Broken
Chapter Two: Her Return
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Author's Notes: Finally, here's chapter two. xD Sorry for the horribly long wait!
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She stood there as the wind blew around her, watching as the leaves changed and shed from their trees. The cool, crisp autumn air refreshed her mind, and with a smile, she closed her eyes, allowing the slightly cold breeze to wrap around her. When she opened up her eyes, she found herself staring at the same house she had lived in ten years ago. The only thing different was that it was no longer hers, but instead, her aunt's.
Her vibrant green eyes sparkled with joy. "I'm finally back, Van," she whispered into the lost wind.
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"Mr. Fanel, please, settle down!" the teacher scolded as Van threw a crumpled up ball of a piece of paper across the room. It hit a boy with long, blond hair on the head, and his eyes immediately drew up, glaring at the dark-haired boy.
Van only let out a quick, impolite laugh before sliding off his desk and taking his seat. With a charming smile, he apologized to Mrs. Youko for being such a bother. "Sorry."
Mrs. Youko nodded, but knew full well that he didn't mean it. The boy had always been like that, like the typical popular basketball player. Charming, sarcastic, and rude—so unlike him when he was young. Ah, if she only knew him ten years ago, she would die of shock.
"Anyway, class, today, we're going to—" The phone rang, interrupting her in the middle of her sentence. The ringing continued to echo throughout the classroom until she picked it up. "Hello?" she said, and continued about her business for the next few minutes from there on the dial.
"Hey, Van," Kyoko, the girl who sat next to him whispered, trying to grab his attention from his other buddies. When she got it, she smiled at him sweetly. "Are you busy after school?"
"Yeah, of course. Did you forget? I have basketball practice."
Her face dropped. "Oh, yeah... I forgot. Hm... oh, did you hear? We're gonna have a new student next week."
"Really? Boy or girl?"
"I'm not sure."
With a careless shrug, Van stopped his questioning and turned away, but Kyoko grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Van," she whined, leaning in closer to him. "Kiss me."
And he did just that.
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"So I forgot, how long do you plan on staying again?" her Aunt Yukiko asked again as she helped her niece unpack. "For about nine months, right? Until summer?"
Hitomi smiled, and nodded politely. "Yeah, but that's only if I want to go back. If I decide to stay, then I'd just move out of here and get my own apartment or something. But thanks, Aunt Yukiko, for letting me stay here with you."
Yukiko looked over at her, fascinated by how much her cute, little niece had changed. No longer was she that little girl now; time had graced her with wisdom and elegance. Her act had been cleared up very nicely with no more screaming and whining, however, there was still a sense of youth and adorableness about her.
"Aunt Yukiko, are you alright? Or are you just spacing out?"
Caught in her thoughts, Yukiko shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine, Hitomi. You just overwhelmed me, that is all. Wow... ten years has done a lot to you."
Hitomi smiled sheepishly and thanked her aunt for the compliment. "Thanks, I think. Ten years is a very long time."
Yukiko agreed by nodding. "So did you come back for Van?" she asked even though she already knew the answer. She just found it so sweet and romantic.
"Yeah," Hitomi answered happily. "I promised him a long time ago that I would come back for him. So here I am... I missed him so much over the years. Does he still live next door?" she asked hopefully.
Sadly, Yukiko shook her head. "No, he moved into another house a while back. When Folken moved out, they decided that they had no use for a big house. Van will be moving out soon also. After all, he's already a Senior. His mother figured a small house would be nice afterwards."
"Oh, I see," Hitomi said. "That makes sense. I think that's kind of nice. It's logical. I mean, who would want to live in a big house by themselves? It'd be kinda lonely, wouldn't it? With so much space... but with a small house, it's much better."
"Yeah..." Slowly, the older woman strolled towards the door. "Come on, Hitomi. Let's go downstairs and make some lunch. I bought a lot of things, so we can pig out. Doesn't that sound nice?"
Hitomi laughed and shook her head at her aunt's silliness. "Definitely."
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"I promise, son."
"REALLY, DAD!?"
"Yes, son, I'll be there on your sixth birthday, and I'll bring you the greatest present ever. I promise."
"Okay! I can't wait. Bye, Dad! I'll see you later!"
"So long, Van."
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"Mom... why hasn't Dad come? He said he would... will he be late?"
"I don't know, Van... I don't think he's going to come."
