A/N: Serious plot-change but I really hope you like it! Please review!
I have a secret. This is what he whispered in my ear right before kissing me. You can't tell a soul, okay?
And then he kissed me. I feel as if there was some importance of the secret… I didn't believe it was a ruse. I think he was going to tell me after he kissed me – I regret not waiting for him to finish, in a way. In another way, I'm glad I shoved him away. I'm really glad.
I wanted to know the secret. What was his secret? Was he just messing with me?
The outside of my door was quiet; it had been for a while. I stand up – if I went to find him, would he try to kiss me again? Could I take it? Could I still know his secret? Would he still spill?
I go to my window and lay my head against the cool glass. We'll see each other again. Why did he have to be right? That sick freak of a man. And he has my bus pass too.
I pull open the window, hoping no one sees me. I didn't want to explain why I was sneaking out. No one will be able to tell I'm gone unless they see me – it's not like they can walk into my room; it's locked.
I move away from my window, having a difficult time closing it from the outside. I run away from the apartments, going towards the bus stop. The night is cool; I pull at my shirt, trying to keep warm.
I see all the bright lights from the stores; they twinkle down on me, dazzling me. People brush past me; I don't even let them bother me. I just want to find him and get him to tell me his secret.
I smell the sweet sharp scent of onions mixing with the ramen. I hear a bunch of kids laughing – a parent must be ripping their hair out. The air holds a sting of cold in it. I suppress a shiver.
Someone grabs at my hand and twirls me around. I land on their chest, my other hand coming up to protect me from the ground. It falls on their chest, which is very warm. I feel a steady beat pick up underneath my palm.
"Well, Teru, I didn't think I'd see you so soon." His mad laugh and silky sick voice makes me realize who I am standing too close to.
"It's you," I try to move away from him, pull my hand from him. I can't help but hope that the pulse I feel on my fingers stop.
His other hand moves to my face, brushing back my hair. His hand is colder than the air surrounding us. He lets out a soft chuckle that sends shivers up my spine. I swallow the bile rising in my throat. The hint of crazy in his eyes freak me out; I didn't know that a creep could be so scary. "Now, let's not make a scene here. You came to find me, didn't you? You want to know my secret, don't you?"
"First, who are you? If you expect me to come with you, you had better tell me who you are." I say, still on his chest. The heat causes me to shudder; its unlocking the rigidness in my bones. I idly wonder how his fingers could have such chill when the blood in his body causes him to be so warm.
"You can call me Akira." He leans away from me, still holding my hand. My bones start to freeze back into their places. He pulls me with him to a moped. I follow him, limply, like a lost puppy. Why is it so cold today?
I want to know the secret.
Akira gets on the moped, dropping my hand. The iciness in my fingers slightly subside… which is strange. He puts on a smile. "You can come with me, or you can stay. But if you stay you won't know the secret."
"And if I come?" I ask, with my arms over my chest. The shivers vibrate off my ribcage. I really want to get next to some warm person but I need to know my choices.
His smile goes sadistic. "You may never come back."
I swallow, knowing he is not playing. Still, the secret tantalizes me. I stand for a few more seconds, then look at him sideways. Let him know I don't trust him. I get on his moped, knowing Kurosaki would kill me if he found out what I was doing.
"Hold on tight," he sounds a little too pleased to have me touching him willing. I repress a shudder while putting my arms around his waist. I can't shudder after his heat radiates in my body. The moped starts up and we are gone.
The speed causes the street signs to blur. A mesh of voices past my ears and so do the rush of the wind. If I was by myself, I knew my fingers would be blue. His jacket is unzipped and, though I don't want to, I put my fingers on the inside of his jacket. They are that much closer to touching his skin, but it's better than not being able to feel my finger. At least, that is what I tell myself in my head. It's a pretty weak argument. He drives to the ocean, to a beach.
The sand is pure white in the moon's glare. I hear the soft slapping of the water hitting the sand and pulling back out. The ocean looks peaceful and there is a boat floating on top of it.
A boat?
He stops on the walk right before the sand stops and gets off. He grabs me because he knows that I'm not going to go with him anymore. He throws me over his shoulder – I go kicking and screaming.
"Stop struggling, Teru. You are not as strong as me." he says delightedly.
"You sick freak! Put me down!" I scream, beating my hands into his back. "I'm not going on the boat with you! I don't care about the secret! I don't!"
We are on the boat and he throws me down onto a side seat. I fall onto it clumsily and his face gets way to close to mine. I can feel his putrid breath on my face; I wrinkle my nose and try to look away.
He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I can see the mad glint in his eyes, so wide and locked on my face. "Even if my secret is about your precious Daisy and your brother?" his head tilts.
