Long time no see, you guys!^^

In participation to my fandom's "AsuCaga Valentine's Day Parade", I decided to publish this crap I made out of my failed NaNoWriMo entry...XD

I hope this gets me to come back for good, and hopefully to stay for the better...X3

Disclaimer: Been there, done that..

HAPPY VIOLENTINE'S DAY!

"The Non-Existent"

Chapter 1: Happy Birthday.

Cagalli released a silent breath of relief, seeing the sky as she walked downtown was a nice breather after a hard day's work. She just got back from her part-time job as a cashier in the local bookstore. It was early in the afternoon and the sky was slowly getting stained red, a constant sign telling her that she was able to make it through yet another day.

How long has it been like this? Living wasn't as tiring as this back when she was still living with her brother, but that was already in the past and it was better this way, a simple life where she goes to school and work everyday, study with classmates, serve customers and go home. It was the life that she wanted, a life of independence where she'd be responsible of herself and nothing more.

The life of a simple working student.

Of course, it wasn't as bad and as trivial as it sounds. She was never the girly type to be picky anyway, she could handle the menial tasks and she isn't clumsy either to worry about messing up. It was fine; it was fine if things stayed as it is.

She had friends, ate three times a day, and has fun every other time. But then, there was this nagging feeling, irking her from her gut. The excitement she felt the first time she arrived in this town was slowly fading, she was probably getting bored.

She sighed again. Did she need a new adventure? Who knows, but one thing's for sure, she'd stick around for a little while longer. Maybe, at least until summer vacation's over. She's gonna start boarding school next semester anyway.

She stopped. A plain apartment building in front of her, this was where she stayed. She didn't see the need to buy a house, it's not like she was planning to stay here permanently from the start anyway. She knew she was probably gonna move sooner or later, but she didn't expect to be growing bored this fast, she wasn't like that, or maybe she was just getting tired.

No, it's not like that either. It was more like, she was getting used to it. And that takes out the fun in it.

She walked on, entering the building and climbing up the stairs to the second floor, her room was at the end of the hallway. Quickly fishing out her keys, she unlocked the door, slowly opening it. As usual, she was welcomed by darkness. And again, that feeling. She rolled her eyes at her own silliness, then she turned on the lights to shake the feeling off. It was the only thing she could do for now.

It was a small empty room with faded wallpapers starting to tear itself off, a single bed by the window, a sofa, a table and a chair by the sink. She didn't have her own bathroom, but it never bothered her to take the walk downstairs. She was just fine with whatever.

She took a step inside, then frowned. Something felt too eerie; it wasn't the usual emptiness that greeted her. This time, something was there, she could almost feel it. She slightly shook her head and walked over to the window, opened it to let in some fresh air and turned to look at the calendar hanging behind the table.

She smiled to herself, tomorrow was her brother's birthday.

A 21-year-old guy with deep blue hair and sullen green eyes, kept walking absentmindedly in the middle of a parking lot basement. He was looking for his car, forgot where he parked it because he was already running late earlier.

He sighed, feeling slightly annoyed. Today just wasn't his day and everything feels like it's all about to get even worse.

He woke up an hour late, forgetting to set his alarm clock the night before; he took an ice-cold shower, unaware that the plumbing system was broken; he skipped breakfast because the fridge was empty; his clothes weren't ironed since he couldn't find where the iron was; he got to work almost two hours later because his car broke down; accidentally spilled his coffee all over the table during an important meeting; and now he can't seem to find his car.

He then finally gave in to the urge of slapping his forehead, his car was towed away earlier into a garage somewhere to be fixed, and that's why he came even later than expected. He turned and walked out of the lot, taking out a card from his pocket, he dialed the numbers on his phone. At the very least, he was able to get the card of the auto repair shop which took his car away. Three rings, five rings, no one was answering.

"Damn it all."

He lightly cursed as he canceled the call, and just when someone answered it. He clenched his teeth and tightly shut his eyes before mustering yet another deep breath. He could go berserk any moment now, deciding to put his cellphone back in its safe place.

He continued on his way, hailing a taxi. Unfortunately for him, his luck refuses to get any better. After more than fifteen minutes of standing by the side of the street, waving his arms up and down, he finally got tired and gave up. He proceeded to the nearest bus stop which was about three blocks away, sat tiredly at the shed and waited for over thirty minutes, having missed the previous one by five.

It was the first time in a long time that he's ridden a bus, the last time being... He blinked a couple of times, he couldn't quite remember when the last time was, and if memory serves him right, he has never ridden a bus before.

So, how did he know where to ride one, then? And how come there was such a nostalgic feeling about this?

He leaned his face on the glass window, mindlessly watching buildings pass. This was a nice city and he had such a nice life, so what was he missing? Since he woke up this morning, he felt as if he lost something important, but he just couldn't point his finger at it. He closed his eyes momentarily and tried his best to relax, maybe work was getting to him, maybe he needed a vacation.

