Perfect School

Jonah:

I searched her face in the moonlight. She wasn't actually lying, she believed, at least somewhat, in what she said. "I don't believe that," I said. She had put her hands on my chest to hold me at bay, but she hadn't tried to pull away from me. She didn't want me to stop. I moved my hands around her body, caressing her sides gently. Slowly I leaned down and pressed my mouth to her cold neck.

I started to respond, to push him away. But his movements were faster. His hands moved down my sides, freezing me in place to which his lips found their way to my neck. I sucked in a breath of the frigid night unable to move, unable to think. No one had ever done this before, no one had ever tried something like this. I couldn't even begin to know how to process it or why it made my pulse race. Red flags danced in my head and finally I regained control. Shoving against his chest to push away I all but stumbled backwards from him.

Jonah:

I sighed when she shoved me. The force she used wasn't enough to knock me over, but I did take a step back. I sat down on the rock slab again and looked her over. It was too much to hope for that we cold progress much in one night, even if I wanted to. I felt my blood beating hard throughout my body, the cold barely touched me.

I stood like a deer caught in the headlights for a long moment. Slowly I raised a hand to my neck, touching the cold skin until I found right where his lips had been. I could still feel the phantom sensation of it, the sensuous pleasure it had brought with it. I didn't know what to say, but slowly my gaze went to him.

Jonah:

I wasn't going to press her anymore, and I doubt she would come back to me. But she didn't walk away, that said something. "You don't have to push me away. Don't you want to escape for a little while? Don't you want to be able to feel something better? Something you chose?" I didn't move from my spot. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince her tonight, but I could plant the seeds in her mind. She would be thinking about it.

"I don't need escape. I need to go back to how I was before...I had been fine before everyone tried to change me." I felt a tremble run down my spine. The kiss had felt good. I had liked it. I couldn't lie to myself about that. I searched his face for a moment, still holding onto my neck. Sucking in a breath I froze mid way and realized that a part of me wanted to have it happen again.

Jonah:

"You can't do that without erasing what has happened to you. And that's not possible. You can only divert your feelings into something else. That's what I'm trying to offer you," I said. I watched her. She had liked it, I could tell by her face and the way she touched the spot on her neck.

"What exactly are you....". I froze. A relationship. He was trying to build one. And more than that, I liked the idea. Backing away i shook my head. "I can't...we can't...the rules..."

Jonah:

"No one has to find out. Think about it, of anyone who would be able to conceal something, don't you think the two of us are at the top of that list? Don't you want to see want it's like to misbehave? To do something wrong? You're not just a weapon, Kira. You deserve to live a little, to experience more." I could see her considering it. I could see the temptation in her eyes. She would give in to the desire, maybe not tonight, but she would. All I had to do was encourage it.

"I...." I faltered, nearly gave in. But I couldn't. It went against everything I had been trained to do, trained to believe, trained to follow. I had to obey the rules. It was who I was to obey like that. And so I did the one thing I needed in this situation. I turned and walked away. A part of me wanted to know what was so wrong about giving in. Another part screamed at me to tell Marie. In the end I didn't know what to do. What to think. How could I begin to handle this?

Jonah:

I let her go without another word. She needed time to process. I had given her a taste of what could be, and she couldn't get away from that. I gave her time to get back up to the house before I made my way along another pathway. I laid in bed that night planning on what I would do with her the next day. It wouldn't be confined to practice any longer.

Paublo:

I woke up the next morning early. I had been starving for some kind of pancake the night before and figured I would treat everyone to some in the morning. I was still waking up enough that I almost missed the tall figure sitting in the middle of the living room. He had an air of someone who was used to being overlooked. In fact while I had been staring at him he had only arched a brow and taken a sip from what looked like tea.

"Good morning." He finally prompted.

Blinking I nodded slowly, "Ah....good morning?"

The man smiled faintly, "Is it a good morning for you, or isn't it? Don't question, make a choice while you sit down." A gesture towards the couch had me slowly shuffle over until I sat down. We waited in silence, the man sipping is tea, me staring at him, until finally everyone but Kira had come downstairs.

"Good morning." The man finally intoned as he smiled at all of us and set aside his cup and saucer. "To answer the questions I have heard while waiting for all of you to join me, no I am not from your school, nor am I here for a test. I came to pick up something of ours and to apologize for any inconvenience it might cause." Spreading his hands in a friendly gesture the man stood and smoothed out his suit. "Now with all matters taken care of, and our charge off on her way. I bid you all adieu and a most pleasant morning."

Jonah:

Shit. She was gone. I had underestimated her. I had pushed too quickly. This would probably have repercussions on me as well if she told Marie what I had done and wanted.

Kyra:

I looked to Jonah for answers. "Kira is gone?" I asked. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He seemed indifferent. It was my fault, my family's fault. With everything that had gone on, no wonder she wanted to leave. I just oped that she would come back eventually.

Paublo:

The man paused at the door, a hand raised with finger pointed to the sky. "Ah I almost forgot. Jonah. Marie is disappointed in you. Not surprised however, just disappointed." With a smile on his face the man waved again the left out the door.

