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Taking Chances

Chapter 3: Ch 2: Starting Over

Notes:

Sorry everyone for the big delay, I have been super busy and with many things in my head so this chapter was written slowly. But finally here it is.

Sorry in advance for any written mistakes you find I'm not a native English writer so sometimes some words slip my grasp XD

Thank you all for the patience and enjoy ;)

Chapter Text

Weisz was breathing fast when he reached the men's bathroom. He ran a hand through his hair nervously and then rested both hands on the lavatory. This couldn't be happening, it was not real, it had to be a dream.

 

A dream like the ones he used to have in his first year of college.  In which, Homura came back to him and told him she loved him. 

 

Weisz opened the faucet and splashed his face with water. Who was he kidding? That was just a stupid dream, coming from a  stupid young boy with a crush. 

 

He was no longer that boy, he had moved past his feelings and fears,  he shouldn't be panicking like this. She was just an old friend. 

 

Except, she wasn't and deep down he knew that, he knew what Homura meant to him back then, and how what went down between them that night screwed up their relationship. He knew what it meant for them to see each other again after so long. 

 

Weisz dried his face with a towel and looked at his reflection in the mirror.  What was he doing running like this? He was smarter than that and he knew eventually he would have to face her. 

 

"Get it together Weisz" he said to his reflection in the mirror. "Is not a big deal… those feelings are gone, you don't need to act like an idiot"

 

He looked at his watch to check the time and realized he had to be in the auditorium in less than 5 minutes. 

 

"Damn it" if he stood there more time he was going to be late. 

 

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself he just shook the whole thing off like he was used to and walked out of the bathroom with confidence. He knew what he had to do. 

 

*****************************************

 

Homura was aware, the minute she took the job, that it was not going to be easy.  She knew Weisz was working there, Laguna had told her. So she had been preparing herself mentally to see all her old friends again. She even had repeated in her mind over and over again what she would say to them. To him.

 

But when she saw Weisz, standing not so far away from where she was, looking at her, all she had planned to say just disappeared. 

 

Homura had been thinking about this job for over 2 years now.  She graduated university and was instantly hired by their faculty to work with them.  Her years in Mildian had been amazing, she did exactly what she wanted, she had her degree in History, and started working as soon as she graduated. 

 

So, naturally when Witch reached to her to ask her if she wanted to be a History teacher in this new school, she said no. But ever since, she couldn't stop wondering what would have happened if she had taken the job. 

 

Many things were going on in her mind back then, she wanted to stay away, so she decided it was better if she stayed where she was. She regretted it later, when she realized how stupily competitive the job she was at was. But it was too late, Witch had already filled up that position. 

 

That's why she didn't hesitate this time around. When she asked her again, Homura said yes right away. And here she was, on her first day as a highschool teacher. 

 

When Homura saw Weisz and Laguna looking at her, a rush of adrenaline invaded her body.  She had kept in touch with Laguna during  the years, he was the only one who had been in contact with her. So she wasn't surprised when she saw him. 

 

But she hadn't heard from Weisz. So naturally seeing him after all that time made her feel hesitant and excited. 

 

Over her years abroad, she never stopped thinking about him, always one step away from reaching out and telling him the truth. But something always reminded her the reasons why she left and she changed her mind. 

 

He looked almost like she remembered him, older, yes, and his hair was longer, but his eyes, oh god, his eyes were still very expressive. 

 

Homura could tell he was confused and shocked at the sight of her, and this made her frown, Laguna promised he would let the others know she was starting today. Clearly he didn't. She should have guessed, when she saw Jinn and Rebecca earlier, they were quite surprised to see her too.

 

Weisz's confusion was completely understandable but that didn't take away the sudden necessity she felt of saying hi to him, hugging him and feeling him close. 

 

Homura knew she needed to talk to him, she knew that her coming back into their lives all of the sudden wasn't going to be easy. She knew so little about their lives now. But she wanted to make peace with her past. 

