[NGE] Wave Good Night, Wave Good Bye

[Merc]

Drac is lame and rather than make a TFF account, is making me cross-post this. It's an entry for a 4-hour fanfic contest challenge posted (wrote it in just under 3 hours. Actually less since I went to eat lunch midway).

Sometimes the weight of the world is just too much.  Your responsibilities crush you, people's expectations suffocate you, or your pride holds you back.  What can you do?  You can soldier on; an admirable trait, or you can give in.  Bow to outside pressure and take the easy path, give into temptation, join the dark side, and screw the rules.

Please note: giving in does not mean giving up.  It can be taken in a thousand different different ways: accepting an unwanted compromise taking advantage of an offer, and so on. Be creative!

The challenge is made, so go!

***

The starry sky glittered above him. All was silent except for the waves as they rocked back and forth along the sandy beach, and the small almost unheard noises made in the sand as he laid on his back, staring above at the twinkling stars.

He shivered as a cold wind passed along his location, and his arms wrapped around his chest, grasping the other arm, as he pumped his arms to warm himself up. He twisted his head to the left, looking on as the waves rolled by, and nothing but sand and water as far as he could see. To the right, it was much the same.

A twinge went through his brain as he sat up, looking out towards the ocean, breathing heavily, the cold air causing it to condense just enough to be visible with the soft light provided under the cloudless night.

Loneliness.

He felt...lonely.

The ocean waves surged as if in answer to his emotion, his lower body covered in the amber-colored water. It was no comfort, despite some part of his brain telling him this was not natural. The oddly colored water rolled back into the sea, the drops on his legs dripping slowly onto the sand below.

His hands... he pulled them out in front of him, staring at his palms. Scarred palms stared back at him, a reminder of harsh times, of the nightmare, of loss, of surrender.

He leaned his head forward, cupping his face in the palm of his hands, and wept.

The waves continued to flow, back and forth, back and forth. He paid them no heed, and they in turn paid him none.

A yell rung out in the distance, and he turned his head rapidly towards the sound, a frightened look in his eyes. Rapidly, he sprung upwards, giving a quick pat at the sand stuck to his wet pants...and began to flee.

'No!' he thought, as his feet splashed against the waves as he ran along the coast. 'I'm sorry! I changed my mine! Leave me alone! Please!'

But the waves kept rocking on back and forth, and before long, as he tired, he began to hear splashes behind him as well. His name kept being shouted, red anger in the voice's lips. He surged onward, a second wind pushing him on even as he shivered coldly.

Alas, but the yells got louder, the splashes closer, and soon, a strong impact against his back, as two figures rolled in the wet sand. Then he was on his back again, but he took no comfort in this. Scant seconds later, a weight rested above him, straddling his chest.

His hands crossed in front of his face, and he began to sob, even as fists slammed against his chest. Wet salty tears dripped from his attacker as well, even as the punches came again and again, his named screamed in his face and insults rang between yells.

Always the insults. He was so tired. So very tired.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" he sobbed and screamed, still covering his face, finally saying something back. "I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE!"

The punches stopped, and the figure stepped off him. "IDIOT! IDIOT! YOU GOD, DAMN IDIOT!"

His hands came down from his face, and he warily turned to look at his attacker. He could see her standing at the side, craddling her arms as if giving herself a hug, looking away from him. He could still hear her sobbing, although it was quieter.

He began to reach for her, but stopped. He felt helpless, not knowing what to do.

He wanted to be with her. But he hated her.

He didn't want to be alone. But he hated her.

He loved her.

...But he hated her.

His face twisted in agony, as he wretched his eyes away from her figure, and looked out towards the ocean, stomping closer and closer until his feet always stood in the water, waves still surging back and forth behind him. "THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED!" he screamed out to the ocean.

Melodic laughter quietly began to come from the ocean. Light glinted reflectively off the surface, darting towards him from the horizon, getting brighter, brighter and the laughter louder, louder.

The sobs behind stopped, and a horrified gasp came out. He barely heard as he looked on at the odd occurance, stunned in silence, never having had a response before this night. Even if he'd wanted to do anything, it was too late to do anything.

The light was upon him on a flash, and he had to cover his eyes as he felt laughter ringing all around him. He felt as if a body came in contact with his, feeling a woman's body touching his, arms wrapping around his neck. A light blush covered his cheeks even if he could not see for the moment, as he also felt soft mounds and perky nipples pressing against his chest. Hot breath tickled his left ear.

