This story takes place after Jak 3. Also, facts will probably be kind of off, but that shouldn't interfere with the story too much. It's just an experiment, so please don't be too harsh! Thanks. :)

Oh, and before I forget: if you dislike Torn and Keira having any sort of romantic tension between them, this isn't the story for you!

He had kissed her…

Angrily, the woman shouldered her way through the throngs of people crowding the bazaar. She ground her teeth as she stomped her way towards the agricultural district, feeling strangely disconnected.

Not that she cared; only one thing was on her mind.

…A certain bastard by the name of Jak.

Oh, she liked him enough. She dared say she even loved him. But apparently, he did not reciprocate her feelings.

If he had, he wouldn't have been KISSING a certain busty general.

Oooh. If Keira wanted to do one thing just then, it would be to punch Jak's stupid face in.

Just to clarify, Keira was generally not a violent person. First, you would have to realize the poor woman's predicament. Ever since she had laid eyes on that mute boy with the pretty blue eyes, she had been stuck with a near-obsessive crush (not that she would ever admit that, of course). It gradually evolved into love, a love which had previously never left her, even after all the changes they both went through.

He was her first and only true love. That she knew in her heart.

And never once had she been allowed to kiss him.

Sometimes, Keira caught herself staring at his soft-looking lips, wondering what their first kiss would be like. Worried, she even went to the extent of practicing on her pillow (yet another thing for which she would rather die than tell anyone).

And now, that first kiss had been ruined. Keira's little fantasy, like a beautiful, delicate, ornate mirror, had been shattered. Shattered into a thousand little pointy fragments!

And who shattered it, exactly?

Well, that awful slut Ashelin (A/N: I don't actually think that Ashelin is an awful slut!) played a big part in it, but ultimately, it was Jak's decision. Jak was supposed to love her.

But anyway, the point of the matter was that she and Jak were unofficially together, and after being everybody's exciting hero, he went and locked lips with Ashelin.

He certainly wasn'tKeira's hero.

Giving Ashelin Keira's special "After-the-Climatic-Battle-Kiss" was simply unforgivable. At least it seemed that way at the moment.

Oh! And to make matters even worse, she found out about this scandal complete with all the little details. Yep, Daxter and his insensitive fat mouth came up to her and started yapping about all the disgusting smut he had witnessed. Keira got blasted with an earful of tongues, lip-locking, and passion. Needless to say, she later had some pretty graphic nightmares.

She should have known better than to believe everything Daxter said; yet she had a terrible feeling that there was truth in what the ottsel had told her. Sure enough, she began to hear people talking about how the handsome rebel hero had been snagged by the ex-baron's sexy daughter.

It definitely hurt Keira deeply. Jak had been snagged by herself from the beginning! Right?!

Right. No question about it...

But there was that doubt.

How could she ever compete with Ashelin? Ashelin was shamelessly hot. Keira was…to preserve her self-esteem, Keira didn't finish that thought. But undeniably, in terms of desirability, Ashelin cast a tall shadow over Keira. Hell, Ashelin's boobs alone could cast a shadow over her.

Keira looked down sullenly at her own unremarkable breasts.

Well, maybe it was time to give up on Jak. Not that she hadn't tried. She couldn't get the guy out of her head. And besides, she wasn't really even sure of anything she felt anymore. Her heart was a mess of tangled emotions.

'Okay. Stop thinking about all of this. It's not getting you anywhere, Keira,'she thought to herself.

If there was one place she really wanted to get more than anywhere, it was to Sandover. She missed her home so much, with the pale beaches, the fresh air, the beautiful green trees, the sparkling blue waters, the pristine and unpolluted sky...Haven City was grimy, dark, smelly, busy, and to put it in short, depressing.

Unbidden thoughts of the Rift Rider she had built came to mind. Keira found herself wishing that she had gone through it instead of young Jak.

'That's cruel and selfish!!!' she realized, appalled with herself.

'But then again, I was the one who labored to build it, and that little kid is gonna grow up to be a cheating dummy anyway…' A rather nasty part of Keira's mind was starting to win her over.

'Wait, what did you tell yourself about not thinking about Jak? You were trying to enjoy yourself!' Keira listened to her reasonable side, deep in thought. She puzzled over the meaning of "enjoy" for a moment.

Ah, yes. The reason she had come to the agricultural district was to get some fresh air.

