Chapter 9

It would all be over soon. That thought played over and over in her mind like a broken record player. She had little knowledge of knowing what she was doing, but no will to fight against it. She felt like a bird on it's first take off, scared yet excited. Would it hurt when she hit the hard, wet ground? Would she feel a pain much worse than of that she was feeling in her heart? Would it be a quick death? Time seemed to stand still, feeling like she had been falling forever. At one point, her right arm was hit, but the pain from it resembled nothing like the emotional pain. Had she finally hit the bottom, landing on that arm or simply hit the wall of the school on her way down? She didn't dare open her eyes to see what it was for fear of staring death straight in the eyes. But she wasn't dead yet, at least, she didn't think she was. She was too aware of her own breathing and you don't need to breathe when your dead, nor do you feel pain. She had been taught that death was the end of all pain and sadness.

She opened her eyes reluctantly. She had to know.

What she saw was not that of the grim reaper, but...nothing. Nothing but a nice view of land covered in darkness. Rain was still falling, thunder still sounded and lightning still flashed as the storm raged on. She would have laughed at the thought of not being dead if it wasn't for the fact that her feet had nothing to stand on but air. She wasn't falling, just hanging there, swaying with the wind. She had gotten enough sense back to know that if she wasn't dead yet, she was about to be. If she could just reach for something...anything.

Her eyes drifted upwards, following the length of her arm that she had hit on something not less than a minute ago, still feeling the now slight pain that she had forgot about. Somehow, when you're several feet in the air, a hurt arm is the last thing you think about. What she saw sent a huge smile to her face and her eyes brightened.

"Martin!" The smiled quickly faded. "Pull me up!" She'd be happy to see him once she was on solid ground. Right now, she was a little occupied with not falling to be happy.

"What do you think I'm trying to do here!" he called out over a boom of thunder, gripping her wrist with both hands. He didn't know what happened up here, but her intelligence level dropped at the cause of it. Jumping off a building? Yeah, real smart. "You know, you're a lot heavier than you look, Diana!"

Smart ass. Diana scowled at him for his unneccessary remark. She could do without those right now. She'd deal with that later also. She reached up with her free hand, desperately trying to grab his hand that was locked onto her wrist. She slipped.

"MARTIN!"

He wasn't going to let her fall. He'd go down with her if it came to that and he really did not want to become a pancake just yet. The rain wasn't helping, causing her skin to be slippery against his making it hard to hold her, much less pull her.

"I gotcha, Di! Just hang on!" he grunted, pulling as hard as he could.

"Oh, gee, Martin, like I have anything else better to do but to HANG ON!" She would not slap him. She would not slap him. She would not slap him.

"Just chill!" he practically screamed at her. Sheesh, did she ever shut up? Well, at least she wasn't screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs. Nope. She was just screaming at him for trying to help her. Then again, how would he feel if he was the one hanging off a building?

Chill. She wasn't going to slap him. She was going to pulverize him! Chill! She felt a slight movement, just a little, but enough to restore her hope. If he managed to get her up, she'd...she'd...she didn't know what she'd do, but it wouldn't involve killing him.

He pulled, his upper body aching from trying to hold her weight, and little by little she moved just a bit closer to safety.

"Diana! Give me your hand!" She fixed him with a puzzled look. She hadn't heard him over the thunder that went off like an armed minefield. "Reach for me!"

She heard that one, applying every ounce of strength she had left to aim for his hand, which seemed like it was too far to reach. He leaned forward a little more, fearing that he'd drop her if he didn't grab her soon. His hand quickly gripped the slender hand at first contact, holding it with such force that he thought he'd break the bones located there. Hell, if it kept her from going splat on the ground, then who cares, right? She was much easier to pull, even with her nails digging into his skin on his arm, but within a couple of seconds, her arms were around his neck and she was falling to the floor of the roof.

Exasperated, he sat down beside her, laying his head back against the barrier, letting the cold rain fall onto his face. He never wanted to experience that moment again, but he wouldn't be able to stop it from playing in his mind. The fear he felt seeing her take that step off. If he had been just a second off... He didn't want to think about it, but it would always be there. The what if. "What were you thinking, Diana?" He stared up at the sky, blinking away rain that fell in his eyes.

"Huh?" Eyes that had been lost in thought quickly turned to him. "It wasn't like that, Martin. I don't know what happened," she frowned in her own confusion. "I think I was reliving Natalie's pain, her last hour". She felt like she was a word away from signing herself into a mental institution. "It was like a dream, but at the same time, I felt like I was really there. There was Jack and-and-and the lights went out and then there was you...and Jenny." She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the spot where she came to and looked down at it. "I woke up in the same place where I passed out. It felt like something was inside of me, pushing me forward, but I felt everything and I kept going. I don't think I wanted to stop." She sighed, wondering if she was making any sense at all. She looked at his expressionless face from over her shoulder.

"Diana..." He came up from behind her, taking her hands into his and placing his chin on her shoulder. "I can't lose you. Nobody annoys me like you do, Di."

