Broken Minds and Troubled Times (Kidd, Shilo and I)

Kidd shrugged at Blakely who had said that she looked gross. Something was funny to Kidd. Earlier, in this same spot, he'd thought about how pretty Blakely was. Even now, it still seemed that way, behind all the scratches, bruises, and scars. He wouldn't ever let her know that though. Especially not now. "I can get up just fine. I'm not some kid...." Kidd fussed at her, rising to his feet slowly. The drowsiness was really starting to kick in now, and he didn't want to get up. What time was it? "Fuck my life...." Kidd looked down at his wrist, realizing that he'd forgotten to bring his watch with him today.

So many thoughts were racing through Kidd's mind as he stared down the stairs. If someone was down there right now waiting to mug him and Blakely, would he have the strength to fight back? That one thought quickly escalated into many others. It was so dark down there, and they would be uncertain of whether someone could be waiting down there. Hell, for all they knew, Ixion could've been down there waiting for them.

Would Kidd even have the strength to recover from this whole fiasco? One things for sure, he'd be reconsidering his entire life once he got home, and then some. How was it affecting the others? Were they as hurt as Kidd was right now?

"Ugh...." Kidd rubbed at his forehead, banishing all these negative thoughts from his mind. All they did was give him a major headache. Kidd looked over to Blakely. Whether or not he'd admitted it to her, she really was important to her. He made a commitment to her, and he didn't intend to break it. Another thought came rushing to mind. Where was Daisy? What would she think about him now, after all that he'd done to her and now that he had a new partner? Kidd felt his heart break a little on the inside. Maybe you really couldn't mix business and friendship. If Kidd could do anything about it, he wouldn't get attached to anyone again. Not Jax, not Blakely, not anybody.

One last thought came to Kidd's mind before he made his descent down the steps with Blakely. "I'm just like the hero in that cartoon...." Kidd said out loud to himself, remembering the cartoons he'd been watching this morning before embarking on his mission. He'd said that he wouldn't ever turn out anything like that guy, but look at him now. Broken and pathetic.

"Yeah, let's go get some sleep...." Kidd nodded in agreement. Sleep wouldn't come too easily for him though. Not with all of these things in mind. Kidd took one step down and stopped, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll buy you a new board." He said, before continuing down the steps again, a few steps ahead of his partner. Kidd probably couldn't afford it, but it was another obligation piled up on his list.

Life would never be the same for Kidd again.

She watched Kidd, looking a bit uncertainly down at the stairs and muttering something about a cartoon. She didn't know exactly, but she thought maybe it was something personal that he'd share with her one day. Though unlikely, it was a nice thought. "You... okay?" Blakely asked him despite his starting down the steps before her.

At the mention of sleep, Blakely was at his heels and then taking steps down beside him. She reached over and grasped his hand as she passed him, her pace quicker at the mere thought of sleeping a full 12 hours or more. The staircase seemed endless, and she knew Kidd was probably cursing her to hell and back as she tugged him along much faster than he would like to be going. But they needed to hurry and put an end to this day.

After what seemed like centuries, they reached the bottom and Blakely was exhaling heavy breaths as she peered around for her board. It wasn't within sight and she felt a little stab at her heart, though shrugged it off. She could get a new board herself. Kidd wasn't really responsible anyway. Not like he threw it down the steps himself. "Oh well." She huffed, realizing she'd been standing there looking around for her board for several minutes, still holding tight to Kidd's hand--which she released promptly when she noticed. She felt butterflies in her stomach from embarrassment and was glad for the darkness to hide her reddened cheeks.

She looked toward the dorms which were dimly lit as most of the students were sleeping by this time. Almost there.Her mind was ready to shut down now. But the darkness of the campus made her feel nervous and even though she'd let go of Kidd, she stayed near her partner. Who knew what was out there? Before this battle, Blakely wouldn't have batted an eye at traversing the school at night, but now that Ixion was out in the world somewhere, she couldn't be so oblivious to her surroundings.

Looking over at the dorms reminded her of her keys and she reached into her pockets and felt nothing but material. Her heart dropped into her stomach. She'd forgotten them. Lost them even. She didn't even want to think about walking back up the stairs to go search for them, and instead sighed so heavily it seemed like she'd never take another breath again.

"Kidd?" She quipped, their footsteps padded against the sidewalk. She looked over at him, the moonlight glancing off the sharp features of his face and she felt even more awkward with what she was about to request. "Listen... I uhh..." She wrinkled her face up hating to admit to her stupidity. "Lost my keys." she finally managed, eyes downcast now. "Can I just crash on your couch? Or the floor? Or just... you get it." she added with a frown.

Kidd hastened his pace, hoping to get as far away from Blakely and the academy as possible for a while. Kidd didn't intend on going back home quite just yet. He needed to visit another place of great sentimental value before the night ended. A place that could bring him a bit of comfort and let him forget about his troubles. But to be able to reach his destination, Kidd knew he'd have to lose Blakely. Running wasn't an option, she'd know something was up, even though he could outrun her no problem. And if he went in the opposite direction of the dorms, she'd question where he was going.

Right when Kidd thought he and Blakely would go their separate ways for the night, something very unexpected happened. Kidd felt Blakely wrap her hand around his. "What are you doing?" Kidd was about to ask, but suddenly felt himself being pulled down the steps at extremely high speeds. Outrunning Blakely may have not been as easy as he thought it was. Wind stung Kidd's eyes, making him tear up a bit as they continued sprinting down the steps. His vision faded a bit, the blurriness mixing with the darkness. Kidd wheezed and huffed as he followed after Blakely, having a difficult time keeping up with her. How the hell did she even have the energy to do all this after what they'd been put through?

