Author: jessalae
Chapter: 3
A/N: I FINALLY updated- sorry for taking so long. I completely ran out of ideas for a looooong time, and if anyone noticed, I was saying that people could take the story and continue it if they wanted to. But I got a flash of inspiration recently and here it is! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Tamora Pierce's world or characters.
1 week. 7 days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds. However you said it, it was an awfully long time not to think of the girl you were supposed to have loved. But Neal had been trying forcefully to keep Yuki out of his mind ever since he had found her cheating on him. His friends were worried, Kel most of all, which surprised him. You would think that she would be sulking like he was, pining away over Dom, who Yuki had been with. But she was as out and about as usual. Maybe she hadn't like Neal's cousin as much as she had let on. 'And maybe that's a good thing...'
Neal had been having thoughts like that for a few days now, but dismissed them as his mind's way of covering up grief. There was no way he could actually like Kel in that way; he hadn't ever liked her as anything more than a friend. Sure, he had been jealous when she was with Cleon, but that had been because she started spending all her time with Cleon, where she used to hang out with Neal. His brain just thought of her that way as a cover-up.
But he had had plenty of fantasies about court ladies even when he had no idea why. So, under his theory, they would have been covering up some other emotion, love or regret or grief. But who could he possible have been in love with? Neal rubbed his temples, groaning. He couldn't deal with these deep philosophical issues right now.
'Deep philosophical issues? Ha! These little problems are nothing,' said a more melodramatic part of his brain. 'What about Yuki? What are you going to do about that lying, cheating, little b-'
'Now don't get started again,' a sensible voice from, the back of his mind said. 'We know it wasn't all her fault. That awful, evil, good-for- nothing cousin of yours is just as much to blame. Why, you ought to-'
"Stop it, both of you!" Neal yelled, jumping up in frustration. "I have enough problems-" he stopped, realizing he was shouting at himself. 'I have enough problems without each different part of my mind arguing about it. Yes, I agree with you and yes I don't know what to do and IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!'
'Well, we knew that,' said the sensible voice. 'After all, you're arguing with yourself, aren't you?' Neal groaned and sat back down, resting his head in his hands.
"I can't take it anymore," he moaned. He sat there for a time, sighing and trying to think the problem through, when the bell rang for breakfast. He groaned "Six o'clock already? I didn't get any sleep." Grumbling, he rose from the chair he was sitting in and left the room, locking the door behind him and trudging away to the mess hall.
Kel was finishing up her oatmeal when Neal trailed into the mess hall. Everyone else was already finished eating, but she had been slower than usual, having stayed up late into the night, thinking. She smiled at him "You're late."
He muttered something incomprehensible and sat down. Kel frowned, noticing his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes. "You look terrible."
Neal began chuckling wryly. "You don't look so good yourself. Stayed up late?" Kel nodded wearily.
"I still can't decide what I think about, you know, the problem."
"Neither can I. I was having an argument with myself over it until about four in the morning."
"It was inevitable. He's finally cracked," Kel muttered to Owen, sitting next to her, who snorted into his eggs. Neal glared fiercely at her.
"Think it's funny, do you? Think it's nice trying to deal with a problem that big when you haven't slept for 48 hours and thought keep flashing back to you about how much fun you used to have with your ex- fiancée? Before she cheated on you?" He stood up, slamming his fork down on the table. "Well I've had enough of it!" He turned his face up to the ceiling and yelled, "Let the whole world know! Nealen of Queenscove has finally cracked!" He stormed out of the mess hall, the eyes of every person in the room on his retreating back. Kel jumped up and raced after him, muttering curses under her breath.
She caught up to him in the hall. She grabbed his arm, and he turned to face her. She pulled him until their faces were an inch apart.
"You think you're the only one having problems with this?" She hissed fiercely. "You think you're the only one who's been cheated? The only one who's hurt?" her grip on his arm tightened. "Well think again. I'm sad too, but I'm not making such a big deal out of it! I know you loved Yuki more than I loved Dom, but for everyone's sakes, stop bitching about it and get on with your life!"
He didn't know what possessed him do it. But right at that moment, he leaned forward and kissed Kel. Kel, his best friend and constant companion; Kel, who had listened patiently all his rants and raves; Kel, who had suffered through all his poetry as a page; Kel, who had always been there for him. He kissed her, and in that moment, felt as though the world was finally peaceful, and all his problems were over.
Kel's eyes widened in shock as Neal kissed her. She couldn't move, she couldn't think, she couldn't feel anything except his lips on hers. Finally, he pulled away. She stood there in a state of shock for several seconds, unable to sort out her feelings. His eyes searched hers warily. Suddenly she found herself able to move again, and she did what any other girl would have done. She slapped him across the face, hard, the sound ringing in the empty hall. He looked at her shocked, as she whirled and ran down the hall.
'Now what have I done?' He moaned to himself.