Never Been Noticed
Silver Psychic
I don't own the characters. I attach strings to them and shout, "Dance marionettes! Dance for my pleasure!"
Chapter 1
She just appeared one day, out of the blue. No introduction like usual. He just turned around to call out to a friend of his in the back when he saw her.
And he's been aware of her ever since.
She is always sitting in the back. She's never with any friends and it's as if only books can really give her friendship. Her clothes are enough to hide the curves that are underneath them. He can tell because he's accidentally seen her without one of her shirts on.
Loose-fitting. Plain. Unnoticeable. She is crying to the world that she doesn't want attention.
He doesn't know why he has a sudden desire to meet the girl. To really get to know her.
She is never called on either, as if the teachers are also unaware of her existence. He longs to hear her name called out during roll-call, but all the names the teacher says are familiar and he knows the all their owners.
He tries to sit in the back, but his friends drag him up to the front. They ignore his protest. He glances back longingly but she is too absorbed in her book to even notice.
"Who is that girl?" He points to the teal-eyed girl with the blue pig-tails sitting in the corner of the cafeteria.
His ex-girlfriend and sister of his best friend, Blue, looks at the girl, shrugs and goes back to her smoothie. "Dunno. She just transferred here from somewhere in Asia. Nobody knows her. They say she's some sort of genius but she mostly keeps to herself and reads. Her name is Crystal something. Bai, I think."
She notices the attention on her, gathers up her books and leaves. Come to think of it, he has never seen her eat anything ether and vaguely worries about it. He then beats himself for the next five minutes about worrying about a stranger, even if she is beautiful.
Beautiful...kind of like her.
He finds her studying alone one day. She is so absorbed in her book that she doesn't even notice his presence until his chair loudly scratches the floor as he pathetically attempts to be suave about sitting down.
She looks up at his stupid grin and raises a brow.
"Um..." He is unsure about how to go about this. "Hi?" She is still staring at him in disbelief. "Um...I'm Gold." He introduces himself. "I believe I'm in most of your classes."
"You are in all of them." She definitely has an accent, he just can't place from where. Nevertheless, her voice is much more beautiful than he imagined. "So why are you bothering me now?"
"Dunno." He shrugs. "But now that I am here, why don't we get to know each other?"
She "humphs" and picks up her books. "If you've never bothered before, why now? I don't need people like you harassing me." She quickly walks away before he can answer.
He kicks himself for being so stupid.
She sighs when she notices his presence again. He hasn't visited in awhile and she had hoped it would stay that way. "What do you want now?"
"To get to know you." He glances at the books in her hands. They are all about psychology. "You want to be a psychologist?"
She sighs warily again and snaps her book shut. "Childrens doctor."
Gold whistles appreciatively. "That's a tough job. I want to be a veterinarian."
"And that isn't going to be hard?" She answers sarcastically. But it's certainly not she expected. Coming from a guy who wears a leather jacket to school and misbehaves so much the teachers have given up on him, she thought he would say something like motorcycle mechanic or race car driver.
He shakes his head. "I know I know. Its a bit weird for a guy like me." There is a wistful look in his eye that has her looking again. "But I love animals. They call my house the Animal House, because of all the animals we own."
Against her will, she starts to become interested. "How many animals do you own?"
It takes a while for him to answer. He laughs when he does. "I'm actually not sure. They all come and go. But my favorite is a pet monkey I rescued."
She gasps. "That can't be true!"
He nods with confidence. Secretly, he's happy she's opening up to him. "Yep. His name is Ataro. Want to hear the story?"
She nods eagerly. "Yes please!"
And so he explains how he heard a rustling in an abandoned building and found the monkey in a bag.
"Scared the heck out of him too. He clawed my forehead and we had to get stitches." He moves a section of his hair away to reveal a three-lined scar just below his hairline. "It was painful too. But Ataro apologized."
"But how can a monkey apologize?"
"...I don't know." She tries to hide it, but she lets out a giggle that makes him smile. "Well its about time."
