We've made it to chapter 2! I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed this story so far; it really keeps me motivated! I changed this back to just romance because it's going to get more serious as we go along. And by the way, I have nothing against tomboys; I just need to use the idea for the story. I'll try my best to update when I get the chance, so keep R & R ing!

x x x

It was pitch black outside by the time I was done at the agency. There was a lot of work to plan, and I hadn't realized how much time and effort went into these big projects. The managers had already planned my first photo shoot, which would happen on Monday, and they even booked me a spot on a radio show to talk about my plans as the new WING model. All they needed was for me to make their line a success. We finished up around 10:30 p.m., and Kouji walked me to the front door.

"Do you need a ride home?" He asked, pulling on a sweater.

I shook my head. "Nah, it's okay, I'll just catch a taxi like usual."

Kouji set his camera down on the front desk next to a pile of papers. "We'll call your school to tell them that you'll be out for a while. Don't oversleep and miss the photo shoot tomorrow."

I frowned. "I won't! I promise to be here at eight in the morning as planned!"

He seemed tired as he shuffled through the papers slowly. "See you then."

I waved back at him as I stepped through the gigantic glass doors to get outside. An icy breeze hit me and I shivered as I scrambled down the stairs to the street.

"Taxi!" I yelled and one stopped to pick me up.

When I reached home a half hour later, the lights were already off inside the house. I gulped and tip-toed down the driveway, hoping no one would see me through the windows. My mom got really angry at me once for missing dinner to go see a movie, so I had promised her that I would be home for every meal from then on. I could only imagine what she'd do to me now that I had missed dinner and come home four hours late. I braced myself and unlocked the front door, poking my head inside to assess the situation. The living room was empty and even the kitchen lights were turned off. My parents actually went to bed without watching the 11 o'clock news? It was a little suspicious.

As soon as I shut the door and dropped my bags on the floor, a light in the kitchen flicked on.

"Izumi? Is that you?" My mom's voice called softly.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Uh, yeah, it's me."

"Could you come in the kitchen, please? I need to speak with you." Mom's kitchen was her private sanctuary, and she never called meetings in there unless it was for something important. Or if I was in trouble. I walked the walk of shame towards the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom," I said bashfully. "Where's Dad?"

"He's asleep," she stared at me, folding her arms across her chest. There was an awkward silence until she spoke up again. "You weren't at the park."

I suddenly remembered my cover story – that I was going to spend the day at the park again. The park closes at 7 p.m.

She continued, "It was getting late, and you hadn't called at all, so I drove there to pick you up myself. But I couldn't find you anywhere." She sighed and shook her head. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

My expression fell. "You're right, I didn't even stop by the park today at all. I'm sorry. I was actually at—"

She cut me off "—A modeling audition, I know."

I froze. She knew about the audition?

Mom guessed the reason behind my confused reaction and pointed to the TV on the counter. "It was all over the news this afternoon. 'The results of the audition for WING's new model have just been announced: Izumi Orimoto, age 15, will be the new face of this fashion line.'" Her impression of a newscaster would have been believable if she wasn't throwing her arms in the air wildly.

I rolled my eyes. "Believe me, it was a complete surprise for me, too."

Mom cupped her chin with her right hand and stared at me with a strange expression. "Izumi, I don't know why they picked you…"

Here it comes. The refusal.

"…But, I must say, I'm glad they did! How wonderful!" She smiled brilliantly at me.

I stumbled forward a bit. "H-huh?"

"I never knew you wanted to become a model!" She gushed. "It was always my dream to become a successful model for a famous clothes line. And to think that my little Izumi, the tomboy who's never worn a dress in her life and who used to pick out boys' boxers for underwear, wanted to try that profession as well! It amazes me!"

"Mom!" I shouted, exasperated. "S-Stop!" Not you too!

She danced over to my side and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm just excited for you!"

"You mean you're not mad?" I was so sure a lecture had been brewing.

