A/N: Did the romantic end of Chapter 10 catch y’all by surprise? Just wait till you’re done reading this =)

Chapter 11: Where to Draw the Line

If an individual is found responsible for the injury or death of another by usage of a weapon, said individual will be found guilty and taken into custody by the authorities –who have been given the right to apprehend the individual by use of deadly force, if necessary.

Order 23 of the International Code of Legal Weapons Ownership in its entirety

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“Listen, things were fun at first, but I think we should stop…”

“S-Stop? Why?”

“I…I feel that you’ve not been giving me your all, y’know? You say that you love me, yet you’re thinking of him. I know you do. You don’t even kiss me the same way that you used to. Our first kiss…it was so passionate, not like now…Now it feels so hollow…”

“No! No! I only think about you! Please, hear me out on this!”

“T….That’s enough, okay? It’s over…”

“No! Please, don’t! No!!”

Geez…isn’t there anything better to watch?

Jason crinkled his nose as he pressed another button on the remote, changing the channel.

“Hey! I was watching that!” Trisha said, rapping him once on the head. “The student lounge isn’t just yours, y’know?”

“Ow! Okay, okay, here,” Jason said begrudgingly, tossing the remote towards Trisha, who accepted it with a sour glare towards the spiky-haired boy.

Jason then yawned and stretched his legs, leaning back fully against the soft couch. He heard a girl bawling out rather uncontrollably and gathered as much that Trisha changed the channel.

“Never took you for the type that liked sappy love-dramas,” he commented, eyes closed. A nap was the only thing he could think about right now.

“Hey, I’m a girl, aren’t I?” Trisha asked in return.

Leon, who was busy typing away on his laptop, only chuckled slightly and stole a glance at the long-haired beauty.

“Oh yes you are,” he said with that chuckle.

Jason didn’t have to open his eyes to know that Trisha was narrowing her eyelids at Leon, a soft warning towards the boy.

“Oh, by the way…” Trisha said after she felt that Leon had enough. “Have you seen how happy Chris has been lately?”

“Yeah. It’s like a there’s been a total mood change around here. James has been on the rocks with Vivian these few days too,” Jason said. Bah, he could afford stay awake just for a little longer.

Leon, who decided to take a sip of his tea, choked at Jason’s comment. Both Trisha and Jason looked to see Leon coughing slightly, wiping his lips as he put the cup down.

He was stealing cautionary glances at both of them before hastily turning his attention back to his laptop.

“Leon,” Jason began. “What do you know that we don’t?”

The boy practically froze in place in an Oh shit…situation. Even Trisha leaned closer to listen in. This was going to be good, as far as she could tell.

“What? I was just surprised about this, that’s all,” Leon said.

He was a pretty random fella. There were times where he could easily lie his way through a tight situation. And then there were times where he couldn’t.

“I see right through you, boy. Now spill it,” Jason said, getting up. Forget the nap; he just scored a gold mine.

“Spill what? I don’t have any secrets to hide!” Leon said, shaking his head.

“Stubborn, eh?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. He then looked a Trisha once.

“I guess he needs a little persuasion, right, Trisha?” Jason asked, the girl raising an eyebrow as she hid her giggle.

“Damn you, Jason!” Leon hissed in a barely audible tone.

But the girl only called his name once and uncharacteristically smiled warmly at him. “Please tell me, Leon,” she sooth-said.

Leon almost flinched, his cheeks already beyond the shade of crimson as both Jason and Trisha then burst into laughter.

“Oh God! You should’ve seen your face!” Jason said as Trisha grabbed her sides, laughing appreciatively into her poufy armchair.

“I’m so sorry, Leon,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I couldn’t resist such a golden opportunity.”

“Oh-ha-ha,” Leon said sourly, burying himself in his laptop again.

“Okay,” Jason said, trying his best to stop laughing. “All jokes aside, seriously speaking here, what’s up between them?”

