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This story and its characters are completely original and belong to Zelosh and him alone. Any resemblance it has to another story is accidental as well as coincidental. While this story is fairly clean there may be things you find inappropriate or offensive. Read at your own risk.

This is a backstory for the series Eternal Door and occurs after Chapter 7. However, it has no real order or placement within the main storyline and is not required that one read it in order to understand the main story. Read at your own leisure.

With that, enjoy your stay inside The Eternal Door.

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...Tanks unresponsive. Forced shut down in 10... 9... 8... Shutdown overridden...

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Eternal Door

"They call him the Miracle Maker"

Back at Ryan's house, mansion, or whatever people felt like calling it, he timidly fidgeted his way up the steps and through the door. With a nervous grin he passed one hellishly confused butler and went straight to his room where he set Jessica down on his bed. "Uh... I just need to like, let my uncle know you're here..." She grabbed his leg, not letting him go. "Look... I'll be back soon. You're in my room where am I gonna go?" She had trouble accepting it but eventually slowly let go. "Good... be right back."

Heading down the hallway he stood outside his uncle's study, hit by the realization he had no idea what to say. He also still didn't have a shirt on... With a knock he opened the door an inch and peered inside. "Yes? Come in." His uncle's voice could be heard from inside the dimly lit room.

"Uh... uncle? I just wanted to let you know I have a friend over." His uncle turned and raised an eyebrow at him, not seeing where this was going.

"So? Why bother me? I'm busy you know."

"Well I thought I was suppose to well... I mean she'll probably stay the night so I didn't want you to find some random stranger in the morning and like-" Ryan was cut off by the strange look his uncle was giving him, the look that said he had "figured it out" supposedly.

"Ryan please spare me, just do whatever you want as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies. Just try not to make a mess."

Ryan looked bewildered not quite catching on. "Wait what do you... Ew! No I'm only sixteen! It's nothing like that at all! Look I just wanted to let you know, so... bye!" Ryan shut the door while his uncle just shrugged and went back to work. He would most certainly not being doing that, especially after what she just went through.

With a look of disgust towards his uncle Ryan went back to his room to find Jessica curled up on his bed. She was sniveling, probably crying again. He didn't really know what else to do. "Want to take a shower?" She shook her head. "Maybe clean up that wound on your cheek..." Another shake. "Well can I clean up my injuries?" She clung to his arm and he cringed in pain so she backed away. "No... it's fine, just have some bruises." He grunted as he rubbed the sore spots. "Um... while a girl clinging to me sounds terrific and all please don't... tempt me."

She sat there, head downcast, gloomier than ever. "I'm sorry... thank you." A few more tears fell and she rammed into him again. "Thank you..."

Well this couldn't be more awkward, maybe if he could just reach for a shirt to wear... No luck there. Reluctantly he got onto the bed and sat up against the bed post trying to make sure she was comfortable by his side. Her head rested on his stomach, which felt really weird especially when it gurgled because he knew she could hear it. He also tried to control his breathing so his chest wouldn't rise and fall so much but she didn't seem to notice.

"TV then..." He struggled to reach for the controller but couldn't, so he settled for the radio closer by. He knew a channel for softer music, anything to help her sleep really. When it came on the sound flooded the room, but rather than being loud it seemed to just echo slightly and fall gently upon the ears. He thought he'd fall asleep at this rate, but he resisted it.

It wasn't long until she was sound asleep, so taking the chance he carefully got out of the bed and tucked her in before going to the closet. He'd just grab a few blankets and a pillow and just sleep on the floor, which was fine. That is after he washed up, maybe iced the wounds, brushed his teeth, took a shower, eat a dinner he forgot to have, set his alarm clock... Ah screw it.

With that, he laid down forgetting about all of that for now. He felt tired, and who knows what would happen if he left the room while she was in there. The floor was fine, the blankets would be enough, he'd worry about everything else tomorrow.

* * *

It had been a long time since she had such a pleasant dream. It was hard to remember what it was about though, mostly it seemed like there had been no dream at all even though it made her feel so good. Rather, maybe there was simply nothing to look at in the dream, it was still a dream even without the visual aspect though. She listened in on the sound close by, hearing one beat at a time.

Jessica stirred lightly, feeling the light crack open her eyelids causing enough pain to get her moving. She was on an unusually comfortable bed with a strange scent on it, a masculine one. None of it appeared extremely out of the ordinary but then all the memories came back causing her to become alarmed before settling back down. That's right, she had been saved last night.

Looking around the bed she found it empty, but her mind seemed to be more occupied with how odd her shirt felt on her. No wait, it was his shirt, she had forgotten. Anyway the room was empty, or so she thought until she heard the shuffling down below her. The first thing she saw was the green tail flitting about and then noticed a green tiger on the ground in a bundle of blankets. He looked partially mummified while other parts of his body stuck out from underneath the covers at odd angles. He had probably been rolling about in his sleep, possibly because he was sleeping on the floor.

