"Nat wake up!"
Leixia skipped towards the windows and flung open the curtains. The strawberry blond ninja groaned in protest and retreated under her cozy duvet.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She mumbled.
"It's time to get up!" She giggled as she jumped on Natsu's bed. Natsu roared angrily and emerged from the sheets like a monster from the shadows. Leixia squealed as the older girl grabbed her ankles and pulled them from under her so she landed on her back next to her. "Natsu!" She cried. "I could've been seriously hurt!"
"Good! It's a shame you weren't actually," she groaned running a hand through her messy hair. "What's the time like... 3 o clock in the morning?"
"It's 9 o clock!" She said sitting up and pointing to the clock. "We're going to Patroklos' house in just 3 hours!"
Nasty cocked an eyebrow and looked around the small, plain room of the inn they were staying in before looking back at her friend wearily. "I think we should talk about this little... Infatuation..."
Leixia's face dropped. "Come again..."
Natsu sighed gently. "Hold on..." She pulled back the covers revealing some small black panties and a white under top. She searched round the room until she found her red bodysuit. Natsu started to lift her white top over her head and Leixia gasped and turned her back quickly.
"You could've warned me?"
"Shut up... We both have the same ...stuff..."
After Natsu was dressed in all crimson glory she sat on the bed on the bed next to Leixia and sighed. "So..." the brunette said. "What-"
"I know you have a crush on Patroklos, Leixia."
"What!? No... You've got the wrong idea," she denied quickly but she could already feel here face heating up.
"Ohh please! Don't lie to me, I can read you like a book." Leixia giggled gently and bit her index finger. "Is it really that that obvious?"
"Yeah and it's cute and all...But the thing is Leixia..." She sighed again before turning to face her. "There's some reasons why you shouldn't...Ya know..."
Leixia shook her head and her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I don't know."
"You know...make a move..." Natsu said more softly.
"Make a move?" Leixia's eyebrows furrowed and she felt an anger swirl deep inside her. Who was she to tell her what she could and couldn't do? If she wanted to 'make a move' she could. "I knew it! You just want him for yourself! You're jealous!" she stood up quickly, so she towered over the Ninja sat on the bed.
"What!?" Natsu cried. "D-don't be stupid!"
"Don't lie to me, I can read you like a book..." She said mimicking Natsu's voice. The ninja sighed again and shook her head. "Leixia, I was going to say that... That you're too young, ok!? You know how old Patroklos is right?"
"Yeah! He told us the last time we were with him," she said.
"He's nineteen Leixia! Nineteen..."
"I know!"
"You're Fithteen!"
"I know!"
"That's four years between you!"
"I know!"
"And he's an adult, a grown man and you're a child! Still a little girl!"
"I am not a little girl! And he's not a grown ma!n! Not yet!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Really! And I'm mature for my age too!"
"Ha! Yeah, sure! If you were mature, you wouldn't be trying to get the attention of a nineteen year old in the first place, you wouldn't even have this stupid crush!"
"It's not a 'stupid crush!" she snapped. "I'm in love with him!" Natsu just rolled her eyes and turned her back on her.
Leixia growled when she got no reply and stomped her foot on the ground. "Why are you being like this!? What on earth does it have to do with you!?"
Natsu grunted in frustration and threw her hands in the air. "I say it because I care about you! Isn't it obvious?! You're getting yourself into a mess, Leixia! Please just understand now before its too late! You and Patroklos could never be together! Your just to young for him, Leixia."
"Does age really mean that much!?" she squeaked.
"Yes it does, Leixia," Natsu said, now nonchalant and more grown up and sombre then Leixia had ever seen her. "And even if you was the right age for him... Did you even take into account we're leaving in a weeks time?"
"I...Well-"
"You haven't even thought this through. You think you have everyone under control and that your so mature and independent all because you ran away from home!"
That stung her and now Leixia didn't even know how to respond. She felt something wet and warm roll down her cheek and then another before her face became moist and clammy.
"Leixia," Natsu sighed and reached up to comfort her but Leixia dodged her like she had a contagious disease and before Natsu could stop her she stormed out the room.
"Where are you going?" she shouted poking her head out the door.
"Anywhere! As long as I'm nowhere near you!"
Leixia stopped as Maxi was now stood in front of her. He'd probably heard the shouting and had come to check up on them. "Woah... Are you ok?" He asked, his hand rested on her bare shoulder. She shook her head quickly and turned her back on him.
"I'm going for a walk..." She sniffed. "I'll be back later."
Leixia had been walking for what seemed like hours, but was really only 10 minutes at the most. She couldn't seem to stop crying, she wiped desperately at her puffy red eyes until they were sore. She wanted to find somewhere private and quiet, she just didn't know where. She needed to be careful too, incase she got lost and couldn't find her way back to the inn. Leixia sighed heavily. Her heart felt like it had a great big dumbbell on top of it, it hurt. Was she actually heartbroken? Is that what her mother had truly been going through in her youth with that man... What was his name again...? Kilik. Is this the heartache she was always going on about? I truly am following in her footsteps now... Leixia thought bitterly.
Leixia walked down a street which looked a lot like the street they had first come to yesterday but she wasn't sure, they all looked the same to her. A small red headed girl was staring at her. She sniffled and smiled at her the best she could.
"Mummy, why has the girl got such little eyes?"
