CHAPTER 2

Ayuzawa Misaki scrunched up her nose and buried her face in the black, leather jacket of Usui's. Had he been wearing that the whole time? She shrugged to herself, not really caring to have an answer and absent-mindedly, she fully embraced the young man from behind, realizing for the first time that a motorcycle this rapid was not her favourite means of transportation.

She was thankful that he at least protected her from the violent wind with his well-built body, having her raven hair getting all tangled up would only add up to her frustration. Her head was already filled with questions and doubts. And they were all concerning the very driver of the Ducati she was riding on.

Why on earth did he suddenly strive to help her? Why did he runaway with her and under everyone else's noses? He was probably really nitwitted; his actions would only make his family –and the rest of the world too- suspicious of him and hold him partly accountable for Gerard's murder. As if she wasn't already troubled enough to save her butt from that huge misunderstanding, she'd now have to put up with a snob, rich and arrogant boy.

Life just kept getting better.

She felt the gun hidden under her blouse at her back, searing mercilessly on her skin, screaming at her to get rid of it. She had never thought that a day when she'd aim a gun at someone would ever come. But it did and she hated every second of it.

She still remembered the first time she made contact with the cold, black item. That same morning, she had managed to trick one of the guards and had him lying unconscious on his back. She had then stolen his gun and headed to Gerard Walker's brother's chambers.

Earlier that morning, she had seen her face on every channel and newspaper, enormous headlines reading 'The Seductress Who Murdered Gerard Walker'. No words could ever describe her shock and terror. She had immediately run in an empty alleyway and hidden behind some trash bins, knees drawn to herself, arms hugging her body comfortingly. And it was there that she felt pathetic and helpless and weak-kneed, and she rashly forced the thought of a plan from her brain. She would get the second most powerful man of the Walker family on her side. There would just be a way that she could convince him of her innocence.

But never in her entire life would she have ever thought that instead of convincing him, she would be riding a Ducati with him as fugitives. What was his motive anyway? Did she really manage to convince him so easily and he felt sympathetic and decided to help her out? Or could it be something else? Something…darker? Truth be told, he didn't seem a bit affected by his brother's death. He even made such a tasteless joke about it. Could it possibly be that he was trying to escape himself and she only gave him the chance to do so? But why would he need to escape? Was he…guilty?

Her eyes widened a great deal –only to be forced close by the wind- at the probability of her assumption. Gerard's brother couldn't really be his murderer? Right?

"How you holding up?" his voice shook her off her thoughts and she realized they were going on a slower pace. She scanned the area around them through narrowed eyes but couldn't identify it. As if reading her mind, he said, "We're out of London for good now." He informed her and she softly gasped in surprise. "You hadn't been paying attention on the road, have you? I suppose taking advantage of our position and having your hands all over me was what kept you distracted, eh?"

"Haa?!" she unglued herself from his back and realized that she had been really embracing him too tightly, and that she was gripping firmly his shirt on the front. "You pervert! What are you saying?! You're the one who told me to hold on tight in the first place! And don't even get me started on your driving!"

"My driving?" for some reason she could picture him arching a cunning brow. "Do you have any complains about that?"

"Of course I do! It's reckless and…hazardous! All this while, I had been praying to the Lord above to spare my poor life from your driving!" she had to mentally admit that she was lying. It was a fast type of motorcycle but his driving was definitely not as bad as she claimed it to be. She just had too much of dignity and pride in her to say otherwise and to submit herself to his teasing.

He chuckled and shook his head. "You are a hell of a woman, Ayuzawa, you know that?"

"I've… been told before…" she carelessly replied, looking away from his perfectly shining but unruly hair. Oh, yes, she had been told before. By someone whose face looked just like his. And his expression was just as teasing. How irritating.

"Repeatedly? And by total strangers?" he guessed, and she could just hear the smirk in his voice.

"Will you shut up and get a move on? And just where are you taking me?"

"You'll see." He simply said and sped off again, having her cling onto him out of reflex once more, at which he chuckled amusedly. The signs and her own instinct were just too much for her to ignore one certain fact right now; he was the only person in the world that made her hate him by day one of their meeting.

"What…Is…This?"

