Roxas could tell that Ophelia was mad at him now. He didn't want her to be, but it was unavoidable at this point in time. She asked him immediately about his two tattoo's on his arm and back. "The one on my arm is from my last party, The Phantom Thieves." He paused for a bit before talking about the one on his back. He shifted slightly so she could see all of it. "This is what keeps Ifrit imprissoned. It'll go away if he's let loose, but I have to die for that to happen." He really didn't know any other way to get rid of Ifrit. At least not any way that was safe. He turned around to look up back at her and grabbed her hand lightly. He locked eyes with her for a little while before he started to hear voices. Two of them belonged to Morthos and Jax. There were two more though that he didn't know. The must be the parents because Morthos was sucking up to the woman.

Ophelia went over to pull the curtain to the side and the male voice greeted her. She walked over to hug him and Roxas smiled a little bit. It was nice to see when people got along with their parents. At the same time it made him feel loanly sense he didn't have any parents of his own. In the second that the two of them hugged, the mood was ruined by her mother. Ophelia greeted her as well only to get a snobby responce back. She introduced Roxas to her family and he waved slightly. "Hello." He said as nicly as he could. "I'm sorry for the indecency." He smiled a bit. That didn't seem to matter because the mother started to already talk down to Ophelia. It wasn't nice of her to do that. She had no idea how the two of them met or how all this came to be. Regardless the comment pissed him off. The two of them bickered for a bit before the father said to see if they all could leave. It seemed like it was going to be a rough night for Roxas and Ophelia. Not but seconds of meeting and she already hated him. "Ophelia could you please pull the curtain back?"

As she did he started to get out of the bed nd find him shirt. When he got up he walked over to Ophelia before putting his shirt on. "I know you're angry at me right now, and I'm sorry. I know exactly what you're angry about and I know you are going to ask me why I haven't moved on. I know I should have by now, but I just haven't and having him in my head doesn't really help. I know that sounds stupid, but that's how it is." he put his shirt on then hugged her. "I love you Ophelia. I promise I'll try to get over it all and with you in my life now I think it will be easier. I also promise to tell you everything about my past after tonight." He brought his hand up to her cheek then kissed her gently. Regardless of all the blood he didn't care. He loved her and would do anything for her. after he pulled away he took her hand again then smiled. "I can see that you and your mother don't get along. Don't worry, I'll have your back all night. No one messes with you while I'm around. They have to go through me first." He smiled again then pulled the curtain back revealing the others getting ready as well.

Jax shook her head as Morthos reached over and shook her mother's hand after he chatted with her father,"I cannot believe this is happening."

She was just about to interrupt when Ophelia moved the curtain aside and came into the room. Jax braced herself watching patiently as Ophelia and her mother had their retort. She could immediately tell she would have to put on her big sister boots on tonight. Jax looked over at her dad who was staring daggers towards Roxas, before suggesting that they sign out of the doctor's office and go for dinner. She breathed out lightly, "I will go see what I can do with the doctors and give an official statement to the police, but if you guys start pulling shit with Ophelia or any member of my team, we will head back to the hotel understand!"

She ended her statement looking at her mom, but it was her dad who spoke, "Don't speak to us like that Jax. We are your parents and we deserve respect. That being said..we will try to behave if that young man can keep his hands to himself, right sweetie?"

He leaned over kissing his wife on the cheek, watching Ophelia's curtain angrily. Jax rolled her eyes before turning to Morthos, and pulling him aside, "Look I have to go deal with the cops and the doctors, if you keep my dad and mom busy so they don't kill Roxas and piss off Ophelia enough to run out of here screaming, I will owe you big."

She looked back at her parents before whispering in his ear, "Anything you want."

She gave him a small kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. Jax's dad walked over giving Morthos a big smile, "So how is my future son in law? Morthos is it? Some very interesting colouring you got there? I haven't come face to face with someone like you since 83. Met a guy named Griswald who was part demon part goat. He married a centaur named Angela. Do you remember Angela sweets?"

He saw her disdainful look and shrugged, "Angela came over with dirty hooves and the missus here hasn't forgiven her for it since." He paused looking Morthos over and clapping him on the back, "So...are we gonna get any grandkids soon! I really miss having little ones around."

Jax told him what she had to do and what his job would be while she was gone, "don't be too long," he called out as she walked away. Her mother seemed like she wasn't easily impressed, fair enough, as long as they both liked Morthos fine that was what he cared about. Right now her parents seemed to dislike Roxas a lot more than Morthos, he couldn't really control that though. He had to keep them occupied, so he figured some conversation would be good. The dad seemed like the more sociable one so he figured he'd be talking to him. [color=red"Ya, not many Tieflings around. We used to be a mighty empire, but all good things come to an end I suppose."[/color]

The comment about grandchildren took him by surprise, Morthos just chuckled to play off the comment, "I think it might be a bit early to be thinking of grandchildren. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Jax mentioned you're an Earth Shaper and you use a giant hammer when you fight? I think that sounds much more interesting than little old me. He turned to the mother, not wanting her to think he was being disrespectful and ignoring her, "and Jax never mentioned your magical abilities but I would be interested to hear about them. In this situation luckily Morthos' thirst for knowledge was coming in handy, people loved talking about themselves.

The officer spoke evenly, "We have apprehended the last few wolves, but we weren't prepared for the clean-up."

Jax breathed out, "Honestly..neither were we. I was expecting a few wolves, not a bloody pack."

The officer laughed, "Well on behalf of the town, we appreciate the help from SPA."

Jax felt a warmth move over her, "Thank you. My sister and I are locals here so we are honored to come back and help where we can. As well as the rest of the team!"

After her final goodbyes with the doctors and the officers, she headed back towards the room to hear her father going on about his war triumphs eagerly, "Then I lifted up the hammer and brought it down to create this crack in the earth. It was like the power of Thor came over me.."

Jax barged in, copying him word for word, "And your mother couldn't resist! I love that story! So we are all good to go to the house if you guys are ready."

-----------------------------------------

After a slightly awkward drive to the house, where Jax fell asleep again on Morthos this time, they headed out towards the woods where they came to a small dilapidated cottage. It wasn't a large home but it was cozy and had an air of an old-world feel. Jax woke up after the car stopped and she sat up stretching slightly, "Oh...sorry. Told you. Travelling tuckers me out. DAD STOP WITH THE LOOK! WE ARE JUST FRIENDS."

