A/N: Oh my! It's almost two months! I'm really sorry guys, it's just, well, school had eaten me alive and personal matters needed to be checked up on. I'm sooooo sorry again! Please forgive me! ... Okay, so I don't know what happened in this chapter but I still hope you enjoy this second one-shot as much as the first one, and thanks to TinyPiecesOfMyHeart for the theme and I'm super sorry it took so long. Hehe. So, anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

His Dark Empress, Part II

"Hurt"

By FrozenCreatures

"Among my stillness was a pounding heart." - Shannon A. Thompson, Seconds Before Sunrise

'I don't know pain.' That's what she says to the people all the time. And, yeah, maybe it is true - and oh, how very very true. I've heard a lot of rumors about her the first three to for months I've been in Hidden High. Rumors about how a girl (at that point, I've never really seen or knew her, so, yeah) beat up the strongest guy (or self-proclaimed anyway) with only her fists without flinching. Rumors about her surviving a high fall as she slipped down the long stairway in their home once. Rumors about her time in juvie, a result from being in a fight and supposedly started it.

Do I believe this rumors?

Yes, yes I do. She even has scars to prove it.

'I don't know pain.' That's what I always hear. That's what I do believe. But then . . .

'I don't know pain, Max.'

Why does it seem like she's lying?

'Really?' I asked her, crossing my arms in front of me, mouth quirked into a smirk (or, I hope so anyway). 'The last time I remembered, only robots don't know pain. And you're not a robot.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Your really don't get it, do you?'

'Get what?'

She bit her bottom lip. I looked away. And coughed. 'Get what?' I repeated, acting normal as if I didn't see anything that's making hormones haywire.

She stopped and so did I. I turned around and looked at her. Her arms were quivering as if cold but there was an intensity in her glare when I reached out and tried to take off my jacket for her. 'Max,' she started. 'Stop this . . . whatever this is you're doing.'

A breath hitched in my throat and my heart paused from beating for a tiny second before it returned. I cocked my head to the side. 'What?'

She shook her head. 'Look, Max, you're kind and all but your kindness won't help me.' When I said nothing, she shook her head again and flailed her arms in resignation. 'Just, please. Stay away from me and don't talk to me.'

With that, she walked away.

And I stood there, trying not to acknowledge the hurt gnawing inside.

'I don't know pain.'

I now wonder if she was referring to the pain inflicted to her or the pain she inflected to the people around her. It's getting kinda hard to tell.

'Dude! Did you hear?'

Murmurs.

'And I was like, 'oh my God, is it real?' and she was like . . .'

More murmurs.

'No, no, Officer. I assure you that you won't see her again.'

Murmurs.

I ignored them all. Two more corridors to pass until Science Class. Two . . . more . . . corridors . . .

'Phoebs!' came a high-pitched voice. I didn't stop to look at Cherry as she ran beside my sister. 'Did you hear?'

'About what?' I can hear my sister ask. 'No one's telling me about what happened.'

I heard Cherry let out a giggle. 'You won't believe this but I swear, you'll freak out!'

'Come on, Cher, tell!'

A pause. I tried not to let them notice the slowness in my steps. I silently seethed. What the hell am I doing?!

But I couldn't help but listen.

'So, I came home last night and checked in my Feeds and there was this news about . . . umm, what's the name? But anyway, check this,' I can here the shuffling of the bag from where I was and it took all the will not to turn and join them.

A shuddering stop and I know something was wrong. I felt a hand grip my shoulder and I tried to suppress from meeting my sister's obvious stare. 'Max, it's-'

. . .

I hadn't noticed I was running until now.

'What the hell were you thinking?'

I can almost feel my bones break and my lungs explode when I finally found her. She was leaning on the rail guard, her back to me, as she watched the whole of city. She didn't turn around and look at me when she talked, and it angered me a little.

'How'd you find me?'

I walked to her side, setting my elbows on top of the metal fence. 'You're the only person I know whose motorcycle leaves "roses" as tire tracks,' I replied, looking at the black beauty parked a little ways to my left. 'And besides, this is the only place I know you would go to for solitude and quiet.'

She stayed silent and I glanced at her and bit back my disappointment when I found her eyes clear and cheeks not streaked with tears. It made her statement grow more and more true. And I hate it. I looked at the city again.

A fast shift down and I squinted my eyes. Nothing in Hiddenville came down that fast, not even Dad. It was white and quick, dots of blue and red on the front, and it stopped on the large blue house on the east of the city. The building . . . it was familiar somehow. I furrowed my eyebrows. Where did I see that house? Umm, erm . . . Ugh, darnit!

'There like ants up here,' I heard her murmur. 'So small and tiny and puny and . . . little.'

I chuckled softly. 'Yeah, of course they are.' I looked at the ground and waved my hand, levitating small rocks with only small amount of energy, enough for it to lift a few inches but without Tara noticing.

