The Xen

A/N: Please enjoy the next chapter of the story. ^_^

Chapter Three: Intervention


Perfection. It was the first word I could think to describe her. From the very moment I saw her, I knew she was special. Over the years, her place in my heart grew larger and larger. I needed her like I needed air, like I needed the sun. Ok, so maybe I was a little obsessed, but my heart told no lies. My feelings for her would never waver; never become less than they are now.

My parents didn’t understand and they haven’t in awhile. They were too hooked on raising the perfect son with his perfect life; they lost sight of what I wanted. I love them dearly, I really do, but I’ve become so distant from them. They no longer liked Chotei, which became a rather large rift in my relationship with them. She had become an x-factor in their plans. Her influence on me had risen above theirs and it frightened them. I would not lose Chotei to my parents.

Then Father hit me when he found us in a rather compromising position. I knew then for sure, my parents would never accept a relationship between Chotei and me. I was foolish that night. My display of love didn’t help at all and only made things worse.

The worst happened shortly after that night.

The Monday after the little scene at my house I was banned from seeing Chotei permanently. I pleaded with them, screamed at them, but they finally had ammo to use against her. She was suspended for school for fighting. I was my fault. I let those jocks Tom and Brad bully me again, at first it was nothing just average name calling and baiting. But then Tom pulled my hair and Chotei punched him out cold. I think even she was surprised at her actions. I know I was. I saw her eyes when she did it, so severe, so angry. When she returned my gaze her eyes softened. Her lips moved with a silent apology. It was then I understood everything. She was paying me back for what happened that night. Her frustration and anger were set free with her act even if it met a 3 day suspension.

My mother had the nerve to call Chotei’s home and told her to never see me again, outside of school of course. I was leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the kitchen and heard the whole thing. It was the first time I felt like I hated my parents. I didn’t want that to manifest into something permanent, so I disobeyed them, I even lied to them.

I told my parents I was going to the library to do research for an English paper. I went to the park instead. It was a lovely little place, lots of greenery, most importantly far enough from home so my parents wouldn’t find me on accident. Chotei took Bo walking there every other day. As expected, I saw her walking her pet looking beautiful. I was hiding behind a tree savoring her beauty. It had been two days since her suspension, the last time I saw her. She was wearing dark green shirt with a black skirt. Her hair was pulled into a lovely pony tail. Bo stopped walking and turned his head toward my direction. His tail began to wag happily as he began to trot happily towards me.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were forbidden to see me,” Chotei asked, my cover completely blown. I walked around the tree that separated me from her. I smiled and petted Bo on the head which he accepted happily.

“I am forbidden, but my parents won’t keep me apart from you,” I told her. She frowned and turned away from me.

“You should go. I don’t want you getting in trouble on my behalf.”

I reached out, cupping her cheek so her eyes met mine. “This is unfair, what they’re doing to us.”

“Leave, Amari, before they find you here with me,” she commanded but I shook my head.

“Let them, I don’t care what they do to me, what privileges they take,” I leaned in, my lips hovering near her ear. “They cannot take you from me.”

“Amari, no…” I kissed her, silencing her. It was short but it got my point across.

“Meet me here, write down a time and pass it to me during class, I promise to be here, if you’ll have me,” I murmured. Her eyes could never lie to me; I witnessed her want, her need in those fierce golden orbs. With a simple nod, our pack was sealed.

As much as we could, we met at the park secretly. We tried to meet there right after to school, but sometimes we were reduced to short visits in the later evening. Every second I spent with her seemed remedial. We didn’t do much during our visits, talking, walking around, just being near each other. At my parent’s request, the teachers at school tried to keep us apart. Our visit seemed like the only we could together without the watchful eye of an adult scrutinizing our relationship. Sometimes, Chan would even come along to see me. Every time he visited, I realized how much I missed spending time with him. It was like having a little brother of my own. We went on like that for weeks.

Today was one of those days were we had to meet late. I looked over the note again. In Chotei’s messy handwriting, the words ‘Meet me at 7:00 pm’ were scribbled down on the small piece of paper. Anxious, I peered down on my clock which read 7:05 pm. I sat down on a nearby bench and looked upwards into the sky. Dark clouds covered the sky this night. The cool spring air caused a shudder down my spine and I wished I had brought a light sweater. I glanced down at my clock once more. It read 7:06 pm and couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. Why did time seem to move so slowly when you were waiting for something?

