A/N: It's no secret (nor is it common knowledge) that I started writing and reading Fan fiction about Harry Potter. For this very reason I had become absolutely disgusted with romance fics. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just go to that section and click on the first story you see and try to hold your lunch. It seems that if you've read one love story, you've read them all. As a result of reading too many bad romance fics, I became cold hearted and swore myself off of romance for good. Anyone who's read Art of the Swing knows that this swearing didn't last. However I did learn one thing from my reading of romance stories (especially the couple of them that were good): Never write a conventional or overly sappy love story. So I just wanted to warn you all that this won't be what you'd expect. I'd like to think it's better than the average stuff, but really that's for you to decided. Ultimately I think the stuff about friendship could kick the pants off the romance any day.

On Love and Friendship

Part I

"Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?"

"When you fell from heaven because you must be an angel."

"Are you tired? Because you've been running through my mind all day long."

"If I could rearrange the alphabet I would put 'U' and 'I' together."

I've decided that most girls are stupid.

I don't mean this negatively. I'm just saying that to fall for these lines (heck, any line) you must be stupid. I have tried every line in the book on the female populous of Mabase High School and not a single girl has turned me down. The sad thing is that these same girls wanted nothing to do with me mere months before. If someone was to mention the name Masashi their response was likely to be "Who's Masashi?" But now they were practically throwing themselves at me because I was in a band. It didn't matter how stupid my words were or how sleazy I acted, these girls just wanted a piece of a "band boy".

This is not to say I haven't tried to get rid of them. Oh I've given them some of the most horrible lines I could think of (I even did an internet search for a few of them) but none of them have managed to fail.

"If I pet you, would you follow me home?"

"The only thing your eyes haven't told me is your name."

And the ever so popular "I have only three months to live..."

So when Keiko walked up to me in the hallway, I decided I'd give her my absolute worst.

"Hi Keiko," I said making an effort to stare her down as she walked towards me.

"Hi Masashi," she said sweetly. I took a short breath and delivered.

"Girl, if I looked the way you look when you walk, I'd walk everywhere I went."

She stared at me in utter confusion for a moment, as if both of us had lost our minds. Then as cool as a cucumber she says, "Well why don't you come with me to see the school play this Saturday. If you play your cards right, I might teach you more than how to walk." Then she winked.

Of course I was disgusted by the fact that she would even dare to talk to me after such a line. It truly was sickening. But Keiko wasn't an ugly girl and I really didn't have anything better to do on Saturday so I said yes. I needed a break from working all the time anyways. She walked away with a sway in her hips and I was left to stare after her. Not that I'm complaining.

"She's pretty hot," said a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around slowly expecting to see my friend Gaku drooling and smiling at the girl that had just left. I was in for a slight surprise as he wasn't drooling. He was smiling, however, but there was an eerie quality to it.

"Yeah, she's a nice girl. She just asked me to the play on Saturday."

"Did you accept?"

"Yeah. I figured I needed a break from all the work I've been doing." At these words, Gaku's odd smile widened.

"You have been working a lot," he said in a tone of voice that almost sounded mocking. "Between your jobs and your new hobby, it's no wonder I barely ever see you anymore."

And then I understood that he knew about the band. How could he not?

"But it's good that you're making time for fun though. I'm sure with all those practices and stage performances it must be tough on you. At least now you've found a good looking girl."

"Maybe I could hook you up with one of her friends," I suggested, even though I knew it probably wouldn't help. "We could go to the play together and have lots of fun. How about it?"

And then the anger came.

"I can find my own date! Just because I'm not in some stupid band doesn't mean I can't get a girl!"

"I didn't mean it that way. I was just offering to help you out. No need to take it personally."

"Don't take it personally?" he asked with sarcasm dripping from every word. "How could I not take it personally? My best friend claims that he'll never join a band that won't accept his friend. What was it you said, 'Any band that's too good for Gaku, isn't good enough for me'? Well I'm glad to see that you're a man of your word Masashi! You're a real good friend!"

"Look Gaku, it's not like that. I don't want to be in this stupid band, but I need the money. I was desperate! You know my situation."

"Yeah I understand alright. You're just using some dying old guy as an excuse to be in the band. That's real low!"

