Note thing-This chapter is all over the place, but it's freaking awesome.
Thats is all...spread the hetero love folks.
Chapter 2
It was the following flashback that would forever enforce the friendship of the two children, and by god it would last forever. Through thick and thin, through different fazes and fashions and video games and awkward moments, the two would remain good friends and be at the aid of one another. As time went by they did go through a great deal of arduous moments that had put their friendship to the test; whether it be in the form of a guyfriend or a girlfriend or a rumor of some sorts, but Luxord and Larxene never split from each other.
And soon the two six year olds became seven, and eight, and before you knew it; they were young adults-about twenty three.
First Larxene. Larxene went through her usual changes that all girls went through, and she developed into a rather fine young lady. She did grow out her hair, as she said she would, but soon had it cut short as she was soon discovered to be very talented at running, and hair got in the way of cross country and potential scholarships. That…and large breasts, but Larxene didn't have to worry so much about that….not that she minded as much. She ran and got her scholarship to her college and she did it all without complaint.
Luxord didn't mind either, about her breast, for those who were wondering.
And Luxord grew up, got skinny and tall, and got less skinny, as muscles soon formed, and didn't grow out his hair at all. Well, he did grow facial hair, but that wasn't until after high school and Larxene did mind that. Luxord liked it and kept it though, despite her nagging and almost cutting it off while he slept one night. He also got himself a few piercing as he was one day persuaded by a friend of his that it would be cool and that alone was enough to give it a try. Luxord got an infection in his left ear as he was dumb enough to believe his friend…but all said and done, he looked quite cool with his pierced ear. He eventually got more, and he had them done by professionals, learning his lesson and forever committing to memory that using a safety pin was not the way to go.
Larxene liked the piercing, but she had grown to hate needles, as one would expect, and decided to live life without jewelry on her ears. She figured there was enough on Luxord to compensate for her anyways.
Larxene did however find a liking to necklaces and bracelets, and once in awhile, she would sport a bit of jewelry, though she was a bit of a tomboy in the end and found herself either destroying them while rough-housing or simply growing bored of them. But she did like the pretty decorations while they were nice and new, every girl, no matter how loud and obnoxious they grew up to be, liked to feel beautiful once in a while. If only she knew that she'd only have to ask Luxord, who figured her beautiful with or without the jewelry, if she were pretty, then she'd never have to worry about spending twenty some dollars on a cheep pink bracelet.
There were a bunch of other things that happened as well during the huge break of childhood and adult hood, but one can only fit so much of their lives in a page or so. There will be many flashbacks on and about, and to linger in the past for too long would be a waste of time, seeing that this story takes place now.
Right now, as a matter of fact.
"You were dumped," Xigbar said curiously as he chewed on his straw.
Xaldin sighed miserably and nodded his head slowly, his eyes looking down to his lunch, which just so happened to be McDonalds.
You're probably wondering where Luxord and Larxene are right now. Well, you should know that Luxord was in this particular scene, eating his fries that were drenched in layers of salt, listening to his dear friend Xaldin, the guy who insisted he get ear pierced, wallow in depression.
Larxene was at work and therefore couldn't make it.
Luxord was in, as you can probably guess, at a McDonalds. And another simple guess would be that he was with his two friends because he had receives a call around two in the afternoon from a very disgruntled Xigbar telling him that Xaldin was being more silently disturbed than usual. And the final guess would be to assume that he got into his car, drove about seven blocks from his work, he had nothing better to do anyways so it was just fine, to his apartment that he shared with Xaldin, and found him lying in his bed…the look of death pasted onto his face. So, he did the only thing a friend could do in such a saddened situation such as this; he took Xaldin to binge on fast food. Normally he would go for ice cream and the other stereotypical choices of cuisine for his friend to snack on, but he only had a ten on him…and Mickey D's was cheap and affordable. A ten could go a long way there, and between the three of them, it went quite far.
"I thought things were going well between you two," Luxord said finally after swallowing his future heart attacks drenched in oil. He frowned as he saw Xaldin lift his head up and give him the most pathetic face one couldn't even begin to describe. "Well…at least I figured you two were doing alright."
Xaldin sank again.
"We were," he muttered from underneath the veil of dark dreadlocks. "At least…I thought we were…I didn't think it could change so quickly…"
"You mind letting us in," Xigbar asked as he scooted over to Xaldin, finding it rather difficult to hear the sad man underneath all of his misery. Luxord sat where he was, his mind in a strange mess as he recalled a certain memory that made him feel rather sympathetic to Xaldin. He knew what it felt like to have been dumped right out of nowhere, and he knew for a fact that it really did, but all means, suck. Nothing is worse than having your heart ripped out, squeezed until its dry and empty, and then thrown to the floor for you to pick up and try to fix on your own…
Yes, Luxord knew the meaning of pain quite well, at least when it came to being dumped that is.
