Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Always There For You ❯ 20 ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer ~~> ::looks around room:: Darn, still don't own it.

Glossary of AlyRain's Commonly Used Japanese Terms:

1) Eh-to/ano...: Uhm...
2) Otoutou: Little brother.
3) Oneesan: Older sister
4) Otousan: Father
5) Okaasan: Mother
6) Yatta!: Yay!
7) Nani!?: What!?
8) Hai: Yes
9) Iie: No
10) Honto deshita: Was right or truthful
11) Kami-sama: God, or gods
12) Owari: The End

-Always There For You Chapter 30-

December 29th, A.C. 216

Jason, Chelsea, Jack, and Rain were on the Yuy's back patio, playing a game of poker when Robbie came bursting out the sliding glass door in a flurry of excitement.

"Guess WHAT!?" Robbie squeaked.

"What?" Rain asked without looking up from her cards.

"Mekushiko ni ikimasu!" Robbie babbled in Japanese.

"Hm?" Jason said, not understanding much spoken Japanese.

"We're going to Mexico? Why?" Rain asked, that time setting her cards face down on the glass picnic table.

"Uncle Duo said there is a place called San Felipe that has an AWESOME New Year's festival!" Robbie excitedly said as three additional pairs of eyes went to him.

"I thought we were supposed to be hiding out still...?" Rain picked up her cards again as she spoke, tossing a ten dollar chip to the center of the table. "Call."

"We are. But, San Felipe is not very well known. Some Americans tried to make it more eh-tou...urban...? Yah, urban. But, it did not work." Robbie explained.

"Call," Chelsea said, tossing down her own chip. "Is everyone going?"

"Yes. We are all staying with some man named Howard. He owns a hotel on the beach there." Robbie answered.

"I fold." Jason said, dropping his cards.

"A hotel, huh? Cool." Jack said, grinning.

Rain's father chose that moment to step outside and scold Robbie.

"Robbie, they are playing cards. Tell them about Mexico later." Heero said, smirking at his stepson's enthusiasm.

"Hai." Robbie looked down at the ground and followed Heero back inside the house.

"So much energy." Jack remarked, his grin still going full-blast.

"Yeah... I'm bored with cards. You three want to play something else?" Rain asked.

The foursome had been playing cards for nearly two hours straight. No particular person was really winning either. They were all ready to call it quits.

"EEEP!" Chelsea squeaked as Jason poked her in the ribs.

"I don't even want to know." Jack said. He shook his head at the two.

"Do you always assume the worst?" Rain asked.

"No that's Derek." Jack said with a frown.

"Hey where is your right leg anyway?" Chelsea joked.

"Who knows. He is still avoiding me." Rain replied. She collected the poker chips and returned them to their wooden case.

"Wow. It's been two whole days. This is serious." Jason said with a smirk. "What did you do to him anyway?"

"As he put it, I cheated on him." Rain grumbled. She was still frustrated at Derek's stubbornness about the whole situation.

'What?" Jason asked, his eyebrows raised.

"I kissed Rain under the mistletoe. I did not realize he would get so anal about it." Jack explained.

"But that is tradition..." Jason said.

"We know." Rain and Jack chorused.

"Maybe you should call him, Rain." Chelsea supplied with a sympathetic look.

"And do what? Grovel!?" Rain exclaimed.

"It would be a good start." Came a snide reply.

Rain whirled around to see Derek standing just outside the patio door.

"What are YOU doing here? I thought you were avoiding me...?" Rain scowled in Derek's direction.

"I was..." Derek glanced at Chelsea, Jason, and Jack who had suddenly become interested in their card game again.

"So...?" Rain pressed, her anger still present.

"Robbie called me. He said I should talk to you before we ruin the Mexico trip." Derek said.

"OK then. Apologize already." Rain said.

"Apologize!? ME!? I did not do anything! YOU are the one who kissed another guy!" Derek yelled.

"Oh for fuck's sake! I already told you: it meant NOTHING! It's tradition! You are still overreacting!" Rain yelled back.

"Are they always this stubborn?" Jason whispered.

"Yup." Chelsea whispered back.

"If it was just TRADITION, why did you look so embarrassed?" Derek growled.

"I don't know, maybes because it WAS embarrassing! I have never kissed anyone other than you!"

"Yeah. Sure."

Rain could almost hear something snapping in her brain. It was as though Derek had been blindly punching a wall searching for a light switch and had suddenly found it, destroying what little self-control Rain had had over her rage.

"You know what? I am so sick of your possessiveness! You think you OWN me and you will not believe ANYTHING I say to you. So FUCK YOU Derek Maxwell!" Rain screamed.

Three pairs of eyebrows raised at that last part. No one ever thought Rain would address Derek with such vehement anger.

Angry tears were welling in Rain's eyes. Her entire body was shaking with anger. It hurt her more than anything, not being trusted by someone she loved.

Derek's anger was slightly alleviated at the sight of Rain's tears. He wondered if he really had gone too far. They were not animals. There had to be a more civilized way to settle things.

"Rain..." Derek began calmly.

"Get out." Rain said quietly. She was choked with anger and tears.

"But-" Derek began again.

"Get the HELL OUT!" Rain screamed, finding her voice again.

Screw civilities. Derek was frustrated again. There was no reasoning with Rain.

"Fine!" Derek yelled back. He stormed into the house, slamming the patio door so hard, Chelsea wondered if it would shatter.

"That went well." Jason said with a sigh.

"Yeah..." Chelsea and Jack chorused.

Rain could not hear them. She could only hear Derek words and her own voice screaming back at him. The Yuy girl fell on her rear and buried her face in her hands. Angry sobs wracked her entire body. In that moment, Rain hated Derek Maxwell; she hated him for leaving.

*****

December 29th, A.C. 216

Rain was bored. There was one thing her parents had not clarified about San Felipe: it was 200 kilometers away from civilization. For an hour, Rain had been staring out the window at a shrub-infested desert.

The two-laned highway from Mexicali to San Felipe was a dusty, dipping road that wound around the mountains, through the desert. It was a rather depressing area.

Rain's parents were not helping much either. Heero and Relena were both busy conversing with Hilde and Duo, seated in the front, about the history of San Felipe and sharing stories about "Howard". Rain was lost. She had never heard of Howard before, nor did she know anything about San Felipe.

It was possibly the twentieth time that Rain wished she had chosen to ride with Chelsea. Her best friend was riding with Jason and Mei Li in Jack's car. There was not really enough room for a fifth person in a four-seater.

At first, Rain had not minded. Chelsea and Jason still had not become a couple and Rain wanted them to have a little quality time together. And yet, Rain regretted agreeing to ride with her parents.

Hell, she would have even preferred riding in Derek's jeep with Robbie and the younger Chang and Barton children. And that was desperation. Being in the same vehicle with Derek was not exactly on Rain's Top Ten List of things to do.

