36. Eternal

Jack hung up the phone and shuddered quickly, he hated calling his mother so much, everything she said seemed condescending. Yet he was shocked to find that she was actually pleased that he was settling, although she would have liked to have met the lucky girl first. He breathed, dialling another number that he dreaded more, his estranged brother. He hadn't spoken to his brother much since he had found him in bed with his girlfriend at the time and if he was honest, he dreaded introducing him to Ann. But at the end of the day, family was family and he wanted them there.

After he hung up the phone he cringed, talking to his family was certainly no picnic, but his brother had agreed to come, only in the hope that there would be hot babes present.

"Hey sweetie," Ann said, pecking Jack on the cheek and squeezing his shoulders to relieve some tension. "I'm sure your family aren't that bad."

"Wait till you meet them," Jack sighed turning around to pull her into his arms. "Just promise you'll stay with me even after you meet them?"

"They're that bad?"

"Worse,"

"Ah… well I'm not making any promises," she joked then she saw the look on his face and nodded. "Of course I'll stay, when I say till death parts us I'll mean it."

"Don't take it so literally you decide to kill me…"

She hushed him and slapped him on the arm playfully, her sky blue eyes shining beams of love over him.

"I love you… so much," he whispered against her ear, sending a tickling sensation down her neck.

"You'd better," she replied with smile and kissed him on the cheek again. "Anyway, I'm going over the food preparations with Dad, so I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright Honey," Jack smiled and then watched her walk down into the kitchen. He tapped his foot, deciding whether to invite more family or not, he decided against it and instead wondered whether he should invite some of Forget-Me-Not valley. Would it be weird if he invited Lumina? Bottom line was, he wanted her there and she had moved on before he had, so he decided to call up the inn and ask.

"Hello, Rock, is that you?" Jack asked, after returning from his walk and dialling the inn number.

"Too lazy to walk here?" Rock joked and Jack laughed.

"Nope, I'm trying not to interfere with your lives."

"I've noticed," Rock said somewhat coldly and Jack frowned, the words were chilly coming from Rock.

"Come again?"

"You've missed a hell of a lot, Jack." Rock said with a deep breath and Jack felt a bead of sweat trickle down his neck from the way Rock had said it.

"Could Lumina fill me in?" Jack asked, partly because he didn't want to talk to this moody Rock any more but mostly because he had the craving to hear her voice.

"She's not here,"

"Well then when she comes back…"

"No, Jack, she's not even in the valley… by phone isn't the way you should be caught up about all this." Rock told him and Jack frowned, he wasn't liking the sound of any of this. Lumina gone? That just wasn't right, what could bring her to leave the valley? What news could be so bad that Rock couldn't tell him over the phone?

"Oh…"

"Could you get over to the inn tomorrow maybe? I'll tell you everything then." Rock promised and Jack thought deeply. He really didn't have the time to traipse over to Forget-Me-Not valley to hear about the escapades of his ex-girlfriend, but then again, it seemed like something he needed to know.

"Well I'm really busy at the moment…" Jack hesitated for a second then made up his mind. "Sure, I'll head over tonight in fact, is that okay?"

"Perfect, see you then…" Rock replied and Jack nodded, hanging up the phone. He ran his tongue over his teeth in thought, something didn't sound right.

Lumina watched Angel from across the room, instead of focusing on the landcape painting she was supposed to be concentrating on. She knew it was so wrong, she knew watching him was becoming an addiction, yet she just couldn't take her eyes off him. He was the definition of art, in fact art looked like garbage in comparison to him. He was more perfect than any chiselled statue, any statue that was too beautiful to be realistically human, he was more perfect than them, he was there in the flesh. He looked over at her, his sparkling eyes curious and she immediately blushed looking back at her incomplete painting.

"He can't be yours, just let Kyra have him," she told herself, trying to keep her eyes anywhere but on him. She looked across the room to where Kyra was, this was one of the only classes they had together. She could see her striking green eyes watching him, like those of a cat watching her prey, for her look was that of a predator. The tall, bearded professor nodded at them all to stop and pack up their supplies before striding out of the room. She put away her paints and then raised her golden eyes to watch Angel walk over towards her with a well-meaning smile on his face.

