I think I'm getting sleepy so thank you Glaecon1362 for telling me that I stupidly put up the previous chapter - it should be fixed now, but please tell me if it isn't. Anyway, I'll shut up, here's the new chapter
Chapter 6
Garry breathed in and out. What if she hated him? What if she rejected him? Then he realised the question wasn't 'what if' it was 'how harshly'. He paced around his office, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. He tried himself to stop being a chicken but it was no good. The phrase "are you a mouse or a man?" kept popping up in his head. And Garry certainly didn't want to be a mouse. Taking a deep breath, he walked out of his safe haven and towards certain doom.
Ib slammed her locker door shut. And there was Garry, formerly hidden behind her locker. She held her breath as he started speaking to her. She mustered all the strength she could and squeaked, 'Garry,' with a nod of respect.
'Ib,' Garry cleared his throat and smiled nervously, 'May I talk to you for a minute in my office?' The girl nodded, not trusting her voice when a thousand were screaming in her head,
See what you got yourself into? Now he's going to hate you. Thought you were pretty smart with that memory portfolio, eh? Flawless, huh? Had to work? Brilliant, isn't it? You're about to have a friend and you mess it up. How magnificent of you... How typical of you, Ib thought with a sigh as she stood with her shoulders hunched over, looking down at the floor.
'Please, come in,' Garry invited with a pleasant, yet slightly wobbly smile as he held the door open for her. The girl stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, trying to look at anything except the one, important thing in the room. Garry cleared his throat and Ib snapped her head to him, 'My most sincere apologies for bringing you here under such short notice and I realise that I haven't even told you why; I'm very sorry,' He apologised profoundly, 'Uh, I brought you these macaroons...I thought you might like them...' He said, handing her a lovely box full of the hamburger-shaped pastries. She gently took it in her hands and stared, eyes wide.
'Thank you, Garry. That's really nice of you,' She whispered with a slight smile. Then, she realised it was a sign. A sign that they would never go to that cafe together and eat macaroons. In fact, they would probably never have a one-to-one conversation like this ever again. She stared at the pastries, and all the symbolism with it and she sighed in defeat. The calm before the storm. Garry cleared his throat.
'Anyway, this is regarding your, ah, portfolio.' There. It was out in the open now. All Ib could do now was wait for the reprimanding. Before Garry could put in another word, she started speaking, trying desperately to right her wrongs. Because maybe, just maybe, if she did something right, Garry wouldn't completely hate her. She curled her hands into fists and took a breath in.
'I'm sorry, Garry! It was absolutely out of line for me to behave that way and create a portfolio about—" The words tumbled out and she was desperately preventing a tear from escaping her red eyes. She was a tough girl, she could manage. But if there was something that would break her, it was bound to be this. And she would do anything to stop it. But maybe too much had gone wrong. Maybe the wrongs she had done were irreversible. Ib was terrified of that.
'Ib,' Garry tried to interrupt but was promptly cut off by the teenager.
'Please don't think I'm crazy—' Ib sniffled slightly and scolded herself mentally for it.
'Ib,' Garry said softly, gently taking her hand, 'There is absolutely no reason for you to be sorry,' Ib looked up at him with confused tear-filled eyes. He shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't back out now. Garry squeezed her hand lightly, looking down at their intertwined fingers. 'I am... terribly at fault here. I'm so sorry. Please don't apologise because...' Garry took in a breath and stared into Ib's eyes as he confessed, 'You gave me some of the best memories of my life back.'
It couldn't be possible.
'G-Garry... but—' Ib widened her eyes and mouth, staring at him. He let go of her hand in defeat and stood up, facing away from her and out of the window, to the raindrops pattering against the glass.
'I didn't think you would believe me. I know you probably hate me right now...' Garry inhaled sharply, and then slowly turned to look back at her. 'Ib... I truly am sorry.' His eyes glazed over slightly as he stared into the eyes of the girl he cared so much for. He stopped speaking for a few moments and the silence stretched on.
'But... Garry,' Ib walked up to him and glanced at him in confusion. 'I don't understand why you're sorry...'
'What do you mean?' Garry stared at her in bewilderment, 'I hurt you... I-I didn't remember in time—'
'What do you mean "in time"? Did you think I would reject you because you were a month 'late'?!' Ib said with a watery smile, 'Garry! It's never too late.' She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
'Oh, Ib. You're just saying that,' Garry replied, his voice weighed down by sorrow.
The girl wiped away her eyes before crashing into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and clinging on as if her life were at stake. It was a while before his arms found their place around her back, tightening their grip on each other and even then, Garry was almost too late to catch the whisper,
'No, I'm not.'
And if either of them had been looking outside, they would have seen the skies adorned with the colours of the rainbow. The storm had passed.
A/N: Thank you to Glaecon1362 and Eru for reviewing - you help me get my ass moving so thank you! I know, kind of fluff galore for an ending, but I figure that's nicer after a little angst. Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the epilogue in a day or two!
