed for sanitary purposes, she scurried out, throwing up the contents of her stomach. She heard her mother’s surprised voice. ”Kamna? What’s wrong?” but before anyone could ask any more questions about what had transpired, Kamna dove back under the bed. She shut her eyes tight, trying to do anything but relive the horrific memory. Her father stormed in. ”KAMNA!” he got onto his knees and put his head to the floor, looking at Kamna who was tucked firmly under the bed. ”Why are you acting like such a ninny? in her head, Kamna tried to count all the reasons that she was hiding under the bed. She felt disgusted, she felt scared, pained, violated. She felt unclean. She didn’t know what would happen if she had to get out of the bed and face him again. ”Kamna,” he said, looking at her ”What are you doing, silly girl? And why does Ravi have a black eye? And why is there blood on your sheets?” Kamna thought it would be pretty obvious, but she was scared to say anything.

Her mother seemed to sense Kamna’s distress at some level. She heard footsteps and whispered requests that the Dosanjhs` wait out in the living room. ”Sweetie,” she called. ”Please come out? They’re out of the room.” Her father snorted. ”Its 2 in the morning. We should be asleep. Get out of there.”

Warily, Kamna started to crawl out. She looked a mess. Ravi had laughed at her. ”What are you going to do? They won’t believe you!” he taunted. She hoped he was wrong. Her mother looked at her kindly. ”Dear, what’s wrong?” she asked, reaching for Kamna’s shoulder. Kamna took a step back. A pain went through her legs that she hadn’t anticipated feeling for many more years. ”Kamna… speak to us.”

Hot tears went down her face. She felt dirty. Once again her mother spoke up. ”Did something happen between you and Ravi?” Kamna nodded. ”Did he make you do something?” Kamna shook her head. ”Did he do something to you?” she nodded. Her mother looked worriedly at her father, who had an expressionless, impassive face. ”What did he do?”

A sob wracked Kamna’s chest. ”He – he – he… He raped me.” she heaved between breathless shudders. Her mother gasped. She cried, falling down on the floor, since she couldn’t bear to sit on the bed, and drew her body into a small ball again, trying to shut out the world. ”I’m not going to marry him. I refuse. I won’t.”Her father growled. And she had hope. For a moment she had hoped. But all her hope was dashed when her father spoke his next sentence. ”Lies” he said, her mother looking at him in alarm. ”Ravi is a perfect young man. She is lying so she won’t have to go through the engagement. Her behavior has been appalling all week.” when her mother moved to protest he cut her off, looking at Kamna. ”Get out of the house.”

”What?” Kamna whispered, looking at her father in horror. ”What do you mean?” He growled at her. ”I mean pack up your things, and leave. Go. And don’t come back until you are ready to admit this is all a ruse.” Her mother protested. ”You can’t do that to our daughter!” but he threatened her with an angry glare. She fell silent. Kamna stood up, looking at her mother helplessly. Her mother couldn’t look her in the eyes. She looked at her father, unforgiving in his conviction. There was no sympathy in his eyes, no love, no caring. She felt as if her heart was wrenching in two. No matter how old you are, you always want to hold your parents in the highest esteem. And before her eyes, her life was breaking apart. The tears dried as her mind tried to comprehend what was happening. She stood as if paralyzed.

”Get. Out.” he said, his voice filled with venom. ”You have an hour.”

Her parents vacated the room, leaving a broken Kamna Singh in their wake. Methodically she grabbed her large traveling duffel bag from her closet, and began to pack her stuff. She packed the essentials first. Shirts, Pants, Hoodies/Coats, socks, underwear, bras, toothpaste, toothbrush, deoderant, brush. Then she packed a few comfort things. Some of her favorite books. Some pictures. A pillow and a blanket. Meanwhile the clock ticked away mercilessly. She stole a little gold Shiva from her parents room. It was perfect, really. Shiva – god of destruction. The irony was not lost on her. She left behind the things that could not aid her. Little knickknacks. High School spirit accessories. A stuffed bear her father had given her for her 10th birthday. She gathered a few rubber bands and put them on her wrist. The heated self-pity she had felt just moments before had cooled into a numbing nothingness. Emotionless, she gathered her things, stuffing it into her bag, and folding the blanket and setting it on top of it with the pillow. She was about to walk out, when she saw something else. Her tango dress, shoes, and a mask. The thing she had worn at the masquerade that felt like a life time ago. On impulse, she grabbed the whole thing and folded it neatly into her bag. She took one last look at her room before walking out. She felt everyone look at her in silent judgement as she headed towards the garage. Ravi’s normal charming smile was on his face, and it sent a dull knife straight through her heart. She had heard him say ”Well, she wanted to. I thought it would be okay but then afterwards – “ and he had fallen silent when she walked in. As she tossed her stuff into the backseat of her car and opened the driver’s door, she heard the door open and footsteps.

She looked up. It was Mrs. Dosanjh. She flinched, thinking the woman was going to spit in her face. But instead she took her hand, and put a wad into it. She looked up, Mrs. Dosanjh’s eyes bright with unshed tears and sympathy. It made a lump appear in Kamna’s throat. She looked at it. It was a large sum of cash. She bowed her head. ”Thank you.” she whispered. Mrs. Dosanjh shook her head. ”You would have made a wonderful daughter-in-law, I am sure. I am just sad it were not a different time and place, and my son a different person.” the confession made Kamna’s eyes widen. Then reaching out, she hugged the tiny woman in appreciation. ”Good luck, wherever your road leads.” she whispered, and hurried back as voices rose in argument.

