A/N: A month-awaited updated. Lol I'm sorry again for this. I constantly need someone to remind me to update and finish this. -_-;;
Asakura Yoh cannot take the events of the morning out of his mind. He's earnestly concerned about Jeanne's safety. Much more so when he arrived in the classroom with Jeanne seemingly trying to catch Ren's attention, but it looked like he didn't even spare her a glance.
This gets Yoh very, very worried.
And so after classes, he tries approaching Jeanne again.
"Jeanne, hey," he starts with his ever goofy smile.
Jeanne looks up from her desk and forces out a smile. "Ah, Yoh-kun."
"So about earlier..."
"Please don't mind it, Yoh-kun. Things will die down soon enough. People are just not used to it, that's why they're reacting," Jeanne cuts him off. Yoh senses the disapproving tone from the quiet girl and tries to approach in a different manner. So he asks her, "Hey, how about having lunch with me and Anna?"
She's not really sure, but Ren was acting weird earlier. He shrugged and turned her away quickly, despite of what happened that weekend. Jeanne tries to convince herself that Ren's just having a bad day. Surely, he'll come back to his senses soon.
Anna and Yoh share glances as Jeanne heaves a sigh for at least the third time now.
Yoh invited her over knowing that she'd probably be like this, but he expected her mood to go for the better since she'd be around company. Another letdown was thinking that Anna would have a girl chat with Jeanne, but that too was quickly dismissed when he told Anna; her staggering eyes saying 'if you think I'm going to be all sparkly and twinkly with her, I'll kill you!' gave him the hint.
Anna, who was for the most part responsible for Ren's bitter mood, now gets irritated by the display of Yoh and Jeanne's behaviour around the table. "Will you two give it a rest already?"
The two sad looking teens snap from their worlds and quickly turn their attentions to the blonde. She folds her arms in front of her and yells, also catching the attention of nearby tables in the cafeteria, "Ren's just a wuss, you understand? Pushing his girlfriend away like that..."
Jeanne could hear someone abruptly standing up then sitting down just behind her, but she doesn't feel up to turning over as to who it is.
"Anna-san..." Jeanne whispers, her confusion and anger colliding inside. Sure, maybe Ren was treating her badly – ignoring and pushing her aside – but that wasn't all he was! He was...
"He's actually kind and sweet. Sure, things aren't as I thought they would be... especially now he gave me a spot next to him, despite it being just a contract sort of thing... but... but... but that's all I'll ask of him. I won't try to get closer, if he doesn't want to... I won't force him to like me... I... I'll even try to forget that stupid, childish promise we made to each other..."
Yoh and Anna's eyes flicker at her words. Anna clicks her tongue and turns her head away. That boy sure is lucky to have a pure girl like Maiden Jeanne over here to protect him. Maybe it was wrong for her to put them together, Anna ponders. She shakes her head in disapproval; no, Maiden Jeanne's the right person to turn that ingrate into at least another percent of a better person.
"What, hold on a minute, Jeanne," Yoh says, cutting in between her hiccups and word of admiration for Ren, "You said something about a promise? What exactly is it? And I've been meaning to ask you this but, what exactly is your relationship to Ren? What I mean to say is... who was he in your past?"
Jeanne's streaming tears slowly halt at Yoh's words. That's right; Ren was a part of her past. He was someone she knew, probably even before these two people in front of her. He was someone... that saved her.
"Ren... Ren and I... I am... no, was... his fiancée," she whispers with a blush on her face and confidence in her tone.
Yoh's head starts to spin a little at the shocking information while Anna stares at her with the usual blank expression. Could she probably have known? Jeanne shrugs at the thought and continues on.
"Yes, that's how it was. Our parents decided it for us and, we were often sent to each other's houses during the weekends to play with each other. This continued on for several months until... well... the accident happened."
"Accident?" Anna almost asks when those words escape Yoh's mouth just a second earlier than hers.
