This one includes Two of Hazels proposed siblings, Jordan and Meera.

Connor trudged along with a heavy backpack hanging on his sholders. he was about to be late to the bus if he didnt hurry, even though he didnt want to go today. he hated the new laws, but there was no where else to go. walking up to the bus, he slid his card in and confirmed that he was there, and found a seat next to his friends. "connor!"
"Hey man!" "hey there connor." they greated him, but all he did was nod to them in response, he wasnt in much in a talking mood. "So" Marley asked "howve you been, we havent seen or heard from you all weakend!" she leaned over the chair and tugged on his hair. she tugged again when he didnt answer. "hey, yeah it was good. "
"sure it was."
"what happened to you coming over and gaming on saturday." asked Owen, Connors short, pale, and geeky friend
"my blocks on lockdown." he monotoned.
"again? asked Marlee
"bull Connor, your block doesnt go on lockdown for another 3 weeks." Connors pessimistic friend Jordan.
"yeah well, my mom isnt in the best of sorts right now, i couldnt leave the house." he said not really caring that theyed found out his lie. Marlee started up a conversation with Jordan about some teachers that where having an affair. that is untill the bus slowed down. "hey whats up were nowhere near school!" yelled a kid from the back all the kids suddenly where nervous. "get ready kids, the Tavens are about to come down from their holders, get ready to pull the chains. every one stood up, leaving their backpacks in the piece of junk chairs they pulled link gates closed at the front of the bus, the driver and gaurd both pulled out guns from an locked comparments up front, kids began filing into the middle of the bus, pulling fences across the walkway and pulling metal shuters down over the widows, all the time making sure they had their Tavens turned on. although now one had seen it, everyone new that the mobs where comming. the others. the mutants. the reason he had to go on a bus everyday. he didnt go to the middle of the bus like everyone else, neither him nor jordan. they gave their extra Tavens to Marlee and Owen as they moved towards the middle of the bus. both had fear in their eyes, but Connor and Jordan didnt. the gaurd blocked the way untill they lifted up the sleeves on their right side, revealing a mark on their upper arms. the gaurd moved over and let them through the door. "good luck boys" the man quavered locking the doors behind them. the Mob was almost at the bus and had the look in their eyes that clearly said they were looking for blood. the mob stopped as they surrounded the bus. one man had what looked like half of his face melted off, appeared to be the leader. "what do you think your doing boyss." he hissed tapping a rusty crowbar in his hands. "settling the riot"
Connor said, absolutely no fear in his voice. "do you really think that the two of you are gonna stop uss?" the man bagan walking towards them and the others began laughing. both connor and Jordan touched their hands together and put their palms to the ground. creatures began forming around them, many of the mob shouted in panic. "Leth they have Gargoyles!" a woman shouted. they stood up and pulled out metal poles from the ground. the gargoyles began taking on the people right around them, scaring off the lesser rioters, and many people began running off to their holes. the boys began taking on the head honchos of the Mob. Connor had just broken the leaders crowbar when a loud bang sounded along with a cheer from the crowd. Connor turned around to see mutants beating in the windows and protection shades, not only that, but one of the gargoyles was about to be brought down. the situation was begining to become desprate. he felt a sharp crack on the back of the head and almost fainted, but refused to give up and put his hand to the mans ankle and with a flash of light, half the mans leg was gone and Connors head felt a lot better. getting up he saw the crowd had stopped moving, not only that, but the gargoyles had begun to cower. a large man was in the center and looked as if his eyes had freshly been cut out, but they knew it wasnt so. "what is this?" he asked, his voice boomed. Connor and Jordan stepped forward and tried to explain. "they attacked the bus and we..."
"do not" he interupted and held up his hand. he touched the the ground with his forefinger. the Gargoyles melted backdown into the ground, and the mutants where being healed. finally the bus righted itself and people came to the windows. "go home and preceed with caution." the man said standing up.the boys began to walk towards the bus when the giant put his hand on Connors sholder. my daughter by chance hasnt come by your house lately, has she?" it felt a little odd to be asked that by a mutant like him, but Connor liked this guy, but not enough not to lie to him. "i havent seen her at all, ill send her along if i do see her." the man nodded and the boys continued to the bus. once they got back on everyone started clapping. Marlee ran up to the boys and hugged them at the same time, Owen congragulated them both. the bus proceded and brought the kids back home. sitting back down the kids began talking excitedly about a day off from school. Jordan leaned back and went into his "im ignoring you" mood. Marlee began talking with a girl behind her and Owen started playing video games. the bus was almost to the kids' neighborhood when Jordan broke away from his silence "so whyd you lie to Mathias?" he asked, giving him a sarcastic look. "what do you mean by that?"
"oh you know exactly what i mean" Jordan said.
"'friad i dont, mind clarifing?"
"'bout the guys daughter. shes the reason your moms on your case isnt she, bet she caught you two on friday and youve been grounded since. close?" he lifted an eyebrow.
"you like being right about things a little to much dont you." Connor said annoyed.
"well with those legs of hers i wouldnt blame you."
"Shut up!" connor said aggressivly to his friend
"just saying, if i was in your position id be scr......"
"I said SHUT UP!" Connor shouted. the entire bus would have heard him if not for the massive screeching of the buss breaks. Marlee looked confused and asked "Whats up with you two?" Connor shook his head and waved goodbye to her. he slowly began trudging home. his grandparents wouldnt be home today, because theyd be going into the doctors for a screening, and his mom would be at work. pushing open the door to his house he stared in on the shabby mess within. even before that Fall theyd lived here, and to think, back then he'd actually had been embarrased. but ever since everybody lived like this it seemed stupid. he dropped his backpack when he heard his cat mewing as it came through the door. "stupid cat" he mumbled as he went up the stairs to his room. coming to his room he saw that his computer was on again. he didnt remember leaving it on this morning so...two thin arms wrapped around his neck and he felt lips on his neck and felt sweat form on his brow. "I-i saw your dad today" he stamered "did you now, let me geuss i need to come home is that right?"