Kamna got into the car, opening the garage and backing out. She paused on the empty street for a minute, unsure of where to go. It was too late to head over to someone’s house. She decided to just head to the school and camp out in her car until the next day started and she could think about what had happened. Sitting down was painful, and she winced at the soreness. She tried to black out the events of the night and drove as if in a daze, ending up at Young High and driving around to the back. She’d have to sneak into the bathroom when it opened and change. She turned off the car and crawled into the floor of the back seat, grabbing her pillow and blanket and crying her self to sleep.

[walikeheke]

Jane: They’re not going to be happy, you realize.

John: (beat) Thanks for pointing that out.

Jane: If I were you, I wouldn’t want to face them.

John: Thanks. You’re so helpful. (beat) They’re never happy. (beat) And what concern is it to you?

Jane: Nothing, I was just pointing out that –

John: - they won’t be happy. Yes yes, You’ve already said that.

Jane: That’s quite a mistake on your part.

John: You’re so kind. (beat) What do you think they’ll do to me?

Jane: makes some sort of ‘I don’t know’ motion I wouldn’t want to be you. You’re always so good at everything, so talented. Why’d you screw up now?

John: It was a simple mistake. Anyone could have done it.

Jane: Yeah, but it’s you. You don’t make mistakes.

John: Everyone makes mistakes.

Jane: Except you.

John: Why should I be held to a higher standard?

Jane: If you’ve messed up, where does that leave the rest of us?

John: Just leave me alone about it, okay?

Jane: I’m just trying to understand –

John: Well, stop it! (beat) Get off my back.

Jane: Stop freaking out, alright?

John: (shout) Stop antagonizing me! (beat – quiets down to normal voice) Sorry about that.

Jane: (dismissive motion)I understand. You screwed up a major event of your life, which leaves you –

John: (stands up, shouts) Stop talking about how much I screwed up! Stop mentioning it, just let it be! I made a ******** mistake, just let it be and leave me alone!

Jane: But you said you wanted this so bad.

John: (still shouting) I do! (calms down) I do. I really do.

Jane: Then stop freaking out.

John: (sits back down) Fine.

Jane: Is that it?

John: That’s it.

Jane: Good.

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

The previous day's search for the notebook had been to no avail. Tearing apart the house looking for it and snapping at anyone who mentioned his obsession, it all amounted to nothing. But the day went by too fast, and before he knew it he was walking into his Theatre Arts class Wednesday, having practiced every day since Rami chose the song. Aiden walked into the class, truly terrified for the first time in his life. He was often seen as a public figure. He lacked shame (something Aiden and Rami had in common), and didn't mind making speeches. But he had never in his life sang in front of another person. Sure, there was the occasional screaming in the car, but nothing so public as in front of an entire class. Aiden could read music (a brief stint playing cello taught him that), but this was completely different. He listened to the other students with growing dread. They had all been involved in drama before. And they were truly comfortable. As everyone finished, the class applauded and Miss Bedebe offered her input. And all too soon, it was Aiden's turn to sing.

"Mr. Grey, what will you be singing for us?" Aiden stared dumbly for a minute before answering. He startled back to consciousness and responded. "Touch Me... from Spring Awakening." he pulled his hat off, running his hand through his hair before jamming it back on. He was really nervous. Bedebe seemed to sense that and gave him a kind smile. "Take as long as you need to get ready, Aiden." He wasn't the only one singing from Spring Awakening. Lacey had skipped her fourth period and stopped by long enough to sing a heartwrenching version of 'Mama Who Bore Me'.

He could only stand there for a moment, running his tongue over his sharpened teeth. He closed his hazel eyes momentarily, trying to get into the right frame of mind. He was a teenager. Germany, 1890. Truly discovering himself for the first time. He had to draw on his own experiences on the subject matter. He was typical of any male... he was pretty sure that no matter who you were or where you grew up, you got the urge to touch at a certain age. In the safety of the night under your bed sheets, it seemed so strange yet so right at the same time. He never thought of it as a big deal. But in the time that Spring Awakening was set, it was looked down upon. It still was in some circles. These were all teenagers who didn't know what sex was but still knew. That intangible thing that taunted you at night.

As he slipped deeper into his mind, he thought about his own experience. After he first phased, sexual activities went way down for him. He had been focused only on getting used to being a wolf. And after that, he became too immersed in his schoolwork to really do anything. That being said, he wasn't quite a virgin. Thanks to a drunken night out his junior year, and Rami having his own distractions, he was left alone at a party with a rather friendly girl with a friendly mouth. There had never been a repeat, and he had left the party feeling a little disgusted with himself. For letting it happen or for enjoying it, he wasn't quite sure. It had never been repeated, but it didn't change the fact that it happened.

As people whispered quietly "When is he going to start?" Bedebe cleared her throat and shushed them. He opened his eyes and began to sing, a bit softly. "Where I go... when I go there... No more memory anymore... Only men on distant ships, the women with them, swimming with them, to shore." he started to sing a little louder. "Where I go, when I go there, no more whispering anymore. Only hymns upon your lips, the mystic wisdom, rising with them to shore..." he let go of his control a little more, allowing his hands to move along his arms and his waist. He sang the next verse, but instead of the breathy falsetto that it was in the musical, he sang it with a little more substance, his voice occasionally straining but otherwise comfortable. Touch me-just like that. And that-oh, yeah-now, that's heaven. Now, that I like... God that's so nice. Now lower down, where the figs lie..." some of the girls in the class tittered at the lyrics and the guys looked around nervously. If he had bothered focusing in on anyone, he would have seen a distinct and odd look on Bedebe's face, not alltogether negative. "Oh-oh my god, oh-oh-oh yeah yeah yeah. Oh-oh my god, oh-oh-oh yeah yeah yeah." The next part came out clear with very little vibrato. "Touch me.. Touch me. Ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah. Ohh, ohh, oh-oh-oh..." taking a breath he let out, grabbing his hair as he sang, his knees bending a bit and letting his hands fall to his neck and chest, much like he had seen in the video. It was unintentional, but he let himself rock with the flow of the song. He belted out.

