Love and Loss

~x~

Author's Note: It's so reminiscent; typing while my fingers are half frozen. Ahh, I do love this season. :D (The only relevant that the story is taking place around this time of year.)
Sorry this took so long. I didn't forget about it or anything, it just proved to be a lot harder to type than I had hoped. I hope this chapter isn't too boring, but it might be. . I dunno. I hope you all enjoy anyways!

~x~

Chapter Two: Birthday Party

"You're kidding!" cried Resha loudly, her brown eyes wide. Elie bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from squealing and nodded frantically. In unison, the sisters let out a high pitched squeal. "I told you! Oh my God, this is so fantastic!"

"I know!" Elie said, grabbing her sisters' hands and jumping up and down. It was the day after their shared birthday, and the two were preparing to walk over to Lucia's house for Elie's birthday party. Resha was only staying to appease their mother – she had a date planned out with Shiba later. Elie hadn't told a soul about her epiphany last Monday, deciding to keep it to herself in case she was, by some miracle, incorrect.

At school, it had been easy enough to hide her excitement. If anyone did ask, she merely claimed that she couldn't wait for her birthday. When she was at home, however, it was much more difficult to hide. Being twins, Resha and Elie had a sort of bond that few people that aren't twins could understand. Still, Elie denied it and denied until she could hold it in no more.

Though Lucia had not asked her out on her actual birthday as she had privately hoped for, she was positive that he'd ask her out today. He had no more reason to wait, after all. She was sixteen. She could date. Besides, Lucia had a flare for dramatics; what better way to ask someone out than in front of all of their close friends? It would be perfect!

"Jesus, Elie," laughed Resha, poking her side, "Chill out with the whole glowing thing. You look like Clea did when she got married!"

Elie merely laughed, pulling a tight fitting sweater over her head. It wasn't too chilly, but Elie had the capability to be freezing in ninety-degree weather, so it was always better to be safe about what she wore. "I can't help it! I can't even describe how excited I am," she said, grabbing her small cell phone and pocketing it. "Come on. The party started about half an hour ago."

The two shouted out a goodbye to their mother and then took off in a sprint. Elie wanted to get there as quickly as they could so that she could see Lucia, and Resha wanted to get there as quickly as she could text Shiba and leave. The twins laughed breathlessly as the cold air hit their lungs, but they continued on. Thankfully, Lucia's house wasn't horribly far away, so the girls weren't running for any excessive amount of time. "I think Go and Shuda are here!" gasped Elie gaspingly as they finally slowed to a walk on the edge of his driveway. A small red Pontiac was parked on the street, as well as a few other cars here and there.

"Who cares? Now I can go on my first 'real' date with Shiba!" replied Resha with a grin, pulling out her phone. As she began to text him, the side door suddenly shot open and three men jumped out.

"Elie!" cried the tallest happily, his black hair gelled up. He was a rather large man, and at first glance, looked almost terrifying, but he was a very nice man. "Come on, you're coming with us."

"Huh?"

The man walked up to her and picked her up, carrying her towards the red Pontiac. "Bye Resha!" she called cheerfully, laughing. "Guess I'm going with Shuda, Go and Haru. Have fun with Shiba!" Her twin tapped her cell phone three times and smirked, turning away so that she could call her boyfriend.

Go, the man carrying her, set her down at the car, looking down at it. "We have a problem," said Shuda calmly, chuckling slightly. "Alright, here's the plan. Haru, you sit in the back. Well, lay. Put your legs on the seat, and Elie'll sit on your lap. That's the only way we'll have any room at all to drive and stuff."

"A girl's gonna sit on my lap. Awesome!" replied Haru, pushing Go aside to open the door. Once he was all situation, Elie climbed in after him, settling herself onto his lap carefully. "I promise not to try anything," he said with a grin. Elie rolled her eyes, trying to situate herself so that she wouldn't harm him. "We're good!"