Misaki pointed a shaky finger at the building before them while staring at it in pure wonder and disbelief. He only chuckled and after getting off the bike himself, he dug his hands in his pockets. "This…is where Gerard used to spend his free weekends at."

She didn't turn to look at him once but was left to stare at the house, agape. It was practically on the edge of the cliff, the feisty sea's waves visible on the background. Just for how long had they been on the road?

It was a small mansion, really, (the only one in the area) with two levels and probably an underground garage. Ivy had crept up on a rather large part of the wall not facing the sea all the way to one of the small balconies of the second floor. She could see from outside it was a spacious place, full of light, judging by the many great windows that were now sealed with dark petrol curtains.

"I'm surprised it's your first seeing it. Gerard used to bring all of his…friends here." The blond seemed to have chosen carefully his words and she could sense a hidden meaning behind them. She decided against asking, feeling that the answer would only set her on fire. "Anyway, let's get in. It's starting to get really windy out here, right?"

He unlocked the door and let her get in first, like every true gentleman does. She reluctantly entered the house but couldn't see a thing, the darkness was pitching black, blinding her. But she was taken by surprise as her companion snapped the curtains open, letting the faint sunrays in. Her hands instantly found their way before her face, shielding her eyes from the sudden painful light. "Looks like it's about to rain." He observed, staring at the sky but he opened up the windows nonetheless. And she was glad he did since a raspy, unpleasant smell of stuffiness was tingling annoyingly her nostrils.

"How rare for it, to rain in England…" She commented nonchalantly while taking a better look around. The furniture was, of course, expensive. Velvety covered couches and sofas, tables and stands made out of the most expensive kind of dark, well-polished wood, paintings and silver objectives of decorative purpose on every single furnishing, black-marbled floor. All in all, the house of your typical, wealthy gentleman.

"How long has it been since anyone cleaned up in here?" she noticed, running a finger on the dinning hall's table only to dirty it with dust. She pulled an expression of disgust. "I thought you rich people have at least one maid everywhere?"

Usui shrugged his shoulders. "Gerard had not been here for over a year since he and father had been traveling non-stop on business. The maid had been called to return to the Walker Mansion since she wasn't needed here half a year now."

"And I guess it's up to us to get it decent-smelling again?"

It was the first time she heard him really laugh. It was a sound that filled the atmosphere with a strange feeling, a good feeling, while the childishness in his giggles made it almost contagious. Her theory of men eternally remaining babies had once again been confirmed, but she couldn't lie by saying she hated his laughter. For some reason, however, she guessed she'd rarely get to hear his true laughter.

"Well, since we're going to live here, we must do something about this place, right?"

She stared at him, at how naturally the words seemed to flow out of his lips. "Who's going to live here?"

"We are."

"Hold it right there, pal!" she spat the last word at which he amusedly raised his brows. "What do you mean by that? Why did you bring me here in the first place? Why did you runaway with me like we're a pair of fugitives? If you believe that I'm really not Gerard's murderer then why didn't you just help me clear my name?"

"Wow. So many questions, Ayuzawa." He remarked with cheekiness shimmering in his eyes. For a moment, she hoped he was going to answer them all, one by one, but why would he do her the favour, the prick? "But we've no time for that yet, have we now?"

He walked away and she shot a puzzled glare at his back before tailing him. "Oi, Usui! What the hell do you mean?! I demand to be given an explan-"

Several gray feathers brushed all over her face and got in her wide open mouth, making her choke and gag a bit before she regained her cool and cast the young man an annoyed glance. "Like I said we must do something about this place, right?" he said nonchalantly, holding up the duster for her. "Now, hop to it, Ayuzawa. Or do you want me to force you in a maid outfit so that you are more in role?"

"NO THANKS, YOU PERVERT!" she instantly refused at the top of her lungs, grabbed violently the duster and headed to another room. Meanwhile she took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down, repeating mentally that he was only messing with her and that he had no idea of her secret part-time as a maid back in Japan. How could he, since he only met her a few hours ago?

As she opened wide up the windows of the kitchen and dusted every little thing in her way, the same questions popped in her mind. He still had given no answer as to why they had come there and on top of the, he said that's where they'd live. He gave no answer to any of her questions whatsoever as if avoiding the topic in his own perverted and annoying manner.