"Where I go... when I go there, no more shadows anymore. Only men with golden fins - The rythym in them, rocking with them, to shore..." he came down a little bit. "Where I go when I go there, no more weeping anymore. Only in and out your lips; the broken wishes, washing with them, to shore." the song increased in intensity once more and he finished off, the high notes coming easily now that he was warmed up. "Touch me-all silent.
Tell me-please-all is forgiven.
Consume my wine.
Consume my mind.
I'll tell you how, how the winds sigh...

Touch me-just try it.
Now there-that's it-God that's heavan.
Touch me.
I'll love your light.
I'll love you right...
We'll wander down, where the sins lie...

Touch me-just like that.
Now lower down, where the sins lie...

Love me-just for bit...
We'll wander down, where the winds sigh..."

As it ended, he nervously coughed and looked up, pulling off his hat again and running his hand through his hair. He blinked, a bit like a deer in the lights. He never let go in front of people. Aiden was a controlled person, and emotions didn't run easily through him. He was happy, calm. Of course he could get enthusiastic and cheerful, but nothing so intense as sexual tension had ever coursed through him. Never anger, jealousy. Negative or heavy feelings never seemed to work well with Aiden. And there wasn't a single positive thing about Spring Awakening. He hesitated and looked down, slightly embarassed by the display of feeling he had shown.

There was a slight pause before everyone started cheering. All of the girls cheered loudly, of course. None more than Bree, who had a slightly flushed look to her face that was totally and utterly attractive. He gave a hesitant smile, waiting for Bedebe's reaction. She let the class cheer for awhile before finally telling them to quiet down. The look in some of the girl's eyes slightly worried him. Whoever said girls had less of a sex drive than guys is a lying a**. Never a bigger pile of bullshit had he heard. The sexual interest in Bree's eyes slightly put him off. He needed to hit Rami on the head again. He didn't want to be looked at in that manner. But the song wasn't intended for that purpose. The title 'Touch Me' didn't do much for abstinence. "Aiden, do you have any experience in choir or musical theatre?", Miss Bedebe asked. He shook his head. "Do you realize what you've just done?" he shook his head. "Did I do terribly?" a worried expression crossed his face. He was a slight perfectionist.

She stood up and walked towards the stage. "Absolutely not! Here, when I play this note on the piano, match the pitch." she walked over and sat down on the piano bench, playing notes successively higher until his voice cracked and it became falsetto. She turned around and looked at him. He noticed some of the 'hardcore' drama kids such as Bree had excited looks on their faces. "What?" now he was suspicious.

"You were able to hit an A3, cold. That's a very impressive range." faint traces of pink tinged his cheeks. "Oh. Okay then." he scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. "And you were able to hit a B, once you were warmed up. Aiden, this is your voice without any training. Once you've got the proper technique, you could be a very good vocalist. Can you read music?" he nodded. She clapped her hands together. "Perfect! Come talk to me after class. Next?" the boy following Aiden let out a groan before getting on the stage, and Aiden sat down. I can sing? he mused. Wouldn't have expected that.

At the end of class, waiting for Miss Bedebe to talk to him, he walked over to Eve. "You did a great job Eve." he ran his hand through his hair. "I liked it. What was it that you sang again?" she had a cool voice. And the monologue she had done on Tuesday was fantastic and adorable. He remembered the scene from Stardust pretty well. In the book it had been much the same.




• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

Jackie was sitting at the table with Eve, Aiden, and a majority of the pack. They had been playing Apples to Apples and the game had dissolved into light conversation. She sat with her legs outstretched, resting lazily on the table. She wore shorts and a hoodie in the summer nighttime air. Her hand played with Richard’s piping hot one, and he was sitting next to her talking to Goody and Kit. Aiden and Eve were glued to each other’s sides, as always, and she listened in on them. She never though she’d ever live surrounded by werewolves and vampires. And now that she was out of school, and working, there was something that needed to be addressed.

The Volturi.

Ever since that fateful evening four years ago, Jackie knew that her fate wasn’t entirely her own. Someday they would come waltzing in and expect her to be a vampire. And she was no longer nineteen, either. She was twenty-three and an upcoming Broadway star, and she wanted to make sure that her career wasn’t going to be cut short by some pissy neurotic vampires. She twirled a strand of her long hair. She already looked older than Eve, and Aiden wasn’t aging anytime soon either. At least Danny was her non-immortal best friend, although he was being enormously successful. He was in an off-broadway production of Wicked and soon planned on auditioning for other shows.

One thing definitely couldn’t change though – Richard wanted kids. She did, too. Unlike Aiden and Eve, who were content to be just the most amazing auntie and uncle ever, Jackie wanted little Richards running around screaming without clothes. Eventually. Maybe not right away, but soon enough. Now that Olive and Jonathan were married, and she and Richard were newlyweds, the third wedding was soon to follow. She narrowed her eyes at Eve. She didn’t know what they were waiting for. Aiden, probably, cause he had this whole thing about ‘not until after college’ and ‘no living together beforehand’. He was kind of old-fashioned that way. So was Richard.

