“Barely.” the Doctor responded without even really looking up from the clipboard he was writing on.
Locke bit down hard on his lip to keep from screaming as the Doctor left. As soon as he heard the door click closed he kneeled beside the beautiful girl stretched out on the bed.
“Celes.” he whispered as he gingerly moved her hair away from her face. He couldn’t help but notice that her forehead felt as though it were on fire, her fever had to be at least 104.
“How did this happen?” he asked as if he didn’t already know the answer
Locke bowed his head and held back sobs looking at how pale and sickly poor Celes looked. Her body appeared to be fading away and her usually perfect hair resembled dull string. Taking her limp hand into his own Locke continued: “I do know how this happened actually, and I want you to know if you can hear me, that if I could go back in time to change it all I would.”
Locke remained silent for a few moments as though he were waiting for Celes to answer. Of course she didn’t but he did happen to notice her eyes. They were still closed, but appeared to be moving!! Her lids were in constant motion as if her eyeballs were trying to escape their sockets.
“What in the hell could she be dreaming about?” Locke wondered....
“Nooooo!!” Celes wailed and jumped away clawing desperately at the carpet
“Get back here!!” Locke snarled grabbing her by the ankles and jerking her back to him in one quick motion.
“Get away from me!!” Celes squealed, squirming as Locke forced her onto his lap again
“Time to get tickled!!” Locke cried raking his fingers underneath Celes’s armpits
“No!!” she shouted erupting into laughter “Stop!! Stop!!”
After about 20 minutes of endless tickling. Celes was able to once again break free.
“Monster!!” She playfully shouted at Locke “My ribs are killing me now.”
Locke simply laughed and propped himself up on the sofa. “Your even prettier when your all flushed.” he teased
“Oh, shut up.” Celes replied sticking her tongue out at him “I think your handsome no matter what.”
He smiled and held out his arms, which Celes reluctantly fell into. “I love you.” Locke murmured as he flooded her face with kisses.
“I love you too.” Celes whispered kissing him long and hard on the lips as she led him towards the floor....
A few hours later, Celes blew Locke another kiss before climbing into her pink Mercedes. “Love you.” she mouthed before jumping in and driving off.
As she was pulling away her silver car phone started going off. “Hello?” she greeted expecting to hear Locke’s voice.
“Celes?” a different male voice asked
“Yeah.” she replied confused
“Its me Edgar.”
“Edgar!!” she exclaimed as she slowed down at a red light “I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice at first. Whats up?”
“Nothing really.” he replied heistantly
“Uh oh.” Celes said “What happened?”
“Well..” Edgar began “I heard some rumors.”
“Not again!!” Celes shouted angerily “What is it this time?”
“Same as always, that were sleeping together.” Edgar sighed “People can’t seen to mind their own business.”
“I hope Locke doesn’t find out.” Celes replied “Its not true, but he never believes me.”
“He can’t realize that were just friends.” Edgar offered “He loves you though, so he knows what to believe in the end.”
“It’s just hard.” Celes moaned “We always fight over stupid stuff like this when people stick their noses in.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Edgar responded “You guys are meant to be together.”
“I sure hope so.” Celes answered as she pulled into her own driveway “Well, I’m going to go inside and call Locke, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow alright?”
“Sure, talk to you then.”
“Bye.” Celes replied and hung up
Once she was in the house and sprawled on the bed, Celes picked up her cordless phone and dialed Locke’s number.
“Hi honey.” she purred cheerfully when he answered
“Hi.” Locke said rather coldly
“I missed you, so I thought I’d say hi.” Celes continued “Whats up?”
“Nothing.”
“Ohhhhhhh.” Celes replied beginning to feel uncomfortable “Miss me?”
“Not really, I just saw you.” Locke mumbled
Celes felt her heart sink, Locke never talked to her like that unless something was seriously wrong. “Honeyyyyy.” she began fearfully “Whats wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“No really, I mean it.” she insisted “Whats wrong with you?”
“Whats wrong with me!!” Locked snapped “Whats wrong with you??”
“Huh?”
“You know what I mean.” Locke fired angerily
“Actually I don’t.” Celes replied trying to hold back tears
“Whatever I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
“What!! Why??” Celes cried feeling her heart collaspe inside her chest
“Hello? Hello? Hello!!??” she screamed into the dead phone
Releasing a small cry Celes slammed the phone down onto the cradle and buried her face into her pillows. It was nearly two hours until she emerged with red, puffy, dripping eyes.
“He’ll call me back. He loves me.” Celes told herself for the hundredth time “He always does....”
