Waking up the next morning, I immediately wanted to find out where
this pendant was that Tatiana wanted. I wanted to be quickly able to get it
to her so I could get the power she wanted and impress Mai.
"Agh, Mom and her damn knickknacks!" Serenity screamed from downstairs.
"Serenity?" I asked.
"Mom bought another of those stupid little statues she collects, and she put it on the shelf. My report was on the shelf and she moved it. God, where'd she move it to!" Serenity started searching in the family room. Yeah, Mom had these stupid little knickknacks she liked to buy and put on the shelves. Mostly they were pretty stupid, but sometimes they were cool, so I decided to take a look.
This one in question was pretty dumb looking. It was a rock that looked similar to a fist, and it was grabbing the chain to a necklace or bracelet, some kind of jewelry. All I could see of the thing inside was a small bit of the chain; the rest was inside the rock.
"God, where does Mom get these stupid things?" I wondered, but then I felt something in the back of my head, and I was getting curious. What was in that rock?
"No, there's no way." I reasoned. It can't be the pendant Tatiana was looking for, could it? This would just be way too easy.
"It couldn't hurt to try out that ritual she was supposed to teach you." I thought. So I touched the rock, just to see if I could loosen it a little. I figured if it was the one I was looking for, then getting the pendant out was what I wanted to do, and if it wasn't what I was looking for, then this whole ritual thing wouldn't work.
When I touched the rock, it felt warm, and I heard a female voice in my head.
"The sacrifice of life, for one of love." It said. I let go of the rock quickly. Sacrifice of life? What the hell was this all about? Come to think of it, didn't Tatiana mention a sacrifice? Whoa, this girl was serious.
"Well, maybe I'll just bring the rock to her and she can figure it out." I mentioned before bounding out the door.
After school, I decided to surprise Mai by showing up at her house unexpectedly. We were friends, but I wanted to become more then that. When I got there, Mai was just about to leave.
"Oh...uh...Joey." She said, flustered.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all." She said agitated. What was wrong?
"Come on." I prodded, trying to be cheerful. "You know you can tell me anything." Rather then be happy, Mai scowled.
"You just don't get it. You're so dense!" She said, slapping me. Before I could react, she climbed in that new Mercedes and drove away.
I stood there, staring for a minute. Did I do something wrong? I didn't understand, I only wanted to help her, to show her that I would be there for her, and she slaps me for it. Maybe I could ask her when she got back.
Of course, Mai wasn't showing up. I stayed outside her house until late at night. When I decided that maybe this was a fruitless endeavor, the Mercedes finally drove in. Mai was alone, so I went up to her.
"I've been watching you all night." She said. "You were really going to stay until I came back, were you?" I wasn't going to admit now that I was about to leave.
"Mai, why won't you talk to me?" I asked, trying to put on my best innocent puppy look.
"I..." She started. "Come inside, it's too late for you to catch a cab home." She said. She led me to her apartment.
I always loved the furnishings in Mai's apartment; it seemed to suit her so well.
"You can crash on the couch." She said.
"Mai, why can't you talk to me?" I asked.
"Why..." She trailed off.
"I want to be here for you. When Marik put you under his spell, we broke it together. We were that strong together, and I can't stand to see you upset. Talk to me, even if it's something I don't know very well."
"Joey..." She started, and then she looked away.
"I..." She spoke as if she didn't know what to say. "I've never...met anyone like you before. I used to fight all of my battles by myself; the only way to get stronger was to be self-reliant. But...when...I'm around you, I feel as if I can be weak. No, not just can, that it is all right to. Because.... jeez, I don't do this very well, but...when I'm..."
I cut her off. "Mai, you don't have to worry about wording. Speak like you normally would. Whenever I'm around you, I feel as though I can be strong, even though I'm not." I said, hugging her.
"Joey, you are strong. Strong enough for anyone." She said. Did she really mean that? I always thought I was pretty weak because I failed at a lot of things.
I played off of that. "If I'm strong, it's because of you. So please, talk to me."
"Joey, I...I don't want to lose you."
