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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Jan 31, 2009 2:25:37 GMT -5
It had only been a matter of about five weeks or so since Kyo had started working at Cafe Mocha, but he had already established himself pretty well there. Many of the customers knew him by name, and of course, the owner, Zhenya, and "top chef" Angela were great people to work with. He was so glad he had been allowed to work at the cafe. It was a happy place to be, it had a very uplifting atmosphere, and not many of the kids in his school could admit that they made their "living" off making the best desserts in the world.
There was also lots of live entertainment. At the moment, there was a performer in the stage-like area, performing jumpy, cheerful songs in an Elvis Presley-like style. Kyo was busy behind the counter making the various desserts up for order, but the music was getting to him. He was dancing behind the counter as he made whatever order was tossed his way. He timed everything with the music, shaking the shakes, spinning around to get glasses and cups, even doing the "swim" to reach below the counter and get the straws. He decided if his parents weren't so serious about him getting a job in business in Japan, he could have been this kind of worker all his life.
"Shake ready!" Like an expert, Kyo--still bobbing to the music--slid the latest shake order down the bar to its appropriate customer, who thanked him with a wave of his hand. Kyo wiped his hands on his pants and danced over to Nicholas, who was sitting at the bar and relaxing. He had ordered a plain coffee shake, like he usually did. He had become something of a regular at the cafe. Kyo was so glad to have him there. It seemed he and Nic never ran out of things to talk about, and he got the feeling Nic was entertained by his enthusiasm at work.
"Nic-o-san! You cannot just sit there and drink like a depressed person!" Kyo laughed, but his voice was barely audible over the loud music. "You have to get up and shake, shake, shake it! Come on, come on!" Kyo pulled Nic up off his stool, grabbed his arms, and tried to make his friend dance.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Jan 31, 2009 3:43:57 GMT -5
Nicholas had discovered Cafe Mocha a few weeks after his arrival in Pittsburgh. And yet, when he had first gone there, he had not liked it that much. Perhaps this was because of the workers. Maybe they hadn't been quite as friendly as Cafe Mocha's currently famous employee--Kyo Suzuki.
Kyo was friendly with every customer and simply entertaining to watch. In addition to keeping the customers happy, he also prepared the famous Cafe Mocha drinks with the kind of love and care that no other employee before him had bothered to utilize.
It was because of Kyo that Nicholas had gradually become fond of Cafe Mocha. It had become a good place for him to go after school and after work, especially because it was down the street from his school and because it gave him a place to relax when he was done working.
Right now, Nicholas was at the bar, wearing his Penn State hoodie, sipping at his coffee shake and contemplating how much time he should put into his term paper for the night, especially since the semester was coming to a close. Of course, he had a lot of homework for classes tonight, so that was what made the situation difficult. All that homework, at the moment, was spread out in front of him on the bar, his class notes tucked neatly into various folders that also occupied the nearby space.
Deep in thought, his brow furrowed. He barely noticed Jeff, a famous local impersonator of Elvis Presley, singing away on stage. Meanwhile, Kyo was behind the bar, dancing to the music Nicholas could not hear, a happy grin on his face as he sent drink after drink to each customer. He was so enthusiastic about his job.
At that moment, Nicholas saw Kyo dancing his way. He looked up, suddenly awakened from his thoughts.
"Nic-o-san! You cannot just sit there and drink like a depressed person!" Kyo laughed, but his voice was barely audible over the loud music. "You have to get up and shake, shake, shake it! Come on, come on!" Kyo pulled Nic up off his stool, grabbed his arms, and tried to make his friend dance.
"Wei! Wei!" Nicholas almost pulled away, but Kyo was pretty strong. Kyo had dragged Nicholas off of the stool and onto the floor in front of the bar. No one else in the cafe was dancing, but Kyo didn't seem to mind. He made Nicholas flap his arms, trying to get him to dance, and Nicholas felt really silly.
But Kyo was adamant. He really wanted Nicholas to dance with him! Giving in--a look of regret and fun, at the same time, on his face--he watched Kyo's movements. This way, he could follow the beat.
He twisted and turned with Kyo. At first, he'd felt utterly foolish, but then he began to get into it. He spun Kyo a couple of times and swung him one way, then another. Even though he could feel the eyes of the other customers on the two of them, he was happy. He laughed at the crazy way Kyo danced and the funny expression on the younger boy's face. Nicholas put a serious look on his own face, then dipped Kyo like a professional tango dancer would. But he couldn't maintain the serious look and ended up bursting out laughing.
When Kyo laughed at him too, he grinned. "Oh yeah?" he said, suddenly sounding like a completely different person. "Laugh at this!" With that, he dove at Kyo and began tickling him whereever he could reach. The two fell to the floor.
Kyo rolled from side to side, writhing with laughter, and Nicholas kept tickling him. "Haha, who's laughing now?" Nicholas said cheerfully, laughing at the expression on Kyo's face.
At that moment, another customer walked through the door. Nicholas didn't hear the doorbell ring, but a blast of cool air flushed through the warm atmosphere of the cafe, so Nicholas knew someone had entered. He stopped tickling Kyo and, with a grin still on his face, looked up to see who had entered. He knew that with another customer, Kyo would have to go back to work.
What he saw was a face he had never expected to see. Never. Ever. Again.
Slowly, the grin on Nicholas' face died away. He let go of Kyo, realizing that all he could do was stare--a look of shock, horror, confusion, betrayal on his face.
The face that stared back at him was the face of a person he had known well, a long, long time ago. It was the face of a person who had easily become his closest friend and who had just as easily betrayed him. A girl he had naively fallen for and had consequently paid the price for. It was Linda.
