Kittens (Avinea) - M

[Lani Hunter]

Lani held his breath for a moment before lifting his hand to knock on the door. It was several weeks since he and Odion were supposed to have picked up the cats. Lani swallowed hard. He hated that the three adorable animals reminded him so much of his now ex-boyfriend. Lani ground his teeth, he was probably romping around with Rhett again. Lani shook his head. He wasn't doing this for Odion. He was doing this for the kitten and for Avinea, she didn't deserve to be saddled with three crazy kittens because Odion decided to break up with him and stay in Europe. It had been several weeks and the blue sky still seemed bleak and every fiber of Lani's being wanted to die. To crawl somewhere and bury himself under the weight of all of his sins. They'd crush him quickly, he knew, his death would be swift. With a shake of his head he banished the thoughts.

It was his fault all of this had happened. He closed his eyes and he saw Odion. That charming smile, the terribly alluring smirk. Lani hated him. Lani loved him. Lani missed him. It had been extremely hard to hold himself together long enough to bring himself over to get the kittens. Adrianna had been unbelievable. And his sister had been there through all of it and she shared his burden of lies by telling their parents that he was sick. He'd never gotten around to telling them about him and Odion. Well, good thing now, who knew if he'd ever date again. The whole idea seemed doubtful. Never again would he subject his heart to that again. Love. What a joke. He ought to be laughing at himself. He'd played the fool with flying colors. He'd played the villain, he was very artistic. Lies were his life and he realized that the more he tried to be honest the more it blew up. No. Honesty was a terrible thing.

Avinea, he had a feeling, was going to be mad. He swallowed his emotions and put a strong mask on his face when he felt someone moving beyond the door. It was one of her roommates. He inquired after her and the roommate went to retrieve her. When she appeared Lani's smile was strained. He'd never gotten her back for that prank and for some reason that suddenly felt like a million years ago. "Hey," he said simple unsure of what else to say. How was he going to tell her? Well, he knew how, but the real question was how was he going to do it and keep her from killing him. A real challenge indeed...

[Avinea Jale]

Avi was just hanging around in her room playing with the cats. They had gotten themselves into a tiny bit of trouble with some yarn and at the moment she was dismantling the kitten bomb that they had concocted. All three of them were squirming to get away and were very intent on staying in the yarn rather then being de-tangled. She smiled at the antics and wondered when Odi and Lani would be coming back. She missed them terribly, and seriously wanted her boys home. At least to help her take care of the kittens.She knew that they should be back soon but until then she was to be watching over her mischievous wards.

The summer had been long with the two of them gone. She had missed Red terribly and was missing his boy as well. The kittens were surely missing them as well. It had taken them weeks to not stand and mewl at the door before they realized their dads were on a vacation. She had been lonely, but luckily the cats had been there through thick and thin. She had been working this summer and was always more then happy to come back to her room to discover the kittens doing something so like their owners. She had almost been caught a few times but luckily she was able to persuade not only her roommates to hide the kittens but also to keep their mouths shut. As well as everyone in the hall. She wasn't saying there was, but she wasn't saying there wasn't, but there may or may not have been dozens upon dozens of sweets and cookies involved.

Avi was sitting there, by now having given up on untangling the kittens watching them with a smile on her face. She was dressed fairly lazily,she wasn't expecting anyone, and her hair was up in one of her high pony tails that bounced as she walked. Or laughed in this case. She certainly wasn't expecting her roommate to come fetch her and smiled as she waved them off. Standing she walked to the door, and gasped. There was Lani! "Lani! Hey!" Avi grinned and ran to gave him a hug, not even caring about her appearance, or the fact that she had left her room door open just a smidgen. The kittens were taking this advantage to attempt to crawl out of her room but before they could Avi grabbed Lani's hand and pulled him into her room shutting the door before the kittens could escape. "So how was Europe? What did you do? How is Red? Where is he? Did you get to see a lot? Was it worth it?" Avi grinned as the questions poured out of her mouth. "Ah it's good to see you, it's been lonely here." Avi smiled and scooped up the kittens before dropping them in Lani's lap. "These guys have missed you too!" She sat down on the bed before grinning up at her friend. "Tell me everything!"

[Lani Hunter]

As soon as Lani saw her he dreaded his task. His heart thumped in his chest and he realized he wasn’t quite as strong as he thought he was and just seeing Avinea he was reminded of who he’d lost, who they had lost. How was he supposed to tell Odion’s best friend that he wasn’t coming home and it was all Lani’s fault. He almost turned and ran when he saw her. He was going to have to tell her what happened one way or another. Better to rip the stitches out then pull them slowly. She looked so happy and Lani’s façade almost broke then. He was still wondering if he could escape but she’d seen him and in the time it took Lani’s broken heart to beat painfully and his mind to try to smother the emotion and keep his expression calm she’d crossed the room and stolen him inside. He returned the hug numbly. He couldn’t even trust Avi, she was Odion’s friend first and it was Lani’s fault. He wouldn’t blame her if she kicked him out on his tail.

He allowed himself to be pulled in and the whole time he sat he was imagining the terrible things that would be said and the wounds that would be ripped apart. Lani hoped that the kittens appreciated what he was going through. His face broke for a moment seeing them. He could almost ignore the persistent questions. He winced at the nickname and sat down with her. “It’s good to see you too, Avi,” Lani replied with a forced smile, and it was, he couldn’t lie. He’d grown fond of her as well, but currently she represented something too painful to bear and he was glad for the kittens. “I missed you all too,” he said the kittens were alternately cushioning the pain and amplifying it. The was Darshay and Shadow snuggled purring into his arms and LJ, purring but uncertain kept casting an eye at the door waiting for his favorite to come through the door. Me too, Lani thought scratching LJ’s ears. “Thank you so much for taking care of them,” Lani said turning back to Avinea whilst juggling kittens. He was hoping for a moment that he might be able to slip out but no dice. Everything. Well. He’d give her the shortened version of everything. Lani looked at the kittens for a long time and Darshay looked into his eyes and snuggled close to him. He found that he wouldn’t mind it if Avinea killed him today, the kittens would be well taken care of and he’d finally be done with this poisoned life.

He felt his eyes water as he tried to gather his thoughts. It was just like Adrianna, she had been so excited and had no idea. Adrianna might never have known if Lani wasn’t such a wreck and with Odion all the time, Avinea on the other hand wanted to know about her friend. And currently Lani was the enemy, well, if he wasn’t he soon would be. He took a deep breath, “Europe was good, uh… I have some uh b-b-b…” he coughed out the frog in his throat. “Bad news.” He closed his eyes against the tears but they started to slip. “Sorry,” he muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He looked up from the cats with a sigh and tried to search Avinea’s face and realized he couldn’t look her in the eye when he said it. He counted to three determined to say it. One. Two. Three… One. Two. Th… “Fuck,” he muttered and shook his head. “Avi, I’m sorry. We… Dammit.” He rubbed his eyes, it was getting harder to speak and harder to keep the tears from pouring like rain. One. Two. Three. “Oh-Odion’s not coming back. H-he stayed in Europe.” He voice shook and broke at the admission. He looked up and attempted to give her a reassuring smile and he broke midway through. He should have waited longer, he wasn’t up to talk about this or get a tongue lashing. He took a deep breath and struggled to keep his tears from falling. He had never felt so wounded.

[Avinea Jale]

Avi watched her friend as she basically dragged him into her room. She was happy to see him after all! She would never let him leave again, nope it wasn't gonna happen! She wouldn't have any entertainment that way. The kittens were certainly happy to see their owner though and she wasn't going to put up a fuss. Avi cuddled her stuffed rabbit and smiled up at him before he started talking. She frowned as she looked up at him. He didn't look right, looked like he was trying not to cry. Uh-oh, what had happened?