"You shut up about my Grandpa!"

"No you shut up!" he yelled at me. I think by then we were both beyond the point of reason. At least that's what his lousy comeback meant to me. "Your just in this for yourself! Even if you were doing it for that old geezer, it wouldn't help any. You can't save a man who's that far gone Masashi. Lets face it, You're a-"

But I never found out what I was. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I guess I really didn't have to think. I just tackled him right there in the middle of the hallway. Fists flew and I think we both struck a few critical blows. When the teachers pulled us apart I was sporting a cut lip and Masashi was holding onto his stomach.

"You're no friend of mine Masashi! I hate you!" My math teacher was struggling to keep him from breaking free. But the teacher who held me (whoever he was) didn't even have to try. I'd given up.

"I'm sorry Gaku, but it's out of my hands. Naota's the one you should hate. He's the reason you're not in the band."

"At least Naota tells the truth!" he said as he finally allowed himself to be dragged to the principals office. And neither of us spoke again until we got there. Then we worked together to create a story that would lesson our sentence if not get us off the hook. I forget exactly how, but we managed to make the whole thing seem like a misunderstanding. I think I said something like, "I thought Gaku stole my Science book, but it was in my locker the whole time."

Well whatever I said, it worked. Instead of getting suspended we both just got Saturday detentions. But no matter how good I was at covering my back, there was nothing I could do to get Gaku to forgive me.

I'll be the first to admit that I'd been blinded. Ever since the death of my parents I'd been shutting things out. It's strange how much you miss when you don't allow yourself to feel.

Someone calls you a jerk and you shrug at them or call them a jerk back. You don't feel bad about it. You don't really feel anything. A girl says you look cute and you tell them they look cute too. Or you just thank them for the complement. You don't think, "wow so and so likes me" or "maybe I should ask her out". You just accept it for what it is.

It felt so natural to ignore all the feelings and things floating around me because if I felt one thing I'd have to feel it all. If I felt angry sometimes I'd have to feel glad. If I felt happy sometimes I'd have to feel sad. If I felt the joys of the world around me I'd have to feel the pain of my past. I'd have to face the death of my parents again. So I shut myself from myself, if that makes any sense. I even shut myself from those around me, opting for solitude instead of friends. This lifestyle suited me for a while, but thanks to Naota I was romanced by the feelings of the soul. Now it seems as if I'm back in the world and my emotions have never been more vivid.

I said all of that to say this: Feeling feels like crap.

When you feel something about something that means you care about it. And when you care about something you're bound to get hurt. So that was my big mistake. I began to care too much. I cared too much about the my life, my new friends, the band, and the people I saw from day to day. But most of all I had begun to especially care about girls. I know that sounds superficial, but it's the truth and there's nothing I can do about that. There was a good reason for it though.

Towards the end of spring, love was in the air almost as much as the flu. People were pairing up left and right. Those who had somebody to love, loved the crap out of them and those who didn't hated themselves or everyone else. I call this phenomenon High School Romance. It has been in existence from the very beginning of time (or so it seems) and always will be. It doesn't matter whether you're surprised by it or expect it, or whether you hate it or love it. It is something that no woman or man (age 13-19) can escape. I was no exception.

The subject of my affection was surprisingly not Eri Ninamori. I say surprisingly because everyone else thinks we're going out. There are so many rumors about the two of us that I'm almost convinced we're married. It is understandable though since Ninamori has been acting kind of strangely around me. I mean, most of the time she treats me just like a friend, but I've noticed that when we're around other people (especially on stage) she's different. When we're in a crowd she seems to make an effort to stare at me. Well, she doesn't really stare at me as much as she throws glances, constant glances. It seems as if every time I'm looking at her, she's looking at me. One time we were walking to our lockers together and the halls were empty. She just walked by my side and we talked. Then the bell rung and everyone started coming out of classrooms from all directions. In this confusion, Ninamori grabbed my hand and continued to walk as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I didn't know what to do so I just followed her lead. There's also the times that we're doing our performances. She always gives me this strange, yet sweet look before we play American Band Boy. And then when we're done for the night she always ends up by giving me a kiss on stage. If I didn't know any better I'd say that she wanted everyone to believe we were together, but when we're alone we're simply platonic. As a result of this I spend most of my social life trying to convince people that I'm not dating her.