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. It was his fiancée, saying that she'd come over to pick him up so they could have dinner outside. He wasn't really in the mood for this, he felt so down since morning. But then, maybe it would be good for him, and besides, it's not like he could say no to her either. He replied with a simple 'all right', it was all he could get himself to say, it was just an arranged marriage after all. Then again, it's not like he didn't like her, it's just that she felt more like a sister to him then a potential romantic partner.

He sighed again, the next block would be his stop.

Quickly getting off the bus, he proceeded on his way, his apartment wasn't far from the bus stop but it was still a walk away. He entered the building, greeted the receptionist and went off to the elevator, his unit being on the third floor. The long hallways had always been quiet, but tonight it bothered him more than he would've liked. Taking out the key for his unit, he was alerted when he took notice of something unusual. The door was unlocked.

He frowned, thinking he'd have a long talk with the security manager later. He turned the knob as quietly as he could, and slowly eased the door open. Whoever this burglar was, he's gonna seriously regret ever picking his room.

He stepped inside and looked around; it was too quiet for someone who's trying to steal all his valuable stuff. He then heard a clank coming from the kitchen, placing his suitcase down, he grabbed a baseball bat from his closet and slowly approached the next room. Peeking inside, he was surprised to see that the burglar was, a girl?

He blinked twice, it was a blonde girl wearing a loose shirt, jeans and sneakers. She didn't seem to notice him though, as she continued on what she was doing. Feeling slightly relieved but still taken aback, he placed the bat down. Unfortunately, it didn't lean on the wall as he thought and it fell, hitting the floor hard. But instead of startling the girl, he was surprised when she turned around showing a cake to him.

"Happy Birthday, Kira—", she stopped halfway through when she saw that it wasn't her brother, "where's Kira? He's not with you?" Thinking that it was her brother's roommate, she carefully placed the cake back on the counter, but before she was able to ask anything more, he spoke but didn't really answer her.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, surprisingly rude, so he tried adding another question, "and just what are you doing in my unit?"

"Oh? Sorry about entering without permission, my bad." She smiled sheepishly as she walked towards the guy, "I just wanted to surprise my brother, I'm Kira's sister, Cagalli. Nice to meet you," she extended a hand.

Without thinking, he accepted and shook it, "I'm Athrun, nice to meet you too. But I think, you got the wrong room, sorry."

The blonde stared dumbfounded at him, "oh! oh, I'm so sorry!" She quickly took the cake and her bag, all the while apologizing as she walked out the door.

Athrun just watched her go, but just after a few seconds, he heard a knock. Thinking she must've forgotten something, he opened the door to let her in, but she just stood there looking lost.

"Uhm, but it says 803 on top of your door... and I am looking for room 803." She said, looking almost determined.

He stared at her just as determined, "well, there must be some mistake because I don't know anyone by the name Kira and I don't even have a roommate."

She continued to stare at him, almost looking defeated. "What are you saying?" She walked back in, passing him and placed the cake on the coffee table before heading towards the two bedrooms. She tried to open the one on the right, banging on the door, trying to break it down but it wouldn't budge. "This is Kira's room!" She yelled, looking back at Athrun who followed her there.

"That room's empty and hasn't been used since I started living here, there's nothing there." He played cold but was actually starting to feel sympathy towards her, still he was stubborn, he had the worse day of his life and now is not the time for him to be trying to help others when he can't even help himself.

"But! But..."

He held her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes, "let me say this again, I don't know any Kira and I don't have a roommate, you must've gotten the wrong address or something." He tried his best to convince her of his truth, when he thought he heard footsteps.

"Athrun? What's going on here?" A familiar voice was heard, that's when he remembered he left the door wide open.

"Lacus!" The blonde escaped from his grip and ran to his fiancée's side.

'They know each other?' He thought to himself as he stared at the two girls.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Cagalli hugged the newly-arrived brunette, "listen, it's about your boyfriend, my brother, Kira."

Lacus looked cluelessly at the desperate expression on the blonde's face but failed to say anything, then shifted to see Athrun's reaction. Athrun shook his head before grabbing Cagalli on her shoulders again, he turned her to him, "look, Lacus here is my fiancée and we both don't know who Kira is." He checked on Lacus to see if she would disagree, but she didn't.

"What?! What are you saying?" Cagalli turned to Lacus, "we met before, Kira introduced us at the Heliopolis Café, my brother is your boyfriend, not this guy!"

Lacus felt sorry for the blonde girl, but she seriously don't know what she was talking about. She doesn't know her and she most certainly did not know Kira ether, "I'm sorry."

That was when tears started forming at the corners of her eyes, she didn't understand why Kira's girlfriend and roommate were both denying ever knowing him. What the hell was going on? What happened to Kira then? Well, no matter what it is, she'll figure it out. But for now, she can't forgive this kind of betrayal these people have done to her brother.