She wasn't hearing this correctly was she? "Bad news? What bad news?" Avi's eyes widened as the tears started to fall. With her face sad she looked at her friend and stood on the bed still clinging to her studded animal. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?" She shook her head, there was nothing to be sorry for was there, he was here, right? Avi's mind was racing as she listened waiting for the bad news, shaking her head.

Oh-What? What did he mean Odion wasn't coming back? Why? Her face settled into a hard stone, and moved towards Lani a bit desperate to hear what he had to say. Taking a deep breath she tugged on Lani's arm and pulled him towards the bed, making him sit down with her before pulling him into a hug. "Look, whatever happened it doesn't matter. You are here now." She leaned back and smiled. "He is a stupid butt head if he left you and I don't doubt he knows it."

Oh she was angry with red. He made this poor boy cry. At this point she was used to people leaving, but she was more concerned about Lani. He was the one she needed to watch out for now. Forcing Lani to hug her again she whispered, "Tell me what happened sweets, don't hold back okay?" She wasn't going to say she wasn't mad, she wasn't going to bring it up, she just wanted to know what happened. That was really all she cared about. It didn't matter who was whose friend first, or what was possessing Odion to not be here, what mattered was that Lani was all right and felt he could come to her.

"He is an idiot." The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

[Lani Hunter]

With Avi and the kittens here Lani found it hard not to feel like something was missing. Someone. He felt very close to LJ as he looked to the door confused about why Odion wasn’t also following through the door. At least he didn’t have to explain it to the cats. It wasn’t until Avinea started asking more questions that it dawned on Lani how that might sounds. It almost sounded like he was trying to tell her Odion was dead. Selfishly Lani wished it were so. That would at least mean that Odion hadn’t left him by choice. He hated how foolish he had been. He hated how when he found someone he could finally let down his walls with, they betrayed him. Well, those walls were stronger than ever. He’d never let someone touch his heart as Odion did. This. This was too much to bear.

Lani couldn’t look at her and he found himself bracing himself when she approached. He closed his eyes and waited for something to happen. He didn’t protest and sat on the bed the kittens held loosely in his arms. Lani didn’t understand. Why wasn’t Avi furious? Maybe she would be when she heard what happened. Lani wasn’t the victim in this situation. Maybe in some ways, but he was also the guilty party. As much as Lani wanted to point the finger at Odion, he couldn’t he was just as much at fault. Lani was even more surprised when she pulled him into a hug. He didn’t look at her and just shook his head. It did matter. It was the elephant in the room it was the elephant that had a foot on his chest and made it hard to breathe. It was the demons of the past that made it hard to think. It all mattered. Lani spat a bitter laugh, he doubted Odion was having any regrets. Lani’s existence was hovering between the hazy worlds of sorrow and anger and anger was slowly starting to win out. Lani was tired of being angry, and thus numbness had started to seep into his heart and it ached as it froze screaming for help when the soul it beat for didn’t dare utter a world to stop the freeze. In fact it’s host welcomed the unemotional chill the heart was undertaking, for it made it hurt less.

Lani shook his head, he didn’t want to talk about it but when she hugged him again he broke down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and attempted to hold in the tears that were already falling. Just when he thought he was through with tears, just when he thought he’d finally dried up they started to fall again. “I’m sorry Avi, he’s not coming back and it’s my fault,” he admitted pulling away from her and staring at his hands. The kittens butted into his arms and meowed in distress, unable to understand why their owner was in such distress himself. Even now in so much pain Lani wanted nothing more than to see Odion walk through Avi’s door. “I screwed up,” Lani started and started his story in short halting breaths. “We were going to Ireland last, we were supposed to fly home after that. It had been a great trip… I’ve got so many pictures…” He shook his head, those would never be looked at, Odion had always hated the camera and yet there were so many shots of them happy.

He shook his head again trying to clear it. He dropped his head into his hands and spoke through them. “I had plotted with Declyn. I knew that Oh-Odion did-dn’t want to s-s-see his parents but I wanted him to try. He’d never listen to me so I tricked him,” Lani felt sick spelling it out to Avi, he couldn’t bear to look at her, he couldn’t even bear to look himself in the mirror. He was a liar. He was a trickster, he deserved to reap the misery he had sown. “I chickened out at the last minute and told O-Oh… him,” Lani gave a short pained laugh, “I don’t have to tell you he was pissed. We…” Lani pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears but the memory slapped him in the face and they just kept coming. His shoulders shook with the effort of holding them in.

“He’s not the idiot. I am.” He thought Odion loved him, he thought that Odion would never leave him. At the same time he couldn’t ask Odion, wonderful, amazing Odion to stay when all he did was lie. But Odion was a liar too. Lani was deciding for himself that Odion didn't love him. How could he? “We fought and he broke up with me.” Lani bit his tongue. “I’m sorry Avi, I screwed up so badly that he’d rather stay in Europe than be on the same continent.” There could be no love between thieves. Everyone was a thief, there was no love. There were only lies.

[Avinea Jale]

Avi didn't like the look on his face. She really didn't like it. He was hiding something from her and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it all that much. It didn't matter all that much though, what mattered was that Lani was all right. She had a sinking suspicion that he wasn't as well as he was trying to be. She wouldn't hear of it, and she would get to the bottom, and feed him sweets. Sweets would save the day... right? She hoped they would at least, if they did then she could figure out what to do. That was if Lani ever told her what was going on. The kittens were waiting for Odion, just as she was but he wasn't coming. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Avi smiled as she held Lani in her arms. She had to keep her cool, whatever happened happened for a reason. She wasn't going to assume the worst? Right? She had to keep hope? Hope that he was just playing a joke on her. But his eyes, his eyes told a different story, something was too wrong, and she didn't like it when things were wrong, and Lani being sad was wrong. What the fuck had Odion done? She didn't want to think of it. Avi knew that Odion could be crass and cruel, but she had thought that things wouldn't change between Lani and Odion. She couldn't think about that right now though, All she had time to think about right now was what to do with Lani. Picking up LJ she set him down on the bed beside her, and tried to reach the other two kittens, failing in doing so and awkwardly resting her hands on Lani's arm. She didn't really know what to do with herself. She is trying though Lani, don't hate her too much.


Avi just sort of sat there with a stunned look on her face as she hugged him. She smiled softly, and moved her hands so then your cradling his neck, and started to smooth his hair. It was something her mother had always done and was something she hoped would help. As she listened Avi gave a small sigh and wiped the tears from his eyes, forcing him to look at her. "Bullshit." Grinning Avi tilted her head with a smile. "I'm calling bullshit. None of this is your fault and if I here it is again I will continue to dump the kittens on you until you cheer up. Stop this nonsense of it being you're fault. You need to admit that at least." Sighing Avi started to pet the kitten, holding it to her chest.

Avi shook her head and bit her lip. She didn't know what to say or how to react. Instead she waited as he talked, only deciding to speak when he held his hands to his face. gingerly she took them and shook her head at him with a soft smile. "Look, hes a complete idiot. He doesn't let people in and it hurts to have him abandon you. I may not know everything that happened, but you did the right thing. He over reacted. I may not know all the details, but I know you. I know you loved him, I knew it the minute you walked into my room, and saw us. That look. The one you gave him and he gave you, that was when I knew you loved him. I'm not gonna say stop crying. I wont, I am going to say this though," Avi smiled as she made sure she was looking him in the eye. "I am so so proud of you, you got through to him, you loved him, and he did love you. He probably still does, he just doesn't know what to say or do and you are most certainly not in the wrong." Grinning Avi shook her head. "He, well he was scared, and you know what, you are an amazing, brave, and most certainly awesome person. He is a fool not to see as such."