--

Leta picked stuff up in her house even though it hardly made a diffrence in the places appearance. her friend Meera filed her nails and talked, insescently. "so sweety were the hell where you last night?"
"why, its not like you had extra time, you were working, you said so yourself." Leta growled, tossing a piece of wrapper into the trashcan. "anyways, howd things go last night?" 
"damn you wouldnt believe it, he was actually amazing, he..."
"Shut it, god all i wanted know was if it was a slow night or no. please dont go into detail."
"oh, are you suddenly squemish with details? i doubt your night was much different from mine sweety..." she said with a wicked little smile.
"at least im not a slut for it." Leta retorted.
"oh yeah let me geuss, he loves you, did he tell you that?" Meera snickered.
"thats none of you buisness." Leta said sitting down and flipping hair away from her face. "new qeustion" she said changing the subject. "hows your funds been lately? been saving anyof it?" Meera rolled her eyes
"come on, what the point Leta? i cant ever get out of this hell hole, so why ilusion myself that i can?"
"dont be stupid, i know what you make. so what the hell do you do with it?" Leta asked
"what do you think babe? what do all good girls do before they get a client? she chuckled.
"you blow it on drugs? well, i shouldve geused. ive been sober for a while, and man do i feel good!" Leta said stretching out, she revealed her stomach while doing it, her stomach scars, she pulled her shirt down immediatly.
"wow sweety, are those new?" Meera said leaning forward.
"yeah, i got em the same day i quit at work." she said gingerly rubbing them.
"no wonder you quit, the clients dont like girls with marks, oh honey, and i thought you were being a goody too-shoes!" Meera said compasionatly, she honostly looked sorry.
"it was the best excuse i ever got to be one. anyways, me and Connor.." she drifted off.
"please god dont you believed it when he told you he.."
"hes never said it." Leta said sadly. "a lot of times things seem one sided, but well, you wouldnt understand it."
"your desprate since losing your job, any boy from around here isnt worth throwing yourself away!"
"IM NOT DESPRETE!" she yelled "and hes not from around here! he's a decent person, i mean he's even one of the gaurds!" Meera looked horrified. "god dont ever tell anyone else again! i personally have nothing against the gaurds, but there are those who, well, who hate them enough to take out even those around them!" Meera gripped Letas wrists and wipped away her unchecked tears. a knock on the door made Leta clear up and Meera rushed to the door. peeking out she saw some boy that obviously didnt belong in this neighbor hood. "What do you want?" she asked viciously. you had to be, cause this kid was probably some tax collector or somehting. "uhh, im sorry to bother you but to you know where a girl named Ileta lives?"
"why?" Meera felt a little suspicious. was this the guy Leta was so hooked on.
"i need to.."
"Let em in Meera." came Letas slightly chooked up voice. grudgingly Meera let Connor in and shut the door quickly behind him. Leta appeared from the living room and wouldnt look him in the eyes. this he noticed, and to Meeras suprise, looked upset about. wow, mabey the bastard does care about leta the thought came, but she still didnt trust him. "listen Leta, we need to talk about.."
"what, the fact that shes from mutantsville and you mister "im from the military, im soooo special!" am i right?" Meera sneared.
"What?" Connor asked looking confused.
"you heard me.."
"all i heard was "im gonna bite your frikin head off cause im prejudice." he snapped. there wasnt time for this.
"stop, both of you!" Leta said cringing with effort, her body still hurt. the only thing she could exert herself and not be in pain was most likely why Connor had shown up. mabey he wanted her to stop acting like a slut and to grow up, act like the adult she was soon becoming. she'd just throw that back in his face. adults were just as stupid as kids, they just were really good at rationalizing it. she couldnt believe she was acting pethetic, but she also couldnt belive the pain she was in. trying regain herself she straightened up and tore open one of the scars, they had grown back way too tight. blood spilled out and Connor was immediatly there, using his abilitys with out a second thought he neatly repaired it, leaving a looser, less visible scar behind. she saw him blow on his thumb and wipe away some of his own blood. Alchemy, it was scary that he could use it so easily. but it also explained why she didnt hurt whenever she was around him, the very essence of it was within him, it was even in his skin. "i could...." he started "oh shut the hell up!" she said shoving him back.
"why are you angry?" he said looking perplexed.
"your not acting like yourself, its pethetic, so what, i ripped open a scar, big deal!" she turned away and he put his arms around her sholders. he didnt talk, and she felt her stomach drop. he was being himself. he pulled one of his arms away, causing Leta to tense up she knew what he was doing. "connor i already said it was ok" she said turning around, but he just gripped her tighter once she faced him, sliding his bleeding hand up onto her back. "connor!" she gasped as he began healing every last one of her scars. this time it didnt tickle, now it really stung as the skin reformed itself becoming agressivly painfull as his cut healed itself. pulling his hand away he recut it and began healing her stomach next, Meera watched intently as leta gritted her teath as he got to the worst of her scarring. he held his hand to her stomach untill the last of the blood was sent into her body. she was gasping for breath and stepping away. she pulled up her shirt a ways and admired how her new skin glistened beutifully as if it was brand new, or.. "its fashioned after a memory." he said. looking at it with an odd look in his eyes. "the shinyness will dye down and itll look normal in a few days."
