Wewt for chapter four. I've started a new story (Tales of a Twist: Fate of the Prodigy) which I'm really looking forward to writing. Although I don't plan on putting this story on a hiatus for the new one, I have yet to finish chapter five. I'm typing the story as I type this, actually o.o

Edit: The typos, they burn me. They have been fixed. Tell me if you see any I missed.

I own nothing. Except your soul. ♥

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Chapter Four:

Things Never Meant to Be

It was midnight by the time the meeting was over, but Genis made Lloyd keep his promise. The two met on the balcony of Lloyd's room to craft a bracelet. Careful planning went into the supplies. Only the best materials could be used for Presea. Genis would except no less; he had to redeem himself from the embarrassing incidents of the party.

Lloyd could barely keep his eyes open, but his nimble, dwarven-trained hands had a mind of their own. They knew what to do, as they felt and wove in each jewel, piece by piece. Each jewel was pink: the color of her hair. That was the only color the half elf could think of and he had no idea of her favorite color. "All girls like pink, right?" Genis asked himself. "Yeah. Pink is a girl's color."

Two hours later, Presea's bracelet was complete. Genis turned on the brightest light to inspect the work before saying, "Wow! Thanks Lloyd." The bracelet swung around in the air as he held it up against the light.

"I'm going to bed," Lloyd said in a drowsy voice. "Turn the light out when you're done."

"Okay, good night, Lloyd."

Lloyd mumbled an inaudible goodnight and collapsed on his bed without even changing. Soon, he was sound asleep and snoring into his pillow.

Genis laughed to himself. "Sleep well." He turned off the light and smiled before leaving his room.

As the half elf trekked to his room, he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Whoa. I knew you and Lloyd were best friends, but I never guessed it went THAT far." Zelos revealed himself from the darken part of the hallway; arms folded.

"Ze-Zelos, what are you. . . wait, WHAT?! No way! Its not like that!" Genis shook his head.

"Don't worry," Zelos chuckled lightly, more mockingly than amused. "Whatever floats your boat. Or sinks it."

"Whatever." He looked at Zelos with sarcastic eyes and proceeded to walk past him.

"What's this?" Zelos asked as he snatched the shiny bracelet from Genis' hand.

Genis gasped. "Give that back, now! Or I'll burn you to a crisp!" After rumbling around his pack, he revealed a kendama.

"I dare you, twerp. I can use magic too." Zelos turned his back to the boy just to show him he was not threatened.

The mage dropped to his knees and turned his head to the side, hiding the slow current of tears falling. "Please give it back. Please."

Zelos examined the craft work with eyes of interest. "Who is this for? Raine?"

"N-no," he stammered.

". . . . Shee-"

"No!"

"This is a stretch. . . C-"

"Don't you DARE say Colette!"

"Okay, good. For a second, I thought you were cheating on Lloyd-"

"ZELOS!" Genis rose to his feet and slammed his fist into the wall. It barely made a sound.

"Haha! I'm joking! It's for Presea, isn't it?" Zelos questioned

"M-maybe. Yeah."

"Aww, how cute. It's Beauty and the Beast."

"Shut up," the boy answered back.

"You really think a beautiful hunny like my lovely Presea would want a baby like you? Especially with a beautiful specimen like myself taking over the competition." Zelos smiled and flung his long, red hair back.

"She's too young for you," Genis smirked. "Pedophile."

"What?" Zelos asked, confused.

"Presea's my age. Like twelve. She'd never go for you."

"Wow, you're really clueless. Sh-"

"Genis Sage!" Raine's room door swung open.

"Ah, my beautiful, bewitching archeologist!" Zelos' eyes were glued to Raine as he scanned her nightgown.

The professor closed and tightened her robe. Zelos moaned in disappointment. "Genis, get in this room this instant!"

"Zelos, give me back my-" But he was already gone. With Presea's bracelet. "Zelos! ZELOS!"

"Stop screaming! It's the middle of the night; you'll disturb the other guest." Raine exclaimed in a whisper. She dragged Genis into the room. "Bed, now."

"But Raine, Ze-"

"Enough! Anything he did can be dealt with in the morning. You've already lost enough sleeping time as it is; you'll be drowsy in the morning." She returned to her bed, expecting Genis to do the same.

Genis mumbled under his breath as he changed into his night clothing. "That bastard's gonna pay."

