Author's Note: Howdy my peeps! Tell me the truth did you miss me? well here is the dealio…I thought it was unfair to ask you to choose between the stories when you didn't know what you'd be getting into…relatively. So I'm giving you samples. Chapter 1 of all three stories comin' your way, straight from my little room. It's three because me and the M/A are having a lovers spat. It'll be coming soon enough. I have a couple days of doing absolutely nothing because the 'rents can't come get me till the 11th and well that's a while from now. So you the story that you like best gets done first…they will all be written! You're just deciding in what order. Ok. Try and review all of them just let me know which you want to see first.
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Ben's Song
Chapter 1: Setting the Scene
~*~
To all the unheard wisdom in the school yard
You think you're the right ones
You think you're the charmed ones I'm sure
How can you go on with such conviction?
And who do you think you are why do you ask me?
~ Alanis Morissette, "Because I can't not"
~*~
If she could have screamed just then she would have. The loud music of the bar was pushing in on her, cutting off her air as she tried desperately not to think about the crush of bodies around her as she set beer after beer on tables. The feeling of a large hand on her backside almost made her snap, she turned to glare at the man, who smelled like a distillery, with eyes that sparkled with something inhuman and wild and his hand dropped almost instantly. She smiled coldly and moved on.
"Jondy!" She looked up at the sing song cry and the cold smile turned warm as she made her way over to the bar where her manager, Jeff, stood pouring out a Vodka twist.
"Yes, oh provider of paychecks?"
He smiled and shook his head, "we need another box of sustenance." He looked up at her with puppy-dog-brown eyes and batted eyelashes that were so long that they were absurd. "Can you go get it?"
She smirked and raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know manual labor was part of the job." She was already moving, though, glad to take and excuse possible to get away from the crowd of people.
Jondy couldn't help the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach when she was in large groups of people, she had come from a harsh world and she knew she hadn't escaped into one that was much nicer. She was happier in this world, true, but she was never quite comfortable in her own skin, never quite at ease with the people around her.
Her face went hard as she remembered being eleven years old and being forced into a foster home with a man who thought it was fun to lock little girls into closets. She never forgave herself for not fighting back. For not snapping his neck like he deserved, and for waiting for her brother, Zack, to come and save her.
She had been weak and, as she had watched Zack pace the small apartment, that he had managed to commandeered, lips pulled tight and small hands fisted, she vowed she wouldn't be ever again…for his sake if not for her own.
That was probably why when she had been sixteen dating a twenty-one-year-old and he had hit her she hit back and didn't stop until he couldn't stand anymore. He got a broken arm, a broken nose, and a couple cracked ribs out of the experience putting him in the hospital while she made a run for it. Zack, once again, close behind to make sure that he hadn't hurt here.
She saw once again her eleven year old self refuse to cry when he had finally knelt down infront of her, taking her hands into his own shaking ones, and let his forehead fall to her knees. She had touched his blond hair softly and whispered assurances of how he had not failed her and that she knew he would never let it happen again. She had known instinctively that it was what he had needed to hear, and she had believed the words even as they fell from her lips.
Now, though, in the cool night air of San Francisco she could believe that hours of being locked away in darkness had been just another nightmare. A nightmare to be filed away like so many others, like the one where she could see a small nine-year-old with large brown eyes staring up at her from an ice encrusted lake. "Max," she breathed the name like a prayer up into the star filled sky, even as the pictures of another world ten years past flashed infront of her eyes.
An unsteady hand rose to the back of her neck and touched the barcode there almost reverently, Jondy imagined that she could feel the lines raised ever so slightly from the rest of the flawless skin. Her brand to tell the world that someone owned her, that her life was not her own.
She growled under her breath as she picked up a box and started back, taking a deep breath before she entered the bar. She placed the heavy box easily on the ground and smiled when Jeff ruffled her hair. Blonde and purple strands of silk fell into her eyes as she playfully batted him away.
Then her eyes fell on him, as though her thoughts of earlier had conjured his presence. She walked quietly over to the table where he sat quietly holding a full glass of beer that he hadn't touched. "Zack," she said into his ear and slipped her arms around his neck from behind.
He patted her arms softly and turned his head to look up at her. "You look good, Jond."
"It takes a lot of effort for me to not to." She nuzzled his neck, like a cat in greeting, and ignored the envious looks directed at them. She could tell by the way that he held his head that he was tired and that he had been driving for a long time to be here for his bi-monthly visit. "I'll go talk to Jeff, see if I can go ahead and get off."
"All right," he nodded his head of golden hair and gave her a weak smile. She dropped a kiss on his cheek and made her way back to the bar. "Jeff, oh love of my life and sweetest boss a girl could ever have?"
"What do you want?" He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"My brother just showed up, to surprise me and stuff and…"
"Go!" He said waving a hand before she could even finish. "You're coming in early tomorrow though."
"Of course," she raced behind the bar to grab her jacket and waved as she made her way back to where Zack was now fending off the advances of a girl who seemed to have trouble standing up.
"I'm not interested," he said with a scowl standing up when his blue eyes caught Jondy's.
"You could be nicer," she said as they walked off leaving the woman standing there with her mouth open.
"Why bother? She won't remember it tomorrow morning anyway."
Jondy rolled her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she was once again in the cool night air. "Thank you, God, I didn't think I could handle another three hours of that."
Zack threw an arm around her shoulder and turned her towards his bike that was parked right next to hers. "Well, I have good timing."
