Hedgesville, West Virginia
Caspian Residence
Saturday, August 17, 1996
7:46 PM

Stepping into Rem’s bedroom, Jennie peered around. It was her first time inside his room, so her eyes were scanning around to what was around her. Like most teenagers’ rooms, clothing was scattered on the floor. A look of disgust crossed her face when she stepped on a pair of boxers.
“Do you ever clean your room?” she questioned.
“When I can’t find a CD, I do,” he mumbled as Jennie nodded her head.
Sitting on his bed, she glanced to her left to find a wad of tissues beside her hand. She choked on a gasp as she scooted wildly away from it. When the green-haired boy turned to look at her, she gave a weak smile.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said, waving her hands in front of her face. She looked to her right to find a bottle of lotion. Her face paled. “Or I was…”
“Huh?” Rem questioned as he looked at what she was staring at. His whole body turned to stone. Neither could say anything and both were very still.
This can’t get any more awkward…
A soft knock came to the door as Jennie turned to find the Rachael entering with a tray in her hands. The older girl had a pleasant smile on her face.
“I thought you two would like something to snack on while you hang out,” she said, placing the plate on the crowded desk. A frown formed on her face. “I really wish you’d clean your room better. You leave your clothes everywhere. And…”
Rachael turned to see Jennie sitting uncomfortably. “You okay?”
“She’s fine,” Rem interjected as he stepped in front of his sister, placing out his arms. “Thanks for the snacks. Give us some space.”
“Okay,” Rachael called out, hurrying out, “be nice to her!”
“Fuck,” Rem muttered as he turned around and sighed, looking back at the still stunned Jennie. “Okay, just…sit over there. I’ll clean up the shit.” He motioned toward his computer chair while his face was red.
Minutes later, Rem finished shoving his dirty clothes under his bed and stood. Jennie flicked a potato chip into her mouth as she watched him with interest.
"Well?" she asked, eyeing him as he leaned against the opposite side of the room. “You wanted to talk about something.”
"I have to know why," he stated, looking down to the ground. For a while he didn‘t say anything, but just kept his head down. Then he looked up, eyeing her with a questioning gaze. "Why would I kill you?"
"How am I supposed to know?" she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. She looked away, uncomfortable with his eyes glaring so intensely at her.
"I told you that I loved you,” he said, “and that I didn't want to hurt you. I love you. And don't want to hurt you. But I go ahead and kill you. What the fuck was going through my head."
"You had no eye," Jennie said, pointing to her own right eye. "At least you were wearing an eye patch. Maybe it was just a fashion accessory."
"I noticed that," Rem muttered, rubbing his finger at the side of his right eye. "It looked like I was in my twenties, but you looked like you do now. Plus I couldn‘t really tell if you were the Seraph or not. That‘s kind of hard to call…"
"Why would I not be the Seraph?" she questioned.
"I‘m sure by the time we‘re in our twenties, we'd have kids," he muttered, not making eye contact with her. "And that would mean you‘d lose your powers as the Seraph."
"Oh yeah," she whispered. "Wait, did you say we would have kids?"
"I didn't mean together," he snorted.
“If you didn‘t mean us together,” she replied, “you could‘ve said ‘you‘ would have kids. ‘By the time you are in your twenties, you‘d have kids.’ But you said ‘we‘d‘.”
Rem fixed his eyes on her. “You would have kids,” he said through his teeth. “You.”
“Anyway…” Jennie looked away, going back to snacking on the chips.
"We were at the Seidou Shrine,” Rem continued, “I know that much. I was there a few months ago."
"Seidou Shrine?" she questioned.
"It's the sacred grounds for the Seraph. Every June there is a festival for the goddess and I went this year with my dad," Rem said. "The room we were in was the lamenting room. Normally you mourn the loss of your family or lover. You were there for someone. I doubt it was for your parents."
"So you're saying I was there for a lover," she questioned. A smirk formed on her lips. "Guess since you were alive in the dream, it‘s not you."