The honeymoon had been a blast, and she blushed and shifted in he seat just thinking about it. They’d gone to the Caribbean, where Jackie could legally drink and they could both spend time in the sun. On the beach… but mainly in the hotel room. She grinned and sat up. Richard seemed to unconsciously sense her and moved also, just a little. Jackie wondered if her mom and dad knew what happened to her, or if they even cared. Ever since she’d been forced out of the house subtly. She wondered if they’d be proud of her, or not even want to know. Jackie went from having only Danny to lean on to having an entire pack of over-protective, gregarious, loving wolves and ex-wolves. And even a vampire thrown in there.

”Hey! Aiden!” she said, leaning forward and propping her chin on her hands. He arched an eyebrow. ”’Sup, Jackie-chan?” she grinned. ”You’re auditioning for Rent, right?” she put on a pout. He rolled his eyes. ”I don’t see why I should, I mean, I wouldn’t get it.” she pulled a typical Jackie-move and crawled onto the table to the other side. She saw Asha and Isha, the brother and sister wolves, turn and look. ”You have nothing to lose by it,” she said, lying on her stomach. ”Plus, it’d make me happy.”

”I’m all for that,” came Richard’s voice. She laughed and playfully kicked him with her bare foot. ”Yeah, but you’re singing voice sucks. Keep your tongue in use for other things.” he laughed and nodded. Aiden shook his head, but had a smile on his face. ”Okay, I’ll do it. But don’t expect anything much to come from it okay?” She groaned. ”You underestimate your amazing-ness!” she said. ”They say they want a brand-new young, hip, relatable, cast. I think you totally fit. I personally just want to be on chorus or something. It’s pretty BAMF.” he smiled but still didn’t look convinced. ”Fine.”

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

Aiden was amiable for the duration of third period, only turning his attention away from the lecture to peek on what Rami was doing. Sketching. Aiden’s eyes studied the charcoal lines, a bit jealous of his friend’s artistic talent. The only remotely artistic thing Aiden had ever done was play cello from fifth – eigth grade. In high school he quit, when the orchestra teacher turned out to be a total b***h. He regretted it, but it was too late to start up the instrument again. He took notes on the most important points of the lecture, only occasionally glancing over at Eve. The two girls talking about Rami made him want to stand up and duct tape their mouths shut, but he did his best to ignore it. Occasionally Lacey, the one who shared the Voltaire group, asked a question about the material, and he’d oblige her. He could sense Eve’s awkwardness, but he just pretended as if nothing ever happened.

When the bell rang to signal fourth period, he paused momentarily to talk to Rami. ”How you doing?” the Egyptian’s face didn’t change. ”I’m pissed off.” ”Just ignore it. Listen, I need to pick a song to sing for my Theatre Arts class. Can you help me out this weekend?” Rami shook his head. ”No way in hell. I hate musicals.” Aiden shot him a sardonic look. ”Come on. There’s going to be a party this weekend. I refuse to go with you unless you do this for me.” Rami shuddered. ”We’ll race after school today. You win – I’ll watch musicals with you. I win – you go to the party. And you take shots with me.” Aiden agreed and made his way to the PAC.

After Miss Bedebe finished her short speech, he was assaulted by Bree and her posse. The tall, dark-haired girl flashed him a smile and tugged at his hands. ”Hey Aiden, how are you?” He gave her a smile. ”I’m doing good, Bree. How are you?” she seemed to flutter a bit at his attention. ”I’m good. So, the party is going to be Friday night. It’ll start around nine. My parents are out of town. It’s really easy to find, just stay on the main road until you get to the residential district. House 1786.” she got close to him and put her hand on his arm. He arched an eyebrow but otherwise remained still. ”No problem.” he distinctly remembered not giving her a definite answer. ”The funniest thing happened in PE today… I thought you might find it funny.” He remained silent and waited for her to continue. ”Your friend, the surly one? He threw the dodgeball at Eve. It practically exploded.” he didn’t like the laugh she let out afterwards. ”That doesn’t sound very nice of him. I’ll go hit him on the head after school.” she quickly quieted down. ”Really? Do you like her?”

That was a stupid question. He didn’t even know Eve. But he was too kind to tell Bree to simply shut up. ”Eve is nice. And she’s my partner for the dialogue.” that seemed to make the girl quiet down. So instead she looked up at Aiden with hopeful eyes. He felt slightly like a caged dog, with her friends standing a few feet behind her. ”So, you and Rami are both brown… we don’t have a whole lot of exotic people. What are you guys?” she looked down. ”I tried asking Rami and he snapped at me.” she attempted to look pathetic but all Aiden could think was Good for you, Rami. ”Well, Rami is Egyptian, White, and Native American.” the girls cooed. ”I’m just white and Argentinean.” Bree let out a cute little gasp. ”That’s so cool! Do you speak Spanish?” he nodded. ”Say something!” Of course. They always wanted him to say something. Aiden wondered if this was what Rami felt like, all the time. ” Por favor, ¡Dios mío! en el cielo, deje a este final de conversación.” she obviously wasn’t listening and tittered. ”I’m in Spanish 2. You should help me some time.” Her eyes traced his form and he felt slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't small. 6'2", and 186 lbs. While he didn't qualify as 'meathead' he wasn't the wiry kid that he used to be. And she was taking his attributes all in, talking at the same time.