“Edgar!!” Celes shouted into her phone the next night
“What?” Edgar answered, obviously holding the phone from his ear for the sake of his hearing
“He hasn’t called me!!”
“Who hasn’t?” Edgar asked patiently
“Locke!! He didn’t call me all day.” Celes whimpered “We don’t usually go an entire day without speaking to each other at least once.”
“Why wouldn’t he call?” Edgar questioned
“We sort of broke up last night. But I have no idea why.” Celes wailed “He just hung up on me when I asked why.”
“Thats horrible.” was all Edgar could think to say “Did you try calling him?”
“I sent him an e-mail.” Celes answered “I was afraid to do more then that.”
“Did he answer it?”
“No, not yet.”
“I don’t understand why you guys would just break up all of a sudden.” Edgar offered “I can’t picture you guys not together.”
“Neither can I.” Celes moaned back “Thats why it hurts so much.”
“I know how you feel.” Edgar inquired “But he’ll come to his senses eventually.”
“I hope so.” Celes whispered in a defeated voice “I miss him so badly already, and it hasn’t even been a full day!!”
“I know, I know.” Edgar responded “Just give it some time. Like I said last night you guys belong together.”
“Yeah, ok.” Celes sniffed “I’ll call you sometime tomorrow.”
“Alrig..” Edgar started but there was a click and he knew she’d hung up, obviously she hadn’t wanted him to hear her cry....
"So tell me again whats happening between you too?" Celes's best friend Terra Bradford asked
"Were just friends." Celes answered simply as she walked up to the ATM machine
"You guys use to be pretty hot and heavy." Terra commented "How long has this been going on?"
"Four longggggggg days." Celes sighed as she placed her newly withdrawn money in her purse
"I can tell you don't like it." Terra pestered "If your broken up why are you buying him a birthday present?"
"I already told you!!" Celes snapped obviously annoyed with the conversation "Were just friends but we still hang out and stuff."
"Uh huh." Terra said suspicously as they returned to Celes's Mercedes "When was the last time you saw him?"
"The night we broke up." Celes admitted, looking away as she climbed behind the wheel of her car
"I knew it." Terra declared as she fastened her seat belt "And when was the last time you guys spoke on the phone?"
"The night we broke up." Celes repeated, tears filling her eyes
"Awwwww I'm sorry Celes." Terra said as she patted her on the back "I have a big mouth, what kinda present should we buy for Lockey?"
"Only I can call him Lockey!!" Celes teased, playfully swinging at Terra as she drove "I don't know what to get. Maybe a shirt, thats not romantic or anything."
"Alright." Terra responded, distracted as she waved at a passing car full of guys
Celes looked over and laughed. "Terra!!" she cried "Don't you already have like five boyfriends?"
"No!!" Terra shouted jokingly "It's only like three or four."
"You dork, I don't even have one." Celes fired back with a laugh as she pulled into the mall parking lot "Lets go get Lockey a nice present."
"So are you sure he's going to like it?" Terra said skeptically for nearly the millionth time that day
"Your more worried about it then I am!!" Celes exclaimed as she grabbed the bag from the trunk "It's just a shirt with a band he likes on it."
"Oh, alright." was all Terra said before going into the house after Celes
"I'm going to call him right now and ask when the party is." Celes reported as she snatched up her phone and fell onto the bed
"Whatever." Terra muttered eyeing all of Celes's Backstreet Boys posters on the walls
"Dammit!!" Celes hissed tossing her phone onto the floor "Busy, he must be on the internet."
"Go IM him or something." Terra suggested with a roll of her eyes
"Ok." Celes snapped sticking her tongue out at Terra as she turned on her ruby red I-Mac "Yeppers theres his screen name."
"Go for it girl." Terra sighed as she pulled on her headphones to listen to the latest BSB CD
Several minutes later just as the boys were going into the third chorus of "Shape of my heart", Terra heard a small cry. Sitting up quickly she found Celes with tears streaming down her face.
"Whats wrong!!" she cried, throwing off her headphones without bothering to turn off her discman
"He doesn't want me to come!!" Celes shouted rubbing the black make-up off of her cheeks "After I bought him a present and everything!!"
"But wasn't it his idea to be friends in the first place?" Terra questioned calmly
"Yeah." Celes sniffed turning off her computer and falling onto the bed
"Forget about him, he's a total loser." Terra annouced "Your better off without him."
"But I miss him soooooo much!!" Celes whined into her pillows
"It'll pass, it has for me." Terra comforted, staring at the blank computer screen hatefully "The world is full of worthy boys."
"Not for me!!" Celes sobbed, Terra could only sigh and roll her eyes. This was going to be a longgggggg nightttttt....
