Author's Note:

Hello all! Thank you to everyone that reviewed last chapter. You have no idea how much I appreciate your kind words.

Anyways, if none of you recognized what Baralai's car is last chapter anyone that wants to go see what it looks like should go to any search engine like Google or MSN and search the images for a car called a Ford GT. Baralai's parents are filthy rich in this fic so I figured him having a disgustingly expensive car wouldn't be too much of a problem. It's a beautiful car and thought it fit so yeah! I had a little bit of trouble with the first part of this chapter but after a couple hours of bouncing my head off the wall this is what came out of my muddled brain. I hope all of you like it!

Oh and just to warn all of you I'm going to be pretty busy over the next couple of weeks so the next chapter might be a little delayed. Rest assured that I'll be working diligently though. Of course I could be persuaded to write a little faster if you guys leave me some reviews and tell me how you like this chapter! :P

Chapter XV:

Eyes on Fire

(Baralai)

If I would have known who was on the other side of the door I never would have answered it. Maybe then I would have been able to control the events that followed.

I thought I was having a nightmare when I saw my ex-girlfriend standing outside. My mouth dropped open, my mind reeling at how she had found me. My car was parked in the garage and the only people that knew where I was were my parents and our group of friends. None of my friends even knew her and my parents despised her so they wouldn't have told her even if she asked.

She scowled at me when I didn't say anything to her. "Don't look so surprised, Baralai. And here I was thinking that you would be happy to see me." She smiled coyly at me before launching herself through the air towards me. I hadn't been expecting her to do something like that so I didn't have enough time to react. She slammed into my chest and sent me staggering backwards into the door, almost causing me to fall down. She locked her ankles around my waist to prevent me from prying her loose then started kissing and biting my neck like she had done while we were dating.

All I could think of while she was climbing all over me was what Paine would think when she came back. She had just given me her trust and all of that was about to be destroyed. "Kiele, get off of me!" I urged, attempting to keep my voice low. I had to get her out of here before Paine came out of her room. I tried yanking her off me but she was like a leech. Every time I tried to free myself her advances only became more and more aggressive. "I'm not kidding around! Get off me!"

The urge to hit her was so strong that I almost acted on it, but the promise I had made to myself about never hitting a girl wouldn't allow it. Even then every fiber of my being was screaming for me to get her off. I could see Paine's face in my mind's eye and I hated what I saw. I knew how betrayed she was going to feel and I refused to do that to her. With a new found determination I flung my arms behind me as far as I could, wrapped my hands around her ankles and pulled for everything I was worth. All my concentration was centered on getting Kiele off me so when an alabaster hand shot forward and wrapped around Kiele's neck I was struck dumb.

Only when Kiele had been ripped off of me and slammed against the wall did I realize that it was Paine who had grabbed her. My heart jumped into my throat, scared out of my mind that she was going to hurt her back. I wasn't worried about Kiele at all; she deserved whatever Paine was going to do to her as long as she didn't kill her. I was just glad to have her off me.

"Do you have a death wish?" Paine yelled, her ruby eyes holding Kiele's green ones in their grasp. "You think you can just barge in here and act like you own the place? Who do you think you are, bitch!"

Kiele's face was starting to turn purple and her feet, which were a good three or four inches above the ground, were flailing about wildly. She tried to speak but only a few choking gurgles made it out. I was floored by what Paine was doing. Talk about an adrenaline rush… I thought as I hurried over, my heart in my throat, and tried to get Paine's attention. "Paine, stop!" I yelled, wrapping my hand around her wrist firmly. As soon as she heard my voice she whirled around and let go of Kiele at the same time, capturing me with her blazing eyes. She leveled me with a glare so volatile I swore I could feel the heat coming off of her.

"How did she know where you were, Baralai? How did she know where I live?" She snarled, her voice dripping with venom. She ripped her eyes away from me and laughed then; it was a bitter sound that held no humor what so ever. She brought her hands up and fisted them into her hair and laughed again. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "I can't believe this… I seriously can't believe this. I trusted you…" All the bitterness and venom disappeared from her voice only to be replaced with remorse when she said those last few words.

