-IN JAPAN-
Early evening
Natsu and Hinata, now at the airport, await their friend's arrival anytime
"What time do you think she'll be arriving Natsu?"
"Beats me, America is very, very far from here"
"Yeah, that makes sense"
"Say, while we wait, let's grab something to eat"
"Sure thing! I'm still hungry even after having dinner at my house"
Having stuffed their stomachs with various snacks, all they have to do now is to wait for her arrival.
Since her flight takes a few days or more, they decided to spend the night at the airport until she arrives
After a few days passed, she finally arrived at the airport
With luggage in hand, she walked around, looking around the airport in awe. Then again, it's been a very long time she hasn't seen Japan.
"Wow, major changes here. I love it…" she boarded an escalator, leading to the airport's main entrance
Getting off the escalator, she's greeted by two familiar voices
"Tiffany over here!"
They're they are, excited to see her…
She's happy and delighted to see her BFFs again in person for the first time
"Natsu! Hinata!" unable hold her excitement she ran towards them and give them both a warm embrace
"Long time no see, you two!"
"Natsu & I can say the same to you as well!"
"That's some luggage you have with you!"
"Yeah, it's got everything I need"
After the short reunion, they chatted as they walked towards the outside entrance
"How was your flight?"
"Obviously long but very relaxing and soothing, I was able to clear my mind when I was in the plane"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hinata didn't seem to get the picture
"Ever since I've been informed of this reunion, it's been stuck on my mind for some time"
"Oh don't let it bother you that much Tiffany"
"I know, I'm just excited that's all"
"And so are we!"
They finally reached the airport's main entrance
"Wait here you two, I'll call for a taxi" Hinata waited for a taxi to come pick them up
"Say Natsu"
"What is it Tiffany?"
"I like your pants"
"You do?"
"Yeah I'm not even lying. They look cute on you"
The Gorin volleyball player's pleasantly surprised at what she said "My! It's the first time someone complimented my choice of attire"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Speaking of giving compliments, I like the smell of your perfume"
"Why thank you. I bought it after seeing it on a magazine I was reading"
"Cool. That reminds me where's the one that Hinata & I-"
"It's with me! I read it many times and I never get fed up of it!"
"Whoa! You really, really love it!"
"You betcha!" she showed Natsu her signature smile and wink
"Hey guys! The taxi's here!" Hinata called them
"Well come on, taxi's here"
"Alright" both are going towards the taxi's location
Now all three are in the taxi and at the backseat
"Where are we heading to?"
"First stop is to our neighborhood. Hinata's been bugging me to let you see both of our homes" Hinata just snickered
"Nice. So both of you live in the same neighborhood, am I correct?"
"Positive"
"Since Hinata & I were still kids"
"Nice, so where is this place?"
"Not too far from here, just a couple of miles"
"Oh. That's different back home because the airport is one hour away from where I live"
"I see"
Several minutes later, the taxi finally arrived at their place
Tiffany grabbed her luggage from the trunk
"Domo arigato!" all three said in unison to the taxi driver as he took off
"Tiffany, again, we're really impressed by your improved speaking of the Japanese dialect!" complimented Natsu
Her only reply was a cute smile "So this is where you two live eh? Very simple"
"Simple indeed"
They're in front of one of their houses "whose house is that?"
"Mine"
"Wow, it's more than ordinary than I thought"
"Yeah, the design's too ordinary even for me"
"Alright then… Can I take a look inside your house?"
"Sure you can! Every one of my friends are invited!" she unlocked the door and opened it
"I'm home!" she greeted upon entering; only to realize there's no one inside
"Alone again as usual…"
"Where is the rest of your family?" Tiffany wondered
"Oh her family's always out, leaving her as the main house sitter almost every day" Natsu answered
"Oh. Don't you feel bored or anything?"
"Not one bit at all" she removed her shoes. So did Natsu but not Tiffany
"Oh Tiffany, we forgot to tell you that you should remove your shoes when entering someone's house…"
"Is it really necessary?"
"In Japan yes"
"Oh right, I remember now!" she does the same
The childhood friends gave their American friend a tour of the house
"Alright then, let's go visit my room!"
Reaching upstairs, they went in to her room. It's filled with much stuff that truly fits her interests, like posters of her favorite anime characters and music artists
Tiffany is in awe upon her first glance of her room
"OMG Hinata you're room so cute!"