The other two climbed into the front seats, pushing the seats back as far as they could without crushing Haru's legs, which were dangling over the far edge of the car. "So," said Elie as the car began to move, "where are we going?"

"The Raregroove's have a horrible lack of Pepsi products in their house," explained Go cheerfully, "And as you are my Pepsi drinking buddy, and this is your birthday, this is an outrage!"

"And I want cheese-wizz," admitted Haru with another laugh. The conversation ended there as Go turned the music up too loud for speech, but none of them were uncomfortable. Not even Elie, lost in thought as she was.

More than anything, she wanted to see Lucia. She had been spending every waking moment – and probably even her dreams – imagining how he'd do it. He'd tell her that he had to ask her something, and then stand her up. He'd call everyone to attention and say he had something he wanted to say. Then he'd turn to her, and with eyes bright and hopeful, he'd announce to everyone in the room that they were correct about how he felt. And then, after everyone was all done 'aww!'-ing, he'd take her hand in his, and he'd say that simple question that she had been pining for for so long…

Her daydreams ended abruptly as the car came to a stop at a red light. Elie began to lean forward, but Haru's arm around her stomach tensed and she stayed in place. "Why, thank you," she said gratefully, smiling at him sideways. He grinned back, relaxing his grip. His hand remained draped around her waist, just in case Go decided on another brake-check. "Where are we going, anyways? No one told me."

"Kroger. Maybe Wally World, if we can't find a good deal," explained Shuda over the music. Elie nodded, returning back to her fantasy…

"Elie, I have to tell you something," said Lucia softly. They were outside now, completely alone and away from the rest of the party behind them. Above them, more stars shone than Elie had ever seen in Toledo and the moon was round and pale.

Dramatically, like in the movies, Elie looked up. A gentle breeze had her hair slightly swaying, just enough to add to the romanticism of the moment. "Yes, Lucia?"

Elie snorted softly at her own ridiculousness. First off; an entire sky filled with stars? In Toledo? Yeah right. And that had to be the cheesiest thing she had ever imagined! If Resha had seen that, she'd never have let her live that down.

Just let it happen. It will, you just have to be patient.

Her fantasies ended as the four of them drove into the parking lot of Wal-Mart, with Go and Shuda arguing in the front seat. "I know my way around Wally World better!" snapped Go, pushing his friend's arm away before it could grab the wheel. Shuda retorted something back, but the argument was lost over the next song starting.

"Are they always like this?" asked Elie to Haru, who knew them better. He grinned at her again and nodded. "And we agreed to go with them…why?"

"I didn't. I was on my way downstairs when they came running up. They grabbed me and told me I was coming with them. Just like they did with you."

"That explains a lot," laughed Elie. Finally, the car parked and they began to pile out – in Haru's case, literally. With a loud 'battle cry' the two older boys went charging into the store, leaving the two juniors behind. "Shouldn't we run after them?"

Haru strained his eyes for them, shrugging. "Nah. We'd just get in their way," he explained, shoving his hands into his pockets. As they slowly walked into Wal-Mart, Elie felt a pang of regret that she had never really taken the time to get to know Haru very well. They were in the same club, both part of the music program, and they were both a part of the same general group of friends. "Happy birthday, by the way."

The brunette grinned. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Technically, it won't be until 2:50, but, it doesn't really matter."

"Is Resha older, or younger?"

"Older. By, like, an hour."

"Seriously? That must have been awful for your mom," said Haru, shivering slightly as he tried to imagine what it felt like to give birth. Elie giggled slightly, and he flashed that grin at her again. "I can't imagine having a twin. I mean, I have Cattleya, but she's about four years older."

Elie shrugged. "Resha and I are really close. I don't mind that she's the same age as me."

