Disclaimer: Characters belong to Tachibana Higuchi. Song doesn't belong to either of us. Duh.
The Secrets of Sumire Shouda
1
The First Secret
Where were you?
When everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by the telephone
It never rang
And all I needed was a call
That never came
To the corner of first and Amistad
You Found Me - The Fray
*
A dog.
She wanted a dog. She was freaking tired of cats and wanted a dog. Why couldn't anybody seem to understand that?
She'd had cats since the day she was born, year after year of meowing and hissing and spitting. All she wanted was to come home and cuddle up into a big, warm and furry dog.
She herself was more like a cat though, she'd always been. The eyes, the temper, the way she walked and even the hissing and spitting (in a sophisticated way, of course.) She knew all that, but did that mean she had to be around other cats 24/7? What if this cat was sick of other cats, and of herself, and wanted something a little more silly and happy-go-lucky?
Like a dog.
This was what spun through Sumire Shouda's mind as she once again found herself on the enormous bed of her even more enormous bedroom in the mansionlike house she called her home. School had finished hours ago, practice too and she was bored out of her mind.
Like always.
There weren't many things in this world that could entertain Sumire. School barely distracted her from her own mind. Practice was easier, because then she could boss around with those silly girls she called her friends. Make them do whatever the hell she felt like, be it running around the football field eight times in one go. Or make the heaviest girl on the squad stand on top of the pyramid (always a great sight!) But it wasn't nearly as entertaining as the Games. Only when cheering for her school's team, Sumire Shouda felt entirely at home. She could dance, shout and sometimes even (on very rare occasions) laugh out loud.
It was the worst thing in the world when the game ended and the after party started, because then she had to put on her mask again. The mask of the cat.
Sighing, she kicked the dreadful animal resting by her feet to the floor and got up from the bed to prepare for her quite spontaneously thought up party. (Or Beer Fest, as Koko so cleaverly dubbed it.) Maybe something good would finally happen after an absolutely dreadful day...
It had all started out as a normal, boring morning. She woke up, slowly, and took a shower. Put on her uniform and ignored her Stepsister all through breakfast. Thank God they were rich, she thought as she so often did, that at least they didn't have to share a bathroom. The Bitch was even crazier in the mornings than the rest of the day.
Sumire ate as fast as she could, trying to block out her dad's voice who, for some reason, found whatever the Bitch was blabbering about interesting. Uh, wow...
As any other day, Mouchu came to pick her up in his black Volvo to take them both to school. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she was greeted by her friends who were already there of course, since she was the one who was always fashionably late.
Mikan was just late. As in 45 min. Every day.
"Hey Sumire! Loved you at the game last Friday, you looked hot!"
"I know"
"Sumire, Sumire! Love your hair! New mousse?"
"I don't use mousse"
"Hey S, wanna go out with me?"
"I'm her boyfriend, you moron!"
And so on, and so on. The next thing she knew she was situated in the classroom once again, staring out her window and trying to ignore the person beside her. To no avail.
"Hey, Permy, wanna see my new Iphone? It's got a game on it where you get chased by an evil Medusa. Hm... She looks a lot like you, you know..."
And as customs went, she shoved her eraser up his nose. He was sneezing eraser dust all over the classroom when their silly teacher came dancing through the door, dressed in a white blouse with pink flowers in his hair.
"Hello hello, mes amies! You all look lovely today as always, except for Koko... Why is there eraser dust in your hair? Anyway, I'm gonna leave in a minute but Mr... uh... I actually don't know his name..."
"It's-"
"... But neither do I care! Mr. Substitute Teacher (yes, you can call him Mr. S.T , Kitsu) will take care of you for the rest of the day! Where's Mikan by the way? Haven't seen her for three weeks... She's late as a sausage... And Natsume, you sure don't look as handsome as you usually do, maybe you should just-"
"Shut up, I'm staying."
"I guess there's nothing I can do about that. Just stay clear of any trash cans...! You know what happened last time... Okay see you some other time class!"
Sumire watched him skipping out the door while whistling the theme tune to Titanic, more bored than ever. Murmurs spread in the classroom, slowly growing to a loud inferno. Poor Mr. Substitute Teacher, no one thought.
"Hey, why did he have to bring that part about trash cans up, I think everyone had just started to forget about that thing..."
"I think Narumi would be the only person brave enough to talk about it. Or idiotic enough. Natsume sure is thinking of a revenge plan right now... Look at that scowl..."
