Update time!

Here's a rather unlikely event - a bit cliche too, but I trust you'll enjoy reading it!

Thanks to all that reviewed and, erm, favourited (eh?) - look forward for more in the future!

Disclaimer: I don't own Maid-Sama

Chapter 2: Tuesday's Turn-around

"How do you get people out of your head?"

The tall, blonde teen looked at the bluenette, surprised to catch him in those rare occasions when he's not cos-playing. He took a slight sip of his coffee before speaking nonchalantly, "I rape them, or I kill them. Either way, they'll be out of sight, out of mind."

Indeed, very professional. At least Aoi has verified one thing – that Usui is, in fact, really weird.

"You're asking the wrong question." the blonde continued, turning his newspaper. "Why is that person inside your head in the first place?"

"I – I don't know. Maybe because she's one of the few people who-"

"She? So it's a girl." A small smirk formed.

"Yeah, so what if it is?"

"Nothing. Is she cute?" Usui asked, hinting a tease.

Aoi was quick to retract and raise his hand in defense. "No, she is definitely not cute!"

"I see. That means you don't like her."

"Um, well, not that I don't - "

"So you like her, then?"

"NO! Ugh, why does that matter?" his honest face was burning with a blush, something Usui noted to be a striking similarity he has with Misaki.

He didn't answer immediately, but just took his time objectifying the lad into a flustered disaster.

Not only is Usui introspective, he is also capable of causing severe chaos in any foreseeable future. So being the devil that he is, he decided to point Aoi to a specific direction – not necessarily the right one.

"Do something for her." He then continued.

"Eh? Like what?"

"Anything. You've always been focusing on yourself. Now that someone has entered the picture, you get rattled. And she probably has something that you don't. At the least, doing her a favor or a kind deed would put your mind at ease."

The net idol processed the thought out of caution. He stared him down with a tiger's flaming stare.

Unfortunately, that didn't have any effect. Usui is more than used to Misaki's death glares so his won't be of par.

"Well, that's stupid." He decided, "What's the point of doing that when I actually want to get rid of her?"

"You can't force her out. You have to know why she's there, and then you can be rid of her. Although I have a feeling that at the end of the day, you wouldn't even want to."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. It's an advise, take it or don't."

Seeing as there seemed to be more boredom than seriousness from him, he decided to just save the details in memory and head out – not that there was much to consider from what he said in the first place.

Good thing he missed Usui's devious snicker.

'This is going to be fun.'

Grrrrrr…..

"Ugh, I picked a good day to skip lunch."

He completely forgot why he was in Maid Latte in the first place. Now he's walking by the sidewalk, rubbing his twisting stomach.

Aoi is never one to be conscious of life's necessities, primarily because his family is well-off. But that doesn't mean his father is as tolerant as he is capable of making money. The middle-aged man has narrowed the boy's weekly allowance to the point where buying high quality fabric would be impossible without sacrificing a few meals.

-but passion is all about sacrifice -

"One croquette please."

That familiar voice reached his ear, accompanied by the delicious smell of simmering breadcrumbs that tickled his nostrils.

In front of a bakeshop just a block ahead, a girl with a terrible choice for clothes was standing. She had in one hand a paper bag filled with what look like a bunch of magazines.

Aoi felt a sudden warmth scattering throughout his body. He thought it was the hunger, or something similarly irrelevant.

"Oi." He called out and walked towards the girl.

She turned, and then, recognizing the boy, suddenly got a sparkle in her eyes that could be considered delight.

If it was from delight, Aoi didn't seem to share it – at least not consciously.

Before truth could begin twisting his tongue, he decided to give himself a head start.

"You are so not cute." He suddenly said as he finally stood in front of her. "I don't like you at all."

Anyone else would have cringed and returned an attack, but not Suzuna. She just stared at him, unreadable and unyielding. Aoi's offense bounced back to him, and he suddenly became annoyed.

"You are just like your sister! You wear the cheapest kind of clothing without any consideration for your lack of fashion and taste, and you don't mind the way you behave! There is no trace of elegance or even a hint of lady-like demeanor, plus your stagnant look is practically screaming 'FREAK'! You are an abomination to all that is cute!"

Do something for her.

At the end of his rant, Aoi was practically panting. He didn't even know why he went that far.

But there was yet to be a reaction from Suzuna. It was as if his words were just bouncing off a wall.

Aoi wondered if he should start making his apology. His honesty made the best of him again, but he couldn't help it, especially with how rugged she looked under a pair of pants and a sweatshirt, the neck of which is making her look like a turtle –

- a rather cute turtle – with cheeks crimsoned by the cold weather – ahhh, refreshing –

Luckily, he wasn't that honest.

"Here." Suzuna shoved the packet of baked bread on him.

The boy snapped back into the real world and found himself holding a croquette. "Hey, I don't want any -"

"One more order, please." Suzuna attention was already with the baker.

After a couple of minutes, she got herself another packet, and then looked back at the puzzled boy. She then started walking, and Aoi started following.

"For the record, I didn't ask you to treat me." he said, a pace behind her.