There was not many times that Avi wasn't joking or happy go lucky. Today, right now she was serious, after all she had a crying boy in her room, who needed her. She wasn't going to abandon her friends. Odion was an idiot for making Lani cry and she would see to it that she wasn't going to be the cause of any tears, not from Lani at least. Smiling at him Avi took his hand to her and kissed it lightly. "Good sir there is nothing to beg forgiveness for. Oh sweets, you need to see that I'm not mad at you, I'm sad and sorry, but not mad. I would never be mad at you." Grinning she tilted her head and grinned. "I would have done the same exact thing, and I'm proud of you." Odion on the other hand she was mad at. She was furious at red and she wasn't going to let this go. But right she needed to stifle those emotions, and keep Lani here. He needed to cry. "I understand sweets, just let it all out all right?"

Odion was an idiot. A complete and utter idiot.

[Lani Hunter]

Looking at Avi was terribly hard. He couldn’t force himself to do so. He maybe should have called ahead and asked if she would be able to drop them off. That wouldn’t have worked, Lani reasoned, she’d want to come in and know about the trip, it would have been harder to hide at his apartment, it would have been impossible. She would have taken one step inside and known something was up, not that he wasn’t currently crying in her room. Lani shook his head at the thoughts there was no way he would have been able to keep his cool, what was done was done and he was a mess. Lani still wasn’t sure whether Avi was going to maim him or not. Lani wouldn’t blame her, he didn’t feel as though he deserved any sympathy. What had happened had been his fault, and yet he hated that Odion broke up with him for it, and he hated that he missed Odion all the same.

The way Avi was acting now incited a few tears of relief to join those of sadness. Lani had never felt so broken and his heart ached. It was good that one of them was trying to keep their cool, Lani was certainly not the one keeping his cool. Lani had always seen the goodness in Odion, he’d always thought that the kindness he saw was real. But he had been wrong. Odion must have been playing an elaborate game with his heart, Lani was just a plaything. Once he’d gotten Lani to admit that he was in love it had been all over, looking back Odion had used that against him time and time again. To get him to confess something he didn’t want to, or to feel guilty about the lack of honesty. That was where they’d gone wrong, their relationship had been based on lies. Darshay meowed and bumped Lani with her head. Shadow watched the scene as if unable to make sense of it.

Lani let her hug him and he hated that he was crying into her shoulder. He was so grateful she wasn’t mad, or at least not showing it. He couldn’t fathom it and his mind was too struck with the memory of Odion to think clearly about it. When would the redhead truly let him go? Lani bit his lip and tried to gather control over himself, why was he so weak, why had he let someone in? Why did he just make one mistake after another. Lani closed his eyes when she lifted his head. The tears slid like fire down his cheeks. At her declaration Lani did open his eyes. Lani gave an involuntary laugh at the image. Lani didn’t admit it but he would cease to speak of it. Why would no one believe him that it was his fault, he had constantly been pushing Odion away and making mistakes that hurt Odion. He wiped frustrated at his eyes and gave Avinea a small smile. “Alright, alright,” Lani croaked and continued whipping his eyes struggling to dry his eyes and stop his tears.

He squeezed her hands as she spoke and shook his head as though he were trying to shake a horrible taste from himself. The more she spoke the more memories barraged his skull and the tears threatened to start again. A great deal of pressure grew behind his closed eyes as he struggled against the floodgates. She spoke of love and his heart throbbed with sorrow then the sorrow waned and through his pain came anger. Odion didn’t love him. They were both liars. Odion had convinced Lani that he loved Odion in return. “I’m a fool he tricked into loving him.” Lani snapped with a snarl, an expression not directed at Avi but at himself. But Avinea continued and the anger quickly gave way to sorrow and desperation. “If he loved me why did he leave me? Why isn’t he here?” Lani dropped his head again realizing he knew the answers. Lani was a liar and he’d lied to Odion one too many times. He didn’t want to accept that Odion had really loved him. “Oh god, I’m sorry Avi, I pushed him away. I lied to him. And he just returned the favor.”

Tilting his head back up at Avinea Lani shook his head, not understanding. “Why aren’t you mad?” He asked perplexed, it was Lani’s fault that Odion wasn’t here. He couldn’t accept it wasn’t his fault. If he hadn’t lied to Odion, Odion would still be here. But then Odion tossed him aside so easily, could Odion really have loved him at all? Love was a lie. It was all a lie. He had let someone in and been burned. He wouldn’t let that happen again. He just wanted to be back to normal. Tears leaked out his eyes and Lani wiped them away angrily. How could Avi be proud? He’d hurt her best friend and her best friend was staying in Europe. It may have all been lies but Lani had still loved him. “Let it all out.”“I miss him, Avi,” Lani said the honesty of the statement broke through the icy barriers he’d built around his heart and the wounded organ throbbed with pain. “I miss him so much.” Adrianna and Shapiro didn’t know Odion like Avinea did. Avi knew all of the good and beautiful things Odion could do, and she knew the bad as well. Tears slipped out and he fell against Avinea unable to hold it together. He hugged her. "Thank you."

[Avinea Jale]

Avi smiled softly as she looked at Lani. He was gonna be all right, she would have to make sure of it. IT was as if one of the kittens had gotten hurt. She would go to the ends of the earth for her charges, much less her friends. As of right not Lani was one of her charges. She wasn't gonna say that it was gonna be easy, because there was no way it hell it was. Instead she was going to console the crying boy in her room. Somehow she would get through with this. She didn't have time to deal with the fact that Odion wasn't coming back. She could deal with it on her own. It wasn't as if it was the first time she had been left, and it wouldn't be the last. Right now she just had to suck it up and deal with it.

How else was she supposed to act. This is who Avi was. She may be loud, brash, abrasive and most certainly talkative but she cared about those who were her friends, and her family. Avi was the sort to protect and care for anyone who she considered family. It didn't matter how Lani had gotten to be her family the fact still stood that Lani was her family. She thanked Odion for that at least. It was true that this might be viewed as naive and/or innocent but it was one of Avi's moral codes. There was no stopping Avi when she got an idea into her head and she wasn't going give up on Lani either. He would see she was right, one way or the other.

To be frank, Avi would have hugged him even if he had pushed her away. At the moment Avi needed physical contact more then she wanted Lani to know. She was trying her hardest to hold in her emotions, Lani was having enough emotions for the both of them and she wasn’t going to let her emotions get in the way of his healing process. Avi grinned at the laugh, knowing she was somehow getting through to the blond, whether he wanted it or not. Avi was anything if not persistent. “Alright?” Avi smirked before continuing. “You bet your buns it will be alright. I’m here, remember? Things are all better now. Don’t you know I’m the center of the universe?” Giggling at the thought Avi shook her head before making sure he was looking at her. “You do know I’m not going let you be now right?”

She wasn’t gonna let him leave just like that too. Avi fought for her friends, even if it might be considered annoying. Avi gave a grin as she looked at Lani sighing, “There is no fool here except for Odion. If he couldn’t see what was right in front of him, he is the fool.” At the question of why Odion had left, if he loved Lani Avi sighed. “Sometimes sweets, the heart is a hard thing to decipher. He isn’t here because he doesn’t believe himself to be worthy of you. He doesn’t believe he is good enough, for someone who would go so far, who cared about him enough to give him a reality check.” Avi tilted her head contemplating the thought. Avi knew the anger wasn’t directed at her, or even Odion but she also knew Lani needed to vent, to someone at least. “He left because he felt he was inadequate.He wouldn’t be able to love you if he stayed, he probably thought you were better off.” Avi frowned shaking her head. “Just like him isn’t it, not taking anyone else’s opinion in check before he acts.” Sighing Avi rubbed her arm. “Sometimes Leaving is the only option if you love someone.”

