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A/N- WHOA, a new chapter complete! Toga toga toga! -throws a victory bash- .

Chapter 4 Stress Replacement

Quistis opened her eyes and found herself standing upright as if she never fell down and fainted at all. Just as if she'd been standing there in her apartment all along. Was all of this really real? Was she finally free now of this hellish inferno? Maybe she'd hallucinated everything. Quistis pinched herself briefly to make sure this was what it really was. . . But the results she half-expected and wholly wanted didn't come. Instead in her dark, dank apartment, her lamps and sources of lights started to flicker eerily. It was as if her house was alive. Quistis looked at her television as a look of horror spread across her pale features as it turned on and off; from a loud static to black. She felt panic rise in her throat, but she had to keep a clear head if she wanted to get through this. She couldn't faint like last time, she knew she was all too vulnerable when that happened. Quistis's fists balled up and she squeezed her eyes closed tight, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and cheeks.
When she was sure she was still sane and going to get through this while keeping her mind, she opened her eyes and came face to face with a girl who had no eyes. Just ever-black sockets. She didn't know how the girl got there, but she was certainly there and dangerously so. Quistis's eyes darted down the girl's body and found that the girl also had a knife in one hand. The girl did the same to Quistis, tilting her head down to look (even though she had no eyes). Then after she did so, the girl looked back up at Quistis's face, the small black line on her face called a mouth contorting into a deep frown. The girl lifted her bruised and cut up hand all the way up to Quistis's face, and then pointed down for Quistis to look at herself too. Quistis looked at the girl's hand pointing downwards, then looked back at the girl's face. The girl didn't seem hostile at the moment. . . Actually almost friendly. Almost as if she was trying to help.
Quistis did what the girl motioned her to do, slowly lowering her eyes down herself. She then saw her own body was ripped up and bruised the same as the girl's had been. Quistis's body wasn't robed as she'd left it, but naked and cut up, her blood spilling everywhere, running down her thighs and legs making a dark pool around her feet. Quistis's eyes flickered shut again and she dropped down to her knees in defeat. She was through, even from the very start. The killer knew she was done too, she figured. There was no reason to fight anymore. . . Everyone lives in vain and dies in vain, but not everyone seemed to realize it the way Quistis did. But Quistis knew. . . In the end, all you have to lose or gain is nothing. You just end up becoming one of them.
Quistis didn't cry out when the girl's knife cut deeply into her bare back, warm crimson dripping thickly over her shoulders and down her sides. The girl carved and carved into the blonde's back and Quistis could feel her life seeping right out of her skin, but still she didn't cry or even whimper. She'd already accepted her fate. Quistis's body finally collapsed after the girl stopped and she curled up in pain. After shivering and laying in her own sticky blood for a few more seconds, she fell deeply asleep. Asleep, only to wake up next day and find she died.

