I'm supposed to be doing my homework so I can play Fire Emblem, but for whatever reason I decided that finishing this chapter would be a better use of my time. After this, it's homework time. I WANT TO PLAY FIRE EMBLEM, DAMMIT.

And since no one really cares about what I'm doing with my life right now, I'll just get right to it.

All characters in this chapter are mine. Um...the locations of Kras and Haven belong to Naughty Dog...?

"Oh, dude..." Atin said, grinning broadly as he ran his hand down the side of the car. "This thing is beautiful," he murmured.

Rodas leaned casually against the hood and shrugged, "I guess."

Atin stared at him. "You guess? You guess?" he spluttered, "Have you looked at this thing?"

Rodas rolled his eyes. "Duh. It's my dad's. I've driven it."

Atin shot to his feet, and appeared almost nose to nose with Rodas near instantly. "Really? What's it handle like? Taken it on the track?"

The dark teen clambered further onto the hood, distancing himself from Atin. "Cursers, man, you're obsessed." He sighed, shook his hair out of his eyes and said, "Yes. Alright, I guess, and heck no."

"Why not?" Atin demanded, leaning forward eagerly.

Rodas put his foot in the middle of Atin's chest and pushed him gingerly away, leaving a grey boot print on his shirt. "Dial it back."

"But why haven't you tried it?"

"Cause I don't race."

"But you live in Kras, that's like blasphemy, isn't it?"

"That's like saying you're from Haven, so you must be in the military."

Atin pulled a disgusted face.

"Don't look at me like that. You're not an army boy, I'm not a racer. Simple as that. Don't generalize."

"Whatever. I'd rather die than get stuck in the military trap."

"Or run off at the very least..." Rodas muttered under his breath.

Atin's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

It appeared that Atin was unable to focus on being irritated with Rodas, not while there was a vehicle nearby to distract him. He gave his head a quick shake and looked at the hood of the car. "Off."

"What?"

"Get off."

Rodas contemplated the order for a second and slipped off the car. "You want the hood up?"

Atin's look answered for him. The dark skinned teen rolled his eyes and went around to the side of the vehicle to pop the hood. "Don't dick around with it, alright? Dad'll have my head if I let you mess around with his car."

"I won't touch anything. I'm just going to look."

Rodas sighed. "Famous last words..." He straightened and walked back to where Atin stood. The pale boy quickly lifted the hood and began to examine the engine. He didn't even look up when Rodas picked up the nearby toolbox and carried it to the nearest shelf.

Atin muttered to himself as he pored over the engine, running his fingers lightly over the various components.

Rodas watched him for a few minutes before wandering around the garage, coat swishing around him. The door joining the garage to the house opened and a figure peered in.

"Hey idiot!"

Both boys jumped at the shout. There was a bang and Atin hunched over, clutching his head where he'd inadvertently slammed it into the hood of the car. Rodas looked at the door in mild interest.

"She meant me, Atin."

"Oh shut it," the Haven teen muttered, rubbing his head.

"Mom wants you in the kitchen. Says it's your turn for dishes." Lise told her brother, pointedly ignoring Atin.

Rodas sighed. "Great... Tell her I'll be in in a sec."

"Fine." She turned away, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "You boys and your need to play with things..."

The shorter boy walked over to Atin. "Looked enough?"

"What? No way."

"Yes way. I've got to do dishes."

Atin's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Why does that mean that I can't keep looking?"

Rodas clapped him on the shoulder. "Dad's rule. No offense, but you're just not allowed to be looking at his car without supervision. He's touchy, you know?"

The Haven teen sighed and closed the hood reluctantly. "Fine."

"Right, well... Dish time," Rodas said, starting towards the door while Atin brushed off the front of his shirt.

"Dude, didn't your mom already do the dishes?" Atin asked, following his friend.

"Um...yeah, but in this house, 'doing the dishes' means something else entirely. I'm getting lectured."

"This is because of me, isn't it?"

Rodas shrugged. "To be honest, probably. Usually Lise is the one getting the talks."

"Sorry, man."

"Don't be. She's probably just clarifying rules for me to tell you and stuff. Nothin' big."

"So I won't have to go pack up right away?"

Rodas slapped Atin on the back. "Quit worrying so much. I won't let Mom throw you out on your ass. Not without warning anyway." He laughed then cringed when Atin's fist connected with his bicep.

"Jerk."

Rodas rubbed his arm irritably. "You're the jerk." He and Atin glared at each other for a moment before Rodas shoved him away and walked into the house.

Shooting a last longing look at the car, Atin followed suit.

While Rodas spoke with his parents, Atin headed up to the guest room and flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Everywhere he went he managed to cause problems.

"Missing your girls, man whore?"

Atin glanced over at the door, where Lise was standing, arms crossed over her chest. His blue eyes narrowed and he raised his hand, middle finger lifted. Why this girl seemed to hate him so much was a mystery, but it was certainly a pain.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,' then, shall I?"

"Go away."

"Don't tell me what to do in my own home, playboy."

He glared at her and shot to his feet, stalking over. The index finger of his right hand pointed straight at her nose. "Listen, twerp, I don't know what makes you think you can be a pain in the ass, but you can just stop it."

Lise blinked at him, smacked his hand away and leaned up to whisper in his ear. "You say that now, but mark my words, Haven; I'll make sure you're evicted. Just watch." Smirking, she turned and walked away down the hall towards her room.

Atin closed the door muttering, "Little bitch," and returned to the bed. He hadn't even done anything and already it seemed like he'd be finding a new place to live rather quickly.

He glanced abruptly down at his leg, a beeping coming from one of his many pockets. He chewed his lip in contemplation for a moment before pulling out his cell and looking the number. Ranovla.

