GoldenLombaxGirl- Harry Potter cosplay can open a world of possibilities, that's for sure! Hermione and Susan sound pretty cool! I don't know what character I'd be, but I am a Slytherin through and through!
TieDieTruth- Awww that's so sweet of you to say! Thank you so very much! I'm so happy you love the story too!
BizzyLizy- Masami getting eaten by cows or aliens O.o I've seen/read a lot of scary things, but I think the mental image that just put in my head is terrifying.
Medieval Midnight- :D So glad you loved it! (also it's alright about the weird thing, I just misunderstood, thank you).
Alice Kitten- Eating ice cream, killing sna-cock-rats, the family business (sorry Supernatural reference).
Bored411- The Masami bit will be starting next chapter in depth, but this is when Riko knows what she has to do at least so it kinda starts this chapter I suppose.
FanFictionReader225- :D
Hateme101- Harry Potter is amazing :D
KasumiAkemi- ~We'll see ~
Thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews! Song is Palette, the one Riko would be listening to is the English cover by Miku-tan, the song mentioned is Angel With A Shotgun by Nightcore. Also this has to be one of my favorite chapters (aside from the date chapter and chapter 33) because of the humor. Hope you all enjoy!
~CWA
Chapter 35
I have everything planned out that will help me relax after everything that's happened. Work on my book. Play with Cuddles and Bubbles. Sleep. But the key to relaxing success is to start everything by pampering myself. I don't do it often. In fact the only time I ever really treat myself is when I go eat ice cream. So I have the perfect thing that is just what I need. A relaxing bubble bath with so many bubbles that I could drown in them.
With the robe fastened tightly around my body, I search through the contents of the cabinet under the bathroom sink. Man I need to search through this more often. There's enough dust to start a sandstorm, I swear. The only thing that's not covered in a layer of dust, aside from the toilet paper, is the box of pads and tampons that are hidden by a row of fresh toilet paper. Guess it's hard to be dusty when it's something I have to use every month. Pft.
The good news is that everything else is already set up for my pampering trip. Lights are dimmed slightly and there's pretty smelling candles lit up around the room; I managed to find them hiding in the closest though I have no memory of them being there. The tub is steaming with hot water to the brim. Fresh clothes are laid out on the counter for when I get out- the old dirty ones are tossed into the laundry. My phone sits right on the floor by the tub, a safe enough distance away that it won't get wet, but that I'd still be able to grab it when I'm in the tub. I'm usually pretty careful about not splashing everywhere and despite clumsy tendencies, I have only dropped my phone in the tub once in the past. Currently, however, it's playing music that echoes through the bathroom creating a peaceful environment.
~Quietly I try to laugh through the tears that I'm holding back. Colors that I picture flow from a palette like a rainbow… Please distinguish me. Emotions draining from me. Fill me with your paint before I disappear…~
I hum along to the song slightly, knowing it by heart, as I continue my search. I know there's bath salts and bubbles somewhere in here. I mean I know that I bought some last year when Masami insisted that we go to that lush bath and body store. I forget it's name since it's not some place I go often, but really. I know I haven't used them so they should still be here. Maybe they just dissolved into nothing by now. With my tongue sticking out slightly in concentration, I reach my hand all the way back until I'm finally able to find it. My hand touches something that's smooth and a bottle-shaped as well as a few ball-shaped smooth objects. Ah-ha! I knew they were here somewhere!
"Can't hide from me," I whisper smugly as I grab the objects out of the cabinet, "you sneaky bastards."
I feel a bit prideful as I grab out the things. Like everything else, there's a bit of dust on them, but I can still tell that they are what I'm looking for. Bubble bath and lush bath bombs. This is going to be amazing. Feeling giddy and excited, I turn toward the bath tub that's already filled with hot water that I just can't wait to dip into. But the real question is, just how much of this stuff is supposed to go in. A cup? Two cups? It's kind of a big tub…
~Love you, a line that melts to drops of beautiful blue like gentle falling tears… Thank you… Ascending like a deeply red melody is sweet music to my ears… I will be Eraser's mind~
Over the music, a small noise draws my attention to the tarantula that has made itself comfortable on a towel I had set down for her. Bubbles. I smile slightly at her with a sheepish expression,
"I don't suppose you know how much of this stuff is supposed to go in, do you?"
I don't really expect her to answer; if she did, I think I would scream. Shaking my head, I turn back to the tub with a thoughtful expression. It's a big tub and it's an old bottle so does that affect how much I put in? Shrugging with a small oh screw it, I just uncap the bottle of bubbles and pour almost half of it, only stopping briefly to place one lush bath bomb into the tub. Using my foot to stir the water, the bubbles start to quickly form. My eyes widen as the water turns to a good replica of a space galaxy- a result of the bath bomb.
Bursting into a small fit of giddy giggles, I disrobe and eagerly get into the tub. Oh my God. The bubbles are overpowering me. I'm getting eaten alive my bubbles as the sparkly hot water envelops me. I'm torn between laughing my butt off at the bubbles that cover literally every part of me with at least a few inches of bubbles and relaxing because the hot water feels so good on my sore muscles. I go for the second option, mostly because my body is giving in to the second option.
I close my eyes and lean against the edge of the tub with a contented sigh. I practically have to will myself to not fall asleep. This is so good. Why haven't I done this sooner? I mean this is freaking amazing. I sigh again and listen to the music, singing along softly to the music. My voice isn't the best. I have never been a singer and I'm almost sure that my voice could scare anyone. But I'm so giddy and relaxed that I don't really what my voice sounds like because I'm happy and this is a good song.