"About that coffee," she heard herself say before she'd even realised it. She glanced over and spotted Kyra watching her with slanted eyes, oops.

"You've reconsidered?" Angel asked with an amiable smile and she looked thoughtful.

"Well not as a date thing, but I figured we could talk maybe?" She asked fidgeting with the hem of the smooth cashmere sweater that Kyra had let her borrow. Angel continued smiling although a little of the heavenly light faded from his perfect eyes.

"Of course, do you have a free after lunch?"

"Yep,"

"Then I'll see you in Café Du Lac around twelve then?" He suggested and she smiled, her pink lips curving sweetly. "Good see you then,"

She watched as he walked off and then noticed that Kyra was stalking towards her with an irate look on her face. "What the hell was that?" She demanded.

"I want to talk to him…" she began, then saw the displeased look on Kyra's face and swallowed. "To talk about you."

"Me?" Kyra asked with a perfectly shaped brown eyebrow raised, she looked bored but the tone of her voice spoke otherwise.

"Yeah, I want to encourage him to ask you out, push him in the right direction…" she said softly, that was such a total lie. Lumina didn't know where the words were coming from but they seemed pleasing to Kyra and so they just kept flowing, like an alcoholic pouring out a generous measure of wine.

"Oh, well that's okay then. Let me know how it goes, I'll catch up later, I have music now." She said with a wink that seemed to demonstrate her charming power over people, absolute power.

"Yeahuh," Lumina nodded and walked quickly away, she was looking forward to zoning out in her textiles class.

Jack walked up to the door of the inn at Forget-Me-Not valley that evening, with a feeling of apprehension like a lead weight in his stomach. He had no idea what news he would be hearing today, but he knew it wasn't good. He rapped on the door, even though he'd never felt the need to knock on an inn door before, he now felt too much like a stranger to just barge in. Rock opened the door with tired eyes, a deep frown formed on his lips.

"Come in, I'll make us some tea." He said tiredly, letting go of the door and walking over to the kitchen, expecting Jack to follow. He filled a kettle with water and heated it up, meanwhile searching for his mother's soothing tea mixture, it seemed the right occasion. He set up the fire and then took a seat opposite Jack on the table and for a moment they both stared at each other, spotting the differences between these live models and the images in their heads.

"I'm guessing I'm not going to like the news," Jack said breaking the silence and Rock nodded with a blank face.

"Not all of it," he said bitterly, his voice wavered slightly, and he looked as though he was still healing from a hundred invisible wounds. "It all started after you left…"

So Rock talked and Jack listened, shocked and horrified at the things he was hearing, but he guessed hearing about it was nowhere near so bad as experiencing it. He was filled with so many different emotions as the heavy weight of guilt was placed upon his shoulders.

"I can't believe Takakura killed Lumina's parents… my father trusted him." Jack murmured, shaking his head while Rock watched him carefully.

"No one suspected him, besides, a man changes when he's all alone. We don't speak ill of him, not now he's dead."

"But still, everything… Why didn't you tell me this in your letters?" Jack said, his face paling, this news was something very shocking too.

"I kept you informed about her coma and you didn't come to see her… I figured you would."

"I should have…" He quickly changed the subject. "And now she's at some arts school, man, I never thought she'd leave the valley. Do you have a contact number for her?" Jack asked, he wanted to talk to Lumina even more desperately now, she seemed so far away.

Rock shrugged, his eyes looking at the ground vacantly.

"You mean you haven't talked to her at all?" Jack asked incredulously, he knew Rock had broken up with Lumina before she left, but he would have guessed they'd at least be friends.

"Sebastian may have her number… Look Jack, I'm not saying breaking up with her was right, I just want to sever all my ties with her for now. She needs to get on with her life without any reminders of the valley…" Rock said, looking at him with dangerous eyes. "I don't think you should call her,"

"I get you wanting to protect her, but she's going to be thinking about the valley anyway, and I need to call her…"

"Fine… but I've got to ask, why now?" Rock queried, his eyes were slanted and he still looked tired, even after the tea.

"Why what now?" He asked, looking confused.

"Why did you want to hear how Lumina is getting on now?"

"Oh, well… I forgot to tell you, I'm getting married and I wanted to invite some people from the valley to the wedding…" Jack said with a slight smile, although in this grey picture of depression that Rock had painted he doubted sharing his happiness with anyone here would actually work.

