Highschool Drama!
By Rosegirl18
Chapter 14: The Cause of Waiting
The next days seemed to pass bleakly as Shinn and Stellar's friends came to the knowledge of her death and attempted to cope. Shinn remained in his room, unresponsive to any outside life. Kira and Cagalli did their best to console all the ones close to the problem, such as their distressing parents, Lacus, Mayu, and… themselves.
But they were the strongest ones for now. They couldn't afford to grieve themselves. Only late at night they could cry, and let the façade fall down. The others weren't of much help. Athrun came over to try and convince Shinn to come out of his room, but was met with the normal silence. The school planned a memorial service for that weekend.
"Kira, what do you think he is doing to himself in that room?" his mother asked worriedly, "he refuses to open his room, and he hasn't eaten for days!"
"I think we should leave him for now," reassured Kira, "He's only going through a phase… grief can't last forever, can it?"
His mother looked down, letting the doorknob go reluctantly. "Alright. But if a whole week like this passes, I'll force him to eat something."
It worried Kira that his mother had dark shadows under her eyes. It worried Kira that Cagalli seemed to have become an adult overnight. It worried him that Lacus was crying. It worried him that Shinn was cutting himself off from life. In the midst of all that thinking, he forgot to think for himself.
Unfortunately, that made Cagalli worry even more, added to everything that Kira was worrying about. Mayu was going bleak, feeling the tension of her home and her brother's retreat to any form of contact with the world. Her parents were constantly worrying about everything going on, although they had work to do as the heads of the company. And Lacus's smile was getting faker and faker as the days went by.
Nowadays, all she did was curl in the corner of Kira's room in the presence of her twin and worry with him silently, wishing that they could solve problems that were impossible to turn back.
If only Shinn had not decided to turn to this way in grief, if only Lacus would be true about her feelings, if only Fllay didn't have to be suicidal, if only Stellar had not died…but death was not something anyone could predict. Cagalli could only pass by newspaper headlines, screaming out Stellar's name and the police's frantic search to find the kill-and-run criminal.
Liar, she wanted to shriek. You are all only rejoicing over a big story to make money with your words of fake sympathy and storytelling.
Lacus leaned her head on Kira's shoulder, her tears not yet dried. "She must be happy…" she murmured as Kira turned his head towards hers questioningly. "So uncomplicated in heaven."
Kira embraced her gently, feeling ashamed of himself for not being able to see her earlier. Fllay had been pestering him more since the death of Stellar, not being able to feel his complete attention.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Not wanting to break the moment but unable to pass it off, he reluctantly reached for it, answering quietly. "Attha residence. Kira speaking."
"Kira, where are you right now?"
Fllay.
Seeing Lacus's saddened expression with a sidelong glance, Kira suddenly became determined to choose someone once and for all. Whether or not Fllay was having serious emotional problems, it wasn't on his shoulders anymore. He didn't deserve this – it was his life.
"Look Fllay, we need to talk. I need you to meet me in front of your house." Kira's voice was grim. It made her suspicious.
"What? What are you going to talk about to me? Who are you with right n – "
Kira cut off her stream of questions by clicking off the phone. "Sorry," he said to Lacus, who was looking at him questioningly. "I just had something to do."
"Alright," replied Lacus. "I guess…you'll have to go then."
"Yeah," Kira said, sounding absent-minded. "But I want you to wait for me. I promise I won't take long."
"Of course," said Lacus, looking up at him, startled. "I'll wait."
Fllay was nervous and shaking from the moment Kira parked in front of her. She kept glancing at him throughout the drive, where he remained silent and looked straight ahead.
"Kira," she finally whispered. "You're going to leave me, aren't you?"
He didn't answer, sighing as he did so. Her eyes widened in accusation and shock. "You are! All for that girl. Is she all you see!"
Kira closed his eyes for a split second, frustrated. "Yes, all for her. I care for you Fllay, but I love her. I love Lacus."
Fllay's hands curled up in tight fists. "So you love her, huh?" her voice was filled with malice and bitterness. Kira felt bad for her, and he felt the guilt, but he promised himself, this would be the last time.
"I'm sorry."
Kira drove on, silence settling between them. He could see Fllay's house in the near distance. "Your father should be getting home now. You should go greet him." Suddenly, her hands grabbed at his steering wheel. "What are you doing!"
"I won't let you go." Fllay said. She struggled with him as he tried to pry her hands away from the wheel.
"Stop it – I'm losing control of the car!"
