Have to Make a Call (Damien)

[Kate]

It had been a bit. Just a couple of days. Kate had said that she had wanted time, and while she had seen him on campus here and there... the blonde had needed more time to herself. She had needed to talk with Adrian as well. And they had talked, and stayed together. So that was the course of action she was on now, tying up the loose ends and the maybes that needed to be set straight. Starting with Damien, and maybe ended with a few other guys who were pushing their advances.

So she pulled out her phone and called Damien Kross. If he answered? Well, she'd keep it rather short. And if not then she'd leave a message.

"At the park, in two hours. Same place."

Wouldn't have to leave a name or anything of the sort. Damien would know who she was by her voice. He was good like that. The blonde was dressed in leather pants, and a deep purple dress shirt with matching heels. She was seated at the same bench he had been sitting at last time while he waited. One hand tugged at a curl, and those emerald green eyes closed. This was going to be... hard.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"At the park, in two hours. Same place."

"Well 'hi' to you to." I said to the phone the instant she hang up. With a smirk, I shut the cell phone... Typical Kate. Say what needs to be said over the phone, then start the big stuff in person... Well, this should be interesting.

I had been thinking of this meeting for a while now. I knew of her relationship with Adrian, and whilst I thought of him as an okay guy, he was obviously in the way of what I wanted... No, not just a woman... of Kate. Getting a girl would be easy... Sam was interested in me. I could try working an angle with Demetra... But no, I wanted what I couldn't have...

As the hour would approach, I would don black slacks, a dark purple button-up, and a coat for the night air. I would hop in my Camry, Natalya, and head down to the designated meeting place. The same location where I popped some very... heart-twisting news.

I would come upon her at the same bench that we rendezvoued at. With a grin, I would hop up on the bench, perching like a bird, just like the good ol' days.

"Well, I can gather from your expression that this won't be fun, will it?" I said, forcing a smile onto my lips. I knew Kate's emotions when I looked at her... She had hard-to-read moments, but this was not one of them.

[Kate]

He could always read her emotions rather well. It was something he was damn well good at, though Kate didn't know if it was just her or if he could do that with other people as well. She had to admit that the news she would be giving him tonight would probably not be what he wanted to hear. But she was going to be honest, like always with Damien Kross.

"If I don't honestly give him all I have. If I don't give the relationship everything I have, I won't be happy with it. I won't be happy knowing it ended without me really trying."

And it was the truth. Kate couldn't just give up on Adrian, not after he had walked back like that. Granted his words had hurt so bad. He had said some things that had hit home with the blonde. She did care for Adrian, not as much as she had once cared for Damien, but the feelings were still there.

"I'm sorry Damien. The answer is no, I can't leave him."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

And there it was...

What could I say? Were I in Adrian's shoes, I would expect the very same... But... Still, I am a human being... This hurt, badly. It was unfair... Yes, that was it. This was unfair. Completely and utterly. I waged the battle against Jester for this opportunity... and some penniless bum has denied me what should rightfully be mine? Who was he to steal eternal happiness from me?

"How could I not have seen this coming...?" I asked myself, unable to force a smile... ME, unable to force a smile... That alone was a testament to the impact. "I commend your devotion..." I sighed, placing my face into my palms as if to cry, but then running them up through my hair.

"Where does this leave us...? I've done too much for it to end like this... I killed that damned creature inside of me to be with you..." I had to hold back tears. "Please... I need you..."

[Kate]

Oh dear god. Oh dear god no. This was not good. He was supposed to take well. With good Damien humor, and walk away. This was not what she was expecting in the least bit. Turmoil was raging through her. She hadn't expected this. The blonde turned toward him, sitting on the bench where he was.

It was killing her heart even more. Adding ontop of what Adrian had done earlier. The words that had killed her then, and these that were finishing the job. Her heart... it snapped. Those emerald eyes were filled with confusion. She reached out suddenly, cupping his face with her hands softly and pulling his chin up.

"Damien..."

As to why she did it? Kate had no clue. It was impulse, or maybe it was what she really wanted. Kate couldn't clear her mind at the moment. All she knew was her Damien was hurting, and she had the cure for the pain. She pressed her lips on eyes, emerald eyes closing as she did so. Her heart fluttered and her mind got lost in the past.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

It was unexpected... But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't exactly what I wanted... It was the taste of the past that I needed... With Jester gone, THIS was once again possible... Adrian was in my head for a moment, but quickly gone with the taste of her lips.

My hand would come up behind her neck, pulling her closer to me, my thumb gently rubbing her neck in the process. I let loose what I had needed to... I kept enough back that it wasn't indecent, but I certainly let her know how I felt. I would break the kiss for just a moment, putting my forehead to hers.

"I love you Kate... More than anything I've ever loved before..." My eyes would get teary as my lips went to her cheek, then back farther to her neck, my hand keeping a hold of her neck. I almost didn't care about the consequences... Let the enemies come. Let them bring their rage and their rolled-up sleeves. I can show them how I protect what I cherish.

[Kate]

Pouring salt on the wound, and grinding it in with a boot heel. Ever been that torn about something? That confused? Kate sure as hell was. He kissed her like they once had, back when everything had been right with the world. When everything had been okay. The blonde didn't know what to say, or what to do. She kissed him back until he broke the kiss, and then just stood there as he kissed her cheek, her neck and told her that he loved her.

Every heart beat, it swelled with pain. Every breath made her chest hurt. Emotional pain was worse than her physical pain. She had cried too much that day.

"Damien..."

She said his name a second time, not managing anything but a whisper. Kate had a taste of the past, it was like living there again when they kissed. It was unfair... and it hurt.

