Chapter 5

It's been two years since this fic has received an update. The reason is that I more or less forgot about FF and the wonderful GS community it harbored. I lost interest in literature right before finishing the only fic that I've written that has received excessive praise. However my abilities at literature have improved over the last two years, so there should be less grammar errors and more variety in punctuation and vocabulary.

I intend on writing an additional two or three chapters, and to focus a little bit more on individual characters as I feel that Jenna has received a tad too much emphasis.

This fic WILL be finished within the next few weeks, and I promise that it will suffer from no further hiatuses. So, for the 2 or 3 people who still give a shit about this romantic tale, I present to you: The fifth chapter of Eight Years! :)

Isaac strolled into the cottage, shaken by the proposal he had made to Jenna. I didn't think she'd say 'yes' with such excitement. He ruffled his hair vigorously, and let out a nervous sigh. I'm relieved she agreed to go with me. Unknown to Jenna and the majority of the community, Isaac had contemplated asking Jenna out for several weeks, but could not bring himself to popping the question. While asking her out to the festival was not literally a date, it was certainly the closest he had ever gotten to one in quite some time.

'Kyle? Is that you?' Dora had strolled out of the kitchen, loosening the knot of her apron. 'Oh, Isaac. Have you seen your father?'

'No. I just got back from Vault.' He peered into the kitchen, acknowledging the stained dishes on the table. 'Ah, I missed dinner. Shoot.'

'I'll fix up something for you when your father gets back from the plaza. He has to collect some timber from the woodcutter's stall.' She took off her apron and draped it over one of the chairs. 'We're thinking of doing some renovations.'

'Eh? We only moved in a few weeks ago.'

'I don't know Isaac, the walls are very hollow around the house.' There was a short moment of silence. 'Anyway, go upstairs. I have to start cleaning up.'

'Sure.' I think most cottages in the village have hollow walls, mom.

Isaac waddled upstairs and collapsed into his bed. He faced the thatched roof of his bedroom, relieved to be home after such a tiring hunt. He snuggled into the sheets of his bed. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. A few minutes of sleep would be superb.

Five minutes had passed and Isaac couldn't sleep. He tried to force his eyes shut, but he couldn't shake off the tense feeling he caught ever since he departed from the plaza. Then it hit him: He was thinking about Jenna.

'What are you thinking about?', Isaac asked. He and Jenna had been in a daze for several minutes now, while kneeling in front of the memorial honoring those who perished during the boulder incident a year ago. He looked down, gazing at the pile of flowers the pair had left beneath the large slab of marble.

'The moment before the boulder hit', she choked. 'Just thinking about the most harrowing moment of my life.' Over a dozen villagers had been killed following the eruption at Sol Sanctum, including Jenna's family. She made it her business to visit the memorial at least once a week, and to this day she has yet to break that pact. 'What about you?'

Isaac looked up, locking eyes with his childhood friend. 'My mom. She fell into an extremely deep depression following my father's death.'

'What about your dad?' Jenna was concerned. Isaac was never open about his feelings towards his father's death.

'I'm heartbroken that he is gone, but the conditions my mom went through in the weeks following the incident were unforgettable.' Isaac squinted his eyes, concealing the tears that were about to be shed. 'She would rarely leave the house, she suffered from malnutrition, and went to bed sobbing every night.' He looked away. Unforgettable.

An awkward moment of silence followed. Isaac looked back down at the flowers, murmuring a short prayer before closing his eyes. He felt a warm soft hand rubbing against his back, that eventually trailed its way up to his left shoulder. He opened his eyes and glanced at Jenna. Her neat, red hair flowed with the wind while the glowing summer sun shone brightly behind her head. She gave him a broad smile. 'It's okay to cry Isaac. There's no point holding it in.' She squeezed his shoulder tightly. 'You'll feel better afterwards,' she outlined cheerfully.

'N-no, I'm alright. Thank you for the concern but I...I...' His words trailed off into tears as images of the incident flashed into his mind. Kyle! Kyle! The looks of disbelief on the faces of both of his parents struck the depths of his mind like wildfire. The echoes of his mothers cries hammered his conscience like the beat of a drum. Kyle! Kyle! His cries were interrupted by Jenna's warm hand as it gently caressed his hair.

'I know how you feel. It's alright.' She ruffled through his hair. 'You feel any better?'

'Yeah, I do now,' he whimpered, wiping away the trails of fluid left on his face. 'Funny, considering that you're the one who always cries.' He giggled softly and looked at Jenna, gazing into her dark brown eyes. 'I feel much better now. Thanks Jen.'

'No problem.' Her eyes remained fixated on his. They gazed at one another for a brief moment, before Jenna sat up and brushed off the dirt on her dress. 'I should get going. Thanks for coming by with me.' She avoided eye contact this time, shyly gazing down at the memorial slab.

I hope I didn't make her uncomfortable. 'Jenna!' Without thinking, Isaac stood and grabbed her hand tightly.

'Huh? What's wrong?' She turned her head, noticing how colored Isaac's face had become. Slowly, her eyes trailed down to discover her friend's hand wrapped around hers.

Isaac just stood there, unable to utter a single word. Shoot! I just had to make things awkward, didn't I? He collected this thoughts in an attempt to think of something to say. 'I-I, just want to...to,' he stuttered. 'I just want to say that...if you ever need someone to come with you here, be sure to pop by my place.' His voice lacked any degree of sincerity.

'I'd really appreciate that.' She continued to gaze at Isaac's hand. A huge wave of heat welled up inside her, and she was unable to divert her eyes elsewhere. 'I-I really would!'

Jenna's awkward response gave Isaac an advantage. It gave him an opportunity to flatter Jenna without jumbling up his words. 'You and I have been friends for six years now. If you ever need anyone to comfort you, I would be more than happy to be the one to do it.' Why won't she look at me? 'Kinda like how you cooled me down just a moment ago, right?'

'Y-yeah.' Jenna's hand eventually wriggled its way out of his grasp. She risked a glance at him. His deep blue eyes were fixated on her, causing the gush of heat inside her to rage even harder. 'S-six years. Kinda hard to believe it's been that long, right?'

'Yeah, six years is a pretty long time.' He rubbed the back of his neck, and diverted his eyes down towards the flowers. 'At least, I think it is anyway.' Another brief moment of silence interrupted their conversation. Isaac was unable to so much as even look at Jenna. Why am I being so shy right now?

Jenna sighed softly, and continued to brush the dirt and grass off her dress. 'I need to go, Isaac. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?'

'Yeah sure.'

'Bye.' Jenna took a step forwards, but hesitated. Isaac was still looking down, which was completely strange relative to the excess of confidence he typically portrayed. She was about to raise her arms up to hug him but couldn't gather the strength necessary to do so. The last few minutes of Isaac's eccentric behavior had really overwhelmed her. She fiddled with her hair for a brief moment to catch Isaac's attention, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground.

'Bye.'

Now it's been eight years since we've met. Isaac was left dumbfounded by the echoes of the term 'eight years' in his mind. Time really flies huh? He continued to stare at his roof, before the calls of his mother brought him back to reality.

'Dinner's ready!'

He sat up and crawled his way out bed. 'I'll be down in a moment!'

Eight years. It continued to echo through his mind for the rest of the night.