Well, I'm glad to be on spring break!
I've had some time to work on my fanfic so thats good!
I would have finished more, but we just got a Mac and I'm still trying to figure out how to work this new Microsoft Word.
Bare with me.
I will update.
Until then, enjoy!
Review for a preview!

No Matter What They Say

Chapter 52: Worries

"Tamiya, wake up," Milly said and shook her shoulder. "Tamiya! Ulrich never called back! I'm getting worried. I've left him 5 messages already, and he still hasn't replied."

Tamiya groaned and opened her eyes. She squinted up at Milly who was standing right in front of a lamp, blinding her eyes because they weren't adjusted yet. She glanced down at the clock as she shielded her eyes. "Milly, it's 7:30 in the morning!" Tamiya groaned.

"Tamiya, I can't help it. I couldn't sleep well. I'm so worried about Ulrich and the others. If you look outside, you'll see that there's at least another 2 feet of snow on the ground since last night. I'm starting to worry that they're still out in that blizzard. Tamiya, what if they are? They could be freezing!"

"Shh, calm down. I'm sure they're fine. Take a deep breath." Tamiya sat up reluctantly and rubbed her eyes. She then scooted over a little so that there was enough room for Milly to sit on the bed. "Now are you sure that Ulrich hasn't tried to call? Do you have any missed calls?"

"No! None! I barely slept a wink all night. I just kept thinking of Ulrich and the others out there in the snow. What if they are freezing? They don't have much food either! Oh, Tamiya, what do we do?" Milly bent over and put her head in her hands.

Tamiya placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be ok. Don't you worry. Maybe they just haven't had their phones on since they returned. It could be anything. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. When was the last time you called Ulrich?"

Milly thought to herself. "It was around 6, I think. His phone went straight into voicemail. I left him another message."

"Ok, well he could just have his phone off because he's sleeping. Calm down. It'll be ok. I know what we'll do. Go take a shower and get dressed. Then, I'll take a shower and get dressed. Once we're both ready, I'll take you to breakfast. Then, after breakfast, we'll call Ulrich again. Then after we do all that, if he doesn't pick up, we'll go find some help. Sound good?"

Milly nodded and wrapped her arms around Tamiya in an embrace. "Thanks bunches, Tamiya. I knew that I'd always be able to count on you." She pulled out and smiled at her.

"What can I say? I'm awesome," Tamiya said with a smile and brushed off her shoulders. Milly rolled her eyes and got up to head to a shower. Tamiya watched her leave and as soon as Milly was inside the bathroom she closed her eyes and curled back up in her bed. She yawned and tried for a few extra minutes of sleep.

As if on a cue, when Milly's shower water shut off, Tamiya woke from her sleep. She sat up slowly and stretched out her arms and yawned. Looking around the room, she could see their clothes hanging on the chairs and off the dresser. Scattered on the floor were magazines and shoes and more clothes. Tamiya sighed as she thought about getting out of bed and finding something to wear. She slowly slid herself out of bed and stumbled over to the dresser where she grabbed one of the first things she found that went together. It didn't matter if it was Milly's or not. The two had gotten into a habit of sharing each others things. Although Tamiya was a slight bit taller, the two could fit in each others clothes almost perfectly. Tamiya yawned again as she headed back toward the night stand where she had placed her cosmetics bag. She rummaged through and found her eyeliner, deodorant, and hair bands. Milly appeared out of the bathroom dressed in her clothes, with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

"It's free for you if you're ready." Milly motioned toward the bathroom with a smile and a wink. Tamiya shook her head in disbelief. It always surprised her how Milly could be so distraught at times and yet so cheery at others. In one moment she would be nearly in tears and then she'd turn around and be completely fine. Her eyes would be aglow and her smile would radiate like no other she'd ever seen. Tamiya chuckled. "What are you laughing at?" Milly asked and raised an eyebrow.

Tamiya shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing." Milly tilted her head but didn't press any farther. "Really. I was just thinking."

"Whatever you say, Tamiya!" Milly smiled and spun away into the room. Tamiya watched her spin away with glee and then headed into the bathroom for her own shower.