Rain glanced over her shoulder at the vehicle behind them. A dark blue SUV containing the Peacecraft family and the Wales parents was not far behind the Maxwells' black SUV.

The Yuy daughter wondered how far behind in their little caravan Chelsea was. To the best of her memory, Derek was behind the Peacecrafts. Then, the Chang and Barton parents were following in Sally's white luxury sedan. Jack's silver sedan had been bringing up the rear. Her best friend was so close yet, so far, it was utterly frustrating.

It still amazed Rain, in spite of her frustration and boredom, that her family had been able to arrange such an event in so little time. The six families had decided in just a few days: how many vehicles to bring, how many rooms to reserve, and how long the trip would take. The adults had gone about the whole thing as though they were strategizing for a battle. It had amused Rain during the meeting held at the Yuy home.

A sign passed by Rain's field of vision. It read that San Felipe was a mere twenty kilometers away. The trip had started near dawn that day. Rain felt as though they had been on the road for weeks. She had never realized how far San Felipe was from L.A.

*****

Thirty minutes later, Rain was helping the large group carry the plethora of luggage inside the "Casa Naranjado Hotel". The building was a large, dusty-orange color; five stories tall with one side facing East, overlooking the San Felipe Beach.

Compared to the rather run down looking places in the town four kilometers down the beach, the hotel was not half bad. And Howard, the gray-haired, Hawaiian shirt-clad owner was quite amiable.

Rain had informally met Howard when her family had first arrived at the hotel. Howard, who was in his late seventies, early eighties, had been sitting on the side patio, drinking coffee when they pulled in. He had jumped up from his seat and rushed over to greet everyone before helping unload luggage.

As Howard explained, he had known Heero and Duo from back in the Eve Wars. Rain wondered if the man had any stories about her father to share. Heero had never mentioned Howard before.

Making several trips to and fro, the six families finally had all of their luggage in their various hotel rooms. The former gundam pilots and their families took up nearly the entire East wing of the fifth floor.

The East, beach-facing side of the fifth floor had ten rooms, each with its own balcony. Duo had reserved seven of those ten rooms. Each pair of adults had their own room. Then, the younger children were sharing rooms with their parents. The teens however, had bargained for two rooms of their own.

Rain was delighted to share a room with Mei Li and Chelsea rather than her own family. It was also fun being on their own for a change. It was the way Rain imagined college life would be for them in a couple years.

"So I see you survived the trip?" Chelsea teased as Rain half-flopped and half-collapsed on one of the double beds.

"Barely. I was so BORED! They talked about Howard and San Felipe's history the ENTIRE trip!" Rain exclaimed.

Chelsea laughed and walked outside onto the balcony.

"Aww. Poor baby." Mei Li said, patting Rain on the head. "Hey Chelsea, how is the view?"

"Great!" Chelsea called.

"What is so great about it? The sun set is on the other side of the building." Rain said, climbing to her feet and following Mei Li out, onto the balcony.

"Oh." Rain said when she saw the group of college-age looking boys playing frisbee on the beach.

Mei Li shared a grin with Chelsea. Rain whistled a little too loudly. The trio dashed back into their room as five heads turned in their direction.

"This is going to be an awesome weekend." Chelsea said with a Maxwell Cheshire Cat grin.

*****

It was nearly seven p.m. on the pacific coast when the six families finally ate dinner. Rain was famished. The last time she had eaten was around ten a.m. at a fast food joint the caravan had stopped at along the way.

Hunger sometimes made Rain hyperactive. That day was one of those times. The rickety elevators were not working so Rain and Jack decided to race down opposite sets of staircases. Rain was clambering down the metal and concrete staircase at breakneck speed, determined to beat Jack.

Breathing hard and rushed with excitement, Rain crashed into an unexpected bystander on the third floor landing. Without enough warning to stop herself, Rain had smashed into the person's backside, sending them both careening into the back wall and knocking the other person to the floor.

"Oh! I am SO sorry!" Rain exclaimed, stepping back to survey the damage she had done to the guy.

After dusting himself off and standing, the boy looked down at Rain and, to her relief, smiled. He was nearly a foot taller than the Yuy girl and had to adjust the angle of his baseball cap to get a decent view of her face.

"Were you being chased?" The guy asked with a light laugh.

"No... I was racing a friend." Rain admitted bashfully.

"Well, in that case, I 'm sorry I held you up."

"No, not at all. I'm sorry for knocking you down." Rain bowed her head in apology. She felt like an even greater idiot when she recognized him as one of the frisbee players from earlier.

"So, where are you racing to?" The boy asked, leaning casually against the wall behind himself.

"The restaurant downstairs."

"Mind if I walk, or run, down there with you?"

"Uhm...sure." Rain said, uncertainty temporarily fogging her brain.

The pair continued down the last few flights of stairs at a quick pace. They made introductions and small talk along the way.

"I'm Brandon." The guy said that simply. Rain felt a wave of annoyance slide through her at the sound of his name. She still recalled being bullied by a boy named Brandon in junior high and elementary school.

Pushing all ill-seeded thoughts from her mind, Rain smiled back at Brandon. It would have been difficult to explain the disliking of his name.

"Rain."

"Cool name."

"Thank you."

The pair chatted all the way to the first floor restaurant. Rain learned that one of Brandon's other friends, Tom, had family with a holiday home in San Felipe. The house was small, so Brandon and his three other friends were sharing a hotel room rather than crowd out Tom's family. The Yuy teen was delighted to discover the frisbee players were seniors in high school and freshman in college; not too much older than herself. They were visiting from Santa Cruz, California. Rain would happily report that information to Mei Li and Chelsea after dinner.

By the time Brandon and Rain entered the restaurant, Rain had completely forgotten about Jack. He, however, was glad to remind her he had been waiting.

"Damn, I thought you had fallen down the stairs! What took you so long!?" Jack asked as Rain and Brandon stepped into the restaurant. He had been waiting by the door to boast about his speed as soon as Rain arrived.

"Have you been waiting that long?" Rain asked. Innocence was written all over her face.

"Long enough." Jack said, eyeing Brandon.

"It's my fault. I was in the way and Rain and I had a bit of a tumble." Brandon said with a good-natured smile.

That made Jack's eyebrows rise. Rain felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"Really?" Jack asked and Rain nodded.

"I made her walk with me the rest of the way. I'm sorry she is late." Brandon continued.

"It's fine." Jack said, though he was narrowing his eyes slightly at Brandon.

"I should find my friends. I will see you later Rain." Brandon said, heading into the restaurant.

"Yeah." Rain said with a smile.

When Brandon was out of earshot and siting with his friends across the restaurant, Jack put one hand on Rain's back and guided her to the opposite side where their families were waiting.

"Are you crazy!? What if Derek saw you? Do you want to make things worse!?" Jack hissed.

