Prologue

The dark night sky of the island-city Argos. The moon and stars are barely existent, most of the lighting coming from the houses and businesses with occupants moving about. In an alley, a young woman sobs as she runs through it, water in the puddles splashing out onto the walls and onto her bare legs.

She gets to the mouth of the alley and collapses onto her knees, her head bowed as she shakes from her sobbing. The few occupants on the street ignore her, not wanting to get involved. The woman sniffles and wipes her eyes clear of tears and then grabs onto her stained white shorts as she tries to get herself under control again. She looks down at her shorts, noting the red stains around the pelvic area. The sight brings her to further tears as she remembers what had just occurred in the alley.

“Raine!” She intakes her breath and looks up, seeing a figure running towards her. “Raine, are you okay? Where have you been, you’ve been gone for hours!” The young man knees down in front of her and places his hand lightly on her shoulder. “Oh Jenos…” She throws herself into his arms and holds onto him tightly, wrinkling his dark gray shirt.

Jenos blinks and holds her as he rubs her back. “Raine… what is it?” Raine doesn’t answer, but just continues her hold on him. He stays silent as he waits for her to regain her composure, while giving the few people that had turned to see what had occurred a death stare, making them continue on their business and not interfere. After a minute she lets go of him and looks down, lightly trembling. “Raine…” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry for worrying everyone…” She lightly bites her lip and looks up at the man, looking into his brown eyes. “Can you try to not let my parents know what happened?” Jenos frowns lightly. “I can’t say until I know what happened.”

Raine smiles slightly and nods, her short brown hair bobs with the action. “I’ll tell you later… I just want to leave here.” Jenos nods and gets up, offering his hand to help her up. She takes it and he pulls her up, catching her as she nearly falls back to the ground. “Are you okay?” She shakes her head and leans against his chest. “All right…” He holds her up as he bends down and picks her up in his arms, carrying her back home. Over his shoulder she looks at the alley and wraps her arms around Jenos’ neck, not wanting to go back there again.

Chapter 1

The two sneak into her house and Jenos gently lies Raine down on her bed. She quickly moves to get the blanket over herself, but doesn’t do it quick enough for her to hide the stain from Jenos. “Hmm?” He blocks the blanket from completely covering her up and looks at her white shorts. “Raine, what happened?” His voice taking a harder tone as his gaze goes from the red stain to her blue eyes. As he looks at her, he sees bruises on her face that had been hidden in the dim light at the alley. Raine pulls the blanket to cover her face and turns away from him.

Jenos sits down on the bed and pulls her back to look at him. “What happened.” She looks away and then closes her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it yet…” He moves his hand to her jaw and lightly turns her face. She opens her eyes and looks at him, seeing that his eyes had gotten softer. “Raine, I can’t hide this from your parents if I don’t know what I’m hiding. Please, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

She turns her eyes to the wall before looking back at him. “I… I was raped…” Jenos’ eyes go wide as he looks at her. “What?! Raine, how… how did it happen?” Raine looks away and closes her eyes, pulling the blanket closer to her face. “Some guys followed me after school. They started talking to me then asked if I would hang out with them. I told them no, but they didn’t like it.” She sighs and curls into a ball. Jenos places a hand on her shoulder and lightly rubs it. Raine looks at him and continues. “They forced me into an alley where they had beaten me then raped me.”

Jenos moves more onto the bed and hugs her tightly. She stiffens at first then relaxes a little and leans into him. They stay like this for a few minutes, until the door opens a crack and a face looks in. Jenos hears the noise and jumps off the bed, the knife hidden at the small of his back in his hand. The door opens more and a tall man with black hair and brown eyes comes inside. Jenos relaxes and puts the knife back at his back.

“You found her, that’s good… but why didn’t you come through the front door instead of sneaking in? We wanted to know when she was found.” Jenos nods lightly. “I know, but she was very tired and I was going to explain as soon as she was asleep.” The older man nods. “Okay. Get some sleep Raine, you seem very tired. As for you, Jenos, come and explain…now.” Jenos cringes inwardly, Raine’s father having obviously seen through the half lie. The two men walk out of the room, Jenos closing the door behind him. Raine pulls the blanket tighter over her and soon finds sleep.

Jenos and Raine’s father go to the living room, where Jenos takes a seat on the sofa with Mr. McLeod taking a seat in a recliner. “I know that what you said wasn’t the whole truth Jen, and I want to know what happened.” Jenos stiffens slightly. “I told her I wouldn’t tell you, sir, but leave it to her when she’s ready.” Rostan sighs and raises his right hand to his forehead. “You may be my nephew, but there are times I want to wring your neck.” Jenos lightly laughs. “Probably, but my mom wouldn’t be too happy about that.” Rostan smiles slightly. “And if your father was alive he’d probably help me.”

Jenos smiles and tries not to let the memory of his father bring him down. “I won’t force you to break your word to Raine, besides, I’m sure your mom and sisters would want to know what happened.” Jenos arches an eyebrow at his uncle. “So you can get the information out of them instead of me? Not too sneaky Uncle.” Rostan lightly shrugs. “I tried.” He gets up and looks at Jenos as he gets up as well. “Tell your mother hi for me.” Jenos nods. “And give Aunt Darlene my regards.” They shake hands and Rostan follows Jenos to the front door, nodding to him before the younger man leaves.

Rostan watches until Jenos had disappeared from sight before going back into his house. He goes to Raine’s room and opens the door, looking at her sleeping form. He sighs lightly then goes back into the living room, taking a seat in the recliner. The holodrama on the projector had been going on for only a few minutes, yet Rostan turns it off. He leans back into the seat and scratches his chin in thought. He sighs then gets up and goes to bed.

Chapter 2

Raine wakes up and groans lightly as her body protests at trying to get out of the bed. Her stomach growls at her, remembering that she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the day before. She sighs and gets up, doing her best to walk towards the refresher. She slowly undresses after locking the door, and turns the hot water on. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees her own reflection in the mirror. She turns to it and looks at herself.

The bruises were more visible now, black and blue dominating around her eyes, with the side of her lower lip swollen. As her gaze goes from her face to lower parts of her body, she sees the bruises continued on to her chest. She sees something on her neck and moves closer to the mirror for a better look, seeing a hicky there. She sighs and rubs at it, trying to make it go away, but to no avail.

She frowns and then goes into the shower and cleans herself up, allowing the hot water to soothe her muscles. Her thoughts go to the day before, remembering how rough the three had been, and how different Jenos had held her. She easily saw that the boys had not been as much interested with her as they were just to have their way. She lightly bit her lower lip and wondered if her cousin loved her…with not just the love of a family member.

She shakes her head at that thought, knowing how wrong it was. She sighs and stays in the shower a little longer than normal. After having cleaned herself, which helped her mind a little, she dried herself then wrapped the towel around herself and went back to her room to get dressed. She chooses a gray pair of shorts and a gray shirt, which makes her smile slightly, knowing the colors were something Jenos would wear. She goes to reach for her school bag, but remembers that it was the weekend.

She smiles and goes to her closet, pulling out a two piece bikini and placing it into a small bag. She walks out with the bag and the towel, which she throws in a laundry basket before fetching another one. As she heads to the door, her mother calls to her. “Raine? Are you up now?” She sighs lightly. “Yes mom.” Darlene walks out of the kitchen to see her daughter. “Raine dear, both me and your father want to know what happened yesterday. We’re both worried. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we need to know.”

Raine tries not to frown and tell her not to worry. She knew that her parents had a right to worry, especially with what had happened. “I will tell you… just not right now.” With that, she moves closer to the door and opens it. “Raine.” Raine walks out of the house and closes the door behind her.

She heads to the western side of the city, where the nicer beaches on the island where at. When she arrives, she strips off her gray clothes and puts on the pink and white bikini. She runs through the sand and into the water, swimming out into the sea and revels in the sun and water. After a while, she goes back to the beach and goes back to her bag, retrieving the towel and lying it down on the beach, setting herself on it as she allows the sun to dry her off.

She becomes aware of something blocking the sun and opens her eyes. She jolts as she sees someone over her. “Ugh, don’t do that Jessica.” The woman smiles and sits down next to her. “So, what’s this I hear about you yesterday, hmm?” Raine looks away towards the water. “I don’t want to talk about it…” Jessica gives Raine a hurt look. “You can’t even tell your own sister? C’mon, what happened?” Raine looks back at her older sister. “I don’t want to have to repeat it more than once to everyone…”

Jessica winks. “So you didn’t tell Jenos?” Raine feels her cheeks burn red a little. “Yes, I did. He found me last night. Okay? So back off…” Jessica lightly laughs. “It’s too bad you two are related, you guys would make a cute couple.” Raine’s cheeks grow warmer. “Stop it.” Jessica laughs more before being able to stop. “All right… but it’s obvious you like him. Can’t blame you too much though, his slim feature and firm muscles does make him eye candy.” Raine looks away again. Jessica lightly pokes her arm. “I’m just teasing…”

Raine sighs and looks back at the water. Jessica smiles at the water. “It’s something I don’t think people who don’t live like we do understand. The water calls to us.” Raine looks at her sister, noticing she isn’t wearing a bathing suit. Instead, Jessica is wearing a pair of black shorts and a white sleeveless shirt. “Aren’t you supposed to be working today?” Jessica shakes her head. “No, we caught up with all the deliveries, so everyone got the weekend off.”

Raine nods then smiles as a thought occurs to her. “And you are just going to spend the evening with us at home for once?” Jessica shakes her head. “No, I have plans.” Raine’s smile turns toothy. “Oh, so you’re seeing him again, huh?” Jessica glares at her younger sister. “That’s none of your business.” “So you are then.” Jessica sighs and shakes her head. “He’s off world, helping his uncle with some of his deliveries.” Raine nods, remembering that Kyle’s uncle had often been behind in deliveries due to shortage of workers.

“So, since you are here, care for a swim?” Jessica smiles and raises a bag she had hidden behind her. “I came prepared.” After she changes, the two sisters go to the sea and swim for the next few hours until Raine’s hunger gets the best of her. They drape their towels around them and then head back home to get something to eat.

The sisters enter their house and head towards the kitchen, as they were mostly dry because of the walk back in the sun. Raine makes a light sandwich and Jessica watches her, having ate much earlier in the day. As Raine eats, Jessica tells her of the most recent delivery, where her and two others had went to Drall with a shipment of power converters. It was rather uneventful, but while they were on their way out, the Empire had started setting up a blockade of the planet, making it mandatory for all ships to go through customs and to try and keep the meter tall race of sentients in one place.

The news did not sit too well with Raine, who had all ready started disliking the Empire after they had restructured the local security group, CorSec, into the Public Safety Service. The PSS had stopped trying to prevent crime and punish those that break the law as CorSec had done, preferring to stop acts of rebellion and maintain a racial view of human superiority. While she did not know many nonhumans, those she knew were nice and friendly, as well as showing sharper skills than most humans.

