Author's Note: Okay people, no need to point it out. I know that what shall happen in this chapter is not what most people would do. But this way makes it loads more fun! ^_~ Hope you guys like it!
*Disclaimer*: You ppl should know it by now... Xenogears, Squaresoft, etc...
Chapter Seven
The loud clatter of a dropped wrench slapped her back to her senses. She pulled away as abruptly as if she'd been burned and shakily stared at him with wide eyes. The same way he was staring at her.
~Oh God, what have I done?~ she thought dispairingly as the reality of what had just happened hit her. ~What have I done?! Went completely on a whim and kissed him!~ Her trembling hand came up and covered her mouth. ~How could I have been so _stupid_?! This could ruin everything between us! A whole lifetime of friendship!~
But she could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers.
"What... what was that?" he finally asked in a strangled voice. If the hallway wasn't so silent, she probably wouldn't have heard him.
"I... I... I'm..." Words failed her. She could hardly get her throat to work. "I'm so sorry," she finally managed, giving him an anguished look before she fled into the safety of her room and a closed door between them. Once inside, she leaned against the door and waited. Until she finally heard the sound of his footsteps leaving. The wrench he had carried in his hands and dropped in the middle of their kiss was left forgotten on the hallway floor.
~Forgive me, Bart...~
************************************************
Margie woke up at 11:47 the next morning. That was very late to her usual 6:45 wake-up call. She stared at her clock sleepily and wondered what had caused this... before the whole of last night came crashing back. Margie gasped and rapidly sat up in bed. ~No! No! It had to have been a dream! That's the only place I'd have the guts to kiss him!~
She scrambled out of bed and ran to the door. Her two roommates were already gone and she was thankful for that. She opened the door and poked her head out to see if anyone was out there. Actually, she was just on the lookout for one person. When she made sure that he (nor anyone else for that matter) was nowhere in sight, she relaxed.
If something had really happened, he would have been waiting to have a serious talk with her, right? And he was obviously not here.
She sighed and was about to go back into the room, when she saw the wrench. It was still on the floor except that it had been pushed aside so no one would trip over it. Margie groaned and banged her head against the wall at the sight of it. ~Great, my life is ruined...~
She sighed dejectedly and trudged back into her room. Could things get any worse? She went over and lied down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling miserably. What could she do? Bart for sure was going to feel all weird around her from now on. Things wouldn't be the same anymore... She had sure taken care of that with her lack of self-control. It wouldn't surprise her if he dropped her off in Shevat and then left her there without a ride home. Nah, he'd never do that. But she knew he wouldn't act the same around her. Hell, she couldn't act the same around him! It was hopeless to do something that forward and then expect things to be the same.
Margie sighed again.
She lay there for a while and was just contemplating locking herself up in that room for the rest of the trip, when the door swished open. She sat up in alarm, ready to jump for the closet if necessary, then eased up when she saw it was only Elly. She sat back and gave her a weak smile. "'Morning."
"Good afternoon, actually," Elly corrected as the door closed behind her. She was carrying a covered tray in her hands and went over to set it down on the small dresser besides Margie's bed. It smelled wonderful. Margie's stomach rumbled loudly and Elly grinned as she sat down beside her. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's nearly lunchtime and you haven't eaten breakfast yet."
Margie lifted the cover off the tray. She was starving, but her appetite wasn't really there. "I overslept today," she murmured, stating the obvious. She picked up her fork and half-heartedly played with the scrambled eggs on her plate. "I'm surprised no one woke me up," she continued, forcing herself to take a forkful.
"Bart wouldn't let us."
Margie choked on the eggs. Her face turned red and she looked up at Elly with watery eyes. "He didn't?" she asked between coughs. Elly chuckled as she hit her back.
After the food went down properly, Margie apprehensively asked: "Why not?"
"He said you needed the rest." Elly shrugged. "Frankly, I agree. You've been working too hard."
Margie swallowed. "What else did he say?"
"To bring you some breakfast cause you'd probably be ravenous after you woke up. You usually are."
