Changing Our Ways (KIRA)

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Lawson stared at Saga stunned, the same expression was also on the faces of her father and mother. Ash just looked too upset and dejected to have even noticed. For a moment her father had looked proud as Saga stood up against him but not he just looked angry and sad. He glared at Ash for a moment and it was during that time that Saga fainted.

Ash was barely paying attention, he just knew that her father wanted him to leave. That Saga wanted him to leave. That everything had gone so bad when it shouldn't have. When it should have been better. Things were meant to be going well for them. But they weren't. But then Saga was on the floor in front of him with her eyes closed. He was shocked and horrified.

Ash forgot all about her request for him not to touch her. Within an instant he had scooped her up in his arms and laid her on the bed. Gritting his teeth against the burning in his side. Ash sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Saga's hair out if her face. He let his hand rest on her skin lightly but then her dad was pushing him out of the way. Her mum standing at the end of the bed in tears and her father bending over her. Taking on Ash's place.

[Lotus]

Saga groaned and her head was throbbing along with every muscle in her body; especially in her lower regions. Her eyes flicked open and she rolled over, shielding her eyes from the onslaught of light in her room. Where was it all coming from? It couldn't be morning already could it?

She heard shuffling next to him and peaked out to see her mum asleep in a chair by her bed. Why was her mum here? She rolled back over and found her dad standing over her. That's when she remembered. She shied away from him slightly and looked around the room. She sat bolt upright and whimpered from the sudden movement, only to have her dad's hand pushing her back down gently.

"W-Where's Ash and Lawson?" Her eyes were darting around her room frantically. Where were they?

[Deleted]

Ash had wanted to stay with Saga constantly. To be there to hold her hand when she woke up and to whisper soothing words to her. To remind her that he loved her and that she was the most important thing in the world. But her dad hadn't let him stay close and it was through Lawson pulling him away and out of the room that they were even allowed to stay in the house.

Ash didn't understand why her father was being like this. He thought the man had come to like him, to accept him at the very least as someone his daughter wanted around. But apparently not. Lawson explained what had happened and why from her parents viewpoint they were angry at Ash. He explained how the scream and shouts coming from Saga made it seem like someone was attacking her and for them to then come upstairs and see ash standing over her her father had presumed the worse.

Ash groaned and let his head sink to the kitchen table. He didn't know what to do anymore. He loved Saga more then anything but it was like something was juts trying to keep them apart. He hated it.

[Lotus]

Her dad looked at her with sad eyes. "They're both downstairs baby girl." He soothed softly and she could tell he felt guilty over blaming Ash and sending them away. But she also understood now that he was only trying to protect her.

"I'm sorry..." She managed to choke out as a few more tears trailed down her cheeks. Her dad soothed her and she felt a new set of hands on her. She turned her head to see that her mum had woken up and was now looking just as worried as her dad. "Wh-y do you lo-ok so worr-ied...?" She looked around the room again frantically, "I want them here too..." Her dad sighed and wandered off after a glance in her mums direction.

[Deleted]

Lawson had made Ash a drink and the two of them were sitting in the table in silence. A silence that spoke of their worry and anguish over their mutual love. Saga. But that was making things tense, Lawson could see it in the way Ash's muscles tensed. When her dad came downstairs and into the kitchen he was almost relieved.

Ash looked up at Saga's father. "Sir... I'm so sorry..." He said quietly, not sounding like himself at all.

Her dad didn't seem to happy but the words that came out of his mouth were the best thing that Ash had heard. "She wants both of you with her."

Ash found himself smiling and managed to suppress it. He stood up slowly and glanced over at Lawson who was also standing. The two of them made there way upstairs behind her dad. When Ash entered the room he took a deep breath and looked at Saga. She seemed so small and frail in the bed. So hurt and broken. It killed him inside.

Ash walked over to the end of the bed but he was nervous about going closer because of what she said before. "Saga..." He breathed out.

