Hi all, DestinyBabe here. Another chapter! Technically, I should be reading for Education class tomorrow, but I wanted to get this updated for you devoted readers. Also, I wanted to extend a big thank you to Ninmast for being the first to review book 1, the Mystical Warriors, and for adding us to her favorite authors. I admit, I hyperventilated from sheer glee when I saw that review. So please, if anyone reading this likes or dislikes the story, or has criticisms, please feel free to review! Thanks you, ~DestinyBabe
Chapter 4A: Reflections
-Three weeks later, July 24th, 1998
*Cye's Point of View*
I smiled as I made my way through Celia's very large mansion. Although I have been living here with my friends for three weeks, it is still taking me a while to get used to things like what room is what and what hallway goes to where. But, learning the house aside, I don't think I've ever been happier than when I've been here. I think I may have found the love of my life and now that I've found her, I won't ever let her go. Mina is the thing that brightens up my day.
Since its summer, we don't have to go to school. So, I spend most of my time with Mina, just hanging out with her and getting to know her. Like yesterday, after the daily three-hour training session, Mina and I went into the city and hung out at the park and talked for hours about everything and anything. Although I'm extremely nervous when I'm with her, I feel like I can say anything around her and she won't judge me for it. She'll just listen and come back with her own opinion on the topic. And she's not as much of a ditz as people think. I was right; she is very smart, she just doesn't always show it. But, when we're together, I get the impression that she lets the ditzy front down and lets me see the real Mina Aino and I feel blessed that I am one of the few people who gets to see this side to the world's most beautiful angel.
At this moment, I am headed down to the art studio to find my love (I only call her that in my thoughts) so we can hang out together. Today's our day off from training practice and I haven't seen Mina all morning. I feel very deprived and I miss Mina. If I don't see her, my day just isn't the same. I don't know how I ever lived without her before. I come to the end of the hallway where it splits into two parts. The way to the left is the library. That's Ami and Rowen's territory. To the right is where the art studio is, the place where my love spends most of her time, my haven.
Most of time, Mina and I are either in the art studio or down by the lake. I don't why that is, but both of us, I guess, are more comfortable in those two places. Either that, or it's her bedroom late at night when we stay up for hours talking to each other. I get the feeling that she trusts me, maybe even more than some of her friends. I know that we are on our way to being fast friends. Which is what scares me. I'm scared that the closer we get, the more she's going to think of me as her friend and while I'm madly in love with her, she won't feel the same way and I'll be crushed. But, I don't want to stay away from her. I love her too much to stay away. So, I'll hope for the best and that over time, she'll feel the same way about me.
As I near the art studio, I begin to hear the sounds of music coming from that direction. My sights close on the door that leads into the art studio and I approach it, leaning on the doorframe. I cross my arms over my chest and just stand there, looking at Mina from the side. She is sitting at the pottery wheel at an angle where I can see her face perfectly, but she can't see me, unless she turns her head slightly to the right. Basically, this is the perfect opportunity for me to just look at Mina without her knowing. I know that this can be described as spying in a twisted way, but I don't care. As cheesy as this sounds, I could look at Mina all day long, but hey, what do you expect? I'm in love.
As she molds the clay in front of her, I see her take in a breath and begin to sing with the music in the background. As she starts to sing, I remember what a beautiful voice she has. She doesn't sing that often in public, but her voice is clear and sweet. I remember when I caught her singing down by the dock about a week ago or so. She was sitting on the edge of the dock, her feet dipped in the water, and she was singing. I don't know what exactly she was singing, but her voice was beautiful. I scared her half to death by announcing myself and I told her I thought her voice was beautiful. What she told me next shocked me. She told me that she had never been complimented on her voice before because she had never sung in front of people before. I couldn't believe it. She has the voice of an angel, but she doesn't use it. That opinion of herself belies this deep feeling of insecurity that she harbors. And I never realized how big that insecurity was until now.
As I stand here, admiring the heavenly beauty in front of me, a hauntingly beautiful melody comes out wafting out of the speakers of the stereo. The melody is simple and heart-wrenchingly sad. The lyrics begin, as quiet as the melody, and Mina begins to sing.
You look at me and see the girl
Who lives inside the golden world
But don't believe that's all there is to see
You'll never know the real me
I am frozen in place. I know that this isn't all of the song, but as Mina sings this song, I recognize a fear in all of us, a fear that we'll never be understood by anyone and that no one will ever know who we really are. Hearing Mina sing these words, I can hear a trace of pain come through in her voice and my heart goes out to the young woman who suffers a constant internal battle with her insecurity.
She smiles through a thousand tears
And harbors adolescent fears
And she dreams of all that she can never be
She wades in insecurity and hides herself inside of me
I was right. Mina does feel a lot of pain; she just never shows it to anyone. Although Mina didn't write these words, I certain that she feels them as if the words belonged to her.
Don't say she takes it all for granted
I'm well aware of all I have
Don't think that I am disenchanted
Please understand
It seems as though I've always been
Somebody outside looking in
Well, here I am for all of them to bleed
But they can't take my heart from me
And they can't bring me to my knees
They'll never know the real me
As the song comes to a close, I can hear so many things in her voice as she sings. I hear fear, fear of being rejected. I hear uncertainty, an uncertainty of not living up to what everyone wants her to be. I hear crushed hopes of dreams come and gone. I can hear the pain she feels of always having to put up a happy exterior and I can hear the weariness that comes with holding that appearance up. I can hear so much in her voice that it hurts my heart physically. It's like I have a direct feed into her emotions and all I can hear is doubt, fear, and pain. I discover that my eyes have been closed and when I open them, my vision is blurred with tears. I silently wipe away my tears and focus my eyes on Mina.
Although the song is over, the aftershocks haven't worn off yet. I can see tear streaks on the cheek that I can see, the only thing that mars her beauty. She is still enchanting with her silky golden hair, flawless complexion, and goddess-like body. But, her sparkling blue eyes are not shining with happiness, which I'm beginning to suspect is fake half of the time, they are shining with tears and her radiant smile has been replace with a slight down curving of the corners of her mouth. She has let the façade drop and pain is etched on her face. She probably only lets go of the happy appearance when she is by herself, so she still doesn't know that I'm here, which I'm grateful for.
Although I don't like seeing Mina like this, I'm happy that I was allowed this glimpse of her pain for the sole purposes to prove that I was right, she really does suffer through more than anyone ever suspected, except for maybe Serena, but Serena knows everything. Seeing Mina let her guard down also makes me even more determined to help her make her insecurity disappear. I'm positive that my love for her could, over time, make her pain go away, although she may never notice that it was I who did it. I have no reason why it should work, just a feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me that it will happen. And when I obey that feeling, things usually end up happening the way I thought. So, I'm going to obey that feeling and trust that her pain will go away with time with the help of my feelings for her. And it doesn't hurt to start trying now.
I push myself off of the doorframe and walk over to her unheard. Standing behind her, I lay a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. I remove my hand from her shoulder and sit down in the chair next to her to see her trying valiantly to wipe the tears away from her face, but she's still crying, so new ones only replace the tears that she wipes away. My face still holds a look of concern and I ask, "Mina, what's wrong?" She looks a little panicked at being caught letting go of her true emotions and lets her eyes roam around the room, resting on anything but me, like she's trying to avoid the raging emotions inside of her. But I'm not going to let her get away that easily. "Mina, you can tell me what's wrong." But I already know what's wrong.
She lets her gaze rest on a corner of the room and says, "I…I…" but she can't get the words out; her throat is too choked with emotion to get the words out. The action of trying to speak only brings on more tears and she begins to sob. She buries her face in her hands and hunches her body as she lets go of pain that was brought to the surface by one simple song.
The corners of my mouth turning up in a small smile of relief, I pull Mina off of the seat that she's on now and into my lap, gathering her into my arms. She's amazingly light as I cradle her in my arms the way one would a small child. One of my hands comes up to stroke the back of her head as I begin to murmur words of comfort, not words to calm her down. She needs to let this go and I'm not discouraging it. The only way things will get better is if she gets it out in the open and although this is mentally and emotionally exhausting, this is a good a way as any to do it. And I, for one, am glad that she trusts me enough to let me see her like this. I just hope I can help.
*Rowen's Point Of View*
"Ami!" I call out as I look around the library. Not finding Ami in the library anywhere, I stop looking and put my hands on my hips, sighing with confusion. Where is she? She's usually in the library. So, if she's not in here, then where is she? My eyes do one more sweep of the room, certain now that she's not in here, before I leave the room.
I walk down the hall and turn right, which will lead me into the foyer. As I reach the foyer, Serena walks into through the front door, her cheeks rosy from her jog that I know she takes every day. Although I know it's a shot in the dark, I can't resist from asking. "Hey Serena," I say, "Do you know where Ami is? I've looked in the library, but she's not there."
"Why are you looking for her?" Serena asks, wiping sweat off her forehead with the edge of her tee shirt.
"Because I want to talk to her." Serena's face takes on a sly smile that I would have missed if I hadn't been paying attention, but I choose not to comment on it. "Well, have you checked the indoor pool?"
"Where's that?" I ask; I still really don't know the house that well.
"You mean you haven't noticed where it is? It's across from the bathroom that's by the kitchen. It's that big pair of double doors across from the entrance to the kitchen."
"Oh, so that's where those doors go to."
"Sure do, genius. That's probably where Ami is. She really likes to swim. If you can't find her in the library, odds are you'll find her there."
"Thanks. I'll go look there. See ya, Serena."
"Bye Rowen," Serena says as she heads up the stairs, muttering something about a shower. I shake my head for no apparent reason; maybe having something to do with Serena and her frequent complaining about small things, and head off to the spot that Serena told me about. I find it easily (I've figured out where the kitchen is by now) and I see the large pair of solid, double doors across from the kitchen. I open the door and walk in, noticing the humidity of the room that all indoor pools seem to have.
I look around the room to see Ami standing on the high dive, prepared to jump off. And when I say high dive, I mean high dive. The diving board is probably 20 feet off the ground, at least. I watch with amazement as she leaps off the board, twisting and flipping all the way down, until she hits the water. I watch as she plunges into the water and doesn't resurface for a few seconds. Her eyes are closed and she keeps them that way as she begins to do laps in the pool. She's a very good swimmer and I'm surprised at that fact; I guess I just never figured her for a swimmer.
Instead of announcing my presence, like I should have, I just stand there and watch her swim gracefully back and forth. I don't know how long I was there watching her, but it must have been a while because after a while, Ami stops swimming, slightly breathless, and turns her head to see me. Although I am a little shocked that she had noticed me behind her, I am more amused by the wide-eyed look on her face. She looks so cute like that. I smile at her, an unspoken hello, and lean against the wall. "So, come down here often?" I ask casually.
"Well, I'm down here when I'm not in the library or training. But I haven't come here in a while."
"You never told me you swam," I ask again, a little hurt that she didn't tell me something that is obviously really important to her.
"You never asked," she said with a taunting tone of voice. With a smirk, she swims over to the side of the pool and climbs out, walking towards me as I gape. While I try to be as gentlemanly as possible, it's just really hard to be so around Ami and hey, a gentleman has to have his fun every now and them. She's absolutely gorgeous and seeing her in a bathing suit is a little much. Although I know she has the strength of a hardened warrior, her body is complete with soft, sensuous curves.
I get control of my features as she nears me, picking up a towel that is next to my feet. I hand her the towel as she stops in front of me. She grabs the towel from my hands and begins drying herself off. I watch her intently as she dries off her slicked-back hair with the towel, all the while still thinking about how cute she is. She pulls the towel off her hair, which is kinda messy and still very damp, and wraps the towel around her waist. "So," she says, "What brings you down to these parts?" Ami asks me.
"Well, I was looking for you, actually," I say a little sheepishly. I watch with delight as her face lights up with a huge smile. "Really," she drawls, "So, why were you looking for me?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"About?"
"Oh, nothing in particular. Just wanted some intelligent conversation, that's all." She giggles lightly and I can feel my heart skip a beat or two at the light and airy sound. "Alright, then, if you want to talk to me, get your swim suit on and join me in the pool." Whoa! I wasn't prepared for that answer. I was hoping we could avoid the pool. I shake my head violently in protest. "Uh-huh. I am not swimming."
"Why?"
"I don't swim." Ami just looks at me skeptically, not believing what I just said. Then, it dawns on her and I cringe slightly.
"You don't or you can't?" Ami asked, a hint of humor in her voice. I gulp. Might as well fess up.
"Alright, you got me. I don't know how to swim. I never got the chance to learn. My parents always had me in special brainy classes and I never had the chance to go out and learn how." I can hear her sigh and I continue talking. "I know, that's a really lame reason not to have learned how, but…"
"I'm going to teach you." What? She's going to what? Oh-no. I am not getting in that pool and I tell her so. I look away and say, "No. Way. I am not getting in that pool. There is nothing you can do to get me in that pool," I tell her matter-of-factly. I look back at her, big mistake, and find myself drowning into two large, pleading, sapphire blue eyes. "Please?" she begs, taking my left hand into her own two. I look down at our joined hands in surprise and can feel the heat radiate from them.
For some reason, my hands are always a little cool. I look back up into her eyes and suddenly, my will is not my own anymore. "Fine," I hear myself say, "You can teach me." She smiles broadly and says, "Ok, then go get your swimsuit on and I know you have one. I've seen you and Sage go into the hot tub a few times after training sessions." Rats. There goes my only excuse. Wait, how did she know that Sage and I sometimes go into the hot tub? "How did you know that?" I ask.
"Know what?" she asks back, just as confused as I am.
