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Sora slid into the backseat after putting her luggage in the trunk.
May had immediately claimed the front seat with the realization that Sora would be coming along. The triumphant look May shot Sora upset her more than the seating arrangements.
Annoying brat.
She blinked as she realized what she just called May. Too fed up to care, she buckled her seatbelt and looked outside her window.
The car door in front of her opened and closed, signaling Leon's return from closing the trunk. He put his seatbelt on and adjusted the rearview mirror, catching Sora in the back of the car. She wasn't looking at him, but despondently staring at the window even though there really was nothing to see.
His eyes narrowed in the mirror.
The car started and he smoothly pulled out of the parking structure of the airport.
IN
After their disastrous dinner date Wednesday night, Leon allowed them the rest of Wednesday and the following Thursday morning to cool down from the emotions spoken last night.
He had been sorely displeased to find her gone.
When she said she'd be leave after their dinner date, he had not thought she meant so soon. And so for the following two weeks his questions about Wednesday night were left unresolved. He grew angry with his fixation on her even though she had insulted him.
For a while, he had decided to keep her labeled as a fool and be done with it.
He practiced and busied himself; he trained hard so he would be too tired to dream of her at night.
It worked for four days.
After that, wherever he went to the ice he'd remember what he taught her to do and how well they skated and danced along the slippery surface.
When he walked anywhere on the Kaleido Stage grounds, he recalled something that involved her and him. He then began to train somewhere off the grounds.
That had helped with his focus during training, but at night, when he looked at his bed the dream of her lying on it flashed through his mind and how the dark covers contrasted so beautifully with her skin and hair.
He promptly changed the midnight covers to a boring tan.
His mind managed to make the sight of her on it look stunning in the dream.
He tried sleeping on the couch for a while, but his legs were too long to fit comfortably, making his sleep short and very awkward. Back in Europe, he used to be an insomniac; he had started to sleep better in the few months that he was here, but now with the festival and the issue with Sora he wasn't sleeping as well as he used to.
He found that he still wanted her.
His earlier assessment about not being able to stop pursuing her had been correct. Before she left for New York was when things had turned sour; if it wasn't for that, they'd still be on fairly good terms.
What went wrong?
They had been connecting and enjoying each other's company before the date. He needed to know the answer, even if it wasn't in his favor.
He stole a glance in the mirror to see Sora blankly staring at the buildings of the city.
I will find out what it was.
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AN: This story is dedicated to anyone who's ever experienced conflicting emotions. Such a roller coaster... With that in mind, the theme song of this story is "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars.