*Sigh* I love feeling accomplished. Sooo I planned on this chapter and the next being one chapter, but then I realized how big simply this one part was, and I've decided to split this chapter into two parts. SOOOO here's part one!

Thank you for the reviews :D I love the feedback so much! Don't stop reviewing, I need that motivation haha

Enjoy!


(4 days later)

Anakin leaned against the car, arms crossed over his chest and head bowed low, a Star Wars snapback hat pulled low over his eyes.

The irony of it was not lost to him.

It was three ten, almost time for Aria's school to let out. He'd managed to slip away before Aria's mother woke up and had used Aria's keys to take the car.

Of course, a few people who weren't going to be named would have had a bantha if they knew he had decided to drive himself over to her school, but he had come anyway. Aria had been dropped off by Alaric that morning and was supposed to be taking the bus home since she didn't have to work today, but Anakin had figured he would steal a moment or two with her and also take the primitive machine for a spin.

He might also be motivated by the fact that she still had yet to tell them something about their own futures, and he was hoping to get something out of her.

Anakin heard the bell go off inside the school building and raised his head just enough to watch the door, waiting for the now familiar blonde head to appear. He watched several of the student's burst through the door at varying paces, ignoring the group of giggling girls that Aria would label 'preppy brainless snobs' in a heartbeat. They were crowded by a car near the door, halfway obscuring his view as they stared, whispered, and gave him some disturbingly suggestive looks for the age they looked. He resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably, fixating his gaze on the door instead.

A familiar face finally appeared in the crowd that was pushing through the door, the wind whipping her hair two and fro the moment that she was out in the open. Her eyes were downcast, her arms clutching a small stack of books, a notebook, and paper as she elbowed past the other students. Anakin took a step forward, ready to intercept her before she could reach the school bus so that she'd know he was there.

He saw the entire thing as one of the girls in the giggling group purposely ran into her shoulder while another tripped her, and Aria went tumbling to the ground, her books and paper spilling into the mud, snow, and ice mixture that made up the parking lot. Anakin hurried his pace, reaching her just in time to hear the girls' sharp remarks.

"Better pick that up loser."

"Looks like pizza face is getting a mud-bath."

"Why don't you stay in the mud where you belong? No one likes you, freak."

Aria ignored them, her face blank and unreadable as she gathered up her scattered items out of the mud. Anakin was at her side in a moment, reaching out and picking up the notebook from a spot of ice by her foot.

"Are you all right?" he asked, genuinely concerned as she jumped slightly like she hadn't expected anyone to help her.

Aria met Anakin's eyes, completely surprised to see him. "Anakin! What are you—how did you get here?" she asked, a blush quickly flushing over her features as she scrambled to pick everything up off the ground.

"I drove; though if anyone asks, you drove here this morning, just so I don't get a lecture."

Aria seemed to struggle for words for a moment, gratefully accepting her notebook back as he handed it to her before helping her to her feet. "I see, all right, yeah, I can do that," she said, practically rambling. Out of his peripherals, Anakin could see that there were other students staring at the pair as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Subconsciously it seemed Aria was shifting her stuff to cover up the giant mud spot on her shirt. She had smears on her knees and he was suspicious that it was a blood stain he was seeing blooming slowly over one of her knees as she discreetly wiped her muddy hands on the side of her jeans; she must have cut her knee on a rock or a sharp piece of ice when she fell.

"Does that happen a lot?" Anakin asked, shooting a dark look at the girls that had tripped her that they probably felt more than saw considering the hat was pulled so low over his face.

"More than I'd like to say," Aria said with a somewhat tight smile. "Think we could leave now? Everyone's staring because they didn't think it was possible for a guy like you to even talk to me."

Anakin's lips quirked up slightly as he thought of something amusing. "Well then, let's give them something to talk about; come here."

Aria frowned just a little as Anakin proffered his arm. She came closer and then grinned as he hooked his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close like a boyfriend would. He chuckled in the large spike in shock and disbelief he could feel throughout the parking lot as he walked her back to the car like that. He leaned over, whispering in her ear but doing his best to make it look like a peck on the cheek.

