I will remind you again that this is a Jak/Keira fic. It may seem like Erol and/or Ashelin are starting to get in the way, but don't worry. ;) And Torn cannot be single! I'll try and do something about him and Ashelin. And thank you for the reviews! They make me update! Remember that!

----O----

Jak was lying in bed, thinking about something rather disturbing that he had witnessed earlier that day. In the late morning, he had been hanging around in the often deserted café located in Sectre 7. Daxter was "scouting for babes" down the street, so he was left alone.

Jak sat at a small, dirty table in the far back corner. The waiter was sitting at a different table, dressed in street clothes and playing with his cell phone. All Jak could think about was Ashelin and Keira. Even thinking about the two in that order gave him a pang of guilt. Jak corrected himself: all Jak could think about was Keira and Ashelin. Much better. So anyway, he was only there because the Hip Hog Saloon seemed to be constantly occupied by Keira or her friends. He just wanted to be alone, and also didn't want to be pestered for errands by Krew.

He was slouched in the shadows when he noticed a girl with blue and green hair sit down outside the window. Jak's jaw dropped. Even worse, she seemed to be waiting for someone.

Sure enough, a tattooed man seated himself across from her. Just great! He sure was lucky, going out of his way to avoid people and then seeing them and all. Jak quickly ducked under the table, watching them. The waiter gave him an odd look, but Jak ignored him.

Keira and the other man seemed to be talking about something. Jak watched her lean across the table. He seethed with rage. Luckily, Keira didn't do anything, and good thing, because Jak just might have killed that tattooed guy.

He watched them, his ears straining to hear what they were saying. Finally, he heard Keira yelling something, her voice muffled by the glass but still loud.

Something like…"BITCH-SLUT! JAK IS MIIIIINE! EROL'S A PERVERT!" Or along those lines.

Jak's eyes widened in surprise. He was thoroughly confused by now. But he was fairly sure that the tattooed man was just a friend. Jak breathed a sigh of relief. And he couldn't be wrong, because otherwise Keira wouldn't be yelling…that…at the guy. Okay, it made a bit more sense now.

So Keira really did still love him. Maybe in a slightly creepy way, but it made him feel simultaneously relieved and warm and fuzzy. Only for a few seconds, though.

Eventually, they both left the café, and Jak was safe to come out. His heart felt a little lighter, but still held that gnawing guilt.

Jak closed his eyes. He shouldn't have any attraction towards Ashelin. It was wrong, yet hard to resist.

"Jaaak, get up already!" An orange blur landed on his chest and started shaking Jak's head.

"You're so boring! Let's go do something!" he said excitedly. Daxter had no effect. "Time to get up, boy! Laziness is the enemy of getting work done! Go help farmer Zeb with his Yakkows!" he commanded, imitating Jak's uncle. Jak just lay there and sighed.

Daxter's ears drooped. "Look on the bright side, buddy! This place is definitely exciting! We'll get home someday."

"Maybe, maybe not, Dax," replied Jak softly, opening his eyes and staring at the low ceiling.

"Come on, tell me what's wrong, Jak."

"Nothing! There's nothing wrong, Dax!" he snapped.

Daxter sat cross-legged on Jak's chest. "Orange lightning is a professional at solving girl problems. Tell me your worries and…za-za-zing! I will solve them!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "It's not a girl problem!" he lied in fake exasperation. "So just give it up, okay! I'll get up! Happy now?"

Daxter nodded over-dramatically. "Suuure, suuure. But I'll help you out, buddy! You can count on me! I'm formulating a plan as we speak!"

xXIXx

Torn's eyes widened in surprise as he entered the KG facility. Hanging on the wall was a giant poster with a clipboard beneath it.

There is a terrible menace loose in our precious city! Sign up now to fight this beast for our Haven! were the bolded words written on a giant photo of Jak's face.

Beneath the poster was a man writing his name on the list. Torn walked up behind him.

"So, I guess this is gonna be the newest assignment. Many will be killed, once again, and the cycle will continue with the next generation. 'For our Haven.' How ironic," said Torn.

The guy turned around, and Torn struggled to hide his surprise.

"Erol? What are you doing here? And…and…what do you think you're doing!"

"I believe I'm earning my salary, Torn. What does it look like I'm doing?" he said coolly.

"Smartass," Torn growled, surprised at Erol's response. "You know what you're doing, right?"

"I'm helping to eradicate a violent threat to Haven City. What's your problem, Torn?"

"'What's my problem?' What's yours, Erol? You moron! Are you trying to break Keira's heart?"

That stopped Erol. His eyes narrowed. "Of course not. I'm preventing it!"

Torn shook his head. "You're so selfish! I can see right through that. It's not going to work, Erol. And if you're not listening to me, I'll have to tell Keira what you're doing."