Avi’s face turned stony and she shook her head at her own words. “No, that isn’t right, what he did was not, by any means, Lani do you hear me, Not by any means warranted or called for. He should have pushed back, should have come back. He didn’t. This is his fault. You may have lied, but that didn’t warrant him leaving.” Avi gave a huff before shaking her her head at Lani. “It doesn’t matter what you did or what he did. What matters is that he left and you are here, crying. This is his fault.”

Avi stopped talking the moment when she was asked why she wasn’t mad. Wind rustled around them and her lips went into a firm grimace, taking the time to think she shook her head. “ I never said I wasn’t mad. To be honest, I’m furious. That boy made a mess of his life and lost the one good thing he had, in the process— a family. A genuine family that loved and cared about him. It didn’t matter we weren’t of blood relations, we were family.” Avi sighed before flashing a grin at Lani. “I’m so fucking mad, I want to suck the air out, slowly, painfully, and deadly from his lips every time he speaks. From day one he knew I held grudges, and I am not going to forgive this, or forget. He betrayed me, my trust, and most of all hurt my family.” Avi smirked at Lani and tilted her head. “I don’t forgive people who hurt my family.” Whether or not Lani liked it he was a part of Avi’s family. “So I’m mad, annoyed, furious, sad, angry and most of all disappointed. Not in you, in him, in him and his stupid actions.”

The moment Lani started crying again Avi shook her head the anger washing out of her head. “I know you do, he was your world, it isn’t going to be easy darling, it is going to be so fucking hard and you will cry, multiple times, more then we should even cry at the thought, but you know what? It will be worth it. You will come out stronger then you ever imagined, and I’ll be there to push you along, and cry, and eat ice cream with you. I don’t give up on my family.” Avi grinned, and shook her head at the thought. “Sweet boy, when will you realize there is nothing to thank?” Avi pulled Lani in, having no intention of letting him go at any point. He was her family and her family shouldn’t have to hurt like this. Hugging him back she smiled and kissed the side of his forehead, “I would kill him if I could.” If it would get rid of Lani’s pain and hurt she would too. That was how protective she was of him right now.

[Lani Hunter]

At least there was one thing that Lani agreed with Avi on, he was going to get through this. The fact that he wasn’t already over Odion was what was killing him. He didn’t want to admit how much the redhead had meant to him, but then it was written all over his features. In the way he neglected to eat or shave, in the way his eyes were cast down and slouching way in which he carried himself. All the while Lani was so caught in his whirlwind of emotion that he didn’t think that Avi would be anything but angry and now that she wasn’t it was confusing the telekinetic. His heart lurched and his power roared striving to tear apart something, anything that would make the pain go away. He kept it well under lock and key when his emotion went haywire but even holding in his power started to hurt after a while. But all the while, Avinea was here helping him through it.

Lani gave a broken smile to Avinea, amused by her and despite his best efforts he didn’t feel so terrible anymore. It was coming in waves and Avi was helping to build up his ridge but that made the accompanying trough stronger as well. He wished she was right, he wished that everything was all better now. Another strained laugh pulled out before he sobered. He nodded in acceptance, he should have known better. Part of him wanted to run and the other part of him the maskless being that was Lani wanted to stay and wail until his voice was hoarse and his mind and heart were numb to all emotion. “I guess if y-you’re the center of the universe I don’t have much choice do I?” Lani said in an attempt to joke. His voice was thick with tears and he stumbled over the words and the joke fell rather flat as Lani’s smile failed to light his eyes with anything other than sorrow.

He cursed himself for his foolishness again. If he wasn’t so weak, if he was more like his father, he would be better able to hold himself together. No one would ever have to know about how much he was hurting. Lani bit his tongue. He hated to think of what his father would say if he saw him. ‘Suck it up! You’re a Hunter and Hunter’s don’t cry! You’re a disgrace of a son.’ That was without his father knowing how much Odion truly meant to him. Could he do anything other than screw up? Lani raised his eyes as Avi started speaking again. He shook his head, “Is that what he was thinking? It didn’t seem like it,” he replied sadly, “How could he think that? He was… he was my… He told me that he loved me!” Lani didn’t want to hear what she was saying because it gave Lani a glimmer of hope. Hope that Odion still loved him. Lani knew that despite everything, if Odion showed up right now Lani would be extremely tempted to take him back. Lani shook his head, “I don’t understand. If he loved me why doesn’t he want to be with me?”

That was the kicker, that was what made it Lani’s fault. He’d pushed Odion far and thin and when the redhead had finally broken he had lashed at Lani and cast him away like an old newspaper. Lani was a liar and he was reaping what he sowed. But Avi didn’t like the idea so Lani shut his mouth and listened. He wished he believed her. He hoped that one day he would, but the wound was too fresh, his mind too made up. He was dead set on the path he had chosen and it was taking him through brambles and thorns. The scratched and they snagged and Lani plunged through the vines without hope for the end. Maybe one day he would bleed out the guilt and he would be the heartless machine that his boss always wanted him to be. Lani shook the thought away with fear, he had that mask but for that to be him was a terrifying idea. “I didn’t mean for him to leave,” Lani said, “I knew he’d be angry but...” He wiped at his eyes, “So much for our ever after.” The echo of Odion’s voice in his head echoed the last words they said to each other and each struck like a dagger to the heart.

Lani braced himself as the wind picked up. He’d forgotten what Avinea’s power was, but there was no mistaking it now. He looked up at her warily, his power standing in his mind at the ready in case she was just biding her time. Swallowing back fear and worry Lani soothed his power back into remission, Avinea wasn’t like him, she would tell him if she was angry. And why would she try to help him? Because everyone lies, a nagging voice in his head reminded him, but he waited and listened and he rested assured, as did his power, that he was not the target of her rage. It was then that he realized how hard this really was for Avinea. How was she so strong? Lani paled a little bit at the image, he didn’t realize that Avinea was going to go homicidal on him. It seemed that if they were in stages Lani was stuck in sorrow and Avinea was stuck in anger. Despite the sorrow Lani did make a mental note not to anger Avinea.

“Family?” Lani asked his lips twitching in the general upward direction. How had he not realized it. In all of the people around him, he had formed an odd little family. His wounded heart throbbed a notch less. Lani was glad for Avinea, glad he could cling to her. His heart sunk with the thought of how long his path was going to be and how hard. When was the world going to be done with him? It felt like his soul and his heart were in shreds, how was he supposed to recover from that? He could, Avinea was convincing, he could survive. He could get up from this fall. Avinea declared him family and she wasn’t going to give up. Silently Lani pledged to do the same. In Lani’s mind the dragon coiled and spread its wing over Avi, sheltering her as she sheltered him. Lani pulled away from Avinea and shook his head. “Don’t do that,” Lani said, as if there was a chance she would. He dried his eyes and looked at the kittens seeming to feed on their collective anger and distress. “If leaving was his only option then can we really blame him?” And if he couldn’t be blamed and Lani couldn’t be blamed, who then was?

[Avinea Jale]

Avi wasn't going to let Lani give in, she just wasn't going to allow it. If she had to follow him everywhere, camp out at his place, even stand guard outside his room she wasn't going to let him give him. Not to this. Not when he was stronger than this. She wouldn't let him give up because that meant that she was allowed to give up and Avi, well Avi didn't want to give up, if she gave up then she wouldn't be able to pull herself back into a standing position. She would be too broken for this, and Avi was scared of that feeling more then anything. Lucy had done that to her before and now Odion had too.

Avi gave a small grin when she finally pulled a smile out of Lani. She didn't care if she was amusing him or not, as long as she got through to him, that was all that mattered to her.She smiled as she talked, holding his smile in her heart, using that as a motivating force. "No. No you don't." Avi smirked before shaking her head. "Everything," cue hand motions of stretching arms and rotating hands, " belongs to me." Avi giggled at herself and looked over at Lani. "You have no choice in the matter." She wouldn't let him think he had a choice, she was right and he knew it.