"You'd only get pissed," Xaldin said.
Luxord raised his head a bit and made a rather peculiar face to Xaldin. He now believed there was a reason behind said dumping.
"You don't mean," he asked.
Xaldin gave Luxord a rather deadly look. Xigbar saw this look of hatred and frowned, catching on to what was now going on.
"You're kidding me right," Xigbar said with a small amount of shock. "She dumped you because….and you're just going to defend her?"
"You expect me to hate her," Xaldin asked snidely. "You do realize I can't just hate her right? That would be wrong…"
"And so would hating on your family," Xigbar pointed out.
"I didn't say that," Xaldin said defensively.
"You're implying it," Luxord said. He sighed as he began to drink his way too creamy latte, the sugar only adding to the young death he was sure to suffer from. "Honestly Xaldin, I told you a long time ago this girl was religious…"
"That you did," Xaldin said. "But religion is no reason to-"
"And you were dumped," Luxord said loudly, catching the attention of the many people that filled the fast food restaurant. Luxord looked to Xaldin with a very serious expression. "And why were you dumped?"
Xaldin looked away.
"Don't hide from it man," Xigbar said with a frown. "Hiding from it only makes you wrong too."
"Screw you guys," Xaldin said.
"You don't plan on getting back with her," Xigbar asked. He shoved some fries into his mouth and continued to talk, his words muffled though the sound of fires being slowly digested with saliva, "Don't bother man…she ain't going to give you another try…her religion wont allow it."
"I was going to explain to her," Xaldin said, looking up in desperation. "I know she simply doesn't understand, but I'm sure if I talk to her about my situation she'll come to understand…"
"Xaldin," Luxord said, shaking his head in disbelief, "do you hear what you are saying?" Luxord didn't give time for Xaldin to answer, and went on with his soon to be speech, "you're telling me that you're going to attempt to get back with a girl who dumped you simply because of your mothers…orientation…" Luxord looked to Xaldin and frowned. "Honestly Xaldin, does that sound right to you? Because it sure doesn't to me…"
Xaldin sunk even further to the table.
"I know you cared about Aeries, but think about it," Luxord said, raising a hand to add emphasis to his speech, "she's tried to convert you to Catholicism before, and she constantly invites you to go with her to mass-bright and early by the way." Luxord made sure to make himself heard at the very last part of the sentence, as bright and early meant around seven in the morning…which was considered sleep time for him. "She's very traditional…I bet you never even used a condom with her…"
"They don't believe in condoms," Xigbar asked curiously.
"No, they don't believe in birth control," Luxord corrected, pointing out the misconception. "They believe it to be another form of abortion I suppose…"
"That's stupid," Xigbar said with a frown. "I mean, good job for not using a condom and all, but-"
"We've never had sex," Xaldin announced, "she-"
"Well then, that only proves how traditional and close to her religion she is," Luxord said with a semi smile. He paused for a moment as his mind yet recalled another particular memory. "Tell me…that ring she wore…"
"It wasn't a promise ring," Xaldin said, finding Luxord's' assumption to be a tad inappropriate. "She just thought we should wait a bit longer…."
"Till you got down on one knee," Xigbar said, "you know, now that I look at it from a religious perspective; you are a lot better without her."
"Now, lets now be hasty with the pointing," Luxord said. "The point of Xaldin getting over her is a sensitive situation, one that must be taken care of with patience."
"I'm right here you know," Xaldin said.
"I'm quite aware of that," Luxord said, looking to the dreaded man before turning his attention back to Xigbar. "Now, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted? Ah yes, being dumped is a terrible thing, and despite the fact that Aeries was being completely immature and ignorant doesn't mean we should just punish Xaldin for wanting to get back with her."
"Yeah…we should punish her," Xigbar said with a laugh.
"You guys, I'm serious," Xaldin said, "she was the greatest thing that ever happened to me…"
"And your mother giving birth to you wasn't," Luxord asked.
It should be known that several people that were sitting around the three were, unfortunately, hearing this conversation. Some of them were appalled by what they were hearing, and others couldn't help but agree with some things. You also had the few who just got up and left the area, not wanting to be a part of this strange situation, no matter how insignificant.
"…"
"So…I know this chick," Xigbar said suddenly, "and I think she'd totally dig you."
"I don't care about getting another girl," Xaldin said with a frown.
"She isn't the only girl out there," Luxord said with a smile, trying to help his friend in making the matter seem less fruitless. "There are other girls out there…"
Luxord was sure the emphasis on the word "are" would help.
Xaldin looked to Luxord with the most hateful look he had made in the past three days and glared at Luxord. "Like you're one to talk…"
And Xaldin was even surer the emphasis on the word "you're" would shut Luxord right up.
Luxord frowned.
"Face it," Xaldin said with a frown, "I'm done."
