Note: This chapter kind of shifts POVs, I hadn't intended on that, but you know...I know it'll get annoying, so I won't do it a lot in future chapters. Sorry about the slow updates, I'm kind of in the middle of school but I still find some time to write some ideas down and such. Many thanks to those who are still reading!

Chapter 3: Eyes

Let me set things straight right here, I don't like Lightning Farron, I'm not in love with her...

…..

Well okay, admittedly, I have a little crush. A tiny one. But I mean, who the hell doesn't? At one point in every student's life they've had a crush on Lightning Farron. It doesn't even matter if you're gay, or straight, or... a future nun for that matter. Everyone has had a crush on her.

I mean LOOK AT HER!

She has that weird, 'you can look, but you can't touch' attraction going on. Lightning Farron is like that really expensive piece of jewelry that you want so badly, but you're torn on whether you should take the chance of buying it and later finding out you really don't like it.

But I don't like her! Okay? She's just...an interesting enigma.

She rakes on my nerves, probably in the same sense that I annoy her, but then again everything annoys her. If you say something wrong, if you stutter, if you hit on her sister...but I mean, she annoys me...kind of like that school yard bully that you can't figure out why he's bullying you when you've been minding your own business this whole time.

Probably a bad analogy, but cut me some slack here. Is there ever a good analogy to use with this girl?

I'm getting off topic here, lets get back on track.

Today's piece of news was that Lightning had gotten into a fight with a group of delinquents just outside of school. No one really knew the cause of the fight, someone probably looked at her wrong. Not a single one of them left unscathed though, in fact I'm pretty sure I heard that she had broken almost every one of the leader's bones. One had a shattered collarbone, one wouldn't be able to walk for a good month, and another will probably be receiving his food through a tube.

I didn't see her at all the rest of day, perhaps she had been expelled, or maybe the principal was so impressed that he kept her in with his shower of praises. God knows, the man can go overboard sometimes. Like our opening ceremony where he called out this girl for have good grades? Yeah, that went on for about an hour until the secretary came up and told him to wrap things up so we could return to class.

Later I found Fang with a Cheshire grin, and wondered what she was up to, she left before I could ask.

The walk home was spoiled with thoughts of the fight, it was hard to consider things when she hadn't witnessed it herself. For all she knew, half of the story the boy in her History class told her could have been pulled out of his...

"I really want to punch something." Vanille said out loud, uncertain of why she had said it...and why she wanted to punch something.

"Join a kick boxing class..." Vanille almost yelped at the sudden sound, she turned and passed eye contact with Lightning Farron, she quickly glanced off into the distance, eager for something interesting to occur to draw here away from Lightning. She thought it was funny, all week she was striving to be around Lightning, to talk to her and get to know her, and yet she still felt that awkward, 'I'm a mouse trapped in a corner and this cat is going to torture me and then eat me alive!' feeling. "You don't really strike me as the type to actually try though." Lightning continued dryly.

"It's...it's none of your business anyway." Stammered Vanille, she was getting irritated, and fast, and she knew Lightning was aware of this. She could have sworn she saw a ghost of a smirk on the ex-athletes face.

"I thought you lived on the...other side of town.." Lightning said pointedly, "as in, not by the beach."

Vanille turned around, the fact that she had somehow wandered off course slowly sinking in. It didn't matter, she'd just take the scenic route home. The problem was, the beach was a good thirty minutes from school, taking the long way would add another hour to her trek. How she hadn't noticed that she was walking for such a long time, Vanille did not know.

"Are you lost?" Lightning continued, much to Vanille's annoyance. This was odd, Vanille wasn't one for being annoyed so easily. She usually had a high tolerance level when it came to different personalities, but the way Lightning looked at her...the way she spoke to her... "Vanille? Right?"

"What?"

"Are you...fine?" This time her brows were furrowed, "you don't look well."

Vanille had to admit that she was feeling slightly dizzy. She shook her head, "I've just been thinking a lot." Why are you so concerned, even? Are you feeling good?

