Hi guys, I'm thinking of continuing 'Forgive or Forget'. What do you think?
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam SEED or Destiny for that matter.
Italics – Thought
Bold – Emphasis
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Chapter 1: New Assignment
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It was already 8 AM. Cagalli had fallen asleep on her desk, working on her report. The deadline was approaching and she only finished one fourth of her work. The blonde groaned and ran a hand through her hair. Strands of hair were sticking out of her once, neatly done bun. Not exactly the best place to fall asleep, now is it?
Cagalli looked at her messy table. The things on her table consisted of, Pieces of paper, a notepad, pen, pencil, cell phone and a cup of coffee. Her motto : "Coffee is a must in journalism." She usually had at least one cup a day to keep her wide awake for her paper work.
She stood up from her chair and pushed it back. She brushed back her bangs and glanced at her phone. '1 new message' it said, labeled on the screen. Cagalli pressed the open button and read her message. It was from their chief executive writer. Unfortunately, she had a new job for Cagalli. The message wrote:
Hey, Cags! It's Jean.
4get the old assignment I gave u.
I have something much more exciting than the previous 1.
Meet me at the office at 10.
W8 for me there. K?
Frm, Jean
Cagalli stared at the message and to her work on the desk. She's worked the whole night for that! She even took more coffee then the regular amount. Also, Jean knows Cagalli hates that kind of chat speak. She shook her head and rolled up her sleeve. She glanced at her watch and frowned.
"It's already 8:15, I haven't gotten dressed or eaten breakfast. " she said to herself. She sighed and placed her phone on her desk and grabbed a cup of coffee and took a sip.
Cagalli opened her closet in search of some decent clothes to wear. Most of her clothes were in the laundry. She took out a pair of jeans, a sleeveless white shirt and a blue jacket and laid them on her bed. Cagalli put on her pants and her shirt, she tied the jacket on her waist and she trailed on to the kitchen.
She opened the fridge and took out a glass of milk. She poured it into a glass and gulped it down. Cagalli spotted a box of donuts on the dining table. With a note attached. She opened the box and popped a donut into her mouth.
"Yum! Who brought it?" she noticed the note again and opened it.
From Jean –
I bet this will speed you up to my office!
Cagalli held the note in her hand. She could imagine herself sweat drop. Jean was very persistent. It got annoying at times though.
"She never gives up. Does she?" Cagalli sighed.
Cagalli trudged off to her room and got herself a sling bag and put in her notepad, pencil, pen, eraser, camera and cell phone inside. She zipped it up and walked out the door. She grabbed her keys that were hanging from the door. She twisted the doorknob and took a deep breath. Then, the house was empty.
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Cagalli walked out of her house and locked the door. She walked down the street towards the direction of the journalist executive's building. She waited at the sidewalk for all the cars to pass by. She crossed the road and Cagalli got on the other side.
While Cagalli was walking towards the building, she spotted a man who held a huge box. He was loading it into a truck. Cagalli presumed he was moving somewhere else. She shrugged and move closer towards the man.
Cagalli remembered she had gum in her bag. She looked down and continued walking and grabbed a piece of bubblegum from her bag. Just then, something hit her. Literally.
"Ack!" a large sack hit Cagalli on the head.
"Hey, mister! What was that for?" she demanded and crossed her arms.
"Excuse me, miss. Sorry." He said politely.
"But why did you hit me?" she glared at the man. She couldn't really see the guy because the guy carried another large box.
"Well, sorry for being rude but….you're the one that hit me." He pointed out.
"Then why did you say sorry!" she said in a harsh tone.
"I was trying to be courteous." He said blankly.
"I uh. Stop making me think!" she put her hands on her head and closed her eyes.
When she opened them, she got a better look at the man. Navy blue hair with emerald green eyes. He was kind of handsome too. Cagalli slapped herself for thinking that way.
"I'd better go!" her cheeks turned into a light shade of pink as she ran off.
Cagalli took deep breaths as she entered the executive building. Did she just blush back there? The guy hit her, wait, no. I hit the guy. I'm getting confused! Cagalli sighed and took the elevator up to the 4th floor.
The elevator went up and opened with a little ring as the doors opened. She walked up to the room with the golden plate labeled 'Chief Executive'. She twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. "Jean? You in here?" she peeked in.
"Hey, Cags!" Jean greeted her. Jean was a year older than Cagalli.
Jean had dark brown hair which reached up to her shoulders. She had deep blue eyes which always showed excitement. But Cagalli always thought there was an evil glint in her eyes. Just a feeling.
Cagalli sat on the chair beside Jean's desk. Her desk was full of paper work and folders with each of the journalist's names. Cagalli's was set up in front of all the rest. She looked up at Jean with a confused expression.
"New job, huh?" she lifted up an eyebrow.
"You got that right!" she winked.
"I picked you to do this important job. I need you to interview the famous Athrun Zala. Y'know, the guy all girls are crazy about? He'll be moving into the Zala Mansion today, and this article is for the 'Famous Homes' magazine, special edition." She pointed out.
"Cags, I want you to take care of the work. Here are some things you'll need to know. Also, you'll find a couple of pictures of the interior and a photo of the Zala family." She handed Cagalli the clear folder.
Cagalli browsed through the clear folder and was amazed with the structure of the house. She stopped and took a look at the family picture. A man and a woman standing in front of the door, supposedly, they had a son. But the guy wasn't in this picture.
"Well, when do I get started?" she said in anticipation.
"What are you excited for? I hear their son is quite a guy. Interested?" Jean smiled an evil grin and looked at Cagalli.
"Jean! I'm not interested in guys!" she glared at Jean. Her face turned red with anger and embarrassment. She crossed her arms stood up.
"Okay, okay. Calm down. You can start today, I'll give you the address of the Zala Mansion. Today, you'll have to start interviewing the Zalas. The picture taking will have to wait until tomorrow." Jean said calmly.
"I'd rather start today and get this over with." Cagalli muttered.
"Alright then, here's the address. They just moved in today so there are boxes around I suppose. That's why pictures will have to wait." She handed Cagalli a piece of paper.
Cagalli nodded and went out the door.
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"The Zala Mansion is pretty impressive." She mumbled. Cagalli looked up at the house and back at the paper Jean gave her. "This is the place. No doubt about it."
The fiery blonde stood in front of the golden gates and pressed the doorbell button. A man answered and asked. "Yes, how may I help you?"
"I'm a journalist, I'm interviewing for the 'Famous Homes Weekly' magazine."
Cagalli waited for a response. She was just about to kick the receiver when the gates suddenly creaked open. She looked around and decided to head in.
There was a huge garden and a fountain in the middle. Farther from this point, was the mansion. It was like a botanical gardens slash huge mansion. Cagalli stared in awe, it was just so….huge.
'The Zala family must be really, really rich.'
Cagalli jumped as the huge doors to the mansion suddenly burst open. A woman in her forties came out and walked over to Cagalli. Cagalli gulped and saw she extended her hand. She took the hand and shook it nervously.
"You must be the interviewer?" she asked.
"Yes. I suppose you are Mrs. Zala?" she put on a courteous smile.
"Yes, I am. Would you mind actually stepping in our humble abode?" she smiled.
Cagalli opened the door and took a look inside. This is what they called their 'humble abode'? Chandeliers, antique vases, grand staircases, swimming pool, flat screen TV, maids, waiters, cooks, they had almost everything.
"I suppose so. You have a wonderful place here." Cagalli commented.
"Thank you, dear." She said politely.
"Please, take a seat. You may call me Lenore." She offered a seat to Cagalli. A/N : That is her name right? I get confused.
"Thanks, uh….Lenore." she sat beside the woman.
Cagalli heard footsteps coming from upstairs. Lenore put a hand on Cagalli's shoulder and pointed at the staircase.
"You may want to meet my son." She looked towards Cagalli.