"No, he will... because he promised me, and promises can never be broken, can they?"
"They shouldn't be broken, but they are forgotten sometimes, honey. I... I think your father has forgotten. Maybe we should start the party without him. You've been waiting for three hours already, sweetheart. I don't think he'll come."
"NO! Dad said he'd come! And he will! He promised! He PROMISED me, Mommy! He will!"
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"Dad, why didn't you come to my birthday?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot. How about Christmas, eh? Yes, definitely Christmas, and this time, I'll bring you two big presents. I promise."
"Do you really, really, really, really, really, REALLY promise this time, Dad?"
"Yes... I promise."
"I missed you, Dad... I really wanted you to be there."
"I know, and I'm sorry. But I will be with you and your brother during Christmas. There's no one else I'd rather want to be with."
"Okay... then I'll see you then, right, Dad?"
"Of course."
"Okay. I love you, Dad! Bye!"
"Bye, Van."
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"Dad's not going to come, is he, Mommy?"
"I don't think so, Van. Come here, baby... it's okay..."
"He promised me, Mommy... he said that there was no one else who'd he rather be with on Christmas! So why isn't he here? He said he would!"
"Let it go, Van, let it go... your father's promises are empty and worthless."
"But..."
"Let it go, baby... he's not coming back."
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He awoke to the sunlight peeking through his blinds, shining irritably onto his eyes. With a deep frown marked upon his face, he threw his covers off and stumbled to the bathroom. After a few minutes in there, he changed and quickly made his way out of his room and into the kitchen for breakfast.
"Morning, Mom," he said as he brushed past her to the refrigerator. After grabbing his bottle of water out, he closed the refrigerator and walked back to his mother, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked while scrubbing a dirty dish. "Don't forget your homework. I found some of your Chemistry laying around in the living room last night. You really need to get organized, honey. If not, one of these days, you're going to leave your brain home as well."
"I do that everyday," he replied jokingly with a grin. Mrs. Fanel looked back at him, frowning. She hated it when he joked about practically everything. Sometimes, she wondered whatever happened to her old Van. "Just kidding, Mom. I'll go get my stuff, I'll be right back."
She sighed as she turned back around, resuming to washing the dishes. She often wondered how her son did get to change so much over the years.
"Hey, Mom," he called from the living room. "I'm going to go. I didn't realize how late I was when I woke up. I'll see you later."
"Okay. Bye, sweetheart. Have fun."
"Yeah, sure. Later, Mom!"
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"Are you new here?" a girl with red hair asked as she approached Hitomi, who looked utterly lost and confused. When Hitomi turned around to look at her, the girl smiled, trying to make a friendly gesture. "I'm Yukari."
Hitomi returned the friendly gesture and smiled. "I'm Hitomi."
"Nice to meet you, Hitomi," Yukari said, and Hitomi nodded, saying the same in return. "Do you need help finding your locker and classes? Because if you do, I'd gladly help you, though it'd have to be later. Class is going to start in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Yukari," Hitomi said, greatly appreciating the girl already. "I have Chemistry right now... room 134. Could you tell me where that is?"
Yukari nodded. "Of course I can. I have that class too."
The expression on Hitomi's face was mellow. Her day was starting off better than she thought. "Really? That's great!"
And with her newfound friend, Hitomi started off to class with her.
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As Van entered the school building, muttering rubbish about his father, he already knew that his day would go bad. He didn't know how he knew—he just did. Perhaps it was just instinct, or perhaps it was because his father just had the knack to ruin everything for him without needing to be physically there.
Without making his way to his locker, which he didn't have time for anyway, he walked straight to his first class, which unfortunately, was Chemistry. Upon entering, a certain blonde haired girl caught his eye from the back of the room. To the left of her sat Allen, and to the right, a girl named Yukari if he remembered correctly.
He hadn't noticed that he had stood frozen in front of the entrance door, and he hadn't noticed everyone staring at him. His mind went numb, and he tried to convince himself that he was hallucinating.
Unaware of anyone watching her, Hitomi slowly looked up, wondering why the classroom had gotten so silent. When she saw the boy who stared at her, her mouth went dry, but she was still able to manage a smile.
Van...
He could only stare at her while she greeted him silently. It just couldn't be... could it?
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Eh... didn't quite like how that turned out... but oh well. I guess it's better than delaying it for another year or two. Chapter three should be out within the next two weeks at the longest.