She couldn't help but ask herself again what his connection was to Gerard's murder (she was just certain there was one!). Could it really be that she had been fooled and was about to live with Gerard Walker's brother and killer?

"Nee, Ayuzawa, you missed a spot."

The girl could practically feel the blood boiling in her veins and smokes of wrath fuming out of her head and ears. Well, she was known in Seika High as the demon president from hell for a reason, was she now? Several plans of rushing up to her bedroom, grabbing the gun she had hidden in her nightstand's drawer and shooting him crossed her mind but she decided it was not worth it becoming a killer just for him.

With increasing irritation, she hit the wet rag on the marble floor with violence and stood on her feet, fully facing him. The smug smirk on his face grew wider and wider by the minute while his emerald orbs gleamed in amusement more than ever before.

Every other girl in her place would have gotten three nosebleeds in a row and would have tainted the freshly washed floor either by drooling or fainting on it. The guy was drop dead gorgeous, no kidding, he was a walking pheromone-emitting machine. But he would not get on her good side just by using up his sexiness, not with that attitude anyway.

"What. Did. You. Just…Say?" she calmly spoke, every word dripping with venom.

He unattached himself from the desk he was sitting on and walked a bit closer to her, twirling the lollipop in his mouth. With a motion of his head and a gesture, he pointed at a certain spot on the floor. "You missed a little-"

"Why don't you just do it yourself, you jerk!?" she exclaimed, cutting him off in midsentence. The more he said, the more she got irritated.

"It's not as fun as watching Ayuzawa cleaning the floor on her knees." He simply said, winking cheekily at her. "You somehow seem fit for this job. You know, the sexy, cute, little maid who seduces her master?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU ANNOYING PERVERT! Who told you I'm a maid in the first place?! And what makes you think you're the master!" and all that in one breath, she realized as she panted heavily and placed a hand over her fast raising chest.

"All right, all right. Don't get all worked up, Misa-chan." He raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender, chuckling.

Her eyes widened at her nick-name. Only the staff and customers of the maid café she worked at called her that. "Hey, don't call me that, you idiot!"

"Yeah, yeah." He shrugged his shoulders and turned his back on her, walking away.

She stabbed his back with daggers shot from her eyes. "Usui Takumi, don't you walk away from me! Come back in the room, this very instant or prepare to face hell!"

"Ou, so scared, Misa-chan." He ignored her and kept on walking away. She rolled her eyes. She had had enough. She raced after him, -who knew with just a few strides he had distanced himself so much?- and once she reached him, she slapped his shoulder and forced him to really look at her. He nonchalantly stared in her menacing eyes.

"That's it! I'm tired of you already! You answer my questions right now, mister!" He was left staring at her but he seemed to be in the process of thinking. She sighed tiredly and looked away. "Please…just…" her voice trailed away, finally the exhaustion of the day getting the best of her.

For some reason he chuckled but when she looked up at him, a bickering comment at the tip of her tongue, he had a soft look in his eyes, different than any other he had ever put on. It was a bit disguised with indifference but it was still there. That person seemed to have had back home a full daily course on poker face and disguises of feelings and thoughts. Which was awful.

"Why don't you go get some sleep, Ayuzawa?" he only suggested, patting her head gently. And for some reason she didn't find it in her to talk back at that. She had all the time in the world to ask him later, right?

Misaki woke with a start. She lifted her head up a little to observe the room she was in. Large, expensively furnished, king-sized bed, little decoration, forest-green curtains shut; the room Usui had given her a while ago. So, all that had not been just an unpleasant dream after all, she noticed and after mumbling a sleepy, slurred 'Oh!' she threw her head back on the pillow, welcoming its warm softness once more.

After remaining like that for a good ten minutes, she moaned and stretched. Sleeping a little only made her lazy. But she had to admit, it did wash away all the exhaustion of the day and made her see things more clearly. Well, she was a fugitive and wanted for the murder of one of the most successful businessmen in England, or should she say, in the globe. No matter when she remembered that, it still gave her a chill of fear which she'd instantly shake away with fortitude. Still, maybe she'd now be able to get her answers and find a better way to solve the problem.