Cagalli sort of waited for this moment. The rumored, Athrun Zala. They say every girl was crazy over this guy. They'd cling unto him like lost puppies. Cagalli snorted at the idea. Please, that is over reacting. Just for a guy?
A young man with navy blue hair with emerald green eyes emerged from upstairs. Cagalli's eyes widened and she wanted to shout or scream, it is the box hitter! She was at a loss for words. She stood up and formed a fist. She pointed a finger directly at Athrun Zala.
"YOU!" she shouted.
"YOU!" he mimicked in reply.
"YOU!" she repeated.
"You?" he said in a calmer tone.
"YOU!" she continued to scream.
"Uh, can we stop saying you?" he asked politely.
Cagalli blinked and put down her finger. Her cheeks felt hot and red from anger and embarrassment. She felt the same way when Jean teased her a while ago. Athrun looked around the room, he felt confused. He looked at his mother then to Cagalli again.
"You're that box hitting guy." She pouted.
"You're that fiery blonde." He simply said.
Lenore blinked in confusion, but still held her sincere smile.
"Have you two met each other?" she asked in surprise.
"Yes, unfortunately we have. But, in an awkward way." Cagalli snorted and looked away from Athrun. She crossed her arms and stared at a wall.
"Just what are you doing here?" he asked.
"For your information, I'm a journalist and I was assigned to interview the Zala family and make an article about your mansion in 'Famous Homes Weekly' magazine. I didn't expect you to be the Athrun Zala." She looked back at Athrun with a glare.
"Oh I see. Wou---" Athrun started but was cut off by Lenore.
"Athrun, would you be so kind to show Cagalli around the house?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind. Unless this blonde would object." He looked towards Cagalli.
"It's Cagalli. Not blonde." She scoffed.
"Cagalli then, would you like to take a look?" he extended a hand.
Cagalli looked at his hand. She held unto it.
"Okay, then. Don't try anything funny." She pointed a finger at him.
"Why would I?" he raised an eyebrow.
"The box incident gave me a bad impression." She said blankly.
"I don't want to argue, let's get going." He sighed.
"Now, that's a good boy." She grinned.
Athrun toured Cagalli around the second floor and around the first floor. It was enormous. His room was huge, and so was his dad's and mom's. They had almost anything. Movie room, gym, swimming pool, maid's room, bathrooms that looked like spas, living room, dining hall, kitchen which was food galore.
As the pair toured around the house, they conversed a little, and moved on from their box hitter – fiery blonde relationship to a friendlier one.
"Hey, box head. You've got a nice place." She punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"I'm not a box head." He groaned.
Cagalli's stomach suddenly made a strange tingly noise. Cagalli could just sweat drop at the moment. Athrun looked at her curiously.
"Eh, I think I'm getting a little hungry." She laughed nervously.
"We should get ourselves to the kitchen. Shall we?" he smiled.
"Sounds good."
The blonde and her companion walked through doors and found themselves in the kitchen. Athrun opened the fridge and brought out a few snacks. Donuts, ice cream, cookies. He smiled and grabbed a small donut.
"Here. You don't seem like the type to eat all that healthy things." He teased.
"Is that supposed to be an insult?" she raised an eyebrow and glared at Athrun playfully. She grabbed a donut and popped it into her mouth. 'These were the same as this morning.' She thought.
'So, this is the Athrun Zala I have to interview. This might turn out fun after all.'
"Athrun? You have some coffee around here?" she asked.
"Coffee? Yes, we do. Why?" he blinked.
"Coffee is a must in journalism." She winked.
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I don't know, seemed random. I'll see how this story goes. Next chapter, Cagalli gets to know Athrun a little bit more. Kira meets Lacus, trouble occurs!
Preview:
"I'll open the gates for you." Athrun offered.
"Thanks." She said in a soft tone.
"Uh-oh." He gulped.
"What?"
"It's stuck." He laughed nervously.
"That means…." Cagalli's eyes widened.
I might tweak that a bit when I actually write that part. Stay tuned!