And now for BR WTF ch25? 25, is it?
I'm seeing five more chapters, maybe six, with this one. As you all know, all good things must come to an end; that and I am lazy and ready to move onto bigger/better/more R-rated things (kidding about that last one—OR AM I? D).
Well considering Motored was a R (M sounds stupid, R it is!), s'not too surprising I dally in the more adult themed stuff every now and then. Adult with comedy, of course! ;D
And without further ado, I present to you… chapter 22! Just kidding, it is chapter 25, you're not experiencing vertigo, I just wanted to keep up the rhyme scheme.
-
"I am going to ask you an intelligent question that reflects my medical expertise," said Dr. Chigusa, furrowing his brow, "why in the name of God's green earth did you jump out of the window, son!?"
Because your daughter is a mildly psychotic but totally hot bitch who's been yanking my chain all this year even though I started it. But I'll only admit that at gunpoint.
No, that wasn't what Shinji said; it was what he wanted to say, it was what he wanted to scream to the heavens already, just to get it off his chest, but he sure as hell wasn't going to announce that to her father, of all people. Especially when that rather frightening display of medical syringes was gleaming in the florescent lighting.
This whole situation stunk of 'do not want'. Shinji just sighed. "Teenage angst?" he offered.
Dr. Chigusa rolled his eyes, wrapping Shinji's brand new arm cast with blue gauze. "tell me another one, son."
"Okay, fine," said Shinji, "completely honest, doctor-patient confidentiality? I fell out."
"You fell out," said Dr. Chigusa.
"Yes."
Dr. Chigusa just sighed. "Well, regardless, you'd better start being more careful, young man. Not many people are so lucky to fall from the second floor and only break their arm!"
"I'm left handed," Shinji realized suddenly, "oh, fuck!"
"Son!" said Dr. Chigusa, scowling.
"My life just got worse!" complained Shinji, "arghhh!"
Dr. Chigusa just muttered something along the lines of 'troublesome teenagers' and 'glad my chromosomes made girls', as he left the room. The door hadn't been shut for four Mississippis (eight seconds?) before it opened again.
And sure as shit, here was Takako, her expression—actually, pretty unreadable, for once.
"You idiot," said Takako, scowling, "how stupid are you!?"
Shinji just ignored her, getting off the bed and stretching his left arm out experimentally, and wincing. "Ow."
"Good going, by the way, jumping," said Takako, folding her arms over her chest, "gonna jump again?"
Shinji looked up at her, his eyes narrowed; he crossed the distance between them in a few quick strides and kissed her. Takako's eyes widened in surprise. She meant to shove him off her; but instead she wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him back.
Shinji pulled away from her much too quickly for her liking, and an awkward silence filled the room. Saying Takako was confused was the understatement of the century, like it usually was when it came to Shinji Mimura, of course, but before she could ask him anything, he left.
Takako sat down on the abandoned hospital bed and dug her phone out of her pocket. She wasn't aware she was crying until her tears landed on the cell phone's screen and blurred the display.
-
"No, really, I've been here long enough," Shinji told Dr. Chigusa, who looked reluctant to let what he thought was a sick person out. "I'm fine… I just ate something that didn't agree with me…"
He grabbed Ikumi by her hand—annoyed to see her swapping numbers with Takako's sister, her new friend—and after thanking Dr. Chigusa again, he left.
"Why'd we have to go so early?" Ikumi complained. "Don't you have to wait until your arm is fixed?"
"Because…" Shinji considered telling his little sister why he was so pissed lately, but decided not to. She was still a kid; it was probably best not to corrupt her young mind with teenage crap.
"Don't worry about it," he told her. "Look, tell you what, I'll take you to McDonalds if you're hungry, I have enough money for THAT."
"Okay!" Ikumi agreed happily.
-
"So he actually said he was sorry?" Hiroki asked incredulously. "And then he jumped out of the window!?"
"I don't care if he did!" Takako said fiercely, "He didn't mean it! And he only jumped out of the window to make me feel sorry for him!"
"Did it work?" Hiroki asked.
