Copyright infringement not intended. T for language and violence. Thanks for the reviews.
Here we goo! :D Chapter nine. I'm trying to think of how many chapters I should write for this, just to, y'know, see what I have to put in each chapter and how much filler could be needed.. At this point, the minium length is fifteen chapters. Maybe longer if I get time... :|
Anyway, chaptuh nine. Hope you all enjoyy! :D
Nine; Time of Lies.
xlx
Now I know we said things,
Did things,
That we didn't mean,
And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine.
xlx
Kat Harmon was in love.
So happy, so blissful.
Everything felt right, it all clicked into place now!
She was in love with..
The ceiling.
Yeah, sure, there was a ton of cracks and paint splatters, and was that blood over there? She couldn't really tell. But, it didn't say anything or do anything. It was just there to stare at blankly.
Damn. She needed to get a pet or something. Anything to keep her from going depressed or insane from staring at the ceiling for hours upon hours.
Too much waiting, she had decided when the clock tolled the second hour of staring at the blank ceiling. Waiting for everyone and everything.
She didn't really want to think about the kiss or Genesis in general, but her thoughts always slipped back that way, circling and anaylizing him and the damned kiss. Damned thing.
Reluctantly, Kat had to admit he was a good kisser. Not that she enjoyed the kiss at all when she remembered it was Genesis and not some guy from a bar. Exactly.
That was her story and she was sticking to it.
"Kat?"
No.
She wasn't talking to anyone, especially Angeal or Sephiroth, and sure as hell not Genesis.
"Kat, please open the door!"
Kat swore, loud enough for them to hear. No way was she getting up just to get interrogated by her fellow Firsts and most likely assaulted by Genesis again. Nope.
They couldn't pay her enough.
Come to think about it.. She wasn't paid enough. Turks were paid more than her and she did some of the important work to. It was like the Turks were the brains and SOLDIER was the brawn. Sent along just to ensure safety.
That was true. She'd been on a lot of missions with Turks and most of the time it was only to make sure they didn't die or anything. Those missions hadn't been exactly eventful. Though, there was that time when Reno nearly died..
"Kit-Kat?"
Her eyes widened and darted to the door as if she expected to see Damien standing there. She swore, again. He was here? Maybe.. If he was, why?
What happened?
Questions buzzed in her mind, nearly impairing her. Kat scrambled to her feet, almost falling over herself to reach the door. No one but Damien called her that. No one.
Heart racing, she jerked the door open, thinking she would find her father standing there. Only Genesis, Sephiroth and Angeal. She glared at each of them, gripping the door tighter. That was low. Very low. She thought it was her father, dying or in need of something.
Damn them to hell.
"Fuck you," Kat spat, moving out of the doorway and preparing to slam it in their faces. Genesis stuck his foot in the doorjam, though, and effectively made her eyes go to his. Something flickered in the azure depths while annoyance and anger boiled in hers.
She didn't want to talk to any of them, especially not him, and she would not flinch away from the idea of slamming the door on his foot. Her eyes locked with his in a glaring match, his goading and cocky and hers angered and pissed.
Of course, on their own accord - that was her story and she was sticking to it - her eyes drifted to his lips for a brief second. It was long enough to put a smirk on his face, though. Her glare strengthened and her eyes narrowed.
"I'm not afraid to break your foot. Or jaw." She hissed, seriously toying with the thought. If anyone knew, they wouldn't blame her for breaking his foot or jaw or anything, really. But, then, if anyone knew..
It would not turn out pretty.
"Or my heart," he added, too quiet for the other two men to hear. She frowned at him, heart beginning to pick up speed in a frantic panic. His.. Heart? Of course, she could be called a heart-breaker, but she never imagined herself to be so.
She wasn't like the other girls that were called that. Kat didn't take pleasure in stealing hearts and breaking them beyond repair. Not when her own heart had been trampled on so many times she'd made herself invincible to love.
But, his words did spike her curiosity.
What had she ever done to his heart?
Unless...
Oh... Hell.
Her eyes widened with shock and she wanted very much to slam the door now, not because she was pissed at all of them - she was still, the assholes - but because she wanted to think and get away from those words.
"Sorry. I'm not in the mood," she growled, trying to remain as angry as she could, and gave all three Firsts a deadly glare. "If you haven't noticed, my life has pretty much gone to hell. So, if you could all leave me alone for the next ten years, that'd be amazing!"
She glanced over to where a figure lingered and arched a brow at it's spiky head. "Except you, of course, Zack. Not your fault these dipshits don't understand space," her words were directed for the Second though her eyes met Genesis' briefly. "I'm really not in the mood."
The young man grinned from the shadows, stepping closer to her door. Kat moved out of the doorway, letting him into her rooms before she turned back to the men. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "When I feel like talking to you guys, I'll tell you," she snapped, then felt her expression soften. "Please. I... I just need time."
"Time with Zack, you mean," Genesis corrected wrongly. As if a switch was flipped, her soft eyes and broken expression were gone, hardened into the mask she always donned. Survival mechanism. Don't let yourself break from being broken.