"Oh shut up, Jack. Derek and I are not together anymore. And, it's not MY fault if he gets jealous. He has possessiveness issues." Rain hissed back.

"Rain, he feels really guilty about that. He and I are cool again. And he's tried talking to you about it, but you keep avoiding him! Can't you two just kiss and make up?" Jack asked, frustration evident in his tone.

"Maybe I don't want to kiss and make up." Rain growled. It was hard to deal with the best friend of your ex-boyfriend. Some days she wanted to maim the both of them.

At dinner, Rain avoided Jack and Derek. Essentially, she avoided her friends all together, choosing to sit with her aunt and uncle instead. It was much easier to deal with her two hyper cousins than with her potentially nosy friends.

*****

That night, on the way up to their room, Chelsea cornered Rain and interrogated her. It was not everyday that Rain avoided sitting with her closest female friend.

"OK, Rain, now speak! Why were you late and why didn't you sit with me?" Chelsea asked while they ascended the stairs to their room.

"I'm sorry Chels. I wasn't really avoiding you. I was avoiding the misery twins." Rain said with a frown.

"I know the problem with Derek, but what did Jack do?" Confusion was on Chelsea's face.

"Jack and I were racing down the two staircases."

'Why?" Chelsea laughed as if that statement had been the answer to everything she had just asked.

"Boredom." Rain shrugged. "Anyway, I smashed into one of the frisbee players on the way down."

"Ouch." Chelsea winced sympathetically at Rain's obviously embarrassing episode.

"Yeah. Well, after he stood back up, we got to talking and he walked down to the restaurant with me."

"Uh-huh..."

"Jack was waiting for me and proceeded to bitch at me, saying Derek would be mad if he saw me talking to Brandon. Then he said something about Derek feeling guilty and how we need to 'kiss and make up'." Rain concluded.

"Wow. I forgive you. Jack tries too hard when is comes to Derek. Want me to kill him for you?" Chelsea grinned.

"No. My problems are no excuse for you to exterminate your brother." Rain shook her head and smiled.

"Damn. Oh well." Chelsea shrugged. "Honestly though, as much as I miss the Rain-Derek thing, you should be allowed to do what YOU want."

"Thanks Chels."

"It's what I am here for chica. Well, that and the perks." Chelsea's smile turned smug.

"Perks?" Rain said dubiously.

"Yeah. Brandon has friends does he not?"

"Yeah." Rain giggled.

"So, be a good friend and share!"

"What about Jason?"

"Hmm. Well... Jason is not seeming as interested lately. That, and I think he secretly wants Mei Li." Chelsea said, opening the door leading out of the stairwell.

"Really? I'm sorry. I don't think he wants Mei Li though." Rain said. She followed Chelsea into the hall.

"Why not?'

"They act too much like siblings."

"Oh."

The two girls had to cease their conversation as Mei Li and the three boys appeared from the opposite end on the hall. Mei Li ran to join Chelsea and Rain.

"Hey." Mei Li greeted.

"Hey." Chelsea echoed.

"We have decided that I am sharing a bed with you." Rain said, making up a topic that she and Chelsea had "already discussed".

"OK. Why?" Mei Li asked, smiling through her confusion.

"Chels always steals all the blankets. And she rolls over and takes over the whole bed." Rain said with a smirk.

"Really." Mei Li asked, laughing lightly.

Chelsea simply shrugged and smiled. She had no shame in her unconscious bed-hogging ways.


"What do you think they are talking about this time?" Jason asked, walking between Jack and Derek, several feet behind the three girls.

"College guys." Jack said with a frown.

"Parties." Derek added. He seemed to catch something in Jack's voice and raised an eyebrow at him. "College guys?"

"Just guessing." Jack lied.

"Hn." Derek responded as he watched the trio of females disappear into their room next door. He silently vowed that one way or the other, he would be back on speaking terms with Rain before they left Mexico.

*****

The following afternoon, Chelsea and Rain decided to venture out to the beach. It was, they decided, the best way to spend the few hours of daylight. Of course, they lived right near the beach at home, but the San Felipe beach was practically deserted, something the beaches of California were not.

That close to winter solstice, there was hardly enough sunlight to get much of a tan. And, the wind chill was too low to simply sit in the sand anyway. Therefore, the pair of females decided on walking North to the town, just visible on the edge of the coastline.

The trek to the town was not too difficult. There was a slope to the beach and the cool wind raked sand and salt across their faces, but it was well worth the view. With the sun reflecting on the water, the wind making rivers in the sand of the quiet, nearly abandoned beach, and the mountains framing it on either end, it looked to Rain, like something fresh off a postcard. She wondered why so few people were there.

The fact that it was an oasis was a likely reason. Rain recalled all too well the two-hundred kilometer drive through nothingness it had taken to arrive at that pretty little beach. It was so different from the loud, bustling life in California, that Rain was overcome with a great feeling of serenity. The hardships that had befallen her family only a few months ago seemed like a half-forgotten dream when she listened to the wind racing along the sand.

"Nice isn't it?"

Rain jumped at the unexpected voice behind her. She had been so entrapped in the view of the water as the sun dazzled its surface that she had not noticed Brandon and one of his friends stopping their afternoon jog to say hello to the girls. Nor had she noticed that Chelsea was suddenly captivated in a conversation with his jogging partner.

"It's a lot different from Cali." Rain admitted, looking Brandon over. He looked great, as usual, clad in a t-shirt and a baggy pair of gym shorts. His hat was gone, giving Rain a much better view of the wavy mess that was his dark brown hair. An uncomfortable feeling coursed through Rain. She wondered, just why Brandon had ceased his afternoon athletics to come speak with her. It was not as though they were old friends or anything.

Brandon seemed to have sensed Rain's discomfort. And, he quickly squashed it by giving her a warm smile.

"Tom and I were just heading back. I saw you and your friend and I thought I would introduce you..." Brandon began, following Rain's gaze to where Tom, an equally gorgeous boy in similar attire, was laughing lightly about something Chelsea had said.

"He seems to have introduced himself." Rain mused.

"Tom's not really the shy type." Brandon agreed. He seemed to have remembered something important, because his smile suddenly fell into a slight frown. "I also wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Rain asked, temporarily taking her gaze away from Chelsea and Tom.

"For getting you in trouble with your boyfriend." Brandon said.

"You mean Jack? He's not my boyfriend. He's Chelsea's older brother. And, sometimes, he thinks he's mine too." Rain said with a shrug as she glanced at Chelsea again.

"Oh. I see." Brandon said, but Rain doubted he really knew what it was like to have an overprotective brother who you were not even related too.

After another long, rather awkward moment of silence, Brandon regained his friendly smile.

"So, are you going to the festival in town, or does your family have other plans for New Year's?" Brandon asked casually.

"I think we're going to the festival. I'm trying to find a way out of it though." Rain said, frowning again. After seeing how run down the town was, she doubted their New Year's festival would be that exciting. Even though Duo promised her the town was far more alive on New Year's than it had been the day before.

