Yo. I'm back with a new chapter of 'Fall In Love With You, Just Like Pizza'. I know you all have been waiting for this. Me? I was totally stuck on what to write, but I got it now.
I still can't get over the fact that this story is almost done. I feel so sad and bad leaving you all! Not from ff, but from this story. Well, you have 'Mute Love' to read soon.
Enjoy! :)
"Mrs. Yukimura, your son has arrived back from school. He has come to see you." Rina, Akira's secretary, spoke in a rush as she put a strand of blond curly hair behind her ear to keep it out of the way.
The golden eyed CEO gave her secretary a small smile, and went back to her computer screen. "Let him come in."
As the blond haired secretary left the room, a blond haired boy came in, a blank look on his face. He had on black pants and a white school shirt with a green tie. He walked up to his mother's desk, saying, "Good evening, mama," he greeted.
"Hello, V.V." she returned, not looking up from the computer. "How was your day?"
V.V. shrugged nonchalantly. "Same as always. Playing pranks on teachers, being the first to get hit in dodge ball, avoiding any girls that want to braid my hair, which I'll be getting a haircut for soon... and other boring stuff. I need some excitement in my life."
Akira looked up from her computer, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at her son. "You're nine, dear. There is still plenty of time for you to have excitement in your life."
"I still feel like I wanna break from this boring life," V.V. said. "Which reminds me, any location on Onee-chan yet?"
A pained look spread across Akira's face, making her clench her fist. "I'm sure Mao can tell you."
The blond haired boy scoffed and crossed his arms. "You know full well I won't go ask Mao," he hissed.
"Can't you just like Mao like you used to?" the brown haired woman asked, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
"Mama, I never liked Mao."
"Stop being smart with me, V.V."
"Hey," V.V. started, "I'm only being honest. You don't get that from a lot of children my age. So, any sign of Nee-chan?" he asked.
Akira sighed in defeat. "She was located at the beach I went to for vacation. I figured she had to be there with someone, though, and not by herself. Mao says she's in Tokyo, too."
"And?"
"And I met up with her. It wasn't the most warm reunion between a mother and daughter. She said something about me knowing where she got the bruises from, but I have no idea what she's talking about."
The CEO continued to explain in a shaky voice, "She... she called me a monster, yet-"
"Yet you still haven't told me the reason why she ran away," V.V. cut in. "She came home crying after the fight you guys had. Should I ask why she came home looking like she fell down a cliff?"
"She attacked Mao and his mother, though, she claims it's not true," Akira replied. "Mao and his mother are good people. How can she claim he tried violate her."
V.V.'s eye twitched, ready to go and the beat the stuffing out of Mao just from that sentence. But he forced himself to calm down, and asked, "Who do you believe? Mao or my older sister and your only daughter?"
The brown haired woman sucked in a sharp breath, confusion in her face. She opened her mouth to answer, but closed it a second after. She knew Mao wasn't the type of person to lie, but then again, neither was C.C. until that day. Akira couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her daughter would tell such a blatant lie. Then again, she herself was not there to witness the incident. Jia called first, and she sounded distraught.
"I... I-"
"You can't decide?"
"I- Ah!" Akira screamed, falling out her chair. She clutched her head, hissing in pain.
V.V. ran to his mother in concern, bending down next to her. "Mama! Mama!"
"No... C.C... who's hurting you? Get away..." she whispered, tears pricking her eyes.
"Ow!" the young girl screamed as her head hit the wall. She held it while it throbbed in pain. "M-Mama?"
Akira's eyes widened, confusion written on her face. Her eyes drooped halfway closed, gripping her son's hand. "V.V... someone hurt your sister, but I don't know who. She called out to me, but I don't know if it was in fear or help. Why... why do I have a feeling I had something to do with your sister's bruises? Why?" She squeezed her eyes shut as a sob escaped her lips.
…...
A black haired woman sat behind a desk, her legs crossed and her clasped together on her lap. She let out a small, dark laugh, looking at her silver haired son. "This news has made my day. You've found the brat after over a year, and from the looks of it, she has developed much more. I can't wait."
