Author: Yayayayayayness!!!!!!!!!!!! Peoples reviewed (and I'm sure you all
loved it thank you very much) so now I can give you....*dramatic background
music and drumroll* the second chapter!!!!!!! : )
~Disclaimer~ Again none of these characters are mind (Ilovesephiroth)
Sephiroth: *jumps up and down happily* And I'm in it right? Right?!
Author: Yes, yes, shut your pie hole. You're in this damn chapter okay?
Sephiroth: *prances around* yippee!!!!!!! *picks flowers and puts them in his hair*
Author: *shakes her head* Anyway, just to clear things up, no Sephiroth is not gay in my version and I love to write so if there's "fru-fru" language with mushy stuff forgive me, I'm a hopeless romantic, but I'll keep most of it "humor" since that's the category it's in.
Sephiroth: *spins around I circles until he falls down*
Author: On with the fic
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Previous chapter: The sight of a masemune flying towards a student's head made his blood boil. He threw himself in front of the attack and blocked it with his blade, the clang ringing out loudly.
"Get back!" Cloud yelled to the student and recovered quickly, swinging the sword back to strike Sephiroth.
Squall stepped in front of him and gently pulled on his arm. "Cloud, calm down. They're just training." Cloud's chest was heaving and his breath came out in short pants. He angrily allowed his weapon to drop to the ground and smirked, satisfied at the surprised and terrified look on Sephiroth's face.
Sephiroth lowered his sword and stepped back, glancing at Squall. Cloud slung his sword onto his back and faced Sephiroth.
Squall walked over to Sephiroth and patted his shoulder, "it's all right. He's just a little tense." Cloud turned to Squall.
"Don't apologize for me. If I bloody well think he deserves it then I'll apologize myself." Sephiroth looked at the ground with an ashamed look on his face. He spoke quietly to Cloud.
"I know how angry you must be right now and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for all the things I've done. I've been doing all that I can around here and it would mean so much to me if you'd forgive me and I could try to start earning back your trust. We were friends at one point. Couldn't we start over?"
Squall quickly took the group of students out of the training center and came back to stand by Sephiroth. Cloud had so many thoughts racing through his mind that his head hurt. He looked skeptically at Sephiroth. The guy had seemed pretty genuine. But could he really trust his old archenemy?
Squall watched Cloud carefully. "If it makes you feel any better, buddy, I'll vouch for him. He's been through a lot he regrets." Cloud nodded thoughtfully and noticed for the first time one of Sephiroth's arms was injured and bound to his chest and he had a slight limp when he took a step closer to Cloud. He sighed, confused. He'd agree. For now. And keep a very close eye on Sephiroth.
"All right," he nodded again, confirming his decision, "I'll tolerate you for now, but I need time before any trust can start." A small smile broke out on Sephiroth's face and he let out a sigh of relief.
Squall looked at Sephiroth with concern. "You should take a rest now. You weren't even supposed to be out of bed today."
Sephiroth groaned, "but I hate reading stuff to the kids. They need hands on experience or they'll never learn anything. And my arm isn't hurting that much. My leg barely has a limp now."
"Come on." Squall smiled, "Dr. Kadowaki's orders. She'll kick my butt if we're caught here."
Cloud watched the two talking like old friends and felt a little jealous. Maybe he should visit Squall more often. Sephiroth started to leave and winced when he took another step. Squall caught the fleeting look of pain and stopped him. "Here, lean on me. You don't always have to act so strong."
Sephiroth accepted the help gratefully and his platinum hair spilled over his shoulders as he leaned on Squall. "Catch you later Cloud," Squall called over his unused shoulder, "meet me in my office in an hour." Cloud watched them go and felt the urge to kill something.
Forty-five minutes later, after many, many, many pulverized monsters had been destroyed by Cloud, he felt much better and decided to go get something to eat before he had to go and meet Squall. Plus he needed to check in with Aeris soon. She was probably worried about him. Heading for the cafeteria, he waited in the long line up for hotdogs. He watched the eager young kids training to be SeeDs with interest. A lot of them were studying at the tables, but a few were comparing weapons.
"Can I help you sir?" He turned back towards the cashier realizing he was now at the front of the line.
"I'm sorry," apologized sheepishly.