"~Spinning inside of me, in a navy, are resolving memories as we draw close enough our future is with colors bright… ~"
I can't reach the high notes so I substitute for a lower toned version that I can reach without cracking my voice. Something about this song brings Takashi to mind. I can imagine his face perfectly. Each hair on his head to the perfect cheekbones and the shine in his eyes. How handsome he looks when he smiles. How nice he is to me as well as others. A small smile stretches across my face as I continue to sing to the last chorus of the song, loosing myself to the music and my own fantasies.
"Love you is painted out in shades of shadowy gray a joy is filling me… Thank you… Falls slowly from my lips and is washed away by only the purest kiss…"
I smile goofily as the song ends and the next one begins. Though considering the next song is a rather more upbeat, punk song that I have on my play list, I'm able to return to reality rather quickly with a content expression. I glance toward the bubbles around my body. I can't even see the water from how much bubbles there are and the only part of my body I can see is my shoulders and my knees and that's just because my legs are bent ever so slightly. Even then they're not totally visible.
I glance toward Bubbles. She's made her way from the towel to my phone, probably curious about the sound coming from it. She never has been a scaredy-spider. I smirk slightly, though I am a bit glad that all the candles are out of the way in places she wouldn't be able to get to. I click my tongue slightly and after drying my hand on the nearby towel, I reach out for her to crawl onto my palm. She climbs on eagerly and sits herself right on my palm without a care in the world.
Hah. I'm in bubbles with Bubbles. Something about that thought causes me to snort in laughter. Oh man that is comedy gold. Biting the inside of my cheek with a small smile, I use my free hand to grab my phone. I have to share this with someone. The bubbles cover my body so it won't be like I'm exposed for them to see and I'm a bit to giddy over my joke that I could really care less.
Excited to share my joke, I aim the picture so that it captures all the bubbles around me and me ducking down slightly, only the upper part of my face is visible while my hand sticks out from all the bubbles with Bubbles on my palm. My music is now stopped to do this which is a bit of bummer since I rather like Angel with a shotgun (the Nightcore cover of course). Click. I snap the picture and quickly type out Bubbles with Bubbles before I press the send button. But once I set Bubbles down on the tiled floor, barely even noticing the way she scurries away to the towel to hide herself, I bring the phone closer to me as I adjust my place in the tub.
Now who exactly did I send it to? I was hoping to send it to Haruhi, but I didn't really pay attention when I typed out who I was sending it to. As I go to my sent box in my phone, I realize with a bit of horror that I didn't just send it to Haruhi.
Send to- Friends list.
Everyone on my friends list in my contacts have now received a picture of me with bubbles and Bubbles. Oh God. I'm not sure if I should laugh or scream in terror. Who exactly is in my friends list? Chiko. Masami. Umi. Janet... The host club… Oh man. The crap I'm going to get from the twins- not to mention Tamaki- is going to kill me. I groan slightly and throw my head back a bit in frustration.
A ring from my phone signaling a message causes me to fill with dread. Oh man. Who has replied to me first? I'm almost scared to look. I close my eyes tightly and take a deep breath. Please don't be the twins. I crack open my eyes and manage to see that it's not just one person whose texted me. It's several people. Oh man it looks like everyone has seen the picture. Well. Better face the music.
With a breath of courage, I scroll through the replies.
From- Janet
LOL Riko. Who knew there was a humor god under that shy personality?
From- Chiko
When I said to let me know it was you when you texted, this isn't what I meant. OMG.
From- Umi
Looking good Riko!
Well at least their reactions aren't that bad. Though Umi's messages causes me to flush and just want to duck back down into the bubbles with embarrassment. It takes me a moment to compose myself to see the other messages.
From- Shadow King
There are things that should be kept in private. This is one such thing.
I expected such a response from Kyoya. Though I am mildly surprised he replied at all. I half-expected him to just sigh and delete the message without bothering to reply. Though now comes the real horror. I hold my breath slightly as I read the twins and Tamaki's responses.
From- Hikaru
Now we just need a picture without the bubbles. ;)
From Kaoru-
Are you really in the bath? Also, I saw what Hikaru texted to you- sorry about him.
From Tamaki-
AHHH!
Well. It could have been worse. It's no so bad though I am sure that when I go back to the host club I will be getting an earful from Tamaki. I have no doubt that the twins will be making jokes about it too. At least my friends have a sense of humor. I continue to read the rest of the replies, which there aren't that many since I have only three left to read.
From- Imouto
Really Riko?
From- Hunny
Haha that's funny Ri-chan! But be careful sending pictures like that around!
From- Takashi
Pft.
I expected Haruhi's response, but Hunny's reply makes me roll my eyes in a small huff. He really should know by now that I am not that careless. Takashi's response causes me to blush slightly with a small smile. That's all the replies at least. A part of me is thankful I didn't send it to my entire contacts list by accident. If that picture had made its way to my mother, I would have my phone taken away without a doubt.
Though there is one person who hasn't responded. Masami. My heart sinks slightly. I know she must have seen it. There's even a little read sign by the message under her contact. But she hasn't replied. If this picture had been sent earlier in the year, I know she would have been the first reply and to think that now she just ignores it causes a small pain in my heart.
"As for Masami, I just suggest talking to her. Maybe even going to her house or something just to see her face to face…"
That was what Janet said. She's right. She usually is. Though I'm not sure if it's because she's older or just because that's who she is. She's Janet, the wise ice cream parlor waitress with the wisdom of an old monk. I sigh slightly and set my phone down back on the floor. Go to her house and see her face to face.
That's what I need to do. I need to just talk to Masami. Go to her house and just talk. I don't know what I'll say, but it just needs to be done before this gets worse. So tomorrow, before school, I'll just go over there and see her. A small worry builds up in my gut at the thought.
So much for relaxation.