She had been softening up to them, again, actually wanting to spend time with all three of them like they had done so many years ago. Without all the stress of death and killing and that kiss. But with what he said, he just squashed all her desire of spending time with him.
With anyone of them, besides Zack.
"Yeah. Time with Zack. Maybe, I'll take advantage of his excitement of getting Second and make a move on him," she sneered, being cruel and under-handed, but she couldn't care less. He was egging her on and she, like always, went along without hesitation.
Most of the time she didn't even think of what she was saying before she said it. This was one of those times.
"He's in for a treat, then," he retorted, voice low and pitched in way that only she could hear him.
"Go to hell, Genesis."
"I'll go willingly if I can take you with me."
She narrowed her eyes at him, planting her hands at her hips. "I'd say go fuck yourself, but you'd probably ask me to watch," Kat growled, her tone, like his, only reaching him.
He smirked at her, taunting her, mocking her. She huffed impatiently, moving out of the doorway and slamming the door in their faces.
Oh, hell. What had she gotten herself into?
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"You okay, Kat?"
She glanced over to the dark haired boy, brows knitted together. Was she okay? She felt like her entire life was spinning out of control.
"You know, I have no idea, really," she murmured and got to her feet, collecting the plates. "I.. It's just.. My brother's dead." Blunt and to the point, that was Kat. His violet eyes softened at her words but Zack didn't speak. "And then Genesis is being an ass."
He looked up, eyes bright with interest, at that. Kat rolled her eyes, marching into the kitchen, aware of him following her. "How's he being an ass?" Zack asked when she dumped their plates into the sink, not bothering to watch them now.
She frowned.
It wasn't something she could explain easily. It was like an on-going war between them, a war that's stakes had just been raised. Then there had been that comment about his heart and how she apparently wasn't afraid to break it.
What was that all about?
He couldn't actually be.. Couldn't have..
No.
That was crazy, downright crazy. It was a love-hate relationship they had. They loved to hate each other!
But.. Could Kat honestly say that she hated him?
No.
"Kat?"
She looked up, making an unattractive sound in acknowledgement.
"How is Genesis being an ass?"
Kat shrugged at him, heaving herself onto the counter with a sigh. "He's just really confusing at the moment. Ask Angeal or Sephiroth about us," she snorted, grinning at the fifteen year old. "They should have amazing stories about the two of us."
He watched her with interest, a grin on his face as well. "Angeal was assigned to be my mentor." He announced, nearly bouncing with the happiness that dripped from his words. Her eyes widened in surprise.
She had known that he would've got a mentor, she just thought it might've been her or Sephiroth. Angeal had more patience than she and was gentler than Sephiroth, but he had those damned lectures.
"That's great! Wow. Angeal's a good guy, he'll be an amazing mentor," she complimented. "Be happy you don't have Genesis or I. Gaia, would you be in for it." She winked at him and leaned against the cabinets.
Zack's grin grew and he nodded, though looked wary and shifted far too many times to be relaxed. "Uh, sorry. I sorta have to go now. Angeal wanted me to start training as soon as possible. Get to First faster, he says," he apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.
Kat shrugged, watching him coolly. It was a smart thing to do. If she'd been his mentor, she would have spent the night at a bar with him, celebrating his promotion. "Of course. Tell him that I'm fine with talking to him and Sephiroth. Not," she added quickly when he nodded, "Genesis."
He shrugged as well and left the kitchen. A few minutes later and the door shut softly on his good-bye, leaving her to her overwhelming thoughts which always lead back to Genesis' words, his lips on hers, his hands on her.
Oh, Gaia.
Lust, she reminded herself. It had been two months since she'd been with anyone. And, as it was, she had more important to worry about besides kisses and lust.
Such as Damien and Lyndsay's safety.
Even though she hated the idea of going back to Gongaga, she hated the idea of losing her family even more. Angeal understood better than the other two. When you went from having everything, to losing everything, you sort of lost sight on the important things.
When the future was this ill-fated, you could only focus on the here and now.
Even if the present was just as bad.
Which it was.
Kat groaned to herself, not caring that no one was in her rooms - or so she hoped. No, there couldn't be. Her room was in perfect condition, her door had been locked when she had gotten back and every entrance needed her own keycard to open.
Only two people had the keycard to open her door.
One was, obviously, herself, and the other was...
She swore, remembering. Genesis.
Why was it that he had the last keycard, you ask?
Because, when she was promoted to First, she was given two. One for herself and one for somebody she trusted in case of emergencies. She had trusted him - at that time - with her life and had had a crush on him - at that time - so it only seemed fit for Genesis to have it.
Not anymore.
She'd rather if there was only one keycard.
Her cell phone's shrill ring took her away from her thoughts forcefully, eyes drifting to the screeching device that vibrated on her counter. She sighed and snatched it, flipping the phone open, and brought it to her ear.
"It's Kat." She answered, staring at the other side of the kitchen. "What's up?"