"You're welcome." Suzuna said, eyes far off without the slightest concern.

"Tch, weirdo."

Her small body (slender, even under the rugged outfit), didn't make the lad comfortable, so he quickened his stride until he was walking alongside.

He then snagged the paper bag from her hand.

They reached the familiar setting of the park, and sat on a bench.

"No sale today, huh?" Aoi asked, after swallowing a mouthful.

"The flee market's closed."

"I see."

There was a stark difference between their eating manners. Aoi was messy with his munches while Suzuna was meager in her bites. The girl looked at him, and noticed how heartily he was eating.

'He must really be hungry.'

She had barely eaten half of hers by the time he was finished

"I'm a bit stuffed from lunch. Would you like to have mine?" she lied, and offered her share.

Aoi studied her. There was nothing worth being suspicious about, especially since that blatantly blank face of hers holds very little room with which to hide a scheme.

"Yeah, okay."

He took the packet from her hands and was about to take the first bite of his second round, when he caught her looking at him. Nothing new about that, except she had that glimmer in her eyes again, like when she first held his hands to gaze at his scars.

"Thank you for the food." He whispered, eyes turning shamefully on the ground. "And sorry about what I said."

"You're welcome, and it's okay."

"So what do you do when you're not out selling your stuff?" he asked before masticating on the bread-snack.

"Trying to win prizes."

'Oh yeah, that.'

He mentally slapped himself for forgetting her weird hobby, not that he was the one to talk.

"Did you win anything today?"

"I did, but not the one I wanted."

She pulled out a black, rectangular thing from the paper bag and placed it on her lap. It was roughly the size of a shoebox and was decorated with diminutive yet elegant linings.

"That looks expensive. What is it?"

"A make-up set."

Aoi forced down his throat a chewed up last bite, otherwise it would have jettisoned out of his mouth in an involuntary spit. His eyes widened as Suzuna opened the box and showed cosmetics beyond bearable pricing.

"You're kidding. They just gave this away?"

"They didn't give this away. I won it." even though there was hardly any emotion there, Aoi could make out something close to anger.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. But man, what a prize! Do you have any idea how many women would sell their soul just to have this?"

A light bulb sparked in her head.

"Oh, they don't have to go that far." Suzuna said, eyeballs turning into yen symbols, "They can buy this from me for a low price of 700,000 yen."

Aoi could almost make out a dark aura from behind her, matched by an evil laugh forming, but he chose to ignore those strange things in light of a better idea.

"Why sell it when you can keep it for yourself?"

"I don't need it."

"Sure you do." Aoi crumpled the empty packet and furrowed his eyebrows at her, "Look at you! You definitely need a make-over."

"Yeah, but a make-over wouldn't actually feed us. That 700,000 yen could take us far. Besides, I don't know how to use it."

"That's true, but – hold on, you were thinking about the price for that necklace, right?"

"Oh, that, well, you see -" She was cowering a bit from his leaning form. Somehow, she knew her next few words would upset him, "I decided not to buy the necklace."

"WHAT?!"

He didn't even have to ask for an explanation. That narrow, far away gaze of hers is sufficient, even after what they have talked about before – it was a helpless, defeated gaze.

Aoi tried to move his mouth to express his protestation, but Usui's words started haunting him to mute.

"Mom – could get sick anytime." She said softly, "We can't afford to take chances."

You're asking the wrong question. Why is she in your head in the first place?

"I can't afford to think about myself when we barely have enough."

You've always been focused on yourself.

"I know you said buying something meaningful for myself isn't being selfish but -"

Now that someone else has entered the picture, you get rattled.

"- my family holds more meaning for me than anything else."

And she probably has something that you don't.

They locked eyes for a moment, his in silent frustration, and hers hopeful that he would understand. Indeed, Aoi understood, but he just couldn't bring himself to accept it.

- you're so focused on yourself –

I am the center of my own world.

He took the box from her lap, and peeled off the plastic seal. There was no protest from the girl, because she didn't know the novelty of an item based on its unbroken seal. Even if she did protest, he wouldn't have paid any attention.

'Fine. I'll focus on something else.'

"Sit still." He ordered, which was unnecessary, because her face was practically unmoving.

"You start with foundation."

He dabbed the soft, square pad on the creamy powder and started to glaze her face gently with it. Underneath the material, he could make out the softness of her cheeks, and the tingling affect her breathing had on his fingers.

"You don't need a blush-on." He said, himself blushing while she continued to look at him. "But just so you'd know how to, I'll put some."

He could almost hear his own heartbeat.

Her natural appearance defeated any other purpose, yet he still continued lining up her long lashes with a small, comb-like stick. He was doing it slow, and careful, and it was making his blush deeper. It seemed rather unfair to him that he was the only one feeling awkward and weird about the situation. All she did was look at him, with those big yellow eyes of hers.

He placed the liner back on the box, and took hold of the pad again – for no particular reason. He just felt like stroking her face, albeit indirectly. She seemed to enjoy it too, judging by the way her breath eases out whenever he strokes the pad down her check.

