...Learn To...

6

Chloe opened her eyes to stare up at the ceiling. How long had it been? Years, she knew that much… How old did she appear to be, again? Wasn’t it seventeen? Or was it eighteen?

She rolled over and grabbed her student ID to check.

“Twenty…” she murmured. “Right… I’m in college…”

She rolled onto her back again. “This really isn’t fair… I shouldn’t be going to college… I should be helping Kylie…”

She sighed and sat up. “Oh, well, almost done, now… Kylie only told me to take two years…”

The girl hauled herself up out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Even though she was the only resident in the four bed/three bath house, she still slept in the smallest bedroom. It had been virtually untouched while she had been gone, and the master bedroom remained so. In the past ten years, all she could bring herself to do, was open the door. Anything else was too emotional for her.

Then again, most everything was too emotional for her… She was in a constant state of PTSD from her long years in that place. A coyote would howl, and she’d instantly be upright, knife in hand. It was also a shock for her when she learned that she couldn’t perform magic, anymore. She was virtually defenceless without her magic, or so she thought. But Kylie and Alfred helped to train her to clear her PTSD, and to make her feel protected.

These thoughts ran through her head as she showered. And, as usual, her mind wandered. Wandered to the boy she had grown to love. He hadn’t forgotten about her, had he? It had been ten whole years… Did he know that she thought of him night and day, and dreamed of a place where they could be together?

She sighed and let the hot water thunder on her head. She was always depressed…

Out of the shower she came, and into clean clothes. She hadn’t been able to knock out the habit of wearing a pure white dress with a Prussians blue cloak quite yet, though she had toned it down to a white dress with a black cloth belt around her middle, and a dark blue dress coat. On her feet she placed black dress boots instead of brown hiking ones. Her classmates questioned her sense of fashion, but they never knew what it was like to only wear the same thing for endless years.

She climbed into her car and headed to the coffee shop to kind of “wake up” before class started.

~*~

After college, she went back home and completed her homework. It was simple since she was going to a “regular” school. Then she sat down in front of the TV and played video games until Kylie showed up.

“I really should just move in,” the Californian laughed. She grew serious and sat down next to where Chloe was playing Prince of Persia on the old Xbox Alfred had given her. “Still missing him?”

Chloe nodded. She also didn’t talk much, anymore.

Kylie rubbed her back. “I brought someone over. I think they might help you out.”

Chloe paused her game and looked over at the entrance where Pip and Tiana were. Beside them was Vina, now ten.

“How about we go to the beach?” Kylie proposed. “You need to get out.”

“I like it here,” she murmured, turning back to her game. “...He almost looks like him… Just with brown hair…”

“Mama told me that Auntie Ana named him after Dastan in Prince of Persia,” Pip smiled. “I never really knew her, but Mama and Daddy tell us stories about her.”

“Mom said the same about Anahi,” Tiana smiled. “Come on, we can tell you stories while at the beach.”

Chloe looked down at her controller. It would be fun… She hadn’t had fun since Zelda invited her along to the spring festival…

“Please, Auntie Chloe?” Vina begged. “I really wanna go with you…”

How could she say no to that?

“...Alright…”

Kylie smiled as Chloe saved her game and shut the console down. Vina happily ran after the blonde and assisted in packing a beach bag. She was shooed out when Chloe changed into her bathing suit, however. She didn’t mind, and just sat outside the door until she was done. Once everyone was ready, they headed for the beach.

~*~

“I do wonder why you’re having more trouble adjusting than us…” Pip wondered. “I know you were in there longer, but wouldn’t it be easier?”

Chloe hugged her knees. “It is easier… It’s nice not having to deal with that place… But my body is still programmed to survive there. I constantly wake up thinking I heard a Hellhound howl, or believing that I heard Junpei’s laugh…”

Pip nodded, turning her gaze to watch her cousin surf. She was pretty good, but still had to learn from Tiana and Kylie. “I understand… I still wake up, too. Khris is constantly wondering if I was okay. We’re still sharing a room, even though Mutti and Vatti insist that we don’t… But they know that we’re going through a tough time.”

She paused. The hot Californian sun beat down on the parts of them that weren’t under the umbrella, which meant that Pip was thinking that the water looked quite fine.

“Mutti and Vatti went through a tough time as well…” Pip murmured. “I know… I went to get a glass of water after a scare to calm me down, and I heard her crying, with Vatti not even trying to comfort her… He always does, but this time he wasn’t… I don’t know exactly, but I’m fairly sure that where they went when they left to find Auntie Ana, they were met with some unpleasant things…”

Chloe said nothing, but she did stand.

“Lets go surfing,” she proposed, changing the subject. She needed to escape. Pip had unintentionally shown her that.

The dark-skinned girl giggled and stood, hurrying after the blond to their boards and the water.

Chloe smiled, paddling out to the water. Others were suffering with her. She just had to keep on going with life, and once she had Preuss back, all would be right. Until then, she just had to live and prepare for his return.

If only she knew that he was surviving the same way.

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Hey, guys! Kind of a short chapter, but I've been giving you some pretty long ones, too. :) So here's a nice break of learning how everyone in Hetalia are doing. ^_^

I'm on a drawing kick, so feel free to ask me what to draw (within reason). :) I'll get to it as soon as possible, and I'll be sure to draw everyone's requests. ^_^ I'll put it up on DeviantART, as well as put it as the picture on the side when I can.