AN: Woah, late update as usual. Or maybe this really is just my updating pace. I don't know.
Um, I'd just like to make it clear. They got trapped in the Gym storeROOM. It's a room, not a closet. Two people would never fit in a closet for eight hours.
So, before you start, a little advertising. Please visit my Tales site, www(dot)abyssalchronicles(dot)com.
-It has officially been THREE weeks since Tear was assigned to look after Luke. Yes, THREE. I make dates up :P.
Chapter 6: Accidents... Dist laugh
"I never expected you to be the devil you are, Guy," Anise added as Guy brought out his wallet. "Locking the two up in the storeroom."
"Hey, if they're not going to do the first step, then I will," he said, bringing out some money to pay Anise and her friends. He handed the cash over to Sync. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Hey!" Anise yelled, throwing a small fit. "Give ME the money!"
Arietta, Sync, Guy and Ion (still with that smile of his) all said in unison, "No!"
"Oh, damn it, you found me," Luke sighed, as he scratched his head and did that... um, hand thing.
"What?"
Luke stood up from the floor. "Ah well," he said, patting his slightly dusty clothes. "Let's get back to class so you can scold me 'til dismissal time."
"But-"
"I know, I know," Luke cut in, looking bored. "I've been very irresponsible and I've caused a lot of trouble for everyone."
Oh, so he's aware of it, Tear thought.
"But right now, I want to get out of this place. I've been here for more than an hour. I can't believe you couldn't find me right away," he said, sounding a bit conceited. Tear wanted to yell back, but more important things were at hand.
"Yeah, but-"
"So, anyway, let's get out of here-"
Luke tried to open the knob, but there was a resistance on it.
As if it was locked...
"The door... won't open," he said, still trying to turn the stubborn doorknob.
"Yeah," Tear replied.
"Why?"
"Anise and her friends threw me in here and locked the door behind them," she explained to him, rather calmly too.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"WHAT THE HELL?" Luke yelled, continously slamming against the door. "Someone! Someone, let us out!"
"No one's going to hear you," Tear sighed, sitting on the floor this time and resting her chin upon her knuckle. "This room's made to be soundproof from the outside."
Luke looked back at Tear, and the panic was evident on his face. "Who the hell makes a gym storeroom soundproof?"
Tear merely shrugged, while Luke's face suddenly brightened up. "That's right!" he said, rummaging through his pocket. "I can call Guy to get us out of here!"
Tear also lit up in the hopes of getting saved from that horrid place. Getting trapped in the gym storeroom was one thing, but being trapped in the place with inconsiderate, spoiled brat Luke was a totally different thing altogether.
Tear sighed as Luke frantically made the call.
At least Guy would be able to help them.
"Hm?" Guy said as he felt a certain vibration in his pocket. It was apparently his cellphone ringing, in silent vibrate mode. Class was already starting, so he couldn't answer his cellphone, whoever was calling.
So, without a second thought, he reached for his cellphone, and pressed its power button. He could attend to that phone call later.
"What's wrong?" Tear asked.
"He's not answering, damn it!" Luke yelled, putting the cellphone down and fighting the urge to throw it away.
"Maybe class is starting already," she muttered, sinking her head into her crossed arms. This was her first tardy record... ever. What would her brother think about this?
"DAMN IT!" Luke yelled, banging his fist against the door, startling Tear. Aware of what he just did, he muttered a "Sorry" to her. Tear simply nodded back.
"Do you have a cellphone?" Luke started to get rid of the awkwardness. "Maybe we could call one of your friends and-"
"I don't have one."
"What?"
"I don't have a cellphone."
Luke blinked. "Why? It's a necessity these days."
"Well for me, it isn't," she sighed back. "My brother says so too."
Now that she mentions it, Luke thought. Even Master Van doesn't have a cellphone...
"So..." he started again. "What do we do now?"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" she replied, looking at him from an angle. "We have to wait 'til at least Lunch time and call Guy again."
"W-w-wait a sec?" Luke said, backing away a bit. "We have to stay here... FOR THE NEXT FOUR HOURS?"
"Yeah, I guess," she replied. Apparently, she wasn't getting his thoughts right, and just leaned her back against on the wall. "Do you expect to just stand there for the next eight hours?" she asked. "Why don't you sit down?"
"R-right..." he muttered as he sat beside her. Luke could feel his heart pounding faster and faster. Any guy would feel the same if they got into this situation, after all. He was to spend FOUR WHOLE DAMN HOURS ALONE WITH ONE OF THE HOTTEST GIRLS IN SCHOOL (according to what Tear's male classmates told him when he did a little classroom hopping a few days back). Who the hell knows what could happen to them?
