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Chapter 40: A Second Chance
"Carly, shouldn't you be in bed???" Hru asked as her friend leaped out and did a fast twirl, "Your leg -"
"It's ALL better!!!!" Carly whooped, "I'm sick of bed anyways. Wheeee!!! Hey, what are you doing up so early?"
"I couldn't sleep," Hru shrugged, "Everyone else is still sleeping so it's no fun."
They walked down the stairs with Carly bouncing down every step. Hru stared at her, suppressing a grin.
"Johnny told me Tala saved your life again," Carly said in a sing-song voice, "Is that true??"
"He did not save my life!" Hru said furiously, "It's was just pure luck, if the Psychic sorcerer had chose to put his Psychic hold on Tala, then I've would saved his butt. The whole thing was purely accidental."
"Uh-huh," Carly said thoughtfully, "He also told me that Tala didn't attack you back."
"Would you STOP bringing this up???" Hru demanded, "I don't wanna talk about this junk!"
"Okay okay, I think you need more sleep," Carly remarked.
"You better believe me," Hru warned, "Besides, he hasn't done anything on our project yet, he never answers any of my questions and I doubt he even listens when I'm talking to him! I have never had such a -" Hru stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs because in the room, Tala was lying on the floor and scribbling down some notes. Beside him was a scatter of papers and the computer behind him was in a word processing program.
"Good morning girls," Tala drawled,
grinning at Hru.
Hru turned bright red and looked away quickly.
"Did you forget our names?" Carly demanded, "It's not like twenty girls came down the stairs or something. What are you doing?"
"My share of the project," Tala replied with a hint of sarcasm directed at Hru, "I thought I had better get started."
"You'd better," Carly nodded, "And so should I, but that can wait another day. I'm going to get something to chow down, later Hru!" She skipped into the kitchen.
Hru wanted a hole of open up beneath her and swallow her up, it was too embarrassing.
"Sit down," Tala said with a wicked smile, "You can check to see if my grammar's perfect and if everything else is perfect."
"Shut up," Hru muttered, still flushing as she gingerly sat on the sofa, "What are you doing?"
"Well, I've typed up the stuff about Russian culture and food. I've finished the notes on Russian history and war. And I was in the middle of typing up Russian landmarks and tourist sites and then I realized that it should correspond with the photo book you're working on, so I saved that for later. Which reminds me that I have a few postcards you can put in the photo book." Tala finished, grabbing his papers and tidying them up.
Hru stared at him, "You did all that this
morning??"
"No, actually I did get started before," Tala replied, "I just didn't tell
you." He smiled teasingly, his gorgeous
turquoise eyes sparkling.
"So you were listening to me when I suggested on the photo book?" Hru asked, trying to stop blushing.
"Uh-huh, of course," Tala answered, grinning, "Surprised, aren't you?"
"Shut up," Hru mumbled, "I'll go get the photo book." She left for a few minutes and then returned with the share of her work. She spread out the poster paper and started explaining her design to Tala.
"I dunno much about design," Tala said, shrugging, "I'll trust your plans. Why do we have to paste pictures on the poster board?"
"Cuz it creates a VISUAL effect," Hru said, "It looks nice."
"Visual, whatever," Tala said dismissively.
"Would you please stop saying 'whatever'???" Hru demanded, "It's SO annoying, every time I say something, you're always like, 'whatever.' What's up with that???"
"Sorry," Tala said, laughing, "Bad habit."
Suddenly, Carly burst into the room with furious energy, "Yes!"
Hru and Tala exchanged glances, "Yes?"
"I figured out the programming code! I mean, for my computer project," Carly exclaimed, "I am SO good. I'm going to get Johnny."
"Uh...he's sleeping," Tala told Carly, raising an eyebrow.
"I know, who cares?" Carly said, bounding up the stairs.
Tala and Hru both braced themselves, knowing what would come next. Sure enough, there was a yell from Johnny followed by a squeal from Carly, and another irritated string of words that said, "CARLY, CURSE YOU, GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!!" Tala and Hru grinned at each other, typical way to start a day.
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"Enrique, you're awfully quiet," the Guardian said softly, "Something on your mind? You should be awfully proud, you freed the Psychic Kingdom."
Enrique put down his spoon, "Um...do you think I could bring Aquana here?"
