'I couldn't tell her how I felt,' Arine thought to herself as she watched her favorite anime beside Mia. 'If only there was some way to know how Mia feels.' Arine looked back at the television screen. 'The main characters of the anime are possibly a couple. Could that be why it's Mia's favorite anime? Does she identify with the heroine like I do?' "Arine?" said Mia. "Are you feeling all right?" "Yes. Just fine," Arine said. "You seem to have something on your mind." "I'm just watching the anime." Mia looked at Arine, examining the expression on the blonde's face. "I know that look," said the brunette. Arine became nervous. 'Does she know about me?' she feared. "What?" Arine asked, acting innocent. "What look?" "It's the look of someone that is contemplating," Mia replied. "You're trying to figure out how someone feels for another." 'She does know!' the blonde thought to herself. 'Please don't hate me, Mia!' "You're trying to figure out if the main characters are in love with each other!" said the brunette enthusiastically. In a flash, all of Arine's anxiety flew out the window. "Yeah," she lied. "That's right." "I've often wondered about them too," said Mia, turning back to the television screen. "It's too bad we never find out if they're lesbians or not." "Yeah," Arine agreed. She turned back to the television screen as well. That night, Arine watched Mia sleep for a moment as usual. "Too bad we never find out," Arine said to herself. The blonde was beginning to wonder if she should tell Mia how she felt. ---------- Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Arine's alarm clock went off. The blonde groggily sat up in bed and turned off her alarm. After rubbing her eyes for a moment, Arine looked over at Mia's bed. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Arine was surprised by the second alarm sound for a moment. An arm reached out from under Mia's covers and turned off the alarm clock that was going off. Mia groggily sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as well. Mia looked over to the other side of the room and saw Arine staring back at her. Both girls smiled, happy that they had the opportunity to see each other before class. ---------- "I'm glad we're together this morning," said Mia as she and Arine sat down for breakfast. "Me too," the taller girl replied. "Do you have European Literature this morning?" asked the brunette. "Yeah," said Arine. "Yay!" Mia suddenly exclaimed. "We're sharing a class!" Having become accustomed to Mia's unusually outgoing nature, Arine simply smiled and said, "I'm glad." "What other classes do you have?" asked Mia. "Let's see," said Arine, thinking about her weekly schedule. "Not including the classes yesterday, I have Astronomy and Mineralogy." "I have Mineralogy too!" said Mia. "I don't have Astronomy, but I do have Astrology." "Astronomy and Astrology are very different things, Mia." "That doesn't mean I can't believe in both." The girls took a moment to eat some of their food. "So," said Mia, "you're into the sciences, huh?" "Among other things," replied Arine. "I had World History and Performing Arts yesterday." "But I'll bet you're more into math and science than anything else." "They're my best subjects. But what I really enjoy is a good book. I thought that European Lit would open me up to more interesting stories." "Now that I think about it, I don't know very much about European stories either." Another one of her cute smiles spread across Mia's face as she said, "This should be fun!" "I think so too," said Arine, smiling back at her roommate. ---------- As 8:00 AM rolled around, Mia and Arine sifted their way through the crowd of students that were entering the lecture hall with them, preparing for their first European Literature class. After finding two empty seats next to one another, Mia and Arine sat down together. "How much do you know about European literature, Arine?" asked the shorter girl, making conversation until it was time for class to start. "Not much except for British literature. I know a bit about Beowulf from high school, but that's about it." "Well, I guess that's why we're in this class, to learn more about the literature of Europe." Just then, a man walked to the front of the class. Even though he was probably at least 30 years old, he wore his hair down to below his shoulders, giving him a college-student air about him. His hair was a very light blond, almost silver. "Hello, class," he spoke up. "Welcome to European Literature class. I am Professor Mustanen, I will be your instructor for the semester." Arine could detect the slightest hint of a Nordic accent in the professor's voice. "I am sure that most of you are familiar with William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde," Mustanen continued. "Raise your hands if you have heard of them." Almost all of the students in the lecture hall raised their hands. "I thought so," said Mustanen. "The early part of our class will deal with British authors. About a quarter of the way through, our attention will turn to Eastern Europe, places like Germany, Greece, and Scandinavia." As Arine and Mia listened to their instructor, they were unaware of the young man in the back row of the lecture hall. His eyes fixated on the young brunette several rows in front of him and his jaw dropped. 