I can hear her click her tongue. I smiled. But then . . .

'Why did you do it?' I asked again as I looked at her. Her dark golden hair was a curtain but I know her - her small habits, her mannerisms. She crooked both her index fingers, grating the metal fence with her nails. Nervous. 'Why did you steal all those things?'

'Isn't it obvious?' she said with a weary tone. I narrowed my eyes slightly. 'To steal for fun!'

I clenched my hands into fists. 'Don't say that. You know it's not true. You're not like that, T! Doing things 'cause you just want to do them. Hell, that's not you at all! I know you're not like that and I know that this - whatever this is, is affecting you!' I said. 'So don't you dare say it's just "for fun".'

We didn't say anything after that for a long while. I just looked at her and she just stared at the city. The wind blew and her hair swayed. And even if it was just for a moment, I saw face, her lips swollen and the sides of her eyes were crinkled. My glare softened.

'Doesn't it hurt you?' I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder. She tensed. 'Doesn't it hurt you that people think you're unkind and rude and unsympathetic or . . ." I swallowed the last word that came to my thought. Inhuman.

She turned to face me (finally!), a small undecipherable smile on her lips. There was no tears. 'I wouldn't really care about what they say about me. And, besides, I can't feel pain.'

I rolled my eyes at her statement but I couldn't help but murmur, 'Feeling pain is different from being hurt, Tara. Well, maybe kind of. I know that you "can't feel pain" but you're still a person.' When she said nothing, I finally sighed. 'Look, I'm trying to help you here the best that I can but I'm not getting anywhere if you're just being silent all the time. I don't even know the whole story of why you are, well, you know. But, please, Tara . . .'

Her shoulders tensed and she rasped her nails again. But her smile was soft now and all I wanted was to tuck those stray strands behind her ear but I didn't. 'And so what if I say "I'm hurt"? It won't make a difference,' she said gently before shaking her head and staring at the city once more. 'Dad won't forgive me, people would think what they want about me and I still won't be allowed to go back and go home.'

I nodded my head at this. She was right. As much as I want her to believe that it will be alright, she was right. I . . .

'Yes, I'm hurt,' she said and I tried not to double-take.

'Tara . . .'

'I'm hurt. I want to cry. Wait, I already am for cheese's sake! I want to shout to the world that yes, they were right. But, I can't - or, rather, don't want to. There is no one who understands me. Who thought there was another meaning for my infamous quote,' she said, wiping her eyes painfully with the back of her hand. 'I don't know pain. Literally. I was born a CIPA* but everyone thought what I said was a metaphor to something. To my strength. And maybe it is. But . . .' her tears were back again and this time, I wiped them away. I gave her an encouraging smile and she replied with one of hers, albeit a little watery. 'But not emotionally and that's where they often strike, either consciously or not o direct or indirect.'

'You can tell them,' I suggested. 'If you tell them personally, they'll understand. People aren't really that close-minded.'

A cruel laughter left her lips as she hugged herself. 'People are hypocrites. Always saying those quotes about not judging people easily but they themselves say the most grandest lies about someone they deem so unworthy of their respect.' She bit her lip. 'They're cowards.'

I laughed with her before pulling her into a hug. 'Yeah, you're right,' I murmured into her hair. 'But, you've gotta give it to me though, I'm not a coward.'

I heard her laugh. 'Yeah, you're not,' she said, once I released her. 'You're an idiot.'

'What?' I said, feigning hurt as I put an exaggerated hand on my heart. 'You wound me.'

She rolled her eyes. I smiled before I realized it was almost nearing dusk. 'Do you have anywhere to go?'

'No, I don't really know.'

'Then you could maybe stay in our place,' I offered. 'I know that our dinner party wasn't really a great success but I know Mom and Dad won't mind you staying.'

She flashed me a toothy grin and we started walking to her motorcycle. 'Nah, you've done too much for me today,' she said and I was about to protest when she quickly added, 'Besides,' she looked back at where we stood moments ago, her eyes showing longing, 'I have to talk to someone first.'

I nodded my head and gave her a thumbs up. Tara smiled. We stopped shortly after and she offered me a ride home but I declined politely.

'You sure?' she asked me, combing her hair with her fingers.

'Yeah, I need some time before I can go home, Mom's probably going to kill my ear,' I said, shrugging my shoulders. Tara nodded. I scratched my cheek. 'See you tomorrow?'

'Maybe not, but next time.' She walked towards her bike but stopped before she rushed and hugged me. 'Thanks again, Max, for everything.'

I returned her embrace and patted her head. 'Pleasure's all mine.'

A/N: Okay, so it's more of friendship rather than romance, but oh well. Hope you enjoy! Please write any comments (but please no flames) and tell if I made mistakes. Thank you! :)

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I don't know if you caught what Tara did but if you want a full story about it, just tell me.

*CIPA - congenital insensitivity to pain. or other words, a disorder in which you can't feel pain. literally.