Jarod sits down next to me, messing up my hair. "What's up?

I smile at him, reaching up and trying to fix the mess he had made. I see Sky glance at me from the corner of my eye, smirking, then return to her newspaper.

"I'm good. A bit tired." I glance at Sky. "I still don't see why you think I need a constant guard."

Her reaction is subtle. She frowns, turning the page, her eyes not moving as she stares at a fixed point somewhere in the printed lines. I know her well enough to realize she isn't reading it though. Jarod continues on, oblivious as always and unconsciously reflecting Sky's opinion.

"Lilly, we can't have you wandering around unprotected. Anything can happen to you, especially after what happened with Andrew."

I glare at him. "I'm not a child! I can protect myself just fine."

He shakes his head quickly. "No, not like that, just..." He sighs. "We care about you Lilly. You have a habit of getting into trouble for the weirdest of things." He gives me a sly grin, his eyes asking for forgiveness, and my heart softens.

Then he glances at my constant guard. "Although…" His voice lowers. "I'm not so sure Sky is the best person to watch over you." His pupils dilate, like they do when he starts talking battle plans, and his voice deepens with distrust. "She's a great warrior, but she could go Evil at any given moment."

Sky obviously heard. She stiffens; her "past" is hard for her to think about. I do kind of agree with Jarod; Sky is unstable, and if she is around me when her alter ego shows up, things will get rapidly insane. But, at the same time…My feelings for Sky don't want to let her feel hurt. And that's what Jarod's words did to her. They hurt her.

Jarod notices right away, unfortunately, "Sky, you know I don't mean it like-"

She ignores him, standing up suddenly. "Lilly." I wince. Her voice is cold. "Are you finished eating? I would like to leave."

I jump up to stand across from her. Jarod looks at me, anger starting to cloud over his face a bit. 'What?! You are just going to side with Sky? You know what I said is true, at least admit it."

I give Jarod an apologetic look. "Yeah Sky, we can go."

She nods briskly, then storms off, leaving me to run in order to catch up.

When I glance back, Jarod's confused and angry face stays in my mind.

Later that night, I plop down on the sofa. Sky stays standing, pacing.

After watching her warily for a while, I start to speak. "Whats-"

She interrupts me. "Jarod is right." (1)

I blink, surprised. "Sky? What-"

She stops pacing, looking at me. "Jarod. Is. Right." (2)

I blink again, my mouth gaping open in shock. She frowns, and uses her index finger to close my mouth. "Don't do that; it makes you look like a fish."

I blush, recollecting my thoughts. "U-um, why…why do you think Jarod is right?" I inwardly wince. Even to me that sentence sounded unsure and idiotic from my mouth.

Sky apparently thought so too, for she whipped around and started pacing again. "Are you completely oblivious? I'm like a bomb waiting to go off, even more so around you! She could come out at any second, and you would be helpless!"

I bristle at that. "Well, not entirely-"

She whirls around, glaring at me. My eyes widen. Sky looks like an angry goddess, something I don't see very often. Her pure white hair is lofty, fanning around her head in soft tresses that swing with the same easy weight as her coat when she quickly turns while pacing. Her body is crackling with dark magic begging to be used, and I can see the heat in her eyes as she fights it. The eyes that can turn from icy blue to a deep sapphire in moments. Her long fingers are clenched into fists, her nails biting into her skin with pent up frustration. The hands that I can imagine running across my skin./p
I know I should be angry about something, but I can't for the life of me remember what.

Sky seems satisfied with my silence, because she nods sharply and resumes her path up and down the room. My eyes watch her lithe body, my brain practically useless. Her next words stun me out of my stupor, however.

"I must go to Alyss and have her change my assignment. Jarod can protect you. He is your guardian anyways. I am simply unsuitable."
Panic overwhelms me and I dart off the couch. "No!" She looks at me again, looking ready to yell, her mouth opening, and I quickly say, "Sky, I wouldn't have anyone else but you protect me. You are kind and funny and intelligent and brave and strong, and I know you will do the job right no mater what happens."

My words fall out of my mouth into silence. Sky stares at me for what seems like the longest time, until the tension in the room is almost unbearable and I feel I will very soon regret what I said. Then her body relaxes and she sighs, closing her eyes falling back onto the chair behind her. I can practically feel her mood rise again, and I take the opportunity to smile shyly.

Her eyes open, back to their normal shade, and the tiniest of twinkles lights in her eyes. "Thanks. I needed that."

I giggle, my mind wandering again. I just barely catch the last bit of what she says.

"….I love you, right?"

My eyes widen, and I look down quickly, a huge smile spreading across my face. She loves me?

I hear Sky laugh, and I glance up to see her smiling. 'You knew that already, didn't you?"

I don't know what to say, but I open my mouth, probably to blurt out some sentimental phrase, until she says, "I mean, considering how long we've been friends, it would a bit hard not to guess."

My heart shatters.

Of course she didn't mean it like that. You are friends, idiot! She's ENGAGED for Christ's Sake! She probably doesn't even like girls! She only loves you as a friend! Get with the game, Lilly!

Unbidden, tears start to fall down my face, and I stand up before they can fall where she can see them. "I have to go." My voice is thick with the tears, and Sky's eyes go from happy to worried. "Lilly? What-"

I run out of the room before she can finish her sentence, my tears falling onto the steps of the cabin as I flee.

A/N
(1) I never thought I would be saying that.
(2) Emphasis on How. Right. He. Is? :P Love ya Jarod.
Anyways. This is about one third of what I had planned for Chapter 2, but I finished this scene and was like, "Well this is about the same size as the last chapter...?" What do you think? Should I just make the chapters longer? I hadn't realized how short the first one until now.
On another subject, I finally got the plot figured out completely. It looks like the story will be about 12 chapters, with an Epilogue. Although if this chapter is anything to go by, it might be longer. Idk.
Also, you get to meet my OC in the next chapter! It was supposed to be this one but yeah. Tee hee.

A/N (Added) I added some A/N to the first chapter, so that the story as a whole made more sense. Check it out.