It was very easy to avoid Kai the weekend following the party. I spent most of those days either in my room or with my sister. I wasn't up to seeing anyone else. Echo came around a few times and she took my mind of my depressing thoughts for a while. But it's now once again Monday and I'm dreading going back to school. Darren will most likely try to parade me around (like hell he will!) and I doubt I'll be able to even glance at Kai without my heart breaking all over again. Oh hell, he sits next to me in classes as well.
I walk slowly towards school, behind my chattering friends. Now and then I see Lacus shoot worrying glances at me over her shoulder. Echo had offered to walk behind with me but I refused. I need a few minutes to brace myself before we reach school. Thankfully, she understood. More quickly than I would've liked, we've walked into the school gates. I feel myself tense; this is going to be a really long day.
I see all my friends suddenly staring at something behind me. I give them all a curious look. My sister looks extremely nervous.
"What?"
"Nikki."
My shoulders immediately stiffen. Kai. Why did he have to spot me now? I don't want to have to hurt him all over again. I turn around to face him, keeping my expression as neutral as possible.
"Good morning Kai."
He seems to notice the forced formality in my voice as his eyes once again darken in sadness. He steps towards me but stops when I step back from him.
"Nikki please, why you're doing this…this isn't like you."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Did I mention how much I hate lying?
He dashes forward and grips my shoulders. "Stop it! I'm begging you! Tell me the truth!"
My gaze lowers to the ground. If I look into his desperate eyes one more time, I fear the truth will come tumbling out. Please Kai…just stop. This is for your own good.
"Get away from my girlfriend Rodgericks."
Oh great… perfect timing. If there was anyone I wanted to avoid the most today, it was that stupid, selfish, dictating, life controller over there. I lift my head to glare at the smirking man standing behind Kai. I'm startled when Kai suddenly whips around to face him and grabs his collar.
"What have you done to her?"
Darren plays innocent and shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about. She's clearly with me because she wants to be. Guess she was just playing with you after all."
I feel my body shaking with rage. He was really laying it on thick wasn't he? I watch Kai, as he seems to be just as angry as I am.
"Damn you…I know something is going on here. And I'm not going to stop until I find out what it is!" His voice is filled with so much determination, I find myself staring in awe at him.
Darren just continues smirking like the egotistical moron that he is. "Well good luck with that, let me know if you find anything."
Before Kai has a chance to retort, the school bell rings out. Without another word or glance at anyone, I turn around and run to my homeroom class. Once I am inside, I hurry over to my desk and collapse in my seat. I may as well enjoy this time to myself before I have to endure the incredibly awkward time I'm going to have once Kai comes in. I sigh sadly to myself. How did I get myself into this mess? I should've just been strong from the beginning. Darren would be out of my life and I would be happily together with Kai.
I'm startled when someone sits in the chair next to me. I glance to the side, and sure enough, there's Kai, staring at me with emotion filled eyes. I avoid his gaze and turn back to the window. Yep… this is definitely going to be awkward. But it seems he's determined not to give up.
"Nikki, I'm begging you to listen to me. You don't have to say anything. I know something isn't right. That night I found you leaving the party; you seemed sad and depressed even before you pushed me away. So I figured something bad must've happened." I have to give credit to him for figuring this much out already by mere common sense. "And I know Edwards is involved in this somehow, he was acting very proud and smug this morning…I know he's done something to you Nikki, or at least said something to keep the two of us apart."
Ok, that's kind of scary, he pretty much has it all worked out. Only part he doesn't know is the confrontation that concurred between Darren and myself. Oh he's still talking I should pay attention.
"I'm going to give you one final decision Nikki. If you really, truly love me, then meet me tomorrow night at the park between here and your house at ten o clock sharp. But if you don't show up, then I'll take it as a sign that you really do just want to stay with Darren."
I mentally laugh. Like hell I want to stay with Darren, but this also leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. What if Darren sees us? I wouldn't be surprised if he's hired cronies to spy on me twenty-four, seven. I really do want to go meet him and tell him how much I really do love him. But ten o' clock was too risky, we needed to meet later. I feel a small plan building inside my head.
