"I don't want you to go away!" I sobbed."I-I just met you a-and I didn't even get to spend time with you yet! Please...don't go.. Please!... Please!" Why am I crying...? Why does it feel like I have such a strong connection to her? She placed a weak hand on my cheek and wiped away my tears.
"Just...remember to...always keep...your loved ones...close...to...you... I...love...you...
"...Elsword..."
"Elsword."
I woke up, startled, with sweat covering my forehead.
"Els-Kun? Daijobudesuka? (Are you okay?)" Aisha looked at me with concern.
"Yeah... I'm fine..."
"Have you seen Rena?" She asked.
"No, why? I was sleeping the whole time, Aisha."
"Oh, right. Whoops," Aisha giggled and turned serious. "She's missing.."
She's missing... That line echoed all over. Why does it feel like my heart's been stabbed?
"Anyways, there's some food on the dining table. We're going to look for Rena." Aisha stood up and left.
I quickly got dressed and sped upstairs and down again, almost tripping myself. There was a bento made for me and a slice of blueberry pie next to it. I sat down and ate slowly. Why did I feel a strong connection to that girl in my dreams? Who was she...? I feel like I've met her before...but, where?
It's funny how time flies by so fast when you're asking yourself these questions. I quickly grabbed my bento and rushed out the door. Remembering what Aisha said, I ran to the greenhouse, standing at the entrance, I glanced inside. I smiled in relief at what I saw and walked towards her.
"There you are."
She looked up in surprise. "Oh! Els. Good morning. I didn't know you'd find me here."
"I know you better than anyone else," I laughed.
"True, true~"
"Ready to go now?"
"Um..." She looked around. "Not yet... Do you mind helping me water the flowers over there?" Rena pointed to two rows of lilies.
"Sure thing." Did I mention that Rena and I are childhood friends? No? Well, now I did. My mom and her's use to be really close and we would always go to each other's house. Sometimes, she would even sleep over at my house and ask my mom if she could sleep together with me. I remember when I would be so mad at her, but oh well~ Can't be helped. She was so young, so fragile, and so...vulnerable. Sometimes, she would hug me tightly in her sleep when she's having nightmares and apologize when she wakes up. I find that really cute. Haha, better stop it here before she yells at me~
Rena glared at me. "What were you telling them about our childhood?"
I sweat-dropped. "Um... Nothing!"
"Just so you guys know, I did not hug him when I was having nightmares!" That denial. Haha, yes, she did~
I watered the last bit of lilies. "Done yet?"
"In a minute." Rena quickly watered the last two rows of tulips, washed her hands and locked the greenhouse.
"Was this what you've been doing all morning?" I asked. "And the bento, did you make it for me?"
She smiled. "Yep~"
"As expected," I half-whispered.
When we got to our classroom, Aisha tackle hugged Rena. "Where were you?!" Aisha whined.
Rena laughed. "I was watering the plants in the greenhouse."
"Wahh~! You had us all worried!"
"Hehe~ Gomen~ (Sorry~)"
"Should always leave a note, Rena," Eve said.
"Hai, hai. (Yes, yes.) I'll do that next time~"
"Thanks for making our breakfast though." Chung smiled.
"You're welcome! Hope you enjoyed it!"
"Of course we did! Your cooking is always the best!" Raven chuckled.
I'm just so thankful that today's the last day of school, which means no more classes and substituting until next year!
"What are we doing today?" I asked.
"Partyyy!" Aisha shouted.
"With the entire school?" Eve questioned.
"Ding, ding! You got it, Eve!" After Aisha said that, I mentally face-palmed.
"But there's like 12371823721837 people!" I whined.
"Oh, stop exaggerating, Elsword." Raven laughed.
"The more the merrier!" Rena said. "Let's get this party started!"
"Okay, so. Rena and Elsword, I need you to get the food. Aisha and Raven, the drinks. Chung and I will get the barbecue stand and set up the tables, and also get all the students to the courtyard.
