Title: Expectations and Realizations

Inspiration: A challenge [the person who requested it is below]—make a "couple who I don't support" drabble! :D

Dedication: KidTantei, for putting me up to this challenge. To be honest it wasn't that bad. It was actually fun and a nice relief, after not writing for so long.

Spotlight: Sumire and Kitsuneme

Genre: Romance/Humor

Nobody forces Sumire Shouda to do anything she doesn't want to do.

However. When you have crazy friends like she did, everything they want you to do, you do.

Lousy excuse, she thought as she looked into the bathroom mirror, adjusting her makeup and fixing her hair.

Outside the door, Sumire heard a voice call, "Sumire? You done yet?"

There was no way she was going back out there.

Why? One: Kitsuneme was out there. The object of her non-desire to leave. Her crappy friends had forced her into this gig just because she happened to be the only person who did not have a boyfriend yet in their little posse. Her love was, as usual, only for Natsume, but of course, he was dating Sakura. Damn. And her second choice, Ruka, was dating Imai. Double damn. She would have even gone for Koko or Yuu, but he was dating Anna. And Yuu was dating Nonoko. Triple, quadruple damn. Thus her being stuck with the only available person. Life's just so unfair sometimes, huh?

Two: She looked a wreck. Totally. Sumire Shouda does not ever look a wreck. It's on the list of Things Sumire Shouda Should Never Ever Look/Be Like.

Three: She had a desire to escape, but knew she could not because most likely Hotaru had her spy camera somewhere and was carefully watching to make sure she didn't try to sneak away, lest her having to correct her on a whim. But she really did not want to go on a date with someone she had no feelings for.

And don't get it wrong: Kitsuneme was hot, but he was not her type. And definitely not dating material. He was funny, and he was nice, but come on now! Her dream date was with a hot guy, somewhere romantic, having oodles of fun, and ending the night with a wonderful kiss. She did not ever imagine inserting Kitsuneme as the hot guy or making the "somewhere" a club, partying the night away to loud obnoxious music.

The way things were going now, she was sure she definitely didn't want the last part of her dream date to happen.

There was a knock on the door this time, and Kitsuneme joked, "Done puking your guts out yet?"

"Shut up," Sumire snapped, running a tissue around her mouth to wipe up the excess lip gloss. She hadn't been exactly puking her guts out, just...maybe felt a little bit ill. And ran to the bathroom to avoid puking her guts out all over the floor and embarrassing herself. That was definitely the last thing she needed.

Taking a deep breath and making sure she was a hundred percent ready, she turned around and briskly walked to the bathroom door, swinging it open and looking from side to side. Kitsuneme was leaning against the wall.

So much for wishing he'd leave before she did.

"Took you long enough." Sumire hit him with her purse and scowled. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he said, holding his hands up in mock defeat. It only made Sumire want to kill him more. She was irritated and pissed off and simply wanted to get this thing over with.

"Soooo..." Kitsuneme looked around. "What do you want to do now?" Sumire snorted.

"Please. We both know know we don't want to be here right now." Kitsuneme gave her a strange look. Sumire blinked. Why did he look so surprised?

"Never mind," she hissed, turning on her heel and marching towards a table in the corner with her nose in the air. Kitsuneme followed after her and watched as she whipped out her cellphone.

"I have to make a call," she said and he shrugged, sitting down opposite of her as she turned around and snapped it open, dialed a number.

"Hellooooo?" a cheery voice answered.

"Don't play ass with me, Sakura," she snarled into the phone, hoping that the music was drowning her out so Kitsuneme couldn't hear. "Sumire Shouda does not like to be assed with."

"Oh, hi, Sumire!" Mikan replied quite happily, much to Sumire's chagrin. "Having fun?"

"If your stupid self had been paying attention for the past half an hour, NO I am not having fun. I was never having fun. If it was someone else, somewhere else, maybe I would be. But since it's not, sadly I am not a happy camper."

"Hmmm," Mikan teased, "maybe if I let you talk to Natsume, would you feel better?"

Sumire perked up against her will, and there was a snicker in the background on the other line. Then Hotaru's cold voice came through: "Give me the phone, Mikan."

"Awww! But I'm not done talking to—" There was a swish noise, and Hotaru started talking.

"Shouda, listen. I don't care how you're feeling right now. You're going to go through with this. You may not call us to bitch about it, and you may definitely not bitch to Mikan about it. After all, you can only blame yourself that you're not attractive enough to have someone else slobbering after you," she finished disdainfully. There was an "Awwww, Hotaru~!" and Sumire sat there in shock as the line went dead.

I hope Imai dies a horrible, gory death—

Her phone rumbled signaling a text, and she looked down.

Right now you are going to take Kitsuneme up to the balcony, and you are going to kiss him. And you are going to like it. Got it? Then you can leave.

Sumire stared at her phone for a long time. There was more rumbling.

Failure to comply will result in your visiting of the morgue.

"Why did you randomly drag me up to the balcony again?" Kitsuneme joked. Sumire ignored him and leaned against the balcony. The sky was a deep midnight color and the stars twinkled brightly, making a beautiful scene. Perfect and un-perfect at the same time.

It made her think about what Hotaru had said (texted, actually): You are going to kiss him. And you are going to like it.

Then you can leave.

Sumire could probably dream up a thousand good reasons why she shouldn't and wouldn't do the K-word thing with Kitsuneme, all of them possibly having to do with non-affections and extreme dislike. But then she kept going back, the strange look on his face replaying over and over again when she said that they both knew they didn't want to be there. Maybe he did? And she was ruining it for him?

