See Me - 11. Chapter 11: Cold As Ice

Emry yanked his jeans on as he heard a fist start pounding on the door. He looked down and buttoned his pants and then ran for the door, twisted the lock, sucking in a deep breath in a quiet gasp as he pulled the door open and his eyes widened.

"Why the fuck is your door locked?! What the fuck are you doing?! Don't you know how to open a fucking door?! These heels were made for hearing!" Jessica screamed in a ranting rage.

"Mom!" Emry burst out and suddenly felt light headed, leaning his shoulder against the door, reminding himself to keep calm.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Are these heels...not loud enough..." She lifted her leg and then stomped her foot, slamming the heel of her stiletto against the floor. "Are you going deaf too?!"

Emry stared at her and his eyelids fluttered, afraid that his outburst was going to take it's toll on him. "What the hell do you want?" He stared at Jessica. "Oh, that's right...you want my dope...or rather, speaking from my perspective, it's your dope, right mom? Then again, it's not your dope until you get your hands on it, which is why you hate a locked door."

"I pay the money for it, don't I?" She pointed at him.

"Actually...dad pays for it...and you free load and gold dig...." Emry stared at her.

"Yeah? Well you know what I did do? I gave birth to you...and that fucking hurt like no bitch ever knows unless shes woman enough to have her kid without pain killers! I wanted to show your daddy I could take it, that was pain that would bring him to his knees...Tell me he could do that better!"

"Yeah...you birthed me...and unlike other mothers...you're so fucked up that you thank God for my defects because it gets you...my dope. Now get out...before I call Dominik, daddy would totally believe some bastard did it to you..."

"Someday..." Jessica grabbed the door knob and snatched the door from Emry's hand and yanked it away from him and slammed the door, taking off down the hall, leaving behind the angry click clack sound of those heels.

Athen shifted up onto his knees and popped up at the side of the bed. "Okay...glad it wasn't Lana...but shes a psycho hateful...most awful bitch I've ever heard..."

Emry stumbled forward as the door was yanked away from him. He caught himself with his hands and then turned around and leaned back against the door, he looked at Athen. "Something is going to happen...I just know it..." He mumbled

"Emry?" A look of concern appeared and he rushed around the bed just as Emry's legs gave out from under him. He caught Emry and backed up, pulling him towards the bed and sitting down, holding him close.

Emry fell down to sit on the bed, though slightly laying across Athen's lap as he was held against his chest, his legs having completely gone out and soon after, his arms fell as they would, however his eyes remained open and he seemed to manage keeping his eyes open.

"Emry...can you talk?" Athen asked, seeing his eyes open, not sure if this was his cataplexy or some type of seizure, he knew the two could get confused and the fact that either one could happen to him only made it more so.

Emry stared down towards the floor, completely aware of everything, yet feeling completely weak and disabled, most of the time he fell into a sleep phase within seconds of collapsing and it was rare when he remained conscious, he always hated it when he did, it was not a good feeling for all the obvious reasons. His head fell against Athen's arm and he managed to shift his eyes towards his face.

"That bitch...she should know better." Athen frowned, he hated seeing Emry's conditions become active and was glad that he knew how to control it most of the time. His fingers gently ran through Emry's hair, running over his head, trying to comfort him as best as he could.

He stared at Athen and then closed his eyes and focused all of his mental energy on trying to come out of it, this was often a method that worked for him and he wasn't sure if it was just coincidence or if it was a coping mechanism he was taught to use.

He concentrated on his face first and finally his eyebrows tensed up and his tongue quickly shot out, licking his lips and he swallowed and continued to roll his tongue around, licking his lips every few seconds.

"I'm here." Emry finally spoke, his eyes fluttering open and he looked down and managed to move a single arm, bringing his hand to Athen's lower arm and his hand slid up towards his upper arm.

He sighed with relief when Emry spoke, more so relieved when he began to move. "Can I lay you down? I feel uh...awkward not being dressed."

"Yeah...I'm fine." Emry nodded and laid back against the bed when Athen moved out from under him. "I am so sorry."

Athen frowned as he grabbed his boxers and his jeans, working to put them on, he wasn't happy, but it wasn't Emry that he blamed for it. He turned around. "It's not your fault...but I can safely say I hate your mom...and not just because she fucked tonight up...I hate the way she treats you."