“I know just as much as you do on that matter,” Leon simply replied.

“Still stubborn? Trisha, care to do the honors?” Jason asked, Trisha clearing her throat, poising herself.

“Okay! Okay! Fine!” Leon growled, both Jason and Trisha stifling their chuckles.

The bespectacled boy sighed and inhaled sharply.

“Chris and Vivian are seeing each other,” he said so softly that it almost came out as just a whisper.

Jason gawked while Trisha merely blinked.

:”No way… she broke up with James to go out with Chris?” Jason asked softly. They were the only 3 sitting near the TV, but they’d rather take no chances, not in the student lounge, of all places.

“She didn’t break up with James. Not yet,” Leon said, Trisha raising her eyebrows.

“She’s two-timing that James guy? That’s a first…”

“Hey, this is college we’re talking about, remember? Almost all firsts start out here, good andbad,” Leon shrugged.

Trisha nodded, rubbing her chin. Sometimes that boy can have his moments. Sometimes.

“So what? Their relationship’s a secret?” Jason asked, Leon biting his bottom lip.

“Please don’t blab about this to anyone else, okay? He’s only trusted me with this info so far, that is, until you two came along,” he hissed at the end, both Jason and Trisha smirking smugly.

“My lips are sealed,” Jason said, even mimicking the action of zipping his finger over the small curve of a smile that appeared on his mouth.

Trisha shook her head. “I’m no gossip-girl, Leon. You know that,” she said, the brunette boy merely nodding.

“Now, this discussion never took place, right?” Leon asked, sitting up straight. It took the other 2 a few seconds to understand what Leon meant before they nodded in agreement.

“What discussion?” she asked, Jason chuckling.

Leon looked at her eye-to-eye as a small, cold smirk curled from the side of his lips. He was thankful to be friends with that girl. He could never get tired of her wittiness.

*

What was real, physical bliss like? Was it was warm, or as welcoming as this?

Chris could barely open his eyes. He was too tired from spending the entire day in classes, and he just wanted to rest, to let all the stress and worries ebb away…but most of all, he wanted to spend what precious little time he had with one special person. The very same person that was in his arms.

Vivian stirred from her position, nestled in Chris’s arms as they continued to lay on the soft green grass, the wonderful clear blue skies blanketing them.

The roof garden was the only place that no one ever came to, mostly because it only opened today. Besides that, it was extremely small, only large enough for the Agricultural Club to grow some plants.

Chris didn’t mind. He had this entire place to Vivian and himself, the wonderful flowers around them only adding more livery to the atmosphere. No one could catch them here. No one could discover the hidden love they had for each other.

“Mmm…Chris…” Vivian murmured, running a hand softly through his shoulders.

“Yeah?” he asked, blowing softly into her ear. She giggled at the ticklish sensation and brought herself up more, kissing him on the cheek.

Chris still felt new to all these affectionate tendencies, but he welcomed them nonetheless. “How long have we been up here?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulders.

The bespectacled boy looked at his watch. “Almost 20 minutes,” he simply replied, wrapping his arms around her.

“Huh, really? It felt like it’s been forever,” she giggled. Chris couldn’t help but agree. The time spent with her seemed to last forever, yet it wasn’t long enough.

Exhaustion nearly claimed him, but Chris tried his best to stay awake. The cold breeze was actually beginning to help him, for all the good it did.

Still, every time he blinked, he felt his eyelids get heavier. It wouldn’t be long before he lulled off to sleep.

Then a giggle brought him to look at Vivian. She was looking up at him, her eyes twinkling at him.

“You’re trying your best to stay awake for me, aren’t you?” she asked, her lips curling into a smirk.

Chris shyly nodded. “Mm-hmm…” she mumbled.

“Then rest, dear. I’m up for a nap myself,” she said, giggling.

Chris then smiled at her before closing his eyes, felling that sleep was beginning to loom over him. He stole one last glance at her, and smiled even wider.