"Well, if you want to, or can manage to break away, Tom's campo is having a party." Brandon said, refferring to the little community of American owned homes closely neighboring the Casa Naranjado.

"That might be fun." Rain said, picturing in her mind, a group of teens and young adults dancing on the sand, drinking beers, having a grand old time while fireworks lit up the sky. She knew Derek would be furious with her for going to such a party with this boy she had only known for two days. That is why she had every intention of doing just that.

Suddenly, it dawned on Rain that she was being an unfair friend, by Chelsea's standards anyway. It was unfair for Rain to plan on partying with a cute guy from Santa Cruz without securing Mei Li and Chelsea dates and invitations to the same party.

Glancing at Chelsea, Rain figured Tom was already inviting her to the New Year's bash the following night. Rain simply had to worry about Mei Li. Even if Mei Li had decided to stay back at the hotel with Jason instead of going with Rain and Chelsea-furthering Chelsea's suspicions about Mei Li and Jason being an item-Rain couldn't hold out on the Chang daughter.

"I can only go on one condition." Rain said, smiling smugly.

"What's that?" Brandon said, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to bring my friend, Mei Li, too. And, I want to know if you have any other single friends who would like a date."

"I'm sure Caleb would love to meet her."

Rain hoped Mei Li would be delighted to meet Caleb as well. It would be quite fortunate if Caleb turned out to be one of the other fribee players they had seen.

That was all the convincing Rain needed. The hard part was escaping their families in order to go to the campo party. And even harder still, Rain knew, would be getting past Derek and Jack.

After they had worked out the details, deciding that meeting at the party rather than Brandon escorting them would be easier, the four teens parted ways. Tom and Brandon resumed their jog while Rain and Chelsea continued their peaceful beach walk.

"So," Chelsea began when the two boys were long gone, "how are we going to get past Jack and Derek?"

It was a good question, Rain reasoned. They could easily ditch their parents in town since they would be preoccupied with the younger kids. Derek and Jack, however, had for the past two days, been watching Rain like a hawk. The only way she had managed to get out of the hotel without speaking to either of them was because they had left while Jack was in the shower and Derek was distracted by the ever-energetic Robbie.

"Get lost in the crowd." Rain answered. It was entirely too simple of a solution. How were Derek and Jack to keep track of the three girls during the busiest tourist day of San Felipe's Winter
Season.

"Good enough." Chelsea said with a grin.

*****

There was one slight problem in Chelsea and Rain's planning. Jack had somehow overheard Mei Li and Chelsea on the way back to their rooms after dinner the following night. They had been excitedly going over their ideas about what the party would be like. And Jack, being Derek's best friend and none too happy with the girls, had no problems telling him everything he had overheard about their plans for the party as well as confessing about what he had witnessed the first evening in San Felipe.

Derek, was furious. The thing that got to Jack though, was Derek wasn't mad about Rain hooking up with other guys. He was not mad that Rain was also planning to sneak off with some new guy. No, Derek was angry because Rain was still a minor and Rain, had agreed to go to a party that probably involved heavy drinking and rather indecent activities he did not even want to imagine.

What happened next was not so surprising. Derek, with Jason and Jack on his heels, stormed into the girls room and demanded to know exactly, "what they were doing going to a college party!?"

Rain, instantly defensive, told him off. It was the first time Derek had spoken to her in two days, and she was none too appreciative of his current bitchiness. That and, as she reasoned, it was none of his business what they chose to do anyway.

It weighed heavily on Rain's guilt and patience, seeing Derek so stark raving mad about the whole party idea. At first, she thought he was just jealous, as usual. But, as his rant simmered down to calm tones about what this, "college bum", might do to her the second he got the chance. Derek, whom Rain was trying very hard to hate that particular week, had taken her completely off guard with his display of concern.

The world just wasn't fair, Rain decided. She wanted so badly to stay mad at Derek. Yet, what he was calmly saying at that particular moment made sense. Rain was putting herself in a bad position. Brandon was not an old friend of hers, she really had no idea how he would act with a few beers in his system.

Then again, Rain reasoned once more, she was her father's daughter. And she, Rain, could take care of herself. Which, she immediately pointed out, glad to have another reason to be pissed at him again. The sexist jerk, assuming that they, the daughters of three former gundam pilots, who had taken on far worse people in life, should be swayed by a few inebriated college guys.

Originally, it had been the three boys lecturing the three girls. What it had become however, was another all out war between Derek and Rain. Jason and Jack, having made compromises with the two girls, had left the room, hoping Derek would soon follow. When he did not even notice their departure, the two teen boys decided to wait in their room for him to explain what had been decided.

"Rain, I know you are angry with me. And I know you want more than anything to disagree with anything I say to you. But, please don't go to that party alone." Derek said, now completely calm, even though Rain was still steaming.

Chelsea and Mei Li, bored with the incessant argument they'd already settled with Jack and Jason, escaped to the balcony to stargaze. With the glass door closed, they hoped that they would not be able to hear any further yelling Rain or Derek produced.

"I'm not going alone. I'm going with Chelsea and Mei Li. And I can take care of myself. It's not like I am going to a party hosted by Trey Shelly!" Rain growled.

"Chelsea and Mei Li might get distracted. You will end up in some dark corner, alone, and trapped. And then what Rain?" Derek asked.

"I can take care of myself." Rain repeated. Although, in the back of her mind, Rain knew that it would not be that way. If Rain were cornered, by a member of the opposite sex and was threatened, she would freeze up. Even before Shelly had attacked her, when cornered, Rain had found herself unable to use any of the self-defense techniques she had acquired throughout her lifetime.

And Derek knew it, Rain realized. Derek had rescued Rain when she was cornered by bullies in junior high and elementary school. Jack had saved her from the perverse intentions of Shelly. So many times, Rain had needed Derek to save her sorry butt. It was frustrating, having to be rescued all the time. Yet, frustrated as she was, Rain finally saw Derek's point.

"I'll think about it." Rain said in a low, angry voice. She shepherded Derek out the door as best she could, trying not to let him see that he had hit a nerve.

As Derek stopped in the doorway, he gave one last, wistful look at Rain, who was holding the door, preparing to close it.

"I love you Rain, I don't want you to get hurt." Derek said, sincerely.

"Touching." Rain said sarcastically, before shutting the door in his face. As soon as she did, however, Rain wiped at her eyes and fought very hard, not to cry.

*****

"Rain, you made it!" Brandon said, smiling down at the Yuy girl.

"Yeah. Sorry we're a bit late. It took longer than expected to ditch." Rain explained.

"You haven't missed much." Brandon gave a careless shrug.