And before he knew it, he was going to be helping her out after school on Thursday. He blinked. How had he gotten trapped into that? But finally, Miss Bedebe came up to him and rescued him from the conversation. She looked amused. ”I have your dialogue, Mr. Grey.” He looked at it. ”I know it’s a bit short, but I figured after all of the talking, you and Miss Vidgens could use a dialogue that requires delicate use of body language and silences. Enjoy.” he held it and sat back down, just in time for Eve to come up to him. ”Really, I don’t mind. It happens.” a total lie, but it was his general attitude towards the whole thing. ”So, I’m looking at this. Should be easy enough. You have more experience than I do, I’ll need to work with you a bit on it. I don’t have any classes after this, until the evening. And my extracurricular activities are sorely lacking at this point in time.” looking over the script, it was pretty abstract. The situation wasn’t well explained in the scene. In fact, there wasn’t one. ”I hope your friend won’t mind you working with me. I’ll be taking a club to Rami’s head tonight.” he still hadn’t looked up at her. But his hazel eyes met her golden ones, and he gave her a wide smile. ”I’d let you in on it, but sadly, that wouldn’t work out to my best advantage.”


• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

Aiden paid no mind to Bree. He smiled at Eve instead. ”No… no problem at all. Absolutely none as far as she is concerned.” he shot her an awkward glance before turning back to Eve. ”Saturday should work. I have plans for the evening, but how about during the day?” he rather liked the daytime, though it was stereotypical that wolves liked the nights. His favorite time of day was either late afternoon or dusk. ”I don’t even remember saying I’d go on Friday.” he scratched the bottom of his head, curls bouncing as he did so. ”But I guess I am.”

Aiden pulled out his backpack as she asked about the monologues. He’d only vaguely heard of Wuthering Heights, but he had seen Stardust, and was a huge fan of Neil Gaiman. ”Neil Gaiman wrote my favorite book, American Gods.” he had also read Neverwhere and Anansi Boys. But American Gods was definitely his favorite. He’d never admit it to anyone, but Stardust was a particular favorite of his. The movie. It was lighthearted and always left him with a good feeling. Nothing could quite beat the thought of seven princes murdering each other for a crown. With deliciously dark humor fused with a happily-ever-after, there wasn’t anything that really didn’t appeal to happy-go-lucky Aiden. American Gods was much less happy, but it was an amazing story, all the same.

”I haven’t quite decided on my monologue yet…” he said, looking at the ones he’d printed out and folded neatly into his binder. Everything in his binder and backpack was meticulously organized. Like you would expect a scientist to be. ”I kind of like this one from Amadeus…” it was hard not to like. The interpretation of the famous composer’s life was charming and humorous. ”I’m also looking at some others. From Dialogue of the Dead, Don Juan, and Spring Awakening.” he sifted through them. ”I’m rather liking the Spring Awakening one, even if it’s about a female orgasm.” he let a comical expression slide onto his face. And of course, Bree stuck her head in again. It was getting a bit tedious. ”I love Spring Awakening!” he chose to ignore her.

”A word to the wise, Rami will go on Friday.” he thought about it. ”You may want to avoid him. He likes to drink.” Heavily, was the word truncated from the end. ”That being said, it’d be nice if you came on Friday.” he couldn’t believe he was saying that. He was admitting that he’d enjoy the company of a vampire. ”Talons, eh?” for some reason, he could see it. And he let out a laugh at her hockey stick comment. ”I’ll see you later.”

As the class ended, he headed up to the stage where Miss Bedebe was typing on a laptop situated on a small table to stage left. ”Hello, Mr. Grey.” she said, not looking up. The more he watched her, the more he was convinced she was some sort of land siren. Her face was timeless and serene. ”How may I help you?” he snapped out of his wistful gaze and pulled out the Spring Awakening monologue. ”I wanted to make sure that this was appropriate for the class.” she took it from him but did not look at it. ”You’ll find that there is little I do not tolerate in my class Aiden, so long as it does not contain hate speech or derogatory content.” he’d figured as much. She didn’t seem like the politically correct type. ”What is it?” he gave a crooked smile. ”Moritz’s monologue in the first act from Spring Awakening.” she smiled. ”I loved being in Spring Awakening. The play and the musical are both very well-written.” he nodded. It seemed like a good play.

”Thanks, that’s all I needed.” she waved at him and he walked out.

---
Aiden didn't head to the party on friday until about 10:30. He spent the first part of the evening helping his mother out and having dinner with his family. Olive was opting out of the party, but Rami was over around 8 to have dinner with them. Rami would also be spending the night - Saturday was the day where Rami had to watch musicals with Aiden. A prospect Rami wasn't looking forward to at all, but Aiden was slightly enthusiastic. Quite the opposite feelings towards the party.

They found the house easily enough, walking instead of taking somebody's car. It was already crammed with teenagers. The house was large, easily three stories with multiple bedrooms. Aiden preferred not to think about the bedroom part. Rami let out a dry chuckle. "Ready?" Aiden responded with an indecipherable grunt. He never liked parties that much. Too many bodies, too much heat. Too loud music. And the intoxicating smells of teenagers always made him a bit light-headed. But it was his social obligation to Rami to a) go to the party and b) at least play one drinking game. He hoped they had tequila, it was the only hard liquor he could stand. Beer was out of the question, and wine was far too expensive for a party like this.

They entered the house, and a small uproar occured. The 'new kids' had made an appearance. Rami gave them his customary ******** grin and found the table where they were doing shots. Aiden rubbed his forehead. He'd prefer if Rami got drunk sometime after midnight, but as long as he didn't start a fight, they'd be okay. He was immediately beset by a group of people in his classes and he talked amiably with them, falling into the easy flow of conversation.

