Am I Too Early to Die?

Disclaimer: They can make me say it, but they can't make me mean it! I don't, have never, and will never own Alice 19th, no matter how much that fact breaks my heart…

Chapter 2: Sure, Boyfriend, I Get It

Frey decided to wait for Catalina to return. He figured it would be much easier to talk to her after she cooled down a bit rather than chasing after her immediately. But she didn't come back. Darkness fell and had settled around the sanctuary before Frey finally decided to go find her. After a few minutes of searching, he found her beside the small lake on the premises, directly behind the graves of the Lotis Masters. He slid down next to her, and gazed out at the lake.

"I was wondering when you'd come to find me," she muttered. "And no, I did not just wait out here to see. I'm glad you left me alone this long." He turned and shifted his gaze to her.

"Why did you run out like that?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"I told you, I have a boyfriend," she stated simply.

"It's more than that, I can tell," he replied. She smiled slightly.

"Frey, you know your problem?" With out waiting for a reply, she continued. "You're just too damn astute."

"Don't try changing the subject. What's the matter?"

"Frey, I have a boyfriend. I care about him so much, not a single other guy has caught my eye in the past year we've been together. Except you. You intrigue me to the point that I'm scared out of my wits."

"Then why not let it go? Are you scared of me?" She let out a short, bark-like laugh.

"I wish it was that simple. It's not you I'm afraid of."

"What, are you scared of what your boyfriend would do if he found out?"

"No," she said simply, obviously lying. She paused before continuing, "I'm scared of myself, of letting it get out of control. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I lost James for someone I only met three days ago." She laughed again. "No matter how attracted to him I am."

"So you didn't want to stick around to see how far I'd go?" he asked, stroking her cheek softly. She pushed his hand away quickly.

"No. I didn't want to stick around to see how far I'd let it go. I didn't want to stay long enough to lose control." She smiled up at him, still shorter even when they were sitting. "And I would have." She left it at that. After a short pause, Frey decided it was time to change the subject.

"So, how long have you been studying the Lotis?"

►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄

Nearly two weeks passed before Catalina finished her project. Having three more days before her deadline, she stayed an extra day to convince Frey to come back to America with her. After several hours of her constant nagging and pleading, he agreed. A day and some odd hours later, they stepped off the plane and into the airport. Since it was an early flight, and only about six am in Chicago, very few people stood there. Catalina ran ahead of Frey and into the arms of an awaiting man, who held a dozen roses.

"Kitty-Cat!" exclaimed the man. "You were gone too long!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" She pulled away as Frey came to stand behind her. "Hun, this is Frey. Frey, this is James, my boyfriend." James was tall, taller than Frey, who stood at nearly six feet. He had black hair and dark cold eyes, which narrowed as he took in Frey. His mouth curved into a slight sneer.

"Can I talk to you," he said, shifting his eyes back to Catalina. "Alone?" She nodded, looking confused.

"Can you wait here just a sec?" she asked Frey as James grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Standing so Frey could still see them next to a pillar, the starting talking. Over the course of several minutes, James went from annoyance to concern to extreme anger, while Catalina managed to transform from confused to angry to mildly afraid. James raised his hand, but lowered it almost immediately. Catalina looked him straight in the eye and then walked back over to Frey.

"You can stay at our place," she said, smiling warmly. James followed, still looking very annoyed.

"That's alright? I mean, I don't want to impose," he said honestly.

"Of course it's alright!" Cat said before James had a chance to say anything. Frey noticed his hesitation, but since he had no where else to stay, agreed to stay. Closing in on Cat as soon as she was alone, he questioned her about the argument.

"What was that all about?" he asked seriously.

"What? Oh, our fight? Nothing, he just gets a little possessive. He wanted to know if I was sleeping with you."

"What?" Frey was genuinely surprised. "Guilty conscience?"

"Of course not! I was gone for a month. He's allowed to worry. Now drop the subject!"

"One last thing?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue. "Was he going to hit you?"

She looked at him, all amusement in her eyes gone. "No. James has anger management problems. He's been working on it, but he had abusive parents. He hasn't hit me, he always checks himself." Frey nodded and let the subject die.

►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄

Frey stayed with Cat and James for about a week before anything eventful happened. Cat and James went to work, James at a Martial Arts academy, and cat at a publishing company. They came home, ate dinner, and went to sleep. But on the next Saturday, Cat announced they were going to a party.

"James' band is playing at a huge rave tonight. We're going," she stated, leaving no room for compromise.

"Alright," he skeptically replied. Cat left to get ready, leaving him alone in the living room. In less then a half hour, they were on their way to the party.

Pulling up in front of an old warehouse, Cat parked and pulled him from the car, a 1995 Le Baron convertible. They danced their way through the crowd as a DJ played a track or two.

"I think he's on break!" she yelled to him over the music. "Let's try to find him!" Frey nodded as the made their way past. After about ten minutes, Cat spotted James facing a wall. As she moved closer, she realized that he was leaning in on a small girl. Passionately making out, he was pressing her into the wall. Cat froze, and Frey bumped into her, seeing where she was looking. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the mass of bodies out the door. Pushing her to the car, he plopped her into the passenger seat and sat in the driver's. Putting the car in gear, he drove to a nearby park. Cat was in a state of shock.

Stopping the car on a nice-sized ledge, he turned to her. She took one look at him and burst into tears. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her onto his shoulder, knowing this was not a time to take advantage of. She sobbed into his shoulder for nearly twenty minutes before she could speak. She pulled away from Frey, tears still streaming down her cheeks, and began to choke out furious words.

"I-I spent so, so damn long, so damn hard trying to be faithful to him around you and look what he does!" She banged her fist into the dashboard. Frey, for once was speechless. This was not an outburst he had been expecting. When he said nothing, she opened the door. "Out of the car."

"What?" he asked, surprised again.

"I'm driving back. Get out of the car." Frey obeyed silently. As soon as they were both situated, she sped back to her house. Running in, she began to tear apart her and James' room, throwing all of his things into a suitcase. Frey came up behind her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking around the room that looked as if a tornado had struck.

"Getting rid of his stuff. My house, my room. I'm throwing him out," she replied simply. She found all of his belongings and heaved the case out to the front door. Slamming it down on the stoop, she locked all the doors and windows. Only then did she turn to Frey, silent as a stone.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Right now, I want to kiss you so bad, but my commonsense is screaming at me to turn and run."

"Wow," he said.

"And I think I should listen to it. No offense, but I don't think I can handle it right now," she muttered, looking away.

"I understand," he said, glad to be out of her intense gaze. "We can worry about that later. I think we should both get some rest." Cat nodded and both went to their respectable rooms.