'It can't be... ' the boy thought. ---------- Class was let out at 9:45. "I was right," Mia said. "This is gonna be an interesting class. We're gonna read things from Finland and Sweden. We don't usually hear things from those countries." "I can't wait until we get to Eastern Europe," said Arine. "Mia?" the voice of a young man called behind them. Mia and Arine turned to see a young man with black hair running up to them. "Mia Carver?" she asked. Mia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped just as the young man had at the beginning of class. "Sam Lancestor, is that you?" The boy smiled and nodded. A huge smile appeared on Mia's face and she threw herself into Sam, both of them embracing and laughing with joy. 'Does Mia know this boy?' Arine wondered. "How've you been, you little elf?" Sam asked. "I've been doing great," Mia replied. "I didn't know you were going to Oceanside." "It's great to see you again." "Same here." It was at that time that Sam noticed the blond-haired girl staring at them. Mia looked in the direction that Sam was looking and she realized that she had not introduced her friends to each other. "Oh! How stupid of me!" the brunette cried. "Arine, this is my old friend, Sam. Sam, this is my roommate Arine. Sam smiled at the taller girl and held out his hand to her. "A pleasure, Arine," she said. "Nice to meet you, Sam," Arine said, timidly shaking Sam's hand. "So," she asked. "How do you know Mia?" "We grew up together," Sam explained. "My parents were usually away on business, so I stayed over at Mia's house most of the time." Sam wrapped an arm around Mia's back and rested his hand on the shorter girl's opposite shoulder. "By the time were eight," he continued, "I was practically a member of the family." Arine became somewhat uncomfortable seeing Sam with his arm around her Mia. "Ah," she said, acting as calm as she could. "I see." Mia turned to Sam and said, "I was so sad when you left. Why'd you have to move all the way to New York?" "My parents thought they were neglecting me, going away all the time. When they got permanent jobs on the East Coast, they brought me along so that we could always be together. But it was cold during the winters, so I decided to go to college on the West Coast. I had no idea that I would run into you again." Feeling unwanted as Mia and Sam talked with each other, Arine said, "I have to be getting to Astronomy class." "Already?" Mia asked. "It starts at ten o'clock," replied Arine. "I'll talk to you guys later." "Okay," said Mia. "Bye, Arine." "Nice to have met you," Sam said. Arine started walking toward her next class while Mia and Sam walked off in their own direction. ---------- Just like the day before, Arine felt bored in the classes she did not share with Mia. 'Mia and Sam,' the blonde thought to herself. 'They definitely get along well. But the way they acted when they saw each other. Maybe the way they acted was the way that siblings act. They were childhood friends. Or is it more than that?' Arine sighed as she worried about the possible results of Mia being reunited with her old friend. ---------- As Arine entered the cafeteria for lunch, she could not find Mia sitting anywhere. Arine simply sat down at an empty table and started eating. As she ate, the blonde happened to look at the entrance of the cafeteria when Mia and Sam walked in. Seemingly too lost in conversation to notice Arine, the two friends simply walked to the vending area adjacent to the dining hall. "You're reading too much into it," Arine said to herself, closing her eyes, trying to calm herself. "They're just friends." Doing her best not to think about it, Arine simply continued eating her lunch. "Hi, Arine," said Mia as she and Sam approached Arine's table. "Mia and I were just talking about you," Sam said as he and Mia sat down. "What were you saying about me?" the blonde asked. "I was telling Sam about how we both like anime so much," said Mia. "It seems that ever since he learned my parents found me in Japan, he became interested in Japanese culture as well." "That was right before my parents and I moved to New York," the boy said. "It was there that my own affinity for anime really started." "I see," said Arine, again uncomfortable by how well Mia and Sam were getting along. "In fact," Sam continued, "we just got back from your room. I'm still new to anime, so Mia showed me a few of her series." "I hope you don't mind," Mia said, "but I introduced him to some of your mangas, too." Arine was surprised and a little startled by what Mia had said. 