How It All Began: Chapter 18

 Jinx stared down at his bedroom floor. He'd been sitting there for quite some time, just trying to come up with a way to help Adrienne. Oh, and Ria! Yupp, her too... why do they have to be so impossibly set in their ways? Then he remembered Adrienne's fierce determination when she finally saw how Ria was right. We will approach the council she'd said in anger, we will get our family back together!  He sighed and laid back so he was on the bed. Well, someone's got to make sure they don't kill themselves. He got up and walked out the door.

..........................

 Ria was talking to herself as she always did, when she bumped into Ryan Barbotti and his posse. "Oh, Hello Ryan." she smiled politely.
 "'Sup, Sweet-cheeks?" he replied with a cruel smile.
 She forced a smile,"Nothing much, now if you'll excuse me...."
 "Where you goin'?" said Mitchell, the first guy in Ryan's posse.
 "I really must be going...."
 Ryan's eyes flashed with anticipation,"So soon?" She tried to push past him, but he just grabbed her arm and pulled her tightly to him,"The party's just starting, babe."
 "Let me go, Ryan!" she shouted as she squirmed in his grasp.



 "We just wanna have some fun, Sweetheart!" he grinned as they pushed her into the gym. "You have fire magic right?" She stared at him confused as she rubbed her wrist. It will undoubtedly have a bruise in the morning on it. "Well, lets hope that's enough for you to survive." She was so confused! Then, he closed his eyes and stood infront of her as Mitchell locked the doors in the gym. When Ryan opened his eyes, they were no longer the mystical, dark blue, but a brilliant royal blue. What as more, his pupils weren't black like a normal being's, but a crimson, blood red.

 She still didn't get it. What as so menacing about this gesture? "Wha-" she started but soon stopped because she felt a sharp stab of pain in her middle. She gasped from the sudden attack and looked down to see where he stabbed her. She checked her whole stomach, but never found a single gash. Bewildered, she looked up to Ryan who as grinning viciously at her. "What did you just do?" she asked in a quiet voice.

 He laughed at her desperate tone,"Are you not finding my talent to your liking?"

 "What is it!?"

 "You see, I have a small talent of manipulating people's bodies and minds. Neat huh? Would you like me to try it out again?"

 She was about to yell no, when she felt so much pain that she screamed and dropped to the floor. "STOP!" she screamed out, "PLEASE! S-STOP!" she screamed again and started wailing on the floor. My body is writhing in pain. There is nothing I can do. I can't even form a  fireball. 

 Then, she heard someone yell,"STOP IT!" and suddenly, the intense pain stopped. For a moment she wondered if she as dead and she opened her eyes. She saw sneakers. She looked up to see a boy from Ryan's own posse with a tight grip on his arm. He was the one who had silver hair and a distant expression. She believed she heard his name was Aaron. Aaron Lehne. He had been so quiet the whole time, she had almost forgotten that he was even there. Ryan's eyes went back to their normal dark blue color.

"I said THAT'S ENOUGH! She obviously can't beat you, so give it up!" Aaron pleaded with earnest eyes. Ryan's eye twitched a few times. Aaron had made him lose his concentration and he was upset. He revved his arm back then punched Aaron so hard in the jaw that he fell back. Thankfully, he caught his balance so he didn't fall, but when he turned to face them, his lip was already dripping blood. He still looked completely undeterred, "Leave her alone, Ryan. We're done here." Ria stared at this brave boy with wide, surprised but grateful eyes. Why in Light City would that boy turn against his friends just to save a girl he didn't even know? It's ridiculous!

 Ryan turned around sharply,"Come on, we're leaving." then he turned to Aaron with a murderous look gleaming in his eyes,"We'll settle this later."

 Aaron only nodded and hung his head. He followed behind them and only turned around at the last second. He mouthed,"Sorry." to Ria, then walked silently out the door with them. When they were gone, Ria dropped to her knees in a crumpled ball. As she stared at the drops of blood on the floor, she wondered just what kind of person Aaron was.

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 "So who is it that you so badly want to introduce me to?" Jinx grumbled aggravated.

 "Oh calm down, Mr. Grumpy-Pants! You'll meet her as soon as she gets here!" Adrienne replied in a joking manner.

 "It's a SHE?! No thanks. I'm not any good with girls."

 "You're not any good with guys either!" she grinned elbowing him.

 He crossed his arms and turned away from her. "Oh come on, Jinx! I'm only kidding! Geesh. This is exactly why I want you to meet her."

 "What do you mean?!" he demanded.

 She rolled back and forth on her heels,"Well, you're always so serious all the time! You need to lighten up. Seriously, you look like you would be wielding an evil device from the Dark Ages! No, you look like YOU'RE the evil device from the Dark Ages!"

