For some reason, I'm on a roll for uploading chapters on my parents' birthdays. Happy birthday to my dad~. XD Now we're getting to the good stuff here! One of my favorite crews is coming up, and there will be some moments you don't want to miss! Listen to me, sounding like a commercial. XD If you read down to the chapter and read the author's note there, there's a surprise that will involve this story! All right, now let's have Lu$h in the chapter! :D
DCFan4ever: Aww, I missed you too. School is hell, so I think you know how it is. :P
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~Chapter Twenty: Set Adrift~
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Luce hopped off of Oblio's motorcycle, while Dare and MacCoy got out of their van. Together, they stare at the yacht that they will be riding on while Lu$h's crew challenge happens. The brunette chuckled, crossing her arms.
"Yep, this is definitely their venue."
"Since when did Aubrey let Angel into something high-class like this?" Dare asked. While Oblio head forward, MacCoy responded to his girlfriend's question.
"Since they're a crew, I guess they have to share, maybe her money also." Dare giggled at the blond's response, and they head off together. Before Luce followed them, she smiled that her best friend finally went to Aubrey's level. The music dragged her up, anxious and excited to see her childhood friend do his own thing tonight.
Angel wasn't too broke during his life, but at times during his childhood, his parents could only afford a couple of things: food for each month, and support him and his grandmother. The Latino was an actual sweetheart, despite being in a low-middle-class family. When he didn't have the money to get what he wanted, Luce would always support him. It was by the time her mother was still alive, but regardless, she still helped him.
He would feel bad that Luce paid for stuff like lunch at school, CDs, DVDs, and such. Once, he said that he would pay back all that she bought for him. The brunette would shrug it off and just smile at him, telling him that their everlasting friendship is more important than paying back. As they got older, that's when Angel found poker. He's an expert since he trained with the help of his father, who was a professional poker player during his younger years.
Not only was he playing to succeed his father, but to eventually repay Luce back and help his family. Even gaining affection for Miss Aubrey was one of his objectives, since she caught his eye. Luce just knows that Aubrey will like him eventually because he's good-looking and is such a gentleman.
Once she got up to see Angel and Aubrey dancing to "Fire Burning," Luce laughed giddily and continued to watch. The song is still progressing longer than she thought, so she decided to take a second to look for D-Coy and Oblio. For Dare and MacCoy, it's not that hard to find a pink-haired woman. And she did, the two were near the helicopter, doing their jobs to make sure nothing bad was happening. For Oblio, it's actually difficult unless thought out right.
Since Lu$h's main color is blue, there are a lot of people who are wearing that color, and Oblio happens to have blue hair. Luce can tell that he won't be with the other two since one has to occupy one place and the other should check another. Just as Luce was searching for her crew partner, she heard a whistle that sounded familiar.
It was Angel's. She turned around to see that it was indeed, her best friend's whistle.
"Luce!" he called out. Her smile became bigger, and she carefully ran to him, since she hadn't seen him in a week. His arms were open and the brunette ran into them, landing in Angel's embrace as he spun her around for a few seconds. Luce had never felt so much joy in her life, seeing her friend doing really well with his and Aubrey's crew challenge. "What brings you here, chica?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to make up for not being at Groovy Smoothie with you!" Luce replied as her eyes shine bright. Angel chuckled, placing a hand on her head and gently rubbing it.
"Since you've come here to support me, that makes it much better. Let's meet up with Aubrey," he told her, using his hand on her shoulder to gently take her to where Aubrey is, sitting on one of the chairs that looks like it would be used for sunbathing.
"Hey, bonita," Angel said, sitting down with Luce on the neighboring chair. "We have a visitor." The redhead sighed and turned around.
"Angel, we have ten minutes to take a break." When she noticed that he was talking about Luce, she sighed again. "Oh. At least it's you rather than another challenger."
"Rough day? Or is it too many guys flirting with you while battling with you two?" Luce asked, crossing her legs. The brunette nudged Angel with her elbow, winking at him since he does flirt with Aubrey. The Latino chuckled at her action.
"It irks me when a male competitor only comes to me so that they can compliment and hit on me. It's kind of the same with Angel getting women just to flirt with him. The whole point is to at least enjoy my party and crew challenge." Luce nodded and agreed with her. Despite what she said about how annoying it was to get compliments from a person, since they're being nice, she does have a point about the whole event. They should just have fun dancing and enjoy small dance battles.
"The only man who should flirt with Aubrey is me," Angel said smiling to make the redhead feel better. Luce giggled, realizing how too cute it was for him to defend the woman he likes. Aubrey rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Aubrey," Luce said with a calm smile. "Would you rather have no makeup, wardrobe, and hair curler, or have just Angel to flirt with you? I think you know which one is worse."