Linda was, of course, no longer thirteen years old, but the past eight years had seemingly only enhanced her beauty. If Nicholas could forget the horror behind that mask of perfection--the dark brown hair and eyes, her beautiful lips--he would have thought she was a goddess.
But this wasn't to be. Nicholas knew better than anyone that beauty was only skin deep, and this was especially true in Linda's case. As much as he had loved her when he had been a naive thirteen year old--a foreigner math-geek who had actually thought he stood a chance with the most popular girl in school--he knew now that, even if she had really been the friend to him she had claimed to be, a real friend would never have put her best friend's life in danger. He didn't blame her for what had happened, but there was no denying--if it had not been for Linda, he would never have lost his hearing.
Seeing her reminded him too much of his cruel past. Having moved away, he had been sure that he would never have to see her again. And for his already wounded young heart, this seemed the only step he could take. And yet, here she was. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania--miles away from her home in San Francisco. And, unlike him, San Francisco had always been her home.
By the look on her face, Nicholas knew that she had recognized him too. He looked away, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He felt as though his face were burning up. Slowly, he got off of Kyo and turned his back on Linda, going back to his chair at the bar to pick up his bookbag and gather his things.
When Kyo tried to approach him, he tried to mask the pain he was feeling. "I'm sorry. I have to go," he said quietly but determinedly. He felt bad, leaving Kyo all alone with no explanation, but he had to get out of this place. It hurt...too much.
As he headed for the door, he passed by Linda. He could feel her eyes on him, as well as the eyes of several other customers. He pretended he didn't see any of them, but struggled to the door. He felt as though he were struggling to stay afloat in the midst of a never-ending sea. Things had so suddenly gone from good to bad, that he could not seem to bear it.
Biting his lip to keep tears away and feeling stupid that he was so close to crying, he pushed his way out the door and headed out into the early night.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Jan 31, 2009 17:44:22 GMT -5
"Wei! Wei!" Kyo cracked up at Nic's alarm. The look on his face was priceless! Of course, he wasn't going to tell him that. He was too busy dancing the night away. Besides, Jeff the singer was getting even more into his song watching them dance, and Kyo noted that a couple of the other customers had gotten up and started dancing together too. He twisted and turned with Kyo. At first, he'd felt utterly foolish, but then he began to get into it. He spun Kyo a couple of times and swung him one way, then another. Even though he could feel the eyes of the other customers on the two of them, he was happy. He laughed at the crazy way Kyo danced and the funny expression on the younger boy's face. Nicholas put a serious look on his own face, then dipped Kyo like a professional tango dancer would. But he couldn't maintain the serious look and ended up bursting out laughing.Kyo was giggling the whole time. Nic was a pretty darn good dancer--he wondered why he had never seen him dance before. He did come to Cafe Mocha a lot, and there was often entertainment of some sort. Kyo couldn't help laughing, though. This was totally out-of-character for Nic, but in a definite good way. He was glad to see his friend just living it up and having fun. "Oh yeah?"Kyo's eyes widened. "Eh?" "Laugh at this!"Kyo started laughing even harder--he was the type of person who laughed at everything, but tickling? Tickling got him good. He could barely even breathe, he was laughing so hard. "Haha, who's laughing now?""Ahhhhhhhahaha! Me...me...hahaha...meeee!" Kyo was thinking of just how much this was all like some happy musical, everyone singing and dancing, and how he was going to ask Nic, at some point, to teach him to dance like that so he could impress a girl in his school that he really liked, when something...happened... Kyo wasn't sure just what. One second, he had been nearly tickled to death by Nic, when it all stopped abruptly. He saw Nic look up, horror etched out across his face. Kyo was suddenly very serious. He was watching him intently, trying to figure out what was wrong, because where he was on the ground, he couldn't really see anything. "Nic? Ni-ge-las?" Kyo couldn't get his friend's attention, because Nic couldn't hear him and was focused on something Kyo couldn't yet see. It had to be something horrible. The next thing he knew, Nic had left him alone on the floor and rushed over to get his belongings. Kyo felt his face flush a little, now he realized how awkward this all looked...He climbed to his feet, brushed himself off, then went over to where Nic was sitting. The other boy was busy stowing stuff in his bag. He was in an obvious rush. "I'm sorry. I have to go," he said quietly but determinedly.Then, without an explanation, he was gone. Kyo felt his heart sink as he watched his friend go. His work shift had started out so wonderfully, just to crash down like this. He still didn't understand what had happened. Had he done something? Kyo watched the door to see if Nic would come back, but he knew--deep down--that was a long shot. Instead, his attention turned to someone else who had obviously recently walked in. And she, too, was watching the door to the cafe. Kyo still didn't know what was going on. One thing was for sure. He wouldn't ask Nic about it later. *** When Kyo returned to the home, everything seemed quiet, except for the usual night songs of crickets and other nightly creatures. Kyo's energy from work had died down the instant Nic had run out, and though he had tried his best to remain enthusiastic when finishing up orders, he couldn't help feeling glum. He expected some of the customers had sensed this too. Only Jeff, the singer, had shown support on his way out. "Don't worry, kid--everyone has bad days...The customers won't remember a thing next time they're craving a shake." He'd winked, shook Kyo's hand, then left. But as Kyo stepped into the home, feeling incredibly worn out, even Zoloto's usual, kind greeting didn't cheer him up. He was just too confused by what had happened. And he was most concerned because it involved one of the best friends he had ever had. Nicholas. He had always known there was something dark and sad about Nicholas, something that wasn't actually physically present, except maybe visible in his eyes. Kyo did not know his friend's background, but even when he was having a good time, he could sense that Nicholas still had some sad secret about him. That was partly why he had wanted to make Nicholas dance with him, and why he was so glad when his friend had. It was nice to see Nicholas just shaking his troubles away. Kyo paused at the stairwell in the home, pondering whether or not he should check up on Nic to make sure he was all right. He decided not to. Instead, he sunk down onto his own bed and, after mulling the whole situation over in his thoughts for a while, almost immediately fell asleep.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Feb 1, 2009 3:42:11 GMT -5
