Chapter One

A/N: For my Naruto-followers: The sequel to 'Initiation' (Now named Recognition) will be published after this one. Sorry, I guess you'll have to wait. XD Also, this will probably be a pretty long fanfic so...yay! :D

The sound of domestic life fills our apartment flat. Pots and pans clinking, along with the hiss of cooking oil from the kitchen, a football game playing in the living room, and from somewhere down below, I can hear Ryan chatting with our new neighbors. I smile, contently, as I flip the steak that is frying on the oven.

It's finally happened, I decide. I finally have a normal life. A happy life. I don't have to worry about the CIA or condensers anymore. I don't need to think about the Infraworld or all the things I've been through these past few months. Although I do find my thoughts often drifting in that direction, I always push them away. I don't want to remember anymore.

All I want-all I've ever wanted-is what I have right now. A family that loves me. A nice, simple, normal life. And it's perfect. Exactly what I've always dreamed it would be...

That's when I hear our front door open.

"Hey, Jodie?" Ryan calls from the entry way.

"Yeah?" I set down my spatula and glance around the corner to where he's only half inside the door.

"You mind if I have Chris and Lacy over for dinner?" He asks. "They've been dying to see what the re-modelers did last week."

"Sure, we haven't been able to talk to them enough lately." I say as I quickly go back and lower the temperature of the stove. "Tell them dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes."

"Okay."

I jump, startled at how close his voice suddenly is. "Ryan!" I bark, playfully shoving him away. "Don't do that! You scared me."

He chuckles. "Sorry, Jodes." He leans down and places a kiss on my forehead, simultaneously reaching for a rag that is hanging on a hook by the window. Then, wiping the dirt from his hands, he tosses it into the laundry basket.

"You're filthy." I grumble, eyeing the stains on his white tee-shirt. "What have you and Chris been up to?"

Ryan shrugs. "I told you we were going to fix his car."

"Yeah..." I roll my eyes and turn back to the oven. "I highly recommend you get a shower before they get here."

He snickers. "Yeah, yeah."

I giggle when wraps his arms around my waist from behind and kisses the base of my jaw. Shrugging away from him, I turn a glittering eye to him and smirk. "Now, Mr. Clayton, are you flirting with me?"

He arcs an eyebrow and smiles. "I have the right to, don't I? You're my girlfriend, after all."

"I-" But my words are stopped short. Ryan and I both flinch as the cupboard doors fly open, slamming against one another and making a huge noise. In the forefront of my mind, I hear a familiar sound. Like a voice echoing hundreds of times. The voice growls at me, sounding angry. I pull away from Ryan and glare up at the empty air around me. "Geez, Aiden!" I grumble. "Was that really necessary?"

Aiden hisses, furiously. His words are unintelligible, as always, but I know what he means.

"Look, you'd might as well give up. I thought we were over this. Ryan and I are together and it's going to stay that way. So just-" But once again, I'm interrupted as the glass door of the microwave cracks and the lights overhead flicker. "Aiden!" I shout. "Knock it off!"

"Aiden," Ryan's voice is calmer than mine when he says, "I understand that you don't like me because of what I did to you and Jodie in the past...but that was before! I'm sorry. I am. But you've gotta understand that Jodie and I...have feelings for each other. We want to try to have a life together so I'd appreciate it if you could give me a chance as well..."

Surprisingly, my ghostly brother does not cause any chaos while Ryan is speaking. It gives me hope that maybe Aiden is really listening...that is, until I hear a massive thump in the other room. When I look around the corner, I find one of the paintings that was mounted on the wall. It's now on the floor with a large gash through the center.

I sigh and pick it up, closely inspecting the ruined portrait of a rose. "Come on, Aiden. Don't be childish." I sigh, wearily.

He doesn't answer.

"Okay," Ryan mumbles as he gently touches my shoulder. "I'm gonna head down and let Chris and Lacy know about dinner..." He leans down, his mouth close to my ear, and whispers, "Maybe you should try to work it out with Aiden while I'm gone."

I nod as he pulls away. "Yeah."

I'm in our bedroom, pacing back and forth with a furious scowl on my face. "Why are you doing this Aiden?" I demand. Once more, I kick the door which he has barricaded from other side. How he managed to do it so fast, I have no idea. I've only been in here for a few seconds. "Don't you want me to be happy?!"

I don't expect him to answer, so when I see the post-it note suddenly slide off the dresser, I'm not entirely sure what to think.

You don't need him to be happy. It says.

I shiver, crumple the note into a ball, and shove it into the waste can. "That's creepy, Aiden. Now let me out of here before the food catches on fire and the apartment burns down!"

His ghostly voice whispers through the room around me, telling me no.

"You're being ridiculous!" I growl.

A pillow levitates off the bed and flies across the room, hitting the mirror and knocking it off the wall.

"Aiden, please!" I cry out. "What is it that you have against Ryan anyway?! I've forgiven him so why can't you?!"

He doesn't answer me.

"Aiden?" I ask, gentler this time. "If you tell me what's bothering you, maybe we can figure it out. Throwing temper tantrums and keeping quiet won't help anybody."

A long, silent moment passes. And then another sticky note is pulled from the stack on the table. This one, however, does not simply fall onto the floor. It is hand-delivered to me.

What about the others?

"Others?" I ask, not sure what he means.

Jay, Cole, Zoey.

I frown, a pang going through me. "That's not fair, Aiden." I tell him. "You know I can't talk to Cole. His life is just starting to go back to normal...so is mine. And...Jay has his brother and his ranch. And...yeah, I admit that we sort of hit it off but...he's just not Ryan. I just...want to forget everything that happened before."

Zoey?

I groan and storm away from where I can feel his presence lingering. "What about Zoey? She has her mother! And Stan and Walter...! "Why are you even bringing this up? What does this have to do with Ryan?!"

Suddenly, a small chair that sits below our dresser is yanked in front of me, stopping my mad pacing. I glance sideways at the mirror that has fogged up from Aiden's closeness. His message is written in the condensation.

Stop lying to yourself, Jodie. We can never have a normal life.