“The Empire is wrong and shouldn’t exist. Nothing good has come from it.” Raine nods lightly at Jessica’s statement. “You don’t agree?” Raine looks at her sister. “I do, but I also know that any attempt to bring it down would fail. It’s too big and powerful to even hope to stop.” Raine sighs and finishes her sandwich. “Even if whole planets stood up against it, they wouldn’t be able to stop them.” Jessica looks coolly at Raine. “So you feel that even though the Empire should be stopped, it can’t be?” “That about sums it up, yes.”

Jessica nods lightly, and both turn their heads to the door as it opens. “Hi Aunt Val.” The woman smiles at her two nieces. “How are you two doing today?” Valory, Jenos’ mother, had black hair that had started turning white and went to the small of her back, typically tied in a braid. Her black eyes took a worried look as she got into the kitchen. “Have either of you seen Jenos? He never came home last night.”

The two sisters look at each other. Raine speaks to her aunt. “No, I haven’t seen him since last night. I fell asleep before he left.” Jessica shakes her head. “No, I haven’t seen him in months, since the last time I was back home, sorry.” Valory frowns lightly. “I wonder where that boy had gone now. He acts as if I’m dead as well, never telling me a thing.” She sighs in vexation. “Well, if you do, let me know so I can have a word with him.” Jessica smiles slightly. “All right, it’s good to see you again Aunt Val.” “Bye Aunt Val, we’ll let him know.” The older woman nods and leaves the house.

“I wonder what happened. First you now him, it’s as if every kid is trying to act grown up.” Raine lightly hits her sister’s shoulder. “Hey now, don’t be complaining because you’re an old maid.” “Old maid?” Jessica grabs Raine and gently throws her to the ground and gets on top of her, pinning her in place. Raine struggles in her grip and tries to break free. “If I’m an old maid, what does that make you, if you can’t break out of the grip of an old maid?” Jessica smirks lightly, knowing Raine isn’t as strong as she is. After a few minutes, Raine finally concedes and Jessica gets off her.

The door opens again, and Rostan walks in for a short break from his small used starship lot. He sees Raine on the floor with Jessica standing over her. “Haven’t you two ever learned to play nice?” Jessica chuckles and Raine makes a face. “Anyways, besides fighting each other, what have you done today?” He asks as he gets to the living room and sits down in his recliner. The sisters go to the sofa and talk about being at the coast and seeing Aunt Val. “How is she?” “She was well, though she was worried because Jenos never went home last night.” Rostan looks at Jessica. “He never got home? I saw him off when he left here.” Jessica shrugs. “Well, he obviously didn’t go home.”

The sound of a thud at the door turns the three’s attention to it. They don’t hear any other noise, but Raine goes to check on it anyways. As the door opens up, a body slides down it and hits the floor. Rostan gets up and rushes to the collapsed being. “Are you okay?” He turns the body over, to see Jenos’ face. “Jenos!” The three knee around him and check on him, seeing his chest rise and fall behind a blood stained shirt. They pick him up and bring him to the bathroom so they can tend to him.

Chapter 3

Rostan removes Jenos’ stained shirt to see three knife wounds, two slashes on his chest and a stab wound to his gut. “Jenos…” Raine sits behind him so his head rests in her lap with his back along her knees. Jessica brings down the emergency kit behind the mirror and pulls out some bacta bandages and a cleaning agent. Being the only one with any form of medical training in the house, she does her best to patch up her cousin.

Jenos groans as he slips in and out of consciousness. Raine rubs his hair, trying to ease his pain. “He’s warm.” Rostan looks at Raine before placing a hand on Jen’s forehead. “Yeah… not a good sign.” He gets up and turns on some water, retrieving a towel and dampening it with cold water. He places it on Jenos’ forehead and sits beside his sister’s son. “Be strong Jen.” Jessica finishes dressing his wounds and looks at his face. “He should heal, but as I’m not a doctor, I can’t say whether or not there’s internal bleeding, which might kill him.”

Raine looks at her father. “We need to call a doctor, we can’t let him die…” Rostan nods lightly. “It won’t do to allow him to follow his father’s footsteps in this manner.” He gets up and goes to the holocom, calling over a medical speeder. After five minutes, the speeder arrives, and the medics place Jenos on a hoversled with the McLeod girls behind them. Rostan tells them to accompany Jenos, as he has to return to work. The medics close the door of the speeder and the five occupants rush towards Argos Medical Clinic, which lies in the heart of the city.

The speeder parks by the door to the emergency room and the medics hop out. They get the door open and pull the hoversled out, letting the nurses bring him inside to see the doctor. Raine and Jessica get out and start following their cousin, only to be stopped when they get at the inside door leading to the operating areas. “I’m sorry, but only patients and medical personnel are allowed past that door.” The women look at the receptionist and nod, going to sit down in the waiting area, seeing other people waiting on patients and a few patients with less life threatening injuries waiting to be seen.

After a few hours of waiting, Jessica looks up and sees her father coming through the outside door with a plastic bag in his hand. She smiles at him as he gets closer. Raine stops watching the holodrama and sees Rostan. “Hey.” Rostan smiles and gives her the bag. “I figured you would have been waiting here for him to come out, so I took the liberty of getting you guys dinner.”

Raine smiles and pulls a plastic container filled with light brown liquid and white noodles. She hands the other to Jessica and hands her one of the spoons. “Thanks dad.” Raine nods. “Yeah, thank you.” He smiles and lets them eat as he goes to the front desk to ask the receptionist if he could find out what was going on. “I’ll get a droid to find out and tell you.” Rostan nods and thanks her before sitting back down in front of his daughters.

A silver plated MD Medical Specialist comes out of the inside door and goes to the trio. “Hello sir, I am Emdee forty-six. The young Jenos is one of the patients under my keeping. He is in stable condition now, though is still unconscious. The wound to his stomach did puncture an artery, and it was very fortunate for him that you brought him here. He’s responded well to the bacta, and he should able to leave when he wakes up. Just be sure he doesn’t move around too much or lift anything over thirty kilograms.”

The MD droid makes a light bow before explaining there were other patients that needed its attention and went through the inside door. Rostan starts talking to his girls about this new starship he picked up for the lot. He talks about the stats on the Soro Suub Starmite, stating that even though it wasn’t Corellian made, it wasn’t that bad a ship. Raine looks at her father, who stops talking about the ship to look at her. “What is it Raine?”

“I was just thinking, you said earlier that Jen shouldn’t follow his father’s footsteps in death, but was there any footsteps you wanted him to follow Uncle Darien?” Rostan stiffens slightly in his seat, Jessica noticed but Raine did not. “Well, yes. He was a family man and genuinely loved his wife and son. However, his job as an officer in the Imperial Navy was not something we -me, your mother, and Aunt Val- agreed with. He was the Captain of a Corellian Corvette that had been destroyed while protecting a convoy of Imperial officials. The attack failed and Darien was posthumously rewarded for the sacrifice.”

He sighs. “When he was home, I used to joke with him about not doing his initials, D-I. After I told him that it sounds like die, he laughed. He always told me that he would do his best not to, but if he did, he would die protecting others. Which was how he did. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I would rather not see Jenos going off and getting killed.” Rostan sits back further in the seat and crosses his arms. Raine nods lightly, apparently lost in her thoughts. Jessica frowns lightly, something about the way her father said it didn’t seem right.

The inside door opens up, and Jenos staggers out. The three look at him and Raine gets up and rushes to him, placing an arm around him to help keep him up. Jenos smiles lightly at her, his face was a little pale and he looked very weary, but his eyes were clear and focused. “How are you Jen?” Raine asks, looking up to his face. “I’m better now… and thanks.” She smiles lightly and looks away. “It’s okay, after all, you carried me last night.” They walk to the other two and Rostan gets up, putting his hand on Jenos’ right shoulder, opposite of the one leaning slightly against Raine. “Good to see you up and about again. You gave us quite a scare.”

Jenos smiles wearily. “I’m sorry about that. I hope I haven’t inconvenienced you.” Rostan smiles and pats his shoulder. “No, it’s quite okay. You’re family, and we take care of our own.” Jessica gets up and looks at Jenos. “Just don’t do it again. We love you, but that wasn’t a very nice surprise. Next time bring a cake or something.” Jenos laughs and smiles at his older cousin. “I’ll keep it in mind.” The four walk out of the waiting area into the light breeze infused with a salty taste they had long since stopped noticing.

Roughly fifty meters away is Rostan’s silver and chrome six passenger speeder. “You can stay here while I get the speeder.” Rostan starts walking to the speeder as the other three walk to the sidewalk and wait for him. After a few minutes Rostan brings the speeder to the curb and the others climb in. The four speed away to the McLeod home on the north part of the island. They arrive and climb out of the speeder, heading inside to the living room. Rostan takes his seat at the recliner as Raine helps Jenos down onto the sofa before sitting next to him. Jessica takes a seat on the other side of Jenos and Darlene comes out of the bedroom to sit in the loveseat.

“Well, now that everyone’s here, how about we find out just what’s been going on you two.” Jenos cringes lightly as he looks to Raine before looking at his uncle. “Yesterday after school, three guys approached Raine and asked her to join them hanging out. She declined, but they kept persisting. End result they got angry and took her to an alley where they beat and raped her.” Darlene took a sharp breath in, and Jessica looked at Raine. Rostan frowned lightly but mostly kept his emotions hidden. “I found her and brought her home. Then today I started making inquires and found them. They won’t be troubling her or anyone again.” Raine looks at Jenos and her eyes widen. “You killed them?” Jen looks at her and nods. “Yes, I didn’t want them to try that again to you, so I made sure they couldn’t. I just got careless at the end.”

Rostan gets up and walks to stand in front of Jenos. “You shouldn’t have done that. Murdering three kids wasn’t right, even considering what they had done to Raine.” Jenos’ eyes light up in a brush of anger. “So I should just shrug and let them get the chance to do it again? No, I refuse to allow that if I can prevent it.” Rostan meets Jenos’ glare and keeps it. “I never said that, there’s a proper way to handle things, and taking the law into your own hands is not how it needs to be done.” Jenos slowly gets up and bites back the pain in his stomach from it. “When the law is no longer fit to judge people it needs to be replaced.”

