Author's Note: Been a little while. Anyway, not really much to say only that the plot finally moved. I made Claire go insane because I felt like it, even though it's really weird. And the fact that the magic thing is really weird too. But it was the only way I'd be able to get to where I want to go. Anyway, this chapter was inspired by "Bring Me To Life" by: Evanesence, and "Savior" by: Skillet, and so, naturally, I applied them to each of the characters, sort of like a songfic. You'll see how, I hope. Anyway, I really liked the part where Noctis and Claire have a moment. xD It was cute and I was fangirling over it the entire time I wrote it. "Dirty Laundry"'s next, so, yeah. xD Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. xD
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, "Bring Me To Life", "Savior", Evanesence, Skillet, or anything else that si obviously not mine in this chapter. I have a feeling that I forgot to mention some things, so I'll just say this, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! I OWN NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!
"Okay, so we put it in for thirty more minutes?" Noctis asked, walking toward the microwave, his finger on the buttons, looking back at me for confirmation. I smiled and shook my head.
"No, you dufus. Thirty more seconds." I answered, Noctis narrowing his eyes as he pushed in the numbers.
"You're so harsh." He muttered, pressing the "start" button. I smiled, and walked toward the counter, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Yeah, well, you kind of have to be when your parents pass away suddenly. The only way to not get hurt in this world is to be harsh and uncaring." I replied, leaning my butt up against the countertop. He swung around. I gulped, realizing what I had just said.
"Your parents are dead?" He asked, taking a step toward me. I tried to back away, but the counter stopped me.
"Uh…"
"You've been living on your own this whole entire time?" Another step. Another shot of pain in my lower back.
"I wouldn't say that." He wasn't buying it. He walked toward me, putting both of his hands on the counter on both sides of my torso, pinning me to the counter where I stood.
"But you just said it. You said that your parents died suddenly. Don't lie to me." I averted my eyes, my pink hair falling over my face.
What could I do? What was I supposed to do? Should I lie to him? Should I break down, or hold it in, knowing that at the end, I was weak? Should I just give up trying to be strong and let him comfort me, hold me, cradle me? I felt tears gather at the corners of my eyes, the salty sting making me catch my breath.
I was pathetic. I knew I had to say something. He was waiting for me to say something. You could feel it in how tense his hands were on the counter top beside me. I could feel the anger and surprise rolling off of him with each of his pounding heartbeats. Just feeling the warmth and anger made me want to hide and crumble behind the walls I'd desperately struggled to build.
I wanted to shut him out. I wanted to shut him out with everything I had. I didn't want him to be anywhere near me. I didn't like to be vulnerable. I didn't like showing emotion to anyone but myself, and even then, I'd scoff at my weakness. I didn't like being weak. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be what Serah thought I was. I wanted to live up to her expectations, to be the best sister in the world. But I knew I would never be.
I swallowed the breath I'd caught shakily, my heart fluttering in my chest. I couldn't hide it from him. Not him of all people. I couldn't keep this up. I'd told Mrs. Fleuret, and now, I'd have to tell him. I couldn't bear letting him know my secret, my deep dark secret, but, something told me that he wanted to comfort me, even though I was so cold and unfeeling. The tears slid down the sides of my face as I lifted my head up, turning toward him.
"They're dead. They've been dead for a while now." I murmured, my voice shaking, but still solid. Noctis blinked.
"How long?" I sighed quietly. This wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The words weren't coming all that slowly. Could it be perhaps that I wanted to lie?
"My father died first. Then about a year ago my mother passed away." I answered clearly, my voice strong. Noctis leaned back a little bit, dropping one hand from the countertop.
"You've been living on your own this whole time?" He asked, his voice quiet. I nodded, turning away again.
I couldn't face him. Not like this. I was breaking down, showing weakness, something I was desperately running away from. It was on my heels, clawing after me like the monster that I harbored inside, that dragon of a temper, it's teeth snapping at the backs of my feet, the venom sinking in, poisoning me all the way down to my core.
But his eyes, those eyes, those hauntingly anguished eyes, they could see right through me like open doors. My soul was right there, out in the open. No walls could block his vision. He could see my heart encased in the powdery blue ice deep in the depths of my eyes. No matter what I tried to hide, lies that I told, burdens I'd chosen to bear, pain I'd been forced to endure, he could see it all. He could see it all with those eyes. Those steel blue eyes that brought me so much confusion.
