The summer that Kaidan turned 16 was one of the worst of his life. Sure, he was on summer break, but that didn't stop them from hovering over him, seeing what he was doing, checking up on him. Even worse, his own mom helping them! She never let him go anywhere, do anything. It was all, "Kaidan, don't do that! Kaidan, if only your father could see you now! Kaidan, can't you just be normal for once?"
As if he had a choice in the matter…
He turned over on his bed, restlessly. It was stifling in his room, so he got up and padded on bare feet to the window, opening it. He leaned out and looked up at the sky. He couldn't see the stars, here in the city, but he knew they were there. Sometimes he thought they were his only friends. The only ones that stayed, anyway.
He checked the clock – it was after midnight. Dammit, he was bored! Outside he could hear the noises of the city – exciting, forbidden noises. Ones he'd give just about anything to experience, even for a little bit.
He paused, considering. His mom should be asleep by now. He grinned to himself. Hell yeah!
Stealthily, he dressed, and carrying his shoes, tip toed down the stairs and out the front door. Using the shadows, he slunk out of their yard and onto the street, hailing the first cab he found and directing it into the lights of the city.
Unfortunately he failed to reckon on the prices of cabs, so when his credits ran out he was stuck in what seemed to be a fairly unsavory district. Streetlights flickered onto the street. Several dingy cafes spilled light onto the pavement, illuminating debris. He shrugged, and wandered into the nearest and ordered himself a coffee and a sandwich.
The dispenser handed him his cup and he sat in a dark booth in the corner to watch the other patrons. For the most part, they seemed tired and dingy, much like their surroundings. Their overheard conversations were equally dull and depressing.
"…thinkin' of getting out to the colonies. Fresh air, dirt to play in. Maybe have a family…"
"…hear about the latest skirmish with the Batarians? I hear they overran another ship…"
"…damn mercenaries, I swear to God it's like we went back to the Dark Ages…"
"…and those kids, someone oughta do something about them, blight on society, causing trouble…"
He rolled his eyes. Whatever.
The waitress arrived with his sandwich, which looked limp and uninteresting. Placing it on his table, she put a hand on her hip. "That'll be 5 all up love."
He blinked. Damn! "Ahhh... okay. Lemme just…"
He took a final swig of his coffee, then with a flick of his wrist spilled the rest of it across the table. The waitress jumped back and cursed, and he leapt up and ran for the door. Grinning, he wrenched it open and jumped down onto the sidewalk, hearing a chorus of "damn kids!" behind him.
Laughing, he headed off round the corner at top speed, only to be brought up short, literally, as he collided with someone and was bounced back onto his ass. He looked up at what appeared to be a gang of local toughs. Crap.
The leader, who he had collided with, was a youth of about his own age, tall and reasonably muscled. He was flanked by two more of his cronies, and hovering behind them was a girl. All of them were looking at him with varying degrees of annoyance.
The leader folded his arms and glared down at Kaidan. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Kaidan sighed. "Nothing. Sorry. I'll just leave." He made to get up, but was pushed back down again.
The leader leaned over him, grinning. "Uh uh, asshole, I don't think so. You're on our turf now. I'll say when you leave."
Kaidan clenched his fists. He would not use biotics. Not now. He grimaced, and the thugs laughed to each other.
"Aw, little baby's gonna cry!"
The girl sauntered into full view. "Give it up Curt. Leave him be." She stood between them, hands on hips. The leader, Curt, glared at her. "Fuck off and stop talking where you shouldn't be, bitch."
She grinned at him. "Make me."
He grunted and swung a punch at her. Suddenly she wasn't there, but a foot connected with the back of his knee and he crashed to the ground. Kaidan blinked as she danced around the fallen Curt and sucker punched the guy to the left in the stomach, leaving him heaving and spewing onto the sidewalk. She sidestepped the mess neatly, laughing as she spun around and kicked the other one solidly between the legs. Kaidan winced and his legs crossed in sympathy as the thug groaned and collapsed.
She moved next to him and offered her hand. "Come on, newb, let's go."
Her hand was dry and rough as he grasped it and got up. She tugged him in the opposite direction, and, laughing, ran off down the alleyway.
Kaidan spared one look back at his would-be assailants, who were still sprawled in various attitudes across the sidewalk, flipped them a bird, and ran off after her.
She was waiting for him on the next corner, under the light. "You gotta move faster than that, boy," she said as he approached. Under the light she was younger than he had first thought: 14, he guessed. She was skinny, with wide set blue eyes and a mop of lank, curly black hair. Her upper teeth were slightly protuberant and she had a dusting of freckles across pale skin. Her clothing was shabby and frayed, utilitarian but clean, and her hands and face seemed clean also.