Rostan glares at Jenos. “You’re talking about a rebellion.” “No uncle, I’m talking about a reconstruction of something obsolete.” Jenos flexes his arm muscles from his frustration and pain. “Are you threatening me Jenos?” Rostan asks, unconsciously reading himself for a fight. Jenos shakes his head. “No, you’re frustrating me, but I’m not going to fight you because of it. Besides, I didn’t bother to take any pain killers so I’m putting up with that as well.” Raine gets up and puts a hand on Jenos’ left shoulder, lightly squeezing it. He sighs lightly and closes his eyes, looking down. After a few seconds he looks back up at his uncle. “We don’t agree, but we don’t need to fight with each other. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”

Rostan just stands there before nodding slowly. “I know you do Jenos. Even though I wish it wasn’t so, I do see much of your father in you. We shouldn’t fight, since I know you do mean well.” He extends his hand, which Jenos accepts and shakes. “What’s done is done. I won’t say anything about what occurred.” Jenos nods. “Thanks.” Raine moves her arm and then the other to hug Jenos. “I don’t like that you did it, but you did it to protect me… thank you.” Jenos smiles slightly and uses his left arm to lightly hug her back. “I suppose I should be heading home now. I know my mom’s probably worried.” Jessica nods. “Yeah, she dropped by here a bit before you did. Though, not quite in the way you did.” She adds dryly with a slight smile. Jenos smiles slightly. “I’ll remember to bring a cake next time.”

The family laughs and Jenos slowly leaves the house. Rostan offers to take him back, but Jenos refuses, wanting to walk the pain off. He heads off and the household settles down. Rostan turns on the holoprojector and watches the holodrama with his wife on the loveseat. Jessica goes to her room and pulls out a book and reads it. Raine goes out the back and looks out at the starlit night. Her arms go around herself as she stands out on the grass thinking. She sighs lightly and closes her eyes before opening them up again and looking west in the direction of her aunt’s house. “Jenos…”

Chapter 4

After resting around the house the next day, the weekend finished and a new week began. Jessica went back to her job, saying there was a delivery to make to Talus. Rostan went to his used starship lot while Raine was still getting ready for another day of school. She sighed lightly, not really wanting to go after the events before the weekend.

She hears a knock on the door and goes to it, putting her bag over her right shoulder. The door opens and Jenos is standing, waiting for her. “Hey.” Raine blinks and looks at him. “Jen? What are you doing here?” He smiles and waves his hand towards the road. Raine closes the door behind her and starts walking, Jenos right next to her. “Well, I figured that I should walk you there, as we are going to the same school and all.”

She looks at him curiously. “You haven’t done this since my first day, and that was because you had been there a year before me.” Jenos shrugs and places an arm around her shoulders. “So there’s some law against walking your cousin to school now?” She smiles lightly and leans into him. “Not that I recall.” He grins. “All right then.” They walk to the Suvari Public Institution and enter the four story high building. Though Jenos was only five months older than Raine, his birthday let him be in a grade higher than her. He was on his last year of schooling and would soon be 17, the legal age of responsibility on Corellia. Even though Raine would turn 17 during her last year, she had to complete the school year.

Though it was the spring semester and only months away from graduation, Jenos still did not know what he was going to do from there. Raine was the same way, but she had more time to consider than he did. They get to a stairwell that went in either direction in the back of the center room. The school, from the front, looked like a rectangle, but it actually was built like a U, with the wings connected by the center room and ones like it on the floors above. Jenos looks at Raine. “I’ll see you later. Meet you back here after school.” Raine nods and is hugged before they go their separate ways. Jenos watches as she goes up the stairs on the left. He heads up the one on the right, as his first class is on the second floor in that direction.

While in her second class, Raine hears a few boys talking to each other wondering why Norton, Parsin, and Bradlin weren’t here. They speculated that the three had skipped school again and would have to see the principal about it again. The boys cracked other jokes, but Raine had stopped listening, withdrawing from the small group to the other side of the room. She sees the teacher reenter the room and settle down the class before continuing the lesson on the Corellian-Selonian War that had occurred many centuries ago. She tries to pay attention, but her thoughts wander to that night, which makes her shudder.

While in the fourth class, an announcement is made throughout the building. “Hello everyone, it’s my sad duty to tell everyone that three of our students were killed during the weekend.” Jenos stiffens slightly but his face acts in surprise. “We don’t know the details, but an investigation has begun by the PSS. It is a shame that such young lives were tragically cut short.” The principal continues on a little longer, naming the three and expressing sorrow at the lose, even though it was well known the trio had caused him much headache. “And for anyone who wants to talk, our counselors are available before and after school. Thank you.”

Raine bites her lip and looks around, seeing no one watching her. She closes her eyes and bows her head. She feels a hand on her back and looks up at a female classmate. “It’s okay, they were jerks, but I’m sure the PSS will find out who did it and punish them.” Raine smiles bravely even though she only thinks about what might happen to Jenos if he’s found out. Murder had warranted either the death penalty or years in the spice mines of Kessel. Afterwards she excuses herself to the refresher and cries. “It’s my fault… if I would have tried to run away earlier this wouldn’t have happened…” She weeps for a few minutes before she can not cry anymore.

After a few more minutes, she manages to shakily get up from the floor when she slid down the wall while weeping. She looks at her reflection in the mirror and cringes lightly. Her eyes are red as well as her nose and cheeks were she had shoved her face in her hands. Raine turns on some water and washes her face, trying to make herself feel not as bad as she thought she looked. When it doesn’t improve her appearance, in her mind, she just sighs and leaves the refresher.

No one asks about her red eyes, everyone trying not to talk to become suspicious of having killed the three boys. As it turns out, even the boys that had talked about them before don’t like them. The three were unpopular and their antics were more of a nuisance than seen as something to emulate. The rest of the period seemed to drag on as the teacher seemed to dwell on their behavior and that it wasn’t to be copied. Raine was only too happy when the day ended after it. She got to the center room and waited for Jenos to show up, since her last room was on the first floor.

A pair of hands reach over her head and cover her eyes. Raine yells in surprise. “Guess who?” She turns around and lightly hits the person in the stomach. Jenos smirks and looks at her. “What, was that really necessary?” Raine makes a face and they head out with the rest of the students. They head back to her house, waiting until they get away from the others before speaking again. “You heard the announcement, right?” Jenos nods. “Yeah, but I’m not worried.” Raine looks at him. “Why not, you were the one that did it.” Jenos shrugs lightly. “The PSS really isn’t that interested in solving murders, they probably won’t even do a search, just place the blame on the next person they arrest suspected of rebel activities. They don’t care about the citizens.”

Raine starts to say something, but closes her mouth as she knows the truth in that statement. They arrive in front of her house and stop at the door. Raine turns to Jenos. “Do you intend on doing this tomorrow?” He nods. “Yes, I do.” She nods slightly, not really minding him doing it. “Okay… so I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Jenos smiles. “Yup, see you then.” He waves at her and heads to his own home. She waves back and opens the door to the house.

She steps in and goes to her room, laying her bag down next to her bed. She plops down on the bed and sighs before closing her eyes. “I’m not as confident as you are, Jen. But I do hope you’re right about this.” She continues lying there a few minutes until she falls asleep for a short nap.

Raine jolts as she hears a loud knock on her door. “Raine, I’m talking to you.” Raine groans lightly and gets up, going to the door and opening it up. Her mother stands at the door, her hands on her hips. She frowns lightly at her daughter. “I’ve been standing here for four minutes now, what were you doing?” Raine looks at her mother. “I was sleeping.” Darlene rolls her green eyes. “Well, I was going to tell you that your father is going to be home soon, so go and set the table while I finish cooking.”

Raine nods lightly and her mother heads back to the kitchen, her brown, medium length hair swaying as she walks. Raine steps into the hallway and closes the door behind her. She goes to the living room and walks through the room into the kitchen. Her mother was making some nerfloins and greens. Raine sets out three forks, plates, and knives, placing the forks on the left side of the plates and the knives on the right, teeth facing away from the plate, above the napkins. The training her mother made her do was apparent. When the girls were still young, Darlene decided that she was going to try to get them married to some wealthy and well mannered men.

The idea did not sit well at all with Jessica, who rebelled against the plan after graduating by going to work at a shipping company. Raine was not very receptive as well, and Darlene ended up forgetting about the plan, though she still insisted that Raine follow the etiquette she taught her. Perhaps wisely, Rostan stayed out of the attempt.

Raine grabbed three glasses from a cabinet and placed them on the dining table above the knives. She goes to the refrigeration unit and takes out a container full of water. She pours the contents into two of the glasses and puts it back. For the last glass, she grabs a bottle of bourbon and pours it in, since her father liked to have a glass of bourbon after a day of work. She places it back in when she hears the door open, then close a little afterwards.

Raine goes out into the living room and smiles as she sees Rostan walking into the room through the short hallway. “Hi Dad.” Rostan smiles at his daughter. “Hey, how are you?” Raine keeps the smile on her face. “I’m good. Work went well?” Rostan shrugs lightly as he heads to the master bedroom, taking off his brown jacket. “It was a normal first of the week, slow and boring.” Raine smiles, having heard him say rather often that ‘The first of the week, people have all ready spent the bulk of what they got for their paycheck. They don’t want to try and buy a used ships.’

He exits the room shortly after, clad in blue casual pants and a dark blue shirt. Darlene puts the food on the table and the three sit down for dinner. While eating, Darlene looks at Rostan. “Did you hear that the PSS was investigating the murder of three young boys during the weekend?” Her tone and word choice conveying that it wasn’t really important to her. Rostan looks at her. “Oh? Was there any news as to a possible lead?” Raine could tell that he was worried about both Jenos and her. Darlene shook her head but stated they had assigned quite a few personnel to look into it.

Raine bites into the nerfloin so she didn’t have to speak. Rostan glances at her and sips on his bourbon. “What is it Raine?” She shakes her head and continues eating the meat. He reaches across the table and places his hand close to hers. “What’s bothering you? I don’t think that they seriously will try and solve the murder, and I doubt even more that they will finger Jenos.” Raine looks at her father, concern clearly written on her face. “But they might, and then what? They’ll kill him because of me.”

Rostan gets up and looks at her. “Now listen, you had a part in it, yes, but Jenos did it of his own accord. It’s not as if you made him go out and kill those three, he chose it himself. I know it’s hard to accept or even like, but that’s how it is. I bet you he isn’t worried about it at all.” Raine slowly nods her head. “When he left here he said he wasn’t worried because the PSS doesn’t care about the people.” Rostan raises an eyebrow. “Jenos was here?” She nods. “Yes, he walked me to school then back.” Rostan nods slowly and lightly scratches his chin.

Darlene looks at the two. “Well, that was rather nice of him wasn’t it?” Raine nods and picks up some greens and eats them. Rostan nods as well and sips his drink again. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. The family separates the same way as they had done the night before, Rostan and his wife in the living room watching a holodrama while Raine is outside looking at the sky and thinking. “I hope you’re right…”

Chapter 5

Days pass and no announcement is made that the murderer of the boys was caught. After two weeks of investigations, the PSS simply concludes the killer had fled offworld shortly afterwards. True to his word, throughout that time Jenos walked his cousin to and back from school. After hearing the decision, Jenos smirked and winked at Raine while they walked to school. “Told you, didn’t I?” Raine smiles and nods, leaning into him as she had continued since the first time. His arm slides to her waist as he holds her close.