"…Yes." I replied quietly, my voice barely audible. He clenched his hand into a fist, and gritted his teeth.
"Are you stupid? Why didn't you ask for help? Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you go to the Fleurets? Why didn't you tell Serah?" I felt my heart begin to crack, taking the blow intended for the wall I'd tried to swing in front of myself, but to no avail. I was numb. The pain didn't even hurt.
"I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted to bear this burden by myself. I am the eldest daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Farron. If they'd taught me anything, it was to be able to take care of myself." Or so I thought. He slammed his fist down on the countertop beside my left rib.
"You fool! That's so selfish! Did you even stop to think about what could happen to you if the government found out?" I snorted, and turned to look at him out of narrowed eyes, my crackling heart shielded.
"I did, as a matter of fact. I know what'll happen to me, and Serah. But I can handle it. Don't stick your nose in places it doesn't belong, Prince. You won't get hurt as much that way." I mocked bitterly, my lip curling up into a callous smile. Noctis's eyes burned.
"Don't even think about taking that tone with me, Claire. You know I'm right. You can't handle it. You aren't strong enough to bear all of these burdens you taken upon yourself to bear. And what about Serah-" I closed my eyes.
"Don't drag Serah into this. That'll just piss me off." I replied, snorting. His eyes bored into the wall I'd created to veil my heart from his sight.
"You're lying, Claire." I shook my head, and smiled bitterly. My heart cracked once more.
"How would you know? You can't read my mind." I answered, turning away from him, those eyes, those haunting eyes.
"I can see it. I can see it all." I bit my bottom lip, and closed my eyes, struggling to hold back the tears that began to fall down the sides of my face again. I had to get away.
"You can't see anything! I'm not lying to you, Noctis!" I cried, tossing my head as I roared in reply, my narrowed blue eyes turning a shade darker, colder. Noctis grabbed my chin in his hand tightly, holding my head still.
"Then why are you trying to shield yourself?" I shook my head, wrenching my head back and forth. It was useless. The walls were crumbling down, all because of him.
"I-I'm not! Let me go!" I protested, glaring at him out of one eye. His face swam in front of my blurry vision, the tears making it harder and harder for me to see.
"I can see it…I know why now…I know why you're hurting so badly…" I widened my eyes in fear. How could he know? How could he possibly know about it?
"You're afraid. You're afraid to open up. You're afraid to let anyone get close to you, because you don't want to lose them too. That's why you turn down every guy that asks you out. You don't want to lose them. You feel cursed, like you aren't meant to love or feel loved, and yet, you feel something toward somebody, I can see it shining deep inside of your eyes. But you're afraid to tell this person anything, because you don't want to lose him, you don't want to hurt him anymore than you already are." I shook my head, protesting silently, as Noctis leaned forward with a soft smile on his face, his lips brushing across my left cheek, his steel blue eyes boring into mine.
"But you don't have to worry. You don't have to distance yourself from others in order to be strong, Claire." I gritted my teeth, turning my face away from him, keeping my heart away from his wretched eyes, growing more and more numb. Noctis slid his face closer to me, his mouth by my left ear.
"Let me in, Claire…I know what you want, need, and have…For I know your pain…" I shook my head, closing my eyes as tightly as I could, snapping my teeth together as hard as I could.
"No…No…NO!" I cried, lifting my hands up, grabbing his wrist and trying to pry his hand away from my chin, but it didn't budge. I was trapped.
"It's pointless to struggle. I have you right where I want you. You can't resist me, and you know that. See how weakly you cling to me? Feel how pink your cheeks are? You need me." My eyes flashed open, looking over at him as I turned my head toward him slightly, his haunting eyes boring into mine, seeing through the open doors into my writhing soul.
"I know…What you got…What you want…What you need… " He murmured, as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, as I struggled. I let the tears fall, I let the tears fall as I broke down, my heart cracking one more time.
"Don't touch me. Don't hold me. I need to bear this alone, Noctis." I whispered, as he pulled back, his hands holding my elbows lightly.