Leta felt like an idiot just standing there, but she would felt like an idiot if shed have broken down and thank him like she wanted to. Meera interupted the silence. "how the hell did you learn that! only guy that good is.."
"her dad?" he said, lifting up his shirt sleeve, revealing his mark. "hes the guy who branded me."
"is that how you two met?" She asked suddenly kinda liking the guy, knowing that if Sampson trusted him, then mabey he was ok.
"actually no, my dad met him because of me..." Leta said sitting down. Meera looked first and Leta then at Connor, and back again. "were you two?"
"yes Meera.." Leta said with an annoyed tone in her voice. Meera got up and grabbed her bag. "oh god, this is wierd. ill be back with dinner in 3 hours. i should be getting home right now." she almost ran out of the house mumbling "a gaurd, damit, a gaurd!" the door closed and Leta got up to try and follow Meera but thought better of it. turning around she looked at Connor, and decided that now was the time to thank him. " Hey Connor, you know, thank you, its...you know" he walked close to her, being the typicall charmer he was for her "beutifull, like it was the first time i ever saw so much of you..." he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and holding her close. she eased her way back down and kissed him. that was enough for them to be together again, even though he had no idea of the things shed done since the explosian to make it all up to him. she suddenly relized just how disgusting her body, excluding her lower back and stomach were. " what do you think, im gonna take a shower and see if i can get the rest of me as shiny as my new skin. sound good?" she said walking towards the bathroom. "you just sit and watch t.v. like a good boy till i get out." she finished fealling like she had so much before the Fall. she got into the shower and turned on the hot water. it felt good, and especially loosened up her muscles. when she was done, she got out and put on a shirt, midriff length just to show off her new stomach. walking out of her bathroom she saw a whole crowd of people in her living room, all of whom looked ready to kill her. none of them were mutant, except for one of them that looked oddly familiar, so she assumed they knew Connor. "who are these people?" she asked in an even tone she was known for. "we were thinking the exact same thing" the one Leta thought she knew pointing to her and Meera who was tied up next to the couch. Connor looked as though he had just been taken by suprise of these people too. Leta didnt waste any time, she quickly untied Meera and helped her up, while Meera studderd. "g-god I told you Guards were dangerous, l-look what the hell they did Leta, Look!" she showed Leta the side of her head, wich was swollen and bleeding. "im not gonna be able to work Leta! not for weeks! i told you I told you!" she said shakenly. Leta helped her friend to the couch and turned on Connors friends. "what the hell were you doing? you didnt honestly have to knock her out did you??" she said, anger seeping into her voice. she didnt care if they were Connors friends, theyd hurt her best friend and she was gonna give them a piece of her mind. before she could start up again though, Connor stepped between the to groups and held her sholders. "calm down, they didnt know." he said
"oh so they just knock anyone out unless they know its a person?" she said still trying to argue, but to no avail, he was strong and she didnt really want to hurt him. "calm down" he repeated. leaning over he stopped the bleeding in Meeras forhead and put her to sleep. then turning around he started to talk with his friends. "listen, i know that your worried about me and all, but im going to be staying here for a while, its safe and stuff" he said shrugging. the only girl from the group looked totoally ticked. "so connor, is this why you could never come see us during the weekends, cause you were too busy..." but a little geeky guy inturupted. "why didnt we get to meet her earlier? i mean shes totally normal to me?" Connor looked at the other guy and explained "Jordan met her once before i did and then in passing once when she was at my house and we decided it best for you guys not to know about her untill you had to." he took Letas hand. "you see, this is Sampsons daughter, and we couldnt have the whole world knowing she was in a vulnerable position all the time?" the geeky guy and the girl looked perplexed. "sampson, you mean that really nasty blind mutant?" the girl said wrinkling her nose. she wasnt into scoring points with Leta who she thought was a totall slut. "Excuse me?" Leta asked angrily. "my father is NOT a mutant bitch, and why do you have such a problem with me and Connor?" uh-oh. connor thought. this is going to turn into a cat fight. "both of you, shut it!" he said loud enough to cut their tension. "listen" he said " were gonna be in this together so i suggest you two learn how to get along, Leta this is Marlee, Owens the short one, and Jordan is" Leta inturupted. "your from south side arent you?" she asked Jordan earning a scowl from him. "but how, i mean your condition is.."
"difficult to conceal?" he said grufly.
"yeah. isnt your dad the General of South Side, Why do you live with the Norms?"
"cause of your dad sweetheart, he branded me and sent me east into the towns." he said, not with a tone of resentment like she expected, more like a tone of endearment.