She hopped out of the car, rolling her eyes as she looked over at mom, who came up to her slowly, "You really should consider him, Jax. You aren't getting any younger and we don't want to see you go back to the way you were after..you know."

Jax looked back at the group then to the ground, "I know. I will pick someone, eventually...I promise. Someone strong."

Jax's dad came up and slapped her on the shoulder, "Let's not think of that for now. Mom's planned something delicious for dinner."

Jax followed her parents inside looking over to Ophelia who looked like she was going to be sick. She let the boys go ahead of her and hung back giving her sister a look, "It's gonna be fine. All of us have your back she won't say anything while we are here. I promise.
Suddenly she heard laughter and headed into the house, looking around in abject horror, at the pictures staring her in the face. Ophelia's sad yet withdrawn expressions in small pink tutu's, beautiful dresses and recital awards on the mantel. Those were beautiful and right beside them were pictures of Jax with braces, Jax at fat camp, and the trophy Jax won for eating 22 corndogs at the fair. Her favorite picture was both her and her sister one Halloween as a princess and a cowgirl. Ophelia looked like she was on the verge of tears and Jax was laughing so hard that one of her cowhide vests was going to pop off. Jax spoke evenly, "I...I can't believe you still have these...treasured moments up for the world to see."

She looked over at Morthos with three different shades of red colouring her cheeks,"Um...so..welcome to the house!!!"

Roxas and Ophelia emerged from behind the curtain as Ophlelia's father was talking about being in a war. He stopped only to glare at Roxas for a moment before looked back at Morthos and talking again. It did't really bother him at all due to the fact that he was used to glares and people not liking him. The father wasn't even the one he was worried about. Ophelia's mother on the other hand just ignored them. It was almost like she couldn't be bothered to give them a lick of her time. Whatever, this didn't bother him at all as long as Ophelia was okay that's all that mattered to him. He wasn't scared of her or anything, but he was afraid of what might happen with her and Ophelia.

Jax came back and interrupted the end of the story and said that it was all good for them to leave. Good it was starting to get uncomfortable with the two of them there. As they all left, Roxas opened the door for Ophelia to get in the car then proceeded after her. Even though the seats covered their hands, he didn't want to start anything so he just stayed as close as he could to Ophelia. Jax was out right away as usual. Morthos probably loved that she was laying on him this time. The thought made Roxas laugh to himself and Ophelia looked over at him as he did with a questioned look. He looked down at her and smiled shaking his head a little basically saying 'it'd nothing.'

The ride wasn't to long and Morthos did his best to keep the parent's attention, but the father would occasionally ask Roxas a question or two every so often. Once they arrived, Roxas got out of the car then helpped Ophelia out as well. It wasn't difficult or anything to get out, he just wanted to be a gentleman. The six of them entered the house and almost immediately Roxas' eye's widened. All the Photos their parents had up of the two of them almost made him feel jealous. Baby Ophelia was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen and he would definitely bring it up later. As much as it made the girls blush, Roxas just smiled in aw. 'This must be what it's like to have parents.' He thought to himself then turned towards Ophelia and smiled.

Jax came back as her father was finishing his story, it must be one of his favourites as she knew the ending. They left the hospital and took a drive that felt all too short since Jax was sleeping on him and Morthos was loving it. It felt nice to know Jax was comfortable enough with him she could fall asleep on him. Her dad gave her a look when they finally arrived which she scolded him for, Morthos had yet to correct her father on their relationship status because he wanted it to get to that point.

Jax hung back a moment to have a word with Ophelia as they boys and the parents entered the house. Her dad laughed, claiming the photos weren't placed out in the open on purpose, Morthos wasn't sure how much he believed that but he went along with it. He mainly focused on the pictures of Jax, she had definitely slimmed down over the years, she used to be a little chubster. When she came in Morthos wasn't sure if she was more angry or embarrassed, she welcomed him to the house whilst going through shades of red. "Aww, don't be embarrassed, I think the pictures are cute," he got a bit closer to the trophy so he could read it, "corndog eating champ, huh? You know I don't think I've ever had a corndog. Just haven't gotten around to eating carnival food, are there any other pictures you suspect are around that you want to make sure I'll never see?" He was joking of course, she shouldn't be so embarrassed, he had some back pictures, except being a lordling some of his pictures were actually paintings which were arguably worse.

Whatever happiness Roxas felt as he looked at the Photos left him as soon as dinner stated. Ophelia's mother almost instantly, as if perfectly rehearsed, started to give Ophelia a hard time. She made Ophelia run and go change into something more "fitting." It was crap though, Ophelia was beautiful no matter what and when she came back in her new dress, Roxas almost fell out of his seat. She was stunning. In that second everything around him was gone and it was just him and Ophelia. It was almost like he was falling in love with her all over again.

The moment was ruined quickly though by Lenora. All she could say was that it would look better on someone else. This pissed off Roxas to no end. Ophelia looked beautiful and all she could do was rag on her more. Weren't parent's supposed to love and support their kids? It wasn't over though. Once Ophelia sat back down, Lenora started to say how shit Roxas was. This wasn't a surprise. Mostly because it was all true. He was taited and fuck up. Nothing was going to change that. He had a demon in his head and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Roxas wanted to say something, but decided it was better not to. She wouldn't let her off the hook about him though and for a moment Roxas reached in his pocket for his mask. 'No one talks to her that way.' He thought to himself, getting more and more annoyed. So much for pleasing the parents.

The argument continued on and Roxas was on the verge of exploding. How could someone hater their own child like this. For a moment there, he felt like he should have let Ophelia kill him that night. Maybe things would have been better off for her if he had. The thought of that sent a shiver down his spine. Right as he was about to open his mouth, Ophelia spoke up. What came next surprised even him. She defended herself nicely and it seemed to take her mother off guard. When she was done, he smiled up at her, proud of what she was saying. When she was finished though he still didn't feel any different about her killing him the night they met. There was a moment of silence then Roxas excused himself. He took Ophelia by the hand and walked into the living room away from the others.