"No, damn it. Take me seriously."

He looked at her in surprise, a slight smile on his lips.

"When have I ever not taken you seriously?" he chuckled softly in her ear, rubbing his hand up her arm and back down again.

"You want a list?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "Martin, I think...I think I was possessed."

"That would explain alot." He rubbed the back of his head. "Like my U-watch malfunctioning." He brought his arm up over her chest, wiping the rain off the surface of the watch with his thumb, giving her assumption some more thought. "That's the second time you've been possessed, Di. Remember the really old guy at that Blackwater Hotel?"

"The one that you caused to possess me?" She didn't remember any of that, but Java had filled her in.

"Yeah, that one," he said slowly, adding a slight chuckle. "It wasn't intentional though." She nodded, narrowing her eyes at him. "Nevermind."

Wise, Martin, she thought with a satisfied smile. Just back off.

"Anyway, Natalie's no Casper the friendly ghost, she's more like that ghost from 'Poltergeist'." He let go of her, pacing behind her. "She seperated us. Java in the hallway, me in the stairway, and you on the roof."

"But you're here now, so where's Java?" she asked, suddenly aware that he wasn't here. "Martin, where's Java?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"Um, through that door, down the stairs and somewhere around there...I hope," he replied, unsure about the exact whereabouts, but there where he was last. Diana looked worried, already heading for the stairway. He grabbed her arm, stopping her. "He's fine. He's Java. There's nothing he can't handle, Diana."

She stared at him for several long seconds, eyebrow arched.

"So you got out, but Java didn't?"

"Long story short, the doors locked, the U-watch malfunctioned..." He stopped in realization. "Natalie. Spirits weaken when they enter and leave a human body. When she left your body, it took too much energy, weakening her and allowing power back to my U-watch."

"The doors unlocked, Martin?" She knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"I didn't check the doors," he said sheepishly with an innocent grin. She knew it.

"You destroyed school property just so you could play with the I-cutters," she tsked, rolling her eyes. Boys and their toys. "How are we supposed to explain that!"

"They'll get over it," he shrugged carelessly. "Besides, I won't tell if you don't," he said softly, flashing her a sexy smile that made her lean towards him. His fingers slid down her cheek with a feather touch, tingling with a hot trail. He then bent his head and grazed his lips along her throat.

"Martin," she whined. She hated how he did this at the wrong times, but he always managed to make her forget the bad and focus on him. He had to be the center of attention and he had a damn good way of getting it from her. "We can't do this. Not here, Martin. What if someone, like Java, comes up here?"

"Refer to my previous statements," he whispered along her neck, his breath hot and welcome against the cold rain and freezing wind.

"We have to find Java," she breathed out, pulling him towards her more than she was pushing him away.

"We'll find him, don't worry," he assured her, backing off but stroking her cheek gently. "I just...I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, Martin," she smiled, looking into his eyes. They looked darker, almost black until the lightning flashed, lighting up the deep brown that she found comforting. "Really."

"Alright," he nodded, searching her to be sure. Physically, she looked fine but he wasn't too sure about emotionally. "Come on, let's get inside before we both get struck by lightning. We gotta caveman to find." He led her towards the door by the hand to search for Java.

"Martin, wait!" There was still something she had to know, something that still bothered her. She had to know about Jenny, even if the truth hurt.

He turned back to her, still holding her hand as his expressive eyes tried to interpret her sudden nervousness.

"Did you...you know," she chuckled softly, feeling silly for even thinking about asking him. "I mean, you and Jenny?" Why was it so hard to ask it? Was it because of the thought of them two together? She didn't wanna know his answer, but she had to. He looked at her blankly, urging her to to finish the sentence with his hand. She blew her hair out of her eyes with a deep breath. "Did you sleep with Jenny?" There. It was out. She was thankful it was dark, but she was sure the red on her face was redder than any little red dress and illuminated by the flash of lightning..

"What?" Pure shock replaced the blank expression. "No!" He didn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of the question or be hurt by the insinuation. "No, Di." If he had, Diana would have been the first to know. Jenny's big mouth would have told her. "What made you think that?"

"In my dream, vision, whatever, you were with Jenny."

"Whatever it was, it was wrong. It never happened. It never will." She sighed silently to herself in relief, tightening her grip on his hand. "You been dreaming about me, Di?" he asked, changing the subject for her benefit. "What kind of dreams, huh?"

"I haven't been dreaming of you, Martin," she replied defensively, trying to hide a smile. "You're delusional."

"Follow your dream boy, Di," he grinned back at her over his shoulder as he walked through the now completely open door, the destroyed door laying on the ground thanks to the I-cutters.

"You're not my dream boy, Martin,"

"Yes, I am. You know I'm right and you don't wanna admit it that I'm right."

"Shut up, Martin," she sighed, following him into the door, gingerly stepping over it. "Just...find Java."

Come on, I couldn't kill Diana! That would be mean. Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! All of you keep this story going! Lotsa love to all of you!