Hey guys! I've got good news and bad new.

Good news: Indoor Track is finally over, so I should have more time to write and post!

Bad news: Outdoor starts up in 2 weeks, and practice is everyday instead of Tues-Thurs. Meaning less time to write. Dang.

Mr. Brightside

Chapter 10

Overworked

The next few weeks went by without major incident as the rebuilding of the city began. Bodies and waste were disposed of, the charred remains of buildings removed, and new homes built for survivors. Kiera didn't see much of Torn; nor did anyone really. The commander was working over time to undo the damage done to the city. He was constantly away on missions, helping all the citizens try to rebuild there lives again, or was in his office at HQ, drawing up plans for city layouts with different architects.

People would've begun to worry, had they not been too busy to pay such things mind. It was obvious the commander wasn't sleeping; his eyes showed dark circles beneath them, even through his tattoos. And his already thin frame was becoming even skinnier from lack of food. He had no time to eat with his new schedule, let alone rest his weary limbs. He turned instead to coffee, disregarding his hunger pains and dizzy spell; he had more important things to do.

He hadn't spoken to Ashelin since the incident, unless you count the daily reports and the many meetings they both had to attend as conversation. She'd tried a couple of times to talk to him– whether an apology or not – but every time he gave her the cold shoulder. It hurt her that he was taking their, well, whatever it was, so harshly. They'd never officially been together, so he shouldn't have been so mad. Sure, they flirted a lot, and he had danced with her that one time, but it wasn't like they'd ever really went on a real date. And besides, it was only one dance, and a slow one at that were he'd come in half way to the end. She loved Jak, she knew that, but she always liked the way Torn had treated her; like a lady, but not like a girly-girl.

She had been slightly jealous of the mechanic when she and Torn had come up from the sewers. He'd never realize it of course, he was too naive in that respect, but he had on hell of an ass on him and it wasn't fair that girl got to have it all to herself for the few hours they'd been down there. In all the years she'd known him, she never had gotten the chance to give it a little squeeze...

Ashelin wasn't the only one Torn wasn't in contact with. Kiera hadn't seen him in about two weeks from when the precursors left and she missed having a guy to talk to besides Daxter or the men she was working with. Everyone was always busy, including herself, fixing all the damages of the war, so she never got to talk to anyone. She was in charge of rebuilding the transport systems that had been totaled by the KG bots. The work was not as simple as it sounded. The new system she had in mind was on a railway that went high above the city. The cool thing about it was that it floated a few inches above the tracks. It was her greatest work yet , all she needed to do was meet with the architects to see if it would clash with their buildings.

All this had taken a lot of coffee and sweat, but it was worth it. She made sure she slept and ate though, because it was never a good idea to be tired while working with something that could potentially kill you.

Today was the day she was meeting with the architects. She walked into HQ, were all the important meetings were, a few minutes before to wash her grease covered hands in the bathroom. She still had a few minutes to spare when she came out, so she to her time walking down the hallway. A few people roamed the halls, most officers on break or people going to meetings like her. Her meeting was a few floors up and she entered the empty elevator at the end of the hall.

Before the doors could fully close, a rather large hand stopped them and pushed them back open. Kiera looked from the hand to its owner. She gave a small smile to him.

"Hey Torn."

"Uh, hey Kiera," he replied in his rough voice, a little bit shocked to see her here. She usually was at her garage right now. Before he could ask her reason for being there, however, she interrupted him.

"Mar, you look awful!"

"Thanks, you're too kind," he said sarcastically.

"No, I mean you look overworked! When was the last time you slept?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

That one got him thinking. When was the last time he'd had more than three hours sleep? Quite a while now, close to a week.

"I'm fine, okay? I've just been a little busy is all."

He didn't want her to start fussing over him like Tess would if she'd been here. It made him uncomfortable when people worried over him, especially women. He liked talking to her and had missed her upbeat personality over the last few weeks, but he didn't need her to start treating him like a baby. Especially since he seemed to act like a hormone crazed teenager when he was around her. And, saying he wasn't okay was whining– and he didn't do whining.

Kiera still looked unconvinced.

"It would still be a good idea to rest once in a while, ya know," she persisted, " Have you been eating enough? You're looking sorta thinner than usual."

"Seriously, I'm okay!" he told her again.

She frowned at this. She could tell he was lying and this didn't sit well with her. They'd been getting along well with each other just a few weeks ago, but know he was sealed up again like when they'd first met. Back then, she'd known him as Tess's humorless friend with the dread-locks. She'd thought they'd at least became good acquaintances if anything, so couldn't he be a little more honest? It's not like she expected him to tell her all his troubles while they ate a tub of ice cream, but a 'yeah, I guess I'm kinda tired' would've been nice. He didn't need to lie!

Then again, he was male and his pride probably wouldn't allow him to admit he was anything less than invincible. Men. Suddenly, an idea came to her.

"Okay, whatever... Hey, what are you doing right now?" she questioned casually as the elevator slowed down.