Takako groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I don't KNOW," she groaned, "Hiroki, I was looking at him and telling him how sick of him I was, and all I wanted to do was kiss him and tell him not to go! And when he left I just started crying! I've never cried like that before in my life, it was like this horrible hollow feeling inside me!"
"An 'I'm sorry' is still an apology regardless if he mumbled it or not," Hiroki pointed out. Once Shinji had left, Takako called Hiroki up and told him to meet up with her nearby, saying she had to talk to him. As expected, Hiroki dropped what he was doing—Wii bowling, but he was about to go pro—and went to catch up with her.
"You don't think this is a good idea, do you?" Takako asked suddenly.
"What idea?" Hiroki asked, feigning innocence.
"The idea of me pretending to go out with Shuuya. There's a million ways it could go wrong," Takako muttered.
"That's never stopped you before," Hiroki pointed out. "I personally think that having his nose broken by a girl and his ego coming crashing down on him is punishment enough, Taka… maybe you should let things play out normally?"
"Absolutely not," Takako said angrily, her anger returning. "Look…" She lowered her voice. "You don't know how it feels like, do you? Seeing someone you're…" she groaned. "Seeing someone you're crazy about with someone else, especially when they're doing it just to spite you? I hope you never have to feel it, it feels shitty and horrible. I keep thinking I'm going to be sick myself, but beating the hell out of Mitsuko helped a little." She sighed.
"Takako…" Hiroki squeezed her shoulder sympathetically.
"I don't know how I feel," Takako said miserably, resting her head on her arms. "I want to hate him, but I know he didn't do it because he hates me… he's just stupid, but I can't believe he did that to me! It'd be easier to just hate him and move on, but that'd be harder than never resolving this! I'm not the sit around whining and crying girl! Why can't I just get over this and go kick his ass!?"
Hiroki got up and sat next to her, putting his arms around her and hugging her. Takako was crying, her shoulders shaking, and Hiroki noticed she hadn't shoved him off her with a sarcastic brush-off like she normally did. Subconsciously, as he hugged his best friend, Hiroki was hoping Shinji's nose and arm were really hurting him right about now…
-
"Shinji, how come you're not eating?" Ikumi asked, noticing Shinji sitting across from her, subconsciously rubbing his eyes.
"Huh?" Shinji asked, looking up at her. "You say something?"
"What's wrong?" Ikumi asked for the hundredth time, pouting. "Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? I'm a big girl now!"
Shinji smiled a little. "Don't be in such a hurry." He sighed, knowing his sister was clearly worried, and decided to sum it up in a way that would get his point across. He really didn't want to tell his little sister, the only person in the world who still idolized him—or, for the matter, who still considered him a human being—what a jackass he really was.
"I screwed up," he told her. "I let the perfect girl fall right through my hands because I was an idiot."
"You're not an idiot," Ikumi insisted.
"Nice to know someone still thinks that." Shinji sighed. "Ikumi, you're aware you're the only human being I know personally who can still look me in the eye?"
"Sounds like you're in big trouble," Ikumi said sadly. "Can I help?"
"No, but I've been thinking," Shinji told her. "You're not allowed to talk to guys until you're thirty. You'll thank me someday."
Ikumi frowned. "No fair!"
"C'mon, you about done?" Shinji asked her, nudging her with his foot under the table. "I look like hell. I want to go home."
-
It took a lot of willpower, but somehow Shinji decided to go to school the next day.
"You sure?" Ikumi asked, eating her cereal.
"Yeah. Only thing worse than going back would be not going back," Shinji sighed.
"You should eat," Ikumi protested, "you haven't eaten since—"
"Yesterday," Shinji said. "Look, Ikumi, stop worrying about me, I'm fine. If I eat anything I'm probably gonna throw it all up again anyway."
"I wish Mom was here," Ikumi said sadly, "you'd listen to her!"
"No, I probably wouldn't," Shinji smirked a little. "You about ready? I'll walk you there if you want."
"Stop making excuses to miss school!" Ikumi said, and giggled.
Shinji just shook his head. "You're on to me, kiddo. I'm gonna be fine, don't worry about me. A'ight?"