--


the mountains began to dip, and a smell rose up out of no where. Meera wrinkled her nose and Marlee, who was trying to act tuff in front of Leta forced herself not to metion it. Jordan began rubbing his hands together, and Marlee got nervous, it obviously ment blood. Leta looked at Connor and nodded to him, as if to say he should explain. "Were about to come to the Fields" he said "its where the Fall began. we will have to run for the first part of it, there are animals who are there, who will attack you if we walk. Try, please try not to freak out too bad." the way cleared and everyone except Leta, Connor and Jordan gasped. 'The Field' wasnt really a valley, a valley filled with thousands of bodys. a half million people had died here, and none had been moved by humans. The group stopped at the sight of the place. Marlee and Meera began to gag with disgust. Connor got their attention and motioned for them to put their masks on. "get ready to run, you cant stop once you start in." Connor said. hesitantly walking across the way to the field, long dead grass turning to dust. "we're-we're not actually going to pass over!" Marlee asked, her eyes wide with Horror of the place. she was upset by all the death, and didnt like the lack of emotion on Letas face.
"got a problem with the bodys? Their not as bad as you think, theres no other way through the mountains sweety." Leta said carelessly. They were following Connor when all of a sudden he broke into a run, the others came along. dodging bodys became a job you did without looking, if possible. beasts roamed the area, feasting on the flesh. some of the creatures tried to follow the group but were taken down by either Connor or Jordan. After what seemed like an eternity, things thickend, but the beasts went away. The group mutually slowed down and rested. Marlee walked off a few feet towards a group to hurl. cleaning off her mouth she looked into the car. big mistake. inside was a family, all of whom who were watching the Attack while they died. for some reason, they hadnt been saved from decomposition like those outside. it was grotesque, and gave off the worst smell of all. running back to the group she saw Leta, Connor and Jordan moving bodies away from a small circle for them to make camp in. Meera was digging through some persons bag, obviously over the horribleness of this place, but how could you? the Mutant places couldnt numb you that bad could it? Owen looked clausterphobic or something, and looked really messed up, his glases were askew and he was rocking back and forth. "did you meet the Johnsons Marlee?" Leta asked in a dull tone.




