Chapter 4: Shopping, Fangirls, Ice Cream, and A Lot of Other Stuff

Takumi softly walked through the empty, spotless halls of the Walker Company, with his hands in his pockets and head bowed down. He wondered dejectedly to himself what he was doing with his empty life. What would he be doing for the next thirty years? Not even that, what would he be doing for his next twenty years? The next five years? He wasn't moving forward in life, neither was he moving backwards. He wasn't going anywhere, just running over the same path over and over. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with uselessness and loneliness. His life was empty and had no real purpose, only work and more work. 'Ah,' he thought, 'this is the use of a bastard child. Another tool for domination.'

Of course, no one would see through how alone he was. Money can't buy everything. He was born healthy, with an intelligent mind and a handsome face. Sometimes, he wondered if it was a curse or a blessing. The family would probably leave him alone if he was ugly or stupid. Takumi turned sharply at the corner and went into the elevator. It didn't matter now though, and it wasn't much use to fight. He would enjoy his cursed life as a bastard child. 'Sweet,' he smirked to himself.

Misaki swore that Sakura had some never-ending energy supply. Misaki was wrapping up her encounter about the perverted alien (Sakura's eyes had been shining like a thousand stars; every few minutes she would swoon and give an "oooh" or yell "kyaaa!, it was the most attentive she had ever been towards someone). Sakura had made a few comments and said, "Aw, how adorable, you guys even gave each other pet names: Misa-chan and Perverted Alien. That's just the cuuuuuutest thing ever!"

Misaki shot her a glare. "Sakura, for the last time, I don't like him. In fact, I hate him," she stated.

"Oh yeah? Prove it. Say that you hate him right in front of my face." Sakura taunted.

Misaki thought for a while. Did she really hate him? She should at least have a good reason for hating him right? Was it because he was rude? Or that he had a bad attitude on the first day? The second time was considerably better, not that she would admit it. Or maybe it was his wealth and looks? Somehow, she couldn't find a decent reason for her hate.

Or was it that she could talk to him normally, unlike all the guys she had met before. . . . was she going too soft? Maybe all those years had eroded her harsh principles she had set on herself. . .

But luckily, Shizuko stepped in and said, "Sakura, it's quite obvious that she dislikes him. Stop bugging her about it." Misaki gave Shizuko a thankful smile that Sakura didn't seem to notice.

"Awww, fine," Sakura said. "But because you didn't tell me earlier and I wasn't able to film your conversation, I am taking you. . . SHOPPING! You really need some decent clothes if you're going to work for the Walker Company!" Sakura said happily, and started rambling on about Misaki's taste as she shoved the two others out the door.

But she didn't miss Shizuko's comment as they walked out. "Sometimes we love the person we hate the most. Though you may not be feeling much now, it may grow in the future," she said wisely. Misaki stopped for a second. She felt a bit flustered, as if a part of herself had been revealed. It had been the same way with her father. She had loved him so much. And he had left them. Misaki shrugged it off and exited quickly.

"OMG! That is soooo cute! This is the cutest outfit ever!" Sakura had squealed. They were shopping at some random store called Suits and Glasses along the busy streets of Tokyo, well, Sakura was shopping anyway. Shizuko just looked around and shook her head whenever Sakura bought something, while Misaki just wandered around. It was the price tags. eyed the price tags sharply. She couldn't buy anything too expensive; she still had to support her sister and mother. It was a pretty cute store, for working clothes, but everything was bright-colored and girly. The clothes were all arranged neatly on the racks and the soft white tiles were clean. Sakura's perfect store. She ran around excitedly and squealed every time she found something cute, which was technically everything.

"Misaki, look at this! It would fit you perfectly!" She held up an outfit. Misaki immediately scowled. It was a gray-colored, extremely tight-looking, short pencil skirt with a thin belt, along with a lacy, ruffled blouse that hung low in front of her chest. The outfit was paired with a long, dangly necklace and dangerous looking pair of heels.

Misaki asked, "Um, Sakura, don't you think that's a bit of, um, revealing?"

"Of course not! It looks perfect for you!"

"You make me look like I'm going to seduce the owner of the company or something. Then I'll really be some prostitute, like he said I was," Misaki grumbled.