"Thanks Tiffany!"
The Pacific cheerleader continued to look around, praising the cuteness of its appearance
"What's that Hinata?" she pointed to something she finds unfamiliar
"That's my most prized possession, a figurine of my favorite anime character"
"Oh OK. Sorry for asking such a dumb question, I just don't know much about anime"
"It's OK, you will soon!" Hinata encouraged her
"And is that your maid outfit!" Tiffany noticed
"Ah yes! It arrived here a few days ago"
"Planning on wearing it again?" she joked
"At a Cosplay Festival of course!"
"Tiffany, here's a simple something Hinata made some time ago" Natsu showed her a piece of paper; it contains a simple sketch art featuring the three of them in their Rival Schools-era clothing. She looked at it and is impressed by it
"Wow, it looks good, especially on how I look!" she complimented
"Gee thanks Tiffany! Hey Natsu! Where'd you found that?"
"I found it under your cabinet"
"Oh… I was looking for it for weeks, I thought I lost it"
"It won't be anymore!" she grinned
"Thank you!"
"My pleasure!"
Staying in the room for several more minutes, they exited her house
"Some place you got there Hinata" Tiffany complimented "Now I know what the typical Japanese house looks like inside and out"
"I'm flattered, thank you!"
"Anytime! So where do we go next? Natsu's place?"
"Yuppers! Let's get a move on shall we?"
Natsu's house is a just a short walking distance from Hinata's
"Wow Natsu, your house is almost as simple as Hinata's"
"Yeah I get that a lot" she unlocks the front door and everyone enters, removing their shoes
"Well Tiffany, welcome to the Ayuhara residence"
"It has class, I'll say"
"Class you say? What makes you say that?"
"It's too complex for words"*giggles*
"Alright then wanna see my room?"
"With pleasure!"
Unlike at Hinata's home, Natsu's room is just near the kitchen
Her room is also decorated with things with connection to her interests, mostly about volleyball. Her wall's mostly covered with posters of her favorite volleyball players
"The typical room for a sports loving person"
"You noticed? Thanks"
"Do you play any other sports aside from volleyball?"
"Now that you mentioned it, no"
"Hey Tiffany, did you know that Natsu led her school volleyball team to many victories in many tournaments?"
"You're kidding!"
"She isn't, look" she proudly shows off her trophies and medals
"Wow! Congratulations Natsu!"
"Thank you!" she jokingly bowed down, causing them both to laugh their butts off
"You don't need to do that!" joked Hinata
"Why not?" *chuckles*
Feeling happy and all, they left as usual.
"Both of your rooms are as cool as mine!"
The two childhood friends replied with a friendly smile.
"Since it's just two weeks before that school reunion, let's say we roam around and have fun!"
"Tiffany you read my mind!" exclaimed Hinata
"I wanna have fun too as well. But first-"
"But first?" Hinata butted in.
"We have to do something with your luggage there"
"Oh yeah, that make sense"
"Can I leave them in one of your homes?" they both disagreed "NO" they said in unison
"On our way to the airport to pick you up, we saw your Pacific dorm" explained Hinata
"You both saw my dorm? Is it still usable?"
"I believe so"
"So we figure that you leave your stuff there" added Natsu
"OK then, let's go to my dorm!"
Having arrived at her dorm via taxi, Tiffany couldn't be any happier to see her High School dorm again for the first time
"OMG! I can't believe my dorm is still here!" she jumped in excitement, much to the embarrassment of Hinata and Natsu
"I guess she really misses this place don't you think Hinata?"
"I agree with you a 100%. I mean look at her, it's like she's homesick or something"
"Definitely…" they communicated in a low tone
"Thank you guys for bringing me here! I feel nothing but nostalgia right now!"
"We're happy that we did!"
"Indeed"
*sigh* "This place brings back so many memories. Well let's go in!"
"You still have the keys to it?"
"It may come as a surprise but yeah. I figured I bring it along with me for it brings back a lot of memories"
"It sure did right now" mentioned Natsu
Once she opened her dorm for the first time in years, she felt very joyful and couldn't hold back her excitement
"OMG and Double OMG! It remained the way it was before! I'm very, very happy right now!" again, she jumped in pleasure
Like before, the two childhood friends are embarrassed by her antics
"She really, really, really does feel nostalgic doesn't she?"