'She showed him my mangas?' Not wanting Mia and Sam to know that she was uncomfortable, Arine said, "No, that's okay. No problem." Sam seemingly could sense Arine's discomfort as he asked, "Are you okay, Arine?" "Oh, don't worry about her," Mia said. "She's always like this." Arine became self-conscious as Mia talked about her insecurity and she took a sip from her cup, trying to distract herself from her own discomfort. "She doesn't work well in crowds," Mia explained. "Maybe we should let her be?" Sam suggested. "Oh, don't say that," the brunette said. "She may be shy, but she opens up after a while." "That's okay, Mia," said Arine. "You seem to have fun with Sam. I'm just a third wheel." "But Arine..." said Mia. "Really. It's okay," the taller girl reassured her friend. "I'm fine." There was a brief pause. Mia shrugged and said, "If you say so." Sam and Mia picked up their trays and stood up. "We won't be far," said Mia. "Just come over if you wanna talk." "Thank you Mia," Arine said, "but I'm fine." Sam walked over to a nearby table with Mia following closely behind. Arine watched as Mia and Sam talked, the blonde becoming more concerned about the relationship that they shared. ---------- As Arine, Mia, and Sam exited the cafeteria after lunch, Mia said, "Sam and I have to go off to Astrology class now." "Okay," said Arine. "I'll see you guys later." "See you at Mineralogy in a couple hours?" asked the shorter girl. "Yeah," replied the blonde. "See you then." Arine watched Mia and Sam walk off to their next class before she turned away and started back to her dormitory room. When she got back, Arine lied down on her bed and opened her manga to where she had left off the other day. As she was reading, Arine's mind drifted back to Mia and Sam. 'It is more than friendship, isn't it?' she thought, remembering how she was so easily shut out. 'Sam is in love with Mia, and Mia obviously cares for Sam as well. Maybe if I had told Mia how I felt last night, she wouldn't have fallen for Sam. But how could I have told her?' she wondered. 'She would have thought I was weird, both of us being girls. Besides, how can I compete with a childhood friend? But still...I still love her.' Arine shook her head, trying not to feel sorry for herself. "No," she said to herself, "I shouldn't think like that. There must be some way to be with Mia. And if she doesn't feel the same way, at least I can still have Mia, even if only as a friend." ---------- Arine and Mia entered Mineralogy class at 2:00 PM. As Arine looked around, she noticed, "Sam isn't here?" "No," said Mia. "Sam's not into science. He's more of a spiritual, artistic person." "Spiritual?" Arine asked. "He's one of those people that believes in fate," the brunette explained. "He believes that in this world, there is only one right person for everyone, and that fate will bring those people together." Mia was in a dreamlike state as she talked about Sam's beliefs. She then turned to her roommate and asked, "What about you? Do you believe that fate will being you to the one person who is right for you?" Arine thought for a moment, not expecting to have been posed that question. She did feel that Mia was the perfect one for her. They got along so well and she had fallen in love with her so quickly. However, Mia seemed to show no interest in Arine at all in the way that she wanted her to. In the end, Arine decided to answer, "I don't know. There are times that I thought I had met the right person for me. But, none of those relationships worked out." Mia looked at Arine for a moment. "I think you're still searching for the right one for you." "You think so?" Arine asked. "Yes," replied Mia. "I do." Arine knew that she did want to believe in fate. If Mia could not love her the same way she loved Mia, Arine had no choice but to believe that the one for her was waiting somewhere in the world. "I suppose I AM looking for the one who is just for me," she replied. "I think I may have found the one who is just for me," Mia said. Arine became upset, thinking that Mia was talking about Sam. "But I can't be sure," Mia continued. "It may be nothing." Arine became reassured when she realized that Mia had not completely decided if Sam was the one for her. 'Maybe there's still hope,' she thought. The Mineralogy professor was a middle-aged man, wearing a suit and tie, typical of a college professor. "Bonjour, students," he said in a jovial voice, "My name is Pierre Doulin. However, because of the field that I teach, many of my students and fellow teachers have contracted my name to Peridot." Several of the students laughed at the play on words. The professor smiled and said, "I see that some of you already know that peridot is a mineral." "'Professor peridot'," Mia smiled. "Funny." "Yeah," said Arine. "It is funny." ---------- The end of September saw the beginning of rain. Arine kept a photograph of her and Mia at the beach to remind her of better days. 'The weather was certainly nice that day,' the blonde thought, looking at the photograph in her hand. 