Drellin – Central Plaza

"It feels so strange to be back here..." Rhea whispered.

Alvin nodded in agreement before asking, "you want to get some food first? I can't see you exactly wanting to eat afterwards."

"Sure."

He rested his hand on her head before walking over to the food stand. While he did that, she made her way over to the railing and gazed out to the scenery. As Alvin was getting the food, he kept an eye on her. Ever since they first talked he can't seem to look away. A few days have passed since they first met and he's visited her everyday since then. They haven't really done anything besides chat. He has been trying to convince her to visit her home so that she could at least get her clothing. Today she finally agreed. He tried to get others to go with them knowing more people meant more support, but all their friends were busy. And truth be told, he was doing the very bare minimum of his own work. He knew that he can't help her this much for too much longer. He just wanted to make sure that when he goes back to working his normal hours that she'll be fine on her own. He nearly feels like her guardian.

"Sir?" the clerk called him.

He was brought back to reality and took the food with a thanks. He, then, brought the food to the table closest to where Rhea was. When the food was placed he called out to her, but she didn't respond in the least. Instead of calling out to her again, he simply picked her up. She looked up at him as if he were crazy which just made him laugh. He brought her over to the table and sat her on a chair. Still with a smile, he sat opposite of her.

"You're a jerk," she told him.

He shrugged and responded, "I tried calling you. It's your fault you weren't paying attention."

"Whatever..." she mumbled as she began to eat.

He grinned victoriously and started to eat as well. After a few minutes of silence he asked her, "while we're here anyway, do you want to get a GHS?"

"Might as well, need to get one anyway. That way you can actually do your job and not feel compelled to visit me all the time."

It freaked him out a bit how she was saying what he had just been thinking and responded, "how did you..?"

She chuckled softly as she answered, "I heard Jude talking. He was saying something about how strange it was for you to suddenly have a bunch of free time."

"Freaking honors student..."

She reached over and ruffled his hair. For a moment he froze, but once he was over it he glared at her. Her response to him was the grin that he always gives her when he's being mischievous. She didn't care about the revenge he'll have later at the moment. Just being able to grin at him in general is making her feel powerful. He crossed his arms, leaned back, and arched an eyebrow. She couldn't help but laugh at him trying to be high and mighty. With a sigh, he shook his head and just began eating again. It wasn't too long until they finished eating. As soon as they were standing, he had an arm around her shoulders. When she looked up seeing a dangerous look in his eyes, she tried to free herself. He only tightened his grip. Before she tried again, he started walking and made her go with him. She just let her head hang. Quietly, he led her over to a store that sold phones. Even when looking at the different models, he wasn't letting her go.

"Rhea? Is that you?" a voice called from behind them.

Alvin let go of her and she turned around only to frown, "oh... Hi Ryan..."

"Man, it's been forever! How have you been?"

She grasped onto Alvin's jacket trying to signal him as she answered, "fine..."

Alvin took a GHS off the wall and turned around so that he could hold onto her shoulders. He then looked down at the boy he easily towered over asking, "you a friend of hers?"

He backed up a bit before answering, "something like that..."

"Well nice to meet you but we have to leave now."

"Oh... Okay..."

She looked up at her companion saying, "let's go."

He nodded and they went over to the checkout, completely ignoring the watchful eyes of Ryan. Barely beating him to the punch, Rhea took out some gald and payed for the GHS herself. Alvin watched surprised. He assumed she had nothing on her at all. Once the transaction was over, he took the bag with the phone in it and they left the store. Instantly the tension left her body.

He looked down at her confused asking, "what was that about?"

Before she could answer, her wrist was firmly grabbed and was pulled right out of his embrace. Before she knew it, she was fully embraced by Ryan who pleaded, "please don't go..."

"Let go of me," she hissed at him.

Enraged, Alvin approached and told him, "let go of her before I hurt you."

"But..." Ryan begged, tightening the grasp on her which ended up hurting her.

Just before Alvin knocked him out, Rhea kneed him as hard as she could. Even Alvin winced. As Ryan staggered backwards, she roundhouse kicked him which sent him flying into the fountain in the center of the plaza. Dumbfounded, Alvin just stared at her. After sighing, she looked up at him. She smiled a bit at his expression. He tried to find the right words to say, but none came to mind. Just wanting to exit the square now, she held onto his free hand and started walking. He smiled and followed her.

Walking down a side street he asked her, "let me try this again, what was that about?"

