The wind had gotten stronger, and the weather was colder. Winter was definitely close, now, Andie thought as she climbed out of her car. It was early December. There were still a few signs of the recent Thanksgiving celebrations. There were a few people wandering the park, walking their dogs or playing with their children. Andie couldn't help but envy their innocence, their carefree happiness. She felt like it had been years since she'd felt that way. She began strolling along the path herself, looking for Isabelle. The park was quite large, and Isabelle hadn't specified a spot. She first tried the bridge, the clearing they usually trained in, and even the spot they'd been using more recently as a training ground. But so far, no sign of her. She checked her phone, but no messages or missed calls... after almost fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, Andie was getting slightly irritated. Why call her all the way out there and not even show up? She pulled out her phone and called Isabelle again. This time, it rang, and Isabelle answered quickly.
"Hey, Andie, what's up?"
"I'm at the park, where are you?" Andie asked, looking around.
There was a confused silence.
"... What? I'm at home..."
Andie could almost hear her frown.
"Andes, what in the world made you think I was going to be at the park?"
Now Andie was frowning.
"You send me a text asking you to meet you here fast," she told her.
"... Uh... no, I didn't..." Isabelle said, sounding more and more baffled.
"It definitely came from your phone..." Andie told her.
"... Really? Hold on..."
Isabelle was silent a moment.
"... Andes, I never sent that text."she said finally.
Andie sighed. Great. Now, what was she supposed to do?
"Okay... never mind." she said.
"Ugh! It's probably a prank from my sister, she was playing with it a while ago..." Isabelle sighed. "Trust me, she's going to have it..."
"No, it's okay. It's just a kid's joke..." Andie said. "Don't rip her head off over it."
"I'm so sorry, this is really embarrassing..." Isabelle sighed. "I keep telling her to keep her hands off my things... Honestly, I don't know what to say... d'you want me to come over? Or if you want, you can come over to my place, since you're almost right next door. What do you think?"
"... No, that's alright, thanks," Andie said, a little wearily. "I'll just go home..."
There was a pause.
"You sure?" Isabelle asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
There was a pause.
"I'm sorry..." Isabelle said. "Really..."
"Don't worry about it, it's no big deal..."
"But..." Isabelle began.
"No, it's fine, really." Andie said, fighting the weariness out of her voice.
"Alright, then... Thanks for being so nice about this... I'll see you at school, okay?" Isabelle asked.
"Yeah. Bye."
And she hung up before pocketing her phone with a sigh. It was just a silly prank. She had spoken to Isabelle just the night before, so her sister had probably just picked the first number they'd seen and sent the message. It was getting cold. She turned and meant to walk back to her car. But just as she took a few steps forward, a voice called her name from behind. Thinking it was someone else called Andie, she ignored it at first, but then, the voice called again.
"Andie, hold on!"
And this time, she froze. Something about that voice, the way they had spoken was familiar. Her heart pounding, hardly daring to believe it, she turned around slowly. And their, standing a few feet away from her, his hair blowing in the wind, his blue eyes shining, a grin on his face... was Bane.
Andie stared, too shocked to move for a few seconds. Surely this was her imagination... or she'd gone home, fallen asleep without noticing again, and was dreaming... she discreetly pinched her leg as Bane began walking towards her. She felt the pain of her pinch, so this was not a dream... or a very real one if it was... But what if Zarias had taken on Bane's appearance? Although... it didn't sound like him...he'd always been more direct than that, but then, she had to admit she couldn't say she really knew him well enough to be certain. She couldn't sense Zarias's power...
Don't worry, it's really him, Ardente said. As powerful as he is, Zarias could never entirely conceal himself.
Andie needed no more encouragement. She ran forwards and threw her arms around Bane. Only then did she realize just how much she had missed his touch.
"... I can't believe it..." She whispered, her eyes blurring.
She looked up at him.
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
"Didn't I tell you I'd always be there for you?" He smiled.
She nodded, her eyes shining.
"... So after all that... you woke up by yourself after all..."
He turned thoughtful for a moment.
"... I don't know if it was you or not," he admitted.
She blinked. He smiled.
"River filled me in."
"I knew Isabelle had sent that text!" Andie exclaimed, outraged. "I can't believe her, she actually lied to me!"
"No, she didn't. River sent the text, then deleted it," Bane explained sheepishly.
Andie stared at him dumbfounded.
"... But why? Why not just... call me yourself?"
"I... didn't seem to know what to say." he said. "I thought it would come to me more naturally if I saw you in person."
Andie had to admit she would probably have felt the same way. There was a pause.
Andie then gulped and cleared her throat.
"Bane... I'm so sorry..." she said. "About everything..."
Bane's hand reached up and touched her cheek.
"Don't be." He told her, his eyes boring into hers. "You had no way of knowing what would happen. And we were both trying to protect each other, there was a strong chance one of us was going to do something like that. And anyway, Zarias has the powers of the Demon Lord, so it would take a lot more than the two of us to beat him."
"I guess so..." Andie agreed.
There was a silence.
"So... what did I miss?" Bane asked.
Andie laughed more heartily than she ever had. Bane looked at her curiously.
"Uh... did I say something funny?" he asked, a small smile on his face.
"No... No, it's just... it's such a long story, I have no idea where to start!"
Bane's smile turned impish.
"So what motivated you so much?"
Andie wasn't sure she followed, then it hit her.
"Oh, my God... you want me to say it, don't you?"
"Only if you want you," he said, his eyes turning slightly hesitant.
Andie paused. She had never spoken to a guy like this before... what if she said the wrong thing, or said the right thing, but the wrong way, which would be worse?
"... I tried all I could to find some way to help you because... I felt like it was my fault. And... because we're friends..." she said slowly.
He waited, his expression uncertain.
"... And then... the longer I went without you... the more I missed you." Andie said, finding it hard to hold his gaze and looking away often. "I don't even know how or why... but... all I could think about was getting you back... it was like I couldn't breathe right without you, couldn't... couldn't think straight."
She finally looked at him.
"... Because for some strange, crazy reason... I fell in love with you."
There was a pause. Then, Bane tentatively slid her hair behind her ear, keeping his hand on her cheek. Then, gently, he leaned forwards and pressed his lips against hers. As if she'd always been waiting for this moment, Andie reached up and caught his face in her hands. The wind was ice cold, but they didn't care. When Bane stepped away, he was smiling. Andie smiled back, even though a little awkwardly.
"So," Bane said. "How about that long story?"