Mao smirked, bowing slightly. "Yes, mother. But it seems to be we have an obstacle in the way. Do not worry, though, I have it all planned out," he said.
"Obstacle?" Jia said, raising an eyebrow. "What obstacle? Get rid of it immediately. That brat has already hindered our plans enough when she ran away from Osaka."
"Well," the silver haired teen said, frowning, "She's friends with this guy named Lelouch. He is very protective of her, and she's always in the confines of his mansion, so I have no way to get near her."
Jia huffed, furrowing her eyebrows. "I hate when I have to go through all this trouble just to get what I want. Any happy news?"
"Well, the good news is that his girlfriend, Shirley Fenette, is on my side. It seems to be that she is very in love with him, but is worried that C.C. will steal him away. I mean, twisting the truth isn't that hard, right?" An evil grin spread across Mao's face. He looked at his mother who seemed to nod her head in approval.
"Your father can't know anything about this. He's too much of a goody-two-shoes," Jia mumbled, inspecting her nails. "I do suppose that Shirley girl can be in on this. Is she too nice? Does she care about her friend and her boyfriend?"
"It seems that she cares for them deeply, but like most girls, she let her jealousy get in the way. Her decision was perfect, if you ask me. She is someone they trust, but they have no idea what's in store for them," Mao explained.
"So she's working for us, huh?" Jia smirked, uncrossing her legs and placing her hands on the desk that were still clasped together. "You have pleased me immensely, Mao. What would you like if this plan succeeds?"
"Why, mother? Shouldn't you already know?" A dry smile pulled on Mao's lip. "All I want is my dearest C.C."
….
Shirley sat at one of the tables in her boyfriend's restaurant. She came while her friends were still working, and they weren't even close to closing, but she needed somewhere to think. The decision she made scared her, but she didn't want something that belonged to her to be taken away by a person she barely even knew, let alone trusted.
She turned her head to look at the green haired girl who was working behind the cash register. She handed a customer change before turning to her boss who was standing to behind her. She had a bored look on her face before giving him a small smile - which he returned - and turned back to her work. A small blush was visible on her face, making her slap her self as she mumbled something under her breath.
The orange haired girl turned her head back when the other girl caught sight of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her grip on the phone, but it wasn't until it vibrated that she immediately opened them. Another text from Mao like she had been getting for the last month.
Opening her phone, she got ready to read the text message, but was startled when she heard a voice come from behind her.
"It's really rare to see you here during work hours."
Shirley jumped, her phone falling out her hand onto the floor. She quickly picked it up, and closed it, turning around to see the girl she was just looking at. An amused smirk was on her lips. "C-C.C.!"
"Very nice greeting, Shirley," she said sarcastically, leaning back on her chair. "Anyway, what were you looking at on the phone?"
"N-N-Nothing! I-I was j-just checking i-if I-I had a-any e-emails!" Shirley stuttered, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "J-Just em-mails, you know."
"You know," C.C. started, tilting her head to the side. "You're stuttering really gives you away. You need to get rid of your habit of stuttering like that."
Shirley furrowed her eyebrows, huffing. "Aren't you supposed to be working or something?"
"I would be if you hadn't been distracting me. Besides, it's not like I have anyone else coming up to the counter. People are eating. Let them enjoy the pizza without a waiter or someone asking them do they need anything every five minutes." That smirk on the enigmatic girl's face was really starting to get on Shirley's nerves.
The orange haired teen had nothing to say to that, giving up on answering the other girl. "Well, I don't know, can you go find something to do?" Shirley asked.
Before C.C. could answer, a familiar raven haired teen walked over, his eye twitching. "C.C., how many times have I told you to not start conversations with the custom- Oh. Shirley."
Shirley gave smiled at him. "Hi, Lulu." she greeted, giving him a small wave.
"What brings you here?" Lelouch asked. "Did you want something?"
"Well, it's obvious she has come here to enjoy the delicious pizza that I can't have until I am done working." C.C. smirked, crossing her arms.