Margie nodded and turned back to her food, trying to act interested in it. "Was he... um, did he..." She cleared her throat. "Did he seem weird to you?"
Elly frowned a little. "No. A little more subdued and preoccupied than usual, but that's about it. Why, is something wrong? Did he tell you something?"
Margie nervously glanced at her friend and immediately shook her head. "No. No, he didn't tell me anything. I mean, why would he tell _me_ anything? Ha ha," she forced the laugh. "Nope. Nothing's wrong. Not that I know of, anyway."
Elly's eyes narrowed and she stared at her suspiciously. "Hmm... You're hiding something from me."
"Me? No, no. Course not." She put another forkful in her mouth.
"Yes you are. You're acting a little too jumpy for some reason. You're not telling me something."
Margie swallowed again, forcing down the half chewed eggs. Oh, how she hated to lie. Especially to one of her closests friends. But, well, she couldn't really tell Elly. Not now anyway. Things were still a little too fresh.
Margie smiled reassuringly, while her stomach threatened to turn on her. "Don't worry, Elly. You know I'd tell you if something happened. I must still be half asleep or something if I came across as if I were hiding something. Heh heh."
"Okay, Margie. If you say so," Elly shrugged, but Margie could tell she didn't believe her. Elly stood up. "Just remember that if you have anything that's bothering you, you can talk to me. Okay?"
Margie breathed in relief, nodding assuringly. "Yes, ma'am. I'll remember."
Elly nodded before she made her way to the already opening door. "Remember to chew," she called over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.
Margie stared at her plate for a while. What could she do? She didn't want to see him. Well, she did, but she couldn't. She wouldn't be able to face him. So, the only thing to do now until things cooled down a bit was to avoid him at all times. Eventually, the time would be right and in a few years time, she could probably look him straight in the eye without having to worry that he'd get all stiff at the sight of her. Maybe.
Margie groaned in frustration and buried her face in her hands. ~You sure screwed things up, Margie...~ she mentally berated herself.
************************************************
Margie knew she couldn't stay in her room all day. She wanted to shower and get out of the cramped quarters. She was tired of looking at the same four walls. So, she did the only sensible thing (no, not go looking for Bart...). She sneaked out of her room and tiptoed to the bathroom at the other end of the hall.
~The courageous Great Mother strikes again...~ she thought in disgust.
She took a fast shower and dressed quickly, leaving her wet hair to hang loosely down her back until it dried. She walked (sneaked, whatever) back to her room and stepped in... to nearly jump out of her skin when she saw Maria sitting on her bed and leafing through a magazine, waiting for her.
The girl looked up and gave her a cheery smile. "Hi."
"Uh, hi," Margie greeted back cautiously as she waited for her heart to slow down. She was becoming _way_ too paranoid. "What're you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, of course."
"What for?" she asked as she picked up her brush and began running it through her dripping hair.
"So I could apologize to Tolone and Kelvena and the others. I think I should," Maria shrugged. No real enthusiasm.
Margie winced at the thought of going _all_ through the ship to look for four different girls. "Um, now?"
"Yeah, now. Let's go, come on."
Maria stood up and grabbed Margie's arm, dragging her out of the room while Margie protested feebly. "No, Maria. Not now. I want to brush out my hair and... and... and..." she trailed off as they stepped out into the hallway and saw Bart walking towards them from the Gear Hangar. He hadn't seen them. His gaze was directed at the floor and he carried something really small in his hands.
He glanced up and slowed down as he saw them too, then stopped altogether a few feet away. What he had carried in his hands was quickly put away in his vest.
Margie couldn't think. She just stood there like an idiot and stared at him, rooted to her spot. A part of her memory loudly reminded her that running was what she had originally planned to do. But she couldn't quite follow orders... not when the mere sight of him caused her to clearly remember all that she had felt last night. She could almost...
And he seemed just as spellbound as her.
Maria had been staring at them, at the way their eyes were glued to each other and silently wondered what had happened between the two to make them act like this, so openly sweet on each other. She smiled inwardly as a few possibilities came to her.
