Chapter 3 is finally up! Thank you guys for supporting me and my story with your wonderful review, I can't thank you enough~~
As always, I Do Not Own Ib ^^
Chapter 3: A date?
[pant,pant]
She ran and ran, through the dark hallway.
There was no one chasing her this time, but somehow, that didn't give her heart at ease. She felt like she was missing something important, and felt an extreme urge to find it, whatever or whoever that might be.
The dark hallway was painted in royal crimson, and the wall was adorned by countless of frame. Just frames hanging on the wall, without any painting. This uncomfortable scenery suffocated her from inside out, she felt dizzy that she might fall at any second, but she refused to. "I have…to go…" she murmured.
Everytime she passed a frame, a black rose sprout from inside the frame, and the frame slowly deformed into a horrid form. With every step she took, a sound of a giggling girl played gleefully through the hallway, which sent a cold sweat down her spine.
She was terrified, this nightmare was way much worse than anything she ever had, Of course, the previous nightmares were horrible, but this time was the worst. What is this….feeling? Am I missing something? She thought over and over again and she forced her legs to run over the lush red-carpet that was spread along the hallway.
If usually Eve found herself on a dead end every time in her dream, this time too, was different.
In the end of the hallway, there stood a royal door, carved with intricate pattern all along its surface. The door itself was shrouded by countless thorny black rose, popping out from the wall. The doorknob was wrapped by its thorny vines.
Her heart beat faster as she stared at the door. Somehow, she felt a presence behind the door. Whose presence it was, she herself didn't know. But more importantly, it was this presence that she searched all this time.
She looked at her surrounding, there was nothing she can use to cut all of those thorny vines. She was completely armless. She however, refused to give up.
She grabbed the vines and used all of her force to cut those vines. She winced everytime her delicate skin touched the thorn, but she ignored it. She didn't care how bloody her hand had become, she kept on pulling and ripping those damned vines.
She finally managed to clear most of the vines covering the door after a couple of minute. She panted heavily, but grinning nonetheless after her successful attempt. She suddenly felt her leg become numb and fell to the floor. Her leg had finally reached their limit. She cringed as her bloody hand leaned on the cold doorknob to find support. I can't…stop…now…! She resolved herself, and cruelly forced all of her strength on her leg to stand.
She opened the door, which was surprisingly heavy. When she looked inside, the room was wide and almost empty, only a few painting decorated the wall, and all of the painting was sickly familiar to Eve' eyes. The paintings of The Lady. The Lady in Red, The Lady in Blue, The Lady in Yellow and The Lady in Green were hung in straight line on the back of the room.
She feared that they might pop out suddenly from the wall just like 7 years ago. But this time, those painting stayed still.
Alone in the center of the room, a majestic-styled chair stood and thorny vines was twisted around it. She gasped in horror upon seeing the one that sat on the chair.
"GARRY!"
She ran toward him, forgetting that her leg was on their limit.
He appeared unconscious, his eyes were closed shut. The vines wrapped him solid and strapped him to the chair. The thorn itself was tearing his coat apart, revealing horrendous amount of cut underneath. Blood dripped from his mouth, and soon after Eve realized that the vines was also tied itself to his neck, and the thorn dug their way onto his flesh. Fresh crimson liquid flew from the thorn, as if it was a fountain of blood.
"Garry! Garry!" Tears began to flow down her cheeks.
"He won't wake…." A voice said from behind.
Eve turned her face to see who was talking, although the voice was something awfully familiar, much to her dismay.
Mary…
The little girl with blonde hair formed a smile on her face. Her usual malicious smile.
"Hello Eve…" Her azure eyes flickered sinisterly.
"Mary…." Eve gulped. She was frozen. This girl standing right in front of her was the same Mary that tried to kill her.
The little girl took a step forward, sending Eve to her full-alerted state and moved backward. Mary was slightly surprised on seeing this.
"What's wrong, Eve?" she chuckled.
"Do-Don't come here…! Don't come any closer!" Eve said to her, almost shrieking.
"Aww, why…? Aren't we friend?" the blue-eyed girl pouted playfully. But after that, her eyes threw an icy glare toward Eve. The glare of hate and anger. Smile that adorned her beautiful face was also replaced by a frown of disgust. Within second, her angelic feature turned into a demonic one.
"Oh, I forgot. We WERE!" she screamed at Eve. "We were friend! Until he came!" Mary angrily pointed her finger on the now unconscious Garry. "ALL WAS BECAUSE OF HIM!"
