ANOTHER SIDE, ANOTHER STORY

Chapter Twenty Six

Love

Kira had targeted Hazen High School. That much was known across the rest of the world. Every news station talked about it and would probably continue talking about it for the rest of the month. Steven never talked about what had happened to anyone. His sister, Amanda, however, had a mouth-full to say. Two of her friends had been killed in the massacre, if you could call it that. But Steven was as silent as the grave and spent a lot of time inside of his room the following morning lying in bed half-naked and staring up at the ceiling bleary-eyed and not wanting to get up. Maybe if he spent the rest of his life in bed he wouldn't have to put up with anything. It was so relaxing, just to lie there in silence and imagine a situation before the Death Note controlled his life.

But even as he would enjoy the comfortable softness of his bed and the relaxing silence (occasionally interrupted by a snore or two from Zando in the closet), Steven always felt the annoying and painful throb in the back of his mind.

It was a build-up of anger, frustration, and sadness that had wrapped around him like a sheet of depression. Steven rolled over and glared at the clock. 9:30 am. He could hear his family in the kitchen. His parents had been relieved that both of their kids had somehow lived through the High School massacre yesterday and from the sound of it, his mom was cooking them a special breakfast. Steven rolled his eyes and hid his head under his pillow. Who could have done this?

He tried very hard to come up with a solution to how all of this could make sense but nothing came. He went through every person that was still alive in his mind—even ridiculous people that he knew would never do this. But the one person that stuck out was Jennie. She didn't look or act like the type of person who would kill over a thousand students. Did she know that she was under suspicion of the government? Whether she did or not, it would've been foolish of her to pull such a stunt because now she would be a suspect of Kira for sure along with every other survivor, despite what Redman said.

Steven also realized that Redman could've been trying to fool Steven the whole time and that there was a small chance he never really did suspect Jennie and that he truly suspected Steven the whole time and was just trying to get things out of him. Steven supposed that would explain why Redman called off the investigation so suddenly. But his plan didn't work.

It didn't change the fact that Steven couldn't think of a damn soul who would be stupid enough kill so many people. Was it really a student at Hazen who did it? Or was it someone else who knew that they were under investigation and somehow managed to get a Death Note. But who would do something like that? Steven couldn't imagine and decided that he would have to try and come up with some sort of plan to catch this new Kira and watch the news more carefully from now on to make sure he was the only Kira out there…

But if it was someone else who didn't go to Hazen then that meant it could be anyone in the world. Steven closed his eyes and wondered if this new Kira knew that the real Kira really did go to Hazen or not and that was the reason why he was still alive. Steven had made sure that he still had both Death Notes once he got home yesterday. He took the one out of his backpack and was now keeping it hidden in his drawer underneath a stack of porno. The other Death Note, the original one, was down in the hatch underneath his floor. He would keep that one there for safe-keeping and continue to use the one he'd stolen from Andrew as his main Death Note.

Steven had a migraine. He decided to get up and go to the bathroom to find some pills to help him feel better. He hated swallowing pills so he took out a small, steel bowl and a graining stick that he used to smash up the pills. When he was done, he tipped them into a glass of water and drank. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine and nearly gagged. He hated the taste of water and pills but it was better than choking on the thing as a whole. When he was done he leaned his face against the mirror and sighed deeply.

He could see the darkness under his eyes had gotten deeper, much deeper in the past couple of months. Again, he wondered if this was a side-affect of the Death Note or if it was just stress and insomnia taking over. At least his hair wasn't falling out.

When he returned to bed, Zando was awake and looking up at him with those wide, frightening eyes that Steven had grown used to. He remembered when he first met the Shinigami, how frightening he'd been when he first walked in. Now when he walked in he found the expression on his face kind of funny.

"Hey, Steve." Zando greeted. "Still tired?"

"Yeah." Steven grunted.

"Aren't you worried about the new Death Note user?"

"Yeah." Steven said again, sitting down on the bed and wrapping himself up in a blanket.

"What if they're working with Ryoku?" Zando said worriedly. "They could find us."

"I'm still alive." Steven said. "Which means whoever this other Kira person is, they probably don't know I'm the real Kira. Unless they're trying to make me miserable. If they are, it's working."

"You? Miserable?" Zando smirked. "Get outta town."

Steven said nothing and fell back into his pillows to glare back up at his ceiling. His mom had come in earlier telling him that the news said there was no school today. Steven would've figured that even without her waking him up. With every teacher dead, and the administrators dead as well, he doubted they would be able to continue school, if they ever would. How long would it take to find new teachers capable? Or would they just use subs? More importantly, was the Renton School District going to risk starting school back up again after such a huge loss. Every other school in the area was closed for the time being as well just in case Kira decided to go crazy and attack another school in Washington or something. Whoever did this really ruined Kira's reputation. Maybe that was their real intention.