"Okay, okay, Luce. It'd be better to have that than no more amazing products for my hair and awesome clothing." Aubrey started to rub her temples carefully, looking like she's about to have a migraine. Luce held out her hand to Angel, and he slapped it, giving her a quick high-five. Aubrey looked up at Luce through her hazel eyes. "If you two have been friends for so long, how come you two aren't dating?"
Luce raised an eyebrow. She's a clever one, but not too clever. It shouldn't create controversy, so maybe answering her question might not be too bad.
"That's because I considered myself aromantic at the time," Luce replied crossing her arms. "Dating, flirting, all that never came to my interest. There would be some celebrities or classmates that look attractive in my opinion, but I wasn't interested in them romantically."
"'At the time...?'" Aubrey said quietly. "Wait, so you're not anymore?" Luce nodded.
"That's right. Out of nowhere after some time, I started having feelings for him. If I haven't met him, then I'd probably still identify as aromantic and asexual today." Aubrey smirked devilishly, but she isn't planning something bad.
"Then who is this-"
"Hey, this guy looks like he's about to faint!" a woman yelled a few feet away. Luce stood up to see the person who spoke up, then she saw a crowd forming a circle. The brunette gasped in horror, knowing who it was. Angel and Aubrey followed Luce since it's their responsibility to know what's going on in the yacht. Heading to the circle, Luce pushed whoever stood in her way and watched as Oblio was resisting to fight off his nausea. Before his whole body would lay on the floor, Luce caught him, although she had to slide down sitting seiza style.
His head lay on her collarbone, and he was breathing unevenly. Luce has never seen Oblio this weak before, and it was worrying her. Her heart was beating extremely fast and it made Luce pant along with him. "Oblio...? What's wrong?" As he tried to regain the energy to speak, he gulped and said,
"I'm not used to riding on water." Luce frowned, gently rubbing Oblio's back. Angel and Aubrey finally made it after having to answer the people's questions and assure them everything will be okay.
"Is there a place where he can lie down with some peace and quiet?" Luce asked. Aubrey nodded as Angel helped Luce to help Oblio stand up. His arms sling to their shoulders for balanced, and Luce placed a hand on his stomach for more support.
"Just follow me," Aubrey told the three. Doing so, but slowly, the three dragged their way to follow Aubrey inside the yacht. The redhead can be heard humming at a time like this, which is unsettling, but she was trying to brighten the mood. She found a door to their left and kept walking until a door with a golden handle was there, and she opened the door, which leads to a room with a bed, television, and everything a hotel has to offer, but fortunately, this room was ten times better.
Luce and Angel guided Oblio to the queen-sized bed. Once they settled him down, Aubrey went to the thermostat and changed the temperature to seventy-eight degrees. Her hazel eyes looked at the three, and then at the window where the ocean is showing off.
"So, what's his problem?" the redhead asked in annoyance. Luce glared indirectly at her for the way she asked that question.
"Before you two caught up with me, he told me that he's not used to riding on boats," Luce answered. She placed a hand on his shoulder, caressing it to help him feel a bit better. "I guess I should stay here with him until he feels better..." Oblio opened his eyes and frowned at his crew partner.
"Luce, it's fine... Just go back out there with the other two and make sure everything's alright." Luce's frown became wider.
"Shh," the brunette hushed Oblio. "I'm not leaving you." Angel went to Luce and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Is there another reason why you three are here as well? I know that Luce is here because she wanted to make up for yesterday." Oblio stood up, which made Luce place a hand on his waist just in case he might fall down.
"I just need... some water," Oblio stated, heading to the bathroom without Luce's help. To answer Angel's question, Luce smiled and said to the Latino,
"We had dinner together, and you know Dare and MacCoy. They love to party, and Oblio said that he had more time to spend time with us, so he wanted to tag along." On the inside, Luce felt herself cringe. He's going to find out soon enough, isn't he?
Instead, Angel nodded. The brunette still knows that Angel will find out that she's lying so he wouldn't worry. He waved, and Aubrey, who has been silent as if she was watching a movie, followed him with a smile. Luce can hear Aubrey giggling just when she held onto the door and looked back at the brunette.
"Now, we'll leave you two to your alone time," Aubrey said with a mischievous wink. Luce blushed and made sure that Oblio had the bathroom door closed.
"For God's sake, Aubrey, it's nothing like that!" The redhead just smiled and closed the door. Once Luce cooled down from the heat on her face, she went to the bathroom door to see if Oblio was okay. The door opened, resulting in him panting unevenly again.
Luce helped the bluenette to the bed and when he laid his back on the comforter, he grunted from the dizziness. The brunette sat down and tried her best to soothe her partner.