"Don't say that," Xigbar said, putting a hand on Xaldin's shoulder. "Come on man, you'll get other girls…"
"Oh please don't try to make things seem hopeful," Xaldin said as he got up from his seat. "Face it, she was the only one who gave me the time and day, the only one who saw past my physical demeanor and gave me a try."
"And there will be others," Xigbar said with his ever so charming smile.
"You know, I probably would have taken what you said a bit more seriously if it weren't for the fact that I heard the same thing from Luxord," Xaldin said. "And hearing something like that from a hopeless romantic who hasn't gotten over his last breakup isn't very promising for my future."
"Ouch," Xigbar said as he glanced over to Luxord. The blonde was still sitting in his seat, his eyes looking to Xaldin with sympathy, though Xigbar could easily tell that Luxord wasn't all too pleased with what he was hearing. But it was true. It was true that Luxord hadn't completely gotten over his last break up, and it was true that he was a hopeless romantic over the girl he had been dumped by, so Xigbar knew that Luxord telling Xaldin that everything was going to be alright…probably wasn't the smartest of moves.
Xaldin though, was a kindred spirit, and right after saying this he felt an incredible amount of guilt hit him. He looked to his friend and frowned, already feeling the urge to ask for forgiveness, but he withheld it. He was grateful that he had friends that tried to help him get over what was a rather unfortunate breakup, mind you Xaldin loved both his family and his ex, so it was a difficult thing for him to bear, but in the end he couldn't help but feel tied out about this situation and he really didn't want to hear that he had to get over her.
"It's alright," Luxord finally said, reading Xaldin eyes quite easily. "I understand quite well what you're going though, so I'll let you get away with your current attitude, which, by the way, is shitty at best." Luxord let the hand that covered a portion of his face down and let his smile show to Xaldin, showing that forgiveness was not too far off.
A mother turned her head over to the group and frowned at them, all while her children giggled at the sound of the naughty word.
"I really liked her," Xaldin said finally after eyeing his friend the words "I'm sorry". He turned to Xigbar. "And don't you dare…"
"I didn't say a thing," Xigbar said to Xaldin, all while flaunting his most innocent look, which wasn't all too innocent looking and, in fact, made him look even more suspicious. "Though, I have to say, I know some really nice girls…"
"I'm not looking for another girl," Xaldin said as he sunk right back into his seat.
"He still needs to get over Aeries," Luxord pointed out as he began to take another sip out of his latte.
"I don't want to get over Aeries," Xaldin muttered. He buried his head into his arms and muttered some indescribable words.
Xigbar turned to Luxord.
"The food isn't helping," Xigbar said to Luxord.
"It appears so," Luxord said. He thought about the money remaining in his card and wondered whether it would be enough to help Xaldin forget about his current miseries.
"Anything out in theatres?"
"The dollar theatre is showing that one Disney movie…"
"Which one," Xigbar asked stupidly. Xaldin still had his head buried, and the two figured he couldn't very well hear underneath the layers of dreads.
"What do you mean which one," Luxord asked, shocked by the question that had been asked. Everybody knew when Disney movies came out, they were bloody Disney movies!
"The one in 3-D, or the 2-D one," Xigbar asked.
"The 3-D one has been out a while now," Luxord said, shaking his head. "Honestly, where have you been these past few months?"
"I don't waste twelve dollars on shitty movies that I can buy on bootleg for less," Xigbar said, shrugging as he did.
"I'm talking about the dollar theatre," Luxord said, "that's three dollars for a shitty movie," Luxord pointed out.
"Do you mind?"
Luxord, Xigbar, and Xaldin, who had lifted his head up for the occasion, all turned their direction to the very upset mother who was glaring at them with a very upset expression. The three of them stared in silence as the message was given to them in the form of her angered looking expression, and in the form of her children who couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the word "shitty" had been used several times within a few minutes.
They caught the drift and realized that maybe they ought to leave.
"So…what movie was out in the dollar theatre," Xigbar asked Luxord while still eyeing the woman.
And about three hours later, after deciding to watch the surprisingly good Roald Dahl over the acclaimed Disney movie; Luxord and Xaldin returned to their place of inhabitance and separated from each other as one began to partake in their activity of choice. Xigbar decided, since Xaldin was a bit moody even after the movie was over, that he would simply go off to his mysterious home-neither Xaldin nor Luxord had seen it-and simply lye around and wait for something interesting to happen on its own. So it was just the two men. Xaldin hadn't forgotten about his situation, but as feeling much better about life itself and was now in his room, lying on the bottom bunk of his own bunk bed as he thought about his current situation and choices that were given to him. He was a smart man. Smart, but undeniably selfish. He was a child brought up by divorce, as you can only imagine, and he wished for nothing more, as a child would while growing up in that strnge life, that he would get himself a happily ever after sort of life. His mother, mind you, came out and, to an extent, betrayed him by leaving his father, and his father did that same by remarrying and not trying to get his mother back. You would think this would set him up for further disappointment in life, but no; Xaldin grew up with the belief that things would get better, but it didn't…perhaps this is why he chose the Twentieth Century Fox movie over Disney; all hopes for a happy ending had died within him. Now, Luxord wanted to try and cheer his good friend , as he was a caring man, but realized that Xaldin was going to be upset for a while and that the best thing to do was to let him emit his high amounts of frustration on his own. Also, Luxord knew better than to continue to pester him about how it was obvious that he get over Aeries and find himself a new girl since he had realized, during the movie, that he was really one to talk and he should probably let the conversation die. So Luxord went to his room and buried himself within his personal work, typing away at his computer and trying his best to get his mind off of what was bothering him.