Lelouch shot the green haired girl a glare at which she just shrugged. "Non-pizza related, C.C. Anyway," he said, turning back to his girlfriend, "Did you come here to eat, or did you want something from me?"
"N-No. Nothing," Shirley answered, blushing. "I just needed somewhere to think. That's all. This is the first place I thought of, but I might buy something later."
"Well, if you need anything, I'm here," he smiled. Turning back to the teen next to him, he said, "Let's go, C.C."
"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, a bored look on her face. She turned back to Shirley, smiling. "If you want something, I'll buy it for you. And no need to pay me back."
"You barely have enough money-" Lelouch started, but not before yelping in pain. He shot C.C. a glare, but she stood just as emotionless as ever.
"Anyway, have a nice day, Shirley." C.C. smiled, walking away with the raven haired teen limping behind her.
A look of surprise spread across Shirley's face, realizing that was the first time C.C. ever called her by her name. She was supposed to be observing the green haired girl, but she hadn't done anything so far. She seemed like a nice person, but like Mao said, she couldn't just trust her with Lelouch's well-being.
Her phone vibrated in her hand again, a look of guilt spreading across her face. She opened the text, reading it.
Mao Liang: Are you done observing?
Shirley typed in a 'yes', pressing send. He immediately answered back, making her think he wasn't doing anything important right then.
Mao Liang: Good. All I have to say is she's scared of dark, confined places. Good day, darling.
The teen's eyes widened, knowing what Mao wanted her to do. She also knew that people who had an especial fear of dark, confined places went insane if put into such an area for an extended amount of time. It happened to her cousin.
The poor girl once spent the night in prison for being caught stealing some lady's jewel necklace. The guard said that the ear-shattering screams started halfway through the night. She was let out in the morning since it was only her first offence. But once she was out, she wouldn't stop crying, and kept muttering words to herself which no one could make out.
Her cousin never left her room after that, and her parents said that she always left the light on at night.
She placed her head on the table, balling her fist tightly. A tear of guilt felt down her face, but it had to done.
~The Next Day~
"C.C. dear," Marianne called, coming in the living room where the green haired teen was playing chess with Nunnally. "I have something to ask you."
The green haired teen turned her head to the older woman, greeting her. "Hello, Mrs. Lamperouge. I didn't think you knew I was here."
Marianne put a finger to her chin. "Well, I didn't, but when I was in the kitchen, Lelouch was mumbling something about selfish witches, so I figured he was talking about you." She smiled, taking a seat on the couch next to her daughter.
"So, what was the question you wanted to ask me?" C.C. asked, picking up a chess piece to move it.
The raven haired woman snickered, clasping her hands together. "I want to know how you feel about my Lelouch."
"What gave you the idea that I have any sort of feelings for him?" C.C. slowly put the chess piece down and looked at Marianne nervously.
"Milly was never the type to keep her mouth closed about that sort of thing. Anyway, she told me everything, and she wants to know if you've, you know, changed your mind about it," Marianne explained, a big grin on her face.
A confused look appeared on the teen's face, raising an eyebrow. "Mrs. Lamperouge, Lelouch is dating Shirley. Wouldn't you be supportive of their relationship instead?"
"Honestly," the eccentric woman continued laughingly, "I was sort of hoping you would become my future daughter-in-law, if that isn't too much."
C.C. blushed a bit, looking back at the chessboard. "I don't think I will becoming your daughter-in-law. Besides, wouldn't Shirley make a nice one?"
Marianne crossed her arms, pouting. "Way to ruin a woman's dream, dear."
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"And C.C.," the raven haired woman started, leaning over and grabbing the teen's hand with a smile, "I know that you may think love is frustrating, but I want you to be true to you heart. Listen to what your heart tells you, not to what you think you want to hear."
C.C. was silent for moment, thinking about the words coming from the woman in front of her. She had never been in love before, and now, she was being told to listen to her heart from someone who had experienced love. And she would have never known the person who made her heart thump if it wasn't for the result of Marianne and her husband's love.
