Authors note: Update!! Thanks to everyone for nice comments, especially ToolittleToolate. Well keep reviewing!! I took a long time over this chapter. I wanted to describe everything perfectly. I hope the extra effort has payed off
Chapter 8 – Everything Burns
"Reno…?" Elena suddenly recognised the look on his face. It was lust.
"Elena… I think I realised why Claudia always hated you." This wasn't what she expected.
"W-why?"
"She was jealous. It's obvious isn't it?"
"Jealous?"
"You…are the most beautiful girl I've ever layed eyes on. I think we should take Claudia down…together. Even if we have to go with her."
Elena looked at him. There was something not quite right. He had a slightly…crazed look in is eyes. It was scaring her slightly. She searched around in her bag. Finding the right material, she cast "Sleepel" on him. It was the first thing that came to her head. Something was definitely wrong.
As he sat unconscious on the couch, she dialled Tseng's number again on Reno's cellphone.
"Reno, if that's you, get lost. It's late." Came her reply
"Actually, it's not Reno, it's Elena."
"Oh, sorry. What's up?"
"I think there is something wrong with Reno."
"We all know that already."
"No..no. He's acting so weird. I had to put him to sleep, he was scaring me."
"Hmm…sounds strange. Did anything else happen while you were with Claudia?"
Elena looked at Reno, sleeping peacefully. "I don't know."
She was cut off by a piercing scream. It was the kind that made even the toughest of men want to curl up and cry with sorrow.
"What the fuck was that?" Came Tseng's urgent voice.
"That…was Reno."
"What the hell is wrong with him?"
"I really don't know." She was panicking now.
"Listen, can you manage until tomorrow morning?"
"I guess I'll have to."
Shaking slightly, Elena walked up to Reno's still form. He hadn't made a sound other than that scream. Looking at him, she saw a solitary tear running down his face. She sat down next to him, a hand on his warm forehead. What had happened in Reno's dream that had made him cry out like that. She nearly screamed herself when she heard a voice from below her.
"That fun, is it?" he said, cockily. She had been absent-mindedly playing with a stray bit of his fiery hair.
"Sorry." She said quickly.
"Heh, don't be." He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her down to his level.
"Reno, do you remember anything that happened before you went to sleep?" she asked awkwardly.
"I remember seeing you." The lustful look was still in his eyes, but the crazed one had vanished. Whether it would be back or not, she could not say. But she couldn't stop herself from liking the way he was looking at her. He put his hand on her face. his long, slender fingers inter-twined with her blond hair.
"Reno…" she began. She was cut off by Reno pulling her into a kiss. Long and passionate. It would be a long time before she would admit that was her first kiss. With people like Claudia around, boys didn't have much time for her. That was what she liked about Reno. Although he seemed to type to be turned on by short skirts and makeup, he wasn't.
After what seemed like an eternity, Reno pulled away sharply. Elena looked up at him.
"Reno?" he had a new look in his eyes: desperation. He gasped slightly before his face slackened and his eyes closed. She laid him back down on the couch. He seemed okay, she wasn't sure if he was in any pain or not. When was Tseng coming? It was 7:30 am. Where had the night gone? Suddenly, there was a sharp knock at the door. Pulling it open, she saw Tseng, his eyes filled with concern.
"Where is he?" he said quickly.
"Through here," she led the way into Reno's living room. "He's unconscious now."
Tseng rushed towards Reno. "Where was he shot?"
She opened his shirt and pointed to where blood was staring to soak through the bandages. Tseng took them off to reveal the open wound. He stood back up straight and searched for something in his pocket. At last he pulled out a pair of tweezers.
"Ummm…" Elena began. He put his hand up to stop her. Elena turned away, eyes tightly shut. She hated blood, and she definitely didn't want to see Tseng searching around inside someone's body with a pair of tweezers.
"Look." Came his sharp voice. Elena turned around. Held between the tweezers was a small, bloody item. It looked distinctly like a computer chip.
"What the hell is that?" She said loudly.
"I think you were a bit squeamish to remove the bullet, weren't you? This was inside it."
"But what is it?"
"Not a clue. We'll have to get someone onto that." He put the chip in a small plastic bag and put it, along with the tweezers back in his pocket.
