I want to appologize for not updating! I really don't like filler chapters, like this one, so I sort of put it off... However boring this chapter may be, exciting ones are soon to come. I just have to get over the "hump" to get to where I want to go. As always, reviews are appriciated! I hope you haven't forgotten this story! By the way, this chapter isn't purly "filler", it has some significance to it--like the first mention of the title "Blue Roses"
Hikari waited for a reply. She felt hot, like her world was spinning out of control.
"You're…in love…with…Luke?" Renee asked, sounding very confused.
"I think so," Hikari answered, feeling her face flush and bowing her head in frustration. Then, feeling rather childish, Hikari asked the question no one seemed to have a good answer to. "How do you know when you're in love?"
Renee was courting Toby, the local fisherman. Hikari had never seen anyone so in love before. Renee was also eight months pregnant with his child. Surely, if they stuck together after that announcement, Renee and Toby must have been doing something right with their relationship.
"Well," Renee said thoughtfully. Hikari could tell a smile was gracing her lips as she thought. "You want to be with them all the time and you get this weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. They always make you happy and there isn't any way you can bring yourself to be mad at them…"
Hikari gasped as her breath got caught in her throat. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she said, "Renee?"
"Hmm?" Renee answered softly.
"I love Luke," Hikari concluded.
The words sounded so sweet, they flowed off her tongue and left a pleasant ring behind. Hikari couldn't stand it. How could she be in love with Luke? He had never done anything to make her love him. Yeah right… He's my best friend, he saved my life, he kissed me, and we almost made love! Hikari thought, trying to convince herself that her feelings were real.
Renee was silent for a moment. "I know," she said. "I see the way you look at him. Your smile and the way your eyes light up. It's obvious to everyone except you and Luke. So, what will you do?"
"What will I…do?" Hikari asked, more to herself than to Renee.
"Yes. Now that you know you're in love with him, what will you do?"
Hikari threw her hands up in frustration. "I don't know! That's why I called you!" Then, sighing, Hikari calmed herself down. "I'm sorry, Renee. I didn't mean that…"
"I know, sweetheart," Renee said sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, you always do. I hate to cut this conversation short, but I'm scheduled for an appointment with Dr. Jin. My baby's been kicking a lot lately and I think Toby wants to know the gender."
Hikari giggled. "Alright, thanks. Good luck with everything."
The dial tone sounded and Hikari put the phone down. With her cheeks puffed out, she let out a long sigh and ran her fingers through her brown hair. Tomorrow she was going to go see Luke again. Tomorrow she could tell him that she was in love with him.
But she didn't know if she could do it.
Luke had made it back to his house without any problems from anyone. Being accident prone, he figured something was bound to happen to him. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to put his shirt back on.
"Luke?" a girly, yet somewhat mannish voice called out.
"Hmm?" Luke said, looking around to see who called him.
Rolling his eyes, Luke met the voice who had called him. Julius. The town transvestite—or as he liked to call himself, the town "artist". Luke had never liked Julius much. In school, he always tried to be friendly to everyone but Julius was just too mean to poor Luke. Luke remembered one time when he had drawn a picture of the Harvest Goddess for art class and Julius laughed at it. Ever since then, Luke and Julius had never gotten along.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Luke said, "What do you want?"
Julius giggled and Luke cringed. Only girls should laugh like that… Luke thought as Julius pranced up towards him. Placing his hands on his hips, Julius' lips curved into a grin.
"Where were we going without a shirt my dear imbecile?" Julius asked, clicking his tongue like he was ashamed with Luke.
"Nowhere," Luke answered, shoving Julius aside.
Tiptoeing back in front of the poor carpenter, Julius planted his boots firmly in the ground—doing so with much exaggerated gesticulation. "Doesn't seem like 'nowhere' now does it? Surely you weren't down at Hikari's house?"
Luke's gaze hardened on the smug, girly man. "Look, it doesn't matter where I was or what I was doing. Why do you care anyway?"
Julius snorted. "Hmph. If it isn't obvious to you already then I guess there's no point in telling you." With that, he started to walk back towards the Accessory Shop, his hand placed proudly on his hip.
Luke ran towards him, confused and feeling belittled, and he spun Julius around. "What do you mean?"
Julius grinned evilly and it made Luke cringe, feeling stupider than ever before. Luke wondered what he was talking about. Maybe it was the same thing Bo talked about earlier? Was he the only one who was oblivious to these…feelings Hikari had?
"Obviously, something is going on between you and Hikari," Julius answered simply. As if it was that simple!
Luke started to roar with laughter. Clapping Julius on the back, he said, "Oh, no, no, no! You've got it confused! We're best friends!"
Julius raised one eyebrow at the confused carpenter. "For now."
"What do you mean 'for now'?! Hikari isn't gonna dump me if Gill, like, asks her to marry him or something!"
Julius shook his head, apparently amused by poor Luke floundering around, utterly confused. "No, I mean, she's in love with you and you're in love with her."
Luke felt his face flush. "What?! No, I, Hikari and me, she's, no!"
Julius grinned a creepy, Cheshire cat grin. Luke cringed, feeling very uncomfortable. "Love" wasn't really in his range of knowledge.