The phone continued to beep and vibrate in his hand, flashing the number over and over on the screen. Two more rings and it would go to voicemail. Did he dare answer? One more ring.

He flipped it open and said, "Allo?"

"You little pain in the neck, where are you?"

Atin sighed. "You know I won't tell you. But I'm safe. I promise."

"Atin!"

"Ran, please...Trust me. I know what I'm doing this time, really."

There was a prolonged pause from the other end of the phone. "I hate it when you do this."

"I know, Ran, I'm sorry."

"You'd better be. You promised last time would be it."

Atin got up and paced around the room. "I hoped it would be. Ranni..."

"No. Don't 'Ranni' me. I don't want to hear it again. Atin, I'm tired of this. It's the same thing, over and over..."

"I'm sorry." He sighed and ran a hand back through his hair messing it up and giving it a cow-licked look.

"I know, I know..." there was a sigh, "Look after yourself this time. And come home soon."

Atin closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. "I will, I promise."

"I love you."

Atin felt his throat tighten uncomfortably at the words. "Love you too, sis. I'll talk to you later, kay? Try not to worry too much, Ran." He felt sure that he could hear her nodding through the phone, despite not being able to see her.

"I'll try. Stay safe. Talk to you later." The line went dead.

Atin sank to the bed, phone in his hands. He flopped backwards and stared at the ceiling again.

The door to the room opened with a slight creak and Rodas peered in. "Dude? You alright?"

"Mm?" Atin rolled onto his side and looked at his friend. "Yeah, I'm cool. Done with your lecture?"

Rodas leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He flipped his hair out of his eyes. "Sure am."

"And?"

The darker boy shrugged. "And you're allowed to stay. No hitting on Lise, no bringing girls here, no drugs..." he counted the items off on his fingers, and then shrugged, "Pretty much everything I told you. Oh, and Dad says that if you're seized with the sudden urge to take off with his car: don't."

Atin managed a bark of laughter. "I'll try. And I'm welcome until...?"

Rodas shrugged. "Until you wear out your welcome, I guess. I'll keep you posted." He grinned. "So, you want to do anything tonight or should I just let you veg right now?"

"Honestly? I'm kinda beat."

Rodas nodded slowly. "Okay. You going to come back downstairs, or shall I leave you alone?"

Atin thought about it for a moment. "I think I'm just going to stay here. Go do...whatever you do during the evenings when I'm not here."

"Whatever you say, dude. If you need anything, just let me know, man."

Atin nodded. "Will do."

Rodas nodded again and gave him a two fingered salute before disappearing from the doorway.

The Haven teen got up and closed the door before collapsing back to the bed once more. He folded his hands behind his head and gazed at the ceiling. It was bland and boring, as ceilings should be.

Not for the first time that day, Atin wondered what exactly had driven him to Kras. There wasn't exactly an easy answer. He rolled onto his side and chose to stare at the wall instead. He wasn't tired, not really, but he needed to mull things over for a bit. Something deep in his gut felt wrong. What that was, he couldn't say, but something seemed off.

It was well after midnight before he actually fell asleep.

"Rise and shine, tackle box!"

Atin groaned and rolled over, hoping to block out the horrible sound of what could only be a morning person.

"No you don't. C'mon. Up."

"...no..."

"Yes."

Atin opened his eyes a fraction as he felt Rodas' warm hands on his bare arm. Smirking slightly, the pale teen went completely limp.

Rodas glared and grunted as he attempted to pull Atin out of bed. "My god, you're heavy... So not fair... Just get up already..." He gave an almighty tug and succeeded in dragging the Haven teen off the bed. Atin landed on the floor with a thump and wrenched his arm out of Rodas' grasp as he sat up, massaging his head.

"Okay, okay...Now I'm up. You're like the bratty brother I never had... God... It's going to be a miracle if I make it home without brain damage."

Rodas laughed and gave Atin a playful kick in the shin. "It's your own fault."

Atin sighed and got to his feet, still rubbing his head. "That's what they all say. You know, Ran just uses a squirt bottle if she wants me out of bed at a 'decent' hour."

"Is that so? I think I'll have to keep that in mind."

"Please do. It's less painful."

Rodas laughed and gave him a slap on the back. "If you say so, your highness." A second later he was reeling and holding his jaw where Atin had punched him. "What the hell was that for?"

Atin's hand was still balled in a tight fist as he glared at Rodas. "Don't call me that. Ever."

"Sor-ee. God, you're temperamental," Rodas muttered between checking for loose teeth with his tongue. "Next time just say something, okay?"

Atin nodded. "Yeah...Sorry, dude. Touchy spot."

"Clearly." Apparently satisfied that there was no lasting damage, Rodas straightened, brushed down his shirt and looked at Atin. "Well, despite the fact that you just slugged me, I'm still taking you to the practice track today."

"Really? Why?"

Rodas shrugged. "It's you. And it won't hurt to have you know where it is when I'm at work."

"You work?"

"Of course. I'm not a usele- er...employment challenged like you are."

Atin rolled his eyes. "Nice save."

The practice track wasn't exactly bustling with life when the two boys arrived, but it also couldn't be called deserted. Atin was, unfortunately, still attracting as much attention as he had the previous day and there was the occasional murmur of 'Haven' following him.

Unseen by the two boys, a large burly man looked up from the vehicle he was pretending to busy himself with. His dark eyes followed Atin's every move and once he was certain that the two boys were out of earshot he pulled out his cell phone.

Few pleasantries were exchanged with the person on the other end before he said, "We need to get a watch on Virgil's kid. He's up to something; the Haven brat's with him. Better let the boss know."

Getting interesting yet?