Vivian was already nestled up again, eyes closed. Chris stroked her hair softly, loving the smooth, silky touch that he felt whenever he touched it. She was perfect in any and every way.

“Sweet dreams, my angel,” he whispered softly before closing his eyes, finally letting sleep have its say.

*

When Vivian opened her eyes, the first thing to greet her was a strangely orange sky. A smile worked up her lips as she remembered that when Chris said he loved her a few days ago, the sky was this color. Then reality hit her like an oncoming train.

“Oh shit! Chris, wake up!” she said as she got up to her knees, shaking him.

“Mm? Let’s stay in bed, Viv. I just got back from work and I’m so tired…” he mumbled into her lap. He was evidently dreaming.

“Get up!!” she yelled, tossing him off. Chris landed face-first into the grass, getting up a second later, spitting grass out of his mouth.

“What’s up?” he asked, looking left and right.

“It’s already sunset! Chris! We both should’ve reached home hours ago!” she said, scrambling to get her bag and his.

“Wait, what?” Chris asked, still slightly dazed.

Vivian then checked her phone. “Oh damn!” she cursed. This was a first for Chris. Vivian hardly swore. Ever.

“What’s wrong?”

“James called me 7 times and left me 5 messages…oh man, he’s bound to be flipped-out by now…”

Chris froze for a second. If James found out that both Vivian and Chris were going out behind his back…

“Viv, shouldn’t you break up with him already?” Chris asked.

“Not yet. See, I intend to make the distance between me and him get only bigger, then I’ll call it quits. That way, we’ll both be breaking up on mutual terms, get it?” she explained.

Chris feigned a long snore and then pretended to wake up. “I’m sorry, what?” he said, Vivian hitting him on the arm.

“You’ve got a real sense of humor, Chris,” she said with a smirk, getting up.

“One of the reasons why you’re so attracted to me, right?” Chris asked in return, smirking even wider.

“You dummy,” she muttered, thrusting his bag to him as they both ran down towards the parking lot.

“So what excuse are you gonna give him for missing all those calls?” Chris asked as he jumped 3 steps at once.

“”Meh, I’ll just tell him I fell asleep immediately after getting home,” Vivian dismissed as Chris chuckled.

“Speaking of which, need a ride home? I’m sure that taking the train-ride back home isn’t so enjoyable,” Chris measured.

“Really? Thanks,” Vivian said, kissing him once on the cheeks.

Chris couldn’t help but feel extremely proud of himself as they both leisurely walked over to Chris’s Vortege’.

“Wait, where’s your car, anyway?” she asked, looking everywhere as Chris took out his keyless entry. He remembered that he never showed her the car before.

It was strange that hardly anyone noticed that 8 sudden exotic tuners could appear among the students’ cars.

“Right here,” he said, pointing at the dark blue Vortege’. He changed the color once every few days just for kicks.

“Oh very funny, Chris. Seriously, where is it?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Chris only narrowed his eyebrows at her as he pressed a button, unlocking the car with a beep.

Vivian let her jaw drop a few good centimeters as she changed gawks between Chris and the car.

“You…you own one of these?” she asked, pointing at the car with an extremely surprised look.

“Yeah,” Chris said with a boyish grin.

“Cool! How could you afford this?” she asked, checking out the interior.

“Well…I know a guy who knows a guy…” Chris said, his grin now growing from ear-to-ear.

“Seriously? Whoah, this is so cool!” she said, already in the passenger seat.

Thank you, Leon…Chris thought happily, getting in to start the car.

The loud roar startled her at first, but left her in giggles mere seconds later.

“First time in a sports car?” Chris asked, driving onto the highway.

“Duh,” Vivian half-chuckled, admiring the inner upholstery.

“So does this cost more than a Ferrari?” she asked.

Hmph, you have no idea, babe…

“I’m not so sure,” Chris said. Okay, this was beginning to get sticky. If this went on he’d have to tell her the entire case with Leon and Koharu.

