AN: Sorry for the wait! Thanks for reviewing and reading, by the way. :)
IN
IN
IN
When the tips of her fingers brushed the bar, she had a sense of déjà vu.
She was back in the past year trying out for the Little Mermaid role. That sinking feeling came back with that moment of startling clarity that she was falling.
The other swings were not nearby; maybe if she had been able to push off of the swing in time to move in that direction, she could have. However, she hadn't thought she was going to miss the bar.
I thought the timing was right…
But that was not the point.
She was falling and she did not see any way to prevent the inevitable.
IN
Time was not on his side at the moment.
As soon as he saw her miss the bar, he reacted.
IN
Sora had been in a numb state when she saw him launch off of his swing and up towards her, taking advantage of the swing still in motion and propelling himself.
"Sora!" he called out, "Push off of me!"
Of course he has a plan. She didn't know how he always managed to know what to do.
When their hands connected, she pushed off as he shoved her up to the closest swing. The audience was in awe of her as she soared into the air and stayed floating. Even in so dire a situation, she couldn't help but feel elated by her body in flight and the audience's reaction.
So this is what the maneuver feels like in front of an audience.
A little smile appeared on her face, but the joy did not last for long. She started to fall down to the swing and the magic of the maneuver released the audience's attention. They were restless and she didn't know why.
She grabbed the bar and looked around just as some screams sounded off.
Leon was falling.
Her mind registered what was happening, what he had done for her, but she persisted in the false knowledge that he wasn't falling for long. He's got quick reflexes, she tried to reason. His partners get injured, but never has he been hurt on the stage.
It just wasn't in him to fall…
Another second passed and he was still in the same horrible situation. She felt her heart ripping apart from the inside.
"Leon!" came her soul shattering cry.
IN
He heard her call out his name.
He looked up at her stricken face, seeing her hand stretched out to him even though he was so far away from her.
She made it.
He was fine with his decision.
IN
The initial anger and jealousy May felt was overshadowed by Sora's cry.
It echoed around the place, the teen's wretchedness so very clear within it. As May looked at Leon's falling form, his long silver hair drifting in the air and his gaze focused on Sora and Sora's hand uselessly trying to somehow grab him, May felt, for the first time in a very long time, shame.
What have I done?
IN
Tears went down her face; Sora didn't care.
The lights had turned off and she had heard the sickening thud as Leon connected with the ground. She wailed into the darkness, no longer worried about keeping her feelings a secret or pretending whatever Leon did didn't affect her.
He mattered so much...
"Leon," she sobbed.
IN
The ambulance came and took Leon.
Sora went to the hospital he was in and then proceeded to sit on the stiff chair in the waiting area as the ER medics looked over Leon.
It had been hours now and her stomach was grumbling, but she didn't care.
Her hands were folded. Sarah was staring at her with some concern and Ken was frowning at her lack of motion. Since Leon didn't have anyone down for his contact, Sarah came on behalf of the Kaleido Stage. When Sora expressed the desire to come Ken had been around, thus his presence at the hospital as well.
A doctor came into the waiting room. Sora was the first to stand up even though Sarah was the one that was sought out. Sarah and the doctor spoke for a bit and then Sarah came over to deliver the news.
"Leon obviously has some breaks and fractures in both legs as well as his ribs. Though, the doctor said she's more concerned about his concussion. He's fine," Sarah put a reassuring hand on Sora's shoulder upon seeing the fear in her eyes, "Though, with head injuries it usually takes some time to label a patient as stable. But for now, he's fine."
Sora took in a breath to steady herself. "Alright."
"Should we go then?" Ken asked.
Instead of answering, Sora sat back down.
IN
In the car ride back, Sarah and Ken sat in silence.
When they got to a red light, Sarah ventured a glance at Ken. He was still frowning at Sora's decision to stay.
"She's worried," Sarah said.
"I know."
"If anything, she probably blames herself for his fall."
"Yeah."
The light changed. Sarah focused back on the road.
"…She could have returned tomorrow," Ken quietly said, "instead of volunteering to stay."
The diva considered what she saw during the fall and Sora's current behavior.
"Ken," she gently started, "you can't expect someone to be rational in these situations, especially with circumstances close to the heart."
Ken looked over at Sarah. They caught another red light and Sarah caught his stare.
"I think she has feelings for him," she clarified.
His jaw slacked slightly. She would have found it funny in any other situation than now.
Her eyes were sympathetic to his plight, having seen the way he looked at Sora. But she had seen the way Sora looked at Leon. Given that and Leon's selfless act, she'd say the redhead's feelings were reciprocated.
The light changed again.
IN
The following days at the hospital, Sora stayed.
The stage was on probation for at least a month, so it wasn't like she had other duties to attend to. Leon continued to stay unconscious; she was determined to stay until he was out of the clear of falling into a serious coma.
