I Love, I Hate

Part Three:

Confusion

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"I don't what to think anymore."

"That's a good sign."

"I mean, I want to hate them, but I don't feel like hating them. I want to forgive them too, but I feel I can't do that."

"Hmmm…."

"I mean, the only thing I know is that I'm confused."

He looked to the ground as he and his friend sat on a bench next to a basketball court, a tall chain link fence at their backs, between them and the desolate city street. They had left the park a few minutes after they finished reminiscing about days past and gotten enough of the river, as it had made his friend start to feel seasick. He had no idea why he had been brought to the basketball courts, though he figured there was some underlying importance to it so he didn't really mind.

He glanced over at his friend and began to wonder if he was really trying to help him, as most of the information he had given him didn't do much but make him unsure of whether to fall into a deep depression or go crazy with rage.

His friend didn't seem to be paying attention to him since he was busy staring up at the stars in the sky, seemingly out of sync with reality as he muttered things only he would understand under his breath.

Noticing the stars in the sky himself he looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was fifteen to three in the morning, realizing that they must have spent more time at the park than they first thought. He also found it odd that there were stars out, as the sky had seemed to be as black as the night earlier.

Not that he was too concerned over this however, as he turned to his friend with a slight frown on his face.

"Why did you bring me HERE, now? We didn't bring a basketball, so what's the point?"

His friend turned to him with a blank look in his eyes, in a way that gave off a "you're a complete idiot" kind of vibe.

"You can't seriously tell me that you don't remember this place."

He quietly nodded his head in a dumb manner.

His friend simply sighed and put his hand to his forehead, shaking it as he spoke.

"Maybe it IS best that you forget about her and just be single."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" He replied with a slight bit of anger in his voice.

"This is where we played basketball before you met her." His friend dryly said as he looked him right in the eyes" You, me and the guys. We hung out here all the time back then."

He quickly looked around the court and suddenly realized that it was indeed where they spent all their afternoons long ago. The five of them would always go somewhere or do something before and after, but they always found time to have a quick game every day. Unless it was raining or snowing they would all make sure they were there at the same time, even despite their many different hobbies and interest.

He was a little disappointed in himself as well, as this was also the place she would come to meet him at too.

He wasn't sure how, but eventually they all stopped coming there for some reason. He couldn't remember why, but he had the nagging feeling that his relationship with her may have had something to do with their eventual migration from the court.

"Her…….." He muttered to himself as he looked back to the ground, too depressed to talk to his friend at the moment.

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For some reason he found himself thinking about her again. He had seen her many times he hung out with his other friends, though they rarely ever spoke or actually focused their thoughts on the other. She was pretty and kind, the type of girl most guys go after these days. Though he had thought she was attractive he never bothered to make a move on her since he was fairly sure she was involved with one of the others and didn't want to start any unnecessary drama. He wasn't sure if it was cowardly or not to keep these feelings to himself, but he figured it was best for both of them, plus his friends would have mocked the hell out of him.

Then there was that one day.

He was walking to the basketball court as he did every afternoon, nothing really different from the hundreds of times he had done it before. When he was within a block of the court he noticed someone crying on the bench of a bus stop on the other side of the street. People crying by themselves are fairly common in any city so normally he would have paid no attention to it on gone on his way. However he noticed something about the person that made him stop in his tracks.

It was her of all people.

At first he wasn't sure of what to do. Though he knew her they weren't familiar enough for him to just walk up to her in a moment such as this. He barely knew anything about her and vice-versa, so why would either of them just come out of nowhere and console the other like this? He was almost tempted to just walk away and leave her there, though something else happened that stopped him again.

She looked up and stared right at him.

He stood painfully still as he looked at her, as she did as well, even though tears were still falling from her eyes. He began sweating profusely, wondering why she would just stare at him like that and what she expected him to do. Situations like this were not his forte and that fact that it was the girl he liked did nothing to help this.

As he motioned as if he would continue on his way and ignore her, she suddenly burst back into tears with a painful look on her face and looked to the ground. Leaving his feelings of insecurity behind he quickly walked across the street and stood in front of her, still unsure of what to do. Her crying died down as she looked up into his eyes and both were completely silent, neither wanting to drive away the other with a single wrong word.

After a few minutes of silence she nervously asked how he was doing, though this was a question he should have been asking her. He replied that he was fine and asked her the same question, hoping to get a response. She started to cry again and asked why anyone would care about how she felt, as the person who mattered most to her didn't. Though he took a mental note of this he replied that he did care and would gladly listen to whatever her problem was.

