Episode 38 of Luckiest Loser

Watch Over Me

"What were you even thinking?" my mother snarled as she loomed over my seated figure. She was like a dangerous fire-breathing dragon swooping around her prey while blowing tendrils of white, hot smoke through her flared nostrils.

My fingers nervously curled around the hem of my shirt. Neither my brother or sister were present to help me out of my present predicament or able to help me win any sympathy from my beastly mother.

I had never seen her so incensed before in my life. Then again, I had never so blatantly defied her before until now.

"Well?" she paused in front of me, hands at her hips, and lips downturned in disgrace.

I bowed my head, "I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" With a violent hand movement, which for a moment I thought was going to strike me across the face, she pointed upstairs with an authoritative index finger. "Go to your room! Your father and I need to discuss what to do with you."

I stood up without uttering a single word, defeated and feeling like a wounded cat. I left the kitchen wordlessly, but I was screaming vulgar obscenities in my mind.

As I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom, I could hear my parents' venomous whispers from down below.

"Osen never gave us this kind of trouble."

"Her grades may have improved, but her attitude certainly hasn't changed."

"She's setting a bad example for Tetsushi. I don't know if I want her living here anymore..."

I held my hands against my ears until I got to my bedroom. After loudly slamming the door, I sank to the ground. I could feel the tears swelling up in my eyes.

This was not fair.

None of it was fair.

It would never be fair.

"Ugh! Why are all these boxes so heavy!" I exclaimed in exasperation as I dropped the large cardboard box I had been carrying onto the floor in the middle of the hallway next to half a dozen more boxes. My back ached and my hands hurt. I could have just as easily hired somebody else to move all my stuff for me or ask for help, but I was determined to do it on my own. Even though I had wanted to do it, I still felt the need to vocalize my loud complaints and frustrations into the empty air around me.

I hadn't exactly planned to move out of my parents' house at the tender young age of seventeen, but we had all agreed (in a surprisingly civil manner) that it would be for the best. I would still be allowed to work at the bakery in order to earn money to pay for my rent and utilities, but that was it. I wanted nothing to do with my parents anymore other than that and it was no surprise to find that the feeling was mutual on their end. My siblings had of course voiced their concerns, but we all knew that this decision would benefit everyone and give all of us some peace of mind.

I sat down on the box and leaned back on my hands to take a brief break. My new apartment was on the second floor of a long rectangular building that was across the street from a small park. All I had to do was pop my head out of my front doorway and I could see a supermarket and a laundromat down the street on the other side of the road between the apartment building and the park. The neighborhood was nice too, lots of young families with one or two young children occupied most of the apartments next to and below mine. I was lucky to have found such a good place and the landlord was practically a saint. After I had told her my story she had swept me up into a suffocating bear hug and offered me a deal on the rent after saying I was "a terribly, unlucky, poor, downtrodden girl".

I suppose even a loser like me got lucky sometimes even if my luck mostly happened to spring up right after some misfortune of mine.

"Good afternoon." A very familiar, deep voice greeted me, disengaging me from my thoughts.

I swiveled my head around to see Takashi standing outside my door. He had his hands in his jacket pockets and he was wearing dark denim jeans. His black hair was more unkempt than usual these days, ever since he had started college he seemed to appear more rugged looking. Some days I would even catch him with a bit of beard stubble. I guess without the consistent pestering of Tamaki and the Twins from the Host Club he didn't bother so much with always looking polished. I didn't mind at all though, I kind of preferred his new slightly unkempt style.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Good afternoon." I felt so ordinary and Plain Jane in comparison to him. Even if he looked unkempt, he was still one of the best looking guys I had ever laid my eyes on.

We had only been dating for a month, but I still felt very anxious and unsure around him. I could tell by the way he was awkwardly standing in the doorway to my new apartment that he felt the same.

It was rather difficult to make time for our relationship with all the craziness that took place in the past month after the party, but we managed. I didn't get to see him as often as I would have liked, but I adored how he would pop in to check on me like this without me having to ask him to.

He cocked his head to the side. "Do you need any help?"

"Nope. I just brought in the last of the boxes, my sister gave me a ride over here earlier so I could start settling in." I walked over to him and playfully hooked my index fingers around his belt loops and tugged him closer. "Thanks for the offer though."

He smiled. "Do you want to go out to lunch then?"

I very quickly glanced over my shoulders at the pile of unpacked boxes behind me. It was well past noon and I was famished and tired. I didn't nearly have enough energy to unpack all of them now and it would be even more difficult considering I had an immense lack of furniture in the new apartment.

I returned my gaze back to Takashi. "Yeah, that would be great."

The little restaurant we found had pleasant atmosphere and was within walking distance of my new apartment. It was definitely a family orientated place, it had that colorful charm to it that made it appealing.

The bubbly little hostess that greeted us warmly when we entered the establishment sat us in a booth by the window that looked out to the street. It was lucky that we got inside when we did because it had just started drizzling outside. I watched as little raindrops splattered against the glass window before racing downwards.

"Oh, is this your little sister?" the waitress who came over to take our orders asked sweetly as she eyed Takashi with interest. "Should I bring some crayons and a children's menu over for her?"

I felt a vein on my forehead tick in frustration. "I'm his girlfriend," I muttered under my breath as I gave her a short piercing glare.

She instantly straightened up in surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry! I just thought since you look so little..." Her voice really didn't sound that apologetic at all.

Excuses, excuses. You were just trying to flirt with him. Was what I really wanted to say to her, but I thought better of it and brushed it off. "It's alright, don't worry about it." I was probably going to have to put up with more frivolous girls like her in the future if I continued dating Takashi so I should start getting used to it.

She fixed her apron and regained her composure as she took a small notepad and a pen out of her front pocket. "Is there anything I can bring you to drink?"