Lelouch would have never been born.
She would have never gotten a job at the restaurant.
She would have never met this boy who wanted to protect her.
She would have never met any of her friends.
She would have never fallen in love with him…..
V.V. watched his mother lie in bed, a worried look on his face. After what happened in his mother's office yesterday, he called for her secretary who immediately called the doctor. The doctor said she was fine, but it was as if she was trying really hard to remember something. It had happened once more in the hospital room, and she had started mumbling things about getting away from someone.
She was ordered to take a few days off of work and get some bed rest. V.V. had skipped his violin practice to help take care of his mother, even though the maids said they could do it. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, wondering what his mother was talking about.
His thoughts were interrupted by shuffling in the bed. His mother slowly opened her golden orbs, turning her head slightly. "V.V.? Why aren't you at your practice?" she asked, confused.
"I'm staying here with you," he stated.
Akira slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes slightly. "What happened yesterday? I was in my office, but that's all I remember."
"Well, even though you should remember the part at the doctor's office, he said you need to stay on bed rest for a couple of days. And-"
"No," Akira cut in. "I can't leave the company for a few days. I have to work. I have a meeting tomorrow, I still have documents to sign, I'm supposed to meet up with Jia and M-"
"Mama," V.V. said, giving her a flat look, "I know you better than I know myself. We all- and yes, 'all' meaning the whole office building- know you do not like Mrs. Liang. I wish you didn't like Mao either, but unfortunately, you do."
Akira laughed a bit, messing with the hem of her bed covers. "I... I like Jia, she just does some stuff I don't agree with. That's all. And Mao's a very sweet boy."
The blond haired boy scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can keep telling yourself that. And what I still want to know is why Nee-chan ran away."
"Honestly," the brown haired woman started, "I don't know. My head has been hurting a lot lately, and I see these flashes. Like-"
"Yes, I know, as if you're trying to remember something. Yesterday the doctor said that was the problem. Yesterday, you had a big episode where all the memories were coming to you in one shot, making you have an extremely bad headache," V.V. explained, leaning back in his chair.
"What could it be that I'm trying to remember, though?" the CEO asked herself. "Now that I think about it though, there's tons of stuff I don't remember after your father died. There were times when I couldn't remember what happened the night before, but your sister would ask me the same question every morning: 'You don't remember?'"
"Mama, I'm starting to think you have something to do with Onee-chan running away, not only Mrs. Liang and Mao," her son stated.
"I can't have anything to do with it. We only had the argument where I didn't believe her."
V.V. sighed, standing up and grabbing his mother by the face. "Well, I'm going to find out, and you're going to remember what happened after dad died. Because I. Want. My. Sister. Back."
"So, why are we at a hotel again?" Euphie asked, walking behind the cheery blonde who was grinning ear to ear.
"Because," Milly started, "I told you my aunt- the first one- wants me to help her move her stuff downstairs to her new house."
"What about Suzkau, Lelouch, and Gino? They're guys, so why can't they help?" Nina asked quietly, following behind like an obedient lap-dog.
"Those three said they were doing something this morning. I don't really remember," the blonde answered, crossing her arms.
"But why do we have to help?" Kallen asked, crossing her arms across her chest. "I was supposed to meet up with Gino later."
"Well, you worry about your little boyfriend later," Milly smirked.
Kallen blushed, clenching her fist. "He is not my boyfriend," she mumbled.
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, I am not helping my aunt move her stuff out of this luxurious hotel just to hear her talk all day about nothing. You have never sat with her all day. I swear, words flow in a never-ending waterfall from that woman's mouth." The busty blonde quickened the pace, trying to get everyone to stop asking questions.
"And that has to do with us because...?" C.C. inquired in an annoyed tone, walking behind everyone else with Shirley next to her. "I could be eating pizza right now."
Milly sighed, then turned towards the group of girls and grinned. "In other words, you guys are helping me whether you like it or not. You guys can do anything you want after this, so endure it until then."
