Oh My Goodness, it has been a while. I'm so sorry. It's my senior year and school's been pretty hectic for me so far (I'm trying to avoid catching "senioritis") and it's been taking up a lot of my time. That, and I've had bad writer's block. Now that that's gone, I'm hoping that the next couple of chapters will come pretty quickly. Ah, you guys don't wanna listen to me ramble. Enjoy the chappie :)
FF Friday Night
(Melissa's POV): "Lissa, you almost ready? You said your friends will be here to get you at six!" I heard Miranda call to me from her room as she got ready for the surprise party she and Macie planned for Molly.
"Yeah! All packed! I'm going to put my bag by the door so I'm ready when they get here," I told her as I finished putting everything in my blue and green Vera Bradley overnight bag, when downstairs, and set the bag down by the front door.
Just as my bag hit the marble floor, there was a knock at the door. I looked through the peephole to see who it was and found a large mass of white hair and a cute face. I opened the door to find a boy about the girls' age. I recognized him as the boy Miranda was skating with during 70s night.
"Hello there, Melissa," he said in his cute British accent, "Is your sister still here?"
"Yeah, hang on a sec," I told him, "Miranda! Door for you!" I heard her footsteps scurry to the banister.
"Who is it, Lissa?" she asked.
"Your boyfriend," I shouted up teasingly, trying to make the situation as awkward as possible.
Hey, I'm her little sister. It's my job.
Anyway, as soon as I said "boyfriend", Miranda zoomed down the stairs. She reached the base of the staircase at about the same time I did. When I looked over at her, I noticed that her face was bright red.
"Melissa Marie Carlisle!" Miranda said sternly.
"What? What did I do?" I asked her sarcastically, smirking to myself on the inside.
"Oh, forget it! Just, just go do something," she said, shooing me into the kitchen in attempts to get me away from her and her friend.
(Miranda's POV): "Oh, forget it! Just, just go do something," I scolded Melissa as I shooed her away before she could make matters even more awkward.
When she was out of sight, I looked over to the door to find the person who Melissa dubbed my "boyfriend".
"Hi, Ryou," I said with an embarrassed smile.
"Hello, Miranda," he said back, his cheeks turning a light red color.
"I'm so sorry about my little sister," I apologized.
"Oh, it's quite alright," he said, "I know how siblings can be sometimes."
I giggled. "So, what can I do for you, Ryou?" I asked him, wondering exactly why he was at the door when Molly's party was supposed to start in a half hour.
"Well, um, I, um…" Ryou struggled to get out, "Well, I've been m-meaning to ask you something all week, but I've been a bit n-nervous."
"What is it, Ryou?" I asked.
"Well, I was wondering if, uh, if perhaps you would like to have dinner sometime, j-just the two of us," he asked me.
Aww. He's so sweet.
"Ryou," I said, "why were you so nervous about asking me out? I mean, you already asked me to Homecoming."
Ryou looked down and shoved his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. "That's different. I mean, asking someone to be your date to a dance and going with a big group of friends is vastly different than asking someone out on a one-on-one date," he explained, not looking up from the spot on the floor that his eyes were fixed on, "There's a lot more pressure and a much greater chance of getting rejected."
So that's it, huh? Ryou's afraid of rejection. Poor thing.
I gently put my hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up and allow me to look him in the eye.
"I'm free tomorrow night, and I've been meaning to try Katz's Deli since Alea told me about it. That sound okay to you?" I asked. He seemed to perk up considerably, which, in turn, made me smile.
"That sounds great," Ryou said back, looking astonished at my answer.
I giggled a little. "I like you, Ryou. You're such a sweet guy, and I'd really like to get to know you a little better," I told him, making him blush.
"I-I like you, too, Miranda," he told me, "I think you're terrific. I'd really like to know more about you as well."
We simply smiled at each other until we heard a voice behind Ryou call out.
"Ryou, come on! We don't want to be late!" we heard Alea say as she and Bakura walked arm-in-arm, with gift bags in tow, toward the elevator.
"I should go. My brother doesn't like to be late and traffic can become pretty congested, especially on Friday nights," Ryou explained to me, "I'll see you in a bit."
As he turned to leave, I snuck a small, gentle kiss on Ryou's cheek, causing the pale skin to turn rosy pink.
"Bye Ryou," I said with a smile before slowly closing the door.