My breath caught in my throat and I staggered back when the implications of those words hit me full in the face. It felt like she had just ripped my heart out of my chest and crushed it beneath her foot. She had actually trusted me, but now, because of Kiele, everything I had done to gain that trust was all for naught.

"Paine, no, you don't understand. I haven't –"

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, cutting me off. I wasn't going down without a fight though.

"No, you need to let me explain!"

"No, I don't! I'm sure whatever you're going to say is a wonderfully constructed lie. I made the mistake of thinking I could trust you." She paused to take a deep breath, her chest shuddering as she did so. "I want you to leave. The next time I come out of my room you better not be here."

"Paine, no, please! Don't do this!" My panic clawed its way up my throat when the thought that I was losing her crossed my mind. As she was walking by I grabbed her hand and refused to let it go even when she tried to rip it away. Her expression was far from welcoming. "Please, don't walk away."

For a split second I thought I saw indecisiveness pass through her eyes but no sooner had it appeared, it was gone. She looked down at my hand and sneered at it before using her free hand to pry my fingers off one by one. "Don't touch me," she spat, before striding down the hallway and slamming her door hard enough to make the walls shake.

I stared at the place she had been standing in not five seconds ago in wide eyed disbelief, still unable to register what had just happened. I could still feel the sting of her parting words. Don't touch me, she had said. It felt like I had just been stabbed in the chest. How could the best night of my entire life end up turning out this way?

My eyes moved on their own to where Kiele was still sitting, holding her throat, and I didn't bother holding back the scowl that was already beginning to form on my face. "I hope you're happy now. I really, really do." She met my eyes and I swore I could see victory in her gaze. "I hate you."

Her face fell and her mouth dropped open in shock. Apparently she hadn't been expecting me to react that way. "But Baralai –"

"But nothing!" I bellowed, making her cringe. "I wish you would just leave me alone! I don't want anything to do with you! How many times do I have to tell you that before you get it? You need to get out now before I seriously lose my temper!" I was so angry my entire body was quivering. I needed to break something and if she didn't leave in the next five seconds that 'something' was liable to be her.

She scurried to her feet and ran to the front door, pausing in the entryway and looking back at me. "Just for your information, I don't know where you live here so asking your parents wasn't even an option. I saw your car yesterday down near the stadium and I followed you back here."

I gaped at her. "Don't you think that you should have said something a few minutes ago? You know, before she pretty much accused me of bringing you over here? Just get out of my sight." I shoved her the rest of the way out the door then slammed and locked it.

In the tense seconds after Kiele's departure I was at a loss for what to do next. I knew Paine had told me to leave but I remembered seeing that flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. I still wasn't going to give up and I had a feeling that she didn't want me to give up either. I had never wanted someone so much in my life and a small speed bump like my ignorant, self-centered ex wasn't going to keep me from her. Not by a long shot.

I went into my room and paced, giving her time to calm down and cool off. I kept my eyes on the clock as the time slowly ticked by, wanting to wait at least half an hour. Nothing good would happen if I tried to talk to her while she was still angry. A plan was quickly formulating in my mind and I wanted to make her think, if only for a little while, that I was actually following her orders and leaving. As soon as the clock struck noon I made the bed, hid my suitcase underneath it and placed her thank top on the dresser. Then I walked through the kitchen, opened the door leading to the garage, counted to three, closed it and waited.

No more than ten seconds later I heard the door to her room open.

I quickly went to stand next to the kitchen counter and waited for her to come into view. My heart started pounding in my ears when she emerged from the hallway and when she saw me she was so surprised to see me standing there that she almost lost her balance. I watched her face carefully as she steadied herself. I thought she looked relieved but I couldn't be certain.

"I thought I told you to leave," she said, standing her ground at the entrance to the hallway. When she met my gaze I could tell she had been crying. My heart plummeted down into my stomach.

