Where Dreams Meet Destiny

002 - Meeting

8:12. Looking at the clock, I immediately hurried towards my building fifty meters away. "Darn it. I'm late again? How long did I take looking for this thing?" I muttered as I haphazardly scampered towards my Literature class which is one more floor away. I still have to begin writing on that review yet I haven't even opened this thing yet! This doesn't seem to look well for me. Oh well.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

The murmurs behind that door halted for a while, replaced by faint footsteps ever nearer every passing second. Sounds like trouble to me. "Oh... this attendance record's been saying lots of bad things about you, Mr. Lance. Well you're in luck though since I would substitute for this class because the others are having a erm... important discussion I guess" Weird. She sounds a bit suspicious to me and she seems new here as well. Her slim figure and striking eyes would make one think she's one of those vigilantes at night. Only thing missing would be those gadgets and costume stuff then she would be the next urban legend if she tried.

"Get inside then." Her stoic recovery quickly diverted my thoughts to the impending doom which was only temporarily averted. "Uh... yeah" was all I can say as I went in. That was quick.

Looking for an empty seat at the back, I tried not to draw attention as she began introducing herself.

"Shawn Akane Vain"

As she writes her name on the board, my seatmate suddenly poked me as if she's trying to tell me something
"Hey, hey there... hey!" She nagged me continuously as I tried to concentrate on writing my review. "Don't you think she's a bit weird judging by her actions?" She must be referring to the person in front of everyone. Why is she pulling my sleeves though?!? Is she a lunatic or what? Her purplish dark long hair reaches to her back while her black blouse effortlessly flows with her slim yet rather short stature.

"Yeah, quite not as weird as the girl beside me grabbing my arm." "Hey! I'm not grabbing your-" It took her 3 seconds to realize she's been tugging at my arm this past minute. "Oh..." was the only thing I heard coming from her mouth.

Quickly removing her hand from my arm and facing the opposite direction, she ignored me perhaps for the next three hours and a half of this boring lesson.

Why am I so bad at dealing with girls? I should learn a bit from Silver since he's popular and probably knows what chivalry is. I think I must've made her feel like crap earlier so I have to at least make it up for her. Looking to my right, she vanished while I'm lost with my thoughts, I believe.

After half an hour of pointless pursuit, I decided to sit by a bench beneath a massive willow tree whose trunk is caught in a stranglethorn of pink orchids with hummingbirds fluttering around. Seated on the rickety bench I opened the Arc Grimorum and began reading its dusty pages. Some drawings and depictions, diagrams of what looks like some ancient ritual of some sort first greeted me. Looking something I could actually comprehend, I flipped to some random page;

Sealed within the roaring deluge
from heavenly spires...
A forbidden aperture towards one's own most hidden desires...
Bring thus the thunderstone carried by the hand of destiny...
For fate is to open a path, unfurling by the seams of reality and fantasy...

Such poetic stuff right here. I think I woul- "Hello there!" "What in the- Woah!" I almost fell from my seat when the girl from earlier suddenly popped out from nowhere. Nice entrance. Her hair's now tied in a ponytail laced with a lilac ribbon

"Hey there are you alright?" She seemed a bit concerned while I'm still in a bit of a daze after what happened. "Yeah I'm okay. Oh anyways sorry about about earlier, uhm I didn't mean to offend you and-" She quickly interrupted me mid-sentence; "No, no; it's alrighty. It's my fault I'm a bit too touchy, I guess..." She appears a bit discouraged when she said those last two words. Darn it; am I that hard to approach?

"Hey there, cheer up! What's your name by the way?" Great, now I'm the one doing these kinds of things. "Oh, me?" Yes, you. Her usual jovial nature returned as she flashes that smile as she introduces herself "I'm Ashley Chesterson, but you can call me Ash!"
Enthusiastic. Kinda contagious to an extent. Makes me wanna smile for some reason.

"So what's your name?" She suddenly asked me, putting emphasis on the word your. "I'm Lance Riven Lightbringer." I said while shaking hands with her. Now for some reason all my interest has moved from the thing I'm reading to this curious girl who's sitting right next to me. "So... Lance. You're all alone out here reading?" "Well... yeah." "You must be feeling lonely whenever you're busy reading. Well, you know what? I think I'll keep you company for today!"

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"You better hold on tight then. I'm not used to ride this thing with another person on my back" I told her as I readied my bicycle for a trip to the city. "Yes sir! Hee-hee!" Her arms circled around my waist as I started pedalling towards Lightning Field's center of commerce; the "Eye of the Storm" as it is called, is far from calm as it's the city's most bustling and liveliest section bar none.

The cool breeze blows towards my ruffled hair as we exit the twisted treelines surrounding Arc University towards the center of the city. She said she wants to treat me some food at The Conductor's Bacon which is a famous restaurant here at the Eye. As we parked my bicycle along the sidewalk, a familiar sight greeted me from the doorway.

"Seems you're having a wee bit of fun there, Lance." Silver Frostburn. Even in his simple white shirt and pants he'd still be garnering attention with the ladies due to his inherently handsome figure. I can see some bystanders probably throwing glances at him every now and then.

Ashley then approaches us after removing her helmet from her head, casually tying her hair back into the ponytail with that ribbon again. "Hey there, what's up?" "Hm? Is she with you, Lance?" Silver looked at Ashley with curious eyes before turning back to face me. "Well uhm... she's a friend you see-" "I'm here to keep Lance company!" She butted in again out of nowhere. This girl has some serious issues.

"Company, eh?" Silver's getting suspicious now. Dang it there's no reason to be is there? "Yeah, I figured he's always lonely by himself. So I decided to treat him some food here!"

"Always lonely huh..." said Silver in a sad tone, almost a bit yearning. Well this guy's my only company for like; my entire life? Maybe it triggered some nerve in him or maybe it's something else.

"I think we should begin eating, I'm getting a bit hungry now." Upon taking a table for the three of us, Silver took our orders and lined up at the counter, taking occasional glances at our direction. "So what's that guy's name; that one over there?" "Oh, he's Silver. He's my companion and best friend." After some thinking, she instantly replies "How long have you guys known each other?" "Around 17 years or so." "THAT long?" She gasped in disbelief.

"You guys seem to be having fun with each other." Interrupted Silver, carrying with him a tray of our meals. While he still looks cool and collected, I sensed something off with his voice.

"So your name is Silver right?" Silver's attention was diverted from his food to Ashley. "Uh-huh." He simply nodded. "I'm Ashley Chesterson! Nice to meet you!" That same infectious enthusiasm and that bright smile seemed to have an effect on Silver as I noticed his lips curled up momentarily. His serious look would then mask whatever emotion he'd hide or at least try to hide from me.

"I guess I'd be leaving you guys then." Announced Silver as he goes to the bus stop headed to Arc University. "See ya later, Sil." I waved goodbye as well as Ashley as the bus took him in.

"So would you mind if I get a trip around your place?" "Wait, what? Ou- my place?" I forgot to tell her we actually live at the same place, the two of us. Oh well.

"Can I take a look, pleeeease?" She's using her puppy eyes and constant nagging on me. Her face is actually so close to mine and for some reason I'm left speechless while I stand here with Ash. "Uhmm... sure I guess." was all I managed to let out of my mouth.

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