Hope watched Lightning as she stood beside Noel, waiting for the door in front of them to open. For some reason, this woman made his heart pound and his face heat up. It wasn't often he met new people, especially females, for that matter, but none had elicited such a strange feeling. It was almost like when his assistant at the Academy clung to him, but instead of annoyed feelings, these feelings were… pleasant. Welcome feelings.
There's was also an odd sense of déjà vu whenever he looked upon her. A tranquil, safe kind of feeling settled down within him when he was near her. It was odd, and he thought maybe it had something to do with how in the past, they'd been friends. Not that he remembered those times, if they even existed. Suddenly, though, he desperately wished that the tale spun by Lightning was true. All of these feelings rushing into his mind all at once confused him, and he decided to push them away to the back of his mind until he had time to assess them all in a calm environment where no one would disturb him.
The door opened suddenly, and a large, bleach-blonde-haired man had to bend to step out of his front door.
"Hey guys!" Snow greeted them, grasping Hope's hand in a manly handshake and giving Noel a hearty slap on the back, causing an 'oof!' to be released from the brunette's mouth. Snow went to do the same with the third person, but stopped when he realized that it was an unknown person. And a female, at that. He instead opted for sticking his hand out in front of her to offer a handshake.
"I don't think I've seen you around here before, and it's hard to forget a face when the population here is so low! You look oddly familiar, though. Have I met you before?" the giant said, finishing the handshake between them and narrowing his eyes at her familiar features. "You look a lot like my fiancé!"
Hope could swear he saw a smirk pass over Lightning's lips before she addressed Snow.
"Name's Lightning Farron. Before you ask, I'm Serah's sister. She just… doesn't know it, yet." she replied, crossing her arms. Hope sighed at her blunt introduction. He knew it'd only confuse Snow more.
True to his expectations, Snow's expression became that of utter confusion. Questions gushed forth in a desperate attempt to understand what the woman in front of him was saying.
"Let's go inside, and we'll explain in there," Hope interrupted, grabbing Snow and attempting to turn the large man around. Of course, he failed, but Snow managed to shut his mouth and head inside of the house of his own free will.
Snow fell onto the couch and called out for Serah to come downstairs. When the telltale footsteps were heard lightly padding down the stairs, Lightning, despite herself, started walking to meet the pink-haired girl she knew she'd find at the bottom of the steps.
When Serah turned the corner to enter the living room, she nearly ran into a woman who looked very much like an older, tougher her. "Serah…" the woman whispered, a look of joy flashing across her face for a moment, but quickly changing into a devastated expression.
"Oh, I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you, I just…" she trailed off. Serah merely stared, mouth agape, at the woman with nearly identical hair to hers. Why does she know my name? Why does she look so upset? Serah wondered.
Hope stepped next to them and gently grasped both of their shoulders, guiding them towards the couch. When they both sat down, Serah resumed her staring. Hope and Noel then launched into an explanation of who the eerily-familiar woman was, why she was there, etc. Serah was forced to shift her attention to the two men, occasionally glancing towards the girl, called Lightning.
When their explanation ended, Serah was too shocked to speak. Snow did for her, though.
"Ha! So that would mean you're my sister! Ain't that right, sis?" Snow joked, nudging Lightning with his elbow. This, in return, earned him a glare.
"Don't call me that," Lightning growled out of habit. Her gaze then softened a bit and she muttered a quick, "Sorry, I guess you're right."
What happened next confused everyone.
Snow's hands shot up towards his head. He gripped the area around his temples, and his head fell between his knees as he grunted slightly with pain. Serah immediately stood up and ran over to him, checking him over and wondering what was wrong. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, which he downed gratefully. Finally, he seemed to calm down.
"Why do I feel like you've said that to me before? Why do I know that you've said it to me before!? More than that, why does it feel so nostalgic when you say it?! Agh! I'm so confused! I just had a rush of memories that aren't mine of you saying that!" Snow shouted towards Lightning, demanding answers.
"That's because you used to say the same thing to me all the time when we were trying to save Serah. You'd call me sis, and I'd respond the way I did just now. Sorry about that, I said it out of habit." Lightning supplied, giving Snow a half-apologetic look.
"Strange…" Hope muttered "It seems that certain things you say, or even do, will elicit a reaction that makes people remember you. Perhaps if you tried something you did more often, or something that made you and say, Snow, connect on a personal level, he'll begin to remember."
Lightning nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Sounds like a plan," she said with a thumbs up in Hope's direction. Suddenly, the one who'd been more or less quiet throughout this whole ordeal spoke.
"Lightning, huh… Etro's Champion." Noel said, nodding. "It's hazy, but I've got a memory of you catching me from the sky of Valhalla and then… oh, damn it, I don't know, it hurts to think about it." he waved his hand around as if to dismiss the memory that muddled his thoughts.
"Well, sounds like we're getting somewhere, eh, Noel?" Snow asked clapping said boy on his back for the second time that day. Noel sighed and rubbed his shoulder in response.
"Say… Lightning. Is your real name… Claire?" Serah said, eyes clouding with attempted recall of memory. "Sorry for assuming but… the name just came to me, all of the sudden." she muttered, scratching the area behind her ear.
"Wow. No, you're right. My real name is Claire." Lightning responded, a look of genuine shock on her face.
Snow and Hope's eyes grew bright with recognition. "Claire… Yeah! Claire!" Hope exclaimed, grinning. "This is such a weird feeling. It's as if I knew you in a past life."
Lightning half-grinned in return. Noel began walking towards the door, saying that they needed to now find Fang, Vanille, and Sazh, and to explain the situation to them. One by one the exited the small house, Lightning glancing backwards at Serah and waving for a moment, before she turned her head and brusquely stomped outside.
When the door closed, Serah leaned back on the couch and regarded Snow with wide eyes.
"I suddenly feel as if we don't have to wait to have the wedding anymore," Serah muttered, blinking once.
"You took the words right outta my mouth, babe," Snow replied, his head flopping backwards as a sigh was released from his lips.
asdfgasdfsadf as I release more chapters I get more and more nervous about this story. My friends tell me it's ok but I just feel like it's so derpy. xD Anyways, if you made it this far, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you think :3 Thanks.