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Lots of info on Bex up ahead! get ready! :)

We burst into the crisp, cool air outside, and the stars seem to shine brighter tonight. They blur together and twinkle in unison. It must be the alcohol invading my senses. I'm having trouble concentrating where we are going because all I can think about is that kiss. We were so close… would I have regretted it if it did happen? Would Bex?

Finally, we reach our destination; it's my favorite rope ladder at the front of the ship. It's the only one loose enough to double as a hammock. It's actually quite pointless as a ladder, and no one ever uses it. It's the perfect place to get alone time and think. Bex pulls herself up and rolls onto her back. She wiggles her shoulders and smiles contently once she's in the perfect position.

"Well come on slow poke! Get your butt up here already!" She pats the empty space next to her and throws in an exaggerated impatient sigh… as if the comment wasn't enough.

I raise my eyebrow at her, and give her a teasing glare. "Really? Slow poke?"

Bex rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her chest. "Oh just come on!"

I pull on the rope and lift myself up. I lay down on my back careful not to get too close to Bex. I know right now that if we are touching I might loose focus. I have to ask her my questions. I can't afford to forget my purpose in agreeing to come talk to her. I need to, have to figure out more about this mystery girl. How she knows Silver. Why's she's so concerned with me finding Black.

A cold bottle collides with my arm, and I see Bex grinning at me. "You look too serious… always so serious"

"And you look too mischievous…. Always so mischievous…"

She winks at me and her smile grows. "I try."

I grab the bottle and take a swig. The warmth fills my body and clashes with the bitter space air. This will help me prepare for all my questions. Help me relax so I'm not so nervous. In the corner of my eye I notice that Bex is staring at me with an interesting look on her face. The bottle pops as I remove it from my mouth and I turn my head to look at her.

"What?" She blinks coming out of a trance. Pink fills her cheeks.

"Nothing…. I was…. I was just thinking about earlier tonight."

"Yeah?"

"Well I just like it when you smile… and relax. It was the most fun I've had in ages. Thank-you."

"You were the one that got me to dance!"

"Ha! True! But you were the one that was an excellent dance partner."

Well at least I now know she's lying to me.

"Yeah right." She nudges me in the shoulder.

"Ok Ok… excellent isn't the right word. But you were way better than Silver! He got the party going, but it wasn't because of his dancing." She laughs and takes a tiny sip from the bottle.

This is the perfect time to bring Silver up. Now I just have to casually say it… and not scare her off.

"How did you know Silver before the pub?" Bex instantly turns her head, and shock courses through her face. She tries to casually recover, but I know I took her by total surprise. Maybe I didn't bring it up as casually as I should have.

"What are you talking about? I met him through you?" Awkward laughs try to cover her lie; I can see in her face that she knows I don't buy it.

"Bex you knew his name before I even told you." A sigh escapes her lips, and her shoulders relax as if giving up.

"You must have said it without realizing it." The lie in her voice is so strong now. Her eyes meet mine and they beg me to drop the subject. I keep the gaze, and her eyes eventually leave mine to look at the sky.

"I don't even know where to start."

"The truth is always good." Bex's face is emotionless as it continues to search the galaxy above for the answer.

"Ha. Funny." A large breath leaves her mouth, and she closes her eyes preparing herself for what's next.

"Well one year ago, we met through unusual circumstances. Circumstances I don't want to relive. I guess you can say he saved me from a place I never want to go back to. A place I once thought was my new home. The home I desperately desired; my dream place that would bring me happiness I only had once before. I mean it did for a while, but then it slowly disappeared. I found myself becoming more and more lonely. When I met him, I had been so alone; it was nice to finally have someone that could help me. Save me from a mistake I made."

I'm too afraid to interrupt. I don't want her to stop.

"It had been so long sense I had an adult in my life. Someone to care about what happened to me. This is going to sound ridiculous but every once in awhile when we talked I kinda saw him as my second father. He ended up being my savior. He took me to you. He dropped me off by your inn the night we met."

Bex throws me an embarrassed smile. I can tell she isn't sure if she wants to continue. I need to encourage her.

"I know exactly what you mean." Her eyes seem to ask me if I was serious. I take in a large breath. I guess it's my turn to share.

"My dad left me and my mom when I was pretty young. He worked almost all day every day, and when he was home I barely remember seeing him. I continuously tired to get his attention, but he never was interested. He always seemed to have something better to do; I was a waste of time for him. I doubt he even enjoyed being with me. Anyway I woke up one day and he just left. Didn't even bother to say goodbye."

Bex's eyes are burning into me; begging me for more information. This is the first time I have ever talked about this with another person. I force my eyes shut to help with my newly developed headache, but it doesn't work. All I see are flashes of that day. It's engraved into my head, and I will never forget it. The bang of the door, my moms tears cascading down to the floor, the ship pulling him away, the back of his head, and the face that never turned around to wish me a final good-bye.

