Chapter 20
Shopping
Staying with the Zala family was not a bad idea after all. They treated Catherine as their own flesh and blood which she was grateful of. She had been in that house for more than a month now.
Patrick Zala, who was the current Chairman of PLANTS, was only on leave for the first week of her stay. After that week, she seldom saw the man during weekdays since he would leave early in the morning and late at night. It was good that he was free for Saturday and Sunday but there are some times when he would also go to his office in Aprillus because of unexpected circumstances that needed his presence though Athrun and Lenore was already used to it by now.
Catherine was sleeping comfortably in her bed when something tickled her nose. She was woken up but she hadn't opened her eyes yet. She turned to the opposite side of the bed and scratched her nose a bit. Then she felt that tickling thing on her nose again. She groaned in irritation. She slowly opened her eyes and found a pair of familiar eyes. She blinked a couple of times then the fact that there is somebody in her room instantly sank into her brain.
"Aaarrrggghhh... What are you doing here?", she shouted at the brunette in front of her. She moved a bit backward then her vision became black since somebody covered her eyes.
"Hey!", she protested trying to remove whoever's hand was that and heard some giggles.
"Who am I?", an angelic voice said.
"Lacus... Please stop this. You too Shiho", she said sleepily.
"How did you know that it is me?", Lacus asked placing a playful pout on her thin lips as she removed her hand from Catherine's eyes.
"Seriously", Catherine replied raising an eyebrow.
"Just kidding", Lacus said laughing a bit.
"Now... Tell us how it feels living with the Zala's", Shiho said with a smirk plastered on her lips.
"It's fine", came Cagalli's short response then lied again on her bed trying to go back to sleep.
"Can you be a little more detailed?", Lacus requested.
"No", she mumbled then covered herself with the blanket.
"C'mon Catherine", Shiho said while shaking her body a bit.
"Please let me sleep some more. You ruined the peace in my room", Catherine replied lazily.
"No... You won't go back to sleep. You're coming with us", Shiho said in a commanding tone.
"Geez Shiho... I'm still sleepy. Just go back some other time", Catherine said.
"Auntie is coming with us so you should too", Lacus said tickling her nose again with the feather she was holding.
"Stop it Lacus... Haha", she grabbing the feather from her hand and hid it under her pillow.
"Are you coming or not?", Shiho asked in a scary tone but Catherine seemed not to mind.
"No", she replied still not opening her eyes. Unknown to her, Shiho was now smiling evilly holding another piece of feather in her hand and tickled Catherine's left ear.
"Hahaha... Shiho please... Stop it... It tickles", Catherine complained while laughing.
"No... Not until you stand up there and join us", Shiho replied.
"You're evil! Hahaha", she continued to complain.
"Are you coming or not?, Shiho repeated her question.
"We promise to stop tickling you if you agree", Lacus said.
"Fine... I'll go with you... So please... Stop tickling me and give me five more minutes", Catherine responded.
"No more slacking off Catherine. You better get up now or I'll get you up myself", Shiho threatened her but she did not moved from her bed. So Shiho forced her to sat up and clapped her hands on both of her cheeks.
"Ouch, what was that for?", she said holding both of her cheeks.
"Get yourself ready within 30 minutes so we can leave", Shiho ordered her.
"Okay, fine", Catherine replied standing up from her bed. She grabbed her towel and some clothes then went inside her bathroom. After 15 minutes, Catherine came out wearing her favorite red shirt and cargo pants with the towel on her head.
"Your room is really nice", Lacus commented as she surveyed her surrounding.
"Er... Thanks... Athrun said that Auntie was the one who made the arrangements of this room", she replied.
"So you two already talked huh", Shiho said with a knowing smile.
"Yeah... We managed to settle our arguments", Catherine said as she removed the towel on her head and started combing her hair.
"That's great!", Lacus exclaimed.
"So you two are now a proper couple?", Shiho asked which made Catherine blush lightly.
"No", she answered.
"What a shame... Athrun sure is really slow", Lacus said which surprised the other two girls in the room.
"I don't think Athrun is the one who is slow", Shiho said giving Catherine a mischievous look.
"Wha... What is that suppose to mean, Shiho", Catherine replied pretending to have no idea on what Shiho was talking about.
"C'mon Catherine... Athrun is really straight forward when it comes to his feelings for you. I'm sure he has already told you that he loves you several times", Shiho said bluntly which earned the reaction she was expecting.
