*Gaia King's POV:
I laid in bed that night, my head sinking into my cream-colored pillow. Staring at the ceiling that was consumed into the darkness, I began wondering if I made the biggest mistake of my life. I agreed to go along with the most dangerous, most stupidest plan I had ever been in: to assassinate a government leader. He was a politician, so it was possible he had high security everywhere he went. If we fail at this mission, it could cause us to get arrested and maybe even get the death penalty. We had to think this through in a careful manner.
I only agreed to it because I wanted to help Shimizu. Shimizu helped us through so many problems, it was only fair. But there was a part of me that wanted to help Celosia. We finally found our mission piece: Shimizu. It was as if we were all back together again...and yet, we were still missing Kamryn and Mohammed. We knew them for only a short period of time, but those memories we had with them still lives on even after their deaths.
I looked down at Hikari and Celosia, they were on the bunk-bed across the room. Celosia was at the bottom, Hikari was at the top, snoring. I was on the top bunk with Kimberly on the bottom. All of them were deep in their slumber and have been for hours.
It was reaching midnight by now and I couldn't sleep not one bit. I was worried.
Here we were, in an shelter that was three times the size of our own, better, could carry more people, more food, water, and even activities to keep people in shape. Everyone played their part in helping this place thrive, so no one was stressed. That wasn't the case at our shelter. I and the others, along with Mr. Hada basically ran that place. No one else contributed. They just profited off of being there. Beval fainted from stress, Mr. Hada was bitter and heartbroken, Hikari was bored and wanted something more out of life, Danny held in his visions because he wasn't so sure about them, and Celosia almost got kicked out because she depended on someone she shouldn't have. I blamed her at first, but now, I understood. In the middle of a deadly pandemic, it was hard survive when you didn't have many survival skills. It would've been easier and more reliable to depend on someone else for food and water.
"Come on mi amor, put yourself in her shoes, Celosia is our best friend", Beval's voiced echoed in my head.
"What the hell has happened to me?", I thought to myself before climbing down the latter. I decided to take a walk around the shelter to get my mind off of everything.
"Hey", I heard. I know that voice.
"Where are you going?", Celosia asked with a groggy voice.
"For a walk", I replied in a nonchalant tone, not even turning around to look at her.
"Can I join you?", she asked, hopping out of bed.
"Um, sure?" I replied with hesitation, not sure if I really wanted to say yes. I wasn't sure why she wanted to come with me. She must have been mistaking me for Kimberly.
Closing the suite door behind me, we began walking.
There was a silence between us. I knew her, I could tell something was on her mind.
There were people still walking around the shelter this late. Some were reading books as they sat on nearby benches, others were kissing and hugging each other good night.
"Hey, I wanted to apologize for lashing out at you when you told me I was looking pale back at the shelter. I felt overwhelmed at that moment and I just didn't want you to get on me about my fuck-ups, again. I know you don't like me, but it's still the right then to admit when I am wrong. I just wanted to take responsibility for that," Celosia apologized randomly, placing her hand on my arm.
I remembered that day. I wasn't originally going to tell her she was looking pale. I was actually going to tell her that I was sorry for not being supportive when she was threatened to be kicked out. That day Mr. Hada told her she had two months to find food for the shelter or she had to leave.
I was going to walk over and comfort her after she started crying. Then Kimberly came and took that embrace from me. Assuming that I would be judgmental and apathetic, Kimberly basically told me to fuck off.
I didn't know if I was jealous of Kimberly and wanted Celosia back, or if I was just tired of Celosia constantly bringing up Shimizu. She was obsessed with him, she just couldn't stop talking about him a year into his "death", so, I kept my distance. But as she grew older, she talked about Shimizu less and less and hung out with Kimberly more and more. I didn't like that. I put distance between us because I figured she would get better and come back to me. But she didn't. But I had to admit to myself that I was part of the reason why me and Celosia weren't as close anymore, I left her to fed for herself.