When Nic had returned home from the café, he still felt as though his heart was not beating at all. The sight of Linda had seemingly made everything freeze—his happiness, the entire café, even the beat of his heart. He had been having such a good time with Kyo, better than he could ever remember. Truly, he had never had so much fun with another person before. Especially a person that he could call a friend. And then she had appeared. Like a cold reminder of what he had once naively believed to be a friend, she had walked through the doors of Café Mocha, in a town so very far from her hometown. Why she was here, he could not explain. He was sure that she had not come here for him. And yet, now that she had seen him, he was sure of one more thing. She would find him. Now that she knew where he was, there was no way she would let him be. He knew he was being stubborn and possibly even a scaredy cat, but he was afraid. With Linda came too many bad memories. He had run away in the café because he knew he couldn’t face her—not in front of so many people, and especially not in front of Kyo. The last time he had looked into those dark eyes, he had seen no friendliness. Instead, she had let her boyfriend pummel him into the ground and then left him for dead. It had taken all the strength in his being to keep his tears at bay, until he got home. He fought with his emotions on the train ride back, trying not to think too deeply about anything the entire trip, and struggled his way up to his room when he’d finally gotten home. He had closed the door softly, collapsed onto his bed, and let the tears fall. He sobbed into his pillow, trying to muffle the sound which, though he could not hear it, he was sure could be heard by the other house guests otherwise. He felt ashamed at how much he had been crying in the past two months. He’d cried the first night he had returned to his real home, and he was crying again. Despite his attempts to appear as the adult that he was, he only seemed like a crybaby when he fell into states like this. But the pain was too much for him to keep bottled up, and he knew the best way he could possibly relieve such awful emotions was by crying—rather than taking it all out on someone else. Near his bed was his desk, and at the end of it he had placed a picture of his mother, facing him. He reached for the picture and clasped it to his chest, wishing more than anything that she could be there with him. It was the only picture he had of her, because in China they had never taken many family pictures—they couldn’t afford a camera back then. And since He Bei had never made it to America, this was his last remnant of her. He held the picture tightly, squinting with blurred vision at his mother’s beautiful face. That had been how he’d spent the night—feeling childish and ashamed, but at least a little comforted to have his mother with him. His plans for completing his homework in the café on longer mattered. He had skipped dinner and did not know if Danil or Peter had come up to check on him, because he had cried himself to sleep about half an hour after he had gotten home. *** When Nicholas woke up the next morning, he could tell his eyes were puffy from crying too much. He was still wearing his outfit from the night before, though it seemed that someone had pulled his blankets up over him. The picture of his mother was no longer in his hands, and, looking around wildly for it, he found that it had fallen from his limp grasp and to the floor. He picked up the picture and placed it back on his desk, then wiped the sleepiness from his eyes. Even though his body was physically replenished, he felt as though he were still exhausted mentally. He caught sight of his bookbag by the door and felt sick. He had so much work to do. The first thing he did was take a long, hot shower. The hot water helped to relax his tense muscles, and it even served to lift his spirits a little. Once he’d gotten out of the shower and had gotten dressed, he had gone downstairs for a quick breakfast of cereal and fruit, then returned to his room to start some of his schoolwork. He spent the whole day up in his room, taking only small breaks from his work to stretch and a couple of times to look out his window, at the sunny, snow-filled lawn below him. Once he caught sight of Kyo shoveling some of the snow away, and he immediately thought back to the night before. He had not really apologized to Kyo for leaving so abruptly, nor had he explained. Of course, he knew there was no way he could possibly explain to Kyo what Linda meant to him. Kyo knew nothing about how he had become deaf, and he knew that was for the best. It didn’t help to have people pity him, and he didn’t want to leave Kyo with such a burden. A couple of times, he caught Kyo looking up at his window, and he had backed away, not wanting to appear as though he had been spying on the younger boy. When that happened, he immediately returned back to his work. The good news was that, by the end of the day, Nicholas had finally finished his term paper. The bad news was that halfway through writing it, he had changed topics, and it was certainly not the quality he wanted it to be. Still, it felt good to have something to hand in. And he knew he still had time to edit it if he truly wanted to. He had also completed some of his other homework assignments—all the ones that were due for the next two days, Monday and Tuesday—but there was still quite a ways to go. But of course, he knew he’d overworked himself and by the time it turned 7:00PM, he knew he could no longer do any more schoolwork. Instead, he’d picked out a book from his small collection of favorite books and began to read that, laying down on his bed and trying to relax.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Feb 1, 2009 21:10:21 GMT -5
Ooc: I know I said I would mostly be writing Linda from Nic’s point of view, but I think for the sake of how this scene is viewed, the reader can get the most emotions out of this scene if I write it from Linda’s perspective (and then if I don’t like it, I can always write it from Nic’s). Anyway, hope it’s good! This should be different from my present writing (I hope)!
Ic: Linda had never been to Pennsylvania before. She’d only come to be here this year because she was studying as a graduate student at Penn State. Having graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, she had the confidence to get into any school she wanted to as a graduate student, and she had done just that.