"Now they'll never shut up," he laughed softly before he pressed the keys into her hand, taking the books and her other miscellaneous possessions into his arms and made his way to the passenger's seat.

He hadn't expected to end up so amused yet also highly annoyed and slightly angry simply by picking her up today.

Once they had pulled out of the parking lot and were on the road back home, Anakin decided to speak once more. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Aria shrugged. "I've gotten used to it by now; kids are cruel, and if all goes well I'll be out of this nightmare in no time. Besides, with the way they act they'll either be living off their parents for the rest of their lives or end up an utter mess; I don't see them getting anywhere in life."

Anakin snorted gently. "I guess that's one way to look at it." He picked through her stuff in his lap, grimacing at the soggy state of the papers. "I sure hope none of this was important."

Aria scowled. "Just some printed information on some events and people in the Star Wars world, nothing truly important," she said bitterly, which implied that it had been very important to her. Anakin frowned however, seeing her words as an opportunity to bring up what he'd wanted to in the first place. Besides, it seemed that she didn't want to talk about her school social status any more.

"Speaking of the Star Wars world," Anakin said, removing the cap and letting his Padawan braid fall back into place. He'd tucked it under the cap out of sight when he'd put it on so that it wouldn't attract unwanted attention. "It's been four days since we arrived, and you still haven't said a word to us about our futures, even though you promised you'd think about telling us at least something."

"That's why you drove; you wanted to corner me where I can't cry out for help," Aria said with a small smile. She sighed at the serious look on his face, staring out the window and choosing her words carefully. "I said that I would think about telling you something, I never said I would."

Anakin felt his temper spark and he straightened up. "You promised—"

"And I have thought about it, and it took a while but I think I know what I want to say; to each of you," Aria said quickly before Anakin could adequately rant. He sat back with a huff, eyeing her.

"So…you are going to tell us something?" he asked suspiciously. Aria nodded.

"Yes, I am; something for each of you, though…I wouldn't share it. You'll understand whenever I do tell. I've got something to tell all three of you, but individually."

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "You're really big on secrets, aren't you?"

Aria grimaced. "No, actually, I'm not. You can't watch Star Wars and not grow a strong distaste for secrets in my opinion, considering it's the basis of all the bad things that happen. However, I'm planning on telling you each something to avoid the bad things that originally happened; three wishes granted, one for each."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "I get it, all right…so what are you planning on telling me?"

Aria sighed. "I actually have two things I want to talk to you about…one about Obi-Wan and one about Padme."

Anakin leaned back in the chair, watching her closely. "Giving me the special treatment, are you?"

"No, just—" she sighed, in apparent frustration this time. "Okay, I guess I have two things to say to everyone, happy? Just…what I want to tell you is one of the ones I've thought about the most…and when it comes to Padme I'm going to tell her the same thing, so you can actually talk about that with her but Obi-Wan…it's a very, very sensitive topic and it might be better if you don't mention anything about what I have to say."

"A sensitive topic with Obi-Wan? You've got my attention," Anakin said seriously. After a moment of silence he spoke again, but much softer. "Is it about Qui-Gon?"

Aria shook her head. "No, it's about…well…" Aria made a small noise of frustration in her throat before she suddenly pulled to the side of the road, startling Anakin as she shut off the car. All there was around them was woods and the road.

"Why are we stopping here?" Anakin asked.

"We're going for a walk; I don't really feel like I should be talking about such serious topics in the car," Aria said grimly before she got out without another word. Anakin frowned, but made no argument, stepping out into the frigid winter air with her. He could see her already shivering slightly, but she made no acknowledgement of the fact she was cold. "Come on, there's a creek around here; I know this part of the woods rather well."

With that, the two fell into step side by side, stepping over logs, the only sound the crunch of snow as they made their way deeper into the forest. Aria seemed lost in thought, gathering her words before she spoke. Anakin was just about to speak when she suddenly started talking.

"Back when Obi-Wan was a Padawan, he met this girl…her name was Cerasi; has he ever told you about her?" she asked suddenly. Anakin was thrown off by the question. Where was she going with this?

"No, not at all," he said cautiously. Aria simply nodded.

"That doesn't surprise me…he left the Jedi Order temporarily to help this girl—Cerasi—on the planet Melida/Daan during a civil war that—though he'll never admit it since he's only admitted it once from what I know of—he loved."