On the floor? Jessica glanced around once more and suddenly felt a feeling of dread mixed with embarrassment rush over her. "I'm sorry!" She suddenly blurted it out feeling incredibly inconsiderate that she should be sleeping in a stranger's bed whilst they slept on the floor. What's worst was her shouting got him up in a flash.

Ryan had spun around and thrashed in the blankets before standing up and trying to regain balance. "Wha?! Who... what's wrong..." He was mumbling half asleep and then suddenly was air born as his foot slipped on a sheet underneath him. "Ow!" His head hit the floor with a loud thump. He grabbed his head and held it because of the shock and pain hoping that would somehow make it hurt less, but he was fine after he had completely woken up.

"Ryan! S-sorry... so sorry!" She was taking responsibility for it and felt even worse about it. How had this guy put up with all this? Of course she doesn't even ask if he's okay, so another point goes to her complete stupidity! Stupid stupid stupid! "Are... Are you okay?" A bit late but she felt it needed to be asked anyway.

"Huh?" He looked up at her, registering her presence for a moment before recalling the previous night. "Oh yeah I'm fine..." Getting up he realized he still didn't have a shirt on so he quickly reached for one and put it on. "Er... so uh, good morning? Sleep well?" She nodded meekly. "Right then... well you can use the bathroom first, right through there..." He stopped for a moment and thought about what day it was before looking at the time. "Crap... I'm gonna be late, and I don't even have my homework done. I'm so dead..." He looked dismayed but quickly changed it to a weak grin as he continued to point at the door where the bathroom was. "Anyway yeah just go through there, there are some spare towels and band aids, and if you'd like a different shirt I can get you one. Maybe one not so baggy..."

She quickly shook her head not wanting to see ungrateful. "No it's fine! I'll just clean up real quickly." She nervously stepped over to the door before stopping and turning back. "I hope you don't mind me saying but it's Saturday, so you shouldn't have homework due today right?"

"Easy for you to say," he commented grumpily before trying to lighten up again when she seemed affected by his annoyance. She was really shy at the moment, every emotion he displayed would end up being her fault somehow in her mind. "Hey brighten up, I just mean to say I have a session with a private tutor coming up. It happens occasionally so I'm use to it." He smiled but it didn't seem really genuine, he had just woken up after all and wasn't really in the mood for doing much, but he wanted to make her feel at home.

Jessica nodded, not understanding why he'd need a tutor. Was he not smart or something? He seemed really smart, a lot smarter than her at least. Either way she went into the bathroom quickly trying to freshen up and disinfect any wounds she had. When she was done Ryan took his turn in the bathroom asking her to just stay in his room until he was done.

So she did, she waited, marveling at the various amenities of the room. It was so colorful, so alive, so expressive of the individual that lived there. She never thought about hanging simple things up on the walls like pictures cut out from magazines. All of the sudden it looked completely accommodating rather than a load of scrap paper like it normally was.

It wasn't long until Ryan came back looking positively revived but still fairly troubled. "Okay so you spent the night but we didn't even call your parents or anything. Don't you think this is kind of serious?"

Jessica shook her head and explained. "It's just my mom, and she works a lot so she probably won't notice. If I were to go missing for too long though..." True her mother might have noticed, but she had been gone overnight before, this time shouldn't be any different. "We have a phone I can call."

Ryan nodded and immediately dove for his phone and handed it over, anxious to make sure nothing serious would come out of this situation. It was around ten in the morning now, he woke up a bit later than he would've liked and now who knows what would happen, especially when her mom finds out she's been staying with some random kid she doesn't even know. Sketchy much?

She dialed the number, it took her a moment to remember it, and waited for her mom to pick up. After a few rings, it went to voice mail. "No answer, she's probably at work, or exhausted either way I shouldn't bother her. I'll leave a message though don't worry." Despite what she said he was worrying but did let out a sigh knowing there'd be a message whenever her parents got back.

"Wait... what about your dad?" The boyfriend's worst enemy, the girlfriend's father. Even though he wasn't dating her he still dreaded that man more than anything right now.

She waited until she was done leaving a message and answered. "Oh him? He's kind of... dead." There was an extended awkward silence, neither of them seemed to react nor try to end it.

"Oh," Ryan started to say, "Yeah mine is too." A few bad memories surfaced, but somehow at ten o'clock in the morning it was hard to get depressed. Somehow, both of them managed to keep an emotionless face and simply say it. He couldn't help but wonder why this wasn't turning into a dramatic movie scene.

"Well that um... sucks. I sympathize."

"Yeah, same here." More strange pauses. "So you want me to make you breakfast?"

That got her to show some emotion, surprisingly, cause one should think the death of one's father was more dramatic than breakfast. Then again, for Ryan, breakfast is pretty damn important. Nothing gets in the way of a good morning meal, not even his instructors. "What?! No I couldn't! I'm already imposing on you as is and I should leave. I even slept in your bed!" She was started to stutter a bit feeling incredibly ashamed and out of place. "I really should get out of your hair..."

"You're wearing my shirt."

"What?"