Avi really didn't like the look on his face and interjecting she smiled. "Look, You are probably one of the strongest people I know, even when you are devastated you are strong, you came to me, you told me. That warranted a strength, well one I wouldn't have." Avi gave a small smile before looking at him with eyes soft. "I admire you and your strength." At the question Avi looked down sighing. "It might of been, probably was." Avi stifled a grimace, forcing her face to smile. "That's right, you have every right to be angry at him. He all but destroyed you." If there was one thing Odion knew better then to do was then to mess with love. "He did love you, still does, just doesn't have the courage or strength to admit to it and stand up and work this out. This is on him, not you." Sighing at the last question Avi shook her head whispering quietly. "He believes that he isn't worth you, or that he isn't gonna be able to make you happy. He thinks that by staying away he will be able to let you have a normal life, a life where he can't hurt you." Avi shook her head with a smile. "He is just being a coward and an idiot."

There was no way in hell that this was Lani's fault. Avi didn't believe it and she wasn't going to let Lani believe it either. "It..." Avi made sure that Lani looked her straight in the eye before continuing. "It is not your fault. This is in no way your fault and I will not let you believe it is." Avi didn't care how long this took, she wasn't going to let him leave if he still believed it. She didn't care how long they were stuck in here, it wasn't his fault. Lani might have seen it that way but he wouldn't by the time she was done with him. Avi shook her head at the thought. "I know you didn't sweets." She smiled softly at his words. "You did the right thing, He is in the wrong here."

Avi chuckled as Lani braced himself. She wasn't mad at him but found it amusing that he was bracing. She was mad at Odion, and there was no way she was going to forgive him so easily. Many people forgot what her power was, many didn't even think about it, her personality overshadowed her power most of the time. Avi hasn't really gotten angry to this point yet since she has been at Hammel. All of her anger was trifling and small compared to the tornado that was happening inside of her head. The air outside was just affecting her that much so. Avi was pissed and wasn't going to let anything happen to him or her for that matter. She would protect Lani, whether he wanted it or not. Really, Odion should have known better after what she had done to Rhett.

Avi letting the wind die down Avi smirked over at Lani and nodded. "Yes, you are family." Avi had many many friends here but not so much a family. There was only a choice few who she ahd let in so much to be considered apart of her family. There were only a few people Avi considered hers and Lani was one of them. She wasn't going to let him forget it either. At the mention of what she would be doing to Odion she sighed. "of course not sweets." Avi tilted her head hiding her emotions behind her eyes, with a cruel smile. " I would never." At least not let him know about it. Sometimes Avi was darker then she let on. "I see why your logic took you that way." Avi wasn't going to comment more on the matter Lani wouldn't' like it. "How about we just blame the head, Odion's stupid thought process, and we will blame it on the heart and it's fickle fancies."

Yea, she blamed Odion.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani had never really counted on Avi as much as he perhaps should have. She had always been Odion’s friend in his mind, and he liked her, grew to love her, but Lani had always thought Avinea would defend Odion first. At the moment it was hard to imagine the terrible fight Lani thought was going to happen. He was expecting Avi to throw Lani out on his rump. He had been expecting to get the kittens and hightail it out of there before Avinea killed him. He had never expected to be so comforted. It was part of that disbelief that was making it hard to Lani to keep it together, as he had already felt like the world had shifted beneath his feet. Adrianna had said much of the same things, Lani was trying to believe it, he wanted to believe that he was strong. But when life seemed determined to knock him down at every turn the fact that he was still falling made it hard to believe.

Avinea was helping with her humor. As much as Lani needed to get over Odion he needed to learn how to happy on his own again. He hadn’t realized until Odion was gone how much his whole world had started to revolve around the redhead. He shut off his heart already and at the moment he was dedicated to keeping it that way. If he didn’t let anyone in then he couldn’t be broken up with again and he couldn’t be hurt like this again. It was better to not love at all then to let the possibility of pain in. Lani swallowed at the thought, despite the bold claim he knew he didn’t want to be alone for the rest of his life. But he wanted to be fixed, sure of himself before he jumped in again, if ever. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was so broken. “Yes ma’am,” Lani said giving her a small salute.

Lani’s heart squeezed a bit as she reemphasized her point. He wished he felt strong all over again. He shook his head at her, things in his life didn’t kill him but, “I don’t feel strong,” Lani admitted in a small voice his eyes casting down in despair, he just wanted to be back to normal. He closed his eyes and dropped his head in a mixture of shame and embarrassment. She shouldn’t admire him, not for anything. He was just as much of a coward as Odion was, constantly hiding behind masks and a veil of lies. The juxtaposition of their old relationship to now, love to not struck Lani like a blow. Odion had destroyed him. In more ways than one, he had scared Lani from love and he had shredded Lani’s heart on the way. Lani was angry. He was hurt and he was furious. But he was also sad and he was lonely. “He’s an idiot, why would he think that?” Lani clenched his fists and thumped one on Avi’s bed. The muffled thump did not satisfy Lani as much as he hoped. “How could he think I wouldn’t love him? I’m so… I’m not happy, how could he think I’d be happy without him?” Lani swore and drove the heel of his palms into his eyes. “He was… he was my everything.” He bit his tongue and shook his head again.

Looking up at Avi was a hard thing to do. She wasn’t going to let him and Lani believed her. She had that personality and the power to get what she wanted and she wouldn’t be told no. Contrary to Avinea’s statement Lani wished he was as strong as she was. As determined as she was. “I wish doing the right thing felt better,” Lani said with a half laugh before he sobered quickly. This was precisely the reason that Lani didn’t do the right thing. The reason that he stole and lied. Honesty was painful and usually didn’t end well for Lani. Lani’s honesty had only ever lead him to pain, and he realized it was focused on Odion. Something clicked in Lani’s mind and it struck him like a wave. His breath caught and the sickening feeling of drowning started. He couldn’t breathe and he had to close his eyes and focus on the fact that he was not drowning.

He looked up at Avi with pain in his eyes and anger twisting in his heart. “That was always it. God, I’m such an idiot,” Lani punched his knee in frustration. “Everything single time he pressed me for the truth. He pushed and he pulled the truth out of me. And every time I told him the truth we fought. He would get angry at the truth, why didn’t I just keep lying? We were happy when everything was a lie.” He shook his head, that was no way to have a relationship, but how had he been so unable to see it until now. They fought when the truth emerged and Odion always was angry, Lani wasn’t sure if Odion was angry about the truth or the lie but every time honesty came from Lani there was a fight. He pressed his fingers against his eyes and groaned at his own stupidity.

Lani took her hand and squeezed it. He gave a smile, that was true despite the sadness in his eyes. “Thank you, Avi, really,” he said his wounded heart pained and wanting to love but afraid to touch. Lani sighed now and mopped up his eyes. The floodgates had at least stopped for now and the fogginess of sorrow was slowly starting to be pushed into the back of his mind. “The heart is a dangerous place,” Lani agreed, sure he looked awful with his bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks, but Avi was helping and he could at least look at her and think without wallowing in sorrow. “Do you think he regrets it?” Lani wondered aloud, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bring this on you like this. I know Odion was close with you, I’m so sorry about this.” Lani was going to make it up to her someway, if she ever needed anything she need only ask.

[Avinea Jale]

Lots of swearing in this post, Thread just got M ranking.

---

Avi didn't let her friends hurt, not when she could try and take that hurt, twist it, and make it into something tangible and real that she could work with to make them happier. It would benefit everyone, for her to be happy. If she wasn't happy, well lets just say bad things happen. She couldn't expect anyone else to understand or go with what she held inside. See Avi had this theory. If someone was hurting, and she took that pain onto herself then she could help them. If she could help them then her being would be gratified and suggested to actually be worthy. She had missed both Lani and Odion during their vacation and she wasn't sure what was going to happen now that only Lani was here. If anything the kittens would be seeing her in the future, no matter what happened.

