I'm back guys. It's been such a long time, but I managed to update this in my promised period of time (Jan-April). Life is busy, and my laptop's motherboard had a problem last November. It took quite a long time (approx. 2 months) to finally got everything back to normal. And here it is. :D
But, this chapter is short. Sorry. D:
Thank you, Xion Orihara and VoltStriker for reviewing the previous chapter! Thank you guys!
Next, I would like to thank the people who fav the story! Thank you, emmausgirl94, Flower5450, violentyetawesome, Takamira, RSV, Magikbyrd, SnowBaz67, khdayskh1314, SketchyxNight, ShadowofaHeart, Titania queen of fairys, Topaz Miuki, Easy2Hurt, kingdom hearts lover17, PooperScooper000, KHWriter (period) com, Roxas1094, tghn, ShrillKillerdog, Xion Orihara, jgodinkitty, Ookami04, The Black and Silver Angel, fuzzyappa, daughterxofxdarkness, Shini Namikaze, deacon1217, advanceshipping4ever, VoltStriker, Rokushi Stories, semperfi9988, Fictionreader100, Tortuous Serpent, CommanderofInsanity, Greatwestern1522, RequiemofKingdomHearts, Cutiepiepo2 and darkened-angelwings! LOVE YOU ALL!
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Finally, all the loyal readers! Thank you for continue reading my stories for so many years, despite the huge gap between each update. Thank you once again!
Alright. Enough of intro. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and pardon the mistakes.
Chapter 21: Distressed Heart and Mind
One after another, the contestants took turns to perform their songs on stage, giving all their best to impress the judges. Xion Zayas and her friends had returned to the changing room, where all performed candidates will wait until the staffs called them for the winner announcement.
The raven-haired girl sat quietly on her seat, fingers twirling the necklace around her neck absent-mindedly. Since the moment she sang her song and left the stage, her heart had not stopped pounding anxiously. Earlier, she made eye contact with her best and childhood friend, Roxas Hikari, who was sitting on one of the front row seats.
Xion could see from the look on his face that he was surprised. However, she just can't figure out what kind of shock he was showing. Was it the good kind of shock or the bad kind? Did she make the right choice by following Axel's advice and created that song? Would it bring them back together or would it only drive Roxas away? What was Roxas thinking about at that moment?
Xion groaned in frustration as she brushed her hair from her face. "All this thinking is giving me a headache…" She let out a sigh and glanced around the room.
Her brother, Axel, was nowhere to be seen. Riku and Namine were sitting side by side, engaged in a quiet conversation of their own. Kairi was snuggled comfortably by Sora's side while the spiky-haired brunet was texting someone with a mischievous smile on his face. That had perked Xion's curiosity.
She stood up to her feet and walked over to her friend. "Hey, Sora. Um… Who are you texting with?"
Sora turned his head to face Xion before answering, "Oh. Hi, Xion. It's just Roxas. He's pissed that we lied to him earlier and didn't tell him we would perform with you. See." The brunet passed his phone over to her, allowing Xion to read the last two text messages that Roxas sent him.
'Damn you and Axel for lying to me. Now I have to sit in the front row, listening to a student's ear-deafening opera singing, all alone.'
'Also, you need more work on your guitar skill, Sora. I believe Demyx was the one who taught you?'
The following texts after that were Sora's responses: apologizing for the lie, defending his guitar skills, explained he only learnt to play in a few weeks, and Demyx had been a great tutor.
"Did he mentioned about me? O-or… Or about the song?"
The teenage boy shook his head as he reclaimed his phone. "No. Sorry. Do you want me to ask him?"
"No! Um… It's fine. It would be best to hear from his personally after the competition is finish. Thanks, Sora." Xion said with a smile.
Sora grinned back. "It's nothing. Let me know if you need anything else, kay?"
"Sure." Xion nodded to her good friend before walking back to her seat. She glanced over to the television, which broadcasted the stage live and noticed the Opera singer had finished. Soon afterwards, Natalie Rasp took over the stage. The volume was lowered due to the previous performance, but Xion could make out what Natalie was saying. The blonde-haired student told the judges she would play the piano while singing her 'original' song: Like a Drop of Gold. Xion found herself immediately scowled at the witch's words.
'Like a Drop of Gold' was one of her works and an incomplete one too. She wasn't sure why Natalie had chosen a half-baked song for the competition, but from the look of the golden silk dress she wore, she had an idea.
When the song started, her frown deepened. The melody was wrong. The rhythm was wrong. The pitch was wrong. But most of all, the singer was wrong! Natalie had totally, 100% ruined the song, and Xion has the rights to say so. Sure, Natalie only had her lyrics and not the music scores, but her improvisation skill was clearly lacking.
The ravenette groaned and tried to tune out Natalie's singing as much as possible. She swore on her life, after this competition is over, she will get her songbook back from the witch. Xion turned her head to look at the contestant's number board by the changing room's door and let out an anxious sigh. "Only 3 more to go…"
~*~*~Sing Me A Song~*~*~
"Where could she be?" Axel Zayas mumbled to himself as he wandered through the backstage corridors and rooms. He had been searching high and low for about 5 minutes but failed to find the blonde female staff from earlier. He would have asked another staff for help, but decided not to when he saw how busy they were. They were moving instruments, maintaining the lights and sounds, generally making sure the competition was going smoothly.
