The Concept of Forever

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Author's Note: I promised before Christmas, but I managed to finish this before December! Woo!

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Chapter Eight: Hide-and-Seek

"Okay, does everyone remember how to play?"

Musica rolled his eyes. "Are you seriously asking us if we forgot how to play hide-and-seek? It's self-explanatory, moron!"

A couple of chuckles went around the group, but Haru ignored them. "Anyways, the boundaries are this," he spread his arms out, gesturing to the small meridian they were standing on. "The whole park. No crossing streets, and no hiding in anyone's backyard. If you go out of bounds, you're automatically IT."

"We playing it like the first person you find is IT, or the first person touched?" asked Julia, hands on her hips. She didn't care what they were doing, everything was a competition to her.

"First person touched," answered Haru, Elie, and Musica together. They had planned this game almost religiously as children. "Base is the jungle gym," added Haru, pointing towards the small series of metal bars. "Who's gonna be IT first?"

The group looked around at each other a second before they simultaneously sucked in a breath, readying themselves. "One, two, three, NOT IT!"

The words burst their mouths quickly, each one rushing to say it quicker than the person next to them. "Let," Julia laughed, nudging her boyfriend happily. An agreement went around the group and they began to move towards the jungle gym, base and starting point. "Count to fifty, and don't peek!"

"On my honor," Let said seriously, making himself comfortable on the equipment and closing his eyes. He didn't count out loud, but they saw his lips moving, sending the other five of them running as they began looking for the best hiding place.

Two months had passed since Hilda had come to the island, and Elie had never been happier. At first, she was a little upset with how frequently her brother and his ex-lover argued, but when she complained about it to Niebel, he was all smiles.

"It's nice, seeing them act like an old married couple," he told her, sitting on her new bed and kicking his dangling legs. "At least they aren't screaming at each other."

After that, Elie started to see their bickering as endearing more than anything; it actually began to remind her of her late parents, how they would playfully nip at each other. Most of the arguing had faded away after the house was all set up; the basis for almost all of their disagreements were things like what shade to paint this room, or what furniture set to get. The more time passed, the more they seemed like an old married couple.

For Elie, she was just happy to be out of that house. Her new room was probably the size of all the bedrooms in her old house put together; not that it was especially large, they were just exceptionally small. And, Hilda had even bought a whole new furniture set for her, too, replacing the bed set she had had since she was a child with a beautiful canopy bed that fit snugly in the corner. And the closet space! Elie could live in her new closet, freshly supplied with new and old clothes, every girls dream.

Sieg had even taken up a full-time position at the high school, a second history teacher for the underclassmen. It was a little awkward at first, seeing him around school – since he was thirteen years older than her, there had never been a moment when they were in school at the same time – but it wore off when she realized that he would not embarrass her purposely.

In a sense, it almost felt too good to be true. Elie had never stopped to think about how bad her situation was, but now that she was out of it and things were going astronomically well, all she could feel was gratitude and appreciation for how fortunate she had been the last two months.

Having Haru as her official boyfriend certainly helped. He was everything she could ever imagine wanting in a boyfriend; understanding about her need for girl time, but also occasionally needy and demanding of her attention. Everything he did was cute and wonderful and the brunette found herself daydreaming with a goofy smile on her face more than once when she thought back to something he had said or done recently. Her friends had teased them for a little bit, but that finally began to wear off in favor of teasing Belnika and Musica instead. They had become the new targets, quickly replacing Haru and Elie in that regard.

The only worrying thing that Elie could think of was Celia's growing absence. She had thought, at first, that it was because of her relationship with Haru – not that the two of them were all lovey-dovey around other people, of course – but when she and Julia asked her about it, she simply said that she was hanging out with some girls in her grade a lot. Elie didn't know if she believed her, but the younger girl seemed sincere, so she decided not to press it.