While Pennsylvania was not half as entertaining as California (particularly Los Angeles) had been, she had been enjoying her stay thus far. She’d been hosted by a friend and therefore didn’t have to dorm at the university, like many of the undergraduates did. After school every night, she often went out with her new group of friends, for a drink or simply for fun. She rarely spent any time alone here.
Except for one night, when it had been right after she was done with school for the day. Unlike many of the students, she had classes on Saturdays, and her classes were in the afternoon. Once she had finally gotten out of class, she had decided that she could use a little pick-me-up and decided to head to a famous nearby café, one that all the college students recommended.
The café was called “Café Mocha”, and it was famous for its comfortable atmosphere and entertainment. She’d heard all about the famous drinks it served and really wanted to try the “Three Rivers Float”. Coffee, coffee, and coffee ice cream for her. Delicious.
Linda walked the short distance from the university to the café, smiling at two cute guys that passed by her. They had to be about her age, maybe a little older. Both of them returned the smile. It made her feel good that she was still so popular, even out of high school. Tossing her hair, she hefted her bookbag from one shoulder to the other, then entered the cozy atmosphere of the café.
Inside, there was a live band playing, and the singer was an obvious Elvis impersonator. But while he was pretty exceptional at his job, what caught her attention first was the sight of two young men on the floor of the café. One of them was wearing the traditional café mocha uniform. The other was older than him and seemed to be tickling him, for whatever reason. From here, Linda could see that the younger boy was Asian. The older one had jet black hair too, and she wondered if he too was Asian.
Then he looked up.
Linda’s breath caught in her throat.
The face that stared back at her was one that had haunted her existence since she had been a teenager. It was the face of a boy that she had genuinely loved, and yet, also the face of a boy that she had intentionally sacrificed for the sake of her popularity.
She had known that what she had done to Nicholas had been the wrong decision, but over the years she had come to accept that her mistake had been the misguided decision of a child. She had been only thirteen years old, after all. Still…there was no forgetting that face…those eyes. The pain she had seen in them the last time she had seen him.
Of course, Nicholas had changed as much as she had. He no longer had the baby fat of a thirteen year old Chinese boy. The boyish chubbiness of his face had instead been replaced by a defined jawline, a firm mouth and full lips. His dark, slanted eyes were beautiful and piercing at the same time. She could not take her eyes off of him.
There was no doubt about it. This was Nicholas Wu.
As soon as he saw her and recognized her, the grin that had been on his face died away, only to be replaced by a look that betrayed every negative emotion he had to be feeling at that moment. Linda could only stare at him. She wanted to say something, but she could only stare. It had been so long. And he…he was more beautiful than ever.
Getting up from the floor, Nicholas went over to the bar, where he began gathering a lot of papers together and stowing them into a bookbag. On both his bookbag and his sweatshirt, she saw the logo for Penn State University.
So we’re at the same school, she couldn’t help thinking.
She wanted to call out to him, but all she could do was watch. She watched as he said something to the younger boy, then pushed past her, an anguished look on his face. She was too entranced to stop him. When he was gone, she stood where she was, unsure of what had happened. One moment he had been there and the next he was gone. The younger Asian boy who seemed to work at the café was staring at her, confused. Suddenly, she was no longer in the mood for ice cream.
She left the café not too long after Nicholas had, though she knew she would not be able to find out where he went. Instead, she headed back to her friend’s house and decided to inquire. Perhaps someone she hung out with knew him…knew where he lived. Now that she had seen him again, she had to talk to him. She had to. There had been so much she had wanted to say to him the past eight years, and she had never gotten the chance. Despite what she had allowed to happen to him, Nicholas had been the kindest boy she had ever known. That fact stood true to date. Even now, she had never met another male half as kind and chivalrous as Nicholas Wu had been.
She needed to talk to him.
And that was why, at 7:30PM of the next day, she was standing alone, outside Nicholas’ current place of residence.
She had asked her friend if he knew a Nicholas Wu, then asked her friend’s friends, until she finally found one girl who had heard of a Nicholas Wu that was in the undergraduate program. The girl’s younger sister, a freshman, was apparently in one class with Nicholas. Linda had begged and begged the girl to ask her younger sister about Nicholas’ whereabouts, and so the younger sister had bothered Nicholas about it via email.
Somehow, through the whole affair, Linda had gained Nicholas’ current address. Apparently, he was staying with a famous figure skater, though she didn’t know him well because she had never watched figure skating before.
The house that she was standing in front of was massive. There were basically three floors, if you included the attic. Behind the curtains on some of the windows, she could tell that many of the rooms were bathed in a warm light. It looked like this place was a decent home. She almost wondered how Nicholas could afford to stay here, unless he had magically grown rich since the last time she had seen him.
And she wanted to see him, again. Even though she had just seen him the day before, they had spent too much time apart. It was as though having seen him again, she needed to see him every day to feed her soul. She somehow felt lifeless without him.
Taking a deep breath, she reached out to ring the doorbell. Inside the house, there was a steady chime, signaling a guest at the door. She waited patiently, watching her breath cloud in front of her from the cold weather of December. She wondered if Nicholas was even home, or if he would even see her. What if she was at the wrong house?
Just then, the front door opened and she was greeted by the sight of a man about her age. He had blonde hair and would have been pretty attractive to her--if her heart wasn't so set on seeing Nicholas again. She smiled unconvincingly at him and said in a "pretty" voice, "Hi. Is Nicholas in?" She prayed that she had the right house.
The blonde man nodded, and Linda sighed in relief. "I was wondering if I could speak to him," she said, almost anxiously.
The blonde man addressed her in a friendly manner, told her to wait for a moment, then disappeared. The door shut behind him, so Linda could not look into the house in front of her.