Everyone, except Carly, looked at Enrique in surprise, startled by his request.
"Well..." the Guardian said uneasily, "I don't know...I never allowed others to come here..."
"Aquana's not an 'other'!" Enrique insisted, "She's the reason I beat the Psychic Warlock, I have to see her! I need to explain to her something and I don't know how I can do that without telling her about the Dream Realm."
"Please Guardian?" Carly asked imploringly on Enrique's behalf, "Aquana wouldn't tell a soul, she's very reliable and trustworthy.
"Well...okay..." the Guardian said, "But she has to promise not to tell anyone of what she sees here. Now, I don't want you bringing all your friends here, just this once."
"Yes!!!" Enrique pumped his fist in the air, looking happier than he had been in days. Then his face fell, "What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"You won't know until you try," Holly told him.
Carly put in, "I'll go get her. You just wait here and prepare yourself."
Enrique looked a little nervous, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
"You are SUCH a chicken," Carly scoffed, "You have to talk to her, you owe her that much! Guardian, could you send me back? Please please?"
"All right Carly," the Guardian said, whirling her staff, "Come back through the vortex. Don't take too long otherwise it'll close."
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Within minutes, Carly came zooming back with Aquana. "What was that?" Aquana demanded, rubbing her dizzy head, "I'm dizzy. Where am I?"
"Welcome to the Dream Realm!" Carly exclaimed, dusting herself off, "I've GOT to get used to vortex travel. As hard as I try, I end up landing on my head more than on my feet. How are you Aquana?"
"Same as I saw you a few hours ago," Aquana said miserably, "I'm thinking I should tell Enrique it's off before he dumps me. I really don't want to hear that. I've stopped crying even though I still feel like it."
"You can decide after he talks to you," Carly said, tossing her hair, "Come on, to the palace!"
"Carly, how do you know about this place?" Aquana asked.
"Destiny told me," Carly said sarcastically, pulling the palace doors open, "I'll tell you later."
"There you are!" Hru said, "You better hurry before Enrique chickens out."
"He is SO not going to chicken out!" Carly exclaimed, "Not after all that trouble I had to go through to knock good sense into that dying brain of his! Heck, I broke my leg for him!"
Just then Enrique appeared and froze, "Um…oh…eeeee…uh...hi...Aquana..." He looked at the ground guiltily.
Aquana didn't say a word, afraid that she might burst into tears.
"Talk," Carly said shortly, disappearing from view with Hru.
"Uh..." Enrique stammered, not meeting her eyes, "Um...I'm...uh...sorry."
"You don't really like me do you?" Aquana said, her voice trembling, "I want the truth, are you only going out with me because you thought it was cool that you could go out with a fashion model?"
"I DO like you!" Enrique insisted, looking at his girlfriend desperately, "I know I was wrong to let Courtnry trash talk you like that. I-I guess I was just such a jerk."
"And how am I supposed to believe you???"
Aquana demanded, tears filling her eyes, "How do I know you're not just
stringing me along? Why did you ask me
out in the first place???"
"Because I thought you were pretty," Enrique mumbled, looking even more
ashamed, "I know I'm dense, you don't have to tell me that, Carly already said
it to me in a million ways imaginable."
He swallowed hard, it was hard for him to admit it, knowing that it
would simply hurt Aquana more, but he would never forgive himself if he lied.
As expected, Aquana looked hurt and she was shaking in anger, tears were flowing from her cerulean eyes, "Do you always pick your girlfriends by how they look? Is popularity all you care about??? Don't you care about what kind of person they are?? You-you, I can't believe you!!!!"
"Aquana..." Enrique reached out and try to pull her close, but Aquana drew back, shaking her head, her face still tight with hurt and anger. Hurt flickered in Enrique's eyes.
"You are so shallow!" Aquana cried, "Do you want to live in the shadows of everyone forever?? Don't you want to be your own person and live your life by your own morals? Popularity-"
"Won't get me anywhere," Enrique finished quietly, "I know, Carly told me. Aquana, please, I know I was wrong and I'm sorry. I wasn't going to dump you, if that was what you were thinking. Courtney is my ex-girlfriend and I guess I shouldn't even have gone out with her in the first place, but I was stupid, I know. Please give me a second chance, please Aquana, Carly made me dump Courtney for a reason and I met you for a reason. Please Aquana, forgive me, just this once, I promise you I'll change. It's destiny that we met, I know it."