He finally felt the strength returning to his arms and he pushed himself up and let out a breath as he looked over at Athen. "You never saw her treat me like shit because when you're around, usually Lana is around, and she wouldn't do it in front of her, and she wouldn't dare in front of our dad. She thought I was alone."

"You don't need Dominik...I could..." He looked towards the door and his eyes closed. "I'm sorry...I couldn't...I wish I could, for you.."

"It was a bluff, I don't want to see my mom beaten up." Emry reached out for Athen. "I really...wanted tonight to happen, I didn't know how much until...now."

He walked over and took his hand and sat down next to him and a small smile appeared. "I did too...But we got a whole week...plenty of time."

Emry leaned over and pressed his forehead against his shoulder. "Have you ever thought about leaving Lana? Just...hypothetically."

He looked up and then clasped his hands together. "Why hypothetically?"

"Well, because I don't know if I would want to go there with you, I kind of have this thing about not making a serious commitment unless I am really really really sure." He looked up, easing back. "But..have you ever thought about it?"

"Not really, I guess when it comes to us...I just look at what I want and I see that one point and I don't really...look at the big picture." He shrugged. "Could you ever like me...like that?"

Emry smiled. "Maybe...if it were given that chance, it's why I asked. Could you ever like me..." He shook his head. "Never mind, I know...you just want to act out this thing of yours and..."

"I don't mean for it to make you feel used, I genuinely like you Emry. Do you think I would want to do it if Lana's brother were all ugly and mean and horrible and had all these awful qualities? It's not just that you are her brother, I had to like you in order to want to do it, the idea wouldn't have been attractive to me otherwise."

Emry slowly nodded. "That's good to know."

He grinned. "Why don't you...take those jeans off, let me see you...one more time, I'll tuck you in and you can sleep? Probably the best thing for you right now."

Emry got up and he unfastened his jeans and they fell to the floor, leaving himself in complete visual revelation for Athen as he climbed into the bed and then he laid down and soon found the covers being pulled over him as he was tucked in. He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his side, listening to the sounds in the room as Athen went about getting dressed and eventually the door closing as he left, by then he drifted off.

The sound of his phone ringing brought him back to consciousness and his eyes drifted open, seeing that it was day time at least, the light came in from the top of his window, despite the black out curtains keeping the room relatively dark.

He pushed himself up and crawled off the bed and moved over to his dresser and he grabbed his phone, not even bothering to look at who it was, he gave a slide of his finger across the screen and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"It's Asia..." The girl spoke.

"Asia? Why would you be calling..." He looked around. "Hold on a second." He suddenly realized that Dominik wasn't there, at least not in the room. It was then that he noticed he hadn't seen the small note paper that laid on his bed. "Just one second."

"Okay...not going anywhere." Asia sighed, painting her toe nails a vibrant blue color.

Emry pulled the phone away and put it on mute and then grabbed the note and he brought it up to look at it. "Maybe some dreams come sooner than we think." His eyebrows tensed up and he dropped the note, thinking Asia had something to do with whatever this was.

"Asia?" Emry spoke up after taking the phone off mute.

"I'm still here." She said, painting her toe nails, mostly just to have something to do.

"I just found a very cryptic note on my bed...and..." He trailed off, not wanting to even mention Athen having been there, but he knew it wasn't from Athen.

"Yeah, that...is why I called. Dominik...he said he might leave a note, that he didn't know, that he wanted to make it an easy break for both of you. This is why I called, in case he just took off without a word, I might be a bitch...but I figured you deserved to know what happened."

Emry sat down on his bed. "And what did happen?"

"He went to the cops, told them what Kane and their dad did...and he told them that Siera saw it, which she did...and I found out that she saw it, because I have my ways like that."

She paused in painting her nails. "So, regardless of that, doesn't mean Dominik got the house or the auto shop, he said his dad would most likely sell it all and give the money to another prisoner for his family than to even dream of Dominik ever having it, my words...not his, but the meaning is all the same."

"His dad...would give a complete stranger all the money out of selling his property than to let his own son have it? Dominik thought he hated him that bad?"

"Wake up, Emry...the guy had his little brother drag him by a truck!" Asia sighed and looked down, starting on her other foot. "Anyway, I told him best thing to do is ransack both places, get all the money, all the valuables...everything, just ransack it, take all he could get and when we were done, we went to Waffle House.."

"Okay...I'm following." Emry looked down at the note.