"Ahem!"
They both jumped and tore their gazes away from each other as Maria cleared her throat, their moment broken. Margie blushed and focused on Maria, who was grinning mischievously at their reactions. Margie glared at the girl and made a mental note to strangle her when she had the opportunity.
"We should go, Maria," she said, her voice tremulous. She stubbornly kept her eyes on her friend. And ardently wished that the ground would just swallow her up as she felt his stare on her. ~Probably fearing what else I'll do next...~
"But I'm sure Bart had something to say, didn't you Bart?" Maria asked sweetly. "Why else would he come looking for us?"
Margie wondered (through her red haze of fury) if she'd get banned out of Nisan and her duties for committing homicide on one of the Heroes that saved the world. But she didn't have a chance to think long as Bart began talking.
"Uh, yeah." He cleared his throat, something he only did when he was nervous, she remembered, and glanced at the floor again. "Margie, I need to talk to you..."
"Oh, but I can't," she protested, a little too quickly. "You see, I have to help Maria do something and, well..." She could almost hear it now: 'Margie, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you that way... You're a friend and I don't know if I can still see you the same way after what you did...' It would completely crush her.
"Well, what about tonight? After dinner?" he asked hesitantly. "I really want to talk to you."
Margie saw the look he gave her and sighed silently as she nodded. She could probably try to straighten things out somehow. "Yeah, okay. After dinner."
"I'll meet you on the deck, then."
Margie nodded dejectedly as he turned and left. For some reason, she felt like crying. ~A lifetime of friendship down the drain...~
She turned and began walking down the hallway, towards the dinning room. If she actually was a drinker, she would probably go find herself a bottle right about now. Depression sure hit hard. Some tea was the best she could do.
"Hey Margie! Where are you going? I thought we were going to look for the girls?"
"Not right now, Maria. I've got a couple of cups of tea that have my name on them," Margie replied gloomily as the door to the Gun Room swished open. She stepped in, but not before taking a bit of revenge. "Why don't you go ask Billy to help you? Since you seem to like him so much!"
And had the satisfaction of seeing Maria freeze in her tracks and blush seven shades of red.
*******************************************************
Dinner was no big event.
Well actually, it was. Everyone was excited about arriving in Kislev the next morning and probably participating in the Battling Arena.
Ramsus challenged Fei to a 'friendly' battle as they ate. So did Dominia. She said she wanted to keep herself sharp. Seraphita was all excited, since she'd only been to Kislev once in her life. Tolone acted like it was no big deal. She didn't seem as uncomfortable about being around the others as she used to be. None of them did anymore.
Maria had apologized to the girls formally and was feeling a lot better now, it seemed. She kept on chattering all through the meal. Billy, sitting across from her, once in a while reminded her to 'shut up and just eat', while Jessie scolded him and said that 'the pretty lady was allowed to talk if she wanted to'. Maria loved it.
Fei would not keep his watchful eye away from Elly for long. Even while they ate, he made sure she finished all that was on her plate while bombarding Citan with questions on how to get her even more healthy. She rolled her eyes and Citan chuckled, saying she was the healthiest of them all. Fei relaxed a bit after that.
Everyone was happy because they were going to see Rico again. The ex-Battling Champ and future Kaiser was loved by all.
Margie noticed all this happening around her, but she couldn't really concentrate. She was too aware of what would happen _after_ dinner. It did not bode well. Bart usually took his meals on the bridge, since he liked to keep an eye out on the land they were travelling over. She didn't know if she was to count that as a good thing or a bad. She missed him...
~Ah well, Margie my girl. You'd better get used to that.~
She cursed her mental-self for pointing that out. Needless to say, she hardly touched her food.
When everyone was finished and it looked like she couldn't drag dinner out any longer, she stood up and slowly headed for the elevator. The humming of the Yggdrassil was soft since it was travelling over the sands again. Kislev was really close.
After getting out of the elevator, she stopped at the foot of the ladder that would take her outside to the deck. She took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and began climbing up.
