Newfound Love

Chapter Twenty-Six: Back to Ozette

"Presea, you need to eat," Genis coaxed as the pink-haired girl sat on the couch, staring into nothingness.

"There is no purpose in eating. It is nothing but an illogical use of time. It reduces daylight use by 17%," she replied in a monotone. Genis sighed heavily.

"Presea....please," he added seriously. She turned her empty, cobalt eyes to him, not revealing anything. There was so much Genis would give just to see the smallest shred of emotion in her eyes. She took the bowl from his outstretched hand slowly, cautiously, as if it would jump out and attack her.

"Understood," she finally said. Eyeing it with an unfocused stare, Presea slowly took a bite. Steady, mechanic spoonfuls found their way into her mouth, and Genis' shoulders slumped in relief. She's been so stubborn lately, he thought. She...wasn't her. Genis left her to eat on the couch and returned back to the actual kitchen where everyone had begun eating.

"Did you get her to eat?" Raine asked, shoveling eggs into her mouth. Genis rubbed the back of his head before sitting down.

"Yeah...she's being pretty stubborn. Raine...I miss her," he added sadly.

"Come on Genis! Cheer up! We're going to see Dirk after breakfast and he can help us make the key crest," Colette chimed with her usual optimism.

"What about you, Colette? With your sickness at the same time..." Genis trailed off, poking his eggs.

"Don't worry about it! We got the zircon, so we can take a small break. Let's get Presea back to normal first, okay?" the angel smiled. Lloyd, sitting beside her, tried to talk around his mouthful of food.

"Yeah, my dad will know what to do!" he announced confidently. Genis smiled a bit and nibbled on his toast, not having much of an appetite.

"Lloyd...you...ugh, never mind," Genis mumbled.

"You know, brat, when you start off something, you gotta finish it," Zelos commented in a "duh" tone. Genis pulled on his silver wisps, sighing.

"Well....Lloyd, you remember what it was like when Colette lost her heart. It's like that...but maybe even worse because I know she willingly returned to living hell," he explained, tugging on all the hair falling in front of his eyes, the dull ache giving him a distraction from the immense emotional pain.

"Sheesh, Genis, you need to eat. If she's eating, you need to as well," Sheena said, quickly changing the subjects. However, one glance at Lloyd and his pained expression let him know that he understood. Without another word, everyone finished their breakfasts.

Even though no words came out of his mouth, thousands bounced around his head, all revolving around Presea. It was almost like he had restarted, which in a way he had. The butterflies always swarmed in the pitt of his stomach when he talked to her, and being around her made him nervous. The ache in his heart to hold her hand got conflicted with his brain's logic that she would not appreciate it in this state. His mind kept replaying memories of the real Presea: her soft lips on his, her petite arms that seemed like they were made to wrap around him, her delicate head lying on his shoulder. He could lie with her head on his chest all day, playing with her silky pink locks while she laid there, a content smile on her face. He missed waking up and the first thing to greet him was her sleeping figure, huddled up to him with a small smile on her face, taking in steady breaths. Her scent would come with every breath he drew, sweet and savory. With every shift he would make she would let loose a short, tired sigh and move to get closer to him. Genis missed all these things so bad it hurt, and it had barely been a day. Leaning back slightly to look past Sheena, he saw her sitting on the couch, hands folded neatly in her lap instead of the usual where she would move them to her sides, or her eyes, once beautiful and sparkling now dead and empty. Even her hair, normally in her signature pigtails was different as she no longer had the will to care about putting it up. Instead it cascaded down her back like a waterfall, the usually prominent bangs and shorter pieces of hair by her ears blended in with the rest, giving her a whole different demeanor. The cruxis crystal shone almost evilly by the base of her neck, as if gloating what it had done to her. The poison of the crystal showed in the area of flesh around the gem was deformed grotesquely. Why couldn't it had been me? I would die to take her out of this misery, he thought. As everyone finished their breakfasts (or in Genis' case, cleaned up), the half elf walked over to Presea.