Seating herself on the sturdy fence surrounding a herd of yakkows, she gazed off into the distance at the fields of cultured plants. She told herself that she was not weak. Romance was not a necessity for a happy life. Jakwas not a necessity for a happy life.

Sighing contentedly at the familiar sound of mooing yakkows, she closed her eyes, swinging her legs slightly. A gentle breeze blew towards her face, causing her green and blue locks of hair to flutter slightly.

It was all very pleasant, until an obnoxiously loud, piercing voice started yelling at her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Get off the fence!!"

Keira's eyes snapped open. Wasn't she allowed to have a bit of peace?! Annoyed, she unwisely chose to stick her tongue out at the offending Freedom League Soldier in a rather childish manner.

"Why you- don't make go over there and get you!!"

Keira giggled devilishly. She knew that Freedom League Soldiers were not known for being violent, unlike the old Krimzon Guards. And besides, it gave her immense satisfaction to hear stress in somebody else's voice.

So it was mean. Lifewas mean.

She continued to sit perched on the fence, swaying her legs nonchalantly. She ignored the FLS until he strode over to her.

"Get of the fence!" he demanded grouchily. Keira continued to swing her legs, unconcerned.

"Why?" she asked lightly. Behind his tinted visor, the man scowled.

"Hey…don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked suspiciously. He was pretty sure he had seen that green and blue hair somewhere.

"Well, I don't know. What's your name?" she asked, starting to get annoyed and wishing he would just leave her the hell alone.

The FLS paused, considering whether or not he should grace her with that knowledge. "Commander Torn," he said gruffly.

Keira looked at him with interest. "Aren't you the guy from the Underground?" she inquired, incredulous.

"Yeah. So what?!" he barked impatiently. Sheesh. Somebody was grumpy.

"Hm…nothing." she replied airily, continuing to swinging her legs in that casual way that made poor grouchy Torn unreasonably angry. He glared at her.

"The Underground has made its point. Praxis is dead," he huffed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you know all this already?"

"Uh-huh. Well, nice to meet you, Torn," she said sarcastically, if not rudely. She didn't really care what anyone thought of her anymore. Getting rejected by the love of your life could do that to you. "You can go on your way now."

Torn growled in frustration. "Didn't you hear me?! I told you to get off the fence!"

Keira rolled her eyes rudely. "And I asked you why, and you didn't answer me!"

A vein popped in Torn's forehead. He really didn't need this right now. He had been in an ass mood ever since the kiss between Ashelin and Jak.

"Because," he gritted out, "you're disturbing the livestock! If you want to sit down, go sit over there!" He pointed to a little bench in the distance.

Keira yawned. "I don't want to walk all the way over there. I'm comfortable right here, thank-you. And the yakkows don't mind me," she said, gesturing towards the oblivious animals grazing on the green tufts of grass. "What; is there some sort of law against sitting on fences?"

Torn chose not to reply. Instead, he took off his helmet so that Keira could be exposed to his evil death glare. "Get. Off. The. Fence."

Keira looked surprisingly unimpressed. "Just leave me alone! You don't have any legitimate reason to be bothering me. Or are you trying to hit on me?" she asked her last question slyly, and in a joking manner meant to piss him off.

It worked wonderfully. Torn ground his teeth loudly. "Of course not!!" he hissed. "Do you see anyone else sitting on the fence? No. So get off!"

"Did anyone else organize a resistance against Praxis? No. So go away!" she shot back.

"What does thathave to do with anything?" he spat out. His icy blue eyes flashed angrily. "Why are you being so stubborn? I'm not going to put up with this much longer!"

Keira, too, was angered. She stood up, and even though she was shorter than him, glared at him fiercely. "Look, I don't want to deal with you either! Sitting on a fence isn't hurting anyone, and I just want to be here without nosy jerks interrupting me! I think you're just pissed off about something else, and you're taking it out on me!"

Torn winced. Ouch. That last part was uncannily true. "Fine," he muttered, frowning. He hated to admit defeat, but his stance had been a bit knocked by her viciousness. Who expected such an argument from a girl who dyed her hair weird colors and wore such campy old clothes?

For some reason, the girl continued to glare at him, possibly even more intensely. "I do NOT dye my hair, and my clothes are not campy!" she spat poisonously.

Oops. Had he said that out loud?

