Vibrant Eyes

Chapter 14 - Reunion

Clubbing... something that I hated and never wanted to do, but unfortunately the gang had something else in mind. "OI PEOPLE WE'RE GOING CLUBBING!" I heard Haruto yell from the lounge. "Clubbing?" Kuragari said from his room. "CLUBBING?!" Saturn said excitingly from her room and ran out. "CLUBBING!" Haru yelled. I opened my door. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yelled and slammed the door. Ryou opened my door and dragged me outside. "Come on~ it'll be fun!" He said with a smile. "Fun for you maybe..." I mumbled.

Everyone went back into their room to change. I changed into black jeans with a black belt around my waist. I wore a long leather coat and black combat boots as well as a white long sleeve shirt with a yin and yang necklace. I wore two rings, one on my middle finger and one on my pointing finger. I sighed looking at myself in the mirror. Salem walked towards me and tilted his head. "Alright... you can come." He wagged his tail and walk towards my cupboard.

"Thanks bud, almost forgot about that." I attached a hidden blade to my wrist and hid it under my sleeve. "Let's go," Me and Salem walked out of my room.

"WOAH ALANA YOU LOOK AMAZING!" Saturn yelled at me. "Please stop..." I said with a sigh. She laughed. "Salem coming?" Haruto asked me. I nodded.

"Alright, he should hide though. I don't think the club allows animals." I looked at Salem as he merged into my shadow. Haru had taught me how to merge with my familiar using my shadow. Definitely came in handy in a lot of situations.

"Alright, lets head out then yeah?" Ryou said as he opened the door. We all left the house and locked it. It was 4pm so the sun was still out. Everyone looked back at me. "...What? Do I have something on my face?" I glared at everyone once I realized what was going on. "You guys don't know how to get to the city do you...?"

They all nodded. "Follow me," I said with a sigh.

We made it to the heart of the city. "I hate the city with a passion," I said to Kuragari. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." He patted my shoulder. "Hopefully," I responded. We all walked around before finding somewhere to stop for dinner. It was now 6pm. We walked into the restaurant and sat down. I sat next to Haru as I looked outside the window. The restaurant was built like a pub almost. It had a bar as well as tables that had couches on both sides. We were able to get a table in the corner big enough to fit all of us. Everyone ordered their food, I ordered a glass of water. "Not hungry?" Saturn asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah, I ate lunch before we left," I stated. Everyone got their food and started to chat.

We all laughed and smiled as we drank and ate our food. Suddenly, I felt as if a familiar presence was near me. I looked around but couldn't make out what it was. It was now 7pm. I looked over at a table not too far from mine, and then I saw her. Dakota was sat with Zach and Bailey. We locked eyes. she stood up from her table and stared at me. "Haru, I need to leave," I said quickly. "Oh? All good," He jumped up so I could get out of the seat. I put my facemask on and walked out of the restaurant. I pulled out my phone and texted Kuragari that I was getting some fresh air. I walked and walked as my mind ran through different questions.

'Why was she here? Why did she have to be here? This is why I don't go to the city' I thought to myself. I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. I stopped.

"Alana...?" I looked behind me and saw Dakota standing there with shocked eyes.

I turned to face her. "...Hi..." I said. She looked down. "Can we talk...?" Dakota said with desperate eyes. "No... I don't really want to talk right now," I responded with a sigh. "Alana please." She looked at me. "I SAID..." I quieted down.

"I said I don't want to talk." Dakota kept pushing me and pushing me.

"Please I just want to talk... what's so bad about that?" I didn't respond. I kept looking down at the ground.

I never thought I'd see her again. After the years I've been through, now almost being 19, not once did I ever think about seeing her again, but here we were.

"Look, I'm sorry ok? At least give me a chance to explain..." I cut her off.

"No, you listen." I stepped towards her and she flinched, backing away. I stopped. "You're afraid of me..." I said quietly. We stood there in silence.

"I-I'm not!... I just..." Dakota looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry... please," she said as the tears fell down her cheek.

"I can't... I can't be with you Dakota." I took a step back. "But why!?" She called to me. I sighed.

"I've gotten myself into unimaginable trouble, and hanging around you will put you in danger..." I looked her in the eyes. "You were the one who accepted me when no one else did back in high school. I thank you for that. I don't know what I would've done without you Dakota." I looked up at the dark sky as tears fell from my eyes.

"Alana please! I can help you..." I lashed out at her.

"TAKE THE HINT DAKOTA! I CAN'T BE SEEN WITH YOU! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" I yelled at her. I knew that's not what I thought, but I knew that pushing her away like this would be the only way to get her away from me. It would benefit the both of us. "Is that how you truly feel...?" She said shakily. I nodded. She cried. "I will always be your friend Alana... no matter what." Dakota looked down at the ground as tears fell from her eyes. My heart burst as I saw my broken friend standing before me. I sighed and walked to her side. I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Me too..." I said last thing before walking away, leaving her there.

I walked to the restaurant, seeing Kuragari standing outside with Haru. Kuragari waved me over. "Alana there you are! Everyone else is inside," Haru said to me but I didn't respond. "Alana...?" Kuragari said placing a hand on my shoulder. I flinched and looked up at him. Immediately he embraced me in a warm hug. I broke down crying, tears soaking into his black denim jacket. He laid his head on top of mine as he calmed me down. Haru patted Kuragari's back and walked back inside. We hugged for a while before he let me go. "Was that Dakota who followed you...?" I nodded. "I told her to stay away from me," I said. He hugged me. "You did the right thing, I know its hard." Kuragari looked down at me. "For her, or for me...?" I asked Kuragari. I didn't want an answer, I just wanted to be comforted.

We all decided to head back to camp and call it a night. It was now 12am. Everyone was laughing and smiling, Haruto and Ryou being a bit tipsy. I walked by my brothers' side as we walked back to camp. The crickets chirped as we walked into the camp. Sage welcomed us and took Haru to check on the patients. Everyone else went inside. Saturn stopped and looked back at me. "You coming inside?" She asked me. I shook my head. "I'll be back later... I need a walk." I walked back into the forest and waved to her. I walked through the forest and made it to my favorite place. I sat on the cliff and dangled my legs off the edge. Salem jumped out of my shadow and laid next to me with a whine. I smiled and patted him.

"You'll always be there for me... right?" Salem's ears pricked up and he wagged his tail in response. I looked out at the half-moon. The stars sparkled in the purple and blue sky.

A few hours past and the moon was at its peak. I smiled.

"Being out here with you helps a lot..." I said as I patted Salem. I heard a snap of a twig. I knew who it was. "Thought I'd find you here," Saturn said as she sat next to me. I sighed. "You know me well." I smiled at her slightly. Seeing her bright smile always made my day. "You gonna sleep out here?" She said with a laugh. I shrugged. "Probably." She stood up.

"Alrighty then! We need to make a campfire." Saturn started to gather up fire wood. I laughed slightly at her sudden movements. Salem jumped up and walked around to find a good place to sleep again. "You're sleeping out here with me?" I asked. She nodded. "Mhm! What, thought I'd leave you by yourself?" I laughed. "Understandable." We managed to get a fire going using Saturn's flame abilities and sat next to it. A few minutes past and she laid down.

"I'm gonna go to bed. Nighty night Alana," She said with a smile. I smiled back.

"Goodnight Saturn."