as long as she's still gone... {Mayu}

[Diane McLain]

Diane walked into her room for the first time in what seemed like years. She looked around herself, tiredness washing over her body as she shivered. It had been so long since she had spent any time by herself, and it seemed more than overdue. She loved Brendan with all of her heart, but even so she still craved a chance to be by herself, or at least away from him, if just for an hour or so. She guessed that he may have needed the space as well, eventually.

She stopped dead in the room, looking around herself quickly. A strange feeling crept down her back, filling her entire soul with dread. It was such a simple message, one that she had never expected to feel.

This charm has been detonated. Thank you for using Pandora’s Box Charms, she heard psychically as she stumbled over to the bed, sitting down as she looked around in horror, a cold chill through her skin. It was the charm she had set to stop Melville coming into her room in the days of their petty rivalry. How could such a message come up?

Afraid, she called the only person she knew she could trust that knew exactly about her worries; Bexi. She came around quickly, as they both sat on her bed, cross-legged and watching each other.

“Bexi, I’m worried about Melville...” Diane said softly.

Bexi looked at her cousin in confusion, “Uh, Diane, you’re probably a lot better off worrying about people who are still alive. Preferably ones that aren’t such knobheads, too.”

Diane pulled her arms around her, looking around the room slowly, “I... I think he’s here,” she said softly. Bexi looked at her in continuing confusion, but something in Diane’s voice told her that she had evidence to what she said. “I set up a charm in case he came here and... and I came back from the hospital and it’s gone off,” she looked at Bexi in fear, the only emotion she knew to feel.

“One of those Pandora things?” Bexi questioned, raising one eyebrow as she leaned back on the bed, “Dia, you know those things always play up...”

Diane shook her head. “I-I can’t explain it...” she told her, her voice soft, “I just... feel like he’s near. I feel like something’s changed,” she said, her eyes glassy and wide as she looked around herself.

Bexi rolled her eyes, obviously not sold by Diane’s argument, but still sympathetic towards her fear and confusion. “Dia, you’ve just almost died, you’re upset and kinda just expecting something to go wrong. It doesn’t make any sense, right?”

Diane nodded slowly. Bexi always seemed to make sense. She pulled herself up from the bed, wrapping her fingers around each other nervously as she paced around. “Yeah... Yeah, you’re right... E-even if he could pull himself into being a spirit or something, he’d never leave Mayu...”

[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

This was probably the worst thing that could have happened to her, taking at least to two for sure. The living world was too confusing for her, too much was happening, everything was moving at too fast a pace. Yet, as she worked on it she was realizing that her body was starting to react as normal as she used to, even her old personality was back.

Mayu looked in the mirror, staring at the pale faced monster in the glass. Her eyes were too big, too dark to be natural and her raccoonish eyeliner wasn’t helping any. Ebony hair was flowing to her nose, in desperate need to be cut, and to be washed. She reached up to rub her cheeks, trying to add a peck of color to this porcelain doll she saw.

A shirt dropped from her grasp, the only thing she’d taken from Melville’s closet, something she had borrowed to wear later. She bent to pick it up, turning to the room closet to her. A voice, no, two voices rang through the solid wood. Only one was familiar to her,

Mayu gave a weak smile, pressing on the door to open in. It hadn’t changed much since she’d been here, only her clothing was absent from the bed; even that was ruffled as though someone had just slept in it. She sighed, slipping into the covers while clutching the shirt like a lifeline. Things were going to be different without him here.

[Diane McLain]

Diane sighed, jumping as the door opened, turning to it quickly. She saw the small girl there, closing her eyes tightly, turning away before she could fully see the differences between her and Maria. "Hey..." she said softly, looking away, completely convinced that it was Maria but she had still been shocked. "You scared me," she said with a tired smile. She had really expected Mayu to come through the door, and still hadn't actually recognised that it was her.

["Bexi" Leggert]

Bexi smiled, also raising her head when she heard the door opening, but unlike Diane was completely relaxed. She was actually pretty excited, since she still knew so few people in the school, though she'd heard a lot about Diane's friends. She looked up at the stranger with a warm smile.

"Diane didn't tell me she got another roommate," Bexi said with a wide smile in greeting. "I'm Bexi, nice to meet you." she said in her own strong, mixed up accent which sounded suddenly very similar to Melville's.

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[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

Mayu reeled back, shocked to hear something so like her boyfriends. Not to mention the shock that her best friend hadn’t recognized her. Had she been gone so long they had forgotten about her? “N-nice to met you, B-bexi.” She stuttered with her own accent, the odd mixture of Japanese and American. “I’m Mayu..”

[Diane McLain]

Diane smile dropped suddenly, her eyes going back to Mayu, suddenly wide. Yes, she was staring, but she was too shocked to say why. She scanned her face, trying to look for the trademark creases and oddities which were unique to Maria and not to Mayu. There were few, but she felt her heart skip a beat when she didn't find them, and again when she realised that her voice completely lacked the Southern accent of Maria.

"M-Mayu...." her voice trailed off as she found herself falling forwards, her head suddenly too light to keep upright.