Her face harbored a strange expression as a shadow of a smile rested on her lips. "Then we can go down together, Kira. My beloved."
As Kira looked up and forced himself to see where he was going to crash, he was horrified to see that they were heading straight into Fllay's house. But before that, another thing had settled – Fllay's father had just come back from work. The chauffeur was parking right in front of them.
"No…" he shouted, "Get away! We're going to crash!"
George Allster turned around in the backseat of the car, looking terrified as he realized what was happening. After a moment of paralysis, he turned around to yell at the driver, pointing rapidly at them.
"D-Daddy?" Fllay's faint voice whispered beside Kira. "No…stop! Stop the car!"
She finally let go, and the wheel turned loose immediately, twirling backwards. Kira reached for the brake, but it was broken. "It's no use," he said. "It's over."
Closing his eyes, Kira hardly felt the sudden impact of his car crashing into George Allster's.
"11:05, going into operation." The nurses and doctors bustled about, expertly doing their best to save the life of the young man who had come in that night.
"Has his family been notified?"
"Yes, from his driver's license his name is Kira Yamato, age 17, with no precious criminal record."
"We don't need to know who the other two are," one of the nurses who were not on duty sighed. "Both Allster family members are…"
"Shush now," said the nurse beside her, typing away at the hospital's computer. "We're not sure."
"It's true that they might be saved, but didn't you see the state of them? All lifeless and bloo – "
"Quiet!" her companion exclaimed. "I've seen them."
The two of them were sighing when a number of teenagers burst in, catching their breaths. The blue haired one attempted to talk over his gasps, demanding, "Kira… Tell me where Kira is!"
The nurses were too stunned to talk, and only stared back, blinking at Lacus, starting to cry, and Cagalli, biting her lip and frowning.
"I – we need to be there for him. H-he's alive, right?" said Athrun again.
"K-Kira Yamato, you say?" the nurse finally croaked, "He's in the emergency room in floor two right now. Undergoing surgery, I think."
She didn't need to say any more, as the hoard of teenagers immediately ran to where the nurse had specified. But they found that they had run out of actions to take, as the emergency room flashed the red light of undergoing surgery, making them unable to do anything else for their friend.
"Shinn…" Mayu spoke quietly, touching her brother's closed door gently. "I know that you heard about it – about Kira oni-san's accident. Well, don't worry, because I know he'll be alright. S-so… don't worry about him, okay?"
She knew that her voice was quivering. They had just gone to Stellar's funeral last week. The train of occurrences seemed so unbearable that they appeared abnormal to her. "I'm sure he'll get better even quicker if you went to see him, Shinn. Kira wants to see you. He needs your support."
Still no answer. Mayu looked down sadly, letting go of the door. "We'll be waiting, Shinn."
Kira's life had been confirmed, but he remained unconscious in the hospital bed, looking strangely peaceful in the blank room. Lacus stood over him, alone, because Athrun and Cagalli had let her have her time with him.
She bit her lip, tears seeping out of her eyes in bitterness and despair. Lacus was slightly unsure of what had happened, but Kira had been with Fllay. With the influence of their families, Cagalli, Athrun, and she had been able to find out the cause of the accident. The inspectors had said that it was due to loss of control of the car.
Kira would never be a careless driver.
"Did she do this to you, Kira?"
"I just had something to do."
"…I promise I won't take long."
Lacus quickly wiped her tears away. She needed to find out more. Quickly kissing Kira on the forehead, she walked away from the room and away from the questioning looks from Cagalli and Athrun, who had been talking in low whispers out in the hallway.
She needed to see Fllay. And what had happened to make things turn out this way.
"Father! Father!"
"Please, Miss Allster, calm down."
"Let go of me! What's going to happen to my daddy?"
"We're trying to find out… his life is…"
"If he dies, I won't forgive you! I'll sue all of you and this damn hospital and your useless staff! Aren't you guys supposed to save lives?"
"Now, Miss Allster –"
"Fllay." The whole crew, including Fllay, turned around, looking at the sudden arrival. The pink-haired teen stood with a calm aura, but today, it was mixed with something more. She wore a small half smile, like a mask. "Please come with me. I have a few things to ask you."
Fllay stood stunned for a few seconds. Her shocked expression soon turned into a glare.
"You." She narrowed her eyes maliciously. "Of course I'll come with you – I have a few things to discuss myself."
The hospital staff that was refraining her inwardly sighed a breath of relief, but they didn't know that the meeting would result in an even bigger scene than before. Because they were only normal – they did not see the silent anger in Lacus's calm.
