Chapter Two

Tell me Your Secrets

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"This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go somewhere only we know…"

-Keane "Somewhere Only We Know"

☼

58.) Name the Sorceress who absorbed the powers of Adel, Ultimecia and Edea.

Rose grinned. Easy man. She thought as she scribbled Rinoa Heartilly into the space. Next question…

59.) Name the Doctor living in Esthar who specializes in the descendants of Hyne.

Umm… Rose bit her lip. Something like a GF… Carbuncle? She mentally slapped herself. Odin! Is it… Odine? She nodded to herself and glanced at Ayden who was across the row from her. He had his headphones on and was bopping his head to a beat as he scribbled answers onto the test.

Rose tapped her pencil on the desk and finished the last question, then walked to the desk and placed her paper on it. The instructor nodded to her and Rose walked quickly out of the classroom. She ran to the elevator and a member of the Disciplinary Committee stopped her for running. She apologized quickly and got off with a warning.

In her dorm, she took off her cadet uniform and pulled a pair of old jeans. She couldn't find the shirt she had picked out so she wandered into the living room. Inari walked in and stared at her. Rose flushed and flung her hands over herself.

Inari laughed nervously. "Uh… sorry." Rose shook her head.

"My bad. Do you know where my shirt is?"

Inari shook her head. Rose tried desperately to rid her mind of images of Inari entwined with the other girl on the bed; writhing together in the sheets… she pulled out a tie-dye shirt and grinned triumphantly. Inari stared.

"Um, is it… cold in here or something?" she asked, smiling.

Rose threw a pillow at her and Inari dodged it. Rose laughed and then turned away, pulling on a plain white bra and then her tie dye tank top. She glanced at Inari who was studying the wall. "So… are you coming to Balamb with us to celebrate?"

Inari shrugged. "I guess. Can Corin come?"

Rose bit her lip and nodded. "Um, sure…" she said, turning to go to her room.

Inari watched as the door slid closed and brushed overly long black bangs from her forehead, thinking.

So maybe… she knows? But how could she? Even the Headmaster doesn't know, I think…

As this idea crossed her mind she bit her nails inadvertently.

Oh god, if he knows, there's no way I'll ever become a SeeD.

"So…" said Ayden noncommittally, leaning against the gate of the Garden. Jagger glanced at him and raised his eyebrows.

"Dude, why are you wearing that thing?" he asked derisively.

Ayden fingered his DDR Championship shirt and grinned. "The chicks dig the gamers."

Jagger gave him a look of utter disbelief and then nodded. "Uh… huh…"

"Well, then what are you wearing?" Ayden gestured to Jagger's shirt.

Jagger wore a ripped old shirt black with Pantera printed across the front. Under it he wore a button up white shirt. "It's totally cool. "Jewel said it was totally in right now. Or something like that…"

Ayden chuckled and then noticed something approaching. He waved to the three girls exiting the Garden. Jagger elbowed Ayden. "Hey dude, I think we have better fashion sense than the chicks."

Ayden laughed. Inari wore a loose purple shirt that reached to her butt and a pair of black leggings. Over the loose shirt she wore a tighter tube top with random Japanese characters printed all over it. Corin wore a pair of tight jeans with a ripped, knee length blue skirt over them and a tight white tank top with a black tie around her neck. Rose wore her tie-dye tank top over a pair of old loose jeans and several too many belts with two mesh, fingerless gloves, one black and one white.

"Well, you had to convince them that you needed clothes somehow, but I think you went a bit overboard," said Ayden. Inari reached up and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Rose asked. Jagger shrugged.

"Yeah sure, let's go."

The five started out of the gate. Not five minutes into the journey, Ayden started to pester Inari.

"Do you have any friends I can ask to the Festival?"

Inari frowned. "Why're you asking me? Ask Jagger, he's got like a billion girlfriends."

Ayden groaned. "But they're all in love with him…" he whined.

Inari shrugged. "Well how about Rose then?"

Rose looked over from her conversation with Jagger. "I could set you up with Alice, she likes you."

Ayden stuck his tongue out. "Ugh, no thanks. That's just sick."

Rose frowned. "She's really nice though. And she's good at DDR."

Ayden shook his head. "There are some facial disorders that cannot be overcome by anything."