The breakup.
It really was a difficult thing for him to deal with, and watching Xaldin had been nothing more that n some strange reminder that his life had gone down hill ever so slowly in the past six months. He wouldn't admit it, he wasn't on for letting his emotions, especially his more sensitive ones, leak through his exterior, less anyone figure out he was just like everyone else in the world.
For those who hadn't caught on, yes; he had dated Larxene, they had fallen in love with one another, and they did have jolly good times with the other….and they broke up; Larxene being the dumper and Luxord, poor thing, being the dumpee.
Sometime around his twenty second birthday, Luxord watched as Larxene split up with yet another guy who wasn't him and realized that, by god, he still hadn't asked her out. He had felt something for her ever since he could remember, and as he grew those feelings only matured a blossomed into what was obviously fatal attraction. Fatal because it was Larxene; every boy that had dated her ended up dead inside in some way or form, usually by emasculation. But Luxord knew he was different. The past sixteen years had taught him loads of lessons, and a great deal of them had been labeled under the topic of Larxene. He knew just about everything he could know about her, and there were hardly any secrets between them. He had been there during the fun times and he had been there during the difficult times, and there were difficult times. Everybody saw them as a possible pair, and Luxord couldn't help but wonder what was stopping them from becoming one. He valued his friendship with her, and he cared about her a great deal; but he wanted so much more than simple hugs and casual glances. He was tired of being her partner in crime and realized it was high time he do something about it.
So he got Xaldin to ask a friend to ask Larxene how she felt about him.
Luxord never really got out of his shy phase.
Several weeks later they became a couple.
It was a strange process, but Luxord was ecstatic, not that he showed this to Larxene, when he finally had her all to himself.
Not that she was property or anything…but mind you, in the mind of a male, she was treasure, and if you left it unguarded long enough, someone would steal it. And to add to its beauty, it should be reminded that treasure is something that is highly valued. Treasure is also prized, shiny, and something that you want to keep for a long time.
Larxene was all of these.
But it was knowing that he finally had her in more ways than just one, and not just physically, but in that strange emotional sort of way; it really did move Luxord. As far as he could remember, there was always something more to that little girl. Larxene had something about her that he found naturally attractive. He simply couldn't put it together, but whatever it was it kept him wanting her. She seemed to posses this strange charm, this energy of some sort that he seemed to crave, even as a boy and it only grew as he got older. But, even as a boy, he knew there was something more going on than a simply crush. Luxord wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, because he was only six years old when he met Larxene and love as a whole was not something he could possibly comprehend at that age, but looking back at that flashback made him often wonder about it.
Was there such thing as destiny?
Well, if there was then it was a bitch because it decided that it would rip him away from Larxene in the form of a break up.
Six months. The two had dated for six whole moths, and during that time Luxord was sure that everything was going quite fine. He loved her in just about every way he could possibly imagine, he respected her and listened to her and he did everything! He let her choose the restaurants, he let her pick ice skating over whatever he wanted despite him really sucking at it, he let her choose most of the concerts and concert dates, even finding time so he could pick her up early and take her out before going to those concerts…and some of those bands really sucked too. He even cooked for her a few times…and he hated cooking!
Six months…
Luxord looked away from the computer he was typing on and glanced over to the small calendar that hung on his wall. He stared hard at the date and felt a sickening sensation fill his semi full stomach as he stared hard at its meaning.
Another six months.
They dated for six months and broke up six months ago. And, in fact, four days from now, would be the anniversary, if they were still dating, of him and her deciding to start their relationship. Their wonderful, perfect, dream inspired relationship…
Where did it go wrong exactly?
And why was it that Xaldin had to go and remind him about how much life was unfair to him?
Luxord turned back to his computer and began to type again. His mind was full of swear words as he felt that strange hatred for her that was born after her saying it was time to end it began to whisper thoughts into his head. Not screwed up things, Luxord wouldn't dare think those thoughts about her, but merely just blame. He knew he had done nothing to deserve such a break up, something so quick and out of place, and the fact that she had never told him why made it even more frustrating. As far as he was concerned there was no reason behind it other than she wanted to cause him pain, which he knew in reality wasn't true. But it gave him something to put blame on…so it helped.