"What is it that you want then?" a soft melodic voice whispered into his ear as he pulled his hand away from his ear, everything still blurry and hard to see.

"YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM! LET HIM GO!" he heard panic in his sole companion...well, to this point at least. Some panic surged in him as well. A feeling of wrongness. That this wasn't right at all, perhaps even worse than...

The spots in his vision cleared. Mesmerizing blood-red eyes stared back at him. Pale, moonlit skin. Their eyes focused on each other, he felt he saw a smile on her lips as she moved closer and closer, until her lips tasted his.

His chest felt on fire...

***

BAM!

He felt a soft impact on his face, and he startledly sat up. His head was pounding, and he groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Are you awake NOW?" he heard. The voice sounded annoyed and concerned, both at once.

Looking towards it, he saw short cropped blue hair and hauntingly familiar red eyes... except these felt more expressive than the hazy ones he struggled to recall. Her cheeks were puffed, and she tapped her foot repeatedly against the floor in a rhythmic tap as she waved around a pillow threateningly.

"Or do I have to SMACK you awake some more?"

The threat made him shake his head wildly as he attempted to stand up, only to trip over his cover and slamming onto the hard wooden floor, eliciting a giggle from the girl.

He groaned, as he attempted to stand up and free himself from the bed covers, and he felt the girl's hand wrap around his arm as she helped him up. "Come on, sleepyhead. Your mom has breakfast waiting. Hurry up, or we'll be late for school."

"...School?"

He felt a smack against the back of his head and he yelped as he began to rub it, ruffling up his unkept hair even as he tossed her a glare. She dismissively humphed and turned towards the door. "Look, I woke you up, so it's not my fault if you're late, alright? I have stuff to do before class, so I need to get going myself."

With that, she turned towards the door, slamming it shut behind him as he cringed, and helplessly looked at his surrounding, feeling both unfamiliar and familiar at once. Dirty clothes and books littered most of the floor of a mostly sparse room. Really, there wasn't much besides that, a small desk with a computer resting on it, and an instrument's case resting near the door alongside a backpack and a hanger on the wall holding a school uniform.

He frowned, still feeling out of it, before he let loose a yawn. Patting his cheeks to help awaken himself, he shifted towards the uniform, remembering the girl's comments.

"Guess I'm getting dressed..." he muttered as he undressed and pulled the uniform off the clothes hanger. A few minutes later, as he grabbed the backpack, his eyes focused on the instrument's case, uncertain if he was meant to take that as well. He felt drawn to it, more comfortable, and so finally, he did in fact grasp the handle and picked it up, leaving the confines of the room and heading down some stairs, taking in the sights around him.

Reaching the bottom, he could see the girl rushing out the door, skipping out as she struggled to put on a pair of shoes while bouncing outward, and a piece of toast looking like it'd fall off her lips any second now. The door slammed shut behind her as she tossed a quick wave at him, and then she was gone, leaving him...alone again.

A twinge went through his chest, his hand grasping it, resting in front of his heart, and he frowned. He shook his head, and began to hear some noise from a nearby room. Turning towards it, he found the kitchen and in it were two people.

One of them was focused on the newspaper, occassionally grabbing a cup of steaming coffee and bringing it to his lips and sipping and ruffling the paper as he switched to the next page. The other, a woman, was humming as she flittered between the stove, the table, and the fridge, keeping herself busy as she moved from one spot to the next.

"...good morning?"

The woman turned to look at him, and smiled. "Oh, good morning, son!"

A grunt came from behind the newspaper, the paper coming down briefly to show uncomfortable eyes staring back at his own. A soft mumble of "...morning." came out before the newspaper came back up, covering the face once more.

His own stomach gave a small lurch, and he blushed as he looked at the wom...at his mother. Again he felt something in his heart, and before he knew it, he was right in front of her, his arms wrapping around her. "...morning, mom."

His voice was almost as quiet as...as his father. He felt lips pressing against his forehead, and he looked up, smiling back at his mother.

"Go eat something and get going now. You don't want to be late, do you? You don't have to leave early like your sister, right?"

He shook his head. "No....No, I don't," he replied as he pulled back a chair at the table, setting his backpack and musical instrument resting on one of it's legs. He didn't at all feel certain of this answer, still feeling both comfortable and uncomfortable, familiar and unfamiliar. But he wished to stay here for just a bit longer.

So he did. He enjoyed the soft gruff grunts from behind the newspaper, and the soft song his mother hummed. And he ate his breakfast until he was full.