Jagger laughed but was silenced by Rose's glare. Ayden sighed and eventually they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

As soon as they heard the crashing of the ocean, Rose's eyes lit up. "Hey, let's go to the beach!"

"Um… I thought we were going shopping?" offered Jagger.

Rose waved away his concern. "It's cool, we can still go, but let's head to Mandy Beach first, please?"

Jagger shrugged. "It's cool with me, it's a nice day and fall will hit soon, we might as well go while we can."

Ayden grinned. "Hell yeah!" he responded, punching the air.

Corin and Inari followed them as they wandered off of the path and onto the grassy plain. A swarm of Bite bugs speed across the field almost instantly and stopped directly in front of them, buzzing murderously. Rose sighed. "Ugh, how boring…"

Inari laughed and pulled out her weapon, a small scythe, attached to a chain with roses entwined through it. Flinging it out, it sliced through a Bite bug and it fell to the ground instantly. Rose lifted an eyebrow.

"Nice. When did you get time to train?"

Inari just smiled, hazel eyes glittering. Rose slid under a Bite bug and sliced upwards through it. It fell too. Jagger sliced his own bug similarly and Ayden pounded his into a bloody, buggy pulp. Only one bug remained and Corin placed her hands on her temples, then flung them towards the bug. It exploded in a purple haze and she grinned.

"Awesome," said Ayden as Jagger whistled.

"I totally hope you're on my squad," he said laughing. Corin flushed and took Inari's hand. Rose looked at them and then turned towards the beach.

"Race ya Jagger!" she yelled, starting to sprint towards the waves.

"You're on!"

"Hey guys, wait for me! C'mon!"

Inari and Corin watched as they ran off and Corin turned to Inari, a lustful smile on her pink lips. "Let's go somewhere more… private."

"Hey where're Inari and Corin?" panted Ayden, lying in the waves. Rose shrugged as she collapsed in the sand.

Jagger grinned. "Both of you dudes totally lost. Freaking slowpokes."

Rose frowned. "I have speed issues."

"Uh huh."

Ayden raised himself up. "So… like… what are we doing now?"

Rose frowned. "Umm… let's build a sand castle!"

Ayden raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Jagger grinned. "Let's do it!"

Rose smiled and started building up a pile of sand. Ayden got to his feet and brushed off his baggy shorts. "I'll get some shells," he offered as he started down the beach.

Jagger picked up a small, pointed stick and when Rose had finally managed to sculpt the sand into something resembling a tower, he poked out windows and a few bricks. By then, another turret was done and he completed that one too.

The tide was coming in and Ayden still wasn't back. Rose sighed and drew out her name in the sand. "I don't think we're going to make it to Balamb today," she said quietly as she watched the sun set on the water. Jagger sat next to her.

"It was totally worth it though," he said, brushing his salty blonde hair out of his eyes that matched the sea almost exactly. Rose watched his perfect profile quietly as he stared at the crimson sun. Normally, he was paler but his skin was tanned from all the outdoor training sessions and outings they had all been on lately. He turned to her, feeling her gaze. She flushed and turned away but his large, smooth hand turned her face back to his.

Ice met water and suddenly something overwhelmed her. She pushed her own cold lips onto his warm ones and felt the warmth spread across her body as his hands pulled through her tangled hair and slid down her body. His lips opened as she slid her tongue in and his tongue entwined with hers and pushed deeper into her mouth. Her hands roamed his body, over every hard surface. He tasted like salt and hard candy and he licked the sweat off of her neck as his hands slid under her shirt and something cold touched her leg.

Rose sat up instantly and started to laugh, somewhat relieved. Jagger looked up, flushing, and then started to laugh too. They stood up and moved away from the water, watching it try to swallow the walls of their castle. Jagger glanced down at Rose and coughed.

"Uhm… Look I…"

Rose smiled. "It's cool man, raging hormones and stuff. Just be glad I wasn't Ayden."

Jagger chuckled. "Yeah, well…"

"Hey!"

They turned to the shoreline and saw Ayden running towards them. "I found some awesome shells!" he said when he reached them, panting. Rose and Jagger turned to look at their castle which was, by now, a lump of wet sand. Ayden frowned.

"DAMMIT!" he said.