Rain however, disagreed with him. The party was already in full swing. Music was blasting from a stereo system wired into the covered bar. A large group of teens and young adults were dancing in the sand beneath the strands of outdoor Christmas lights zig-zaging between the covered bar and closest two houses. It was odd and beautiful. Even the cacti in the peoples' yards had lights wrapped around their tall, spiny trunks.

There were people of all varying ages attending the barbecue bash. The younger ones, teens and young adults were dancing and mingling while the older adults, in their forties and up, seemed to be staying on the edges, eating, drinking beers, and conversing.

Before Rain realized it, Chelsea and Mei Li had left to dance with Tom and, who Rain assumed was Caleb, down on the beach. She felt suddenly odd, standing alone with Brandon in he shadows of a low-branched, bushy palm tree.

Brandon turned out not to be the kind of guy Derek thought. He did not take advantage of their current position, but instead, eased Rain out of the shadows, towards the covered bar where there were several coolers of both alcohol and soda.

"What would you like?" Brandon asked, innocence written on his face.

Perhaps she had been wrong, maybe he figured she needed to be intoxicated before he could make a serious move on her.

"I'm afraid, the only thing you can have is soda or water. Tom's aunt is quite strict about the minors not drinking."

"That's fine. I don't drink." Rain said, wondering if Brandon was disappointed about Tom's aunt's rules.

"I don't either."

It was as Brandon said that, that Rain decided she was sick of listening to Derek Maxwell. So far, Brandon had turned out to be nothing like Derek said. He was honest, sober, and had yet to make any inappropriate passes at her.

No, Brandon was not one Rain should have worried about. But, Tom, his buddy was another story. Tom, had already had a few beers. Apparently, being related to the hostess made him feel less guilty about rule-breaking.

*****

Chelsea was lost in her own world of thoughts. She was dancing awkwardly with Tom, all the while thinking about Jason. In the back of her mind, she could not stop thinking about the fact that he may indeed like Mei Li.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" Chelsea forced herself to focus on the dark-haired, well-built, college-hotty, in front of her.

"You jut seem rather distracted. I'm sorry if you feel awkward." Tom said, smiling in a friendly manner.

"No, it's not you, not even this party. It's just...some stuff." Chelsea forced herself to smile back at him.

"Anyone in particular?" Tom smirked.

"How...why do you say that?" Chelsea asked, trying to get her eyebrows back to their normal position on her forehead.

"Well, he's been watching you for about fifteen minutes now..." Tom nodded to his right.

Turning to look over her left-shoulder, Chelsea saw Jason leaning against one of poles holding the roof over the covered bar. His facial expression was nearly blank except for his eyes. The Barton boy's near-green eyes were eagle-sharp.

"Oh...That's...just Jason, a family friend." Chelsea said, turning back to face Tom, still watching Jason out of the corner of one eye.

Tom leaned in close to Chelsea, his face nearly touching hers. Chelsea felt her heartbeat speed up. Her self-defenses had kicked in. Tom was invading her personal bubble, big time.

"I don't think he's just a family friend..." Tom said huskily, his wicked smirk returning to his face. He gave the shorter girl a quick peck on the lips before she could react.

Chelsea had noticed at the same time as Tom had that Jason was not happy with their close-contact. Jason was visibly angry. He was no longer leaning against the pole. Instead, the tall boy was clenching his fists at his sides, his jaw twitching as he fought back strong emotions.

"See what I mean?" Tom backed away from Chelsea and chuckled. The girl was relieved to have some personal space back. However, her heart rate had only sped even more at the sight of Jason's anger.

Confused and frustrated, Chelsea brought her gaze back to Tom. What game was he trying to play? Did all guys need to have competition? And what business did Tom have invading her space like that anyway? It was not as though Chelsea had given him any incentive to kiss her.

"What were you do-" Chelasea was about to tell Tom off when she was cut off by Jason at her side.


"Excuse me, may I cut in?" Jason asked, glaring daggers at Tom.

"By all means." Tom smiled wickedly as he stepped further away from Chelsea. "Have fun kiddo."

With a slight wave, Tom walked off in the direction of his aunt's house. Chelsea did not care where he was going or what he was going to do. Her full attention at that moment was on Jason.

"I'm...Why are you mad?" Chelsea was unsure whether to apologize to Jason or punch him. First he had completely stopped returning her signs of affection. And then he had gotten pissed off at her for dancing with and seemingly kissing another guy. Chelsea could not quite figure the boy out.

"I'm not mad." Jason said, obviously trying to keep his face void of emotion.

"Bullshit." Chelsea called his bluff.

"Hn." Jason sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Well?" Chelsea prompted, folding her arms over her chest and frowning up at the taller boy.

"All right. So I was a little pissed off that you kissed that guy." Jason said, moving his gaze to meet Chelsea's eyes.

"Why?" Chelsea asked, eyebrow quirked and lips pressed caught between a smirk and a smile.

"I was jealous." Jason admitted.

"Wow...you said that pretty easily." Chelsea said, frowning.

"Well, it's the truth. I don't intend to lie about it."

"What about Mei Li?" Chelsea asked, having trouble keeping the taller boy's gaze as emotions churned her stomach.

"What about Mei Li?" Jason said in return.

"Don't you like her?" Chelsea asked.

"That's what Rain meant?" Jason asked, surprised.

"Huh?" Chelsea felt more confused than ever.

"Rain...she said something about Chelsea...I wasn't really paying attention...I thought she had meant you didn't want to steal me from Mei Li..."

"No!" Chelsea exclaimed. "I mean...no." She said again, that time controlling her tone. "I thought you had a crush on Mei Li because of the way you two act around each other..."

"I don't like Mei Li. She's like...my sister, only not. It's a strange relationship I'll admit." Jason said, smiling.

"So...?" Chelsea trailed off, at a loss for words after that revelation.

"So, I like you, not Mei Li." Jason said, smiling at the platinum blond before him.

"Really?" Chelsea felt a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Truly." Jason replied.

Chelsea smiled. She was far too happy at that moment to consider mutilating her best friend for the whole mix-up.

"Can we dance now?" Jason asked, gesturing around them at the couples dancing closely together. Chelsea had only then realized that they had been standing, unmoving amongst the group of dancers on the beach for a long time.

"Of course." Chelsea wrapped her arms around Jason's shoulders at the same time as he leaned down to hold her around the waist. Laying her head against Jason's strong chest, Chelsea felt herself drift away with the slow song pouring from the speakers near the bar.

"Oh, and Chelsea...?" Jason said, rousing the girl from her dreamy state.

"Hmm?" Chelsea lifted her head and looked up at Jason.

"Please don't kill Rain."

"What? But I wasn't!" Chelsea said quickly, denying her brief, homicidal thoughts towards her best friend.

"It wasn't her fault. I should have listened more carefully." Jason said in Rain's defense.

"Oh...all right. But, ONLY because you asked." Chelsea said jokingly.

"Fine." Jason laughed lightly.

