Chapter 13
Numb
Point of View: Sora
I fell forth, slumping across my bed in my usual manner. Ahh...finally, the end of a long, hard day. My "date" was finally over. I can't say things ended particularly wonderful, but I guess you could say some things were cleared up. I listened for the slow slamming of the front door. Then, it came. I sighed. Poor Janice... She's been through a lot today... I guess you could say I'm exhausted, it's a relief to get all that over with, though I guess actually meeting new people on account of my own will, well, no, actually Janice forced me, well, it's a nice experience for me. I'm rather outgoing, but when it comes to making friends, well, I don't do well in that area.
Janice entered my room, plopping down on my bed beside me. I glanced at her carelessly while she returned a grateful look. A few moments of silence passes between us. I was beginning to wonder why she had come into my room in the first place.
"Thanks Sora," she started, her voice a low tone, though sweet and showed her words were true, "I know it was really a lot to ask of you, and I'm really glad you could do that favor for me."
I sat up, now looking her in the eye. "Yeah, you'd better be thankful." I looked at her again, she looked sad for some reason. My face softened, "Just kidding, Janice!" She managed to show a faint smile. I looked down. She obviously wasn't ready to get over him yet. "So...what's the deal between you and Sean anyways?"
She let out a rather despondent sigh before answering. "Well...we were pretty good friends, before I moved away. I liked him, and I was so sure he felt the same. Then one day, that just all blew up in my face." I could see she was trying hard to hold back unwanted tears. She bit her bottom lip, eyes swelling up, "When my parents brought up the mere issue of my college, I used that as an instant escape from him; I just couldn't go to the same school as him, I was too humiliated. So, then I moved to our island, and applied to Laguna, and here I am now."
I averted my gaze to her now, "But, I never expected to get a visit from them, I never thought Sean would even want to see me again! When I he told me...when he told me that, I felt so happy...like I was on cloud nine. But...I remembered what Wendy said to me. I couldn't go through with it without at least the slightest sense of guilt. And then...well, I couldn't believe what I was doing next, I couldn't believe I didn't want the one I truly loved most."
Feeling an incredible amount of sympathy just immediately dumped on me, I edged closer to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She finally broke, and her tears poured out. Her head fell to my chest, and I just held her there for a few minutes. I sighed. What would I have done if I were in her position? My mind wandered about, to the events held previously this Friday afternoon...
(Janice's POV)
I laughed. I laughed a lot. Here I was, amidst all my old familiar friends. I felt renewed, like this was the group I truly belonged to. I felt content, as if this moment should never end. There was Cara, my all in all number one friend before Kairi, bouncy blonde Natalie, and quiet, sophisticated Emily. Then, I saw him. Sean stood in his group of friends, the guys. I smiled toward them, my grin containing hints of sadness. Then, I noticed a short little girl standing beside him, showing off her fake laughs, all the while slyly linking her arm with Sean's. My hands formed a tight fist, while I decided to keep my voice...cool.
"Hey, who's she?" I struggled to keep my voice sounding typical.
"Oh, her?" Natalie asked, pointing at this new girl in our group.
"That's...Wendy...Sean's new girl," Cara said, hardly above a whisper just for my sake.
"Oh..." I trailed off, my voice dripping with a tinge of malice, "I see..."
We watched them for a few moments, before Sean finally noticed me; how ignorant has he really gotten over these years? ...Or is he trying to avoid me? There was a few seconds of dead silence; the tension grew up, before Cara finally broke this awkwardness.
"Hey! You guys! Get over here! Is this how you greet a friend that we haven't seen for almost half a year?!"
The guys immediately rushed over, Kenji and Daniel both warm and welcoming...but of course they still had their teasing in for me, then Sean and this...Wendy last. I broke into smiles; after all, I wasn't gonna look sad for Sean and his new girlfriend! My façade became real, as I quickly became myself again, and my mouth started off, nonstop! I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Wendy had edged closer to Sean. I stiffened. Wendy...she had shoulder length raven black hair, and bright, defiant maroon eyes. She was about my height, well, maybe one or two inches shorter. She was dressed in about the same attire as me, except her tank was...angelic white.