Shirley kept silent, not asking any questions like her other friends. She was too busy thinking on what Mao wanted her to do. She was hoping the elevator would just stop, and she wouldn't have to lead the girl that was walking next to her into a trap.
Before she knew it, they were already at the notorious aunt's doorway. The door opened to reveal a blonde haired woman with jeans on and a black t-shirt. A bandana was wrapped around her long hair. She gave Milly a huge smile, saying, "Milly, you're here just on time. I still have some packing to do. You know, I live in a hotel and have no idea why I have so much stuff. Wouldn't you-"
"Okay, Aunt Camellia, I got your point." Milly said, sweating a little. "I brought my friends along to help," she pointed to the five girls that were standing behind her.
"Wonderful. The more help there is, the quicker we'll get it do- Hey," Camellia stopped, walking up to C.C. and out the room door, "You look familiar. Have I met you before?"
The green haired teen stepped back a bit, the woman taking up a little too much of her personal space. "I don't think so."
Camellia raised an eyebrow, taking a step back. "I swear you do. Hmm, I guess not if you don't know, either. Alright, girls, into thy hotel room!" She marched back into the room, literally, leaving six teenage girls to look at her like she was crazy.
…...
"AH!"
"Nina, how did you trip over a water bottle?" Euphie asked, helping the green haired teen up. She picked up the glasses that fell on the floor. "Here."
Nina grabbed the glasses from her hands, placing them back on top of the box she was holding. She shyly mumbled, "Th-Thank you."
The pink haired teen smiled, grabbing her hand. "You're welcome. Come on, we have more stuff over here. Shirley, you can tape up this box now," she announced.
The orange haired girl walked over with silver duct tape in her hand. She quickly taped up the box, picking it up and putting it where the other boxes were. At the door with the boxes were C.C. She had been stacking them neatly next to the door for when it was time to take them downstairs.
"C.C., do you want to take some of the boxes downstairs now?" Milly asked. "It's getting really crowded in here."
"Fine."
Milly looked around and found Shirley unoccupied. She walked towards her, her blonde hair bouncing behind her. "Shirley, help C.C. with the boxes And that's a demand, not a question."
"But-"
"No 'buts'." Milly said to the orange haired teen, putting her hands on her hips. "Grab some boxes and go down to the lobby."
Hesitantly, Shirley walked towards the green haired girl who had two boxes in her hands, standing at the door waiting for her. She grabbed two boxes of her own, and walked out the door.
They silently walked down the hall to the elevators. When Shirley pressed the down arrow key, she realized that they were on the thirteenth floor of the hotel. She was never one for multi-floored buildings, but she was used to it when she had to go places with her mother and father.
Once the doors opened to the elevator, she pushed the button for the first floor. She noticed the way C.C. was tightly holding her box and her pursed lips. She wondered why she was that way. Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the lights went out.
She heard a small gasp and boxes drop from next to her. The orange haired teen placed her boxes on the ground, and felt for her phone in her pocket. Once she had the phone, she opened it to put some brightness in the room.
Sitting in the corner was a trembling green haired teen. She looked like she was ready to scream. Her golden eyes were wide, and she was gripping her green locks while breathing loudly. "Let me out," she whispered to no one in particular.
Shirley's eyes widened, gripping the cellphone in her hand. Mao told her she hated confined places and stuff, but he never told her the reason behind for why she hated these kind of places. If he had only known her for a year, though, and she'd run away from home after an incident, how did he know she hated these places? Was it the incident she was never told about?
Bending down next to the girl, she put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "C.C.-"
"Don't touch me!" she jumped, scooting away. "Don't touch me. I don't want you to touch me. Just get me out of here."
Shirley crawled closer, her phone making C.C.s face clearer in the light. She tried again to comfort the girl. "Don't worry, we'll get out of here. I'll just call Milly." Was she supposed to be helping her? She finally got C.C. into a dark, confined place, but her reaction made her feel guilty.
C.C. didn't answer. All she did was keep shaking, and whispering to herself.
