Written by phoebesmiles

A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Confetti explosion) Oh, and Happy CNY to my fellow Chinese readers. If I actually have any. XD Too lazy to think of what to write here. I'm not exactly Shakespeare.

I DO NOT OWN MAPLE STORY! NEXON DOES!

Chapter 8: Naomi Grayson, the Receptionist

We get off the big blue bird, and into the station.

"Finally back in Leafre." Layla gushes, dragging her luggage over the overgrown vines.

Naomi, dressed all in red again, just shrugs. "Guess so. It's been like, two weeks."

I take a deep breath, inhaling the Leafre air I've been longing for. "Missed the air here."

"Hurry up!" Someone shouts from behind us.

Naomi turns around sharply. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Woah," I breathe, turning around.

He just rolls his eyes. "Whatever," He says.

Layla knocks into me gently, on purpose. "He's haaawwwt!" She whispers.

I nod, noticing his spiky brown hair, his blue cat-like eyes, his calm demeanor. Oh, and his black trench coat.

"I-It's okay. Really. It's fine." Naomi says hurriedly, her face flushing an attractive shade of beetroot red.

"Look at that! Looks like Naomi li-kes him!" Layla whispers into my ear.

He shrugs, putting his hands into his pockets. "Bye," He starts walking in the opposite direction.

Naomi runs after him. "W-Wait! I didn't get your name!"

He turns around, but continues walking. Backwards, but still. "Train," He says, grinning mischievously.

"Train," Naomi repeats, stopping in her tracks.

"She looks really moon struck. Last time I checked, when did Naomi turn into that type?" Layla asks me.

"I'm….Not sure."

[line]

We're sitting in the new dining room at the guild, talking. Well, kinda. I pick at a plate of mashed potatoes, listening to Naomi go on and on about….You know.

"He asked me out! Can you believe that?" She squeals, her cheeks all rosy and sickening.

The only reason I invited her here to have lunch with me is because I thought we could use some closure on the whole Griffin thing. But no. Right after Hannah dumped some grub in front of us and chatted a little bit, she started talking. And talking.

"That's…great." I say lamely.

Naomi told me that she so coincidentally met him again somewhere in town. But in reality, I'm pretty sure she's spying the hell out of that guy and just knew he was going to be there. One word, desperation.

Naomi takes a big gulp of ice tea before continuing her speech. "And he's so hot. I mean, he's so handsome. And he's pretty sweet, too."

I wish Layla were here. She said she's off heating someone's shower. I mean, she's not exactly my ideal friend. But at least she's down to earth when I need her to be. And I would probably enjoy someone to pretend to enjoy this conversation with me.

"Look," she grins, showing me a Polaroid picture of her and…Train in the park or something. But I wouldn't know, since most of Leafre looks like an overgrown park. They're sitting on this bench, his arm around her shoulders. I mean, Train is cute. He's hot and all. Even with his black trench coat and bad taste for gals. But I wouldn't say he's my type. Even if I did have a type, it wouldn't consist of black trench coats.

I hand the picture back to her. "How old is he?" I ask.

"He's 20. And he has a job. Like, a real job. Isn't that awesome?" She gushes.

"What job?" I ask again, losing interest quickly.

"He goes from place to place killing some asses." She says, unusually cheerful.

I nearly spit out my potatoes. "You mean…. an assassin?"

"I guess you could say that." She shrugs. I stare at her, trying to make out if she means it. Her expression seems almost….blank.

"And you're okay with that?" I ask.

She just nods. "Why not? He's just doing what most of us mages do anyway. Killing."

"You mean he's not a mage?"

"I don't think so." She says, furrowing her perfectly groomed eye brows.

"You do know that we're not supposed to date the commoners, right?" I say jokingly.

She just scoffs. "Aunt Ary is just so unfair. " She twirls a lock of hair around her finger, staring at her pink and orange bowtie sandals. She looks up suddenly, smirking to herself. "….I'll just have to find a loophole."

I roll my eyes. "Don't be stupid. Ariel watches you like a hawk." I say. "Well, practically."

Naomi shrugs and drains her glass. "Later, loser." She snaps, returning to her usual spiteful self.

