SUGAR//CRASH

Chapter 25: Noir Gaunt

A 7-year-old Arslan Atlan sat next to the lake, she was hugging her knees as she looked out to the other side her eyes red from the crying she did earlier.

"Arslan!"

"Ars! Where are you!?"

She turned around and looked back to the forest and saw her two friends coming out of the forest, and they both had worried looks when they saw her. Jaune and Reese saw her and quickly ran over to her.

"Arslan! Are you ok!?" Jaune asked

Arslan didn't answer, she kept quiet.

Reese walked over to her and sat next to her friend, "Ars... you shouldn't listen to them," Reese told her, "They were just being jerks, they don't understand what it's like for you,"

"But they're right..." Arslan said sadly, "My Mom gave me up to the monks and all I know about my dad is that he was big and strong... I never had an actual family" Arslan told her friends

This time, Jaune walked over to her and sat on her other side, and looked at her, "But you're wrong," Jaune said "You do have a family,"

Arslan looked at him with a confused expression, "Huh?" She asked

"Grandma always told me that while she was an orphan, she had a family," Jaune said with a soft smile "The girls with her in the orphanage, the people she met in her life, and eventually my Grandpa all became her family, she never had a family to begin with, so she made her own,"

Arslan still looked confused, "But what does this have to do with me?" Arslan asked

Reese giggled, "Jeez Ars, and you call him dense," Reese said

Arslan blushed a little and turned to glare at her friend.

Jaune giggled "What I mean is that you can do the same, Arslan," Jaune told her, "Like how you choose your friends, you can choose your family,"

Arslan realized what Jaune was talking about. "So... I can make my own family?" Arslan asked

Jaune nodded with a soft smile.

"So If I wanted... I could call the Monks my family,"

Reese nodded, "Yeah!" Reese said "I mean, they practically are your dads,"

Arslan turned to her female friend, "Can I do the same with you, Reese? Can I call you family?"

Reese nodded with a bright smile, "Heck Yeah!" Reese said, "You'd make a great sister!"

Arslan giggled, she then turned to Jaune, "What about you Jaune? Can I also call you family?" She asked

"Of course, you can!" Jaune said with a bright smile, "You can even call my family your family!"

Arslan smiled as a blush crept on her face as she saw his bright smile that made her heart do weird things.

Reese giggled behind her hand, "Look Ars! Your dream is coming true!" Reese teased

Arslan quickly turned to her skater friend and shut her mouth, "Shut up!" She said with a pout

Reese laughed at Arslan's reaction while Jaune was a little confused about what Reese meant by Arslan's wish coming true, but she shrugged it off and was just happy to see Arslan perk up. As for Arslan, she felt much better after Reese and Jaune had said that they would be her family and she knew they meant it.