She turned to Athrun, ignoring her tears and slapped him hard across the face, "you were supposed to be his best friend!"

With that, she ran out crying, leaving both Athrun and Lacus shocked out of their wits.

"Are you all right, Athrun?" Lacus walked over to his side, but for some reason she felt more worry for the blonde girl than her fiancé.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But that girl sure isn't, she's crazy!" Athrun turned around to look at the cake the blonde left over, it had the words, 'Happy Birthday, Kira!' on it. He did feel kinda sorry for her, just not to the point where he'd actually try doing something about it. Also, that slap hurt, he rubbed his cheek. "So, where are we going tonight?" He remembered why she was there and felt that he needed a little distraction to keep his mind from all those other things.

"Oh, right!" Lacus took his arm and dragged him out of his unit, when she was closing the door she was able to catch a glimpse of the cake on the coffee table. She wondered, that girl knew Athrun's birthday?

Having been told that her fiancé's car got towed away, Lacus opted to hail a taxi, and with just one wave of her handkerchief, a taxi had immediately stopped before them. And it was then when Athrun realized that Taxi drivers really do choose their passengers.

The ride on their way to the restaurant had been completely silent, Lacus was busying herself, looking out the window. While Athrun was just mindlessly staring at his hands curled up a little on his lap.

When they got there, Lacus pulled on his arm again and led him inside. As it seems, she booked a VIP room for their dinner, which really surprised Athrun. She wasn't the type to go this far and not for him since he knew she wasn't in love with him, she told him so. So, why would she do something like this? Why now? Is this supposed to be a good karma for all the bad things that happened to him today?

Nope, certainly not. He thought to himself, he was not gonna get his hopes up for something that is clearly not possible. Not to mention that it would make him feel awkward, given their circumstances.

Lacus pushed him down a solitary seat in front of a round table, the lights were dimmed so he couldn't quite make out the expression on her face to try to figure out where this was heading. "Uhm, Lacus? Just exactly what are you—", he stopped himself in mid-sentence when he suddenly heard low singing voices, they were singing to the tune of the classic 'Happy Birthday' song, while slowly approaching him. It was his friends and co-workers.

After they arrived near the table, they all broke away to let Lacus walk in the middle, carrying a cake with a single candle on it.

"Happy birthday, Athrun!" They all greeted, cheered and clapped, waiting for Athrun to blow the candle. But he didn't, he just stared at all of them with great shock evident on his face.

It was not his birthday.

"Is this some kind of a joke or something? Because if it is, it's not funny." He matched the stare, his friends and co-workers were giving him.

"What are you talking about? We prepared so well just so we could surprise you," Dearka, an office-mate, was the one who answered.

Athrun said no more, he looked at Lacus, "are you all seriously thinking that today's my birthday?"

Lacus blinked a couple of times before looking down to think about today's date, then looked to meet his gaze again. "I'm pretty sure today was your birthday, is it really not?"

Athrun was flabbergasted to say the least, "how could you not know when my birthday is?"

"Isn't it today? I'm pretty sure it's today," she looked down, trying to concentrate on her thoughts. Today is Athrun's birthday, she's strongly certain of it.

"My birthday isn't until october, Lacus." While that sounded too bitter even for him, he couldn't hide his disappointment. There must be something seriously wrong with her, he thought.

"Are you two screwing with us? This VIP room is expensive!" Yzak, a friend to some extent, disrupted them.

"Yeah, and I had to cancel a date for this," Dearka continued to whine.

Nicol, another long-time friend, couldn't help feeling uneasy. He was also feeling kinda sorry for Lacus, since Athrun really looked upset, so he tried lightening up the mood with a somewhat misplaced, joke? "So, if it isn't your birthday today , then who's birthday is it?"

Athrun didn't regard him and his lame attempt, but it was because of what he said that he looked at the birthday cake, he shivered. Written on the cake were the exact same words written on the cake that crazy blonde left in his apartment, 'Happy Birthday, Kira'.

He swallowed an imaginary lump down his throat, before looking at the faces of the people around him. None of them seemed to notice, that it wasn't his name on the cake but someone else's. He then, remembered the crazy blonde and her cake, and everything that happened a while back in his apartment.

Just who was this Kira? Was he really his roommate? And if he was, then where is he now? What the hell happened to all of them? What was going on? He shook his head and pulled on his hair, he was not going crazy. But then, how would you explain all of this? The only person who has all the answers to all of his questions, was that crazy blonde. He thought again, should he even consider this?

He heaved a deep sigh before standing from his chair, "sorry guys... but I'm already tired, I'm going home."

Author's Note:

As I've said in my profile, I don't publish oneshots because I feel they're too damn short for me, so this is gonna be another fun-filled multi-chapter from me.

I do hope you guys like it because I think this'll be my very first masterpiece.

(.^_^.)

~Lynx

02142013