Thinking about school itself only reminded him of Jennie and all of his friends and it made his stomach squirm uncomfortably. He didn't want to think of her anymore. If school was going to be closed for a while, maybe he could use this as an opportunity to get over her. But how do you get over someone like her? He couldn't think of anything bad to think about her and if he did think of something it felt like he was lying and it would only make him feel sicker than he already did. He would just have to take comfort in the thought that he would eventually get over her and move on, maybe fall for another girl…

Only this wasn't a comforting thought at all. Every time he did think this way, he would feel his heart throb and he realized that he didn't want to get over her. He felt like he was supposed to end up with her. Why hadn't he taken the opportunity yesterday to talk to her while they were alone? Damn it all. You're an idiot…

10:00 am. Steven decided that he couldn't wallow in self-pity for the rest of the morning. He was hungry. The pills must've done something to make his saliva increase or something because his stomach had started growling and he couldn't concentrate.

When he went into the kitchen wearing a long, black robe, he saw a plate with eggs, sausage, and tater-tots on it with a sign above it that said "Steven's breakfast. Wash your dish when you're done."

Thanks Mom… He thought a little sarcastically, sitting down and eating. When he finished he washed his plate and even though he was full up on food, he still felt an empty hole somewhere inside of him.

The phone rang. Steven, instinctively, stood up to answer it. He stopped, however, and stared at the caller ID screen. "Unknown name, Unknown number."

Could Mr. Redman be calling him? Why would he do that? He said he didn't suspect him anymore. Did he mean it? It could be someone else in the government or from the media wanting to talk to him about what happened at the school. He was a survivor; it would only be natural that he would be one of the many suspects, even if Redman didn't think so. It could also just be a telemarketer or some random person with the wrong number. Nonetheless, he pressed and talk button and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is Steve there?"

Steven's heart gave a jolt and felt more awake than he'd been all morning. How was this possible? No. It couldn't be true. It was someone else, it had to be. There was no way Jennie was on the other line right now.

"Uhm, sorry, who is this?" Steven asked, clearing his voice.

"Jennie."

How the hell did she get his number? And more importantly, why was she calling him all of the sudden? He felt like the kitchen had just flipped upside-down and he was spiraling somewhere in the middle.

"Oh, Jennie." He said, acting casual and sitting down. "How'd you get this number?"

"It's called Yellow Pages" Jennie said and he heard a trace of sarcasm in her voice. So Jennie had actually looked him up? Something wasn't right. What would she want to say to him now that she couldn't have said when they were alone yesterday? She probably had no idea that he was trying to get over her and hearing her voice on his own phone so unexpectedly did not help.

Steven scoffed to her response nonetheless. "Alright, yellow pages. What's up?"

"There was no school today so I couldn't tell you in person…" Jennie started. "And I was in shock yesterday because, well, you know why…" Steven's mind was racing. What was she trying to tell him? "The picnic is still on, only it's going to be tomorrow."

"What?" Steven felt a sense of anger and relief at the same time and it confused him. "Oh, wait, I thought the picnic thing would be off because…well…a lot of people died and…" He trailed off.

"Doesn't mean we can't still enjoy life." Jennie said. "Yeah, some of my friends died but I'm not going to sit on my butt and be emo forever."

Steven felt guilty. She'd just said exactly what he was doing right now.

"If you don't want to come, I'd understand though." Jennie said. "I'm just calling everyone who can still come."

"I'll go." Steven said quickly.

"Oh, okay." Jennie said, backtracking. "Well, you know where?"

"Maplewood Park, right?"

"Right."

"Cool. What time?"

"What do you look so happy about?" Zando asked, about ten minutes later.

"I still get to see Jennie." Steven said, sitting down on the bed and smiling.

Zando didn't look happy at all. "Shouldn't you be focusing more on this other Kira person?"

"There's nothing I can do, Zando." Steven said. "If I could, I would try to announce over the news or internet or something that the person who killed everyone at Hazen was an imposter but to do that I would need someone at the news stations to post it and I can't exactly do that. Plus, it would only create more controversy about Kira and people would think that anyone would be able to have Kira's power. In the end it would be pointless. I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing and watch this other Kira's movements until I see an opening. It's all a chess game, Zando. And right now, it's their move. Nothing I can do."

"That's not the usual attitude I see from you." Zando frowned.

"What do you think I should do then?" Steven asked, getting a little angry.

"I think you take this Jennie girl more seriously then the Death Note."

"That's not…"

"If you had to chose, what would you chose?"

Steven turned away from him. "It doesn't matter. I'll never have to choose between them because I can have both."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes!" Steven shouted.

They glared at each other. Steven couldn't believe that the Death God was actually arguing with him. What was his problem?"

"I'm sorry, Steve." Zando said. "But you can't have the Death Note and love."

Steven ignored him and left the room. He had things to do.

Luke heard a knock at the door. He got up from the chair in his parent's room (he loved that chair because it was so comfortable and a great place to just sit down and vegitate). When he answered the door he saw Steven standing on the porch.