He wasn't quite sure how much time had passed by, but since the party was at Bree's house it was to be expected that she'd make an appearance at some point in time. And what an appearance it was. He turned a corner to find her waiting for him, a sultry smile on her lips. She was dressed provocatively, in a low-cut tank top and tight-fitting skinny jeans complete with knee-high stiletto boots. He looked at her with polite disinterest. "Hey there Aiden." she said, obviously positioning herself so he'd be forced to look down her cleavage. "Bree." he said, focusing on looking at the space between her eyes.

She reached over and played with his shirt. He fought the urge to back up several steps, and just carefully stepped back. "Having a good time?" he nodded. "Good. So am I." she was obviously a couple of cups into the night, with a slight haziness to her eyes. "It's better now that I know you're here." he swallowed. "I'm glad I could be of assistance." he went to walk around her but she grabbed his wrist. "You're so warm!" she exclaimed giddily. "Can you help me find my room? I'm kind of lost." he shook his head. That would be bad. Very bad. "I can help you to the kitchen or the living room." he wasn't one to simply leave a girl in distress, but he couldn't tell if she was really drunk or playing it up. He fell for that trick once before, and he wouldn't again. "Oh come on..." she slurred. "Won't be that bad." he looked around nervously for an escape. Of course Rami was nowhere to be seen. So he gently made her let go and then turned her around the other direction. "Go find a corner to sit in, and I'll come for you in a little bit." a total lie.

He walked back out into the mass, avoiding the hallway that he knew Bree was waiting in. Instead he mingled, waiting for the moment Rami called in his debt to play a drinking game. Aiden hadn't exactly lost the race. But he'd cheated. As they took off from the school, Aiden picked up a pipe and swung it across Rami's leg. It caused the bone to momentarily crack, and while Rami was stumbling along waiting for it to heal, Aiden safely touched the house. Rami was seething but generally okay with it. And because Aiden cheated, he'd have to play a drinking game. But since he still won, Rami had to watch the musicals. As compensation, Rami had total say in what song Aiden picked for his 'audition'. It all worked out more or less.


• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

Aiden couldn’t remember the last time he moved. Days and nights merged together after the day of the funeral and his escape to the wild, during which he barely moved. Stubble covered his chin and his eyes were circled by dark impressions. He hadn’t gone to high school, hadn’t talked to his friends or family. The only thing he did was go to his college classes at night, and disappear for a couple hours from the house time to time, during which he would sprint through the forest. Running away from the emotions that flooded him, from the raw hurt that seared his chest. From the tears that were unstoppable in the night hours. At home he'd only eat enough to stop his stomach from complaining, and then locked himself in his room.

He remained in limbo for the better part of a week, until a Thursday his mom gingerly stepped into his room. ” Mi hijo pobre. Esto es el tiempo para usted para ir y afrontar el mundo otra vez.” My poor son. It is time for you to go and face the world again. He stepped out of bed and she came up to him, giving him a strong, supportive hug, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss his chin. He nodded and she left the room, a sorrowful expression on her face. Olive had taken it hard too, but she had returned to school immediately. Aiden couldn’t bear to go back. To see the pity in their faces. To see the questioning glances. Rami didn’t deserve to die. Mr. Stevens had fled the country. Taking a piece of Rami’s hair and putting it in a precious locket, he came to the Gray household to tell them he was going back to Egypt. It was too painful for him to remain in the country where he lost his wife and son. Rami's Grandfather seemed to have lost the prideful set of his shoulders, the former Alpha grieving along with his tribe. Rami was buried on tribal ground, and even though Islamic tradition dictated that graves not be covered in adornments, there were always fresh flowers. Rami's grandfather was convinced it was his fault. A human would not have killed Rami. It was a vampire.

The old man went on long rants, talking about all the enemies he'd made as a young werewolf, a hundred years before. He was like Rami. Hotheaded, impudent. A fondness for trouble. Chief Stevens was obsessed with making a list of people that could have killed Rami, his only Grandson. Mr. Stevens didn't want to hear any of it. He just wanted to be alone in his private sorrow. Olive seemed to agree with Chief Stevens, where Aiden sympathized with the father. In one of the only conversations he'd had after the funeral, Olive came into his room. "It was one of them." she said, even though his back was turned towards the window and he laid on the bed. "It was one of those ******** leeches." Aiden let out a heavy sigh. "Leave Nate and Eve alone." he said wearily, his voice cracking. "I'm not saying they killed him... what if they led another vampire here? Someone who wanted revenge on the Chief?" "GET OUT!" he roared, and Olive made a quick escape. But not before shouting "How can you defend them?!" He wanted nothing to do with the world.

And now it was time for Aiden to face them. He went and showered first, and then went to the sink and shaved. His face was smooth again. But his eyes still held the haunted look. His hair was curly but in more of a disarray. He jammed his hat over the mess, promising to get a haircut in a few days. He put on clean clothes, a t-shirt and jean shorts with a brown zip-up close fit sports jacket. His hazel eyes didn’t twinkle. At breakfast he ate only a modest amount, one plate instead of the usual three or four he usually downed. His parents exchanged worried glances. ”Have a nice day, Aiden.” his dad said. Aiden just nodded and grabbed his backpack, heading out the door.