***

As he reached the school, people came up to him, and began to walk with him. He didn't feel so alone because of this, and he welcomed their company, quietly walking alongside them as they chatted, occassionally giving a quiet smile back as reply.

"Hey, hey, have you heard the latest story about the ghost girl?" one of the two boys by his side asked. His glasses glinted as he grinned, holding up a camcorder proudly in his hands. "I'm going to try and capture her on video. You guys in?"

"That's just some stupid rumor, you know," the girl admonished, wagging her finger as she stepped in front of the boy, her dark brown pigtails bouncing as she stood her ground. "There's no such thing as ghosts!"

The other boy grinned, as he scratched his short spiky black hair. "Don't be like that, wouldn't it be exciting if she did exist? I heard she was a lonely genius girl, who finally ended it all, and now goes around just looking for friends."

The girl scowled a she stepped up to him this time, jabbing her finger right in front of his face, may just a little below his nose, and making him stumble a step back as he lost his grin. "Now listen here! No boyfriend of mine is going to spread those silly rumors! Look, you're scaring..."

He had felt a brief jab of pain in his heart again as the word 'lonely' was mentioned, but he shook his head at the girl's words. "I'm fine," he said gently. "...I just don't like the idea of someone being lonely."

A soft smile covered her lips and she nodded quietly. Both boys also quieted, and they continued onward to school. And he regretted briefly saying anything, feeling uncomfortable in the silence, but uncertain what to say as they crossed the gates to the school. Looking around, he saw many others arriving for school. Behind a tree, he thought he saw a glance of auburn hair ducking away.

He shook his head, and stepped into the school.

***

The day passed slowly. Teachers came and went, droning about stuff he barely understood. He spent most of his time observing his classmates. The class was full, except for one desk near his... friend, the girl who was the class president. He found that a little odd, but figured others didn't like sitting near the front, where they'd most likely get caught goofing off. He observed his two other friends trading messages over the computer system. No messages popped up on his screen.

He turned to the board, and began to jot down notes.

***

Students streamed out in droves as the bell rang, the afternoon sun shining down brightly. He took his time in leaving, people patting his back as they vanished into the distance. He just smiled back at them awkwardly and silently. It was an odd gesture to receive, but it made him feel welcome. The three who accompanied him to school were waiting by the building's glass doors, all their stuff in hand, and motioning to him to hurry up.

He nodded quietly to them, but before he joined them, he realized he'd forgotten something in the classroom. He told his friend as such before doubling back.

Sliding the door open, he was startled to see someone still present. "Oh...hello."

The figure turned to look at him, sad eyes staring at him, cutting at his soul. He bit his lip, uncertain how to proceed as she looked on quietly, her eyes remaining focusedly on him as he shuffled towards his desk.

He ducked his head away from her as he reached it, grabbing the books he'd forgotten, his heart pounding, a faint blush covering his face.

The girl was...pretty, to say the least. And more than many things, she felt more familiar than not. "What are you doing here?" he braved the question, as he grasped his things tightly to his chest and moved closer to her.

She just continued to silently look at him, with her sad eyes. And he once more began to feel uncomfortable. Belatedly, he realized that she was sitting in the seat next to the class president. The empty one. He briefly wondered if that meant anything, and he wasn't sure he liked the ideas popping into his head.

He began to shuffle towards the door.

"...I don't want to be alone."

He stopped and turned back to look at her as he heard her soft plea. Tears were forming under her eyes. He stumbled back, and began to panic, not sure what to say or do. She focused her eyes still on him, and she began to speak again.

"Don't leave me alone..."

The door to the classroom slid open abruptly, and the moment ended, as he twisted to look back. Standing there was his sister, looking annoyed her hand gripping tightly the edge of the door. "How long does it take to get some stupid books? Honestly!"

He stutterered, trying to formulate a response, turning to look back at the desk, and was shocked to see it empty. Or perhaps not so shocked, as he shivered, a thought returning to his head. "I have my things. I was just about to go..." he whispered quietly.

His sister examined him, looking doubtful, but finally nodded. "C'mon, let's go home."

As they met up with the rest of his friends, and they began to walk home, he turned to the one with glasses, and nervously asked. "Hey....that ghost girl. Do you know what she's supposed to look like? Does she have auburn-colored hair?"

"No idea. Why did you see her?" was the joking answer given.

The others went silent as he nodded quietly. "...I think I did?"