"Probably because she goes to a different school," suggested Haru, leaning against the wall. "Might as well just wait for them out here. We'll never find them inside anyways." Elie nodded in agreement, wrapping her hoodie around her body tightly. It wasn't cold, but the breeze had a certain crisp to it. As the two stood together, Elie felt questions bubbling to the surface. She and Haru had never really had much a chance to speak without someone else being right there.

"Does your father live with you? You always talk about your Mom, but I've never heard you say anything about your dad," she suddenly asked, her brown eyes staring right into his lavender ones. He looked down, shrugging.

Immediately, regret surged through the brunette. That was far too personal of a question to start off with! "He died. When I was really little," he said before she could begin her rain of apologies. "I don't remember him, as he was only a part of my life when I was a child." Haru looked up and smiled at her, not as perturbed as he had initially seemed.

"Oh."

The two passed in silence for a few more seconds before Elie bravely nudged him. "I understand how that feels," she said softly, her eyes misty. "Resha and I…we were adopted. Our parents died of cancer when we were really young."

Haru looked at her with his mouth open slightly before pulling her into a sideways hug. "Sucks, huh?" he said seriously. Elie nodded, returning the hug. The two remained like that for what felt like several moments, simply basking in the sheer understanding. So very few close friends of theirs could truly comprehend the feelings they had; finding one that did was a lovely experience.

As they were pulling away, Go and Shuda came bursting out of the store, carrying a twenty-four pack of Pepsi and another of Mountain Dew, as well as Haru's cheese-wizz. "Yes!" he said, grabbing it off the top of the soda and pulling the cap off. "Oh, hey." He paused in midair, his mouth open wide and bottle of cheese aimed downwards, "Elie, would you like the first taste? 'Cause it's your birthday, and I am so broke so I couldn't get you anything."

The brunette laughed, opening her mouth wide. "Ooh," cooed Go immaturely, sticking his tongue out just as Haru pushed down and the sort of-cheese came out. Elie laughed, inhaling the stream of orangey goodness. The three boys laughed as she choked, gently patting her back in the vain hopes of helping her. Once she had finished coughing, they headed back to the car. "Why so much soda?" asked Elie curiously, her voice hoarse from choking.

"Have you seen the way we go through this shit?" asked Shuda with a smirk. "I'll be surprised if this lasts us until the end." Before anyone could reply, music began blaring from his pocket and he nearly dropped the Pepsi in shock.

"Oy! You be careful with that! Pepsi gets flat soon enough as it is!" snapped Go, opening the trunk and placing everything in it. Shuda stepped away to answer the call, pressing a finger against his ear to hear whoever was speaking better. The conversation only lasted for a few seconds before he came back and pointed to Elie.

"Blindfold her. That was Jules, she said they have a huge surprise for her when we get back. But, we aren't allowed to let her see what it is until after we get there."

The brunette's mouth popped open, and in a flash, Haru had her confined. "Wait! Come on, can't I just close my eyes?" she demanded, struggling to get free. Haru had his arms wrapped around hers to keep her from moving or stopping them while Go rummaged through the trunk to find a suitable blind fold. "Please?"

"We were ordered to blindfold you," said Go, pulling out a long, black silk tie. "Hold her still, Haru. I don't wanna accidentally tie it too tight."

Though she put up a valiant fight, Elie could do nothing to stop Go from tying the tie around her eyes, cutting off all the light in the world. "Now, Haru, your next job is to make sure that she does not take that off before we are told. Are you going to cooperate?" asked Go, poking her cheek. Grumbling, the brunette agreed. If her friends wanted to put on some sort of surprise for her… Well, who was she to try to stop them?

"How am I going to get into the car?"

"I'll help you," said Haru happily, taking her hand and carefully leading her to the car. "You look so silly," he sniggered as she immediately lifted the other arm and began to gently move it to see if she would hit anything. If Elie hadn't been blindfolded, and if he hadn't so kindly offered to help her, she would have hit his arm. "Stay there. I'll climb in and then we'll try to get you in as well," he said, releasing her hand. As it always did after being held, Elie's hand was unnaturally cold, and she quickly shoved it into her pocket to warm it up. She could hear him getting situated, and she could hear Go and Shuda messing around off to the side somewhere, but Elie still resented being blind.