The tears started falling again, slowly dripping down her face.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

I would bring the kisses back to her lips, only stopping to speak. Part of me didn't want to... Part of me remembered what I had become accustomed to calling "the old life." But it seemed that old and new were one in the same again... as it should be...

"Kate... Everything can be the way it used to be again... We can have our life back..." I said, kissing her again quickly. "Please tell me that's what you want." This time, I didn't return to the kiss. I wanted to hear her say it... I needed her to.

Slowly, the missing puzzle pieces were returning to their proper place, gradually rebuilding the image of a bright landscape- the puzzle that used to be complete.

[Kate]

This wasn't helping. He wasn't helping in the least bit. She was going to loose it. Kate was going to go over the edge and never fucking return. The blonde looked up at him, and her eyes would do the talking for her. The pain in her eyes, the turmoil... the confusion. Kate didn't know what to do, she was more confused than she had been when she showed up. More confused then she had been the night before.

So she stepped back, away from him, emerald eyes still locked onto Damien. Her mouth opened and yet no words escaped. Kate had no idea what to say, how to say. There was just a big brick wall that she kept on slamming into.

"I do...I want the past...I want what we had Damien..."

She wanted that. But she also wanted Adrian. And that was confusing the hell out of her. Kate turned on her heel, and fled. Not toward her car, but deeper into the park. If he followed... well, they would cross that bridge if it came. But whether he followed or not was up to him...

[Damien Kross, Jester]

She said what I needed to know... The tension in my heart lifted and flew away... but so did Kate. Confused? Uh, yeah. Hot on her heels, I would follow. She was headed away from the parking lot... so she wasn't leaving... Where the hell was she going?

"Kate, where are you going?" I asked her, keeping a few feet of distance between us- in case she was getting into a mood or something... It would be odd considering her parting words... Kate was a weird girl...

"Is something wrong?" I asked her, getting a bit closer. I had to know... With her, it was always a guessing game. The question would be though... would I be right?

[Kate]

At first she didn't even realize that Damien was right behind her. The blonde was just running deeper into the park, away from everyone and everything. She had gotten faster since the early years and was striding with everything she had. Hell, the blonde even bumped a bum out of the way.

She just had to get away. One foot step, Adrian. The next? Damien. Adrian. Damien. Adrian. Damien. This wasn't going to end well, was it? She needed to talk to someone, like Matrim again. Matrim or Linda, one of the two. Instead the blonde stopped suddenly, in the middle of a clearing, looking up at the sky.

"I...I'm so confused. I'm hurting so bad... Adrian, Adrian and I almost broke up today. I went out, and got into a bar fight. I came home and picked a fight with him. He left me. He walked out and... left me after saying some very harsh things..."

She didn't look at Damien, didn't face him. Didn't turn, didn't move.

"And he came back, and apologized. But it didn't take away the pain... I... I can't stop hurting..."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

I would come up behind her and wrap my arms around her chest, pulling her close to me, my face nuzzle deep into her neck. I let it rest there a moment comfortingly. Then, after I had it all figured out, I spoke.

"And what hurts is knowing that I'm what takes that pain away?" I asked, knowing I was right. Our past was the remedy, but Adrian was her current. I understood her pain... I really did... But if I was what made it go away... then...

"You know I can make it all go away... You know that I can give you a life with no sadness... No pain... No anguish..." I kissed her neck, then snuggled her closer. "Only what you and I both need... And what we both need is to be free of our pain... Believe me, I've felt it... I know what it feels like to burn from the inside out..."

[Kate]

She had trusted him once. Fully, given him everything. Trusted him with all of it. And then Jester had come out to play and ruined everything. Damien's arms came around and held her, holding her tight like she needed. He already knew everything about her, all the little things that made life easier.

"You confuse my life. You did it from the start, Damien. You showed up out of no where like some teen idol god and refused to take no for an answer."

What? He was good looking. It was the truth and all. He had shown up out of no where, and while Kate had no idea WHY he had chosen to court her back then, he had. She had been tomboyis, and clumsy, and a billion other things she no longer was.

"It just all hurts right now. I... I don't know what to do."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"Let me make it all better..." I whispered to her, my arms squeezing her tighter. "You know I can..." And it was true... she knew it was true... It just bothered me so that she knew I could make the pain go away, and yet, Adrian couldn't just be abandoned.

Perhaps she would just forget him... Maybe... Maybe she'd just break up with him... or pretend he didn't exist... Yes, that would work... Wait... Was I seriously trying to convince myself that cheating on him was okay? I think I was... Wow, shouldn't I feel bad or something? Guess not. Oh well.

My lips would press to her neck once more, before I would tempt her again. It was a consciously cruel thing to do... But... It all seemed justified.

"Just remember what we used to have Kate... Just remember our time together." I would smile and nuzzle my head closer. "Especially the intimate time."

[Kate]

Things just couldn't be easy for her, could they? The blonde stood there and listened to what Damien had to say. His mind was flying across the same paths hers was, just in a more ordered fashion. Her mind was flying in too many damned directions for her to think right.

Then he spoke about being... together again. In the bedroom. Having sex. Screwing. Fucking. Etc. Though if they took it in the old terms, it would be making love. She tensed at that suggestion. Why? Because of everything it implied.

And the thing was Kate was interested. After all, this was Damien, not Jester. The difference was huge for her. The blonde shivered for a moment, and knew exactly what it was she was getting herself into here.

"I... not now Damien. Not now."

You could read so many different levels from that. Not now, as in not while she was with Adrian. Or not now, as in right here and now. Not now, because she wasn't ready for this sort of thing... Which would he take it as? And what was the real truth of it?