"He said...well, he didn't say much to me, just that it was better for you both if he made a clean break and that he was thinking more of you when he made this choice. He didn't get specific, just said that he was going to California, that you would know why, if he decided to leave a note, if not, he hoped you would be smart enough to realize..."

"And you wanted to make sure I knew..." Emry frowned, feeling abandoned and hurt. At least Trillian had the guts to tell him that he was taking off. "Asia...is this some kind of revenge for Trillian? Stab me and rub the salt in the wound?"

"Emry...you know me, does it sound like I'm getting fucked good?"

"What?" Emry questioned.

"It was a figure of speech, you know when I'm enjoying something, I'm loud and I love it." Asia put the cap back on the nail polish. "I just thought you had the right to know."

"Well, thanks for telling me...I don't know if this will help our social status...but then I never hated you."

"You shouldn't, Emry." Asia looked up. "Do you know why those guys ran off when they were trying to undress you in the hall that day? It wasn't because you came out just in time, you moved a little, hardly enough to scare them, maybe you thought it did. It was because they saw me come around the corner, if you don't believe me, ask Miki, shes a trust worthy girl."

"And what? You expect a thank you?" He asked.

"Well, after I trespassed into the guys bathroom, after stalking them, getting Trillian to meet me and we both kicked their asses. Yeah, I didn't know you...and you had no meaning to me, but despite how I may appear, I have a few morals and you don't fuck with someone who's defenseless, you don't want to be that kind of bitch."

"I didn't realize..." Emry shook his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry...I just woke up...this hit me...my mind is all fogged."

"Hey...you don't owe me anything, I did what I felt was right, just like I'm doing now." She paused. "Uh..anyway, I'm going to go now, kind of in a blah mood myself, I guess that's what morning does for you."

"Okay, thanks for telling me...and for helping get him justice, he deserved that." Emry hung up. "And now I'm all alone again." It was an odd feeling, to have someone live with him like that, and now to have that person gone, it was hard to try and imagine going back to how life was before.

Now he knew he wanted Athen with him more than ever, and he knew it was selfish, and in the moment, he didn't care.

Emry made another call and placed the phone against his ear, patiently listening to the rings.

"Hello?" Merit answered as soon as he brought his phone to his ear.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm calling." Emry's face tensed up and his eyes began to water up.

"Kind of..." Merit looked down and started to grab the milk to pour in his cereal.

"Well, I figure...misery loves company." Emry said, his voice cracking up as tears ran down his cheeks.

Merit froze in the process of grabbing the milk, his hand resting on the half gallon jug. He was suddenly concerned. "What happened?"

"Dominik left.." He softly cried. "Just a note...maybe dreams come true sooner."

"I'm sorry.." Merit tensed up, feeling a little nervous. "I..don't know what to say."

"Only I would know what the note means." He laid down. "The point is...it might as well have just said a cold as ice goodbye." He drew in a deep breath. "I can't picture being here alone...being how it was before. Just last night...my mom was so evil to me, she was a bitch, just awful...and now...I wish I had never been born."

"Emry..." Merit could feel his eyes become moist with tears. "Don't ever say that, especially not to me." He looked down at the counter. "You know I never stopped loving you...and you know everything I'm doing now is because...it's because I know it will fail."

Emry laid there, quietly crying into the phone, closing his eyes tightly.

"That's right...you know it and I know it, everything, it's because I know it will ultimately fail, because I don't want to be with anyone but you, I don't want to give anyone else that chance."

"That doesn't make sense." Emry sniffled. "If that were true, why aren't you just alone?"

Merit sighed. "Because..." He looked up thoughtfully. "I guess I wanted to hurt myself, and what hurts more than forcing yourself to live a lie? What hurts more than forcing yourself to be with someone you will never love? Someone who will never make you happy? That's why."

"I still don't get it..." Emry shook his head and curled up, pulling the blankets close.

"What I'm saying...is that it's better to hurt by being with someone you don't want to be with than by being alone, it makes it hurt more, and I want to hurt bad...if I can't be with you. Please...tell me that makes sense." Merit closed his eyes.

"I guess..." He pushed himself to sit up. "I'm so sorry...for hurting you..." He looked down. "But...I don't know if I have the right...I don't want to start going between people, that's not right and it's not fair. I won't put you through that.."

