CHAPTER FOURTY-FIVE - UNEXPECTED HELP
(A/N: sorry about the language jumping, its fair to warn you it will be happening alot in the next few chapters, then sparsely there after. had a friend suggest this scene when i hit a roadblock... keep in mind they are speaking Japanese to begin with, i just started writing in romaji to re-enforce the point... if you can't get the translations elsewhere, i may attach a chapter after the end of the story with the translations of everything)
Aaron had no idea where he was running, he just ran. his body was on fire, his chest especially, so he ducked into an alley to catch his breath. after a moment, he stopped, feeling the beginnings of his normal thoughts starting to form again, "damn it, look what i've done now!" he stepped out of the alley and put his hands on his hips, still panting, "Aaron, you retard! you've gone and lost yourself!"
"never thought i'd hear somebody speak japanese here!" a voice came from behind Aaron
whipping to face the mystery speaker, Aaron berated himself for dropping his guard enough not to notice somebody else enarby. "who are you?"
a young woman stood there, with blonde hair and a familiar face, "My name is Fontine, i'm a racer-"
"from Team Skylark," the girl had been Takeshi's previous girlfriend, and her team had been knocked down from IG1 to IG2 after a weak season last year. "what are you doing here?"
"I have family in the area, and Belle Vite is my cousin. try not to race against her, i won't know who to cheer for." she teased with a smile.
"you appearently know who i am," Aaron shrugged, "so you know i'm not in racing shape."
"If you're anything like Takeshi, you'll heal faster than you think... the question is what are you doing on this side of the city?"
"that's a long story that if its the same to you, i'd prefer not to tell."
"sorry," Fontine's shoulders lowered slightly
"it's not you're fault, don't feel bad. its just really personal... anyway, can you help me get back to the right side of town."
"i have to be somewhere soon, but i can get you going in the right direction." She offered with a kind smile.
"i appreciate it. thank you."
Fontine made a gesture Aaron had seen only one or twice in movies, but he picked up that she wanted him to offer an arm. he'd talked to Takeshi about their 'female escapades' before and had gleaned from that conversation that Fontine was a little old-fashioned, and he smiled as he offered to give her the 'proper' courtesy to a Lady. Fontine began to lead the way once she took his arm.
after a block or two, Fontine shifted slightly. "is something wrong?" Aaron asked.
"don't think me terribly rude," she glanced sideway before continuing, "but you seem very troubled. is it something you want to talk about? sometimes its best to talk to somebody on the outside."
Aaron paused mid-step for a moment, then continued walking, "its complicated."
"it usually is. is it a problem with your sweetheart or something?"
"you could say that..." Aaron wasn't sure if he should be talking so openly with someone he didn't know, but he knew she could be trusted. "to put it in a nutshell, my girlfriend broke up with me and won't explain why. and another girl has jumped up between Ami and me getting back toegether."
"do you like this other girl?" Fontine looked at Aaron's face
Aaron decided that dodging the question wouldn't help anybody, "yes, i like Max alot." he felt a little better now that he actually said it.
"and what about Ami? do you still love her?"
"i think i do."
"love is not a thing you think, it is a thing you feel. it is something you know."
Aaron was taken aback by the girl's straightforwardness. "I-I don't know anymore. it broke my heart when she left me, and i know she wants to come back to me."
Fontine stopped and stood square in front of Aaron, "have you ever considered just stepping back from romance?"
"i haven't really gone looking for romance, it seems to jump on me when i'm not looking." It was true, Ami and aaron had just kinda happened, and both Max and Ami were the ones after him, not vice-versa.
"that isn't what i mean Aaron. i mean have you thought of rubuffing both of them, and any others afterward for a time?"
"that's hardly as easy as it sounds in my position. i don't want to hurt them again."
"again?" she blinked, "you've hurt them both and yet they still wish to be with you?"
Aaron threw up his hands, "i didn't mean to."
"no, no. i wasn't accusing you... its just that you must be a very special man to inspire a woman like that."
Aaron couldn't help but laugh coldly. "me, special? thats hilarious... i'm a curse, a shadow upon the face of God's earth."
Fontine shrank slightly from Aaron, then to his utter amazement, she held him like a mother trying to comfort a child. "you must have been through many terrible things to hate yourself in such a way. pouvre, pouvre, petit cher. Je souait que tu peut trouver ton coeur."
Aaron didn't try to pull away, it wasn't a romantic advance. but he still felt strange to be comforted by a friend's ex, in a place he didn't know, and in a language he barely understood. however, he found it was working, and his initial apprehension melted away and he felt his mind at ease for the first time in over a week. he struggled through his memories back to the french that aunt had taught him in his childhood, "Fontine, vous etes trop gentile. je veux vous remerci."
"remercier." she corrected, "remerci just means thank, remercier means to thank
"fine, i'll just talk in japanese." slightly upset that she hadn't just taken his attempt at thanking her. "arigato Fontine-San."
"Fontine wa ii" she assured him that the formality of a suffix was unneeded.
"ok, Fontine it is then. no matter what language. thanks."
"you are welcome. if you ever have problems," she wrote her phone number on a piece of paper, "call me."
"Je vais le faire" He knew he said that right
"nous avons arrive" Fontine gestured to a house on the left. then switching back to Japanese, she grabbed her phone. "I will call Takeshi and tell them to meet you. there is a well known fountain further up that road."
Aaron bowed deeply, "thank you for everything Fontine. honto arigato."
She smiled as the phone rang, "ah, bonjour Takeshi!"
Aaron smiled as he heard Takeshi's disbelief at recieving a call from Fontine. he turned with a wave and began walking in the direction Fontine had indicated. he unclipped his phone and flipped it open to add Fontines number. he paused for a moment when he noticed just how many girls' numbers he had in his phonebook.