"Yeah, but come on Natsu, she hasn't been here for a very, very long time now"
"Yeah, I'll give her that"
"Don't just stand there you two! Feel yourselves at home!"
"My pleasure!" Hinata took off her shoes and jumped on her bed "Ahh! No wonder you're so jolly every day, your room has everything you could ask for!"
"Especially the cool air-conditioning here!" Natsu stretched both her arms up "It's so nice in here! I'm so jealous of you!"
"L. O. L. Come on Natsu knock yourself out!"
"With pleasure!" she joined Hinata on Tiffany's bed "Watch out Hinata!"
"NATSU!" both friends tackle each other playfully. "Hey don't leave me behind!" Tiffany joined in too.
The friendly tackling turned into a pillow fight
"PILLOW FIGHT!" Tiffany struck the first blow and the other two fights at it as well
After several minutes of playing, they become exhausted and just laughed at each other's antics
"Ahh, this is the life…"
"No question; I don't want this to end!"
Tiffany was the first one to get up as the other two continue to indulge themselves on her bed
"Where are you going Tiffany?" Natsu got up too
"Nowhere, I'm just gonna arrange my things in my luggage"
Her question now answered, she noticed that Hinata seemed to have fallen asleep on Tiffany's bed
"Aww, sleeping like a baby"
"Did you say something Natsu?"
"Nothing, just looking at Hinata sleeping on your bed"
"Oh is she?"
"Yup, sleeping like a cute Shiba Inu puppy"
"Yeah that happens a lot sometimes to my friends when they visit here and Hinata's now one of them!"
"Agreed!" their conversation kinda woke her up
"What's going on?"
"You fell asleep"
"I did? Sorry"
"It's fine. Happens to many of my friends as well"
"And now you're one of them!" Natsu added
"He he, I sure am" she got up and stretched her body "At least, I've got some rest though"
Done rearranging her belongings, she tidied herself up
"Hey guys, since I'm in Japan again for the first time in a very long time, let's say we have fun some other time since I'm still tired and groggy from the flight"
"Natsu and I agree on that since us ourselves spent a few nights in the airport waiting for you"
"Whoa, you two really have to do that?"
"Yeah"
"Well, thank you anyways for waiting for my arrival"
"That's what BFFs are for!"
Suddenly, the blonde Pacific student remembered something "Oh I almost forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
"Just something, sit tight, I'll go get it" she went back to her luggage, looking for something once more
Natsu & Hinata looked at each other, having no clue on what's on Tiffany's mind
"Here they are!" what she's holding right now in her hand are souvenirs from her country. A pink beret for Hinata and a pair of lovely high heel shoes for Natsu
"SOUVENIRS!"
Her friends are delightfully surprised upon being showed
"Aww, I thought you forgot to give us!"
"But I did! Here you go guys!" she gave it to them
Hinata tried on the American headwear "It fits!" she looked at the mirror "I look so cute with this on! Thanks Tiffany!"
Natsu is gazing at her new pair of formal footwear "Go ahead Natsu, try it on!"
"I will, I will… they're glamorous I'll say" she tried them on made a little test walk "Wow, they feel good to my feet! I love it!"
"I knew you two would love it!"
"We sure did. Did you pick these out wisely and carefully?" Hinata got curious, still wearing the beret
"Absolutely, courtesy of the Hollywood lifestyle magazines I love reading so much!"
"Awesome, I'm going to wear these high heels for the reunion"
"You will? I'm so flattered! Thank you!" she gave her a hug
"You're welcome Tiffany!" then Hinata joined in the fray "Group hug!" she jumped on the two, causing all three of them to trip on the floor and just like in their friendly pillow fight minutes earlier, they laughed at their own antics again
Almost night time and Natsu and Hinata are now back home
Tiffany, in her PJs, decided to check her Facebook. After checking and notifications and answering messages, friend requests/suggestions, requests and invites, she checked the event regarding the reunion and to her disappointment, Roy and his 5 other pals still didn't reply
"Oh no, he still hasn't replied… Please Roy, please attend"
-ONE WEEK BEFORE THE REUNION-
-APRIL 18-
Just woken up from a good night sleep, the Pacific bombshell is having her daily morning workout inside her dorm. Since she hasn't been in this place for a long time now, she feels very nostalgic
"I really miss this place; the good times will never die"
Now done working out, she sat down on the floor for a few minutes "I feel so relaxed right now"
Her cell phone suddenly rang "Hello?"
