C A D E

The raindrops fell onto the earth in dense sheets.

I liked the rain. It was peaceful and gave me a sense of serenity. Back at the academy,my favorite thing to do(aside from kicking it with kitten) was to strum my guitar while listening to the rain.

I missed that damn guitar.

I made my way towards The Sage's shed. Kitten had ran out to assist Aiden after the whole blow-up session with him and his old man. It was still shocking to me but I guess every stone has an interstice. It had been about thirty minutes since they left the house and Katherine,the older sister was getting worried. I volunteered to check.

"Kitten?" I called out uncertainly and pushed open the shed door with a creak.

Oh.

What I came upon caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

Aeja. Tank top. Dishevelled hair.

Sage. On top.

Were they-

Oh my God.

Something so foreign, yet so familiar coursed through my entire body. It was that same feeling I had felt when I found out about my father's death.

That same constricting-of-the- chest feeling,uneven breathing,clenched knuckles,crumbling of the heart, asylum of thoughts and the dark overwhelming anger. Years of therapy had erased most of this feeling,yet here it was again. 

Anger. Pain. Hurt. Loss.

I almost laughed at the irony. Another one of the Cyzeks were the cause of my pain.

Maybe the Cyzeks were made to destroy me.

Maybe Aeja Cyzek was a curse; my curse.

Toxic. She was poison.

Yet I wanted to drink.

I locked my gaze with hers. She was clearly shocked by my presence as she quickly placed her hands over her chest.

"Cade I... We..." She began.

"Oh no don't stop on my account," I narrowed my eyes in disapproval,"I just came to see if everything was ok,but clearly everything is fine."

Pardon me if I was being a big dick but how would you feel if you had to watch the person you were head-over-heels for getting it on with someone else?

It's not a very nice feeling, I'll tell you that much.

"Cade," kitten sighed and jumped from the haystack,"We were just-"

I didn't want or did I need to hear what she was about to say.

"Aren't we supposed to be training or something?" I averted my eyes to big shot Sage,my voice dripping with disdain.

His earlier outburst had surprised me but this?

Who would've thought that Mr.Shaolin Monk was a little horny mass of emotions?

Not me.

I leaned against the shed door. It took every ounce of restraint to prevent myself from lunging at him.

"Or is this-" I waved my hands dramatically towards Kitten's flustered form,"-part of the training exercise?"

"Cade!" She shrieked and frowned. I didn't dare look at her.

"He's right," Sage affirmed.

Ofcourse I am you f**king asshat!

"We should definitely be training,"he continued,"As Guardians,there is no room for distractions and I am truly sorry for taking advantage of you Miss Cyzek."

I clenched my knuckles and ground my teeth together.

My fist wanted to take advantage of his face,that's what it wanted to do.

"Yeah whatever." I grunted and decided to leave before I made any rash decisions.

Probability. That was all that ran through my head as I retreated into the pouring rain.

Was it probable that she had feelings for Sage and it was reciprocated? Or was this probably just one of her phases?

Did I hate myself at that point? Probably.

If I had just acted upon my feelings...

If I had just risked our friendship by confessing to her just how much she meant to me.

I had a 50/50 chance of finding out if we could ever be something more.

How could I have told her that she was the only reason I wanted to live after my dad died? How could I tell her that without her... I was nothing?

Why hadn't I just told her?

You were scared of losing her.

I laughed humorlessly. Ofcourse I was. Isn't that always what we think about when we find ourselves falling hard for our best friend?

Numerous 'what ifs'.

What if the feelings weren't mutual? Would I lose her?

What if she saw me differently afterwards?

But what if she felt the same?

Was that even likely?

Probably not.

There it was again: probability.

"Cade!" Kitten's voice made me halt on the porch.

Go inside Rochester,I pleaded with myself but I didn't move.

"What the hell was that?" She frowned when she made it to the porch.

That frown: a perfect knitting of her thick brows causing the spot between her eyes to crinkle and the most beautiful pursing of her rose-pink lips.

These were the little things I noticed about her. From the slightly different shade of brown hair at the front of her chestnut glory to the tremors of her shoulders from the surrounding temperature.

"Christ," I muttered when I noticed that she was hugging herself.

I removed my jacket and handed it to her.

"I'm going inside Aeja."

She seemed taken aback by my use of her actual name. I hadn't called her that in years.

"No," she stated firmly and grabbed onto my upperarm.

I sucked in my breath. As always,her touch was ethereal, igniting every fibre of my being and causing a warm feeling to unfurl inside me.

"You need to tell me what that was about! It's not like you've never seen me with a guy before."

Don't even remind me.

So there was Hank in eighth grade whose head I almost flushed down the toilet.

Stephan of ninth grade whom I sent to the age of dinosaurs for three hours(he barely made it out alive).

Lastly, Reggie of tenth grade whose greatest fear I made come alive- killer clowns.

Ok so maybe I had been a little hostile towards her boyfriends and flings.

It's just that she deserved so much more than dirtbags who only wanted to get laid.

She deserved someone who could understand her every thoughts and emotions.

