Jack had almost zoned out of looking for Jun- he'd thought about her so much that he was starting to remember everything around her; the casualness of the way she walked off a building, the way rocks fell around her, the way she was unaffected by the smoke, how the heavens protected her every time she tried to fly. He was happy to see her presence and embraced her hug when he got the chance. "We're not dreaming~" he said as if to give thanks for that one aspect. Jack drowned himself in the moment, completely forgetting that he was still at school in front of a bunch of classmates.

Jun blushed a pale rose which brightened to a hot pink when other people started staring, despite how much she didn't want to let go it was drawing a lot of unwanted attention. "People are staring..." She said muffled by hiding her face in his shirt.

[[ Ohayo ;3 ]]

Jack laughed softly at the fact. He was a little surprised that Jun would still want to be near him- his clothes were still smoked from the day earlier. Jack often times had a day completely out of his normal attire due to something he'd done with his gang. "That's okay," he answered. A few of the gazers were his friends. Jack waved at them to get their attention because he didn't want them to look like idiots with those strange expressions. A few of them got the hint and turned away. "Wanna go downtown again?"

"Downtown?" She moved her face from his shirt and thinks. "I can't today, I gotta help Auntie clean the house then go to the store and after that- that's when I'll be free." Jun answers with a light frown. A house-cleaning normally took an hour and shopping took two hours before her Aunt didn't know how to navigate through the large store without going in circles a dozen time. Jun sighed under her breath. "You're welcome to come over if you'd like though." She says with a light nod. Sabrina wouldn't mind her friend coming over again.

[ohayo~ ^-^]

Jack nodded and took Jun's hands in his. "If you've got things you need to do, then I'll go home and get some of my own chores done." he said to her. Jack had realized that he had a bit of homework he'd need to get done himself. He also wanted to change out of his clothes- they were worn out and he wanted to tailor them before anything ripped through completely. "Here's my cell, could you give me a call when you're free?"

Jun smiles and nods. "Of course I will, Jack." She kisses him on the cheek before turning to rush home, taking a short cut to shorten the distance so she could tell her Aunt about her day at school, and after school with Jack. Jun was happy~

Jack waved to Jun when she left, even though she didn't see him. He watched her until she was out of sight- that's when he, too, turned to leave. Feeling brave, Jack took to his house quicker than usual. When he got inside, he tossed his shoes underneath the small table he'd shown Jun earlier and ran up the stairs- his parents didn't notice him. He was changed and showered within half an hour. Jack slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans and a solid-red T-shirt. Then, he double-checked to see if his phone was on. Jack turned his desk-light on and put his phone right next to his homework.

Jun walked inside her house and sighed softly as she closed the door behind her. "I'm home." Sabrina greeted her niece with a hug. "Why so down?" Jun smiles and hugs her back. "Starting today, I won't have to worry about the bullies. I punched Josh and broke his noes." She giggles. "Jun..." Sabrina sighed. "What~? He saw it coming!" She protested with a light smirk. Sabrina sighed. "Go get changed so we can clean up." Jun nodded and went to change into something worn and old.

[[ Welcome back~ ^^ ]]

Jack had just about finished his homework when he decided to go back downstairs and wait for Jun to call. As he opened his door (which he usually kept closed for privacy and to not startle the house), Jack found that his mom was standing cross-armed. Jack frowned down at her and moved to step aside. "Jack," she said, stopping him. "Hm?" he asked, stuffing his phone into his back pocket. "I didn't even know you were home, is something the matter?"

Jack's family had decided to call his all-night-time-away-from-home days 'all-outers.' It got it's name from the idea that Jack needed to at least check in every twenty four hours or so. "I'm sorry, it's eerie here. I thought you might have been asleep." He reached out to his mom and hugged her. Jack hadn't even realized how carried away he'd gotten over Jun- 'Not that it's a bad thing, not at all~' His mom smiled and watched her son walk down the hallway and into the lower living quarters. A mom could almost always tell what was up with her child, even if it wasn't in her native language.