"How did you know that I sometimes go into the hot tub outside?" I can see a blush spread over her cheeks and her eyes go wide with surprise. "Well, you see, I, um, there's a window, right over there," she points with her left hand, letting go of my hand, but her right hand is still holding my left. I look in the direction that she's pointing in and can see the outdoor hot tub from where I'm standing. "Ahh," I say, finally realizing how she knew, a little disappointed. I thought I could catch her spying on me, and then I'd have proof that she likes me. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he? "Well, what are you waiting for?" I hear Ami ask me, "Go change."
"Um, Ami?"
"Yeah?"
"I can't go when you're still holding on to my hand." She looks down at our joined hands in shock, the blush that hasn't fully faded from her cheeks coming back with full force. She immediately lets go of my hand and I miss the warmth that came from it acutely. "Oh, sorry," she says. I only smile.
"It's alright," I say. Hell, it's alright. She can hold my hand any time she wants to. "Well," I continue, "I'll be right back."
"Good. And if you're not back in 5 minutes, I'm coming up to get you."
"Ooh, is that a threat?" I tease. I just can't help myself. She looks at me pointedly and says with what I think is mock seriousness, "Yes, it is." I smile at her and say, "Ok, I'll be right back, I promise." I take off for my bedroom in a run. I really don't want to take her up on that threat. Now that I think about it, she seemed pretty serious. I have no doubt in my mind that she would actually go all the way up to my room and drag me by my hair back down to the pool.
I make my way up the stairs, taking them two at a time, which is quite a workout in this house with two flights of stairs that have, like, forty stairs in each flight. I reach my room, finally, and go into the bathroom that I have to myself. Since there are 5 bathrooms on this floor, Sage has opted for a slightly bigger one that's down the hall from this bathroom, leaving me this bathroom, which is quite alright with me; a bathroom's a bathroom. But to Sage, it's obviously a very big deal.
I grab my swimsuit from where it's hanging from the wall of the huge shower stall that's in my bathroom. The rooms in this house are huge, even the guest rooms. I believe that my old room at Mia's house was only about 2/3 the size of my bathroom now. I change into my swimsuit and absent-mindedly grab a towel before heading back down to the pool. I slow down when I reach the bottom of the stairs and start walking to the pool, not running. I enter the indoor pool and see Ami standing there, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her lips pursed in slight annoyance, but still looking as gorgeous as ever. God, I could kiss her and just never stop. She spots me and the annoyed look leaves her face.
"Ooh, good, you're back," she says as she delivers another heart-melting smile my way, the smile that I would do anything to see everyday of my life. I put my towel down and she takes her towel off of her waist and throws it down next to mine. "Are you ready?" she asks.
"I guess so," I say.
"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." That was obviously the only warning I was going to get before she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the pool. She leads me down the steps of the shallow end and I can feel myself becoming submersed in the cool liquid. We are finally standing in the pool and the water only reaches my hips while it goes up to mid-torso on Ami. My hand still in hers, she pulls me into the deep end of the pool. I'm all right until I can no longer feel the bottom underneath my feet.
I start to panic, which I know is not the best thing to do when in a body of water. My hand slips out of Ami's and my arms begin to flail as I try to keep myself afloat. I can feel myself go under the water's surface, but am pulled back up by a pair of strong hands that have grabbed my upper arms. I open my eyes, which must have closed when I started to go under, to see Ami looking at me, concerned. "I guess you weren't lying to me when you told me you couldn't swim," she says softly.
"I told you," I said, anger creeping up into my voice, "I knew this was a stupid idea. What if I drown?" I ask. One of Ami's hands leaves my upper arm as she grabs my chin so she can look me in the eye. "Listen to me. I won't let anything happen so you. I won't allow it. But, I am going to teach you how to swim. You're going to have to trust me though," she says firmly. "Do you trust me?" Do I trust her? What a stupid question. Of course I do. "I trust you with my life," I say seriously.
"Then let me teach you. Nothing will happen, I promise. Do you believe me?" I look into her eyes and see the sincerity in her gaze. How could I not believe her when she's looking at me like that? I nod, answering her question. "Good. Now, the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to tread water. That's the thing a beginning swimmer always learns how do to first. Now, hold onto my waist." She doesn't have to tell me twice.
My hands encircle her tiny waist, holding on as tight as I dare. I feel her hands leave my shoulders and go to my own waist, helping to hold me up in the water. "Now," she says, "Do you see the way my legs are moving back and forth in the water?" I look down and see her legs gently kicking in the water. "Yeah," I say.
"This is what's keeping my head above the water. I want you to try the same thing. Just move your legs back and forth in the water." I comply, mimicking her movements. "Good," she says. "Now you have to learn what to do with your arms."
"You mean I just can't keep on holding onto you?" I ask slyly, only receiving a patented Ami-look.
"Not funny, Rowen. I'm serious. But, for the moment, just keep holding onto my waist while I show you what to do." She lets go of my waist and begins treading water with her arms. "This also helps me to keep above water. Try it." She stops moving her arms and puts them back on my waist as I, regretfully, let go of hers. I, once again, mimic the movement of her arms, and am pleasantly surprise when, after a few moments, I am greeted with her smiling face. "What? What are you smiling about?"
"You're treading water," she says simply. I look at her with confusion and she holds her hands up out of the water and trills her fingers at me. I look down and see that I am keeping myself afloat. "I'm doing it. I can do it!"
"I knew you could," Ami says encouragingly. From that moment, my swimming lessons began. While Ami was teaching me, I could only think about her and how lucky I was. Not only is she absolutely beautiful, sweet, and funny, she's incredibly smart with an intelligence high enough to rival my own. She also accepts everything about me, including my quirky sense of humor, which no one seems to fully accept. Maybe it's because no one can understand it. But, Ami can and she laughs at all of my jokes, including the ones that no one else can understand. She has totally changed my life in the three short weeks that I've known her for. But, something about her seems strangely familiar, like I've met her before. But, you see, the thing is that I would remember meeting her. It's not everyday that I meet someone who is practically exactly like me. But, whatever it is, I am very grateful to have met this goddess.
I am so deep in my thoughts that I don't notice how time has flown and I can feel myself getting very tired from the physical exertion. I never knew that swimming was so tiring. Ami seems to notice my fatigue and says, "I guess that's enough for today."
"Today? You mean I have more to learn?"
"Well, you can now swim, but, if you want to learn any strokes, you're going to want to come and ask me." I think about what she says, hoisting myself out of the pool and onto the edge so my feet are dangling in the water. Hey, it's an excuse to see her in a swimsuit. "Will you teach me more?" I ask. She pushes herself out of the pool and sits down right next to me, so close that I can feel her leg touching mine. "Well, if you want me to teach you more, it's going to have to come with a price," she says.