Just then a loud voice announced:
"ATTENTION STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THAT ARE IN THE SCHOOL RIGHT NOW. TEACHERS, PLEASE TAKE YOUR STUDENTS TO THE COURTYARD, PRONTO."
We face-palmed after Chung finished announcing.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing, nothing. Let's get the food, Rena," I said.
We walked towards the Elrios Market and there, Ariel greeted us.
"Welcome back, Rena and Elsword. How may I help you today?" She asked.
"Hi, Ariel!" Rena happily greeted her. "We're having a party at school today, so we were wondering what kind of food to get."
"Oh! A Party! Right this way, my dear." Ariel led us to a section fill of bagged chips-Cheetos, Doritos, Lays, Popcorn-with candy and a whole lot more! Not going to even try creating a grocery list.
I grabbed bags of chips, buckets of candy and boxes of cupcake, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. Meanwhile, Rena got packages of bacon, ham, chicken, beef, hot dogs, corn, lettuce, and tomatoes. She also got bread, ketchup, mustard, and other sauces. I looked at Rena and sweat-dropped. Isn't that a bit too much? Oh well, who cares, it's a party after all.
We went back to school, meeting the others in the courtyard after paying Ariel a total of 2,076,938 ED. Way too expensive...not~
The barbecue stand was already set up by Eve and Chung and was heating up. Raven and Aisha got orange juice, fruit punch, Sprite, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew. So much to choose from...
Rena started cooking and I went to help Raven and Aisha with the drinks.
"Lovely day, isn't it, Els-Kun?"
"Hn. I guess," I replied.
One and a half hour later, we were finished with the preparations.
"Alright. Party's starting!" Chung shouted through a megaphone. Where did he get that? Me, never mind.
Fireworks went up into the sky and kids were crowding around the food tables. We sat off to the side, on the grass with our pile of food.
"Yummy! Rena, your cooking is amazing!" Aisha complemented.
"It sure is!" We agreed.
"Haha, thanks guys." She smiled. "...I'll be right back."
I watched her go as she disappeared around the corner of the school.
"Raven and i are going to play volleyball!" Aisha said and dragged Raven away.
"Um... Eve and I are going to play tennis, 'kay?" Without waiting for my reply, Chung and Eve hurried off to play tennis.
Guess I'm alone then... I spent twenty minutes watching students play with them. Where's Rena? She should be back by now. I waited ten more minutes and I started to worry. I walked towards the corner that she turned and looked around. She was no where to be found.
I panicked and started yelling her name. "Rena! Rena, where are you?!" A soft cry was heard. I looked around for the own of that cry, but there was no one around. Sighing, I sat against the wall of the school. Where could she be...? She never goes off like that and doesn't return. Guess I better make my way back to our spot before the others start to worry. I made my way back to the spot and guess who was there? It was Rena, eating a sandwich.
"Where were you?"
"Oh, Els. I was helping a teacher," she replied. "Why? Did you miss me?"
I popped down next to her and gently flicked her forehead. "You bet I did."
"Itai!" Rena rubbed her forehead. "Gomenne, I'll tell you where I'm going next time, 'kay?"
"You better."
Rena laughed. "I will."
Whenever I look at Reba, there's always this cheerful presence that attracts me to her. She's so beautiful and radiant, like the sun giving off its rays of light. Could I have possibly fallen in love with her? Gah! What am I thinking? Then again, she's the only girl in the group that I can actually tell everything to. To be honest, I've always thought of her as my younger sister, but I guess it sort of turned into love somehow. Guess I'll have to wait and see till I know my true feelings for her.
We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the mess after the party was over. It was hell. Too much work, just too much! After the courtyard was nice and clean, we walked to Rena's house.
"Tadaima! (I'm home!)" Rena called.
"Okaeri. (Welcome home.)" Rena's parents and servants greeted.
"It's nice to be back," we told her parents.
