Paradise

Chapter 3

"How does it feel?" I smiled. Lucinda was finally allowed to walk again. "Better than being cooped up all the time." She laughed. The guys gave me an excited glance. "Lucinda..." I showed her the tickets I had. "What?! Oh my gosh! You're seriously taking us to Love~Love Paradise again?!" She gasped. I nodded. "It's summer, you said you wanted to start doing things, and Guy actually gave these all to us." I explained. "When are we leaving?" Aphmau asked. "Later today. We've already gotten everything packed." Aaron explained. "Thank you Laurance." Lucinda gave me a hug.

"Welcome back!" Guy greeted us at the entrance. "I see you brought your things this time." He winked. "Yes, we actually prepared for once." Katelyn laughed. "Right this way, everyone! I made sure you all had the double-house this time." Guy led the way along the pathway. The sun shone brightly, warming us. Birds chirped ahead, the salty tang of the sea carried in by the gentle breeze. Everything was gorgeous, perfectly painted, the path cleared of any leaves that might have fallen on it. "Here you are!" We came to a stop in front of what looked like the same house, but twice the size. "Woah!" Zane stared. "I GET DIBS!" Aph cackled, running inside. The rest of the girls chased after. "We should probably go make sure we get fair dibs too." Garroth decided. I nodded, heading upstairs. The stairway went straight up, but there were two more sets on either side that led to the two sides of the room options. "Kawaii~Chan you wanna pair up?" Katelyn offered. "Sure!" Kawaii~Chan squealed, excited to be here. I mean, everyone was, to be fair. "Garroth and Laurance, you two get your own rooms." Zane called. "Fine." I rolled my eyes. "I'll go with Aph." Aaron stretched before carrying their things into their room, Celeste close behind. Vylad and Zane headed into the room they were sharing. Cadenza found her own room, Melissa going in too. She had wanted to come, and we really felt like the more the merrier. "Kinda sad Tatiana couldn't make it." Aphmau sighed. "Yeah. But she's helping her pack now, remember?" Lucinda chirped. "You're right." She nodded. "Are we gonna go and do something or just sleep the afternoon?" Melissa yawned. Everyone was exhausted. "I'm out." I muttered, heading into my room. I heard footsteps and door-clicks, telling me everyone else was heading off for the night too. Face-down in a pillow, I hid a smile when Lucinda came in. "Can I room with you?" She asked anxiously. "Shuref." I replied through the pillow. Lucinda laid down after closing the shades. "Night Laurance." She sighed. "Night." I answered, setting my hand on top of hers.

Once again, Lucinda had had a nightmare. I wasn't bothered by it, I just felt horrible. What that potion had done to them was terrible. I couldn't imagine what that must've been like, being forced to attack and watch your friends die. She shot up, gasping. "Lucinda?" I whispered. She turned to me, burying her face against my shirt, crying. "I'm so sorry." Lucinda cried. "It's okay. You're safe now." I promised. "It's my fault." She sobbed. "No, it's not. Don't blame yourself for what happened. You tried as hard as you could to fight, and you did. Without you, Aphmau and Zane, and you for that matter, would be dead by now. But you're not. Lucinda, you're braver than anyone I know, going back to fight again, knowing the consequences of failing." I retorted, tone sharp. "You... you really think so?" Lucinda coughed. "I know so." I smiled. "I'm sorry I woke you up again." She sighed. "It's okay, you can't control nightmares." I reminded, laying back down with Lucinda against me. "Thank you..." She whimpered. "Of course." I whispered. Soon, Lucinda's breathing had slowed as she fell back asleep. I felt better, knowing that Lucinda was asleep. I listened to the silence, Garroth's snoring drifting from another room. Before I knew it, sleep had taken me too.

"You're doing a good thing, taking care of her." Kim smiled while we ate breakfast. Aphmau, Zane and Lucinda were all asleep, still overcoming the potion's effects that had left them weak and exhausted. "I don't like seeing people suffer." I admitted. "No one does. Except Zane." Aaron realized. We laughed in response. "You've got to admit, he's been a bit clingy to both Garroth and Vylad though." Cadenza added. "Yeah, I've noticed that. I think he feels bad for the whole incident, disowning us as his brothers." Vylad sighed. "SPIDER!!!" Zane shouted, running down the stairs. "Speaking of." Travis grinned. "Morning Zane!" Katelyn waved. He stood up, dusting himself off. "Morning." Zane grumbled. "Are we actually gonna do anything or just chill today?" Garroth asked after we finished eating. "Once the girls are up and ready I was thinking we could head down to the new part of the island." Aaron offered. "Ooh! There's a new part to the island?!" Kawaii~Chan squealed. "Heck yeah! And I'm dying to see it!" I laughed. "What're you fools shouting about?" Lucinda leaned against a wall, still tired. "Morning!" Garroth chided. "Morning." She took a seat next to me and Garroth. "You sleep better after you woke up?" I whispered, voice lowered. "Yeah. Thank you." I felt Lucinda gently set her hand on top of mine. Trying not to blush, I closed my fingers around her hand in response. "We still waiting for Aph?" Zane asked. "Yeah. But I really don't blame her, she went through the worst of it." Aaron sighed. "She's strong. She'll make it." Melissa smiled. "Could we just go down to the beach? I'm still having a bit of trouble walking a ton." Lucinda offered. "Yeah, of course." Kawaii~Chan purred. "Aaron?" Aphmau slowly, shyly, walked over to us. "Good morning!" Aaron greeted her cheerfully. "Can I sit separately?" She sighed. "No. Come." Picking her up, Aaron set Aphmau on her lap. She squirmed anxiously. "Y-You're really not upset?" Aphmau gave up, admitting her fear. "Yes. Aphmau, that wasn't your fault. None of it was. Nor was it Zane's or Lucinda's. I don't care that that happened. I still love you for who you are." Aaron replied, trying not to cry. "I...I love you too Aaron." Aphmau buried herself against him. The rest of us felt a weight lifted off of our shoulders.

"As much as I want to, I'm gonna try not to hurt myself." Lucinda chuckled. We were sitting on the beach while the others raced down slides into the sea. "Trust me, I get it." I replied. "HAHA!" Aphmau shouted, sliding down headfirst before landing smoothly in the water. "Nice job!" I called. She waved before getting soaked by Aaron. "Laurance, go play with them." Lucinda begged. "Why? I'm happy sitting here." I frowned. "Really?" She sighed. "Really." I promised. "Here." Zane came back with the lunch he had gone to pick up. We ordered it earlier, and it was just finished. "Thanks Zane." I thanked him. "Sure." He sat down under the umbrella with us, picking out his order. Lucinda and I grabbed ours, eating as everyone else came over. "Laurance?" Lucinda whispered, waiting until everyone else was gone before continuing. "What's up?" I asked. "If you were with us... when I was forced to do things, under the potions spell, would you have run... or come back?" She whimpered. "Lucinda, I would have fought till my dying breath to get you back." I admitted. She smiled, resting her head on my chest. Gently, I set my hand on her back. "I'd never leave you."