The school bus.
Home to many places and friendships that would begin during the school year. Where kids would find their first crush takes the same ride home, where middle schoolers went to hang with a friend on the weekend, where high schoolers would make out and look forward to amazing field trips.
To Takabi, the bus was a gateway to hell, always, which is what led him to walking or taking a ride home. If he had the option to take his own ride to Un Ala's annual Junior Year trip to Spring Islands, a resort the school rented out for a week straight to teach students in a more fun environment, he would've driven Nana, Carlos and himself in a heartbeat.
Instead, there he was, in a hot yellow twinkie filled with bustling teenagers laughing and talking loudly about who was hooking up with who.
He sat against the window, Nana on the outer side of the seat. Carlos sat in the seat next to theirs, his headphones over his ears to block out the worst of the storm around them.
Nana, despite having her face in a book, listened carefully to everyone's gossip.
As uninterested as she claimed to be to Takabi before they left, she couldn't help listening to everyone's dirt, picking apart each person in case they started trouble with her. Something she learned from Takabi since they started dating, being a fly on the wall is the best thing to do in school. If you're not the fly, you're the shit that it's flying around.
Takabi had a strong scowl on his face as the bus rushed through the road. Trees stood tall around them, the luscious green leaves slowly beginning to alter in color.
Autumn was not far, and this trip was more of a goodbye to summer than anything else. A getaway was a great idea, the three just hoped it wouldn't be with their entire class.
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Carlos plopped on his bed, exhaling obnoxiously loud.
The three were given a room on the seventh floor. Nana was unpacking her suitcase, placing her swimsuits and casual clothes in different piles. Carlos looked at her for a moment, then towards the ceiling, sitting up only when Takabi came into the room from the bathroom, shaking his hands.
"So, we hitting the water park?"
"Wouldn't you rather eat first," She asked him and he walked up towards her. His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer, looking down at her. "And I don't mean me," She commented before he could speak.
Carlos faked a gag, laughing and standing. "I'm gonna go see Ariel. Don't stain the sheets." He said, leaving the room.
Once the room door closed, he placed his back against the wall, his smile fading. He felt frustration growing in his chest, and took a deep breath, strolling down the hall. All the way at the end, Jewel and Ariel had finished settling into their room.
The redhead Ariel was dressed in a green scaled bikini, to which she scanned her body in the mirror and shook her head, going back to her dresser and skimming through it. "Jewel, what should I wear? I want to look good."
"You're a redhead, and you have the body of Jessica Rabbit, minus the height. Wear anything, Carlos won't care." She said, shrugging.
Ariel didn't say anything at that comment at first. Her movements just slowed down, and she turned around, facing Jewel. "Yeah… Carlos wouldn't, would he?"
"Isn't that what I just said," Jewel replied, tossing a softball into the air and catching it before it hit her face. "It's just a swim. Have fun with him, pretty sure that's all he really wants."
"Actually…" She walked around the second bed, sitting on it and cupping her hands on her lap as Jewel tossed the ball airborne. "Between you and me, I don't think Carlos and I are going to work out."
This caught Jewel's attention. She sat up suddenly, softball hitting her face but having no effect. Her eyes never left Ariel. "Why? Did something happen?"
Shaking her head, Ariel tapped her fingers against her knuckles, mulling over her thoughts before finally saying, "I mean… He's great and all but… He's carrying too much baggage right now. His sister is in a mental hospital, his parents are divorced, and he can't get over his other sister…" She paused, trying not to sound disrespectful of the dead. "My point is, he can't let things go. He's great, don't get me wrong, and the sex is PHENOMENAL!"
Jewel cleared her throat. The last thing she wanted to do was sit there and listen about Ariel's private life.
"Right, but there's been more times I've had to reevaluate his mental health and stop him from crying at night. I love helping, but there's only so much a girl can do. I'm young, I want to… Ya know, stay that way for the next five years without worrying so much about if my boyfriend is going to kill himself or not."
Jewel was going to speak, but Ariel raised her palm to stop her. "I know that sounds harsh, but think about me. I'm seventeen. I don't want grey hairs when I'm twenty. I'm willing to try again if he can fix himself, but until then I have other options."
Jewel bit her lip. Her words pissed her off greatly. Anyone in Carlos' situation would be just as ruined mentally, but she chose to keep her thoughts to herself. It was Ariel's call, not hers, and there was very little she could say to disagree with her. "If you do this, let him down gently okay?"
"Please. I love him, I really do.. But, I can't take the stress right now."
Carlos tightened his fists, eyes glued to the floor as he listened to their conversation through the door. He huffed, turning and moving towards the elevator. Pressing the call button rapidly. His palm rested on the panel as the elevator doors opened, and he stepped inside, hitting the lobby button and watched as the doors closed.
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"Stop it," Nana said, pushing Takabi off of her. The two had spent the better part of an hour in their room, dark bruises littering their necks and chests. "We have to go before they send someone up here for us."
"They don't care," He cooed, trying to kiss her again.
She giggled, pulling her head away and playfully hitting his arm. "Like hell they don't. The two of us alone up here? You're nuts if you think they'll let us get away with that." Groaning, he rolled off of her and grabbed his swim trunks from his opened suitcase on the floor. Stripping from his T-Shirt and jeans then slipping them on, he stood and stretched.
Nana got to her feet next, a little light headed, but grabbed her two-piece bikini and moved into the bathroom to put it on.
"Sure you're not a vampire? These are some dark marks," She commented.
"Positive," He replied. "I just like you that much."
"God, you're a loser," She laughed, stepping out. The marks on them both were already fading. Nana had settled on a white bikini with violet stars along the top and bottoms. Her body filled it out perfectly, something Takabi was eternally grateful for.
Tying her hair up, she grabbed their towels and placed it in her bag, along with her flip flops and walked to him, the pair looking in the mirror at one another.
"We could end up earning the best couple award by Senior year at this rate." She said.
"No complaints here." He said, smiling.
He moved aside, allowing Nana to walk to the door first. When he took his first step, his mind suddenly began to burn, a splitting headache suddenly disturbing his mind. He caught himself on the dresser, careful not to fall over. Nana looked back at him, rushing towards, and kneeling down to look at his face. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"My head… Is pounding…" He muttered, gritting his teeth. He took a deep breath, taking her hand. The headache passed, his brain settling down. "It's gone now."
"You sure? You don't wanna stay up here?"
"And leave you down there with all those vultures? No thanks." He said, walking ahead of her. "Come on, I want to go for a loooong dip." The bluenette smiled at him, following behind closely. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help the thought that something was coming for him. Presently, he couldn't smell or sense anything out of the ordinary. Still he steeled himself, and kept himself on guard just in case.