Chelsea giggled and laid her head back against Jason's chest. To her left she saw Mei Li and her brother Jack dancing in a similar fashion. Glad that her friend had finally reclaimed her rather untamable brother, Chelsea smiled. The girl could only hope that a certain Yuy and Maxwell had found each other as well.


*****

"Hey, who's that?" Brandon asked, looking in the direction of the dancers on the beach.

"Who's who?" Rain asked, trying her best to follow her host's gaze into the crowd.

"The guy with your friend Chelsea."

That's when Rain spotted the Wales daughter and the Barton boy having a rather heated discussion amongst the other dancers on the beach.

"Oh, that's Jason. He's Chelsea's would-be boyfriend." Rain explained.

"Would-be?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah... Old family friends...tends to make things complicated"

"I see." Brandon said, smiling at the pair.

"Hey, Rain." Mei Li accosted from Rain's left.

"Oh, hey Mei Li." Rain smiled when she saw her friend. "What's up?"

"Uhm...not too much. I just wanted to let you know that I found Jack and...he and I are going to go for a walk along the beach." Mei Li said, all smiles.

"Ooh, sounds romantic." Rain teased.

"Yeah... well, he'll be escorting me home later, so I will see you back in the room OK?"

"Sure. Have fun." Rain said.

"Thanks you too. See you later Brandon." Mei Li said, bowing slightly in Brandon's direction.

"Bye." Brandon and Rain chorused as Mei Li walked off to join with Jack at the edge of the covered bar.

"I guess things didn't work out with Caleb either." Brandon said, smiling even though both of his friends had obviously been brushed off.

"Hm. Sorry." Rain smiled apologetically.

"Not your fault. Some people just don't click." Brandon shrugged good-naturedly.

"True." Rain agreed.

*****

Tom was an unexpected, and unwelcome interruption of Rain's conversation with Brandon under the same palm tree as before, near the back edge of Tom's aunt's house. After Jason had materialized at the party and had apparently swept Chelsea off her feet, the Wales girl seemed to care less where her drunken host had wandered off to.

Mei Li, who had forgotten her returned for her sandals before her walk with Jack, had been kind enough to explain to Rain why Jason had appeared. While Rain and Derek had been battling things out, Mei Li, Chelsea, Jack, and Jason, had agreed that the boys could follow and, for lack of a better term, supervise.

Supervising must have gotten old and the girls must have remembered their attractions to their family friends since Caleb was off with some other random blonde girl and Tom was invading Rain's airspace with alcohol-reaping breath. Derek, however, was no where to be found. Jack had said he had arrived with him at the party, but he had lost track of the other boy.

Rain hoped that meant he had left, just as she hoped Tom would find someone else to bother. Brandon, being the innocent, friendly guy he was, did not mind Tom's presence. Perhaps, Rain thought, he was used to his buddy getting ditched and then interrupting his own dates.

After a while of Tom actively participating in their conversation about reattempted construction on the moon, Rain started to ease up to his presence. He had consumed alcohol, yes, but he was quite smart and Rain was surprised the alcohol had not slowed his mental capabilities very much. Ah, the drunken genius. How was it possible for such a bright person to have such a high alcohol tolerance?

Caleb, as it turned out, had a horrible alcohol tolerance. And so, after having snuck a few beers from the house, he could barely walk straight. Brandon, reminding her more and more of Jack and Chelsea's kind-hearted father, had taken it upon himself to return Caleb to the hotel.

Of course, Brandon had offered to take Rain with them, rather than leave her there, but Rain did not want to leave without Chelsea, even if it was only for a little while. So, Brandon had promised to return soon and left Rain alone in the care of his brilliant, slightly tipsy friend who Rain had decided was not so bad.

"I think Brandon is too innocent for his own good." Tom said, quite randomly.

"What do you mean?" Rain asked, shifting her weight as she leaned against the wall of the house. There was no reason for the hairs on the back of Rain's neck to prickle. There certainly was no reason for her pulse to suddenly speed up or her breathing to become erratic. Tom was Brandon's friend. Brandon trusted Tom to take care of her while he helped Caleb.

It was only too late, that Rain realized, she was trapped against the back wall of the house, hidden by the low branches of the palm trees. And worst of all, she was too far away from the party for anyone to hear her if she screamed.

"He shouldn't have left you. He does that a lot. But when things happen, when rumors get around, he never believes any of them." Tom continued, stepping far too close to Rain for comfort. He put his hands on either side of her mid-torso, towering over her and blocking her in at the same time.

In her mind, Rain was screaming to do something, anything. But, she was paralyzed with fear, as usual. Rain pictured Derek then, pictured him worrying about her, and for the first time, Rain's fear turned to anger.

With a sudden jerk of motion, Rain kneed Tom in the gut just as he was about to kiss her. Tom, big strong jock Tom, had a great recovery time though. Rain barely had a split-second's freedom before Tom grabbed her and threw her against the wall, pinning her hands on either side of her head. He leaned his body against hers, his weight preventing her from moving or breathing properly.

"That, was not playing nice. You're the first girl who actually got a solid hit. I must be losing my touch." Tom said as though he were telling Rain the weather. He nuzzled her hair and Rain felt a wave of revulsion course through her.

"Get off me you PIG!" Rain seethed. She had just wriggled one leg free was about to kick him again when suddenly, Tom's eyes rolled back into his head and he slid to the ground.

"I told you he couldn't be trusted." Standing before her, was none other than Derek Maxwell.

"That wasn't Brandon, it was his friend Tom." Rain muttered. She kicked the guy in the side, despite the fact that he was already unconscious.

"Are you OK?" Derek asked, trying to read Rain's expression. Her eyes were dark with many things; anger, frustration, disgust, and surprisingly, guilt.

Without saying anything to him, Rain stepped over the jerk known as Tom and hurried off down the dark street, away from the party. The girl needed air. She needed to be away from the boy whom she may or may not have gotten away from just as much as she needed to be away from her rescuer.

"Rain! Wait!" Derek said, grabbing her arm. She whirled on him, tears in her eyes.

"Quit helping me!" She yelled, frustration tying her stomach in knots.

"What?" Derek's near violet eyes were glowing in the moonlight as he stared at her in surprise and confusion.

"I didn't need your help." Rain hissed, shoving Derek against the wall of a dark house. No doubt, the owner was at the party down the lane. Her eyes were stinging as she forced back the warm tears building in them.

"Rain..." Derek said gently, reaching to touch her face. Despite the tears, she looked beautifully innocent. She was a warrior angel and Derek had clipped her wings.

"I am so sick of being rescued." Rain choked out, part angry, part sad, and part scared.

"Rain...I-."

"No. I HATE you Derek Maxwell!" Rain screeched, slamming him against the wall again for emphasis.

If possible, Derek's eyes got even wider. Rain was going crazy. Sure, she had told him before that she hated him, but he was too worried about her mental stability at that moment to point it out to her.

