[center][b]On the boat towards Norton City[/center][/b]

 The boat ride had proven to be very shaky, much to Aaron's displeasure. He had been sick to his stomach since his encounter with Freddy and the gang that attacked him, something that Freddy had told him started the whole thing. Thinking back to his own smaller skirmish with Fred he had realized that he did have the urge to actually run the blade through his neck, a thought that now terrified him beyond belief. Aaron would never harm any of his friends intentionally but the fact that he felt such a strong desire to kill Freddy ...Aaron shuddered to think about it. The boat ran into a decent sized wave sending Aaron for a loop with his current inability to focus on any one thing at a time recently. The resulting spray from the boat's collision with the angry sea caused Aaron to groan in disgust, shaking the water off that now covered his cloaked frame. Having had enough of the sea and her seeming displeasure at the groups traversing across it Aaron decided to make his way to the galley, hoping that the ship had something more than the basic sailors food in stock. As he made his way down the cramped ship he saw several bunks that he couldn't tell if they were occupied or not, a light at the end of the hall caught his attention. Assuming that he had found the mess hall Aaron made his way through the cramped hall until he heard voices, two distinct female voices. Aaron was about to enter the hall when he heard his name spoken in conversation, quickly deciding to hide in the shadow of the door and peer through the window to see the pair inside
 
 
 
[i]"You saw Aaron. Does he seem like he's got any idea what we're all getting into?" [/i]

This was odd, Aaron thought, what could Emily possibly have to say about me? Aaron moved closer to the ported window in the door to see who it was Emily was talking to. His heart sank when he saw Olivia's face sitting across from her.

[i] “Do you, do I? I think Aaron knows that his impulsiveness will get the better of him one day. It’s my job to make sure that he doesn’t explode… prematurely,” She said with a slight doubt in her voice. “What do you want me to say, Emily? I already gave him what he deserved for that stunt. What else is there to do?”[/i] Olivia finished.

The twinge of doubt in Olivia's voice hit harder than any Xeno could, the fact that doubt even existed in her mind made him feel that much worse about what he did on the road. Aaron knew that his anger would get the better of him, and he worked very hard to keep it under control, but the fact that it caused doubt in Olivia, of all people, simply proved to Aaron that he hadn't mastered the abilities granted to him.

[i]"I don't know. But I know that what happened on the road was a chance sighting, nothing really serious. Definitely nothing we couldn't handle. If that's how he responds to something so small, what's going to happen when we're in a serious fight?"[/i] 

Suddenly anger found its way back into Aaron's heart, yes he made a mistake but what right did Emily have to doubt Aaron and his skills.

“Where is this coming from, Em? What do you have against Aaron?”

Olivia's defense of him brought a smile to Aaron. He expected it of course, Olivia was always defending individual members of the group, but for some reason it made his decisions just a little bit easier. 

"Nothing. It's not like that. But I feel like this means there are circumstances were I - we - can't trust him."

“You shouldn’t be talking like this, Emily. Aaron is our friend, who was also the friend of someone that I shouldn’t have to remind you of, and we stand by his side no matter what, Olivia said. “Let me worry about what he does, and let me deal with it,… you just focus on what you are supposed to be doing,” she finished.

"You said it yourself - you don't want anything to happen to him. To us. I want the same thing." 

“But… what? You think that Aaron is going to prevent that with how he is?”

"Not on purpose, but I think he could. If he gets mad, we have to rush in and save him. What choice would we have?" 

“… It’s an interesting point, but what can we do about it other than support him and each other? When push comes to show, we are all going to crack at some point – even 
you and me. Then we’re going to be grateful that he is there to take the heat.”

Aaron's hands gripped the handles of his swords just a little bit tighter, that was his goal in becoming a soldier, to be strong enough so that his friends wouldn't have to fight. Aaron had promised himself a long time ago that if something were to ever cause his friends to choose between living and having to sacrifice someone to do so, that he would be the one to do it. Aaron had never held his own life in much regard, especially since he met Sam and the rest of his friends, he had never valued himself as a person. He had decided then that he would live his life for his friends and their wellbeing.

"I don't know," Emily said. "That's true. Nothing we can do now. We can't leave him behind." 

Aaron felt his heart sink to an all time low, leave him behind, had he caused that much of a problem to his friends that they had actually considered to leave him somewhere while they continued the mission on their own. Aaron let his back fall back onto the wall behind him, letting him process what he just heard.

“It baffles me that you would even imply that… we would consider leaving Aaron behind. I think you should get some sleep, Emily. I’m going to try to catch some myself. 
Whatever problems we might run into in Norton City, we’ll deal with then, not now.”

Realizing that the conversation was over and that it might look bad if he was spying on the two girls Aaron quickly turned to go back onto the top deck of the ship, the sheath of one of his swords clanging against the door making it audible that someone was there. Charging through the doors that led to the deck Aaron't thoughts swam with the same anger as the sea. Not having anything else to do but brood Aaron took a pack of cigarettes that he had packed away in his armor and pulled out a bent one and used his own fire to light it. The long inhale seemed to calm him down as he slowly exhaled and stared out towards the open sea. 

Olivia’s intentions of procuring a few minutes of rest were interrupted by a slight metallic noise emanating from somewhere behind her presence. She cautiously investigated and followed the modest sounds of what she could only guess to be a person. When Olivia finally reached the deck of the ship, she figured that it had been Aaron that conjured the mysterious sounds. The slender brunette did not say anything at first, she just took a position beside the boy.
 
“Hi,” Olivia said and gazed towards the horizon, if ever there was one on the endless seas.

The sudden appearance of Olivia's voice caused him to jump, he hadn't expected anyone to follow him, much less when he decided to light one up. As if he had just remembered it, Aaron tried to hide the cigarette behind his back as if he thought that the act would hide the smoke that now billowed out from behind him.