She looked at him confused for a while. Probably wondering what the hell. Roxas waited for a moment before speaking making sure the others weren't listening. "Do you regret not killing me?" He said low, but enough for her to hear. "I don't want you to get crap because of me. I'm sure she's always like that, but she is right about one thing. I'm broken goods. I'm a ticking time bomb and there's no way to stop me. I don't know how to make it go away and I don't want to drag you down with me. You should be bonded to someone better than me." He said meaning every word. He didn't want to lose the one good thing in his life, but he would do anything to make her life better and happier. If that was without him then so be it. "I'm proud of you though. I'm happy that you got to stand up for yourself to her." He smiled at and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "That dress looks beautiful on you by the way. I don't think anyone else could pull it off." Deep down Roxas felt like he was going to cry. A wave of different emotions were flowing through him.

[color=39b54a][/color][color=39b54a][/color][color=00746b][/color]Jax elbowed Morthos, "No. I'm sure you've seen the worst." She gave him a small smile before turning towards the kitchen her thoughts on the half-naked teenage boys that were still probably up in her bedroom and the pictures from after her...experience. She really hoped mom burned those, "MOM! do you have any wine?"

Her mother motioned to the dining room before turning to the others about starting dinner. Jax came back with the bottle pouring herself and then motioning to Morthos and Roxas if they wanted some. When she served whoever wanted one she filled her own glass to the top, keeping the bottle close as she started to eat. It wasn't long before she was back in high school again, moving her food around her plate listening as Mom started to berate and belittle Ophelia with her father remaining awkwardly silent. Jax ate quietly, holding her tongue as her mom just harped and harped on her. Jax looked down at her own clothes as her mother reprimanded Ophelia on her outfit. If anyone was coated in blood she would make the top of the list but of course, Lenora didn't mutter a word to her about it, just Ophelia. Always Ophelia. She reached for her glass sucking back the wine in gulps before Lenora started to talk about Roxas. Jax placed the glass down preparing to defend her sister and Roxas for that matter for the hundredth time when suddenly Ophelia went off. Jax sat back down, watching in amazement as Ophelia for the first time stand up for herself against her mother. Her father, on the other hand, was starting to stand up to say something, but Jax placed her hand on his arm leaning in quietly and whispering, "No. You chose to be silent. Then be silent."

When Ophelia was finished Jax stuck her fork in her food and finished her meal before Roxas took Ophelia into the other room. After Lenora remained silent for a few more minutes she started to speak quietly, "I do care...I love you both. You know that. Right, Jax?"

Jax stood up and raised an eyebrow letting out an exhausted sigh, "Yes. I am aware of that fact, but I'm sure Ophelia can't say the same. I just don't understand why you are so hard on her. All the time!"

Lenora crossed her arms looking at Jax impishly, "Because I expect her to do well. I expect her to strive to be as best as she can and to make smart, intelligent choices. She needs to be better than us and to pick better people to be around."

Jax looked down at her hands," Roxas is a good person. I admit that that is hypocritical coming from me. Shut it Morthos, but he is. He has been a perfect gentleman and I along with Ophelia am honored that he is on our team. You talk about him being trash...that is such a joke when the only trash I see is your attitude."

Suddenly Dad stood up, "That's enough Jax. I think your mother has heard enough."

Jax turned around, "Oh yeah she has had enough, but you haven't heard anything yet. YOU JUST SIT THERE AND LET HER GET AWAY WITH TREATING PEOPLE LIKE TRASH AND YOU HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING. YOU AND I ARE NO BETTER THAN HER, BECAUSE WE SIT BACK AND LET IT HAPPEN..."

Dad spoke up,"ENOUGH JAX. You think being a parent is easy. You think it's easy watching one of your daughters grow up scared and shy from the world while the other was..."

Jax growled,"WHAT? YOUR OTHER DAUGHTER WAS WHAT?"

Her dad spoke evenly his expression blatant,"Broken."

Jax paused the room going silent, as she pulled back her eyes turning to the wine bottle, "I wasn't broken.."

Her dad spoke evenly,"How else would you describe it, Jax. You wouldn't eat, you wouldn't speak, you completely isolated your sister and you kept cutting yourself and drawing blood on the walls. Your mother and I were so scared we would wake up and you would be dead. Do you think that was easy for us to watch? DO YOU THINK IT WAS EASY FOR US TO SEE THAT WE COULDN'T PROTECT YOU. You won't even tell us what happened."

"ENOUGH...ENOUGH...enough." Jax was obviously not handling this situation well, her body shaking as she shoved her hands in her hair,"NO. THIS ISN'T ABOUT ME. THIS ISN'T ABOUT WHAT I WENT THROUGH. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. Okay...I'm...fine...I...I'm going to go check on Ophelia."

She headed towards the kitchen, pausing in the hallway to breathe her eyes closing as a shiver moved up her spine. Control yourself. Control yourself. It's not a time for you to fall off the wagon. Roxas and Ophelia need me to be here for them. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and go make sure they are okay. That's what you do. Make sure everyone's okay. She opened her eyes and pushed back her hair aand her emotions before walking in on Ophelia and Roxas, an overly-confident fake smile slapped onto her face,"Hey...Are you guys alright? That was intense." She walked over placing her hands on Roxas' shoulders, "Roxas don't listen to her...she's nuts. She doesn't even know you. Remember how I felt when I first met you. Now I think you're semi-okay." She stuck out her tongue before turning to her sister, "And you...I have been waiting years for you to crack. I can't believe you just said that to mom. Holy shit!" She gave her sister a hug before speaking evenly,"Okay. I am going to go save Morthos from the others. You guys take your time before coming back. Promise we don't have to stay long."

She headed back into the dining room, putting a hand up to silence her father, "They are going to be back in a minute. So let's just finish dinner and not get into it." She moved back to her seat, really fucking exhausted now and turned speaking solely to Morthos,"So...uh...how's the food?"

This was easily the most awkward family dinner Morthos had ever been a part of....well there was that time with his uncle but that wasn't nearly as bad as this. Morthos just kept his mouth full of food and didn't say anything, he really didn't want to get involved. Then Jax left him alone with her parents, which was even more awkward than when she was fighting with them. Luckily they didn't try to talk to him, the both just seemed kind of dumbfounded by everything that just happened. Luckily Jax wasn't gone long and came back to ask him how dinner was, "it's good, in my hometown deer is kind of a delicacy, so this is really nice to have."