As her scream echoed the room, the black roses emerged from the wall, covering everything in pitch black darkness. Some of the vines caught Eve on her ankle and dropped her to the floor. Mary laughed maniacally as the vines twisted itself on Eve.
Eve screamed and reached her hand outside the thorny prison, and her vision gone into blur…
"NO!"
She gasped. She finally awake from the horrid dream. She felt her cheeks wet from the tears.
She cried again…In her dream.
Every nightmare she had until now was distinct, like a faraway dream she'll never know the meaning of. The dreams she had earlier was always felt surreal and unclear, and sometimes, she wondered if she was just too tired or she just watched too many horror movie.
But now, it was different. The dream she had just now was very clear, and there was no mistaking it.
The glowing blue eyes, that maniacal laughter, those black roses….It was….Mary's.
This whole nightmare was because of Mary.
She didn't understand…That day, she saw her burned to ashes. Mary should be no more! But why?
Suddenly she remembered the scenery from the room. A scenery where Garry was covered in blood. She closed her eyes shut in fright and clutched her head tight, trying her best to shove aside that horrific image from her mind.
Why was the nightmare suddenly become clear after she met Garry again?
She had a bad feeling about this…
xXx
[knock knock]
Somebody knocked her door, awaken her from her sleep. After the nightmare, she could finally fall asleep 4 hours later, and it was really unfortunate that the last hour showed 6 AM, which mean that she only sleep for one hour before someone knocked the door.
"Eve? You're awake?" the sound called.
That sound was from her dad. As much as she hated to leave her bed, she had to go. She lazily opened the door and met her father' surprised look.
"Good lord, Eve? Are you feeling sick again?" her dad placed the back of his hand to her forehead. She looked really pale and with the black under her eyes visible, he was more than sure that her daughter had another sleep issue. "I'm fine, dad…" she said sheepishly. "I just…err…watched TV overnight…"she lied, and cursed under her breath for the lame excuse.
"You sure?" her dad asked again, and Eve replied him with a weak nod. Her dad, however, sighed in relieved and the two of them walked down the stairs, with dining room as their destination after they heard Mrs. Renner called for them.
"Good morning, Eve." The crimson-eyed woman happily greeted the daughter as she arrived at the dining room. "Morning, mom…" She answered, trying her best to looked all right so that her mother won't confine her indoor anymore. "Where's Matt? I thought he stay overnight..." Eve looked at her surrounding and the guy was nowhere to be found.
"He had something to do at campus, so he left early this morning…" Eve' mother turned her back and return to kitchen, and immediately brought back a plate of pancake.
"I thought you both won't make it home…" Eve sat on the dining chair.
"We both left something behind, so we ran back here as soon as we can. We'll be leaving after this too…" Mrs. Renner pulled off the apron she wore.
"Both of you?" the girl pondered, but it doesn't matter. Being able to make her a breakfast means they had plenty of time on their hand.
"Since this is weekend, why don't you go somewhere? With your friend, perhaps?" Mr. Renner suggested as he fixed his neck tie.
"Huh, right- Ugh!" When Eve swallowed one fork of her pancake, she suddenly remembered. She had a (date) meeting today! With Garry! And as a result, she choked herself.
"Eve! Water!" Mr. Renner gave his daughter a glass of water quickly. As usual, always ready for the unexpected. She gulped the water down in instant, "Gosh, thanks dad…"
"Err, yeah…I actually have a plan…" Eve said as her hand wiped a trickle of water that escaped her lips. "With…Lily!…yeah…"
She admittedly sucks at lying.
"Really…? Oh well…" Mrs. Renner scanned her flustered daughter, it was almost obvious that Eve is hiding something from her, but since she was already late for work, she let it slide.
"Make sure you come home before late. And if you ever need anything, call." Her parent made their way to the front door, followed by Eve. "And, don't forget to lock the door! Matt said you didn't! yesterday!"
Oh yeah, she completely forgot to lock the door yesterday. She waltzed in to her room as soon as she entered the house and quickly fall into a deep slumber.
Well, isn't it good thing that she left the door unlocked? If she locked it, there would be no way for Matt to enter the house! Her room was on the second floor after all, only noises of gun war that will wake her from her sleep! But she decided to stay silent after the thought…
"Well, we're off. See you later, Eve." The older woman kissed her beloved daughter on the cheek. Eve wanted to protest and tell them 'I'm not kid anymore', but not even a single word escape her mouth. She can't just shout the word out loud and break their heart.