Aquana peered at Enrique through her eyelashes, scanning his face for deceit and finding none. Her eyes landed on the bandage around his upper arm and the dark stain of blood dying the white cloth. "Enrique…are you hurt?"
"Oh that," Enrique shrugged, covering his arm wound awkwardly, "You know – fighting evil monsters and stuff."
"Fighting? Monsters?" Aquana looked confused, "What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I almost died," Enrique murmured, "I almost gave up, but you helped me through it, even though you weren't there physically, your spirit helped me beat the warlock, otherwise I would've been killed. Thank you Aquana – and I truly am sorry."
Aquana met Enrique's eyes and then burst into tears. Enrique pulled her close and hugged her tightly, murmuring comforting words to her.
"I know I hurt you," Enrique whispered, stroking her hair, "I'll make it up to you, I promise. I'm so sorry Aquana."
Aquana sobbed against his shoulder, "I thought you were going to dump me for sure. I just didn't know what to do. Courtney's so mean and it's hard when she gets everyone to torment me. You don't know how hard it is for me, moving all the time, I never get a chance to make any real friends. Then I met you and I thought you -"
"Sssh..." Enrique said gently, "She was wrong. I was going to ask you to the Valentine's Dance, honest I was, I just wanted to wait and ask you on our next date. I was so stupid, I'm just glad Carly set me straight, by yelling and screaming at me, before it was too late."
Aquana looked up into Enrique's sweet hazel eyes and wiped her tears, "I do like you Enrique, ever since we started going out."
"You're the reason I survived in my battle," Enrique told her again, "It's kind of complicated, but we're here because we're warriors and we each have our own Kingdoms and we were supposed to fight this evil being in each Kingdom to claim our own. We just got back from my Kingdom and I defeated the evil in my Kingdom, but I could've never done it without you."
"Really?" Aquana said, her eyes shining with tears, "That's so sweet Enrique." She hugged him tightly, "But what did I do?"
"I have Psychic powers," Enrique told her, "It's a state of mind, it was like your spirit was with me and I knew I couldn't lose, so I did it." He shrugged, "It's really hard to explain."
"I think I understand," Aquana whispered, "I forgive you."
Enrique's eyes sparkled and he pulled her close for a passionate kiss. Cupping her face in his hands, Enrique pressed his lips gently on hers, drawing her girl closer to him and wrapping her tightly in his arms. Running his hand through Aquana's silky, golden hair, he kissed her passionately, finally understanding where his heart belonged.
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"You think she'll forgive him?" Kai asked, sighing as the baby phoenix perched happily on his shoulder, "This - will not leave me alone."
"He's yours Kai," the Guardian said, "He's your squire, your sworn protector, you'll never find loyalty better than that of your squire's."
"This puny little bird is my squire???" Kai demanded, giving the phoenix a hard stare. The little phoenix stared right back, before breaking into a happy chirpy song. Kai groaned.
"It's not puny," Kailee said, "It's cute and it saved my life! I wish I had it. I want my egg to hatch now!!!"
"What are you going to name it?" Holly asked Kai.
"It's not mine!!!" Kai insisted, "And I'm not naming it anything."
"Don't be silly," Hru scoffed, "You can go around calling the phoenix 'It'."
"I don't plan on keeping it," Kai said coldly, swatting the phoenix with his hand, "Go on, go on. I appreciate you saving my sister, but there's no way I can keep you. Go on. Find another home." The baby phoenix gave a delightful chirp and flew around Kai and landed comfortably on his lap. "Argh!!!" Kai groaned, "Don't you understand what the hell I'm saying??? Leave me alone!!!" He swatted it away again, but the baby phoenix, thinking that it was just a game, flew around happily, trying to nip Kai's hand. "NO!" Kai snapped, accidentally hitting the phoenix hard across the face.
The little phoenix tumbled on the ground and its enormous eyes filled with watery tears before the tears streamed down like twin waterfalls.
"Kai!" Kailee, Holly and Hru exclaimed, Kai merely grunted.