As I predicted, there was silence between us all through homeroom class, and the remainder of school. The moment the final bell goes off, I power walk out of the school and head straight home. I send a quick text message to Kira, asking him to make sure my sister arrives home safely. Are they together yet? Haven't seen much of Allster lately.
The moment I'm in my room, I pull out my phone again. I scroll through my contacts list before stopping and pressing on a certain name. Then slowly, I jab the message into my phone.
'Ten o' clock is too risky. Can we make it midnight? I'll explain everything tomorrow night."
That seems discreet enough. I go over the short text one more time before pressing 'send.' Once I see that it's sent, I place my phone on my bedside table then lie back on my bed, waiting in anticipation for his reply. A few minutes go by and I feel myself getting drowsy. Just as my eyes begin drooping, my phone sounds out loudly from next to me. My eyes snap wide open and I reach over to snatch it off the table. I look at the screen to happily see the name of my desired sender. I eagerly open and read the following message.
'Midnight it is then. I look forward to having our talk. I will see you tomorrow night. Until then…I love you.'
Well, you've probably guessed by now whom this text is from. Against Darren's warnings, I will be sneaking out tomorrow night to meet my beloved Kai in secret. My only hope is that we aren't discovered by anybody, especially someone who might blow our cover and inform Darren. But hey I need to stay optimistic, this is my chance to finally tell Kai everything, and then maybe…hopefully…we can be together.
Even though I had erased the tension between Kai and myself, I still needed to avoid him at school to convince Darren we're still on the rocks. And you know what? It worked. He was none the wiser to our little act and would continue throwing smirks in Kai's direction. I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I saw this, that idiot was so immature. Kai was the mature one and would just ignore him. When Darren wasn't looking, however, I would sneak glances at Kai and find him staring straight back at me, which caused me to blush furiously and look away. Our little game continued the rest of the day, and we were thankfully secretive enough for Darren not to notice anything. The git was too busy walking around with a cabinet shoved up his arse.
When break finally arrives, I don't feel up to seeing or talking to anyone. So I go to the other only place where I seek comfort. The Performing Arts Centre; starting from a very young age, I always took a strong interest in music and my mother had taken it upon herself to personally teach me in a few areas. I grew strong in the ways of piano and violin but my main interest was to build up my voice. I've been singing since before I could even walk and have been practising non-stop ever since. But very few people know about my hidden talents, I haven't even told Kai for some unknown reason. Why would I keep anything from him? I have fallen in love with him haven't I? I will most definitely have lots to tell him when I get the chance, but it's a little difficult right now since I'm not allowed to be seen anywhere near him.
I arrive to my desired room and push open two large double doors to reveal hundreds of seats facing a spacious, wooden stage. I walk down and head straight for the stairs located at the side. I hastily climb them and head towards the back. A few minutes of scrummaging and dragging and I have my self-made stereo (which strictly has songs that I myself composed) and a microphone.
I click the 'play' button on the remote, and my soul is set free as my mouth opens and a soft melody tune escapes my mouth.
(Kai's POV)
I wasn't surprised when Nikki bolted out of class the moment it ended. But when I didn't see her with her friends, or anywhere in the school grounds, I found myself starting to worry. So now I'm wandering the halls and peeking into random classrooms to see if she's hidden herself to-"
Oooh oooh oh…oh oh oh oh ooooooh!
Wait…who's singing?
Do dooo do do! Oh I just can't help falling in love with you.
I find myself hypnotised. Whoever this was had the most beautiful singing voice I had ever heard. I follow the sound to end up outside the Performing Arts Centre.
Wise men say…only fools rush in, But I can't help falling in love with youI open the door and carefully peek inside, not wanting to disturb this joyous sound. What I wasn't expecting however was to see none other than Nikki herself. There she is, standing near the front of the stage, with her eyes closed and her voice projecting the lyrics like there's no tomorrow. My jaw drops. She never told me she could sing.