Well, Torn was a man of strategy, and he knew when it was wise to retreat.

Before she could continue, he said quickly, "Uh, I guess I'll leave you be. Just don't mess with the yakkows." With that, he placed his shiny blue helmet back on and hurried off.

After Torn had left, Keira's rage simmered down and she sat back down on the fence. "Ha!" she said out loud, rather triumphantly. "That Torn is a real jerk. I hope I never see him again."

But of course, it seemed nothing Keira ever hoped for came to be.

Keira trudged through the dim and grimy streets of Haven, heading back to her apartment. The light was beginning to fade away, and another unexceptionally dull day was coming to an end. The dying rays of light cast grey overtones on the already dismal streets. She sighed heavily, her slim hands stuffed in her pockets. The miserable subject of Jak and Ashelin was once again being rehearsed in her head.

Needless to say, Keira was feeling very bitter.

"Keira! Keira! Hey, babe, wait up!"

Extremely reluctantly, the mechanic with the blue and green hair turned around. "Hello, Daxter," she said as unenthusiastically as possible.

Not noticing her lack of interest, the furry orange ottsel beamed up at her. "Here!" he piped merrily, handing her a fluorescent orange flier. "I've been looking for you everywhere! I wanted you to come to the dance party at the Naughty Ottsel tonight. It would definitely cheer you up, don't you think, Keira? Who knows, you might find a nice guy there! One almost as good as me!" He grinned widely at her with what he thought was a winning smile.

Keira rubbed the dark bags under her green eyes. "Hn. No thanks, Daxter."

Not discouraged, Daxter leapt onto her shoulder, much to her discomfort. "C'mon, Keir! You never have any fun."

Keira was inclined to agree. She never did have any fun. So what? She didn't really care. All she wanted to do was angst about Jak. And speaking of Jak, he'd probably be there. And she wasn't ready to face him. So she replied dully to the furry orange creature, "I'm not much of a dancing person, Daxter. Maybe you should find somebody more exciting."

Daxter pouted. "Baby, you're really important to me! Just come with me this one time, and I'll promise you'll have fun." He gave her a big furry thumbs-up.

Keira couldn't help but smile slightly. It was nice to know somebody cared. "Alright then, Daxter. If you say so…"

Daxter grinned. "Great! You're doing the right thing, Keira!" Then he said something so sensitive that he surprised Keira. "Don't mind Jak. He can't appreciate you good enough."

She just nodded, stunned. Then she followed Daxter off to his bar. Because he was right; she should enjoy life more, and stop wasting away pining over Jak. The only problem was getting over him…

Argh. Keira had entirely forgotten why she had ever agreed to come to this horrible place. The music was way too loud and not to her taste, the decorations were a ghastly shade of orange, the air smelled of a combination of cigar smoke, alcohol, and body odor, and worst of all, an all too familiar person had just sat on the stool beside her.

Torn didn't even glance at her, and Keira chose to ignore him.

"Hi! What can I get for you?" a perky Tess asked, her voice raised over the thrum of music and voices.

"Uh, orange juice would be fine…" she said uncertainly, not wanting to drink any alcohol. Looking around, she saw that everyone was drinking some form of it. Great, now she felt even more out of place.

Smiling, Tess came back with her drink, and then went off to another customer. Keira took a sip of her orange juice, then almost spit it back out. Was there beermixed in?! Eww.

Disgusted, she pushed it away. She sat on the yakkow hide stool for a while, her face resting on her open palms. Distantly, Keira began to wonder when Jak would come…she sighed dreamily.

Oh. Right. He'd probably come with Miss Boobtastic.

She sighed again, this time sadly.

Keira continued to sit at the bar under the soft yellow lighting with nobody to talk to. She was bored out of her skull.

Of course, talking to the tattooed man next to her who was drinking his beer all by himself was completely out of the question.

Adamantly, she continued to ignore him. She thought she saw him glance at her out of her peripheral vision, but it must have been her imagination. Attempting to stave off boredom whilst waiting for somebody to approach her, she began counting the bottles of liquor on the rack behind the bar.

It suddenly hit Keira how totally pathetic this was…which was why she decided to initiate a conversation with Torn.

"Hi Torn," she yelled over the noise.

She listened for a response, and thought she heard a grunt. But you couldn't be too sure.