Completly unrelated to any of my other characters. Just about two kids caught in the off winds from the attacks. I don't know if I got the fact that the world is still at war clear. Maybe I didn't. Who knows?

Kale sipped on the wine he'd taken from the downstairs cellar. he hated having to live in this house now that his parents were dead, but he wouldnt be able to get anything better for what the goverment would allow. and besides, now he was going to have to deal with a wife the goverment had picked out for him, some damn girl he didnt know. getting drunk seemed like his only excape at the moment, but on second thought, getting drunk right before she came over wouldnt make the best impression. dumping it out over the side of the balcony he set the glass down on his side table. checking a mirror he laughed at the suit he was wearing. why should he try to impress someone who he didnt care if she did or not? changing out he opted for jeans and a loose black shirt. running his hands through his dark brown hair and smiled at the mirror. now that, looked better. setting his sholders he walked casually down the stairs and looked at the clock. the second hand ticked and hit 9. the doorbell rang and kale ran down the stairs. the girl must be some geeky timed up freak he thought to himself. he got the door and considered just not opening up, but then again the door was glass, and he was pretty sure that she could see him. sighing finally he opened the door up and had to hold back a grimice. the girl was nasty looking, not dirty, not simply ugly from birth, but seriously scarred up, the fine lines all over her face, much of it bandaged up, but fluids had still leaked. most of her hair had been shaved off and was little more than fuzz. studing the rest of her though, he decided that mabey with a mask and a wig she wouldnt be half bad. he definantly would not be having a housewarming party for her with his friends. he was one of the last to get a wife, and theirs hadnt been bad looking, in fact theyed been pretty hot. i geuss the rich get stuck with the mutilated from the storm he thought again, but then he relized that more than a minuet had passed since he had opened the door. remembering his manners he said "hey, uhh...im kale...and...uh" he didnt know what to say. he knew what he would have said if she was pretty, but right now he didnt know. she intervined. "my name is Adrien, and it seems that your the rich boy they picked out for me." she let herself in and he closed the door looking at her with an awed expression. so not only was she ugly, but kinda rude. he knew there was no use in being mean back, he was actually gonna have to see this girl more than once in a while. being nice might even make things barable, well at least it would give him satisfaction that he was a better person than she was. taking one of her bags he nodded towards the stairway, telling her silently that he was gonna show her to her room. she raised an eyebrow (or what was left of one, they had scars on them, and where mostly shaved off) as if to say "dont say we're sharing..." he shook his head and looked ahead, stairs where easier to look at than her face. an uncomfortable silence settled between them, but he didnt have anything to break it, and she obviously wasnt going to start, so on her went as he led her to his sisters room. his sister had already been married off to some guy in southern utah, he hadnt seen or heard from her since she left, and he didnt think he was going to. the room was mostly pink, and he wouldve fixed up his old room, but most girls liked pink (he wondered if Adrien liked pink, turning back he saw jeans and a black tank top, along with black nails and decided not) and his sisters room did have a couple of really cool features. like the bed, wich sat in an outset part of the room surrounded from the floor to the ceiling wich was was also made of bullet proof glass. the climate in their town was almost always mild, allowed for it. that plus the room was huge, mabey she could paint it or something, and just stay there for the next few years. he almost laughed outloud at himself, but they reached the room and she walked in before he could. she looked around, and she didnt seem impressed or disgusted. that was good, because he really didnt want to hear it from her. dropping her stuff, Kale waited for her to talk, but when she didnt, he turned around and left. he didnt think the next while was going to be much fun.