"That's a lie. You want me to hold you. You want to be held, and you know it. Just give up. I can see right through you." I shook my head, taking a step forward, my tears falling down both sides of my face again.
"Why…? Why are you so desperate to help me…?" I asked shakily, knowing that I was unstable physically, mentally, and more than likely emotionally, but despite that I kept advancing, Noctis watching me with cold eyes.
"Because you're crying out for it. You don't think that I can't hear your sadness in your voice? You don't think I can't feel your anger whenever you explode at me? You don't think I can't see your heart breaking right now, right in front of me?" I shook my head, my eyes throbbing.
I was so confused. I wanted to open up to him, I truly did, but then I didn't want him to know everything, the things I'd done, the things I'd tried to hide. I knew I was coming undone, the laces I securely tied around my rib cage, the chains I'd bound around my heart, the armor I'd locked myself inside, the shell I'd breathed and cried in, everything was crashing and breaking. My eyes were shaking, my breathing was ragged, my face was pale as a sheet, making my hair look all the more pinker, my eyes all the more bluer, as everything broke.
The dusty glaze that had been hampering my mind's eye shattered into a million pieces as I fell into that dark, cold, black abyss that awaited me, my hands holding my face as voices drifted past me, my limp body, as the ribbons of black and white light swirled around me. The oblivion was waiting to swallow me into despair, anxiously waiting for the moment where it could take and eat my soul from the inside, freezing my blood in my veins and diving straight for the one thing I couldn't conceal. The one thing that was most vulnerable.
"You're going mad, aren't you?" I clutched my hands to the sides of my head, as the freezing cold swept through me, my inner self falling into that dark oblivion, reaching out for something, somebody, anything to bring it out of it, to stop it from growing numb.
"It's all breaking around you, isn't it?" I dropped to my knees, closing my eyes tightly as I held the sides of my head as tightly as I could, breathing hard, my eyes widening with shock as I watched the white cloud of cold air fly out of my mouth. My breath…It's frozen?
"I'm cold…So cold…" My eyes throbbed as my words escaped my frosted lips, the powder blue irises crackling as they too iced over.
The life, the blood that had supported me, the warm ruby liquid that had kept me alive for so long began freezing in my veins, as the chillingly numbing cold washed over me, my arms wrapping around myself. But that brought no relief, no warmth. I just became colder, my head lifting upward as the icy frost flew off of me in the sudden wind that surged through the room from the stairs, my face paralyzed.
"You feel numb now, don't you?" I felt the icy cold wrap around me, stream through my veins, freezing everything in its path, slowly killing me with its bitterness.
"…Help…Me…" I shakily whispered, watching the luminous snow fall from the ceiling, from the suddenly dark skylight, the snowflakes falling into my frosted hair.
"You brought it all on yourself, Claire. Only you can free yourself of the burdens you've chosen to bear." I looked up at the softness of the voice, the femininity. My snow encrusted eyes widened.
"Mother…?" I asked weakly, struggling to move my limbs, but the ice had frozen them to the floor. She scoffed, her blue eyes, so much softer and gentler than mine, angered.
"I told you didn't I? I told you to look after Serah, and this is the best you can do? You disappoint me, Claire Farron. Fighting without hope, it's only a way to die." Any of the tears I had left, if any of the tears I could cry now fell, they shattered the instant they hit the floor at her feet.
I could feel what was left of my heart breaking in my chest, the glistening pieces of stardust flying out of my limp fingers as the shape of my mother blew away, leaving the cold to finish me off, to kill me. There was no warmth left in me. I was frozen, numb, cold. I was nothing. I was nothing to her. I had no light or warmth to cling to.
"Bid my blood to run…" I murmured, a flicker of steel blue flashing in surprise behind the solid mask of ice that was slowly covering my face.
"What?" His voice held no appeal to me now. I was too far gone. He couldn't save me now.
"Claire!" Serah. I'm sorry I failed you…I'm sorry I let you all down…Knees crashed to the floor in front of me.
"Claire, wake up! It's all in your head!" I let my eyes glisten with fresh tears, the ice melting away from my eye sockets.
"Before I come undone…" Stella was next, her hands on my shoulders, her purple eyes wide as she shook me.