Shall I stayWould it be a sin?
But I can't help falling in love with you
Her singing stops and a deeper male voice, coming from the stereo behind her, takes over.
Like a river flows to the sea, so it goes Some things are meant to beAnd before I know it, Nikki takes the lead again, her voice slightly overlapping the other.
Some things are meant to beTake my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
I close my eyes contently as I lean against the wall and listen to the rest of her song.
Wise men say, only fool rush inBut I, I can't, I can't help…falling in love with you
(Male voice) Like a river flows to the sea, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
(Nikki) Some things are meant to be!
Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love…falling in love with you
Like a river flows, that's the way it goes
I just can't help falling in love with you (Falling in love with you
Like a river flows, that's the way it goes,
I just can't help falling in love with you (Falling in love with you)
Like a river flows, that's the way it goes,
I just can't help falling in love with you (Falling in love with you)
That's the way it goes I just can't but…
Falling in love with you.
Her singing and the music both simultaneously stop in time with the other. I am amazed at her talent. She has the potential to become a well-known composer if she chose to pursue her singing. But if she has chosen to hide it from most people, it would seem that fame is probably the last thing on her mind. My shoulder suddenly slips off the wall and I stumble forward. I see her look in my direction and I quickly back out of the room and dash down the corridor. Crap…did she see me?
(Nikki's POV)
A few seconds after I finish singing, I hear a noise near the back of the room. My eyes dart in time to see someone's silhouette make a hasty exit and I hear footsteps running down the hall. Was someone spying on me? I'll need to find who the culprit is; my music is very secret and precious to me. I don't just tell anyone about my musical heritage.
As quickly as possible, I place all the equipment back where I found it before running out of the auditorium. I look left and right but don't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Damn…whoever that was had made a very swift getaway. I'll have to worry about the ratbag later then. Right now I have to worry about surviving the rest of the day until my night meeting with Kai. Which means avoiding both him and the stupid boy trying to control my life.
(Later that night)
Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Kai had apparently made it his personal mission to avoid me at all costs. He was acting weird as hell. For example, at one point I accidentally ran into him turning a corner on my way to class. His eyes had looked everywhere but at my face as he stammered out an apology before hurriedly walking into the room. What in the freak was going on with him? And was that a blush I saw? He definitely owed me an explanation.
And Darren…well he was too occupied with flirting with every other female that moved or breathed, so I didn't have any trouble whatsoever staying out of his way. He was such a filthy hypocrite, threatening me to stay away from another guy when he's openly flirting with other girls that obviously aren't his girlfriend. The man makes me sick. I hope that one-day karma will bite him back for all that he's worth.
And now? It's currently eleven thirty at night; I'm sitting on the living room couch and waiting for the right moment to make my way to the park down the road. Lacus had long since gone to bed, but not before wishing me luck. Yeah so what if I told my sister? There's hardly anyone else that I trust more than her, I tell her everything. Tonight is no exception.
I glance at the clock again to see that it's now eleven forty five, I have fifteen minutes. I should really get going. I shakily stand to my feet and make my way to the front door. I take a deep breathe before opening the door and stepping outside. The soft, cool wind blows gently through my hair as I walk, my thoughts clouded with how this conversation might turn out. Just my turning up there was confirmation to both Kai and myself that I most definitely loved him. And I know that at some point I will be telling him how I feel about him. This night may turn out to be rather mushy, but strangely I don't really mind. I'm in love with a wonderful man and the rest of the world can go screw themselves for all I care. Love does strange things to one self.
Another five or so minutes of walking and I find myself on the soft grass of a quiet park. I gaze contently at my surroundings. What was usually filled with loud children was now a tranquil area where I can listen to nothing but the gentle breeze and insects chirping in the night. Another sound suddenly fills my ears, the crunching of grass underneath someone's footsteps as they slowly approach me. I whip around to face the newcomer, and am relieved to find myself once again under the gentle gaze of the one person I was waiting for. Well, he did actually startle me a little.
