12. Just Try
After Samuel had left all Vaan could think about was Blake. Was she alive? Was she a brainwashed Agent now?
Would she remember him?
He tried to push away the thoughts. He tried to stop hoping for something so farfetched. She couldn’t be alive, Samuel would’ve killed her.
Vaan grabbed another sword and sharpened it, slowly this time, to occupy his mind, he concentrated on the sword. Song was standing behind him, off in his own mind, staring at the floor.
It was quite, besides the sound of Vaan sharpening another sword. And Song decided to break the silence. He knew it was a tense subject but he had to get it off his chest.
“Uh, Vaan?”
Vaan turned around, resting the half-sharpened sword on his knees. “Yes?”
“What if…what if Blake really is alive?” Song asked. He stood straight up and rested his arms at his sides, waiting for Vaan’s reply.
Vaan glared at him. “Well she’s not, so there’s no point in asking.”
“She might be!” Song said stubbornly. He strode forward and grabbed Vaan by his shoulders. “All she did was disappear. We know they took her know, and he even said she’s alive.”
Vaan shook his head. “He’s using that sliver of hope there to get to me, and I can’t let him.”
Song let go of Vaan’s shoulders and grabbed the sword from atop his knees and threw I across the room. “Vaan! Just try! JUST FOR ONCE!” He angrily shouted. “Just try and find her! You can’t just give up! You and I both know she wouldn’t just give up, she would offer him fake information. She would keep herself alive, no matter the cost.”
Vaan’s jaw dropped and he looked at his bestfriend, completely serious, and said, “No.”
Song groaned. “Oh, c’mon! Can you at least promise me that if we get even the most remote chance, you’ll look for her?”
Vaan looked down at his hands and muttered, “Yea, fine.”
Song grinned. “Good! Now, here’s your sword.” He went and picked up the blade then handed it carefully back to Vaan. “If it’s broken in anyway, I was never here.”
Vaan chuckled. “Alright, alright. Get out, would you?”
Song nodded, the smile still on his face, and he walked out of the armory, leaving Vaan alone to collect his thoughts.
Song just felt like Blake was alive. He was never as close to her as Vaan had been, but he had more hope for her. But then again, Vaan was a very pessimistic guy. The glass was always half empty for him, and the world just wasn’t as great. It was full of only evil people. Everyone always had the worst intentions.
Blake was out there, Song knew. And he knew that Vaan knew. But Vaan was too busy assuming she wasn’t good, and he’d rather have her dead then going along with the Agents, rather than having to fight her.