Perfect Beauty

Perfect Beauty

Chapter 2

//"Daddy, why do we have to go? I want to stay here!" the little red hair girl cried to her father.

Her father kneeled down in front of her, a sorrowful expression evident in his bright green eyes. "Baby, I know you do, but we just can't," he said as he placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders.

"But why daddy?" she said softly, her tears sparkling on her moistened cheeks.

Her father paused for a moment and hugged his daughter as she cried into his chest. He then whispered softly in her ear, "Because your mom is still here."//

Kanani woke up in the middle of the night, her dream still fresh in her mind. She sat up and took a deep breath. She pulled the curtain aside slightly and gazed out at the dark landscape before her. It had been almost 10 years since her mother died and her father's words still echo in her mind to this day. She didn't understand then what his words meant but as she grew up, she put the puzzle together piece by piece. All of the memories of her mother still lingered in her father's mind, haunting him wherever he went. 'Dad, did you think that leaving home will erase mother's memory? Do you think you can escape all of those sweat memories? Why dad? Why do you want to forget?' she thought aimlessly as she peered out her window.

She closed the curtain once again and slowly got out of bed. She padded softly across the room to her bathroom to get a glass of water. She flipped on the lights to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Kanani just stared at herself, gently running her fingers over her cheek, caressing her soft skin, tracing each feature along the way. Snapping out of her little trance, Kanani filled her glass with water and turned off the lights on her way out. Setting her glass on the night stand, she crawled under her sheets once again. Before drifting off to sleep, she asked herself one last question. 'I don't understand dad, I just don't understand.'

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Heero stood on his balcony, the cold night air chilling his face. He couldn't sleep as well and the calm of the night seemed to put him at ease. He leaned his back up against the railing, his gaze directed upward. 'She's so annoying. Doesn't she get the hint that I want to be left alone? Persistent girl,' he thought as he cracked a small smile. He then walked back inside his room and shut the door behind him. Heero flopped back down on his bed and folded his arms behind his head as he stared vacantly up at the ceiling above. He knew it was going to be another sleepless night.

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Morning finally came and Kanani slowly opened her eyes to greet the new day. She slowly flipped over and looked at her alarm clock. She flung her arm over her body and hit the alarm button just as it was about to go off. She rolled back onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. "I will never be able to get a decent nights sleep," she mumbled sleepily as she slowly sat up in her bed. Kanani rolled out of bed and made her way to the shower.

She could never sleep whenever she had flashbacks of her mother, they always brought too many questions to mind. As she got older, more memories seemed to surface through her dreams, causing her to lose many hours of sleep over the years. What pained her the most out of all of this was the way her father was handling all of the pain. He became a recluse, shutting himself out from the world, especially his own daughter. When she lost her mother, she lost her father as well, she just didn't realize it then. As the hot water pelted her face, the sleepiness began to dissipate from her eyes, washing it down the drain. This was the only way she could wake up in times like these.

After soaking her body in the cascade of water, she toweled herself off and got dressed and ready for class. Kanani pulled on a green turtle neck sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. After slipping on a pair of black boots, she quickly braided her hair at the nape of her neck, grabbed her books and left. She trampled down the halls of the dormitory and made her way to the main building where the classes were held. 'Why did I choose an 8 o'clock class?' she wondered aimlessly, completely unaware of the person walking in the hallway in front her. Before she knew it, she collided with the poor soul and her books crumbled to the floor in one big literary heap. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said apologetically as she knelt down to pick up her books.

She hastily collected her books, unaware of the person she had run into. Just as she was about to pick up her last book, a hand reached down to pick it up as well and accidentally brushed up against hers. The touch was so warm, so gentle, even if it was only for a brief moment. Kanani looked up only to meet with a pair of deep blue eyes. She felt her face turn hot from extreme embarrassment and she quickly apologized. "Heero, I'm so sorry."

Kanani stood up and so did Heero. "Next time, watch where you're going," he said almost dryly. Then he noticed the glazed over look in Kanani's eyes and the subtle circles beneath them. The tone of his voice changed slightly when he realized she didn't sleep either and that her senses were not quite alert yet. "Class is this way Kanani," he said as he walked down the hall in the direction of the classroom.

She blushed again, she was so caught up in her own thoughts that she absent mindedly turned the wrong way in the halls, thus hitting Heero head on. She just smiled and followed him down the hall to their classroom, her eyes cast downwards to the floor. 'Something must have her really distracted to cause her to run into me like that,' he thought to himself as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. The two entered the classroom with a few minutes to spare and took their seats towards the back of the classroom. Kanani took her seat by the window as she did the day before and Heero took the seat beside her.