"Huh?" She snaps her head up to look at him questioningly.
Gold grins and lets his face lean against his upright hand. "I was beginning to think you were too serious all the time. Hey!" He snaps his fingers. "That's what I'll call you from now on! Super Serious Gal!"
But Gold knows he made a mistake as he sees a flush creep up onto Crystal's cheeks and she abruptly stands up. "And to think I thought you were competent enough to hold a conversation without saying something stupid." She snaps the last word and grabs the rest of her books. "But it appears I thought wrong. Good day Gold." And she angrily stomps away, leaving him to wonder what he did this time.
"Ugh!" He groaned to his best friend, Silver, one day when they got lunch at the local pizzeria. "And now she won't even look at me! Seriously, what did I do wrong?"
His red-haired best friend calmly sipped his coffee across from Gold. Lord knows free coffee is the only reason Silver would even be here instead of doing something productive. "Girls don't like it when you call them names Gold. Or did you not learn that in elementary school?"
Gold flushed. "I was eight!" He protested. "And Whitney and I even dated for a couple of months once I apologized!" He sighed and took a ginormous bite out of his now-cold pizza. "I don't know what to do anymore! Nothing I do gets her attention and I have to know more about her!"
"Why though?" Gold snapped his head up to look at his best friend. "Why do you feel such an urge to get to know her? You didn't even know she existed until a week ago. Why are you so interested in someone you've never met or noticed before?"
"...Because she reminds me of Lyra." He finally admitted.
His best friend turned to him, his silver eyes burning like liquid mercury. "Don't do this Gold. You're playing with fire."
"Why not? You're not exactly the boss of me."
"Because no matter what, she is never going to be Lyra. No matter how much she seems like it." He stands up to throw away his empty coffee cup. "You know none of us want history to repeat itself. Leave her alone Gold. Let the past remain in the past."
At first Gold scoffed. Who was Silver to tell him what to do? But then he realized that it wasn't just he who lost someone precious to them. Lyra had been Silver's girlfriend. It had been even harder on him when she died, especially considering that his original parents were dead. Gold didn't know what Silver would be like if he hadn't been adopted by Blue's family.
In fact, he was kind of scared to think about it.
For the first few months after the accident, whenever he would see pigtails he would see Lyra. At first it was absolute torture for him. But then he finally realized that he was seeing her because he still hadn't let go.
He realizes he still hasn't.
But now that an almost exact replica has appeared in front of him, it's like God is telling him to take his chance before someone snatches her away from him.
Before Silver claims her again.
Gold bolted up from his bed, surprised when he thought this. He had felt something when Lyra and Silver started dating, but he hadn't known what. It was like a burning anger in his chest he only got rid of when Silver was out of the room.
He didn't know what he felt back then, except guilt for thinking that way about his best friend. Silver, Gold and Lyra were inseparable growing up. The parents couldn't keep them apart, they would just sneak out to meet each other.
But Gold had always had a soft spot for Lyra. She was like a ray of sunshine in a world of darkness and had the courage of a lion in a lamb's body. Everyone loved her.
"And maybe," Gold realized. "even I fell for her charm without knowing it."
It is days before he is able to catch her. Gold hasn't seen Crystal for the past two weeks and it is starting to worry him. He noticed her half a year ago, and since he had been watching her he notices that she never skips school. If she is sick, she wears a face mask and a heavy sweater. He ends up going up to a teacher of his, Professor Elm, who is Crystal and his homeroom teacher. "Have you heard anything? Anything at all?"
The teacher looks at him strangely. It's not like Gold has ever addressed him, other than for roll call and other stuff. So him coming up to him for a classmate is...strange, to say the least. "I'm afraid she had some issues at home and had to stay away for awhile. She said she didn't know when she was coming back, but it would most likely be next week. "
The teenager bites his lip. "Give me whatever homework she needs to do and her address and I will deliver it to her."
Although huge doubts are nagging the back of his mind, Professor Elm doesn't even hesitate to throw a huge box full of papers into his arms. "264, Utopia Lane, Stones District."
