-Love Save the Empty-
"We really need to catch up. It feels like it's been so long since just the two of us did something together." Akari said to Renee as they were heading to lunch.
"I know right! I miss days like these." Renee smiled.
"You have to tell me every single detail of your life when we get there. I've missed so much." Akari skipped.
"Haha. There's nothing special really. It's just confusing lately." Renee bit her lip.
"Confusing? Hmm...Are boys being stupid?" Akari's forehead furrowed.
"No not necessarily. I would say I'm being the stupid one."
"You? Why?"
"I'll tell you once we're inside." Renee opened the door to the Sundae Inn. It seemed to be pretty empty except for the mayor who ordered a tower of pancakes that went up to his nose. He licked his lips and stuffed his face, eating each pancake in one bite. Akari and Renee cringed. "Let's get a table before he sees us!"
Chase looked over from the kitchen and caught sight of the two girls. He smiled at them as he was heading in their direction, wiping his hands on a towel and slinging it over his shoulder.
"Good afternoon ladies. Are you here for lunch?"
"Yup! Table for two please!" Akari smiled.
Chase grabbed two menus and led them to a table. "It's good to see you Akari. I'm surprised to see that you finally escaped from Luke." He laughed.
"Heh, yeah I guess I got a little carried away."
Chase smiled and turned to Renee. "It's good to see you too Renee." He said sweetly. Renee looked up at him.
"Yeah same here!" She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Alright I'll be back to take your orders." Chase pivoted and walked back towards the kitchen. Renee sighed and drummed her fingers on the table. She looked up to find Akari grinning at her.
"What's that look for?" Renee raised an eyebrow.
"I think he likes you."
"He does not!" Renee gasped quietly.
"I don't see why not. I mean almost every single guy in town is in love with you." Akari rested her chin on top of her laced fingers.
"You're ridiculous. That's not true. And besides, Maya's the one who likes Chase. I couldn't do that to her."
"So you're saying if Maya didn't like him…you would go out with him?" Akari leaned forward.
"No. I wouldn't. That's my problem. I'm always pushing people away. Even when I know they like me, I somehow find a reason to not be with them. It's really strange." Renee fiddled with her fingers.
Akari pondered, "Well try not to give up so easily. I mean if someone likes you, why not give them a chance?"
"I don't know! I think it's because it's too easy. There has to be some sort of challenge for me."
"So what can I get for you girls?" Chase appeared next to them with a pen and a notepad. Akari and Renee jumped, not really aware of their surroundings.
"Oh umm, I'll have the vegetable sandwich." Akari said the first thing she saw on the menu.
"One vegetable sandwich. Okay and you Renee?"
"The Tomato Risotto please." Renee smiled. She usually knows what she wants before she actually enters the restaurant.
"Got it. Alright I'll be right back with your orders." Chase flipped closed the notepad and turned away. Akari waited until he was far enough away to continue their conversation.
As soon as he was out of sight she continued. "A challenge?" Akari asked, "Like what?"
"Like a chase. When someone already likes you it feels too simple." Renee felt stupid with what she was saying. She hung her head.
"So you're saying you like guys who are hard to get."
"I guess you can say that. A few weeks ago I was going out with Toby for a bit. He's really sweet and funny and we had a great time together. But as we started seeing each other more I felt kind of…bored. I felt like I wanted something more. Something that was hard to get. I felt horrible afterwards because Toby really liked me, but I couldn't lead him on anymore." Renee's expression looked guilty. "I really hate myself. I don't know what's wrong with me. I find the perfect guy, but then I end up finding something wrong with him. It sucks."
Akari frowned, "Hey now, don't hate yourself. Everyone does things we can't make sense of. Maybe in time you'll know what you really want, and when that happens you may come across the kind of guy you're looking for."
Renee gave a small smile, "Yeah I guess your right. It might take a while figuring out what I want for sure. But thanks Kar."
"I'm always here to help! Even though I didn't really do much." Akari thought for a moment, "This is really random but-"
"Oh that's ok I wanna talk about something else now." Renee laughed.
"Do you think Maya will get mad? If she see's us hanging out without her, don't you think she'll get jealous?"
Renee smirked, "Yeah probably. But she can deal with it. I barely see you anymore anyways so we have a good excuse. And it's just lunch; it's not a big deal."
Akari let out a chuckle, "Heh, I know. But knowing her she'll get mad because we didn't invite her. She tends to do that a lot."
"Well no offense to her, but sometimes its better when it's just the two of us you know? We can be ourselves more."
"Yeah." Akari smiled, "That is true." Chase showed up seconds later with their meals in his hands.
"A Tomato Risotto for you…And a vegetable sandwich for you." He said has he placed the dishes in front of them. "Enjoy."
"Oh awesome. I'm starving." Akari shoved the sandwich in her mouth. Renee glanced at Akari as she ripped a bite off her sandwich, leaving a piece of lettuce hanging from her mouth. Renee shook her head laughing, and then took a scoop of her dish. Akari giggled, wiping her face with her napkin. When Renee eats there is always some sort of pattern that Akari notices. Renee takes one scoop of her meal, eats it, picks up her cup and takes one sip of water. And now she's eating two scoops of food, which results in two sips of her drink. Akari laughed to herself. She knew her so well. Renee looked back at her confused but didn't even bother asking because she knew it was something stupid.