The most important of the people I needed to convince that I was single was a girl named Takara Dontknowherlastname. Takara is a beautiful girl of the age of 17. She has shoulder length black hair and bright blue eyes that wouldn't be so bright or blue without her contact lenses. She's about 5'6" and she weighs 111 pounds. I knew all of this, but I did not know her last name. I'm sure I've heard it before, but for the life of me I couldn't remember.

She sat next to me in geometry and I was doing poorly because I couldn't concentrate. I was getting a B in the class and the only reason pulled that off was because I'd actually been studying at home. This is really pathetic because I've already taken Geometry. I should be taking Calculus, but they held me back because I came from another school. I'm still a senior and all, but they won't let me take the advanced classes.

A few weeks ago our teacher gave a test. He said that we were aloud to use our calculator, but we only had until the end of the class to finish. No extra time. Takara was handling it well. She started off with a bang. She was zipping through each problem with ease. Then she got to what I assumed was the middle of the test (I wasn't looking at her paper, I was looking at her.) She had a bit of trouble there, but not much. I could see her biting her pencil as she thought. Normally I'd say that was a disgusting habit. It dents the pencil and spreads saliva around. But for her I couldn't help but find it cute.

I didn't see how Takara faired with the end of the test because I finally snapped out of my daze and realized that I had barely written anything on mine. There was only half the period left and I had almost the whole test to do. I managed to finish about 3 quarters of the test, but I ran out of time in the end. The last four answers all turned out to be the number 7. Ironically two of them were right. The bell wrung and I was pretty angry with myself. The teacher made me stay after class. After an embarrassing 5-minute conversation about why I was actually looking at Takara, he let me leave with a warning: "don't let it happen again."

Once again I realize that I'm rambling. The point of all this is to say that I was sprung. My nose was wide open, I had it bad, and I was very caught up. I had a thing for her, I liked her that special way, and I undeniably had a crush. She was like a tall glass of water and I was dying for a drink. You can say it anyway you like, but it's really all the same. I wanted Takara to be my girl, plain and simple.

There were, of course, a few obstacles in my way. First and most importantly, the two of us barely ever socialized with each other. Sure we'd talked every now and then, but mostly about schoolwork and other mundane things. Then there was the fact that I was only half sure she felt the same way. We'd exchanged what I'd like to call "significant glances" and she laughs at most of my jokes… that's about it. And last but not least, there was the ever so annoying and ever so obvious fact that I didn't know her last name.

So I wasted months trying to find the perfect opportunity to ask her out (and find out her full name), but it never came. I just wanted things to be perfect since she was to be the first girl that I'd ever asked out on a date. But by the time the play came along I realized that there would be no perfect situation. There wasn't going to be some random holiday called "tell Takara You Like Her Day" and I probably wouldn't come out of this looking like a Casanova. So I buckled up and did what I had to do. I figured, I was the drummer in a popular band and I was 17 and in the prime of my youth. It's not going to get much better than that.

I stalked Takara down after geometry and asked her to go with me to the play. It was an awkward occasion and I think I mentally blacked out during parts of it. I know I didn't meet her eyes the whole time I was asking. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I think it went a little something like this:

"Hi Takara"

"Hi Sanji"

Silence.

"So… I heard there was a play on Saturday and I was thinking about going. (World's worst line ahead) I'm sure there'll be plenty of empty seats so it would be cool if you sat next to me and all… if you wanted to that is."

There was giggling, but not from me.

"Are you asking me on a date Sanji?"

"Well, I mean not a date, unless a date is what you wanted, but if it isn't then I'm not because I don't want to do anything that you don't want to do because that would be… I'm rambling aren't I? Yeah I'm asking you on a date."

There was giggling again.

"Sure, I'd be happy to go to the play with you, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm in the play. I've got the lead role."

"Oh crap… I'm sorry… I mean I understand. Bye."

I was extreemly embarassed and began to walk away.

"Sanji?" she called after me.

"Yeah?"

"We could still meet up after the play. You know, go grab a bite to eat or something."