"You're not gonna." I said, trying my best to be as sincere and sympathetic as I could sound. It wasn't easy, cause I really hadn't practiced it. I wasn't the best at making people feel better.
"But...I have a feeling...that you're going after something...dangerous." She said. "If it was me, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm worried about you."
"What could I possibly be doing that dangerous." I tried to laugh, but couldn't. I had told her I was going to find the green-haired woman.
"Don't worry, all my crazy nightmares ended. My dreams are all about the normal stuff." It was true, my nightmares had ended. But I left out the part that I was helping the green haired woman. Plus, Mai was in my dreams, and she was scarcely normal.
"I hope you're right." She said, drawing me into an embrace. God, she was strong, stronger then me. I returned it.
"I'll never do anything that'll make us lose each other." I said. Good God, I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't want to be too forward. So I stayed hugging her for a little while longer.
"You're dense, Joey." Mai murmured. She was half asleep, so I laid her down in her bedroom. I would've shared the night with her, and even though my heart and my body were all for that, I couldn't.
My cell phone rang.
"Yo, Joey." It was Tristan. "Where are you?"
"Mai's"
"Alright, well, come to my house tomorrow. I found something out about that green-haired woman.
"Alright."
"Where's Mai now?"
"Sleepin'."
"And you're awake."
"You know I don't sleep well."
"Come on Joey, I don't need to be a Vistani with foresight to know that you love her." I was taken aback. If it had been a half hour earlier, I would have punched him out for saying that. Now, it just kind of mellowed me a little. I guess it was known.
"So what?" I said. That's exactly what I thought Mai would say. Gotta be strong, that way, Mai would like me better.
"A guy knows when a guy likes a girl, if it wasn't so blatantly obvious already. So, I'm going to tell you that if you have any woman trouble, I'd be happy to help."
"What makes you the expert on women?"
"What makes you think I'll give a truthful answer?"
"Good call." I noted. "But I can handle this." I flipped off the phone and fell asleep, but this time, my dreams were horrible. I had that knickknack of Mom's in my hand, and I saw Mai. Nothing else happened, but when I woke up, I couldn't shake off that terrible feeling of dread.
"Agh, Mom and her damn knickknacks!" Serenity screamed from downstairs.
"Serenity?" I asked.
"Mom bought another of those stupid little statues she collects, and she put it on the shelf. My report was on the shelf and she moved it. God, where'd she move it to!" Serenity started searching in the family room. Yeah, Mom had these stupid little knickknacks she liked to buy and put on the shelves. Mostly they were pretty stupid, but sometimes they were cool, so I decided to take a look.
This one in question was pretty dumb looking. It was a rock that looked similar to a fist, and it was grabbing the chain to a necklace or bracelet, some kind of jewelry. All I could see of the thing inside was a small bit of the chain; the rest was inside the rock.
"God, where does Mom get these stupid things?" I wondered, but then I felt something in the back of my head, and I was getting curious. What was in that rock?
"No, there's no way." I reasoned. It can't be the pendant Tatiana was looking for, could it? This would just be way too easy.
"It couldn't hurt to try out that ritual she was supposed to teach you." I thought. So I touched the rock, just to see if I could loosen it a little. I figured if it was the one I was looking for, then getting the pendant out was what I wanted to do, and if it wasn't what I was looking for, then this whole ritual thing wouldn't work.
When I touched the rock, it felt warm, and I heard a female voice in my head.
"The sacrifice of life, for one of love." It said. I let go of the rock quickly. Sacrifice of life? What the hell was this all about? Come to think of it, didn't Tatiana mention a sacrifice? Whoa, this girl was serious.
"Well, maybe I'll just bring the rock to her and she can figure it out." I mentioned before bounding out the door.
After school, I decided to surprise Mai by showing up at her house unexpectedly. We were friends, but I wanted to become more then that. When I got there, Mai was just about to leave.
"Oh...uh...Joey." She said, flustered.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all." She said agitated. What was wrong?
"Come on." I prodded, trying to be cheerful. "You know you can tell me anything." Rather then be happy, Mai scowled.