At that moment, the sound of a stampede of rhinos came from the stairs. The sound kept getting closer and closer to Renee and Akari. Akari froze and Renee closed her eyes, having a feeling of what was coming. Maya appeared in front of their table, face red and fists clenched.
"What are you guys doing here?! You're having lunch without me!? Why wasn't I invited!?" She yelled.
Akari's mouth dropped and tried to think of an excuse. Renee just rolled her eyes. "Maya, you live here. We didn't think you'd need to be invited to your own house. And it's just lunch, it's not like we're throwing a party."
"You guys never invite me anywhere! It's always just you two and you guys don't even care about me!"
Akari tried to calm her down. "Maya it's not like that at all-"
"Yes it is! I always get left out!" Tears we're running down her cheeks.
"Hun," Renee started, "We. Were. Eating. Lunch."
"You know what? I'm sorry we were ever friends!" Maya stuck her nose up in the air and stomped away. Renee and Akari stared after her in disbelief.
"Did that really just happen?" Akari said absentmindedly
"Wow." was all Renee could say. This isn't the first time Maya's blown up about stuff like this. It happens a lot when the two of them hang out without her.
Sooner than they knew it, Maya ran back to them with a pleading and apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry! I was being really overly dramatic! I'm sorry I shouldn't be mad!"
Akari and Renee turned to each other and narrowed their eyes. "What was with the 'I'm sorry we were ever friends' line? That was a little over the top don't you think?" Renee told Maya.
"I know I know! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean it!"
Akari smacked her hand on her forehead. Renee didn't even bother arguing, "Well ok then." They both knew she was only apologizing because she realized she would have no more friends after that.
Chase came over again. "Is everything okay over here?" When Maya heard his voice she gasped and turned around.
Her voice cracked as she began to talk, "Ch-Chase! Hi!" She twisted her braids.
"Hey Maya." He peered around her, "Can I get you anything else?"
"Ah no I think we'd best be on our way now. May we have the check?" Akari asked, wanting to escape. Chase handed her the check. "This one's on me. I owe you." Akari grabbed her wallet and opened it but only to find it empty. "Are you kidding me? Why does this always happen!" She banged her head on the table.
"Lost your money again?" Renee sighed. "Don't worry I'll pay. I don't know how you lose your money."
"Heh…Heh." Akari scratched her head, "Bad luck I guess. I'm so sorry. I do this to you all the time."
"Akari its fine. You can just pay me pack later." She gave her an assuring smile.
Maya huffed, "Renee I'm such a better friend. I would never rob you of your money! Why do you still chose her over me?"
"Maya I'm not choosing anyone. Maybe you should just sit down and eat something. That always cheers you up." Renee handed Chase the money. "Chase why don't you make Maya something to eat."
"Chase? Making me something to eat? That's a great idea! Come on Chase!" Maya yanked him by his arm. "Bye guys see you later!" she called back. Chase glared at them right before the kitchen door shut behind him.
"Let's get out of here!" Akari whispered.
"Please!" Renee laughed.
Later that afternoon, the two of them were sitting by the pond in the Maple Lake District talking about whatever came to their minds.
"Akari have u ever felt so completely alone that you don't even know what to do with yourself...so u sit and stare off into space?" Renee said throwing a pebble into the pond.
Akari had no idea where that came from. "Yes I have actually. Probably before I met Luke I've felt that way, but not recently. Why do u feel alone?"
"I had that feeling yesterday when I came inside from working. And I've been feeling alone until we started hanging out today. And when I'm talking to you its makes me feel better."
Akari could tell she had a lot on her mind. "Well what's exactly on your mind?"
Renee seemed really sad. "I just feel like...there's nothing left here. Everyone's starting to drift. Slowly, but surely. I feel like everyone is starting to move on with their lives. And I feel like I'm the only one left…well besides Maya of course…but still. It's kind of lonely. And I hate that feeling more than anything. It seems like everyone's done with me. I'm no longer needed. So I just felt really alone and I just sat, staring at my wall, wondering why everything's going by so quickly and how to make it not feel this way."
Akari's heart felt like it broke. She didn't like seeing her friend upset. "Aww Renee. I don't know about everyone else but I know that I'm not going anywhere. I will forever be your friend now matter what. And you are definitely needed because if you weren't my friend my life would suck. Really badly."
"Thanks Akari. I feel the same about you too. I hope that we'll still be good friends even though you're really busy with Luke." She threw another pebble.
"Of course we will. I will always have time for my best friend! I never want of our friendship to end because I love what we have right now." Akari loved Luke to death but she would never leave her friend.
Renee hugged her knees. "I feel like its starting to crumble. That's why I always get that horrible feeling of loneliness. Sometimes it just takes me over completely and I can't make myself move or do anything. I was never good with change. I would always talk about it but I never truly wanted it."
"I know we may not have as much time together as we use too. But I can't imagine my life not being friends with you. I'll always have your back no matter what. I truly believe that you'll find someone who will give you all the love that you deserve. And if you're ever feeling alone just give me a call and ill come." Akari gave her a promising smile.
Renee's face was glowing. "Me too. If u ever need me, you can call me too, and I will come."
They both let out a small giggle and gave each other a hug.
"NOW YOU'RE HUGGING WITHOUT ME!" Maya screamed from behind.
Here we go again. They both thought.