'He must think I'm an idiot now, running into him like that. How could I have been so stupid? If I thought trying to get him to talk before was hard enough, now it will be almost impossible to get him to even say a word,' Kanani thought as she mentally cursed at herself. Just then, the door opened and in walked the teacher. "Good morning class," she chimed cheerfully as she set her books down on the desk. Those were the last words that Kanani heard as her attention was averted back out the window. Her father's words echoed in her mind, as if trying to tell her something. 'Is it because of me that my father is so sad? Is it because I look like my mother that he chooses to avoid me?' she thought idly as she stared out the window at the snow capped mountains.

"Ms. O'Neal?" the teacher called out.

"Uh, yes ma'am?" she said quickly as she drifted back into reality.

"Can you please answer the question?" the teacher replied.

Kanani didn't know what to say, it's only the second day and she's already getting into trouble. "Say adjective," a voice whispered beside her.

"Uh, adjective?" Kanani answered.

"Good Ms. O'Neal, glad you are paying attention," the teacher chimed and focused her attention back to the rest of the class.

Kanani let out a sigh of relief and glanced over at Heero. "Thank you Heero," she whispered gratefully.

"Hn," was all he said as he continued to listen to the teacher. 'Something's not right with this girl, she acts so strange. But why am I even bothering with her?' he wondered.

The class dragged on until the bell finally rang, relieving Kanani of her agony as she made her way out of the classroom and to her next class. She didn't get too far as a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. She spun around only to face Heero's piercing blue eyes. "Yes Heero?"

she replied coyly.

"You need to pay attention more. You are your own worst enemy you know," he said before walking off in the direction of his next class.

Kanani stood there for a moment to try and digest what he had just said to her. 'That's the most he has ever said to me, wonder why?' she concluded as she too made her way to her next class.

She opened the door to the classroom and took her seat beside Heero again. There was a few minutes before the bell so Kanani took this moment to thank Heero for earlier. "Uh Heero, thank you for earlier, I wasn't thinking," she said softly.

Heero didn't say anything and Kanani just stared out the window beside her. "My mind was elsewhere, sorry," she concluded just as the teacher walked through the door. She turned around in her chair and focused her attention on the teacher's lecture. Heero looked at her from the corner of his eye, she was definitely hiding more than she let on. Her vacant expression seemed to embed itself in his mind, as if trying to tell him something. The class went by without a word spoken to each other, just occasional glances at each other while the other was not looking. As soon as the bell rang, Kanani quickly collected her things and left the classroom, she didn't want to face Heero after all of the events that have happened just in that short period of time. 'I need something to eat,' she thought as she changed her direction towards the cafeteria.

As she walked into the cafeteria, her eyes caught a hold of something very familiar, the doors to the outdoor gardens. She paused for a moment and then the picture of the terrace came to her mind. She quickly snapped back into reality and went to get in line for lunch. From the far corner of the cafeteria, unbeknownst to Kanani, Heero stood, watching her very closely from the shadows. Her actions seemed very strange to him, especially when she paused at the doors leading to the outer garden. Something was going on, he just had to find out what. 'Why am I so concerned about her? It's none of my business, but then why do I care what happens to her?' He paused for a second and then something popped up. 'Wait, she's just like I used to be. I know what she's planning,' he concluded as he left the cafeteria.

After finishing her lunch, Kanani retreated back towards her dorm room with much haste. As soon as she was in her dorm room, she let out a sigh of relief and locked the door behind her. Then she collapsed on her bed, weeping uncontrollably into her pillow. Her body tired and emotionally drained, Kanani cried herself to sleep with her face still buried in the pillow.

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Night had fallen and Kanani had just woken up. Her head was spinning and a terrible headache throbbed within her head. She stood up and walked over to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. 'I can't believe I'm thinking about this, but it's the only solution. It's the only way to rid father of all his sorrow. Mother, I'm coming,' she said to herself as she looked in the mirror with a sense of resolution. Kanani went into the room and grabbed a jacket out of her closet. She carefully put on the jacket and walked out the door. Down the hall peering from around a corner was Heero, watching her every move like a hawk eyeing its prey. Heero followed closely behind as Kanani left the building.

Kanani left the dormitory and made her way down to the cafeteria on the other side of the school. The halls were quiet as for most of the students were in their rooms studying. Kanani walked through the nearly empty cafeteria and made her way to the doors leading to the outdoor garden, Heero lurking in the shadows. The cold breeze blew against her face as she opened the doors and walked down the path through the garden that led to the terrace. As soon as she got to the terrace, she looked around to make sure no one was around. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the railing and stepped onto the narrow ledge. Looking down she said, "Sorry father."