Jeanne nods. Her reminiscing weak smile turns a little over into a frown. "I was betrothed to Ren because my parents were going bankrupt. Being close friends with the Tao family, my mother and Ren's mother agreed on the whole thing. And then... things turned out bad. We received a late night call from Ren's mother saying that they would no longer keep the engagement. After that call, mom and dad hurriedly rushed over to the Tao residence, despite a winter storm arriving that night. I was left behind at home."
"The hours flew by but I still waited for their return. It wasn't until Marco-nii came rushing to the house that I finally felt something bad happen to them," a new set of tears stroll down Jeanne's face now, and she continues, really unbothered by their presence, "Needless to say, they died that night. It turns out, on their way home, a drunken truck driver run them over. And that was the end of it all... Regardless of that, I didn't and still don't blame the Tao family. But Marco-nii did. After he had decided to take care of me, he made me promise him I'd have nothing to do with the Tao family – the family that sent my parents to their deathbeds."
The three sit quietly at the table. Jeanne finally gets the control on her tears and forces them to stop. After a few moment pass, Yoh places a hand on Jeanne's, saying, "I'm sorry for what happened to your parents." Anna nods, signalling that she felt the same.
Jeanne pats Yoh's hand on hers and removes it.
"Thank you, Yoh-kun, Anna-san."
"So?" Anna says, "What do you plan to do now? Does Ren know any of these things you told us?"
Jeanne tries to smile at her.
"I've been wondering about that as well. It's true that we played at each other's houses, but... I don't think he thought it was anything more than that. And since he's been exposed to so many people before, I doubt he remembers me specifically. To him, I just might be 'that girl he used to play with as a kid'."
"Then there's that thing about a promise. If you don't mind, won't you tell us?" Yoh asks as politely as he can. Jeanne's eyes find his honest ones and nods. This kind of thing... only the two of them will understand. That's what she believes.
She giggles softly and then tells them, "Thinking about it now, I think his parents never told him we were 'engaged'. They probably just told him that he was meeting a kid of a friend of theirs or something. Like I said, we spent the weekends together. We would usually explore the mansion and eat a lot of snacks when we stayed at his house. If we were at mine, mom would read us bed time stories and watch kiddie shows... Then one particular night, after mom tucked us in and left, we were just whispering stuff to each other when he said he'd promise to marry me. He told me that he'd always love me and marry me. Naively of course, I said yes... and that was it. That was the promise that will never come to life."
Jeanne starts to feel a bit heavy, as if the world she kept to herself is finally getting a bit bigger. Yoh and Anna's eyes suddenly sparkle and Jeanne catches this. Surprisingly, they're smiling to each other (well, Anna looks like she's smiling... or something).
"Say, Jeanne," Yoh says lively, "did you love Ren?"
Without a second's delay, she declares, "Yes! Yes I did! And still do! I love him. He saved me, you know? When mom and dad were gone, when Marco-nii kept reminding me about the Tao family's fault against us and when I lived through my lonely days thinking about it all, thoughts of Ren's kindness and promise kept me going! That's why..." she sobs, "that's why... I won't stop believing he'll at least love me a little bit back."
And as if the world is demanding their attention, the school bell rings. Lunch break's over and it's time to go back to class, it says. Anna gives Yoh a look and the boy nods at her. Anna stands up from her seat and walks over to Jeanne. She pats her back and tells her to go to the rest room before going back into the classroom. Jeanne obediently does as she's told and Anna quietly follows from behind her.
Yoh smiles as his eyes trail the two girls out of the cafeteria. Now it's his turn.
He stands up from his seat and walks over to the table behind Jeanne's seat. The boy sitting alone on the chair covers his face and Yoh swears he can hear a manly squeal underneath it. Yoh puts a hand on the boy's shoulder and calmly tells him, "We should go too, Ren."
A/N: Finally a little closure. I'm planning to end this soon, now that I've given a lot of information.