"It doesn't matter, I just...I guess I wasn't paying attention!" She offered a forced, wide grin, and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, "I'll just take the long way home!" Before she could skip off she felt someone tug at her arm.

"Wait," Lightning managed, a slight awkward edge on her voice, "it's getting dark. I'll go with you."

Her face was turned slightly, but she could read the concern in her voice. That surprised her, a little too much. Lightning Farron was concerned for Vanille's safety? It was a little too farfetched, and she'd wondered if Lightning had possibly lost a bet to Fang, or something of the likes.

"Don't over think. If something happens to you, I'll have to deal with Fang." The ex-athlete released her and started walking ahead, "besides, Serah is at your house helping Fang with a project.

Lightning

This was awkward. I admit. It wasn't everyday I'd feel any ounce of concern for my rival's friend. She looked off, she looked lost, and for a second I felt a kind of twinge of regret when she flashed that forced smile.

I tugged my jacket closer around my body, and I was thankful for the little warmth it offered against the faint ocean breeze. I was thankful that the small shocks of pain shooting up my leg were dull and easily ignorable, but I knew she recognized the slight limp in my walk, even if I tried hard at masking it.

Masking things was usually easy for me. But lately...

Vanille

Her usual proud walk was slightly hindered, it wasn't too much of a difference, but I noticed. The kind of way you notice a small change in someone's behavior. A kind of hindrance.

There were other things I noticed as well, despite her attempt to keep her face away from me earlier. Like the small bruise on her cheek, and slowly forming black eye. The cut just on her temple, shallow but Gods it must have had a dull ring of pain every now and then...she hadn't even taken the time to clean it, and it pained me to see her pretending everything was fine. Was this how she expected to approach her sister? A wounded liar?

"Lightning..."

"What?"

"Stop." I reached for her, barely catching the back of her jacket, causing her to slow and send a curious glance over her shoulder. She didn't question my order, good. I grabbed her by the crook of her elbow and led her off down a main street, it had been a while since I'd been in this neighborhood but I remembered there being a drug store around here.

There it was, a small family store, usually overrun by delinquents and other students. At this hour, surprisingly, it was empty save for an elderly man standing outside with his purchased goods and a cigarette in hand. "Wait out here," I offered a small smile at the confused girl, "I'll just be a second."

Lightning

I waited, just like she asked. I crouched into a sitting position, sending an awkward glance at the shady old man who had evidently taken notice of the bouncy girl cheerfully skipping into the store. A greedy smile spread across his lips, however he caught sight of me glaring at him and he quickly stepped off of the curb and into his beat up car. I didn't take my eyes off of the car until he drove off into the distance. Disgusting.

Students were walking in now, students from my school who sent recognizing glances at me, then slowly stepped into the store. Too cautious. It wasn't like a was a guard dog, or something. Annoying.

I was slowly growing irritated. What was she doing in there? Why did she make me wait? For gods sake, it was getting late and I was only getting older. Finally she stepped out, peeking around to see where I was before she finally found me sitting at the curb, glaring at her.

Vanille

Her glare shot a shock of fear through my veins, I almost wanted to run back into the store, where I would be safe.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long...the clerk wouldn't stop talking to me. I guess he goes to our school." I sat down beside her, rummaging through my bag, I pulled out a package of alcohol swabs. She looked at me curiously, her eyes sparkled with confusion.

"What's that for?" She asked grabbing the package and inspecting it, "do you have a cut or something?"

She couldn't be that unaware, could she? Or was she playing dumb? "How long were you planning on walking around with such an obvious cut? Or didn't you know you were bleeding...?" I reached out and gently tapped her temple, she flinched slightly. She evidently hadn't noticed. "Stay still.." I muttered, pulling the package from her hands and opening it, I shot a reprimanding glare when I heard the start of her first protest, slightly surprised she closed her mouth and raised a thin, bemused eyebrow. "Stay." She frowned. "If you're going to be in the Guardian Corps you better get used to orders." I scolded, leaning forward and pushing her hair back to inspect the cut.

