Short Chapter. Sorry!

Chapter Three

(Van's POV)

In the morning, I woke up to the bright sun. I was surprised to see that Hitomi was gone. Last night when I returned to my size, I fell asleep next to her, but when I woke up this morning, I was back to my midget size, on her pillow. I took off my shirt and flew downstairs. It was times like this I was glad I was a draconian.

"Mrs. Kanzaki?" I asked landing on the counter and pulling my wings in before she saw them.

"Yes deary?" She asked, probably surprised.

"Where's Hitomi?"

"Oh, she's at school. She said she would give you a day to relax during your vacation."

"Oh…" I smiled. She's so sweet.

"How did you get in here?"

"I flew." I said casually. I hoped that draconians weren't so odd or cursed on the mystic moon…Or at least that Hitomi had told them what 'direct descendant of Atlantis' actually meant.

"Flew? Oh yes, you have wings…Hitomi said so. How exactly?"

"Well, my mother was a draconian."

"What's a draconian?" She asked pulling out a chair.

"In Gaean history, our world was made by the wishes of the people of Atlantis. They had the power to convert human will into energy. They wanted to be gods so they wished themselves to have wings to fly to the heavens. In the end, that power was their downfall, and they fled to Gaea. I am one of last of my species, since Draconians are said to be cursed."

"So Draconians are the people of Atlantis that have wings because they wished it."

"Sounds a little ridiculous when you say it like that."

"Sorry…but that's what it is isn't it?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Can I see?" I was hesitant. Hitomi and Merle were the only ones who thought my wings weren't a sign of evil. "You don't have to…"

"Well, it's just…Hitomi and my sister are the only ones who haven't been terrified of me when they found out what I was…Then again, people from the Mystic Moon are considered cursed as well."

"Mystic Moon?"

"uh…Earth. Um…I guess it's okay." I pushed out my wings and she looked at me with a face of excitement.

"Wow! Just like an Angel's! My daughter sure scored big." I blushed and pulled my wings back in.

"About that…I was wondering…"

"I'm home!" Mamoru called. I dropped what I was going to say.

"Why so early?" His mother asked getting up. I put my shirt back on.

"It was a half-day! Besides, Dad and I are going to watch 'Lord of the Rings'!"

"Have Van join you! I think he would enjoy that."

"What are we doing?" I asked confused.

"Would you like to watch a movie with me and dad?"

"Depends, what's a movie?"

"…come with me." Mamoru held his hand up and I jumped on. We went into a room with two couches pointed to a black box with a piece of glass on the front. "That's the TV."

"TV…"

"Television."

"What?"

"Here." He pushed a button and suddenly, pictures started appearing rapidly on it. Sounds came from felt covered boxes beside it.

"Whoa…" I couldn't help but say.

"We have shows that play all the time. And different shows are on different channels." He pushed some buttons on a black rectangle. I stared in amazement. "And this is a movie. We save them on these discs called DVDs." I nodded in understanding, even though I didn't. I stopped trying to.

"Are you going to watch 'Lord of the Rings' with us?" Mr. Kanzaki asked coming down the stairs.

"I guess."

"Great! Mamoru, get the popcorn!"

"Popcorn?"

"You'll see." Mamoru set me down on the couch and ran into the Kitchen while his dad popped in the 'movie'. What a strange way to spend my first day.

(Hitomi's POV)

It had already been a long day. The amount of homework was astronomical, the class drama was escalating, and Yukari was off with Amano. I couldn't wait to just get home…To Van. I smiled giddily. It was such a nice surprise waking up to find him asleep on my pillow. It was kind of a sign that he still cared about me.

"What's so funny?" A girl asked next to me. Immediately my smile fell. She was one of the girls I wanted nothing to do with.

"Nothing…"

"Did your boyfriend finally come? Angel boy?" She said mocking me.

"In a matter of fact, he did. He's at my house."

"Really? Why don't you bring him to school and prove it?"

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"Oh Come on Hitomi, we just want to meet him." She laughed.