'It was the day I got to know Mia.' Looking out of her dorm window, she thought, 'Today is not the sunny day it was two weeks ago.' She moved closer to the window and looked up at the clouds. 'You're crying for me, aren't you Sky?' she asked. Plagued by the uncertainty of her relationship with Mia, Arine was determined to make things better. "Then that's it!" she said. "I'm gonna tell Mia how I feel! No matter the consequences, I have to get it off my chest. Only then can I be sure about myself." As Arine finished talking to herself, the door opened. Arine saw Mia standing outside the door, but she did not walk in right away. She was talking with Sam. "What do you think?" Sam asked. "I think it's a great idea!" Mia said happily. "Thanks." "Okay. See you later, Mia." Sam walked away and Mia entered the room. "Arine!" the cheerful brunette cried. "Sam's throwing me a birthday party!" "Really?" Arine said. "Yeah. It's at his house off-campus." Before she forgot her determination, Arine said, "Mia, there's something I have to--" "It's gonna be an all night thing," Mia interrupted Arine. "Movies, pizza, the works. Sam and I are inviting all our friends. I would love it if you would come. Even some of Sam's friends want you to come." "His friends?" Arine asked. "It seems that a lot of people agree with me. You're cute." "Oh," said Arine, crestfallen. "I'm sorry," said Mia. "I think I cut you off. What was it you were trying to say?" Arine's determination had faded. "It's nothing," she said. "You've been very quiet lately," said Mia, sitting down next to Arine. "You wanna talk?" "No, that's okay," said Arine, trying to reassure her friend. "You know me. I can deal with things on my own." Arine could sense that Mia did not believe her, but as usual, she gave Arine the benefit of the doubt. "So," said the brunette. "You wanna come to the party?" "I'll think about it," Arine replied. "Okay. Well..." Mia yawned. "...I'm gonna rest for a while." "All right," the blonde acknowledged. Mia took off her sandals and slipped under the covers of her bed. Arine looked back out the window at the falling rain. 'Sam's friends want me there because I'm cute?' she thought. 'Mia wouldn't tell me that if she was interested in me. It would drive me away from a relationship with her.' The blonde sighed, her hopes dashed. 'Mia, I love you. I can't bear seeing you and Sam together. It's too painful. It would be best if I didn't go.' Looking back at a sleeping Mia, Arine thought, 'Sorry Mia, but I can't go to the party.' ---------- 2 weeks later was the 14th of October, Mia's 19th birthday. Arine was reading her manga while Mia excitedly searched her wardrobe for something nice to wear. Having stripped out of everything except her pink, lacy lingerie, Mia held up a white, frilly halter top in her right hand and a red, strapless top with tassels in her left hand. "Arine, which one of these do you think I should wear?" the brunette asked, holding up the tops for Arine to see. "The white halter, or the strapless with the tassels?" "Both of them look so beautiful, Mia," Arine said. "I don't think I can choose." "I might as well go with the strapless," Mia said to herself. "That way I can wear my pearl necklace. It gets uncomfortable when I wear straps over a necklace." After putting on her strapless top, Mia slipped into a white, frilly skirt that actually seemed to fit the white, frilly halter than she had put away. "I'll use the frills on the skirt." "Always like you to know exactly what to wear," said Arine "Are you sure you don't want to come?" Mia asked. "I really should work on my monologue for Performing Arts," Arine lied. "Okay," Mia said. "But I still think it's a mistake." The brunette went to her desk and picked up a piece of paper. As she gave the paper to Arine, the blonde saw that it was a map. "Here's directions to Sam's house in case you change your mind," said Mia. "The city bus makes regular rounds so you should have no trouble getting there. Just then, there was a knock on the door. 'That must be Sam,' Arine thought to herself. Mia went to the door and opened it. "Hi, Sam," she smiled. "You look beautiful," the black-haired, young man said at seeing Mia. Arine did her best not to listen to Sam's comment. "See you later, Arine," said Mia as she and Sam started walking away. "Bye," the blonde said as the door closed. It was difficult for Arine to keep her composure. It was only after the door had fully closed that Mia could not hear Arine's sobs and the blonde threw herself down on the bed, crying her eyes out. ---------- There were more people at Sam's house than Mia had expected. The brunette had expected only about 15 people since there were 5 friends in her crowd as well as 6 friends that she and Sam shared. However, there were almost 30 attendants at the party. Although she was much better with crowds than her roommate, something did not seem right with so many people there. "Hey, Mia," a red-haired, bearded college student said, approaching