[b]"O..Olivia...I mean,"[/b] Aaron saluted with his free hand, [b]"Captain Celestine."[/b] 

Aaron began silently kicking himself for calling her that, after the event on the road and the talk he had with her on the docks he assumed that was the appropriate thing to do.

Olivia smiled underneath her breath, however not enough to clearly show it. She tilted her head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of the boy standing next to her, adorable as he was trying to hide his indulgences. “You don’t have to call me that, Aaron. I’m still… just… good old Olivia,” she said and sighed at the horizon.

Aaron let out a huge sigh of relief, for some reason no matter how hard he tried he couldn't try to hide anything from her. He finally leaned back against the shoddy wall and allowed himself to enjoy the long inhale of nicotine as it filled his lungs. As he slowly exhaled he turned and watched Olivia stare out into the sea Her natural beauty accentuated by the squall around them made him appreciate what little time he spent alone with her. Turning his head back to the sea his mind once again drifted back to the conversation he had overheard and he debated on how to bring it up.

[b]"Liv...I just want to say that I'm sorry for the road. I...don't know what came over me..."[/b] Aaron let out an audible sigh as his spare hand went back to his hilt as his knuckles turned white, [b]"I wasn't strong enough and I let you and the entire group down..."[/b]

Aaron looked out towards the sea fighting back tears at his lack of skill on the battlefield and his lack of courage standing here with Olivia. Had he done what he truly wanted to say he would have told her how he was really feeling...but he had no spine so he changed subjects in his head hoping that she wouldn't notice the subtle change. 

Olivia turned around and leaned against the railing, placing the sea at her back. She folded her arms across her stomach and looked at Aaron promiscuously, and addressed him in a deep, relaxed tone. “Is that all that you’ve got to say?” She asked.

Out of the corner of Aaron's eye he caught Olivia turning to him and speaking in the tone she used and the way that she stared at him made him immediately blush a deep crimson color. With darting eyes dancing around his skull Aaron sheepishly replied with the cigerette hanging from his mouth trying to keep an air of false machismo about him.

[b]"Well...no...there was something else...something I've been wanting to say for a long time...umm...uhh"[/b]

Aaron unknowingly started twiddling his thumbs, a nervous habit that he picked up, while still trying to keep up his tough guy bravado. As he waited on Olivia to make the next move in the conversation Aaron couldn't help but run his eyes up and down her frame, once again falling into the struggle of trying to look away while not really doing a good job of hiding it.

During Olivia’s years at the academy different boys had displayed the same kind of nervousness around her every week when they attempted to ask her out. It was fair to say that she had gotten used to it, but this situation was a whole other ballpark; this was one of her closest friends who had also known Sam, and it violently stirred her usual confidence for a brief moment, as she would never have expected it to happen. The thought angered and excited her at the same time. She was always flattered when boys took an interest in her, but not when it was one of her childhood friends—brother and sister more so than anything else.
 
Olivia pushed herself off of the railing and approached Aaron, standing barely a heartbeat away from his body, tilting her head upwards to catch his eyes. “Then say it…,” Olivia said quietly, almost whispering.

Aaron could practically feel the pounding of her heart against his chest, her smell over-powered the smoke from his cigarette. Her whispering sent chills down his spine as he felt his own heart seemed to pound through the armor he was wearing. So many things were swirling around his head that he thought that it might explode from sheer overload. Finally he felt his heart sink into a deep pit, he knew that he wouldn't be able to actually say anything about his true feelings, so he said that only thing that could possibly come to mind.

[b]"Thank you for defending me when no others would."[/b] he said dejectedly, [b]"I overheard your conversation with Emily, I'm sorry for spying, but thank you none the less."[/b] 

Aaron looked into Olivia's eyes watching her facial expressions shift and change, his eyes full of sadness over his own ineptitude of his courage. If she looked hard enough she might be able see the true words behind his facade. He placed his palm lightly on her cheek, eyes filled with all of the love that he could muster.

[url= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stsFaf3A7Aw]*[/url]

Olivia rested her head in the boy’s hand that was caressing her cheek and closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened her eyes, the only thing she could see and hear before her was Samuel. The words, the voice, the warmth and presence of his body had engulfed Aaron’s. Olivia knew that it was a figment of her imagination, but one that she wished never to vanish. She placed her own hand on top of Sam’s/Aaron’s and embraced it while she had their bodies make contact—her head resting against his chest. The heart on the other side of all that flesh and bones beat faster than she could comprehend, and so did hers. A modest tear escaped the corner of Olivia’s eye and fell halfway down her cheek before it stopped at Aaron’s fingers. “I’m just happy that you are here…,” she whispered.

Aaron jerked slightly, he wasn't sure what was going on but the fact that Olivia had possibly embraced the fact of what Aaron was trying to get through to her. In a moment where rational thought was no longer a sustainable option, Aaron wrapped his free hand. dropping his cigarette to the deck and holding her tightly as he leaned in close to Olivia's ear and spoke softly,

[b]"Liv, I've loved you since we started at the Oakridge...I love you Olivia."[/b]

Infinite, boundless vistas of stars and galaxies flashed before her darkened eyes, deeply burrowed into the warmth of some presence which to her was alien, yet strikingly familiar. The words bounced and echoed within the depths of her perpetually obsessive mind; unsure of whom that uttered them and what they meant. In her heart, the words were spoken by Sam, to which she admitted mutual agreement and her partnership. However, in her mind, the words were spoken by Aaron, and therefore wrongly digested and interpreted as beatify friendship, thus she replied: 

“I know…” Olivia gently detached herself from Aaron’s embrace. Without meeting his eyes again, she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and slowly walked inside again to rest.