I didn't know what to do. But I needed to find her and make sure she was okay.
I ran outside without anyone stopping me, surprisingly. I went home as fast as I could.
As soon as I ran into the house in fear and panic I had thought I was going to faint. My mother wasn't here, and the worst part was that Sydney was nowhere to be found in the house either. I stopped and tried to control my breathing. After some deep breaths I ran back out to find her.
Hours passed and I still had no clue where she could be. But I only had one other place to look, and that place was the bar downtown.
The bar was a no one cared zone. So I didn't need an ID to get in, and no one cared about my age. The government was spending so much time on finding the ones who were affected, that everything else wasn't exactly cared for anymore. The only thing the government had no choice but to actually keep focus on was to keep the schools, factories and stories actually running. If they had shut down the whole city, everyone would be at war with each other over the littlest things.
I went into the bar and finally found Sydney. She was sitting at one of the bars alone.
I walked over to her and sat next to her. I felt like I should have yelled at her for running off and making me find her all over town. But at the same time I knew she didn't mean to run like she did.
"Hey Rose. I'm so sorry for leaving. I just needed to get out of that school. I needed space from the world." She said without looking at me.
"Sydney I just went through the whole town looking for you and there was only one thing one my mind." I said holding her hand.
"What was on your mind?" She asked.
"You. The whole time. I was so scared." I said with tears running down my face.
"I'm sorry Rose." She said with a sad tone in her voice.
"Sydney, I was trying so hard to hide my feelings about having feelings for you, a girl. But I don't care anymore. I can't lose you again. I need you in my life Sydney. I really do." I said bursting into tears.
I couldn't hide my feelings from her anymore. Spending most of the day looking for her and thinking I might never find her made me realize how much she means to me. I knew if I didn't tell her my feelings now, one day I won't be able to.
"I didn't know you felt that way. But you don't have to cry." She said, finally looking at me and whipping my tears.
I stopped Sydney from whipping my tears "You don't understand. I thought I could never find you. I was scared to lose you. So yes, I do."
Sydney hugged me tightly "I'm sorry Rose. I really am. I didn't mean to scare you." she said with a sad voice.
I grabbed her wristed and set them down on her lap. "Sydney there's something else." I said looking into her eyes.
"What is it Rose?" She asked in wonder.
"I love you so much." I said moving a bit closer to her and setting my head on her shoulder.
"I...I didn't know you felt that way." She said in surprise.
"I do feel that way, and I'm not going to go a day without you knowing it." I said getting up from my chair.
"Where are you going?" Sydney asked.
"Home. My feet hurt, and if you want to stay here, that's okay. Just come back soon. It's going to be sunny." I said slowly walking away.
Sydney's hand grabbed me. She pulled me close to her and hugged me. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She said smiling while holding me.
I was surprised. I was shocked that Sydney wanted a hug from me. "Okay Sydney." I said smiling.
We let go of each other and I walked out the doors of the bar. I walked all the way home and as I got inside I found my mother, once again, on the couch watching television.
Without turning to look back she said "Well you're home late, and I see that Sydney is much later than you are."
"Yes, I'm sorry I missed training. Sydney was going through some things and she needed me. I'm sorry if I worried you but Sydney is a part of my family." I said with confidence.
"Lesson 1- never put anyone else before family, not even yourself. You already completed one lesson without me even having to teach it to you. You are learning very much just by living your own life. Yet before, you had no clue." My mother said, I could tell she was smiling.
"Wow, so I was training after all without even realizing it." I was surprised.
"Yes sweetheart you were." She said,
"Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning." I said, yawning.
"Okay. Goodnight sweetheart," She said, waving her hand.
I went upstairs, changed, then hopped in the bed. I was tired and needed lots of sleep. Especially after a whole day of walking. I wondered what was going to happen tomorrow. Was the school going to call saying I had walked out of school randomly? I was worried that something might happen. But in the middle of all the worries, I had fallen asleep with a big smile on my face.
***
The next day came along so quickly as I opened my eyes. I found myself held by someone, and as I turned my head I saw Sydney holding on to me.
"Sydney." I whispered into her ear.
She opened her eyes, and realized what she was doing. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"
Then I stopped her. "It's okay, you were probably having nightmares." I said moving her hands off of me and getting off of the bed.
"Yeah, kinda. Well, let's just hope today is better than yesterday." Sydney said with a smile.
" It will be, no distractions, no weaknesses. I'm training for real today, and no one will stop me from that." I said with a surprised tone in my voice.
"Oh, but what about yester-" I didn't let her finish.
"Yesterday was a weakness okay. Now we need to get ready for school." I said with a serious tone.
I understood she was trying to remind me of the feelings we shared. But it was all about training for me today, Nothing else was more important to me. And that was my final choice.