"Not this topic again, please", Catherine begged.
"Let's talk about this one last time. After this, we promise not to speak about this anymore. We just want to know the truth", Lacus said.
"Look guys, we decided to stay as friends. It's better this way", she replied.
"But I'm sure that Athrun's not contented with you being just friends", Shiho countered.
"That's the only thing I can give him", she replied.
"There's nothing stopping you to love him Catherine, so why not give him a chance?", Lacus asked.
"It's not as simple as you think", Catherine replied avoiding their gazes. Shiho, noticing that the blonde was not really comfortable with the topic, decided to drop it.
"Cheer up, Catherine. No matter what you're going through, I'm sure you can overcome it. By the way, let's go now. Auntie Lenore is now waiting for us", Shiho said.
"Thanks Shiho. Oh. I forgot to ask, where are we going?", Catherine replied but Shiho shrugged.
"To tell you honestly, I also don't know", she said then both of them stared at Lacus. Lacus chuckled nervously.
"Why are you looking at me like that?", she asked.
"Where are... ", Catherine started.
"we going?", Shiho continued. Both of them narrowing their eyes.
"Uhmmm... Hehe... I also don't know?", Lacus replied uneasily.
"Where are"
"we going?", the two repeated not buying Lacus' answer.
"Let's go", Lenore's voice echoed in the room. She was standing at the door wearing an elegant dress that reached an inch below her knees.
The three of them couldn't help but admire the older lady's beauty although Catherine and Shiho were both boyish in nature.
"You look great in your dress Auntie", Lacus said.
"Thank you, Lacus", Lenore replied. "Let's go".
"Uhmmm... Auntie, where are we going?", Catherine inquired.
"You'll see when we arrive there", she simply answered.
The three girls followed the older woman to the car. Lacus was the one seated next to Lenore while Catherine and Shiho sat at the back staring suspiciously at the girls in front of them with their arms crossed in front of their chests.
Lenore glanced at them through the rear view mirror.
"Is there a problem, Shiho and Catherine?", she asked while driving.
"None, Auntie", the two answered in unison.
"If you say so", Lenore replied dropping the topic. After a few minutes, they stopped at the mall. As they went out of the car, Catherine and Shiho glared at the innocent building then to the two girls beside them.
"What are we doing here, Auntie?", Shiho asked with half-lidded eyes.
"Shopping of course", Lenore replied with an unusual smile.
"Seriously", Catherine said.
"What else are you doing in a mall?", Lacus replied.
"You know that we are going here, don't you?", Shiho asked Lacus.
"Ah... Hehe.. Uhmmm... Let's go inside", Lacus said nervously.
"Yeah, let's go inside", Lenore seconded as she dragged the two girls inside in building so called mall.
As they were walking, Lenore was in front of the two girls with Lacus in the middle.
"Tell us again what we are doing here", Catherine said.
"Shopping?", she replied and the other two girls glared at her.
"Aha! Here", Lenore exclaimed when she says a dress shop. Lenore and Lacus excitedly went inside leaving Shiho and Catherine who looked like they will be burned once they stepped on the store at the door.
"C'mon, Catherine, Shiho, we'll buy you some dresses", Lenore said but the same scowl faces remained on the two girls.
"Shopping is fun, guys", Lacus said.
"Shopping is dreadful", Catherine replied as Shiho nodded her head in agreement.
"But you need some dresses", Lenore reasoned out.
"We don't need something we will not wear", Shiho countered.
"Believe me, you'll need it. Especially you Catherine", Lenore replied with a smile that told her that she knew something she didn't know.
"Why will we need it, Auntie?", Catherine asked.
"Just trust me, okay?", Lenore said. Although they were still hesitating, the two girls went inside the dress shop. They were already there anyway and they doubt that they would go home soon unless they bought some dresses. But when they entered the shop, they just sat on the couch and watched the other two girls choose some dresses.
"Catherine, I think this will look good on you", Lenore said holding a simple green dress.
Catherine was forced to enter the fitting room with the dress chosen by Lenore but as usual, she was being stubborn. She just stood there doing nothing. After a few minutes, Lacus called out for her.
"Do you, by any chance, have a plan to live in there. It doesn't take several hours trying on a dress", Lacus said.
"It's easy for you to say that because you are fond of these stuffs", Catherine retorted.
"Catherine, please just try it on", Lacus said.