She put a finger to her cheek thoughtfully. "Well, you did miss dinner…but that's alright, I wrapped it up for you." She opened the fridge and pulled out a plate covered in plastic wrap. I smelled the sauce and knew what it was even before she uncovered it.

"It's your favorite!" She shoved it in the microwave. "Spaghetti and meatballs."

I sighed when she placed the food on the counter in front of me. "Mom…just because we lived in Italy for a while doesn't mean I missed eating pasta 24/7." I immediately regretted saying it.

I felt her ominous aura as she came up behind me, slapping a frying pan against her palm. "Just eat, dammit."

Tomboy? I cried to myself. I wonder where I got it from!

By My Side
.::Chapter 2::.

"Taxi!" I flagged one down at the end of my street. I had overslept, I was late, and Kouji was going to kill me.

"Where to?" The driver asked as I flung myself into the back seat.

"Minamoto Agency."

I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and saw that it was already 8:15, and it would take at least a half an hour to get to the agency. I prayed that Kouji was in a forgiving mood today. Probably not.

As soon as the taxi parked in front of the agency, I tossed the money for the driver on the front seat and jumped out of the car. I dashed up the stairs and through the doors like an Olympic runner who just passed the finish line.

"Arisa!" I yelled.

The red haired designer poked her head out from behind a white door. "Izumi, you're finally here!" She gestured to the room she was in. "Come quickly!"

I ran over and she pulled me into the room, closing the door behind her. I huffed, trying to catch my breath.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Arisa."

"Nevermind that," she was sorting through a row of clothes in the dressing room. "Kouji took care of it. You still have time."

"He did?" Man, I owed him one.

"Here," Arisa shoved a hanger with a zippered bag hanging off of it. "The outfit you'll be wearing for the shoot today is inside. Change in to it and as soon as you're done we'll get a stylist in here to help with your hair and makeup." She mumbled something into her headset and left me to change.

I laid the bag across a table and pulled the zipper down so I could take out my outfit. When I saw what it was, I immediately grimaced.

It was a dress.

My mom hadn't been lying when she said I'd never worn a dress in my life. I always found them to be way too frilly and revealing to wear in public. This one was purely white, with tank top straps at the top and a curvy, laced trim at the bottom. The little white angel wing that was WING's signature mark was stitched above the left breast. It came with white ballet flats for shoes.

I held it up with shaky hands and stared at it. Time to take one for the team, Izumi.

"Izumi, are you done yet?" Arisa pounded on the door. "The stylist is waiting!"

"Wait a sec! This is really embarrassing…" I finally opened the door to let them examine my appearance. I was wearing the dress, my hair was down, and the ballet flats were on my feet. I blushed furiously as they just stared at me.

"Aww, you're so cute!" Arisa squealed, crushing me in a hug.

"Whoa!" I shoved her off of me. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry," she bit the top of her pen in embarrassment, "but you really do look cute."

I turned to the mirror. Cute? This is the first time anyone's called me that.

"Alright, let's get back to the task at hand," Arisa ushered me over to a chair and pushed me down. "This is Mona. She's going to try to do your hair and makeup in as little time as possible, so please cooperate."

I sat quietly in the chair while Mona curled my hair with a curling iron and did my makeup. I was uncomfortable enough, and talking would have surely set off a nerve. When she was done, I stood up and turned to Arisa. My face felt incredibly pasty and hard. I wanted to wipe it off on the stupid clean dress.

"You don't usually wear makeup," Arisa guessed and I nodded. She laughed and patted me on the shoulder. "Cheer up, kid. It's time to send you to Kouji."

I felt numb as we rode the elevator to the fifth floor. I wondered if Kouji was pissed at me.

Of course he is, my inner voice scolded, you promised you would be here on time and you weren't. He's not going to trust you now.

"This is where the photo room is," Arisa opened the door for me with a smile. "Good luck, sweetie."

I managed to bend my mouth into a halfway decent smile. "Thanks."

I directed my attention to the floor as I entered, sincerely hoping that Kouji wasn't waiting for me with an angry glare. He was.

"You're late."