I smiled sickeningly wide, but I couldn't help it.

"That sounds, great. I'll see you then."

I'm not sure if you'd call that cute or stupid, but that's how it went down.

That Saturday I went to the play. I remember that night very well because even today I consider it my first date… it may not have went exactly as I planned it, but it did end up being a date. I took a seat between Naota and Ninamori in the front row of the auditorium. I really didn't want to sit next to Ninamori that night seeing as though I'd be meeting up with another girl later on, but I didn't have much of a choice. Our auditorium is remarkably small and the play had sold out for it's opening night. Besides, they were the only real friends I knew and I didn't want to sit alone.

The play that would be performed for the evening was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I knew this because I had a program and I had managed to read the cover. I flipped to the part where the casting was listed but almost at that precise moment the lights went out. The curtains opened and the play began. Naota and I had a small squabble over who would get the armrest. It looked as if I had won, but in the process of securing my territory I knocked his Cheeto's and my program on the ground. I felt bad about spilling his stuff, so I leaned down and picked up my program and the remainder of his snack. When I came back up to hand him his bag of Cheeto's he had already commandeered the armrest. I saw that Ninamori wasn't using hers so I just used that one.

I have to admit… the play was beautiful, in a sense. It was also kind of boring. There were many witty lines and puns and hidden jokes, but you could only catch them if you were paying attention. And I was trying to pay attention. I think I caught a lot of it, at leas enough to where its brilliance was not lost to me. But I was distracted a bit.

When Mercutio was stabbed during act three, I noticed that a hand slid into mine. I looked over and saw a frightened looking Ninamori staring at the play. She never struck me as the type that would scare so easily, but I let her hold my hand anyways. The fighting ended and she was still holding my hand. This annoyed me a little, but I figured she must have just forgotten she was holding it in the first place. I became aware that she must have had some recollection of the fact that she was holding my hand since she squeezed it every time something violent or sad happened during the play. To my annoyance she fell asleep on my shoulder half-way through the last act.

Soon the end of the play drew near and I heard Takara's last lines. She looked out over the audience. She found my eyes and said, "Oh happy dagger, here is thy sheath. There rust and let me die." With those joy filled words she proceeded to violently place the plastic knife into the crook in her armpit. But before she did that I saw tears in her eyes. I wasn't positive at the time, but I was pretty sure that crying was not in the part.

After the rest of the play was over I woke up Ninamori and went backstage to find Takara. She called me some pretty bad names and accused me of being a dog.

"If you were going out with Ninamori then why'd you ask me?" she practically yelled.

"But I'm not going out with Ninamori, we're just friends!"

"Then why was she holding your hand and leaning on your shoulder?"

"How should I know? She just fell asleep."

This earned me a slap. And she turned around and left. I turned around too, only to find that Ninamori was right behind me watching the whole thing.

"Bad luck, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah… you could say that."

"Want to go get something to eat?"

I nodded.

I felt responsible for ruining Sanji's evening. So I figured I'd take him out to eat and make him feel better. I suggested we go to the Rockin' Stones Café but he wouldn't hear of it. He said he'd eaten there far too many times and that one more would kill him. I just smiled and told him about this fast-food restaurant that just opened up a few blocks from my house. We got in his car and left.

The place was… less than perfect. For a new establishment there was a remarkable amount of trash lying around and the surfaces of the tables seemed to absorb grease and grime. The decorum was doing nothing for me. An ugly lime green color was lining the walls and the countertop. That color alone made me sick to stomach.

"I'll have a grilled cheeseburger with a large Coke and fry… and hold the onions on the hamburger please," said Sanji to the young girl at the counter. She couldn't have been over 13 years old. When she gave his order to the cook in the back she had to tiptoe to reach the microphone.

"One burned cow with a slice of cheese, don't make her cry!" she called out unnecessarily loud. She then turned to me and asked, "And is that all you'll be ordering?"

"Yes," I said quickly. As soon as I walked into the place I was positive I wouldn't be able to eat. Soon the cook came back with the hamburger and the little girl gave Sanji his cup. She put everything on a tray and pointed at the self-serve soda tap.

"Enjoy your food!" she said in a tone that could only be labeled as forced cheer.