I snorted silently before I remembered Sora just standing all alone there in the corner. "Hey Sora!" I summoned him over. To my relief, he wore a friendly expression, obviously fake, but hey, at least he's putting some effort into all of this. I beamed as he walked over, quickly seeing our competition, and slyly wrapped an arm around my waist. I smirked slightly at our opposing couple. I grinned brightly to Sora before turning to my group of friends again.
"This," I stated clearly and proudly, "is Sora, my boyfriend."
My friends showered me with questions, and admirations that I had a boyfriend like Sora. (They were totally impressed by his looks) I could clearly see Sean's face, eyes wide with shock. I beamed even more; Sora was really making our relationship act seem even more realistic! I averted my gaze, continuing my cheerful smiles, and merry laughs and giggles, I could see this was really having an effect on Sean, and Wendy, 'oh-so-wonderful' Wendy, was whispering madly about whom I was, and of course this made me pleased that she was intimidated by me.
Then, I turned to face Sean, and being the completely changed person that I had become, I pretended to notice him for the first time. He stilled looked pretty much the same, short, spiked chocolate hair, and dark eyes, but he had gotten taller, so that he was an inch or two taller than me. I sighed. I guess time had done some damage to us both.
"Oh Sean!" I exclaimed, wearing a bright, friendly face, "Hey! How've you've been? This is Sora, my boyfriend." I made sure to say 'boyfriend' loudly enough. I'm sure his tone contained a hint of jealousy as he greeted us, "Hey, Janice...and Sora." I just loved the way he said "Sora," through his teeth, with a slight touch of bitterness. My lips curled once more as he continued, "This is..." he held a blank look as he trailed off. Had he really forgotten her name?
"Wendy!" she answered for him, her tone annoyed, and her voice matching: just plain annoying. My smile flattened as I said "Hi, nice to meet you," which was rudely not returned from her. The moment she turned, I rolled my eyes, which Cara nodded to as if to say "I know." I snorted, and this time, not silently. "What does Sean see in a girl like her?!" I whispered angrily to them. They each shrugged; obviously they shared a quite similar opinion of her. I rolled my eyes again. Obviously, they did not seem like the perfect match.
We started walking about the small, though welcoming little village. The girls just shrieked in delight when we passed by the many accessory booths, including Nina's. The guys...well they found interest in talking to Greg...except Sean. Poor Sean had to wait on Wendy as she dragged him to the little sparkly bracelets and necklaces. I almost felt sorry for him, but, he deserved it. So finally, we left, my friends each carrying huge bagfuls of girlish garnishes. I guess accessories are a girl's best friend.
I walked between Sora and Sean, and I could sense the awkward tension between the three of us. Sean would send Sora glares every now and then, and Sora would return him, seeing as he apparently wasn't one to give in. I looked from Sora to Sean, and apparently, they noticed how strange this was for me too, so they'd just glare at each other seldom. Finally, we led my friends to a restaurant, where I pulled Sora aside to talk to him.
"What's your problem?" I scolded.
"What?!" he said defensively.
"What is the deal between you and Sean?!"
"The guy keeps staring at me!" he cried, "He is obviously still in love with you!"
"What?" I cried, then looking away, "He's got a girlfriend! He's totally over me, and so am I!"
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever... He totally hates your so-called "boyfriend," maybe he's putting on an act too."
He began to walk in when I stopped him again, "Look Sora, I'm sorry; I guess I'm just a little uptight because this is Sean who we're acting for, and I really want this relationship act to work. And...thanks for being such a great...boyfriend."
"Sure."
We all sat in a rounded table, which the plushy crimson seats formed a semi circle. Sora and I sat directly in the center of our group, with the girls on my right, and the guys on Sora's left. We all laughed as we conversed and ate our burgers and fries, and sipped our sodas. This certainly was a cheerful atmosphere. I had forgotten our situation for a moment until I noticed Sean staring intently at me. I felt a blush rise up, and I instantly looked down to my food.
"Hey, you guys..." Cara started, "Remember back then, when Janice got so upset when she first found out that Sean shared her love letter with you guys, and joked around about it?"
"Shut up Cara!" I practically screamed.
"Oh yeah!" laughed Kenji.
"That was a good one!" Daniel added.
I stared at Cara, completely aghast at this new topic she had just brought up, "What was that for, Cara?" I cried horrified.
"What's the big deal, Janice?" Emily asked as she took a sip out of her soda.
