I finished this the day after I posted Chapter X, but I figured that I should make you all wait a little longer before giving you another present. I'll spoil you rotten at this rate. This chapter was so much fun to write. It came along very quickly, probably because of all the dialogue, but I like it a lot. Enjoy. Oh, and the lyrics are from the Goo Goo Dolls' song, 'Name.' It's awesome - check it out.
Boston, Massachusetts
"Well, hey there, Tidus."
Adara felt empty and rather vulnerable without Kai's arm slung over her shoulder. She clutched her mug of tea as if it were a lifeline. She knew who it was who had just walked through the door. There were no flashes of color. She only saw shadows and swirls of silver, gray, and black.
"Kai, you greet me as if the last time we saw each other was earlier this morning rather than two years ago." Adara felt his presence loom closer to them. She didn't hear any footsteps. She silently pleaded to whatever god there was if it even existed.
Please don't let that motherfucker touch me….
I never fucked your mother. Don't call me that.
She nearly jumped out of her own skin.
You bloody left me in the street to rot or be run over! I'll call you a motherfucker in my mind if I want to, motherfucker. I'm sure you've fucked somebody's mother in your lifetime.
Shut up, bitch.
She wanted to slap him.
Adara, you know that I can completely hear what you're saying.
What the fuck? There was no response from the shadowy aura in front of her. The words speaking in her mind had a warmer feel to them, versus the cold stone of Tidus'. Kai….
I would guard your tongue, or your thoughts. You should learn how to shield them. Obviously, I can't know what he's saying to you, and, in turn, he doesn't know that I'm talking to you… "Or at least, he doesn't know what I'm saying, right?" She could feel Kai's jester-like smile directed at Tidus.
"Will both of you just stay out of my goddamn fucking head?" she snapped, urging her fingers to stop trembling with… what was it? Fear… rage… anger? She didn't know.
"I didn't know you're head was capable of fucking." A soft sigh whispered to her ears from Kai's direction on her left.
"Will you give her a break? You did leave her in quite a hurry without an explanation."
"She lived in New York. She should know what cities are like."
"I do know what they're like, but I never memorized where every bleeding payphone was on each and every bloody fucking sidewalk."
"Not my fault, and I don't believe that sidewalks can fuck."
"Would you just shut the bloody hell up, bastard?"
Silence.
Her body was suddenly overcome with complete and utter claustrophobia. It felt as if her brain was being constricted within her skull; her joints grew tight and immobile. Her thoughts were no longer directed at him, but they were only focused on the intensity of the pain. She felt as though she had to claw through her skin, and, when she tried to scream, it never came. It only brought more pain.
"Tidus, what the hell are you doing?" Kai asked; she could sense that his hand moved to her arm, tugging at her, but she couldn't register the feeling. The blood in her veins pounded.
Then, in an instant, it was gone.
"It's a miracle that you managed to hold onto that mug, sweet pea."
"I'm not a pea, and I sure as hell am not sweet."
"What do you want then, snapping turtle?"
"Oh, bite me," she retorted. Only after the ten seconds of complete and utter silence, other than the soft rock music playing from the speakers and the whirring of what she assumed to be fans overhead, did she comprehend what she had just said. "I didn't mean that literally," she whispered. Her death grip on her mug was beginning to make her fingers go numb. A shudder ran down her spine.
Like I said… be aware of what you say and think.
"Kai, if she wants to write her own death wish, stop trying to prevent her from picking up the pen. Adara, I'm not going bite you, for now. Set down that mug and take a deep breath; relax. Kai's too much of the loyal puppy type to let anything happen to you anyways."
"And if I'm a puppy, what would you be?"
"A cobra, waiting for the opportune moment for striking at the 'harmless' little pup."
"What if that pup knew how to fight?"
"Age, my friend, comes with wisdom, and while that pup is tripping over its paws, the speed of the cobra will make up for fighting skill. But you're not a dog, and I'm not a snake; we both know how to fight, although I proved that I was better a while ago, didn't I? It doesn't matter now anyways. I'm not in the mood for one."
She wanted to be distracted by anything… everything. She focused on the music playing in the pub that should have had a warm comfort to it, like it had had earlier.
And now we're grown up orphans that never knew their names. We don't belong to no one; that's a shame. But if you could hide beside me, maybe for a while… and I won't tell no one your name. And I won't tell 'em your name. Scars are souvenirs you never lose. The past is never far. Did you lose yourself somewhere out there? Did you get to be a star? And don't it make you sad to know that life is more than who we are?
"Hey." A gentle nudge in her side brought her back to the real world. She found herself cold… shivering slightly. "You okay?" Kai's touch on her hand felt like fire, but it didn't last. He was trying to bring her out of where that song had take her… a beat up apartment in New York, a bunch of broke, addicted kids.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly, as if she were speaking to Darren or Cameron (if he wasn't too drunk to not notice) when she was so high off of smack that she was flying by just sitting with her back to the corner of the rotting wall, where her single mattress was shoved there.
No you're not.