[thanks <3]

-Time Skip: after the house is cleaned-
It took at least three hours to clean the house this time and Jun was pooped. She sat on the couch with a light hand on her stomach before her aunt brought her some pink lemonade. "You over-worked yourself today." She says kindly. Jun giggles and takes a drink. "I'll be alright." Sabrina moves some of Jun's hair out of her face and smiles. "That's my girl." She kisses Jun on the forehead and goes into another room, letting Jun rest in peace. Jun relaxes on the couch and drinks her lemonade like water.

Jack had fallen asleep on one of his couches while waiting for Jun to call. He woke up some amount of time later in a cold sweat, completely sprawled out backwards and about to fall over onto the ground. Jack saw that he'd dropped his phone in the process of tossing and turning, so he swiped it up when he went to sit up straight. There, he tried to remember what he'd been dreaming about. He sat in concentration for a few moments, looking at his phone and around the room for ideas. On the occasion, it helped. Then, Jack remembered that he'd merely summed up the last day and a half. His mind had replayed everything- literally.

In Jack's dream, he saw Jun's shadow once again. Time almost froze. He could feel the rest of his group slowly leaving him behind and it was just him and a shadow in the sunlight. Still, he had never gotten the chance to see Jun's face. Then, time sped up way too fast and by the time he connected the dots to look at Jun, all he saw was her dark hair in the gentle breeze. His dark eyes widened at the sight- it was only at times like that could someone actually tell that Jack's eyes were actually slightly green, but so deep that they were black under normal circumstances. He pushed forwards and held out his arms. Jack knew enough about physics that if he was fast enough, he could force her sideways at such a degree that the end result wouldn't kill either one of them. Sure enough, Jack was right. He caught Jun perfectly on time, almost as if it was fated, and hit the ground hard. His mind frazzled itself from the change in direction- straight forwards to down at a sharp angle. Then, the entire city exploded out the windows and Jack could feel himself become more and more tattered with the shards of sharp objects-'

That's when his dream ended. Jack sighed. 'Why can't I remember things straight- the restaurant exploded, not the city..' He shifted in his seat and gazed out of one of his windows into the sky that was still a bright blue.

Jun pushed off of the couch and went to the guest bedroom, hesitating before walking inside and opening one of the empty dressers to pull out an old picture frame with her and her brother in it. 'This used to be his room...' Within a few minutes there was a knock at the door and she could hear her aunt rushing to answer it. Jun neared the door frame but stayed out of the line of sight, she swore her heart stopped for at least a moment. There was a women who looked almost exactly like her only in her late 30s who Sabrina was blocking.

"Where is she Sabrina? I want to know if she's alright." The women spoke as she held up the newspaper with the article of the exploding restaurant. "You don't have the right to suddenly show up after giving those kids away like they were meaningless items." "Those kids? Is Travis-" "Travis is dead, he's been dead and Jun is happy knowing she still has someone to be there for her." Jun slowly came out of the room and looked at the women. "It can't be..." She barely whispered. The women looked at the girl and pushed past her sister to get to Jun. "You've gotten so big~"

When the women tried to hug her Jun took a step back and shakes her head before running out of the house without a single idea where she going. "Jun!" Sabrina called but was too late, the girl was already out of sight and hearing range. She then looked at her sister angerly. "Get out, and if I ever see you near my baby I'll call the cops. I don't care if you are my sister. I love you but I can't have Jun's life getting any harder than it already is."

[[ Omigosh- I read that a bunch of times before I finally got it. A+ for emotion ;~:'' ]]

Jack fell out of his trance-like state thinking about Jun when he heard his mother's soft footsteps coming down the stairs. "Jaq," she said. His mom would always call him by his real name- that was one of the many reasons Jack kept her away from his friends. They were troublesome and life would get real complicated real fast if they tried to pronounce his name correctly. "Why are you still here?" his mom asked. Jack and her knew that she didn't mean anything harmfully in terms of kicking Jack out of the house, but they both also knew that Jack was usually out with his gang, getting into mischief with a bunch of people and.. material things. Jack turned around in his chair with a slightly annoyed expression, and the look in his eyes gave away what situation he'd wound himself up in. "Jaq, don't pin yourself to one thing all of a sudden. Now, go do what you always do- be free."

