A/N: My finger is better, so I can type a lot faster. Thank-you for the reviews, they make me update quicker. :)

----O----

Ashelin leaned forward, gazing into Jak's ocean eyes. A surge of giddiness ran through her body….and the next thing she knew, a thick glass mug had made heavy contact with her shoulder, and her lap was doused in beer. (Which was not a good thing, having it be that she was clad in leather.) She sat there, stunned, until her soldier instincts kicked in and she was up and in a fighting stance. She looked around for the culprit, and immediately noticed Keira glaring at her from beside the filler machine. Her brain was bewildered.

"What the $&#$ was that for!" she screeched. Jak's head snapped in the mechanic's direction. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to try and calm them down before something catastrophic happened or just watch. He settled on watching, as did everybody else in the Hip Hog. It had gone deathly silent after the sound of the mug bouncing off of Ashelin and smashing on the ground. Tess put a delicate hand over her pink lips, Daxter stared blearily, not really comprehending the situation, and Erol was dazed.

"You know what, bitch," she uttered coldly. Ashelin's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked poisonously, pacing towards her, beer rolling down her legs. Keira was intimidated, but didn't show it.

"Of course, doesn't everybody? You're our beloved baron's princess," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Ashelin snarled.

"I really don't know what your problem is, but before you try anything else, know that I can kick your ass!" Keira's eyes flamed.

'What have I done? I have to control myself…don't want to go making this any worse…' Unfortunately, Keira's hand was not complying with her thoughts, and she found it making an extremely rude gesture at Ashelin. The blood ran to the red-head's tattooed face. She grabbed a man's beer and flung it at the aqua-haired woman.

"How's that feel, huh?" Keira grimaced in pain as the mug smacked into her left breast. The beer splashed onto her white t-shirt, soaking it thoroughly. A guy watching from one of the booths whistled. Crimson blossomed on Keira's cheeks. Jak stood up.

"Okay, that's enough," he commanded, grabbing Ashelin's arm and sitting her down on a seat. He went behind the counter and lightly pushed Keira towards the bathroom. She turned her head around and glowered at him.

"What?" he whispered. She huffed and strode into the restroom, slamming the door behind her. Jak shook his head and turned around. "What are you all looking at?" hesnapped angrily. The people in the booths turned to each other and started muttering. A few people were laughing. Jak growled. He approached Ashelin, who was breathing heavily, glaring at the restroom door. "Hey, are you okay?" Ashelin nodded.

"What was up with that girl?" she asked. Jak fidgeted.

"I don't know, I mean…she wasn't…" Ashelin shook her head.

"Never mind," she said. Why did Jak like that woman? Assuming he did. In that case, he had awful taste. "Look, why don't you check up on her? Make sure she's not destroying the sink or whatnot." Jak glanced at her with an unsure expression, then walked into the bathroom. Ashelin sighed. She wasn't going to just sit there with all these stupid citizens gawking at her; she got up and walked out of the bar.

xXIXx

Keira sat on the toilet seat in a stall, deeply regretting her actions. Her momentary rush of fury had simmered down and was replaced with sadness and remorse. What would her father say? She sighed gloomily. And Jak probably thought she was a total bitch now…why, oh why did she have to throw that stupid mug of beer at Ashelin? Jealousy, that's why. Guilt washed over Keira. Just earlier she was thinking about how horrible his transformations were and how they would affect their relationship, and the moment another girl started warming up to him, she turned into Keira-demon. Un-beckoned tears ran down her smooth cheeks. She ripped some toilet paper and hastily dabbed at her eyes. Did Jak love Ashelin now? He was going to let her kiss him….

The door opened. Keira sighed in relief, thinking it was Tess. Then she could tell her all of her thoughts and feelings, and Tess would comfort her like the friend she was. Back in Sandover Village she had never had a girl friend her age. She wiped the tears off of her cheeks and peeked beneath the stall door. Thick combat boots…not Tess.

