Pride x Familiar (27 page)

I blinked and blanked out for a moment.
“Huh?”

“You and me, just the two of us. This Saturday.
A date.”

“Uh…just us? For real?”

“Yes, for real.”

I didn’t know how to answer him.

Part of me wanted to jump for joy.

But another part of me was scared.

I was scared of letting go of Caelum.

I was scared it would harm my chances of mending
our friendship.

Duncan was looking down at me with a nervous,
expectant look. “Haruka?”

I swallowed and gave Duncan a quick nod. “Ah,
this Saturday. Yeah, I’m free. Sounds good.”

I realized I’d given him an answer without
discussing it with Siobhan and Alistair.

He broke into a relieved smile. “Then it’s a
date.”

I started to smile back.

In the corner of my eye I saw a familiar face
walking toward us.

I turned and faced that familiar face.

Caelum was looking in my direction, yet his eyes
were focused on a point beyond me.

It was only when he arrived at the door that his
attention centered on me.

I stared at him, and Caelum stared right
back.

I smiled nervously. “Ah—morning.”

His gaze flickered to Duncan. I didn’t miss the
hard, flat look Caelum gave him. Then he muttered, “Morning….”

With a tight bow to me, and the merest of nods
to Duncan, he stepped through the open door and into the
classroom.

I looked away, trying hard to steady my jumbled
feelings. My heart was racing and making me tremble at the same
time.

Duncan’s voice was low and concerned. “Haruka?
What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, unable to meet his eyes and
shrugged lightly. “Nothing—nothing’s wrong.”

Duncan asked me in a low voice, “He’s the
Familiar people are talking about—the one in the holovids uploaded
to various sites on the cynet. Am I wrong?”

I looked up at him. “Yes. His name is Caelum
Desanto afil Lanfear.”

Duncan was quiet for a long moment. “Haruka, how
well do you know him?”

For a heartbeat, I debated telling him the
truth. “We grew up together. He’s my childhood friend.”

Duncan looked confused, then grew deeply
concerned. “And what about now?”

“He’s still my childhood friend, Duncan.”

“And your friend, too?”

“Ah…I don’t know. We had a falling out when I
joined the Avenir Pride during the middle of last year. Our
friendship kind of came to an end.”

“Was he a Familiar at the time?”

“No. He was a Regular. In fact, I had no idea he
would be coming here. We hadn’t seen or spoken to each other for
seven months. Then he suddenly transfers into my class at the
beginning of the school year.”

Duncan gave the classroom a heavily guarded
look, then focused on me again. “Haruka, I’m worried what people
will think of you, or do to you if word gets out your childhood
friends.”

I frowned hard at Duncan. “What are you
saying?”

“I’m just worried some of the student body may
give you a hard time.”

“You mean
bully
me?” I understood his
reasoning, and the thought had crossed my mind. “Why are you
mentioning this? Did you hear something?”

I watched a range of conflicted emotions run
across his face. Eventually he said, “I heard some of the girls
talking. Apparently they saw the two of you talking in the garden,
and now there are rumors floating around.”

I folded my arms under my breasts. “What kind of
rumors?”

He looked distinctly uncomfortable. Even his
shrug which was supposed to dismiss my question was heavy and
conflicted. “Rumors that the two of you are dating in secret. That
you’re hiding a secret, illicit love for each other. That kind of
thing.”

“A secret illicit love?” I pursed my lips into a
thin, bloodless line. “Unbelievable,” I muttered.

Duncan was eyeing me nervously. “They’re not
true, right?”

“Let me ask you something, is this why you came
down to see me before homeroom?”

“No, not at all. I came down because—because
I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a long time. That’s the
truth.”

I sighed heavily, closed my eyes and shook my
head slowly.

I didn’t open my eyes again until a short while
later.

“Duncan, the rumors are not true. Caelum and I
danced around each other for too long. We missed our chance and now
he’s a Familiar and I’m an Aventis of the Avenir Pride.”

He looked troubled. “Then there’s nothing
between the two of you?”

