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Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967: Thanks for the wonderful review!
Ilikechocolate: Of course your vote counts. I take everyone's opinion. I'm really glad you voted as well, because no one else did…
Author's Note: The actual story, minus disclaimer and everything else, is exactly 1,000 words! Wooh, life time achievement complete!
Disclaimer: I own the plot, Selene, the brown thing, and the alien fox thing. Everything else goes to their rightful, respected owners. Thank you for your attention. Enjoy.
Love and Hate
Selene suddenly feels a sharp, shooting pain at the left side of her skull. She writhes for a moment, caught between sleep and the waking world. Something feels rough and dry - something inside her. As the fogginess of sleep clears, she registers that the rough, almost burning sensation, is coming from her throat. She tries to move so she can get at it to try and alleviate the discomfort but her body feels too heavy to move.
Her breaths are ragged, shallow and erratic at best. Selene suddenly lurches upright and falls straight into a coughing fit. Eventually, the coughing dies down and she sways weakly. Just as her body collapses two hands catch her arms in a firm, yet gentle grip. She looks up through blurry eyes at, who she presumes is, the woman who she met at the hospital. Then her eyes flutter shut and she's out; colder than cold.
Selene slowly opens her eyes; she gazes up at the ceiling before her eyes drop to the floor. She's still awfully tired despite knowing that she's slept for a long, long time. Her blurry vision settles back into focus slowly and her breathing calms. Slowly, she lifts herself up into a sitting position and covers her mouth to refrain from yawning. She looks over her right shoulder to the stars high in the forlorn sky. She smiles softly, welcoming the night and, unknowingly absorbing its very essence. A click registers in the back of her mind just an instant before the door opens. It gives her enough time to duck under the covers and hide but she doesn't move. Selene refuses to let her eyes drift from the stars, from what she considers to be true beauty, so easily. There's nothing like the moon, nothing like the night and nature.
"You're awake," a voice says.
Immediately, a chill runs through her entire body and soul. She flinches involuntarily, despite already knowing she wasn't alone. The pain in her chest intensifies so much so that she can hardly breathe. It is all for one reason. It is one simple reason, because it's him. She glances at him warily over her shoulder, taking in as much of him as she possibly can. Her heart pounds vigorously in her chest, longing to be closer to him. She wants to stare at him forever, to be with him, but there's a nagging feeling somewhere in her. She can't breathe, because he's perfect in every single way. He's everything to her and he doesn't even know who she is. His voice echoes in her mind as the pinnacle of perfection. Selene is completely still, as unmoving as stone.
"You're that girl from the square," he frowns at that.
A girl from the square? That strikes a chord; she tilts her head to the side. The memories of the square rush through her mind at bullet speed. Yes, she knows what he means, but he wasn't there. Her mouth opens to speak but closes quickly. She lowers her head, still watching him. She silently hopes that he hasn't noticed that she was going to say something. He does and he wonders just what she was going to say. It strikes her just how pathetic she is, unable to even utter a sound in his presence. She feels the cracks spreading through her heart. Selene tries to assure herself that they're only because of how disheartened she is and nothing more. Something, perhaps her mind, begs to differ. She wraps her arms around herself.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
She immediately nods and looks up at him with a small, shy smile. Selene trembles weakly but she tries to hide it. Mentally, she's curled up in a ball and wishing she could actually, for once in her life, think before she reacts. No, she's not okay. She's in love, when he so clearly isn't. Try as she might the pain can't be brushed aside or ignored. Still, she doesn't want to explain how she feels, or make him worry about her. She never wants him to be anything but safe and happy. That's all that matters. She curls even further into a ball, frowning unhappily. Selene forces it up and closer to the surface while grasping onto her shaky at best confidence. She smiles up at him again, softly.
"I'm alright,"
An image flashes in her mind and she darts beneath the covers faster than lightning strikes. He stares at where she is, confused, but seconds later the door behind him clicks open. He moves out of the way to let whoever it is in. Selene knows who it is already, and it's giving her a head ache. Not the person, no, but the premonition definitely was. The dark hurt her eyes less; it also helped with pains though she couldn't tell you why. Her hands clutch onto her hair, trying to drown out the pain with another, but it doesn't work. She senses a silence from outside the covers just a few moments before the covers are ripped off. Selene is propped upright as someone calls something out. She can't identify it. It's just meaningless noise.
"What happened?" Crow asks, pointing upstairs.
"Martha's looking after someone," Yūsei replies.
"Yea," Carly comments. "She almost drowned yesterday in a small lake."
"You know that how?" Jack asks.
"Well, there was some rumour about people disappearing up this mountain, so I went to investigate. I think she fell in, but I'm not sure how. I don't think she can swim," Carly replies.
"Wait," Akiza says suddenly. "What mountain were you on?"
"Um, a small one… I can't quite remember the name. It was up that winding mountainous road. You know, the really bumpy one that D-Wheels are illegal on," Carly frowns. "Why?"
That was one of Sayer's favourite places. He said he was going to make a base there to train more psychics… He didn't actually. No, he couldn't have! Akiza forces herself to smile.
"Nothing, I was just wondering. That's all," she replies.
She's hiding something, Yūsei frowns, watching his friend.
Chapter Edited.