Four's POV
Early morning light streams through my window and onto my face. I roll to my side, desperate for a little more sleep. It's no use.
Get up. Come on, John, I hear Bernie Kosar tell me. I try to ignore him, but he licks my hand.
I take a deep breath and sit up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I can hear the thump-thump-thump of his wagging tail. I look at the time and it's only six thirty in the morning. A deep sigh comes out of me before I get out of bed, careful not to wake Sarah. I grab some fresh clothes and run to the shower.
I know things are really heated with the Mogadorians right now and even the FBI are after me, but BK is getting antsy. I think it's best to take him for a walk. I can handle myself if any Mogs come my way. Besides, I won't go far and I'll be back before anyone's up. If how tiring yesterday's training was is any sign of when everyone else will wake up, I have more than enough time. Six and Nine have really been pushing everyone to their limits.
I put a finger over my lips to tell BK to keep quiet. He trots along happily. Nine's apartment is huge and our footsteps echo against the many walls. We pass along the hallway and I listen if anyone's awake. The coast is clear.
We make it to the living room and I'm starting to think Bernie Kosar will get his walk. That is, until I stop dead in my tracks. My mouth hits the ground. Right there, all tangled up in each other are Six and Nine. I'm hit with a pang of betrayal and something I can't yet identify, though I know there is no good reason for it. BK impatiently sits by the elevator door, but I'm glued to the spot.
Nine is lying down on his back, with one arm behind his head and the other wrapped around Six. He isn't wearing a shirt. Six is on her side and has her head on Nine's bare chest. Her hand rests on his stomach, lingering a little too close to the waistband of his jeans. Their legs are interlaced. I can't take the sight of this. I clear my throat, loud enough to wake them up.
Six sits up so quickly, I'm sure she must have suffered some vertigo. Her dyed blonde hair falls past her shoulders and her olive skin has a certain glow in the morning light. I almost forget that I'm upset. Almost. Nine gets up and runs a hand through his hair, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
"Hey Johnny," Nine says.
Six's eyes suddenly grow wide realizing what I've just seen. She hides her face in her hands and shakes her head. Nine pulls on a t-shirt that was slung over the chair's armrest.
"What's going on here?" I finally ask, surprised by the edge in my voice. BK barks loudly, his paws clawing at the door. It might have woken up the rest, but I'm so hot headed right now I don't even care if all the rest of the Garde show up in the living room.
"Nothing John," Six says. She rubs her temples like she has a headache, which this whole thing is, to me at least. "Nothing happened."
"Oh really? Nothing?" Nine sounds almost hurt. He's shaking his head with a twinge of disappointment, like he can't believe what Six is saying. "I thought it was something. A big thing actually."
My heart is pounding in my ears. Something is boiling inside me and it's going to blow if someone doesn't explain this soon. What is Nine talking about?
"What is going on?" I repeat slowly. I'm starting to think I don't want to know the answer.
"We were talking and fell asleep. That's it," Six tells me, but I wait for Nine to answer. I'd trust Six with my life, but right now I don't believe she's telling me the whole story.
"That's it?" Again, Nine is talking more to Six than me and I can feel the resentment in his voice. What ever happened must have been a big deal to him. "Don't you remember anything? You're the one that came running into my arms. You're the one that said you do need me after all. You're the one that freaking crashed your lips onto mine."
My hands are in fists and it's hard to keep them from shaking. I wouldn't be surprised if I burst into flames at this very moment.
Six gets up and stalks off. Outside, it starts pouring and I know the weather is tied to her emotions. It's her legacy working. Bernie Kosar whimpers and hides under a table when lightning cuts across the sky.
"You what?!" I yell after Six, but she just keeps walking.
Nine rubs his face and slams his hand onto the glass table. It shatters into a million pieces. I feel sorry for the guy, but I'm still fuming.
"Why would you even do that?" I ask Nine, glaring.
"I don't know, genius," His voice is dripping sarcasm and hurt. "Maybe because she kissed me first. Or maybe it's because I like her. Who knows why John?" He gets up and I'm sure he's going to chase after her.