NOT that he was thinking anything like that! Of course not! He WOULDN'T think of doing anything... anything... um, improper... He wouldn't, right?
"Luke?"
"WHAT?"
Apparently caught off-guard, he suddenly yelled out that last dialogue, startling Tear again. After another muttered apology, he asked, "W-what is it?"
"Are you hungry?"
"Huh?"
He stared at her as she brought out something from her pocket, watching her every move. He found himself covering his face with his hand as he desperately tried to supress the embarassment he was feeling.
"Here," she said, beckoning to him an open pack of something.
"Hm?" He studied the package for a while, then took out a piece of the food. "Chocolate covered pretzel sticks...?" (Think Pocky, people. Pocky.)
"Yeah," she replied. "I always carry a pack with me everywhere."
Luke smiled back. "Ohh. So you like sweet things, huh Tear?" he asked as he took a bite off one.
"Not especially," she said as she placed one in her mouth and played with it for a while. "Just these. Brother used to give this to me whenever he gets back from school."
"Oh, so Master Van also went to school..." Luke muttered, biting again.
Tear gave out a small chuckle. "Of course he did. Almost everyone does, silly." After a few seconds, she stared at him rather oddly. "What's wrong Luke? You seem red. Do you have a fever?"
Luke shook his head. "N-no!" he replied as he looked away. "I-I'm fine. Really."
Tear shrugged. "If you say so." She continued to eat her pretzel as Luke sort of rested his forehead against the wall. Actually, it looked as if he was banging his head against the wall, but only discreet enough for Tear not to notice. He refrained himself from looking directly at Tear. No, in fact, he actually didn't want to look at her.
Damn it, he thought to himself as he finished his pretzel. He never really got the time to observe her this up close before, and now that he does have the time, thoughts of her positive traits kept on lingering in his mind.
No, he thought. Tear is just a bossy, inconsiderate, and conceited person, just like the rest of the student council. She is just not-
"Are you done with the first one?"
"AH!"
Tear stared as Luke suddenly backed away at the sound of her voice. He looked as if he was terrified. Or rather, Tear thought. Embarassed even.
"Luke, are you okay?" she asked as she continued to chew on her pretzel.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine..." he sighed, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his hand. "I'm fine."
"If you want another, I still have a lot-"
"Yeah, yeah!" he said right away, swiping a pretzel from the pack. "Thanks."
Tear raised an eyebrow at him. "You've been acting strange ever since we got here," Tear finally said, pointing one of the pretzels at him. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" he insisted. "Nothing at all!"
"Then tell me why you've been so uptight with me!" she yelled, starting to get impatient with him.
"I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"AM NOT!"
"YES, YOU ARE!"
The two glared at each other in silence, not noticing the sudden clap of thunder outside as the skies started to pour out their droplets of rain. The little light that they had in the storeroom began to dim as the rain outside became heavier and heavier.
Sighing, Tear stood up and looked around, making Luke curious.
"What are you up to?"
"Looking for the light switch," she replied plainly as she looked around the walls. There was indeed a tiny lightbulb above them, but where the heck was its switch?
Luke, feeling a little guilty for annoying the heck out of Tear, decided to stand up and help her look for the switch. He didn't want the darkness of the room add to his fantasies earlier, anyway.
But after about twenty minutes of searching for the damned thing, they still couldn't find it.
Luke looked up at the hanging bulb. "Is that even really connected to electricity, or is that just a decoration?" he asked with a sigh. Tear couldn't help but think the same way too.
"No point looking for it," she replied as she sat back on the floor. She was about to pick up another piece of the pretzel, but stopped when she noticed Luke here staring at her.
Another eyebrow raised, she asked, "What?"
"Um, I think you got some of your hair wet..." he muttered, pointing at her.
"What are you talking about? How can I suddenly get my hair-" she stopped talking as she felt the ends of her long hair. And indeed, they were wet. "Wh-where did this come from?" She looked at him back, looking for an answer (she thought he had pulled a prank on him), but instead, she found another question.
"Luke," she said, pointing at him with the pretzel. "So is your sleeve."
Luke looked at his sleeve right away, and indeed, it was wet. He stared at it, disgusted. He was known as the type who dislikes getting his clothes dirty, much less get them wet. Where did this water come from? Having a sniff at it, he was pretty sure that it was just water, but from where?
"Luke," Tear suddenly said. "Look up."
"Hm? Hey!" he yelled in surprise as a drop of water hit him right on the face. Not only one drop, but three consecutive drops of water came at him, forcing him to stand away from it.