 

She was a few feet away from them when Weisz suddenly walked away and out of the room. Homura wanted to call out to him but Laguna stopped her from it. 

 

"Don't, just let him come to you"  the blue haired man said, giving her a smile. 

 

Homura nodded and then turned to her friend, throwing him daggers with her eyes. 

 

"You promised you would let them know beforehand, so things like these wouldn't happen!" She said and crossed her arms 

 

"I forgot ok?" The man scratched the back of his head "but he knows now, right?" 

 

"You are evil" Homura said, holding her bag tight "anyway, shouldn't we get going?" 

 

"Yep, let's go," Laguna said and gently led her out of the room towards the auditorium. 

 

**************************************

 

The last bell of the day rang marking the end of the school day.  Homura gave her new students a smile as they gathered their things and stormed off the classroom. 

 

She sat on her desk to make a few notes about that last class. It had been a hard one since she got the older students. They had spent 2 years with their previous teacher and suddenly the new one took over, they should have felt strange. But it looked like she was going to survive it. 

 

The purple-haired woman grabbed her things and walked out of the classrooms. Her mind was elsewhere as she walked through the hallways of the school. 

 

Everyone had been so nice so far, and she was extremely happy to reconnect with Rebecca. The ash blonde was ecstatic when she saw her and they spent most of their small breaks together, talking and  catching up.  

 

A soft smile appeared on her face when she thought how Rebecca was still exactly like she remembered; cheerful, and kind. Homura regretted terribly that she hadn't been in contact with her for so long. But she knew it had been for the best. 

 

They also had lunch together and Jinn joined them.  Homura rolled her eyes internally, it really amazed her how hung up Jinn still  was on Rebecca. He hadn't changed at all, he was still the hopeless romantic, film lover, thick as thieves with Weisz. 

 

Weisz… 

 

Homura hadn't been able to talk to him yet. Every time she saw him in the hallway or during the breaks, he seemed to be busy, talking with some student, or other staff member, so she could never get close enough to him. 

 

She couldn't help but wonder if he was avoiding her on purpose. She should have known that he was not going to be welcoming her like nothing had happened between them.  What happened that night kept bugging into her mind over and over again. Since she left till this very day. 

 

What if he was avoiding her?  What did that mean? Does he still have feelings for her? Homura's cheeks turned pink and felt quite warm all of the sudden. What was she thinking? She touched both her cheeks and shook her head, trying to ease her heart beats. 

 

One of the reasons she had wanted to take this job was to see him again.  To see if they could fix their relationship. Homura didn't believe Weisz could get even more handsome than when he was 17. Yes, in her eyes the blond  had always been good looking, she found his geek side extremely adorable when they were in highschool.

 

 And now she could tell he had changed, not only physically he looked even more attractive, but he seemed to have grown mentally and emotionally as well. She sighed as she walked thinking how hard it actually hit her to see him again. 

 

All those years she spent abroad, Weisz confession never left her mind. She tried to hide it, and act like nothing had happened. But it wasn't possible. Some days she hated herself for how she lied to him, she was even surprised she kept the truth to herself all this time. 

 

Homura knew it was for the best, it wouldn't have helped their relationship if he knew how she felt about him back then. She was still going to leave and things would have never worked.  

 

If only she could talk to Weisz alone…

 

Homura was too lost in her own thoughts, so when she looked around she found herself completely lost.  She was sure that was the way to the main door, but clearly she had miscalculated. 

 

"What now?" She whispered as she turned around the corner. To see if that hallway led somewhere. 

 

But instead of finding answers, she crashed into someone's back. What the hell was this person doing standing there?

 

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking and—"

 

"Homura?" 

 

The purple-haired woman froze and looked up to see Weisz's confused face staring right at her. Her cheeks heated up and a wave of embarrassment invaded her. 

 

"Are you ok?" He asked. The blonde was holding his phone, and put it in his pocket as he faced her. 