"Shiho dear, I found a nice dress for you", Lenore suddenly said as she made her way towards the brunette with a red dress in hand. Shiho glared at the poor dress.
"I'm not going to wear that Auntie", Shiho replied.
"C'mon Shiho, wearing dresses once in a while won't kill you", Lenore continued to persuade her.
"It will Auntie, it will", Shiho countered that made Lenore shook her head.
"Just think that you'll do this for Yzak", Lenore finally said the magic word, I mean name which made her blush but tried so hard to suppress it.
"I don't need to wear a dress for anyone, even if it is for him", she answered.
"But Yzak is a boy, he would want to see his girlfriend, or should I say fiance wearing a nice dress", Lenore replied.
"He'll just make fun of me if he sees me in one", she said.
"I don't think so. Don't you want to dress up for him? I'm pretty sure that he's gonna like it", Lenore said.
"But... Fine, only one dress, okay", she finally gave up to Lenore's wish.
"That's my girl. Hurry up and try it on", she told the younger lady. Shiho made her way to the other fitting room but she was still glaring at the dress in her hand.
After a few hours in that shop, they finally left to buy some shoes. They only bought flat shoes for Shiho and Catherine since they were not really comfortable with high heels.
They entered shops after shops until they realized that it was already noon.
"I'm already hungry. Let's eat", Lenore said and the three girls agreed. They entered a fast food restaurant inside the mall and settled themselves in a table.
"After eating we'll go to my favorite accessories shop", Lenore said as she placed some food into her mouth.
Catherine and Shiho had the same disgusted expression in their faces which was the opposite of Lacus'.
"That would be great, Auntie", Lacus replied smiling broadly while the other two youngsters turned their gazes on the poor girl.
"Fine, I promise, after going to the accessories shop, we'll be going home", Lenore said upon noticing the two's expression.
The two sighed in relief saying "Thank God" in their minds.
"Thanks Auntie", they said in unison.
Upon finishing their food, they headed out towards the store. When they entered the said building, they saw the familiar blond haired principal looking at something. They went beside him and found out that he was searching for a ring. Catherine traced where he was looking.
"That's a nice ring", she commented upon seeing the ring with blue stone. "though it's quite expensive". Mwu was suprised to see them beside him. He didn't notice their arrival until Catherine spoke.
"What are you doing here?", he asked the four girls.
"We're going to buy accessories, little brother", Lenore replied with a knowing smile.
"I see", he said then returned his gaze on the ring he was staring at a while ago.
"Buy it now before someone else gets it", she advised and he smiled.
"It's really nice Mr. la Flaga so you should buy it", Catherine seconded.
"Okay then", he said then called out for the sales lady as the Lenore and Lacus went to the other part of the store to look for some accessories while Catherine and Shiho stayed beside Mwu.
"Miss, Can I take a look that ring", he said pointing at the ring.
"Okay, sir", she said then got the ring and handed it to Mwu so
he could have a better view of it. He looked at every detail of the ring and found it perfect.
"I'll take it Miss", he said smiling from ear to ear.
"I'm sure Ms. Murrue will like it", Catherine said as the sales lady took the ring to place it in a velvet box.
"Ms. Murrue? Murrue Ramius? You mean the English teacher?", Shiho asked.
"Er... Yeah... I'm planning to propose to her, we're not getting any younger you know", Mwu said as he chuckled a bit.
"I didn't know that she's your girlfriend. You seemed not to like her before, Principal Mwu", Shiho said. Mwu raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?", Mwu asked.
"Well, you always contradict her decisions and you're acting cold towards her", Shiho explained.
"Come to think of it. It's true, Principal Mwu. You're like a completely different person in front of her", Catherine said.
"Oh, I see. Well, that's a long story", Mwu said.
"It sounds interesting, will you narrate it to us", Shiho requested.
"No", Mwu answered shortly.
"Please", the two pleaded until he have in.
"Fine, I'll tell you later", he promised the two then the sales lady came back with the ring placed inside the box. As Mwu was paying for it, a ring with a unique design and red stone caught Catherine's eyes. She really liked it but when she looked at the price, she instantly frowned. It was too expensive. In fact, it was more expensive than the ring Mwu just bought.
"Thank you, Sir", the sales lady said and Mwu just nodded his head.
"Catherine, Shiho I'll just go outside", Mwu said then went out.
Then, they found Lenore and Lacus paying for the accessories they picked.
"Where is Mwu?", Lenore asked as she saw Catherine and Shiho approaching them.
"He said that he'll just go outside", Shiho answered.
"I see", she replied. After paying, Mwu reentered the shop.
"We're going home now", Lenore said.
"Oh... Take care then", Mwu replied.
"Aren't you coming with us?", Catherine asked.
"Hnnn...?".
"You owe us a story", Shiho explained.
"Oh... Later... I'll go there later, okay. I'll bring Murrue with me", he said while grinning.
"Okay then, we'll wait for you Uncle Mwu", Shiho said.
"Sure thing", he said then they walked outside the shop.
The four girls rode Lenore's car then went home. When they arrived at the mansion, they were greeted by the maids.
"Where is Athrun?", Lenore asked.
"He went out just a while ago", the oldest of the maids answered.
"Oh, where did he go?", she asked again.
"He did not tell us", the maid reply.
"Oh, I see. Please bring some cookies and tea in the garden. We'll just bring these to our rooms", she said. The maids went to the kitchen while they all went to their rooms.
"Oh... Have we tell Catherine that we're going to stay overnight here?", Lacus asked Shiho.
"Ah no. Not yet", Shiho replied.
"Eh? You're gonna stay here?", Catherine asked in delight.
"Yes, but only for one night", Shiho replied while smiling.
"That would be great!", Catherine exclaimed. After that, they went to their respective rooms and placed the things they bought there then went to the garden.
A few hours had pass and Mwu together with Murrue came. Since dinner time was already near, Lenore went to the kitchen to prepare their food. Even though they had a lot of maids, she still prefer cooking by herself especially if her brother took a visit. Murrue followed her to help.
"So Uncle Mwu, tell us now", Shiho said excitedly.
"Okay, so here's how it goes", Mwu said then started narrating their story.
flashback
Mwu and Murrue were classmates when they were in high school. Unlike Mwu who was the son of the owner of the school, Murrue was just a commoner who cannot afford to pay for the tuition fee in Archangel Academy. Luckily, she got a scholarship so she was able to enroll in that school. Mwu was known to be the school's heartrob. He already had a lot of girlfriends. When he met Murrue, he started to change for the better. She was the first girl that he took seriously so he courted her for 2 years. Yes, it took him two years to have Murrue as his girlfriend. They were so happy and contented with each other but day, Mwu decided to introduce her to his family.
They stood at the door of the la Flaga residence. The house was almost as huge as the Zala mansion.
"Let's go", Mwu said.
"What if they don't like me?", she replied not moving from where she was standing. Mwu gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm pretty sure that they will like you especially my mother and my older sister. They are so eager to meet you", he said. Murrue just gate him a weak smile then he placed a hand on her waist and ushered her inside. There sitting on the elegant sofa was Lenore and her mother, Lena.
"Oh my! Is she Murrue?", Lenore asked her brother which he responded with a nod.
"She's so pretty, son", their mother exclaimed.
"Thank you, Ma'am", she politely replied.
"Oh... Just call me Mom", She said.
"But isn't it a bit early for that, Mrs. la Flaga?", she asked.
"It's fine dear. After all, my son is really serious about you. In fact, you are the first girl that he ever brings here! So I'm expecting that he'll ask you to marry him someday", she said with a dreamy look which made the couple blush(Seriously, I don't know why I always make the characters blush...Haha).
"Mom!", Mwu said.
"Mom's just telling the truth, little brother", Lenore said.
"Fine, whatever", Mwu said then he formally introduced Murrue to them.
"Oh so my dear brother and his worthless girlfriend are already here! Welcome", a blonde man who was standing at the end of the stairs said. Murrue bowed her head in embarrassment while Mwu glared at his brother.
"Watch your language Rau!", Mwu hissed.
"What I've said is true! She's a worthless dork. She's just after our wealth", he replied.
"Stop it Rau", Lena reprimanded his son.
"You shouldn't accept that girl in our family! She's just a piece of junk", Rau continued to ridicule Murrue.
"She's not a piece of junk!", he said with his eyes blazing in anger.
"Honestly, I don't know what you see in that girl and I'm telling you, dad won't like her", Rau said smiling evilly.
"Rau, I never teach you to speak like that about others", Lena said.
"Whatever you say, Mom. Just wait until Dad sees her", Rau replied laughing then went to his room.
"I'm really sorry about Rau. I really don't know why he is like that", Lena apologized.
"It's alright", Murrue replied weakly. "I just want to go home now".
