A/N: I exist! EGADS. Someone must have divided by zero.
...
Anywho. I'm not the happiest with this chapter, but I've had it sitting on my hard drive for months and decided it isn't changing, no matter how many times I stare at it. Therefore. Here it is, for all your critical reading enjoyment. Read, review, yadda yadda etcetera.
And those of you that keep track of my AAC? I'm lazy. I'm sorry. It'll be up when I finish writing Ilki's part.
Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Opening the door to the cafeteria was like getting hit with a sound wave. The outside had been quiet, serene, with birds chirping. Yet the moment she walked into the boisterous room, all thoughts of peace were shattered. I have a mission to do, Tianna thought as she gripped the binder tightly. And it doesn't involve sitting around in La-La land. Her grip tightened as she walked closer to the table, her knuckles turning white.
Ulrich was sitting with his usual group of friends, the LYOKO warriors she had come to know. She dragged her eyes over each and every one of them, a strange, nostalgic feeling welling up inside her. With Yumi and William gone, only five remained. Jeremy, still wearing the same style of glasses, was, as usual, paying attention to his laptop. Next to him sat the pink-haired Aelita, whose hair had grown out past her shoulders. She had filled out into a womanly body, one she pressed close to Jeremy as she watched whatever he was doing on his laptop.
Across from them, taking the window seat, was Ulrich. He was doing as he had done in their Human Biology class – staring out the window with a blank look on his face. Next to him sat the dark-haired Sam, technically her rival. Her fists clenched as she studied the teen that had become beautiful. With tactfully highlighted hair and a body like Aelita's, she could easily catch any guy she wanted. She, like the pinkette, was leaning over the other boy next to her.
Tianna forced herself to look at the blond at the end of the table. Instantly, she felt a pang of pain as she studied his handsome face, his trademark blond hair in its LYOKO spike. He was smiling at whatever Sam had said, a smile that reached his eyes. So...they must be on an up-side in their relationship, she thought as she released her death-grip on the poor binder, instead fisting her other hand. And he's totally forgotten me, then. She felt a twinge of pain, and realized her nails at drawn blood from her palm.
Releasing her hands, she shook the one slightly to get rid of the tension. Holding the binder against her chest, she took a deep breath and walked over to that table. It took all of her strength to put on a neutral, innocent look as she stopped at the end of the table, catching their attention.
"Um...hi," she squeaked, and inwardly groaned. Clearing her throat, she held out the binder. "Ulrich...here's your Human Bio binder. Thanks, for, uh, letting me copy your notes."
He turned briefly from the window, nodding at her as he took it from his hands. As quickly as he had turned towards her, he turned back to the window. Aelita frowned at him, but her attention refocused on Tianna's nervous-looking form.
"Don't mind him," the pinkette said quickly, and she smiled. "He's a human iceberg. We're not, though."
"Are you new?" Sam piped up, giving her an uncharacteristic, gentle smile. "I've never seen you around before."
So, now you're nice. You wouldn't be if you knew who I really was. "I'm Amelia. And yeah, I'm...new. Today's my first day, actually."
"Ah." Aelita gestured to the empty seat next to her. "Sit down; we don't bite."
She hesitated, but forced herself to take the seat. X.A.N.A. was no doubt watching her right now, and she knew he wanted her to get to know them again. He did not care about the pain she was in as she sat down, eying her unsuspecting victims.
"So, you a day student or you boarding?" Sam asked, turning her attention fully from Odd.
"Day student."
"Well, welcome to Kadic!" The pinkette smiled gracefully again, before nudging the boy next to her. "Come on, Jeremy. Meet the new girl."
He pushed his glasses farther up his nose as he leaned past his girlfriend. "Hello, I'm Jeremy."
Somehow, his friendly disposition still made her feel as if he was studying her, as if he suspected something from her. But I have yet to do anything, so there's nothing to be suspicious of. I'm just overreacting.
"And this lovable blond is my boyfriend, Odd," her rival said, elbowing said boy.
"Hi there!" He held up his one hand in a peace sign, oblivious to the briefest flash of pain that crossed her eyes.
"Well...it's nice meeting you guys," she murmured, focusing on the table in front of her. "It's nice to, uh, get to know people, since it's my first day and all."
The warning bell sounded, and she sprang up with inhumane speed. I have to get out of here, she thought as she calmed herself down, pushing the chair in with a loud scraping sound. Smiling sheepishly at the looks the LYOKO warriors were giving her, she slung her messenger bag over her shoulder.
"Aa...don't wanna be late or anything," she said, adjusting the strap to hide her nervousness. "So I guess I'll, um, see you guys around?"
Before they could reply, she spun around and quickly walked out of the cafeteria.
–
It was not the brightest idea to skip her afternoon classes on the first day, but Tianna did not care. Instead, she practically ran from the Kadic campus until she was several blocks away, stopping to catch her breath on a bench. She was not tired from the running; no, she was mentally tired. Facing the LYOKO warriors had taken more out of her than she thought, leaving her an emotional train wreck on the bench. Putting her head in her hands, she cried for the first time in years.
Crying was a peculiar sensation to her, one she was not quite sure she would ever understand. The feeling of hot tears streaking down her cold face, freezing as they hit the ground – it was unusual. She took of her glove, wiping at the salty drops and staring at them. They twinkled in the afternoon sun, looking much nicer than the emotion they tended to symbolize. With a disgusted grunt, she wiped her hands on her jeans and put her glove back on. I don't have time for this, she thought as she blinked away the last of her tears, her mental walls back in place. Right now, I have to find a way to pay for Kadic for at least a month. One person would know where to go.
