Hello there, one and all; BassDS back, and yes...I know, it's been little over a year since I first posted the prologue to this story, but in hindsight, I did say it was a small recap of things, and I had planned to begin updating the following month...it just never panned out due to real life issues rearing its head. But if anything, it WAS for the better. The time allowed me to iron a few kinks out with the plot of the entire project, so it did end up being a small blessing in disguise.
Now for this story in particular, my plan is to try to get it done by the end of the year; if that means two updates a month to pull it off, so be it. But with the next story onward, I will be falling back to the '1 update a month' plan I had originally penned down to clear my schedule up a bit, though ultimately, I think I might poll that and see what you all would want for, for those still lingering that my previous failed attempts captivated.
So for a small forewarning, this newest chapter may be a bit short, but it is setting up a few things for the long run, and it won't be long until the next chapter is completed and uploaded, which is likely only a matter of days. So regardless of how short this chapter is, I happily welcome you all back who have been waiting for an update since I released the Prologue a year ago, and welcome to those that may be finding this for the first time.
And with that, let us proceed, shall we?
Star Lovers Ꝏ: Part 1 - Beginnings
Chapter 1: Making Plans
Sonia's eyes gazed out the window of her small apartment at the sun as it rose over the horizon, taking in the cool morning breeze.
"Well, you're up awfully early, aren't you?" came a voice from her Hunter-VG atop her nightstand as a small harp-shaped being emerged from it.
"Well, morning to you too, Lyra. Hope I didn't wake you at all." Sonia replied as she leaned back on her bed to talk to her close confidant.
"Heavens no, I've always been bit of an early bird myself, even back on Planet FM. Though I've known you for close to 5 years now, and you've always been the type to sleep in until at least noon on several occasions back when your schedule was freed up." responded Lyra.
"Guess I'm just excited is all. Granted I've got a good two months before school starts back up, but I can't wait to finally be in class with everyone else. Ever since my small comeback tour, I hardly got to talk or spend time with any of them...it'll be nice to finally live like a normal teenager for once." she lamented.
"Don't you mean Geo?" smirked Lyra as she sheepishly laughed as the small blush appearing on Sonia's face.
"Well...I mean...yeah, but Bud, Luna and Zack are my close friends too..." She attempted to divert the question before finally relenting. "But yes...I'm glad to finally be able to be around Geo again. I just wish I got the chance to talk to him yesterday before we had to leave. I still have one more big concert planned for the summer before I can finally just enjoy being me."
"Well...you're freed up today; why not ask Geo to spend the day with you?"
"I wouldn't want to impose...I mean, he might already have other plans." Sonia uttered as she sat on the idea.
"You, impose? I think that almost made me laugh." Lyra retorted. "Since when do you ever impose on anything? It won't kill you to ask him...unless there's something else on your mind."
Sonia pulled her legs up to her chest, responding to Lyra's words.
"There is...isn't there?"
"I can't help but think back at how my life got to where it is now. Losing my mother; meeting you; meeting Geo...he became my first real friend, my first Brotherband, but now, I can't help but not see him as that anymore. These past few years, it was just a simple crush, but with how I'm feeling now; why I'm retiring again to be able to be near him again...He's done so much to help shape my life...I think back on all those prince and princess stories my mother used to read to me, the prince coming to save the princess in her hour of need; he's done that. He came to save me from the loneliness I was feeling, and little did I know at the time, I did the same for him."
"Sonia..." Lyra watched on at her.
"It isn't a little girl's silly crush anymore; I'm in love with him, Lyra. I love Geo...but I'm honestly scared. What if he doesn't feel the same way I do? What if I tell him, and it ruins our friendship? I...I don't know if I could handle that. It would be a far worse feeling than rejection." she looked to Lyra with worry filled in her eyes.
"Would you rather live with the regret of not telling him at all?" Lyra asked softly. "I would say that pain would be far worse; never knowing without ever saying a thing. Do you really want that heavy weight on your heart, dear?"
Sonia's eyes wandered as she began to contemplate the small alien's words. Should she tell him, or not?
This new dilemma was already beginning to weight on her heart as well.
Geo made his way toward the front door as he approached his house, the strong scent of food in the air as he entered and closed the door behind him. "Mom, that you?"
"Well, aren't you up early this morning?" his mother, Hope, turned to him with a smile on her face. "And here I thought cooking breakfast would wake you up, yet you pretty much rose with the birds."
"I just need some fresh air and wanted to see the sun rise up is all." He replied, not wanted to disclose the real reason for him being up this early. If his mom knew that a girl was on his mind, he'd never hear the end of it.
"Well, it shouldn't be much longer. Perhaps the scent of a fresh cooked meal with stir your father out of bed." she spoke as she whisked the eggs while turning the bacon over.
"Dad's still asleep?" Geo questioned.