Of course, that didn't help much, for the place he moved next also had some water dropping from the ceiling.
"Damn it!" he yelled as he took his place beside Tear again. That place too, was dripping with water, by the way. "What kind of a school doesn't take care of their facilities, anyway?"
"Hmm," Tear said plainly as she munched on another pretzel, completely ignoring the fact that there was water dropping right above her head.
"Anyway, let's sit somewhere we won't get wet," Luke suggested as he stood up.
Tear didn't stand up, but instead replied, "And do you even see a place that isn't getting wet?"
Having a look around, he found himself agreeing with Tear. There were drops of water coming from everywhere. It was almost the same as having them stand in the rain outside.
Heaving another heavy sigh, Luke slumped back beside Tear, making a tiny splash beside her and getting her school uniform skirt wet. Tear didn't mind though. Getting wet wasn't exactly something that bothered the heck out of Tear (refer to the start of the game, where they have to cross the tiny river in the Cheagle Woods). Instead, she handed him another pretzel, and he took it rather angrily and forced it down his own mouth. Things just couldn't get any worse.
And fortunately so, things really didn't get any worse. Aside from the fact that he was completely soaked, things really didn't change much. The next two hours passed with the rain still pouring heavily outside, and them getting wet continously. It was getting a bit cold, yes, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle.
He suddenly heard a small sneeze come from beside him. The thought then dawned him. Sure, ihe/i could take it. But what about Tear?
"T-tear?" he started. "Are you cold or something?"
"I'm fine," she replied rather firmly. That was so like her, pushing herself again.
"You're not fine," Luke insisted as he stared at her, actually forgetting the stupid fantasies this time. "You look pale."
"I'm fine, Luke," she insisted as she grabbed another pretzel. She didn't want Luke, of all people, to be worried about her. She was used to taking care of herself. Even Van didn't feel that much need to pay her attention.
Luke tried to think of some ways to make her feel warmer. He thought of taking off his uniform (there was a shirt under it) and give it to her to use, but it was soaking wet, so there's no point in doing that. He thought of, well, maybe, hugging her, but he was afraid that Tear might suddenly think ill of him.
He just sighed there and took another pretzel from her, munching the time away.
But after about an hour, her sneezes, and additional coughs, became more frequent. She'd do so every minute or two. To add to that, the downpour outside (and inside) hasn't stopped yet. This made Luke start to worry more and more. Now that he thought about it, he never really knew much about Tear, even after asking around about her a bit. He didn't know anything about the things she liked, he didn't know anything about her physical health, he didn't know anything about her habits and all that. All that he knows is that she's, well, beautiful. But of course, that was from the asking around he did in her class.
Not that he doesn't think that way too.
"Tear..."
"What-... H-Hey!"
Tear felt her face go red as Luke pulled her into his arms. She completely dropped the pretzel that she was about to put in her mouth, and she looked up at Luke, who had his eyes away. She tried to break free from his grasp, but, as Tear realized for the first time, his arms were too strong.
"Luke, let go!" she yelled, trying to trash about.
"Look, you've been sneezing and coughing for the past hour," he said, still not laying his eyes on her. "If I don't get you warm now you're going to come down with something!"
"But-"
"So just shut it and sleep or something!"
Tear frowned. That's a nice way to treat a sick person. She looked up at him again, and realized that he wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. She just sighed it off and relaxed a bit in his arms, her head leaning against his chest. After realizing that Tear had given in, Luke also relaxed his arms. Being in his arms like this, Tear was surprised to feel that he really was warm despite him being completely soaked. She could feel that nauseous feeling slowly fade away from her as she layed her hands on his chest. His heart was beating so fast... Maybe he was getting sick too?
Luke wasn't feeling sick. Of course he wasn't.
As Luke stared down at Tear, he could feel his heart race faster and faster. Of course, the position he was holding her in was a factor, but he found his eyes traveling around her. He completely forgot the fact that she was completely soaked as well. He also completely forgot the fact that the girls' school uniform is white on the top. He could see, as he held her, that the whiteness of the cloth was no more, but instead became something that was similar to translucent. He could sort see her skin beneath her uniform, and it was as if he was already touching her. At this, his face became so red that he let go of her with one hand and covered his face in embarassment. This led to Tear looking up at him again.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" she asked, concerned. Luke looked down at her and almost started to yell again. Her blue eyes, her soft lips; they were just right in front of him. Inches, no, centimeters from his own. She was there, right in front of him, in fact, in his arms. If he wanted, he could do anything-
Shaking that horrid thought off, he replied, "I'm fine..." and replaced his arm around her waist. "S-sorry to worry you."