She sighed before answering, "Ryan... He used to be a coworker of mine. No one was really friends with him so I tried to get along with him and he immediately took it the wrong way. He's just shy of being a stalker. He will not take a hint. That wasn't even the first time I hit him."

Frowning, he let go of her hand and securely wrapped his arm around her shoulders. To change the topic he asked, "where did you learn those moves?"

She smiled a bit and answered, "my father taught me how to defend myself."

"He really does sound like a great man."

"He really was..."

She stopped walking and ran her fingers through her hair. He looked down at her concerned. "We're here..." she told him softly, looking to her right.

He looked over seeing a decrepit building. A chill ran down his spine at the crumbling architecture. Not fazed by it in the least, she opened the door and entered it. The hallway inside wasn't nearly as destroyed, but it still wasn't pretty. The wallpaper torn and written on while the carpet was torn and moist. She made her way to the end of the hallway and opened the escape door that led to a stairwell. The higher they climbed, the cleaner the walls became. He lost count of how many floors they passed up. They reached the top after a few minutes. She opened this exit door and went through. His eyes widened at the difference. This hallway looked like it was just completed. The walls were freshly painted and the floor had a nice long rug on it. The only door was surrounded by dead flowers. No doubt that if she still lived there, they would be vibrant. She walked up to the door only to freeze in place. Not a doubt came to him that just behind this door is where she used to live happily with her parents. He slowly rubbed her shoulder to give her support. She looked up at him, already on the brink of tears. He frowned and pulled her to him.

"We can come back later if you can't go in now," he told her.

She shook her head and told him, "this won't ever be easy. I just want to get it over with."

He nodded and let go of her. She picked up one of the many flowerpots and picked up a key that was hidden underneath. She put it in the lock and after a twist the door opened. Instantly, the scent of cologne filled their nostrils. Taking a deep breath, she entered her home. As she walked through, her eyes did not leave her shoes. Realizing it, Alvin held her hand. Her feet stopped moving but her head wouldn't rise. Before he could look at her face, he noticed droplets hit the floor.

"Rhea..." he whispered sadly.

"Damn it..." she muttered bitterly, running her fingers through her hair with her free hand.

"Maybe for now let's just go to your room so you can get your stuff?"

"Okay..."

She grasped onto his hand and continued walking. It was still too difficult to raise her head. She walked over to another door at the back of the home and opened it. Not having much of a choice any longer, she lifted her gaze. Instantly she fell to her knees. He freed his hand from hers and picked her up and sat down on the bed, sitting her on his lap. He had one arm tight around her waist his other hand was stroking her hair as she just cried her eyes out. After a few minutes, she settled down but the tears still fell.

"Why did this happen..?" she whispered, more to herself.

He closed his eyes tightly and doubled his grasp on her. He completely understands how she feels. Thinking about his own mother now, he buried his face in her hair. Sensing his sadness, she wrapped her arms around him. It really surprised him how he can't seem to hide anything from her. No matter how he felt, around anyone else he can easily lie and suppress whatever he's feeling. But in front of her he's as vulnerable as a child.

"I can't stand this... I want to leave..." she mumbled.

"Yeah..." he whispered back.

They let go of each other and she stood up. As she walked over to the closet, she wiped her tears away. He just watched her as she packed her clothing. He was trying to figure out how she exactly fit into his life. He's only known her for a few days but feels like so much longer. He know truly understands why Balan was so insistent for him to meet her.

"Alvin?" she softly called to him.

He blinked back to reality and looked over seeing that she was sitting next to him. Slowly, she reached over and rested her hand on his cheek. He blinked in confusion when she wiped away a stray tear that he didn't even realized he shed. Once it was gone, she lowered her hand and gave him a sad smile. He leaned forward to kiss her but she rested her fingertips on his lips.

"Imagine how depressing it would be if we only kissed in these types of situations..." she explained to him, lowering her hand.

"Heh... You got a point there..." he spoke softly.

She nodded and stood up. She walked over to her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. When she looked back at him he got up as well. They left her room and walked over to the front door. Just before leaving, Alvin remembered something and grabbed her forearm. She looked at him confused until he reminded her of what the note said. Her father really wanted her to get something out of his room. She groaned lightly, just really ready to leave now but she did agree. She took off the backpack and set it against the door. She walked over to her parents' bedroom and opened the door without hesitation. Similar to the front door and her own room, she didn't move from the entrance right away. He bent over to look at her expression and was surprised to see that her eyes weren't even watering. After a moment, she entered the room and looked around.