I replied as easily as I could but I was growing
irritated. “Other than a broken friendship, no.”

He studied me anxiously for a quick moment
before noticeably relaxing. “I’m sorry Haruka. I didn’t mean to pry
or hurt your feelings.”

“You just wanted to be sure.”

He nodded before he could stop himself.

I couldn’t help but sigh again. “Duncan…if
you’re not sure about me, then don’t ask me out. It really hurts
when people doubt my feelings for them.”

He looked shocked, and his gaze wandered all
over my face. “Haruka—”

“Class is about to start. I need to go.”

I turned without another word or a backward
glance at him.

I steeled my shoulders and back as I walked
through the door and into my classroom.

I don’t know for how long he stood near the door
before leaving.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to know.

My heart was beating painfully hard and my chest
ached. It was a struggle to keep the hurt from showing on my
face.

As I walked to my smart desk, I glanced at
Caelum through the corner of my eye.

He was staring at the display surface of his
smart desk, but he wasn’t moving.

I sat down at my own desk.

Later, when Siobhan and Alistair arrived at the
classroom, I greeted them with a cheery smile and wave. I prayed
they wouldn’t see through my façade.

#

(Caelum)

For the first time in a while, I managed to get
through a day of school without being blindsided by unexpected
events.

Actually, that’s a complete lie.

My day went to pieces the moment I saw Haruka
talking with that handsome senior.

I kept the study aid in my visor and headset
dialed up to max. It was the only way to get through classes. I
knew this was going to give me a headache later, but I had no
choice.

It was either that or struggle through the
day.

When lunch break came round, I skipped lunch. I
wasn’t all that hungry, though I expected my appetite to return
later today. I was looking forward to dinner even if it was
cafeteria food from the dormitory kitchen.

The truth was I just wanted to be alone.

Getting onto the rooftop courtyard was easy. I
climbed the roofs of the permacrete huts on the building’s roof,
and found myself a spot to lie down on.

And that’s how I spent my lunch break.

Lying on a flat roof, with arms folded behind my
head for a pillow.

Just staring up at the artificial sky of the
habitat – a sky some fifteen hundred feet above me – while
listening to the sounds of the students eating lunch on the rooftop
courtyard a short distance away. I heard the sounds of their
conversations, and I heard the sounds of the habitat surrounding
the Academy.

And I really struggled to get through the pain
in my heart.

I knew I was being foolish, and selfish. I knew
I was acting like I did in the old days, before she became an
Aventis and was sought after by the boys; before the days I became
a Familiar, and fought off countless numbers of her suitors.

I knew all that.

And I understood that I couldn’t go back to
those days.

I had to let Haruka go, and I had to do it
properly.

Not a selfish goodbye full of bitterness and
anguish like I did seven months ago,

A proper goodbye.

And maybe, just maybe, we could start again…as
friends.

But never more than friends.

And that was what I found unbearably difficult
to accept.

I heard the sounds of someone moving about on
the rooftop.

“Caelum? Caelum are you up there? Gods damn it.
I know I saw him come through here.”

Damn, I knew that voice. How could I not know
that voice?

Haruka had followed me. I hadn’t expected that
and now I was trapped.

“Caelum? Where are you?”

Crap. If she didn’t pipe down she’d attract
attention.

I sat up, then stood up and walked to the edge
of the hut’s rooftop. “Hey, keep it down.”

She looked up and grimaced. “So that’s where you
were.” She walked to the hut’s wall and stretched her arms toward
me. “Lift me up.”

“Haruka, what are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you. Now lift me up.”

I glanced around, wondering how much attention
she was drawing. Then I resigned myself to fate and crouched near
the edge of the hut’s flat roof. I grabbed her hands, and found it
surprisingly easy to lift her up onto the roof.

Haruka muttered, “Thanks”. She patted herself
down and straightened her uniform. “You’re quite strong.”

“As expected,” I muttered back. “Why won’t you
respect my privacy?”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I just walked back
to my spot on the roof and lay down like before, with my arms
folded behind my head for a pillow.