"I'll send you home", Mwu said.
"It's a shame that it turned out like this. I'm really sorry, Murrue", Lenore said as she gave her a hug.
"It's not your fault", Murrue replied when Lenore let go of her.
"I'm so glad that I finally meet you but I wish that Rau should've been kind to you", Lena said as she hugged her too.
"We'll be going now", Mwu said as she lead Murrue outside.
Rau told their father about Murrue. Her family status, what they do for a living and some lies that he invented that wasn't really good. Their father was so furious about it that he talked with Murrue.
"I heard that your mother is sick", Al said in a cold voice.
"Yes, sir", she replied.
"Is that the reason why you flirted with my son? So that you'll have something to say the hospital?", he asked angrily. Murrue was so suprised to see his outburst.
"No sir. I love your son for who he is and not for what he has", she retorted.
"If you want money, then I'll give you money. Just stay away from my son!", he replied.
"I can't do that sir. I'm not after you wealth and I really love Mwu", she said trying to be brave.
"Why you!", he was about to slap her when Mwu came.
"What do you think you're doing father?", he was mad.
"She's not good for you", Al reasoned out.
"You don't know what's good for me. All my life you're never there! And now that I've found my happiness, you're taking her away from me? What kind of father are you?", he said then he dragged Murrue away from his father's office.
One day, Murrue avoided Mwu. She kept on ignoring him everytime they met until Mwu cornered her at the back of the school's building.
"Why are you avoiding me?", he asked while glaring at her.
"I don't love you anymore Mwu", she answered without looking at him.
"You're lying. Tell me what your problem is so we can go with it together", Mwu replied.
"Just accept it Mwu. I don't love you anymore", she said looking at him straight in the eyes.
"No", he said as he kissed her on the lips for a couple of minutes but she did not respond. When Mwu pulled back, he found Murrue glaring at him then she left.
Unknown to Mwu, Murrue's mother, the only remaining relative of her, died and it wasn't an accident(I know guys that you already know who did it).
After that day, Murrue transferred to another school in Orb and finished college. She got a licence of being a teacher and began teaching in Orb. Unfortunately, the owner of the school where Murrue was teaching decided to close it so she needed to find a new school to apply. She returned to PLANTS and try her luck there. There, she found her friend, Aisha and asked her to join her in Archangel Academy. She did not agree at first because she knew that the school was owned by Mwu's family. But Aisha was so persistent that she gave in. She applied as a teacher there and was accepted although Mwu treated her coldly.
During her stay in that school, she learned that Mwu's father died due to lung cancer since he was a heavy smoker but he manage to get Mwu engage to Erica. That was one of the reasons why Mwu acted coldly around Murrue. He didn't want to have false hope. Another reason was because he was mad at himself that he never searched for her in Orb when he found out the truth.
end of flashback
It was already dark when Athrun came home. They all ate dinner before going the the entertainment room and watched some movies. After that they retired to their respective rooms although Lenore went to her room first than the others.
Since Athrun's and Catherine's room were beside each other, they went there together. When they reached Catherine's room, Athrun suddenly spoke.
"Uhmmm... Catherine", he called.
"Yes, Athrun?", she replied as she turned to look at him since she was about to enter her room but Athrun instantly looked away.
"Can... can.. Can we... Er go out tomorrow?", he asked while blushing hard and catching a glimpse of her from the corner of his eyes.
"Ah... Sure", she replied while also blushing which made Athrun happy(LOL).
"Thanks", he said then stole a kiss on her cheek then ran towards his room and closed it. Catherine was left in the hallway holding her cheek which Athrun just kissed. She smiled at the thought that Athrun just kissed her. After a while, she went inside her room.
Thank you guys for the review... Miyu Nanami, Fate Camiswhil , blondeprincessa, Saki-Hime, ladycagalli0918, caelumnoctis23...
AN: Cagalli never had an amnesia... she's just pretending that she doesn't know them for security purposes... not only for her but also for her love ones...
about lenore, when they met on cagalli's enrollment, she doesn't know yet that catherine is cagalli... how and when she knew will be revealed later on...
sorry if the flashback about mwu and murrue is so short...T.T
If there are errors in this chapter aside from grammar errors... please tell it to me...
to those fics that i'm reading... i'll just review some other time...
i want to cry though i already cried...T.T
nakakainis sya... nsa jeep ako tapos tumutulo luha ko...T.T