Hello, everybody! I'm so happy! It's chapter 9 and I've gotten so many hits and readers! I'd personally like more reviewers, but that's just me.
Boy were people mad at the ending of chapter 8! (well, that's probably because of Leonel ruining it, but that's beside the point) Anyways, I didn't even start chapter nine until a week after I finished chapter 8, for two reasons:
1. so I could leave you all in suspense. Good writers want reactions from their readers, so I decided to make you all mad at me (though considering my late updates back since chapter one, I'm pretty sure I just lost a TON of fans...heh, heh...*sweatdrops*
2. after I finished chapter 8, I had a million different directions that I wanted to go in and I couldn't figure out which one, so it took me awhile to decide (one of which involved Leonel dead and Colette getting so angry at Lloyd that she killed herself...(Where was I going with that?.! Sometimes my mind comes up with the most ridiculous things))
For those of you who're curious, my inspiration for this entire story was where Leonel asks Colette to the party. My original vision was way off from this though. For example: Originally Lloyd was on a balcony, Leonel was extremely buff and Colette said no to him, so he kidnapped her and Lloyd had to go get her back. I'm glad I didn't do that, though. The story would've taken an ENTIRELY different direction. Plus, the Sheelos stuff I wanted to do in here wouldn't fit in as nicely.
Alright, enough of my blabbering! On to Chapter nine!
Zelos knocked on Lloyd's door. "Lloyd! Lloyd! Come on, man! You've been in there for two days! The party's in a week and all you're doing is complaining! Open up!" he called. But Lloyd merely grunted. Zelos sighed. "That's it! I'm coming in there, whether you like it or not!"
Zelos barged through the door, suprised to find it was unlocked. Lloyd was on the bed without any sheets on it, underneath a huge blanket. Lloyd didn't even flinch when Zelos entered the room.
"Go away. I can suffer without you." Lloyd muttered.
"No, apparently you can't. Man, I have NEVER seen you like this. You're alway the optimistic one! Well, you and Colette, that is."
Lloyd twitched upon hearing her name. "Her."
"Colette?"
Lloyd twitched again. "She," Lloyd began.
"Yes?" Zelos urged.
"Destroyed," Lloyd continued.
"Destroyed?" Zelos asked.
"Me," Lloyd finished. His breathing returned to normal. Zelos came to a sudden understanding. He closed the door and sat down on the couch.
"What happened? It's like your in some paranioa. Something terrible must have happened. Something REALLY terrible; you never cry like this, much less over girls!" Zelos exclaimed. Lloyd proceeded to tell Zelos what happened, refusing to say Colette's name, and refferring to Leonel as "That-demon".
"Let me tell you something, Lloyd. First love is almost always the one that ends in disaster. Especially with Leonel-" Lloyd cut Zelos off
"That-demon."
"Yes, with That-demon trying to take her away and succeeding."
"What do you know about first love? You don't know what its like to be so close and then because of one little mistake to have your world shattered around you. You've had your choice of girls since the day you were born! You don't make mistakes when love is involved!"
"You're right about not knowing how it feels about someone else taking something precious away; but you're wrong about everything else." Zelos said, staring at the celing. Lloyd looked over at him in confusion.
"When I was 13, I met a girl I actually fell in love with. She had silky green hair and the brightest emerald eyes I've ever seen. Her name was (A/N: Leenal! No, just kidding) Marble, after her mother. Her older sister lived in Palmacosta with her newly born niece, Chocolat. The reason she lived in Tethe'alla was because her parents divorced when she was five, and her mother moved to Sylvarant with her sister, while her father stayed with her in Tethe'alla."
"I met her one day and I told her her eyes were ugly, like the moss she was standing on. She was so cute when she was angry, and I told her that, and made her even more mad. We began talking to each other every day and we became really good friends. She would call me a moron, and I would say she's an angel with ugly eyes. I was positive she secretly liked me, because all women are suckers for being treated specially."
"But then one day she slapped me in the face. I remember it so clearly. She said 'I'm sick of you. You're a bastard who only cares about himself! I put up with it until now, because you were the Chosen, but now I see you just use that title to manipulate girls as if they're puppets! I never want to see you again!' and she ran off. I was about to chase her, but she didn't want me. She and her father moved away and I never saw her again. I guess her wish came true," Zelos said. Lloyd sat up, regaining a bit of his humanity.
"That can't really have been her wish. You should have told her how you really felt. You should've just walked up to her and swept her off her feet. Then you wouldn't have lost her," Lloyd said. Zelos nodded. Lloyd gasped with realization.
"That's why! It all makes sense now! Colette doesn't really have feelings for him, but what choice did she have? She must have been too flattered to think straight!" Lloyd exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes in determination. "Leonel will not take her away from me. I love Colette, and I'm not going to let him have her!" Lloyd jumped off the bed and ran out the room. He stopped mid-way, leaned back and thanked Zelos.
Zelos smiled. "No; thank you, Lloyd."
Lloyd skidded to the elevator and jammed the button in anticipation. He had to find Colette fast. When the elevator opened again, he ran into the back garden and found Colette standing there, talking with Presea.
"Really? That's wonderful! I'm so happy!" Colette exclaimed. Presea nodded.
"I am happy as well." Lloyd walked up to the two girls.
"Good morning," he said. Colette and Presea looked over at him.
Colette's face lit up. "Lloyd! You're okay! I was so worried!"
"What're you two talking about?" Lloyd asked. Presea giggled a bit.
"Genis 'asked' me to the Valentine's Day Party!"
"All right!" Lloyd yelled.
"I will leave you two alone. I see there is something you would like to discuss privately." Presea walked away calmly, smiling to herself.