"…It sure is loud in here, huh?" she said hesitantly. He didn't even look at her. All she saw was his profile. She noticed he had a very straight nose. His tattoos were dulled with time, and in shadowed areas of his face they looked almost like angular shadows themselves. Absentmindedly, she wondered how old Torn was. His eyes were an abnormally pale shade of blue, not rich and alluring like Jak'…

Um. Time to stop staring at Torn.

"You're just about as talkative as a block of wood, aren't you?" she muttered dejectedly, thinking he wouldn't hear her over the din.

"What?" he asked irritably, turning towards her.

Oops…at least she got his attention.

"I said, 'it's loud in here'," she corrected quickly. He looked at her suspiciously, but didn't press any further.

"Did you have fun sitting on your fence?" he asked sourly.

Keira nodded enthusiastically. "So, what's eating you?" she asked curiously. He did seem to be upset about something.

"None of your business," he snapped, turning back to his mug of beer.

Keira sighed. She didn't care if she was being nosy, but something about him made her want to talk to him. She stared at the crowd of chatting and laughing people out on the dance floor as she thought about how to best approach him.

"How about I tell you a story, then maybe you'll feel better about talking to me?" she tried. She felt stupid, though.

Torn shrugged, so Keira continued. "Well, you know Jak? He and I were in love. I think. I know I was in love with him, at least."

Torn looked at her with a sudden interest. Slightly uncomfortably, she continued. "We had a bit of a fall-out when he and I got separated and I was sort of seeing this other guy…" Keira chose not to mention who 'the other guy' was. "…but we made up. We never got to kiss, because Daxter kept interrupting us."

Torn had a bit of an idea where this was going, but he continued to listen to her. "We didn't see each other that often afterwards, because, you know, he was off being the hero, and then I hear that he was kissing Ashelin Praxis. We haven't seen each other since that news, and I- "

Keira broke off to keep the tremor out of her voice. It would be extremely humiliating to start crying in front of him. Torn just nodded in understanding. Keira suddenly felt very silly, telling such a personal story to somebody she barely knew.

"So, do you want to tell me about yourself now?" she asked Torn nervously. She berated herself for sounding so timid. There was no reason to be shy around him, right?

"Ashelin was my girlfriend," he said brusquely, taking another swig of beer.

Keira blinked. "Oh, um…alright. Care to elaborate?"

Torn sighed, plonking his mug back on the wooden counter. "Ashelin and I were together, we got along well, then I find out she's kissing Jak. And to tell the truth, it hurt more than it should have. I think she was the only woman who I ever really…" he trailed off, not bothering to finish the sentence.

"Loved?" Keira asked. Torn winced. She wondered why. Did this man have an aversion to romance or something? Feeling rather awkward, she forgetfully took a sip of her orange juice, then nearly gagged. Seriously, orange juice and beer was NOT a good combination. Was it an aspiration of Daxter's to have all the drinks be alcoholic?

She was broken out of her disgust by Torn's voice. It was a barely audible, "I don't know."

Keira smiled at him. She felt a bit more companionable with him, now that they were in the same boat. "Maybe you just liked her because she's so…um, what's a good word…"

'Busty?' she thought, though that wouldn't sound so great on her part.

Torn sighed heavily. Typically, other women were jealous of Ashelin's figure. He supposed this aqua-haired woman was just the same.

"Look, she's very intelligent, has a good sense of humor, and is a strong person; in addition to being pretty," he growled.

"Well, I didn't mean to sound like that," Keira said apologetically, a light blush staining her cheeks. Inwardly, she was collapsing. How on earth would Jak ever come back to her if Ashelin was all that and more?

"So…this is usually the part where the two scorned lovers get together, huh?" she mused out loud.

"Give me a break…" Torn said, looking agitated, if not totally disturbed. He scooted conspicuously to the edge of his bar stool farthest away from the mechanic.

Damn, the man had good hearing. Keira was insulted that he had moved away from her as if she was some kind of weirdo. She was also mortified that he had actually taken her little comment seriously.

"I-it was just ajoke!!" she cried out. She was horrified to feel her cheeks blazing hotly. "Don't you read any romance novels?"

Torn stared at her, eyebrows raised. "No."

Oh, what a wonderful impression she had made.

Fortunately, Keira was saved from having to say anything more as the crowd quieted down and everybody turned towards the front door.

Deep down inside of them, Torn and Keira both knew what was coming.