She just hoped that Lani wasn't too hurt that she couldn't take his pain. If humor was the way to go she would follow that route. She wasn't going to let him leave with the thought that he wasn't good enough, or was at fault. She wouldn't let him close his heart to her, not to her of all people. Odion should be blacklisted yes but not Lani, he needed to see that it was not his fault and that the world would move on. Avi wanted it to move on with him, not without. The world wasn't very good at waiting though. She smiled over at him, trying to keep her thoughts to herself and grinned as he replied."Oh my god, did you just yes Ma'am me?" Avi giggled and shook her head. "Damn right I'm right!" Smirking she nuzzled into Lani a bit, and smiled."Don't you forget it."

Avi looked over at her friend with a sigh and shook her head at his words. “I know sweetie, I know.” Taking a deep breath before she continued to speak however Avi carefully thought before she spoke, knowing what she was about to say would be important. It wasn’t that she didn’t think he wasn’t strong; she just had to think about how to convey this to stubborn Lani. Lani was almost as stubborn as she, and this had dealt a heavy blow to both the boy’s ego and self-confidence. She wanted him to see how amazing he was. Odion has seen it, and so had she. “The thing is, love can take the strongest and tear them to shreds. Love is a merciless beast and for all I care it can go suck a semen flavored lollipop. I won’t let you think you aren’t strong, it’s the live that is a level 1000000 super rare with fire breath and death stare. You are just shaken right now, it’s a temporary setback.” Avi grinned before looking at him with a smirk. “It’s my job to send a healing spell and some buffs so you can continue to fight.” Tilting her head Avi stifled a giggle. “Sorry I’ve been playing some Lord Of the Rings Online, kinda worn off on me.” Her eyes softened as he looked at her. “Because he is an enormous idiot that’s why. He doesn’t see what is right in front of him.” He truly was an idiot leaving this boy behind. She couldn’t believe how much Odion had messed up. Avi had known he was thick skulled but had not thought it was to this extent. “I…I don’t know.” Avi bit her lip before trying to answer. “I don’t have the answers Lani. I’m trying really really hard, because you are really really worth it but I don’t know why Odion is like this. I don’t know why he is being a big butthead. He isn’t thinking about his family… about us.” Avi slowly let her hands retreat so they fell into her lap as she looked down at them and choked back a faulty breath with a laugh. “Not just yours sweetie.” Lani didn’t really seem to realize that.

Avi had to give a laugh as Lani said doing the right thing was hard. “Sweetie. I have learned the right thing almost always hurts. It hurts because you are putting a part of yourself out there, for the whole world to see and look at.” Avi shook her head slightly, life was annoying like that. “I know though that when it goes right, goddamn it! It’s worth it. It is totally worth the pain and heartache that comes with putting yourself on the line so many times before. You were honest with me and I completely appreciate it. It shows your integrity and courage, as well as your strength. I will not let you do as you want and retreat from fighting because you are better than that and frankly mister,” Avi smirked before looking at her friend. “You know that.” Lani should know better than to question her, she was right and it was worth it. When putting yourself out there worked, well magic happened. She saw it every time she went home for the holidays, every time she looked at the worst part of her day and smiled. She was gonna face this hurt and she expected Lani to do the same, whether he expected it or not.

Good he was getting angry. He had a right to be fucking angry. Avi shook her head though at where his anger was directed. “Fuck no. No, you are not an idiot.”Avi frowned shaking her head. “Don’t get angry at you, get angry at him. It’s his fucking fault that you are like this. He should be here fixing his own mess but he isn’t and it has left you paralyzed. I will not allow you to be angry at yourself. You are so fucking much better then that. Do you hear me Lani?” Avi was angry for him. Angry at Odion, angry at the world at this point. “Because you trusted him enough to not lie to him, to let him in, no no, this is his fucking fault and I swear to you, I swear, no look at me,” Avi made sure he was looking at her before she continued. “God damn it Lani, I swear to you that if you continue this, this blaming yourself I will hunt him down, and slowly but surely take every last breath out from his lips, until all he can utter is his begging for forgiveness and mercy. Even then I won’t let him, I won’t let him get away with something as gracious as mercy. I will force him until he feels what you are feeling right now. You are more then he, so much more. You are not fucking stupid. He is.”Avi is a lot scarier then some people would like to admit. She holds grudges more easily and honestly? I would never get on her bad side, shes more dangerous then many realize. “You are not stupid, not at fault, and most certainly not in the wrong.” He would come to see that.

Avi breathed a sigh of relief as he started to smile. “There is nothing to thank lovely, I just did what everyone should do. No need to thank me.” Avi didn’t see anything in her actions that warranted a thank you. Lani was in the right here, no matter the situation’s appearance. Giving the tiniest of smiles Avi nodded. “It is a very dangerous place.” Much too dangerous for her. She was much happier just fooling around and teasing her roommates. That led to things and lets just say non-committal sex was fun. Avi shook her head once her mind was out of the gutter to hear Lani’s question. “The boy better regret it. I know he does. “ Avi’s silent thoughts echoed as she looked over at Lani, shaking her head at his question. “Well I’m used to people leaving me.” Avi eyes widened as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe she had said that out loud. Whoops. Avi wasn’t the one in the most pain here, this was supposed to focus on Lani. Crapzillas. “Ah err, nothing to be sorry about.” Avi hoped to quickly drop the subject and grinned as she got up stretching and going over to the mini fridge. “Want some ice cream?”

[Lani Hunter]

In many ways without realizing it Avinea and Lani were very much alike. When someone was hurting Avinea tried to take the pain on her own shoulders, when someone was hurting Lani focused on them and was able to shove his own problems out of his mind. Either way it was a way to avoid any pain that was their own, though Avinea’s was probably a little less selfish than Lani’s. He had to worry about something or he might just waste away. He had no purpose if he couldn’t help someone, or fight someone really. And now that the primary person he was trying to help and was his main reason to fight was gone and Lani was feeling very much like the world under him had fallen away. He tried to be strong, he tried to do as his father said and suck it up but it was only getting harder. It was too late for him he’d already sealed away his heart. Locked it up frozen it and allowed the dragon to swallow the key.

Lani might be well for a little while, he was over the greatest floodgate, now he was more in control he could fake and lie his way out of this, so he thought. He was thinking confidently in his ability to cover his face with a mask so slowly she wouldn’t notice and then he could go crawl into bed and not move for the next few hours. He was starting to get furious at Odion. Who was he to put Lani in this state? No one was worth this. This was not love. Love was a lie, love was a demon. Everyone fell prey to its nasty thorns and a few like Lani got snared and without someone to pull him out had trapped himself and he’d seen love’s true face and it was ugly. Lani forced out a smile and gave Avinea a hug glad that someone was here. Adrianna was here and Shapiro and now Avinea. How had he not realized there were so many people here that loved him. And whom he loved.