[Lotus]

Saga heard the footsteps up the stairs and whispered to her mum. "How do I get through this?" Her mum just smiled and told her she would. They were all strong. As soon as the door opened tears filled her eyes at the looks on both their faces. They were both etched with the same worry and she hated it.

Instead of answering, Saga sat up and crawled to the end of the bed, flinging her arms around Ash's waist despite the whimpers and sobs coming from her mouth. She flailed her hand behind her and found Lawson. She gripped his t-shirt in hopes he'd come closer or at least hold her hand. She needed the both of them. She needed all of them.

[Deleted]

Ash was so relieved when Saga hugged him but at the same time he was filled with such sadness. He looked down at her with a small smile on his face. He saw how awkward a position she was in and so Ash moved around and sat on the edge of the bed allowing her to hold onto him. He gently wrapped his own arms around her and stroked her hair. "I love you..."

Lawson looked at Saga and smiled. As Ash moved away he took a step closer to the bed and gripped onto Saga's hand. He had such a longing to say the same words that Ash had just spoken but he couldn't and he knew that. Ash knew it to. But Saga didn't.

[Lotus]

Saga gripped Ash's shirt with one hand while she gripped Lawson's hand with the other. The tears in her eyes didn't fall though; instead she was just numb. Numb all over and non-caring of what happened to her any more. All she wanted was the people around her to be okay.

She buried her face in Ash's chest and tugged on Lawson's hand to sit down, either on the bed or the floor in front of her. She needed to know he was okay too. She heard Ash's words, but she couldn't open her mouth to speak. She couldn't find the words within her to say them out loud. Of course she loved him, she could never not love him, but the hurt she was feeling was occupying too much of her mentality to let such words slip out.

She buried her face closer and breathed deeply. Loving the smell of comfort he brought with him.

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Lawson smiled gently at Saga. He was cautious, worried about how she was feeling and whether she would start to cry again. That had been awful to see but the screaming had been even worse. But Lawson was unable to do anything but just sit and watch her helplessly. He went and sat down on the floor in front of Ash and Saga. He lent his back against the bed and didn't let go of her hand. He wanted to keep her close, even if she would never feel the same way about him.

Ash smiled sadly, he reached up a hand and brushed her hair gently. He liked having her close but the memory of what had just happened was till fresh. Ash sighed gently to himself and looked over Saga's head at his brother and then at her parents. Her mum's eyes were wet but her dad was watching him, judging him. That made Ash uneasy.

Saga still hadn't said anything and that made him worried. What if she didn't love him? No. That wasn't true, if she didn't love him she wouldn't be so close to him. He didn't know how she was thinking right now but he wanted to make her feel special again.

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world..." he whispered into her ear.

[Lotus]

Saga wanted to bury her head further in his chest and never look up at the world again. She didn't want to re-face the harsh reality that was her life. It was far too painful, and not only for her but for every person she held dear to her heart. But instead, she tried to acknowledge him. She shifted her head slightly and looked up at him, her hair covering her eyes a little. She let one corner of her mouth turn up in response before she looked down to Lawson.

He was sitting there watching his brother and her, his eyes constantly flickering. Then they flickered around the room; it was like he was keeping guard. She wanted to say something. She wanted to make this all better, but when she looked up to see her mum's eyes, red and puffy, and her dad's cold face she knew she could never do anything to right her wrongs.

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Ash looked down into Saga's eyes and smiled at her. He gently reached out a hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He wanted to say something but now wasn't the time and to be honest he didn't know where to start. He was worried that he might upset her again and he couldn't do that. He couldn't do that anymore then he could kiss her. He wanted that as well but he wasn't going to touch her in that way, not until she was ready. Even if that turned out to be never.

Lawson smiled slightly but he was on edge. He was uncomfortable with how he felt about saga and the fact that his heart was trying to get his brain to do something stupid which would just hurt both her and Ash. No. He couldn't act on how he felt. He was just scared that one day he might lose control.

