Chapter 5 – Reminiscing the Past

"Hello. Good afternoon. This is Aston residence, Millerna speaking."

"Hey Millerna, it's Allen."

Millerna noticed the seriousness of his voice. It wasn't his usual greeting. There's something wrong with her dear old friend. "What's wrong, Allen?"

"Hitomi…"

Millerna understood the situation. Uttering that one word has summed up the dilemma Allen was facing. Allen and Millerna were childhood friends. A lot has happened between them. They surely have gone their separate ways as they chose paths that are unlikely to intertwine; however, they remained close. They have made a promise that their friendship will never vanish. Millerna reiterated and analyzed the situation. "This is not a conflict between you and Hitomi. It's more like a conflict in Hitomi's life that's going to affect you as well."

"You're making it sound that I'm self-centered. I'm worried about Hitomi."

"It's about Van Fanel, isn't it? I see that you've met him."

Allen was surprised. It seemed that Millerna practically read his mind. "How did you know?"

"Let's just say, I met him under suspicious circumstances."

"Same here. He's hiding something. I came up with vague ideas, which can be a possibility." Allen's tone was firm.

Millerna became more intrigued. "How did you come up with ideas? All I know is that he's a rich kid who works as Mr. Kanzaki's driver."

"Well, he used to be rich. I heard my mom and dad talking about this. Apparently, his family business is nearing bankruptcy and they can't find relief with their problems. So whatever he is hiding, it involves family. Hitomi's dad is awful rich. It all fits in. Hitomi is an only child and it is likely that she will inherit everything when Mr. Kanzaki dies. Through Hitomi, Van will be able to take hold of the money." Allen is getting more fervent about the situation.

Millerna became unsure of the situation. "I wouldn't want to put it that way –"

Allen butted in. "Remember my sister Celena?"

"Of course I do! I regarded her as another sister. It's been 3 years since she passed away. It's still clear in my mind." Millerna's eyes started to water.

-- FLASHBACK--

Allen and Millerna were walking on the way home from school. Allen's mobile phone rang and he picked it up. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened and were filled with fear. He couldn't speak.

Millerna sensed the unusual silence from her friend. She stood in front of Allen and looked at him intently. She took hold of his shoulders. "Allen, what's wrong?" She stared into his sapphire eyes, tears starting to emanate. Allen took the mobile phone off his ear and bowed down. Tears started flowing down his cheek. Millerna gave him heartfelt hug. "Allen, lead the way."

Allen started walking briskly, Millerna by his side, heading home. Allen whispered softly, "Celena…Hold still…Don't leave us again…"

Allen arrived home, Millerna still at his side. On the driveway, he saw his father standing right next to the family car waiting for him.

"Get in you guys." Leon's voice was stern but a feeling of deep anxiety was apparent. He walked towards the driver, while both Allen and Millerna got inside the car in to the passenger seats. Leon switched on the engine, backed up to the street, and drove off.

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"Celena…You came back…" Allen was sitting next to the hospital bed, holding his elder sister's hand tightly. Tears were flowing down his cheek. The usual Allen who's bold and strong was nowhere to be found. The Schezar family was once again united; however it wasn't a time of celebration. Celena was lying on the hospital bed with gashes and bruises on her face. Her heavily bandaged body has protruding needles which are attached to many life-support medical apparatus protruding from her skin. Over the sound coming from the heart monitor, stifle cries of Encia was heard.

Celena suddenly stirred and started moaning. Her breathing became staggered and irregular. Her eyes opened. "Allen…" She can barely speak.

"Celena! Mom! Dad!" Allen exclaimed, his dampened spirits was uplifted. Leon and Encia ran towards the bed their eyes overwhelming with hope.

"Mom…Dad…Allen…I'm so sorry…" Celena spoke with great difficulty. Unexpectedly, Celena showed signs of excruciating pain. Her moans grew louder and her staggered breathing became worse. Millerna stood up and ran to get help, exclaiming emergency.

Several nurses and doctors came running through the door. The rest of the Schezar family gave way to the doctors and nurses, their faces filled with so much trepidation and panic. They left the room and let the doctors set about their task of saving Celena.

Two hours had passed. A doctor came out to meet the Schezar family. He spoke to Leon with his face fill of regret. "I'm terribly sorry. We have tried our best, but your daughter didn't make it."

-- END OF FLASHBACK --

"If it wasn't for Folken Fanel, Celena wouldn't have died in that car accident! Folken took Celena away from us and look what happened! She's gone forever!" Allen was shaking with fury.

"Allen, for all these years, haven't you looked at other viewpoints other than yours? Have you talked to your parents what really happened? Have you approached Folken Fanel yourself to set things straight? How can you be so thick? Be sensible!" Millerna tried to place some sense into Allen's head.

