Remembering CH. 3

     That night I cried myself to sleep. What else was a girl to do when her former best friend has no memory of her and her whole family is gone? It felt like I had nothing left to live for... I woke up the next morning with stinging eyes, mostly because I forgot to take out my contact lenses. 'Damned near-sightedness...' I hated my vision impairment. I always fell asleep with my contacts in and woke up to dry, aching eyes.

     I went to the vanity and put some solution in my eyes, hoping it would replenish the lenses for the day. I quickly showered and pulled my hair into a ponytail, which was how I usually had my hair. Yesterday was the only exception. I pulled on some jeans and a white tshirt, seeing as how I didn't need to get all dressed up today. I threw on my bag and went outside, locking the door behind me. As I walked down the hall, I heard some loud footsteps and yelling, so naturally I turned around to see what the hell was making all the racket and was slammed into by a brick wall.

     "Agh... What the fu-"

     "HEY! You're that girl from yesterday!" I looked up to see that silly-looking boy from the day before. I smiled shyly at him as he smiled at me.

     "Ehh, yeah, I am. I'm Beth." He got up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up and into a bone-crushing hug.

     "Nice to meet ya, Beth! I'm Alfred, the Hero!" He set me down and smiled goofily, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. Hey, he was cute and I just got one of the best hugs ever. Plus, he kind of reminded me of a nicer Gilbert.

     "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Hero."

     "Hey, I like the sound of that... Mr. Hero..." If this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over his head. "Dude, I have the coolest idea ever." He dug around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a phone, which he used to snap a picture of me and started typing some stuff. Then, he handed it to me with that goofy grin. "Put in your number, babe!"

     I blushed lightly at the term, since no one really ever called me that. I nodded and punched in the numbers of my phone, then handed it back. He smiled again and then pulled me into another bear-hug.

     "I gotta go, babe! Seeya later!" And then he was gone. I shook my head, making my way to the cafeteria. Breakfast wasn't going to just show up, you know. As I pushed open the door, a few people looked at me and started whispering. The only things I could hear were 'Gilbert', 'Beth', and 'bitchslap'. Damn right I bitchslapped the ass. I scowled and grabbed a muffin, paid the cashier, then looked around for somewhere to sit. Alfred saw my confused face and waved me over. I smiled and sat down next to him, along with a bunch of random dudes.

     "Alfred, who is she?" One boy, whose eyebrows made me want to touch them, looked oddly at me. I smiled nervously.

     "I'm Beth, the new girl."

     "AND MY BABE." I elbowed him in the ribs, frowning. "Ow! Okay, she isn't... Sheesh..." I smiled and the boy smiled.

     "I'm Arthur, and these are a few other idiots." He gestured one boy who smiled creepily. "That's Ivan," He moved his hand to a girl-ish boy. "Yao," His hand went to a red-head. "And my brother, Ian." I nodded at each of them, secretly wanting to die. Was every guy at this school ridiculously attractive?

     "Don't forget me..." I looked over and a boy with wavy blonde hair who seemed to look like a weird mix of Alfred and Francis smiled shyly. "I'm Matthew."

     "Nice to meet you all." I smiled kindly at all of them, then took a bite of my muffin. Just as I did so, though, I caught Gilbert looking at me. I glared at him from above my muffin and chewed angrily.

     "... Love, is there something wrong?" I blinked. Oh, right, there were people around me.

     "Nah, nothing."

     "Doesn't look like nothing, babe!" Alfred laughed loudly and I shook my head, smiling. Man, I have a weird choice of friends... The bell rang and everyone poured out of the cafeteria. First period went by quickly, since neither Romano nor Antonio bothered me. Second period, not so much.

     I got changed into the tshirt and athletic shorts provided, then went to sit down at the bleachers. Francis was yelling at Gilbert about something, and then pointed to me. I looked at them- mostly at Gilbert- and glared. Gilbert yelled back at Francis, who sighed in return and walked over to me.

    "Mon cheri, how did you deal with him as a kid?"

    "Easy, I threw mud at him." He smiled at me and I smiled back. "He used to be a lot nicer, you know. We used to sit in the grass and talk about how cool nature was. Well, he said it was awesome." I chuckled at the memories of when Gil and I were friends. We were only kids, but inseperable. "He was so protective of me, too. Once, a boy pulled on my hair and he threw a rock at the kid." I laughed, and Francis did too. We left to get changed and then we walked together to Biology, leaving Gilbert in the dust. For once, I didn't care about him.

     The rest of the day went by smoothly, and I sat as far as I could from Gilbert, who didn't seem to mind, but kept looking at me, which I glared at him in return. The final bell rang and I left the room in a hurry, hoping to get past the trio. But you know, as I said before, Life hates me.

     "Chica~!"

     "Mon cheri!"

     I turned around to see Antonio and Francis running towards me. Gil wasn't with them, so I stopped and smiled at them.

     "Chica, do you want to hang out with us?"

     "... Is Gilbert going to be there?"

     "Non, not for a good hour. He had somewhere to be, and we're going to be in our dorm!" Francis smiled like he hadn't a care in the world, and hey, if I got to hang out with some cute guys in their dorm, I was up for it.

     "Sure, I guess. I don't have anything to do."

     "Bueno! Vamanos, chica!" Antonio dragged me to their dorm, Francis right behind us. Once inside, we all sat down and started chatting. In the middle of our laughter, the door opened and Gilbert stood in the doorway. I looked at him and he looked at me, confusion written all over his face.

     "... What's she doing here?"

     "What, don't want me here?"

     "I didn't mean it that way..."

     "Right, whatever. I've got to get back to my dorm." I grabbed my bag and stood up, but Francis and Antonio gave each other a look before tackling me and pinning me down. "WHAT THE HELL GUYS. GET OFF." I flailed around, and Gilbert just stood there.

     "Non, not until you forgive Gilbert."

     "Why in the hell should I?" They were quiet and I started struggling some more.

     "Because I think he deserves another chance, chica!" I glared at Antonio, who smiled as always. I looked at Gilbert, who was staring the whole time. He looked away and grumbled something.

     "I don't think he does. And even if he did, he'd have to ask me himself for one." I rolled my eyes and struggled again, this time they didn't hold me back. I huffed, fixing my shirt and readjusting my bag. I looked at Gilbert, who was frowning, looking unsure. "Listen, Gil." He looked at me, surprised that I was using his nickname. "If you really want my forgiveness, tell me something about myself from when we were kids, and then I'll forgive you. But, you have to find it out on your own. Okay?" My tone was gentle, which made the trio rather confused. I looked at Antonio and Francis, smiling and trying not to cry again. I waved bye and ran out of the dorm room, wiping tears from my face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     "Man, she's just..."

     "She's cute~" Francis and Gilbert gave Antonio a 'look'. He just smiled. "What? She is!"

     "How am I supposed to find out something about her if I don't remember her?" Gilbert rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, muttering curses under his breath. Francis smiled.

     "Well, she told me some stuff~"

     "What'd she say?!" Gilbert sounded too excited, making his friends snicker. "I mean, erm, what'd you find out?"

     "You heard her, mi amigo! You have to find out for yourself~"

     "AGH."