And we're back! Feels like it's been ages since I've written something! Did you guys miss me? ;) I hope that the little sneak peak left you guys eagerly anticipating this chapter. In truth, I couldn't wait to write it, but obviously I didn't have much of a chance to. That being said, I was given quite a bit more time to brainstorm so I hope you all enjoy this.
Thanks to my reviewers!
CruelRuin: Lol I wasn't sure if it was emotional enough, but I got some manly tears. Nice.
Mr0cheese: Dude, as soon as you said Fire Emblem Awakening (it's so badass that it needs to be bold, italicized, and underlined... except the editor won't let me underline for whatever reason, so just pretend it is) has been taking up your time I was like… he and I were meant to be friends; I forgive any lack of reviews for the same reason that I took longer to post that last chapter. Tis a valid excuse. Honestly this is my favourite FE so far (in case you didn't read my extensive list from Chapter 19). Soooooo many support shippings it's ridiculous and I love it. My favourite character is between Inigo, Noire, Cynthia, or Henry but I set Henry up with Miriel… (my biggest regret of the game… there's always next playthrough…). Oh and Cherche because she's kinda cute… and Nowi… dammit too many good characters. I think I clocked in at about 30 hours within the first 4 days of owning the game… If there's some sort of friend code thing, send me yours and I'll add it. I dunno how that stuff really works so you'd have to send it to me so I could figure it out :P. Sorry for the long reply, FE makes me nerdgasm. FE nerds for life! B). Oh and yeah, this story… I feel you, bro; people need to have some love for Jenna. I tried to make her likeable for everyone, but alas that shan't happen unless people break free of their premeditated notions of her.
AnriMia24: Worry not, dear Anri, for I think this chapter is less painful than you may be bracing yourself for. Then again, I don't know you, so it may be just as painful :P. And as for your prediction, I said I wouldn't reveal anything about the secret, so I'll just wobble my head and say it's possible ;P
I see no need to prolong this, so here's the long-awaited chapter 21!
Disclaimer: I don't
Agony
A warm breeze from the volcano blew across the barren Goma Mountains. Sparkling, psynergetic ashes floated through the air like cottonseeds in the wind. Alchemy had been released upon the world, thus making psynergy a rather common occurrence. If it would be used for good or evil, none could say for sure. The hearts of men are often weak and greedy, feeling as though they deserve more than they are given; a problem that could possibly affect the fate of the Wise One and all of Weyard.
But none of that was his problem.
Isaac stood by the end of his porch, dangerously perched over the edge of the cliff without so much as a railing to prevent one from falling off. Why was he tasked with protecting the fate of things when he couldn't even protect himself? He'd almost forgotten how vulnerable the heart was: such a delicate piece of the human soul. Now that his heart was broken, shattered, and lying in pieces within the depths of his empty soul, what was stopping him from simply taking one more step? How often had he wondered what it would be like to simply cease to exist? Probably far too much for his own good.
He looked down at the chasm below and kicked a small pebble over. It would be a simple thing. He could easily make it look like an accident. Perhaps he'd been observing Mt. Aleph when a gust of wind blew him off. Maybe the soarwing hadn't strapped on properly, leaving a helpless Isaac to fall to his death. Or perhaps he'd just committed suicide to end his meaningless, loveless life.
Everything over the past while had all melded itself into a depressing blur, yet he had no problem remembering exactly how long it had been since Mia broke off the engagement with him. Two months and sixteen days ago. Surprisingly, he hadn't turned to alcohol – well, not always – to drown away his sorrows. Instead he'd spent most of his time lying in bed, not leaving for days at a time except to use the washroom. His eating habits were slowly deteriorating, and he'd definitely lost some muscle mass as well. Every day the cliff looked more and more enticing, almost begging him to take the final step and leave it all behind.
It wasn't just the cliff though. Isaac's mind was so clouded with ways that he could take the coward's way out that it was all he thought about when he wasn't thinking of Mia. The rope and the chandelier, rat poison in his breakfast, and the venom-filled fang he'd kept in his spoils were just some of the more complex ideas that had come to him. Hell, even using his sword or a knife to quickly end it could work. But when the time came to act he always felt himself hesitating.