To be continued...
^_^
*Disclaimer*: You ppl should know it by now... Xenogears, Squaresoft, etc...
Chapter Seven
The loud clatter of a dropped wrench slapped her back to her senses. She pulled away as abruptly as if she'd been burned and shakily stared at him with wide eyes. The same way he was staring at her.
~Oh God, what have I done?~ she thought dispairingly as the reality of what had just happened hit her. ~What have I done?! Went completely on a whim and kissed him!~ Her trembling hand came up and covered her mouth. ~How could I have been so _stupid_?! This could ruin everything between us! A whole lifetime of friendship!~
But she could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers.
"What... what was that?" he finally asked in a strangled voice. If the hallway wasn't so silent, she probably wouldn't have heard him.
"I... I... I'm..." Words failed her. She could hardly get her throat to work. "I'm so sorry," she finally managed, giving him an anguished look before she fled into the safety of her room and a closed door between them. Once inside, she leaned against the door and waited. Until she finally heard the sound of his footsteps leaving. The wrench he had carried in his hands and dropped in the middle of their kiss was left forgotten on the hallway floor.
~Forgive me, Bart...~
************************************************
Margie woke up at 11:47 the next morning. That was very late to her usual 6:45 wake-up call. She stared at her clock sleepily and wondered what had caused this... before the whole of last night came crashing back. Margie gasped and rapidly sat up in bed. ~No! No! It had to have been a dream! That's the only place I'd have the guts to kiss him!~
She scrambled out of bed and ran to the door. Her two roommates were already gone and she was thankful for that. She opened the door and poked her head out to see if anyone was out there. Actually, she was just on the lookout for one person. When she made sure that he (nor anyone else for that matter) was nowhere in sight, she relaxed.
If something had really happened, he would have been waiting to have a serious talk with her, right? And he was obviously not here.
She sighed and was about to go back into the room, when she saw the wrench. It was still on the floor except that it had been pushed aside so no one would trip over it. Margie groaned and banged her head against the wall at the sight of it. ~Great, my life is ruined...~
She sighed dejectedly and trudged back into her room. Could things get any worse? She went over and lied down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling miserably. What could she do? Bart for sure was going to feel all weird around her from now on. Things wouldn't be the same anymore... She had sure taken care of that with her lack of self-control. It wouldn't surprise her if he dropped her off in Shevat and then left her there without a ride home. Nah, he'd never do that. But she knew he wouldn't act the same around her. Hell, she couldn't act the same around him! It was hopeless to do something that forward and then expect things to be the same.
Margie sighed again.
She lay there for a while and was just contemplating locking herself up in that room for the rest of the trip, when the door swished open. She sat up in alarm, ready to jump for the closet if necessary, then eased up when she saw it was only Elly. She sat back and gave her a weak smile. "'Morning."
"Good afternoon, actually," Elly corrected as the door closed behind her. She was carrying a covered tray in her hands and went over to set it down on the small dresser besides Margie's bed. It smelled wonderful. Margie's stomach rumbled loudly and Elly grinned as she sat down beside her. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's nearly lunchtime and you haven't eaten breakfast yet."
Margie lifted the cover off the tray. She was starving, but her appetite wasn't really there. "I overslept today," she murmured, stating the obvious. She picked up her fork and half-heartedly played with the scrambled eggs on her plate. "I'm surprised no one woke me up," she continued, forcing herself to take a forkful.
"Bart wouldn't let us."
Margie choked on the eggs. Her face turned red and she looked up at Elly with watery eyes. "He didn't?" she asked between coughs. Elly chuckled as she hit her back.
After the food went down properly, Margie apprehensively asked: "Why not?"
"He said you needed the rest." Elly shrugged. "Frankly, I agree. You've been working too hard."
Margie swallowed. "What else did he say?"
"To bring you some breakfast cause you'd probably be ravenous after you woke up. You usually are."
Margie nodded and turned back to her food, trying to act interested in it. "Was he... um, did he..." She cleared her throat. "Did he seem weird to you?"
