adl2

A Different Life
        A different Motion
Max made a sound that was close to a purr as she sank down into her seat and put a hand on her very full stomach. Zack sat across from her, still strait in his seat. Max smiled at him, she couldn't believe it. They were out on an away mission, had as much freedom as they would ever get, and he orders the plainest meal on the menu, eats half of it, and keeps his soldiers posture in his seat. She shook her head.
"What?" Zack asked raising an eyebrow.
Max shook her head, "Nothing, come on, let's go" she said standing up. Her body protested at the movement, wishing to stay seated after being stuffed with to much food. She got up any way though. Zack handed her jacket, and she slipped it over he shoulders. "I'll go wait outside while you pay the bill" Max said.
"I don't like the idea of you waiting out there alone" he said in that big brother tone he always got with her.
"Oh yes, I better wait in here with you since I'm so weak and defenseless" Max said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. Zack waved her away with a hand, and she went and sat on a bench that was outside of restaurant. She almost didn't blame him for not wanting he rout by herself. It was awful here. The streets were polluted, the air was dirty, and everywhere people were loitering on the streets. People who had no homes, no money, and people that had not care for others. She shivered to herself. It may be tough at Manticore, but at least she had a warm bed to sleep in, and food at every meal, and roof over her head. That was more then could be said for most people out here.
"Are you cold?" Zack asked coming up behind her. Apparently he had been there long enough to see her shiver. Max shook her head and stood up. "Let's go, I got some soup for Jondy, and I don't want it to get cold" he said.
Max stood, "You got her soup?" she asked. "She's going to be mad that we went to a nice Italian restaurant, and brought her back soup" she told him.
"What's wrong with soup? what else does she need?" Zack asked confused. Max shook her head, he would never learn. It wasn't that she needed something else, it's that she would want something else. "Jondy will be happy with soup" he said.
Max almost laughed at that. Jondy would most certainly NOT be happy with soup. they had soup at Manticore all the time. Max wouldn't be surprised if Jondy threw the soup in Zack's face. But she smiled sweetly at Zack anyway, and said, "Your probably right".
Zack nodded, probably not realizing how wrong he was. He placed a hand on the small of her back, and began to lead her back to Foggle towers. Max almost said something about this possessive action, but decided not to. It bothered her, almost. When ever they went on away missions, if they were out in public, he always had a hand on her in some way. The shoulder, the back, etc... He gave every male that passed them by a warning look, as if to say 'stay away'. It always bothered her a first. She wasn't his possession, and it annoyed her that he acted like that in public. But after a while, she realized that she tended to get a lot of attention from males, and Zack just did it to save her the trouble of dealing with them. She was used to is now. And the warm wait of his hand on her back was nearly comforting.
It was nice to know that she wasn't alone in this broken world, because sometimes it really felt like she was. She almost shuddered at the realization that she missed Manticore. It was a jail, a prison. She never got rest there, always training. She always had orders to follow, and was always called, '452'. The designation bothered her more then anything else. It stripped her of all personality she tried to have.
But in a weird twisted way, Manticore was home. It was where her family was. It was hard to get through the day with out Jondy's bouncy almost air head like comments. Or with out Tinga and Zack's stern looks. She missed Brin mocking Lydecker when he turned his back, and she missed the shocked look Syl would get when Brin did this. She missed Evas comforting words, and Ben's stories that she had memorized. And life just wasn't life with out Zane and Krit goofing off and getting in trouble.
And though she always tried to ignore it, she missed Alec. Even at the moment she tried to push the thought of him away. He was always taunting her, and was one of the few that could beat her in hand to hand combat. If she messed up on a mission, he always seemed to be the first to hear, and was sure to be waiting around the corner to make her feel bad about it. He was annoying, and nothing like Ben, who was dearer then a brother to her. Max remembered the day he got added to their sector.
It had been nearly two years earlier. He had failed an away mission. Max didn't know much about it, only that he refused to follow orders. Alec wouldn't talk about it. But since he was such a rebel he was added to their group. Though Max's team was the best, they also tended to get in trouble a lot. They had a tendency to not follow orders, and to show more feelings then was exceptable. The only reason they got away with this was because they were the best. Alec was some what of an outcast to their team though. He looked exactly like Ben, which made everyone nervous, and he didn't grow up with them. If the ten of them were brothers and sisters, Alec, the eleventh family member, was a cousin that got on everybody's nerves.
Especially in Max's case. The first time they ever fought in training, he had won. Max still remembered the delighted look on Renfros face. So of course they were paired together as often as possible. And though Alec didn't win every time, he always got this annoying little cocky grin when he did, and would say simply, 'another point for me'. And whenever Zack and Ben, or any of the other males in their group waited for Max after evening training's to go to dinner, Alec would get that same grin and would say 'how sweet, your 'brothers' are waiting'. Never mind that half the time it was Syl or Brin of one of her other sisters waiting. They just liked to stick together. When Max got out earlier, she would wait for one of them. But oh no, Alec always had to say something. Especially when it was Zack.
