Chapter 4 Foreword – New character settings:
Afmed Al Fauzi – Many of you might know him, but for some of you who don't know who he is, I'll explain it here. In the Gundam Seed TV series, he was a member of the "Midnight Desert". Afmed was killed by a BuCUE in episode 18, however in order to get the story going, I decided to let him live in my fiction. He had a crush on Cagalli because in episode 21 after his death, his mother gave a machlite diamond to Cagalli saying that Afmed wanted to give it to her himself (okay I know that didn't quite make sense but try to watch the episodes if you can). He is going to be 19 in this story and works for the Earth Alliance Military. In Memories and Love, he died in a battle between the Earth Alliance and Orb.
Lunamaria Hawk – She is a new character who is going to appear in Gundam Seed Destiny (sequel to Gundam Seed). By looking at the CM First Attack, I get the feeling that she is going to get in the way between Athrun and Cagalli. In other words, she has a crush on Athrun. And personally right now, I don't like her. I know Gundam Seed Destiny series isn't out yet but bear with me lah! In this story, Lunamaria is 18 years old. She went to the same elementary school with Athrun. Starting at that time, she has a crush on him. Lunamaria has some problems with Cagalli too. But I'm not going to spill the plot here.
Now on to Chapter 4.
Chapter 4 – Hatred
Somehow, I want to stay in your arms… This feeling is so similar…
'Finally, it's over…' Her mouth felt dry from all the talking and every muscle of her body was tensed up. The sore legs were killing her from all the dancing. Cagalli flopped down on to the soft fluffy bed. She stared at the blank ceiling. 'Why do I even bother to put up the mask… why am I doing this…? There's no turning back…. Right?' Cagalli was drowning in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice someone was standing there, watching her. She soon entered her dreamland.
Athrun walked into the room. He saw Cagalli lying on the bed. 'So beautiful…' he thought to himself. Athrun just stood there, staring contently at "his" angel. The night was getting cold. Watching her falling asleep, Athrun walked up to the cabinet and grabbed a blanket. He gently put the blanket over her body. Reaching out his hand to touch her face, he placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Good night…"
Cagalli slowly opened her eyes as she heard some sound coming out of the bathroom. 'Where am I…? O yeah… I must've fallen asleep…' As she sat up on the bed, she was surprised to see the blankets. 'I don't recall seeing the blankets before I fell asleep…' The sound in the bathroom stopped. Soon, the door opened. Cagalli turned her head facing the bathroom, curious to see who was there. The scene appeared in front of her eyes wasn't quite pleasant but yet pleasant. Athrun walked out of the bathroom wearing only boxers and an untied bathrobe. Cagalli blushed furiously and as a reflex action, she immediately turned her head around, "AHH! What are you doing in my room!?" Cagalli nearly screamed.
"Oh, you are awake." That was simply Athrun's reply.
"Yes I AM awake. What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? This is my room." Athrun said with a tint of tease.
"Wha… But the maid brought me here saying this is my room!" Cagalli beamed back.
"Yes, this is your room and this is my room, this is OUR room, happy?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you mean this is OUR room?" Cagalli just couldn't believe her ears. 'What the hell is he talking about?' She looked around and she saw – one room, one bed.
"Yes." Athrun was trying his best not to laugh out loud.
"But why am I sharing a room with you?"
"We are engaged, in case you don't remember."
"……" Cagalli didn't know what to say. She instantly got up on her feet and ran out of the room. Athrun caught her hand and pulled her into his arms. "Don't worry, I'll be sleeping on the couch." As much as he wanted to sleep with his goddess in his arms, he didn't want to force her into something that she doesn't want to do. "I…" Athrun wants to say more but something stopped him, "Sigh… never mind, forget it." He released her from his embrace. "You should go take a shower. It's getting late. I'm going to go to the kitchen and get some water. Do you want anything?" Athrun smiled. Cagalli looked down and shook her head. "Okay then," with that, he walked out the door. That night, Cagalli didn't get any sleep at all. She felt bad for having Athrun sleeping on the couch, but on the other hand, she didn't trust him enough to let him share a bed with her. Such mixed feelings…
The next morning was sunny. There was not a single cloud in the blue sky. Early morning on the streets of Orb, people were getting ready to start another fresh new day. "ORB TIMES, ORB TIMES, $1.50 EACH!" The paperboy was shouting to get customers.
"One copy please." A girl with dark pink hair took today's ORB TIMES from the paperboy. She then walked into a Café.
Marriage between Princess of Orb and Prince of Zala Kingdom this was today's Orb Times headline. Lunamaria sat in the café reading the newspaper. 'Cagalli Yula Attha eh…? Humph… you are the one who took everything away from me… EVERYTHING… now you took Athrun too…you really have no idea ' the girl thought with her gritted teeth. 'You can get Athrun so easily, yet I can only sit here and watch…You can get whatever you want, whoever you want… I have nothing now…'
Today is the first school day after Cagalli and Athrun's engagement. It was an ordinary day for the both of them, however other people didn't think so. Crowds and medias surrounded Cagalli and Athrun the moment they walked through the school gate.
"Miss Attha, how do you feel about this?" The medias started questioning immediately.
"Oh my god! I can't believe they are actually engaged! The ring is so beautiful!" Many students gasped in surprise. Athrun remembered when his father told him to act as a couple who had fallen in love even during school time. He put one arm around Cagalli's shoulder. On the other hand, Cagalli was getting angrier and angrier by the second. She did a good job of forcing herself not to explode.
"Argh!! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!" She attempted to run through the crowd while pushing away all the people. Athrun wanted to go after her but was stopped by media's interviews.