The girl at the till just stared at him impatiently, "well? What can I get you?" Cloud glanced up at the menu.
"Hmmmm. Oh..how about....two hotdogs please. And a sprite." The girl sighed.
"Sorry, sir. We're out of hotdogs."
"Out of hotdogs?! But you just sold one to the guy in front of me! I saw him take it to his table!"
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any and if you aren't going to order anything then there are lots of people who will. Please step aside so I can help the next person in line."
Cloud angrily stepped to the side and started to walk away, but stopped when he saw the person who had been behind him order and receive a hotdog. Hating the entire day so far, he stormed over to the elevator, hungry, annoyed, and just plain pissed off. He jabbed the button for Squall's floor and slumped against the inside of the elevator wall. As the door "dinged" open on the third floor Aeris stepped into the elevator. Cloud's frown faded into disbelief.
"Aeris?! What are you doing here?!" She smiled mischievously.
"I came to get "trapped" in an elevator with you."
Cloud smiled, "no, seriously." Aeris shrugged.
"Well, I figured that since you were here, I might as well come and visit Rinoa for awhile. Then I can keep an eye on you and Squall at the same time." Cloud stepped closer to Aeris and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. He kissed her softly and felt his annoyance melting away. When they broke apart, Cloud gazed at Aeris happily.
"I have to go meet with Squall now, but I promise to come and find you later," Cloud told her grinning.
"I'll be looking forward to it. Don't take too long." Cloud realized that the elevator had gone back to the first floor, but he didn't mind considering whom he was with at the moment. Squall would just have to wait a couple more minutes.
He pulled her closer again and she teasingly pushed him away. "You better go talk to Squall now. I'll be waiting for you somewhere down here. I'm not sure where yet. Most likely the library or the training center."
Cloud grinned and shook his head, pulling her to him, "sorry to disappoint, but you can't escape that easily." Aeris pried him off her regretfully and stepped out of the elevator.
"I'll see you later, Sweety." Cloud watched her go.
"Damn Squall," he muttered.
The elevator doors shut again and Cloud pressed the button for Squall's floor again. "I should've phoned her earlier," he thought to himself, "then maybe she'd still be safe at home." Finally reaching Squall's floor, Cloud stepped out of the elevator and knocked on the door to the right.
"Just a second!" a voice called from inside. Cloud tapped his foot impatiently until he heard the door lock click and it swung open showing a very frazzled looking Squall on the other side.
"You caught me at a bad time..," he smiled sheepishly, "I figured you weren't coming at all after your "nervous breakdown". Plus you're ten minutes late." Cloud raised an eyebrow as he watched Squall quickly tuck in his shirt and zip up his black pants. Cloud leaned a little to the side and saw an almost dressed Rinoa in the background.
"Sorry to interrupt," Cloud smirked, "but I guess it just proves that when you assume you make an ass out of you and me." Squall shook his head.
"You seem like you're still pissed off."
"Maybe I am," Cloud snapped. Squall frowned, but didn't comment.
"Honey, are you leaving with Cloud already?" an annoyed sounding voice came from inside the bedroom.
"Yah, I've gotta. I'm so sorry! I really am!" He gave Cloud a "help me" look and quickly ducked back into the room. Could felt slightly amused at Squall's situation and listened closer. Rinoa was letting him have it about the embarrassment he had caused her and she shoved Squall back out into the hallway. Squall tried to go after her, but the door slammed and locked in his face.
"Aww, come on Rinoa," he pleaded.
"Have fun sleeping in the dorms tonight!" she yelled through the door. Even Cloud couldn't be that heartless, not to feel sorry for Squall.
"Come on," Cloud said softly to Squall, "I'll grab us some drinks and we can catch up on old times." Squall nodded.
"Yah. Sure." He shook his head and seemed to cheer up a little, "and I still have to talk to you about the job too." Cloud smiled at his friend and they took the elevator downstairs and sat at a table in the cafeteria.
Cloud went and grabbed them two beers from the girl at the till, making sure to glare evilly at her before returning to the table. "No hotdogs today, my ass!" he muttered under his breath. Squall looked really upset over such a small argument. Cloud had seen much worse between those two in their high school days. Squall had a deep frown creased across his face. Cloud sat down and touched his arm. Squall's head jerked up and he gratefully accepted the beer that Cloud offered him. "Drink up buddy," Cloud smiled, "beer solves all life's problems."
