YAY! A lot sooner than expected – the long-awaited sixteenth chapter. I was in a good mood when I wrote this, despite the fact that I'm struggling to find inspiration for this story and I still have mild writer's block, so it's more fluffiness and stuff rather than progressing with the story, but I still hope it's enjoyable. Thank you, thank you, thank you all so much your wonderful support! I am eternally grateful!
The microwave beeped loudly, Jaina rushed forward, swinging the door open and reaching in to grab the bag of popcorn.
"Shoot!" She muttered in annoyance as her fingers brushed against the fiery-hot surface of the popcorn bag. She reached across the counter and grabbed a large plastic bowl. Tucking her fingers inside the sleeve of her sweatshirt, she picked up the popcorn bag by a corner, ripping a small hole in the opposite side with her canines, and tipping the contents into the plastic bowl – balanced on her other arm – with great difficulty, but success. Cradling the bowl, she walked into one of the living rooms, where she had seen Cale go into earlier. She peeped her head in around the door. Cale was sitting on the windowsill, gazing down into the indoor streets of Genesis Stadium. He looked up as she entered, his face somewhat expressionless. Plastering the cutest grin that she could conjure up onto her face, Jaina proudly held out that popcorn bowl.
"You wanna watch a movie?" She asked.
Cale raised an eyebrow and smirked. He shrugged, moving to sit on the couch.
"I need to get my mind off things," explained Jaina, sitting beside his, snuggling her precious bowl of popcorn in-between them, "Being dumped, and attacked, and seeing my ex-boyfriend almost dead all in the same twenty-four hours is a little overwhelming." Cale nodded slowly in understanding, wishing he knew what to say and what to do.
"Speaking of which, are you ok? What the heck was going on with you and your dad?" Cale knew that she was just concerned, but this was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He didn't even fully understand his relationship with his father. There was too much sin and hate, too much complexity.
"We're not exactly close."
Jaina could tell she probably shouldn't ask any more questions. Cale's eyes were downcast, his hands clenched into fists, and his mouth was set in a thin, straight line. Instead, she picked up a handful of popcorn and chucked it at Cale. Instinctively, he threw his arms up to protect himself. Little pieces of popcorn showered down on him, causing Cale to look around in utter confusion, sending Jaina into a giggle fit. Hopelessly baffled, and not quite sure what to make of the odd situation, Cale simply stared at the giggling girl, who was apparently having difficulty breathing.
"When somebody throws food at you, you're meant to throw food back," laughed Jaina. Cale didn't budge. His mouth didn't even twitch, but his eyes were sort of shimmering. "You know, like a food fight?" Still nothing. Jaina sighed sadly. "You must have had a very deprived childhood." She leaned back on the couch, thinking to herself. She had only shut her mouth four seconds ago, but the silence was making her uncomfortable.
"So…what do you want to watch?"
"I don't mind."
Jaina thought for a moment. "How about something old, like really old?"
"Ok, sure. Let's go with that then."
"Obi-Wan told me you killed my father!"
"No Luke, I am your father!"
Despite himself, Cale couldn't help but gasp. "What?" He mouthed, staring dumbfounded at the screen, his eyes wide in shock.
"Oh come on!" Cried Jaina, "You seriously didn't know that? How could you not know that? This movie has been out for centuries! Everyone knows that!"
"How…did that happen?" Cale asked, shocked.
Jaina snorted. "He's his dad…it…happened…"
"But..."
"Just watch the movie, it'll make sense later."
Tia crossed her arms, a brief flicker of confusion, or perhaps doubt, crossing her features. "Cale? He did this?"
"Yeah…"
"Why would he attack you?"
"I don't know," Aidan groaned, "He's psychotic!"
"Hmm…ok…" Tia murmured doubtfully, taking a few notes, "Do you have any witnesses of Cale's brutal attack, of which, you were an unfortunate victim? In case Cale should deny the accusations made against him, when he is questioned."
"Yes, I do."
After having coffee with Rocket, Mei decided to wander. She liked Genesis at night…it quieted down a little, sort of like an airport. It was a peaceful atmosphere, a good place to think. Clutching a styrofoam cup of coffee in her hand (she'd been addicted to the stuff for over a decade) Mei walked halfway across a bridge, overlooking the transportation rails, and leaned against the side, sipping her drink. She looked around sadly, remembering all those years ago, when she and D'Jok used to walk around this place endlessly together, just talking about stuff, or when she would occasionally drag him along on one of her shopping trips. She smiled wryly at the memories. She thought about the earlier events. She took a large gulp of coffee and sighed, closing her eyes.
"You're alive, aren't you? I know you're here, and I'm going to find you, D'Jok," Mei whispered.
"Rocket, can I talk to you?" Rocket looked up at his wife, Tia, who was standing in the doorway, and smiled softly at her.
"Yeah, sure."
Tia entered, the heavy metal door automatically sliding shut behind her. Tia walked over to Rocket's desk, staying on the other side, indicating that this was a business matter, not a personal one. Rocket sat up, attentive.
"I've done my best at healing Aidan. He'll live. He might have some permanent side-effects, but we won't know the severity of them until he's up and walking about."
"Will he be able to continue playing football?" questioned Rocket.
"I don't know yet," Tia said, trying to sound reassuring. Rocket said nothing, so Tia continued. "I've been questioning him as well, the police want me to pass on any information I can, but I wanted to talk to you first. He said that Cale did this to him."
Rocket's eyes widened in shock, "Cale? Why would he do something like that?"
"I don't know," Tia said with an exasperated shrug, "Aidan could give me no reason why on earth Cale would want to attack him."
Rocket sighed in annoyance. "I guess I better call Genesis Security…"
Hehe, sorry, couldn't resist the Star Wars reference…I'm such a nerd. I was originally going to have them watch something sappy and romantic…like The Notebook, but I just couldn't picture it. And besides, Bleylock in season 2 reminded me of Darth Vader, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed the resemblance. The next chapter probably won't be update quite as quickly. I had started working on it, but I decided to take what I had done and stick it in this chapter. Oh well...onward to the Chapter 17!