Natsu no E

Summary: TOS AU Colloyd, Zeroshii Nearing the sixteenth summer of his life, Lloyd Irving considers himself your normal, average, everyday teenager. That is, until the ethereal Colette Brunel moves right next door.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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Chapter 6: Colette's Secret

"COLETTE!"

I ran to her side and gently propped her up into my lap. "She's out cold…" I murmured to myself. Gingerly, I placed my hand on top of her forehead to see what was wrong. "Damn it!" I swore loudly in shock. "She's burning up!"

Colette stirred in my arms, a grimace of pain creasing her features. I frowned in frustration. My house wasn't very far—just a few blocks down. If I could just get her there, I'd be able to lay her down some place more comfortable.

"Hang on," I muttered, slinging her onto my back. "I'm bringing you to my house." Her forehead pressed against my neck and I could feel the intensity of the fever through my clothes. I swore again and began to slowly inch towards home.

As soon as I reached the door, I roughly banged it open with my shoulder—I knew Dad was going to yell at me later because I just caused another dent in the wall behind me, but there was no time to think about that at a time like this. Noishe yelped in surprise, jumping up from his seat on the couch as if someone had stepped on his tail.

"Noishe, get off!" I frowned, shooing the dog away. He whined in complaint as I placed Colette down onto his spot. Looking down at the girl, I winced at how terrible she looked; her skin was the color of a sheet of paper, her hair plastered against her face in a thin gloss of sweat. I would have mistaken her as dead, if it weren't for the shallow breathing causing the rise and falls of her chest. I put my hand on her forehead once more and grimaced—it was still burning. I immediately dashed off to the kitchen.

Colette was already beginning to stir back into consciousness by the time I had scampered back with a bowl of water and a towel in hand. Her weary blue eyes creaked open slowly, barely recognizing me when I entered the room. "W-where am I?" Her voice cracked in the stuffy air.

"You're at my house," I replied, placing the bowl of water on the coffee table. I ignored her startled look and dunked the towel into the bowl.

"What happened?" she queried, struggling to sit up.

"Hey, don't sit up! You're not better yet!" I forced her back down onto the couch. Fishing the towel out of the water and placing it on her forehead, I replied, "You fainted right in the middle of the sidewalk. We were close to home, so I figured to take you here instead of the hospital." I looked to the ground sheepishly. "I tried to take you to your house first…but no one was there."

Colette stared at me as I gingerly placed the wet towel on her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice sounding hoarse. I looked at her in surprise—how could she still be apologizing at a time like this?

"What are you talking about?"

"It must have really inconvenienced you," she continued, "To carry me all the way here—I must have been a burden."

"Nah, it wasn't any trouble at all." I gave a pathetic smile. "Seriously." The girl was silent for a moment, giving me a chance to muster up the courage to ask the question that was hanging in the air. "Colette…" My voice cracked in uneasiness. "What…just what happened back there?"

"Hehehe. What are you talking about, Lloyd?" she said with a sudden bout of cheerfulness. I was taken back for a second. "Nothing happened; I just passed out from the heat, that's all."

My brow creased. "You're lying." I stated bluntly. I didn't know what in the world caused me to be that direct about it—I wasn't sure that she was lying. But it had certainly got a reaction from her; the girl blinked wide-eyed and struggled to sit up again.

"N-no I'm not—"

I cut her off, "You sounded forced. And you couldn't have passed out from the heat; it wasn't that hot out and you had a really bad fever despite of it." I stared her down. "So tell the truth, Colette. What happened?"

I stared into her weary blue eyes and she stared back. For a second, I was surprised by how drained they looked, but I stood firm. Finally, Colette broke the staring contest by looking down at the ground and gave a shuddering sigh.

"Ever since I was a baby," she began softly—so softly that I could barely hear anything at first. "I had been very ill. My body was weak and I was very fragile for the most part; any strenuous activity was hazardous to my health. I had to stay in the hospital for most of the first few years of my life. But, even after I went home, I wasn't allowed to go outside or go to school."

"I was home-schooled by my grandmother for the most part. She taught me everything the kids in my grade were learning. And sometimes even more! But, every once and a while, I couldn't help but wonder what real school was like and what having real friends were like. I wasn't allowed outside, so I didn't have any friends of my own." She seemed to catch my startled gaze and gave a smile as potent as a slap. "You know…you're my first friend Lloyd."

I winced, guilt surging through me from all the times I thought of her as annoying and bizarre. And I couldn't help but wonder: Why could this girl make me feel lower than a pile of sludge without really meaning it?

"So why are you allowed to go out now?" I asked.

"Well, about a month ago, my doctors declared that my immune system had gotten stronger over the years and it was already at the point where I could actually be like a normal person and go to school with the rest of the kids my age; my father was so happy. We were on the move a lot because of my constant hospital transfers. But, once I got better, we decided to move to Iselia."

"Why Iselia?"

"Father got a job recommendation here. Also…" she paused, the slight twinkle of a laugh coming to her eyes. "We heard that the people in Iselia were very kind." Colette looked at me and beamed. "And we were right."

Ouch; that hurt more than it seemed. "I wouldn't say that," I muttered, trying to get her to change her mind about me, to get her to realize that I wasn't a very kind person at all, especially after all I've thought about her. "I'm far from kind."

