Part One: I'm Awake!
Lea shook out his hair, sitting down on his bed. He glanced around the dorm room with a tired gaze. The cheap white walls were bare, as was most of the room. There wasn't much else, other than a hand-me-down desk, a large curtainless window, and trunk full of old clothes. Lea gave a sigh, listening to the sound echo against the walls. Odd that they could echo in such a small space. Perhaps it was just a side effect of his exhaustion.
The room's door opened. It creaked rather loudly as the blue-haired Isa entered. His amber contacts shined in the pane's fading daylight.
"How are you feeling?" He asked Lea, his voice as monotone as the redhead remembered. Lea knew, however, that Isa meant well beneath the low tone.
"Tired," Lea admitted. "Which is funny...you'd think I'd gotten enough sleep in the damn hospital." A release form was crumpled in the redhead's hands. He tore a piece from it and tossed it on the floor. Then he tore another off. And another.
"I imagine that being in a coma for a year does that to you," Isa pointed out. "Your body will likely need some time to adjust to being up and about."
Lea examined his arms, which had slimmed immensely during his time at the hospital. He gave Isa a large grin. "Man, look at how starved I am. Got anything to eat here?"
The corner of Isa's mouth turned up slightly. He gestured to the door. "I'll take you out. My treat...this time."
"'This time', eh? So this isn't so much a gift as it is a favor."
"You still owe me for a lot of favors. Don't tell me your little nap made you forget."
"Nah, I haven't forgotten. You wouldn't let a guy forget, even if he was on his deathbed." Lea smiled. "But I don't mind. I'll pay ya back as much as I can once I get my bearings." Although Lea wasn't entirely sure how he'd pay Isa back for letting him move into the 2-bed, 1-bath dorm. Having no place to go himself, Lea was grateful to have a friend take him in—even if his attitude occasionally said otherwise.
"I think that getting into college will be good for you right now," Isa said. "Once you've had the summer to readjust to the awakened world, having a set schedule—and something productive to do for once—will be good for you."
"What about the ol' gang? What have they been up to?"
"The usual. I don't keep in touch with them any more. Ever since I left, however, things have been...quiet from them."
Lea nodded absently as they left the dorm house. The breeze outside was gentle and refreshing; Lea's overly-pale skin could tell that it'd been a long time since he'd felt something so real and relaxing. He inhaled deeply, letting the scent of crunchy leaves and car pollution fill his lungs. It helped his body wake up a bit, making the man smile widely.
As Lea and Isa walked towards the downtown area, the redhead kept noticing the most peculiar things: A boy smiling at a girl from across his cafe table. The girl smiling back with a light blush in her cheeks. A couple walking hand-in-hand through a small crowd outside a restaurant.
"How's Sparky been?" Lea asked suddenly. Isa gave his friend a look from the corner of his eye.
"You mean (y/n)?" He asked. Lea nodded. Isa answered with an odd sort of nonchalance: "She's fine, last I heard."
"What's she been up to?"
"I don't keep tabs on the girl, Lea," Isa muttered a bit harshly. When Lea gave him a look with slight and subtle desperation, the blue-haired man huffed. "I saw her at the university a few times last semester. She's been changing her studies around quite a bit and just settled on teaching as her major. High school focus, I think."
"Mm." Lea's mind wasn't racing, but many thoughts were swirling around his mind. "And Riku?"
Isa gave his companion a cautious glance. "Let it go, Lea."
"I'm just curious," Lea insisted. "Last thing I remember before conkin' out was her's and Riku's panicked faces. Just wanna make sure sh—they're okay."
Isa let out another brief sigh. "They just celebrated their one-and-a-half-year anniversary a few months ago."
"Ah." Leah glanced at the sky. It was pink, fading to a dark blue as it followed the sun's descent. "Good for them."
"Mm." There was silence for a few moments.
"So...does she ask about me?" More questions circled Lea's brain: Did she know he was awake? Did she ever come to visit him while he was in the hospital? Did she keep as many tabs on his condition as Isa had?
"Not usually," Isa answered. "She's been occupied with other matters." The fierce yellow eyes met Lea's confused expression. "She's moved on Lea. You should as well."
"I know, I know," Lea mumbled. "Just another thing to work on over the summer." But Lea's reply didn't even come across as half-hearted. He knew "Sparky" too well. He knew himself too well.
And he always knew when Isa was lying.