Lani looked up at Avi. But he’d already made up his mind. His heart had let in a few and it had let in him and it had been burned, scoured from the inside out until it shattered unable to maintain. It was not going to let anyone in. Lani was not going to let anyone in like that again. Never again. If that was love then it came at too high a cost. The more Lani listened the more he realized he and Avi were definitely in agreement about the love monster. Lani closed his eyes he didn’t think it was a temporary setback. His mind had made up and nothing could change that. The more Avinea spoke the more it made sense and didn’t. He didn’t know what she was talking about with healing spells and death stares but he understood what she was getting at. He wished it was that easy. He’d considered more than once looking into something to make the memories of Odion vanish. But he was starting to realize that Avinea would disappear with them, not only that but this version of himself would disappear as well. Well, perhaps the latter wouldn’t be such a loss but he didn’t want to lose Avi. Especially not since she was being so wonderful. “I knew he was. I thought he’d changed,” Lani mused sadly, Odion had always been an ass and a porcupine, but Lani had seen through all of that. He thought that meant something. He thought that he meant something. Lani looked up at Avi and he dropped from sorrow to guilty. Avinea was wrong, Lani was an idiot. He reached out for Avinea and hugged her needing her embrace as much as he wanted to hug her. “I’m sorry Avi. I didn’t even… He left all of us behind. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

If he hadn’t tried to help them Odion would still be here, he’d be here for Lani and he would be here for Avinea. “No good deed goes unpunished,” Lani quoted to himself. Well no good deed was worth it. He didn’t want the world to see him. He wanted to stay in his shadows and he wanted to stay well away from everyone. Shaking his head Lani was finding it hard to accept the kind words as Avinea poured them out, they were harder to take than the harsh ones Odion had spat out. Perhaps that was because Lani felt deserving of Odion’s and not of Avi’s. He wished he did know that. In the grand scheme of things so many things in Lani’s life took precedence over this moment. He’d lived through his sister’s illness, he’d lived through his boss and he was finally free. He had survived it when Adrianna and Odion had been kidnapped. And yet here he was unable to think about going on because one ass decided he didn’t want to work things out. “Was I really doing it for him, though? I made the deal with Declyn. I wanted him to like me. I thought… I thought it would help. I didn’t do anything that wasn’t selfish.”

“Who am I supposed to be angry at?” Lani snapped back ignoring the fact that it was not fair for her to be the recipient of his rage. “Am I?” Lani demanded standing and looking at Avinea. Was he better? He didn’t think so. She kept on insisting that it wasn’t his fault. “I mean I almost got him kill not once but twice because I wanted out! I made the mistake of letting him in. I was stupid enough to think that we were more than thieves.” Tears started to burn in Lani’s eyes again as he raged and he shook his head. He wasn’t sure how much she knew about Lani’s past with his boss but he wasn’t thinking straight enough to worry about the reference. “Look at me, I’m pathetic. This is not how a Hunter behaves.” He shook his head and turned from Avinea intent on ignoring her. She wasn’t having any of that. He turned back to her and glared unsuccessfully, for his face was tear streaked and his eyes were too puffy red to look anything more than sullenly miserable. Lani’s expression changed to one of worry and a little shock. Mental note: Most definitely do not piss of Avi. He deflated and slinked back to the bed and sank down into it the energy of his anger draining him and leaving him exhausted.

Damn Odion. Even when he wasn’t here Lani would do anything to protect him. “Please don’t Avi, he’s not worth it.” Lani’s mouth moved and he willed himself to believe it. Perhaps one day he would, but not today. “I want to stop,” Lani’s voice cracked and he had to start again, “I want to stop blaming myself, but I don’t know how.” People could tell him it wasn’t his fault until they were blue in the face but that wouldn’t change anything that Lani felt. Avinea was too humble, she was closer to the situation than anyone else and considering he and Adrianna had just barely made up before the whole thing happened, she didn’t know the ins and outs of Lani and Odion’s failed relationship. Lani agreed, he was very much done with love. Lani wiped at his eyes and finally felt as though they might be dry. He smiled softly at Avinea. He wasn’t sure if that was true but it was what he wanted to hear. “What?” Lani’s mind caught onto the statement and his brow creased with concern.

What did that mean? Avinea sounded like Adrianna now. Oh no, he was not going to let her think that. Adrianna had fallen into the same trap, she’d thought he would leave. They broke up, but Lani was still here. His mind latched desperately onto the statement and Lani felt alive again, finally someone else’s problem that he could help with. Finally something that would make his own problems get shoved back into the depths of his mind. Lani watched her and shook his head a little as she went to the fridge. “Sure,” he replied watching the girl so obviously trying to cover up a statement she’d let slip. “Avi…” He started and watched her rummage. He stood and pushed the fridge closed and demanding her attention. “Avi what do you mean: ‘used to people leaving’?” There was a fire in his eyes a protective instinct that had always dominated Lani’s mind and actions. He was replacing her problem with his now and like Avinea said, they were family. No one hurt Lani’s family and got away with it. But now that included Odion.

[Avinea Jale]

Avi wasn’t used to expressing her feelings. Instead she was more then willing to just hide it away, and deal with it when she went running. Lani needed to deal with his feelings though and Avi wasn’t going to stop helping him, even is she was hurting. She thought she could make this better if she could at least help him, even if it was just a little bit. It was selfish of her not to help him. That was how Avi was rationalizing this. Odion was a big stupid idiot, and would get what was coming to him. Right now though, she needed to deal with Lani. That was her top priority.

If there was one thing Avi cared about it was her family. They were most important to her, and nothing could deter her from that. Odion may have been an idiot, and he was, but he was still family. The fact that he left though, that was the hardest thing that she would have to deal with, in her own time. She couldn’t right now, instead she had to smile and put on an air, after all, she was pissed off, and Lani was the only one that really mattered here. Avi accepted Lani’s hug wholeheartedly, and rubbed his back, letting him know that she was here. She wasn’t going to go anywhere, if she hated any sort of people it was those that left without a word. She couldn’t handle that, not after Lucy, and now not after Odion. She had expected more out of the redhead.

Lani looked like he had made up his mind and if anything else that was good. She knew that he had come to some sort of decision and would accept it, no matter what it was, even if she didn’t like it. Calmly and patiently she waited for him to tell her what was going on. She wasn’t going to pry any more then she already had, and she knew that this was a sensitive topic for him. Frankly? She was tired of trying to rationalize why Odion had done what he had done, she didn’t know why, but she knew she wasn’t going to let Lani act like this was the end for him, in any aspect. That even included Love. Yes love was scary and hurtful and mean, but it was also really rewarding knowing that you cared about someone and they equally cared about you. Lani most certainly was not an idiot for caring about someone, oh no, Odion was the idiot for breaking Lani’s heart. “That’s just it sweetie, Odion did change, I know he did. He was just too freaking scared to act upon it in a good way. Before you...” Avi took a deep breath before looking towards Lani. “Rhett was horrible Odion wasn’t a good person when he was with him. When Odion met you, well let’s just say there’s a difference all right, a big one.” It wasn’t Avi’s place to go into details. Rhett was a completely different issue and if she ever saw again would punch him straight out. Sighing Avi smiled sadly as Lani hugged her. “It isn’t your fault love, I know what it’s like to feel left behind.” She patted his head before shaking hers. “Don’t be."

Avi had to smirk when she heard the line come from Lani’s lips. She shook her head and crossed her arms. “You know that isn’t what I meant.” She looked over at the boy and wondered how he had gotten so cynical. She wasn’t used to seeing him like this, and hadn’t expected it. Though, after what he had been through she would would be a bit cynical too. It just wans’t right what Odion had done and she knew that it wouldn’t matter one way or another whether or not she was going to stick by Lani. It was only if he let her. She could bicker and lecture and support him all she wanted but it wouldn’t mean anything if he didn’t want it. Avi looked over at her friend and smiled a sad smile when he addressed her. “Yes. You were, you were trying to remind him that he wasn’t alone in the world, that someone cared about him. Him going off on you because of that is his problem, not yours.” Frowning Avi flicked his forehead as she looked at him. “You aren’t selfish.”

