A/n: Please tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you! :)
Disclaimer: FT doesn't belong to me!
Kinana was beginning to panic when, after what felt like a lifetime, the lights finally switched back on. Her eyes stretched wide when she took in the scene in front of her - the stage was ruined, shards of glass were scattered all over the place, and Erik and Natsu had both collapsed onto the ground.
"Erik!" She exclaimed, her voice filled with concern and shock. "You're hurt!"
He grunted as he pushed himself up, giving her a lopsided grin as she examined a long scratch bleeding heavily on his arm. "This? Don't worry, it's just a small scratch. I've had worse," he reassured her, but couldn't stop himself from grimacing when she tried to help him up. To distract her, he added, "Mr. Dragneel isn't in as good a shape as I am, though." He pointed to where the pink-haired policeman lay unconscious on the ground. He looked like he had taken the most damage from the chandelier's hit.
When Kinana continued looking at him with doubt in her eyes, he sighed. "Really, I'm fine. I wasn't a gang leader for nothing, you know." He instantly regretted his words when she shifted uncomfortably. Just when they were finally on friendly terms, he had to go and ruin it. You're an idiot, Cobra, he groaned inwardly, instantly regretting his words.
He was good at dealing with women, but he knew nothing when it came to women like her. All the women he'd encountered were the same - spoiled, wicked, and cruel - but Kinana was innocent. He didn't want to taint her, to drag her into his world like this. He didn't want to put her in danger, not when she already had so much to deal with. Maybe it would be for the best for her to forget him. Maybe it was better to never see her again.
But before she give him a piece of her mind, thundering footsteps announced the arrival of the police. "What on earth happened?" Gildarts demanded, surveying the room with surprise.
"I thought you were keeping an eye on the security camera," Erik glared at the older man. "You were supposed to be protecting her! How can you let someone almost kill her right under your nose? Damn it!" He threw a punch towards the ground in frustration, but winced in pain from his injuries.
Kinana stirred at his outburst. "Gildarts, someone tried to kill me," she said softly, walking towards him. She was close to crying again, but she wasn't going to show her weakness to them. Crying wasn't going to solve anything. "And I know it wasn't Erik. If he and Natsu hadn't gotten there in time, I...I wouldn't be alive."
"We don't have any evidence to prove that," Gildarts said dryly. "And I'm afraid a deal's a deal. We'll have to keep him locked up for a little while. That's the price he had to pay for coming out here so he could listen to your concert."
Kinana stared disbelievingly at the detective at his revelation. Erik...he'd sacrificed himself just to be there for her?
She turned around and knelt down next to Erik. "You...you idiot!" she cried, striking her fist against his broad chest. He looked away at her outburst, but didn't move a muscle as she continued to hit him weakly. He knew he deserved her anger. "Why would you do that? You'd just gotten out of jail...you had your life in front of you! Why would you just offer yourself to them like that?" It wasn't just Erik, either. Laki had died because Kinana refused to give up. And now, Erik was going to jail because of her.
Kinana hated herself. She hated herself for being so selfish, and for not being able to do anything while her friends tried to protect her.
"You're not selfish," Erik murmured softly so that only she could hear. At the astonished look on her face, he chuckled. "People say I have a knack for reading minds, but now's not the time to talk about that. Don't worry, Kinana. I don't blame you for anything." He suddenly had an idea. It was probably better to cut off ties with her now, so that she'd run far away from him and never see him again. That would be the best choice, for both of them. He took a deep breath before continuing. "In fact, I'm doing this for myself. If you're going to call anyone selfish, it'd be me."
"You're not - " she started, but he pressed a finger to her lips.
"That's right, I am evil. I wanted to help you so I can clear my name. Isn't that selfish enough for you?" He hated seeing her get upset. But he hated himself even more when he was the one who made her upset. He couldn't meet her gaze as he gently pushed her away and glanced up at Gildarts. His chest tightened, but he ignored the emptiness inside him. "I'll come with you, but maybe you should unlock me first. It wouldn't do to drag Dragneel around with me when he's been hurt."
Gildarts nodded. Pulling out the key from Natsu's back pocket, he unlocked the handcuff so paramedics could take Natsu to the hospital. "Alright, let's go."
Kinana helplessly watched as Erik left for the second time in one night with her heart filled with pain. Was that their destiny?, she wondered, were they always meant to be apart? She had a feeling that he didn't mean those words, and that he'd only said them to protect her. Or maybe you're just telling yourself that, she thought bitterly. You shouldn't trust strangers so easily, Kinana. What if he really was using you all along?
Well...now she would never know. He was being taken away, and there was nothing she could do to stop him from leaving. She only wished that she could go back in time to when they first met, so she could ask him what his motive had been. But she couldn't do that now.
