Getting Answers

That was the last thing she remembered before jolting awake, finding herself in the bed in Erik's room, laying down with her head on a pillow and the sheets pulled over her. She must've fallen asleep and Erik had carried her home. Laughing to herself, she could imagine that Drake hadn't been very pleased with that. She wondered what time it was and tried to move her arm to get up, but quickly found out that it was pinned to her side because Drake had one of his arms wrapped around her from where he lay beside her. There was no possible way that she could fall back asleep like that so she whispered, "Drake wake up."


"What?" He moaned, not moving a muscle. So Jade gave him a hint as she tried to move her arm once more. "Oh," he muttered angrily, "my bad. The bed only fits one damn person, yet alone two Jade!"


"Don't yell," she insisted, "you'll wake Erik."


"Wouldn't want to do that," he responded sarcastically as he flipped himself over so that his back was now facing her. Then suddenly there was a loud thud followed by a series of shouts and curses. Jade felt the pain rush along the right side of her body, where Drake had hit the hard wooden floor. From the couch across the room there was a sigh.


She waited to hear the screaming of the springs in the bed as Drake stepped back into bed, but there was none and after a while she finally asked, "Drake, are you going to sleep on the floor?"


"Well, I certainly don't want to invade your personal space!" He hissed.


"Get back up here and stop being a baby," she muttered, "the floor has to be ice cold."


"No, no," he insisted, "I would rather die on this freezing floor in the dark of night than, God forbid it, touch you."


Jade rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and whispered, "Drake you won't get any sleep there on the floor and we both know how you get when you don't get any sleep. So, please get up here!"


She heard him shuffle to his feet and then the loud screeching of the old bed. He laid down so close to her that she could taste his breath on her lips. A cold chill of air ran over Jade's body as he swung the sheets into the air and then recovered the both of them.


I want to ask you something, she thought to him.


Oh and I thought we were just going to go back to sleep, but of course we aren't. What is it?


His frustration made her want to keep silent and simply fall back asleep, but instead she thought to him Why are you keeping my secrets from Damien? He fell silent though and there was no answer. Drake, why?


I he began, but couldn't finish making a coldness creep into Jade as her stomach began to turn knots. Look I did it for you okay? No big deal. Can we go back to sleep now?


You hate me, Jade thought back sourly.


Yes, good job, can I go to sleep now? He was tired and grumpy and wanted her to shut-up. She knew that, but-


Then why did you do it? She persisted. It was bothering her to death.


With a loud moan, he flipped back over to face her, because maybe I felt sorry for you? Am I not aloud to feel sorry for you, Jade?


You aren't supposed to feel anything for me, she thought back angrily, trying to see him in the dark, but the only sign that he was there was his steady breathing in her face.


He sat up quickly, folding his legs so that he didn't kick her. Are you seriously worried that I might gain any kind of feelings for you? Are we really having this conversation? I can barely tolerate you and you know that. My mind is an open book to you. Go on ahead look through the pages because the only word that you'll find by your name is annoyance maybe hatred, but that's all Jade.


She pursed her lips and sat up with him, knowing both that he was right and that she shouldn't push the subject much further lest he decide not to keep her secret anymore just to prove to her how irrelevant he wanted her to be to him, but instead of listening to her gut she thought directly to him, then how can you feel sorry for me?


Suddenly from out of no where a hand struck the side of her face sending her head back onto the pillow. Tears swam around her eyes from the pain and shock. Does that answer your question? I feel sorry for anyone who is in danger of Damien and it's because of who he is. It has nothing to do with you.


Shaking her head furiously as the pain stretched through her cheek as if he was hitting her over and over again, she stood, brushing the sheets off of her and taking her pillow began to walk over to the seat on the window. It would be icy cold, but she'd rather that than sleep by Drake's side.


"Jade," he stood up, reaching for her hand in the darkness. Funny you found my cheek just fine she thought to herself. She knew he felt guilty now. He always did after he let his anger take over his actions. "I'm sorry. I'll sleep over there. I deserve it. You stay on the bed."


Smiling Jade, almost turned around to agree until she realized that he'd caught her in a trap. If she let him sleep on the window sill he would't sleep, which would mean that tomorrow would be a living hell for the both of them. "No," she muttered with a sigh.


"Yes," he insisted, taking her elbow and guiding her back to the bed where he sat her down and gently caressed her throbbing cheek with the back of his hand.


"No," she protested trying to stand, but he only had to use one hand to shove her back into the sheets. So glaring though the darkness where she hoped his eyes were, she hissed, "As much as you deserve to sit over there in the cold-"



"Doll," he whispered into her ear, "it's nearly five in the morning. I've already had plenty of sleep. So you take the bed."


He turned to leave. She could tell by the shuffling sound his feet made on the floor and she grabbed out at whatever she could take of him, which turned out to be his bare arm. And you're doing this because you feel sorry for me?


She felt a bit of icy fear enter his heart, but just as ice is put into a fire it sputtered out of Jade's reach and yet she could still feel her own fear in her own heart. Why was he afraid?


Memories of Damien slapping Jade and being cruel to her played through Drake's mind like a film. Pressing her lips together, she stood up and move to where he stood and took his hands in hers. Through the dim light she could tell that he was looking at their hands as their thoughts faded out of each others minds. "Your afraid you'll become like him?"