A warm hand falls onto my shoulder, and I hear her in almost a whisper, "It's ok you can trust me."

I don't know why but I know I can. For the first time, I want someone to know about that day.

"I remember waking up. It was the bang of the door that stirred me out of my sleep. It echoed for ages filling my ears. The light shining into my room made it difficult for me to focus on what was happening outside. I saw his figure though. Even though I'd seen him leave for work a thousand times, I knew this time it was different. All of my senses told me he was leaving for good. I remember the panic that consumed by body after that. I had never been so scared before. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. When I hit the bottom the only sound that I could hear was my mom crying. He broke her heart that day. The sadness in her face still haunts me; I could practically hear the tears hitting the floor. I ran outside as fast as my legs could carry me. The men on the ship were racing to liftoff. He couldn't wait to escape; leave us with practically nothing. Abandon us like were some diseased rats. I couldn't even feel the sharp rocks on the ground as I dashed for the dock. Terror consumed me; I desperately needed him to stay."

I pause to inhale deeply; Bex seems to hold her breath. As if a single exhale would cause me to stop.

"I reached the dock but it was too late. My fingers were a couple of inches too short; not that touching the thing would have done anything. I continued to reach for it though. As if my stretched out arm might have caused him to come back. I felt so helpless, so alone. I stared at the back of his head for as long as I could. Until his brown hair disappeared into the thick clouds. I stared at it, desperately wishing he would turn around so I could see his face for the final time. Maybe if he looked, I could wave goodbye."

The shine of Bex's tear distracts me. I watch it roll down her cheek and tumble down through the air.

"I don't get sad about it anymore. I've accepted the fact that he hated me. That's why he left. I was bringing him down; stopped him from the life he wanted. I was angry at him for so long. How could he just leave us like that? How could he just forget about us, throw us out of his life? But I'm not mad about it anymore"

Even though I'm not angry, I don't think I'll ever forgive him. I don't say this part out loud because I know Bex wouldn't understand. I know its bad to hold onto grudges, but he doesn't deserve my forgiveness. I still want that to remain my secret.

"When I met Silver, he gave me something I never had before. I never thought I would find someone who really truly cared about me like a father would. But Silver… he was something else. He was strict and pushed me around, but he told me things I needed to hear. He treated me like I wasn't useless. He pointed out my true potential, and actually got me caring about my future and myself. He made me believe again. He taught me a ton about sailing, and trusted me. I guess you can say Silver's the dad I never had. This is going to sound cheesy but I felt like he actually maybe loved me like a son. That's something I never received from my father. My dad never cared about me."

"You shouldn't say that."

Her voice scares me and I jump. What did she just say? Was she even listening?

"Why shouldn't I? He left! Never came back! You can't just leave something you love!"

"You can."

What is she talking about? I can't believe after that she has the nerve.

"How would you know?"

"I know because my mom left me like your dad did."

That statement makes me shut up. It never occurred to me that Bex could possibly know what I'm talking about. She's too sweet to have anyone leave her. I turn to look at her again but her eyes are back at the sky. I see a fresh wet line going from her eye to her ear.

"We used to be happy. Me and my family. It was my mom, my dad, and me. I can remember trips to the park, and family dinners. I was so young and I barely remember, but every memory I have we we're always laughing together. They would read me stories of past pirates every night before bed. I loved them because my mom would read and my dad would act the stories out. We lived on this place called Thrae. It was beautiful but every once in awhile strong deadly diseases would pass through the population."

The pause seems to drag on as I wait for her to continue. She runs her hands through her hair preparing for the next section. The warmth from my arm distracts me slightly. Our arms are now touching; she seemed to have moved closer as if I could support her.

"I was five when I caught one of the sicknesses. I barely remember any of the time because I was half conscious. I'm pretty sure I was close to death. They took care of me though. They didn't give up on me. Eventually I recovered, and the doctors told me it was a miracle. We were allowed to be happy again, and our life continued. There was only one difference. My dad wasn't as energetic as usual. He slowly began to fade away, and my mom and I knew he caught the disease."

The reflection of the stars falls onto the new tear traveling down Bex's cheek. I reach my hand out and brush it away. She turns to look at me, and I see the pain on her face.