Someone who knew her inside and out,who took notice of every little detail: good and bad,someone who could help her to enhance her self and vice versa and just someone who could make her the happiest woman alive.

I wanted to be that person.

"So because I've seen you with guys before means I liked it?"

"Wh-"

I cut her off.

"I just didn't expect that. We should be focusing on training Aeja. We just found out that your father is the leader of the Dark Clan. The same guy who killed my father and who left you! Yet you're here shoving your tongue down Sage's throat?"

That look surfaced in her eyes. I could almost here the cracking of the green flames in them. Then there was that angry flush of her cheeks.

"I was just trying to help him!"

By playing tongue-hockey with him?  

Oh,okay.

"Isn't that what friends do?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh so you help your 'friends' by kissing them?"

She looked slightly defeated and annoyed. "Cade just-"

"Cause you sure as hell never kissed me."

She backed away in shock and confusion.

I yearned for her lips on mine; willingly. In all honesty, I had kissed her before. I kissed her the first time we ever spoke and that time at the pond just before the academy was attacked. All it took was the stopping of time for a couple seconds. Her lips were as I had expected and more: so damn soft and sweet.

"Wh...why would I kiss you?"

Hurt. That was all I felt at that moment.

So it was officially confirmed. She had no feelings for me whatsoever.

I chuckled softly and looked away from her.

"You're so frickin' clueless Aeja."

This time I called her by her actual name just to spite her.

Childish, I know.

"Well if you would stop being so damn histrionic about everything then I would probably get it!"

I lost it at that point.

"I'm being overly dramatic?" I shouted. She cringed at my intonation and so did I.

I never really shouted at anyone, especially not my kitten. Unfortunately,my anger couldn't be seethed.

"However you wish to highlight your promiscuity is your problem,"

Shut up Cade.

I didn't stop.

"Just know that we have a twelve year old to protect so keep it down a notch cool?"

Like you care about that more than you care about her!

Her next action did not surprise me one bit. I knew her too well, plus it was well-deserved.

She shoved me forcefully against the door and pinned her elbow beneath my neck.

"Don't you ever say that again!" She screamed in anger.

"I am NOT a whore!"

I mentally kicked my self. Why the hell would I even say that?

Trying my best to convey with the eyes what words couldn't express, I locked gazes with her.

Her sea-green eyes were wavering with emotions.

I caused that.

I screwed up.

"Aeja I didn't mean to-"

"Save it Cade." She pushed me one last time before letting go.

"Kitten-"

"Leave me alone,"she grumbled and threw my jacket at me.

I can't, I wanted to tell her. I just wanted to tell her everything.

I wanted to tell her that I was madly inlove with her.

You know that one person who you know that you will forever love no matter what? That was what I needed her to know. She needed to know how important she was to me.

I didn't tell her ofcourse. My indiscretion would have caused me even greater internal pain. It was best if I just kept my mouth closed.

With a burning need to get away from her before I spilled what was in my heart, I stormed inside the house.

"Whoa you ok?" The younger girl,Paige I think, questioned when I bumped into her on my way upstairs.

"Yeah," I answered and couldn't help noticing the beautiful acoustic guitar that she had in her hand.

"Is that yours?"

She grinned. "Sure is. Can you play?"

"Yeah," I answered with my eyes trained on the brown beauty.

I could really use some musical healing right now, I thought.

"Ok here, you can borrow it," Paige offered.

"Really?" I gaped.

"Yeah why not?" She shrugged like it was nothing and handed the instrument to me," I have another. Plus I don't want you to drool all over the floor."

She winked and left me standing on the stairway with the guitar in my hand.

After the brawl took place,Katherine had showed us around the house. I remembered their attic distinctively and decided that it was the best place to go and try to relax.

The attic was medium in size with old boxes,book shelves and a beautiful stain-glass window.

I drew a wooden box up to it and sat down with the guitar.

My fingers ran over the strings and the polished oak.

Not even bothering to tune it, I gently brushed my fingertips over one of the strings.

The guitar hummed in response.

The sound was compelling and I found myself getting lost in a musical euphoria.

I realized just how much I had missed my music.

Before I knew it, my fingers were moving of their own accord. It was the song I had written about Aeja the night after we had our first conversation.

Don't, I warned myself.

I sighed and closed my eyes. A familiar nauseated feeling fell over me but as soon as it came, it went.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the garden at the Academy,watching the memory of when I had first spoken to Aeja Cyzek almost three years prior.
                            *
The sun was already down in the sky when I left band practice that night. I was making my way to my dorm with the other band members(Jesse,Marquel and Liam) when out of my peripheral vision, I caught the movement of a brown haired girl climbing from the window of one of the girls' dorm-rooms. I immediately recognized her. Hell, I'd been watching her ever since she arrived at the academy.

Her name was Aeja Cyzek. Her surname should've sent off warning bells in my head but it didn't. I did know who she was; everyone did. She was the daughter of Clay Cyzek,the man who killed my father. Everyone expected me to hate her or something,but I didn't. I felt drawn to her,but never had the courage to actually make conversation. I doubted she even knew who I was. She wasn't very social.

"Hey guys I'll meet you at the dorm ok?" I told my friends.

