I didn't expect to update this fast. hehe. This is the longest chapter yet. But this made up for the short chapter last time right? well, anyway enjoy. (:


Wednesday

"Four confessions in just a few days. What am I supposed to do now?" she sighed to herself.

We can now see a certain red head covering her head with her pillow. She breathed in the scent of the sheets and took in its strawberry mintiness. Thinking of valid reasons as to 'why her of all people to experience such a hard decision to make', she came up with none.

"Why me??" she screamed the question out loud but the pillow gave her a muffled voice and the question came out as a screech "Wahenmee!"

"Kaho dear, are you alright?" came her mother's faint voice from the other side of the doorway.

She quickly sat up from the bed and replied, "I'm fine mom!"

The door slowly opened and a head poked out. She eyed her daughter who was sitting casually on the bed and looking up innocently at her.

"Aren't you going to get ready for the dance?" her mother asked.

It was written all over her face that she completely forgot.

"The dance! What am I supposed to do? I'm going to see them… I… I don't want to… It's going to be an awkward moment…" As the thoughts ran inside her head, she turned redder by the second.

"I… I think I won't go… I'm not feeling very well…"

And indeed she's right. She was feeling a bit light-headed. There are butterflies in her stomach. She breathed in short gasps of air. Her heart pounded wildly against her chest. Not to mention her face which reached its reddest point.

Her mother walked into the room and felt her forehead.

"Yes, you're temperature is a bit warmer than usual. Maybe I should just tell your little friends that you won't be able to come with them," she said.

"F-friends?"

"Yes, they're waiting for you downstairs. Nice of them to come by and make you sure you wear the proper dress tonight. They asked me if they can take you out shopping but I said that I'll just call you so they can talk to you personally," she replied as she turned around and headed for the door.

"Wait mom! Who exactly is waiting for me downstairs?"

With her hand on the doorknob, she faced her daughter, "Oh, two lovely girls… one was a bit… how do we put it… shy…I wonder if she's disabled…She doesn't talk much… and the other one was well… quite the opposite of the other really. She's talkative and asked a lot of questions. She had this camera and kept taking photos of our living room. Nice girl. Very curious," she replied.

"That's Fuyuumi-chan and Amou-san! Oh no! I don't want to let them down. They came all the way to my house! I just can't ignore them!" she mentally scolded herself.

She looked at her mom who was waiting for her answer.

"Now what? Maybe… my mom can help me with this problem…" she thought.

"Mom… I…"

Then suddenly, images came rushing into her mind at the thought of telling her mother about the confessions.


(Inside her imaginative mind)

Scene 1:

"Mom, there's this guy…" she started.

"A guy?? Oh, have you got a crush? That's so sweet darling!" her mother exclaimed.

"No mom! I mean…" she was cut off.

"Don't be shy to admit it Kahoko, I'm your mom after all. Oh, I remember my first crush. He was our teacher in Chemistry. He's got dazzling emerald eyes…" she continued to tell her tale.

Scene 2:

"Mom, I've got a problem…"she started.

"A guy problem?" her mother eyed her.

"Yes," she shyly admitted.

"Don't tell me it's that nice young man who came to our house! I knew the two of you were going out!"

"NO!" she blushed furiously.

(end of sneak peek)


Hino groaned quietly. Even if she try to tell her mom, the conversation might end up with a 'love story' from her teenage years or she would get paired up with different men that her mother thought she's going out with. She knew her mom is willing to help when she's in need of one but maybe a love problem wasn't her thing. She needed someone who's young enough to understand this problem and wise enough to give her advice. If only her sister was here.

"Mom… I think I'm feeling better now…" she slowly stood up and walked over to where her mother was standing.

"Are you sure sweetheart?" her mother asked worriedly.

"Yes."

"Ok then. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you," she held her by the shoulder and led her daughter out of the room.

Downstairs, Hino saw her two friends in the living room making themselves 'at home'. Fuyuumi was sitting quietly on the couch. Her eyes kept darting here and there.

"I'm at Kaho-senpai's house!" she thought to herself.

On the other hand, Amou was taking pictures of the living room. She had to see it to believe it. Her mother is right! But Amou stopped for she spotted photo albums hidden along with magazines under the side table. She was about to pull it out of the clutter when Hino shouted her name.

"Amou-san!"

Amou looked around to see her friend's meaningful look.

"Okay, I won't go that far," Amou thought.