I sighed, it wasn't too bad, for all the blood. Medically speaking, it was technically a scrape, Lightning had apparently been doing something that irritated it though. With a swab, I gently cleaned the cut, hoping I had gotten to it before it had been infected.

Lightning

She was unbearably close. I hated closeness. No one got this close. I could smell something fruity, probably her perfume. It was nice. Nothing overpowering, soft, like her touch.

If I could shake my head, I would, to rid myself of such bothersome thoughts. I glanced away, her closeness had me staring at her neck. I busied myself by glaring at the students that were leaving the store and whispering among each other. Stealing glances at us. I was mortified. Gods, how long does it take to clean a cut?

"Done!" Vanille finally chimed, placing a band-aid on the newly cleaned cut and smiling, "do you want me to kiss it to make it feel better?"

"Don't get cocky." Lightning stated flatly, pushing herself up from the curb and rubbing the back of her neck. "Thanks..I guess." She muttered.

"Look, don't over think. I just didn't want Serah to freak out." Vanille stood up as well, brushing the back of her skirt. She hadn't been planning on doing laundry, but now it was unavoidable and she'd be spending her night cleaning her uniform. Lightning rolled her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest and gave Vanille an odd look. "What?"

"Nothing." She huffed, turning around, "let's get you home so I can go home."

The redhead shrugged, "wait."

"Now what?"

"Here," Vanille rummaged in the bag again, and pulled out a water bottle. "I figured it was the best I could do, you know, since you're taking me home."

"You don't have to pay me back every time I do something."

"I'd feel bad."

"Don't." Lightning took the water anyway, uncapping it and taking a large swig.

Vanille chuckled, earning a slight glare. "You don't have to lie.." She smiled and skipped ahead, "come on, it's only getting darker."

Vanille

I wanted to ask, I truly did. Every ounce of me ached to know what had happened, I mean, it couldn't have been coincidence that I had run into Lightning now, of all times.

Yet, every time I glanced over my shoulder...every time our eyes met...I felt a painful twinge, a slight jerk at my heart.

It was like a hollow was forming in the pit of my stomach.

The worst part is, I knew she knew what I was thinking.

"Don't think about it." She muttered, finally.

"What?" I feigned a small, confused smile, cocking my head slightly. I had twirled around so I was walking backwards, she had taken to walking slowly behind me the whole night. We still had a way to go before we were in my neighborhood.

"Why do you do that?" She stopped. Vanille stopped.

"Do what?" Now she really WAS confused, was Lightning talking to herself or..

"Fake your emotions." She stepped forward, studying the redhead.

"I'm not faking anything.." She mustered a reassuring smile, but Lightning knew better. Vanille knew the jig was up.

"You're weird." Lightning finally said, after a few moments of silence.

"You're one to talk!" Vanille pouted, she looked away, spotting a chubby white cat scaling the opposite wall. "Walking around, all banged up like that...like no one's gonna notice..all for pride."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Vanille shrugged, admittedly, she wasn't feeling much of anything at the moment.

"I told you earlier..."

"Are you cold?" Lightning shrugged off her jacket, Vanille still kept her gaze averted, hadn't noticed the movement until she felt something warm wrap around her frame. She hadn't noticed that she was cold until she felt the soft cloth of the ex-athlete's jacket touch her arms. The strange thing about Bodhum's summer nights was that they tended to be cold.

She offered a shocked glance to the taller girl, whose blue eyes remained placid. Calm. She didn't like that, because she knew how to read people through their eyes. A persons eyes can tell a tale. Lightning's, however, only told lies. They only created mysteries and confusion.

Her heart wrenched, her jaw set, she swallowed, "what happened?"

"What..?"

"You weren't at school today...and I heard you got into a fight, and well, you're pretty banged up so that doesn't really help."

"What does it matter?" The pinknette's brows knitted slightly, her hands were still set on the jacket she had wrapped around the smaller girl, clenching slightly.

