BxS: Hello. Hola. Bonjour. Ciao. What's poppin'. xD The name's Smoothie(dramatic pause),Banana Smoothie. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to the first chapter of A Change of Heart. I do not own Shugo Chara! or any of it's products. Please enjoy Rima's story(and my first).
Rima Mashiro's POV
I woke up to the soft ping of a new text message on my cell phone. It was a rather frosty Japanese morning, with my legs shivering under my blankets and my pillow tossed onto the floor. I kicked off my blankets and sat up with all the strength my petite body could muster so early in the morning. My feet hadn't even touched the soft wooden floor yet before three more pings sounded. I sighed, holding my head in my hands. I didn't need to check my texts to know what they were about. I didn't need a reminder of what happened, I was well aware. Slowly, I got up from the edge of my twin sized bed, dreading my first day of school as a freshman at Seiyo High. I reluctantly reached for my red flip-phone on my end table, but didn't hesitate to flip it open. Besides, that annoying flashing green light at the base was really starting to tick me off. 'I get it. I have a new text. Stop flashing,' I thought, opening my inbox. I sat back down. All three texts were from a very worried Yaya.
'Wake up call! I mean text! :D Rima, I really hope you're okay,' the first text read. I deleted it and moved on to the next.
'You haven't replied! :( Please don't be worried. School will go fine.' I couldn't help but grimace at that one. I knew school wouldn't be even close to fine, and she did, too. I loved that she was always trying to cheer me up, but lies wouldn't make me feel any better. Besides, how would she know? She was still at Seiyo Academy as an eighth grader. I trashed that one too and began to open the final text.
"Bala-balance!" Kusu-Kusu suddenly yelled in my ear. I gasped and dropped my cell phone on the wooden floor, causing the back to snap off and my sim card to jump out under the bed. I sighed heavily, only to cause Kusu-Kusu to burst out her squinty-eyed giggle. I glared at her over my shoulder. Giving her the death look usually calmed her down, but not that morning. I decided to give up. I knew she was only trying to make me feel better. Too bad it wasn't working. 'That gag's way old, anyways,' I noted.
I got up and made way to my antique dresser. It took a few tries to open the top drawer(not to mention my ever so dainty hands). Inside were my neatly folded undergarments. I picked out the pink push up bra and boy shorts set I had gotten with Amu and Yaya a few days earlier. We had been shopping for the party we'd attended that same evening. I couldn't help but smile at remembering the fun we had shared primping ourselves like the preppy schoolgirls we were. It had been fun…before the party.
I cleared my thoughts and continued picking clothes for school. I opened the next drawer down and savored the moment of being able to choose my school uniform for the first time. Seiyo High was really no different from Seiyo Academy, you still had to wear a uniform. But over the summer, they'd sent out uniform catalogues and order forms along with the usual student/parent paperwork. Inside the catalogue featured three uniform choices for girls as well as boys. I usually didn't care about that kind of stuff, but let me tell you, wearing the same skirt everyday really has a lasting effect on you. So I couldn't resist asking my mom to have all three: The skirt/blazer ensemble, the dress ensemble, and the suspender -shorts ensemble.
"Rima!" Someone yelled outside. I ran to the window. My eyes instantly caught sight of Amu. She looked dazzling, clad in the black, white and plaid green suspender-shorts ensemble. Black suede boots hugged at her shins, along with knee-high fishnet socks. Her pink hair had grown a little past her shoulders over the summer, and she had her bangs clipped to the side with the black heart barrette Tadase gave her. I envied her remarkable sense of style.
She caught me staring and waved. I waved back and held up my index finger, signifying her to wait a moment. With that I ran back to my dresser, grabbed the green plaid dress, and shimmied out of my pajamas. I slipped into my dress and pulled on my signature white tights. I dashed out of my room and into the bathroom, where my toothbrush and toothpaste were waiting patiently on the counter. I quickly scrubbed my teeth and washed my face, running downstairs as soon as I dried my face. My mother and father were already at work, so there would be no breakfast for me that morning. I slipped on my black ballet flats next to the front door, removed my brown satchel bag from the coat hook, and flung open the front door. Amu looked up from her cell phone.
