Chapter 3: A Complication
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Jondy woke up with a splitting headache. Because of that, her senses weren�t all that they could be. Slowly taking in deep breaths to calm the pounding, Jondy sunk into her pillow. Wow, I�ve NEVER slept this long before. I don�t even remember going to bed. Jondy rolled over, and quickly realized that she wasn�t even in a bed, but on a couch. Man, I must�ve had a lot to drink last night. I didn�t even pull out the futon. Wait a minute. I don�t remember going out last night. The last thing that I remember is walking out of work, and.... Oh my god. Jondy�s eyes sprang open, and she looked at the couch that she was laying on. It wasn�t her familiar futon. It was someone else�s. She quickly turned around to face the room that she was in, and tried to jump up when she saw a figure sitting across from her, but the figure ran and held her down. Jondy struggled against the force, but couldn�t move an inch. Whoever was holding her down was incredibly strong. �Let me go. Who are you?�
�Question is, who are you, and what gave you the notion that stealing my bike was a good idea?�
Jondy instantly recognized the voice as that of the girl whose bike she stole, and the one that she saw in that apartment that she had most recently broken into. Finding out that she kind of knew the person who was holding her down, Jondy relaxed a bit. �Look, I�m sorry about your bike, but since I�m assuming that you�re the one who knocked me out, you have it back, so if you don�t mind, I think I�ll be leaving.� Jondy went to sit up, but still couldn�t move. Her vision was slowly coming into focus, and she could see the features of the girl a little bit more.
�I don�t think so. Who are you?�
�Why should I tell you?� Jondy spit out between gritted teeth.
�Because you�re one being held. Not me.�
Jondy could hear the annoyance in the voice of her holder. Finally her vision came into focus, and she could clearly see the girl holding her down. Sure enough, it was the girl whose bike Jondy stole. Her face was right in Jondy�s and so Jondy was able to fully take in her features. Her gaze fell on the girl�s eyes. They were so familiar. They had to belong to her sister. Jondy went limp on the couch and relaxed against Max�s grip. �My name�s Jondy.�
Max abruptly let go of the girl on the couch. She couldn�t believe it. The girl said her name was Jondy. No one has that name. It had to be her sister. Max could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes. �Jondy?�
Jondy quickly sat up now that no one was holding her down, and went to leave, but stopped when she noticed two things. One, the girl wasn�t doing anything to stop her, and two, the girl was crying. �Yeah, that�s my name. So what�s yours? Or am I not privy to this information.�
Max looked at Jondy, sitting on the couch. �Don�t you recognize me?� Max needed to know.
Jondy looked at the girl standing in front of her. Giving herself more time to think, she looked around the apartment. She was in the apartment that she had broken into the night before. She looked towards the window that she had escaped from, and saw that it was boarded up. Looking out the other windows, Jondy could see that it was still dark, so she assumed that she had only been out for a couple of hours. As she scanned the place, thoughts were rolling through her head, and all of them centered on her sister. The one she had to leave behind. The one she thought was dead. Max. Jondy looked at the girl standing in front of her and swallowed. This was it. She finally found the only person at Manticore that she got along with. Would she live up to the image that Jondy had created for her? The last time that she talked to Zack, he had told her to not trust Max if she ever saw her. She had become too independent for her own good, and Zack felt that she was a danger to all of the kids. Jondy didn�t care. She had found Max, or rather, Max had found her. Either way, they were together again. Jondy stared through Max�s eyes, and finally, she found her voice �Max?�
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Jondy was walking around the apartment in some of Logan�s clothes that she had borrowed from him to sleep in. All three had decided that it would be best for her to crash at Logan�s, so they could talk and catch up on things. Not wanting to waste any time by driving to her own apartment, Jondy decided that it would be easier to just use some of Logan�s clothes, and being the wonderful, caring person that she was quickly learning he was, he had given her a pile to choose from. Jondy had gladly accepted the clothes, and chose what she felt most comfortable in at night. She had on a very large t-shirt, and a pair of sweatpants that were way too big on her, so she had to roll them a few times at the waist. She had her hair tied back in a high ponytail, and as she moved towards the couch with a plate of food in her hand, she could feel the eyes of the other two occupants on her. As she sat down, she looked over at Logan and Max, both of whom were starring at her with confused and amazed looks on their faces. �What?�
Max shook her head as if to clear the thoughts that she was having and smiled. �I...we...I.... How can you wear your hair like that?�
Jondy looked down, reflexively touched her hair, and then looked back at Max. �What?�
�I mean, doesn�t it bother you that your barcode is out there for all the world to see?�
�Who cares? I mean, you�ve got one, and he�s obviously seen one before, so what does it matter?�
�I don�t know, I just can never bring myself to do that. You just seem so carefree.�
�Yeah well, you know.�
Max walked over to the couch and sat down beside Jondy, who was now shoving food into her mouth. �No, I don�t. I mean, back at Manticore, you were always so shy. You always followed orders, and never, well...�
�Seemed to be able to do anything by myself?�
�Um...yeah. I mean....�
Jondy reluctantly put her plate of food down on the table and turned to look at Max. �Sweetie, it�s ok. I know. But being out in the world has changed me. Just look at you! You were always the brave one, but now you�re out saving the world.�
�Yeah, but I�ve stayed basically true to form. The only thing that has really changed is that, well, I don�t steal anymore.� Max stole a quick look at Logan, who was smiling at her.
�Is that some kind of jab at me?�
�No! It�s not....�
Jondy dissolved into a fit of laughter, and turned around and hugged Max. �It�s ok. I know what you mean. Come on, where�s your sense of humor today?�
With the tension finally gone between the two siblings, Max started to laugh as well, and returned Jondy�s hug. �I�m beginning to think that you stole that too.�
As the two girls were bonding, Logan quietly wheeled away, knowing that the two of them would be up all night if it�s true what Max had told him about neither she nor Jondy ever needing sleep. As he got in his bedroom, he could hear the faint sounds of giggles coming from his living room. Something that he never heard Max do. Giggle. Even he had to let a chuckle out about that one. I�ll have to tease her about that tomorrow.
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�So Jondy, you have to tell me what you�ve been up to. What did you do after we escaped, and just what exactly is the dealio with your hair and eyes? I mean, that�s why I wasn�t sure it was you.�
�Sure Max, I think you�re just slipping, I mean, I recognized you right away!�
Max jokingly shoved Jondy. �No you didn�t.�
�Yeah, I know. If I had known it was you, I probably wouldn�t have swiped your ride.�
�Yeah, about that...�
�So anyways, about my life.� Jondy smiled at Max as she saw that Max was amused at her changing the conversation so quickly. �After the escape, I basically wandered about the country. I was constantly on the move, because Lydecker always seemed to be right behind me. Finally, I fell into this great family. I was about 12 at the time, and it seemed perfect. The people were a bit older, but they always wanted a daughter, so they welcomed me with open arms. I never was really too attached to them, because, you know, I could�ve have had to leave at any time, but they were great. They gave me everything I could ever ask for. As I got older, and was making more and more friends, a lot of them were into dying their hair and such. I asked my mother if I could do it too, but she was pretty well against it. Finally, she caved, and I dyed my hair blonde. Then it hit me. Lydecker was looking for a girl with dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. Since I had already changed my hair, I figured, I�d do the eyes too. So, I found a place that sold color contacts, swung in one night, and took their entire collection of hazel. And with those, I looked like a totally different person.�
�Wow.�
�Yeah. The coolest thing was, was this one day, I was having the crappiest day. Anyway, Lydecker had tracked me down, and I was about to turn and run, when I remembered that he was looking for someone else. He looked right at me, and continued on. Ever since then, I haven�t had to worry, until now.�
�What do you mean?�
�Well, with Zack�s little confession to you, and being flushed out by your Eyes Only guy, Lydecker knew I was in San Francisco. I got out as soon as he arrived. I figured I would leave while he searched the place, and then go back when he left.�
�So why did you come to Seattle?�
�Well, to be honest with you, Zack told me that you were here. I kind of figured that you would have left as well after that broadcast, but I guess you didn�t.�
�So you�ve talked to Zack?�
�Unfortunately yes. He found me right after I moved to San Fran, and hooked me up with his phone line.�
�So you know where the others are?�
�I used to, but since everyone is on the move again, I don�t know.�
�How come you never came to find me?�
�Because Zack told me I couldn�t trust you.�
�And you believed him?�
�Have I ever?�
�Good point.�
�So, that�s why I�m here, and now I�ve found you! So, what have you been up to?�
Max shifted a bit on the couch before answering. �Well, after the escape, I was like you, and moved around a lot. I fell in with this foster family, but the father liked to beat up on me and his daughter, so I left right after the pulse hit. After that, I floated around again, and wound up here. I got a job, an apartment, met some friends, and decided to stay.�
�Cool.�
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The two girls spent the rest of the night talking. Neither one of them concerned with the time, until they heard Logan moving about. �What time is it?�
Max looked at her watch. �Seven.�
Jondy jumped up. �Oh jeez. I have to be at work in a little bit, and I still have to get home, and shower! How am I going to have time? I don�t think it would look very good if I showed up late on my first full day of work.�
Max stood up as a plan worked its way through her head. �Why don�t you take a shower here, and I�ll go to your place and pick up some clothes. My boss doesn�t really care if I�m late, so how about that?�
�That�d be great! Thanks Max!�
�No big dealio. See you in an hour.� Max leaned over and hugged her sister, and turned and walked out the door. Jondy smiled, knowing that she finally found the one she thought she had lost.
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Jondy came out of the shower with only a towel wrapped around her. Max hadn�t returned yet with her clothes, so Jondy was content with parading around in the towel. Besides, that Logan is one heck of a hottie. Maybe since he�s single, I can get him to notice me a little bit easier. I mean, what�s better than having an X-5 as a two week girlfriend. No commitments, and always willing to get down. How many guys would turn that down? And, I�ve got a killer tan goin� for me here, and, you know what? I�m lookin� good to-day. Jondy was still lost in thoughts when Logan came wheeling into her room.
�Oh sorry, I thought you were still in the shower, I�ll go and see if Max is here yet.�
�No wait! It�s ok, don�t worry about it. What did you come in here for anyway?�
Logan felt a little flustered. This girl certainly doesn�t look as good as Max did in a towel, but hey, it�s a girl in a towel, and she�s in my apartment! Logan shook his head, and looked up at Jondy. �I was just going to bring you this robe. Thought you might like it.� He grabbed the robe from his lap and handed it to Jondy, who took it, and threw it on the bed without even looking at it. Logan suddenly felt tense, as though something was going to happen, but he couldn�t put his finger on what it could be.
�So what�s the dealio with you and Max?�
Logan could only laugh at Jondy. She was so similar to Max, she even had the same lingo.
Not understanding what Logan was laughing about, Jondy had to ask. �What?�
Logan continued to chuckle slightly as he looked into Jondy�s eyes. �It�s just that you are so similar to Max. Not only do you talk like her, you even switch conversations at the drop of a hat like she does.�
Jondy smiled. �Yeah well, when you live with someone for 9 years, you tend to start to understand how they think.�
�Yeah, I guess you would.�
Still smiling, Jondy fell into the depths of Logan�s eyes. �Now who�s changing the subject. So, like I asked before, what�s the dealio with you and Max?�
Logan looked down at the floor. This was always a touchy subject for him, and he still couldn�t answer the question properly. �We�re partners. Business partners. And, really good friends.�
�As in...?�
Still staring at his feet Logan shook his head. �No, just really good friends. I think we both feel that we shouldn�t go any further, for fear of ruining a wonderful friendship.�
Jondy was relieved at his answer. �Well good, so then she wouldn�t mind if I did this.� Jondy quickly closed the distance between her and Logan, and sat down in his lap. She cupped her hands around his face, and brought it up so that her lips could touch his, and once they touched she shifted in Logan�s lap so that she could put more force behind the kiss.
�Jondy, I...� Max walked into the room and saw something that made her heart skip a beat. Her sister was sitting in the lap of her best friend, who could possibly have been more, wearing only a towel, and kissing him. Max dropped the clothes that she had in her hand, spun around, and ran out of the apartment as fast as her feet would allow.
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