"I don't want to. I didn't do anything wrong," I replied simply.

Paine sighed heavily, her shoulders shaking, as she covered half of her face with her hand. "Yes, you did. You betrayed my trust," she replied, sounding dangerously close to bursting into tears again. Seeing her so vulnerable and broken killed me.

I slowly approached her, making sure to keep my face as stoic as I possibly could even though the tumult of emotions whirling through my head made it hard for me to concentrate. I stopped directly in front of her and leaned against the wall. "No, I didn't. I never told Kiele where I was, I swear."

"Then how did she find my house?" She asked, her voice a hollow whisper.

"You know how we went to my mom's bed and breakfast yesterday?" She nodded. "Kiele recognized my car and followed us back here." She narrowed her eyes and glared at me suspiciously, trying to determine if I was really telling the truth. "I don't have any reason to lie to you." I was almost choking on the lump in my throat, praying to Shiva that she wouldn't order me away again.

She stared at me a few moments longer then made a strange noise in her throat before walking back to her room and closing the door. I stayed where I was, perplexed by her actions. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to follow her or go into the living room and wait for her to come back out. Then again, I didn't want to encroach upon her personal space but I also didn't want to give up trying to prove my innocence. The fact that she hadn't said anything before going into her room left me feeling unsettled. So, as I reluctantly meandered towards her couch, I hoped that she wasn't going to stay in her room for the rest of the night.

When I heard her door open almost ten minutes later I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped my lungs. I vaulted up from the couch and met her in the hallway, frowning when I saw her fully dressed, back brace and all.

"I want to go to the studio." Both her eyes and her voice were flat. She had spent a grand total of almost forty-five minutes in her room but that had been enough time for her rebuild those walls that had been around her when I first met her. Now I was probably going to have to spend twice as long tearing them back down.

"Sure," I replied, quickly going into my room to put my shoes on and grab my keys before she changed her mind.

She was seated at her small dining room table when I came back in. I hesitantly touched her shoulder and felt sick to my stomach when she flinched, quickly moving away from my hand. When she turned to look at me I valiantly hid how much that one action had stung. "Ready?" I asked, keeping my voice as level as I could.

She nodded once then carefully rose from her chair and walked out of the house without waiting to see if I was following her. I sighed heavily and trudged into the garage behind her.

The drive to the studio was a silent one. I wanted to say something but nothing I thought of sounded right. I tried to hide how nervous I was but every time I reached for the gear shift I could feel my fingers shaking. Whenever I looked at her out of the corner of my eye it was like I was looking at a statue. She didn't move – and from what I would tell, didn't look at me – the entire time.

I tried helping her out of the car after I had parked outside the studio but she refused to let me. Instead she chose to pull herself out and, by the look on her face, she regretted that decision almost right away; her pride kept her from reaching for me though. I only stood back and watched her, giving her her space but not really enjoying it. I was no stranger to the cold indifference she was treating me with but that didn't mean I was used to it.

"Do you need my help with anything?" I asked as she turned all the lights and sound equipment on.

She didn't answer for a few moments and I thought she was going to ignore me until she met my gaze for the first time since we left the house. "I'll let you know," she replied, the hard edge to her voice no longer present. "I just need to clear my head. Wait in here, please."

So I waited. I spent about ten minutes watching Paine play the piano. I had been hoping she would sing something but she never did. After the sound of the piano became monotonous I turned to the computer, choosing to watch the video that she had recorded before the accident that we thought had claimed her life. By the time I saw Paine approaching me out of the corner of my eye I was on the tenth play through of the video. I quickly stopped it then turned to her, preparing myself for whatever was going to be happening next.

What she did then I hadn't been prepared for.

I had leaned back from the computer screen and fallen back against the chair when she had come into the room. I was in the process of rubbing my eyes when I felt her sit down on my lap and wrap her arms around my neck. I was so surprised, in fact, that I wasn't exactly sure what to do next. I slowly pulled my hands away from my face and met her red eyes, which were only a few inches from my own. I searched them for a few moments, trying to figure out what was going through her mind.