Jack sighed. "Merci," he said and hugged his mom to thank her for the advice. 'Maybe I did get caught up..' He then went to get his shoes, stubbing his toe on the first shelf of the table in efforts to get his shoes without bending over. Jack cursed a bit, resigned to his usual routine, and grabbed his other slick black jacket. He headed outside silently- the air was starting to crisp for the day. Jack couldn't help but feel a little bit like it represented his heart. He hadn't let go of the sunshine within, but it was definitely threatening to taint itself. '..It just felt, different..'

[hm? O.o *a little slow tonight*]

Jun ran hard for at least two miles before keeling over on some soft grass, so that was a plus. She was so angry, and confused at the same time she was on the brink of wanting to curl up and cry but instead she got on her hands and knees and dug her fingers into the soil until she had a handful of dirt and grass. 'Why? Why now of all times?! I- Damn it!' She could feel hot tears started to run down her pale cheeks and dripped off of the tip of her nose and onto the grass.

[[ ^^ When Jun's.. mom? (unless I'm wrong again- it took me a while to "get" it at all) walked in- i had to re-read it a lot x3 ]]

Jack's heart was starting to lose all life and turn cold just as the sun would leave the day and turn to night. He walked along the sidewalks, a common route he took to the city if he were going to take the train or the bus. Then, he realized that he was on the same path not only to the transportation centers, but to Jun's aunt's house... He stopped in his tracks and looked at the direction he remembered it being.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Here's my cell, could you give me a call when you're free?"
"Sure I will, Jack."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ R ~ e ~ w ~ i ~ n ~ d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"You're welcome to come over if you'd like though."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Deciding to side with the last note, Jack turned and began to walk towards Jun's house. He just had the feeling like maybe her first statement was still in effect. 'The sun's not down yet,' he thought. He, metaphorically, refused to give up- he always gave up. 'I'm sick of giving up.'

[oh~ eheh ^^' no, you were right :3]

It had been long enough to really worry Sabrina, with her sister gone she stepped outside just in time to see Jack. "Jack! You haven't- seen Jun by any chance have you?" She asked with a sense of doubt and worry for the being of her niece and the clouds were calling for rain soon. 'Please be alright...'

Jack had just gotten within earshot of Jun's house when he noticed Sabrina come outside and ask him if he'd seen Jun. Jack paused for a moment- the urgency in Sabrina's voice brought worry to Jack's mind. "She's not--?" he started to ask, when he realized what might've happened. It was strange, but it struck Jack's mind as something Jun could do. After all, she was falling off a building the day before. In the distance, Jack could also see a lot of stormy-looking clouds heading in the town's direction. Immediately, Jack turned away from Sabrina's house and began to sprint as fast as he could down the streets. He called out Jun's name at the top of his lungs multiple times before turning a corner and heading the opposite direction. As the sky got darker by cloud and by night, Jack continued to run through backyards and even ended up traveling through a short-cut in the forest. He scanned every location numerous times before feeling satisfied to look on for Jun. Still, he continued to run and scream. He couldn't see her, he didn't know where she went- 'Jun where are you!?' he thought nervously underneath the steady sound of his heartbeat, his worn-out breaths and his shoes hitting either concrete, grass or broken twigs. "Jun!!"

As Jun watched the clouds darken within seconds she let out a quiet dry laugh. Her body was sore inside and out from over-working herself while helping her aunt and then running for two miles without stopping a single time. A drop of rain landed on her cheek and she blinked at the cold feeling before it starting raining on her. Then she heard the echo of her name being called but she hurt too much to even try to sit up. 'Heh.. They're probably worried to death...'

Rie, the one who kept Jun from being crushed at the restaurant, saw Jack from above the clouds and hovered down to ground level. Being unseen by humans she figured this would be difficult, but nevertheless she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, knowing he would feel her presence. She knew where Jun was but couldn't do anything for the girl alone. After making herself 'known' she made a light path that would lead him to the soaked girl.

Jack had been running for some time now, but he was starting to get weary. His insides were tensing up and his run slowed to a jog and eventually a stop when he felt the first drop of rain hit his cheek. He bent over in pain, but ultimately ended up forcing himself to stand so he could continue looking for Jun. 'I have to think this over, if I were Jun...' Just then, Jack felt strange. It was like someone had touched his shoulder. He looked at where he thought that 'someone' might have been and had a strange flashback. Jack remembered when he had been on his hands and knees at the restaurant after it exploded and was about to make his way over to protect Jun when a giant piece of the building came crashing down from the ceiling. It was interrupted by something and thrown sideways. Jack also remembered that Jun didn't show any signs of being affected by the smoke..