"Which side are you on Millerna? Van is Folken's brother. He is bound to do the same thing to Hitomi. I won't lose Hitomi, Millerna! I don't want her hurt!"

"I am not taking sides Allen! I believe that you should put Celena to rest. I believe that Celena is still in pain upon seeing you taking this grudge, which I think you never really understood, for years. This grudge has affected your life greatly that it made you the kind of person Celena thoroughly hated. Open you eyes and think straight!"

"Thanks for making me feel better. Bye" Allen spoke with sarcasm in his voice. He hanged up hastily.

Millerna put the handset away. She was very disappointed with her friend. Allen… What have you been doing with you life? I'm so worried about everything. Just one person, Van Fanel, changed everything. I think I better go investigate myself.

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"Here comes Van. He's always so punctual." Julianne looked at her watch. "7:00 pm on the dot. He never makes a girl wait." She turned back facing the bar, sipping her drink.

The glass doors of the restaurant slid open letting in Van, sporting a casual yet sophisticated look with his simple clothing ensemble made up of a plain off-white polo shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and straight-cut black pants. Van looked around the restaurant finding Julianne among the numerous diners. He looked towards the bar and he saw a familiar auburn hair brushing up lightly tanned shoulders. There she was. Van has spotted Julianne sitting on one of the barstools consuming a drink. She hasn't changed. She still had her usual look that has captivated Van's heart once or still has. It was still the simple yet glamorous and sexy look, accentuating her slim body. Van sat on the barstool next to hers and called on to the bartender to order a drink. After ordering he looked at Julianne, who had a smirk and one eyebrow raised, looking at Van. "Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Van, smiling. Julianne has a perfectly sculptured and symmetrical face with smooth complexion compromising an angelic look.

Julianne took a sip off her drink and looked back to Van. "Aren't you going to offer me anything, a drink perhaps?"

Van grinned. He suddenly remembered the time when they first met a year ago.

-- FLASHBACK --

"This is great Van! I can bring you along every Friday night from now on. I'm tired of going with some random people and much worse alone. Well, let's celebrate that you're finally 18!" Dilandau exclaimed, ruffling Van's hair. "To celebrate your coming of age, it's my shout, endless drinking for both of us!" (A/N: in here legal age for drinking is 18….so yeah…moving on…)

"Yay" said Van with mock excitement.

Dilandau, seeing his friend so effortless, pushed Van walking into a pub. "You're such a kill joy."

"I appreciate the compliment."

The pub was packed with people who just finished work every Friday night. It was lucky for both Van and Dilandau to spot two available barstools. Dilandau ordered drinks for him and Van. Van didn't find sitting around drinking much fun like the way Dilandau has been hyped up about it. Little did he know that the fun hasn't started yet. To every girl in the pub, Dilandau has brought fresh meat.

"Oh Van! I'm so proud of you!" said Dilandau grinning.

"What did I do now?"

"Look around Van! You've got at least 10 girls checking you out! You won't beat my record, though!"

"Whatever you say, Dilandau." Van took no interest whatsoever.

"That's not how you're supposed to act! I'm very disappointed!" Dilandau was shaking his head. "Okay, get ready. Let's start having fun."

"This is not fun for you?"

"Hell no! Okay, since I can't convince you to lighten up with only words, I just have to resort to bribery." Dilandau had an evil grin. "I'm going to challenge you. If you put down my challenge, you'll be paying all my personal expenses for a whole month. However, if you accept the challenge and beat me, then I'll be paying your personal expenses for a month."

"And, what will happen if I accept and I lose?"

Dilandau's evil grin widened, "Well, no penalties I guess. But, I'll be officially deemed better than you for everything! You've got so much self-esteem and you swell in pride as you receive endless compliments! You don't want to ruin your reputation do you?"

"Damn you, Dilandau you're leaving me not much choice. That's all bullshit. What is your stupid challenge anyway?"

"We're going to have a challenge that will test our charms. Whoever gets the most number of girls' digits tonight will win. We will end at midnight sharp. It's 9:00 pm so we've got 3 hours. To make it more interesting we have to do it at a span of 15 minutes. That's pretty generous you know. We have to do it in turns so there's no cheating involved. To make it more interesting, I'll be picking the girl you will approach and you'll be picking mine. One will be watching the other. Is this all clear?"

"Fine. Fine"

"I'll give you a head start. If you go first, you'll be in lead by one point."

"I don't want a pity point!" Van glared at Dilandau but decided to go along with it. "You're going to regret this because I'll win this thing. Pick one."

"Trust me I won't regret it." Dilandau looked around the bar and seemed to have spotted the perfect girl. "I pick that one." He was pointing at a girl, with auburn colored hair just sitting nearby helping herself with peanuts.