"It's good to have you back, too, Els, Aisha, Raven, Chung, and Eve," Rena's mom said. "Now freshen up and we'll have dinner." A quarter after, we were all in the dining room, eating and chatting away.
"So Els, how are things going between you and Rena?" Rena's dad asked me.
Rena turned tomato red. "Uh-" I began to say.
"Nothing's going on between me and him!" Rena said quickly.
"But you told me that you-" Rena's dad got cut off.
"Someone's outside waiting to see you, sir."
"Oh, okay." He stood up, apologized to us and left. Rena sighed in relief, caught my eye and quickly turned away, focusing the attention on her food. I ate my dinner slowly, thinking about what her dad said. Maybe I should ask him for clarification.
I walked upstairs after dinner and knocked on her parents' door. "Come in," a voice called.
I peeped my head inside. "Hi, Els. How may I help you?" Rena's dad asked.
"About what you asked at the dinner table...what did you mean?"
He laughed. "No brain as always, ne?"
"Hey!" I pouted.
"Kidding~ You should know by now that Rena likes...or should I say loves?..you."
"Hontoni?"
"Yes, really. Don't you notice the way she acts around you? Always making you lunch and things like that."
Now that I start to think about it, I AM the ONLY one she makes a bento for. "Oh... I see..." Wait a second. How does he know?
"How do you know about this?"
Rena's dad chuckled. "I was once your age, so I should know some things. My wife also made me bentos."
That makes sense... "Thank you, Mr._"
"You're welcome, Els. Hey, do me a favor? If you guys go out, take care of her, 'kay?"
"Will do." It all makes sense now. What am I going to do... I walked out of their room, out of the house, and into the garden. It always seem to amaze me on how beautiful her garden is. Its variety of flowers and moonlight shining on the water brings a magical feeling. Flowers-tulips, roses, sunflowers, forget-me-nots, lilacs-of every kind were scattered around, creating a beautiful scenery. I sat on a nearby bench, closing my eyes, I listened. How long has it been since I've known Rena? She was ALWAYS there for me when I needed someone to talk to, always there when I'm feeling down or scared. Could it be that...I actually love her?
A rustling sound came from the bushes and out stepped Raven. I sighed in relief and said, "Hey, Rave."
"Oh, hey, Elsword. What's up with you?"
"Raven, how do you describe 'love'?"
"Hm... Loving someone means that you have deep feelings for them and are willing to do anything to protect that person. Having trust is one of love's most important...um, idea? I don't know, but if you love each other, no secrets and truths are to be kept. Hm... Do you love someone?"
I blushed. It was a good thing it's nighttime, or Raven would see how red my face is. "Um.. Yeah..."
"Let me guess; Rena?"
"H-How did you know?"
"Judging by the way you get along with her, there's something going on, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
Raven patted me on the back. "Well, give it a try, little buddy and see how it goes."
"S-Should I?"
"Yes, if that's what your heart is telling you to do, then listen to your heart.
What does my heart tell me to do? Then again, does Rena even like me? Her dad says yes, but I really want to hear it from her.
"I'll ask her out...later..." I made up my mind.
Raven shrugged. "Whatever you say, Els. If you really love her, then go. If not, she'll be taken by someone else." Damn you, Raven. Fine, I'll ask her out, now.
"Do you know where she is?" I asked.
"In the house, duh," he said. I face-palmed. "OKAY FINE. She's probably in her bedroom."
"'Kay, thanks." And I took off running to her bedroom. I knocked on the door three times and waited.
"Who is it?~"
"It's me, Els."
The door unlocked. "Oh! Els, come in, come in," Rena said.
"No, no, it's fine. I just wanted to tell you that.. I love you, so... Will you go out with me?" I held my breath and waited for her answer. Rena stood there, wide-eyed and full of shock. "Um..."
Mysti: Review, review~ Please^^ Thank you to Reid-Kun and Kat-Chan for supporting me!~