"Shut up." She wanted to glare at Tidus, but she couldn't find his eyes in the constant haze of shadow. Kai groaned at the two of them.
"What the hell are you saying to her?" he asked.
---
Kai looked at Tidus through the strands of dark chocolate hair falling into his eyes. Tidus stood before him, hands shoved into the pockets of his dark jeans, his black leather jacket's collar popped up against whatever wind had been sliding through the allies of the city. Tidus' dark gray eyes glared at Adara from underneath a mop of too-long, pure-black hair.
What the fuck is wrong with her?
Have you even looked into her past, at least once?
Yeah, enough to get that idiot boy who was changed by some idiot vampire out of there.
She knew that someone had taken her memories of him away. Why would you do that to her? He watched Tidus' expression carefully, but it didn't change, just the same, juvenile, pissed-off look that had become a poker face for the vampire that was at least twice his age.
Because she's too hung up on him. When Kaelyn had found her, she'd been moping around for a month after he'd died, getting high and cutting herself. Haven't you seen the scars? You should feel her… she's so junked up that if I weren't in there right now fighting it, she'd be immobile, screaming on the floor from the pain and the mad desire to fill her body with more of that rubbish. Her body is dying from not only her addiction, but her disease. That AZT stuff is shit and only gives them false hope and maybe a couple of months… years more instead of a life.
Kai could see a glint of steel in Tidus' eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had flashed. It's not like the kid gave it to her or anything… what do you have against him? You do know that it was her mother who passed it on to her, right?
Of course I know it was her, you retard. I don't care about her past. But I do care about the fact that he's trying to get her back. Vampires shouldn't worm their way back into their pasts. He's trying to shove his way into her mind now, as we speak.
Why shouldn't he?
I've tried and failed. I've watched others try and fail. And it not only messes the vampire up, but it screws around with the humans too. And since I'm the one protecting her now, I think I have every right to protect her from him.
So that explains everything about you… messed up, huh?
Maybe I will get into that fighting mood tonight… shut up, puppy.
---
Kai laughed out loud at something that Adara hadn't heard. She had slowly been pulling herself out of her past, sighing back into reality. She jiggled her heel nervously. She wanted to do something, get out of here, run… she felt so confined.
"Kai, can I have a beer?" she asked suddenly, shocked at her own question. She'd never really even been that fond of alcohol. It was probably because of Cameron… not that smack was much better for her… probably better to be an alcoholic than an addict.
"You're underage."
"I think I'm close to eighteen."
"Twenty-one, sweetheart."
"Shit." She sighed. "Can I have a virgin Pina Colada then and pretend that it's got a hell of a lot of rum in it?"
"Why on earth would you want to get drunk?"
"'Cause it feels good."
"You like poisoning your body?"
"No… but-."
"Then why do you want the alcohol?"
"Because she wants to escape from it all for a while, come back, find that life's worse and get drunk again. It's just like with drugs."
"You don't know anything about my life, bastard – just shut the fuck up!" The violent tone of her voice scared her. She'd never talked to anyone that way, except for maybe her foster parents. She didn't understand what was making her hate this person so much that she bitched at him at every chance she got. She knew that she should apologize before it was too late, but….
---
I'm going to kill her soon if she keeps this up. I can't hold my temper much longer.
Kai watch Tidus' face shift into a smoldering furnace of seething anger. His eyes had a slightly red tinge to them. Go… cool off. I'll watch over her until you're okay.
---
Suddenly, in an instant, Tidus' aura was gone. Adara let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. "You should be more careful about what you say to him."
"But he makes me so angry," she said, realizing that she sounded like a whining child.
"Why?"
"That's just it!" she exclaimed. "I don't know!"
She could hear him sigh audibly, felt him shift and then heard a slight thump. He'd jumped off of his chair, and now she felt him moving around her to the other side of the bar.
"Tidus is honestly a good guy," he said slowly. She could feel him moving in front of her, heard the crisp grind of ice being scooped.
"Then why is he such a jerk?"
"All vampires are jerks."
"You're not." She got a laugh from that. A blender was turned on, the sudden clamor making her jump in her seat and grab for the counter to keep herself from falling backwards. When it stopped, she released her grip on the edge of the smooth, worn wood.
"Of course I am."
"But you aren't as… infuriating…," she mumbled, pushing her hair away from her face. It slid over her shoulder like a waterfall slips over rock.
"Maybe not, but I can be, depending on the person. I like you, so, of course, I'm not going to be a jerk to you as much as I would be to say… that drug dealer waiting to catch you earlier this evening."
"But… why on earth would he want to piss me off? I don't get it."
"You technically shouldn't. I don't think he wants to piss you off; he probably just does it because he's pissed off about something else that involves you."
"Then he should talk to me about it, so I can know what's going on! I swear I'm going to kill him if he keeps this up." Kai laughed and set something in front of her. "What's that?" she asked.
"Your virgin Pina Colada." She tentatively reached her hand out, searching for the base of the glass so that she wouldn't knock it over. She found it, already coolly slick with condensation. Picking it up, she found the straw, stirred it, and took a sip.
