Fire Emblem: High School Years (High School AU) Freshman Year

Blessing in Disguise

Chrom

Anna was not in school the next day.

The guilty feeling in my heart only grew and grew. Gods...what could have happened?! Is she ok?! I hope she's ok...

"Chrom? Are you listening?" Mrs. Woods tapped on my desk, making me snap back to attention.

"O-oh! Sorry! I was just..."

"Worried about your partner?"

I let out a breath and nodded. "...Yeah... I'm afraid that I did something that hurt her feelings and I feel terrible... My mind is making me assume the worst, and I really hope that all the worries I have are not true..."

Mrs. Woods sighed. "I'm sure Anna's fine. I don't want to pry or anything, but I'm sure that she'll forgive you for whatever you did."

I bit my lip and forced a smile. "Y-yeah...hopefully..."

...

She wasn't there the next day.

I had no apatite for dinner. I couldn't even think. Mom eventually forced me out of my room and made me eat when everyone was done. I picked at my broccoli and rested my chin on one hand. Why am I so worried about her...?

"Chrom, no elbows on the table!" Mom scolded me as she sat down. "You've been broody all day. What's wrong?"

I barely glanced at her. "I don't feel so good..."

Her expression softened and she began to rub my back. "Are you sick, sweetie?" she asked. "I've heard that there's a bug going around. Do you think you have it?"

I shook my head. "No... I just..." I took in a deep breath. "I feel really bad about something..."

"What is it? You can tell me anything, you know."

I put my fork down and swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "Do you remember that girl I keep talking about? The one I can't figure out?" It felt as if a hungry tiger was clawing at my heart. "She hasn't been in school the past couple days, and I'm really worried about her..."

Mom brushed back a strand of my hair. "And what does this have to do with you?" she asked.

"Well... I asked her to be in the talent show, but I'm scared that I made her go out of her comfort zone too much, and now I'm assuming the worst!" I began to cry.

"Chrom..." Mom hugged me tightly. "I'm sure that she's fine! I promise! This isn't your fault."

"But it feels like it!"

She held me tighter. "Shhh... I know," she whispered. "Do you want to hear a story about your sister? She went through something similar when she was in kindergarten."

I wiped away a tear and nodded. "Yeah...sure."

Mom smiled. "When Emm was six, she had her first crush."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom! Is this a gross romance story?" I groaned.

She ignored me. "Anyways, she had a huuuuge crush on this girl, and she really wanted her to like her back. So, one day on the playground: Emmy was hanging out with this girl on the swings and they were having a competition on who can jump the farthest. They both jumped off, but the girl landed too hard. She had to go to the nurse's office, and Emmy was mortified. The girl wasn't in school for a few days, and Emmy assumed that she broke her arm and it was all her fault. When she came back to school, she had a broken arm."

"...How is this supposed to help me...?"

"Hush, I'm getting to the best part." Mom playfully flicked my forehead. "Emmy felt absolutely terrible for what happened and thought that the girl would hate her forever."

"Mom! This isn't helping at all!"

Ignoring me again, she continued with the story. "As it turns out, the girl had to leave early for a doctor's appointment after recess, so she wasn't in school the rest of the day. Later that day, she was riding her bike, crashed, then broke her arm. Emmy had no fault in it."

My heart warmed a bit. "So...it was all a big misunderstanding?" I muttered.

Mom giggled. "I wish you could have seen her face when she told me! She was bawling her eyes out but she was so relieved that she didn't hurt her crush."

I looked down and fidgeted with my hands. "Well... This girl and I aren't exactly friends... She acts really cold towards everyone and she refuses to make friends or talk to new people... I highly doubt that she'll come back to school and automatically become my friend..." I sighed. "Besides, she'll probably hate me even more after this..."

Mom let out a deep breath. "Chrom? Events like these can lead to great things. Even though the situation is terrible, it can be a blessing in disguise."

"Oh yeah? How was Emm's situation a blessing in disguise?"

"The girl was Phila."

I froze. "Phila? But she's-"

"Emm's girlfriend," Mom smirked. "The two became really good friends after the whole debacle, and eventually girlfriends. If this never happened, they never would have gotten close. Even the worst of things can turn into something amazing. Just you wait."

I stared at the floor for quite some time. "...Maybe you're right... I'm sure Anna's alright... This whole situation is just one disaster after the next... I just want it to be over..." I choked out.

Mom hugged me once more. "It will, soon," she said. "And one day, when you two are happily married, I'll bring up this story and say I told you so!"

I quickly escaped her and blushed bright red. "MOM! I DON'T EVEN LIKE THIS GIRL! I'D RATHER STAB MYSELF IN THE EYES WITH FORKS THAN DATE HER!!!" I fumed.

She laughed. "Haha! I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" She wiped away a tear. "Gods! Your reactions are priceless!"

I dug my nails into my palms and turned away from her. "Whatever..."

...

My heart cried in relief when I saw Anna the next day.

"Y-you're back!" I exclaimed as I rushed to our kitchen.

She barely acknowledged me. "I was sick."

"O-oh, I see..." I trailed off. "Hey, I'm really sorry about the talent-"

She held up a hand. "I don't want to talk about it." She let out an annoyed breath. "Let's just forget that it ever happened."

I settled into the kitchen and sighed. "Ok, sure..."

She's still the same, cold Anna as before... Oh, well... At least she's ok...

_____________

Haha, oh Chrom...you can't help yourself from being oblivious... Anyways, I'm FINALLY going to have time to write, so the chapters will be on a schedule. I'll be posting High School Years every Sunday. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!