"Hino-chan! Would you like to go with us? We're shopping for outfits," she asked.

Hino looked from the Amou-holding-camera to the ever-so-timid-Fuyuumi. She met Fuyuumi's gaze and she gave her a quick smile.

"I guess I can tag along," was her reply.

Fuyuumi gave off a sigh of relief. She was getting pretty insecure with Amou around. She was asking a lot of questions about Kahoko and about herself as well. In the first place, she was just too shy in declining Amou's offer for shopping around town. Now with her senpai around, things might get a bit better.


They walked through the town, entering one shop at a time. They scavenged through every item for sale and sought for the perfect dress, shoes & accessories. In a particular dress store, the three girls found the perfect outfits.

(A/N: Sorry but I'm at loss for the appropriate words to describe how they look. If you're curious as to what those outfits are. Please feel free to visit this links:

Amou: www(dot)dariuscordell(dot)com/images/3020(underscore)pink(percent)20prom(percent)20dresses.jpg

Fuyuumi: www(dot)prompartydress(dot)com/party-dresses/images/C9051(underscore)Prom(underscore)Party(underscore)Dressx.jpg

Hino: www(dot)flickr(dot)com/photos/partycloz/218596788/ man, it's hard to type websites xD)

The two chattered excitedly about make-up on their way back to Amou's house with Fuyuumi walking silently behind them. They opened the door only to be greeted by silence.

"My parents are out on a trip," Amou explained.

She led them up the stairs into her room. There was a corner of her room that had a full length mirror and beside it was a make-up table filled with cosmetics too many to count. She asked her companions to leave their stuff on the bed so they can get started. Hino took the bags from Fuyuumi's hands and obediently spread them on the bed.

"Arigato…" Fuyuumi mumbled thanks.

Meanwhile, Amou was starting to pick certain amounts of lipsticks, blush, eyeliner and different other stuff for the three of them.

"Ok! Who's first?" Amou rolled up the lipstick and looked at the two. She couldn't wait to get her hands on them and start to put on make up.

Fuyuumi backed off a little. She's not really fond of make-ups. Hino saw this reaction and offered to go first. Well, after what seemed like an eternity Amou put down her 'weapon' and looked satisfyingly at her creation. Hino blinked three times.

"Eh? How does it look?"

"Here," Amou turned the swivel chair so Hino can face the full length mirror.

Hino whispered a soft 'oh' when she saw her reflection. Her face seems to glow a little bit in the light because of the powder. Her cheeks are pinkish from the blush Amou put on her. Her lips are covered with strawberry lip gloss. Her eyes had glittering eyeliner.

All out, she looked like a ceramic doll. She turned to Fuyuumi who in return stared at her as if not believing that it was still her senpai seating on the chair.

"What do you think Fuyuumi-chan?" Hino asked her.

"I think it looks good on you senpai," she replied shyly.

"Ok Fuyuumi-chan, you're next," Amou gestured for her to come sit on the chair.

Fuyuumi was reluctant at first but when Kaho gave her an encouraging nod, she decided to 'conquer her fear'. It also took a long time to do her make-up. At first, Fuyuumi struggled with the eyeliner but soon enough she eased up a bit. Finally, Amou was done with her as well. The soft 'clack' of the lipstick on the wooden table is the new music to her ears. She hesitantly looked at herself in the mirror. The result is the same as Kahoko's. Her usual pale face looked very lively and was full of color at the moment.

"Fuyuumi-chan, you look beautiful!" Hino beamed at her.

She can't help but blush at the compliment.

Amou shooed them away so she can put make-up on herself. She told them to get dressed up.

Once they were all seated on the bed with their outfits. They started to do each other's hair.

"So, Hino-chan, are you planning to dance with anyone?" Amou asked as she tied Hino's hair.

"EH? I don't know Amou-san. I never really thought about it…" she blushed.

"I'm sure there are a lot of guys who'll want to dance with you. What about those five participants from the concours neh? ," Amou said.

She turned even redder. Amou looked at her reddening face and a sly smile crept her face.

"Oh… By chance, do you like anyone among the five?" she asked.

Hino was silent but she shook her head.

"How come? I don't see why not," she leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, "or maybe it's the other way around?"

Amou hit the jackpot for Hino started to squirm under her stare.

"I knew it! So they confessed already??"

"No, certainly not of all people to know!" Hino thought.

