The Celebrity Next Door
A Fanfiction by Bobsies
Bobsies: I decided to revise this chapter, because it kind of sucked So, here you are!
Chapter One
"So whaddya think, Kai?"
Kairi Tayaka snapped out of her daydream and stared at her friend, her mouth gaping slightly. "Hunh?"
Selphie Tilmitt huffed and made a pouty-face. "Haven't you been listening to anything I've just said? I've just described all of my outfits I bought yesterday IN GREAT DETAIL, and all you'vebeen doing is staring off into space like some retarded sloth!"
Kairi raised an eyebrow at Selphie's odd insult, but decided not to further acknowledge it. "I'm just tired, Selph." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair.
They were sitting in Café Noir, a cheerful-looking coffee shop that high school students flocked to in order to cram for tests, finish up homework, and just catch up. It was Kairi and Selphie's regular hang-out spot before school. They would meet up, get some breakfast, and then catch the tram to school.
"One extra-strong espresso coming up for you Kai," Olette Kimanashi called from the coffee maker. The brunette worked part-time before school, and her helpful nature had saved Kairi from Selphie's verbal attacks multiple times.
"Thanks, 'Lette, you're a lifesaver," Kairi said tiredly. She paid, then grinned at her. "How's Roxas?"
Olette smiled at the mention of her boyfriend. "He's good. We went to watch I Am Number Four,and that white guy Alex Pettyfer is super cute." Olette placed the steaming cup on Kairi's table. "Careful, it's hot." She blushed slightly. "But I didn't say that in front of Roxas. He's better than any movie star."
Selphie and Kairi made aww sounds. "Remember when he first asked you out, 'Lette?" Selphie asked, nibbling her lowfat cream cheese bagle (she was on one of her diets again- she went on them often and her record was two weeks). "You couldn't stop crying!"
The red in Olette's cheeks grew brighter. "I was really happy..." she mumbled. Selphie and Kairi laughed at her embarrassment, and Olette turned around to busy herself with other customers.
Although Kairi never showed it, she sometimes got jealous over Olette and Roxas. They were two best friends that had liked each other since, like, the dawn of time, and now were probably the school's cutest couple. It seemed so...perfect. And impossible.
At least, by Kairi's standards.
Sure, some guys liked her...but that didn't mean anything to her, especially when they were either extremely annoying or jerks. She wanted a sweet boyfriend, someone who'd always be there for her, a shoulder to cry on, a boy who'd hold the door open for her and kiss her in the rain.
And quite honestly, looks would only be an unnecessary but nice bonus.
"Uh, Kairi, your coffee's starting to get cold." Olette's voice sliced through her fantasy like a knife. Kairi blinked, and she was snapped back to harsh reality.
Selphie clucked her tongue disapprovingly as she dangled her feet from the bar stool. "You're out of it today, Kai," she said, shaking her head.
"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Olette, motherly as always, stared at her friend concernedly.
Kairi rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "Yeah. I'm just...tired, I guess." Honestly, she wasn't sure. It seemed like more than just lack of sleep that was plaguing her today. She ran through her mind if she had any tests that day, but besides a little quiz in her Advanced Japanese History, she had nothing to worry about.
"Hey Kai," Selphie said, her green eyes suddenly bright with interest, "aren't the people who bought the house next door to you moving in today?"
Kairi, who had put her head on the table out of lethargy, raised her bleary eyes. "Yeah...I guess they are..." She dimly recalled Mom mentioning something about her sending a plate of cookies over later.
Selphie's expression grew mischievous. "I heard that they have a son. A hotson." She clapped her hands and beamed. "And he's going to our school tomorrow!"
Kairi should have guessed it. She put her head back on the table, groaning. Of course Selphie would know. Her whole world revolved around gossip and boys, the hotter the better. She was probably Kairi's girliest- and most annoying- friend, loving everything glittery, glossy, cute, pink and yellow. When you entered her room, you get scarred by the number of shirtless guys on posters, bright mustard yellow on the wall, and weird glitter everywhere. Kairi wore sunglasses every time she went to Selph's house.
"May I sleep over sometime, Kairi?" Selphie asked, winking at Kairi.
Kairi groaned again, which meant, "No friggin' way."
Olette gasped. "Guys, class starts in twenty minutes!" She frantically sorted through the cups and ran into the bathroom to change.
Selphie scrambled out of her seat. "We can't be late! I'll miss all of the juicy morning gossip!" She slapped her magazine on the table and took out her compact to apply her makeup.
Kairi made a sound like a dying cow, unwilling to move from the sanctum of the counter.
Olette, who had power-changed out of her uniform, pulled Kairi's hand; Selphie yanking on the other. "Come on, Kairi," Olette grunted, "we can't be late! I have to see my math test score!"
"Yeah!" Selphie whined, struggling to pull Kairi up out of her chair even with both of her scrawny arms. "And I have juicy morning gossip to hear!"
"Urgh," Kairi moaned, raising her red head and stumbling off her spinny chair. "You so owe me."
"Yay!" Olette and Selphie cheered. Kairi sleepily flung her bag over her shoulder, and the three made their way to the tram stop. A blissful silence ensued, and the cheerful titter of birds made Kairi want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.
Unfortunately, that was out of the question.