It wasn't out of fear, if anything he was more afraid of living without love than dying. It had always been more about how it would affect his friends. How would Garet ever forgive him? What would Ivan and Sam feel like if he ended his life? Could he put Jenna through yet another death to someone close to her? But most importantly, what sort of guilt would he place upon Mia when she found out what he'd done? Though they were no longer together, she had still loved him.
Loved.
As in, she used to love him. There was no way of knowing how she still felt about him. Ivan and Garet claimed that there was no way she could stop feeling for him after such a short time, but he was never convinced so easily. They knew that the Venus adept wasn't taking the situation in well at all, so they'd had to keep an eye on him as much as they could. For the most part they'd just been leaving him meals and such while they stayed downstairs. Most, if not all, of the dangerous things were not in Isaac's bedroom, so he would have to come downstairs if he wanted to try anything.
Isaac sighed and stepped away from the edge and towards the doorway. It would be selfish to kill himself after all they'd done, yet that reasoning enough never seemed to amount to his overwhelming desolation. The cliff seemed out of the question, though, for no one would know exactly what happened to him if he just suddenly disappeared. It wasn't that he wanted them to know he'd killed himself, but if there was no body the situation could be mistaken for him leaving on yet another journey to find himself.
He hadn't even realized, but in all his thoughts of death and leaving he'd managed to tie a sloppy noose around the chandelier. How he'd managed to get up on a chair and do all of this without realizing escaped him, but it seemed as though his subconscious had decided for him. There was only one way to go from here and that was down, literally. This was it. Nothing would stop him this time. He'd never actually gotten so far as to be standing in a position where one movement could end his life (other than the cliff).
Isaac slid his head through the loop and took a final look around the room. He mentally whispered his goodbyes and apologized to his djinn, who were powerless to stop him in this situation. He wiggled his foot, ready to kick the chair from beneath his feet. It would be quick, relatively painless, and he would pass out before he even died. Deep breaths, Isaac. No more hesitation.
As he was about to kick the chair away to end his life, he heard the sound of the lock clicking open. Fearing that he was too late, Isaac punted the chair as hard as he could towards the person at the door. Hearing the clatter, Ivan jumped into the house and immediately cast Halt without even looking which direction it was aimed in; however, due to his heightened Jupiter senses, it hit Isaac directly, causing the Venus adept to sort of float in midair, the noose not yet tightened around his neck.
"Slash!" cried Ivan, quickly slicing the rope from where it hung. He then proceeded to carry the frozen Isaac over to the couch before smacking him hard across the face.
"ISAAC, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"
The Venus adept remained frozen in his position, mouth slightly agape but still able to dart his eyes around. Ivan knew he couldn't take Isaac on in a fight, so he kept his suicidal friend in the Halt spell until he was sure that Isaac wouldn't do anything irrational.
"Are you insane?! You were gonna kill yourself! I'm glad I showed up when I did or you'd have been dead by the time someone came to check up on you. I knew you weren't coping well, Isaac, but this. This?!"
The Jupiter adept unraveled the noose and used the rope to bind Isaac's hands behind his back. Once he was sure they were tight enough, he released Isaac from the spell, causing Isaac to fall over in a heap on the couch. Isaac had never been on the receiving end of a Halt spell, and it felt weird to be so immobile and paralyzed. Nothing he'd ever experienced could even compare to the literal stopping of all motor functions except for the eyes.
Ivan glared at Isaac, arms crossed over his chest. Isaac had never seen Ivan so upset before. He truly was intimidating, despite his young appearance. "Well, are you going to say anything?" demanded Ivan.
"What do you want me to say, Ivan? I'm a wreck, I'm a joke, I'm nothing more than a guy who can't seem to get his life in order. I almost killed myself because I'm not contributing to anything other than Mia's 'premonition' which I don't even know if I should be doing. I shouldn't have to do anything she says anymore. I'm no longer… hers…"
Ivan smacked him again. Isaac angrily aimed a kick at the nimble Jupiter adept and missed.