My body relaxes and I smile at him. "Hey."
He returns my smile. "Hi…you came."
"I feel I owe you an explanation."
He nods patiently at me. I take this as a sign to continue.
"You remember our dance at the party?" He nods again. "Well…Darren saw us. And he confronted me straight afterwards."
Kai shakes his head. "I had a feeling he had something to do with this."
I nod in confirmation. "He was determined to keep me as his girlfriend…and to drive the two of us apart. So he…he threatened me."
His eyes widen. "He threatened you? What did he say?"
I hug myself self-consciously as the memory of that night returns to my mind. "He said that if I didn't stay with him, that he would do something to horrible to you. And I know Darren well enough to know that if I disobeyed him, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt you, or even worse… kill you."
Tears threaten to break out as everything that happened since Friday night finally kicked in. My watery eyes remained glued to the ground until I feel two arms envelop me into a loving hug.
(Kai POV)
I listen in shock as Nikki reveals everything to me with tears sparkling in her eyes. This was why she had ignored my phone calls over the weekend and had completely ignored me all of yesterday. She was only trying to protect me. She was terrified that Darren would harm me in a fatal way if he ever saw as together. I want nothing more than to find that Edwards dweep right now and smash the hell out of him. He had threatened and blackmailed Nikki just to stop her from breaking up with him. And he was willing to hurt other people to keep her. How selfish can you get? But as much as I'm tempted to give him a piece of my mind, Nikki has just spilled her heart to me and she seems genuinely upset. I don't hesitate to comfort her as I step forward and tightly wrap my arms around her shaking figure.
I rub her back soothingly as I whisper in her ear. "What you did was very brave Nikki. You gave up your own happiness to keep me from danger, and I can't express just how grateful I am for that. Your selflessness has just reminded me all the more why I've fallen in love with you."
Her shaking thankfully stops after a little while. She pulls out of my embrace and lifts her head to look at me. Her blue eyes are shimmering slightly from her crying and I reach forward to wipe away a lone tear that was rolling down the side of her face. My hand stays where it is as I gently hold her cheek, stroking it delicately with my thumb. My love for her swells when she gently smiles at me.
"I love you, Kai."
(Nikki POV)
His words go straight to my heart. He has every reason to be angry at the way that I treated him, but instead he expresses how grateful he is and how much he loves me. If he weren't holding me, I'd probably burst into tears again. But he needs to know how I feel; I don't want this whole night to be completely one-sided. So I push myself away from him slightly and look at him, ready to tell him everything I have felt from day one. But before I even have the chance to open my mouth, his hand is resting on my cheek and he wipes away a tear I didn't even realize was there. His thumb then continues to gently stroke the same spot my tear once was.
I know this is my chance and I smile at him. "I love you, Kai."
He seems surprised for a moment, but his face relaxes and I can see the joy radiating from his face. "I love you too, Nikki."
I was planning on confessing more than that, but just those few simple words seem appropriate for now. We can talk more about our full feelings later.
But right now, it seems the time for talking is over. We're standing with barely an inch between us, our gazes are locked and his hand is still resting on my cheek. An invisible force seems to pull us together as our faces draw nearer to each other. I surrender to the sensation and my eyes flutter close. A content sigh escapes me as our lips connect for the first time. The kiss is soft at first, but that doesn't last long when I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck and it turns into a full blown, deep lip lock. He responds in kind and holds me tightly around my waist. His lips taste and feel as kissable as they've always looked and I can now happily say I have died and gone to heaven.
We continue our kiss for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes. But one does need to breathe after a while so, quite reluctantly we slowly pull apart. I open my eyes to meet his. I can't help giving him a bright smile and I lunge forward to hug him. He catches me and spins me around, our laughter echoing through the park.
(Kai's POV)
This is what I've dreamt of from the very second that I met her. To hold and kiss her like I have done tonight. To hear her laughter and know I am the reason for her happiness. And now we are lying on the grass, her head is resting on my chest, our hands are entwined and sitting on my chest as we gaze at the stars above us.
