I am sorry for the lack of updates! I have been very busy with college and such. But guess what? I have written nine pages this time, so I hope this will temporarily appease your anger! Thank you for the previous feedbacks just to let me know that you all have been reading this story. I am so grateful. Thank you!
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Only For Her
Chapter 3
By Broken Pencil
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An hour has passed and Aram still hasn't returned. The room had been long empty as Airi waited anxiously for his return.
She continued to stare out the window at the shores slowly, hoping catch a glimpse of him. Her elbows were beginning to numb from its prolonged propped position to support her chin. She finally lowered her hand with a troubled sigh.
Airi hoisted her body off the couch and paced around the room. She finally got tired of waiting and grabbed her jacket to search for Aram.
She shivered from the cold wind blustering wickedly around her. Aram must be freezing by now, she thought worriedly. The image in her mind made Airi walk faster, ignoring her body's desire for warmth. She would not rest until she found him safe and sound.
It must have been at least ten minutes since she left the hotel to search for Aram and she still didn't see him. Not to mention that icy breeze wasn't helping her desperate search.
When she finally found him, he wasn't sitting on the rocks or the sand like she expected, but he was standing in the shallow water.
Aram's arms were crossed over his chest, his curly hair was in disarray from the strong wind, and his body was at least knee-deep in the water. His face was impassive, it was clear to her that he was oblivious to his surroundings.
She took a step into the water and shivered. It was unbearably cold! How could he stand there like as if it's not affecting him?
"Aram?" she whispered quietly as she approached him from behind.
He turned in surprise, "Airi?"
"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly at the child in front of her eyes.
He shrugged.
Her worry was almost instantly replaced with anger. She began to grind her teeth to avoid resorting into physical demands for an answer. Suddenly her eyes adjusted to the dark settings and she noticed how pale he was. Airi fingers lightly made contact with his arm.
She hissed at the feeling of his skin. "You're so cold," she stated worriedly, gazing anxiously at Aram as if he was going to faint any minute.
He touched her hand that was on his arm before replying, "Yours as well."
She shuddered at the tingly feeling that reached her spine from his contact.
"Let's go back to our room," she said, slowly pulling his arm to get him moving.
Aram didn't budge. His mind was completely somewhere else. His eyes were empty and unresponsive.
She finally heard him whisper, "It's alright, you can spend more time with Nakaoji."
Airi felt uncomfortable when he said Nakaoji's name without any hint of loathing. Having Aram's consent to see Nakaoji actually left her feeling quite unpleasant. She didn't do anything wrong to deserve this, right? This should have been something she should have been pleased to hear, but why wasn't she relieved?
"But Aram," she began once more.
He was getting irritated by her compassion. Who would have thought that one of her best virtues would be something he wanted to avoid?
He pulled away his arm from her urging pull. "I said I'm fine!" he spat, glaring at her. "You like him, right?"
She stood there, gaping at his words. She never admitted if she did or did not like Nakaoji, but it felt like a betrayal if she did. How could a child make her rethink her own opinions?
Airi began to pull her jacket off her shoulder. Aram nearly screamed in distress.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, storming over to her.
She didn't move. "I will stay out here with you tonight," she declared subtly, pushing away from Aram's attempt to keep her jacket on. "It's cold outside so I want you to wear my jacket."
He sighed heatedly when she still didn't put the jacket on correctly and remained determined to give it him. He frowned. She just had to make this situation worst.
Aram held her wrist to calm her down, to let her know that he's listening or at least make her listen. "There's no point for both to freeze when one is already," he reasoned. Aram nodded silently, it's best to have one person suffer than to have both.
She missed the double meaning of his words, but she felt an equal twinge of pain pulling her heart. During that moment, she had twisted her hand upward and caught his arm. His head shot up in surprise, but she did not give him enough time to recoil when she pulled him into her arms and hugged him.
Aram unconsciously leaned into her warm embrace as he was flooded with nostalgia. He longed for her to be like that with him… but not in this form and certainly not in this situation. He wanted to be the one holding her, to make her feel protected and content.