"What are you saying, Claire? Serah, get some help, would you?" Stella cried, Serah shaking where she was standing, her eyes throbbing as she held her hand over her mouth.
"Save me from the nothing I've become…" Noctis took my face in his hands, his eyes narrowed and angry.
"Claire, listen to me, you're going insane! You're going mad! You hear me?" My arms fell from my rib cage, limply laying on the floor beside me as I gazed at Noctis listlessly, my tears freezing as they hit the floor.
"Bring me to life…" Serah's voice began to shake behind me.
"Claire…" She murmured, frozen in place, unable to move from where she stood. Stella's hands started trembling as Noctis narrowed his eyes.
"I'm gonna be your savior." Stella swung her head toward him, her mouth falling open.
"What're you saying Noctis? Save her from what? What the hell is going on here?" She demanded, glancing from Noctis to me, and then back. Noctis leaned closer, his eyes narrowing even tighter.
"Claire, listen to me. Don't push me away…Serah!" She jolted from her reverie, and ran to Noctis, tears falling to the floor around me.
"Yes?" She asked shakily, Noctis turning and looking up at her, his face level.
"I need you and Stella to leave the room, and call for help. I drove Claire insane. I kept pushing her when I shouldn't have. And now, she isn't even herself anymore. Serah, I don't want you to be afraid. So in case Claire doesn't come back, I don't want you to be in the room." Serah began sobbing, Stella wrapping her arms around her tightly as she looked back at Noctis.
"What is wrong with Claire, Noctis?" She asked, glancing at me then back. Noctis sighed.
"She's hyperventilating. But, she isn't growing hot like she should be. She's freezing cold. It hurts just to touch her." Stella's eyes shook.
"I'm calling the hospital right away. Serah, let's go." Stella pulled Serah up into her arms, and ran down the stairs toward the phone, Serah screaming for me from over Stella's shoulder as she shut the door behind her. Noctis turned to me once they were gone, his eyes level.
"You were visited by an Eidolon, weren't you?" I didn't respond. I couldn't respond. I couldn't answer. Noctis looked down, down at my chest where my heart should be.
"Yeah…The mark's there…" He murmured, running his fingers down my chest, over my heart lightly. My body shivered at his touch.
"Did someone put a spell on you? What kind of magic is this? I didn't sense anyone with magical powers when I first got into the school…My parents told me I'd be safe here, so why are you like this?" Pressure on my heart made my breath catch.
"…Noc…tis…" I barely managed to murmur, my frozen lips refusing to move. He slid his hands up further, his palms resting on my ears as his fingers entwined themselves in my frosted hair, his thumbs smoothing over my temples.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'll break whatever magic you've fallen under, Claire." Then his lips came down on mine.
The sweetness I'd felt the first time, the warmth I'd desperately struggled to push away, to keep from falling into, it washed all of the cold and frost away, slowly blooming through my body, beginning with my face, the ice encrusting it crackling, and slowly breaking off. My eyes opened, as the freezing cold broke off of my temples, as the luminous light that streamed from him wrapped around me.
I didn't resist as my blood flowed freely through my veins, unhindered by the frost and ice that had hampered it for the past few minutes as I'd slowly gone insane, my legs and arms shaking awake, as I slowly regained feeling in my chest, becoming painfully aware of the face that my heart was pounding, the broken pieces slowly melding together, as the warmth flowed through my veins.
The wind that had frozen me, the wind that had surged into the room from the stairs, it now spiraled around me, carrying my loose collarbone short pink hair around my head, the shorter side pieces bumping up against his fingers as he held my face still, as if I'd want to turn away. This warmth felt amazingly good. The wind ruffled my skirt, the hem rippling against my thighs as I stayed still, on my knees in front of him, my eyes wide open.
My inner self, the one that had been falling into the darkness of despair, she lifted her hand from her unfrozen heart, her eyes pleading for comfort, reaching toward the light that flew toward her, the darkness's binds hanging onto her as its teeth snapped at her back, her hand shaking limply. The light wrapped itself around her hand as another hand grabbed onto hers, pulling her up out of the darkness and into the light, the warmth that flowed through me.