Fuyuumi looked at her two senpais, clueless as to what they were talking about but she noticed that Hino's uncomfortable so she helplessly tried to change the subject.

"Ano… Amou-san…" Fuyuumi started without thinking.

Amou almost forgot about her.

"How about you Fuyuumi-chan?" Amou now turned to her kouhai.

Hino looked at her as well.

"Are you going to dance with anyone?"

Fuyuumi, flustered by the two pairs of eyes looking at her, only shook her head.

"Oh? Well is there anyone you like at the moment?…"

Hino sighed. There's Amou for you.

"How can I change the subject?" she desperately thought.

While Fuyuumi was blushing at the question, Hino searched the room for something to talk about. She saw the clock by the desk and almost screamed at the time.

"We better go!" she cried.

"You're right," Amou said when she checked her watch.

Fuyuumi nodded her head meekly and shot Hino a grateful look. She returned it with a soft smile.


The three princesses left the hired limo and entered the academy gates. The dance is held at the field. Yes, the field. But it didn't look like one for it was lavishly decorated. White wooden fences surrounded the huge area. There were posts at every corner in which strong wires were tied. Attached to those wires are the many Chinese lanterns that glow in the night. There are many round tables scattered at the sides. It was covered with white cloth and lilac flowers adorned the center. In a corner, the buffet table is found, and the cooks kept on refilling it. Beside it, someone was cooking from the grill. The fire rose slightly, attracting on-lookers. Farther down, a small stage was put up for the performance the concour participants will be presenting later on. A huge space was left in the center, for anyone who would like to dance once the music starts. The cool breeze added to the scenery. Spotlights are everywhere.

"It would've been romantic, if only there were cute guys," Amou sighed.

Hino couldn't believe this girl. Her eyes roamed around. Her heart skipped a beat, scratch that, skipped loads of beats when she saw the four particular people she was dreading to see. Several… A lot… of girls are crowded around a certain table, maybe, half the table. Obviously, the people who occupied that table are none other than Yunoki and Hihara.

"Yunoki-sama! You look wonderful tonight," a fan girl commented.

"Yunoki-sama…eto… I was wondering if… you would like to dance…" another fan girl asked.

Yunoki all gave them warm smiles which made them scream more. Beside him was Hihara. He wasn't minding the fan girls surrounding his friend. After all, he's used to it. He just continued to greedily gobble up the food on his plate. But after a while, a couple of second year girls went up to him.

"Hihara-senpai… you… look dashing tonight…" a certain girl commented.

This made Hihara look up from his food and mumbled a soft thanks to them, "Shankx," he said with a full mouth. He flashed them a goofy smile which made the girls giggle.

A couple of tables back, we find Tsukimori, arms folded and not minding the people around him. Shouji shyly went up to him.

"Tsukimori… W-would you li-like to dance?" she shakily asked, scared of the cold aura now starting to form around him.

Tsukimori just glared icily at her, his stony look seemed to say 'I don't dance' with finality. This left Shouji to say, "N-never mind," and she scurried off to her friends.

Shimizu was beside him on another chair, sleeping soundly with his head buried in his arms. His cello was leaning on the edge of the table.

Meanwhile, Tsuchiura's with his soccer posse in another table. They were laughing with their deep voices and high five-ing each other about certain jokes they were telling.


"KAHOKO!!" Mio screamed while waving her hand at her friend. Nao was following behind her.

(A/N: To see their outfits, follow the link below:

Mio (left): www(dot)flickr(dot)com/photos/cameragirl/335412556/

Nao (right): www(dot)flickr(dot)com/photos/cameragirl/335412556/)

At the sound of her name, four faces immediately turned to the direction of the voice and one was suddenly awoken to find the person with that name. Soon enough, they continued to stare at the beautiful girl in the orange dress. Hino started to panic.

"Mio, Nao!" she tried to greet them with her usual bubbly voice.

When her two best friends reached the threesome, Hino said, "Quick, let's find a table!"

She pulled them to an empty table away from the people she's trying to hide from. She sat on a chair and sighed.

"What's the matter Kaho?" Nao asked.

"Nothing really," she smiled at her.

The three of them continued to chat endlessly about their summer except for Hino who just listened intently at their stories and Fuyuumi too. Hino's summer really wasn't something she would like to tell especially if they might scream it out loud.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from the mike on-stage.

"Good evening everyone! I hope you're enjoying the cool night today! Food is over there, feel free to get whatever you like." There was a short pause. "Don't you think it's a bit quiet around here?" the emcee continued.