Avi smiled as he snapped at her. Now they were getting somewhere. Avi’s eyes darkened with the angry emotions she was feeling. “Him.” It was plain and simple, he shouldn’t be angry at himself, or at her, but at him. Red was the problem here and Red would be the one in the wrong. “Yes!”Avi’s voice could be heard through the room and out into the small area that her and her roommates shared. She was livid and outraged at the thought that he didn’t believe in himself. “You are better than that. I wouldn’t be your friend if you weren’t. I may be friendly to everyone, but that doesn’t mean I am friends with or care about everyone.” Oh that little. “Fuck Lani, who do you think you are, you are human,you are my friend and honestly? I don’t care if you are a thief.” She shook her head and angrily pet the cat that was nearest to her, trying to calm down. “You aren’t stupid and I’m pissed at you for thinking that you are.” Avi was about to say something else when Lani started to cry again. Immediately the air went stale and stagnant when she stood up to look him straight in the eye forehead to forehead. “This is how a human behaves, fuck a preconceived notion that you have to behave a certain way. Fuck that. Humans are like this, this is the epitome of life, our emotions. “ Avi silently smiled before her eyes turned light again. “You aren’t pathetic.”

Avi gave a small cruel chuckle before looking over at Lani. “If he made you feel like this he is.” The air in the room started to pick up again, swirling the papers that were on the desk into the air, but slowly died down as Lani’s voice cracked and Avi looked over at her friend. “I know you do sweetie.” She wasn’t trying to upset him and instead was trying to make him feel better. Apparently it wasn’t working all that well. Instead it was just making him feel worse and that was not the point Avi was trying to get across. She sighed lightly as he caught her statement and shook her head. “It’s nothing all right?” She really didn’t want to discuss this and was even more convinced to drop the subject. She hoped Lani would follow suit.

Avi smiled when Lani affirmed the thought of ice cream. Ice cream really was the best cure to any mood and even if she didn’t want to talk about it ice cream would help. She was about to reach into the mini fridge when Lani stood and shut it before she could. Frowning she looked at him and sighed when he questioned her again. “Lani, I...” Avi looked down again before putting on a smile, hiding the sadness in her eyes. “Lucy, Stella, Estelle, Socks, Cole, Amber, Nick, Akane, Yue, Darwin, Ash...” Avi bit her lip before whispering the last name, “Odion.” She smiled slightly before moving Lani out of the way, and forcibly reaching into the mini-fridge. She pulled out two tubs of ice cream, “I’ve got Death by Chocolate, and Blueberry Vanilla. I recommend Death by Chocolate to be quite honest. Blueberry Vanilla is more for social interactions than these sorts of situations.” Avi was ignoring the situation and all of the names she listed instead focusing on the ice cream. She smiled as she pulled out two spoons and handed one to Lani with the ice cream tub. There were no such thing as bowls here, and instead it was put of the tub. With a slight glance to Lani Avi smiled brightly, only the slight hint of sadness in her voice. “I’m used to being left behind.” Avi sat down on her bed and cuddled with LJ as she held the spoon in her mouth. “How about we just have that ice cream now?”

If Lani were to look in Avi’s eyes he would notice that she wasn’t going to talk about this anymore. That all she wanted was some ice cream, kittens, and some good company. She hoped Lani would notice because she was tired of talking about this. Instead she switched the television on, and watched as I found the gown came on. “Wanna watch?”

**That is a wrap for Avi, maybe one more reply from Lani?

[Lani Hunter]

Sadly, Lani would look back at this moment of weakness and wish it never happened. He hated feeling so torn and hated more that he couldn’t hide it. Never before he had been so distressed that he physically couldn’t hide it. When Caroline was sick he had to fret in silence as his parents and Caroline needed him to be strong. He hated that one person could have this effect on him, one heartless person. He squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to hold it together. If only his telekinesis could work to hold him together physically. Lani didn’t know how he was supposed to trust anyone else after this, well it was simple, he wasn’t going to. There were people he couldn’t shut out and maybe that was what he needed. A few close friends he could be himself around and let everyone else flit around the outskirts.

Lani bit his lip and looked down at his hands. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He had put Odion in that situation, he had pushed him one step too far and that was it. It wasn’t the first time either, the last time Lani’s secrets came to light, granted Odion and Adrianna had almost gotten killed but Odion had left then too. Lani had tried to help this time and Odion had declared himself done with Lani’s shit. Lani didn’t blame him. He was furious and he wanted the redhead to feel how he was feeling, who knew perhaps the redhead was, Lani hadn’t pulled any punches. In fact he had intentionally pulled out the cruelest thing he could think of, now he couldn’t even take it back. It was over. Lani had assured that. He closed his eyes and held back more tears as she spoke.

He looked up at Avi, glad that at least on the spectrum of horrible people he wasn’t as far to the end as Rhett was. If Lani had one thing, he had that. He wasn’t Rhett and somehow he felt like he was lower. He couldn’t even begin to describe the fight they’d had because everything he thought about it he was stricken immobile with regret and sorrow. He nodded, trying to believe her and trying to take her words to heart. If he made Odion better… well it wasn’t like any of that mattered anymore. He hugged her tightly, he had never realize how hard it could be to have someone hold the other half of a heart and have them gone in a second. He didn’t answer her, he couldn’t, he was trying too hard to hold back the tears. He squeezed his eyes shut and through pure will power forced down the tears.

He smiled wanly at her comment and shrugged. Sure he did, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t interpret it the way that he wanted. Which in his current state was not a positive note. Lani had been in a slump like this before, but usually he was able to avoid people until he got himself mentally well again. If Avi could even believe it, this was an improvement from how he was a week ago when he’d first arrived. He hadn’t seen anyone but Caroline at first and it was a good thing he had her, she made sure he was eating and pushed him to pull himself together. If Avi hadn’t had the cats Lani probably would have put off seeing her for another couple of weeks, but it wasn’t fair to leave her with the cats. This was a good thing too, having to take care of something would hopefully give him a reason to get better himself. He didn’t say anything at first but she got his attention when she flicked him. “Ow,” he yipped, not out of pain but out of surprise. He huffed a little bit and shook his head. “We thieves, we’re all selfish.”

Lani closed his eyes and blew air through his teeth. Of course she would say that. Lani started thinking that if it were the other way around and Odion was here and Lani was elsewhere she would be saying the same thing. He shook his head, there was no need to ‘what if’ the ‘what was’ was hard enough to deal with. He blinked in surprise his head jumping a bit. Well, he could not debate with that kind if conviction. He narrowed his eyes, more in an attempt to hold in the tears than glare but it probably came across as the later. She did have his attention. It nearly blew off his ears but she had his attention. Gray eyes opened widely and he attempted a smile, well it ended up being less of a frown in the end but her words meant a lot and as they touched his heart they soothed some of the ache. It could never fix the core but it was a love shared between friends that helped ease the pain. She was very close suddenly and he swallowed. “Sorry,” he mumbled dropping his eyes. He wondered if showing this would prove he wasn’t stable, then he wouldn’t be a strong person. He would be that person that people assumed would break at the slightest strain. He breathed out what could have been a half hearted laugh. “Thanks, Avi.”

It wasn’t nothing, it couldn’t be nothing. Not when Lani saw an opportunity to take someone else’s needs and help them, not when that would allow him to shut his own issues down and lock them back in the archives of all of the horrible things he’d ever done. Lani sat down when she started listing names. He had no idea, he almost felt like he was complaining about a sprained ankle to a double amputee. As much as Lani wanted her to talk about it, she didn’t and well, both of them on the floor crying wouldn’t be a good end to the day. He gave her a smile. “I’m here for you too, Avi,” he said softly, leaving the offer in case she ever wanted to talk. Lani wanted, no he needed, her to know that this worked both ways. He let it drop there and nodded his head. “Death by Chocolate sounds great,” he tried to sound better but his voice was hoarse from crying. He agreed with a nod and sat next to her.

Darshay hopped up on the bed and gave a small ‘meow’ and he stroked her back. The cat pushed her head into his chest and curled up against him. Maybe Avi was right. Cats and ice cream were the perfect remedy. “Sure,” he said never having watched the show before. He opened the ice cream tub and held it between them. He scooped out a large spoon full and held it up as if he were toasting to her. Maybe things were going to be alright after all. It was just too dark to see that right now.