Lyrics: Say Anything by Good Charlotte

Here I am on
The phone again, and
Awkward silence is
On the other end

Zekk walked towards the GFFA military base on Mon Cal, knowing full well that the Twin Suns were stationed there. He knew that, plus he also knew that Blackmoon and Rogue were there. But the Spike squadron had been sent to a different location within the last few days. How he knew this? He had his sources. He was still a Jedi, even if not a pilot. The fact that a certain annoying Colonel led the Vanguards was a plus. The fact that said annoying Colonel wouldn't be there to drive him away from Jaina when she wasn't even interested in the arrogant nerfherder was even better. Only problem was, Jaina never returned any of his holocomm messages requesting to get together some time. He didn't know why and, about now, he really wanted to know.

I used to know the sound
Of a smile in your voice
But right now (right now)
All I feel (All I feel)
Is the pain of the fighting
Starting up again

Maybe he shouldn't have left at Hapes. Maybe he was right to. The only thing he knew for sure was that it had been the hardest choice of his life. But he had had his reasons and good ones too. He had been the Darkest Knight. He couldn't just stand by and watch one of his friends fall to the clutches of the Dark side, even if he did care about them beyond your average friendship. He couldn't do that, because then he'd be drawn back in. He would've been nothing but a hindrance to Jaina's struggle against it. Somehow, she must've seen that as his deserting her. But he hadn't meant her to see it like that...in leaving, he had been thinking of her before himself.

All the things we talk about
You know they stay on my mind
On my mind

Zekk suddenly realized he was in the pilot's mess hall. A slight grin fastened itself in place slowly becoming real as he remembered previous times in other mess halls with Jaina and Jacen and Anakin. They were such fun times, even when they weren't possible anymore.

But he had stuck by Jaina and her decisions. That was, he'd stuck by them all until the return trip from the Myrkr mission. When she had had her brush with the Dark side and didn't bounce right back before they made it to Hapes. In truth, when they'd gotten to Hapes, Zekk had assumed she'd be going on to Eclipse. Then again, he was shamed to admit, he was glad that she hadn't.

And all the things we laugh about
They'll bring us through it every time
After time after time

An infectious laughter caught his attention at once and he turned his gaze upon the table and its occupants. A group of pilots was sitting there, laughing their heads off. One of them, however, wasn't laughing. She had her brown hair back in a tight braid, her fists clenched on the table. Not knowing who it was, and not feeling any shame for use of the Force in this manner, he probed at her mind, trying to find out who she was. His probe was immediately met with durasteel walls.

Jedi, Zekk thought immediately. He could think nothing more though, for the Jedi pilot turned to look at him, no doubt knowing who had sent the probe if they had been able to block it. Deep brandy eyes locked on his own green ones and almost instantly he knew who this upset pilot was.

Don't say a word
I know you feel the same
Just give me a sign
Say anything, say anything

After a moment in which the laughter died to a null silence, Zekk watched Jaina as she stood slowly. The pilot next to her, Piggy, Zekk recalled, looked up quickly, his expression questioning. Jaina shook her head quickly and excused herself from the rest of the group. Her hastened strides quickly carried her towards the door to the mess hall and out into the hall. Zekk, knowing his way around the base somewhat well, walked back the way he came and jogged down the hall, making up easily for the distance between doors and the head start Jaina had had. He saw her walking at a calm pace towards another hallway. Even though she tried to act as if nothing were wrong, Zekk could easily see the tense muscles that remained so as she walked. Quickly, and so as not to lose his opportunity to talk with her, Zekk jogged up next to her and grabbed her shoulders. Jaina stopped walked as Zekk's grip tightened and she looked up at him, a raw emotion he had never seen directed at him evident in her eyes. It was as pure a form of venom and disgust as he had ever cared to witness and he involuntarily shuddered.

Please don't walk away
I know you wanna stay
Just give me a sign
Say anything, say anything

"Jaina, look, I..." Zekk's voice trailed off as Jaina extricated herself from his grip, her jaw remaining locked together. Just say something...anything... Please Jaina... he thought to himself. With startled realization, he saw Jaina stop, as if she'd heard his thoughts. She turned slowly, now five or so paces away again, and looked back at him.

Without uttering a sound, she mouthed to words 'I hate you' to the air. And then she turned down yet another hallway and disappeared completely from Zekk's Force perceptions.

Some say that
Time changes
Best friends can
Become strangers
But I don't want that
No, not for you
If you just stay with me, we can make it through


He couldn't believe it, he really couldn't. Here he was, trying to make an effort, and Jaina was shunning him just as quickly as he was making attempts to mend whatever friendship there was left to salvage. But the other party, namely Jaina, didn't appear to have interest in mending the gaps. Trying to sort out the reasons, Zekk somewhat-calmly concluded that it was because Jaina had, as he'd suspected- or subconsciously known?- she had been, going out with Jagged Fel. Now she was in her state of despair, her time of loss. Well, if that's how her life was going right now, Zekk was prepared to stand by where the Imperial ex-boyfriend wouldn't.

Here we are again
The same old argument
And now I'm wonderin'
If things'll ever change, yeah
When will you laugh again?
Laugh like you did back when?
We'd make noise till 3 AM and the neighbors would complain

He thought back to the mess hall, though, trying to reply anything that might've been said to cause her to leave so abruptly. Something that maybe he could help her with. However, as he went over it, a sudden thought hit him. What if Jaina doesn't want to see you? Zekk played around with it, walking back towards the Jedi portion of things in the building, working his thoughts through it. Jaina had only looked at him when he had probed her with the Force, though he hadn't know it to be she. She had stared at him for hardly any time before exiting the mess hall in the farthest direction from him possible. And she'd all but wished him dead by the look in her eyes a few minutes ago. He knew, somehow, that he was what Jaina was shunning, even if Jagged Fel might also be in that same shunning. Either that, she'd seen something about him that she didn't like. He vaguely remembered meeting the Colonel. He was tall, black haired and had...green eyes. Zekk scowled at his mental picture of himself. There wasn't much he could do about his appearance, short of cosmetic surgery, so instead he was determined to make Jaina see past appearances and see him for who he was and not for who he looked like.

Unfortunately for him, he had no clue how wrong he was.

All the things we talk about
You know they stay on my mind
On my mind
And all the things we laugh about
They'll bring us through it every time
After time after time