Unless...unless there was some way she could speak to him again.
She didn't dare cry again as her friends ran up to her with wide eyes, interrupting her from her thoughts. "Ki-chan! Kinana, are you alright?" Lucy gasped, pulling her into a tight hug.
"We wanted to come earlier, but we didn't want to interrupt," Levy apologized.
Kinana could only nod in response. Her mind was still in a daze after everything that had happened that night.
"We should go, too," Lucy said kindly. "This must have been such a hard night for you. Oh, I know! Why don't we have a sleepover at your place, Kinana? We can talk about anything, even boys, if you want to! It'll be fun!"
Levy pouted. "Oi, Lu-chan, we know you just want to talk about that pink-haired policeman. You've been staring at him all night!"
Lucy blushed. "I have not!" she protested. "Anyway, let's go. I've had enough of this place." she shuddered, staring at the aftermath of the accident as they helped Kinana to her feet and led her away.
Kinana wasn't in the mood for fun, but she was glad that her friends would be able to help her take her mind off the terrible events from that night. She didn't look back as she followed them, her mind whirling as she tried to come up with a plan.
It was all a dream. It was all a dream.
Kinana opened her eyes with a start, only to remember that everything that had happened had certainly not been a dream. The girls, after spending the night talking until their voices were hoarse and drank until the early hours of the morning, were sprawled out in Kinana's living room. They had forgotten to switch off the television, which was currently announcing the dreadful events from the previous night.
Kinana's head ached, and it wasn't just because of the alcohol. Why did she have to be reminded of that now?
"What a night this turned out to be!" The reporter was saying. "I feel so sorry for Kinana-chan, don't you? She lost her best friend, and Cobra almost took her life, all in one night! Cobra really is a snake, tricking her into trusting him, then betraying her trust. That's why I swore off men long ago. Kinana-chan, if you're hearing this, maybe you should too!"
Kinana wrinkled her nose in distaste and switched off the news. Feeling a little better, she went into the bathroom to take a shower. She hadn't bothered taking off her makeup from the night before, making her face look like an evil witch's. Jenny would certainly through a fit if she saw her now.
Kinana relaxed as she felt the warm water trickle down her body. She glanced down at a small scar on her knee, which she had obtained during her days at the orphanage. She had tried to climb a tree to help a cat who had gotten stuck, but lost her footing and fell, scraping her knee in the process.
She giggled as she remembered her childhood friend Eri, who had raced up to her shortly afterwards and scolded her for being so rash. "Cats can get down on their own, Kina!" He'd said angrily. "Cats can climb trees, not humans! What kind of dumb idea was that?"
They had come up with nicknames for each other because Eri's name was too hard for Kinana to pronounce. In return, she'd happily agreed to be called Kina, as she thought it was cute.
"Sorry, Eri," she whimpered sheepishly, grinning up at him.
He sighed. "If you have too many scars, no man will want to marry you when you grow up!"
Kinana had instantly felt sad, but suddenly brightened when a brilliant idea came to her. "If no man marries me, I'll get to marry you!"
A blush had spread across Eri's cheeks, but Kinana was too excited to notice. "When I said no man will want to marry you, that includes me!"
She pouted. "Hey, that's not nice!"
"Well...I might consider it if we get your knee treated first," he said, his cheeks red from embarrassment.
She then raced after him, giggling in excitement at the thought that Eri was going to be her future husband, oblivious to the fact that a pair of eyes had been gazing at them from the forest.
Kinana blinked water out of her eyes. She wondered how Eri was doing now. They had all been separated after Eri was transferred to another orphanage, and she was adopted by her foster parents. And their other friends, Richi and Sora, how were they? Did they know that Kinana was a singer? Did they know that she had failed her fans, and most importantly, failed the people closest to her?
She got out of the shower and stared at the pale, lifeless, reflection that gazed sullenly back at her. Her cheeks, usually fair and plump, were drained of color, and her bright green eyes were dull. Her hair was in a darker shade of violet as a result of her shower, and was plastered to her heart-shaped face. In other words, she looked like a ghost.
She made up her mind then. She was going to speak to Gildarts again if it was the last thing she did.
Because this was something that only she could do.
A/n: I updated faster this time! That's a record xD I'm so excited to write the story, especially now that the plot is thicker~ ohohoho ;0 Hope you enjoy it as much as I loved writing it! (sorry it's a little shorter than the first few chapters though, as this was a good stopping point xD)
leave a review if you liked it? :) Special thanks to Vilandel, MusicalArtist185, and reaper27 for reviewing the previous chapter! New readers are always welcome! :D