What You Can't Understand

To crawl inside anothers' mind, to peek inside their thoughts... Oh, an amazing ability that would be. We try so hard, to please others, to do the right thing by their standards, but often times it is impossible to judge what the right actions or words are -- and when they fail, the consequences can be dire.

The best one can hope for is that in the long run, actions are at least understood, and reconciled, if things turn sour. As long as one has the best intentions, it makes their words, their actions, forgivable eventually... Right?

... Right?

Ugh, can't we just have telepathy already?

---

Meredith Kane, in her rather busy homie lifestyle, was finally beginning to reach the point of realization that, if she kept on her current path, she would go insane.

Okay. Maybe she was already partly insane -- but she'd be justifiable, at this rate. Even though she cranked out paintings and enjoyed taking care of her family, it was becoming monotonous, and no matter how much of a Loner she was, she had to get out. She had to do something.

Her husband was making the effort to change -- it was now her turn.



First stop: getting a makeover. Meredith wasn't really sure what to expect, but everyone in Twinbrook swore by Beverly Castor's sense of style, so, what the heck -- she'd give it a try.



Apparently, Beverly felt that Meredith needed a bit of a 'professional' look, and threw her into a red pantsuit.

Bright red? Mrowr! Despite the fact that it obviously wasn't her color, Meredith loved the outcome -- but, anything bright was great in her book. And, it was just what she needed... A bit of a self-esteem booster, if you must.

"Maybe it's time for a new job, too," she thought to herself, but for now, she cast that thought aside. Not with Amelia home all the time -- painting allowed her to play housewife, and she didn't trust anyone to handle her daughter for most of the day.



Mid-thought about her future as she exited the salon, she almost bumped right into Eva, who had her daughter Alesha settled on her hip.

"Hey, Meredith! Haven't seen you in quite a while," Eva smiled. "How've things been?"

"They've been... uh. Well, alright, I guess."

"Just got a makeover, huh?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Meredith responded with a shrug. "Beverly thought I could use a confidence booster..." After saying that, it gave her a bit of an idea. She really did feel like she had a lot of confidence, right now. "Say, you think we can go for a walk together? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Sure!" was Eva's delighted response. "I was just dropping Alesha off at day-care before I have to head off for work, I've got a few minutes before I need to be at the bookstore."



As they walked towards the lake, conversation leaned towards the normal; how Alesha had finally learned most of her colors, Mere joked about one of Jeb's latest cases, how the boys were doing in school, their girlfriends, and how Eva's job at the bookstore was going.

It wasn't until Meredith stopped by the lakeshore that Eva finally asked, "So, what's up?"

"There's something I need to tell you, Eva. This is really hard to do, but I know I couldn't say I was your friend and keep this from you. It's just not fair to you." Mere's face was already beginning to feel hot, but, even as nervous as she was, she knew there was no way she could back down, now.

Eva seemed incredibly confused, so Meredith just got it out as quick as she could. "I was vulnerable, things weren't going well with Jeb, Shamus must've found out from you, and he showed up and... I really needed someone and..."

Meredith didn't need to say anymore -- Eva already started to get the picture. She knew her husband too well.



"What're you saying, Mere," Eva asked with a straight face. "That you slept with my husband?"

All the courage that Meredith had mustered was already gone, spent on spewing out her explanation as fast as possible -- all that was left was a quick nod, and an incredibly mournful, "Yeah."



Meredith began to say, "I'm so, so sorry, Eva... I hate myself for doing this to you..." but Eva had already begun to turn away. Her expression was cold... She seemed utterly emotionless, but Meredith knew otherwise.



She knew exactly as her friend would feel -- and Mere had never felt more ashamed. Of all people, Meredith should have known better. But she didn't. And now, her one friend was suddenly no more.



As Eva disappeared from sight, Meredith began to sob into her hands. "Why did you do that, Meredith?" she asked herself aloud. "Why? She didn't want to know... She would've been happier not knowing. What good could that have possibly done?"



As soon as she got home, Meredith told Jeb, her face still streaked with tears. Surprisingly, though, he was supportive.

"She may not have wanted to hear it Mere, but you can't live a lie. I know how much they eat you alive... It would've killed you, to not tell her."

"B-b-but her, Jeb... I hurt her."

"There's nothing else you could've done, Mere," Jeb said, holding her tighter. "She deserved the truth just as much as I did. And I'm proud of you, dear... I really am."

---

Ever since the Kanes had moved to Twinbrook, Jeb had begun neglecting his fighting skills -- it was obvious, when he saw how close Shamus came to actually winning that day in the Red Rendezvous. Although he had plenty of other things to be worrying about right now, he figured that getting back into the martial arts scene would actually help settle his temper.

And, lucky for him, Twinbrook had recently gotten an academy built across the river. He knew he wouldn't have time to teach like he used to, but at least he could go show off.



To his surprise, there was someone at the academy he did not particularly want to see... But in all reality, he shouldn'tve been surprised. Tatianna Solez did not seem the type to deny training to fight when it was available.



He did try to be civil. "Just starting, hmm?" he asked as he shook her hand, which was more of a gesture for the public than anything else -- he didn't want anyone to know how much he hated her.

"I've actually had a fair amount of training, just never got around to getting a higher belt," she remarked coldly as she pulled her hand away.

"Oh?" Jebidiah's smile grew slyly. "Well... Why don't we put your skills to the test then, shall we?"