"Your hair is getting in the way." He said just to give her a heads-up before slowly moving a curtain of black hair covering her forehead, his fingers trailing a subtle line just above her eyebrows.

"Close your eyes." his voice was turning into a husky whisper, almost too mature for his age. Suzuna followed, and Aoi laden her lids with very light layer. He was quick to do it, and she was quick to open her eyes again, as if looking at each other had become a need.

The girl remained still, as Aoi continued his gentle wok. His right hand took time in the motion on her cheeks, while his left banded her hair up, feeling as well the bounty of hair she has.

He then released her bangs, and used two fingers to secure her small chin.

"Open your lips slightly."

She obeyed, and let Aoi gauge the kind of color she would need.

The cool weather has flustered her sensitive lips. There'd be no point in adding lipstick, but it could use some shine.

He decided to go for a shy amount of lip polish just to let the natural redness stand out. With Suzuna staying still as told, Aoi opened up a bottle of clear gloss and pulled out a damp brush. He then proceeded to lather her lips, which seemed so fluid and ridiculously soft while he did so.

It suddenly became taxing – her lips are so thin and seem so fragile that the smallest miss of the brush could either flick a drop of polish in her mouth or uneven the layer of foundation.

But Aoi was in his comfort zone. This is his passion – to make cute, out of seemingly un-cute creatures. Seemingly, because he did his best to convince himself that she is definitely not cute, while the concentration and focus actually came from the hypnotic affect her lips have on him.

Eventually, the spell had to break, and time had to tap them both on the shoulders to remind them that it was over.

"Let's – dry the polish, k?"

Suzuna made a tiny nod, before Aoi shaped his own lips into a small funnel to blow warm air on the dampen lips of the girl. Slowly, he waited for the glossy texture to darken in hue, inhaling and blowing in intervals, stopping only to match his breath with his rapidly beating heart.

Aoi used the back of his thumb to touch her bottom lip, verifying the dryness.

"And that's – how you use – a make-up." Aoi whispered, still a bit out of breath, still excited (in a good way).

"Okay. I'll try to remember."

Suzuna straightened up, and leaned back.

Aoi took long, deep inhales to compose himself. His face was completely red, so he slammed both palms on those cheeks of his to lessen the shade.

"You can't sell that set anymore. It's been used."

"That's a shame." She said, unconcerned.

It surprised Aoi a bit. He was expecting her to be upset, since her plan was clearly to sell it. But the look on her face while she fondles the intricate designs of the box told him she had found more worth in the item than what money could afford.

- do something for her.

"I'll help you earn that 700k, and you will buy that necklace."

"What's in it for you?" she asked, smirking slightly with that familiar question.

'It's something for you.'

"It's annoying to watch you. You'll be less un-cute if you wear it." Aoi grinned a boyish grin. An idea then came to him, "Do you have a cellphone? You should take a picture of yourself, so you can practice at home."

"I don't have a cellphone."

There was no surprise there, but Aoi still found himself groaning over such lack of necessity. He then pulled his own phone from his pocket.

"I'll print you a copy."

He flipped the top of the phone and aimed the lens at her. Before he could take a shot, he was forced to stop.

It finally struck his awareness how beautiful Suzuna became.

'Whoa.'

The mental gasp got stuck under his throat. Suzuna was curious about the minute-long pause, and tilted her head at him, which was the exact moment when Aoi pressed the button.

"Ah-" the angle was a bit off, at least in Aoi's opinion. But when the phone generated the image -

"May I see?" Suzuna asked, leaning close to him.

"No! I mean, you'll see it when I print a copy for you, okay?"

That didn't really matter to the girl. In her mind, the make-up was irrelevant. The money also became irrelevant. Actually, everything else was irrelevant – save for the person beside her, and the moment they have just spent together.

She carefully placed the box back in the paper bag and then looked at said person. He was staring down at the image captured a few seconds ago- his eyes were wide, reflecting a blend of disbelief and something else in them.

The boy then closed the phone, and dashed forth, only to stop a few steps later to turn around, bearing his signature scowl, face riddled by a layer of blush over his nose and across his cheeks.

"Beeeeh!"

We all know where that bratty act came from. In fact, anyone would, judging by how he was smiling ear to ear while running home. His entire face was glowing, perhaps out of a new discovery, of an exciting epiphany , of a threshold just crossed.

Needless to say, he has resigned himself to the overpowering 'inspiration' that has been haunting him for two nights.

When he got him, still brimming with energy, he began to actualize the dress that would make cute out of a so-called uncute girl.

At that level, he felt like he could sketch, snip and stitch for the rest of his life, fueled only by one and a half packets of croquette, and the new wallpaper in his cellphone.

To be continued…

The Tsundere aspect is heavily used, i know, but we all love Aoi that way, yes?

One of the scenes familiar? Hint: Super 8 – I used to have a huge crush on Elle Fanning. (^_^)

If you think the make-up part didn't seem right, that's because, well, it isn't. I didn't do my assignment on that one – sorry. But we'll make use of that lip gloss again.

And no, i don't know whether or not Suzuna has a cellphone, but the lack of such would be beneficial.