Her parent got into their red Porsche immediately after they said their goodbye to Eve, and disappeared beyond the fork in less than a minute. She sometimes wondered, how could her parents still fit to ride on their Porsche on their early fifty. Well, she admitted that despite of their ages, they did still look…young.
But no! She didn't have time to think about that! She still have a (date) meeting with Garry!
"Wait…where were we meeting again?" she pondered.
xXx
"Oh god! I didn't even ask where we would meet!" Eve said in panic. It was stupid of her not to ask his number yesterday! It would be inappropriate, but still…There would be no (date) meeting if she doesn't even know where to meet in the first place!
"Oh yeah!" she snapped her finger. "He probably knows!" And she went back inside her room in hurry, snatching her cell phone.
S…S…S…This is it! Starke, Matt.
She quickly pushed the call button as soon as she found the number. Garry was new to the school, so there would be no way anyone, let alone any student would know his cell number. And she's not taking a risk of asking the Mr. Jefferson…As far as she knew, Mr. Jefferson was quiet big-mouthed. What if he spread the news of Eve asking for Mr. Garry Lancer' cell number? Garry's fangirls will surely behead her…
Asking the Neon Guy was the only alternative…
She's waiting for her call to be answered. She tapped her finger on her lap impatiently. Hearing the beep beep sound was distressing for her now, as if they were a laughter of mockery.
"Hello?"
He finally answered! Eve screamed in her head.
"Matt, do you know Garry's cell number?" Straight to the point, just our heroine's style.
"Wait, Eve?"
"YES! Yes it's me! Do you know his number?"
"Huh? Sure I do…But what for-"
"Send it to me, please! I…uh…I need to ask about…er, chemistry assignment! Yeah, assignment!" She grew impatient.
"Well, okay…Wait then-"
And she hung up.
Okay, that wasn't polite, but it doesn't matter. It's an emergency state.
Several second later, Matt sent her a business card named Lancer, Garry.
This is it. It's his number, she inhaled deeply. The number's is here, all she had to do now is punch the call button.
xXx
"Huh…weird…" Matt stared at his cell phone, dumbfounded. Eve sounded like she was on fire or something just now. Did she really want to do the assignment that quick? Now was like, 7 in the morning. Normally, a girl would be sitting still on her dining room at this time of a day, eating her hearty breakfast with speed as slow as snail (read: savor the breakfast wholeheartedly)and hello…this is weekend! No healthy girl would do any assignment on this time of a week! (college guy' twisted logic)
She really needs to chill out a bit…He thought.
As he finished the thought, his cell phone rang for second time of the day. When he looked at his caller name, he once again stared dumbfounded.
Garry?
He pressed the answer button.
"Hello?"
"Matt, Do you have Eve' cell number?"
"Wait…what?"
"Do you have her cell number?"
"Uh, Sure I do…but-"
"Please send it to me! I need to…uh…inform her about the…assignment! Yeah, the assignment!"
"Whoa, dude, chill out! Aren't you being mean? It's weekend dammit! How dare you give a girl an assignment during this time of a week!"
"What? Darn it! Matt. I need her cell number, NOW! This is urgent!"
"Hey, give her a break, will ya? IT'S WEEKEND!" (oh gee, how he emphasized it)
"So you want to responsible for her failing grade?" his tone was full of dangerous threat.
[short pause]"Err…no. Alright, I'll send it to you. Just wait…"
And…Garry hung up.
"What the hell is wrong with people this morning…" the blonde murmured as he pulled his cell phone from his ear.
xXx
Garry' dark colored cell phone rang a minute after he finished the call. Matt finally sent him business card named Renner, Eve.
Her number is now on his hand. He ought to thank Matt, but that can wait, he had to call Eve now. But suddenly his phone rang, and it caller was…an unknown number? He had to answer it, anyway.
"Hello?"
"Um, Is this with Garry?"
"Oh, Eve? I was about to call you…"
"You do? Oh. I just got your number from the Neon Guy."
"Really? I just asked him too. Sorry, I didn't ask for your number yesterday."
"It's fine. It's my fault too. So…about today's plan…"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry but, this area changed quite a bit that I don't even remember where I was going…So, got any idea?"