But then again, why should she care? She was only in this because of her friends and, in a way, for her own well-being, right? She didn't want anything to do with this, and she really had no concern for his feelings. Yet to be honest, deep in her heart of heart of heart of hearts, she actually did. Even when it was presented to her in this not-so-awesome way.

As much as she didn't want to, it was her only key to escape from this neon-lighted, music-blaring, bass-pumping hell.

And to make him happy, her brain silently added without her permission.

Making sure that she was completely confident of the hidden camera's (wherever it was) watchful eye, she turned to Kitsuneme, forcing her mouth to tug up at the corner in a sexy smile but turning it into a real smile when she saw him turn towards her with question in his eyes.

"Kitsuneme...I have to tell you something."

"...And then she just kissed me out of nowhere!" Kitsuneme declared, banging his soda can down on the table, signaling the end of his long, epic tale of an unwilling date and shitty surroundings yet still getting something good out of it all. There was complete silence.

Koko blinked, then said, "That's some screwed-up shit."

"You're telling me!" Kitsuneme threw his arms up in the air.

"He is telling you." Ruka rubbed his temple. "I'm with Hotaru. I thought that was some screwed-up shit." He shuddered at the mere mention of the cold, stoic girl he's lucky to call his girlfriend and Natsume snickered, earning a glare from the boy.

Yuu nodded in agreement, remembering many past experiences with Nonoko and her weird obsession with science.

"But there's still the question..." Koko leaned forward. "...if she likes you or not."

All of the boys were quiet, considering.

Ruka shrugged. "To be honest, if you ask me I think she did it just to get away from you."

Kitsuneme raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really."

"Because she never wanted to be there in the first place." Natsume leaned his head on his hand, finally deciding to join the conversation. "Face it, Kitsuneme. She just doesn't like you."

Yuu sweatdropped. "I'm sure she does, Kitsuneme," he said, patting him quickly on the shoulder.

Kitsuneme looked gloomy for a minute, but then his face lit up. "I know she likes me!"

Koko snorted. Nice friend. "Yeah? How?"

"Because afterwards, she..."

"...blushed, and my lips tingled!" Sumire squeaked nervously, ending her tale. All of the girls looked at her disbelievingly. "Be honest now! Do you really think I'm starting to like him?"

Sumire Shouda, they all surmised, is losing her mind.

Anna pressed her lips together. "If your heart started pounding, and you didn't run to the edge of the rail and barf, I think that means you do."

"I second that." Nonoko was playing a little handheld video game with her brow furrowed in concentration.

Sumire draped herself dramatically over her pillow. "Noooooo!"

Sumire Shouda is definitely losing her mind.

"Aw, cheer up, Sumire!" Mikan said cheerfully, patting Sumire's back consolingly as Hotaru shot Sumire a look of disgust. "You finally have someone you like for real!"

"Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun were for real," Sumire said, her voice muffled by the pillow. Mikan's nose wrinkled to almost perfectly match Hotaru's look of disgust.

"Denial..." Anna said in a singsong voice.

"Sumire, please," Nonoko said, still concentrating on the game. "I wouldn't worry. It'll be fine. Kitsuneme's every kind of hot."

Sumire looked up, eyes filled with dramatic tears. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"Nope." Nonoko's fingers flicked over the buttons.

Sumire groaned and dropped her head back down into her pillow.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Listen, Permy," she said, causing the girl to snap her head up in protest and half-anger. "If it troubles you so damn much about one little incident it obviously means you like him. Get over it and stop bitch-whining about it. This isn't some kind of soap opera." Then her eyes flashed evilly and she put a hand on her chin. "Then again, this would be nice footage to sell to him..."

"Noooo!" Sumire wailed.

"Then here." Hotaru whipped out Sumire's cell phone from her purse and handed it to her. "Ring him up and ask him to hang out."

"B-b-but I can't, that'll be too weird and sudden..."

Hotaru gave her a glare. "I guess you'll just have to see that footage of you earlier at the club on a television at school, then, won't you." Sumire gave her a wide-eyed look and quickly took the phone, shakily dialing Kitsuneme's number and readying her voice. All of the girls looked at her excitedly—except Hotaru, who simply looked satisfied, and Nonoko, who was still busy with the handheld.

"Uh-huh?" a voice said on the other end, that oh-so-very-familiar voice. Her heart nearly came out of her throat.

"Hey, Kitsu," she said sweetly, hoping he couldn't hear her heart's furious beat on the other end. "Wanna hang out?"

La la la. This wasn't so bad, actually. It was actually really fun (despite the fact that it's a couple I don't support. But then again, who gives a crap?). It took me awhile to write it, though, because I had writer's block on it and ended up revising it and getting rid of like half of it to rewrite it because it was lame.

I think my writing style has seriously changed. Reading Going Bovine seriously changed me, I think. My writing's gotten a lot better. Now all I feel like writing is stuff that'll give people the giggles.

I've missed humor so much. I'm taking a break from fluff. Serious fluff, that is.

Also, I totally abuse italics. Lol.

Now, since my duty has been fufilled, I'm going to leave and go watch a horror movie. Because these crickets won't shut up, and I'm getting a feeling that someone's watching me. I think it's the insanity, though.

Review, please? :)) Tell me what you think!

Laters,

~Ariisha-chan