Blood

Odd. That was the only way to describe the feeling in Korrissa's stomach as she walked down the unceasing hallway. She was enthusiastic to see Marrissa. But, she couldn't help but question herself. Was this really the right thing to do? She couldn't avoid Brian, she knew that, but it took her all night just to be able to say his name aloud. What would happen when she actually saw him? His adorned skin, his warm and inviting hands that used to hold her cold fingers in a way that seemed almost peculiar, his ensuring voice that she had tried so hard to forget, but could never quite shake from the back of her mind. She couldn't ever look at him the same, just as she could never look at herself the same. For as long as she'd live, she'd always see him as the one person in the world that made her life a living hell, enjoyably. And she'd forever look in the mirror, hating what she saw because of what she'd done. What if he had moved on? She hadn't prepared herself for that. She didn't even want to think of that possibility, even if that's what she wanted previously. And she still did, in some ways.

She wanted for Brian to love someone, to be happy with some girl that would always give him what he deserved. But, on the other hand, she wanted him to never look at another girls face the way he did hers. She didn't want him to touch any other girl the way he had touched her. She didn't want his lips to be upon anyone else's. She didn't want him to wrap his arms around anyone but her. She just wanted him to be happy, to feel loved, to be loved. But she didn't want anyone else to do it.

Marrissa, surely, wasn't the only one who knew that she was coming back. She had spoken some things to Matt. Not everything, of course, but some. Did anyone else know? Would Marrissa be the only one waiting for her at the end of this never-ending hall?

She was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts when a small, fragile hand slipped itself into hers. Korrissa looked down to see the small boy to her right who had been just a few seats in front of her on the plane. His hair was in a short, spiked mohawk, the tips tinted a bright green. He had fair, olive skin, and big blue eyes that seemed to be so happy as he looked up at her, grinning.

Korrissa's first instinct was to look around for the tattooed woman he had been sitting with on the plane, and she quickly spotted her a few feet in front of the two of them, giving Kory a small, reassuring smile before glancing at the small boy, giving him a thumbs up.

A bit confused, she looked down to the boy, he couldn't have been any taller than four foot. "I'm Kory. What's your name?" She asked, not being able to refrain from grinning.

If possible, his smile seemed to get even larger. "I'm Ruben, but everyone calls me Ruby. Can I look at your tattoos? Mommy has them too, and I think they're really cool," he said, his gaze going from her eyes, straight to her enhanced wrist. "I want tattoos when I'm older. Mommy says that they're like painting a picture of your heart on you arms, but in a bunch of different ways."

"How about, once we get out of this really long hallway, I can stop by the side and you can take a look at 'em," she suggested, a grin on her face.

He nodded quickly, squeezing Kory's cold hand even tighter. "Kory? Why are you sad?"

The question surprised her, more than she thought it would. How was she supposed to explain something like that to a kid? "What makes you think I'm sad?"

Ruben replied just as she asked,not hesitating to explain anything. "My Mommy had sad eyes too, but then Joey made her happy. Joey's kind of like my dad, except he's not," he answered, "I think you're sad too."

It was a bit scary at first, how accurate a boy who could be no older then five was. But then she accepted that it wasn't going to hurt anything if she told the truth. "I think I did something the wrong way a long time ago, but I don't think I can change it now," she confessed. It was a lot harder saying it aloud as opposed to just knowing it.

Shaking his head, Ruben began swinging his hand back and forth with Kory's. "No, you can always change somethin' if you try hard. When I build my Lego house, and Mittens messes it up, I always just re-do it. It's easy."

Kory only sighed. "I'll have to use your advice," she said, smiling. They had finally come to the end of the walk way, emerging into the bright lights and crowds of people. To her left, stood the tattooed woman Kory assumed to be Ruben's mother. Kory placed her book bag full of essentials on the ground, and pushed her hair all the way behind her back, before extending both of her arms out.

Ruben gently looked over the ink, running his small, gentle fingers across the colorful pieces. He seemed to notice every individual one, as if spending an uneven amount of time looking over one in specific would have been unjust. "I like this one!" he mused, pointing to the small Deathbat on her shoulder.

She only giggled. "Me too," she said, memories flooding her brain. She felt oddly delighted at his enthusiasm, unsure as to why it was so satisfying. He scanned over the last few he hadn't been able to see yet, before removing his hands. "Whataya think?"

He nodded. "They're really cool. I hope you get more some day. Mom? Can we get lunch yet?" He asked, grabbing the woman's hand just as he had grabbed Kory's previously.