"Pour little thing," Kailee cooed, picking it up and rocking it gently, "It's okay, my brother didn't mean it." The phoenix kept crying, even after Holly and Hru both stroked its head.
"Aw, give him to me," Kai said grumpily, taking the phoenix and letting it perch on his shoulder. The phoenix immediately brightened and sang out a happy note.
"So cute," Kailee gushed, "Simply adorable."
"Doesn't it have a name already?" Kai asked the Guardian, "Like the Phoenix Squire or something."
Holly snickered at that, "You're SO creative Kai."
"Well, I figure that everything has that
name," Kai protested, "Like the Fire Kingdom, the Fire Warlock, the Fire
Amulet, the Fire Map, ect, why not the Fire Squire??"
"Can I call it Fuzzy?" Kailee asked innocently.
"No," Kai growled, "I'm not calling him that name!"
"That's enough," Kai said in satisfaction, probing the phoenix's feathers, "I'm not wasting any brain cells thinking of some cheesy name. Maybe the right name will come to me in my dream or something." He looked irritated as the phoenix continued chirping high notes.
"Then, can I hold him Kai?" Kailee asked excitedly, "Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I?"
"All right already!!!!!!"
The baby phoenix flew to Kailee and gently nipped Carly's hair on his way, but Carly didn't even flinch. She just continued staring out the window.
"What's up with you?" Johnny asked in concern, putting a casual hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"
"Nothing," Carly said, "I hope Enrique doesn't say something stupid! Gosh, I do hope Aquana forgives him, he's got a good heart. I know he does, even though he acts stupid sometimes, but I know he really cares deep inside."
"I sure hope so," Aquana said softly from behind, her eyes filled with warmth, "Otherwise, I made a big mistake forgiving him."
"Aquana!" Carly said, standing up, "Enrique, you didn't say anything stupid, did you?"
"I dunno," Enrique said uneasily, he held Aquana close, a somber look in his eyes.
"I think he's learned his lesson," Carly said, "Don't you?"
"Yes, I think he did," Aquana said, resting her head on Enrique's shoulder, looking weary from all the crying she did. She closed her eyes and cuddled in her boyfriend's arms.
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*yawnz* I'm *very* tired, but I thought that you all deserved an update. FF.net had problems last weekend and I wouldn't have put it up anyways. ^^ Hope you liked it, it was a bit more on the mushy side between Aquana and Enrique and all. One question: Just how dense do you think Courtney is? :P
Darkteria the Angel of Silence: Thx! ^^ Keep reading! ^^
~*~Prodigious girl*~*: Ommmmmmmg, I wanna watch Digmon movies, I've only seen the stupid first one! I wanna hear Rika's voice, I wanna, I wanna! Tai's voice sounds like a girl? _
Keri: *nodz* Yeah, you totally scared me. :P I'm glad I'm able to keep you so interested. ^^
bimbo-blonde: Lol, yeah, I should drop more Johnny/Carly. Max and Kailee are…close…ssssssssssssh, I didn't tell you that. :P
Sandy11-1990: She's very difficult – like me. ^^ But she really cares about Enrique. ^^
kai-cutie-angel: ^^ I love how the phoenix keeps bugging Kai. :P It's so cute! ^^
Becs: Lol, it's always Tala/Hru, I drop some many hints for them O_o ^^
kay Himura: How long did it take you to read? ^^
Driger&Dragoon: It was a joke. :P I never meant you were a stalker. :P There was some fluff here, :P, fluff isn't exactly my strong point. :P
Pheonixgirl: Don't worry, I won't! ^^
UniGirl: Hee hee…guess how long it'll be? I don't even know! ^^
Elemental Water Mistress: My – Johnny. ^^
Sakuyachan: O_o Wow, *watchz as you bounce* ^^ Oh right! I sometimes forget that you're a fan of Johnny/Carly until I see a review from you. :P
~kai~: Yes I did, who knows, you might've known me then. ^_~
emerald skies: That's good name, but then I'll have to translate all the names of all the creatures. I'm gonna email you later, okay?
RBMIfan: Never say never, well I just said it. _ They should get stronger as we go… O_o
Britt: ^_~ Thx! Happy reading! ^^
whisper*2*imaginary: Lol, yeah, they are. ^^ *glompz* Miss ya, must sleep now. ^^