"It's good."
"I know." Kai sighed once more. "I don't think that you'd get even close enough to scratch him, let alone do something drastic enough to kill him. He's lived for at least six-thousand years. When I met him, he was working as an assassin. He still does some stuff when he wants to… usually when he's bored."
"Is that supposed to make me feel safer?" she asked. A chill ran up her spine. She couldn't tell if it was from the Pina Colada or the information that Kai had just relayed to her.
"Well… it also means that, if he's loyal to you, you'll probably die from old age."
She didn't mention anything about her disease. It puzzled her too much that she wasn't having any symptoms of withdrawal to talk about it. "I'll probably die from running over payphones before I die from old age," she said, trying to make light of her situation.
"Funny," Kai said. She heard him throw something together and then drink it quickly.
"That was a shot, right?"
"A triple." She shuddered.
"God, you scare me."
"I just… would suggest giving him a chance, okay? He's got a temper, as you've already witnessed. Just… be honest with him, but don't be stupid."
Adara heard something that shocked her then. Clicks on what sounded like stairs, and then… a ridiculously happy bark. She could feel the grin emanating from Kai's direction. "Hey, I've got someone for you to meet." She felt him disappear for a moment, and then his aura flashed back into her senses, but it was some distance away. "Come here," he said, from across the room.
She hesitantly slid off of her stool, leaving her drink and starting in the direction of his voice. "Oh, sorry." Suddenly he was at her side with his arm in her elbow. She jumped at the unexpected contact.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked. She heard that same clicking again, getting nearer. And suddenly she was nearly knocked backwards. If Kai had not been holding her, she would have been flat on her back. Her face was bestowed with wet, warm kisses, loving her in the way that only dogs can accomplish. She giggled as she tried to push the dog down while Kai held her upright.
"Sit down," he commanded, laughing. "Adara, I would like you to meet Renee," he said. Taking her hand, he held her while bending her torso so that she was holding her palm to the doge in front of her. An immediate paw in her palm made her smile and pull away from Kai's hold, spilling onto the floor of the pub and reaching towards Renee with both hands, sinking her fingers into warm, silken fur.
Renee's face was friendly and soft, her nose wet and cool against her hands. She ran them all over her, down her legs, onto her torso while Renee promptly rolled onto her back for a belly rub. Adara laughed out loud at the pure pleasure she felt while memorizing Renee's form, down to the rounded tips of her ears and the feather-like flag her tail.
"She's a Golden Retriever, isn't she?"
"Yep," Kai said. She felt him slide down next to her, his hands reaching for his lady. "Purebred, yet left on the streets. She's about three years old now, and she's perfect. I love her to death."
"She's beautiful," Adara praised, running her hands all over the lively dog before her. Renee jumped up from her spot on the floor and began licking Adara's face all over again. She laughed while Renee yipped, trying to push the dog away without really wanting to do so. Renee didn't go anywhere.
Adara then slid her hands up to Renee's face, holding her still while she looked straight at her. A brilliant flash of liquid amber, flaming bronze, and melting chocolate brown stunned her into silence, running her hands over Renee's delicate ears. "She has your eyes," she stated, a sense of shock in her voice.
"What?" Kai asked.
"She has your eyes." He was silent for a moment, and then she felt his hands running down Renee's back.
"I guess… in a dog-like way."
"Whatever… she has your eyes." Adara smiled and brought Renee's wonderful head to her face, kissing the dog's forehead.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I like her."
FYI: Renee's name is pronounced Ren-nay, like Renée Zellweger.
Sneak Peek: well… not really, but a little bit of info… the next chapter will be focused on Tidus, and hopefully, will be the foundation for at least a compromise between him and Adara. Life is great because I'm totally in the writing mood, and I started Chapter XII the minute I finished this one. Love y'all! Please keep reviewing - it's what motivates me to keep writing this!
Sonora the Free: Wow! You write songs... that's admirable. I love music, but I have no talent in that area... oh well... I'll just listen to my Coldplay and enjoy it. Glad you liked Ch. X - I know! Wicked is amazing. It's playing this summer here, but I don't think I'll make it because I'll be out of school and 500 miles away from the theatre. Yeah - Tidus walked in. Ha-ha... hope you liked Ch. XI!
Between2Worlds: Well... I'm not really sure what to say here... we've been emailing almost everyday, so... ha-ha. I don't think you're going to get a 21-line reply this time. You might not even beat Sonora's response. o.O Hope you liked Ch. XI - this one's in your honor, as hardly anyone has reviewed in two weeks. Must have been that delay from February to March.
Fk306 animelover: Interesting name... anyways, thanks! Hope you liked Ch. XI.
Madam Jinx: I was scared that you'd stopped reading after a week of the chapter being up! Sunset... as B2W would know, I'm thinking of rewriting that scene. It's very important to the story, I think, and I feel as if I... didn't write it well. Awesome - thanks so much for the positive-ness! I totally need it, as I go back to school in two days. Ugh...