Maybe I like her that way. The happy and peppy Naomi is just…weird. She stands up and leaves, and Hannah clears her plates as soon as the door slams shut.

"You finished with that?" She says grimly, glaring at my half empty plate of food.

"N-Not yet." I say quickly. She wipes the table anyway and leaves me in my lonely misery.

I seriously nidda get some new friends.

[line]

I walk into the almost empty lobby, scanning the message boards.

Let's see what we have here.

Toilet Maintenance….

Missing Pet….

Urgh. Looks like I came too late. All new jobs are posted on Monday afternoon, and its Tuesday already. Damn, how am I going to pay for this month's rent?

"Hello?" A soft voice says from behind me.

"Oh, hey Naomi." I wave to her awkwardly.

She's dressed in a navy blue blouse and a black pencil skirt, her brown hair tied into a stylish little bun. No red in sight.

"Woah, you look different today." I say jokingly.

"Yeah, I guess so." She shrugs.

"….Oh…kay." I nod. It's like she's a different person. The real Naomi, the spiteful, evil Naomi I know and partially like, would probably say something like "Whatever, bitch. Get a life." or "Get out of my face."

She smiles sweetly at me and returns back to sorting some paperwork.

"Uh, reserved any good jobs?" I ask, leaning against the receptionist counter, cause I know she hates it when people do that.

Instead of glaring at me and swearing, she just smiles some more.

"Not really. Reserving jobs just for myself or team mates would be awfully unfair to the rest of the guild, don't you think?" She says in a high and girly voice.

If she says anything nicer, I swear I'm going to gag.

"Uh, yeah." I can't believe I'm having this conversation. I push some of her papers off the counter on purpose, to see if she'll stir.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She just looks up at me and smiles, before scooping all the paper up and sorting them neatly in a pile.

"Whoopsy-daisy!" She grins, filing the stack of papers into a cabinet. "Should of put those away sooner! Thanks for reminding me, Shirley."

Shirley. She called me Shirley. I mean, it's been so long since she's called me that. It's always been muppet or fat ass or….something!

"So anyway, I thought we could go for some red bean sundaes later." Naomi suggests.

"We?" I ask lamely.

"You know, Layla and us. I think it'll be fun."

"Uh, sure." I smile at her, and dash to the stairs. I cannot take any more of this torture.

I'm halfway up the stairs before hearing Naomi shout out. "See you later, Shirley!" She says in a sing song voice.

Freak my life.

[line]

Its dinner time and everyone is in the dining room, waiting for the events to start.

"What's up?" I asked Layla about an hour ago.

"Oh, it's our bi-monthly guild dinner. We have them every other month." She grins.

She already mentioned the bi-monthly part, didn't she?

"Ohkay….See you then?"

"Sorry, can't make it. There's this big problem with the central heating. I don't know what they would do without me." She shrugged, walking away.

So, I'm sitting at the edge of my seat, trying to look like I'm not a loser. And it's not like I would invite Naomi to join me. I mean, she snuck out for her date with Train. She's so lucky…

"Is this seat taken?"

I turn around, and grin on impulse.

"Hey, Missa." I greet her.

She takes the seat next to me "Long time no see, pipsqueak."

"I'd like to say that to you as well. So anyway, what are you doing back in Leafre?" I ask her.

She just shakes her head. "You don't know how hard it was to convince my boss to give me today off. I mean, I thought she was going to fire me. But here I am, for the bi-monthly Ariel dinner. Yipee!" She fake cheered. "Although, it is nice to be back. It's been like, almost two months. And I guess everyone is doing well…."

Well, I guess nothing has changed. She still talks a lot.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." She smiles, tucking her big and orange handbag under the table.

The dining room is just this big hall with a few wooden tables and marble chairs around it. Like a giant cafeteria, only with more turpentine. Just for tonight, a temporary stage made out of wood has been set up.

I look around, and dozens of people are going in and out of the dining room. The old and heavy wooden door opens noisily, and I notice someone that shouldn't be here.

"What the hell is a guy doing here?" I whisper ask to Missa, who's fiddling with her cellphone next to me.