her. "Is your friend here?" "You mean Arine?" said Mia. "No. She says she's working on a monologue for her Performing Arts class." "Ah, man," the bearded man moaned. "And I waited all week to ask her out!" The man obviously was not there to celebrate Mia's birthday, and he was met with a scowl from the birthday girl. "Happy birthday, Mia," said the man before Mia decided to expel him from the party. Having saved himself from getting wet in the pouring rain outside, he retreated back into the crowd of partiers and continued to enjoy himself. "How are you doing?" Mia heard Sam's voice behind her. "I'm fine, Sam," replied the brunette. "That guy wasn't hitting on you, was he?" "He was actually wondering if Arine was here. All of the guys that have approached me were wondering about Arine. It's my birthday, you would think that at least one of them would be interested in me." "I guess they're here just because it's a party. You know how college kids are. But this is a party for you. Maybe we should get away from the crowd for a while. Shall we go to my room for a moment? There's something I need to talk to you about." "Okay," Mia said. Sam and Mia walked down the hall, away from the rest of the attendants. ---------- Feeling completely isolated from the one she loved, Arine had lost the will to do anything, so she had simply fallen asleep where she had cried. As she slept, the dreamt of the day that she and Mia shared at the beach. In her dream, she relived the happiest moment of her life, relinquishing her inhibitions and letting herself have fun with the one that she loved. However, as the blonde played in the water with Mia, the sky filled with storm clouds and turned dark. Arine wondered what could have brought about a storm so quickly. She did not have enough time to come up with an explanation as a giant wave came at her from the ocean and knocked her over and tossed her about in the surf. As she resurfaced, Arine found that the tide had pulled her into the open sea with no land in sight. "Arine!" she heard someone call to her. Arine turned in the direction of the sound and saw Mia getting pulled away by the tide. "Mia!" Arine cried. Arine started swimming as fast as she could toward her frightened friend. However, the harder she swam, the faster the tide pulled Mia further away from her. "Mia! Mia!" Arine cried over and over again as her friend disappeared behind the horizon. "Miaaa!!!" Arine's eyes shot open and her body jumped to a sitting position on her bed. Arine breathed heavily as she tried to make sense of the horrible nightmare that she had just had. The dream filled the blonde with the terrible feeling that Mia was in danger. Without even thinking, Arine grabbed her coat and rushed out of the dormitory. ---------- Mia sat down on Sam's bed as Sam went to his dresser. Sam picked up a framed picture on his dresser and brought it with him as he proceeded to sit down next to Mia. "I remember when this picture was taken," he said. Mia looked at it and happy memories of her childhood filled her mind. "That was on our trip to Anime Expo in 1998," she recalled. "Your first introduction to anime, right?" "I never thought that I would have so much fun there," said Sam. "Before then, I thought that anime was just for little kids. Boy was I wrong! Now I can't get enough of the stuff." Mia felt that Sam was nervous and was avoiding the subject that he wanted to talk to her about. Mia decided to compel Sam to spill the beans. "Sam," she asked, "what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Sam sighed, knowing that he had to come clean with the brunette. "It was only a few weeks after Anime Expo that I moved away to New York. Even though it was almost ten years ago, I never forgot you." ---------- The bus was late. Arine had been waiting at the bus stop for almost five minutes, using only the roofed structure of the bus stop to shield her from the rain. "Come on, Bus," she said. "Where are you?" The blonde looked down the street in the direction of Sam's house. She felt that she was running out of time to stop something terrible from happening. Mia was too important to her to stand around and do nothing. Arine clenched her teeth and took off down the street into the rain. ---------- "Do you remember when we used to play house?" asked Sam. "How could I forget?" Mia replied. "When we first started playing, it was just fantasy. Lots of kids play house. However, as we grew older, I began to think of it as more than innocent playing. We were only ten years old at the time and we had no idea of what love was. But when I left, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I kept wondering if I would ever see you again. And I realized that I actually was in love with you." Mia was astounded. "You did?" she asked. ---------- Arine ran as fast as she could down the street. Although the was getting soaked with no more than a coat over her head, she did not bother to look for shelter. All that mattered