My eyes turn back to her when she pulls her hand away and sits up to face me. My eyebrow rises when she gives me a scrutinizing stare. Uh oh…what did I do?
"You were acting very strange today, Rodgericks."
Yikes, use of surname. Act cool, Kai. It can't be anything serious. "Was I?"
She lowers her head so that its centimetres away from mine. This close proximity is usually rather pleasing but her leering gaze is scaring the hell out of me.
"Why were you acting so shifty and embarrassed more than usual around me? Are you hiding something from me?"
Her interrogation causes me to think. What would I have to hide from her? Oh…now I remember…I spied on her while she was singing. I did promise to myself that I would come clean once everything was clear between us.
So I look at her with a sheepish expression. "Well uh…" Here goes…
(Nikki POV)
My suspiciousness hits top climax when he looks at me with a guilty grin. My eyes narrow and I laugh to myself when I see him gulp. I just love watching men squirm.
"I was watching you sing."
I freeze and my mouth falls open. So someone was spying on me! I'm happy to know it was someone that I trust. But I don't really mind all that much, my voice is loud enough for the whole friggin school to hear. I shouldn't be so fussy about someone overhearing if I'm going to pelt out my lungs like I was. Poor Kai, he must've thought I was going to be furious. His scared expression suggested he'd done something a hundred times worse.
I shake my head and chuckle at him. "Oh Kai, is that all? I wouldn't be surprised if everyone heard that and came running. I wasn't exactly being very discreet about it."
He smiles up at me from his place on the grass. "Well you have a beautiful voice."
I blush from his praise, my brain unable to give him a verbal response. I decide to give him my thanks by leaning down and pressing my lips against his. My mind instantly turns to thoughtless mush as our mouths move perfectly against each other. This kissing business is extremely addictive, especially with someone like Kai who is one hell of a damn good kisser. If it weren't so late at night I would stay like this for several more hours.
But guessing it was nearing close to one in the morning, I know I need my sleep so I can survive through school. No I don't mean classes, I sleep through them no matter how much shuteye I get. I just don't want to walk around like the walking undead, wouldn't that be quite the comical sight? It would also mean a shorter temper on my part, so I don't think anyone would want to risk pushing any of my buttons. But I'd wager anything that my lovely best friend Jason would try anyway out of curiosity. Idiot.
I slowly pull away from the dreamy kiss I'm sharing with…can I call him my new official boyfriend? He gives me the most adorable pout. Aw that would make any girl melt.
I hear myself giggle at him. Now I'm friggin giggling? This man has an astonishing effect on me. I playfully tap him on the nose. "It's getting late, and we have school tomorrow…well, actually it's today."
He sighs in defeat. "I guess you're right."
I move myself off him to allow him to stand up. He then reaches down and pulls me to my feet as well. Our hands automatically seek each other, our fingers intertwining as we finally leave the park, feeling happier than we had in days. Along the way, Kai persistently insists that he drop me off at my door. I am objecting to his offers, in fear that we might be seen. We finally reach an agreement that we part ways across the road from my house so that he can watch to make sure I get inside safely. ME? What about him? He's the one Darren threatened to hurt! I voice this concern to Kai and he just waves it off, saying that he can take care of himself. It seems there's no arguing with him at this point.
We reach the sidewalk over the road from my house, and I am reluctant to say goodbye to him. How much longer will we have to sneak around like this? When will I be able to spend time with him again without having to look over my shoulder for Darren?
I walk forward and press myself into his chest. "I don't want this night to end."
He gently hugs me closer to him. "We'll find another opportunity. Just you wait."
I lean back to gaze desperately at him. "But when? Darren has spies everywhere."
He smiles reassuringly at me. "Don't worry about him, Nikki. We'll handle that when the time comes. Right now I just want to spend as much time with you as possible."
I'm so relieved with his words. He's taking this whole situation very well. He doesn't seem to care that his life is in danger. It scares me how much I love him. I reach up and hug him tightly. "I love you." I don't think I'll ever grow tired of saying that.
