Chapter Seven-Open House
There weren't many chances after that day for Luka and Gakupo to grow close, despite the fact that both had secretly made resolutions to strengthen the relationship. Like it or not, Gakupo was occupied with his student council work, and having asked Luka to help the pink-haired teen found herself far busier than she'd ever been. As the day of the Open House approached, each began to despair that they'd ever find a chance to talk to the other.
Another problem for Luka occurred when Oliver asked to go to the event she'd been planning. The little boy hadn't been pleased that his favorite maid was spending her days after school instead of with him. Unable to say no, Luka now had to wonder what would happen when the school found out that she was playing caretaker to a young heir. While she was already under enough scrutiny for being poor, she was sure that the whispers would increase when she showed up at the school fair with Oliver in tow.
On the other hand, Gakupo was having trouble between his work and Len and Kaito's insistence at training himself. While they no longer dragged him off to clubs to meet random women, they stayed by his side and pestered him to ask Luka out on dates. They gave him tips on how to act around girls and reminded him relentlessly that if he could get Luka to say yes to even a date it would be considered the first step. Gakupo hadn't told either of them about showing Luka the roof and how every time he saw the pink-haired girl he got a burst of happiness. He didn't want them thinking that all his 'training' was going to waste.
"I have no damn time," Gakupo swore, all but pulling hair out by the handful as he paced back and forth restlessly in his room. "It's going to be a whole month I still don't know that much about Luka despite the fact we've been working on this Open House thing together!"
From his friend's bed, Kaito looked up in a disinterested manner before turning back to the magazine that lay on the mattress. Flipping through some pages, Kaito shifted to a sitting position before saying, "Well make time. I know you've got this Open House thing, but a month will have passed by the time it ends and you've made no progress at all. Don't you want to win this bet?"
"Of course I do!" Gakupo hissed at his friend, causing Kaito to shrug before going back to the magazine. Flicking through the pages, Kaito muttered, "You've gotten touchier and you're not as calm as you normally are. Why are you freaking out so much?"
With a sigh, Gakupo rested his hand on his desk. "I'm nervous," he admitted finally, and Kaito sat up to look at his friend again at this. It was just the two of them, as Len had been dragged to the city with Rin to get a new outfit for the Open House which was to take place the next day. Normally Len would be the one to comfort Gakupo, but as things were Kaito knew he couldn't just leave his friend in his worried state.
Getting up, Kaito walked over to where Gakupo stood and gruffly threw an arm around him. While the purple-haired teen looked at his friend in amazement, Kaito muttered, "You'll be fine. Whether you're worried about this bet or the Open House, you'll be fine. You're a lot stronger than you look."
"You really think so?" Gakupo asked, suddenly feeling a lot better. Kaito, seeing that his friend was starting to get back to his normal self, let go of Gakupo and went back over to his friend's bed. Sitting himself comfortably on the bed, he returned to flipping through the magazine before reminding his friend, "Just make sure you start really talking to her as soon as this over, alright? If you can at least get her to go with you to the Winter Ball next month then you'll be able to take her on more dates afterwards."
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As middle school students streamed into Kaisei, Gakupo looked around and gave a sigh of relief. Somehow the whole event had been pulled together perfectly, despite the initial setback of the first meeting. While Rin greeted students on one side and Len greeted students on the other, Gakupo noticed several groups of girls eyeing his friend and giggling. Seeing so many girls watching Len reminded him to look for Luka, who had said she couldn't help out but would be coming. For a second he wondered what she'd meant by that before deciding that she might have had a younger sibling she was going to attend with.
Gakupo was getting ready to go check on the other council members when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning around, he found himself looking down at a cluster of middle school girls. Several of them blushed, before one asked for directions to the main hall where the speeches were going to be held later on. As Gakupo willingly pointed them in the right direction, there were more giggles before they left, looking back at him over their shoulders. Walking over to Len, Gakupo asked, "Why are they giggling so much?"