"so, whats she like."
"dont ask."
"that bad? what, she bray or something?"
"i wish she would, it would fit her."
"why's that?"
"i think she was in the storm or somethin, and she doesnt talk much, but when she does, she's a bitch."
"man. thats rough."
"you think you could talk Niki out of trying to come over tomarrow? tell her it would suck."
"ok Kale, me and the guys can still come over tonight though right?"
"yeah." Kale hung up on his friend and starred at his bowl of cereal. he debated whether or not to eat the mess of soggy bits of nothing, and ended up dumping it into the garbage disposal. Adrien walked in and started going through the fridge for some milk. grabbing it she started to look for cereal. Kale sighed and grabbed a bowl and spoon for her as she came out of a far shelf with some cereal piled with suger. handing it to her, he didnt get her to look at him at all. "your welcome" he grumbled as he walked out of the room. damn she was annoying. he went up stairs for a few beers.

Adrien hadnt known what to do when they told her that they were going to give her a husband to pay for her medical bills. she didnt like it, and didnt know why she, out of the hundreds of victims of the storm, somehow was chosen to pay for her meds. plenty of others didnt have to, but what could she do about it. and anyways, she didnt have a choice now that the laws where in place and with a face like hers, hitchiking would be impossible. she didnt know why that had to shave off all her hair. eyebrows, do work with a plastic surgeon, eye doctor, ear specialist, and a whole other team of wierdos, but they had successfully chopped her face to bits, made her eyes and ears funny, and again, why the hell did they shave her head? it wasnt in the way, and there wasnt any surgury up there, so mabey it was just their sick sense of humor. the horrified look on the Kale guys face wouldnt have been so bad if she hadnt of been bald. if she had a beanie, some other clothes, a bandana for godsake, but no. they said that their tests on the kid showed that he was really nice. that he would take care of her the minute that she got there. but from the looks of it, things had taken their toll on him, cuase not only was he not-so-nice other than stiffly polite, but more than a little drunk looking when he opened the door. so she was rude back. oh well. fuck him too. she'd found some money (a big fat wad of hundreds) in the dresser of her new room, and knew that she would get some shopping in that day. she was used to staring by now, and they wouldnt be so bad, the looks, because they knew plenty of people like her, and didnt have to stare at it for the next 5 years (legally the law didnt keep couples married after they turned 20. both of them.) putting the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher she fished keys from her pocket and went out the front door, slamming it, but didnt care if he heard it or not. revving the engine she sped off like the devil was after her.

Kale was about to open his first beer when he heard the sound of someone pealing out of the drivway. looking out his window, he was shocked to she a banged up black car, driven by who else other than his new wife going down the road. obviously she was as into this as he was. rethinking the beer, he called up his friends to come over now instead of later. they came, didnt ask about Adrien (obviously his friend from earlier had called them to tell them that Kale had gotten a nasty girl for long term) but talked about how much their wives nagged them about doin this, doing that. Kale envied them a little, cause he knew that they all liked their wives, the girls had been their girlfriends at the time the laws were put through, and government had made a lot of marriages easier by asking the couples wheather or not they wanted to marry and then hooking them up on the spot. Kale had had a girlfriend right before the major attack, but had broken up with her when he found out she was sleeping with his best friend at that time. he wondered to himself if Adrien had a boyfriend before she came there. but he passed it out of his mind and started up his Xbox.

A cell phone rang somewhere deep in Adriens purse. it was her docter calling her to see if she could come by to get her face looked at. course she could. she was only a block away when he called. paying for the clothes she had just picked up she jogged down the street to his office where he was just opening up for her. Dr. Nickols was a nice man, but never told her anything about the operations that had been done on her other than technical junk that ment absolutly nothing. "how have you been, oh well look at this, havent the doctors at the clinic been changing this thing?" he asked as he peeled away the bandage over the left side of her face. she shook her head no. it had been partially her fault too, not demanding it, but they had said they wouldnt do anything for her untill they started getting paid for it. she knew though that Dr.Nikols would have taken care of it himself if he wasnt always so busy with more critical cases than hers. she winced and was drawn out of her thoughts as he began cleaning her face up a bit with alcahol, wich stung, but she knew that it was neccesary. "well now" he said smiling "the cuts from surgery are begining to go away! i cant imagine it will take more than a few months for even this cut right here" he was talking about the bandaged one " to heal up completly. but for now i think we ought to stitch it up" without asking her permission he tilted her head back a little and started sewing it up. it hurt like crazy, but she didnt cry out. it was next to nothing compared to surgery. "so, why do you think they shaved my hair off?" she asked as he finished up. "well...i dont know, perhaps they where considering surgery on your cranium and decided not to. i really dont know." she almost felt like saying bullshit to him, but he still was the one with the needle in his hand, and she liked him well enough not to do it. changing the subject to keep herself from getting angry at him she asked "so hows your family?" he sighed, and made a knot it the string. "we're getting by. my salary isnt what it used to be you know." she nodded and thanked him for taking some time out for her. he patted her on the back, smiling. "you be safe out there, i dont want to have to see you again for another 3 weeks!" thanking him again she jogged out of the building to the strip of stores she had been shopping at before she had gotten his call. there was a nice hat shop that she'd seen on her way over.
Adrien had her entire back seat piled with clothes, hats, and other odds and ends she'd gotten while out. she knew that she had been gone for the entire day, and didnt feel at all sorry about it. she was more than positive that Kale hadnt missed her at all while she was gone. pulling into the drive way she grabbed a few bags of clothes, the paint she'd bought for the room (an electric shade of blue and purple...) and smiled walking through the front door. she heard a video game going, and several voices along with it, and was reasurred that he hadnt been worried about her. the walk up the stairs was nothing now that she had something to look forward to. (a shower and some makeup) sighing she slammed the door to her room.