Rose smiled at him. "Hey, it's cool. Let's keep the shells. We can stop by Balamb for dinner and you can give these to your Grams. She'd like that I'm sure. Then we can head back to Garden and be in our dorms by curfew."

Ayden beamed. "Yeah, that's a cool idea!" He glanced around him, perplexed. "But where're Corin and Inari?"

Jagger shrugged and Rose shook her head. "No idea, we haven't seen them. They probably went off to Balamb without telling us."

Ayden raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Jagger frowned. "Well, let's head off then," he said, his expression clearing. Rose nodded and they set off down the beach.

As they entered the town, Ayden pointed to a tall pole with a sign hanging over the road. "My dad once did like, 200 pull-ups on that thing." Jagger grinned down at him.

"Sounds like he was as big of an idiot as you."

Ayden smiled and crossed his arms over his slender frame. "Well… yeah…" he admitted, chuckling. Rose pointed to a small house down the street.

"That's where your Grams lives right?"

Ayden nodded and then frowned. "I don't think… we should go now." A tall, Asian man stood outside the house, talking in low tones to a short, willowy brunette.

Jagger frowned. "That's the step-bastard isn't it?"

Ayden nodded and looked over at Rose. "Maybe we should just go to the hotel for food."

Rose shook her head and glowered at him. "You can't just run forever. They can't tell you who you can and who you can't see, it's ridiculous."

She realized she was overstating her opinion but she was upset, and not just over Ayden's fear of his step father, who was even taller than he was. She wanted Inari here, and not off somewhere with that little…

Well Corin wasn't so bad, but she still didn't like her. She didn't have to like her. She didn't have to do anything. Jagger glanced at her. "You okay?"

Rose nodded briefly and glanced at Ayden who was deep in thought. She tugged on his shirt sleeve and he looked at her. She smiled. "Hey, we're here with you okay? And you wanna see your Grams right?"

He smiled down at her. "Well… yeah. I guess you're right."

Rose nodded. "I always am."

Jagger coughed. "'Scuse me. What about that one time when you said that we wouldn't get in trouble if we went swimming in the school fountains?"

Rose flushed. "Well… we were like 8…"

"Or that time when you said that the water was perfectly safe when there was actually a red flag because of jelly fish?"

Rose frowned. "But that was-"

"Or when you-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it already!"

Jagger grinned and Ayden ruffled her hair affectionately. "We just needed to get a point across," said Ayden, snickering.

Rose brushed his hand away impatiently. "Alright, I got it, happy?"

Jagger nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. Now are we gonna stand around talking or are we gonna head to Grams?"

Ayden looked up and his step father was looking directly into his eyes. Jade hit hematite and a million feelings of rage and hatred and fear mingled in the air between them until Ayden finally looked away. Jagger looked at his friend, concerned. Rose watched the tall man with mixed emotions, and then she glanced at Ayden, who was trembling. She put her hand onto his forearm gently but he pulled away. "I… uh… I have to go…" he said, turning to flee.

Jagger grabbed his arm. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Ayden looked at him, fear in his eyes. "I can't," he whispered. Rose threw a glance towards the man. His wife was gone and he stood, looking at Ayden with a sick smile on his pale lips. Jagger held tight onto his arm as the man strode towards them.

"Ayden! Why didn't you come home for the holidays? You made your mother and Zoë worry. I was worried too…" he added, taking a step closer to him. Ayden stared at the ground and Jagger frowned, glancing up at the older man and then turned back to Ayden.

"I thought you said-"

"Shut up." Ayden hissed, staring daggers into the earth on his feet. Jagger seemed a bit taken aback by the fierceness of the remark but he still held onto Ayden's arm.

"What did you say Ayden? Have you been lying again?" The older man took another step towards Ayden, whose face turned whiter with every footstep. Ayden tried to go backwards but he seemed to be incapable of movement.

Rose stared at the man, unable to decide her actions. Jagger was confused, Ayden seemed so terrified and the man seemed somehow… strange…

The man reached out a thin hand, as pale as a ghost. He touched Ayden's face lightly and then lifted it up to face his own. "You need to come apologize to your mother… now." Ayden hesitated, still shaking like a leaf caught in gale force winds. Jagger released him reluctantly and Ayden's arm was caught by his father and he was taken away. He never looked back.

"Was it just me, or was he kind of freaking?"

