Chapter 2 ~ Kanan
"The war has now completely taken over the southernmost parts of Africa. More troops from Russia have been sent in to assist the government in fighting against the Rebels..." the news reporter's voice drones on. Iris stares mindlessly at the television in her new bedroom, not at all aware of what's happening on the screen.
She's become quite numb towards any news about the war. Her parents' death was the end of it in her mind. To her, it feels like Africa is a world away.
Iris had just arrived at her 'new home' an hour ago. They told her that she's supposed to be living with five other people, yet no one is home. Daniel, the rider who got a concussion yesterday riding Theo, showed her around. Apparently, he's the yard's dressage trainer and one of the house's other occupants.
He left shortly after helping her with her bags. He said everyone is busy training for a show next weekend and that's why they're not home, even if it's a Saturday afternoon.
It's not like she's complaining. She doesn't really like people, tending to keep to herself most of the time. She'd tried making other friends after Kanan left, but no one seems to get her sarcastic sense of humor like he did. So, she became antisocial. Best decision of her life. So little can go wrong if you're on your own.
She hears the front door open downstairs, followed by the faint sound of laughter. They must be home.
Very suddenly, all goes silent. Then, a high pitched squeal sounds through the house. Thudding footsteps come up the stairs and down the hall, towards Iris's bedroom. Just as she turns her head towards the door, it swings open.
A small blonde girls comes rushing in, jumping on the bed next to her. Iris nearly falls off the other side in surprise. The girl grins at her before letting out another squeal, pulling her into a hug.
"Uh, hi?" Iris says, very uncomfortably. The girl suddenly let's go, holding her at arm's length to look at her, still grinning widely.
"My name is Hannah. It's so nice to meet you!" She pulls Iris into another hug. She's quite... odd. Iris has never seen a stranger this excited to see her.
"You know what, we're going to be best friends. I can just tell! We'll be like sisters! So, what's your name?" She finally let's Iris go and moves to sit at the foot of the bed, facing her.
"Iris," Iris tells her, still slightly bewildered. Hannah smiles even brighter.
I guess it couldn't hurt being nice to my new housemates, Iris thinks. She'll be living with them for at least a year. Besides, Hannah reminds her of a friend back home. She hopes they get along. She kinda missed having friends.
"Iris, we're going to be friends, right?" Hannah says, her smile faltering slightly. Iris takes a moment to look at her before answering.
She has long, curly blonde hair that reaches down to her waist. Her skin is fair with a slight hint of a tan still left from summer. Her big brown eyes are framed with long eyelashes. All in all, she looks like a model out of a magazine with her fancy riding gear still on from her workout.
"Sure," Iris replies finally, a small smile tugging at her lips. She doesn't recall ever meeting someone this friendly. She guesses she just keeps meeting the wrong people, then.
"Yay!" Hannah squeals, nearly tackling Iris off the side of the bed as she hugs her again. "Come on, let's go introduce you to everyone else."
They walk out of the bedroom together, down the hall and down the stairs.
In the living room sits four men, all focused on the television. They're watching football, Iris guesses. She's never seen a real football game, not even on TV. The men all look at them as they enter.
Iris has to catch her jaw before it hits the ground. Sitting there, in the middle of the living room, is her best friend.
Well, she thinks it is. Kanan looks different. His hair is longer and, somehow, he managed to build some muscle. Iris recalls going to the gym with him every day for a year, yet he never seemed to get anywhere.
His eyes widen as he rises, looking at her in utter disbelief. He walks over to where Iris is standing, slowly, as if not to startle her.
"Iris, I can explain," he says as he reaches her. Now, standing about a foot away from him, she can definitely say that this is Kanan. Her Kanan. The Kanan that left her stranded back home with no idea what happened to him. She didn't even know if he was alive or not!
She feels anger begin to simmer in the pit of her stomach. He had no right to do that. And now, he wants to explain? No, she's not having this.
So, you know what she does?
She punches him square in the face.
Her knuckles sting as his head whips to the side. She grumbles profanities as she clutches her fist to her chest. That hurt. Why did that hurt? Iris had never punched anything that made her fist hurt like this.
"I deserved that," Kanan mutters after a moment of shocked silence in the room.
"Yeah, no kidding," Iris grumbles back, shaking her fist in the air. It's a feeble attempt to deal with the pain. She's never been hurt like this, and it hurts like hell.
***
A few minutes later, Iris is seated on the leather chair Kanan was sitting on a few moments ago, clutching an ice pack to her fist. She's satisfied to see that there's a slight mark on Kanan's jaw. Her pain isn't for nothing after all.
Hannah places a cup of tea next to Iris. She gives the girl a thankful smile before turning her attention back to Kanan, who's sitting opposite her.
"I'm sorry about your ha-" he starts after a moment of silence.
"Not your fault," Iris cuts him off, earning herself a pointed look. She sighs, nodding for him to continue.
"Like I said, I'm sorry about your hand. I hope it isn't hurt too badly?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay, good. Can we talk about why you punched me?"
"I punched you because I'm pissed. There's nothing to it."
He sighs in frustration. Iris is giving him a hard time and she knows it. They both know it. Yet, she has no intentions of stopping. She feels her hurt and betrayal simmer in the pit of her stomach.
"Iris, please," he pleads, running a hand through his dark hair. He doesn't look annoyed like she'd expect him to. Instead, he looks sad. Even when she's mad at him, she feels something tug at her heart.
Iris sighs in defeat, completely discarding her stubbornness. "Fine."
"Thank you," he looks relieved. "I want to explain why I left."
"Go ahead."
"My parents forced me, Iris. They didn't want me talking to you anymore. I'm so sorry." Again, he runs a hand through his hair, avoiding all eye contact. She feels like rolling her eyes. If he apologises again, she's going to have to punch the other side of his face, just to even things out, you know?
"And you expect me to believe that?" Her question isn't hostile or even bitter. It was very genuine. She wanted to know if he truly expected her to believe anything he's saying, even after he betrayed her by leaving.
"Iris, I-"
"Do you expect me to believe you? Yes or no?"
"No," he says, still looking down. His expression turns sheepish as he stares at his hands in his lap. Iris nods slowly. She didn't think so.
"What do you want me to believe, then?" Finally he looks up at her. She's making this hard on him. She can see it in his eyes. They're begging her to forgive him.
"I want you to believe that I would never hurt you if I didn't have a very good reason," he says, willing his friend to understand. She does. She understands. But she doesn't think that's a good enough reason to leave her stranded without a clue of what was happening. She doesn't mention that, though.
"I believe you," Iris says instead of pointing out that what she truly wants is a better explanation. To know the actual reason he'd left. A look of relief washes over him as he relaxes. A small smile forms on his lips.
To break the ice- literally- Iris chucks her ice pack at Kanan's head in a last attempt to rid herself of the pent up anger. It hits him square in the face, making her giggle a little as he frowns. He opens the pack and takes out a hand full of ice.
Her eyes widen in realisation as a smirk plays at his lips. Iris gets up to run but before she can go very far, he catches her, throwing the ice down the back of her shirt. She yelps, making everyone else laugh.
I guess the ice is broken now, she thinks as she laughs with them.
*ð*
"She wears strength and darkness equally well. The girl has always been half goddess, half hell." - Unknown
It's literally 4:50 am right nowð© I hope you guys like this chapter, though! If you do, please vote and comment to tell me what you think!
~ Danielle