Kale heard her car pull up, the front door open and close, and her bedroom door slam shut. looking up at the clock he was shocked that it was almost five. using that as an excuse to get the guys home, he walked upstairs to her room. he had heard enough about his friends' lives that he decided he better make good with Adrien. knocking he got no reply so he walked in expecting to find her sleeping. instead he found a very much naked Adrien scrambling for a towel. shutting his eyes he listened to her yell at him as she wrapped up. when she was quiet again he opened his eyes and saw that she was blushing and had her arms crossed. this hadnt started out how he had hoped. but at least she didnt have that disgusting bandage on over her face, although he noticed the skin underneath was now stiched up, and she looked a lot better, her face much less dirty and red lined. looking her directly in the eyes for the first time he noticed something about the look in her eye, but he didnt know just where it came from. "sorry." he managed to say, but she looked non-plussed. "i just...er...i came up here to mabey get to know you better or something...i uh...i didnt mean to walk in on you like this, im going now." he said turning towards, before she shut the door though, his more charming side reminded him to complement her "oh yeah, and you look...better." lame. really lame. but he didnt see anyreason to lie to her. he went down stairs to make some dinner, mabey it would make up for him walking in on her naked. he took his time, and got distracted when she walked in. she looked a lot better. she obviously had makeup on, because now the lines on her face where invisible and she had eyebrows (drawn on of course). a beanie on her head and a strapless white shirt, some tight jeans, she really didnt look all that bad. mabey he just hadnt seen a girl in a really long time, but she had made a definant improvement. he starred at her and finally was able to place the way she looked at him. it was a determined look. not to win him over, but to make it through. mabey not happily, she was trying because he was, but to just live. she looked a way from him, her eyes widening she said a little louder than usual "the foods burning." turing to look at it, he saw that it was and began paniking over it. she joined in and soon they both saw that the food was wasted. laughing for the first time in a long while she said "i really dont think we're gonna save it."
"me neither." turning off the oven he dumped the food in the trash and put the dishes in the sink. "pizza?" she asked while he began cleaning them "yeah pizza." soon it was on it's way and things where put away. "so this little disaster we just had. are you always nice like this, or is this a new thing for you." she asked, falling into being rude again. "new, you mean marrage or cooking?"
"both." she smiled in mock sweetness.
"who isnt new to marriage, its not like ive been married before."
"mhm. and cooking?"
"i dont know. not so good at it i geuss."
"so what do you do everytime your hungry?"
"cook." he said with a smile. she smiled back.
"so who's room am i in?" she asked changing the subject.
"my sisters. she was kinda a prick. theres nothing of hers still in there is there?"
"nothing more than more pink than a pepto explosion and a few hundred dollars lying here and there."
"oh good nothing bad then."
"oh like what?"
"dead bodys of boyfriends past. small enslaved children and fashion advisors...tourture devices and such." she laughed and jumped down from the counter. "no, only some of your boxers. how did those get in there?" he looked at her for a moment untill he relized she wasnt being serious. the doorbell rang, and he ran to get it. It was Markos smiling sheepishly, his wife Niki standing next to him beeming. She had pretty bleached blond hair and a million dollar smile, and was walking through his doorway she looked around "I don't envy the girl, having to clean this shit, maybe once you sober up a bit you could help her" Ahh, Niki. Pretty but...well she didn't like Kale very much. Adrien walked in her straightening her black beanie, her nails glittering black and white. Niki's smile became just a little forced. She hated black with a passion. "I don't know, the place may be a bit dusty but its a damn sight nicer than the clinic. But I agree with him getting sober, how much does this boy drink a day?" Adrien smiled, and in anyother situation it would have been charming. Well, in a way it was, it made Markos and Kale smirk a bit. "He averages two packs a week, personally I don't know why the dude hasn't grown a serious gut." Markos answered, earning a glare from his wife. "But you know, I think we should be going.."

