Drew

There she was. I caught my breath at the nymph who stood at the door. She hung onto Brendan's arm, smiling, laughing with him. Her auburn tresses hung over her bare shoulders, down her back, hugging her neck where a silver-chained pendant hung. A garnet was set into the pendant. Brendan's gift.

"Drew." My sister, Catherine, touched my arm. I started. She watched me as I shook my head at my idiocy. Who was I kidding? May was happy with Brendan and I didn't have any right to interfere. I slammed my drink down on the table, creating a shallow gouge in its wood.

"Drew," Catherine said again, voice firm, "it's no use. You can watch her all you want, but she won't look at you the way she looks at him."

I didn't answer. My eyes strayed from my drink to May again. In vain I tried to rub away the cup-shaped groove on the table.

"Look at those lights," Catherine said of the gaudy chandeliers, trying to lighten my mood. "Aren't they pretty? I heard that Brendan rented this place out just for May's birthday."

"I don't care." My chair screeched on the floor as I pushed it back viciously, turning and stumbling out of the room. Puzzled eyes watched me, eyes that knew nothing about me, about how I had loved her, about what tore at my soul. A dozen hands tried to stop me, mouths whispered reprimands, but I slammed the door behind me.

The hallway was silent, echoing my blank thoughts and my rasped breathing. The sound was loud, too loud. I tried to breathe slowly, but my wild thoughts kept me from calming.

"Gods... Ho-oh..."

My head sagged to my chest. What an idiot I've been, I thought bleakly. All this time... seven months... and I still hadn't gotten over her. Sure, Brendan was popular and rich, and he had matured, but...

He didn't deserve her.

"No, no..." I buried my face in my hands. "God... I can't do it!" My fist pounded the wall.

"Drew!"

I groaned. "Go away, Cath."

I heard, with a sinking heart, her footsteps coming closer until they halted in front of me, loud, defiant as the look on her face. Whenever my sister was like this, I knew I was in for it.

"Go back in," she ordered.

"No."

"Go!"

"No." I turned to walk down the hall, but she caught my wrist and wrenched me around to face the door again.

"Go. You don't want her to see you like this, do you?" she coaxed gently. I shook my head and tried to pull away. Her grip only hardened with her voice. "Go. There's no use staying in your room and angsting about it."

"I can't look at her."

But Cath had already dragged me into the room and sat me down again. Something burned and smoldered inside me as I watched, emotionless, the crowd that gave me their glances and turned away, the bright lights, the girl who danced away in the middle of the room and never knew whose heart she had stolen, broken. I watched when Brandon held her close and whispered in her ear, the secret smiles and hidden laughter.

There she was. The elusive nymph, the whispering wind, the heart and soul of living fire. The one in my dreams, the girl that I had wanted for seven years. There she was, in the arms of another.

There she was.

From the Authoress:
I realized that Gary's character in this story would fit more with Brendan (you know, that guy in Sapphire and Ruby who never shows up in the anime), so I changed the story to fit him. He's a character with no distinct personality since he shows up so little, so I can do just what I want with him! (gRin gRin)