Colette looked startled. "Oh, no. Lloyd, you are kind!" Her gaze dropped to the floor. "Why else would you be able to take the time to actually acknowledge me?"

Another long silence passed but, this time, I was the one to break it. I gave a ragged sigh, running a hand through my spiky brown locks. What in the world was I going to say to this one? "Look, Colette…" She gazed up at me with those big blue eyes of hers that I couldn't stand and, for a split second, I thought of stopping. But I continued. "I'm…sorry." I spat out the words in a rush, almost as if I wanted to get rid of them more than I really wanted them to mean something. "I was a little harsh on you about the beach thing and I…" I gulped. "…I'm really sorry."

The blond giggled slightly. "Oh, there's nothing to be sorry about there." Her smile was small. "I was acting a little ditzy; I didn't mean to embarrass you like that at all. It's just…I've never been to the beach before and I wanted to fit in with you and your friends." Her brows knitted together. "We are still friends…right?"

"Yeah. Of course we're friends" I tried my best at a grin, and, for some reason, it came a little easier than before. "Now get back to sleep so you can get better, okay?"

Colette nodded. "Thank you, Lloyd." And, just like that, Colette Brunel was out like a candle.

I let out a sigh that I hadn't even known I was holding until now. Noishe butted my knee and whined, almost as if to say, "You alright there?" I patted him on the head. "Yeah, I'm okay." Standing up, I slung the extra towels on my arm and picked up the bowl of now lukewarm water.

Who would have known? I thought wryly to myself, returning the items to the kitchen. And I always thought she was just cheerful because she was…well, cheerful. I didn't know she had that big of a secret.'At this, I found myself wincing once more at how badly I had treated her for the past week.

She just wanted to be your friend, scolded my annoying conscience with a scowl. And you kept trying to avoid her! What happened to that kind boy that used to love making friends so easily?

He grew up, I retorted dryly to that voice. But, in the middle of dumping the water in the sink, I stopped. Yeah…what did happen to me? "I guess I should have tried harder to be friends with her, huh, Noishe?" I asked aloud. I looked down and the dog merely cocked his head in response. I grinned once more and patted him on the head. "Or tried to tolerate her better, at the least. Sure, she's a bit annoying and a little…odd, but that's nothing I can't overlook. And, hey, if I could put up with Zelos, I could put up with anybody!" I laughed when I said this. "So, maybe I should try a little harder this time, huh? What do you say Noishe?"

He barked, though it wasn't a, I-agree-with-you bark, it was a, feed-me-now-I'm-getting-tired-of-your-whining- bark. I sighed; I should have known that talking to your dog about these things wasn't exactly the smartest (or sanest, that irritating voice piped up again) thing in the world. "Yeah, yeah, you pig," I muttered, going off to get his food bowl. "You're seriously going to get fat with the way I'm spoiling you."

Noishe just barked in reply.

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"Thanks for everything, Lloyd. I'm sorry for hindering you again." Colette stood ready at the door, hand resting on the doorknob. She looked much better, really—you couldn't even tell that she had something wrong with her in the first place. All she needed was a little rest, I guess.

"Hey, I said you don't need to worry about it," I insisted.

"Oh, right…I'm sorry."

I attempted something akin to a grin. "You really should get going," I noted, looking at the clock: it was 3:56. "Your father should be coming home soon."

Colette's eyes widened. "Oh, no…Father." She looked at me desperately. "Lloyd, you have to promise that you won't tell my Father about what happened today."

I stared at her in surprise; she didn't seem like a girl who would keep secrets. "Why?"

The blond bit her lip. "If he finds out…I'll never be able to go outside again. So…please." Her azure eyes locked onto mine. "Don't tell him."

I gave her an assuring smile and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "Hey. I promise, okay? So…um, don't worry."

Colette simply beamed. (For some strange, unknown reason, I felt my face warm up the slightest bit. But only for a second…a very brief second) "Thanks. I trust you, Lloyd." She turned the doorknob and headed out. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Suddenly, she paused, then looked back at me. "Wait, um…Lloyd?"

"Yeah?"

"You were saying something before I collapsed, but I didn't seem to catch what you said. What were saying to me?"

"We're not friends," I muttered under my breath, turning my back to her so I wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes. "Or anything of the sort. The fact is that…I JUST DON'T LIKE YOU!"

"Nothing," I replied quickly. "Nothing at all."

Cont…

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A/N: Hey guys, sorry about how late this is . I just didn't have much inspiration over the Christmas break and school came back at such full blast, I didn't have much time to work on this.

Hope you guys liked the chapter. This is the starting point where Lloyd will try to be nice to Colette, so his OOC-ness will be finally gone! It's a little rushed, I know. But I'll do better next time.

Also, I have a little request from you guys. If I can, can I have another beta reader for this fic? My current beta tester, Mira-chan, is awesome! But, since we both happen to be in every single one of the other's classes, we both happen to be swamped as well. And it's always good to have more than one beta reader for your fanfic, right? Well, email me if you're interested in being a reader; I'd prefer someone who'll actually give me criticism and not just comments, m'kay? Sorry if it's too much to ask. See you later!