She nodded. "Sure. Tell her thank you," she instructed. She looked almost as radiant as Kory did about the situation. Her blue eyes matched Rubens, and her pale skin was decorated with what seemed like hundreds of different colors and designs. Or, 'pictures of her heart,' as Ruben had put it.

"Thank you, Kory!" Ruben said, before tugging the woman along, towards the row of three different restaurants along the east side of the airport.

Gathering her bag quickly, Kory looked around to find Marrissa. When she did, she couldn't help but to walk a bit faster than she needed to. She pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, taking in her familiar scent. Her warm embrace was one thing Kory had missed terribly.

To Kory's relief, it was only Marrissa at the airport. She wasn't sure if she was ready to take on everyone at once. She would need a few hours in between rekindling with everyone. "You smell really good, what is that?"

Marrissa laughed at Kory's compliment. She had changed more than Marrissa had imagined. Her light colored hair was now a blue-black color, reaching to the middle of her back, she was somewhat paler, not getting as much sun as she had in California. Her skin was more decorated than it was when she left, and her tawny eyes seemed darkened to almost a chocolate color. "Urban Decay, Matt got it for me," she answered, grinning at the sight of her.

She nodded. "It's hot, I like it," she commented, laughing. It was quiet for a moment, before Kory caved and pulled Marrissa into another hug. She was suddenly hit with how much she had actually missed her best friend. Of course she had missed her, but she didn't think that it would've been this much. She hadn't ever felt this happy to see someone before.

"Don't fall," Marrissa said, keeping her eyes focused on Kory.

At first, she was completely puzzled by Marrissa's sudden statement, but when long arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders, pulling her closer than it seemed possible, she was quickly answered. He had surprised her with the amount of force executed, pushing her forward some. "Jimmy!" She turned in his embrace, so she could wrap her arms around him as well.

"You little shit! You said it wouldn't be forever, but that was way longer than forever!" he exclaimed, holding her by her wrists at arms length, taking in how much she'd changed. "And you've got new ink, how rebellious of you."

Kory only laughed. "It's rad, right? I like this one," she turned around, moving her hair to reveal the purple octopus on her right shoulder, it's tentacles stretching all the way to her collar bone.

He nodded in approval. "It's cool, but still not as rad as this one," he teased, pointing to the familiar symbol on her shoulder. "You're staying for a while, right?"

She could only nod in response. She had no where else to go. She didn't know how to live on her own. And, if that marked her as childish, then she'd take the label proudly.

"Good. We have a lot of plans to catch up on," he stated, grinning.

Marrissa stepped towards them. "Not to interrupt the moment or anything, but she's mine too. You have to share," she said, giggling softly.

Kory chuckled. "Come on, I need my stuff," she stated, walking towards the baggage claim. Still, despite some of the interesting and pleasant events that had happened in the last ten minutes, the gnawing thoughts in her head wouldn't go away. Does he know? Does he care? She figured that it was now or never to ask. "Hey, Riss? Does everyone know I'm back?"

Both Marrissa and Jimmy knew exactly what that meant. They exchanged glances, before Marrissa answered. "Just Matt and us. And the only reason Jimmy knows is because he wouldn't stop asking about it," she teased, poking him in the ribs affectionately.

Jimmy acted as if he was offended, placing his hand on his chest. "Hey, I'm her best friend! Right, Kor?"

Laughing, Kory shook her head at the both of them. "You're ridiculous," she replied, "Both of you." It was somewhat easier to enjoy herself now, knowing that everyone wouldn't be upset with her the second she stepped foot from the airport. Not that it would make things any easier, but it relieved her.

"Matt said that you can crash at our place until everything's settled back down. I don't think Mason's gonna take things lightly," Marrissa said, giving Kory a sympathetic look as they all walked towards the exit.

She nodded. "I really appreciate that, more than you realize."

Jimmy piped up then. "Hey, since no one knows you're back yet, why don't we have a cookout or something? Mel's gotten pretty close to us, so I know she'll come. And Mason has before but I imagine you'd want to talk to them before hand," he suggested, shrugging. He wished he could understand what she was going through. But, then again, maybe he didn't. Either way, he wasn't blind to how upset she was, by all means.

Marrissa nodded. "Yeah, we can have it at my place. I can get the pool cleaned by this weekend, and that gives you a few days to get over to Mason's. We don't have to invite everyone, if you want just a few select people," she said, for Kory's sake. She could have almost predicted the answer though.

"No, that's okay. Invite him. He'd be pissed if you didn't. I don't think I'll get around him anyways," she shrugged, her eyes falling down to her shoes. "Saturday, then?"

Marrissa nodded. "Saturday."