I closed my eyes, but heard her clearly.

“His name is Duncan Armand Avenir. He’s a
senior, Class Three Aye.”

Opening one eye, I peered at her. “I didn’t
ask.”

“No, but you were wondering. In fact it’s been
bugging you since morning.”

“So why are you telling me?”

“Because if I don’t tell you, you’ll sulk around
for hours, days, maybe weeks.”

“This may come as a surprise, Haruka, but I do
have other problems to deal with. You’re dating life isn’t one of
them.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet it isn’t.”

“Would you just leave.”

In defiance she sat down beside me on the roof,
bending her legs and draping her arms over her knees. “Duncan and I
have been going out as friends for a while now, almost always in
the company of our respective friends. Today he asked me out on a
proper date.”

I opened both eyes and stared at her. “Hey, I
said I wasn’t asking.”

She met my gaze. “Does it bother you that
much?”

“Not at all. I couldn’t care less who you
date
.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you on Friday, when
it was just the two of us in the garden.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

Yes, I was annoyed she hadn’t told me back
then.

I was also annoyed she hadn’t mentioned it
yesterday.

I swallowed but held my tongue.

Haruka broke the silence that fell between us.
“Hey, Caelum, say something.”

“What do you want me to say? Congratulations
Haruka, he seems like a
swell
guy. How’s that?”

“My mistake for asking,” she muttered.

I opened my eyes and peered at her.

Haruka was looking down at her arms folded
around her knees. “I wanted to tell you. I just…didn’t know
how.”

“Haruka, it’s fine. Really, I’m not bothered by
it at all—” I stopped sharply, and turned my head away.

For a while I didn’t know what to say.
Everything that came to mind felt harsh and abrasive, so I chose to
say nothing until my emotions had calmed down.

I was annoyed. I couldn’t deny it anymore.

And I felt hurt. She kept talking about us being
friends, but she kept this a secret.

After a minute of silence, I shook my head
slowly. “It’s fine. Really, it’s okay. You have your life and I
have mine. There’s no need to explain.”

“Yes there is.” With that I felt her hands grab
my hair and pull me upright.

“Damn it that hurts!”

“Caelum, look at me.”

“First, let go of my hair.”

She complied so I acquiesced to give her my
undivided attention.

Haruka narrowed her eyes at me. “Caelum, listen
carefully. Duncan and I are testing the waters. We’re not
dating—we’re
almost
dating—but we both like each other.
Unfortunately he got on my nerves this morning and I brushed him
off. And it’s all your fault.” She paused then added, “Actually,
it’s my fault.”

“Huh? What are you trying to say?”

“People saw us talking in the garden yesterday,
and now it seems there are rumors floating around concerning
us.”

“But there is no
us
,” I pointed out.

“Precisely,” she agreed with a nod. She turned
away and looked out at the school grounds visible from the rooftop.
“And now Duncan is beginning to doubt me. I told him his lack of
faith in me hurt and I left him standing outside homeroom.”

“Lack of faith? Wouldn’t that imply you’re
already dating?”

Haruka sighed loudly but it sounded more like a
grunt. “Yes, quite the conundrum.”

“No it’s not a conundrum. You’re just messing up
your descriptions. In other words, you’re giving him the wrong
idea.”

“So how do I fix it?”

I stared at her in growing disbelief. “You’re
asking me? Why? This isn’t my problem.”

“Caelum, tell me how to fix it.”

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, then I
gave up and lay back down on my arms. “I don’t know. Go talk to the
student councilor. She gets paid by the hour, I don’t.”

“Caelum,” she growled and reached for me
again.

This time I was ready for her and grabbed her
hands, but as we struggled on the rooftop, I ended up pulling
Haruka onto me.

“Ooof,” I expelled as one of her knees connected
with my groin.

Haruka couldn’t catch herself and landed on my
chest.

Actually, her rather large breasts landed on my
chest, absorbing the impact like a set of twin cushions.

Despite the pain in my lower region, I couldn’t
ignore the feeling of her wholesome fullness pressed down on either
side of my solar plexus.