I can't say anything; I'm captivated into quietness.
"So be quiet and sit still if you want to know." He turns away and starts driving. The cold air brushes my face as the boat picks up speed. I sit curled into myself, trying to retain some of the warmth Akira had given me.
Soon the land becomes a thin strip on the horizon. Akira stops then. He turns to me and leans against the steering wheel. A neurotic smile lights up his face and he starts laughing.
It's really starts to scare me when his laughter escalates. He falls to his knees, clutching his sides.
"Hey, quit laughing." I say. I begin to believe that he is losing it. I lean away from him. "Stop it!"
His cackling subsides slowly. Then he looks at me, the lunacy still very evident in his eyes. He moves from the ground and staggers towards me. I suppress the urge to move away.
"Okay, I'm out here. With you. Now tell me your secret." I say my voice tight. God, I am such an idiot. Why the heck did I come out here on a boat with this guy? I could die, I could get taken advantage of, I could… I'm such an idiot.
"Not so fast. We never got to finish at the bus stop. Don't you want your bus pass back?" he leans into me, pressing his lips hard to mine.
No… Not two times in one day! But what am I going to do if I push Akira away this time? I can't run and the boat moves faster than I swim. And I'm so close to finding out his secret.
I let myself freeze; I don't give him a motive and I don't move. He sighs and shifts his lips to where he can talk. "Come on, Teru, I thought you wanted to know the secret. You're going to have to do better if you want to find out."
His lips are back on my mine, expecting. I don't move. I am a statue, I repeat to myself. He puts his hands on the rails behind me. Pressing into me. Pressing me.
"Huh, guess you don't really care about knowing Daisy's and your brother's past. You must not really care about them." He says so close to my face.
I grab the back of his head, ripping his hair. He kisses me again and I put some force behind my kiss. I hope my lips break his jaw. He laughs – he actually finds it funny.
I'm done. I won't put up with this; I lean back and he looks at me curiously. I entwine my fingers, my eyes glare at him. "Can I know the secret now?"
He shrugs. "Okay."
My eyes almost pop out of my head. He was just going to tell me about it? Just because I asked?
"What is it, Teru? Do you not want to know?"
I shake my head. "No, I want to know. I just didn't think you'd tell me so easily."
"All you had to do was ask." He looks at me with an amused glint in his eyes.
I think back to my first request and realize it was a command. I had time to be irritated later; right now, I wanted to know what he had been keeping from me.
"The secret is…" he leans in close to my ear. My breath gets stuck in my throat in my excitement. "That your brother would die for Daisy."
His voice holds a double meaning, like there is some unseen joke I don't get. But I already knew that my brother and Daisy were close.
"Here's a secret for you, Akira." I say, with my voice holding back its anger.
"Huh?" he sounds intrigued.
"No one, including you, makes a fool out of me!" My voice rises as I speak. I throw a punch straight into his jaw. He falls away from me.
"Oww. That really hurt, you know." He said, lying on the floor. His hand strokes his jaw; I can almost see a bruise forming.
"Take me back. Now." I say, standing above him. I give him my best I'm going to kill you if you don't… face. He gets to his feet.
"Okay, okay. Just don't punch me again." He walks over to the steering wheel and turns the boat's motor on again. Soon we are moving and going back to the strip of land.
The sun has almost risen. I flip open my phone and e-mail Kurosaki.
I'm at the beach. It is on the other side of the bus station. Can you come and get me?
I send it as Akira puts the boat back in its docking place. He jumps out and then puts his arms up. "I'll catch you. Jump." He says.
I stand on the side of the boat, measuring how badly I would get hurt if I don't let him catch me. I sigh. I don't want to trust him at all. He looks up at me, his smile seems sincere and the insanity in his eyes has faded to the background. I sit on the rail and drop. I close my eyes, prepared to die.
I feel his arms catch me and set me down. "Do you need a ride back to your apartment?" he asks.
"No, someone is coming to get me." I say, shrugging away from him. He turns and walks away. He's halfway down the beach when I realize something. "Wait, how do you know where I live?" I shriek at him.
He just looks back at me with one eyebrow raised and smirks. God, I wish I broke his jaw.
I go to the sidewalk above the beach. I sit there, waiting for Kurosaki to come and get me. I can see him when he comes strolling down the concrete. He looks especially grouchy.
"What were you thinking, you idiot? Running off like that? Come on, let's go to the car. You're going to have to explain everything when we get back. I mean, why would you go to the beach at night? Are you really that stupid?" His voice had gravel in it. I could hear the stress in his voice.
Missed you too, Daisy.