"Hey Tiffany, its Hinata, Natsu and I are planning have an outing later, wanna join us?"
"I'd love too! Where will it be?"
"That's a surprise!"
"I love surprises! What time are we gonna leave anyway?"
"Around 12:30, Natsu & I we'll pick you up there in your place"
"OK, I'll be waiting"
"Sure thing, see ya!"
"You too!" conversation ends
"OMG! I'll be having a fun trip with Natsu & Hinata today! It's something I always wanted to do for a long time now! Time to pick out my clothes while it's still early" immediately, she went for closet, picking out what to wear for later
Back in their neighborhood, at Natsu's place, Hinata's staying there to have breakfast with her
"Your cooking's delicious!"
"Thanks Hinata! Don't you have food at your house?"
"I do, but they're not my type anyway"
"Why do you say that?"
"They're just not stomach-friendly to me" *giggles*
"OK. So did you tell Tiffany about our plans for today?"
"I sure did, I can tell that she's more excited about this than the two of us"
"Yup, no surprise there since she's been dreaming to roam around in Japan, and now she has the chance"
"She's never going to forget this day!"
"Indeed. By the way, you didn't tell her where we're going?"
"Nope, I told her it's gonna be a surprise"
"Good, I thought you'd spoil her"
"And I didn't" *giggles*
-10:35AM-
Back at her dorm, Tiffany finished taking her shower and is now dressing up to the clothes she selected for the trip later. One of which included is her trademark blue colored headband with a white star on that she wore during her time with Roy and Boman years earlier
Now fully clothed, she lies on her bed to relax while they arrive to pick her up. Looking out the window of her apartment, she fixed her eyes on the ground to ease her mind a bit, most notably about the undeniable fact that Roy and his 5 buddies haven't replied yet to the event
2 hours later, they finally arrived with the taxi waiting for them. They approached near her door step
"How do I look? Fine?" asked Natsu
"You always look fine in whatever you wear" Hinata is already wearing the pink beret Tiffany had for her as a souvenir
"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you, and I can say the same to you as well, especially when you're already wearing that beret she got for you just yesterday"
"Thanks" with all that said and done, she knocked on her door
Hearing the knock, she got up and tidied her attire "Must be them now, they're right in time" Bringing along her handbag, she walked near the door
To be sure of herself, she picked through the door hole and it was them "And I was right, and they look good in what they're wearing" *gasps* "She's already wearing the souvenir I got for her! She must've really loved it"
She opened it and is immediately greeted by the two "Hi Tiffany!"
"Looking good, Tiffany!" Natsu complimented
"Hey you guys and I noticed that you're already wearing that beret I got for you!"
"You noticed huh? Can't help it, I've always dreamed of having a beret!"
"I'm happy that I got one for you!"
"Wait a minute, ain't that thing on your head the same one you wore back then?" Natsu noticed
"Whoa, you're right, it definitely is the one"
"I missed wearing this since I've graduated here"
"Feeling nostalgic eh? Us too!"
Their interaction was interrupted by the horn honking by the taxi driver, who's been waiting for long already
"I guess he's losing patience already, let's get a move on" Hinata informed, and they're off
Now inside the taxi, sitting at the backseat, they await their destination
"How far is the place?"
"Not that far, trust me Natsu & I have been there several times before you came along"
"I see. Is the place fun?"
"Very, very fun indeed. Just be patient, we'll be there"
"I shall wait then" she just waited
An hour has passed and they're almost near their destination for fun and Tiffany seemed to have dowsed off
"Tiffany, we're here already!" Hinata attempted to wake her up, which she did
*yawn* "What's going on?"
"We're here already" Natsu snapped her fingers to keep her awake
Now awake, she looked around "Is it that one?" she pointed to the right
"Yup that's the one" the surprise is finally revealed, they'll be hanging out at an anime festival
"Is that an anime festival?"
They both nodded in a positive way "Wow! Now I can finally attend this event!" her remark kinda surprised them
"You haven't been to one yet?"