"It doesn't...I was just...curious." Vanille offered, she was confused by her sudden outburst as well. It was almost on impulse, whenever Fang got into a fight she almost immediately demanded explanation. Perhaps it was because she was seeing more of Fang in Lightning...

"She's everything Fang is, wrapped up in a cold facade."

She could almost hear Snow's words, "Fang..."

"Huh?" The taller girl leaned forward slightly, "what was that?"

"Nothing."

"..." Lightning realized she was still gripping the jacket, she let go. "You're weird." She finally offered, before brushing past her.

Vanille didn't move however, and Lightning sighed heavily, "are you coming or...?"

I was feeling unbearably dizzy, was I getting sick? My head pounded slightly, and I could feel a thin film of sweat forming on my forehead.

I heard Lightning call back to me, her voice sounded distant, even though she was so close.

Finally, I turned slowly, yet it didn't matter how slow I turned the world became a swirl of colors before I could respond, the world rushed past me. I heard a low meow.

"'The hell?" Fang.

"Look, it's not like I did it to her okay? Are you going to help or..?" Lightning.

"I'll go get a wet cloth!" Serah...?

"Right, just set 'er on the couch. CAREFUL."

"I KNOW Fang, gods..."

"uhn..." Vanille felt a slight pounding on her head.

"I think she's coming to." Lightning muttered.

"Ya think? Wow, with all th' brains you've got ya'd think something as obvious as.."

"Are you really insisting on testing me right now, Fang?"

"Sure, lets 'ave a little pop quiz!" Vanille heard the sound of knuckles cracking.

"nn...Fang...knock it off..." She opened her eyes slowly, her head protested, she wanted to close her eyes against the bright light, however the will to calm her friend overpowered all else. She sat up slowly, her joints suddenly painful. "What happened...?" She mumbled, hand caressing her throbbing head.

"Well, you thought you could fly, space cadet." Lightning shrugged, Vanille couldn't help but smile at her blunt sarcasm, which earned her a surprised glance from Fang.

"Here's a wet towel." Serah finally returned to the room, she spotted Vanille and sighed in relief, before she approached her and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, hey, be careful now.." Fang offered, though she was smiling slightly herself. Vanille knew she was holding back the urge to gather the redhead in her arms as well.

Lightning sighed, gently tugging at her sister, "look, as weird as she is, I think she requires air to live as well." She pushed herself up from where she was sitting beside the couch, "at any rate, let's get home before it gets any later.."

"Why don't you spend the night?" Vanille offered, Fang shook her head.

"No. Way." the wild-haired girl crossed her arms over her chest, looking much like a defiant child. "We don't 'ave the space. Not t' mention you have school tomorrow."

"Not like that, Fang. She's clearly sick." Lightning brushed Vanille's bangs away, touching her forehead, "she's burning up. You should take her to the hospital first thing in the morning."

"You're so concerned, you should take 'er yourself." Prideful Fang. If Vanille was feeling well, she'd have laughed, she only spared an exhausted look. Fang bristled noticeably, before she slumped. "Fine, you win."

Lightning looked at Serah, who shrugged slightly, "I'm honestly too tired to walk home..." she offered, "besides, with your suspension..." she was cut off by Lightning.

"Stop at that."

"Sorry."

"You can stay, I'm going home."

"Light..."

"Lightning." Vanille took her hand, removing it from it's perch on her forehead, "just stay. You two can sleep in our room, Fang and I will stay out here."

"You should sleep in a bed, you must be uncomfortable on that couch." Serah chuckled, she looked at Fang, who was still bristling. "Light and I will sleep out here."

Lightning was about ready to protest again, Serah nudged her slightly, "we'll leave first thing in the morning, I promise."

Vanille's eyes locked on Fang's, the group sat in silence for a while before Fang finally shrugged, standing and gathering the girl in her arms, much to Vanille's surprise, who offered a small yelp. "A'right, a'right, I get it."

"I can walk!" Vanille was feeling oddly embarrassed, however Fang was slightly amused, "oh? But you were fine with sunshine over there carryin' ya!"