He arrives in one of the more dangerous neighborhoods of the city and vaguely wonders how she can study with all the noise going on. All he can hear are children playing, cars booming with heavy rap music and something scarily similar to gunshots, but he's not exactly trying to crap his pants so he ignores it. He grunts and shifts the heavy box in his arms, cursing his teachers for assigning so much.
He finally comes to a battered house with the address on it. It is a bit larger than the houses on the block, but not by much. It is old, weathered and needs a paint job desperately. There is a window with a large crack in it covered in duct tape. The lawn is brown and littered with weeds. The house just screams uncared for.
He is about to step on the pathway when he hears the sound of something breaking. There are shrieks and muffled curses and suddenly the door is thrown open. In the threshold is a woman. Her red hair is too hyped up with hairspray, hear face too caked with makeup, her heels too high and her skirt too short to be anything but indecent. She doesn't even spare him a glance as she rushes past him and into a rusty car.
He suddenly hears pounding on wood and see's Crystal in the doorway instead. On her neck is a particularly large bruise that has been sloppily covered with a bandage and Gold can't help but wonder what exactly is going on. She is about to yell something when she spies him on the sidewalk and gasps. "What are you doing here Gold?"
He shrugs with as much nonchalance as he can muster. "I got worried when you didn't show up so I asked the teacher for your address and brought you all your homework." He winces as he readjusts the weight of the box in his arms. "But what I'd really love is for you to come and help me with all this crap."
She rolls her eyes at his language and rushes to take the box from him. He can't help but be jealous when he sees her easily handling the box with one arm and with ease. "Do you want to come in?"
That snaps Gold out of it. "Huh?"
She rolls her eyes and gestures for him to follow her. "It's the least I can do since you came all the way from across town."
He silently complains that he walked all the way too, but wisely keep it to himself as she escorts him inside. He takes his time looking as she rushes to put the box on a battered coffee table and runs to what he assumes to be a kitchen. The paint is peeling off the walls and every piece of furniture she has is ripped somehow. The whole house smells like some sort of smoke and rotting wood.
There is suddenly a wailing noise to his left. The teen hears Crystal drop something and sees her rush down the hallway. He follows her and stops in his tracks at what he sees. The room is bare except for a few dippers, a changing station and a crib. Crystal is beside the crib, holding a small sobbing baby.
Gold doesn't even feel his jaw drop but Crystal certainly notices for him. She blushes as she feels his gaze. "Stop looking at me like that!" The harsh tone instantly riles the child up so she quiets down and rocks the boy in her arms to calm him down.
"Like what?"
"Like this baby is mine!" He gulps. How could she say it so...bluntly? She rolls her eyes and rephrases her statement. "He isn't mine. Emerald is the child of the woman you just saw. I'm her...live-in babysitter slash maid of sorts."
"Live-in?"
She sighs and puts the now sleeping baby in its crib. "I came from China at the beginning of your school year. Lorelei is my host mother. I didn't really like her but it was here or some rich snob and his family." She snorted. "I can't stand people who think they deserve everything because they have money. Anyways, the moment she took me in she made it clear that I was her babysitter and cleaner and nothing more."
"Thats horrible!"
She puts the boy back in his crib. "Its life Gold. There's nothing you or I can do about it."
He sighs. He can't believe she puts up with all of this and never says a word to defend herself. "But this shouldn't be your life!"
She looks sadly to the child sleeping peacefully in the crib. "But soon it will be his life."
"Huh?"
"Gold, the only reason Lorelei is keeping Rald is because when he grows up, he'll have enough strength to keep her satisfied. He'll be her errand boy, her cook, her personal servant. She wants to keep him because she knows he'll be useful."
"This isn't right!"
"What choice do I have?" Crystal shouts. "I can't go back to where I was before, I just can't!"
"Why not?"
"Everyone on this Earth is a tool, being used by other tools. Not everyone's life at home is perfect Gold, lets just go with that. Now if you're finished, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. I'll show you to the door."