"What's your price?" I ask, thinking it's money, wondering why Ami would want me to pay her. She looks and me and says softly, "If I teach you how to swim more, you have to teach me something." I sigh in relief, relieved that our friendship is not going to be based on money. "What do you want me to teach you?" She smiles and me and says, "Will you teach me archery? I've always wanted to learn and I've seen you handle a bow. I know you're good. Will you teach me?" I smile broadly at her. Another reason to be in her presence.
"How could I say no?" I ask her. I sober up a little bit and say, "I'd be happy to teach you. Besides, archery is my specialty." She rolls her eyes slightly at my cocky tone of voice, but she's still smiling. At the same time, we both say, "Thank you." The simultaneous speaking caught us off guard and we stare at each other for a few moments. Ami is the first to break away. Withdrawing her feet from the water, she gets up and walks over to her towel, my eyes on her the entire time. Every time I see her, I drown in her beauty and intelligence. It's like I enter another world when I'm with her, a never-ending utopia. I quickly follow suit and walk over to where my towel is as Ami starts drying herself off. She, once again, wraps her towel around her waist. "Well, I'll see you later, ok Rowen?"
"Sure thing," I say as she starts to walk away. Before she walks out of large room, I call out to her. "Hey Ami!" She turns around and looks at me. "Yeah?"
"Your lessons start tomorrow." She looks at me, really confused, and then it dawns on her. "Oh, right, the archery lessons. Yep, we'll start tomorrow. See ya later!" she exclaims before walking out of the room. I smile as she leaves, still thinking about how lucky I am to know someone like her. I honestly don't know.
*Kento's Point of View*
"Yeah! Kill 'em, kill 'em!" I yell at the movie that I'm watching. I cheer on the hero of this movie, whatever it is. I didn't see the beginning of the movie and I don't recognize who's in it, no one I've seen before, so I'm just sitting here, cheering on the hero as he takes down half of the bad guys. The movie calms down and I relax a little bit. As I relax, my VERY sensitive nose picks up a delicious smell. I check the clock on the wall. It reads 12:24. "It's lunchtime!" I shout. I enthusiastically push myself off of the couch and make my way out of the den, through the ballroom, into the dining room, and from there, into the kitchen.
I know Lita's cooking something delicious. The day that she cooks something that tastes bad, the world will end, I swear. I have never met a better cook. That, however, probably has something to do with the fact that I am totally, completely, and utterly in love with her. I enter the kitchen and am presented with the sight of Lita frying something over the stove, her back to me as she hums something that I don't recognize.
A broad smile spreads over my face as I prepare to execute a surprise tickle attack. I walk as quietly as I can towards her, thankful for the combined sound of whatever she's frying and her humming masking the sound of my sneaking up on her. I stop when I am standing directly behind her, looking directly at the back of her head. I still find it weird that she is exactly as tall as I am. I've never met a girl who was as tall as I was before and it's still a little weird.
The smile on my face turning slightly evil and mischievous, I grab Lita's waist, tickling it. She screams, or rather yells, in surprise as she feels my hands on her waist and I immediately let go, laughing loudly. She turns around and glares at me, putting down her spatula on the counter. She hits me, hard, and I'm surprised for a moment until I remember that she's as strong as I am. "Ow, that hurt!" I exclaim.
"Serves you right," Lita says indignantly, "You were the one who scared me."
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself," I say apologetically. I look at Lita and see that she is really mad and I am suddenly very sorry. "I'm sorry," I repeat, my voice lowering in volume. I peer back up at Lita and see her body relax and her expression soften. She lightly punches me on the arm and says, "Aww, it's ok. Just don't do it again, alright?" I nod vigorously, promising never to do it again. I look over her shoulder, trying to see what she's cooking. "Whatcha making?" I ask
"Oh, I'm making chicken stir fry. Do you want some?"
"Do you even have to ask me, Lita? You're looking at the human garbage disposal." She laughs slightly and says, "Oh yeah, I must have forgotten," rolling her eyes at me as she turns around and stirs the stir-fry around in the pan. I sit down on one of the stools that surround the island in the middle of the kitchen as I watch Lita cook.
Everyday, since I met her three weeks ago, I am constantly amazed by her. She's everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend, if I could ever tell her how I feel about her. I've never felt like this about anyone before. It's a new feeling for me. Yeah, sure, I've had crushes on other girls, but what I feel for Lita goes deeper than just a crush, or at least I think so. I think I may be falling in love with her.
I think one of the reasons why I'm falling in love with her is because she's the only girl who's really given me the time of day. Most of the girls that I've liked that I've actually talked to dismiss me as nothing and never pay attention to me at all. But Lita, she's different. She actually listens to me when I talk to her, giving me her full attention, which, of course, only makes me tell her more about me. She makes all the other girls that I've had crushes on pale in comparison. She is much more beautiful, smart, and sweet than all the other girls I've liked before. That is why, I think, I'm falling in love with her. It doesn't hurt that she's absolutely gorgeous and could be a model if she wanted to.
I asked her about that a few days ago and she told me that she didn't want to be a model because she didn't like how fake models were. Then, she turns the subject around and begins asking me questions about my past, which only amazed me even more. She is always interested in my past and keeps me wondering why an angel like her continues to be interested in someone like me. "So, Kento," Lita says, bringing me out of my thoughts, "What's it like to have brothers and sisters?" I smile widely, happy to tell her about my family.
I was shocked to find out that she didn't have any brothers and sisters and that her parents died when she was little girl. I guess I'm just amazed that someone who had Lita's past turned out to be as nice as she is now. "Well, as you know, I have a brother and three sisters. My brother is just two years younger than me, so I ended up taking care of my sisters a lot more than I ended up taking care of my brother. You know, making sure they got to bed on time, getting them up for school, getting them dressed, doing their hair. You know, even though my oldest sister is 12, she still asks me to do her hair whenever I see her. I guess it's because I always did it when she was little."
"You know how to do hair?" Lita asked, not expecting that from me. Not many do.
"Yeah, I can do basically anything with someone's hair."
"Could you do mine?" she asks me, scooping the stir-fry into two bowls along with some rice, one for her and one for me.
"Yeah, sure," I say as she puts the bowls down on the counter to get forks for the two of us. She carries the food over to the island, a big smile on her face. "Do you want me to do it after we're finished eating?" I ask.
"Could you?" she says, delight in her voice.
"Of course, but could you take your hair down so I could see what I want to do with it?" I ask, lying. Sure, it'd be nice to see her hair down so I could plan what I want to do with it, but I just want to see her with her hair down. She looks so pretty with her hair down, but she never leaves it down very often. We make small talk as we eat when she suddenly yawns. "Are you tired?" I ask her. She glares at me again. "Yes, I'm tired. Although I wouldn't be if someone hadn't woken me up at 3:00 in the morning for a sandwich." I suddenly feel very sheepish. I swallow the bite of stir-fry that's in my mouth and say, "Well, you make sandwiches really good."
"Kento, you can make the same exact roast beef sandwich made out of the same ingredients," she says with an eyebrow raised.