He had been asked by others if she was his girlfriend, to which he said yes. He wasn’t social with others, and if people thought she was his girlfriend, they would be less inclined to try anything. The people had asked when he was not with Raine, which made him give his response. While he loves her, his love is that of an older brother. The simple fact being, he cared more for Raine then his own two sisters.
As the two walk to the school, he sees a guy push away from the wall and head towards them. Jenos’ eyes half close as he gets closer. Jenos didn’t know him, but he didn’t know many and that was to be expected. “Hey, how are you guys?” Jenos lifts his chin and looking down his nose at him, even if he was a few centimeters shorter than the others. “Fine.” Raine looks at the guy. His spiked black hair matched the wristlets he wore. “Well, I was just thinking about how nice a day it is. After all, it’s not everyday you meet such a lovely girl.”

Raine looks into his black eyes and can almost see a lustfulness in them. She steps back and to her right, partially hiding herself with Jenos’ body. “If you mind, she’s with me.” Jenos states before stepping completely in the way. The man smiles at Jenos and swipes a hand through his hair. “Of course, and what a shame, having to be with a loser like you.” Jenos smirks lightly then rushes forward suddenly and catches the man’s chin in an uppercut. The guy jumps back and holds his jaw, glaring at Jenos. “Listen here scum bag, if I even hear you are around her again, you‘ll need a hoverchair to get around.” The guy spits on the grass, seeing some blood mixed in the spittle. He doesn’t say anything else, just turning and walking inside the building.

Jenos turns around and looks at Raine. She bites her lower lip then nods lightly before heading to the door. Jenos walks towards the door as well, moving towards her along the way. The students around that watched started talking amongst themselves, whispering and gesturing towards Jenos. He ignores them completely, but Raine tries to hear them, wondering if they might think Jenos was the killer and call the PSS on him.

Her classes seemed to last forever as her mind was preoccupied with the thought of Jenos getting caught. When the day was finally finished, she hurried to the center room and looks around, seeing Jenos walk down the stairs. Before reaching the bottom step, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of black sunglasses. He puts them on and walks to her, his face devoid of emotions, which she had gotten used to seeing when he was around others. “When did you get the sunglasses?” He starts heading out the building, with Raine nestled next to him. “During the weekend. Didn’t feel like using them this morning is all. It sure is bright enough now for them though.”

Raine smiles and nods lightly. A female smiles at them and walks next to Raine. “You’re pretty lucky, having a boyfriend that loyal to you.” Raine blinks and opens her mouth to say something, but Jenos interrupts. “Yeah, well, I think I’m the lucky one.” He hugs her tighter and looks at her from beneath his sunglasses. Raine looks at the girl. “He’s being modest, he’s the best boyfriend a girl could ask for.” She hugs him a little too tightly before letting go. The girl smiles and tells Raine she’d see her in class tomorrow.

When the two cousins get away from everyone else, Raine steps away and jabs Jenos in the ribs with two fingers. “Girlfriend? Have you been telling people I’m your girlfriend?” Jenos grunts at the jab. “It was the easiest course of action, and I was hoping you wouldn’t mind too much. Besides, would any other answer be taken at face value without any follow up questions?” Raine makes a face at him as she stands facing him. “You might be right, but you could have told me this. It’s not right for me to find out I’ve got a boyfriend from someone else.” Jenos takes off the sunglasses and looks at her. “I’m sorry Raine. I should have told you.” Raine nods then moves to his side, leaning into him.

“Well, boyfriend, we going to keep heading home?” Jenos smiles lightly and puts an arm around her waist while putting his sunglasses back on. “Yup.” They walk back in silence and stand under the canopy in front of the door. Jenos turns and looks at her. “Well, we’re here.” Raine turns and looks at him. “Yes we are.” Jenos smirks as he looks in her eyes. “I believe I’ve fulfilled my duties of being your boyfriend. So I’ll see you later.” Raine blinks in surprise. “What, hey now… no you haven’t.” Jenos arches an eyebrow. “And what have I neglected?” Raine smiles lightly. “This.” She moves forward and gently kisses his lips. He blinks and looks at her. “Oh, you mean this.” He puts his arms around her and kisses her deeply, bending her back slightly. Raine’s eyes go wide in shock before just enjoying it.

Jenos breaks the kiss and looks at her over the top of his sunglasses. “Now have I?” Raine lightly laughs. “Yes, I think you have now.” Jenos smiles and hugs her. “All right then. Bye Raine.” She hugs him and just holds him with her head on his chest. “I know you’ve got to go… but it doesn’t mean I like it.” He smiles faintly and rubs her back. “We all have to do things we don’t like.” She nods lightly and waits a few heartbeats before letting him go. She looks at him, seeing herself in his sunglasses.

“Bye Raine.” She forces a smile on her face and blinks back tears trying to form. “Bye Jen.” He rubs her shoulder, which makes her place a hand over his. He slowly pulls it away, her hand following his and turning upside down to hold his. He squeezes her hand and withdraws it, which she reluctantly allows him to do. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Jenos grins. “But of course.” She smiles back at him. “Good. Bye.” “Bye.” He turns and leaves the house, heading to his own home. She watches him leave then slowly heads inside.

The rest of the afternoon flies by for Raine, as her mind gets preoccupied thinking. The dinner meal is eaten in relative silence, no one apparently having anything to talk about. They do their usual post dinner activities and Raine sits down on the grass in the back. She closes her eyes and hugs herself, recalling the embrace. She opens her eyes, and for half a second, she sees Jenos in front of her. She blinks and sees that she was seeing things. She smiles slightly. “Jen…”

Chapter 6

Months pass by and Raine gets ready for the final exams she has for her classes. Jenos continued to walk her to and from school, and the pressure of the finals were getting to him. She does her best to cheer him up and not let him get overly worried about the exams. The support does help him some, but he quickly finds more help in something else.

Two days before finals week began, Raine hears a knock on the front door. She gets up from the chair in her room, leaving the notes and books on her desk as she goes to check the door. The door opens and she sees Jenos standing with his back to the door, swaying from side to side. As he turns around, Raine flinches lightly at the smell on his breath. “Jenos?” He smiles slightly, his eyes not very focused. “Hey, how are you?” Is what he meant to say, though Raine had a hard time understanding through his slurred speech.

“Are you drunk?” Jenos looks at her, still swaying. “Nooot at alllll.” He smirks and straightens up, coming close to falling over backwards in the process. Raine grabs him and keeps him steady. “I don’t trust you’d get home safely with you drunk like this.” He makes a face and pulls away from her, stumbling backwards before regaining his balance. “I ain’t drunk, just had a little to drink is all.”

He continues swaying, belaying his attempt to look perfectly under control of himself. Raine sighs and takes his hand. “We’re going to go inside now Jen.” He shrugs lightly and lets her lead him in. They go through the hallway and into the living room, turning right to go to the bedrooms. She leads him into her bedroom and lays him down on her bed. He lies down there and watches as she removes his shoes, his intoxicated mind working in overtime.

She sets his shoes on the ground and gets up, placing her hands on her hips. “What am I going to do with you.” Jenos shrugs lightly. “That’s up to you babe.” She blinks lightly and becomes uncomfortable by the look in his eyes. “Jenos, just stay on that bed.” He smiles slightly. “As you want.” He sets his head on the pillow and turns his head to watch her.

Raine moves back to her desk beside the bed and starts looking at her notes and books. She can almost feel his eyes watching her every move, seeing every muscle flex or relax. “Jenos, please, stop looking at me like that.” She turns her head and looks at him. He smiles easily. “Like what?” “Like you’re trying to undress me with your eyes.” He lightly laughs. “Well, not like I have to imagine too much.”

She pushes her shorts down a little to cover more of her legs and swivels the chair so he sees her backside. As she starts studying again, she can still feel his eyes on her. “Jen, please… stop.” He doesn’t say a thing, but continues to watch. Raine closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before letting it out. “Jenos, stop it, now.” She turns around and looks at him. He hasn’t moved at all, nothing moving except his chest as it rises and falls. He finally closes his eyes and turns his head the other way.

Raine gives another look at him before returning her attention to her studies. After an hour and a half of studying, she looks over at Jenos, seeing his chest still rising and falling. She gets up and sits down next to him, placing a hand lightly on his right shoulder. He pulls away and turns his body to the wall, letting her see only his back. She gets on the bed and places a hand on his shoulder again. This time he just brushes it off with his left hand.

“Jen?” She sits down with her legs bent at the knees, her feet over the side of the bed. A light rock on his shoulder makes Jenos push even closer to the wall, letting there be only centimeters between him and the wall. She just looks at him, confused by his odd behavior. She tells herself it’s the alcohol and sighs softly, deciding to just let him deal with his drunkenness in his own way.

She begins to get off the bed when he grabs her wrist. His grip is firm but not tight to hurt her. He just keeps her wrist, still facing the wall. Raine lies down next to him and he lets go of her. She places her right hand on his chest and rests her head behind his. She closes her eyes and gets closer to him, feeling his backside against her front. He sighs lightly and his muscles relax slightly in her embrace. A small smile reaches Raine’s lips as she holds him. She feels herself slowly drifting off to unconsciousness and doesn’t try to resist it. She mutters to herself before she falls asleep, “I love you...”

Chapter 7

When Raine wakes up, she becomes aware of a warmth next to her. She opens her eyes and sees someone in bed with her. She screams in surprise and backs away from the person. The other jolts and turns to face the source of the screaming. Jenos and Raine see each other and they blink a few times before doing anything. She lightly laughs and feels her heart pounding against her chest. “I had forgotten you were here.” Jenos groans lightly and shakes his head. “I’m in your room? How did I get here?” Raine smiles slightly and crawls back to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she lies down next to him. “You got drunk last night, and you came here. I brought you to my room and before you fell asleep you wanted me close by, so I did.”

Jenos nods lightly, his brain still trying to defog itself. “Well, at least I ended up here safely.” Raine nods and reaches to his chin, lightly caressing it. Jen places a hand over hers and smiles at her. She smiles back. “I’m glad you’re good now, when you were withdrawn last night, you worried me.” Raine explains how Jenos was initially cold then finally wanted her close by. She purposely didn’t say how he had looked at her, not wanting him to have to deal with what he had done while drunk.

She looks at her still clothed form and smiles slightly. “It’s kind of funny, when you’re here when I go to sleep, I wind up actually wearing something to bed.” Jenos lightly coughs. “Excuse me?” She smiles enigmatically. “When you are around when I go to bed, I wear clothes, otherwise I don’t.” Jenos blinks. “Oh.” He blinks again and his face shows his lack of brain activity. She lightly laughs at his expression. “You look ridiculous.”

He looks at her, and a smirk slowly comes to his lips. “Right…” He pushes on the bed and throws himself at her. The two go over the edge of the bed and tumble a few times on the floor. Jenos finds himself beneath Raine with his arms around her. He looks at her, and has his gaze returned. They breath lightly as they stare at each other. Raine slowly closes her eyes and leans forward.