"But you forgot my fries," said Sanji pointing at his tray. The little girl sighed.

She tiptoed to the microphone again and said, "One large tub of grease sticks!" She then looked at Sanji and I apologetically. "Sorry, it's my first day."

"It's ok… Aika," I said looking at her nametag. I figured everybody's got to start somewhere. In less than a minute the fries were done. Sanji paid the girl and we found a booth in the back where we sat facing opposite each other. I decided to start up some conversation because that's what people do when they're out with friends.

"This place is… not what I expected," I said conversationally.

"Yeah, it looks great from the outside, but once you walk in… well there's still some work that needs to be done."

"Yeah… a lot of it." And with those words a small silence descended upon our booth.

"Listen Sanji," I said softly. I saw him look up and I knew the voice I was using had some sort of effect on him. I wasn't trying to control him or anything, but a little leverage never hurts. "I'm sorry if I ruined your plans with that Takara girl."

Sanji gave me a sad smile that kind of hurt to look at. I looked anyways.

"It's ok. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it." I did, but I wasn't going to tell him that unless he asked. "Besides I barely knew her. At least now I get to dine out with a beautiful girl that I know and respect." The tone of his voice as he complemented me was meant to sound offhanded, yet I could see him blush as he said the words. For all I knew I might have been blushing too, but I didn't care or try to hide anything. I've learned that while dealing with people it's best to just be natural.

"Thank you," I said nonchalantly.

"You're welcome," he said and then there was silence again. Well, there was almost silence. I could hear my stomach grumbling, but I was positive that Sanji couldn't tell. As disgusting as the place was, I couldn't help but feel hungry. I decided that trying one grease stick couldn't kill me. So I took one of Sanji's fries. I figured he wouldn't mind. It was surprisingly good. Crunchy, yet not burnt. Firm, yet soft inside. Everything a girl would want in a fry. I decided I'd try a few more, just to see if they were all the same. After realizing that most of them were the same, I decided that I would hunt for that one fry that wasn't like the others… just so I could save Sanji the agony of having to eat a sub-par fry. By the time that I decided that they were probably all good ones I realized that half of the fries were gone. I looked up from my inspection to find that Sanji was staring down at me while drinking his soda.

"I'm sorry," I said realizing that I had partially ravished his food. "I got a little carried away. They're quite good."

"It's ok," he said. "Are you sure you don't want to get something for yourself? I'll get it for you, my treat."

"No that's alright. I think I'm good now." But then I realized how dry my throat had become. I hadn't had anything to drink since before the play and that was about 3 hours ago. I figured Sanji wouldn't mind if I took a few swigs of his pop. So I put the straw to my lips and let the liquid flow. I didn't really like Coke, I was more of a Pepsi girl, but tonight it tasted pretty good. I looked back at Sanji once again to see him blushing. I figured it was probably because he had been drinking the same pop seconds before.

"You know Ninamori-"

"Eri," I corrected just because I enjoyed giving him a hard time every now and then.

"You know Ninamori, I've been thinking. I tried everything that I could to get together with Takara." He paused and I nodded my head while taking a bite out of his cheeseburger in order to soak up all that soda I drank. "And she barely noticed me. I'm sure she liked me because it was her idea to meet up after the show, but she still didn't notice me before I asked her out. And I think it's because she thought I was going out with someone else… she thought I was going out with you." He gave me a significant look which I tried to return, but it's hard to convey significance while shoving a hand full of French fries into your mouth.

"At first I thought the idea was ridiculous, you know? I thought we were just friends because that's how it was. We'd talk and walk and just act like friends… that's what we're doing now." He chuckled a little and it sounded a bit nervous. I just smiled as best as I could while taking a long sip of his coke.

"But I can see how someone could mistake us for being together. I mean there have been some odd moments, you know? Like the spontaneous hand holding and some hugs and stuff. But I never really had a close friend that was a girl, so for all I know that stuff just goes with the territory." He paused and once again I saw him blush before he began to speak again. "The kisses are a bit more confusing… I'm not sure really what to say about that. But they work up the audience pretty well. Gives them something to talk about, so I guess it's just a good gimmick. It's just that… Are you sure you don't want me to get you something to eat?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said hastily. I was eager to see where he was going with his little speech.