I hear the smile in his voice as he hugs me back and whispers. "I love you too."
I cling onto him for another minute before releasing him. We lean in to share one final kiss, our mouths lingering for a moment before separating. I walk away from him, our hands touching until they could longer reach each other. When I reach my gate, I turn to give him one last longing gaze. The tree he is standing under is dark so I am only able to see his shadowy figure. I turn away and walk across my lawn, determined not to look behind me again. I pause at the door, my hand lingering on the doorknob. No…don't, he must be long gone by now. Just open the damn door and go to bed. I begrudgingly obey my conscience and enter my house, rapidly shutting the door behind me. Phew…that was a close one.
Resisting the tempting urge to run back outside, I force myself towards the stairs that led towards my bedroom. Ah…bed, now that sounds like a nice idea. As much as I want to spend one more minute in Kai's arms, I am dead tired and just need some sleep. This whole fiasco has left me exhausted. After an eternity of climbing stairs, I finally manage to drag my feet into my room. Without bothering to even remove my clothes, I collapse onto my bed and fall asleep before my head has a chance to hit the pillow.
"Nikki! For goodness sake Nikki, WAKE UP!"
My eyes shoot open and I bolt upright in my bed. "What? Who goes there?"
"Finally! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get you up?"
I turn to see a rather…uh…irritated Lacus. Oh crap… What time is it? "Um…are we late?"
I cringe as she shrieks at me. "Yes we're late! Half an hour late! Now get your sorry behind out of bed and get dressed!"
"You know you could've left without me! School's only a few blocks away!" She ignores my yells and storms out of my room. Well I can gratefully say this isn't the first time this has happened, but I don't see why she can't make her own way to school. But then again, this could be her way of making sure that I get to school. If I had my way I wouldn't even attend. It's thanks to my sister that I arrive there before the bell…most of the time.
I look down to see I still have my clothes on from last night, which immediately brings back fresh memories of my night with Kai. It's going to be really hard to pretend to avoid him today. Maybe we can organise something in homeroom today, we do have to sit next to each other. These thoughts race through my mind as I strip off the clothes I fell asleep in, and throw on my school uniform. I quickly brush and straighten out my long hair (I've had years of practise doing this), grab my bag and zoom downstairs. Lacus is already way ahead of me and is walking down the street. Guess she's still a bit miffed at me. I follow behind with a safe distance between us so I don't aggravate her further. I know that when Lacus gets like this, it's best to give her some space; otherwise she'll just blow up at me again and it's back to square one. My sister isn't as patient and innocent as most people might think. I've seen all sides of her, both good and bad. Trust me…you don't want to see her worst…I barely escaped with mental scars that will haunt me forever.
As expected, the grounds are empty when we arrive. Without as much as a 'have a nice day,' Lacus walks off to her class. Surely she can't be that angry can she? I shrug; I'll have to work it out with her later. These little fuses with her never last anyway. Having my timetable memorized, my feet automatically took me to where my class was. This is going to be fun.
My stomach hurts from laughter so much I can barely breathe! I clutch my hands to it in a desperate attempt to keep it under control. Oh…guess you'd like to know what's so funny huh? Well my first classes are nothing but a very vague blur right now; all I remember is a non-too-pleased teacher and a very amused Kai. Yes you cheeky sod, you're the reason I slept in so late. After that rather uneventful class, I made sure to leave class before he did. We whispered an agreement during the lecture to meet again on Friday night, this time at eleven. As much as we wanted to see each other more often, we didn't want to be too obvious, so we figured once every few days was soon enough without either of us becoming too desperate. Yes we miss each other all right? We can't help it if we're hopelessly head over heels for each other.
Moving on to the cause of my laughing condition. It happened during break. Her Royal Wenchness Allster had finally decided to make another appearance. But instead of just clinging to Kira, and simply glaring at my sister, she did something ten times worse. Here is what occurred
I approached our usual area, and was confused to see that my sister was nowhere in sight. That's weird because she's always there way before I am. Even Kira was there and he was chatting away to his best mate Athrun like there was nothing out of the ordinary. I stood up and made my way over to him.