He clapped his hands and slow music suddenly played from out of nowhere.

"There you go! To get this party going on, why don't we start with some slow tunes? Grab a partner everyone! Let's dance the night away," the emcee twirled out of the stage.

Right on cue, few couples started to go at the center and danced together. The five girls at the table watched as guys suddenly stood up from their seats to ask the girls to dance with them. Shouts and screams can be heard from certain high school girls as Yunoki along with his friend Hihara walked past them. The two stopped in front of 'their' table. Hino looked at the people who stood beside her.

"Yunoki senpai! Kazuki-senpai!" she exclaimed.

The four other girls faced the two guys as well.

"Would you like to dance Kaho-chan/Hino?" the two said simultaneously and held up their hand.

The two best friends looked at each other. Apparently surprised that they came here for the same reason, each thought that the other came along to accompany him. Yes, the both of them stood up at the same time once the emcee told them that the floor is open for dancing couples. They left the fan girls and walked briskly to Hino's table. Whoever knew? Of course, Yunoki was half-expecting this but not this kind of awkward scene. The question was who would she rather dance with?

Amou and Mio gave knowing looks and smiled evilly. Nao and Fuyuumi quietly observed the scene and waited for Hino's reply. Hino, on the other hand, looked from one person's face to the other, not knowing what to do.

"Eh?" was all that came out of her mouth.

The two guys were taken aback, not knowing what to do as well.

"Pick Yunoki-kun," Amou whispered to Hino.

"No, pick Hihara-senpai," Mio whispered as well.

"Oh! How embarrassing!" Hino thought. She turned pink. She was grateful that she was wearing make up for it wasn't noticeable.

The two guys weren't doing well. They put down their hands and cleared their throats.

"Yunoki… I wanted to dance with Kaho-chan…" the expected pouting reaction from Hihara.

"errr… Hihara… I apologize if I interrupted but… From what I can see, I was able to ask first…" came Yunoki's reply.

The five girls looked from Hihara to Yunoki and watched the 'word battle' they were having. It seems that the two of them wanted to have the first dance with her.

"I think I found my scoop, concour participants fighting over one younger girl!" Amou thought.

"Why does Yunoki keep on insisting? Is it possible that he likes her as well?" Hihara thought.

Out of the goodness of Yunoki's heart he suddenly switched gears, "No, maybe you should dance with her first," he smiled at his best friend.

"No it's okay Yunoki, if you want to… go ahead," Hihara insisted.

The two looked away from each other. Now things are in a new level of 'awkward'. Shimizu came into view.

"Kaho-senpai…" he started.

"I choose Shimizu!" she suddenly yelled to avoid the tensing atmosphere.

"Nani?..." Shimizu asked.

She stood up from her seat and held up her hand, "Would you like to dance Shimizu-kun?"

"Hai Kaho-senpai…" Shimizu replied.

Things calmed down a bit but it was a sudden change of scene. Hino curtsied in front the two young man.

"I'll dance with you later, gentlemen," she smiled at them.

Hihara merely shrugged and smiled at her. Yunoki nodded his head and smiled as well.

Hino & Shimizu walked to the center and started to dance. He put his hands on her waist. She put her arms around his neck. You can just imagine the shocked faces of two people namely Tsukimori and Tsuchiura and the amused faces of Mio and Amou.

"I'm sorry about that Shimizu-kun," Hino looked at him with sad eyes.

"It's ok Kaho-senpai… I just wanted to tell you something… but this might be better," Shimizu smiled slightly.

She blushed at his angelic smile 'cause that rarely happens.

"So what do you want to tell me anyway?" she asked.

"Kaho-senpai… that answer you gave me about love really helped…"

"Oh…"

"I just realized that… you're right & that… now I know I like you a lot…"

She almost fainted. Even her kouhai?

(end of chapter)


This is going to be a long night everybody!
I'll leave you to wonder what'll happen next.
I didn't know Amou had magic hands for make-up xD

A clue about Chapter 13: Fuyuumi would be a really big help with Kahoko's desicion-making. What she said? You have to find out. (:

Almost nearing the last and final chapter... :((

Please put in your reviews.

Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, favorited & alerted.

For mintjujubes: I can't reply to you personally, there's no email... oh well... There's a reason why they're not calling her Kahoko (: you'll find out why (:

Lotsa Love,
mysteriousperson