Luxord gave a sigh as he sank into his seat. He stared at the rather long paragraph that he had typed out, impressed with his typing speed and choice of words. It was so detailed and full of enriching words, chalk full of description and detail. Reading to himself at a young age had done good by him, that was for sure. The active imagination that he had as a boy became the vivid imagination of a writer, and it showed in his work quite well that he was more than a simple fan writer. There was quite a bit in this paragraph, and one could get a lot from it as well.
He smiled.
Too bad he was going to have to delete it all.
Luxord clicked his mouse and scrolled up the page, black going over what he had written, and without a feeling of remorse, he deleted the paragraph.
She was an inspiration to him.
Too bad he wasn't writing a sad romance novel; otherwise he would have kept up that paragraph.
No, not even that. Even if he was writing such a novel he still would have deleted it. He couldn't bear with the idea of anyone reading his misery in the form of the book. He knew people made millions writing sad songs about break ups from long ago, but he wasn't into that kind of masochism. Even if Xaldin had walked in to his room and told him what he wrote was fantastic and should be saved for later use or reference, not that Luxord would have let him read it in the first place, he still would have deleted the paragraph.
Luxord wasn't a coward when it came to facing his problem; he just preferred to not have to deal with it. Besides, he wasn't afraid of this, he just hated it with all his heart.
Maybe he ought to tell Xaldin he was sorry for even trying to mention the idea of there being other girls out there? Maybe there was only one girl out there for him, and maybe he too, only had one girl out for him as well.
"I need coke," Luxord muttered to himself as he pulled himself from the seat. He wasn't thirsty or craving the drink, he just figured that putting his mind on some other idea or thought would be a good way fro him to go through the day without wasting his short lived brain cells lives. He had gone over this many times before, and he knew that thinking about it was really a waste of time. There was no point as to think about this break up as it was old news and thinking about it would not change a thing. He had dated girls before Larxene, and he had lived without her being a major part of his life, so he knew he could live without her. He was doing this right now. And he was doing a pretty decent job at it as well.
And so, with the grace that only a man like him could posses, he dragged himself out of his room and began to zombie walk out to the hallway. As he opened the door he could hear music being played, good music too, which meant that Xaldin was not going to be in mourning for weeks like he assumed he would be. Luxord figured by dinner time he would be back to half the man he was and by the end of the week he'd be over her. If he was lucky he would hear Xaldin say mean things about Aeries and call her names, which was always a good sign. Even he had done the same to Larxene, not in front of her face…or anyone else's, but in the sanctity of his room where no one could here his mutters of anger.
But when Luxord took a step into his living room he saw Xaldin sitting there on a couch, he could easily make out the fair blonde girl sitting next to him and talking away as if she had been in the house all her life, not taking note to Luxord's appearance at all.
Larxene had entered his fortress.
She was sitting right next to Xaldin, chatting away as she tried to get him to agree with whatever she was saying. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but from the amount of "no" and "come on" he could figure she was trying to get him to do something he didn't want to do.
How long had she been here? Why was it that he didn't here her knock? Did she still have a house key?
Luxord stood silently as he watched the blonde talk to Xaldin, and Xaldin talking right back to her. He glanced at the small clock that was hanging from a wall and checked the time, trying to figure out when the hell she managed to sneak into the house without him realizing it.
"Luxord."
Luxord blinked and looked down to where the two were sitting.
Xaldin sighed and shook his head.
"Could you please tell Larxene that I don't need an emotional retreat," he said simply, his head still shaking in disbelief from whatever she had said while he was in his room.
Luxord frowned. Did Xaldin not realize that he had not heard a thing the past….however long they had been talking?
"What," he asked.
"Larxene thinks I need some time off," Xaldin said, "healing time."
Larxene smirked. "You make it sound as if you've lost a family member or something." She moved closer to the dread locked man and rested her self next to him. "I was saying nothing of the sort…I was merely implying that you should go out with me and Xigbar…"
Luxord frowned.
"And I told you there would be no point to it," Xaldin said. "I have a job…"
"So do I," Larxene said, "and I'm sure you can get a few days off to hang out with us."
She looked to Luxord with a smile.
"You agree with me right," she asked. "A few days would be good for him…"
Luxord sighed as he approached the two. He was completely at lost for words as he tried to make out what was going on in his mind.
"Hello Larxene, nice to see you too, how have you been," Luxord said hastily as he sat down on the sofa lying against a perpendicular wall. "Fine? That's nice, and how are things with Axel? Great? Good for him…"
"Yeah yeah," Larxene said. "Don't be such a baby."
"A simple hello…."
Larxene frowned, "hello Luxord-now, answer the question."