"I hate you." She repeated in a whisper.

"Why?" Derek found himself wondering aloud.

Guilt wrenched Rain's heart. It made her angrier. She didn't want to feel guilt. She did not want to recognize that Derek had done nothing wrong. All he had ever done was love her.

Before he knew what he was doing, Derek leaned forward and kissed her, hard, on the lips. It was the most frightening and exhilarating feeling he had ever felt in his life. Especially when Rain, with just as much force, kissed him back.

Then Rain fell apart. She loosened her grip on his shirt and clung to the boy instead. She continued to kiss him, but in an entirely different way. As tears continued falling down her cheeks and shivers caused by so many emotions at once made her tremble, Rain kissed Derek desperately.

Derek wrapped his arms around her as they fell to the ground; Rain curled up in his lap. With her face buried in his shoulder, Rain cried. She cried because she had been cruel to him. She cried because she had hated him. She cried because she had gone after someone else. But most of all, Rain cried because through all she had done to him, Derek had not given up on her.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Rain kept repeating it over and over. Derek in return, whispered comforts while he rocked her back and forth and caressed her hair.

*****

It was hours later that Mei Li and Chelsea found Rain and Derek, curled up together atop the covers of the bed Mei Li was supposed to be sharing with Rain.

"Great." Mei Li grumbled, realizing that the pair was not moving any time soon. "You better not steal all the covers." Mei Li said threateningly to Chelsea.

"You have permission to hit me if I do." Chelsea said with a quiet laugh.

"Don't think I won't." Mei Li smiled despite her threat.

"I believe you. You've got your dad's temper." Chelsea teased. Skillfully, the Wales girl yanked the blankets out from under the sleeping couple without disturbing them. It reminded Mei Li of the way certain waiters and waitresses could strip a table of its tablecloth without disturbing the dishes on top.

"Cool." Mei Li remarked, forgetting the comment about her temper.

"Thanks. I have many unknown talents." Chelsea joked as she carefully pulled the covers over the sleeping pair.

"So I see." Mei Li shrugged and pulled the covers back on her own bed. With a tired yawn, she crawled atop the mattress and flopped her head down on one of the pillows.

"Night Chica. Don't forget, I will kill you if I wake up without any covers." Mei Li murmured sleepily, closing her eyes.

"Sure." Chelsea said, crawling onto the opposite side of the bed and pulling the blankets up. The blonde was asleep soon after her head hit the pillow. It had been a long night for everyone.

*****

June 3rd, A.C. 217

Rain was lying in her bed, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars her friend Chelsea had helped her paint on the ceiling the previous weekend. The painted stars had been a sign that things had finally returned to normalcy after the Mexico trip.

Derek and Rain were back together, happy as could be despite their "married-couple" bickering as often Chelsea called it. Rain simply smiled whenever Chelsea referred to them that way. She felt that it was better to get petty fights out of the way before marriage, when it really mattered.

Chelsea and Jason were pretty well off too. They had become an official couple on New Years Day. After they had kissed at the stroke of midnight, it became mutually agreed that they were an item.

Mei Li and Jack were an odd couple. The two were constantly flirting with other people. But, as everyone knew, they were head-over-heels for eachother. It would take a lot more than flirting and joking around to break them apart.


With a glance towards the papasaan across the room, Rain smiled. Draped across the circular chair was her full-length formal gown. The following night was the senior prom. Rain, Chelsea, and the others were of course, attending with their senior counter parts.

To say she was excited was an understatement. Rain had never been to a formal dance before. Of course, she and Chelsea had watched dozens of teen movies about proms and homecoming dances, but they had never personally attended any. The two girls had plans to meet up at Mei Li's house an hour before dinner to finely attune their hair and make-up for the big night.

Startled out of her thoughts, Rain looked at her bedroom door when the light knocking had sounded. It was nearly two in the morning, Rain wondered why anyone would be at her door.

"Rei-chan?" Came the quiet voice of her younger brother, Robbie.

"Yeah...I'm awake, whatcha need?" Rain asked.

The door opened and Rain watched as the dark silhouette of her brother crept into her room.

"I need you to come with me to see something outside." Robbie said quietly. He looked rather nervous.

"Outside? At two am?" Rain asked suspiciously.

"It's important." Robbie assured her.

"Is something wrong?" Rain asked, worried about her younger brother's odd request.

"No. But, I need you. Please?" Robbie asked, his eyes wide in the dark room.

"All right." Rain sighed and pushed the covers back.

Tiptoeing past her parents' room, Rain followed Robbie down the stairs and towards the front door. Her curiosity and imagination were getting the better of her. In her heart, Rain secretly hoped Derek had sneaked over for a late-night rendezvous.

When the two Yuy children had nearly reached the front gate to their home, far out of sight of the house, Robbie turned to face his older sister. The boy was physically shaking.

"Robbie, what's going on?" Rain asked, shivering despite the warm night air and dry grass beneath her bare feet.

"I...I'm sorry. He found me at school. He said he just wanted to talk, but I didn't want to go alone..." Robbie said shakily.

"What? Who wanted to talk to you? Robbie, what's going on?" Rain, felt her heart thudding in her ears as her fear got the better of her.

"Why, me of course."

Whirling around, Rain felt a scream of surprise catch in her throat. Anger and fear coursed through her as Shelly smiled down at her.

"This is so much better. Thanks Robbie. I had only hoped to take you home with me, but now that your sister is here, we can all go together." Shelly said with a wicked smile.

"Robbie! What did you do!?" Rain heard her own voice tremble as she stared at Shelly in horror.

"What did you expect, I AM his father after all..." Shelly said matter-of-factly.

"No, you are not a father you're a monster." Rain said, annoyed at how her voice was still shaking.

"What's wrong my dear, you are not as happy to see me as I thought you would be." Shelly said, playing with Rain's hair.

Jerking away from him, Rain sucked a deep breath into her lungs and prepared to yell.

"DA-ouf!" Rain coughed as Shelly punched her in the stomach before clenching both hands around her throat.

"Shut up you stupid bitch!" Shelly growled.

"What are you doing to her?" Robbie asked, terror in his eyes. "You said you just wanted to talk to her!"

"I did. And now we are done talking. Now, it's time for her to learn her place." Shelly said, tightening his grip on Rain's throat.

Clawing at Shelly's hands, Rain gasped desperately for air. She could feel the energy draining out of her body. With all of her self-defense training and all the adrenaline pumping through her system, Rain could not manage to pull out of Shelly's vice-grip.

"You're hurting her!" Robbie wailed, tears springing to his eyes.

"She's a bad person. She took you and your mother away from me! They've been trying to turn you against me!" Shelly said, pulling Rain against him and only tightening his grip on her.

"No! It's not true! Rain would never hurt anyone!" Robbie cried.