They kiss and she pulls back, opening her eyes and looking at him again. He looks back at her, taking in her parted, full lips. “Raine.” She closes her eyes and rests her head on his shoulder. He hugs her tightly and gently kisses her forehead. She smiles lightly and nuzzles his shoulder.

They stay like this for about an hour, after which Raine decided to go ahead and take a shower. She gets up and Jenos slowly gets up as well, groaning as his muscles get used to being used again. She lightly laughs. “You’re getting old Jenos.” He sneers lightly. “Yeah, and just know you’re only six months away from the same fate.” She makes a face at him before turning to go to the refresher.

Jen stretches and moves his arms around to work out some kinks in his shoulders. Raine turns to him. “Are you going to come?” He blinks and stares at her. “Wha?” She lightly laughs. “It was a joke… sheesh.” She smiles and leaves the room. He shakes his head and sits down on the bed before falling back onto it. Watching the ceiling, he ponders.

His gaze drifts to her walls, seeing the holos of her and her family. He gets up and looks at them closer. One shows her in a bikini in the water smiling brightly at the camera. It couldn’t have been taken over two years ago from the frame of her face. He remembered she hadn’t fully gotten rid of her chubby cheeks until then. In another is one of her and her sister, it appeared to have been taken the same day the other had been.

He sees a third picture and blinks. It was one of him, where he was resting against a wall with his head lightly bowed and his eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest. He recalls that day easily. It was last summer, when he was in a junior tournament of sabacc. It wasn’t for money, and no one gained anything except the victor with a small trophy. Even so, he was still down when he had lost in the first round. As he thinks, he can’t recall seeing her there, nor any other family member. He wonders how the picture was taken but pushes it to the back of his mind.

When Raine walks into the room fifteen minutes later with a towel around her waist. She finds Jenos lying on the bed with his hands under his head, his arms up on either side of his head. His left leg was crooked so his heel was almost touching his butt. She smiles lightly at him, thinking he didn’t see her coming in. “Feel better now?” She turns to him, still seeing him lying in the same position. “A bit, yes.” “Good.” Obviously, he did notice her coming in. “Would you mind if you stepped out for a little so I can dress?” Wordlessly, he gets up and gets off the bed, walking out the door and closing it behind him.

She finds his behavior odd, but hurries to change so he wouldn’t have to wait for long. She steps out of her room clad in blue shorts and shirt. He wasn’t at the door, so she heads into the living room. He wasn’t there either, so she goes to the kitchen, and the den next to the front door. He wasn’t in either place. She looks out the back door and sees him standing out in the grass, gazing at the sky as she often did at night.

She steps out and feels the hard stone patio under her bare feet before stepping out onto the grass. He continues to stare, his hands at the small of his back. She gets next to him and looks at him, curious. “Jen?” He blinks lightly and turns his head to look at her. “Hey Raine.” She steps forward and touches his shoulder. “Are you okay?” He nods lightly. “Yes, I’ve just been thinking, is all.” He takes a breath in then lets it out as he looks back at the sky. “Thinking of what I’m going to do now, where I’m going after graduation. Tomorrow is Finals Week, there’s not much time left. I need to figure this out.”

Raine nods lightly and steps closer, resting her head on his shoulder. “I understand… you have your life ahead of you, and you need to figure out what you’re going to do.” He glances at her then lets his arms go to his sides, letting his left arm hook around her waist. She gets turns her body so she is facing the sky as well, leaning on him. “Do you think you’ll be leaving?”

Jenos shrugs lightly, careful not to move much with her head on him. “I don’t know, there’s that possibility, but I don’t believe so.” She nods lightly. “I hope you don’t… I’ll miss you.” He smiles lightly. “And I would you.” She smiles as well. He gently kisses the top of her head and looks at the sky in that direction.

“It looks like it’s going to rain.” Raine picks her head up and looks towards the west. “It does, which means mom and dad will probably be heading back soon.” Jenos nods lightly, knowing the two liked enjoying a picnic on the beach during the weekends. “In which case, would mean I should be leaving as well.” She looks up at him, disappointment on her face. “But why?” He looks at her face. “So you won’t have to explain why I’m here. The best excuse is one that doesn’t have to be used.”

She sighs softly. “Maybe, but I still would like you here.” She hugs him, and he holds her. “I know, I know…” He raises a hand to gently rub her cheek. “I’m sorry Raine, but I should leave.” He bends his head and kisses her forehead. She sighs softly and kisses him. “Yeah… I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Jen nods. “Count on it.” She smiles and hugs him again. “All right.” He returns the hug then heads back inside the house. She follows him to the front door, watching from it as he steps out onto the porch.

He turns to her. “What is it Raine?” She blinks and shakes her head. “It’s nothing… I’ll tell you later.” He nods lightly. “Okay, I’ll wait then.” She lightly smiles. “Bye Jenos.” He steps back to the door and kisses her lips. “Bye Raine.” She gives him a quick peck and smiles as he takes his leave. She watches him head east to his house before going back into the house. She closes the door and leans against it. Her mind recalls that look in his eyes the night before. She lightly shivers. “Was that just the alcohol, or really you…” She closes her eyes and lets out a sigh before heading to her room, where she hoped to occupy her mind from the memory.

Chapter 8

The week passes, as do both Raine and Jenos. Upon finding out at the start of the new week, Raine laughed in nervous tension. She had worried about her exam in Ancient Corellian History, since history in general was not her forte. A few hours after she found out she had passed her finals, she hears a knock on the door. She opens it and sees Jenos, trying hard to hide a smirk on his face.

“You passed, didn’t you.” Her statement makes me smile in spite of himself. He scratches the back of his head and nods. “Yup, I did.” Raine smiles and jumps at him, hugging him tightly. He keeps her off the ground and spins her a few times, laughing. He sets her back on the ground and finds out she had passed all her finals as well. “Good job, one last year now.” She nods and looks at him, smiling.

He looks at her and smiles. “So, what are you planning on doing during the summer?” Raine shrugs lightly. “Probably the usual, swimming and relaxing on the beach.” He nods. “Sounds like fun.” She lightly taps his chest with a fingernail. “And what about you, mister I’m-graduated-now?” He lightly laughs. “Well, I’m not too sure, really. I guess the best thing to do would be to start looking for a job, something I can do while I figure out for sure what I’m going to be doing with my life.”

She nods slowly, knowing that would mean less time he’d be around to be with her. “Well, see if you can get some days off so we can spend it together.” He looks at her, a smile slowly growing on his lips. “Sure, I’ll look into it and do what I can to get it done.” She smiles and hugs him, resting her head on his chest. Jenos keeps her close and rubs her back. “What were you planning on doing today?” Raine raises her head to his question.

“Well, I wasn’t intending on doing anything, actually.” She waves casually at her clothing. She was clad in just a simple shirt and shorts combination. He nods lightly. “I don’t have anything to do either.” She smiles. “Well, would you like to just spend the afternoon here then?” His lips pull back in a slight smile. “Sure, why not.”

The two walk inside and go into the living room, settling themselves in the love seat while the holoprojector turns on to a holodrama. They get comfortable in the loveseat, Jenos’ arm around her shoulders as she leans into his side, her head on his left shoulder. The holodrama doesn’t really interest the two, but it didn’t really matter as they were not paying it much attention. They sit together, as time passes by, enjoying the other’s company, even if no words were exchanged.

As hours pass and the holodrama ends to be replaced by another, the two get up to stretch a little. Raine looks at Jenos and smiles slightly before heading to the kitchen. He follows her and leans against a counter, watching her. She opens the refrigerator unit and pulls out a medium sized red fruit. The fruit makes a light crunching noise as she bites into it. She chews it thoughtfully and turns to Jenos. “Would you like something to eat?” He lightly shakes his head. “That’s okay, I’m not really hungry.” She nods and closes the door to the refrigerator before heading to the living room.

As she walks past, Jenos extends his right arm to block her from leaving. He sidesteps and turns his body, placing his chest against her back as his arms wrap around her. Raine leans back into him as she feels him gently kiss the top of her head. She smiles lightly and takes another bite out of the fruit before closing her eyes and relaxing in his embrace.

Jenos bends his head and kisses her cheek. She turns her head to his and kisses him back. The kiss lingers and they look at each other as the kiss breaks. She raises her left hand and gently caresses his right cheek. He nuzzles her palm, never looking away from her eyes. “I love you, Jen.” He turns his head to kiss her palm, still looking at her. “And I do you…” He hugs her tightly and just continues to hold her.

She turns around to face him. He looks at her, curious but doing his best not to show it. “I need to tell you something…” He nods. “Go ahead Raine.” She looks down at her feet and bites her lower lip, tightening her grip on the fruit in her right hand. “The night you came here drunk, you had given me a strange look.” His brow furrows. “Strange in what way?” She looks up at his eyes. “Strange in that it seemed like you were trying to undress me with your eyes. I, I could almost feel lust coming from you.”

He stiffens slightly as he looks at her. “And that’s the nothing you said you’d tell me later.” She nods glumly, feeling dread in her stomach. “Why did you take this long to finally tell me?” She looks away at his gaze. “I didn’t want you to be distracted from your studies, I know you needed to pass and finish school.” She hugs him and buries her face in his chest. Taken back, Jenos blinks at her sudden behavior. He hesitates then rubs her back as he feels her silent sobs. “I’ll accept your answer, and I’m surprised by your consideration. I’m not sure I would be able to have the foresight you showed.”

She slowly gets herself back under control and looks up at her. “You’re not mad at me for not telling you sooner?” He sighs lightly and shakes his head. “No, but I am angry at myself now.” “Why?” He looks in her wondering eyes. “I’m making you worry about being around me, and that isn’t good.” She raises her right hand to touch his cheek, but the fruit in her hand touches him first. She lightly laughs in nervous tension. He smirks and silently chuckles, slowly turning into laughter.

She soon joins in laughing at the ridiculousness of the action. After a minute of just laughing they look at each other and smile. “If it’ll help, I promise not to drink.” Raine smiles slightly. “All right, and I’ll hold you to it.” Jenos raises his right hand to his brow in a mock salute. “As ordered.” She laughs and leans into his chest. She stops laughing and looks up at him. “But I do have a question for you.” He looks back at her. “Fire away.” She bites her lower lip. “Was it the alcohol, or how you really feel?”

Jenos opens his mouth then closes it. He lets go of her and takes a step back so he can bow his head and scratch his chin and right side of his face with his left hand, a sight Raine has long known to mean he was thinking deeply. He looks back up and his hand goes to his side. “I’m not too sure how to answer it, as I’m not too sure of myself.” He folds his arms across his chest and bows his head again. “By that I mean I know I love you, just… I’m not sure if I love you as an older brother or more than that.” He looks up at her again. “I want to protect you and make you happy, but as to the more… intimate… issues, I myself am unsure.”