Len gave his friend the same look one would give a stupid child before saying, "You're just as good looking as me or Kaito. Use that to your advantage, Gakupo." Hearing Len acknowledge that Gakupo was on his level made the president blush a little before he cleared his throat and looked around. Seeing that, Len murmured low, "Luka's not here yet, is she? Is she coming with a sibling or something?"
"I guess, she never actually said anything." Just as Gakupo turned to face Len and say more, the boys heard Rin say cheerfully, "Hey, Luka!"
Whirling around, Gakupo turned to see Luka greeting Rin, a small blond boy at her side. He looked a bit too young to be in middle school, but he was looking at the school with interest in his eyes. While Luka and Rin kept talking, the young boy looked over at Gakupo and saw him watching Luka. With a smirk, the little boy turned and reached up to grab Luka's hand. As if a reflex, Luka held his hand and kept talking to Rin, while the boy turned back to Gakupo and made a face.
"What's with that brat!?" Len muttered. "There's no way they're related. You don't think that she's his babysitter or something?"
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"Oh, so you take care of Oliver then?" Rin asked, looking down at the little boy with a smile. She had to admit; Oliver was a cute kid, eye patch and all. While Luka held Oliver's hand, she smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm his caretaker. I'm sure the school was bound to find out sooner or later, since I usually escort him when he wants to go out and do things and since he likes to go to the same places everyone else does…"
"Hey don't worry about it. You're not wearing a maid outfit or anything, so as long as you just tell people you're a caretaker and not a maid they can't make fun of you. It's almost like being a governess, and to be one of those you have to be pretty smart." Rin reassured Luka, who smiled at this good news. Far more than she wanted to admit, she'd been worried about what would happen when coming to the event. Luka opened her mouth to say more when Oliver squeezed her hand. Looking down, she saw him staring at Gakupo with a grouchy look on his face.
"Who's that? He's staring at you like some kind of creepy stalker," Oliver complained, and when Luka looked up she saw that Gakupo was looking at her. Trying to keep herself from blushing, she cleared her throat and told Oliver, "He's a friend of mine; the student president. He's been very nice to me so please behave around him, alright?"
Oliver didn't reply, but let Luka tug him over to where Gakupo and Len were standing. While Len and Luka exchanged hellos, Gakupo knelt down so that he was eye level with the little boy. In an attempt to be friendly despite the death glare he was receiving from the blond boy, Gakupo held his hand out in greeting and said cheerfully, "Hello, I'm Kamui Gakupo. What's your name, little one?"
"I'm Oliver Markwell," Oliver said in a haughty voice. "And I'm not that little, someday I'll grow up and be bigger than you!"
Sneaking up a glance at Luka, Oliver made sure she was absorbed in her other conversation before he smiled naughtily at Gakupo. Taking the teen's hand, Oliver dug his nails into Gakupo's hand and watched with wicked glee as the president winced. Jerking his hand back, Oliver muttered, "I know what you want from Luka. You leave her alone! Stop making her stay after school so much!"
"Huh?" Gakupo suddenly became flustered, thinking that Oliver could see him lusting after the pink-haired beauty. With a pout, Oliver frowned and said, "Don't think you can take Luka from me, she's mine. I'll never let you have her!" While Gakupo gaped, Oliver let go of Luka's hand and wrapped his arms around her waist. Looking down, Luka saw Oliver staring up at her with a happy look on his face.
"Luka, show me your classroom!" Oliver said with an expectant smile. With a gentle laugh, she placed one hand on Oliver's head and exclaimed, "Alright, hold on. Let me say hello to Gakupo too, okay?"
When Gakupo stood up and cleared his throat, he resisted the urge to glare at Oliver before turning to Luka with a smile. As Oliver buried his face into Luka's skirt, Gakupo said through clenched teeth, "He's a cute kid. His Japanese doesn't sound entirely natural though..."
Luka patted Oliver on the head again and replied, "He's half British and half Japanese. His mother actually attended Kaisei, so he insisted that I show him the school. Besides, he wanted to see where I've been spending my afternoons. He also wanted meet you guys, he's been asking about all my friends here." As Oliver squeezed her waist urgently, Luka gave another smile and said apologetically, "Well I guess we're going to go look around the school then. Sorry I couldn't help out more."