She returns to school the day after that. Murmurs are exchanged as others spy the bandage wrapped around Crystal's neck. Rumors float around the school and gossip is exchanged to anyone who will listen. But Crystal simply turns in the box of homework she owes to all her teachers and walks quietly to her first period seat.
She isn't surprised to see Gold sitting by her seat, away from his own desk. "Hey."
Crystal ignores him and sits in her seat before taking out a book and ignoring him. For some reason, Gold doesn't mind and simply waits for the bell to ring and for class to start.
Out of nowhere a high-pitched voice suddenly squeals "Goldie!" and something latches onto Gold, knocking him out of his chair. His friends, who are used to this scene, laugh in pity and amusement. Crystal sends Gold a questioning look before hurriedly remembering it's none of her business and quickly pulls her book closer to her face. But not before she takes a look at the girl hovering over Gold.
The young girl reminds her of Lorelei. Her skirt is too short, her blouse too risque and her curly brown locks too hyped up with products. But her face is devoid of make-up, except for the black line above her eye that makes her purple eyes pop out. Totally natural and absolutely hateable.
"Amethyst." Gold scolds as he tries to pull the clinging girl off him. "I thought we both agreed that it wasn't working out."
The girl rolls her eyes. "I changed my mind. I've decided that fate wants a beautiful girl like me to be with someone as handsome as you!"
Crystal can't help the giggles. Or the hysterical laughter that comes next. Of course, the whole class is looking at her like she's grown wings but Crystal is used to it. "You decide what fate wants? Ha! That's hilarious!" She starts laughing again.
Amethyst flushes as others start laughing too. "Shut up!" She snaps at the class before turning to Crystal. "Who the hell are you?"
Crystal can't help but snort again. "Seriously? We've been in the same classes since the beginning of the school year and only now you know my existence? And here I thought your brain was only the size of a quarter. I guess I was giving you too much credit."
A fresh wave of blush covers the other girl's face as the classroom bursts into hysterical laughter. "Shut up!" She screeches. "Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?"
Crystal shrugs and turns back to her book. "I'm Crystal. And anyone can talk to you like that. After all, you give me the easiest opportunities. Why don't you try finding some methods on how to tone done your annoyingly high voice? The windows are about to crack."
Amethyst pouts and turns to Gold. "Goldie!" Snickers could be heard from Gold's friends and Crystal. "She's being so mean to me!"
Gold shrugs and turns away from the pouting girl. "So what? You were the rude one first."
Amethyst's throat suddenly starts to feel thick. "Why are you defending a piece of trash like her?"
The moment she hears the word trash, Crystal shuts her book with a loud clap and slams it down onto her desk. Everyone jumps as the room shakes with the force. "You calling me trash? Oh that is rich coming from the queen of shit!"
"How dare you!"
"How dare you! I don't care if you look down on me or do anything to me, but don't you dare call me a piece of trash again you little slut!"
Amethyst flushes at the shouts of 'burn Ame!' "Shut up! You're nobody! Don't you dare talk to me that way!"
"Do I look like I'm made of air, air-head? Or are your fake contacts blinding you?"
"Bit–"
Amethyst is cut off by the door slamming open. Professor Elm and Professor Oak rush through the door. "Is everything okay? We heard screaming."
Some shrug and some shake their heads. Crystal takes the opportunity to quickly sit down and resume her book as if nothing ever happened. "It was nothing professors." A student pipes up. "Just a small disagreement. Everything is okay now."
Professor Oak looks suspicious, but Professor Elm sighs in relief. "Alright then. And now for morning announcements..."
"If this is popularity," Crystal thought as yet another unfamiliar student walked up to her. "leave me out of it."
Ever since her little showdown with Amethyst three days ago, Crystal's popularity had risen to a degree where she was stopped in the hallways at least ten times a day, three people had asked if they could carry her books and five guys had asked for her number.