Leixia flushed brightly and the women bolted around to grab her daughter's hand, she seemed to have gone red too. "I am so sorry dearie! We don't get many people as...exotic as you around here. She just curious, she doesn't mean no harm."
Leixia smiled sadly and wiped her tears once more. "You are Chinese aren't you...? Of course it's quite hard to tell-" She stared at Leixia anxiously. "Or dear, she's really upset you hasn't she? I am so sorry-"
"It's not her... Don't worry about it," Leixia giggled through her tears.
"Oh... I won't poke my big nose in," the women said. "But maybe I could help..."
"It's just boy troubles..." Leixia mumbled.
The little girl giggled. "Mama has man troubles! Don't you mama?" The mother shushed her daughter. "Here, take these," she said thrusting a couple coins into her hands. The girl giggled gleefully and skipped to a nearby confectionery cart.
"Listen, I hate to such a pretty young girl crying, especially over boys... Maybe I could give you some advice," the women smiled gently. Leixia felt a pang in her heart, it was the same motherly smile her own mother would give her when she was upset.
"It's just... I love him so much... But the thing is I'm only 15 and he's 19."
The women raised her eyebrows and tutted. "Oh dear, dear, dear. That's a tricky one, very tricky."
Leixia bit her lip and looked at the women hopefully as she stood and thought, after a while she spoke. "What do you think?"
"I think... I think it's not that big of a deal but my friend does and he probably will too... I haven't even told him yet and it's likely he doesn't even feel the same anyway so I don't even know why I'm getting all worked up..." She sniffled again.
The women look sympathetic and there was pure knowing and understanding behind her eyes. "The first thing you should do is talk to him, you never know maybe he's willing to over look your age, he does know your age doesn't he?"
"Yes... I think so."
"Hmm... Good. Then you won't be tempted to lie to him."
"I... I wouldn't do that anyway!" Leixia said rather defensively.
"Yes, well, you don't think you will at first but we all do crazy, stupid things for love," she said calmly. "You should go have a big think about what you want to do. If you do tell him then there is a chance he will reject you and leave you heartbroken but if you don't you'll never know and you'll have the regret of never even trying and you'll just wonder, wonder, wonder for the rest of your life."
"So, either way I'm gonna feel pretty crappy...?"
The women shrugged. "What have you got to lose?"
I'll just about die inside...That's a lot to lose
Leixia was thinking so hard it was starting to hurt. She thought of everything, not just of Patroklos either. After talking to that women it started to make her miss mother, she needed her now more then ever. She hadn't before but now she did. She was certain her mother would know exactly what to do. She found her thoughts drifting from Patroklos, to her mother, her step-father, her brother and then back to Patroklos again and then... Natsu. She hugged her knees to her chest on the old stone bench. She had found a quiet place, it was this little dead end bit of town with an out of order fountain and benches lined all around it. It was like a ghost town in total contrast to the market street up the lane.
"I miss you," Leixia whispered as she rubbed the see-through yellow material of her outfit between her thumb and index finger. I miss you too... She heard her mother say in her head and it made her smile. "You'll forgive me if I come home, right?" She heard the voice again, it said; Of course, sweetie.
Leixia can't believe she'd been so foolish... Even if Natsu was being really mean and rude about it, she was right. Even if Patroklos miraculously got on one knee and professed his love for her, they were leaving in a week! But she knew she couldn't just leave like that without doing nothing about her feelings. She was... Desperate!
"Oh, why me!?" Leixia shouted loudly and she threw her head in her hands. I don't want to be like this... Not any more She had thought being in love with someone was quite glamorous and she loved the thought of it. She loved the way it made her heart flutter and do way her stomach did somersaults, now she would do anything to stop feeling.
After she got back to the inn, she was surprised to see her gang waiting outside. They stared at her with pitying eyes and for a moment she thought- she dreaded that Natsu had told Maxi and Xiba. Her stomach stirred with nerves and another lump formed in her throat. As she approached them Maxi smiled.
"She told you, didn't she?" Leixia said looking at her shoes.
Maxi nodded slowly. "Yeah.."
She felt her cheeks flush and she almost felt like breaking into fresh tears. "I'm sorry, I know I am foolish-"
"Foolish!? For missing your own family?" Xiba chuckled.
"Being homesick is nothing to be ashamed of, Leixia... Honestly," Maxi said clapping a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her with sympathy . She shot a look of astonishment towards Natsu and she smirked, however it wasn't one of mischief or amusement but one of knowing. She let out a tiny sigh of relief. Natsu's lie, really wasn't that much of lie at all. She missed her family with all her heart, she just didn't realise until now. She was grateful though, if Maxi or Xiba found out the true reason she wouldn't know where to put her face.
"Now, are you going to show us the way to Patroklos' house," Maxi asked. "We're suppose to be there at noon."
"Oh, yes," she said, acting like she had just remembered. "Let's go then. It's quite a long walk."
A/N: They will be more Patroklos X Leixia in the next chapter. Maybe some fluffiness? I'll try to update quicker and more regularly. All I've been doing in my holidays is playing on the playstation, going on facebook and sitting round my bestfriend's house and eating her food...I do help out at a children's dance club but that's only on Mondays and Tuesdays. :p I'm sure I can fit it in to my busy schedule. Please review! :D I love reviews and feedback and I want to know how to write better too...