Anakin remained quiet, processing the information. Obi-Wan in love with a girl…Obi-Wan leaving the Jedi Order for a girl. He almost couldn't process it!

"But…" Aria said, immediately drawing Anakin's attention. Her voice had dipped lower, and she was staring intently at the snow covered ground. "She was mortally wounded in a fight and…she died in his arms. He returned to the Jedi Order not too long after that."

The silence returned and they both stopped in their walk, simply standing in complete silence in the middle of the snow-covered woods. Anakin felt a strong pang of sympathy for his master as he thought about this new piece of information, and he studied Aria intently to try and keep imagined images from rising to the front of his mind. "Why are you telling me this?" he finally asked softly.

"It's the first part of what I decided to tell you about Obi-Wan," Aria said grimly.

"There's more?"

Aria nodded. "Whenever I think about it, I think Obi-Wan has had too many people die in his arms," she muttered, kicking at a large clump of snow at her feet with a small sigh. "Do you remember the other name that I said to Obi-Wan the night that you three arrived that you didn't recognize?"

Anakin ran through the list in his head. "There was Cerasi, Siri, and Satine…who's Satine?"

Aria smiled slightly. "The Duchess of Mandalore. Obi-Wan has loved her since they met when he was still a Padawan; he was in charge of protecting her, just like you're in charge of protecting Padme."

Anakin blushed slightly, looking away. "Alright, what's so important about her?" A thought struck him and he suddenly felt ashamed for his nonchalant attitude. "Did she die too?"

Aria shook her head. "Not yet."

Anakin stared. "Yet?"

Aria sighed yet again, brushing snow off of a nearby fallen tree and taking a seat. "He hasn't seen her since he was assigned to protect her as a Padawan; a little over ten years by now. However, once this Confederacy/Republic conflict erupts, he's going to be assigned to protect her once again at some point and the flame is going to be rekindled." Aria smiled a little, apparently remembering something. "I believe he told her that if she gave the word, he would leave the Order for her…he truly does love Satine, no matter how hard he tries to hide it."

"Did he fail to protect her?" Anakin asked softly.

"Not the first time…" Aria said gently, looking down at her fingers as Anakin took a seat next to her. "The first time she was kept safe, and they expressed their feelings for each other but didn't let it develop into a relationship. The second time…she got captured, held prisoner on her own planet, and she was able to escape long enough to send a request for help to the Jedi Order, more specifically Obi-Wan…because of the current war, and the fact that Mandalore is a neutral system, the Jedi Order couldn't officially send anyone. But Obi-Wan went anyway, alone. It was a trap, laid specifically for him…"

"So what happened?" Anakin asked, leaning forward.

Aria shook her head. "He borrowed a ship from you, went to Mandalore alone, successfully broke her out of the prison and was in the process of taking off when they were shot down. The mastermind behind the whole thing was an old enemy of Obi-Wan's who took them back to the palace and killed Satine in front of Obi-Wan while he was powerless to do anything," Aria said, her voice gradually dying in her voice. She cleared her throat before adding a whispered, "She died in his arms too."

Anakin looked away, staring at the white ground as his eyes blurred against his will. He couldn't even to begin to imagine what Obi-Wan went through. Would go through, Anakin corrected himself. He chewed on his bottom lip before he heard a sniffle beside him. Aria seemed to be struggling with the pain of what had happened herself, her eyes distant.

"Why are you telling me this again?" Anakin asked softly.

"So you can do something about it," Aria replied almost immediately, suddenly meeting his eyes. "I think one of the problems was that he went into it blind and without any help."

"What could I possibly do?" Anakin asked in shock.

"You'll know when the time comes…I'll show you the episode so that you can see what happened ahead of time…but I'm not going to pressure you about it…I'm just letting you know so that perhaps something can be done about it now."

Anakin shook his head, staring out through the trees and watching his breath mist in front of him. It was really cold out there, and he had no clue how they could both stand to sit there in the snow and talk. Aria's shivering was gradually increasing, but she was showing no signs of getting up.