"I know, but your sandwiches always taste better than mine do. I think it's because you make them." I say, embarrassed. I look up as Lita's blushes. I smile broadly again. Lita looks away and says, "Well, thanks for the compliment. I'm really not that good. But next time, could you not wake me up at 3:00 in the morning?" I guess so, but she looked so cute last night with her hair tousled from sleep, wearing a tank top and boxer shorts. "Ok, I won't wake you up at 3:00 in the morning anymore." That doesn't mean I can't wake her up at 4:00 in the morning.
I swear she must have picked up on my thoughts because she says, "Or any other time in the middle of the night." Rats. Oh well, it was worth a try. We finished eating in silence and when our dishes are in sink, I turn to Lita and say, "Well, do you want me to do your hair now?"
"Yeah, sure. Where do you want to do it?"
"How about in the dining room?" I say. Lita shrugs.
"All right," she says nonchalantly. I lead her into the dining room by placing my hand on the small of her back and giving her a slight push in the direction of the dining room. We enter the dining room and I sit down on one of the many chairs that surround the huge table. I pull Lita towards me. "Sit on the floor," I command gently.
"Why?" she asks me.
"It's easier to do your hair when you're sitting on the ground," I say as if I'm addressing a small child. She complies with out question and sits down in front of me, her back to me and her legs crossed Indian-style. I look at her hair with a calculating gaze. I sit there for a few moments, trying to think about what I want to do with her hair. Lita, who is obviously getting impatient, lets out a frustrated sigh. "Well, are you going to do something with my hair, or not?"
"Yeah, I'm getting to it. I'm just thinking about what I want to do with it." I decided to start with taking her hair down. I pull out the ponytail holder and watch as her hair falls down her back in a sea of dark auburn silk. I run my fingers through it, half finger-combing it, half just seeing how it feels to run my fingers through her hair. Her hair IS silk. It just slips right through my fingers.
I am broken out of my reverie on my own, suddenly realizing that if I don't do something with her hair soon, she's going to think I'm scary. So, I start with a French braid that starts right above her left ear. I continue to braid it until it reaches the middle of her hair whereupon I tie it with the ponytail holder that had kept her hair up previously. Then, I start an identical French braid above her right ear that eventually meets up with the other braid. "Hey, can you hold this?" I ask Lita, indicating the braid on the right so I can take out the other ponytail. Her right hand comes up to take hold of the braid, her fingers brushing against mine as I turn the braid over to Lita to hold.
I feel little electric sparks run up my arm, which I'm pretty sure is from our fingertips touching, not from Lita's lightning power. I move my hand away from hers while I take the ponytail holder out from the other braid. "Thanks," I say as I take the braid that Lita's holding from her hand and grasp it in between the fingers of my right hand. She puts her hand in her lap and says, "No problem." I smile slightly as I gather the hair from the two small braids (I didn't use all of her hair) and form it into one medium lock of hair, which is about 1/3 of her hair. I start a regular braid and braid the lock of hair down to the end, where I fasten it with the original ponytail holder, the rest of her hair trapped under the braid. "There we go, I'm done," I say. I see Lita's hands fly up to the back of her head to feel what I did to it. "What did you do?" she asks.
"Well, if you wanna find out, then why don't you go look in the mirror?"
"I'll go do that," Lita says determinedly. I watch her stalk off, a little bounce in each step. I chuckle slightly at her bouncy step as she stops in front of a mirror that is strategically placed in the dining room by Celia. I walk over to her and stand over her shoulder, smiling at her awed expression. "So, do you like it?" I ask as she runs her hands over the braids.
"Like it? I love it! Kento, I never knew you could do such a good job with hair!"
"Yeah, well, it's a talent that I don't get to use often. I mean, I don't do any of the guys' hair and Mia never asked me to do her hair. This is the first time I've actually done anyone's hair in a while." Lita didn't comment on that. She just looked in the mirror in awe. "Thank you," she whispers.
"Any time. If you ever want me to do you hair, just come and find me. I'd be happy to do it." Lita turns around and looks me straight in the eye. "Really? Do you mean it?" she says softly. She sounds very surprised at that offer. "Yeah," I say in an equally soft tone. We both lean in slightly and I think our lips are going to meet for a second time when I hear, "Oh my God, Lita. I love your hair!"
We both turn to see Serena standing in the other end of the dining room, her hair slightly damp from what I guess to be a shower. She walks over to Lita and starts talking to her and suddenly, it's like I'm not even in the room any more. That's all right though. I need to calm myself down after that second near-kiss. But, the first time, our lips actually touched, even for the briefest moment when Raye and Sage burst into the kitchen with White Blaze. If I wasn't so happy to see the large feline, I'd have killed Sage for ruining my perfect opportunity.
I'd kiss her when we were alone, but I'm too scared to. I don't know why, but the thought of initiating a kiss on my own scares me. What if I scare off Lita? Then she won't ever be with me and I don't think I could deal with that knowledge. Serena starts to pull Lita off in the direction of the kitchen, asking for one of her legendary sandwiches, and before they leave the dining room, Lita turns around and says, "I'll see you later, Kento."
"Right, I'll be down to help you in the kitchen for dinner later this evening."
"Ok, I'll be waiting," Lita says before Serena drags her out of the dining room. Although Lita's gone, I'm still wearing a smile on my face. I guess seeing Lita or being with her has that effect on me. I sigh in happiness; seeing her always brightens up my day. With one more longing glance towards the kitchen, where I can hear the sounds of two giggling girls, I turn to go back to the den. I wonder if that movie is still on.
*Sage's Point of View*
You know, Raye's not the only one who has premonitions in the form of dreams. I don't have them very often, but when I do, they're very intense. So, now, I'm trying to find Raye so she can look into the fire. She told me that she can look into the meaning of dreams by asking the fire for answers. So, now I'm on a search for the gorgeous priestess in hopes that she can look into the fire for answers. I started with the usual spots: her temple, the training room, and the music room, playing the piano. That one surprises me. I had no clue that among her many talents, including fire-reading and karate, she could play the piano. And she CAN sing surprising well.
But, anyway, I checked the normal three rooms and didn't find a trace of her. I walk up the stairs, leaving the first floor, and begin to walk up to the third floor; there's no use in checking the second floor because she wouldn't be on that floor, unless she was looking for someone, namely one of us guys, who live on that floor. I finally reach the third floor, a little winded after climbing so many stairs, and walk down the hallway that leads to her bedroom. Her bedroom is almost right above mine, which I find to be very weird. The thought of her sleeping above me sends tingles down my spine. It's almost like I'm closer to her that way.
I reach her bedroom door, which is closed, so I knock on it lightly. When no one answers the door, I slowly turn the handle and open it a crack, peering in to make sure that she was even in here. I see her on her bed, lying down, her back to me. I smile and walk in, not knowing that she is asleep, something that I would find out very soon. "Hey, Raye, I was wondering if…" I start to say as I walk around to the other side of the large bed to look at her face while I was talking to her and am pleasantly surprised to see her asleep. Sure, I am a little disappointed that she can't do my fire-reading, but I really like seeing her asleep. She lets her guard down in her sleep and you can see the breath-taking beauty emanate from her. She really is gorgeous. Her lips are curled up in a small smile and her breathing is deep and even.
