Doubles:
Hikaru looked up from the papers she was sorting, and gazed out the window with a wistful expression.
It was already sunset, the sky crimson and violet in color.
"Another late night." She thought, closing her eyes with a sigh. She was spending more and more of her time lately finishing up tasks at the WBBA.
Sometimes she didn't mind, but would it kill Ryo to take some sort of responsibility?
If he wasn't giving a dramatic speech, he would beg her to fix his tie or miraculously disappear whenever he was needed.
The main thing that bugged her was having to walk home alone at night. Just the thought sent shivers down her spine.
"Hikaru!" A voice chirped, startling her. She didn't expect anyone else to be here around this time.
"Hi Madoka." Hikaru nodded, grabbing a small stack of papers before turning around to face her. She was standing partially in the door way, a smile across her face.
"Are you busy?" Madoka questioned, aqua eyes peering up at her.
"I'm just about finished." Hikaru informed, walking over to a cabinet to file papers away.
It dawned on her a second later that Madoka perhaps wanted something, so she looked up for a moment to eye her suspiciously. "Why?"
Madoka shifted her weight innocently as she strolled over to her and explained, "Well, your always stuck in this stuffy place having to finish work. You need to take a break every once in a while."
Hikaru sighed, body stiffening. She had been avoiding her friends a bit lately. But how could they possibly understand what she was dealing with?
Ever since that horrid battle she had against Ryuuga, she never felt safe anymore.
Her demeanor had always been strong, determined. And now...she just wanted to play on the safe side to avoid feeling pained again.
But Madoka had a good point, she couldn't keep hiding behind her work. In truth, she missed spending time with them.
"What did you have in mind?" Hikaru asked, giving in.
Madoka grinned, holding up two fingers. "A double date!"
Hikaru felt her face flush a bit red. "With who?" She wasn't aware of anyone having secret feelings towards her.
"You'll have to see." Madoka winked, taking hold of Hikaru's hand. "Now come on, you've got to get changed out of those work clothes!"
"So do I look okay?" Hikaru asked nervously, pushing a stand of her cerulean hair behind her ear.
She was wearing a sleeveless dark blue shirt that exposed her smooth stomach, and white shorts.
"You look great!" Madoka assured, twirling around in a pink dress of her own.
Hikaru wan't so sure when Madoka had gotten so confident. but it made her feel more out of place. She was so out of the swing of things, she couldn't remember the last time she had gone on a "real" date.
She didn't quite count her and Tsubasa's lunch breaks, mainly because it was pretty one-sided. Tsubasa was nice, but she couldn't see him as anything more than an older brother type figure.
Which made the identity of her date all the more confusing, and exciting. For the moment however, she was just nervous examining her face in a sidewalk puddle.
When her reflection rippled by the clicking of boots stepping in it, she looked up in surprise.
Their double date partners had arrived.
"Hey Madoka!" Ginga grinned, tackling her with a giant hug. They both fell over and laid laughing in the grass.
That was predictable. Hikaru knew how strong those two's feelings were for each other, and it seemed they were finally dating.
Laying eyes on her partner however, she could scarcely believe herself as she felt her body go numb.
It wasn't possible. How could Madoka do this to her? But there he was in plain sight, the man she hated with every fiber of her being. The dragon emperor himself, Ryuuga.
"Hey." He grinned, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She shuddered, not bothering to look up at him.
Why would Ryuuga even agree to go on a date with her? To mock her?
She shot Madoka a dark glare, but she didn't notice, swooning over her own date.
Sighing heavily, Hikaru followed the rest of them into a large movie theater. She was hoping to get the night over with as quick as humanly possible.
She yelped with shock, not expected to be hit by a cold blast of air. Of all the days to dress light, it had to be when it was below zero at the movies?
Ryuuga snickered as her frigid body shook. She felt like punching him in the face, teeth gritting. Did he have to be so insensitive?
He rolled his eyes and removed his signature white jacket to drape it on her shoulders.
Hikaru felt her face blush a deep red, barely able to muster a reply, "T-Thanks."
