A/N: OK, guys, prepare for an emotional roller coaster ride chapter that you won't believe. It's insane, but you will surely like the outcome. I hope.

Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts, because...because I don't! XD

Chapter 11: Loyalty

A dreary Sunday afternoon passed in eerie silence for Lenera, who decided to be by herself in her cave. The ominous gray clouds outside promised rain again, and she wondered if they purposely reflected her current mood. Sylvia had been in one of her foul moods and actually did the yelling for once. Her mother seemed more distant than usual, judging by the way she absentmindedly cooked that day's lunch. That meal had consisted of a strange mixture of scrambled eggs, shrimp, and bacon for some reason. Lenera preferred to place the blame on lack of sleep on Riana's part. Why else would she have thought up such odd foods to be arranged together on the same plate? Willow had resolved to attend a protest against the killing of cattle for the making of beef (again), and Lariaum...

She didn't know what Lariaum was busy doing, but it certainly wasn't spending time with her. Then again, he may have his uncle's funeral to go to, though he hadn't told her. Quite frankly, he had barely conversed with her since Braig's mysterious disappearance. The last time he visited, he only gave one word responses to everything Lenera said or asked. Apparently, he thought that she had bluffed when she had honestly told him that she would be there for him. To think, he seemed so enthused regarding this the moment that statement passed through her lips. Then again, that conversation had been over the phone, so who knew what really went through his mind? For all she knew, he could have lied when he expressed his gratitude.

And did he even like her any more?

With an exasperated sigh, Lenera glared at that stupid door that still remained in the cave. What the heck did that thing lead to anyway? Was it a shortcut to an amusement park or something? That cryptic robed man had never even showed up after that one appearance a few months ago. She wondered what his purpose consisted—she pondered over a lot of things, inevitably. Thinking about that door and that man only taxed her mind, even infuriated her. Maybe if she opened it, she would find out what lay beyond it, and her curiosity would finally come to an end. However, she was starting to think that the most horrible things imaginable would surface in her own backyard if she opened the door. After all, the cloaked man's tone had expressed little to no emotion; he had seemed so cold that day. She had distrusted him on sight.

Just as she expected, the rain started to fall, though it was a light drizzle. The last time it rained, she and Lariaum had almost kissed; she remembered that fondly enough. Too bad that he probably wouldn't have, even if Sylvia and Willow hadn't interrupted. It definitely served as an undeniable shame. Her love for him may as well be unrequited, for maybe he merely saw her as a best friend. That would make more sense than true love, definitely. As Lenera's bitter thoughts passed in slowly painful succession, she heard angry voices outside. Her teal eyes widened with surprise, she carefully peered out of the cave to see what happened. Her mother stood on the threshold of the cabin, her hands firmly placed on her hips. She looked highly displeased to receive the visitor, who appeared vaguely familiar...

He possessed flaxen hair and a tall figure, from what Lenera could discern all the way from her cave. She suddenly recalled how, when she was a little girl, this man with the tall figure would hoist her to his shoulders. And sometimes, when they went to the village for grocery shopping, he would buy her a candy bar at the check-out lane. And, other times, he would...

All these memories came in such a rush, she almost thought she would receive a headache. The memories taunted her, teased her concerning the life she could have had...if he had stayed in the family. Yes, she knew who this man was all right, better than anyone else. She would recognize him in a crowd.

She noticed her mother pointing toward her cave, to which she promptly retreated. Apparently, Riana had tired with arguing with this definitely familiar man and wanted him out of her way. Lenera knew she had inherited that trait from her at least. But, why did it have to come out at a time like this? She didn't wish for the blond man to approach her with any offer of reconciliation. Truthfully, she could never forgive him what suffering he had bestowed upon her and her family. He left them with some restitution money from the divorce and memories...all for a woman ten years younger than him. As far as Lenera was aware, he still dated that woman, but she knew not her name nor did she care. Why care about that when the man supposedly her biological father abandoned her?