The two girls sat across from each other in the best table of the hospital café. Lacus did not touch her tea, starting to get right to the point.
"What happened?" she asked without an opening. "Were you the one who crashed the car?"
Fllay was flustered, replying immediately with a stutter. "O-of course not! Kira was the driver, didn't you know?"
Lacus's tone got quieter as Fllay's got bigger. "Kira would never drive carelessly like this. When we saw the car, the driving wheel nor the brake were working. You made him lose control of the car, didn't you?"
"No!" Fllay burst out, making some heads turn in surprise. She quickly lowered her voice. "Kira was the driver. It was impossible for me to crash the car. It was – I didn't…" she looked utterly confused as she stared blankly down at the table.
"You made him crash," Lacus said, hardly audible.
"You're wrong! I didn't make daddy…" Fllay stood up all of a sudden, so fast that it knocked over the table and everything that had been on it. The vase in the middle landed with a crashing noise that brought over several waiters. The flowers and its water spilt around their feet, and Lacus's tea made an even bigger pool.
"You're wrong!"
"You're acting guiltier than how you already are," Lacus said in her usual tone, but somehow, her warm tone seemed pitying and bitter. "If you make more of a scene, the waiters will have to go through unnecessary trouble."
"Don't pretend like you're an angel." Fllay gasped, panting heavily. "You're the one you stole him. You're the one who caused this! All of this!"
Fllay's loud shriek was stopped with the ring of a slap. Her hand went to her burning cheek, looking stunned. "Y-you…"
Lacus looked away, biting her lip. "I apologize. But don't make accusations that apply to you."
"W-what?...!"
Lacus's thoughts ran rapidly in her mind. Fllay's last statement had caused an effect in her. Coming back to the source… wasn't she the first one that should have been blamed? Kira must have gone to break up with Fllay, which made her jealous and cause him to make an unintentional mistake with his driving, resulting in Mr. Allster and his fatal injuries. But Kira had tried to break up with Fllay for Lacus in the first place… didn't that mean…
"No, that's not true." She said to herself firmly.
Lacus felt a gripping sensation in her left arm. Fllay was grabbing it with her free arm (the other one had been broken in the accident.) "It's your fault that this is happening." Lacus tried to break free, without avail. "Give him back to me… Give Kira back to me!"
Fllay's eyes were now filled with angry tears. "I had him first! He's my boyfriend. How dare you steal him away from me?"
"You don't know how long I waited in the background," Lacus said back, finally releasing her arm but falling back in the process.
"Don't give me that shit," Fllay said. "You were always surrounded by admirers. Always lifting you up. You were born with all that – beauty, smarts, your singing voice… even that pink hair! All of them! You were blessed ten times more than me."
Fllay now clutched a mound of Lacus's hair, forcing them out of her ponytail.
"Stop it!"
"I'll take them back." Fllay replied. "Kira, your talents… I'll even yank out this hair!"
(A/N: Yes, hair is important to the world of female jealousy.)
Lacus tried to push her off, and both of them were struggling for power amidst the messed setting. The bystanders looked on, too stunned to make a move to stop them.
"Don't hurt her!" someone ran into the café, drawing attention from all the ones pregnant. "I won't let anyone…hurt Lacus!"
Cagalli walked up to Fllay and pulled her off of her friend. "Lacus, are you alright?" she sighed. "Why didn't you tell me what you were going to do?"
"Cagalli…" Lacus looked up, shocked by her sudden arrival.
Fllay, standing up and ignored for a moment by both girls, broke into a run, getting away from the café.
I hate you all… I'll show all of you. All of you!
Athrun sat in the chair beside Kira's bed, keeping close watch of his best friend.
"And I thought girls would be the death of me," Athrun smiled sadly, his eyebrows furrowed.
In the white and metallic bed, Kira started to stir, making a sound.
"Kira? Are you awake?" relieved, Athrun looked around for Cagalli or Lacus, but realized that both of them had gone down to the café.
Kira opened his eyes hesitantly, his surroundings coming into focus. His gaze landed on his green-eyed friend. "Athrun?"
"Thank goodness, you're awake!" Athrun said. "Lacus and Cagalli are downstairs, but I'll call them now." He reached for his cellphone, but Kira stopped him.
"Wait, tell me what happened first."
"You had a car accident… with Fllay." Athrun started, hoping not to devastate his friend. "Your car crashed into Mr. Allster, who's undergoing a surgery right now. But it's pretty much expected that he'll… pass away."