I smiled against Noctis's lips, the warmth burning inside me, reviving my soul as it rose from the dark abyss, warmth wrapping around it as it flowed back into my heart, my whole heart, thanks to him, that prince I'd mocked and beat up a few times. Even after all of that, he'd helped me. He'd helped me come back to him, myself. He'd stopped me from going insane. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over
"…Thank you…" I murmured once Noctis pulled backwards a little bit, his forehead leaning on mine, his hands holding my head tenderly.
"That shouldn't happen to you again. I don't know who the hell put you under that spell, but all I know is that it's forbidden. In my country at least." He muttered, opening his eyes slowly, my blue irises throbbing at the sight of his bloody crimson ones.
"What-What the-?" I gasped, my irises throbbing. Magic? It was real?
"Are you alright now, Claire?" He asked, as the streams and ribbons of light flowed past my head, the wind enclosing me in its luminous embrace. Magic…
"Just what…Happened to me?" I asked, my right hand shaking in front of my mouth, Noctis's hand dropping to my heart from the left side of my head.
"Your power nearly swallowed you. It's a good thing I was able to stop it in time, or else you would've went Cie'th." I widened my eyes.
"But I'm not-" He nodded, his eyes closing.
"I know. That's exactly what bothers me. You shouldn't have been able to see Odin, let alone have such strong magical abilities as you do. Someone put a spell on you. But I wonder who and why." He murmured, sitting back a little bit, his hand dropping from the right side of my face.
"Magic exists? It's real?" I asked, Noctis nodding, lifting his crimson irises to my powder blue ones, my breath shaking in fear. He widened his eyes for a split second.
"M-Monster…" I whispered, laying my hands on his chest, my fingers curled in tightly, sliding forward. He widened his eyes again, his irises throbbing.
"C-Claire…What are you…?" I slid my legs forward, Noctis's mouth falling open as I pressed my forehead to his, our eyes throbbing centimeters away from each other, my heart pulsing underneath his hand. Monster or not, I was bound to him now.
"What spell was that, the magic you used on me? How did you make the ice break away?" I murmured against the top of his nose, right between his eyes.
"It was…Clarity." He sighed, defeated. I smiled slightly, then pulled back, looking him deep in the eyes, our faces level.
"Clarity, huh? Is it an incantation? Like the legends of the Goddess Etro?" I asked smoothly, as the wind ruffled our hair, rose petals flying through the air around us. His eyes widened.
"How do you know about the Goddess Etro?" He asked suddenly, grabbing my right elbow in his left hand tightly. I thought for a second.
I knew I'd heard of it somewhere. We'd gone over some pieces of ancient text the government had found on Pulse a few years ago, but those pieces didn't have anything in them about the Goddess Etro. How had I figured it out? I thought back on the times I'd been in the library waiting for Serah to be done with her extra help sessions with her teachers. I'd found some more ancient text, but nothing about the Goddess Etro.
I thought back further, to when my father and I had visited the country I called Crystallis, Noctis's country. I closed my eyes, trying to remember every conversation I'd overheard, been a part of, been told about. My eyes flashed open. The man! The man from Tenebrae! The noble who'd accompanied my father and I to the throne room when we'd first arrived. He'd spoken to the King about "The Light of the Night Sky", and had said something about the Goddess Etro. But what was it that he'd said? I focused on Noctis, his soft and gentle smile as he leaned back slightly, his head tilted slightly.
"Why're you staring at me like that?" I asked, Noctis blinking once.
"Just watching you think. You won't be able to figure it out, you know." I snorted in response, huffing steam out of my mouth.
"You don't have much faith in me, I see." I replied, Noctis smiling slightly.
"It's not that, it's just…You haven't been exposed to it as much as I have." I became painfully aware of the hand that was lying over my heart.
"What do you mean?" He sighed, and shook his head, smirking.
"It's a royal secret." I narrowed my eyes, and snarled.
"So you're going to hold the royalty thing over my head now, is that it?" I retorted hotly, my frosty blue eyes narrowing. His crimson eyes met mine, glowing brightly. He was enjoying this.
"Not really. There are some things I just can't tell you. That being one of them." He answered, his voice soft, as if he were exhausted, or weakened. My eyes warmed up as I took the gentler path, my temper dying in my mouth, my sharp tongue sinking back into myself.