Tatianna, always eager to prove herself, instantly agreed to a 'duel'.

They bowed, as is proper, but the look in Tatianna's eyes, and the sour frown on her face, said more to Jeb than any words could -- she wanted to show him 'who's boss'... And Jeb was fairly sure he knew that outcome.



She was certainly quick, and her actions were decisive...



Very agile, aggressive maneuvors...



And he certainly did not expect a flying kick from someone with a white belt; Tatianna knew her stuff, even if she didn't have the rank to prove it.



But, all Jeb had to do was a flying maneuvor of his own to catch her off-guard, and the duel was ended with a rather abrupt *whack* to Tatianna's shoulder.

"Never think you're better than Jebidiah Kane... you'll be proved wrong every time." was his final thoughs; such an egotist, Jebidiah is.



"Ooo, look at me, I'm Blackjack Kane, best computer hacker in Simerica, I can do anything better than you, except keep my family out of deebbbtt..." Tatianna mocked, clearly a little peeved that she wasn't able to beat him.



Jebidiah was not particularly happy with that. "What, so because you're choosing to make my life a living hell, I'm a worse person for it?" He lowered his voice, and continued. "Yeah right, Tatianna, the only reason you're milking me for money is because I actually have the skills to make some, and you're just a half-bit loser whose only talent is making everyone else miserable, so you'd rather sit on your butt all day and let someone else make your living for you!"



"Don't you dare accuse me of being lazy, Mr. Kane!" Tatianna jibed back. "Not when it's your own fault that you're in this position! I am doing you a favor, you should be thanking me!"

"Yeah... right," Jeb said with sarcasm, scrunching his nose and turning away. "You're nothing but a thorn in my side, Tatianna... You're worth nothing, to anyone... you're just following me around because you're too lonely to admit you have no one else. You're pathetic... and I feel sorry for you."

As he disappeared down the stairs to leave the academy, Tatia's heart sank; she knew he was right, and there was nothing worse in the world than having to admit that.

---

Several days after his encounter at the hot springs, Bradley Kane's ecstasy was beginning to wear off. He still couldn't strip the smile off his face, but suddenly, things between him and Emerald had become incredibly awkward.

They had admitted to each other that they liked each other, but what did that mean? Was he supposed to sweep her off her feet? Kiss her again? He had absolutely no idea what she wanted -- she was usually blunt enough to say that for herself when she wanted something -- so they were hanging in some sort of ethereal limbo in the meantime.



Since Emerald's computer-tech class was working overtime after school to finish a project due by the next weekend, Bradley found himself with a bucketful of time to consider how to handle the situation. He knew he had to be careful... one wrong move and it could screw everything up.

He tried to talk to Amelia about the issue, but she obviously didn't have a clue what he was talking about; so while he tried to relate his tale to the characters in Jimmy Sprocket, Amelia just laughed and pointed at pictures. Very unhelpful.



Their cousin July had recently become a teenager, and since Brad and July had been close as kids, he decided to seek out her advice. She was a girl, and all.

"You're asking me?" July said, frustrated. "Well, I dunno what you should do, Brad, I hardly know Emerald. She seems like a pretty sweet gal, but all I know is that when you rush into relationships, bad things happen. I mean, look at my parents -- they got married as soon as my mom found out she was pregnant with June, and now look where they are, talking about a divorce.'

'You shouldn't do anything until you're sure about it. And since you obviously aren't sure..."




In the meantime, things seemed to be going extraordinarily well for Travis and Jade. Bradley decided that Emerald had to be joking, about Jade having doubts -- she seemed as nuts about the relationship as Travis.



In fact, they never seemed unhappy about anything. Everytime Bradley saw them, they were all over each other. Kinda annoying, but, it meant they had to be doing something right. Maybe Travis was the right one to ask!



But when he asked advice about what to do about Emerald, Travis was incredibly unhelpful.

"You just gotta jump her, Brad! Show her you've got guts! I mean, lookit what that landed me with Jade... I took her the second I could, and now she's crazy for me! You have no idea the sorta things I've been able to talk her into, since she's head over heels for me..."

No, Brad didn't like that at all. If Emerald wanted an impulsive moron, she wouldn't like him. Not that he's saying that his brother is a moron...

... Okay, yeah, he is. But he still loves him -- just... can't trust that opinion.



The only resource that Brad had left was Parker Prudence, the only other kid in school dorky enough to consider being Bradley's friend. Parker was kind of irritating, but he was a brilliant member of their chess team, and Brad always admired his logical skills -- so he had to be able to help him figure out this one, right?

"So what do you think I should do, Parker? I mean, I really like her, but I'm afraid if I do something spontaneous than she'll stop liking me."

"Well, she's been the one making all the moves so far, right?"

Embarrassed, Brad responded, "Right..."



"Then don't do anything," Parker said definitively. "I know Emerald pretty well, and she seems like the type that does what she wants, when she wants. If she wanted more, she either would've said something, or done it herself. It's best to let her keep the reigns, it'll prevent you from screwing something up."

Hmm. Bradley could definitely relate to that logic! "Well, I guess I'll see how that goes. It couldn't hurt... She's always been really vocal about what she wants, I'm sure she would've said something if she wanted more."

"Exactly."

Well, Brad guessed he had his answer, at least for now...
... but he hoped he had the right one.