"Ok," he sighed. "Well, it's just that everyone still thinks that we're going out. No matter what I say or do. And I guess I can understand that. I just wish that people had their facts straight. I mean Takara dumped me just because you got sleepy. And the worst part about it is, I never learned her last name." He laughed in a bitter manner.

"Why didn't you just look in the program?"

"Naota spilled cheese on it. But forget about that. The point is that everyone just jumps to conclusions. No one's really even asked me about you, they just assume the worst… or best… or something."

"A few people have asked me," I said after swallowing the last bite of the cheeseburger.

"What'd you tell them?"

"I told them to think whatever they want." I saw Sanji silently groan, an expression that I don't think I could repeat. It was slightly comical.

"As long as you're telling them things like that they'll never know the truth. How are we supposed to figure out how we feel about each other when everyone's telling us how we feel about each other?"

I recognized that last question as a slip on Sanji's part. He'd been decently guarded up until that point, but there truly was no saving him now. I knew I'd have to ask a dangerous question. It might have been more merciful to just ignore his slip, but I honestly couldn't stop myself.

"And how do you feel about me?"

It was hard to distinguish his face from a tomato.

"I-I'm not really sure… I mean people keep saying stuff and you keep doing stuff. I mean I'm not blaming you, but I'm confused you know. Because when you give those hugs and when you hold my hand you don't feel like a friend anymore… you feel like something else. And when you… you know… you kiss me… it feels…" He closed his eyes in frustration. "it doesn't feel like a gimmick. It feels like a… girlfriend. But when you're done, I don't feel it anymore. It's just like you're my friend again. I don't know if that's what it's supposed to be like, but that's how it is. And I kind of wish you'd choose one and get it over with because… I don't know. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want to try to be my girlfriend, then that's ok because I think I… I like you."

I was proud of him for getting that out, for a while I wasn't sure that he could. However, as I drained the last drops of pop out of the cup (the fries had been finished during the speech) I couldn't help but feel guilty about what I had to say to him.

"I like you too Sanji… just not in that way."

It was painful to watch the look on his face. It went from desperately hopeful to slightly heartbroken in less than a second.

"Ok… I understand…" he said. But then he gave me a look that was anything but understanding. In fact, he looked sort of angry.

"But why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you let me sit here and poor out my heart to you when you knew that you didn't feel the same way? That's just cruel."

I looked him squarely in the eyes and he blinked. That was all the information I needed to know that I could lie to him. "I just thought it'd be better for you to get it all off of your chest. It's not good for a friendship to hold things like that inside."

His face softened and he nodded and sighed. We both got up to leave.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was just hungry.

Hello, I'm the author of this story. You may remember me from other such stories like Art of the Swing, which I keep hinting that you should read. I usually don't make it a habit to interrupt things like this, but I feel that it's important that you get a different point of view from time to time. You know, the good old third person omniscient.

So after the two of them left the restaurant, Ninamori insisted that Sanji walk her home, even though he had driven there. As she walked Sanji to her house she began to explain the facts of their relationship and did her best not to lie. She told him how she really did enjoy his company, but she just couldn't think of him that special way. She said that she was in love with someone else. She told him that one day things would work out perfect him in the romance department.

"Maybe one day I'll wake up and realize what a mistake I'm making. Who knows?" she said making Sanji blush. (Am I the only one who noticed that this kid has an embarrassment problem?)

Ninamori told Sanji that he was a great guy. Probably the nicest man she knew. She wasn't lying either. But by the time they got to the Ninamori residence Sanji was barely paying attention. After all, two girls had just shot him down in the same evening. It was disheartening for the poor guy. When they reached her doorstep, Ninamori noticed his lack of attention and grabbed his hand in order to regain it. Sanji tried to pull away, but she held on fast.

"Don't be like that Sanji," she pleaded using that voice that she knew would kill his determination. "I know you feel bad and you're confused, but right now I need you."

Sanji turned crimson once again and Ninamori ignored it.

