[ 28 ] 1992

-

"On second thought, please take me back to the airport."

-

Arthur almost immediately placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her away gently. He wasn't sure if he had been giving her mixed signals or if he ever made her think with any words or actions that he was in love with her too. But he appreciated Michelle Jenner. She was just a girl who needed a lot of affection and she needed someone to listen to her. Arthur always felt that he was offering friendship, not love. Even after two years of training in the garden, he still hadn't forgotten Harleen and his heart still held onto the possibility of them getting back together in the future. 

"I have a girlfriend." He reminded her, and he felt a prick in his chest at the fact that he could actually see her heart break.

Michelle gulped back against the knot in her throat at the hurt she was feeling because he didn't want to kiss her, and she pushed back the tears that were threatening to escape. Perhaps she had lied to herself when she thought that Arthur Vega liked her. He was always serious around the other teenagers in the garden, but with her it was like he had a soft spot. He was always trying to help her out, and he was always there when she needed him. Perhaps she had confused his friendship with something more. 

She tried hard not to let her voice shake as she pointed something out which was painfully obvious to him as well. "You said so yourself that she dumped you for some rich university kid. She clearly doesn't deserve you, and clearly doesn't love you--"

He stopped her in her tracks, with a firm shake of his head. "Don't talk like that about Harleen."

The eighteen year old with platinum blonde hair and ice colored blue eyes heaved a sigh, and got back on her feet. She wasn't going to argue with him if he wasn't willing to listen to her. It was one thing for him to not have any romantic feelings for her. But it was another for him to live in denial about his precious Harleen. If she had dumped him and was dating someone else now, it was only fair for him to move on too. But he had it in his mind that this was all some kind of plot that her mother was planning to separate them. They were teenagers. Sometimes teenagers moved on from one relationship to another easily. 

He couldn't expect that he and Harleen would be together forever.

"This is my last night in the garden." She reminded him, the tears were beginning to sting her eyes now. But she knew she'd be damned if she was going to let him see her cry. Despite the fact that she knew she could be herself around him, she still knew that as her friend, she owed him enough not to make him feel guilty for not loving her back. "I don't want to argue with you. But if you ever realize that she isn't the right person for you, you'll know where to find me."

With that said, she walked out of the training room, leaving him there alone with his thoughts. She went back to their dorm and climbed into her bed, finally letting the tears stream down her face silently. Arthur came back into the room about an hour later, standing in the doorway first as he looked towards the eighteen year old girl in the other bed. Then he heaved a sigh and climbed into his bed. Both of them could not get any sleep that night.

When Michelle's alarm rang the next morning, it had been set up for her graduation ceremony. Since teenagers were always coming into The Garden at different times of the year, she was the only one in her class graduating then, and the ceremony lasted a half hour. It was there that she received a diploma for her two years of training as well as her very own Diamond Rose with her name engraved on it, which had been a present from Fernando and Ernesto. Arthur had been the only one who had one before his training. But the others that had gone through The Garden had not received one until after their graduation.

From there, they had a reception with the other students at the training facility, their team of coaches, and the two owners. Michelle had worn a pretty white dress to the event, picked out for her by one of her female coaches, since she as a student could not leave the facility for any reason. But she felt out of place in the dress. For two years, all she had ever worn was her white form fitting training outfit, which was a real pain sometimes because it was prone to getting all kinds of stains. She was jealous of the boys who got to wear black training outfits. She tugged at the material of her dress every so often with a bit of discomfort. 

She had spent the entire reception avoiding Arthur. Whenever he'd try to talk to her, she'd run away to talk to one of the coaches. Whenever he looked at her, she'd avoid his eyes. She didn't want to talk to him if he was going to reject her further. She wondered what this Harleen had that she didn't. Maybe, as Michelle thought about it, Harleen was prettier. She was blonde, blue eyed, perfect skin, a beautiful smile, and she was popular. But she was also so kind. Or that was the way Arthur saw her in his eyes. Michelle had gone into his memories to take a look at her one, when Arthur her told her about Harleen. But she still thought this girl could not be so great if she had gotten another boyfriend the moment Arthur left town. She hadn't even waited a week for him.

When the reception was over that afternoon, she was instructed to go pack her things. There was a slight change of plans and she would be sent to Spain first, where she would train out in the field with the hunter who was stationed there. Her training would be for one year and then she would become the official hunter of New Zealand. 

At least, she thought, maybe the distance would be good for her. Perhaps she would meet someone and forget about Arthur. Or perhaps Arthur would meet someone else he would like and he'd forget about Harleen.

With her things all packed up, she left the facility without saying goodbye to her room mate of the past two years. It was too painful for her to do so. For one, it was the fact that he did not love her the same way that she loved him. And also, she knew that she would break down into a puddle of tears if she tried to say goodbye because she would truly miss him. So she boarded the car that would get her to the airport, and then she boarded a plane to Barcelona.