Erol grinned, surprising Torn. "No you won't."

"And why not?"

"Well, I've heard that Ashelin's pretty pissed that you hang around Tess and Keira more than you pay attention to her. So…if I told her about something simply awful that I witnessed…"

"You'd LIE to Ashelin? You (insert profanity). Why are you acting like such a jerk, Erol? This isn't you! And Ashelin would never believe you!"

"This is me, Torn. I'm just giving myself more opportunities in life than before. And of course Ashelin would believe me. She's starting to stop believing in you, Torn."

Torn felt like he had been punched in the chest.

"Fine, Erol. I won't tell if you don't lie," he said through gritted teeth. He looked up at the poster on the wall and sighed. "Do you really have that little heart to do this?"

"I'm doing the right thing," Erol told Torn stoutly, but it sounded more like he was convincing himself.

"You know you're not," growled Torn, grabbing the clipboard. "I'm just gonna have to put this through the shredder. Let's just pretend this never happened!"

"Give that back!" Erol said angrily, grabbing at the other end of the board. They both tugged at it, until Torn finally managed to pry it out of Erol's fingers.

"Torn, you jackass, just give the damn sheet back!" Torn shook his head and ripped the paper in half, sneering at Erol.

"You ----," snarled Erol, and shoved Torn in the chest.

Torn shoved him back even harder. "Watch it, Erol!"

Erol elbowed him in the stomach. Torn keeled over in pain, holding his stomach.

"You're not Erol," he wheezed, kicking hard at Erol's left knee. "That's for Keira!"

Erol's knees buckled and he fell against the poster. They both glared at each other, panting. Erol gave him the finger.

"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE?" a Krimzon Guard already garbed in armor yelled from across the room. He ran over.

"Stand up, both of you!" he barked. Torn and Erol straightened with difficulty.

"Go get changed and quit horsing around, or you'll get your paychecks cut! If this happens again, you'll both be in serious trouble! And you-" he pointed to Erol, "go get another sign up form!" He put his hands on his hips, waiting for them to get moving.

Erol gave Torn a nasty glare, and Torn returned it.

xXIXx

"Hi Tess," said Keira, walking into the Hip Hog. It was the late morning, and there weren't any customers yet.

Tess was sitting on a bar stool, looking bored. "Keira! I'm saved! I thought I was going to die of boredom. I didn't bring anything to do, but I have some nail polish in my purse. Can I paint your nails?"

Keira laughed humorlessly. "Okay, fine, I'll let you do it this one time."

Tess beamed. "You're so adventurous today, Keira!" she said jokingly. "I only have pink with me, but you've already agreed, so I don't want to hear any complaining!" She brought out the bottle and positioned Keira's hand.

"So, is it nice staying with Erol?" she asked.

"I'm not staying with him anymore," she responded grumpily.

"Why not?"

Keira sighed. She really didn't want to go over it again, but she told Tess anyway.

"Ugh, that's gross. I can't believe Erol did that," she commented. "Well, I understand that you don't want to stay with him anymore, so you can stay with me, on one condition."

Keira looked at her. "What's that, Tess?"

"I get to give you a makeover!" Keira groaned.

"Okay, fine! But not now," she said. She inspected her nails. "Are they done yet?"

"They have to dry, and then I'm putting a coat of clear on them."

Keira raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that you painted them pink when you had clear?"

"But clear isn't a color, Keir." She winked. Keira rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Thanks a lot for letting me stay with you. My garage is almost fixed up," she said.

"No problem, but my place is small and a bit shabby. Krew doesn't pay much."

"It's fine, Tess! I've been there before."

Tess smiled. "That's good."

Keira blew on her nails. "Has Daxter come in here yet?" Tess shook her head.

"I've been waiting for him, but he hasn't showed up yet. Why?"

"Because…um, I need to find Jak." Tess tried to catch Keira's eyes.

"Are you going to tell me what you're going to do?"

Keira sighed angrily. "I need to catch him in the act with Ashelin!"

Tess laughed. "Heh heh…I'm really sorry Keir, but that's just stupid."

Keira shrugged. "Got any better ideas?"

"Yep. Talk to him," she said simply.

"No no no, that won't work! I tried it already."

"Then try it again! Don't stalk him, what if he finds out?"

Keira bit her lip. "I know what I'm doing, Tess."

"Are you sure? What if Jak never even meets up with Ashelin?"

Keira's eyes darkened. "Oh, I'm almost positive he will."

Tess sighed in exasperation. "I'll tell you one last time, Keir, this is a totally stupid idea! So don't say I didn't warn you! And if you're going to insist on going with it, then at least take me with you so that you don't totally screw things up."

"It's always nice to know that I have a friend who puts her trust in me," Keira said sarcastically.

"So you're going to wait here until he comes in?"