(Molly's POV): "Guy's, where are we going?" I asked the girls as we drove through the streets of New York toward our mystery destination.
The suspense was killing me, and the fact that Miranda and Macie had blind-folded me did not help the matter. I was so anxious, I almost couldn't stand it.
After a little over five minutes, we finally came to a stop and Miranda turned off the Escalade's engine.
"Are we there?" I asked, feeling completely clueless as to what was going on.
"Yes, Molls. We have arrived!" Macie stated excitedly.
The girls quickly got out of the car and then came over to my side to help me out.
"Alright, Molls, you ready?!" Miranda shouted to me over the noises of the New York hustle and bustle.
"Hell yeah!" I answered back.
As soon as I said that, I felt one of the girls begin to untie my blindfold, exposing my eyes to a giant sign surrounded with bright neon lights; a sign that read "Gino's: Laser Tag and Arcade".
"Shut up!" were the first two words out of my mouth. The bright flash of Miranda's iPhone camera went off, capturing my reaction but nearly blinding me in the process.
"Happy Birthday, Molly!" both girls shouted in unison.
"You guys are the best!" I said with the biggest smile on my face.
I've loved laser tag since the first time my brother took me to the San Diego LaserTron when I was ten years old. It's one of my favorite memories from my childhood.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Miranda asked, "Let's get this party started!" With that, the three of us entered the building.
As soon as we entered, I noticed something weird. The arcade part of Gino's was packed like any other arcade on a Friday night, but no one was in line for laser tag.
I started to feel a little glum. Laser tag is fun regardless, but it's a lot more fun with a lot more people, even if it's people you don't know. Miranda apparently noticed I was starting to look a little down.
"Something wrong, Molly?" she asked me.
"Well, it's just that there's no one else here in line for laser tag. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll have fun regardless, but I'm used to a bigger group of people to play laser tag with," I explained.
"Well, then we might just have to remedy that situation," Miranda said, "…NOW!"
Right when she said that, at least twenty familiar faces popped out left and right from around corners and behind games and under tables by the snack bar.
"Surprise!" they all said together, "Happy Birthday, Molly!"
I couldn't believe it! It was a surprise party! The girls had invited every last one of our friends; Yugi and the gang, Stef and her band, the new girls, Devon, Tsukiko and Alex, Jamie and Alea, even Carson.
"Ha ha, we got you!" Macie exclaimed in victory as she observed the absolutely stunned look on my face.
"You guys!" I said, still in shock, "This is… Words can't even describe… I can't even… Thank you!" I grabbed hold of my two roommates and pulled them in for a tight hug.
I had the best friends a girl could ever ask for.
(Miranda's POV): After a number of hugs and photo ops with the birthday girl, it was time to pick teams for laser tag. As the girl of the night, Molly was chosen as the first team captain. I was chosen as the second. After about five minutes, we had our teams.
My team consisted of myself, Macie, Vicky, Stef, Andi, Kimber, Tea, Yugi, Devon, Joey, and Tsukiko.
For her team, Molly had chosen Alea, Jamie, Ema, Sienna, Alex, Carson, Tristan, Duke, and both of the Touzoku brothers.
After that, we met up with Jake, the guy who worked the laser tag arena, and were quickly told the basics of how to play and the rules.
"Alright, team 1, suit up. You will be the blue team. Your two power bases are located on the far side of the arena," he told us as my team strapped on our vests that were attached to our laser guns. After we finished, Molly's team was told to suit up.
"You all will be the red team. Your power bases are located on the side closest to the entrance," he explained as everyone finished getting ready.
After everyone was ready, Jake opened the door to the arena and we all filed in. The lights were still on, allowing us to get a sense of the layout of the arena. It was rather large, had two floors, and dozens of glowing plastic barriers for protection against opponents.
Once both teams had gotten together near their power bases and had a few minutes to strategize, the lights slowly began to dim.
"Welcome to the Gino's laser tag arena," a deep, pre-recorded voice said over the speakers. After the short introduction, we all stepped in front of our power bases to charge our lasers. Once we were all charged up, the countdown began.
"3, 2, 1..." the deep voice boomed, "GO!"
(Melissa's POV): About ten minutes after Miranda, Molly, and Macie left for their "night out", Hoshi arrived, with Ana at her side, to pick me up for the sleepover. As we walked out of the Bellmont building together, the first thing I noticed was a large white stretch limo parked at the curb. The female chauffeur driving the limo stepped out and walked to the back passenger side door, pulling the door open.
