A/N: Well, first off, I just wanted to let you know right now that I'm NOT planning on changing the pairing. Just thought you should be assured about that. I didn't expect last chapter's shocker either…it sort of just happened. Oh well. More problems to work around.

Disclaimer: I do not own GX.

Chapter 8: Resentment

Alexis stole out into the hall, trying to make her escape. Since it was early in the morning, she figured she could make it past Sartorius and the other Society members. It didn't matter, really, how she did it. All that mattered was that she tore free from her bonds.

Once she'd found the entrance, she paused and turned back to look sadly at Sartorius' door. Maybe just one more visit could cause her some good. Feeling bitter hurt at the thought of how she'd betrayed him, she slipped down the hall and stopped at his door. Her hand ran over the smooth grain of the dark wood, then dropped by her side. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of losing him. Sighing heavily, filled with utter defeat and depression, she pushed the door open and dared to look in his room. Quietly, she slipped inside and shut the door behind her.

Wordlessly, she approached his bed and perched on the edge, gazing down upon him. Her golden eyes softened as she watched him sleep peacefully. Carefully, she placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it gently. Then, leaning down, touching his cool forehead with a trembling hand, she let her lips graze his in a gentle kiss. A murmured apology escaped her lips as she kissed his face again. How she hated to leave him and the Society behind! But was she honestly doing them a favor by staying? By hurting other people? No, she wasn't. She must be strong and leave him behind. Otherwise, they'd both end up worse off than before.

Sighing, she rose to her feet and stepped over to his desk. A tear dropped down and fell upon some papers as she reached around and unclasped the necklace, then dropped it to the carpet. Sniffing, she picked up a piece of parchment and a fountain pen, and began to write a short note. She stopped before she was finished, angrily crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash can.

Seeing he was stirring from his sleep, she rushed out the door and shut it, then hurried out the dorm entrance. She did not stop once she'd begun. She ran all the way to the Slifer dorm, then collapsed against the wall, tears streaming steadily down her face. Why did she have to love him more than her very life? Did she really have to abandon him? Life had been more than cruel to her.

She held her head in her hands, curling up against the wall, and mourned her loss. She had left him behind; she'd left the entire Society behind, betrayed them. Would they ever accept her back if she asked? Should she dare to even think about returning when she'd committed the most heinous crime of all? Perhaps it would be better if she were put to immediate death for her actions.

Her tears dropped to the soil, unnoticed by her due to her immense grief. Her sobs racked her body; she found it difficult to breathe. She did not know just how loudly she was crying out.

After several minutes, she became aware of another presence. Pulling her head out of her knees, she saw a shadow falling across her. Fearfully, she gazed up. The rising sun only outlined his figure; he was a mere silhouette. She bit her lip to hold back the gasp that was rising in her throat. Could he be…her savior? Her answer? Perhaps he could find the compassion in his heart to aid her in her time of need.

She only stared up at him. The wind blew his brown hair, whipping it against his face gently. His eyes regarded her with gentle concern, the kindest expression she'd seen in eons on his face. Kneeling down, he stared into her eyes, soft chocolate brown against shimmering amber gold. He took her hands in his and squeezed them. Neither spoke for the moment.

She realized that he understood she was in the most unimaginable pain. For this, she was grateful. Perhaps he wasn't as dimwitted as she'd have liked to believe. Perhaps it had been her bitter resentment of his obvious disregard and discomfort that caused her to overlook his true understanding of the world around him. Then again, it could have all been due to her heartbreak.

Taking her face in his hands, he forced her to look upon him once more. She gritted her teeth, her eyes tearing up. Finally, he brought her close in his arms and embraced her tightly.

"Alexis…"

She swallowed hard, then licked her lips. She tried to open her mouth to say his name, but it caught in her throat. Figuring this was a sign that she should not accept his comfort and cause herself more trouble, she tried to pull away from him. However, he held fast, determined. He would not allow her to self destruct.

Eventually, she could not help but give in. Slowly, her arms slipped around his waist, and she held him back, placing her chin on his shoulder. The tears fell to his red jacket as she held him closer, burying her nose in his soft hair.

"I'm sorry," He told her, squeezing tighter, "I should've never abandoned you. I wasn't a very good friend. But I promise I'll make up for it."

She sniffed and nodded. "I know you didn't mean it…Jaden."

"I thought you…"

"I'm done with the Society." She told him, sniffing. "I'm leaving them."

He looked down at her in disbelief momentarily, then smiled and laughed a bit. "That's great! I'm so glad. We really missed you." He hugged her again and helped her to her feet. "If you need any help with anything…I'm here, Ok?"