Soft morning sunlight danced across Quistis's cheeks and dappled against the white walls of her room as her blue eyes slowly opened.
"Uhhhn?" She sighed in question as she yawned and sat up, stretching. This certainly wasn't her room. Where was she? What did she do last night? She swung her legs over the side of the bed and blinked. She was in her bathrobe. Now Quistis was really curious as to what happened last night, she being almost naked and in a room not of her own. . . After a bit more thinking, her past finally reflected back into her mind as quick and as sharp as a needle piercing skin. . . She remembered everything. Even the horrible but oh so real dream she had last night.
Quistis's eyes suddenly darted up at the door as someone knocked and she made haste to cover herself with blankets. A soft voice hesitantly broke the silence.
"Are you alive in there?" Quistis thought for a moment, debating whether she really was or not, then nodded.
"Yes. . . Physically. . . You can come in if you want." She replied and the door opened. A young man walked in and shut the door behind him, looking at Quistis with concern. He looked to be in his very early twenties, if not late teens, with short dark brown hair and eyes a deep hazel hue. His shirt was untidily unbuttoned half way down his collar and his hair was rather tasseled, making it look like he just woke up as well. Quistis watched him curiously as he walked over to a chair next to the door and sat down. Quistis played with a ring on her finger as she studied him, her brows slightly furrowed in thought.
"Not to be rude, but where exactly am I, how did I get here, and who are you?" She asked simply but firmly. The man smiled at her briefly.
"So many questions. But you have every right in the world to ask them. It looks like you've been through quite something lately." He said calmly and Quistis nodded in agreement.
"Yeah.. Something. Now please, can you answer me?" She asked, impatience and urgency edging in her voice. The man seemed to take the hint and he leaned back in his chair.
"Right now you are still in Balamb. This is just another apartment complex near yours. You got here because I found you passed out in some alley way. . . I was coming back from the store and I saw you just laying there. At first, I thought you were dead so I ran over to you to check your pulse and make sure. But, I realized you were alive and in serious condition. . . So I took you back here to rest. I'm happy you made it through the night." He finished with a smile. She returned the smile, but however that only sprung up more questions. Why didn't he call an ambulance instead?
"Thank you for your kindness, I really appreciate it." She said softly and he winked back at her in welcome.
"Are you feeling better? Do you want something to eat or drink?" He asked casually, rising out of his chair. She blinked, then nodded.
"Well, if it isn't any trouble I'll just have water." Quistis said politely, she not being a fan of accepting too much. She was an independent woman, and always would be one. Besides, he already helped her enough and went out of his way to ensure her safety. She would feel terrible making him work more for her.
"That's nonsense, I'm sure you're starving. You should eat something anyways, so you can regain some of your energy. Do you like pancakes?" He asked raising his eyebrows and walking over to her and offering his hand to her. Quistis, taken almost by surprise, accepted the helping hand and stood up with a great deal of trouble. However her knees, still shaky, gave out immediately after he let go of her and she fell. His reflexes were inhumanly smooth though, and he caught her inches before she hit the ground. He sat her on the bed again and smiled lightly at her like that kind of thing happened everyday. But she could only gape at him, curiosity evident in her brooding eyes. What a nice person. . . Willing to do these things for her and she had no way in her knowledge of repaying him. And such reflexes.

About an hour or more later of much talking with this man about what happened to her (although she didn't mention anything about the body being in her vent), they finally moved to the living room so he could cook and still talk to her easily. Quistis continued to play with her ring as she watched him from her seat on the couch. He appeared to be a good cook, she observed. He was quick in the kitchen and seemed to be very efficient too. The food was all in easy-reach places. All of his knives were all out in accessible slots on the counter. He sure had a lot of knives, she noticed. Maybe he was a professional cook.
Well, what he was doing for her was very nice indeed, but she had things to get done and people to contact. Last night's crisis was still very fresh in her busy mind, especially after talking about it so much. Quistis yawned and rubbed her eyes, still sleepy. When she opened her eyes again, the man was standing right in front of her. Quistis jumped, startled.
"Goodness, you're fast." She said, her brow cocked slightly in surprise. He merely smiled at her and leaned down, handing her a fork and a plate with pancakes and strawberries on it. She blinked, then smiled warmly at him.
"Thanks again, you're very kind." She said softly, still smiling. He grinned at her.
"No problem whatsoever."
Quistis smiled up at him again, then impaled one of the pancake slices with her fork. After doing so, she looked up at him again. He was still watching her, and still leaning towards her. She shifted slightly, her eyes flickering down to her breakfast, then back up to him. He still continued to stand there. Quistis cleared her throat to break the awkward silence.
"Aren't you going to have something too?" She asked blinking, then cocking her head to the side.
"Eventually yes, but I'm not very hungry right now. You eat up though, I'm sure you're terribly famished." He replied, then standing up straight again. He then walked to the side of her and slumped down next to her on the couch and turned on the TV with the remote that was sitting on the table next to the couch. Already, the channel was on the news channel. He smiled, then set down the remote again. Quistis stuck the fork in her mouth, glancing around his apartment. He seemed like a very tidy person. Everything was clean and perfectly organized and decorated. Well, everything except for the newspapers all over the place. Newspapers on his shelves, on his table, even a few on the floor. The man then got up off of the couch after she swallowed the piece she ate.
"Hey, I'll be right back. I have to go check something... By the way, I never did catch your name." He smiled at Quistis. "I'm Andrew."
Quistis glanced back up at him, then at the newspapers again.
"My name is Quistis Trepe. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said and he began to walk away. Under his breath, Quistis could almost make out words as he was leaving.
"No, my dear... The pleasure is all mine."