Thinking quick, Gakupo stepped forward and said, "Oh, it's no problem. Why don't I come with you? Besides Luka, I never showed you the music room."
Oliver sulked as Luka smiled and accepted the offer before looking down and asking, "Oliver do you mind waiting here with Gakupo for a second? I have to go use the restroom." Both boys fixed pained smiles on their faces at this idea. With a happy smile, her charge replied, "I don't mind! Go ahead, Luka!"
As soon as Luka was out of sight, Gakupo growled down at Oliver, "Look, I….I like Luka alright? Is there anything wrong with that?" The student president blushed a bit at having admitted to something he'd been trying to deny to himself; he liked Luka a lot more than he was willing to admit, especially as he could sense Len listening in on the conversation from a few feet away. Oliver, sensing weakness, stepped roughly on Gakupo's foot and watched with pleasure as the tall teen winced. Crossing his arms, Oliver dropped the attitude he usually used with Luka and immediately assumed the air that he used on others when he was away from her. Glaring up at Gakupo, the ten-year-old threatened, "Stay away from my Luka! A no good creep like you is only going to break her heart, you don't actually like her!"
For a second Gakupo paled, wondering how Oliver had seen through his plan until the boy complained, "Anyone who smiles creepily at her like that can't actually like her. Besides, she belongs to me so you can't have her anyways." His shoulders slumping in relief, Gakupo realized that Oliver was just accusing and speculating blindly. For a second, guilt flashed through him as Luka came back and headed over to them. While Oliver ran up to her and hugged her in greeting, Gakupo reflected on his guilt at the fact he was basically just trying to sleep with Luka. One look back at Len though erased the guilt, and straightening up Gakupo went over to Luka.
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The next day at school, Gakupo had the good fortune to run into Luka in the hallway. As the two stood in the hallway, Luka bowed slightly and apologized. Gakupo wondered why she was apologizing until she straightened up and said, "I'm sorry for Oliver's behavior. I'm sure that he must have done something rude, since your smile seemed kind of strained all night."
She was paying that much attention to me? Gakupo thought, and he smiled to himself as he realized that she was really looking at him. Then, just as suddenly he knew he could take this apology as an opportunity the way he'd seen Kaito do with someone else before. Leaning against the wall, Gakupo shrugged and said, "It's not a big deal. He's kind of possessive of you though."
While Luka laughed, Gakupo grit his teeth and thought back to the way Oliver had stuck his tongue out when the two were leaving. Possessive was the understatement of the century. Silently, Gakupo thanked his lucky stars that Oliver was only ten and wouldn't be attending Kaisei anytime soon. Clearing his throat, Gakupo said, "But Luka?"
The pink-haired teen looked up at him to see him smiling down at her. The smile on his face wasn't the same innocent smile he normally wore; it seemed kind of dangerous. Slightly intimidated, Luka took a step back as Gakupo straightened up and loomed over her. Standing closer than he normally did, he leaned down and blew cool breath into her face. Luka blushed, before wondering why she was doing so at such weird things. While she wondered why this was making her blush, Gakupo whispered, "If you really want to apologize, there IS something you could do for me."
"Y-yeah?" Luka said, trying to sound confident but failing. Something about this Gakupo was overpowering, and for some reason she found herself enticed by it. It was the same aura that he gave off when he was ordering people around the student council, but now that he was focusing it on her…somehow the idea that he was paying her such attention had her pleased.
The corner of Gakupo's mouth lifted in a smile as he said low, "Well you see…."
Gakupo is a better actor than Len and Kaito give him credit for XD I mean, they can't see through him entirely. And now he's pulling moves on Luka so...:P But yeah. Another chapter tomorrow :)
Thanks for the reads and reviews, you guys are awesome! Feel free to leave comments or criticisms, I'd love to hear from you guys what you think :)