I smile and walk over to the edge of the bed. I sit slowly and gently on the end of the bed and, with great caution, move my hand to brush a stray strand of raven-colored hair out of her face. She stirs slightly as she feels my fingers brush up against her face, but she settles back down, the smile on her face growing a little wider. I, in turn, smile wider as I watch her sleep. She looks very peaceful, calm even. I know, on the other hand, that she normally isn't calm. Especially around Serena.
Around Serena, her temper has a tendency to flare. But, in seconds, she can be back to normal. It's one of the things that confuse me about her and that I love about her. I don't get how she can switch back and forth between moods like that, but it's kinda cute at the same time. The right phrase or action can immediately take her out of her rage and make her calm again in the space of a heartbeat. I find it very amusing.
I run my fingers down her cheek in a very daring move; I know I shouldn't be pressing my luck, but I'm doing it anyway. She moans lightly in her sleep as I caress her cheek and she smiles yet even wider. That gives my ego a big boost in a very masculine, territorial kind of way, a side of me that doesn't get shown that often. I remove my hand and just sit there, content to watch her.
A few moments later, her body jerks slightly and she slowly opens her eyes to see me sitting there above her. For some reason, I'm not scared or embarrassed to be sitting there. But, she sure is surprised. Her eyes open wide and she shoots up into a sitting position. Too fast, obviously, because the moment she rights her body, she puts her hand to her head and starts to sway from dizziness. She sways too far direction and falls towards me. I hold my hands out to catch her shoulders, steadying her.
I don't let go until I know she can sit up by herself and when I do let go, she looks up at me confused. "What are you doing in here?" she asks; now, I'm surprised. I expected her tone of voice to be harsh and blaming, but she asked the question gently. I realize that I haven't answered her question, so I do so by telling her the truth. "Well, I came in here to see if you could do a fire-reading about a really strange dream that I had last night that I think is important. I didn't know you were asleep and came to this side of the bed to talk to you and found you asleep. I sat down to begin waking you up, but you woke up before I could do anything." Ok, ok, so I lied about that last part. Couldn't very well tell her that I was sitting here, watching her sleep for about 5 minutes, now could I? "Oh," she says simply, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Are you alright?
You never take naps in the middle of the day."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired
from yesterday, that's all." I nod in
understanding. Yesterday, Raye and I,
who were out buying lunch for everyone, got attacked by a small army of things
I affectionately call hybrids, a mix between Talpa's
Dynasty soldiers and Metallia's youmas. They really wiped us out; I'm still a little
tired, but I didn't get hit as hard as Raye did. She was unlucky enough to have her attack
reflected and sent right back at her. I
couldn't get to her in time, so all I could do was watch her get hurt. Of course, she didn't need my help.
She was so mad that she practically destroyed the rest of the hybrids by herself, a very shocking move. The guys and I are still amazed and awed by the amount of power that the Mystical Warriors hold within them, Serena especially. I had no idea that one person could hold the power to destroy the entire universe in their hands. It's a scary thought and if that power was in anyone else's hands but Serena's, I'd be really scared. "That's understandable. You got hit pretty hard yesterday."
"And where were you to help the damsel in distress?" she asks indignantly.
"Does that make me your knight in shining armor?" She only whacks me on the arm playfully.
"No, but it still would have been nice to have you help me."
"Well, for one, I was a little busy myself, and two, you took care of the rest of them yourself out of anger. I have never seen one person destroy so many bad guys in one blow. You're strong, Raye." She turns a light shade of pink at my compliment, although it's the truth.
"No, I'm not that strong."
"Right. And you're a natural blonde. Raye, don't doubt yourself. You have amazing power inside you and you have the heart to do good with it." I can see that I'm starting to make Raye a little uncomfortable because she suddenly changes the subject. "So, what was that dream about that you want me to look into?" she asks me, getting off the bed and going over to the large, open fireplace in her room. She kneels down in front of it and starts a fire. "Why are you starting a fire?" I ask her.
"So I can do the fire reading. Duh!"
"Don't you have to go to the temple?"
"No, the priests blessed the fireplace in my room so I can use it in here. It's a nice thing. If the weather is bad, I don't have to go outside to do a fire reading. I can do it in here. Anyway, stop changing the topic. What was your dream about?"
"It was weird," I begin, "I was wandering through this dark cave, much like the ones where my armor originated. I reach this large cavern and inside, it's all lit up from torches that litter the cavern walls. In the center of the cavern is a large pedestal surrounded by a ring of fire and on the pedestal were three warriors, wearing armor much like ours. I couldn't tell if they were male or female, but the one in the middle spoke and they told me that they were coming. I asked them why and the only thing that they would say was that they were coming and that the time when they would be needed was approaching, or something like that. Then, I woke up." I pause to reflect on my dream before continuing. "I have a weird feeling about this dream. Something in the pit of my stomach tells me that this dream isn't to be ignored and I want to know why. That's why I'm asking you to ask the fire for answers on my dream. I want to see if it's anything important or not."
"Well, it sounds like it might be. I have dreams where I get that feeling and they usually end up telling me something useful. Are you sure you don't have psychic powers?"
"Well, I'm not so sure anymore. I guess we'll find out when you ask the fire," I say, impatience creeping into my voice; I didn't mean to say it like that, but I want to find out what my dream is about. Raye understood the message and says, "Alright, alright, we'll get this show on the road. Just hold on and let me concentrate, ok?" I nod and sit on the floor a few feet away from Raye so she can have space to do her fire reading. She holds her hands out in front of her, her fingers laced together except for her index fingers, which are pressed up against each other. She begins chanting slowly in order to get the fire to respond to her.
Suddenly, a few moments later, the fire flares and Raye's eyes, which she closed in the beginning, snap open. From where I'm sitting, I can see the sweat sheen on her face. I know that it's a combination of the fire and the power that she's using to read the fire in the first place. I know that it takes a lot concentration and power to do what she's doing and I wouldn't ask if I didn't think that this was a very important thing. My ears perk up when she says, "Oh Great Fire, please tell me the meaning of Sage's dream?" Then, I hear a loud gasp followed by a short scream come from Raye's mouth. I want to move, but I'm frozen in place by some other force that I have no control of.
Suddenly, a face appears in the fire, making the room brighter than it already is. The face is that of a man, probably somewhere in his thirties, with light brown hair, shot through with streaks of gold, and piercing blue eyes. He opens his mouth to speak and his mouth moves as it forms words, but I can't hear them. It seems like Raye can, however. I try to move to go to her, but I can't and I yell in frustration. She's hurting and I can't get to her. She falls backwards and her body writhes in pain. The face of the man in the fire glows brightly, so bright that I have to shield my eyes from the light. When the light fades, I take my hands away from my eyes to see that the fire is back to normal, but Raye is still lying on the ground, passed out.