Morthos spoke in a friendly tone but he put one of his hands under the table and did a flourish to cast ghost sound directly in Jax's ear so only she could hear. Just two simple words in a fairly serious tone, Talk. Later. He gave Lenora a friendly smile, "I believe I'm supposed to say my mothers cooking is better, but this is very good, thank you for the meal." He may have been feeling awkward but Morthos still had his manners, and the meal was very good. It also helped that his mother never cooked a whole lot but no one needed to know that.

Surprise overtook Roxas as Ophelia leaned up and kissed him. Before he could open his mouth, she started to talk to him saying not to talk like he was and that she chose to be with him for a reason. She also told him that the past is the past and that she would help him with Ifrit. He listened to everything thing she had to say and knew she was right. "I promise I'll try my best to move on. I'm sorry for being so low about all this. I was just worried. I'm glad that you chose to be with me. Thank you." He smiled back at her and took her hand in his. Not to long after, Jax walked in. Ophelia went over to hug her and Jax commented on how she snapped at Lenora. She then walked over to Roxas and told him not to worry about what her mother was saying and whatnot. After she left to go back to the others. Ophelia walked back up to him and said she loved him no matter what he decided. She grabbed his hand then started to head towards the dinning room again, when Roxas pulled her back to him and held her close for a second. "I decide to be with you and stand by you till the moment I die. However long that will be, I will always be yours. Nothing will ever keep me from you." He smiled and in that second all his worries disappeared from his head. He leaned down and Kissed Ophelia gently then let her take him back to the dinning room. She seemed happy about what he said.

Once they returned, Roxas apologized for leaving with Ophelia quickly then started to eat. The table was very quiet and nothing really seemed to be going on. Everyone was deep in thought. He didn't care though. All that mattered was that he had Ophelia by his side no matter what. Nothing and no one was going to take him from her ever. He lokked over at Ophelia and smiled gently then took her hand again under the table.

Jax almost spit out her wine when she heard Morthos' ghost whisper. Yay...can't wait to have that conversation. She spoke up in response to Morthos' comment on the food, "Yeah...Mom has always been a good cook. Hence, why I couldn't stop eating."

Her mother gave a small smile but was still very upset. Ophelia and Morthos came back a few moments later and the mood was sour. Everyone was awkwardly eating apart from Ophelia and Mom who each had their glasses of fresh blood. Jax reached up to rub the bandages on half her face before she spoke up breaking the silence, "Well that was a lot. Perhaps we should go."

Edgar stood up, "No. I don't want you both to leave after a fight and then we don't get to see you again for a while. Right, Lenora?"

Lenora looked at him for a few minutes before giving a composed nod, "Right. It has been too long already."

Jax looked at them then at Ophelia, it was up to her if she wanted to stay or leave. After a slight nod, Jax spoke evenly, "Fine. For the sake of saving this night. I will allow Dad to tell the story of...prom night."

Edgar almost spits out his food, as Lenora shut her eyes placing her hands on her forehead to hide a slight giggle. She looked at Ophelia, knowing that she would understand this sacrifice of character she was giving away.

Edgar tried to speak with a smile, "Are you sure...honey."

Jax picked up the wine bottle and filled her cup, "Yes. I am ready...go ahead."

Edgar nodded with glee, "Alright. So the night began as per usual. Ophelia and Jax looked gorgeous in their dresses. In fact I think we have a picture." He stood up and went to the living room, coming back with a framed photo of Jax in this long pink sparkly dress with braces and Ophelia in a shimmering blue dress that framed her small figure gorgeously. He handed it around before continuing, "Now..Ophelia didn't have a date for the prom but Jax did. Eric Gleeson, head of the chess team."

Jax blinked, "Also...the A/V club."

Edgar nodded, "Now we did the whole she-bang, got the limo..invited some of Jax's and Ophelia's friends over for pictures then let them go."

Jax sipped her wine slowly, as her dad continued,"Four hours later we get a call, to come to the school immediately and pick up our children. So we get there and Ophelia and Jax are sitting in front of the principal's office looking insane. Ophelia's blue dress was singed all the way up the side and the front parts of her hair were dyed vibrant green, while Jax had lost her dress completely and was wearing a Football Jersey with half of her hair shaved off...hahaha...including...hahaha...including...an eyebrow...gone."

Jax nodded solemnly as her dad burst into tears of laughter, "Lenora's face...She was mortified! Anyway's we find out later what happened. So apparently as we found out when we got home, that as soon as they got to the prom Mr. Gleeson and a few of his A/V buddies snuck in what they thought was some weed. Jax and Ophelia partook...like FOOLS...and came to realize what they smoked was not weed but a full on Amarythian Witch Hazel.."

Jax sunk into her chair as he continued, knowing full well that she was the one who encouraged Ophelia to try it out with her. Edgar spoke evenly, "So after partaking in this ILLEGAL bad behavior the A/V club and the girls thought it would be a super idea to break into the chemistry and potion's lab to have with the boys. From what I remember Jax and Gleeson had an argument on who could create a Cambodian invisibility potion quicker. Anyways they had such a contest and Jax used three different ingredients that she needed and the damn thing exploded. SHE ALSO USED HER SISTER AS A HUMAN SHIELD hence Ophelia's hair and dress."

Jax gave Ophelia a smile and whispered a silent, "Sorry..."

Edgar continued,"So with Ophelia's dress a mess Jax decided that they needed to get her a new one. So they along with Gleeson, Rav Jones, Reggie Axelton, and Mandy Pinkers stole Principal Alquin's cruiser and drove without a license through the school's football field towards the mall. The prom crew headed inside to a dress store where the boys and the three girls thought it would be fun to have a dare off. A DARE OFF! During which Mandy got a tattoo that said, "AMERICAN BADASS," Ophelia stole three pairs of male underpants from three seperate mannequins, from three seperate stores, and Jax got half of her hair shaved off! Gleeson ended up with nipple piercings, Rav ended up mooning the 'All American Girl's Doll Shop' and Reggie drank 49 litre's of nacho cheese. Now you would think that the night would end there but no..."

