My apologies for this taking FOREVER and a day to get out. More at the end of the chapter.

My Best Friend's Brother
Written by: Jill Annette

CHAPTER FOUR – INTERFERENCE

"Well, well," a feminine voice found its way to Mamoru's ears, "if it isn't Chiba."

Mamoru did not have to turn around to know who was standing behind him. He had been at the arcade for some time to catch up a little more with Motoki. That and his sister's friend was over at the house, again. It was as if their home was Usagi's as well and that did not help Mamoru any. Good lord, how was he supposed to ignore a girl he was attracted to – a girl who was barely legal – if he had to see her ever single day?

His thoughts were brought back to the present when a cool hand landed on his back and trailed across the plane of his shoulders, down his arm and rested at his wrist. Aino Minako: bleach blond hair, baby blue eyes, and perfect heart shaped lips. It was no wonder the modeling agency found her so young. Even in childhood, Mamoru could remember Minako missing classes for photo shoots. What he could not fathom was the fact that she chose to stay in Juuban when she could travel the world.

A genuine smile graced his features as Minako took the stool next to his. "None other," he said.

She flipped a strand of hair over her shoulders and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a sly smile on her own lips. Her sultry gaze captivated him as it always had in the past. His eyes landed on her lips as Minako began to speak, "So, what brings you back?"

He turned his stool towards Minako so that he could face her, enough with this sideways, flirtatious glancing. Mamoru was going to face this demon head on. He grabbed the sides of her stool and made Minako face him as well. Their knees rested together. "Work brought me back." He watched Minako raise an eyebrow. "Why are you still here?"

She smirked and shook her head, her yellow hair swished side to side. "What makes you think I never left?" Minako glanced at her tiny gold watch, "Darn, I can't stay and chat." She stood up, smoothed her skirt down and turned to leave. On second thought, she turned back around, "Maybe we should go out sometime? Catch up for old time's sake."

Mamoru shrugged as he watched the girl walk out of his sight for the second time in his life.

---

They were an item at one point in time, Mamoru and Minako. The two had dated for nearly two years but when Mamoru was accepted to a North American school and Minako decided to keep her modeling career in Japan, things changed. Minako would tell Mamoru that if he loved her like he said he would stay with her here. She never understood the reason why he wanted to go to a university on the other side of the world when he could get as good an education here, close to home. Close to her. She did not understand the cultural differences between Japan and America and what he would be learning outside of class as well as in.

So when Mamoru decided that he was going to America no matter what she had to say about it, Minako – literally – shoved Mamoru out of her life.

"I'm done," she had screamed at him. "Done, done, done!"

"Minako, it's only four years," he had tried to convince her, console her. "Plus, I'll come back during the holidays."

"No you won't. You might come back the first time, but not the second." Tears rolled down her face but she would not let Mamoru wipe them away. "It's over," she sobbed.

Even with her face red and blotchy, her nose runny, Minako was beautiful. Her heart was breaking, definitely, but she was doing it to herself. Mamoru did not want to break the ties they had, the knots they made. However, the knots were not made strong enough to last distance apparently. Especially if Minako would not even give it a try.

"Leave," Minako whispered. When Mamoru did not budge, Minako said it louder: "Leave." However, Mamoru did not make a quick enough effort to get out of Minako's site before she started pushing him out the front door of her house, down the concrete of her driveway and into the dark street. "I don't want to see you again. Ever!" Her sob echoed throughout the night and she turned away from Mamoru and walked inside disappearing from his view.

---

Usagi glanced up as she heard the front door open. When she saw it was Mamoru, Usagi quickly lowered her head back down to the comic she was reading. In that split second though, the blond was able to take in his appearance. Mamoru's dark hair fell into his eyes, his gray t-shirt clung to his muscles (those muscles she had only recently noticed when he got too close to her on their movie night), and how his blue jeans clung to his hips.

"Reading a naughty manga?" he asked, as he passed her.

"No!" Usagi defended herself, "Why?"

"You're blushing," he called to her from across the room.

Thank heaven's he was already in the hallway or he would have witnessed an even deeper shade of crimson spread across her face as she realized she was caught. Just as Usagi cooled herself down, Rei entered the room.

"I'm so completely bored!" She huffed, tearing the comic from Usagi's hands and flinging it across the room. "Can we please go do something?"

For a moment, Usagi's eyes rested on her lost manga, sad to see it lying haphazardly on the floor a few feet away. Then her eyes traveled to Rei, whose eyes were daring her to grab that book back off the floor. Usagi knew that look. If she were to pick up the manga to read again, a fist would find its way into Usagi's thigh and leave a frog deep within her muscle. Feeling the phantom pain, Usagi smiled at Rei.