 "And WHY would you say that?"

 "BECAUSE! I wouldn't be surprised if you scared her away with that simply evil look you have plastered on your face!"

 "THIS IS WHAT I ALWAYS LOOK LIKE!!!"

 "I KNOW!"

 Then, Lola bounced up,"Sorry to interrupt your guys's adorable little argument, but I'M HEEEERE!!!!"

 Adrienne smiled,"Hey LOL! Jinx, this is Lola Meunier, or more properly known as LOL. She helped found the beginning band The Alley Cats. Everyone in it is half cat! Isn't that cool?!"

 "Simply amazing." He replied sarcastically. Ria may have rubbed off on Adrienne so much that she will start making friends with anyone out of the blue, but he certainly wasn't going to follow in her footsteps. "Well I'll see you  later."

 "Jinx, where're you going?!" Adrienne yelled after him.

 "I don't know."

 "Come on, I promise she doesn't bite! You don't bite do you?" LOL shook her head,"SEE! She's really cool! Besides, you guys actually have a lot in common."
 "Oh yeah? Like what?"
 "Like you're both part cat! Isn't that cool?"
 He turned to leave,"Sure."
 "Wait, Jinx! here are you going?"
 "I don't know!"
 "Jinx-"
 "Maybe I'm leaving Asfiria!" he growled.

 She stared at him for a moment as if she were staring at him through the bars of an asylum. He bit his lip knowing that was a stupid thing to say. There was only one realm, and that was called Asfiria. Asfiria is half Dark City and half Light City. Then he stormed out of the school as furious as a cat that had been dunked in water. "Jinx." she whispered to his retreating shadow, and then she looked down What was THAT all about?

................................

 Aaron wiped his hand across his lower lip as a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. When he pulled his hand back, it was spotted with blood. He sighed and started attacking the punching bag again. After they had left the gym, Ryan had given him a strong warning punch that left his side sore and bruised. Why did that one girl just have to be alone? Punch. Why couldn't she have just been somewhere else? Punch Punch. And why did Ryan have to pick her? PUNCH. He slammed his fist so hard into the bag, it blew a hole in it and sand started spilling over his hand and out of the broken bag. The torn half fell to the floor as sand seeped out of it. A yell of anger escaped him as he kicked the broken bag on the floor with all his might. It flew to the other side of the room and slammed into the wall with a force so great that it made the rafters shake. He fell to his knees as anguish took the place of rage.
 "Are you alright?"
 Aaron looked up to see Ryan leaning on the doorway, He immediately got up to cover up his embarrassment, "Oh hey. Yeah, I'm good. Why?"
 He shrugged,"I hit you pretty hard."
 "It's not that bad." he mumbled as he wiped his sleeve against his lip to try and hide the blood.
 "It's bleeding."
 He shrugged.
 "Here." he threw him a rag,"You're getting blood all over the floor." then he turned and left with his hands in his pockets.
 Aaron smiled. That was just about the best "I'm Sorry" that he would get. It was really hard for Ryan to admit his feelings. Even good ones. Especially good ones. His parents were always pressuring him all the time to be the best, and to push others down in the making. He was simply a product of his upbringing. and what a terrible upbringing his was! Aaron got up, put a new punching bag on the designated hook, and started at it again.

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  Jinx had been sitting in the same alley with his back against the brick wall for quite a while. He didn't know how long he'd been there, but he did know that it was day when he was running through the streets of Dark City, and now it was dark. The street lights were on, and it was very cold outside. He knew he should have brought a jacket, but he didn't so there was no point in thinking about it since he couldn't change what had happened. He sighed and watched as his breath, now visible in the cold night air, blew across the alley like smoke. Why did I say that? UGH! That was so stupid! He hugged his knees a little closer to his chest. I wonder if she's upset with me... Dread filled him as he thought about it. He didn't want her mad at him, but he certainly wasn't going to force himself to talk to a nosy person he didn't know. Even if it was what Adrienne had been looking forward to... No. That's not right. I should have stayed. But, I didn't, and, no, I didn't have to! I don't have to go talking to a bunch of random strangers if I don't want to! Well, it was just one person.... It was just a girl! Gosh I'm so stupid. Should I apologize? But then she'll expect me to talk to anyone she wants me to be friends with.... No, maybe that's more like Ria. Adrienne isn't really a people person. I know she doesn't like some animals either... DOES SHE NOT LIKE CATS?! Wait, that's not the point, and definitely not what I should be worrying about. But what if she's allergic?! No. She wouldn't be able to be around me if she was... But I AM just half cat.... WHAT AM I THINKING?! Geez, Jinx. PULL IT TOGETHER. He argued with himself silently until he realized that there was a dark shape standing over him. He quickly pulled to his feet in a second and got ready to spring if he was approached. The figure got closer and as it walked underneath the street light, he saw her. 