"Jak! Hey buddy! Hey, Ashelin, baby!" Daxter scurried towards two people who had just entered from the blustery outside. The crowd began to murmur excitedly as a blonde man with brilliant cobalt eyes strode in, an arm clasped tightly around the thin exposed waist of a gorgeous smiling redhead; they were the perfect celebrity couple.

Keira's felt a hard pressure in her throat. Her heart was throbbing, dull and quick. No wonder Ashelin was smiling…she was being held by Jak, after all. Keira's whole body was stiff and frozen as she clenched her fists, which were shaking in her lap.

Feeling almost as if she was dreaming, she glanced beside her at Torn. He stared at the couple stonily, a muscle in his jaw twitching. His left hand grasped the handle of his mug so tightly that his knuckles were milky white, and his eyes were squinting with a dangerously homicidal expression.

Frightened, Keira vacated her seat to one far away from Torn.

She watched Jak from her new seat, struggling not to burst into tears. He didn't even notice her, even with her bright green hair. She could feel her lip trembling uncontrollably.

Jak and Ashelin slipped into a rather private booth, oblivious to the watery-eyed mechanic watching them through a gap in the mass of dancers.

Keira continued to ogle, as if her eyes were magnetically attached to the sight of them.

'God…they look so good together. Who am I to think that Jak and I were meant to be…?'

Miserably, she took a shaky breath. Jak and Ashelin hadn't even started doing anything yet, but her heart already felt like it had been trampled by yakkows and chewed up by Metalheads. It was an actual physical pain, a throbbing of her system, a shortness of breath.

Suddenly, Jak caught her eye and waved. Keira just gaped. Ashelin, looking for who Jak was greeting, noticed Keira. She smiled (quite a fake smile, at that) and waved also.

Oh, the BITCH!!! The cruel, evil BITCH!!!

Keira turned around so that nobody would see the hot salty tears pouring down her face. How could he just wave at her like that and turn back to Ashelin? It was almost as if he was so stupid that he couldn't even comprehend what he was doing to her…

Maybe he didn't.

….

Of course he did. Nobody was that thick.

Wiping her eyes hastily, she looked over at Torn again. He looked no less hazardous with his intimidating glower and shuddering hand.

Then her attention was diverted to Jak and Ashelin again. They were talking and laughing, like two people having fun, a happy couple.

The aqua-haired woman suddenly felt very lonely. She never really belonged in this era in the first place, and now she didn't even have Jak.

Seeking the comfort of company, she wiped her eyes one last time and cautiously approached Torn again.

"Hi," she greeted. He ignored her. Rude bastard.

Torn's eyes were glued to Ashelin. He felt like a sharp blade was twisting slowly in his heart. Had she really just discarded him, without warning, forJak? Like an old sweater? Like a carton of milk past its expiration date? (A/N: You love my corny similes. Admit it:D)

His eyes narrowed. He wasn't an old sweater, and he most certainly wasn't expired milk.

However, he couldn't feel any anger towards Ashelin. She was just too beautiful of person, in both body and soul…

JAK on the other hand…

He fixed the ignorant blonde with his infamous Murderous Stare. Unfortunately, a feminine hand started to wave in his face, obstructing his view.

"Hellooooo…anybody home?" said the obnoxious voice of Miss Strange Fashion Sense.

Grrr, her voice was so scratchy. Did she have a permanent cold or something?

Reluctantly, Torn snapped his head up towards her, his cold blue eyes meeting her bloodshot emerald ones.

He blinked in surprise. Had she been crying? Scrutinizing her, he noted that her eyelashes were spiked with lingering moisture, and her sparkly green orbs were filmed over with excessive moisture.

Torn wrinkled his nose in disgust. He hated it when people cried.

"What do youwant?" he growled. What an unattractive girl. No wonder Jak had dumped her. But he didn't have to take Ashelin.

Keira stepped back a bit, hurt. She had never really met somebody with such a cutting personality. Replying with, 'I was lonely' would sound incredibly feeble, so she decided to verbally hit him back.

"Ashelin sure looks happy with Jak, doesn't she? I'll bet she'll never let go of him now. He's probably a great kisser, too," she said, attempting to sound offhand. All she really succeeded in was depressing herself as well as Torn.

The man with the tattooed face continued to look at her, his brow creased. "Go away," he snapped crossly.