"Alright, whatever you say Luke," Julius breathed, making the hairs on the back of Luke's neck stand straight up. "Just don't come crying to me when Hikari gets tired of waiting for you to figure it out."
As Luke watched Julius happily prance away, he felt stupid and confused. Hikari didn't love him like that. She couldn't. He was just…Luke. He was no one special. He didn't have any special talents or charms. It was always "oh look, it's Luke the goofball," or, "hey Luke, when are you gonna stop clowning around?". Never Luke the sweetheart or Luke the romantic.
Except with Hikari. She thought he was sweet, right?
However long the day had gone on for Hikari was unsure. She went to bed at some point and then woke up the next morning. But all she really knew was that she was walking up the path in Garmon Mine, wearing a blue and green spaghetti-strapped shirt and short blue jean shorts.
Luke had told her to meet him here? She had never been back to the Goddess Pond. She wondered if it was even aloud. Would the Harvest Goddess get angry with them?
Probably not.
Hikari was inching slowly but surely towards the entrance to the pond. She was slightly scared, she didn't know what to expect, and her knees were trembling. Suddenly, she felt something covering her eyes and she screamed.
She froze and then heard a booming laugh. "Gotcha!" was the response she received.
Still stunned, Hikari didn't laugh; rather, she spun around and slapped Luke on his arm. "Luke, why the hell did you do that?!"
Luke broke out into a wide grin. "'Cause I thought it was funny! You should've seen your face!"
Hikari frowned and started to pout like a little child. Luke raised an eyebrow at her. "Aw c'mon, you seriously can't be mad at me?! …Right?"
The side of Hikari's mouth curved into a grin. "No, I guess not…"
Then she turned around to face Luke. He was almost, if not already, a foot taller than she was, her head barely reached his shoulder. But this gave her an advantage to scold him. She took her finger and poked at his chest, one poke for every word she said. "Do not ever do that again."
Luke held up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright. I promise." Then he smiled. "Well, we better get going! The pond is so amazing, you have to see it!"
Luke grabbed Hikari's wrist and pulled her into the pond entrance. Her eyes widened. It looked almost like a picture of ancient Rome, taken out of its book and placed on Castanet Island. There was lush, green grass growing through the cracks of the grayish tile flooring. Two ponds of crystal clear water were on each side of a tile bridge. The tiled bridge led up to a small opening surrounded by tall columns that could have been inside a coliseum in Rome.
"Luke," Hikari said, unable to take everything in. "This is…amazing!"
Luke smiled, rather satisfied with himself. "Yeah, I've been coming here for years. Apparently this is the Harvest Goddess memorial, but I'm sure she won't mind."
Then something caught Hikari's eyes. A path of blue flowers were growing next to one of the large columns. Was there such a thing as blue roses? That was what they looked like.
"Umm, Luke," Hikari said slowly. "Is there such a thing as a 'blue rose'?"
Luke looked puzzled. "I'm not sure. To be honest with you, I don't know any flowers beside the sakura and the tulip. Why, do you see one?"
Hikari nodded and laced her fingers through Luke's rough, gloved fingers. She brought him over to where the flowers were and knelt down beside them.
"You think they're pretty?" Luke asked.
Hikari nodded and then Luke bent down and picked one out of the ground. He took her hand and stood her up. Running his hand through her hair, he placed the blue rose behind her ear.
Hikari was breathless. "I…I…" her breathing was somewhat rapid and her head was spinning.
Luke just looked at her, waiting for her to finish. "I…I'm…in…"
"Hikari?!"
Hikari would've punched someone if Luke wasn't the one standing closest to her. At the entrance to the pond, a short, twig-of-a-man covered in plaid and argyle was yelling her name.
Gill.
"What do you want from me?" Hikari whispered, confused and irritated.
Gill walked over to them and pushed Luke aside. Taking Hikari into his arms, he swooped her down and smashed his face against hers. Her cries were muffled against his hard lips.
Luke just stood there, mouth half open, trying to process everything that had just happened. Hikari was flailing her arms, unable to feel the kiss. It was like smashing her face against a rock—Gill didn't even move his mouth or switch positions. He just stood there with his lips pressed against hers, like a statue.
When he released her she felt like someone had taken a hammer to her lips and crushed them. Gill smiled triumphantly.
He pointed his finger at Luke. "You see this? This is love! Don't you dare try to take my Hikari!"
Hikari stepped in front of Gill. "Since when do I belong to you?!"
Gill must have deluded himself into thinking that he and Hikari were, in fact, a couple. Deciding not to say anything more, Hikari stepped back. Little did she know that Luke was about to do something terrible.
He took his hand, balled it into a fist, and Gill's nose gushed crimson fluid. Luke had punched the mayors son.
Whoa there Luke! I made Gill seem like a douche in this chapter but I need some love triangles here! I know there are many fangirls for Gill, and I do like him, but this is a LUKExHikari story so therefore he is the bad guy. Oh and when Luke says "sakura" thats Japanese for "cherry blossom" I believe. He says it at the flower festival so I added it in. I hope you liked the little man cat-fight and more soon to come! Hopefully updates are sooner then they were before! Reviews are loooooove so please, show the love! Haha