"Okay, let's get this done and over with." Van walked towards the girl and sat next to her. "Hello."

The girl looked at him, gave a small smile and greeted back.

Van looked back at Dilandau, who was watching him closely. Dilandau gestured a thumbs up and pointed at his watch indicating time will soon run out. He turned and faced the girl, who was not really paying attention to his presence. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I believe you're doing something illegal."

"What!"

The girl simply pointed to the sign that says: Purchasing an alcoholic drink on behalf of a minor is strictly prohibited. Offender will face a heavy penalty.

Van looked at the girl, really confused. "You don't look like a minor to me."

"Well, I am. I'm just 17."

Van eyed the girl warily. He thought to himself that the girl was simply not interested and will definitely not giving any phone number. "How did you get in this pub anyway?"

"My dad owns the place." She felt someone watching them and looked around. "Umm…Do you happen to know that guy who's watching us?" She pointed to Dilandau.

"Oh, that's my friend." Van didn't know what else to say. He looked back at Dilandau, who was now with a girl, waving at him.

"I see. I believe our friends right there set us up. How about if we just play along and make them think that their plan actually worked. By the way, my name is Julianne."

-- END OF FLASHBACK --

"Have you eaten dinner? I'm starving. Would you like to join me?" asked Julianne.

"Sorry but I can't stay long. What would you like to talk about?" Van saw the disappointment in Julianne's eyes. She wanted him to stay.

"Oh…umm… I just want to know how things are with you."

Van looked deeply into Julianne's eyes. He sensed sheer despair and anxiety that is the exact duplicate of how he was feeling at that moment. He wanted to stay for dinner and chat but he decided not to. He knew this day would come and haunt him. "Julianne…"

"What! Aren't we friends? Can't I ask those kinds of questions?"

Van sensed Julianne's intimidation. "Julianne…"

"Could you stop saying my name?" Julianne snapped and started shaking with fury. "I can't believe you got over us that easy! It seems that you've got yourself another girl. It's true. The Fanel brothers are a pair of heartbreakers. At the start, you guys woo the girl, telling her that you love her, while you shower her with gifts. When you get sick of her, you dump her. It seems so simple isn't it?"

"Julianne, are you out of your mind! You know that's not true!" Van took no notice that they are attracting attention.

Julianne's eyes, surprisingly, were not filled with tears. It seems that she has a power to control her overwhelming emotions. However, no matter how much she stays strong in harsh situations, she lacks the ability of retaining her logical way of thinking since the emotions that are pent up inside her clouds all the facts. "I don't know why you decided to meet me here. You're just wasting your time considering that you are indeed over us."

"I am not over us." said Van sternly.

Julianne's eyes were suddenly filled with surprise. Judging by Van's voice, stance and the way he looks as her; she knew that he is telling the truth. She felt foolish. She has always thought that she's the only one still clinging on to the already broken relationship. But it seems their relationship hasn't really broken up yet. It still has a thread-like connection holding both halves. "But…" Julianne was speechless.

Van continued. "I didn't want to end the relationship."

"Why did u end it?" Julianne saw the deep regret in Van's eyes.

"I was forced to end it. My parents have decided that I am to be betrothed to someone."

Julianne's senses froze. She regained her senses and spoke in a feeble voice. "That girl…"

"Her name is Hitomi Kanzaki."

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While Hitomi was on her desk doing homework, the phone rang. She answered, "Hello, Hitomi here."

"Hitomi….." It was Allen.

"What's up Allen?"

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Author's Note:

Really sorry this took so long….been really busy….just came from retreat yesterday… …I'm still kinda tired and my whole body is still aching….but hey! I just want to update for you guys who read it! I wanted to update yesterday…but my internet wen all retarded...so yeah… Plus I just received a death threat about updating…so here it is! (LOL! - Chisakami Saiyuki)

Okie…I looked into the subplots I introduced from the last chapter…I hope its okay…and I finally revealed the missing bit of the plot…well I did in the end….hope my story is goin ok!

PLEASE REVIEW! I would really want your thoughts on what ive been writing… you cud say that it's a load of crap…dnt mind really….i value other people's opinions….criticize all you want….

Thanks so much to my 2 loyal reviewers who has been with me all the way: Chocolate-Covered-Coffee-Beans and Chisakami Saiyuki. Love you guys! You guys just keep me going on writing this story…without you guys..i wud have stopped… well since Chisakami Saiyuki, I believe, will be giving me death threats from now on, I'll be updating! LOL!

Review replies:

Chocolate-Covered-Coffee-Beans – Hitomi is about to know what's going on! Hope this chapter is ok!

Chisakami Saiyuki – I believe I'll be getting heaps of death threats from now on, from you! LOL! Keep at it!

Byers! Take care people!