Thirty minutes passed and still no sign of Chotei. It was at that time I felt the first droplet of wetness on my nose, followed by another and another until the full force of the rainstorm came upon me. I wrapped my arms around myself thinking how much this day was starting to suck. My mind returned to the whereabouts of my love which resulted with me asking myself a billion questions, none of which I could truly answer.

Another thirty minutes passed and still I waited for her. No matter how cold and wet it got, I would not move until she came for me. I was more worried about how much time had gone by. I used the “studying at the library” excuse on parents again and now wondered how long they would believe it. Bright car lights kicked me out my thoughts. I stood from my seat and saw a familiar red car, Chotei’s car. The horn was honked and I began to make way in the direction of the vehicle. As I approached, the car window was rolled down to reveal Chotei with a rather stern expression on her face.

“Get in the car,” she demanded.

“But I’ll get your seat all wet –”

“Now.” I nodded and got in the car quickly seeing she was in no mood to argue with. For awhile, we rode in silence. I glanced at her face constantly, trying to get any interaction. However, her eyes never strayed from the road. Suddenly, she reached into the back of her seat and pulled out a black sweater. She handed the clothing to me which I took gratefully. With a deep sigh, she finally spoke.

“Chan’s soccer game got canceled and I had to drive across town to pick him up.” She paused and shook her head. “I wouldn’t have minded if you went home. Why did you wait all this time for me?”

The answer came easy. “I love you. I wanted to be with you so badly. The time didn’t seem to matter.”

“You’re a fool!” She shouted, but she seemed angrier at herself than me. “You should have gone home, it wasn’t worth it.”

“I would give my life just to see your face, a little rain is nothing. Don’t tell me you’re not worth it,” I retorted, a little more forcefully than I intended. My heart quenched when I noticed her wavering eyes.

“Can you forgive me?” She asked a slight tremble in her voice.

“Of course, Chotei,” I answered quickly. She smiled briefly before reaching over and taking my hand into hers. Her eyes remained on the road the entire as she wrapped her fingers tightly around my hand. It was moments like these that made my heart jump

We arrived at her apartment shortly afterwards. I must have looked like a mess when I walked in. My hair and clothes soaked to the bone. I spotted Chan running towards me.

“Amari, what happened?” He asked. I smiled sheepishly.

“I got caught in the rain. I’m fine,” I replied, messing up his hair a little.

“Chan, can you go into your closet and find something of Dad’s. Amari needs to get out of his wet clothes,” Chotei asked her brother as she closed and locked the door behind us.

“Sure thing, Sis,” Chan replied, retreating to his room. Chotei led me to the bathroom and grabbed a large towel from the linen closet.

“Here.” She handed me the towel. “Dry off. I’ll hang the fresh clothes on the door knob.”

I felt rather silly sitting on her bed with her father’s old shirt and shorts on. The shirt didn’t quite fit as it sagged around my arms and shoulders. Chotei finally returned from putting my original clothes in the dryer. She sat next to me, dressed only in a large T-shirt and underwear. She snuggled next to me, her bare arm felt warm against my own. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, resting my chin against the top of her head. I closed my eyes, listening to nothing but the sounds of our soft breathing.

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” I mumbled. She sighed.

“You know that won’t happen,” she replied in her normal stoic manner. I chuckled.

“I know that, but don’t you ever wish?” I asked her. She lifted her head and stared directly into my eyes.

“Yes, I do,” she confessed. I smiled down at her.

“Now, that’s the stuff I like to hear from you.”

“Amari, I want to say I’m sorry again for leaving you out there for so long,” she said. I squeezed her shoulder. She really didn’t need to feel so guilty about it.

“Stop blaming yourself about that. I’ve already forgiven you.”

“I know, I just feel like I really let you down,” she told me; her hands grabbed the fabric of my shirt, her fingers kneading the material. I snaked my arms around her waist, pulling her into my lap.

