Arty’s Break! Invidia formulates Theories!

BY AMI MEITSU

A/N: This takes place in 2203, when Invidia and Arty are dating. Setsuna’s a little over a year old and Misako’s a couple months old

Setsuna, Nova, Invidia and Arty sat on the couch at Invidia’s place. She had called Nova over, and Arty had just shown up, now he was working on something and Setsuna was playing with a game on the television.

“Setsuna, stop!” Nova said.

“No! I wanna do it!” She clicked some more.

“You’re bonging! You should be blipping!”

“I blip you!”

“Hey!” Nova scolded.

Invidia sighed and looked at Arty then back at Nova and Setsuna. “Don’t you two have to leave?” she asked.

“No” Nova said. “Setsuna!”

Invidia sighed and took Nova’s phone from her bag, she messed with it and it rang.

“Hm?” Nova picked it up. “It’s from Derek…” She said, not even bothering to notice it had been sent from her number. “Well I guess that means we have to go, come on, Setsuna.” She then picked her up and walked out.

Invidia smiled to herself and moved closer to Arty-he ignored her. She laid her head on his shoulder and moved his arm so it was around her. “Cuddle me…” She said.

“Eh…” Was Arty’s reply.

She looked at him “Unless you maybe wanna…kiss?”

He kissed her forehead.

She sat up “Okay Arty, What Up?” She asked.

“What?” he asked.

“You’ve been acting weird for about a week now, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, we’ve been going out for a long time, why don’t we take a break?”

“A break…from each other?” Invidia looked at him.

Arty nodded.

“Okay…” Invidia muttered.

“Thanks for understanding.” He picked up his stuff and left.

She sighed…

A couple days later Invidia sat with Nova and Trelania in one of ‘those Japanese sushi places’ as she called it. She didn’t exactly enjoy places like it, but the food was okay.

“You know…” Nova started. “You’re taking this whole Arty thing really well…”

“Of course.” Invidia said. “I know he’s loyal to me. And it’s probably just a guy thing. Arty needs some time to himself.”

Unknown to her though, Arty had come in, with a girl. She had long brown hair and brown eyes; she wore a purple top and blue jean skirt with a matching vest.

Trelania and Nova looked at each other, then Invidia.

“What?” she asked.

“Just, don’t turn around!” Trelania blurted out.

“Huh?” Invidia turned and glared.

“Invidia…” Nova said.

“Stay calm…” Trelania said.

“Maybe she’s a friend…” Nova told her.

Invidia turned again “Yeah a friend who’s holding his hand while he whispers to her! I’ll be back…”

“Give me your pointer stick.” Nova said.

“I promise I won’t…”

Nova looked at her and Invidia took her pointer out from under her sleeve.

"Be right back…” she said, then she went over. “Hello Arty, Arty’s friend.” She hissed.

“Hi.” The girl said casually.

He looked at the girl. “Excuse me…” He led Invidia away from the table “Look Invidia…”

“Now I see why you wanted to take a break. Who is she?” Invidia asked.

“She’s Isabel; she was in town and…”

“So that’s what you want?! A brainless bimbo wearing a shirt that couldn’t fit an eight-year-old boy?”

“Invidia…”

“You lied to me!”

“Princess, listen, I just didn’t want you to get upset”

“Too late! I’ve heard enough!” She picked up a piece of sushi from the plate of waiter walking by. “Eat yellow tail!” She snapped as she shoved it in his mouth.

Isabel got up “Why’d you do that?” she asked.

Invidia glared at her “because he hates yellow tail…” She hissed in an angry tone.

Isabel backed up a step and Invidia left.

The next day she sat in front of her computer messing with Arty’s picture in Photoshop. After a minute Nova came in, she was worried about her and decided to see if she was alright before going out with Derek and Trelania.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Mangling Arty’s Face…” Invidia hissed, not even bothering to ask Nova how she got in.

“This is not a good use of your time…” Nova said.

“But it makes me feel better! How could he do this to me? I gave him all of my love and he repays me by dumping me for some bimbo in a tank top?!”