Keira gasped in outrage. "This is my seat!" she yelled at him, momentarily forgetting Jak for the offensive Commander before her. "This section of the bar isn't your territory, you know! You can't go shooing people off just because you're a crotchety old jerk! If you want to mope because your pretty princess found somebody better, go sulk in the corner!" she shouted, gesturing towards a shadowy area tucked away at the edge of the room.

Well, Torn was twitching, grinding his jaw, and popping veins, but he wasn't even paying attention to her. Instead, he was grimacing at something over her shoulder.

Annoyed, she turned around to see what all the fuss was about.

The music had died down to something more gentle, more romantic, and the crowd had formed a misshaped ring around a certain special couple.

Keira inhaled sharply. All she could do was gawk like a fish. Jak was actually slow-dancing with somebody other than her. Ashelin, specifically.

Keira was in such a state of shock that her body didn't know what to do. What was "breathing", again?

Ashelin's stunning body was pressed up against Jak's faded blue tunic. Her lovely, delicately tattooed face tilted up towards him, gazing up into ocean-blue orbs with her seductively lidded jade eyes.

Passionately, her full rosy lips met Jak's thinner ones in a gentle kiss.

The crowd squealed and 'ooh'ed as Haven's favorite couple held each other lovingly. Everyone was buzzing with exhilaration at getting to see such an exciting act of romance.

Everyone except for those two unobtrusive party-poopers in the corner.

Suddenly finding herself hyperventilating, Keira plopped her body down on the seat next to Torn.

"I can't believethis!!" she whispered, to nobody in particular. She looked down at her hands, which were a pale shade of milky white. They were trembling violently.

Unexpectedly, a larger, rougher pair of warm hands enclosed hers firmly.

'Jak!' she thought joyfully, disorientated. Oh. Wait. Jak was dancing with that horrible woman.

Raising her head, she saw, much to her surprise, that the owner of the hands was none other than Torn himself.

Torn looked down at her wide sea-green eyes. They actually sort of reminded him of Ashelin's…

The way she was looking at him, like he was wearing a clown suit or something, was beginning to exasperate him. Ashelin definitely would not look at him like that.

"Stop twitching," he muttered gruffly, referring to Keira's hands. Quickly, he released her icy cold hands.

Keira sighed. Of course. Torn wasn't even looking at her anymore; he was staring wistfully at Ashelin.

'Whatever.' Keira turned her gaze to Jak and began to watch him longingly.

"They look so…righttogether, don't they?" Keira murmured, disheartened.

"No," Torn gritted out strongly. "They look awful together."

Keira shrugged and pulled her knees up to her chin, balancing precariously on the bar stool. She groaned and hugged herself. How could Jak be so brutal in his snubbing of her?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the dance ended.

Ashelin and Jak went back to their little booth. Keira and Torn wallowed in self-pity.

A new song started, and Keira saw that Jak was suddenly coming in their direction…without Ashelin.

Torn glared daggers at the blonde with all the venom he could muster, but nobody noticed.

"Hi Keira," Jak started awkwardly.

So. He hadn't totally forgotten that she existed.

"H-hello, Jak," she replied bitterly. Jak blinked in confusion at her tone of voice.

"I was wondering if you wanted to dance…?" he inquired nervously.

Keira just stared. The fool had the gall to ask her to dance after he himself had just put on that performance with Ashelin?

…But she did want to dance with Jak. She really, really did.

"Uh…" she began uncertainly. What should she say?

Much to her surprise and utter confusion, Torn suddenly stood up between her and Jak.

"She doesn't want to dance with you," he growled, fists clenched.

Unsettled, Jak resisted the impulse to step back. "What?" he asked, perplexed. Since when did Torn have any interest in Keira's business? His eyes narrowed as suspicious thoughts crossed his mind. Did Keira and Torn…? No. It just wasn't possible.

"You heard me," said Torn in his rough voice, glaring at Jak with his chilly ice eyes.

Jak glared back. "Keira can answer her own questions, Torn." He moved past Torn and looked at Keira expectantly. "Would you like to dance?" he asked again, the tips of his ears tinged red with embarrassment. He always felt different around Keira…he liked her…a lot…but Ashelin…

Keira cheeks flamed hotly as well. "I-" she squeaked. Pressure, pressure! "I have a headache!" she blurted out. 'Good job,' she thought to herself sarcastically. 'You always take the path of least resistance…'

Jak nodded. "Okay then. I'll see you around, Keira." He then proceeded to walk back into the crowd, but not before shooting Torn a mistrustful look.