With a last concerned look, Tear rested her head on his chest again. This time, her arms wrapped around him, startling Luke. When he tried to struggle away, she explained, "Just in case you feel cold too."
Luke took the time to think things a bit. It's only been three weeks since Tear has been his, well, babysitter. He hasn't really gone all out to know her more. Tear did do a lot of things to change a few things about him, like his attitude, his habits, and his hair, but aside from that, he doesn't know anything about her. Even he didn't have the courage to ask her brother Van, for Luke heard he was extremely over-protective when it came to Tear (up to the point of chasing one guy out of the fencing room with a sword that wasn't even for fencing at all. It was a mystery where he got it). And now, here he was, actually starting to like her for who she is, and being a damn jerk about it too. He was a jerk from the start, and he's still a jerk up to the end. That's what he thought Tear thinks of him at the moment.
Somehow, that hurt him inside a little.
His train of thought got distracted by the loud sound of the school bell ringing, signaling the time for lunch. He needed a distraction from her, fast, so he got his cellphone from his pocket and was about to attempt to call Guy, but forgot that Tear was still around him.
"Tear, could you get off for a second?" he said. "I need to call Guy again."
"Huh? Oh right..."
Finally, Luke thought. We'll be out of here in no-
"Oh no..."
"What's wrong?" Tear asked. Thos pretzels were still in her mouth.
"M-my cellphone!" Luke cried, looking at his dead phone. It only dawned him now but it was natural for the phone to be broken because he got his whole self wet. He tried the power button, but it wasn't working anymore. The whole system has been drenched.
"Damn it," he hissed, throwing the phone at the wall and startling Tear. "My dad's going to kill me for this!"
"Calm down, Luke. It's just a cellphone," Tear said, acting all indifferent again.
"Oh shut up," he sighed, his head hanging in despair. "Damn it, now we'll have to wait for someone to actually pass by this place."
"Luke, that's enough," she said, trying to comfort him by placing her hands on his shoulders. "Someone will get us out of here, I'm sure."
"What if no one does?" he asked, starting to panic. "What if we stay here forever."
At this, Tear sighed and bonked him on the head. "Get a hold of yourself!" she scoled. "Surely our families will start a search once they find out we're missing! And I'm sure Anise and the others will let us out once they've had their fill. So shut up and just stay... achoo!"
Luke should've been angry for getting himself sprayed on the face, but he found himself laughing instead. "Well Tear, you sure seem strong in words, but physically, you're weak."
"Yeah, right," Tear said, sticking out her tongue to him. "I happen to be receiving private training from Brother, if you don't know!"
"WHAT?" Luke asked, his eyes wide. "YOU? YOU know how to FENCE?"
"Of course," Tear replied. "It's a family thing."
"Hmmm..." Luke said, eyeing her. Getting a wicked smile on his face, he said, "Prove it then." He stood up and grabbed the nearest thing he could touch that was almost an equivalent for a fencing sword, and it was a metal pipe. Luke did wonder what a metal pipe was doing in there, but he brushed the thought off once Tear sighed and got her own as well.
"You are so low," Tear said, "Picking a fight with a girl."
"You can't fool me," Luke replied, getting his stance. "If Master Van really DOES teach you, then you should be pretty good at this."
Silence fell as the two readied they're weapons, aimed at each other. Surely, they realized, if one got hit, then it would certainly be one painful trip down the cold floor. Honestly, they don't think much beforehand, do they?
Luke was the first to make a move, thrusting the metal pipe towards Tear, accompanied by his trademark battle cry. To his surprise, Tear was instantly (and gracefully, he noticed) slide backward and deflect his attack with her own pipe.
Using the opportunity of their weapons trying to resist each other, Tear tried to push Luke's pipe away, but found it a bit hard to do so.
After that momentary clash of blades (oo?), the two stood afar from each other, their weapons clutched tightly in their hands.
"You're quite strong," Tear complimented with a smile. "But... Van's much stronger than you!"
Luke backed away as Tear lunged forward, the metal pipe at full force towards him. Acting on impulse, he used his pipe to block hers, and once again, their weapons faced each other.
For the first time, she realized, Tear saw fire burning in Luke's eyes; the fires of a passion he held within him. She then understood how important fencing was to him, always skipping class so that he could train with her brother. Aside from his eyes, his lips were curled into a happy smile as well; the same smile a little child shows when it just found a new toy to play with. For some reason, she felt a tingle of joy within her upon seeing Luke like this, looking as innocent as a ten year-old. If only he bore the same enthusiasm with normal life all the time, then maybe he wouldn't be such a mischievous guy.