"I love you Emry...and my heart is yours...and it's not going anywhere." Merit went silent as he thought over all of it. "I think...you want to be with someone and...you're really confused. Maybe on some level...my dad had a point, you are in a different stage of life and I shouldn't expect you..to...not be..."

Emry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I don't want to be seen that way, I'm a capable person."

"I know you are capable, it has nothing to do with that, Emry. It's just that...in some ways..." Merit cringed at the thought of what he was about to say. "It's just that in some ways you just aren't mature enough to really..handle..." He shook his head. "Damn it...I don't know how to talk to you about this without me sounding so parental."

"It's okay." Emry reached up and wiped his tears away. "There is just one more thing I have to see through, I don't know where that will go...and if it ends, I'll kind of be at the dead end of the road I'm on, figuratively speaking."

"So, then...you might can back track? Literally speaking, maybe?" Merit questioned.

"I'm not saying anything for sure, you don't deserve empty and uncertain promises." He looked down. "I should go."

"And in some ways...you can be really mature." Merit briefly smiled and then it faded. "Take care...and I'll see you around, I'm always here for you."

"Thanks, that's good to know." He looked up. "Merit..." He wanted to start crying again. "I love you...in some strange weird...undefined way, take that for what it is, okay?"

He closed his eyes, taking those three sweet words in, though he knew he couldn't let himself get carried away with them. "Yeah, thanks for telling me that."

Emry slightly smiled and pulled the phone away, hanging up and then he tossed his phone aside and it landed on the bed. He took the note and slid off the bed, lowering to his knees and pulling out what appeared to be a golden treasure chest from beneath his bed. He opened it and put the note inside and then closed it and shoved it back under his bed for safe keeping.

"Hope your dreams come true, Dom..." He looked down and then he stood up and headed around the bed towards the dresser and he grabbed a pair of underwear and a pair of socks, closing that drawer and opening another, he grabbed a pair of roughed up smoky grey jeans, shutting that drawer, the clothing was tossed on the bed.

He headed for the closet to search through his shirts, snatching a white V neck short sleeved t-shirt, the neck of it having a small and thin hoodie attached to it that hung along the back and it had a smilie face on the front. It was time to get dressed and head off for prison duty, otherwise known as school.

Asia sat on the edge of the thick wall that lined the steps and she stared at Merit who sat beside her, she briefly glanced at the crowd as they made their way to school, arriving, parking, trying to find their friends to connect real quick, while others simply rushed to class.

"Asia? Attention...please." Merit's eyebrows lifted.

"Are you giving me orders?" Asia looked at him. "Just ask the question."

"Okay, someone being from your background, I say that respectfully, do you ever feel like anyone was ever jealous of you getting such an expensive gift? Do you ever feel bad that it came from your grandmothers death?"

Asia slightly narrowed her eyes. "Basically you're asking me if I'm happy with my car." She grinned. "Here's the deal, I decided to celebrate my grandmothers life, she wouldn't want me crying, especially with my birthday and getting such a gift from the money she worked so hard for."

Merit's eyebrows lifted. "I thought it was life insurance money."

Her eyes shifted to the side. "Uh...yeah, but she worked hard for the money that paid for her life insurance." Her grin returned. "But then here's the deal, my Aunt thinks she is the Queen of the fucking world, tells me she bought me that car just because my grandmother would want me to have something nice."

Merit was quickly writing down notes, though he was finding it hard not to just stare at Asia and listen to such a story.

"What happens next? She takes all the money away and tells me I can't have anymore of it, that I'll spend it, like I'm a stupid bitch. I got so fucking mad, I stabbed my birthday cake with the cutting knife and called her a bitch."

His jaw slacked as his mouth slightly fell open. "Uh...and how did that go?"

"Well, then she said I was a gold digging spoiled brat that didn't even mourn. I told her she could be sad and cry her eyes out all she wants, I said, why don't you fucking melt down and fall to your knees right here? I'm celebrating my grandmothers life and what her hard earned life insurance bought for me, the money that you're stealing from me. Then I told her I should run her over with that car."

Merit's eyebrows lifted and he felt as if the shocked and odd facial expression was frozen on his face as he jotted a few quick notes down. "Wow...you two don't get along." He looked up at Asia.

"No fucking kidding." She shook her head. "She told me she wished I would just tap her with the bumper of the car, said if I so much as pushed her over with it that she'd be glad to send me off to jail, tells me that on my fucking birthday."

