Sorry I haven't updated for a while, been crazy busy for ages but here's the next chapter!
I rest my hands nervously on his shoulders, and he, looking equally uncomfortable rests his on my waist.
"What a waste of an evening." I say, breaking the silence. He chuckles.
"I'm glad you think so." He replies.
"I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive Jasmine and Mindy, they'd set me up for so many dances before I even realised I had to go. My feet hurt." I tell him honestly.
"I'm sorry for making you stand-up then." He says, and I smile shyly.
"It's fine. This is one dance I wanted to have." I blush uncertainly, and the song goes into the second verse.
"Have you told Alexis about… this?" He asks, a blush gracing his cheeks in his nervous state. I blush with him.
"No… I've never really done this before. It's always been Mum first, duelling second, everything else last." I say, blushing even harder at my inexperience. He still laughs.
"It's not as if I have either. But you have more of an excuse. For me it's just been duelling. I constantly think about it. When I watch duels I pick out ever flaw I can find, and I'm always thinking of ways to solidify my strategy. But then, when I started watching some of your duels I…" He drifts off.
"You what? That's the longest sentence I've heard you say, and I like hearing your voice." I say, smiling shyly as usual with my words, though managing to have the courage to look up at him. He smiles.
"You don't really have a permanent strategy. I've never seen or heard of any of your monsters before, the Shadow Hunter deck was completely unknown to me. And you never duelled… the same. Your style is adaptation. You can adapt to different situations in the best way possible, instead of sticking to one strong line of strategy. Even if you'd known nothing about any of your opponents, you'd still have been able to change your style to fit theirs. It's so intriguing. It changed my way of thinking. I've always looked for a way to remove all flaws from my strategy. You just change the strategy in the middle of a duel to remove the flaw, and create new ones that your opponent doesn't know how to counter." He explains, his voice coming out clear.
Now I've heard it more, his voice is… strong. It has this proud sense to it, yet with a respectful tone to relate to how he would never mock anyone.
"I had excellent teachers. I have to adapt… I love duelling, I always have. But… you know my power. Well, not all of it, but if I lose a duel, I lose a lot of energy. The last time I lost a duel, I was in a coma for 3 weeks, just due to exhaustion. And when I get angry, or sad, or desperate, those things happen. And my opponent would always get hurt. My teachers helped me adapt to my situation. I'm definitely not perfect at it, but at least people don't get hurt anymore." I say.
"You would never hurt anyone intentionally. You're just amazing. No one's ever changed my mind about something I felt so strongly about." He says, his low voice tickling my throat, as we've slowly been leaning into the comfortable hold. I smile at him, and reach up to press my lips to his, as he does the same. The same emotion pours out of me as before, and I now have no doubt. This is what it's like to like someone. I like Zane in this way. I like kissing him, it twists my insides up, and makes my heart beat 20 times as fast.
His lips are as soft as ever, and my fingers trail through his hair. He brings me closer and we break away for air. I rest my head against his chest nervously, and he strokes my hair.
"You look beautiful tonight Azure." He tells me.
"You look as handsome as always." I answer back, as his voice sends chills down my spine. "Can we keep this a secret?" I ask nervously, looking away.
"Definitely." He answers shortly. We stop dancing and he puts his arm around my shoulders and we both look out into the sea, deep in thought. We sit there for, I'm not sure how long exactly, but I'm thrown out of my gaze when my phone starts ringing in my pocket.
"Ah!" I accidently shout up, and reach for my phone as I feel the buzz. It was Hunter. I look over to Zane. "I have to take this." I say shortly, before standing up out of his grasp and moving away to answer.
"Azure? What time is it? I thought it would go to answer phone?!" I hear Hunter's voice and feel a trail of guilt inside me.
"The time? Oh… I'm not sure, but it's the triumph gala… and since I won…" I trail of and hear a loud shout from the other side of the line.
"You won Azure! That's amazing! My little sis already the best there is…(etc.)" Hunter starts exclaiming happily.
"What? No, I am not the best! Shut up, you can't say it like that…(etc.)" I argue, too modest for my own good.
"And to think I gave you your first card! And…" He carries on but I interrupt.
"Hunter!" He silences. "I was going to wait to tell you tomorrow, but I got offered a place here at Duel Academy. I plan to continue my studies here right away."
"Wow! That's amazing Az. Maybe I should come drop by first… check the place is alright… make sure no one picks on my little sis…" He starts plotting.
"Hunter, no. Anyway, it's not as though I'm the quiet one who just got in by chance anymore." I reply, though grinning to my ears.
"Definitely not. But… what happened with Tom? What… happened?" He asks, suddenly concerned.
"Tom? It went… well I guess. Better than I would've thought. He's agreed to write to Mum. Obviously Dad didn't actually care for him anymore than he did for us… But he's… a little lost. I was talking to him earlier this evening, met a few of his friends… his girlfriend even. He's lost."
"… I'm sorry did you just say he has a girlfriend?" Hunter asks wildly.