Sarah had dropped off a bag of her clothes as well as some activity books to keep her occupied.
"Flowers are supposed to be helpful," said the patient that shared a room with Leon.
Sora looked up from doing her crossword puzzle. She spotted the daisies by the elderly man's bedside table and smiled.
"Are they helping you?"
He gave a low chuckle and then coughed a little. Sora made to get up to help with his water cup, but the man held a hand up. He sipped from the straw and then spoke again. "They remind me of my dear wife." He looked at the flowers with some nostalgia. "She was in love with daisies, even more so than with me."
Sora's smile was tinged with some sadness. "I'm sure that was not the case."
The older man chuckled again. "I know it to be so, but it makes a good joke."
IN
The next day, Sora stepped out to quickly grab some flowers from the shop near the hospital. The nurse had been nice enough to tell her where it was. It had been further than she had anticipated, but the doctor had said Leon wasn't showing anything to be concerned about yet.
She was carrying a powder blue pot with white hydrangeas when she heard some frantic speaking.
Her heart stopped when she saw the medics rushing into Leon's room.
"What's going on?"
A nurse grabbed her and told her to stay back.
Sora was gripping the flowers tightly as she heard the heart monitor going dangerously fast and then completely stilled into a monotonous sound.
"Clear!" was followed by some sort of electric pulsing sound. The EKG monitor stayed flat. They tried again. "Clear!" The blaring sound continued without pause.
Moments later, she heard a doctor say with a heavy sigh, "Dareth Campell, time of death- 1:14PM. Someone call the family."
Her trembling continued even after hearing that.
She had fallen against the wall without noticing and was now sliding down to the ground. A part of her was relieved it wasn't Leon, but grief for the loss of life still made some tears fall.
I didn't get to thank him for the flowers suggestion.
IN
The morning of Day Eight at the hospital had the doctor telling her that there was a lot of brain activity.
"He should be waking up anytime now."
She nodded at the information.
Before the doctor left, she added, "Mr. Campell's family thanks you for the daisies. They said they'd put them by his headstone tomorrow after the funeral."
Sora gave a smaller nod as her throat tightened. The sight of the empty bed still made her choke up.
IN
She had fallen asleep early that evening and had her arms folded under her head as her upper half was slumped on the bed.
A faint touch on her arm had her stirring.
Bleary eyed, she lifted her head to see Leon's eyes open.
"Hello," he quietly murmured.
The greeting set her off for some reason or other. She sat up straight and her eyes narrowed at him.
"You've got some nerve," she half hissed out. "What were you thinking back then, pulling me onto the stage during a show and then you just jumped off like that into midair and without some kind of backup plan?!"
Lost in emotion, she stood up, her chair lightly screeching with the motion.
"How dare you!" she seethed, "You're not supposed to do things like that; you don't get hurt or have broken bones or fractures," her voice hitched a little at the last word, "and then have a roommate that dies without you meeting him and meanwhile you're in your not-so-safe little world of la la land and state of unconsciousness for eight days…"
Her form shook as she paused to get some air.
"You jerk," she shakily spat, "you ass, you-you idiot!"
Her lips trembled and her eyes watered. "Baka!" she choked out.
When he noticed that she had no more to say, he slightly inclined his head in agreement to her statements.
"I apologize."
The words were quiet, but they rang in her head. She fell against the bed, her face burying into his sterile white blanket and wept.
His hand rested on her shaking head.
IN
She fell asleep that night right next to him.
Her petite form did not require much room on the bed, but he had scooted slightly despite the pangs of pain that the action caused. In the light hold of his arm she slept on her side and with her hands curled under her chin, not wanting to aggravate his injuries with her arm on his torso.
Her face lay besides his and her bangs fell on his cheek.
When she shifted a little in her sleep her hair tickled him but the faint smell of vanilla appeased him of the discomfort.
"…I didn't mean it," she sleepily murmured, her breath caressing the side of his face.
His hand slowly stroked her back. "Go back to sleep."
He felt her lips brush his cheek and then she was still again, her breathing evening out once more.
IN
Back at the Kaleido Stage, Kalos called May into his office early the next day.
He had a TV screen and DVD player set up on his desk. He told her to sit and then played the DVD. May's eyes widened as she saw herself in the Juliet costume with Sora coming into the frame as Leon launched her into the air.
The recording of May showed the teen sneering at Sora and her hand jerked the bar just so, making it slip out of Sora's reach…
The image paused here.
The overhead lights of the office shone on Kalos' glasses. His eyes could not be seen.
"Would you care to explain this?"
May's head bowed, her bangs covering her eyes.
IN
IN
IN
AN: I'm thinking that there's only one or two chapters left of the story. This has certainly grown into something else than what I had thought it would be, but I'm pretty happy with it. :)
Thank you 'Guest' for the reviews of my stories! :) I definitely still like seeing what people think even though a story is complete.