"Are you alright?" I asked lifting my right hand to the side of his face, Noctis leaning his head onto my palm, his eyes drifting shut.
"Yeah…" He replied, his voice gentle and quiet.
Despite the chills that were running up and down the length of my body, I Ieaned forward, and wrapped my arms around him, holding his head over my shoulder gently, my face buried in the side of his head, resting in the cocoon of silvery black hair. My hand wove into the strands at the back of his head, my other hand wrapped around his shoulder, holding him close to me. His hand remained on my heart, my pounding heart, as his warm breath blew over my shoulder, ruffling my pink hair.
"…You're amazing, Noctis…Truly…Thank you…" I murmured, as he rested against me, the rose red petals swirling around us in the tender wind, as he leaned on me. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, sirens ringing outside the store, the house above the store, the entire building.
"Noctis, is Claire-" I hugged him closer to me, turning my head, and widening my powder blue eyes. Stella faced me, Serah cowering behind her.
"Claire, you're, alright now?" I nodded, and smiled, lifting my chin to Serah.
"I'm sorry I scared you. But I'm alright now, I promise." I pointed out, Serah's tears spilling over her cheeks as she ran toward me, throwing her arms around me, heedless of the passed out Noctis that was lying against my chest.
"Hey! Take it easy, will you?" I cried, as Serah sobbed into my hair, Stella walking over to the window, and opening the curtains slightly.
"You caused quite an uproar, Claire. You had Cid jumping around the store crying out for you anxiously like he had an ice cube in his pants or something." She replied, crossing her arms over her chest and facing me with narrowed celeste eyes. I snorted.
"That wasn't an ice cube, Stells." I pointed out, Stella shivering in discomfort.
"What a pervert." She muttered, before shaking one last time, then turning to the curtains. I nodded, as Serah continued crying onto the side of my neck.
"Is Noctis alright?" She asked, looking at me out of one eye. I looked down at Noctis, and nodded.
"Yeah, he's fine. Just tired. I think he overexerted himself." I laughed quietly, smiling down at him. She wasn't as carefree.
"Were his eyes crimson colored?" I nodded, my face expectant. What was going on?
"Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with that?" Stella sighed in response, leaning up against the window sill.
"That idiot. He wasn't supposed to use anything like that while he was staying here. Now they'll track him down." She muttered quietly, and yet I was still able to hear her. What was going on here?
"Why? Who'll track him down?" I looked down at Noctis, his closed eyes, his peaceful expression. Who wanted to find him?
"Claire, there are some things that you can't know. And that's one of them." I couldn't help but smile.
"Noctis told me that just a little while ago." I pointed out, as Serah lifted her face from my neck, wiping her eyes.
"Don't ever scare me like that again, Claire! Stella told me that you were going insane, and that Noctis was going to help you! I don't ever wanna see you like that again!" She cried, shaking me by my shoulders. I smiled, and nodded.
"Okay…" I lifted my hand from Noctis's shoulder, and put it on Serah's head gently.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, Serah. Make sure you thank Noctis when he wakes up, alright?" I ordered, Serah smiling and nodding.
"I sure will! It's what a princess has to do, after all!" She replied. Stella and I smiled, as Noctis stirred, his eyes twitching as his body moved slightly. I looked down, my hand wrapping around his shoulder again, as his eyes opened, then closed again.
"…Claire…" He whispered contentedly, his hand pressing against my heart again, Serah widening her eyes at us. I knew what she was thinking, and at the moment, I didn't care.
"Claire, do you and Noctis love each other?" Serah asked, pointing at how closely I was holding him and the hand that was on my heart. I smiled and held him closer, sighing slightly.
"Leave it alone, Serah." Stella answered for me, as she walked toward the door at the sound of footsteps. I clutched Noctis to me protectively, as I turned my head, Serah standing behind Stella as she faced the door, her hand on the knob.
"Claire, if it's who I think it is, get Serah and Noctis out of here as fast as you can. I'll be right behind you." I nodded without question, reaching my hand toward Serah.
"Come here, Serah. Stay behind me." I ordered, Serah nodding and running toward me, as I held Noctis tightly. Stella waited beside the door, her eyes and head turned toward it as she flattened herself against the wall.