"I know!" Natalie continued on, "I mean, it's okay, I mean, now it's just something to joke about, you guys are both in nice relationships, and it's all ancient history!"
I thought about it for a moment. "Well...I guess you're right. It's all good."
Apparently, Sean just snapped, and realized what we were talking about. "Wait, what?!" he cried, nearly spitting out his beverage, "Whoa, I did not joke around about it!"
"Yeah right!" Daniel piped up.
"Don't deny it, everyone already knows how we screwed around with that letter," Kenji added.
"No! It's not like that!" Sean cried out defensively.
"Aww, shut up Sean," I said, annoyed, "You broke my heart, and now you're still joking about it."
"What?!" he almost shouted, "If it was anyone's fault, it was yours!"
"MY FAULT?!?!" I stormed, completely petrifying the rest of my friends, "How is it MY fault that you showed it off to all of your friends?! Well, yeah, I guess it is my fault for sending you that letter in the first place, you big jerk!!!"
"Listen!" he shouted, his tone matching mine, "Where did you put that letter?"
I gave him a questioning look before answering, "I put it in your backpack, there were some textbooks, so I stuck it in there."
"Yeah...that's what I thought," he replied, "Those comics...they were Kenji's."
What?! I found that my voice had halted, the words, they just wouldn't spill out. I tried several times to attempt to ask him what he meant. Realization suddenly fell over me. "Wow, I didn't see that coming," I muttered.
"Look, this is what happened..." he started.
(Sean's POV)
It was a year ago, summer break was approaching, and we were coming to the end of high school, and we had just taken our Finals.
I plopped down in a blue chair next to the guys. This was the last week of school, and my friends and I were staying after school, just hanging out.
"Hey, Kenji!" I called to him from across the classroom, "Thanks for letting me borrow your book! I would've failed that last one for sure."
"No prob.!" he replied loosely, "Hey, do you still have it?"
"Oh, yeah," I said, suddenly remembering I hadn't returned the thick textbook to him, "Sorry, forgot to give it back, it's in my backpack."
He drew out the two inch thick blue book, when suddenly, a small, white envelope slipped out from one of the pages.
"Hey, what's this...?" he stooped down to pick it up, "Hey...you guys! Look at this! It's a love letter...from Janice!"
"Ooh Sean, she really LOVES you!" Daniel shouted out as he too read the letter.
"What're you gonna do about it?" one of the other guys asked.
"You don't actually like her do you?" Kenji asked me, and soon, all eyes were on me.
I stuttered. What was I supposed to say? I just didn't have the courage to tell my friends how I really felt about her so I said, "Well, we get along really well, and we talk a lot, but we're just friends, I'd never like her like that. Getting a letter like this doesn't change any-"
Kenji and his big mouth. There was no time to stop it, he showed it to everyone, and they were snickering over it...I never would've guessed you were just outside, hearing every word...
(end Sean's POV)
Well, we just all sat there, staring at him. "Oh...um...really?" was about all I could mutter. I'm such an idiot... He sighed and shook his head as if he were talking to a totally dense person. My cheeks burned up as shock and realization hit me hard. I'm a total idiot...
"You know, I was really happy when I got that letter," he continued on as if we were the only ones there, "I wanted to talk to you, to explain all of this back then...but you never gave me a chance to talk to you."
"Oh yeah..." I muttered, feeling like a complete moron as the truth spilled out, "Then I moved away..."
"So you two stopped talking...because of Kenji?!" Cara cried, and then all of our venomous glares switched to him. He just shrugged sheepishly as they continued to glare at him.
Silence fell over us as everyone just looked down to their food. The tension was unmistakable. I sighed as a rush of anger flooded my veins. This is why the two of us weren't together right now?! This is why Sora is pretending to be my boyfriend, and Sean's with that slut Wendy?! I forced on a smile.
"Well, what's passed is passed!" I forced myself to say, "Let's stop talking about old times! We're with different people now!"
They all agreed in unison, though the anxiety between all of us did not pass by.
"Come on..." I started on a new subject, "I know this nice souvenir shop we can visit next!" Of course I didn't, but Sora surely did.
We quickly got up and threw away our trash, and piled out of the automatic sliding doors. The store was just next door, lucky for us, since Sora had sent me a glare that read 'how-should-I-know-where-it-is?' I sighed in relief as my friends went back to normal as the many gifts and trinkets continued to awe them. Then, just out of the blue, Wendy walked up to me.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, her tone different from our earlier meeting.