"Isaac, listen to yourself! You're being pathetic! Sol, I never thought I'd see the day when I, the once timid, fifteen-year-old, friendless boy from Kalay, would be smacking some sense into the fearless leader of our band of heroes because he's too stupid to realize that there's more to life than being sad! Gods, I understood when you were depressed that she wasn't here and I even knew that this would be a million times worse when you told her she broke it off with you, but I never thought you would stoop so low, Isaac. I'm going to take anything potentially dangerous out of your house until I can be sure you won't use it on yourself. Don't think I won't tell Garet about this, because I will. He won't be mad like I am, trust me, he'll be disappointed, and that's much worse than anger, Isaac."
With that, the Jupiter adept went around the house, collecting all manner of sharp objects, rope-like items, poisonous powders and such, and even went so far as to tear the chandelier from the ceiling for extra measure. Isaac simply stayed at the couch and allowed his friend to walk around and collect things. There'd be no use in trying to stop him, as his hands were still tied. He wouldn't be able to concentrate his psynergy properly like this, so he just waited until Ivan returned by the front door with a large collection of random, potentially dangerous things.
"I'm taking these down to Patcher's. Garet's gonna be up here by sunset, so I suggest you smarten up by then. I still can't believe you of all people would do something like this. And to think I came all this way to tell you some good news."
"…wait, Ivan. What… what were you going to tell me?"
Ivan scoffed, obviously thinking that Isaac didn't deserve to know now. "If you must know, I was going to tell you that Sam is pregnant. I was going to ask you to be the godfather, but I'm reconsidering my options. I don't want my child to be around you if you're this much of a danger to yourself. Prove me wrong, Isaac."
Casting Carry on the heap of items, Ivan opened the door and floated the things out of the house. He used a very gentle Slash to slice the bonds tying Isaac's hands together before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.
Helpless, hopeless, a disappointment, and a terrible friend; Isaac was all of these things and more.
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For the rest of the day, Isaac sat in front of the fireplace with the locket in one hand and a half-finished bottle of whiskey in the other. He stared longingly at the photo in the locket while his finger brushed the gem sitting beside it. He was honestly too intoxicated to get up at that point, so he had already decided he'd just sit there until Garet showed up. On that thought, he heard the lock click open, followed by the heavy footsteps of the Mars adept.
"Isaac, Ivan told me what happened," he said calmly, effortlessly taking the bottle from his drunken friend. Isaac hung his head, knowing that Garet would guilt him with his disappointment. However, Garet said nothing more and simply took a seat beside him.
"Aren't you gonna say more? Tell me how you're disappointed an' crap?" he slurred.
Garet slowly shook his head and patted Isaac on the shoulder. "C'mon, Isaac, you know me better than that. I know that Ivan gave you hell, so what good would it do to make you feel worse? I'm just here to make sure everything's alright now. Besides, I've got enough on my mind as it is."
Isaac was glad that Garet was such a compassionate friend, but he was now curious as to what would be occupying Garet's mind over the fact that his best friend nearly killed himself earlier.
"S'everything alright with you?" asked Isaac. "You don't usually *hic* have many problems in your life… at least not lately."
Garet took a swig of Isaac's whiskey, much to the Venus adept's surprise, before responding. "Hmm, Dragon's Bane (not actual Dragon's Bane, just the name of the whiskey in this case). Nice choice, though I still don't really support you drinking yourself stupid," he joked. Isaac continued staring at him, waiting for Garet to elaborate on his problems.
"I'd rather not talk about it right now, Isaac. Tonight we'll just be a couple of guys and hang out like we used to. I don't have work for the next few days, so I figured I'd keep an eye on you on my days off. It's not like I had much else to do."
Though unsatisfied with Garet's answer, Isaac smiled to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "S'all good, man. Brothers stick together," he chuckled drunkenly, closing the locket and hanging it around his neck.