 He breathed a sigh of relief,"Adrienne. What are you doing here?"

 "I was looking for you. You really gave me a scare! I was afraid you would do something... stupid."

 He looked away. No wonder she was scared, most people who attempted to leave Asfiria in hopes that there is another world usually die. It's impossible. There is no other world out there, so there is nowhere else to go. Though there are some people in Asfiria who believe otherwise. They believe that there is some other unknown force out there, and that if people really tried hard enough, they could discover it. Jinx was one of those people. Adrienne happened to be part of the group that thought it was impossible and a waste of time. She didn't believe it was possible, so why kill yourself because of a crazy fictitious idea? "I'm sorry. I was... kidding. I didn't mean it, I was just, in a bad mood."

 She smiled as a wave of relief washed through her,"Oh. OK good. I mean, not that you were in a bad mood, just that you weren't um, you know, I just-"

 "I know." He cut through her sentence.

 She looked down,"Look, Jinx, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. If you don't want to talk to Lola, then you don't have to. I shouldn't have tried to force you to it."
 "That's okay. I shouldn't have been a baby about it." He was glad to see her, but it must have been difficult finding him, so he felt bad that he had caused her all of this trouble. He also wasn't too fond of her being out this late at night.Some things just happen. Especially in the dark. Especially in Dark City. He understood this,"It's late, you should go home."

 She frowned,"I'm pretty sure I'll be fine." her eyes just slightly narrowed in annoyance.

 "I'll walk you home." She was obviously not going to go unless he made sure, so that's what he would do.

 She crossed her arms. He was obviously not giving her a chance, and this made her mad. She was about to say that she could very well walk home herself because she didn't want to be with him, but the fact was that she DID want to be with him. Which was confusing... Nonetheless, this reminded her all too well of her unsettling dream that had occurred a LOT lately. So she let her arms fall limp by her side in defeat,"Fine. But I take the lead." She smirked at him as she turned around.

 He smiled and held out his hand gesturing her forward,"Lead the way, your Highness."

 She huffed and started walking toward the street. She couldn't hear him, but she didn't turn around to make sure he was still there. She wouldn't accept defeat easily, so she was going to make it hard on him and let him think she was mad at him. Even though all the while she was just itching for an excuse to turn around. I wonder why he's always so guarded. I mean, he never lets anyone through his shell. Not even me and Ria. I wonder what he's really like when nobody's watching him... I bet he's really cool. I mean, he already is cool, but I wonder if  he is normal around his family. I wonder why he's sooo shy. I mean, we're friends, and I still don't even really know anything about him. I've known him for about... 1, 2,...4. Four months. Yeah, since the beginning of school all the way to November, it's been four months since I've known him. Wow. I've known him for that long and I still don't even know anything about him?! Gosh I'm pathetic. Why didn't I ever think of asking? I wish I was just a little more like Ria in that strong-point. After a long while, they finally got to her house. She turned on her heel to finally see if he was there. He was. He was right behind her, well in front of her now. Now she felt a little sheepish.

 "Well, um, thanks..."

 He merely nodded then disappeared in the shadows without a single goodbye as if he had never been there. She turned her back on the cold night air and opened her door.

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 Ria lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She wasn't in any pain anymore. It only lasted while Ryan used his so called "talent" on her. Which meant she would only feel pain as long as Ryan willed it. And if he wasn't distracted... She worried as she thought about what he would do to poor Aaron who had saved her life. She wasn't sure that Ryan was actually going to kill her, but she felt like she was dying when he was mesmerizing her. She was grateful to Aaron nonetheless. I hope he's alright. Surely Ryan wouldn't hurt anyone from his own pool of friends, right? A sudden flashback of Ryan punching Aaron filled her mind and she shook her head realizing, yes. Yes he would. She sat up and rested her head back against the cool, smooth wall. Is Aaron going to be OK? Was he mad at me for not being able to help myself in a magic fight? Why do I even care what he thinks? I should. He saved my life. BAD RIA! You shouldn't think so selfishly! She frowned. I shouldn't HAVE to rely on anyone to save me. I should be more like Adrienne and be able to take care of myself. She's so cool... And so good at magic too! I wonder if she could help me with my fire magic. She can technically make fire since she controls lightning.... so maybe she could help me control my powers!

Even though she was trying to revert her thoughts to her magic and Adrienne, they kept on going back to Aaron. She looked out the window, her forehead creased with worry.