So far, this summer break had been rather boring. A week before we were let out, it was in the eighties and sunny. Now it's 64 degrees and raining on and off. This happens every year, I shouldn't be surprised. Oh, by the way, "mandals" are 'man-sandals', just in case you didn't get that from last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the J&D universe, so get over it. I think next chapter I'm gonna be a rebel and forget to put this here.

So Sick

Chapter 7

Jealousy, Turning things into the sea

Ashelin glared at the door and retyped the code in the panel for the third time. There was obviously some mistake. Her password would be accepted here of all places. It had to be! Unless someone specifically changed the access number, she would be able to get inside the apartment in question. And she knew no one had changed the access number.

She gave a frustrated growl and kicked an innocent potted plant that just happened to be sitting in the middle of the hallway of the Compound. There was no chance of her misentering the numbers now; her code was no good. Her blood pressure was rising rapidly and her face flushed ominously. She was confused as well. Why would Torn deny her access into his flat? He'd always let her in before, in fact, he was the one who had given her it! He was obviously pissed off at her about something, probably her and Jak's relationship. Yeah, he couldn't get over her and was punishing her for it. Honestly, did he think she'd be around forever? Sure, she really liked the guy, and he was always sweet and kind...and faithful and loyal... Well, maybe she was being a little harsh. She was starting to think she should've let him go a bit more delicately.

If she were completely honest with herself, she would admit that she had been a capital B bitch. But she never dwelled on this kind of stuff; she couldn't take it back no matter how much she wished it were different. Now the only thing she could do was treat Torn a little better...and get into that apartment!

With one more look at the code panel, she marched down the hall towards the elevator. There was a cyber café across the street. She could get a little work done while she waited for him to come back. Which he would. He wouldn't take a day off of work voluntary. Someone was involved.

/tk/

"I still don't see the difference between a cinnamon roll and a sweet roll," said Kiera amusedly as she chopped up an onion and threw it into the skillet. Why was she having this conversation...

"The difference is obvious Kiera," Torn responded passionately, pointing a spatula at her, "A cinnamon roll should contain way more cinnamon than a sweet roll! I'm telling you, those are imposture cinnamon rolls!"

"I get that part, but the frostings are exactly the same!" she said, gaining as much heat behind her argument as he had, "And the frosting totally overpowers the taste of the cinnamon so how can you tell? Maybe there really is a lot of spice in them but all you can comprehend is the sugary butter cream icing."

"No, I have a very acute sense of taste. I can tell: those are sweet rolls."

At this, they both looked at each other and synonymously started to crack up.

"Um," Kiera asked, still not able to form a coherent sentence, "Why are we arguing about this again?"

"Because those things are not cinnamon rolls," Torn said grinning and straightening up, "That's false advertising. They could get a fine for that."

Kiera started to chop up tomatoes and add those into the skillet too.

"What would you do, charge in there and put them in hand cuffs?"

"No, I'd make one of the new recruits do it. We do stuff like that sometimes, like entering into a frat. Once, I had this guy get his nipple pierced and-"

"No, no," she replied laughing, "I don't want to know. Oh, and do you like olive oil or vegetable?"

"Olive. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I like it better too."

They were making lunch at his apartment, a stirfry with fresh baked bread, and arguing about baked goods. They'd gone to the store and came back with a zoomer full of food, including a box of "cinnamon rolls" that didn't have, according to Torn, the right amount of spice in them to be adequately named. It was really a dumb and pointless argument in the eyes of a spectator and was a hidden session of flirting.

As they continued to cook, they chatted about what Kiera had done to the new transporters around the city. They were almost completely done in the newer parts of the city, and coming along nicely in the more slummy parts. The "Slums" were a lot less broken now and the poverty rates in the city were definitely improving. But, still, many people were living in poor conditions.

The smell of vegetables and meat perforated throughout the apartment, creating a warm atmosphere and, above all else, making Torn extremely hungry.

"Can we eat yet?" he asked impatiently, not unlike a toddler in a car seat.

Kiera rolled her eyes and pointed towards the table.

"No, the meat is still not quite done. But, you can slice some bread and set the table you know."

"Okay," he responded without enthusiasm, digging out a large, serrated knife from the block on the counter and slicing the crusty wheat bread into thick pieces. Kiera got out a pitcher of iced tea she'd made that morning and poured them both tall glasses. Soon the food was done and they sat down to a nice lunch.

After they ate, Kiera pulled out a half gallon of dark chocolate-strawberry ice cream and scooped them both out a bowl full. While they devoured the wonderful concoction, Torn asked her something that had been bothering him since he had woken up that morning.

"Kiera, um, did you, uh, clean my whole apartment?"

She looked up at him thoughtfully.

"No, I don't think I got everywhere. I was going to tackle the closet by the door-you know, the one where you throw all your crap you don't know what to do with- but I hadn't got to it yet. But, yeah, I cleaned up a bit, but only where it was really needed. I didn't mess with any of your personal stuff."

"Ah, Kiera," he said ashamedly, "You didn't need to do all that. Seriously!"

"Don't worry 'bout it. What else was I supposed to do, leave you here to rot, along with what ever was left in that icky fridge? Besides, I like to clean, for the most part. It's very relaxing."

She looked resolute, so he had no other choice; she wouldn't hear anything else.

"Kiera, I really appreciate it," he said, looking her straight in the eyes, causing her to be trapped in his azure gaze, "You've been really great to me, something I probably don't deserve. If there's any way I can make it up to you..." he trailed off, both of them staring into each other's eyes. Slowly, her lips curled up into a devious smile, a clear omen he didn't pick up on.

"Well, there is one thing you could do to make up for it," she said with her eyes glinting mischievously.

"N-n-name it," he stuttered.