[Lotus]

Saga looked to the wall across from where she was sitting and stared. Everyone was hurt, everyone was upset and worried. And that was all because of her. Sometimes she wished she'd carried on being the image the district wanted her to be or the bullies had gone too far and they'd ended her. Less people would've been hurt that way.

"I'm sorry..." She croaked out, still staring at the wall. "For everything. I mean it..."

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Ash was stunned and glanced down at her. Lawson looked up at Saga with disbelief. Her mum looked up and stared at her daughter from looking at her hands and her dad's face softened. "There is no need for you to apologise... " Ash said to her gently, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"None of this is your fault," Her mum said quietly, sadness filled her. "None of it." Her dad added, there was hint of anger in his voice. Lawson nodded his head in agreement.

Ash turned saga's to face him. "You never need to apologise for anything that's happened and I don't want you to worry about it anymore... I'm going to protect you, properly this time..."

[Lotus]

Saga shook her head though, despite what everyone was saying and hid her face back in Ash's chest, holding onto Lawson's hand even tighter than she was before; ignoring the pain. What Ash said to her hurt her. He still wanted to protect her after everything that had happened to them. He felt bad that things like this had happened because he hadn't protected her, yet if he hadn't of saved her the first time she'd be much worse off than she was right at that moment.

"If it wasn't for me though, we would all be okay and happy..." She mumbled, but didn't dare look at anyone.

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Ash shook his head at that. He didn't believe it one bit because none of what had happened was saga's fault. She was his whole world and she had to know that. She had to know what had happened wasn't because of her but those pathetic brutes he took pleasure out of hurting innocents. Ash would get them back for that and so would Lawson.

Ash tilted his head and reached out a hand. He stroked Saga's cheek and lifted her head up so that she was looking at him with her beautiful eyes. "Saga... you make me happy, I don't need anything else to make me happy... without you I wouldn't be happy, its because of you that every day I wake up I know its going to be a great day..." He said gently. Ash so badly wanted to kiss her.

[Lotus]

Saga shook her head, her eyes filling with more tears. She ripped her head from his hands and buried it in his chest, sobbing. She felt Lawson squeeze her hand and Ash tracing patterns up and down her arms. How could she do this to them? How could they still be helping her through something she'd forced upon them? It didn't seem fair and she couldn't help but think they'd be far better off without her.

Slowly, despite everything she thought, their comforting ways allowed her to calm down. She sighed softly and closed her eyes in the darkness she'd created for herself in Ash's safe embrace. She was exhausted from everything that had happened. She needed to rest, so she slowly let herself relax; her hand loosening around Lawson's and her tense shoulders relaxing. Soon enough she'd drifted off.

[Deleted]

Ash looked down at Saga to see the regular and gentle rise and all of her chest. She was asleep. He looked down at Lawson as his brother released her hand. He glanced up at her parents, her mum was smiling softly but her dad's face was still slightly hard.

"Let her sleep now." He said coolly, Ash nodded his head. He hoped that they would let him stay in her room tonight. That he could protect her tonight. Ash gently disentangled himself from Saga and gently tested her down against the bed. Pulling the covers out from underneath her and wrapping them back over them. He smiled gently and brushed a piece of her off of her head. He kissed her gently on the forehead.

[Lotus]

Her dreams were far from peaceful, but she still slept until the sun started streaming in through her window. She had always loved that view in the mornings, but this time it couldn't even bring a sad smile to her lips. She turned over to find Ash asleep in his bed, but she wondered where Lawson was. She looked back to her window and saw a head lolling over the edge of her couch. For some odd reason the sight of him like that brought a soft smile to her lips. She looked back to where Ash was and he'd now turned over. Seeing him sent butterflies going in her stomach and she once again smiled softly.

She pulled her covers back and padded over to her window. She looked at Lawson briefly before sitting cross legged on her wooden floor, her knees touching the glass of the window. She rested her head against it and looked out at her garden. The sun just hitting the grass and the trees gave everything a warm glow and it started making her a little better, if not sad that her life couldn't be perfect like the natural world.