"Steve!" Luke said.

"Hey." Steven came in and closed the door behind him.

Luke walked back into the kitchen. He had just been spacing out about a fighting style and had been trying to perfect it in his head when Steven had knocked. Luke loved to OCD his way around the house and listen to the same old music whenever he was alone so that he could pass the time. And now that Steve was here he would have to put it on hold.

"What is up?" Luke asked.

"Remember that picnic I was telling you about a while ago?"

Luke searched his memory and shook his head.

"Well, there's a picnic tomorrow that I'm going to with some friends. Jennie, the girl I told you about, is going to be there." Steven told him. "She just called me, actually, to let me know it's still on even though what happened yesterday…"

Luke knew about the Hazen Massacre. His dad had come home and told them. He was not looking forward to Sunday at church where they would probably pray for the school and everyone who died there.

"Anyway…" Steven went on. "I want you to come with me."

"To the picnic?" Luke raised an eyebrow."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Steven blinked. "It's just a picnic. It'll be fun. And you need to get off your ass."

"What if I don't want to?" Luke asked with a smirk.

"Like you have anything else to do." Steven smiled. "Don't tell me you're still depressed about Dez."

Why was he smiling? Was Steven actually amused? Luke sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and considered him. "I dunno. There's probably gonna be a bunch of lame people there." By lame, of course, he meant people that weren't worthy of his time.

"Fine." Steven said, standing up. "Don't come because it'll be good to get out of the house every now and then. Instead, come because I need a buddy there to back me up in case things go bad with me and Jennie."

Luke understood what he meant, but scoffed anyway. "So you're really just looking out for yourself?"

"Of course." Steven said. "Come on man. I'm sorry about Dez and all but you shouldn't sit around all day and—"

"I'll come, I'll come." Luke interrupted, waving his hand impatiently. He didn't want to talk about Dez, nor give him any interpretation that she was the reason behind Luke's unsocial status lately. Zito and Bryce, both of his friends, were also dead, and yet he'd not talked to anyone about it except for his family (though that hardly helped). How was Steve able to cope with it? Dez hadn't been his girlfriend, but he didn't seem to sad about the fact that Zito was dead.

"Excellent." Steven said, turning to the door again.

"Leaving already?" Luke asked, surprised.

"Yeah, got things to do." Steven opened the door and left the house, a small smile on his face. Zando had been with him and was dancing down the paved driveway merrily. Steven decided he'd let the Shinigami go out with him for a walk. He hadn't seen the sun for over a month, after-all.

"Can I come to the picnic as well?" Zando asked on their way home.

Steven considered him for a moment. "There's still a chance Ryoku is following me around. If the third Kira ever figures out about my existence as the real Kira then I'd still need you around. It was probably a mistake to bring you with me right now."

"But you haven't seen that old hunter since you've killed Andrew." Zando complained loudly. "Come on."

If the hunter really was watching him right now, Zando would already be dead, which meant he would have no way of knowing that Steven would be going to a park which meant that Zando would probably be safe enough to come with him… Only…

There was still something weighing heavily on his mind. Was Jennie the other Kira? Steven had no way of knowing for sure and he planned to find out a little bit more about her at the picnic, maybe even get a little romantic so he could gain her trust. But if Jennie really was the other Kira, then there was a chance that Ryoku would be with her at the picnic. Then again, the hunter didn't have any other Death Note with him. So Steven figured that there was a better chance that this was a completely different Shinigami who decided to come down.

"Is Ryoku the only hunter after you?" Steven asked Zando as they crossed the street back to his house.

"Yes." Zando said. "One hunter for one criminal, that's the way the rules work."

"Alright, you can come." Steven decided, hoping he didn't regret this. He trusted Jennie. And if she had some other Shinigami with her that he couldn't see, then it wasn't going to be a hunter which meant that Zando was in no danger.

Across the city, a girl was lying in her bed.

The light of the sun shined down into her eyes and she awoke, wondering briefly where this light could've come from. She rose from her pillows and saw that it was coming from out the window. She stood up and closed the blinds so she wouldn't feel the heat rays from the light anymore before she collapsed back into her bed.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" She asked, his face in the pillow.

"I've waited long enough." Ryoku the Hunter replied from the corner of the room.

"Good." The girl sighed, rolling over. "You're sure that he never saw you?"

"Of course not." Ryoku said. "He underestimates me."

"Of course. He's an idiot."

"You're harsh."

"What do you expect?"

"The picnic starts around noon, correct?" Ryoku asked, changing subjects.

"Yeah." She replied, looking up at the mirror.

"You tricked him better than I thought someone like you could." The hunter said appraisingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, a little affronted.

"Nothing."

"Good."

"Are you sure about this?" Ryoku asked, tilting his head.

She looked into the hunter's eyes. "Yes."

Author's Note: Two more chapters left, guys. reviews please!