"He always looks like that, but everybody knows he hates whenever those things happen, I guess it's a pride thing..."
"Who would like to be remembered of fainting in the middle of the school yard, falling head first into a trash can? Idiot."
Sumire remembered that incident, it happened last year and was the talk of the school for months. She wished something would happen to stop all that whispering and gossiping in the classroom, her stomach was tightening as it always did when she thought about That and she didn't even want to know what Luca was thinking about, or Natsume. Neither was looking up from their books.
As if on cue, the door slammed open with a bang, making the substitute teacher lift his crying face from his arms on the desk looking as if he'd finally had seen the light.
"Ah! Morning everyone! Sorry I'm late Mr. S.T.D - Mr. Narumi told me to call you that, I met him in the corridor. Aaaah! You won't believe what he just told me... Hey why is Koko covered in eraser dust? Permy?"
"You know why. What did you want to tell us?"
"You'll never guess, but I-"
She had watched Mikan carefully since she came in (anything to keep her from falling asleep from sheer boredom), the latter continuously sweeping her eyes over the crowd, scanning her friends (I.e. everyone) and stopped short when they landed on Natsume. They stared at each other for what felt like a very long second until Mikan finally snapped her eyes away and smiled weakly at Luca, who mirrored her torn expression.
"What did you want to tell us, Mikan?" Luca said gently, while patting the seat in between his and Natsume's.
"Uh, yeah. Right." The Idiot tried to cover up her expression and smiled as if nothing happened, while walking to her seat. "Narumi just told me on the way here, that the elementary class are going to set up a play for Christmas!"
"That is very exciting news, Mikan" Sumire remarked sarcastically while Koko snickered beside her. She ignored him.
Mikan huffed.
"It is, because we are going to be in the play too!"She beamed, obviously avoiding to look at the dark haired boy on her left.
"What?! Why?" The few people who hadn't been following the silent drama earlier after Mikan's entrance now turned to look at the girl.
"It's going to be a bonding...thing, for us and the 5th graders. Something about us being their guiding light or something... They are going to sing and dance and play some smaller parts, while we will be the actors! Exciting right?"
Most of the class sighed with disappointment of the "exciting" news. Koko tried to get some eraser dust out of his ear, however it had ended up there in the first place was a mystery to Sumire. Mikan still had that exciting look plastered on her face, the happiness never really reaching her eyes. So it was going to be one of those days, Sumire realized with a sigh of disappointment.
Lunch was disaster. If class had been awkward, it was nothing like lunchtime. Natsume had one of Those days and Mikan was not cheerful. That said it all, Sumire thought tiredly. She was so tired. And not only physically. Days like this always felt like years and she couldn't bear it.
So she decided to Beer it.
"Hey, everyone, party in the park tonight at 7, to celebrate that the new term is starting. Bring your own stuff, I'll be serving bubbles only."
"Wow, cool, Mire! I'm definitely going to be there, and so is Anna!"
"Of course you are. Don't bring your own drinks though." Sometimes the one year separating her and most of her classmates felt like a decade. And Nonoko was even two years younger. Gosh, she had to be patient with these girls.
"I'm going to post it on my blog, that okay Sumire?" Aoi announced rather than asked, with that Determined look she always bore on days like This.
"Sure, whatever." Being the most popular girl in school, this party would be smashing no matter how many people posted the invitation on their blogs. Life was easy sometimes, she thought.
Then she looked over at Natsume and Mikan. The latter smiling unconvincingly and the first, while ignoring his food, looking out the window with bloodshot eyes. She quickly looked away.
Sometimes.
*
She couldn't find him anywhere. The big bulky form of Mochu was not at the party. She couldn't believe her boyfriend (and the school team's captain) didn't show up to her party. She'd searched everywhere and was near tears when suddenly something brown was pressed up against her mouth. Shocked, she opened her mouth and felt the taste of chocolate. Looking up she saw His face two inches from her own, grinning manically.
"Thought you needed something to cheer you up!"
She couldn't shout at him. Her mouth was full of chocalatey goodness.
Koko rose to is full height, still grinning in that annoyingly typical fashion of his and she found herself wondering when he became so... tall...When looking at her like that he made her stomach feel really weird. (This, of course, she would never tell him. Not ever)
Trying to cover up her sudden urge to reach out and touch his dimples, (what was wrong with her?!) she turned away to try and wipe the chocolate from her mouth. She was startled again though, when Koko suddenly reached out and wiped a stain away from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. He was standing very close and he wasn't smiling anymore. She felt her face redden.