The two adepts chatted on about Garet's life (since Isaac's had been pretty uneventful since Mia's departure) and how things were going down in Kalay. From what he could tell, things still seemed pretty much the same. Garet's grandfather, now a political official, would be celebrating his ninety-third birthday soon, making him the oldest member in the village since Kraden had left with Piers some time long ago. Sam completed her PhD and was now a professor at the university. Ivan was sort of an engineer, though he mostly just liked to tinker around with his own inventions. Even Isaac's parents were doing well, though the thought of not visiting them in such a long time made him feel ashamed. Jenna was still working as a baker, but Isaac noticed that Garet didn't seem to dwell on her too long.
"Yeah, so that's pretty much it," said a buzzed Garet, placing the nearly empty bottle on the small table beside him.
"That's good. So how's Jenna, anyway? I've only seen her maybe once in the past couple months when she came to check on me."
"Oh, uh, she's good I guess. Not really much to say… she's pretty much the same as always…"
Even though he was drunk, Isaac could tell that Garet was hiding something. The Mars adept had been careful about how he hid it though, making Isaac unsure of whether it was meant to be a good thing or a bad thing. He'd said that he had a lot on his mind, but that didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing. For all he knew, Jenna would pop in with a ring on her finger. Perhaps that's what it was, but he was afraid of how Isaac would react, given that he and Mia had just called off their wedding plans and relationship as a whole. Well, whatever the reason, Garet clearly wasn't ready to tell him, so he let it slide.
"Hey, I'm gonna go lie down. I'm getting kinda tired," said Isaac, yawning as he did so.
"Yeah, alright, I'm probably gonna stay up for a bit longer. Night, Isaac."
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Those few days went by rather quickly with Garet there to boost Isaac's spirits. Honestly, Isaac wasn't even sure he could feel boosted, but Garet had somehow managed to keep him entertained during his short stay there. He couldn't say that he wasn't still depressed, but at least he wasn't about to kill himself again.
"Oh, I think I forgot to tell you," said Garet as he was about to leave, "Ivan's outta town and I've got to go to my grandpa's birthday celebration, so we're both gone for two or three days. After that, though, I might come back here for a while. You don't mind if I stay here with you, do you, man?"
"Nah, you can stay as long as you want. It's probably best if I have someone here with me anyway," Isaac responded flatly.
Garet flashed him a smile and gave him a thumbs-up before heading off across the bridge. Isaac slowly closed the door behind his friend and turned back towards the soarwing. He hadn't been out while Garet was with him, and he always did like the feeling of flying. Maybe he could do that for a few hours to take his mind off of Mia. He would inevitably start feeling bad again, but he wanted to prolong that depression for as long as he could. Strapping the contraption to his back, he went out to the back porch, ran towards the edge, and jumped off the cliff, calling on his psynergy to guide the machine. It was such an exhilarating feeling to just fly and be free.
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Isaac returned home at about sunset. He had never flown for such a long time, but he had quite a bit more energy when he wasn't so depressed. It had given him more time to think. However, now that he was tired and at home, he could feel the lonely feelings creeping back up on him. Sunset was always the time of day that he used to love, but now it came only as a reminder of so many good things he'd done with Mia. He placed the soarwing on a chair by the door and went over to his rocking chair. He didn't usually sit in it, as it faced away from the fireplace, but it did give a nice view out the window. He hadn't watched a sunset in quite a while. Mia, I miss you…
Isaac woke up to the sound of a light rapping at his door. He must have been exhausted after his lengthy flight and fallen asleep watching the sunset. The rocking chair was quite soothing, but it was now dark outside. Luna wasn't high in the sky yet, but Isaac couldn't help but wonder who would be coming over at such a late hour. Perhaps he'd imagined the sound, but some louder knocking at the door interrupted that thought. Cautiously approaching the entrance, he slowly opened the door, only to find himself completely shocked by the visitor.
"I-Isaac."
He stared blankly for a moment, but allowed the visitor to come in. After what seemed like minutes, Isaac found his voice again. "Uh, hey, Jenna. What are you doing here?" he yawned.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you? You look tired," Jenna said quietly.