After he was out of the room, Quistis immediately hoisted herself up and walked over to a pile of newspapers that was laying on the ground next to the TV, although her toe was still throbbing from last night. She crouched down and studied them. All of them were turned to the pages about murders. She raised her eyebrows, then got up and walked to one of the tables that kept newspapers. All of them were about murders too. Why the hell was this guy collecting papers about murders?
"Interesting..." She murmured quietly in thought.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming back into the living room. Andrew's footsteps. Quistis quickly tiptoed back to the couch and resituated herself, propping the plate back on her lap. Andrew walked in seconds later, smiling at her.
"Andrew, look, it's very nice what you've done for me, but I'm afraid I must leave now. I have a mess to clean up back at my place." She said, setting the plate of food aside and starting to stand up. He nodded and walked up to her, offering her a helping hand. She looked at it, but there was just something about him untrustworthy. She shook her head at him, smiling, and stood up.
"Hey, do you want to call the police at my house right now to get this mess out of the was faster?" He inquired softly, watching her. She stopped and looked at him curiously. If he was a killer like she suspected, why would he offer for her to do a thing like that? Well, he'd have his way then and hopefully get caught if he was the killer. She could play that game. She pursed her lips together and nodded.
"Yeah, that would be good."

Quistis and Andrew sat on his couch for not long, until the cops arrived. Andrew quickly got up and answered the door at the first knock as Quistis sat patiently, contemplating her words carefully. She had to get this killer caught. Andrew walked back into the living room, behind him two rather plump, arrogant looking cops.
"One second." Andrew smiled at the two men, then ran into the kitchen, pulling two chairs to the living room for the cops. The men snorted and looked around the room lazily, sitting on the chairs as Andrew took his sat next to Quistis.
"So urhhh.. Miss Trepe. Right now we have officials inside of your home cleaning and gathering evidence, if there is any, of this horrible murder. Tell us what you know now of this man or woman or what could've caused it. Do you know anyone who would do something like this or do you have anyone you're not very friendly with?" One of the chubby men asked gruffly.
"Well, I really actually don't know anyone who would do something like this. I'm normally on good terms with all of my students in Balamb and I don't really have a social life outside of work, so I'm assuming this is a random killing to scare me." She said, nodding as she spoke. The men exchanged matching looks, then looked calmly back to Quistis.
"Alright Miss Trepe. We're very sorry this happened to you." One of them plucked a walkie-talkie off his belt and held it to his mouth. "How's the search going, Dan? .... Alright, I'll get back to you later. Show me what you have so far. ....Oh, well that's not good. Bye." After he was finished, he slipped it back into a pocket on his belt and looked back at Quistis, his face concerned. "Well, they seem to have absolutely no evidence of who could've done it. But good news is, is that your house is clean and body-free. You can go home any time you like." He said, and stood up, along with the other cops. Quistis closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her finger tips.. A smart killer. Just what she wanted now.
"I don't want to go home." She sighed heavily. "I just want to disappear."
"Everyone feels that way sometimes. These things just take time getting over, it's alright. You can talk to me. At least it wasn't you in that vent, right?" Andrew reassured her softly, resting his hand on her shoulder. Quistis slid her hand over his and sniffed, tears welling in her stress-filled eyes.
... Wait, how did he know the dead body was in her vent? She thought, but then stopped. They talked a long time, she was sure she'd mentioned it.
Andrew got up from his place next to Quistis and offered his hand to her again.
"I'll walk you home. If you still feel uneasy later, we can go out to dinner, if you want." He smiled at her and she smiled back. He didn't seem killer material. If he was a killer, she'd be long gone by now. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet with ease. He then grabbed a pen and a paper that was laying on a desk nearly and started jotting down his number.
"Thanks for everything."