Althea lied on her bed at the Inn, eyes staring at the ceiling, unseeing. Her hands sat limply at her sides. Perhaps she should have felt enraged, distraught. No. Nothing was left anymore. At least the townsfolk contributed to her cause, their sympathetic donations adding up to enough to even purchase a new violin, as well as covering the costs of repairing her old one.
Eventually, Kai dove down into the lake to bring it up. Once the case was opened, she nearly cried at the sight of the horribly disfigured violin. She refused to acknowledge that her faithful companion had been far too warped to repair, anyway.
Many offered to lend their instruments to her. They didn't understand.
All Claire offered was a hug and a sympathetic, "I am so sorry." The apology was sincere, as always. It was why everyone loved her. Her dazzling energy, her endless optimism. Sure, she jumped to conclusions and had many ditzy moments, but all could be overlooked in the name of charm. It was no mistake the village loved her. Claire stood as a glittering, spectacular gem next to Althea.
In the end, Althea appreciated the sentiment, but knew that even her best childhood friend couldn't understand how she felt. Why did she bother keeping friends when they constantly let her down? All they ever did was leave; leave for love, leave to chase dreams, just leave. All her "friends" never bothered to sit down and take care of her; it was always the other way around, Althea being the comforter, the listener. Recording her thoughts in a leather-bound notebook usually quelled her inner rage. Not for long, though.
As she rolled onto her side to curl into a ball, she started at the wetness on her pillow. She cautiously brought a hand to her face; yup, those were tears. The tender, sticky surface of her cheeks attested for that.
She ignored the wet spot and brought her knees to her chest. And the worst of all? She'd force her tears to cease, put her makeup back on, and show the world, er, village, that she held strength.
But she didn't. However, it'd be unthinkably selfish to dump her problems on everyone else. Besides that, she'd be viewed as weak and a clingy beggar. She lived in a constant vicious cycle.
A knock on the door caused her body to twitch.
"Althea, it's me, Claire," a cheery voiced piped from behind the door.
She buried her face in her knees, shouting back, "I don't want to talk." Her voice cracked, to her chagrin, giving away her emotional state.
"You sound awful! Let me in! You've been in there for a day and a half, and everyone's worried!" Claire pleaded with her, banging on the locked door.
Of course people were worried. They probably didn't really care much what happened, though. "Please leave me alone," she responded weakly.
There was a heavy silence for a while. Althea could see the shadow's of Claire's feet lingering beneath the door.
"Fine. I'm going to go get him," Claire replied. Her boots stomped away from the door and down the steps, leaving Althea to wonder who she was fetching.
The first face that came to mind seemed to blank out her other thoughts. Perhaps Claire went to get Trent. Maybe he wanted to apologize, or he had something in mind for the show; he wanted to come, but asked Claire instead because he wouldn't know how to confront her. Yes... Perhaps.
The thought comforted her. She clutched at the soft covers of her temporary bed, the sweet fragrance of the softener making her smile, if only a little.
She began thinking about how she'd talk to Trent. She'd forgive him. Though the violin was important, she couldn't blame him for breaking it. She'd forgive him if he apologized.
She lifted her head at another knock. Her hopes were higher than earlier, but her entire body still felt like lead. She needed to get up. "Just do it," she whispered. She swung her legs out of bed, rubbing at her eyes and face to remove the tear stains if she could.
"-wouldn't let me in, but I knew you'd be able to," Claire said to someone else as the door, surprisingly enough, swung open.
Althea stood with her hand poised to open the door when Claire walked in.
At her side stood not Trent, but Gray.
She realized what exactly had taken place.
Claire flashed her a sad smile and waved off Gray, who was holding the spare key. She shut the door behind her. "Look, I really didn't want to do this," she sighed, the smile on her face turning to a frown. She took a step toward Althea.
Althea stepped back. She locked her knees, bare feet on the scratchy inn rug, heart beating sluggishly from lack of activity. Her face felt hot and achy. "Then why did you? Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" she inquired slowly, letting the syllables roll along her tongue.
Claire sighed, her thin shoulders heaving. "Because you're still my best friend, and I'm worried about you. For all we know, you haven't eaten anything in at least twenty-four hours! You know, you always worry and say you feel like a bad friend, but I was the one who was always daydreaming and not worrying about anything and I always left it alone when you said you're fine and you'd always shrug things off like it was all okay for everyone else b-but here we are again, and now I have a second chance to be your friend, and I wanna be there for you, Althea!" she exclaimed, worry and sorrow etched into her face.
Althea stood for a full minute, staring sadly at Claire's watery sapphire eyes. She blinked and looked down.
"Claire, thank you," Althea choked, "but I-"
"No, stop that! No buts!" Claire reprimanded her, slapping a hand on Althea's shoulder. She sniffed, wiped away a tear, and focused a determined look into her friend's eyes.