"No, no, it's alright. I just went out on a flight today. Spent a little longer out there than I meant to, but I'm up now."
She smiled slightly but cast her gaze downwards. Isaac was growing more concerned by the second, so he gestured her to take a seat by the fireplace.
"Are you okay, Jenna? You seem a little down."
She bit her bottom lip, but it was no use. Isaac knew what would happen as a tear slid down her cheek. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around him and cried heavily into his chest. Though he wasn't expecting the sudden gesture, he wrapped one arm around her to rub her back. It wasn't like he knew what was going on, so all he could do was comfort her.
"I-I'm sorry, Isaac," she cried into his shirt, "I d-didn't want you t-to see me like th-this."
"Shh, it's okay, Jenna, I'm here for you. What's going on, though? I don't mean to be rude, but I can't exactly help you out without knowing what the problem is."
The Mars adept sat up and took a moment to wipe her tears and take a few breaths before she spoke again. He had to be ready for anything, because Jenna wasn't the type to get upset like this often. Most of the time she just got angry, and he'd only seen her cry when they were little, when her family 'died', when she broke up with him, and when she found out Felix was missing. He braced himself as she hesitated for a moment, seeming almost unsure of her own words.
"Garet and I broke up."
That was… unexpected, to say the least. Isaac was relieved that he'd braced himself for something upsetting, because he might not have believed her if he hadn't. It kind of made sense now too. Garet had been acting weird about Jenna the other day and he wasn't really dwelling on the subject whenever the Venus adept brought her up. Isaac wasn't really sure what to say.
"Oh… I'm really sorry to hear that, Jen. I thought he was going to propose to you soon. I'm pretty sure he had a ring and everything." Hearing that news only made her sob harder, collapsing herself into him again. Smart one, Isaac. Bring up the fact that he was going to propose to her right after she says they broke up. Gods, I'm an idiot.
"I f-feel so selfish for b-bringing myself here, Isaac. I kn-know you and M-Mia just split up so you must be d-devastated. My p-problems are nothing c-compared to yours."
"Jenna, don't… don't say things like that. Yes, I'm still hurting a lot over Mia, but right now you're my biggest concern. You're still one of my closest friends, no matter if we haven't seen each other much lately. Just walk me through what happened. Garet was here the other day but he didn't even mention any problems between you two."
She took another moment to compose herself. It was hard for him to see her like this. Jenna always seemed so tough before, so to see her break down like this was disheartening. Where was the girl he used to know, the one who fought off bullies, climbed trees, slayed monsters, and helped save the world? He never wanted to see any of his friends so broken. Perhaps this is how they saw him, broken and depressed.
"It's my fault. That stupid slut, Roxy, wouldn't keep her hands off Garet. I always made it really obvious that he and I were a couple so that she would back off, but she never really took the hint. I got mad at him for always letting her flirt with him, but he just said that he never flirted back, so it wasn't really anything he could help. I suppose that's true, but it still made me uncomfortable. Then one day when I was going to walk home with him after work, I went into the shop and saw her… I s-saw her…"
"Jenna, calm down, it's alright, I'm here. Take a minute if you need to."
She shook her head and continued. "I saw her kissing him, Isaac! He had his hands on her sides and she was all over him. I didn't even stop to think, I just screamed out 'WHORE!' and ran home as fast as I could. When Garet caught up to me I didn't want to listen, but he forced me to. He said he was trying to push her away and that he wasn't kissing back. I called him a liar and… then I ruined everything…"
"You broke up with him…" Isaac said softly, but Jenna shook her head and kept going.
"I don't know what came over me, Isaac. I said the worst possible thing anyone could have said to Garet. I never expected to be the one to hurt him so badly, but I did. I screamed at him and asked him what Aaron would say if he saw his older brother cheating on his girlfriend."
Isaac was stunned. He knew Jenna was one to lose her temper, but never did he expect that to come from her. Apparently she was feeling the same way because tears streamed down her face again. He could see just how awful she felt for saying something so terrible, even if it was out of anger.