While exploring she told him, "for as long as I can remember, my mother was always suffering. My father and I did all we possibly could but it really didn't help her. All we could really do was distract her from the pain. Maybe now she can finally rest..."

Her words hit home with him. He sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall saying, "my mom, she was the same way..."

"Heh... Guess they weren't kidding about us being depressing versions of kindred spirit."

"Yeah..."

She made her way over to the closet and opened it. In there she found a gift with her name on it. She picked it up and walked over to him. Instead of making him stand, she sat next to him. He looked over when she opened the box. Inside was a state of the art camera. Her eyes widened as she took it out. While studying it, she noticed there were fingerprints on the screen. Her eyes widened and she took the spare batteries out of the box and inserted them into the camera. After she did so she was able to turn it on. Her eyes began to water again when she noticed that there were a handful of pictures already taken. The first picture was her parents making a funny face. As she laughed, tears began to fall from her bloodshot eyes. He smiled when seeing it and wrapped his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder as she cycled through the other pictures. One picture her with her father, one with her mother, and the final was her parents smiling normally.

Even though her face was tear stained, she looked up at him with a smile saying, "thank you for making me come here..." He smiled a bit in return and kissed her forehead. Once she backed away, she turned off the camera and put it back in the box. Closing the lid she asked aloud, "they're really gone, aren't they?"

He nodded and whispered, "yeah..."

He felt like he was accepting his mother's death all over again. She nodded back and stood up, holding onto the box. This time, she offered her hand to him. He took it and she helped him stand. They knew now, there was nothing else for her here that she needs. Everything else would just hold her back now. They made their way back to the front door. Before she could pick it up, he picked up her backpack and put it over his shoulder. She gave her thanks and they left. Out of habit, she locked the door and put the key back underneath the flowerpot.

As they began to walk down the stairs, they both spoke, "I need a drink."

Trigleph – Inn – Lobby

Both Alvin and Rhea were exhausted. They both also knew that if they tried to sleep it would not be restful. So now they were both sitting at the bar, each on their third drink. They were just trying to clear their head of all the depressing crap, even if that mean getting completely hammered. They were just barely feeling a buzz when getting interrupted.

"There you are Alvin!" an annoyed voice called out to him.

He turned around and responded, "oh, hey Yurgen."

"Look, I understand that you've been preoccupied lately but does that mean you can't even answer your GHS?"

He frowned and took it out of his pocket. Examining it he apologized, "I didn't realize it died."

"Look, I need you to focus. Can you not handle the job anymore?"

"I'm sorry Yurgen. I promise starting tomorrow I'll be back."

"Are you sure?"

Rhea bowed deeply saying, "it's all my fault, I'm so sorry. Please don't blame him."

"Rhea..." Alvin whispered, surprised.

"I promise I'll stay out of the way, okay?" she asked, looking up at Yurgen.

He sighed and responded, "alright. I'll see you tomorrow then Alvin."

"Yeah," Alvin softly responded.

Yurgen nodded and left. Once she knew he was gone, Rhea apologized again, "sorry for taking up so much of your time..."

He shook his head saying, "it was my choice to see you. I wanted to make sure that when you are by yourself you'll be okay."

"Alvin..." She smiled a bit before saying, "thank you." He blushed very lightly and pushed her gently. She laughed a bit and finished her drink. "I just got an idea."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to leave for awhile."

"Huh?!"

Smiling at his shock she continued, "my stuff is already packed up." She looked down at the backpack he put down between them. "My father wanted me to do something with the camera and I'm pretty sure I know what that is." She looked back at him seeing that he was unsure and so she continued, "and if I'm not around to distract you, you can get back to work."

"I guess..." he pouted.

She smiled and patted the top of his head saying, "so set up that GHS for me so that we would still be able to communicate."

He nodded and took it out. While doing so he told her, "I'm only letting you go because this is the happiest I've ever seen you without me forcing it."

She laughed and poked his temple saying, "you don't own me."

He shook his head and asked her, "where will you go?"

"I don't know. I'm just going to leave and see where my feet take me. I won't leave Elympios."

"So I guess you want to go back now huh? You need to rest up if you're doing something like that."

"Yeah."

He finished setting up the GHS and handed it to her saying, "I'll take you back then."

"I appreciate it," she told him as she took the phone.

He paid for their drinks and picked up her bag. She got a secure grasp on the camera box and followed suit. As they left the inn, he grasped tightly onto her shoulders as if he'd never do it again.

So, I'm just curious because I can't find it online, does anyone know what GHS stands for? :)