(This is not really true and I deny any and all accusations that I am encouraging people to drink beer. Mmmmmm..beer. *drool* *ahem* Carry on.)
Squall made a pathetic attempt to smile and Cloud changed the subject. "Um, hey. So how's running a school? Do the kids call you Mr. LeonHeart?" Cloud teased Squall trying to get his mind off whatever was bothering him.
Squall nodded, taking Cloud seriously, "some of them do, but I told them to call me Squall. A couple of my students said that they saw Seifer a few days ago, but I doubt it. We've had a lot of false alarms lately. People are really jittery about him coming back. To make matters worse, we're running out of funds for the garden. No one needs a mercenary anymore so our newly trained SeeDs don't really have any way to earn money for themselves or the school. If we don't get funding soon I may have to shut down the garden." Squall blinked his eyes quickly to clear the tears.
Cloud put his hand comfortingly on Squall's shoulder. "It will be all right. You guys always pull through in the end. And I'm here now. I'll be willing to do anything to get the garden back on its feet. Maybe I can talk to Avalanche about scraping up some Gil for you."
Squall smiled gratefully, "I knew talking to you was a good idea. You always were the smart one in school that could stay calm and solve the problem." Cloud grinned.
"That's me." Squall looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, if you're really interested in helping me then do you think there's any way you could convince Aeris to let you stay at the garden for a few weeks?"
Cloud laughed, "yah right! She barely let me come for just today."
"Well, what if you invited her to stay too? Would she go for it?" Squall asked eagerly.
Cloud's eyes lit up. "You know what? She might actually go for that!" Squall grinned triumphantly and leaned in a little closer to Cloud.
"Speaking of Aeris, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."
Aeris smiled warmly at the students working in the library and thought about how nice it felt to not have to worry about anything. To just be able to relax and do whatever she pleased. "I wonder where Rinoa is?" she thought to herself. She shrugged and wandered down the isle of books. What could be taking Cloud so long? A twinge of annoyance struck her and she left the library, wandering down the hallway past the training center and the dormitories. She smiled when she saw a huge group of students excitedly crowded in the infirmary. They must all be visiting a friend. "Kids are so cute. That reminds me...I'll have to talk to Cloud later," she said out loud, to no one in particular.
Going closer, Aeris went into the infirmary curiously. Who had gotten so many visitors? She stepped forward a little more and peered through the crowd. She breathed in sharply, her heart jumping in surprise at the sight of the person in the bed. She felt all the colour drain from her face as the vibrant blue eyes met hers. Sephiroth stopped in the middle of the sentence he was reading to students and his mouth dropped open.
A small gasp escaped her lips and she stepped back. If at any time she had ever needed Cloud it was now. Sephiroth just stared in shock and the book dropped out of his hand. "Aeris," he managed to choke out, "but I thought I.....you were.." She didn't want to hear another word. Running from the room, a bunch of confused students moved and watched her go. Sephiroth pushed himself out of bed as fast as the pain would allow and started after her.
Squall's eyes went wide. "She did?! Aww man," he said enviously, "I can't believe she does that. Rinoa never would you know."
Cloud grinned proudly, "you should just talk to her man." Squall took a sip of his beer and almost choked when an ear shattering scream came from the hallway...
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Author: PLEASE REVIEW!! Mwahahahahaha! I have to power to keep you hanging!!!
Stairs: No one loves me. :( They all use the freakin' elevator. No wonder the stupid thing broke.
Sephiroth: *prances about* I'm in it! I'm in it! I'm in it! *grabs Aeris and dances around with her* *Aeris slaps him and walks away* *sighs and feels rejected*
Cloud: I love you Sephiroth!
Sephiroth: *shudders, now seriously disturbed* I'M NOT GAY!!!
Cloud: *pouts and leaves*
Author: Anyway..thank you, to all who took the time to read the chapter and my author's notes. (these are just for you peoples) And please, please, please review my story again. I'd be so grateful!