Vanille had enough strength to pound at Fang's chest, though it did little to the stronger teen, who only chuckled slightly. She was burning up, and she hoped it was because of her fever. "It's...it's not like there's much you CAN do when you're...you're dead to the world..." she finally stammered, with a slight pout, yet she eventually gave in and allowed the darker girl to carry her up to their room without sparing a glance at the Farron sisters.

Serah giggled, Lightning offered an irritated glare. "What are you up to, Serah..."

"Nothing."

"That was a little too quick, kiddo." Lightning locked an arm around her head, pulling her in to muss her hair.

Serah eventually pushed her away, a small pout that offered her a tiny pat on the head. She smiled though, it wasn't often that Lightning was playful. In fact, the last time she had so much as done something like that to the younger girl had to have been just before...

She frowned.

"What are you thinking about?" Always quick to read Serah's emotions.

"Just...well, mom and dad." She offered, with a slight shrug she swallowed the odd lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She wouldn't cry.

Lightning grew silent, hand still atop Serah's head, before she moved it to clutch her younger sister closer, "it's okay."

"I love you, Claire." Serah finally said, with a shuttered gasp before warm tears leaked from her eyes. Betraying her earlier strength. "I love you...I miss them...I miss...you."

Lightning didn't have to ask her to know what she meant by her last statement. She knew. "I'm sorry, Serah. I'm so sorry." She ran her fingers through the soft pink hair, buried her face in it, "I love you, too."

x-x-x-x

Not too far off, Fang leaned against the wall next to the staircase, listening to the silent exchange before she spared a small glance back towards their room.

She awkwardly shifted, pondering when a nice time to come back down would be. They'd need blankets, eventually. So they could sleep.

She stalked back to her room, she'd check up on them later. Right now, she was more worried about Vanille.

"What's wrong?" Vanille sat up in her bed when her friend slowly stepped in.

"Nothin' don't worry." Fang shrugged, "thought I'd give 'em some time t' talk, y'know? As for you..."

The redhead giggled nervously, "I swear, it's not like I intentionally went looking for her...I, er...well you see.."

Fang sat beside her with a heavy sigh, pushing her down so she was flat on her back. "You, stay in bed. No moving, no spying, ya got it?" she eyed her, then plopped down beside her, staring up at the ceiling.

"You're not sleeping with me." Vanille scolded, "you'll get sick too."

"Who cares.." Fang shrugged, "or do ya not love me...? No, don't tell me my love is one sided? I thought we had something going..." She said, in mock shock, "Vanille, say it ain't so!"

The smaller girl chuckled, "oh, but aren't we already married?"

Fang nudged her playfully, "damn straight." Now, however, Fang was perched on her elbow, eying the other girl, "but ya had quite the death grip on sunshine, I must say. Looked like you were just about ready to choke her!"

"Oh man...!" Vanille rolled onto her side, facing away from Fang.

"Do you...?" Fang started, she shifted and sat up, feeling desperately awkward about the question in mind.

"Don't ask." Vanille said, she read the awkward pause, "please don't ask. Because I don't know. I just don't..." She trailed off, staring out her window, staring at the starry sky. She felt the bed shift, Fang's footsteps disappeared beyond the doorway.

"It'll get better, 'nille." Fang offered, Vanille remained silent.

How long had it been? How long had it been since I felt so...confused about another person?

I don't like Lightning Farron.

I don't.

I don't like her.

But...something about the night. Something, maybe it was a glance, or a word...or a sound...or...something. Just something.

My brain had been triggered, and all I could think about was her.

Why?

I.

Don't.

Like.

Her.

Hell, I barely even know her.

So...why am I so confused? Why does it hurt, to think of her wounds, to think of her masked pain. Why?

Who is she, but another person, another stranger...

It was because I liked mysteries, and what is Lightning, but one. Big. Mystery.

I want to look into her eyes again, I want to see what I can find beyond my reflection.

Let me look into your eyes.