He continued barely containing his laughter, "NO...OUR JAX HERE...HAD ONE MORE DARE..."

Jax looked at Morthos pursing her lips, "I...am not proud of this moment.."

"Well, why not Jax??? You seemed very proud of yourself when you ran naked through the school in a football helmet yelling, 'SUCK MY BALLS! PRINCIPAL ALQUIN!'"

Suddenly Lenora burst into fits of laughter as did Edgar. Jax finished the wine, before looking over at Ophelia with a smile, "It was one hell of a night though...sister."

She lifted her glass towards her sister waiting for a clink.

Seeing Jax pour herself even more wine as her dad prepared to tell this apparently legendary story made Morthos wonder what in the nine hells could have happened that was so bad. Well as her dad barely made his way through the story through his stiffled giggles Morthos just kept looking back at Jax before turning back to Edgar to keep listening to the story. Once he was done the main takeaway Morthos had was that this was surprisingly a funny story they told, and not something they used as an example of how Jax doesn't always make good decisions. He wondered how mad her parents were when this happened, or if they thought it was hilarious back then too.

Morthos let out a chuckle, he was more dumbfounded by the story than anything, "well that certainly sounds like an eventful night." Morthos turned to Jax, "I do have one question for you though. This chess club and A/V club....stallion of a man," now Morthos was giving her a hard time, but it was only jokingly. "When you decided he would be your date, was this before or after you decided to swear off men until you found someone suitably powerful?" Now Morthos was laughing more, he knew it wasn't fair to judge someone based off what they did in high school but this was just too easy he couldn't help it.

Roxas laughed to himself while Ophelia's dad was telling the story. It was quite funny and very unexpected. Well not from Jax just Ophelia. Roxas looked over at Ophelia and grinned at her. "Never would have guessed that from you." He laughed a bit more then drank some water. Thinking about it he never really went to school when he was young. Everything that he knew came from reading every book he could in the library or in the book store. It was a rough childhood.

Thinking about what Ophelia must have looked like at that time made him laugh again. "I'm sorry I missed that." He just kept smiling and left his hand in hers. After soaking in Ophelia's features, he looked over at Jax and smiled at her. "So what possessed you to want to do all that in the first place?" He had never done drugs before so in a way he was actually curious how it was. Maybe it was like the rush he would get when using Ifrit's powers.

Ophelia finished her glass of blood, placing the cup back on the table lightly. She stood, still holding Roxas' hand and looked to Lenora and her dad.

"I think we should get going. Thank you for having us all for dinner. We head back to SPA tomorrow," she said quietly.

Letting go of Roxas' hand and she picked up all of their plates, bringing them to the kitchen swiftly. She heard her mother stand up, and Ophelia quickly made her way upstairs to her bedroom, grabbing her battle uniform. She met the others at the door, and began to speak, her voice neutral.

"Go on ahead of me, I'll catch up in a couple minutes." She then waited for Jax and the boys to leave, and waited for Lenora to approach her at the door. Ophelia smoothed her dress, then squared her slender shoulders.

"Ophelia. I do love you. And I want what's best for you... I... I know that I've been hard on you." Lenora said, meeting Ophelia's gaze steadily, though Ophelia knew her mother was cowering slightly. Ophelia was going to be the bigger person. She figured her mother had some demons she needed to deal with eventually.

"Please don't. I tried my hardest for you, and despite the complete bullshit you put me through, I forgive you," she spoke evenly, looking at her mother. "I don't want to stand here going on and on about this, so give me a call in a few days or something, and we can talk then..." Lenora looked at Ophelia, silent, and leaned forward, hugging Ophelia close to her cool body.

Ophelia's eyes widened, and her body went slightly rigid, not knowing how to react. Her nose crinkled slightly and she looked to the side. After a couple moments, Lenora let go and Ophelia reached back for the door handle. "Bye for now," she said, opening the door quickly and then closing it behind her. She ran to catch up to the others, and they made their way back to the hotel after a while. She was exhausted, and was thinking about the nights events. She wanted to spend some time with Roxas, but knew that Jax wouldn't allow them if she had her way. She kept quiet the entire way to the hotel, and finally they reached their hallway. She took our the key to their room, and slid her hand into Roxas' again. Ophelia reached toward the door, sliding the key into the lock and opened up the door slightly.

She turned to look at Jax for a moment, who was directly behind her waiting for Ophelia to push through the door. But instead of moving forward, Ophelia handed Roxas the key, then pushed Jax away slightly, with gentle pressure. "Have fun!!" she said, teasingly. Though she was half serious. She knew that they both needed to spend time with the boys. Quickly, Ophelia then pushed Roxas into her room and followed behind him, shutting and locking the door quickly. She only caught a brief look at Jax's face before closing the door, and she hoped she wasn't too angry with her.

Jax blushed 50 shades of red as she looked at Morthos in response to his question, "Gleeson was my first and last boyfriend, and believe me after his mix up that night I almost broke up with him the next day. It didn't last as long as you think...He ended up joining RAD's guild in their navy division. He was a Sea creature/Merman, and one hell of a swimmer."

Jax gave him a smile before looking at the table, remembering how she and her first love ended things. It's been three years Jax, and you can't even say it can you. You play the role of girlfriend really well but you don't actually mean it. Do you? You just fake caring about me because you don't want to be alone, but you don't actually love me. I don't want to pretend anymore that this is going somewhere when we both know I'm just going to be hurt in the end. You're the first girl I ever loved, and also the first one to break my heart. I hope someone can convince you letting someone love you takes more strength than hiding because I can't anymore.

Jax reached for the wine glass in front of her and took a sip before she heard Roxas' question, she put on the smile and gave him a teasing response,"Well when you smoke Amarythian Witch Hazel, EVERYTHING sounds like a good idea. It was one hell of a crazy night. Also, you know how long it takes to grow an eyebrow back. Longer than you think!"

She was giggling lightly when Ophelia encouraged them to depart. Jax nodded giving her mom and dad a long comforting hug before they left. As horrible as tonight was it needed to happen. She felt slightly refreshed that everything was out in the open and now that Ophelia stood up for herself they could finally get out of this toxic relationship and work towards something better. When they reached the hotel Jax went ahead behind Ophelia desperate to get into her room so she could collect herself for the night. She knew Morthos had questions, and she knew right now she was almost vulnerable/exhausted enough to answer them. Suddenly Ophelia took Roxas' hand turned and pushed Jax back lightly. Jax's eyes widened as she began to speak, "YOU BETTER NO..."