 

"So that's why he was standing in the middle of the way…"  Homura thought.  She then realised that for the first time in the day, Weisz was actually alone. This was her chance. 

 

She shook her embarrassment away and gave him the softest smile she could come up with. 

 

"Yeah, sorry I'm…. Uhm… I wasn't paying attention" 

 

"It's alright…" silence invaded the hallway as they both stood there looking everywhere but at each other "umh… ok well...  see you then" Weisz broke the silence and turned to leave. 

 

What?! He was leaving??  Was he for real? She couldn't let him, she had to talk to him. 

 

"WAIT!" Homura wasn't sure why she did it, but she grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away again. 

 

Weisz looked between her face and the place where her hand was touching him. He stood silent not really knowing how to react to the feeling of her hand in his arm. Befuddled by the desperate look in her eyes, he frowned.

 

Homura noticed how confused he was, so she gave him an apologetic smile. 

 

"Uhm sorry I raised my voice like that, I…" she made the mistake of looking into his eyes, they seem so full of sadness and regret. She knew she made things difficult for everyone when she left, but she never imagined he was still sad about it. God he probably had hated her all this time. 

 

"Yeah?" Weisz asked, noticing Homura went suddenly quiet. 

 

"It's just that… I would like to talk to you" she was trying badly to not show how nervous she felt, but it was really hard. 

 

Weisz let out a long sigh, looked around and then nodded. There was no point in trying to avoid the conversation he knew they should have, anymore. 

 

"Okay, yeah… sure, I guess I wanna talk to you too" he said, trying to sound cool and relaxed. 

 

Over the years he had learned to hide what he was really thinking or feeling and he had never felt it was a useful ability, until he met Homura. And he was sure going to use it now. 

 

This shouldn't be so hard, he was no longer a 17 year old boy that was in love with her, he had left all that in the past. 

 

Homura's face brightened up and unconsciously squeezed  his arm. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought.  

 

"Thanks" she said but no other words came out. Homura's heartbeats were so loud she could hear them rezoning in her ears. 

 

She had played this moment on and on in her head for the last few weeks. Thinking what to say, trying to guess how Weisz will react, if he would be happy, or mad. Will they hug it all away? Was that even possible in their situation? Homura had created so many possible scenarios that now she was completely baffled and out of words

 

"Uhm… Homura?" Weisz's voice brought her back from her thoughts and she looked at him. He was pointing at his arm where her hand was grabbing him. "Can I have my arm back or…?" 

 

Homura let go of him in a quick move and laughed nervously.

 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" Why was she so nervous "This is so awkward, why is he looking at me like that?" 

 

Weisz looked at her astonished, did she just say that outloud?? His mind took him to the years they had spent together as friends and the so many times Homura's issue with saying what she was thinking without filter, had got them into trouble. But they always ended up laughing about it.

 

He tried to hide his sudden need to laugh. She hadn't changed at all. The panic in her eyes when she realized she spoke her mind made it even harder for him to pretend he didn't find it hilarious.

 

"Ehem… I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I wasn't trying to make you feel uncomfortable" he said while clearing his throat. 

 

Weisz felt his previous panic slowly disappearing. So he gave her a soft smile

There was no need for him to get so worked up for her being back, it didn't mean anything to him, this wouldn't change how he lived his life. Not at all. 

 

Homura felt a little bit embarrassed but seeing him smile like that made her feel less nervous and more confident. 

 

"Oh, well you know me, I really didn't mean to say that outloud,"  she said. 

 

Weisz nodded, the previous tension seemed to be fading away too. He pointed at one of the benches in the courtyard. 

 

"Wanna sit down there?" 

 

Homura nodded and followed him outside. She knew what she wanted to talk about, but couldn't help but wonder if what he wanted to say was similar. 

 

They both sat down and Weisz lay back on the bench, leaving his suitcase on the side. Homura was sitting on the edge, fidgeting with her fingers, and thinking how to say what she wanted to say. 

 

Both were waiting for the other to start speaking.