"Oh yes, it's very true...this girl is plain evil. And such a shame, she is so pretty..." Shelly loosened his grip on Rain. The teen fell to the ground, coughing and trying to refill her lungs.

"No, she isn't!" Robbie said, hands clenched into fists as he fought the battling emotions inside himself.

"Don't you see Robbie! They are all in on it together! They took Relena away from us! Then they took you away too! They are the ones you should be angry with, not me." Shelly said, calmly as he pulled a gun from his pocket.

"No, Okaasan, she told me...She told me what you did..." Robbie said quietly.

"It was lies." Shelly said, seemingly annoyed as he kicked Rain in the gut, causing her to double over again.

"Robbie..." Rain choked out, trying her best to get to her hands and knees before Shelly kicked her in the side, knocking her down again.

"Tell him Rain, tell the boy about how you and your father stole Relena and filled her with the same lies." Shelly barked, pointing his gun at her head.

"Is it true?" Robbie asked, his words chopped by his sobs.

"No..." Rain coughed painfully. She wondered if Shelly had cracked her ribs with that last kick. "No, Robbie..."

"Tell him!" Shelly said, leaning down and touching the gun to her temple. At the same time, Shelly kneeled on her chest, forcing the air from her lungs again and causing pain to ripple from her injured ribs.

"No..." Rain said, barely managing to form the words.

Shelly clicked the safety off the gun and pressed it harder to Rain's temple.

"Wrong choice my dear." Shelly whispered.

"IIE!" Robbie cried, rushing full-speed at Shelly. Like an all star football player, Robbie body slammed Shelly and knocked him to the ground, causing his gun to go off with a loud bang.

"You little shit!" Shelly screamed, regaining himself and pinning the young boy to the ground. "You are so stupid! You might as well be one of them!"

"Iie..." Robbie thrashed wildly, trying to throw his insane, biological father off of him.

"How could you defend her!? You should have sided with me, your own flesh and blood!" Shelly said, wrapping his hands around Robbie's small, adolescent throat.

"Onee-san wa...honto deshita..." Robbie choked out.

"No...she is a stupid, slutty, lying-" Shelly was cut off as a loud shot rang out. The raving man, choked on his words as he fell forward, limp on top of Robbie.

Sucking in a few deep breaths, Robbie crawled out from under Shelly's limp form and stared at the crumpled man. Blood was pooling beneath him.

"Oh...kami-sama..." Robbie said, gasping.

The young boy looked past the limp body and saw Rain, kneeling on the ground, clutching her side, Shelly's gun still in her hand.

"What did you do?" Robbie asked, horrified.

"I...he was trying to kill you!" Rain said in a pain-filled whisper. Breathing hurt like hell. Speaking was even worse.

"But...he...he was my father..." Robbie said, rolling the crumpled form of Shelly onto his back. Shelly's eyes were closed and his breathing was very shallow. It was a wonder he was breathing at all. The man had lost blood like an oil tanker in a bad oil spill.

"Robbie, he was an evil man! He would have killed you!" Rain said, tears in her eyes. Se dropped the gun and halfway crawled to Robbie's side.

"Iie. He would not have killed me Rei-chan. He was my father...he wouldn't have..." Robbie trailed off. His eyes were suddenly angry.

"Robbie..." Rain said, trying not to cry as her brother glared at her. The Yuy girl was at a loss for words.

"You're a murderer... You killed him...How could you...?" Robbie squeaked.

"I...Robbie...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Rain choked out. "I am a murderer..." Rain stared at her hands. They were trembling.

Getting to her feet in a daze, Rain turned towards the gate. Her body felt numb. The pain in her ribs was barely surfacing in her consciousness as she scaled the tall fence and leapt down to the other side.

Robbie would never understand. The only thing to do was to get away from him. So, she did. Rain ran. She ran barefoot along the side of the deserted road for what seemed like forever. No matter how long she ran, she could not escape the look that Robbie had given her.

*****

June 30th, A.C. 217

It had been nearly an entire month since the last big battle against Trey Shelly. Robbie had been devastated. He felt it was entirely his fault for the whole ordeal. If Robbie had simply told Heero or Relena about Shelly being back, they may not have had a murder on their hands. Or, if anything, Rain would not have fled.

In reality, it had also been three days since Rain's disappearance. The Yuy family was beyond worried. They had all assumed that she would have turned up. They had imediately checked the Wales residence and the Maxwell residence. When Rain was at neither home, they had checked with the rest of her friends and family members.

Not one had seen Rain though. The family was beginning to fear the worst. The Yuy family had been in hiding. With their family's records, it was nearly impossible to involve the government. The Preventors had put in a lot of hours searching for the lost Yuy daughter. But, even the world's top detectives had turned up empty.

Robbie was sitting in his sister's room, looking longingly at a picture of the two of them during a water war that Spring. The pair were both smiling wickedly, arms raised, prepared to launch waterbaloons at one another.

Things had been going so well. And Robbie had ruined it by contacting his biological father. The Yuy's had warned him. They had, in fact, saved Robbie from the evil man who had kidnapped his mother years before his birth.

The Yuy boy jumped, dropping the framed photograph in his hand to the carpeted floor with a dull thud. He jerked his gaze towards Rain's desktop computer which had beeped noisily and rebooted itself. The computer had always been in sleep mode, but Rain had sometimes accessed it from other locations using a hacking system her father had taught her.

Robbie watched with his mouth gaping open as the computer screen blinked to life and words began to scroll across the screen as though someone were sitting there typing at that instant.

"Okaasan! Otousan!" Robbie yelled. He watched, breath caught in his throat as he read the words forming on the screen.

"DEAR FAMILY, I AM FINE. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ME. I HAVE A JOB AND A PLACE TO STAY. PLEASE DO NOT LOOK FOR ME. I LOVE YOU ALL AND HOPE THAT MAYBE SOME DAY THINGS CAN BE RESOLVED. PLEASE TELL ROBBIE I AM SORRY. I LOVE YOU. -RAIN."


-Owari-



Author's Notes:

I know I took way too long to update everyone. I am terribly sorry. I have had absolutely NO time to work on this story. Alas, after hours and hours of skipping homework. I have it done! That is the end on "Always There For You." But don't worry, I am making a sequel.

I started this story back in 7th grade. I am almost done with my senior year of high school now. This story means so very much to me. I have gone so many directions with it! I mean, you plan a story one way, and by the time you finish it, you find yourself thinking, "did I really write this stuff? I never thought I would write something like this..."

And there it is...done, finito. My gosh, it doesn't seem like the end, does it? This has been my everything for years now! Be kind to it! If you flame me, I will NOT be happy.

So, look out for the sequel to "Always There For You" , "I Will Wait Forever" coming soon!

Please don't forget to review! To all my beloved readers and my muse Skye. THANKS SO VERY MUCH! I would have given up ages ago if it were not for all of you. Thank you thank you thank you!

-AlyRain