Ryan grinned. "You got no choice, cause you're wearing my shirt. You plan to just walk off with it? Now that would be rude, unless you want to go around town with the shirt off then-" She waved her hands frantically stopping him.

"No no no no no no no NO! Absolutely not!"

"Then it's settled!" He smiled cheerfully coming to the conclusion without her consent whatsoever. "I'm making you breakfast!" With that Ryan gently grabbed her hand and helped her up, guiding her out into the hall. "Try not to get lost, this place is kind of big."

You're telling me! She couldn't deny him anymore, she was too busy being distracted by her wondrous surroundings. It wasn't over the top rich but hell she had only been in what could barely considered a "normal" household when she was a kid. She had spent a good deal of time in that small apartment, so this was like putting a gerbil in the Roman Colosseum and expecting it to know what to do. She also noticed that one or two people had passed them staring strangely at them as they went by. She thought she heard one giggle too.

"Here we go, we'll just eat here in the kitchen I don't really like the dining room. See? Table right there, go ahead and sit down." The kitchen they entered was enormous compared to hers, like something she'd expect in a fancy restaurant except the cook seemed to be out. Ryan started to prepare something as she dumbly sat down.

"You know how to cook?"

He fumbled with a few items and a pan, trying to balance everything. "Yeah! I really like cooking, so please humor me and just say you like my food when you eat it please?" His begging made her laugh a bit, this really felt so much like a dream.

"If I didn't like your food it'd be because it wasn't edible. I'll eat anything, I'm still imposing on you after all..."

"Oh enough of that, it's fine! Let me have my fun Jessica." He turned on the stove then stopped. "Jessica right? Yeah... Jessica, I like that name. Didn't think about it until now I guess." He shrugged and continued to fumble around with various ingredients.

She felt a blush coming on but she fought it. "I like your name too, Ryan." It was silent like that for a little while, she just sat there staring at her hands unsure of what to do. That is until she heard sharp yelping over by the stove.

"OUCH! Dang it that grease burns!" He continued repeating "ow" over and over again as Jessica rushed over and grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the sink.

"What are you doing get it under cool water!" She dunk his arm under the stream hoping she hadn't been too late and that his arm was fine. "I thought you said you knew how to cook!"

"Hey that's me-ow!" He meant to same mean but by no fault of his own it ended up sounding like "meow." His face reddened at the way it came out and the way her surprised expression looked back at him. "Anyway I'm fine! The bacon grease just started bubbling and I got splashed..."

Jessica glanced over at the steamy, sizzling bacon over on it's own little cooking grill thing and her mouth watered a bit, but she returned her attention to his arm. "Looks like you'll be fine. Do you need help?" She had pretended to ignore what he said. However, she couldn't help but grin on the inside with how cute it sounded, and hearing it out of a feline's mouth no less had seriously made her day. Then again there were a lot of things making her day today.

"No!" The answer was abrupt but after a moment he decided to rethink it. "Maybe..." Jessica sighed and went over to the stove waiting to be told what to do. "Just make sure the hash browns don't burn..." He reluctantly let her help, not approving of the idea that the guest should help prepare food. Hospitality was everything, that's what he had always been taught.

"Done and done." She chirped joyfully, being able to actually do something was nice. With that they continued fixing the food which didn't take long since it was only the two of them eating. Ryan ate a lot though so he had to add in his fair share.

When they were done he seated her back down at the table and fixed the plates up himself before bringing over. "Dig in!" As he happily dove in she simply sat there and stared, remembering that she still didn't quite believe she was awake right now. "Something wrong?"

Quickly shaking her head she replied, "No of course not! I just don't eat like this often. Actually, I don't ever eat like this, not anymore at least." She began to get into the eggs finding Ryan had added in a unique mixture of seasonings that were strangely creative but delicious nonetheless. "This... is delicious..." She said it as if in silent awe rather than just yelling it out and instantly went for the other variety of foods on her plate.

"Really?! Thank you very much!" He chimed in loudly, extremely excited for a reason she wouldn't understand. Ryan kept scarfing it all down but slowed down a bit so he could think, talk, and eat at the same time without losing every manner he had. Which coincidentally got him to start thinking about his manners. She watched him eating for a second and involuntarily he straightened up and instantly changed the way he was moving.

"Uh... you really don't need to have mannerisms around me. It kind of creeps me out actually..."

"Oh thank god..." He immediately reverted back to his preferred way of eating, that is swallowing it like his life depended on it. "So basically you're poor then?" He didn't know how else to put it, were there gentler ways of calling someone filthy poor? Not economically privileged?

"Well yeah, but it's not all that bad." She didn't seem bothered by it. "I kind of prefer smaller spaces and hanging around outside is cool. Then again I don't do that much anymore..." She suddenly seemed sullen after mentioning it, something she quickly tried to shove off. They were eating, and who knows when she would be able to eat like this again, so bad thoughts could go away.

"The bullies right?" When she didn't respond he knew he was right. "Yeah I figured it was like that." He was clearly displeased, he felt something simmering deep inside him ready to boil. She couldn't help but feel responsible for it and didn't want her life story to ruin the mood.

