I don't own Lorien Legacies!
After my shower, I find Sam walking out of Sandor's workshop. "Hey, Sam, I'm sorry about before. Nine was being an ass." I say as I approach him.
Sam smiles. "Yeah, no problem, Six. I get it, you guys have to get ready for this war. That means that you don't have time to mess around with me when you should be training." He looks sullen.
"Quit insulting yourself. You're doing fine. But you're only human, it's not your fault at all." I smile at him, and he perks up. "Why don't we do something fun? You said earlier that you wanted to hang out sometime."
"Yeah, that would be great. What do you want to do?"
"I have no idea. I'm not sure what's in Chicago or how to navigate it without getting lost. But we'll figure it out, I'm sure." Sam grins, and the two of us walk towards the elevator doors.
"Where are you guys going?" Ella asks us from the living room.
"Exploring. Tell the others not to worry. We'll be back in under two hours, okay?"
Ella nods, but frowns. "Okay. Have fun."
What's wrong? I ask her in my mind.
Ella hesitates before answering. Nothing, don't worry about it, Six. Have fun on your date with Sam. She replies.
I grin and press the button for the elevator. Sam and I step inside, and the ride down to the lobby is quick. Once we step outside into the busy streets of Chicago, Sam and I wander towards the shores of Lake Michigan.
We stop on a park bench and stare at the huge lake. "Wow, that's pretty big." Sam remarks. He realizes what he just said, and blushes. "I mean, that's a big lake. No, I mean… I meant to say…"
I laugh. "Don't worry Sam, I got it. The lake is big." I tease him.
He groans. "Here I am, out with the prettiest Garde on Earth, and I'm blabbing about how big Lake Michigan is… Of course it's big, it's one of the Great Lakes… Ugh."
"Hey, don't worry." I reassure him. "I get that you're a little nervous." I begin. "I am too."
"You? Nervous?"
Okay, maybe I'm lying a little bit. But if it's to make Sam feel better, then it's okay. Right? "Yeah, this is my first date too. So don't be too worried, okay?"
Sam nods, and we eventually leave the lakeside to wander the streets of Chicago. We're just exiting a small café on a corner street when we hear a familiar voice. "Hey lovebirds. How's your date?"
Nine smirks at us, and Sam looks embarrassed, but I'm beyond annoyed. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask him.
"Looking for you two. You've been gone for more than two hours, so Ella's worried. Come on. It's time to go back and end your little date."
"Shut up, Nine."
"Whatever you want, sweetheart."
"Don't call me that!"
"Sure, sure." Nine grins, but I keep glaring at him. He finally starts walking, so Sam and I follow him back to the John Hancock Center. We ride the elevator up in silence, the only sound being Nine tapping his foot on the ground.
When we get into the penthouse, Nine drags the two of us into the kitchen. "I found them."
"What took you guys so long?" Marina asks.
"Yeah, you've been gone for almost three hours." Ella says. "We were getting worried about you."
"We're fine. We just got a little lost, is all." I tell Ella.
For the next hour, I lean against the counter in the kitchen and watch Marina make dinner. I had tried a few times to help her, but I'm not talented at cooking. When dinner's ready, the ten of us sit around the huge dining table in the penthouse and eat. After dinner, it is John and Sarah's turn for the dishes, so the rest of us disperse to do whatever.
Later that night, I find myself in the Lecture Hall, training by myself. I'm already exhausted, but it's better than sleeping. When I sleep, I still have horrible nightmares about Katarina and my time in the Mog base. Not to mention the nightmares about my time in the Dulce base or my fight with Setrakus Ra.
As I'm finishing up a drill that Katarina always made me do as a kid, someone says, "Nicely done." I stop and turn around to see Nine standing there, just staring at me.
I'm surprised to see him here, since I thought that everyone was asleep by now. "Thanks. Katarina always made me do that one. I don't really need to practice it anymore, but it feels wrong to train without doing it. You know?" I explain, and I'm sure he can relate. We all have weird things that we do in order to remember our Cepans.