"I dunno. Is it Luke?" She replies, without even glancing upwards.

I turn around to check again. No, it's not Luke. Luke, Ariel's younger brother, is blond. The guy that just stepped in has spiky brown hair…..And a black trench coat…?

"Naomi?"

"Holy…..crap." Missa breathes.

Around me, I can hear people gasping, tittering.

"Is that Naomi and a boy?"

"Ohmigawd, it's been years since a guy was in here!"

Naomi just shrugs and drags Train towards our table. Naomi is dressed up nicely, in a cute black lacey dress and black pumps, her hair lightly curled and draped across her shoulders. Train, looking awkward as ever, is wearing his black trench coat, unbuttoned, and a black dress shirt, also unbuttoned tastefully to reveal an inch or so of his chest. Classy.

Naomi walks up to us and shoves Train gently. "Sit," she prompts, taking a seat next to me without even asking me if it's okay. Cause I'm not okay with this. Even if Train is insanely hot.

Train rolls his eyes but sits next to Naomi anyway. He glares at the other girl at the table, and she flinches before moving to another table.

"He's very good looking, don't you think?" Missa whispers into my ear. "You think I should talk to him?"

Hm, seems like everyone in partially in love with him. "Why not?" I nod, and Missa grins like a kid on Christmas.

"Hey, I'm Missa. What's your name?" She says, reaching her hand over to shake his.

He just cranes his neck and stares at her dismissively. "Train," he replies, seeming bored.

Missa pulls her hand back slowly. She looks a little hurt. Like someone just shot her pet hamster.

I turn around to glare at him, but I decide not to. I mean, I'm pretty sure he could kill me if he wanted to. And because….He seems to make Naomi happy. Looking at them together, although makes me want to gag, they do look really good together. I bend under the table to move Missa's handbag a bit, cause it's annoying my foot. Well, it's a bad habit, jingling my foot around, but I can't help it. I look around under the table, and I notice that they're holding hands. Really. Under the table.

"What's up? Dropped an earring?" Missa asks, nudging me a little. I come back up from under the table, almost banging my head.

"Nah, I'm okay." I assure her. I turn to look to my right slowly, trying not to look suspicious. They're talking, a little awkwardly, but they seem happy. Naomi is as smiley as ever, and I swear I just saw Train smile a little. Like, a tiny nano smile, but still. And the holding hands thing.

"I kinda agree." Missa whispers to me, nodding thoughtfully.

"Can you stop reading my mind already." I say, trying not to laugh.

"Sorreeh! But you should seriously know what Naomi thinking. It's so cute. You know, young love and all." Missa says dreamingly.

"Young love?" I scoff. "Don't make me laugh, she's eighteen."

Missa rolls her eyes. "But still…She does like him. Like, like like him. You know?"

I think for a moment. Naomi, in love. Naomi, happy all the time. Well, I guess she'll probably lay off me and Layla a bit. A bit.

"Anyway, Train, what do you do for a living?" I ask out of a mixture of boredom and curiosity.

"I'm a bounty hunter." He says without hesitation.

"Cool," Missa nods.

"….Yeah. Awesome." I say, not as cheerfully as I should have.

Naomi pinches my thigh, under the table.

I just ignore the pain and continue smiling.

"Excuse me, everyone." Someone says softly into the microphone, up on the temporary stage.

"Who's that?" I whisper ask Missa, who's busy fiddling with her spoon.

She just glances up quickly before returning to her cutlery. "Janie. She's good at singing."

Janie looks very young. Maybe a bit older than me, but she kinda looks like a twelve year old. She has soft, wavy blonde hair, pink-ish (contact lenses?) eyes and is wearing this cute white dress with a big blue bow in the middle. She taps the microphone gently, glancing around awkwardly. She looks like an adorable little mess.

"Excuse me, everyone!" She says into the microphone, a little louder this time.

No one seems to be listening. I look around, and everyone is either talking among themselves or just seems…bored. I glance over at Naomi, and she and Train are discussing about proper gun maintenance. Yeah, sure. Naomi doesn't even have a gun. At least, I hope she doesn't.

"EXCUSE ME!" Janie screams, and I jump in my seat.