Rage filled her heart, though she calmly stepped out into the rain to greet her father. She hadn't seen him in twelve years, so he just decided to make an appearance now? It hardly made sense to her, the injustice of that. If he longed so badly to disappear from their lives then why had he returned? Her birthday wasn't until June, for one thing, and for another, she wouldn't have wanted him to come anyway. She had silently willed him out of her life forever, though he currently approached her with a false smile. It had to be fake, because that would prove he didn't sincerely care about her well-being. Would twelve years elapse without him otherwise?

"Hello, Geoffrey," she greeted him icily, her lips sternly forming into a hostile snarl. How dare he come back!

"Lenera, how's my little angel?" he inquired, as though twelve minutes had passed, rather than long, agonizing years.

She longed to tell him to beat it, to say that she would feel better if he would immediately leave their premises. Instead she responded, unmoved by her old nickname of "angel", "I'm just fine, thank you."

She treated him like she would have an acquaintance at school, for she honestly felt distant from him. That distance served as the sense that she was cut off from him and his stupid, wealthy life. Oh, yes, he received millions of munny as an entrepreneur of sorts now. Funny how leaving your wife and kids can reap that much success. Lenera's teal orbs sharpened in their intense gaze as she attempted to stare her father—Geoffrey—down. He appeared none the worse for wear from her facial expression, pretending that their father-daughter relationship still remained stable. On the contrary, though, it had fallen apart years ago, ever since the day he left.

"Well, I came here with an invitation." He raked back his golden hair while taking a piece of elaborate stationary from his jeans pocket. Lenera promptly grabbed it, appraising it suspiciously. Her anger increased as she registered the invitation as one that "graciously invited you" to the wedding of Geoffrey and Risa that would be held on June 20th.

Her birthday, go figure.

At first, her fury threatened to grip her heart tightly to the point that it tempted her to scream out loud. Instead, she started laughing in her cold shriek that chilled many of her bullying victims. Her idiot father actually saw this as a sign of pleasure and grinned back.

"I hope you will come as our maid of honor. Risa would love to meet you. I'm glad you're so happy for us."

The condescending smirk eroded from Lenera's face, replaced by a rebellious frown that displayed her true feelings. As if she would want to get acquainted with that homewrecker woman who destroyed her life! Strong emotions controlled her this time, her voice rising with each syllable. "Why would I even want to go to your stupid wedding, Geoffrey? And as maid of honor?!? This is an outrage! How dare you pretend things aren't different! THEY ARE!"

Geoffrey's warm, clearly put-on smile disappeared as her emotions escalated to the point that tears rose in her teal eyes that unfortunately matched his. She wanted to punch him like one of those cruel boys at school—anything to drive her pain away. Her heart broke from the cold knowledge that her father chose to marry that...that woman. She would never ever call her Risa.

"You made me feel like crap, you know! All those years, I was hoping you would come back, but no! You were too busy with your 'business' and your 'beautiful girlfriend' to care about birthdays or holidays or anything like that. Guess what, Geoffrey? I want you to...to...STAY OUT OF MY LIFE FOREVER!"

Wasting no more time to even register her father's reaction, Lenera ran away, sobbing like a newborn baby. She chose to escape her reality instead of confronting it. As childish as that was, she didn't care. Her life as she knew it had been partially destroyed. She could never look back now. So, she firmly resolved to sprint as far and as long as her legs could carry her. Her vision blurred by tears, though, she kept crashing into trees.

The forest, her silent best friend, could injure her as much as it liked. For, the pain of physical injury served as a far better hurt than emotional injury. However, she could only run into the tall oaks so many times before surrendering to sitting. She proceeded to sit, counting her bruises after stumbling into the tenth consecutive tree in a row. Burying her head in her knees after the counting, she cried her heart out. All dreams and plans were shattered now all because of a lousy invitation she had long since crumpled and discarded. Yes, she littered, so what? She could do anything while her pain persisted. Even if it meant disregarding a familiar though more welcome voice that could lift her spirits—she blocked that voice out with her desperate sobs. Why would he be here now? One visitor was all she could take, not two. What would visitor number two bring anyway? Quite frankly, visitor number one had brought her too much pain.