There was soft breathing and a distinctly feminine chuckle. "Hey, little sister," her sister's voice greeted, sounding happy and familiar but...
Off.
Kat frowned. Lyndsay didn't sound normal, she sounded.. Forced. Like she was being made to call her. She'd play along, of course. If something was up, she didn't want to seem like she was in the know.
Especially when every instinct and nerve in her body was screaming how wrong it felt.
Not once had her instincts been off, been misleading. That's why she wasn't a very defensive fighter. She'd do what she would have to do to stay alive and that was it.
"Lynsday. What's going on? Why are you calling?" She questioned, sliding off the counter to allow her to pace.
Her sister sighed. "Nothing's wrong. Yet. There are a lot of men here, all from ShinRa. Do you know anything about it?" Lyndsay asked.
So, the infantrymen and SOLDIERs had arrived. That was good. "Yeah. They're there to protect you and Damien," Kat answered, relief sinking into her. "Don't give them any trouble, Lyndsay. Please. I'm just trying to keep all of us safe."
Lyndsay snorted darkly, and, once again, she seemed off.. Not the girl she had known for her entire life nor the woman she had seen a few days ago. "You could always come back and protect us yourself, Katelyn." She reminded her, ruthless and sharp.
Her words stung and she bristled at her full name. "It's Kat, and, no, I can't. I mean, I could, for, like, three days. Not alone. There's people that I care about here and I can't leave them, Lyn. I can't let anything happen to them." She attempted to explain.
Her sister laughed, a short and humorless sound, before swearing at her. "You're such a bitch, you know that, Kate? They're in SOLDIER! They can protect themselves!" She shouted. Kat cringed at the sudden volume.
Low and under-handed.
She could fight back just as well as her sister.
"You have Damien! Damien can protect both of you! By the time this bastard is dead and gone, you'll have fucked every infantryman posted in Gongaga!" Kat yelled back, not caring if anyone in the hall heard. It was the First's floor, after all. "I may be a bitch, but at least I'm not a whore!"
She was swearing more than she normally did.
Great, this is what her sister did to her every time they talked. Every. Time.
"Oh-ho, yeah, sure! Go ahead, think that! Just know that your precious boyfriend wouldn't sleep with me because he thought it would upset you. True love, huh?" Lyndsay snarled.
Kat's breath hitched in her throat at that, anger boiling, her face and body heating. Everything was heated with fury and hatred. She could barely keep a hold on it all, it was slipping from her grasp.
One more word and it'd all be gone. She would literally lose it.
And Lyndsay knew that.
"You are just sitting pretty in Midgar while your family, our family, is being slaughtered."
Her hands shook, fingers tightly grasping the cell phone, too tight, to the point where it hurt. No. She wasn't. If she could, she'd go to Gongaga as soon as possible. But, she couldn't.
She couldn't leave.
"What the hell do you want from me, Lyndsay. Do you want me to flip out? Do you want me to cry? Do you want me to try to kill you myself? 'Cause I swear, if you keep pushing and pulling at me, I will! Gaia! Just leave me alone, would you? I'm trying to protect you and Dad as good as I can! At least I'm doing that much! You're doing nothing but bitch at me like a child! I am trying to fix this! Do you understand this?
"I'm trying to fix our family, dammit! We hate each other because of me and I'm trying to fix what I broke! Can't you understand that?" Kat yelled, not bother once to stop for air. "No, you can't! You're incapable of thinking about anyone besides yourself! So, do me a favor and leave me the hell alone!"
She hung up, breathing heavily and eyes blurring with tears of betrayal. It hurt as much as it had when Damien and her siblings blamed her for their mother's and Joey's death. Maybe worse, because now she could finally do something, and she was doing nothing.
No.
That wasn't true. That was what Lyndsay was trying to do.
But.. Why would her sister say that? Why would her sister be that relentless and cruel?
Unless...
Kat's eyed widened in realization, fear diluting her body while panic scrambled her mind. "Oh..Shit."
There was a clicking noise from the door, the sound it made when it unlocked, and it swung open with a whoosh. Her eyes - still wide with this newfound information - snapped up to the only other person who had a keycard.
He was frowning at her, worry evident on his face. "I heard you screaming at someone. Your sister or father?" He asked in way of explanation, closing the door gently behind him.
Shock had numbed her and it took Kat a while to process his words. "Lyn," she murmured, not really hearing his response.
Could what she thought be true?
No.. It couldn't. Lyndsay wouldn't sell out her family, not for a man who had killed most of them. Not even for sex or money or the promise of love and security.
She hoped.
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But, your temper is just as bad as mine is,
You're the same as me.
xlx
So...?
What did you think?
Oh my God, this chapter was going absolutely nowhere at first, but then I started watching FFXIII AMVs, and yeahh... Got back into the swing of thangss. (:
But, I liked how and where it went, even though Genesis coming in at the end was ultra-random, I know. But the whole thing with Lyndsay and Kat... Fun stuff! :D I like writing arguements. Things come out in the heat o' the moment.
Anyways, revieww! (:
Until next time,
xWhiteRainx