Dialing the blonde's phone number, she hit call and put the phone to her ear. It rang three times before her friend had picked up. "Mill-"
"What's taking you guys so long?" Milly cut in, huffing. "You guys went to the lobby twenty minutes ago."
"We're not in the lobby, though," Shirley said, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "The elevator stopped. We're stuck, Milly."
"You're stuck in the elevator?!" the blonde yelled into the phone. "Now we have to get someone to come get you guys. Is C.C. in there with you? She's being pretty quiet."
Shirley turned her head a little to look at C.C., but could not see her as well because her phone was put to her ear. "C.C.'s actually not fine with this. She's freaking out, Milly, and I don't know why." For some reason, she hated that she had to lie about this. She just wanted to outright tell her that she already knew why her friend was freaking out.
"Well, at least my day won't be spent with my aunt," Milly mumbled. "Anyway, let me go tell Aunt Camellia, so she can get someone to get you guys out. Just stay put on the phone."
The orange haired teen took the phone from her ear, shining her light back on the green haired teen who had her knees pulled to her chest and her head buried between them. She crawled back over next to her, wrapping her arms around herself.
"I just called Milly, and she said she's going to get someone to get us, so we won't be stuck in here for long," she told her, smiling a little.
"Okay," she mumbled in reply.
Having nothing else to say, Shirley kept silent, occasionally taking a glance at the girl next to her. After about twenty minutes, her phone vibrated. Reluctantly ending the call with Milly to answer it, she opened the text to find a message from Mao.
Mao Liang: I see you completed my task, but I see you are stuck in there with her too. Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not very efficient.
How does he know we're stuck in an elevator, Shirley thought, her eyes slightly widened. She quickly replied, sending him a 'sorry'.
She placed the phone back next to her, sighing. When the next text came, and before she could grab it, what she didn't notice was that C.C. was looking right at her phone, a look of terror spread across her face.
"Sh-Shirley, why d-do you h-have the name M-Mao in your phone?" she asked, looking up at the girl who froze.
"I…" Shirley did not know how to answer this, fiddling with her fingers and her mouth open.
She scooted away from Shirley, clinging on to the railing on the wall. "You… You know Mao? H-How? He does horrible things. He violates innocent people, and yet you..." She didn't finish, sucking in a sharp breath, and tears floating in her eyes. She remembered that horrible memory from almost two years ago, tears pooling in her eyes.
"No, C.C." Shirley tried to compromise. "That's not true. I would never-"
"You have something to do with Mao! How do you even know him? If he knew you that long ago, I should've at least known you too!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself. "You know that horrible thing he tried to do to me, yet you didn't do anything, did you?!"
"C.C., what are you talking about? What horrible thing?" Shirley questioned, confused. C.C.'s side of the story was different from Mao's. Was C.C. just making stuff up to trick her? "Now you're accusing me. I-"
Before she could finish the lights were back on and the elevator was moving. The door opened second later to reveal all Milly, Camellia, her other friends... and Lelouch.
Shirley stood from the floor, grabbing her phone. C.C. instantly shot up from the elevator, and ran to stand in front of Lelouch with wide eyes, as if pleading for something she couldn't speak of. Lelouch stood there confused for a couple of seconds, but took in her panicked expression before pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her in comfort. The orange haired teen narrowed her eyes, wanting to crush the phone in her hand until it was in little pieces.
Milly put a hand on her shoulder, catching her attention. "I called Lelouch and told him the situation, but honestly, it was for you. I had no idea she would go to Lelouch first," she explained.
Shirley didn't answer. She only walked out of the hotel, trying to calm her anger.
In the video camera room, Mao laughed, clapping his hands in amusement. "Soon, you and your mother's trust will be mine, my darling C.C."
So, that's the end of this chapter. For some reason, I didn't like the way I wrote it. It just didn't seem to flow like my other chapters did. Maybe because I had been a little stuck on what to write.
Anyway, I bet you all already know why C.C. hates dark places. That's all for now.
Read and Review! :)
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