to her was getting to Mia before it was too late. A car drove past Arine, splashing water against the blonde as it drove through a puddle in the road. The impact caused Arine to lose her balance and she fell headlong toward the ground, scraping her arm as she hit. Arine groaned in pain as the fresh rain water caused her arm to sting. Wet, cold, and in pain, Arine still stood up and continued running. ---------- Sam took Mia's hands in his own. "When I saw you in the lecture hall that morning," he said, "I felt that fate had brought us back together. It had to be more than a coincidence that we would meet again after all those years. Mia, I love you. And I don't ever want to leave you again." Mia was becoming nervous as Sam spoke to her. "Sam..." "Mia." Sam moved closer to Mia. "Sam?" the brunette asked. "What are you doing?" ---------- The front door of Sam's house burst open, causing the attendants to look in that direction. Standing in the doorway was a wet and bleeding Arine, the classic image of a woman with a mission. "Arine?" the bearded, red-haired college kid said as he saw her. "Nice to see you showed up." With a grin on his face, he said, "And you look so hot with your wet clothes clinging to your body like that!" Arine shot him a cold stare and asked, "Where's Mia?" the blonde approached the man and grabbed him by the collar, pulling his face inches away from hers. "Where the hell is Mia?!" she demanded. The man's grin replaced with a look of fear, he quickly answered, "I thought I saw her talking with Sam a few minutes ago." "Sam?" Arine asked. ---------- "Sam, please," said Mia. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest she was so nervous. "I love you," Sam said, determined to make his feelings known. "Sam--!" Mia felt her words being cut off by Sam's lips touching hers. Suddenly, the pounding of her heart stopped. Mia's breath caught and she felt light-headed. ---------- Arine gasped as she felt that whatever was going to happen to Mia had just happened. "Mia!" she cried, swinging herself around toward the hallway. She dashed into the crowd, knocking over anyone that was standing in her way, not caring if they were simply enjoying themselves or not. ---------- Mia clutched the bed-sheets, her motor functions beginning to fail. She felt her world go blank and she collapsed onto the bed. "Mia?" Sam asked. "Mia! What's wrong?" Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. "Mia?" Arine's voice came from behind the door. "Are you in there?" "Oh, shit!" said Sam, beginning to panic. "If someone finds me in here, they'll think I hurt Mia." Sam pinched Mia's nose and brought his mouth to hers, blowing air into her lungs. He then brought both his hands below Mia's sternum and started pushing down every second. "Come on, Mia!" Sam cried. "Wake up, Mia! Come back! Come back to me!" Outside the room, Arine tried the door handle, but the door was locked. She continued pounding on the door. "I know Mia's in there!" she cried. "Open up right now!" With no one opening the door for her, Arine knew that she had no choice but to break the door down by force. She backed up, summoned up all the strength she could, and charged toward the door. She slammed her shoulder against the door, breaking the lock and bursting into the room. Arine turned toward the bed and found Sam hovering above an unconscious Mia. "Arine?" he asked, not expecting anyone to get into the room. "Mia!" Arine cried as she saw her friend lying motionless on the bed. She ran to her brown-haired friend and shook her by the shoulders. "Mia, say something! Wake up!" She looked at Sam with burning eyes and demanded, "What did you do to her?" "Nothing," Sam cowered. "I just kissed her." Arine reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, hoping to God that it had not been damaged by the rain. She dialed 911 and was thankful when the operator answered. "My name is Arine Sylven. My friend is passed out. We need an ambulance her right away!" ---------- Mia was driven directly to the campus medical center where she was rushed into the emergency room. As the doctors and nurses tried to stabilize the brunette, Arine was given a bandage for her arm and a cold ice pack for her shoulder. She and Sam waited patiently in the lounge, awaiting Mia's prognosis. There was a deadly silence between them as they waited. The silence was broken by Sam doing everything he could to convince Arine that he did not try to hurt Mia. "I swear to God, I just kissed her," he said. "I didn't want to hurt Mia at all." "Then why didn't you let me in?" Arine shot at Sam. "Because I was afraid that you would react exactly like this," the boy shot back. Sam sighed, calming himself. "Seeing me standing over Mia unconscious must have looked pretty bad. Please believe me, Arine. I gave her CPR. I was trying to help her." Arine put her hand on Sam's shoulder and said, "I know. I believe you, Sam. I can feel the sincerity in your voice." "I was too arrogant," Sam