"Yeah," he whispered, ignoring her evident insult.
"Look, it's just a dream," Jennie said abruptly, getting up while brushing the grease and salt from the chips onto her shorts. She walked toward Rem and placed her hands on her hips. "And I‘ve had plenty of bad dreams in the past. It‘s nothing to worry about, okay?"
"I just don‘t want to see you suffer like that again," Rem mumbled as he looked down at her. His yellow eyes darkened while they filled with sadness. "I remember my mom would have dreams every night that leave her crying. And I wished I could do something for her, but there was nothing I could do. I was just this little kid.”
"I'll be fine," Jennie said, grabbing a hold of Rem's arms lightly. "I'm strong."
"Sometimes being strong isn't the answer," he whispered, reaching out a hand. He touched her cheek and ran his hand behind her head, pulling her into his arms. His warmth surrounded her as they stood quiet in his room.
"Rem," she said softly.
"Hmm?"
"You smell good," she whispered, nuzzling her face into his chest as he smiled.
"Promise me that you won't hook up with Mirage," Rem muttered.
Pulling away from Rem, her eyes widened. His eyes were mellow as he opened his mouth to say something else, but she stopped him by her own words. "You were eavesdropping on Reiyl and me?" she questioned. "Don't you have any respect for other persons' privacy?"
"You are my responsibility," Rem said, reaching out his hand to take hers. "You are my life at the moment."
Her mouth dropped open as she ripped free of his grasp. "Just leave me alone," she growled. "I don't need your protection."
"Reiyl has discipline," Rem said flatly. "The others don't. They'll rape you."
"What?!" Jennie shouted.
"Demons are animals," he said, flicking his head back. His eyes cast a heartless gaze. "When they think your defenses are down, they will jump you. They'll rip your fucking clothes off and steal everything from you."
The room became stifling as Jennie felt her body become cold. Her eyes had a surprised innocence at his words. "What about you?" she asked.
"I've been laid," he said. "I'm not desperate. But I can't say the same about Mirage or that Kasei kid." He dropped his stare to the floor. "Stay away from them. Don't let them touch you. And when we go to school, stay beside me. I don't need that fucker Rowen grabbing at you. He'll take you in a second."
"Whatever," she muttered, turning to leave. She felt his hand grab at hers, yanking her back. His arms wrapped around her body as he twirled her about then slammed her against the wall. He leaned close to her face as he grinned.
"Can you handle a situation like this?" he questioned. "Do you honestly think that you can get away?" He snatched her hands, pulling them high above her head, and then crashed his hips into hers. "You can't fight me!"
Struggling to free herself, she tried desperately to kick out her legs, but his heavy body allowed no movement. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she felt his hot mouth against her neck. "Stop!" she screamed loudly. "LET ME GO!"
"Fuck you," he cursed as he bit at her neck roughly.
The door to the bedroom swung open. Rem glanced over his shoulder with a look of pure malevolence in his eyes. A chuckle escaped him.
"Back the hell off." The voice was commanding as Rem dropped Jennie with a smile.
"Well, if it isn't big brother to the rescue," Rem mocked as he looked to Riley to stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Both brothers had their eyes locked on each other.
Jennie slid to the floor where she shook out of fear. Her body felt sick as her eyes stared blankly into nothingness. She felt the warmth of hands on her face as she violently shook the hands loose and screamed.
"It's okay," said a calm voice as she looked up nervously to see Riley hovering above her.
Her eyes watered as she latched herself to Riley's neck. "Why did he do that?" she asked as she felt Riley wrap his arms around her gingerly. "He was way too rough."
"Maybe he can‘t handle being the leader," Riley whispered. He leaned his head down into Jennie’s hair and frowned. “But there’s no one else to take his place. Not this time.”
Jennie peered past Riley to find Rem leaving the room. A pain ached in her chest as she clutched a handful of Riley‘s shirt. "I want to go to my room," she whispered.