"Oh… do you have a list of people you want to invite? You should go tell people."

"Yeah, to be honest I really wanted to just invite Lumina, I was closest to her, but you and your family are welcome to come…" Jack admitted and Rock shook his head. "Well alright then, I suppose I'll ask Sebastian for the details. But I'm really surprised you don't have them…"

"I told you… we broke up."

"So?"

"So, it's over." Rock said coldly as though Jack were some dumb, annoying kid. Jack smiled slightly shaking his head.

"I just never thought it would be like that with you two, I mean sure you're broken up, sure you want her to get on with her life, but at the end of the day, I think you're soul mates. I don't think anything can truly come between you two." Jack told him and Rock looked up at him and smiled, the first time Jack had seen him smile since he had arrived. Jack smiled back and turned to leave.

"Oh and Jack?" Rock said, Jack looked back at him with questioning eyes. "Congratulations, I wish you an eternity of happiness."

"You too buddy."

Café du Lac was a small, well-decorated little French-style café just off campus of the college; it had a flower-filled garden at the back with rows of tables covered with red and white checkered cloths. It was well known to the students for making the best coffee, tea or other hot drink around, and it's "croque monsieurs" were a delicious sandwich alternative. Lumina dropped another sugar cube into her coffee, stirring the milky mixture slowly with a thoughtful expression. She then blew on a spoonful of her reviving liquid and tipped it into her mouth, savouring the flavour of caffeine.

"I'm not late am I?" Came the angelic voice that she had longed to hear. She dropped her spoon into the cup blushing and standing up.

"No not at all," she murmured, feeling rather stupid for having stood up and took a seat back down again. She watched Angel with dreamy eyes as he went to order his coffee, returning with a toasted cheese sandwich to share.

"Thanks for meeting me," he smiled and she felt herself melt like the cheese in the sandwich.

"Uh… of course, hey, I should be thanking you. There are girls at college who would pay all their riches for a coffee with you." She told him with an eyebrow raised. He blushed slightly and she was awed by it, if you've never seen an angel blush you can't understand the feeling of seeing a glorious being feel embarrassment, it's somehow humbling.

"It's… you make me sound like a player," he said with slight bitterness and she shook her head quickly.

"I don't mean that I just mean… you're perfect…" She said guiltily, raising her eyes to meet his.

"Now how does anyone know that?" He asked with a doubtful eyebrow raised and she sighed almost dreamily.

"It's a little too obvious, especially with the name. Every girl wants to date you, why won't you give one of them a chance?" She inquired, she was doing the non-selfish thing and trying to help Kyra score a date. After all if she couldn't have him then at least Kyra should have the chance.

"I tried, you turned me down… remember?" He told her casually surveying her carefully with ocean blue eyes.

"Yes but I kind of have a boyfriend… ex-boyfriend… kind of thing… it's complicated." She admitted eventually, pursing her lips. He laughed and it was a musical sound, the sweetest mirth she had ever heard.

"Why don't you explain…?" He suggested, and she did. She explained everything and he just listened, never taking his blue eyes from her golden orbs. Somehow when she revealed her heart to him she felt relieved, he seemed to understand everything but he remained looking at her thoughtfully.

"So that's why I can't… can't be more than your friend," she said, her heart aching with each word, and somehow she could see her words stabbing his heart too. "But… Kyra…" she tried hopelessly, feeling a lot like a martyr, in pain for her friends happiness.

"You want me to date Kyra?" He asked, his blue eyes were piercing asking her for the truth. She swallowed hard, her heart screamed, "no, no" but her brain told her it was only right.

"Yes," she sighed helplessly. She then turned her eyes back down to her coffee, she couldn't bear the look of disappointment on his face.

"Okay then, I guess I'll ask her out if that's okay with you?" He asked, she could tell he was trying to smoke her out, make her admit at least some feeling for him. She bit her lip, still unable to look into his intense eyes.

"Why are you asking me? It's all up to you right?" She said bravely, looking up at him with challenging fire in her eyes.

He nodded reluctantly and took a sip of his coffee. "I'll do it then,"

"Fine," she said angrily, standing up but not looking at him, she didn't trust herself to. She could feel tears burning in the corner of her eyes, he couldn't see those, they would give everything away. She ran off and left him to sit alone with his thoughts.