"Umm, sure..." I said, still suspicious of this girl.
"Please...don't take him back!" she suddenly cried out to me.
"What..?" I almost stuttered, completely blown away by this new girl crying out to me.
"Look..." she started, "I know Sean still likes you, but I've liked him for so long! I'm really not mean or a slut like everyone else thinks...I just thought Sean would like me better if I changed myself! When your friends decided to visit you...Sean asked me to be his girlfriend for the day. I was so happy."
My eyes widened when I received this new piece of information. I glanced over to Sora, and he returned my look with one that read 'I-told-you-so.'
She continued on, "So...I'm not really his girlfriend, but just if I could spend some more time with him, maybe something could happen between us..."
My voice failed to expose itself once more. What?! I did not see this coming. Finally, I threw on a fake smile, "Don't worry Wendy! Sure there used to be something between us, but that was a long time ago! I'm totally in love with Sora! You've got nothing to worry about!"
And that brought a real friendly smile to her face.
"Ohmigosh, I'm gonna miss you so much Janice!" Cara cried as all of us embraced as the ship pulled up to take them back to the city.
"Me too!" I cried. I couldn't believe how quickly this day had passed.
Everyone gave me a hug, even Wendy! But not Sean... I guess things were still a little uptight between us.
"Bye Janice!"
"Take care!"
"Gonna miss ya!"
"See ya guys!" I shouted to them as they started boarding the ship.
I watched as Sean turned to go, then he looked back and walked back towards me. "Janice..."
Sora backed away, seeing that I probably would want to be alone in this conversation. I gave Sean a sad smile, "Hey...I'm sorry about our little past...good luck with Wendy!"
"Yeah, but look, I'm sorry too...I shouldn't have lied about my feelings about you." he said, looking down.
"Yeah, whatever. See ya, 'kay?" I urged him, before my own feelings would kick in.
"But Janice©¤" he started.
"Didn't you hear me?" I interrupted, fighting back tears, "Forget it! You can go now!"
"Can't we start over, Janice?" I looked into his eyes as the words that would have made me the happiest girl in the world erupted upon me.
Memories of high school flooded my mind, when we'd walk to school together, when we'd laugh and talk, when we were both swamped in bliss. But then, a set of words totally irrelevant from the happy moments in my head rang throughout my head. "Please...don't take him back!" I looked into his eyes. They told me he was sincere, that he truly meant every word. My expression changed, and I was serious. He truly looked sad, and it broke my heart to say my next few words.
"No, Sean, we can't. Go on, Wendy's waiting."
"All right... Goodbye Janice..." and he was gone.
Goodbye Sean...
I watched with Sora by my side as he boarded the ship along with the rest of my friends. They set sail back for the city, back home. I just stood there, feeling nothing...just numb. I sighed as the ship disappeared from sight.
The ruby sun set on us as we started back. "Why didn't you take his offer?" Sora asked me as we walked back to the house.
"I was already over him by the time I moved to the islands, he's nothing to me anymore..."
"Then why are you crying?"
...
(end Janice's POV)
"Thanks Sora..." she mumbled as she rubbed her red eyes.
"No prob."
She sighed as she wiped away the last of her tears, "Well, I guess I still owe you big time!" she put on a faint smile, "How 'bout I help you with Kairi?"
I sighed. Even Janice gets it! How can Kairi be so dense?
She laughed shakily, "Yeah, she's pretty clueless, eh?"
I let a weary sigh answer for me. "Completely."
"Don't worry, I'll help you get her!" she replied half cheerfully.
I looked away. What could Janice possibly do to help her realize what emotions I held?
"How?"
She smiled again, "Go see her."
This time, it was my turn to smile. "Thanks..."
Author's Notes: Finally! I'm done with this incredibly long chapter! I spent the whole day typing this up, just 'cause I had nothing better to do! Then, every now and then, I'd take breaks with the mint chocolate chip ice cream my mom and I just bought yesterday! Seriously, I'm already almost finished with it! I think the longest a container of ice cream's lasted this year (since I can't remember from last year or etc.) is a week. Ahh...I finally paid a visit to our local Border's, and got four more Anime, or Manga (seriously, what's the difference?!) books! Has anyone ever read Tsubasa? Gosh it's good...and it's just the first book! (But that's just my opinion) Ugh...my brother dragged me into selling candy and etc. for him at our swim practices to earn money for him to go to Junior Olympics, and my mom said she'd buy me a CD if I did... Ugh...I would've made it last year, wait no, two years ago...if it weren't for my birthday, and aging me up to the next age division!!! Okay, now for review replies...