“Oh, okay,” Vivian said, then singing along to a song on the radio.

Saying I-don’t-care what you think about,

As long as it’s about me~

Chris smiled weakly. Even her singing voice was beautiful.

*

Eric never understood the concept of Combat Training.

Why were they given time to train to fight, when conflicts were discouraged altogether?

He then sliced through several metal blocks with Redeemer. He was the fastest sword-swinger in his year, so hitting fast, agile targets weren’t so hard.

“Hey, Eric, did you finish that 3D rendering project yet?” Leon asked, unleashing a full clip of his M4 onto several targets, Jason constantly yelling “No kill-steals!!”

“It’s taking forever. My dolphin now looks like an owl,” Eric said grumpily, Leon chuckling. “An owl? I don’t see how you can make owl out of a dolphin.”

“Hey, not everyone’s a genius at this, okay?” Eric said, jumping to slash several targets at once as Leon watched from below.

“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind,” Leon said as he fired his grenade launcher, blowing up several targets at once.

“Dude, I don’t think that was such a good idea…” Ken mused, supporting Brotherhood on his back.

“Why so?” Leon asked, Ken pointing at the smoking spot where he shot his grenade round.

He peered even closer, and the flinched.

*-Okay, here’s something minorly childish, but it fits: {/watch?v=QYtekizR8KA&feature=related}-*

“Leon…..” Jason seethed, coming out of the smoke with one anomaly. The grenade round did not harm him due to the magical protection, but it still blackened him nevertheless.

“Uhh…misfire?” Leon said, shrugging as he nervously started to back away.

“I’ll show you misfire!” Jason said, flailing Patriot dangerously at Leon.

“Yaa!” Leon yelped, running away from a fuming Jason.

“Is it just me,” Rose asked Trisha, who both were sitting at the sidelines. “Or is Training getting more and more…messy?”

A small boom followed as Jason casted a fireball at Leon, turning him slightly black as he continued to weave his way around the training course, some laughing at them.

“No, not messy. Just unpredictable with them around…” Trisha said, Leon dodging a lightning bolt that almost struck the girls.

“Leon!” both of them yelled. “What?! He shot it!” Leon growled, pointing at Jason. That took both girls by surprise. Leon had never yelled at them before, or glared at them like that.

Chris only chuckled from behind the girls. He was generally in a good mood all this while, thanks to Vivian.

“So you think that was funny, eh?” Trisha asked, leering at him.

“Yeah Chris,” Rose said, turning around as well. “Did you?”

The bespectacled boy only shrugged as he got up, putting on the best smile he could.

“My sincerest apologies, ladies. I’ll be taking my leave now,” he said, bowing to them as he walked away.

“What’s got him in such a good mood? It’s like both him and Leon just switched places,” Rose commented.

“Who knows?” the other girl replied, watching as Leon tried to deflect Jason’s attacks instead.

She knew the reason, but didn’t find it necessary to tell Rose. Maybe she didn’t need to know.

Trisha continued to watch the game of cat vs. dodgy mouse as Leon continuously evaded Jason until it was beginning to look rather boring.

Then Leon spotted something and mouthed something like Oh shit…

He then turned to stop Jason in mid-strike and told him something that Trisha couldn’t hear.

She turned around to see what the big fuss was all about. What could possibly be so-…oh. ‘Oh shit’ was right…

The last person she thought would show up in the middle of Training –did- in an extremely fuming manner as he stormed his way up front. James.

Chris spotted him, looked a little taken aback, and made his way up to greet him, and James merely stood in front of Chris, not uttering a word, as far as Trisha could observe.

Good, at least things would start on the right foot, eh? At least things weren’t getting out of control that way.

Then James suddenly punched Chris in the face, and all further hopes that Training would proceed peacefully shattered into oblivion.

No, things weren’t getting out of control.

It was just spiraling downhill quickly, before all pandemonium broke loose.