Feeling a little shunned, she stood in the cold, waiting impatiently. Her heart was beating frantically, now that she knew she was at the right place. Nicholas was here. He was here. And he wasn't going anywhere, either. Unless he refused to see her, and somehow she couldn't see him doing that. Deep down, she thought that perhaps he too had missed her as much as she had missed him. Maybe he needed her as much as she needed him right now.
Stamping her feet, she looked down and then looked up again--just in time to watch the front door open once more.
Her heart stopped. It was Nicholas.
He was wearing a long-sleeved, fleece T-shirt and jeans. His hair was slightly ruffled and it was obvious by the look on his face that he was tired. But despite the exhaustion she could sense in him, it was his eyes that pierced her heart. Even in the pitch-black of the night, she could see the sadness in his dark eyes. She could also see traces of all the other emotions he had expressed when Jeff had been beating him up in front of her...fear, anguish, and worst of all, betrayal.
She had finally found him.
"Can...can I come in?" she asked finally. The two of them had been standing there for a long time. Neither had said anything to the other. It seemed like there wasn't anything to say. They had both recognized each other. There were no introductions needed.
Nicholas stared at her for one more moment. Then, without a word, he looked away and opened the door wider for her to step in.
She thanked him and entered the warmth of the house. It was certainly as cozy inside as she had expected. She was going to ask Nicholas if they could talk, but it seemed Nicholas knew exactly what she wanted.
"This way," he said softly, not looking at her. He began leading the way up the nearby staircase.
Linda was almost stopped in her tracks by the sound of his voice. While his voice wasn't exactly deep, it was certainly much lower than it had been the last time she had spoken with him. And it was a nice, gentle voice, too. It was as handsome as his face. She looked up at him climbing the stairs just ahead of her and wanted to smile. Maybe, just maybe, she could settle everything. She knew that all she had to do was explain to him what had happened that day.
She had just been a stupid, little girl. He must realize that. And after all, he had only taken a beating. Even though it had been a very bad beating--even she knew that--here he was, standing alive and well. Perhaps he had already forgotten about it. Although, by the way he was acting, she doubted it.
He led her up past the second floor, up another set of stairs and into what she presumed was the attic. The room was actually huge and looked like a mini apartment. Nicholas led her to the far end of the room, where there was a smaller room--his bedroom. While Nicholas closed the door behind her, she walked over to the bed and sat down. Nicholas sat down slowly in the chair by his desk, sitting against wall farthest away from her.
He was staring at her, but he wasn't saying anything. Linda felt his eyes penetrating hers, and she wondered why he wasn't speaking.
He probably doesn't want to, she thought to herself. He probably wants me to do all the speaking.
Well, she would.
The first thing she did was sigh.
"It's...it's been a long time, Nicholas," she said, giving him a small smile. The favor was not returned. He was still staring at her with an unreadable expression. But there was certainly not even a trace of a smile in his stare. Instead, his slanted black eyes caught her off edge. Her smile disappeared.
"I've been looking for you for a long time, Nicholas. I...I've wanted to explain, all these years. I wanted to explain to you why what happened to you happened." She sighed and looked away. "It's all my fault."
There was no reaction from Nicholas, so she stood up. "I was a stupid, little girl then. I guess I read too many girly-girl books. I thought that popularity was everything. I thought that having the biggest, coolest, toughest boyfriend in school was what every girl dreamed of. And I had that." She sighed again. "But despite everything I allowed to happen because of my pathetic, false beliefs, I want you to know. I loved you."
She looked at Nicholas, hoping he would finally say something. But there was no change in his expression. She did notice, however, that his eyes were not meeting hers. Instead, they were focused lower on her face, as though he could not bring himself to look her in the eye.
She turned her back to him, then continued talking. "I knew what Jeff was planning to do to you, and I probably could have stopped him. Of course, I was afraid. I knew if I did try to stop him, he might hurt me. And I'd tried to protect you, too. I'd made up all kinds of crazy stories, telling him that you were just a friend in class who helped me with my homework--things like that. But he couldn't take no for an answer. He just had to get back at you, even just for looking at me."
She closed her eyes. "I could not have made a poorer decision in my life. I really hurt you, Nicholas. And I've never been able to get over that fact. Even though I've tried to put the past behind me, I still cannot forget...the look...on your face..." she found herself trembling and felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"I...don't know what you're saying," Nic's voice came from behind her, tender, but pained.
She wiped her eyes and turned around. "What do you mean?" she said softly, looking at him, confused. "You don't understand?"
This time, he looked up at her, his eyes full of the same pain she had seen in them 8 years ago. "I can't hear you," he said softly. "I'm deaf."
Linda actually felt the room shake. Once again, her heart stopped. She was sure she had heard him incorrectly. "What?" she whispered, disbelievingly. Her mouth had fallen open.
"I'm deaf," Nicholas repeated, and this time he looked away.
Linda stood still for a moment, completely unable to move. She couldn't understand how this could be. He'd heard her, right? He'd been speaking with her this whole time. He hadn't been using any sign language or anything. Sure, he'd been a little on the quiet side, but that was just the way he was. And she knew he had a right to be silent.
It seemed forever before she could find her voice again.
"Is...is it because of me?" She whispered, not wanting to know the answer. Perhaps she had truly misjudged what had happened that day, eight years ago. Perhaps Nicholas had been injured much more than she had imagined.
But Nicholas was not looking at her now. She realized that he didn't know she was speaking.
"Nicholas," she said again, and this time she knelt down in front of him, gently grabbing his face in both of her hands and forcing him to look at her.
Nicholas regretfully looked down into her sad brown eyes. Being so close to him, she could truly see how miserable he was. She bit her lip.