For right now, her only concern was finding a good hiding place. She had a feeling that Let would search first for Musica, Haru, or Julia, but that didn't mean she was safe. Besides, she didn't want to be the last person to find a hiding place.

Desperately, she ducked behind a large tree, hoping that Let would focus more on the creative hiding spots around. "Hey there," whispered Julia suddenly, causing the brunette to jump and begin looking around. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. "Up here, goofy. Wanna come up with me?"

Elie looked up and found her best friend sitting casually on a branch. Despite the cold weather, this tree seemed to have maintained much of its brush, offering a good enough cover. Elie debated, there wasn't much time left. "Yes please," she finally said, holding her hand up. Julia grabbed her wrist and began to hoist her up, moving aside to make room. "I'll climb up a little more so we aren't as obvious."

Carefully, the brunette navigated the branches, now sitting a few feet above her friend, situating herself on a branch that was sturdy enough to hold her weight. "Ready or not, here I come!" cried Let from base. The girls giggled a little bit; the only way he'd find them is if he were to walk around the tree and look up.

"No! Shit, get away from me!" cried Musica suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled over them all. Again, the girls giggled as they heard him running around. Elie strained to adjust herself to see better, top of her head poking out of the branches.

Let was chasing after Musica, both of them in a full sprint. Elie giggled at the sight of two equally fast people running around, using trees to quickly turn around and jumping over the occasional rock. With a spectacular leap over a wooden bench, Musica managed to make it back to the base without getting tapped. "Show time," said Julia beneath her, suddenly leaping down from the tree. The branches shook, threatening to throw Elie out with them, but she managed to keep her balance, watching as Julia sprinted towards base. Let caught sight of her and immediately took off, giving Elie the opportunity to climb down as well.

From there, it was an exhilarated run to base, hair flying out behind her. Let, realizing what had happened, had turned direction, heading towards her at full speed. "Ah!" Elie cried, trying to push her legs harder. She was heading straight towards base, all she had to do was run a few more feet and she'd be there...

And then her foot found a loose root and she came tumbling down, feeling her ankle twist as she crashed to the ground, slamming down on her elbow before the side of her head hit the ground. Immediately, pain shot through her head, and she could swear that her vision blurred entirely for a few seconds. "Elie!" cried a few of them, immediately abandoning the game and rushing towards her.

"O-ooow!" Elie cried, clutching at her elbow painfully, already feeling some blood on her finger. Let was at her side first, quickly tearing away at the root and examining her ankle. The others were there quickly, Haru immediately kneeling down next to her, lavender eyes filled with worry. "I think I twisted my ankle," Elie said, sitting up. The movement of her leg immediately spent spasms of pain through her ankle, a soft groan escaping her lips.

"Your elbow isn't looking that great either," Musica commented, offering her a hand up. She took it with her good hand, clutching onto him tightly as he hoisted her to her feet. As soon as her ankle hit the ground, she felt her body sway, but Haru was up with his arms out to catch her before she knew that she was falling.

Belnika gasped, hand covering her mouth in surprise. "Your ankle is bleeding!" she said, purple eyes wide. Eyes turned towards her ankle, noticing the growing blood spot on her ankle. "We need to take you to a hospital."

"I'll carry you," Haru said immediately, standing in front of her, knees bent. Elie smiled appreciatively, grabbing his elbows and using her good ankle to jump onto his back. He hoisted her up, strong arms having no problem carrying her weight. "Someone should give Sieg a call, just let him know what's happening," he said, beginning to walk.

Julia took her cell phone out, and after receiving the number from Elie, called him. "Hey Sieg, it's Julia. Elie and the rest of us were playing games in the park, and she tripped over a tree root and we think she might have sprained her ankle or something, so we're taking her to the hospital to get her checked out and everything. Just give me or Elie a call back whenever you can, thanks!" she said cheerfully after a few seconds before hanging it up, sliding the phone back in her pocket. "When does he normally get off work?"