"Are you better now?" I asked, slowly letting my hands encircle her waist.

She nodded and tucked her head into the hollow of my throat. "I think so," she replied, drawing little designs on my collarbone with the tip of her finger. Her breath blew across my neck as she spoke, making a small tremor shoot down my spine. "I know what happened wasn't your fault."

I felt an immense wave of excitement wash over me but I kept my elation in check. "What finally made you believe me?" I asked, burying my nose into her hair and breathing in deeply.

"Nothing. I just realized what I already knew." She looked up at me then and a genuine smile spread across her face that even reached her eyes.

I smiled back at her and, after I couldn't figure out what to say, leaned forward to kiss her. When she didn't push me away, I felt like I was on top of the world. The fact that she had put so much of her trust in me was humbling. When I had seen Kiele on the other side of that door earlier I never would have envisioned this day ending up with Paine once again in my arms.

"How's your back?" I inquired after our most recent make-out session had come to an end.

"It hurts."

"How much?" I asked, becoming concerned.

"A lot. I probably shouldn't have gotten so angry and thrown Kiele against that wall." She tried to lighten the situation by laughing but I wasn't in the mood. This was serious.

"No, you shouldn't have," I said, my voice taking on a hard edge. I started to say something else but stopped. "I think I need to take you to the hospital." I then proceeded to pick her up and carry her out of the studio without turning off any of the lights or sound equipment.

"Baralai, I'm fine," she insisted, feebly attempting to struggle her way out of my arms.

"I hope you are," I replied as I sat her down in the passenger seat. "Because I'm going to be very angry if you've messed anything up." I heard her chuckle as I walked around car to the driver's side. "I'm serious," I remarked as I buckled my seat belt.

She smirked and rolled her eyes. I figured that was her way of saying 'whatever'. "I'm assuming we're coming back once we're done at the hospital?"

I glanced sideways at her as we pulled out of the storage facility, the corner of my mouth pulling up. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, you would have let me turn everything off, first of all, and since you didn't let me turn everything off you have plans of coming back," she stated. I thought I could detect a small amount of haughtiness in her voice but she was right. If her back was alright I did, in fact, want to come back.

"You caught me." I took a second to turn my head towards her and flash her a full smile while we were stopped at a red light. "But only if you didn't mess your back up too much," I stressed, making the smile fall off my face so I could send her a pointed glare.

She laughed at me then, probably thinking my seriousness was funny in some sick, twisted way. "Yes, Sir," she said, saluting me.

Considering how the day had started out, I was glad to have her laughing and joking with me right now. In a way, I was thankful that Kiele had shown up. Now Paine's trust in me was stronger because of it.

(Paine)

"I'm glad that's over," I said as Baralai helped me back into his car. We had only spent a little over an hour in the hospital and even that was too long. I had experienced my fill of that place and it was going to be a long time before I set foot in there again.

So, much to Baralai's relief, my back was fine. I had just strained the muscles surrounding the part of my spinal column that was healing. It was nothing major but even then I couldn't escape a harsh lecture from Dr. Allbrook. I had to tell him a huge fabricated lie about what I was doing to escape an even bigger tongue lashing. He gave me a small compression brace to wear underneath the one I already had for a couple of weeks. I wasn't happy about that but it was my fault that I got so angry. You reap what you sow, my mother used to say.

I could tell that Baralai was relieved by the way he sighed and sank into the driver's seat of his car. "Do you know you scared the shit out of me this afternoon?" He remarked, fixing me with a serious stare.

I frowned, surprised that he had said something like that. "I had your ex-girlfriend pinned up against the wall and you were more worried about me?" I didn't really know if I should be flattered or not. With Baralai I had no idea what to expect.

He leaned closer to me, that same serious expression on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't care about Kiele anymore? I'm not sure what last night meant to you but it sure meant a whole hell of a lot to me. I know somewhere deep down inside you that you trust me. You just have to admit it to yourself."