"Airi," he inquired, leaning his head upward to catch his breath, "how did we meet?"
"You were running away and I took you to my home," she answered, ignoring the blush that made its way to her cheeks due to the closeness between her and Aram. "Your guardian, Lei, asked if you could stay with me until your family emergency was over."
Aram tightened his jaw before asking another question, "How did you know Raz?"
"He was a classmate in school," she replied. "I remember he said you guys were cousins."
He nodded. "Jeile?"
Aram felt her stiffen. "The perverted sensei that's your brother," she stated not too enthusiastically by the recollection.
The boy nearly scoffed. Great, she remembered everyone during that time they stayed at her school. Well at least she got the gist their personalities, sort of. He paused when another person came to his mind.
"Do you know Mariabel?"
She cast him a confused expression. A tone of suspicion developed in her soft voice, "The name sounds very familiar."
Her response pleased him. She still felt apprehensive of Mariabel—even if it was just her name.
"Why do you ask all this, Aram?" Airi questioned.
He shrugged, and then finally noticed that Airi was shaking from the chill. "I want to go back now," Aram stated with a weary smile.
Airi nodded with satisfaction, taking Aram's hand into hers. As they walked back in pleasant silence, Airi couldn't but notice that Aram didn't look fazed out by the weather. In fact, Aram's hand was strangely, yet undeniably warm.
… … … … … … … …
The next day Aram woke up not being to find Airi anywhere in the house. He panicked, knowing that he should be remembering something but was not able to recall exactly was it was.
Instead, he ended up eating his cold cereal, not bothering to taste the bits he had shoved inelegantly into his mouth. Where was Airi? Was she with Nakaoji again? He didn't need an answer…it was likely that she was.
It's finally past noon and Aram was getting sick of watching the Sparkle Rangers marathon. This was getting ridiculous! He had never been from Airi for that long. He was beginning to become paranoid.
Was this how Airi felt when he lost his memories? He was saddened by the thought. Not only did he forget her, but everyone supported the plan of breaking them apart. She must have been thoroughly hurt. Despite the obstacles she had to face to retrieve his memories back, she never held any grudge toward him or his clan. Airi never gave up on him no matter how great the odds were against her.
It was evening when he finally heard the door open quietly. Unable to control his urge to see her, Aram ran to the door and immediately pulled it wide open. Airi didn't look completely surprised when she saw his frustrated face.
"Where were you?" he demanded when she finally walked in and closed the door.
She gave him a puzzled look. "I told you I was going out with Nakaoji today."
He questioned indignantly, "When?"
"You said it was okay," she answered with a frown, noting that Aram was acting like a possessive boyfriend.
Aram wasn't sure if it was due to his anger or simply being fatigue, but his vision began to blur as his body began to sway. "I-I wasn't thinking clearly…"
"Why not?" There was a trace of worry lingering in her voice. He began to realize that it was because of the way he was stumbling to adjust to the spinning room, but it was out of his control.
"I…"
"Aram?"
He collapsed before being able to reply to her question. Airi leaned forward just in time to catch him in her arms. She checked his forehead and gasped, "Aram, you have a high fever!"
… … … … … … … …
Airi felt awful. She was still upset at his reaction, but she couldn't blame him. She finished checking his temperature once more before putting away the thermometer.
When she stood up, she heard him whisper, "Airi, do you hate me?"
She faced him, meeting his flushed face with a scowl. "No, Aram."
He rubbed his forehead. "I feel horrible," he moaned.
She sighed and kneeled by his side with a wet towel. "You know," she started, delicately wiping his forehead, "this could have been avoided if you would have claimed your win."
"What win?"
"The game Nakaoji and you had the other day," she answered.
She crouched down to restack the cards, ignoring Raz's impatient complaints. Actually she only wanted to stall the kiss for a little while. She needed some time to compose herself, but she ended up eerily silent when she stumbled on something interesting.