"You just don't get it. You're so dense!" She said, slapping me. Before I could react, she climbed in that new Mercedes and drove away.
I stood there, staring for a minute. Did I do something wrong? I didn't understand, I only wanted to help her, to show her that I would be there for her, and she slaps me for it. Maybe I could ask her when she got back.
Of course, Mai wasn't showing up. I stayed outside her house until late at night. When I decided that maybe this was a fruitless endeavor, the Mercedes finally drove in. Mai was alone, so I went up to her.
"I've been watching you all night." She said. "You were really going to stay until I came back, were you?" I wasn't going to admit now that I was about to leave.
"Mai, why won't you talk to me?" I asked, trying to put on my best innocent puppy look.
"I..." She started. "Come inside, it's too late for you to catch a cab home." She said. She led me to her apartment.
I always loved the furnishings in Mai's apartment; it seemed to suit her so well.
"You can crash on the couch." She said.
"Mai, why can't you talk to me?" I asked.
"Why..." She trailed off.
"I want to be here for you. When Marik put you under his spell, we broke it together. We were that strong together, and I can't stand to see you upset. Talk to me, even if it's something I don't know very well."
"Joey..." She started, and then she looked away.
"I..." She spoke as if she didn't know what to say. "I've never...met anyone like you before. I used to fight all of my battles by myself; the only way to get stronger was to be self-reliant. But...when...I'm around you, I feel as if I can be weak. No, not just can, that it is all right to. Because.... jeez, I don't do this very well, but...when I'm..."
I cut her off. "Mai, you don't have to worry about wording. Speak like you normally would. Whenever I'm around you, I feel as though I can be strong, even though I'm not." I said, hugging her.
"Joey, you are strong. Strong enough for anyone." She said. Did she really mean that? I always thought I was pretty weak because I failed at a lot of things.
I played off of that. "If I'm strong, it's because of you. So please, talk to me."
"Joey, I...I don't want to lose you."
"You're not gonna." I said, trying my best to be as sincere and sympathetic as I could sound. It wasn't easy, cause I really hadn't practiced it. I wasn't the best at making people feel better.
"But...I have a feeling...that you're going after something...dangerous." She said. "If it was me, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm worried about you."
"What could I possibly be doing that dangerous." I tried to laugh, but couldn't. I had told her I was going to find the green-haired woman.
"Don't worry, all my crazy nightmares ended. My dreams are all about the normal stuff." It was true, my nightmares had ended. But I left out the part that I was helping the green haired woman. Plus, Mai was in my dreams, and she was scarcely normal.
"I hope you're right." She said, drawing me into an embrace. God, she was strong, stronger then me. I returned it.
"I'll never do anything that'll make us lose each other." I said. Good God, I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't want to be too forward. So I stayed hugging her for a little while longer.
"You're dense, Joey." Mai murmured. She was half asleep, so I laid her down in her bedroom. I would've shared the night with her, and even though my heart and my body were all for that, I couldn't.
My cell phone rang.
"Yo, Joey." It was Tristan. "Where are you?"
"Mai's"
"Alright, well, come to my house tomorrow. I found something out about that green-haired woman.
"Alright."
"Where's Mai now?"
"Sleepin'."
"And you're awake."
"You know I don't sleep well."
"Come on Joey, I don't need to be a Vistani with foresight to know that you love her." I was taken aback. If it had been a half hour earlier, I would have punched him out for saying that. Now, it just kind of mellowed me a little. I guess it was known.
"So what?" I said. That's exactly what I thought Mai would say. Gotta be strong, that way, Mai would like me better.
"A guy knows when a guy likes a girl, if it wasn't so blatantly obvious already. So, I'm going to tell you that if you have any woman trouble, I'd be happy to help."
"What makes you the expert on women?"
"What makes you think I'll give a truthful answer?"
"Good call." I noted. "But I can handle this." I flipped off the phone and fell asleep, but this time, my dreams were horrible. I had that knickknack of Mom's in my hand, and I saw Mai. Nothing else happened, but when I woke up, I couldn't shake off that terrible feeling of dread.