Irvine sat in between Lina and Amber, extremely content--maybe a little too much. Jen and Amber had only agreed to dinner because they were hungry. Walking around at the mall all day had completely drained their energy. They'd barely had what you'd call a "respectable lunch" except for a pretzel which really wasn't sufficient sustenance anyway. Lina, on the other hand, wanted Irvine to be treated as an equal. She wanted him to be welcome within their tight little group because they were tight friends themselves, just from different er--areas.
"So, you ladies like this restaurant?" Irvine asked them, trying to initiate the conversation. Everyone else was completely silent and the tension level ran high around the table, whether it just be by hunger stress or in general. Jen and Amber nodded mechanically while Lina just smiled. Irvine stretched his arms back and smirked triumphantly as if their response had even the least bit of meaning behind it. "It's got a real nice view here too eh?" Irvine chuckled as he turned his head towards the window saying, "Real pretty...desert..." he frowned. He'd forgotten Magality was a city in the middle of a barren desert. They laughed wholeheartedly at his silly mistake and he blushed--how embarrassing.
"Irvine, you're a very silly person," Amber giggled, convulsed with her laughter. Jen nodded in agreement and Irvine's blush only deepened a darker tint. Lina chuckled even harder at him and gave him a pat on the back--good old Kinneas.
"Well... it's a nice restaurant anyways..." Irvine said, a little disappointment. He despised these kinds of awkward conversations, as we all do, but suddenly came up with another idea to impress the girls. "You know what? I'll be paying for this dinner for you lovely ladies."
"Irvine...you really don't have to do that," Lina said generously. She knew that Irvine was actually a little low on cash; it hadn't been very long since he'd enrolled at Balamb Garden either.
"No, let him!" Jen yelled, then she whispered something into Lina's ear. Lina giggled, nodded, thus assenting, and they changed the subject.
"I love this new bracelet!" Amber exclaimed as she held her wrist up in front of her so that the gems caught the light. "It's so pretty too, I wonder how they make these." Soon, all the girls had their wrists up to their faces, examining the gem thoroughly from every angle imaginable.
"Looks so intricate and heavy, but it's light as a feather!" Jen laughed. "And we all got similar ones." Lina and Amber both nodded. Needless to say they were all very satisfied with their choices. Irvine glanced over at Jen and saw that she was chock full of necklaces, charm bracelets, and anything else she could get her hands on and yet, the bracelet they had purchased together today stood out from the rest. Amber wasn't bearing as much as an entourage as Jen, but she still had a couple of accessories. Lina, on the other hand, carried no accessories except for the necklace Zell had given her, and now, just this bracelet.
"Hey," Lina started up. "Let's let them be our friendship bracelets. So we can never forget each other no matter which world we reside in."
"Agreed," Amber said and Jen nodded. During the slight pause that followed, Irvine could even sense the tension between them, almost as if it were tangible. Jen leaned over and whispered something in Amber's ear and Amber nodded. They turned towards Lina and glanced back at each other unsure. "Liz..." Irvine, who'd previously been chilling out the side, leaned his head in just a little bit to catch a bit of the conversation onto his plate. "Don't you miss it back in our world with us?" Lina frowned at this.
"Well... yeah I do," Lina muttered slowly. She missed when everything used to be normal, before everything began to change. "But I left for a reason. I think you'd understand why if you were in my place. I belong here."
"But we miss you!" Jen whined in a somewhat fake tone that made Lina flinch. "All of us! Your parents were shocked. Everyone was! I mean... if you came back everything would be so different from whatever it was like before. Definitely." Irvine, who'd been listening in intently to the ongoing conversation. He'd paid close attention to Jen's rather whiny tone and to Amber seemingly forced puppy dog pout, but he knew these were the slight differences that Lina's forgiving disposition would overlook. He knew that if Lina went, Zell would kill him, then kill everyone in his way to get to her. Well that would never do. What would he tell Selphie?
"I...." Lina sighed; it was a difficult thing to think of. Any memory of her past only brought about angst and horror. Irvine could see on her face, the traces of torment she'd let slip through her usually cheerful visage: her eyebrows knit, her eyes were inwardly looking, shrouded by a mist, and recalling everything that'd happen. Dang, Irvine would joke around with her and all, but he never knew it was that bad. "I guess I'll think about it...Maybe... um...maybe for a week or two or something."
"Well, Liz... are you happy with your life here?" they asked her. Irvine was on the edge of his seat by now. He knew what Zell would say if Lina left: a ton of swear words, then he'd starting the whole killing thing. This made Irvine sweat the most, there were so many Irvine-ical cheesy things he hadn't said to Selphie yet! How was he going to make them up and utilize them at just the right moment before he'd be victim to Zell's fists!? Then he kind of smiled, oh what a lovely thought, ah-ha-ha-ha.
"More than ever," Lina said and she was dead serious. "I mean... you guys haven't met Zell. He's... he's everything to me."
"What about us?" Jen asked. Lina couldn't answer the question. A part of her was curious, what was it that'd made their friendship come to an utter halt so suddenly? Could it ever go back to the way things were? And the most irksome question: Was it really worth it? Despite all of the troubles they'd sent her through, Lina had forgiven them, though the sorceress inside had pressed on for revenge. Lina had quelled her inner fire with her purity, but things just seemed so tangled now. "You're considering coming back, aren't you?"
Lina looked up and saw that Jen and Amber's eyes were darkened with concentration. Irvine could see Lina flinch, a glassy layer of almost tangible tears forming over her pupils. No doubt, this situation she'd be inconveniently put in was difficult although Irvine knew he could never really empathize. "Yeah..." Lina said tracing with her finger the pattern on the side of the tablecloth.
"NO! LINA!!!!" Irvine suddenly screamed. He burst out of his seat and onto the floor, grabbing hold of Lina's arm as he groveled. "DON'T GO!!"
"Irvy! I'm right here!" Lina called back to him, but he shook her arm back and form until she was completely convulsed. "Irvine Kinneas! Ouch! What are you doing!? I'm right here! Right here!"
"AAHHHH!!!!" Irvine screamed. The force of his actions lessened for just a second and Lina was able to catch the gleam in his eyes. Was Irvine actually crying?! "Please don't go! If you leave with them, Zell will kill me! And anyone in his way! Please don't go, don't go! I don't want to die! There's still so many things I have to tell Selphie!" Lina, red in the cheeks, tried to settle Irvine down. All others previously dining at the restaurant had paused for just a second to eavesdrop on the awkward situation.
"Irvy... no," Lina pulled on his hand and tried to get him to calm down. She looked over at Amber and Jen, but for some reason they just seemed disgusting. This one kid was spoiling their plans. What kind of world is this now? "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere for a while, okay? I'll talk it over with Zell, he won't kill you, and you'll be able to say whatever you like to Selphie. Please don't cry."
Irvine stood up rather abruptly and wiped from his eyes the very tears that had likewise washed away his dignity. Then reclaiming himself for a second, he nodded, "Okay then, goodnight ladies." With that, he left for his hotel room, "forgetting" to pay for their interesting little dinner.