confessed. "I thought that I could save her on my own. I WANTED to save her on my own. She wouldn't think that I would be worthy of being her boyfriend if I couldn't save her." "That's not true," said Arine. "She cares for you a lot. You wanted to save her and Mia would be proud of you for it." Arine knew now that she had to give in to what fate had dealt. "I want you to do something for me, Sam." "What's that?" asked Sam. "Make Mia happy." Sam looked at Arine with a surprised look. "Mia cares for you a lot. I've seen it from the way she acts around you. And you obviously love Mia. Make her happy for me Sam." Sam gave off a small laugh, although it was heavy with sadness. "I'm not the one you should be asking to make Mia happy." Mia gave Sam a look of confusion. "I should be the one asked you to do that." Arine was dumbstruck by what Sam had said. "W--What?" Arine asked, regaining her ability speak. "I've seen the way you look at Mia," Sam conceded. "It's exactly the same way that I look at her. You're in love with her, Arine. You love her more than you've loved anyone else. But I was too self-absorbed and determined to realize it before now. The way that Mia acts around me, it's the way a sister would act. She couldn't love me the way I love her. It would be like being in love with her brother." "But she couldn't love me the way I do," said Arine, her insecurity getting the better of her. "We're both girls. She would think I was weird and she would stop being my friend." "That's not true," Sam attested. "Seeing as how compassionate Mia is, I'm sure even if she's not into girls herself, she would have no problem with the way you feel about her." "But even if she is okay with it, if she doesn't love me like I love her, I couldn't bear being without her." "Arine, think of it this way. On the one hand, she might not like girls. If that is the case, she will be an even closer friend and become like a sister to you. She will always be supportive of you, and will always want to make you happy. Your heart will heal and fate will bring you to the one that is meant just for you. On the other hand, Mia might love you exactly the same as you love her. If that is the case, a new, beautiful relationship will be born and it will flourish." "You really think so, Sam?" Arine asked, her confidence beginning to rise. "You have so little to lose by telling Mia how you feel. And you have so much to gain. But from what I've seen, she has no idea how you feel. If you don't tell her soon, she might begin to think of you as a sister whether you want her to or not. Or even worse...This condition that she has. I don't know what it is, but if it's serious enough, it could kill her before you have the chance." Arine stared at Sam, taking his words to heart. "Thank you, Sam," she said. She and Sam embraced, comforting each other. "Thank you. And...I'm sorry things didn't work out like you wanted." Sam Smiled. "It's okay. I still believe that the one for me is out there somewhere, waiting for me to come to her." As Arine and Sam ended their short embrace, a doctor emerged from the emergency room and walked toward them. "Are you Mia Carver's friends?" the doctor asked. "Yes," Sam replied. "How is she?" Arine asked intently. "She's going to be fine," said the elderly man. "We were able to stabilize her condition and she's resting now." Arine and Sam felt a great sense of relief come over them. "Can I see her?" the blonde asked. "I supposed so," the doctor replied. "But she is still very weak. Try not to disturb her." "I only want to stay by her until she gets better." "All right," the doctor said, smiling. Arine stood up and started following the doctor toward the recovery ward. "I think I'm gonna head home," said Sam. "You're not coming in with me?" Arine asked, puzzled by Sam's decision. "I have things to work out with all of the friends we left at the party. Besides, Mia's in good hands with you." "Thank you Sam." "Take care of her, Arine." With those words, Sam exited the medical center and walked to the bus stop that was right outside. Arine followed the doctor to the room where Mia was sleeping. "Here you are," said the doctor, moving a chair next to Mia's bed for Arine to sit in. "Thank you, Doctor," Arine said as the gentlemen left her alone with her brown-haired friend. The taller girl turned to Mia and said, "Don't worry Mia." She gripped Mia's hand with both of hers and cried, "I'm here now." ---------- Arine must have fallen asleep by Mia's side because she found herself waking up hours later with her head resting on Mia's bed. She looked at the hand that both of her hands were holding and her blue eyes wandered up the arm until they reached Mia's loving face smiling down at her. Arine felt her eyes grow warm with impending tears. "Mia. You're awake." Unable to conceal her emotions, Arine threw her arms around Mia and broke down in tears of joy. "I'm so happy!" "Thank you for being with me this morning," Mia said softly. "It