---

In first period, he almost walked right back out the door. Olive was there and when they saw each other, all he could do was embrace her. The kids in the class murmured at his return, but he blocked out their comments about the death of his best friend. Olive grabbed his hand and they sat down, changing seats so they were next to each other. The teacher cleared his throat. ”Welcome back, Mr. Grey.” his teacher gave him a grave smile. ”I offer my condolences.” Aiden felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He held them back stoically, not wanting to reveal the depth of his emotions in front of his classmates. Even Olive was able to walk through it. There was no reason he shouldn’t be able to do the same.

But he couldn’t. As Mr. Hartzel talked about some chemical compound or another, Aiden felt the tears stream down his face. The teacher saw them and a pained expression crossed his face. The kind chemistry teacher walked towards him and whispered in his ear. ”Feel free to excuse yourself.” Aiden nodded and walked quickly out of the classroom, standing outside the empty hallway. A shudder wracked through his frame and he let out a sob just as wretched as Mr. Steven’s. It seemed to tear at his throat.

He remained out there until the bell rang, during which he hastily wiped his face and waited for Olive to come out, holding his backpack. ”Are you okay?” Aiden sniffed and nodded. He felt like such a failure, unable to keep his emotions in check on his first day back. Olive gave him another hug and headed to her second class, and Aiden was left to go to his. It seemed to fly by and he didn’t even pay attention. It was time for third period.

He walked to the class with dread. And his worst fears were confirmed. Ms Rydgren ran up to him and gave him a big hug. Unshed tears shone in her bright blue eyes. ”Oh Aiden, I’ve missed you.” the young teacher walked with him to the desk, allowing him the chance to sit down. ”I can’t tell you how sorry I am. If you ever need anything, I want you to come ask me. We will all miss him terribly. What a tragic way for a young life to end.” she sniffed, and hugged him again. ”I do hope you’re okay.” he just nodded dumbly. It seemed the only thing he was capable of doing.

He sat down, where Lacey was waiting at the pod. She seemed to understand he didn’t want words and just gently put her hand on his, offering him a smile. It made him feel worlds better. He could smell Eve, and heart wrenching from his chest, he looked up to meet her eyes. It was well known that Nate didn’t care much about Rami’s death. But he looked at Eve with desperation in his eyes. Wolf or not, Rami was his best friend in the world. And just like that, he’d been snatched. Looking at Eve, her pale skin and dark hair, coupled with her perfect features, he was not immune to the same charms other males waxed rhapsodic over. But he knew who she was. Her personality. And it shone through her cold, hard exterior. Keeping this in mind, he kept on looking, the look in his eyes significantly changed. He still had a couple of good friends left. One sitting next to him, the other in front of the window.

The bell rang and Aiden felt a sear of pain as he looked over to talk to Rami, and the desk was empty. He closed his eyes and tried to relax as the constricting feeling closed over his throat. He felt lukewarm hands wrap around him and envelop him in a hug. It was Lacey, he knew. Her familiar scent was around him. ”Thanks” he said hoarsely. She let go. ”No problem. I’ll see you after school for the group meeting?” he nodded. ”I'm glad to have you back.” So they were meeting every day now, after school. Opening night for the Adding Machine was in a couple days as well. After play rehearsals was probably Miss Bedebe's "special" group. He wondered if he'd be taken out of the play and Thespian group. He found himself not caring overtly, but hoping that she hadn't. It would most likely be the only thing to get him through the wretched school day.

He was dreading Drama even more than third period. Miss Bedebe’s exquisite frame was waiting for him on the stool. That damned stage where all emotions were allowed to be set free. Where the pain of the outside world was forgotten and you were immersed in the life of your character. It was simultaneous relief and fear. He entered the theatre and sat down, immediately swarmed by his theatre friends, and Bree. ”Oh Aiden, we missed you!” Amy said, thin arms around his neck. He gave a smile at her normal enthusiastic countenance. It was true – the world of outside rarely affected what happened in the theatre. The guys in his group gave him warm smiles and pats on the back. Bree got uncomfortably close to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He winced. Bree wasn’t the person he wanted to see. Her ‘sorrow’ seemed as fake as the characters she played, she knew as well as he did that she hadn’t been kind to Rami while he was alive. ”It hasn’t been the same without you darling.” she said with a pout. ”If you need anything, anything at all, I’m here for you.” she traced a finger on his chest. ”Don’t touch me.” he said, brushing her hand away. Off in the corner he heard Jackie give a discreet cough that sounded distinctly like “slut”. Miss Bedebe made her way over to him and pulled him aside.

"Aiden..." she began.



• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

► αidєn ℓєє gяαy ◄

• • • Every dog will have his day ←

Aiden nearly jumped out of his skin when the words graced his ears. Turning around in panic, he calmed when he saw it was just Eve. ”Oh. Hello.” he said, working to get his pulse back down. He gave her a wolfish grin. ”Yes, I think I’ve decided Teeth are much more likeable than Talons. For purely logical reasons. Mainly that you can throw any of these ladies across the hallway without much effort.” it had taken Aiden a few hours to figure out the proper equations to judge Eve’s strength. It took him another hour to realize that the equation was perfected and that she was monumentally strong. ”Rami’s doing alright. A bit foxed. He has the unfortunate tendency to hold his alcohol.” he wrinkled his nose at the thought. Rami wasn’t liable to leave early, not with free drinks at his disposal. And Aiden didn’t find the whole thing very pleasurable at all. ”He won’t cause trouble at the moment.” Unlike Talons, who was making her way back. He watched as Eve seamlessly drew her focus away, and let out a sigh of relief. ”Drunks are usually pretty easy to manage, as long as they don’t start fighting. Then it’s a big mess.” usually the case with Rami, but he decided to leave out certain pieces and bits of information.