Elly frowned a little. "No. A little more subdued and preoccupied than usual, but that's about it. Why, is something wrong? Did he tell you something?"
Margie nervously glanced at her friend and immediately shook her head. "No. No, he didn't tell me anything. I mean, why would he tell _me_ anything? Ha ha," she forced the laugh. "Nope. Nothing's wrong. Not that I know of, anyway."
Elly's eyes narrowed and she stared at her suspiciously. "Hmm... You're hiding something from me."
"Me? No, no. Course not." She put another forkful in her mouth.
"Yes you are. You're acting a little too jumpy for some reason. You're not telling me something."
Margie swallowed again, forcing down the half chewed eggs. Oh, how she hated to lie. Especially to one of her closests friends. But, well, she couldn't really tell Elly. Not now anyway. Things were still a little too fresh.
Margie smiled reassuringly, while her stomach threatened to turn on her. "Don't worry, Elly. You know I'd tell you if something happened. I must still be half asleep or something if I came across as if I were hiding something. Heh heh."
"Okay, Margie. If you say so," Elly shrugged, but Margie could tell she didn't believe her. Elly stood up. "Just remember that if you have anything that's bothering you, you can talk to me. Okay?"
Margie breathed in relief, nodding assuringly. "Yes, ma'am. I'll remember."
Elly nodded before she made her way to the already opening door. "Remember to chew," she called over her shoulder as the door closed behind her.
Margie stared at her plate for a while. What could she do? She didn't want to see him. Well, she did, but she couldn't. She wouldn't be able to face him. So, the only thing to do now until things cooled down a bit was to avoid him at all times. Eventually, the time would be right and in a few years time, she could probably look him straight in the eye without having to worry that he'd get all stiff at the sight of her. Maybe.
Margie groaned in frustration and buried her face in her hands. ~You sure screwed things up, Margie...~ she mentally berated herself.
************************************************
Margie knew she couldn't stay in her room all day. She wanted to shower and get out of the cramped quarters. She was tired of looking at the same four walls. So, she did the only sensible thing (no, not go looking for Bart...). She sneaked out of her room and tiptoed to the bathroom at the other end of the hall.
~The courageous Great Mother strikes again...~ she thought in disgust.
She took a fast shower and dressed quickly, leaving her wet hair to hang loosely down her back until it dried. She walked (sneaked, whatever) back to her room and stepped in... to nearly jump out of her skin when she saw Maria sitting on her bed and leafing through a magazine, waiting for her.
The girl looked up and gave her a cheery smile. "Hi."
"Uh, hi," Margie greeted back cautiously as she waited for her heart to slow down. She was becoming _way_ too paranoid. "What're you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, of course."
"What for?" she asked as she picked up her brush and began running it through her dripping hair.
"So I could apologize to Tolone and Kelvena and the others. I think I should," Maria shrugged. No real enthusiasm.
Margie winced at the thought of going _all_ through the ship to look for four different girls. "Um, now?"
"Yeah, now. Let's go, come on."
Maria stood up and grabbed Margie's arm, dragging her out of the room while Margie protested feebly. "No, Maria. Not now. I want to brush out my hair and... and... and..." she trailed off as they stepped out into the hallway and saw Bart walking towards them from the Gear Hangar. He hadn't seen them. His gaze was directed at the floor and he carried something really small in his hands.
He glanced up and slowed down as he saw them too, then stopped altogether a few feet away. What he had carried in his hands was quickly put away in his vest.
Margie couldn't think. She just stood there like an idiot and stared at him, rooted to her spot. A part of her memory loudly reminded her that running was what she had originally planned to do. But she couldn't quite follow orders... not when the mere sight of him caused her to clearly remember all that she had felt last night. She could almost...
And he seemed just as spellbound as her.
Maria had been staring at them, at the way their eyes were glued to each other and silently wondered what had happened between the two to make them act like this, so openly sweet on each other. She smiled inwardly as a few possibilities came to her.