"Well, you see, there's this thing, two nights from now, at this place, a couple blocks from here. I was invited to go, but it says I have to bring a guest. Normally, I'd bring my dad, but he's going to be out of town then, which means I need someone to go with me. I noticed you had a tux in you closet when I was hanging your clothes away," she said, casually getting up and heading out into the living room, Torn following behind, "And it just so happens it's a very formal affair. And it also happens that you're supposed to go any ways."

She sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs, looking up at him with a smile. He sat down near her as well.

"So, let me got this straight: you need to bring a guest, you don't have one, I have a tux, and I have to go any ways. Does that mean you want me to take you?"

She nodded and folded her hands in her lap.

"Well, sure, why not? You've forced me to not work for a week so I'll have nothing better to do, and I owe you one. So, yes, I'd be happy to go with you," he finished with a small smile.

She grinned and leaned back into the couch.

"Cool. Now, I also need you opinion: blue or red?"

"Uh, for what?"

"Blue or red?"she repeated.

"Well, uh, red then."

"'Kay. That was my first choice too."

"For what?"

"You'll see!"

He shook his head and stood up, intent on starting the dishes they'd used for lunch. She stood up as well and smiled at him. He smiled back. Both's smiles soon faded as they looked at each other. She stepped closer, he stayed where he was. He bent down, she leaned up. They were really close...

Soon they had fallen on the couch and were seemingly glued together by the face. Kiera had her fingers tangled in his hair and his hands were holding her shoulders gently. And they would've continued, had they not been most rudely interrupted.

"Torn you moron, I know you're in there! Get the hell out here and let me in!"

Torn and Kiera reluctantly sprang apart and looked towards the door at the unwanted intrusion. Without thinking, Torn glanced at Kiera in a silent plea for help. He did not want to face the woman he knew was at that door, but if he didn't, she'd definitely shoot down the door and charge in. Then that would make him seem guiltier than he was. The only solution was to act sick and have Kiera face Ashelin's wrath, something she was more adept to do at the moment.

Kiera, understanding his meaning, got up and headed over to the door while he snuck into his bedroom to hide. Gingerly, she answered the door. Immediately a livid Ashelin assaulted her vision. Upon seeing her, the governess' eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Kiera, what the hell are you doing here?" she demanded without preface.

"I could be asking you the same question," Kiera answered cooly.

Ashelin grit her teeth. "I have a solid reason for being here; not only is Torn one of my employees, so to speak, but he is my friend. What reason you have for bringing your sorry ass here beats me."

Kiera's green eyes darkened dangerously at her.

"Well, as it just so happens, Torn is also my friend and he's sick. And any real friend would've realized he wasn't healthy and came to his aid sooner, not after he passed out!"

"Are you saying I don't care about Torn?" Ashelin nearly screeched.

"No, what I'm saying is you're to busy getting plastic surgery and STD's to notice his obvious state of health!"

"You bitch! You're just sniffing around Torn because no respectable man would date you and he's too nice to tell you to piss off! Face it, Jak saw right through your little charade of being all innocent and discovered you for what you really were: A skanky little whore!"

With a feral growl, Kiera jumped on top of Ashelin, knocking them both to the floor. Both women began to claw, scratch, bite, tear, and punch each other. Many of the other residents of the compound who had heard the yelling, came out to investigate and found a full blown cat fight in affect. Many of the guys ran back into their flats to grab cameras; it wasn't everyday their boss and the hot chick that fixed their zoomers got into it. Even Torn came out of his safe hole to check it out.

After a minute or so of generally harmless fighting (if you don't count the many bruises and scratches they'd have in the morning), Kiera pulled back and, with all the strength found in her skinny arms, balled up her fist and hit Ashelin square in the jaw. Then she stood up quickly and ran down the hall to the stair case where she could make a fast getaway. She showed her brain in that move; Ashelin, holding her cheek and near tears (or as close as she can get to tears any way), flew up after a moment and pulled out her pistol with the intent of going after her. And she would've too if Torn hadn't stopped her.

"Ashelin, uh, look, you need to um, calm down." he said, carefully taking hold of her shoulders and pushing her hand so it pointed to the ground.

She looked at him and was about to let loose on him, when she noticed his hair was out of its rows and messed up and he was, in fact, quite pale. Maybe that, that...woman wasn't lying about him being sick.

"Torn, what was that bitch doing here! She was going on about how you were 'sick'. Is it true?" she practically yelled.

"Uh, well, I did go to the doctor today," he said cautiously.

"What? Why didn't you tell me? I could've taken you! Why would you let her take you?"

Torn was getting slightly annoyed now. First, she blows him off for some guy with an orange rat on his shoulder, then she rubs it in his face. She barges in on him just as he was about to get some and gets into a major fight with the one person who seems to give a damn whether or not he lived or died. Now she was bossing him around and accusing him of things? Uh uh, that wasn't how it worked.

"Look, Ashelin. I've had no sleep for the past three weeks. I just had my first meal in that same time frame this morning, and had to endure shopping at a very packed bazaar. You've just threatened Kiera, who has done more for me in the past few days than you have all this month, and now you're annoying the crap out of me. So I want you to get out of my sight and leave me alone."

He slammed the door, in her face even, leaving her stunned into silence outside his apartment.

/k/

Kiera pulled into the alley near the old racing district, her heart pounding and near laughing. She was having trouble comprehending what she'd just done. Not only had she just got into a fight with Ashelin, but she'd just totally made out with Torn. The thought alone made her giddy. Precursors, he was a good kisser! A goofy smile made its way onto her face as she began to day dream about what could've happened if they hadn't been interrupted.

/an/

okay, so it was a little short, I know. But I did finally give you guys what you wanted and made them kiss. And I even threw in a little cat fight action! Later y'all!