Sephiroth: *huggles readers* Thank you! My career is saved!!! :D
Author: *shakes her head* So yah, I hope you all enjoyed this, well, "interesting" chapter and I'll make sure to update, the second I get five reviews! :) TTFN! Taa-taa for now
~Disclaimer~ Again none of these characters are mind (Ilovesephiroth)
Sephiroth: *jumps up and down happily* And I'm in it right? Right?!
Author: Yes, yes, shut your pie hole. You're in this damn chapter okay?
Sephiroth: *prances around* yippee!!!!!!! *picks flowers and puts them in his hair*
Author: *shakes her head* Anyway, just to clear things up, no Sephiroth is not gay in my version and I love to write so if there's "fru-fru" language with mushy stuff forgive me, I'm a hopeless romantic, but I'll keep most of it "humor" since that's the category it's in.
Sephiroth: *spins around I circles until he falls down*
Author: On with the fic
************************************************************************
Previous chapter: The sight of a masemune flying towards a student's head made his blood boil. He threw himself in front of the attack and blocked it with his blade, the clang ringing out loudly.
"Get back!" Cloud yelled to the student and recovered quickly, swinging the sword back to strike Sephiroth.
Squall stepped in front of him and gently pulled on his arm. "Cloud, calm down. They're just training." Cloud's chest was heaving and his breath came out in short pants. He angrily allowed his weapon to drop to the ground and smirked, satisfied at the surprised and terrified look on Sephiroth's face.
Sephiroth lowered his sword and stepped back, glancing at Squall. Cloud slung his sword onto his back and faced Sephiroth.
Squall walked over to Sephiroth and patted his shoulder, "it's all right. He's just a little tense." Cloud turned to Squall.
"Don't apologize for me. If I bloody well think he deserves it then I'll apologize myself." Sephiroth looked at the ground with an ashamed look on his face. He spoke quietly to Cloud.
"I know how angry you must be right now and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for all the things I've done. I've been doing all that I can around here and it would mean so much to me if you'd forgive me and I could try to start earning back your trust. We were friends at one point. Couldn't we start over?"
Squall quickly took the group of students out of the training center and came back to stand by Sephiroth. Cloud had so many thoughts racing through his mind that his head hurt. He looked skeptically at Sephiroth. The guy had seemed pretty genuine. But could he really trust his old archenemy?
Squall watched Cloud carefully. "If it makes you feel any better, buddy, I'll vouch for him. He's been through a lot he regrets." Cloud nodded thoughtfully and noticed for the first time one of Sephiroth's arms was injured and bound to his chest and he had a slight limp when he took a step closer to Cloud. He sighed, confused. He'd agree. For now. And keep a very close eye on Sephiroth.
"All right," he nodded again, confirming his decision, "I'll tolerate you for now, but I need time before any trust can start." A small smile broke out on Sephiroth's face and he let out a sigh of relief.
Squall looked at Sephiroth with concern. "You should take a rest now. You weren't even supposed to be out of bed today."
Sephiroth groaned, "but I hate reading stuff to the kids. They need hands on experience or they'll never learn anything. And my arm isn't hurting that much. My leg barely has a limp now."
"Come on." Squall smiled, "Dr. Kadowaki's orders. She'll kick my butt if we're caught here."
Cloud watched the two talking like old friends and felt a little jealous. Maybe he should visit Squall more often. Sephiroth started to leave and winced when he took another step. Squall caught the fleeting look of pain and stopped him. "Here, lean on me. You don't always have to act so strong."
Sephiroth accepted the help gratefully and his platinum hair spilled over his shoulders as he leaned on Squall. "Catch you later Cloud," Squall called over his unused shoulder, "meet me in my office in an hour." Cloud watched them go and felt the urge to kill something.
Forty-five minutes later, after many, many, many pulverized monsters had been destroyed by Cloud, he felt much better and decided to go get something to eat before he had to go and meet Squall. Plus he needed to check in with Aeris soon. She was probably worried about him. Heading for the cafeteria, he waited in the long line up for hotdogs. He watched the eager young kids training to be SeeDs with interest. A lot of them were studying at the tables, but a few were comparing weapons.
"Can I help you sir?" He turned back towards the cashier realizing he was now at the front of the line.
"I'm sorry," apologized sheepishly.
The girl at the till just stared at him impatiently, "well? What can I get you?" Cloud glanced up at the menu.