They were too caught up in cords and notes to even question where I was going.

"Yeah ok man."

As soon as the guys disappeared around the corner,I made my way towards the girls' building.

I silently prayed that no one was patrolling that section. Thankfully, I didn't run into any guardians. I quickly backed against a wall when the girl came into view and peeped around it.

She jumped down from the window with a thud. Cursing in a very colorful language, she stuffed the sheet she had used to climb down the window in her bag. After she was done,she flung the bag over her back and ran towards the main gate.

Was she trying to run away? I found it amusing yet stupid. The main gate was heavily guarded. Why would she go there?

I followed her anyways.

I scolded myself for thinking she wasn't very smart when she made a left turn away from the main gate. She was headed towards the pond.

Luckily for her,no one really guarded this section of the school unless it was the weekend when seniors decided to throw parties.

I'd never heard of anyone trying to run away from the academy though. The school was a prestigious one which meant that it provided everything we could possibly want.

This girl was a strange one.

I kept a fair distance behind her to watch what she was doing. I was still unsure of what her plan was.

Then I found out. Across from the pond was the surrounding wall. It was high up and one would have to swim across to actually get there. But how was she going to climb up? I noticed that she was using her telekenesis to make a stairway up the side of the wall.

Clever.

She began to remove her top and I felt like a creep watching a female removing her clothes. What? I was fourteen.

I decided to make an appearance before she went any further with the stripping session.

"What do you think you're doing?" I kept my voice monotonous and fiddled with my guitar bag as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.

She stopped midway in removing her blouse and spun around wildly to face me.

"Who the hell are you?" she quickly pulled down her top.

Ah,so she didn't know who I was.

Good.

"Are you trying to escape?" I raised an eyebrow and studied her. She had nice hair. It was dark brown and currently up in a messy bun-thingy. Her eyes were what I found the most intriguing. They were a composed of different shades of green: like a green spectrum or something.

They were breath-taking.

"No,you creep...Are you following me or something?" she folded her fists. If there was one thing I knew, it was that she could pack a mean punch.

Ask Lebront. He gained two black eyes from her.

"No," I lied,"I have better things to do."

She rolled her eyes.

"What are the stones for?" I challenged.

"How does that concern you?"

I shrugged and continued to watch her.

"Look if you're going to report me,then I suggest you hurry up because that won't stop me from getting my ass outta this dump."

"So you are trying to escape..." I pressed my fingers to my lips and leaned against a tree.

She frowned in annoyance. That frown...

"Are you going to report me or not?" I could tell she wasn't very tolerant.

"Report you?" I scoffed,"Nope I'm coming with you."

She narrowed her eyes."Why would you do that?"

I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't want you following me around guitar boy."

"I'm accompanying you."

"Same thing."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Shut up."

"Why?"

"You're annoying."

"Annoying but sexy."

"True," she shrugged which surprised me. I didn't think she would actually agree. This girl was something else.

"Why do you want to run away?"

"I hate it here."

"Where are you going to go?"

"My aunt." She looked away and continued to make her stairway.

I knew she was lying. Her aunt died a year back or so. Yeah,so  maybe I did my background check on her.

"Make yourself useful," she scolded. I didn't know what to do so I just walked up to her and sat on the ground.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

She rolled her eyes.

The sound of light footsteps coming from behind us caused both of us to freeze.

"Holy fudgenuggets," she whispered from beside me. This was it. We were going to get caught. My perfect file would be ruined.

"I'll distract and you run," she whispered. It was funny that she wanted to do the distracting.

I nodded anyhow.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Go!"

She let out an exaggerated battle cry and flung all her stones towards the direction of the footsteps.

I doubled over in laughter at what had her so riled up.

A small,cute kitten.

"Jesus Christ a cat? Really! " She cried in annoyance.

"Well technically it is a kitten..." I laughed and picked up the scared,furry bundle of cuteness.

"You're a kitten killer." 

"Shut up."

"You know it does look like you," I teased,"The same green eyes."

She shot me a look.

"Shut up."

"Okay kitten." I placed the animal on the ground.

"My name is Aeja."

"Okay... Kitten."

"Call me that one more time!" She warned.

"Kitten."

She lunged at me. I jumped backwards quickly but somehow toppled over into the pond with splash.

Now it was her time to laugh at me. She slapped her thighs and held her stomach as I waded out of the water with my wet guitar-case.

She helped me up and gave me a sheepish smile. Her smile was... Wow.

I couldn't help myself. I watched as the slight rustling in the wind ceased, as did everything else. In that moment, I pressed my lips to hers. They were so soft,like cushions. I wanted to prod them open but decided against it.

Even though I didn't want to,that tiny glitch in time disappeared. Everything was back to normal.

"Hey what are you kids doing out here?"

Uh-oh.

We both spun around to face a very angry-looking guardian.

"Tell anyone about that cat incident and you're dead," she threatened softly.

I smiled. "Ok... Kitten."
                          *
Hey guys! There will still be the updating of the other chapters tonight but I was excited about posting this one.

Happy New Year!!
                                    ~Emmy.

***Please remember to press that tiny star at the bottom of your screen! Thank you! :)***