He responded with a grunt, just as they approached the ticket booth.
"Let's watch something scary!" Ginga insisted as he began to march around like a zombie,
Madoka bursted into a fits of giggles, handing the ticket lady money. "It will be my treat!" She informed the group.
Hikaru nodded, rolling her eyes over Ginga's act. She dealt enough with silly antics watching Ryo all day.
Moments later they were at the concessions stand, Hikaru and Ryuuga standing off to the side waiting for those two to get snacks.
Hikaru was focusing on pulling a lose white strand from Ryuuga's jacket, anything to prevent herself from looking in his direction.
It was a long awkward silence before he broke the ice.
"Wanna make a bet?" He asked, leaning over her with a dark grin.
"Like what?" She asked, narrowing her violet eyes.
"Who will scream first during the movie out of those two?" Ryuuga snickered, motioning towards Ginga and Madoka.
Hikaru had to suppress a giggle, her hand up to her mouth as she envisioned Ginga screeching like a girl and jumping into Madoka's lap.
Eventually both bursted into laughter, feeling a bit more comfortable. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought.
Ginga and Madoka approached them, mirroring confused looks.
"Whats so funny?" Madoka questioned, looking back and forth between the two.
"Don't worry." Hikaru sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Do you think you have enough?" She asked sarcastically, pointing to the large mound of food Ginga was balancing.
"Why, should I get more?" Ginga asked, nearly causing Hikaru to face palm.
"My wallets completely drained at this point." Madoka informed, looking rather depressed as a a giant sweat drop formed on her forehead.
Hikaru nodded as she felt Ryuuga take hold of her hand and lead the way into the theaters.
It wasn't too long before she had her head snuggled into his warm chest as she watched the movie.
She wasn't quite sure how it happened, but she didn't hate it either.
She gave Madoka a sympathetic glance, who sat arms folded as she watched Ginga gobble down food, half spitting when he tried to talk.
"Charming." She thought with a snicker as she tried to focus on the movie. It was pretty lame in her opinion.
From what she could pay attention to, it was about some aliens trying to take over the planet.
But she was intrigued when this an earth girl fell in love with an alien. She was stunned by the weird pairing. Didn't the girl realize these were the same people destroying her race? The alien guy seemed to acknowledge this, threatening to defeat her with his space powers.
She looked up, having seen Ryuuga move closer out of the periphery of her eyes. He was leaning so close...
And thats when the reality of her own situation hit her. What was she doing?
Hikaru stood up and bolted out of the theaters as fast as she could, mentally cursing herself for choosing heels. Would anything go right today?
She tripped and collapsed to her knees on the side walk, just as Ryuuga caught up to her.
He outstretched his hand to help her up but she adamantly shook her head in refusal.
Stabbing arms crossed he mumbled, "Well you still lasted longer than those two, did you catch their expressions?" He laughed gently, seeming unsure of what to say.
She glared up at him."I wasn't scared of the movie."
He stared back blankly, annoying her further because she couldn't determine what he was thinking.
"Why did you want to go out with me?" She blurted out in anger. The question had been bugging her all night.
He cocked his head to the side and snickered, "I thought you were stronger than this."
Her shoulders shook as she felt tears begin to stream down her face. She was or at least use to be. "Do you want to be with me? She choked out.
He was silent for a while before nodding, splitting her heart into two. She knew she was judging him harshly but only because she didn't know how she felt,
"Look, we can't be together. I can't ever forget how you hurt me." She murmured, looking away.
Ryuuga stared down at her for a moment before leaning down, and putting his hand underneath her chin, so she;d have to look at him.
"Then it looks like we'll have to create some new memories." He whispered before pushing his lips against hers.
They were sitting in the middle of the street, embracing in a long kiss as a light rain began to pour down. Neither cared, Hikaru feeling as a heavy weight had lifted off her shoulders.
He carried her all the way home bridal style, and from that day forward Hikaru never head to walk home alone again.
~Fin~
This was CorGryphon Feathers challenge, I hope it turned out okay? Please let me know!~ lily