Crystal was about to bang her head on her locker when she saw the president of the newspaper club at her school walk up to her. "Hello. Are you Crystal Bai?"
She nodded back politely. "Yes."
"Listen, I was hoping I could get a small interview with you. The Classroom Showdown, or at least thats what people are calling it nowadays, has really become the talk of the school. Nobody has ever stood up to Amethyst before and we'd like to get the fight from your point of view."
Crystal couldn't help but raise her brow skeptically. "Do the teachers know about this?"
Candace nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Our supervisor, Mr. Flint, heard about it from a lot of students and he's really started to respect you. He's the one who suggested we cover the entire story!"
"And the other teachers?"
"They know about the fight, but they're counting on us to give them the real scoop. So will you do it?"
"...Will I get in trouble?"
Candace saluted. "You have the promise of all the members of the Newspaper Club, including Mr. Flint, that if there is any objection to your innocence, be it a call to the main office, a suspension or expulsion, the Newspaper Club and the student body will be behind you one hundred percent! We may even hold a rally to protest!"
Even though she knows she's going to regret agreeing to this, she nods her head warily and allows a squealing Candace to hug her.
Gold smirks as he spots an exhausted Crystal walking through the cafeteria towards her usual spot. She thinks she's going to enjoy a normal lunch reading and not eating.
She doesn't know how wrong she is.
"Hey Super Serious Gal!" He calls to her as he walks over to her table. They can feel everyone's eyes on them, especially the glare from Amethyst and her cronies.
"Don't call me that Gold." She murmurs from the folds of her arms. "Can we please discuss whatever you need to discuss later? In case you haven't noticed, I'm exhausted and you're not exactly making it better."
"But I wanted to introduce you to my friends!" Gold whines. "Everyone is really excited to meet you."
"They can piss off."
Gold is taken aback by the frost in her words. "Are you okay?"
"Nooo, I've been throwing up puppies and smelling like cookies all day. Of course I don't feel any resentment towards your girlfriend for giving me all this attention and making people bother me. No, not at all."
Gold winces at her dagger-like words. "She's not my girlfriend." He rushes to defend himself. "We went out for a few months, then we both agreed that it wasn't working out so we saw other people."
Crystal snorts in amusement. "Well judging by the glares she's giving me, she obviously doesn't think so."
Gold winces again and tries desperately to change the subject. "So, you gonna come or what?"
"Or what. I've got books to read."
"C'mon Crys! Just give my friends a shot! If you don't like them then you're free to leave. Please?"
Crystal can't help but gulp as she looks at him. He has somehow managed to make himself look as cute as a puppy begging for a treat...and Crystal slowly feels her resolve crumbling. She groans. "You're gonna be the end of me, you know that?"
Gold shouts with joy. "Alright!" He grabs her by her shoulders and drags her to his usual table of friends. Crystal knows every one of them, but how could she not? This was the big group. The group that caused the most ruckus, the ones that give others the hardest times. The ones who always seem to have the best time. It doesn't hurt that most of them were in her class.
As soon as they see Gold walking towards them, they clear two spaces at their table and prepare to meet the girl who's caused even more ruckus then they have.
"Crystal," Gold starts. "this is Bugsy, Blue, her brother Silver, Jasmine, Platina, Morty, Dia, Falkner, Pearl, and Whitney." They either nod, shout or murmur their hellos. "Guys, this is Crystal. She's the one who stood up to Ame."
Blue punches Crystal's shoulder playfully. "Way to go girl! I've always hated that slut, ever since we were kids. Her family is apparently descendant from some sort of French royalty from way back when and she thinks the world is her plaything. Everyone worships the ground she walks on, so no one mentions how she behaves." She stuck out her tongue. "Bleh. I though she slipped something into Gold's drink when he announced he was going out with her! I'm just glad he finally came around."
"I'm still here!"
Whitney sticks out her tongue at him. "Good." She turns back to Crystal. "What did you feel like when you stood up to her?"
Its like the newspaper interview all over again. "Like she was being a bitch and she needed to be told off."