"That's right Natsu! I've seen a lot back home but I never get the chance to attend one until now"
"I see" Hinata had her mouth wide open, quite in disbelief
The taxi finally stopped and they exited the vehicle with Natsu paying the driver.
They now enter the anime festival
"This place is so cool!" then again, it's her first time attending the event
"It's more than cool, it's so freakin' awesome!" Hinata then saw a rack full of anime stuff toys "Wow, they all look so cute!"
Tiffany joined along and also got induced by cuteness overload, much to Natsu's annoyance "I knew something like this will happen" To avoid ending up like them, she moved around to look for anything that suits her taste; she noticed a set of anime figurines. Her favorite type of anime is those of the sports genre
Unlike the other two, she didn't pull out a cutie face and simply gazed and grinned at the detailed design of each figurine
Done looking at the toy section, the three went for the costume section. There, they tried on various outfits
"Oh Tiffany you look so lovely in that kimono!" complimented Hinata
"Arigato Gozaimasu!" she used Nihonggo dialect once again and they are pleased by it again
"Wait there, let me take a picture of you in that!" she pulled out her cell phone and took an image of her
"You look very glamorous!" Natsu complimented
"Arigato Natsu!" she took it off and placed it back where she got it "I wanna have this though"
"You want us to buy it for you?"
"No, no it's fine!" the two agreed on buying it for her "Since you got us souvenirs from the U.S., we figured that Hinata and I give you something back in return"
"It's OK, really I app-" she was cut off by the Taiyo student "Excuse me, how much is the kimono?" she asked the cashier in their native language
"60Y" she pulled out some Yen from her purse and purchased it for her. Now the kimono is in a bag
"Thank you!" she gave the now purchased set of clothes to her "Here you go Tiffany! Enjoy!"
"Ha ha, thank you so much both of you!"
"It's the best we can do!" added Natsu
They continued to be at the event for the whole day until sundown
After hours of having fun, they're now on their to their respective homes and called it a day
Tiffany dropped off the bus in front of her dorm
"Bye you two and thank you again for this kimono"
"Our pleasure, see you again!" the bus left with her waving back at them until they're far away
For the next 5 days, all they did is have fun, hangout and go to many cool places
-APRIL 24-
4 days before the reunion.
Early Afternoon
Outside Tiffany's dorm, Natsu and Hinata are playing volleyball while Tiffany watches on, sitting on a bench, enjoying the outdoor scenario, with her laptop, playing one of her favorite Facebook games
"Heads up Hinata!" she tosses the ball to her side
"Got it!" tossing it back
"Impressive moves you got there!"
"Thanks, but you're the pro here!"
"I know!" she made a hard pass "heads up!"
"I got it" but she didn't, she missed "Aww darn it!"
"I win again…"
"Yeah, a lot of times. Lemme tally that up, you 12, me 0"
*chuckles* "You'll be good at volleyball if you practice some more"
"Sure, sure…" They later turned their attention to her, still using her laptop
"Umm Tiffany"
"Yes, what is it Natsu?"
"Wanna play with us?"
"Gee, I'm not into sports much even though I was a cheerleader, but sure, why not?"
"Goodie! You'll team up with me and we'll play against Natsu!"
"Sure, but ain't that a little unfair, don't you think?"
"Its fine, she's more pro in this sport anyway"
"If you say so then" she paused her game and joined in
Teaming up with Hinata, round 2 began, with Natsu serving again
"Watch out!"
"There!" Hinata spiked it back, with Tiffany just standing, having no clue of the sports' basics or rules but is in a prepared stance "Hey, I don't know anything about this sport"
"It's simple, just observe us and you'll get the hang of it" Natsu caught the ball and tosses it back to Hinata
"Watch and learn, Tiff!"
"Umm, sure thing…" she just stood there, observing them
After watching them toss the ball back at each other for long, she's ready "OK, I get it now. Bring it!"
"As you wish!" Natsu spiked the ball towards her.
"Here goes nothing!" she positioned herself, and spiked it with all her might. Much to their surprise, her strike had the ball too high and they readied themselves, not knowing which side it will fall to. Eventually, it's nearing on Natsu's side
"Here it is!" she made her move, but much to her shock, she missed and the ball landed on the ground, thus, marking her first defeat
"Oh my gosh! We won Tiffany!" Hinata gave her a bear hug "Yeah, we sure did!"