"Even though he's a grown man, he never passes up a chance to sleep in. He's never really been much of a morning person anyway; always complains about wanting five more minutes when I try to wake him up. He can act so childish sometimes...but I guess that's why I fell for him and that carefree nature of his." she admitted with a small chuckle.
"Apparently...but then again, a couple years with you guys and humans are STILL a mystery to me." Mega rebuked as he appeared on the air display of the Hunter-VG.
"I could say the same thing about you too, you know." Hope leaned over the counter with a smirk on her face as she stared the EM being down.
"I'd like to retract my previous statement." Mega responded and retreated back as the screen closed.
"Anyway…" Geo sheepishly laughed. "I'm going to head up to my room for a bit." he added while heading toward the stairs.
"I'll call you when breakfast when ready." she happily replied.
Geo made his way to the top of the stairs and was about to open the door to his room when his Hunter-VG began to go off.
"Who's calling this early?" Geo pondered.
"Well quit guessing and answer it already. It's noisy in here when that thing goes off. Though I'll admit, the morning alarm is even worse sounding." retorted Mega.
Geo entered his room and pressed the accept button on the air display as Sonia's face appeared on the screen. "Morning. Hope I didn't wake you up by chance."
"Not at all. I've been up for a while actually. It's great to see you again." Geo replied as he felt his heart speed up a bit.
"I was hoping to talk to you the other day, but after school ended, I had to leave; we're still preparing for the final concert of my tour and they needed me to help finalize a few things." Sonia replied. Deep down, she was feeling her heart beat a bit faster too.
"That's alright. So, do you think this is actually it for you?" the boy asked in return.
"It's looking like it. I've done so much, created many new songs, but now, I think I just want to take it easy and live my life normally for a change." She replied
"Yeah...I can relate." Geo smiled back.
"So, I made sure my schedule was freed up...and I was thinking; it's been a long time since we had the chance to talk and spend time together, so I was wondering if you wanted to meet up and spend the day together?" Sonia asked, feeling extremely nervous deep down.
Geo hesitated for a moment. He'd spend a few days with her when they were younger, but why was he feeling this apprehensive? He soon shrugged off the uneasiness he was feeling and did his best to mask it as he replied to her. "Sure, I've got nothing planned myself. What time do you want to meet?"
"Would 1:00 work for you?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Where should we meet?" Geo asked.
"Well, you can come to my apartment. It's not far from Vista Point. If that's alright, of course."
"I'll be there. See you then, Sonia."
"See you soon, Geo." Sonia added as the call ended.
"So…I take it this is what you humans refer to as a 'date'?" Mega inquired.
"Wha...what? No, it's not a date..." Geo nervously responded, being a bit flustered at Mega's question as he moved toward his bed to sit down.
"And yet your response leads me to believe I'm right. What, were those trips to the mall and the museum at Wilshire Hills not 'dates' either? And in case you forgot, I WAS THERE when we were in Alohaha, and I saw how much that face of your lit up when you held her hand on those docks."
"Is...is it really that obvious?"
Mega could only place his claw on his head and groan. "AM Admins, help me..."
Geo laid down atop his bed and look up to the ceiling as the sun began to shine through his sun roof. "I've felt this way for a while now...part of me wants to tell her and get this off my chest, but the other part is fearful of what might happen if she doesn't feel the same way."
"You, fearful? That's a riot. This is coming from the kid who took down an alien war machine, an ancient civilization's god, AND a giant red dragon inside of a meteor?"
"You can't even begin to compare those to something like this!" Geo irked back.
"Look, all I'm saying is...you were a recluse when I met you, didn't want anything to do with anyone, and I've seen you grow through everything we've been through. I'll admit, love is a foreign concept to me that I'm likely never to understand, but I've seen you stand up to everything that came our way; YOUR way, and you faced it down without hesitation. Why should this be any different?" asked Mega. "Don't forget, she's done a lot for you just as you have for her. She cares for you, kid."
"Since when did you become a pep-talker?" Geo huffed a small laugh out.
"Probably from Luna hanging around us all the time, most likely."
Geo took Mega's words into consideration. He cared for Sonia a lot; she was one of the most influential that shaped him into who he was today, and he had to admit, Mega's words had some truth to them. He thought back to when he had finally found her after being separated during Dr. Vega's attempt of conquest, having aligned with her and cut their Brotherband to ensure he stayed safe.
"I just...I just don't want to screw anything up between us." Geo lamented as he stared at the ceiling and pondered the situation.
"Look...I mean, it's no skin off my back. Might be hard for you to believe, but I just want the best for you, kid." Mega said turning as he scratched the back of his head.
"Pft..., that IS almost hard to believe coming from you...but you're right. Maybe I should say something to her. It's the repercussions I'm worried about."