Nine nods, his expression serious for once. "Yeah, Sandor made me do the same drill. I hated it then and I hate it now." I suppose that makes sense. It's a drill that has helped me develop spatial awareness –which helps me not trip and fall when using my invisibility. "So, what are you doing in here?" He asks.
"I told you earlier, I've been training on my own at night. It helps me sleep if I train later in the day." I tell him. Sure, it's a lie and we both know it, but it sounds better than the truth. I'm Six. I don't want to admit to Nine of all people that I'm having nightmares which keep me from sleeping. That's Ella's problem, since she's eleven. That shouldn't be my problem. I'm old enough where I should be able to handle this without having nightmares.
"So why train in the morning at all?" Nine asks, apparently buying my lie. "Why not use those hours in the morning for something more productive?" he asks. "Like getting enough sleep?" Okay, maybe he did see through my lie. It's probably that hearing of his, which can pick up heartbeats. It's really annoying, let me tell you.
We talk for a few more minutes, and Nine offers to add a morning run to our new training regime, seeing as I was pretty much forced to train with him this morning. "What are you doing up in the training room anyways?" I ask.
Nine hesitates before answering, "Some crazy girl kept making sounds in the Lecture Hall, which kept me awake." He teases.
"Hm, you might have to take care of that. It sounds like a serious issue." I tell him in a mock-serious tone. It's kind of nice to talk with Nine without yelling at each other or hurling insults. Maybe we can get along. Actually, probably not. We're too different. You're too similar, a voice in the back of my mind argues. And all you need to do to get along is be alone in a dark room… the voice goes on.
"…awake, not helping you sleep." Nine finishes. Oh, I must have missed the first part of whatever he said due to my inner voice being weird. Oh well. Nine grabs me by my arm and gently drags me out of the Lecture Hall and through the hallway. He stops in front of my room, and my inner voice says some things that are not appropriate for Ella to hear. Despite the silent shouts of my inner voice, Nine gently shoves me into the room and closes the door behind me. "Get some sleep or I'll make you!" he orders.
"How will you make me get some sleep?" I ask defiantly, desperately trying to shove down my incoming yawn.
"I have my ways. Don't doubt the genius in my amazing skull, sweetheart." He responds, and I can practically hear the smirk crossing his features. His strong, handsome features. 'No, Six. Don't think that.' I tell myself, but my traitorous inner voice betrays me. Yes, Six. Think those thoughts. Think about how handsome and smart and funny Nine is. Wait. I don't think that Nine is smart. In my opinion, he's an utter idiot. Um, I mean, think about how amazing Nine is. And how he makes you feel when he's around.
Suddenly, it makes sense. There's no creepy voice in my head. I mean, there is, but it's not because I'm crazy. It's the only telepath in the penthouse. Ella. Get out of my head, Ella. I tell her. And stop trying to get me to think about Nine. That's weird and creepy.
Ella quickly apologizes, and the strange voice is gone. But still, something about it bugs me. Why did I so easily think that it was my inner self? Do I actually think about Nine that way, but push it down? And was Nine right when he told me that I'm only leading Sam on? That 'girls like me' walk all over 'boys like him'?
'No.' I tell myself. 'I like Sam, and I'm not leading him on.' I repeat this thought to myself multiple times as I change into pajamas and lay down in bed. As much as I want to fall asleep, thoughts race through my mind. Sadly, they're mostly doubts about my relationship with Sam and thoughts about Nine.
"What's happening to me?" I ask myself. This is sad, really. I'm definitely not Badass Six right now. More like confused Maren who has no idea what to do. And I hate being confused almost as much as I hate being Maren.
Hey guys! I hope you liked this secondary one-shot for Training! I might actually make this a three-shot, with the last one being from Sam's perspective. Or I might not. Either way, thanks for reading! Please review and tell me your thoughts. Have a wonderful day/night!
~Nerd