 

"I just wanted to–" they both said at the same time. 

 

Homura's smile widened as she looked down at her hands and fixed her dress. 

 

"You go first,"  Weisz said, turning his face to look at her. 

 

Homura looked kind of nervous, he never really saw her acting like that. She took several breaths and then lifted her head to look at him. 

 

"I'm sorry" the words came out of her mouth unconsciously. Homura had thought of many ways to tell Weisz everything she had been keeping from him. But in the end her instinct told her that telling him everything all of the sudden wasn't the best approach. Not after being apart for so long. 

 

Weisz sat there looking at her waiting for her to go on. Something told him that she still had things to say. But she wasn't speaking, she went quiet again, maybe he read the situation wrong. 

 

"You don't really have to apologize, you know?" He said, his gray eyes fixed on her features. 

 

The purple haired woman smiled again and her eyes left her hands to focus on his face instead. 

 

"Actually I do…" Homura turned her body to her side facing him completely "I never once tried to contact you, I should have call you, I should have tell you–" 

 

"Homura stop," Weisz said slowly as he looked the woman in the eyes. "It wasn't just your responsibility, I didn't try to contact you either…" 

 

"Of course you didn't, I said terrible things to you, I wouldn't want to contact me either" Homura chuckled and then got serious again "I shouldn't have say those things, I was mad because you were being—"

 

"It doesn't matter " Weisz interrupted her "what I said back then I was young and foolish and it's pointless to keep bringing it up" he sighed.  

 

" I shouldn't have lied to you" 

 

"Yeah, but I don't think that matters anymore, do you?" He shrugged. 

 

"But I hurt you and I didn't get to say how much I–" 

 

"It's alright" Weisz interrupted her again and gave her a sad smile "It doesn't matter anyway, it's in the past now" he should give himself an award for being such a good liar. But he had to try to make this whole situation less uncomfortable.

 

Homura frowned. What was he trying to do? 

 

"In the past? You mean…?" 

 

Weisz took a deep breath.

 

"Look, I'm gonna admit I was pretty shaken up for a while back in the day but it's been years, Homura…"

 

"I know but still…" 

 

"We gotta work together from now on, we were best friends once weren't we?" 

 

"Yeah… but we…" Homura looked at her hands on her lap. Why couldn't she tell him how she really felt back then, what was stopping her?

 

"Yeah and I went and ruined it by confessing my feelings for you"  Weisz said nonchalantly looking up at the sky "what a dumb move that was, way to ruined a friendship,  right?" 

 

When he looked back at her, Homura had her eyes fixed on her lap and she looked kind of… sad? 

 

"It wasn't dumb… saying what you feel is never dumb" Homura felt like an hypocrite. She should follow her own advice. It was too late for that though. She sensed it in Weisz's way of approaching the situation.

 

"Yeah… Well, it doesn't matter anymore… I moved on, so there is no need to keep acting weird with each other" Weisz ran a hand through his hair, and Homura noticed he was getting impatient "Let's just forget it happened ok?"

 

Move on… that was it. He moved on. Deep down she knew this could be a possibility, that Weisz had no longer feelings for her. 

 

Homura sighed, she knew what she had to do now. It was the only way to coexist in the same work environment.

 

"You are right, we need to move forward" Homura stood up in front of him and extended her hand. "So, how about we start over?" 

 

Looking at her standing in front of him, Weisz remembered why it took him so long to get over her. And he was suddenly wondering if it was possible for him to really do this. Start over eh? Was it really possible to take the past and lock it away now that she was here? 

 

He sighed, that was exactly what he had been doing all these years and nothing bad came out of it.  He knew the chances of things getting out of hand were minimum, they weren't 17 anymore. He could do this and not mess things up. 

 

The blonde smiled at the woman in front of him and took the hand she was offering. 

 

"Yeah, let's do that" 



*****************************

 

Homura got to her new apartment and with a long sigh threw her bag and coat on the couch. She couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment and sadness that conversation left her. 