"I can't believe it… I lost to a couple of rookies" she pouted, crossing her arms
"Come on Natsu, don't be such a sore loser, it's just a game"
"He he, I know, I'm just caught off guard on how fast that Tiffany learned"
"Me too, call it beginner's luck?" mentioned Hinata
"Perhaps" all three laughed "Anyways, it was a fun game. You impressed us there, Tiffany"
"Agreed. Even I can't do that no matter how many times tried"
"Oh it's nothing!" giving them a friendly grin, she went back to using her laptop. Done playing with her game, she checked her profile if there's any new wall posts
"Just a few days before the fun reunion, I'm getting excited! Don't you Natsu?"
"Sure am, not only I'm getting to see Shoma, Roberto & Nagare again, but also the juniors I always coach"
"Nice, well I get to see Batsu, Kyosuke, Ran, Chairperson and Sakura too!"
"Speaking of them, you think they already made some preparations for it?"
"I believe so; I'll call Sakura to be sure" she took out her cell phone
In Taiyo High School, Sakura, Ran, Chairperson and numerous other students and personnel are organizing and planning the events and other things needed
"Hello? Sakura speaking"
"Hey, it's me"
"Oh Hinata hey! What's up?"
"Not much, how are the preparations for the upcoming reunion?"
"Oh about that, well all is going well" or so she thinks "No, no! I want that over there!" yelled Chairperson
"Is everything OK there? Was that Iicho?"
"Yeah it's her"
"Sakura! How about spending less time making calls and more time helping out?"
"But Iicho, this is Hinata, she's just wondering how everything is going for the reunion"
"Oh, well what did you tell her?"
"I told her that everything's fine" Ran suddenly tripped on a small rock "I'm fine! Ouch, my butt!" she struggled to get back on her feet
"I don't think "Fine" is the right word"
"He he, can't think of any other word, he he"
"May I talk to her?"
"Sure here" she hands over her phone to her "Hinata?"
"Chairperson, long time, no talk! How are the preparations going on?"
"Sakura said fine, but in my case, not so fine"
"What? Why? Did something bad happen?"
"No, it's just now that we're finally organizing the place"
"Oh, but it's still on the 28th of April"
"I know, but there'll be more than just placing chairs and tables"
"Like what?"
"You'll find out this coming Thursday" she heard a ladder fell on top of two people, fortunately they weren't hurt. Another mishap happened "Grrr, I hope that'll be the last…" she mumbled
"Did you say something?"
"Oh no, it's nothing, I just remembered something. Anyways, I, Sakura and Ran have many things to handle right now so see you on Thursday"
"Yeah, see you three!" before the conversation ends "Umm Chairperson, I almost forgot to say something"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Please tell Sakura good luck in hosting the event!"
"Wow, didn't expect that to come out of her mouth" "Of course, I will tell Sakura that!"
"Thanks! I'll talk to her now"
"Sure" she handed back the phone "Hey Hinata"
"Can't wait for this coming Thursday!"
"Me too! See ya there!" suddenly Ran called her "Sakura, help me organize these set of chairs!"
"I'll be there! Sorry Hinata, but I gotta do my part in helping, talk to you next time!"
"Sure thing, bye!"
"Bye also, see you on April 28th!" the conversation ends "Coming Ran!"
"Hey Sakura! Hinata told me to tell you this"
"What is it?"
"She said good luck in hosting"
"Oh, tell her thanks"
"One more thing, you better not mess up!" she threateningly pointed her index finger in front of her
"I won't! That's a promise!" she playfully saluted
"So what did Sakura say?"
"Well, she and Chairperson said they have a lot of things to do & finish before Thursday"
"Oh, but it will continue on right?"
"Of course it will, I don't want it to be cancelled!"
Back to Tiffany
She checked the status of the number of attending people on the reunion, hoping that there'll be some change but there isn't, and the ones on the "Awaiting reply" section are none other than Roy and his 5 pals
Her face has disappointment written all over it "No…" her soft wail was heard
"Did you say something Tiffany?" Hinata noticed
"Nothing, nothing! I just yawned" she tried to cover up the sad feeling on her face by pulling out a grin like before, but to no avail
"What happened to your face?" Natsu noticed the expression on her face
"I'm just tired that's all, I'm off to the bathroom, and I'll just go wash my face!"