She ran into the dorm room and found Kyra waiting for her like a spider would wait for its prey on the web, she stood immediately.

"Well?" She demanded and Lumina looked up at her with pained eyes. "What did he say?"

"He… he said he'd ask you out." She said, her voice was filled with bitterness.

"That's brilliant… jeez, what's got your knickers in a twist?"

"It's nothing," Lumina said trying to force a smile onto her face and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Look, I'm gonna take a nap, I'm not feeling so well…"

"Fine, whatever, feel better and all that, I'm gonna go find Angel… oooh I'm so excited." She gushed and went to check her makeup at the mirror.

Jack paced furiously across the path in front of the church, most of the town had already gathered in their places for the wedding, it was the first day of fall, the wedding seemed to have come so fast, Jack hadn't realised it was so soon. He was waiting for his brother and mother to arrive, two people who right now he really didn't need to see, why had he invited them again?

"Yo, brother!" The voice of his brother rang loud across Mineral town. The man stood proudly in an old suit that Jack guessed had belonged to his father, that his mother had probably forced him into before they left. The man who was two years his senior stood proudly, he was a lot broader than him with darker eyes and darker hair, and even a darker personality if you got to know him.

"Mark…" Jack said softly, his brother embraced him and clapped him hard on the back.

"Small town, we almost sailed past it!" He said in his extra-loud voice with a wink. Jack forced a laugh although it came out more nervous.

"Hey mom," he said hugging his mother. She wasn't like hugging a soft, cuddly mother, instead she was built like an ironing board, rigid and tall.

"Couldn't have had the wedding in our church at home?" She began her nagging which Jack hurriedly ignored.

"Why don't you guys go settle down in the church," he suggested and they turned to walk in. "Oh and… try not to talk to people…" he added. He then checked his watch, Ann was going to be there soon so he decided to go and wait in the church and chat to Carter. With a frown he spotted that Mark had already "introduced himself" to some of the girls and was flirting heavily. Jack sighed, "remind me why I invited him again?" he cursed himself mentally, not one of his brightest ideas.

He stood at the alter shifting his weight from cold foot to cold foot, wondering whether he should just run for it or not. But all his doubts flew away like feathers on the wind as soon as Ann appeared in her pure white wedding dress, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. He sucked in a lungful of air as he gazed at her walking gracefully towards him, he was only dimly aware of the music playing and the other people in the room. Her sunset golden hair had been clipped into an elaborate pattern on top of her pretty head, her eyes that were smoked with the tiniest bit of kohl stood out like big, blue sapphires. The skirts of her heaven-white dress flowed around her as though she was wearing a veil made from snow, she beamed up at him and he felt his knees grow weak.

"You look beautiful," he breathed and watched as the smile he loved spread across her rosy lips.

"Are you ready to get married?"

"Of course,"

The ceremony went without a hitch… well with just one hitch, and that was the couple getting hitched. Even Jack's brother managed to pipe down in order to appreciate the blessed union of souls… or the bride's cleavage, but either way he was silent. Jack and Ann had decided to spend their honeymoon on an island for couples not too far away called Sunny Bay, which was known for it's golden beaches, warm sun and rolling ocean. Jack was reluctant to leave Mark and his mother who had decided to stay in the inn until their return, he knew that the chances they would return to chaos would be high. But he was going to spend a week away with the woman he loved more than anything, how could he even begin to worry yet?

Ann stood in a summer dress, waiting by the harbour with the suitcases. Jack arrived with their passports and pecked her lightly on the lips.

"Will you love me forever Jack?" She asked randomly and he grinned, he no longer had any fear about these questions.

"Of course… for eternity." He assured her, picking up the suitcases to hand them to Zack.

"Forever is a long time Jack…" she said softly, her eyes were wide and he couldn't help but wonder why she thought about this now. He supposed it was because this truly was the start of their marriage, the beginning of their happily ever after.

"When I'm with you, it's not long enough." He knew the words were corny, but somehow they soothed Ann and she grinned as he helped her onto the boat.

"So long Mineral town, see you in a week." He mumbled over the roar of the ocean. Then they were off on an adventure that would last them a lifetime… their marriage.