"Hey... You'll be fine," Luce said, gently moving Oblio's bangs so that she can have his forehead shown in order to feel his forehead. He's not warm, but he's sweating. The brunette frowned. "Oh, Oblio... Usually, I'm the one that's weak." She stood up from the bed and went to the bathroom beside the bedroom to get a hand towel. She carefully patted the towel on his forehead, later down to his neck.
"No... that's not true..." Oblio said calmly, yet in a raspy voice. Luce stopped and looked at the Asian. His blue eyes would shine so bright seemed to have lost their shimmer. "Like a diamond, as Dare always calls you, you are the toughest gem of them all. It is your birthstone... right?"
"Mm-hmm," Luce responded. "Why would you say something like that though?"
"That's because when you are the one sick, you still shine. Your eyes are the same color as my father's but yours hold light and warmth, while he is the polar opposite: cold and dark." Luce's eyes glittered with curiosity. A minute later after wiping his cold sweats off, Luce put the hand towel on the nightstand.
"If you don't mind, in order to pass the time, want me to recite my mother's poetry? It's a free verse, so it shouldn't be too short or long." Oblio's eyes sparkled again, looking into Luce's chocolate-brown eyes. He can tell how much she wants him to be satisfied and not have too much quietness.
"Go ahead," he replied simply. Luce took a deep breath, hoping that she can recite like her late mother would when she was a child.
"Oh, how nature heals your soul, and how the sky brightens your mood.
My heart beats wild when you are beside me, smiling and laughing.
Life doesn't last forever, so let's make this moment last for eternity.
If the sky takes me to the angels, then let me ask you one thing.
Will you let nature follow you so that we will live another life together like this?"
"'Heart and Soul: Act III?'" Oblio asked, impressed that Luce remembered a poem he seems to know about. The brunette nodded, smiling at the bluenette.
"She had the collection published right before my birthday, so it was one of my presents from when I was ten." Luce laughed in the middle of her speech. "It took me about a month to finish it, because she would teach me some of the dance moves she worked on when she was a dancer in movies." The blue-haired Asian nodded as a way of showing that he understood.
Luce placed a hand on Oblio's forehead again, and it felt more normal than the last time she touched it. The brunette sighed in relief.
"I guess I should tell you why I get seasick so easily..." Oblio sighed. Luce looked at Oblio, her attention on him. "When my father had meetings for his company, I would have to tag along since I was around five years old. If you knew me back then, I wasn't the silent type. I would be cheerful, energetic, and smiling everywhere I go. Before we both knew it, my father had a meeting on a cruise that was heading to England. I would be outside at the dock and when I realized how fast the cruise ship was going, I fainted and nearly vomited. Because of that, we ended up having to take a plane back home."
Luce pitied him. After what he went through in the past, he still went to the yacht just for DCI's sake. The brunette thought of something that should be explained right away.
"But why did you still come here, despite what happened?" she asked. Oblio noticed the determination in her eyes. Maybe it won't be bad to answer her question.
"I didn't want to bring you and DCI down. What should be done has to be done." Luce felt touched. She felt her heart flutter and her face heat up with a smile added to her.
"That's so sweet of you-"
"Ride's over, you guys!" MacCoy said when he opened the door. The brunette sighed when her alone time with Oblio ended. Regardless, it was good to know that Oblio won't have to deal with the yacht moving anymore. She looked at the two.
"How did you...?" Luce asked the two. Dare smiled at her as usual.
"Angel told us where you two were," the pink-haired replied. "You okay, Oblio?"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." he replied. He stood up, smiling at Luce. "Thank you..."
"It's no problem," Luce replied hopefully. As the four head back up and left the giant ship, they are a few steps closer to fulfilling the mission from DCI. Hi-Def should be interesting since they are the closest to being similar to Lightning.
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~Chapter Twenty-One coming soon...~
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Quick note: I made up that poem. I'm not a poet myself, but it took some time to think of the one and only Katherine Valentine's words (even though she has not made a single appearance except in mentions and photos from one of the chapters).
Now that you've made it to the bottom of the chapter, now's the time to tell you what's going on! You all know that the Glitterati has yet to make an appearance; Well, if you've noticed, since there's one chapter for every crew, including this and Hi-Def in the upcoming future, there will be two parts for the Glitterati! I'm not going to give spoilers, but if you know the story line for DC2, then you know what's going to happen.
Oh, and the part where Luce has to take care of Oblio for his seasickness? I did that on purpose. ;) I can't have Oblio being the strong dependent male in this story all the time, so I made Luce a stronger character in this one. I feel bad that she couldn't do something else, if you know what I mean. :D No, not that way, you perverts! XD Just kidding, y'all are not perverted... as far as I know... XD
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