Luxord sighed.
"I have no idea what the heck is going on," he answered. He looked to her and frowned. "How in the hell did you get in?"
"You're door was open," she answered quite casually. "A rapist could easily have his way with you two…you should really try locking the door." She relaxed into the furniture and smirked. "Who knows who could get in here?"
"Well, you're already here so I'd like to think the worst has already happened," Xaldin said with a smirk on his face.
Larxene got up from her position to give Xaldin a hit on the shoulder.
"Ha ha…very funny," she said, frowning at the joke, "I come all the way over here to offer you a chance of a lifetime and you decide you're going to treat me, you're best friend-"
"You're not Luxord," Xaldin said in false astonishment.
Larxene rolled her eyes.
"Why are you here," Luxord asked suddenly. "Xaldin is already dangerous enough in his state as it is, you here will only lead to what will be my untimely death."
"Well," Larxene said, pulling off her fake tone of shock quite well.
"Wait, I just finished calling you my best friend and you go and use me in your insult," Xaldin asked in surprise. He turned to Larxene, "ok, I take that back; you're my best friend."
"Why thank you Xaldin," Larxene said in an ever so polite tone.
Luxord wasn't all too sure whether he should take this moment seriously or not. Either Xaldin was being funny, which he doubted, or he was a rather fast healer…..which he also doubted.
"So…why are you here," Luxord asked again. Mind you, Luxord wasn't trying to be a dick to Larxene. Just because he had previously thought about her and him being dumped by her did not make him suddenly feel the need to harp on her without purpose. He really was curious as to why she was here. He knew well enough that she was here to comfort Xaldin, but the fact that she had driven from her job, which she disliked, to this place, which was about a twenty minute drive, and on a strangely hot day; it really made him think. He had remembered Xaldin mention a retreat, but like hell if he really had a general idea of what that really meant.
Larxene smiled.
"Well, you know how me and Xig go out to Mammoth during break to run about and train our-"
"Ugh," Luxord groaned.
Larxene was not pleased with his reaction.
"What the heck was that "ugh" for," Larxene quickly asked. "I didn't even finish."
"There was no need," Xaldin said, giving off an apathetic smile as he did. "It doesn't take much to figure out what you got planned."
"And what's that huh," Larxene asked defensively. "Come on genius; tell me what I was planning."
"You were going to drag me up to the middle of nowhere, during the middle of March, which would mean the middle of nowhere with a ton of snow, and leave me in a hotel room while you and Xigbar attempt to break your personal records," Xaldin said with some disgust. "Thanks but no thanks…"
"You know…when you put it that way, it sounds much nicer," Luxord said.
Xaldin made a face.
"What were you thinking?"
"That they were going to make you run with them."
Xaldin paled, "yes, that would be much worse."
Larxene groaned.
"You guys make it sound like I'm trying to torture him," she said in a half whine. "I was just thinking it would be a good idea for him to go out and try to forget things." She pouted a bit and gave Xaldin an innocent sort of look. "Sides; I would have left you in a Jacuzzi, not the hotel room…"
"How very thoughtful of you," Xaldin said, "but I think I'll be fine here; where I won't freeze to death."
"And what, let you think about her and drive by her house and call her and beg for her to reconsider," Larxene asked repulsively. "I think not-I'm here to help heal…"
"Luxord, tell Larxene I don't need her help," Xaldin asked in a whine. "Tell her I have you to do that for me or something…"
Luxord thought about the suggestion, and he literally considered saying this all to Larxene. The idea of being in the cold mountains, with hardly any internet reception, unless you go to the local Starbucks, sounded just awful. There would also be snow and bears and a whole slew of other unappealing things there as well, and a man like Xaldin would not last a day there.
But then again, what Larxene had said did prove a point. He would be stuck in the middle of nowhere; but he would be so busy trying to not go insane that he would hardly have any time to think about aeries. He would be too busy trying to keep warm, trying to find a television station that worked for him, trying to keep sticks out of his dreadlocks that he couldn't possibly find the time to think about that woman. And it would be so cold that he wouldn't be able to mast….err…think about all the good times they shared with one another.
Plus he would have the whole apartment to himself.
In a way, Larxene was doing a good deed. Sure, it was a bit hellish, but it was a good deed nonetheless.
"I don't know…," Luxord muttered, "you could use the fresh air and sunlight…"
Xaldin's jaw dropped a little.
Luxord quickly went on the defensive as he tried to find reasoning behind his rather suspicious answer.
"I mean, she took the time and liberty to plan for you and-"
"Speaking of planning," Xaldin said suddenly. He glared at Larxene and smiled. "you had to have already booked a hotel to stay in, considering how many people go up there while there's snow…there's no way you could have possibly planned ahead to make room for me." He reclined back and crossed his legs as he smiled triumphantly. "There's no way I would be able to go, unless you plan on me sleeping on the couch."