"Holy crap." Naomi says grimly, turning around in her seat to face the stage.

"Okay, now that I have your attention – Hey, you! STOP Talking!" She screams, pointing at some guild member. "Anyway, my name is Janie. I'm pretty sure most of you know me, but I do see…uh…a few guests!" she says, returning to her quiet tone. "I'm going to be your entertainer tonight, and…uh…dinner is going to be served now so sit back and relax!"

I hear sighs of relief around the room. I guess people are pretty hungry.

I see Hannah and a group of waitresses emerge from the back kitchen, carrying trays and trays of hot food. Up on stage, Janie takes a seat on a wooden stool, and the musicians start playing.

"Finally!" I hear Missa cheer next to me. I guess she's finished playing with her napkin already.

Hannah lays a plate of something fancy in front of me, Caesar salad, and I smile and thank her politely.

"Heart…beats fast," Janie sings softly in the microphone.

"Aww, I love this song!" I hear Naomi whisper into Train's ear.

"How to be brave…"

She leans on Train's shoulder, and I feel a pang of jealousy.

"But watching you stand alone. All of my doubt… suddenly goes away somehow."

How come she gets an awesome boyfriend when she just killed it for me?

"One step….closer."

Missa touches my knee with hers, as if she's trying to tell me something.

"I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…"

I glance at her, and her expression is filled of sympathy. Mind readers.

"Beauty in all she is…"

She stares of me, giving me this look that reads 'What's up?'

"I will not let anything take away…"

"I'm fine." I whisper to her, trying to believe it myself.

"One step closer…"

I gaze of Naomi again, and she looks happy. Maybe I should be feeling happy for her, too. I don't know. I feel jealousy curling around my heart, like sharp thorny vines, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. She stole my boyfriend, and it isn't fair. She gets…

"For a thousand years…. I'll love you for a thousand more…"

Train….

"I would find you, time has brought your heart to me…"

Griffin….

"I'll love you for a thousand more…"

I glance at my salad, and suddenly I don't have the appetite to eat anything anymore.

"One step closer…" Jane sings, strumming on an acoustic guitar.

"Darling don't be afraid I have loved you…" I sing along, quietly.

I glance over at Missa, and she's already finished her salad. I dare not turn the other way, in case Naomi and Train are feeding each other bits of salad or something.

"A thousand more…" Her voice trails off, and the song is over.

I glance over at Naomi anyway, and she and Train are making out. Everyone starts clapping, and I just clap along, cause Janie was great up there…and…

"Thanks, everyone!" she giggles into the microphone by accident, and I think I just heard someone's glass break. "Okay, the next song will be a more upbeat one, so I hope you guys like it!"

"Summer after high school when we first met, we made out in your mustang to Radio Head…" she sings into the microphone, along to the beat of the drums.

"Hey, this song is awesome. You think Janie takes requests?" Missa asks, gulping down her red wine. Wine for those who are of legal age, orange juice for people who weren't.

"Used to steal your parents' liquor, and climb to the roof. Talk about our future like we had a clue…"

I just shrug. "I...don't know. Maybe?"

"In another life, I would be your girl. We keep all our promises, like us against the world…"

"Hey, Shirs. You having your salad?" Naomi asks.

I thought you were busy making out with your boyfriend in front of me.

"Uhm, no." I tell her. "You want it?" I ask.

She nods, and I hand her the whole bowl. Instead of thanking me, she smiles and turns back to Train.

"The one that got away…"

I watch them for a moment, and they're practically soul mates.

"I was dreaming you were my Johnny Cash, never one without the other, we made a pact…"

They're both evil and spiteful…

"Someone said you had your tattoo removed; saw you downtown singing the blues. It's time to face the music. I'm no longer your muse..."

They're both insanely hot…

"In another life, I would make you stay…"

They're both perfect for each other.

"The one that got away."

[end]

Info: Again, Happy New Year!

Janie is 15, by the way. And if you were wondering, the songs she sung were 'A Thousand Years' and 'The One that Got Away'.

Okay, goodbye.

Review if you liked it! I'd love to hear any suggestions, cause I'm a newbie writer. :D