She then ran off, leaving her laptop behind
"I think something's bothering her, Natsu"
"I'm with you there, something is really bothering her and I believe it's something she saw or read on Facebook"
"You think?
"Possible, let's check" they both checked her laptop. They searched carefully for it
"I don't see anything here, she's just checking Facebook"
"I know, but let's look closely"
Upon looking hard enough, they soon discovered the reason behind their overseas friend's sudden mood change
"Now I see why…" Hinata pointed "look at the names of the 6 people who have yet to reply"
"Yeah, me too, look at the ones on the "Awaiting Reply" list, its Roy and 5 other people"
"Can't argue with that; she's probably upset about the fact that he hasn't replied yet, then again, she has yet to confess her love for him"
"She needs our help, whether she likes it or not" Along with her laptop, they went in her room to talk about their friend's current dilemma. The two sat on her bed and began to think of a plan to cheer her up
"We have to do something about this, Hinata"
"No kidding, Roy is someone she's in love with ever since; I don't blame her for being upset about him not yet replying to the event"
"Exactly, it's just 4 days before the event and she's already like this"
"I know right? We gotta think of something that the two of us can do to cheer her up"
Speak of the devil; Tiffany exited the bathroom, an excuse she used to avoid them finding out of her current problem, which they did earlier
"Crap, I forgot my laptop outside!" heading back to where she was previously "It's not there, so is Natsu and Hinata. They must've took it with them" she reached her room
"Maybe a little rest on my bed will clear my mind a bit" reaching her door, she's about to turn the knob until she heard voices inside
She soon found out that Natsu and Hinata are inside
"Hmm, they're in my room already" listening to their conversation closely, she discovered that they're talking about her current dilemma
"Natsu, I have a question"
"And that is?"
"If you were in Tiffany's shoes, what would you feel?"
"In her situation now? I'd say disappointed I guess"
"Close enough…"
"Boy, we really need to think of a way to get her mind off this problem"
"Natsu! Ain't that a little selfish?"
"You're right, I'm sorry. I give up, I'm out of ideas"
"What about singing?"
"Whoa, where'd you get that idea?"
"It's the only way"
"Fine, so how does it go?"
"How did they now about all this?" it dawned to her *gasps* "They must've looked at the guest list on Facebook! I knew I should've logged out"
Shocked and not knowing what to do, Tiffany just stood there, deciding not to enter her room and just listens to their conversation
After some time and giving it much thought, both Hinata and Natsu are on the verge of giving up on the former's plan
"This is harder than I thought"
"So call it quits?"
Hinata didn't answer, she just remained speechless, so does Natsu; both have an almost emotionless expressions on both of their faces. There was silence, until it was shattered when Tiffany slowly opened the door and enters
They eyeballed one another for a moment
"So you knew, am I correct?" she asked them both. Their only respond was a positive nod "I see" she had a long face and joined in sitting with them on her bed
Hinata was the first one to speak "Tiffany"
"Yeah?"
"You really love him right?"
"From the bottom of my heart, yes I really, really love him"
"So did you listen to what Natsu & I were talking about?"
"Yeah"
"What are your thoughts about it?"
"The truth is… I… I can't sing"
"What're you talking about? You can sing. Remember the time when the three of us enjoyed doing karaoke some time ago? Your voice is beautiful"
Natsu joined in the conversation "She's not lying you know, your voice is very beautiful indeed" she complimented honestly
"You two really think so?"
"From the bottom of both our hearts"
"Thanks you two, but Roy hasn't replied yet"
"We're aware of that, maybe he will appear even if he didn't reply to it"
"I hope so"
"So will you sing with us on the reunion this Thursday?" Hinata asked her again
She gave it some thought "Alright, I'll do it!"
"You will?"
"You bet, let's do it!" she managed to grin a bit. "Alright Tiffany!" she praised
"That's the spirit Tiffany!" Natsu gave her a friendly pat on the head
"How many songs will we perform?"
"Natsu and I agreed that we'll only perform only 1 song"
"Just one song? That's fine by me"
"Yeah, singing more than one song is time consuming" Natsu agreed
"Alright then; Final question, what song?"
