Cloud comes back with one of his hands behind his back and with a bright smile until his phone suddenly rings
Cloud: "Wait, give me one second."
He walks backwards, still trying to hide whatever was behind him while grabbing his phone from his pocket
After a few minutes, he comes back with a miserable and disdained look. He sits down on his seat and looks at Mari in the eyes
Cloud: "Mari... My mom told me were going to leave tomorrow early morning..."
Mari's bright smile immediately turns into one of sadness.
Mari: "Haha... Funny joke Cloud... Thought it isn't really funny... Don't joke about things like that..."
She says in a soft voice, almost as if she was whispering
Cloud looks at her with serious but sad eyes
Cloud: "Mari... I'm... I'm not joking about this... You know how serious I am about this..."
His voice low, almost as if he's trying to hold back from shouting angrily at their circumstances
Mari freezes up, she's unable to say anything because of how shocked and sad she is, all she does is look at the table with lost eyes... Almost as if she's completely and utterly lost hope.
Cloud gets up and hugs her
Cloud: "I promise... I promise I'll come back and... And I'll be with you... We'll have the same days we normally have once I come back.
Mari hugs back
Mari: "Y-You better keep that promise..." She says while she cries on Clouds shoulder
Cloud starts to tear up while Mari hugs him
Cloud: "I-... I promise... Nothing will ever break this promise..."
She wipes her tears
Mari: "L-lets go home..."
She says in a soft voice while stuttering, it's quite obvious how much this situation has affected her...
Cloud: "let's just get the food as takeout then... Then we'll go home and eat... Okay?..." He says trying not to break down in front of her
Once they got the food, the drive home was filled with silence... The atmosphere was... Sad to say the least, no words came out of their mouth... It was all just... Unfortunate... "Is there really no way to change this?" They thought to themselves.
Finally, Cloud decided to speak up... Though he stuttered and barely made any sense.
Cloud: "I-...Um... Is there..."
He Sighs
Cloud: "Will you be okay without me around?"
He says jokingly, though now is not the time for jokes...
Mari: "Yeah... I-I... I'll do just fine without you... It's not like you made up such an important part of my life..."
She whispers this with such a low voice that Cloud can barely hear her.
Cloud: "I-..."
He goes silent, he's using all the control he has to stop his tears from overflowing out of his eyes.
Once they get home, Cloud immediately runs up and hides something, Mari watches him run but she doesn't care... All she wants is for him to spend the few hours they have left with each other.
She slowly follows him up to the bedroom and see's him laying down, she goes to him and lays down beside him, looking at his eyes that are about to tear up.
Mari: "Cloud... You don't have to act so tough... Please... I can see you're about to cry... Just let it all out."
Cloud: "No... I'm a strong person. I know you like strong people... You told me when we were playing with our classmates... Remember?"
Mari: "I was young back then... Please... I won't think less of you if you cry..."
Cloud: "Let's just... Let's just sleep..."
Cloud pulls Mari closer and tries to fall asleep, unfortunately he can't... The thought of them separating sticks in his mind... He just can't get it out of his mind... He looks at Mari who is sleeping soundly and he can't help but smile... Smile because it's the only thing he can do... He can't cry... Can't fight back... All he can do is enjoy all the time they have left.
Mari, while sleeping suddenly starts speaking, this startles Cloud however he listens intently
Mari: "Hehe... You're so cool Cloud... I like you... Can I be your girlfriend?... Obviously not right?... I'm not cool enough for you..."
Cloud's face immediately turns red upon hearing this... He never knew Mari liked him so much... This catches him by surprise and the thought of them separating completely leaves from his mind... He falls asleep shortly after while thinking about what Mari said.