"Stella Nox Fleuret, are you in there? It's your father." Her purple eyes narrowed.
"As I thought." She muttered, then sighed, regaining her composure.
"Wait just a second, Father. I'm not decent." She called, walking toward Serah, Noctis and I. She knelt down, pulling something out of her pocket.
"Take this, and head over to the train station. Once you get there, take it all the way to Palumpolum, and find my mother. Tell her my father visited, and that I had no other choice but to send Noctis to her. Oh, and another thing, I'll handle locking up your house and grabbing clothes for you and the school thing, so don't worry about it. Take the back exit, and be as quiet as you can. I'm coming right behind you." She whispered, too soft for the man waiting outside her door to hear, but loud enough for Serah and I to hear. I grabbed the little bag full of munny, and nodded.
"You got it. I'll be in touch on my cell phone once I get to the train station, okay? And what about my backpack?" I asked, to which Stella passed me the bag, smirking. I smiled back, and nodded once, turning to Serah as I grabbed Noctis, heaving him up onto my back as Serah scooped up my backpack, and gave Stella one last somber look.
"Are you going to be alright?" She asked, Stella turning around, and smiling from over her shoulder.
"Relax. I'll be fine. Just watch Claire's back for me, okay? She knows the drill." Serah blinked confusedly.
"What drill-?" I grabbed her hand and tugged.
"Let's go." I started walking toward the back of the room, and carefully opened the door, stepping through it slowly, as Serah lightly hopped down the stairs, being careful not to make a sound, as I quietly shut the door behind me, gently setting my feet down on the stairs.
Serah and I continued down the stairs, into the basement, the storage room where the Fleurets kept their shipments, Serah leading me through the maze of boxes, toward the light which I knew to be the outside. She was silent as she walked, probably holding a lot of emotions inside of herself, seeing as how we just left my best friend with her father, the man that she hated the most.
But why all of the secrecy? Why wouldn't Stella and Noctis tell me anything? I was a part of this too. I knew about things I shouldn't, like Odin, Eidolons, l'Cie, fal'Cie, Cie'th, and the Goddess Etro. I could help them. I could help them with whatever they were trying to hide from me. After all, I was their friend. They owed me that much, at the very least. Serah and I made it through the maze, and opened the door to the backyard, the area facing the boardwalk when Noctis stirred again.
"…Claire…Put me…Down…" I shook my head as Serah shut the back door, the wind blowing against our backs gently.
"I can't. Stella's father is here. We have to run, we have to get far, far away from here. All the way up to Palumpolum." I replied, Serah pointing toward the boardwalk, her blue eyes round and wide.
"Snow said to me one time that the train station is up that way. There's a shortcut we can cut through to get there faster." She suggested, as I turned and looked back at the house, Noctis's listless face watching me with dull steel blue eyes.
"Let's do it." I replied, as Serah grabbed my arm and started tugging me down the boardwalk, the water lapping at the sand on our right sides loudly as we neared the shortcut she was speaking of.
"It's not all that far away now." She answered, pointing at the path through the woods. I let my smile drop. It was only like, a few steps away from the grocery store.
"Really, Serah?" I muttered, as we made it to the front doors of the train station seconds later. She looked back.
"What?" I shook my head, and walked through the front doors without another word, Noctis's arms hanging limply over my shoulders as he lifted his head, looking around.
"The train station? What are we doing here?" He asked, as I paid for three tickets and hopped onto the train to Palumpolum in thirty seconds time. I sighed.
"I'll explain after you rest, got it?" I answered as I walked all the way to the back of the train, and found a seat in the empty car, Serah sitting next to me, and sighing as she set the backpack down beside her, Noctis falling onto my left shoulder in exhaustion as I gently sat him down for the long ride to Palumpolum.
"I hope Stella's alright." Serah muttered as the train began moving. I heard footsteps outside the car, and looked up, smiling at the shape I saw through the window.
"She's alright." I answered as she stepped through the door, and Serah nearly tackled her.
"Stella!" She cried, hugging her tightly. I smiled.
"Welcome back from hell." I added, Stella cracking up.
"Yeah, I know right? Alright, everyone rest up. We've got a long day tomorrow."
"How long?"
"Seriously, Serah?"