She was lucky enough to find him at the apartment complex, in the apartment he had claimed as his own. After just about banging the door down, he finally saved said door by whipping it open with an irritated expression. Matching it with her own, she crossed her arms and found her more attitude-filled voice.
"You told me I needed a job that pays well. So tell me where I can find one."
"Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, his irritation starting to melt away.
"Decided to skip the last few classes, 'cause they were the boring ones."
He laughed, a laugh that made her narrow her eyes at him. "All this work to go there...and you're skipping..."
"I'm a teenager, Talyn," she ground out. "I can do whatever I bloody well please if it suits my hormones. Now, job opportunities."
"You'll need to find one of the shadier places, that pays under the table, if you wanna afford Kadic," he said, and she could tell he was holding in laughter. "Don't kill me, but I think I know a place that you could get paid really well at..."
And that was how she ended up on one of the shadiest streets in the district, at one of the worst clubs.
–
Her boss, a John Hunter, had not cared that she was under eighteen. Neither did he care that if he got caught hiring her at the club, he would face jail time. Just the type of person who won't look into my background, who won't notice that I'm not really...well, real, Tianna thought as she balanced six plates of food on her arms. And, between tips and work, I should just barely make enough for each month's payment. As long as I work every night, weekends, holidays, and I don't spend any of it.
With that final, slightly glum thought, she took the plates of appetizers to their respective tables, ignoring the catcalls she got on the way there. And, of course, my tips will skyrocket if I wear an outfit like this. X.A.N.A., somehow I get the feeling you're enjoying this. She found a bit of consolation in the fact that she was not degrading herself to the level of dancing on tables and laps. This consolation disappeared when, as she walked by a particularly loud and vulgar table of men, one reached out and slapped her behind.
Somehow, she struggled through the hours she had to put in. In the middle of it all, she had decided that Talyn was to blame; therefore, she had spent the better half of the night thinking of ways to kill him. As she walked back to her apartment complex, she glared at inanimate objects that happened to be in her way. A trash can here, a bench there, a bank building across the street...
Pausing, Tianna studied the bank building. An ATM stood proudly on the side, illuminated by a single light above the screen. No one was around at that time of night, considering how late she had to work in "that" district. Sure, there probably were enough cameras around that had every vantage point of the surrounding area, but that did not worry her. What truly worried her was working at that bar for that many hours every night for the rest of her time on earth.
Chewing on her lip, she weighed her options. It was not beyond her abilities to walk over, short out the cameras, and rig the ATM to give her cash. She could even pull out more than she needed, so that way she had spare cash, and when Talyn would deposit it in his account, it would not look suspicious. But, she wondered, will I really stoop that low? Am I really this desperate to go this far, wreck this much havoc, so that I can survive for a few weeks? I'm acting as if I'm going to be staying here for longer... Mental images of her night flashed through her mind, along with the notion that X.A.N.A. had more than likely been watching and enjoying it. She grit her teeth, and pulled the hood of her jacket down farther. Yes, I will stoop that low.
Crossing the street with a purposeful stride, she then checked her surroundings briefly. Electricity arced between her hands when she noted that no one was around to watch her.
Innocent snowflakes fell around her as she added yet another crime to her resume.
–
Talyn did not look fazed by the fact that Tianna was knocking on his apartment door after midnight. In fact, he seemed wide awake, and curious as to why she was still up and about. Without any preamble, she reached into her purse and withdrew an overflowing envelope of bills. She thrust it towards him, a glare accompanying it.
"There's the money for this month's bill," she said, flatly.
With a raised eyebrow, he took the envelope and opened it. "Even someone as gorgeous as you, Tianna, couldn't have earned all this tip money in one night. Especially" - he held up one of the one-hundred dollar bills - "in these bills."
A blush rose to her cheeks as her mind stopped on the fact that he had called her "gorgeous". She could not remember the last time someone had made her blush, nor could she comprehend why she was doing so. With a mental slap, she forced the color down and focused on her words.
"Don't ask where I got it. I wasn't staying in the place if I didn't have to, so I found an alternate way of making money."
"Is that so?" His one eyebrow somehow managed to raise another inch as he eyed her up and down.
"I-If you're implying what I think you're implying," she sputtered, the color returning to her cheeks, "then you are still far from the truth."
"Am I, now?" He seemed to find her flustered side humorous as he asked her the question in an almost mocking tone.
"Yes. I don't do those sort of things, and I would never be caught dead selling myself to perverted strangers."
He laughed, and she scowled at him. Slowly, deliberately, he set the envelope down on some hidden piece of furniture while watching her watch his every move. There was something about his demeanor that sent her on edge, making her tense, yet she did not feel as though she expected an attack. No, she felt almost...nervous, a sensation she had not felt for so long that it was as foreign to her as humanity was to X.A.N.A..
Talyn reached out a hand, and in her mental confusion, she did not realize that fact until his fingers connected with her cheek. Instantly, she felt herself grow hot in embarrassment – to be touched in any way was also new to her, in the sense that she had not felt that way since the last time she was on earth. Her reaction was slow; instead of batting his hand away, she looked at him quizzically.
"Does that mean, gorgeous," he said quietly, almost huskily, "that you're available to someone who isn't so much of a stranger?"
With an indignant huff, she forced her emotions back into check long enough to swat his hand away and level him with a withering glare. "What part of 'I don't do those sort of things' did you not understand?"
He merely chuckled as she spun on her heel and walked away. Tianna, for her part, remained irritated until she was safely hidden away in her own apartment. It was there that she collapsed on the floor, her head thunking against the door as she tilted it back. That sensation...I haven't felt that way since... No, even with Odd, I never felt that way. What is going on with me?
Review if you wish; I do read them, they do motivate me. See you in another six months! (Just kidding! Hopefully.)