She just followed him as he went back inside the dorm. "I'll stay here, I suppose. I mean, all the Obelisk dorms are the White dorms now…"

"You can stay in Chazz's old room," He told her, then, looked a bit downcast. "How is he, anyway?"

She froze, then sighed heavily. "Not so good. He can't really leave. And something tells me he won't ever leave. But that's another story…"

He looked puzzled. "Well, you can tell me."

She shook her head. "He just can't come back…he can never come back. At least not alive. If he did…he'd be killed. After all, he and I have betrayed Sartorius…" She swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut in pain before continuing, "And he has to take the blame so I might escape…"

Jaden grabbed her shoulders, his brow furrowed in concern. "Hey, Lex, don't worry about it, Ok? We can save him too. Just leave it to me."

"You don't understand, Jaden," She murmured, "I have no desire to be reminded of my mistakes. Neither does he. We both agreed that it would be better for him to stay behind and take the blame. He wants to do it for me."

Dizziness overwhelmed her all of the sudden. She fell against the wall, then began to slide down to the floor. Quickly, he grasped her shoulders and steadied her.

"Easy there. You look really tired. I'll just take you to your room, Ok?"

She nodded and allowed him to place his arm around her waist and lead her back to the room. Once inside, she collapsed on the green couch that occupied the corner. He left the room, then returned with some of her things. Gladly, she accepted them.

"Jaden, I'm going to go shower and change. I want you to stay," She took a deep breath before continuing, "I want to tell you everything that you need to know about what happened."

"Ok, well, in that case, I'll get the others." He turned and started to walk out. Quickly, she grasped his shoulder and stopped him.

"No, this is private. I don't need anyone else to find out about this. It's really personal, and I don't necessarily want to tell you, but you must know. After all, it's what you're up against too. It's only fair that I warn you."

Looking bewildered, he only nodded and sat back down on the couch to wait for her. She hurried into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. As the water ran over her, she thought about what she had done. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

Finally, she turned the water off and quickly dried herself before redressing in the Obelisk uniform. Then, she rushed out into the adjacent room, hoping Jaden would still be waiting for her. Indeed, he was just as she'd left him, sitting on the couch. He'd opened the window, and the wind was once more playing with his hair. Sighing heavily, she seated herself next to him and waited for him to notice her.

His eyes slid in her direction. "Well?"

She looked away from him. "Jaden…they're going to go after you. I fear they might even kill you…"

"Why would they?"

"Because they're willing to do anything to get rid of you. I haven't ever heard them say anything about killing you, but I wouldn't put it past them. That's not all though."

He cocked his head a bit to one side. "Well?"

"I suppose I have no choice but to tell you the whole story," She sighed, "Just please promise you won't hate me for the mistakes I've made."

"Of course not! Go on. I'll listen." He propped himself on his elbow and waited.

Taking a deep breath, she related the entire story to him. She left nothing about her dealings with the Society out, not even her relationship with Sartorius or her tryst with Chazz. As she went on, his eyes grew wider and wider. It was apparent that he was more than shocked. By the time she had finished telling about everything that had happened, he was shaking his head, his eyes glued to the ground. There was a long and uncomfortable silence. Finally:

"I can't believe that…you actually…with…"

"Sorry," She muttered, embarrassed, "I should've known better but…I guess I just let my feelings get the better of me. I really hope you can forgive me."

"Forgive you?" He frowned slightly, causing her to cringe in regret.

"I'm sorry, I know you can't but--" She began.

He cut her off by throwing his arms around her in a tight hug. "Oh, Lex, I could never hold anything like that against you. It's all right. You don't need my forgiveness. Why would I even be mad? It's your life, after all. It's all right."

She stared up at him in disbelief. "Really? It's all right?"

He smiled and nodded. "Of course. Now are we going to save Chazz or what?"

"We can't really do that…Sartorius--"

"Don't worry about him," Jaden assured her, "We'll get Chazz out, Ok?"

"I can't go back so soon," She protested.

"If what you've told me is true, then yes, we can," He insisted, standing, "Otherwise, Chazz will die."

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Chazz sat inside his room, fretting. He knew it would not be long until Sartorius sent for him. He knew Sartorius knew. After all, the elite ruler of the Society knew all. Nothing escaped his scrupulous gaze. He could only hope that Sartorius would be compassionate and have some mercy on him.

He had to admit, it had taken quite some nerve to defy Sartorius like he had. After that, he owed the man allegiance for the rest of his pathetic life. He had, indeed, been one of the main reasons Alexis had left, for he had encouraged her. Not to mention he'd had sex with her. Those reasons alone could cause him to be cast out. However, he had been contemplating leaving the Society and been speaking ill of it; he'd been disobeying and disrespecting his master and his beliefs, which would, indeed, bring him certain punishment.

