Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantast XIII or any of the characters.
AN: I believe I will continue this story. I've been having a terrible case of writer's block for awhile. If you have any suggestions on where to take this story, lemme know! Enjoy
"Claire we want you to stay home today, you've been gone way too much." I hear my parents say. This annoys me to no end. I feel some hatred start to bubble up but I swallow it back down. No need to voice my feelings. I nod, and continue what I'm doing. The only reason I leave so much is because they are never here. They take no interest in me, and I no interest to them. I guess its better this way. To just go with the motions, only a few short years and I can leave. Serah offers some level of deterrence, if I wasn't forced to stay at home with her all the time when my parents leave. I sigh escapes my lips before I can realize my mistake.
"What's your issue lately Claire? You pout around here all day." This sends a fresh new wave of anger. I pout?! My eyes narrow as I look to the ground trying to conceal some of my annoyment.
"I didn't know I had an issue." I say solemnly. I thought it was normal for a sixteen year old girl to get out and about, to go do things with friends instead of the family. For a sixteen year old girl to have some…fun. My life around home is dull and uneventful, but out in the real world, I can make a name for myself. I can get out and do things in life. My fists clench as I head back to my room, no need to further their disgust at me. I push the door shut, careful not to let it slam. A sigh escapes my lips as I flop onto my bed. I close my eyes and breathe deeply.
The door opens with a panic. I shoot straight up, awoken by the noise. Serah stands at the door, her eyes in a panic, her breathing rapid. I bolt into action, totally awake and alert at this moment.
"Stay here!" I shout at Serah as tears pour down her cheeks. I run to the front door and slam it open. I hear the sirens, I hear the panic. About a block up the road lays a mangled car, blood is dripping from various points of the sharp metal. My breath catches in my throat. The tears start to burn as I recognize the heap of metal. I push the tears back hard, put on a brave face and walk towards the tragedy. My feet feel like lead bricks, and seems to be several decades before I reach the accident. I reconigze my dads brown hair through the window of blood. The seat next to him is empty and look around. The ambulance has taken her. The load her up and I catch a glimpse of my mom's pink hair. I close my eyes and breathe deeply trying to wake up from this nightmare. It doesn't calm me and I feel my chest tighten up. I'm sweating, my legs are shaking and everything is blurry. The last thing I see is the pavement racing towards me.
I jolt awake. The covers are laying on the ground, my clothes drenched in sweat. I push my legs to the side of the bed and raise my hands to my hair. I rip my hands through my hair repeatedly, relishing in the slight pain. I pull harder. My hands are shaking, my grip is slipping. I stand up only to fall to the ground. I punch my fist into the carpet, clench my teeth together to keep the scream from leaving my lips. The carpet leaves an impression on my fist and the way my skin starts to tear away. I punch the floor again, and again, and again. I enjoy the way the carpet burns. I count off the seconds…one….two….three…four. My breathing slows and I feel my heart returning to normal. I pry my eyes open and get up off the floor. The clock says 3:53am. I groan, my normal schedule begins at 4:30, not enough time to try to get some sleep. The day shall begin now.
"Lightning!" I stand up from my desk and look at where I heard my name from. Serah is in the doorway to my office. She stands with a smile and a baby on her hip. A slight smile forms and I walk towards her.
"Look you terrible Light, did you sleep any?" she asks me. I shrug my shoulders and brush the question off.
"What brings you here?" I ask her back. She walks in a bit more seeming to avoid the topic.
"Well, you know that this week, that…well…something's came up…"She stumbles over her words.
"Serah, spit it out." I say, getting slightly aggravated by her evasive behavior.
"Hope's back in town Light."
My heart stops just a bit. I put my hand to my chest and turn away from her. Hope. I shut my eyes, trying to get my emotions back under control . I bite my tongue so hard I taste blood.
"That's fine. Does he need a place to stay again?" I ask her back recovering myself.
There's a slight pause. I know the answer already, but she doesn't want to say it. I don't look at her and I don't want to see the pity in her eyes she has for me.
"He does, and I would take him…but with the baby and Snow…" She's stumbling over her words, I can hear the hurt it brings on her to ask this of me.
"That's fine, let him know." I turn back around to her and she nods. She heads for the door and I don't say anything. I need some time, to myself.
"Thanks Light. He will be here in a few days." She says as she walks out the door.
A few days, that's all I have to get prepared for this. I sit down in my chair and face the wall. I run my hands through my hair, digging my nails into the skin. The pain is intense and it makes everything else slip from my mind. In Hope's defense, he dosent know the turmoil he puts me through by doing this. To him, I'm just an old friend. This sends a flash of anger through me and I can't control it quick enough. The glass of coffee on my desk gets slams into the wall before I can think about it. I breathe heavy trying to regain my control. My emotions are raging, my head spinning. Hope. Hope. I sigh, why does this have to be so complex. He dosent know of my turmoil, or my unrequited love to him. Love? I screw my eyes shut. Yes, this is love. Lightning Farron hopelessly in love with Hope.
Who's to say when it started? Serah introduced me to him, some friend she had said would be great for me. At first I scoffed at her futile attempts to play match-maker. But this time, it only worked on one end. I'll never forget that night.
We were at Serah's for a party. Everyone had shown up. Me and Hope, we were unseperatble. Best friends. I'd never felt so connected to someone in my life. It didn't matter I was 25 and he was 18. He has matured so quick. He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. He'd finish my sentences, knew how I took my coffee and when to calm me down. This could be it, I had finally found the person for me. Till I found out…
"Hey Hope, when ya gonna finally ask out your bestest lady friend?" Snow had yelled. He had had a few beers and wasn't thinking right. My heart beat sped up at his question and I felt my cheeks grow hot. That is until I heard Hope's response.
"Who Light? Right, cause I totally see her that way. She's like my big sister!" he said it so casually. I hadn't expected the pain to shoot through me. The room went quite and I turned around and headed out the door. I made it three steps out the door before the vomit came up and I lost my balance. My stomach twisted some more and I made it to my car. I sped away before anyone would ever realize I was gone. Hope never brought up the subject, and we continued like we had. That is before he moved to Palumpodum for his new exciting career. That is before he left without ever saying goodbye.