"Don't worry about it I-"

"How can I not worry Jessica? Why do you think I followed you in the first place?" When he interrupted it wasn't harsh, he spoke soft words but still managed to overpower her own voice. "You can't put up with people like that. Maybe an adult or..." He stopped realizing reasoning like that was futile, grownups couldn't do crap in a situation like this, or if they could they never did. She was looking down at the ground, unable to look at him in the eyes as if she was being scolded. He didn't like this one bit, and he was making her uncomfortable. Come on genius think of something! Sighing, he tried a different approach.

He spoke again. "Tell you what. You look like a good person, but hell if I should know right? So this is where I gamble a bit." This caught her attention so she looked up only to be caught by his intense gaze. "Let's be friends Jessica. That way, if those jerks ever decide to show up again I'll pummel them!" She was so shocked she couldn't say anything before he continued on, but he seemed to be struggling to find the words to say. "I'll protect you! And and... I'll cook for you! I mean I'm not that great yet but I'm learning. I swear to get better!"

They both stayed there like that for a while. Ryan kept his hands up in the air where they were demonstrating what he had just said, but they slowly began to lower as he felt inklings of doubt fall on him like rain. Not doubting that this was a good idea, doubting she'd accept him. They came from two different worlds, he could never understand what it must be like for her, but he wanted to. He had no right intrude on someone else's problems, but he wanted to.

"Ryan..." She whispered his name softly, letting the steam rising from their unfinished food steal it from her lips to take it up to the heavens.

"How about it?" He shrugged sort of weakly, unsure whether to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal or not. It was a big deal though. He had "friends" but none of them were like her. Then again who was she? He wanted to know. Something about her was so mysterious and hypnotizing sometimes he couldn't turn away. It wasn't her herself it was more like... like being there to see the caterpillar make its cocoon but not knowing when it would hatch. Like waiting everyday through the snow and rain, sometimes camping out, just so you don't miss that glorious moment when it comes out transformed.

"Wanna take a risk?"

The word choice struck Jessica at an odd angle and made her rethink what she was planning on saying. Take a risk? She never took risks. Don't look back, don't stop running, ever. Don't change route, you might be caught, don't risk getting caught. Then one day, while running, something would change right? If she waited long enough wouldn't things just change on their own? That's what she always thought, but every time change was introduced into her life she resisted it like it was the plague. It would happen on its own, yet she always kept it from happening? How did that make sense? Even if she kept running straight she'd hit a spot where she'd have no choice but to turn eventually. Why not turn now?

She didn't know this guy, but he saved her. He could help her. He was rich, he was nice, he was popular. He was strong enough to fight back. Hell he might just get a bodyguard to do it for him, if he had one. Not like she'd know though, she knew nothing about his world nor the world she was dragging him into.

What bothered her though was, why hesitate? She wanted to change for the better right? He could turn on her though. He could have ulterior motives for gaining her trust, like expecting some sort of payment. If she had friends she might see her mom less, and she needed her help with the house and simply being there since life was so hard. It was hard for both of them, so they had to be there for each other, just the two of them. Besides, she knew how this would turn out, it always ended up the same. She was cursed, she knew that, the irrefutable proof marked her body. It was a never ending stain. Ryan would get hurt, or die. Her mother had to deal with her cursed child, this guy didn't, he didn't even know what he'd be getting himself into. Justin was ridiculed for liking her and lost himself because of it, Ryan would be the same. The tiger would start out trying hard but he'd be attacked too, his popularity would suffer from being with her, and his academics would probably go down from those two reasons combined. He'd look at her coldly with a freshly bruised face wondering why he ever bothered with this trash. She just wasn't worth it.

But it was about time she risked it. "I..." She opened her mouth but felt tears come to her eyes. "I can't." Before he knew what was happening she had launched out of her seat and ran for the door.

"Jessica wait! I'm sorry I-"

She drowned his voice out, what the hell was she doing here? In some rich kid's house eating his food and sleeping on his bed. This was stupid, absolutely stupid. She wanted to risk it but... she couldn't.

She ran out with him giving chase just wanting to talk to her. She kept going but eventually stopped, she was completely lost in this place. That must have been the stupidest stunt she had ever pulled.

"It's... it's to the right." Ryan was about twenty feet behind her pointing in the direction of the door. He wanted to talk but keeping her trapped here was something he couldn't bring himself to do. When she looked at him he just looked away regretting telling her the way but he wouldn't change his mind now. He just stayed there with his ears drooping and tail lifelessly draped across the floor waiting for her to make her move.

She said nothing, she simply left, she had made her decision. Running and running, finding the way then running some more. It was about time she got home, back to her normal life and out of this dream. Leave before this fairy tail reached its happily ever after. Still, her conscious wouldn't let her just to do that without looking back just once to see if he had followed... but he wasn't there anymore. She was alone, but still running.

