2 - TOO DIFFERENT
my hopes that no one listens to are just passing by
The dream...is too foggy. It feels as though my vision is blurry...and no matter how much I rub my eyes, I still can't see properly. I catch a glimpse of a small girl crying. Tears flow down her face like a river and she is clutching onto the man's suit. I can't see her face clearly. The man...I can't see his face too. All I can see is him throwing the books in the furnace, ignoring the girl's cries.
I don't know why...but I feel like crying too.
"...ley...Ash...ASHLEY!" Something, or someone, jerks me awake by shaking my shoulders. I snap open my eyes and the blood rushes quickly to my head, causing a sharp pain. I groan and before I realize where I am, someone pulls my body close to his.
It feels warm, warmer than the summer heat. I relax a little, letting the pain soothe down. I feel so calm and my mind is empty...uh, wait, am I in an embrace? Who? I notice Levy and Erza in the room who are looking at me anxiously. My eyes shift to see who's hugging me and I scream in horror.
"What are you..!" I push him away and Natsu lands on the floor with an 'Ow'. I can't let someone whom I know for a week to just suddenly hug me like that! I feel my cheeks getting a little hot as I mumble an apology. Maybe I overreacted a little? "S-Sorry...I was shocked..."
"Natsu, you should've let her rest." Erza says disapprovingly. "You were literally screaming for her to wake up every second."
Natsu scratches his head and frowns. "I'm just worried..."
I shut my mouth, feeling shy at what he said. When I think back, it seems that I've fainted ever since that...memory flashed in my mind. I wonder what was that? But I shouldn't trouble my friends anymore. This is really getting annoying.
"Ashley, are you feeling better?" Levy sits on my bed and holds my hand.
I nod at her and give a small smile so not to worry her. "That's great!" She gives a huge smile in excitement. "We have prepared a welcome-back party for you!" A party? Just for me? I lean towards her in delight. "I'm so ready!" I exclaim excitedly all of a sudden. I don't know why, but I feel excited! All of my energy has come back! I'm fired up! (I feel like I'm acting dumb like a certain someone...)
"Typical. You liked to party so much till you got really dead drunk." Natsu remains on the floor and leans on my closet. "You still got that party animal in ya."
Erza smacks Natsu's head and folds her arms, leaving him to cower in fear. "Stupid! It's not that kind of party! Which retard would give alcohol to a patient?" Her voice is low and intimidating - even I feel shivers from it.
Levy ignores the commotion and stares at me with her bright eyes. "Once you're ready, come on down!" She stands up. "Rest well!" She waves and Erza follows Levy out, dragging Natsu along with her.
They seem a little quirky, but I really do like them. I feel thankful for my past self to be friends with them. I look around my room - maybe I was a rebel before. I wonder if I left any bad impression on anyone.
I get out of my bed and head towards my table. I don't see any traces of books anywhere and that's when I remember the conversation I had with Levy. I don't like books? That kind of explains it. But somehow I feel a little empty at the thought of not being able to read. Maybe I should start reading, then when I regain back my memories I'd have already grown to love it.
Maybe I kept a diary or something? I open the top drawer and rummage through it. I find a huge box and open it excitedly. Seems like it's only full of weird spiky accessories. I find another box and open it. There are many notes and cards of different colors and sizes. I catch a glimpse of one of them. Are these letters? I guess they are notes from my friends. I make a mental note to read them later.
I open the second drawer and find only textbooks. Seems like I didn't throw them all away. But too bad there isn't any novel anywhere, so I close it in disappointment.
I open the last drawer, my heart hoping that there'll be something for me to know more about myself. Despite my rough appearance (before), I must've been a neat girl too. I find a huge box, big enough to fill it with small books. I take it out and it surprisingly doesn't feel heavy. I shake it a little and hear some heavy noise. I guess there might be books in there? Maybe my diary? I open it and find many things inside, such as a few notebooks, medals, a pair of glasses, a hair band and other weird stuff. I see an especially thick notebook - it has to be my diary!
So my heart leaps in excitement as I proceed to open it, yet I can't. The book is locked and it needs my code number. Dang it. I don't remember anything! I hope I had written my secret passwords on some piece of paper.
I spy some pieces of paper sticking out of the book and I take a sneak peek. Newspapers? I don't even read, so why will there be a newspaper clipping?
A delicate chirping noise startles me and I jerk around. My eyes follow the walls and I find a wooden bird coming out of the clock. 3pm? Ah! I have to go down already!
I put the diary back in the box and tuck it safely in the drawer. Maybe I'll look at it another day.
As I walk out of my room feeling a little downcast, I find Gray in the corridor. "Hey," I say awkwardly and he waves at me.
"You feeling good?" He asks and I nod. I follow him down the stairs and into the dining room. Somehow, I feel shivers on my spine ever since I came to the dorm and now I feel it again. But is it just me, or that I feel someone's watching me?
When I step into the dining room, party poppers burst out and I freeze there in shock. C'mon, I'm still recovering! But what shocks me the most is that there are many people in the room. Was I that popular?