"I'm sorry, Kouji," I apologized. I glanced up to see him sitting on a desk with one knee propped up as he leaned his shoulder against it. I noticed his eyes widen for a brief second. "I said I would be here at eight and I wasn't. I feel really bad."

He hopped down off the desk turned his back on me. "I told the managers that it was my fault you didn't show up because I gave you the wrong time."

A wave of guilt hit me. He covered for me? "You didn't have to do that—"

"--Just don't come late ever again. They might fire you next time." Even though his back was facing me, I could see his shoulders shaking slightly.

Oh god, he is really mad!

I dashed over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kouji, are you okay? You're shaking!"

"Oh, that?" His dark eyes turned to meet mine as he covered his mouth with his hand. "I was just holding back a laugh."

I froze. I had forgotten about my outfit.

I blushed and punched him on the shoulder. "Don't laugh at me you jerk! I'm not used to wearing clothes like these!"

He smirked. "No, don't get me wrong. You look cute. But you also look like you want to scream." I glared and he flicked his finger against my forehead. "Relax."

"Let's just do the photo shoot already!" I stomped over to the middle of the room and sat in the chair. The sooner I was out of this dress, the better. Kouji grabbed his camera and followed me to the center space.

Kouji spoke to me while he wiped the camera lens clean. "WING just came out with a brand new Winter line for the upcoming season. The theme is 'Snow Angel' and they want a few good pictures for the cover of their magazine, so it's just a small job to start out. Think you can handle being an angel for a little while?"

"Sure. No problem." This theme was actually the perfect opportunity for me. If Takuya saw me on the cover of a magazine as a graceful angel, he'd probably come running right back to me with open arms. I had to make this work.

Unfortunately, things didn't go the way I wanted them to.

I had tried every pose and expression that Kouji wanted me to do, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make them work for me. It was awkward for me to smile and act pretty when I was so uncomfortable, and that was showing in my pictures. They were coming out terrible.

"I can't do it, Kouji." I sighed and flopped my head onto the desk behind him.

He clicked through the pictures on his camera with a calm expression. "I don't know what to say, Izumi. You've never taken any courses for modeling, have you?"

"No, and that's the problem!" I buried my face in my arms. "I'm a newbie and I'm doing a professional's work. No wonder why this isn't going well." I decided that it was time to voice the question I had been dreading to ask him. "Why did you choose me for this job, anyway? You would have seen at the audition that I had no idea how to be a good model."

Kouji paused, lowering his camera. "I have faith in you."

I twisted my head in my arms to look at him. "What?"

He leaned back on the desk. "Why did you decide to audition?"

I thought about that for a moment. "I'm not good at opening up to people. And when I had finally gotten the courage to let someone see into my heart, I was rejected, and it hurt." My gaze softened as I recalled the day in the park. "But what you said to me, that day we met, made me really…happy." A blush crept up on my cheeks. "I thought that if a complete stranger could say I showed promise with something, without even knowing me, then maybe it would be worth pursuing. Weird logic, I know, but it made me want to try harder. And I guess I never thanked you for that properly," I smiled, "so thanks, Kouji."

Flash.

"And there it is," He smirked, and I realized he had just taken a picture of me.

My head snapped up from the desk. "What are you doing?"

"Look." Kouji shoved the camera in my face. Once again, there was a beautiful picture of me, and this time I was leaning over the desk with my head cradled in my arms. My blonde curls fell against my shoulders and my cheeks were tinted pink. "We can get someone to Photoshop wings on your back. It's perfect."

My eyes narrowed. "So the tactic this time was to make me spill my feelings for a good picture?"

"Hey, you did that yourself." He shut the camera off and placed it on the desk. "Anyway, we're done here. You're free to go."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You have another photo shoot tomorrow, so get here on time."

"Oh, I won't mess that up again, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow!" I grinned and left the photo room.

x Normal POV x

Kouji slumped against the door as soon as Izumi left, trying to cover the blush on his face with his sleeve.

x x x

Next time: The managers aren't happy with Izumi's progress.

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