* * *

Dark clouds loomed overhead heavily, threatening to let loose their load at any moment. However, the sunlight could still be seen rising up beyond the clouds high above. The streets were not as active as usual making it seem rather lonely, especially with the frequent crumpled paper fluttering in the wind. Her head hung low sinking every moment closer to the ground where she wanted to just curl up and die. "Fairy tails don't exist..." she repeated for the umpteenth time.

So many memories swam through with that one simple thought, so many that she wished she could stop thinking about it. They weren't bad memories, just... dead memories. Frozen in a time that had long since faded into oblivion. Ever think of a smiling face, full of joy, and react bitterly? It was like that. It didn't make any sense, it just hurt, that's all it ever did. She had sworn never to hurt herself physically, but she was so good at it mentally and emotionally. All scars would fade with time, except for one, and that one was ingrained onto her back. That one scar that reminded her of all the rest.

She trudged her way up the steps, not looking forward to the tiny cube she called home. She never really thought this way before, or at least not recently, but somehow she couldn't help it after seeing Ryan's house.

She wanted to be able to seclude herself in a place where no one could find her like other teenagers. The one space she could foolishly call hers as she cried and cried her way through everything that had happened and know that no one would bother to come and find out what was wrong. She wanted to take magazines and cut the pictures out to hang on the walls. She wanted to make bracelets out of beads and string and hang long lines of them decoratively around her room. She wanted to get a poster of some generic band or movie character and spend an hour simply gazing upon it. She wanted a journal where she could write all the little things in her life no one cared about and safely store them away. She'd hide it so it would never be found, then spend eternity hoping some cute guy happens upon it and reads what's inside. She wanted to turn up the music when her thoughts became too loud to handle, complain about every little mean things people did to her, and talk to other people online about pointless stuff. She wanted to stay up all night watching TV and eating junk food with someone.

She didn't care who it was, just someone.

The lights were on in the apartment, which was rather unusual for this time of day. Her mom must have been not only home but awake, which wasn't good. Her mom probably got back from work only a couple hours ago and needed to rest now. Was that all her mom could sleep these days? A measly three to four hours? Jessica needed to save up for sleeping pills, then her mom would be able to sleep again. Then, when she had the night off from work, they could stay up watching TV.

They'd turn on the old, dusty, little black box and just go with whatever channel first came on. They'd get a few Wheat Thins in a bowl from their precious pantry and nibble on them the whole time, trying to make them last as long as possible. Then the other would fall asleep leaving her to tend and take care of them. She'd eventually drift off herself into nothingness, content with the other's presence.

These are the thoughts that bombarded her mind as she opened the door and looked inside. These are the reasons for which she tried to hide the tears on her face as her eyes laid upon the woman within. These are the things she wanted to talk about sometime as her mouth opened and closed dumbly at the scene. These are the things she forgot about completely the second she saw her mother breathing heavily on the floor only inches away from the phone. Their was a light blinking on it, somebody left a message her mother failed to get.

* * *

It had been hardly two days since she got back. Hear that? Not even two days, and she was already in deeper shit than she had been in years. One day and twelve hours since she had run out on Ryan. One day and ten hours since she found her mom collapsed in their small kitchenette with a severe fever. Her mom had been trying to look strong but felt so weak, it hurt watching how easily she was carried away on the stretcher because of her light body. One day and seven hours until she was finally told how her mom was doing at the hospital. One day and three hours since she went home exhausted and spent, lying to the doctors saying their neighbor was her mom's friend and that the woman could take care of her in the meantime. One day and one hour since she had finally managed to cry herself to sleep, she wasn't able to look out the window that night. She might have missed seeing the moon, but she didn't know how it could possibly come out on a day like that.

Fourteen hours since she awoke abruptly to the sound of the phone ringing just to find that her mom was getting worse. Thirteen hours since her mom's boss called asking where she had been. She was fired from the job by the end of the phone call. Ten hours since she finally managed to get herself to eat something, trying to be careful to not eat too much because they may not be even able to afford food soon. It's back to the charity foundations for them. Six hours since she got her homework done for school tomorrow even though she probably wouldn't want to go. Five hours since she couldn't stay still anymore and went to see her mom again, but it really only hurt more. Her mom was unconscious and was breathing heavily into whatever contraption was wrapped around her muzzle. Did they even have the insurance or money for this? Jessica didn't know, she figured it'd be best to just take her home to rest but apparently she wasn't well enough for that. Jessica knew she'd take good care of her though, she was her mother for Christ's sake.

Three hours since she went out again but this time headed to the city to wander a bit. Not the brightest idea she'd ever had but it beats sitting around at home or watching her last living family member suffer. Two hours ago she was at the park. Then she went to the zoo to see if she could see anything without actually going in. Then there was the shopping district with all its glorious attractions.

It must've been about 30 minutes ago when she noticed people following her. Fine, she thought, let them do what they want. Was that how it was now? Jessica, fifteen years old, and absolutely no will to live. She'd live though, somehow the pain that came with it was welcome, like she deserved it. Then again, as long as she lived she would just continue to trouble others. So fine, whoever was following her can just have their way with her. Beat her, rape her, kill her, it was all the same. She had a good guess who it was so she pretty much knew what would happen. All her bridges had been burned, and with the lack of money her mother didn't need an extra mouth to feed. Maybe the woman would find another man before she became so worn out she was unrecognizable.