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A soft knock at Lloyd's door woke him up the next morning. He struggled to open his eyes, which felt as heavy as lead. After yawning and stretching, he rolled out of bed and shuffled to the door.

"Good morning, Sheena." The boy wiped his sand filled eyes.

"Hey, sleepy head." Sheena laughed.

"What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to get breakfast with me."

"Sure. Let me get showered and dressed first. I wasn't expecting to go out."

"Okay."

Lloyd motioned for Sheena to enter his room and pointed to his couch after saying, "Take a seat. This wouldn't take long."

Sheena sat down on his bed instead, due to the large amount of random things thrown on Lloyd's couch. He didn't notice the mess, but he didn't mind Sheena on his bed either. The boy merely smirked to himself, grabbed a towel and clothing, and headed to the shower. The door was closed and moments after turning on the hot water, a mist of steam poured through the top and bottom of the door. She waited patiently until the sound of the rushing water stopped and she heard him fumbling around. Within three minutes, Lloyd came out; dressed.

He grabbed his room key before saying to Sheena, "Alright, let's go." The two left his room and headed to the elevator. The floor was quiet; no one else was awake. Even Colette was sound asleep when Sheena woke up in the morning."Where did you want to eat?"

"Well, I was thinking on the beach. . . ." Sheena replied. "The sunrise is nice."

"Oh, okay. Fine with me." When their ride arrived, they entered the elevator and left the hotel. Both were greeted by the staff as they traveled outside.

Sheena stopped in front of the door after exiting the hotel. "See, isn't it nice?" She put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sunlight.

"Yeah."

The sky was fighting between night and day. Shades of orange and red fought to engulf the deep blue and gray of the night. A ball of deep orange light crept up above the horizon. It was a dazzling display of the course of nature's clock.

"Come on. Before your stomach starts barking at me." Sheena said and lead the way to the ocean side.

Lloyd laughed. "Alright."

Both were seated at the best table of the seaside. Menus were placed in front of them and they scanned the selection, but neither was truly paying attention.

"Um," Sheena broke the silence and lowered the menu from her face. "So. Excited about the ceremony today?"

"Yeah," Lloyd replied. He was excited for more than one reason, yet feared it at the same time. Something had to be done; he wouldn't forget. "I thought Regal was being too hard on himself when we first met him, but then I thought about Dad."

". . Dirk?" Sheena asked, despite knowing it was the wrong answer.

Lloyd lowered his eyes below the menu and swallowed back tears. "No, Kratos. That idiot is still punishing himself." Coughing, he attempted to hide the fact that his voice was cracking.

"He's doing what he thinks is right, Lloyd. He's taking responsibility of his actions." She sighed.

"He thought tagging along with Cruxis was right!" Lloyd slammed his fist on the table. The cups jumped and Sheena yipped from the shock. "I'm sorry," he whispered in a soft voice.

"It's okay." She knew he was still upset and found the patience to deal with his internal strife. Deep down, Sheena actually agreed with Lloyd.

"I-I can't. . ."

"Lloyd. . ."

"Are you ready to order?" A waitress appeared with a notepad and pen.

Sheena ordered first. "Y-yeah. I'll have the Altamira special breakfast."

The waitress scribbled on the paper before asking, "And you, sir?"

"The same." He had no idea what he was ordering and didn't care too much.

"Lloyd," Sheena said when the waitress was out of earshot, "calm down."

"I'm trying." His face indicated he was failing miserably. "I can't grasp the fact that he's never coming back."

"Okay, fair enough. But if he were to come here, he'd laugh at the look on your face. And the way you're acting."

He chuckled, realizing it was deja vu; she was telling him the same thing he told Genis. "You always know what to say."

"I learned from the best," she replied with a smile.

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"NO! Mi-. . . . Y-. . . NO!! " Colette tossed and turned in her bed violently, as if having a seizure. Her pillows were all over the floor; the result of her wild body movements. The sheets, neatly pressed the day before, now lay ripped away from the mattress. Her leg hovered over the edge of the bed and stuck out of the thin sheet of her canopy.

She sat up after breaking away from her disturbed slumber and wiped beads of sweat from her head. Breathing became progressively easier as her consciousness was regained. "Wh-what was that?" Colette asked herself in a whisper.

Suddenly, three violent knocks sounded at the door. The girl jumped from surprise.

"Is everything okay? Colette, open this door!" Raine's voice called from the other side. The professor's familiar voice brought solace to the girl. "Colette!" she yelled after knocking twice more.