"Oi! Kira!"
I saw him jump slightly and whirl around to face me. When he saw who it was, his eyes visibly widened in fear. Gee wiz.
I folded my arms. "Where's my sister?"
He relaxed at my words. "Oh…she's grabbing something from her locker. She said she needed it for her next class."
Oh is that where she is? I grinned at him. "Cheers" And I walked away. Both his and Athrun's expressions were priceless. Some men are just a bunch of spineless wimps. My mind went from entertained to white-hot anger the moment I turned the next corner. There was Allster with her two followers, Dumb and Dumber. Oh I haven't introduced them have I? Meer Campbell and Gwen Wilkinson, two girls that were often seen with Allster and always followed her lead in everything. Why? Their goal is, apparently, to sleep with all the best looking guys in the school before graduation. Which is a bit sad since they're all a year younger than Kai and myself and won't be graduating until next year. And who are their targets? Well as you've probably guessed, Allster has her sights set on Kira. And it appears my sister is the only person standing in her way. As for the other two…I'm not entirely sure, but I'm pretty sure I've seen that Campbell girl lingering around Athrun. Not a wise idea girly, you don't want an angry Cagalli. Why don't you be a smart person and choose life instead? I have no clue what poor sod is Wilkinson's prey, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on her.
These three Mean Girls had my poor sister surrounded and I could hear the swearing and nasty threats they were giving her. I knew not to intervene until things spiralled out of control. We were after all on school grounds. So I waited patiently to see whether or not Allster would decide to be a wise-ass.
My anger boiled when her face sneered into a snarl. "I'm warning you Clyne! Stay away from Kira, he's mine!"
I swelled with pride as Lacus stood her ground. "I'm sorry Miss Allster, I cannot stay away from the person I'm in love with."
My internal volcano finally erupted when Allster grabbed Lacus' collar and shoved her up against the locker. No one…and I mean NO ONE harasses my sister! Against my raging emotions, I calmly stride up to the four girls. Campbell and Wilkinson had seen me coming and were now trying to pull their leader away. But she didn't seem to listen and continued to abuse my trembling sister.
Ok this stops right now! I could feel my mouth twisting into a snarl. "Allster…what do you think you're doing?"
Now this next part is the reason why I couldn't, and am still failing miserably to stop laughing so much. I watched with satisfaction as Allster visibly froze. She released her hold on Lacus's shirt like it had caught on fire. She turns to me, her and her friends looking very much like frightened deer that had just been caught by headlights. But while my sub-conscience was hiding a smug smirk, my eyes were glaring at Allster hard enough to burn her to a crisp.
"Well? Answer me! Tell me why I walk over here to find you three bullying my sister!"
Her two lackeys were very, clearly terrified as they hid behind Allster for shelter from my wrath. Being their leader, Allster appeared to think she needed to be the brave one. She did her best to glare back at me and stood up straight to face me. Oh please, like you could ever scare me, shrimp. I'm taller than you and your shivering guinea pigs combined. But I had to give her credit for trying.
"You c-c-can't order me around Clyne! This g-g-girl is in my w-w-way! Now I s-s-suggest you move out of m-my way before s-someone gets hurt!"
Ok the threat and insult in that one sentence pissed me off. But all that stuttering was frigging hilarious, made me wonder if she rehearsed it. My restraint finally lost grip of my temper and it was my turn to grab her shirt and bash her against the locker. Only difference was, Lacus remained on the floor the entire time. I had Allster off her feet way above my own head.