"Like what?" asked the blond.

Rei sighed. She pushed herself into the cushions of the couch, "I don't know," she exclaimed. "If I knew I wouldn't have asked you now would I?"

"Why don't we just go walk around the park," Usagi suggested, "see what trouble we can't find ourselves into."

---

The two had been walking for what seemed like hours when they decided to sit at one of the benches in the center of the park. It was a good area to sit. The bench overlooked a good portion of the park as well as the lake. Rei and Usagi people watched and talked about boys and school and the random person they happened to see walk by.

"I swear, is absolutely nothing is going on today?" Rei asked.

Usagi shrugged. It was a beautiful day out and it was honestly sad that they had to spend most of the daytime indoors because of school. "Maybe there's something going on that we're not aware of."

Rei groaned.

"What's got you so restless anyway?"

The raven headed girl shrugged.

"You do too know," Usagi murmured.

About that time an ice cream cart was rolling past the fields of the park. Rei jumped to her feet, as excited as a dog about to play fetch. "I'm getting some ice cream, you want some?"

Usagi shook her head. "I'll wait here."

She watched her friend run to the ice cream man and rifle through the flavors he had, trying to decide through the bunch. Usagi lifted her eyes to the sky and watched the pinks and purples and oranges meld together as the sun set. There were no clouds in the sky and the air was crisp. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Today would have been a great day to relax. Again, too bad they had school earlier.

Usagi opened her eyes and found bright green orbs peering down on her. There was only one person she knew who had eyes so green they reminded a person of spring. The eyes that were peering down on her had brought her misery last year and heartache. Now they were haunting her. Usagi closed her eyes again and rubbed her hands down her face before she opened her cornflower blue eyes again.

Still, his image stayed in front of her. The image smiled. "Diamond," she whispered, having a hard time to believe that he was standing in front of her.

"Usagi."

God, his voice was still warm. All the memories of the last year rushed into her forethought; his shy smiles, his cool touch, his warm kisses and his hot betrayal. "You cheated on me."

Diamond shoved his hands in his pockets and bowed his head so that his eyes were hidden from her gaze. "I know."

Usagi turned her head to the right and looked for Rei, wondering what was taking her so long to get back. When she was not able to spot her friend, Usagi turned back to Diamond. His hair was longer now. It fell past his shoulder, a waterfall of silvery-blue (some kind of manic-panic color he used religiously). His features still caught her breath but when she remembered what he did to her repulsed her.

"Look," Diamond started to explain himself in her silence. "I didn't hunt you down or anything, so don't think that."

Usagi shook her head, "I wasn't."

"I just, I noticed you sitting by yourself, and I thought, what good a time is this, if not any other," he scratched his head. "Okay?"

She sighed, her impatience getting the better of her, "I'm not going anywhere, just spit it out."

"Can we start over?"

Usagi scoffed, and shook her head. "You've got a lot of nerve! To think after all this time, after what you did to me –"

Diamond threw his hands in the air and Usagi abruptly stopped when he took a step closer to her. "I didn't mean it like that." He took another step towards Usagi, closing the gap between them. "I meant before that. To be friends again."

Usagi shook her head sadly, letting the tendrils of hair that fell from her ponytail tickle her face. "You have to trust your friends."

"Fine, I'll start as a mindless peony." Diamond stated. "I'll be that person that hangs around, the person that you can't stand until I gain your trust again. I'll never ask to be with you again." He said with a sigh. "Just friends, I promise."

Usagi sighed. She silently nodded and would have said yes if Rei had not interfered at that moment. "What the hell are you doing in a five foot radius of my friend?" Her voice was stern, her blue-violet eyes burning with rage.

Diamond held up his hands in surrender and without saying a word walked away from the temperamental girl. Rei's gaze softened more and more the distance Diamond put himself between them.

"Sorry I wasn't here to keep him from getting close to you." Rei said as she licked her lips, "but that ice cream sure was delish!"

Usagi laughed. "No problem. I think we actually made some sort of amends."

Rei nodded and grabbed Usagi's hands and pulled her up to her feet. "Let's go home."

---

It all started with a kidney infection. Then catching back up with school work. Then getting a second job. And the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into days. And before we know it, it has been two months and I haven't updated ANYTHING.

I will work on one story at a time. That is my promise now.

A la momento, it is My Best Friend's Brother. Then maybe I'll finish Melting. THEN Soulmates: Reincarnated OR You Don't See Me. I haven't decided which of those yet. I'm not sure which story is what. But after these four, I'll start working on one of the ones that I have taken down for lack of progress. And so on, until I get every idea written and out and THEN I'll start on something new.

Next chapter should be out soon. Keep reading (and reviewing)!

Much Love,

Jill Anette.