-insert disclaimer-
Author's Ramble: Howdy. Missed you all. :')
Some sort of companion piece to Want.
Sparkle
Sometimes, the feelings that come back... are the feelings that never went away.
Knowing good ol' Arizona... Knowing pretty Julia... She gave her whole heart to a bastard who simply laughed at her tender offering of feelings.
Sometimes, guys just suck. I mean, look at what Steve did to poor Julia! Why does he keep on letting her hold onto him even though he let go so long ago? The two of them are like a sapphire ring. He's the ring and she's the lovely gemstone. Fate would have to be the finger wearing the ring.
You know how the finger just kept on bumping onto stone walls, slamming onto wooden doors and hitting steel windows?... It's always the sapphire that receives the hit and impact. The ring would just be there. Well, the sapphire's all chipped and scratched, but it still managed to come out so beautiful and radiant.
It's all so frustrating. If the ring was mine, I'd take it apart, keep the sapphire and throw away the ring for all I care. I'll let it burn in hell's fire 'til it melts.
Stupid Steve.
- -
It was lunch time and I was headed to the comfort room for a tinkle. As I descended the steps, I heard this familiar voice that said, "Hey, Julia. Come on."
I turned back and saw Arizona reaching for my arm. "Osaka, come with me for a sec, will you?"
Though I was unaware of what was going on, I decided to tag along since I was headed downstairs anyway. "Uh, sure, Arizona!"
But why the heck was Steve leading the way?
I leaned down and whispered, "Hey, Arizona. Why are you with 'Teve?"
Julia simply smiled and replied, "Because he owes me a Sparkle."
"Oh..." I managed to utter, still confused... at something.
…
I was out of place for a moment, then suddenly, I came to a realization that the two of them weren't a couple. (Even though they really should be.) Silly me. Recovering, I matched my stride with Julia's and went on asking more questions. "A Sparkle? Why?"
"I did his computer homework. He's paying me back," her voice was smooth. Steve was already way ahead of us. He wasn't in a hurry... But he doesn't wanna slow down one bit. He was there, all right. I wanted to clobber him with my shoe to make sure. As we reached the cafeteria, I told Arizona that I'll be headed to the comfort room while the two of them went to get a Sparkle.
Sometimes, the feelings that come back... are the feelings that never went away.
As I watched the two of them (they didn't know, didn't see and didn't really care), I couldn't help but feel this unignorable feeling of regret that stabbed my heart. What was it called? You know...
They were there, but they weren't really there.
It's so confusing.
- -
I kept my distance from him just to be safe. It's not that he was gonna do something awful. (He did buy me a Sparkle.) I just don't want people to think that we're... together.
He took big and proud strides while I shrunk behind him all the way back to our classrooms. I wondered and asked myself if he could hear my heart in ballistics. Why does he make me feel like this?
On our final step, I was surprised when he swished back, and even more surprised when he asked me, "Why are you there at the back?"
Because I...
Never mind. I simply patted his back and warmly said, "Thanks."
He merely waved his hand and grinned. You're welcome. The wordless connection. It's ours.
"Hey," I said, feeling a little braver. "If I see you with that stupid and depressed look on your face again, you owe me another one of this."
"I'll give you a dozen if you want," he replied coolly. Then the gloom was on his face again, and not even I can take it away.
Right. Only she can...
"I'll see you around?" I asked him one last time. He nodded at me and grinned once more. "Yeah."
- -
Sometimes, the feelings that come back... are the feelings that never went away.
Jules loved- loves- Steve. She tried denying those feelings but in the end, there was simply no way she could possibly let go of that precious cargo burdening her heart. And he? Steve? He's one son of a gun too complicated and complex to understand... And his heart is with that girl...
What the heck. I give up on the two of them. They were there, but they weren't really there. "What did he say after that?"
Arizona sighed, plopping onto the vacant chair next to mine. "We said good bye."
In her hands, the Sparkle was still untouched and bubbling inside the glossy transparent bag, the carbonated topaz liquid slowly warming up and turning into moist.