Gehenna's Gate

Crystal Roses

"You remember Rae, right?" There had been a lot of silence between the two on the entire ride to the restaurant, and Vena finally decided enough was enough.

"Y-Your best friend? Yeah." Jenna almost stuttered over her words, head finally lifting to awkwardly meet Vena's eyes now.

The two had been seated in a booth across from each other, waiting for the waitress to come over.

"Yeah. We're planning this little summer party between some close friends and I was wondering if you'd want to come? Kazuha is coming already but I'm not sure if he'd asked you to join yet." Surely she wouldn't say no. The girl desperately needed to try and relax and get her mind off of all this or she'd drown in it.

"This is the last week of school for you guys too, right?" Vena added on, resting her back against the seat and crossing her legs under the table.

"It is, yeah..." Jenna's eyes wandered, pretty obvious body language displaying that she was tossing the idea back and forth in her own head right now, taking her time digesting it before she dared answer.

"We're going to the boardwalk between our towns. You've probably been to it before. We've only been once or twice but we haven't been back in a while and figured it would be a fun little celebration. Mona and Scara are coming, Xiao, Kazuha, Kinich, and Rae and her boyfriend. I'm sure Kaz would love for you to join us." Vena hummed the last sentence, hoping maybe being a bit more chipper than usual would help raise the girl's spirits.

Not that it had ever been something she'd been good at. She couldn't comfort herself most of the time so when it came to comforting others, she was usually just as lost.

Funnily enough, just looking at Jenna, you'd never assume she was someone so easily spooked. She had pitch black dyed hair, thick winged eyeliner and a couple facial piercings. At first glance, you'd assume she was the tough type, but when it really came down to it, appearances were quite deceiving, weren't they?

As Jenna was mulling over the idea, the waitress had arrived to take their orders. When the girl had left to return back to the kitchen, Vena's gaze once again rested on Jenna's.

"Listen, I out of everyone understands how you feel right now." Vena straightened up her back, now leaning over the table a bit toward the girl across from her, her voice lowering to try and prevent any possible eavesdropping.

"You and I are in the same place. It's terrifying, don't get me wrong. Everything you thought you knew has been turned upside down and there are more questions than there are answers... but you can't let that overwhelm you. It's consuming, but you can't let that control you. No matter how badly you want to run away and hide, you can't anymore. We have no choice but to fight, but look-" Vena leaned closer, trying to get the other girl's bright blue eyes to focus back on her and possibly stop the incoming threat of tears.

"You aren't alone. You're in good hands, whether you can believe that right now or not. These are some of the strongest people I've ever seen, and their strength isn't just physical- it's mental and emotional too." Vena reached a hand across the table to gingerly take one of the other's, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Jenna exhaled a shaky breath, her eyes raising toward the ceiling before centering back on Vena.

Pupils small, hands shaking, eyes glossy and red.

"But why me?" Her voice was so small Vena almost hadn't been able to tell what she'd said at first.

Yeah, she'd felt that way too. Out of everyone on this dusty planet, she was one of them.

"You know, someone before told me 'bad genes'." Vena couldn't help but scoff a laugh, remembering the terrifying night that all of her suspicions had been finally proven true, and she'd asked Xiao that very same question.