'Where the hell is the stupid principal when you need him god damn it!' Cagalli thought furiously, 'Can't he do something about this!? For heaven's sake class should be starting right now!' She ran towards the back of the school and threw her bag with all her might. Of course, the bag landed on the other side of the wall. She then jumped and climbed over the stonewall. Leaning against it, she sat down on the grass. 'Phew… finally, peace…' Suddenly, a light bulb popped up in her head, 'looks like there's not going to be any classes today. Might as well get a day off.' Ruffling through her bag she found a brown hat. She pulled it down so it would cover her face. 'This should save a lot of trouble.' With that, she walked around the school and on to the street. Strolling on the roads half-heartedly, she felt a pair of hands on her should from behind her back.
"Hello, there." A sweet voice called out. Cagalli turned around. It was Lacus.
"Lacus! You nearly scared me to hell!!"
"Ara ara," Lacus smiled, "aren't you suppose to be in school Cagalli-san?"
"How many times have I told you, don't call me Cagalli-san. Just Cagalli is fine with me."
"Hai hai."
"It's a long story." Cagalli sighed.
"Do you want to have a cup of coffee together? My treat."
"En." Cagalli nodded. They walked into a nearby café. Cagalli began telling Lacus about what happened this morning. How she escaped and how she ended up here.
"So, you left Athrun there all by himself?" Lacus asked teasingly. Cagalli scratched her head. She completely forgot about him.
"Hehehe… I guess so…"
"Hmmm… I wonder how is he right now."
"I didn't do it on purpose!!"
Lacus smiled again. "I know I know, don't worry. I'm sure he will be fine. Do you want me to give you a ride home?"
"No it's okay. I want sometime by myself."
"Okay then. Take care Cagalli."
"En, you too Lacus."
Meanwhile, Athrun had finished answering all the media interviews. He looked around, 'I wonder where Cagalli went…' He thought she was definitely in the school building. But he neither saw her during break nor during lunchtime. He began to worry after failing to get some clues from her classmates. They simply just stared at him dreamily and never bothered to answer his question. All he could do was wait until the end of school.
Cagalli wanted some silence all by herself. This was beautiful scenery or rather, her favourite place in the whole world. She didn't know why but whenever she was feeling down, she would just come here and sat under the big oak tree, facing the clear blue lake. It always comforted her. When she sat there, she would lose her sense of time, her sense of everything. From morning to night she could just sit there by herself and not feeling bored. Today was no different than the other times. Realizing the sun was starting to set, Cagalli lazily stood up. "I should go back now," she said to no one in particular.
School ended with the loud ring of the bell. Athrun packed up his bags as fast as he could and ran out the door. Soon he arrived at his home. Pushing open the door he headed towards their room. "Cagalli, Cagalli!" He called out her name. But there was no reply.
"Is something wrong Athrun-sama?" Marna asked.
"Have you seen Cagalli?" Athrun asked trying to catch his breath.
"She has not come home yet. Why, isn't she with you?"
"If she comes home, tell her to stay here." With that, he turned around. He was going to go look for her, 'Where could she be…' he thought
"Yes Athrun-sama."
Just as when Athrun was running down the stairs, a voice called out: "Athrun!" Athrun saw Kira and Lacus standing at the doorway.
"Kira! Lacus!" He called out.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked.
"Have you seen Cagalli? She was missing during school and I couldn't find her anywhere."
"No I haven't." Kira replied, "Have you Lacus?"
"Yes, I even had coffee with her." Lacus smiled. She was the only one that seemed to be calm.
"Where is she!?" Athrun asked agitatedly.
"After we had coffee, she said she wanted sometime alone. So don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine. Sit down and wait for a while."
On her way back, Cagalli felt much better. 'Gee, I'm feeling hungry. I'm going to go home and have a big dinner. But something stopped her on her track. Cagalli couldn't believe her own eyes. It was …him… "A… Afmed…" She ran with all her might… he was gone… Cagalli rubbed her eyes, 'it must've been an illusion… I'm thinking about him again… It can't be him… He'll never come back again……… right?'
Kira and Lacus sat on the couches in the living room. Athrun was pacing back and forth. Nobody said a word. The room was silent. The door opened unexpectedly. Cagalli walked in and was welcomed by a pair of arms. The scent was familiar but yet strange. It held her body tightly, as if it would never let go again. Lacus pulled Kira aside and whispered in his ear: "let's leave them alone for a moment." Kira nodded and followed Lacus outside.
A long time passed, Athrun finally loosened his arms a little bit. He looked down and into Cagalli's golden orbs. These golden orbs were staring into his emeralds too. Cagalli saw worry and deep concern in his eyes. Sadly again, she didn't know what to feel…
"Where have you been Cagalli? Please, just don't go missing like that again…"
'He's not mad…? He's not angry at me...?' Visions of Afmed went by in her head. 'Afmed… you were like this to me too…' Athrun pulled her into his embrace once again. Some how, Cagalli didn't want to let go. It felt nice to just stay there.
Author's Note:
Another chapter done ! So as you can see, things are going to get a little complicated. Again, I apologize for the late late update and if you find this chapter boring. Since school started, I haven't been able to get a chance to write some stuff. I'm probably going to update once a week or once 2 weeks. I MIGHT start another fic but I don't know when I'll finish it. The new fic is going to be short one (well, at least not as long as this.). Okay then. Here is the list of reviewers I wanna thank:
zoro
Craze
black-thief
Capricorn Pair
Heaven's Reaper
Renal29
PreciousRose
fenrir722
Lomiothiel-YzaknNicol fangirl
cahrice
Kichi-chan
Keirin-Sama
Blue Savage
Crazy gurl
Princess Paine of Darkness
Kazumi Kairi or Kairi-chan
Please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! K till next time Ja Ne.