"When school lets out for the underclassmen," Elie replied a little weakly. She couldn't do anything to stop her leg from swaying, but every slight movement just hurt even more, pain throbbing through her body. Her head and elbow weren't helping much either, but that was nothing compared to her ankle. She sighed, resting her head against the back of Haru's head, tuning out the conversation around her.

"Elie?" asked Haru after a while, adjusting her on his back and jolting her awake. "How are you feeling back there?"

She hummed in response, letting her eyes close. "Did I mention," she started to say, her voice slurred a little, "that I hit my head?"

Silence answered her, but she felt Haru begin to speed up. "No," said Musica after a quiet curse. "You fell hard, you might have gotten a concussion or something." Elie was about to tune out again, but a vibrating in her pocket stopped her, and she reached down to grab it.

"Hello?"

"Elie!" came Sieg's voice. "Elie, I got Julia's message, are you alright?"

The brunette laughed a little. "Kind of," she said, taking a deep breath. "I tripped, probably sprained my ankle. Oh, and I hit my head too."

"Is she okay?" she heard Niebel ask in the background, but Sieg didn't answer him. "Are you at the hospital? We'll be there soon," he said.

Before Elie could respond, the cell phone began to slip from her fingers, caught quickly by Musica. "Sieg? Hey, it's Musica," he said, watching Elie carefully. "We just got to the hospital, we're taking her to the ER, so we'll wait for you in the waiting room, alright?" He paused. "No problem. See you soon."

In minutes, the group of them were at the counter, explaining the situation. Because of Garage Island's small population, the hospital was rarely too busy to immediately take in a patient, so Elie was quickly put in a wheelchair and led away from the others. "I'm sorry, but we can't let any of you go with her," the nurse explained, watching them carefully. "We'll let you know as soon as you can."

So that was it. Julia sighed, slumping down in the hard plastic chair. "I'm sure she's fine," Belnika said, watching Haru carefully. "She's tough, and it wasn't that serious."

"I know," the blond said, crossing his arms. "I just wish I could have gone with her, made sure every step of the way." The others nodded in understanding, sitting in silence for a little bit. "Hey, isn't that Lucia?" asked Haru suddenly, eyes staring at the television hanging in the corner. Everyone turned towards it, and sure enough, there he was, standing at a podium and addressing what seemed to be some sort of audience.

"Sir, Sir!" said a reporter off screen, catching his attention. "Everyone wants to know – are the rumors true? Are you really giving up your inheritance to Demon Card?"

"The rumors are, regrettably, true," he said, pausing for the immediate noise that followed his announcement. "Yes, yes, I know this may be a surprise. However, and this is all that I would like to say on the matter, I would like to find my own path in the world, rather than follow in the – admittedly – monumental ones that my father has laid before me. I will still be working closely with both Demon Card and my father, however I do not intend to inherent the business when my father ultimately decides to retire."

A mess of camera flashes and reporters trying to be heard filled the room, drowning out the blond. The group stopped paying attention then, turning towards each other and shrugging. "That's weird," commented Haru with a frown. "He talks about Demon Card like it's his baby. I wonder why he's giving up his inheritance."

"Does it matter?"

"No, not really," he replied, still frowning. "It's just weird. Dad told me that Demon Card was, like, the fastest growing company in the world. That's why he got out of it, because he didn't like what King was trying to turn it into."

"What was it before?" asked Belnika curiously.

"It was supposed to Demon Guard, but Dad accidentally painted a 'C' on the door instead of a 'G', so they changed it to Card. They were supposed to be a demon protection agency, since a lot of the mainland was infested with demons and stuff. But as they started getting popular, they started getting requests for other things, and King, Lucia's dad and my dad's best friend, started taking these secret requests for stuff like assassinations. And then King started using Dark Bring and all that, and my dad said he'd had enough."

Let frowned. "And now they basically terrorize the world," he said, crossing his arms. "Legally. They aren't even so much a company anymore, I believe they operate more as a society."