The entire table is taken aback by her blunt response, but soon they can't control their laughter. Howls fill the air when suddenly a sharp sound echoes throughout the now silent cafeteria.
"How dare you!" Amethyst shrieks. Everyone winces. The sound reminds them of nails on a chalkboard. "Now I've been punished because you were too goddamn stupid to shut up. You should hav–"
"It happened." Crystal's response is like ice from the North Pole "And now, I've become the center of attention. To be freaking blunt, I hate it. But since I deal with it, you have to as well. So deal with it."
"Don't you dare talk to me like that you commoner!"
"Like what?" Crystal feels the stares of her classmates and suddenly her anger increases. "I'm telling you what you need to hear. If its what you don't like, then piss off and go find someone else to tell you how you're going to marry a prince and live in a castle. Wake up and smell reality Amethyst: you aren't royalty anymore, you don't live in a castle on the clouds, no one is going to save you if you're when trouble and fairytales don't exist."
Amethyst can't help but take a second look at Crystal. Her eyes are as cold as ice and her frown, though small, is curling into a snarl. Her trembling body screams anger, and yet she refuses to raise a fist. Just who is this commoner? And doesn't she look a little like...her? "You are no ordinary person, are you? Who are you really? State your full name!"
Her reaction is nothing anyone expects. A sarcastic comment, a statement laced with ice, even violence.
But no one expected the tears.
Crystal rises from her spot and grabs her books before turning to Gold. "I'll see you in class." She turns to the rest of the table. "It was nice to meet you all." With one glare at Amethyst, she walks out the door silently. The slam of the doors jars everyone from their shock. Murmurs fill the room, most eyes still lingering on the double doors.
After a few seconds, Amethyst comes out of her shock as well. She flips her hair with a huff. "That was one strange girl."
No one says a thing. Gold rises from his place, nodding to his friends. "I'll see you guys later. I've got stuff to do."
Flashing a bright smile, she grabs Gold's arm. "I'll come w–"
He shakes her arm off with a cold look of his own. "You are the last person I need to look at right now. If you know whats good for you, you won't come near Crystal or me for awhile."
Before she can say anything, Amethyst watches Gold run off in the direction of a certain bookworm.
"Mother! Mother don't leave us!"
"Take care of your father Crystal."
"Mother!"
Black everywhere. The smell of incense burning my nose and eyes. White lilies placed over a gravestone. So many tears.
"Your mother is dead Shuijing. Accept it!"
"NO!"
With a strangled scream, Crystal bolts up from her bed. Her nightshirt is soaked in sweat and her lungs feel like they are trying to bolt out of her chest.
"Just a dream Shuijing." She murmurs in her native language. "It was only a dream. You are away from that life now. No more worries. No more Father."
She shuts her eyes as she waits for sleep to come, trying to ignore her trembling hands and watery eyes.
He finds her sitting on the railing of the school roof. He makes no sudden movements in an effort to not startle her, but he hears her sigh. "I know you're there Gold. I'm not going to fall. I've done this hundred of times before."
He is still wary, but walks over to her anyway. "I'm sorry about Amethyst."
"Did you tell her to say that? Threaten her? Control her body?"
He is taken aback by her questions and shakes his head. "N-No."
She gives him a smile and his heart tugs in his chest at the tears in her eyes. "Then you have nothing to be sorry for."
"But I am sorry." He insists. "I'm sorry she made you cry."
Crystal flushes and wipes away the last of her tears. "Its okay Gold. Everybody cries, I'm not an exception."
He doesn't know what to say to that, so he leans against the railing and looks out at the view. Its the beginning of spring, so the clouds have started to gray and shower. And yet a ray of sunshine still manages to make itself known from parting clouds. The flowers that are covered in rain from the night before glisten in the afternoon rays of sunshine. "It's beautiful." He can't help but mutter.
She nods in agreement. "I enjoy the view from up here. Here, I have no problems. No tests, no family, no worries. I can relax and gaze at the view."