"Oh God! He called you a prostitute? That would be the last thing to describe you as. But just buy it," Sakura said.

Misaki scanned at the price tag. $60? For a blouse? "No, that thing doesn't even have enough cloth worth $60!"

Sakura gave an impatient sigh, took the outfit from Misaki, and looked at Shizuko, who nodded and walked toward the cashier area. Sakura pulled out her purse and paid together with Shizuko. The cashier packaged the outfit, along with the heels, then placed it in a rather girly paper bag. There was a girl wearing a suit and a pair of glasses on a peachy pink background. Sakura said a quick 'thanks' and tossed the bag to Misaki, who caught it flusteredly.

Misaki looked at the bag. "Hey, Sakura-"

"You better do a good job on your interview, Misaki. Consider this as a gift from us!" Sakura beamed. Shizuko just gave a calming smile and said, "Good luck!"

"And for lunch, let's celebrate!" Sakura skipped backwards excitedly.

"Sakura! Be careful! You could bump into someone and hurt yourself!" Misaki reprimanded. As if right on cue, Sakura bumped into a tall man and fell down. Misaki mentally face palmed. Jinxed it. Gasping loudly, Sakura whipped her head around and bowed quickly. "I'm so sorry!" The man was wearing a hoodie with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses. Misaki couldn't see his hair or his eyes underneath the hoodie and glasses. 'Suspicious character,' she thought.

The stranger extended his hand and reached over to Sakura, who was still sitting on the floor. Misaki's mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario. What if he was trying to capture her and sell her to somewhere? Oh God? What was she going to do? With his hoodie and suspicious get up, he was probably some crazy drug dealer or something! It was easy to get away in these crowds. Plus who could blame her for being paranoid about guys? She had learned not to trust in them before. Her friend was in danger! "Sakura!" Misaki panicked. "Don't take his hand!"

"What?" Sakura asked. "Why?" The man was helping her up, from Sakura's point of view. But not from Misaki's. When his hand touched Sakura's arm, she sprinted over to him, and shouted, "RAPE!" and yanked off his hood and sunglasses, trying to reveal this shady character. Bad move. Oh, very bad move. Very, VERY bad move. In fact, the worst move she ever pulled in her lif- Oh, you get what I mean. Because under the glasses was none other than Usui Takumi. Who looked exactly like Gerard, except for the hair and eyes. Who no one really knew about except for the workers in the company and such, since he was kept from public. In which Gerard was like a celebrity at the time. Who Misaki hated with a passion.

Now you understand the misunderstanding? (Okay, that didn't make sense.) All the fangirls rushed over and multiple shouts of, "GERARD-SAMA! Please give me your phone number!" and "GERARD-SAMA! You look so hot with blonde hair and green eyes too!" and even shouts of "GERARD-SAMA! Please rape me!" Misaki was never so disgusted in her life. She just stood there in complete shock at this crazy situation of fangirls crowding around her. In the midst of the confusion, someone suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the circle. It was the alien. Oh yeah, trust him to get her out of these situations. And somehow, the girls didn't even notice. 'Definitely alien,' Misaki grinned. They sprinted towards a secluded side walk and stood there, panting and catching their breath.

"Ha," he laughed. "We meet again. And seriously, 'RAPE'? You didn't have to shout that one."

Misaki punched him. "Hey, be nice to your savior! I saved you from the crazy girls right?" he asked teasingly.

Misaki punched him again. "Shut up."

"Don't you love me?"

"No. I hate you."

"Aww, but I like you!"

"Liar."

"Yeah, you're right." He chuckled. Misaki felt a bit of disappointment in his statement. What the hell? They had just met three times and she was already getting angry over his joke. She swore she was getting soft.

"Anyway, if you don't have anything better to do, then get out," Misaki growled.

"Aww, but I do have something to do! Let's eat lunch together!"

"Eh!? What about my friends?" Misaki asked.

Takumi grinned. "They'll understand."

And he dragged her away down the busy downtown streets of Tokyo.

"Usui!" Misaki yelled. "Usui Takumi! Damnit! Will you fucking let go already?!"

Usui smirked. "Not only if you beg, Misa-chan!"

"Not in a million years!"

"Then have fun with me holding onto your hand the whole day!" he beamed.