-

1994.

Arthur would have been lying to himself if he said he hadn't been able to keep busy over the past couple of years. But even so, Harleen was always on his mind. He wondered if she was still dating Aaron Quinn, or if she was single. If she was, he wondered if there was still a chance for them. It had been so long already since he last saw her, but his feelings for her remained the same. Four long years since he left Perth.

After his training for two years in The Garden, he had been sent to Mexico, the land of the original hunter ancestors for his one year of training in the field. He had seen so many things out there that he never thought would ever be humanly possible. From there, he returned to Australia, where he trained for an additional year. But this time it was under the supervision of his uncles who taught him how to manage the facility and how to keep track of all the hunters they had stationed in different countries. When they finally thought he was ready in April of the year 1994, Fernando and Ernesto Vega stepped down as leaders of the organization and went into retirement.

Their nephew Arthur, now twenty two years old, didn't even wait a month before be packed enough things for two days and caught a plane to Perth. He thought it was finally time to visit Harleen and explain his absence of the last four years. Perhaps she would understand and perhaps she was waiting for him. Like he had been waiting so anxiously to return to her.

As he arrived in the town where he had spent three years of his life, he took a cab into the neighborhood where Harleen lived with her family. Her neighbors were the Quinns, and Arthur didn't know them too well. But he'd seen them once or twice whenever he went to Harleen's house to hang out or attend a party. The Quinns didn't like him because they all thought Aaron and Harleen were meant to be together, but their opinion was not important to Arthur. All he cared about was that Harleen loved him and she had chosen him. But he always felt out of place around them. The Davis' and the Quinns were people of money, while Arthur had been just a poor orphan boy who grew up with his aunt. Sometimes he even felt as though they thought less of him because of his circumstances. He knew Hayley Davis definitely thought so. She thought her daughter Harleen was too good for him.

What was even more insufferable about Aaron Quinn was that he was a pretty nice guy and seemed to have no flaws whatsoever, while Arthur felt like he had many.

He had the cab stop in front of her house and was about to step out with a bouquet of red roses and a box of chocolates in his hands when the front door to her family home opened up. At the door were Arthur and Harleen, both of their families behind them inside the house. In the doorway, Aaron wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss on the lips. Her with a flowing floral patterned dress, and him with a light blue button down shirt and black slacks. Harleen appeared utterly blissful as she smiled into the kiss, a hand tenderly on his chest. Her parents, Thomas and Hayley Davis were all smiles as well, seeing them together. They had gotten what they wanted. She was dating the perfect, all star athlete university boy. The perfect blonde hair slicked neatly to the side, the blue eyes, the ivory skin. While Arthur had his disheveled brown hair, brown eyes, and light tanned skin. They were opposites.

Aaron said something to Harleen and she giggled as she swatted him on the shoulder. Then he walked out of the house, his family in tow behind him. They had probably all had lunch together. As Arthur looked closer, he noticed each of them had a ring around their finger, and his heart broke. They were engaged.

He could feel the way his heart broke into a million pieces at the sight of them, together and happy. Harleen Davis had probably long since forgotten her former boyfriend Arthur Vega. He didn't blame her for moving on, he knew that she had every right to do so. It had been four years since their break up. But still, he also couldn't say that it didn't hurt. 

The driver repeated Arthur's total, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Coughing awkwardly, Arthur said to the driver. "On second thought, please take me back to the airport." I don't know why I thought coming here was a good idea in the first place, he thought to himself sadly. His arms dropped to his sides and he let the flowers and chocolates drop out of his hands onto the floor of the car. He would probably have to remember to pay the driver a little extra to clean up the rose petals that were falling onto the floor as well.

"But I just picked you up from there." The cab driver pointed out. 

"Please take me back to the airport." Arthur repeated, and the cab driver took off in the same direction they had come from.

The plane ride back to Sydney had him lost in his thoughts. The words that Michelle told him that day she left The Garden replayed in his mind like an echo. They had been in constant contact as friends, ever since she left. At first through letters, and then over the phone once she got settled in New Zealand. 

Perhaps he could give it a try and attempt to move on with her. 

But he didn't want to lead her on either. He still loved Harleen and was heartbroken that she was marrying someone else. Arthur knew he couldn't wait on her forever. He also didn't want to anticipate that Michelle would be waiting on him either. But he would just have to find out.

-

okay, so now i actually have one more flashback chapter before the confrontation. i didn't plan it out so i thought it would take two chapters. but its actually three.

so please stay tuned everyone. 

i hope you're all enjoying the story. im actually super inspired and on a roll. also please tell me what you think of the update. it means a lot to me to see your comments. i read all of them, even if i dont always reply. 

alsooo, we are about twenty chapters away from the end of the story. then i will focus on the spin offs, and the sequel series.

thank you for your support!

-clary