"He died a few days after my sixth birthday. The funeral was beautiful and so many people showed up. I heard so many apologies for his death; I lost count. My mom was a mess though. She stepped into this daze. It was like the light was taken out of her. I panicked and thought she might have gotten sick also but she continued to stay healthy. After his death I tried to make her happy again. Get her to do the things we once had so much fun doing. She refused. She never hugged me or told me the stories again. I think its because every time she looked at me it was a reminder of what she lost. She lost the love of her life to the sickness I had. I gave the disease to him, and I was the reason he was dead. She still loved me though. She did tell me she still loved me. The pain from the loss was greater than her love however. My mom knew her actions made me upset, but she couldn't get strong enough to get past it. I think she knew I was miserable with the fact that I was a reminder of his death."

More tears roll down to the deck, but her voice continues to stay emotionless.

"One day she came back from work with another man. I was hopeful. I thought that if she was able to find someone else she would go back to normal. Nothing changed though. One day when I was 12 I woke up and she was gone. Everything was packed. Everything she cherished was gone, except for me. At first I felt the same way you did. I was angry, but I learned that she didn't leave because she didn't care about me. Her love for me is what made her leave."

Bex analyzes my face waiting for a reaction, but I don't know what to think. I'm too overwhelmed with her story and her logic.

"You see, she knew her neglect was hurting me. She could tell that I was miserable and full of guilt. My mom wished that I would be happy. She left because she thought it would help me. She thought her presence was more harm than good. I think she truly believed that leaving me would benefit both of us. I personally feel your dad was the same way. He left because he thought that was the best decision for you and your mom. He thought that he wasn't helping so leaving would be best."

This is ridiculous. There's no way he believed that. "Yeah right."

Bex's hands grab my face and force me to turn to my side to look at her. "I'm serious Jim. You are brave, smart, kind, strong, and one hell of a spacer! Who in their right mind would want to leave you if they didn't think it was what's best. If he did leave because he hated you, well then he's an idiot and doesn't deserve to even be remembered. There's so many people that care for you now to prove it! Me included."

Silence follows. We just sit there and stare at each other as I process the information. I guess I was never willing to think about it this way before. It does make a little bit of sense. He never did treat me like he hated me. Maybe I was a reminder of what he lost when my mom had me. He lost his chances at being a spacer. Maybe he knew he would never be happy and treat my mom and me the way we deserved. Maybe he actually thought he was helping.

"You really believe that?"

"Trust me. Your too amazing to not care for. He wouldn't just leave."

"Amazing huh? You really think I'm too amazing to leave?"

The smile slowly evolves on Bex's face, and she lightly pushes my shoulder. "It's just a hunch."

I close my eyes and laugh a little at that. Bex joins and we both are still feeling a little lightheaded from the alcohol. When my eyes open again our faces are extremely close. Our noses are almost touching and I can feel her light breath on my lips. I haven't wanted to kiss her more than I want to now. She understands me. She can make me laugh and have fun like no one ever has. She has the ability to bring positivity and reason to something as awful as being abandoned. She is like a star that has brought endless amounts of light into my life.

I look deep into her eyes and they twinkle in the starlight. They invite me closer to her, and I can sense the force between us again. It's pulling me closer, inviting me in. Her lips tempt me, and I can't hold on any longer. I close the gap and the soft warmth that once was on my cheek is now on my lips. The kiss is delicate and gentle causing shivers to go down my spine. Her lips fit perfectly on mine, and I can't help but want more.

Her hands weave into my hair, pressing us closer together. I place one hand on the side of her face, and the other arm snakes around her waist. The kiss turns hungry and desperate as if we might never get the chance to do it again. I hold onto her like I never want to let her go. My heart is flying beating a million miles per hour. Bex's breathing grows harder but we don't stop.

Instead, it goes back to being gentle. Our lips feel perfectly right together. I don't want to ever stop, but we eventually do. It was one of the best kisses of my life. We continue to talk, laugh, and kiss throughout the night. I feel as though I'm on top of the world. Nothing could bring me down. I would be perfectly content if Bex could lay her head on my chest with my arms wrapped around her forever.

Bex drifts off to sleep, but my mind is swimming with the information I just got. My lips still buzz form the multiple kisses, and the ghost of her lips still play with mine. I feel even more content because I finally know more about Bex. The mystery is solved. I feel my eyes grow heavy before a taunting thought invades my head. Bex's mom left her when she was 12. That was 7 years ago, and she only just met Silver a year ago. What was she doing during those 7 years?

Wow sorry that was a long one! Hope you enjoyed learning more about Bex! Don't worry there's still a ton to find out ;)

Also hope you enjoyed the romance... I hope it wasn't too cheesy... I'm kinda a romantic but I hate cheesiness! haha

Ps the host comes out Friday! So excited! yay! Also Happy Easter to everyone!

Favorite, review, or follow if you like it! It really helps motivate me to write! Come on! I Gave you soooo much info and insight into Bex! You better hit those buttons below. :) Don't let Bex down! Happy creativity and reading everyone! :)