He sighed heavily as he stared out the window. Yes, Alexis was gone. And she most certainly would not be coming back, not even to check up on him. He didn't blame her. In a way, he'd sort of betrayed her. And he felt unimaginable guilt about it. More than anything, he wished he could've taken it back. Well, what had been done was done. There was no use thinking on what could've happened. He might as well accept his mistake and his punishment.

Sure enough, not ten minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. Reluctantly, he rose to his feet and answered it. He groaned when he saw Bastion with a serious expression on his face. So Bastion was his replacement…

"Good morning, Chazz," Bastion said curtly, "The Master wishes to speak with you. I insist that you come immediately. It's urgent."

"Fine," Chazz snapped, trying to sound irritated, however, deep inside, he was terrified.

Bastion led him down the hall. Neither of them spoke a single word, which led Chazz to believe that he was in even more trouble than he'd originally believed. Feeling sicker to his stomach, he swallowed hard and tried to calm the fear rising in his throat. The last thing he needed was a panic attack or an emotional breakdown.

Much to his dismay, Bastion grasped him by the wrist and threw him into Sartorius' office. The door slammed and locked behind him. He swallowed hard and looked at Sartorius' leather chair. The psychic had his back turned on Chazz, which, as he knew, meant that he was very angry.

"Come closer, Mr. Princeton."

Chazz gulped and did as his master had requested.

"Have a seat." Sartorius said tersely, his tone cold.

Chazz had no choice but to seat himself uncomfortably in the armed chair before the polished desk. He shifted a few times, trying to get comfortable before giving up. The long silence made it impossible to relax.

Finally, Sartorius turned his chair. He set his elbows on the desk, and rested his chin on his hands, staring Chazz in the eyes. Sighing heavily with disappointment, he frowned.

"I expected better of you, Mr. Princeton," He said, shaking his head, "I really regret putting you over the Society, only under myself. How could you abuse that power? How could you sabotage your chances at obtaining more power?"

Chazz swallowed hard, his mouth going dry. "I don't know, sir."

"Of course you don't know!" Sartorius snapped, "You NEVER know. Now, let me ask one thing; after all you've already said about the Society behind my back, after all you've done to push Miss Rhodes away from us, do you really expect me to give you any more rewards or authority?"

He swallowed again, then shook his head. "No sir."

"And, on top of all that, you had to have relations with Miss Rhodes, the woman you KNEW I had my eye on? Did you honestly believe I wouldn't know? Did you honestly believe you'd get away with it? I have another question…what were you thinking?!" Sartorius raised his voice, "I should have you banned from this Society for eternity!"

Chazz looked down, wringing his hands. "Master…"

"Really, what do you have to say for yourself? What do you have to say in your defense?"

"Well, it's not exactly my fault she was afraid to keep going on like--"

"Don't even bother," Sartorius snapped, "She's gone now, and it's your fault! YOU were the one to talk her into leaving. It was YOUR idea. How dare you, you traitor!"

"But, did she really--"

"Does this explain anything to you?" Sartorius asked angrily, holding up a heart pendant dangling from a chain. "I found this on my floor."

Chazz opened his mouth then closed it, uncertain of how to react. Finally, he weakly nodded and squeezed his eyes shut in regret.

"And this." He held up the crumpled up note, "I found it in my trash can. It doesn't say much, but it says enough. And I know YOU were the cause."

He stood and circled around to Chazz's seat. Chazz swallowed hard as Sartorius stopped in front of him, and looked down. His face twisted into an expression of sympathy.

"Poor Mr. Princeton," He said, shaking his head, "He's SO confused. Whatever can we do?" Suddenly, he seized Chazz by the collar of his jacket and slammed him against the wall, holding him tightly around the neck so he couldn't breathe. "Let this be a warning to you, if you do ANYTHING of this sort again, I will kill you! Do you understand me?"

Chazz tried to push his hands away, struggling with the older man. Sartorius only gripped his neck tighter, choking him.

"Please…stop…" Chazz gasped, clawing at his hands, "I'm sorry…I'll stop…I swear…"

"Is that really true? I bet not. You're lying," Sartorius growled, his eyes flashing with hatred, "I can't take another chance with you. I must end your life now!"

Chazz kicked and fought, however, Sartorius was far too strong. Overcome by anger, he slammed Chazz against the wall again and again, until he was barely conscious. The entire time, he screamed at him, reprimanding him for touching Alexis. Chazz begged for mercy, however, Sartorius ignored him and only slammed him against his desk. He pushed the younger boy around for several minutes, until he'd had enough fooling around.