"Hey, uh, thanks," he said.
She waved him off. "S'nothing." She started walking down the street. He followed her.
"So what's your name?" he asked her.
She eyed him, considering. "Jinny," she replied.
"I'm Ka-" shit, not my real name! "-Kaine," he said, remembering a bully from his past.
She grinned. "Okay Ka-Kaine," she mocked. He flushed.
"So who were they? Those guys you were with?"
Jinny shrugged dismissively. "Just a buncha idiots I move with. Call themselves the Tenth Street Reds. Wastes of time, but a girl's gotta stay somewhere."
He looked at her in astonishment. "You live with those guys? Where are your folks?"
Her voice was flat. "Dead."
He winced. "Oh. I'm sorry." They walked along in silence for a bit. "My dad's dead too," he shared.
"Really?" she looked at him sideways. "How did he cark it?"
"He was in the Alliance. Ship got blown up by Batarians." He still remembered the message they received, and his mom's crying afterwards…
"Whoa. That's rough. My folks died in a shuttle crash when I was three."
"I'm sorry," Kaidan offered.
"Nah, it's okay. I don't remember them much. Don't miss what you don't remember, right?" she laughed, but he could see the sides of her eyes tightening.
"So how'd you end up here then?" he asked.
"After my folks died I was put in foster care. I hated it. I ran away when I was eight. Went out on the streets. Hooked up with some people to live, taught me how to survive. Met up with Curt and his crew a couple of years ago, been running with them since. They push, but they're alright really."
He grunted. "I'll take your word for it."
She laughed. "Well, they're alright when they know they can't beat you. So how did you end up here? You went out looking for trouble or something?"
Kaidan groaned. "No…" And without thinking about it he opened up to her, started telling her everything. About how his mom was stifling and overprotective, about how adrift he felt since his dad died, about his biotics, about them. She was an attentive listener, so he kept talking. She got him to show her his biotics, nothing flashy, just a couple of pushes that he'd had figured out since he was little. That fascinated her. Shyly, she touched the glowing blue aura around his hands and giggled. "That tingles!"
He talked about living with eezo exposure, his biotics, what he had learned he could and couldn't do. She was incredibly accepting. "That could be useful," she said. She soaked up all his stories and asked for more.
In return, she gave him tips on self defense, laughing as she demonstrated moves around him. She was light and lithe, all shadows and dancing, but she fought dirty. "You gotta use what you got," was all she said when he half-heartedly complained at the third incredibly sharp elbow to his ribs in under a minute.
Before they knew it, it was just before dawn, and they had wound up sitting in an empty doorway across the road from a bakery. His stomach rumbled noisily as the aroma of fresh cooked bread drifted across to them. Jinny giggled.
"Hungry, boy? Wait here." And she darted off across the street, ducking into the bakery only to return a short time later with a couple of loaves of bread. Grinning, she handed him one and stood expectantly waiting.
Kaidan was shocked. That was probably the first act of petty thievery he'd ever seen. He opened his mouth to say something, but caught the look in her eye as she watched him. He thought she was trying to impress him or something. He coughed, and took the loaf instead. "Hey thanks, you're alright."
She blushed. "Aw shucks. Don't go spreading it around, y'hear?"
He laughed. "Don't worry Jinny, I promise I won't."
They say companionably close, eating their bread. Kaidan flushed as he realized just how close she actually was. Her leg was pressing into his. He could feel the warmth of her thigh along the length of his. He could feel the side of her body moving with every breath, and this close, he caught a subtle hint of the scent of her: sweat and hard living and something vaguely floral and undeniably girl. He swallowed, and cleared his throat, and looked sideways. She was looking up at him, her blue eyes dark and depthless in the shadows. He started to lean in closer…
She stiffened. "Fuck. This is where I get off, Kaine. It's been real."
Kaidan started. "What?" he croaked.
She stood up, slinking off the doorstep and melting back into the darkness. "Over there. I think you've been missed."
He looked around. On the corner was one of their men, and a car. He sighed, and stood up. "Thanks, Jinny," he said without turning around.
From the darkness he heard, "No probs, Kaine. Look after yourself. Remember, move fast. Use what you got."
"Will do."
Kaidan walked over to the car. The door was opened for him, and he got in. As it was shut behind him, sealing him in, he couldn't help but look out the window for her again, but it was too dark and he couldn't see anything.
Resigned, he settled back. It might have been nice to have a real friend…
The next day everything changed, and he was shipped off to Jump Zero. In time, in a new environment with new people and new hatreds to face, he forgot her. He never forgot to use what he had, though.