["Bexi" Leggert]

Bexi looked at Mayu, shocked. The name had been told to her many, many times, and she knew exactly what it meant. Her colour faded from her cheeks, looking like she'd seen a ghost, before she saw something out the corner of her eye. Quickly she jumped from off the bed, catching Diane just before she hit the floor. She was light in Bexi's arms - Bexi may have been small and lithe, but she was quite well muscled. She took Diane's unconscious body to the end of the bed, sitting her upright. "Made her faint with one sentence... that-that's impressive..." she said under her breath, her voice shaking as she looked at her. "You... I guess..." she shook her head, looking down as she saw Diane's eyes opening slowly, "You're meant to be dead, aren't you?" she asked softly.

[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

She shrugged, unsure how respond yet. A large black blob launched itself at her, her cat must have escaped it's confines at only god knows where. "I think.." Mayu sighed, stroking her cat's fur gently. How was she supposed to keep up with them? One moment Diane was fine, then she was in this girl's arms. Was she supposed to have reacted to that at all? "I don't know anymore.." it was the truth, as soon as she said it she knew. Nothing was waking sense anymore, maybe she should have just stayed dead.

[Diane McLain]

Diane breathed heavily, crawling along the room slowly as she came to Mayu's side, every one of her movements slow and seeming to take forever as she tried to take it all in. Why couldn't she process this information? She had told herself so many times she wasn't coming back, and yet here she was...

She came to Mayu's side, tentatively putting her hand on Mayu's shoulder, her touch shivering. "M-Mayu..." she said slowly in a low tone, looking down at her, feeling that her skin felt real. Suddenly she jumped forwards, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "Mayu... I thought you were gone... I thought you'd never come back." she said, her eyes watering and her speech barely able to stay soft enough to understand.

[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

She just stared, blinked, trying to find a way to respond. What was she to do? Smile, laugh, and say it was okay? Or would a hug be more appropriate? Mayu just sat there, stiffer then a board as she debated her movements and speech. Her breathing wasn’t as hard as Diane’s, nor did she chock on any of her words. Was she really so dead inside or would she thaw after awhile? Then she blinked, had she waited to long for a reply, for a response? Mayu just sighed inwardly, it was no use now, Diane would probably be insulted either way.

[Diane McLain]

Diane held her at arms length, looking at her from top to bottom, her words shivering as much as she was, feeling energy rushing around her body. "Oh, you're-you're probably a little shocked yourself, right? Probably... yeah, taking it in and all..." she said, unable to contain her speech as it flew out of her mouth unheeded. "Do-do you need anything? Food, drink, rest? I-I can get you... I can get you something..." she said, climbing off the bed and looking around herself uncomfortably, trying to find something to keep her busy, something to make everything make sense. But at the end of the day, it just didn't. Nothing made any sense.

[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

Mayu holds up the shirt in front of her friends eyes. “I want him back.” She says firmly, looking more then a little defeated. She knew it wasn’t possible, knew Diane wouldn’t be able to do such a thing. But it never hurt to try, right? She had offered Mayu anything, so it wouldn’t be wrong to ask for Mel back. A friend could do anything; all she’d have to do is ask. The tear slid silently down her cheek as she held the shirt out more firmly, demanding attention from both girls in the room.

["Bexi" Leggert]

Bexi leaned back on the bed. Well, this certainly was a curiousity, but she didn't really have much to add to the tender moment. She could see how much it had broken Diane apart to have her friend die simply by seeing how hard it was to pick the pieces back up. But Mayu... she just didn't understand her. "Why do you want that meat-bag back?" she asked, staring into the ceiling and not really paying much attention to what she was saying. "Better off in the ground... we all knew thats where he'd end up sooner rather than later...." she muttered.

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[Diane McLain]

Diane took in a deep breath, all of the muscles tightening in her body. Mayu's words made her heart break, and Bexi's froze the shards into ice. She turned to Bexi, her eyes fiery and dark as she glared at her reproachfully, knowing all threats would be useless but wanting to snap her neck.

She moved back to Mayu's side, glaring at Bexi until the last minute when she turned to Mayu, pretending that it was only them two in the room. "Mayu..." she said softly, shaking her head and looking down. "He-he's dead, Mayu. And he's not coming back..." she said, her own eyes glistening with tears that refused to fall anymore, but now they were there for Mayu's pain. "I-I'm sure he's trying to find a way to be here. I'm sure he'll be looking over you. You never know, he could even become a spirit guide or something." she suggested with a grim shrug.

[Mayu Nami Yoshiko]

Mayu turned to the offending girl, somehow finding energy in an anger she never knew existed. "Shut up." she hissed, standing up to her fullest heights. "Never Talk about him like that! Now get out!!" she screeched, barely able to keep from lashing out at her. "Get out of my room, before I kick your ass out."

She turned to Diane, softening her features. "What's a spirit guide?.. How would that work?" she asked slowly, sitting beside her once again. Mayu crumbled, leaning against her friend as the energy she had felt died away. Knowing it would only come back if anyone spoke bad out her boyfriend again.