Conflicted Eyes, Confusing Feelings | Complete

e i g h t y

This chapter stressed me out for months, hating it, trying to get it right and failing miserably. It was completely out of my comfort zone, I had no idea how to write it even though I did a bunch of research. It made me question myself as a writer, but I overcame!

Even though I'm still not completely sated, I must give a big thanks to the Naruto openings, weeks of moping and also to you for your patience.

Well, here you go.

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They were doomed to be star-crossed lovers, destined to wonder what might have been

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Rain showered in buckets from the dark, blackened night sky, pouring down on anyone of anything in its path. The raindrops pinged and pattered on the top of the Impala and its windows in a rhythmic song, but the pulsing heat and rage in Xander's mind and ears was much louder, drowning out all the other thoughts. Thoughts that offered rationality, shrieking at him to drive more carefully. He skillfully swerved around a taxi, falling back into line behind lines of traffic in front of him. The windshield wipers aggressively swiped across the windshield to clear it of the fog and raindrops but his mind and vision were still foggy, clouded with rage and the need for vengeance.

The blaring sound of a horn behind him made him glance in his rearview mirror, tilting it so he could get a better view of the car behind him. A red Honda Civic with stickers littered over the doors and hood pulled up behind the Impala, lights flashing in a supportive gesture. The windscreen wipers swiped the windshield, and Xander made out the silhouette of scarlet waves behind the steering wheels, and next to that person were amethyst that burned into the night, gleaming with rage; Carter and Randall.

Xander never wanted to drag them into it, but storming out of his room, dishing out orders for them to watch Sage ultimately proved to be useless, more likely to have Xander catching the flying fists of his angered best friend. In Xander's state, he could barely get out words of explanation - something he promised to do later - but his expression was all Randall needed to perk right up, threatening to drive his fist in Xander's face. Well, until they found out that Xander wasn't the enemy.

"After everything, you still ain't learned a thing. We're here for you, Blaze. You ain't alone."

Swerving around a line of cars, Xander disregarded most of the traffic laws as he went cruising down the opposite lane, hands tightening on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. Eyes trained on the road, he didn't bother to take a look on the map, because right then and there he knew the road perfectly, every turn, every landmark, every inch of road that drew him closer to Carlos García. At some point he glanced out the rearview mirror, but Carter's red, flashy car wasn't visible in the queue of cars behind Xander anymore.

A few more turns had Xander leaving the city, cruising down the bridge he was supposed to meet his end. He swallowed harshly as he glanced out the adjacent window at the projections hoisting the massive bridge, a gorge of blackish-blue water lapping just below. Car and building lights flashed over the horizon, and soon, his head snapped back in front of him as he took a right turn, where he soon ended up on a thinner street, jolting his car to a stop and killing the engine. The rain stabbed into his pale skin like ice shards of glass as he stepped out of the car, soaking his hair and clothes as he stood, emptily staring at the derelict warehouse just up ahead.

The brown, tarnished building stood two stories high, stacked between two equally rundown yet operating businesses. It was with broken window panels and patches of miscoloured boards used to stitch the building together. Against the night sky, all Xander could see was the crumbling walls that were nothing more than a ghostly silhouette of an existence that was once bustling with vehicles, and workers. The wind whistled through the empty alleyway, dancing around the overturned trash cans, and shouts and laughter drifted from near the withered structure, confirming Xander's suspicion.