"He didn't say anything to me at first. He just stood there with a blank look on his face. I immediately regretted what I said, but he wouldn't let me apologize. Isaac, he looked at me with such pain and hatred. I'd never seen such a hurt expression come from anyone. His face was blank, but there was such a fury in his eyes. He started packing his things away but he wouldn't say a word to me, no matter how much I said I didn't mean it. When I asked him where he was going he just said that he was leaving. I tried to stop him, but he forced his arm from my grip at the door before turning his head and telling me that we were done. Then he slammed the door and left me alone."
Isaac was at a loss for words. Garet didn't seem like that at all when he came up to the cabin a few nights ago. Who would've thought that a few hours before he showed up at Isaac's home that Garet had just gone through a rough breakup? It made him feel bad for forcing his problems onto the Mars adept instead of letting him deal with his own. Isaac rubbed Jenna's back some more as she cried into him again.
"I… I'm sorry, Jenna. If I'd have known that he was staying at my place for the past few days for that reason then I'd have tried to talk him into reconsidering what he'd done. I could tell something was going on between you two, but he was good at hiding if it was good or bad. I feel stupid because it should've been obvious that it was bad, otherwise he wouldn't have been staying at my place…"
"It's not your fault, Isaac. I was being selfish by coming up here. I thought that maybe if I talked to someone who'd experienced heartbreak, they might be able to help me out. I was being insensitive, especially when you were the first person I could think of. Of course I knew you'd experienced heartbreak; I was the first one to cause it, but I was too stupid to think of going to someone else. I'm so sorry, Isaac, I-I should leave you alone, this was a bad idea."
Isaac held her down when she tried to stand, causing her to give him a confused look. "Jenna, I don't want you to worry about that. I… I can't say that I'm not dying on the inside, but I want to help you. Before, all I could concern myself with was how Mia wasn't with me anymore. The same day Garet showed up, I almost killed myself. All I could think was 'Mia's gone, what else do I have to live for? I won't be stopped this time'. I may not be strong right now, but I want to support you, and you can support me. We're both going through a hard time."
"Isaac… Oh, Isaac, why can't love be easier?! It always seemed like things would work out for everyone. You and Mia were so in love, Garet and I were doing well, and Sam and Ivan are married with a kid on the way. I don't even know how it all fell apart for us. Maybe I'm cursed… I spread my curse to you, and now Garet's cursed too."
"Jenna… sometimes the people we love aren't meant to be with us… I feel like a hypocrite for saying that because I want nothing more than to be with her right now, but I know that it's the truth. I just… I can't believe she kept the ring. Maybe she really does still… love me…"
A few tears slid down his face and the exes silently cried as they sat by the fireplace. Isaac had to admit this was probably one of the strangest situations he'd found himself in, but it didn't seem to matter. Both of them were in so much pain, and they just needed someone to comfort and support them. And so they remained like that, comforted by the other pained individual in the heat of the fire, a place where both adepts had spent cuddling with each other and their later respective significant others.
It was odd, to say the least, to feel so close to Jenna again. He hadn't had a real conversation with her since Felix' disappearance. Before they were a couple, they had always been best friends, and after they had settled their past they had come to a friendly understanding between each other. Somewhere along the line they'd simply lost contact and now this felt foreign, yet at the same time it felt right. Was it because he missed Jenna, though, or because he missed Mia? Truthfully, Isaac couldn't say whether he enjoyed holding Jenna because they were both hurting and she was there for him, or because it made him feel like he was holding Mia.
But then he felt guilty. He knew there was no way that she could, but Mia would feel so hurt if she could see him now. He was hesitant to admit to himself, but he almost felt like he was being couple-y with Jenna right now. True, they were both just distraught over the loss of the love of their lives, but minus the crying this was something that he had done with both Mia and Jenna when he dated them. He felt almost afraid of the consequences of being in this position.
But no, he shouldn't be afraid of the consequences because there wouldn't be consequences. He felt nothing more than a platonic love for Jenna. She was a childhood friend of his who chose to come to him in her time of need. He just so happened to be in need of a friend as well, thus they were compelled to comfort each other. No one would view this strangely, for there was no one around to view it in such a way. Well, no one except the djinn now sitting in front of the fire.