"I guess so," she said, spinning on the round yakkow hide stool.

"Great, I love company," said Tess, pouring two glasses of beer.

xXIXx

It was the late afternoon, and Keira was still waiting in the bar. There was a faint buzzing in the back of her mind from the alcohol, which she wasn't used to. A few hours ago she had been sitting on the dock, thinking about Sandover. Now she was helping Tess with customers.

"What do you mean, no groping?" a sleazy guy in a booth asked Tess.

"I mean, stop touching me!" Tess growled, banging his third drink down on the table. She settled back behind the bar with Keira. "Sometimes I hate this job so much," she said grouchily.

"Hmm," replied Keira, wiping some glasses. Another person walked in the bar, dragging his feet. Keira saw that it was Torn.

"Ergh!" he said in frustration, plopping down on a stool.

"How was your day, Torn?" she asked.

He looked up at her with weary eyes. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Who?"

"Erol! That little-"

"What'd he do?"

"We got into a fight, and- oh!" He mentally slapped himself, remembering his and Erol's agreement. "Um, never mind about it, Keira."

Keira raised an eyebrow. "Ookay, what was it about?"

"I said never mind. Can you get me a beer?"

She cleared her throat. "Tell me, Torn," she said seriously.

"I can't!" he said, starting to get almost panicky. "Listen Keira, I'm tired and I feel like crap, I had a rough day, so can you ask the questions later?"

"Okay, Torn, but don't think you're getting out of this! I want to hear what happened with Erol and you eventually." She grabbed a mug and poured him a beer.

"I haven't been paying attention to Ashelin," he murmured quietly as she plonked the mug down.

"Sorry, what was that, Torn?" asked Keira.

"I didn't realize it."

"Can you speak louder, Torn?"

"I hope she'll forgive me. I love her."

"What?"

"I love her."

"You're not making sense, Torn. I think beer's the last thing you need right now." She took the mug away, and he didn't protest. Instead, he put his head down on his arms, his ice-blue eyes revealing his depression.

"Oh…what's wrong, Torn?" she said, sitting across from him. He kept quiet.

Tess came over. "What's going on?" she inquired. Keira shrugged.

"Just let it out, Torn…" whispered to him. Tess gave her a funny look.

"No…not in public," he whispered back, his eyelids drooping.

"Wow, he sure is exhausted. He looks sad about something," Tess said, mildly surprised.

"I don't know. Just looking at him is making me tired," Keira yawned. She leaned against the mirror, shutting her eyes.

'I wonder what Jak is up to right now…' she thought sleepily.

"DAXXY!" A squeal from Tess interrupted her doze. "Oh, my snoogie-woogie! You didn't come see me this morning!"

"Sorry, baby, I was hindered by a gruesome metal head, but I somehow managed to protect Jak and kill it! Nothing can get in my way when I wanna see you!" Keira listened to Daxter spew his usual garbage.

"Aww, how sweet! What do you want to drink, Daxxy?" she crooned, scratching his ears. Keira waited until they were done.

"Hi Daxter."

"Oh, hey, Keira! How's it going?" he asked, seating himself on the glass tip jar.

"I'm fine, Daxter. Can you give me the address of where you and Jak are staying?" she asked, getting to the point.

"Hmm…" Daxter said slyly. "Thinking of paying Jak a midnight visit?" Keira's cheeks burned.

"Shut up! Of course not. Just in case of an emergency," she snapped. Daxter looked thoughtful.

"An emergency, eh? That's a good idea, I should write that one down," he muttered to himself. "Okay, sure, Keira! Just don't go turning us in to the authorities!" He scribbled an address on a scrap of paper. Keira thanked him and pocketed it.

"Daxxy, here's your drink! And I overheard Keira getting your address. Can I get your phone number?" Tess ran to them.

"So Daxter, do you know where Jak is now?" Keira inquired.

"Meh, probably either moping in bed or running around shooting people and drinking their blood." Keira looked both sick and disturbed. "I'm just kidding, Keira! Well, kind of."

She sat back down on her seat. If he was killing people right now, the city would probably be on alert, and the alarm by the entrance wasn't flashing. So he was most likely at wherever he and Daxter were staying.

'Better not be with Ashelin,' she thought sourly. 'Well, I should get going before it gets too late.'

"I'm leaving now, okay Tess? Bye!" Tess was too occupied by Daxter to even look up.

"Uh-huh, buh-bye Keir!" she said distractedly, petting the ottsel. Keira left, closing the door behind her. It took Tess a few minutes to comprehend.

"H-hey, WAIT, Keira!" She screamed, putting Daxter on the counter and dashing after the determined woman.

---O---

Oh no! Keira's a stalker now! And what could Daxter be up to…could he actually play hero for once?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...oh, that's funny.