"Yeah, a lot of politicians are a member of Demon Card," Belnika said. "Leaders and government officials, they're everywhere. A lot of their reputation comes from the lower ranks, the ones that are openly terrorizing the average citizen, but their real power comes from the fact that almost every major power in the world is in some way affiliated with Demon Card. I would have never imagined that they were once a demon protection agency, though. Everything is so different now." The group stared at her in surprise, causing her to blush a little. "My sister, Fumia, she works in the Empire," she explained.

"And since all these major politicians and whatever are members of Demon Card, they all answer to King," said Haru, eyes wide. "Basically giving him absolute control over nearly every major power in the world. No wonder the Empire hasn't tried to take them out - they practically run everything!"

The conversation stopped short by Sieg and Niebel's appearance, immediately asking questions about Elie. Haru rose to quickly explained the situation. "She's okay, they took her in about half an hour ago," he said. "We haven't had any word yet, but it wasn't too serious."

Sieg nodded curtly, placing a hand on his son's head to reassure him. "There, see Niebel? Elie's going to be just fine," he said, smiling at the boy. Niebel nodded, but there was still a worry in his eyes that Haru could see wouldn't be erased so easily. Haru knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and grinning at him.

"Elie is strong," he said, squeezing his thin shoulder. "And everyone takes a couple bumps and bruises every now and then, right? Remember a couple years ago when she," he paused for a second, chuckling a little at the memory, "tried to convince us that she could jump between those two buildings at the school? And then one day, after class let out, she told us all to meet her there and when we did, she was on the other side and announced she was going to show us?"

Niebel smiled. "And she jumped, but she didn't quite make it and she ended up landing on her arm and breaking it," he finished. Haru laughed with him, ruffling his hair for a second before he stood back up.

Haru remembered that day almost perfectly; the weird mood she had been in all day, the way her determination to prove what she could do was set in her face, the way his stomach dropped when she lost her footing. Everything. "Exactly," he said with a grin. "She'll be more than fine. I promise."

As if on cue, the doctor appeared behind Sieg. "Ah, hello Sieg," he said pleasantly, holding his clipboard in front of his stomach. "And Haru! Nice to see you looking well again. Last time I saw you, you had decided that playing on your roof was a good idea. I hope in the last two years, you've learned some common sense." The doctor chuckled a little bit before returning to Sieg. "You're here for Elie, I'm sure. Well, I'll have you know that she's doing fine. She did, however, break her ankle as well as suffer a mild concussion. Nothing too serious, though."

"She's okay?!" demanded Haru and Niebel together, turning on the doctor fiercely. His eyes widened in surprise for a second before he quickly nodded. "Can we see her?"

"Certainly. She's been asking for you all."

The entire group cheered for a second before hurriedly following the doctor to her room. She was laying in bed with her leg propped up, a patch on her head from an injury that they must not have noticed, as well as bandages around her elbow. "Haru!" she said as he entered, brightening up. "Sieg! Everyone!" They crowded around her bed, all talking at once before Sieg calmly reminded them of Elie's injury. "No, really, I'm fine. They're just worried about the concussion, I don't think I hit my head nearly that hard."

Sitting on her bed next to her, Haru leaned over and kissed the opposite side of her head. "Better safe than sorry," he said gently, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. "How does your ankle feel?"

Elie leaned against him, sighing. "It doesn't hurt so much now, because of the pain meds they gave me when they set it. But I won't be walking on it for a few weeks. The doctor said they'd provide me with crutches, so I'm not going to be wheelchair bound or anything."

"That's good," said Sieg, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to talk with the doctor, see when we can get you back home." With one last reassuring smile, he left the room, leaving the teenagers and Niebel alone.

"So," said Julia after a few moments of pleasant conversation, "do you think you would have caught her, Let? If she hadn't tripped?"