Gold nods in sympathy. "I can understand that."
"You have worries?"
"Everyday."
The bell rings and they suddenly realize they are late for class.
The rumors continue, but Crystal still says nothing. She hears people talk about her tears that day behind her back, but she refuses to say anything. Not even Candace, or any members of the Newspaper Club, can get any information out of her.
Gold refuses to leave her side, but to Crystal's astonishment, he's become less annoying. He doesn't ask questions like the rest, but simply sits by her side everyday (and on some days, drags her to his table) and makes conversation with her. They talk about everything: homework, teachers, friends. Everything but Crystal's life back in China, Lyra, or why she cried that day.
And everyday, they deal Amethyst glaring at Crystal every chance she can get. The teachers scolded her again, with the threat of suspension, and now she's become furious. After making Crystal cry, no one worships the ground she walks on anymore. She doesn't get party invites anymore and her followers have abandoned her to hover around Crystal.
But she isn't going to give up, and Gold and Crystal know it too. She's just biding her time until she sees an opportunity.
"Lets get out of here." Gold suddenly announced one day. The staring was a little more intense than usual and everyone had been coming up to her left and right. Gold could tell it was really starting to get to her. At least Amethyst wasn't there that day. Her responses became more snappish and spiteful and Gold knew he had to get her out there or she was going to hurt someone. He would know. He had been in this position before. "Lets skip school. You need it."
"Huh?"
"I mean, you could use a day off. And I know the stares and questions are getting old. A little taste of freedom would be good for you."
Crystal's responsible side wanted to reprimand him, remind him that they shouldn't skip school. And yet, at the mention of freedom, she couldn't help but ask, "How soon can you get me out of here?"
Gold grinned. "Get your bag. We're leaving in ten minutes."
"Is this really necessary?" Crystal whines from behind a changing room curtain. As soon as they were more than a mile away from school grounds, Gold had dragged her to a well-known boutique and asked the first clerk he finds to give her clothes that suit her. Her three piece sweater set and gray khakis are not exactly appropriate date wise. The employee, who introduces herself as White, smirks and then drags Crystal to a changing room.
"Yep." He grins cheekily. "Think of this as your disguise. Today, we're going play teenagers looking for some fun."
"Do we have to?" Secretly, Crystal is excited. Its been so long since she heard the word fun. As soon as she came to America, studying, taking care of Emerald and not going back to China had become her first priority.
She can hear Gold nodding. "Yep. Now get out here and show me how beautiful you look."
With a small sigh and a large blush, Crystal shyly pushes the curtains aside and steps out. Her figure is covered by a dress that extends to above her knees. The top is a tight, dark red with spaghetti straps that travels down to below her waist where it flares out and turns into a checkered pattern with blacks whites and reds that shows off her legs amazingly. Her shoulders are covered by short-sleeves that are attached to her straps. On her feet are heel-less leather boots that extend to mid calf.
Gold has to fight with his mouth to keep his tongue in. He looks away in a poor attempt to hide his blush. "You look amazing." He admits gruffly.
She blushes again as she hears White squeal again. "You look beautiful! Do I or do I not have great taste!"
"You do." Gold is amazed how much a simple outfit can complement her so much. "Now how much?"
White waves away his question like an annoying fly. "On me. Take the girl out and show her how to have a good time."
There are a lot of first times that day. It was the first time Crystal had ever been on a date. It was the first time Gold had not kissed a girl while on the date. It was the first time she had ever tasted chocolate. It was the first time Gold had ever taken a girl on her first date.
But most of all, it was the first time Crystal and Gold had ever wished a day could never end.
"Well?" Gold asks her as she licks her first ice cream. He had recommended all sorts of wild flavors she had never heard of before, but chooses to keep it simple with her favorite flavor, strawberry. Why they would even eat something cold when it was about to rain was beyond Crystal. But she was exhausted with following logic. "How does it feel to be free?"
Crystal smiles and takes another spoonful. "It's not so bad." She turns her smile to Gold. "I think I could get used to this."