Ophelia gave a teasing, "Have fun!!" and the door was shut on her words. Jax growled walking towards the door and trying the knob it was locked. She banged on the door,"THIS ISN'T FUNNY! LET ME IN THERE! OPHELIA, YOU ARE GONNA BE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE LATER! OPHELIA!!!!!"

After a few more minutes of banging and no response, she turned to see Morthos and sighed, "Okay..fine. Let's go to your room. I need a damn shower anyway."

She headed over to the other room with Morthos, slightly wobbly due to the wine and the day itself. She gave him a small smile before quickly heading into the shower, washing off the blood and grime whilst trying to keep her bandages as dry as possible. She paused in front of the mirror, almost happy that most of her face was bandaged. Maybe she would seem too ugly to sleep with. She laughed, who was she kidding. She was hot as balls and the scar only made her more badass. She flashed a smile in the mirror and then calmed herself when she got out pointing to her reflection, and whispering "You are a rock. WE ARE NOT SLEEPING WITH HIM! I KNOW YOUR TRICKS, MISSY. WE ARE NOT PLAYING THIS GAME!" When she was finished, she came out of the bathroom slowly with just a towel on. Her eyes rested on Morthos and paused for a second before she stiffened, "I..need to borrow some clothes...To sleep in."

Jax didn't seem to appreciate being locked out of her room but Morthos was glad they'd get some time alone together. He let her in his room and allowed her to shower in peace as he lied in bed staring at the ceiling. Eventually the water stopped and Jax came out with nothing but a towel on before apparently realizing she had no clothes. "I mean, you could just sleep like that, I wouldn't mind," he teased, but his mind was on other things so he wasn't fully in to it. "Just hold on, I should have something for you," he dug through his bag before finding a plain white t-shirt and tossed it her way, "there you go, I brought that in case I happened to feel cold at night. It's pretty big so it should cover everything on you, I'll even be a good boy and not look if you don't want me to."

Jax walked over shaking her head, "Cheeky bugger." She caught the shirt and waited patiently for him to turn around. She dropped the towel and pulled on the top, the fabric moving down to just cover her butt. It was long enough to cover everything but if she stretched Morthos would get an eyefull, especially because she left her underwear in the bathroom. She leaned down and picked up the towel throwing it over into the bathroom, "You just missed the view of a lifetime sparky." She laughed, "You can turn around now. The lady bits are covered." She waited until he turned around and gave him a smirk, before falling onto Roxas' bed, "I am exhausted..." She eyed him quietly, "You aren't going to let me sleep though are you...Take pity on me.." She rolled over onto her back to look up at the ceiling, "I'm drunk-ish?"

Morthos walked over and sat himself beside Jax, "we'll get to sleep later, if we don't talk now I have the feeling we won't get another chance for a long while." He put his hand on hers and looked at her sadly, "you can't just hide whatever it was that happened to you forever Jax, just tell me. I promise not to judge, and not to interrupt your story. I just want to know what happened, it's clearly a big part of your life, so please."

Jax sat up and looked at Morthos with sad eyes, curling her legs underneath her so she could stare up at him, "I can't..Morthos. I haven't even told my sister or my parents." She shivered, her voice turning soft and quiet, "I'm okay now. I came back...and I.." She paused looking towards the bathroom, "I'm fine." She turned back to Morthos with a smile, "Just don't worry about it or me. Let's focus on something else, like how awesome our fight was today. We kicked some werewolf ass!"

Morthos adjusted how he was sitting and put his arm around Jax to pull her closer to him in a half hug, "ya, I guess we did beat the werewolves." He wasn't going to let her change the topic that easily though, "you haven't told anyone what happened? Did you ever think it might help to tell someone," he sighed and rubbed her arm, having a feeling she might not tell him still despite just wanting to help. "If you won't tell me what happened then what about when you came back? Your dad said you were broken, what does that even mean? What did you do?"

Jax snuggled up to him, enjoying his warmth and breathing slowly, before speaking slowly, her eyes shutting, "I hate talking about myself like this. Making people worry about me...I want people to know that I am strong and dependable. I care about you though..so I will tell you..I just...One sec." She moved to sit in front of him, leaning back against him for a second as she pulled his arms around her lightly, "I don't want you looking at me when I tell you this..or remembering me sad...okay." She paused before continuing, "When I came back...I had been through...things an eight year old girl should not go through. I woke up screaming, almost convulsing and bleeding. My hands were imprinted with my pentagrams, blood spilling everywhere, and my eyes were rolling back into my head. Poor Ophelia..she was the one who pulled me out of the water and she was so scared. This was before she was a vampire...so she had to carry me home by herself. My mother and father freaked out. They took me to a doctor and eventually I was calmed down. The next day, apart from the pentagrams I was fine physically, but I couldn't believe that it was over. I was so afraid that if I spoke it wouldn't be real. I would be..." She shook violently in front of him, "Back there...It hurt my parents. They just wanted to comfort me and they did everything they could to make me feel better but..I thought it was fake. I thought that they were lying. That they were just wearing my parent's like suits. I refused to eat, drink or speak for months."

"Ophelia tried so hard as well. My mom and dad were so focused on me that they left her alone a lot of the time and I absolutely hated myself for leaving her out. I couldn't sleep because sleep would cause nightmares and bring up the names. The names were important. Another reason I didn't speak was because I had to remember those...names. I had to perform a sacrifice to become an exorcist...or to be strong but I didn't understand how....I was eight what could I sacrifice." She looked down at her hands, a tear dropping down onto her palm. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, "I realized that giving blood was the method. On top of everything that was going on. I began to cut my hands and write names on the wall. It felt good..right. My parents always caught me though. They would get mad, because they were scared and they didn't understand. HELL I DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND."