"Hunter, you were supposed to take more out of that than a petty bet you made with him when you were 12." I exclaim, shaking my head.
"When did they start dating? I bet it wasn't when he was 16. I'm 100% sure I got a girlfriend younger than he did." Hunter says like a child.
"Hunter. You're 23. You haven't had a girlfriend for 3 years, and none of them have been serious. Just leave it already."
"I guess so… of course you're right. How do you think Mum will cope with Tom?" He asks finally.
"She'll be… happy of course. But still fragile naturally. But happy all the same." I answer. "Where are you going next?"
"Me? Well we're finishing work here tomorrow actually, and I believe the next destination is in Europe. But the schedule says the flight is 3 weeks from now, so I think I get a break." He answers, and I can hear him walking across the room.
"Maybe you should try and visit Mum, since I'm guessing she'll get the letter tomorrow or the day after. I might even be able to get Tom to call if I have my luck." I suggest, knowing that someone should drop in on Mum.
"I'll see what I can do. I haven't seen her for a while now. Shang Hai has probably been one of the busiest countries I've been too. We better leave it there, it must be past midnight where you are now. Goodnight Az, and please actually go to sleep. Love you." He finishes, waiting for my response.
"Hate you too." I reply automatically, and smile as the beep sounds.
"Sorry about that. We have a very small range of time where we're both awake." I tell Zane.
"Your brother, Hunter correct?" He asks humbly.
"Yeah. I miss him more than I'd like to admit." I say, still nervous around Zane. He turns away to the sea, all ounces of the smile he was wearing a few seconds ago gone.
"What's wrong?" I ask, confused at the sudden change of mood.
"The way you act with your brother. It's obvious you care for each other." He says in his low discreet voice.
"Yeah I guess." I say aloud. And I realise. "Zane, you and Syrus have the same family love. You just have different ways of showing it than me and Hunter do."
"It doesn't feel that way. I just feel disappointed" He replies, still watching the waves wash by.
"But that's okay! Family wash in and out of our lives in different ways…" Zane turns to look at me.
"Azure, I feel like this because of his feelings. They're just so contrary to mine." He says sternly, before turning back to the sea. I pause with sadness in my eyes before I speak again.
"Zane, you and Syrus, you've had it rough. You had to grow up so soon, it being in your nature. Syrus, he's youthful. He still wants to be, and is, a child. Not in a bad way, he just doesn't want to worry yet. You've been top duellist for a long time now. It comes with… responsibilities. That Sy just doesn't understand. Not yet. You just have to wait. That doesn't mean that you and Syrus aren't good brothers. You just need the time to understand one and other."
I finish my speech, and I almost feel stupid. Of course I couldn't help. My shoulders sink, and my eyes drop to the floor. But taking me by surprise, I feel a hand cupping my cheek, and bringing me in close for a kiss. We break rather soon, as I would think, but he looks up.
"We should be back by now. I'll walk you back to the girls dorm. I believe your room's already ready. You've seen the last of Lisa." He says shortly, and I lean against his arm around my shoulders, as we walk back in a peaceful silence. As we get to the Girl's Obelisk Blue Dorm, I turn to face him.
"Can we do this every night?" I ask timidly, slightly afraid he'll say no.
"I thought we were already." He replies, and I smile.
"But, properly. I don't think it'll be good to tell people about this, and I like the lighthouse. It's calming."
"It helps me think." Zane agrees.
"I think you do a little too much thinking." I whisper, before perching on my tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't get too worked up now lessons are restarting. You need to relax a little more."
"Of course. Goodnight Azure."
"Goodnight Zane." I say softly as he walks away, and I walk up the stairs into the girls dorm. I walk into my assigned dorm, too tired to even turn the lights on. All I do is slip my heels off and fall onto my bed exhausted. I wander what will happen tomorrow. I mean, obviously it should be just the same as East Academy. Lessons, duelling… but maybe this time friends. Jaden, Sy, Bastian and Alexis will be in my classes, and Zane will meet me in the night.
I'm wondering whether I should just board the boat back to East Academy. Things are changing for me, and I don't know whether I'm ready for the change. People say change is good, otherwise life gets too boring, and dull. But I hate it. U have to learn new things, change things I do to suit the change that occurs. The last thing that changed was me attending East, and I'm not sure that did me any good at all, with Lisa.
And before that, even worse. Dad leaving, taking Tom with him. Mum getting weaker. And then of course, Hunter leaving to travel the world. I was so proud of what he was doing, who wouldn't be? But the few weeks after he first left, I felt like nothing was the same. I was still being taught to control my powers, and I kept on making mistakes, and losing control. It was happening more and more often, and Hunter was away so I couldn't talk to him about it. But I learnt. Slowly. It was hard, and I'm having so many unspoken doubts about it. The questions aren't popping up in my head, but that must be because I'm too scared to question this change, which anyone would take and-
No. This change will be good. And who says I won't be able to change again if things go wrong. This is my life. For now at least.
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