"Is it because of me?" She whispered again, her eyes searching his.
There was a moment's pause, before Nicholas looked away once more.
That was all she needed. He had given her an answer.
Not just a passing wound. Permanently. He was permanently deaf. And it was all her fault.
As much as she had been sure he'd been okay after the accident, she had been wrong. She and her old boyfriend Jeff had destroyed Nicholas' life. She could finally see that.
Tears welled into her eyes once more, and this time, she did not try to stop them.
"My God," she moaned. Without waiting for a reaction from Nicholas, she reached up and embraced him around the neck. He did not return the embrace.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm so sorry."
She held onto him a little longer, feeling at least a little safe as she shared the warmth of his body. But she was horrified by what she had done. She was shaken by this turn of events. Never had she expected their reunion to be like this. Never, ever. She hugged him tighter.
When she finally let go of him, she could see tears in Nicholas' eyes too. It looked like he was fighting with himself, trying to prevent himself from crying in front of her. But it didn't matter anyway. She was going.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered again, then got to her feet and fled from the room. She took the stairs two at a time, ran down the main stairway, and out the front door. She didn't stop running until she reached the train station, where she boarded a train about to leave and headed back to her home in Pittsburgh.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Feb 5, 2009 21:27:06 GMT -5
Kyo was still a little down from what had happened at the cafe. He thought, maybe if he just knew what exactly had caused Nicholas to run out...maybe what he had done or could have done to prevent it... It just weighed on him a lot. He couldn't figure out why, and it made him sick with sadness.
But he knew the girl who had walked in had something to do with it.
He just didn't know what.
Kyo spent much of the next morning shoveling snow. He had gone to bed very early the night before and slept all the way through to the next day. Danil had been awake when he got up--it was quite early for him, maybe around 7 AM--and he had offered to do it. It would pass the time and give him something to do while pondering the situation. Every so often, Kyo had glanced up at Nic's window in the attic, reflectively, and one time, he thought he might even have seen his friend's solemn face there.
He was in the living room doing some homework when the doorbell rang. It was later in the day and he was still a little achy from all the shoveling he had done. Kyo turned around in his seat.
He bet he knew who was at the door. He considered opening it himself, but Danil beat him to the chase. And minutes later, when there were footsteps coming down the stairs, he knew he was right. But he didn't get to hear anything more.
Nic had taken the girl with him to his room. Kyo was positively quivering with curiosity, but he tried to live by the patience his mother had adamantly encouraged. He remained right he was, working on his homework, and was probably one of the first to hear the loud footsteps rushing down the stairs, then the swift opening and closing of the front door.
Kyo guessed it wouldn't be Nic.
He sighed and went back to his homework. For now, it was all he could do. He would have to wait to ask anything of his friend, that was for sure.
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Feb 15, 2009 3:48:03 GMT -5
One Week Later Ooc: Permission to godplay Kyo! Ic: Nicholas was working hard to prepare for his finals. He had tried to forget about everything else that had been happening to him recently, simply so he could focus on his schoolwork. He wasn't attending college to do poorly! What had happened with Linda one week ago still weighed on his mind, however, no matter how hard he tried to push it as far back into his memory as he could. Even though he had felt utter betrayal after what Linda had done to him eight years ago, seeing her again--after so many years had gone by--distorted his feelings for her. He felt a strong negative emotion wash over him at the sight of her. He didn't think it was hate, but it was certainly a feeling that left him depressed. And yet, seeing her...For some reason, a hope had been rekindled in his heart, that she had come back to him because she liked him the way he had once liked her. She had told him she'd loved him when he'd taken her to his room. And, after he had revealed what had happened to him, she had seemed so distraught. He hadn't wanted to tell her--in fact, he had wanted her to leave so that he wouldn't have to tell her--but she found out anyway. And the way she'd reacted...her beautiful face close to his, her warm embrace, her tears cascading down his neck. He hadn't wanted to make her feel that way for him. He didn't want her to pity him for what had happened. He didn't want her to think it was all her fault, even if, it seemed, a lot of it was. Somehow, however, all of that had happened. And once Linda had left, Nicholas began crying all over again, a wave of sadness overwhelming him. He was so confused by his emotions--sadness, love, betrayal, distress, pity, and so many other things he could not explain. He didn't know how he felt about seeing Linda again, but he knew all it had done was reopen old wounds. That night, he had tried to go back to his schoolwork, because he could no longer escape reality by reading. But his schoolwork didn't help either. He ended up giving up after ten minutes, unable to concentrate. No one came upstairs to ask who the strange girl had been who had come to visit Nicholas, but Nic had the feeling that they were all wondering who she was and how she knew him. He also knew that he owed Kyo an apology, mostly for leaving him behind in the cafe without explanation. But it would take time before he could speak to anyone again. Nicholas spent most of the next week alone, up in his room. He rarely left, except to eat and to go to the bathroom. At dinner, he was often more quiet than usual, and he tried to avoid speaking with Kyo as much as he could. For some reason, he no longer trusted himself to speak. He still couldn't understand his emotions. One week later, he was finally becoming used to the awkward feelings he had. He was, at least, getting his schoolwork done, studying hard for finals. He figured that it was about time that he apologized to his younger friend, whom he felt guilty about. He knew that Kyo had been worried about him all week. He really owed the little guy. After poring over an American Literature book for nearly 3 hours, Nicholas got up from his desk chair and decided to head downstairs for a snack. He hoped that Kyo was still in the house, because he had come up with an idea to make up for the time he had left Kyo alone. Nic went down to the kitchen, and there, he was lucky to find Kyo. The younger boy was making himself a ham and cheese sandwich. For some reason, the small action made Nicholas feel bad for Kyo. He wondered if the Japanese boy had become accustomed to not having Nic around. He paused before speaking. "Uhh, Kyo?" he said, clearing his throat. He knew his voice was softer than usual, but he figured Kyo would be able to hear him. The younger boy spun around. Before he could say anything, Nicholas was already plunging into a full-fledged apology. "I...I just wanted to say...I'm so sorry that I left you alone that day in Cafe Mocha." He closed his eyes. "And...I mean...for leaving you alone this whole past week." He swallowed, feeling very sorry for the younger boy. "I...it was really inconsiderate of me, but...I think I just needed a little time alone..." He sighed. "I'm so sorry." Looking at Kyo's face across the room from him, he added, "And, I thought--to try and make up for it--maybe...if you wanted to come visit my college with me, or something...I don't want to do anymore schoolwork right now..." Knowing that he full-well didn't deserve the boy's sympathy, he looked down. He couldn't make up for the amount of time he hadn't spent with the young Japanese boy. He just hoped that Kyo didn't hate him for it--then again, he couldn't see Kyo hating anyone.