The young man stopped in front of another door, knocked it thrice politely, and waited for any response. When he received none, he turned the doorknob and peered into the room. It was filled with tables, chairs, and a few wooden boards. It was another storage room, and judging from the thick layer of dust accumulated on the furniture, no one has been using it for months. 'Great. Another dead end.'
Feeling defeated once again, Axel shut the door close and continued walking down the corridor.
"Just how big is this place?" He muttered as he looked up to the tall ceiling, which was hung with metal beams and multiple stage lighting instruments. While he was nonchalantly looking at the wires and ropes that coiled around the over-hanging beams, he caught something moving at the corner of his eye.
Axel craned his neck to see what was moving, only to have his jaws dropped open in disbelief. A few feet from him stood the female staff he was looking for. In her arms was a medium-sized box filled with confetti cannons, most likely to be used later for the winner announcement. Her back was facing him as she closed the door of the room she came out from, locked it tight before walking away.
It took Axel a few seconds to snap out from his stupor and a few seconds more for his body to react to his command. "H-Hey! Wait! Stop!" Axel called out as he turned on his heels and rushed towards her. However, his legs were turned into lead when the female staff stopped in her steps and turned to face him. Right at that moment, the two of them froze.
If Axel wasn't in such a shock, he would have probably broke into a round of laughter and tears from the overwhelming joy in his heart. He could hardly believe his eyes. It was Larxene Sekito. He was right; the female staff was Larxene all along. That blonde hair, those greenish-blue eyes… There was no doubt it was her! It was the very Larxene Sekito he loved so much.
"L-Larxene… Oh my god. I-"
Before Axel could finish his sentence, Larxene broke their eye contact and dashed down the corridor, leaving the young man stupefied by her action. Did she just run away from him? What was that supposed to mean?!
"Wait! Larxene!" Axel broke into a run and bolted down the hallway, hoping to catch up to the female staff. Just as he turned around a corner, he got a glimpse of her golden hair, going down a flight of stairs leading to the basement.
"Larxene!" He called out to her again, rushing down the stairs, skipping two steps at a time until he reached the end. The basement was dark, quiet and still. The only movement was from the thick dust that was kicked up by his arrival, and the only sound was his own heavy breathing.
"Larxene? Where are you? I saw you came down here." Axel asked, stepping further into the darkness and started looking around. The multiple open steel shelving were filled with decorations used in past events, unmarked boxes, tools and many more that he couldn't make out in the dark. The walls were lined with banners, wooden platforms, old performance props and a few easels with a broken leg or two. In conclusion, apart from all the old and forgotten dusty items, there wasn't another living soul in the basement.
Axel started to panic. "Larxene. Are you here? Please come out. I just want to talk." He begged while running around the basement, scanning the place for any signs or glimpses of his lover. However, his search was fruitless. He was alone in the basement; the young woman he loved had simply vanished into thin air.
"No…" Axel croaked, let out a shaky breath as he combed his hair backward in frustration. Had it been an illusion? That staff was Larxene, wasn't she? Grabbing a handful of his flaming red hair, Axel gave it a forceful tug. Pain erupted from his scalp and he dropped his hair with a yelp.
It was real; he wasn't dreaming. Then why did Larxene run away from him? Could it be… that she had forgotten about him? "No no no! She can't! She can't be… Oh, please... Don't…"
His legs buckled and Axel found himself crashed against one of the shelves with a loud clang. However, he made no move to stable himself. Instead, he allowed his body to slump onto the dusty floor.
Truth to be told, the thought of Larxene forgot about him had crossed his mind before, multiple times too. Nevertheless, he always managed to push it back and control his emotions, because it was only a thought after all. However, seeing her running away from him with his own damn eyes… That was just too much…
Axel felt his form trembled and quickly brought a hand up to stifle a sob. He tried -he really did-, but with the moment of his only love running away replayed in his mind, he was finally tipped over the edge.
If anyone were to pass by the basement's stairs, they will hear what others would describe as the sobs and cries of a truly broken heart.
~*~*~Sing Me A Song~*~*~
With quiet steps, a blonde female staff trotted down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to make sure she was alone. After she was certain that no one was around, she ran towards the emergency fire exit door built at the back of the school.
Gripping the panic bars firmly with both hands, she pushed it down and swung the door open. Only to come face to face with a grinning figure on the other side.
"Took you long enough, sweetie."
That's the end of this chapter! Omg. I hope I did a good job here...
This story is ending very soon; with 1 more chapter and an epilogue to go. I'm sorry this chapter is short. I promise the next one would be longer. The next chapter would be out around May - August. Maybe I'll update the last chap and epilogue together. Who knows.
Below are the characters' full name who appears (talked) in this chapter :
Xion Zayas
Sora Hiranaga
Axel Zayas
Thank you all for reading! Remember to review, fav or/and alert if you like it.