"Oh my god, Raye!" I exclaim, rushing over to her, the invisible bonds that held me in place broken. I take her into my arms and bring her to a sitting position, one arm across her back to support her and the other behind her head, my hand cradling it to support it. I take my hand away from the back of her head and shake her shoulder. "Raye, wake up Raye. Come on, wake up." After a few more moments of shaking, her eyes slowly open. "Is he gone?" she says weakly. I nod.
"Yeah, he's gone. Are you all right?"
"I will be."
"What did that man say in the fire Raye, what does my dream mean?"
"That man, whoever he was, asked me how I dared try to find out about your dream. He said that I was meddling in things that I shouldn't be and that I had no right inquiring after his children. Those people from your dream are his kids."
"They are? Well, if that's what their father is like, then I'm sure that I don't want to meet his children."
"But, that's the thing," Raye said, now able to sit on her own, "He also said that meeting them is inevitable and that it is going to happen whether we like it or not. But, oh god, did it hurt. It was like he was sending out an attack of pure power towards me as a punishment for even asking."
"This is all my fault," I say guiltily.
"Why?" she asks.
"Well, if I hadn't asked you to find out the meaning of my dream, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Sage, it's not your fault that I got hurt. I did this of my own accord. I helped you because I wanted to. I could have said no, but I didn't. What happened to me is my fault because I agreed to do it."
"But, if I hadn't asked you…"
"No, I know you, or at least, I think I do, and I know that you would have asked me eventually. This isn't your fault," she says, putting her hands on my shoulders and shaking them, as if to emphasize her point. I know it's not all my fault, but I do feel responsible for what happened to Raye. I still think that I'm responsible and that if I hadn't asked, she wouldn't have gotten hurt. But, she's also right. I still would have asked her sometime and the result would be the same. "So, what does it mean?" I ask.
"What does what mean?"
"My dream, what does it mean?"
"Well, Sage, I honestly don't know what it means. It could be a whole bunch of things. But, I think that the message from who ever that was said that we have to wait to find out who those warriors from your dream are. But, you're right, something is coming. I can feel it too." Raye's body suddenly sways again and I reach out to steady her. "Guess I got hit harder than I thought. Can you help me up to the bed? I don't think I can manage to do it on my own."
"Yeah, of course." I help her up and onto the bed. She lies down in her original spot and I sit down next to her. "Hey, Raye, by the way, thanks for helping me out," I say, looking down at my lap, "You didn't actually have to help me out, you know. But, it makes me happy that you did help me, you know? So, anyway, thank you."
I look up at her again only to find out that she's fast asleep. I smile tenderly. I guess it really did hit her harder than we both thought. It wiped her out. In a very loving move, I pick up the quilt that's on the foot of the bed and place it over her curled up body. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, I whisper, "Good night princess." I move away from the bed and walk out of the room, closing the door behind me.
As I walk away from her room, I sigh. Being with her always puts me in a good mood. I guess it's because I'm falling in love with her. She's so beautiful and smart and funny and caring. She's willing to help out anyone if they're really in trouble, like she did with me today. Although, I really wasn't in trouble. It's just that she's so giving and she does so freely. She doesn't expect a lot back in return, just friendship and trust. I get the feeling that she didn't used to have a lot of friends, mainly because of her temper I suppose.
I walk down the hallway and out to the family room on the third floor, where I find Alex and Michelle sitting together on one of the couches. Alex has her arm around Michelle while Michelle's head is resting on Alex's shoulder and they're talking about something. Michelle is holding on to Alex's other hand and is tracing small patterns on her palm softly. I smile. They may both be female, but they are one of the cutest couples I've ever seen in my life. And I have no problems telling them that. "You know," I say, completely scaring them, "You guys make a really cute couple." They look up to see me walking towards them. "What did you say?" Alex asks.
"I said that I think you guys make a really cute couple." Alex blushes openly. "Thank you," she says.
"No problem."
"Hey Sage," Michelle says, "Why are you up here?"
"Oh, I was just talking with Raye." Alex and Michelle look at each other with knowing smiles on their faces before looking back at me. "Oh, ONLY talking?" Michelle asks slyly.
"Yes, only talking," I say, wishing that it really was more than just talking.
"I see," Alex says. The two of them look at each other again before bursting out laughing. They obviously find something very funny that I'm not seeing. "Hey, what's so funny?" I ask, a little annoyed.
"Nothing," Michelle says, her laughing finally under control. I let it slide. I've found out that it's no use trying to get something out of those two, or Celia and Heather for that matter. None of them will tell you anything if they don't want to; it's just best to let it slide. "Ok, whatever. Well, I'm going to go and get something to eat. I'll see you two later." I begin to walk away and right when I've reached the stairs, I hear two voices say, "Bye Sage," in a teasing tone of voice before breaking out into giggles again. I only shake my head as I walk down the stairs and I only have one thing to say. "Those two are weird."
*Ryo's Point of View*
I absolutely love summer weather. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, there's not a cloud in the sky, and my lungs joyfully expand as I bring in the fresh smelling air of the woods around me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see White Blaze running along side me. I smile, knowing that he's slowed his pace drastically to stay with me.
I am in the middle of one of my almost daily jogs. There is a nice path through the forest that I use as my guide; it's starting to become a routine. White Blaze and I run this trail everyday. The other nice thing about this path is that it starts by the house and ends by the house. The path takes me on a full circle around the lake, which is pretty big, and brings me back to the humongous backyard of Celia's mansion, a house that I've been living at for three weeks.
I can feel the sweat rivulets run down my back and the heat radiating from my body being trapped in my tee shirt and shorts. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the lake, glimmering under the summer sky. Suddenly, a thought hits me. I'm hot, the lake is cool, perfect combo. "Come on, White Blaze, we're taking a detour!" I yell to the large Siberian tiger as I turn left and begin running towards the lake.
As I near the body of water, I can see the dock and I only begin to run faster. I can already feel the coolness of the water against my skin. I approach the dock, running on it, and launch myself into the water. I close my eyes and hold my breath as I go underwater. Ahh, this feels nice. The perfect thing after a long jog. I surface and look up at the dock. White Blaze is lying on the dock, his head resting on his paws and he's looking down at me with an exasperated look, like he's embarrassed of me. He knows I've caught this look. "Alright, don't look at me like that. I'm getting out of the water. Just because you don't like a little water doesn't mean other people can't enjoy it," I say as I hoist myself back up onto the dock. My clothes stick to me like a second skin and I can feel the water in my shoes as I walk away from the lake; it feels very squishy and that's the only thing I regret about jumping into the lake.
