Scars (An Amourshipping Story)

'Festival part 1'

The walls of the library only partially insulate the noise of the festival preparations, but they're the only sounds to be heard.

Not a soul stirs here, with everyone apparently enjoying the weather outside or working on festival events.

Joy isn't here either. Maybe she doesn't work Saturdays?

I quietly walk through the library, now fairly familiar with its layout. I head to the back, where Serena's private little corner is.

I run my hand along the spines of the books on the way through, feeling the individual texture of each as I glance across the titles.

I find something that looks light enough to read without any major thought involved then look for Serena in the reading area.

Once again, she is sitting on a beanbag with her back to a bookshelf. Reading the same back she'd had in the classroom, she's slowly making her way through the pages. 

Unlike last time I saw her here, I quietly take a seat in a beanbag. The noise is enough to catch her attention, but not startle her.

"Is that the same book as before?" I speak up.

"Y-yes...I'm almost finished..." She doesn't make eye contact

"Cool." I say brightly.

I wonder if I should...

"Do you mind if I borrow it when you're finished?" I smile.

My mouth is faster than my mind, it seems.

"Sure... you m-may not like it but..." She makes eye contact.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad. After all, you've stuck with it, haven't you?" 

"I-I guess" She smiles.

I settle into my beanbag and set about reading my own book that had been buried in my bag.

It's a light novel about pirates. To be honest I'm barely skimming over the words, having chosen the book merely because it belongs to a different genre than I usually read.

"So, I see Dawn left without you?" I look at her.

She nods before taking her eyes off her book. She must have been really into it after all.

"Dawn said she had to go and...meet someone." Serena said softly.

"Oh?"

"Aria. Her sister..." She continues.

"Sister? I haven't heard her talk about her family..." 

"She...She and Aria used to live together." She says.

"I thought all the students lived in the dorms?" I raise one eye brow.

"T-they...I mean we...don't have to." She corrects me.

"But it's easier, right? I mean, there's food here and you're close to school...I don't think I've ever been to class on time so often in my life." I itch my neck.

Her badly hidden smile proves quite rewarding.

In the back of my mind, I know I have a bit of homework to catch up on, but it's quite comfortable in here. No one can find me and force me into working for their pet project, either.

Though now that I'm thinking about the festival, another question comes up..

"Hey, Serena, what are you doing for the festival?" I smile at her.

For a split second I think that Serena is about to throw her book in the air from shock.

"S-Sorry...?" She looks at me.

"I was just asking what you're doing for the festival tomorrow?" I continue to smile.

"I...I don't know" She looks at me.

"Oh, okay"

Change the subject...change the subject....

"So, what's Dawn's sister like?" I changed the subject

"She...she's nice. Pretty like Dawn, but she dresses...business-like..." She answers.

"Uh, business-like?" 

"She's always wearing a suit." 

"I see. And that makes her less pretty somehow?" I smile.

Serena gives an embarrassed shake of her head.

"N-no...just....different." She tries to cover her smile.

"Well, one day you'll have to introduce me to her." I wink.

"O-Okay"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The passage of time is marked only by the gradual movement of the patch of light cast though the window.

Slowly, the noises from the various rehearsals in the building fade out and die as students start to get hungry and tired.

"Do you think Dawn would be back by now? I think I might head back to my dorm. I'm pretty tired from this week." 

"O-okay. I might stay here a little longer." 

Looking at Serena's, book, I can see that she is only a few pages away from completing it.

For a moment I consider hanging around until she finishes, but once again my stomach turns, emitting a gurgling sound.

"Sure thing. Well I'm going to head off before it gets dark. I'll see you around, okay?" I stand up.

"Okay, see you, A-Ash." 

"Later"

"A-Ash?" 

"Hmm?"

She plays with her thumbs before she decides to say what she wanted to.

"T-Thank you. F-for hanging out with me." A small pint tint crawls onto her faces along with a smile.

I can see how hard it was for her to get that simple sentence out of her mouth. It leaves me hanging for a moment.

So. There is someone in this school who is even lonelier than me. Maybe lonely is a wrong word, I haven't been lacking company for this first week, but I've still managed to feel somewhat alone and detached.

Maybe lonely is a wrong word for Serena too, she has Dawn after all, doesn't she?

"You're welcome." I go to fist bump her.

She looks at me confused.

Please don't leave me hanging.

She hesitates before doing so. She moves her into a fist and bumps mine.

She giggles slightly.

"Good night, Serena" 

"N-Night." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, I wake up feeling a little lightheaded. It's almost noon already.

Sleeping late is fine, since it's a Sunday and there are no classes.

Not just a Sunday, though, but the festival as well.

I throw back a handful of my morning meds and ponder how to spend the day.

There will be a few exams in the coming week, but I don't consider those as ominous as others, so I'm not worried about them as I probably should be.

With no urgent obligations regarding education, I should be free to spend the day at the festival as I like.

Finishging my morning routien, I exit into the hallway, intending to go out and find somehting to eat.