"All my life I've been labeled as the good girl and the mayor's daughter. You wouldn't understand because you're still new here, but people expect a lot out of me. Now I'm sick and tired of giving it to them, but I really don't know how to stop. So I wanted people to think I was dating you because… don't take this the wrong way, but most people don't approve." She then glanced to her side and saw a curtain move.

"I'm going to kiss you now because my mom is looking. Ok?" she asked in a tone that indicated she wasn't really asking.

"Huh?" said Sanji dumbfounded before Ninamori viciously attacked his lips. And I don't mean that as a figure of speech. Anyone could plainly see it was assault. Ninamori smashed her lips against his moving them with a fever like never before. Sanji naturally tried to pull back from the attack, but Ninamori grabbed the back of his head and forced her tongue into his mouth, intensifying the kiss. Sanji didn't have any idea what to do, so he just took it, trying not to enjoy it. When she pulled back from him she had this look on her face… it was a scared look that scared him. She looked as if she had no idea what she had just been doing.

"I'm… I'm sorry Sanji. I didn't mean for it to go like that…" she stammered. Sanji thought stammering didn't work too well for her. It really was more of his thing.

"I think you bruised my lips," he said in disbelief. It turned out that she had.

"I'm sorry… I… I'm sorry." She turned away from him and went to open the door. "I hope we can still be friends."

And she was gone, leaving poor Sanji to stand on the porch in complete shock. It wasn't until he heard the loud yelling of a female voice from inside that he realized where he was again. And it wasn't until he heard Ninamori yell, "But Mother I love him!" that he started to walk again.

It seemed as if he had enjoyed Ninamori's goodnight onslaught a bit too much and that had made walking a little uncomfortable for a little while. But by the time he got to his care his only lasting responses to the kiss were all mental and emotional. For the first time in his life he felt… unclean. He'd been used wrongly and he knew it. She'd apologized and he knew he'd forgive her because he knew she meant it. He was just having a hard time accepting the fact that he liked it. He was having a very hard time with that.

On his short drive home Sanji almost hit a stray dog that was on the other side of the street. When he got there he parked his car directly on top of a yellow line in the parking lot. He went straight to his apartment and decided that he needed a shower. After the shower, he decided he should brush his teeth. He nearly stabbed himself on the inside of his mouth. After brushing his teeth he decided it would be best to get to bed before he could do anymore damage to himself. It was only 8:30 pm.

He spent a lot of time thinking and trying to fall asleep. He didn't manage it until around 11:00 pm. He was just too confused and conflicted. He didn't understand what had happened, what was happening, or what was going to happen. He woke up at about 1:00 in the morning and finally managed to sum up his feelings in a statement. Well it was more of a question.

"What the heck is wrong with her?" he whispered to no one in particular. He whispered it a few times hoping to receive an answer from anywhere, including himself, but he never did. He then closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But before sleep could claim him another statement like question filled his head.

"What the heck is wrong with me?" he asked only this time he yelled. His yelling was loud enough to startle a few of the "patrons" downstairs, but not many. It was a bar after all. They were used to yelling and loud noises. Sanji wondered about his last question for quite some time before sleep claimed him. Before he drifted off, he resolved to do something about the situation. He would have to see Naota tomorrow. It was unfortunate for him that he wouldn't be the first person to do so.

Truthful Commentary:

Not much to say, but I'll say it anyways. First of all I'd like to give a shout out to the 30+ readers that actually enjoy this enough to continue with it. That goes especially for AlyssaSS and VASHATSOCOM (who's become a sort of consultant for me in a way) since they are my most loyal reviewers.

And now for the actual self-critique. Yes, Ninamori might seem a little sluty… I've tried rationalizing it and explaining it, but it doesn't change the facts. She has reasons and there will be even more. I just hope I haven't turned anyone off too much with that, but it's now become a little too integral to her character. It's partially just her way of maintaining control. In the future you'll see that there are other aspects of her that come into effect when dealing with a guy she actually likes, but I won't spoil it for you.

Feel free to ask me any questions concerning any of my characters and I'll be sure to make up an answer that sounds good.

As for why this is a two-part chapter… well I'm almost over 7,000 words and I still have more to write. I figured it was my duty to divide it up. The next part will be shorter.

That's all for now. Over and Out

-Fresh C