"Well…"
"Oh hell Larxene," Xaldin moaned.
"It only cost me an extra three hundred," Larxene said with a smile.
"Consider it a waste of-"
"-a night," Larxene said, her smiling growing a bit.
Luxord, who unfortunately happened to be breathing at the moment, began to choke upon his sir after hearing that. Xaldin was worse as he found himself choking on his own words.
Xaldin looked to the young woman as if she had gone mad. On a normal occasion, unless there was an emergency, she would be up there for about a week. You add three hundred a night to the mix, and you find yourself with quite a load of money being spent.
Luxord looked to Xaldin with a very serious look on his face, and as much as Xaldin tried to ignore it, he found that there was no way around it. He had to go now. It didn't matter how much he didn't want to go, he literally had to go now. There was no way he was going to let Larxene waste that much money on him; it just wouldn't be right.
"…when did you plan this," he asked weakly. "Just tell me…how did you pull this off in such quick notice."
The blonde smiled at the disgruntled man, "I have my ways…"
Xaldin sighed.
"You were going to mention this if I had said no after so many times," he muttered.
"Yes," Larxene said, not feeling a hint of shame behind her devious planning.
"And you were going to guilt me into it even if I had still said otherwise," he added on.
"Of course," she said.
Xaldin paused and stared into her eyes for a moment. Luxord waited patiently to find out what else she was hiding from both of them.
Xaldin took a deep breath, "and you even went as far as to buy me a bathing suit for the Jacuzzi."
"Actually, I plan on having you and Xigbar take care of that yourself," she said, "but yes; I did plan on getting you one from the beginning."
Xaldin gritted his teeth, "woman…"
"Man," Larxene said back, "you have two weeks to tell your boss that your going out, so I suggest you plan ahead…because you are going."
"Couldn't you take someone else," Xaldin asked.
Luxord shivered, fearing the worst as he saw the blonde think about it for a moment.
"…well, Axel is going to be busy filling in for me while I'm away," she said.
"Couldn't you invite another friend," Xaldin asked. "I mean…"
"But Xaldin," Larxene asked, "I thought you said I was your best friend…"
"…"
Luxord chuckled.
Larxene got up from her seat and stretched a bit before finding herself victorious and deciding that she could now leave after everything had been said and done. "Well then, I'll see you guys later, right?" She smiled at Xaldin and was about to walk off into the hallway that lead to freedom when Xaldin literally shot up from his seat in anger.
"Wait," he said in anger. "Just what the hell am I supposed to do for a whole week up in the mountains," he asked, "you literally cannot expect me to just hang around all day while you and Xigbar go and run; do you?"
"Good point," Luxord said. He looked to Larxene and frowned.
He still wanted the apartment for himself for the week, and by god, if Xaldin was not going to go then he would be extremely upset. I mean…imagine all the things he could do without having to worry about Xaldin seeing him or catching him in the moment. It would be so awesome.
"Of course I don't," Larxene said. "There will be plenty of things for you to do while we're up there."
Luxord smiled a bit.
"You can tour around and look at all the famous spots," Larxene suggested.
"That sounds fun," Luxord said to Xaldin as he got up from his seat, figuring he'd go back to his room and return to his typing.
"You can shop around at the town center," Larxene also pointed out.
Xaldin glared at her.
"Shopping is always fun," Luxord said as he passed by the two and made his way to his room.
"Or you can be pouty all day with Luxord," Larxene said with her charming smile. "It'll be like you've never left home."
"Eh," Luxord said, turning around and looking to Larxene with surprise and horror.
Xaldin's expression seemed to be similar in the fact that he was surprised to hear that part about Luxord, though he lacked the horror in his face.
"Wait…," Luxord said, putting his hand on the girls shoulder, "I know you're not implying what I think you're implying…"
"I'm not implying anything," she said. "I'm stating the fact that Xaldin can do an assortment of things while he's up in mammoth with us."
"But you mentioned my name."
"Yes."
"Which would imply that I'm going as well," Luxord said with tension in his breath.
"Well of course you're going," Larxene said.
"No…no I'm not," Luxord said.
"Yes, yes you are," Larxene said.
"No…"
"You're going," Larxene said.
"I don't think so," Luxord said, "you may have dragged Xaldin into this strange sick plan of yours, but I'm not going for it."
Larxene pouted.
"That won't work on me, I know you too well," Luxord said. "You think I'm going to feel sorry for you then you've gone mad, woman."
Larxene frowned as she realized that Luxord had known her for too long to not be able to feel sorry for her about stupid things like this. No, if he was going to feel sorry for her it would be for a justified reason, and vacation trips didn't fall into the category. However, she was smart and she knew that there were other ways of getting Luxord to bend to her will. She didn't have to work too hard to get him to do what she wanted, and she knew from previous moments in time when she had succeeded in getting him to do what she wanted.