***

He laid back on his bed, his hands resting behind his head. He focused his eyes on the ceiling, counting out the square tiles in front of him, in a weak attempt to distract himself. It wasn't working very well.

Finally, he huffed and sat up, pulled his hands over his hair, then his forehead, and his face, pulling them away as his scrunched up face went back to normal. Sighing, he stood up, and began digging around his belongings for something to distract himself with. Eventually, he came upon a minidisk player, with a disk within. He popped both earbuds in, until they rested snuggly in his ears, and sat back down in the bed.

He hit play.

Waves began to sound, the rocking back and forth noise making him smile, sounding familiar, and relaxing him, even if some of that pain in his chest began to pulse. He ignored it, settling for the familiar sound, closing his eyes and imagining a starry sky, the sand beneath his back and his barefoot feet digging into wet sand.

He slowly felt himself going to sleep, until he was shook awake, the earbuds being pulled out of his ears, and his eyes opening, then widening as much as humanly possible at what they saw.

It was...that girl. The ghost girl. She still looked sad, dried tear tracks on her cheeks, and she was wildly shaking him. He started to say "I'm awake..." but as soon as he said one syllable, her hand snaked towards his lips, and clamped it shut. He then realized that she also looked...desperate?

She put a finger against her lips, that universal signal requesting silence, and began to pull him towards the opened window in his room. The stars shined brightly, and pale moonlight streamed inside.

He briefly considered declining, some fear in the knowledge that she was but a ghost, but her eyes pled and her hauntingly beautiful appearance made him step towards the window. She smiled at him silently, and stood on the window sill. He saw her mouth, 'Thank you...'

And then her eyes turned horrified. He felt arms wrap around one of his and he looked back to see an adamant look on his sister's face. "He doesn't want to go..." she said simply.

He looked at her, and at the ghost, her horror turning to determination, as she pulled desperatedly. His arms felt like they were being pulled apart from his body, and he gritted his teeth. "I don't want to be alone!" the ghost exclaimed, her feet beginning to float, in the direction of the moon, as if flying away, only tethered to this world by her desperate hold on him.

"He doesn't want to go..." his sister repeated.

He heard stomping from outside his room, as two figures crossed into his would-be sanctum. His father. His mother. In fluffy robes and fluffy bunny slippers. "What's going on?" they both demanded.

He smiled at the sight, but turned once more to look at the ghost as he felt her desperate pull. He recoiled. Behind her, coming from the moon, he saw a red monstrosity, with yellow, black and white markings, and glowing green eyes. It was coming closer, clawing its way from the moon towards them.

He dragged his arm back as if burned, and the ghost lost its hold on him, looking...betrayed?

She screamed desperately as she floated away, towards the moon, towards the behemoth. "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!"

He shuddered as he saw in horrified fascination as the monster opened it's mouth, a monstrous teeth-filled maw...and swallowed the beautiful ghost, vanishing into golden dust and dispersing into the stars. His sister and his family moved towards him, and hugged him, and he took refuge in their presence, hugging them deeply, trying to force himself to forget the sight.

***

She slammed her fists on the body resting in the beach, the cool waves splashing alongside their bodies, rocking back and forth as endlessly as always. "Shinji! Shinji! Come back to me! I don't want to be alone!"

The wave splashed forward once more, salty water getting into her tear-strained eyes, and she looked horrified at the sand beneath her, a crumpled set of clothes as the wave pulled back. She scramled towards the parting wave, grasping loosely at the amber-colored liquid, but it always escaped her hands. Standing at the edge of the beach, floating above the water was a naked pale figure looking with emotionless eyes at the girl as she sat on her legs, her hands splashing at the water as she screamed and screamed, splashing sand and liquid all around until she finally gave up. Crawling back towards the empty set of clothes, she grabbed the wet shirt, holding it against her body.

"...I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone..." she chanted repeatdly, rocking back and forth.

Silently, the floating figure continued watching.

"Mama! Shinji!" the girl sobbed. "Anyone!"

Still, the figure watched.

Minutes passed. Hours, maybe. Finally, the wretched girl stood. Her eyes glared at the floating figure. "Give them back! Give HIM back!" she screamed, as she launched herself towards the figure.

Her fist pulled back, as she prepared to assault the figure, expecting her to wilt under her punches and grant her desire.

But the figure simply caught the fist, and brought her closer. The girl felt hot breath against her ear, and shuddered.

"Do you want to see them again? To see him again?" the pale figure whispered.

The girl felt herself replying quietly.

FIN