I was about to counter, but then I remembered the size issue. I couldn't put him on exhibit. "I can't…"

"You are such a liar." She turned away. I sighed. Things had been like this ever since I came back from Gaea. Everyone wanted to know where I was, so I told them the truth. I shouldn't have done that. They thought I was crazy at first, and when I insisted that's what happened, but couldn't offer any proof, they decided I was a liar.

From there, it got worse. In my free time, I would write letters to Van. They were extremely personal, and he should have been the only one to read them. I didn't think I'd ever send them, but I should have. The girls found them in my shoe locker and stole them. They constantly made a joke out of it. They never gave the originals back, not even after photocopying them. I thought after awhile things would calm down, but instead they got even worse. One of their boyfriends felt sorry for me and made a truce. Unfortunately, his girlfriend, Mitsuki, thought something else and acted out of jealously. He broke up with her, and now Mitsuki and her friends are acting out on anger.

What's worse is that boy, Kurone, has been flirting with me. Even if he knows I'm mad about an 'imaginary' boy, but Mitsuki still likes him and it just one huge mess that I wish would just go away. Too bad Van has my pendant. I made it to the front entrance where a mob of girls were chatting and giggling. As I approached, they looked askance in my direction and laughed.

"Oh Van! How I miss you! Life has been so hard since we departed!"

"I wish I would have kissed you before I was transported back!"

"You promised I could try some of the blue cherries you were talking about!" I ignored them all and walked out diligently. "Hey Hitomi! You better hope Van doesn't get sucked into a jet engine when he flies into save you!"

"Maybe if you get pregnant, you'll lay an egg!" Tears stung my eyes and I hurried my steps. I wouldn't cry…not until I got home.

I slammed the door and stormed to my room. "Hitomi?" I heard my mother call.

"Bad day!" I called back a slammed my door shut. I kicked my shoes off and flopped down onto the bed. The tears came. I tried to hold them back as best as I could.

"Hitomi?" My brother was at the door.

"Get out Mamoru!" I shouted back. He said nothing and closed the door. Finally, I buried my face in my pillows.

"Hitomi?" I heard a little voice say. Something grazed my hand. I looked up. Van was standing there, touching my hand, with a troublesome face. "What's wrong? What happened?" I blushed profusely, but said nothing. I sniffed and rubbed my eyes.

"Please tell me?"

"Just a bad day."

"Don't lie to me Hitomi."

My lip quivered and I fell back to my pillows sobbing violently. "I had a horrible day and I don't want to talk about it!" I was so embarrassed, but I couldn't stop crying. "I'm sorry Van…"

"Why are you sorry? I should be the one sorry since I can't comfort you."

"You don't have to…It's your vacation."

"And I'll spend it how I want. And I want to spend it with you." I could tell by his voice that he was smiling. "I'm completely serious Hitomi." I turned my face to him.

"Thank you."

"Now tell me. What happened?"

"Someone teased me at school."

"Really? About what? Why would anyone tease you?" He sat in front of my face, Indian style, listening intently.

"It-it doesn't matter…"

"Hitomi…" He said in a warning tone.

"Ugh. I wrote a letter to you and someone found it and shared it around the school."

"You wrote a letter to me?"

"Uh…a couple…actually." I blushed. "They were personal, and I talked about your wings and Escaflowne in them."

"So?"

"That kind of stuff is strange here. There's no such thing as people with wings or giant robots." I closed my eyes. "They all think I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak Hitomi!" Van reached towards me and used his tiny hands to wipe away my tears. "I know I'm not the best at words, but I think your amazing Hitomi. You're so special and unique, they're just jealous of you."

"You think so?"

"I know so." He smiled. He was so close now. He was welcome to stay there too. Unconsciously, my finger came up and smoothed his black locks. He laughed. "What are you doing?" I just smiled and poked his side. He laughed again.

"Thank you Van. You always do your best to make me feel better."

"I try." He stood up. "Would you like to watch the movie with us?"

"What movie?"

"We just started the second Lord of the Rings."

"They got you hooked on that? Goodness…"

"It's REALLY good though!" I sat up and wiped my eyes.

"Alright." I smiled.