"Ahem!"
They both jumped and tore their gazes away from each other as Maria cleared her throat, their moment broken. Margie blushed and focused on Maria, who was grinning mischievously at their reactions. Margie glared at the girl and made a mental note to strangle her when she had the opportunity.
"We should go, Maria," she said, her voice tremulous. She stubbornly kept her eyes on her friend. And ardently wished that the ground would just swallow her up as she felt his stare on her. ~Probably fearing what else I'll do next...~
"But I'm sure Bart had something to say, didn't you Bart?" Maria asked sweetly. "Why else would he come looking for us?"
Margie wondered (through her red haze of fury) if she'd get banned out of Nisan and her duties for committing homicide on one of the Heroes that saved the world. But she didn't have a chance to think long as Bart began talking.
"Uh, yeah." He cleared his throat, something he only did when he was nervous, she remembered, and glanced at the floor again. "Margie, I need to talk to you..."
"Oh, but I can't," she protested, a little too quickly. "You see, I have to help Maria do something and, well..." She could almost hear it now: 'Margie, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you that way... You're a friend and I don't know if I can still see you the same way after what you did...' It would completely crush her.
"Well, what about tonight? After dinner?" he asked hesitantly. "I really want to talk to you."
Margie saw the look he gave her and sighed silently as she nodded. She could probably try to straighten things out somehow. "Yeah, okay. After dinner."
"I'll meet you on the deck, then."
Margie nodded dejectedly as he turned and left. For some reason, she felt like crying. ~A lifetime of friendship down the drain...~
She turned and began walking down the hallway, towards the dinning room. If she actually was a drinker, she would probably go find herself a bottle right about now. Depression sure hit hard. Some tea was the best she could do.
"Hey Margie! Where are you going? I thought we were going to look for the girls?"
"Not right now, Maria. I've got a couple of cups of tea that have my name on them," Margie replied gloomily as the door to the Gun Room swished open. She stepped in, but not before taking a bit of revenge. "Why don't you go ask Billy to help you? Since you seem to like him so much!"
And had the satisfaction of seeing Maria freeze in her tracks and blush seven shades of red.
*******************************************************
Dinner was no big event.
Well actually, it was. Everyone was excited about arriving in Kislev the next morning and probably participating in the Battling Arena.
Ramsus challenged Fei to a 'friendly' battle as they ate. So did Dominia. She said she wanted to keep herself sharp. Seraphita was all excited, since she'd only been to Kislev once in her life. Tolone acted like it was no big deal. She didn't seem as uncomfortable about being around the others as she used to be. None of them did anymore.
Maria had apologized to the girls formally and was feeling a lot better now, it seemed. She kept on chattering all through the meal. Billy, sitting across from her, once in a while reminded her to 'shut up and just eat', while Jessie scolded him and said that 'the pretty lady was allowed to talk if she wanted to'. Maria loved it.
Fei would not keep his watchful eye away from Elly for long. Even while they ate, he made sure she finished all that was on her plate while bombarding Citan with questions on how to get her even more healthy. She rolled her eyes and Citan chuckled, saying she was the healthiest of them all. Fei relaxed a bit after that.
Everyone was happy because they were going to see Rico again. The ex-Battling Champ and future Kaiser was loved by all.
Margie noticed all this happening around her, but she couldn't really concentrate. She was too aware of what would happen _after_ dinner. It did not bode well. Bart usually took his meals on the bridge, since he liked to keep an eye out on the land they were travelling over. She didn't know if she was to count that as a good thing or a bad. She missed him...
~Ah well, Margie my girl. You'd better get used to that.~
She cursed her mental-self for pointing that out. Needless to say, she hardly touched her food.
When everyone was finished and it looked like she couldn't drag dinner out any longer, she stood up and slowly headed for the elevator. The humming of the Yggdrassil was soft since it was travelling over the sands again. Kislev was really close.
After getting out of the elevator, she stopped at the foot of the ladder that would take her outside to the deck. She took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and began climbing up.
To be continued...
^_^