Rose bit her lip. "Stop joking around Almasy. Let's follow him."

Jagger nodded. "Alright, so… how?"

Rose tilted her head back and smiled at him, upside down. "Gimme a boost onto the roof."

Jagger grimaced. "Seriously? How'm I gonna get up there then?"

Rose shrugged. "How should I know? You're a big strong man, figure it out yourself."

Jagger nodded. "Right then, that's cool. Have fun climbing the building."

He turned and started to walk away. "Jagger!" He turned quickly.

"This is serious, I'm worried about him. We need to help."

Jagger sighed. "Yeah, I guess we could try the old window approach."

Rose smiled. "Good idea. Let's… spy? Eavesdrop?"

Jagger shook his head. "Um, who cares what we call it. Let's just go."

Ayden closed his eyes as the cold hands threw him onto the floor. Feeling a weight on his chest, he shut his eyes even more tightly and gripped the carpet with white knuckles. Icy breath covered his face. "Open your eyes little boy…"

"Open your goddamn eyes!"

Ayden felt the force colliding with his face, the numbing pain that spread across it was welcome in his mind. He retreated even further into his self built cage, his jailor smiling cruelly over him as he traced the mark his hand had made on the small teens face.

"Why didn't you come home?" he whispered in a frozen voice, traced with insanity. Ayden clutched the carpet harder as his face and the rest of his body was assaulted again and again, the numbing pain that spread now just facts and he knew them. He had paid attention in school thank you very much Mommy. The teacher just didn't like him.

Finally the pounding in his ears and on himself ceased and the door slammed shut, leaving him alone in his pain.

He staggered out of the house a few minutes later, holding his arm and wincing. Rose and Jagger stared at him. "We ah, couldn't find you. Is everything okay?"

Rose ran to him and put her hand on his face. "What happened?" she said, her brows knitting together.

Ayden shrugged her hand off and shook his head. "Nothing. Zoë was a bit overenthusiastic with her greeting."

Jagger shook his head. "That's bullshit man. That kid might be related to you but she doesn't have your skills. Where the fuck is your dad!" his face grew flushed with rage.

Ayden's eyes grew wide and he started to shake. "S-stop man, don't mess with him, seriously."

"Why! So he can fucking mess with your sister when she gets older and you won't take his shit anymore!"

Ayden looked up at him, frightened emerald meeting infuriated seas. "How do you know…?"

"We saw it, it was sick! It's not fair, who the hell does he think he is!" Jagger was on the warpath now and his face was growing steadily redder.

Rose watched him quietly and then turned to Ayden. "It's okay," she said quietly. "He needs to do this because he feels powerless. You should let him help, he's not going to fight, but you won't have to go back to them again. And if your mom stays with him…" she looked down at the ground. "Then we'll be here for you. I promise, 'kay? Just like when we were kids!"

Ayden let a small smile fall across his face and he looked at Jagger and gave a faint nod, then turned to Rose. "But… I'm not coming with him. I'm going to the docks."

Rose looked up at Jagger and then at Ayden. "I'm going with you," she said firmly and then glanced at Jagger who grinned with barely concealed fury.

"Go for it," he growled, "I'll deal with this son of a bitch."

Rose hugged him briefly and then followed Ayden down the cobblestone streets to the docks.

Jagger turned wordlessly and strode into the peaceful house.

Inari ran up to Rose and Ayden, out of breath. "I couldn't find you guys! Why weren't you at the beach?" She glanced at Ayden and sighed, running an ivory hand over his tanned skin. "Did it happen again? I told you to stick up for yourself."

Ayden grinned bitterly and slumped onto the dock, staring at the darkening sky. Rose glanced at Inari incredulously. "You… knew?"

Inari nodded reluctantly. "He lives in Deling, right? Same place as my brother. I saw it once. I've known for about 2 years now."

Rose bit her lower lip, which was turning red from her constant thinking. Inari put her hand on her shoulder. "It's… not something I could just tell you, do you understand?"

Rose shook her head and sat down next to Ayden who smiled at her. "It's… okay right? I mean, he's not gonna kill him is he?"

Rose shrugged. "He's pretty pissed. I am too but I'm not so good at the whole 'rage' thing."

Ayden grinned weakly. "Yeah, he can be kind of scary."