Keira sighed in relief, and Torn sat back down. "What was that all about?" she asked him uneasily.

Torn shrugged in his usual unsociable manner. "I don't believe in anything that asshole says."

Keira's eyes widened in shock at his language. "Don't call Jak that!" she snapped, her cheeks coloring to the same shade of magenta as her pants. Torn turned to her seriously, eyebrows raised.

"He is an asshole," he stated sternly, ignoring Keira's wince. "Look what he's done to both you and me. Neither of us was even properly broken up with; it's as if we're not important enough for that."

Keira looked away, troubled. He did have a point. "Well, it was Ashelin's fault, too. Does that make her a bitch?" she asked tartly.

"No," came the simple reply. "It wasn't her fault at all."

Keira huffed. "How was it not her fault?"

Torn was silent. "Jak…seduced her."

Keira stared, then started laughing without any real mirth. It was more…maniacal laughter. "Jak? Seduce Ashelin? Wake up, Torn!! Ashelin was the one who kissed Jak!!"

'Really,' Keira thought sardonically. 'Is the poor man trying to delude himself? It was obviously the other way around.'

"You weren't there," Torn pointed out, annoyed at her hysterical cackling.

"You weren't thereeither!"

"So what?"

"So, You don't know that Jak was the one who kissed Ashelin!"

"But I do know."

"NO, you do not!!"

"It's obvious, um…" he trailed off. What was her name again? Kairi? Kiki? Carrie? Cara? He had heard Jak say it…

"Go ahead, finish," Keira demanded impatiently.

Torn cleared his throat. "What's your name again?"

Keira sighed in frustration as her palm hit her forehead. "Alzheimer's already?" she deadpanned.

Torn gave her an extremely insulted look. "I'm only 27," he grumped, taking her literally.

"Yeah right. You're obviously forty-something."

Torn stared at her. Did she even know who he was? No sane person would dare tell that to him. Unconsciously, his calloused fingers moved to his tattooed face, checking for wrinkles.

Keira laughed.

Torn twitched. That was it. He was going to kill her.

He watched as the young mechanic stretched her arms out, yawning loudly. She certainly wasn't like most of Haven City's other females. And certainly not comparable to Ashelin. But was that really a bad thing…?

As Keira stretched out, her bright eyes automatically searched out Jak. There he was, sitting in the booth with her, conversing with Daxter. Her eyes lazily traced his strong jaw line, his nose, his eyes, his ears, his lips… Examining his small green goatee from afar, she wished his strong arms were holding her now…

Eyelids drooping heavily, Keira didn't realize that she herself was being observed.

"Past your bedtime, girl?" the Commander grunted.

"Eh? My name is Keira!" she pouted. "Last name's Hagai, age 22, my occupation is a mechanic, and I'm going home now." With some difficulty, she heaved herself off her seat and staggered away on stiff legs. Man, she was drowsy. Maybe it was past her bedtime…

"Wait," came the gravelly voice behind her. Keira turned around in the dim yellow lighting.

"What? I said I'm tired and I'm leaving!" the aqua-haired female snapped.

Torn got up and followed her. As his duty as a Freedom League Commander, it was wrong to let a tired young woman leave off into the night alone, especially with all the drunks outside. "It's not safe out there; I'll walk you home."

Keira smiled. She really had quite a striking smile…"It's okay, thanks. You can stay here. I have my wrench," she assured him, pulling a huge steel wrench out of a pocket in her worn baggy pants. Torn stepped back. Talk about scary.

"Well, bye! It was nice meeting you, even if you are a jerk!"

Torn looked on as the green and blue-haired head bobbed and wove its way through the crowd, until she disappeared altogether. For some indiscernible reason, he felt an odd sense of loss.

Glancing at Ashelin, he saw that Jak, who was nearby her, was surveying Keira in her departure.

Though he had no idea why, Torn didn't like that.

So what did you think? I'm curious to know, since I don't think there's many Torn/Keira fics out there! And by the way, I like all the characters, Keira, Ashelin, Jak, and Torn. But truthfully, I don't think Jak and Ashelin make a very good lasting couple.