"No, dear," she could hear the fear in his voice, even though he was desperately trying to hide it, "I am already just like him, probably far worse."


"Don't say that," she insisted, but he quickly slipped his hands out of her's.


Now look who is feeling sorry for who, he thought to her grimly, you don't have to lie to me Jade. I can see that you know I'm worse . . . well at least by the time I'm his age I'll be worse than he is now. I mean you met him when he was my age and think that he's the nicest person you've ever met! What does that say about me?


"It's just your anger," she whispered to him. She could feel him rolling his eyes though and said harshly, "Listen to me! I don't think Damien even has feelings. Every time he does something terrible it's completely intentional. When you do something cruel it's because you let your anger get the best of you."


"Not always," he muttered, "why is it so hard for you to accept me for who I am?"


"And who are you?" She asked angrily. "Who knows you anymore than I do?"



He shook his head, "You don't understand. If I force myself to not be like Damien-" he stopped and sighed, the chance that you might just fall in love with me-


"You're so full of it!" she had to restrain herself from screaming. You know that I hate you!


She could feel his smile as he suddenly leaned forward to kiss her softly on the lips, stroking her hair out of her face and letting the strands run through his fingers. She instinctively pushed him away with a gasp. "What the hell?" She hissed sure that thick black clouds of smoke was puffing out of her ears from the anger raging in her chest like a fire.


There was a sort of scraping noise and a tiny little flame appeared on the head of a match Drake was holding in front of his face. Did he always sleep with matches in his pocket? Slowly he lifted it to her. She knew what he was looking for. Her cheeks were burning with a red blush brighter than any cherry. As I expected, he thought to her.


"You ass," she said blowing out the flame, sending the smoke into his eyes and mouth. Whereupon he began to cough and tear the tears from his watering eyes. "It's called anger."


"Why are we even having this stupid argument at five in the morning?" he asked himself laughing. What I meant by what I said was not that you would fall in love with me on purpose. It's just that it is rather confusing with all of the kissing and pretending that we are in love and you did think that you loved me once-


She shook her head and sat back down on the bed, laughing gently. No, Drake I never loved you. I've always loved Erik. I was just stupid enough to trust you!


"God," he sighed deeply, "I hate this so much!" If Damien would only separate our thoughts from one another and let you free! I swear sometimes when I look at you I see a swan whose wings have been cut off, bleeding to death.


"Wait," she hissed standing up, excitedly, ignoring the comment about the swan, "he can do that?"


"Yes, what can't he do," he nodded with a grim smile, "or at least he makes it seem like he can. Even if he could, he'd never do it. He needs us for something. I'm not sure what yet, but I wish he'd hurry up and get it over with."


"Maybe," she said, putting her fingers to her lips as she thought, "maybe I could make him."


"Jade," he said, sitting beside her, "you don't want to play with fire. Trust me I've tried before-"


"I won't be playing. I'll being fighting fire with water." She persisted. "Look I basically have his own power over him. I have the best weapon to fight him that there can or will ever be. I should do it now."


He smiled at her, "I suppose we won't be getting any more sleep then?"


"Drake," she said ignoring whatever he had said to her as she thought harder than she ever had, "are you positive that the writing on the train was already there?"


"Yes," he muttered, narrowing his eyes, "why do you keep asking me about that?"


"It's just that that means I can't change anything in the past," she sighed, "what we are living right now already reflects everything I have or will do in the past."



"But what would you do if you knew you could," he asked her almost suspiciously.


"I don't know. I just wish I knew someone who knew more about this!" she said frustratedly.


Drake laughed, "What do you wanna bet Damien did his research after he met you back then?"


"He won't give me any answers, but-" she let her words dissipate away into the air.


"Yes," he muttered. Why was he interested in this? "Because," he answered her thoughts, "there's so much we could learn, like about us, about Damien, you could visit the years you can't remember, lots of things."


"Is there a clock in here?" she asked him.


"Um," he murmured, falling silent as they both listened for the sharp ticking of a clock. Then tick tok tick tok.


The bed squealed as he stood up and his footsteps echoed around the room. He returned to her and put it in her lap as he sat down. It was no bigger than her fist and the metal was cold. "Was it beside the window?" she asked.


"Don't you already know?" he asked a little impatiently. He hated it when she asked questions that she knew from the back of his mind. "Any ways what do you need it for?"


"It helps me time travel. Could you light another match?" she muttered, "I'm going to try to travel back to Petra's Grandfather to get answers."


He struck the match and looking her in the eye said gravely, "I guess there's nothing I can do to stop you?"


"I have to figure this out Drake," she whispered, "before I go back to Damien's. I mean I don't want to simply vaporize into thin air in front of him."


"You don't want him to know that you're time traveling?" He asked her irritatedly. "Another secret to keep," he growled to himself.


"It'll be fine in the end, especially since he can't do anything to us," she said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.


"She could feel his grin cutting through the night air as he said began to say, "Whatever. Just don't get killed or hurt because I don't want to have to deal with Damien when I get back. Remember he doesn't know that we're linked."


She nodded, knowing that if she became injured so would Damien. Holding the ticking clock in front of her she let her eyes wind around the circle with the second hand. Slowly she felt the sensation that she was alone and then suddenly she was jerked out of her own time. The clock fell and shattered on the floor.

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