Nakaoji was looking at her. However, she was busy staring at Aram's abandoned cards on the table.
Something was wrong.
She studied his cards more carefully. "I don't understand…"
Nakoji took the cards out of her hand and compared it with his own.
"Hurry!" Raz urged once more with an exasperated sigh. "Kiss Nakaoji already!"
Nakaoji shook his head and commanded sternly, "Stop it."
There was a long silence in the room.
"Why?" Raz finally asked.
"Because…" Nakaoji answered, tossing the cards face up on the table for Raz to see, "Aram won."
"Why didn't you just say so?" Airi questioned, softening her voice.
Aram closed his eyes to avoid looking at her face. "You only wanted to kiss Nakaoji," he muttered.
She reached out slowly and stroked his hair. "What made you think that?" she continued asking, trying to understand where the conversation was heading.
Aram jerked his head away from her touch. "You're always so lively around him," he stated bluntly.
She pulled back her hand, slightly hurt by his reaction. She still didn't admit if she did or did not like Nakaoji, but it felt like a betrayal if she did considered choosing one.
Aram felt even more hurt. He was being completely pathetic, unsure if it was his fever doing the talking. He couldn't even think logically to all her questions because all he wanted to do was tell her his actual feelings. Even more, he was pained by the idea that she might be falling in love with Nakaoji.
"Do you want it?" he heard her ask faintly.
He turned in his bed and cast a questioning glance. "What?"
"Your prize," she answered rapidly with a blush, pushing both of her closed fists into her lap.
He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Let me sleep," he replied, turning away from her.
She poked his back, his snore answered to her. Airi sighed. Aram was arrogant and stubborn. It was such a bad combination, yet he handled it so maturely that she wasn't bothered at all.
He accidentally rolled over and she saw his sleeping face. She couldn't help but stare at his well-defined facial features. His cream-colored skin was smooth and soft. Aram's eye lashes were so long and thick that it emphasized the color of his remarkable eyes.
He would certainly be an extraordinarily handsome man when he grows up, Airi pictured fondly in her mind. His current personality is enough to win any young girl's heart through his innocent sincerity and care, but his appearance will definitely push him to the eyes of every women.
Somehow the thought of another important girl in his life made her heart stir uneasily.
She bit her bottom lip in hesitation when the next idea came to her mind. He was sleeping…of course he would never find out, she reasoned rationally. Airi silently prayed that he wasn't a light sleeper when she closed her eyes and quickly kissed his cheek.
Airi could have sworn at that moment she heard his heart beat—or was it hers? Her hand briefly touched her lips and then moved downward to steady her beating heart. She just felt unexplainable feeling spreading throughout her body, just like yesterday night at the beach. Maybe she was getting a fever, too.
She immediately pulled back and looked around the room, blushing. There was no sign of someone else in the room and Aram was still sleeping soundly. She checked her own temperature. There was nothing wrong.
She walked out the door and prepared to close it. Airi checked on Aram once more, making sure to leave on the nightlight before closing the door.
"Goodnight, Aram," she whispered softly.
… … … … … … … …
She was having that dream again.
The sky was clear and pleasantly blue. She knew this because she was on her back, looking up while soaking up the warmth from the sun. The smell of roses filled the air, and she felt its soft petals gently caressing her skin. It was completely serene.
A large silhouette figure with beautiful evergreen eyes peered into her eyes. It was filled with overwhelming love and adoration. She felt her heart swell for him.
"I love you," she declared in an affectionate murmur.
And then… she'd wake never hearing his reply or seeing his real face.
She would wake up completely disappointed, like that morning. And after that she would continue to go back to sleep and try to return to the dream. For some strange reason the dream seemed more like a distant memory than a mere vision.
Who was that man? Was he someone she knew or someone fictional? She cringed at the notion of falling in love with a man from a romance novel or a movie.
Running out of patience, she made her bed and stormed off to find Aram to see how he was doing.
She opened his door and gasped at the figure she saw. There was no little Aram in the room, but a rather tall man— stark naked with only a thin blanket wrapped around his torso—staring out the window.