"Hmmmm. Oh..how about....two hotdogs please. And a sprite." The girl sighed.
"Sorry, sir. We're out of hotdogs."
"Out of hotdogs?! But you just sold one to the guy in front of me! I saw him take it to his table!"
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any and if you aren't going to order anything then there are lots of people who will. Please step aside so I can help the next person in line."
Cloud angrily stepped to the side and started to walk away, but stopped when he saw the person who had been behind him order and receive a hotdog. Hating the entire day so far, he stormed over to the elevator, hungry, annoyed, and just plain pissed off. He jabbed the button for Squall's floor and slumped against the inside of the elevator wall. As the door "dinged" open on the third floor Aeris stepped into the elevator. Cloud's frown faded into disbelief.
"Aeris?! What are you doing here?!" She smiled mischievously.
"I came to get "trapped" in an elevator with you."
Cloud smiled, "no, seriously." Aeris shrugged.
"Well, I figured that since you were here, I might as well come and visit Rinoa for awhile. Then I can keep an eye on you and Squall at the same time." Cloud stepped closer to Aeris and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. He kissed her softly and felt his annoyance melting away. When they broke apart, Cloud gazed at Aeris happily.
"I have to go meet with Squall now, but I promise to come and find you later," Cloud told her grinning.
"I'll be looking forward to it. Don't take too long." Cloud realized that the elevator had gone back to the first floor, but he didn't mind considering whom he was with at the moment. Squall would just have to wait a couple more minutes.
He pulled her closer again and she teasingly pushed him away. "You better go talk to Squall now. I'll be waiting for you somewhere down here. I'm not sure where yet. Most likely the library or the training center."
Cloud grinned and shook his head, pulling her to him, "sorry to disappoint, but you can't escape that easily." Aeris pried him off her regretfully and stepped out of the elevator.
"I'll see you later, Sweety." Cloud watched her go.
"Damn Squall," he muttered.
The elevator doors shut again and Cloud pressed the button for Squall's floor again. "I should've phoned her earlier," he thought to himself, "then maybe she'd still be safe at home." Finally reaching Squall's floor, Cloud stepped out of the elevator and knocked on the door to the right.
"Just a second!" a voice called from inside. Cloud tapped his foot impatiently until he heard the door lock click and it swung open showing a very frazzled looking Squall on the other side.
"You caught me at a bad time..," he smiled sheepishly, "I figured you weren't coming at all after your "nervous breakdown". Plus you're ten minutes late." Cloud raised an eyebrow as he watched Squall quickly tuck in his shirt and zip up his black pants. Cloud leaned a little to the side and saw an almost dressed Rinoa in the background.
"Sorry to interrupt," Cloud smirked, "but I guess it just proves that when you assume you make an ass out of you and me." Squall shook his head.
"You seem like you're still pissed off."
"Maybe I am," Cloud snapped. Squall frowned, but didn't comment.
"Honey, are you leaving with Cloud already?" an annoyed sounding voice came from inside the bedroom.
"Yah, I've gotta. I'm so sorry! I really am!" He gave Cloud a "help me" look and quickly ducked back into the room. Could felt slightly amused at Squall's situation and listened closer. Rinoa was letting him have it about the embarrassment he had caused her and she shoved Squall back out into the hallway. Squall tried to go after her, but the door slammed and locked in his face.
"Aww, come on Rinoa," he pleaded.
"Have fun sleeping in the dorms tonight!" she yelled through the door. Even Cloud couldn't be that heartless, not to feel sorry for Squall.
"Come on," Cloud said softly to Squall, "I'll grab us some drinks and we can catch up on old times." Squall nodded.
"Yah. Sure." He shook his head and seemed to cheer up a little, "and I still have to talk to you about the job too." Cloud smiled at his friend and they took the elevator downstairs and sat at a table in the cafeteria.
Cloud went and grabbed them two beers from the girl at the till, making sure to glare evilly at her before returning to the table. "No hotdogs today, my ass!" he muttered under his breath. Squall looked really upset over such a small argument. Cloud had seen much worse between those two in their high school days. Squall had a deep frown creased across his face. Cloud sat down and touched his arm. Squall's head jerked up and he gratefully accepted the beer that Cloud offered him. "Drink up buddy," Cloud smiled, "beer solves all life's problems."