"So, how does it end? And uh...has there been anymore issues with her since?" Merit asked.

"I told her it was my birthday cake and she couldn't have a slice, she steal my money, I steal her piece of cake, that made her mad enough to leave. Haven't spoken to her since, but my poor dad pure begs her for some of the money, even if he just needs a little bit for groceries and that evil bitch accuses him of lying."

Merit looked down at his phone, checking the time. "Okay...well, at least we crunched some time in, I think I'll be late for first period no matter how fast I am."

Asia rolled her eyes and waved a hand. "Who fucking cares, hell I'd be late on purpose just to interrupt the teacher." She grabbed her purse and slid off the cement wall that lined the grand stair case and headed up the steps, having lost track of Miki since she agreed to crunch some time in with Merit before first period.

It was then that Merit spotted Lana, it wasn't hard to spot the bright blonde with the bright blue dyed streaks in her hair, and luckily she wasn't in the company of Athen at the moment, though he did wonder why. "Hey Lana!" He moved from the ledge and jogged up the steps to catch up with her.

Lana stopped at the top of the steps and she turned around, seeing Merit just as he reached the top. "Oh..hey." She crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a second, figure of speech, it'll take more than a second, nervous rambling." Merit briefly smiled, for a quick second.

Her eyebrows lifted. "Yeah, I'm sure you can't talk in a second, though that would be a good line for a break up song." She grinned. "Better say all you gotta say, you got one second, then you better be out of my face." She spoke with a slight sing-along tone in her voice.

Merit's smile returned. "That was good." He took a deep breath. "I'm worried about Emry, he was really upset when he called me this morning. He said Dominik left and took off, like for good and...well he was just really upset."

Lana slowly nodded. "Yeah, he said Dominik was gone for good on the way here, but that's all he really said. It's weird, he's usually a little more talkative on our school rides but lately he's quiet, Athen's quiet..." Then again, she was quiet too, but that thought was kept to herself. "Yep, just awkward quiet, but it makes for a peaceful ride if you keep your mind off of it."

Merit nodded. "Yeah.." His eyes shifted around a bit, thinking back to when he had seen Athen and Emry walk into the locker room, though his attention had been torn between Siera and Kane on that day, and then Asia had stolen the show, it hadn't given him a chance to think too much on it. Now as he did, he knew that Emry had no reason to be in the gym, much less the locker room, unless it was for some type of social reason.

"So, you just want me to keep an eye out for him? I can do that, though Athen is really watchful of him, especially has been more so lately, I guess since the episode where those creeps tried to undress him not that long ago, then his medicine getting stolen, that was a mess, which by the way...thank you so much for giving him the benefit of the doubt, I am truly sorry about your sister."

Merit quickly came back as he snatched his attention away from his thoughts and back to Lana and he nodded as she spoke. "Oh..yeah, well...I really thought they had the guy and I walked in, saw him and...well, I just had to question it, talk to him and as I did, I realized there was no way."

"Well, your support was a big help." She nodded. "But, yeah, like I said, Athen is really watchful, I think of it as Emry having a big brother, I think that's nice for him."

Merit nodded. "Yeah, I just want him to be safe, he's been through some crazy situations, some that hurt him and others that were just horrible and could of been worse." He nodded. "Anyway, thanks for hearing me ramble." He half smiled.

"Oh, I think we rambled together, maybe we could do that more often? With Kane gone and all...you seem more sociable." She reached up to gather her hair in her hands and pulled it up, taking a scrunchie off her wrist to tie it into a messy bun.

"Yeah, maybe..That would be nice, I don't want things to be weird, I still care about him, that hasn't changed." He looked up as the bell rang. "And we're late...sorry."

She finished messing with her hair and laughed. "Forget it, we were going to be late anyway, it was our daily destiny." She smiled and her arms fell to her sides. "I'll see you around." She turned and headed off to go through the double doors and it wasn't long before Merit was taking the same path with the same motivation, getting to class.

Speaking of being late, Asia was running real late, she might as well have skipped first period, and she was thinking about it as she rounded the corner to the next hallway with her cell phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder while she tried to clasp her necklace, one that had a pendant of diamonds that spelled her name, bordered with a lining of gold, another present from her, now ex, sugar daddy, who was probably in New York at the moment.

