Beware of melodrama, cliches, and OOCness...

Phase X: Rejection?

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As Murrue drove home, she tried her best to swallow the lump in her throat and blink back the stinging in her eyes. She couldn't believe it, just when she thought everything would be fine again, he's gone. He left her again, and she had no idea how to reach him.

Why on earth didn't I try to reach him sooner?

Murrue wanted to kick herself for hesitating to contact him. And look where it got her.

This felt like JOSH-A all over again, except this time, they left each other out of their own wills.

I guess I'll never see him again…

No! Don't think like that! she shook her head and reminded herself.

No, she should be giving up already. Taking a deep breath, she decided to go back and see if Kira knew anything about where Mwu would be staying, a phone number perhaps, or any clues at all.

I will find him...I have to...

----

Mwu stared after the taxi pulling away in the late afternoon sun and sighed.

Okay, so I'm here, now what?

He scanned the houses in the distance, wondering what to do. How would he know which one was hers?

This is stupid...Maybe I should've gotten on that plane after all.

As he stepped forward to check in his luggage, he suddenly changed his mind and turned towards the exit. He wasn't sure why he had made such a rash decision, but he couldn't get the image of her out of his mind, and he just all of a sudden wanted to see her.

But now that he had come back, he wasn'ts sure what to do next. He was sure that if he tried, he could find her house easily. But he was scared to do so, because he didn't want to meet her fiance. Besides, what would he do when he did find her? Like he had told Kira, he had forfeited his chance.

He palmed his face and let out a frustrated groan.

Standing here wasn't solving anything, so before he knew it, his feet began taking him away from the park and down towards the park where they had last met.

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Murrue stood in her empty kitchen, looking out at the ocean.

It was quiet, too quiet. The silence was unnerving her.

She looked at her bare finger again and felt a tear slide down her face.

It wasn't fair! Just as she was given a second chance to be with Mwu, this had to happen.

Taking a shaky breath, she wondered if a walk to the park would calm her emotions.

----

Murrue walked towards the park, deep in thought. What if she couldn't find him? What if he really was gone forever? Then what? Would she have to stay alone all of her life?

No, she told herself quickly. She would search the world for him if she had to, just like he searched for her.

But what if he didn't wait this time...

Now that would be ironic.

She closed her eyes and shut out her thoughts. Right now, she needed to clear her mind.

The park was mostly empty at this time of the day, save for a few couples sitting on the bench, enjoying each other's company. She turned away, suddenly reminded of her last meeting with him, where she had blurted out that she still loved him.

Why on earth did I tell him that...

She wondered what he'd think of her now...

Murrue looked to the ocean, hoping it would help calm her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that someone was standing at the lookout, staring at the ocean as well.

Not really in the mood to talk to anyone, she walked away, when her eyes caught a familiar shade of blond. She did a double take and turned to the person, who had his back to her at the moment. But she still recognized him, and her heart skipped a beat.

Are my eyes deceiving me! Is this a dream?

She blinked and pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Making sure that she wasn't, she felt her heart soar.

"Mwu!" she called out as she ran up to him.

He turned at her voice and looked a bit surprised to see her. "Murrue?"

She felt like crying as she reached him. Standing in front of him, her knees almost gave out with relief. "You're still here, I'm so glad! So glad!"

"Well, I, uh, missed my flight," he lied and smiled sheepishly.

She laughed, almost nervously. "Then I'm glad that you did, because..." she trailed off, as she suddenly felt shy, and looked down at her hands.

He didn't say anything. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable as well. Yes, he had come back, but he didn't quite know what he'd say when he saw her. He suddenly felt stupid. What was he expecting by coming back. What was left for him?

"Um, I..." he started, but she started talking at the same time.

"You go first," he told her.

"Um, well, the thing is, I…" She sighed and held out her left hand. Rubbing her finger absent-mindedly, she whispered, "Gale and I uh, broke up today. So um, you know, we could…" she trailed off, smiling to herself. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting to see his reaction to the news.

As he stared at her bare finger, his mind felt numb. But instead of relief or joy, he suddenly felt an expected surge of disappointment and anger. Did she come to him only because her fiancé broke up with her? Was he simply a rebound?

"Is that why you're here? Your fiancé just dumped you, so you come running to me right away, expecting me to be all happy that you're available again, is that it?" he asked flatly, not looking at her. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to be your rebound."

Murrue's jaw dropped at that comment. Rebound? Her smile faded as she clenched her teeth; she could feel anger rising inside of her as her hand moved as if on its own accord.

The crisp sound of palm-on-cheek was heard as her hand made contact.

"If that's what you think, then why did you come back? Why didn't you just leave on that damn plane? You stupid jerk! I went to the airport when I thought you were leaving. Know why went after you? I did it because I love you! Or so I thought, but now," she took something out of her bag and shoved it into his hands, "Now I'm not so sure anymore!" She took off, grateful for the tears cooling her hot face.

He didn't move, just stared at her retreating form. His cheek stung as he slowly looked at what he held in his hand.

His old Earth Alliance hat stared accusingly back at him.

AN: bleh! -wipes rotten tomatoes off face-

This chapter sounded better in my head... but written down, it just turned bleh... the only think I like about it is the very last line.

Ah well... I think I kinda wrote this in a hurry, 'cause I just wanna get this finished and to the next chapters... so yeah...