I stood, staring at the door then slowly went around at everyone. Kyra looked shattered, like she blamed herself. Andrew was showing only concern for his sister. And then Jonah looked like he didn't care at all. But I had spent a lot of time watching everyone. Everyone was worried about Kira, wondering what had happened. But if anyone of us knew what had happened it would be only one of us. And so I kept my focus on Jonah. Waiting for something, anything, some plan or idea for him to do.

Jonah:

"Well, that's that. We'll continue training without her. I put together the best team, with or without her. She was overkill anyway," I said with a shrug.

"This is the best team because of her. No one else can take her place," Kyra said with narrowed eyes. She was always quick to blame me.

"I can pick up what the three of you can't. Andrew will be on sniper duty from now on, and you two will continue doing what you have done. We have rarely needed use of the whole team anyway," I explained. Andrew would need to work on his sniping skills, but he wasn't starting from zero. Her leaving wouldn't harm us too much.

Paublo:

"Isn't....Isn't Kira our friend? Are we going to let our friend go just like that?" I asked softly. My fingers flexed slightly, agitation clear. If he pushed I'd give in but for now I worried for my friend. "A friend and family member is gone and we are just supposed to move on?"

I hung my head and my fingers relaxed. "It just doesn't seem right." I murmured the final words and began to shuffle my way into the kitchen. "I'll be making pancakes here in a bit."

Kyra:

The mood was subdued for the next few days. Kira's presence was greatly missed even though she had been cool towards us since she met her parents. Paublo, Andrew and I still spent time together like always. Jonah was the odd one out since he had usually spent his time with Kira. I would have felt bad for him if I didn't think he was an asshole. I knew she had left mostly because of me, but I felt like Jonah had contributed in some way.

We started training to fill in for Kira's absence both in a group and individually with Jonah. It seemed like he was always working with one of us, never resting. I had to admit, my skills were not at the top of what they had been. My abilities were affected too much by my emotions, something I heard all too often from Jonah. He was grating my nerves.

Andrew was even more affected by Kira leaving since he would have to absorb her primary duty of sniping. He was a decent shot, but nowhere near the quality of what our team was used to. Because of this, Jonah spent much of his time working with him. Andrew had less patience than I did.

Paublo:

The change in dynamic was slow and unsteady. Jonah pushed us all, and worked on our weak points but I could see how much the other two bent under the pressure. It wasn't often that we actually got to sit down for a meal and not have one or more of us in sullen silence.

I did what I could, acting as a cheer force on the sidelines and picking up the pieces when things were pushed just a little too far. It left me tired and drained and when I had time alone I found it hard to be my normal cheerful self. But we were making progress if nothing else.

Kyra:

It was freezing in the morning when I woke up. Even the heater in the house wasn't enough to keep it warm. I wrapped up in a quilt and walked into the hallway. Jonah must have already been up and out of his room because his door was cracked open. As I got closer to it I felt a frigid air current coming from his room. I knocked lightly then pushed the door open. Normally I wouldn't have gone into his room, but his window was wide open. I cursed him and crossed the room to close it. I paused in front of the open window and sighed before slamming it shut. It had snowed last night.

I shuffled downstairs and crumpled by the fireplace, trying to figure out how to start it.

"Brr...." I muttered as I curled up as much as possible under the covers. I hated the cold, hated snow, hated winter. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't we for once go someplace warm and sunny, and comfortable? Eventually though it was my stomach that got me groaning out of bed and dressing in warm pajamas. Shuffling downstairs I hugged myself and muttered under my breath about the cold and how I hated it. All of my words had been in Portegues until I got down stairs and my words stopped in my throat. Kyra was there, and even looking miserably cold I still found her beautiful.

Shuffling over I knelt down, "Any idea how to start it?"

Kyra:

"Not really, do you?" I asked, turning my eyes to him. I bundled my blankets around myself tighter and gave a shiver. "Why can we have a base somewhere in the tropics?" I muttered resentfully. It was Jonah's fault somehow. In my mind, he was even to blame for the snow. I might have been more reasonable if I wasn't cold, hungry, and tired.

"Rio is nice this time of year. Summer. You just have to learn to watch out for people throwing their tra...." I cut myself off and shook my head. "Gotta watch out for people throwing their water balloons. It happens a lot." Leaning forward I fiddled with the dial beside the fireplace and within moments a fire blazed to life. "Oh. I did it!"

Kyra:

I tilted my head while he spoke. He didn't often talk about home, occasionally he would mention his parents, but at this point, none of us really believed he had any. "Mmm," I closed my eyes when the fire started and let the warm waves wash over me.

"Now with a fire to warm us from the outside. How does something warm for breakfast to warm inside as well." I started to reach for her shoulder to touch it but pulled back at the last moment, chosing instead to use the hand to press against my knee while I stood. Grunting and muttering under my breath in Portuguese about the cold I made my way into the kitchen. Once inside I poked around the fridge and pantry trying to decide what I could make for the team to warm them up. Finding a box mix in the pantry I began to prepare a berry cobbler for breakfast.

Kyra:

I waited by the fire until I was toasty before joining him in the kitchen. "Need any help?" I asked, trailing my train of blankets behind me. Not counting the fireplace in the living room, the kitchen was the warmest room in the house.