"I'm done with you," He hissed, taking Chazz up by the collar and opening the window. "Farewell."

Chazz squeezed his eyes shut, ready to fall to his doom. Just before Sartorius released him, the door opened and Jaden and Alexis rushed in. Sartorius turned and stared at them, a look of horror on his thin face.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"What are you doing?!" Alexis gasped, seeing him holding Chazz out the window, "Put him down!"

Sartorius' face darkened. He glared and opened his mouth to yell at her, however, for some reason, he stopped. It seemed as though he were debating with himself. After a moment's thought, he pulled Chazz back in the window and dropped him to the floor. He soon sank down to the floor as well, holding his face in his hand.

"I am deeply sorry," He murmured, looking pained, "I don't know what to say for myself…I just…lost control. Please excuse my behavior."

Chazz sat on the floor, his eyes wide. Finally, he managed to shake himself of his paralyzed state and move away from Sartorius. Jaden and Alexis rushed over to him, and helped him to his feet.

"Leave him alone!" Jaden snapped, hugging the shaken boy, "Just because he messed up doesn't mean you have to kill him! What sort of person are you?"

"I'm sorry," Sartorius muttered, looking genuinely grieved.

Alexis glared at him, her eyes full of contempt. She held tightly on to Chazz's other arm. "How do you expect me to trust you," She whispered angrily, "when you hurt one of my best friends? Now I know for sure that I cannot trust you. And I'm sorry I ever gave any allegiance or any love to a person as selfish and heartless as you!"

Having said that, she and Jaden began to lead Chazz out the door, still holding on to his arms and trying to comfort him. Right before they could exit, however, Sartorius grabbed Alexis' arm.

"Please reconsider," he begged, his eyes sorrowful, "Please, I need you here with me. I love you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I know I messed up. I know I betrayed you. And I really was sorry. But I'm not sure if I'm so sorry anymore. You hurt my best friend. You tried to kill him. That, I cannot be so quick to forgive. Once you forgive him and make amends, and once you can find him trustworthy again, then will I reconsider." With one final sniff of indignation, she marched out, dragging Chazz and Jaden with her.

"You didn't have to do that for me," Chazz muttered, avoiding her gaze, "I told you not to get involved--"

"I DON'T CARE!!" She shouted, turning towards him and pointing a finger in his face, "You almost DIED, Chazz Princeton. Am I not supposed to care? I knew he would do something like this. And now, it's apparent that we have to get to the bottom of this strange behavior. It's almost as though he's two different people trapped in one body."

"I think we should duel him, then," Jaden suggested, "After all, the truth always comes out in a duel."

"Well, in that case, I'll duel him," Chazz growled, "I have to make sure that Alexis is safe at all costs, even if it gets me in more trouble."

Alexis whirled around and glared at him. "No way. I just got finished saving your pathetic ass. If you really want to do me a favor, then let ME duel him."

Jaden and Chazz exchanged a glance. They seemed uncomfortable with the idea; however, they had no choice.

"Oh, come on, you guys!" She insisted, "At least let me do this much. I only slept with him several times! He's someone I love greatly. Please, this is my duty. It's my place to do this for him and for us."

"Hey, now wait a minute," Chazz protested, "I can't let you get hurt again. I'd have to kill myself if you did. Because I swore to myself that I'd never let that creep abuse you again!"

"He's NOT a creep," She growled, "He's NOT always like that. Something's wrong and we have to get to the bottom of this. Since I'm the one closest to him, I have to do this."

"But, Lex, I love you and--" Chazz began.

"Save it, Princeton," Alexis interrupted, then, sighing and taking his hands, "I'm sorry, Chazz. I really am. I've been a bit mean to you but that's because I'm so terribly upset. Try to understand why I'm acting like this and what I'm going through. Please just let me do this."

He hesitated a moment, then nodded. "All right, Lexi. I guess it's only fair. It does make sense. But if you need any help…"

"Then I have you and Jaden as back up," She finished, smiling a bit. "See? It's going to be Ok. Now, come on, let's get these cuts cleaned up."

He only smiled weakly at her as she took his arm again. No matter what, she was determined to find out what was wrong with Sartorius. She would not entirely abandon him, but as long as he was treating her so terribly, she would resent him and keep her distance. It was what was best for them. She figured she could eventually find a way to bring him to his senses. Question was, could he change in time for her to take him back?

A/N: Sorry that the ending was kind of weak. I just didn't really know how to end it. That's one of the hardest parts of the chapter. Oh well, I hope that you enjoyed it all the same.