Once they'd reached the bottom of the steps, Kidd gasped, sucking in as much air as he possibly could. "Fucking asthma...." Kidd wheezed, hunching over as he tried to catch his breath. "Blakely.... What are you.... What were you...." Kidd clutched his chest with his free hand, feeling a stinging pain surge through his lungs. After Blakely released his other hand, Kidd dropped to the floor, breathing deeply in and out. He felt like shit. After a few more deep breaths, he felt his airways expand again, letting the air come in all the way.

Without even bothering to look for Blakely's board, Kidd rose to his feet, stumbling a bit as he did. Looking for it in these conditions would take more effort than fighting Ixion. If Kidd couldn't find himself a pair of socks back at home, what made him think he could find the board in what was nearly pitch black darkness? Looks like he'd be buying Blakely a new one.

Kidd sighed, following slowly after Blakely to the dorms. Looks like he'd have to wait to visit his secret place another time. He'd probably just wait till she got to her room and then leave. He urgently needed to visit this place tonight. But until then, he'd have to put up with Blakely just a bit longer. Just a bit longer.

"Huh? What's up?" Kidd yawned as he looked down at Blakely, just now realizing where they were at. The dorms? Already? Kidd wasn't in his head at all tonight. One moment he was here, and another moment he was there. "Yeah?" Kidd listened to her, waiting for her to spit it out. He was wasting time just standing around there. Kidd's heart dropped at the mention of her saying she'd lost her keys. "Ughh...." Kidd groaned, massaging his temples. Everything was ruined now. He wanted to give himself and her a bit of space for a while, letting the awkwardness of everything die down. Obviously he wouldn't be able to do that if she was locked out of her room.

"I, uh...." Kidd grit his teeth, feeling himself get frustrated with Blakely. He did everything he could to conceal his anger though, but it proved difficult. Couldn't she pick up on any hints? Kidd didn't want to be near any of them right now. It killed him to just look at her and have to accept that the reason she was in the state she was in was because of him. Not just physically, but as he'd just recently learned, mentally and emotionally as well.

Before answering his question, Kidd took one more look at Blakely. He couldn't stay angry at her. He wasn't the only one that had a lot on his mind. And besides, everyone makes mistakes now and then. Kidd sighed, easing up a bit. "Yeah, sure. You can spend the night." Kidd answered, leading her to his room. His room was fairly small, and he only had one bed. He'd have to let her take it while he slept at his desk or something. "Follow me...." Kidd yawned, rubbing at his tired eyes. Kidd realized another thing. He wouldn't even get to visit his secret place tonight. Blakely owed him a lot.

Blakely sensed the tension from her partner, catching a glimpse of his irritation. He seemed antsy and she wondered just what, aside from the obvious, was bothering him. He was a complete space cadet and though he was responding, she wasn't so dense as to think he was actually paying much attention. His tone was distant and she tucked her hands into the pockets of her shorts. She watched his back as he started toward the dorm stairs and she knew then, that he was needing space. Standing still for a moment, deciding the best course of action. She was tired. She did want to sleep. But it could wait a bit longer.

She watched him start up the stairs and realized just how tired he was, as he hadn't even noticed her absence. She rolled her eyes and backed up quietly out of Kidd's sight--heading toward the opposite side of the dorms. There were staircases on either side of the building and she knew she could reach her window from the opposite stair case, and also avoid Kidd so he'd simply think she'd sneaked off somewhere.

As she rounded the side of the dorms, she felt a bit irked at the notion that Kidd wouldn't have just told her what he was up to, or if he was being bothered. So much for communication. Though she knew it really wasn't his strong suit. She grunted to herself and stopped before turning the other corner, counting down from 60 to give Kidd more time to climb the stairs--and leaning against the wall as she breathed the numbers into the night.

At the one minute mark she hurried toward the staircase and climbed to the floor where her bedroom window winked at her across the way. She prayed to herself that the window was open as she approached. She stood staring at the window panes and took a deep breath before reaching forward and tugging up on the glass, the palms of her hands sliding over the surface with a fleshy squeak. The window creaked, but did not rise. "Oh c'mon..." she whined, her knuckles white now as she gripped the center rod of the pane and this time, put all of her remaining strength into pushing up on the glass.

The window rattled and groaned under her pressure, but a rather satisfying pop soon erupted from the bottom of it as it unstuck itself. She shoved it open feeling almost giddy that she was so close to sleep, and crawled, not so gracefully, into the opening without bothering to shut it. She had a futon in the living area and when she reached it she collapsed onto the couch-bed, snuggling up with the throw blanket and hoping for sleep to knock her out as quickly as possible.

Of course that was too simple. Sleep was avoiding her with each passing minute her mind raced. Surely her body would just give out and take her brain down with it. But alas, it seemed almost impossible as glimpses of the earlier fight, of Kidd and Hawk, and Rori. When her eyelids drooped down they instantly snapped open with visions of being choked by Ixion, of her bloodied hands, of Kidd getting rocketed across the church. She curled up against herself and sniffled a bit. It was scary to think someone like Ixion was out there and how they'd only gotten away by sheer luck. Ixion could have easily killed them all, yet he'd been happy to toy with them long enough for the four of them to escape. Her stomach churned. Ixion was still out there and he'd killed Shilo. So easily. He could have killed the four of them in the same way and what if they went unnoticed just like Shilo?

Fear crept up on the girl and she got to her feet and quickly flipped on the light switch, walking back to the window and slamming it closed. And she locked it. She went to the front door and checked both locks on it. Checked all of the other window locks and when she entered her bedroom, she pulled the door shut behind her and turned the lock on it as well. She slipped out of her dirty clothes and tugged a large tee-shirt over her head and left the closet light on before crawling into her bed. It seemed she'd be sleeping with the lights on for a while.