-m-

The window was frosted. The ice created crystal formations on the frozen glass. Outside, the snow piled high like a blanket covering the entire area with white powdery fluff. Flakes continued to swirl down from above, providing more and more layers to the blanket below. Herve sat watching the snow from the seat next to the window. Nicholas still lay asleep on the bed with his mouth agape. Herve had been sitting there since two am. He'd struggled with sleep all night and had given up fighting. Earlier in the morning, he watched as Sissi left on a snowmobile with three other guys. He hadn't recognized them, but he figured that one of them had to have been the lifeguard she had eaten with the night before. At first, he had wanted to jump up and rush out into the snow after her, but after a few minutes he realized how futile that plan would have been. Sissi was speeding away into a blizzard and by the time he had even gotten dressed and down to the lobby, she would have been miles away. Besides, he didn't have any way to follow her. He had instead decided to watch for her out the window. He watched her as far as he could, and then told himself that he would go out later that day to the spot where he last saw her and wait for her to come back safely. He knew that he's idea was probably insane, but he didn't care. As much as it hurt him to think about, he knew that Sissi would never like him, but that didn't make him want her any less, and like it or not, he couldn't just watch her disappear into a blizzard without making sure she came back. For all he knew, he could be the only person who knew she was gone. He loved her, and whether or not she loved him back, he wanted to make sure she was safe.

Herve looked over to the clock for a second. 8:24, it read. He sighed and turned back toward the window. He looked out and strained to see out passed the place where Sissi had disappeared. He knew it was practically useless, but he hoped that by some miracle if he looked long and hard enough, she would appear. He sighed again and looked away. Nicholas remained asleep on his bed. Herve got up from where he sat and rummaged through his clothes. He picked out a shirt and some jeans quickly and changed. Then, he headed to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and washed his face. Herve sighed as he looked in the mirror. Why did you ever set your sights so high? She's always been out of your league. Didn't you ever realize that you would never be with a girl like her? Did it ever once cross your mind that she was only hanging out with you because she pitied you? She never actually liked you! It doesn't work that way. All of the beautiful girls end up with someone muscular and handsome. You're the president of the robot club and the captain of the chess team. Why would you think you had a chance? He sighed again and headed out of the bathroom. He glanced from the clock to the window to Nicholas and back again. He contemplated going back to the window and watching for her, but after a couple seconds he realized that she probably wouldn't be back for a little while longer and that he could still watch from other areas of the building. He quickly scribbled a note to Nicholas and headed out the door to get himself some breakfast.

-m-

He reached a small café where there was a good amount of windows on the same side of the building that he saw Sissi disappear. He seated himself near the window and waited. A short, dirty-blonde, young waitress greeted him after a couple minutes and handed him a menu. She had a cute half-smile on her face, and her hair was up in a short messy pony-tail. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked perkily. "We have coke, tea, milk, juice, coffee, water, well of course we have water, but you get my point…" She giggled and tapped her writing pad nervously. "Sooo…, can I get you anything?"

Herve looked up at her, "I'll just take water thanks."

"Do you want lemon?" she asked. Herve shook his head. She nodded and started to walk away. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and walked back scratching her head and laughing, obviously embarrassed. "Oh, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ashley, by the way. I'll be your server. So, if there's anything I can do for you, just holler. Well, don't actually holler." She shook her head. "You get my point. Uh, I'll be right back with that water. You just look over that menu. Heh heh." She turned back around and shuffled awkwardly back toward the kitchen. Herve watched her walk away. He rolled his eyes. Over in the corner of the restaurant, a man who was obviously the manager was watching Ashley intently. Must be one of her first days, Herve thought to himself. He turned his focus toward the menu and scanned for possible breakfast options.

Ashley returned in no time carrying his water. She smiled as she set it down on the table and placed a straw next to it. "So, have you had enough time to decide?" Herve looked up from his menu and raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, It's fine if you haven't…. Uh, I can just come back later…." She looked around nervously and shuffled away again. Herve looked around and noticed that he was one of the only people in the café, and the only one being served by Ashley. She stood idle over to the side of the café, waiting for him to be ready. She wiggled her feet around below her as if she didn't know what to do. She also kept taking her pen, sticking it in her pony-tail, and then removing it, obviously fighting boredom.

He turned his focus back to his menu, and after another 5 minutes of deliberating, he decided what he wanted. As if she had been watching him, which was likely, Ashley appeared next to him almost immediately after he placed his menu down on the table. "Ok! So have you decided?" she asked perkily.

"Yeah, I think I'll just have the pancakes and eggs with biscuits. I'd like some jelly too."

"And how would you like your eggs?" she asked as she scrawled his order onto her pad.

"Scrambled is good, thanks."

"No problem! I'll have this up right away!" she stated with a cheery smile. Then, she turned back toward the kitchen, leaving Herve to himself and his thoughts. He turned and began to look out the window, staring off into the distance, although he knew it was futile to even look for Sissi. He stared off into the distance regardless. It was still snowing. He sighed as he thought of Sissi alone out there. He sighed again when he realized that she wasn't alone. This didn't give him any comfort. He was just now beginning to realize that his attempts to get with Sissi were pointless. There were always going to be others who were better than him that would get in his way.