"If anything Celosia, I need to apologize to you."
"Huh?", she replied, a bit surprised.
I walked over, towards a nearby fountain and sat there.
"Come", I patted the area next to me. "Sit. I have to talk to you about something. Something I have been feeling for these last five years."
She was hesitant, but still decided to sit next to me.
"Celosia, Kimberly told us we should have a talk. To be honest, I agree. Look Celosia, I know I haven't been the nicest to you, but I want to tell you why. I always felt like-
"You felt like I replaced you for Kimberly. Yeah, I know. She explained it to me", Celosia nodded, not showing much emotion on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at me. "Why would you feel that way? Gaia, you have been my best friend since forever. Kimberly is my best friend too but I'm not going to sit up here and pretend like you don't have a special place in my heart. You were my first real friend."
I bit my lip, sighing deeply as I looked down at my fingers, playing with them. Suddenly, Celosia grabbed my hand.
"Look, I'm not going to knock you for feeling that way". Tears formed in her eyes as her voice began to break. "Gaia, I am so, so sorry for abandoning you. I never knew you felt that way. Knowing you, I should have noticed. I understand if you hate me."
I tried my best to hold in my tears but I couldn't. Her apology was all I ever wanted. I didn't want to fight, scream or tell her how bad of a person she was. I just wanted my Robin back. It's crazy how I was a twenty year old woman and couldn't even confront someone about my issues, I should have done this a long time ago. I tried distracting myself in biology books but even that couldn't take the pain away. I could never find the courage to confront Celosia about how I felt.
We were adults now, so just like she did, I had to take responsibility and apologize for my part in the situation. I left her when she needed me. I didn't know how to help her with her grief, so she turned to Kimberly. To be honest, I didn't hate Kimberly, I actually liked her. Even if she didn't always show her soft side, she was a ride-or-die friend who looked out for Celosia.
One thing about dealing with grief was that it was something you couldn't take away. Death is something you can't fix. The only thing you could do to make the pain better was the bring the deceased loved one back to life, and that was impossible. Our situation was very rare though, having a best friend you thought was dead for several years, revealed to be alive not even a month ago wasn't that common.
"Celosia. I don't hate you. I don't hate Kimberly either. She's cheeky, yes, but she's actually a pretty cool person. I just resented her because I thought she took my place. I resented you because I felt like you let her. I was being immature thinking that. Celosia, we have been friends since we were six, I always considered you a friend, but I kept my true feelings inside to avoid conflict. I just don't want you to forg-"
I stopped myself as I was embraced by her.
"Gaia, I never forgot about you. I don't see you as that dismissive friend who I fell off with anymore, I see you for who you truly are, for who you have always been. That little bubbly, hyperactive teen girl is still in there, somewhere, she just needs to...come out!"
I burst out laughing and squealing as Celosia tickled my torso. I squirmed and trying to wiggle myself out of her grip. Eventually, I began tickling her too. Her snorting, mixed with her loud laughter caused me to laugh even more.
During our tickle fest, people stared at us as they walked past, giving us dirty looks for making so much noise in the middle of the night. But we didn't care. We were just glad to be close again, enjoying every minute together.
We stayed up that night, knowing good and well we would have to meet up with Shimizu at the head office to discuss the mission in the morning, but we didn't mind. We had a lot to catch up on and a lot to talk about. She discussed how she really felt about Shimizu with Ashley and how even though she was happy for him, she hated seeing him with her.
I suggested that she tells him how she felt and how life was too short to regret such things. Of course, she declined. I understood why. I was in the same situation with Beval when I had a crush on him while we were best friends. I forced myself to tell him even if he was still in love with Mina. I hate to say it, but I'm glad Isabella killed her. She and her dad caused so much bloodshed. But thanks to Shimizu, W.E.A was no longer operated...but that's just one thing we got out of the way. We still had a long way to go before we could truly be at peace.