White Blaze and I walk back in peace to the house, not resuming our old speed. We take the 5-minute walk back to the house and as I approach the house, I see Mia sitting outside, researching on her computer again. Ever since she learned about the Mystical Warriors, she's been researching like crazy, trying to find some information about them. We both know that she doesn't need to, she only has to ask Celia if she has any questions; I think that she's doing it for her own personal enjoyment, something to do when things get boring.
I sigh inaudibly as I watch Mia from afar, stopping my descent upon the house. White Blaze notices that I've stopped walking and turns to see why and if there's anything wrong. He nuzzles my right hand in worry, trying to get my attention so I'll tell him what's wrong. Over the years, White Blaze and I have developed a connection where we can understand each other. It's not like Serena and Luna; that's different because Luna can talk and is able to directly tell Serena what's on her mind and is very able to understand what's going on with Serena. White Blaze doesn't have that ability, although at times I wish he did, so we've had to rely on this connection between the two of us that has been built through years of interaction. And now, White Blaze knows something is up with me. So, I tell him.
"Look at her, White Blaze. Isn't she beautiful?" I ask the tiger, motioning to Mia, who's sitting in a lawn chair, her feet propped up, her hair in a bun, and looking absolutely gorgeous in a light blue tank top and khaki shorts. I can vaguely see White Blaze turn to look back at Mia and I hear him growl in what I think is understanding. I think that White Blaze knows that I'm in love with Mia. Don't ask me how, I just do. But, whatever that may be, I am hopelessly in love with Mia and I don't have the ability to tell her so. And it's because I'm afraid. There are few factors that affect why I'm afraid.
One is that we've been working along side each other for about a year and a half; I'm worried that in that time, she's grown to think of me as a friend and nothing more and that if I tell her that I love her, she's going to tell me that she just wants to be friends. The other reason is that she is four years older than me. She's not going to want to go out with someone who's still in high school, for God's sake. Having her go out with me is only going to drag her down. She's in college, a totally different world than the one I'm used to. And, somehow, she always finds the time to talk to me or to say hello to me. I find it absolutely amazing that she does that.
There were times when the two of us would stay up for hours talking in the middle of the night when the both of us should have been resting up for school the next day. But, still, she continued to pay attention to me. Why, I have no clue. Maybe she knows I'm in love with her and feels sorry for me. My fist clenches at that possibility. No, she doesn't feel sorry for me. Mia may be very loving and sympathetic, but she doesn't give out pity; it's not part of who she is.
I am shaken out of my thoughts by the feeling of a warm object pressing against my lower back. I turn around and see White Blaze, pushing me in the direction of Mia. "You want me to go and talk to her?" White Blaze's only response is to push me even more. "Ok, ok, I get the idea. I'm going." I resume walking again, my clothes still soaking wet. As I come within 20 feet of Mia, she hears me walking towards her. She lifts her head from her laptop and smiles at me. "Hey Ryo, you're looking a little soaked."
"Hi Mia, yeah, I jumped in the lake after my jog."
"Ah, on your daily run around the lake?"
"Yeah, how did you know that?"
"You told me, remember? A few nights ago, we were discussing working out…" Suddenly memory kicks in. "Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot I told you." My eyes quickly look at the empty chair beside her. "Mind if I sit?" I ask her.
"No, not at all." So, I do so. After getting myself comfortable in the other lawn chair, I remove my drenched shirt and lay it down on the asphalt of Celia's patio so it can dry under the sun. "God, I wish I had a towel," I said.
"Well, that's your own fault, now isn't it? It was your idea to jump into the lake," Mia scolds teasingly. I throw her a mock glare that lasts about three seconds before getting up off the lawn chair and kneeling beside Mia so I could look at her computer. "Whatcha researching?" I ask with particular interest. I've always been interested in anything that had to do with her.
"Oh, I'm only doing research on the myths of the Mystical Armors. It turns out that my grandfather knew about them and has old files in his computer." Mia's voice trails off in sadness. Even after a year and a half, the death of her grandfather still brings her pain. I pick up on her pain and say, "You still feel sad about his death, don't you?" She nods.
"Yes, I do. I lived with my grandfather ever since I was a little girl, even before I can remember. He was a very big part of my life and now he's gone. I still can't believe it sometimes." She turns her head away from me, but I'm not going to let her stay like that. Grabbing her chin, I turn her head so I can look into her eyes as I talk to her. "Listen Mia, I'm sure, no, I know that your grandfather wouldn't want you to dwell on his death. He would want you to move on and live your life with him in your memories. He wouldn't want you to be sad." Although Mia knows I'm right, she still has the skeptical look on her face. Mocking disbelief in her voice, she asks, "Who are you and what have you done with Ryo?" Her eyes are sparkling with laughter and we both laugh lightly about that; it is rare that I become this perceptive of things around me.
But, then, the laughter fades and we notice that I'm still cupping her cheek. I make no move to remove my hand and she makes no action to move away. We sit there for a few moments, staring at each other when, our faces inches apart. Slowly, we both lean in towards each other and right before our lips meet, my eyes slip shut. The first kiss is soft, tentative, like testing the waters almost. The next kiss, is anything but. The second kiss is all fireworks and explosions. I can feel the heat of her lips on mine as I seek to deepen the kiss. It feels like that heat is spreading throughout my body, filling every crevice of my being and soul. I have never felt so free before, so overwhelmed and overjoyed. The feeling of her lips on mine is heavenly and I never want it to end.
We slowly break apart and open our eyes to look at each other. With dread, I see her eyes fill with fear and panic. "Mia? Are you ok?" Her mouth opens and shuts a few times before she chokes out, "Oh god," and pushes herself away from me. Closing her laptop, she stands up and briskly walks away from me, disappearing inside the house.
I feel like I've been shot, like someone has ripped out my still beating heart from my chest and smothered it with their heel. Groaning in fear and dread, I bury my head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees. "Good going, Casanova," I say dejectedly. I feel a cold nose press up against my wrist and my head jerks up to see White Blaze. "Hey boy," I say, scratching the back of his head, "I really screwed up this time, didn't I? I scared her away. Now I'll never have a chance. What am I going to do?" I ask the large animal. White Blaze only gives me a sympathetic, yet glaring look. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm going to have to fix this myself, but how? I've scared her away. Now, she's not going to talk to me."
White Blaze's only response is to nuzzle the hand that is scratching him. "At least I still have you and the guys. Oh, and Serena. She always pulls through for me." I sigh again and stand up. Bending over, I pick my shirt up off the ground. "Well, might as well go and take a shower. Come on White Blaze, let's go inside." I walk inside the house, going through the back door that leads into the kitchen and worming my way through the house until I reach the stairs.
I walk upstairs and enter my room. White Blaze rushes in ahead of me and lies down in front of my queen-sized bed. Anger and frustration at what happened earlier comes rushing into my blood and in a violent move, I slam the door shut. I lean against the door, sliding my way down to a sitting position on the floor. I hug my knees close to me and rest my head on my knees. I can feel a few warm tears escape my closed eyes and I wish I never kissed Mia. God, I really screwed up.