I looked at Hoshi. She simply motioned toward the opened door, saying "after you."
"Wait! This is your limo?" I questioned, not believing what was in front of me.
"Well, technically, it's my mom's limo, but it's ours for night," she explained, "Now, get in! We still have to pick up Jaz."
I did as told and climbed into the back seat behind Hoshi with Ana following close behind. The driver pulled carefully away from the curb, and in virtually no time at all, we reached Jaz's family's townhouse in the westernmost part of the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
The driver honked the horn to inform Jaz that her ride had arrived, and almost instantly, she emerged from behind the large oak door of the darkened townhouse. The chauffeur got out of the limo and opened the door for Jaz, who then poked her head into the backseat.
"Wassup?!" Jaz said excitedly.
"Hey Jaz," Ana greeted with a smile.
"Family all out tonight?" Hoshi inquired as Jaz climbed into the backseat and closed the door behind her.
"Yeah. Jackson and Jessica are at a friend's house for a playdate while my parents are seeing the Philharmonic tonight," she explained.
"Ooh, my mom and I are going to see the Philharmonic tomorrow night with a few of her friends," Hoshi stated with excitement.
When Hoshi mentioned her mother, it got me thinking.
A limo? Expensive cars? Nice clothes? And tickets to the Philharmonic aren't cheap. I was curious as to what Hoshi's mom did for a living.
"You've been awfully quiet, Melissa," Ana stated all of a sudden, snapping me out of my thoughts, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah. Just thinking," I told them. "Penny for your thoughts?" Jaz asked.
I thought about how to form my question for a moment.
"Hoshi, what is it that your mother does?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Just out of curiosity."
"Oh, alright. Well, my mom runs her own company."
"Oh, really? What company?"
"Sakura Fashions."
"…Hoshi?"
"Yes, Melissa?"
"What's your last name?"
"Seiki."
"…YOUR MOTHER IS AMETHYST SEIKI?!"
I was so in shock. Amethyst Seiki was one of Miranda's all time favorite designers, and right now, I was with her daughter.
Oh, if Miranda only knew…
I chuckled to myself a bit. Then, realizing my embarrassing little outburst, I clamped my hand over my mouth. My new friends looked at me for a moment with what seemed to be shock, but then looked at each other and started laughing. I laughed nervously with them, but soon asked, "What's so funny?"
"Just you reaction," Ana pointed out, trying her best to stifle her laughter as she did so.
"Yeah," Jaz stated, "You should have seen me when I found out. My jaw hit the floor!"
The girls began to laugh at the memory, as did I. I was glad to find out that my reaction wasn't too out of the ordinary.
About 15 minutes later, we made it to a gated community on the Upper East Side. As I looked out the window, I began to recognize a few of the larger houses outside.
"Thinking about something again, Melissa?" I heard Ana ask.
"Oh, uh, just thought I recognized the area," I told her and the other girls.
"Have you visited Mokuba's place before?" Hoshi asked.
I snapped my fingers and pointed at Hoshi, my facial expression unchanging. "That's it," I pointed out. Hoshi giggled at me.
"Yep, I live in the same neighborhood as the Kaibas," she said, "I can pretty much walk to Mokuba's anytime I want."
And right on cue, the Kaibas' mansion came into view.
"Brr, I think it just got colder in here," Jaz said sarcastically, holding her arms to act as though she really was cold.
"Hey, wait," I started, "Seto's not all that bad…" Ana touched my shoulder.
"I think she means that we're passing the Whites' place, too," she told me.
"Wait, Sarah's family lives here, too?" I asked in surprise.
"Right across the way from the Kaibas," Jaz stated, "Poor guys."
No more than ten seconds later, we pulled up to the front gate of Hoshi's place. The big iron gate opened slowly and the limo made its way down the long stretch of driveway.
As we approached the mansion, I marveled at the sheer grandness of it, much like I had when I first saw Mokuba and Seto's place.
The limo came to a halt and everyone hustled out of the backseat and up the stone walkway to the mansion's double doors.
I lingered by the limo a bit, attempting to take everything in at once.
Just a few weeks ago, I was back in Napa, packing my bags, preparing to leave the only friends I've ever had. I spent the entire time worrying that I would let my shyness get in the way of making new friendships. Never did I think that I'd meet new people so quickly. And here I was with three girls who I already started feeling close to. They made me feel welcome; like one of them.