"So do you still like Tidus, Selphie?" Olette asked at the stop, referring to the tanned junior that Selphie was head-over-heels over. Captain of the Blitzball team, Tidus was probably the most wanted guy in the school. Because of him Kairi had to endure deep analytic conversations over his clothes, hair, eyes, and his performance on the court. She had come to really hate that guy, even though she didn't really know him.
Selphie raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard? I have a boyfriend!"
Kairi's jaw dropped, and joined Olette in yelling, "Since when?"
Selphie rolled her eyes and smiled. "Since like, Friday," she said, as if it was perfectly obvious. "Duh."
And she had wanted to flirt with Kairi's neighbor.
The tram came with a screech, and as they boarded, Olette glanced back over her shoulder. "Why haven't you told us about this?" Selphie had a tendency to announce every little insignificant thing that happened to her.
"I was gone, remember?" Selphie reminded, coating her lips with Berry Pink lip gloss and smacking them together. "I figured you would've heard by now."
Kairi shook her head in disbelief as she gripped one of the poles. Selphie flitted from one boy to the next like a butterfly, and only stuck to them for usually a week. It'd be a miracle if this guy lasted for a month.
"Well, who is he? Does he go here?" Olette asked, ready to make her judgment. The three jolted slightly as the tram began to move, whining through town.
Selphie shook her head. "He's a senior at the academy on the other side of town," she explained. A playful smirk worked its way into her mouth. "As for his name, you'll just have to wait and see when I introduce you."
Kairi and Olette looked at each other and rolled their eyes. At the rate Selphie went through boys, they'd probably never meet the poor guy.
"Hey girls!"
The three turned around to see a tall, muscular blond boy and a group of thuggish seniors coming towards them, a predatory grin on his face.
Unfortunately, Kairi knew him.
The blond put his arm around Kairi. "So how's my favorite little redhead?" he purred, precariously close.
She pushed him back, anger sparkling in her blue eyes. "I'm notyour little redhead, Seifer," she snarled with revulsion. "I'd rather date a pig."
The large, brunette, ape-looking thug behind Seifer grunted viciously, but the blond said, "Easy, Rai." A dangerous smile curved on his face, turning Kairi's stomach inside out. "C'mon Kai-ri,"he said,and the way he said it made her want to throw up."Go out with me just once." He stepped closer to her, running his hand down her arm, whispering, "No one can resist me."
Again, Kairi pushed him back, his touch making her want to scream. She glared at him with all her incessant dislike, and one of Seifer's cronies hooted, "Man, she hates you!" Seifer glanced back with a stony scowl, and the guy stopped laughing.
When he turned back, his face was red, and his eyes glinted maliciously. All of a sudden, he grabbed her wrists, forced her to him, and tried to kiss her, her friends yelling protests and his laughing hysterically. She could smell nicotine and alcohol on his breath, a sickening smell that made her feel like she was suffocating.
Thankfully, one of Kairi's struggling arms escaped his rocklike grasp, and her hand came in hard contact with his face.
Seifer reeled back in pain, the print where she had slapped a flaming red on his cheek. Before he could get near her again-and Kairi was almost positive he was going to succeed this time- the tram abruptly halted, finally at their destination. He stumbled back on his friends and wiped his cheek, his ice blue eyes furious.
"Quick, get out," Kairi muttered to her pale-faced friends, and they slipped out the doors onto the sanctuary of the pavement.
Seifer yelled through the doors, "You little %$*, I'm gonna-" Before he could tell her exactly what he was going to do, the tram doors closed, and his shouts were muffled by the glass door.
Kairi sat down on the road, trembling.
Olette sat down next to her and gave her a hug, a worried look on her face. Kairi could feel a tremor run through her body."That was so scary, Kai," she murmured. She smiled weakly. "Nice shot, though."
Kairi nodded, still visibly shaken. This was the most extreme Seifer had ever gotten with her, and from what it sounded like it could only get worse. She knew he wanted to carve another notch on his bed frame- that was his intent with all of the girls he wanted- but the fact that she wouldn't surrender made her irresistible to him. She was in a quagmire, and she didn't know how to get out.
"Maybe you should just go out with him, Kai," Selphie piped up, staring at her nails with interest and not seeming to be affected at all by what had happened in the tram.
Heat and anger coursed through Kairi's veins, and she stood up furiously, standing eye-to-eye Selphie. With clenched teeth she said harshly, "Never."
Selphie glanced up at her, genuinely curious. It maddened Kairi at how dense she could be. "Why not? It'd get him to stop pestering you." Her eyes turned mischievous. "Besides, he is one finejunior."
Kairi felt nausea and hatred sweep over her. Was that all that Selphie cared about? "How can you say that, Selphie?" she hissed, livid. "He's a jerk and has no morals, and all he cares about is knocking up as many girls as he can. Never," and at this she clenched her fists and glared down at Selphie, "everwill I date the creep, no matter how fine you think he is." Selphie looked frightened. Satisfied at making her point, Kairi stormed off.
"Kairi-" Olette called, hand outstretched.
"C'mon," she muttered, refusing to turn around, "we're gonna be late for school."
Her two friends ran after her as the sun crept over the town, promising the world a new day.
Bobsies: I hope this update was better R & R!