I looked away from him, unable to handle the conviction in his eyes. I suddenly found it difficult to breathe correctly. "If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have gone into your room." I met his gaze again because I couldn't keep my eyes away from him.

Once again I saw relief flood his countenance and wondered only briefly why he would be relieved before I realized that he genuinely want to earn my trust. I squeezed my eyes shut and exhaled sharply out of my nostrils, stopping that train of thinking immediately. Every guy acts genuine at first, my mind reminded me. Then, before I knew what I was doing, my mouth had gone on auto-pilot. "To be honest, Baralai, learning to trust someone isn't my problem. It's the fear of being betrayed later on that's stopping me."

He nodded as he started the car and shifted into gear. "That's understandable. A lot of people worry about that. Some more than others," he added as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Back to the studio then?"

"Might as well," I answered, watching the scenery I had seen thousands of times pass by. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

He chuckled and looked over at me briefly. "Oh, I'm sure we could think of something. We're resourceful."

The smile that stretched across my face immediately fell off when I remembered a phone call I got a couple days ago. "Actually I know what you can do."

"And what would that be?" He asked, not noticing my sour expression.

"Help me with the mountain of work I'll be bringing home with me tomorrow," I replied, sinking into the passenger seat as that dreaded phone conversation from the school replayed in my head. I was going to be able to graduate as soon as I made up all the work that I had missed. I wasn't worried though because it was still early in the year. I had plenty of time.

"I'll do what I can." He paused as he stuck his arm out and punched in the gate code. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Gippal recruited me for the Blitzball team."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline. "You told him you played in Bevelle, didn't you?" I asked with a smile on my face.

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. I didn't realize what I had done until after the fact either. I guess it's alright though. I'll stay in shape." He turned the car off and hopped out, running over to my side.

Something occurred to me as he opened my door. "So am I going to be watching you practice every day then?" I asked as he pulled me out of the car.

He gasped and froze, his arms going rigid around me. "Will you get angry if I tell you that I hadn't planned that far ahead?"

"No," I said as I preceded him into the studio, the familiar hum of the sound equipment greeting us. "Hanging out at your practice will give me a chance to watch you and get a little homework done."

"Okay, good. I'm sorry though if I made you feel left out. Sometimes I don't think things through like I should."

My jaw dropped as I pulled open the drawer that his completed sheet music was in. I looked over at him as he came to stand next to me with disbelief written all over my face. "Are you for real right now?" I asked, trying to figure out if I was dreaming.

His brow twitched as he gave me a funny look. "What do you mean?"

"Nice guys like you just don't exist. No one in my life, besides my parents, has ever been so mindful of me. It's hard for me to believe that you're real right now. I grew up hearing about fairy tales but I know better than anyone that things like that just don't exist."

His dark eyebrows scrunched together and he breathed in like he was going to say something but paused. He gently turned me towards him and pulled me against his body, gingerly touching my cheek with his hand like I was made out of porcelain. "The last thing I want to do is mess this up. It tore me up inside when you walked away from me. I literally thought I was going to be sick when you told me to leave. I don't want to feel like that ever again."

I had to force myself to keep my gaze locked with his. I could feel the heat rising up my face from his confession. The meaning behind his words had definitely not been lost on me. "Then that makes two of us," I said, managing to maintain control of my voice long enough to get that short sentence out.

I was so preoccupied with making sure I didn't look away from him that I didn't even notice it when he slid his hand around behind my neck. When he started slowly pulling me towards him, resisting his advances didn't even cross my mind. I only kept my eyes locked onto his as our faces got closer and closer together. My eyelids slid shut of their own accord as he gently brushed his lips against mine. Kissing him was quickly starting to become second nature to me and I liked it. I felt light headed when we parted for air then a strange awkward feeling passed over me for some unknown reason and I scrambled for something to change the subject. His sheet music was still in my hand so I quickly lifted it up so he could see it.

"You wanted to work on this right?"

He looked confused for a moment before he recognized what I was holding. "Um, yeah, we can do that. How far have you gotten?"

