So...
This is Pageant Girls.
I know.
I need to focus on my other mulit-fics.
And I will.
This one is small at least 4 to 5 chapters.
Not long at all.
I'll try to update to the min. of two times a month.
I'll try.
Standard Disclaimar Applied.
In the mean time.
Enjoy this.
Pageants are usually for girls who are on top of the popularity charts, who like to walk out on a platform, in an ugly bright and sparkly dresses that shows off their horrible orange tans, smiling with two tons of Vaseline on their teeth while some guy calls out their favorite things and checks them out at the same time.
Yeah.
That's not for me.
But somehow under many interrogations, several threats on my future, hundreds of puppy eyed faces, and thousands of 'pleases'; Misao has convinced me to join the pageant.
Its been some kind of goal for her to be in the pageant ever since Megumi got top ten back in middle school, and she wanted to do it the year after but her parents said she had to keep her grades up. Also there's another reason why Misao wants to be a pageant girl. There's this supposed 'spell' on the contestants who make the Top Ten that they get a date for prom, and Misao has an eye for our quiet valedictorian Shinomori Aoshi. Now this is the last year of school before college and Misao decided that she's put this off long enough and now she's persisted.
Well almost.
It would be better if she did this on her own, but she couldn't get the courage to sign up for it unless I joined up with her. I refused at first but Misao is my best friend and she knows how to work those magic puppy eyes on me. With that I somehow signed my name on to the list of the Miss Mejia Pageant.
Now I'm resenting the entire thing.
We're dress shopping at one of the few dress shops that were located in our small town. The better ones are in the major cities but everyone wants to try and save as much gas as possible, so we're going for the less expensive and possible fewer choices stores instead. The best one is Dragon Head Dress Shop, which is not only a prom/pageant/wedding dress shop but a local costume shop. It's the best one, and I'm thinking of buying a horrible dress just to make Misao mad. You know, revenge and stuff.
Misao just came out of her dressing station, with pale pink bejeweled dress that was two sizes too big and too long for this 5'3" wonder, unsatisfied. The lady that was helping us was a woman who should be fired for her horrible eye of color and fashion. If I remembered correctly her daughter is in the pageant as well so she maybe trying to ruin us with horrible dresses…
"I'm too short…" she muttered.
"So?" I told her looking at a scarf that was hanging near the mirror before looking back at her, "I like you short."
"Well thanks but these dresses don't," Misao looks at herself with disapproving look, "If I can grow a few more inches with in a two week span, I would be happy." She added, standing on her tipy-toes. The dress came off the floor slightly but there was quite a bit left still on the floor.
I choke back a laugh, "And what will you do after you grow six inches?"
"Be able to wear designer jeans," she smiled. We joined in a bit of laughter, during which Ms. Yeti came back with a sick and false smile.
"Any luck ladies?" she asked, placing her hands in front of her in a lady like manner, smiling away with lipstick on her two front teeth.
Misao sighed, "No…"
Although Misao is looking for a gown much like Megumi's teal dress that looks like it was made for her and every girl who has the body, its seems every dress is either too big or too long. Plan B: activate.
"Do you have any shorter dresses? Preferably in indigo?" I asked, and I didn't over look the slight fall of that smile, but the sales lady nodded and ushered Misao toward the dress stands.
"Try on your dresses dear, in fitting room 2." Ms. Yeti called back at me, again giving me that false smile. I smiled just as cheaply.
I go to try on my choice of dresses, not liking any of them at first glance, but I figured 'What the hell, let's have fun with this!' I picked up the first dress and noticed it was very fluffy and bright. Perfect.
I open the door and see myself in the mirror, I laughed. I was a pink and yellow, bulgy and fluffy flamingo dancer. All I was missing was my hat full of fruits and my maracas. I started dancing in front of the mirror giggling the entire time. I spun around and was honestly going to buy the dress just so I can have a Halloween costume, when someone interrupted my dancing with a loud whistle.
"Nice, although pink isn't really you. I think purple would be good…"
I turned around to find Himura Kenshin smirking at me. He seemed satisfied with my reaction, which was of complete shock and embarrassment, and smirked a little more on that pretty face of his. I stood up straight, flushed. He didn't miss that.
"I think you should do the Flamingo stance you know," He put his right arm right over his head and his left arm near his neck snapping them at the same time and stomping his right foot slightly while straightening his thin form. His face was filled with calm beauty.