Luxord was never one to go out and do things that most children, teens, and young adults would often do. He never went on the teeter totter, and if one thought that was surprise enough then they were sure in for bigger ones up ahead. He was just a shy young thing, and shyness is a hard thing to remove from a human. Anything that seemed to be way out there was just not appealing to him, and when you had a friend like that it could make accomplishing certain goals a bit difficult. Getting Luxord to climb a tree that obviously wasn't made for climbing was an arduous task, but with time Larxene learned that there were certain words one had to use in order to get Luxord to climb the bloody tree. Grabbing his hand and dragging him would only go so far, you had to use both hands when climbing, so she hearted to be vocal when times of physical motivation wasn't enough.
And so she spoke;
"Luxord," Larxene said, "you're going."
Luxord opened his mouth to retort, but Larxene didn't give him the time and day to even try to talk back.
"You're going and don't you dare say you're not," she continued, removing the older blondes hand from her shoulder as she looked into him straight in the eye with confidence. "You're going to go, and do you know why?" she placed a finger on his mouth when he was about to answer, "you're going to go because three of your only friends, or at least the ones that matter, are going and I'll be goddamn if you spend a whole week alone in this apartment doing nothing but writing your stupid stories that only we, your friends that matter, buy."
Luxord was speechless.
"…that was a tad cruel," Xaldin said.
"Had to be said," she said, her eyes still locked on to Luxord's. "I'm not going to leave one friend out in the dark while I help another…that'd be stupid."
"You know," Xaldin said, "you could just leave both of us here…"
"Yes, but that would be too easy," she said, turning to Xaldin and leaving Luxord still speechless. "So…two weeks, you have plenty of time to plan."
Xaldin sighed.
"You should be honored that I've invited you," she said as she headed out to the hall, Xaldin following her to let her out. "Think of all the fun we'll have."
"A week with two loud mouths," Xaldin said unenthusiastically, "I'm shaking in anticipation."
"That's the spirit," she said, letting Xaldin open the door for her. "Keep that up for the next two weeks and who knows, you may actually enjoy yourself while you're there.
"I doubt that," Xaldin said. He moved aside and let Larxene pass him about halfway before grabbing her arm and frowning at her. "You do realize I'll never hear the end of him right?"
Larxene shrugged.
"I'm the one who is supposed to be upset and bitching about my ex…not him," Xaldin said.
"You can hate life together," she said with a smile. She leaned over and gave Xaldin a kiss on the cheek and headed out to her car, laughing happily as she did. Xaldin could only stare at her backside as she walked off and got in to her vehicle of choice before driving off, going above the speed limit as usual.
Xaldin groaned.
He walked back into the hall and then into the living room, seeing that Luxord was nowhere to be seen. He thought about possibly going over to check his room, but figured it was better if he go on and listen to his music rather than try to figure out what Luxord was up to. He remembered the comment Larxene had said about his stories and groaned, knowing there would be consequences later on in store for him. To think this day started off with him being dumped…and now it lead to this. He looked to see what time it was and sighed when he realized it would still be a good six hours before the day ended.
"I'm going to bed," he muttered.
Now, as for Luxord, our hero in this fairytale of a story, he was in his room. What he was doing, one may ask, well, he was packing.
Yes, he was already packing.
No, he was not eager to get ready for the trip to come, and no, he wasn't trying to plan everything ahead. He was just packing in anger, and the reason was, well...nothing in particular. He was just frustrated and figures it to be the only thing he could do at this point. Larxene had left a very bad taste in his mouth, so in no way was his packing inspired by her. Ok, maybe a little, but it wasn't enough to where he would be eager and ready on the day of departure, he would make sure to complain all the way.
Luxord stared at his already half filled bag when he suddenly realized that he had been working on his current story of choice before Larxene had to go ruin it all. He looked up to his screen saver and stared at the minimized bar on the very bottom. He couldn't feel a dab of inspiration left within him as he heard her words ring into his ear about his stories. He knew he had people reading them, otherwise he couldn't be able to afford the simplest things in life, but the fact that she had said it alone made him feel empty inside. It really was easy for her to make him feel all sorts of things. What she had said was enough to make him not want to write. She made him feel bad…
Luxord let himself fall into his bed as he tried desperately to figure out when and where she realized how easy of a hold she had on him.
"Damn," he muttered as he gave up.
Larxene, the words she had said to Luxord left him empty, upset…and oddly enough, slightly aroused.
"I'm going to make that week hell for her," he concluded as he got right back up to pack. "She thinks she won, no -she did not-a battle does not declare the status of a war…"
And so he finished packing, not realizing until Wednesday that he was low on clothes as he had packed most of his belongings into his bag.
Utter failure.
I think I'm going to have to up the rating for this story...I just think it's going to happen...