"We're your classmates," Erza comes forward and I ease with a smile. "Uh," I begin, feeling more awkward than ever. "Hi."
Instead of greeting back, the entire room gasp. I gasp at their gasps. Did I do anything wrong? Maybe they hate me? If they do then why would they-
"Ho~ , Ashley's saying Hi?" A brunette slurs as she stumbles to me. Her entire face is red and her outfit is...a little revealing. She puts an arm around me and I can smell alcohol from her. Isn't she a minor?
"Guys, Ashley Heartfilia is saying Hi?" She raises her voice.
Murmurings begin everywhere in the room. I can only freeze at my spot in confusion. What's happening? A burly guy walks towards me with Levy following behind. He has jet black hair and his face has tons of piercings. "Yo," He says. "You sure you're Ash?"
I nod slowly and hesitantly, arching a brow at him. His red eyes pierce into my very soul and I shiver. "And may I know who you are?" My voice almost cracks.
He stares at me, wide-eyed, then throw his head back and laughs. "Dang, you've really turned into another person," He continues to laugh. Levy steps forward with an apologetic look. "Sorry about him," She says softly. "He's Gajeel."
I process that information though I continue staring at him in confusion. He's really weird. I think everyone in the room is weird.
People start crowding around me and I feel breathless. There's this really friendly girl, Mirajane, who seems the most normal out of the rest. Not to mention her sister Lisanna too. Unfortunately, their brother Elfman not only looks exaggerated in size, but also in his speech. "ASHLEY!" He booms and I gulp. "YOU AREN'T ASHLEY! YOU'RE A MAN!"
O-Okay? Jet and Warren seems quirky too but at least they didn't exaggerate at how much I've changed. They merely compliment that I "looked more feminine" and "should stay that way forever". Then Loke pushes them out of the way and winks at me. "I prefer you this way, you're like a flower." He smirks. "We should go out sometime."
"Um...no?" I have no idea how to answer him though I can see him being stabbed with imaginary swords of rejection. I give an apologetic smile and am about to walk away when someone hangs his arm around my shoulder.
"Here's to Ashley!" The familiar voice shouts gleefully and he holds up a cup of juice. I turn and find Natsu beside me who also looks at me with his signature smile. At that moment my heart calms down and I relax my tense muscles. "Thanks," I say softly by his side as I hold out my juice.
"Woah, you've changed a LOT." Lisanna leans in and observes me. I respond by smiling awkwardly. "R-Really?" I ask in curiosity. "How was I back then?"
"You were really unfriendly," She smiles apologetically. "I didn't really talk much to you since I was, well, kind of scared."
I accept her words graciously and chide myself. Mirajane comes to the counter after washing the plates. "You'd always pick a fight with anyone when you're pissed," She says it with her sweet voice though the context doesn't seem to fit well. "You even fought with me."
Her sickeningly sweet voice somehow scares me and I gulp. I think it's better not to enrage her.
"I fight...as in physically?" I ask slowly, hoping I won't scream at my past self again. Seriously, what have I been doing?
"Nope, you'd only shout and yell in anger." Mirajane explains. "Now that I think of it, the only person you've ever hit is Natsu."
"N-N-N-Natsu?" I sputter out. I didn't know that! And to think that I'm his closest friend?!
"W-What did I do?" My voice comes out on its own though I don't feel like finding out. It doesn't feel pleasant and I feel like I can cry a river of embarrassment.
"You'd punch me or even push me to the ground," A voice which I don't really anticipate for comes from behind me. I take a deep breath and try to calm my thumping heart. I have no guts to face him! Why is it even beating fast anyway?
Natsu plops down on the seat next to me, his goofy smile never leaving his face. I can only stare up at him uncertainly, not knowing if I should apologize. However, he takes my silence as a sign to continue. "You'd shout at me and put me in a headlock." He laughs. "Whenever I tried to fight back I'd get owned by you."
What? He looks ripped enough to overpower such a puny girl like me! Sometimes I wonder if they are making up stories.
All of a sudden he grabs my collar roughly and pulls me towards him, our faces a few centimeters apart. "Then you'd pull me by the collar," He continues and I can feel his hot breath on my face. My already thumping heart beats even faster, seemingly at the speed of a bullet train. "Wha-" I say and he interrupts me. "And you'd hiss at me." He's too strong! I seriously wonder how I could beat someone like him!
He's about to continue when I put my hands to his chest and exert all my strength to push him away. He lets out a short yell and falls head down on the floor and a loud thud can be heard. It sounds really painful, so I lean over quickly and see if he's okay. "I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...!" I cry out frantically. Why does this always happen?
He opens his eyes and looks into my eyes and I can see sparkles in them. I bite my lip in worry. Instead of showing signs of pain, he gives a thumbs up and grins widely.
"Now that's my Ash."
teehee hope you like this. I really appreciate the reviews! I won't be updating for a while since my prelim exams are in 3 weeks *cries a river bc i haven't been studying* (i seriously wonder why i started writing more at such a crucial time like this) but I'll be very active from November onward! (ofc I'll be a sneaky brat and update before then) but anyway, please review!
and I have a question - do you guys have Wattpad?