-m-

Tamiya came out of the bathroom and nearly crashed into Milly who was waiting directly outside of the door. "Gahh, Milly! What are you doing standing there like that? You nearly gave me a heart attack! What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing! Sorry 'bout that. I just havta use the restroom," she said as she snuck around Tamiya and shut the door behind her. Tamiya giggled. Milly could be so funny when she wanted, and sometimes she was funny when she didn't even try to be.

Tamiya walked over to the mirror on the closet and fixed her hair. By the time she finished, Milly returned from the restroom.

"Sorry 'bout that," Milly said and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "I didn't realize that I had to pee so bad until I heard your water running. Heh heh. I really didn't mean to scare you."

Tamiya laughed. "It's no problem. I figured as much. Well I'm all ready to go now if you are."

"You sure do look great, Tamiya!" Milly stated with a smile. Tamiya blushed and smiled back. "Anyways, I'm ready to go. Just let me grab my purse and we can head out." Tamiya nodded and headed toward the door. Milly snatched her purse and closed the door behind them. "Now where to? How about a buffet?"

"That's good for me if that's where you want to go," Tamiya answered and they headed off toward the elevators. Milly smiled again and pushed the down button, calling the elevators. In a short while, they reached the lobby and then made it to the buffet. They were seated near the center of the restaurant next to an elderly couple. Milly and Tamiya smiled at the couple as they sat down. Both of them ordered orange juice and waited for the waitress to return with their beverages before they went up to the buffet. It didn't take long for the waitress to return, and they both headed to the buffet to get their first plate.

"Tamiya," Milly said sitting back down with her first plate of food. "I'm so worried about them. I can't stop thinking about it. What if they really are still out there!"

Tamiya sighed. She looked across the table to her frantic friend. Milly was pulling on one of her pigtails. Tamiya smiled sympathetically at her. "Don't worry to much, Milly. I promise that they'll be fine. It will be fine. Just calm down and eat your pancakes before they get cold. After breakfast, we'll call Ulrich again. It really will be fine." Tamiya reached across the table and patted Milly's hand. Milly looked down at her hand and tried to smile. Tamiya patted her hand again. "Don't worry."

Milly looked up at Tamiya. She couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. You're probably right. I'm just overreacting. Let's just eat. Good idea." Milly went to reach for her fork and pulled he hand away from Tamiya's. Tamiya smiled and grabbed her own fork. They both continued to eat. After two plates of food, Milly could hardly stand it anymore and pulled out her phone. She looked at Tamiya who just nodded. Tamiya knew that Milly wouldn't stop until she called Ulrich again. She sighed and waited to see what would happen.

It rang once before going straight into a voicemail like last time. "Hey, Ulrich. It's Milly. I'm starting to worry about you guys. Did you get home safely? Uh, I know this is like my 6th message…. Anyway, call me when you get a chance. I just wanna make sure you're ok. Uh, bye." Milly hung up and sighed. "Tamiya! He still didn't answer! What are we going to do!" Her eyes started to well up with tears.

Tamiya called the waitress over and signed for their breakfast. "Come on, Milly let's go. I'll call Hiroki to see if he's heard from Yumi in a while." She bent down and grabbed Milly's hand. "Don't worry. We'll find them." Tamiya smiled and Milly nodded. Milly looked from Tamiya to her own hand and back. Tamiya let go of her hand and pulled out her phone. Then she dialed Hiroki's number.

-m-

Johnny lay on his bed, tossing and turning. He cracked open his eyes. Hiroki's phone was ringing. He groaned and turned over toward where Hiroki's bed was. Only a pile of sheets was where Hiroki would have been. He opened his eyes fully and yawned as he reached over and grabbed Hiroki's phone and answered. "Hello?" he said through a yawn.

"Uh, Hiroki?"

"No, sorry. It's Johnny. I don't know where he's run off to. I guess I'll take a message if it's important."

"Um, no. I can talk to you just as well. It's Tamiya. I was just wondering if you'd heard from Yumi or Ulrich or one of the others."

"No, I haven't." Johnny yawned again. "I asked Hiroki about that last night, but he didn't seem to worried. We called her and it went straight into voicemail. He just said that her phone must be off. Why? Did you get in touch with them?"

"No, that's why we called. Milly's been trying to reach Ulrich for a while now, but she hasn't gotten a response. We're starting to get worried. Do you have anyone's phone number?" Tamiya asked. "All we have is Ulrich's, and he hasn't responded."