"I'm just dropping off his present." Celes quietly chanted to herself as she walked up Locke's driveway "I'm not going to stay, only get rid of this thing."
Holding her breath, Celes tip-toed up to the door and rang the bell. After what felt like hours, the door slowly creaked open.
"Celes?" Locke sneered as he stuck his head outside "What do you want?"
"To give you the present I bought." Celes muttered quickly, holding the present out like it had the plague
"I don't want it." Locke growled staring in disgust at the wrapped package "You keep it. Your annoying."
"Annoying!?" Celes breathed "Where did that come from?"
"I'm tired of you," Locke snarled vicously "just get lost I Don't Want You!!"
"Huh? But why?" Celes cried weakly "I don't understand."
"Lockey!! Whose there?" a familiar, drunken, woman's voice cried in the backround
Celes nearly toppled off the concrete steps as Terra appeared with her arms around Locke's waist. "Celes!?" she squeaked, turning white as a ghost
"Terra!?" Celes whispered back, holding burning tears in her shocked eyes "How could you!!"
Spinning on her heel, Celes flung the present into the nearby bushes and stomped to her Mercedes. Without looking back she jumped in a roared off before anyone could catch her.
"Terra and Locke!!" Celes screamed inside her car "How could they both betray me like that!! How? How? How!!??"
Slamming the car into reverse, Celes backed into Acme's parking lot. Wiping tears from her puffy eyes, she stormed inside, a new idea forming quickly inside her head....
"Take only one once a night, or until sleeping comes easier." Celes read less then twenty minutes later in her room
"Easy enough." she muttered to herself, turning towards her desk she sat down and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Feriously she wrote:
Dear Lockey,
Perhaps by the time you read this I'll hopefully have passed on. I know it's stupid to give your life up over a boy, but your not just any boy to me. I loved you since the day I met you, and I still do to this very day. I know we've gone through some shit before, but this is the very worst. You and Terra is just to much for me to handle. Your my true love, and I can't let go that easily, especially when the person whom I thought was my best friend is involved. I missed you since the day we broke up, and cried nearly every day, although that never did me any good. Edgar and I were NEVER involved with each other, we were just friends as I always claimed. We ruined a good realtionship over something stupid, and couldn't even be friends. I tried my hardest to get you to be nice to me, but you always ended up treating me like shit. I even bought you a birthday present, but that wasn't up to your "friend" standards either. I'm sorry it had to end this way, and I love you as much as the entire universe and back twice. I know I'm pathetic in a way, but love has a way of blinding people. I guess I'm one of them. Treat Terra good, because I know inside your a great person. Try to love her as much as I thought you loved me....
Love Eternally To Hell and Back,
Celes
Celes neatly folded her note in half and stuck it into the lap of her favorite stuffed rabbit that Locke had given her one year. Rubbing a few stray tears from her eyes she picked up a framed picture of both of them and kissed his face. Setting it down, she calmly walked back to her desk and grabbing the bottle of sleeping pills she had just bought, downed them all....
Locke listened to the machinary hooked up to Celes beep endlessly, the sound was comforting in a way. Still holding her hand he looked at how even more gray it had become. Just as he was about to summon a nurse, Terra burst in.
"Locke!!" she cried tearfully "Theres something I've got to tell you."
"What?" Locke said climbing to his feet
"That night.. that night we found Celes." Terra began
"Yeah? What about it?" Locke said closing his eyes as images of racing into Celes's house to see if she was alright came bursting into his mind. He saw himself and Terra walking through the wide open front door, forceing open her locked bedroom door, finding her lying on the ground with foam dripping out of her mouth, and an empty bottle of sleeping pills near her outstreched hand....
"I found a note." Terra blurted with a sob "A note from her to you."
"A note? Where is it!!" Locke demanded
"Here." Terra replied slamming a crumpled piece of paper into his left hand. "I'm sorry I hid it." she admitted before, sobbing she spun on her heels and left the room.
Locke slowly returned to his seat and read the rumpled paper as best he could. "I should of admitted I still loved her when I had the chance!!" he cried when he finished "I'm sorry Celes!!" he sobbed "I loved you too, I just couldn't stand those damn rumors!! I didn't want Terra, all I ever thought of was you!!"
Allowing hot tears to burn his cheeks, Locke leaned over and kissed his poor Celes on her cold lips several times. "I love you!!" he nearly shouted in her face "I love you!!"
Locke was only greeted with a loud bbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppp. "Celes??" he screamed as he watched more foam emerge from her purplish lips. "Celes?? Whats wrong!!??"
He soon learned that she'd never answer him again....
You Never Really Value Something Until You've Lost It..