At the same time Let snapped 'of course I would have!', Elie crossed her arm and stated firmly, 'of course not!'. The two of them stared at each for a few seconds before Elie began to laugh, causing everyone else to start laughing. "We'll have to play again," she told him, still giggling. "Next time, I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Elie?" said Sieg, popping his head back in the room. "The doctor said that we're free to take you home immediately. Do you have everything here?"

"Yup!" she said quickly, throwing the covers off. She was wearing the same clothes that she had been brought in with, blood stains and all, carefully removing her leg from what had been propping it up. Haru hastened to her other side, bending down so she could wrap her arm around his shoulder, using him for support. "Thank you," she said, keeping her foot elevated from the ground.

Sieg came in carrying a pair of crutches, which she quickly adjusted to be as comfortable as possible – which admittedly was still not very no matter how much padding they added – and they watched as she got the hang of moving around like this. "Alright, you're all set!" the doctor said, pleased at how quickly she picked up on everything. "I would recommend taking a few days off of school, however. You won't be on any prescribed medication after today, so it'll be up to you on when you take any over the counter meds. You won't be in any mind-numbing pain, but it won't necessarily be a walk in the park. And don't forget to keep that cut on your elbow clean, it can still become infected."

Elie thanked the doctor and made her way out, friends and family next to her, each of the chatting happily. "Dad," said Niebel, walking next to Elie carefully. "can we all go out to eat? To celebrate, Elie being okay and all that."

"Yeah!"

"I'd be down for some food."

"If we wouldn't be imposing..."

Sieg took a look at his sister, noticing the way her body seemed to sag on the crutches. "Perhaps another time," he said firmly, holding the door open for her. "I think Elie is a little too exhausted for anything like that."

"Maybe after they come off," suggested Haru, rubbing her back. "Sieg is right, we really should let her get some rest." The others slowly agreed, walking Elie and Sieg back to their car. "This is new," commented Haru. "Hilda bright this over from the mainland?" Sieg nodded, beeping the electronic set of keys to open the door. Haru helped Elie into the car carefully, taking the crutches from her and placing them on the floor of the backseat.

"Haru," Elie said, reaching for him. He leaned into her touch, body his head at her eye level. "Thank you so much for all your help."

"Aw, don't mention it," he replied, kissing his forehead. "I'll come by tomorrow and check on you before school, okay? And then after."

"And I'm sure you'll text me all throughout the day," she giggled, brushing her nose against his. He gave her one of his crooked grins, gently grabbing her cheeks and pulling her in for a real kiss. "I love you," she whispered against him, cheeks flushing.

"And I love you," he replied, kissing her once more before he pulled away, closing the door for her. With one last reassurance that they didn't need a ride home, Sieg pulled off, carefully navigating the parking lot and down the street.

The others began to walk home, Belnika quietly excusing herself to walk in the opposite direction. About five minutes after she had gone, Musica and Julia exchanged a look, eyes gleaming. "So," said the boy, draping an arm across his best friend's shoulders. "Haru."

"Yeah?"

"You and Elie seem closer than ever," he commented, snickering lightly. Haru felt his cheeks warm a tad, and he stared at him curiously as he confirmed it. On his other side, he heard Julia try to muffle her own laughter. "The real question here, my good friend, is just how close the two of you are these days."

"What?" asked Haru, looking between the two. Both of them had an evil glint in their eyes that Haru had almost forgot about. "What are you getting at?"

Julia burst out laughing, elbowing him gently in the ribs. "He's asking about bumping uglies, Haru. The horizontal mambo! Burying the wick? Come on! Polishing the broomstick, Haru!" she said, staring at him in surprise as nothing seemed to have stuck. "Oh my God, Haru, we're asking if you've had sex with her!"

Haru sputtered, tripping over his own feet in his surprise. When he straightened up, his entire face was bright red, and it took him a couple seconds before he could form a complete sentence. "N-no!" he finally managed, shaking his head wildly. Before he could try and say anything else, the two of them began bombarding him with questions, demanding to know more about his and Elie's sex life – or lack thereof. "Guys! Come on, seriously?!"