"Keira?" a male voice called. Her brain froze. "Keira, I know you're in there. Can we talk?" Keira dried her eyes as best she could, but she knew that Jak would be able to tell that she had been crying. She opened the door hesitantly.

"I'm so sorry, Jak," she choked, her nose prickling again. "I was such a bitch back there and I-I-" Her voice broke. 'Damn these tears!" she thought. Jak smiled at her.

"It's alright, I understand," he said. Keira smiled weakly back. 'No, I don't think you do understand, Jak.' Jak shifted nervously, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Do you…do you love Ashelin?" Keira asked suddenly.

"Huh? Er, um…No!" Keira eyed him suspiciously. What else was he supposed to say? Jak felt extremely uncomfortable with all the romantic stuff. Sure, he'd like it if she maybe kissed him or something, but the dumb questions were getting annoying.

"You were going to let her kiss you," she pointed out. Jak inwardly sighed in frustration.

"Look Keira, let's not jump to conclusions, alright? I wasn't expecting it and she took me by surprise," he explained. Keira nodded, not looking at him.

"Would you kiss me?" she inquired.

'Rrrgh, this isn't 20 questions, Keira!' he thought to himself. Was she asking him whether or not he would, or if he would right then? "Of course!" he said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Keira frowned slightly.

"Okay. Sorry for asking the silly questions." She walked over to the sink and splashed some water on her face. Jak sighed in frustration. There was always some wicked little feeling lying underneath all the normal talk. Keira would act detached, and Jak wouldn't know what to do.

"Listen," he started. "If there's something we need to talk about…" He didn't know how to finish the sentence. Keira rubbed the bags under her eyes, peering at her reflection in the dingy mirror.

"I don't think there's anything, Jak," she replied. Jak ran over all the possibilities in his head. Maybe it was because he didn't kiss her…? Yeah, that's probably what it was about, and the question too. He touched her arm lightly, and she flinched. Or maybe it was his dark transformations. She wasn't communicating with him, so he would have to find out for himself. He gently tugged her arm so that she faced him. He leaned towards her, his eyes closing. Keira's gasped softly in shock, and ducked her head to the side. Jak's lips met the base of her ear. He realized this and blushed.

"I'm sorry, Keira! I thought you wanted, uh, a kiss…or something…" he trailed off, embarrassed. Keira's cheeks were flushed. 'What are you doing!' her brain screamed at her. 'Why did you DUCK!' Jak looked at her nevously. 'Oh damn…' she thought. Luckily for her, Tess chose that moment to open the door.

"Hey, Keir? Are-" Tess suddenly noticed Jak. "Do you think you could leave us alone for a second?" she asked him. Jak looked slightly miffed, but left anyway.

"Hi Tess," she said, taking a deep breath. Tess scowled.

"That man wasn't trying anything on you, was he?" she asked. Keira shook her head. "Are you okay?" she questioned, concerned. Tess looked thoughtful. "I guess you really do like that guy," she said, as if the concept was ridiculous. "But picking a fight with the baron's daughter was a bad idea, Keir," she said.

"Of course I know that, Tess," she said. "But it was a spur of the moment kind of thing, you know?" Tess nodded. Keira sat down on the sink and Tess seated herself on the top of the garbage can. Keira proceeded to spill her feelings to Tess, who listened quietly.

"-and I feel so awful about how my feelings just switch! It's horrible," she said dejectedly. Tess nodded.

"Well, if I were you I would dump the guy and never see him again, but seeing as you seem to like him so much, I think you should let him have a chance. Let your walls down around him! But make sure that he doesn't go phsyco and kill you," Tess warned. Keira groaned.

"But that's exactly my problem! How am I supposed to be normal around him when I'm afraid that he'll eat me or something!" she exclaimed.

"That's simple," said Tess. "Talk to him about it." Keira sighed.

"That's always so much easier said than done." But she knew that Tess was right. Tess patted her on the back.