"I've just got Yumi's and she hasn't responded either. I'm sorry I couldn't be any help. I've started to get worried too. It seems that I'm not the only one that has been looking for them."

"Yeah. We just wanted to make sure that they weren't out there in the blizzard," Tamiya said in a worried tone.

"I've been thinking the same thing. You know what, give me a couple minutes to get dressed, and I'll meet you somewhere. Or do you wanna…?" Johnny stopped himself before he asked them to come up to his room. He had no idea where Hiroki was, but he sure didn't want to run into him. Especially if Milly was going to be around. He'd had enough of him yesterday and he didn't really want an encore. "No never mind. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Um, do you wanna just meet in the lobby? It's easy enough. We're already on the first floor. We've just finished breakfast."

"Alrighty, I'll be down in around 15 minutes," he stated and hung up.

Well, It's not just me, Johnny thought to himself. Something really is up, and I wasn't just imagining it. I just hope that they're all ok.

-m-

"Here's your breakfast, sir," Ashley said perkily as she handed place the plate I front of Herve. "Does everything look alright?" she asked. Then she took a step back and bit her lip, as if she was actually waiting for approval. Herve looked up at her and nodded. She had even brought the jelly like he had asked her too. Often times, waitresses forgot the small things like that. Ashley smiled at him and nodded. "Ok, call me if you need anything else." He watched her walk away. She went and stood where she had before, and began to fight her boredom in the same way as before. He looked out the window and began to eat. Snow was still falling, and Sissi still wasn't coming back over the horizon. He sighed and looked back over to the waitress. Ashley kept gazing around the room. He followed her eyes. There were a few full tables in another section of the restaurant. A young man was tending to a few. An older woman had a couple of tables as well. He was Ashley's only table. Another family walked in and he watched as they got seated in the other section. Soon the elderly woman walked up to them to take their drink orders. Herve looked back to Ashley who sighed and continued to play with the pen in her hair. She caught his eye and he motioned for her to come over.

"Is there anything you need?" she asked as set made it to the table.

"It's your first day isn't it?" Herve asked her.

Her eyes widened. "Is it that obvious? I'm really sorry. Where did I go wrong?" She began pouring out apologies before Herve could say anything.

He cut her off. "Hold it. You didn't do anything wrong. I just noticed that I'm your only customer. There are plenty of families, but all of them have been seated in the other section. I just assumed that they'd spread everyone out. Unless you needed practice. Because you are new. I guess I was right about it being your first day."

"Yeah, I guess you're just smart."

"I guess, so are you nervous? Is this your first job?"

She sighed. "It's my first real job, with a real paycheck. I've babysat practically my whole life, but that doesn't count as an actual job. Anyway, I guess you could say I'm a little nervous."

"Well, you're doing fine. How old are you anyway?" he asked. "Take a seat. It's not like you have anyone else that you have to wait on."

"I really shouldn't take a seat. It's no professional, and I probably shouldn't tell you my age either. Who are you to ask me these questions anyway?" she asked defensively.

"Sorry, I was just trying to be sociable. You don't have to if you don't want to." Herve sighed and turned back toward the window.

"Oh," Ashley felt her heart pang. "Is there something wrong? I didn't mean to come off so viciously."

"It's nothing that you could fix," Herve said with a sigh. "Sorry I troubled you. I would like a refill though when you get a chance." Ashley nodded and left, returning quickly with a pitcher of water.

She paused after filling his glass. "Can I take a seat?"

"Sure," Herve replied. "Offer's still open."

She sat down and smiled. "I'm Ashley Llary by the way. I didn't mean to be so foul. I'm fourteen. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Herve Pichon. I'm fourteen as well. It's fine, you weren't being rude at all actually. Say, how'd you get the job if you're fourteen?"

"My mom owns the place. That's why she's been giving me all of the 'easy' customers. I also only get small short shifts. You know, I get off in about an hour. I'm sure that you'd enjoy someone to talk to. How about you meet me at that coffee shop right off the lobby in about an hour and a half? We could talk. Maybe I could help you with whatever's wrong. Who knows." She stood back up and cleared off a dish that he was finished with.

"I'm sure you don't want to spend your day with me at a coffee shop. I'm sure you've got better things to do around here."

"Actually, most of my friends are on vacation, and I don't like to swim alone. So what do you say? Will you meet me there?" She asked as she smiled at him and bit her lip slightly, possibly fearing rejection.

Herve contemplated it for a couple seconds. "Sure. Sounds fun."

Ashley smiled. "I know it will be! I'll leave you to your food. Just holler if you need anything else."

Well, I hope you liked it!
Remember to review for a preview of the next chapter!
I'll try and update soon!