So with that, Jessica just trudged along to the nearest empty construction site she could find and just waited. "Hey you came out all on your own, you're braver than I thought. Or you're just stupid, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." It was the fox she had seen usually around Justin. His voice and posture was slightly seductive with an underlying scheming nature to it. He wasn't alone either, something she realized a while ago, this guy was never alone.

"What, you didn't bring your favorite pet this time?" Funny really, when one didn't care about what happened to them they suddenly became cynical and sarcastic. She of course was talking about Justin.

That seemed to ruffle the fox's feathers a bit. "That's why I came to you, well for other reasons as well, but mostly just because of him. I've been given word that you two met a couple days ago, and since then I haven't been able to get in contact with him. Did he finally make you his bitch? Cause I'd like to have your lover back, it gets boring without him." How did this guy even get friends? Clearly people thought he was cool, or maybe he had money? Maybe he was smart enough to convince retards to become delinquents and follow him for no reason whatsoever, either way it didn't make much of a damned difference.

"He's not my lover! And I don't know where he is, go waste somebody else's time not mine!" She didn't know where this rage was coming from all of the sudden, but it was probably the aftermath of almost being raped by a lunatic then being associated with said lunatic.

The fox considered this and saw no reason for her to be lying, but didn't make a move to leave. "Fine fine, I believe you, though I'm not entirely convinced..." She wasn't paying close enough attention to notice a lizard sneak up behind her and lock her arms behind her back. "I think we should take a closer look, there's only one way to prove virginity." There was a round of laughs at this comment.

This freak was not serious was he? What a poor excuse to rape her, if that's even what he was going to do. He seemed more like the kind of guy to get the victim all sweaty and bothered and then leave them humiliated and broken. Also, despite what she had decided before all this, she was starting to get a bit scared.

Before she could think on it further though she got slapped and punched in the gut. "Don't worry, we'll warm you up first..." It was the one holding her that whispered this leaving the most vile of feelings in her left ear at the sickening words. From there it was a series of punching, kicking, and being slammed into the ground and walls.

She had been let go after a little while, but she just stayed where she had been left on the ground whimpering slightly with empty eyes. She knew she was ready to accept everything and find death. When one of the canines in the group had violated her, she hardly cared proving she could handle this. Though, maybe full on intercourse would be what really destroys her from the inside, but once it got to that point it'd probably be too late anyway so she could just deal with it. No, it was already too late.

The fox was over teasing her as he began to consider how he'd go about his sinister deeds. Just as she had let her mind go numb with all the pain and brokenness, she considered something. Gazing down she saw the muddy shirt she wore, it was beginning to tear. I never did get a chance to return this. Sorry Ryan... guess I'm just that rude after all. It was laughable really, and just as she felt a disturbed smile come upon her lips something happened.

"Hey who the hell are-" She heard, almost felt, the sound of a jaw breaking nearby. The lizard let out a horrendous scream before being silenced by the attacker. It took only moments to leave the kid unconscious on the pavement.

Jessica closed her eyes thinking about who it was. Idiot... you shouldn't have come. Her thoughts however were interrupted by the fox stumbling to get off of her and stand up. "Justin?! What the hell did you do?!" What? Now that she was free she could look over and easily see Justin tossing the lizard away like a rag doll and proceed to move towards the group. The blood on his paws blended well with his dominant fur color, not something she should be noticing right now.

Justin said nothing, just stared at them with cold, unmoving eyes. He was different now, she could see that plain as day. It was his affection that she had been afraid of, but now... there was this aura that just screamed murder. Before the fox could figure out what to do one of his subordinates decided to attack the lupine and soon the others decided to join in. At first it seemed Justin was having trouble, but none of the attacks actually phased him even though they pushed him back. He was just a robot that rebounded with every hit to punch back twice as hard. It seemed like a blur to her, somehow he managed to deal with them all like it was no big deal.

The blood wolf continued on. "Whoa dude what's gotten into you?! We're friends remember! I was worried cause I heard you joined a gang or something stupid like that. I mean those rumors, what can you d-" A firm hand on the shoulder shut the fox's lips from continuing to ramble. Since when was Justin this big? Not that he grew necessarily, maybe the muscles got a bit bigger but that wasn't it either. The wolf was simply gigantic, the fox felt so small.

"I don't have time for you. If I ever see your face again..." The hand squeezed harder on the poor vulpine's shoulder as claws broke the skin. "I'll make sure there's nothing left to look at." The fox gave a quick nod and ran like hell when he was let go. Never had he known that the most frightening words could be spoken so softly, so simply, and so easily.

Jessica was left alone with him now, managing to sit on top of a beam in order to face him as best as she could for the moment. He just loomed over her with his monstrous figure, never turning his eyes away as they locked in an intense stare.

