~Chapter Eighteen~

Interruption

I Judge By What She's Wearing
Just How Many Heads I'm Tearing…
Off of Assholes Coming On to Her.

They Think They'll Get Inside Her
With Every Drink They Buy Her,
As They All Trying Coming On to Her.
This Time, Somebody's Getting Hurt.

Is that Your Hand on My Girlfriend?

~Next Contestant, by Nickelback

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

"Oh, come on!" he whined. Brown eyes glared at me as he continued, "It's just three little words! Say it with me –"

My lips twitched at his efforts, but I kept my mouth shut. No one was going to hear such a thing from me, except the small blonde female in question. As it was, Sammy was currently missing in action, so I had no need to worry about confessing at this point in time. Take that, cousin.

"I…love…" Mitsukuni began, enunciating the words clearly and saying them slowly, as if he were afraid that I wouldn't understand such a simple statement.

The sound of a loud, frightened scream could be heard as we stood there, riveted to the spot. It echoed eerily in the empty staircase and I couldn't help but call out to her. "Sammy-chan!"

Takashi's P.O.V.

A deep growl pushed its way up my throat and through my clenched teeth. A burst of hot air rushed to my head, emptying it of all thoughts as I stared at the downright disgusting sight before me: Nekozawa Umehito was pinning a girl – my girl – to a bookcase. His arms were on either side of her hips, clutching at the wooden bookcase as he loomed over her smaller form. She was clearly frightened; blue eyes wide and lips trembling. There was a moment of silence and then…

I saw red.

"Remove your hands from my girlfriend," I bit out, gritting my teeth in frustration when he merely stood there in an openmouthed stupor. "…right…now."

Even that failed to penetrate his thick skull. The stupid boy stayed in exactly the same place –with his hands on my girlfriend. I'll admit that I had not intended to use that particular word. Definitely unplanned. However, that was what Sammy would be in a matter of minutes, if I had my way. I hadn't had the courage to ask her formerly, but I had a feeling that she would consent to my advances; we would have a courtship. She liked me, of that I was certain.

"I will say this one more time, Nekozawa-san – release my girlfriend."

Silver eyes were narrowed in anger as I stared him down. Finally, the younger boy began to slowly back away, hands held in the air in a defensive manner. His only mistake was glancing at Sammy once last time. The pining expression on his face, the hungry look in his icy blue eyes… Really pissed me off.

I lunged at him and jerked him backwards with a fistful of his jacket. Lifting him into the air, I stuck my face right next to his and demanded, "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

Nekozawa blanched. "I…w-well, you see… She, uh…" He swallowed nervously and tugged at his collar, which was still in my rather tight hold. "I just w-w-wanted a kiss and –"

"Why…did you try…to kiss her?" I snarled, shaking him for emphasis. Absently, I wondered if this might be considered assault. Not really caring.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mitsukuni slowly walking over to Sammy, so as not to frighten her anymore. The younger girl had wrapped her arms around herself, shivering faintly as she watched the heir to the Nekozawa line dangling from my closed fist. Blue eyes were wide and alert as she kept him in her sights; adrenaline was coursing through her veins.

"She… Sammy-senpai… She wanted s-something from me, so I a-a-asked for… I asked for a kiss in r-return," he stuttered, flinching when I snapped my gaze back to his, staring him down.

I inhaled sharply, trying to calm myself. Quietly, and more rationally, I asked, "And did she ask you to stop?"

The younger male closed his eyes and sadly whispered, "…yes."

That was all I needed to know. I dropped him to the ground and waited for him to stand up, which he did slowly and apprehensively. It was obvious that he was counting his blessings, but he was doing so way too soon. He didn't know what I was planning to do to him, the scrawny little pervert. With a growl, I closed my hand and tightened it into a fist, pulled back my arm –

"Takashi-kun…"

I jerked to a stop, only inches from the paralyzed young man's face. Nekozawa remained as still as a statue. Only his eyes were moving as they flickered silently between Sammy and myself, seemingly aware that she would be the only thing to change my mind at this point – the only person keeping me from beating him senseless.

Two small arms wrapped themselves around my waist. I felt her shuddering as she leaned against me, forehead resting on the small of my back. Her breath was warm, but coming in short pants; it would take her a while to calm down. And I certainly wasn't helping matters any by trying to kill her friend.

Slowly, I lowered my arm, dropping him to the ground without a care. My eyes were closed as I muttered, "Leave, before I change my mind."

Nekozawa wasted no time in complying. The younger male quickly picked himself up from the floor, running from the room and practically crawling his way up the steps in his haste to escape my wrath. Had it been regarding anything else – anything but Sammy – I might have found it funny. As it were, I was merely angry that such a pathetic creature had felt the need to touch what was mine.

"Thank you," Sammy whispered, voice hoarse as she repeated the mantra – thank you, thank you so much.