A few hours later:
Geo made his way to the small set of apartments that were recently constructed to meet up with Sonia. The sun's light reflected off his Visualizer as the small town bustled with people enjoying the day. Geo decided to try out a new outfit he had gotten the other day that consisted of a red summer shirt with the sides below the short sleeves being white, with a small bit circling the end of the sleeves, a pair of blue shorts held in place by a silver belt, a red wristband adorned on his right wrist while atop his chest held on a brown string around his neck was his star pendent he had received when his father had gone missing all those years ago. Gone were his extremely long shoes that almost encased his legs he had worn in his youth, now opting for a sleeker pair that wrapped around the upper part of his ankles.
"It actually feels good today. I don't think it's suppose to get too hot out." Geo commented as he felt a small breeze surround him.
"Enjoy it while we can, it's only going to get hotter as the summer drags on. Luckily, as long as I stay inside the Hunter, it ain't my problem." Mega responded.
Geo could only roll his eyes in response as he turned the corner and came to the apartments and began to look for the door number that Sonia had wrote to him. "Let's see...Apartment 50." Geo could only look at the door, finding himself frozen in the moment.
"So, we standing out here all day or are you going to knock?" Mega asked, snapping Geo back into reality.
"O-oh...right." Geo recomposed himself as he knocked a few times on the door and stood there, hearing footsteps muster around within as he looked to see the doorknob turn a few times. He expected to see Sonia on the other end...what he didn't expect was how she looked.
The door opened and the smile he had known for years shined back at him, as their eyes met, before Geo's attention was drawn to Sonia's appearance.
She had her hair let down to her shoulders, having seen it kept tucked away with some hair clips in class the other day. Sonia wore a black top that exposed her shoulders, save for the two pairs of straps that held it in place near the middle of her shoulders and around her arms, the top ending halfway to expose her stomach, while below that, she wore a pair of light-purple body tights that went down to her lower legs, the waist adorned with a pink skirt that ended a bit above her knees, a speckled band decorated in small plastic white and pink gems rested around her wrist, and on her left arm from the elbow down was an arm sleeve with the same light tint as her tights with black stripes, the sleeve ending at the base of her fingers, while she wore a new pair of pink boots adorned with a white stripe down the middle, small yellow stripes were adjacent to the sides of the white stripes.
"How...how do I look?" Sonia shyly asked as she look away from his eyes a bit.
It took Geo a few moments to register that she was talking to him and almost as long for his brain to word together a response. "It looks great on you."
Sonia felt her heart skip a bit at his response to her outfit. "Thanks..." she blushed lightly. "I've been wanting to wear this for some time now, so spending the day together seemed like the best time to try it out."
"So, where should we head to first?" Geo asked as he grounded himself back into reality and stopped himself from being mesmerized by Sonia's attire long enough to change the subject to their plan for the day.
"Well, I was thinking we could wing it, see the sights and just see where the day takes us." Sonia responded as she locked the door.
"Better a plan that not having any idea where to go." He admitted as they both began to head toward the bus stop.
Above them on the wave roads, Mega had taken the chance to leave his Hunter while the two teens had been awkwardly trying to make a conversation, his eyes following them as they walked along the sidewalk to the bus stop.
"It hurts to have to watch this...feels like this is one of Hope's cheesy romantic movies she loves watching."
"Oh give them time, they'll come around to each other soon." a voice came from nowhere as Mega felt something touch his shoulder, the waves from his body standing up as he lurched a bit to see Lyra floating behind him.
"NEVER...do that again...I don't like others sneaking up from behind me." he panted, having been caught off guard by her.
"For an EM Warrior, you sure do scare easily."
"What are you even doing up here?"
"Well," Lyra began. "For your information, I told Sonia I'd give her and Geo some space, to try and let her find the time for them to talk. Though I take it you don't hold the same sentiment."
"I just needed some 'me' time, and the kid going out on this little date seemed like the perfect opportunity to take it." He bluffed, trying not to crack around Lyra. He didn't want to let her onto him that he wanted to give Geo his own time to sort things out with Sonia.
"Well, that does sound like you..." Lyra halfheartedly accepted Mega's answer, but deep down, she knew there was more to his actions. He wasn't the selfish EM being she had known before coming to Earth anymore. Geo had changed Mega for the better. Then again, Sonia had done the same with her.
Lyra just hoped there would be a good outcome to come from this day.
Elsewhere:
Several screen displays floated in the air around a large black chair that hovered off the ground, its occupant gazed as the screens, some with schematic layouts, while the main one in front of the chair displayed the National WAZA HQ building, a grin forming on the face of the figure in the chair.
"The code I desire lies within these walls...it's time to reclaim what was mine. My project is incomplete without the basis of what I created years ago. I had not anticipated it falling into his hands. I doubt even he knew what he had in his possession when he defected from Dealer."
The figure looked to its side to see a shadowy figure slowly approach from behind.
"At dusk, we shall begin, and you will find the code from their databanks. Is that clear?"
The figure's violet eyes look up at the screen, a faint red glowing ring appearing around the irises of their eyes.
"Yes, Doctor..."
Chapter 1 END