"Yes!" they said together, stopping him entirely. "Come on, you guys are all cutesy around us. We wanna know the dirty details! Have you at least gotten to third base?" Haru stared at her, jaw slack. "Oh my God, seriously? What about second? Haru! Are you telling me that, not once in the months you two have been together, you haven't even so much as fondled her?!"

"Th-that's none of your business!" he snapped, trying to pull away from them, but Musica's grip on him was absolute. "Elie and I are...are taking it slow, that's all!"\

"Haru, I've seen continents drift faster than this!" cried Julia, groaning loudly.

Musica rolled his eyes. "You guys don't have to," he said, a little exasperated. "Not like you guys just met or any of that nonsense. You've been friends since you were what? Six?"

"Four."

"Even better! Seriously, what are you guys even waiting for?"

Haru remained quiet, deciding to remain quiet. "We want everything to be special," he finally grumbled, cheeks inflamed once again. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for their jokes and teasing. When they did not come, he opened them again, finding them staring at him. "What?!"

"Nothing," said Musica with a sigh. "We were just hoping for a little more of a story, that's all. You guys do anything besides some kissing?" Haru shrugged for a second before rolling his eyes and reluctantly shaking his head. Musica opened his mouth to argue but must have decided against it. "Alright, whatever works for you," he said with a shrug. "Long as you two are happy, right?"

Julia nodded in agreement, dropping the subject. The day had started to get a little dark, despite it not being terribly late in the day. As Julia began to complain about the weather, something caught Haru's eye, distracting him. It was Lucia, partially hidden by some buildings. Haru shushed his friends, pointing to him. The four of them exchanged a quick look and decided that, still curious from what they saw earlier on television, it might be fun to eavesdrop a little bit.

His back was towards them, one hand up to his ear presumably talking into a cell phone. "Yes, it aired today," he was saying. His voice was like nails against a chalkboard to Haru, who grimaced just at the sound. "I'm sure plenty of people saw it. Yes, father, the right people. I made sure that it aired in as many places as possible, there is very little chance she missed it." He paused again, probably listening to whatever his father was saying on the other end. "Good. Everything is proceeding as planned then?" Another pause. Haru felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight, and his eyes narrowed. "Excellent. I will inform you of the soonest opportunity to initiate action on the mainland."

As soon as they saw his hand begin to move away from his ear, the four of them pressed their back against the wall of the building, hidden from his view. Before they could be discovered, they quickly sneaked away, moving to the road and walking away from him to avoid suspicion. "What do you think he meant?" asked Musica quietly, eyes narrowed in worried.

"It certainly was very well said," Let replied. "Cryptic enough to give nothing away, but still enough of a conversation to appear normal to those that might overhear it."

Haru frowned. "Hopefully it's nothing," he said in resignation, unable to think of anything that might connect what he said. The others nodded, coming to the same conclusions as he had. "And even if it is something, what are the chances that it'll affect us? Guy's got the whole world at his feet, he could literally be talking about anything."

The others nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," agreed Musica, yawning. "Hey, you up for a game after dinner? Been a while since we played." The conversation slowly returned to normal, most of the conversation melting into the events of the day. For Haru, however, one word was sticking in his mind, reverberating around his ears like a bad song stuck on repeat.

Probably.

~x~

Author's Note: Hello again everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I had kind of a weird time writing it. It took me a while to find a good place to start – I toyed around with a looot of different beginnings – and then not even a full two pages into the story I started reading Fairy Tail and getting majorly distracted haha.
So it pretty much sat untouched for a few weeks before, today, I opened it back up and just started writing. The plot has been moved along nicely, with Lucia reappearing in quite the ominous manner, eh? Be ready for the next couple chapters, you're in for an explosive surprise! :D Again, I will try to get the next chapter up before Christmas!