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Feb 15, 2009 22:57:35 GMT -5
That day, Kyo had gotten up rather late. But he felt it was good...he was awake enough to do his homework for a bit, during the later morning, and when his stomach began gurgling out of hunger desperation, he got up to make himself something to eat.
He was in the kitchen now, preparing a delicious, yet simple sandwich of cheese and ham. Peter knew all the best places for the finest deli meats.
Kyo was just thinking how well a side of soy chips would go with his sandwich (which was primarily cheese and a dab of ham), when he heard someone enter the room. He expected it was Peter, coming in to make some lunch, so naturally, he prepared to turn around and greet his host father.
He was surprised, instead, by who was actually there.
"Uhh, Kyo?"
Forgetting all the intended formalities, Kyo spun sharply around.
Nicholas? Nicholas was coming to talk to him? It seemed weeks had passed without either of the boys saying a word to each other. In fact, Kyo hadn't even so much as run into Nicholas in the house. It had seemed very much that Nicholas had retreated into his attic room, only coming out when he really had to, and remaining--for the past week--very much a loner.
Kyo's thoughts had varied during the course of the week. At first, he had remained adamant in his belief that the woman who had walked into the cafe, whoever she was, had been the cause of Nicholas' reaction. The only cause. However, as the week had passed, he had begun to think that he had something to do with it. He wasn't entirely sure what, but...well...he was the one who Nicholas had been fooling around with when whatever happened happened. Then he had just thought of the whole thing as his personal excuse for feeling sorry for himself, and fed-up, he had tried not to think about it anymore. And now, here was Nicholas. He should have had a little more faith in his friend. He should have known Nicholas would have come to him when he was ready.
Kyo opened his mouth to say something--he wasn't really sure what, he was still so shocked--but Nicholas beat him to the chase.
"I...I just wanted to say...I'm so sorry that I left you alone that day in Cafe Mocha." He closed his eyes. "And...I mean...for leaving you alone this whole past week." He swallowed, feeling very sorry for the younger boy. "I...it was really inconsiderate of me, but...I think I just needed a little time alone..." He sighed. "I'm so sorry."
Kyo's mouth was still open.
Nicholas went on. "And, I thought--to try and make up for it--maybe...if you wanted to come visit my college with me, or something...I don't want to do anymore schoolwork right now..."
Kyo didn't say anything at first. He was totally silent. He even looked away from Nicholas, just for a second or two, so that he could pick up his primarily cheese sandwich. Taking a bite, he responded with his mouth full, "Phooey! Now that...you...finally let me speak..." He swallowed a big lump of the food and sighed. "I just want to say, thank you for apology. It is not so necessary--I do understand. And I would love to join you in the college." He paused and looked to the floor, laughing a little. "Heh heh...even if it is a 'so sorry' gift. You do not have to be sorry, Ni-co-san."
Kyo shook his head. "I do not know the whole story, you do not have to tell me. But I think you do not have to be sorry."
He paused again, then wearing his most innocent expression, asked, "May I ask for a hug?"
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Feb 16, 2009 1:08:23 GMT -5
Kyo’s reaction was hardly what Nicholas expected. At first, the boy was completely silent, just staring at Nicholas. Then, he looked away, picked up his sandwich—which Nicholas could see was comprised mostly of cheese now—and took a big bite of it. The boy spoke with his mouth full.
”Phooey! Now that...you...finally let me speak..." He swallowed a big lump of the food and sighed. "I just want to say, thank you for apology. It is not so necessary--I do understand. And I would love to join you in the college." He paused and looked to the floor, laughing a little. "Heh heh...even if it is a 'so sorry' gift. You do not have to be sorry, Ni-co-san."
Kyo shook his head. "I do not know the whole story, you do not have to tell me. But I think you do not have to be sorry." Nicholas looked at the younger boy for a moment, then bit his lip. Despite what Kyo said, he felt awful for what had happened. Kyo was so eager to forgive him, even though what Nicholas had been doing all week was avoiding the younger boy. Even if Kyo could forgive him for that, guilt still weighed Nicholas down, along with all the stress he had been feeling recently. For some reason, Kyo’s immediate forgiveness of his actions only made Nicholas feel worse.
As he was thinking, he barely noticed what Kyo said next. "May I ask for a hug?"