Gold smiles back.
"Humph. And here I thought I could get a day of peace."
They turn to see Amethyst standing there, shopping bags hanging from her crossed arms. Gold immediately stands up and stands in front of Crystal, as if he can protect her from Amethyst. "What do you want Amethyst?"
She shrugs and holds out her arms. "Just doing a little retail therapy. I had to after this bitch took you from me."
"I didn't steal him Amethyst." Crystal defends herself. "He was no one's to start with."
Amethyst snorts. "Or so you think."
Gold narrows his eyes, cautioned by her words. "What are you talking about?"
Her responding smile is cruel. "Didn't you used to belong to Lyra?" Her expression is one of mock surprise. "Oh wait! She went out with Silver, didn't she? Broke your poor heart so bad that you turned into a player." She melodramatically sighs. "And then she had to die, didn't she. Broke your heart again, and Silver's. And it was then that you realized you were in love with her."
"Shut up!" Gold shouts, startling everyone nearby. "That was in the past! Lyra...God bless her soul, she was never mine. She was always Silver's. I may have had some feelings for her in the past, but its over now!"
Instead of responding to him, Amethyst sends a cruel glare at Crystal. "I was surprised when I took another look at you. You're nearly her double."
The light mist is starting to turn into rain and everyone nearby is ducking under coats and taking refuge in cafes and shops. Soon, they are the only three people on the street. But none of this matters to the trio, who are waiting for Crystal's response. The blood in her veins turns to ice as the words sink in. "Gold," Her voice is weak. "is this true?"
Amethyst rolls her eyes and takes something out of her bag before handing it to Crystal. "Like you wouldn't believe." In the picture is a girl who has her arms around Gold and Silver's shoulders. Even though her hair and eyes are brown and her expression is weird, the resemblance is too much to ignore. Its like an exact copy. Amethyst smirks as Crystal becomes paler and clutches the photo tighter. "So now you see. He was just using you because you look like his dead lost love. I'll bet thats why he approached you in the first pla–"
The sharp sound of sin against skin cuts Amethyst off. "Thats enough." Gold snarls. "I don't fight girls, but for you, I'd gladly make an exception. Get the hell out of here if you know whats good for you!"
Amethyst hold her hand against her cheek, open-mouthed and shocked. Gold has always been known as a gentleman, making sure no lady under his care has been harmed. For him to slap her, and threaten to do it again so easily...Amethyst slowly backs away before breaking into a full out sprint, her shopping bags lay forgotten in the rain.
Its a good thing she convinced her father to transfer her to another school. The angry expression on Gold's face will haunt her for the rest of her life.
"I can't believe this." Crystal mumbles as Amethyst runs away. "It was all...because I look like her?" Her frame begins to tremble. "Because she has my face? Is that the only reason you approached me?"
"Cry–"
"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" She takes a deep breath to keep herself from yelling again. The rain is falling harder now, but it only succeeds in covering her tears. And maybe his. "Did you approach me because I look like this...Lyra person?"
"...Yes."
"And that is the only reason you came to me?"
"Crys–"
She chokes out a sob. "So thats it." She sobs again and rubs at her eyes. "No one can look at me without someone saying I look like someone else." She turns away from the shell-shocked boy.
"Wait, what do you mean Crystal?"
"Nothing." She mumbles.
"It's not–"
"Oh like you care Gold!" She snaps. She rubs her eyes angrily, the mixture of rain and tears making it nearly impossible to see. "Just leave me alone! I never want to see you again!" And she runs off.
He starts to run after her and then stops. After all, what could he say that would change anything? No matter how much he wants to deny her accusations, everything Crystal accused him of is true. Amethyst has ruined everything and he has no one to blame for this but himself. He had everything planned; the wonderful date, the romantic atmosphere. And now it's wasted because some jealous girl couldn't keep her mouth shut.
He clutches his heart and leans against a fence. He can only ask one question: Why did it turn out like this?
Loved it? Hated it?