a/n: Okay so it has been a long time since I've posted a story. And... gyaaaAH! Here I am again 'attempting' to complete a probably, a two or a threeshot fanfic. But regardless, I managed to snatched up and hid my laziness somewhere and thought to get the right inspiration to write. Much like this story I found myself, really, (REALLY!) hard to Get on the Mood. Sighs... hope you enjoy this.
And btw, as always I don't own LCDO nor P.S. I Love You its written by Cecelia Ahern, if I'm right, I only watched the movie and haven't read the book yet.
And I write LCDO by everyone's first name. Honestly, i don't have any idea where would I put the -sans, -chans, -kuns, -senpais, -senseis... so sorry. I'm hopeless. Lastly, beware! Lol... Haha... I mean warning! There's a lemon on the way, but not the lemon you're thinking. Duh? Rated T? Rated T? I feel so pathetic... Tsk..
Getting You On The Mood
Chapter 1 - Better than a Spent Lemon
An overwhelming frustration, anger, guilt and disappointment swelled up inside her. Somewhere in the practicing rooms Kahoko should be skillfully swishing her bow while moving her fingers delicately along the strings in precise sync and with ease and enough brain to feet coordination she should be able to waltz around the room from the same music she was playing. But that was too much multi-tasking to be done. In fact, she isn't even in the practicing room as she was purportedly thinking about.
She's on the school's garden beside a field of flowers reading a romance novel, or at the very least, skimming and trying to stomach all the sappy and cheesy lines that ooze out on every page. There's a huge possibility that she might develop Diabetes after finishing the novel from all the sweetness. She resigned and stuffed the book on her bag. Maybe some other time, minus the cheap rip off of all the cliché 'I-just-wanna-throw up' love or maybe another genre entirely.
Apart from that, the change of setting she picked for today's practice was perfect. Their garden was well tended it was like looking at a painting, only alive and moving and she was a part of it. Breathing in and out the scent of freshly cut grass and dozens and dozens of flowers she was relieved. She scrunched her nose, there's a familiarity to that scent, where else had she smelled this before except from the garden? Her heart pace quicken, butterflies are not only in the garden but also seemed to be confine on her stomach, fluttering their wings excitedly.
At the split moment, she had gotten what she came here for. Why she was in the garden bringing along novels and playing violin sonatas. She wanted to incite a feeling, to let it consume her, to drive her hands out of their own accord to play this beautiful music. To breathe in life on the notes to this piece. How could she forget the romance of the dark cherry wood of her violin? She was smitten with the sound it produced.
She held her violin. Caressed its neck and begun to play. Music swelled thickly in the air. She closed her eyes. 'What was the feeling?' She asked herself trying to fill in all the gaps from the remnants of a vague feeling that was still to hazy to comprehend. Strings of music continues to resound in the air unsteadily reaching up the crescendo. 'Oh, what was that…?" she strained her mind.
Love…?
She deflated. As fast and instantaneous it came, it was as fast and instantaneous it went. Gone. She felt like crying now. That was both stupid and pathetic, finding something and loosing it again. What would she say that she misplaced her inspiration?
She huffed. She needs to displace this to something.
She looked at her violin softly. Of course, not on it. She carefully set it aside. Then dug her hands on her hair pulling it and trashing all around the spot. After loosing a few hair and the Nami in her conscience told her, "Kaho… You know if someone will see you like that they will think you're crazy." Infuriated and panting she sat down and recollected her sanity. Just a few seconds passed by she was fumbling the contents of her bag bringing out the book and flipping over the pages again.
Of all the theme under the sun. They picked something that she can't even firmly put a grasp on.
She sighed. Long and slow, as if all the hope was escaping out from her breath. "How did I even get myself on this?"
Her thoughts swiped along a blonde hair fairy. "That midget! One of these days I'll find dozen of cats to chase him around!" First the school competition and now out of nowhere her name 'magically' appeared on some local concours a week before it's going to be held on the city. What kind of fairy-tale-magic-star-dust he borrowed from Tinker Bell again.
Grabbing her violin she hurriedly followed through the notes on the music sheet, pushing back up and dragging down the bow along the strings. "Come on! Come on!" She gritted her teeth, "More passion, more precision more! More!"
"If you're going to keep doing that you are aware that your strings are going to break… again, right?
Who else can pull off that monotony?
"I'm being extra gentle this time." She reasoned out pissed.
"Ow?" He challenged skeptically.
She turned to Len's direction, grabbed his shoulders and violently shook them. "Len please," she pleaded. "I'm not on the mood for your peer evaluation on my performance."
He rolled his eyes. He felt like giving Kahoko one of his long lectures again.