There was an extremely innocent look on the younger boy’s face. Nicholas stared at him for a moment, then nodded. He slowly moved closer to Kyo, then wrapped his arms around the other boy. While Kyo was close to Nicholas’ height, he was much, much skinnier. Nicholas could easily hold the other boy in his arms. To him, it felt as though he were hugging a little brother, or at least a family member. Over the past few months, the bond between him and Kyo had grown so strong. He’d never thought he could have a friend like Kyo—especially one so much younger than him. He hugged the boy very close for a few moments, then said softly, “I am still very sorry, Kyo…But…thank you…for forgiving me.” He closed his eyes and swayed slowly from side to side, the other boy tightly in his arms.
When they had pulled out of the embrace, Nicholas sighed and gave a small smile. “Do you want to finish your sandwich before we head out? I could make us some hot chocolate.”
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Post by Kyo Suzuki on Feb 25, 2009 12:56:41 GMT -5
Kyo knew Nicholas couldn't hear him, but still he said what he had to say. Maybe that was his underlying reason for saying it anyway.
"So desu ne..." That's right, isn't it? He patted Nicholas lightly on the back, feeling very much like he was supporting the older brother he had never had. "So desu...I know."
By the time they pulled out of the hug, Kyo found himself looking at the clock. They really did have a whole day ahead of them. It was nice, because Kyo had just been pondering how he would go through the motions of yet another day, perhaps just "lazing" around, or helping around the house if Danil and Peter needed it. One could only take so much homework at a time...
“Do you want to finish your sandwich before we head out? I could make us some hot chocolate.”
Kyo's eyes wandered back over to his sandwich, which was lying half-eaten on the kitchen table. He looked silently back at Nicholas, then smirked. "Nooooo, I can bring it with me, no problem. I would leave it for Zoloto, but this I am not sure about. What would Danil think? Does Zoloto take the scraps? I cannot be sure." Kyo picked up the sandwich and took another bite. "I am so serious about this...why, I wonder?" He chuckled. "I will grab-ah my coat and we can go."
Kyo left the room for just that reason, taking small bites out of his primarily-cheese sandwich as he went. It would be good to spend the day with Nicholas, like they had been doing for some time up until the strange girl had come along. The sooner all their unhappiness ebbed away, the better.
One thing was for sure.
Kyo was not going to mention anything recently past. He was sure Nicholas would give him no answer if he asked, and he wasn't sure, curious as he was, he wanted one just yet.
Once Kyo was dressed and ready to go, he returned to the kitchen, where, suddenly feeling absent-minded, he asked, "So, did you still want that hot-ah choco-lat-o?"
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Post by Nicholas Wu on Mar 3, 2009 1:44:55 GMT -5
Nicholas felt the younger boy patting him on the back and shut his eyes even tighter. He had missed the warm feeling he got from hanging out with Kyo. The boy really was a light in the dark, whether he knew it or not.
When they had pulled apart and Nicholas had asked him whether he wanted to finish eating or not, he saw Kyo look at the clock, then at his sandwich.
He smirked. "Nooooo, I can bring it with me, no problem. I would leave it for Zoloto, but this I am not sure about. What would Danil think? Does Zoloto take the scraps? I cannot be sure." Kyo picked up the sandwich and took another bite. "I am so serious about this...why, I wonder?" He chuckled. "I will grab-ah my coat and we can go."
Nicholas chuckled at Kyo's comment. He had a point--even Nicholas wasn't sure if Danil allowed Zoloto to eat leftovers. "OK, it sounds like a plan," he said softly, smiling. When Kyo left to get his coat from the outside hallway, Nicholas went upstairs to get his. For some reason, he had taken it upstairs with him the week before and had not bothered to bring it back downstairs. He also realized that perhaps he would need his backpack. Grabbing it now, he returned back down to the kitchen to wait for Kyo.
When the boy returned, the first thing he said was, "So, did you still want that hot-ah choco-lat-o?"
Nicholas had the feeling that the boy was only saying this because he thought Nicholas really wanted hot chocolate. Nicholas shrugged.
"We can get some when we go out. Something better than anything I can make." He smiled and moved for the door. "Gotta go catch the train," he said softly, hefting his backpack on one shoulder.
The two left Danil's home and headed to the train station, where they caught the next train into the city. The ride was like all their rides together in the past, a little bit of talking, some glances out the window. When they finally arrived in Pittsburgh, they saw a landscape covered in snow. All the buildings gleamed in the brilliant white aura of the city. While the streets were free of the snow, there was still snow stuck to trees and spread across occasional patches of grass. Even the sidewalks were still snow-covered.
Because it was a little too cold to walk all the way to Penn State, Nicholas took Kyo to the subway, where he paid for Kyo on his own monthly metro-card. The two took the subway to the Allegheney region of Pittsburgh, then got off to find themselves in an even more snow-covered landscape. Because the Penn State campus here was surrounded by some greenery, it looked like the two of them had walked into a kind of winter wonderland.
Even though it was the weekend, there were still students wandering around the campus. Nicholas guessed that some of them actually had classes, though he was sure the majority were just students who lived on-campus. He didn't see anyone he knew, so he just led Kyo directly to the main building.
"Well...this is it," he said, shrugging. The main building, from the outside, seemed just like a high school. It only had three floors and looked like a simple building from the front. In the back, there was a more high-tech look--a two-floor study lounge that had floor-to-ceiling windows on the outer wall. But from here, Kyo could not see that.
Nicholas led the way up the walk and into the front of the building, where they entered the front hall. In the front hall, the ceiling was high, though it became lower where the floors above began. The floors were made of an older tile, and the walls were brick. To their right was the front desk and farther ahead on the left were the snack machines. Directly ahead of them was the double stairway that led to the upper floors. Nicholas had so many classes here that he almost felt like he knew the building inside and out.
"Um...anything in particular you want to see?" he asked, suddenly wondering what exactly he could show the younger boy.
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