Disclaimer: I don't own S.W.I.T.C.H.

Note: I own Nova Clairvoyance and Lotus Moonbeam.

Wild Hearts

~ Chapter Two ~

By: Hikari Maiden

Early the next morning, Hal woke to classical music. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. What the heck? When he opened his eyes, and began to climb out of bed, he noticed the neatly folded futon, cushions, and blankets neatly stacked beside his bed, then, it hit him. Nova. He emerged from the bedroom and approached her. What is she up to? He followed the music to the living room doorway. He stood in the doorway, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at her with a half-smile and raised eyebrows. "Nova. What are you doing?"

Bubbly, she smiled, laughed, and waved at him from her spot on the living room floor. "Good morning, Hal!" Her mind no longer clear, and her concentration gone, she began to lose her balance. In her struggle to regain her balance, she flailed her arms and leaned her body forward, backward, left, and right. She fell backwards and her body violently vibrated as she slammed back-first onto the floor. She laid there, irritated expression, bangs in her face. "Ow. That hurt." She rolled her eyes as she deeply inhaled, then, blew her bangs from her face.

Hal paused the classical music and approached her. He sat beside her. "Nova."

She sat up. Head turned away, eyes on a random object, she told him, "I'm fine."

He noticed she didn't look at him. Why won't she look at me? Her behaviour is suspicious. "Why won't you look at me?"

She shook her head. I don't want him to know. Tears swelled up in her eyes. No matter how painful. "Nothing."

The cell phone at her hip began to vibrate and her heart skipped and began to pound. Chills chased through her and heat rose and spread along her flesh and goose bumps formed. She answered her cell phone. "Hello?"

He sounded chirpy. "Hey, baby. How are you?"

Her reply sounded lonely. "I miss you. I wish you were here." I'm gonna cry! Not fair!

Hal stared at her, his expression thoughtful. So, that's her problem. "Ahem! You know? You're allowed to ask him to join us."

"Hal says you're allowed to join us."

He explained the situation to his step-mom and his dad and they gave him permission to go. "Okay."

She turned to Hal with a lit up expression. "He says, 'Okay.'"

Hal looked at her with mild expression in his eyes and a gentle smile. "I'll pick him up at the airport."

"Hal says he will pick you up at the airport."

"I'm on my way."

She giggled. "Umm-hmm. I can't wait."

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, too, honey."

"Bye."

"Bye-bye." She flipped her cell phone shut, placed it back in the case at her hip, then, she looked at Hal with a huge smile, bright eyes, and tears. She hugged him. "Hal! Thank-you!"

"You seemed lonely. It gave me the creeps."

Kai entered. "What's all the commotion?"

She excitedly approached him. "Kai! Guess who's coming?"

His eyes widened and he stared at her. "I don't know."

"My boyfriend, silly!"

"Oh."

She laughed. Something slightly brushed her heart and mind. Something's wrong with Kai. She stared at Kai with concern. "Kai? What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Fear tugged at her heart. Something's wrong and he won't tell me what. This scares me. He may think I'm joking, but I'm being serious. "Kai. Seriously. No joke. I don't understand it, but my heart feels general things and images flash through my mind, sound, touch, smell, taste, sight, included. It's as if my mind allows me to see and experience what happens to others, even if what I see and experience inside my mind doesn't happen to me. Many would probably want this ability and many would probably tell me I complain about something special and that I had better quit complaining. However, this ability is scary."

Hal stared at her with curiosity. "Are you some kind of psychic?"

"I don't know. Craig Scott came to the high school and showed the Columbine incident. In an image he showed, there was blood on the floor of the library. He showed the news where kids came from the building. I heard gunshots. I heard screams. I saw the person on fire. I saw the person walk into the library. I heard the cruel voice. Craig said the guns were so loud that he thought his ears would bleed. He said that his heart pounded so much. He said that he took off his white hat because the gun boys wanted to shoot anyone with a white hat. He said he laid under a desk in a pool of blood, one friend on each end of him dead. He said the last thing his friend heard before death was racial discrimination. That night, I had difficulty sleeping. Images of what was showed at school that day flashed through my head over and over. My mind seemed to place me in the body of Craig Scott. My mind seemed to make me see through the eyes of Craig Scott. I read the books about his younger sister, Rachel Joy Scott. Books without images create a mental image as I read. Books with images create a voice as I read. Music creates a mental image as I listen."

Hal grinned. "I understand. You're big-hearted. You have strong creativity and artistic ability."

She gave him a surprised look. Oh no! He so did not!

He pulled her work from behind his back.

He did! She dove for the papers. "Paws off! That's mine!"

He seemed to enjoy himself. "You talk a lot, you know that?"

She struggled to snatch her sketches away from him. "Nothing wrong with that! Gimme!"

Kai sighed as he dropped to his knees, then, fell onto his right side.

Nova screamed, "KAI!" Tears came to her eyes and she began to tremble. She dropped to her knees beside him. Her voice trembled as she whispered, "Oh no. Kai." Carefully, she lifted him into her arms, then, she looked at Hal. "Where's his bedroom?"

"I'll show you." He lead her to his bedroom.

Inside his bedroom, she gently laid him in his bed and tucked him in, her whispered words, "Baby monkey."

Hal chuckled.

She told him, "He seems to have a fever. Please, get a cloth and some water, Hal."

Hal darted out the door. Not long after he left, he came back with the cloth and a bowl filled with water.

She laughed. "Whoa. You're fast."

He handed her the cloth and placed the bowl beside her.

She wet the cloth, wrung it out, and placed it on Kai's forehead.

"Wow. You're good."

She laughed.

"Seriously. You'd make a perfect wife."

She grinned. "You know I can't cook worth crock, right?"

Hikari Maiden: Nova is apt to get that reaction out of Hal. She's bubbly and she's got an attitude.