All I can think about is when me and Sam separated with Six. She kissed me, back then. She told me she liked me. She told me she liked Sam too. Does this mean Nine is now on the list? Who's to say Eight isn't on there as well?
Nine is halfway across the room and I jog to catch up with him. He doesn't even acknowledge my presence. We're about to go upstairs in Six's direction, but Eight stands in the way. Nine tells him to move. The stairs are wide enough for us to shove past him, although the look on Eight's face says he's willing to fight if we try.
"I think you should lay off for a while." Eight says. Nine tells him to get out of the way one more time. He doesn't flinch.
A rash realization comes to my mind. "You like Six too, don't you?" The edge in my voice is back again.
"Dude, chill out," Eight says.
"Do you or don't you?" I ask him. Nine paces behind me, looking like he could punch a wall.
"Sure. Six is cool," He responds, furrowing his brow and wonders why I would ask him that.
"Is that why you want us to leave her alone? Huh?" I practically yell at him, but he's still confused. "So while she's up there all alone, you come in and make everything better - like a knight in shining armour."
I can hear a gasp in the distance and a door slams shut. It's Marina. I'm not in the mood to find out what her problem is.
I hear a thud. Nine just knocked a wooden sculpture across the apartment and it lays split in half on the floor. He's growing impatient and I think he'll take his chances in a fight.
"Are the two of you idiots?" Eight exclaims. "I don't think of her that way! I'm into Marina, okay?" He scratches the back of his head in frustration. "But now, she thinks I like Six."
I look at the floor, embarrassed of how I lost my temper, jumped to conclusions and yelled at Eight like that. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean it."
He waves his hand and says it's alright before running after Marina. I look for Nine but he's nowhere to be found. I start to think that he went a different route, but soon I spot him running on the ceiling above me.
"Get down here," I tell him and reluctantly he does.
"What's it to you, anyway?" Nine asks me as we make our way to the rooftop, where Six ran off to. I don't understand where this is going. "So what Six and I did sleep on the same couch? So, maybe we did kiss? So what if Eight was planning on comforting her? I thought you liked that Sarah chick."
I do like Sarah. I love her. But I slump my shoulders and shrug. "It's complicated."
"No it's not," Nine tells me and stops. I stop too. "It's either yes or no. You only have two options Johnny." I hate it when he calls me that.
"It's complicated," I repeat. Nine gives me a look. I sigh before trying to explain the whole mess of a love life I have. "I love Sarah. I really do, and she loves me back. She's great and I know she's the one. It's just that I can't stop thinking about Six. It's not that I want to, but she's just there haunting my thoughts, you know? Six is great and all, but I know that I love Sarah."
There's a pause before he speaks. "Then you better take your pick, bro." There's an odd somber tone to his voice. It's very unlike him and I know he's not usually serious about things. "Call me cheesy or whatever, but when I'm with Six ... when I'm with her, I just feel different - she makes me feel different. I've never felt like that before."
I understand where he's coming from. I feel the same way about Sarah, but what troubles me is that I feel the same way with Six too.
"When I first saw her, I though hey, she's kinda hot. It'll be fun having her around. Maybe a little flirting, nothing serious," Nine tells me. He looks around to make sure no one's listening. I don't blame him. I've rarely seen this side of him - the soft side, the one that has a heart. "Then we got to know each other in training and whatever. Man, this girl is infuriating and that just made me want her more. She's seriously messed up my brain, dude."
I stare down at my shoes like they're the most interesting thing in the world. Nine looks at me, trying to figure out what I'm doing.
"Go," I finally say. "You really like her, don't you? Go get her, Nine."
He stands by my side and pats my shoulder before taking off. I feel like crap right now. How can I be the great Pittacus Lore if I haven't been up for more than an hour and messed so much up?
I list down all the apologies I better start preparing.
There's Bernie Kosar, who's still probably waiting to be walked; Six and Nine, who's relationship I ended before it even begun; Eight and Marina, who suffered unneeded and undeserved whiplash from my temper. The only one left is Sarah, though I'm pretty sure I messed it up with her too, still having feelings for Six.
I slide down the wall and hang my head in my hands. I really need to get my shit together.