Haru's hand suddenly found hers again, and he gently squeezed. "Go ahead and try to get in. I'll situate you when you're all good," he instructed. Dimly aware that Go and Shuda must have been watching her, Elie slowly climbed into the car. Haru helped lead her, gently moving her around so that they were both comfortable. "All good?"

Grateful that the blindfold covered most her face, Elie nodded. "Yeah," she said. "You guys can come in!" The two of them quickly got in, arguing friendlily about some college matter as Elie tried to make herself relax; Haru's arms were draped around her waist to prevent her from falling.

I wonder what he's really like, she thought shyly. No! What am I thinking? I'm going to get back to Lucia's house, and then he's going to ask me out, and then I'll be happy with Lucia! Not Haru!

With that mental image returning to her, the brunette pushed any thought of her blond friend away. Soon, it wouldn't matter how his smile always made her grin, or how his purple eyes seemed to captivate her…

X

As quietly as she could, Elie dragged herself into her house. She was tired, she was sore, and she was emotionally numb. "I'm home," she whispered out of habit. It was roughly 01:30 in the morning; no one else was awake. Dumping her coat on the floor underneath the hallway telephone, the brunette slumped upstairs.

For a second, she hesitated at the top of the stairs. After a second of deliberation, she gently opened the door to Resha's room and walked in. "Resha," she said softly, gently prodding her twins arm. Even in her sleep, her twin was gorgeous. "It's me. I'm back from the party," she tried again, nudging her. Resha had left after about an hour, going off with Shiba on some date or other. By the time she had arrived home, their mother was already asleep, so the woman suspected nothing.

"Huh?" asked Resha softly as her eyes flickered open. She sat up slowly, yawning. "What's up, Elie?" When she did not reply, Resha took a closer look, frowning. "What's wrong?"

Hot tears began to burn in her eyes. "Lucia didn't ask me out," Elie replied flatly. Finally, her numbness cut short, granting her a wave of anguish and disappointment. "He hardly even looked at me after I got back from the store and they all sang me 'Happy Birthday'."

Resha's mouth had popped open, and she quickly moved over. "Come on. You can sleep in here with me," she offered with a soft smile. Without considering it, Elie climbed under the covers next to her twin, trails of tears cascading down her cheeks. "How about you tell me about it? Tell me about everything that did happen."

Gulping for air, Elie launched into the party. When they had returned, Haru had carefully led her downstairs in the basement, gripping her hand tightly to prevent her from slipping. Once the blindfold was gone, she found herself surrounded by her closest friends and a rather large birthday cake. Upon Shuda's insistence, she cut the cake with his latest army knife – which he had named 'Elie' for the pure satisfaction of saying that he licked icing off of Elie – and they promptly shoved an entire piece in her face.

She explained how they had all been play-wrestling when Haru announced that it was too hot and that he was going outside. Everyone but a few followed him, and then they began a large game of 'Ninja'. (A/N: If you don't know what this is, it'll be explained at the end of the chapter) Elie was horrible compared to the others, especially Lucia and Haru; more than once, they would be the last two remaining. Haru nearly always won.

Elie explained that Musica can managed to get away for a little bit, and that he ran up and gave Elie the biggest hug she had ever received. He could only stay for a little bit, however, because his girlfriend was coming to get him in an hour. Seeing him was pleasant, except for when he had lifted her over his shoulder and allowed Go, Shuda and Haru to take free shots at her bum (it had been sore for another two hours after that!) for her birthday.

The more she talked, the more she began to smile. Resha didn't interrupt her once, allowing her twin to share the best birthday party that had ever been given to her. "Belnika gave me this bracelet, too," she said after a slight pause, holding up a thick silver bracelet. The two admired it for a little bit before finally lapsing into silence.