"What you want to rape me now too? Well they already got the first part out of the way for you so go right ahead." She said it bitterly, a sort of mockery in her voice but it also indicated that she was completely unattached emotionally to the given situation.

He snorted. "Shut it." He squinted his eyes, studying her appearance. "Where's Ryan? I have unfinished business with him."

She giggled and surprisingly got no negative reactions because of it. Justin had suddenly been unaffected by provocation? Maybe it was an isolated incident, she didn't know and didn't care. "Seemed like finished business to me, and I already cut my ties with him. I'm no one to him."

That managed to get a bit of a growl out of him. "I was hoping you'd know but looks like I ain't that lucky." Looking away for a moment he stared at some of the groaning bodies on the pavement. "Doesn't matter, I don't really want to fight him yet anyway. Ryan taught me something." His attention returned to her, his voice slightly raised now. "I'm not strong enough. So I'm going to become more powerful than ever." With fist clenched, raised to the dark clouds above, he continued. "I'll have so much power he'll be forced to recognize me. Then I'll beat him, and... then I'll come back for you."

Jessica was stunned by the sheer magnitude of the emotion and passion, not to mention stupidity, in his words. He'd come back for her? Somehow his line of thinking made sense to her as if it was logical. Ryan had beaten him in her defense, so in order to get her back he's going to fight Ryan in the future. Heh, knew I'd cause him trouble, should have never gotten involved, that idiot. "So you'll leave me alone now? Darn, was hoping I could just end it..."

"No." There was a pause, did he just say no? No to what? How could he just tell her no to that?! Her confused expression didn't appear to give him the clue that she was in fact confused.

"What do you mean no?"

"You can't die, I won't allow it. I told you, one day I'll be coming back for you." Wow, that has got to be the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. It was almost romantic but the blood stained fur kind of dulled the feeling. Actually the fact that he tried to rape her dulled the feeling, was it obvious she resented him yet? Probably not, he'll "come back for her" whether she likes it or not apparently.

"Selfish excuse to keep me alive, but then again..." She struggled to get up with no signs of him wanting to help, but she managed by herself. "It's pretty selfish to want to die too isn't it?" She smiled wryly, not sure what the intent behind it was. Reaching over she poked him in the abs. "Well I can see you're trying hard for me, I'm flattered. I guess."

Justin stayed still, once again showing no indication that he would move towards or away from her. Then, he just turned and walked away. "Remember what I said." Sure sure... jackass.

With that Justin simply left, his tail twirling around behind him as he went. Jessica noticed one of the guys was getting up, ready to fight whatever enemy was out there, but seemed too disoriented to understand what was going on. Oops, better get out of here. I'm sure he'll get the ambulance for the other guys.

She set off out of the area and didn't stop until she had reached a small cafe where she felt safe. Might as well live now right? Wow she was just a bundle of joy wasn't she? Might as well not die! It was laughable, but also quite serious. Despite what she thought earlier her mom did need her right now, who else would take care of the house while she was gone? Whatever, she just needed to forget about that for now, was she safe?

Wait, then again the thing she should be afraid of aren't those punks... "You okay miss?" Someone next to her at the door of the cafe, someone she was blocking the path of, asked a question.

Jessica spun around and just smiled. "Yeah I'm just fine! Why wouldn't I be?" she spouted out with fake cheeriness. He didn't seem convinced but instead of questioning further just edged past her so he could leave.

"Okay well have a good night I guess..." Yeah she was just perfectly fine being covered in dirt and her own blood. One quick look at her own body let her know she at least wasn't showing off anything she shouldn't be, so indecency wasn't a problem at the moment. Then again not being indecent isn't going to keep her from getting kicked out, and she didn't really have any money so her being there was pointless. Her body was aching though and every single painful wound she had wouldn't shut up. She couldn't think straight right now so she just found the darkest and most antisocial corner she could find to sit down. This was a cafe, people came to just sit down all the time right? It seemed really casual in there so hopefully she wouldn't be kicked out. She did look like dirt though... maybe the "pity me" face could work as a last resort if need be.

What she really feared was being called in as a runaway or some stupid crap like that, that or they call an ambulance. Hey if she goes to the hospital maybe she could just go see her mom then go home? No, she really didn't want to cause a fuss, she wanted to be left alone until she thought she could limp home.

"Can I get anything for you sweetie?" The Shiba Inu looked up to see a falcon who clearly worked there. The bird noticeably had a bunch of pink feathers, though it was hard to tell if they were her natural colors or not. Wouldn't be surprising if it were dyes though, she looked 17 but talked like she was older. Not to mention the avian had a bit of an accent that was actually kind of cute. "Maybe a band aid if anything."

Jessica just smiled and shook her head. "No I'm fine thank you..." The falcon didn't really smile, but she didn't seem angry or anything like that, just wondering what she should do.

After a moment the worker sat down in the chair opposite her and sighed trying to relax. "Don't mind me, just taking a break. These hours are slow anyway."