"What was the other thing you wanted to tell me? You said you had two things to tell me," Anakin said hesitantly. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to know after this new revelation about Obi-Wan.

Aria sighed, standing up and shaking herself a little as if she was getting rid of some bad feeling or shaking water off of herself. "It's…about you and Padme…and there's a large number of Star Wars fans that would murder me if they knew what I was about to say…but I think I've got to say it."

"What about us?" Anakin asked, suddenly standing up sharply and going slightly on the defensive.

Aria sighed, leaning against a tree a few meters away. "I know you two both care about each other—even though nothing has been said yet—but…pursuing a relationship with her wouldn't be wise…" Aria said softly.

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly slightly annoyed and even more defensive. "If this has to do with the Jedi Code, I don't care. I can't deny how I feel, I can't wish away my feelings—"

"I'm not telling you to not feel anything, I'm not telling you not to care about her, I'm not telling you anything like that. In fact, I'd encourage you to love as that's a repetitively redeeming quality throughout the Star Wars series; it even redeemed Darth Vader in the end. I was going to tell you that getting involved with Padme would end very, very badly for both of you."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked skeptically.

Aria brushed her hands over her already muddy pants nervously. "You said it yourself—though I guess you haven't said it yet. The two of you were talking about having a relationship, and near the end of the conversation you said that she was right, that it would destroy both of you. One of the truest lines in the entire Star Wars premonitions," Aria said, a bitter edge to her voice.

"I doubt it could end that badly," Anakin said, still skeptical but starting to feel a little bit of unease. Perhaps there was some truth in her words…

Aria shook her head. "Sure, it would last for a few short years including some close calls, but it did end horribly for both of you."

"How bad," Anakin asked, an eyebrow raised challengingly.

"Death. Figurative and literal," she said, sounding like she was going to speak sharply for a moment before her voice flickered and went soft.

Anakin stared at her blankly for a moment. "I don't believe you."

"Believe it, because it's what happened. It's one of the things that I wish I could change about the Star Wars trilogy; that's why I'm telling you."

Anakin shook his head, turning away. "No, no that wouldn't happen, all right? We're smarter than that—"

"Anakin, you can't make up excuses; that's what happened originally. It's what happened. I hate to break it to you but a relationship with her would end horribly," Aria murmured, looking at the ground."

"Who died?" he asked sharply suddenly. Aria was startled and stared at him blankly for a moment before he felt a spark of frustration and spoke a little harsher. "Which one of us died?"

Something flickered in her eyes and she looked away. "I…"

"Aria, I need to know," Anakin said, closing the distance between them in a few short strides. Aria reluctantly turned her gaze back to him, her hazel eyes locking with his.

"Padme," she finally said softly.

Anakin made a slightly strangled sound in his throat, turning away and running a hand through his hair as he tried to get a grip on himself. Padme—dead—because they got involved with each other? Dead because of…because of him?

Aria seemed to guess the direction of his thoughts and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not anything you should blame yourself for Anakin, it's just a possible future that can be avoided," she said gently. Anakin suddenly turned around on her, a fire in his eyes.

"I won't let her die. I am not going to be the cause of her death, no matter what it takes; I'll even live on the other side of the galaxy if that's what it takes!" Anakin said passionately. Aria smiled just slightly.

"I don't think you'll have to go to those extents. I never said you couldn't love her…I just said that a relationship wouldn't be the smartest path in my opinion…" Aria said gently.

Anakin shook his head. "Then we won't…I won't pressure her, I won't try to be anything more than a friend. We'll keep the line there, and that way…that way she won't get hurt because of me."

Aria's expression grew serious. "Anakin, not being in a relationship isn't going to protect her from everything, just that one thing."

Anakin shook his head. "I don't care, I'll do what it takes. From here on out we're going to stay nothing more than friends. I won't let that happen to her, I won't," Anakin said fiercely. Aria smiled a little more.

"That's good to hear," she said with a slight chatter in her teeth. Anakin glanced at her, finally cooling down slightly. He sighed, putting an arm around her and pulling her close to share body heat.

"Come on…let's get back to the car and hurry back to your house," Anakin said, trying his best to shove the tumultuous thoughts aside for the moment.

Aria nodded. "I'll talk to the other two when we get there…"