means a lot to me, Arine." As Arine regained her composure she asked, "Mia, what happened last night?" Mia sighed as she recalled what happened. "The same genetic trait that gives me my pointed ears has another effect on my body. It makes my heart muscles weaker than normal. My heart can still pump blood through my body, but it uses up more energy than it should. This means that after strenuous activity, my heart needs to recharge itself before I can return to action." "So that's why you're always so tired after school," Arine realized. "That's right. Normally, my condition doesn't bother me. However, last night, when I realized what Sam wanted, it made me very nervous, and my heart started beating faster. A fast heart can be very dangerous for someone with my condition because if my heart beats too fast, it uses up all of its available energy and it goes into arrest. That's what happened last night." "How would you know all of this unless..." Just then, Arine realized how Mia could know of the condition that she had. "...unless this happened to you before." "Yes. This has happened once before. It was seven years ago. I was...well you know what it's like to be twelve years old. Your body's just beginning to develop and your hormones are wreaking havoc on your physiology." "Oh, yes. I remember being twelve." "Back then, I was naive and carefree. However, one day in the locker room, I overheard a few of the girls talking about sex and masturbation. Anyway, that night, I was feeling bored with nothing to do. Thinking back to what I heard in the locker room, I was curious about what masturbation felt like. And with nothing better to do, I had all night to experiment. So, I put my hand into my pants and I started feeling around down there. I was surprised by how good it felt. I had touched myself down there many times washing myself in the shower, but the continuous stimulation was like nothing I had ever felt before. Before long, I knew that touching myself at the very top of my vagina felt the best. So I kept rubbing myself and rubbing myself, rubbing faster and faster, harder and harder. Because this was my first time masturbating, when my orgasm hit, I was completely unprepared for the intense feelings of pleasure that were sent shooting through my body. Without enough time to stop myself, I screamed out at the top of my lungs as I came. Naturally, my parents rushed into my room to find out what was wrong. When they found me, I was lying on my bed with my hand buried in my pussy in cardiac arrest. During my orgasm, my heart rate had increased to the point that my heart stopped. I was rushed to the hospital and I recovered. After I was told what had happened, I knew that I couldn't have another orgasm without having another attack." Arine was in awe of the story that her friend was telling her. "You've had to live seven years without an orgasm?" the blonde asked. Mia nodded. "It's been hard after having one and knowing just how good it felt. But the prospect of death is a good motivation. Ever since that day, I've stayed out of situations of high stress and I've made sure to eat lots of heart-healthy foods. Now you know why I'm so much of a health nut." "Yeah." Finally, everything about Mia made sense to Arine. "Mia?" she asked. "Yes, Arine?" Mia replied. "You know how over the past few weeks, it's seemed like I wanted to tell you something but I always stopped myself before I could say it?" "Yes," said Mia, "I have noticed that." "Well, Sam told me that he knew what I was feeling. And he told me that I should tell you how I felt while I still have the chance." The time had come for Arine to reveal her feelings to her friend. "Mia, I--" Before Arine could finish her sentence, Mia put a finger to her lips. The brunette wrapped her arms around Arine's body and pulled herself up until her face was inches away from that of her blond-haired friend. "You don't have to say anything more," the brunette whispered. Mia moved her face forward and touched her lips to Arine's. Arine was shocked at the feeling of Mia's lips against hers. Her hopes had been realized. Mia loved her just as she loved Mia! Arine could not have expressed the happiness that she felt even if she had wanted to. All that she could do was close her eyes, melt into Mia, and kiss her back with all of the love that she had concealed since they met. If Arine's eyes had been open, she would have noticed Mia's hair sparkling brilliantly for several seconds. ---------- Elsewhere, a man was at his desk, looking up information on the internet about Norse mythology. As he was reading the article intently, he saw a red light glowing from inside his desk drawer. He opened the drawer and took out the gemstone that was emitting the light. "The red ruby has activated," he said in amazement. "The time has come." As the ruby stopped glowing, the man looked out his window at the rising sun. "The elf has awoken."
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