The first thing she noticed was his large, strapping body. He had creamy skin and curly brown hair that reached below his ears. He was… simply magnificent! She couldn't breathe at the sight of this… wonder.
He alertly lifted his head and snapped his head to the door where Airi was standing.
She pulled back immediately when she saw his face. It was all too familiar. The hair, the face, and the eyes were all identical to the features of someone else she knew.
He walked forward. "Airi?" he asked worriedly, gently cupping her chin.
She swallowed. "W-where's Aram?" she inquired with hesitation, unsure if her instincts were true.
"It's me," he replied, gazing intensely in her surprised eyes. "I'm Aram."
Her knees gave way from his velvety voice and the rest of her entire body followed. He didn't make a sound when he swiftly caught her in his arms and carried her into the living room where he placed her carefully on the couch. She was all too speechless from his affirmation.
She finally found the strength to speak. "Where's Aram?" she queried shakily, obviously in a state denial.
Her quivering was enough to show him that she needed time to regain her composure. And she was definitely avoiding from looking at his face.
"I suggest you relax before I continue," he advised, patting her head with a long sigh. He was confused as well.
Last night he was sick, and he was still a child. But that morning he woke up, startled, to see that he had been returned to normal. That result itself couldn't be possibly from anything other solution but Airi. Well there was Jeile…but that option was strictly nonsensical.
Airi frowned, wanting to demand for an immediate explanation, yet she couldn't deny his request. So she sat there ignoring the scarcely dressed man as he rummaged around the room for some clothes.
She opened her mouth to speak when the door bell suddenly rang.
Airi looked through the peering hole and gasped. "N-Nakaoji?" she stammered, opening the door slowly.
"Good morning, Airi…" he greeted with a friendly smile. "May I come in?"
He motioned to enter in, but she squealed and pushed it till there was a crack wide enough to see her face only.
"I'm not dressed yet," she explained immediately when she saw the suspicion in his eyes. "I'll meet you outside!"
"Who is it, Airi?" she heard Aram asked from behind.
Airi turned around and glared at him. "I will talk to you about this later!" she stated in slight irritation, poking his chest repeatedly with an index finger.
"Airi, why are you staring at the floor?"
"I-I'm not!" she bit out, no longer able to hold her blush.
She was so confused! And she still couldn't look at him in the eye!
After storming off into her bedroom, Airi came out quickly wearing a white top and a neat khaki skirt.
"I will be back before dinner," she murmured stiffly without turning around.
Aram nodded, a tad offended by her sudden indifference toward him. "Very well," he answered.
He watched her breathe in and out. Somehow she was able force a smile despite her worries.
"Sorry, Nakaoji!" she said, walking out the door.
Aram heard her lock the door and proceeded to search for clothes. When he was to find a couple of --rather tacky-- clothes, Aram reluctantly concluded that he had no choice but to return to Astale and hope that no one would spot him.
He pulled out his seven-sided mirror and closed his eyes. There was something both Airi and Nakaoji didn't know when he forfeit the match two nights ago.
He pondered at his cards carefully and made his move. If Nakaoji skipped this turn, then victory will go to him.
Nakaoji scanned his cards and made a move.
Aram's smirk of triumph diminished. He was prepared to whip out his ultimate combination until he saw the card. It dampened his fiery will to storm into victory. And it hurt too much to see Airi's troubled face.
Aram held the highest card in his hand, but Nakaoji had tossed in the second highest card. It disturbed him greatly that Nakaoji was willing to continue to game knowing that he was going to lose. He instantly knew Nakaoji's feelings for Airi was not just a simple attraction that would eventually fade away.
Aram clutched his mirror. Why did Nakaoji have to be such a worthy rival? If Nakaoji wasn't so admirable then he certainly wouldn't have surrendered…
He stopped in the middle of his thoughts.
Before he would never consider this option, but now why was he thinking of possibly surrendering her?
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To Be Continued