"Come on, Shihna! She really wants you to come!" Zelos whined. "Why should I? It's not like we're best friends. We don't even like each other!" Shihna argued. "You can ask her that when we get there," he said, tugging on her arm. "I don't even have a present for her," she said, trying to pull her arm away. Why did the Wilder siblings have to be so irritating? Didn't they realize that other people actually had things to do other than going to parties? "Please? Seles said that she really wanted you to come." Shihna glared at Zelos' pleading face. "I think I got that after the fifth time you told me. The answer is still no!"
"Shihna, she's a sickly, little kid. Could you at least drop by for a few minutes?" Zelos tugged on her arm some more. "I'll do anything." Shihna raised an eyebrow. "Anything?" Zelos nodded. "Anything." Shihna smirked. "Then after this, don't ever bother me again. I don't even want to see you." Zelos' eyes widened. "Anything but that!" he whimpered. "If I didn't get to see you, I'd die!" He got down on his knees, trying to look as innocent as possible. "That's even better," Shihna said heartlessly. "Shihna!" Zelos cried. He suddenly hugged her, still on his knees. "H-hey! What are you doing?!" she demanded. "I don't want you to leave me!" he whined, rubbing his head against her. "Fine, fine! I won't, you idiot! Now let go!" Zelos pulled away. "Really?" he asked. "Yes! Now let's go!" Zelos got back on his feet. "I knew you would say yes eventually," he said cheerfully.
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"Seles! I brought Shihna with me!" Zelos dragged Shihna into Seles' room in the Southeast Abbey. Seles turned her attention away from the window. "Big bro-Chosen..." Her face reddened. "Hey squirt, you don't need to call me the Chosen any more." He walked over and ruffled her hair. "What took you so long?" she demanded, pushing his hand away. "It took a while to convince the banshee to come along," he explained. Seles' eyes landed on Shihna. "H-happy birthday," she said awkwardly. "Zelos never told me so I couldn't bring you a present," she said apologetically, glaring at Zelos. "That's fine," Seles said stiffly. She got up and started pushing Zelos out the door. "Hmm?" He turned his head to look back at her. "I need you to stay outside for a bit," Seles said. "Whatever you say, little princess." He walked out the door, closing it behind him.
Shihna shifted her feet nervously. What did Seles want? "Do you...like my brother?" Seles asked. Shihna stared at her blankly. "Eh?...I like him, I guess." She found it strange how Seles managed to make her feel so uncomfortable even though she was so much younger than she was. "I think that was the wrong question to ask. Do you love my brother?" Shihna blushed. "Why are you asking me such a weird question?!" she demanded. "Because I know that big brother loves you," Seles answered bluntly. "Don't let his facade fool you," Shihna said. "There's no way he could seriously-" "But he does," Seles interrupted. "I can tell. He's serious about you."
Shihna felt anger welling up inside of her for some reason. "I don't need you telling me if he's serious or not. That worthless idiot's always playing around. He can fool anybody," she said. "Big brother...may be joking all the time, but he's lonely." Seles lowered her eyes. "He doesn't say anything, but I can tell that he's sad and I know that I can't do anything."
"So what do you want me to do? Be with him just to make you guys happy?" This kid was really starting to piss her off. "Would you really feel that way?" Seles asked. "Would you really be unhappy if you were with Zelos for the rest of your life?" Shihna couldn't say anything. She just stared. Would she be unhappy? "I...I don't know how long I'm going to be able to watch over him." Tears started to run down her face. "If I just leave him like this..."
"I'll take care of him, okay? That's the least I can do," Shihna said, compassion taking advantage of her. "Thank you," Seles whispered. "Now go get my brother," she said, regaining her usual composure. "Can't you go get him yourself?" Seles stuck her tongue out. "It's my birthday today so you have to do what I say." Shihna smiled. "Whatever you say, little princess," she said, imitating Zelos. She headed outside.
"Zelos?" She looked around. "Right here," he said, suddenly appearing beside her. "You can come back inside now," she said. "What were you talking about?" he asked cheerfully. Shihna hesitated. "That's a secret," she said putting a finger to her lips. "Oh, is that so?" Zelos asked, his eyebrows raised. "Come on. Seles is waiting." Zelos followed her back inside.
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"Thanks for coming today," Zelos said as he walked Shihna to her house. "It's nothing," she replied, looking at the ground as she was walking. The things that Seles had said kept on going through her head. "Hey, Zelos...if you need anything, you can always talk to me about it," she said as they reached the door of her house. "Hmm?" Zelos tilted his head. "Is Shihna actually worried about me?" Shihna whacked him in the head. "You're my friend, aren't you? Of course I worry!" Zelos rubbed the back of his head. "But you're always saying that you hate me!" he whined. "I'm not serious when I say that!" she retorted. "Now go home! You wasted enough of my time already!" She slid open the door and stepped inside. "I'll come tomorrow and bother you some more, then," Zelos said cheerfully, turning away. "You won't be welcome," Shihna warned him. He laughed as he walked away.
Shihna shut the door behind her and sighed. How was she going to deal with Zelos from now on? After Seles had said all that...She shook her head. She was only going to be his friend. Only. Just so Seles could feel reassured. That was it. Yet...that one question kept on running through her head. "Would you really be unhappy if you were with Zelos for the rest of your life?" Would she?
SakuMeiMei Says: You're all glaring at me with pitchforks in your hands, right? DX I'm sorry! Really. I've been so busy. Busy to the point of blowing up. I really want sleep! I finished this chapter in a rush! I. Need. A. Break!
But before I sleep for hundreds of years...are you curious about what I've been doing? XD I was kinda...making costumes (not finished...dammit) and working on all kinds of projects. I'm gonna blow up! Ah, well. I'll be okay. I'll be answering the reviews soon. DX Really. I promise.
And on to talking about the actual chapter. It turned out weird, as usual. I like Seles though. She's awesome in her own way. XD I'm glad that I got to put her in this chapter. This made me a little sad though. I don't want Seles to die!! Not saying that she will in the near future, but in the end she isn't a normal, healthy kid. XD