Enchantment Passing Through

By the Almighty SporkGoddess

Chapter 2: You Okay, Honey?

" But why did I tell her this?

A stranger I've just met

A woman who I hardly know at all and will forget

Anonymous and gone tomorrow

Enchantment passing through"

- Enchantment Passing Through - Aida

And that's exactly what I did a week later. She called as promised, and I went to go pick her up from the airport.

She was waving frantically. I didn't know if it was the way she normally acted or if she just didn't want me to miss her.

I gaped. It had been a while since I'd been in such close contact with a woman, and Allenby was pretty attractive. Not a classic beauty like Rain, but impishly cute. And while she was short, she had a great figure.

"I won't be able to stay long," She said after we had exchanged awkward first greetings. "They were already pretty suspicious of me leaving. I told them I was going to go visit a friend for a few days, but… eh, oh well."

"Do you live with them?"

"Oh, no… we were all visiting Chibodee's for a little. He invited a bunch of us there…" She stopped short.

"Oh, it's alright. How could he have invited me if he doesn't even know me? And, given my situation…"

She snorted. "Do you realize how pathetic you sound? Love isn't a disease."

"Depends…" I sighed.

"Stop with the sighing! You sound like you're about to make some huge monologue about how tomorrow tomorrow and tomorrow creeps at this petty pace from day to day and life is but a walking shadow and blah blah blah!"

"Shakespeare…" I noted. She shrugged.

"Rain lent me some stuff."

And so this Shakespeare-quoting pixie walked, no… danced into my life.

"You met her your first year of college?" She asked. We were at a local café; I had opted for coffee but of course she had chosen a fruit smoothie, and she slurped it in between interrogating me about my old relationship with the girlfriend of her own love.

"Yeah. I've been in love with her ever since. She just has this thing about her…"

Allenby smiled. "She really is a great girl. She and Domon are perfect for each other."

"How can you say this stuff? Don't you love him?"

"I love him enough to want what's best for him, and what's best for him is Rain. You should feel the same way. There are plenty of fish in the sea, after all."

"I see…" I had been supportive enough when I had encountered the pair, but something inside me had died when I'd seen that photo. She'd just looked so happy…

"There you go again." She complained, playing with the cheap colored straw in her drink.

"What?"

"Brooding! You should let people know what your feelings are. You were a Gundam fighter, after all! You exchanged emotions through battles… now exchange them through conversation! It's not that hard!"

I laughed. "How can I say what I feel when I can think of nothing else but…"

"…Rain." She finished, sounding impatient. "You sound so pathetic right now. Don't you have a hobby or something?"

"I was into engineering, and fighting."

"Bah, engineering. Boring. No wonder you're so angsty. But as for fighting…"

"The fight's over." I pointed out.

"That's why they invented video games!" She grinned. "Come on, let's go! You must have an arcade here!"

We indeed went to an arcade, and there Allenby proved exactly how she had made it to the Battle Royale; that girl was one demon when it came to fighting. She clearly enjoyed it, and the game we played (I forgot the title, it was virtual reality though) seemed to make her a bit nostalgic. I had a lot of fun fighting her, and it took a while but eventually she beat me.

"Wow, I can see how you became a Gundam Fighter!" She said breathlessly as she pulled off her helmet.

"And I can see how you almost won the Fight." I said almost wistfully.

"Hey now, you're pretty good yourself!" She beamed, then something caught her eye. "Oh! There's another game I like – let's go!"

For the rest of her stay, we visited that arcade everyday, among other locations, such a shops and restaurants. Once she forced me to go shopping with her, but it wasn't too torturous. The main thing is that while I never forgot about Rain, I temporarily stopped pining over her.

The day she had to go back I was kind of sad. The girl just radiated happiness wherever she went, and I had taken quite a shine to her.

"We should stay in touch!" She told me, writing down something on a piece of paper. "This is my email address, this is my cellphone number, and this is my address. And I expect yours. I had too much fun to just lose contact with you!"

I gave her my own contact information, and then we left for the airport. Before she left for her plane, she leapt up and gave me a fierce hug, which startled me.

"I don't care what time it is, if you're feeling sad about Rain, just call me. You deserve to be happy, after all." She began to walk away, then called over her shoulder.

"Besides, you're so cute when you smile."

I watched her go with a sad feeling inside of me. But it wasn't hollow sadness like I'd felt before. It was normal… like the first time I'd felt when I'd left home for college. I guess I'd grown more accustomed to Allenby than I'd thought.

Author's Note: I love Allenby in this, she's so cute. n.n Anyway… hope ya liked it, please r/r, all that jazz… Stay tuned for more chapters!

Disclaimer: See previous chapter. Yes, I am that lazy!