"That you do," she relished the feel of him against her knowing that none of the others got this attention, this easy ability for camaraderie with their big brother. She wasn't sure how they had gotten to be so close she was just thankful that she had. Unable to stay in one place for very long, thus negating the ability to have real friends, it was comforting to know that she at least had one. "So how long do I get you?"
"Just for tonight." He answered, dropping his arm from around her and swinging a leg onto his bike.
"What is life slow in the transgenic world?"
"Oh yeah," he shook his head. "I've got at least two of us who are constantly getting in trouble…" he glared at her, "and I would thank you if you would stop encouraging Krit and Zane to go on rampages of destruction."
Her mouth dropped open as she looked at him, "I did no such thing…they must have come up with it on their own."
"Jondy I know your handy work, and when two semi-mature men decide to hold up a candy store to take the candy and not the money I know it's your fault."
"Gee, they must have been sugar rushing for a good month."
Zack shuddered and narrowed his eyes, "and it's all your fault."
"Anything else?" She asked smiling sweetly.
"Tinga celebrated Case's first birthday."
"I know, I gave them a call." Jondy smiled at Zack's scowl knowing he wasn't as mad as he pretended. Case had secured a place in his heart just as surely as the rest of them had, even if his father hadn't.
"You know you aren't supposed to talk to each other that often."
"I know it's why I didn't call her for a whole three weeks so I could call them on the big day." She started her bike and grinned at him, "stop being such a worry wort, we know the rules."
"Yes, but you rarely follow them," he called over the roar of engines, and then they were off. The heavy night air rushing around them in a symphony of sounds. Jondy's hair whipped around behind her in a halo of gold and purple, glowing in the lamplight.
It was a short drive, Jondy had a tendency to pick apartments solely for their proximity to her to her work. They were in her sixth floor apartment within ten minutes and were sitting on her couch with drinks in hand before fifteen minutes were up. Zack was shaking his head disparagingly at her CD collection. She had a bookshelf as tall as her and wide enough to fit two of him stacked full of CD's from almost every genre, 'no repeats' she would tell any who asked proudly.
"I'm waiting for the day when those get you caught," he said with a scowl but stood up slowly and walked over to the shelves to pick out a CD to put into the player she had stolen somewhere in the west. Georgia maybe.
"I'm much better at getaway's then Lis." She grinned up at him and batted her eyelashes.
"Oh yeah," he lifted an eyebrow when he looked back at her from the player. "I seem to remember this fourteen year old girl surrounded by a mob of boys holding a duck and threatening to snap it's neck if they came any closer."
She batted her eyelashes and smiled, "We had a good dinner that night." She heard his soft laugh, more a sharp exhale of air but it was a laugh none the less. "No one but the duck got hurt so I gotta say it was a success." He was turned away but she knew he was rolling his eyes anyways.
He turned to look at her for a long moment and she knew that there was something bothering him, something that he was debating about telling her. Biting her lip she waited to hear which CD he had put in. Strains of music floated out of the speakers and she closed her eyes gently.
I want to take his eyes out Just for looking at you Yes I do I want to take his hands off Just for touching you Yes, I do
He sat down next to her, the sofa bowing slightly under the weight of him, hard muscles that he barely had to do any work for…but did anyway. She opened her eyes and watched as he turned to look at her and she had the sudden overwhelming memory of blue eyes too old for such a young face looking up at her through long blond hair. "Tell me," she said softly wondering what happened to her voice.
And I want to rip his heart out Just for hurting you And I want to break his mind down Yes, I do
He shook his head and took a deep breath looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know what to tell you," his voice was rough, like bones grinding together, she winced as she watched his jaw clench.
"You could start with what's got ya down." She gave him a small smile and laid her head on his shoulder softly. "Who got into trouble this time?"
"No one," he answered bleakly, and let his hand run through her hair slowly almost absently.
And I want to make him regret life Since the day he met you Yes, I do And I want to make him take back all That he took from you Yes, I do
"You sound disappointed that none of us has done something stupid…you know I would love to stir up some trouble for you if ya want." She batted long lashes and did her best to make her large blue eyes look innocent.
He laughed and her head moved with the rise and fall of his chest, "no thank you, I'm enjoying the break."
"Well, what is it?"
He opened his mouth to say something and thought better of it, she watched as emotions slid behind his eyes. "I just have a bad feeling."
She lifted a dark eyebrow coyly and tried to control the smirk, "big brother Zack is letting a bad feeling get him down?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, "you should know by now that when your gut tells you something you should listen."
She sighed, "my gut hasn't been speaking to me for a while now, though my stomach has been really loud." She lifted her head and made her eyes go wide. "I'm thinking it's time for food."
"You're always thinking about your stomach."
"It's that excellerated metabolism we got, I'll waste away otherwise."
"Ri-ight."
"Shush," she was off the couch and walking to the kitchen still laughing.
And I want to rip his heart out Just for hurting you And I want to break his mind down Yes, I do
She brought back a large bag of candy and held it out to him, "which piece of chocolate-y goodness were you wanting?"
He took a Twix and gave her a knowing look, "you had nothing to do with candy heist I'm sure."
She put a hand to her chest and tried to look blameless, "I'm their sister, I don't have to have anything to do with anything to get the spoils of war." She said plopping down on the couch and opening a bag of sweet tarts. "'Sides, even if I did, you couldn't prove anything." Zack threw a Starburst at her head instead of replying.
Chapter 2: Watching you