"Hmm, there was a macaroon shop near 43th Avenue, I think…"
"Sounds like a plan, so meeting at central park's fine?"
"Central park? Okay…11'o clock' s okay?."
"11 ? Alright… See you there"
The call ended with a single click of his finger. He sighed in relieve, at least the meeting's not cancelled, he thought.
xXx
The brown haired girl got off from the bus after 30 minutes. She looked at her watch in annoyance. It was 11 past 25. I'm late, she cursed as her leg tried her best to pace quickly without messing her clothes.
Thanks for today' crazy crowd, she had to wait the bus for an hour, not to mention the traffic jam that made her stuck for another 30 minutes. Her house and the central were not that far, it usually took less than ten minutes to get there with bus. Today's crowd changed 10 minutes trip into a long, one hour and half trip. Just great…
For today' date, she wore pure white shirt and lacy bolero, with red-wine colored skirt that reached up to her knee. Since this is autumn, she also wore a dark brown boot. Her hair was adorned with red, rose-shaped hairpin. She looked somewhat different on that getup. Well, of course she wants to look different, this is her first date anyway. Not to mention that the guy she will hang out with is Garry. Just how many of his fangirl would kill her from seeing this?
Autumn breeze caressed her cheeks softly as she paced herself toward Central Park. Every corner of the city was crowded with couple walking hand by hand. She usually scoffed at the sight, but not today. After a minute she finally arrived at the park, and was greeted by a wave of a certain violet-haired man.
"Garry!" she ran toward him. "Sorry I'm late…The traffic jam is awful…"she said apologetically.
"Never mind, I just got here anyway…So, let's go." He said to her, and reached his arm toward her.
"Eh?" she saw his hand in surprise. But the man simply smiled and said, "Come on, It's a date…"
Her heart beat faster after she heard the word. How she feels like the luckiest girl in the world. She awkwardly grabbed his hand, which was surprisingly warm. Garry chuckled at the sight and casually commented, "Relax, I'm not gonna bite you or something…I'm still the same old Garry, right?"
The same old Garry? How could he say that! Look at the mirror for god's sake! Your're 100% different than the last time I saw you! Look how cool you have become, and just how many girls would scream seeing you like this!
Unlike his formal attire yesterday, today he wore a broken white shirt covered in an indigo coat, with black jeans. His bang was loosely fall on his forehead, the style was much like his hair 7 years ago but in shorter version, and he wasn't wearing any glasses. A maroon scarf was curled on his neck. The color of the scarf suddenly reminded her of her dream, which sent an uncomfortable feeling inside her head.
Should I…tell Garry about it?
Her train of thought was abruptly stopped as Garry tugged her all the way to the macaroon shop. The 43th Avenue was only 5 minutes walking, and as expected from Eve, she blushed all the way. She noticed that some of the girl passing by was squealing when they saw Garry. And she found it difficult not to grin in victory.
"Here we are." Garry exclaimed as he read the sign of the shop. The shop was merrily decorated by a bunch of cute doll and pinkish-purple ornament, a sight that maybe too much to handle for a guy. "Let's go in." he said. Eve was amazed of how Garry' determination didn't falter after he saw the shop.
"Uh, Garry, are you sure? This looked a bit too much…" she commented the building.
To her surprise, he excitedly answered, "It's fine, actually. It would be better if they add more purple, though…."
Heh? Did he just say it for real? But she recalled yesterday' conversation. Maybe this is the reason why he was called Mr. Madame…
Not wanting to waste anymore second spending in front of the shop' entrance, they entered the shop. The overwhelming color of pink was suffocating, but the sweet scent of the macaroon hanging on the air was able to overcome the feeling. They took a seat not far from the window, where they could see the passerby on the street.
A couple of minutes after they ordered a strange menu name "Starry Sky", the plates were served in front of them. It consisted of four macaroons in multiple colors, and strangely, all of it was shaped in star.
"They had star-shaped macaroon these days? Developments are sure weird…" Garry said as he stared at the sweets.
"Err…well. They had everything in EVERY shape now…I once ate one that shaped like pyramid thingy or something…" she explained. "Have you not eat macaroon? I mean…at the shop like this?" she turned her head from the plate to her teacher.
"Are you kidding me? I can't just waltz in to a place like this alone…" he gleefully pointed at the girly interior of the shop. Well, he's got a point, she thought. "The last time I got into a macaroon shop was the day before I go to Guertena' gallery, and the interior wasn't as much as this…"
His word of Guertena gallery struck her mind again.
