Xeno closed his eyes. Raven. You've figured me out, haven't you? Please be okay. He looked down at Raven, who still hadn't stirred once in the long while she'd been down for the count. What had happened to her? She had been out cold ever since he found her in the hallway. For a moment, somehow. he seemed to be his old self. "Odin." She groaned. "Not Odin. Xeno. I'm here." "No. Xeno is Odin." Raven's eyes slowly opened. Her cheeks were red, her eyes glassy. Obviously she was still quite sick. "You shouldn't be talking!" barked a grumpy nurse of the infirmary. "I'm fine ma'am." "Is that why you passed out in the hall?" asked Xeno, his voice low, only audible to Raven. She scowled at him. "Shove it." "Well, I can see at least your temper is okay." "Pshht. Whatever." Xeno slipped on his headphones, deciding although when she knew people she was wonderful, but when she didn't trust you all that much, she was to much of a pain in the neck to deal with. (His CD was Dashboard Confessional). He barely heard her as she said softly, "I'm sorry. I'm a tad ill tempered and spiteful. But that's my nature." "Why?" Xeno asked, never lifting even a finger to his headphones. He wanted her to get the message and catch the drift; he too could be a pain, when he set his mind to it. "Past experiences. Most of them bad." ". That forces you to distrust people?" "Yes. You don't get it." "I don't?" "Listen! I don't want to get into this!" "Why not? What's the point in being in pain when you can relieve it by sharing it?" "Listen! I loathe you, and I hate the way you make me feel! This is stuff I never want to get into with ANYONE, much less you. You're weird, and I wish you'd just walk out of my life!" "Then I will." Xeno pulled himself up out of the chair and walked out the door. Immediately Raven's face turned crimson. "I didn't mean it. I was just so ill at ease!" A girl with long black hair, black shorts, a black shirt, and a blue long jacket over it sat where Xeno had been. "He was only concerned for you." "Who're you? Why should you care?" "I'm Rinoa Leonheart, the Headmaster's wife. Why should I care? Because I made the same mistakes. I yelled and lost my temper at the boy I liked. I almost lost his friendship. I just wanted to pass on advice, that's all." Smiled the woman. "You probably didn't have it half as hard as I do." "Oh really? I was a sorceress. I was in Sorceress Ultemecia's control for a while. She made me unseal Adel, the worst sorceress. The boy I liked hated me for about half of the SeeD mission. My father did not approve of me. Now, is your life really that awful?" Rinoa asked. "Whoa. I-I never knew." "I am a sorceress. You are too, aren't you?" "How'd you know?" "A sorceress can see it all. You have to make the best use of your powers, instead of letting it remain and hover as a black cloud at the back of your mind. But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. But. Can't you see the boy has feelings for you?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "He's fallen for you. Don't you recognize it?" ". Whatever." "And remember how you said you hate the way he makes you feel? Do you comprehend that feeling for what it truly is?" ". Huh?" "Does it feel, basically, like you wanna be around him, to have trust and faith in him?" "Yeah, a little. But at the same time I wanna slap him upside the head at times." "That's how I felt. You like him, too. You'll probably never admit it to him, yourself, or anyone for that matter. most likely. But if you even want to continue being his friend, you've got to finally get up enough guts to at least trust him. Otherwise you'll have lost a good friend. Sorry, I'll leave you to your thoughts now." Rinoa got back up, started to walk away, and looked back for only a moment before disappearing around the corner, "Please at least consider what I've said." She can't be right. Pshht! Like him. yeah right. But. He has not really been all that awful, has he? And I've been so terribly rude. Lose his friendship. I don't want his friendship, or need it for that matter! But.listen to your heart, not your brain, Raven. She slipped off her cot and crept out of the room. She had to find Xeno, she had to apologize. she had to show him her reluctant, but sure, trust.