Morthos kept his word and stay silent through her whole story, it felt nice holding her like this. After she was done he kissed the top of her head, "thank you for telling me Jax." He stayed quiet for a moment, not exactly sure what to say after everything she had told him. Eventually he did say something, "you know you don't always have to be strong, especially if it's just you and me. I know you want to be the strongest, and you only want to be with someone who's just as strong. I just really care about you, am I allowed to do that? Just care about you and try to make you happy?" That was all Morthos really wanted, is to make Jax happy. He'd like it if she could be happy with him, but if she didn't want that then maybe he could just make her happy in the abstract.

Jax rubbed at her eyes listening to him quietly, feeling very vulnerable at this moment. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to just tell him what happened and let it go. Just to let someone take care of her...for once. She was so close. The words were there and that scared her. She had never wanted to be vulnerable with someone this much before, but she couldn't. It would be selfish to let him in only to push him away later. She spoke evenly, "I can't control or tell you how to feel Morthos. I just don't want to hurt you. I am fucked up when it comes to relationships. You offer a one-sided relationship expecting nothing back and regardless of what I have been through I don't deserve it...and I won't allow it." She sat up grabbing the sides of his face to force him to look at her as tears ran down her face, "You need to use that energy on a girl who isn't...broken." She copied her dad's words, shaking as she realized how right he was. She was trying so hard to hold it together that she didn't realize how fragile it was. She moved forward wrapping her arms around Morthos' neck and began to sob into his shoulder, holding him so tightly as if she was scared he would push her away.

Morthos kept his arms around Jax as she cried in to his shoulder, great, now he was going to start crying. She was holding on to him tightly but he managed to push her away enough to have her look in to his eyes. "Jax I don't care if you're broken, you're the one I want to be with. If you go to a dark place again I want to be right there with you," he leaned in then and kissed her. Not a kiss of rough passion, but a gentle kiss, one to try and let her know that everything was going to be okay. "Tomorrow you can go back to being the tough spunky Jax everyone else sees," as Morthos spoke he gently shifted them down into a lying position, "but for now you can just be Jax the girl who was hurt. Jax the girl that I'll protect however I can," he kissed her once more, "good night Jax. You don't have to worry, I'll still be here in the morning." Morthos closed his eyes and fell asleep, keeping Jax close to him, hoping she felt safe in his arms.

As the story ended, Ophelia started to get up and tell everyone it was about time to go. Roxas didn’t complain at all he was just as ready to leave as she was. It had been a busy and rough day. With the werewolves then him passing out and now the parents. Anyone would be exhausted. She went ahead and told everyone to go on ahead of her. Must be wanting to help out or talk to her parents alone for a bit. Roxas just smiled and nodded, leaving then waiting by the door. Once Ophelia had come back, and they all made their way to the hotel.

Everyone seemed like they wanted to pass out by the time they made it back. Ophelia on the other hand, made a move that surprised even him. It happened all so fast as she opened the door to her room then dragged him in and pushed Jax out. She closed then locked the door on her sister. Jax was pounding on the door for a few minutes yelling at Ophelia, telling her she would be in a lot of trouble. All Roxas could do was laugh at this.

“I don’t think she’s too happy right now. You think that was a good idea? You could have waited and just stayed with me when we got home tomorrow.” He laughed again then walked up and wrapped his arms around her.

“Not that I’m complaining though.” He smiled then leaned down to kiss her.

Ophelia stretched slightly before Roxas pulled her into his arms, and she looked at him. “I didn’t do it for me, I did it for Jax. She needs to talk to Morthos, and is being secretive about something else. I heard her talking to my parents when we were talking alone. I won’t pressure her to tell me, but she should at least give Morthos a little more information on why she is the way she is.”

Her voice sounded tired, and again she found herself wishing she could sleep, even for a little bit.

Roxas let go of Ophelia only to slide his hand into hers as he took her over to the bed and sat down. “I don’t know too much about your sister or Morthos for that matter, but they seem to be getting closer by the day. If she’s as comfortable with him as I think she is, she’ll tell him. I’m not going to pry though. It’s not my business. I’m sure when she’s ready she’ll tell you too.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Are you okay though?” He asked mostly because of her outburst at dinner. “I’m not going to pry into your past if you don’t want me to, but I at least want to know if you’re okay?” He looked at her gently.

Ophelia relaxed slightly when they sat down, and she listened to Roxas’ voice quietly. She simply nodded in response, and looked down at their hands for a moment. She felt weird, and shook her head ever so slightly to try and shake it off.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I had just had enough of her. I’m sure things will mend themselves now, though. One day maybe I’ll know why she treated me that way. But I’m not really worried about that right now, I’m just hoping that Jax is alright.”

She could feel his eyes on her face, but she kept her gaze down. She wanted to feel happy that she got a moment alone with him, but something was looming just outside of her ability to understand what it was, and it was bringing her mood down.

“I’m excited to go home soon,” she said, hoping to change the subject.

Roxas nodded then looked towards the door. “I couldn’t tell you why. I never had parents so this was kind of my first experience with them. As for Jax, she’s a strong girl. Whatever has her down now will go away soon. It’ll make her feel better if she tells Morthos too so let's hope for that.”

He could tell something was bugging her right now, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Right as he was about to ask, she changed the subject. Obviously she didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah tomorrow it’ll be nice to be home. Like I said earlier, you’re more than welcome to come stay with me for a bit if you want. My door is always open for you.” He looked back at her again and smiled. She was still looking at the ground though and this bothered him a bit.

“What’s wrong? I can tell something’s on your mind. If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine, but I’d hope you would eventually.”

Ophelia finally looked up at Roxas, her eyes slightly dark. She considered his words for a few moments, then took a couple more to gather her own thoughts. Finally she began to speak, her voice still gentle and kind, but stubborn in a way as well.

“You need to tell me more about what happened with your friends. With Celti. I understand the thing with Ifrit, but I don’t understand why you haven’t even tried to move on from it. All that’s doing is poisoning you…” She let her voice trail off slightly, and then waited for his response.

Roxas figured this was going to pop up at some point tonight. He did say he was going to tell her everything that had happened. It was his turn to look at the ground now. He wasn’t really ready for this talk, but there was no time like the present. After taking a deep breath, he looked up and opened his mouth to speak.