"The song will be "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson" answered Natsu
"That song? I love that song! That song's like from the '80s"
"I think so too! Every time I hear that song, not only it reminds me of my mom 'coz she plays it every time on the radio, I think about love!" Hinata joined in "Especially in your case, Tiffany!"
"Sure, sure, thanks. When are we gonna start rehearsing?"
"Supposed to be today but I forgot that Natsu and I have some stuff to do today; by tomorrow, we'll be free until before the reunion"
"Alright, thanks again you two"
"You're most certainly welcome!"
From that day forward, they rehearsed their performance over and over until they get it right.
In Tiffany's case, this might be her only chance to see the boy she always had feelings for a very long time already
-APRIL 27-
Wednesday, a day left before the reunion.
Hinata & Natsu have been staying at Tiffany's dorm for their rehearsal of their one time only performance tomorrow. They've been doing this for the past couple of days.
Right now, the trio of friends decided to take a break first
"Finally a break! I can rest my throat for now; I'm already running out of saliva!" exclaimed the Gorin volleyball player, sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall
"Same here, Natsu!" the Taiyo student sipped some water from her glass, so did Tiffany, who cleared her throat before doing so
"Are you feeling alright, Tiffany?"
"It's nothing, we did rehearse anyway right? So it's normal for this to happen"
"Yeah, that's true"
"One more thing, did you inform your friend Sakura about this?"
"I sure did; she told this to Chairperson and she approved of it, though not what I expect it to be"
Prior to them rehearsing today, Hinata texted Sakura, informing her about the matter
"Hey Iicho!"
"What is it now Sakura?"
"Hinata told me something regarding the event"
"Let me hear it"
"Hinata requested that she, along with Natsu and Tiffany, will be performing one song in front of everybody tomorrow"
"I see, since we have a lot of time tomorrow, sure why not? Anyways, I also heard from Boman that a band will be performing tomorrow as well"
Ran joined in "Look at the bright side, at least we now have 2 performances for the reunion, doesn't that sound great?"
"I agree Ran, so it's settled, Hinata, and Natsu & Tiffany will have their special number before the band that Boman told me about will perform, agreed?"
"YES!" Ran & Sakura said in unison
"I have to go to the restroom, Tiffany; do you know where it is?"
"Once you're out, on your left, you'll see a blue door, that's the restroom"
"Thanks" she stood up
"Wait up, Natsu, I have to answer nature too" so did Hinata "Tiffany, wanna join us?"
"Its fine, you two go on ahead"
"Alrighty then" both are now out
Now alone for a short time, she checked her Facebook for the final time to see if there's any changes on the guest list. She anxiously waited for the outcome as the page loads. Once again, the numbers remain the same
"Roy, no…" she now feels like backing out
While in the restroom, finished answering nature, the two fix their appearance in front of the mirror, discussing what awaits them tomorrow
"Can't wait for tomorrow!" muttered Hinata, unable to hold her excitement
"Me too, we get to see our friends from our respective schools"
"Yeah, but I am a bit nervous for what the three of us will do"
"Look who's talking, since this was your idea, well…"
"I know, I know. Anyways, I hope Tiffany will, well, you know"
"I get your point. She really hope he's coming tomorrow"
"Whether he will or not, we gotta pull this off well"
"I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with you on that last one"
"Yeah, I feel bad for her though"
"Agreed"
Back inside her dorm room, they notice her sitting in front of her laptop with a sad expression on her face
They immediately know why she's like that as Hinata took a peek on her laptop and is unsurprised by what she saw
Even Natsu can sense it as well "Let me guess, he hasn't replied yet?"
"Yeah" Tiffany only responded with a nod "And the big day's tomorrow" closing her photo album
Hinata comforted her "At least you have us" caressing her blonde hair
Natsu remained silent, but her face shows concern too… until she spoke
"Tiffany" both her and Hinata turned to her attention
"No matter what happens, Hinata & I will be there by your side"
"If anything happens?" Tiffany repeated what she said
"Absolutely, you can count on us!" Hinata stayed optimistic
"No matter what it is?" they both nodded. She struggled to stay positive as well "Thanks you guys, I feel a lot better now"
"Much oblige, now shall we rehearse?"
"You bet! Let's do it!" in her typical cheerful self as usual
"At a girl, Tiffany!" praised Natsu. With that, they rehearsed for tomorrow's once in a lifetime 5-school reunion