"Don't get smart with me Allster! I'm warning you now! If I see you anywhere near Lacus again I'll make what I'm doing to you now look like heaven compared to the hell I'll put you through! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
I think I might've scared away all coherent thought from her brain. I'm pretty sure she wet herself as well. She let out a little whimper and finally nodded her head. I let her go and she fell hard onto the floor. She shakily stood up with the help of her friends and before I knew it they had scampered away from me and disappeared around a corner. And that was when I lost it. Laughter erupted from my throat and I've been unable to stop ever since. I am sitting on my usual bench, bent over with tears pouring down my face. Lacus has long since given up on calming me down and was sitting next to me with her face buried in her hand. She had to be the one to explain to our friends what had happened, I am unable to speak or even think properly with the current fit that I'm in right now. And I'm not the only person in our group that found it hilarious. Echo, Cagalli and Jason were all howling the moment they heard the story, but were a lot quicker to calm down than I was. Kira was more focused on making sure my sister was all right, and I even heard him promise her that he planned on breaking up with Allster for good. Ah music to my ears. Athrun and Jenny just shook their heads at the obscurity of it all; they always did act more maturely with situations like these. Lacus even made an effort to walk over to Kai to talk to him as well, and I was happy to see him let out a chuckle.
My laughing eventually dies down and I wipe away the remaining tears. Oh boy that felt good. My sister turns to speak to me. "You ok now Nikki?"
I may have calmed down, but I still have a grin spread across my face. "Sure am! That was awesome!"
She rolls her eyes at me. "Don't you think you overreacted a little? It wasn't that funny."
Ouch, the girl knows where to hit where it hurts. "Aw come on Lacus! I wasn't going to let her push you around like that! Besides didn't you see? She friggin wet herself! And the way they scurried away like dogs with their tails between their legs." Oh crap…I'm going to start up again.
Lacus doesn't seem to find this amusing. "And I appreciate how you watch out for me Nikki, but it wouldn't have been much different with anyone else. You have this dark aura around you every time you get angry that people just want to run away from."
I have a dark aura? No wonder people are scared of me. "What colour is it?"
She sighs. "It's not visible."
I grin. "I know I'm just playing around with you."
Which reminds me… I need to ask her about this morning.
"Say… Lacus?
"Yes?"
"Did I piss you off this morning? You were pretty angry."
I watch her shoulders slump. "I'm sorry about that Nikki. While you were out last night, I received a phone call from Miss Allster."
What the hell? "Allster called you? How in the hell did she even get a hold of your number?"
"I'm not sure, but she spent half an hour swearing at me and warning me that if I didn't stop seeing Kira that she'd…"
Her eyes suddenly widen and before I know it, she collapses against me in hysterics. My arms shoot out to hold her so she doesn't fall off her seat. Hang on…what just happened? What's so funny?
"Um…Lacus? What did she say she would do?"
She manages to gasp out words that I barely understand. "She said that…(giggle)…that she'd…(giggle)…send Miss Wilkinson and Miss Campbell to…(giggle)…beat you up after school!"
And I've lost her…wait did she say Wilkinson and Campbell? Allster was going to send them to beat me up? I laugh alongside my sister. That was the most absurd thing I've heard all year. How can she hope those two sheep of hers will stand a chance against me if they too scared to even stand up to one of my glares?
Her giggles subside after a little while and she's able to speak again. "Anyway…I'm sorry about my behaviour this morning, sis. All that was in my head was how rudely she spoke of Kira. All she plans to do is sleep with him before she graduates. She doesn't even love him!"
I nod in agreement. "Oh I know all about that." I sling a sisterly arm over her shoulder. "Don't you worry sis! Before this year is even finished, I'm going to make sure both Allster and Edwards are out of our lives and we are both dating the men that we love."
Lacus smiles happily at me. "Sounds like a dream come true!"
To be quite honest, I'm not sure how much longer this charade is going to carry on. I'm not too worried about Allster; I have no problem handling her like I did today. My main concern right now is to avoid Edwards (I've made a habit of calling him that lately, he is undeserving of my calling him of his first name) and coming up with a strategy so I can finally end things with him for good. I also need to figure out how I'm going to accomplish this without any harm coming to Kai. Seems I have quite the challenge ahead of me.
Let the games begin.
End of Chapter