--

It had been 9 months since Kale had seen Adrien. their 1 year anniversary was coming up, but that didnt really matter anymore. since the fall of the Ruonthis Government all marriages that had been done without true ceremony or papers were as null as those bound to them wanted them to be. theirs had become null because they chose to go home. smoothing back his hair he looked out the window of the taxi he was in to see the place Adrien had grown up. to him it didnt seem like much, but he knew that it hadnt been the place that she had come back to. it was the people. he had told her that he wanted to come and see her again, visit for about a week. and in return she'd asked him to meet her at a High School turned Community center. it had happened to several buildings with many large rooms. it often became a center where homemade goods, garden goods and other things were sold, lockers gutted to create storage units, shelving for stands, classrooms turned into a house for a family and their workshop. the football field, the baseball field and the surrounding grassy areas turned into the familys gardens and fields. it was a peaceful place in spite of the turmoil of the the outlying world. the whole town seemed calm. so many had died, that very few people where to stupid to fall into violence. many people had moved into the surrounding houses, but still, Kale couldnt understand why she didnt invite over to her house, but hed gotten over the ice it gave off and come here anyways. paying the taxi driver, a kid not much older than himself, he got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to a back door. the building bustled with activity as craftspeople, farmers, and specialists sold their wares. children ran around carelessly, laughing and playing as if this place really was nothing other than a city marketplace. bits and pieces of things the school had once displayed still hung, insperational sayings, clocks but most had been torn down and painted over. most the girls now wore skirts. something completly unnessary, but most of them did it anyways. hippie skirts to barely there mini's, there was everything, and lots of shirts to go with. he also noticed that most the girls that passed a certain age had their hair up. that was unnessary to because the weather was nice enough to keep the room comfortable. it didnt make sense, the guys still dressed normal, but there ws nothing to explain the girls reverting to a pointless new fashion but what could he do about it. passing it off he began searching for the ghetto hall that Adrien had told him to look for her in. looking around he found a big sign proclaiming "The Ghetto" . he figured that was probably the place so he turned down to it. tents lined the hall, and a lot of very old people predominantly lived there, and girls, mostly the ones in long hippie skirts, were visiting them, bring them food, clothes and other thing. boys where there too, fixing things that had been torn out of the walls, patching up the tents, mainly it was a bunch of teenagers doing good deads. he smiled trying to imagine Adrien as she had been a year ago, how he'd seen her, as a rude ugly girl. but he wasnt left to those thoughts long. a girl with medium length brown hair, a green skirt, and a very familiar strapless white shirt stood swaying to some music with a group of friends towards the end of the hall. smiling he walked towards her.

Adrien had been enjoying life back home. it felt good to be home, spending time with her sister, her brother-in-law, and their little baby boy. but mostly she spent her time working for a large family in the old upstairs computerlab and hanging out with the residents and their descendants of the Ghetto. she doubted they knew that she even lived anywhere other than this building. Alex, her sister came here so much that a lot of nights she just spent the night with these kids. many kids there had all shortened their names to two letters, or gotten nicknames for stuff they had done. at the moment she was hanging out with Ze, Jump, Glitch and Ki. a mans voice called out Adrien! and she turned to see kale smiling at her, his eyes widened a little. he seemed a little suprised to see her the way she was, but then again, she'd still been a little messed up when he'd last seen her. running up to him she jumped, wrapping her arms around him. he hugged her back, something that he hadnt done since the very last time he saw her. it felt good, but it really sucked that it still felt a little akward. he didnt seem to mind though, and he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. she pulled away to some wolf wistles and looked like she was caught between anger, and confusion. finally she decided on a smile. taking his hand she introduced him to her friends. "Ze" she said "wich is short for Zoe, and this is her husband Jump. he got into some..."places".....more than once, well, you can geuss how that came to be." they in turn shook his hand. "these two are Glitch, she got that from when the computers were still running, and this is Ki, or Kiene."