"It's okay," she said. "Once you get it over with, things will be so much better!" Keira had a bad feeling about it, but smiled.

"Thanks Tess," she said. "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."

"No problem!" she chirped. "Speaking of friends, where's Erol?" Keira shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "I think we should get going now. I want to go take a look at my apartment!" Keira took Tess's arm and pulled her out the door.

xXIXx

"Oh my goodness," Keira said faintly. Tess glanced at her nervously.

"Cheer up, it's not as bad as it could have been!" she said. Keira gave her a look.

"Just look at the place!" She pointed to the table, which was covered in dried blood. The wrapping paper from her birthday was still there, splattered with the rust-colored crust. Light bulb shards and scraps of rubble littered the ground, and a foul stench had settled in her apartment. Jak himself hadn't done too much damage, but the huge rats and other animals had rummaged through her stuff, making a mess.

Tess frowned. "You're welcome to stay at the Hip Hog," she offered. Keira smiled, but it wasn't a very happy one.

"Thanks a lot, Tess," she said gratefully. "I'd like to come here periodically and fix the place up, though." Tess nodded. "Hang on a sec, I want to go and get some stuff to take with me," she said, walking into her ruined home. She grabbed her black tool belt from off of the floor and strapped it around her waist. Then she picked up a few more tools, including the wrench she had gotten from her birthday. The small amount of money that she had kept in a jar had been stolen, but luckily the majority had been kept in her wallet. "Okay, I think that's all I'll need," she said. Tess grinned.

"Let's go back to the Hip Hog and find Erol," she said, getting into the zoomer. Keira nodded and got in the passenger seat, and they left her wrecked apartment.

xXIXx

Theyentered the Hip Hog to find Krew floating around in his flying basket chair. Keira stepped back in repulsion.

"Where were you Tess? I need you to tell me what exactly went on just earlier, mmm? All these stupid customers keep telling me different stories," he rumbled. Tess made a face at his bad breath.

"There was a minor fight with the Baron Praxis's daughter andmy friendhere, okay? It was nothing big," she said impatiently, pushing past him. Krew scrutinized Keira.

"So, you've been getting in fights at my bar while I've been absent, eh?" he said in his loathsome voice. "I might have to kick you out next time, you hear?" Keira nodded, holding her breath. She ran a bit to catch up with Tess and get away from Krew. Tess was walking up to Erol, who was perched on one of the bar stools.

"Hey Erol!" she greeted cheerily. Erol grunted. Keira stood next to Tess.

"Throwing a mug of beer at Ashelin Praxis…that was pretty awesome, Keira!" he lied. In reality, the fact that she had done it out of possessiveness for Jak had put him in a rather sour mood. Keira shrugged, looking ashamed. "Hey, it's okay," he said.

"We went to visit Keira's apartment," Tess said. "It wasn't totally destroyed or anything, but it was pretty run-down." Erol looked apologetically at Keira.

"I'm sorry about that," he said to her. Keira smiled.

"You don't need to be sorry, you had nothing to do with it!" she said.

"Keira's going to be staying in the back room a bit longer until we can fix up her apartment," she informed Erol. Krew, who had been drifting around above them, overheard.

"The back room is for employees only, mmm?" he said. "I would allow her the chance to work here without pay to be able to use the back room, but I'm afraid that I don't want troublemakers starting fights and driving away customers." He fanned himself and glared at Keira, who blushed in shame.

"Please sir," she said, "I promise that I won't-" Krew shook his head.

"No no, I don't think so. I need to make a business, eh?" Then he floated off, leaving an upset Keira behind him.

"What will I do, Tess?" she asked miserably. "I don't think I can stay at my old apartment!" Tess bit her lip with worry. Erol leapt at precious opportunity.

"She could always stay at my apartment!"

----O----

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I thought it was a good place to leave off, though. Keira living with Erol…hmmm. -Evil thoughts-