"There you are." She said, coming towards me with arms outstretched. I tried to dodge the hug, but she got me. I stood there stiffly as she squeezed me tight.
"Don't worry, school will go great." She coughed, and I knew she was lying. I gently pushed her off of me and locked the front door.
We began walking. Almost halfway down the block, I realized someone was missing.
"Where's Kusu-Kusu?" I thought, spinning around like an idiot as I scanned the area for my shugo chara. My eyes locked on Amu mid-spin. She was staring at my bag.
"What is it?"
"Kusu-Kusu is in your bag."
I opened the bag. Sure enough, Kusu-Kusu was inside, napping on a thick black binder. I sighed in relief.
We continued walking. A few blocks down, we noticed a large group of Seiyo High students gathered at the corner. As we came closer, it appeared to be only boys. I self-consciously ran a hand through my hair, only to realize that I'd forgotten to put on my headband. I sighed and hoped they didn't notice me.
When it came time for us to cross the street, the group of boys all looked up at us in unison. I looked down at the ground, my stomach flipping. Amu draped an arm around my shoulders casually. I peeked up at her through my bangs and she gave me the most reassuring smile she could manage. I smiled back.
As we passed the group of boys, I kept my eyes focused on the ground. I didn't need to see them to know they were staring at me. I could feel their eyes burning through my body.
Suddenly, I stumbled and tripped over the lopsided sidewalk. Immediate laughter came from all directions. Tears filled my eyes and I didn't bother to get up. My blurred vision made out black suede boots in front of my face. Soon I felt the soft fabric of my skirt flapping onto my bottom. I realized that my skirt had flipped up when I fell. Amu's soft, slender hands helped me to my feet.
"Slut…did your boyfriend buy you those underwear?" I heard someone say. The boys laughed without hesitation. I closed my eyes for fear of crying, only to feel warm, moist tears running down my cheeks. Amu protectively stepped in front of me. I knew there would be a fight, and that she wouldn't leave until she knew she had won.
"Who are you to say such words?" She began, her fists clenching. "I happen to know that Rima here is one of---"
"The biggest sluts ever known to man?" A familiar voice asked, cutting Amu off. My ears filled with the sound of obnoxious laughter. My vision was becoming blurrier by the second. I knew that voice. It was…
"Fuyuki." Amu said sharply, as if reading my mind. "Rima doesn't need this. You didn't see what happened, so please don't judge her."
I raised my head just enough to see Fuyuki staring right at me. His eyes weren't the warm, comforting eyes I'd once known. They were cold, hard and dark. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to look away. Words I didn't intend to say ended up flooding out of my mouth with all the passion and might of a storm at sea.
"F-Fuyuki, please, forgive me!" I wailed, finally giving in, falling to my knees at his feet. "I…I never meant to hurt you! M-my feelings…they're greater for you than any other. I'm so sorry!" I reached for his hand, my chest heaving up and down as I cried harder than I ever had.
He jerked his hand away from mine and stepped back disapprovingly.
"Yeah, well…it's too late for apologizing." He said, the pain in his heart making his voice shake uncontrollably. "If you'll excuse me…"
With that, he and the other boys stepped around me, on their way to school, leaving me in a state of severe desperation. I held out my arms, longing for the gentle touch of the boy I'd adored for so long, yet lost so fast. Amu kneeled down next to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
"I know Rima…I know…" She said softly, stroking my hair and being my shoulder to cry on.
BxS: ^^^ If you ended up making it past this line, you're freakin' awesome. So go ahead and review this chapter to make me even happier. ^_^ Have a fan-frikkin-tastic day.
In case you were wondering, Rima's ex is Fuyuki Kirishima from episode number sixty nine("First Love? Love Attack!")of Shugo Chara!, the boy who gave her the love letter. The more chapters I put up of A Change of Heart, the more the story will unravel and you will see how they came to be a couple after Rima rejected him. The title also has a meaning behind it too, so keep an eye out for that. This is not just about Rima and her relationship with Fuyuki, it's about how she cheated on him, in case you haven't figured that out yet. You will find out who she cheated on him with in the next chapter.