 

She walked to the kitchen and filled a pan with water. She turned the stove on, grabbed a bottle of sake and poured it in the Tokkuri she had bought on one of her many trips. 

 

As Homura carefully stirred the content, her mind kept going back to the conversation she had with Weisz. 

 

What was she thinking would happen? She had created a whole idea in her head that was completely illogical. Since so much time had passed maybe they could work things out and be like they used to be. But she knew Weisz, and there was no way he would speak openly to her so easily. 

 

Once the sake was warm enough she turned off the stove and poured it on a glass. She plopped down on the couch and took a sip of her drink. It was nice and warm, exactly what she needed right now. 

 

Homura knew at some point during their conversation that Weisz was deflecting the real talk. She couldn't blame him, she should have known that was going to be his reaction. He had never been a person who could process things fast. 

 

Weisz was analytical, he needed his time to go through things, analyze them and process them at his own pace. So, Homura was not going to rush that. 

 

Telling him now was only going to make it worse, he would get mad and do something completely irrational and that wasn't the purpose of their conversation. She needed to get along with him if she wanted to keep this job. 

 

Was it possible for them to pretend all that didn't happen? To act like all their childhood memories were just that? She had tried before to forget about her feelings, when she was abroad and she tried hard.  But all those attempts weren't successful and only brought her more pain. 

 

But right now, she knew it was the best for both of them.  Maybe if they start over their relationship will gradually get better. She had to have hope. 

 

She finished her glass of sake and let out a long sigh. They were both adults now, everything was going to be alright.

 

"OK Homura, time to stop thinking about the past and focus on the present" she said to herself. "Tomorrow will be a new day" 

 

With that thought in mind she buried her disappointment and went to bed. Thinking that no matter what happened from now on, she was going to do her best to move forward. 

 

******************

 

A middle aged man with blonde hair was sitting nervously in an office. He was waiting for the young man in front of him to give him an answer. 

 

"S-sir…?" his trembling voice echoed in the cold room. He looked around to the two other big bodyguards standing next to him. 

 

"Shh, I'm trying to think" the young man turned his chair around "tell me something Mr. Lin, what did you think would happen after you rejected our offer?" 

 

"I- just don't think—"  the blonde man was interrupted abruptly by the cold voice of his boss and sweat started dripping down his forehead when he looked at the other man's face.

 

"This is the thing Mr Lin" the black haired man stood up and walked next to the trembling man.  Loosening his tie, he sat on his desk and faced the old man again.

 

 "My brother and I…." He looked to the back of the room where his brother was standing. "We don't really give second chances you know?" 

 

"Mr. Granbell please...I can't afford to lose this job" the man was at the edge of tears, but that didn't seem to stir any emotion in the young boss. 

 

Someone's laugh echoed from behind Mr.Lin. 

 

"Did you hear that Shiki? He can't lose his job" if the blonde man was nervous before,  it was worse after hearing that voice.  Fear and panic crossed his face and he started trembling even more. 

 

The young man in front of him clicked his tongue and took a deep breath. 

 

"Then you should have taken our offer," he said coldly. Shiki then looked at his watch and cursed. "Damn it I'm late now, Shura?" He said to the man in the back "finish this for me would you?" 

 

The man in the back stepped closer to Shiki cracking his knuckles with the biggest smile on his face. 

 

"As you wish little brother" he said 

 

Shiki grabbed his suit jacket and put it on, completely ignoring the blond man's pleading look. But before leaving he turned to look at his brother. 

 

"Oh and Shura, don't make a mess you know grandpa hates it" 

 

With that he closed the door and left the building. Right before getting  in his car, his phone rang and he saw the name "Becca" writing on the screen. Shiki hesitated for a second before sliding the red button and rejecting the call. 

 

Later he thought. 

 

He didn't have time to waste at the moment. With that he turned off his phone and hit the gas pedal, driving off into the dark of the city.