"Right..." Jessica wanted to relax to but felt too high strung at the moment to do so. She just looked the other over some more noticing lots of neon green feathers that confirmed her suspicions, lots of dye had been used. She must really like to mess with her appearance, and whatever the woman did she did it right cause she was beautiful, in her own unique way. She didn't look really tall, but obviously much taller than Jessica, maybe like 5'6" or 5'7" if one had to guess. She was skinny, kind of too skinny, but not exactly by choice, and had a decent feminine body that seemed completely overshadowed by other far more eye catching attractions. Apparently accessories weren't allowed at work cause she wasn't wearing any but several holes were quite visible in her ears and the marks on the feathers of her neck and hands suggested use of accessories there as well. Her feathers were bright pink, neon green, and a particularly beautiful autumn red, the red seeming to be apart of her natural colors. Her beak was black but had designs on it made by some kind of paint, possibly something similar to nail polish so it wouldn't come off as easily. Not much else to notice other than that, though she did have nice wings and green eyes.

The falcon noticed Jessica looking her over nervously and waved her hand in the air to say lighten up. "Relax what do you think I'm going to do? Call the police cause you wanted to sit down?" There were far better reasons than that but yes that's exactly what she thought. "It's a cafe anyone can come in and out as they please as long as they don't start breaking things, and you said you didn't want anything so I'm guessing you're fine?" As she finished she grinned trying to make a show of friendliness.

Jessica returned the gesture sheepishly, trying to smile back as best as she could. "Well not really, but I'm use to it. I'll just go home and wash up." Suddenly, the smile faded and she rested her head on her hands. "That's not really what's on my mind though..."

The other leaned in ready to be her comfort. "This has to do with a guy doesn't it? I can see the lost look in your eyes you can't fool me!" She giggled but then stopped herself, coughed, and reached out her hand in formal greeting. "I'm Nina by the way. It's not my real name but I'd prefer if you called me by that name."

"I'm... Jessica." They shook hands and quickly went back to the original conversation.

"So? Come on don't leave a girl hanging." They were pretty close in age so suddenly this didn't seem so awkward as it had before, and it seemed like the rumors were true. Girls can become best friends in ten seconds flat, something Jessica wished she could experience more often.

"Well I got to admit that you're right on the mark, but it's kind of complicated..." How much should she really be saying? To a complete stranger nonetheless!

"Is he the one who did this to you?"

Jessica stiffened up with her eyes wide open and quickly realized this sounded like a boyfriend being abusive situation. "Heck no! Actually he kind of beat of the ones who did this to me, but that's not the point." Actually, him not doing this to her was completely new, but that was something she didn't feel like mentioning.

"That sounds so romantic though!" Nina gave a little girlish squeal at the thought of a man coming to her rescue.

"Like I said not the point... It's just that I don't really like him but I know he loves me."

"Obsessive?"

"You have no idea, and now I'm worried about him..." Jessica didn't realize she had switched persons without making it clear until after she had said it. "Oh! I mean I'm worried about another guy, one he might fight in order to gain my affection or something stupid like that." Another girlish squeal. "You're enjoying this too much... The other guy could get pulverized! He's got money and looks but in a real fight I don't know how long he'll last. He almost lost last time..."

Nina's excitement didn't lower whatsoever. "How can I not enjoy this? The way you make it sound you either choose the tough guy or the guy with cash and they'll even fight over you! That sounds pretty ideal to me."

"Well it doesn't to me," Jessica grumbled. "I have enough crap to deal with as is, some of said crap should be kind of obvious considering the way I look, and I didn't want it to end up like this. It's all my fault..."

The avian's expression softened and she reached a hand over to softly rub her shoulder. "Ah I'm sure it'll get better you just got to let things play out. At the very least, you're always welcome here! There is no discrimination inside The Firefly darling."

Jessica blinked confused then realized that was the name of the place. "The Firefly eh? That's an interesting name... I didn't come in here expecting it to be so friendly that's for sure."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about being treated well here, all the staff is friendly, though there is only a few of us. I'd say the same for the boss but I don't actually know who he is." Jessica raised an eyebrow and Nina went on to explain. "He's never around, which I know you might think he's lazy because of it but he still makes sure the place runs smoothly. Not sure how though, I think he might have cameras set up..." Quickly glancing around the falcon returned back to the conversation waving off the idea as ridiculous. "Well anyway I hear he's nice, and he still gives orders and schedules stuff."

"That's... cool, I guess, in a weird way." The canine shrugged not sure what to make of it really. As long as things got done right? Either way she felt herself beginning to like this place, but for now she couldn't get too attached. "Actually I need to go now it's getting late and I should wash up."

"What? Aw that sucks..." Nina seemed genuinely disappointed but cracked a smile anyway. "It was nice meeting you Jessica, and it's about time I got back to work too." They both got up and gave short goodbyes. "See you later then?" The falcon winked at her and walked away.

"Yeah." Jessica said it weakly but meant it, she wanted to come back sometime. For now though, she left the building being careful not to bust any more limbs up and went home to finally get a greatly desired night's rest.

The moon continued to stay behind clouds that night.