"Melissa!" Hoshi called out from the door, once again snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Oh!" I said in surprise, "Coming!" I quickly grabbed my overnight bag and headed toward the front door with my new friends.
(Ryou's POV): Alright, there she is. All I have to do is get her, and she'll be powerless.
I stared Macie down, preparing to shoot her with my laser.
Alright, Ryou. Time to be useful to the team for once.
I placed my index finger on the trigger. I was about to pull it when my laser tag vest began to glow, meaning I had been tagged.
Oh, come on!
I looked all around to find who had done the unkindness of causing me to temporarily lose my power. Then I found her, leaning up against the wall, covered by the shadows.
"Sorry, Ryou," she said smugly.
(Miranda's POV): "Sorry, Ryou," I said, walking away from my spot on the wall.
"Miranda!" Ryou protested.
"Ryou!" I said, "You didn't expect me to let my teammate get shot, did you?"
I walked up to Ryou. "No, I suppose not," he answered.
I smirked. "Good," I said, inching closer to Ryou. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing my face even closer to his. Even in the low lighting, I could tell he was blushing. I closed the gap between the two of us and kissed him lightly on the lips. We kissed for a few seconds before we finally parted.
"Bye, Ryou," I said before leaving Ryou to get back in the game before his power returned.
Suddenly, my laser tag vest began to glow like Ryou's had. I looked back to see if Ryou regained his power and shot me, but he had disappeared. I looked all around, but found no one.
Then, remembering that there were two floors, I looked up. I jumped in fear when I found two red eyes staring me down.
Ema had shot me. She squinted her eyes and slowly backed out of my sight.
Scared shitless, I ran off in search of another teammate.
(Melissa's POV): After spending an hour in Hoshi's game room, playing everything from pinball to DDR, we decided to take a break. We headed to the huge kitchen for some snacks.
"So, what do you guys want to do next?" Hoshi asked, struggling in reaching for a bag of Doritos on the top shelf of the pantry. Jaz stepped over to Hoshi's side.
"How about a movie?" she suggested as she used her height to reach the bag Hoshi couldn't reach.
"Nah," Ana said, "I want to do something fun. We could do makeovers."
"Yeah right!" Jaz said, "Not after the mishap with my eyebrows at our last get together." The girls giggled in unison.
"What happened with your eyebrows?" I asked.
"Hoshi thought my brows were looking a bit on the bushy side, so she thought she'd use scissors to trim them," she told me.
"Oh no!" I said, laughing as I connected the dots."
"Yeah," Jaz said, "For a whole two weeks, I looked like I had a huge gap in the middle of my left eyebrow." I laughed along with Ana and Hoshi at the story.
"Well, it's a 'no' to makeovers and a 'no' to movies," Hoshi stated, "so what are we going to do?" I thought for a moment, then remembered my favorite sleepover activity.
"We could play Truth or Dare," I suggested.
"Yeah!" Jaz exclaimed, "I love Truth or Dare!"
"Me, too," Ana stated.
"C'mon," Hoshi said, "Let's go play up in my room."
With that, we sprinted up to Hoshi's bedroom to start playing as soon as possible.
(Miranda's POV): "You do not!" I shouted in disbelief.
"I swear on my life," Vicky told me.
After our three rounds of laser tag, present opening, and ten pizzas later, I sat down at a table near the snack bar and started chatting with Vicky while everyone else played arcade games.
"If you don't believe me, come back to my place with me and see for yourself," she told me.
"Alright!" I said back, "Just let me make sure the girls have rides back to our place."
We both got up from the table and headed toward the arcade area. Almost instantly, we ran into the girls with Joey and Yugi following close behind.
"Oh, hey guys. I was just about to come looking for you," I told them.
"Hey Miranda," Molly began, "Can Yugi and Joey get rides back home with us. They got rides with Tea to the party, but Tea had to leave early. Yugi told his grandpa they would both be back around 10:30, which is in ten minutes."
"Oh! Uh, well…" I started. I felt Vicky place her hand on my shoulder.
"Actually, Miranda was going to come back to my place with me for a little while," she told them.
I removed her hand from my shoulder. "Maybe another time, Vicky," I told her, "I'd be happy to give you guys a ride."
"Miranda, you should go with Vicky," Macie stepped forward and said.