The wolf in question came up to Aiden, looking down his nose distastefully at Eve. ”Really?” but he was obviously set on having a good time and looked at Aiden instead, holding out his hands. ”You owe me a drinking game.” Aiden winced internally. He could also hold his alcohol, but there was no pleasure in downing it. ”We have vodka jello shots over there.” Aiden’s pained expression turned to horror. He hated vodka, and hated jello shots. He thought back to Eve’s earlier comment about abstaining from alcohol. ”Sorry, I have a social obligation to attend to. You don’t mind holding on for a second, do you?” he gave her an apologetic smile and walked over to the table, where it was waiting for him. Rami was, of course, his opponent. There were six shots waiting for him. He dropped an f-bomb under his breath. ”Really, Rami?” his friend snorted. ”I gotta do something to get the stench of vampire out of my mind.”

Of course Rami won. It was to be expected. And Aiden was left with a not altogether pleasant buzz, finding his way back to Eve. He wasn’t in the best of moods but he brightened considerably seeing she was still there. The breakdown in his brain of defenses caused him to study her for the first time, not in his usual scientific way. ”You look nice.” he said, getting closer to her. As in absolutely gorgeous. He kept his other thoughts in his head though, and pulled out his cell phone. "Hey, hold on a second..." he speed-dialed Olive. His sister picked up after two and a half rings. "What's up?" he looked at his watch. "In about an hour can you come pick up Rami?" "Why?" "I have some things I want to do." "Alright, but you'll owe me."

He hung up the phone and turned to Eve. "I am getting out of here. Want to come with me?" the smells and the heat around him heightened the effects of the alcohol and it was not pleasant for him. He rubbed his temple. "Late-night movie, walk outside, dumpster diving, practicing the dialogue, anything else. Either way this is just too much for me." he could hear cheers as Rami undoubtedly beat another contestant. He started to head towards the door as the familiar scent of Bree entered the house. He was not going to be trapped in a corner with her. And he rather enjoyed the company of Eve. Rami could handle himself until Olive came for him.


• • • But mine seems a long time coming. ←
A love forged in the fires of hell is the strongest

[walikeheke]

they call me Scheherazade

Scheherazade spent the next few days planning. The systematic raidings of the slums was starting to take a toll on the local inhabitants. Scheherazade felt that it was partly her fault and often sent relief to those families whose homes were ravaged by the offending parties. Shara, Jinn, and Sinbad were often out running errands for her, their faces much harder to recognize. Ali stayed inside and planned with her, filling her in about the traitor within ISA.

"That's very interesting indeed..." she said, running a hand through her short hair. She sat in bed, sickly thin leg perched up while they other one hung off the side. Ali sat in a chair adjacent to her. "You didn't hear any names?" he shook his head. "No, but they knew my nickname was Ali Babba." she nodded. He needed to lay just as low as she. "What is our next course of action?" "We need to continue attacks - it'll frustrate them. With all these resources being spent hunting me, their buildings are in a weaker state. We need to keep attacking until the infrastructure has completely broken down. We are already witnessing the beginnings of it, if there is a traitor among their midst."

She couldn't imagine who'd it be. They seemed like a very prideful lot. But there was something going on that she hadn't been able to pick up. She thought about Major Falk. "Do you know anything about Major Falk?" Ali recoiled. "He's a cruel person." "I am aware of that. Anything else? Do you know where he's been stationed, anything like that?" Ali shook his head. "No. Why the interest?" Scheherazade covered her inner vengeance with a perfectly plausible explanation. "I think that by studying him, it may lead us somewhere. He's a bit of a loose cannon." It was duly noted by Ali, who studied her face.

”We need to figure out the slum situation. We can’t stay here too much longer.” she agreed. ”We should relocate out of the city.” she disagreed. ”No. I need some of you to remain here with me and keep the resistance going. I won’t make you stay against your will, but I request that you, Shar, Sinbad, Nur, Jinn, Abu Kir, and Kalandar remain. This is the opportune moment to strike. But the other members, the weaker ones, send them home. Staying here is a liability. And they know about the pills now.” her face hardened. ”They took mine away before I could react. And they know how strong I am, the torture I survived. They will use my standards against them. And believe me, it would not work out to their advantage.”

She was suddenly overwhelmed for a moment and closed her eyes, feeling the rush in her head. Ali hurried forward and placed warm hands on her arm. ”Are you okay?” she wanted to nod but simply kept her head still. ”Scher… you need a doctor. We need to find you one. We can’t take care of you right.” she let out a cough. ”There are no gypsy doctors. We could find a healer among our people but Ali, the gadji don’t allow ethnics to be educated.” he shook his head, his long hair moving. ”I worry about you. These injuries…” he traced his hand along the damaged skin. The puckered surface made her cringe. It felt nice to have some soothing human contact though. ”They aren’t good. You know complications can arise.” she nodded. But he didn’t say more and simply pulled out a bottle of precious oil, and motioned for her to lay back.

She closed her eyes as he poured the soothing herbal oil onto her skin and rubbed it in, slowly. It felt so nice, and was so calming. The only human contact she’d had at the ISA headquarter was to torture. But Ali wordlessly helped her to the best of his ability. He touched her more sensitive places in a strictly brotherly way, murmurring senseless and gentle words in Roma.

---

They were relocating. The elite team evacuated the former headquarters, the rest of the resistance sent back to the provinces from whence they came. The strongest members would hold down the fort in the capital and continue to cause hell until it was broken down enough to allow the others to return.



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