Her eyes seemed to latch on to her heart, digging into the hardened flesh. "You know I..." Althea trailed off, but pulled the thought back. "I think I'm overreacting, Claire," she stated. After all, it was just a violin. Lives, living, breathing, human lives, were worried for her own sake. What did she do? Throw a tantrum and lock herself in her room for two days. "I acted like a toddler, and I still have the show to worry about." She drew a shaky breath and painted a reassuring smile on. She still wasn't okay. Close... But not completely.
Claire stared at her for a few seconds, then laughed and shook her head. "Alright, fine. But you have to get a date to watch the fireworks with!" she cheeped, sticking her tongue out teasingly.
Althea glared at her. "No," she replied, "I'm not going with a guy. No dates. No." She pouted her lower lip and her blonde brows angled in. She'd already had enough of the Mineral Town boys.
"Oh, come on!" Claire protested, hands on hips.
Althea stared her down like a wolf stalking prey.
"Okay, okay," Claire mumbled, throwing her hands up, "I'm sorry for not being serious or whatever."
Althea smiled sadly, eyelids drooping. "I forgive you," she muttered sleepily. She felt tired. Very tired. She realized she hadn't eaten in a day, but that didn't matter. "Goodnight," she muttered, shuffling back to the bed and collapsing onto it. She could faintly hear Claire's chuckles and the door closing, though distant and neither sound really registered.
After several minutes of date checking, watch tapping, and general freaking out, Althea decided she'd skip out on the festival show. She convinced herself to leave the next day, but she'd still attend the Fireworks Festival. It was a perfect chance to wear the yukata she'd packed. Besides, she needed some time to relax and have a little fun. It couldn't take the worry away... But it could help.
As the time ticked away, she dabbed makeup on her face and walked to her suitcase. She pulled out her magenta, floral-patterned yukata and its accessories.
The starched fabric glided over her skin. She wrapped the sash carefully, pinning everything in place with a glance out at the darkening sky. Her watch read five fifteen. Although the fireworks weren't until the sun went down, Mineral Town had many festivities prepared for the event.
She learned from Karen that it was a big drinking night. The female had also brought some home-cooked food prepared by her mother (she wanted to cook it herself, but her mother wouldn't allow it). Apparently Karen's cooking skills were horrendous.
Ah, well, the food was good anyway. She still tasted the seared beef and steamed vegetables in her mouth.
Pinning up her curled, golden hair into a bun, she grabbed a light blue hair clip from her bag and pinned it on. She stared at her image in the vanity mirror. Something was missing. She smacked her lips in thought, then it dawned on her. Fingers nimbly ruffling through her makeup container, she brought out a tube of ruby red lipstick and glided it on to her lips, capping the lipstick and dropping it back into the case. "Perfection," she grinned.
"Hey there, girlie!" Claire shouted, not bothering to knock.
Althea jumped back and put a hand over her heart. "You people have got to stop doing that!" she barked. She stared at Claire incredulously.
Claire snickered, "Hah, you're like, 'wait a second, I remember this crazy chick now.'" She gave a smirk and twirled the pouch in her hands. "Anyway, you're yukata is fabulous!" she exclaimed.
Oh ho, she hadn't forgotten for one second how crazy Claire was. "Thanks!" Althea winked, "yours looks equally fabulous, my friend." She nodded toward Claire's navy yukata, dotted with pale yellow Moon Drops. The sash around her waist was the same yellow color as the flowers, and an orange ribbon tied around the sash, as well as an orange pouch and fan, brought the outfit together.
"Thank you very much," Claire thanked her with a little bow.
Althea glanced down at her blue sash and dark pink yukata. She had no ribbon, fan or pouch. To say she felt inadequate would be a bit of an understatement.
As if reading her mind, Claire offered words of consolation, "Hey, you'll be fine! We're in a rural village, remember? You won't be the only one with just a simple yukata." With a cheery grin, she walked over to her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We should go. It's five thirty," she stated.
Althea nodded. "Alright. Let's do it, then," she sighed, her sandals shuffling on the carpet as they walked out of the room. She took a deep breath and tilted her chin up. I'll go and have fun. I need it. If not for myself, I'll do it for Claire... And the others.
So, I still dunno where exactly I'm going with this. I hope that it still keeps interest, ahaha... (-w-') I feel like this story's main point is just about exploring Althea's life and personality. It is meant to be a pairing fic, I guess, but it's suddenly become so much more than that. Although I came into this with barely any idea of plot, things are starting to come together, and I have a small but dedicated group of people following the story. :)
Anyway, thank you so so sooo much to those still with me! To my newest reviewer: Ahaha, thank you! I always connect trains with Rover, and am thoroughly delighted you thought it clever. ;) Thanks for taking time to read and review!