“In all the time we’ve been together you’ve never let me down. Don’t start doubting yourself now,” I explained to her. She nodded slowly. I kissed the edge of her lips. She gave out a small moan at my touch, a simple sign that told she wanted more. I took her lips more fully this time, slipping my tongue inside her moist mouth. Her hands dug themselves within my hair as she kissed back even harder. I trailed down my kisses to her neck sucking at the tanned skin. She whispered my name and I pulled down her shirt a little, revealing her smooth shoulder. I tasted the soft flesh, her neck craned to side to give me more room. She moved her legs so that she straddled my waist. Her hands traveled from my head down to my shoulders. She pushed the material of my shirt downwards and rested her hands against my skin before giving me the same treatment. Her touch felt like fire and it excited the passion deep inside me.

“Amari…” my love whispered.

“I know…please let me love you a little longer,” I murmured. Her scorching amber eyes studied me, before she leaned in and captured my lips in a sweet and simple kiss. She pushed me down so that I was flat on my back, my hair spread across the bed, some of it falling off the side. Her black locks tickled my nose and brushed the sides of my neck and shoulders. Her slender hands snaked their way up my neck until she cupped my cheeks. A delicate smile came to her lips as she narrowed her eyes lustfully. She brushed a few strands from my face before carefully lifting a finger to trace my lips.

“My beautiful prince…” she murmured as she eyed my lips. I knew what she wanted. I slipped my hand underneath her hair so that my fingers tenderly pressed against her neck. I pressed forward and our lips met once more.

As we kissed, I could feel my control slowly slipping away. My arm wrapped around her thin waist while the other rested on her lower back. I closed my eyes and let out a breathy moan. I broke our kiss before shifting my weight so that I was on top of her. The second my face hovered over hers with my waist between her legs and my hair falling over my shoulders pooling on to her chest, we knew we had gone too far this time. We knew we had lost control. Our actions ceased as we stared wide eyed at each other, each contemplating what had just taken place. Chotei smiled and I knew all was well. I returned her smile and we both soon began to giggle at our situation.

Unfortunately, my parents didn’t find our position quite as funny when they burst through the door.

“What the hell is going on here?” my father bellowed, his face twisted with anger. I sat up, pulling Chotei into my arms. I positioned my back against my parents to shield her half naked form from my parent’s peering eyes. However, it was obvious what we had been up to. Her father’s shirt barely clung to my shoulders and the loose material revealed the red spots on my pale skin where Chotei had kissed. I merely raised my gaze into my father’s piercing glare and said nothing.

“You crawled back to her…” my mother spoke, disbelieving what she saw. “After we specifically said to stay away from her.”

“How did you find me?” I asked gently.

“We got worried when you didn’t come home after you ‘library visit’, especially when it started to rain. We went there to pick you up, but, no one ever saw you there,” my mother explained. “This place was the next obvious place for you to be.”

“You can’t force me to stop loving her,” I told them, my eyes narrowing.

“And what happened to that love for your parents?” My father questioned, his voice shaking with anger. “What happened to the respect you used to show us?”

“I’m not a little boy anymore. I love whom I love. You can’t choose that for me,” I replied, my voice raising.

“You’re still our son; we have to make sure your choices are the right ones,” my mother stepped in. “Come home.”

I held onto Chotei tighter, who had remained silent. “No.”

“What did you say?” my father asked.

“I said no. If you’re going to make me choose, then I choose Chotei,” I responded.

Both my parents remained silent. I’ve never really disobeyed them like this before, not blatantly in front of their faces. My eyes fell upon my mother who looked upon me with such sad eyes. She sighed and at that instant, I could tell she had given up. She turned away and made her way towards the door.

“Come home when you’re ready,” she muttered. She left, leaving me with father. He shook his head at me and left as well without saying a word. I heard the door of the apartment slam and they were gone. Chan rushed in and threw his arms around my neck, startling me.

“I’m sorry, Amari. I let them in. If I had known they were going to yell at you I wouldn’t have,” he cried. I let go of Chotei to place my hands on his shoulders.

“It’s alright. I think what you did was best.”

“Amari,” Chotei called. I rotated my head to face her. “You’re a foolish man.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, for she was right. But I never felt better. I had fought for the woman of my dreams. My parents might not understand now, but they would with time.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to review. I enjoy getting feedback. ^_^ Hope everyone is having a nice summer!