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Ash was grateful that her parents hadn't minded him still sleeping in saga's room. They'd even let Lawson stay on the sofa. They had been very grateful about that. Ash was so worried about Saga that he liked having his brother so close to him. It made him feel better. He would need his brother's strength and support - he could get over his feelings for saga - today, especially seeing as they were clearing out Ace's room.

Ash woke up and found himself facing an empty bed. He bolted upright. Saga?! He looked around the room frantically until he saw the long brown hair over by the window. He sighed with relief and quietly padded across the room on barefeet. He wanted to pull Saga to him in a hug but he couldn't touch her unless she wnated it. Instead he sat down next to her on the floor with a grunt from his side. "Morning"

[Lotus]

Saga heard the padding of feet and half expected arms to be wrapped around her, but she would only shy away from them so she was glad when he only sat down next to her. They were close enough that she felt his comfort but far enough apart that she wouldn't feel scared. Last night had been different; she'd needed the comfort and it was purely for comfort, but what it would have been this morning would have been out of love and she couldn't handle that.

"Morning." She whispered back, still watching the garden as a light breeze blew threw the trees. She turned back to look at Lawson, "He sleep like a baby..." She whispered again, before turning to look at Ash for the first time. He looked exhausted. His hair was sticking up all over the place, but he looked young and carefree with a slightly red cheek from where he'd been laying on it. The butterflies came back and she felt heat rise in her cheeks as she smiled softly. She'd just been openly checking him out.

[Deleted]

Ash looked behind him at Lawson and smiled. He had always had an easier time sleeping and it took a lot to wake him up. Ash had tried, well experimented more then anything. He smiled back at Saga. He was glad that she didn't seem as bad as she was last night. That had worried and upset him badly. He had wanted to help her so baldy but he just didn't know how.

He noticed how she was starting at him, the gleam in her eyes that he could't quite place but it made her even more beautiful. He so badly wanted to reach down and take her hand but he couldn't. "How are you feeling?" he whispered gently/.

[Lotus]

Saga turned her head away from his and rested it back against the window. "Tired of this whole mess. But I want to forget what happened yesterday and move on. Today is a new day and the start of a new life... I hope..." She said back quietly; not whispering.

She heard movement behind them and she looked back round to see Lawson shifting on the couch. "He looked uncomfortable..."

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Ash smiled sad;y. he agreed with Saga but he still wanted to pull her into a hug and hold her close to him. Tell her how much he loved her and make things better. That was what he wanted to do but what he couldn't do unless she let him. And she wouldn't. "It will be..." he replied sadly, his voice barely above a whisper.

He looked behind him at Lawson and stifled a laugh as his brother's mouth fell open before his eyes fluttered and he woke up. Lawson was stiff and stretched out across the sofa, opening his eyes and startling. He hadn't expected both Saga and Ash to be staring at him. It got his heart going.

[Lotus]

Saga smiled softly at his reaction and the way he looked so similar to his brother when he'd just woken up. He also had a red cheek and his hair was sticking out all over the place. The only difference was he looked slightly more like a rabbit caught in the head lights, but that could be because there were two people staring at him as he woke up.

"Morning." She smiled softly up to him, before she turned back to the window. Both her saviours were up and for some reason, that made butterflies start up in stomach again and her palms to start feeling clammy. These were such odd sensations to be having and she couldn't help but feel they weren't only because of Ash. That made her feel guilty.

[Deleted]

Lawson let himself smile at Saga. He was glad that Saga was up and that she actually smiled at him. It eased some of his fears about how she might be doing. He looked at Ash, he was smiling too but his eyes looked sad. He could gather that he wanted to be able to hold Saga but she didn't want that. And both of them understood that after everything that had happened.

Lawson sat up on the sofa and let the blanket fall away from him. "Morning." He said sleepily. "How you doing Saga?"