Colette turned to Lloyd with a serious expression on her face. "Lloyd, listen. I know you heard me talking with Leonel when he asked me to the party. But you didn't hear our conversation."
"Listen, Colette. I know we've only known each other for five days, but I really like you. I-I want to be with you. You listen to me and you think my jokes are funny. My sisters like you, and, I, well...I want you to go to the Valentine's day dance with me." Leonel said.
"Oh, Leonel," Colette began "the past days with you have been fun, but I can't accept."
Leonel stepped back in suprise. "What!.? Why not?"
"Well, one reason is because we're barely even friends. When I go to a Valentine's Day Party, I want it to be with someone I love and who loves me back. And another reason is. . .I'm waiting for someone."
"Why're you waiting when you can go right now?" he asked.
"I'll wait forever for that person. However much time they need, I'll give them. And I'm not going betray them now."
Leonel began to get angry. "My feelings for you aren't strong enough?"
"No, my feelings for you aren't strong enough. I don't love you, Leonel," she explained softly.
"Why?.! What did I do to make you say no?" he demanded more than asked.
"Nothing."
"Then what didn't I do?"
"Again, nothing. I told you, I can't make him suffer while I wait for him"
"Him?" Leonel was now on the verge of tears from frustration. Colette sighed.
"Yes, him."
"So I lost to another man. Do you love him?" he demanded.
"Yes, I do."
"Who? Who is he?"
"Lloyd."
Leonel sighed angrily. "I was afraid of that. God, I hate him. I'm taking you, anyways."
"Leonel, you-"
"No! Not again! I can't bear to lose again! I was told that first love is a disaster, but I can't lose aginst second love, too! I must have you!" he cried, tears now escaping his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Leonel. I'm sure you'll find her for real, but I'm not her." Colette turned to walk away, but Leonel grabbed her arm to stop her.
"If I can't have you, then neither can he." Leonel let go and walked off to go find his sisters.
"And when I found out you wouldn't come out of your room, I was afraid Leonel poisoned you or something!" Colette cried. Lloyd stared in almost disbelief. Colette actually turned Leonel down! It gave Lloyd a ray of hope. (A/N: Colette did not explain the conversation to Lloyd in detail, so he has no idea that she loves him)
"No, don't worry. I'm fine now." Lloyd assured her. Colette breathed in relief.
"That's good." Colette paused a moment "Um, Lloyd?"
"Yeah?"
"You still haven't asked me to the Valentine's Day Party." Lloyd turned beet red.
"It doesn't have to be romantic, right?"
Colette looked dissapointed. "Well, I guess not..."
Still beat red, Lloyd sighed and cleared his throat. "Colette Brunel, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to this year's Valentine's Day Party?"
Colette lit up and giggled. "Yes!" She jumped onto Lloyd and the two of them spent a long moment in each other's arms.
"Sheena," Zelos stated. Sheena looked up from her book and stared at him.
"Yes?"
"We need to talk."
"Okay." Sheena went back to her book.
"Now."
Sheena closed her book and stood up. "For a playboy, you're awfully rude! I'm in half a mind right now to just sla-" Zelos pushed Sheena right up against a wall and put his elbows on either side of her head. He stared at her with intense eyes.
"Sheena Fugibayashi." His blue eyes met her brown ones. "I want you, and no other woman, to join me on Valentine's Day. And not just for the party. I'd like to get to know you better than just a ninja."
"Yeah, right."
Zelos leaned his weight into one elbow and took the other off the wall. With nothing but truth in his eyes, he said "I'm dead serious."
Sheena stared at him for a long time. There was no evidance, no hint, no trace of sarcasm or of joking around. Maybe he really does want to spend time with me, not just because I look pretty or my breasts Sheena thought. Then she threw up her guards again and squeezed her eyes shut. No, no, no! Pull yourself together, Sheena! He's just a playboy! He's resorting to these tactics to he can get into bed with me!
"I'll go to the party, but I refuse the other offer." Sheena turned but Zelos put up his other elbow.
"Your the most confusing person I know. If you think I'm going to do something to you, you can push those thoughts away. I want to talk. Friend to friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Can you accept that?"
Sheena looked at him again. "As a friend?"
"As a friend."
Sheena smirked. "You're not letting me go until I say yes, are you?"
Zelos slid his arms up the wall, resulting in him being a mere three inches from her face. Her smirk vanished. "No. I'm not."
After a few moments, Sheena sighed. "Fine. You win. I'll talk. But you better not be lying, or that face of yours will no longer be a face when I'm through with it!"
Zelos slid his arms off the wall. "You can go back to your book now. That's all I wanted. I'll see you next week, my friend." Zelos walked away. Who would've thought naiive Lloyd would've given me the perfect advice? He tells me to get to know her as a friend first and then he tells me that I just need to be serious! Zelos thought. When Zelos passed the garden, he saw Lloyd and Colette laughing and smiled. He started to walk away when he crashed into someone and fell on the floor.
"Ow! First, the little Lloyd minion with the white hair chews me out, and now this! What's next? The big Lloyd minion with blue hair punches me to a pulp?" Leonel muttered out loud. Zelos looked at him, trying to hide a glare. "What are you doing here, Leonel?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I happen to work here."
Zelos looked suprised. "At the hotel?"
"Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me-"
The least I can do for Lloyd is keep Leonel away while he and Colette work out the details.
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't let you pass."
More cliffhangers! A thousand apologies for the long update, but my family takes a yearly 3-week trip to our cabin in Michigan, where there is little to no internet service.
I'm debating whether Leonel should be dealt with before the party, during the party or after the party. I'm leaning towards either before or during. I've noticed that Lloyd is OOC in this chapter, but understand that this was nessicary. And I was laughing out loud writing it.
SPOILER: Sorry, no spoiler, this time! (MWAHAHAHA)