Rose reached up to Inari and pulled her down next to them. "I was thinking…"

"Never a good idea," interjected Inari.

Rose smirked. "Yeah, but that's not the point. I was thinking that maybe we should renew our promise before the exam."

Ayden glanced at her. "Our promise?"

Rose looked surprised. "Don't you remember? The promise?"

Inari and Ayden nodded. "Well, yeah of course we do," said Inari. "But why do we need to renew it?"

Rose looked uncomfortable. "It's just that… once we become SeeDs… things are going to change, maybe not at first, but eventually, y'know? And I wanted the promise to still be there, to keep us together."

Inari leaned her head on Rose's shoulder. "We're still gonna be together. Nothing is going to change our feelings."

Rose smiled weakly but still wasn't reassured. Ayden glanced at her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it," he said, "I think it's a pretty cool idea."

Rose grinned and Inari sighed. "Alright, I'll do it too," she said with a glance at Ayden. Rose smiled and grasped Ayden's hand firmly, watching the stars come out.

"Well aren't we comfy?" said a voice behind them. Rose leaned her head back to see who it was.

"Jagger!" she exclaimed, getting up quickly.

Inari raised an eyebrow and followed suite, jumping to her feet, she said in a panicked voice, "This isn't what it looks like!"

Ayden grinned and got to his own feet, ready to have some fun.

Jagger frowned. "So it wasn't a bunch of old friends watching the stars? What was it then?"
Ayden put his arms around the girls' shoulders and grinned. "It was an orgy. You interrupted our fun man!"

Jagger bowed mockingly. "Oh, right, my bad."

"How'd it go?" Rose asked anxiously as Ayden dropped his hands from their shoulders.

"Oh, I yelled at him for a bit," Said Jagger nonchalantly, "But nothing else really happened. Your mom didn't seem too happy," he added, directly to Ayden.

Ayden's grin dropped. "What'd she say?"

Jagger shook his head, frustrated. "I don't know, she just gave me the evil eye, kind of like Headmaster Leonhart does to Dad sometimes."

Ayden looked crestfallen. "Oh." Rose put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said consolingly. Ayden shrugged, his emerald eyes a bit clouded.

"Nah, it's cool. I didn't really expect her to do anything anyway," he offered by way of explanation. Rose frowned and Jagger seemed at a loss but Inari laced her arms around Ayden's stomach.

"It's going to be okay," she said softly as he started to sob, first slowly and then with more force, strings of nonsensical words falling from his mouth to join the tears streaming from his eyes.

He cried for several minutes, Rose and Jagger stood next to each other, uncertain of what to do. Finally, he finished and wiped his eyes, offering a half-hearted grin. "I'm sorry…" he said uncertainly.

Rose glared at him. "What the hell are you sorry about?" she demanded, glowering at him. "What happened is not your fault so don't ask for our forgiveness."

Ayden blinked at the harsh words but smiled at her, then enveloped her in a hug. Rose hugged him back, feeling the scrawny kid's bones poking through his thin shirt. "Alright," she said, finally releasing herself from the comforting arms. "Let's get some food."

"Hey I wanna hug," Jagger whined. Inari laughed and flung her arms around him instantly, Rose joined in and Ayden wrapped his arms around all of them. They held on as the world spun around them and they stood still, an anchor in time. And they all wished this moment could last forever.

But nothing lasts forever.

Blah Blah…

I've come up against a bit of a problem. I have no idea what the promise should be.

I know it should be something to bind them together. But after that, no idea.

Absolutely none. Any ideas?

Add it to your reviews, I'm a bum with emails, I have 156 unchecked ones on my MSN account alone.

Next time…

The Promise! (maybe)

And the Festival!

Not necessarily in that order though.

I suppose I'll eventually have to do the SeeD exam sigh

It's a rather unpleasant ordeal but this whole story kind of is when you get down to it.

But I can't stop writing it.

I'm some kind of a weird addict. See I'm in withdraw! Hands shake

But my IBC cream soda will keep me going and I will finish this story! mwahaha

I didn't actually plan to make Ayden's dad abusive, I was just going to make him an asshole.

… This thing is too damn long; I 'talk' too much don't I?

Jagger- Shut up and start writing already.

:'-(

My characters are so abusive.