"Fuck you."

Takumi smiled again. "Ah, you're so funny."

"Fuck you again." Misaki frowned.

"It's alright if you can't think of decent comeback," he teased. "For now, just come with me. I'm bored."

Misaki glared at him skeptically. "And why would I ever agree to your? How come you're so happy today and not the jerk that you really are?"

"Aww, you're so mean. I planned on doing something productive today, so I was in a nice mood. Plus I met you!"

Misaki stared at him. "Okay, so something productive is stalking me?"

"Haha, that's funny. But yes, hanging out with you is productive and fun!" He sighed. "It's hot today."

"Yeah," she said.

"Let's get ice cream."

"Fine." Misaki just agreed with whatever he said. She wanted to get this over with. Plus, ice cream didn't seem like a bad idea, and she wasn't paying. Anyway, she'd pay him back one day, along with the $100 he loaned her for getting back home. Yes, she was here for the ice cream. Not because he was an okay person. It was definitely for the ice cream. Ice cream, she told herself.

They walked over to a small park. Usui walked up to the street vendor and paid for two ice cream cones. "Here you go," he handed the cone to her. It was vanilla, her favorite. The cone was heaped with three large scoops and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Of course she was here for the ice cream, who wouldn't miss this?

"Thanks," Misaki mumbled, taking the ice cream in her hand. She pawed the floor with the side of her sneaker idly and swung around. "So, uh. . ." Misaki started. 'Damn! How do you start a conversation with a guy!?' she asked herself annoyedly.

"Yeah?" he asked. Usui just swung around lazily, looking at the sky.

"Uh," Misaki started.

Usui chuckled at her. "You don't have to force yourself to make a conversation you know," he said calmly.

"Eh?" Misaki looked up, startled. 'I thought you had to. That's why I always lost at that stupid game. Cause I can't speak to a guy without starting to yell at them,' she wondered.

"It's okay if you can't speak to a guy without starting to yell at them. I mean, if a guy seriously was interested, he'd try to start a conversation with you right?" Usui said.

Misaki laughed softly 'Definitely psychic. Another alien quality.' "Yeah, but guys are never interested in me anyway. I'm mean to them, and I always yell at them when they do something. It was always hard to talk to them since I never trusted them. I was super paranoid of guys after my dad left us in debt."

"I don't see why they don't think you're nice," he asked.

"You think I'm nice? I called you a perverted alien and all that other crap!" Misaki said. She licked her dripping ice cream. The chocolate syrup was mixing in with the pale white ice cream.

"I think it's funny."

"You're stupid."

"You think? Maybe I'm dumb sometimes. With girls, I mean."

"Really? I thought all the girls loved you or something."

"They do," he said.

Misaki's eye twitched. "You vain bastard," she muttered. Suddenly, a flash of blonde swooped in front of her. She gave a small yelp and shouted, "Usui! What the hell-"

Usui sat there swinging on his swing, licking his lips. "Hm, vanilla tastes better than chocolate," he said, looking at his chocolate ice cream cone.

"HEY! You bit off the whole scoop of my ice cream!" Misaki yelled.

"But I wanted to try yours too!" he whined.

"YOU BASTARD! You could have asked!"

"But then you wouldn't let me!"

"Of course I wouldn't!"

"I told you so. So then I rationalized to myself, what would be the next best choice of action with the most benefits? And it was, 'Steal some of Misaki's ice cream.' The reason was, 'Because vanilla is yummy.' It was perfectly valid."

"No, it is not! It is called, 'Buy ice cream from the vendor.'"

"You forgot the 'most benefits' part. I would have to use more money then," Usui said. "I have to pay. Plus I bought it for you anyway," he smirked. Misaki hung her head down in defeat. "Fine, you win. But I want some of yours, too." Misaki grabbed his hand angrily and bit off a large chunk of ice cream.

"There. Now we're even," she smirked.

"You just got an indirect kiss with me," Usui stated.

Misaki stopped. And then she panicked. "EWW! I hate you!" she yelled. Usui laughed so hard he almost fell off the swings. Misaki wanted to punch him so hard he'd really fall down.

"Okay," he stood up. "I gotta get going now. It was fun, Misa-chan!"

