Nana Fan Fiction ❯ The Girl In The Affair ❯ A Certain Egyptian River ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: blue-lurley 
In a park somewhere in London... Layla's forced to come to terms with her feelings. If they even, reluctantly, still exist.
Anime/Manga: Nana Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.23.2008 | Pages: 1 | Words: 758 | Visits: 888 | Status: Work In Progress
In a park somewhere in London... Layla's forced to come to terms with her feelings. If they even, reluctantly, still exist.
Anime/Manga: Nana Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Romance / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.23.2008 | Pages: 1 | Words: 758 | Visits: 888 | Status: Work In Progress
DISCLAIMER: Layla, Ren, and the rest of the cast of NANA do not belong to me. That's property of Ai Yazawa. I just take her things and put them in my own little inane stories. The collection's title refers to a song by the same name, by Jill Sobule.
Also something of note: Layla is referred to as Layla in the narrative, but referred to by other characters as Reira. Usually. So that isn't a total inconsistency on my part, that was done on purpose.
With that... Enjoy.
---
"Was that what you really wanted?"
Layla blinked. The crisp London air was drying her eyes out. It was fairly cold in the park that day. After what seemed like aimless hours of walking, they'd stopped by a bench. Ren felt it would've been more suitable to sit and rest, which was the entire point of their trip, but she, herself, was noticably restless. She remained standing.
There was a slight pause before her reply. "... What do you mean?"
"... To become the number one vocalist in Japan?"
A sigh escaped her, as she attempted some kind of half-hearted laugh. "Well, to be honest, as long as I can sing great songs, the fame doesn't really matter to me."
"To be honest?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I have a band to hold up, Ren." I shouldn't have to explain my reasoning, she thought. Knowing this, she explained regardless.
"In any case, it's not like I can just walk away from everything now."
He held his silence, and Layla's gaze became increasingly more hesitant.
Another pause. "What is it?"
He hunched over, elbow on the knee, and adopted a Thinker-like pose. She would've smirked at his likeness to the sculpture, but Ren seemed too serious at the moment to warrant that. Instead, she bit her lip.
"So, you're telling me that, no matter who you end up with..."
She opened her mouth to interrupt, but no words would suffice. Layla looked away, pained.
Don't say it. Please, Ren, don't say it.
"... You still won't be able to give up your place..."
Don't say it.
"Of being by Takumi's side?"
He said it. And with that, she was frozen in her place. You never do realize just how much the truth can hurt until you're subjected to it aloud, and Layla's truth was no exception. It was like it was a hit song, lyrics staring her in the face. Only... It was one of their hit songs staring her in the face. So, in her defense, she gave him the best comeback she could muster.
"You're wrong."
She sighed. The simplicity made her cringe, and she was starting to wonder exactly what she was thinking when she wrote a song detailing her various insecurities. Was I drunk?
Ren shook his head. "Look, Reira. If you care about Takumi, you should at least learn how to be honest with yourself."
I was drunk.
No longer able to look at him without visible shame in her eyes, she averted her glance. It was decided the ground would be a nice replacement. Grass doesn't usually reprimand people.
"For example... If things don't go how I want them to with Nana, and she ends up with some other guy - I want to hold her as dear to me later as I do now, even if we aren't together."
How sweet and unselfish of you. She laughed a little inside.
"And I don't want to harbor any bad feelings. Like anger,"
Ouch.
"Or hate,"
Ouch.
"Or denial."
When Ren wanted to rub salt into people's wounds, it wasn't something he hesitated with. It was a little-known fact, and something Layla particularly hated him for. Partially because he only did it through honesty, and partially because it reminded her of the man she had tried so hard to forget. Though, with the salt, Takumi had a tendency to include an entire spice cabinet.
At that moment, the grass started reprimanding her.
Also something of note: Layla is referred to as Layla in the narrative, but referred to by other characters as Reira. Usually. So that isn't a total inconsistency on my part, that was done on purpose.
With that... Enjoy.
---
"Was that what you really wanted?"
Layla blinked. The crisp London air was drying her eyes out. It was fairly cold in the park that day. After what seemed like aimless hours of walking, they'd stopped by a bench. Ren felt it would've been more suitable to sit and rest, which was the entire point of their trip, but she, herself, was noticably restless. She remained standing.
There was a slight pause before her reply. "... What do you mean?"
"... To become the number one vocalist in Japan?"
A sigh escaped her, as she attempted some kind of half-hearted laugh. "Well, to be honest, as long as I can sing great songs, the fame doesn't really matter to me."
"To be honest?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I have a band to hold up, Ren." I shouldn't have to explain my reasoning, she thought. Knowing this, she explained regardless.
"In any case, it's not like I can just walk away from everything now."
He held his silence, and Layla's gaze became increasingly more hesitant.
Another pause. "What is it?"
He hunched over, elbow on the knee, and adopted a Thinker-like pose. She would've smirked at his likeness to the sculpture, but Ren seemed too serious at the moment to warrant that. Instead, she bit her lip.
"So, you're telling me that, no matter who you end up with..."
She opened her mouth to interrupt, but no words would suffice. Layla looked away, pained.
Don't say it. Please, Ren, don't say it.
"... You still won't be able to give up your place..."
Don't say it.
"Of being by Takumi's side?"
He said it. And with that, she was frozen in her place. You never do realize just how much the truth can hurt until you're subjected to it aloud, and Layla's truth was no exception. It was like it was a hit song, lyrics staring her in the face. Only... It was one of their hit songs staring her in the face. So, in her defense, she gave him the best comeback she could muster.
"You're wrong."
She sighed. The simplicity made her cringe, and she was starting to wonder exactly what she was thinking when she wrote a song detailing her various insecurities. Was I drunk?
Ren shook his head. "Look, Reira. If you care about Takumi, you should at least learn how to be honest with yourself."
I was drunk.
No longer able to look at him without visible shame in her eyes, she averted her glance. It was decided the ground would be a nice replacement. Grass doesn't usually reprimand people.
"For example... If things don't go how I want them to with Nana, and she ends up with some other guy - I want to hold her as dear to me later as I do now, even if we aren't together."
How sweet and unselfish of you. She laughed a little inside.
"And I don't want to harbor any bad feelings. Like anger,"
Ouch.
"Or hate,"
Ouch.
"Or denial."
When Ren wanted to rub salt into people's wounds, it wasn't something he hesitated with. It was a little-known fact, and something Layla particularly hated him for. Partially because he only did it through honesty, and partially because it reminded her of the man she had tried so hard to forget. Though, with the salt, Takumi had a tendency to include an entire spice cabinet.
At that moment, the grass started reprimanding her.