“Well, sometimes guys think they want girls who look and dress like that.” Nova told her, then her phone rang, it was a message from Derek. “Well Derek’s in the lobby with Trelania, we’ll wait for a minute, in case you want to get your mind off of it.” She left and Invidia started thinking.

Meanwhile Nova had gone back down to find Derek and Trelania sitting off to the side, Misako sat in her lap and Trelania dangled a bunch of keys in front of her while Setsuna just watched.

“She really is cute…” Nova sat down and watched her, Misako smiled at her and Nova played with her for a couple minutes.

“You know, I remember when Setsuna…” Derek stopped, and they all looked up.

“Oh my god…” They said at the same time. In front of them stood Invidia, a very different Invidia, she even wore make up!

“You guys know where Arty is?” She asked. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and walked off when they didn’t answer.

Nova followed her.“Invidia! Invidia!” She grabbed her arm.

“Can we talk later? I have to go find Arty!”

“Will you please go back upstairs and scrape that stuff off your face? And change your clothes?”

Invidia looked at her and a kid Nova recognized form the Star Force Academy came up. “Hey Princess…” He looked her over.

“Good bye.” Nova said. “Now why are you doing this?”

“I want Arty back!”

“This is the wrong way to do it!” Nova told her.

“But you said some guys like this.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t work for you!”

A couple more guys came over and looked her over.

“Sure seems like it’s working.” Invidia left without saying another word. She headed to the park that Arty went to with his friends sometimes.

Luckily he was there playing poker with Homer and Royster. Arty looked at his hand and Homer put some cards down.

“All right 2 aces” he said.

“I respond with 2 aces and a queen” Arty said as he put out his down. Then he picked up his soda and started to drink, but before anyone said another word Invidia, or who they thought was Invidia came up.

“Can I play?” she asked.

Arty almost choked on his soda when he saw her, it was kinda shocking (Not in a bad way, in a surprised “Oh my god” way). Instead of her usual long dress and cloak she wore a short strapless black dress, black sandals that tied up to her ankles and a black choker around her neck. She even carried a black purse!

“You broke up with her?” Homer said.

“Can I date her?” Royster asked “I’ll give you my wizard card and 2 magic trolls!”

“Royster, we’re playing poker” Arty said.

“So?”

“Ah, never mind.” He grabbed Invidia. “You come with me.”

“What’s the matter?” Invidia asked once they were way from Homer and Royster.

“Look at you, your face, your dress, your lack of cloak.” Arty said.

“You like?”

“No I don’t, it’s not you.”

“But Nova said some guys like girls who dress this way.” Invidia told him.

“Yeah but I don’t.” Arty explained.

“Then what about Isabel?”

“Look I’m not dating Isabel…but she’s really fun, and we like a lot of the same things. I guess her looks are just gravy.”

“But you hate gravy! Remember that time Hardy put gravy on your potatoes? You put it on his head!” Invidia said with tears in her eyes.

“I know but listen…”

“Never mind! Just forget it! Forget everything!” Invidia said, then she ran off (Hell knows how she can run in those shoes).

“Oh god!” Arty muttered to himself. He sighed and ran after her.

A little while later he found her sitting on a bench, mumbling to herself.

“Now what do you want?” she asked.

“I need to talk to you…wait have you been crying?”

Invidia turned away from him.

“Look, I’m not dating Isabel, and I haven’t broken up with you.”

Invidia looked at him again. “But what about the way you were talking to her? Arty, you were holding her hand!”

“Invidia, she’s my cousin.”

“What?” Invidia looked at him like he was nuts. ‘Boy am I stupid’ she thought.

He nodded. “Now tell me, why are you dressed like that?”

“I told you Nova said some guys like girls who dress this way, and I thought it would work for you…”

“It doesn’t. This isn’t my Invidia; I liked your old clothes.”

“So you really do love me?”

“Will this answer your question?” he asked as he made a move to kiss her.

Then…

“Hey guys!”

They both looked up to find Homer looking at them.

“I gotta go” Invidia said as she got up and ran off.

“Thanks a lot Homer” Arty told him.

“What? What’d I do?” Homer asked.

Arty just sighed.