Kahoko held up a hand. "Don't start with your long sermons about your convictions on music and all that again." She pouted and looked at him behind her bangs warily. "Is it- Is it really that bad?"
Noting that he must choose his words delicately, he started, "Let me give you an analogy Kahoko," he paused getting distracted by another thought, "your playing is like squeezing juices out of a spent lemon, there's little to nothing left..."
He waited for her reaction and heard sobs right after. The hands that were lightly gripping his shoulders a while ago were now formed into a fist thumping his well ironed out uniform.
Len looked bored as he rubbed his temples. He' s not even bothered by Kahoko's fists pounding on his chest, its like she's not even trying, ―of course she's a girl. "Stop doing that."
"No!" She snapped through her gritted teeth. Not when she had found something to displace her anger with. "No! No! No!"
He seized her hands by the wrist. "You're wrinkling my uniform, if you won't stop then I will make you iron out all my uniforms for a week."
She stuck her tongue out.
He looked at her with half lidded eyes, especially the tongue she had stuck out. He tried to chase out all the rapid thoughts that were running inside his mind and focus back on their current position. He guessed that the girl in front of him failed to notice their proximity but he for one didn't. Actually he was very aware of how close they were, inches from each other it felt like he was on the prelude of something very inviting.
She's so dense and naïve that she always have a late reaction on things. He'll give her extra time to figure this out by herself, all he needs to do is to wait, pretend to look stoic and aloof like what he always does in front of her, although inside he is silently enjoying this. Anytime now, "Five… Four… Three… Two… One!"
Presto! Her eyes lit up like a bulb. She pushed herself away from him. For a moment there he thought he saw steam puffing out because of the heat from her face. But then she continued in her onslaught. She was disconcerted by her playing and a mixture of embarrassment swirling around that frustration was too much to bear but that didn't stop her from making Len her human punching bag. "You call yourself my friend? I don't care! Send me all of your uniforms and I will stretch and iron them out for you till they rip from their seams!"
"But you're no good on doing household chores, —umpfh!" he felt one or two pounds stronger than the other, "what if you'll burn your fingers and won't be able to play the violin properly."
She stopped.
He mentally rechecked what came out of his mouth. "I mean, plus, you'll surely burn holes through my uniforms. I can't let you do that."
She stepped back away from him and started fixing her things, ignoring him. He bent down to help her. He grabbed a particular book, quickly passed over the title before he hand it to her. His eye brows quirked in an oddly fashion.
"I was trying to get my mood into something." She supplied for him with her lips tight, obviously still mad at him.
"Romance, Love? I thought you had more experience to that than to rely on books."
"What do you mean?"
"Tsuchiura? Yunoki? Hihara?"
Her face became more confounded as he said their names. Again she was so dense and so slow. Even if Len added 'Tsukimori' to that bunch she still won't get it.
"You want to know why people write things such as that?" He pointed to the pocket sized book on Kahoko's hand. "Because somewhere on a daydream they thought about being hugged and kissed. Pondering about those things, coupled with an interesting plots and twists make a good literary entertainment."
She smiled, a bit lopsided, more of a smirk. "Len, you softie, I didn't know that you read love-atrocious-novels."
"P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern, twice and over actually." He let her rubbed it in his face for now. He kind of felt bad mocking her with a slice of lemon a while ago.
"It's a reference or more of a resource book to help me play the violin."
"And how's that going to help?"
"I can't seem to get on the right mood on playing the violin." She sighed hopelessly. "The theme is…" she paused for a while as if to add emphasis on the dread of the 'word', "… Love."
He chuckled. "And you think that is going to help you?"
He grabbed her violin and slung it on his shoulders. "Here, let me teach you." He offered his hand for her.
Kahoko's heart felt like two drumsticks are beating it for her. As a result, a gush of blood flooded her face.
He quickly realized what he just said. "T-to your violin, of course!" He hastily added.
Kahoko saw through this and slid her hand on his open one. They both blushed at the contact. Len was too shy so he turned his back quickly and lightly tugged her to lead the way. Where ever they are going.
"But first let's have some tea."
x
"I can see where you got the inspiration from the lemon."
"How did she know that I write lem-". He panicked but was relieved that Kahoko was just idly looking at the squeezed lemon on the side of the table. "I couldn't think of anything better."
"No you don't!" She looked at him defiantly then placed her teacup on the table. "Take that back!"
He relaxed his back on the chair enjoying this little outburst from his companion. "You know what? Make me. Why don't you play for me before we start the lesson."
Not breaking her gaze she feel for her violin on its case.
The boy looked at him critically a smirk playing on his lips. The eye contact didn't have any sign of wavering from both of them. He leaned forward with intent as he put his trademark pride on his chin while at the same time the girl tried to copy his gesture by propping her violin on her chin as well. With both chins held high, she took her stance. Poised to give him a view of his very own personal concerto.