I was torn between comforting her and berating her for her stupidity. In the end, the former won and I found myself turning around to embrace her properly. Normally, the shy girl would have balked at such a display of affection, but this time she merely tightened her grip on my waist. Sammy burrowed further into my uniform jacket, clutching at the blue material with trembling hands, and – is she crying?

My heart ached faintly as I held her. If I reprimanded her for coming down here now, it would be as though I were calling her stupid directly to her face. I wasn't an ass, so I kept my mouth shut, aware that there would be plenty of time later to talk with her about the danger that she had unwittingly put herself in; suffering at the hands of a horny teenage boy was punishment enough. Sammy wouldn't forget the experience any time soon, so she might actually stop acting so impulsively. That was all that mattered.

I sighed in relief, rocking her gently in an effort to calm her. "Shh…"

Sammy hiccupped faintly, mumbled a few words, and snuggled closer. Her trembling had almost ceased, but she was still shaken from the entire situation. I ran a hand through her blonde hair and bent down to kiss her temple. Tenderly.

I hate to admit it, but I think Mitsukuni might be on to something…

As if sensing my thoughts, my cousin coughed lightly. When I turned to him, Mitsukuni gestured in the general direction of the staircase, indicating that he was leaving. I nodded in acknowledgement. Not only was he leaving to escape the dark, but to give me the privacy that I needed to ask Sammy my question. Now, I simply had to gather the courage to speak the words…

"I'm really sorry, Takashi-kun," she said softly, blue eyes focused firmly on the stone tile under her feet. "I am so sorry that you had to do that, but…"

I smoothed her hair away from her sweaty, tearstained face and urged her to continue.

"But… I'm glad that you were here to save me. It was nice having my own knight in shining armor to save me from the evil dragon," Sammy explained, blushing as she finally met my eyes. She fidgeted nervously under the strength of my gaze – which was filled with surprise, I'm sure.

My eyes softened as I stepped forward, cupping her chin in my hands. "Anytime, Sammy-hime," I whispered to her.

A sharp intake of breath, and then…a hiccup.

I laughed at the sound, in spite of the fact that Sammy was now punching me – repeatedly – in the ribs. It didn't hurt because her tiny fists were not capable of causing much damage to my muscled chest. My laughter grew louder at her frustration. I finally caught her fists in my larger hands and tugged them upwards, placing a kiss on the back of each one. Her pale skin lit up like a Christmas tree, complete with pink and red ornaments. It was times like these that I found myself appreciating the delicacy of her exotic skin tone; made for an amusing laugh.

Sammy grumbled to herself, before snapping, "Ha, ha! I'm so glad that I can amuse you, Mister Strong and Silent Type!" She knows what type I am? Huh… That's interesting. "But not all of us can be as cool and collected as you!"

I smirked, lips tilting upwards as I patted her on the head in a condescending manner. "Ah…"

With a growl of frustration, she stomped away, flailing her arms wildly. I caught her arm – and her attention – with minimal effort. One soft word: wait. And Sammy stopped, blonde head cocked to the side and brow furrowed in confusion. I smiled at the adorable sight, feeling my heartbeat quicken in anticipation; I was going to ask her.

"Does this mean that the princess refuses to kiss her prince?" I asked quietly as I tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Damn things were very annoying.

Blue eyes were wide with surprise. "I… I, er…"

Inwardly, I patted myself on the back, knowing that I had distracted her. I crept closer to my prey. "Or do I have to ask for her hand in marriage first?" That might be a bit extreme, but it would certainly do the trick – Sammy always freaked out at the slightest mention of such topics.

"MARRIAGE?" she shrieked, body frozen in shock as I stepped closer once more.

"Or…" I paused here, pretending to think on the matter. Tapping my fingers against my side as I continued, "I suppose that we can compromise. I'll postpone the wedding, if you agree to be my girlfriend."

Sammy blinked, utterly shocked and completely at a loss for words. I waited patiently, hoping that she would realize my proposal had not been a joke. The second one, I mean. Truthfully, I was entertaining the idea of marrying her, but that would come much later – after university. For now, I simply wanted to call her my own.

"Are you serious?" she whispered in awe. At my solemn nod, Sammy seemed to come alive. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness and a wide, silly grin replaced her nervous smile. "…yes! I will definitely be your girlfriend, Takashi-kun!"

***Author's Note***

PLEASE READ!

First of all - yes, they are finally together! It only took them...eighteen chapters of dancing around each other. XD Heh.

Secondly, I DO NOT HATE NEKOZAWA! Quite the contrary. I adore the strange guy, but I felt like this was how Takashi would respond to seeing such a thing happening to his little crush. ) And as for darling Neko-chan, he will return to play a big part in their relationship - and a good one, at that!

So please, read and review! But, um...don't kill me? -_-;