"Should we stop them, Tinder? I'm afraid for what Master Isaac and Miss Jenna may lead to if they continue this way," said Flint.
Tinder shook her head, "No, Flint. I don't believe anything will happen. They are simply two people hurting more emotionally than we djinn can possibly know. Humans are complex. We cannot possibly hope to understand the ways in which they choose to think and feel. It is best that we do not interfere."
"I suppose you're right. I mean no offense, but I always preferred Master Isaac and Lady Mia together. Perhaps I am rushing to conclusions."
"I do not disagree. I always felt that Lady Jenna and Garet had a much stronger connection to one another. We are not at a place to interfere with their relationships, though. We are simply here to help guide them along their chosen paths."
"And that we shall."
Though the djinn didn't know it at the time, their duties were going to become much more complex than they could ever know.
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Isaac awoke the next morning, feeling tired and depressed. He and Jenna had stayed up late last night, crying into each other over the loss of their loves. It had been strangely emotional, and Isaac wasn't quite sure if he had ever had a heart-to-heart with Jenna, not even while they were dating! Slowly cracking his eyes open, the Venus adept rubbed at them to help adjust to brightness of sunlight coming in through the window.
He truly wished he hadn't let his eyes adjust, though, because the fear of what he saw next was almost too much to handle. He darted his eyes all over the room, praying that there was some sign that this wasn't real. But everything he saw only made it seem the more real. He pinched his arm hard. Damn, it hurt, so this isn't a dream! More like a nightmare! Oh, gods, no! No, no, no, no, no! What have I done?! How could I let this happen?!
There was only one more thing he could do. There was no way this was a dream, but he had to be sure. Hands shaking in pure terror of what he would see, Isaac slowly reached over beside him.
Lifting the spare bedroom's white blanket, he felt his heart, lungs, motor functions, and time itself stop when he saw the reddish brown of Jenna's hair flowing down over her naked, sleeping figure.
Oh man, I told you things were gonna get a little more interesting! Everyone was expecting some Isaac-Jenna relations to build up first, but I don't know if anyone was expecting a one-night stand. I'm sure some of you are confused by this and I can assure you that details of last night (meaning how it led up to it, not what happened, you perverts) will be explained, though I will say that the explanation is rather short and probably not the sort of detailed story some of you are expecting. No matter, it's the principle, not the events.
So, are you guys liking my newfound inspiration for these chapters? I dunno if you can tell, but I can certainly see a difference between the chapters that I'm enjoying writing and the ones I wasn't. Not to say that I like having Isaac and Mia split apart and the events that follow, but I really like that things are finally picking up again. Mr0cheese gets me, so if you guys can relate with his reviews, then you should be able to relate with me :)
Also, in case you felt that Ivan was a bit OOC with all the anger and whatnot, well that's because I felt that, since she's been such a wonderful reviewer, AnriMia24 needed somewhat of a presence in the story. You've said multiple times that you'd like to slap, hurt, and do other painful things to Isaac for his dumb decisions and personality and such, so I figured that I could channel your anger through Ivan :P
Please REVIEW because, like I've said before, I like the people who have been reviewing, but I wish that I knew what some of the other people think. Even if it's a simple "I liked this chapter, it has a nice twist" or "This chapter could use some work, like if you tried…" or even "I didn't like this chapter because…" would be greatly appreciated. I know people are reading the story, but it's a bit frustrating when only two or three of the same people are reviewing every update. I'll continue updating, regardless of review numbers, but I may or may not make an exception for the final chapter where you find out the kids' reactions, if Isaac finds happiness, and what the big secret for his post-story depression is. All will be revealed, but only if I can get enough reviews in the penultimate chapter. I'll be very clear about which chapter that is, so I'm expecting reviews on it. This is NOT the second last chapter, but I would still like some more reviews!
So, yeah, that's all for my rant on reviews and we the writers. Also check out my soundcloud!
-GengaJupite