"Okay," Ikumi told him. She walked over to him and gave him a big hug. "I still love you, even if nobody else does. Bye bye." She left.
Shinji groaned and let his head hit the table, forgetting about his nose brace. "OWWW…" With a sigh of resignation, he got up and reluctantly trudged out the door, silently praying a typhoon would strike and they'd all get to go home.
-
"He hooked up with Mitsuko just to break Takako's heart!"
"Wow. What an asshole."
"Poor Takako… how's she taking it?"
"From what I hear, she's fine… guess Mimura'll have to try harder next time—"
"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT THE FUCK UP!? I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE! I CAN FUCKING HEAR YOU!!" Shinji shouted, losing his temper and picking his head up from his desk.
Yukie and Haruka hadn't stopped rapid-fire gossiping since he sat down and promptly put his head down, before anyone could see his nose. He was already a social pariah for what he did to Takako, the LAST thing he wanted was anyone to see his face…
Instead of being terrified, his explosion only fed the girls even more ammunition.
"What's that thing on his face?" Yukie whispered.
"I dunno… How do you think he broke his arm?"
Shinji apparently gave up and hit his head on the desk angrily, hitting his nose as he did so and crying out in pain. "Owww!"
From nearby, Shuuya looked at his best friend's miserable form, knowing the worst hadn't even begun to come. He tried to remind himself that Shinji deserved this, but he was starting to think if Mim saw the girl he loved with his best friend, it would probably lead to… well, it wasn't gonna lead to anything good…
-
Shinji knew yesterday was the worst day of his life, but today ran a close second. Yukie and Haruka's annoying gossip was only in homeroom; he had yet to see what the rest of the school thought about him. He'd gone from most desirable guy in school to most despicable piece of trash overnight; hell, even the teachers seemed pissed off at him. When he refused to pick up his head to answer a question in class, his teacher dropped his grade from a B to an F, adding another failing grade to his growing collection.
Shuuya's guilty feelings were increasing as the day went on; Shinji skipped lunch, and Yutaka took advantage of the situation.
"What's wrong with him!?" Yutaka demanded, looking worried.
Yoshi nodded in agreement. "I've been hearing crap all day and I don't know what to believe."
"Where'd he go? What's going on?" Yutaka asked. "Shuuya?"
Shuuya just shrugged. "Hell if I know. He's not going to talk to me."
"God dammit, Shuuya! How the hell do you not know what's going on?" Yutaka said angrily. "What kind of friends are we? Mim's acting weirder than ever and we haven't even tried to figure out what's going on?"
No, I know what's going on, and I agreed to help hurt him even more, Shuuya wanted to say, sinking lower into his seat.
"Well, fuck you guys! I'm gonna go find him and try and figure out what the hell's going on," Yutaka snapped, getting up and leaving.
Yoshi let out a deep breath. "Shu, what's going on? I know something's bugging you, you didn't sleep at all last night! And you've got a squeaky mattress so you tossing and turning kept ME up too!"
"I feel guilty as hell, Yoshi," Shuuya admitted, rubbing his forehead. "I can't tell you, man. You'd hate me if you knew."
"How could I ever hate you?" Yoshi asked incredulously.
"Believe me, Yoshi, there's a way," Shuuya grumbled.
-
"MIM! You in here, man?"
Shinji was hiding in the handicapped stall in the boys' bathroom, considering the idea of drowning himself in the toilet, and dismissing it quickly. He mentally kicked himself for being such a melodramatic baby. He didn't want to die, he wanted Takako to like him again. His train of thought was interrupted by the familiar voice.
"Yutaka?" he asked hesitantly.
"You in there, Mim? You better open up, or I'm crawling under the door with you!" Yutaka threatened, banging on the stall door. "And I'm short enough to fit!"
Shinji unlocked the stall door and Yutaka's eyes widened. "Holy shit!" he said. "What the hell happened to your nose!? And your arm? And—"
"Would you shut up? I'm fine!" Shinji said, rubbing his head. "I've felt like I was gonna puke since yesterday afternoon but there's no FOOD in my stomach for me to throw up!"