"Ah, yes," my eyes quickly scanned the menu in my hands. "I'll have tea, please."

"And you sir?"

"Coffee, please."

"Just coffee?" I tilted my head to the side as the waitress left with our drink order. "I thought you preferred tea."

Takashi folded his arms and rested them on top of the table. "I do."

It was then that I finally noticed the slight dark bags under his eyes. "You haven't been getting much sleep, right?"

"Ah," he nodded.

He was so tired and yet he still came over to see me? I bit my bottom lip, between him starting university, worrying about how Hunny's studies were going overseas, and me moving out of my parents' house he had burdened himself with a lot of unnecessary things.

"You do look rather young," Takashi said with stoic face. He was trying to tease me, wasn't he?

I squished my cheeks up and down with my hands. "I can't help it if I have a slight baby face and that I'm short, but I definitely can't pass as your younger sister. The nerve of that waitress!"

Takashi sighed and chuckled at the same time.

We spent the time waiting for our drinks chatting about normal, everyday things. It was a pleasant change of pace opposed to our usual topics, which was more often than not about my crazy life and where Kei had disappeared to. Takashi never revealed to me what he had said to Kei that one fateful day during my last confrontation with him and I had the feeling that he was never going to divulge it to me at this point in time.

Instead we talked about Takashi's university and his schoolwork. When I first met him, I was so uneasy around him due to his quiet, restrained nature, but now he seemed much more willing to open up about his everyday life. I even learned that he had taken in two pets, a raccoon and a chicken. I loved learning more about him, he was so much more interesting and quirky than he looked at first glance.

After the waitress served us our drinks and took our food order, our conversation shifted back to its usual routine. I could understand why Takashi would be worried about me living on my own. I wasn't exactly a trained martial artist like he was and I was certainly lacking in street smarts, but I was looking at this as an experience for me to learn and mature as a person. I certainly wasn't going to grow up into a healthy minded individual if I continued to live in that suffocating, restrained environment that was my parents' house.

"It's a big adjustment to make," he noted nonchalantly. His calm tone betrayed his true feelings. I could see the worry etched onto his face by seeing his crinkled brows and pursed lips every time we discussed it.

"I think it'll be just fine. I'm sure there are times when I'll feel lonely living by myself, but things seems to be moving in a good direction for now." I assured him. I knew he was worried about me living on my own even though he had been helping me every step of the way. "For once, I think every thing's going to turn out well for me. It was my idea after all. You probably wouldn't have encourage me to follow through with it if you thought it wouldn't turn out well, right?"

He remained quiet as if to indicate some disagreement with what I had said. Moving out my parents' house was a sink or swim situation for me. I would either thrive under my new found independence or revert back to my old timid, spineless self.

"If you need anything just call me," Takashi said as he leaned back in his chair and drank his coffee.

"Y-yes," I replied nervously, wondering if it really was okay to rely on him this much. He had even gone out of his way and bought me my own cellphone so we could keep in touch. He was also the one who helped me find an apartment, he had even paid for my security deposit and first month's rent.

He seemed to pick up on my uneasiness. "I'm doing these things because I want to, Nodoka."

I put my hands in my lap and fidgeted a bit as I lowered my gaze to the table. "I know, but you've already done so much for me that I can't possibly think of-"

"Nodoka," he began sternly, he folded his arms on the table and leaned in towards me, "I want to help you."

He was so stubborn.

I threw my hands up in the air in defeat. "Fine, fine."

How could I say no when he made that determined face at me? It was so endearing and part of me felt completely flattered that he would do so much for me because of how he felt about me. The other part of me was just as stubborn as he was.

"What are you going to do about school?" he asked after a couple of moments of silence.

"I'm planning on graduating high school. I still have two years of school left ahead of me because I had to repeat a year so I'll follow through with that, but I don't think college is for me." I could see a slight scowl grace his face. I sighed. "I was thinking of going to culinary school and then trying my luck as a pastry chef."

He nodded. I'm sure my life plans sounded trivial in comparison to his. He was studying the theory and philosophy of law at a prestigious university and I was dreaming about baking pastries all day. Sometimes the distance between our lifestyles and upbringings seemed too vast. It would be a miracle if this relationship lasted longer than a few months.

I cupped the warm cup between my hands and took another careful sip, being careful not to scald my tongue. "But, you know," I started thoughtfully in-between sips of tea, "I'm going to try my best, no more half-assed efforts on my part."

Takashi paused for a second before grinning and extending a hand forward to pat the top my head in a caring manner. "I'm glad to hear that." His hand then slowly slid down the side of my head until his warm fingers were cupping my chin.

I could feel the butterflies fluttering around inside my stomach as a dorky love-struck smile crossed my face. His gentle affectionate actions made me so happy, these feelings seemed almost surreal at times.

How could a simple touch from him fill me with such optimism, happiness, and hope?

He wasn't the type to verbally voice his feelings for others, but I sense him conveying his them through his gestures and movements. Every small smile and attentive stare conveyed his feelings stronger than words ever could.

Maybe things would work out. Who says a lowly wannabe pastry chef like me couldn't be with the man of her dreams? After everything I'd been through over the past few months, I was long overdue for some good luck to be heading my way.

I raised my hands up and placed them over his that was caressing my face. His hand was so much larger than mine and his fingers were much longer. This was the strong and gentle hand that had protected me from my mother's wrath and from Kei's fists. I gently squeezed his hand with mine and smiled at him.

Thank you for everything.

XXXXXX

Musical Inspiration- All To Myself by Marianas Trench

It seems Nodoka is a little insecure about their relationship DUN DUN DUNNNNN

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story. :) Just an epilogue and then that it's over for good.

Peace out.