"But Mace, I…" I began until Macie stopped me.
"I could take Molly and the boys home," she told me.
I was confused. I was the only one in our group that had their license. How was Macie going to drive home?
"Mace, I don't understand. How are you going to…" I started.
I was soon cut off by Macie holding up a small plastic card. My eyes went wide.
"Macie, when did you…" I asked in disbelief.
"I got Joey to take me to the DMV after school on Tuesday while you and Vicky were at the cheerleading tryouts," she explained. I smiled. I took the keys to my car out of my purse, but paused before handing them over. Macie sensed my hesitation.
"Miranda, I promise to be careful," Macie assured me, "On my honor."
I bit my lip and handed Macie the keys.
We walked outside together just as Vicky's car pulled up. I parted ways with the girls and walked to Vicky's car with her. I looked back to my friends one more time as they got in the car.
Please be careful.
(Macie's POV): I climbed into the driver's seat of Miranda's Escalade with Yugi in the passenger's seat. Joey sat behind me and Molly took the seat behind Yugi. I jammed the key in the ignition and started the engine. Slowly and carefully, I pulled away from the curb.
"So, who ended up winning laser tag," Yugi brought up.
"Obviously, this gorgeous birthday girl next to me," Joey stated. Molly gave Joey a light shove.
"Oh, stop it, you," she told Joey, "And actually, I didn't win."
"What?! I thought with your expertise, you'd win for sure, Molls," I told her.
"I know, right?" she asked.
"Well, who did end up winning? Joey asked.
"Believe it or not, Ema won," Molly stated.
"What?! How is that even possible?" Joey asked in shock.
"I have no idea!" Molly shouted.
I giggled as I listened to those two go back and forth.
As I began to kind of tune them out, I noticed Yugi looking in my direction. I didn't want to make him feel awkward, so I didn't look over at him and focused completely on the road. However, I did begin to blush.
After getting to know Yugi for a little while, I've started to grow very fond of him. However, when it came to guys, I was completely clueless. Most of my friends have been girls. The only guy friends I've had are the ones I've made here in New York. I was not well-trained in a male's mentality. I was actually kind of starting to develop a little crush on Yugi, but I was unsure if he liked me, too. I didn't want to make things awkward between us by telling him that I liked him.
After a couple of seconds, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yugi kind of frown and then look away. This, in turn, caused me to frown.
"MACE!" I heard Molly scream from the backseat. However, her warning came to late.
…Oh my God…
(Miranda's POV): "My god, you weren't kidding," I told Vicky as I touched the soft white fabric of the Chanel suit hanging in her closet.
"I told you," she said as she walked over to where I was standing. She grabbed the suit's hanger, lifting it off of the rack it was hanging on and holding it up.
"You want it?" she asked me.
My eyes bugged out and my jaw hit the floor. "…You must be joking," I said to her.
"I'm serious," Vicky assured me, "Here."
"Vicky, this is, like, a thousand dollar designer suit. I can't take this from you," I told her, still in shock.
"Yes, you can," she urged, "It never fit me right. It was just collecting dust in my closet back home in Paris. I forgot I even had it until tonight when I was getting ready for the party. Please. You'd be doing me a favor."
She held up the garment, dangling it in front of my face, enticing me.
"You sure?" I asked, wanting so badly to give in.
"Absolutely," Vicky answered, "Here, try it on."
She set the suit down and quickly helped my out of my clothes and into the white blouse that went with the suit and then the jacket and a-line skirt.
After I was finished dressing, I stepped over to the floor length mirror by the door, admiring every last stitch and every detail.
"It fits you like a glove," Vicky stated.
"It's gorgeous," I said with a huge smile.
All of a sudden, my heard my cell phone ring. I hustled out of the closet, went over to the bed where my purse was, and quickly found my phone and answered it.
"Hello?" I said.
"Is this Miss Carlisle?"
"Yes, this is she."
I didn't recognize the voice, but what he had told me made my heart skip a beat.
"Yes. Thank you for calling…" I said, hanging up the phone. The look of horror on my face never changed as I slowly lowered myself onto Vicky's bed. Vicky emerged from the closet.
"So, who was on the pho… Miranda, what's wrong?" she asked in shock.
I remained silent, trying to make sense of it all...
Uh oh! What happened? I guess you'll have to wait until next chapter to find out. I promise I'll try to get it out as soon as I can. Until next chapter, take care, guys :)