"Not very. I still need to record all the music and put it together. And I need to hear you sing. If your voice sucks I'm going to be very angry." As soon as I finished speaking an idea slapped me in the face and I had no choice but to do its bidding. I turned the computer on then opened a file that I had carefully hidden away so no one but me knew where it was. Only two things were in it: a song and a document containing the lyrics. I quickly printed the lyrics out and took a few seconds to stare at the song's icon. Cainen had written this certain song for me and even though I hadn't listened to it in forever I still knew every word. I retrieved the pages from the printer and handed them to Baralai. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Listen to this song until you think you've got it memorized then come get me."

"Okay," he replied, sitting down in front of the computer and opening the song.

I quickly made myself scarce before Baralai started asking the slew of question that I knew would be coming later. I got to work doing all my sound checks and reminding myself of the sheet music I hadn't laid my eyes on in over a month. I worked on the base and lead guitar first before reluctantly moving to the drums. With the way my back was I didn't know if I would be able to play them. I picked up the drumsticks with shaking hands, not sure if I should even try it. I was reminded of the second brace I was wearing and tightened my grip on the sticks to prevent my hands from shaking, deciding to go for it. There's nothing wrong with trying. I won't know until I try.

I shouldn't have tried.

I had only gotten through a few of the drum notes before I had to make a long reach with my right arm, causing my back to protest loudly. I gasped and bared my teeth, dropping the drumsticks like they had suddenly become searing hot. I sucked my arms in as close to my body as I could possibly get them then sat there panting and gasping as I waited for the pain to subside. Okay, that was a bad idea, I thought as my vision blurred. I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing in slowly through my nose and out through my mouth. I suddenly wished that I had my pain pills with me.

"Paine, are you alright?"

The sudden appearance of Baralai's voice made me jump, jarring my still throbbing back and I cried out. He rushed to my side and kneeled down next to me, gently placing his hand on the base of my back. "I'm okay," I responded through clenched teeth. "I tried playing the drums."

"Well I could have told you that was a bad idea," he said, softly running his hand up and down my back.

"I wish you would have. That hurt."

"So I've got that song memorized. That Cainen guy wrote it, didn't he?" He asked as he stood up.

I cringed at his question, knowing from the get go that he was bound to ask that. "How did you figure it out?" I asked, too embarrassed to look up at him.

"I recognized his voice." He paused and for a moment I was tempted to look up at him but I fought it off. "Do you have feelings for him?"

I was so stunned by what he had said that I nearly toppled off my stool. I was so concerned thinking about whether or not I was going to be able to trust him that I didn't even consider the fact that he might not trust me. I whipped my head up and met his eyes, not surprised when I saw his arms crossed over his chest and his expression guarded. "I don't think that's a very fair question," I answered, immediately going on the defensive.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his dark eyes narrowing.

"Would I be so hesitant to trust you if I was hiding something myself?" I was going to say more. I had a whole tirade to hit him with actually but I held my tongue. I could see this conversation being blown out of proportion and I didn't want that.

He stared at me for a very long thirty seconds – believe me, I counted – before taking in a huge lungful of air like he had been holding his breath. He exhaled slowly as he laced his fingers behind his head. "You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He kneeled down next to me again and looked sincerely into my eyes. "Forgive me?"

I smirked then leaned forward to kiss him. He had been betrayed before as well so I couldn't condemn him for asking something like that. I could very well call myself a hypocrite if I even considered something like that. "Yes. I want to hear you sing now."

I rose from behind the drum set and started into the recording room but he stopped me before I could get very far. "So was that our first argument?" He asked, a familiar glimmer in his eyes.

The corners of my eyes twitched as I picked up on exactly what he was insinuating. He wanted confirmation on whether or not we were a couple now. My old fight or flight instincts were screaming at me to run away but I didn't want to listen to them anymore. It was about time that I started acting like a real high school student. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

We sealed the deal with a kiss. Yuna and Rikku are going to freak out when I tell them…