But I caught myself, after all this is the guy that's lived next door to me, I've played with since we were four, we took baths together until we were ten (we had swim suits on after I turned six), I taught him how to tie his shoes! I know the kid…but that still didn't stop my heart from skipping a beat or two.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and put on my brave face, "What are you doing here Himura Shinta?" I used his real name, he doesn't like it and he makes the funniest face when I use it.
"Hush it, Raccoon face, we're in public," he said narrowing his eyes. I rolled mine. He thinks he's scary but once upon a time he stayed the night during a thunder storm. In case he forgot he wet his pants and cried like a baby. Then again he was six.
"Well, what are you doing here, Himura Kenshin?"
"Well Kaoru," he held the 'Ru' part of my name a little longer than necessary, something he's done since he was five, "I heard a funny story." He took a seat near dressing room 1, facing me with a neutral stare.
It shocks too many people that I, Kamiya Kaoru, Miss Anti-Preppy, has signed up for the pageants. I've gotten tons of support from the lower class of our school, but the higher class…
I'm not pageant material.
I can never be pageant material nor do I want to be. And yet…here I am, shopping for a pageant dress, trying on dresses that look more like costumes than actual prom like gowns.
"Do you wanna hear the funny story?" he questioned.
"If it involves the old man across the street from Sano, I've heard them all," I tell him crossing my arms just waiting for him to bring it up.
He pauses, his index finger pointed up as if he was going to say something but my comment stopped him, "No," he says, "that's the second funny story," I roll my eyes again, I'll never understand their sense of humor, "No, this funny story involves you."
Of course it does. I wait for him to start; I even have some good comebacks this time.
Then Kenshin, instead of picking a fight, went into an elaborate tale of me defending a planet in the far off reaches of the universe to destory a giant purple snake, and I was dressed in a hot pink gladiator outfit topped with a party hat, and I was so close to killing the creature before it turned me into Medusa.
After a moments paused I asked, "What did you eat last night before you went to sleep?"
"Nan's homemade cheesecake, I swear she put something in there that makes my brain go berks when I'm asleep,"
"You need to stop eating her food past midnight, you know," I tell him this every time he has a vivid acid dream as Sano nicknamed it.
"Yeah…" he looked around, "So you're really in the pageant?"
He's not looking at me, which means he doesn't want to fight he just wants to confirm. I take another big breath before answering, "Yeah, Misao sort of forced me," I saw him smile slightly, "I don't like that smile, sir."
"Sorry, ma'm, I'll wipe it off," he said in southern gentlemen's accent, and he only smiled deeper.
I sighed, "So you came all this way, to a dress shop, just to ask if I was in the pageant? Kenshin you have my cell phone number."
"Well…yeah…you didn't pick up...and I asked Megumi…so here I am…" he mumbled.
I did my best to hide my smile. Moments like these when Kenshin is being so child-like…just make him adorable.
"I wanted to make sure what I saw wasn't a trick and confirming things with Sano don't always make sense or match up. He's as bad as a woman sometimes," he mutters the last part, "But…" he pauses, "I think you can do it."
That sentence gave me confidence. If Kenshin believed I could do it, then damn it I can! I'll show Tomoe the winner of every single pageant since seventh grade, I'll show and prove to her that I can win, just like I proved I could punch her in the face. "Oh yeah, I could do it," More to myself then to Kenshin, but he heard it none the less.
"Good," He smiled, "Because I sorta kinda betted you're CD collection," Kenshin gave me a hug and started walking out of the store. I was shocked but my reflexes came in, I grabbed the first thing that seemed hard enough to leave a bruise. A stiletto heel. Perfect, I think to myself.
I chuck it at his head and I could hear the thump as it collided with his skull. He turned, shocked and angered that I threw something at him, while I beamed and stuck out my tongue.
"Next time you gamble with my CDs it's gonna hurt a lot worse," I hoped my threat went through, it didn't.
"I was gonna help you with money incase you did lose your CDs, but never mind. I'm just gonna sit back and laugh. Remember Top Five Kaoru, or your precious collection of compact discs vanish into the hands of Shinomori Aoshi," And with that, Himura Kenshin removed himself from the dress shop.
Misao, who after finding a dress that looks good and fits well, looked confused when she said, "I missed something really important didn't I?"
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There. -The King
I asked four times.