A Gem of Souls

Chapter Two

Anya fell backward onto the plush bed and sighed in content. She really loved this room, it was relaxing and always smelled so wonderful - like, a huge field of flowers on a mid-Spring day.

"Seriously, you do this every time you come in here." Scarlett said with a smirk as she calmly walked over and sat next to her best friend.

"That's because you have the best bed on the planet!" Anya yelled giddily and sighed happily, folding her hands behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. "Besides, you know you enjoy my craziness! How else would you get excitement in life if I'm not always there to keep you on your toes? Seriously woman, you need to loosen up."

Scarlett rolled her eyes and plopped down onto her back. "You know I would but....the world can't handle more than one of you in it."

Anya quickly sat up, gasping and holding a hand to her heart as if the comment hurt her. After a moment of quiet, her lips started twitching against the strain of holding back her laughter. Soon the whole house - possibly the world - could hear her loud gafaws as she held her stomach against the slow building pain in her ribs from laughing too hard.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment!" She says, raising her nose in the air and acting like the royals she'd seen on TV. "Geeze, why can't you be like this around everyone? Seriously, so many more people would love your quirky side if you just spoke every now and then."

"You know I can't do that...." Scarlett mumbled quietly.

"Right, because you're shy! You know how to fix that?" Scarlett raised an eye as her best friend spoke with all seriousness. "Don't be shy anymore."

"Easy for you to say, nothing makes you nervous." Scarlett said, pursing her lips in thought.

"So not true, I'm nervous all the time...I just refuse to let people see it." Anya said with a confdent nod. "Also, it helps to be a theater kid."

Scarlett laughed at the last statement as a thought occured to her. "Wait! You get nervous?! Since when?"

"Each and every show week I stop eating, it's like food has no relevance for me. I can't look at it, think about it, or even hear about it without feeling awkward. It's like my mind is so focused on getting through the show that I just don't need food. But water....man, I drink water like it's from God himself! You have no idea how many times a day I have to pee during show week!" Anya said and Scarlett quickly smacked her shoulder.

"No one wants to hear about that! Ew, how much do you need to overshare?" She demanded, laughing a little.

"Oh, come on. You and I both know my lack of filter keeps you entertained...even though most of the conversation is uncomfortable to the normal populace." Anya said with a smirk, completely serious.

"Wow, I don't know if I should be scared of you right now or not." Scarlett said shaking her head and laying back down to stare at the ceiling - so many thoughts in her her head.

It wasn't the first time she wondered about her father, but he did seem to be poping up into her thoughts more and more lately. She wondered who he was. Did he not want her? Was he part of the military and didn't have time for family? Or did he not even know about her? She was too scared to ask her mom any questions. Mostly due to the fact that every time Scarlett would even come close to mentioning something about the man who helped bring her into this world sent her mother to a dark place - she'd pretend nothing was wrong, but Scarlett saw right through her mother's careless facade. Maybe there was some way to locate him...if only she had a name to search!

Seriously, her mother didn't have a picture or a name to give her! She'd just said, "It's complicated," and nothing more. It's like her mother was deliberately trying to keep her from ever meeting the man. Why would she do that?! It's not like Scarlett would choose him over her own mother, the woman who's raised her for all these years. Alone, for that matter. And it's not like he was a bad man...or was he? Could he have been a dangerous man who hurt her mother and Maria had to run and hide just to get away from him?

No, that couldn't be possible. What little Scarlett got from her mother told her she'd loved the man with all her heart. If only she could have gotten a name or something...

Sensing that her best friend was back in her own world, Anya quietly laid down next to her and shut her eyes to think. She was worried for Scarlett. Her best friend seemed to go deeper and deeper into herself every day and it was killing her not to know what was going on. Of course, she may have been thinking about her father again...or a test coming up. Who really knows with Scarlett?

She quickly peeked oveer at her best friend and saw she was still staring at the ceiling.

Okay, enough is enough! She thought to herself. It's time to lift Scarlett's spirits and I'm just the right person to do it. She needs me and I can't let her down....she needs fun!

"Okay, get up you lazy bones! We're going to a party." Anya said, jumping up quickly to her feet.

Scarlett sighed and looked over, raising an eyebrow. "And who's having a party on a Wednesday?"

"Uh, everyone? Seriously, today was the last day of school and Summer has officially begun. There's like, ten parties tonight in this area alone. Don't even get me started about the neighboring towns." Anya said, giving Scarlett a challenging look.

With a sigh Scarlett slowly rose to her feet. "Fine, but I don't promise to have fun...or to dress up."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about either of those with me." Anya said with an evil smirk, making Scarlett gulp.

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Heyo guys! Look at all of you lovely people so wonderful and happy...

Anyways, lostinWonders and Chocobumble here with this new story for you fantastic people. So, I guess this is the part where I lay on the questions....what do you think so far? Is the story interesting to you? How do you feel about Scarlett and Anya? Their friendship? Do you think Scarlett will find out the truth about her father?

Don't forget to show us your love through a vote and/or comment! We love getting to hear from you.