(This is not really true and I deny any and all accusations that I am encouraging people to drink beer. Mmmmmm..beer. *drool* *ahem* Carry on.)
Squall made a pathetic attempt to smile and Cloud changed the subject. "Um, hey. So how's running a school? Do the kids call you Mr. LeonHeart?" Cloud teased Squall trying to get his mind off whatever was bothering him.
Squall nodded, taking Cloud seriously, "some of them do, but I told them to call me Squall. A couple of my students said that they saw Seifer a few days ago, but I doubt it. We've had a lot of false alarms lately. People are really jittery about him coming back. To make matters worse, we're running out of funds for the garden. No one needs a mercenary anymore so our newly trained SeeDs don't really have any way to earn money for themselves or the school. If we don't get funding soon I may have to shut down the garden." Squall blinked his eyes quickly to clear the tears.
Cloud put his hand comfortingly on Squall's shoulder. "It will be all right. You guys always pull through in the end. And I'm here now. I'll be willing to do anything to get the garden back on its feet. Maybe I can talk to Avalanche about scraping up some Gil for you."
Squall smiled gratefully, "I knew talking to you was a good idea. You always were the smart one in school that could stay calm and solve the problem." Cloud grinned.
"That's me." Squall looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, if you're really interested in helping me then do you think there's any way you could convince Aeris to let you stay at the garden for a few weeks?"
Cloud laughed, "yah right! She barely let me come for just today."
"Well, what if you invited her to stay too? Would she go for it?" Squall asked eagerly.
Cloud's eyes lit up. "You know what? She might actually go for that!" Squall grinned triumphantly and leaned in a little closer to Cloud.
"Speaking of Aeris, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..."
Aeris smiled warmly at the students working in the library and thought about how nice it felt to not have to worry about anything. To just be able to relax and do whatever she pleased. "I wonder where Rinoa is?" she thought to herself. She shrugged and wandered down the isle of books. What could be taking Cloud so long? A twinge of annoyance struck her and she left the library, wandering down the hallway past the training center and the dormitories. She smiled when she saw a huge group of students excitedly crowded in the infirmary. They must all be visiting a friend. "Kids are so cute. That reminds me...I'll have to talk to Cloud later," she said out loud, to no one in particular.
Going closer, Aeris went into the infirmary curiously. Who had gotten so many visitors? She stepped forward a little more and peered through the crowd. She breathed in sharply, her heart jumping in surprise at the sight of the person in the bed. She felt all the colour drain from her face as the vibrant blue eyes met hers. Sephiroth stopped in the middle of the sentence he was reading to students and his mouth dropped open.
A small gasp escaped her lips and she stepped back. If at any time she had ever needed Cloud it was now. Sephiroth just stared in shock and the book dropped out of his hand. "Aeris," he managed to choke out, "but I thought I.....you were.." She didn't want to hear another word. Running from the room, a bunch of confused students moved and watched her go. Sephiroth pushed himself out of bed as fast as the pain would allow and started after her.
Squall's eyes went wide. "She did?! Aww man," he said enviously, "I can't believe she does that. Rinoa never would you know."
Cloud grinned proudly, "you should just talk to her man." Squall took a sip of his beer and almost choked when an ear shattering scream came from the hallway...
************************************************************************
Author: PLEASE REVIEW!! Mwahahahahaha! I have to power to keep you hanging!!!
Stairs: No one loves me. :( They all use the freakin' elevator. No wonder the stupid thing broke.
Sephiroth: *prances about* I'm in it! I'm in it! I'm in it! *grabs Aeris and dances around with her* *Aeris slaps him and walks away* *sighs and feels rejected*
Cloud: I love you Sephiroth!
Sephiroth: *shudders, now seriously disturbed* I'M NOT GAY!!!
Cloud: *pouts and leaves*
Author: Anyway..thank you, to all who took the time to read the chapter and my author's notes. (these are just for you peoples) And please, please, please review my story again. I'd be so grateful!
Sephiroth: *huggles readers* Thank you! My career is saved!!! :D
Author: *shakes her head* So yah, I hope you all enjoyed this, well, "interesting" chapter and I'll make sure to update, the second I get five reviews! :) TTFN! Taa-taa for now