Disclaimer: Vampire Knight and all its characters belong to Hino Matsuri-sensei.
A/N: Second chapter! Oh, thank you so much to those who reviewed the first chapter! I really appreciate your comments and yeah, here's the update. So, read & review ok?
CHAPTER 2
Shiki had been wondering. Had he made a good decision? He always thought professionally, that's why he agreed to collaborate with OneStar. However, somehow his instinct told him no. He had this kind of foresee that something bad would happen. But… what?
"Senri!" Rima called. Shiki turned and smiled at her sight. In a split second, she was standing beside him.
"Rima," Shiki said. "You're not supposed to do that. What if someone sees it?" he frowned.
"Nobody's here, Senri," she pointed out. They exchanged glances and Shiki could see excitement in her eyes.
"Umm, what do you feel?" Shiki asked quietly as they waited for Ayako to fetch them.
"Hm?"
"About today's shooting. What do you feel?"
"Oh. I think I'm just excited about it, that's all," she said, opening her umbrella and moved closer to his side so that they could share it. She slanted it a bit, shielding him from the blazing sun.
"I see." He stared at the road in front of him. The heat from the black tar stroked the white china skin of his face, making it flaming red.
"Why did you asked?" Rima questioned the silver-eyed vampire.
"Nothing," Shiki shrugged. "Actually, I felt--"
The sound of a speeding car made both Shiki and Rima turned. Shiki just let his words hung in the air.
"Ayako's here," Rima murmured, displaying her expressionless stone face as she watched Ayako's car stopped in front of them.
"Gomen ne, both of you," Ayako said as soon as they got into the car. "I had something to do just now."
"It's okay, Ayako," Rima replied, shaking her umbrella briefly. Shiki closed his eyes, grateful of the cool air from the car's air-conditioner as it blew on his burning face.
Ten minutes later, they arrived in a building where the photoshoot would be held. As they stepped out of the car, they saw Akira and Ishida stood talking to each other. Ayako urged them to hurry. By the sight of them, they turned and Akira flashed his charming smile.
"Gomen ne. I had a few commitments just now," Ayako apologized.
"That's fine. Actually, we too had just arrived. Now, shall we?" Ishida said to her. Both of them walked away, leaving the three of them. An awkward silence filled the atmosphere.
"Let's go and change," Shiki murmured. His eyes flickered at Akira for a brief second before pulling Rima's hand gently. Akira barely flinched at Shiki's cold behavior. He kept staring at Rima as they walked and Shiki was well aware of that.
'Keep your eyes off her, white-head!' Shiki shouted mentally and glared at him. However, this time, their eyes met and Akira's green orbs sent a slight shiver up Shiki's spine.
'What the-? No human could do that to me,' Shiki thought, spellbound. He could sense something wicked about this Akira guy as his deathly glare towards Shiki turned into a friendly gaze when Rima looked at them.
"Hayasaka-san, how long have you been a model?" Rima asked casually, trying to ease the obvious tension between them.
"Don't be so formal with me, Rima. Just call me Akira," he said, displaying his white, perfect teeth. "Well, I've been a model since two years ago. When I was in high school."
"Really? I suppose it must be hard to be where you are now," she commented.
"It's not if you put on full commitment and hard work."
Shiki listened gloomily at their little conversation. Without a word, he quickly walked to the dressing room and changed his clothes.
The photoshoot was a huge success. The three of them gave their full commitment and professionalism. During the short break, Ayako approached them, holding a tray of silver jewelries.
"Here. The director would like you to wear this bracelet, Akira-kun. He said it would bring out the color of your eyes. Rima-chan, can you put on the necklace? And Shiki-kun, those rings would be perfect for your long fingers," she instructed.
"Uhh… Ayako-san, can I wear something else?" Akira asked, a horror look could be seen on his already-pale face. "The non-silver one, I mean."
"Why? What's wrong, Akira?" Rima asked aout of concern. Shiki looked suspiciously at him.
"Nothing. It's just that silver won't look good on my pale skin. My hair doesn't help much either," he replied and chuckled half-heartedly.
"Oh, okay. You're quite right. Well, can you wear this leather watch, then?" Ayako asked, holding an expensive-looking watch.
"Sure," Akira muttered and put on the watch. His grave expression softened a bit and Shiki watched in suspicion everytime Akira grimaced at the sight of those silver jewelries.
"Now, let's have Hayasaka and Touya posing together," the director announced. Shiki looked at him unbelievably. 'This can't be happening!' he groaned in frustration mentally.
"Next will be Shiki and Touya and the last one will be Shiki and Hayasaka posing together," he said, nodding at the three young models.
Akira grinned at Rima and she smiled back at him. Shiki couldn't help but frown, his forehead creased slightly.
Shiki couldn't sit still as he watched Akira and Rima. He waited patiently and suppressed the urge to kick Akira's butt when the green-eyed model wound his arm around Rima's small waist. That was the longest moment in his life, watching helplessly at the corner when another guy touched his Rima.
The tiresome shooting finally ended in the late afternoon. Shiki didn't have any energy left when he stared silently at Akira and Rima, who were still chit-chatting.
Shiki approached them suddenly and pulled Rima to a dark corner, away from prying eyes. Rima grimaced at his tight grip.
"What's wrong, Senri? You totally freaked me out!" she hissed angrily, glancing at Akira who was watching them from afar.
"Look, Rima," Shiki said, loosening his grip. "You've got to listen to me. That Akira is not a good guy. He… he has this kind of aura that totally give me eerie feelings. He was weird from the beginning. And he--"
"Enough, Senri," Rima cut him off. Shiki's eyes widened in disbelief. "You are just jealous. I knew it from the way you looked at Akira. He's a good guy. And he's friendly with everyone. Only you're the one who could not get along with him."
"You're wrong, Rima," Shiki whispered, looking firmly into her twin pools of blue. He was still holding her hand. "He's not as good as you think. He has something wicked in his mind. I knew it. You have to stay away from him. He's dangerous. He might--"
"Stop being so paranoid, Senri," Rima snapped, looking away from him. "Please. Let go of me."
But Shiki still gripped her wrist and gazed at her stubbornly. Rima tried to free herself but his strong grip was beyond her strength.
"Let her go, Shiki-kun," Akira's sudden voice startled them. They looked at him, who was suddenly standing beside them. "You're hurting her."
'What? Just a while ago I thought I saw him there…' Shiki thought, his grasp slowly loosening and finally he let her go. Rima rubbed her wrist, still not looking at Shiki.
"You okay, Rima?" Akira asked, totally ignoring Shiki. Rima nodded silently. "Would you like to go for a tea with me? I promise I'll send you back in time," he added.
"Yes, I'd love to," Rima replied before glancing at Shiki.
Shiki bit his lower lip. He watched helplessly as Akira took Rima's hand and walked away with her. He could not miss Akira's amused expression when he looked back at Shiki. And Shiki stared after them, watching as his beloved Rima moved away and away from him…
A/N: Aww poor Shiki… Again, do drop a review. I need your comments. XD CHAPTER 3 coming up!