That train of thought, however, made Tear lose a little of her concentration. Seeking the opportunity, Luke pushed her back with the pipe. He was able to catch Tear off-guard, and was about to fall to the floor, signalling her defeat.
A jump of joy swirled in Luke's stomach, having defeated another student of Master Van's (Luke was able to defeat all of the Fencing Club members, and was intrigued to find out Tear herself has Van as a teacher), but a swirling, sick feeling lurched at the back of his mind.
Oh my God I just hurt Tear...
Without thinking twice, he himself lunged forward and slid himself on the wet floor, right below Tear herself. Things happened so fast, Luke hitting his head on a nearby box, dropping his metal pipe and making a loud clanking noise. All he knew was that he was successful in cushioning her fall, feeling her body fall on his own.
Although, what he felt afterwards wasn't exactly something that added up correctly in his mind...
He tried to call Tear's attention, but he couldn't talk at all. Something was blocking his lips from talking, something soft, and somehow, sweet.
God no, he thought as he slowly opened his eyes to see what the heck just happened.
His eyes widened as he saw, and confirmed, what was blocking his lips from talking. And it turns out, he's not the only one who has realized, for Tear's eyes stared at his own in shock.
The two didn't know how to react to each other like this, they have no idea at all. The feeling they felt was both sweet, but somehow, wrong. Their thoughts were fighting within them, whether or not to let go of interlocked lips. It was something new for them, but somehow, satisfying.
Before Tear could do something and stop what was happening, Luke had already closed his eyes, paying no more heed to her reaction (not that she was reacting violently, anyway).
Before he knew it, Luke was already enjoying the depth of their kiss, brushing his fingers against her soft auburn hair, forgetting everything else that mattered, even just for this second.
"You guys!" a voice outside called, apparently Guy's. "You okay in there?"
"Ah!" Tear yelled, pulling herself away, her face flustered from what just happened.
Luke merely stared, asking himself about what the heck he had just done.
Before Guy could enter the room, Tear had pulled herself up, and so did Luke. They stood together, but could not muster up the courage to face each other.
Finally, Guy came in, a pleasedon'thurtmeit'sjustajoke look on his face. "Listen, you two, I- Woah, what the heck happened to you two?" he pointed out, noticing their wet clothes.
The two didn't answer, leaving Guy in a weird disposition.
"Uh, hello?" he asked once more.
"Nothing happened," Tear finally answered, but still not showing her face. She quickly took the chance and started to rush out of the gym storeroom.
"Tear!" Luke called, and she stopped right away. "Listen, I'm sorry, I-"
"It's all right," she replied, cutting him off. "It's really fine." Before she could completely leave the room, she added, "I... had fun."
Guy stared as Tear passed him by, all wet and looking extremely flustered. He wanted to ask her what the heck was wrong, but the mere thought of that kind of alreadytriggered his gynophobia...
He then saw Luke approach, also in the same wet predicament, only that he didn't look flustered: he looked sort of happy.
"Luke... what the hell happened in there?"
"That's a secret," he replied with a smile, looking at Tear as she ran off.
AN: If you guys also play Kingdom Hearts, go to YouTube, and type "lol Kingdom Hearts" at the search engine. From the results, watch the video by LandCow. Something to laugh about when you're feeling down, or something.
If possible, bring your favorite snack along next chapter, and don't forget that whenever you lie to someone, regardless how small, Jade kills a cheagle, and eats it afterwards. If you want to save Mieu's dying race, I suggest you refuse lying to other people.
Wait a sec, what the h-.
Don't think the end is near! This fic's going to be at least 20 chapters, so watch out!
INDIVIDUAL REPLIES TO REVIEWERS:
Dark Dracon Knight: No, thank YOU for reviewing XD And what the heck are you going to do?
iolar abu: It's not a closet; Thanks as always.
Rydia Asuka: It's not a closet; I kind of still don't have the hand of the tenses, even if I did pass that subject... And I don't like using that reply button . Kind of gives readers something to look forward to besides the fic. Thanks as always!
killerbunbun: Pitch forks don't work either. Wasabi-flavored potato chips do :D. Thanks as always.
cherryblossoms24: Nah, Luke was originally hiding in there, and the four happened to see him rush in there to hide. Thanks as always.
orange: Peony? Principal? Maybe... And Asch? Next chapter, promise :D! Thanks as always!
Akina Rose Sumora, arisu tsuranu, and Fox of Anubis: Thanks as always you guys!