Jack's vision snapped back to reality and he realized that whatever was near him was connected to Jun. He could faintly see the area in front of him stand out. It was like it was glowing and the light was brighter, but at the same time it was like a double vision. In one world, the ground was lit up- in the real world, nothing had changed. The mid-way point, Jack's mind, was seeing a bit of both. He took a step forwards into the path-like terrain ahead of him and soon broke into a run. It wasn't long before he had turned and come around corners into a grassy area where could see Jun. Jack's sprint kicked in again and he was by Jun's side with his own jacket arched out over her like an umbrella within seconds to comfort and protect her from the falling rain. "I'm here," he managed to say in-between breaths, obviously exhausted as well. "Jun, what happened?"

[awww, i can picture the last few sentences being SOO cute~ <3]

Rie smiled to herself and followed him, hovering above the two with her wings out, so the rain just seemed to be avoiding both of them. Jun was too out-of-it to notice as she looked at Jack with deep and unreadable eyes. "My mom- she came by out of nowhere with the newspaper-" She took a slightly jagged pained breath as if it hurt to just breathe at this moment.

[last post for the night <3 v.vzzZZ]

[[ Heehee, okae, see you tomorrow. ^o^ ]]


Jack listened to Jun's shaky explanation of why she was out in the middle of nowhere. He sighed and looked up at the sky, feeling the same presence he did when he saw the path of light. Jack noticed that the rain was swerving it's own way and not falling upon Jun or himself. "Here," he said, no longer needing to protect Jun with his own jacket. He then crossed his legs and leaned in close to Jun, delicately lifting her off the soaking-wet grass and into his own arms. He didn't want to disturb her if she was already in pain. Jack hugged her warmly and wrapped his jacket around the two of them so he could hold her close- Jack refused to even let her think about freezing. He felt like it was second-nature, caring for this girl. Jack knew, now, that he would protect Jun at all costs. This feeling..


'Ah, so this is what they mean..' he thought as he closed his eyes and listened to the rain.

'This feeling.. This what they call...'
Love

Jack was incredibly warm considering she was cold, not freezing. just a little cold. Jun smiled a little and rested her head on his chest and in a matter of seconds she out like a light, sleeping somewhat peacefully- she couldn't help it or fight it.

Jack kept his eyes closed and listened to nature all around him. He could hear Jun, who was definitely no longer awake, and he could hear the rain around him. It was like listening to the ocean, but it was different in a special kind of way. Jack had never gotten the chance to hear it all around him without the protection of an umbrella or home. He'd always been either in one of the first circumstances or he was deafened by the rain falling too closely to his ears. He thought about it so much that Jack paid no attention to the fact that he'd probably always think of Jun when he heard the rain.

After a long time of listening and drowning himself in the subject, Jack realized that his pants were soaking wet and that he wouldn't be able to sustain a healthy body temperature for much longer. He knew that the first thing to crash was the immune system. Jack slowly stood with Jun still cradled in his arms and he began to head back to Sabrina's house. He couldn't help but wonder about what Jun had said earlier on. It was evident that Jun probably ran from her home and crashed once all of her strength caved in. 'You're so strange, Jun..' he thought as he looked down to her dark hair. He could see the outline of her fair face against his own chest. Jack felt proud to be able to say that he cared about Jun so badly.

Rie hovered above them to keep the rain off of the two of them. Jun looked so peaceful as she continued to sleep in the arms of Jack who had been label her 'kisa' meaning 'knight in shinning armor' in Japanese.

When Jack had finally gotten back to Sabrina's house, he silently praised himself for being so accurate with his instincts and emotions. The cold from the outdoors had just started to get to him, and if he had left the grassy plain where Jun had brought herself to any later, he might not have made it back safely. He looked up at the sky to see that the rain had continued to avoid Jun and himself the entire time. He smiled in amazement and mouthed the words "thank you" in silence before he walked up the main pathway and onto the front porch. Jack carefully shifted Jun in his arms so he could ring the doorbell to the side. He noticed that his hair was a little wet and in his face, but he wasn't nearly as drenched and exhausted as he would have been.