"Mim, what's been going on?" Yutaka asked urgently, before groaning loudly. "I swear, if this is about friggen Takako again…"
"It is," Shinji said shortly. "Go away. I don't want to talk about her."
"WHAT THE FUCK'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" Yutaka exploded, causing Shinji to jump. "Takako's not worth killing yourself over, Mim! God dammit! Why didn't you TELL someone!?"
"I did," Shinji protested, "I told my sister."
"Oh, so you're worrying Ikumi too? Come ON!" Yutaka groaned, fishing a rice cake out of his bag and thrusting it at him.
"Eww, I'm not touching that," Shinji said, making a face, "I remember when you bought that. It's been in your bag for months, it's not healthy—"
"But starving yourself is?" Yutaka demanded.
"I'm not starving myself! Anything I eat I'm gonna throw back up again anyway!" Shinji complained. "I can't even breathe, this stupid thing is clogging my nose—"
"What's going on?" Yutaka asked again, sighing. "I've been hearing shit all day, I don't know what to believe—something about you hooking up with Mitsuko to make Takako jealous? Come on, is that the best they can do?"
"It's true," Shinji muttered.
"I mean, come on, you'd never stoop that low to—WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY!?" Yutaka cried in mid-sentence. "Oh my god, Mim! Don't tell me you really hooked up with MITSUKO!? Dude, she's probably tested positive to every STD known to the human race, no wonder you look like hell!!"
"I didn't hook up with her and I don't have any STDs! And what'd you mean LOOK LIKE HELL? I'm fine!" Shinji interrupted. "Why does everyone in this stupid school jump to completely WRONG conclusions!? All I did was bribe her into pretending to be my girlfriend for five seconds! Takako saw us and she ran off crying, and I've felt like shit since! Then she went and attacked Mitsuko and beat the hell out of her, and Mitsuko came to find me and broke my nose! That's what happened, everything everyone's saying is true, alright? I'm an asshole, I broke Takako's heart just because she didn't believe me when I told her I liked her—"
Yutaka looked stunned. "What're you gonna do?"
"What d'you mean?" Shinji asked, feeling light-headed after all that yelling. "Shit… I feel like I'm gonna die…"
"Because you haven't eaten in a day and a half!!" Yutaka said angrily. "You fucking moron!" He paused. "Hey, that felt good to say."
"Why're you still talking to me?" Shinji asked. "Nobody's looked at me all day… good riddance, with this stupid thing on my face—"
"You've had your head down all day," Yutaka pointed out. "And I didn't even notice your nose thing until you pointed it out, I take it that's to fix what Mitsuko did to you?"
"Yes, and guess who my doctor was," Shinji groaned. "Three guesses. First two don't count."
Yutaka looked confused. "Who?"
"Takako's dad," Shinji complained. "He's head doctor in the emergency ward at the hospital. It figures."
"Did he know who you were?" Yutaka asked.
"No… well, he said my name, and I swear I thought he recognized me, so I bailed. I ran to the bathroom and threw up, and when I stand up to wipe my mouth off I see Takako staring at me… her folks were convinced I was on the brink of death, so they made me stay for a little while longer, and that's when Takako comes by to torture me, and I jumped out the window when I got sick of her guilt trip," Shinji complained. "Hence the arm cast."
"Mim, you look like hell, get a sick pass and go home, man," Yutaka said, "I'll go with you to make sure you don't like collapse on the way home—"
"You just want to get out of your math test," Shinji muttered.
"SHIT! I've got a math test!" Yutaka yelped. "Oh, shit, come on, Mim, let's get out of here!"
Shinji laughed despite himself. "Thanks, Yutaka," he told him, standing up. "C'mere…" He grabbed his much shorter friend in a big hug, and Yutaka hugged him back.
Three guys on the baseball team came in, saw Shinji and Yutaka, and promptly turned around to leave again. Yow. Do not want!
-
I got an awesome idea a minute ago—how awesome would a BR story written entirely written in limerick be?
Then I got another idea. Muffins.
I knew it. I'm going insane.