Kira looked away. "I see…" he said, his expression as if he was trying not to cry.
"Kira…"
"I can't believe how much I messed things up."
"It's not your fault." Kira looked into Athrun's eyes, suddenly remembering the old days when they only talked to each other.
"We…really haven't hung out with each other lately," Kira commented.
"Well, you know how time changes relationships," Athrun replied. As soon as he said that, the door was opened hesitantly by a nervous-looking nurse.
"Um, we've been notified that you two know two ladies named Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Yula Attha, yes?" the nurse asked, fully aware of the fact that those two ladies were the daughters of the Clyne Corporation and Attha Incorporated.
"Yes, what's the matter?" the two asked, instantly worried. The two had been gone for quite a while.
"Well, they said they would go home early. U-um… and the café is charging whomever that is related to them 500 dollars in fees…"
"What?" Athrun exclaimed, "What happened?"
But before his question could be answered, the nurse scurried away faster than she had come. Stunned by the news, he turned to Kira.
"I'll just go check it out, okay?"
"I'm going too."
"You should rest but…alright."
Athrun and Kira arrived at the café a few minutes later, stopping at the sight before them. Many waiters and waitresses were cleaning up a nasty mess of overturned tables and broken glass, on top of watery floors that were scattered with stomped-on flowers.
"What went on here…?"
Flowing past them, they could hear the loud whispers of gossip as almost all the customers walked away from the shop.
"…what a horrid fight indeed."
"(Giggle) they were so intense! I could practically see how thick the tension was."
"Too bad they're so insane. They were both seriously hot!"
"Geez, so pink and red really do clash, huh?"
"No kidding. I wonder which guy they were arguing so much over – that kid's gonna be in a pretty bad situation."
Athrun and Kira stood silently, absorbing all that they heard.
"…pink and red…"
"…which guy they were arguing so much over…"
And in a split second, they realized how serious high school relationships could be.
Walking on a sidewalk on an empty highway, Cagalli began laughing as she looked up at the darkening sky. "What a damn long day," she said.
Lacus was wearing Cagalli's jacket, since hers had become too dirty during her confrontation with Fllay. "Yeah, I guess," was her soft reply. "I went too far."
"Maybe," Cagalli said, "But who knows what the limit is? I certainly don't know – not anymore."
"You seem to have matured a lot," her companion said, "these past few days."
Cagalli looked at her, smiling ironically. "Come on, a ton of things had happened. You know that as well as I do."
A moment of silence followed.
"Has Shinn come out of his room yet?"
"No." Cagalli answered after a slight pause.
"I see."
The two girls continued to walk, both realizing that they had never walked a path this far to reach home before.
"Why, Lunamaria!" Mayu exclaimed in surprise when she opened the door to an unexpected face.
"Hey, Mayu," Lunamaria said with a determined expression behind the stacks of paperwork that she was holding. "I've come to bring Shinn his homework."
"W-well, Shinn is a bit…" Mayu started as Lunamaria invited herself into their home.
"Where's his room?"
Mayu pointed to the middle door with a wavering finger. Lunamaria promptly started stomping up the stairs, reaching the door. "Hey, Shinn! It's me, Lunamaria." The purple-haired girl seemed unfazed by the lack of response. "I've brought your homework for you, so you'd better be thankful. By the way, aren't you hungry? You've been stuck there for practically a month."
She paused a bit, setting the papers in front of his door.
"Don't try to set a record, got it? Starvation is for girls!"
Still, Shinn didn't respond. Lunamaria bit her lip, suddenly angry.
"What's so damn great about Stellar anyway? Why can't you just get a new girlfriend?" She started yelling at the door, despite Mayu's frenzied protests. "Give us all a fucking break and stop being such a wuss! DEAL WITH IT!"
"Lunamaria! That's enough!" Mayu raised her voice, startled at Lunamaria's boldness. "Shinn is hurting, how could you say such things?"
They were both interrupted by the sound of a door handle turning, and they turned to see Shinn emerge, with his hollow eyes and bleeding wrists.
-end of chappie 14-
A/N: OH HO HO EARLY CHAPTER FINISH! Mwa ha ha, this is for being late for the last chappie. Geez, I just LOVED writing this chapter. So much ANGST and DRAMA
Lol I've lost a ton of readers because I've become so serious though.
And you know, I got seven reviews for the last chapter and FIVE of you commented about Stellar XD the similarity of your expressions of grief amazed me. But for a bad girl to die, a good girl has to die too :)
So that's why I'm asking you guys for your opinion: How should Fllay die?