"I," started Elie after a few minutes, her tears returning, "I really thought, you know, he was going to ask me out."

"I know, Elie."

"But, he didn't. God, he spent more time talking to Melodia and Belnika than me."

"What about Haru?"

Elie fell silent for a few minutes. "What about Haru?" she repeated quizzically, gently running her hands through her sisters' hair as she did the same. "What's he got to do with anything?"

The older one grinned. "I see how you two are. Every time that kid smiles, you start grinning like an idiot. And the way he looks at you! Jesus, you are so blind sometimes," she explained, sounding as if it were obvious. "He totally digs you."

"Yeah, right."

"Talk to Musica about it. I betcha that he'll just confirm it."

Elie snorted, feeling her exhaustion begin to settle in. "Let me get over this before I even consider another guy," she said finally. Resha grinned, gently kissing her sisters' forehead. "Even if he does have the dreamiest eyes I've ever seen."

Her twins' laughter was the last thing she heard before slowly slipping into a slumber that danced with the anguish of unrequited love.

X

"Hey, Musica?"

With an annoyed grunt, the older boy rolled over. "Yeah?" he asked sleepily, not wishing to still be awake. He had decided to crash at Haru's place for the night, seeing as his step-father was too drunk to care much about where he was.

The blond was laying on his back, staring straight up at the ceiling. It didn't look like he had closed his eyes for a second. "Did Elie look sort of upset during the party?" he asked distantly.

"I wasn't really there long enough to see," he admitted, trying to think back to how his brunette best friend had been acting. "Though, now that you mention it, there definitely looked like something was bothering her." Haru didn't answer, but his mouth did twitch ever so slightly.

Just as Musica was about to roll back over and attempt sleep again, Haru spoke. "I think it had to do with Lucia." Musica stared at him, trying to understand the strange clip in his voice. "I think she was hoping he'd ask her out. I mean, the way she kinda followed his every move… It was so obvious what she wanted, but the kid was too stupid to see it."

Never before had Musica heard his other best friend speak so disdainfully about another human being. He knew that Haru didn't really care much for Lucia, but this seemed a little more than what he had anticipated. "Probably. She's a smart girl though," he said tiredly, "She was probably hoping he'd ask her out because she's sixteen and she can date now. Since he didn't do it, she'll decide that she was right and that he doesn't feel for her in that way and move on."

Haru finally rolled over, his purple eyes intense and shining in the dark. "Do you think I have a chance with her?" he asked softly. Something about his voice sent shivers down Musica's spine; never before had he heard such a mingle of hope, wonder and hopelessness in nine simple words.

"I think that you have a better chance than most guys," he finally concluded. A scheme was hatching in his mind as he rolled over and closed his eyes.

Who else would be better for Elie than Haru? They would make a couple more beautiful than Lucia and Elie ever would, that's for sure. I finally found someone good enough for you, he thought slowly as he, too, drifted off into sleep.

~x~

Author's Note: I love birthday parties! :D Especially with all of your friends – wonderful! Anyways, like I said up there, sorry this took so long! School has totally swamped me (what was I thinking in taking a full schedule?) BUT, I finally got it done!
Right. 'Ninja'. Basically, what you do is hold your hand out and the other players put their hands out as well so that they're all touching and in a circle. Then, when you're all ready, someone yells NINJA and you all jump back and make a pose. Whoever called NINJA is the first person to go. What you do is take ONE step and try to hit another players' hands. The person that you're attacking can make one move to get their hand out of reach – IT HAS TO BE THE HAND. If it's wrist, it doesn't count. Anyways, once you make your one move, the person next to you goes, and on and on it goes until everyone is out except for one person. Once you get into it, the game can be a lot of fun. :D
:3 Anyone else see a romance blossoming here? CAUSE I SURE DO. X3
But, yeah.
I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, but I really can't make any promises. :x Sorry!