"Co-coming, Professor!" Colette pulled back the remaining sheets covering her sweat-drenched body and escape from bed. "Ow," was heard after she tripped on a chair.

"What's wrong? I heard you screaming all the way in my room," the professor asked when the door was opened.

"Oh-um. It was nothing."

"Colette, I do not like being lied to. Furthermore, these phenomenons have been occurring in rapid succession for a long period of time." Raine gave Colette a stern look and folded her arms.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Professor Sage," she replied innocently.

"If this problem persist, I'll keep you under close observation. The problem could be your Cruxis Crystal, but I know you don't want to take it off. I thought we had an agreement, Colette." Colette was allowed to keep her Cruxis Crystal only under the trust that she would report any suspicious, abnormal, or disturbing activities which could be linked to the crystal. While Colette thought of it as a souvenir, Lloyd thought of it as a safe guard. Raine would give anything for the opportunity to study the Rune Crest and Cruxis Crystal. "Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Colette responded. "But it was only a bad dream."

"Good." Raine nodded, completely disregarding Colette's last comment. "I'm sure you're hungry after a rough night. Dress and go downstairs for some breakfast."

"Yes, ma'am."

Raine sighed after Colette closed the door and returned to her own room. "That girl. . . sometimes. ."

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"Lloyd, slow down!" Sheena exclaimed as she watched Lloyd conquer half of his plate in a fraction of a second.

"Huh?" he replied, stopping in his tracks. Food hung from his mouth.

"I almost forgot how much you eat." She put down her chopsticks and grabbed the nearest napkin. "Look, there's food all over your face."

"Where?" Lloyd licked his cheeks and wiped his face with his hands, only spreading the mess around.

"Here." Sheena proceeded to clean the boy's face. She moved the napkin around his cheek and changed positions near his lips. Her movements were fluid and soft. She didn't even realize his face was clean, neither did Lloyd. Her conscious was lost in the boy's eyes. All worries faded away and a calming sense overcame both of them. Sheena's mouth was wide open; the summoner was in a daze.

Lloyd's hand captured Sheena's and he held it tightly for a moment. All was quiet; the employees were watching from a distance with eyes of moe and compassion. Sheena blushed heavily and moved her lips, but no words escaped. Slowly, but surely, their heads moved closer to the center in blatant pretermission to their meals.

Sheena's face was completely red by the time the moment was broken.

"Ow!"

The two turned around to see Colette on the floor after tripping on a step. She struggled to her feet and brushed the sand from her clothing before joining them at their table.

"Morning!" Colette smiled and pulled up a chair next to the pair.

"Oh, good morning," Lloyd replied.

"Good morning." Sheena rubbed her cheeks ferociously to disperse the color.

"Is something wrong with your cheeks, Sheena?" Colette asked.

"N-no. I'm fine," Sheena stuttered.

"Oh no! Do you have a fever?" Colette put her hand on Sheena's forehead.

She laughed. "Nah, I'm okay."

"Today's the big day! I'm so excited!" Colette giggled and clapped her hands cheerfully.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied and turned his head to the side, viewing the ocean. "You feeling okay, Colette?"

Colette's face was flushed. Her collar was discolored from absorbing large amount of sweat. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You don't look so good," Sheena agreed. "Maybe you should go see the Professor."

"No!" Colette exclaimed. "I wanted to have breakfast with my friends."

"You can eat upstairs if you're feeling tired."

"Please, don't worry about it!" Colette smiled and giggled. "Everything will be okay." If only she could believe everything would be okay.

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Whoa. I forgot to add this chapter, LOL o.o Anyway, because I forgot to add this, I can add a preview to the next chapter since it's already written! YAY!

Coming soon... Chapter Five: Childish Maturity.

"Thank you, Lady Colette. Please enjoy the facilities until the Guest of Honor arrived."
"Presea's running late again?"
"N-no. Not exactly." He coughed to clear his throat. "I purposely told her to come late."
"Oh, really? Why?" Colette asked.
"Don't worry about it, Colette." Sheena saved Regal. He nodded a silent thanks and walked off to speak with other guests.
"But, I don't understand." She looked at her friend, tilting her head to the side. "Why would he want Presea to come late? I mean, he did say she's the Guest of Honor."
Sheena sighed. "Maybe you'll understand later. . . ."