"You know...the teacher is probably going to catch you with the phone and make you hang up, you should of just walked the halls and called me." Her eyes narrowed. "I fucking love this necklace...but this clasp is a bitch."

Miki slouched in her seat. "It's why I sat in the back, and good thing this girl in front of me has big hair all put up, I don't even know her name, probably Latoya or something."

"Hey, at least that's a name that could really be given, nothing against those black people...but the names some of them come up with..." She sighed. "So, what were you going to tell me? It was about Siera?"

"Yes, you will never believe what I found..." And then Miki's voice trailed off as the phone slid down Asia's shoulder and slipped, falling and crashing to the floor, the call disconnecting as the back popped off and the battery flew out.

"Damn it!" Asia yanked the necklace away and shoved the thing in her purse and lowered to her knees and grabbed her battery and shoved it back into the phone, then as she went to grab the back of it, she noticed a piece of paper laying on the floor, folded up.

"What is this?" It had Liam's name written on it, of course she was open to any dirt she could get, as if she hadn't aired enough of his past to the public. She took the paper and unfolded it, looking down where there appeared to be a signature. "Love, Mia?"

Her eyes widened and then she scanned over the note. "Sorry....can't go behind my brothers back anymore...it's not right." She rambled on as she scanned the letter. "I have to tell him the truth..." She gasped and looked up. "And then..she died..."

Asia looked down the hall, her mind racing with thoughts, yet she examined them carefully. "Kane and Liam beat Emry up...stole his medicine, and the bottles were found at her crime scene...that's why they had him...why he met Merit to start with..."

She quickly folded the note. "That damn Investigator, coming after me...he wants something, I fucking have it now." She stuffed the note into her purse and grabbed the back of her phone, putting it together and then she pressed the button and stood up as her phone turned on.

"Looks like I'm not the only one walking the halls..."

Asia looked up, confused for a second and she turned around and found Tyler standing behind her. "And who the fuck..." She slowly shook her head. "Wait, you're the guy that borrowed my gun and never gave it back.."

"Yeah...and those guys teased me endlessly about it, I lost it, and...hell, don't know what happened to it, sorry...I'm sure it's kick ass for you, not so much for a guy." He crossed his arms.

"Right..." Asia had a good idea who found the gun then, nothing else made any more sense than this, especially after finding this note, it just put all the pieces together. "Well, do whatever, I'd beat your ass but so much crap has happened since then that I don't have the time to care, especially now." She turned around and quickly started to race down the hall.

Tyler grinned and started to chase after Asia. "Ooo...the queen is on a mission, what's happening now? I gotta say...your life is never boring."

"It's none of your business...but pay attention to the news and you will know soon enough." Asia then suddenly stopped. "Wait..." Her eyes narrowed. "This kind of shit they pay money for..."

Tyler stopped and turned around, his eyebrows lifting. "What kind of shit?"

Asia slowly grinned. "I could make my Aunt look like the most pathetic bitch in the world and slap her with a wad of cash right in my hand, tell her I wanted to soften the blow because I felt so sorry for her..."

"I'm lost..." Tyler stared at her. "Care to clue me in?"

"So you can steal my thunder? Fuck you. Stay lost, stay blind, but baby...I'll tell you this much, now I fucking see." Asia's grin brightened and she stormed past Tyler and 'rounded another corner as she looked down at her phone and went into Google to find the number to the station.

She found the number and dialed it. Once someone answered, she figured a receptionist or maybe a dispatcher. "Yeah, hi...unimportant person, I need to speak to Investigator Morrell, please, and fast."

Trace heard his phone ring when the call was transferred over from the annoyed receptionist and he picked it up. "Trace Morrell."

"Guess what? It's me, you wanted some dirt and I got it...and what I got will crack your case wide open and solve it." Asia stopped close to the end of the hall and leaned back against the lockers.

"Oh...isn't it a pleasure hearing from you." Trace smiled on the other side of the line, though his tone was sarcastic. "So, what is it that you got for me that's going to blow my case open?" He grabbed a pen.

Asia lightly laughed. "I'm not stupid...the kind of information I have pays money, I know you will pay for the information, I also know that the family will pay. So...if the state and the family agrees to a reward that makes me feel I'm getting as much in cash as I feel my time and knowledge, as well as the pleasure you all get from seeing me, is worth..I'll come in and solve your case for you." She paused. "No, actually...you will come to me."