Reviews
Astaldotholwen: I'm so glad you're still sticking with this story!!! hugs her back I'm still awaiting your next update for ITDWM! Have you realized you've been deleting a lot of chapters for that? Well...maybe just those two...can't remember...
Daggerly: Ohmigosh, I know exactly what you mean! Sometimes, my friends and I try to see who sounds the most like her laugh! It's just funny. Hey...did they ever give Janice a last name?
madcow863: Wow...that girl is...creepy... Oh yeah, I meant the dream part in the beginning was a little rushed; maybe you could have added on to that to really make the reader believe the dream was real, or something like that...
Shinimegumi Sky: Hey, you're still here! Yeah, I just love your descriptions... I can't even remember much about 'Found but still Lost'... Yeah, I try to write longer chapters, but shorter chapters take up less of your time...so yah...
Lvkishugs: Hey, you'd better still talk to me every now and then... I don't like calling people, so I spend like my whole day on the computer, or eating ice cream...which is probably bad for me... Can't wait to see what you'll do with my character! Do NOT make me a Kelly worshiper!!! Lolz... Hey...does anyone still call you Barbie? Lylz!
classengurl: Thanks for always being so positive about my chapters! Yeah...to other people: if I ever say something like that to you, that means I don't know what else to say! Lolz. Oh yeah...every time I say that I'm too busy...usually means I'm just too lazy.
Zanisha: Well, Kairi escaped my torturing...for now... Gosh, you guys give me so many ideas... Oh yeah, your last review, one of my other reviewers asked me the same thing a while back, and I'll tell you the same thing I told her. Girl, do you really think I know that much about college? Lolz. Yeah, the whole college thing was just to give the story a background, and I actually had to ask a LOT of people about it to learn about the information that I already wrote in the story, so yeah...I know nothing. O.O lolz... I should've asked you about it when I started the whole college thing...
Ohbaby;: I am so glad you like my story that much! I'll try to update frequently, but...I usually get away with updating once a week, or two or three times...
aliasfan: Hey, it was fun getting those review emails from you and your sister! If you ever want to email me about anything besides writing, send it to my other address, asiangirl312, yeah, it's at yahoo, too.
Apolla: Hey, glad you like it! I know, my school's full of 'em too, but I'm just listing the two biggest ones.
Aurora Australias: Heya! I know! I never thought I'd get soo many! Oh, I went to Border's yesterday, and guess what?! They still didn't have Kodocha number seven!!! Oh well, your loss, I already read it! Lolz.
zilly: Hey, I remember you! Yeah...nothing really happened... I couldn't think of anything too exciting to put...
Kintora: Hey, I just got your review today! Thanks for all the nice compliments! I looked at your profile, and hey, I have to go to Chinese school too! We're out now, but gosh, I hate it when I have to go! Lolz.
Question of the Day
What is your least favorite vegetable?
My Answer: Tomatoes, ohmigod, last week, my mom made me drink the tomato juice, it was cold from being in the fridge, but then, it trickled down my throat (it was only a little) and ohmigosh, the smell filled up my whole head, and ugh... The only sweet tomatoes I've ever eaten was once when I went with Aurora Australias to Sea plantation, and I took two, and I was like shouting, "Ohmigosh, it's sweet!!!" Lolz...
Oh yeah, the song, "My Happy Ending," yeah, it's supposed to describe Janice and Sean, and also Kairi and Sora. Don't understand? Stick around for the next few chapters. Oh, and I'm gonna split this story into two halves, so the second half is almost definitely gonna be shorter than the first half. I think this story will be at least twenty chapters...whoa... Oh, Janet, if you're reading, yeah, sorry, I kinda forgot how you're like, so I switch around your personality a lot... Oh yeah, Amy: don't tell anyone about the previews I've told you!
Well, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and stuck to this story for so long! Hey, have you noticed it's always the songfics that are the long ones? kk, plz review!
-Lyphe