Raine nods slowly, beginning to wonder about her feelings herself. He moves towards her and hugs her lightly. She sighs lightly and sees the fruit in her hand, which she raises to her lips and takes a bite out of it. “Are you okay?” She looks up to Jenos at his question. “Hmm?” He repeats, “Are you okay?” She nods and smiles. “Yes, I’m fine.” Jen nods as well. “Okay.”

She glances at the chrono and sees it was 1708. “Wow, where did the time go?” Jenos looks at the chrono as well. “Probably where everything else in the galaxy goes to, a black hole for all eternity.” Raine smiles slightly at that. “So when we get there at the end it’ll be a reunion?” Jenos smirks. “Sure, why not. It’d be great to relive each moment with you again.” Raine blushes lightly and looks away. He smiles in response and turns his head as he hears the front door open up.

They walk towards the living room to see who it was. Darlene sees them and smiles. “Well, hello Jenos.” Jenos smiles back. “Hi Aunt Darlene.” She walks to them and looks at them. “So, will you be joining us for dinner tonight?” Jenos blinks once then shrugs lightly. “Haven’t thought about it, just noticed how late it was all ready.” Darlene nods. “Well, if you do, don’t forget to tell your mother so she doesn’t have to worry about you.” He smiles slightly. “Right.”

In the end, he decides not to stay for dinner. He tells Darlene to tell Rostan hello for him. As Darlene went to start dinner, Raine walks him out to the porch. “Well, will I see you tomorrow?” Jenos shrugs in response. “I’m not sure, need to go looking for a job.” Raine bites her lip. “You could ask my dad if he has any to offer.” Jenos hesitates then shrugs. “Maybe, but I’d like to get a job on my own abilities, as opposed to who I know or am related to.” Raine nods reluctantly. “I can see what you mean. Well, you know where I’ll be if you want to drop by.”

Jenos smiles. “Yeah, I know. Bye Raine.” He hugs her lightly. She hugs him back and kisses his cheek. “Bye Jen.” He caresses her left cheek then drops his hand to his side as he turns to leave. She waves goodbye and wraps her arms around her as she watches him head home. She whispers, “Bye… Jen…”

Chapter 9

Two days go by, and Jenos had not found a job by then. As he wakes up, he decided to go see how Raine was. When he arrives at her home, he knocks on the door and waits. After ten seconds he reaches for the lock and inserts the password. The door unlocks and he turns the knob, pushing the door open.

He heads to her bedroom and opens the door. As he looks inside, he sees she wasn’t there. Lightly nodding, he leaves the house, locking up after himself, before heading to the beach. Jenos walks with his hands in his pockets, whistling a short happy tune along the way.

When he arrives at the beach, he hops over one of the sand dunes and sees the sea shinning brightly. He spots a person lying on the beach, so he leaps off the sand dune and runs as best as he could to them. Shortly later, he arrives and stands over the person, blocking out the sun with his body. The young women opens her eyes and smiles. “Hey Jenos.” He smiles back and moves to sit next to Raine. “Hey, how are you?” She rests on her arm to look at him. “I’m all right. Found a job yet?”

He shakes his head. “No, not yet.” “Well, dad said if you wanted, he has a spot for you.” Jenos nods lightly. “Thank him for me, but I’m going to keep looking for the time being.” Raine nods. “I will.” He turns his attention to the water and just watches it. Raine gets up so she’s sitting and rests on her legs. They silently watch the sea and she scoots over to Jenos. He puts an arm around her and holds her as she rests her head on his shoulder.

He looks at her and notices she seems a little pale. “Raine?” She doesn’t respond, her eyes having closed some time after resting her head on him. “Raine.” He says a little louder. He gently touches her shoulder and doesn’t feel any resistance. He lays her down and checks her forehead. It feels a little warm, but she had been on the beach resting for some time.

As he looks down her, he notices her foot vibrating lightly. It steadily gets stronger until her entire leg starts to shake. He curses lightly as he searches for his pockets for a commlink. Unable to find one, he just watches as Raine’s entire body shakes. He clinches his jaw in uselessness.

The seizure continues for a minute before slowly settling. Her foot shakes until it becomes little more than appearing as vibrating before becoming still. He caresses her cheek and watches her face. “Oh Raine…” She slowly blinks her eyes open and looks about, disoriented. “ugh… what, where am I?” Jenos takes her hand and squeezes it gently. “You’re on the beach, Raine.” She looks towards the voice and sees Jenos over her. “Jen?”

She groans and turns her head to the side away from him. “Raine.” She doesn’t answer him, though she squeezes his hand in response. “Raine, are you okay?” She opens her eyes and looks at him, the tears starting to come down the sides of her face and onto her nose. He reaches over and wipes away the tear on her nose.

Raine pushes up and hugs his midsection, burying her face in Jenos’ chest. He blinks before putting his arms around her, lightly rubbing her back. She sobs and shakes against him, as he holds her and tries to comfort her. After five minutes, she finally regains some composure and pushes lightly away from him. He lets her have some space but keeps her in arms reach. She wipes away a few last tears before looking up at him, her blue eyes red from the crying.

“I’m sorry…” He shakes his head and caresses her cheek. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, it’s not your fault.” She looks into his eyes. “But it was my body and I can’t even control it.” He sighs lightly. “Yes, but it’s also your flawed genes that caused it in the first place. The same that lies with your mother, my mother, and my sisters. I don’t understand why I have the same genes yet am unaffected by it.”

She leans against him, and he wraps his arms around her. Raine closes her eyes and just stays in that position, not feeling like moving at all. Jenos lets her stay like that for a few minutes before withdrawing slightly. “We should get you to the hospital for a check up, make sure there wasn’t any damage.” She nods lightly.

They get up and Jenos leads her back home for her to change. On the way she is unusually quiet. Jenos puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a light squeeze, making her sigh lightly and lean into him. He keeps her close until they get to the house, where he lets her go to open the door. The two walk in and head to her bedroom.

When they get to her bedroom, Raine just plops down face first onto her bed. Jenos sits next to her and places his hand on her back. “Raine, c’mon.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to…” He frowns lightly and rubs her back. “You need to though, I want to make sure you’re okay.” She keeps her face in the bed, not wanting to look him in the eyes. “I don’t care.”

Jenos blinks. “Huh?” “I said I don’t care…” He moves to lie beside her, looking at her face. “You don’t care that I want you to be okay, or you don’t care about being okay?” She looks away, facing the wall. “I don’t care about it.” He sighs lightly, seeing she wasn’t going to give him a straight answer. “You don’t care.” He looks at the back of her head. “Come again?”

She repeats herself. “You don’t care about me.” He blinks and stares at her dumbfounded. “I… I don’t care? How did you figure that out? If I didn’t care, would I have walked you back and forth from school to make sure you were safe? Would I have bothered to see you when I had the chance? Would I have even went to see you today if I didn’t care?”

She remains silent, watching the wall. He reaches over and pulls her chin to look at him. Her eyes are tear stained again, and he tries to ignore the pain he felt at seeing her like this again. “I do care Raine, I do.” He bends forward and gently kisses her forehead. She just lies there, looking at him as tears try to form again. “Oh Raine…” Jenos moves to her and hugs her tightly.

After hesitating, she hugs him back and holds onto him, her nails digging into his clothes and skin. He ignores the pain and just rubs her back, whispering in her ear. “I’m sorry you have to go through this Raine. But I’m here for you.” He says it twice more, as she hadn’t responded in anyway. After the third time, she pulls away slightly and looks at him. She tries to give him a brave smile, but it falters quickly, though she doesn’t look away. He gently kisses her forehead, and she kisses his chin. “I love you Jen.” He smiles at her and rubs her cheek. “And I do you, Raine.” He hugs her and rubs her back. She closes her eyes and rests against his chest, comforted by his embrace.

They lie together like this for several minutes before she pulls away lightly. He looks at her but doesn’t say anything, though the curiosity is written on his face. She just smiles at him and pets his cheek. He leans into her caress and looks at her, still silent and curious. She kisses his lips and hops off the bed. He turns around and rests on his forearms, hands by his hips. He arches his eyebrow at her. “What’s going on?”

In response, she smiles and stretches her hand out to him. He takes it and she tugs on his hand. He gets off the bed and doesn’t say anything. “C’mon, let’s go to the hospital.” He smirks. “Oh, so now you want to go.” He sits down on the bed and puts his hands behind his head. “Too bad, because now I don’t want to go.” He looks away and tries to act aloof. She lightly laughs and jumps on him. She knocks him down and they look at each other, lightly laughing.

“Well, okay, I suppose I could go with you.” He smirks and looks at her. She gets up and nods. “All right, now get out so I can change.” He puts his hands behind his head again and yawns. “I’m quite comfortable here, thanks, so no can do.” She shrugs lightly. “All right then.” She stays facing him and reaches behind her and removes her top.

Jenos’ eyes quickly look at the ceiling as he starts whistling an improvised tune he came up with at the spot. Raine smirks and shakes her head as she removes the bottom and leaves them on the ground for the time being. She reaches into her closet and pulls out a white shirt and black shorts. After going to her dresser and pulling out a bra and some panties, she puts all her clothes on and turns to look at Jenos.

He continues whistling, as he had throughout her changing, and doesn’t see she had finished. “I’m done now.” Jenos stops whistling and looks at her, seeing she was. “All right, so let’s go then.” He picks his legs up and rolls to the side and half falls off the bed, landing on his feet. He straightens up and throws his hair back with his hand in one smooth motion. She lightly laughs at him and he turns to smirk at her.

They leave the room and enter the living room, passing through to the hallway then out the front door. Raine locks up behind her and together they walk towards the hospital. “They’ll probably say the same thing they’ve said in the past, ‘You’ll be fine, just don’t fly speeders,’ etc, etc.” She waves her hand on the last etc and he smiles. “More than likely, yeah, but we want to make sure of it.” They head to Argos Medical Clinic as the sun reaches its noontime position.

Chapter 10

When the two arrive at the Argos Medical Clinic, they find a mass of media reporters and holocams at the entrance. “I wonder what’s going on.” Jenos nods as they get closer to the building. He starts paying attention to what they say and figure out what was going on. “Just a few minutes ago, the naturalist Irving Stephens was brought here to undergo treatment after being stung by a Strike Fish about three kilometers southeast of the city. His status is unknown at the moment, but it is not believed that he will survive.”

Jenos stops paying attention as they enter the building, figuring he’d find out sooner than the reporters will if Stephens died. Raine checks in and is told it’d be roughly half an hour before she’s seen, as most of the attention of the doctors and droids are on Mr. Stephens. The pair take a seat and look around the mostly empty lobby. “Rather quiet, isn’t it?” Raine asks, feeling awkward with the absence of people here. “There’s a good chance that people are thinking the news reporters will find out his condition and want to hear it. That, or hoping for a chance at being on television.” Raine smiles at that and leans back into her chair.