She rubbed her eyes yawning and got off bed. The best sleep she'd had so far in that foreign land. She unsteadily walked to the window and cracked a little the curtain open. It was pitch black outside and small droplets were smashing against the glass with gentle force. So that's what had been lulling her into such a deep sleep.

"Oh, well…" she shrugged it off and dragged her feet all the way out of the room. She noticed the railings before her and remembered she was in a cottage. She grunted. She suddenly found it a great trial, having to go down the stairs. Maybe she should just slap herself until she was fully awake and energetic?

"Now why would you do that, Misa-chan?"

Her sleepy eyes grew round in a moment. Had she been talking out loud? She looked over her shoulder with slow movements and came face to face with a certain green-eyed idiot. "Waah!" she found herself exclaiming as she backed away a little. "Don't come so close to me, you pervert!"

He grinned amusedly and took another step forward, taunting her. "Why not, Misa-chan?"

He seemed to have more to say but her klutz self cut him off by tripping on the stairs behind her. She heard herself screaming in surprise and shocked realization that she was about to roll down a flight of stairs and her arms stretched out in a desperate, instinctive need to find something, anything, to cling herself onto. And surprisingly she did.

She gripped on something warm and firm and before she knew it, she had landed on something hard but soft at the same time. She lifted her head up only to see Usui Takumi looking up at her. "Misa-chan is such a klutz." For a moment, she thought he looked worried but the smirk that appeared on his face blew all doubts away; he was making fun of her. "At least you're fully awake now!"

"Shut up." she groaned and got on her feet. She brushed off her feet any dust that might've gotten stuck on her pants and cast a look at Usui. He was silent and was looking away indifferently. This was way harder than she had imagined. She cleared her throat mechanically, gaining a questioning, arching brow from his part. "Uhh…Usui… to be fair…well….thanks…"

He seemed slightly surprised before he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. Even though he said nothing, Misaki was left staring at him with an expression of mixed emotions. He looked genuinely sincere and honest, that gentle look of friendliness on his face made her not wanting to look away. His eyes shimmering a brilliant emerald, the one of the most rare and expensive gem stones she'd seen on magazines and his lips pulled in a faint, real smile. So darn handsome.

For some reason, he chuckled. "Like what you see, Ayuzawa?"

"Eh?" she shook lightly her head as if getting out of a trance. And then his words fully sank in. "What the hell!? Are you stupid?" But before she could say any more, he raised a hand while chuckling and walked past her and down the stairs. Once he had reached the floor, he looked up at her. "You hungry?"

She furrowed her brows. "Why?"

"Because I cooked dinner. Obviously."

"Am not!" was her instant refusal. She refused to taste anything he'd make. It was a simple matter of pride and dignity. That man had trampled on both of them and had crumbled them into trash. He was the first to make her feel so embarrassed and annoyed and even defeated.

"I've been told my cooking isn't that horrible, you know?" he tried to lure her.

"Don't care! I'm not hungry! Go eat by yourself!"

"I bet you're starving, Ayuzawa."

"Wrong!"

"And if I say I'll answer your questions?"

"I don't-wai- what?"

She looked down at him puzzled only to see him shrugging his shoulders carelessly and digging his hands in his pockets while walking away. "I guess you don't wanna know…" In a fraction of seconds, she had bolted down the stairs and was between him and his way to the kitchen, a finger pointing at him in accusation. "Wow, that was fast…"

She could listen to the surprise in his nonchalant voice. "I'm the best and fastest runner at my school if you must know!" she pried in defense, her chest puffing out a little with pride. He seemed a little interested in the matter but she reminded herself she had promised not to speak about her. Not until he answered her questions, anyway. "Never mind that, rather, do you promise you'll answer everything I ask?"

"If you have dinner with me I guess I'll have no choice…"

She pouted, hating being defeated again and started heading to the kitchen. "Manipulative bastard…"

He merely smirked.

So, lots of people have shown interest in this story and nothing could make any happier. Please keep on supporting me since I'm just getting started with this. I wish that the story will just keep getting even more interesting for you with every new chapter! Unfortunately, I haven't finished writing it yet and let's hope the updates won't catch up to me! *bites her nails nervously*