But, this second visitor wrapped his arms gently around her as he drew her into his warm embrace. Why would he do this? She didn't need his pity, his sympathy, though she admitted they did feel...nice. Still, he could never genuinely understand what went on in her tumultuous mind. Being haunted by her past today had crushed her to the breaking point. Her best friend didn't need to see her like this, so vulnerable and weak from the constant sobs that shook her. And yet, he stroked her hair lovingly, caringly. She couldn't help but feel immense gratitude toward him for trying to comfort her.

"Lenera, what happened?" he whispered as he bestowed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"My father...came back and invited me to his wedding," she whispered back, for she could not voice her thoughts coherently for once.

Lariaum gazed emphatically at her, which made her realize he had had his own relationship problems with his own father. Maybe, in that respect, they weren't so different. But, at least he knew what to expect out of his father. Geoffrey had offered her the invitation so promptly that she had become both shocked and enraged. She leaned her head against Lariaum's chest and heaved a tortured sigh to release all of her inner anguish. It worked, much to her relief. This boy who held her right now served as the shining beacon of hope that could rescue her from her restless sea of emotions. No one else understood like he did, no one else cared to his magnitude. Everything about him was perfect, as far as Lenera could tell. No flaws existed within his personality, excluding his fake arrogance.

Finally, after minutes of peaceful silence, Lariaum responded to her explanation. "I find that rather insensitive of your father to pull a shameless stunt such as the one today. He abandoned you, left you, your sister, and mother to fend for yourselves. Then he just appears with an invitation to his second wedding? It's ridiculous! I can't believe he'd have the nerve to show up, after he hurt you like he did. Lenera, I'm so sorry."

Hearing that word sparked her fury again, for what did he have to feel sorry for? What he had put up with was scarce compared to what she had to suffer through. Every time she thought she achieved happiness, it was snatched away from her. Before she knew it, Lariaum might drift away too, after his supposed loyalty. It would happen, because she was who she was—the jinx.

She angrily threw his arms aside and started beating on his chest, regardless of her dignity. Geoffrey had ruined her dignity today, so what else was there to lose? Her fists pounded on Lariaum again and again, though each punch became weaker. She could never truly hurt him like this, especially when he firmly wrapped his arms around her once more. Proceeding to stop with her heartbroken tantrum, she started crying. So pathetic that she sobbed, but she couldn't help it. She almost assumed her life of agony should end, though a few words from Lariaum changed all that, made her stronger.

"Lenera," he murmured softly, "I'm in love with you. I'm not just going to leave you now, even if you're angry. No matter what you feel, I am always going to love you."

Choking on her tears, Lenera stared deeply into his sincere azure eyes, the ones that had always entranced her. He wasn't lying; he loved her and only her. That fact gave her renewed emotional strength as she coiled her arms tenderly around his neck. To hear him say those words and mean them brought great joy to her, despite her anger and sorrow minutes before. As long as she was with him, nothing could stop her. With a bright smile on her face, she kissed him passionately, her cup of happiness now overfilling. How drastically things could change with just one person who cared.

"I love you too, Lariaum," she whispered after the kiss, and he smiled brilliantly like always. Everything seemed back to normal now. Her careless father had probably left, and now, her best friend had just become her boyfriend.

When she asked him to dinner, he immediately assented, and both of them wandered back to the cabin. A still cranky Sylvia opened the door when Lariaum promptly knocked.

"Why is he here, Lenera?" she asked her older sister testily. "Can't you see my hair is a mess? There can't be any visitors here today!"

"True, true," Lenera acknowledged, barely suppressing her grin, "but Lariaum is an exception. He's my...my...boyfriend now, right, Lariaum?"

"Right."

Sylvia nearly received whiplash when she looked quickly at her sister and at Lariaum. Very surprised indeed with this outcome, she was almost at a loss for words.

All she disbelievingly shouted was, "Shut up!" and clumsily fell down from so much confusion.

A/N: Well, there you have it. Lenera and Lariaum are officially a couple. Yay! XD Now, guys, I have this idea, and I want your opinion on it. Please, it's important! I was thinking of next chapter being a prom chapter, though I'm not sure. Would any of you want a chapter like that? If so, please tell me ASAP! Because if not, well, I'll just move on with the original plot that was in my head.

Reviews inspire me, they give me hope. XD So please review!