“Do you remember some of his shows?” Jenos shakes his head. “I rarely paid attention to him. Only time I did was to make fun of his accent. I still don’t see why he was here on Corellia instead of a real water planet like Mon Calamari.” Raine shrugs lightly. “Who knows, maybe it’s because most of us don’t explore the sea like the Mon Calamari and Quarren do on theirs.” Jenos leans back and crosses his arms, getting comfortable for the long wait. “Maybe, it’s a possibility.”

A medical droid enters the waiting area and heads to the pair. “Hello, I am Emdee forty-seven. We are ready for you now Ms. McLeod.” Raine nods and gets up, looking at Jenos. “I’ll see you soon.” He smiles at her and places his hands behind his head. “But of course.” She smiles back and turns to follow the medical droid behind the inner door. Jenos gets comfortable again, knowing it would be a while before she got done. He closes his eyes but remains conscious.

The droid and doctors do a few different tests, including scanning her brain for possible damage and checking her blood. In between tests, Raine tries to relax and not be so defensive about the clothing she had to wear. She had worn it quite a few times before in the past, but she never liked the feeling. Every time she had to go to another room, it felt as if someone was staring at her not completely covered backside. When she did look, there was no one there, much to her initial relief.

However, the fact there wasn’t anyone there yet she still felt it made her paranoid and questioning if this was real. She tells herself something Jessica had said, “Normal people might think they are crazy, but those that are crazy never think they are.” It made little sense, of course, but Raine was keeping the statement as reassurance that she was fine. She told the droid she had to use the refresher, and the droid points her in the proper direction. While refreshing herself, she turns to flush the toilet, but notices it looks red. She panics, knowing it wasn’t the right time of the month for her. She becomes lightheaded and disoriented, staggering until she crashed against the wall and slide down it. She closes her eyes and holds herself as she swims through the darkness she felt.

The doctors finally get the door open after hearing a scream coming from behind it. They see Raine on the ground, forehead on the ground, holding herself tightly. One of the nurses notice the toilet wasn’t flushed, and flushes it, not seeing anything wrong with the water. “Wait, don’t.” A doctor says, too late. The nurse looks at him and he sighs. “We could have tested it to see if there was something in her waste.”

A stretcher is brought in and they place Raine on it. She is brought out and taken back to her little area to be checked out again. The tests come back negative, leaving the doctors and nurses puzzled as to what had occurred. She comes to and is very disoriented, groaning and blinking her eyes as she holds her head. A nurse places her hands on Raine’s shoulders and tells her to lie back down. “Just stay down, miss.” Raine looks at the nurse. “What happened?” The nurses pushes lightly on Raine’s shoulders, who gives in and lies back down. “We heard a scream and when we entered the refresher, you were lying on the ground holding yourself but not aware of anything around you.”

“I blackened out?” The nurse nods. Jenos slides his head through the curtains, looking at Raine. “Hey.” Raine blinks and looks back at him. “Hi…” The nurse looks at Jenos then nods. “Right, they asked you to come back here and keep her company as she’ll be here a while.” Jenos walks in and arches an eyebrow at the nurse. “Why is that?” The nurse explains what happened. “And that’s why we decided to keep her here to keep an eye on her and find out what’s wrong.”

Raine sits up. “I’m fine.” The nurse motions for her to lie back down. “People that are fine don’t blacken out while in the refresher.” Raine sighs and lies back down, not wanting to debate the topic. Jenos sits down beside Raine, patting her shoulder. “The nurse is right Raine. If something is wrong, we need to check on it and correct it so it won’t happen again.” Raine looks at the nurse. “Could you give us a minute alone please?” The nurse nods and goes through the curtains before pushing them back together.

“What is it?” Raine looks back at Jenos before answering. “Do you think there’s something wrong?” Jenos shrugs lightly. “I’ve got no medical expertise, so I haven’t a clue. Though it does seem like something’s not right.” Raine sighs lightly before sitting up and leaning on Jenos’ shoulder. He wraps an arm around her and hugs her, trying to comfort her. She closes her eyes and whispers. “I keep having these weird dreams and thoughts… I keep seeing you die in a pool of blood.” Jenos looks at her, his eyes slightly wider than normal, though he remains silent. “I don’t understand why I see it, but it scares me, a lot. I don’t want you to die… I don’t want to lose you.”

Jenos adjusts his seating so his body is facing her. “Raine, someday I will die, just like everyone else, we’re all mortal. If for some reason I do die like you say, try not to blame yourself, it would not be your fault.” He pulls her into his arms, as she wraps her arms around his chest and hold onto him tightly. Jenos lightly kisses the top of her head. “Know that no matter what, I still love you.” Raine smiles lightly and tries not to cry. She leans up and kisses him before resting her head on his shoulder as he holds her.

The nurse reenters the curtains and Jenos tenses slightly, a sudden anger in his eyes before it goes away, seeing who it was. “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you two, but I just wanted to tell you that you’ll probably be staying overnight here.” Raine looks at the nurse. “What? No, I can’t…” “Why’s that?” Raine bites her lower lip and looks away, putting her face in Jenos’ neck. He rubs her back and looks over at the nurse. “How likely is it?” “Very likely, I’m afraid.”

Jenos nods lightly and looks at his cousin. “Raine, it’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything.” She looks back at him, nodding. “Thank you.” He gives her a big smile before getting off the bed. He motions to outside of the sheets. Once out of Raine’s earshot, he asks the nurse. “Is there any clue why it occurred?” The nurse shakes her head. “No, we haven’t the slightest idea. She has past medical problems, but none explain the episode she had.” Jenos frowns lightly. “Thank you anyways. Please let me know if anything happens to her again.” The nurse nods. “Of course. It’s nice she has a boyfriend like you.”

Jenos opens his mouth to say something but thinks better about it. “Well, I’m just glad to have her in my life.” He smiles slightly, glad to have not said the first thing on his mind. “Take care then, and don’t worry, she’ll be fine here.” “Thank you.” Jenos nods to her before taking his leave of the hospital. Once outside, he puts his sunglasses on and looks at the afternoon sky. I do hope she’ll be fine. He places his hands in his pockets and heads home. Raine lies down on her side, facing the dividing sheets. “Jenos…”

Chapter 11

After two more days of testing and examinations, the doctors release Raine, even though they had learned nothing more of her condition in that time. Raine makes a quick call to Jenos, who comes and walks her home. In his hand is a bag with some of Raine’s clothes and other necessities she would have needed. “I told your father you were spending a few nights with my family, and I raided your room for stuff so you could bring it in as proof you were there.”

Raine smiles and hugs him. “Thanks Jen, I just didn’t want to explain everything to him.” Jenos returns her hug before kissing the top of her head. “Yeah, though I know he would have been understanding.” Raine makes a face. “Amid his bantering and threats to prevent me from going anywhere.” Jenos smiles slightly, knowing it was true. “I didn’t say when you would be returning, so, if you want, we can go to my place instead.”

Raine nods. “That sounds good.” She nestles closer to him, and Jenos puts his arm around her waist. They walk to his home, taking a roundabout route there. The pair get to the house, a smaller building in a poorer neighborhood of the area. The once white paint is chipped and had fallen off at some places, the windows open to allow the breeze to enter the home. “Well, home sweet home.” Jenos leads his cousin into the house, opening the front door and entering into the living room.

Raine looks about, seeing almost no change since the last time she was here, earlier in the year. “Where’s your mother?” Jenos walks to the couch, plopping himself down on the cloth fabric. “Still at work, it’s not even noon yet, Raine.” Raine nods lightly before sitting down next to him. “What about your sisters?” Jenos shrugs. “I haven’t a clue where those two troublemakers are, though they should be up and around by now, they never sleep later than eleven, and it’s past that.”

Raine smiles slightly. “So, it’s just the two of us.” Jenos looks over at her and nods. “Yup…” She leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, while he puts an arm around her waist. She closes her eyes and sighs, contempt to just spend the day with him like this. Jenos idly rubs her side as he rests with her, his mind wondering where he’d find a job after the string of ‘We’re not hiring right now’ and ‘I’m sorry, but we only hire those with experience.’ He sighs, how can someone get experience without being given a job to do it?

He looks over at Raine, a smirk on his face. He bends over closer, closing his eyes as his lips near hers. “Boo!” Both Raine and Jenos jump and turn around to see Jenos’ two sisters behind the couch, grinning ear to ear. “We got you, we got you!” The two sisters giggle and run off to their room. Jenos shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. “Well, they are around.”

Raine smiles lightly and nods. “Yes, they are.” Jenos sighs and leans back into the couch. “For children around eight, they sure act younger…” Raine lightly laughs. “You might think that, but I recall you being the same way at their age.” Jenos gives her a hurt look. “I did not…” Raine nods. “Yes you did. I remember it quite well.”

Jenos sighs, seeing he isn’t going to win this one. “Well, what are we going to do today?” Raine smirks. “You’re changing the subject.” Jenos throws his hands in the air. “Fine, I admit defeat. I concede this round to you, oh great rememberer of things past.” Raine laughs at his display. “As I have admitted my loss, what meaningless task shall I perform for you to show penance for my mistake.”

Raine stretches and gets comfortable on the couch. “Well, you can start by bringing something to eat, I’m a bit hungry.” Jenos nods and gets up. “Very well, anything in particular you want?” Raine shrugs lightly and Jenos goes to the kitchen to find something. Raine closes her eyes and sighs lightly, glad to finally be out of the hospital.

She yelps lightly as something lands on her stomach. She looks down at an apple, resting in her lap. “That was mean.” Jenos arches an eyebrow and asks, before he bites into the apple in his hand, “How was that mean?” Raine makes a face. “You threw it at me when I didn’t know it was coming.” Jenos rolls his eyes as he sits next to her again. “Listen to you, ‘that was mean’… I thought we were older than my sisters.”

Raine glares lightly at Jenos before turning her body away from him, staring at the wall with its few pictures and decorations. “Acting like you’re hurt isn’t going to work, I know you too well.” Raine continues not paying any attention to Jenos. Since she’s not paying any attention, he sets the apple down and moves a hand to lightly stroke the back of her neck. Raine jumps away and lets out a squeal. She turns around, her eyes wide and vibrating in anger.

“You….” Jenos smiles sweetly. “Yes Raine?” She seethes and throws a punch at his face. He easily catches her wrist and holds it, his eyes watching her with his smile still on his face. Raine throws her other fist at him, and he catches that as well. “That’s both hands, what’s next?” Raine moves forward to bite him, and Jenos stops her with his mouth. Their lips press against each other and Raine blinks in surprise. She pulls back a little and looks at him, the anger no longer in her eyes.

“Jen?” She whispers. “Yeah?” He whispers back to her. She moves her hands, and he lets her go. Her hands go to his cheeks and she lightly rubs them. He closes his eyes and just lets her do as she wishes. She caresses his cheeks, then slaps him hard on both sides. “Ah!” He winces and pulls back, two red marks on either side of his face. “Got you!” Raine laughs and pulls away so she’s out of arm’s reach.