"Garry, I-"
"Wow, this thing's awesome!" the violet haired man exclaimed happily as one of the macaroons entered his mouth, letting the sweet flavor melted on his tongue. "I've never taste one so good before!" he laughed.
'Oh boy…' Eve facepalmed. One thing she learned from today's meeting that Garry is a one hell of sweet maniac. He kept ranting on and on about the macaroon for the rest of their time at the shop…
xXx
"Man, that was great…" he said with clear satisfaction on his look after they got out from the macaroon shop. Eve stared at him with disbelief "Uh, yeah. You just ate 15 of them…". Remembering the scene where Garry swallowing a mountain of macaroons sent a strange feeling in her stomach.
She was partially glad that he's happy though. That would mean he's enjoying himself, right?
"Whoa…" the autumn wind suddenly blowing harshly, swaying the red leaf of a maple tree nearby that some of the leaf fell ever so slowly to the ground. The wind however, didn't have mercy to the girl, blowing so harshly like that resulting her hair to be out of place.
Garry couldn't help but chuckled upon seeing Eve grunted over her hair. His hand trailed over her head, organizing her hair one by one until its neat again. "There, there…" he said to her.
Eve blushed. Garry treated her like a child just now…
"Er, thanks…" she replied awkwardly, and put her hands on her cheeks to hide the pink that tinted her face. And that was when she realized her hand turned to be so cold. "Brr…My hand' freezing…"
To her surprise, Garry pulled out the scarf that was curled into his neck and wrapped it around her shoulder. "It's no good if you catch cold now…and…" he paused for a moment. "This scarf suit you better than I am." he commented.
She suddenly reminded of his handkerchief. "Wait, Garry. I still got your hankie!" she slide her hand to her small shoulder –sling bag, and pulled out the handkerchief he handed her yesterday. "Here…"
The older man received the hankie, and then pulled something out from his coat' pocket, a white handkerchief. "And this is yours, Eve…" he smiled to her.
Eve couldn't believe her eyes. He still got her handkerchief that she 'lend' him 7 years ago?
"You still got that on you?" her eyes stared at him in surprised.
"Well, yeah sure. I borrowed it from you right? It's about time I return it…Thank you…"
Her heart fluttered. Garry was actually treasured the memory they shared at the gallery. When she thought he had forgotten it all….He didn't forget about her, all this time…
That one simple truth made her happy, truly happy.
"Wait, Eve?" Garry stammered as he saw tears trickled down from her eyes. "Did I just say something wrong?"
The brunette hurriedly erased the droplets of her tears and smiled at him wholeheartedly "No, it's just…Thank you…"
The man was confused "Thank you….for what?"
"For remembering me…Garry…It made me so happy…" she squeezed the scarf.
Garry let out a soft sigh of relieve "Gee, you don't have to cry…You're scaring me out…That's should be my line, though…"
"Eh?"
Garry patted her on the head, and Eve was involuntarily turned her face to the ground out of embarrassment.
"Thank you, for making my time worth a while 7 years ago…You are…the only good thing I've ever had…" Eve was not dared enough to see him in the eyes as he said the word, but something in his tone seemed off. It wasn't a tone when someone was happy. Even if it's a bit faint, she was sure guilt was hinted on his tone…
"Garry…?"
"Moreover…" Garry stepped back from her. "Thank for accompanying me today. It was a lot of fun!" he said with wide smile plastered on his face.
"Yeah…sure…" she replied his smile with another one. The word Garry spoke earlier disturbed her somehow, but she held the urge to ask him. She even decided not to tell Garry about her nightmare. Not now….she thought.
"Well, I guess…this is where we part…I still got some stuff to do at home…" he said to her, almost apologetically. (that stuff is…unpacking)
"Sure…There's always next time, right?" she giggled. "Thanks for today!"
"Yeah, see you at school. And please send my regard to the neon guy, 'kay? I heard he's staying in your house for the week…"
"Okay!" She waved at him before he turned his back and walked to the opposite direction. The wind swayed the tree, their red leaf were falling as if they want to shower their parting in dramatic way. She stared at his back, feeling slightly lonely, but happy nonetheless.
This is the best day she ever had…
Completely unaware of the next nightmare that soon befall them…
Sorry for the long update, too many things came up with my life just now, but I'm glad I can finish this chapter.
I hope you guys like it ^^