With a slight laugh and he looked down, dropping his pen. "Okay, first...of all, rewards come after the information is given. How do we know you even have anything? If someone called you and told you that you could go on a cruise, all you got to do is pay for it, would you pay first and expect to go on that cruise? Or would you be a little skeptical?"

Asia's smile slowly faded into a frown. "Okay...you have a point. I'll show you the piece of evidence...in person, but you can't examine it until I get the families reward money, then I'll give the evidence to you, after that, I expect to get the agreed amount of reward money from the state, as I know it will solve your case."

"And exactly how much do you want from the family?" Trace asked.

"Twenty thousand dollars, you get to see the evidence once I know the check doesn't bounce. I want a thousand of it in cash, lets just say I have a little revenge of my own to pay and I need to flash a little cash for that." Asia brought a foot up and planted it against the locker.

"Twenty thousand?" Trace chuckled. "How about the family, if they even agree to this...writes the check to the state and I promise to have it at our interview in cash in a case? Then we negotiate, ultimately it's the families call."

"Fine, you call your people, you call the family...you got my digits, dial me up and don't make me wait, patience isn't my friend." Asia pulled the phone away and hung up and pushed away from the lockers and headed off down the hall, her anger slightly rising, feeling more on edge than before, having this bargaining chip, she wanted to be careful.

"Good thing your study hall and my photography class both take place within the same period, though I am surprised the teacher allowed me to leave." Maiten said, driving down the road, briefly glancing at Emry.

Emry looked around from the passenger seat, comforted in the jeep, enjoying the warm wind that blew past them from the top being removed. He looked over at Maiten. "Yeah, study hall is great, I get to do whatever." He paused. "So, your accent, where are you from exactly?"

"Oh, born and raised in Czech Republic, that's where my voice comes from." He briefly smiled. "And then when I was about eleven we moved to Greece for a few years and by the time I was a Freshman we settled in Africa and...then my parents thought I'd enjoy my Senior year in America."

"Interesting." Emry nodded and looked around, it felt good to get his mind off of everything.

"Yeah, so...Jesse is going to make the picture he told you about and I'm going to pay the money to make it into a backdrop...and then a spot light to go above. It will probably hurt your eyes to look into it, but we can snap the photo real quick. What I worry about is your facial expression when you look into the light."

He listened to Maiten. "Uh..yeah, about that, as soon as I look up into the light I will probably make a pained expression, there is also a safety issue. I know that flashing lights, like strobe lights triggers a seizure, I don't know if a spot light would, either way...we might just have to deal with closing my eyes."

Maiten nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Yeah, we might could try to angle it or work it some how, just that..according to Jesse...it's suppose to shine straight down with your head tilted up towards it." He shook his head. "Is there anything around here besides fields?"

"In Texas? No...just cities and towns and fields, but you can go to the coast and find beach and the Gulf Of Mexico." Emry grinned.

"We should go back..." He began to slow down the jeep and stopped in the middle of the road. "I had such a specific idea of what I wanted to do for a portfolio."

"What was that?" Emry asked.

"Well, I pictured a forest and maybe a shallow lake or a pond or something, maybe a rock for you to lay on...with you wearing a white sheet, fixed up."

Emry wanted to laugh, but he held it back. "Okay, yeah...you will not find that in Texas...I don't think."

"That...is terrible." He looked over at Emry. "I also kind of need a headshot, kind of for an opening to my presentation, like the front of a book, then I open the portfolio and there it is. I was going to make one of those presentations and have it projected onto a white screen."

Emry stared at him. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what you pictured in your head, but if it's like what I'm imagining, just going off of how you described it, I'm sure it would have turned out great."

"It's easy to see in my head." Maiten sighed and ran his hand back through his hair.

"You know...you kind of remind of River Phoenix...you look so much like him, really." Emry said. "Just..something I noticed, hope that doesn't bother you."

He grinned and shook his head. "Doesn't bother me, I really don't know what to say to that...I sort of draw a blank. I'm just trying to think of something new I can actually do for my project."

"Well, if you're up for the drive...we might could make it to Louisiana" Emry then grimaced. "But when I think about it, all I picture are swamps."

Maiten stared straight ahead and then suddenly started laughing. "What? I'm not making you get in a swamp! I've done a little studying, there are all sorts of alligators and snakes." He kept laughing.