Jenos frowns lightly before sighing. “Well, at least you’ve gotten over yourself.” He chuckles and reaches for his apple. Raine chuckles and picks up her apple, taking a bite out of it. The front door opens and Mrs. Ide walks into the house. “Oh, hi there Raine.” Raine smiles at her aunt. “Hi Aunt Val.” Val goes into the kitchen and starts to make herself a lunch. “So brings you by today?” Raine blinks then smiles. “Well, I was just going to spend the day with Jen, since there’s not much else to do right now.”

Mrs. Ide nods her head. “Well, you two stay out of trouble. I don’t want you wanted by the police or in the hospital.” Jenos and Raine look at each other, the same thought going through their heads. “No problem Mom.” Raine just nods. Valory stays in the kitchen and eats her lunch before leaving back to work.

Jenos watches his mother leave and sighs, his head and chest falling towards his lap. “I need to find a job…” Raine half smiles and pats his back. “Just keep looking and think positive, one’s bound to come up.” Jenos nods lightly. “Yeah, I guess that’s all I can do.” He leans back and bites into the apple. Raine looks at him, wondering about his sudden change. “Jen, are you okay?” He looks over at her, blinking his eyes in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

Raine bites her lower lip. “You seemed different, just now.” “Oh…” Jenos looks away, staring at the bit apple. “Maybe I have changed a little.” He sighs and takes another bite out of the apple, chewing thoughtfully. Raine scoots over and rests her head on his shoulder. He reaches over and puts an arm around her waist, holding her to him. “Some day, someday, I’ll go beyond this place. I’ll exceed any expectations of me, prove I’m better than what they think I am.” He looks up at the ceiling before continuing. “I’ll show them what Jenos Ide is made of.”

Raine looks up at the ceiling before back to his face. “Who are you talking about?” Jenos sighs and lowers his head to look at her. “Everyone. I feel as if I’m being judged everywhere I go. It’s as if they don’t think I’m able to do anything with myself.” He raises her head so he can stand up. “But they don’t know me, not the real me.”

His eyes looks up to the roof. “Their underestimations will be shown erroneous, then they’ll know I’m their better.” Raine just stares at him, in confusion. “Jen, I don’t understand what you’re getting at.” He sighs and sits back down. “I’m tired of having, of being, nothing. However, I’m too prideful to accept gifts, so it limits my options a great deal.” Raine gently caresses his shoulder. “Things will get better for you, you’ll see.”

He smiles slightly. “I hope you’re right.” He leans back into the sofa and closes his eyes. Raine looks at him, wanting to do something for him but not knowing what to do. She sighs and rests on his shoulder, hoping that her presence would make him feel better. Jenos gently kisses the top of her head and rests his head on hers. The two spend the bulk of the day like that.

Raine looks at Valory and smiles. “Thank you again for dinner.” Her aunt smiles back and pats Raine’s shoulder. “It’s always nice to have you by. Don’t be a stranger.” Raine smiles at that and waves to the elder woman as the two cousins leave the house to the McLeod house. “Thank you again for covering for me Jenos.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I just wish the doctors had found out why this happens to you and had a way to get rid of it.” She smiles slightly and moves to lean into him.

“I know what you mean… but at least I don’t have to be there any more.” Jenos nods and holds her to him; the bag of clothing held in his other hand, having been tossed back behind his back. “I have a question for you Jen.” He looks at her. “Go ahead.” Raine lightly bites her lip before speaking. “Would you consider getting a job that would take you off planet?” He blinks his eyes. “Yes, why?”

She nods lightly before responding. “I’m just curious, if you might be leaving.” He arches an eyebrow. “If I had to I would, but it’s not like I even have a prospect.” She nods slowly and is silent for the duration of the walk. The sky starts to darken around them as Corel sets below the horizon.

The two get to the front door of her house. She stops before she reaches for the door handle. “I’m sorry Jen.” He just looks at her, confused. “About what?” She looks away from him. “I was selfish. I don’t want you to leave me.” He smiles slightly and steps to her, hugging her from behind. “It’s all right, I don’t want to have to leave you either, but if I must I must. Even so, you’ll always be in my thoughts.” She smiles and leans upward, kissing him.

The kiss seems to last a lifetime, and they part a little out of breath. “I love you, Jen.” He caresses her cheek with the back of his fingers. “As I you, Raine.” They reluctantly separate and he hands her the bag of clothes. “I’ll see you later Raine.” She nods. “Yeah, see you.” He gives her a quick peck on her cheek before leaving back to his home. She waves at him and gets one in return.

She opens the doorknob and walks into her house, seeing her mother and father on the couch watching a holo melodrama. “Hi, I’m back.” The parents greet her and ask how it was, which she said went well. She goes into her room and sets the bag down, flopping onto the bed. “Oh, Jen…”

Chapter 12

The summer passes and Raine gets ready for the first day of her last year of school. She places everything she’ll need in her bag and lifts it up onto her right shoulder. She walks out of her room and sees her mother getting ready for her work. “Hi Mom.” Darlene turns and looks at her daughter before smiling. “Hi Raine. Are you ready for your last year?” Raine nods and walks to her mother, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. “I’m heading out, bye.” The two wave and Raine leaves the house as Mrs. McLeod continues getting ready.

“Hey.” Raine looks to her left and sees Jenos walking towards her. She smiles at him as he gets to her. “It’s the last year, you excited?” Raine nods and grins. “Yup, I’m ready to get this behind me so I can really live.” Jenos chuckles and they head to the school. The walk is uneventful and they part when they get to the double doors. “I’ll see you later Raine.” She nods and gives him a light kiss on the cheek. “All right, later Jen.”

She enters the school as Jenos walks away, his hands in his pocket and shoulders hunched. Raine takes a glance back at him, noticing a slight change in him. “I wonder why…” She sighs and heads to her class, pushing her curiosity in the back of her mind. Her day continues as past days in school had gone, rather boring and long. The last class of the day ends and she leaves the classroom, heading out to the front door.

She opens the door and takes a quick look around, trying to find Jenos in the mass of students leaving the building around her. Unable to see him, so goes to the side and continues searching, hoping to find him before he found her. Minutes pass and she still does not see him. After eight minutes of waiting, she decides to head home, the first time in months she had walked home alone.
She gets home to an empty house. It didn’t surprise her, but she had gotten used to coming home with Jenos. She felt as if something was missing. Looking around at the house, she found it warm and comfortable, yet devoid of life. The family pictures on the walls helped to remind her that her family was just at work, but did little to change the feeling of loneliness.

Walking to her room, the feeling only increased as the further into the house she went, she was reminded more that she was alone. The bag drops to the ground as she enters her room, her feet dragging towards the bed. She plops down into the bed, burrowing her face in the pillow. Tears stain the pillow as she cries in bitterness. Her breathing eventually slows as she falls asleep, her energy spent from the crying.

She wakes up and moans lightly, not feeling any better than she did before she slept. She glances at the clock, seeing an hour had passed since she got out of school. Her fingers grip the pillow as she realizes she will still be alone for at least a little over an hour still. “I don’t want to be alone…” She curls into a ball and hugs herself, trying to find comfort within herself.

Thoughts of the future depress her more, knowing that should Jenos find a job, he won’t be there for her, just like he wasn’t today. She shivers and hugs herself tighter, not liking where the train of thought was taking her. Eventually, she cries herself back to sleep.

The sound of the front door unlocking and opening wakes her up. She bats the sand out of her eyes with her eye lids and rubs the rest out with the back of her hand. She gets up and goes to the refresher, making sure she looked okay and didn’t appear to have been crying. She nods as she seems fine and goes to see who it was.

Darlene sets her purse down and walks into the kitchen, taking an orange out of the refrigerator. She sees Raine and smiles. “Hi, how was your day dear?” Raine smiles back, “It went okay. Just the usual things really.” Darlene nods and starts to peel the orange apart. “Would you like a piece?” Raine nods. “Sure.” She gets a slice and eats it, glad for the company of her mother more than the food.

“Any news about Jessica?” Darlene shakes her head. “She left a few days ago, you know she’s usually gone for more than a week at a time.” Raine nods her head slowly, picking up another orange slice. “Are you okay Raine? You’re never this talkative.” Raine looks at her mother before slowly shaking her head. “I walked home alone today.” Darlene raises an eyebrow. “You mean Jenos didn’t walk you home?” Raine nods. “Yeah, he walked me to school, but didn’t meet me afterwards.” Darlene blinks in surprise. “Really, that seems odd. I wonder what happened to him. Maybe he had a job interview to go to.”

Raine smiles slightly. “I hope that the reason.” Darlene catches the slight disappointment in her voice but doesn’t say anything about it. “Well, it’ll be a little bit before your father comes home. Shall we prepare something to make?” Raine’s eyes widen. “You mean me help you? You never want me to cook.” Darlene smiles slightly. “Well, I think it’s about time for you to learn how. After all, you might get married someday, and it wouldn’t be right to rely on him for food.” Raine chuckles and the two start to get things together to make dinner.

Rostan comes home and hears laughter coming from the kitchen. Curious, he creeps to take a peek. Raine and Darlene are making dinner together, Darlene finishing up on the ribs and Raine making a side of beans and fried bacon. He smiles and walks into the kitchen. “I didn’t know you hired a helper.” The two women smile. “Welcome home honey.” “Hey Dad.” Rostan kisses his wife and hugs his youngest daughter. “So what spurred this monument event?”

Darlene lightly elbows her husband. “Quit teasing. I just thought that as it’s her last year of high school, she should learn how to cook.” Rostan chuckles. “Well, that’s good to hear. I’m looking forward to it.” He leaves the kitchen to go to the master bedroom and change clothes.

The two women are finishing putting everything on the table by the time he returns. They all sit down and eat dinner. Rostan smiles and pats his stomach. “That was a very good meal, you two.” Raine smiles and helps Darlene put away the leftovers and clean the dishes. Afterwards, the three go into the living room and watch a holodrama to pass away the night.

Raine excuses herself so she can go to sleep. Her parents stay on the couch together. “Did something happen today?” Darlene nods and explains about Jenos not walking her home. Rostan nods slowly, thinking to himself. “I hope that he didn’t get in trouble. He finds it as easily as his father did.” Darlene pats his shoulder. “Even if he does, he’ll be fine. He’s capable of getting out of situations.” Rostan lightly chuckles. “He got that from his father also. Darien was constantly in trouble. I didn’t like him much because I felt he would be a bad influence on Valerie. After we fought once, we understood each other better. It’s funny, I was trying to keep my sister from him, now I’m worried about his son not being around our daughter.”

Darlene lightly smiles. “Things change with time. Have faith in them, Raine is stronger than she seems.” Rostan nods and kisses his wife. “Yeah. Shall we call it a night?” She nods and the two go to their room to go to sleep. Raine lies awake on the bed, wondering if Jenos will show up tomorrow morning to walk her to school. She gets underneath the covers and pulls them tightly to her. Closing her eyes, she whispers, “Jen…”