" Riding an elevator with you," he replied cheekily.

"You know what I meant."

"Well, I've got a meeting with some officers, then I should probably get started on some of the paper work for the new prison in West Haven. Why?"

"I was going to go grab a quick bite for lunch after my meeting. I thought maybe you'd like to come with since they should get out about the same time."

He looked like he was having an inner battle over whether or not he should, so she continued. "Come on, a good meal will help you keep a clear head. And besides, paper work is easy to catch up on."

"Err, well, sure. I guess I'm kinda hungry," he relented at last with a shrug of the shoulders.

She beamed at him, making his stomach do some interesting gymnastics.

"Great! Meet me outside the board room when you're done, k?" she said.

"Sure," he replied with a small smile of his own. Her attitude was infectious.

"Are you 'Miss Hagai'?" a voice from behind them spoke monotonously.

They turned around to find a small, squat, balding man looking at them. He seemed rather impatient.

"Yeah, that'd be me," she responded, leading the man into a small office where the other architects sat. she glanced back at Torn one more time as she shut the door, giving a look that clearly said 'shoot me now'.

Torn gave a wane smile at this and made his way to the board room where he saw some of his officers collecting. He tried to ignore the dull throbbing in his temple.

/d/

Kiera left the room 45 minutes later, thoroughly ready for a nice lunch. The meeting had been productive, despite it being rather boring, and the new system would be up and running in a few months. She looked towards the place she was meeting Torn at and felt her good mood slip a few notches. Jak, Ashelin, and her father were standing with the commander talking about something or other.

Kiera really wasn't in the mood to see Jak right now. Things hadn't been going so smoothly since he'd last talked to her.

/Flashback/

Kiera was still tired from talking so late with Tess the night before when someone knocked on the door that morning. She removed the gloves from her hands and opened the door to find a sheepish looking Jak on the other side.

"Hey Kiera. Look, before you lock me out," he said as she made a move to close the door, "here me out."

"Why should I? You haven't been very talkative lately, why start now?" she glared at him. But he was looking at her with his ocean coloured eyes and she found herself letting him in.

"Look, I didn't mean it! It was an impulse, an accident! Can't you forgive me?" he almost pleaded with her.

No 'I'm sorry', no 'I was a total ass', just 'It was an accident'. He had it coming.

"No. If it was 'just an accident', why did you spend the rest of the night sucking face and go out partying last night? Or was that 'an impulse' too?"

"Kiera–"

"Don't 'Kiera' me!" she continued angrily, "You didn't see me out macking with some guy besides you!"

"Oh yeah," he interrupted her, losing his temper now, "You expect me to believe that you and Torn spent the whole mission talking about the weather! I bet you two screwed like metal heads in heat!"

He'd really done it now, and he knew it. She'd never, even think about cheating on him. He'd crossed the line.

"Get. Out. Now." she growled at him, her green eyes blazing dangerously.

"Kiera, I didn't mean– "

"I SAID GET OUT!" she screamed, grabbing a large wrench and throwing it at him. He narrowly escaped getting brain damage as he tore out of the garage.

/End FB/

Needless to say, apart from a few attempts on Jak's part, they hadn't really talked in the last two weeks.

She didn't let his appearance ruin her mood though. She plastered a smile on her face as she approached the group.

"Hey daddy! What are you doing here?"

"Hello Kiera dear. I dropped by to check on one of the men under my charge. He was helping me decontaminate the forest when he fell from a small cliff. He's alright, just a sprained wrist and a couple of bruises. What about you? How was your meeting?"

"It was fine. Everything will be ready soon. One of the architects, Mr. Bingly, thinks it will be up in less than 4 months."

She could tell Jak was staring at her, but she ignored him. She wanted to get out of there soon, so she took drastic action.

"Ready to go Torn?"

Everyone looked slightly confused at this. Ready to go where?

"Yeah, let's go," he re plied, aware that Ashelin was scowling at him, and not caring less.

"Where are you going, dear?" asked Samos curiously. His daughter had been so sullen lately, all because of that idiotic boyfriend of hers. Could it be she was...no! Of course not!

"Out to lunch."

"Oh, well have fun then."

"Bye daddy, see you guys around!" she smiled at her father. He was so weird sometimes.

Torn nodded to the others as they left and headed to the elevator.

"So, where do you want to go?" she questioned once they were out of the building. The sunny was shining through the smog and there was a warm breeze.

"Your pick," he answered. He was feeling guilty about taking time off when he should be working. But, on the other hand, he probably should eat something and maybe his dull headache would leave him if he talked to her. She had the effect of healing on the people she spoke to. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long and he could get back to work quickly.

"Okay, but I hope you like seafood."

/an/

sorry if the chapter was kinda dull, but it covered the main points I wanted to make. I added in Ashelin's pov 'cause it seemed important. Also, did you really want me to write about their meetings? 'Cause I sure didn't! But if you think I should be more descriptive, let me know. R&R people!