"Who brings brownies to a beer party anyway?"
Don'tlookatmelikethatdon'tlookatmelikethat.
"Oh, Anna made them for me. Good, huh?"
He took a step back while talking and the grin was back.
Sumire felt her gut tighten and her eyes found Anna in two seconds. There was a scowl on her face when she turned back to Koko.
"Why do you waste your stupid "Luuurve gift" on me? I didn't ask for it."
"Why are you so mad? You looked upset and you like to eat chocolate when you're sad, I just tried to be nice. Yesterday you stole my brownie in algebra..."
Yeah, why was she mad? The guy was never really Nice to her, she should enjoy it while it lasted. Or more like, take advantage of it. But her eyes kept sweeping back to Anna who was dancing with Nonoko, dressed in the shortest denim skirt Sumire had ever laid her eyes on. She felt like vomiting.
Thankfully The Idiot saved her from that grossness by coming up to them, now beaming more confidently than she had before, Luca and a not-so-bloodshot-eyes-looking-any-more Natsume in tow.
"Hey, Koko! Hey Sumire! Great party! I looove the lights in the trees! How did you make Koko set them up? Hey, where's Mouchu by the way? Haven't seen him anywhere..."
Oh, right... She forgot all about her missing boyfriend in the midst of all the Brownie Drama. Where was Mouchu when she needed him? Why didn't he come? She could see Koko watching her carefully out of the corner of her eye. And that mixed with Mikan's curious gaze, Luca's slight frown and even Natsume's wondering eyes (it was quite weird, the Bear Boy missing a Beer Party. No one had been a witness of that happening before) made her head spin like a washing machine on extacy. Mustering up all of her superior confidence Sumire decided to be what she always was in these sorts of situations.
Vague.
"Oh, you know him. He's probably off trying to find a place to pee or something..." The guy had the tiniest bladder on the planet. Mikan looked unconvinced though. Luca looked tired and Natsume looked at Mikan. Gosh. When would that mess get solved? The awkwardness was to much for Sumire so she decided to run.
"Sorry, you guys. But I gotta go, Lost my phone..." Waving to the Awkward Three + Koko, she left the park in search for her missing boyfriend.
*
Why had she decided to hold a party on a school night, Sumire asked herself again as she sat in the car on the way to her boyfriends house. The City blinked by outside the window, looking like one giant disco. She loved living here. And she loved being rich. Having a personal driver certainly had it's perks. He drove her anywhere, any time and she didn't tell her father about him smoking pot. As long as he didn't do it while working.
She got the call halfway to Mouchu's house.
"Sumire! Please, you need to come to the hospital quickly! Natsume's fainted again and-"
"Okay, I'm there in five." Sumire hung up on Mikan, the wrenching in her gut from this morning slowly resurfacing.
Shit.
*
One Hour and Thirty minutes later she found herself in her car again, more furious than ever at that Stupid Fucking Idiot of a Boyfriend Who Couldn't Answer His Damned Phone. The car finally stopping in front of the house, Sumire rushed out of the car, her gut literally on fire.
Deep down inside she knew she wasn't really angry, but scared shitless. She wished badly that she could erase the pictures that where etched into her mind.
Luca's ghostlike face.
The endless tears, flowing down Mikan's cheeks.
Aoi and Mr Hyuuga never for one second letting their eyes leave Natsume's unconscious form.
Koko's unnaturally serious expression.
Her own shaking hands.
The staring faces outside the window.
It was someone else's life. It had to be...
"And what the hell were you thinking, you damned moron?! You just missed my party and you weren't even there when one of your oldest and closest friends in the world was rushed to the hospital after fainting after one beer. God, you're full of shit, Mouchu." She had tiptoed up the stairs of his house before entering his own apartment. Then all hell broke loose. After shouting for apparently deaf ears, Sumire started to walk toward the bedroom.
"You have no idea how it felt seeing him lying there unconscious, with blood on the sheets, and you know what? They say he might just get worse from now on. You get it you fucking moron?! He's gonna get WORSE! Do you hear me?! I said -"
As she opened the door she fell silent.
There lay her boyfriend. In his bed.
With The Bitch.
For the first time in her life, Sumire was at a loss for words.
***
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