(Chapter Three, Pt One)

The alarm going off had Aurora feeling around on her nightstand, knocking it to the floor, eventually. She heard more yelling from next door, and tensed as she heard Jonathan say something, then heard what sounded like something being thrown or someone hitting him.

She scowled at herself, the day before springing back to mind. She shouldn't give a damn, but she just.. It hurt knowing she lived right next door to a situation like one she and her own mother just escaped from. And the guy bought out tendencies in her, that in the week or two she'd lived here in Ohio now, she'd tried her level best to ignore.

She sighed as she heard him yelling and then slamming the door to his mother's apartment. Quickly, she dressed and grabbed two chocolate chip muffins, and two orange juices from the refridgerator. Her mother smiled at her and then asked, "In a hurry, Rora?"

"Kind of, mama. I promised a friend I'd meet 'em before school." Aurora said as she grabbed her bookbag, slid her feet into the flats and grabbed her pea coat, her beret and scarf, then took off down the hallway. She found him about halfway down the hall, muttering angrily to himself as he held his face.

Tapping his shoulder, she waited on him to turn around. When he did, he scowled. "You?"

"What?"

Jon shrugged and then said quietly, "What do ya want?"

"I sort of heard the arguing.. And I.."

"Stop listenin through the god damn walls." Jon raved as he looked at her, his temper flaring, feeling embarassed at her having heard him taking a hit. Feeling out of control of things, feeling vulnerable, not liking it, one bit.

"Be an asshole then." Aurora said as she bit her lip, shoved past him, intending to walk out, get away from him. All she'd been trying to do was make good on their truce, but apparently, Jonathan Good wasn't having any of that. He didn't want people to like him, he didn't want people to see that he was human.

And she didn't want him to keep lashing out at her, because it hurt, because she DID see these things in him, regardless to whether he did or not.

Jon sighed and then growled at himself, caught up to her, grabbed her wrist carefully. "Hey, wait up, would ya?"

Aurora stopped in her tracks and then said calmly, stiffly, "Go away, Jonathan. I'm done. Next time you say truce, I know it really means don't notice me, I won't notice you."

"Aurora."

"Jonathan. Just stop it. I get it now. You don't want or need anyone in your life." Aurora said as she held out the muffin and orange juice adding, "I grabbed these for you before I left.."

He took them from her hands, watching her in stunned silence as she sighed, rolled her eyes and walked out of the lobby of their apartment building, and blended in the crowd at the bus stop. He groaned as he raked his hand through his hair and muttered stiffly, "I don't fucking get her."

Jane giggled as she tugged on her older cousin's pants and said quietly, "I think she like ya."

"No she doesn't."

"She bringed you chocolate. And orange juice." Jane pointed out as she hugged her cousin when he picked her up. The man in the suit stepped out and said "We're with welfare. We came to take Jane with us. Someone's reported your mother."

Jon groaned, and growled, swearing, swinging at the man. In the end, he could do nothing, because they had at least 8 complaints from tenants in the building. The man finally said in a stiff and calm tone, "You can see her, until we find her a home."

Jon glared as he spat at the man and shoved through the crowd after stopping to say, "What? I hope you're all fuckin happy now. I coulda taken care of her, god damn it."

He found himself standing at the bus stop, arms crossed, biting his lip to try and keep from crying in anger.

Aurora watched the man carrying out Jonathan's cousin and she bit her cheek, sighed, and turned back to scan the crowd, see if he were okay. She could see his eyes, the way he looked like he was trying his best not to fall apart, but she kept to herself this time.

He didn't want or need her help, her friendship, her belief in him that he was a good guy, despite what everyone else said about him.

Yet his eyes were just so cold right now. And in some ways, sad, haunting. She wanted with everything in her to go to him at least try to comfort him, but she didn't dare. Not after how earlier this morning worked out for her.

Instead, she climbed the steps to the bus and sat in the back quietly, reading her book, trying not to cry herself, because she'd gotten to know the little girl over the course of a week or two and she enjoyed having her in the studio with her when she danced.

Once they were at school, Aurora found her way into the building quickly, and stood in front of her locker, composing herself.

Jonathan found a quiet empty room and then he let himself go into the rage he'd been feeling. And when he was done, he stepped out, just in time to catch Aurora coming out of the girls restroom, shoving a piece of tissue into her pocket, eyes a little red.

He growled at himself for being concerned, but wound up tapping her shoulder and getting her off to herself quietly.

"I'm gonna miss her." Aurora said quietly, as she looked up at Jonathan and asked, "But you.. you were with her all the time.. You okay?"

"Just reminded me how fucked my life is, why I need to get the hell out of this hell hole. I'll be fucking fine." Jon lied, as he looked at her then said in a quieter tone, "About this morning.. I didn't mean to.."

"Jonathan, just stop. I'm getting it now. I'll stop trying." Aurora said quietly as she leaned against a wall then said without looking at him, "It's just.. I hear it all the time, and god help me, I worry. I have no idea why, but I worry about you."

She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him to stand there shocked. For the first time in his life, he didn't get a chance to come up with something to say to make things even worse, and even if he had been able to, he'd have been speechless.

He puzzled over it and when time came for Biology, he watched for her to come in, but she didn't. After class, he went looking for her, found her at her locker getting her books.

"What the hell happened to ya?"

"I got all my classes switched. Now you won't have to see me as much. So you won't have to pretend to be civil." Aurora said quietly as she grabbed her English book and walked past him. To be honest, she was distancing herself because this morning she realized that her feelings for him, even when he continuiously treated her like crap were sort of pathetic, and she wasn't about to become that girl.

She was going to have some class and give up now, before he got to her so much she couldn't.

Jon stood in the hallway, frozen, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She'd agreed to the truce, and he'd been handling it the only way he knew how, by staying out of her way so they wouldn't fight. But right now, it just felt..

He felt angry and upset from earlier, and confused, and he didn't like this, not one bit. He hated not being able to figure her out. He hated the instability, not being in control of himself for once.

Everything was crashing down around him, he just wanted one damn thing he could be sure of, and it looked like that wasn't happening any time soon.