"Don't call me that! And hurry up and get going!" she shouted. 'If he could stay a bit longer. . . NO,' she told herself. 'Stop it, Misaki.'

Usui smirked at her. "Well, you seem a bit dejected."

"Get out of here, you stupid alien. I have stuff to do too." Misaki got up lazily and stomped away. "Good RIDDANCE!" she yelled back as she left her swing.

"Bye, Misa-chan!" he called.

"Don't call me that!"

"Oh yeah, about that lying thing." Misaki stopped and listened. She did call him a liar earlier.

"What?" she said, not turning around.

There was a pregnant pause. And Usui spoke, "I lie about somethings. But not all things. Well, see ya," and walked off.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Misaki said.

"What I meant," he called. "Oh yeah, good luck on Thursday!" Usui hailed a cab and left her there, still wondering about his previous statement. The wheels in her mind slowly turned. "Thursday?" she said out loud. "What's on Thursday?"

It finally clicked. "The INTERVIEW! How would he know?" she said. Misaki flopped down on a park bench. "Forget it. I give up thinking," she sighed and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, Sakura and Shizuko came. "Misaki! We were so worried!"

"Nothing happened to you right?" Sakura asked. "Oh no, did he rape you!? We have to take you-"

Misaki's eye twitched. "No, Sakura, I didn't get raped. Do I look like I got raped?"

"Well, not really," Sakura said. "Who took you away?"

"Aliens. Well, alien."

"I don't know if that's sarcastic or not," Sakura trailed off. "Oh wait! That was him? 'Perverted Alien from Planet Pheromone?' Wow, he is so hot! Misaki, he is totally for keeps."

"Sakura, he's not a possession," Shizuko reprimanded.

"What did you guys do together?" Sakura asked excitedly. "You guys are totally meant for each other!"

"No, we're not."

"Yes, you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"BE QUIET! We're at a public park! You're disturbing the people!"

"Sorry," Sakura and Misaki said.

Thursday morning:

Misaki walked eagerly through the large glass doors of the Walker Company. She had worn the outfit Sakura bought, except she kept the top of the blouse pinned together so her chest wouldn't show. She stopped at the front desk and said, "Good morning, I'm Misaki Ayuzawa."

"Oh, are you here for the interview?" The receptionist asked kindly.

"Yes," Misaki smiled gratefully.

The lady gestured over and said, "Take the elevator up to the 64th floor, and first door you see after one right turn. You can't miss it."

Misaki nodded and bowed, and made her way to the elevator. 'Crazy. 64 floors,' she thought, entering the elevator. It took a minute just to get up to the 64 floors. When it finally ended, Misaki felt her ears pop. She turned right once and immediately came to face with a double door.

The two intricately designed, heavy, wooden, glossy doors swung open slowly. After walking in, Misaki bowed and raised her head. "Good morn—"

Her voice died immediately in her throat.

A pair of mischievous green eyes glanced at her playfully, as the owner of those emerald eyes stood up from his black leather swivelly chair. Messing up his gelled blonde hair, he said in a low, seductive voice, "Good morning, Ms. Ayuzuwa. We meet again."

Misaki's eyes widened. Thousands of thoughts crowded through her head at the same time. But the main thing that went through was this:

Hell. NO.

In France:

"Gerard-sama, I think you'd like to see this," Cedric said, showing his master the newspaper.

"Oh?" Gerard looked at the front page of the newspaper article: "Gerard Walker Bleaches His Hair BLONDE, Along With Wearing GREEN CONTACTS!" Below the article, there was a picture of a very pissed-looking Takumi surrounded with fangirls. Gerard laughed. Long and loud.

"Well, when I go back, I'll have to fix this mess," Gerard muttered after he finished laughing.

I know. I know. I am really bad for updating so late. I'm really, really lazy, my mom's yelling at me right now (I locked the door XD) about being lazy. Oh well.

This chapter was really bad and boring but the real thing's coming up next! But it's just about them getting closer, and stuff so yeah. If there are any mistakes just tell me or something because I can't proofread this thing without wanting to delete everything and start over. The chapter kept getting longer and longer and it's kinda wordy. Sorry for making Usui OOC in the beginning.

Sorry again. I'll try to update sooner. 'Try' being the key word here.

Bye beee!