Zack hated Alec. He hated him with a passion. The thought of Zack pulled Max to the present, where she was walking with her brother down the dirty streets of Seattle. She leaned slightly into the warmth of her brother, and they continued to walk until they reached the apartment complex.
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Jondy reached out her small hand and knocked on the small door to Logans pent house apartment. She was quickly growing weary of this assignment. It had been four days. FOUR DAYS. And Logan hadn't showed the slightest interest in her. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Max however. Jondy had suggested that Max try to lure Logan away, but Zack pretty much screamed at her for that. It would end tonight one way or another. If Jondy couldn't get him out of the house, then they would work around him. Quietly.
He answered the door with a smile. Jondy felt like punching him when she saw the disappointed look he got when he noticed it was just her. No Max. Talk about someone Jondy was tired of living in the shadow of. Max was no prettier then she was. And though she was better at some exercises, Jondy still excelled. "Hey Jondy" Logan said.
Jondy out on her sexiest smile, "Hey you" she said. She made her eyes wide and stared up at him. Something she had noticed in the past, is that people had trouble resisting her when she looked them in the eye. "Can I come in?" she asked sweetly.
"Sure" Logan said standing to the side. Jondy walked so that she brushed against him slightly as she moved past him. "You want coffee or something?" he asked her.
"Oh sorry, but I can't stay long" Jondy said looking down. She held her head down for a moment, then looked up, forcing her bottom li to tremble slightly. "Logan, do you like me?" She asked quietly, trying to make her voice sound small and hopeful. She was beginning to hate herself for her part in this mission. Logan was a nice guy, and she was completely manipulating him. She could tell her game was working from the look that washed across his face.
Confusion mostly. But behind those blue windows, was his soul and his soul showed interest. "uhh, Yeah" he stumbled over his words. "I think that your a really good person, and am happy to have you living in the building" he said the next part with more confidence.
A really good person. Ha. She was here to deceive him. to foil his plans. If he was eyes only that is. For all she knew he could be a perfectly normal guy. She hoped that was it. Okay Jondy, time to move into action, and prove that your every bit as good as Max. she told herself. She stepped close to him, so that they were almost touching. Almost. She brought her face up near his, so that her lips were mere inches away from his. "Do you think maybe you'd like to have dinner sometime?" she asked him, being sure to keep eye contact. "Maybe tonight" she could tell that he smelled, and liked the light flowery scent of her perfume, for he breathed it in deeply.
"I don't know" he said softly, "I'm like, ten years older then you Jondy, and I don't think that your brother Zack would approve of this" he said.
God he was making this hard. She stepped a little closer to him, and put a hand up on his chest. She tilted her face down, and closed her eyes, letting her eyelashes slowly brush across her cheeks. "I don't really care what Zack thinks" she said, regaining eye contact. She swallowed, she almost had him. She moved just a little closer, so that now her body was brushing up against his, "Please? We could have fun" she bit down on her lip trying to maintain the hopeful look.
"Uh-Uh" he stuttered, looking for a reply, "I, uh. okay" he said smiling slightly.
"Great" she smiled her most charming smile, and stepped back, putting plenty of space between them, "I'll come by around seven" she said. She left the apartment with out giving him a chance to reply.
Max and Zack were waiting for her when she stepped onto the elevator. "You got yourself a date?" Max asked.
"Of course I do" Jondy said. A satisfied smile played across her lips.
"Oh how exciting Maxie" Zack said, "Jondy has her first date" he taunted. "And did you see him? Oh that Logan is so dreamy. And rich. Nothing better then handsome money" he said in a mocking tone.
Max smiled, suppressing a laugh. Zack happily smiled back at her, glad that he had amused Max. "Oh please" Jondy said annoyed at them. "Zack, if you were ordered to date Logan, you would. It's orders. I'm following my part of the mission. Now leave me alone" she said.
Max and Zack continued to exchange their immature glances, which annoyed Jondy even further. She was so tired of them and their annoying little relationship. Zack and Max always had this thing. They were distant from each other in a way, but the always knew what the other one was thinking. And since Zack was oh so obviously in love with Max, she got away with almost anything.
Of course Max was completely oblivious to the fact that Zack was in love with her. She lived in this lovely fantasy world where they all remained brother and sister. She obviously didn't see the looks she got from both Zack, and Zane. Or the way Krit always stuck close to Syl, watching her, and sometimes, when he thought no one was looking, would softly stroke Syls face, and kiss her. Manticore seemed to live under the same delusion. It seemed some what obvious however that if you stick people that are not birth related together for their lives, then eventually, feelings may spark up. Of course the one man Jondy liked didn't seem to even notice.
But none of this mattered to Max. Or Manticore. They both enjoyed their fantasy worlds, and chose to stick in them. Jondy crossed her arms in annoyance. She knew it was completely beyond reason for her to be mad at Max at the moment, but she was.
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