"Stop, you're laughter is contagious." Emry grinned and let a soft laugh escape, knowing he always had to hold most of it back, it could be a pain sometimes, even bring about a sadness when he felt so much joy and could only express it in little amounts, but he tried not to let it get to him too much.

"Sorry." He grinned. "Okay...the headshot or...like I said, sort of a book cover." He turned jeep off and unfastened his seat belt. "We will have to make this quick, on the road and on the hood of a jeep, not what I pictured but...it'll have to do." He twisted around and grabbed his camera from the back seat.

Emry's eyebrows lifted, hoping someone didn't come along at ninety miles an hour. He took his seatbelt off and opened the door and climbed out of the jeep, shutting the door.

"Seriously...this part of America is horrible, it's like the fields in Africa, just utter blank, nothing." Maiten closed the door and walked around to the front of the jeep. "Okay, stranded on the road in the middle of no where, super hot summer, hop up and take your shirt off, that's my idea."

Emry walked around and then he climbed onto the hood of the jeep and looked at Maiten. "Seriously? You know that is so cliche..." He shook his head and pulled his shirt off and then threw it over the windshield and into the jeep so it wasn't seen.

"I'm working with what I got here." He brought the camera up. "Just sit there and look this way, simple as that." He snapped the shot and then took a couple more and lowered the camera. "Good, we got a cover shot, for sure."

Once Maiten finished, he took a deep breath, surprised at how uncomfortable he actually felt, it reminded him of when those other teens attempted to undress him in the hall, thinking about a whole class seeing this picture, it was a little nerve wrecking. He slid off the hood and climbed back into the passenger seat and yanked his shirt back on.

Maiten climbed back in and put the camera in the back and once they were buckled in, he started the jeep and turned around to head back the way they had come. "Still doesn't solve my problem, the portfolio, I had my mind set on that idea."

"Can I tell you a story?" Emry looked over at him.

"Go ahead." He said, staring out at the road with an intense look of deep thought.

"I had a cataleptic attack in the hall once, and a few of the other guys at the school, they thought it would be funny to try and undress me."

Emry looked over at him. "They were just about to take my jeans off when I came out of it, I just recently found out why they ran, this girl, a really tough girl, she scared them off."

Maiten's hands tightened on the wheel. "That's awful." He finally shifted his eyes down and then he looked over at Emry. "I'm glad that it didn't happen to you. I have to ask, though, why did you want to tell me that?" He looked ahead. "What brought it up?"

"Just...I didn't think I would be so nervous taking that picture or thinking about a whole class seeing it, I guess I just thought about what would of happened if they had been able to do it, everyone would have walked out at the end of class and seen me in the hall like that."

Maiten's gaze intensified again as his mind went into deep thought. "Trust me, I would never do anything degrading, and I'm sorry that bothered you, I just needed an opening picture, I guess you could have kept the shirt on. It was just an opening, not that important."

Emry shook his head. "No, it was just me and it was stupid, I shouldn't let the idea of what could of happened and what didn't happen bother me or ruin what you want to do for your project." He looked over at him. "I can tell you take it very seriously."

"Yeah, I do take it seriously..." He shook his head. "And now I'm just brain digging on what I could possibly do with what I've got. I've never had so little to work with, not you...but the setting, I'm not going to be satisfied with anything typical, I'll take a failed grade for not doing it at all before doing something that I hate."

He looked at Emry. "You should never hate your work, which means you should never create what you will hate."

"That's very serious." Emry was a little shocked, he had figured Maiten took it seriously, but he hadn't realized just how serious. "I guess I feel that way about singing. I mean I don't do it much, it's just a small hobby...but Jesse kind of came up with a song that I just think I would hate singing."

"Then you don't sing it, you never know if you're being secretly recorded." He grinned. "I know, that sounds rather paranoid, but my point is that once it is made, it can never be erased, unless you erase it before it has a chance to spread, I'd just prefer to never make it at all."

"Good advice, not paranoid, just careful." Emry nodded, checking his phone. "The period is about over, not that it matters, lunch is right after."

"Do you need to get back or do you want to stop somewhere? I might not be the best company, once I am fixated, I can't let it go until I believe there is just nothing."

"Hmm...in that case, better to head back to school, at least then you have a chance to think." Emry shoved his phone back into his pocket, knowing they hadn't gone that far out, just enough to find the nothingness that was no where Texas.