Then she stopped crying, smiled and hugged him, much to his obvious surprise.

She talked to him for awhile until he remembered he had to go to the basketball court to see his friends. He told her to go home and spend some time by herself for a few days. He started to leave, but stopped when he realized she had gotten up from the bench. He turned to her and asked what she needed. She nervously looked to her feet with a shy smile on her face as she sniffed to hold back a few tears.

"C-could I go to t-the c-court with y-you?"

He was taken back by her question, but eventually agreed and went there with her. His friends were ready to yell at him for being so late, though after they noticed her they went quiet, started to snicker and only told him to call if he was going to be late again. For the rest of the time they spent at the court she watched him as he played ball with his friends, never letting out the smallest tear or giving of the slightest sniffle. She just smiled, stayed quiet and watched them play.

After it was all done he walked her back home, the two talking the whole way there. When he got her home he reminded her to spend the next few days to herself and to not bother with the other guy. As he turned to leave she suddenly grabbed his arm and tried to keep him from leaving. He turned around to ask her what was wrong, wondering what else there could be.

Then she kissed him on the cheek and closed the door.

He thought about her the rest of the day and all night and could have sworn he had a dream about her as well. He figured he wouldn't see her for awhile and didn't think the kiss was of any real importance, just a thank you for his helping her. He walked his usual route to the court as he thought of these things, figuring she had no real interest in him at all. When he realized he was within a block of the court he instinctively looked to the bus stop she had been at, thinking about the previous day.

And there she was, looking as if she was waiting for someone, kicking her feet as if she hadn't a care in the world. He was surprised, but figured that she was simply waiting for the bus this time. He was proved wrong as she noticed him and rushed across the street with a happy smile on her face, the one he would remember for the rest of his life.

From then on she would always wait for him at that same bus stop, talk to him as they walked to the basketball court and watch as he played basketball with his friends. They would then spend the rest of day together, though they never acknowledged themselves as being in any kind of relationship. When they officially started dating she would skip the bus stop and go to his apartment so they could spend all the time traveling to the court talking.

It was one of the happiest times of his life, something he would never forget.

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"But it's all over…….." He muttered as he looked back up from the ground, his face suddenly turning to a near blank slate as he looked up to the sky" Those days are gone."

"You mean those days of just you and her," His friend asked as he stretched his legs, tired from just sitting there so long" or of all of us?"

He ignored his friends question, quietly standing up as he looked to the basketball hoop that they had dunked so many balls into. He remembered all the time he had spent laughing with them, all the time he had spent talking with her and all the happiness it gave them all. But he knew it was over. The relationship, the court, and the happy time they all spent together. It had been over for awhile before what she did, but only just realized it now.

"Thanks……." He muttered as he continued to look at the hoop, his face hidden from his by the darkness of the night" For bringing me back here…….."

"No problem……" His friend quietly replied as he got up as well, pulling out a cigarette" You ready to go?"

"…………..Could I have a moment alone?" He asked in near inaudible voice, still not turning to his friend.

"Sure…….." His friend muttered as he turned to leave, though froze as he looked up at the sky. Turning to him his friend said" Did you see that?"

"…..Yes…….." He said, still looking to the hoop.

His friend didn't say anything and wandered off, though made sure to stay near enough to know if he was ready to leave.

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He stood there by himself, perfectly still as he kept his eyes centered on the basketball hoop. He turned away from it and glanced around the court, eventually noticing something that caught his eye. He looked to the bench he and his friend had just been sitting at and put his hand to his head. He just stared at the bench as a small smile started to form on his face.

That was the bench she would always sit on when she watched him and he had sat in the spot she always sat in.

"This is too much…….." He muttered to himself as he looked from the bench to the sky, where a bright moon he had never previously noticed sat, illuminating the whole court and all the buildings around it." Too confusing….." He muttered again as he tried his best to smiled at it all.

He couldn't remember the last time he had cried.

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To Be Continued

Yo. Another new chapter. This one went over the girl, so the next one might go over the traitor. Not sure. I like this one better than the last one, probably because its longer.

You might think you know who the girl is, but you should know that who she is doesn't really matter. There are two, maybe three girls in the Sonic Universe that fit the image I've given, though one of them is for certain the girl. If you read my other stories you might be able to figure out who she is, but it's not that important.

What I'm saying is view her as whoever you like, but there is one girl who she truly IS supposed to be. I won't ever reveal it directly in the story, the same for the guy and the traitor though the friend is pretty obvious.

I'm out.

Nillek