The music was soft, almost too delicate at first, then it started to linger on so slowly melding in the air like thick velvet. And then all of a sudden…
She jerked her bow upwards, then dragged it down steeply.
The music resonated like thunder powerful and yet passionate. He closed his eyes the whole world seemed to spin around him. Notes seemed to fly everywhere as she continued to flip her wrist to give off more vigor. He clenched the armrests of his chair as she rose quickly on her tempo.
Len… She wanted to scream his name in between the notes.
And then as if she sensed him, her playing turned mellow the steady notes seemed to coax him like a magnet towards her. His ears burned for more as she painfully comes to a halt.
She heaved a full breath from the amount of effort she just gave off. She turned her head bracing herself to scathing remarks that Len will give her. What else would she expect.
"Eh?…" She was surprised to see Len's eyes close.
He couldn't fight the surge of thoughts clouding his head right now. In his bedroom, ruffled sheets and…
A hazy vision of Kahoko…
A hazy vision of Kahoko waving her hands in front of him saying, "Earth to Len?" repeatedly brought him back.
"What the-," he muttered.
"So how was it?"
For the lack of better word, he replied. "Entertaining… at the very least. But it's still sloppy!"
Her shoulders slumped. "Sloppy?"
"J-just a little but you're getting there." He chose his words carefully. If there's a list of girls he didn't want to cry, Kahoko would be one of them.
"Sloppy, like I'm trying too hard it shows. I just… I just," her eyes became glassy and she held on to her violin tightly. "I just want to give the playing it rightfully deserves!"
"Come here…" Len muttered inaudibly. Kahoko couldn't believe she heard him right.
Len's eyes softened and then he snorted. At the back of his mind he thought if Kahoko could be any denser. He cleared his throat. "I said come here."
She stepped forward, unsure hands warily raised up as if she was grasping things blindly. She saw a flicker of irritation on Len's face. All of a sudden she was tugged hurriedly on his chair in between his lap.
He grunted impatiently whether it was because of her dense-lack-of-thought-processing-sluggishness or he was just plain eager for her to come to him, he didn't know.
Len quietly relish the view of the exposed skin behind her neck and the smell of fresh strawberries from her hair.
"I'm no good, aren't I?"
"It's not like that. I told you, you're getting there." He consoled for her as he wrapped on arm on Kahoko's waist and surprisingly she let him do it.
"I just can't get the right mood for it."
"And I told you I'm going to help you." Len reached for her music sheets while still keeping his arm around Kahoko's waist.
"Look in here," he placed the music sheet on the table and he leaned forward. "It was good. But, you miss this note, this note and this note. And in here," he skimmed a series of notes with his finger. "Your tempo is too fast…"
She nodded to everything Len was saying as she cautiously squirmed in between of him. It didn't take a whole minute for her to realize her position. The moment Len leaned forward, when his chest pressed on to her back, the butterflies on her stomach a while ago came back again. Or is it just his arm around her waist? The tiny butterflies fluttered their wings excitedly as Kahoko tried not to blush.
"And to the last part, you should drag your bow lighter and longer… Like this." He placed his right hand on the hand where she was holding her bow and the other on the hand where she held her violin. Together they raised her violin to position and he guided the bow along with her hands.
Her back stiffen. Len was almost embracing him, in a very weird way. But the notes sounded spot on.
"See? It made all the difference, didn't it?" He whispered resting his chin on the crook of her neck where her scent was much stronger.
That made all the hairs on her back stand up from their roots.
"Actually, yes. And Len… You can let go of me now."
His face colored. But he still obliged albeit it's the opposite of what he wanted.
"By the way… Your playing… I was wrong…"
Kahoko stopped midway. She snapped her head to look at him incredulously. Then her eyes softened as she laid a hand on his forehead. "Len, are you sporting another fever again?"
Len looked fine, if she had to admit he looked better this time rather than any other days, especially at this close distance. But she was taken aback, since it wasn't your everyday normal Len that would admit that he was flawed or had made a mistake, more or less bruise his own ego.
"I'm fine. I said I was wrong, surprisingly your playing…"
She watched him intently are these really the words that are coming out of Len's mouth?
"… Your playing was surprisingly better than a spent lemon." He said without a hint of expression which infuriated Kahoko.
With clenched fist she bopped his head.
Ow!
xXx
Hey can I ask something? Why do they call 'it' lemon anyway? Err.. Yeh know what I'm pertaining too. Hahaha! And oh! please don't forget to review... You can flame if you want I don't care. But if I get a little touchy touchy with your reviews I'd rather delete this fic and start over again... Sighs... See you next chap.