“15 years ago I joined the SPA hopping that I could start moving ahead in my life. I was only 13 at the time so my chances were slim. I grew up without parents and I had fought for everything I owned. Every meal, every place to sleep, things like that. I looked up to hunters from SPA and wanted to be just like them. It’s silly sounding I know, but for a kid like me it was the greatest thing ever. Well like I had said I had fought for everything so I was pretty strong for a 13 year old and very well rounded. I could use just about every weapon efficiently. So going in I thought I had really good chances. The only thing I was lacking was intelligence, but that could be changed if I got it. Well I went through all the tests they had for me to enter and I passed all but the written ones. That was to be expected, but they let me in anyway. I was so happy I signed up for classes as soon as I could. Each one of them trying to make myself better as a person and smarter. I wanted to know everything I possibly could. As soon as classes started, I got to know a few people and they all seemed pretty great. In one of my classes I met just about everyone from my team. All but Celti. I didn’t meet her until a year later.” He shifted a bit.

“When I was 14, I was taking this history class and there was a girl sitting in front of me. She was reserved and didn’t seem to have many friends. So one day I came up to her and asked her if she wanted to study with me. At first she shut me down, but eventually she said yes. Now that was weeks of asking. We only just started as study partners, but then we started to get closer and become friends. She told me her name was Celti and I gave her mine. She laughed at first when she heard my name. ‘Roxas? That’s a funny name. I like it.’ She told me that she had never heard a name like that before. Well coming from where I did. I thought that she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Now we were both 14 at the time and it had turned out that she was a lot like me. How she grew up and all that. Skipping ahead a few years, at the age of 16 we had grabbed the strongest and best friends we had and decided to form a party. We wanted to be the Phantom Thieves of Heart. So we signed up for a few missions and pulled them off with ease. Now Celti was like Jax in the sense that she was an exorcist too. On one of our missions we went out to take on a few demons. That’s where I found this mask. It looked really cool and I had no idea what its actual power was. So until then I just kept it to look cool. All of us were very close, but not like Celti and me. We both really like each other, but didn’t say anything. That was mostly for the team though. We didn’t want to make anything weird if we broke up or anything. So we just stayed friends. Throughout the time we were in the party together, our fame became more known. We were the strongest party in the guild for a while and we were only made up of two 18 year olds and a few 20+ year olds. We worked our asses off on everything.” Roxas smiled thinking about it all then his mood switched as if it was a light switch.

“One day the guild masters came to us and told about this large threat coming our way to the guild. The god of hell Ifrit was on the prowl and coming to destroy everything in his path. Celti knew what to do about it and told up all that we had to use one of us to imprison him for awhile while we transport him back to the guild. It was going to be a rough fight and we all knew it. We were prepared for what could happen and we all tried to stay positive even though we knew a few of us were going to die. The day of the mission was here and we all made our way to the location given to us by spy’s. Ifrit was there just like we were told, but he was nothing like what we prepared for. 20 feet tall and stronger than any of us could imagine. The first of us to go was James. He got stepped on and crushed. Wrong spot at the wrong time. The second was Agitha, she was burnt alive right in front of me. It should have been me, but she pushed me out of the way. Third was Crash, he was ripped apart while he was trying to weaken him. Fourth was Yusuke, I don’t want to talk about what happened to him. Last was Celti…” He paused for a second. A tear rolled down the side of his face.

“Remember how I told you she was an exorcist right? Well she was also a spellcaster. The plan was to weaken Ifrit as much as we could so she could use a spell in imprison him into her while until we got back to the guild. Well that didn’t work out like we planned. While the others died I was to make sure Celti didn’t get hurt while she made the spell. The other’s weakened him down so that it would work. They died in the process, but it worked. Ifrit could see what was happening and shrunk down to my height. I was unable to keep him at bay and he flung me to the side. I almost blacked out, but didn’t only to watch as Ifrit plunged his hand into Celti’s chest. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t, the wind was knocked out of me. As she was falling to her knees, Ifrit laughed and started to come after me. Before she hit the ground, Celti finished the spell and used it on me. Ifrit was sucked into my soul and imprisoned within me. As that happened all my wounds healed and I could walk again. I ran over to her and rested her head on my lap. She was wheezing and didn’t have much time left. There was no way that I would be able to bring her back to guild for them to save her. She died seconds later in my arms. I was surrounded by my dead friends and the woman I loved in my hands. I returned to the guild only to be told there was nothing they could do to help me. I was going to be stuck with Ifrit for the rest of my life. It’s been ten years since then and I still haven’t been able to get over it. I guess I figured if I forgot about them than their sacrifice would have been forgotten too. It haunts me everyday and I still dream about it like it was yesterday.” He looked at his hands for a bit then closed his eyes seeing the last few seconds he had with Celti. More tears started to flow down his face, but he didn’t acknowledge them.

Ophelia moved and leaned back against the headboard of the bed while Roxas told her everything that had happened in decent amounts of detail. Some things he left out due to the nature, but she knew what had happened. From a lovers perspective, she wanted to be jealous. But instead, she knew that wasn’t appropriate and spoke gently.

“You don’t have to forget about them. You just need to accept what happened, and move on. You don’t need to remember them in a bad way, Roxas. I know it takes time to move on from something like that, but you need to try… Otherwise your new future will be ruined by things you are holding onto from your past.”

She tried not to sound insensitive, but wasn’t sure how well at that she was doing.

Roxas only sighed and laid down on the bed. He wiped his face then looked over at Ophelia and smiled softly.

“I know and I’m trying. I’m just glad I could tell someone about it.”

He looked back up at the ceiling then moved over closer to Ophelia. At this point he just wanted to be close to her. In that second he forgot all about Celti and thought about his new love. The one that was alive and right next to him. He made a promise to himself right there that he would never let anything hurt Ophelia an he would rather die first then let her die. But this was a new time in his life and it was time to move on. Maybe talking about it helped, he felt better about it all and just wanted to be happy. In that final moment of thought, Roxas said goodbye to Celti then opened his eyes and kissed Ophelia deep and passionately.

“I love you.” He said gently then kissed her again.

She wasn’t sure how to respond at first, so instead turned onto her side so she was facing Roxas. He was quiet for a few moments, lost in thought she figured. It was understandable given what he had told her. He moved closer to her and then kissed her, and despite being exhausted, she kissed him back.

“I love you too… Everything will be okay.”