Tornsgirl: Thanks, glad it was enjoyable. I personally think it's crap, lol

Kuro Kin'Youbi: Lol, Ash, glad I could brighten your day.

Shadows-of-flame: Wonderfully written? If you say so, Kim. :-D

Sull89: Thanks, Glad it was enjoyable!

Em: SOOO sorry for the long wait, this was originally a Keira chapter, but she was too mopey and "waaaaah, Jak doesn't love me anymore" and it annoyed me, so now it's a Torn chapter! Enjoy! Oh, and I need to throw some love Ash's way; people, she's an awesome writer! Go read her stories! Her screen name is Kuro Kin'Youbi. Seriously people, she's an excellent author with excellent stories; READ THEM!

That is all. 3

They ended up at the Naughty Ottsel. Torn couldn't remember what Ashelin had said to get him there, but there they were. Torn and Keira ended up next to each other, opposite Jak and Ashelin. Torn noticed Keira glancing longingly at Jak and maliciously at Ashelin every now and then, even though she still participated in conversation. Torn spoke as little as possible, and drank whatever he could reach.

"Whoa Torn, slow down there." Jak laughed when Torn started on his 15th vodka shot. Torn glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do." Torn slurred, gulping down the vodka and sighing contentedly. "This is the only thing I have left." He said rather sadly, before falling over and passing out, slumped across the table.


Torn woke up the next morning hung-over with a headache bad enough for him to wish he were dead. "Ugh." He said, sitting up and cracking his back. It hurt from sleeping at an odd angle. Ashelin, Jak, Keira, and Daxter were cleaning up the bar while the day's first customers filed in. Ashelin and Keira acted as waitresses. Daxter shooed Torn out of the booth he had been occupying.

Torn glared at the ottsel evilly, then went to the bar. "Ashelin, do you have any headache medicine?" He grumbled. "Hmm? Oh, no. There should be some in the back room. I've gotta run back in the storage room and get something, excuse me." She said hurriedly and rushed off.

Torn sighed and headed for the back room to search for some medicine for his growing headache. He stumbled around the back rooms until he came to two doors; one was a storage room and one was a bathroom, but Torn couldn't remember which was which.

He chose the one on his right, but stopped when his hand reached he doorknob. He heard a girlish giggle, then Ashelin's voice. Slowly, he opened the door and peeked through. His eyes scoured the room until they came across Jak and Ashelin. They were up against one wall, kissing. Torn shut the door and turned away. Ashelin was never one for secret rendezvous like the one he had just witnessed.


Torn stumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the light, shading his eyes. "God damn." He mumbled. He hated hang-overs. He gulped down two large pills dry and slammed the cabinet door shut so hard the glass cracked. He didn't care. He clenched his fists before walking back out into the bar.

Ashelin was out there now, flirting with a table of young soldiers. Torn rolled his eyes. "What a slut." He mumbled under his breath. He felt a flicker of regret; slut though she may be, Torn was still in love with her. He cursed himself mentally. He knew it would be his downfall one day.

Torn guessed she'd done this a lot, flirting with random guys in bars. She seemed very good at it. Torn sneered as he watched her. He knew she used a lot of guys before they got together, but she swore he was different. Torn chuckled. 'Yea. I'm so different. She was probably sleeping around when we were together.' He thought sarcastically as he watched her flip her hair and laugh at something one of the soldiers said, still probably drunk.


Torn slumped on an undisturbed chair in the corner, resting his head against the wall. Just before he could doze off, he felt hands on his shoulders. "Hey there. You look tense." A voice whispered sexily in his ear. He knew her voice anywhere and he moaned when she started rubbing his shoulders. "Ashelin…" He started. "Shh, just relax." She purred, her hands moving lower.

Torn was ready to just turn around and kiss Ashelin, but he felt her hands leave and heard her footsteps as she walked away. Torn cursed under his breath. "No surprise…" He muttered.

Torn turned around to see where Ashelin was and saw her leaving the bar with Jak. Torn growled under his breath and turned back around, laying his head on the cool bar.

He was still hung-over when he left and started walking the streets to go back to his home. He knew now that Ashelin was no longer his and it burned through him. He knew it was up to her to choose who she loved, but he wished she wouldn't have gone behind his back. He wondered if that would have lessened the pain somehow.

He doubted it.

He reached his home and collapsed on the couch, not bothering to turn any lights on. He sighed; he was face-first in the pillows and found it hard to breathe. He grumbled and rolled to his side and tried to sleep off the rest of the effects of his hang-over. He knew it was fruitless because he couldn't stop thinking of Ashelin's betrayal. He couldn't forgive betrayal. He guessed it was something learned from his mother when his father was caught with another woman. He never forgave his father either.

'I guess Ashelin and I are no different then mom and dad.' Torn thought angrily, punching the pillow. He frowned. He blamed Jak just as much as he blamed Ashelin. 'It takes two to tango.' He thought, sitting up, knowing he couldn't sleep.

His thoughts turned to his so-called friend. Jak. The one who took Ashelin from him. He gritted his teeth and frowned. His eyes scanned his room and noticed something glinting in the corner. He smirked as he stood, sauntering over to the pistols on the table.

He picked them up and looked them over. "Maybe these will come in handy." He thought aloud. His mind was fully clouded with anger, betrayal, and sadness and he stalked out of his house.

And it started raining again.

Em: Short? Yes. Sorry. 3 Next chapter should be longer hopefully; only 2 chapters left! What's Torn gonna do? Hmm… find out soon! And don't forget; READ KURO KIN'YOUBI's (AKA Ash's) STORIES! Please? I'll give you a cookie. 3